curiously_cora | (no subject)

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There was one excitable puppy running around the Homestead in its newly changed state. There was one haughty black cat, licking the face of it's human and purring contently before settling on her pillow close to her in a black bundle of fur. And there was one teenage girl sleeping in her bedroom as if nothing had happened. She looked... terrible. Pale and sunken, a little hollowed out. More than a little worse for wear but she wouldn't stay at the clinic, she had wanted to go home.

She stirred, making a face before rolling over. One eye opening to stare at Cat before reaching across to tap her nose against his cold wet one. Smiling tiredly she wriggled her fingers free before scratching the top of his head. Coraline smiled as he miaowed loudly at her and at the room in general as if to make sure everyone knew she was awake.

"Missed you too WussPuss," Coraline said, sitting up before tugging Cat into her arms and hugging him. Padding out into the hall, she smiled at the strange new Homestead and everything that had changed. She had been gone, now she was home again. The island had been here now it was somewhere else. "Hello? Is anyone home?"

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She was back and he still couldn't settle, even once she was back home and in her own bed. He'd had to keep himself from checking on her about every five sodding minutes, silently convincing himself she wasn't going to go missing again, not so soon after she'd just got back.

Waking up to a changed Homestead wasn't unexpected, and Bill was looking over the map that had been left for them when he heard her call out. He jumped up as if he'd been hit with a stinging hex and dashed into the hall, screeching to a halt when he saw Coraline standing there, Cat held in her arms as if she'd never left. Without a word, he went over to her in long-legged strides and swept her into a hug.

Coraline smiled, as tired and as homesick as she was, her face still lit up at the sight of Bill. Bending down, she placed Cat safely on the floor. She took two steps before she was swept up by Bill into a tight hug. Ducking her head, she wrapped her arms around Bill and hugged him tightly.

"I'm sorry," Coraline said, pressing her lips together as her eyes watered just a little. She was so glad to be home.

"You needn't apologise," Bill insisted, his voice rough. He held her tight, nearly lifting her off the floor, more grateful than words could express that she was back and safe. "It wasn't your fault. I'm just glad you're all right."

It was her fault though. Bill might not say it was but she had done this to herself. They were right when they said curiosity killed the cat and Coraline had curiosity in spades and it had almost killed her.

"I'm sorry for making you worry, I should know better by now to not touch things." Coraline said making a soft oof noise and smiling a little tiredly as Bill held her. Coraline pulled back a little, about to say something when her stomach rumbled loudly. She had eaten before she had come home but she was still hungry and tired and thirsty. "Bill? Can I please have a... recipe?"

Coraline rarely ate island food without griping in some way about it but she was almost considering eating something with gross, stinky cheese in it.

Bill pulled back just enough to be able to look down at Coraline, his eyebrows raising. "A recipe? You must be starving," he said, a hint of a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "Come on. Let's go to the kitchen and I'll make you whatever you like."

"I guess I really am," Coraline said. She wasn't sure if she wanted to say why she was because that was just a reminder of how close to really disappearing from the island but well, it was Bill and she could tell him anything. Okay, maybe not anything certainly not about Johnny but general anything was okay. "Can I have pizza? Do we have pizza here? I'm just really hungry, I couldn't eat anything when I was away. I couldn't touch anything you see."

"If I'd had some dough made we could have pizza, but I don't, I'm afraid," Bill replied as they went into the kitchen. "We can go out somewhere if you want that, though. From what I've heard of New York, they've got excellent pizza here."

"No, I'm really tired. I'll have... whatever you want to make. Just nothing too weird," Coraline said wrapping an arm around Bill and following him into the kitchen. "We could do that another night, with everyone here I mean."

"Nothing too weird? I reckon I can manage that," said Bill with the faintest of smiles. "You have a seat and I'll get everything started."

Coraline nodded, looking around their new kitchen curiously and touching the strange little touches from their normal island environment that had appeared here. There were pictures on the fridge, drawn by Coraline at various stages. Everything looked like a home would look from the kitchen table to the mugs on a mug tree. It was... brilliant.

"Bagsy the yellow mug." Coraline said, taking a seat. She was tired and it didn't take much for her to start yawning again, blinking sleepily as she leaned her head on her hand. "You didn't really think I was gone, did you? You know I'd never leave. Not ever."

There's this aching worry in his gut that Danny hasn't been able to shake. There's been no sleeping, there's been barely any eating, and he hasn't exactly stopped when Steve suggested he ought to. Coraline's not there and he refuses to think that she's just gone. He can't think that. Other people disappear, but not the kids, not them, not after what happened with Esther.

He's been spending time at the Homestead just in case and when he hears a familiar voice, he jostles himself out of the half-dazed sleep and staggers to find his cane. "Cora?" he calls out hoarsely.

Cat purred contentedly in her arms, his warm fur hugged tightly to her as she carried him down the hall. Ears perking up, he wriggled and pounced onto the floor leading Coraline down to where Danny was. Wriggling her fingers at him, Cora smiled tiredly at Danny before running up to him. She stopped for a second, reaching out to poke him before wrapping her arms tightly around him.

