Summer seemed to be the season for adding to the Granger clan. All unexpectedly last winter, a pair that no one had thought would ever concieve had done just that, and only a couple of days ago, the newest Granger had been born. Not that anyone had known about it until this morning, of course - not when both parents and the baby had spent two days under the ocean to make absolutely sure that everyone had come through the unusual birth hale and well. Gabi couldn't quite get her head around how Leilani had managed to give birth in the ocean, given that her sister-in-law had a tail in contact with salt-water, but that was the least of her concerns right now. She wanted to see her first niece. The message had been a little garbled and very short, but she'd got permission to come and visit the little cottage close to the shore. Which was why she was now walking over the sand, hand in hand with her own husband, eyes bright at the thought of seeing Cian's baby for herself.
"I'm not quite sure how it is biologically possible for a mermaid to mate with a man and bear him a child," George said, ever the doctor, wrestling with the plausibility of the situation, though he'd seen stranger things since he'd arrived in Rhy'Din some years ago.
"Well, she isn't, strictly speaking, a mermaid, is she?" Gabi answered, just as thoughtful as he was. "She has a tail when she's in the sea, but she walks on land with legs and all the appropriate bits in the right places, I would assume. It could be as simple and as complicated as magic, George. Rhy'Din doesn't have to make sense."
George chuckled as Gabi stated the obvious. "Gabi, Rhy'Din never makes sense," he corrected, but he didn't argue the facts. Somehow, Leilani had managed to give birth to a child, and they were about to meet that child. "Do you think she'd be offended if I asked to examine the baby?" he asked, uncertainly.
"I think you may have better success if you try not to use any clinical words about it," Gabi ventured. "She is your niece, you know. They're worried enough about being so very different from the rest of us - they're going to be quite sensitive about anything that suggests she's somehow wrong."
"I'm not sure there is such a thing as wrong here in Rhy'Din," George pointed out. He hated to think what might happen to Leilani or a child of hers back on Earth. She'd probably end up in a lab as a science experiment somewhere, but here on Rhy'Din, she was no more strange than an elf or an orc. "I'm only curious about how it's possible, but I suppose some things can't be explained or understood."
"She's half-human herself," Gabi reminded him. "And the existence of half-orcs, -elves, and -dwarves does suggest that the human DNA makes certain that it can reproduce. Wouldn't it?"
"Humans do tend to be rather prolific," George agreed, but he wasn't a geneticist or even a biologist. He was a simple doctor, his specialty that of surgery. He was good with a scalpel, but not so much with research. Still, he found the idea of a mixed birth fascinating.
"I should imagine she at least has gills," Gabi pointed out, raising her hand to knock on the door as they arrived. "She has been underwater for two days, and I don't think Cian can share his charm."
"It makes one wonder what would have happened if the child had been a boy," George remarked further. Would the boy then be a merman' Did mermen even exist' Just how did mermaids proliferate" Did they lay eggs like most fish or were they livebearers, like swordtails" Lelilani's birth seemed to suggest they were the latter, but George thought it might be a little rude to ask.
Gabi paused thoughtfully, prepared to wait for as long as it took for Cian to untangle himself from wherever he was and let them in. She remembered being that groggy after the boys' births. "You know, it might not even be possible for her to have boys," she mused. "She said she only had sisters, no brothers."
"That's an interesting thought. I guess no one told King Triton," he remarked, hiding the smirk from his face as soon as the door opened.
"Hey," Cian greeted them, looking a little tired, but none the worse for wear. "Come on in," he said, pulling the door open for them. They were expected, after all.
"Triton's one of Poseidon's sons," Gabi told her husband with a triumphant grin, tilting her head as the door opened. "How's the daddy?" she asked, stepping in to hug her brother tightly. "Eating properly?"
George might have opened his mouth to debate mythology further had Cian not answered the door. Cian smiled as he returned his sister's hug.
"I'm fine, Gabi. Just a little tired. And you can tell Miranda and the rest of the family to stop sending casseroles. We've got enough food to feed an army!" he said with a chuckle. "Hi, George. Thanks for coming," he greeted his brother-in-law with a handshake. While the two men got along well enough, they had not yet become close friends.
