The Sparkle Club

[Demeter]

Getting into a cat fight had not been part of the agenda. Rue, holding a bag of ice to her abused cheekbone, moaned as she ran through the days events. She'd forgotten that Amy had been hired for the show as one of the models. Rue had been the face of F.R. Designs for the past decade and rarely concerned herself with remembering who she'd be working with. Had she remembered that Amy would be walking the on the runway, she would have convinced Francine to fire the girl. The show had ben fine as both she and Amy had been to busy to even think about their very recent breakup.

The afterparty though, that was a different story. Rue had been doing her job, schmoozing with the guests, selling Francine's designs and raising money for the children's chairty that would benefit from the show's proceeds. Apparently she'd been schmoozing too much because Amy had completely lost it. Rue hadn't seen the younger woman coming up behind her and she definately hadn't been expecting a shove down the staircase. Dazed, she'd remained sprawled on the floor while Amy had stalked down, yelling about all kinds of things. All the wrongs that Rue had done against her.

Some of the guests had pulled Rue to her feet and she would have been content to turn her back on Amy except the woman had done the stupidest thing possible. She'd insulted Sage, calling her a whore just like her mother. And that, of course, set Solace off.

Rue went for Amy's throat. Together they rolled around the ballroom floor, ripping at clothing and hair, clawing at each other and shouting. Rue slammed Amy against a the banister and Amy had slammed her against the edge of a stair. Eventually they were torn apart. Francine had herded her towards the rooms that had been used as dressing rooms while a woman with red and black hair had hauled Amy towards the front of the house.

Francine, who was also a healer, had prodded at Rue's cheekbone and proclaimed it cracked. She'd knocked a dizzy Rue onto a chaise lounge, dumped a mixture of herbs into her and dropped the ice pack onto her check. And then she'd stripped the torn outfit from her friend's body. She dropped a blanket over Rue and sat on the floor to mend the ripped clothing.

From the chaise, Rue could only groan. "I'm not going back out there. I made a fool out of myself." When Francine merely agreed, she'd lightly kicked her shoulders. "You're not supposed to agree, Franny, you're supposed to say that Amy is a bitch and say horrible things about her."

Francine shook her head and stood up. When she lifted the ice bag, Rue squealed and tried to back away. "Don't touch it!" she squeaked and cringed when Francine prodded at her face. She glared when the woman pronouced the bone healed and dropped the bag of ice back on Rue's face.

It was a few hours later when Rue finally let herself back into her own house. She flopped face first onto her bed and quickly dropped off to sleep. She only had a few hours before she had to be at the club.

As it was, she was nearly late when she tripped through the club's back door, Andy right behind her with her garment bag. She thanked the man and shooed him off to the club proper. She hurried to the backstage area, greeted the girls already crowding around the mirrors and hurried into the night's costume. She affixed the pasties to her breasts, wiggled into the smallest g-string she could find and donned the rest of her costume. The She-Wolf never took it completely off but she gave a good show.

After her intromusic and introduction, Rue hurried onto the stage to due her routine. Unlike some of the other girls, she actually used the pole attached to the stage. While she spun around the pole and stripped off the layers of clothing, Rue surveyed the crowd. The Sparkle Club catered to all kinds and she grinned when she spotted the familar looking red and black hair.

After her routine, she changed into an outfit that was little more than a robe of her scanty undergarments and walked out to the club. A quick sniff of the air confirmed that the woman with red and black hair was the same as the one from the gala that afternoon. She slid onto a barstool next to the woman, motioned to the bartender for her usual rum and coke and smiled. "I really should thank you for hauling Amy off me earlier. I should send you flowers, actually, because I really should properly thank you."

Rue had other ideas how to thank the woman but she had to feel her out first.

[Maira]

Working for Darius sometimes had its perks. Sometimes those "perks" were questionable. Going to a fashion show was one of those questionable perks. Getting to oggle a bunch of beautiful women who were strutting their stuff to help kids was great, having to deal with the crowds and the multitude of conflicting eccentric personalities was not so great. Although, so far the typical cattiness had been kept to a minimum during the show itself.

Sadly, Tranquility didn't get to avoid the fashion show drama for long. At the after party for the show she was chatting with one of the models, Amy Something-or-other, who had managed to corner her when suddenly the other woman's attention was stolen away by something. Without any warning beyond a glare and some muttering about a "dirty whore" Amy shot off across the room and launched herself at another model. In shock at the sudden outburst of violence, Tranquility watched with her eyes open wide and her jaw dropped slightly open. After a few moments some of the bystandings, including Tranquility, moved in to separate the two women. Tranquility helped pull Amy off of the other woman and led her away toward the front of the house where she'd seen a small sitting room. Tranquility figured that should be far enough away from her poor victim for Amy to cool down and get her head back on straight.

*****

After the fight the party had broken up rather quickly, but before it was even over Tranquility had left. She'd seen to Amy, who had minor scratches and bruises and maybe a cracked rib or two and once the model had agreed to seek medical attention Tranquility had left. Darius couldn't pay her enough to deal with that level of crazy...

So, after leaving the party she had gone home to the Delorme house and reported to her boss the happening of the evening. Darius had been happy that the charity show had done as well as it did, and seemed quite amused by the crazy cat-fight that happened after. Telling him about it, Tranquility couldn't help but be amused either and they shared a laugh before he shooed her off to go enjoy herself for the evening. Darius knew she planned on leaving to go back to Olympus the next day and he always pushed her to go have fun her last night in town. Without fail. More than once he'd coerced one of his children to take her out somewhere if she didn't go out on her own.

