IT'S A BABY-BONANZA!

[paradisamods]

Good morning, residents! Did you sleep well? You're going to need all the energy you can muster because congratulations: You're parents! Again! The Paradisa Stork has paid some very lucky residents a visit last night, and even moved them to a more kid-friendly environment.

Some of you may already recognize your little bundle of joy and--my, how they've grown! Others will have to get acquainted with their little rugrats. You may not know them, but they certainly know you. By they way? They're bored. And hungry! And they want all the attention you could possibly give them.

It's going to be a long week.

(ooc: Use this as a catch-all post! This will be the only mass post for the Sunny Skies Retreat, so you may use it for any day that you'd like. Feel free to make your own posts and/or sections whenever you'd like!

SECTIONS: BEDROOMS | PLAY ROOM | PETTING ZOO | POOL | GARDENS | THE CASTLE)

Comments

[encryptedlock]

You're more than welcome to stay here. I know you need the sleep.

[He rubs the back of his neck.]

Do you think maybe having one of the kids next to you would help keep you calm?

[youfallback]

I don't know, York. I don't want to risk it. [Because the only thing more horrifying than waking up in a room with your screaming mother is being less than a foot from her, she expects.]

[encryptedlock]

Do you think--

[He pauses and grimaces. She'd already said no to the sleeping pills.]

I don't know, maybe a little alcohol or something? To keep to relaxed, but not enough to keep you insensible. A hot bath?

[youfallback]

[Carolina considers that wih a frown. She doesn't want to be intoxicated either. The hot bath could help but she'd already showered.]

I'm not putting alcohol in me, York.

[encryptedlock]

[It's not like they have to pay a water bill, though.]

All right. But--I don't know, is there anything that would make you feel comfortable at all? I already said I'd take the couch.

[youfallback]

Doesn't matter where I fall asleep. [She takes a seat on the couch, her expression dismal.]

[encryptedlock]

[He bites his lip and nods again.] Can I at least get you some chamomile tea or anything? I mean, it's still pretty early. You want to take a walk outside? Watch another kids' show?

[Maybe he's grasping at straws here, but he really does want her to be able to sleep.]

[youfallback]

[Carolina considers her options carefully. What she doesn't want to do is hang out with York much. Wha she really doesn't want to do, though, is wake up the kids wih screaming.] I'll try all of them.

[encryptedlock]

[That at least gets a little bit of a smile.]

How about you take a walk by yourself and I'll brew up the tea?

[That way she won't have to interact with him more than strictly necessary.]

Meet back here in an hour?

[youfallback]

[Carolina nods with a small smile. He seems to understand the predicament and be accepting of it. She gets up and nods again.] An hour.

[And heads out for the hour walk.]

[encryptedlock]

[He'll take the time to go for a quick swim, shower up, and then wheedle a pot of chamomile tea and some honey out of the kitchen without having room service come up and disturb the kids. Exactly an hour later he'll have it over at the small desk and be changed into some old sweats and a tshirt for pajamas.]

[youfallback]

[Carolina's also back at an hour sharp, feeling a bit tired from the day and the walk and the chance to unwind. She enters quietly and nods at him before going to the desk for the tea.]

[encryptedlock]

[He seems to relax a bit when she re-enters the room and takes a sip out of his own cup of tea.]

They're really something else, aren't they?

[He nods over at the kids to show who he's talking about, if there were really any doubt.]

[youfallback]

[Carolina pours herself a cup of tea and glances over at the kids when he mentions them.]

They're very good kids. [The topic of family makes her feel a little sore though. If she'd had this, it wasn't for long.]

[encryptedlock]

Double handful, having both of them, though. [He pauses.] They really like having you there.

[The unspoken part being that if she didn't want to help with them, he wouldn't blame her.]

[youfallback]

[Carolina looks over a them, her expression much sadder. Like South, she feels like the kids are the only things she really has at his point.]

They're my kids. [Which should say enough on its own.]

[encryptedlock]

[What he wants to say in return is "our kids" but York's pretty sure he knows how that one would end. At least she isn't taking out her anger on the kids, though.]

Pretty sure Laura knows we'e not talking to each other, even if Jack doesn't.

[youfallback]

I know. [She looks over at the kids, her gaze concerned. The last thing she wants is to harm them in any way while they're here. It's enough to call a temporary truce wih York, but part of her can't help but wonder if he'll take advantage of it.]

I'll go along this week, but you're not to touch me. Should be subtler than what's going on right now. No asking needling questions and I won't get mad.

[encryptedlock]

[York's shoulders seem to slump a little, though he's trying not to be tense by force of will alone. He was already not touching her, so that part won't be hard. Well, okay, it won't be easy, but he can always just lavish hugs on the kids instead. They're actually pretty good proxies for that kind of thing.]

No insulting me, then, and I won't press any questions.

[It's not that he wants to make her mad, necessarily, but that is the only kind of reaction he can get out of her--and he is worried.]

[youfallback]

[She doesn't really mean to insult him, but part of her understands that calling him a liar and a traitor who didn't deserve her trust was considered a grave insult to him. Not everyone felt the same in life, but no one was York.

Nodding she pauses to take a sip of her tea before answering, trying to calm her nerves at the threat of nightmares that came with the hour.] I can do that.

[encryptedlock]

[Anyone who isn't insulted by that kind of behavior has a lot less empathy than York, that's for sure.]

Then I can do the rest of it. And, well, if there's anything else--just let me know, okay? Communication is important.

[youfallback]

[Carolina hesitates for a moment before nodding. She doesn't plan to tell him anything, but she can at least so this much.] If I have a nightmare, take care of the kids first. I'll be alright.

[And she takes another sip of tea, somehow feeling more agitated with every sip. She doesn't want to sleep, doesn't want to feel Maine lift her by her neck again, tear her AIs from her head again, throw her over the cliff again.]

[encryptedlock]

Well, I can't really do anything for you without violating the no touching rule, can I? [He grins a little, trying to inject some humor into the situation.] I'll make sure they're fine. Even if we have to turn on an episode of Disney Fairies in the middle of the night to get them back to sleep.

[youfallback]

[She doesn't smile at the bit of humor, her expression just as somber and borderline nervous as it has been. Still, she nods, her stomach twisting at the thought of her kids having to go through that, of listening to their mother scream. She'd seen enough grief from her father, even if sans screaming, to know that it messed up the children afterwords.

A shudder runs down her spine and she presses a hand to her forehead. She doesn't want to do this, she doesn't want to sleep, she doesn't want to inflict the same kind of damage on her children that she was starting to see had been done to her for years. If she has even one nightmare, she'll have to consider something else.

But she also doesn't want to talk about it. She wants to be able to hold it all up inside, so no one will ever doubt her abilities.]

[encryptedlock]

[Holding it all inside is doing the opposite of helping, though. Not that York expects to be able to convince her of that. After all, the only reason he'd doubt her abilities is when she pushes herself too hard and her body can't keep up. Like she has been these past few weeks.

Abruptly, he stands up.]

Finish the tea. I'll go out for a while so you can try to get to sleep while I'm not here.

[Since he's obviously not helping.]