Are You My Baby Daddy?(Tags, Ph'yn)

[Dreamer]

Nisha disliked waiting outside of anyone's weyr, much less a man who'd been a one night stand nine months ago. And since it was a fairly warm day, Nisha would have preferred to be sitting near the lake, with Barsamith and her own personal bundle of joy.

Niwyn, her lovely, heavy, healthy, baby.

However, it had been a week already, and it was fairly obvious who Niwyn's father was(hence, Nisha's preemptive naming), Nisha couldn't justify putting off letting Ph'yn know he was a father.

So, after having Samith double check what time Zahra practice ended, she had headed over to Ph'yn's weyr, and stood outside of the doorway with a sleeping baby resting on her chest.

Samith? Nisha thought softly, having discovered that occasionally merely thinking too hard woke up her daughter. Could you tell Ganymeth that his Rider is needed at his personal weyr?

Feeling, rather than hearing an affirmation from her Green, Nisha returned her contemplation of her child, and continued waiting. While she was distantly aware that her dark shirt was bunched up and exposing her side, that the red skirt(on loan from Allior) was twisted to the side, and that she had yet to take the time to fix her wild curls, Nisha continued to gaze at her beautiful daughter, and wait for the man who'd fathered her to arrive.

[hrsegrl]

Practice today had been brutal. The freezing cold air had made him feel numb all over and there was a tingling feeling in his hands as he began to warm. He'd made a quick stop by the Weyrhall for some hot klah. The after taste was awful but he'd take anything warm right about now. The Bronzerider was on his way back to his weyr for a bath when Ganymeth contacted him.

You are needed at your weyr. There is a woman. Ph'yn smiled. A woman was it? He could handle that so long as it was not someone who was angry with him. Angry women were hard to placate and he'd rather not argue even if they wanted to. He sped his pace a bit but not too much. Obviously he could not always be at his weyr and whoever it was should know this.

As he walked toward Zahra's weyrs he saw a figure in the distance. There certainly was a woman waiting for him. As he got closer it was apparent she was holding something. What could it be? The green eyed man evaluated the situation as he reached his door. Best to open the door and ask her in.

Smiling, he said, "Please come in." Of course he realized she was holding a baby. Something told him to be courteous and not say anything until she was ready to talk. Women liked to talk and a lot so he sipped his klah. Ph'yn sat down on one of his lounging chairs. "Make yourself comfortable. What is it you wished to speak to me about?" He knew her name of course. Names were easy for him as were faces. Nisha of Green Barsamith, Pyralis Wing.

[Dreamer]

When the tall, dark rider arrives, Nisha opened her mouth to make a greeting, but he'd already asked her to come in, and headed into the weyr himself. Oh well, she though, adjusting Niwyn's head, it wasn't she didn't end up in a irritable mood after Wing practice herself.

Taking the offered seat, Nisha smiled tremulously. She knew Ph'yn's brother, P'len, since they'd been in Weyrling training together, and hoped Ph'yn was something like this brother. She and P'len had an excellent working relationship, and she'd been pleased that they both ended up in the same Wing. But, now that she was thinking about it, weyr gossip did not say the two brothers were overly alike. Nisha kept the frown from forming on her face through sheer will power.

"Well, I'm sure this seems strange. We haven't seen each other in a little over nine months." And how well aware of the passing of time she was. "However, if you remember last time we saw each other, we ended up in bed together." Nisha's willpower could not keep her from blushing madly. Yes, she was Weyrbred and it was odd that she'd find this conversation embarrassing, but it was!

I love you Mine. Came the sweet, soothing voice of her Green, and Nisha felt herself relax. Oh, one of the best joys of having a dragon, that amazing feeling of love and acceptance was one of the best. Feeling more sturdy, and sure of herself, Nisha continued her conversation.

"I uh, well, you see." Nisha cleared her throat awkwardly, not even her Dragon's love enough to clear away all of the discomfort she felt. "Well, this is your daughter."

