2012-08-15 Rainbows, unicorns, Lian, pink bubbles...

With Lian having an afternoon off from daycare thanks to the teachers needing their own orientation, Roy was stuck with the child. Being on-call, rather than on-duty meant being somewhere close by if needed, and where better than Central Park?

That Lian -wanted- to see a castle wasn't a problem - she might well prefer to play with guns than dolls, but that didn't mean she didn't like the notion of being a princess. Although Roy didn't ask exactly where she'd gotten the notion of being a gun-princess, he was perfectly willing to take her to the castle, but put his foot down when she asked to wear her princess costume. She'd been upset by this, but had been mollified by one thing...

And this is how Agent Roy Harper of SHIELD ended up playing horsey for the Princess Lian, while she sat there and inspected the terrace, waving her hand royally. "Daddy, look at all the subjects," her Highness says.

"... Hee-haw", mutters Roy half-heartedly.

Belvedere Castle is not only pretty, it's close enough to the Helicarrier that the girls have no trouble picking out minds moving here and there. In their weird way of being mannerly, they don't actually follow anyone inside the Helicarrier, nor do they do more than watch thoughts passing on the surface the way another person would watch facial expressions. They haven't had any proof yet that they need to do more. They're pensively watching the people come and go--lounging around on the grounds under a 'not my problem' field--when a mind they've seen before moves through.

They follow Roy and Lian up to the terrace, whisking along like three little ninjas. |"It has a little one with it."| |"It's the second who came when they took Bruce."| |"...the little one seems to be in charge."|

They ghost around Roy, leaving behind the slightly uncomfortable sense of being watched, then they withdraw for a moment, murmuring to each other without words.

Moments later, a stunning blonde girl in a white sundress--Sophie, as usual--wanders past the two. She seems not to see them until she looks over her shoulder and smiles at Lian. |"That looks like fun,"| Esme mutters in the background of the gestalt, and Sophie is hard-pressed not to giggle.

"Daddy," admonishes Lian. "Horses don't hee-haw."

"What animal does?" sighs Roy, playing along and testing his daughter's knowledge.

"A donkey. Don't be one, daddy. Be a horse. They neigh."

"Uh... whee?" As Roy adjusts to his little bundle of joy on his back, glancing about and deciding the strange sense of feeling had to do with watching Lian riding a grade-A sucker of an ass, Lian does the royal wave at Sophie, returning the smile. "Hello!" she chirps, feeling not at all shy because princesses were supposed to be -brave- and courageous. Until now, the girls have studiously avoided children in person--it evokes too much unpleasantness and the children where they hide themselves often have difficult lives which they prefer to try and alleviate from a distance. But, they must do their work and that means talking to people, including children, if they want new allies and new connections.

"Are you a princess?" Sophie asks, having caught Lian's burbling thoughts about castles and tiaras and how Daddy doesn't know a horse from a donkey and sooo embarrassing, silly Daddy. "You certainly look like one."


 * ”They like it when you ask stupid questions, right?”| Esme wants to know. |”Yes,”| Phoebe says patiently. |”They're learning. Be nice.”|

Now Lian giggles. "Yes! But Daddy won't let me wear the dress."

"Daddy doesn't want you to get the dress dirty unless it's a special occasion," Roy utters, as if reciting from repeated memory, which it practically is. Why was it that no matter how many times you said it, it -still- didn't sink in? There was a quick glance at the girl who was addressing him. Impressive, she was just at his height level, a tall girl. There were an awful lot of tall girls lately. Whatever was going on, he'd have to be feeding Lian more of the NYC food. "Don't mind Lian, she's..."

There was a quick tap of Roy's head from Lian. "You're a horsey today, daddy!"

"... wheee-haw..."

"My name's Princess Lian," her Highness picks up as though she hadn't been interrupted. She falters, as she tries to find the right royalty princess words, before Roy coughs something like "royal nibs". "Horsey!" she intimidates again, before turning her head to Sophie. "And you are?"

