Christmas Eve (Peter, Open to anyone)

[father-peter.livejournal.com]

The party was beautiful. Peter was surrounded by the people he loved, and he couldn't think of anything better than that. After the year he'd had, finding he had terminal cancer, losing the battle and his memories along with it, his death, the Templar...everything. It meant so much just to be here. Just to be with them.

Peter smiled to himself as he saw Lavannah, dressed exquisitely in a red satin dress, dancing with her baby brother William in her arms, Gavin on the other side of her. They both looked so damn happy, and it made Peter happy to see. The Montgomerys were there, fussing over Aly who was quite pregnant by now, and Christina and David as well because what Jacinta did best was fuss. The Littletons were there, mingling and speaking with Spectre. The children were off playing with Peter's somewhere with the exception of Anna who was dancing on Tamm's feet. Deirdre was getting quite drunk, laughing with her girls and Alessa and Kat. Hope was clinging to Tasha, but she was here. Fiona too, though she was spending most of her time with Pierre or Zoe or with Hope and Tasha. And that was just fine. Peter just wanted them all to be happy. He smiled a Joanne and Emilio and Jean. Rosa was running about the place with mistletoe in her hand, trying to get everyone ever to kiss her under it. Dimitri and Sergei were laughing with a pleased looking Rhianwyn. People just looked happy.

And then the door opened again, and Paul walked in carrying his daughter Dahlia, followed by two young women. "So sorry we're late, Peter!" Paul said, breathless.

"No matter." Peter said kindly, hugging Paul tightly, careful to avoid squishing his daughter. Then he froze as he looked at the two girls with him. One was the prostitute Paul had sent him to pay the protection money for on Dwyer Street. The one who had seen he didn't belong in that place in three seconds flat. Interesting. "Hello?"

"This is Lorelei and Layla." Paul said, stepping back to stand between them. "Girls, this is my good friend, Peter Kemp."

"Hi!" Lorelei said, recognising Peter instantly. She gave him a little wink and Peter went red.

Comments

[sleighted-hand.livejournal.com]

"Whoa," Layla said breathlessly, as she looked around at all the people and all the house. "What a fucking huge house! Where'd you get it?" she asked Peter, all grins and wide eyes and new clothes. While not revealing, they were fashionable, and still made Layla look good.

Tasha was nearby, and subtley raised an eyebrow at Paul's girl's exclamation. Paul's girl? Paul's girls, but Paul had a wife, so who knew who these two were...

As Rosa ran around kissing people under the mistletoe, Jean caught her eye. He gave her a wink, and held out his arms to her. "Ma cherie!" he called. "A kiss for a lonely man?" Not that Roxy ever let him be lonely, but a kiss for a man who got sex left, right and centre just didn't have the same ring to it...

"Tristan!" Spectre raised his hand with a horns up, just to make sure Tristan could actually catch sight of him. He waved his fellow musician over to the conversation with a number of members of the Littleton clan, keen to introduce his friend. "Come meet my adoptive family!"

[father-peter.livejournal.com]

Peter tried not to frown, and he managed to force a smile onto his face for Layla. "It was my mother's house." He said simply, looking around it with disinterest. It kept them warm, that was what mattered.

Lorelei raised her eyebrows. "My mum didn't leave me shit. Lucky you."

Peter bit his lip and then he nodded. "I...I am that..."

Rosa grinned and then she pranced over to Jean. "Rosa make not lonely!" She announced and she kissed him full on the lips, and then she patted him on the head. "All better!" She decided. Emilio spit his tea back into his mug, which was completely uncouth.

Lavinia gave Tristan a warm hug because she always did that, and Abby smiled and waved at him. "Hi, Tristan, good to see you." She said gently. Joe and Adam were hanging back, but they waved and smiled as well.

Ellie was with Renee, Kait and Deirdre, watching Deirdre get smashed and occasionally break into song. She really was very cute. "Why does she look quite racy?" Ellie asked Renee, in a voice that sounded more innocent than she really was.

Hope was clinging to Tasha, when she was overcome with a coughing fit. Liz, who had been sitting on a sofa, cuddling her wife, immediately stood and headed for her daughter. "Hope, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Mum..." Hope nodded, in between coughs.

