(Untitled)

[ooh_lily]

It's been a difficult week. She's brought one child into the world and lost another, and today's the first day that she's felt good being out of the hut. She doesn't go far, just to the swing seat in the Hamlet, with the loose fabric of her skirt blowing around her ankles and her baby, her new baby, cradled against her shoulder.

Here he is,

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[moraldyslexic]

Catching Emmy as she practically ran into his knees, Lennox let out a big, dramatic groan as he lifted her to his hip. "You're getting huge, kid. Time for me to start carrying the other one around, right?" he asked as he neared Lily and Dylan, grinning mostly for Lily's benefit. "I mean, he's way smaller. Way easier to carry."

[emilyiris]

"NO!" bellows Emmy and wraps both arms around her Uncle Jim's neck, holding on tight. She loves her brother but that doesn't mean she's done with being carried yet.

"Mum's got Dill!"

[moraldyslexic]

Lennox's grin grew, because how the hell could it not, and he stopped by Lily, still holding Emmy. "How's everyone holding up over here? I'm about to collapse under Emmy, but she seems pretty okay with that."

Not that he minded. He'd probably still let her hold on tight when she was just as tall as he was.

[ooh_lily]

"We're holding up," says Lily, shifting her weight a little to make room for Jim on the seat with her, keeping an expert hold on Dylan. "New baby's exhausting, you know? But we wouldn' swap him for the world. If you ever want a sleepover wtih Emmy, though, that'd be swell?"

[usethecompany]

Archie made a point of conversely frequently and freely with the other inhabitants of the Hamlet. While he could not, for the most part, call any of the more than an acquaintance, Archie was more than passingly familiar with their names and faces. Even so, it would have been difficult not to notice the state of Mrs. Strombeck, or her changed state now.

Smiling warmly and with Styles trotting along curiously behind him, Archie ventured over to offer his congratulations. "We finally have our new addition to our cozy little community!"

[ooh_lily]

"We do indeed," says Lil, her smile warm, because it's difficult not to react warmly to a man like Archie Kennedy. She shifts her weight a little, keeping Dylan cradled close against her.

"Archie, this is Dylan. Dill."

[usethecompany]

"Dill," he repeated, smiling in amusement and pleasure. "He's a beautiful boy. Looks strong enough, he should be giving you trouble in no time," he remarked playfully.

The puppy, lacking attention paid to it, took to sniffing at the porch, no doubt looking for something to pounce on.

[emilyiris]

Emmy watches the puppy with fascination. She's got a dog of her own, of course, but Gordon is asleep in the shade. She crouches down and holds her hand out to him, wiggling her fingers.

"Hey, Puppy!"

[palmthemoon]

News of babies gets around and on even fleeter feet when it's news of someone dear.

Shadow was grinning as he ambled over to the swing seat with a broad smile.

Not the first time he'd seen little mister new to the world with his momma, but he was still shockingly small. But he spoke to Emmy first.

"How's being a big sister feel so far?"

[emilyiris]

Emmy gives this the thought that it deserves. She sits and watches her Mum and Dylan, with one finger hooked into her mouth, and then she looks up at Shadow. And up again. He's very, very tall.

"Good," she says.

[palmthemoon]

At the answer, Shadow's smile grew even wider and he gave her a nod.

"Good. You'll have to give Karen some tips in a few weeks when Ainsley has her baby. You'll have lots of big sister practice by then."

[emilyiris]

"Yes," says Emmy, beaming all over her little face as she looks up at him. "Dill's little." She reaches out and gently pets the top of Dill's head.

"Awh," she says, softly. "Baby."

[whats_insideyou]

Matthieu toddled ahead, running toward Emmy, then slowing to a stop when he caught sight of the baby in Lily's arms. He approached cautiously, stretching up on tippy-toes and looking at the bundle with wide, curious eyes.

They'd both met Dylan before, when he was scrunched up and red-faced and still covered with bits of goo, but neither of them had stayed very long. His mother hadn't realized how difficult being reminded of his delivery would be.

But she was close behind, offering a smile that was faint and uniquely her own. "Hello," she said, to both mother and children.

[ooh_lily]

"Hello," says Lily and, holding Dylan, it's easy to remember how little Mathieu was when he was handed to her, and how much he's grown since then. She shifts on the couch, making room for Sarah and Mathieu to sit down, keeping Dylan cradled in safe against her.

"Come to hang out?"

[whats_insideyou]

"It looks that way," she said, sitting down next to Lily, gently to keep the bench from lurching.

"How are you feeling?"

[ooh_lily]

"Like I was run over by a truck," says Lily, with a wan smile, stroking one hand against the top of Dill's head. "Which is what I get for doing something as stupid as getting pregnant at my age, right?"

[single_digit]

Eddie made sure that he had an eye on Emmy so that Lily didn't have to; she had her hands full enough already. Eddie did everything he could, but there were some things he was just not physically equipped to do for Dylan. Not that Dylan had entirely figured that out yet.

"Don't go too far," Eddie called out to her, but there was nowhere within the safety of the Hamlet and his sight that he really felt would be too far.

[emilyiris]

"Gonna play, Dad?" asks Emmy, charging back towards him with both arms stretched out like a bird. "Mum's holding Dill!" And Emmy knows that her Mum can't play right now; she's still tired from getting Dill.

[single_digit]

"Sure," said Eddie, with a glance back at Lily to make sure she was all right. She was, of course, but Eddie just couldn't keep his eyes off her. "What are we playing, kiddo?"

[emilyiris]

Emmy's quiet for a moment, searching around in the grass for something before she straightens up with it in her hands. It's a stick. A really big stick.

"Fetch," she says.