"Ha! Amish Country my arse. Look at that tan on you. All you wanted was a vacation- from me. Where'd you go, anyway? Florida? California? The flippin' Sahara?" Marianna ran her fingers through her hair, glaring at Alan from her front porch steps. She's pulled on a pair of loose jeans over her boxers, and her t-shirt clings to her pregnant stomach in the light summer breeze.

"Only four more months, isn't it?" Alan asks softly. "Is everything going alright?"

"You leave my son out of this conversation," Mari hisses. He can't see the tears filling her eyes- or so she hopes.

"Son?" There is a catch in his voice. "You know- it's a boy? Marianna, how long have you known?"

"Since it was possible to kno-" Suddenly she grabs at the doorframe. She slowly lets herself drop to the step and clutches her abdomen. Alan and Dava run toward the house as Dream and Suki run out of it. A chorus of concerned voices assault Marianna's ears as she fights back a wave of nausea complete with swirling colors beneath her eyelids. "Oooh..." she groans.

Sweetheart... Dava is whispering in her mind. It's not the baby, is it? What hurts?

Oskar upsets me so much... make him go away...

Dava stands up to his full height, a head shorter than Alan, and taps him sharply on the shoulder.

"Yes?" he asks, looking up briefly before returning his attentions to Mari.

"She doesn't want you here."

"She- or you?" Alan calmly challenges the Wizard with a raised eyebrow.

"She. I asked her what was wrong. She said you upset her. I think it would be best if you left- now." A blue light glows around Dava. Alan has seen this before- Marianna affects the same glow before using force to get what she wants. It is a Wizard thing, apparently. Alan backs off.

"I'll... see you guys later," he says to the group in general. Then he turns to walk down the street, toward the public beach. He hangs his head, rejected, and scuffs along with his hands in his jeans pockets.

Marianna still sits on the porch, now unconscious, and Dava worries that it wasn't just Oskar- Alan- that has made her ill. Dream has gotten a damp cloth from the kitchen and is dabbing at Mari's forehead. Suki is rummaging through her purse for something to use as a smelling-salt. UPChuck has joined the small group, but he and Dava really have nothing more to do than pace small circles and fret. Finally-

"Got it!" cries Suki. "Peaty Lilac Eau de Toilette... this should wake 'er up!" She waves the open bottle under Marianna's nose.

"Ughh..." Mari rolls over and pukes into the gardenias in front of the house. "Forgive me, my flowers... what the hell was that awful stench?"

"Peaty Lilac Eau de Toilette," answers Suki. "I got it for Christmas one year, and I kept it for emergencies."

"You mean, like, raising the dead?" Marianna asks dryly. "Hey, I think maybe I'll go to bed now..." She tries to stand, but drops back into Dava's arms. "Um... can I get some help up to my room?" she laughs weakly.

"One step at a time... actually, I think I'll carry you." Dava loops one arm around Mari's waist, and another around her knees.

"Eek! I'm five months pregnant, you're gonna hurt your back... are you using a strength spell?"

"Just a little one. Now, quiet. You need to rest your body and your mind." They disappear into the house and up to Mari's bedroom.

Suki looks at Dream and UPChuck, now on the lawn, quietly discussing Marianna. She shrugs, nearly losing her top, and walks back into the house to dispel any rumors about Mari's health. As she enters, Doreen rushes out, presumably to snag Neil from the car of guys. This makes Suki pause- should she continue inside, or should she go with Brian? She dashes inside, chats a moment, then makes another dash outside. Luckily, Brian has waited. She takes UPChuck's place in the car, as Doreen has taken Dava's. Soon, all that remains of the convertible and its passengers is the faint smell of burnt rubber and traces of a dust cloud.

UPChuck puts an arm around Dream's shoulders. "Don't worry, she'll be fine. Mari's a tough girl- and Dava will take care of her. Hey, cute pajamas!"

"Leave my pajamas out of this! Hey! What are you doing? Eeeek!" Dream blushes and tries to keep her nightshirt from exposing too much as UPChuck lifts her off her feet. "Uly!"

"Very cute. What's that called, a crop top?" He heads toward his house, Dream still squirming to keep the white and gold top where it belongs. "And lace-up shorts? I like that..."

"Um, that's my leg..."

"I know..."

"Look, isn't that Orion?"

"I guess so. You'd know better... my golden earth girl..."

"That tickles! Stop it!"

"I know it tickles, that's why I'm doing it." He leans over to kiss her neck again. "Maybe we should go inside? This lounge chair isn't quite big enough for two."

"If we don't move around too much it should be okay."

"Oh, I plan on moving around a lot more..." He moves his hand to the buttons on her top.

"Uly!" she protests. "Can't you wait 'til we get married?"

"No! Come on, Dream... I've waited this long... beautiful angel, please?"

"Oh, Uly..."

"Ugh." Daniela lifts her head from the chaise longue and wipes the drool from her chin with the back of her hand. "What day is it?" she asks sluggishly.

"I'm not even sure if it's still July," responds Coli. She is sprawled on a towel by the rock garden's waterfall, one hand trailing in the little pool.

"Were we here all night?" Daniela asks. "My back is killing me, my tongue feels like a wad of cotton balls, and I've got a headache that could rival my little sister."

"Sounds like a hangover to me. You sure drank a lot last night, Dani, and you were getting sorta... weird..." Coli looks away, toward the ocean where night still lingers.

"Was I harassing the keg-boys?" Daniela grins.

"Umm... no... one was busy with Kiri, and the other was busy with her friend Rhiannon. So... you started hitting on the girls."

Daniela starts laughing. "No kidding? I was wondering when I'd get around to girls!" She pauses. "Ow. My head hurts when I laugh."

"Want some black coffee to sober you up?"

"Okay, first of all, coffee doesn't help to sober you up, and second, I don't drink coffee. Especially not black." Daniela rolls onto her back and dramatically flops an arm across her eyes. "Time... the only thing to sober me up is time... So. Who was I hitting on, exactly? So I understand when they run away from me."

"Oh, I don't know all of them... umm... me."

"YOU!? I hit on you? God, that's a riot... oh, no offense... hey, let's go for a swim." Daniela drags herself out of the chair and heads toward the beach.

Coli calls after her, "But Daniela, we don't have our bathing suits!"

"Aww, who needs suits anyway? The beach is clean. I've seen to it!" Which of course is true. Dani heads up the Clean Calypso Corps, or the CCC, which keeps the public beaches of Layla:) clean and safe from industrial hazardous waste. They also help beachfront neighborhoods like Calypso Point and Crescendo Beach create and enforce safety and cleanliness bylaws for the privately owned beach property. "Marianna especially has been a model citizen. No syringes in this sand!"

"I don't doubt that, but..." Coli blinks as Daniela continues striding toward the water. "Daniela, what are you doing?"

"Stripping! What does it look like?"

"Oh, it certainly looks like stripping..." Coli's voice trails off as Daniela's pajamas come off. First the halter is lost to the winds, then the short wraparound skirt. By the time she hits the water, Daniela is completely nude, and gesturing to Coli to join her.

"C'mon! I dare you!"

Coli glances self-conciously up and down the beach. To the south- UPChuck's house, where she detects a slight movement on the porch. To the north- Cueball's house, abandoned since his death. Nervously, she shrugs, smiles to make herself feel more brave, and runs down to the beach shedding clothing. She cries out as she hits the cold water. "Co-o-old! God, Daniela, I don't know why I let you talk me into these kinds of things."

"Because you like it, dear Princess, because you like it."