[sleighted-hand.livejournal.com]

"You probably wouldn't have wanted your mum's shit anyway," Layla said to Lorelei with a shrug. "It was probably all like, total crap. Paul's got class." She nudged him with her hip, and grinned. "He's like, adopted us or something," she told Peter. "It's totally awesome. Good luck getting in her pants now!" She indicated Lorelei, and laughed a tinkling laugh that only sounded so young by virtue of the fact that she still wasn't completely over the fact that she could really laugh these days.

Jean just blinked at the force of nature that was Rosa. He wasn't quite sure whether he was being mocked with the pat on his head, but he forced a smile onto his face anyway. Clearly if he was being mocked, good humour was the approach to take. "Yes, very better!" he agreed with Rosa, and shot Emilio a look. He obviously understood the mocking!

Renee pressed herself up against Deirdre, posing there for Ellie. "She's being Santa's whore," she said in a sultry voice. Renee was somewhat inebriated too, and was feeling quite open. Particularly with her gorgeous friend Ellie. "Guess who gets to be Santa?" she said with a grin.

Tasha held onto Hope, albeit gently so that she could get her coughing done without interference. She just wanted her girlfriend to know she was still there. As clingy as Hope was, Tasha returned the favour, though for different reasons. She wanted as badly for Hope to know she was there, as Hope wanted her to be there. Tasha winced as Hope coughed, but she knew her girlfriend was ill after her sodden experience in the graveyard. It didn't make it any less unpleasant to see her like this, though.

[father-peter.livejournal.com]

"I...I don't want...in her pants..." Peter squeaked and he looked lost. Paul just gave him a polite smile as Lorelei turned to Layla.

"Yeah her stuff totally was crap..." Lorelei said, as if this was a though that had never occurred to her before.

Rosa grinned at Jean. "Rosa glad then!" And she held the mistletoe over Emilio who's laughter died into something akin to a sound of pain. "You kiss Rosa too?"

"I...I'm gay!" Emilio squeaked, looking at Jean for help.

"Gay like..." Rosa frolicked around miming 'happy' though really...she could be meaning 'frolicking gay man' if you didn't know she didn't speak English all that well...

Emilio had to put his tea down.

Hope continued to cough, and Emma made her way over to them as well. "Sweetheart, are you sure?"

"I'm fine!" Hope insisted, though she did look rather pale. "Just a cold!"

Razvan sidled up to the Littletons, causing Stuart to give him a greasy look. "Hello, Littletons!" Razvan said happily. "And Spectre." He added.

"Spectre's a Littleton." Lavinia said proudly, giving Spectre a wink.

"Hmm." Razvan considered that. "Okay." He looked over them to Svetlana and he winked at her. "Everyone's here, aren't they."

"Yes. Even you." Abby said back to him, though at least in her case the teasing him was good natured.

[just-indulge-me.livejournal.com]

"Meh," Layla said with a shrug. She looked past Peter to see the enormous spread of food that had been set out. "Oh my god!" Woe be to anyone who stood between Layla and the food then. She found herself a plate, and started heaping everything up on it.

Jean watched Rosa's impression of a gay man, and nodded enthusiastically. "Yes! That's exactly what he is! Well done, Rosa!" He grinned widely, and looked over to Emilio for his agreement.

Tasha really wasn't too sure about Hope's coughing fit. It didn't sound healthy. She'd managed to draw Jubilee's attention as well, and the blonde was approaching with a worried look on her face. "Jubes, can you grab some water? Now?" Tasha asked, and Jubilee hurried to comply.

"Hello, Razvan," Spectre greeted the demon, and reached out to shake his hand. Razvan had been on his best behaviour for some time, and deserved to be treated as such. "Are you enjoying yourself tonight?"

Svetlana rolled her eyes, but tried to keep her expression from being too uncharitible. She bounced her baby in her arms, and drifted closer to Peter and Paul, instead.

[father-peter.livejournal.com]

"Holy shit, you catered for elephants!" Lorelei exclaimed and she followed Layla happily. Paul stepped closer to Peter.

"They've never been anywhere like this before...." He sounded slightly embarrassed.

