Fable Morrison (always_love) wrote in light_of_may, @ 2010-01-11 22:09:00 |
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Entry tags: | 2009-06-29, fable |
Don't lose any sleep tonight, I'm sure everything will end up all right
Who: Austin, Grace (NPC) and Fable
Where: Little Miracles
When: 9am
Austin had been thinking long and hard the past few days that it was time for him to find Grace a daycare. As much as he'd enjoyed being home with she and Darcy, his wallet was feeling the distinct pain of no paycheck for those days. He couldn't do many more days off and still have the rent paid and food to eat. So, with a heavy heart, Austin started doing some research online for good daycare centers around the area. He came across a supernatural friendly place called Little Miracles. It looked promising so he decided he would take Grace and try it out.
Of course it wasn't as simple as that. Austin had a major panic attack when he woke up this morning, thinking about having to drop his little girl off with a bunch of strangers. He didn't like the idea at all but knew it was necessary. Once he had control of himself, he went and got Grace ready to leave. There were major tears when she found out where she was going. Girl was not a happy camper.
Finally they got in the car and drove to Little Miracles, Austin keeping up a steady stream of reassurances that work on him as much as it did on Grace. Once there, he grabbed Grace, who had insisted on wearing purple striped leggings, a purple skirt and a pink and purple tshirt.
Walking in hand in hand he went directly to the front desk, finding a rather beautiful brunette woman working there. "Hi there, I'm Austin Rapp and this is Grace. We're here to see about enrolling her for the summer?"
After having most of the weekend off, Fable was looking forward to going to work that morning. Working in the daycare was of course demanding, but she enjoyed it, regardless of what anyone else might say about it. The fact that she got to spend the day watching over Ainsley too was a bonus. The only people she'd leave her daughter with were her in-laws, the Morrisons, and Maria and Zena. She didn't know many other people in Scarlet Oak yet, and Ainsley meant too much to her to leave anywhere else.
So she understood parents' fears when they first walked into a new daycare, wondering if their kids would be okay. If the certifications posted by the door didn't work, then the atmosphere of the place certainly did. When the man walked in, a little girl in tow, Fable looked up and smiled, tucking a few strands of hair behind her ear. "Good morning," she said, picking up some stray toys that somehow made their way up to the front desk. The train was okay to go back, but the rattle would have to be cleaned and then they'd have to find out which baby lost it. It wasn't one of Ainsley's, Fable would have noticed that.
"I'm Fable Morrison," she said, offering Austin her hand to shake. "It's good to meet you. And you too, Grace." She gave the girl a wave of her own, wanting to make sure she was comfortable too. "And we've got plenty of openings for the summer, what kind of schedule are you looking for?"
Austin shook her hand, his grip firm but not too much so. "Hi Fable." He glanced down at Grace and smiled gently at the pout on her lips. "Say hello to Miss Fable, Grace." He squeezed her hand for reassurance.
Grace hedged behind Austin and peered around his leg to look at Fable. "Hello," she said quietly. Her blonde head disappeared back behind Austin's leg and her small hands were fisted in his jeans.
"She's a little shy," he explained. "What kind of schedules do you offer?" Being a piercer, he would ideally love something late in the evening, but knew the likely hood of that being an option was slim to none.
Fable kneeled down, so she was at Grace's level. She'd seen kids scared to leave their parents before; this wasn't the first daycare she worked at. "It's okay, you don't have to hide," she said gently. "I like your outfit, did you pick it out yourself? The purple is a very good color for you." Sometimes all a child needed was to know everything was okay, that Fable was a nice person, and nothing bad could happen here.
And, to be honest? The daycare was owned by a werelionness and a werewolf. If Fable was comfortable leaving Ainsley here, that said a lot.
"It's all right, we get a lot of those." Giving Grace another smile, Fable stood to face Austin. "Depends on the kids we've got here, I think. Sometimes we're open as late as seven at night, open around seven in the morning. I usually work like a nine to five shift, but that varies day-to-day."
