Laurence Zelkovii

During the drive through town, Lanny had gotten a hold of Jeff, to assure that the man was actually home in the first place, and if it would be alright that they crashed at his place. "..you sure it's alright? .... Okay, thanks man. .... Yeah, pretty soon. ....Alright, see you then." Normally a rather reckless driver, Lanny was far more cautious when they had Raine in the vehicle, and actually stopped at most of the lights and stop signs, rather than coasting through them as if they were yield signs. As he cruised along a stretch of residential homes on the edge of the down town district, Lanny snapped the cell phone shut and side-glanced at Cassidy, "He'll have the guest room ready for you and Raine; or rather, Mary will." He amended jokingly, speaking of Jeff's wife. "And I know she'll love to see Raine, now that her own kids are grown and out of the house." The latter was mostly small talk, trying to get back to a normal attitude, and also to make Cass feel better about the house they were staying at.

Cassidy*Others

During the drive, Cass had been mostly silent, as much because she was disturbed as for the fact that Lanny was on the phone, and she didn't want to disturb him. She'd spent the time idly running her fingers over Raine's arms and through her hair, humming in a quiet tone to put the infant back to sleep, since her nap had been so abruptly interrupted. By the time he hung up the phone and they were getting close to the house, Raine had settled again, and the soft, even breaths she was taking indicated that Cass had been successful in her venture. "That sounds more like it," she murmured quietly in a softly-joking tone, when Lanny corrected his words on just whom was going to have a room prepared for them when they got there. "Jeff's a good guy, but bless his heart, I don't know how Mary keeps up with him, sometimes."

Laurence Zelkovii

Towards the end of the road, they pulled into a driveway that led to one of the nicer houses on the block, behind which ran a massive ravine and stand of trees that stretch on to cover the back yards of several of the houses on this street. "I'm just glad she's home today. Maybe we'll get a nice dinner." Food was usual a highlight of discussion for Lanny, being a young fellow who lacked in any cooking skills and relished in any homemade meals that he could get. "Okay Raine, here we go - you got her?" After parking the bronco, Lanny reached over to unbuckle the infant, though he figured Cassidy would want to carry her again. Instead, Lanny grabbed the food from the backseat, and moved towards the front door of the home to ring the bell. "Or knowing them, we might get invited out to eat." As an afterthought, the young man suggested that with a shrug.

Cassidy*Others

Smiling a little and rolling her eyes some, Cass expressed a gentle sort of exasperation with his fixation on food. "I swear - you'd think we starved you or something," she muttered and shook her head. But before she could go further in her sarcastic comments - and before she could sink back into haunted silence - they were pulling into the driveway, and she had other things to occupy her attention. She could afford to be less than perfectly strong and composed with Lanny, because he was practically family now and had been taking care of she and Raine for many months, but as kind as they were, neither Mary nor Jeff had earned that privilege yet. So by the time she'd gathered the sleeping Raine against her and exited the vehicle, her business-face was in its proper place again; she looked content and calm, and only Lanny would know the difference between than and the genuinely-happy expressions that she'd borne increasingly over the past few months.

Laurence Zelkovii

He cracked a slight grin, "If you lived on the diet of frozen pizza like I use to, you'd understand." That all he had time to come back with before the handle turned and the door swung up, and they were both greeted by the smiling face of Jeff. The somewhat short, squat man was well known in the gang for being a bit easy going like Lanny was, but more mature than the co-lead, and far more settled in life. He wasn't an active fighter so much as he was a source for keeping tabs on finances, various records, and generally looking over the various black market businesses that the gang dealt in. It was his well-rounded personality, along with that of his wife, that Lanny figured Cass would be more comfortable around, even though he knew that she was still be guarded with them. "Come in, come in. If you'd given me a little more warning, I might have had the basement cleaned up before you got here." Jeff remarked without any tone to suggest he was serious; Lanny hadn't told him why they were coming, but he was a smart man, and knew better than to ask. "I see Raine's done some growing, hasn't she?"

Cassidy*Others

Stop right there!
That's exactly where I lost it.
See that line?
Well, I never should've crossed it.
Stop right there!
Well, I never should've said that -
It's the very moment that I wish that I could take back.