Peter put a hand on Paul's shoulder, instantly forgetting that they were uncouth because dammit, everyone deserved a merry Christmas. "Then I'm glad you brought them, Paul." He said firmly, his smile genuine. "Really. They're quite welcome. As are you, eat for goodness sake!" And Peter gave little Dahlia a kiss on her forehead. "And you too, Cutie!"

"Yes!" Dahlia exclaimed and Peter simply melted. God he loved babies.

Emilio glared at Jean, his expression clearly saying, 'I hate you, I hate you, I hate you' but luckily Rosa was easily distracted. She lost interest in Emilio and she flounced over to Chloe instead who seemed quite pleased and she snogged Rosa happily.

Hope watched Jubilee hurry away, feeling guilty. "Just...need a cough sweet..."

Razvan gave Spectre a pleasant enough smile. "It's nice to have somewhere to go. Thank you for asking." He was trying to deal with Svetlana's blow off gracefully...

Peter glanced at Svetlana and he grinned. More babies! His baby! "Hello!" He said to her cheerfully, and he kissed Rasputina's head. "How's my baby girl?" He smoothed her hair back and then he kissed Svetlana's forehead too. "Are you having a good time?" He asked, slightly concerned because sometimes Svetlana got a little weird around so many people. And there really were people. Everywhere.

Spence was sitting on Sergei's lap, but Sergei wasn't looking at his girlfriend, he was glaring at Spence's brother Owen. Whom he hated. Because Owen's actions had put Spence in hospital for so many months. Owen, for his part, was glaring back. He didn't think Sergei was worthy of his sister. Dimitri was trying to avoid the obvious chill by talking to Alexei. "Remember the car Sergei stole? The one that wouldn't run, so he couldn't even bring it back?"

"Not...helping..." Sergei gritted to his younger brother.

[dj-crowley.livejournal.com]

"Hey!" Layla called out to a raven-haired woman with a scar on her cheek. She looked a few years older than Layla, and she seemed somewhat confused by the sudden address by a girl she didn't know. Layla held out her pile of custard and pudding, and nodded to the chocolate concoction that the other woman was holding. "Slop some of that stuff on top of this stuff!"

Alessa looked dubious, but there was plenty of food for everyone, so there was no good reason not to oblige. She 'slopped' as Layla directed, all the while glancing at Kat to see if her pink-haired girlfriend had any recognition of the young brunette.

"Whoa," Jean said softly, watching Rosa and Chloe. He pointed, a little subtley at least, so that Emilio would know where to direct his attention. "Girl gayness."

"We'll get you one in just a second," Tasha said to Hope. "As soon as Jubilee comes back with- there she is." Tasha took the glass of water from Jubilee, followed by, "Juju, can you get Dad to bring some cough sweets, please?"

Jubilee nodded. "Uh-huh!" And she hurried off to find Peter.

Peter was talking with Svetlana, and the Russian demon smiled at him. "It's nice here," she said. "We're both having a good time. There are some people here we don't like, and I wish Thomas and Ryn and Josie were here, but it's nice. No one is being mean, crazy Uncle Razvan's just a dick." And that was what she thought of that.

"Peter!" Jubilee called, and Svetlana looked over to the squeaky blonde. "Hope's coughing up a lung and needs a sweet or something!"

Alexei chuckled quietly at the memory Dimitri brought back. It hadn't been Sergei's finest moment, and it was one of the few times that the younger brother and Tasha had actually been united in giving Sergei hell. Of course, the next day Tasha had turned around and punished Dimitri for being so mean to his brother... "There were difficult years in Russia," Alexei said, trying to be diplomatic about the matter. "Even families that were relatively well off would sometimes struggle. Our military would sell our tanks on the border to the highest bidder in order to buy overpriced meat that would be on the sale racks anywhere else in the world. Even the simplest luxuries of England must be appreciated by comparison."

[father-peter.livejournal.com]

Kat just shrugged and shook her head slightly as if to say, 'no fuckin' clue, Gorgeous' and then she bounced little Zoe on her hip and glanced around to see where Zoe's twin had gotten to.

