How Green Becomes Wood

"Yeah, I thought that'd be for the best," She murmured, playing with his hair the way she'd play with Enkidu's ears. When beckoned, Alice cautiously followed Xander inside the room, and she looked around it curiosly. It was decorated differently from hers, which hadn't occured to her as a possibility. She expected different flowers, but she thought it'd be the same besides that. Daizi smiled, after the introduction, shutting her eyes, "Hello, Alice. It's nice to finally meet you. My name's Daizi."

"Hi, Daizi," Alice replied, trying very, very hard not to stare. Xander had mentioned, once or twice, that she was blind, so she guessed that was why she had shut her eyes, but she didn't understand why it was necessary, but knew all the same that she shouldn't ask why. Instead, she just silently wondered if maybe Mrs. Daizi didn't have eyes, "I've met your foster father before. I do have a card, but, um, I guess Ivy can't read it, and..." Oh no, she was in too deep. Was it rude to comment on how the blind woman couldn't read the card either? "But I used raised stickers on some parts."
 
"I can read it to Ivy," Alec offered. "And I love raised stickers! That was really kind of you to make a card. You didn't need to do that." He paused and frowned. "Why didn't I think of that? It's perfect."

Xander snickered. "You snooze, you loose, man. Now she's only going to have this one card to treasure for the rest of her life."

Alec made a face at Xander and indicated the small table near Ivy's crib. "Do you want to leave it there? Or you can give it to one of us and we'll read it now or later. Your call."
 
"It is really sweet of you. We don't really get many cards, so it is very special." Daizi told Alice warmly, making her shyly look down at her shoes.

"It's really not all that clever or nothing. Our room is full of them." Cautiously, Alice went over to the cot and peered down into it, careful to keep her distance and very much expecting to be snapped at, "Ivy is tinier than Dylan and Jaxson. But she's got a lot more hair." She looked up, a bit nervous, "I guess I can read the card. Since I wrote it. Um. It just says, Dear Ivy. I hope you get strong enough to leave the hospital soon. You won't remember it, but it smells really weird and it's really boring. You have a really cool name, not all babies are so lucky. Sincerely, Alice. P.S. Sometimes Xander says stupid things, but he is trying to help, so don't get mad at him too quick."
 
Alec put a hand over his mouth to stifle his sudden fit of giggles. Xander scowled at him, but he said, "What? She's right. That's a sweet and lovely card. She's a smart kid."

Xander rolled his eyes. "I am so picked on," he grumbled.

Alec patted his shoulder. "I know. You are utterly tortured, aren't you? It's terrible. But back to the subject at hand, I think Ivy likes her card."
 
Alice couldn't help but laugh, "I made it before you promised to start being nice to people! But it's still good to know." She peered back into the cot where Ivy was sleeping, "How can you tell she likes it? She's asleep."

"Oh, I think she knows. Babies have a way about that sort of thing," Daizi said from the bed, one hand still on Dark's head. She was trying not to interject too much, because she enjoyed this glimpse into how her boys might be with her daughter, when she was more grown, "It is a very sweet card, Alice. Thank you. We'll have to put it in her memory box."
 
"Eventually, shell read it and think about how kind it was of this person to make her a card," Alec said with a smile. "Then she'll smile and quietly thank that person even if she never meets them."

"How very romantic," Xander said dryly. In the general use of the term, not the way its normally used now."

"I think you mean kind or sweet," Alec supplied.
 
Alice shifted, "It's not really a big deal. I mean, it's okay. Dylan and Jaxson get to go home, and, you know, Ivy has more problems than they did, so she has to stay longer, and that sucks." She looked down into a crib again, "So you don't gotta tell me it's so sweet or anything, because I just think it's normal and all." She glanced at Daizi and Dark, "He's less scary when he's sleeping. Kinda like a hibernating bear."
 
"Then someone did right by you because no everyone thinks doing something that is normal and the right thing to do," Alec admitted. "I hope you never lose that."

"You sound so old when you say stuff like that," Xander grumbled.

"Hmm, I must be an old soul, then. And you're right, Alice, he absolutely is a hibernating bear. Actually, he's pretty much bear-like in general. He looks scary but will leave you alone unless he thinks you're a threat to what's his," Alec chuckled.
 