"Thankfully enough, I've never had that opportunity; he pretty well forbids frozen food in the house." She didn't say her uncle's name just yet, but it was clear whom she was referring to; after all, the uncle had once looked positively ostracized when Lanny had suggested boxed macaroni. And just as quickly, she had something else to occupy her mind; the smiling face of the older man as he answered the door. "Hey Jeff," she answered, giving him a quiet smile and shifting her weight a little until she could turn where he could see Raine more clearly, where she was tucked up asleep against her mother. "Yeah, once she decided to grow, she shot up like a weed; matter of fact, if she keeps up at this rate, I'll be getting her more clothes in another month... again." This was her play at casual behavior, which she was very good at, but the younger Zelkovii would know better than to believe.

I'm sorry for the person I became.
I'm sorry that it took so long for me to change.
I'm ready to be sure I never become that way again;
'Cause who I am hates who I've been.
Who I am hates who I've been.

Lanny & Jeff

Where Mary was more likely to lean in to touch the infant, Jeff didn't make such a move, and kept enough distance that he wouldn't be invading Cass's space. He knew some mothers were more guarded than others about their young ones, and didn't want to push his luck with Raine, "Nothing wrong with that." A hassle it might be to buy new clothes every month, something that the himself father was experienced with, but it was a small price to pay for a healthy, growing baby - especially one that had been a premie. "Come to think of it, I'm sure we've got Lauren's old baby clothes around here somewhere. Mary!" The man turned his head and called out for his wife, who was apparently out of hearing distance, because she didn't answer. "Well anyway, I'll have her look for you. Here, come on in to the living room; or there's the basement, it's finally finished. Got a television and everything down there, though it's not quite picked up yet."

Cassidy*Others

It wasn't so much that Cass didn't trust Jeff; after all, with him being older than the two of them, he'd been a kind of authority figure when she'd been younger, and was familiar enough to her. But still, he wasn't as closely-bonded to her as were Johann and Lanny were. So perhaps it was a good thing, in her heightened state of awareness, that Jeff didn't lean in to give the baby a caress. Mary, she would probably tolerate even now, simply because she knew the woman's tendencies fairly well and understood that she meant no harm... but also sheerly because she was female. It wasn't something that often showed in Cass but, by virtue of her recently-sidelined profession, it wasn't all that surprising that she had a certain disrespect and distrust for men in general. Still, she offered him a smile and accepted his invitation to enter the house, after first checking to be sure that Lanny had found the bag she'd had stashed that contained all of Raine's things, and a change of clothes for herself. "Don't worry about it, Jeff - we just appreciate you having us over on such short notice. Besides, if you could see Johann's things, you wouldn't bother anyway. I swear, as neatnik as he is, I don't know how he finds anything in that abyss he calls his closet." Casually, the uncle's name was brought into the conversation, in a way that jokingly suggested that nothing was wrong between she and her childhood guardian - and with that established, it would hopefully keep any uncomfortable questions being asked as to just why they'd come here so suddenly, even if Jeff knew better than to ask them anyway. Aside from a general inquiry into his health, that should deter anything further on him. And just as quickly, she changed the topic, in favor of looking in slightly-distracted amazement around the living room. "God, Jeff, but I'd forgotten how big your living room is. So superior to apartment living."

Laurence Zelkovii

His wife was still tidying up the spare bedroom, so Jeff went ahead and led the two into the living room, which was quite spacious and inviting. Especially when compared to the cramped quarters where the two highest ranking CrypticSilvers members lived. "Don't mention it. We like having company over anyway, especially on days like this. In fact, if it stays nice like it's suppose to, I might get the grill going." Curious he may be as to why the three had come over, but Jeff was wise enough not to address anything personal about either of them, and kept the conversation as neutral and casual as he could; that included saying much about Johann, since he suspected the man might be part of the reason the small family had showed up here, when most of the gang knew that they stayed at the uncle's place. "You like it? Mary did most of the decorating, but that there is mine-" Brandishing a proud grin, Jeff pointed to a mounted buck head positioned above their fireplace - the man was known as quite the avid hunter. "Nice." Lanny commented as he followed into the living room, sticking close to Cassidy as he did so. He wasn't much of a hunter at all; but like Cass, he was admiring the spacious house that the couple had been saving up for years to buy.