[hrsegrl]

Ph'yn would have been more considerate if he was an older, wiser person. However the young man was just that, young. His inexperience in dealing with delicate situations was sure to make this a little awkward for both parties. That she was pretty he knew and that he had slept with her once a while back, he also knew. Still the connection did not seem to be made in his mind as the woman sat there holding the infant.

"Yes, I remember." He answered her as she had trouble speaking. Ph'yn never forgot people or how he knew them. He had been fairly pleased with himself that week. Everything at the time was well and good nothing amiss. That was the sevenday the Weyrlingmaster said that Ganymeth was mature enough for him to start having relationships. Perhaps he was overzealous?

"Excuse me if I seem rude. This has been a strange sevenday." Three babies in the span of one sevenday. His brother was going to throttle him. Ph'yn was not a cruel man, nor was he at all someone who wanted to make other people miserable. The fact that the greenrider had actually come and told him was brave enough since most men at the Weyr could care less.

He had a daughter, his first daughter and somehow that meant more to him than he thought it would. The Bronzerider stood up and slowly walked towards her looking down at the child then at Nisha then back at the child. "My first daughter, she certainly looks like me." His voice was heartening as there was only joy in his tone. He smiled down on his newest addition, she was beautiful. "What have you named her, Nisha?"

[Dreamer]

Nisha let out a silent sigh of relief. She wasn't entirely sure what she had expected to happen(it wasn't like Weyrmen had any reason to be upset about various children), but Ph'yn was taking this all very well. No questions about why she'd waited until after the birth, no condescension(she'd gotten enough of that from the Wingsecond who'd approved her maternity wing), no disrespect, or even mild snobbery. Very pleasant.

All the worries she'd silently carried faded away like smoke.

"Yes, she's my first daughter too." Nisha responded, looking up at the standing male. He looked pleased. "I named her Niwyn. Would you like to hold her?" Without actually pausing to listen to Ph'yn's response, Nisha adjusted her hold, and patted the space next to her.

"Here, I'll pass her to you once you've sat down. Just remember to support her neck, because her head is huge, her neck isn't quite strong enough to support it yet." Nisha's delight in her newborn could be quite infectious. "She's due to wake up pretty soon, so now's the best time to be passing her. Sometimes she gets fussy being passed around like a sack of firestone, you know?"

[hrsegrl]

This was not how he had thought he would be spending his evening. Ph'yn was always a spontaneous sort of person. He did not need to make plans for his evenings and would rather make things happen as he went along. Therefore there was nothing to be upset about.

She was his child, there was no denying that. He owed her at least some interest. He and his brother had the good fortune of not having dragonrider parents. This was going to be a difficult thing for him in the long run. He was not going to let her be raised by a simpleton that was for certain.

"Niwyn." He said tenderly towards the baby. Ph'yn, who had no intention of finding a true love interest was surprised by how easily he fell for the little baby. She would have him wrapped around her little finger in no time. As Nisha had suggested he went back to his seat and made sure to get comfortable. Who knew how long she would remain there without fussing.

Ph'yn had some exprience with babies though Nisha would not have known that so he made no mention of that when she told him how to hold Niwyn. He took her gently in his strong arms and cradled her head expertly. His youngest sister was someone he often had to help take care of. She was twelve now but he spent a lot of time being mom's helper when she was a baby.

Maybe it was unfair that he should give his daughter more attention than his sons? Neither of the other women had bothered to do much more than inform him of the birth. One of them had told him through Ganymeth. It sounded as if the Bronze had put things more delicately than the woman had. Greenriders could be so moody. Ph'yn realized that Nisha might take some offense if he talked about any of the things he was thinking about.

"Thank you for bringing her to see me." He said with a smile though the smile was for the baby. After a few moments he let slip the thought. "Have you thought about who is going to take care of her?" Hopefully it was someone witty and talented not just a drudge or some boring family member. He might even have to meet with whomever she chose just to be sure. Niwyn was his daughter and she would always have the best.

