AND HELL WE'LL BUILD A FIRE

[afa]

Tim couldn't believe he'd let Carter talk him into this. He'd already been forced to watch this movie countless times with his sister, and now it had clawed its way back into his life and straight onto his TV screen. The cheesy, romantic music had already been absorbed into his subconscious, ready to pounce the moment he managed to rid his mind of its heartfelt melody. Even making popcorn, he could hear it creeping its way across the dorm, reminding him that it would be stuck in his head for weeks to come. "Are you sure you want to go through with this?" he called to his friend, who was sitting there eagerly waiting to press play, "we're out of tissues, and I'm not letting you get tears and snot all over my shirt." As soon as Tim finished speaking, the microwave beeped obnoxiously, letting him know in no uncertain terms that his feast was done. Grabbing the bag of popcorn, he returned to where Carter was, plopping himself down on the couch and trying to look as unenthusiastic as possible. However, a grin soon found its way onto his lips, and he sat up a bit straighter. "Alright, let's do this."

Just as the classic film started, the lights flickered. Tim looked around nervously. "Did that just..." he began, wondering if he'd imagined it. He turned to look at Carter, but he was suddenly unable to see. Probably because the power had gone out. Hopefully because the power had gone out, as he didn't want to go blind for no reason at such a young age. He blinked, trying to get his eyes adjusted to the dark, just able to make out the dark outline of his companion against the darker darkness of the room. Glancing in the general direction of the TV, Tim sighed, slumping down a bit. "So much for that. What do we do now?" He probably shouldn't have asked that, as he would likely get some sort of joke about sex in return. Not that he didn't mind the thought of... well, nevermind, now wasn't really the time to think about all of that. They needed a source of light, like a candle, or a campfire...

Overcome by sudden inspiration, Tim leapt up, banging his knee on the coffee table and nearly falling over in the process. "God fucking dammit!" he held his injured appendage, hopping a bit as he waited for the pain to subside. Indeed, he was the very definition of smooth. Once he was fairly certain he hadn't broken anything, he calmed down, feeling his way over the table until he located his phone. "I have an idea," he announced, as if he hadn't just lapsed briefly into madness. He flipped his cell open, scrolling down the contact list. "We're going to have a campfire." He located Morgan's number, then pressed the call button. Hopefully, she was at home. Without any sort of Robert-type 'in the other room.' And in a good mood, preferably. Tim had wanted her and Carter meet for a while, and what better way to introduce them than over nice, gooey s'mores? Then, if it were awkward, he would at least be able to eat something. As soon as she answered, he got straight to the point. "Hey! Is the power out at your place? I have an awesome idea. It involves marshmallows."

ooc There. I did it. You both owe Tim a home-cooked meal.

[holloway]

A typical day meant another typical night for Morgan. Waking up early and feeding babies, changing diapers, playing with babies. Lunch time for babies, changing the babies, nap time with babies. Changing babies, dinner with babies, bath time with babies and finally, bed time for babies. No time for Morgan anymore. But she wasn't doing anything with her life before the babies. She was used to the fact that everything she decided from now on, would be for the best benefit of the babies. And she was fine with that. She had nobody else to take care of, and having these babies made her feel more complete than she had even with her parents. Morgan had a tough time talking to the adoptive parents that she couldn't give her babies to them. She just couldn't. Whether it be her mothering instinct or she was just too selfish and didn't think any human being could take care of her babies properly aside from her. She gently rocked baby Sophia, watching the tiny infant slowly drift off. The house was quiet, but the constant background sound of light classical music played in the babies room. Sophia was the hardest to get to sleep. Maria had always fallen asleep quicker and Morgan would never be able to just set her babies in the crib and leave, ignoring their cries. Instead, she took the longer, more time-consuming approach. Rock each baby individually, and then when they were asleep, set them beside each other. Both babies nice and clean from their baths, well fed and bundled in their individual blankies.

Maria had been diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy. Luckily the doctors didn't think it was a very severe case, but she would still be delayed in learning stages. It was obvious now, since Sophia could roll and laugh now. Maria just lay there and watched everyone with no smiles. Morgan often wondered if her baby was even happy. Comparing any baby to Sophie, though, meant any child will look depressed. Sophia was a big ball of sunshine. Nothing let her down. If she was upset, she'd cry until she saw what she wanted. Then her smile would light up her face and the whole room and everything would be rainbows and unicorns again. Morgan gently set Sophie beside Maria in the crib and turned the main light off. The dull light of a lamp beside the crib had originally been used for diaper changing in the middle of the night, but now it was for Morgans sake. She constantly checked her babies throughout the night. After her and Robert fought about who would win in a custody battle, Morgan had many sleepless nights thinking she'd go to check on her babies and they wouldn't be there. Just an empty crib. The thought terrified her, and she would avoid that at all costs. Even if it meant being a little over paranoid.

