p class="MsoNormal"Sebastian awoke in the morning, swearing he heard someone calling his name, but it was as silent as he suspected the farm would get for a sunny spring morning. A glance over to the bed confirmed that Mariah was still asleep, so it wasn't her. He rubbed his eyes, blinked, and stretched out. He stood up pushing on his lower back with his hands. That was one sure indication that he had in fact aged six years. Not that it would be the most pleasant but at twenty-four he could sleep on a couch for a couple of nights without feeling so sore. He hoped moving around and loosening up would work out the lingering pain, but if it kept up, he may have to burst his comfort bubble and sleep in the bed with Mariah. Speaking of sleep, he was happy to not have dealt with anyone's nightmares during the night. Or any wet dreams either. It wasn't the best sleep he'd ever gotten, not by a long shot, but he did feel rested./p
p class="MsoNormal"Sebastian had plenty of experience sneaking around the house so as not to disturb the other sleeping members of the household. The one positive difference between doing it here and doing it at his mother's house was that it was not the middle of the night. He had the sunlight seeping in through the window to help guide him around the furniture obstacle course. The house was not cramped or messy he was just less familiar with the layout and in the dark would have likely bumped into something. The bedroom door had simply clicked when Sebastian closed it behind him. He padded his way across the floorboards and onto the tile of the kitchen. He got the coffee started and listened for Morgan. How he'd fathered an early riser was beyond him. From what he knew of Mariah she seemed to be a bit of a night owl herself, though perhaps with better habits than he had, so Morgan was an enigma. Was he an early riser when he was a young kid too? He couldn't remember back that far. Either way he breathed a sigh of relief when he didn't hear her./p
p class="MsoNormal"He let Charlie outside while the coffee brewed, stepping out onto the porch himself. Mornings were not his favorite, but the fresh air was welcome. He positioned himself in the shade and closed his eyes, breathing in deeply. He allowed himself several moments to enjoy the peace, feeling refreshed when he went back inside. The smell of the coffee was divine. He assumed the coffee beans had been grown on the farm, but he'd have to ask Mariah to be certain. Sebastian also suspected that living on the farm he'd become completely spoiled with fresh food. He'd only ever eaten food from the Joja Mart in a real pinch and it'd been terrible. Both in how it tasted (with the exception of the frozen pizza) and how he felt after eating it. He'd been one to prefer home cooked meals as it was and having a consistent source of the freshest ingredients could only make that even better./p
p class="MsoNormal"Mariah made her appearance as Sebastian was pouring his coffee. He admired how cute her bedhead was as she made a beeline for the bathroom. He savored the first sip of his coffee, while still standing at the counter./p
p class="MsoNormal""Morning," Mariah greeted him./p
p class="MsoNormal""Morning," he replied, "Want some coffee? Or can you not?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"She shook her head, "No thanks. I can have a cup a day if I want, but I try not to. I do miss it, but I just enjoy the smell for now."/p
p class="MsoNormal""This is probably a stupid question, but if you can have a cup a day and you miss it, why don't you?" Sebastian asked./p
p class="MsoNormal""It's one of those, I can but it's better if I don't things. That amount of caffeine a day isn't harmful, but if I can get by on less or none that's better. Eliminates any potential risk. Plus I'm planning on breastfeeding again and I've got to continue to be aware of what I'm putting into my body for that too. Again, I can have some, but it needs to be a conscious thing. So I just assume not drink any unless I'm totally wiped out to not make that any more challenging. They say the shitty sleep you get at the end of your pregnancy is good preparation for frequent newborn wakings but there's no comparison. At least not with Morgan. Maybe this kid will be different," Mariah shrugged./p
p class="MsoNormal"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Uggg that is not something I'm looking forward to. But I should probably help her when the time comes right? Just because you don't remember doesn't mean it's not your kid. Unless….. no. /emSebastian shook his head, "That just sounds terrible."/p
p class="MsoNormal""It's not the best, but it's totally worth it," Mariah assured him, "There's a lot that comes with parenting that from the outside looks awful, but as a parent you don't even bat an eye. Your priorities change and you learn not to sweat the small stuff. Actually you took to parenthood better than I did."/p
