How Green Becomes Wood

"It's only been a week," She mumbled, resting her shoulder against Alec's, "it feels like longer. And shorter. I can't keep track of time. I want to bring her outside, but they said she's not ready yet." Ivy pulled away, and Daizi calmly recovered herself and gestured to where she knew they had a stack of burping cloths, "Can you hand me one of those? Thank you... I'm glad our decorations don't make noise. It makes it feel more authentic... I don't know what we'll do about Halloween this year."
 
Alec handed her the cloth. "You could go as... the BFG! And Ivy could be, um, I can't remember the little girl's name, but that would be adorable. Or Jack and the beanstock. There are lots of possibilities. Ivy will love it, especially when she's older and can see the pictures."
 
"The B...F...G?" Daizi asked, "I have no idea who that is. But it's not even just the costume--and I don't really think I'm beanstalk shaped right now--but that doesn't seem like a smart idea with someone who will be just about two and a half weeks old, and I don't even know if we'll be home by then. And taking her trick-or-treating seems like a bad idea too, so... I don't know what else is there..." She flipped the cloth over her shoulder and carefully adjusted how she held Ivy before patting her gently on the back, "Did you and Xander ever get to carve the pumpkins you got?"
 
"It's a book by Roald Dahl," Alec told her. "BFG stands for Big Friendly Giant. It's about a girl - Sofie! Her name was Sofie. I remember now. Anyway, she sees a giant wandering around at night, and to keep his secret, the giant kidnaps her, but she's not safe because while her giant is actually quite friendly, the other giants eat humans. There's a whole adventure about stopping the giants from eating people, creating dreams, and something about meeting the queen. I heard they made it into a movie, but I didn't see it. Anyway, you'll totally be home for Halloween, and Ivy might not get to do a bunch, but you can totally dress her up really cute and maybe put her in one of those... sling things that holds her close to your chest while you hand out candy." He smiled and patted Daizi's hand. "Besides, Xander and I are too old to go trick-or-treating, so it'll be nice to have company at home with her being too young." He didn't have the heart to tell her he and Xander had both completely forgotten about the pumpkins. Maybe they'd get a chance to do something before she got home.
 
"That sounds more like Dark than it sounds like me," Daizi chuckled, "we are getting one of those slings. If I had a stroller I wouldn't be able to use a cane, and I don't want to use my daughter like a battering ram. But that could be nice. I really hope we're home by then..." She sighed, rubbing her cheek against Ivy's head, "I want to lay her to sleep in the cradle Dark made her. I want her to be strong enough to wear her clothes."

Out in the hall, a whole host of people rounded the corner, and it was obvious at a glance who they were. Dark was in the front, awkwardly feeling like the leader of a parade, with who was clearly Daizi's father beside him. Even had Xander not known he was on his way, it would have been obvious who he was because despite Daizi's abnormalities, there were clear similarities in their features. His hair was grey, he wore heavy glasses, and he had a mustache. Looking up at Dark, he was saying something in Arabic, while all four aunts where chatting amongst each other.
 
"Xander would love to see you use her as a battering ram," Alec said cheerfully. He rubbed her arm gently. "Don't worry. She'll be strong enough before you know it. Time just goes slow in here."

Xander took one look at the approaching group and stepped into the room. "Family incoming," he said quietly but urgently. "The whole group."

"Oh! Daizi! You need to change your shirt! Shall I get it for you?" Alec asked quickly. "Xander, go stall."

Xander gave Alec a look that said he'd rather jump off a cliff, but he stepped back out of the room and started walking down the hall.
 
"No, just, hold her, will you?" Daizi asked, turning towards Alec, "I don't want to set her down again, I want someone to be holding her. And I have to change in the bathroom, so I need to get up anyway. Thank you, though."

When Dark saw Xander, he had almost a relieved look in his eyes, and he turned towards his in-laws, all of whom were significantly shorter than him, and said something quick before saying, "Xander, this is Daizi's family. This is her father, Saladin," he gestured to a round woman with a dramatic hijab, "this is Amty Zeinab---"

Immediately, this woman pushed back everyone to get to the front. In a very thick accent, before anyone else had a chance to speak, "Yes! The nephew! The one who does not like to be touched, I have heard so much about you, dear."
 
"I can hold her," Alec agreed, carefully taking Ivy. He cradled her close, hoping Daizi would be able to hurry without hurting herself since he was not wearing a shirt that was easy to open. A button up, yes, but with annoyingly small buttons that took time and effort. Thus, he couldn't hold Ivy to his skin.