After leaving the room, the door cracked, Morgan walked down the hall and sat on the couch, turning on the baby monitor. It was the closest to the fire place and that room, aside from the babies room, had become Morgans favorite place to just sit and exist until the babies demanded her attention. She leaned against the arm of the couch, absent-mindedly pulling on her bottom lip as she pulled her phone out. She looked through the pictures. The horses, her old dogs, the barn cats kittens. There were a couple forgotten pictures of her and Robert, pictures of her pregnant belly. Pictures of the plane ride to Jacksonville from a birds eye view through a plane window. It was all so exciting and positive back then. Now, things had changed. Morgan exited out of her pictures and went to press the "off" button, but instead hit contacts. The first two on the list. "Mom" and "dad". Morgan stared at it. She sometimes wished that they could see her now. All grown up, a mother herself. She could rub it in that she was a better parent than they were because her babies came first. She stared for a minute at the two names on the phone before closing it. Morgan sat the phone on the couch and, as if it triggered something, the power went out.

The inaudible hum electricity gave off that was heard day-to-day had died. The house had gone eerily silent. The room was already only lit by the deep orange glow of the wood fire place across the room, so Morgan didn't panic. She did notice she had gone still, though. Morgan knew her babies had never been alone in that room with the soft music in the background off. Nor had they been in pitch black darkness without the lamp. She expected what she heard next. The familiar sound of Sophia's cry, followed by Maria's. Morgan grabbed her phone and sprung to her feet, almost jogging to the room to her babies. Some would say she was overprotective of them. But she was a first time mother. Through time she would let back a little. She reached down and scooped both of the babies up quickly, holding them and softly patting Maria's back as she walked out of the room and set the babies on the couch with her. Both of the babies were still crying, and Sophia squirmed and kicked and punched out along with the shrill yells she was giving out. Morgan left them on the couch, uptting them between the back cushion and a pillow so neither would roll or squirm off of the couch, and walked into the babies room to get the pacifiers. The mute buttons. She reached down to grab them, and felt her phone buzz. She fumbled to pull her phone out of her baggy pajama pants' pocket, and looked at the name on the screen. Timmy. She pressed the green button, putting the phone to her ear. "Is the power out for you, too?" She almost mirrored him. She grabbed both pacifiers and walked out to the crying infants, almost instantly silencing them with pacifiers and sitting with them snuggled close to her lap. "Oh, right. Sorry. I'm... Distracted." She adjusted the babies to sit close to her, and cleared her throat. "Marshmallows? How could I say no? How about S'mores? I have everything but the marshmallows." She let out a humorless laugh, absently playing with Sophie's pacifier, bobbing it up and down in her mouth.

notes;;
I splurged in my pool of muse, okay? Sue me. :P
outfit;;
click.
tagged;;
Tarter whot whot
credit;;
I made this.

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[carter dominic andrews]

If anyone asked Carter would say he was possessed, or that all of this had been Tim's fault, but truth be told he was excited to watch the movie as he sat on the edge of his bed anxiously waiting to press play. Of course Tim had to be slow as hell at getting ready though, and Carter swore that making popcorn was just a way of wasting the clock, but that didn't matter since the two had all night together and the weather was supposed to be bad enough to keep them indoors. He heard Tim call something in to him and he just chuckled, "i'm waiting aren't I?" You could tell that he was excited, though maybe he forgot what exactly he was getting himself into. "That's fine, I got my own sleeve for that, or maybe i'll just use my sheet, it's not like I ever cover up with it," he barely made his bed and never bothered with his sheet, "but that's only if I cry, and we both know i'm too badass to cry, so let's just get it started alright?" He went and jumped off his bed and raced to the couch to get even more comfortable beside Tim as he sat down, and when he saw the grin on the others face he almost jumped for joy. Instead of saying anything he simply nodded and pressed play.

Seeing the lights flicker had Carter laugh, "if you wanted to set the mood all you had to do was ask," he teased, but then he remembered that they were in their lame room and there was no dim switch, and even if there was that'd require someone to be there to operate it. He shrugged though not caring too much as the music soaked through his body, but just as he turned to look back at the TV everything was out. "If you didn't want to watch the movie all you had to do was say," he joked to go along with what he'd just said, "did you put Chris or someone up to this? They're probably standing at the door right now laughing or something." He could not hear laughter though, but he did look behind them into the darkness hoping to see a figure that could turn the lights back on. Hearing the question about what they were supposed to do now Carter grinned as he slid across the couch towards him and placed his hand on his leg touching the bag with his thumb as he yelped some as it'd still been hot. "Damn, you're hot." He laughed hysterically knowing it'd been the popcorn that had just burnt him, but it was still a good enough joke in his opinion.

Carter could see the shadow of Tim jump up, and he could hear the commotion of him hitting something, and that did not stop his laughter but instead helped it along. Hearing that he had an idea Carter wondered as he turned to see where the man had been, but all he could see was the shadows until the backlight of his phone brightened up an area of the room. "In the middle of winter? What are you talking about?" He couldn't believe it, it didn't make sense, but it seemed Tim had his mind set on something so who was Carter to discourage? Who in the world was he calling? He stayed on the couch absolutely clueless as he heard marshmallows, and soon the backlight of his phone shut off since he'd made the call and they were left in total darkness again. "Great, maybe you're calling smokey the bear or something," he honestly had no idea as he listened hearing a girls faint voice on the other end, who in the world was she? He stood from his seat and carefully made his way to where Timmy was feeling the need to give him a jolt, and plus by being closer it'd make whoever was on the other end of the phone more audible, so he reached his arms around the other from behind pulling him into an embrace as he nuzzled the back of his neck, this being the perfect spot to hear the chick. "Mmm," he spoke quietly so she couldn't hear him as he heard the word S'mores spoken. His fingertips tickled Tim's stomach just some so he could try to get a laugh out of him, sure it was probably bugging him since he was on the phone, but it was dark and Carter was going to take advantage.