"I'm Sophie." Sophie holds her hand out to Lian. "It's lovely to meet you, your Highness. Does your royal steed also have a name?" |"It's like playing a game,"| Phoebe giggles. |"Games are stupid."| Esme remains unconvinced. |"Hush,"| Sophie scolds gently. |"Children aren't like other people."|

"It's Daddy," Lian says, as Roy manages to offer an ingratiating smile at Sophie. "Roy Harper," the steed offers, as Lian wiggles, bringing her heels down try and nudge her father. Only Roy's quick movements with his arms pinning her legs to his sides saves him from being imprinted by little kids size 11 shoes. There's a quick studious glance of Sophie, a look that was somewhere between the usual 'hawt' ogling and the 'was that -you- who were staring earlier?' suspicious glance.

"I think I should call him Roy," Sophie says to Lian, rather apologetically. "It would be rather inappropriate for me to call him 'Daddy', because he's your Daddy. Nice to meet you, Roy," she says politely, offering Roy her hand as well.

Esme and Phoebe are giggling a little, having the benefit of seeing the various free-ranging thoughts coming from Roy and Lian. |"That dress suddenly seems much lower and shorter on us than it did in the mirror,"| Phoebe says, with the mental equivalent of a facepalm.

Okay, so yes, these white lace sundresses -were- rather low-cut and high-legged, but surely that meant it was -okay- to look, if not to touch. Although any intent of doing any flirting is inhibited by being, well, 'horsey', and so all Roy can do is grin and nod, as he keeps one hand on Lian's leg and shakes the offered hand. "That's fine, the last thing I want to be is called daddy by you."

... do not think too long about that, Roy, do not.

Lian, meanwhile, pouts a bit, flouncing her hair before making a concession. "Oh all right, you can call Daddy his name. Nice to meet you, Sophie. Are you here to be a princess too?"

Roy seems remarkably harmless. |"I can't believe they sent him to get Bruce,"| Sophie muses. |"He seems a bit uncomfortable."| Phoebe leans in to prod lightly at the surface of Roy's thoughts. |"Perhaps it's because being a horse is less than manly,"| Esme says dryly. |"Maybe if they think we're nice, we'll get to see Bruce,"| Sophie says, as she turns the idea around in her head.

"I think I'm too old to be a princess now. I'm just here to look at the flowers with my sisters," Sophie tells Lian, smiling. "But sometimes I like to look from above, too. It's pretty here, not like the rest of the city."

Oh, harmless, basically... as long as Lian's pretty much a) got Daddy wrapped around her finger, and b) Roy's not put in a position where he actually -has- to be competent. But so long as he's relaxed, who cares, right? Still, as Roy continues checking out Sophie, mostly in a casual scoping way, Lian giggles. "You're never too old to be a princess. Daddy says so."

"Daddy said you'd always be a princess. Not that it stops others from being princesses too," Roy comments, offering a smile that's not exactly -pure-, but definitely hints at mirth. "It's pretty nice to look at, isn't it, princess?" There's a slight tug on Lian's leg to clarify -who- the princess was here, and his daughter is quick to agree. "It's very pretty!" Lian exclaims. "Everything is. You like that boat too?" She points towards the SHIELD carrier that's visible. "Daddy works..."

There was another tug, and Lian quickly hushes. Yes, that's right, it's a SEKRIT. She could keep SEKRIT. Daddy trusted her.

Sophie can't help laughing out loud because they already know. It's the first--ironically, human--crack in her polished, practiced human act. |"We mustn't tell him we know."| |"It would scare him away."| |"He likes his secrets, they matter to him."| And the girls are trying hard to be polite, even if it doesn't make sense all the time.

"You're a very good girl, Lian." The wistfulness that creeps over Sophie's face isn't just hers, it belongs to her sisters as well. "And a lovely princess. Your Daddy is lucky to have you."

That this girl laughed encourages a wider smile from Lian and Roy's attitude shifts a bit more, to a much more open stance. People who could laugh at silly weren't bad, were they? And the Harpers react to that with a looser demeanor, as Roy's initial wariness gives way to a chuckle of his own, swinging Lian off his back and to his front, nestling her on his hip despite her squealing protest at being handled -this- way.

"Oh, quite," Roy says, as he looks down at her fondly. Despite the mess of his history and the misbegotten relationship with Cheshire, Lian was the best thing that came out of that chaos. He gives her a kiss on her face, causing her to squeal and try and push his face away before he does something even worse to mess her up, squirming until she could break free of her hold. And then she dodges, moving over closer to Sophie, while Roy grins. "So, you came here alone, or your sisters around too?" he asks. Yes, he'd managed to process -that- info while regarding the form-fitting dress. Hold your breath, he can chew gum and walk at the same time too.