Emilio caught sight of Chloe and Rosa and he raised his eyebrows. Then he patted Jean on the back. Girl gayness indeed. "Drink more nog." Emilio suggested calmly.

Peter put a hand over his mouth for fear he burst into a gigglefit that would never end. It was true. Razvan was a dick. But less so, lately! "I wish Thomas and Josie were here too." Peter said kindly. "And...Ryn..." Though that wasn't really true. And Ryn probably would only have come if Peter had paid him. "I'm glad you think it's nice-" But Peter was cut off by Tamm's little sister addressing him quite loudly. "She's...she needs a...right..." Peter looked worried and he patted Jubilee on the shoulder. "Thank you, Darling." He smiled at Svetlana. "Excuse me."

Hope had spent hours in a graveyard in the rain in the middle of winter and it was hardly surprising she was sick. This, however, seemed worse than a little cough. And just as Peter neared them, dutifully carrying the bag of cough sweets, Hope turned and coughed. All over him. Peter closed his eyes and shuddered inwardly, taking a moment to calm, lest he leap about the place in horror, shouting 'quarantine me, I've been germed!!'. When he opened his eyes again, his body was still quite rigid. He could feel goo on his face. Yuck. Germs, germs gerrrrmmmssssssss! "Okay, Sweetheart, maybe we should get you to a doctor." He said, as calmly as he possibly could.

"It's just a cold!" Hope wailed.

Liz neared closer to Peter and she surveyed the spittle on his face. "Hope, this doesn't look like a healthy colour." She said before wiping at Peter's face with a napkin.

"OH EW! Liz! You're...you're rubbing it in, stop!" Peter flapped at her, completely mortified that Liz had just decided that Hope's phlegm was an unhealthy colour by looking at his cheeks. "Give me that!" He snatched for the napkin. "You need antibiotics, Honey. We're going to a doctor. In five minutes." And then he darted for the bathroom in desperate search of soap. All in all, the extra thirty seconds he'd taken to stand there was a pretty good effort, he thought.

Dimitri rested his head on his hands and he nodded. "And I got pretty good and nicking things from stores but Tasha always nicked it from me. Ah, the good old days..."

Spence looked charmed for some reason. Owen looked terribly dubious.

[sleighted-hand.livejournal.com]

"Phwoar!" Layla said appreciatively. "Brown goo!" That was Layla's favourite, and she munched on it contentedly. Soon enough, another item of foodstuff caught her eye, and she spooned that onto her plate as well. The spoon itself was very nice, all shiny and silver. Without even thinking about it, Layla licked the remaining food off, and slipped the spoon into her pocket.

"Yes!" Jean agreed. Emilio had a good plan there, and he obediently set off to get some more egg nog. And some for Emilio, of course!

"It's okay," Tasha said softly to Hope as she stroked her hair. "We'll be back here soon enough, and hopefully you'll be feeling better, too. We'll get you taken care of." She kissed her girlfriend's head. Tasha didn't mind the proximity, even when Hope was sick. If Tasha was going to catch it, she was going to catch it, and there wasn't really much to be done about that apart from taking the usual steps she did to maintain her constitution, healthy diet and exercise.

Alexei smiled at Spence, glad she seemed to be enjoying their tales. "Despite all that, Russia really wasn't so bad. There was some good in the old days." He patted Dimitri's shoulder. "One thing I remember, is the first days of Spring every year. The cold would be lifting, but snow would still remain on the ground, and every morning it would glitter in the sun while birds sang. If you went to the country, you could see it without pollution, in quaint little villages. Sometimes, I think it would have been better to live there than St. Petersburg. People didn't mind getting by without much, there. Not like in the city. It always seemed to be a battle there."

[amendable.livejournal.com]

Paul, being a detective and having the prior knowledge that Layla liked to steal shiny things, noticed the glint of silver as it went into Layla's pocket. He took three giant steps over to the table, reached in to her pocket, and withdrew the spoon. "Layla, don't do that!" He whispered, and Dahlia giggled from her perch on his hip.

Peter returned, looking like he'd showered in high-pressure water or something. "We can go see a doctor at my hospital if you'd prefer. Dr Tracey is working tonight." His wife was there anyway, so he didn't mind being there on Christmas Eve. Poor guy. "He's fantastic. He'll have you in and out, yeah?"

