Narcissa frowned as Lucius stood there and asked the question, and before she could answer, the baby held up the lizard and squeaked, "PAPA!" and squealed in giggles.

Lucius' eyes narrowed with disdain at the toddler and then silver gaze shifted to his wife.

"I do hope it's merely visiting..." he said with all the arrogance she'd come to know and love over the course of their marriage..

And she sighed softly, setting the wriggling monster down once more and keeping the girl in her peripheral. "No, Lucius. Eugenia was here. She told me that Fallyn's mother was found murdered and she needed someone..."

That was so like the old woman. And as the wizard watched the kitten take the lizard back to the wood and...blink...wait. She did NOT just turn some creature loose in HIS manor? And then a glare shot at his wife. "And what of it's father? Surely it must have had 2 parents? It usually works that way."

Cissa sighed softly, but couldn't stop the smiles when she watched the girl. "I don't know. I was just told of her mother. I'm assuming the father isn't around --"

"Then her father's a genius at least...and the child may inherit some of his intelligence...not a complete loss." he interjected, and Narcissa frowned.

"Lucius...you have Draco. And you've seen fit to exclude me from his life. All I'm asking is that you give me this. Let me keep Fallyn -- "

And one brow shot up as he looked at his wife sideways. "That's twice you called it..." and a shake of his head. "Cissa, darling...you KNOW if you name them it's just harder to get rid of th-- "

"DAMMIT, Lucius! Listen to me, please. For ONCE in your life. This little girl needs a home. And a family. She has...no one." And her gaze softened and went back to the girl who was now getting a little close to the fire. "Fallyn, sweetheart...come to Mama..." And Fallyn looked over...blinkblink...and ran towards Ci -- BRAKES! And halfway to the couch she stopped, nearly toppling over, but looked up at Lucius instead.

Ponder.

Blink.

And Lucius growled softly much like an alpha male in the pack would at a cub, glaring down at the girl.

But if he thought in any way that that was going to intimidate the 2 year old...he was sorely mistaken. She merely looked up at him for the LONGEST time then pointed up at him and looked at Mummy and squealed with the biggest grin, "MAMA! 'ZAT!"

And it took everything in her power not to collapse in laughter as Lucius' grip on his walking stick tightened in reflex and he whirled and stormed out of the sitting room. Now that...had been priceless. And when the little girl started to follow after him (it was plain the fear was now completely gone...hm...she was definitely acting like a Malfoy) and Cissa clicked her tongue to get the baby's attention.

"Forget him, sweetheart. Come. Let's come back over here, hmm?" and she held out a hand to the toddler who came charging back over to her.

There was a ring at the chimes and Lucius paced his study.

It had been only a day since the baby had been dropped off and already things were in an uproar. Bloody hell.

He heard the quiet exchange of voices at the door and then there was the closing of the door and the footsteps across the marble foyer and the soft knock at the study door. Lucius stood in front of the fireplace, snifter half-full of brandy, and a soft, "Enter."

The door opened just a bit and the butler-houseservant walked in.

"Yes, Jeremiah...?" was the question that filtered across the silence.

The squib bowed his head to the wizard and a quiet, "Master...A delivery person from the Ministry...said to give these to you." And he handed over a large envelope with the name Bradley, Fallyn Tanis printed on it in marker. Lucius took it and gave a short nod to the man who turned and quickly disappeared from the room.

Lucius sneered at the envelope and with a toss back to finish off the brandy, he dropped the papers on his desk. He'd have to give them to Narcissa later. This was her idea...she could handle the intricacies.

He headed over to the cabinet once more and poured himself another drink. Just who did she think she was...accepting this responsibility...and without asking HIM? UNHEARD of. Now he was to be saddled with this...this...child...whom he knew NOTHING about. What of its parents? Were they Pureblood? A soft snort as he took that first drink. She knew better than to bring anything BUT into this manor. It would be woe to the child if it wasn't. But still...this was RIDICU --

"HI!"

