human connect to human [ JAKE ]

[Brianna McLaggen]

The blonde girl let go of the little boy's hand to pull out a threadbare blanket from the thatched basket that was swinging from her left hand. She placed the basket on the soft grass and used both hands to flap the blanket open while the little boy watched. She set the blanket close to the pond, not too close to get her or the blanket wet, but close enough that she could keep an eye on the boy and help him within a second's notice if he needed it.

Brianna smiled at Matteo, settling down on the blanket, while the boy gazed longingly at the ducks frolicking by the edge of the pond. Seeing his glance, Brianna hid a grin as she pulled out the bag of old bread crumbs from the basket. "Here, Teo," she murmured, passing the bag to him. "D'you want to feed the ducks? I've got a spot of reading to do, and we just ate a huge lunch; are you still full? We'll eat a bit later, yeah?"

Matteo nodded shyly. "Yeah, I'm 'bit full," he agreed, pulling the bag of breadcrumbs from her hands with a little hesitation.

Brianna nodded in the direction of the ducks, pulling out her iPod and headphones as she did so. "Go on, then, I bet they haven't had lunch - look, they're quacking at you to feed them!" She smiled encouragingly at him. "I'll be right here, okay?"

With a final parting shy smile, Matteo steadily walked towards the water, opening the bag. Brianna watched as his fingers carefully took a small amount of crumbs and tossed it towards the ducks. It didn't go quite as far as he'd been hoping, Brianna could see the small V between his eyebrows form, but the ducks went crazy for it anyway. She watched as his face relaxed and brightened as the ducks squabbled over the feast, jostling each other to get closer - but not too close - to the hand that fed them.

[Jake Gullane]

There were times when Jake definitely felt that he had two lives. In one, he was Jake, part of the gang made up of himself, Rupert, David and Kieran, staying in their shambles of a flat, serving drinks in the Three Broomsticks and flirting with pretty patrons, exchanging dirty owl messages with Rosa and passing out drunk on the couch.

In his other world, which was the one he was currently inhabiting, he was Daddy, a responsible adult who picked his child up on time from Nursery and remembered to pack her a lunch on the days she was staying over dinner time and knew how to brush hair without tugging. Today was not a Nursery day; it was Saturday, but Emma was working, so he had offered to have Skye all day. The little girl was excited by the prospect of an entire day with him, and she was, as always, full of energy, so he had stuck her outdoor shoes on and taken off to the park, hoping she would tire herself out, running around. She had insisted on wearing a pink tutu over her ordinary t-shirt and leggings, and he had given up trying to persuade her that that was not park clothes.

Near the duck pond, he paused. A blonde girl was sitting on a blanket not far from them, watching a small boy not much bigger than Skye throwing bread to the ducks. It would be good, Jake thought, if the boy was friendly and the two kids could play together. Skye didn't know the meaning of shyness, and would play with anyone.

"Daddy, look, he's giving the ducks bread!" The little girl tugged on his hand. "Can I give the ducks bread?"

"I don't have any bread, sweetheart," Jake pointed out. "But you could go and watch if you want."

He glanced over at the girl - who looked younger than him, which would be absurdly young to have a child that age, so he supposed that either it wasn't her own child, or she was older than she looked. Skye was off, bouncing up to the little boy and announcing herself with a loud (and broadly Lancashire accented) "Hi!", clearly hoping to be offered some bread to throw. Jake hovered nearby, ready to dash to the rescue if the boy showed signs of not wanting to play - or if Skye did anything that looked like accidental magic.

Looking again at the girl, he gave her a slight apologetic smile.

"Sorry. She can be a bit over friendly sometimes," he said, nodding towards his tutu-clad daughter, who was beaming happily at her new found friend.

[Brianna McLaggen]

The blonde girl was distracted from her musings at the sound of a loud, little-girl voice and the accompanying adult male voice talking about Matteo, standing by the pond and feeding the ducks. She looked up to see the owner of the little-girl voice bouncing happily towards Matteo, who looked frozen at the sudden appearance of the pink-tutu-clad ball of energy. Brianna nearly laughed out loud at the contrast between the boy and the girl, but watched carefully in case the little girl accidentally did something to push Matteo too far out of his comfort zone - which she seemed very capable of doing. Not that Brianna wanted to hover; she felt it would be good for Matteo to have friends his own age, and considering his shyness, was thankful that it had been the little girl to start the conversation, and didn't seem eager to end it any time soon.