*****

Tranquility hadn't been to Cedar Valley in almost six months and when she drove down the road that all the city's night life businesses were located on, she nearly stopped in the middle of traffic at the sight of a new sign. Since when did Cedar Valley have a club called The Sparkle Club? Curious, Tranquility found a place to park a couple blocks down and then trecked back to the new club. She stood outside only long enough to oggle the signs by the door and flash her ID to the man at the door and then she slipped inside.

Once inside, Tranquility stole a seat at the bar from some guy silly enough to leave it when a new song came over the sound system. She followed the man with her eyes as he made his way to the stage to get close to whoever it was he wanted to watch. At first she didn't recognize the tall woman expertly using the pole as she danced and slipped out of various pieces of her outfit. She was actually more than a little distracted by the way the woman moved so perfectly and sensuously in time with the music. Only when she was finished with her routine and bowing did Tranquility get a good look at her face and she realized this woman was the one that Amy had attacked at the party before. With a soft groan, Tranquility turned her attention to the bartender and finally ordered herself a drink.

She was about halfway through her drink and watching the next act, though not as intently as she had watched Amy's victim, when suddenly somebody was sitting next to her and talking at her. She meant to only glance away from the dancer on the stage to acknowledge the other person, but instead she wound up wide-eyed for the second time in one evening. "Oh, uh, you're welcome?," she mumbled questioningly, more than a little confused at the woman's words. As she sat waiting for the woman to say something else, Tranquility could appreciate even more just how good looking she was.

[Demeter]

Rue half turned on her stool and played with her drink. "I don't believe anyone introduced us earlier. I'm Rue Lowrie," she said while shaking the woman's hand. She kept ahold of that hand until she learned who the other woman was. "Tranquility. I like it; its a very pretty name."

Rue sipped her drink and glanced around the club. "I suppose I should apologize for the scene Amy created earlier today. I'm afraid she didn't take too kindly to me breaking things off with her and kicking her out of my home," Rue paused for a moment and took another sip, "and for keeping her dog but I did that for the dog's sake. No canine, not even a pug, should be stuffed into sailor outfits and called Snoogums."

Rue shook her head and leaned on the bar counter. "Amy is young and spoiled and has a dangerous temper but I have one of my own. Tell me if I'm wrong, Tranquility, but do you think cutting her from me life was rash, even if she did throw a party at my estate in Cornwall without my knowledge or permission? A party, I should add, that caused the cops to be called and several items taken from my home?"

They talked for a while and Rue was eventually able to lure Tranquility to one of the low couch in a shadowed alcove. There, she sat close enough to have her thigh pressing up against Tranquility's. She could only roll her eyes when she saw the stage manager tapping his watch and point at her. Rue leaned closer to Tranquility. "Listen, I've got one more performance to do tonight but how about you and me go somewhere quieter afterwards. If you want to, just meet me out behind the club after the show."

She smiled at Tranquility and stroked a hand down the curve of the woman's cheek. She stood and went backstage. She changed into the costume she used for the burlesque show before going onto the stage. In time to her music, she pulled and tugged and pried her way out of the various layers of her costume. She tossed the gloves at Tranquility and when she pulled off the final peices and was left in her skimpy panties and sparkly pasties, she was looking staight at the woman.

After the show, when she was wearing a more comfortable set of clothing, she snagged the car keys from Andy with a promise to send Josef out after him and headed for the back door. She glanced around and smiled when she saw Tranquility leaning against the wall.

[Maira]

After Rue's introduction, and asking for her name, Tranquility gave it to her, "I'm Tranquility Oshiro-Magda." She knew it was a mouthful, so when Rue only focussed on her first name Tranquility wasn't surprised and just smiled her thanks at the compliment on her name. Taken by itself she supposed it was a pretty name, when listed together with her siblings' names, it was normally seen as a bit strange.

Rue's explanation of the craziness earlier in the night at the fashion show's after-party made things a lot more clear. And then she explained exactly why she had broken things off with Amy and Tranquility just shook her head and whistled. "No wonder you ended things with her, she sounds crazy..." Only after she'd said it did she realize that her thoughts had once again slipped out aloud and she flinched and watched for any sign of Rue taking offense.

Luckily it seemed the woman had been distracted by the manager of the club and after that she told Tranquility that she had to go dance again. She also said that if Tranquility wanted to spend some more time together after her last performance that she should wait for her out back. When Rue stroked her cheek, Tranquility couldn't help but lean into the touch just a bit and she smiled at the other woman as she walked away.

Rue's last performance was just as good as the first and when it was over, Tranquility hurried to put the gloves Rue had tossed at her in her pocket and then made her way toward the exit opposite the door she had come in. It didn't take Rue long to join her in the back hallway of the club and they left together. Rue wanted her to ride along with but when Tranquility explained that she needed to leave in the morning for work, the other woman caved and just gave her a ride to her car then waited for Tranquility to get in and start following her.

When they finally arrived at what Tranquility was guessing was their destination she couldn't help but gawk. Sure she was used to Darius's gigantic house on his own personal island, but for somebody not a Custos lord Tranquility honestly hadn't expected anything quite so large. And it seemed to be on the same lake that held Darius's island. She parked her car next to Rue's and then slowly made her way up to the woman as she tried to look between the house and the garage to see if she could indeed see Darius's house. When she caught sight of the familiar building she shook her head and laughed. When she reached Rue she explained her dawdling quickly, "I live at my boss's house out on the island when I'm here in town and I wasn't sure if this was the same lake or not, just had to see."

