Simone had turned things over to the Guide that morning. She peeked open one of her gray eyes and saw a very naked Lewis next to her. He was curled up against her and she could feel… well… everything. A bright red blush appeared across her face as the realization hit that she was also naked. Simone hadn’t told her counterpart how she would find herself probably because she thought the Guide would realize that yes, she has sex with her husband. So sue her.

Managing to get out of Lewis’s grasp without waking him she found her nightgown on the floor thrown across the room of where their fun most likely started. They were so very… open about it. Simone wiggled her way into the nightgown and put her robe on. Closing the door she went immediately to the baby’s room.

She knew of him but she hadn’t seen him yet. Her eyes got so large as she looked down in the crib. She loved him immediately the moment his little gray eyes opened up and looked at her. He was probably wondering why his mother wasn’t picking him up as he let out a distressed noise.

The color drained from Simone’s face as she realized she had no idea what to do. “Um… there… there?” There were more disgruntled noises before Simone reached in and rubbed his tummy. “I don’t know how to hold you okay? Please don’t hate me.” This seemed to pacify the baby for now as she let out a sigh of relief. "I like you. Okay? What's your name?" The baby didn't answer her and she realized that he couldn't. "Okay, that's okay. I'm the Guide… I'm kinda your mommy."

Lewis was sleeping soundly when the Guide snuck her way out of the room. It wasn’t long, though, before he realized that Simone’s presence was missing. He stirred, rolling over and grumbling something. The silk sheets felt so nice, and he didn’t quite want to get up yet. But it was strange…normally Simone was gently waking him up at this point. Or violently waking him up depending on the mood. Or both.

This was neither. Lewis opened a single eye/ The sunlight was fighting its way through the dark curtains, and he finally sat up in bed, yawning and stretching. He immediately recognized the lack of Simone’s usual resonance, and for a moment his heart skipped a beat. No, it’s there just… He let out another yawn and got out of bed, putting on just some pants, and headed out the room and down the hall.

Surely enough, there was a bewildered looking Simone petting Everett’s belly, almost confused at what she should be doing. He walked up beside her, and picked Everett up, bringing the baby’s nose to his and booping it. “Good morning, Everett. Mommy’s going to be a bit weird today, but it’s okay. She loves you all the same.”

Everett was pleased with Lewis’ morning ritual, and giggled and babbled at Lewis. “I know, she’s absolutely adorable. The Guide is Mommy though, I promise.” He looked at her, and smiled. “Good morning. Here…” He gently handed Everett to her, showing her how to hold him, just like the true Simone had shown Lewis. “Just like that. You’ve got it.”

When Lewis came in she jumped a bit and a blush came across her face. It must have been weird for little Everett and the Guide hadn’t thought about it. Still, she was a bit stunned at his words and tilted her head. She was adorable? Her experiences with Lewis had been limited to what had happened in the dream world and nothing like this had ever been said before. She was having a hard time processing it but she would get it in due time.

“Good… morning,” she gave him a smile back the best she could before a quiet panic took over when she was given Everett. She noticed he reacted when she did and Simone immediately calmed down as Lewis helped her hold him. “Thank you,” she held onto Everett and looked up at Lewis cautiously. “He’s small.” Not as small as he had been when Lewis held him. “I’ve never seen a person so small before.”

She tilted her head the other way, “His name is Everett? Simone told me to say hello to the baby so I knew he was here… I just didn’t know anything else. I didn’t know he couldn’t talk.” There was a blush across her face as she felt silly now. “I am still learning…” This was all still very new and she had spent just a short time in this new world.

Lewis was patient with the guide, and once she finally got the handle of Everett, answered her. “Babies cannot talk for quite some time, although they do understand us to an extent. And, I’ve got a general idea of what the little guy wants.” He smiled. “Fiori, on the other hand…well, I’m still getting a handle on what she likes. I’ve got the food thing down, at least…” It was hard to explain it all to the guide, and apparently Simone had not communicated a lot of information to her. Whether it was difficult to do, or because Simone trusted Lewis to answer was beside the point. The poor guide was just lost.