[/blockquote][/justify]

[afa]

At Carter's lame joke about 'setting the mood,' Tim rolled his eyes, not bothering to give it the benefit of a reply. When the lights went out altogether, though, he figured it would be necessary to respond out loud. "Oh, yeah, I called him up as soon as I got the chance and told him to drop whatever he was doing, come back to the dorm and bust the power." Sarcasm at its finest. To tell the truth, Tim had no idea where Chris was. Or Em, for that matter. And he certainly hadn't devised some sort of evil, anti-Notebook plan in the span of the past ten minutes. They both knew the storm was the one to blame, and as Tim tried to think of something more interesting to do than sit around in the dark, he heard Carter moving closer. Of course, he thought to himself, bursting out in a fit of laughter as the bag of popcorn worked its magic. He had to admit, he was quickly getting used to the awkward nature of their relationship.

"Shh," Tim hushed his friend, waiting for Morgan to pick up. He would explain the plan on the way. It was, of course, absolutely imperative that they get to her house before the power came back. Otherwise, what would be the point of having a campfire? The excitement would fade, and it would just be a regular evening once again. Morgan answered at about the time Carter made the smokey bear comment, and Tim could only pray that she didn't hear it and somehow take offense. "Yeah, obviously, or I wouldn't be asking if yours was out," he pointed out, hearing the crying of babies in the background mysteriously stop. Then, realizing he should probably get to the point, he continued. "It's fine," he assured her. He jumped a bit when he felt Carter's hands snake around him, scowling before realizing it was a futile gesture. He zoned out for a moment at the feeling of the other man's breath on his neck, trying half-heartedly to get away before giving up. "I've got marshmallows," he said, glad that she seemed excited. He swatted at Carter's hands as he began to tickle him, trying to suppress his laughter. "I'll be there in a few!" he managed, trying once more to pull away from his friend's grasp. "Oh, and I'm bringing Carter!" Those were his final words; he snapped his phone shut before she could protest.

Now able to fight back, Tim grabbed Carter's hands, giggling madly. "You're such an ass. I'm trying to get a campfire and all you can do is sabotage me?" He turned, facing the other man, grinning widely in spite of himself. He easily found his friends' stomach and started tickling him back, intent on making him pay. Then, once he was sure he'd caused enough suffering, he leapt away into the dark, aiming for the door. "Come on. We're going on a field trip." Using the light of his phone, he located a bag of marshmallows as well as a pair of shoes, then grabbed his jacket, figuring it'd probably be pretty hairy outside. In fact, it would probably be a good idea to call a taxi - it wouldn't cost too much for the short trip to Morgan's. Once he'd ensured that the vehicle would be arriving shortly, he relaxed, waiting for Carter to get with the program.

ooc Mutt, I'm sorry you had to witness such acts of Tarter. Please blame Heather.

[holloway]

Morgan smiled a little at Tim's excitement. He seemed to be excited to come over and spend time with her. She nodded when he said he had the marshmallows. "Okay." She spoke somewhat absently. Before she knew it, Tim wasn't on the other line anymore. Did he say he was bringing something else? Or someone? He was bringing what? Oh well. Soon enough Morgan would figure it out. She slowly set the babies back on the couch, snuggled to tight they wouldn't wiggle off the edge and walked into her over sized kitchen. It was somewhat clean. There were a couple of dirty cups by the sink and a handful of clean bottles sitting out beside the powdered formula. There weren't any dishes sitting out or anything.

Morgan opened up the cupboards and searched through, pulling out graham crackers. She quickly turned and searched in the fridge for her stash of chocolate bars. There was a large unopened pack in one of the drawers. She pulled those out and set them on the counter. Last but not least, sticks. She walked into the hallway and opened the hall closet, searching with her phone to find the poker sticks. There were five, and she pulled them all out. Who knows how many of whoever Tim was bringing. For all she knows he could be bringing his whole dorm. Boys. She smirked a bit at the thought, but soon frowned as she brought all of her things back into the living room with the wood fire place. No guy wanted a girl with baggage. Not only was she a mother, but she had twins. That was twice as scary. She didn't understand why, though. Maybe if she was poor and needed money. But Morgan was loaded. She wouldn't have to worry about money for the rest of her life. She sighed and sat on the floor, her back against the couch that the babies were laying down on and watched the fire. She sent Tim a quick text, The door is open, just come in. The babies are awake." He wouldn't have to worry about being quiet.



notes;;
Ewww boys have cooties! Especially Tim and Carter. They have so many cooties they're all gushy together :P
outfit;;
click.
tagged;;
Tarter whot whot
credit;;
I made this.

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[carter dominic andrews]

"I KNEW IT!" he held his hand out in the direction of his friends voice as he laughed, "I'm onto your little game, you can't hide anything from me," he tried to boast as he listened to where Tim might be heading, but soon his phone flashed on and Carter knew exactly. He laughed feeling around in his own pocket for his phone, but he couldn't find it and soon gave up hope. It was far too dark to look around in all the spots that it could have been, and plus since he was already with Tim it's not like it mattered.