[Dreamer]

As Nisha passed Niwyn over, a little pleased sigh when she stretched her arms, she watched how Ph'yn handled his daughter. Expertly, meaning that he'd held a baby before. She knew that the Bronzerider was at least a three turns younger than her, and wondered if the experience came from his own children, or a sibling. Looking at his expression and enrapture with Niwyn, Nisha guessed this was the first time he'd held his own child. She'd seen Rory's face contain the same expression when he'd first held Nishor, and was sure her face had held the same expression as well.

"Oh, you're welcome. It just seemed impolite to let you hear from someone else." Nisha responded, her eyes a little wide. She supposed the thank you might have been because there really wasn't any proper words to express thanks for being given offspring in the Weyr. She wondered if it was different in the Holds, and had to stifle giggles at the idea of a Lord Holder saying 'Thank you' to his Lady Holder. Holders really did seem overly starched sometimes.

"Oh. Well, I'd just figured Rory would take her." Really that sounded bad, she hurried to qualify the statement. "Rory is the father of my son, and has been raising Nishor since he was born. Both his sister, and himself have been a great help during both of my pregnancies, and he's an excellent choice for a Foster parent. Would you like to meet him?"

[hrsegrl]

He could not argue with her on that subject. Most people in the Weyr did not concern themselves so much with whose child was whose. The Weyr ass a whole was family. Close ties with ones biological parents were rare. This made Ph'yn wonder why a weyrbred greenrider would care to bring a baby to meet her father. Even i she claimed it was simply to inform him it seemed a little overboard for that.

There was the matter of who she was choosing to raise her daughter. Maybe it was not his business. He would be little involved in his children's lives unlike his own parents. " He has no mate to help him?" Obviously Ph'yn would assume this Rory character was a man who liked women since he had her son. He was not sure a lone person could raise more than one child. A human only had so many hands.

This all really came down to if he trusted her judgment. Had he a reason not to? The man was already raising her son and having him raise her daughter would mean she would have the protection of an older brother who was blood related. A good situation to be in if one asked him. "Is Rory an intelligent person? Not all drudges are dim, I know but I'd prefer she was raised by someone with wit and talent. " Someone who she could look up to despite his situation in life. Not that her parents could not fulfill that part of her life in some ways. Still the life of a drudge was not horrible and she needed to be raised by someone who exemplified all that a person could be without a craft, money or a dragon to make them so.

[Dreamer]

Nisha paused to contemplate Rory's relationship status. Despite her occasional attempts set him up with other men, she had yet to find anyone to interest her son's father, and she doubted he'd found anyone by himself yet. Honestly, there were days she just wanted to lock N'zule and Rory together, and inform them they needed to get over themselves.

"No, he hasn't had a Weyrmate since my Uncle N'zule and him parted ways three turns ago. But he's got a big Weyr family, and no shortage of people to help him out if he gets overwhelmed." Nisha did not add that she was one of the people who would help him out. Her involvement with her child was a sore subject with her, as she liked spending time with Rory, and ended up spending time with Nishor because of it. She didn't want to be judged by her involvement with her son(and if Rory raised Niwyn, then with her daughter as well).

"And he's very clever. He fixes broken object around the Weyr, you know, clogged waterlines, doors that don't close, vents that don't work properly. You don't need to worry about his mind, Rory just never chose a particular craft is all." Nisha shrugged, feeling that if she had been a boy who didn't Impress, she wouldn't have wanted to leave the Weyr either.

She was a little offended by the suggestion she would have picked a sub-par foster for either of her children, especially when she had such a huge family of people willing to foster for her. But she wasn't angry enough to snap at Ph'yn- yet. Another tasteless comment however, and she'd pick Niwyn right up, and march right out of this weyr. She was a Greenrider in Pyralis; it was acceptable to do such things.

[hrsegrl]

He knew he had said something amiss though she remained mostly pleasant. Nisha would be right in assuming he should have no say in who raised the baby. He had not been involved with the infant before today and would likely only see her on rare occasions as most rider parents did. Glancing over at Nisha he said, "I'm sure she will do well with her older brother there to play with." That was the best part of the arrangement.

