How Green Becomes Wood

In a half an hour, Daizi did sneak upstairs to pull Ivy from the room, and since Dark was a heavy sleeper when he did manage to sleep, he didn't wake up with her entrance. It did occur to Daizi as she slipped downstairs that when Dark did wake up, he'd probably have a brief moment of panic to find Ivy was not where he remembered her being last, but it was worth it to her if it meant he got some proper rest.

Later, when Dark was awake, they watched the Fellowship of the Ring, and the rest of that weekend, regardless of the twins' opinion, they finished the trilogy because, in a rare colour on Dark, he pointed out that 'things had been set in motion that could not be undone,' and they had to watch all of them.

That Sunday was the first snowfall of the year--a bit late, but both Dark and Daizi intimately recalled how snowed in they had been the year before, and although that snow did, technically, bring the twins to them... they were not particularly bothered by the brunt of winter being slightly delayed. That said, Dark took great pleasure in holding Ivy up to the window to show her snow for the first time. And since it was winter break, when the real week rolled around, nobody had anywhere to go, and they could all just... take it easy.
 
Xander complained about the movies, saying they were too fluffy and silly when it came to the elves, but he was sitting right next to Alec watching intently by the end of the first movie. Boromir's death had him completely riveted. By the second movie, he tried to pretend not to be interested, but when Alec got confused about who was who in the sea of similar names, Xander was the one to jump in and set him straight as well as to explain a couple of plot things. He still complained about things in the third movie, but it was clear it was all for show as he got completely caught up in the battles, and when Aragon and Arwen got together at the end, he let out the tiniest little sigh and gripped the pillow a little tighter.

Alec was far less hidden in his love of the movie, though some of the more violent scenes had him peeking through his fingers, and the ghosts unnerved him deeply. He wailed in distress when Gollum took over Smegol once again and when Sam thought Frodo had died to the spider. Samwise getting married got cheers, as did every dramatic entrance of every saving army coming to the rescue. He instantly asked about the books and wanted to read them all.

When the twins woke up to snow, the first thing they did was scramble out of bed, get dressed in far too little clothing, and dash outside. A few minutes later, they came to the door and knocked, asking permission to be let in as if they were waifs just come in out of the storm. Xander rolled his eyes, but Alec giggled the entire time. Then they got dressed for real and went out to chase snowflakes like small children.

Monday morning, there came a knock on the door.
 
When the twins knocked on the door for their prank, at first Dark had a moment of concern CPS had come again, and when, instead, he opened the door to find them at varying levels of enthusiasm engaging in a self-dramatization of their homecoming, he sighed heavily and shut the door on them, claiming the house was full and they had no more room.

On Monday, then, at the knock, he went to open it again, and as he did, he said, "If you two keep doing this, you are going get frostbite, and I am going to leave it--Oh." He stared blank faced and disappointed at the person on the step. He inhaled, pushed his hair back, and stepped to the side, "Marhaba. You may as well come in, no point in freezing out there while we exchange pleasantries."
 
"Frostbite?" Mrs. Smith asked, puzzled.

Lance, standing behind her, grinned. "Are the twins playing jokes on you again?"

The pair brushed themselves off before stepping inside. They did touch the salt, but neither moved to take off their shoes.

"This should only take a minute, and we are on our way to another call," Lance told Dark. "It's just the normal. Sorry we didn't call ahead, it was kind of short notice for us, too."

Mrs. Smith suppressed a sigh as she pulled a pen from her purse and raised the clipboard. "Has anything changed since the last time we were here?" She sounded resigned to her fate.

Lance glanced around the cozy home. "Doesn't look like it."
 
"No, nothing new," Dark replied, pushing his hair back, "It snowed. That... is about it. Ivy can sometimes lift her head for brief moments. Do you... need to see her?" He glanced behind him, "I think she is awake, Daizi has her presently."
 
Lance glanced at Mrs. Smyth, who said, "It would be best for official records. I don't think it's needed, but I think it's best if we follow the rules for this."

"As tiresome as that is," Lance grumbled.
 
Dark sighed, "Alright. I will get her." He walked into the living room, and shortly after returned carrying Ivy, who was reaching the end of an alert period. Behind him was Daizi, who couldn't quite hide the annoyance on her face.

