How Green Becomes Wood

"I'm a man of multitudes," He replied with a bright grin, "What else am I supposed to sitting on my porch? I don't know if I've got a favourite... Not Farewell Summer, that's for sure," He laughed, even though nobody who hadn't read the book would understand the implication, "I guess The Martian Chronicles, probably."

Dark chuckled grimly, lowering his head, "Daizi has not told you much about me, has she?"
 
"Then perhaps I shall give it a try when I have the time," Ciara told Cooger.

Sally glanced at Dark as she lined up the cups for him. "If you are referring to your insomnia, no, she did not mention that, but it is not a difficult thing to figure out. Insomnia mixed with a brand-new baby is not a pairing, but it cannot be helped. However, adding a stimulant that will aid in robbing you of whatever rest you can get can be helped." She smiled at Dark. "I shan't try to give you any advice beyond that. I am sure you get enough of it from anyone else you might mention it to."
 
Dark, briefly, stood dead silent and still, with his head lowered, then he inhaled and began pouring the coffee into the cups, "She let me sleep for five hours this morning, and if this evening I cannot sleep naturally irrelevant to my daughter, I have to function regardless, yes?" He exhaled, fetching an ornate tray and setting the filled cups on them, "for better or worse, I have years of experience with operating sleepless."
 
"That is no excuse to deliberately impede yourself," Sally pointed out, a bit of sharpness in her tone. "You need sleep every bit as much as Daizi does. She does not begrudge you your sleep, so why do you? Why is it you look guilty whenever you do anything for yourself that is not in some way tied to Ivy?"
 
He took a dish of sugar cubes with tongs and added it to the tray, carefully and methodically going through the steps of locking himself up, "I cannot answer why I look a certain way. And I do not whip myself nearly as often as is believed, and I do not intentionally force myself to stay awake. Really, I have not changed so much since October, now I am just attracting more attention than I had been." He lifted took the electric kettle and prepared tea for his wife, "and I am not singularly focused, if I was, I would not be making coffee for my guests and allowing my guest to watch her, and I still keep my hobbies which do not require trudging through the snow to reach." He set Daizi's cup on the tray and then lifted it.
 
Sally sighed in defeat. "Dark, darling, I know I am still a stranger, but please hear this one thing: it is not a bad thing to do things for yourself. You say you do, but you look like a sasquatch in need of a nap, something that never would have happened before October. Taking care of yourself is taking care of Daizi and Ivy. Just remember that." She turned and walked out of the kitchen, leading the way. "Coffee and tea has arrived!"
 
He forced himself into the rough approximation of a smile, "She was born the week I was supposed to get my haircut, that is all. There was a period of time where my hair reached below my shoulders, so growing out my hair a little does not bother me as much as you might expect. Thank you for your care." As soon as her back was turned, his expression returned to its neutral state and he squeezed his eyes shut for a moment before following her.

"I brought sugar cubes if you need it," He said to the group, setting the tray down and putting one cube, using the tongs, in a cup which he then handed to Cooger, "I am sorry to say we do not have creamer, since neither of us take it, but he have milk."

"Cow's, I hope," Cooger commented with a wry smile.
 
"What other kind would it be?" Alec asked and then regretted his question. "Never mind. That's gross."

"Thank you for the coffee," Jack said, accepting a cup. "It'll make getting home a lot easier. Not that I'm super tired, but it's a good little pep."

Ciara glanced at her watch. "I should be going. It has been a lovely evening."

Xander carefully handed Daizi her cup of tea. "If you do that, you'll start a stampede for the door."
 
"Goat," Cooger responded quickly, "they're more common in Iraq than cows are."

"You are welcome," Dark said politely, but didn't sit, "I can walk you to your car, Ciara, if you are ready to leave. This is normally a safe neighborhood, but you never know, and I have found unsavory individuals normally avoid engaging with me." It did occur to him that Ciara was FBI, and therefore probably more than capable of protecting herself, but at the same time, it was better to avoid conflict than defend yourselves from it.

"What do you mean a stampede for the door?" Daizi asked, "the rest of us have to drink the tea and coffee, we can't all rush out together."
 
