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Having just settled down in his favorite arm chair (the one that had the patch on the arm and was so worn that the leather felt like butter and the cushion had practically formed into perpetual Jack-butt shape), Jack found himself extremely reluctant to do his fatherly duties and merely grunted out a "knock it off, you" in the direction of Brunswick. The feien immediately sunk into a sulk, walking away from Evie's cup and flopping down on a paisley-patterned bean bag. Evie giggled and clapped. She clearly thought the situation was hilarious.

Jack sighed in resignation. "Did he hurt you, baby gel?" he asked. He knew she would never say yes. The kid had more heart than self preservation.

"Nuh uh." Evie spun in her cup for a moment and then moved to rest her arms on the edge closest to Jack. She settled her chin on her folded arms and smiled sweetly. "Brunswick doesn't pinch hard. He does it to show he loves me."

Brunswick snorted and made an elaborate show of shifting to prove that he did not at all love her... Even if everyone in the room knew that she was right. Her cheek wasn't even red.

Before Jack could finish his smirk and reply, there was a knock on the front door and he grimaced. "Who the bloody hell is out in this downpour?" he muttered under his breath, levering himself into an upright position reluctantly.

"Bloody," Evie mimicked cheerfully.

"... Don't say that, pet. It's bad. Pretty words for pretty gels, right?" With a sigh and a mental note to start watching his language on top of attempting to not smoke, Jack sauntered out of the living room with its welcoming fire into the hallway and down it, stopping at the front door. He paused, closed his eyes in concentration, and then opened the door as he reopened his eyes. "Hullo?"

"Hey." Jack regarded his late-night visitor with a mild expression, broken by only a single raised eyebrow. He had forgotten he had given Shade his address. "What's up?"

"Got one already," Jack replied cryptically. Nonetheless, he opened the door wider and stepped back to allow Shade to enter. "Where's your little lady?" he asked.

That broke Jack's look of indifference and he tilted his head to give Shade and his coat a long slow study. "A hot tub?" he repeated. "In your pocket?" Straightening, he grinned. "That's one hell o' a coat. Anyway, what order you want it? Towel, tea, fire?"

Brunswick appeared in the doorway to the hall, fluttering. He scowled for a moment at Shade and then darted over to land on Jack's shoulder. "Where's the diva?" he asked, eyeing the other man.

"Consider it done." Jack pointed towards the doorway through which Brunswick had come. "Fire's in there. Bruns, lad, take 'em in there. You know which chair's mine an' all. I'll just get a towel outta the cupboard down here." With a gentle push, he knocked the feien from his shoulder and turned on his heel to disappear into the kitchen for a moment.

Brunswick caught himself with a sharp snap of his wings and rolled his eyes after the departed Englishman. "C'mon," he ordered. "It's nicer in here." He suddenly stopped and hovered in the doorway, though, mouth stubborn. "No smoking or cursing around Evie," he added. "Jack's rules. When he remembers." Then he turned and led the ex-assassin into the nice, cozy room.

As if that were her cue, Evie pushed herself upright, face all smiles until she dimpled. Her brown eyes shone at the prospect of meeting someone new. "Hello!" she answered. "My name is Evie. Are you a friend of my Daddy?"

Brunswick made a choking noise that sounded suspiciously like a laugh.

That earned him a giggle and a shake of her head. Her ponytail bobbed with the vehemence of her denial. "I'm not a feien," she replied. "Brunswick is a feien. I'm a... " She hesitated and screwed up her face in thought. Jack had yet to adequately explain what she was and, even though she had met another like herself, she still did not have the appropriate word. "Well, Daddy says I'm a little shot of sunshine."

The moment a new face appeared, Evie waved wildly. "Hello!" she called. "My name is Evie."

Brunswick sat down beside his adopted sister's cup and propped his elbows on his knees. "Hey, Callisto," he offered. "Looking good."