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Julia:
She got down from the cabinet, her lips curving into a grin as she came back to the table with the caddies. "Sorry," she apologized with that same grin about climbing to the top cabinets "And I do have my own... but it's still fun to sneak your food." "I'll be careful." Ingrid assured him "I'll even eat with a fork and keep the chopsticks for another time. I just want to see the - oh, just a moment!" Julia blinked as Derek's sister raised a hand and was up and heading for the kitchen door "What...?" "A photo album," Ingrid answered before heading toward the informal morning room, having seen it earlier "I'll be right back." Julia then turned to Derek, smiling softly, putting her hand over the one he had on the table "Not to worry, I won't look if it's those pictures you were talking about earlier, even if I doubt you took a bad picture " Her gaze moved to his hand, wanting to trace it with her thumb and more but being able to restrain herself and keep it to the light touch that it was. Then she raised her gaze back up to him. She
wondered if he could tell what she was thinking, if she were being that
obvious.....
Derek:
Derek nodded slightly when she apologized and gave her a
slight smile. "Actually, I was thinking you could have some of mine on your
plate," he elaborated, sighing inwardly and resigning himself to the fact that
she was just going to be eating his dinner no matter what. However, it has
always been like that, starting with the pickles she swiped off his plates ages
ago. There was something oddly comforting in the fact that she hadn't
really changed at all. At least not in some respects.
Derek hoped Ingrid would take pity on him and keep the embarrassing pictures to herself. His own eyes lingered on Julia's hand and then met hers. He thought he saw something flickering there, that he hadn't noticed before. Tentatively he moved his other hand on top her hers
squeezing it gently.
Julia: She wanted to lean toward him, to kiss him again... but she also knew he was a private man and the thought of Ingrid coming back in, even if she were Derek's sister.... well Julia didn't want to see or make him uncomfortable, especially now when they were beginning to discover how the other felt. But that didn't stop her from at least letting herself succumb to the first urge she had had and lightly trace his hand with the tip of her thumb. "I.. um, promise not to," she spoke low, trying to keep her mind on anything other than what she really wanted to do, even if her gaze kept going back to his lips and then his eyes "eat all your food..." Ingrid:
Ingrid entered the small den and started to look around,
knowing she had seen the photo album there earlier that day. It was a
family album, with pictures of each of them on different family holidays and she
was sure Julia would love to see it.
Derek: Derek shrugged slightly, he really didn't care that much if she did, he realized. "I don't mind sharing," he told her. "So, what else does this evening entail?" He was most curious about this. So far, he had had a lot of fun. He liked the gentle touch of her hand. it felt, oddly as though it was something he'd been missing for a long time. Perhaps, Ingrid and Michael were right. It was still a struggle in his head though. The morality of it all, but those voices were quieting down some. Julia:
Julia smiled slowly, the feeling definitely still there but also the camaraderie that actually made it easy to half joke with him instead of falling into an awkward moment "Well we won't make you sit through mud packs or anything. Actually we're playing it by ear with the one stipulation we agreed on when we planned this - that it can't be an all night thing so I get some sleep so a certain someone won't be concerned about lack of sleep and me running myself to the ground. "He's real serious when it comes to looking out for people." She continued to trace his hand and moved it into a more comfortable position on her leg as she tilted her head to the side "And maybe I'm getting soft... or something, but I don't mind it when he does his stubborn routine anymore." She chuckled, both of them knowing her too well as she added "Of course I'm pretty sure it's not all gone, the minding, but... so far it's not bad." And speaking of looking out for people... She gave his hand a gentle squeeze, not wanting to ruin the mood but knowing it had to have burdened him at some point during the day "Have you heard anything about Rachel?" She thought about Kat too and admitted to him that she had asked to go back to school, adding "I could drop her off and pick her up if it's okay for her to go. Poor kid probably feels a dose of cabin fever." Derek:
"He sounds like a very wise man," Derek told her. "You should listen to him." His forehead creased a little when she mentioned him being stubborn, where on earth had she gotten such a notion? "I am not the stubborn one," he said emphatically. At the mention of Rachel and Kat, all the frivolity left his face. "No, I haven't spoken to Alex recently, but the last time I talked with her, things were not good. Both you and she seem to think Kat is in some sort of danger. If that is the case, I'm not certain sending her back to school is the best idea." Julia: "You are too." Julia responded with a ghost of a grin "But I wouldn't have you any other way." She listened to him as he spoke and then suggested "Well I could take her on a kind of field trip.. maybe to the museum or something." Then she squeezed his hand again, apologetic that she brought up the subject, to the point that his brows were turned into a slight frown of concern and not the relaxed expression and even jovial one of seconds ago. "And I do listen to him." she added quietly, reaching out with her unoccupied hand and stroking one of those brows "I just hope he listens to me and tries not to worry so much tonight." Derek: Derek gave her meek smile. "He'll try," he promised. But that was the best he could do. All of this had been weighing heavily on his mind, even while he enjoyed dinner, it had still be there, looming just below the surface. It was after all his job to worry about the members of this house. "Don't suppose a trip to the museum would be a bad idea. At least she would be supervised. I'll consider it," he promised. Julia:
"Good enough." she returned the smile with a quiet one of her own, slowly lowering her hand. She knew he'd continue to worry but, like earlier, at least he promised to try and enjoy the rest of the night. "So," Julia asked with a half chuckle "What's the guest count of the House now... half a dozen? A baker's dozen? Poor Derek, we just won't leave you alone and invading your territory and everything." She meant 'we' more in the invading sense than guest, especially considering as many times as she herself had had to borrow his UV. Maybe she should look at buying one of her own. Just one small problem though - how did one purchase one when a credit check would be needed and most of her records still showed her as deceased? Used car maybe. And Jonathan had been joking earlier that they were going to have to start rooming people together at the rate of people coming in, so she figured that more people had shown up after Milo. Thinking of Milo inadvertently brought thoughts back of the house she had been at but she brushed those aside. Derek didn't need to know she had been wigged by a house. She felt pretty damn foolish for letting it get to her like that. But then again.... her gut instinct rarely went into foolish mode and had a tendency of being right. Derek: Derek laughed. "It's a big house, though it does seem to be getting smaller all the time. I told you about Megan and Kristen Adams turned up this afternoon. She's from the Boston House. Though, she spent several months here a while back." He studied the far away expression in her eyes. "Julia? What's wrong," he asked his voice taking on
a tone of quiet concern.