Ciara stood and brushed her skirt briefly to get out the wrinkles. "Yes, thank you, Mr. Dark. I will accept your offer. Daizi, it has been a wonderful evening. Thank you for having me over. Mr. And Mrs. Hollis, it was wonderful to meet you."

Sally smiled and stood to shake her hand. "It was nice to meet you, as well. We should get together sometime and talk sometime, meet for coffee or tea."

"That would be nice," Ciara agreed, accepting the handshake before turning toward the door. She was still a little uncertain about the shoes at the front of the door, but she managed to get hers on without too much awkwardness.
 
"Thank you so much for coming, Ciara," Daizi said brightly, standing up to say goodbye properly, immensely pleased that it was easy to stand up again, "I'm glad you enjoyed yourself, you're always welcome here. I can text you the name of that yarn store, if you like."

Dark walked swiftly to the front door, put on his shoes, and handed Ciara her coat before putting on his own, although he didn't button his up, "Were you able to park out front or on the street?"
 
"I would like that, yes, thank you," Ciara said to Daizi. She slipped on her coat but did not do hers up, either. She would be taking it off once the car warmed up. "I parked out on the street. I hope that was not a problem."

"Bye, Aunt Ciara! Thanks for coming!" Alec called, waving.

"See you later," Xander said with a wave.
 
"No, it is not a problem," Dark said calmly, opening the door and letting Ciara exit first, "I just wanted to know where I was walking you."

As he walked her to his car, he didn't say much, not being one to push conversation to avoid silence, but when they made it he said in his low way, "Thank you for coming, Ciara. I know the twins appreciate it."
 
Ciara made no effort to encourage conversation either, content with the silence as they crossed the short way to her car. "You are welcome. Thank you for encouraging my participation in their life. I am well aware that I do not deserve any kindness in that regard."
 
He held up one hand, "We cannot live our lives regretting what we might have done, or should have done. Fifteen years is many to miss, but if they live to thirty, and you stay involved, you will have been with them for half their lives. If they see thirty-one, you will have been there for over half." He sighed and looked up at the stars, which seemed so distant, "I was a little younger than them when I lost my whole family. I would not keep them from a relative who wanted to reconnect in good faith, I know what it is like to have no one."
 
Ciara cleared her throat uncomfortably and nodded. "Thank you for that." She stood awkwardly, not sure how to proceed, and ended up opening the car door and ending the moment. "I should be going. I hope you continue to have a good holiday, and I will likely see you again soon."
 
"Merry Christmas, Ciara," he said softly, perceiving he had been too open and making a mental note to withdraw in the future. They were a different sort of quiet. "Drive safely."

He gave a polite nod and waited until she was in her car and had begun to drive away before turning and walking back into his house, thinking as he went about how he would respond if some long-lost, unknown aunt suddenly appeared to him. He really didn't know. But he came back inside, took off his shoes, touched the salt, and hung up his coat before rejoining the rest of them.

"The coffee was great, Dark," Cooger said, when he came back.

"Thank you," He replied, sitting down besides Daizi and distinctly not drinking anything, "I hope I have not missed anything."
 
"Peter was telling us about some of the things that are different between his school in Australia and the one here," Alec told Dark.

"It is a bit different," Peter said with a nod, "but I think I'm getting the hang of things. I still struggle a bit with the fahrenheit and Imperial measuring systems."

"I can't imagine trying to figure out how to use Celcius and Metric," Alec admitted.
 
"It took me a long time to understand Fahrenheit temperatures," Dark confided, putting his arm around Daizi, "but now I think they are a bit more helpful than Celsius for understanding how it actually feels outside."

"You have to learn metric and Celsius," Daizi told Alec, releasing him so she could snuggle with her husband again, "You may leave the country some day, it'll be helpful."
 
"I suppose it might be for the best," Alec sighed mournfully.

Peter laughed. "Look at it this way: when you measure something in Fahrenheit, you're basically asking a person how hot it feels. When you use Celsius, you're asking water how hot it feels."

"What about Kelvin?" Sally asked in amusement.

"That's asking atoms," Peter grinned.
 
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