He did pipe up for about a second as he heard Tim and this mystery person talking back and forth, but he was starting to get impatient as he found himself going over to the other just to mess with him. He laughed feeling Timmy jump beneath his touch, and that just caused him to burst out in a silent fit of laughter tucking his mouth into Tim's back to keep from laughing hysterically and disrupting the conversation. Hearing that Tim had marshmallows perked Carter's head up as he had loved campfires and marshmallows, but where in the world were they going to find one in a damn snow storm? Was Tim hiding secret caves from him or something?

He tried not to think too much, something that was never hard as far as Carter was concerned, and he was glad when the other had quickly gotten off the phone, but not before mentioning Carter's tagging along. "Think it's such a good idea to bring me into the bears cave?" He referred to the person as smokey one more time just because that's who he'd first thought of, but he did let go after he'd felt Tim start to tickle him and his throat became filled with laughter. "I was not sabotaging you, your plan still worked didn't it?" He finally caught his breathe as Tim moved to start fumbling around for the marshmallows and Carter trudged across the room over to his bed. He patted around for his jacket that he'd thrown there, and soon he'd kicked his shoes so he sat down to put them on.

"Field trip? That is so fifth grade," he waved his hands trying to sound as snobby as he could, but it probably didn't help that his face had a plastered smile across it. He walked out of the room and could see candles and cellphones lit up all along the hall, "we're not the only ones unprepared I see," but that was not the case, Tim had been prepared as he called a cab and Carter just tucked his hands in his jacket pocket. He felt his phone and laughed as he pulled it out shaking it infront of Tim, "Lookie what I found," he chuckled as he checked to see if he'd had any messages.

Getting outside he could not believe the blizzard that was going on, "you seriously want to head over there in this?" He could see what looked to be two headlights coming there way, and as he saw the taxi finally come into view he rushed to open the door for him and Tim. He jumped in so he wouldn't get snow on himself any longer as he heard the taxi complain about driving conditions, "get us there in one piece and there'll be an extra fifty in it for you, got it pops?" He patted the back of the drivers seat as he leaned back and tried to warm up from the blistering cold that he'd only stood in for a couple of minutes, but that was long enough as far as he was concerned. "These s'mores better be worth it, it's damn cold outside."

[/justify]

[afa]

Tim stuck his tongue out at Carter before realizing he couldn't be seen. "Whatever," he scoffed instead. He was glad Morgan wasn't saying too much on the other end of the line, as his friend was now laughing into his neck and being generally distracting. Once he'd finished his call, he rolled his eyes. "Well, I had to introduce you to Smokey eventually, I know how much you look up to him." He'd always loved getting those Smokey bear things when he went camping as a kid, and wouldn't have minded being pals with the mascot. For tonight, however, Morgan would have to do. Glad that his tickling had had some effect, Tim smiled evilly into the darkness. "You were sabotaging me, you just didn't do it very well. Besides, I'm too spy to be sabotaged in the first place, I don't know why you even try."

Eager to get going, Tim waited by the door as Carter located everything he needed. "Yeah, the best part of fifth grade!" he reminded him, defending his use of 'field trip.' It was true, though: there was nothing quite so exciting as a field trip. When, finally, they exited the dorm, Tim laughed. "Hopefully nobody burns the place down." He had no idea where people were getting the candles from. His mom had quite the collection back home for 'special occasions,' but he'd never seen a need to keep any in his dorm. Maybe some people were just more prepared for blackouts than he was. He frowned slightly when Carter's phone suddenly appeared directly in front of him. "Whoa, okay, congratulations!" He hadn't known the other man was looking for it, but if he was happy, Tim was happy.

Upon exiting the building, Tim could see why the power had gone out. "I think we've been transported to the north pole," he said, squinting in an attempt to see past the walls of whiteness. He almost wished he'd put on his toque, but he was too lazy to head back inside. Besides, they weren't staying out there for long. "Psh, this is nothing. Stop being a wuss," he joked, though he could see where his companion was coming from. He was surprised the taxis were still running given the conditions. Their ride arrived just as Tim was beginning to get cold, and he dove in after Carter, pulling the door shut behind them and dusting the snow off his arms. He shook his head at his friend's words to the taxi driver, but didn't say anything, having grown used to it over the years. "The cold builds character," he pointed out, grinning and looking over at his companion, "besides, how could s'mores ever disappoint anyone?"

As they drove through the storm, Tim could barely see anything through the windows. Briefly, he wondered if they would end up getting snowed in at Morgan's. Now, that would be an interesting evening... oh, well. They were in the midst of a blackout, which meant anything could happen and everything was an adventure, and besides, there was no way two of the most important people in his life could not like each other. Right? Tim was distracted by the buzzing of his phone, and pulled it from his pocket, reading the text quickly. Soon enough, the taxi pulled to a stop along a road which faintly resembled Pearl Street. He raised an eyebrow at Carter, grabbing the door handle. "Ready?" he asked. Then, he pushed open the door, grabbing his friends' arm and dragging him in the direction of the house. Though they weren't exactly in white out conditions, he didn't want to somehow lose the other man in the blizzard.