[Demeter]

Rue smiled and leaned to the side. She could see the outline of the Custos lord's house. "I've been invited out a few times. My father is a aquaintance of Lord DeLorme and he, your boss that is, doesn't care if I'm not legitimate," Rue spoke while leading Tranquility uo the walk. She smiled when the front door opened. "Hell, Josef, this is Tranquility. Andy is waiting for you at the club," she dropped the keys into his open palm, "You should go rescue him before one of the girls tries to seduce the poor fool again."

Once her keeper was out the door to rescue his partner, Rue took Tranquility's hand and gave her the grand tour. She ven stopped by the pugs room. She leaned over the baby gate she kept across the open door and scooped up the puppy. She handed Tranquility the wriggly pug puppy. "For now he's still Snoogums until I find a better name, thought I think its going to be something silly as nothing diginfied seems to fit him."

After ensuring that the dog was settled for the night, Rue took Tranquility's hand again and led her to the sitting room outside of the master suite. There was already a fire burling low in the fireplace as the nights were getting colder. Rue shrugged out of her sweater, leaving her in a thin tanktop, and toed off her shoes while telling Tranquility to sit wherever. If Tranquility was looking carefully, she would have been able to see some sparkles beneath the tanktop. Barefoot, Rue fussed around the room, turning on music, lowering the lights and opening a bottle of wine.

She poured two glasses and brought them over to the couch that Tranquility had chosen. She handed one glass to the woman and sat down. She sat with her feet tucked up under her and leaned to the side and into Tranquility. "We spent the while time at the club talking about me. Why don't we talk about you now," Rue rested her free hand on Tranquility's thigh, her fingers dancing in light patterns, "Tell me about yourself."

[Maira]

Tranquility was curious about that illegitimate comment Rue had made, and just close of an aquaintance her father was with Darius if he'd invited Rue out to the house on the island. She didn't get long to dwell on either of those things however because as soon as they were inside the monster of a house, Rue grabbed her hand and took her on a tour of the place. When they came to a room with a baby gate in the door, Tranquility was surprised. *Rue has small children?*

Almost as son as that thought formed it was quickly tossed aside when a little wiggling puppy ran up to the gate. "Snoogums?" she repeated quietly and disbelieving. Who in their right mind named anything Snoogums? Rue must not have heard her because she went about situating the puppy for the night and then led Tranquility away.

Their tour came to an end in a nice room, probably a sitting room if that door she'd seen opened into a bedroom. The fireplace had a small fire burning in it alread so clearly somebody had a basic idea of when Rue would be home. She couldn't help but think that it must be nice to have people around that knew her routine so well. And that it must be nice to even have a routine.

Rue's body leaning gently into hers, followed by her hand landing gently on Tranquility's thigh shocked Tranquility out of her thoughts and back to the reality of being alone with a beautiful woman in her gigantic house. And now Rue was asking Tranquility to tell her about herself. Tranquility really hated that topic. Too many people just didn't seem able to grasp the complexities of her family situation, and very few seemed to even want to try. Because of this she had long ago come up with a simpler version to tell people she wasn't sure were actually going to be around long enough to need the more in-depth details.

Tranquility took a sip of the wine, a nice fruity Reisling if she wasn't mistaken, and then placed her free hand on Rue's as she started, "Well, I grew up very sheltered." She then slowly started inching their stacked hands up her denim covered thigh. "I drove my parents and older brother crazy because I was always needing something new to occupy me. They brought in various instructors and tutors for me but nothing ever kept my attention very long. Only when I was old enough to leave the family home for work did I finally feel less restless. I now have my law degree and work very part time pro-bono here in town and on-call for Darius. I have another job and family obligations that take me out of town a lot though which is why my work here is so sporadic."

By the end of her telling, Tranquility had slid Rue's hand up her thigh far enough that the other woman's fingers were just barely brushing a certain very sensitive are. Even through her jeans Tranquility's body reacted to the nearness of Rue's hand and in a slightly hoarse voice she asked, "Can we stop talking now?" The look in her eyes was clear when she met Rue's. She really, -really- wanted Rue to take her to bed.

*****

Her connection to her Goddess had always been particularly strong and messengers had never been needed for Nemesis to summon her and this night was no exception. She was happily tangled with Rue in the sheets of her bed, still slightly panting from thei surprisingly athletic activities of the past couple hours when the Goddess's summons flashed into her mind. She had to admit to herself that she'd never had a lover who was quit so energetic in bed and she was more than a little peeved that she was going to have to leave Rue's bed sooner than planned.

After a moment's grumbling under her breath about a "damn demanding Goddess" and "what shitting timing," Tranquility slowly started to pry herself out of the tangle of limbs and linens. "I'm sorry Rue, apparently I need to leave for work sooner than I thought. I've gotta get going." She knew it was sudden, and would seem rather odd as she hadn't gotten a phone call or anything to indicate being summoned by a boss, but Tranquility didn't have time to even explain that her work was for a Goddess and not some mortal being. All she knew from the summons was that it was urgent and she needed to get her ass to Olympus to get her directions. Sometimes being an Angel of Retribution and Justice was a major pain.

