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[neptune_sleuth]

By the time the weekend rolled around, Sam was quiet and moody at best, inconsolable at worst, and Veronica Mars didn't know what to do. It wasn't something she liked to admit often (or ever), but there was no pretending now that she knew what she was supposed to do or say when Sam demanded her parents. She'd tried to explain, but it just tied her

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[coffee_sir]

Banon was, as per usual, yards ahead of Ianto, immensely invested in getting Rembrandt into a good tussle and playing with her. Ianto followed at his own pace, with no rush but now sure of his destination. He didn't have to know the Halperts well to realize they had gone, just their habits and the general dispositions of the people who knew them. After three and a half years, Jim at the very least a constant community presence in all that time, Ianto could recognize an absence in the fabric of the island. He did not feel it keenly, but he noticed it.

His stomach flipped and flopped, his feelings conflicted on the fate of Sam just as they had been on the little girl when he first met her. His issues, personal, not really related to her, but he would have kept a straight face regardless. "Pardon us, barging through," Ianto said, a ready smile on and his tone light, but a certain subtle measure of gentleness involved. "Is this a private beach party or might someone else join?"

[neptune_sleuth]

"I don't know," Veronica said brightly, looking up with a grin. "Sam, what do you think, can we let Ianto and Banon play?"

The girl responded by looking as if she were genuinely considering this. She probably was, though in herself, Veronica knew, it would have been a ploy. "You can play," she informed Ianto, scooting along on chubby knees to wrap her arms around Banon's neck. "We're making castles."

[coffee_sir]

Banon squirmed a bit, but ultimately flopped onto the ground, giving up the struggle and letting the little girl do as she would. Attention was attention.

Ianto knelt down in the sand with them, looking at their castles. "Civil engineer in the making. I like it," he remarked, smirking in Veronica's direction. "How have you been?"

[neptune_sleuth]

"I've been better," Veronica allowed with a wry little smile, one which didn't quite reach her eyes. "But I've also been worse." If nothing else, she had Sam now to keep her focused. There was no possibility of pushing away those close to her when Sam was among them and Sam needed her. It was a relief to see the child so delighted now, petting Banon rather insistently. "I mean, I've got a civil engineer to train and all. Which is tough, since I know nothing about engineering."

[chose]

"Hey," Buffy called as she jogged up the distance from shore. Her sandals hung loosely in one hand, tapping her tight with each quick motion, her footsteps sinking deep into wet sand. "Hi," she said again, this time with a small wave. "You... have a kid." Not the smoothest of greetings, sure, but from what Buffy knew of Veronica, the other blonde struck her as too... well, too much like Buffy herself to consider children. What was it about this place that made people so eager to breed? It's not like the population was shrinking; new people kept showing up each day.

[neptune_sleuth]

"Technically, yes," Veronica said, huffing out a laugh. That wasn't going to get less awkward anytime soon, particularly not around Mathias. "She's sort of... inherited." She could sense Sam watching Buffy closely, quiet, like she hadn't yet decided what to do with this newcomer. With all that had happened lately, it made Veronica want to reach out and hold her and, she thought, maybe it wasn't all that technical. "Sam, this is Buffy. Buffy, Sam Halpert."

[chose]

The only things inherited around here were those left behind, the island having seen fit to snatch away their owners. Or - Buffy now realized, biting her lip - their parents. Whoever they were, they were gone now, and they had been close enough to trust Veronica with their child. Trust Buffy to come along and rub salt in the wound. "Oh god, I'm sorry, my mouth has this habit of speaking before my brain thinks. It's a bad, bad habit."

[neptune_sleuth]

"Oh, no, no," Veronica said, shaking her head. Rembrandt slipped away from Sam to come over to Buffy, the little girl grabbing for his tail as he moved from her. "No, it's fine. It's fine. You can't know until I tell you, right? And believe me, I have that habit in spades. Besides with this place, for all you know, she could've been my daughter from the future who just appeared out of nowhere." After it came out of her mouth, she made a face, mostly because it struck her that this was, in fact, wholly possible.

[crazyspacegirl]

Jim had been there for her through the loss of so many other people that River hadn't ever really considered the fact that he could leave her, too. Anyone could; she had known that, but never really believed until the day Jim and Pam had both vanished and left Samantha behind along with all the others who still needed them.

River had spent the past few days in sad sort of daze, clinging to everyone she loved who was still around to allow it. Sam and Veronica were very high on this list, and she (and Zoe, who River could barely force herself to put down even for a nap) spent a lot of time hunting them down to make sure they were okay, and still there.

"Ni hao," she said, almost as if anything was normal, and sat in the sand with Zoe in her lap. The baby leaned forward to grab handfuls of sand, and Simon Chicago joined Rembrandt in canine exploration.

