Morningstar Manor

Bea was sipping coffee at a table by the window, wearing a necklace she thought was just gaudy enough to be awesome on a Monday afternoon and a red dress, giggling at the newest Sassy Gay Friend video she'd called up on her iPhone. There was work to be done and puppies to walk, but Bea was feeling particularly lazy and figured she wouldn't be much good to anyone without caffeine.

*

Niles was sprawled out on the couch in his usual position, blatantly taking up the whole thing as he flipped through a stack of magazines that had come in the mail that morning. There were copies of Esquire, Tattoo magazine, Maxim, and Time, but he was currently flipping holding the Spring 2011 Ikea catalog. What? He needed a new lamp.

*

Granger had taken the day off, which left him feeling a little out of sorts, but that was okay. He sat in a corner table by himself with a cup of plain black coffee and a donut he'd picked up at the Krispy Kreme on his way home from the grocery store, looking around at the people in the Mocha in between bites. He needed to spend time somewhere besides the bureau and the station, he decided somewhat distractedly.

*

Rhiannon sat at a table ignoring the cup of still-steaming coffee in front of her in favor of the little bundle of Sophie in her arms. She wasn't crying or anything and in fact was alert and awake and even attempting to smile, but that could've just been gas. Likely gas, actually, but it was still cute.

Tristan was used to being up this late, but he wasn't used to the feeling in his chest or the fact his smile didn't seem to fade. Moving in to the new apartment had been quick and a little rushed, but with a few calls everything had been taken care of and Rhiannon hadn't had to do more than she could while still pregnant.

He loved the fact that even though the nursery was just down the hall, Sophie was content to sleep in their bed. Exactly where she was right now. He made sure she wasn't going to be bumped by anything, then leaned past a little to kiss Rhiannon. "I love you and I still can't get over how perfect she is."

Tristan felt like shit. He'd been coughing and sneezing enough that Dave sent him home from work early. On his way he texted Rhi. Coming home early, feel like shit. Don't want you to get sick so going to my place ♥ u come up if you want/can but not gonna expect you to risk getting sick too

"So I'm thinking we'll have the baby shower sometime in January," Miri was saying as she lay out the selection of invitations that she wanted Rhiannon to pick from. "Maybe February. Whatever Super Bowl Sunday is. We'll want to make it an issue for the boys, obviously."

"Obviously," Rhiannon said with a snort from where she was sitting on the couch with Auggie in her lap, laying very still atop her rapidly growing baby bump. Harvey was sitting in the floor drawing a picture on some construction paper with the glitter pens Miri had brought over and was studiously ignoring the two women as they planned for another 'girl party' as he liked to call them.

There was a knock at the door and, figuring it was the Chinese they'd just ordered out for about fifteen minutes ago, Miri went to answer the door.

( Read more... )

Summary: Everett finds out that Rhiannon is pregnant and shows up to tell her that he's cutting her and Harvey off and gives her until November 7 to be out of the apartment. Tristan shows up to smooth everything over and offers to let her and Harvey move in with him until another apartment becomes available.

Rhiannon lay back on the table in her doctors office with her shirt rolled up over her stomach, waiting for the ultra sound. She wasn't sure who was supposed to do it, the doctor or the nurse or one of the techs that had been in here take her information. She actually didn't care if it was a munchkin in a bear suit doing it, as long as it got done.

"Are you excited?" she asked, turning her head to look at Tristan.

Summary: Rhiannon and Tristan go to the doctor for an ultrasound, learn the baby is a girl, and go home to spread the news around.

Rhiannon stood in line in the Mocha in a pale yellow sun dress, smiling down at Harvey who refused to answer any questions about the necklace constructed of blue and green yarn woven together, with a big, orange construction paper heart hanging against his chest. Arms crossed, he scowled when Rhiannon prodded him gently.
"Is she pretty?" She asked.
"I hate girls!" Harvey announced, cheeks pink.

***

Smith was on his way into the lobby, still shaking his head about the day at work he'd had. He was a security person - not a nanny. People were so goddamn ridiculous sometimes.

***

Niles sat out in the garden with his guitar laying beside him forgotten as he frowned at some paper work in his lap. It seemed as though his father was in some financial trouble. Why anyone expected him to care was beyond him, though he didn't throw the notice away immediately. Fuck.

***

Declan was up in the hot tub, blatantly hogging most of it as he yawned and attempted to relax. It had been a long, long day.

***

Sterrin was in the mail room, taking her time in sorting her mail from her brother's and Jack's. She really needed to get her own place soon.

Tom was a man of style and good taste, so Jazz wasn't inherently concerned when it came to entrusting him with her wardrobe. She was 99% certain that even if he did manage to pick up something truly horrible it would likely be only because he wanted to see her squirm. Still, she took it as a good sign when he picked NOIR as the shop of choice.

He'd been listening - or checking her labels. As a bonus, Jazz was fairly certain, being that she was a regular customer, that not only Rhiannon but her staff also were aware of her preferences and could be counted on to steer Tom in the right direction if he did somehow get off track.