[Demeter]

Rue grinned when Tranquility asked if they could stop talking. Rue nipped the other woman’s wine glass from her hand and set both on the table. She returned to the couch and slid her hand right back up Tranquility’s thigh. She slid her hand up that extra inch and leaned forward to kiss the woman. She hadn’t set out to find someone to spend the night with but she was very glad that she’d found Tranquility.

Together they scrambled up from the couch and, still kissing, stumbled towards the bedroom. Rue kicked the double doors open. They both tumbled to the bed. Together they rolled around the sheets and worked each other out of their clothing.

It was hours later, when they’d both been dozing that Tranquility stirred. Rue pouted when she learned that Tranquility had to leave. Holding the sheet to her breasts, Rue rolled to the nightstand and pulled out a pad of paper. While Tranquility dressed, Rue scribbled her number. She stood, pulling a sheet free and wrapping it around her body. She crossed to Tranquility and slipped the folded up piece of paper into the younger woman’s front pocket. “When you get done, why don’t you call me?”
Rue walked Tranquility to the front door, kissed her once last time and then watched as Tranquility drove away.

[Maira]

Darius's granddaughter Saiyuri was the one to find her. She was the other, more brutal, side to Tranquility's coin. Both worked for the goddess Nemesis and when she had gone missing the goddess had sent Saiyuri hunting. Even with Saiyuri commanding the search party and personally, relentlessly, following down leads it took the Vengeance Custos five months to find Tranquility. And when she did finally find her, Tranquility was in bad shape both physically and emotionally. Not to mention she was four months pregnant. On Tranquility's short, normally slender frame which was made skinnier from lack of regular meals and the pregnancy draining her body's reserves to nourish the baby, she was all skin, bones, and belly. How exactly Tranquility hadn't lost the baby Saiyuri wasn't sure, but Saiyuri was furious and was absolutely ruthless with Tranquility's captors. It was bad enough to kidnap a Goddess's personal messenger, but to then abuse her, starve her, and get her pregnant which then subsequently put that unborn baby at risk as well? Unforgiveable.

Tranquility had been free for two months, she spent the first two weeks on Olympus where Nemesis could personally watch over her. Once she was sure that the Alati wasn't going to do something stupid like take her own life, Nemesis released Tranquility into the care of her employer and his wife, Darius and Genesis Delorme. For the past month and a half, Tranquility had slowly been regaining her health and her self confidence. At one point one of Darius's other granddaughters, Rayne, had brought Tranquility a puppy. Until Rayne explained that the puppy was a hell hound, and would bond with her personally and protect her if she raised and trained her, Tranquility had thought having a puppy around was a bad idea. After hearing Rayne's explanation however, Tranquility happily adopted the large brindle puppy that looked like a slightly oversized mix between a great dane and a mastiff.

As walking was good for pregnancy and delivery, and as Ratri the puppy needed lots of walks, the pair made regular walks around town. For their evening walk today, Tranquility had decided to take Ratri to the park along the river. It had a nice long, flat, paved walking path next to the river and the sounds of the moving water were very soothing to Tranquility. She'd been rather lost in thought when somebody called out her name. Instantly on the defensive, Tranquility searched the other walkers on the path, and the picnickers at the tables looking for the owner of the voice that had called out her name. As she looked around, the voice came again and this time she was able to pinpoint the direction as between her and the river.

When she spotted a very tall woman jogging toward her, Tranquility had a strange feeling she should know the amazon. Only when the woman go close enough for her to see her face clearly did Tranquility realize that the woman was Rue, the woman she had spent the night with right before being kidnapped. The woman she had never called back because not only had she been kidnapped, but all of her personal belongings (including the piece of paper with Rue's phone number on it) had been stolen and burned while she was in captivity. This was bound to be awkward.

Halting Ratri and telling her to "sit" and "stay", Tranquility raised a hand in greeting and gave the other woman a nervous smile.

[Demeter]

Rue knew very well what pregnant women looked like. She'd done it ten times, even though Sage had been the only one to get this far along. But seeing Tranquility with a very obvious baby bump was a bit startling, especially since it had only been seven months ago that they'd been together. She'd been out for an evening run when she spotted the familar black and red ombre styled hair. She'd called out and nearly tripped over her own feet when she saw that bump.

She walked right up to Tranquility and looked down. "Okay, I know that isn't mine. Tranquility, what happened? Why didn't you ever call me?"

[Maira]

Tranquility saw Rue trip and she had a pretty good guess as to why. Unconsciously her hand not holding the puppy's leash strayed protectively around her growing belly. When the other woman finally was standing in front of her, her words both shocked Tranquility and made her want to laugh. Giving in to the urge, a small laugh escaped Tranquility as she answered, "Oh Gods Rue, if only it were yours then at least the memories of how it happened would be amazing. Unfortunately when I got snagged doing a run for Nemesis the bastards who gave me this little gift," she patted her bulging stomach, "also stole all of my clothes and personal belongings I had on me and burned them. Your phone number was still in my pants pocket." She hoped that the other woman wouldn't want more of an explanation than that while they were standing in the middle of a very public place, and honestly she'd prefer a stiff drink before rehashing it in anymore detail. Sadly, the stiff drink still had three more months to wait.

While she'd been talking to Rue, Tranquility had eased up on her hold on the leash just a bit and Ratri had taken advantage of the slack and had inched forward just enough to sniff the other woman's feet and legs. When Tranquility noticed the hackles were slightly raised along the pup's spine, she squatted down and soothed the ruffled fur as she spoke softly and soothingly, "Rue won't hurt me darling one, she may not be family but she is still somebody we can trust." At her mistress's words, the overly large hell-hound puppy thumped her long thick tail against the ground in happiness and understanding.