Cassidy*Others

"Wow, eleven points - that's pretty impressive, Jeff." Cass didn't know anymore about hunting than Lanny did, but at least she'd learned enough out of sheer necessity to be able to make an intelligent comment about his obviously-prized buck head. With it properly admired, she moved forward and invited herself into a seat, pausing for a moment to resettle Raine against her chest before she leaned back against the couch. "So the basement turned out, then? I remember you were having some kind of problem with wiring something, right? And I understand there was an incident with a ceiling fan?" She offered that with a smile, just as though them coming over here was an everyday thing, instead of the strange trip that it was, though the way she'd stuck close to Lanny this whole time pretty well indicated that she wasn't quite comfortable. Whether because she wasn't at home in the apartment, or because of her upset over Johann's drinking, it was difficult to say. Instead of commenting on that though, she returned her attention to the man's comments. "You know, that's one thing we never get to do at the apartments; no backyard, and the upstairs porch is really kind of ridiculous. You can't grill on a porch that's about four feet square - it just can't be done."

Laurence Zelkovii

"Cass, Lanny." Walking out from a hallway leading into the living room from the opposite side, Mary greeted them both by name. Standing a spare inch and a half higher than her husband, her curled brown hair added another good inch of height over him, and a source for much joking about the poor man's short stature. "Oooo... look at you!" Nothing about the older woman's approach or merry expression could be taken as anything but friendly. Mary stooped over in front of Cassidy, leaning forward to get a closer look at Raine, without being in either the mother's or daughter's personal space, "How many weeks is she now? My, look at those little fingers! I remember when ours were at this age." With his wife interupting the conversation, Jeff planted himself in a chair near the couch, reclining back as he folded his hands behind his head, "I had Tyler and Mr. Durnal out to help me with the wiring, and got that all squared away. The fan... I don't even want to go there." Jeff rolled his eyes in exasperation, and Lanny gave a small laugh.

Cassidy*Others

"She'll be six months next week," Cass answered, allowing Mary to draw near to them without flinching or otherwise displaying any discomfort with her nearness. "Of course, on the preemie scale, she's technically three and a half months. But you'd never know it; she's in three to six month clothes now, and I was just mentioning to Jeff that I think I'm going to have to go shopping, soon." So saying, she reached to finagle one of Raine's tiny hands out of the bundle, causing a small stir in her but not waking her, as a response to Mary's words. "Not so tiny as they used to be... oh, and look - she's getting hair, finally." She took that opportunity to adjust the blanket a little and pull it down away from the baby's head, revealing the deep red peach fuzz that had finally begun growing. "And, of course... she got fitted for her braces a few weeks ago. I'm still getting used to those blamed things." She gently tapped the metal bar that held Raine's shoes apart as she said that, with a small frown that indicated she didn't really like it, even if it was necessary in order to be certain that her daughter's legs would grow straight. "But the way she acts, I really think that I mind it more than she does." And in the next second, she'd returned her attention to Jeff was a quiet laugh, which shook Raine just a little and gave her a moment's work of stroking the baby's back to ensure that she didn't wake up. "I understand that if we'd had in on video-tape, we could've made a lot of money sending it into one of those 'Crazy Accident' type shows."

Laurence Zelkovii

"Six months already. Just wait, before long she'll be asking for money and wanting to use your car all the time. They just don't stay this cute for very long." There was a desire to reach forth and touch the infant, but seeing that she was sleeping, Mary held back and decided against it, in case she might accidentally wake Raine up from her already once disturbed nap. "She looks just like you, red hair and all. I can see it now." Most in the gang knew that Lanny was not the father, though rumors had it that he might be - in either case, no one was foolish or insensitive enough to question about Raine's father, so Mary stuck with the safe bet of saying that Raine looked like her mother. "How's she doing otherwise?" Playing the part of a good hostess, the wife sat down on the couch near the two. Across the way, Jeff was still feigning exasperation over the fan incident, "It would have helped cover some of the repairs at least!"

