Growing Pains

Reyna just grinned. "I know it does. Don't say I never did anything for you." She was joking, but that was fairly obvious.

Beth could only chuckle slightly at that. "I guess I can't say that, now can I?" She was in a very good mood at the moment, much like Reyna was. Even if things didn't work out between her and her son, she'd still be a god mother. "We should head back out before the others start to wonder about us. Besides, I want to spend more time with my granddaughter."

The older woman pushed herself from the bed. When they headed out, Kieth seemed to be gone but Sheila and Richard were there. Sheila noticed them and smiled coming over. It had taken only a short amount of time but the little girl was opening back up rapidly. "What did you do granny?"

Beth smiled warmly. "Just had a talk, that was all. Where's your daddy at?"

"The boy went to work." Richard said. "He was going to be late if he didn't hurry up."

Reyna sighed. "Ah, the trials and tribulations of dating a working man. He's not always here when you want him." She chuckled, then smiled at Richard. Despite their very rocky first encounter, she held no hard feelings toward him.

The feeling was about mutual. Despite his sometimes grough mannerism's, Richard wasn't really the type to usually hold a grudge. Sheila glanced at her mom, then her grandmother then went to Reyna, tugging her pants leg. "Could we go out today?"

Beth smiled at her granddaughter. "I think that would be a good idea. Problem is we don't have any keys.."

Richard, without a word got up and handed his wife a key. "Kieth had a spare. He forgot his keys and had himself an extra made. Only to find his old keys washing his clothes so he has two."

Reyna smirked at the thing about the keys. Sounded like Kieth. Then, she smiled down at Sheila, before picking her up, carrying her on her hip. "Well, I see no reason not to go out, so let's do it. The park again?"

Sheila nodded happily. "Yay, the park!"

Beth was amused at that. "Aren't you just full of energy? Let's go going then." Richard without another word unlocked the door, opening it for Reyna and the others to go through first.

Reyna smirked, and walked out the door, still carrying Sheila. She rather enjoyed doting on the little girl. A little girl she already saw as a daughter.

Sheila clinged to her mom while they walked to the park. Just like Reyna thought Sheila as her daughter, Sheila thought Reyna as her 'mommy'. It had been that way ever since that day on the beach where Sheila had asked if she could call Reyna by that instead of her name. The rest came naturally.

When they got to the park and Sheila was set down, taking to her usual spot of the swings. However, she became a bit distracted when she noticed a blue humming bird taking nectar from some of the nearby flowers. Sheila had never seen one up close before, so she was curious about the thing. For the most part, the humming bird didn't bolt yet at her presence. Surprisingly or not.

Reyna, ever alert, noticed Sheila's fascination with the hummingbird, and knelt next to her. "You like that hummingbird, dear?"

Sheila didn't seem to hear Reyna at first, but she nodded. "Mhmm. It looks really pretty. I never saw one up close before.." When she went a bit closer, the bird actually did seem to notice Sheila. Still, it didn't move, even when Sheila began to gently pet it. That was strange. Animals usually bolted on that kind of thing, espeically things like birds.

Reyna watched for a moment, then chuckled. "You know, the hummingbird symbolizes a couple things. Because of its speed, the hummingbird is known as a messenger and stopper of time. The hummingbird is a messenger. It is also a symbol of love, joy, and beauty. The hummingbird is also able to fly backwards, teaching us that we can look back on our past. But, this bird also teaches that we must not dwell on our past; we need to move forward. When the hummingbird hovers over flowers while drinking nectar, we learn that we should savor each moment, and appreciate the things we love." A pause, something occuring to Reyna.

"...Hm... you know, going by that... Sheila, you're my little hummingbird." She smiled at that. It also didn't occur to her that it might be odd to the others, her knowing the symbolism of a hummingbird, of all things.

