x- 'a gorgeous red headed woman' arrives -x- to maddie, and open

[catherine dtardis]

precisely two hours after the doctor arrived with his strange blue box and asked maddie to deliver a message for him, the front door to the tel'ranaemyn inn opened. when it did, anyone in the front room would hear their twenty-one-month-old's joyous song, "ma-ma-ma, pooooopy die-pee!" which killian was singing over and over again a bit differently every time. it was a new habit of her son's that absolutely mortified catherine whenever he did it in public. and that was exactly why catherine chose to come here, because it was the first place on their walk back from the lake to find somewhere to eat that seemed like it might have a bathroom facility she could use. and maybe they could even eat lunch here, too.

first order of business was getting her singing son out of public. as the redhead held the door open for him, she said with quiet earnest, "i know baby, you sang me so all the way down the street. we're going to fix that here, so go inside." because the people on the street really don't need to hear about your dirty diaper anymore, she thought to herself with a sigh.

of course the baby thought his dirty diaper song was brilliant, and merrily toddled his way inside. even though he had no idea where he was supposed to go, killian saw nothing wrong with running straight into the room as fast as his little legs could take him, trying a new version of his song, "die-pee change change change die-pee cha-a-a-a-ange!" there was something very sweet and charming about the way the boy sang, despite what he was singing about. he got that from his mother, it was in their genes. the luring singing talent of merfolk.

"wait wait wait, what do dad and i say about running into places that aren't our home!" catherine sighed as she closed the door behind her. thanks to the baby's loud singing up the street her cheeks were about as red as her hair. she had thought for sure a few hours in the lake would tire the boy out and convince him to take a nap, but he was showing no signs of slowing. at least killian came to a halt when she reminded him about his running, and now catherine looked around for the person at the front desk, or anyone who could tell her if they could use the bathroom.

she had two bags slung over her shoulder. a diaper bag, and a beach bag. her hair at the moment was twisted into two long braids, which she had rolled into buns on either side of her head. she had a string of pearls and precious stones that her husband had given her in lieu of an engagement ring wound around each of the buns in a figure-eight pattern. she wore emerald green jogging pants, and a thick navy blue zip up hoodie with a long sleeve white shirt under that. as catherine was an athlete, she was almost always dressed in such clothes. "excuse me?" was asked sheepishly to any who were present.

did her entrance add up to a gorgeous red headed woman arriving? well, the doctor had seemed to think so. which was one of the infinite reasons that catherine loved her peculiar husband of time and space.

[Madeline Cauthon]

Maddie saw the a beautiful red head and a little boy enter the inn. She smiled at the little boy singing his song, and running around. It brought back memories to Maddie, her as a child chasing a certian dragon around trying to catch his tail. The woman looked tired and her arms were loaded.

Maddie walked over immedately to help her. "Hi there, my name is Madeline, let me help you with those." Maddie took the ladies bags, and put them on a luggage rack.

" You must be the nce lady the Doctor who was just here told me about. I already have a room on the first floor ready for you and your cute little boy. Follow me and I will show you your room." Maddie waved at the little boy.

"He also told me to give you a message." Maddie pulled out the peice of paper the she wrote the note on and handed it to her.

He had level blue emergency and he will be back before too late. oh! and tell her I said not to worry.

[catherine dtardis]

catherine was about to be stunned a few times in a row. first she was surprised by how nice and helpful maddie was. while catherine would never say so aloud, it had been quite a long time that she had been around someone who was truly nice and helpful. so when maddie offered that immediately, well catherine looked downright touched and grateful. "oh. oh thank you, that's really very nice of you..." and it was. how good it was to meet someone kind.

catherine was about to add that she needed to change her son - as if that wasn't obvious already thanks to his singing - but she paused when she realized the nice woman was putting her bags on a luggage rack. the question of 'why' knit her brow, and catherine's lips had only managed to part about to ask just that when maddie answered it for her. "my...tick was here? a room? we have a room, he was...?" it was obvious from catherine's bewildered expression and all those baffled questions that until maddie said so, she had no idea her husband had been here earlier.

