#stigmata: meeting maria and madeline.
[23:16] * JSheppard meanders into the bar. He's been here before! It's one of Those Days, which is to say one of the days he was in charge of three toddlers. It's...probably not that difficult to see.
[23:16] Maria: "Shouldn't they?" Maria tilts her head, and then waves at the strange guy! 'Sup, you.
[23:17] * JSheppard doesn't wave back, but he does offer his usual I'm-so-cool-and-also-friendly smile. "Hi there."
[23:18] Madeline: "Not r- hi." Madeline half-smiles, sitting up and folding her arms over her chest.
[23:21] * Maria does not work here, but oh well. "Can I get you anything?" :D?
[23:21] JSheppard: "N--yeah, I wouldn't say no to a beer. Don't tell my wi--omen. People."
[23:23] * Madeline has...no idea what the heck, John.
[23:24] * JSheppard is kind of confused himself. You would be if Elizabeth and Donna were basically in charge of you.
[23:25] Maria: "I...will not! I don't know your wiomen-people, I don't think, so!" She hops up and goes to go retrieve beer. "Want anything, Madeline?"
[23:26] JSheppard: "That's kind of refreshing," he observes. "I'm John, by the way -- John Sheppard."
[23:26] Madeline: "I can't." She shrugs a little, sipping her by-now extremely lukewarm water. "Or I shouldn't. I'm sorry."
[23:28] Maria: "Don't be sorry, I'm not having anything, either. I don't know what my pregnancy diet is supposed to be yet." She hands John his beer and goes back to her chair.
[23:28] Maria: "I'm Maria."
[23:28] Madeline: "I'm Madeline." She's an echo, also, or so it might seem.
[23:30] JSheppard: "It's nice to meet you both." John smiles at them as he takes the beer and grins a bit, that kind of sheepish-boyish grin that men his age are supposed to have outgrown already. "You're having one, Maria? Or trying?"
[23:40] Maria: "Having!" She's...eighteen years old, but hey, weirder things, right? "I'm not very far along."
[23:44] * JSheppard is a solar system's grandfather. ._. "I can see...or not see, I guess." There's that grin. "Your iron and calcium intake needs to go up a bit. Think meat, chicken, fish. Couple glasses of milk. Elizabeth just drank a lot of milky tea and swore at me in languages I don't speak when I took the coffee away."
[23:45] Maria: "I'm picky about that stuff, I guess. I only eat free-range, usually, and it's so expensive..." >:E Money. There is never enough of it. "The coffee thing /sucks/."
[23:46] JSheppard: "Yeah, but it's important. And you need to keep it up if you breastfeed at all."
[23:46] * JSheppard coughs, a little embarrassed. "Uh -- sorry, you didn't ask for advice." He chuckles.
[23:47] * Maria tucks her knees up, which is...potentially a great idea in that skirt, but whatever. "It's okay. I can probably use it, I have no idea what the hell I'm doing, but I'm determined to be good at it."
[23:50] JSheppard: "Sounds like a good attitude to me." He ponders for a second. "I think they said something about not having really hot baths for the first few months."
[23:53] * Maria makes a face. "Yeah. So unfair."
[23:55] * JSheppard nods. "Yeah -- hey, if you want, I can get Elizabeth and Donna to write down some need-to-knows for you. I've got their credentials right here." Wallet-wave.
[23:56] Maria: "...aw! That would be great, actually--can I see?" She leans forward.
[23:57] JSheppard: "Sure thing." He opens up where he keeps his Family Pickchoors and pulls them out.
[23:57] * Madeline leans forward too, having kept quiet for the rest. Family. :3
[23:58] * Maria giggles at the first one.
[00:01] Madeline: "They're cute," Madeline murmurs, very hesitantly.
[00:02] Maria: "Your family is beautiful. How old are the kids?"
[00:03] JSheppard: "Catherine's the youngest--" he points her out, "--she just turned a year in November. The twins are two -- September -- aaaand we've got teenagers, as well, who are...complicated."
[00:06] Maria: "That they are." >_> She's preeeeetty much one herself.
[00:08] * JSheppard is kind of glad that that was misinterpreted. Explaining how old his kids ACTUALLY are gives HIM a headache. "No kidding."
[00:09] * Maria would not guess that she met his son the ancient deity, no. Thank goodness.
[00:09] * JSheppard also has twins who aged to sixteen in the space of about three years. ._.
[00:10] * JSheppard ..........is technically their grandfather ._.
[00:12] Madeline: "...I think I should go home," Madeline says, softly. As it's only been the whole fucking day she's been gone, right.
[00:12] JSheppard: "It's pretty late," John notes, glancing at his watch. He's gonna get it in the ear later, himself.
[00:13] Maria: "Aw. Hey, wait a sec, okay?" She digs in her purse for SOMETHING. What could it be.