Pleased and smiling happily, Jazz followed obediently into the store and turned to Tom with an expectant, vaguely smug, look. No, she couldn't even pretend she wasn't going to enjoy this.

"Lead the way, Sénor," she batted her eyes prettily, "I'm at your service."

I know a ginger that would like to see you and explore this epidemic. Late night pizza?

Love,
Rhi

He'd gotten home from work this morning, helped get the little monkey ready for school and gone to sleep after she'd left. Having his daughter to himself was one of the best things e'd done, but managing the club at night wasn't so great for his sleep schedule. At least she was in school and he could sleep during the day without paying a nanny full time.

Now he was down in the Mocha, trying to wake up. The television was broadcasting news and he read the captions as he waited for his coffee to cool some. "Fuck. That sucks." He muttered to himself after reading that Rue McClanahan had passed away. She'd been his favorite of the Golden Girls, probably because of his business with the strip clubs and being able to relate to her character.

He'd gone shopping for her yesterday. Not anything too particular just something because he wanted to. He hadn't given it to her last night though, so today he sent a messenger to deliver a small box to her at work. Inside the box was a simple piece of paper that said "♥ Tristan" so she'd know where it came from.

They had plans for tomorrow, since Harvey had decided that Mother's Day was good for an Aunt Rhi day too, and so for today, they were going to visit Tristan's mother. Rhiannon wasn't looking forward to it, but this time she had Tristan and Harvey with her, and Tristan's firm promise that if she started being rude to or about her or Harvey they could leave.

So now they were sitting in the back of Tristan's car while Stan drove, her sitting next to Tristan and Harvey on the other side of her with his hair neatly combed and wearing a nice, clean, plaid button down shirt with little pressed khakis. She could say without being biased that her kiddo was adorable, and hopefully he was so adorable that even a snooty witch like Tristan's mother would soften a little.

Rhiannon was hot and uncomfortable, but didn't dare move the tiny, hot with fever body that was sleeping fitfully against her chest. Harvey had gotten her up in the middle of the night on Tuesday by walking into her bedroom and throwing up beside her bed. Not a huge deal, but when she'd put her hand to his forehead he'd been on fire. A quick read of his temperature had put him at one hundred and three, and she'd rushed him off to the emergency room where she'd learned he had a severe inner ear infection. Awesome.

She'd never had to deal with him being this sick. Cuts and bruises, sniffles and coughs, sure. But the achey, sick, burning with fever Harvey kept her in a constant state of worry. She'd sent Rosie home with Auggie and decided to take care of him herself, which was good because he hardly wanted to do anything other than be held by her. She'd had to cancel a date with Tristan, but she knew he'd understand. She also hoped he'd gotten her text requesting more popcicles. It was about the only thing she could get Harvey to eat.

Anastasia stood in line in a white, paint-splattered tank dress and blue flip flops, staring at nothing in particular. She hadn't lost time in a few days and that was good. Stll, something wasn't setting right. Frowning, she studied the menu. Best not to think too hard without caffeine.

Bea was sitting alone at a table, flipping through a magazine and fighting the urge to stare at the guy a few tables down that was flipping through the issue of Smashing with her on the cover. She'd had a bad weekend and didn't think she was up to a bad review just yet.

Rhiannon sat at a table with Harvey and Lee, giggling at the two boys. Lee had let Harvey draw a mustache on him with his eyeliner and now Lee was swaggering in-chair and doing a John Wayne impression. Rhi was pretty sure John Wayne hadn't had a mustache, but Harvey was laughing his head off and so was she.

Drew stood in line in the Mocha, fresh from work but not in his operating scrubs. Instead he wore jeans and a comfortable white t-shirt, and he was fairly certain he looked as tired as he felt. His day off started right now, but he knew he wouldn't be able to get to sleep right away.

Anastasia moved through the lobby of the Manor fresh from her studio, her hands and dress covered in paint, her stride slower and just entirely different than usual. Later, she wouldn't remember this. She wouldn't remember the people that she talked to or the things she did, because in that moment, Anastasia was someone else entirely. She turned to smile at someone, all teeth, her eyes cold, and the man she smiled at looked away. She laughed and it wasn't her laugh at all. How lovely.

Declan sat just outside of the Mocha on a bench in the garden, smoking and looking up at the sky.  One hand rested in his lap and was clenched in anger, but he was attempting to work through it. One of his partners had quit today to go work for Playboy because "it was a good, honest magazine that didn't pander to queers." Good riddance if he felt like that. Declan was just pissed that he hadn't had the chance to fire him first.

Bea had decided to take Pippa for a walk in the park since it was such a lovely day, and right in that moment she was sitting on a bench watching as Pippa tried to coerce a gaggle of geese into playing with her. Ther was a series of loud squawks and Pippa came running back to Bea with her head down and her ears flat. "No such luck, huh girl?" Bea said with a laugh as she leaned down to pet her dog. She felt almost weird, like she was being watched, but that was likely just leftover nerves from the creep at the signing. Right?