"They're here, yes." Sophie manages not to pet the baby, but it takes an effort. Lian is so cute and squeaky and squirmy and--by the standards that the Cuckoos knew--a dreadfully bad girl in a way that makes them all happy.


 * "Are you sure his brain can process three of us?"| Esme asks archly.


 * "Should we be out in public so?"| Phoebe worries. |"Even if it's just him?"|


 * "If he breaks, we keep the baby,"| Sophie says pragmatically. |"And we already ruined everything when we tried to help Nate, so it's not as though we can make it much worse."|

"Right there, in fact," Sophie says to Roy, pointing beyond his shoulder to where two perfect copies of her are walking their way.

There's a brief pause as Roy digests that. One could almost -see- the gears process in his head, and then picture the mini-Roy sitting on his shoulder Gibbs-smacking him in the head telling him to focus. Which is done best by counting to ten and telling himself that life was good, but not -that- kind.

Lian, however, squeals. "You're twins!"

Thank heavens for Lian.

"Triplets, princess," Roy says, shifting into dad-mode. "They're triplets."

"They're pretty!" Lian exclaims, already moving to intercept them and wave. "Hi! I'm Lian. You look like Sophie!"

Now Roy glances towards Sophie. "So how does anyone tell you apart?" he asks with an arched eyebrow.

"They don't," Sophie says, giving him a mischievous grin. Roy's reaction makes them laugh in the gestalt--they're used to it, but it's amusing today because he's trying harder than most to stifle it. "We do everything together, so it doesn't really matter."

"Hi, I'm Esme," Esme says, offering Lian her hand to shake.

"I'm Phoebe," Phoebe says, taking Lian's hand next. "And you're pretty, too."


 * "I want a baby more than a kitten now,"| Phoebe tells her sisters. |"They have baby carriers, don't they?"|

You see, it's just not allowed to be impure around Lian. It's NOT. It can't be done. Because it means Roy's a terrible terrible failure as a -father- if he acted like... well, like a MAN. If Roy were forced to admit it to himself, he would be exactly the kind of guy who he wouldn't want his daughter to come home with one day...

Lian, meanwhile, is quite happy to shake hands, clinging to the last one's hand and tugging her over. "Daddy, Daddy, they're triplets!" she repeats, as if making sure that her father knew just what kind of wonderful thing she'd discovered today.

"Kind of a shame, really, what do you do if someone asked out one of you?" Roy says.

That -was- purely an informational question, honest...

Well, that really hadn't occurred to them. Sophie blinks at Roy and tilts her head, trying to parse that. For a moment, the entire gestalt is genuinely confused.

"Why would someone only want one of us?" they ask, through Sophie, before any of them can censor the question.

That makes no sense. The dating part is completely alien as well--something other people kind of do that's baffling, all that getting to know each other stuff--but they'll try and figure that out after.

Lian doesn't understand why her father gets so -weird- around women, particularly when they don't have rings on their hands, and this was no exception, as she looks at her father, her hands on her hips with the group. "Yeah, daddy, why?" Because it seems so natural to have people who look exactly alike hang out all alike together.

There's a brief moment of -... all three at once?...- that quickly gets beat into submission with little unicorns and floating hearts when he looks at his daughter. "Uh, sweetheart," Roy says, crouching down, trying to carefully think about it. "Sometimes, you know how Daddy wants to have time to himself, and how you like to play sometimes without me making a mess of your tea party? Well... uh... I just thought maybe... oh." Looking back up at Sophie, then the other two girls, Roy flashes a weak smile. "... you really don't get tired of each other? No arguing?"

"Of course we argue." "Sometimes all the time." "When we were little, we'd even pull each others' hair." The words slip from one girl to the other and the other--bright and cheerful and sunny but not quite human. Their laughter is like three bells rung at once. One of the girls crouches down to speak to Lian, tugging her dress down over her knees for modesty. "But we've always been together." "Since the beginning." "So why would we be apart?"