Austin pulled Grace out from behind him and she gave Fable a small wave. Grace nodded and gave her a tentative smile when she asked about purple. "All by myself," she said proudly. Austin ruffled her hair affectionately, to which Grace scowled up at him for upsetting the purple bow she'd so carefully put in. He smiled over Grace's head at Fable and fixed the bow, his long fingers and big hands looking out of place as he worked on Grace's hair.
"I am a piercer so I work from noon to eight usually. But I can always arrange to come and pick up Grace and bring her back to the shop for that last hour or so. We're actually going there later this week so she can pick out her hiding spot." He glanced down at Grace and then back to Fable. "Would it be okay for me to pick her up about 6:30 or so everyday?"
"Congrats!" Fable beamed at Grace. "When my daughter's a little older, maybe she'll have just as good a fashion sense as you do. Purple's always been one of my favorite colors." True, Fable had a few years before Ainsley would be anywhere near the point of dressing herself, and she was sure she'd miss the baby she'd been once she reached that age, but it was still something to look forward to. She smiled, watching Austin rearrange the little girl's hair.
A piercer? If Fable had been into tattoos, she would have asked where Austin worked. "A hiding spot? You'll have to find a good one, Grace, maybe make a little box fort or something." Fable knew all about being brought along to work; her parents had done the same thing with her, though she always liked working at the farmstand more than the craft shop, by far. "And 6:30 will work out perfectly, I think. If that will work best for you?"
Grace gave Fable a small shy grin, but didn't say anything, just hugged her daddy's leg even tighter.
"She had one in my old shop, a tiny spot she could curl up and nap. She had her own pillows and blankets in there so it was a soft place to be, wasn't it, baby?" Grace nodded, her eyes sparkling with excitement. She'd been bugging him day and night to pick out her place and he finally promised her that they'd go later in the week.
"You have a daughter? How old is she?" Somehow the fact that she had a daughter made it so much better for him... a lot more comfortable. He had a feeling that Gracie would be well taken care of. "And yeah, 6:30 is great. I don't think my boss will have any problems with me leaving long enough to come pick her up."
Austin turned and looked around the place. "Do you mind showing me around a bit? And can I see copies of your certifications?" A parent could never be too careful and although Fable seemed like a great girl, he wasn't about to take chances with his daughter.
"Sounds like a sweet deal to me," Fable agreed, able to imagine a spot like that already. One could say Ainsley had similar treatment here, but that was in part because Fable worked at the daycare and therefore Ainsley had a crib here. It was slightly different. Grace was obviously excited at the idea, Fable could tell.
She nodded. "She's just shy of three months old, so Ainsley is still the tiniest little thing. Very sweet, though, I'm sure you'll meet her. She's upstairs right now, with the other babies." She touched the small baby monitor at her hip, "There's someone up there, of course, but I always want to be sure I can hear her, you know?" Any parent could understand that, especially when the baby was so young.
"Oh, absolutely! Come on, I'll show you to the playroom, and Grace can play a bit if she wants." After all, what parent would leave their kid at a daycare without actually seeing the place first? Fable led the pair into a large living room, where there were several groups of kids playing. "We also teach some preschool classes here too," she said, "though I work mostly with the younger kids, the babies especially. All of our certifications are up by the desk, I'll grab them in a second."
Austin had a soft smile on his face when she talked about her baby. "Wow, three months? Just you wait, before you know it, they're five like this one," he said tickling Grace's neck until she giggled and curled in on herself. "I totally understand... I carried my baby monitor everywhere." That was, when he actually forced himself to leave Grace's room. He'd essentially been all alone with her after his girlfriend died and of course his parents weren't around, so he'd been terrified. He'd slept on the floor most nights just to make sure she was breathing. He also waited anxiously for that first full moon to see if she had inherited his were genes, but she hadn't, which Grace was very upset about.