p class="MsoNormal""Seriously?" Sebastian was dumbfounded./p
p class="MsoNormal""Seriously," Mariah nodded, "Having you as my partner got me through some of the more challenging moments. We got really lucky and the things that were hard for me you were able to manage and vice versa."/p
p class="MsoNormal""I wish I could remember it. Not that remembering the rest of my life isn't important, but I've felt so bad for Morgan this whole time. No kid deserves to have a loving parent taken away from them. It's not fair to her," Sebastian said./p
p class="MsoNormal""You've been doing a really great job with her," Mariah reassured him./p
p class="MsoNormal""You keep saying that," Sebastian sighed, "And I know I don't really have anything to compare it to, but she seems okay, like she hasn't noticed anything is weird. So I guess it must be truth. But just the same no matter how good of a job I'm doing, I'm not her dad. It really just isn't fair to her. And I feel like a fraud. Eventually she'll notice."/p
p class="MsoNormal""Maybe you'll get your memory back," Mariah said with a shrug, "Then you won't have to worry about it."/p
p class="MsoNormal""What if I don't?" Sebastian asked, "We've done a real great job of avoiding that conversation."/p
p class="MsoNormal""If you don't, you don't," Mariah said, "I don't really know how you expect me to respond to that. Do you have a deadline you're trying to achieve? Like if you don't have your memory back by whatever day you're just done?"/p
p class="MsoNormal""No," Sebastian frowned, "I'm just saying it's possible."/p
p class="MsoNormal""Of course it's possible. Maybe I'm just being a complete fool and I'm in denial, but I have hope," she shook her head at him, "You're getting some memories back right? It's slow, random, and terrible, but it's what we're working with. So I'm holding onto hope. And if it takes a really long time, and you still are willing, you'll just become a different version of Morgan's dad. Not worse, just different. It's only been three days and your relationship with me has changed in that time, so your relationship with her will change too."/p
p class="MsoNormal""I'm not sure I have it in me," Sebastian muttered./p
p class="MsoNormal""Then you don't have it in you," Mariah said, "I'm not keeping you here. If you decide it's too much and you don't want to be here, you don't want to deal with this anymore, you can go. It doesn't matter what I want, or whatever you feel obligated to do. You can go anytime. I'll even help you figure out something to say to Robin or whatever. I don't think that's something you want right now, but I could be wrong. I want my husband back, but this isn't your fault. You say it's not fair to Morgan, which is true. It's not fair to any of us. That includes you. I don't want you to feel like a prisoner here. You could leave right now and I wouldn't have a single bad thought about you."/p
p class="MsoNormal""I don't want to leave," Sebastian's tone may have been meek, but his intent was firm, "I barely know you, but I like you Mariah. I feel way more comfortable around you than it makes sense for me to. I'm just feeling overwhelmed with this life I didn't sign up for laid out in front of me. I know your entire point was that I have choices. I'm not just stuck. But at least for now this feels more comfortable to me than any of my other options. I might be my own worst enemy in the moment, but I'm choosing to be stuck."/p
p class="MsoNormal""In that case then we're just going to have to roll with it and deal with things as they come. If you get to a point that you're just not getting any more of your memory back, we'll cross that bridge when we get there. We have plenty of other stressful things to deal with then worrying about that scenario," Mariah said./p
p class="MsoNormal""I thought the doctor said to avoid stress," Sebastian hoped she realized he was joking./p
p class="MsoNormal"Mariah snorted and rolled her eyes. em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Thank Yoba, /em"So let's avoid stressing me out, but don't forget you're supposed to be suffering. Maybe I should kick back and relax and let you take care of everything on your own."/p
p class="MsoNormal""I wouldn't go that far," Sebastian said, "You're going to stress out that I'm fucking things up. Defeats the whole purpose."/p
p class="MsoNormal""Touché," Mariah smirked, "Let's see what can I do that would make you suffer and not stress me out?"/p
p class="MsoNormal""I know you're joking, but that's actually not a bad idea," Sebastian said, "Unless something changes I'm not going to get through this without suffering right?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Mariah's lips tightened into a frown, "I'm not about to intentionally make you suffer."/p
