Introductions, Yet Again
Daniel Jackson was tired.
Scratch that. Daniel was bone-weary, muscle-sore, and severely de-caffinated. All easy enough to fix, once he got into his apartment.
The door opposite his was open. Not wide open; just ajar, as though it hadn't closed properly…or someone was trying not to draw attention. Daniel hesitated, trying to remember who lived here. He had a mental image of a girl about nineteen and a boy a few years older. Finally, he opened his door long enough to drop his bag inside and turned back, knocking on her door.
"Hello? Anyone home?" When no one answered, he pushed the door open and leaned in, looking around the living area.
The girl was sitting in a chair sideways on to him, listening to a Walkman. She had her eyes closed, humming quietly along. The boy was nowhere in sight.
"Um…excuse me?" He reached over and tapped her shoulder lightly.
She shot to her feet, pulling off the headphones and circling quickly to put a chair between them. Garth Brooks echoed faintly from the headphones, which were now dangling around her neck.
"Hey." Daniel lifted his hands instinctively, backing towards the door.
"Hey." She looked expectantly at him.
"Your door was open."
"And you are…"
"Oh. Daniel Jackson. I live across the hall." He stepped forward and held out his hand. The girl stared at it long enough for him to flush and withdraw it. "Your door was open, and I thought…"
"Some friends are coming." she interrupted him. She was speaking in a very precise voice. "I left the door open so they'd know where to come." She blinked, shaking her head. "But thank you for coming to check."
"No problem." He hesitated. "Your friends…"
"They're on their way. They should be here any minute, actually."
Someone coughed behind Daniel, and he spun to see a blond woman leaning against the doorframe.
"Interesting company you're keeping, Tara." the woman said lightly.
"Taylor. How nice to hear you complain again. Captain Taylor Earhard, Daniel Jackson. He lives across the hall and he was worried when he saw my door open." Taylor grinned.
"Thank you, Mr Jackson. It's nice to know Tara's building a new network."
"Taylor!" Tara looked embarrassed. "Ignore her. And it's Dr, Taylor, not Mr." Daniel gave her a peculiar look.
"How do you know that?"
"Your mailbox is right next to mine."
"Oh." He looked back at Taylor. "Army?"
"Air Force." Taylor said.
"Really? I consult on an Air Force project."
"Yeah? Where are you based?"
"Gosh, this was fun." Tara said loudly. "Hate to break it up. Taylor, Merrick's nearly here."
"Oh." Taylor winced. "Right. Nice meeting you, Doctor."
"Uh…" Daniel backed up as the girls ushered him towards the door. "You know, I don't remember Tara on any of the mailboxes…"
"That's 'cos Tara's sort of a nickname."
"So what…"
"Kesia."
"Kesia." Daniel repeated. "That's African, right? Earth child?"
"Something like that. Taylor, do you…"
"Hello." someone else said from behind him. Daniel suppressed a yelp; he was getting sick of people sneaking up on him.
"Merrick!" Tara's smile widened and became fixed. "Oh good!"
Merrick stepped around Daniel, glaring at him. "Who is this?"
"This," Tara said firmly, "is my neighbor. He saw the door open and he was worried. Wasn't that nice of him?" She was glaring at Merrick, who nodded grudgingly.
"Thank you." he bit off, still glaring.
"No problem." Daniel said quickly. "I should…" he gestured over his shoulder.
"Yeah. See you, Dr." Taylor said politely.
The next morning Daniel answered a knock at his door to find Taylor standing outside; Tara was lurking in her doorway, grinning.
"Captain Earhard." he said in some surprise. "Kesia. Something wrong?"
"No. We just wanted to apologize for Merrick yesterday." Taylor explained.
"He's…protective. Way protective." Tara went on. "But he means well, and he's a good guy."
"It's not a problem." Daniel said quickly. "Don't worry about it."
"So where are you based?" Taylor asked.
"I'll leave you two to it…Air Force doesn't interest me." Tara said, backing up into her flat. "Door's open, Taylor."
"Thanks." She glanced back at Daniel. "Well?"
