Wednesday, 20th February, 2013

Every day Des spent in the hospital he felt a little bit stronger, a little more rested, and a lot more antsy. He wasn't accustomed to having so much down time, and with all the time alone, it gave him almost too much time to think. Too much time to contemplate what had happened and all the implications thereof. But today wasn't about any of that. Today he'd been promised a visit from his other best girl, and he wanted that to be a happy occasion. He was thankfully no longer wearing a hospital gown, but a t-shirt and drawstring pants Jon had offered from his own wardrobe, claiming to have more clothes than he could possible make use of and more than happy to share them with his older brother. Lunch had arrived in the form of tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwich, vanilla pudding for dessert. Though it wasn't the best food in the world, Des had eaten heartily, slowly regaining his appetite.

That best girl's approach was audible long before she came into view, a familiarly hyperactive voice chattering close to non-stop with the occasional interjection from her mother growing steadily louder together with the equally familiar thump of small feet in boots. As the pair approached the door to Des' room, an imperious command was issued loudly. "No, this is my visit, go 'way, Mummy!"

A small snort from outside the door offered up the information that Piper was trying not to laugh as she answered. "All right, all right. Just don't jump all over him, okay' And I'll wait out here."

Lyneth's tone wasn't exactly happy with this compromise, but prepared to accept it. "Okay. But no peekin'."

Desmond couldn't help but overhear the chatter outside his room and chuckled a little at the imperious tone in Lyneth's voice. If he didn't find it so amusing and wasn't so touched that she wanted him all to herself, if only for a few minutes, he might have scolded her. If he wasn't careful, he knew he was in danger of spoiling her, but in his opinion, both Piper and Lyneth deserved to be spoiled, at least a little. For some reason, she brought out the child in him and he scuttled beneath the blankets, closing his eyes and pretending to be asleep.

After a moment spent securing a promise from her mother that there would be no interruptions, Lyneth finally made her appearance, wrapped up warm in her coat, hat, scarf, and gloves, and clutching a thick envelope in her hands. She didn't give a second look to the door once she was in, thumping over to the bed and reaching up with one mittened hand to grab hold of Des' t-shirt and shake as hard as she could. "Wake up, s'rude to be sleepin' when people bring you stuff!"

Des gave a loud snore, though it was probably obvious from the smirk on his face that he was trying and failing to hide the fact that it was all a ruse. He wasn't sure what it was about Lyneth, but she always seemed to find the mischief in him. He might not be ready to admit it, but a visit from his favorite little girl was just what the doctor ordered to pull him out of his funk.

The smirk only served to produce a slightly outraged giggle from the tiny girl. The mitten was removed from his shoulder, and a moment later came the sound of a chair being manhandled across the room.

"Lynnie?" Piper's voice called in through the door. "Is everything okay?"

Somewhat out of breath, Lyneth paused to call back. "Yes, Mummy, go 'way!"

After almost a full minute of silence, during which time the Fae-child apparently satisfied herself that her mother wasn't going to come bursting in, Lyneth climbed up onto the chair that was now as close against the bed as she could get, and peered down at Des' smirking face. "You're a stinker," she informed her favorite man, and promptly hit him quite firmly on the forehead with the envelope she'd brought with her.

He was having a hard time suppressing that chuckle, having to chew on the inside of his mouth so as not to break into a fit of laughter as he listened to the banter between mother and daughter. He pried one eye open a little to peer over at the little girl as she was struggling with the chair. If things got out of hand, he'd get up and help her but as determined as she was, she seemed to have things under control. He made another loud snoring sound as she climbed up on the chair, but as soon as she whacked him with the envelope all bets were off. "Ow!" he exclaimed, opening his eyes to peer up at her. "What kind of way is that to greet your future father?" he asked, trying to look stern and failing miserably. "You're the stinker, stinker!" Despite Piper's warning about Lyneth jumping on him, he reached over to tickle her as punishment for calling him names.

Protected by at least two layers of thick wool, Lyneth grinned triumphantly down at Des, clambering up onto the bed to thump down with him as she batted at his hands. "You're s'posed to be all sick and stuff," she informed him authoritatively, leaning over in a flail of limbs to plant one of her patented sloppy kisses on his cheek. "An' you missed Vallumteens Day, an' I made you somethin', an' then you was all sleepy and bleedy and stuff, an' Mummy says I can give it to you now, but I'm not allowed to bounce on you, 'cos you has a big hole in your tummy." There was a pause, and she added a belated, "Hello."

