Emmeline-Cate came out with Marguerite and Finn, and went bounding into her father's lap, making him smile.
"Hello, Princess."
"Daddy, Daddy, you should see-"
"Shhh." her mother reminded, and Emmeline-Cate nodded solemnly.
Roxton raised an eyebrow.
Veronica came out then. "Presenting..." she said dramatically, "The new Miss Abagail Ava Malone!"
And, Abby came out shyly, wearing a near-replica of her mother's outfit. Her unruly curls, which she had inherited from bothparents, were swept up from her face in a half-braid, with the rest loose underneath the braid, by a leather strap.
She gave a shy smile, and most of the adults in the room made a fuss over her. But, Ned... he was looking at his daughter with huge, wide eyes.
"What the hell is she wearing?" he demanded. "She looks like... "
"Me?" Veronica pointed out, slightly huffy.
"Now, Veronica... don't start that- she's just a baby! She shouldn't be dressing like... well, like a woman!"
Abby bit her lip and looked at her feet, and Veronica folded her arms.
"Ned. She looks beautiful. And, I have a few more modest dresses I'm working on, but we need to stop dressing her like a boy. She needs the self-esteem boost." Veronica whispered.
Ned frowned, and then looked at Abby, walking over. "You... you look like your mother shrunk, you know." he said, touching her hair gently.
Abby's eyes lit up. "Really, Dad?"
Ned nodded. "Always did..."
_
Later on in the afternoon, the children came racing into the common room, the girls riding on Wolfy like a pony.
"Can we go outside, Dad?" Tommy asked hopefully. "We wanna go swimming."
"Sure, if it's okay with Uncle John and Auntie Marguerite..." Ned began, and then glanced over at Morgan, helping Abby down from the dog's back. "Actually... swimming isn't the best idea for today. There are... fish..." he said lamely.
"There's always fish, Dad." Tommy said, confused. "Remember, usually when we swim we bring home a few for supper?"
"Yes, but, not eating fish... dangerous fish, yes. I thought I saw a Piranha yesterday..."
"Really?" Challenger asked, fascinated. "We never saw them down at the lagoon before... Oh, that is worth investigating..."
"No, no, not worth investigating... just worth staying out of the lagoon..." Ned said nervously, trying manfully to ignore the confused looks his wife was shooting him. "And... besides, you might catch cold. It's getting cold."
"It's the Brazilian Jungle, old man; it doesn't get cold." Roxton reminded, eying him.
"Well... changing climates happen all the time... And, I don't think you want the kids getting sick any more than I do..." Ned said, and took a jacket off of the chair. "Here, Ab; you look cold, c'mere..."