“Let’s go get Everett breakfast,” the assassin said as he took the baby boy back, and lead Simone down to the main hall. The butler bowed as Lewis descended the stairs with the guide in tow, and Lewis rolled his eyes. “How many times do I have to say it…you really don’t have to bow.”

“Of course, Master Lewis,” the butler responded. “I would assume every day.” He looked to Simone, and smiled. “Good morning to you as well, Madame.”

“Oh, by the way…the Guide is back for the day,” Lewis said, pausing. He looked back to her, and cocked his head to the side. “Which reminds me. Why are you here today? I don’t mind, but…it seems a bit random.” Everett reached up and grabbed Lewis’ nose, almost as if to remind him that they were not in the room with breakfast. “Yes, yes…I know. I’m working on it.” He was stern, but gentle with the baby. It was like seeing a whole new person.

“He was really upset with me for a bit… He seems content now. Is this what he wanted?” Simone normally cuddled him first thing in the morning and it was his routine with her even if Lewis was working. Fiori sounded fun but then she paused, “Who’s Fiori?” Was there another child she didn’t know about? Simone was leaving the Guide to explore the world on her own preferring the woman to make her own mind up about it instead of being told. Lewis would help her with that.

The Guide was quick to hand Everett back as she felt like he was safer with Lewis. After all, what would happen if she were to trip! “Good morning,” The Guide was shy as she looked at the butler and watched Lewis’s reaction. He didn’t seem like the type to have people serving him and figured it was just because the house was big.

“Um~” She put her finger to her lips, “In the words of Simone if I don’t kick you out now you will never go on that date with Lewis. Make sure you treat him right and watch your feet so you don’t trip.” She nodded and blushed the last part. “So, I got kicked out for a date! She said something about things being rather surprising lately and that we could use the downtime.”

Simone was caught off guard by Lewis’s personality but giggled lightly. Once they got into the dining room the wet nurse came and took Everett. He was already angry with the Guide this morning so he was pleased with the food. “I am… confused but I will ask later,” the Guide said softly before being offered up a few sweet things. They remembered how she was and loved all of it.

“This cheese is so sweet~” The butler seemed excited that she liked it as she finished eating the treat.

After breakfast, the Guide sat next to Lewis and she was thinking about it. “Can… I see the ocean? Is that a date?”

With the normal morning routine with Everett out of the way, Lewis ate his usual breakfast, polishing his meal off with an apple at the end. Whether or not the guide knew the significance of that was on her, but he enjoyed it. With that out of the way and the guide fed, she seemed to want to ask Lewis something. Finally, when she spoke up about wanting to see the ocean, Lewis thought back to all the times the iterations of Simone had asked, and nodded.

“That can be a date,” Lewis replied. “We’ll have to take a quick stop in Jayou to ask if someone can pop in every so often to keep an eye on the kids, but we can arrange that. I have a place in mind, too…” He had heard of Zamatye Beach in his travels to Bennin, about how it’s a beautiful place to explore during the day, but to stay clear at night. There wasn’t a given reason, but the superstitious island dwellers tended to not need them.

It didn’t take long for Lewis to find the appropriate attire for them, as well as towels and a hastily thrown together lunch. A quick trip to Jayou happened, with Leilah and Raile wishing them a happy date, and they were off to the beaches. It took Lewis a few tries to find the location, but when they finally stepped through the portal, it was an amazing sight to behold.

Shimmering sea glass was visible all up along the coast, as far as their eyes could see. It was something that was considered breathtaking, though Lewis showed barely any reaction despite feeling it. “It’s something. I’ll have to bring the whole family here sometime. I’m sure Fiori and Everett would adore this…” Though he was a bit worried about the potential cuts and scrapes that they could get.

“Maybe…when they’re a little older…”

The Guide was now prancing around in a little sundress made for beach-going. It had pockets just in case she wanted to save stuff. They were sort of small but the sundress was small. It was more of a dark magenta in color. Her long black hair was left to her hips since she couldn’t figure out how to do her own hair and she didn’t want to ask for help.