"... well," Roy rubs his head. Ho boy. Maybe this wasn't right. "Sometimes you need to do that so you can be with other people, you see..." That Lian is staring at him uncomprehendingly only causes Roy to fidget, because he had the strangest feeling he was being stared at by four sets of eyes here. "Like, if you get married, you have to go your own separate ways and..."

"But Daddy..." begins Lian.

"NO. You are NOT living with me when you're married."

Married. Right. The girls have a generally dim view of it, being able to see in people's heads the way they do. Still, they don't say that part out loud.

"Don't worry, Lian," the girls say in that odd way of theirs and one of them gives her hair a little pet. "When you're grown up, it'll be different." "We couldn't imagine being out in the world for a long time." "But that's a long time away." They cast Roy an accusing glance in unison. Bad, terrible Daddy.

It was simple. The subject made no sense to Lian, and so she simply defaulted to whoever was older and made more sense to her. That this happened to be where the girls made more sense puts Lian firmly on their side, and so she actually falls in line next to them, giving her father that -look- that says she's convinced Daddy is being TERRIBLE.

Rubbing his face as though the headache that was forming had spread throughout his eyes and nose and worked its way down to his chin, Roy grumps. "Look, forget I said anything. You're Sophie, you're ... uh, Sophie, you're Sophie, and you're Sophie, and someone's gonna go broke paying for all of you on a date."

"We have lots of money," one of the girls--Sophie--says easily.

"You should always make your own way," the girl crouching by Lian--Phoebe--says solemnly.

"That way it means something when you let someone else take care of you," Esme says, finishing the thought.


 * "Do they make you have a test before you have a baby?"| they wonder. |"Because if he passed, we probably could."|

"Besides," they say, turning their attention to Roy, "dating is generally a drawn-out process in which people spend too much money." "To lie to each other about things to make each other happy." "Until they're both too invested in the illusion to let it go." They look at each other and shrug. "We've never understood it."

That was -really- something, all right. Roy'd heard of twins... and apparently, triplets... being so close that they could finish each others' sentences. But this was really... something. "Well, yes, but..." Rubbing his head, Roy ponders that. "Well, uh... sometimes people want the illusion so much they make it real, I guess. It's just easier, a lot of time..." There's a quick glance at Lian, as he considers just how much changes he'd put himself through to -live- up to Lian's need for a father, before he sighs.

Standing up, he motions towards the carrier. "Look, I don't know about you, but I tell you what. See that world? It's a beautiful world, but it's also... well, full of things that I don't want Lian to see."

"What things, daddy?" Lian asks, as she trails over to look out there. "I'll explain someday," Roy says, in a tone that Lian -knew- meant never, resulting in a pout.

"So you do your best anyway, to make everything better, you know? Because if you work at it, maybe you can make it real," Roy adds. "You ever have that -something- you want to make real?"

The girls exchange a look, puzzling over Roy's words and what they glean from his thoughts. "You mean like having a real family or not having to worry about... bad things?" Sophie asks. They're quite stuck on the parenting aspects of his thoughts and Lian's thoughts about her father because those are so alien.


 * "Perhaps having children breaks your brain,"| they muse. That's the only way they can frame it. The scientists and technicians who surrounded them never had thoughts like that about them.

"Yeah, those things..." Now Roy tilts his head, as he puts together what he can from their questions, which results in a '... damn, poor girls'. Frowning, Roy glances down at Lian, and then back at the girls. Okay, so he could just -walk- away and leave this alone, but somehow, he couldn't drop it...

Maybe it was that sense of abandonment and being left alone when younger and the need to turn to drugs, but Roy -really- didn't want to leave people like that alone.

"Look, maybe I can help, but not with Lian around," he says, rubbing his neck.

"Aww, Daddy, you're going to talk about bad things again?" Lian sighs, knowing -that- tone.

"Sorry, sweetheart, you're too young to understand," Roy sighs. And he hopes, she never -will- need to understand those feelings... at least not for a long long time.

The girls are very gentle when they speak to Roy where Lian can't hear them. |"You don't need to do that."| |"We didn't mean to disturb you."| |"It's just... we don't know any parents."| They think it is likely they will speak to him again some time, especially if Bruce stays where he is, and don't want to start out with lies where it can be avoided.

"It's all right, Lian," Sophie says quietly. "You're having time with your Daddy. Grownup talk probably shouldn't interfere when you're having Daddy-time."