Xander forced himself not to tense and prickle. Behave. He needed to behave. This was deeply important to Dark and Daizi, especially Daizi. He could not act like a guard dog eyeing a potential threat. He took a deep breath and forced his voice into one of civility. This aunt seemed nice, and she was kind enough not to respect his boundaries. He spoke the proper phrase of greeting in Arabic, saying the words slowly and carefully, but probably with a bad accent to their ears. "It is good to meet you, Amty Zeinab."
 
Dark stared at Xander in momentary surprise, and then tried to act like he wasn't at all shocked, because he hoped it would win him points that their foster son could speak a little Arabic.

All of the family murmured in surprise, except for Zeinab who chirped with glee, "Ah, see, look how respectful he is! See, Saladin, he raised a good son."

"He did not raise him," Daizi's father replied coolly, "it is good to meet you, Xander."

Dark's expression didn't change at this mild dig, "This is Khalaty Neha, Khalaty Amira and Amty Fadia," he pointed them out in a row. Neha was the tallest, Amira seemed closest to Dark and Daizi's age, although she was still older, and Fadia looked extremely serious.

"Do you know what Khalaty and Amty mean?" Saladin asked, not to mock Xander but out of curiosity, "Have you been taught the difference?"
 
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Xander spotted the dig and forced himself not to frown. Nope, not now. Not yet. Yes, he was fully willing, prepared, and expecting to stand up for Dark, but he needed to wait until the right moment. Now he was scrambling in his brain, trying to pick out the memory of the two words. Alec had picked it up a little better than he during their late-night study sessions - mostly by looking up words on free websites - but he was farily certain he had this one correct. "Khalaty is... the paternal aunt," he said slowly, watching the man's face for even the tiniest flicker of expression.
 
"You've got it backwards," Saladin replied, pleased by the effort. Having been warned the boys knew very limited Arabic, Xander was going beyond all expectations, "but that's alright, it is a complicated system. Dark, you've doubted him."

"So it would seem."

Zeinab again stepped forward, waving her hands, "As if nobody ever does anything in secret. Learning a language nobody knows you speak is a great skill," she looked at Xander, putting one hand on her chest, "Jaddi Saladin is just grumpy from the flight. But I want to meet my newest niece."

Inside the hospital room, Daizi stepped out of the bathroom, wearing the second of the two shirts she brought with her into the bathroom. The button-up shirt she brought now felt a bit too indecent to wear around her father, "Does it look okay?" She asked, sitting down on the bed and reaching over for her daughter.
 
"She needs just a minute," Xander said, not sure how to stall sneakily in this case. He was also a bit thrown by his feeling of success that he had - however minor - of impressing Saladin. He shook it off. "Have you all had a chance to wash your hands? There's a station just right there. If you do it now, you can go straight to touching her and not have to worry about it."

Alec gave Daizi a serious look, knowing how important this was. "Yes," he informed her. "It looks perfect." He carefully handed Ivy back to Daizi, breathing a quiet sigh of relief. He was still very nervous about holding her. He gave Daizi a gentle squeeze on the shoulder. "This is going to be a good day, but if you need a break, just let us know, and we'll be the bad people who shoo everyone away for you."
 
"Thank you," Daizi murmured, taking a breath, "It's just been a long time since I was with my family. And this is a big reason to have them together again," She settled back into the little nest she had made in her bed over the week, "I'm more worried about Dark than I am about myself... I keep trying to get my father to be kind to him."

Out in the hall, Fadia crossed her arms, "We had a twelve hour flight, how many more minutes does she need?" Before either Dark or Xander could say a word, both Amira and Neha snapped at her in Arabic.

Zeinab leaned towards Xander, smelling strongly of jasmine perfume, and whispered, "Fadia is grumpy from the plane too, but even if she had a full ten hours of beauty sleep and a deep-tissue massage, she'd still be grumpy. Both Khalaties keep her in her place though, because they're very protective of Daizi, since her mother, bless her, was their family."
 
"Don't worry. I'm sure your father will be too distracted to be able to snipe at him much," Alec assured her. "I'll go let them know that you're ready to receive visitors."

Xander couldn't help a smirk. He liked Zeinab. Aunty Zeinab? Amty? It was going to be hard to remember to say the right thing, but he'd try for something that important. "I can relate. I'm always grumpy, too," he confided.

Alec stepped out of the room and walked up to the group, smiling widely. He gave a little bow and greeted them properly. "It is so good to see you! I hope your trip was uneventful. The person you are here to see is ready for you," He smiled up at Dark. "And very excited."
 
"I bet you have more of a reason to be than she does," Zeinab joked, before commanding the whole group to go wash their hands.

