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

[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.]

[youfallback]

I'm not going to sleep, York.

[Him leaving isn't going to necessarily help, either. She just doesn't want to do it at all, plain and simple.]

[encryptedlock]

[York mutters something under his breath about stubbornness and rubs his temples, but since he's already up he makes his way back to the bed.]

Fine. Have it your way. Just don't hold me responsible when you collapse.

[youfallback]

There's nothing else I can do right now. I tried alternatives. [Carolina's tempted to tell him to go fuck himself, but the kids are still here, even if they are asleep. She continues to sip her tea on the couch and settles in for a long night of not sleeping. Or so she hopes, but she knows that she's tired, that she wants to just close her eyes, even if it's only for a couple hours.] If you're going to talk to me like that when I try, then I'm not going to take it. I'll take the kids and go.

[encryptedlock]

You sure didn't try all of them, based on what we talked about earlier.

[But he doesn't seem to take her threat seriously, burying himself in the covers.]

But what are you complaining about? I'm letting you have it your way.

[youfallback]

You're being an asshole. [She glares at him, setting her cup of tea down .] Sedation isn't an option.

[She is getting up, though, heading for the kids' bed. Of course, she won't wake them unless absolutely necessary, but she wants to make sure that he does take the threat seriously.]

[encryptedlock]

You're being a bitch. It's an option you refuse to take because you won't trust anybody, even when they're only trying to help.

[He watches her progress and tries very hard not to roll his eyes, which actually succeeds. The castle won't let anybody's kids be taken away from them. He's seen parents try to get rid of them for five years now.]

[youfallback]

Are you even listening to what you're suggesting? How about you sedate yourself and see how you feel suggesting it afterwords. [She reaches over for Jack, trying to gently lift him without waking him. The boy stirs a little but he presses his face into the side of Carolina's neck in an attempt to get comfortable again.]

[encryptedlock]

I had to after you left.

[He says it without inflection, but it's true. It was either that or drink himself insensible every night, and that made Delta worry about his liver.]

Wasn't a walk in the park, but it was better than nothing.

[youfallback]

[Carolina frowns over at him, unsure if he's lying or not regarding that. She can't imagine why he's need to sedate himself after she disappeared. She's not leaving with Jack or Laura yet, but she's not entirely buying into the idea that yes he had actually sedated himself.]