Brianna's eyes met the owner of the adult-male voice, and she smiled in response to his apology. "Not a problem," she replied easily. She didn't tense up talking to a stranger, not while she was in Muggle London - she loved the feeling of anonymity the vast city offered her, that no one could possibly know who she was, or what she'd done. And besides, she trusted a parent who clearly loved his little girl.

At the thought of the little girl, her gaze went back to the duo by the pond, at Matteo who seemed to miss the hint of sharing the bread. "Matteo, darling," she called out, "d'you think your friend wants to feed the ducks, too? 'Cause there's lots'a ducks still hungry out there - you think it'd be better if the two of you fed them so they get full faster?"

The little brown-haired boy half-turned to give her a doubtful glance, before offering the bag of breadcrumbs to the girl with a breathless, "Hi."

Brianna grinned at the duo's turned backs, before turning her attention back to the man standing by her blanket. "Would you like to sit?" she asked. She nodded at the two children by the pond, saying, "Looks like they'll be a while."

She busied herself with pretending to unfold the blanket from underneath her, while clutching her hidden wand and using all her will-power to cast a non-verbal Enlarging spell. To her relief, more folds of the blanket appeared, and she carefully tucked the wand, along with her iPod and earphones, back into the basket before standing up to unfold the blanket fully.

[Jake Gullane]

Jake smiled, relieved, when the girl replied in a friendly way. The little boy seemed a bit shy, but not too upset at having to share his bread, and Skye was already digging into the bag for a handful of crumbs.

"What d'you say, Skye?" he called to his daughter, and she turned a sunny smile and a 'thank you!' on Matteo. Leaving the kids to make friends (Skye was already introducing herself and asking his name and where he lived), he turned again to the girl - or young woman, he supposed he should say really - and looked at her again. He definitely wouldn't have put her at any older than nineteen, though looks could be deceiving. There was something subtle in the way she interacted with the boy that somehow didn't quite say mother and child though, so maybe she was babysitting, or even the kid's nanny or something. Jake supposed vaguely that some rich parents could afford that sort of thing, and did not have to do what he and Emma did, juggling their full time working hours with Skye's nursery routine, and otherwise relying on Emma's parents and Jake's mother to help out.

"Thanks," he said, in reference to both the bread and the offer of a seat, smiling back at her. She was pretty, and had a nice smile, both things that Jake was never immune to, even when he was playing his role of a good father. He watched quizzically as she unfolded the blanket, which was larger than it had seemed... If he'd been in a Wizarding area, he'd have assumed an Enlarging spell, but they were deep in Muggle London... He shook his head, dismissing the issue, and smiled at her again as he took a seat, as at ease in social situations as his daughter was.

"I'm Jake," he offered casually. "And that's my daughter, Skye."

[Brianna McLaggen]

Brianna's smile widened at the obvious love between the man and his daughter as the little girl brightly thanked Matteo. It was the kind of relationship she'd wished she would have had with her unborn son, and the thought of wanting something she could never ever have sent a pang through her heart. But she fought to control the clouds; she shouldn't be thinking about herself, wallowing in her own self-pity, at a time like this. Right now, she should be happy that Matteo was happy, and entertain the innocent man who knew nothing about her.

"It's fine," she answered to his thanks, brightening her smile once more. She figured that since they'd be sitting there for a while, they might as well get started on lunch. She reached for the basket beside her, at the same time asking, "Would you like something to eat?", and missed his quizzical look at the bigger-than-expected blanket.

Brianna bought the basket to her other side, so that it was closer to the man but not directly in between them, before sitting herself down on the blanket. She pulled out a couple of Saran-wrapped sandwiches and seriously peered at the contents between the slices of bread. "I think we have cucumber and tomato, grilled cheese, and... I have no idea what that is." She held up a third parcel, letting out a small laugh. "I think it's chicken, but let's call it mystery meat."

She was interrupted in the middle of her hunt in the basket for more food by his introduction. She surfaced to smile at him briefly, and replied, "Nice to meet you, Jake. I'm Brianna, and my baby over there is Matteo. I mean," she caught herself, grinning again, although her eyes showed a little of the pain that was boiling inside her, "he's not my baby. I'm babysitting for my room mate's mum - Matteo is her godson."

