[DEREK] can't do this alone..

[aerin 'ace' colt endsley]

Ace sat on the fire escape, playing a lonely game of checkers. He looked around as someone called his name, but the only person around was a small girl standing at the bottom of the ladder. "Derek?" He called. "There's a kid out here." He said, climbing down to her. She was small, no older than two, he would have guessed. Her long black hair was pulled up in a couple of pigtails. He took the paper out of her hand, reading over it slowly. He picked her up, carrying her up the fire escape and sticking her through the window. She sat at the bottom, looking around silently. "DEREK!" He screamed, leaning on the window frame.

[derek chandler ralston]

Derek had been asleep in front of the tv after returning from a run, raised his head as his name was called loudly. "Ace?" He mumbled, sitting up sharply and falling off the couch. He grunted, pushing himself to his feet and wandering towards the window.

[aerin 'ace' colt endsley]

Ace gently nudged the little girl out of the way so he could climb in the window. He bent down, looking at the little girl with one blue eye and one brown eye. "I.. she's mine.. I think. That's what this says." He mumbled, holding out the paper before he looked at her again. "I don't thinks she speaks..."

[derek chandler ralston]

Derek stopped short, staring warily at the kid. He blinked, then took the paper and read over it. "I-.." Had he got something pregnant at such a young age..? It was so messed up.. He gently hugged Ace close, staring at her. He didn't know how to raise anything but a puppy for the most part, had never had to raise a young kid. "Uh.." Clueless. He sat down slowly, head tilting, lips parted as he watched her.

[aerin 'ace' colt endsley]

Ace hugged him tightly, biting back tears. He didn't have any idea how he was going to raise a child when he was just a kid himself. He doubted she would ever be like the other kids anyways. "At least she has two eyes.. Even if they don't match." He said. Even if he was young, he felt something towards her. He held his arms out, but she only looked up at him. "I.. come?" He asked, but she just blinked. She stood up slowly, stumbling towards him after a minute, her arms out. He picked her up, hugging her close. "Good job."

[derek chandler ralston]

Derek bit his lip, watching him. He reached out to rub his back, didn't know what to do. They couldn't just adopt her out..what was she..? "It's okay, Ace... I'll help you through whatever you're in for.." Even if it meant having to learn to care for a kid. He studied her another awkward moment.

[aerin 'ace' colt endsley]

"Shouldn't a kid as big as her like.. walk a straight line? Or do something other than stare?" He asked, though he doubted Derek had an answer to that. He gently took his hand, pulling him over to the sofa to sit with her. She looked around, eventually climbing down to stumble towards the window, looking out of it. "I think this is gonna take a lot of patience.. Cause I don't think she's normal.." He mumbled, rubbing at his face.

[derek chandler ralston]

"I..don't know," Derek mumbled, following him to sit down before watching her. He sighed. "Yeah.." He supposed he'd best start checking out books on mothering.. Hesitating awkwardly again, he got up and wandered over to her, sitting down. He'd never been one for younger children, worried it would take some getting used to. Especially if she wanted nothing to do with her. Wolflike eyes grew a little more curious as he tilted his head, meeting her gaze.

[aerin 'ace' colt endsley]

Ace watched the little girl sit down slowly, holding onto the wall for balance. She watched Derek just as curiously as he was watching her. He chewed on his lip, debating on whether or not he should tell Derek what she probably was. Or almost was. "We have to think of something to call her.." He said finally, wasn't comfortable referring to her by 'she' or 'it'. He didn't want her to feel like she was a mistake, like he always felt.

[derek chandler ralston]

Derek's eyebrows rose, lips parting to reveal his teeth again. He reached out awkwardly and picked her up, setting her in his lap as he drew in a breath, holding it a moment. He was more afraid of breakin her or something than anything else.

[aerin 'ace' colt endsley]

She looked up at Derek a moment, then slowly reached up to touch his nose. She finally dropped her hand, leaning against his chest. Ace walked slowly over to them, looking at her before he walked to the kitchen to get a glass of water. "Unh." She whined when she saw him walk back with a glass, making grabby hands at him. He carefully put the glass to her lips, tilting it forward slowly so she could drink.

[derek chandler ralston]

Derek watched her, breaths soft as he crossed his legs a bit so she was hopefully more comfortable. Eyes scanned her movements, calculating.

[aerin 'ace' colt endsley]

Ace sat down beside them, watching her slide down into the space in Derek's folded legs. He wouldn't be surprised if she wasn't any older than a few months, no more than seven or eight. She was probably just big. "What's your name?" He asked, but she only gave him a blank stare, her mismatched eyes watching him carefully.

[derek chandler ralston]

"Maybe..she doesn't have one," Derek mumbled awkwardly. Who would just dump her off? He wrapped arms around her loosely, unsure of where the instinct came from.

[aerin 'ace' colt endsley]

"Probably not.. You're not supposed to keep babies like her.." He mumbled. He reached over, gently wiping a bit of water from her chin. "My dad's a god, so that makes me a demigod.. And when a god and a nature spirit have a child, sometimes they come out wrong and they only have one eye and they're really slow. And people abandon them.. But I'm not a god, so she has two eyes." He watched her grab ahold of his finger, pulling it to her mouth to chew on it.