Lucius whirled, nearly dropping the brandy snifter, but fingers clutched tightly to it still when he spotted the 2 foot troll looking up at him and finger-wiggling. A glare thrown at the door...Jeremiah must have not made sure the latch caught. Oh he'd PAY for that. The squib knew...especially since Draco had been toddling around as well.

Lucius swept past the child and to the door and pulled it open hailing a house-elf as she walked by, then DEMANDED to see his wife. NOW. And the house-elf apparated off. Lucius turned slowly and glared down at the child. Now. To get rid of...it. Maybe it would leave if he left the door open. And he did just that, and walked around her, trying to keep eye contact, which wasn't hard with those big...deep blue...like the ocean...uhm...wait a moment.

He stopped for a moment, lost in the little girl's eyes.

He'd seen her before...or at least her soul. Something about this child...he... knew... already.

But then there was a rustling at the door as Narcissa came running in and swept the baby up into her arms, holding her tightly amidst a peal of giggles and hugs. She looked at her husband and mumbled softly, "I'm sorry, Lucius...this won't happen again. She got away from me for a moment and I"ve been looking for her..."

But the wizard was lost in his thoughts now. Actually something was really annoying him. Snort. And he waved Cissa off with a muttered, "Make sure it doesn't happen again. Take her out." And Narcissa bowed her head faintly but caught the distraction on him and turned and knew it was best to get the hell out now while he was like that.

Once they were outside of the office, Lucius headed to the desk and picked up the envelope, ripping it open and spilling the contents onto the polished oak. The forms...the government and Ministry papers...pictures of the kid...the kid and a kitten (how CUTE)...the kid and another bunch of kids (TWITCH)...the kid and her moth --

Lucius froze.

He stared at the picture. It was her. He'd seen it in the runt's eyes. And he began shuffling the papers around. frantically looking for the birth cer-- there! And he snatched it up and silver eyes scanned the columns.

Name: Fallyn Tanis

Father:

Mother: Meghan Fallyn Bradley

Birthplace: Surrey, England

Birthdate: December 6, 1989

He stared at the words. Read them. And reread them. By the Gods...it WAS her.

The "Her" was a witch that had been able to hold Lucius' attention as long as Narcissa had. During his encounters with other witches, Meghan had been the one he may have honestly left Narcissa for. She was young and intoxicating...vibrant and alive...and she had the most soulful deep blue eyes. Like an endless ocean or the deepest spring sky. She always was willing to listen to him no matter what he had to complain about. Or who. She had the infinite patience of a saint and she could make him feel better just by being with her and...not saying a word, really...there was more with Meghan than the others. In fact...she had been his last.

That was two years ago.

Fallyn...Fallyn Tanis. He sighed softly. There was no father listed because Lucius knew too damn well who the father was. He looked up at the door when he heard the little shriek

"NUUU! GOTTA SEE PAPA! PDEEEZE!"

And he closed his eyes. Meghan was dead. He'd never see her again. Even though she had begged him to leave and go back to his wife...he knew that some day they'd meet again and then maybe things could be different. He never knew the reason she pushed him away was the toddler in the other room.

He heard Cissa's footseps coming back to the door and he frantically shuffled the papers around and gathered them and the pictures and shoved them into the envelope once more. There was a quiet knock on the door and he barked out, "Come."

Cissa peeked in and opened her mouth but seeing the manilla envelope on the desk made her smile and she walked over. "Jeremiah told me this had come. Thank you, Darling..." and she took the envelope and turned and left the study.

L:ucius was about to stop her. Was about to ask her to let him look over the papers a bit more. But that would have been suspicious. And he couldn't have that. So as the latch clicked to start the silence again, he settled back in the leather chair and sighed. This was all just a nightmare. It couldn't be real. There was no way she --

And when he looked back on his desk, he saw the corner of a picture that had been shoved under another paper and lost from its mates. Lucius almost called Narcissa back, but when he pulled it out from under the papers, it was the picture of Meghan and Fallyn.

A smile tugged at the corners of his lips.

HIS...daughter. Fallyn...Tanis...Malfoy...