"Here she is," Daizi said, "all in one piece," then, after a moment, "I'm not annoyed with you, just with the situation."
 
"Completely understandable," Mrs. Smyth assured her, making a couple of quick notes on her file. She leaned over and smiled at Ivy, making no move to touch her or otherwise reach out. "Hello, Ivy, darling. I see you are doing really well. That's good." Glancing at Lance, she said, "I am satisfied."

Lance nodded. "Same." He gave Dark and Daizi a nod. "Thank you for your time. We appreciate it." He didn't bother taking on the bit about how he hoped he wouldn't be seeing them again soon.
 
"Thank you," Dark said, because it seemed slightly more polite than just 'goodbye,' and he knew they were just doing their job. There was no point in being a jerk.

"At least you have one stop on your route where you know your soul won't be crushed," Daizi offered, trying to be optimistic, "At least, not because of how the child is being treated."
 
That earned a slight smile from Mrs. Smyth and a chuckle from Lance.

"You have a point there," he admitted. "It is nice to stop and chat with some good folk doing well."

"We should be going," Mrs. Smyth said, her words aimed primarily at Lance.

Lance opened the door and let her go first. He hadn't fully closed the door when he paused and frowned. "Hey, Dark," he said, opening the door a little more. "Do you know your neighbor's name? The lady there living next door to you."
 
Before the door had fully closed, Dark had begun to walk off, but when it opened again, he came back around, "Next door?" He repeated, and peered through the slight crack to look, "That is Mrs. Harwood. I do not believe I know her first name. Why do you ask?"

Really, neither Dark nor Daizi knew the woman well. She used to have a yappy little yorky that Enkidu was frightened of (for no good reason, considering the size difference), and a few times Dark had walked the dog for her if the weather was bad or she was sick with one of those maladies elderly folk had that required the neighborhood to put a little extra effort in, but he didn't know much else.
 
Lance grunted and started walking across the lawn. Mrs. Smyth stopped in the walkway halfway to the car and watched him, puzzled.

"Good afternoon, ma'am," Lance greeted the woman half-hidden behind the fence politely. "I was just wondering if you might be the one to call us about an abused child?"

Mrs. Harwood peered at him suspiciously. "You certainly don't look like an agent to protect children."

"We come in all shapes and sizes, ma'am, with our one similarity being our desire to protect the children," Lance replied, his voice still even and calm. "I've noticed you looking over a few times now, and I was wondering if it was you who called since you'd be in a position to see what was going on."

Mrs. Smyth frowned. What Lance was doing was not technically against the rules, but she had no doubt he'd get in trouble for it if anyone found out as it went against the spirit of the anonymity of a phone call. Not that anyone would find out from her.

She glanced between Lance and the front door. "If you are an agent in favor of protecting the children, then why haven't you done anything about those poor children yet? The elder ones, dratted teens, they can look after themselves well enough and get themselves into trouble, but an infant? That should not be allowed."
 
From his point on the stoop, Dark watched the conversation between either side of the fence. At first he was confused (this was probably at least somewhat due to the continued sleep deprivation), but then all at once he understood what was going on. Daizi, beside him, understood just as clearly, but he urged her to stay put before quickly grabbing his coat and shoes and swiftly moving to stand behind Lance, just in time to clearly hear his neighbor's final comment.

"What do you mean by that?" He asked, face and voice devoid of all emotion. Inside, though, he wished there was a way he could have had Daizi shut the door, so she didn't have to hear this.
 
"Mr. Dark, I would advise not getting involved in this," Mrs. Smyth cautioned, but she made no move to interfere, staying back on the walkway.

Mrs. Harwood shrank back when she saw Dark, holding her thin shawl tight around her body. "Dear, it is obvious, and no reason to be upset."

"So, you've been calling the CPS on this family for several weeks now. Would you like to tell me exactly why?" Lance asked, taking control of the conversation again.

She blinked up at him owlishly. "Isn't it obvious?" she repeated.

"It's better if you say for the record," Lance said evenly.

"Well, his wife is a nice enough lady, but she's..." she leaned in closer, "sight impaired," she whispered before speaking normally again, "and people like that are simply not equipped to handle a delicate infant! There is simply to much that can go wrong."

