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"Well, that was a complete waste of time."

Jack grimaced, resisting the urge to flick the hope feien off his shoulder by using his free hand to cup the outside of the cup holding his "daughter." His glove served to keep the glass a bit warmer and Evie silently hunkered down in the liquid behind his hand, almost hiding. "Shut it, Bruns," he muttered. "Who knows what their bloody hours are? An' I couldn't find them in the phone book so we just had t' hope. Evie's not..." He caught himself and forced a smile to his face. "Evie's gettin' too big for her cup. I reckoned the best place would be there."

Brunswick was quiet for a moment and then craned his neck so he could peer down at the little girl. She definitely did seem out of sorts. She hadn't tried to hug him all day. That and she still looked a bit pink. Then there was the seed and that growing peel. "Well... They suck," he finally announced. Stepping from Jack's shoulder, he fluttered down to stand on his bond's wrist, hands clutching the rim of the cup. "Hey, Evie. Hey."

"Mmm?" She turned a bit listlessly and smiled faintly at him. "Hey, Brunswick."

"How would you like to meet my sister?"

That brought a light to the girl's brown eyes and the smile expanded. "You have a sister? Really? Is she nice?" Evie pushed past the seed to put her hands on top of Brunswick's. "Is she my sister, too, then?"

Brunswick hesitated, resisting the natural scowl that always wanted to appear when anyone tried to claim his siblings. But Evie was sick and she was just a little thing... "Maybe. You'll have to ask her," he finally answered. Then he tilted his head up to look at Jack. "Take us to BeeVee's house," he ordered. "I know it's right by here." He pointed.

It occured to Jack to argue but, at the eager look on Evie's face, he dismissed it and obediently made the turn. "Right. You get t' explain why we're there unannounced then."

*

Ten minutes later, Jack was knocking on the door. Brunswich was on his shoulder, looking smug, and Evie was beaming in anticipation. "I hope they're home," Jack muttered.

"Hey, pet." Jack grinned crookedly. "Sorry t' drop in on you like this but we were out an' Bruns wanted t' introduce Evie t' Bavaria. If that's okay?"

Brunswick left Jack's shoulder and flew over to land on Trin's without waiting for permission. His own grin was cheeky. "And you, too," he offered generously. Then he pointed to the little blonde in the cup who was staring up at Trinity with big brown eyes. "That's Evie."

"No way. It's got too much apple peel and Evie in it." Brunswick snickered. "We'll have to get our jacuzzi somewhere else. Evie? This is BeeVee."

Evie beamed at both Trinity and Bavaria. Waving her little hand, she bobbed in some form of a bow. "Hello!"

"Do you mind if we pop in for a bit, Trin?" Jack's smile was rueful. "It's a bit cold out."

"If you have any tea, that'd be perfect." Stepping through the door, Jack carefully shut it behind him. Then he obediently followed Trinity to her kitchen.

"Can I have some milk?" Evie looked up at Jack and then quickly added, "Please?"

Brunswick shook his head before landing on the table. "Just Evie getting kind of... I don't know what's going on." He shrugged. "I've been working out and Jack does his book thing. He and Shade tried baking the other night. It was bloody hysterical. They burned everything they tried."

Jack settled into a chair and set Evie's cup on the table in front of him. "Ta muchly, Trin," he said. "The cold goes right through you out there. Wouldn't have even been out 'cept we went t' the shop where I got Evie here. Wanted t' see if they had bigger cups."

"My peel is growing," Evie explained solemnly. "So I might be, too."

"Nope. Shade's been behavin'." Brunswick smirked. "And, BeeVee, I don't -have- to peep on Callisto. She swans around the place and likes being looked at. She's not so bad once you get to know her, though. Total princess prima donna, right, but she's nice to Evie and it's fun watching her make Shade do things for her."

Jack absently stirred in milk and sugar and pressed out his tea bag. Evie accepted her own milk with a thank you and a sweet smile. After giving herself a thorough milk mustache, she swallowed and shook her head slowly. "I don't know, Miss Trinity," she admitted. "It's kind of uncomfy and I know Daddy worries." She held out an arm. "And I'm really not supposed to be pinkish like this. I'm more... What did you call me, Daddy?"

"Golden."

Brunswick frowned. "Why's she doing that?" he asked. "Did you ask her to? What color is she painting it?" He shot a suspicious look sideways at Trinity.

The corner of Jack's mouth twitched but he kept himself carefully silent. Evie's mouth quirked, too, but it was clearly in thought. "I don't know," she said hesitantly. "-I- don't feel any bigger. Just my peel. Oh, and the seed." Looking around, she clearly wanted to set her cup down. Jack took it from her helpfully. Then, hands free, she ducked down and returned with a tenuous grip on a slippery apple seed. "And this appeared, too."

"I don't have a clue what's goin' on," Jack admitted quietly. "An' I can't get a hold o' the shop t' see if they know."

"Yeah! Sure." Brunswick grinned hugely. "It can be like a vacation for you. Maybe it'll get her to finish your room quicker." He shot a naughty, mischievous look at Trinity, sharing the grin with her as well. "I haven't seen you in ages, BeeVee. I miss you."

Jack nodded and picked up his cup to sip at his tea. "Yeah. That's the plan. They just don't answer their door!" He sighed and looked over at Evie as she carefully lowered the seed back into her liquid. "I don't know what t' do for her," he murmured. "She's not in pain but she's startin' t' get scared."

For the moment, though, there was no way on earth that Evie could possibly look less scared. She was humming, turning slowly in her cup as she inspected the kitchen with a vague smile.