How Green Becomes Wood

As soon as he was in the kitchen and out of sight, Dark ran his hands through his hair and took a few, controlled breaths. It was probably broken, that much he could guess, and although that was bad, it could be worse. All he could hope for was it was a minor enough break to not require surgery.

As he started to recook breakfast, Daizi came downstairs happily talking with Ivy. She was already dressed for the day, in another unpatterned skirt, but she increased her jewelry and chose a more flamboyant top. In a few weeks, by her estimate, she would be back to dressing like her usual self without anyone second guessing it. Dark, though, hearing her come downstairs, caught her at the landing, "Daizi," he told her and immediately wiped her smile away because he never called her by her first name, "Xander's ankle is worse, I need to take him to the hospital."

"Oh no," She breathed, letting him lead her into the kitchen, "Have you given him anything?"

"Not yet, I was finishing breakfast, then I was going to call them out of school."

"I'll call out of work," Daizi said, not questioning her husband's use of them.

"No, there is no need," Dark assured her, "Hospitals are hard enough on you, and Alec will already be there for moral support."

"...Yes, but somebody needs to watch Ivy," She pointed out.

He swore, but shook his head, "It is your second day back in the office, I am sure I can manage bringing her along."

"She'll put something on the hospital floor in her mouth," Daizi argued, "but I might be able to find a sitter. I'll call Cooger." Before she did, she went to the cabinet and went to the living room to bring Xander a cup of water and pain medicine.
 
"I slept alright, habibi," Daizi replied, "How about you?"

"Ack!" Ivy said cheerfully, reaching out to him.

Meanwhile, after finishing up breakfast, Dark plated some for Xander and brought it into the living room for him, "Let me know if you need anything else, okay?"
 
"I slept pretty good. Kind of restlessly, but not bad," Alec said, reaching out to take Ivy. "Hi, Ivy! I'm going to be home with you for at least a partial day. Maybe all day. It depends on Ann's appointment. We can play together!"

"Thanks," Xander said, shifting with great care so that he could eat with ease. "Mama's not going to be late to work, is she?"
 
Ivy reached out to hug him, babbling happy and understanding very little of what she had said.

"No, she just came downstairs, so she's just going to eat breakfast, then we can go. You were up earlier than she was." Dark assured him.

Daizi, meanwhile, called Cooger to see if he could babysit, explaining they needed him over pretty urgently. Unfortunately, he explained, he wouldn't be done with his current job for a few hours, and since Daizi didn't want to wait that long for Xander to be able to go to the doctor. So, after going through a mental list of who she could call, she dialed Lex's number.
 
Alec laughed and hugged her back. "Brilliant! That sounds like a great idea," he assured her.

"Good," Xander said with a tiny nod. He understood how important Daizi's work was to her, and he also knew she hated hospitals. He wanted to make certain she wouldn't be coming with them and putting herself under that sort of stress.

"Morning, Sims Smithing. What can I do for ya?" answered Lex, who hadn't had her coffee yet and was still partially asleep as she wandered around the kitchen.
 
"Hey Lex, it's Daizi," She told her, "I'm sorry this is such short notice, but I was wondering if you might be able to watch Ivy this morning? Cooger is at work, I have work, and we need to take Xander to the doctor unexpectedly."
 
"I'll be there fast as I can," Lex promised. She said goodbye and hurriedly ate breakfast. Once she was cleaned up and dressed, she headed over to the neighbor's house, where she knocked on their door.

Alec and Xander were currently in an argument about whether or not and how to get Xander dressed. Xander didn't think it was worth getting dressed for a visit to the hospital. Alec disagreed. Then there was the "how." And "where." Upstairs or downstairs were both stairs. In the living room was... public.
 
"Thank you," Daizi said, and then after hanging up, met up with the rest of her family, "Lex is coming over to babysit, she'll be here soon."