"Of course," George replied politely with a handshake of his own. "You're family."
"You know you're allowed to freeze most of it, right?" Gabi teased her brother. "We just want to know you guys are eating properly without getting tired out - babies are hard work!" She toed her sandals off and set her bag down in the hall, trying to be calm and patient.
"I'm starting to realize that," Cian replied with another chuckle. "Can I get you anything" Lemonade" Iced tea?" he asked, in an effort to be a gracious host. He and Lani weren't used to getting a lot of visitors at their little cottage near the shore, but Gabi was one who was always welcome. A little mewl sounded nearby, a little tabby cat named Harper making himself known as he curled himself around Cian's leg.
"You sit down, I'll make the drinks," Gabi told him. "You did it to me when I had the boys, it's my turn to bully an overtired parent for once." She flashed him a cheeky smile. "Where have you left them, in the bath?"
Cian laughed. "No, they're in the living room. Go on in. I can get the drinks," he insisted.
"You know there's no arguing with her," George interjected. "I am constantly being reminded that the woman is always right."
"When she's the only woman in the house, that counts double," Gabi insisted, waving them away toward the living room. "Shoo. I know my way around your kitchen."
Cian laughed again. "Have it your way. I'm too tired to argue." He waved George ahead of him. "Right through there," he said, though the cottage was small and quaint enough for them to find their way around easily enough. Cian scooped up the cat as he followed George into the other room. "What's the matter, Harper" Feeling left out?"
The little cat purred as he was picked up, nuzzling his soft face against Cian's chin affectionately. The introduction of a new baby was always a bit of a shock for any animal in the house, after all.
Leilani was dozing in one of the enormous armchairs Miranda had insisted on getting for the couple's home, her feet up on the arm of the nearby couch, and a small squirming bundle lying on her chest. She smiled as George preceded Cian into the room, raising a hand to wave at him. "Hullo, George."
"Hello, Leilani. It's good to see you. How are you feeling?" he asked, the doctor's bedside manner kicking in and asking about her well-being. She had just given birth, after all. Had she or the baby even seen a doctor" He wasn't sure.
She breathed deeply through her smile. "Sore," she admitted with that disarming candor no one had been able to break her of. Lies just didn't exist in Leilani's world, even gentle ones. "Tired. Very proud of myself, too." Her smile deepened for a moment. "Would you like to meet your ..." She hesitated, glancing at Cian to make sure she got the word right. "Nice?"
"I'm not quite sure how it is biologically possible for a mermaid to mate with a man and bear him a child," George said, ever the doctor, wrestling with the plausibility of the situation, though he'd seen stranger things since he'd arrived in Rhy'Din some years ago.
"Well, she isn't, strictly speaking, a mermaid, is she?" Gabi answered, just as thoughtful as he was. "She has a tail when she's in the sea, but she walks on land with legs and all the appropriate bits in the right places, I would assume. It could be as simple and as complicated as magic, George. Rhy'Din doesn't have to make sense."
George chuckled as Gabi stated the obvious. "Gabi, Rhy'Din never makes sense," he corrected, but he didn't argue the facts. Somehow, Leilani had managed to give birth to a child, and they were about to meet that child. "Do you think she'd be offended if I asked to examine the baby?" he asked, uncertainly.
"I think you may have better success if you try not to use any clinical words about it," Gabi ventured. "She is your niece, you know. They're worried enough about being so very different from the rest of us - they're going to be quite sensitive about anything that suggests she's somehow wrong."
"I'm not sure there is such a thing as wrong here in Rhy'Din," George pointed out. He hated to think what might happen to Leilani or a child of hers back on Earth. She'd probably end up in a lab as a science experiment somewhere, but here on Rhy'Din, she was no more strange than an elf or an orc. "I'm only curious about how it's possible, but I suppose some things can't be explained or understood."
"She's half-human herself," Gabi reminded him. "And the existence of half-orcs, -elves, and -dwarves does suggest that the human DNA makes certain that it can reproduce. Wouldn't it?"