as catherine trailed off, the baby beamed up at maddie. killian loved people, he always had. "hiiii!" he flapped his hand eagerly in a wave back, and beelined towards the luggage rack where she'd put their bags. his little fingers closed around the poles of the luggage rack, and the boy tried to push it forward. it was a thing with wheels, to him there was only one thing to do with that. try to drive it while making the proper sound effect, "vvvvrrrrroooooom!" despite his enthusiasm, the cart with the bags on it was a bit too heavy for him to move, so it didn't really budge much.

normally catherine would be watching this and have that silly amused mother smile, but at the moment she was still a bit too shocked to really take in what her son was doing. she looked a bit dazed as she looked down at the note and read it. there was a flicker of unhappiness and worry after she read it. level blue emergency, those were words she didn't like hearing from her husband. which is why he'd obviously added the 'not to worry'. a little sigh from catherine, and she mustered up a sheepish little smile at maddie.

"i really should be used to this by now, that he can manage things like this...but it still shocks me every time." she tucked the note into the pocket of her hoodie, taking in a slow breath to think all this through. "and we have a room here, really?"

[Madeline Cauthon]

Maddie smiled at the little boy. "Hi there cutie, my name is Maddie, what's your name?"

Maddie using a little bit of Chakra, and a small nod of her finger, made the luggage cart start to move. She figured this would help the little boy feel like he was doing something grown up.

Maddie then turned he attention back to the boys mother. "Oh it's no problem at all. He reminds me of me at that age. Now if you will follw me, and if your soon will continue being Mr. Hercules here, I'll show you to your room."

Madeline led them down the hall off the bar and kitchen. Once ther she unlocked the door. And let them enter. It was fun watching the little boy push the cart in. Once they had enetered the room, Madeline walked in behind them, and bent down to talk to the little boy and pointed to a table."If you look over on that table over there there is a glass of milk and some chocolate chip cookies."

Maddie stood back up to see if the little boy would go to the table. She then turned her attention to the red head. "Over to your left there is a bed room with a queen size bed, and attached to it a bathroom. The sofa over to the left has a pull out bed in it. If there is anything you guys need, please let me know. I'm usually behind the bar or the reception desk."

Maddie handed her the key to the room. "I'll leave you two alone to get comfortable, unless you need anything else?"

[catherine dtardis]

the baby was expert at answering that question, which is why he positively beamed as he paused in his vrooming. "killy killiiieee!" and then the vrooms recommenced, the baby giving an excited squeal when the cart started to move. he felt quite proud of himself for driving the luggage rack!

"he can't quite say killian yet," catherine explained hastily. she didn't want the woman thinking that she and the doctor named her son something so close to 'kill' or 'killing'. as killian pushed the cart, catherine automatically assumed the position of walking behind him, at least one hand on the pole of the luggage rack at all times. while killian had no trouble pushing the cart now that it was lighter, he was a bit young to have mastered steering yet. catherine didn't want his heroic attempts to dent or mark up the nice walls of the hallway. or the doorway to the room.

when madeline bent down in front of the almost two year old, killian looked at her with rapt attention and focus. it sometimes shocked people how deeply he seemed to listen to try to understand. he was the doctor's son, it showed in moments like that - the baby was always trying to learn and apply. he looked where she pointed and an excited string of baby babble came from him as he went running in the direction of the spotted sweets. while he was very good at saying single words or two word phrases, sentences still mostly escaped him. and sometimes...things like cookies were just too incredible to bother with adult words!

her son taking off had catherine slipping around the luggage rack and chasing after him while madeline told them about the features of the room. catherine scooped the baby up just before he got his hands on the cookies, and she gave the boy a playtime bounce on the bed like his father always did. "hey you, you know lunch comes first before sweeties, and your diaper change comes before lunch." catherine told the laughing child. "you can have cookies after. yes?"

"yes yes yes yes! ba-na!" was the baby's answer as he pulled himself up onto his feet, and tried to attempt his version of jumping up and down on the bed. which was more bending and bouncing himself at the knees than anything. poor catherine looked so tired watching him. maybe she could bribe him to take a nap later...

for now, she turned to maddie with another shy little smile. "oh just one question, if you don't mind...does this inn serve meals, or do you know somewhere we can go to get lunch? nothing fancy...as you heard all killian wants half the time is bananas..." of course, that didn't mean all the baby got was bananas, but killian sure tried his best to achieve that goal. and catherine? well all catherine always wanted most of the time was seafood.