Hope looked miserable, but she nodded. "Okay..." She clung to Tasha, and then moved with the small pack of people, towards the door.

Fiona noticed them and she squeezed Pierre's hand. "I think Hope's leaving?"

Dimitri smiled at Alexei. "Didn't get out to the country much. Sounds nice though. Better than...battling."

Sergei hugged Rhianwyn tight and she gave a little squeal. "I'm going to take my girl there one day, just to visit. We'll be sure to go to the country too."

"He's going to show me where he was a hooligan..." Spence said matter-of-factly. Dimitri snorted and Owen glowered.

[sleighted-hand.livejournal.com]

"Oh! Sorry." Layla grinned at Paul, and pointed to the dish she'd got the spoon from. "It goes over there," she said, not even thinking about the fact that she'd licked it all over. "I won't do it again," she told him with a sweet smile. The fact was, sometimes Layla just stole things out of habit. It didn't even really register to her that she was doing it.

Pierre looked up and observed the small family group heading out. "I wonder what that's about?" He rose and headed over there, making sure not to leave Fiona behind in the meantime. "Guys, what's up?" he called. Upon moving closer, Hope wasn't looking too flash. It seemed like her cold had gotten a lot worse since she'd been here.

"That'll be a long visit," Alexei said with a wink. He turned to Owen, and placed a hand lightly on his shoulder. "Cheer up, tovarisch. It's Christmas, and we are all good men now. We have in our hearts the same thing, the care for your little sister."

[sky-will-fall.livejournal.com]

"That's okay." Paul smiled and then he kissed the top of Layla's head because it seemed like the thing to do. And then he plopped the spoon right back in to the dish, as he hadn't seen her lick it. Kat made a horrified face and she rushed over to the table to quarantine the dish.

Peter kept his hand on the small of Hope's back as he turned to address Pierre. "Just heading to the hospital to make sure everything is okay. We'll be back soon, Pierre."

Fiona watched them and then she slipped her arms around Pierre's. "You'll be okay, Hope."

Hope just nodded. And she would have asked Fiona to come with her, but they were already going to struggle to fit in the car. So she kissed Fiona's head, not thinking about germs, and they headed out, all five of them. Fiona turned to Pierre. "That's depressing. Make your dad cheer me up!"

Sergei laughed heartily. Yes. If he showed Spence everywhere he'd been a hooligan, it would indeed be a very long visit. Spence, for her part, poked her brother in the leg with her sparkly red shoe. "Go get some nog, Griff. Cruise for ladies outside the gene pool!" And Owen glowered at her before standing and slinking off to the food table. "Oh, that was a bit harsh, wasn't it?" Rhia asked, looking horrified.

"But uhm...fair.." Dimitri conceded.

[eligible-boy.livejournal.com]

Pierre was chewing his lip in worry. Hospital seemed a bit extreme, but realistically, there probably weren't any lesser medical facilities open at this hour of Christmas Eve. So hospital it was, really... He turned to Fiona, and gave her a smile. Hope would be taken care of. They'd be back soon. Everyone would be fine. "My dad will do an excellent job of that!" he declared, and led Fiona back towards where his father was holding court with a number of others, Renee and Jean among them.

When Pierre called out to him, Claude Beaudreaux turned with a manic grin, and a turkey hat held by the neck in his hand. "Sacre bleau! You always bring the prettiest girls to see me. Where do you find them?" He also happened to be wearing a pair of flight goggles on his forehead, and these he pulled out so they snapped back to cover his eyes. It looked like it would have to hurt, but Claude didn't even flinch.

Alexei's jaw dropped a little, but there really didn't seem to be anything he could say to the implication there. So he just nodded, and said in a somewhat quieter voice, "Yes, I'm sure it was perfectly fair..." At least Dimitri and Sergei didn't seem perturbed by it. Whatever floated one's boat...

[courtesan-tears.livejournal.com]

Fiona giggled, instantly feeling better because Claude Beaudreaux was a kick and a half. "He found me at high school!" Fiona winked. "You erm..probably shouldn't look there though..."