The mind that touches Roy's is vast and sorrowful. |"We know what it is to want to make something real."| |"There is always a sacrifice to be paid for it."| |"She is a very lucky child to have someone who loves her so much."|

"It's... no parents?" Roy answers out loud, causing Lian to blink at him. "What're you talking about, Daddy?" she asks, causing her father to do a double-take. There's a look at the girls, followed by a "Did you just...?"

And then Roy rubs his chin. Well, he -knew- there were superpowers out there, and that people could do this, but... /Uh, are you... talking to me in my head?/ A tentative glance between the three girls, and then Roy involuntarily and quickly tries to not think about things he shouldn't be. /Oh god, quick, say something else. Anything before I think of something I shouldn't. Uh... Rainbows, unicorns, Lian, pink bubbles.../

One of the girls crouches down to talk to Lian about princess things and pretty hair and whether or not she has a crown at home while the gestalt speaks as though nothing else were going on. Talk about walking and chewing gum at once.


 * "We've learned to filter that out,"| the girls say. |"You only make it worse when you try not to think about it. We've been hearing things like that--not always about us, though more frequently as we grew--for as long as we can remember. We had no idea you all didn't know it was going on."| That brings a mental laugh that brushes the clouds away so the sun can shine. |"It's meaningless to us."|

With Lian distracted answering about just how she wants her hair styled, nice and neat and not messed up by Daddy and other princess things and how she's going to see Brave because of a magic girl, Roy can at least focus on what's going on in his head.

/Uh... good, no offense, because you're pretty and all, but those things shouldn't be discussed in front of Lian. Wouldn't want her trying it too early before she's ready and... ANYWAY. Nevermind that./

There's a valiant effort to get his face neutral rather than constipated as he tries to get used to the whole concentrating on talking in his head. /You want something so badly? A family? You have a family between the three of you, but that doesn't mean you can't go out and add to it. Get close to others... even if it's all fake, good things can still come out of it. Like Lian./

First, there is an extreme sense of bafflement. The girls don't bother trying to hide the flurry of confusion as they try to work out what Roy means by his reference to Lian. Seriously, where do babies and labs come into all this--they want happy things like Christmas. Christmas is a nice idea. And so is not having to hide out in moldy, rotting basements of condemned houses. And getting close... lying to people...


 * ”We don't understand,”| they say helplessly. |”We have to be careful.”| |”We don't ever lie when we like people.”| There's a pause as they think about this... the conversation with Lian burbles on interrupted as the girls volunteer to let her see if she can tell them apart.


 * ”We had two people who were ours.”| Roy is vastly familiar with the little girl pout and footstamp, and he gets the mental equivalent. |”But you took one of them.”| |”We told him we would stop you and he said no.”| Behind the stomp and pout, though, they're very distraught about it.

This is why Roy asked, Lian! And maybe -now- she can see why her father was asking. So maybe Daddy wasn't so dumb after all, and that's a thought that Lian has to considers as she sorts through trying to find -something- different, before she resorts to asking if she can braid one on the left side, one on the right side, and one with no braid at all.

Roy's own sense of bafflement comes in play as he tries to sort out all that. /... oh come on, sometimes you -have- to lie to people in order to make sure they're still happy. Like telling them that a dress doesn't make them look fat when it does.../

And then comes the accusation of taking away someone, and Roy blinks, holding up his hand. /Wait, what? Who? Took who?/ ... And then the mental image of Bruce Banner pops into mind, and Roy blinks. The stomp of the foot and the pout is easy enough to try and soothe, basically, as Roy assumes an almost paternal stance in return.

/Oh... him. He needed help, uh... Sophie...?/ There's a frown, as Roy considers that. /Is he your brother or something? Do you need to see him?/


 * "Not our brother."| |"Like us."| |"And you took him away."| The intense sense of loss is at complete odds to the smiling girls patiently sitting on the floor so that Lian can arrange their hair and barrettes to tell them apart. The only physical manifestation is that they are holding hands now.


 * "We understand why he made us let him go."| After a moment the gestalt is calmer. |"We took care of him before you came."| |"Which was why we were here, watching to see what kind of people came and went."|

One of the girls looks up at Roy and speaks--eerily, Lian doesn't seem to hear. "It was harder still to tell us apart when there were five of us. We hate losing anyone now." Sometimes, speaking aloud gives distance and coldness that they can't muster in the gestalt when they are distressed and don't want to spill it everywhere.