She was still checking people were there... just in case.

"Hi," Coraline said, pressing her face against his shoulder.

Danny holds her so tight because he doesn't really think he's planning on letting her go anytime soon. That's his feeling. Instead, he hugs her even tighter to his side and brushes a kiss to her temple. "Where the hell did you go, huh?" he asks hoarsely, grateful that she's not gone, but confused as to where she'd gone.

"Um, I didn't go anywhere exactly." Coraline said making a face but turning her head up to the kiss at her temple. She had seen whilst she had been away what it was like to be missing, what it was like to be missed and she had finally found that people did miss her, did actually care. "I was still here, it was just no one could see me? I sort of found an object when I was exploring and I might have... touched it."

Danny only holds her in tighter when she makes the face, unwilling to give her up -- not now that he has her. "So, what? All that time that we were out there and looking for you, what? You could see us? You just couldn't shout at us? How'd you manage to get back?"

"Oh, no I shouted at you and everyone but no one could hear me and I couldn't touch anything either." Coraline said, hugging Danny as Cat ran into his legs and told him in Cat's terms that he had to share his human. "Mister Parker and some others helped me, they found the object- the artefact and put it back together. And then I came back."

"I'm glad you did, kiddo," Danny says, sincere and his voice tinged with emotion. He brushes a fond kiss to her cheek. After everything else that he's lost lately, he's not sure that he could cope with Coraline vanishing from him, too. "Hey, how about I treat you to something? Dinner or ice cream, maybe?"

"Me too," Coraline said hugging Danny tightly. She smiled when he kissed her cheek, scrunching up her nose a little before she turned around and pressed one right back on his. "I made a promise though Danny, I promised not to leave the island and that's what I intend to do. Never leave."

Coraline made a face, looking at him curiously before peeking outside. She wasn't quite sure where they were yet but she really did want to explore. "I'm too big for a piggy back aren't I? Is there somewhere close? I'm not sure where we are yet."

"Maybe sometime when I'm not...you know," Danny says, gesturing to his torso. The cold weather's been making it a little harder to heal and with Halloween, his stitches are fresh again. "How about we take a raincheck and when I feel better, you can piggyback anywhere you like."

"Then let's stay here then, in the warm and you can tell me where we are. It's not the island or has it changed again?" Coraline said, letting go from where she was hugging Danny tightly. "I didn't hurt you, did I?"

"Nah, no, you didn't," Danny says, even though it's twinging a little. It's only a little and it's not enough to worry her with. "And I think it's the island, I just think we got a little trip to New York City," he says with a small smile. "Which means you and I can find a nice little restaurant, you and I."

"Okay but if I do, then you have to tell me Daddy." Coraline said being careful this time when she hugged him. She yawned, rubbing her face before peeking outside the window. "New York? Really? I've been New York but only once, I didn't get to see much of it. Oh, do they have um the subway here? I'd like to ride on that and the Empire state building and- and the park. And the theatre. There's so much to explore."

He softens at the 'Daddy' and that's never not going to make him feel like a million bucks. He leans in to press a kiss to Coraline's cheek. "How about we make a calendar and we'll go out whenever you want. I owe you that much."

"Okay, we can do that then. Can Johnny come too? If he's not mad at me or anything I mean," Coraline said, smiling at the kiss to her cheek.

"Yeah, if Johnny's not too mad, he can come too. And, you know," he continues with a bemused look on his face. "If he's not too scared of me."

"Why would he be scared of you?" Coraline asked confused before making a face at Danny. Coraline might have been missing, she might have been homesick and missing Danny and loving him lots but she still made the unimpressed teenaged daughter face at him. "What have you been saying to Johnny?"

"I have said nothing to the boy," Danny swears, hands up in the air. "I only implied that I'm very protective of you because I love you. And, you know, whether he's scared of Steve's guns is up to him."

"Good because he's really sweet," Coraline said, not adding that Johnny probably freaked out more about their impending ages and changing relationship and growing up than Coraline was. Mostly. Coraline could at least mostly handle it, usually she just asked questions until the freaking out went away. "Daddy that's not very nice. Did you say that Steve has guns casually? Because that still counts as saying something."

"I didn't do anything. Steve was being Steve and I can't change that. It's a part of life, like the sun rising in the morning and spam being a disgusting food type," Danny informs her with a shrug of his shoulders.

"You could tell him not to be Steve or not to be so Steve like around Johnny. He's not going to hurt me, he's Johnny. That would be like spam being an edible delicacy." Coraline replied making a face at the shrug of his shoulders. "Be nice daddy."

"I'm not nice," Danny contradicts, even though he has his moments. "I am not a nice person. Niceness does not become me." But he figures he ought to at least try, for Coraline's sake.

"Yes, you are. You say you're not but you are mostly. You're nice to me, so you can be nice to Johnny." Coraline said making a face at Danny before she wrapped her arms around his middle and squished him in a hug.

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