Lord, what fools...

[andsadofeye]

He never forgot the day. Omar always acted like he did, but John never forgot it. He never would. In four hundred years, there'd been a lot of women, but there'd only ever been one like Lily Rae Brown, and the way she'd danced and laughed, and the way she'd made him wait to marry him. Only ever one girl like that for John York, and never mind

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[gonewiththereap]

Daisy acts younger than she is around everyone, everyone else, but John Amsterdam makes her feel so old and she could be a crone for the way he looks at her and sees all her years. She never knows what to act around him, but she still won't turn away. "If you're in a search for a classic, Gone With The Wind never disappoints," she promises, breathy and chipper as ever.

[andsadofeye]

"I think it's a little out of her age range, Daisy," said John, none of the usual humour in his voice, none of the teasing. He'd be alright, if he focused on the tow headed child in his arms.

Being around Daisy made it so damn easy to think about the past.

"We're looking for something with pictures."

[gonewiththereap]

Daisy lets out a quiet laugh of embarrassment because now how is she supposed to know about things like that and wanders closer, keeping her distance from the child because the only time she's ever dealt with babies was when there were souls to take.

She hates those memories worst of all. "How about something involved barnyard animals? I hear children like those."

[andsadofeye]

"What do you think, Callie? Something about cows? Horses? What about chickens?"

Calliope looked up at him, eyebrows drawn together in a look eeirely reminiscent of her mother, and then she bared her teeth and growled. John looked at her for a minute and then nodded, glancing up at Daisy over her head.

"Puppies it it."

[inariver]

Ophelia is a seated cross-legged on a chair, facing the room so that she can watch the people while she pretends to be focused on the task in her hands. It's a knitting project, slow going in her clumsy hands, and one day it might be a scarf or it might be socks. She hasn't yet decided. What she has decided that the people moving around her are far more interesting than yarn and needles any day.

"You have a lovely daughter," she observes from her perch to the man at the shelf, pausing for a moment before returning to her clicking. It could be wrong, but that doesn't take away from the fairness of the child.

[andsadofeye]

He stood and watched her knit for a moment, with Calliope chattering and puling at every book on the shelf that caught her eye.

"She's lovely, but she's not mine," he said, forcing a smile, finding one from somewhere for the pretty girl. "She's my girlfriend's. This is Calliope."

[inariver]

"Calliope, muse to Homer." Ophelia can recite all of the muses, having been a better fan to Greek than to Latin during all the days of her study.

"Then your lady friend has a lovely daughter," she corrects with a smile, knowing that despite comments to the otherwise children really can be unattractive. "Calliope seems fond of you much like her mother must be."

[just_a_cag]

Lee noticed Calliope before the man holding her, and though he'd only meant to poke his head in to look for Martha, he couldn't help but decide to come in and say hello.

"Hey, Calliope," He asked, stepping up beside the two of them at the bookshelf, "Who's your friend?"

[andsadofeye]

Calliope waved enthusiastically over John's shoulder and John adjusted his hold on her so that he wouldn't drop her.

"John," she informed the other guy, sounding more and more like her mother every day, and John offered his hand.

"John Amsterdam. Babysitting while Kara's off playing in the snow."

[just_a_cag]

"Lee Adama," He said, extending his own hand for John to shake, though he couldn't hide a small look of surprise when Calliope actually answered him. She was getting big.

"Playing in the snow, huh? That's a new one."

[andsadofeye]

"Good to meet you, Lee." After John took his hand back, Calliope patiently held her hand out to be shaken too.

"I figure 'playing in the snow' is better than some of the things she could be up to when she asked me to take Calliope for an hour."

[historyisme]

He rarely wasted any time in the Compound, much less the rec room, but it was time for collecting more books. It seemed the majority of the population had adjusted to the cold. That meant, at least, he wouldn't need to worry about an over populated rec room.

Unfortunately, it did not mean he would get it to himself just yet.

Adam frowned slightly at the pair dawdling around the bookcase. He'd disliked children for centuries. That they followed him here only made him dislike them more. "If you're hoping for something suitable, you might be here all afternoon."

His voice was dry and devoid of warmth, but not unfriendly.

[andsadofeye]

"Calliope's clever, aren't you, sweetheart?" said John, collecting himself with another kiss for the top of Calliope's head before he looked up. "We've been reading Lord of the Rings at bedtime, but we're hoping for something with pictures today. Something with..."

"Puppies!" said Calliope, bearing her little teeth and growling at the new comer.

[historyisme]

Never let it be said that Adam could not contain his distaste. His time in the Company care would have been far more unpleasant had he been unable to conceal his irritation at many of Elle's antics.

Which wasn't to say his reaction was particularly thrilled. It was...merely politely humoring.

"Puppies?" He shrugged. "Well, I suppose there's quite a bit of those to be found."

[andsadofeye]

After so many long years of practice, John could tell when he was being humoured, but his expression doesn't change. He just shifted Calliope in his arms.

"We'll find something before your mama comes back, won't we, Calliope?"

[neveraffordme]

Her attack of the whatever-it-is might almost seem to be clearing up, but Alex is still hanging around close to home; the box has been reasonably obliging to the tune of several oversized sweatshirts, and she's wearing what she's positive is the biggest and most nondescript of them when she wanders down to the rec room in search of further reading material.

And, of course, it's not as if her timing's ever been good, certainly not around here.

She freezes in the doorway, unconsciously hugging herself, watching.

[andsadofeye]

For a little while, John was so wrapped up in Calliope that he didn't notice Alex. Calliope was rhythmically pulling books from the shelf and John was just as rhythmically putting them back and then he looked up and saw Alex, and, reflexively, he smiled.

He missed her. He missed her because, fuck, he'd liked being around her in the first place.

"Hi, Alex." He took Calliope's little hand in his and helped her wave to Alex.

[neveraffordme]

"Hello."

She grins tiredly and waves back at the little girl; steadily avoiding John's eyes, steadily avoiding everything but the fact of the child's existence, plain and simple and without associations to be drawn.

She's nowhere near in any condition for this.

"I see you've got company."

[andsadofeye]

John wasn't oblivious to the way she still wouldn't look at him. All of this had been easier before, when he'd just been able to walk awy. He'd enjoyed being John Amsterdam, but that didn't mean he wouldn't have moved on, wouldn't have learned to be someone else.

He was learning to do something else now.

"Yeah. Calliope's just watching me for an hour, aren't you, sweetheart?" Calliope beared her teeth and growled at Alex. John shook his head.

"That's how she's greeting strangers this week. Don't worry. She's a puppy."