Nathan and Sooraya (and Rachel), Thursday around lunch

[x-cable.livejournal.com]

Nathan shows up at the door of Sooraya's room, birthday girl-in-tow, for another English lesson.


"Are you going to knock?" Nathan asked, smiling at Rachel as they stopped in front of Sooraya's door. "Remember, Dad's only got one good hand, and he's using it holding you." Rachel blinked big grey eyes at him, and Nathan's smile grew almost mischievous. "Knock-knock," he said, and knew Moira would kill him if she was here. Rachel had picked up the trick from one of her many babysitters recently - no one was copping to the deed - and had been doing it rather persistently ever since.

Rachel broke out in a huge smile and leaned forward in his arms, hitting the door with one little hand once, twice, three times. "That's my girl," Nathan said fondly and kissed her forehead.

Though it was still somewhat strange to be receiving visitors so often (if once or twice a day could be considered often), Sooraya was growing more accustomed to it and was even starting to look forward to the next time someone would knock on her door. This time the door opened promptly after the knock, and Sooraya's face brightened as she saw Nathan standing there. Not only that, but he seemed to have brought someone else... another tiny someone else. "~Hello,~" she greeted him, looking up at the redheaded baby in his arms. "~Please, come inside.~"

"~Good morning, Sooraya,~" Nathan replied in Dari, smiling broadly as he stepped into the guest room. It was every bit as neat as it had been the previous day, and the day before. Sooraya was apparently devoting some of her time to ensuring that her surroundings were as meticulous as was humanly possible. Clearly, I need to get her out doing something else... "~This,~" he said, leaning over to set Rachel down on the floor, "~is my daughter, Rachel. I decided it was time that you and she met.~"

A little unsteady still - although she was definitely getting the hang of walking at a really scary pace - Rachel pulled herself up using the dresser beside her and looked up at Sooraya, beaming. "Mah!"

"~She's beautiful,~" Sooraya remarked, kneeling down in front of the little girl. She was wearing some of the new clothes Marie had brought for her, modest trousers and tunic in a dark blue fabric and a new headscarf. Sooraya held out a finger to Rachel, smiling as the baby wobbled unsteadily where she stood. "~Come here, little one,~" she murmured.

Rachel saw the smile, and, as was in character, instantly decided that Sooraya was Good People. "Oooh!" she cooed happily and lurched forward, arms outstretched.

"~She's a year old today,~" Nathan said contentedly, watching. "~It's hard to believe.~"

Sooraya spread her arms for Rachel, catching the redhead as she nearly made an abrupt landing on the floor. Grinning now, she helped the little girl to stand again, lifting her easily despite her small frame.

"~They always seem to grow up faster than you would expect,~" the Afghani girl replied. "~You can tell she is a very happy girl.~"

"~She really is,~" Nathan said with a chuckle, and then went over and sat down, letting Sooraya and Rachel play on the floor. "~So how are you today? Getting used to the time change, I hope...~"

"~Yes, I think so. At first I didn't know when to sleep, but now it is getting easier to go to bed when it is dark out. My stomach is still confused, though," the girl said, glancing up at Nathan and grinning. "~It's hungry at the strangest times. But that too will adjust, I think, eventually.~"

"~I thought you and I could head downstairs to the sunroom, or even out on the porch, and have an English lesson before lunch,~" Nathan said amiably. "~I left Angelo very busy in the office, so I feel less guilty for sneaking out.~"

"~I would like that,~" Sooraya said, nodding and patting her hand against Rachel's outstretched palm. "~I don't think I can learn fast enough to say everything I'd like to say to the people who live here,~" she added, thinking of the visit from Marie and her gratefulness at the woman's generousity.

"~You're learning very fast, though,~" Nathan said with perfect honesty. "~I think you have a talent for languages...~" He grimaced as Rachel abruptly started to levitate. "Sweetie, please don't get on the ceiling," he said, switching to English and reaching out to snag the edge of her shirt. Ray promptly howled and kept rising.

The baby was flying. Although Sooraya had seen a few strange and surprising things (mostly through the window of her room) since arriving at the mansion, this was probably one of the strangest. Seeing as Nathan barely blinked at it, however, meant that it probably wasn't that unusual. Biting her lip as she watched the baby float up higher, Sooraya couldn't help but smile at the indignant expression on her face. "~Rachel-jan, you should listen to your papa,~" she said in what she hoped was a helpful tone. "~I do not think he wants you to go so far away.~"

"~Usually I just float up and get her,~" Nathan said with a sigh, frowning up as Rachel found the ceiling and started to crawl around gleefully. "Dammit," he muttered. Should've brought the leash. "Come down, Ray? Please?" He gave her his best imploring look. She blew a raspberry at him.

"~Maybe we can have the lesson here today?~" Sooraya asked, a bit anxious not to miss the chance to practice her English. "~I'm sure she will get bored and join us when she sees what fun we are having without her.~"

Nathan laughed suddenly, his gray eyes sparkling a bit mischievously. "~Ignoring her is usually the best way to get her attention, yes.~" He gestured to the other chair. "~So,~" he started, then switched to English, "how are you today, Sooraya?"

The girl pushed herself up off the floor and took the seat across from Nathan, folding her hands in her lap. She listened intently to his words, her mind racing quickly to remember and interpret what they meant. "I am good," she said haltingly, seeing from Nathan's expression that she had responded correctly. "How are you?" The words were strongly accented but recognizable at least, as she was copying directly from his phrasing.

"~You can say~ I'm good, ~as well,~" Nathan said, stressing the contraction. "I am. I'm. ~It's a way of combining the two words,~" he said, switching back fully to Dari. "~A contraction. Both are correct.~"

"I'm. I am. I'm." Sooraya supposed she could see how the two words would go together. "~All right. I'll try to remember that.~"

"~You're doing wonderfully,~" Nathan said, his gaze steady and full of warm approval. "~English is a difficult language.~ Are you hungry?" He paused. "Would you like to eat? ~They mean the same thing. I'm asking you if you want food.~"

Sooraya nodded, secretly agreeing with Nathan's summation of the English language. "Yes?" she ventured. "~That answers both questions... is that right?~"

"Yes." Nathan eyed Rachel, who abruptly swooped down over his head to land on Sooraya's lap. "~She's shameless,~" he said with a grin.

"~Perhaps she heard us talking about food,~" Sooraya guessed, tickling the redhead's stomach lightly and laughing. "Are you hungry?" she asked Rachel slowly, tilting her head to look down at her. "Would you like to eat?"

"MAH!" Rachel exclaimed, clapping her hands.

"~She has a very healthy appetite. She's just discovered cheese recently, and likes it a great deal,~" Nathan said, then switched back to English. "Rachel eats cheese."

"Rachel eats cheese," Sooraya repeated. "~That means...~ She eats cheese?"

"~Yes! Exactly,~" Nathan replied happily. Rachel squealed and threw her arms around Sooraya's neck, giving the girl a big sloppy baby kiss. Nathan paused, grinning at his daughter. "~She also makes a very good teaching aid.~"

"~Yes, she's very helpful,~" Sooraya said, grinning back. "~You are very good at teaching, just like your father,~" she informed the redhead. "And you are good." She glanced up at Nathan, looking a bit confused. "~Is that how you say nice, too?~"

Nathan tried not to choke on a laugh. "~Actually, that suggests she's well-behaved. Maybe we want to be looking for another word there...~"