Right, that was -eerie-, yes. Even while Lian decides Esme is a lefty, Phoebe a righty, and Sophie can have either both or none, Roy is rubbing his head. /You know, keeping surveillance is something agents are supposed to keep an eye out for, I'm surprised you haven't been caught yet. Unless.../

There's a quick glance towards the voice. That was -definitely- out loud. And yet Lian didn't notice, which meant... /Oh. Well. I guess you -can- keep quiet too well. But... yeah, I guess I can understand./ There's a sigh and Roy runs his hand through his hair. /Look, if you're nervous about it, I -could- see what it takes to get him visitors. Would that help? Or.../


 * "Please?"| Sophie suggests that Lian leave her hair be and offers Lian the daisy barrette she has that matches her sisters, so Lian can be like them. |"We can speak to him if we please but."|

There's a wave of uncertainty and a ripple of concern. |"That's not what people do, is it? They like to see each other. Touch and speak. Because it's not real if you're not there."| |"We want to do it right."| |"We're not very good at this."|

Lian quite happily takes the daisy barrette and tries to put it on herself, but doesn't get it lined up quite correctly, which leaves her frustrated and resorting to seeking help from the other two sisters.

/Uh... yeah. It helps if you're family, though. I don't know if I can get you through, they may have special restrictions on who visits him, because... well, his problem might be dangerous for people who don't know. You say you know him? Can keep him calm? That might help a lot. I don't know... I'd have to talk to Agent Barton and see what the best way to approach this is. I can't promise anything, though./


 * "It's unlikely he could hurt us too much before we escaped,"| the gestalt says thoughtfully. They have done the calculations after watching the Hulk at work. |"We have our own defenses. We would have found out for certain but it wasn't worth risking his unhappiness on the experiment if we were wrong. We wouldn't touch his mind without permission or direction to keep him calm, but..."|

They are quiet a moment as one of them take Lian into her lap to fix her hair. |"We will not hide it. We have our resources. We could make you forget this day ever happened, both of you. We will not, because it is wrong. Even if you wanted to hurt us, we would understand why. We have that effect. But you are a good person and we want to do the right thing. You should know this before you let us into a place that matters to you."| There is a quick look at Lian, and a burst of worry, before Roy calmed down. No, if they wanted to do anything, they could have, and would have done it already. That they opened up, talked to him, was a sense of trust, and Roy didn't want to betray that trust. It would be...

It would be betraying Lian, and the brighter tomorrow he'd vowed to make for her.

So it is that Roy nods, slowly. /I won't let you in if I can't guarantee anyone's safety. Not completely guarantee, but at least to make sure there's no... uh... duress?/


 * "We would prefer not to be revealed entirely, but we will not ask you to lie and..."| The girl holding Lian hugs her close for a moment, letting go before she squirms. |"...it is worth the risk. We have survived worse than we would expect from your kind if we were detained. That is how people are friends, isn't it? To take chances?"| The girls look up at Roy with identical frowns. |"We haven't been friends before."| Laura is -them-, their sister, so it's not the same. Bruce is other-but-similar, far enough from them to count as something different.

/... all right. I'll try and see what I can work out./ There's a brief pause, as Roy considers how to work this out, before sighing. /Fine, look. This is my phone number. You can call me, and ask what's going on./ There's a glance as Lian giggles, returning the hug, for whatever reason she doesn't know, it just -seemed- like it was needed, before Roy shakes his head and grins. /Well, if anything, I guess, you've made friends with Lian, at the least, and that means you're good by me. Hey, Lian.../

Wait.

"Hey Lian... do you think you could take care of Sophie Tripled sometimes while Daddy's at work?" Roy asks out loud.

Lian doesn't even hesitate. "Okay, Daddy!"

The girls are confused all over again. "What does that mean?" Sophie asks, unsure of whether Lian or Roy will answer. She's not in any hurry to let go of Lian, that's certain. The girls are inveterate cuddlers.