Spence just shrugged it off. Griff was a big boy, he could handle it. And she was quite content to sit in Sergei's lap and talk for the rest of forever. Until Rosa came flouncing up. "Kiss!" She demanded, and she laid one right in Spence's lips. Dimitri's eyebrows met his hairline and inwardly, he wondered if he was next...

Lorelei had too been hit by the whirlwind that was the kissing Rosa, but she'd just kissed her on the lips because she'd never met her before. And then she'd noticed Chloe looking at her. Well not so much at her as near her. Lorelei followed her eyeline and she smiled at Gawain. Of course Gawain had followed her here. And apparently Chloe could see him too. Quietly, Lorelei made her way over to talk to the girl who could also see ghosts.

[dj-crowley.livejournal.com]

"Ah yes, sadly my days of high school conquests are long over," Claude said, and hung his head.

"What do you mean, 'sadly'?!" Claude's wife and Pierre's mother, Fifi, punched Claude playfully in the arm. "And don't think I'm dressing up in a schoolgirl outfit for you!"

"But you'd wear the pleated skirt so well..."

Pierre just shook his head, but he was smiling. It was lovely to see his parents like this, even after twenty-odd years of marriage.

Alexei chuckled softly at the exuberant demon. She was certainly something else. "Don't mind Rosa," Alexei said to Dimitri. "She seems to have been doing that all night."

[xandrov-lives.livejournal.com]

Fiona laughed and she nodded. "I think so too! I have old ones you can borrow!" And she winked at Pierre.

Rosa turned to Alexei. "Rosa is spreading cheer." She explained. "Peter said cheer is the reason for Christmas. So pucker up, Russian man!" Dimitri put his hand over his mouth and tried very hard not to laugh.

[dj-crowley.livejournal.com]

"As long as we get them back!" Pierre emphasised. "I like those skirts," he added, with a wink right back to Fiona. "Being out of school seems to make all the difference..."

Alexei laughed as well, a genuine, deep Russian laugh. It had been a while since he'd felt that, and he was grateful to Rosa. Despite his Jude still being gone, this Christmas was turning out to be okay. "Well, how can I argue with you there?" Despite the odd tingling it gave the ex-angel, he leaned down to kiss the shorter demon.

[afadingillusion.livejournal.com]

Fiona closed her eyes as she laughed then, feeling a lot of the terror she'd felt since waking up in that horrible box, just drain away. Being surrounded by people you loved just did that. "I have more than one you know!" She said, kissing Pierre on the cheek.

Rosa kissed Alexei and then she grinned. "Triumph!" And then she darted away for the kitchens to tell Aly and Jacinta she'd kissed Alexei.

Dimitri looked put out. "I didn't get a kiss!"

So Rhianwyn slid from Sergei's lap and kissed his cheek. "Better?"

"Yes!" Dimitri grinned

"No!" Sergei followed, his voice protesting. Spence just giggled and then she searched around for Jubliee.

[golden-jubilee.livejournal.com]

"Good point!" Pierre said with a grin. "I was a filthy bugger. I only had one school shirt."

"Oh, as if you ever could have gotten by with only one!" Fifi said, shaking her head. "He's right about one thing," she told Fiona. "He is a filthy bugger. The amount of grass and mud stains I had to get out of his clothes..."

Pierre blushed. "Aw, mum...!"

Jubilee was hanging about Alessa and Kat, every now and then cooing at Zoe as well. She liked babies. They were so cute! When they were other people's, of course. Jubilee wasn't too bright, but she knew she didn't want a baby. Not for a good, long time. When she saw Spence approaching, she grinned at her brightly and waved. "Hi Spence! Do you know Kat and Alessa?"

[angels-facade.livejournal.com]

Fiona snorted. "What on earth were you doing in the mud and the grass, Pierre!?" She asked with a huge grin on her face.

"Rolling about in it, trying to impress girls. You know that sloppy look is in." Emilio said with a completely straight face. But then he winked.

"Not really! Hi! I'm Rhianwyn Spencer. Rhia or Spence. Nice to meet you!" Spence said with a wave.