p class="MsoNormal""Why not?" Sebastian asked seriously, "It's for the greater good right?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Mariah shook her head, "It's against my nature. I'm all about fixing things and making people's lives better not making them miserable."/p
p class="MsoNormal""Right, but in this situation in order to fix things and make life better I have to be miserable. At least a little bit," Sebastian prodded./p
p class="MsoNormal"Mariah let out a frustrated groan, "I understand what you're saying but I just can't. Just thinking about it hurts my heart."/p
p class="MsoNormal""Isn't your heart already hurting?" Sebastian asked./p
p class="MsoNormal"Mariah paused and finally sighed, "Yes. And I don't want it to hurt more."/p
p class="MsoNormal""But don't you want to get rid of some of the hurt? Again, greater good thing. A little extra hurt right now to make it better faster."/p
p class="MsoNormal""Look even if I were to go along with this, I don't have a single clue of what we could do that would be successful," Mariah shook her head, "So it's irrelevant."/p
p class="MsoNormal""Leave me alone with Morgan for most of the day," Sebastian suggested, "Unless you don't trust me with that. I wouldn't take it personally. But that would make me miserable. Not that she makes me miserable, it's just the stress of fucking it up that makes me anxious."/p
p class="MsoNormal""No, I couldn't do that to you," Mariah shook her head, "Which has nothing to do with not trusting you."/p
p class="MsoNormal""You're going to feel that way about anything we come up with," he pointed out./p
p class="MsoNormal""What's your point?" Mariah asked./p
p class="MsoNormal""My point," Sebastian said taking a step closer to her, "Is that it's going to suck no matter what, so let's just rip the band aid off."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Mariah looked down, considering it. Sebastian reached out and put a hand on her arm, "It'll be okay. You're not going anywhere right? So if I'm really struggling we'll just come out and find you. We have to try something."/p
p class="MsoNormal"She took a deep breath and looked at him, letting out an uneasy sigh, "Okay. We'll try it. As long as you promise the second it feels like too much you come out and get me."/p
p class="MsoNormal""It already feels like too much, but that's the point right?" Sebastian shook his head, "But I promise I won't hesitate if I can't take it anymore."/p
p class="MsoNormal""Alright. I suppose I can live with that. I'll get ready and then go out. You can do whatever until Morgan gets up. I'll be in around lunch time."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Sebastian nodded and Mariah went into the bedroom./p
p class="MsoNormal""Five and a half hours," Sebastian said to himself, "Give or a take a little. I can do that. Right?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"It was as if Morgan had a sixth sense and she seemed to wake up the moment Mariah stepped foot off the porch. em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Of course./em Sebastian sighed internally. Mariah had gotten dressed and ate some toast and tea before leaving. When Morgan hadn't woken up in that time he had a glimmering moment of hope that he would have some time to himself before he had to play dad. Regardless of the fact that it was self-induced, Sebastian was an anxious wreck./p
p class="MsoNormal"She went to the bathroom on her own, em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"thank Yoba,/em with only a reminder to wash her hands. She chattered happily to him about a dream she had while Sebastian made her breakfast./p
p class="MsoNormal""And then what?" he asked, trying to be engaging./p
p class="MsoNormal""Da horsie let me ride it!" Morgan said excitedly./p
p class="MsoNormal""That sounds like a like of fun!" Sebastian gave her a big smile over his shoulder. Part of him felt guilty over faking his enthusiasm, but it had to be done./p
p class="MsoNormal"He sat down across from her at the table while she ate her eggs and toast and he sipped his second cup of coffee, "So what do you want to do this morning?"/p
p class="MsoNormal""We go swimming?" Morgan asked a smirk tugging at the corner of her lips./p
p class="MsoNormal""Nah, too cold for swimming," Sebastian shook his head. em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Do I swim now?/em/p
p class="MsoNormal""Aww," Morgan pouted, but move quickly on, "We ride horsies?"/p
p class="MsoNormal""What do you think?" Sebastian raised an eyebrow at her./p
p class="MsoNormal""Pwease daddy!"/p
p class="MsoNormal""I don't think so," he shook his head, "Try again."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Morgan let out a huff, "You no fun."/p
p class="MsoNormal""Sorry," he shrugged before sipping his coffee./p
p class="MsoNormal""We play hide and seek?" she asked hopefully./p