Her eyes wistfully gazed at the little boy, who looked to be competing with the girl - Skye - as to who could throw the farthest. "I wish he was mine, though," she said softly. "He's the sweetest little boy in the world."

[Jake Gullane]

There was something... slightly off about her smile, Jake thought. It was pretty and friendly, but every now and again it seemed to slip, and there was a sad expression in her eyes, especially when she talked about Matteo. However, that was none of Jake's business, of course - he had no idea what was going on in her life, and he certainly wouldn't expect her to tell him, seeing as he was a complete stranger. Everyone had their own problems. Jake's own big ones were mostly in the past, although he would never quite get over missing a year of Skye's life, and there was the ongoing problem of money always lurking in the background.

"Oh... thanks," he said uncertainly, as she offered him sandwiches. "I shouldn't though - I don't have anything to offer you. We were going to grab lunch somewhere after we'd been to the park. I promised her a treat. And if you share with Skye and me, you probably won't end up with much left," he added with a grin. "She's a locust."

"Nice to meet you too," he said politely, then laughed. "That's a slightly complicated relationship. Your room mate's mum's godson. He seems like a nice kid though." He looked at her, slightly thoughtfully, as her smile slipped again. If she was as young as he thought, she had loads of time for having kids, so why the wistful expression? He almost said something about when she had her own kids, and then it occurred to him that she might not be able to or something, and that might be why she was slightly sad, so he bit the words back.

"How old is he?" he asked instead. "Do you guys live round here?"

[Brianna McLaggen]

She thought she saw him become a little cautious or hesitant at the expression on her face - she must not have been sincere enough in her happiness. She pulled herself out of her past and enjoy her present, at least for now. Here was a polite enough, admittedly good looking man who was clearly a loving parent. Just because he was good looking, didn't mean that she wanted to flirt; however, why deny herself enjoying the company of another parent who just happened to be good looking?

Her responding smile to his reply was encouraging and a lot more genuine. "Mrs O'Malley packs enough for the Queen of England and all her entourage. She frets that we'll get caught out somewhere in the middle of nowhere without food so she 'covers all possibilities'." She laughed a little. "And besides, Matteo is usually very shy so I'm very thankful that Skye has managed to liven him up a little." She smiled at him sincerely. "Really, it'll be fine. Matteo usually wanders off after his second or third sandwich, so we'll have enough for Skye."

They'd probably have more than enough, because really, the basket was magicked with a Refilling Charm. Mrs O'Malley really did panic about having food shortages on these picnics. One would think that Brianna would invite a whole host of people to picnic with her and Matteo, or at least eat multiple times a day at different locations or something.

Brianna laughed again at his deduction of her relationship with Matteo. "Yeah, that's why I just call myself his babysitter." Her laughter paused at his next words, but the smile on her face stayed. "Yeah, he really is a nice kid. He's sweet and easy-going - I don't think I've ever seen him have a tantrum. He's very different from his younger sister, but I think that can be a bit understood seeing as she's only a baby."

She turned her head to face the playing children, subtly studying the little girl in the pink tutu. Did her father know that tutus weren't the best park clothes? Or maybe she just came from ballet. "He's also very different from Skye. She seems very engaging. I bet there's not a quiet day in your household," she teased.

She saw, out of the corner of her eye, that he'd wanted to say something, something different than what he'd actually said. She shrugged it off, deciding that whatever he'd wanted to say was probably better not being said. "He's turning five soon," she answered, smiling at Jake again. "How old is Skye?"

Brianna shrugged her shoulders, busying herself with moving sandwiches around in a hunt for the cucumber and tomato ones, Matteo's favourite. She didn't exactly know how much to tell a random Muggle about where she lived. "The flat I share is just up the road, maybe twenty minutes walk. Mrs O'Malley lives a bit further." Much, much further. Somewhere in the middle of the wilderness, really. But she didn't need to tell him that.

[Jake Gullane]

Her next smile was a lot more cheerful, and Jake almost began to think that he'd imagined what he thought was an expression of sadness. His mind caught at the name O'Malley, which seemed somehow familiar - wasn't that the name of the guy who had Ceridwen's in Hogsmeade? - but he didn't spend long thinking about it. There must be loads of people called O'Malley in the world, after all.