"Uh…Cheyenne Mountain."
"NORAD? What do you do?"
"I'm…just a consultant."
"Yes, but what do you do?"
"I'm sorry, I can't…"
"I know that." Taylor said patiently. "What are you a doctor of?"
"Oh! Linguistics."
"Yeah? Not my strong point, I'm afraid."
"Not my commander's either. Sort of why I'm there." He glanced at Taylor. "Where are you based?"
"Norquist."
"I don't know it."
"It's only a small base, in California. Turtle Cove."
"No, doesn't mean anything to me. Sorry."
Tara wandered back into the living area. No one else had woken up yet, and she puttered around for a while, cleaning up some of the debris seven people and two small children had made. After perhaps twenty minutes the door of the 'Boys' room opened and Merrick came out, pulling it closed behind him.
"Morning, Merrick. Sleep well?"
"Max snores." Merrick groused.
Tara grinned. "He does rather, doesn't he."
"You knew." Merrick accused her. "That's why you put me in there."
"I put you in there because your wife and son came too late for the 'Married' room. So you can just put up. I only have so many rooms, you know." Merrick muttered something under his breath. "I didn't quite catch that, Merrick."
"It wasn't aimed at you."
"You shouldn't say mean things about your wife."
"It wasn't aimed at her, either. I thought you'd have that room. Where's Connor?"
"Dunno. Dawn called a couple days ago; something's going on they need his help with. Anyway, Stephen and I don't do that."
"Don't they have a Slayer already?"
"Yes, several, but he went anyway."
"Why?" Merrick's face darkened. "Is it something of yours?"
"No! You know I'd tell you."
"Would you?"
Tara put down the cup she'd been holding and looked straight at him. "I wouldn't like it, Merrick. But you're still mine. If I needed you, I'd let you know." She picked up the cup again. "It was some Hellmouthy thing. I'm not good with those."
"And we were coming."
"He likes you, you know. As much as he likes anyone, anyway."
"That's not what I meant. You didn't go because we were coming."
"I didn't go because I wasn't invited." she corrected him. "Anyway, I hate the Hellmouth. Makes me sick. He wasn't going to go, either…he doesn't get on with the Scoobies…but he did in the end."
"He doesn't get on with Angel's group either."
"Better than the Scoobies. And stop dissing my Champion!"
"Dissing?" Merrick repeated. "Since when do you say dissing?"
"I've always said dissing." she informed him haughtily. "You just obviously never listened properly before."
"You've never said dissing. Cole, back me up." he appealed to the Lion Ranger, who'd just emerged from the 'Married' room.
"It's too early for backing things up." Cole muttered, heading into the bathroom.
"Ha." Tara said primly, turning away from Merrick to start breakfast.
"Tara." Merrick took the frying pan away from her. "Daniel."
"Where?"
"No, that's not what I…don't do that!"
"Why not?"
"Because it's irritating. Listen to me."
"I always listen to you."
Merrick leaned back, folding his arms. "Really."
"Sure. Just cos I don't always do what you say doesn't mean I'm not listening."
"You never do what I say."
"I often do what you say."
Cole came out of the bathroom and came to sit beside Merrick. He looked slightly more awake now. "What are you arguing about today?"
"Whether or not I listen to Merrick." Tara said promptly. "Sleep well?"
"No. Your son kept poking my daughter."
Merrick shrugged. "He doesn't see babies much."
"Sara's not a baby."
"Cole's four. Anyone under the age of three and a half is a baby. Haven't you ever watched Rugrats?" Tara asked brightly.
"Sara's eighteen months old. She doesn't know what a TV is." Cole pointed out.
"What's a Rugrat?" Merrick asked.
"Merrick's answer is better." Danny said, coming out of the 'Boys'room.
"Why?" Cole demanded.
"Because you know Rugrats is a TV show. Merrick doesn't even know that much."
"So he says." Cole muttered suspiciously.
"Merrick, come for a walk with me." Tara said, handing the stack of plates she'd been holding to Cole.
"Why?"
"You wanted to talk, didn't you?" She gestured vaguely at the rest of the building, and he nodded.