Austin and Grace followed Fable to the large living room and it looked like a nice place. There were several older kids around Grace's age and that reassured him that she wasn't too old for the place. Austin knelt down in front of Grace, "I'm going to walk around a bit... I'll be back in a few minutes. Why don't you go see if they have some paper and crayons so you can draw." Grace's bottom lip came out in her trademark pout but she nodded and slowly walked away from Austin.
Standing back up he stepped beside Fable once again. "So you don't work with Grace's age? That's too bad, I could tell that she liked you already." But Austin was encouraged. If Fable was so nice, perhaps the rest of the daycare staff would be too.
"I know, they tell me it all goes so fast." It seemed like yesterday that Ainsley was born, and it wasn't so long ago that Tim had been looking over her shoulder at the pregnancy test, both of them so excited at the thought of their first child. But that was a memory Fable wasn't going to dwell on now, not when she was at work and she didn't want to be sad for the rest of the day. Fable too had stayed up for Ainsley's first full moon, waiting to see what would happen - and unlike Grace, her daughter did shift, into a tiny wolf pup. Of course, Fable would argue it was the cutest wolf she'd ever seen. "I know she's right upstairs, but still, it helps knowing I can be there at a second's notice."
If Grace liked to draw, there were plenty of art supplies. Fable pointed out a small table off to the side, "See that spot right there? That cabinet has all the crayons and lots of construction paper for drawing. I bet we even have a few sheets of purple or pink paper left if you'd like to draw on that." Even Fable liked to draw with the kids sometimes, though most often her creative endeavors were a little more crafty, like painting the pots she'd bought with Ross.
"I work with mostly with the babies, being that Ainsley's still so young and then that way I'm always near her. But I'll do whatever is needed - my mother-in-law is the co-owner here. I'm sure I'll see Grace around, so she'd have one familiar face."
Grace's eyes brightened when Fable pointed out the cabinet and she walked a little faster towards the cabinet. Austin watched as she grabbed a sheet of pink paper and the crayons and started to draw. "She's going to be an artist, I predict," Austin chuckled to Fable. "She loves o draw and color more than anything.. and she's pretty good too. Of course, I just might be slightly biased."
Austin nodded when she said she worked with the babies. It was definitely understandable. "When school starts, do you have a bus that picks the kids up from school and brings them back here, or how does that work?" He could already feel a knot of anxiety in his chest, making it slightly hard for him to breathe as he thought about leaving his daughter in a strange place with people they didn't know. He'd done it before back home and they'd survived, but it was still hard. Also the thought that Grace would actually be starting school was hard to swallow. He wanted his little baby girl back, often wishing he could suspend time to keep her from growing up so fast.
Fable let out a laugh, watching the little girl head right over to the art supplies. "Always the supportive father," she said, "and I'm sure her work is lovely. It's great that she already knows what she enjoys." She wanted the same for Ainsley, by the time she was Grace's age. Fable would be more than willing to show the girl how to color, draw, paint, whatever she wanted - the Redleafs had always been of the crafty sort, and Fable placed a lot of value on things that were handmade.
"The school bus stop isn't too far from here, just at the corner of the road. So long as the school knows they can drop Grace off there, we'll be there to meet her." It was always a sight to see, a couple of adults corralling a group of kids into the daycare, some happy that it was playtime, others showing off what they'd done at school. Fable loved the atmosphere of it. Someday that would be Ainsley too, but Fable wasn't ready to think about that yet. Not when her little girl was so little, and easier to hide her grief from.
"Oh good." It was a relief that the bus would pick her up from school. "You may not know this, but do you know when registration is at the school? I need to get her registered." Austin felt the familiar tightening of his chest in a panic attack as he thought about his little girl going to school. He didn't want her growing up so fast but was powerless to stop it. So he took a few deep calming breaths to buy him some time where he could freak out when he was alone.
"Is this where she'll be spending most her time while she's here?" It was a nice setup, the room spacious enough for all the kids and the art center seemed to be well stocked. That would be good for Grace.