"Mrs O'Malley's his godmother?" he asked instead. "Well. Thanks. I'm sure Skye'll think a picnic with Matteo's more of a treat than McDonalds with me. She doesn't know the meaning of shyness," he added. "So if anyone can make friends with him, she can. I'm glad she's confident, though she needs to learn to tone it down a bit sometimes." He laughed ruefully. "Maybe Matteo can teach her a few things. Skye is definitely capable of throwing tantrums. She's an only child though, so I suppose she gets spoilt a bit." He knew, guiltily, that he was the one who did most of the spoiling - Emma was quite strict with her daughter, whereas Jake was pretty laid back, and he allowed his friends to spoil her too.

"Well... Her mum and I aren't actually together, so she doesn't technically live with me," he explained easily. "I have her quite a bit though, especially when her mum has to work. She definitely livens things up." There was not really a quiet moment in Jake's household even when Skye was not there, seeing as he lived with David, Rupert, Kieran and their various animals, not to mention other friends dropping in at any time, but Jake didn't really want to have to get into answering loads of questions about his life.

"She's three and a half," he told her. "So a bit younger, but that won't bother her. Her birthday's in January. Is Matteo starting school in September or has he already done a year?"

"Oh, okay," he went on, nodding. "Mine's a bus ride away, but not too far." He hesitated, wondering if he had just said a bit too much. Hopefully she wouldn't pick up on it, but Skye (and also himself, but less noticeably these days) had a very recognisably northern accent, and he had just said that he looked after her whenever her mum was working. Which wouldn't work at all if he was a Muggle, with Emma living north of Manchester and him in London - he'd be lucky if he saw her every few months if he couldn't Apparate. Damn.

((OOC - Jsyk, the normal thing in England is for kids to start full time school the September after their fourth birthday. So if Matteo is turning five before September, he'd almost certainly have had a year at school already (if he was going to Muggle school in England, which obvs Jake's assuming he is), whereas if he's turning five after September, he'd be starting after this summer. Except that what Jake doesn't know is that Matteo lives in Scotland, where the system is different. In Scotland, he would definitely be starting school this coming September. Although even if he knew Matteo lived in Scotland, Jake probably wouldn't know it was different, since nobody in England understands the Scottish system... Have fun with that information.))

[Brianna McLaggen]

Brianna nodded at Jake's question. "Yeah, he and his older brother and younger sister are staying at Mrs O'Malley's now. Despite the circumstances, I think she's happy that she has an additional three kids now that her youngest has moved out." She smiled at his next words. "Not a problem. Really, I think Matteo would like it if Skye stayed, too."

The sunlight reflecting off the water hit her eyes as she again faced the children playing. She furrowed her eyebrows a bit - was Matteo really leaning down to touch a duck, he might fall in the water--wait, he's just tying up his shoe-laces. In a second, he was standing back up, and Brianna smiled as he threw back his head and laughed, the sound innocent and carefree, as his playmate threw a bigger chunk of bread and it hit a duck's face, making it squawk indignantly. "I think it's nice that she's very open... I don't think Matteo would have been the first to start the conversation, and he looks like he's having fun now." A sudden thought crossed her mind, making her laugh out loud. "She'd be hilarious once she gets to school - she'll have her teachers either wrapped around her little finger, or chasing after her helplessly!"

She turned to Jake when she heard his laugh, and grinned at him, teasing again. "And I suppose you're doing most of the spoiling? You have that look on you." She expelled a huff of breath merrily. "Don't worry too much about it. I'd probably spoil Matteo just as much if he was, you know, open about wanting something. Thing is, I'm not sure what he likes most of the time, so I just get him everything. Really, it's much worse."

Clasping her arms around her knees, she looked confusedly out at the water. "I'm not actually sure about his schooling. He started staying at Mrs O'Malley's maybe six months ago, so I'm not sure what that'll mean. And I think she'd prefer him to be home-schooled, actually." Brianna was concentrating more on how Matteo would go to school - it was something she hadn't thought about too much - that she missed the sudden, albeit slight, hesitation on her companion's side.

She nodded distractedly at his answer about how far away he lived, her mind still on the previous subject. She resolved to ask Mrs O'Malley later about Matteo's schooling, before turning her attention back to Jake. "That's nice. D'you come here often?"