"Hey, we could just go back to bed." Danny offered.
"No you bloody well could not. You're cooking today." Tara informed him.
"I can't cook!"
"Sure you can. Cole'll help you."
"I…"
"Alyssa's still asleep, right?" Tara said pointedly. Cole nodded heavily.
"Fine, we'll cook."
"I believe I might eat out." Merrick muttered. "Let me just go and tell Shayla where we're going."
"I can't get used to you calling her Shayla." Tara mused. "It just doesn't sound right."
"I've been calling her Shayla for nearly four years now." Merrick said mildly.
"And what does…" Tara stopped. Then, very deliberately, she said, "Merrick? You've been married over five years."
"So?" Grinning, he vanished into the Girls room.
"I think Merrick just made a joke." Tara said in wonder.
"He does that sometimes." Cole agreed solemnly.
"He even smiles sometimes." Danny told her.
"Will wonders never cease." Tara said mildly. "Coleen's up."
Cole stared at her. "If Merrick finds out you're calling his son a girl…"
"You're what?" Danny asked.
"What Merrick doesn't know won't lead him to beat me up." Tara said primly.
"He'll find out." Cole warned her.
"And if I was calling him a girl I'd be worried. But I'm not, so I'm…not."
"Cailen." Cole mangled the pronunciation. "I know that means girl."
"You're saying it wrong. It's Cole-een. Little Cole."
"Oh." Cole thought about that for a minute. "I thought…"
"Let's have the discussion on Irish grammar later, OK? Go rescue your daughter before they wake Alyssa up."
"Sara's still asleep."
"Not once Coleen gets out of bed. Go, Cole."
"Stop calling him Cailen. It's weird."
"We need something to distinguish you two. He's way too old for his age anyway, and you're…" She bit off what she'd been saying. "Never mind. Look, Merrick's back!"
Merrick glanced up as he held the door for Shayla. "What now?"
"Nothing." Tara said quickly, glaring at Cole. "Morning, Princess."
"Good morning, Tara. May I come on your walk?"
"Of course. Do you want to eat first?"
"No. Cole, can I leave Cole with you?"
"Sure. Have fun." A wail rose from the Married room, and he grimaced, already rising from his seat.
"I told you." Tara reminded him, pulling her coat out of the press.
"Yes, you did." Cole agreed, glancing over his shoulder. "Danny, I guess you better start breakfast." Before anyone could say anything he slipped into the Married room and closed the door.
"Huh. Cole got sneaky." Tara mused. "You guys are growing up."
"Says the eternal child." Merrick mocked gently.
"It's not as much fun as it sounds." Tara shot back. She crossed the corridor and tapped on Daniel's door, pushing it open at the same time. "Taylor? Merrick and the Princess and I are going out for a walk. D'you need anything?"
"No. Want me to come with?"
"No, you keep talking shop. Danny's cooking breakfast, so you may want to stay here for a while."
"Hey!" Danny protested, and Daniel looked uncertainly at Taylor.
"You're giddy today. What's up?" Taylor asked. Tara shrugged.
"Nothing much. See you later." She pulled the door closed again and headed down to the lift.
"She's right, you know." Merrick said. "You are giddy."
"I like seeing you guys." Tara said, shrugging again. "I don't get to do it as much anymore."
"If you came home you would." Shayla pointed out.
"Yee-aah. I guess." The lift came, and they piled in.
"What's wrong?" Merrick asked quietly.
"Stephen doesn't like Turtle Cove." Tara explained. "I'd come home only for that."
"Why not?" Shayla asked.
"He's used to places like LA. Turtle Cove's too…I don't know, small town? There's nothing for him to fight."
"But what does he fight here?" Merrick asked.
"Yeah. Have you noticed he isn't here?" Tara laughed. "The same things he fought in LA. They're around, if you know what to look for."
"Must there always be something to fight?" Shayla asked quietly.
"For Stephen, yes, there must. That's the way he was raised; it's how he defines himself." She shrugged again. "With one demon-fighter and one demon for parents, and growing up where he did, how could he not?"