Fable's eyebrows furrowed as she thought. "Actually, that one I don't know, but Maria or Zena might, I can ask them for you, if you like. It's still early in the summer, so I think you'll have plenty of time." It would be a long while before she had to worry about Ainsley going to school, but if what other mothers had told her was any indication, it was going to go by quicker than she could have ever thought. She understand why Austin could be freaking out about it.
For a moment she was distracted by the thought, but came right back when Austin started speaking again. "Yep, this is the main playroom. Bathroom is down that way, and we have cribs for the babies set up upstairs, so that way we can have naptime without anyone else getting disturbed." Any parent knew, a kid who didn't get naptime was a miserable kid.
"That would be so great, if you don't mind asking. I'm still trying to get settled in my apartment and my new job and just haven't had the chance to call the school yet." And part of him was just putting off the inevitable. Because maybe if he didn't register her, then perhaps she wouldn't have to go and could stay his little girl forever. It was a nice fantasy but Austin was doing himself more harm than good each day he stayed in denial about Grace starting school.
"Do you have an outside area? Grace loves the outdoors and if she's not drawing or coloring, will gladly spend all her time outside." She got that from him because they would often go to parks or in the woods together so he could shift into his dog form and run around a bit. If he didn't shift every week or so he started feeling restless and tight, like he needed to burn off some excess energy. Except the only thing that worked was shifting and running free. So he would do that, while keeping a close eye on Grace and she soon found a myriad of ways to amuse herself outside.
"I will the next time I see Mary Anne, which won't be long, I promise. I've just moved to town too, myself and Ainsley, so I completely understand what it's like to get your bearings in a new place." Truth be told Fable was adjusting to a lot of changes in her life, the move had been one of the easier ones. Adjusting to life without her husband was proving a challenge she wasn't sure she'd be able to face on her own, that was why she'd gone to live with her in-laws.
"Of course! What kid doesn't want the chance to play outside? I think I'd go just as stir-crazy as they would at the idea of being cooped up indoors all day." Earth elementals didn't do so well indoors, according to Yoko, her familiar. All this time Fable believed it was because she just liked her garden and the sunshine and playing in the dirt. She led Austin over to the window and pointed, so he could see the swingset and play area they had set up outside. "See? Plenty of space to run around and play."
"Where did you move from?" Austin immediately looked contrite. "Sorry, I shouldn't pry. You don't have to answer that." He gave her an apologetic smile before looking out the window and seeing the great outdoor space with it's great play area and swingset. "Oh, Grace will love this." It was perfect and he was feeling much more at ease at leaving her here.
Austin turned back to Fable, "If I could just see your certificates, I'll get out of your hair. Is there an application or anything that I need to fill out for her to get accepted here? And when can she start?"
Fable shook her head. "It's okay, really, I don't mind," she said, giving Austin a tiny smile. "I moved out here from California at the end of April, to live with my in-laws. So I'd have the help with raising Ainsley." There were a lot of things left unsaid in that explanation - where her husband was, why she hadn't gone to stay with her own parents. But Tim was gone and the Redleafs thought he deserved to die because he'd joined the military, so Fable was going to take the baby somewhere where she could be loved and cared for the best. "I'm glad, I hope she'll be comfortable here."
Just then the baby monitor at Fable's hip squeaked, a baby's tiny cry coming from the little speaker. "I'm so sorry, give me a minute, that's Ainsley. I'm just going to grab her and then I'll come back with the certificates for you." Excusing herself, Fable went upstairs to find the little girl wide awake, face scrunched up at the thought of being left by herself in the crib. Picking up the baby, Fable carried her back downstairs before the other little ones could wake up, too.
She rocked the baby back and forth while she found the paperwork Austin requested, returning a few minutes later to hand him the stack. Ainsley was calmer now that she was being held, but the baby had her eyes on Austin, as if there was something familiar about him, that intrigued the little girl. Maybe it was the tattoos. "These are the certificates, and the application," she said. "If everything's filled out, Grace could be here by the end of the week? Or at the start of next week, if that's easier for you."
