Note: These characters are not mine.
Bald by Dinner
Walking down the hallway towards Felix's loft, Sarah heard a yelp of pain. A familiar fear surged through her. "Damn it. They can't even keep her safe for an hour," she cursed as she rushed forward to pull open the door.
"Kira?"
The scene that awaited her had all of the chaos she was expecting, with none of the malice.
Delphine sat on the couch, surrounded by an array towels, brushes, combs, and barrettes. Kira stood perched on a stool behind her. Her fingers were entwined in Delphine's curls, slowly tugging them into a lumpy arrangement. As Sarah watched, Delphine winced and gave another yelp.
"Mummy!" Kira grinned and waved at Sarah, still standing in the doorway. "We're doing Delphine's hair. She's French, so we decided on French braids."
Delphine, patiently enduring her sentence, shot Sarah a smile and a small shrug.
Talking a deep breath, Sarah forced herself to relax. "Oh? We?"
"Well, I'm doing the braids and Auntie Cos is making the gel."
At this, Sarah finally pulled her focus away from Kira to find Cosima crouching at the coffee table. The table was littered with what appeared to be every liquid and powdered substance the loft had to offer. Cos was, at the moment, squeezing vinegar into a coffee mug with an eye dropper and stirring her concoction with a plastic straw.
"Hi, Sarah," Cosima murmured with a mischievous smile, not looking up from her task as she added one final drop. She poured a small amount into a paper cup and passed it to Kira. "I think that should do it. The acid-base balance is better than last time."
Sarah caught Delphine's eye, and Delphine turned her head and pointed to an angry red patch just behind her ear. "From last time," she mouthed silently.
"Sit still!" Kira admonished seriously, resuming her styling duties.
Catching the exchange, Cos nudge Delphine's knee and teased, "Don't be such a baby. It's just a little acid burn." Then quickly turning to Kira, she reminded, "But just to be safe, don't forget to put on those gloves, K."
"Oh, right!" Kira handed the paper cup to Delphine and hopped off her stool. She scampered over to Fee, who had been watching from the kitchen doorway. He handed her a pair of oven mitts.
"That's my last pair, Monkey. If you burn a hole through these too, you're on your own." He assumed his best threatening look and glanced back and forth from Cosima to Kira, who both attempted to adopt an innocent expression.
It was odd, Sarah thought, to see the expressions of her sisters reflected in Kira's face. It's not just her DNA wound up in that little body, but theirs as well.
"And you, Fee. I don't suppose you've had a part in this?" Sarah asked, moving across the room to her brother.
"Just an impartial observer."
"An impartial observer," chimed Delphine, "who has offered me use of a hat for later, as I may be bald by dinner."
Cosima tugged one of the Delphine's braids and caught Fee's eye. "Hair or no hair..."
"... she'll look lovely in fur!" Fee finished, brandishing a large furry mountain hat. Sarah raised an eyebrow as Cos and Fee giggled like school children. Delphine's shoulders shook with laughter as she struggled to sit still.
"Mummy," Kira said, ignoring the adults and climbing back onto the stool clumsily, her hands encased in the mitts. "Auntie Cos said she'll do my hair like hers after we're finished with Delphine's! They're called dreads."
"Yes, thank you. I know what they're called. And, no. Absolutely not, Monkey." Sarah walked forward and plucked Kira off the stool. "I think there's been enough destruction here today. I knew leaving you alone with these three clowns would be trouble."
Delphine and Fee laughed, while Cosima caught Kira's eye and gestured to her dreads. "Next time," she mouthed, earning a conspiratorial grin from her favorite niece.
The end