[Jake Gullane]

Jake wondered what circumstances had led to the three little kids living with their godmother, but didn't ask - again, it was none of his business. "Three of them - bet that's a handful," was all he said. "Though if they're all well-behaved, maybe not. Do you just babysit Matteo, or all three of them?"

"Open... You could say that," Jake agreed, following her eyes towards the two children. He hoped Skye was okay so close to the water. Sometimes her confidence was greater than her physical competence, and she was throwing bread with great enthusiasm, showing no regard for the nearness of the edge. Still, it wasn't as if it was deep, and he was very close by - even if she fell in, the water wouldn't be higher than her head, and he could be there pulling her out in just a few seconds. "I'm glad they're making friends though," he added. "Saves me from having to run around after her the whole time."

He grinned sheepishly, finding the girl an easy person to talk to. "Well, I don't have her all the time," he excused himself. "I have to treat her when I do." He nodded thoughtfully at her words about not being sure what Matteo wanted. "How long have you been looking after him?" he asked. "Sorry if that's rude. I just meant that he'll probably get more open with you the more time you spend with him. That's what happened with me and Skye."

"Oh," he commented, slightly surprised. Of course, he'd heard of people deciding to home-school, but apart from some of the magical kids he'd known at Hogwarts (and there were obvious reasons for that), he didn't think he'd ever known anyone who had taken that decision. It would have solved the worry of accidental magic if they had been able to do that for Skye, but of course it was completely impossible. Both he and Emma had to work full time; they couldn't afford not to. Personally, he thought he'd worry about her not having any friends if they home-schooled her, but that wasn't his place to make that sort of comment. "I hope it works out for them then," was all he said.

Luckily, she didn't seem to have picked up on his slip - maybe she hadn't noticed Skye's accent, or maybe she assumed they'd moved down to London. "We've been here before." He nodded. "There are other places we go too." Diagon Alley, for example, but he couldn't say that.

[Brianna McLaggen]

"The two boys are well-behaved enough," Brianna answered thoughtfully, "but Margot - the baby - is quite fussy. Three is definitely a bit too much for me, so I mostly babysit Matteo and sometimes his older brother Michelangelo. Except on weekends: Michel is always out playing sports like football and swimming so those are the special days where it's always just Matteo and I. Mrs O'Malley is full-time with Margot, which I think she prefers anyway."

Tendrils of her hair danced in the soft breeze that came across the pond, and Brianna decided to re-tie her hair; it probably looked pretty messy now.She carefully reached up to undo the ponytail at the back of her head, before retying it. Her eyes rested briefly on Jake's slightly worried face, before turning her attention back to the children, especially Skye. She grinned as the little girl seemed to be using a fair amount of force in throwing the pieces of bread. "She'll be brilliant at shot put if she keeps that up," she teased him lightly. "I'm glad they're making friends too." She smiled, patting her hair down in case any rogue lumps appeared in her re-tying. "Saves me from worrying about Matteo finding it hard to make friends. He's sweet and friendly, just a little too shy."

She nodded in understanding at Jake's situation. "That's sweet; Skye clearly loves you. And," she added, "I've been looking after Matteo for the last month and a half... It's taken quite a bit to be at this stage, so I'm happy already. He trusts me already. I guess it's just how he is at the moment - just shy. We're a completely new set of people for him, so I understand." A smile appeared on her face. "We'll get there."

At Jake's awkward pause, Brianna noticed that he seemed a little surprised or confused. Well, he was nice enough, so she decided to confide in him. "I hope so, too. You see, his parents passed away in a car accident about six months ago... Mrs O'Malley thinks the children just need some time. Michel as the oldest can't cut school, but Mrs O'Malley thinks that Michel would benefit from being busy with other things, so Mrs O'Malley is thinking of sending him to a boarding school that's in the area." In the area of the wilderness, yes. Goodness, this conversation. Brianna sincerely hoped that there was a boarding school in the general area, not too far from here, otherwise her story would be completely blown. "But Matteo isn't like Michel who's outgoing and loves sports and things to do - he's the quiet type, and Mrs O'Malley is afraid that Matteo will just be completely quiet in a place where there are lots of others. He needs his time to trust people, and that usually means personal time."

