A series of total attitude 180s

Who: Billy, Oz, Maddie, Lullaby
Where: Oz' place, Billy's place, Billy new place
When: Morning

Oz was sitting on the porch, sunglasses on, leaning back, looking vaguely exhausted as he noted Billy's truck pulling up. He didn't sit up straighter or anything, but did wave in a vague sort of manner to his friend. "Hey." he greeted when he was within earshot. He was kind of of a mind that moving was something that should only be happening to other people right around now. He and Sophie had spent most of the day going over everything that needed fixing, and he'd started in on what he could, but it was kind of looking...insurmountable. Or that's how he saw it. But then again, while he could help Billy out from time to time, it wasn't like he was overwhelmingly mechanically inclined.

"Morning," Billy greeted as he walked up. He'd only left here a couple of days ago, but his return was more business-oriented and he walked up to the house with that eye firmly in place, noting the broken windows and the occasional bullet hole in the wall. He knew that some of the rooms inside were basically trashed, but they had to start somewhere and damage assessment was the best place to begin.

Oz flashed a tired sort of smile. "How's the household? Thia doing okay?" he asked. Because yes, he was still twitching over her not being where he could directly protect her. It hadn't been an easy decision in the least. So...he had to ask.

"Seems to be," Billy told him, easily. "Or, at least, we've had no complaints. She stays in her room a lot though, or goes out walking. I think she's kinda bored," he added, not entirely sure what to do about that. What did you do with a teenaged girl anyhow?

"Pretty sure that girl doesn't complain at all." Oz commented, sitting straight and stretching, giving a groan as he did it. "She never did here. Even if she pretty much doesn't have anything, and...yeah. Anyways, I have some things for you to take for her. And took care of that computer issue." he added. He also got up, even if he was loathe to, opening the door for Billy. "And your house is pretty dull, you know. If you're not like...generally in wolf form running around the woods, so I would probably back that bored idea." he added good naturedly with a grin.

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with my house!" Billy protested. "It's structurally sound and peaceful - it's got a great view of the lake..." he added. That said, Billy was far from a materialistic person and as long as he had a roof over his head and no close neighbours, he was happy. He didn't really ask for much more than that.

"Annnd nothing to do but look out a window at the great view of the lake." Oz finished for him. "And pretty as it is...she's a sixteen year old girl who doesn't even have friends to invite over, so she's probably bored out of her mind, actually. Which I should have thought of before she left, because I probably could have loaned her a few things...oh well we'll get that covered too. So long as she's alright." He walked into the hall, and just stopped, looking up it with his hands in his pockets, before he pushed his sunglasses up on top of his head. "...so the house is fucked." he said conversationally.

"I was going to wait until we'd actually done the walk round to give you that particular piece of news, but yeah," Billy told him, looking around the hallway which, even tidied, was still a mess. "Without really having a good look round, I can tell you that your hallway, two stairwells, three bedrooms and both landings will need new drywall. You'll need new carpets in at least three rooms, you've possibly got structural damage on the third floor, but even if you haven't, the ceiling'll need looking at - and you should get someone to check the beams in the attic, which'll mean taking up the floor...." Billy told him, reeling off the damage from memory. "And that's even before you get to the cosmetic stuff. And with us already in October, with some of the out damage done and the bad weather approaching - you either need to get a big company in who can repair the damage in a couple of weeks, or you need to be thinking about what you're gonna do if the snow hits early and this place is still dodgy."

"The full walk through would just be depressing." Oz said. Then he looked at Billy, as he leaned his shoulder back against the wall. "I've actually already been thinking about the next step, that whole what to do thing." he admitted. "And...well, I've got something for you." he said. "I was going to save it for your wedding and everything, but now seems a more...opportune time."

Billy looked at him, frowning a little, not making the connection between this house being a wreck and a wedding present. "What, you're gonna employ me to do this whole lot and pay me a small fortune up front so I can actually afford to let Maddie go dress shopping?" he asked, hopefully. Because that had been nagging as well - he had no idea how much those things cost, but he doubted that wedding dresses would be cheap.