[Madeline Cauthon]

Maddie smiled at the nice lady."Why yes we sure do. There is a bar/resturant where you can get a bite to eat. We have an excellent chef named Armandeus. I work the bar too, so after you guys get settle in and everything, later on come by, and I'' have our chef fix you something."

[catherine dtardis]

as catherine and madeline spoke, the baby continued to bounce on the bed as best as he could manage, before he spotted the most wonderful thing. pillows. he babbled something to himself and flopped down on his hands and knees to crawl over to the pillows, dragging them out and starting to stack them. the baby had a very methodical look on his face, the same his father made when he was concentrating on a plan. killian was already taking after his father with all sorts of planning. "ba-na, ba-a-na bana." was all he sang softly to himself as he stacked. otherwise it was total concentration.

and catherine was watching out of the corner of her eye. she was almost one of those too-watchful mothers, sometimes, but the doctor was trying to gently break her of that. she couldn't help it. maybe it was because she knew the sorts of things her and parker managed to get into when no one was looking that had her always wanting to watch killian so closely.

but the talk of food certainly helped provide a distraction. catherine loved food, and ate often since she was an athlete, and was even an avid cook herself thanks to helping her gran with the bakery and catering when she was growing up. and there was nothing like a long swim to make you hungry. "oh we'll be down soon," catherine said with an eagerness that made her blush faintly after she heard herself. to explain she hastily added, "we've been swimming all morning, and it was quite a walk to get here. we had some grapes but otherwise we're famished."

swimming all morning in february? catherine forgot she wasn't somewhere where the person she was talking to would assume she meant in an indoor pool. "maybe by the time we're done with lunch tick'll be done with his emergency," she added to herself with a worried little frown. a bit of a headshake to push that frown aside and she said to the woman, "we'll be down in a few minutes after i get the baby changed and both of us freshened up. thank you for everything, miss, it's all very thoughtful."

[Madeline Cauthon]

Maddie giggled at the cute little boy. She then turned to the door. "No problem Dear. I'll be around. I jope you have a nice stay."
With that Maddie went back to work.

[catherine dtardis]

when madeline left, catherine shut the door to the room and then turned to face her son. it was just in time to see what killian was looking to do with his stack of pillows. there was the boy standing up on the bed a few feet away from his pillow stack, in a ready-set position. with an excited "go!" the baby boy went running on the mattress as fast as he could to crash into his tower of pillows. from his hysterical laughing, the baby apparently found this venture not only successful, but extremely entertaining.

"alright my little demolition boy, it's time to change your poopy diaper so we can have some lunch." catherine said that with a little smirk as she crossed to the bed, extracting the boy from his pillow mountain. the baby babbled something enthusiastically at her, and the long string of mostly nonsense sounds also included 'bana' and 'poopy die-pee'. "i couldn't have said it better myself," she said as she laid out his changing cloth, and then laid him on top of it.

if there was one thing killian was always good during, it was a diaper change. so after she changed him, she left him with his pillow mountain and went into the bathroom with the beach bag, taking some her-time with her hair. the mermaid could literally spend hours on her hair and still feel that she could fuss with it some more. she carefully took out the string of pearls and precious stones first, and then took her rich red hair down from each of its buns, and then unwound each of the braids. as the baby continued to play and she continued to keep an eye on him out of the corner of her eye, she brushed her hair exhaustively, continuing the smooth strokes long after she'd gotten every little snag brushed out. finally, catherine put sapphire beads here and there through her hair, like how stars speckled over the sky, and she refastened the string of pearls and precious stones in a circle crowning the top of her head. her hair reached to just above her backside when she had it down long, and it was very thick.

"okay baby, time for lunch!" she scooped up her son, grabbed one of his sippy cups from his diaper bag, and they started back towards the main room. madeline and anyone else who was there would hear them coming, thanks to killian singing out what he wanted for lunch. "bana bana banabanabanabana fishy!" catherine agreed with him on that last part, at least. as for bananas, she had to be careful with those. there was a lot of sugar in that fruit.

when they entered the main room catherine immediately went over to the seating area with the couches and the lower table. just in case they didn't have high chairs, this would be the easiest place for her and the baby to eat. they could both sit on the floor, which catherine didn't mind at all. now, it was just a question of who could they could place an order with. was madeline or another member of the staff here?

