How Green Becomes Wood

"You learn something new every day," Milo said wryly, glancing around at the other guests, "Everyone else looks pretty surprised by it too." He had also been there, on that one day when Dark had laughed---he still had it on video--- but it was different. The mirth in this laugh was much more shocking, "It's good you did presents first, otherwise the pair of them would both be damp during them."
 
"She may not remember it, but it'll be a nice memory for all of you," Milo said, tucking his camera slightly under his arm, "and, hopefully, the pictures from it will be nice to show her later. It was fun for me, taking them. Lots of movement."

Finally, Zeinab found a moment where both she and Ciara were alone and so went up to her with a bright, warm, smile, "Finally! Ciara Cunningham! Don't you know, I have been trying to talk to you all day!"
 
"It looked like you were really getting in there and getting some good ones," Xander agreed. "It was real cool you could make it."

Ciara turned and dipped her head in acknowledgement, tensing only a little. "I apologize. I had not realized or I would have made more of an effort to make myself available. How may I help you?"
 
"Yeah?" Milo asked awkwardly, "It was cool to be invited. I um, don't think that's normally something people say about a baby's party, but. Yeah. It's cool."

"How may you help me?" Zeinab laughed, resting every urge to squeeze this woman in a hug, "She asks how she can help me! She gets my family visas quickly enough to see Ivy-Qadira's sebou and sends federal agents running when they were sent to bother my babies. I should be asking how I can repay you! But this time, I only hoped to thank you, habibti."
 
Xander checked the kitchen counters briefly before asking, "Do you want to take some cake home to your grands? Or your mum? There's some leftover."

Ciara reddened slightly but smiled. "It was my honor, ma'am. It was delighted to be able to help in some way."
 
Milo's tiny awkward smile faltered slightly and he looked down at his shoes, "It'll probably be hard to get a piece of cake to New Mexico before it goes bad. But maybe my grandparents might like it, yeah," He nodded.

"Don't you downplay what you did," Zeinab waggled her finger at Ciara, "Getting to the sebou meant so much to every one of us, not the least to Daizi, and I don't want to think what may have happened with the agent." She waved one hand, "And I know, I know, the system would've stopped it before anyone lost citizenship, but I don't want to think how far it might have gone without you. Dark wouldn't do well in custody, he is not media friendly."
 
"S**t," Xander said. "I thought she was still here. Sorry. Grands it is." He glanced at Milo. "I'll ask, but my folks should be fine with it if you want to send her a couple of pictures from this."

"No, I do not imagine he is," Ciara agreed. She glanced around the room. "I was glad to do what I could, but I am also glad that my interferrence was unnecessary for this particular party. It means a lot to them, and, therefore, it means a lot to my nephews."
 
"It's okay," Milo mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck before looking back up at Xander, "She'd like to see them, I think. She likes to see what I'm up to, but I'm not, you know, up to much."

Zeinab chuckled, "Luckily there are no unexpected surprises making her birthday earlier than we had planned. We shouldn't have a problem with that again. And your nephews are very sweet boys, I've only met them a small time, but I'm fond of them."
 
"This," Xander indicated the party with a circle of his finger, "isn't much?" He was teasing Milo lightly, but his dry delivery was hard to read.

"They are better young men than I expected, I must admit. Perhaps to my shame," Ciara admitted. She turned to look at them where Xander was talking to Milo and Alec had gone to try to hold a conversation with Noor. "I am impressed by them consistently."
 
"No, I mean, like, besides this," He stumbled quickly over his words, "This is cool."

"From what Daizi has told me about them, I can see why, and I hope their sister learns good traits from them," Zeinab said, "One thing my parents never did, that I always do my best to rectify, is to tell my relatives what I feel for them. Positive things, anyway," She winked.
 
Xander snorted and waved a hand. "Chill. Chill. It was a joke. I know what you mean. I don't think you have to get up to a lot. You're fine. If you do want to get up to something that looks exciting, you can always ask Toby if you can photo him skateboarding. And if anyone asks why you aren't pictured on a board, it's because Toby's the worst photographer ever. Seriously. It's hilarious."

"That is a wise thing to rectify," Ciara agreed gravely. She was not entirely certain she understood what Zeinab meant, but it did feel like something she should agree with.
 
"I don't think she would ask, she'd get it," Milo replied, "Anyway, I wouldn't... I'm not... I don't really know him enough to spend time. That way. With him."