Derek:
This information was a little unsettling. Julia was not one to spook easily and the fact that she disliked the place so, was definitely a cause for concern. "Would you like me to go with you? Ingrid can watch Kat. I think she's tiring of my company. In fact, she's gone out of her way to do things I told her not to," he added thoughtfully. "Perhaps they could go to the zoo and we can meet them for lunch." Julia:
She would like it but she also didn't want to burden him
on top of everything else he had to worry about.. and then she remembered
Sam. She made a sound close to a muted laugh and admitted to herself that
the reaction to that little tidbit was something she hadn't felt before and she
really wasn't sure what to make of it. Derek wasn't a fickled person and
had already taken the stand he wasn't too fond of the woman's advances... but
Sam came across as someone that wouldn't let that really stop her.
That thought only lasted a moment as she focused on the
more important matter of the house and her gut reaction to it.
She did point out her first concern though "Derek you have
a lot on your plate right now... and as much as I'd like you
there...."
She lowered her gaze to their hands, absently comparing
the size of her hand against his before squeezing his again and thinking maybe
she should just say no thanks and be sure to keep a cell phone handy in case
something did happen...
Derek:
"I could use some time away from here," he admitted. "Perhaps Kat's cabin fever is contagious." The fact was he did not want Julia going alone, not feeling the way she did and with Alex out of the house there was really no one else to go. He couldn't ask any of the others. It just didn't seem right, especially when he needed people around to keep an eye on Megan. Julia:
"In that case," she said, an amount of relief evident in
her gaze and crooked grin "I'd love it but word to the wise, you better dress in
something you don't mind getting all Marry Poppins-like. I swear that
whole house is an invisible chimney."
Ingrid/Julia:
She found the album and tucked it under her arm, heading
back toward the kitchen and holding it up as a kind of prize when she entered
"Eureka, mission accomplished."
Julia gave her a grin and moved a little as she slipped
her and Derek's joined hands out of view and squeezed it once more before gently
releasing it. She got the impression he wasn't ready to include anyone
in to what was happening between them, as private as he was, and even
shared it for a different reason. She wanted to experience it with him..
not a whole set of eyes watching.
"Ready to head up then?" she asked, standing and picking
up the drink caddy to carry up, slipping him a wink to show she did understand
before pointing the food out to him "If you would, kind sir."
Ingrid chuckled "Oh I'm ready. Do I need to carry
anything?"
"The photo album." Julia answered, waiting to make sure
Derek could handle the dishes on the tray and ready to help if he
couldn't.
Derek:
Derek lifted the tray easily. He caught Julia's wink and couldn't help but smile at her. Of course he had his own answer to Ingrid's question about what to carry. Moving around the table, still carrying the tray laden with food, he leaned down slightly and kissed his sister's cheek, "yes you need to carry a fork," he reminded her and then headed up the stairs. He stopped at the landing realizing he had no clue as to where he was supposed to be going. Julia:
"And a fork." she added after Derek had said his part, going to get one out
of the drawer to give her, as well as getting a couple for Derek and herself if
either felt like using them. Then she left with Ingrid, looking at the
photo album curiously.
"Ingrid's room." she grinned as she spotted Derek at the base of the stairs
waiting. Both she and Ingrid started up the stairs at a pace that wasn't a
job but not a normal walk either, just as Ingrid explained what kind of photo
album it was.
"Vacation and awards a few of us have gone through. Including one of
me trying my best not to land on certain areas of my body while trying to learn
to sky.
They made it to her room and she opened the door for the other two to
enter, Julia chuckling at the image Ingrid made with her description.
Ingrid set up the albums on the foot of the bed and motioned for Derek to
put the food on the low table at the end of it.
They ended up spending the next couple of hours looking over photos, awards
and odds and ends and finishing off their dinner.
"Aren't you proud of me, Brother?" Ingrid teased him when it was time to
call it a night "Not a single embarrassing photo."
Julia chuckled as she collected the empty boxes and dishes. The only
thing near embarrassing had been Ingrid's pictures where she had landed more
times than not on her backside than upright in her skies.
"Thank you for sharing them." she said as she reached the door, Ingrid
holding it open for them "I think I just found a good raiding team."
Ingrid grinned "I think I have too. It was definitely a pleasure and
I'm sure we'll have fun tomorrow as well."
They had told Ingrid about the idea for the zoo and she had agreed readily,
knowing Kat would like to get out as well.
"Perhaps we could introduce the art form of kitchen raids to our mother."
Ingrid suggested with a whimsical and teasing grin at her brother as she kissed
him on the cheek good night.
"Well, you let me know and we'll set something up."
Ingrid wished them both a good night and closed the door after they
left.
"I wonder if I have to confess for liking this so much." she asked herself
with a small chuckle as she made ready to go to
bed. |
