(Untitled)

[the_support]

It was nearing the two week mark now, and Ellie was only now starting to feel a little closer to normal than before. Sure, she was fairly certain she was running on empty in terms of sleep, but she'd expected that. How sore she had been, on the other hand, had been a little worse than she could have imagined. It was healing day by day, and that

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[drownondryland]

The pair of them together were so sweet, it would have sickened Meredith in anyone else. It was hard to resent anything in Ellie, though, and as she made her way toward the hut, she found herself smiling anyway. "Hey," she said. "How are you two doing?" She'd come down this way just to check in on them. With the baby to take care of and the walk to consider, she figured it was probably the only way she'd see much of Ellie for a while.

[the_support]

"I'd say pretty good," she said, turning her head towards the voice Even though she knew who it was, she still shaded her eyes with her hand to see Meredith better. "She even let me sleep longer than usual today."

[drownondryland]

"Oh, progress," Meredith laughed, heading over to crouch down next to them. "Madeline, what use is your mom gonna be to you if you don't let her get a little sleep, huh?" Sitting back, she tucked her knees toward her.

[the_support]

"I was prepared for it," she assured with a laugh. It wasn't so bad. She actually was starting to slowly get used to running on her schedule. She had a feeling it'd be a while before she didn't feel like she was constantly fatigued, but it came with the territory. "It's all about sleeping on her schedule. Or trying to, anyway."

[iwhinny4dragons]

Sybil recognized the young doctor only a moment before Young Sam did, and so it was impossible for her to wrangle him, warn him to be gentle and quiet around the new baby, or suggest that perhaps the very new mother would like to be left alone as she already had one very small person making demands of her attention already. Sam was already off running like a shot. Almost five, she thought as she watched him go on coltish but suddenly so capable legs. Almost five years old.

Sam came to a careening halt in front of Ellie, face alight with the sort of excitement that lent itself to very loud voices, then didn't say anything. He seemed to wrestle with something for a moment, hands literally wringing themselves in the fabric of his shorts. Eventually, he said, "You had your baby, Dr. Woodcomb?"

[the_support]

Ellie had been admittedly startled herself, not quite expecting a little boy to suddenly just pop up. She prepared for the noise that would undoubtedly follow someone yelling. He didn't, though, and Madeline fussed a little bit only because of the surprise movement she caught out of the corner of her eye - something she could easily calm her down from.

"That's right," she said in a soft voice, unable to hide her smile when she his expression. "Would you like to meet Madeline, Sam?"

[iwhinny4dragons]

"Yes," Sam said immediately, struggling with the effort of managing his volume, and overcompensating somewhat by almost stage whispering.

"Yes, please." Sybil approached more calmly and quietly and dropped her hands lightly to Sam's shoulders. He flashed his mum a wide smile before turning a slightly shyer one back on Dr. Woodcomb and Madeline.

"Isn't she pretty?" Sybil said, and the little boy nodded.

[the_support]

Ellie shifted her arms in just a way so that Sam could get a better look at her face. Madeline, for her part, looked up at the new face with her wide blue eyes.

"Madeline, this is Sam and his mother, Sybil," she said, introducing them as though she understood what he was saying, glancing up at Sybil to smile at her. "Madeline is almost two whole weeks old now."

[goingtodorking]

WIth her brother nearly here, Karen's fascinated by babies, especially the babies of people that she knows. She stands alittle distance away from Ellie, studying the two of them with one finger hooked into her mouth. She doesn't come any closer, not at first though. She just watches.

Babies are sort of weird.

[the_support]

Ellie noticed Karen a little after she sat down near them. She expected the little girl would come closer soon enough, though it occurred to her, after a minute or two, that maybe she didn't know she could come over.

"Would you like to sit with us, Karen?" she asked, only loud enough for her to hear - yelling around a baby was never a good idea.

[goingtodorking]

Karen seems to think about it for a moment, and then she pull her finger out of her mouth with a soft pop.

"Yes, please," she says, wandering over. "You're supposed to be quiet around babies."

[the_support]

"That's right," Ellie agreed, though Madeline didn't seem as though she'd been disturbed yet. Ellie didn't mind that, that was for sure. When she got fussy, she knew how to use her little lungs. "But talking softly is okay. She likes hearing voices, in fact."

[f4rr3ll]

It wasn't that Matt didn't like kids. He just didn't get them. They didn't make sense, with their babble and their nonsense games and their inability to understand complex logarithms. Okay, maybe that last one was just too high of an expectation, he didn't know. But regardless of his lack of understanding of children, he wanderd over to Ellie to say hello. "Morning," he said, nodding at the pair as he looked up at the birds. Boy, he hoped those birds didn't decide to crap on them. That would be awkward.

[the_support]

Ellie had heard someone approaching, but it was only she the footsteps were close that she looked up. Madeline seemed to shift toward the sound too, the voice unfamiliar to her.

"Good morning, Matt," she said, nodding to a seat next to her. "Would you like to sit? I feel like I haven't seen you for a while."

Matt was mostly Chuck's friend, though she usually saw him when he went over to hang out with him. Being in the Compound for a good month had made bumping into him a little harder.

[f4rr3ll]

"Thanks," Matt said, offering a smile to Ellie, and a little wave to Madeline. He sank down to sit on the ground, legs stretching out in front of him. "I've been kind of hibernating. Like a bear in winter," he added, "only not a bear, and not sleeping." Mostly he was just spending 24/7 with the computer that he'd found after the snow went away, since the island had decided to be nice to him for once. "How've you been?" He paused. "Stupid question, I guess the answer is 'busy' or 'exhausted' or something." Or, at least, he assumed so, what with the baby and all.

[the_support]

"Both, actually, but good too," she said, letting out a quiet laugh. It was a big change from how they were living before. She didn't mind so much. "Madeline is doing well, too. I think she already likes the beach."

[awesome_captain]

Devon was beginning to appreciate the little things - like seeing Ellie and Madeline outside, in daylight, without either of them half asleep and ready to pass out as soon as she was asleep again. They'd expected it all and Devon kind of enjoyed it too, but it was still taking some getting used to.

He set down the duffel bag of laundry he was carrying -- all Madeline's, of course -- and was carefuly not to startle her as he sat down next to them. "How's she liking it out here?"

[the_support]

Ellie had been wondering when Devon would be back. She was admittedly glad it was before she dozed off again. By the time he had walked over, she definitely was alert and interested in everything around her.

"I just introduced her to sand. I don't think she knows what to make of it yet," she said, turning her head and leaning closer to kiss him gently. "I think she might like the birds, though."

[awesome_captain]

"I'll bet she does," Devon said, knowing she was at a point where everything was fascinating, but the same held true for himself and Ellie. He settled an arm around Ellie's waist, bringing his other hand up to stroke Madeline's hair. "Birds are one of the many awesome things you're gonna find out about when you get older, kiddo."

[the_support]

"I told her we'd go see the more colorful birds here soon," she said. There were plenty in the jungle that they could see just walking the pathway. She'd like the parrots, she thought. To Madeline, she said, "Do you want to go to Daddy, honey? I bet you do."