When, finally, they got to Morgan's door, Tim yanked it open and stumbled inside. "We made it!" he exclaimed breathlessly, eyes bright, cheeks pink from the cold. He was definitely going to build a snow man once things settled down out there. Excited to finally introduce Carter and Morgan, he took off his shoes, hanging his jacket up and offering to take Carter's. "Morgan!" he called out, though he knew she was probably aware of their presence by now. Their entrance hadn't exactly been the most discreet, especially with the wind howling like some sort of angry banshee.

ooc Because they lurve each other and you're just jealous P:

[holloway]

The house was eerily silent. The only sounds were the occasional crackle of the fireplace and the light babbling and cooing of Sophia. She learned she had a voice, and she used it a lot. Morgan was sitting with her back against the sofa that the twins were laying on. She had her knees tucked up against her chest and was thoughtlessly going through her phone, tuning out Sophia's somewhat occasional shrieks and continued babbling. After getting all of the things needed for s'mores, her companion should be coming through the door any minute. And she was right. She heard someone at the front porch and then the door opening, along with Tim's loud mouth blabbering. Morgan smiled a little and stood up. Sophia was silent, staring at Morgan with wide eyes, somewhat hidden from the only light in the house by Morgans shadow. Morgan picked Maria up and walked into the other room to greet Tim. She didn't know why, but Morgan had a hard time leaving Maria alone in a room for any period of time. Sophia was naturally more independent. She would be fine without anyone. But Maria was a different story. She may have been born the bigger of the two, but this was the baby of the twins. She had health problems already and was delayed in development. The doctors told her that the reason she cried so much more than Sophia was because her spine was at a curve and it hurt. It killed Morgan inside to think she just let her baby cry sometimes, not knowing what was wrong. So now she was over mothering the baby. She wouldn't leave without Maria. She didn't even want anyone else to hold her.

Morgan walked over, holding a flashlight in one hand, Maria quietly eating her own hand with her head against her mothers shoulder. She almost greeted Tim and his friend, but seeing outside made her put her arms around her baby. "Wow, no wonder the power went out. I haven't looked outside since it got so bad." She flashed the flashlight between the boys, her eyes curious on Carter. What a cutie! Her lips curved up into a small smile and she looked back over at Tim. "I thought you said you were bringing someone." She offered Tim the flashlight and walked into the other room. Sophia was busily eating away her own foot, growling and cooing. Her little baby sock was now nowhere to be seen. Morgan leaned over and set Maria down, picking Sophia up and turning around and holding her out to Tim. "Look who's here!" Sophie stared at the two shadowy figures a moment before she recognized Tim, and a big smile spread across her chubby cheeks. Morgan laughed a little and held the baby on her hip, still facing outward. She move the pillows and revealed the sock. "Okay let me just... " She sat down and wrestled with Sophie, the baby finding it some sort of game to keep her sock off of her foot. Morgan gave up after a couple of tries and shook her head. "Right. S'mores." She stood and set Sophia in a somewhat relaxed sitting position, surrounded by pillows, and she, too, sat down. "Last time we had s'mores, I was... very pregnant." She said with a bit of a smile, patting the plush carpet beside her, offering the boys to sit.



notes;;
there. some regurgitation of muse.
outfit;;
click.
tagged;;
Tarter whot whot
credit;;
I made this.

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[carter dominic andrews]

"Look up to Smokey the bear? Oh please, I was the one starting the fires." He waved his hand like no big deal, but really he had never started a forest fire. The only fire he remembered starting was one with a magnifying glass and a pile of dry crumbled leaves. He had seen it so many times in the movies and he just wanted to see for himself, but what they failed to mention was just how long it'd taken to actually work. Sparks went up and flames rolled in no time on the movies, but it took him a solid twenty minutes if he had to estimate. He was probably doing it wrong like usual though. "You, spy? You would make the worst spy, for starters you can't even walk around in the dark before thwacking your leg or whatever, remember the table?" he pointed back towards where they were about to watch the movie.

Carter stayed silent for the most part once out of the dorm, and about halfway down the hall he looked back in the direction they'd came and sighed, what he wouldn't give to get to go back and just snuggle under a blanket or something. Damn, he had become such a girl, but someone had to right? Might as well be him, he could fit the housewife role except for the fact he couldn't cook and was terrible at cleaning. He chuckled looking around at the candles, "from one extreme to another, blackout to burnout." Sure, it wasn't called a burnout and that was more something to deal with a car's tires, but it sounded good as he said it. Stepping outside he too felt like he had journey'ed well out of Jersey as he looked around, his tongue peaking out of his mouth to catch a snowflake. "Look at you all big and bad," he joked right back when Timmy had called him a wuss, though of course he'd still found a pout place itself on his lips. "If I need anymore character i'll just buy it like all the rest of the rich folk, thank you very much," he grinned as Tim had to have known he was joking, he was nowhere near as bad as that sounded. "Smokey might not let our fire get big enough to roast a marshmallow, you ever think of that one?" He understood that Smokey was a real person, but the idea of a great big bear in a ranger hat made him chuckle.

Silence fell upon the taxi as well as it drove through the city and Carter's attention was focused outside. Could the driver even see where he was going? Were they going to hit something, or more importantly someone, that'd come out of nowhere? Were they ever going to get to Morgan's? The taxi stopped and Carter thought the worst, but Tim asked if he'd been ready and Carter looked over before glancing out the window again, "i'd be more ready if you tell me where we even are." Carter shrugged, Tim seemed sure enough for the both of them so he just went along with it, and he reached into his pocket and pulled out his cash. He gave the driver as much as he needed for the lift, and an extra fifty like he had promised. He was pretty sure he just made that mans night, "be careful out there pops," he clapped the man on the shoulder hearing his thanks as he was pulled from the taxi.