Austin held himself back from asking about those things left unsaid, although he was definitely curious about her. He had just opened his mouth to say something when the baby monitor squawked. "Go ahead, it's fine!" Austin made his way back to where Grace was and observed her from the doorway. She seemed comfortable there and there were already a couple of girls at the craft table. He really wanted her to like it and make friends while she was here for the summer.
When Fable returned, her baby girl in her arms, Austin had no choice but to give the little baby a smile. "She's beautiful," he told Fable. He reached out and caught one of the baby's hands, feeling her little fingers curl around one of his. He knew immediately that the baby was a were. Likewise, he knew that Fable was not...although she had a scent about her, as if she lived with weres. So, Fable's husband must be a were then. Austin wondered what happened to him and why she was living with her in laws.
Taking his finger back from the baby, Austin flipped through the certificates, noting that everything was in order. He handed them back to Fable while keeping the application. "I'll fill this out and bring it back tomorrow. Is that okay?" Ainsley was still staring at him and he reached out to rub a finger against her cheek. "Oh I miss having a baby like this," he said, absently. He looked kind of shocked, the admission totally surprising him.
Fable's cheeks flushed a little, in part because of Austin's compliment toward the baby, and in part just grateful he hadn't asked any follow up questions about her life in California. She didn't go around talking about Tim much, though Maria and Zena knew, and the Morrisons of course knew, but the dog tags around her neck were likely a dead giveaway about her husband's career. "Thank you," she murmured, "she's going to be just like her daddy, I think." And she left it at that, meaning it in more than one way. She'd gotten Tim's eyes, yes, but she was a wolf too, just like the rest of the Morrisons.
Having no idea that Austin knew what the baby was, only that he seemed quite taken with her, Fable looked from the girl to the man. "Yes, that will work fine," she said, in regards to the paperwork. "Once everything's set, we'd love to have Grace spend a few afternoons with us." She leaned down to kiss the girl on the forehead. "I'm sure I'll feel that way once she's older." After all, Fable would, she was fairly certain, never have another child, as much as she wanted to. It wouldn't feel right to do so without Tim. Seeing how Ainsley was looking at him, she added, "I think she likes you."
Austin pulled his hand back reluctantly. He smiled at the cute baby, "And I like her...she's so cute." Reminded him of Grace and he felt slightly nostalgic for the days when Grace was a baby. It was a hard time for him because he had been completely on his own, but he wouldn't trade those days for anything.
Austin called Grace over and she cleaned her work area, putting back the paper and markers she'd used. She ran over to Austin, waving a picture in the air. "For you!"
Taking the drawing, Austin chuckled. "Is this Miss Fable? And me?" At Grace's nod, Austin showed it to Fable. "She's a good little artist, huh? Even got your dog tags in there." He fondly ruffled Grace's hair as they started walking to the door.
"Well thank you for everything, Fable. I really do appreciate all your help. I will get the forms back to you tomorrow at the latest." He gave her a friendly smile as he held out his hand, Grace latched onto the other.
Fable leaned over Austin's shoulder to look at the drawing. "That's awesome, Grace!" she said, smiling at the little girl. "I can see already that we'll be adding lots of your drawings to our collection." At the mention of the dog tags, Fable touched them again, Ainsley latching onto them once she saw them swinging. "They're not mine," she said softly, "they were my husband's."
Shaking her head, she pushed those thoughts away. "And you're very welcome. Can't wait to see you two again!" She followed them back to the door, lifting one of Ainsley's hands to wave at them.
Grace beamed at Miss Fable, proud of her masterpiece. "You can have it," she said. She took the drawing from Austin and handed it to Fable. "My daddy has lots of pictures." Austin chuckled, but was glad to see that she was getting along with Fable and seemed to like it at the daycare.