"Kat!" Kat said, shaking Spence's hand. "I'm Jubilee's big brother's best friend. And Alessa is my gorgeous lady!" She kissed Alessa's cheek and bounced Zoe on her hip a bit more as Zoe reached across for Alessa to hold her.

"Nice to meet you!" Spence said happily, putting one arm around Jubilee.

[eligible-boy.livejournal.com]

Pierre laughed as Emilio explained, as he wasn't really that far from the truth. "I was rolling around with boys!" Pierre continued with a wink. "We were playing football!"

"He was always playing some sort of sport," Fifi said, as Claude watched her adoringly. "Half the time, I didn't even understand the rules, but they always seemed to make sense to the boys. I was alright, I could just sit with Renee, and we'd sip lemonade together."

Renee grinned, and gave Fifi a hug. "Fifi was my favourite mum in France!"

"Oh, be nice to your mother," Fifi told Renee. "It's not her fault she's not very bright," she added with a wink.

Jubilee cuddled up to Spence happily. It was nice having friends who gave hugs all the time.

Alessa smiled at Spence, and took Zoe from Kat's arms. "And this is our beautiful baby girl, Zoe. Her sister Bianca's around here somewhere. They're both in very high demand." She kissed the top of Zoe's head, and bounced her a little.

[sky-will-fall.livejournal.com]

Fiona snorted and she raised her eyebrows as she smiled. "Well! I can see how you'd be a favourite anyway!" Fiona winked at Fifi and then she wrapped her arms around Renee.

Spence laughed. "Awesome. Twins? I saw you come in earlier. I'm a twin too, but my sister's a prat."

Kat gave Spence a sympathetic look. "Ah well...you aren't and that's what matters. Where the hell is my daughter?!" She stood up and located Aly who was sitting with baby Bianca in her lap because Jacinta was hogging baby Thomas and she wanted a baby to hold, dammit! "There she is! She's with cousin Aly. All is well." She sat back down again and leaned against Alessa's shoulder.

[gonetoground.livejournal.com]

Renee melted into Fiona's embrace, and turned to kiss her cheek. After what Fiona had been through, and after having spent Christmas lunchtime with her mother, having Fiona's arms around her meant the world to Renee.

"Aly's a wonderful woman. She didn't even mind her husband coming to my strip show." She blushed, and covered her mouth. "Oh! I hope that wasn't too much information..."

Cuddled up to Spence, Jubilee just giggled. Alessa was cute when she was all shy stripper!

[father-peter.livejournal.com]

Spence's eyes widened, but not in a rude way. "Awesome! Aly is great. And Peter too. I can't quite picture him at a strip show, though....did he hide under something?"

Kat giggled. "Just about. I think Aly wishes she were there instead." And she winked at Alessa.

The trip to the hospital had been short and sweet. In and out. Dr Tracey had listened to Hope's lungs and heard crackling which indicated pneumonia. He prescribed antibiotics and rest, and they were back to the party without much hassle. Except Hope was brooding because dammit, she didn't want to be sick. The second they were inside, Peter darted upstairs to take a quick shower before returning. Liz and Emma went to find Zoe to explain what was going on, and Hope went to sit down, pulling Tasha along with her. They ended up near the Russian mob and Hope frowned at Dimitri, Sergei and Alexei. "I'm sick!" She announced, her voice miserable.

"So's he..." Sergei said, pointing at Owen who was trying to chat up Svetlana, despite the weird vibes he got from her. Svetlana sexy...

Dimitri just swatted his big brother's arm.

[demon-svetlana.livejournal.com]

Alessa chuckled softly, and already found herself feeling much more at ease with Spence. She was sweet, and obviously open-minded. And she was nice to Jubilee, which was always an endearing quality as far as Alessa was concerned.

Tasha cuddled her miserable Hope to her, and kissed her hair softly. "You'll be better soon, baby," she said. "We know what's wrong now, and we'll fix you right up. You'll be healthy again in no time."

"What is it that ails you, exactly?" Alexei asked, his concern evident in his tone. He gave Sergei a look, but was more worried about Hope right now.

Svetlana looked at the angel who was trying to chat her up slightly disdainfully. It was impossible to tell his age, really, but he wasn't very good at this. She wanted Thomas or Ryn. She forced a laugh at something he said, then asked, "Who's holding my baby right now?"