He pushed the pillows back to support him so he could sit beside her on the bed. It wasn't the most comfortable bed in the world, but until they decided it was safe for him to go home, he had no choice but to make the best of it. A few days, they'd said. Hadn't it been a few days already? He smiled at the kiss she planted on his cheek, sloppy or not, amused by the ramble of chatter that came from her, though there was a small frown at the mention of blood, remembering it had been her that had saved him - or some part of her. "Lyneth, I'm not sure how you found me, but thank you." He didn't bother to add that if it hadn't been for her, he probably wouldn't be here right now. He'd probably be dead.

She blinked her big eyes at him, the turquoise hue so unnatural in a human child seeming to fit perfectly in a face he had seen in two different stages of her lifespan now. He knew what this strange little girl was going to grow into. "You was hurtin'," she told him quietly. "An' fairies can't make portals work, an' Mummy would of known what to do, but you couldn't get to Mummy, so I helped."

He still wasn't quite sure how it all worked, how she'd managed to find him, how she'd opened a portal and brought him to Piper, and he wasn't sure if she knew either. Had she merely sensed his need and done what needed to be done" But if that was the case, how had she known he needed her help? Had they bonded in some way' "I don't really understand how you did it, but..." He paused a moment, deciding to take a chance and appeal to the older, wiser Fae that seemed to be part of her. "You saved my life, and I'll never forget that." It was a debt he could never repay, but he could give her something else. He could be the father she longed for.

He was quietly rewarded for his appeal to the older soul that resided within the little girl cuddled up beside him. Her expression changed, softening and maturing as she looked up at him with those old eyes of hers. "You brought the sunshine back into lives gone cold," she told him gently. "I'm not going to let the clouds come back if I can possibly help it." She patted his nose with a mittened hand, and suddenly was the mischievous child once again, waving her envelope about in front of his face. "Look what I maded for you!"

She was a puzzle to him - an amazing, wonderful, joyful puzzle of a girl whom he'd fallen in love with as deeply as he had with her mother. Just as he felt a lump growing in his throat, unshed tears threatening, she was a little girl once again, and he found himself laughing, chasing the tears away. "If you'd hold still a minute, I could see it!" he exclaimed with a chuckle as he tried to grab the waving envelope from her.

"No, Mummy had you all to herself before an' now it's my turn," Lyneth insisted, pouting grumpily as she snuggled down into his side. "An' the nurses says I can't come unless Mummy tells them I'm comin' an' the doctor says I can, an' that means I don't get you again until you come home. Did Mummy tell you we're livin' in your big car house?" The conversation took a sudden turn, the Valentine forgotten for now. "'Cos people keep fightin' each other, and Caroline made the Grove all open an' let people go and live there until it's all over, an' Humpy give us the key to your place." She tipped her head back to look up at him cheerfully. "I been dryin' my knickers on your radiators!"

He bit the inside of his mouth to hide the smirk at her impish insolence, more amused by it than anything else, but as she continued, Des arched a brow. Piper had told him most of what was going on, and he'd agreed she should do whatever she had to to keep Lyneth and herself safe. He didn't mind sharing the garage apartment with them for now. It was only temporary after all, and he had a feeling Humphrey liked having his family close. He wondered how many fairies had come with them. "Did Oisin come along, too?" he asked, curiously, wondering what the brownie would think of his temporary living quarters.

She nodded, happy to be able to report this. "He come - came - with us, but the others wanted to stay with their flowers an' stuff, an' Mummy's been visitin' every day to water them," she explained cheerfully, picking now at her cuticles. Her eyes strayed back to the card. "If roses are red an' violets are blue but not really, 'cos they're purple, what else does it say?"

He frowned a little at the thought of Piper stopping by the house alone to water the flowers, though he had a feeling the fairies wouldn't let any harm come to her, so long as they could help it. He might have asked more about that if he wasn't worried about Piper overhearing them from the hallway. "Oh..." he said, drawn back from his thoughts to the poem at hand. "It says, 'If roses are red and violets are blue, and you love my mummy, do you love me, too"'" He lowered the card to look over at her again, eying her as she picked at her nails. "I thought I answered that question already."

The look he got in return was about as innocent as they come. "But my teacher said that proper Valumteens cards are all about findin' out if someone loves you like you love them, but you're not allowed to put your name on them, an' I wanted to do it proper," Lyneth told him solemnly. "An' I couldn't do one for Mummy 'cos Mummy had to help me, an' Loki's a dog, an' Humpy laughed when I told him all about Vallumteens Day, an' the new baby's too small."