[Demeter]

There was probably more than one reason that the puppy was reacting to her. She'd let Solace out not that long ago and this was her second run of the day. Rue squatted down and held her hand out to the puppy. Assured from the dog's reaction to her mistresses words, Rue didn't believe she'd draw back a bloody stump but they still needed to be introduced. "Don't worry, little sister, we won't harm anyone." Once her hand was slurped, Rue rubbed the puppy between the ears and stood.

Rue glanced to the left and then to the right. "We're not far from my home. If you want to tell me more, even just to assure me that the bastard is dead, we can go there and talk." Outwardly, Rue was the epitome of calm but inside, there was a rage building up. She picked up the basics of what had happened from what little Tranquility had side and Rue cosigned such bastards to the very depths of hell.

She escorted Tranquility to the back gate of her house and settled her on the back porch. Once she returned with two bottles of water, Rue leaned forward. "Tranquility, believe me when I saw I know how it feels. I was held captive and suffered through miscarriages, natural and otherwise for nine years. You can talk to me if you need someone to just listen.

[Maira]

Seeing Ratri licking Rue's hand, nearly knocked Tranquility on her butt. The pup was very curious and extra friendly, but there were only three people that she licked: Tranquility, Rayne, and Darius. She'd seen Ratri stick her nose in Carmine's palm but he was the only other person she seemed even slightly inclined to take into her chosen "pack". Until now. Apparently there was something about the tall woman that Ratri trusted, and Tranquility took that as a good sign for the potential friendship, or more, she might have with Rue. Rather offhandedly, Tranquility told Rue, "You're lucky, she's picky who she gives kisses." Then she levered herself up from her squatting position and followed Rue to her home.

She wasn't sure that she really wanted to talk about her captivity, but she could at least confirm for Rue that the men who had taken and harmed her were dead. Darius's granddaughter had seen to that personally. She and Saiyuri had become fast friends working for their Goddess and when Tranquility had been taken, Saiyuri essentially went on a rampage looking for her. Of course, that's why she was such an excellent Vengeance Custos. She let her emotions control her only enough to give her that brutal edge needed to do her job, other than that she was all clear-thinking logic and Tranquility couldn't decide which made her more frightening.

It didn't take long to get to Rue's home, like promised it was quite close. Rue made sure she was comfortable in one of the lounge chairs on the back porch and then disappeared into the house. From where she sat, Tranquility could easily see her own current home on the island in the lake. Darius DeLorme had a monster estate and somewhere in that gigantic house was a small suite of rooms that had been given over to her and Ratri for as long as they wanted them. She was sure that someday she'd move out, but currently the well protected estate was the one place she felt safe on this plane. Also from where she was, Tranquility could hear the other hellhounds barking, baying, and howling as they chased what was probably some poor unsuspecting rabbit. Hearing her canine pack-members Ratri whined and wiggled, straining at her leash to try and get to them. "Sorry lovely, you'd get too tired trying to swim out there. Plus if you came home without me Darius would send out a search party again. No need to worry him with your little puppy antics, there will be plenty of chances for you to run with the big dogs later I promise." Ratri didn't calm down much, her ears were perked as she watched the dark furred pack go streaking this way and that across the grounds of Darius's estate.

When Rue reemerged from her house and she handed a bottle of water to Tranquility, the younger woman took it gratefully and downed half of the bottle while Rue spoke to her. Once she'd slaked her thirst she told Rue, "Right now I just mostly want to forget everything that happened. Its not healthy for the baby for me to stress out so I'm trying not to. I can do my grieving and processing later. Thank you for your offer though." It might not have been the most tactful way to tell somebody to keep their nose out of her business but at the moment it was the best she could manage. To soften her words, Tranquility added, "I'm sorry Rue, its not you I don't want to talk to, its everybody. Genesis insists I should see a therapist while at the same time telling me to watch my moods for the sake of the babe and Darius's multitude of daughters and granddaughters are all mother-henning me to death. There is a reason besides it being good for me and Ratri that we go on so many walks. I need to be allowed to -not- talk about what happened or I'm going to go crazy."

Even just this little bit of talking about -not- talking about what had happened was starting to cause Tranquility's blood pressure to rise and she awkwardly got up from the lounge chair and paced to the end of the porch, trailing Ratri along unintentionally as she still held her leash. She refused to cry in front of Rue but despite her best efforts Tranquility felt the tears burning her eyes as she stared out at the lake. It really wasn't fair being pregnant and hormonal at the same time that she was trying to recover from what had happened to her while she'd been gone.

[Demeter]

Rue raised an eyebrow at Tranquility. She may not have really known the girl but that was about the longest speech she heard from anyone. Rue leaned back in her chair. "With all due respect to Genesis, she doesn't know crap. I know that a few of Darius daughters and grandchildren and other dependents have gone through the same thing. And they've all needed time to not talk about it. I needed time to not talk about my own captivety."

"If you ever need to escape, feel free to come here. My door is always open to you and you are safe behind these walls," Rue stared out at the lake, pretending not to listen while Tranquility cried. She knew what it felt like to be hounded by everything to "talk about it." If anyone could understand what it felt like, it was her. She knew that there were a few others within Darius' protection that had similar experiences, such as Ransom. She met the fireheaded hybrid once and had liked him. He'd been the one to design her gardens.

