Morningstar Manor

Andy let herself in, hung up her coat and went in search of her, she smirked, fellow parent-to-be.

"Honey I'm ho-ome," she called. "Oh hi, what're you up to?"

The Mocha was jumping today and many Manor regulars were out and about.

Deacon sat at a table reading over an email Seth had sent to him. It spoke of collars and other alternatives to them and had gotten Deacon thinking. But when Nia insisted on climbing into his lap he closed the email and instead opened up the video player to one of her Winnie the Pooh shows. He'd have to take her to daycare soon so that he could go to the dojo but until then they had a bit of time. So she sat happily in his lap, munching on a cookie and watching Pooh Bear and Deacon sipped his coffee and smiled down at her curly head.

****

Erik had been on the phone when he'd first arrived in the Mocha - speaking to his estate agent and working out everything that would need to be done before he and Angela returned home. Moving everything from their flat here back to Norfolk was a daunting task and so when that call ended - and he'd gotten his tea and found a table - he took a moment to simply sit. He'd had a bit of time before the next call needed to be made.

****

Micah sat in one of the chairs near the Mocha door, sipping his coffee and staring at nothing in particular. He was still furious with Robert Rossi's assumption that he could be bought off like that and hadn't yet said anything to Isabella about it. He'd need to though and likely soon. He'd also need to tell Max about the baby. That was a conversation he wasn't looking forward to.

****

Across the room at at a table Max was reading a paper and enjoying coffee and a bagel before it was time to head to work. Something was up with Micah, he knew, and he'd give it a bit more time before pressing the issue. Then there was the matter of Sterrin and her ex. Granted Max hadn't seen anymore of the man he'd sent to the ER but the fight had obviously caused a riff between Sterrin and her brother - something Max wasn't pleased with.

He sighed and turned a page in the newspaper. Relationships could be such a bother.

****

Rhys was back in the Mocha as well, dressed for work in slacks, a button up and a tie that hung a bit loose around his neck. A duffle bag with a change of clothes and his scrubs sat at his feet and he munched on his bagel and drank his coffee and mentally prepared for his shift.

Sarah had been finally cleaning out her boxes and bags she'd had shipped from all her travels -- and she'd found this small trinket which had screamed ERIK to her at the time...it wasn't anything fancy, just a small carved figurine of a man in along coat. It looked like him, a little, sort of stern but handsome and somehow kind. It was very polished from the rubbing of many fingers. The shop owner had said the figurine was meant to be rubbed for luck -- but Sarah never had. Rubbing a little man that looked like Erik Desler seemed sacriligious, somehow. But she'd tied into a small box along with a note that read, simply,

"Cleaning out my boxes and found this. Meant to give it to you long ago. Respectfully, Sarah."

She sort of missed him. Well, not even sort of. But not in a romantic way -- she knew he was seeing someone, that lovely dark-haired woman. Angie, maybe. Andy?

There was actually a lot she thought she could talk to him about, now, not in the way they'd done when he'd first moved in and she'd been the perky, annoying neighbor who baked brownies. She'd grown up.

Her tastes had...changed.

She thought more than anyone, he might understand.

But for now, the token.

Angela had gone on to work at the gallery and Erik had sent a message to Charlie to come up for tea before he too went to work. They had some things to discuss. The tea was nearly ready and Erik knew Charlie would be along shortly. He never made Erik wait.

In the early hours of the morning Erik rolled over in bed, breath deepening as the dream he was currently having slipped into something else. Greens and browns and the glint of sunlight off a small pond and Erik found himself in the warm comfort of the center of the Wood. He smiled, touching the stone 'throne' and running a finger along the symbols carved in it, then turned when he felt a presence.

"Ceri," he said with a soft sigh and the woman before him smiled and held out her arms. He went to her, holding her slight form to him and inhaling her scent - the summer sun, the earthy scent of growing things, the clean smell of the wind in the hills.

"It's time," she said, raising her hand to cup Erik's jaw.

"Time?" he asked, slightly confused.

"Time to come home," Ceridwen replied and Erik felt a jolt of relief. He had waited for years to hear those words.

"Because of the wedding?" he asked and Ceri smiled.