"The new baby?" he asked, momentarily puzzled before remembering that Jon and Vicki's baby had arrived. A little girl. He wondered if his brother felt half for his daughter what he felt for Lyneth, and Lyneth wasn't even his own flesh and blood. He pulled himself away from his thoughts again as pondered the Valentine. His initial reaction was to remind her that they'd been over this already and to reassure her that he loved her, but they were only words, after all. She'd probably heard them before from people who'd abandoned her, and he knew she'd come close to losing him, too. He sighed, a lawyer at a sudden loss for words.

"Em'lee," she provided the name for him, though he probably knew it better than she did. He hadn't yet met his niece, however, and Lyneth knew she had that advantage. "She's all small and scrunched up and grumpy, an' she can't talk or walk or do anythin' int'restin'. An' Uncle Jon an' Auntie Vicki are all sleepy all the time."

"I'm sure she'll be chasing after you soon enough," he told her with a smile that was both reassuring and wistful. There was a certain bittersweet feeling that came with the knowledge that his brother had found happiness and was making a family of his own. In a way, it almost paralleled his own life, though Lyneth wasn't his own daughter but the daughter of his heart. Des smiled a little as that thought came to mind, and he knew precisely how to answer the little question her Valentine had asked. The tricky part was putting it into words she could understand. "Lynnie, you know....You're just as special to me as Emily is to Jon and Vicki. Maybe even more. You know why?"

Perhaps surprisingly, Lyneth had an answer for that question, and one that was almost right. "Because you should of been my real daddy, an' you're goin' to marry Mummy an' ay-dropped me, an' then you'll be my real daddy an' we'll be a proper fam'ly?" she asked in return, turquoise eyes wide open with hope.

From the mouths of babes, she was very nearly right. He smiled warmly, stormy blue-gray eyes meeting those of turquoise blue. "Because I get to choose you for a daughter, and I couldn't love you more if I was your real Dad. Do you understand" I would be honored to be your father, Lyneth, and I would love to have your for my daughter." He held her gaze, awaiting her answer, hoping she understand at least a little what he was trying to say.

"Good, 'cos I'm not gonna let Mummy say no." She understood, in her childish way, that this was more of a declaration of love than the three words he'd shared with her over cake baking a week before. The tiny girl turned to wrap her arms around Des, mindful of the "big hole" she'd been told not to touch, and hugged in tight. "M'I allowed to call you Daddy yet?"

He returned her hug, wrapping his arms around the tiny girl and pulling her into his embrace, not worrying about any holes in him as they were mostly healed now. It was just a matter of making sure the magic stuck, or so he'd been told. He buried his face in her hair, so touched by her question that it took a moment for him to find his voice. He felt that little worry at the back of his mind again, reminding him that someday someone was going to come for her, someone who shared the bloodline with her that he did not, but that someone had abandoned her before she'd been born. He'd given up his right to the title of father, and Des was only too happy to take his place. "Do you want to?" he asked, breathing in the sweet innocence of her, falling deeper in love with the little girl who'd somehow managed to find her way to a heart he'd thought dead.

She nodded, but there was an air of hesitation about her, as though she wasn't sure she had the right to ask, much less come out and actually say it. After all, it wasn't just her friendship with Des that would be affected by that change, however small it seemed. "Maybe I should ask Mummy ..." she began, but trailed off as Mummy made herself known from the doorway.

"I think it's about time you two stopped dancing around each other," Piper said softly, smiling from where she was leaning against the door-frame. She met Des' gaze over Lyneth's head, her blue eyes warm and soft with the yes he hadn't quite got around to asking her for yet. It might not happen for some time, but now, at least, he knew what the answer would be. "If you think it's time, then it's time. But just in case you need me to say so ....then I don't mind, not at all."

"I would be honored to be your father, Lyneth," he told her solemnly. It wouldn't be legal for a while yet. Not until they were married and he officially adopted Lyneth, but there was no one and nothing stopping them from being a family, from loving each other, from playing the parts until then. There was nothing stopping her from calling him Dad, if that was what she wanted.

He'd already told Lyneth how he felt about it; it was completely up to her now. He lifted his gaze to look over at Piper as she came to stand in the doorway, finding the answer in her eyes to the question he'd been longing to ask her, his heart soaring with joy at the prospect of being both husband and father. They'd come a long way in less than three months. There was no turning back now. Desmond had come to Rhy'Din in search of family, but what he had found was so much more. He'd found love in the form of a little girl and her mother. He'd found a place where he belonged. He'd become part of a family. It had been a long time coming, but Desmond Granger had finally come home.

((Long time overdue, but awesomely sweet! Many thanks to Des' player!))