Kate was walking home from the labs, enjoying the sunshine despite the fact that it was a long walk. Her car was in the shop and it was such a nice day that she hadn't bothered with a cab. Across the street there were a group of boys on skateboards and one shouted at her, then made an obscene gesture involving his crotch. Her brow furrowed. That didn't seem like the way to attract a woman to her, but men, especially young ones, were such curious creatures.

Rhiannon stood in the window of NOIR as she outfitted a mannequin in leopard-print lingerie that she'd just gotten in this morning. She was taking a stab at a line of lingerie, and she needed to pimp it out big time if she wanted it to do good. 
"I'm telling you, girl," Lee said from the cash register at the front. "Let me model that shit. I can stand in the window and look good all day."

"Hard to find a pair of panties that would do an ass like yours proper justice, Lee," she replied absently, but with an amused smile. Best way to get Lee off of a silly idea was to stroke his already pulsating ego.

Lee, quite predictably, preened. "You know, you might be right."

Declan sat in the Mocha still dressed in his suit from work except his collar was open and his tie was untied and draped around his neck. He was also contemplating hiring another assistant, if he could find someone qualified enough. That would mean less time at work, more time where he wanted to be, and less drama. Couldn't go wrong with that.

Bea sat outside the Manor in the gardens with Pippa on a leash reading through the mail she'd just picked up. She had on a rather awesome if not gaudy Super Mario Brothers corset that she'd ordered from this awesome little shop online, and to quantify awesomeness, she'd been invited to a HUGE convention. She decided right then and there to schedule herself heavily for the promotion of her second comic, due out at the first of May. It'd keep her busy.

Anastasia was in her studio behind the Gallery with the door propped open, letting the cheesey hip hop music she was listening to float out into the alley. She wasn't working really, but looking instead at the newest painting that she didn't remember doing. It was worse than the others, and just looking at it made her sick to her stomach with nervousness.

Sterrin walked through the Foundry market in a coral pink tank top dress that clung to her figure, completely and utterly bored as she had been all weekend. There had to be something interesting around here somewhere, but damned if she knew what.

Rhiannon was in her shop, laughing hysterically as Lee tried on a dress from her new summer line. Miri had given him the make-up treatment again, and the boy really was too pretty for his own good. He strutted through her store, making a few of the customers laugh too while Miri trotted along behind snapping pictures. 

Niles was out in the garage inspecting Piglet. He'd finally gotten her back after a complete body make over and more money than a sane person would spend on fixing a car. He could've bought another one just like her for cheaper, but it was the principal of the matter. This was Piglet, she was his, and he was going to keep her.

Harvey had gotten Rhiannon up nice and early this morning, shouting in glee at the Star Wars Storm Trooper helmet and gun that he'd gotten in his Easter basket. He'd spent the whole morning tucking and rolling around her living room, talking in a robot voice thanks to the helmet and pretending to shoot Auggie, who alternated between chasing him and yipping happily to running as fast as he could to hide. Lestat had taken to hiding behind the TV stand and refused to come out. Her boys were cute, if not wild as hell.

Now she stood in her kitchen putting the finishing touches on her Easter dinner, dressed casually in a tank top and a pair of jeans and waiting for Tristan to arrive.

Rhiannon had waited inside NOIR for the car to arrive, watching in wonder as snow started to accumulate. She'd torn her closet apart for something conservative and expensive, and had come up with a white Armani dress that would show her tattoos, but there wasn't any hiding those anyway. Now she sat in the back seat of a limo, dressed in the dress, a pair of brown heels and with her hair in tamed waves, waiting to arrive and meet Tristan's mother.

Bright and early Monday morning a well paid messenger delivered a pale purple envelope. It was addressed to Miss Mackenzie and contained an invitation to lunch with Tristan's mother. The messenger left it at the desk with security, having been assured it would make it to her mailbox without problem.

His mother's request was set for Thursday afternoon, noon sharp, with the promise of sending a driver to NOIR so she would neither be lost nor late. The lack of phone number showed the woman's confidence the appointment would not be canceled.

I've got a surprise. Come and see?

xoxoxoxo
Summary: Rhiannon invites Tristan over to meet her new puppy Auggie, and they watch movies, eat pizza, and discuss life.

Lee had taken Rhiannon this morning to a friend's house who had rescued a young, pregnant Japanese Spitz from a Amish puppy mill a few months ago. The dog had it's puppies not long after, all turned out healthy, and now Rhiannon carried a tiny, white, bundle of fur onto the Manor grounds that she had named Auggie.

Harvey, though excited to have a puppy, was pouting. "It's a girly dog," he said with both arms crossed. "I want something big and Badbutt. Like a Doberman or a Great Dane. Something that can eat people's heads."

"Why would you need to eat someone's head?" Rhiannon asked as she sat the puppy down in the grass to let it play. It pranced around and rolled on it's back for a belly rub, all friendliness, which made Rhiannon coo.

"Because sometimes people are bad," Harvey answered plainly and Lee followed that up with an "Mmmmhmmm. But a dog like that? Chick magnet, buddy."

Harvey's nose wrinkled. "Why would I want to attract a bunch of baby chickens?"