Once Tranquility plopped back into the chair opposite, Rue smiled at her. "So is everything also giving you an annoying amount of advise on how to be a mother? "

[Maira]

Tranquility listened as Rue offered her house as a refuge from all of the well-intentioned do-gooders and that, more than anything else, is what finally tipped her over the edge and the tears she'd been holding back slid down her cheeks. She'd never been able to cry silently like some, but she did manage to keep her sobs mostly muffled and they were blessedly short-lived. Once she had herself under control again she wiped her eyes and walked back to sit in the chair she'd been in before.

When Rue asked if everybody was also giving her parenting advice Tranquility's face screwed up with irritation and she muttered, "Every woman I see. Even some men. Its so damn annoying!" She took another drink of water and added, "The real fun ones are the people who aren't actually parents, or the human grandparents who grew up in a completely different time than now. Really people, I am -not- putting whisky on my kids gums when it starts teething!" This last was said almost in a growl and Ratri looked up at her mistress, head cocked to one side and ears perked forward wondering what it was that was bothering Tranquility.

Seeing her pup's reaction, Tranquility took a deep breath to calm herself down and pet the puppy between the ears and under her jaw before mumbling softly to her, "Yes, yes, I know, calm down mama." Then, with a soft laugh she looked at Rue while gesturing to the puppy and said, "See, even the dog is telling me what to do!"

[Demeter]

Rue laughed and held out a hand to Ratri, smiling when the puppy bounded over. "She just wants you to be happy and generally, growling isn't a sign of happiness. At least, not to her."

***

Rue stared at the seven months pregnant woman stalking around her kitchen. Tranquility was at her house again, ranting about just about everything a pregnant woman could rant about. But mostly it was that nobody was willing to give her any space. Rue sat on her countertap, drinking from a bottle water and watching as Tranquility paced. Ratri sat by the door, head cocked as she watched her mistress go up one side of the kitchen and down the other. Rue didn't need to bring Solace out to read the pup's thoughts. Obviously, since they weren't going for a walk or playing with a ball, or attacking anything, nothing was going on of any interest...except Tranquility kept bypassing the cookie jar that held the cookies for her and Gus. They'd been here for some time but no cookies yet. Very confusing.

Rue slipped from the counter and grabbed Tranquility be shoulders as she pasted. She turned the woman around and give her a little shake. "If they keep pestering you, doing something about it. Yell at them or leave Darius' estate. I know you feel safe there, Tranquility, but you'd be just as safe at your father's stronghold, the one in Japan that you told me about. Or you could stay here. I have enough room and you'd be well guarded."

She questioned the wisedom of dropping to much stuff on Tranquility at once but this idea had been gnawing at her ever since she found out that the Alati didn't want to keep the child. "Tranquility, I know you don't want the baby but would you be willing to let me adopt it, instead of giving it up to an adoption agency. I mean, I managed to raise Sage to adulthood with relatively few bruises, so I know what I'm doing, and I always wanted more children but Sage was the last one and the doctors said no more, ever." She unconciously touched her right side, where the tattooed pawprints that were a memorial to the nine little souls she'd lost was located. "You know the baby would be in good hands with me and you could see it whenever you wanted. And if you changed your mind about keeping it, you could still stay here."

Rue peeked at Tranquility while biting her lower lip. "Was that too much at once?"

[Maira]

She had been going to Rue's house almost daily since they reconnected a month prior. Rue's house was a safe-haven from her safe-haven. Darius's home was safe, she could get a little work done when she felt up to it, but the people there were starting to drive her absolutely bonkers. There were too many of them for one thing, they didn't all necessarily live there but there was just a constant swarm of people and they all wanted to constantly know how she was doing, both with the pregnancy and her "recovery". She'd already been ranting to Rue for 15 minutes about the people at Darius's house, her insane pregnancy symptoms, and just anything else that flowed into her mind that was bothering her. It took Rue finally giving her a gentle but brisk shake to get her to snap out of it.

Rue's proposal that she should just move out of Darius's house was a good one, but one that Rue had told her before. The offer to move in with Rue was also something the other woman had suggested before but at the time Tranquility just wasn't sure where things were going with Rue and she didn't want to impose her moody, damaged, pregnant self on anybody who wasn't already invested in the well-being of her entire family. It just wouldn't be fair to Rue.

The next proposal from Rue shocked Tranquility. She just gawked at the woman as she basically gave Tranquility an out from the baby she'd been forced to bear. She wasn't ready to be a mother. She could barely stand the feeling of the baby moving inside of her because every kick and twitch and hiccup was a reminder to her of just how that baby had gotten there in the first place. There had been no love involved, not even any thought or planning. She just happened to be at the right place in her cycle when the bastards had their way with her.

Once Rue stopped talking there were a few minutes of silence as Tranquility continued to just stare. What was she supposed to say to that? "Uhh...." she tried first, but nothing more came out. She shook her head a little bit, hoping to clear it, then coughed slightly before trying again, "As angry as I am with how I got pregnant, and as much as I am not looking forward to being a single parent more than anything I'm scared I won't be able to bond with the baby because I hate the whole situation."