"I actually think Sophie's going dress shopping with Maddie, but no, that's not it. But hey, if you want to do all this work and get paid a small fortune, that's fine. I was figuring it would be you and me doing a lot of the work and shit, we could probably put in some...interesting things in light of how Marquette's been lately, Sophie would be happy. But actually it was something else." he said. He nodded for Billy to follow, and started to head upstairs to Sophie's study.

"Sophie and Maddie went... Okay, well, okay," Billy said, wondering whether he was either going to get a rther substantial credit card bill, or whether he'd be further indebted to his friends. he knew Oz and Sophie were generous with their money, but it had never sat entirely well with Billy when he was left feeling dependent upon them. He had rather too much pride for that. He'd borrowed from them once to buy Maddie a ring, but he was still fully intending to pay that back one day.

"Oh not yet, but I think they're going to." Oz clarified. "Anyways, not the point." he added, heading into the study, and he leaned one hand on the desk, moving the mouse to wake the computer up. He brought up the web, and clicked around a little to get the photographs online of the house he'd gotten for Billy and Maddie. "I made some calls today," he started. "Then Sophie took over those calls because she actually knows what she's doing. The paperwork is finalising tomorrow, you'll have the keys then."

Billy looked at the screen and the pictures on it. It was a house - a damn big, really nice house. And what his friend was saying was starting to filter in. The dreamwalker looked round at the werewolf, frowning. "But - I have a house," he said, dumbly, not quite connecting with what he was being shown, or why Oz was apparently giving him another house.

"Yeah, you have a house. You have a small ass house, in the middle of practically nowhere, and you have a family starting." Oz said. "So, have a house that fits that. You're getting a new life, you'll need a new place. Besides. Maybe Maddie would like a chance to have her own space too, like a space for the both of you to have together, as opposed to just your place with other people living in it. By the way, I want to move to the old house while this one's getting fixed. Oh, and this one?" he continued, gesturing to the one on the screen, "Is far enough out that you're not going to be bothered by neighbors either. So you'll still have a lot of land, a lot of privacy, it's on the lake, and slightly closer to town, even while still being off on it's own."

Billy raised an eyebrow. "You know - I'm sure that a person's meant to be more involved in the whole house buying thing," he pointed out. "Next you'll be telling me you already booked movers... Do I want to know how much it's setting you back?" Billy asked him, still dealing with the fact his friend was buying him a house and not able to move on to what'd happen to his old one.

"No. You don't." Oz said firmly. "Congratulations on getting married. Have an awesome life. Have lots of kids I can borrow, sugar up, then drop back off at your house." he said, leaning against the desk. "We could take a ride out there if you wanted. Remember the house I told you about before? The one that Sophie and I wanted because it was perfect, but wasn't close enough to town due to my eye?" he asked. "It was still on the market. So...couldn't pass it up."

Billy took a step back and sat down into the desk chair, heavily. "Man - just. I just need a minute," he said, looking up at Oz. "You know this is huge, right? You bought me a house. I - just..." It wasn't often that Billy was speechless, but today was one of those days.

Technically, this is the second house I bought you. Oz thought, but didn't say. He just smiled at his friend. He nodded, didn't say anything, so Billy could have his minute. What went through Oz's mind was a good chunk of the reason he was as generous with his money as he was. He knew there were a lot of people out there who wouldn't be. But he'd come into his through tragedy. And if he could use that for good things for good people? He was going to do it. As often as fucking possible. So what Amanda did...it meant something, and not just to him. It would mean something to people who touched his life. Her presence would still be helping. Even if it was just in this way.

Billy took a minute to just get over the shock of it all and then quietly shifted the chair forward, pulling himself up to the desk and clicking through the pictures on the screen, reading some of the details there. "This is a huge house, Oz," he said, eventually, without looking round. "I mean... it's got grounds." He had to wonder whether he could even afford the upkeep on a place like that - taxes, heating, lighting... hell, looking at it they'd need a gardener or something.

"Yes, it does." Oz said. "It's gorgeous. And doesn't need much work...or any work, as far as I could tell. It was...perfect. You have to see it." he insisted. "Seriously, I know you probably think it looks like too much, but just take a ride out there with me and see it first?" he suggested.