Brianna heaved a sigh at the complication of Matteo's schooling. "It won't be for long, hopefully. Mrs O'Malley knows that Matteo also needs to make friends... He just needs some time to relax a little. Breathe easy. Make friends his own way, like when we go out. And not leave him in the middle of a classroom with other children."

[Jake Gullane]

"Yeah, I think three might be a bit much for me too," Jake agreed with a laugh. "I mostly leave the playdates and birthday parties to Emma. That's Skye's Mum," he added. "Interesting names," he went on with light curiosity. "Are they foreign?" Of course, some people just chose unusual names for their kids - it wasn't like Skye was exactly your average name either (it had been Emma's choice), but he didn't think he'd ever heard of a kid called Michelangelo before. Wasn't that the name of some old artist? Jake wasn't an expert on art history by any means, but he thought he'd heard that some time.

He laughed at her comment. "Yeah, something like that. I can see her being into sport of some sort - she's got so much energy." It crossed his mind that it wasn't a bad quaffle-throwing technique either, but of course he couldn't say that. "She'll have him roped into all kinds of games before he knows it," he went on. "If she doesn't have any other kids to play with, she ropes me in. Three-year-old imaginations are very weird things." He always tended to emphasise Skye's vivid imagination to people they met in the Muggle world. It provided a get-out if she ever mentioned anything she shouldn't. She knew she mustn't talk about the magical world, but you couldn't rely on a child that age.

Jake nodded again. "Yeah... sounds like you're making progress anyway." He listened in silence to the story of why the three children were living with their godmother, and then looked back at the little boy by the pond with a new pity in his eyes. "Wow, that's rough. Poor kids. It's bound to take them a while to get back on track then." He knew nothing about the private schools in the area, so didn't think twice about her statement. Instead, he hesitated for a moment. She'd trusted him with the story (even though it wasn't her story); he could return that a little. "You'll get there with him, though," he told her. "I mean... you say Skye obviously loves me, but there was a time when I didn't see her at all - a whole year, actually. I was a stranger to her the next time she saw me. It's taken us a good long while to get to where we are. It was six weeks before she called me Daddy off her own bat." And that had been one of the best moments of his life, though confiding that would be taking it a step too far for him.

"Yeah, making friends'll probably be good for him," he agreed, although in truth he didn't really know what would be good for a five-year-old who'd just lost his parents. "Skye goes to Nursery, which is a bit more relaxed than proper school. She's full time there and has been for a long time, which isn't ideal at her age, but we both work, so..." He shrugged. "Not much option. I suppose Matteo's too old for Nursery though."

He was hesitating over offering to let Matteo play with Skye another time. The two children were now poking in the pond with sticks and seemed entirely happy, and he'd like to help the little boy out. But it was so complicated arranging things for Skye, because at some point it was bound to come out that she lived in Lancashire, and how did they explain that?

[Brianna McLaggen]

Brianna smiled broadly at Jake's laugh, nodding in agreement. "Yeah, they're sweet children and all, but it's just a little hard to look after them all at the same time. They're so different, too, so it's hard to find something that'll keep them all occupied."

Dark gold eyebrows furrowed as she glanced at the two children. Surely those breadcrumbs had run out by now? Yes, by the looks of it, they were playing a game involving sticks. She wondered idly if calling them back to eat would be a good thing - what time was it, anyway? She considered asking her new acquaintance for the time, but he was saying something. "Scared to deal with playdates and birthday parties?" she teased again. "And I think they're half-Italian... their last name is Ambrosi, so I'm guessing so. Sorry, but d'you have the time at all? I'm thinking it might be a good idea to eat now, Michel's finishing his game at around six and I'll have to pick him up."

Looking up from her contemplation of the sandwiches, Brianna decided she really liked Jake as a friend. He seemed to be easy-going, got her jokes, and even his laugh was nice. Then again, not too many people laughed freely around her, and that was probably why she really liked being in his company. "She'd probably get along well with Michel, too," she noted, grinning at the way her thoughts were going. "He doesn't really mind younger children - as long as they can keep up with him in sports, and she could probably give him a run for his money, she's so full of energy." She laughed out loud at his comment about his daughter roping him in, reveling in the feel of freedom and happiness. She glanced at the children - still playing with sticks and mud, which Skye seemed to be commandeering - before gesturing to them. "I can't even imagine what kind of games your little firecracker can think of!"