"You don't want to raise a family under that man's eye," Ceri said and Erik frowned. Ceri laughed softly and rose up on tip toes to kiss him softly. "Your lady has been ill, Erik. You're a Healer, look more closely. And then - bring them home."

Erik woke - not with a start but with the frown still on his face. Them? He rolled over looking for Andy.

Bea had spent all day making cupcakes.

Yes, cupcakes. The cake part was easy - all she had to do was follow the directions on the box of cake mix. However, what she'd really went balls-out on was the decorating. She'd made faces and figures and shapes and cartoons out of icing and candy until she was blue in the face, and it was time to deliver.

Trying to stay distracted? Maybe. But it was good karma, right?


She figured it was best to start at the top and work her way to the bottom, so she grabbed the first batch and took them up to the fourteenth floor, dropping a bride and groom pair off in front of Erik and Andy's door with a note, not wanting to disturb the love birds, then went to knock on Charlie's door.

She had a penguin cupcake for miss Nia, and a mouse cupcake for Charlie, plus plenty of flubs in case they wanted more.

Andy stirred the pot on the cooker - Charlie had given clear instructions and they had included "the more you stir the rice the creamier it gets" - and with her free hand turned over the page of the notebook she was trying to read.

"Dammit," she said as her fiancee entered the kitchen. "I wonder if every prospective bride reaches the stage where an offer of elopement sounds pretty good."

He'd been horribly nervous since deciding to do this but once the day was here the nervousness vanished. There was little worrying was going to help with. He would take her to dinner, take her for a moonlit stroll in the park, and pop the question. She would say yes or no. And really he couldn't do anything about it.

They'd gone to the Empress for dinner and it had gone very well - the food and wine was perfect of course and the atmosphere was romantic without being over the top. The weather was cooperating nicely - it wasn't bitterly cold but there was still enough snow on the ground to make the park a lovely picture.

With her arm tucked through his they strolled down the walking path in the general direction of the Manor.

"We don't do this often enough," Erik said.

It was that time of month again and Leo sat in the Mocha watching the steam rise from his tea and waiting for Erik.

He caught Joy's eye and smiled, giving her an approving nod. Her tea-making was vastly improved.

It had been very late when Andy had gotten home - or very early depending on your definition. He'd known she would likely be feeling awful the next morning and so Erik had risen early, as he usually did, and let her sleep, keeping his music quiet. When he heard her begin to stir he headed into the kitchen and brewed her a cup of very special tea and a made a bit of toast and carried it into the bedroom on a tray.

"Ah - she wakens," he said, moving to set the tray on the bedside table and sit on the edge of the bed.

The Manor was filled with a festive spirit. Nick had fixed the lights on the massive tree in the lobby so it was twinkling brightly. More decorations had been strung through the lobby and Mocha and gave the Manor a warm glow. A wide variety of Holiday music played on the intercom system, softly enough not to be over bearing.

Jason sat at the desk and even he had a bit of a smile on his face. He liked Christmas music. Especially when he caught a bit of what was being played down in the ballroom.

Jack and Zack were having a spur of the moment jam session, Jack on the old baby grand piano and Zack with both his acoustic guitar and his bass, switching between the two depending on the song. And if some of their songs were a bit heavier than the traditional holiday music - oh well.

Eris was decorating her apartment. Hey even she could get into the spirit from time to time.

Kara was in a pair of comfy pjs and sitting in a pile of presents and wrapping paper on her living room floor. She had her own Christmas music playing on her stereo - lots of good ole Irish tunes in there of course - and was happily wrapping away.

Hugh was wandering the Manor - humming along to the music playing over the speakers and searching for something he had seen in a dream the night before. But he just knew it was really here.

Erik, bundled up in coat and scarf was in the garden enjoying the freshly fallen snow.

Loki sat in the Mocha, sipping coffee and wondering how much trouble he'd get into if he made the tree in the lobby vanish.


[ooc: Even those not mentioned here are available if you want them, just say. Only pups not here for play are Deacon and Demitri as they are out of town.]

They had returned from New York late last night and had gotten a bit of sleep. This morning they'd gotten up, eaten a bit and then decided to go down to the Mocha for some coffee and tea and to see and be seen.

