K'vk'tun. The beach by the clinic. Visitation.

[crazy-mardi.livejournal.com]

The beach was nice; immaculate white sand broken only by large black rocks.  The weather was that nice kind of sunny day with a breeze that cooled you off but didn't render you chilly.  The vivid blue sky was dotted with cotton-ball-like clouds.  If she didn't know any better she could have convinced herself that this was Florida and not another planet entirely.

Amidst the crashing of the waves could be heard the laughter of children playing somewhere nearby, and every so often a brindle greyhound dog would take off for the other end of the beach.

Ramada grinned.

"This vacation was a good idea."

Comments

[random_xtras]

Mykayla chuckled and tossed the rope and rubber toy for Wings again, then frowned slightly and leaned heavily on her crutches to rub her lower back as it twinged. "I'm glad you could come. This place is too beautiful to miss."

She looked up at the rocks that marched along like an uneven wall between beach and land here, wondering how well David was doing. Scrat had taken him on a run over those rocks; a trip that required a lot of leaping and that could result in scrapes and bruises if one mis-judged.

[crazy-mardi.livejournal.com]

"Completing a map of a chromosome makes me feel like I deserve it." Ramada stretched her arms high. "And yes, this place is stunning."

She watched the dog bolt down the beach and then turned to her friend. "You look like you need to rest," she said.

[random_xtras]

"Isaiah won't let me sit down." She sighed. "And when I lay down he'll only be still if Scrat's there to snuggle." A rueful headshake. "I know Josh wasn't this big."

Wings brought the toy to his mistress, but then paused and offered it to Ramada instead.

[random_xtras]

"Yes, but there are other things in the pool that I could eat. Like that purple seaweed." She nodded toward a deep plum rosette, then gasped as she suddenly found herself sitting on the sand. Wings barked with surprise, hurrying to her side so that she could pull herself up if she wanted to, but she only bit her lip and squeezed her eyes shut with pain.

[crazy-mardi.livejournal.com]

Without thinking Ramada had crouched and offered her hand to Mykayla as well. "Nerve pinched?"

It had happened with her when she was carrying Rhea from time to time.

[random_xtras]

She took it and tried to gather her legs under her, only to gasp.

"I can't feel my legs!"

[random_xtras]

"Thank you." Mykayla's face flushed at the unfamiliar sensation of helplessness, then paled slightly and rubbed her belly as Isaiah got excited and started pushing harder. "Oh... baby, stop that." -God please, help him calm down?-

[crazy-mardi.livejournal.com]

Ramada laughed. "It could be worse," she said, picking her way along the sand. "This all could have started six months ago."

[random_xtras]

"Oh dear," said Mykayla faintly at the thought. "Thank You, Jesus, that it didn't."

Then she turned her head and chuckled despite herself as David started cursing again in the distance.

[random_xtras]

"I'm glad," said Mykayla quietly, then sighed. "Did I ever tell you that I tried going back once?"

[crazy-mardi.livejournal.com]

She looked shocked. "No, you didn't."

[random_xtras]

Her small friend nodded and looked away, toward the ocean and the gaggle of children now splashing in the gentle waves. "No one could see me."

[random_xtras]

Mykayla's eyes narrowed, then widened and she started as the glimmering cloud moved. Yet she felt no warning; no intimation of danger from her Master. She frowned and watched it as it slowly swept to one side, away from she and Ramada.

[crazy-mardi.livejournal.com]

"That's odd." Ramada was watching it too.

[random_xtras]

"He says it's not dangerous...." She cocked her head and tilted it slightly to once side, then leaned back to keep the cloud in sight as it came down from the rafters and seemed to be exploring things in the little rock garden that grew to one side of the sitting area. "It looks like that nanite swarm from that old 'Dr. Who' episode."

[random_xtras]

It seemed to her eyes that the cactus was swelling just slightly as she looked back at it.

Mykayla frowned. "Do you see anything you could poke it with?"

[crazy-mardi.livejournal.com]

"I could step on it," she said. "My shoes are hard."

[random_xtras]

"Ohhh." She blinked as the little one looked back at her with uncertain interest. "They're just like... what did he look like before?"

[crazy-mardi.livejournal.com]

"He was white, for one thing...." Ramada brought the child back to her chest as she saw him screw up his face.

[random_xtras]

"What the @#$%&@'s it look like I... what's that?" His expression went from supreme annoyance to surprise as he noticed the baby, who was waving little fists and starting a low complaint.

"A child?" Scrat frowned with concern.

Mykayla just closed her eyes and chanted 'I will not throw up'.

[crazy-mardi.livejournal.com]

"Yes, it's - I can - can you -?" Ramada stammered for a few seconds, hovering between Mykayla and Scrat as she tried to figure out where to place the child so that she could tend to her husband.

[random_xtras]

He kissed her, then rolled his eyes slightly and looked toward his daughter. "Remember all those times you whined about being an only kid?"

"Like... bleep I did." Rhea frowned uneasily and shoved the incidents from her mind.

David scowled, wondering if his memory was shot, but then shook his head and gestured to her to come closer. "Look at this?"

The thirteen year old did so, walking around her mother and then hunkering down to look at the baby. "Hey... he looks like Maataa."

[crazy-mardi.livejournal.com]

"Yes," Ramada said, turning to watch. "I found him here."

[random_xtras]

"Oh." He pondered that.

"He'd be welcome here." Scrat looked up as he finished sealing the wound on David's leg.

[crazy-mardi.livejournal.com]

Ramada didn't really say anything. She was torn between what she wanted and what she was ready for and what everyone else seemed to be expecting of her.

She looked at David beseechingly, asking him to please make a decision about this.