[00:14] Madeline: "Uh...okay." o_o
[00:15] * Maria finds a pen, a receipt, and presses it against her knee to write down her number. Once that's done, she offers the slip of paper to Madeline. "If you want to hang out sometime."
[00:18] * Madeline ...regards both the phone number and invitation like alien artifacts, but takes at least one. "Okay. I'll see you." She stands up, nods at John, and heads for her door.
[00:18] * JSheppard nods back to her and smiles, a little, sipping his beer.
[00:19] Maria: "Bye!" She watches Maddy go, wondering something, and then looks back at John with a smile.
[00:20] * JSheppard is tucking his pictures away again. "Careful how you go around the nexus," he says, a little wryly. "There are all kinds of things here -- you just don't think about."
[00:20] JSheppard: "With being pregnant, I mean."
[00:20] Maria: "Like what?" She immediately looks worried.
[00:21] JSheppard: "Donna got gassed, way back when she was having the twins. For example. And de-aged. And...yeah."
[00:27] Maria: "...gassed. De-aged?" O_O
[00:28] JSheppard: "Fear gas," he says, grimmer, something flat in his eyes. "About as nice as it sounds. And...yeah. One minute she's pushing forty, next minute she can't pass for eighteen."
[00:32] Maria: "...but still pregnant. I am eighteen, I don't--if I got deaged I'd be like a pregnant ten year old, that's CREEPY."
[00:33] JSheppard: "/Yeah/. So -- careful, kid." He smiles, a little crookedly.
[00:33] Maria: "Maria," she corrects, automatically, smiling back.
[00:34] JSheppard: "Hey. I had a granddaughter /older/ than you. 'Kid' it is...Maria." His smile widens.
[00:37] * Maria is serene. "I would like it noted I am wearing five inch heels." She is.
[00:38] * JSheppard just starts laughing.
[00:39] * Maria grins at him.
[00:41] * JSheppard grins back. "My wife has scarier shoes."
[00:43] Maria: "So do I! But I can't wear those all day, every day, they get scuffed walking around." Her tallest heels are eight inches. This is not a joke.
[00:45] JSheppard: "Donna and Elizabeth have a shoe store between them, and they spend most of their time wandering around the house barefoot." John makes that interdimensional male gesture of 'I don't get women'.
[00:48] Maria: "The point is not to wear the shoes, it's to /have/ them." Duh, John.
[00:48] JSheppard: "Yeah...I don't get you...woman people."
[00:49] Maria: "You don't have to. You just have to fear us." :3
[00:49] JSheppard: "/That/, I have got down to a fine art."
[00:50] Maria: "You are smarter than the average bear, clearly."
[00:53] * JSheppard grins. "Juuuust call me Yogi."
[00:54] * Maria doesn't get the reference. :( "What?"
[00:54] * Maria 's typist does, though.
[00:54] JSheppard: "...oh, damn it, I am /not/ that old." :(
[00:56] Maria: "If it helps I'm from a weird family and also only just got comfortable with technology like...this month."
[00:57] JSheppard: "That does make me feel a little better. My daughter-in-law gets and doesn't get the weirdest stuff."
[00:59] Maria: "Like what?"
[01:01] JSheppard: "Pop music in '85? Sure. How do you work a microwave? ...less sure."
[01:01] Maria: "Well, they /are/ tricky bastards."
[01:05] JSheppard: "Can be, can be."
[01:07] * JSheppard answers his cellphone! :O "...good morning, baby--what the /hell/, that's not fucking fair!"
[01:07] * Maria watches this with great amusement.
[01:08] JSheppard: "--no, no, you're both talking too fast--how are you even--HOW much coffee?"
[01:17] * JSheppard rubs his face. "I'm coming--I'm /coming/, Donna, you can shut up now...yeah, yeah. Yeah! Damn it, Donna--thank you--yeah. I heard. No. No, I'm coming right now. Yeah. I will if you want me to. Absolutely. Break his nose. Yep. Maybe you should be lying down."
[01:20] * Maria is giggling behind her hand.
[01:25] JSheppard: "...Elizabeth. /Go and lie down/. I'm gonna be home in--" watch check, "--ten minutes. Yeah--okay. I love you, too. Yes. Okay. You're not lying down yet. Ten minutes. Yep, I swear." He closes the cellphone and squeezes his eyes shut for a second. "Christ."
[01:31] Maria: "In the doghouse?" Sympathetic tone, hey.
[01:34] JSheppard: "Kinda. They're weepy drinks about now." He's affectionate, but somewhere between laughter and despair. "I should get back before they wake the kids up. I'll get you that list, okay? Here's our number--" he scribbles it down.
[01:34] Maria: "Aw, thanks." She will save that in her purse of amazing. "Have fun and good luck, man."
[01:35] JSheppard: "Thanks." He gets to his feet. "I promise they're usually, uh...coherent." He grins, briefly, and heads out.