Simone hid behind Lewis when he was explaining everything to Leilah and Raile. Leilah spotted her and instantly fell in love with her but thankfully Raile kept her from pouncing the poor girl. Once the children were all taken care of she followed behind Lewis taking his hand so she couldn’t fall behind.

The sea glass made her eyes go wide, “Oh! I’ve seen sand but I’ve never seen this!” She let go of Lewis briefly so she could bend over. She scooped the glass up in her hands and smiled a bit, “It’s so shiny! This is just like glass but it’s not sharp.”

She listened to Lewis talk about the family and nodded. “I bet they would love it! All the different colors!” She loved all the colors. “There are so many more colors than I’ve ever imagined… The smell of the sea is nice and it isn’t filled with an iron smell.” She took some of the sea glass and put it in her pocket for later. “I’m going to show Everett and Fiori the sea glass… Is that okay?”

The fact that Simone was in a sundress was not lost on Lewis, and when she bent over to examine the sea glass, he was not disappointed with the brief view he got. It was never disappointing when it came to Simone. Still, she seemed excited to finally be here.

“Of course. Just be careful. I’m sure falling here isn’t going to feel great,” he warned. Lewis walked up to the guide and looked around. “Over there seems like a good place. It’s close to the water, and seems flat enough.” He took her hand, squeezing it gently as they walked over. On the way over, the guide bent down several more times to stuff her pockets full of different colors of the sea glass, obviously enthralled with it.

“I take it you’re enjoying this a lot?” he asked with a half smile. “We can get in the water over here too. Just…stay in the shallows. Let’s just get our feet wet to start.” On the inside, he was still a bit nervous about letting her near water again due to what had happened the last time. It was difficult for Lewis, though. With Simone, he knew what she was thinking and feeling due to their resonance, but with the guide, he had nothing more than the context of her reactions.

“You…are enjoying yourself, right?”

“Just like my mortal enemy the log!” The Guide joked with enthusiasm as she remembered the last time she fell. She knew that Simone had a bad past so for her to say her greatest enemy was a log was probably refreshing. She took his hand and smiled up at him squeezing it gently. This was much more relaxing than the adrenaline they had felt the entire time in the dream world.

“I love it here! I like all the pretty colors!” She looked up at the sky, “And the sky is blue and I mean it’s really blue.” She threw her hands up at the sky as she was looking at it. “Not a sad gray.” Simone nodded to him and looked at the water, “Right, I don’t know how to swim so I shouldn’t go too far!” She didn’t want to get washed away and luckily she knew that much about the ocean. The tide would be stronger than the current of a lake.

She blinked her eyes up at Lewis and nodded, “Yeah, I really like it here. I like anywhere where you are though but I really like it here too.” She offered a smile up at him before looked back at the ocean. “I don’t have to be scared here and… I know I’m safe because you are here with me. So I can enjoy the beach.” She helped him spread out the little picnic blanket and plopped herself down on it.

Some of the sea glass spilled out of her pocket but she didn’t notice. “Those… are seagulls right?” She pointed to the gulls in the sky.

“The log…” Lewis replied with a smirk. “Yes. Your mortal enemy.” It was goofy, but he liked that about her. It was….different.

The whole atmosphere of the beach was a refreshing change of pace from the recent jobs he had been doing. As they set down for the picnic, he couldn’t help but feel at ease. The smell of the ocean was comforting, and the sounds of the ocean waves was soothing to the soul. It was a fantastic place for a date, and the guide had chosen well. He took a deep breath,taking in the salty air. It was a far cry from the island.

“Yes,” he replied, answering her question as she asked about the seagulls flying overhead “Just be careful and don’t feed them if you see them on the beach. They can get pretty mean, and I would rather not assassinate a bird today.” It was a half joke, but if anyone in his family were to be threatened, even if it was a silly bird, he would hold nothing back.

“Did you want to get in the water?” he asked. It was tempting, but a part of him wanted to just lay back and enjoy the sun. He wasn’t usually one for midday naps, but the whole setting was almost begging him to nap in the rays, and just relax.

I didn’t realize I needed this… He wondered, though, if the true Simone was getting her rest too. How did that whole exchange work? It would have to be something to ask later. He would hate for Simone to be getting the short end of this deal.