"Oh, ye cheeky thing." She laughed a little harder this time. She kissed him laughingly, then sobered up at his words about her beauty. "Aye? Ye think so?" Of course, she preened a little at the compliment. It was nice to be complimented, after all. She smiled at him and was about to say something when the first little cry came from the nursery. She knew what that cry was, got up automatically and went to gather her squirming bundles of joy one at a time to change nappies and nurse.

Frederic pressed a kiss to her cheek as she got up and murmured into her ear, "Of course I do," before letting go of her hand so she could go tend to her children. He had a mind to ask if he could help at all, but he wasn't sure if he would be intruding, so he didn't. Instead, he looked around Karen's bedroom. It was quite homey, he noticed, much more so than the room he'd called his bedroom for the last seven years. He and Clover currently lived in a flat on the floor above his clock shop and although it kept warm in the wintertime, it was hardly a place one would be glad to come home to in the evenings. Frederic knew Clover, who'd seen other folks' homes when going to play with school friends, was disappointed in the lack of ambient comfort in their flat, and although Frederic had done what he could to make it feel more like a real house, it wasn't enough. His heart warmed a little at the idea that Clover might actually call this house his home soon. Surely Karen wouldn't want to move into his flat, he mused, and winced at the thought of her living and caring for two babies in the three-room space. No, she would certainly want to stay here, he determined as the crying of one of Karen's children softened and stopped.

Soon enough, the very lovely sound of singing would reach Frederic's ears. "When like a dawning day, Eileen Aroon... Love sends his early ray, Eileen Aroon... What makes his dawning glow changeless through joy and woe? Only the constant know, Eileen Aroon..." If Fred followed his ears, he would find her gazing down at Niahm while she sang, the little girl at her breast gazing back up at her mother as she ate. Karen sat in a rocking chair and rocked gently, the crying having quieted and both babes content. It wasn't a song for children but it was not as if the babies knew that, they only knew the sound of their mother's voice as she sang for them slow and soft.

Frederic heard the loveliest singing voice coming from the parlor and a smile grew on his lips as he realized it was Karen. He followed the sound and found her nursing one of her babies- Niahm, he recognized. He was careful to keep his gaze off the place where the child was eating and gazed at the side of Karen's face with a soft, adoring smile. He closed his eyes after a moment, leaning against the doorframe, and just listened peacefully to Karen's sweet singing.

She looked up and kept singing for a time, not bothered that he saw her feeding her child. The baby was soon sated and Karen's appearance repaired in no time, but the singing did not stop until Karen returned Niahm to her bassinet. The nightmare was out of her mind for the moment, Frederic would be able to tell that much because she had that faraway look in her eyes as the act of nursing her children had made her sedate. The words to the song eventually turned into a soft hum as she stood between the two children and touched their downy cheeks. "Do ye ever look at yer son and feel that he is your greatest creation?" she asked this softly, without looking up at Fred. "i feel like they are both masterpieces, from every little spit bubble, to every little fart." She gave a soft laugh.

Frederic smiled and finally entered the room, laying his gentle hands on Karen's shoulders as he gazed fondly at her babies. "This world does not deserve the wonders of children, yet still they bless us with their presence," he said softly. Niahm and Harold Jr. Frederic knew he would come to care for them just as much as he loved his son, he was sure of it- though privately, and he would never admit this to a soul, least of all Karen, Clover would always be his first and foremost priority until the boy was a man.

She turned to look at him and smiled. "Ye have a way with words, but I think ye know that." With that, she gave him a soft kiss and then took his hands in hers. She took comfort in his presence, feeling like perhaps providence was on her side finally. She led him to the settee if he let her and sat down, patting the seat beside her. "I feel like we ought ta learn more about one another," she said.

Frederic let Karen lead him to the settee and sat down beside her, gently taking her hand in his as he did so if she let him, and if so their clasped hands rested on his knee. He gave a soft smile at them before looking back up into Karen's eyes, those of which he could describe in so many ways but in this moment, the only word he could think of was 'captivating'. He nodded when she spoke of getting to know each other better and replied, his voice soft so he wouldn't wake the babies (who he assumed were either asleep by now or just drifting off), "What do you want to know? I'll tell you anything." And he would, if it made her happy. Always.

"Tell me about ye as a boy." she said, "Yer childhood." She was delighted to hear anything about him. She curled up and rested her head on his shoulder so they could chatter away comfortably. It felt good to be at his side, felt right. Her misgivings were beginning to dwindle over time and she seemed to open up in the proverbial sense, like a flower; a late bloom. Karen was happy at the moment, content to be where she was, knowing too that he was willing to share himself with her.

Frederic smiled softly as she curled up beside him and laid her head on his shoulder. "I was born in Scarborough," he began, "but I never knew my mother or father. I was lucky enough to be taken in by a couple who wanted to save a child from the orphanages-" Here, he shuddered a little, remembering his brief time in one of the public Scarborough orphanages. Even though he was just two when he left, he remembered the conditions frighteningly well. "-and although they worked all the time and were rarely home, they were decent parents and I grew up as happy as one could be in poverty." He thought for a moment, then went on, "My best friend as a boy and through my early adulthood was named Clover. He was the greatest friend anyone could ask for, and he raised me more than my adoptive parents did, as his parents were also rarely at home and he knew how to take care of someone." The smile that had left Frederic's face when he mentioned the orphanage grew again as he recollected all the good times he'd had with his best friend. "We were more like brothers than friends, and all my fondest childhood memories are ones spent with him." He leaned the side of his head on Karen's, glad she was still letting him hold her hand. "My son is his namesake. He- he passed away soon before I- soon before Clover- my son, Clover -was born." It was easy to tell the loss of his longtime best friend was a painful memory for him, but what Karen didn't know is that the death of his best friend hurt him just as much, maybe even more, than the death of his wife.