p class="MsoNormal"Mariah had warned him against playing hide and seek with her. But how hard could it be? She wasn't even three yet. As long as he set up parameters with her she couldn't get into that much trouble, right? And if he was completely off base and it was horrible, it could only add to his suffering./p
p class="MsoNormal""Okay," he agreed, "After breakfast once you've gotten dressed. But we have to stay in the house and you're not allowed in the basement or our bedroom."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Morgan beamed at him, bouncing in her seat, "Okay daddy! I help you feed frogs too," she took another bite of her breakfast./p
p class="MsoNormal"It had easily taken an hour from the time Morgan woke up to the time their game began. em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Are kids always this slow? /emHe couldn't remember. Even feeding the frogs with her had taken an unreasonable amount of time. One thing was for certain, Sebastian had made a mistake. He was becoming more convinced by the minute that Morgan had just vanished out of existence. He'd scoured the house and hadn't been able to find her anywhere. Or at least he thought he had. em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Why didn't I listen to Mariah?/em/p
p class="MsoNormal"He was starting to panic a bit as he systemically went through the house again. He felt silly checking inside the bathroom cabinets that were too small for Morgan to fit in, but at this point he wasn't going to rule anything out. Leaving the bathroom he was hoping to see the terrible pig tails he'd put in her hair (because he didn't know how the fuck to do hair, not that it seemed to matter to her at all) pop up somewhere in the living room, but no such luck./p
p class="MsoNormal""Morgan," Sebastian called out trying to keep his voice steady, "I think you got lost."/p
p class="MsoNormal"No reaction. He tore through the living room again, checking under what he assumed was Mariah's computer desk, even in the drawers. He shifted all of the furniture to check every nook and cranny. She wasn't in the living room. She wasn't in the small closet. Mariah was going to kill him for style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanShe wasn't under the kitchen table, or in any of the kitchen cabinets. Sebastian had even checked the oven and she wasn't their either./p
p class="MsoNormal"He called out again as he made his way back up the stairs once more, "Morgan, I think you win. Daddy can't find you."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Still not a peep. em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Shit. Should I go find Mariah? /emHe started with her bedroom first. Not under the bed. Not in the crib. Not hiding in the wardrobe, or the laundry basket. She wasn't in what Sebastian had dubbed the play room either. Not under the Solorian table, not hiding in the corner next to the bookshelf. em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Where the fuck is this kid?/em/p
p class="MsoNormal""Morgan," he tried once more, "I give up! You can come out now!"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Finally a giggle, but where did it come from? He thought it was in the room, but he couldn't place it./p
p class="MsoNormal""Mooorgggannn," he tried once more, "Where are you?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Another giggle, louder this time with a little whine, "Daddy you hafta find meeeee"/p
p class="MsoNormal"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Well at least she's in the house and not dead. But where the fuck is she?/em It almost sounded as if she were below him, but he'd already determined that she wasn't in on the first floor. He sighed, and went halfway down the stairs./p
p class="MsoNormal""Morgan disappeared," he said with a loud dramatic sigh, "Mommy is going to be so sad."/p
p class="MsoNormal""Daddy! I no disappear!" she called, again sounding like she was below him. Sebastian was downright mystified. em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Can she just teleport or something?/em That was the only explanation he could come up with. The only explanation that is until he got downstairs and noticed a small door he hadn't before under the stairs. em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Of fucking course./em The door was nowhere near his line of sight and it was subtle, blending in with the wall. He'd been counting down in the corner of the kitchen, facing the basement stairs so he wasn't really sure how he hadn't heard her go in there. He crouched down, tugging on the small knob, the door swinging open easily./p
