happy thanksgiving

[notsocommon]

Thanksgiving was not a holiday that Helen really celebrated outside of food and drink with close friends and this year, she'd been with just Will when the labor pains had started up in earnest. She'd ignored them for a while, considering it was common enough this late in pregnancy to have some false labor but when the pain seemed to get sharp and real and the contractions worryingly close, she and Will made the trek to the clinic and luckily found Dr. McCoy, who was happy enough to deliver a baby (for a given description of happy, anyway).

It was only after the hard part was done (and they'd both slept a handful of hours, to boot) that she felt comfortable enough sending Will out to tell everyone the baby had come and felt up to entertaining company.

[[OOC: This is timed anywhere from morning to afternoon on November 23rd in the clinic.]]

Comments

[sunburned]

"Well, there's no harnessing, for a start," said Granby, somewhat enchanted by the little face in his arms. He did glance up at the mother, though. "We were under fire when Iskierka was hatched. She was all for engaging, though she couldn't even fly yet, herself."

[notsocommon]

"Somehow I'm glad Gregory didn't come out in the middle of a firefight. With his genetics, there's no doubts he'd want to be on the front lines."

Helen smiled fondly, unable to keep her eyes off the baby, and managed to look up at Granby after a long moment. "And how are things at home for you, then? Everything ship-shape with your friend?"

[sunburned]

"God preserve me if I ever manage to breed," he said, with a rueful smile. "I can't imagine the trouble a child of mine could get himself into through dent of sheer example."

His smile warmed at the mention of Laurence, even by so vague a term. "No need to refer to him as that anymore, I'd imagine," he said.

[notsocommon]

"Just trying to err on the side of caution," Helen said, winking a bit.

"I'm glad it seems to be going well, though. Everyone deserves a bit of happiness, especially in this place. If it weren't for the island, Will and I never would be together. I'm convinced of that."

[sunburned]

"It's kind of you," he said, leaning back in the chair a little bit, the baby against his chest. "I don't imagine that me and Laurence would have had a chance at anything back home, either. I'm glad of it."

[notsocommon]

"And now you are. And in a place that's relatively safe, Halloween notwithstanding," Helen said, smiling a bit. She finger-combed her hair, wincing when she found a knot.

"I'm trying to decide how I managed to muss my hair this badly just laying in a bed. It appears to be a talent of mine."

[sunburned]

"Halloween notwithstanding. I don't think for a second that Laurence would stand that kind of nonsense twice, either."

He looked up at her, head tilted slightly to one side. "You look beautiful to me," he said, without a trace of guile.

[notsocommon]

"Oh, Granby. You are actually perfect," Helen said, beaming at him. "You always know exactly what to say. I think your Laurence is very lucky indeed to have you and there's no need for you to be modest in that regard."

Helen tilted her head a bit, assessing him, and laughed. "Ah, but I suppose your modesty is your best quality, isn't it?"

[sunburned]

He snorted and shook his head, immediately tossing it to get his hair out of his eyes, his hand rather occupied at that exact moment. He grinned.

"Oh, no," he said. "Aviators almost always have a healthy sense of their own worth. Especially the Captains. Captains being valuable, obviously."

[notsocommon]

"Oh, certainly. I dated a pilot once. She was fiercely independent and the most stubborn woman I've ever known. I think I might have loved her," Helen said, a soft smile touching at her mouth before it faded again.

"I suppose it's similar enough to an aviator, in theory."

[sunburned]

"Similar," said Granby, who'd had the whole notion of pilots explained to him by Julie in connection to her Jamie and her RAF. "But not quite. A dragon can be told but not exactly controlled. That's why pilots are so valuable - we're forbidden to put ourselves in direct danger for that very reason."