They left the lift and stepped outside, picking a direction at random and walking.
"That doesn't bother you?" Shayla asked.
"Of course it bothers me. But what can I do about it? He knows I'm not going to ask him for anything. That's always been true. I need him too much."
"So he gets to choose?" Merrick said.
"Yes. Anything."
"Anything?" Merrick repeated sharply.
"No! He doesn't ask me for things, but we don't do things he doesn't want to. That's just how it goes, Merrick."
"It shouldn't." Merrick muttered.
"I never asked you for much, did I?"
"That's because…" he started, before cutting himself off sharply.
"You're not mine." Tara seemed to deflate. "I know."
The three walked in silence for a few minutes. Finally Shayla sighed. "It's nice here."
"It is." Tara agreed softly.
"Not so warm as Turtle Cove though." Shayla said thoughtfully. Silently, Tara shrugged out of her jacket and offered it to Shayla. "Thank you, Tara."
"No problem. I don't really feel the cold, anyway." She glanced at Merrick. "Are we going to talk about Daniel, or just fight about Stephen and then ignore each other?"
"I'm not…" Merrick made a face at her. "Going to dignify that with an answer."
"What about Daniel?" Shayla asked.
"Merrick's suspicious, Princess. Of Daniel."
"Why, Merrick? You hardly know him."
"Because people don't happen into Tara's life by accident. And I've never known her to live in an apartment block before. So far from the ground, Tara?"
"It's necessary."
"Necessary for what?" Shayla asked, glancing at Merrick. Neither had missed the slight sing-song note in Tara's voice.
"For knowing. For watching. So the truth will be known, even if it's never told."
"What truth?" Merrick asked. Tara shuddered, reaching blindly for his hand. They waited patiently while she fought to ground herself.
"Merrick…you remember Connor?"
"Yes." Merrick said slowly. Connor was not something they talked about…not the Connor she meant, anyway.
"There was…the place he had, it was different. Daniel has…something of that feel about him."
"What kind of feel?" Shayla asked.
"Daniel's walked on other planets. I feel it when I see him."
"Other planets." Merrick repeated. "You're sure? Not just other dimensions, but actual other planets?"
"Oh yes, I'm sure. Not only that, but there are people who come to see him sometimes. They go, too."
"Do you think he's dangerous?" Merrick asked.
"Do you?" Tara returned. Merrick thought about it for a long time.
"I think he is what Max would call a dork. But I don't think he's dangerous, no."
"You didn't learn dork from Max!" Tara protested, laughing.
"How do you know?" Merrick challenged her.
"Firstly because Max would never call anyone a dork. And secondly because you worked at Willie's long enough to pick it up yourself…that and much worse." She considered for a minute. "Besides, he's a geek, not a dork."
"What's the difference?" Shayla asked, at the same time as Merrick said, "There's a difference?"
"There is. I'm not explaining it now. I don't think he's dangerous," she hesitated, thinking, "but he makes me jumpy. So I'm going to watch him."
"Does Connor know?"
"He does. He helps me, when he's here."
"Does he go away often?" Shayla asked gently.
"Sometimes." She shrugged. "I hear I'm hard to live with. And sometimes we hear about things, bad things, and he goes to take care of them."
"I thought he didn't…"
"What?"
"Remember that?" Shayla said hesitantly.
"Oh. No, Angel's spell didn't work. I stopped him, and I took Stephen away."
"Why?" Shayla asked quietly.
"I gave him the choice. Angel was going to just send him away."
"You were selfish." Merrick murmured.
"I was." Tara agreed readily. "But I did give him his choice. I even showed him what it would be like."
"And?" Shayla asked.
Tara shrugged. "He chose to fight."
"Why? Wasn't he happy?" Shayla asked.
"Very. So I offered him something else."
"What?" Merrick asked.
"When he dreams, he goes there. He doesn't remember here when he's there, and he doesn't remember there when he's here; only that he's happier than he ever was before. He remembers the peace of that place, and it stays with him when he wakes up: most of his worst memories are blunted, now. It's sort of like the way he and I used to dream together, only that he remembered our dreams."