[Madeline Cauthon]

Madeline had just gotten back from a quick hores ride, and saw the nice lady, and her lovely little boy sittting down. "Hey you two, I hope you got settled in ok. What can I get you?"

[catherine dtardis]

"oh yes, everything's wonderful thank you." catherine said that with a shy little smile to madeline. she had to speak a little loud, however, because the baby was entertaining himself as he often did these days when he found a flat surface that was a good height for him - drumming.

his little hands had immediately started to smack the surface in a sloppy but eager rhythm, the baby bouncing with great vigor. before catherine could add their order to her reply, the baby beat her to it. he announced it with a loud sing song almost in time to his beating hands. "baba baba bana fishy!" then, to himself, as he continued his drumming he added, "mmmmmm." it was a good lunch, he seemed to think.

catherine grinned a little bit as her son placed his own order. he had started to do that with her and the doctor, but this was the first time he'd told someone else what he wanted for lunch. any first was something that made the mermaid proud. so she wasn't about to argue with what the baby wanted. "if you have apple juice, that's a good thing for him, let me give you his cup..." she pulled it from the pocket of her hoodie and held it up to madeline from her spot seated on the floor. "and a banana, that's okay for him, and the fish...canned tunafish is alright, or even chopped shrimp, and if you could make him a small bowl of plain noodles i think that's it for him." tunafish? shrimp? certainly not the normal baby diet.

when killian heard the word noodles he said, "pppppfht." in a nice big raspberry. catherine pretended she didn't hear it. he had to start expanding his diet. "and whatever you use for him, shrimp or tuna, that's good for me too. a big bowl of shrimp or a tuna sandwich...or both of those..." she added that sheepishly after thinking about it. "and a salad of some kind, with no dressing...and some grapes or strawberries, if you have them. and i'll drink water, thank you."

and then, in true catherine fashion she added meekly, "i hope that's not too much trouble..." she was always concerned about not putting other people out.

[Madeline Cauthon]

"No thats not a problem." Maddie left there table and went to the kitchen

[Armandeus]

And what would Madeline find in that kitchen? It's cook, of course! Standing in front of the stove with a chef hat on his head, an apron covering his tunic, and a pair of disposable bakers gloves on his hands, was Armandeus.

Vergoth, preserve them, the Elf was in a creative mood today, and judging by the large pot bubbling on the stove he had been at it for a while. The air held an interesting smell, one of spices and chocolate blended. His current creation was one few would recognize, but it was one he was an expert at.

Upon hearing the door opening, he turned enough to see who it was, while keeping an eye on the pot. His storm colored eyes were bright as he looked at her. "Greetings Madeline. Have you come to be my taste tester?"

[Madeline Cauthon]

Maddie smiled warmly at Armandeus. "Greetings Armanedeus. Yes I would love to be your taste tester. Everything smells so yummy."

She walked over to the stove. "What is todays masterpiece?"

[Armandeus]

Upon hearing that she would be a willing participant to trying his food, Armandeus' face split into a huge grin. It was almost a pity then that his current creation was something simple.

There came a small chuckle from him as he briefly stepped away from the stove to grab a mug from the drying rack near the sink. "I am always looking for willing participants, although I am not sure masterpiece is the correct word for what I have made." Mug in hand, he came back to the stove, glancing over to Madeline. "It is hot chocolate, though made with my personal touch."

Picking up the ladle he had been stirring his bubbling mixture with, he filled the mug before offering it out to her. "You may wish to add some milk to help it cool. While you are enjoying, tell me what brings you here. Surely it is not to test my cooking abilities."

[Madeline Cauthon]

Madeline blew on the cup of hot chocolate and took a sip. Then when she blew on it a little more and drank the rest of it in one shot. "Ar, That's good stuff. Man you really out did yourself."

The hot chocolate was so good she almost forgot why she came in the kitchen to begin with. "We have a customer who would like a salad, whatever you havemade today. Also she has a little boy who would like no dressing, and some grapes. For her son, a bowl of tunafish and a bolw of plain noodles."

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