Erik sipped the Karma tea and frowned.

"Who is supposed to be making this again?" he asked, peering into the cup. He'd been hearing enough about the amazing properties that he simply hadn't been able to resist seeing what the fuss was about.

He hadn't told her he was coming. He hadn't actually talked to her since she'd left for New York. He really was an ass. And naturally he hadn't realised just how much he cared for her until she was gone. Of course he could have stayed home and waited for her to return but for once he decided to take matters into his own hands.

The door to the New York gallery opened and Erik stepped in, shrugging out of his coat and looking around.

Sarah, wearing fuzzy slippers and with her hair in a pony tail to disguise the fact she hadn't yet been touched up by that handsome dude who owned the spa, had just picked up her mail and was busy tossing a bunch of junk into the trash can conveniently located just next to the mailboxes.

One, two, three, all junk! And then a bill. And then a postcard. And more junk...

Deacon had been right. When Angela had gotten home Erik had been livid - not with her of course but with her attackers. He'd demanded to know all the details, which Deacon had given him to the best of his knowledge, and then he'd done his own examination of Angela before allowing her to go to bed.

This morning he'd been up early and in his work room, grumbling most of the time. That someone had dared to touch her... He had two concoctions going - one, a special tea for her headache and the other a compress for the knot on her head. The compress still needed time to soak a bit so Erik finished with the tea and made a tray and carried it to where Angela was resting.

"How are you feeling, love?"

Back at the Manor and back to work and Erik was pleased to see that the trip back to the UK had given him a fresh perspective on things. He'd gotten a decent bit of work done on his latest piece last night. Early this morning he'd gone to check on the herbs in his plot in the gardens, and now he sat in the Mocha having a cup of tea and looking through a left over newspaper.

So far it had been a productive morning.

It seemed to be part of the arriving at Norton Wood Farm vibe that one should arrive at dawn or midnight. This occasion, Andy and Erik were staying at Leysters and so had turned up there in the grey morning and had been shown to their rooms by Bella who came down in her robe.

"You might as well have a rest before you go to see Deacon and Charlie," she said. "It was their stag party last night. I don't imagine they will be up too early."

"Oh dear," Erik said, letting the ladies go in before him and then following them. "Did they make it home under their own power or were they carried?"

"I believe Deacon out drank everyone and walked home but I very much doubt that Charlie did," Bella said, as she led them upstairs. "Seth certainly didn't. Nick and Andras had to help him. It was most amusing listening to them creeping in and shushing each other and trying not to giggle. Here's your room, bathroom's through there, and I put a tea tray and kettle in there as well. Now if you don't mind," she smiled sleepily at them, "I'm going to go back to bed for a while. Nia was awake earlier so, as you can imagine, I had to be awake too."

"Thank you, Bella, you've been most kind," Erik said, returning her smile. "Sleep well."

When she'd gone and he'd shut the door and they were alone Erik turned to Andy. "Shall we take bets on who has the worst hangover?" ( Read more... )

this was getting to be a bit of a habit. Both men had busy schedules, both had quite full social lives, though Leo really envied Erik his domestic arrangements, but fro time to time one would leave a terse message inviting the other to meet at a certain time in the Mocha and they would drink tea and put the world to rights.

Today Leo was the nominal host and was watching the pot brew while he waited for Erik.

The music room may have been ominously quiet but Andy didn't let that deter her. Over her arm she had no less than four - four! - tuxedos! What normal man owned more than one?

But then her lover was anything but normal.

She opened the music room door, robe tied tight, and cleared her throat. "Not disturbing you, am I," she said.

Home for the afternoon, Andy had spent most of it alternately sunning herself and swimming up at the pool. Now she was pleasantly tired and thinking about making dinner. Salad - she could make salad NO problem.

From the music room came the sound of Erik composing - utter silence for the moment though he'd been playing a little while ago - so the knock on the door was perfectly audible.

"I'll get it," Andy said to herself and headed for the door still in her swimsuit and pareo.

She opened it and stared. "Well hello," she said then grunted as a red headed toddler launched herself into her arms with a yelp of "Tee Andy!".

"Pleased to see you too," Andy said, settling Nia on her hip. "Well come in then and stop cluttering up the hall."