"She has a sighted partner," Lance pointed out.

She glanced at Dark and completely dismissed him. "Men do not understand children."

"Right." Lance took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "So, because you have prejudices against disabled parents and the delusion that men are completely incapable of caring for children, you have been using our services to harass them! You have been taking up our time, time that could be better spent taking care of children in real need instead of constantly bothering a couple that are doing just fine! There is not one sign of abuse or neglect in that house, not a single missed meal or bruise on the baby, but you keep calling because you think you know better." His voice was steadily rising, and Mrs. Harwood backed up, staring at him wide-eyed, but he wasn't about to let up. "I am on my way right now to remove three children from an alcoholic family, and yesterday I had to take a kid away from a mother who loved him but was living in squalor! You think I wanted to do that? No! But better than having the kid go to school in clothes that don't fit and lice in his hair. I could be using my time to look after real needs, not constantly harassing a decent family!"

Mrs. Harwood let out a little meep of shock, trembling.

Lance glowered down at her. "The law says that the CPS is not allowed to sue you for harassment, but if they," he nodded toward Dark, "do, I'll be the first to give my statement to the police with records of exactly how many times you called us and just how little evidence - none - we found of any kind of abuse. Understood?"

Mrs. Harwood turned and fled to her house, sweater flapping behind her.

"You probably shouldn't have done that," Mrs. Smyth remarked mildly.

Lance took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Maybe, but oh boy did it feel good!"
 
From inside the doorway, Daizi listened briefly but then left. She knew it wasn't healthy for her to listen. And it was cold. Not too cold for her, but Ivy was just a baby, she shouldn't be near a draft. So she slipped further into the house and sat down on the couch and held her baby close, rocking and singing to her.

Down on the grass, Dark stared directly at his neighbor and continued to stare at the fence after she had fled. There was a lot he wanted to say, his jaw was clenched tight with everything he wanted to say, but Mrs. Smyth had advised him against it, and he was willing to listen to her advice. Because he didn't want anything to reflect on his family. Even after Lance had breathed again, Dark still held everything up and bundled tightly together, because he was still doing everything he could to process his emotions to refrain from screaming.
 
Alec and Xander came down from their room, Xander with the earbuds he'd been wearing still slung around his neck. "Do we hear shouting?" Alec asked Daizi uncertainly. "Is everything alright?"

Lance glanced at Dark and almost reached out to pat his shoulder but caught himself. "If she keeps this up, now you know who is doing it and can press charges if you want. For now... go find something to punch, alright? Then spend some time with your family. Nosey old broad." He turned and stomped back toward Mrs. Smyth, who started moving slowly toward the car.
 
Daizi raised her head, and floundered for a moment brief moment, "Um," she breathed, tucking her hair back behind one ear, "They, uh, found who has been... calling."

The shadow of Lance in his vicinity made Dark turn sharply towards him and take a step back, mostly to maintain his own preferred level of personal space. Eyes flaming, he forced himself to exhale. In a tight voice, he said, "Yes. I will. Goodbye."
 
"Oh," Alec said, seeming even more uncertain now. "And... um, how is that going?"

"Quieter, now," Xander grumbled. He came the rest of the way down the stairs to stand near Daizi. "Need anything?"


Lance said in parting, "Call me if you need anything. I mean anything." With that, he got into the car with Mrs. Smyth and they drove away.
 
"I don't know," Daizi replied, sounding far away. With one hand, she touched her cheek and then touched her thumb to her fingers and realized she wasn't crying, "It was because of me. I mean, not me, nothing I did. But."

Dark watched them drive away, and then walked towards the house. Lance was right, he did want to punch something. Not her, he still didn't want to hurt this woman who wanted to have their baby taken away from them, but he wanted to hit something. And that desire didn't feel good either. He hadn't been this angry since... Well, since Declan ran out on the twins. But had it not been for that, it would have been a very long time.
 
Alec came the rest of the way down the stairs and gently touched her arm so she'd know where he was. "What do you mean?" he asked gently.

"I'll go put the kettle on for some tea," Xander told her and headed to the kitchen.
 
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