Sheila smiled after hearing that. She liked that little story and it made her feel good that Reyna thought of her like that. The little girl stopped petting the humming bird and went to give her mother a hug. Beth who had been nearby came over smiling. "..That's rather deep. I don't remember hearing that before, where did you learn that?"

Reyna returned Sheila's hug, smiling rather happily, and glanced at Beth. "Heard it from Evelyn. She once said that her daughter is her hummingbird. When I asked what she meant, she explained. Not sure where she learned that. Then again, she's been around far longer than me..."

Sheila hummed slightly. "Miss Evelyn sounds like an interesting person. I'd like to meet them one day." She didn't quite know how true that statement was. Sheila wasn't really paying much attention to that, she was just happy to be spending time with her mommy and her grand parents.

* *

Kieth came in sometime in the evening at eight a clock, looking slightly tired from work but otherwise happy. He wasn't sure if anyone was asleep at the time so quitely crept inside the apartment. Richard was currently asleep, he wasn't too surprised about that.

However, his mom and Sheila were out. There was a stack of blocks put together with his mom sleep, back leaned against the wall. Sheila was curled in a ball by her, sleeping soundly.

Reyna, currently, was in the kitchen, actually washing dishes. She'd learned a bit about cooking over time, and had made a light meal for everyone earlier. It was something she could partially thank Evelyn for. Being a maid and a waitress, she'd had to do cleaning and a bit of food preparation.

Kieth smiled gently at seeing Reyna cleaning in the kitchen, he didn't want to startle her. She could sense energy but at the same time if she was focused on something else she might not notice it at first. So he made his presence known.

"Hey. Have fun while I was gone?"

Reyna didn't miss a beat, so she'd apparently known he was there. "Our little hummingbird tired herself out. As did everyone else. If I didn't know better, I'd think my cooking had knocked them out..."

Kieth was slightly amused. "I doubt it. If it was Adell then I'd be worried." Then something clicked, or registered in his head. "Humming bird? You mean Sheila? First time I remember you calling her that.."

Reyna smiled. "Sheila met one today at the park. I told her the symbolism behind them, and realized that, in a way, Sheila was the same for me. So... 'Hummingbird.' I just like it."

Kieth was silent for a moment then slowly smiled. "..Yeah, me too. I only know a little bit about the story behind it, but it fits Sheila doesn't it?" He glanced at his sleeping daughter who was curled up. "I wouldn't trade Sheila for the world."

Reyna was silent for a moment. "...I'd trade everything for her. For my entire life here, honestly. You, Sheila, Beth... it really is amazing, how much I've changed..."

Kieth had to agree with that. "Yeah...I'd say honestly you coming here and then Sheila are the best things that have happened to me. Which is kind of funny since we didn't get along too well when we first knew each other. Let's go put Sheila to bed, she's knocked out right now." He went over to where Sheila was, being quite as possible as he gently picked her up. Sheila stirred a bit, but otherwise she didn't really make all that much of a fuss. If anything, she just sort of clinged close to her father.

When he got to her room, he set her down and tucked her in.

Reyna, once Sheila was tucked in, leaned down and gently kissed Sheila's forehead, whispering 'Love you, my little Hummingbird...' She then stood next to Keith, looking down at the sleeping girl, while winding her arm around Keith's waist.

Kieth grew warm watching the scene, and Reyna her winding her arm around her waist. She might not have been able to return his feelings yet, but still he was more then happy for now. "I got a surprise for you tomorrow..think you're really going to like it..." It was her birthday tomorrow after all, he couldn't wait to see the look on her face when she saw the 'gift' he had worked out.

Oddly, despite feeling tired he didn't think he'd hit the hay instantly. Probably take him a few minutes to go to bed.

He offered a hand. "You ready for bed?" Maybe they would just sleep in his room together tonight, they didn't have to do anything.

Reyna raised a brow. "Oh am I? When did I even tell you that tomorrow is my birthday? I don't remember doing so. And yes, I'm ready for bed." Whether anything happened was on him, because she, again, didn't want to lead him on.