"You don't do that anymore?" Merrick asked.
"No need." She walked for a minute before adding, "Sometimes, when he's away. But when he's here we don't bother. We can talk."
The three walked in silence for some time then; finally Tara looked around. "We should head back; we're heading out of town. Bad idea."
"Oh?" Merrick asked, turning around.
"Nothing out there but Cheyenne Mountain. That's where Daniel works."
"What does he do?" Shayla asked.
"I don't know. The thing's carved out of a mountain and covered with about twenty feet of concrete. I can't sense worth anything in there."
"Maybe he'd tell you." Merrick suggested.
"No, he wouldn't. He's Air Force, Merrick, they don't go around telling anyone who asks." She thought for a minute. "Sometimes people come to see him."
"You said that already." Merrick reminded her.
"I know. I'm thinking."
"What about?" Shayla asked.
Tara shrugged. "Daniel's friends. They all go…wherever it is he goes."
"All of them?" Shayla asked. "He doesn't have any other friends?"
"Not that've come to see him. Some go more than others, but they all go."
"That must be lonely." Shayla murmured softly.
"I suppose it must." Tara agreed, looking at her oddly.
"What?" Merrick asked on Shayla's behalf.
"Nothing." Tara said quickly. "Just…forgotten how insightful you could be, Princess. I'd expect it from Cole or Merrick, but I'd forgotten you could do it too…It must be lonely, I guess. But maybe his friends are enough for him. Mine are for me."
"Family, Tara." Merrick murmured.
"Yes. That too." She glanced up at her window as they reached the apartment building again. "I wonder if Cole settled Coleen."
"Who, now?" Merrick asked carefully.
"Co…leen?" Tara said hopefully.
"Girl." Merrick said flatly.
"No. That's what Cole thought too! Little Cole, Merrick, not girl."
"I don't believe I've heard that one." Merrick said.
"Merrick, you can't even have a conversation yet." Smiling, she added before he could say anything, "Adding –een to the end of any word makes it mean little. Like –er in English means more? Coleen just means Little Cole."
"I think it's sweet." Shayla said suddenly. Tara smiled thankfully at her.
"Thank you, Princess. I think Merrick's on the verge of attacking me here." Looking at Merrick again, she went on, "Look at it this way, Merrick. How many Americans are going to know what it means anyway?"
"We're back!" Tara announced, dropping the jacket Shayla had just given her back on a chair. "Hi, Daniel. You apparently came for breakfast."
"Looks that way, doesn't it?" Cole said cheerfully.
"I just came to borrow some coffee." Daniel corrected him.
"That's what you thought you were doing." Max said brightly. "Really you were coming to breakfast."
Daniel looked questioningly at Tara, who shrugged as she passed him. "You think one more will make a difference? Stay if you'd like, we're more than…what do you think you're doing?"
Coleen looked up guiltily. "Looking?"
"Bad!" She took the book away from him. "Not supposed to look at that, Cole, you know that!"
Merrick came to stand beside her; giving the book a cursory glance, he looked down at his son. "Well?"
"…looking…" Coleen said in a tiny voice.
"Um—I should go." Daniel said to Taylor, who was standing the closest to him.
"Nah, they'll be finished in a minute." she assured him.
"Not supposed to look at those, Cole. You know that. They're not for children." Tara said firmly. Daniel glanced up at that and picked his way across the room.
"May I?" he asked. Tara handed him the book without looking at him.
"…looking…not a baby…" Coleen muttered. Tara squatted beside him.
"Cole, do you know how old I was when I was allowed look at those books?" Coleen shook his head. "An awful lot older than you are now."
"What language is this?" Daniel asked. Tara glanced at him distractedly.
"A dead one."
"Then why are you so worried? Surely he can't read it."
Tara grinned. "Let me clarify that. Dead to everyone except us." Her gesture took in Merrick, Shayla, both Coles and herself.
"And us." Max complained.
"And them." Tara said obediently, taking the book back from Daniel. "It's a history, Daniel, but there are things not for children in it."
"Won't…" Coleen muttered.