Cassidy*Others

"Mary! For heaven's sake, don't rush her." That was Cass' faux-astonished reaction, as she cuddled Raine a little more tightly against the idea that her infant girl would grow up so quickly. And, of course, that gave her the necessary reason to draw the baby in against her more closely without appearing as though she were being over-protective; under the cover of a joke, Cass could still exercise her near-obsessive worry over Raine, which had only intensified since Raimi had been stolen back. And then, she allowed herself to be distracted by Mary's comment as to the baby's looks. "Dr. Marachek delivered me, too - she says that Raine looks a lot like my Mom. You remember Mom... what do you think?" Ordinarily, it was a topic like this that Cass would avoid, since she had never known her mother; but Mary and Jeff had been in the gang long enough to have known her, and in an ever-increasingly intensity over the past few months, Cass had been wondering whether the doctor had been right, and Raine looked like her grandmother. But to remove any heavy significance about that, she next turned a teasing comment at Jeff. "Not to mention it would have given us blackmail material for about a century," she muttered, and shook her head in amusement. "Oh that reminds me... you mind if we put a couple of her food jars in the fridge? She's been cleared for semi-solids; I thought we might try mashed pears, later."

Laurence Zelkovii

Besides not bringing Raine's father up, Cassidy's mother was another subject that was left well enough alone whenever Cassidy or Johann were within earshot. In fact, the only time it was discussed when they were around was if either one of them brought it up now, as the young mother just did, "There's no denying a definite resemblance. I still say she's got your features, but you can see who's granddaughter she is." Mary had leaned back a little, giving the mother and daughter more space after she'd had her time looking at the baby. "You ask anyone who knew your mother, and they can place her in that face." As she smilingly referred to Raine's facial features and their close affinity to Cassidy and her mother both, Jeff was getting up out of the chair and reaching for the bag that Lanny handed his way. "Nah, there's plenty of room in there." Before he took leave of the room, the man looked back over his shoulder, "You guys want anything, food or drink wise?"

Cassidy*Others

Now a little of the tension worked out of Cass, as a precious fact was again confirmed by someone who'd know her mother; if Raine looked like her grandmother, and markedly enough where everyone could see it, then it denied another possibility - that she might have resembled her blood father in any way. Ever fearful that the baby would end up looking like a Carlyle, not only for the embarrassment it would cause herself and Lanny, but for the trouble it would make in the gang, Cass was always glad to hear how much Raine looked like her and her mother. Not to mention the fact that, the last time she'd borne a Carlyle child who'd resembled his father, that child had been killed for the likeness. It wasn't likely to happen this time, since all the Carlyles but Conan and Raimi were dead - but she couldn't help fearing it, still. So Mary's confirmation helped to relax her some, allowing her to lean a little more solidly on the couch. To Jeff, she murmured, "I'll take a Sprite, if you have it. I'm not hungry just yet... but if you're going to grill, count me in. I just got beef and all the rest of the meats added back to my menu, after six months of fish and chicken - and I mean to take advantage of that."

Laurence Zelkovii

Having not known Cassidy's mother, the very real possibility of Raine turning out to look like one of the Carlyle's was a great source of contention for Lanny. He knew the infant would be protected regardless from the gang... but if the Elders found out, he wasn't so sure what might happen. In the very least, there would be a lot of rumors and unneeded whispering going on amongst the gang that he'd rather do without, not only for himself, but for Cassidy, and for Raine as she got older. "Coke, please." Without being obvious about it, Lanny was listening quite intensely to Mary's response, and was just as relieved as Cass was to hear the answer. Meanwhile, Jeff was disappearing around the corner with the bag of food, and speaking louder to let his voice carry across to the other room, "Sprite and Coke it is. You're in luck tonight then, cause we have a few slabs of meat left in the freezer that we need to use up."

Cassidy*Others

"Wow, did we pick the right day to come over here," the young woman commented, with a smile that was now bordering on genuine as she anticipated getting some real food into her system, after so long on such a restricted diet. And then it turned a little mischievous as she darted a glance at Lanny. "See there - they wouldn't let you starve to death like we do at home, would they?" That was a tease against his earlier comment about food, which always seemed to be a major focus in his life - something which she didn't understand, growing up in a house with Johann, who was about the best chef in the business... and also given her bird-like appetite. Even when she'd been pregnant, she'd had trouble gaining the weight she'd needed, and she still hadn't met the weight goals Dr. Marachek had set for her in her post-partum months, though at least she had put on some pounds. "If you've got some potatoes left, I make some killer casserole that might go with that."