Daizi chuckled, finally moving her hand from Dark's head to his shoulder, "He is like a bear, I guess. I always think of him more like a hawk. And he's going to be very embarrassed when he wakes up and learns we've been talking about him." She paused in the loving way that would be familiar to Xander and Alec, and Alice looked at Xander with the confused, sort-of grossed out look kids got when adults were being sweet with each other. But considering now Dark wasn't just her husband, but the man who had been keeping her sane throughout her having to live in a hospital and the devoted father of their newborn, she couldn't help but have even more moments where she felt very connected to, and very much in love with, him. When she assembled her thoughts into something expressible, she said, "But I'd rather he be embarrassed and rested than the reverse."

"...Yeah." Alice nodded, finding it strange and also sort of sad. Even when her parents were married, she couldn't imagine her dad sleeping with his head on her mom's lap like that, "Congratulations on having the baby." She looked at Xander again, "Um, I guess I should probably go back to my room. I don't know if my dad has noticed I'm not there, but if he has, I don't want him to worry."
 
Xander rolled his eyes at Daizi's happy, loving pause, and Alec just looked on innocently with a little smile.

"Alright, thanks for dropping by, Wonderland," Xander said. "Good luck for the rest of your life, yeah? Maybe we'll meet again someday."
 
"Yeah. Maybe. Good luck to you too." She hesitated, then, because for the first time in her life she knew she was saying goodbye to a person for the last time, or at least, probably for the last time. Sure, there were people she said goodbye to not knowing it would be the last time, but this was the first time she knew, and she wasn't sure exactly how to cope with it. She slowly shuffled towards the door and mumbled, "Goodbye, I guess."
 
Xander actually felt a squirm of sadness that surprised him. It was just some random kid he'd seen in the hallway of a hospital. It was weird to feel like that toward her, wasn't it? But he was going to miss her in a weird way. He looked at her and made himself smile, not an expression he was naturally inclined toward. "Chin up, Wonderland. Maybe you'll meet another knight with a dented pot helmet someday, and then you can steer them toward the right path."
 
"Maybe." She said quietly, looking down at her shoes. Then she forced herself to look up and smiled at him, even though it was sad for her, "Yeah, maybe. But I'll still miss you." She looked at Ivy again, "You don't gotta miss me though. 'Cause you've got her, and you only gotta wait ten years for her to be like me."
 
Xander snorted and shook his head. "Ain't nobody ever gonna be like you, Wonderland. No one can ever replace you. Not really. But, uh, I'm glad you'll miss me." He shoved his hands in his pockets and shrugged awkwardly. "It was cool hanging out. But you'd better get back before they send out a search party for you."
 
She smiled a little bit, ducking her head, "I dunno. I'm not all that special, really. But I guess you're right. Bye, Xander. It was cool hanging out." She looked at Alec and waved, "Bye, Alec. Bye, Mrs. Daizi. Bye, Ivy. Say goodbye to your foster-dad for me, okay? I hope you all get to go home soon."

She waved, and then forced herself to walk away, going back into her own hospital room, where Emmett was very confused and annoyed by how sad his daughter was acting.
 
Xander watched her go, scowling to himself. It felt strange, actually missing someone he barely knew. He figured eventually he'd forget all about her, but for now... for now he was actually kind of... sad. He'd never missed someone like that before. There was only one person he had ever actually missed. Well, one and a half.

Alec stood next to him and leaned into his shoulder gently. He didn't say anything, just stood there. There if he wanted something. Xander said nothing, but he leaned back, appreciating the support.
 
When Alice walked out, Daizi felt the change in the room's energy, and like Alec, she was quiet to give Xander the space he needed to process. And like Dark had when he had seen the two together, she felt an internal sense of calm that even if Xander was kind of weird with the baby now, when she got a bit older and was talking and showing personality, he'd be really good with her. She couldn't wait for that time. But for the moment, she held her tongue.

But of course, not everyone understood little social cues like that, and about ten minutes later, at most, Ivy began to cry. With a sigh, Daizi gently shook Dark awake so she could get up to get the baby.
 
"If you need to," Daizi said, settled back down, "I don't mind. Dark says you don't really... see anything, so... I'm not personally bothered by having people in the room, but your comfort matters too."

Dark groaned slightly as he forced himself awake. He pushed himself up into a sitting position and yawned, only realizing for the first time he had managed to get some sleep.

"Good morning Goose," Daizi said, "Did you sleep well?"
 
Xander mumbled a few things and stood in the corner studying the wall. He just wanted everyone to be comfortable. Including himself.

Alec gently lofted Ivy with a few murmurs of assurance. He brought her over to Daizi. "Here's your mother! Here she is. Is that better?"
 
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