[officer-paul.livejournal.com]

"Pneumonia!" Hope wailed. "Stupid winter graveyard rain giving me stupid arsehole lung disease."

"Whoa, what?" Sergei looked shocked.

Dimitri, who knew far more about these things than Sergei, sprang into action. "Oh, Spence is talking to Kat and her girlfriend!" He said, knowing Kat from the time they'd lived at the Kemp Manorhouse together while she'd been very very pregnant. "You should come get to know Alessa better, she's awesome." And he grabbed Sergei's arm to pull him over. And while, under normal circumstances, Dimitri was a weakling and Sergei was not, Dimitri had shock on his side and he was able to pull his older brother away from Hope.

Owen bit his lip. "Ah. Baby. Right..." And he backed away as Paul hurried over.

"She's right here!" He said, holding both Rasputina and Dahlia, which was difficult. But Dahlia seemed enthralled with Rasputina. And it made sense. They were both demons.

[dj-crowley.livejournal.com]

"Stupid arsehole lung disease indeed," Alexei agreed. "What a pain. Perhaps if your mums wouldn't mind me commandeering their kitchen at some point soon, I could make you something that might help with your ailment? A natural aid to the antibiotic process."

Tasha smiled up at Alexei. "You're so kind, sweetie. Thank you." She would have to thank Dimitri later for his quick distraction of Sergei, too. No doubt Spence, along with Kat and Alessa, would be able to make good claim on his attention.

Alessa looked up and smiled at Dimitri as he approached, dragging a significantly larger man with him. "Found something interesting to show me?" she asked, eyebrows raised.

"Awww, aren't they cute!" Svetlana cooed as Rasputina and Dahlia played with each other. She took Rasputina from the overburdened Paul, but let the babies continue to interact. "They've made friends already. And no wonder." Svetlana grinned at Dahlia, and touched her nose. "Your daughter is very special, Paul."

[relinquite-spes.livejournal.com]

Hope smiled weakly at Alexei. "That'd be nice. Thank you. E&E won't mind, they're awesome and shit." She said, waving her hand about.

Dimitri chuckled. "This is my big brother, Sergei."

Spence immediately attached herself to her boyfriend. "This one belongs to me, though he seems to think otherwise. He's in denial." She said with a wink.

"Like hell! Baby, I'm yours!" Sergei said with a little grin that made Dimitri give Kat and Alessa a 'gross, brother love!' face.

Paul grinned at Svetlana, and he held Dahlia close. As Dahlia was a good year older than Rasputina, it was her initiating most of the play, touching Rasputina's face in wonder and smiling at the younger girl. "Thank you, Svetlana. So is yours."

[gonetoground.livejournal.com]

Tasha cuddled her girlfriend closer. She was making a valiant effort to stay on top of things, but it was easy to tell that Hope was a bit out of it. Although sometimes she just appeared that way anyway, but she usually did it much more loudly...

"He seems to understand the situation fairly well," Alessa said with a grin. "I think it's a bit more fluid with Kat and I. We like to change things up." She wrapped her arm around Kat's waist, and kissed her shoulder.

Svetlana watched the two babies playing, enthralled. "Well, Rasputina comes from a wonderful father. She's going to make him so proud." She glanced up at Paul. "Is Dahlia's mother here tonight?"

[officer-paul.livejournal.com]

"Hell yeah!" Kat said happily, giving Sergei and Spence a horns-up.

Paul smiled, though if one knew him, they'd be able to tell it was halfway forced. "No. No, Samantha is...somewhere. She drops by occasionally. She's a wonderful mother, she's just uhm...a little confused. Peter helps her though. He's known her since she was 15. He is a wonderful man, and father. And Rasputina couldn't do anything but make him proud." And Paul knew that was true. Peter was the sort of man who accepted people for who they were, be they demon, angel, werewolf, or human. And while some parents had a harder time doing that with their children, Peter didn't. He loved them just for the honour of being able to love them. Not because they were extraordinary or they were going to be doctors someday or because they were going to invent a way to teleport people around the globe. No, he loved them just because they were.