"I hope not." Merrick said sternly. "Or you and I shall talk." Coleen flinched. "Now apologize to Tara and go get dressed."
"Sorry, cousin Tara…" Coleen muttered, throwing both arms around her in a fierce hug before carefully taking the book and retreating into the 'Married' room.
"I told you to put those away." Merrick said to Tara.
"The kid's four, Merrick, he shouldn't…never mind…"
"Shouldn't what?" Merrick asked, trailing her back to the kitchenette.
"Never mind, I said. Coffee, Daniel?"
"Please."
"Did anyone introduce Daniel around?" Tara asked, handing him a cup.
"I started to." Max said brightly. "But I got distracted."
"How far did you get?"
"Um—I'm Max."
"That's as far as you got." Tara said flatly. Sighing hugely, she turned back to Daniel. "Ignore him. Max has the attention span of a goldfish."
"He'd get on with Jack." Daniel said.
"Who's Jack? Here, coffee."
"Thanks…one of the people I work with."
"Oh. OK, well that's Max, and Danny, you know Taylor and Merrick, that's Cole, his wife Alyssa and their daughter Sara, Merrick's wife Shayla and that was their son Coleen I was giving out to…did I run out of people?"
Cole snorted into his cup. "About three sentences ago, Tara."
"Smart alec." Tara said without rancor.
"Coleen?" Daniel asked hesitantly.
"Little Cole. It's Irish, sort of." Tara explained. Glancing at Merrick, she added, "See, told you so. Taylor, when is Eric getting here?"
"Any minute." Taylor said.
"Are you packed? Do you want a hand?" Alyssa asked.
"No, I'm packed." Taylor said. Off Daniel's look, she added, "My leave's up. I have to get back."
"Kendall called." Danny said hesitantly. "While you were out."
"Got cravings yet?"
"Not yet." Danny said happily.
"It's too early for cravings, isn't it?" Alyssa asked.
"Not sure." Danny said. "Tara, she had a reason."
"Yeah? You both going back or just you?" Tara asked, glancing at Max.
"Both of us." Max answered promptly.
"You were expecting that." Cole said quietly.
"Sure. It's been, what," she glanced at a clock, "almost twelve hours? I knew this wouldn't last."
"We're not leaving yet." Cole protested.
"Nor us." Merrick agreed.
"Good." Tara grinned, disentangling herself from the group. "Excuse me, please."
"Is she OK?" Daniel asked quietly when she'd disappeared into one of the bedrooms.
"Sure." Taylor said easily. "She's just making sure Cole—little Cole—didn't damage her books. She's very proud of them."
The intercom buzzed, and Max answered it; grinning, he hung it up before announcing, "Taylor, your husband's here."
"Oh good. He's late." Taylor said calmly, refusing to rise to the bait.
Cole laughed; seeing Daniel's confused look he explained, "They're not married, Eric and Taylor. Max likes to tease them about it."
"His sense of humor is as immature as the rest of him." Taylor added, smirking at Max.
"Hey! I happen to have a very sophisticated sense of humor." Max protested.
"Yeah. Let him in, kid." Max pouted, but he went to open the door anyway.
Tara reappeared from the room again, smiling politely at Eric but not going near him; there was a tension between them that Daniel could feel, no matter that everyone else seemed to be trying to cover it up.
"Kesia." Eric said, smirking faintly at her. "Nice place."
"Thank you." Tara replied vaguely.
"Kesia?" Cole asked, poking her lightly.
"Yes, Cole. Kesia. I did tell you that, remember?"
"Maybe." He shrugged. "Always gonna be Tara with us."
"I know." Tara groaned, burying her face in her hands.
"There there." Shayla said, patting her shoulder without paying much attention.
"I'm over it." Tara said, smiling faintly. "Going, Taylor?"
"Yeah. You know me and mush."
"Mush, smush. Keep in touch, OK?"
"Don't I always? Don't answer that."
"Tara." Eric said, holding out a sheet of paper. "Piper called; Chris is looking for you."
Tara crumbled the sheet without looking at it. "Chris is always looking for me. He doesn't seem to get this whole Champion thing."