Billy looked back at the screen, at the house there. He was sure that it was too big, certain that it was beyond their means, whether it was being bought for them or not. He didn't exactly have a well paying job, he was just a one man show and with everything that went on in town, there were often stretches where he didn't work at all. plus, he was a sucker for undercharging people who couldn't afford to pay. He brought in enough to live on, but that was for a very simple lifestyle with no real frills and in a very small property. This - this was something different. But, it couldn't hurt to look. "Sure - we can go see it," he agreed at last.

Oz grinned. "Excellent. Let's go." he said, pushing up off the desk and heading for the door. He tipped his sunglasses down immediately, since outside and sunshine and his eye were not well mixed things. "I've been thinking, too." he said, as they hit the stairs. "Which I'm aware is possibly a dangerous thing for me to engage in."

"Probably a good idea you don't do it much then, isn't it?" Billy joked, still a little thrown about the fact they were heading out to his truck to drive from one house Oz had bought for him to another house he was buying for him. Maybe this was this week's weird - at least it was a non-deadly type of weird.

"Ha fucking ha. You didn't have to agree with me." Oz said, chuckling as he bounded out the door. So he got excitable sometimes. So what. "But alright. We've got access to the lake here, the new place does, and so does your old place." he said, already skipping over the Billy accepting the other house part of the equation, confident he would when he saw the place. "So, we set up docks and get boats just in case. And, I've been looking over maps and the like and with all three places, we should map out paths to each one, just in case. And I figure we turn your old place into as strong an emergency fallback place as possible. It's the farthest out, plus no one will be living there after we get my place sorted...eventually. Sometime this year preferably..."

Billy looked over as he opened the door to his truck. "Woah, okay, stop, slow down - seriously now. Overload here. Let's just... See this house before we go any further into you moving up to mine, or boats and boltholes, okay? And, can I remind you that it's not just me? I've got to talk this over with Maddie as well. I know she used to be a ghost and basically went where I did, but that's not the case any more and I'm not just going to be telling her how it is - we make decisions together, so don't go running off with plans, okay," he said, firmly, feeling very much like he was being railroaded right now and not liking it at all.

"Okay, okay--" Oz said, getting in the passenger's side. "I'll shut up. I've just been doing a lot of thinking. Especially in light of...well. Everything, lately." What with shit seeming to get worse in town. And really, he'd already been in a town that had hell washing over it every day. So if it was happening here...Oz just wasn't sure there was anywhere else to go. Plus, there was the issue with Maddie's mobility, and Oz's mind wouldn't even start thinking about the possibility of leaving without Billy.

"Obviously," Billy said, starting up the truck and pulling round before heading up the driveway and out along the street. "And thinking's good. But - right now it sounds like you're trying to rearrange my life for me. And that's not good. So, slow the hell down, okay?" he asked, trying not to sound pissed off. he knew how Oz got, he'd faced it before. The guy meant well, but sometimes Billy just wanted to dig his heels in and assert his independence, because sometimes, it just needed to be done.

"Yeah, yeah, I said I'd shut up." Oz replied, and wound the window down to look out it. "Did you need directions or did you see it on the site?" he asked instead of getting into anything else.

"Saw it on the site," Billy told him, turning up and heading out of town. "So, what - this place is kinda halfway between yours and mine?" he asked, checking that. He'd noticed that it was well off the beaten track again, which was good. Didn't look like there was really much else out there, which was great. No neighbours was a prerequisite for the dreamwalker, after all.

"Yeah. Sort of further northish, but between the both of ours." Oz answered. Which just made it more perfect, with the plans that Oz had in the back of his mind. Which he wasn't talking about. "I think it works out to be about as far from Marquette as your house is, maybe a little less, but still closer in to my place. Kinda centrally located, as it were. Without y'know. Being central by any stretch of the imagination. There's pretty much nothing else out there."

"Right," Billy told him, shortly, still feeling off and vaguely irritated. He loved his best friend, but sometimes he hated the guy's methods. And right now he knew he was meant to be just being grateful and accepting and probably involved and excited, but he wasn't, he was just irritable and worried and he felt bad for that. It was the wrong reaction and he knew it, but it was still there.

