Origins: Snapshots In Time 231

"Who first?" Chang asked, smirking faintly as she now had both of their attention.

Matthew shook his head. And as Chang had a feeling he would do, nodded towards Rina. She was the one who needed the most work on getting used to just having a child - ANY child ! - in her hands. Let alone one that was hers. Chang merely nodded, and held the child out for Rina to take. "She will be exposed to english as well." She stated. "Might be broken like mine."

"It doesn't matter..." Rina frowned, taking the child and just looking her over. As much as she wanted to, she couldn't deny it. The child looked too much like both of them to deny it.

"You first then." Chang replied quietly as she set the child into Rina's arms. "I will be inside. Guan-yin is here for her lessons." And she turned around, heading back inside and leaving the two of them alone with the child.

"She's gotten so big." Rina frowned. "It's a little fast for that, isn't it?"

"No. Not really." Matthew murmured, just turning his head to watch her and the infant. "They grow pretty fast in the first two years, but especially the first year..."

Rina just sighed. "Not that it's her fault. It's not. But I still feel cheated."

"I don't blame you." Matthew said simply, and folded his arms up around his legs as he watched. "Test-tube is not... ideal... and it really shouldn't be done except in cases of couples who need it done." He shrugged slightly.

"Already been a year." Rina commented, leaning her torso back a little bit before the child could get her hands wrapped around her necklace. "Five will go quickly, won't it?"

"Yep."

"What do we do when it hits five?"

"Cross that bridge when it comes to us, Rina." Matthew shrugged. "I have a lot of years ahead of me. Already told you one possibility."

"Yeah, but you're about as ready to hang up that uniform as I am." She muttered, turning the girl around and sort of standing her on her lap a bit. "When do they start walking?"

"I'll do it if we need to and you damn well know it." He said bluntly. "Nothing says I can't go back in later. I've got enough time. And... if she hasn't started yet, she will soon."

"How do you know?"

"Set her down."

"What?"

"Set her down." He repeated calmly, reaching over to lift the child out of the woman's arms with a chuckle. "Gently. But set her down and watch. On her back, like this..." He reached to take the blankets that had been wrapped around her and set them down, cradling the child easily in one arm until he had the blankets settled, and then laid the girl down on her back. "They sit first, usually... then roll over, then crawl... sniper crawl is common. Michael did the roll-over, then sniper crawl to walk...he skipped the sit-up only stage. Bridgette went through all the stages... Kelly sat, then rolled, and skipped crawling completely, she got right up to grabbing furniture and walking... they go through a lot of stages in the first year, and it can happen quickly depending on the child. Or it might happen a little slower, also depending on the child..." He trailed off.

Rina frowned, just listening to him. It still amused her how much of a home-type he really was under all the bark and camoflauge. It was funny. And cute. And totally didn't fit in with the uniform he wore! Which was probably exactly what made it so damn funny. But she let him take the child and set her down. And just sat there quietly as he talked. And while he was talking, she just watched the child. "What about food? When do they get off the bottles? How do you know when to start giving them baby food or table food? Matthew, I'm NOT ready for this. I don't know the first thing about kids, dammit!" And whatever else she was going to say, died quickly on her lips when the child started rocking herself back and forth and then flipped over. And she just stared as the girl simply started to pull herself across the blanket with her arms. She was kicking her legs a bit, but the child was more using her arms to drag herself forward than anything else.

Matthew tilted his head. "She'll probably start sitting up soon if she hasn't already... likely be walking along furniture and objects soon." He rumbled softly. "And food is..." He shrugged. "When the bottles aren't enough anymore, you start mixing it with bits of cereal... bottles to baby food. You don't have to buy baby food specifically. Just take table food and keep it bland, mash it down to a paste, like the consistency of mashed potatoes..." He just quietly answered her questions and then finally looked at her. "No one's ready for it. Even under normal, proper circumstances." He said bluntly. "Not the first time. We weren't, either. It took us a bit of fumbling until we really got the hang of balancing it all."

Rina sighed, and then leaned forward, reaching her hands down to the girl. "It's not fair."

"I know."

"She's too damn cute and I'm not ready to discharge."

"I know."

"She looks like you..."

"Mostly coloring. Has your eyes and cheeks." He replied simply, and watched as the girl got her little hands wrapped around Rina's fingers and pulled herself forward again. And then stopped as she reached the first step from the little stairs they were sitting on. She pushed at the steps with her hands and then let out a howl, her face screwing up into an annoyed expression and Matthew had to chuckle. "...and your temper."

"Oh. Sure. Like you don't have a temper!" Rina shot back, and reached down to lift the child up again. The girl was squirmy; shifting and rolling and moving around in her arms. "...damn it. We're not even going to see her when she's learning to walk, are we?'

"Maybe not." Matthew shook his head. "Depends on how often we get out here..."

"You mean how often they let us take furloughs at the same time."

"No. You don't NEED me here to come see her. Just get a message to Chang. Or Shun and Xiao-xiao. Any of them would make sure you got here." He said firmly.

"I don't think Shun and Xiao-xiao would appreciate--"

"They'll respond to you as politely as anyone else in the pack." Matthew cut her off quietly. "Don't start that. If they didn't want you here, they would have snarled about me bringing you back with me."

"True." Rina frowned, and moved to quickly catch the child's back as she almost, but not quite, managed to sit up. And then again. And again. It took the child three or four tries before she was finally sitting up and trying to reach for the necklace again. "...she's as stubborn as you are, too." Rina snorted.

And Matthew just smirked, deciding that it would be wise to not point out just how stubborn Rina could be, too.