"You do owe the girls." Cole reminded her quietly.
"And they'll be paid. When they need it, not when Chris wants it. Besides, he doesn't have to leave me messages." She glanced at Daniel. "Sorry, Daniel, we must be boring you."
"No, not at all." he said politely.
"Eric, c'mon! I don't want to go AWOL!" Taylor yelled.
There were several noisy minutes of good-byes, with hugs from the girls and handshakes from the boys; Tara hugged Taylor but then sat back down and ignored Eric.
"You don't like him?" Daniel asked quietly.
"It's not him. He just…there's some bad stuff he brings up, but it's not his fault." Tara kept her eyes firmly on her cup as she spoke.
"Cousin Tara?" Coleen levered himself into the next seat along.
"Yes, short stuff."
"Who is this?"
"Oh…" She laughed. "You didn't meet, did you? This is Daniel, Cole. He lives across the hall."
"Hi, Daniel." Coleen chirped.
"Hello." Daniel said, a little uncomfortably. "Coleen?"
Coleen scowled. "Don't like that name."
"Cole, behave." Tara said. "You're almost five years old. Don't go around talking as if you were two."
"More fun that way." Cole said, grinning. Looking at Daniel, he added, "I like you. Don't let Cousin Tara work too hard."
"Uh—OK." Daniel said carefully. "What does she work at?"
"Cousin Tara is…"
"Cole, come on." Merrick appeared from the hallway. "We're going to walk down to the shop." To Tara, he added, "Danny and Max are going soon."
"Won't that be nice for them. Get some more of the stuff the Princess drinks; I'm all out."
"Will do. Cole, come on, I'm not waiting for you."
Coleen scrambled off his chair and followed Merrick out; Daniel looked at Tara and asked, "Princess?"
"Oh…Shayla."
"She's a Princess?" Daniel asked uncertainly.
"She…" Tara cut herself off as Shayla came back into the flat.
"I'm not a princess." she said directly to Daniel. "It's more a nickname."
"Like Tara." Alyssa said brightly. "That's a nickname, too. I'm gonna go feed Sara, guys."
"Where's Cole?" Shayla asked.
"They both went with Merrick." Tara said. "Daniel, I just realized I invited you for breakfast and then never fed you. Do you want anything?"
"Ah, no. I have to be going, actually, I'll be late for work."
"Oh. Sorry." Tara looked at her watch, frowning. "You work really odd hours."
"Yeah." Daniel smiled. "Some…most times. Projects, deadlines…you know."
"Sure. Want me to water you plants? Check your mail?"
"I don't keep plants." He rose from the chair and started towards the door. "I tend to kill them. And I don't get much mail."
"If I don't see you for a few days I'll take it in anyway, OK? Even here you could get robbed."
"Sure." He smiled around the room. "It was nice to meet everyone."
Tara flushed. "I know we're…sort of unconventional, and really noisy…"
"No, no. They seem like really nice people." Daniel reassured her. "Listen, I really have to go; Jack's going to kill me as it is. I'll see you again, OK?"
"Sure. See you, Daniel."
"Did it work?" Shayla asked without looking up.
"I think it did." She glanced back at the door. "I hope it did."
"Tara? Shayla? Can someone help, please?" Alyssa suddenly called.
"Coming!" Tara called back. "Geez, this place is so quiet all of a sudden…"
"Give it ten minutes…" Shayla murmured.
"I heard that."
"You always have to be right, don't you!" Tara yelled fifteen minutes later.
"I don't have to be. I usually am, though." Shayla answered primly.
"Right about what?" Cole asked curiously.
"How noisy this place was going to be."
"Are you complaining?" Merrick asked, pausing in the act of putting down a plate on the table.
"No, I was complaining then. About how quiet it was."
"We could leave, if you like."
"No, don't do that."
"Are you sure? I could pack in just a few minutes…"
"No, Merrick."
"We wouldn't want to impose…"
"Merrick!"
Merrick grinned at her, and she laughed softly, and around them their family came to join in, laughing and playing and simply being together again, as they had before.