[neptune_sleuth]

"Ni hao," Veronica said, then looked over to Sam, reaching out to ruffle her hair. They'd have to do bathtime later, get the girl cleaned up after all her playing, sand clinging to her damp, chubby legs after running along the shoreline. "Sammy, say hello."

"Ni ow," Sam answered promptly, clambering resolutely away from Rembrandt to Zoe's side, singsonging the younger girl's name over and over, and Veronica offered them all a quick, tight smile. Little though she liked being fussed over, especially in these circumstances, she was grateful for River's presence, grateful she still had her at all. "She'll get it eventually. What are you guys up to?"

[crazyspacegirl]

"It's close enough that I know what she means. I think she's already got it." River touched one of Samantha's curls very lightly, just checking that she really was still there. As much as it hurt to lose Jim and Pam, River wasn't sure she could stand losing the little girl she'd loved even longer than her own as well.

"We thought sandcastles would be nice," she answered. In fact, she hadn't thought that until she had seen the activity in progress, but it was easier than the truth of the matter, which was that she couldn't quite handle not knowing where her friends and family were at all times.

Zoe responded to Samantha with a forceful "Da!" and a grab at her hands.

"I'm glad she picked such a multi-purpose word for her first," River commented. At least Zoe was too little to be really sad about losing anyone yet.

[neptune_sleuth]

"It's like the new dude," Veronica said with a small, soft laugh. She could play at good cheer for the kids' sake, but it took effort. Knowing it would get easier in time didn't make it any easier now. It helped, though, seeing the way Sam lit up playing with Zoe, listening to her giggles. Eventually, they would both be okay. "It just means everything. Like, totally, da."

"Say ni ow, Zoe," Sam instructed, reaching for her tinier hands in return. "Ni ow!"

"Look at that, she's a teacher already."

[dr_robchase]

Chase had seen Veronica with Nate and so he knew that she was good with kids. He still wasn't sure why it surprised him slightly to see her with another, but maybe it was just that old habits die hard. With Nate in his arms -- fussing and babbling about sea creatures -- he approached. "Arts and crafts time?"

[neptune_sleuth]

"Uh huh," Veronica said, smiling up and holding out a hand in their direction. "Coloring after this, right, Sammy? Hey there, Nate. How's it going, boys?" Sam was too busy wrapping her arms around Rembrandt's neck to spare more than a brief chirp of agreement for the next suggested activity. She'd always liked art; Veronica just worried she'd want to show her drawings to her parents, too. She always did.

[dr_robchase]

Chase shifted Nate in his arms, grasping by the waist and listening to the pleased giggle before setting him down to go inspect what was going on. "You babysitting today? I would've dropped Nate on you," he joked mildly. "Not that I really let him out of my sight since his other father was a profanity-happy one-armed-man for a while, but still."

[neptune_sleuth]

Something shifted in Veronica's expression - broke, almost - as she realized Chase didn't know. "Not babysitting," she said, her smile turning grim before vanishing altogether. "I guess you could call it adopting. Chase, the Halperts are gone." She could feel Sam watching her, attention torn away from the other child at the sound of the name she knew to be her own.

[plntfood]

Mathias has considered giving her space, waiting until she's ready, but in a situation like this, isn't sure if ready ever really comes and he doesn't want to seem as if he's pulling away. Not at a time like this. With his towel slung over one shoulder and his flippers dangling from his fingers, he walks over to where Veronica and Sam are building sandcastles and drops the fingers of his free hand onto Veronica's shoulders.

"How are you doing?" he asks quietly, not knowing the right words for this situation.

[neptune_sleuth]

The touch serves the double purpose of bringing comfort and causing confusion. It's easy to stay calm and measured for Sam's sake, to be cheerful even if she must be, going on industriously for the girl's sake, so long as she isn't herself. His hand on her shoulder pulls Veronica resolutely back to herself as she looks up at him.

"She wants to show Pam the castle," she says, some note of brightness still in her tone, brittle as she reaches to lay her hand on his. "I'm okay."

[plntfood]

"I don't blame her. It's a very good castle," he says for Sam's sake, offering her a smile that feels as false as he suspects it looks. For so long Mathias has been so good at hiding things, but this hurts. He doesn't know the girl's parents, has never met them at all, but it hurts all the same, just the knowledge that this happens.

Sitting beside Veronica, he cups the side of her face and pulls her toward him gently, pressing a kiss to her hair. "If you need me to do anything..." He leaves the offer open ended, because he's not sure what she might need, but he wants her to know he'll do it. Whatever it is.

[neptune_sleuth]

Her hands come to rest on his shoulders and she stays there a moment, eyes closed, taking in the closeness of him, the welcome reminder of his presence, solidly reassuring. It's short-lived, though. She has to pull back and look at the girl, as much to keep from giving in to the urge just to stay there and let go as to keep an eye on her. "Just be here," she says, reaching for his hand. "That's enough."