inner_wolf (inner_wolf) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2016-03-14 10:41:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, audrey, nina pickering |
Who: Audrey and Nina
When: Late Feb
Where: Audrey’s place
What: Pampering day
Rating/Warnings: Low/None
Status: Complete
Nina and Audrey happened to have coordinating days off so had decided to spend it together having a girly day. Nina had a spa day coupon so they’d taken themselves off to be pampered. Merlin had taken Ben to work with him and Gabe was working too so it had seemed perfect timing.
Knocking on the door Nina let herself in, “Aud, are you ready?” she called out.
“Just a minute!” Audrey called out from the living room. She was lacing her sandals, and for a moment wondering how long she was going to be able to do this little chore on her own. Not for too long. She was already starting to feel a bit bloated. A smile crossed her features when she looked up and saw Nina standing there. “Hey! Just finishing up. You driving or me?”
“Well I still don’t have a car or licence” Nina said with a grin, she sometimes drove Gabe’s truck but only in emergencies when he couldn’t. Generally if she didn’t get a lift she used the buses to get to and from work. “You’re looking good” she said, giving her friend a quick hug.
“What?” Audrey gaped. “Wait, didn’t you and Gabe go get your license? Or… crap, did I dream about that?” Sometimes her dreams were just dreams and not Dreams. Audrey laughed softly, and moved over to hug Nina. “Thanks. I have news.” She grinned pulling back to smile into Nina’s eyes. “We’re giving Ben a baby brother or sister!”
“I had to drive Gabe’s car when he hurt himself but it wasn’t technically legal” Nina explained with a smile, “Don’t worry about it” When Audrey pulled her into a hug she returned it and bounced a little at the news, “Really? Oh Audrey that’s great!”
“I must have dreamed about that.” Audrey said, grinning softly. “Let me know if you need someone to practice driving with. I’d love to help you get your license,” she added, then laughed and squeezed a little tighter. “Yes! I’m so excited. And… well, a little nauseated. But that’s to be expected.”
“Honestly I’m not sure I will. Merlin’s done well but the roads here still scare me. And the public transport isn’t too bad” she said with a smile, “Oh dear, well hopefully a little relaxation is what’s needed” Although Nina knew there were some treatments Audrey shouldn’t have in her condition, luckily though having a nurse on hand was pretty handy sometimes.
“I know what you mean. In my Dreams everyone flies around on broomsticks, but I can’t. I just can’t bring myself to do it.” Audrey nodded. Nina could get around just fine using mass transit, taxis, Ubers, and rides from friends, of course. It was a bit of a strange though to Audrey not to have her license, but logically it worked.
“Oh yes! I need some tea and soothing music, and someone else to watch Ben for an afternoon!” Audrey laughed. “Someone to do the laundry and the dishes, too, that’d be great. And I can’t remember the last time I vacuumed!” Was this pregnancy going to make her a worse housekeeper than ever?
Merlin doesn’t seem to mind using his magic to get around, more than a few times he’d transported her to work. Not that she minded at all of course. Nina had never felt the need to get her licence if she could get around without it, a car was added expense.
“Surely between you and Merlin you know some cheaty ways of doing housework? Especially now you have another baby on the way”
Audrey wasn’t great at apparition, and she didn’t particularly like brooms. She did a lot of walking in her Dreams, and in this world it was driving. That was her main mode of transportation though there were definitely times when she and Merlin used magical means to travel. Merlin’s magic was amazing--far better than her own--and she trusted him to get them places safely.
“He’s far better at it than I am. I’ll have to have him teach me some of the tricks… though I’m a little nervous about doing magic when I’m pregnant.”
Being essentially a being of magic it wasn’t surprising Merlin’s magic was stronger, even Nina knew the Merlin legends from home.
“I bet he’d have no problem making sure things were done for you” Nina said before considering that, “I never thought about that. Has Ben shown any signs yet?” she asked curiously.
