sandcastle gathering for parents and children

[natureofsecrets]

Last time had been a disaster, but hey, lightning doesn't strike twice.

Alright, lightning strikes twice, but psychopaths in flying metal suits generally don't, and there had been that girl, sweet little Trisha who still talked about her family's vacation spot like she was going to visit it this summer, who had built sandcastles with her father.

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[endlessdel]

Delirium was having a blast. Having practically abducted the twins for the day, Del had pushed them out to the beach in the ice cream cart where she could be insane and teach the children. Without the watchful eye of their more saner parent. Well, in theory anyway. That was unless Asher decided to show up on their little adventure to the beach. And then if he did, Del would bury him in the sand and make love to his hair. Or just kiss him either way.

"toDay babies, wE aRe nOT buiLding A cASTLE oUT OF sAND. wE ARe buiLDing a ReaLM, A rEALM of DrEAMS and dESirES AND DespAiRS AND DeLights And-" Delirium paused mid speech, arms out wide as she flailed for Daniel who was trying to eat the sand. "-bAD! yUCky! tASTES Like the sea, thE CruEL Sea oBEdiaNT TO thE cruEL MoON WHO kEEPs us Away fROM oUR soL. wHat Was i sAYing? i ForgoT. Let's mAKE A PRetty castLE for Dear uNCLE Stick in the BUtt."

Delirium picked Daniel up and placed him on her lap as she "helped" the twins build a sandcastle.

[little_moons]

The girls go charging ahead in their sunhats and bare feet, making a giggling beeline for the toys scattered out across the sand, totally disregarding everyone else around.

Drawing in a deep breath and rolling my eyes up toward the sky, I hesitate for just a moment before I follow along behind. There are other kids already gathered around, too, along with people that I recognize as their parents, so the one guy I don't know on sight, the guy in the sling digging the mote, seems totally out of place.

"Need some help?"

[natureofsecrets]

"Need is a strong word," he says, because it feels like the guy is stealing his line. "But sure, thanks," he holds out his shovel, pretty sure he'll be hard pressed to find a free one now that the kids are arriving, but he's still got a hand to dig with.

"How old are your girls," he asks, thinking the guy looks young to be a father, though they come in all shapes and sizes and he probably isn't even related to the kids.

[little_moons]

"Uh, two and a half," I say, taking the shovel from him and dropping into a crouch at his side.

"They're not really mine. I'm just the evil stepmother," I say with a smirk, anticipating the comments about how I don't really look like a father, least of all theirs, 'cause I've heard 'em all enough.

[natureofsecrets]

"Well, be careful," Morgan cautions, smirking in turn as he scoops out another handful of wet sand, "I don't know if the magic island comes with fairy godmothers, but evil stepmothers usually end up with the short end of the stick."

[withoutasea]

Bruises fade and bones heal and she has been meaning to thank him. With Ygraine playing contentedly in the sand, Jenny drops down into a crouch and watches him work, her black hair tumbled on one side of her face.

"Do you require an apprentice, Derek Morgan?"

[natureofsecrets]

"For once, I'll have to say yes," he answers, smiling over at her. "Though digging in the sand is a lot easier than getting on a shirt or taking a shower, right now." It won't be much longer, though--he's been good about resting up and not stressing the break.

It helps that there's nobody to chase through subway tunnels around here.

"How are you two doing," he has to ask, knowing there's more to worry about than broken bones or bruises.

[withoutasea]

If she'd been another woman, Jenny might have had a joke for that but, as it is, she smiles and watches Ygraine playing in the sand. The bruises on her own face have faded. The break is healing though, sometimes, Robbine touches her in such a way that reminds her.

"She clings a little," she says, watching the little girl. "But the children forget fast."

[natureofsecrets]

"When they forget at all," he adds, but he's smiling--glad Ygraine is doing all right. "And what about you," he prompts again, because Jenny isn't a child playing in the sand. "You clinging back?"

[ihearttomgordon]

Trisha had her game face on. The truth was that she'd faced scarier things than a man in a metal suit, at least that's what she told herself. She rationalized, as far as a ten-year-old girl could rationalize, that it had been over so quickly that she almost hadn't had the time to be scared.

And she wasn't going to be scared this time. She wouldn't let herself be frozen by it.

So here she was. She'd found another bucket somewhere carried in one hand while in the other trailed a leash with a little german shepherd puppy trailing along after her.

Trisha waved to Mr. Morgan, set herself down in the sand, said, "Stay," to the puppy, and started to build alongside the others.