Ah, so it was as Locke suspected. If he had picked up on Lee's walking about before it would have been much different then it was now. As for having been in the infirmary... Well Locke tended to avoid going there. He had had enough of being in medical locations to last for years. The only things Locke ever needed as far as medicine went was the occasional painkillers for migraines or his knee acting up. His dead eye needed to be kept clean, but that just needed over the counter eye wash. "I'm not in there much. Mostly in my room, the library, or outside."

There really was something special about New York City, Locke had to agree with Lee. The Statue of Liberty really did belong... wait... did she just say "Tarin?". Naaah. It couldn't be. I mean Tarin was a common name right? Probably as common as Locke. "Sees ghosts?"

“Those are much better places to be,” Lee said. “One should definitely not aim to be in the infirmary, but unfortunately, there are times when it’s unavoidable. At least DocProf’s good, so normally you don’t have to spend too long there when you do have to go there.”

But then her off hand mention of her husband seemed to draw his attention. When he repeated Tarin’s name, Lee looked over. Just in time to hear him ask about ghosts. “Uh, yeah,” Lee said slowly, her brow creased. “How do you know Tarin?” Lee wasn’t sure how that would happen, how Tarin would know this kid that well, and yet she didn’t even appear to have known of him.

"I ran into his shop once to get out of a storm," Locke explained, "We talked about the weather, and he let me talk with... someone I really miss." He didn't know if Tarin had ever told his wife about him. There had to have been some sort of explanation given for the baseball game that he went to. "We went to a baseball game once, got some dating advice. You must be his wife."

Which meant that the baby must be Tarin's. There were serious doubts that Tarin could ever cheat on Lee. "He had a kid?" Locke asked, shaking his head in disbelief. After the baseball game the two didn't really keep in touch. Life had gotten better for Locke, he had come out of his shell. He didn't need an adult figure. Well except when he went to Ms. Taylor about college things. Somehow he got the feeling that Tarin's dating advice wouldn't help with picking out a life plan. Locke tried to remember if Tarin had mentioned at any point he was going to be a father.

This kid ran into the shop during a storm, and that’s how he met Tarin. And during that first meeting, he let the kid see and talk to a spirit. That definitely seemed to be a trait her husband had. She wasn’t quite sure yet whether it was a good one or not, though.

But then he went on to explain that him and Tarin went to a baseball game before, and Lee tilted her head as she looked at the teen. Then it clicked, and Lee remembered Tarin going to a ball game, but he had said he was meeting someone there, a kid. But Lee didn’t think she remembered being given a name. But then again, maybe Tarin had told her a name, and she just wasn’t remembering it because there’d been so much else that had happened since then.

“Yes, I’m Tarin’s wife,” Lee said, and smiled when he went on. “And yes, he has a kid. I’m surprised you didn’t know that since you know so much about Tarin.”

"Life just got in the way I guess. I don't think that you were pregnant when Tarin and I went to the game. Anyways at the time he was more interested in telling me how to get a girl," Locke looked over at Lee, who was smiling. She didn't seem to be too upset that Locke hadn't known about the baby. "Really though I don't know too much. The game was kind of my way of paying for what he did for me. He wouldn't let me pay him cash."

The baby was settling down now that he was back in motion, which was a relief. Nobody wants a baby to get fussy, but Locke would have felt bad knowing that his stray kick had started the whole mess. "Dunno if he told you, but my name is Locke. Kinda hit me just now I didn't introduce myself. How's Tarin doing? I mean it looks like you and... baby are getting along just fine. Does he have to go to work today or is the whole night feeding thing wearing him out?"

The Californian hit himself in the forehead with his free hand. "Should have kept in touch. I owe you guys a baby shower gift. Um, you probably already got some of the big stuff." Strange how just a few hours ago Locke didn't even know Kevin existed, and even now he didn't know that baby boy was named Kevin. Yet he still felt the need to give a gift. Tarin had let him talk to Dad. There was no way in heaven or hell that he'd ever be able to pay him back for that. "Looks like..." Locke trailed off, hoping that Lee would provide the name for her baby, "Looks like he doesn't like sitting still, but do you have any books for him?"

Well, that definitely made sense if the kid didn't know that Tarin was expecting a child. Things had definitely gotten a little out of control after they had found out that she was pregnant. First there was the initial craziness that had come with the news, and then she was kidnapped...and if Tarin acted anything like he had when he'd gone to Maine, or when she'd gone to Toronto, he would have been in no shape to chat with the teen.

But as he went on, Lee couldn't stop the smile. That definitely sounded like her husband. "Take everything he said about girls with a grain of salt," Lee advised. "He was never very good with the whole relationship thing until he met me."

Then the boy introduced himself as Locke, and Lee realized that she hadn't introduced herself either. "Tarin's doing alright, though Kevin keeps waking him up at night. But no, he doesn't have to go to the shop. We haven't actually had it open in quite a while."