He would have thought that he'd knock on the door, but when they were both inside Carter just looked around wide-eyed. "Shouldn't you have knocked or something? Who do you know in a house? I am so confused," he looked puzzled as he glanced around. Carter saw a dim light coming from another room and noticed the entrance of the baby and the woman who looked to be around their age. He did all he could and smiled into the light giving her a nod for a hello when she flashed it between the both, but he stayed silent still unsure of what they were doing here. Carter took his shoes off and placed them neatly by the door, he was in a strangers house so had to be on his best behavior, and he quietly followed Tim into the other room. Whoa, two babies now, Carter wondered if there was a baby in every room, and cautiously looking around he tried to listen for a hint of more to come. He casually glanced at the babies and back at Tim, what the hell was going on here? He was so confused.

[/blockquote][/justify]

[afa]

Tim scowled when Carter said he would make a bad spy. "Hey, that table is evil all right?" he pointed an accusing finger back into the darkness, "you're lucky I can walk at all." His knee was still throbbing a bit, but he was quite sure he hadn't been crippled for life or anything drastic like that. As they made their way down the hall, Tim smirked. "Blackout to burnout... sounds like the name of a song," he pointed out. One of those hipster tunes that really had nothing to do with the title, most likely. At the sight of the blizzard, Tim shook his head. That was the only bad thing about blackouts; you couldn't just go run around outside, as they were usually caused by horrific weather conditions. He grinned, watching Carter catch a snowflake on his tongue. At least there would be tonnes of snow left once the storm passed. Rolling his eyes as his friend said he would just buy character, Tim gave him a look. "Throwing your money bags around as usual, eh? While us normal people have to work to build character?" He shook his head, pretending to be disappointed, but a grin soon formed on his lips.

Tim managed to look more serious at the thought of Smokey hindering their marshmallow-roasting abilities. Or... Morgan. He wasn't really sure whether Carter was still thinking about the bear, or about the mystery person he was being dragged off to see. "We can just bribe him with s'mores or something," he decided, figuring that would work in either situation. By the time the taxi came to a stop, he was beginning to feel a bit nervous. What if this didn't work? What if Morgan and Carter hated each other? He figured they would at least try, but... distracted when Carter asked where they were, Tim shrugged, raising an eyebrow. "Smokey's cave?" He waited as his companion paid the taxi driver, then hustled them up the walk and out of the storm. Had he not been so inexplicably worried, he would have laughed at his friends' confusion; as it was, he simply replied, "she told me to come right in." He looked around, trying to find Morgan, noticing the light coming toward them and trying to act natural.

"Yeah," he nodded, looking over his shoulder, "it's pretty bad." Tim felt the slightest bit relieved when Morgan smiled at Carter. Maybe everything would be okay. And if not, well, he just wouldn't ever bring the two of them together again. "Yeah," he nodded, gesturing awkwardly to his friend, "Morgan, this is Carter. Carter, this is my friend, Morgan. And uh... Maria." Judging by the lack of excitement in the baby's face, it definitely wasn't Sophia. As they followed Morgan into the next room, Tim heard an odd sound coming from the couch. It took him a moment to realize that it was, in fact, the other baby. How did they even make such strange noises? "Hey," he gave the tiny person a wave as she recognized him, grinning as Morgan struggled to put her sock on, then glancing uncertainly at Carter. "And um, that's Sophia. Don't worry, there are only two."

Just as Tim was about to die from awkwardness and panic, Morgan spoke up, again managing to calm him down without even realizing it. "Yes, s'mores!" he repeated, holding up the marshmallows, "they're not coconut, but I figured you wouldn't kill me for bringing regular this time." He moved to sit, making sure Carter was following and not just standing there with a dumbstruck look on his face. Once his friend got over his shock, things would get better, right? Yes. For now, he would just have to be extra talkative or something. "Very very pregnant," he added, remembering the first time he'd been in this house. It hadn't been snowing, then, but he'd felt just as awkward. Maybe he was just one of those people who could never really be in a comfortable situation. Figuring he should start explaining some things to Carter, he glanced at the man, offering a sheepish smile. "They were born.. a bit after Christmas, right?" he looked to Morgan for confirmation before continuing, "I drove her to the hospital. The most stressful thing I've ever done. And then they cut her open and took these guys out. And here we are." He gestured to Maria and Sophia, proud of the small part he'd played in their birth.

ooc CAN WE JUST ROAST MARSHMALLOWS AND ALL BE FRIENDS?