“No,” Audrey said, frowning just slightly. “Unfortunately we haven’t seen any. Either he’ll pick it up later, or he’s not magical.” She shrugged her shoulders. There wasn’t really anything wrong with either of those options, though Audrey would be lying if she’d said she wasn’t hoping for a wizard as a son.
Nina nodded, “Genetics are a strange thing, if it is genetics I mean. With this place who knows maybe it’ll only be if he dreams” she said, none of them really had any idea how this place worked with all it’s strange quirks.
“It’s strange, because Merlin and I aren’t exactly in the same Dreams. I mean, he’s in my dreams, but … probably not alive at the same time I am. He may even be a myth--I’ve never been clear on that part. So I don’t know if Ben would even exist in my dreams, or in his… maybe Ben will have his own dreams, unrelated to both of ours.” Audrey mused aloud. “I don’t know if we’ll ever know. We just want to give him and his little brother or sister the best life we can, regardless as to whether or not they Dream.”
“Maybe he won’t dream in that sense, I don’t think that would be a bad thing” Nina said, for some people they were more hassle than they were worth. They’d been good to some like Merlin and Audrey but Nina would happily have gone without her own if she were honest. “You’ll both give them everything they need, you’re wonderful parents”
“Not a bad thing, no.” Audrey said, shaking her head. She had enough darkness in her Dreams that she’d love to save Ben from. “...Thank you.” It meant a lot to her that Nina thought so highly of her parenting. “And if they Dream then we’ll handle it when it comes up.”
“Precisely. Anything that happens I have no doubt you and Merlin will be able to handle expertly” Nina said, “And of course if you need anything Gabe and I are always here”
Audrey smiled warmly. “Thank you.” She knew she could count on her best friend for anything. “Speaking of you and Gabe… how are things going? You guys are pretty serious, aren’t you?”
Nina nodded, “Yeah we are. Look he got me this over Valentine’s” she said holding out her arm where the gorgeous Pandora bracelet and charms were sitting around her wrist, “I can honestly say I’ve never been so in love before” she admitted.
Audrey scooted closer and lifted both hands to cup Nina’s hand in her own. Then she got a good look at the bracelet. “It’s gorgeous, Nin! Really. I’m so very happy for you. We should all go out together and see a movie or something. I really like spending time with the two of you.”
“It is isn’t it? He was very thoughtful” Nina said before nodding, “That would be great. We like spending time you you guys too. We should make sure we do that more”
“Definitely. We should set something up… something like… weekly game night, or weekly movie night. And then we’ll get to spend time together every week. Ooh!” Audrey grew excited at the idea, waving her hand in the air in an enthusiastic way. “We should all cook dinner together before we do whatever we’re going to do. You know? I can go through some recipes and buy ingredients… It’ll be fun!”
“I like the sound of that, a game or movie night, we can always change it if there’s no new film out or a new game we want to try” Nina said with smile before chuckling, “You’re willing to risk my cooking? Is baby brain hitting already?” She teased, knowing that Audrey would make sure she didn’t ruin anything.
“We can watch movies in the house, too,” Audrey offered. “We don’t always have to go to the theater. We don’t need a sitter, too, if we do something in the house.” Then she laughed. “Well, it can’t be that bad if we do it together! I can make sure you don’t poison us all.” She grinned, teasing.
“That’s true” Nina nodded, she liked that idea. And it would definitely be good to not need babysitters all the time. “Let’s sort it and tell the boys what we’re going to do” before she laughed, “Okay that’s a deal because I would not be popular if everybody got sick” she wasn’t that bad but she lacked Audrey’s culinary skill.
When Nina laughed, Audrey laughed, too. “I love the way we can just tell the boys what we want to do and they go along with it.” It was totally a deal. Audrey couldn’t wait. “Maybe we can start next week? We’ll check what movies are playing and decide if we want to go out or stay in.”
“We chose our guys well” she grinned, knowing how lucky they had both been when it came to love. “Sounds perfect” Nina agreed, “Now let's go get some pampering”
Audrey nodded. “I love today.” She grinned like a woman who was on top of the world.