Then Locke went on to say that he owed them a baby shower present, and Lee shook her head at the teen as they walked along. "You really don't have to do that," Lee told him. "But thanks. But as for books...so far about the only time he seems to like them is when Tarin reads to him before bed."

”Oh it wasn’t that bad,” Tarin had more or less Told Locke to just relax and to have fun. While there were some similarities in their past, the two did not have the same personality. ”Not really needed, but not bad. Though he did say that it’s ok not to always hit a homerun..” He made a dismissive gesture. Maybe it was that bad. Locke didn’t want to know what kind of dating life Tarin had before he met Lee, but he got the feeling that it was about as wild as Locke’s laundry habits were dull. Only he really did like to do laundry. ”He might or might not have told me to be a flirt. Kind of hard to focus when you’re trying not to drip relish onto your jeans and there’s a game going on.” Or Locke was once again blocking out a memory that could be considered painful. A pity, since he thought he was making progress.

”Oh,” was the only reply he could give Lee when she said the shop hadn’t been opened lately. It probably was because they were getting use to life with Kevin. It took Locke months before he could settle down for a good night’s sleep at the mansion. And that was with teenagers who didn’t have to cry out for a diaper change, or food, or a burping. The fact the shop wasn’t opened bummed Locke out. There was a few important things he wanted to know that Tarin would be able to help him out with. ”I hope it’s not because of the economy.”

Lee protested the idea of Locke getting a gift for her or Kevin. There was a smile on the Californian’s face. Tarin had found a good wife. She wasn’t outright saying no to the gift, which could potentially hurt his feelings, but she wasn’t demanding he give her anything either. Locke hated it when people felt you had to get someone a present, or at the least, sign a card just because you knew someone. He knew his dentist, but that didn’t mean the guy got a Christmas card. ”I’m guessing Tarin didn’t tell you how stupidly stubborn I am. Kevin is getting a present from a total stranger who halted his walk with his mom…. Wow that sounded creepy.” Distracted by how disturbing it sounded Locke took a moment. ”I never wanted to read for myself when I was little, but my dad always read to me right before bed, or if we were going to be waiting for something for a long time. It was a classic, but great for active little guys.”

Not needed, but not bad. And that the kid didn’t always need to hit a ‘home run’ when it came to girls. “Glad he learned something,” Lee murmured as they walked along. But Locke went on, talking about how he had been distracted at the time when Tarin was giving his ‘advice’. She had grown up with her brother watching hockey, and she had seen how Tarin got at certain times of year with various sports, so she could understand the boy’s distraction, even if she never really got distracted like that herself.

“He probably did tell you to flirt,” Lee replied, then stopped herself. The teen had said that the advice her husband had given him wasn’t really needed, so she wasn’t going to add to it.

Locke seemed greatly disappointed when she said that the shop hadn’t been open much, and asked whether it was because of the economy. Lee shook her head as she continued on the walk. “No, it’s not the economy. From what I saw, the recession didn’t really effect Tarin’s shop. Things have just been a little more crazy than normal for us the past year.”

But, despite the fact that she had said he didn’t have to, Locke seemed determined to get her and/or Kevin a present. Because he was stubborn.

Lee laughed into the silence Locke left, shaking her head. “That did sound rather bad,” she agreed.

But Locke seemed to understand the whole dad reading before bed thing, and Lee nodded. Lee couldn’t really remember that herself, but then again she had blocked out a lot of memories of her family for a long time, so it wasn’t really surprising.

“Well, we don’t need anything else,” Lee finally said. “But I doubt that Kevin would turn away a good book.”

The teen listened with interest. Ok, so maybe he hadn't kept up to date with Tarin, but he was trying to make up for it. At least the crud economy didn't affect Tarin's business. With thought though, it made almost as much sense for the whole psychic bit to take a dive. When things become tough, when people become absolutely terrified about the prospect of tomorrow, there is an instinct to turn to something to believe in, no matter how ridiculous. Who wouldn't want comfort from Aunt Charline? Especially if the dearly departed happened to have had something of monetary worth. "Of course things were crazy. You had a baby. From now on there will be no such thing as normal," he laughed. Though with a dad that could bring up ghosties, how normal of a childhood could Kevin have? "You think the one missing sock is bad now? Just wait until you set him down, turn around, and then suddenly Kevin's got the common baby sickness of just one sock. It's like an addiction for them. Put on a sock, take it off and toss it into the fifth dimension"

She laughed at his awkwardness, and Locke felt his ears turn red and hot. Maybe he was getting better about stepping out of his shell, but he still hated it when someone laughed at him. There was just no stopping the stupid words from falling out of his mouth, or the stupid actions from carrying out. No wonder so many teen mutants wanted to hide away. Your brain and body, just through the glory of puberty acted in ways that you could not predict. How much more difficult must things be if your arms and legs turn into noodles. "That is if he'll sit still. The trick is to get something that has enough action for when he knows what's being said, and enough pictures for when he doesn't."