[holloway]

"Only Two." Morgan repeated what Tim said with emphasis. "Two is enough for me." She let out a somewhat forced laugh and set the sticks down in front of them, looking at the marshmallows as Tim explained they weren't coconut. She made a face. "Ugh. I'm so sick of anything coconut. I definitely over-ate it when I was pregnant." She opened the bag and put a marshmallow on the end of the stick she chose, poking it just above the fire. "Yeah. I was big when I was pregnant. Too big, if you ask me. I couldn't so anything without struggling. Not even stand up." She wasn't joking. Morgans tone was somewhat average. She kept her eyes on the fire and pulled her knees up to her chest. Sophia cooed and babbled as she chewed on her hand, keeping her big blue, smiling eyes staring at Tim. If he looked at her, she would smile. She kicked her feet and wriggled around and was able to keep her head up for a minute or two. Maria didn't make much sound. Quiet little grunts once in a while was all the noise she made. Her eyes were wide awake and alert now, and she was watching both Tim and Carter, curious. She did try to smile, but she was still learning. So, her smile only lasted maybe a couple seconds before it was gone. Morgan actually popped her cooked marshmallow into her mouth and set her stick down, and held Maria in her lap. Sophie was propped up on pillows beside her.

Morgan gave Tim a look when he started talking about the day she went into labor. "Yeah, they were born a couple of days after Christmas." She smiled a little. "And it was stressful for me, too. I was sitting in pain in the passengers seat thinking about how I'm going to be cut open and my babies are going to be handled by complete strangers. That's even stressful for me to think now." She cradled Maria close and smiled at baby Sophie. The baby smiled back and wiggled and chewed on her hand. "I think Sophie is teething." She frowned a bit. "But I don't know." She looked over at Tim to see what he had to say about it, and then looked at Carter. "Sorry, we're just talking about babies. They're kind of a... uh... big thing for me." She smiled a little. "How did you guys get here in that snow?"


notes;;
I tried, I tried.
outfit;;
click.
tagged;;
Tarter whot whot
credit;;
I made this.

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[carter dominic andrews]

Carter burst out laughing nodding as he rolled his eyes, "Of course, that table is absolutely evil, and I think the other night I actually heard it talking to the chair over there, some evil dastardly plan of total world domination." He was not the sharpest tool in the shed though, and honestly had only known the word dastardly from a cartoon he'd watched not too long ago, but he of course would keep that key information to himself. "Maybe we should write one then," he made the minor suggestion though his writing abilities had never been that good. For the rest of the time he tried to stay as quiet as possible trying to figure everything out in the dark. "Damn straight, it's not like I have anything better to buy with all that extra cash," he flashed one of his million dollar grins but because of the lighting it'd fallen on blind eyes.

Once Tim had gotten off the phone though Carter seemed to be an entirely different person. He was quiet and well reserved once the taxi had gotten there, and most of the ride had been rather silent. It was kind of weird considering Carter was not the quietest of people, but since he hadn't a clue about where he was going he was somewhat nervous, and quite uncharacteristic to him he actually was quiet when nervous. When he felt the taxi stop he'd manage to ask only that one thing, and when Tim answered he just laughed cracking that wide grin as he shook his head. "Ask a stupid question, get a stupid answer," he raised his shoulders to shrug as he paid the man and got out of the back and followed Tim up to the doors. He had expected him to knock or something, but instead he walked right in and Carter followed nervously. Tim soon explained himself and Carter felt a bit better, but still he would love to know whose place this had been.

When the woman came into view Carter could not recognize her, but she must have been someone nice enough if Tim had been friends with her. He just figured that she'd been here babysitting for the night or something, but something told him his gut feeling was wrong about this one. Tim introduced Carter to the female, Morgan her name had been, and he just picked his hand to do an awkward wave in her direction. "Hi, to the both of you," he looked from her to the baby in her arms, Maria the name had been, and smiled at how cute the little thing had been. Carter made sure to follow close behind Timmy into the next room, and that is when he heard another odd noise and soon found it to be another baby. He looked back in the direction he'd came to where he'd seen the first baby, and now here there was a second one just hanging out? Did this woman have babies all over the house? "Hi Sophia," he knew babies couldn't talk, but honestly what else was he supposed to do?

Carter felt odd when they were talking about coconut and babies, but he knelt down and sat on his knees near the fireplace as he picked up a stick like he was supposed to, and soon he popped a marshmallow on it and peaked it into the fire. Hearing Tim and Morgan talk about her pregnancy made Carter understand that this chick was not just playing house for the night babysitting, but infact she had been the mother all along. Hearing the story about the trip to the hospital had Carter laugh out of nowhere after he'd ate his marshmallow, s'mores being next on his agenda. "were you right in the room with her watching?" He could never see Tim doing that sort of thing, but on the other hand it was rather cute that he could help her out like that and be such a good friend. He heard the apology coming from the blonde and shook his head as he looked in her direction, "it's fine, talk about what you'd like, i'm just here for the food," and to make a new friend apparantly, but right now Carter felt weird with the babies around and all the pregnancy chat, but he was sure he'd warm up to it at some point, hopefully.

NOTES. I am hoping he won't be so damn shy and annoying forever!

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[afa]

Carter's quiet attitude did not go unnoticed by Tim, but he didn't mention it. After all, he hadn't really explained what they were doing... he hadn't even ever told Carter about Morgan, despite the craziness of having her in his life. He wasn't quite sure why. Probably because there had never been an appropriate time to say it. He couldn't just walk in the dorm after getting back from the hospital and go, 'oh, by the way, I helped some chick give birth today.' The whole event had just been too... big, too unbelievable. He felt like Carter needed to see her to fully understand, and so he was risking an awkward evening in order to clear things up. As the other man spoke, Tim grinned, shaking his head. "It wasn't a stupid question. I'm just being difficult," he admitted proudly.

