A/N: Any favorites in the 4th gen yet?
Hammy: Getting closer
TheRanger'sDaughter: No...Kane's not old. He just, like lots of people who take falls off horseback, has ended up with a chronic injury. Noah actually isn't the youngest...just the newest to the family. Lina is technically the youngest at just a year old. Noah is actually 11, older than Horace III, Maggie, Lily, and Jasmine...same age as Halle.
AER: Sounds like it's time to invest in an alarm clock...or an alarm app.
Disclaimer: I'm not John Flanagan.
The morning of Gabe's wedding, Robin finished up cooking breakfast for her family. Her father lay shirtless on Anne's window seat bed while her mother worked on his back. Anne stood in the kitchen holding a platter perfectly still while Robin assembled cups of coffee and bowls of porridge. She made Anne a cup of tea without announcing it, but the aroma gave the surprise away and a smile played on her little sister's lips.
There was a soft knock on the door.
"That's Lucy," Gabby said, sliding her hands away from Kane. Kane righted himself and pulled on his shirt, fastening the buttons as he walked towards the door. Robin looked over her shoulder and nodded to Aunt Lucy as she walked in. The family was in various states of readiness. None wore shoes yet, and Anne's hair still needed to be fixed. Robin hoped her mother would let her do something with hers too. Robin already had her choppy short layers styled with goopy product, but she still wore her silk Nihon-Ja robe over her sleeping gown.
"Good morning," Aunt Lucy chimed. She nodded to Kane upon noticing Gabby straightening the window seat cushions. "Your back still troubling you?"
"Unfortunately," Kane answered. "Will you join us for breakfast?"
"I'd love to." Lucy crossed over to Gabby, looping their arms together as though they were both several years younger. "I spoke to Tucker about the Academy during our break between the weddings. He and Caitlyn both like the idea of streamlining apprenticeships into the company."
"We've been doing that for years," Gabby pointed out.
"Yes, but now we will do it officially if you are also in agreement, Big Sister."
"What exactly happens if I say no?"
Lucy laughed. "Well, two against one in our favor."
Gabby grinned, giving Lucy's arm a squeeze. "Anne helped Robin make breakfast this morning. I'm not sure how it looks, but it smells wonderful. Don't you agree?"
"Looks good too," Lucy agreed. Anne smiled even more, her cheeks blushing pink under the attention. "Well done, girls."
Robin finished stocking the food and then guided Anne by the shoulders to the table. Once there, Robin showed Anne the first chair and then returned to the small makeshift kitchen to calm the fire while Anne set out the portions. Kane came behind her and helped her find each of the chairs when she missed a place.
"Something else I spoke to Tucker about was the physical rehabilitation program he and Caitlyn have been working on," Aunt Lucy continued.
"They've been talking about that four years now," Gabby sighed. "Is there any real progress with it?"
Caitlyn's research carried her into the realm of medicines far more often than it used to, especially since the company boomed. Her latest side project involved researching how the body worked in order to rehabilitate injuries. She'd started experimenting with treatment methods for her husband, but it expanded into a new wing of research at the Academy's medical wing. Eventually they hoped to have a fully operational facility to tend those with long-term injuries and help them to recover to the fullest extent possible. Caitlyn withdrew her hand from the day-to-day operations of the research a long time ago after it went beyond her field, but still supported it financially and sat on the board of minds driving it. Tucker also sat on that board, as he used Academy resources to feed its needs.
"I think Kane would like to visit at the very least," Lucy said, turning back towards her brother-in-law. "I'm not sure if you've noticed, but Tucker is walking much better than he used to. We climbed an entire flight of stairs without him stopping to right himself once."
"He had his cane at Elizabet's wedding."
"Yes, well, it's not one hundred percent, but you must admit it's better. Perhaps you should visit too, Gabby. You may learn something in terms of treatment."
The talk of all things work related ceased as soon as everyone sat down. Instead topics of conversation became personal, from the boys' careers and absences from these Hibernian weddings to Lucy's latest heartbreak. Afterwards Lucy and Kane cleaned up while the others finished getting ready. Robin took Anne's hand and led her over to her window seat bed. She ran a comb through her hair rhythmically, sorting out the nighttime tangles.
"Will you sit by me at the wedding?" Anne asked while Robin worked.
"You don't want to sit with the other girls?" Robin asked.