p class="MsoNormal""You found me!" Morgan cried, laughing happily. She threw herself into his arms, and Sebastian breathed a sigh of relief. Looking around the small space he realized that this was clearly a space she enjoyed. There was a big pillow on the floor and a blanket. Stickers along the wall and a few small toys, a flashlight, and a picture book scattered in the nook. em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"No wonder she stayed in here so long waiting for you to find her. /em/p
p class="MsoNormal"He didn't have time to fully digest his relief before she cried, "Again, again!"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Sebastian didn't know if he had it in him to play again. It'd taken him a half an hour to find her. A very tense, terror inducing half an hour. But perhaps now that he'd scoured the house so thoroughly finding her again would be easier. But then he had an idea. Maybe it was a bad idea, but he wasn't sure. It would certainly be easier./p
p class="MsoNormal""It's daddy's turn to hide," he announced./p
p class="MsoNormal""Daddy hide?" Morgan questioned./p
p class="MsoNormal"He nodded, "Yup. You count just like daddy did, and I will hide and then you come find me," he emphasized the 'you' and the 'me' in 'you come find me'./p
p class="MsoNormal"Morgan looked pensive for a moment, before nodding with what seemed like her entire body. She was practically vibrating with excitement./p
p class="MsoNormal""Same rules," he said, "I have to stay inside and I can't go in the basement or our bedroom."/p
p class="MsoNormal""Okay!" Morgan agreed, bounding over to the corner where Sebastian had counted, immediately beginning with the counting./p
p class="MsoNormal"Sebastian crept up the stairs as silently as he could while she stumbled over some of her numbers. It took her a while to get all the way through, correcting her mistakes as she went./p
p class="MsoNormal""Daddy I come find you!" she called happily./p
p class="MsoNormal"Sebastian kept sharp focus on listening to what she was doing from his position under her bed. He wondered if this was what a typical day was like for him now. As anxious as he was about fucking something up, it wasn't so bad, he reasoned. Far removed from the loner lifestyle in the city he'd envisioned for himself, but less scary than he'd imagined being a family man to be. He was definitely looking forward to Mariah's lunchtime return, and he wasn't sure he'd be able to pull this off every day, but he could survive a couple of more hours./p
p class="MsoNormal""I find you!" Morgan shouted enthusiastically, causing Sebastian to jump. Okay he wasn't as sharply focused as he'd planned on being./p
p class="MsoNormal""Good job!" he said, shimmying himself out from the small space./p
p class="MsoNormal""My turn! Go count. I hide now," she said very firmly./p
p class="MsoNormal"Sebastian chuckled, internally shaking his head, "Okay. One last time, and then we're going to do something else okay?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Morgan agreed, and the pair went downstairs so Sebastian could take his turn counting. After her last turn hiding and how he'd searched the house in great detail for her, he felt more confident that it wouldn't take him half an hour to find her again. He wanted to pull his hair out when he ended up having to go through a second sweep of the house, and almost did so when he realized he missed her in the closet the first time around. Why hadn't he looked behind anything?/p
p class="MsoNormal""Snack!" she'd demanded, and so Sebastian obliged. em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Are all little kids this bossy?/em After her hunger was satiated and she went to the bathroom again, they were outside so that Morgan could ride her tricycle./p
p class="MsoNormal"Sebastian took a look around to see if he could spot Mariah, but he didn't see her anywhere. Dread set in when he considered that she may no longer be on the farm property. Things with Morgan were fine for now, but what it something happened? em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"She wouldn't leave. Would she? That was the deal that she would be out here on the farm if he needed her. No she has to be here somewhere. It's just a big farm./em His self-assurances helped, but he kept a look out while still keeping an eye on Morgan./p
p class="MsoNormal""Daddy?" Morgan drew his attention./p
p class="MsoNormal""Yeah?" He responded./p
p class="MsoNormal""You still sick?" she asked./p
p class="MsoNormal""Uhhh," Sebastian didn't know how to respond, "Why do you ask?"/p
p class="MsoNormal""You take forever to find me," she said, "And I no move."/p
p class="MsoNormal""You're just a really good hider," he said, his anxiety rising at a rapid pace./p
p class="MsoNormal""Yeah," she agreed, "I good hider."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Sebastian crossed his fingers that was it, but no such luck./p
p class="MsoNormal""You sure you not sick?" she prodded./p