That her foster father was gay did not disturb him at all. It actually put him more at ease. He'd be able to be a mother and a father which was beneficial. "Would Rory mind if my parents wanted to see her from time to time? They are drudges and also have a large family to help them out too." Ph'yn hoped he was not overstepping his bounds. This was new territory for him. His parents were not going to be pleased with him when he went home for family dinner this week. His mother probably already knew he had three children in the span of one week.

At least none of them were really angry. This was the Weyr after all and he was a young man. He was watching Niwyn now, sleeping quietly in his arms. "She is not fussy at all about who holds her is she?" He was smiling. A child without fear...well that would be from him as well. "I think she is going to lead her older brother into trouble." Much like he had on several occasions. P'len was going to kill him when he heard about all this. Especially seeing as Nisha was his wingmate.

[Dreamer]

"I doubt she'll decide to be afraid. With a brother to watch after her, a Foster parent who would do anything for her, and a big loving extended family, there really isn't any reason to."

Nisha privately thought that those facts were the reason that Weyrbrats were so much more full of life than Holdbred candidates. A Weyrbrat knew for a fact that they were loved, and it showed in who they were. Even she, with her own personal issues, had no doubt that her family cared about her, faults or not, and it allowed her to feel confident in owning her own decisions.

"And Rory would never dream of keeping her other side of the family away from her." Nisha smiled. "Besides, any such family that could produce two such nice young men as you and P'len can't be that bad. And," Nisha brow wrinkled in thought, "Isn't Faloa your sister? I used to work with her. She's sweet!"

[hrsegrl]

Ph'yn nodded. His child would never have any need to fear. None of them would. He was in a position where he could help them pursue whatever they wished. There was nothing he would not do to help them and that included the boys. All of them were his and he would not abandon them to a random fate.

From now on he'd be a little more careful about taking women Between after. Ph'yn was sure that things would be fine. If he on occasion were to visit the little girl no one would think him a bad father. Riders were not expected to have much involvement in their children's lives. Even Nisha would be held to the same standard and she was the mother. Mothers were judged more harshly than fathers were when it came to child rearing.

"Faloa is very sweet and easily taken advantage of because of it." His eyes were slightly darkened by the thoughts that followed. Her lover was lucky they had been so nice to him thus far. Ph'yn was trying to keep his self control around the man though it was hard. Nisha was lucky to impress a dragon which would help keep men from taking advantage of her kindness. Managing a warm smile he said, "Well I suppose you know us fairly well then though I'm not so sure about P'len..." He laughed lightly at that. P'len was his best friend outside of Ganymeth.

"We're having family dinner this week. I'll pass the information on her foster father to my parents then. They'll be happy to meet her." Your brother will want to know before dinner. "I'll make sure P'len knows that you and the baby are well. Then he can inform your Wingmates of how you are." He paused. "I'll be meeting up with him tomorrow for breakfast." Why she needed to know that he was not sure except perhaps that he did not know where to go from here.

[Dreamer]

Nisha snorted. Faloa? Easily taken advantage of? The woman was often as bloodthirsty as a Rising Queen! No, worse! At least Queens wanted the meat, and Faloa wanted just blood. Of course, if you weren't messing with her she was the light of a party, and had quite a sense of humor. At least, that's how Nisha saw Faloa. Perhaps the woman was different with her family?

"Perhaps I'm thinking of the wrong Faloa then." Nisha stated quietly. "Or she's changed since I last saw her." Which would have been a few weeks ago, when she was dining with Rory at the Weyrhall.

Nisha giggled. "P'len's amazing. Though, I'm pretty sure our Wingthird is going to push him Between if P'len doesn't lay off asking when he's going to retire." Nisha, had been up the night before discussing how incredibly obtuse their Wingleader was being about promoting P'len.

"Okay?" Nisha wasn't sure why Ph'yn was updating her on his family. Or why he thought she'd need P'len to tell her Wing how she was doing. Even if her Uncle wasn't in the Wing it wasn't like she didn't have Barsamith to answer questions. And she was still sleeping in her weyr, if someone wanted to drop by.

Men. They were so clueless sometimes.