She sobered a little at his next words, admitting, "It's been hard. I'm just never sure what to say whenever he asks questions about... his parents. The first time he asked me where they were, he looked at me like he didn't mean this world, and I didn't know what to say. I told him as much and he just looked away. I felt disappointed in myself that I didn't know the answer. All I can do is try to keep him happy, which he's letting me to do more and more, but sometimes I just don't know what to do." She smiled at his encouragement. "Thanks for the vote of confidence. And I'd never have been able to tell that," she added genuinely, smile soft, "you two have a very sweet and loving relationship."

Adjusting her position so that her other arm could share in on the sun's warmth, she nodded thoughtfully. "Well, he and Skye seem to be having a blast - don't suppose I could ask you if we could schedule a playdate? On whichever days Skye doesn't have Nursery, of course, and only if it's okay with both you and Emma," she hastened to add, not wanting him to feel obliged. It was nice hanging out with Jake and to watch Matteo play and be happy, but maybe Jake wasn't as comfortable as she was, or maybe Skye wasn't too keen on playing with Matteo again - although, Brianna thought, glancing at the two children who looked to be having bucketloads of fun, that didn't seem too likely, did it?

[Jake Gullane]

"I bet," Jake agreed. "How old are the others?" His lips twitched into a smile, not minding her light teasing in the least. "Terrified," he said seriously. "Playdates mean sitting making polite conversation with other parents, who I mostly hardly know, and who obviously don't see me as a competent father at all. And making sure Skye doesn't do anything to upset the other kid. She can be pretty bossy at times. She's not so bad when she's with kids a little bit older than her though, so Matteo ought to be okay." Of course, the real problem, and the reason it was never quite safe to leave her alone at other people's houses, was the risk of accidental magic. She was very young, of course, but there had been tiny signs already. At least at Nursery she was one of a crowd, so nothing she did would be quite as noticeable. "And birthday parties are the same," he added. "Except with twenty screaming kids instead of two."

"Oh yeah.. That sounds Italian," Jake agreed. He had no clue, really, as he didn't think he really knew anybody Italian and had never been there, but from his vague knowledge of the names of Italian football players, it sounded about right. He glanced at his watch. "Oh. It's just gone half four. Do you have to get moving, or is his football close by?

Jake had kind of picked up on the fact that she was angling to have the kids meet up again. And of course, he knew nothing about her or the children, or this Mrs O'Malley, but he wasn't against letting Skye play with Matteo again - and maybe his brother as well. It might do her good, he thought, to play with two older kids who wouldn't be quite so easy for her to push around as the ones her age. Matteo seemed quiet and gentle, so it was possible that Skye would boss him too, but Jake doubted the older boy would take being told what to do by a three-year-old. And if the contact was through Brianna, at least she was easier to talk to than most of the parents of Skye's friends. The trouble was usually that they were considerably older than him - proper adults, living proper adult lives. And they looked at him, the twenty-year-old single dad, and all they saw was some irresponsible kid who'd got his ex-girlfriend pregnant far too young. Brianna was a whole lot easier and less judgemental.

However, he laughed at the thought of some of Skye's games. "Oh, she's got a crazy imagination," he agreed. "But she's only three, so she tends to want to play the same games over and over again." He fell silent as she talked about Matteo and his parents. He'd never stopped to think about what would happen to Skye if something happened to both him and Emma, and he couldn't imagine what you'd say to a little kid in that position. Matteo was barely old enough to understand what death meant; how did you explain that his parents were gone forever? "I think if you don't know an answer, it's better to say that to a kid than make something up," he said at last, slowly. "They'll trust you more if they know you're always honest with them, I think." He also smiled at her words about him and Skye. "Yeah, I... think we're doing okay these days. But it took a while. I was a stranger, so why should she come to me and trust me?"

His smile grew as she asked the question he thought had been in her head before. He might not have been quite so quick to say yes if Brianna hadn't been both good company and pleasant to look at, and if he hadn't also felt bad for little Matteo. But as it was, he nodded. "Sure. Skye goes to Nursery every weekday, but only until two some days. And there's always weekends? Feel free to bring the other kid - Michel, was it? - along too." He grinned. "I don't have many people to talk football with these days, so I'll appreciate that. Do you have a mobile number or something?"