Oz wasn't really overly bothered at the moment. He was still confident Billy would change his mind once he was there, and saw the place. At least, that's what had happened when he'd first looked at the place initially. And he also wasn't saying anything further, because he figured currently anything he did say was just going to piss Billy off all the more, so...silence. He had gotten a little better at that over the years. Not much, but a little.

The rest of the ride to the property was made in silence as a result, Billy paying attention to where he was driving and, even then, almost missing the turning off towards the lake. The track down was narrow, but well maintained. Someone had obviously gone to the trouble of ensuring that the dirt track was free of potholes and that the vegetation was cut back well back - though there were signs that this maintenance had been lacking in recent months and that nature was slowly attempting to claw its way back again. The track down to the house was off the first dirt road, a twisting, winding track that meant that everything was truly left behind, the turning itself lost in the trees that bordered the road. It was peaceful here, quiet, and as they reached the open gates that stood to either side of the track, welcoming them to the grounds of the house itself, Billy felt his irritation and frustration slowly ease away.

The house was beautiful - set back from the gates, but visible between the gate posts, framed in all its glory - a large, unique property of no obvious style, it looked as if it had been dreamed up by someone who'd then just set about building it until it worked. But it did work. there was no balance, no regularity in its structure, but it was beautiful and even now Billy couldn't imagine it being any other way. He slowed as they drove through the gates and swung round in front, the gravel of the circular driveway crunching under the truck's wheels.

Oz for his part felt that strong pang that he hadn't been able to get the place for he and Sophie. The drive itself would be too much, particularly with only one of them that had the (legal) ability to drive. All in all it hadn't worked out, but even just arriving back on the grounds made him feel a little better. Almost weirdly nostalgic, even if he'd never spent more than a few hours total at the place. He tore his eyes away from the house after a moment, to settle them on his best friend, not saying a word.

Billy ignored Oz completely as he switched the engine off and climbed out of the truck, not taking his eyes off the house for a moment. He'd need to get a new vehicle, that was for sure. The rusty, beaten up old truck would have to go - it didn't fit here. It was a mar, it spoiled everything. He ran his eyes over the front of the house, until his gaze stopped on one window. And then he smiled slightly and walked forward, heading quickly towards the front door.

Oz grinned as he saw Billy just head for the door, and he got out of the truck himself, to follow. He took his time about it though, hands shoved in his pockets as he looked around again. God this place was great. It was perfect. That was really the only description he could come up with for it. And it deserved to have a family living in it. And Billy was going to have a family, so it would work out wonderfully. And they were extended family, right? So...even better.

Billy put his hand out and tried the door, surprised that he was unsurprised to find it unlocked. He pushed it open and walked inside, his eyes taking in everything as he headed across the wide, sunlight hall and headed up the sweeping staircase. he knew where he wanted to go - the window he'd seen from outside - and he just let his feet carry him there, as sure and certain about his direction as he would be in a dream under his control.

Oz took a leisurely stroll inside, looking around again. It was just like he remembered it, and instilled the same sort of feelings it had the first time. Only now, it wouldn't be empty anymore, which was a crime in and of itself. This place really needed people in it. A nice...family. It was in an absent sort of manner that he followed Billy's scent, tracking him at a slow sort of pace.

Billy had found the room and was sat on his heels in the middle of it, looking around slowly. The window was large, running almost floor to ceiling, curved at the top and wide to boot, facing southwards so that the sun streamed in, sending a chequerboard pattern across the floor and the dreamwalker where the panes were edged. He looked up toward the door as Oz walked in, a strnge smile on his face, though he said nothing at all.

Smiling back, the werewolf leaned in the doorfame, and looked around, before his eyes fell back on Billy. "So?" he asked, finally breaking the silence. He probably would have added something else, like 'are you ready to quit bitching at me now' but it didn't seem right at the moment.

Billy's smile grew and he stood, pulling his phone out of his pocket as he walked over to the window. "Let me call Maddie," he said, glancing at Oz as he put the phone to his ear and listened to the ringing.

Oz chuckled and shook his head, looking pleased. "You do that." he said. Then he pushed off the door frame, and went to just wander the house again, to look everything over once more. It was far too fascinating a structure not to.

On the other end of the phone, it was picked up, but there was a short distant exchange and a few tones as buttons were pushed before Maddie actually properly came on the line.