With an empathetic look in her eyes, Zeinab put her hand on Ciara's shoulder and squeezed it gently in a warm, motherly way, seeing the younger woman didn't understand what she was implying, "Just know, because you're family, if you need anything, you can ask. Now, what an old woman like me can offer to someone who has the power to speed up international bureaucracy, who knows. But you did so much."
 
"It's Toby. I think Hassan or any one of these other guests could walk up to him, ask about his board, and they'd get a full demonstration and a ticket to his next competition inside of five minutes," Xander said blandly. "It was just a thought. If you did want to do it, Sloan or I could go with you, if you wanted. It's kind of cool to watch sometimes."

Ciara smiled, her first truly warm smile since arriving, at Zeinab's touch. She hadn't meant to, but it was difficult not to. "I only asked those who owed me favors to pay me back. I do not see myself as having that much power, and I could never ask for anything in return. Still, I shall keep your offer in mind."
 
"Yeah, maybe," Milo replied, "I don't know. I don't think it appeals to me as much."

Zeinab smiled back, squeezed her shoulder one last time and then said, "Well if you are other in Egypt, you let me know, okay? And I will take good care of you." As she said this, Dark came back downstairs with a happy, babbling baby in his arms. Moreso for the delight of the guests than an actual need, he left her in her little ducky towel with the hood despite her being fully dressed underneath. Both of them had wet hair, but at least they were no longer blue. Zeinab sighed sweetly, "Isn't she such a cute baby?"
 
"Didn't figure it would appeal, but it's getting up to something, ain't it?" Xander smirked.

"Yes, she is quite a cute baby," Ciara agreed dutifully. "The towel is a nice touch."

Lex elbowed Cooger lightly. "Now that is a sweet little bundle of bubbles, isn't it?"
 
"It would be, yeah, but so is grand larceny," Milo replied.

"And she's so cuddly when you hold her," Zeinab sighed, touching her heart, "Daizi was just like that, too. She'd just scream if you set her down. When she was learning to crawl, it was so obvious she wanted to explore, she was so curious, but she was so afraid to actually do it. And when she was starting to walk, she'd pretend like she couldn't do it unless you were holding her hand." Zeinab looked at Ciara, "She's such a pretty little baby. She could be the one on the---the food tins, at the store. Or on the diaper boxes. But then you'd have to set her down, and why would you?"

"Yeah," Cooger smiled in a lovestruck way, "Damn hard to believe it's been a full year. Did you look at the early pictures of her?"
 
"You want to give that a go? I know a couple of places that have good insurence, so it wouldn't be too bad for them," Xander said casually.

Ciara glanced at Zeinab, amused, but mostly understanding. Mostly. "A baby model, you mean? Yes, I can see how well she would do there. Ivy is quite similar, I would say, as far as looks go."

"I saw a few, yeah. She was so little! Little doesn't even cover it." Lex looked at him and smirked. "You look ready to have one of your own if I didn't know you better."
 
"Might as well," Milo commented, "I bet the courts kind of expect it."

"A baby model," Zeinab replied, "But Dark would never agree to that. It must be so nice living close, you get to be around so much more. No wonder you're not trying to beat back the crowds so you get to hold the birthday girl, you can do it whenever you like, living around them."

"That day I met her, man, we arrived here at like... must've been four a.m. at the latest, it'd been storming all night. I sure as s**t didn't expect her to be that little." Cooger reminisced, then looked at Lex, "Nah, 'cause yeah I remember that," he pointed to the photograph of Ivy as a newborn cradled in her father's hand, "and remember what a nightmare it was taking care of her. Health problems aside, she put her parents through the ringer. And I said to them, at least she's sleeping now, so now you ain't as tired as you were before, and they said they're sleeping, but they also spend all day chasing after her and stressed she's about to chew threw an electric cord like a damn rabbit. So I definitely don't want one of my own." He looked back at Ivy and sighed softly though, "I do love her, though. I call 'er Kitten. It's fun getting to be her uncle."
 
"Maybe they'll give us community service together even if one of us is a repeat offender," Xander mused.

"I... suppose I do have more opportunities, though I am still not over very often," Ciara said carefully. She could not remember ever actually holding Ivy. It was not something that appealed to her.

Lex smiled as she looked up at him. She reached out and took his hand, lightly squeezing it. "I don't get to be an aunt to my own nieces and nephews. I'm sorry about that, but it has been fun to watch Ivy grow. Even see their boys. But especially Ivy. I can see why you are all so infatuated with her."
 
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