Once he'd formally introduced Carter and Morgan, Tim bit his lip, eyeing the two of them. So far, so good. Nobody's head was getting bitten off, and while Carter wasn't his usual outgoing self, he didn't look like he was about to sprint for the door, either. He smiled sheepishly when she pointed out that two babies were quite a lot. It just seemed so normal now, for some reason. "It must be a relief to get back to normal size, then," he replied, remembering Morgan's story about getting stuck on an exercise ball and trying not to laugh. He kind of wished he could've seen it, but he doubted she would appreciate this knowledge. Almost nervously, Tim watched as Carter took a marshmallow and began to roast it. He didn't want him to feel out of place, but he was just so used to talking to Morgan about babies that it was hard to break away from the topic. Then again, maybe he was worrying too much. He needed to stop stressing himself out. Eventually, his eyes drifted over to Sophia, and he grinned at her. She didn't know how good she had it, just sitting there having all her needs catered to.

When Carter asked whether Tim had been there watching, he jumped a bit, realizing that he was supposed to have been. "Well, I didn't actually watch. I didn't think they'd appreciate me throwing up all over the place." He glanced at Morgan, "uh, not that you're gross or anything, but... you know," he shrugged, then laughed. Even the thought of watching any sort of operation take place left him feeling queasy. "I was there the whole time, though. And I saw the babies after... they were tiny!" His eyes widened as he tried to express his wonder to the other man. "I had no idea people could be so small. The whole idea of babies is weird. Like, how do we go from that," he gestured to Maria and Sophia, "to this?" He waved a hand at himself, shaking his head. He probably sounded like an idiot, but he didn't care.. anything to prevent an awkward silence. At least Morgan seemed talkative. As she mentioned how she'd felt in the passenger seat, Tim shuddered. "I don't even remember going there. I just know we were here, and then we were at the hospital."

Tim began to reach for a stick, intending to prepare a smore, but was distracted by the thought of Sophia teething. "Really?" he asked, trying not to appear too excited. He turned, focusing on her little face curiously. After a moment of of consideration, he lifted his eyes to Morgan, looking a bit confused. "How can you tell?" he smirked. He knew he was completely clueless, and wasn't about to pretend otherwise. He figured teething would probably involve pain or chewing things, or both. When Morgan apologized to Carter, Tim took the opportunity to get back to his marshmallow-making, grabbing a stick and stabbing the fluffy goodness onto the end of it. At Carter's reply, however, he scowled playfully, punching his friend lightly in the arm. "So rude. Why do I even take you places?" Of course, it was usually Carter dragging Tim off on random adventures, but that was beside the point. Poking his marshmallow into the fire, Tim answered Morgan's question. "We took a taxi. Apparently fifty dollars is the appropriate tip for a safe ride," he raised an eyebrow at Carter, hoping to get some sort of reply out of him. Then, having spoken quite enough, he shoved the marshmallow into his mouth.

[holloway]

Morgan nodded when Carter asked if Tim was there with her, but Tim's answer made her frown. She had thought he was there the whole time with her. She tilted her head a bit at Tim. A typical move a woman made when she has just heard the wrong answer. "You weren't? You said you were there with me." Morgan felt somewhat betrayed thinking Tim had left her all alone in the operating room. What if something had happened to her? What if something happened to either of the babies? Or both? Not like Tim would be able to have done something about it, but still. Morgan squinted a bit, but soon her expression lightened back up when Tim began to talk about how tiny the babies were when they first saw them. She looked down at the babies, feeling a bit emotional. After taking a deep breath, Morgan smiled softly at Tim as he went on about the size differences. "Well it's also weird to think... Like a year ago, they didn't even exist. They w ere nothing. They weren't there." Morgan stared into the fire, amusing herself at the thought. Okay, technically a year ago they were just starting. But that was beside the point. Morgan was hoping neither of the two boys would do the math.

Her eyes moved from Carter to Tim when he seemed to take interest in Sophia getting teeth. "Yeah. Already." She moved a bit and picked Sophie up. The baby cooed and stuck her feet up in front of her. One foot had a sock on it, the other was completely bare. Morgan smiled at the baby and cradled her close. "This is how I can tell..." Morgan fought with the babies hands a little, pushing them away from her slobbery mouth and she rubbed the bottom gums in the front of the baby's mouth. Sophie grimaced and pulled her head back and made grunts and wiggled more. Morgan smiled and looked at Tim. "Your hands are clean, right?" Without waiting for an answer, she took Tims hand and put one of his fingers in Sophia's mouth. Instead of fighting this time, Sophie just stared at Tim, her mouth opened and a smile on her face. She let out a couple laughs and paused, biting her gums down on the boys finger. Morgan had forgotten about that. "Oh! I forgot to tell you she bites." Morgan laughed and moved Sophie so she wouldn't have no more fingers in her mouth. "Did you feel it though? She's got one growing on the bottom. It's not quite through yet but it's working hard." Morgan patted the baby's leg, amused at her smug expression toward uncle Tim. "Would you like to feel?" Morgan looked over at Carter, trying to keep him involved, even though he didn't seem too excited about the fact he was surrounded by babies and baby talk.


notes;;
Sophia is a bully D:
outfit;;
click.
tagged;;
Tarter whot whot
credit;;
I made this.

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