When she said that the dog tags were her husband's it didn't take an empath to hear the sadness laced behind her words. Austin assumed that he'd been killed and reached out to squeeze Fable's free shoulder. "I'm sorry... I know we just met but if you ever need anything - a babysitter or anything at all, just give me a call. I know what it's like to do this all by yourself." He glanced down at Grace, then back to Fable. "Grace's mom died giving birth...so I do understand."
Shifting Ainsley to one arm, Fable kneeled down and took the drawing from Grace. "That's very sweet of you, Grace," she said. "I think I'll keep this one for myself, hang it up on my fridge at home." Okay, so it was the Morrisons' fridge, not Fable's, but that was a minor point in her mind. "Then, the next time you come to see me, we'll make another drawing for your daddy. Sound like a plan?"
Fable gave Austin a sad smile, hating the fact that anyone else had to know how this felt, how lonely it was. "Thank you," she murmured softly. "I may take you up on that someday. And I'm so sorry, about Grace's mother." She followed Austin's glance to the little girl, who seemed distracted at the moment. "She's beautiful, and happy, Grace. If Ainsley is too, then I'll be happy."
Grace nodded, a happy smile on her face. "That'll be really fun!" She gave Fable a hug, her little arms wrapped around her neck. This surprised Austin because normally Grace was pretty standoff-ish with new people, but she seemed to be quite captivated with Fable. When Grace stepped back, she tugged on Austin's shirt and he bent down so she could whisper (albeit loudly) in his ear, "I like it here, Daddy." Austin chuckled and ruffled her hair. "I'm glad you do Gracie. We'll just have to come back soon, won't we?" He made a mental note to finish up the paperwork tonight that way he could drop it off tomorrow and hopefully Grace would be in.
"Please do," Austin said of her calling him if she needed anything. "And thank you. With a great mom like you, Ainsley is going to be such a happy girl. The hardest part is trusting in yourself. Or trying to at least." Austin still struggled with that, but in the beginning he was freaking out day in and day out that he wouldn't' be enough, wouldn't be all that his little girl needed. But once he calmed down and realized that he was enough, then things settled in and he started being a good dad. Sure, life would be better if Grace's mom were still around, but it didn't work out that way so Austin had to make the best out of a bad situation. Fable would figure out how to do it as well. He was sure of that.
Though it was a little hard to juggle both the girl and the baby, Fable was an old pro at it, so she hugged Grace back with one arm. "I'm looking forward to it," she told her, holding her close for a moment before she went back to Austin. Someday, her little girl would be big enough to hold like that, probably too soon, if what most people told her about children was true. Likely she'd want to keep her as a baby forever. Hearing Grace say that she liked it here was reassuring - Fable, of course, liked the little girl already, and would be more than glad to see her around on a daily basis.
Fable smiled a little, still sad, but softer now. "Thank you for saying so, I'm doing my best." Which was saying something, considering that, some days, Ainsley was Fable's only reason for getting out of bed in the morning. The baby needed her mother, and that knowledge kept her from spending too much time giving into the grief. At night, when she was alone, it was much harder to pretend like everything was okay. Composing herself a little, she looked up and gave Austin a stronger smile. "So I suppose we'll see you tomorrow? And hopefully Grace at some point this week?"
Austin knew exactly how she felt. Grace had been his only reason for getting up in the morning some days as well. Still was. It was so intimidating when he stopped to think that he was actually raising a child all by himself. Sometimes the grief was so overwhelming, so intense that he felt like he was choking on it. Those times, it was the knowledge that he was all that Grace had in the world and that was how he made it through. Fable would make it through as well, it would just take time. Austin wished he could fast forward a couple of years and show her that she wouldn't always be this sad.
"Yes, I'll see you tomorrow," Austin replied with a smile. He grabbed Grace's hand and gave Fable one last wave. "Thank you again for all your time." And with that he ushered Grace out of the door and into his truck, buckling her into her car seat.