"Humans do tend to be rather prolific," George agreed, but he wasn't a geneticist or even a biologist. He was a simple doctor, his specialty that of surgery. He was good with a scalpel, but not so much with research. Still, he found the idea of a mixed birth fascinating.
"I should imagine she at least has gills," Gabi pointed out, raising her hand to knock on the door as they arrived. "She has been underwater for two days, and I don't think Cian can share his charm."
"It makes one wonder what would have happened if the child had been a boy," George remarked further. Would the boy then be a merman' Did mermen even exist' Just how did mermaids proliferate" Did they lay eggs like most fish or were they livebearers, like swordtails" Lelilani's birth seemed to suggest they were the latter, but George thought it might be a little rude to ask.
Gabi paused thoughtfully, prepared to wait for as long as it took for Cian to untangle himself from wherever he was and let them in. She remembered being that groggy after the boys' births. "You know, it might not even be possible for her to have boys," she mused. "She said she only had sisters, no brothers."
"That's an interesting thought. I guess no one told King Triton," he remarked, hiding the smirk from his face as soon as the door opened.
"Hey," Cian greeted them, looking a little tired, but none the worse for wear. "Come on in," he said, pulling the door open for them. They were expected, after all.
"Triton's one of Poseidon's sons," Gabi told her husband with a triumphant grin, tilting her head as the door opened. "How's the daddy?" she asked, stepping in to hug her brother tightly. "Eating properly?"
George might have opened his mouth to debate mythology further had Cian not answered the door. Cian smiled as he returned his sister's hug.
"I'm fine, Gabi. Just a little tired. And you can tell Miranda and the rest of the family to stop sending casseroles. We've got enough food to feed an army!" he said with a chuckle. "Hi, George. Thanks for coming," he greeted his brother-in-law with a handshake. While the two men got along well enough, they had not yet become close friends.
"Of course," George replied politely with a handshake of his own. "You're family."
"You know you're allowed to freeze most of it, right?" Gabi teased her brother. "We just want to know you guys are eating properly without getting tired out - babies are hard work!" She toed her sandals off and set her bag down in the hall, trying to be calm and patient.
"I'm starting to realize that," Cian replied with another chuckle. "Can I get you anything" Lemonade" Iced tea?" he asked, in an effort to be a gracious host. He and Lani weren't used to getting a lot of visitors at their little cottage near the shore, but Gabi was one who was always welcome. A little mewl sounded nearby, a little tabby cat named Harper making himself known as he curled himself around Cian's leg.
"You sit down, I'll make the drinks," Gabi told him. "You did it to me when I had the boys, it's my turn to bully an overtired parent for once." She flashed him a cheeky smile. "Where have you left them, in the bath?"
Cian laughed. "No, they're in the living room. Go on in. I can get the drinks," he insisted.
"You know there's no arguing with her," George interjected. "I am constantly being reminded that the woman is always right."
"When she's the only woman in the house, that counts double," Gabi insisted, waving them away toward the living room. "Shoo. I know my way around your kitchen."
Cian laughed again. "Have it your way. I'm too tired to argue." He waved George ahead of him. "Right through there," he said, though the cottage was small and quaint enough for them to find their way around easily enough. Cian scooped up the cat as he followed George into the other room. "What's the matter, Harper" Feeling left out?"
The little cat purred as he was picked up, nuzzling his soft face against Cian's chin affectionately. The introduction of a new baby was always a bit of a shock for any animal in the house, after all.
Leilani was dozing in one of the enormous armchairs Miranda had insisted on getting for the couple's home, her feet up on the arm of the nearby couch, and a small squirming bundle lying on her chest. She smiled as George preceded Cian into the room, raising a hand to wave at him. "Hullo, George."
"Hello, Leilani. It's good to see you. How are you feeling?" he asked, the doctor's bedside manner kicking in and asking about her well-being. She had just given birth, after all. Had she or the baby even seen a doctor" He wasn't sure.
She breathed deeply through her smile. "Sore," she admitted with that disarming candor no one had been able to break her of. Lies just didn't exist in Leilani's world, even gentle ones. "Tired. Very proud of myself, too." Her smile deepened for a moment. "Would you like to meet your ..." She hesitated, glancing at Cian to make sure she got the word right. "Nice?"