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Keeta was about 6 months along now, and was full into the "nesting" phase described in the books she had purchased. She found that she was actually beginning to enjoy the thought of preparing for this child, whatever it may bring with it. It was still a scary prospect of course, but she knew that the people at the Casbah would stand behind her and so she had finally started to feel better about this whole thing.

"Hmm....." she mused, scratching a spot on her nose and getting 'River's Edge' green-blue paint on it in the process. She had finally narrowed down the paint choices to a few colors and now stood facing the wall in the spare bedroom, where four different swatches had been painted. Her brow was furrowed in thought, as she tried to decide what color she thought would be best for the baby's room. After another moment staring at the wall, she was no closer to deciding than she had been a half an hour before. Sighing, and deciding she would have to wait and get some input from friends, Keeta turned back to other parts of the project.

When she had gone to the hardware store, she was told she would need to sand all the wood surfaces that would be painted over. The gentleman helping her in the paint section, who could see an person who didn't have a clue from a mile off, told her she should get a sanding belt to make the job easier. Keeta took his advice and purchased the machine, figuring that he knew much better than she. He had given her brief instructions on how to use it, but now as she stared it down, it looked a bit scary.

Keeta was adorned in safety goggles and work gloves, having been just about to turn the sander on, when she heard a noise coming from down the hall. It sounded like knocking. Was someone at the front door?

She stepped out of the room and started heading towards the door, when she heard it again, and it was definitely not coming from the front door. It almost sounded like it was coming from the bathroom.... Was someone in her bathroom? How and why would they have gone in there? This didn't compute for Keeta, who had forgotten that detail of hers and Ceres' conversation a few months ago.

"H-hello?" she asked the door, feeling a little silly. "Is someone there?"

"Oh! Ceres!" Keeta said, her face breaking into a smile and removing her safety goggles. "No, I wasn't expecting you, but you and Sky are welcome anyways. Come in! Come in!" she said, ushering them through the doorway into the hall.

"Forgive my appearance , if you will. I was trying to get some work done in the spare bedroom that I'm converting for the baby." She put her hands on her more pronounced belly. There was no hiding it now.

"I'm afraid I don't have a guy to be handy around the house, so it's all up to me. Can I get you guys anything? I have water, juice, a couple of sodas...."

"Thank you," Keeta said, smiling shyly at the compliment as she led them towards the kitchen. "My friends keep telling me that enough, that I'm starting to believe them. It's hard though, when you start to feel so huge. You look beautiful too though, so I suppose I can believe it about myself." She laughed a little as she pulled the juice out of the fridge and reached for a couple of glasses. Keeta filled both and handed them to Ceres and Sky.

"And yes, I finally started to feel the baby move a couple weeks after we had that meal together. He or she is moving much more often now and I think it's to the point where other people might be able to feel it soon. The baby seems to be sleeping at the moment though. It's been quiet for a while." She filled a third glass for herself and took a sip from it before continuing. She shrugged.

"It's more work without help, but in the end it's ok. It means no bickering over how to decorate the room, or how much or little to buy, things like that. There's plenty I've seen, read and heard about with couples who argue over those kinds of things. Plus, it forces me to learn more about the technology over here. I'm afraid I'm a bit technophobic." She looked at the couple a moment, thinking.

"Well maybe there is something you could help me with. I'm stuck between a few paint colors and wouldn't mind some input."

Keeta smiled at Sky when he spoke. It had been the first time she had heard his voice. "You're welcome Sky. It's nice to hear you speak."

"Well...mine isn't all that bad yet, but I expect he or she will be soon enough. I've at least had my bladder used as a punching bag a couple of times." Keeta made a face. She was a bit concerned for Ceres though. Was it normal for the baby's kicks to hurt when there was still a couple of months before they were due? She filed it in her memory later. Maybe she would bring it up with Ceres later, but she didn't really feel that now was the time.

"I'm glad you guys didn't have problems deciding how to do the room, even though people had differing opinions. I'm sure it helped knowing you're having a girl though. Gives you a more limited color palate to choose from, in some ways. I'm a little more stuck because I don't know the sex of the baby yet. Dr. London gave me the chance to know the last time I went in, but I turned it down for some reason. Maybe I'll change my mind by the next time I go in though. I'm rather curious.

"Anyways, if you want to see the colors I've picked, why don't you follow me back to the baby's room. The samples are up on the wall already." Keeta started heading down the hallway, apple juice in hand.

"Why can't you have a second child?" Keeta asked. There was very little she knew or understand about where Ceres came from, but then again, she figured Ceres knew very little about Evin, so they were about even. She led the two of them into the bedroom she was setting up for the baby. It was rather a mess, with plastic, paintbrushes, paint and other tools on the floor. She indicated the 4 color swatches she had put on one of the walls. All of the colors were pastel shades. They were in shades of yellow, peach, yellow-green and blue-green.

"I just can't decide. If I knew the sex of the baby maybe it would help but..." she shrugged. "And I don't want to buy any other furniture or decorations or anything until I've got a color picked out."

"Ah, I see. That would make it difficult. Well, it sounds like you have a choice at least, and even having a choice makes things a little better." Keeta smiled and turned to look at the colors on the wall while Ceres and Sky studied them. When Ceres suggested a mural for the walls in the baby's room, Keeta was a little surprised.

"I'd never even thought of that," she admitted. "But I don't think I have the artistic talent to pull off something like that. I can paint a wall one color I think, but that's not nearly as involved as a mural. I could hire someone I suppose, but if they hadn't seen it themselves, could they really do it justice?"

Keeta was a little taken aback by Ceres' request and offer. She could see what Evin looked like through her eyes? Part of her was a little worried at what else Ceres might see. Would she only see Evin? Or would she see the other more shameful pieces of her past? Keeta hesitated a moment.

"I...I guess. You could do that? You would do that for me?"