"I do not think you need to get dressed," Dark weighed in, "You want to be in clothes that are comfortable and will not obscure your ankle, and I presume as soon as you come home, you will change back into your pajamas anyway, so it will spare you the trouble. When you do need to change, though..." He gestured down the hall, "There is always the guest bathroom, which has a door that locks."

Hearing the knock, Daizi left them again to open the door to let Lex in, "Thank you so much again. I have absolutely no idea how long we'll need you, I'm so sorry."
 
"There we go, guest bath," Alec nodded.

"And there we go, parental permission to go out in my pajamas. I wonder how many people get to say that?" Xander smirked.

"Sure thing! That's what neighbors and friends are for," Lex assured her. And brother's girlfriends, she supposed, but there was no easy label for that. Aunt, maybe? She felt like an aunt to these kids. A more distant, hands-off aunt, but an aunt. "Don't worry about a thing. I got this."
 
"For an ER visit, many," Dark replied, "And you should probably skip a shoe on that foot, unless you have a pair of slides."

"We really appreciate it. I hope you allow us to pay you back for your time," Daizi told her, "and while we're gone, if you get hungry or thirsty, please help yourself to anything in our fridge or pantry. Ivy has been fed and recently changed, so you really just have to make sure she doesn't get into trouble. I have no idea how she'll be, to be honest. If you need anything you can call either myself or Dark, I'll probably be easier to reach."
 
Xander shook his head. "Nope. No slides."

"Well, your foot probably isn't going to hit the ground, anyway, so I guess you don't need it. I'll get your shoe," Alec said. He checked three times to make sure he had the right foot, fetched the shoe and a sock, and Xander took over from there.

Lex clicked her tongue and shook her head. "For an emergency? Not hardly. Seriously. Don't worry about it. I'm going to enjoy some time off having some conversation and play time with a pleasant companion, and I'll let you know if anything comes up."
 
"That is okay," Dark told him, making a mental note to get him some. It wouldn't help now, but it was always helpful to have a pair of sandals. They could talk about it later. "Are you ready to go?"

"If you're sure," She said, going to give Ivy one more hug. Kneeling down with her, she squeezed her in gently against her chest, "Ivy-Qadira, you need to be a really good girl for Mama, okay? Auntie Lex is going to watch you for a little while Baba takes Xander to the doctor to look at his owie." She kissed her on the head, "You're going to have so much fun!"
 
"Ready," Alec confirmed.

"As I'll ever be," Xander agreed grimly, thinking of the trip to the car and not looking forward to it.

Lex fully expected and was braced for crying when Ivy's parents left. "We will indeed. There's a lot to do around here!"
 
Xander hesitated.

"I got him!" Alec assured him. "Piggyback style. Don't worry, I can handle this."

Xander grumbled a little, but it was clearly more from nerves than anything else as he carefully shifted onto Alec's back while Alec crouched down in front of the couch. It took a moment for them to find their balance, and then Alec and Xander headed for the car the same way they'd come into the house the day before.
 
Dark watched this with some degree of apprehension, especially when they wobbled. If Xander fell onto his hurt leg, he knew it would be worsened significantly. But there was nothing to be done, so he stopped and gave Ivy a big hug and a kiss, promised to be home soon, and then stood to thank Lex before letting her know, "Her stuffed rabbit is her favourite when she's trying to self-soothe, she will probably need it."

Daizi, meanwhile, said one last quick goodbye to Ivy and Lex before trying to get outside before her sons so she could open the door for them.
 
"Rabbit for soothing, got it," Lex confirmed. "Good luck at the hospital. Alright, Ivy, let's say bye-bye! Bye-bye! See you soon!"

Alec moved slowly so Daizi could open the doors for him. Getting Xander into the car required letting him carefully slide down to catch his weight on his good foot and then pivot to sit in his seat. Then Alec could scurry around and get in on his side and buckle up. Xander was a little pale from pain by this point, but bearing up well. He was looking forward to being still again.
 
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