Tranquility wanted to hide. She wanted to run away and hide in Rue's library or hijack the master suite bathtub for a few hours. But neither of those things would get her thoughts or feelings across to Rue in any way, shape, or form so instead she snagged a cooking from the jar and made Ratri lay down for it before tossing it to her. She was trying to buy herself time to work up the courage to finish what she knew she needed to say. After she had watched Ratri lick up every last crumb from her cookie off the floor Tranquility just blurted out, "I wanted kids Rue. I really, really did. But I wanted them -with- somebody. Now I'm not sure I'll ever be in a place mentally where I can have a real relationship with another person. How the hell am I supposed to raise a child by myself when I want to run away from the majority of the people who want to help me and take care of me and the baby?" Not realizing she was doing it, Tranquility reached out for Rue's hand for support, her eyes searching Rue's for something, and continued, "I just want to see if once the baby is here if I feel differently. I am really hoping for the miracle bonding some people talk about, that maybe just seeing my baby's face and holding it in my arms for the first time will heal the disgust I feel for this parasite inside of me and the disgust I feel for myself every time I cringe away at somebody's hug or laughter or smile."

Defeated now, Tranquility dropped Rue's had and turned away saying softly, "I just want to be okay Rue, I want a family for this baby but its never going to happen because I'm never going to be okay. But right now I just can't even think of adoption because what if the baby is the only thing that will heal me and I give it away?" Her shoulders were slumped and her arms were cradling her stomach.

[Demeter]

Rue guided Tranquility from the kitchen and into the living room. She slapped a hand on her thigh, summoning Ratri from kitchen before lightly pushing Tranquility into a fluffy armchair. From his position on the couch, Mr. Snuffalumpagus (and hadn't Traquility just busted a gut laughing at that name)watched as his mistress lifted Tranquility's legs and slid a footrest under them. Gus muttered when the puppy came galloping into the room. He liked Ratri and all but the silly thing had no clue where she was putting her big paws half the time.

"Well, there is something I can't help you with. As much as I hated how she was conceived, I wanted Sage from the very moment I knew I was pregnant. I would happily castrate the man who fathered Sage, and kill him, for the hell he put me through if someone hadn't already done it. And boy, let me tell you that having a baby in 1718 was not a good time. I can't tell you that the moment you hold that baby for the first time that some magical bonding will happen. My first stepmother, the one that sold me into slavery because she couldn't stand the sight of me, loathed being pregnant. She never held any of her children. She pretty much just popped them out, had the healer hand them to a wet nurse and didn't bother with them until they could hold a respectable conversation. There are women in this world who are not meant to be mothers."

Rue sat on Gus' couch and propped her feet up on the same footstool she'd put under Tranquility's feet. "I can't tell you what to do or what not to do but I can offer you shelter from those who are driving you batshit crazy. You'd be safe here and I'd give you the space to figure things out. And if that magical bonding didn't happen immediently, the baby would be safe and healthy here," Rue cast a critical eye over Tranquility. The younger woman looked so tired and miserable. "However, there is something that I can do for you," Rue said before scooting off the couch.

She sat on the floor and took one of Tranquility's feet from the stool. She pried off shoes and socks and then she began to rub the woman's feet. "No one ever did this for me. My feet and ankles ached something horrible by the time I reached seven months. Okay, by that time I also tried to take off the head of anyone who came near me but still...it wouldn't have killed them to offer, would it?"

[Maira]

She really liked Rue, and though the hints of her past begged to be asked about, Tranquility kept her mouth shut. Mostly because she was sure that if she opened it again she'd wind up telling the woman to stop pushing for her to move in. They'd had a very fun night together over seven months ago. They'd been friendly since re-meeting a month ago. What she didn't know was exactly what kind of relationship they had going on and until she sorted that out she just couldn't even toy with the idea of sharing a house with the other woman. If she knew for sure just what they were to each other, even if it was nothing more than friends, that would be good enough and she would be able to do the friendly room-mate-possibly-sharing-a-baby thing. But until the uncertainty was gone it just wasn't going to happen.

When Rue snagged one of her feet gently off the footstool she had placed it on only moments before and started rubbing, Tranquility melted in her seat on the couch. By the time Rue finished with both feet, Tranquility was snoring gently, her head tilted back against the couch cushions.

*****

Tranquility couldn't remember who's idea it had been to escape to the resort in the mountains for an extended weekend but she was so glad they had done it. The baby wasn't due for at least three weeks and the resort really wasn't that far from home so they both felt safe making the trip just in case a certain little somebody decided to make an early appearance. There were hotsprings a short hike from the main building of the resort but with her being pregnant, Tranquility couldn't exactly take advantage of them on this visit though she had vowed to come back after the baby was born to do just that. What she did get to utilize at the resort was the masseuse they kept on staff, who was very familiar with pre-natal massage, and the swimming pool. Both made her body feel amazing.

While the pool and the daily massages were amazing, the best part of the resort for Tranquility was the complete and utter lack of people who knew her. Sure, there were lots of strangers at the resort but that was just it, they were strangers. Out of all the people in her daily life Rue was one of the few who knew when to bug off and let Tranquility have some space and time to herself. She was also one of the few who weren't blind to, or purposefully ignoring, which topics of conversation were off-limits. So, having only one of the few people who "got" her around, Tranquility was able to totally relax for the first time in months. She had forgotten what it felt like to have a clear head and not be cursing the sight of every person who looked at her or came near her.

They had already extended their stay by an extra day and night and much as she didn't want to leave, Tranquility was gathering her things from around their suite and starting to pack up to go home. As she zipped one of her bags, she mused aloud, "I wish I could just stay here until the baby came." Five days and four nights of relaxation had done her a world of good, but Tranquility was scared that going back to Darius's busy house full of mother-hens would ruin it all in less time than she'd been away.