There's a sigh. "Daddy wants you to babysit me, but he doesn't want me to complain," Lian says. As if she could be -fooled- by that, but she humors her father anyway. Because she was Old Enough, but Daddy didn't agree. "I don't need a babysitter. I stopped putting waffles in the DVD player. I was only four." She nods as if that explained it all.

"More like, I need someone to watch Lian so that she doesn't do anything like set fire to the kitchen trying to cook something," Roy sighs. "Cooking is hard," Phoebe says defensively.

"We know how now," Esme says quickly. "We learned from three chefs and two bakers."

"Sophie makes the best pies," Phoebe adds, throwing an arm around her sister.

"We would look out for Lian," Sophie says, after some thought. She gives Lian a smile. "Even if you can take care of yourself, it's good not to be lonely."

"Only if you don't follow recipes," Roy sighs. "Just don't follow the chili recipe I've got in the kitchen. Lian's not ready for -that- yet."

There's a quirk of a smile as Roy grins. "... and I guess you don't want to feel lonely with just yourselves either." He had certain reservations, but Lian tended to be a good guide on how well she fit with certain babysitters, and she didn't seem too put-out by these girls.

And besides, Roy had to admit, it wasn't such a bad thing to have a trio of hot babysitters to keep an eye on Lian.

"We learn very fast," Sophie says, then gives Roy a crooked grin. |"-Very- fast."| They're not above cheating a little if it's in a good cause. "Lian's going to have to teach us how to play Princess properly, since we didn't know about princesses when we were her age."

"And going to the park," Esme says. "Parks are awesome. There's so much -outside- in the world."

"It'll be fun. And we can take good care of her," Phoebe promises. "We wouldn't let anyone hurt her." That's not even a question. Whoever it was would have their brains coming out their nose in under a second.

"I hope so." There was a certain nervousness on Roy's part that he -might- have done Yet Another Rash decision, but he just -couldn't resist a happy smile from Lian, and that the girls themselves seem quite happy about it too, and that helps keep his fear low. /And I'll do what I can about the Hu--- Banner. If you see him before I do.../

"She's been begging to go to an amusement park before it closes," Roy admits as he studies Lian. "Maybe..."

"Oh, please? I want to ride the ponies!" Lian exclaims. By which she meant the carousel, not real horses. Although, of course in -her- imagination, they were -real- horses. Just like those "My Little Pony" horses!

"Ooh, we like that ride," Phoebe says. "It's so shiny and the horses are so pretty."

"We can take her if you don't want to," the girls say at once, giving Roy identical wide blue looks of "pleeeease?". "Or you can come with us," they allow graciously. Because an afternoon with three pretty girls chasing around the park and taking care of Lian for him would be a total hardship.

The girls do understand reciprocity. They want Roy to help them out and so they're helping him. Also, Lian is fascinating. She thinks of things that aren't real and yet they're -so real- to her.

There's -really- no way that he can say no, especially when Lian herself joins the pleading look, her barretted hair swaying as she looks at her father. She even tosses in the puppy-dog pout, showing the girls how it's done.

"... Uh, you girls can go on your own," Roy sighs. Mostly because that would be -not- a total hardship, but because one of the reasons he can't take Lian has been the work he's put in as an agent. And he -was- going to need to put in a bit more to figure out what to do to help out with Banner.


 * "Just tell us where to meet you after."| Suddenly, Roy knows their phone number.

"Come on, Lian." The girls get up and offer Lian hands to hold. "Let's go ride ponies."


 * "She'll be fine,"| the girls tell Roy. |"There's no way we can lose track of her."| |"Not in the whole world."|

"Okay!" Already about to go off with the girls, Lian is called back by Roy. "Hey, what about a hug for your old man?" he says, already kneeling down and holding.

Lian lets go, quickly runs over and throws her arms around her father, and then tries to avoid the oh so SCRUFFY kiss she's being offered, although she can't help but giggle anyway at how rough it felt. "You be good, princess. Love you, okay?" Roy says. "Don't do anything I wouldn't."

"Okay, Daddy!" There's a kiss on Roy's nose from Lian, and then she's off to leap to grab onto the girls' hands.

"Well, thank you. Uh... when I said don't do anything I wouldn't, I meant, don't do anything _Mother Theresa_ wouldn't do," Roy corrects for the benefit of one of the Sophies... (He was going to have to manage to stop looking at them long enough to get the other twos' names.)