(Untitled)

[crazyspacegirl]

River had been spending the afternoon with Samantha Halpert when Susan Snow had stopped by, still looking for her sister. River knew too well what that meant, and, since she couldn't take Sammy out searching, she offered to keep Rickon for a little while, since even looking for someone unlikely to be found was easier without taking a baby along.

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[permanentlypink]

Tonks was taking Teddy for a walk along the beach. Well, he wasn't exactly walking yet, though he'd made a few clumsy attempts at it in the past couple of weeks, which meant that she was still toting him around. And he was getting pretty bloody heavy. But he did love that little fur teddy bear jumper that had appeared with the winter weather, and since the day wasn't so cold as some, she thought they'd have a bit of fun in the snow.

They were just passing Serenity when she heard the sounds from inside, and looked down at Teddy. "What do you think, should we investigate?"

And of course, the permission of a one-year-old made it not quite so rude when she stuck her head in. "Wotcher! We were just - " She blinked, upon seeing the scene. "Is there a daycare center I didn't know about?"

Teddy clapped his hands gleefully.

[crazyspacegirl]

River looked over, glad to see at lease one baby who looked happy and not likely to burst her eardrums at any moment.

"If there is, it's not here," River answered. "I imagine people running a daycare center would know how to make them stop crying."

She patted both of her small charges futilely, while they continued to wail.

[tightpantscapn]

Mal looked up from the unhappy bundle in his arms, clearly as discontent as the babe he held. His brows knitted t'gether n' lifted up near int' his hairline.

"If'n there's a sign out there that says so, kindly let me know so's I can have it used for target practice," he said, n' then shuddered as all three babies wailed in harmony.

Gettin' run through with a sword had been more pleasant.

[permanentlypink]

"Oh, is that little Nate?" Tonks asked, smiling. Teddy reached out towards him, almost a semblance of a wave.

She laughed and added, "Don't worry, I wasn't planning on dropping mine off as well. I'd be happy to give you a hand, though."

[crazyspacegirl]

River thought that the addition of another baby could be overlooked if it also came with someone who knew how to deal with the ones they already had.

"If you're not busy, that would be nice. We're not exactly baby experts around here," she admitted. "It's not so bad when it's just one, but...." The screaming really did speak for itself.

[tightpantscapn]

"Yeah, this here is Nate," Mal said, crouchin' down some so the woman -- he thought her name was Tonks -- n' her boy could see. "Was as quiet as a mouse ridin' down here n' then he got all worked up hearin' e'eryone else gettin' beside 'emselves."

Takin' a step back t'ward River, Mal nodded. "We could surely use the help, if'n y' could spare some o' y'r time."

[permanentlypink]

"Sure. Teddy here doesn't get to socialize as much as he should anyway." She bent down and set him on the floor beside the little girl. He pointed at one of her blocks. "Ba," he said.

"Block," corrected Tonks.

"Bock," he repeated.

"Very good, darling." She grinned at Mal and the squalling Nate. "Want me to have a go with him?"

[crazyspacegirl]

Samantha joined in the cries of "Bock! Bock! Bock!" until it sounded like a flock of chickens echoing through the cargo bay. River resisted the urge to cover her ears at the racket, though it was better than the screaming.

"You don't want to join in with the rest?" she asked Rickon, still fussing in her arms. Clearly, the answer was "no", so she shifted him in her arms and went back to patting him. It wasn't at all effective, but she couldn't think of anything else to do.

[tightpantscapn]

Mal's brows lifted n' his mouth gaped open somewhat was Tonks' l'il boy n' Sammy started a chorus o' "Bock! Bock! Bock!" 'twas better'n the cryin'...though not by much.

Glad for the offer t' take the cryin' Nate off o' his hands, Mal nodded gratefully n' carefully transferred the baby t' her. "Did y' know his mama?"

[permanentlypink]

"Mmmmm a little," Tonks said, hefting Nate up and giving him a big smile. He stopped crying at least momentarily, probably because he was checking out the new situation and trying to decide how he felt about it. "More a friend of a friend. Tosh and I were pregnant at the same time, and got close. Jackson and Teddy are good buddies."

[crazyspacegirl]

River thought it was good that Nate already had a network of friends, just waiting for him to get old enough to appreciate them. She knew how hard it had been for Sammy to lose just her mother, even if she'd since got her back, and could only imagine how much worse it would be to lose both parents. Losing a brother was bad enough.

Shifting Rickon to better manage him with one arm, River leaned over to grab hand Teddy and Samantha a block each, hoping that maybe if they had the things, they could stop yelling about them.

[tightpantscapn]

"Sounds like he's got quite the l'il network goin' on," Mal commented. 'twould be good for the kid t' have others t' depend on. With both o' his parents gone missin', he'd need all the folks he could t' care 'bout him.

Mal went n' situated himself between Samantha n' the other l'il boy. "What d'y' reckon y'r goin' t' build?"

[permanentlypink]

Tonks bounced Nate a little in her arms, a gentle, steady rhythm that seemed to keep him from crying at least momentarily. "I can only hope that if something ever happened to Remus and I, Teddy would be as lucky as this little guy to have so many people who care about him."

She looked down at Teddy and Samantha and smiled. "Well Teddy here has been kind of obsessed with trains lately, even though he's never seen one... we found a book here about a tank engine, and his dad's been telling him all about Hogwarts Express."