Rue had noticed just how relaxed Tranquility had become, had even seen a shimmer of what she assumed to be the other woman's "normal" resurfacing. She knew as well as Tranquility did that if she went back to Darius's house that any good the mini-vacation had done her would be spoiled in record time. So, despite the rejections before, Rue offered her home again. "You know, I do have a pool down on the floor with the wine-cellar that you are welcome to use until you are permanently pruney and if you wanted I know a masseuse who I'm sure would be willing to make house calls. You've already taken over my library and that spare room with the window seat."

Despite the lack of actual question from Rue to move in, Tranquility could see the woman's words for what they were and without even taking a moment to think she answered with a smile, "Okay," as she continued to pack her second bag. At Rue's shocked silence being the only answer to Tranquility's acceptance, Tranquility had to fight the urge to laugh. Rue had been offering for over two months now for her to move in, and she had finally said yes. As she put the last few things in her bag and zipped it closed, all Tranquility asked was, "Is this just for now so I don't kill somebody? Or is the offer for after the baby is here too?" If it was only a temporary thing, Tranquility would have to think of somewhere more permanent. Probably the Stronghold in Japan for at least a little while.

[Demeter]

Tranquility was out, collecting the last of her and Ratri's belongings. She'd browbeat her brothers into moving the large bits. Remmie had been silent on the whole affair, having had experience in dealing with surviors of his sister's sort of capture and torment. Rue remembered that he'd gotten a broken nose and blackened eyes when he'd pestered Ransom about what had been done to him. Ransom, she knew, was one of Tranquility's silent supporters and was happy that his sister was moving out of Darius' home.

Rue was also pleased that Tranquility was coming to live with her. She still wanted the woman but was waiting for Tranquility to make the first move. After the baby was born, Rue was going to tell Tranquility about her past. She had this feeling that the other woman didn't believe her that she really could relate. For now she, along with the help of Josef and Andy, she cleared out one of the rooms she had just sitting around, useless. Rue had a mission and that was to take Tranquility out for baby shopping. But not a few days yet.

While moving distracted Tranquility, Rue painted the empty room across from the other woman's. She knew Tranquility was curious about what she was up to. It took a few days of constant work but when she was done, the murals on castles, enchanted forests, friendly dragons, unicorns, knights and princesses was finished. During those days, she received a few special deliveries from England. She'd asked Sylvester to ransack the family home's attacks for anything that might have been Sage's from when she was a baby. He'd come through brillantly and unexpectedly found the infant bed that she herself had used.

When everything was finished, Rue peeked into Tranquility's room. She motioned for the woman to follow her. "I have a surprise for you. I know your thoughts on the baby but he has to have somewhere to live. Anything you want can be changed," Rue opened the door across the way and stepped back to let Tranquility enter the would-be nursery. Rue followed her in and knelt by the cradle in the center of the room. She stroked the glossy wood. "it's not the prettiest thing in the world but it's what I slept in, and what my daughter slept in, and what generations have infant lords and ladys have slept in. It's on loan to you, Tranquility, if you want it."

[Maira]

After returning home from the resort, Tranquility had immediately sought out Darius. She thanked him for his hospitality and his protection and then informed him that she was just in need of somewhere quieter and smaller to finish out her pregnancy. Surprisingly the man seemed to understand perfectly nodding sagely and mumbling something about nesting. Considering how many children he had, Tranquility figured he really was familiar with a woman's need for quiet while coming up on the end of her pregnancy. Luckily he didn't seem to be even slightly aware that he was part of the problem. As she finished packing up her rooms and directing her brothers what to write on the boxes, Darius poked his head in long enough to remind her that should she need anything at all he was just across the lake from her.

The move went surprisingly smoothly but even so, by the end of it she was exhausted. She had a mountain of boxes in her new bedroom, the room closest to the library, and she was currently flaked out on her back on the window seat staring out at the small waves on the lake. Luckily the wind had held off until all of her stuff was into the house but now it looked as if quite the storm was rolling in. The sound of the wind, coupled with the hard work of moving while eight and a half months pregnant, had lulled Tranquility nearly to sleep when there was a knock on her open door. She turned her gaze from the lake to see Rue standing in her doorway with a giddy secretive smile on her face. Curiosity wiped the sleep from her mind and she followed the other woman across the hall.

The smell of fresh paint hit Tranquility as she walked into the room but it was completely lost on her as she took in all the sights around her. She was standing in a perfect little fairy tale, all the elements were present and the custom murals on the wall were spectacular. She never would have thought to use grey as a wall color in a baby's room but it was the perfect backdrop for the bright colors used to decorate the room. She knew instantly, even without looking for things, that everything she might need for the baby would be in the room. While everything was amazingly perfect and special, the piece of the puzzle that actually made her cry with happiness was the obviously antique cradle in the center of the room. It was the only thing that didn't perfectly match the colorful mismatch of the room but when Rue told her just where it came from Tranquility couldn't help but touch it, her hand trembling slightly with emotion.

With Rue as tall as she was and Tranquility so short, even kneeling next to the cradle she was easier for Tranquility to hug than if she'd been standing and she did just that. "Thank you Rue, thank you for everything. No matter what, this baby will be blessed thanks to you, just like I have been." As she said that, Tranquility realized something she'd been wondering for a while. She didn't comment on it aloud but a small private smile tilted up the corners of her mouth and lit up her eyes. Then she bent down again and kissed Rue gently on the lips and whispered again, "Thank you," before burying her face against the other woman's shoulder.