p class="MsoNormal""I'm not sick like I was the other day," he assured her, hoping that would be enough, watching her ride circles around him./p
p class="MsoNormal""But you not all better?" she asked./p
p class="MsoNormal""Errr," Sebastian stuttered, not sure how to answer that, starting to feel sweaty, "Why are you so worried about me being sick?"/p
p class="MsoNormal""You quiet. Quiet like you sick," Morgan said./p
p class="MsoNormal"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Shit. Fuck. Shit. Fuck. Mother fucking shit balls. Yoba fucking damn it I knew she would notice! What the fuck do I do? Fuck, fuck, fuckety fuck./em/p
p class="MsoNormal""I, um, I'm just stressed," Sebastian said after a pause./p
p class="MsoNormal""Stressed?" Morgan asked./p
p class="MsoNormal""Stressed is kind of like being scared," Sebastian explained, "But it's different. I'm stressed about Aunt Maru's wedding. And the baby."/p
p class="MsoNormal""Like mommy's ho-mones?" Morgan questioned./p
p class="MsoNormal""Errr, not exactly," Sebastian said, "What's something you're scared of?"/p
p class="MsoNormal""I not scared of anything!" Morgan declared./p
p class="MsoNormal""Nothing?" Sebastian questioned, raising an eyebrow at her./p
p class="MsoNormal""Nothing," she nodded./p
p class="MsoNormal""Are you sure?" he asked, "Really really sure?"/p
p class="MsoNormal""Well I no like the basement," Morgan said, "I no want go down there."/p
p class="MsoNormal""Okay," Sebastian nodded, "When you think about going down into the basement how does it make you feel? Does your tummy feel a little funny?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Morgan thought about it, "Yeah."/p
p class="MsoNormal""Stress is kind of like that. But I also get stuck thinking about the thing that makes me feel that way, which can make it feel worse," Sebastian explained, "Does that make sense?"/p
p class="MsoNormal""Like a bad dream?" Morgan asked, perched atop her tricycle, now stopped in front of him./p
p class="MsoNormal""Kind of," Sebastian nodded, "Sometimes when I get stressed I have bad dreams."/p
p class="MsoNormal""Why you stressed about Aunt Maru's wedding? And the baby?"/p
p class="MsoNormal""Errr," Sebastian said, "It's a bit complicated. I want Aunt Maru to have a great wedding, and I have to talk at her wedding, and I don't know what to say. I'm feeling stressed about the baby, because the baby is going to change a lot of things." It wasn't entirely a lie, even if it didn't really touch the truth./p
p class="MsoNormal""I be a good big sister. I help with baby," Morgan nodded firmly./p
p class="MsoNormal"Sebastian couldn't help but chuckle at her stance, "I know you will. It's just going to be a big change for all of us, and change can be hard."/p
p class="MsoNormal""It be okay daddy," Morgan assured him before taking off on her tricycle again./p
p class="MsoNormal"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Oh Yoba I hope I didn't fuck that all up. Is that how to talk to kids? I have no clue. And how do you describe stress to a two year old? How do you even explain emotions? I hope Mariah isn't pissed. And I fucking knew Morgan would notice I was different. Fuck. Shit. Fuck, fuck, fuck. What do we do now? Or is it okay? She's just going to think I'm stressed now right? Yoba I hope so./em/p
p class="MsoNormal""Whoa, it looks like somebody is having fun over here," Mariah called, slowly making her way over to where they were, "How's it going?"/p
p class="MsoNormal""Daddy is stressed!" Morgan called back, breaming with pride over knowing a new word./p
p class="MsoNormal"Despite the distance Sebastian could see Mariah frown. Sebastian grimaced, trying to prepare what he was going to say to her./p
p class="MsoNormal""Daddy's stressed huh?" she said when she got into a normal speaking range./p
p class="MsoNormal""Yup," Morgan confirmed, "About the baby and Aunt Maru's wedding. He not sick. I tell him it okay. I help with the baby."/p
p class="MsoNormal""Well that's very nice of you to comfort daddy. And you're going to be a great big sister," Mariah said to Morgan, coming to a stop next to Sebastian./p
p class="MsoNormal""Sorry," he muttered so that Morgan wouldn't hear him, "She asked if I was still sick. Said I was being quite like I was sick."/p
p class="MsoNormal""S'okay," Mariah said, "How are things going? You holding up okay?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Sebastian shrugged. He'd thought he was when they'd first come outside, but over the last several minutes things had spiraled. Of course that was the point of this whole thing wasn't it? Get him to suffer right? Mariah was studying him, trying to interpret his shrug./p
p class="MsoNormal""Do you want me to stick around?" she asked./p
p class="MsoNormal"Sebastian considered it, and ultimately shook his head no, "I'm okay. Don't get too far but…" he shrugged again./p