When Alec stepped out, and the family had all washed themselves, Dark made those introductions before ushering the family inside the hospital room. Even though his eyes had been, well, more or less dead after a car ride with his father-in-law, the sight of Daizi sitting in bed, rocking their sleeping child, softned him entirely.

"Spider," he murmured, going over to her and lightly kissing the top of her head, "we have guests. You look lovely."

"Alec did my hair," She replied, taking a moment to be comfortable and grounded in the sweet place she had with her husband before putting on a big smile and greeting her family.

Immediately the twins and Dark were forgotten as the aunts swarmed her (Saladin held back, feeling put-out over the fact he hadn't been given priority over meeting granddaughter, and deciding he wasn't going to fight through a crowd to see her). All of the aunts, even Fadia, who did, in her way, dearly love her niece, greeted Daizi warmly... although Fadia did lightly pinch her arms and cheek.

When they finally parted and gave space for Saladin, he sat on the bed beside his daughter, and looked quietly for a few moments before hugging her, but the only word he said that the twins likely understood was, "mama." Out of all the guests who had come to visit Ivy, he took the least amount of time before taking her from her mother.

He said many things to Daizi, the baby, and their aunts, and none to Dark, but eventually he spoke in English again, knowing the twins were not fluent: "She's very, very small."
 
Alec stood between Dark and Xander, holding onto Xander's hand and resisting the urge to touch or grip Dark's arm. The flurry of people had him a bit disconcerted, especially considering how important these people were. He stood tall, smiling as he watched, but inside, he was quivering. He needed to put on a good front for these people, no matter what! So he smiled and nodded and watched.

Xander gripped Alec's hand, not minding the contact. Actually, he was glad of it. It gave him something to focus on. He was in a protective mood, but there was nothing to protect. Nothing but his brother. So he held Alec's hand and stood a little in front of him, resisting the urge to scowl. Neutral was as best as he could do for an expression.

Alec brightened a little when Saladin spoke English. He started to say something about Ivy's size but stopped himself and looked up at Dark for approval. He wasn't going to poke his nose where it didn't belong, and maybe Saladin wasn't inviting conversation, but merely making a remark. Social cues were hard!
 
"Well look at her parents!" Zeinab laughed, "she'll grow. She's very very pretty, isn't she? Looks just like her Baba," she grinned, and looked over her shoulder at Dark standing with the twins, "Just like him. Except his eyes. She's thin like him, too, Daizi, sweet girl, have you been feeding any of those three boys?"

Saladin frowned at the comparison between his granddaughter and Dark, and looked at her, then at his daughter, then at her, and then again at Dark, "No, she looks much more like Daizi."

"Dark's actually the one who cooks more often," Daizi explained, "him and Xander, and I promise you, they're eating. If you met the twins when we did, they would be at your waist." She was exaggerating, and everyone knew it, but everyone accepted it.

"Well don't worry, while I'm here, you eat proper. You grew that tall in a few months, in a few days you'll be taller than him." Zeinab declared triumphantly.

"And rounder," the youngest aunt remarked in a subtle tone.

"But they'll be happy!"

Fadia rolled her eyes, "Can you two behave? It's been a whole flight of this."

Saladin nodded, "and a miracle flight. Our visas were approved last minute, Alhamdulillah, just in time for me to meet my granddaughter on time."
 
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The twins exchanged a subtle glance, and Alec fought back a knowing smile. Aunt Ciara deserved a thank you card and something special. She'd brought a lot of happiness to this family. And tension, but that wasn't her fault.

"She has her mother's eyes," Alec agreed quietly, "and I think she looks a lot like her father, but mostly, I think she looks just like her own perfect self."

Xander nodded. "Just like her." Xander glanced up at Dark. "Aren't we supposed to feed them? They are our guests, after all."

"You can take turns, and maybe you'll learn some new recipes," Alec told Xander.
 
"We should be the ones to feed them," Dark agreed, but was swiftly cut off.

"I wouldn't dream of it! Expecting you to cook for me, honestly, you just had a baby and you both have school to worry about!" She waved her hands, "When someone has a baby, the extended family comes to help, that's how it goes! Ah? That's how it goes. And since I can't stay for months, I'll help out while I'm here. We've got to make food for Sebou, anyway."

"It is her mother's side that makes her pretty," Saladin confirmed, smiling down at his granddaughter, "and Daizi looks like her mother," there was a momentary, unintentional, awkward silence as the unspoken difference between Daizi and her mother was passed over, "so she looks like her Jadda."
 
"Aright, I suppose that makes sense," Xander agreed. "I'd still like to learn how you do what you do. It's good stuff. Once you get used to it."

"You can figure that out later," Alec told him. "For now, let's just let Ivy enjoy her moment in the spotlight."
 
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