(Untitled)

[crazyspacegirl]

River had spent very few waking moments away from her baby in the nearly six months since she'd been born. (And none at all in the nine months before that, if she was going to be precise.) Today, however, was her birthday, and Mal had insisted that she take some time for herself, and sent her off for the afternoon with the order to do the things

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[neptune_sleuth]

"You," Veronica called, hands on her hips as she looked up into the tree. She'd been trying to find her for a little while now - not very long, but long enough that the attitude seemed appropriate, if only because she was given to exaggeration. "I should have known you be up a tree somewhere. How's the weather up there?"

[crazyspacegirl]

"Me," River answered agreeably. "Yes, but 'up a tree' doesn't really narrow your search down much in jungle. And it's the same weather as down there. I haven't gone high enough for a climate change yet."

[neptune_sleuth]

"Should I be coming up there?" Veronica asked. "Or are you planning on coming down sometime soon?" She was in no rush to have River come down if she didn't want to, but it helped to know before she went launching herself up into a tree.

[crazyspacegirl]

"That depends. I'm not allowed to go home for a little while yet, so I wasn't really planning on coming down very soon. But if you have a reason I should, I'll be right there."

River supposed that the entire point of a free afternoon would be lost if she wasn't willing to be flexible with the way spent the time.

[neptune_sleuth]

"No rush," Veronica said, considering it for a second before she began to pull herself up into the tree after her. "But I've got a present with your name on it, and by 'present,' I mean a cake and your name isn't actually on it." It might not have been the greatest gift in the world, but it was a good standby.

[crazyspacegirl]

Though River had been prepared to go down to the ground if Veronica had wanted her to, she was glad to see that she didn't have to. She wasn't quite done being in a tree just yet.

"How am I going to know know it's my cake if my name's not on it? I'm not sure if it's anyone else's birthday today, but if it is then there might be some confusion."

[neptune_sleuth]

"You know, I don't know about anyone else," Veronica admitted as she climbed higher, because it wasn't as if she'd bothered to check. "But this one's yours 'cause I made it and I said so. Next year I'll put your name on it." It got easier with time to believe there would be a next year. She just couldn't imagine the island without River on it.

[crazyspacegirl]

"Since you made it and you say so, it must be so. Even if you weren't a government official you'd still get authority over your own cake." It still struck River as very odd, sometimes, that she could be friends with people with anyone respectable enough to be voted into public office. "But I imagine that putting names on things makes it easier on everyone."

[neptune_sleuth]

"It'd also be hilarious," Veronica said, perching herself neatly on a branch near River's. "Probably wouldn't even look like your name. How's the celebrating going?" For anyone else, she would have joked about turning the day into an island holiday, but though River certainly wasn't without a sense of humor, there were times it was easier just not to tease.

[crazyspacegirl]

"Good thing you have a whole year to practice writing names on cakes, because now I'll be expecting it. You wouldn't want to disappoint me." River was not even a little bit serious about that. She didn't "expect" much from anybody, even Veronica. That way, everything was a nice surprise.

"The celebrating has been satisfactory so far, though mostly I've been doing it by myself. Mal is spending the afternoon with Zoe, and I've been doing things I can't do with her along, like flying in the hang glider and climbing trees, but I think I kind of miss having her around."

[neptune_sleuth]

"You're a good mom," Veronica said, voice softening a little, even as she shrugged it off. She smiled, wry, her brow raising. "How long's he making you stay out here?" That was what she assumed was happening, at least. It seemed a Mal thing to do, sending her off to enjoy herself whether she liked it or not.

[crazyspacegirl]

"Zoe does seem to be developing well, I'm not sure how much of that I can take credit for, when I'm not entirely certain I'm doing everything right." River was trying pretty hard to be good mother, but she wasn't going to make any judgments on her success or lack of it until Zoe could give her own informed opinion.

"I've been turned out of my home until dinner time," she answered with a bit of a dramatic sigh. "As birthday presents go, it's not the worst, I suppose. I have had a nice time."

[neptune_sleuth]

"Well, as long as you're having fun," Veronica said. "That just means we've got some time to kill making sure you enjoy the rest of your break. So you've done hang gliding and tree climbing; what else is on the agenda?" There was no doubt in her mind that River was doing about as well as any mother could and a hell of a lot better than some did, her own included. That in turn just mean she deserved a day off.

[crazyspacegirl]

"I didn't really make a schedule. I'm not sure what else I feel like doing that I can't do with Zoe or Mal, but I'm open to suggestions." It wasn't often that River found herself at a loss for something to occupy her time, but she'd gotten pretty used to being led by a baby's demands.

[neptune_sleuth]

"Well, now we're up here, we may as well stay a couple minutes," Veronica said, "but after that, I say cake. We should totally eat cake. And then... Hmm. I don't know. Something fun." Just because she could do things with Zoe and Mal didn't mean she had to, after all. They always managed to find something.