p class="MsoNormal""You sure?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"He nodded again, "I'm sure."/p
p class="MsoNormal""Okay," Mariah looked down, rubbing her boot covered foot in the dirt, "Not too long before lunch anyway. Did she have a snack?"/p
p class="MsoNormal""Yeah. She had eggs, toast, and orange juice for breakfast and then a graham cracker and half a banana for snack. Weird combination, but that's what she picked. I hope that's okay," Sebastian said feeling suddenly self-conscious about his choices./p
p class="MsoNormal""Oh yeah, that's fine," Mariah brushed off his concerns, and he was able to relax. She stood next to him for another minute, "I'm sure you're doing better than you think you are."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Sebastian sighed, "She noticed Mariah. She noticed I'm different."/p
p class="MsoNormal""Yeah and?" Mariah said./p
p class="MsoNormal""And it's a fucking problem," he hissed, not wanting to give Morgan any indication of what they were talking about, though she was happily singing to herself./p
p class="MsoNormal""Sounds like you handled it fine," Mariah's tone was all too casual./p
p class="MsoNormal""You weren't there," he shook his head./p
p class="MsoNormal""You'll have to tell me about it later," Mariah finally looked at him./p
p class="MsoNormal""Yeah. I will. Oh and I should have listened to you about the hide and seek," he shook his head, "Took me half an hour to find her the first time."/p
p class="MsoNormal""She loves hiding," Mariah shook her head, "And she can be way quieter then you'd think a two year old would be. Where was she?"/p
p class="MsoNormal""Under the stairs, which I didn't even realized existed. Honestly if she hadn't started laughing I probably still wouldn't have found her," Sebastian shook his head./p
p class="MsoNormal""You must have been freaking out," Mariah said, frowning once more./p
p class="MsoNormal""Yeah. But don't apologize. That's what this whole thing was about, trying to make me suffer to break the curse."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Mariah chuckled, looking down again and shaking her head, "Guess you're already getting to know me pretty well," she looked back up at him, "You promise you're not too overwhelmed and need to tap out?"/p
p class="MsoNormal""I promise," he agreed./p
p class="MsoNormal""Alright," Mariah took a breath and spoke louder to get Morgan's attention, "I'm going to get back to work. I'll see you guys in a little while for lunch okay? Be good for daddy."/p
p class="MsoNormal""Okay mommy!" Morgan smiled at her./p
p class="MsoNormal"Morgan made Sebastian time her to show how fast she could go before they went inside. He considered telling Morgan he needed to work and plopping her in front of the TV, but reminded himself of his goal of the day; suffering to break the curse. em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Never thought I'd intentionally be seeking out ways to make myself uncomfortable./em Instead she sat in his lap and he read her a book and then they colored. Morgan asked him to tell her a story while she scribbled. So Sebastian made up a story about frogs, which she insisted had to be the three of them as frogs, and turned into a lesson on frog reproduction when she requested that the Mariah frog also be pregnant. em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"How much do two year olds understand about where babies come from anyway?/em The frogs had their happy, albeit abrupt end to their story when Sebastian quickly ran out of story ideas./p
p class="MsoNormal"Afterwards, Morgan wanted to play their frog game, which was one of the many things on Sebastian's list of undesirable activities. It was clearly a special thing between the two of them that he knew he was going to botch up./p
p class="MsoNormal""Hey guys!" Mariah called and Sebastian heard the front door close, "You ready for lunch?"/p
p class="MsoNormal""Can I has ice cream for lunch?" Morgan asked Sebastian./p
p class="MsoNormal""I don't think so," he shook his head, "I think you're going to have to eat flies for lunch. That's an important part of the frog diet."/p
p class="MsoNormal""Da-ddy!" Morgan whined./p
p class="MsoNormal""Okay, so no flies, but you can't have ice-cream," Sebastian shook his head./p
p class="MsoNormal""Pwwease!" Morgan pouted at him, but he shook his head./p
p class="MsoNormal""Nope," he confirmed./p
p class="MsoNormal"Morgan pouted some more, but gave up the fight. Mariah was coming out of the bathroom when they got downstairs. They ate lunch, some kind of salad Mariah made, and then put Morgan down for her nap. Sebastian gratefully took the few minutes offered to him to himself to decompress. When he came back out, he was once faced Mariah alone. Now the questions was, em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Where do I start?/em/p