This is essentially morph's fic, it's her idea - I just gave it body.
She's beautiful, so much like her mother in appearance. Gemma Scofield sits cross legged on the rug, eyes focused on the blocks in front of her. She doesn't look up from her craft, barely stirs to flick her hair away from her face before going back to work. Her hands craft a structure, each block fastened securely, equally and safely. For the millionth time I can see how this beautiful creation is mine. She loves to design.
She's been at it for an hour. If I try and bother her, her eyes glance sharply at me, a five year old warning me to back away and stop looking. So I sit by the couch leaning against the armrest just watching her hands move rapidly.
It's a serene picture before Gemma turns back to me. She's irritated, her eyes flashing with annoyance.
"There's not enough blocks." She says softly. I glance over to look at the lego box. It's still half full of blocks but I can see why she's annoyed. I can only just see past her, but what I see is symmetry. Grey block on grey block, the frame equal to the top. She doesn't start another row of bricks until she has enough, and she's run out of grey.
All I can do is shrug. It's a Sunday and all the shops are closed. There's no way I could get her more lego. Yet Gemma stands in front of me, her tiny foot tapping softly on the ground in impatience. All I can do is try and distract her. Although if she's anything like me, I know it'll be a hard task.
"What are you building, Gem?" I ask, my eyes watching her face change from annoyance to excitement.
"It's a..." She scrunches up her face in thought. "Y'know. Where bad people go."
My heart jumps to my throat instantly. I try to calm myself. She's five. Even I have vague memories of building prisons with lego when I was little.
I swallow. "Prison?"
Gemma grins and nods.
"Yup!" her smile lasts a second before she remembers why she had stopped in the first place. "But I need more grey blocks."
"You could use black at the top," I say, trying to regain my composure. "Or you could put some windows in." The structure is solid, only one door on one side, the rest solid brick. If she took some out, there'd be blocks to build higher with.
She shakes her head furiously. "Windows make it weak. If you push on it then sometimes the wall falls apart." Once again, I'm amazed by this girl, who is intelligent beyond her years. She can see exactly what I see. Or rather - saw.
There's a knock at the door and I get up to answer it, leaving my child on the mat to consider the structure. Veronica, Lincoln and LJ flood through the door brandishing a bottle of wine and some snacks. We were planning to spend the day together.
Gemma's eyes light up at the sight of her cousin and she jumps to her feet.
"LJ!" She squeals loudly and rushes to him. I grin at the distraction, thankful for the timing of my family.
The two head outside, Gemma leading the way to show LJ her tree house. I'm left to clean up the lego. I pick up the... building, and leave it on the edge of the table while I pick up all the blocks and put the box on the shelf.
When LJ and Gemma return, I'm passing by the table. The mat beneath her building hangs over the edge slightly and I feel it lightly hit my hip before it falls with a soft crashing sound. Gemma's eyes widen at the sight and she rushes over. After inspecting the damage, she looks at me angrily.
"Daddy broke my prison!"
There's a slight squeak from Lincoln as he tries not to laugh. I squeeze my eyes shut quickly before leaning down to pick up the pieces.
"I'm sorry Gem - it was an accident!"
Her face is still hurt but she nods.
"I couldn't finish it anyway. Not enough blocks."
With that, she turns away and stalks off, pulling a bemused LJ along with her.
Linc catches my eye and we burst out laughing, unable to stop as he helps me to pick up the pieces of the shattered structure.