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Post by skybright on Apr 13, 2007 22:55:12 GMT -5
"No kidding." Daws smiled faintly at him. "All things considered -- we're pretty lucky people."
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Post by Jordanna on Apr 13, 2007 23:02:34 GMT -5
Vance smiled quietly at her. "Yeah. We are."
"I don't believe in luck," Sid asserted. "You two made it 'cause you're tough an' ya got character. And," he cast a smile around the group gathered in the kitchen, "we've all made it 'cause we got each other."
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Post by skybright on Apr 13, 2007 23:30:07 GMT -5
Daws grinned at him. "I won't argue with that. I may have played up the whole lone-wolf private eye image for what it was worth -- but this," she gestured around the kitchen with her knife, "This is definitely better."
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Post by Jordanna on Apr 14, 2007 19:49:18 GMT -5
"I found that out for myself," said Miriam with a smile, leaning her head briefly against Alex's shoulder as she dumped a bowl of chopped potatoes into the pot beside his cutting board. He smiled and kissed her cheek.
Vance's cellphone chirped, and he wiped his hands before fishing it out of his pocket. His side of the exchange consisted of exactly two words.
"Yeah?... Okay." With a shrug, he put the phone away. "That was Handy. He'll be here in about two minutes, so somebody better be ready to open the door for him."
"I'll do it," Grace volunteered, and scampered off.
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Post by skybright on Apr 15, 2007 21:11:06 GMT -5
Daws chuckled. "Did anyone really not see that coming?"
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Post by Jordanna on Apr 15, 2007 21:30:20 GMT -5
Vance rolled his eye. "Another two pairs of hands'll be useful--if he can actually keep 'em on his work."
"Handy's come around a coupla nights, on the quiet," Sid grinned. "I think they're kinda cute tagether."
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Post by skybright on Apr 15, 2007 21:44:17 GMT -5
Daws chuckled. "Yeah, there's something to be said for that goofy grin Handy gets on his face when Gracie's around."
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Post by Jordanna on Apr 15, 2007 21:51:37 GMT -5
"Whadaya mean, 'goofy'?" Handy chirruped, sauntering into the kitchen behind Grace. He grinned at Vance. "I got the stuff you wanted, Jerod."
"Okay." The Major met the inquisitive looks directed at him. "Don't get excited. We just had to pull together some staples for a few of our people who... don't get out much," he concluded carefully, glancing at Tara.
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Post by skybright on Apr 15, 2007 22:02:33 GMT -5
Daws nodded in understanding and waved vaguely at Handy. "Been keeping you busy running errands, huh? Well, pull up a knife -- there's plenty of chopping to go around."
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Post by Jordanna on Apr 15, 2007 22:15:20 GMT -5
"Oh, great," Handy sighed good-naturedly, accepting the two knives Alex handed to him. "Ya know, I think I'm the only civilian that's ever been ordered to do KP by a real officer."
Vance wedged a small potato into Handy's mouth. "Former officer."
"Well, like you was sayin'," Sid observed, "the uniform never comes off on the inside."
Tara watched, intrigued, as Handy peeled potatoes with both pairs of hands. After a moment she gathered the courage to ask, "Is it--hard--to do things with all your hands?"
Handy glanced up, giving her one of his peculiar jerky shrugs. "I just gotta be kinda careful. I got four hands, but I've still only got two eyes--so it's hard to watch everything at once. I've learned to do a lot of stuff by touch."
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Post by skybright on Apr 15, 2007 22:26:19 GMT -5
"Such as certain card tricks, for instance?" Daws asked in a lighthearted tone.
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Post by Jordanna on Apr 15, 2007 22:33:15 GMT -5
Handy rolled his eyes. "Yeah, that too. Sheesh, you guys make it sound like I used to be a professional cardsharp or somethin'. Sure, it was useful if I ever ran into the right kinda drunk idiots--but pockets were my specialty."
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Post by skybright on Apr 15, 2007 22:43:15 GMT -5
Daws stifled a laugh and held out her hands. "My mistake. I'll be sure to keep your . . . unique activities straight from now on."
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Post by Jordanna on Apr 15, 2007 22:52:43 GMT -5
Handy gave a satisfied nod, and Tara laughed. "You'll have to teach me that stuff sometime."
"Not on your life," Sid retorted. "I like these guys, but they can keep their bad habits ta themselves."
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Post by skybright on Apr 15, 2007 22:58:34 GMT -5
Daws chuckled. "Aw, c'mon, Sid. Even a perfectly legitimate and upright businesswoman like myself can find a need for a knowledge of certain . . . dodgy activities. I mean," she grinned teasingly, "If I didn't know how to use burglary tools, what'd I do when I lock myself out of the office?"
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Post by Jordanna on Apr 16, 2007 20:38:22 GMT -5
Sid relented slightly. "Well... I can see where it'd help in your line a' work, I guess." He frowned lightly at his daughter. "But it's still not somethin' you need ta know. Anyway... not yet."
Tara grinned at him patiently and gave him a peck on the cheek.
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Post by skybright on Apr 17, 2007 21:41:12 GMT -5
"That's the spirit, Sid." Daws winked playfully at Tara. "Another couple of years and we'll get you a regular curriculum of useful talents lined out, Tara."
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Post by Jordanna on Apr 17, 2007 22:08:16 GMT -5
Sid winced and scowled.
"So how long does it take this stuff to cook?" Vance asked Alex, moving to the counter to dump his pot of diced potatoes into the pot he had charge of. "Later I'll have to call Rog over to help cart it back to his place."
"Oh, about forty minutes. Of course, you have to cook all this stuff in stages." Alex grinned deviously and glanced around the group. "By the way, we need a volunteer to chop the onions."
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Post by skybright on Apr 17, 2007 22:17:57 GMT -5
Daws gave a wry grin and glanced around at the rest of the group. "Well, since I seem to be the furthest along," she shrugged fatalistically and reached for the bag of onions. "At least I'm not likely to catch raw vegetables on fire while I'm chopping 'em."
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Post by Jordanna on Apr 17, 2007 22:22:31 GMT -5
"I don't catch things on fire--not without meaning to, anyway," Vance protested mildly. "The boomers are more percussion than incendiary. Need accelerant for a decent bonfire."
As he spoke, the glint in his eye reminded the adults that the Grenadier had an unorthodox definition of bonfire.
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