"--at button, wait--"

"I've got it! I know how to--this one?"

"Just talk, Maddie, it's on."

"Hello?"

Billy laughed a little at that. "Hi, sweetheart, it's me," he said, looking out of the window over the front of the grounds. yeah, he'd have to get a new truck. Suddenly, 'cost' didn't seem all that important. He'd find a way - he always did. And, at the end of the day, there was always oz - he'd never shirked from throwing money at people when they needed it, Oz'd be happy to help him out here, he was sure. "So, I'm standing in our wedding present from Oz and Sophie..."

Maddie shooed Lullaby off, and went to sit down. "You're--what?" she asked, a bit confused. "Back that up and run it by me again, love. You're standing..." she prompted, that statement not quite making a whole lot of sense to her. Though her first thought was quite clear. What the bloody hell has the wolf done now.

He pushed off the wall and started a slow walk around the large room. "I'm standing in our wedding present. Oz and Sophie bought us a house," he told her, sounding happy. "But - you have to see this place, darling, you really do. You'll love it - it's perfect. I already have our room picked out, I'm in it now. I'm going to come and pick you up and you have to see it - you'll love it," he told her, practically gushing.

Maddie sat there and actually pulled the phone back from her ear to eye it for a moment, as if it may burst into flames, or something. Finally she put it back to her ear, and attempted to come up with where to even start. "A house? We've got one of those, love." she said patiently. "Here right now, even. Sittin in the living room. They bought us a house? And...are you feelin alright?"

"I'm feeling fine," Billy told her, walking out of the room and starting to explore a little - he needed to find the perfect room for the nursery. He was sure there'd be a perfect room for the nursery. "And I know we've already got a place, but Oz was right - that place isn't big enough for a family. And anyway, he's going to turn it into a bolt hole, somewhere for emergencies." Though, as he said it, Billy realised that he couldn't imagine an emergency bad enough that he'd want to leave this place. He couldn't desert it like that. but, if it kept Oz happy, He could do what he wanted.

Maddie sat forward, frowning, and she rubbed at the bridge of her nose for a moment. "Billy, slow down." she said. "First of all, can we even afford to move? I don't see enough of you as it is, and you can't physically handle working much more than you already do. And...where the hell is this place even? What are we talking about here? And by the way, since when do I not get a say in decisions like this?"

He found it. He walked into a room across the corridor from what would be their bedroom and just knew it was meant to be a nursey. It had the most wonderful views out over the lake, and it was cool, but wouldn't be too cold in the winter. A nice sized room, just... perfect. "Oh, but love, I know that you'll just love this place. That's why i want you to come and see it this afternoon. It'll be fine, it'll be more than fine - really, this place is perfect. You'll love it, you really will," he told her, walking out of the room and heading back towards the stairs. "In fact, I'm coming to get you right now - you have to see this place. The sooner the better," he told her, firmly.

Okay there was a headache coming on now. Maddie bit back a bit of a frustrated growl. "Fine, I'll see it, but I don't really like this, William." she said. She really wasn't at all keen on this whole random house thing with decisions being made like they were all set in stone already, when she hadn't heard about it til thirty seconds ago. The place had better be brilliant, and most of all fantastically cheap, or someone was going to be in trouble. Possibly both of the boys.

Billy laughed again. "I love you - I'll see you in about ten minutes," he told her, before hanging up the phone and getting into his truck. he didn't even stop to think about what had happened to Oz as he pulled out and headed back along the road. his mind was firmly fixed on getting maddie so that she could come here and she could see. She would understand then.

Madigan shook her head and hung up, going to set the phone back down. She really really wasn't happy with how that conversation had gone. There were things to worry about. And alright, so this house was a little small. It wasn't like she had a lot of things now was it? She wondered where the girl had gotten off to, and if she was going to be going for a ride too, or what. Maddie was out of sorts, and that much was very clear, as she went to go get her shoes on.

Billy took the roads between the new house and the old rather too fast, but he managed to get there without incident, pulling up outside what he was already thinking of as 'the old house' and leaving the engine running as he headed inside to find his fiancee. "Maddie?" he called, as he opened the front door. "Come on, you have to come see this place!"