"Mara's a bridesmaid. She won't be with them."
Robin stood over Anne. She worked out a section of hair and began weaving it tightly to her head so her hair would be out of her face. "You don't like any of the others? What about Lily?"
"Lily's nice," Anne whispered after a long pause, as though she needed to consider her words first. "But I like Mara more."
"And why is that?"
"All the others forget about me," Anne admitted in a whisper so faint Robin had to lean closer to hear her. "Mara never forgets me."
Robin continued working on the intricate hairstyle, understanding her little sister's feelings but having no idea how to help her. Their mother was independent enough it didn't matter if someone walked off and left her, and though quiet Gabby always made her voice heard when necessary. Anne hadn't figured that out yet. Robin glanced over to her mother, who had pulled on her boots and was now sitting in a chair at the table while Lucy fixed her hair, just as Robin fixed Anne's hair. Her father sat across from the sisters seemingly leaning with his elbows on the table to better hear the women, but Robin knew he was taking these last moments to stretch his back.
"There you are," Robin told Anne, tying off her braid with a ribbon that matched her soft green dress. Anne smiled widely, her fingers exploring the style.
"Thanks Robin," Anne whispered. She stood and, feeling along the wall, took two steps closer to the table their parents and aunt sat at. "Daddy, look what Robin did."
Kane smiled to Robin. "Very pretty, Anne. You know she plays with your hair now because she regrets chopping her own off, right?"
"That's alright. Robin doesn't need long hair to be pretty," Anne answered without missing a beat. They all chuckled while Anne pulled up the ribbon that had been around her neck over her eyes.
"Nor do you," Aunt Lucy assured Anne while she finished off Gabby's braid. She'd made Gabby's a far more mature style than Robin did for Anne, but there were enough similarities Anne almost looked like she had been born into their family. Robin collected her gown from its place hanging in a wardrobe and stepped behind the dressing screen near her parents' bed to change. She could hear Anne make her way to the table and into their father's lap. She was getting a little old to sit in a parent's lap, but sometimes she still needed the comfort. Today she needed the confidence. Robin smiled as she listened to their father encourage her to play with the other children today, perhaps try to dance with one of the boys. Anne's fear seemed to melt away with Kane's smooth voice reassuring her he'd be watching over her no matter where she went.
Robin stepped out from behind the screen, getting Kane's and Aunt Lucy's attention immediately. At Elizabet's intimate outdoor wedding, she'd chosen an almost plain gown that could pass as the 'nice' dress for a farmer. Afterall, Neil and Elizabet had opted for the simplicity of such a wedding. For Gabe's full blown royal affair, she'd chosen to have a new gown made when she visited Gallica. It required a specially designed petticoat with a multitude of layers as well as a structured bodice that almost resembled a full corset. However Robin had told the seamstress she required the dress to travel well, as she planned for this to be her go-to for all formal occasions on the road. The outfit required a great deal of space in her trunk, but the fact that it could be folded to fit was a victory within itself. Its copper tone set off Robin's travel-tanned skin and her short hair became an asset for its embroidered neckline.
"What?" Robin asked as she stepped into her matching slippers. Her father turned to her aunt.
"What did you do to the tomboy my sons and I worked so hard on?" he demanded playfully, giving Robin a wink.
"I turned her into a young lady," Aunt Lucy shrugged. "Where did you come across that, Robin? Gallica?"
"Yes," Robin answered. She saw her father eyeing her hip, so she mercifully slipped her hand into the slit along a fold and pulled out her grandfather's saxe knife just enough he could see the handle, showing him she could look like a lady and still be armed. He nodded his approval and she slipped the knife back in.
"I want to see!" Anne demanded, hopping up and stretching out her hand. Robin took it and guided her sister to where she'd come to a stop next to her mother. Robin guided her hands over the features of the dress, feeling her mother's hand on her too.
"Grown up indeed," Gabby said, gently tracing one of the sleeves.
"I'm glad you all like it," Robin beamed while she bent to show Anne how it fell just almost off her shoulder.
"Not all of us like it," her father gently teased.
"Most then," Robin laughed. "Those that matter."
"Thanks for that," he replied. He could hide his grin from only Gabby and Anne. "Well ladies, shall we get going?"
Unfortunately, none of them had yet gotten word the wedding was off.