[Brianna McLaggen]

Grinning as her joke was well-received, she replied, "To be honest, I probably would be as well. I can deal fine with the brothers because I know them enough, but throw in other people's kids and I'm like a fish out of water. You'd have to be an incredibly brave man to volunteer to do playdates and birthdays." A finger twirled a stray golden lock of hair before tucking it back behind its owner's ear. "Michel's eleven, so I guess he's a bit too old to organise playdates for, and Margot is fifteen months, I believe? A bit too young, in her case."

Brianna laughed at the completely serious look on her conversation partner's face while he talked about the horrors of playdates and birthdays. "That's the thing," she agreed, face lightening up as she talked. "Mrs O'Malley once organised a get-together with her friends who had young children somewhere in the family - most of them were around Michel's age, if not older - and let all the kids play with each other. There weren't too many, maybe five or six, plus Michel and Matteo, and so she asked me and my flatmate (her son) to help look after them. Of course, considering that her son is a male who balks at the sight of eight children, in the end it was just me, while Mrs O'Malley and her friends had tea." Running a hand down the side of her face, Brianna sighed theatrically. "My god, it was a complete disaster! Three boys were play fighting with sticks. Two girls were arguing over a doll set another girl had brought with her. The two girls came to me and started playing the blame game with me as the referee and who were you supposed to give the toys to when they're not your kids, and, most importantly, when the toys belonged to neither of them? I about died that day."

While she was talking, Brianna had decided to start pulling out sandwiches from the basket, casually peaking in between the slices of bread to have a guess at the filling. She'd separated about ten sandwiches into three haphazard piles according to filling category, still ranting, and by the time she'd finished her story, she was already pushing two sandwiches, still in their cling film cover, to Jake. She smiled easily at his question, answering, "It's just at the other end of the park, but it's still a fair way aways so. But no rush, of course - Matteo!" she interrupted herself, calling out to the little boy whose game seemed to be progressing to who could reach the furthest into the water yet still stay on land. She had a feeling that one of them might fall in soon, and decided to halt their game while everyone still had dry clothes. "Matteo, darling, why don't you and Skye come over and have some sandwiches now?"

The blonde flashed a quick smile. "Children's imaginations are definitely very interesting. I can't even imagine what kind of games Skye thinks up - Matteo tends to play standard games like I Spy, but uses completely different words for his objects. It's fascinating." The basket creaked a little as she pulled it up a little too fast, her mouth creased a little in the corner. "Yeah, I suppose," she answered to his statement. "I just wish I could offer more for him. Answer more questions." She pulled out the big bottle of slightly warm lemonade (thankfully, she'd forgotten to place a Cooling Charm on it) and an opened package of plastic cups. He didn't elaborate why he was a stranger to his own daughter, and as he'd not pried into her life, Brianna returned the favour and refrained from asking questions. "That's sad to hear that you were a stranger to her at first. But I guess it's most important that you're here now, and that she knows you love her - and I'm sure she does, because I can see she's treated like a princess," she added, teasing again.

"I'm not quite sure I'm the person to talk to about football," she joked to Jake as Matteo and Skye seemed to be finishing their game. Brianna knew a little about the sport - mostly that it was a bit like Quidditch - from her Muggleborn and half-blood friends, but she certainly didn't know enough to talk about it to a Muggle. She might end up dropping terms like 'Quaffle' and 'hoops' and besides, she didn't know any football teams. She'd be completely out of her depth in that situation. She was pulled out of her thoughts at the mention of a mobile number. She believed it was some Muggle contraption, but she couldn't actually be sure, and which she didn't have. She decided to play it safe. "Erm, I was thinking actually that you can just pass by on any weekend before noon and we could have lunch? I usually go out with the boys in the afternoon on Saturdays and Sundays, anyway, so... Would that be okay? I can write down my address somewhere."

Brianna prided herself in her ability to trust this man. Her Healer had told her she needed to trust more in the good in others, as opposed to always being suspicious of the worst they could do. Besides, even if Jake did attempt to do something, she had Kaycee as back up, always staying in his room. She would be safe, she trusted Jake - and even if that trust was broken, at least she trusted Kaycee. Either way, she was relying on her trust on people. She congratulated herself.