How Green Becomes Wood

"Thank you," Dark replied, adjusting so he could better support his wife. Now that there wasn't the unconscious thought of 'I must hold this', she slumped into a more comfortable position, "We probably should have seen this coming. Well, she held on for as long as she could."
 
"We should probably wrap this up and let you folks rest now," Sally said, glancing over their accumulated cards. "I would say we were about even. Fantastic! Except for you two. What happened, dear?" she asked Jack and trying to hide a smile.

Jack sniffed, looking slightly offended. "Nothing happened. I am just not on top of my game, that is all."

Xander snorted. "I'd say. How on earth did you get firehose for that last one? The word was juice!"

"You were shaking your hands all weird as you tried to come up with random words, what was I supposed to think?" Jack demanded.

"Not firehose!"
 
"In Xander's defense, he is also in a house with a newborn, so his sleep has also been affected," Dark said, diligently defending his son, "I do not know if you have a similar excuse, Jack." He looked down at Daizi again, smiling his subtle smile, "I think she and Peter would have taken it, if she had not clearly reached her limit. It was a fun game, though. Thank you for helping her play, Alec."
 
"I was happy to," Alec smiled. "It was fun to watch."

"I hope next time you can play," Peter offered.

"I wonder if these come in Braille?" Sally mused as she gathered up the cards and put them in their box.

"Great, then no one else can read them," Xander grumbled.

"They might come in regular writing with the Braille," Alec pointed out.

Sally, Jack, and Peter rose and started making their way toward the door. "This was a lot of fun for us, and I do so hope it was a good marker for a special day for you, as well."
 
"I can read braille," Dark told Xander, sort of intentionally missing the point. He did his best to slide out from beneath Daizi to walk their guests to the door, but took special care to lay her down. Then, following them, he said, "It was fun. I really appreciate you all wanting to do this for us. I do not think we would have done much, had you not." He turned and looked directly at Sally, his face serious, intense, and entirely earnest, "Thank you. You are a wonderful friend to Daizi. It means a lot to her."
 
Xander rolled his eyes at Dark, knowing full well that Dark knew what he meant.

Sally's face lit up, but she only gave a satisfied nod. "I am glad I was able to do something for her. She is a special lady. Just call if you need anything at all, alright?"

Jack and Peter shook Dark's hand, and the three of them left.
 
"I feel similarly about her," Dark replied softly, before making his goodbyes. After shutting the door, he stood there for a moment, even though nothing bad had happened. It was actually a very nice visit. But he had never been a very social person, and he was already a bit drained when they stopped by. Lovely visit, he didn't regret it a bit. Lovely visit. Everyone had fun, he had fun. But now he didn't feel that pressure to pretend to be a normal person with relatable experiences who was fun to be around.

Dark sighed, replaying in his mind that little breezy comment Jack had made about which one of them caused more trouble in school, and turned away from the door. Pushing his hair back, he said to the twins, "Thank you for being there. I hope it was," he searched for the word, gave up, and said, "Good."
 
"I had a lot of fun," Alec smiled, but he looked tired.

"The food was good." Xandsr stretched and started wandering toward the stairs. "Should totally do regular teams if we do that game again. "

"I liked it." Alec put a blanket over Daizi and followed his brother.
 
"Right," Dark agreed, "Good idea. Have a nice night, you two. Sleep well." He gave them a tiny little smile and waited until they were upstairs before pouring himself a drink, grabbing his coat, and going to stand outside on the back deck like he had been doing often, lately. The drink wasn't the common part, and the coat he added after heavy pressure from his wife.
 
Alec looked out after Dark for a little bit, but then, with a tiny sigh, he headed up to his room. Xander was already halfway through undressing, tossing his nice shirt as far away from himself as possible. Alec ducked the flying shirt and kicked it away from the pink backpack sitting on the floor at the end of his bed where it had not been in months. The two bickered briefly about sides of the room and not throwing clothes, but then slowly settled down for the night. It was a while before they'd actually go to sleep, but it was a nice quiet time of reading or scrolling before that.
 
He had abstained from alcohol the entire time Daizi was pregnant, to show solidarity. Technically she still wasn't drinking now, because she was breastfeeding, but... It felt different. Anyway, it wasn't like he was getting drunk, or even a little bit tipsy. It was just the one, and because despite his many mental health challenges, he had never struggled with addiction, it was, in fact, just that one. It was nice, really, to spend some time alone with his thoughts. His family meant everything to him, it really did. That feeling had only grown stronger in this new period of turmoil, he would do anything to keep them together. And safe. But he didn't know how to take care of himself during that, just like Daizi didn't know how to take care of herself. Aware of this own shortcoming, he was really glad to have her. God, he was glad to have her. Ivy was here, and healthy, and safe, and Daizi had survived it, but he still had nightmares about if it hadn't gone that way. This was all difficult enough, he knew he wouldn't survive it alone.
 
The next couple of days went remarkably quietly. There were no calls from the CPS or visits. Xander still seemed a little out of sorts but nowhere near as openly hostile as he had been before. Alec was the same quiet teen he normally was, though more withdrawn. They were both waiting for the next call, the next random tap on the door, but it didn't come. So, they kept to their chores and breathed a little easier.

Until the phone rang for Dark. It wasn't the CPS. It was the school informing him that the vice principal wanted to have a talk with him about Alec's deplorable performance, and had he gotten the notes they'd sent home? That conversation had barely ended when the phone rang again. This time, it was the therapist Alec worked with.
 
The phone call with the school was, in a word, irritating. No, they hadn't gotten the notes they sent home. Yes, they had been asking about how school had been going. Sure, they will talk to the vice-principal, but really, why hadn't any of his teachers brought this up already? He was on a massive group chat with every teacher at the damn school.

Then, the worst part, he hadn't even had time to explain the situation to Daizi before another call came through. Seeing it was Alec's therapist, however, he pushed all of his frustration somewhere to answer it, "Hello? Is everything okay?"
 
"Good evening, Mr. Dark," Mrs. Anderson greeted him pleasantly. "Everything is fine on my end, although it sounds as though you are rather stressed. I had some questions I was hoping I could speak to you about, but perhaps I should call back later?"
 
"I was wondering if there might be a time when your family might be able to come in for a group session," Mrs. Anderson said. "I have noticed some... backtracking in the trust I have been able to gain with your son, Alec, and from what I have been able to glean, I think the problem may lie within the family's group dynamic. I don't want to alarm you, of course, I am just seeking some answers in some discrepancies I'm seeing."
 
"With our group dynamic?" Dark asked, not aggressively or like he was trying to challenge her, just... concerned. Sad, maybe. "Okay. Yes, of course. We can come in whenever is convenient for you, neither Daizi nor myself are working right now, we are both on leave. Does Alec know you want to do this, is it something he has agreed to?"
 
"I have brought it up a few times and requested that he bring it up to you, but considering how you reacted, I can tell he hasn't. However, as he is a minor, I think this is important enough to bring up to guardians and try to make happen. I am hoping you can talk to him, and if he still refuses, that is his choice, but I am hoping that he will agree to a meeting. He is not exactly a fan of confrontation, which is what I am hoping is the reason why he has not brought it up to you already."
 
"Right. Okay. Okay." Dark was silent for a little while, processing, "I will talk to him. And let you know what he says. Thank you. If he agrees, we can schedule it for his next appointment? There is no sense in over complicating things."
 
"Of course. His next appointment is coming up soon, as well. I am terribly sorry to spring this on you, but I do find that issues like this are best resolved as quickly as possible. Please give my regards to your wife and little one," she added before saying her farewells.
 
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