"And you can wait just a few bloody seconds!" she called back out to him. "Are we taking Lullaby?" she asked, opening the porch door, and giving her boy quite the stormcloud Look. She was glad to see him excited and all, but this was just a bit ridiculous. She didn't know if she'd seen him behave this way before, which made her skeptical. Possibly a touch concerned, but...what could she do but go see the place and see if it was all it was cracked up to be. She still worried about expenses, though, being she was overly sensitive about that. She wasn't bringing in any profits herself, so...yeah.

Billy walked up to her without pause and kissed her, deeply, pulling her into a hug and lifting her off the ground a little, before pulling back and taking her by the hand. "If she's around, she can come, if not - we can show her later, but really - you have to come and see this place. I found this room, it's lovely - our perfect bedroom and right across the hall, there's the nursery. or, at the moment an empty room, but just wait and see, it's a perfect nursery - I know you'll think it's a perfect nursery," he told her, already pulling her toward the truck.

Maddie of course kissed him back, and she was all for affection and the like, but it was...well. She was still meant to be pissy at the moment, and that wasn't conducive to that. And she was getting dragged. "Where's the wolf, anyways, and--" she started, noting Oz's absence, and she looked back at the house. "Billy, I can't very well yell for the girl, she can't hear, now can she?" she said, starting to get more annoyed. "Not quite on, just leaving her here with no explanation or the like--" He was talking nurserys? He had the bloody nursery picked out already? Without her?

Billy stopped moving at that and turned back to her. "You're right," he told her, giving her another quick kiss. "We should bring Thia - she's practically family, after all. Oz thinks she's adopted me. Or me her. Or something. We should go and find her, since she'll be moving with us," he agreed, leaving her to go and find Thia - the girl couldn't be far, after all. he'd heard her on the phone.

It was like Billy was on crack. Maddie watched him heading back up to the house, and she stood there, watching him, bewildered. She had no idea what was happening, but she wasn't a fan. Now if he could get this excited about other things, that would be great, or possibly, get excited then share in on things with her before running full tilt forward and making a bunch of decisions without the slightest bit of input from her, that would be even better. Either way, she walked sullenly towards the truck, and lamented Billy's use of the phrase 'she'll be moving with us' as if it were already happening.

Lullaby for her part was in the kitchen, trying to work on a crossword puzzle in a book that was probably printed sometime in the seventies, that she'd found in the attic the other night. Which of course made it pretty stupidly difficult, but she had little else to do, and hadn't wanted to hover around Maddie while the witch was on the phone. Maddie didn't like being hovered around in general. She looked up when she saw Billy though. She smiled. "Hey, you're back early."

"Not back early - come to pick you two up," he told her, gesturing for her to get up. "I've got something to show you, come on - you're going to love it," he said, with a smile. "We're going to be moving - Oz and Sophie bought us this wonderful, absolutely perfect house for a wedding present and - you just have to see it to understand. But it's closer to Dean's house and we're going to sort things out so we can get over there more easily and - it's perfect, really," he said, easily and unthinkingly working on selling it to her on the terms she'd most like.

"Um...okay?" Lullaby got up, to start going with Billy. She was...really kind of thrown. That was abrupt. Granted, she liked the idea of being closer to Dean, but moving? She'd just got here. Now she was going to another place? It all kind of felt pretty whirlwind, but as far as she could tell, Billy was intensely happy. There was no negative energy around him by far. Jesus. ...the same could not be said for Maddie, as she walked down the porch steps, seeing the black cloud that was her more than her figure itself. It was confusing to say the least.

Billy headed them both over to the truck, opening the passenger door for them so they could climb in before going round to the driver's side, getting in and starting up the engine. "You're going to love this place," he told them with all the certainty the self-confident dreamwalker could muster as he pulled out and headed them off.

Oz, though completely forgotten and left behind, had been perfectly fine with that, and had walked around the house some more. He had wound up on the second floor balcony, sitting down in one of the hand made wooden chairs that was still up there, and his feet were up on the railing. He was admiring the patterns that the fencing around the balcony put into the shadows on the deck itself, and the breeze. It smelled good out here. It was farther from town than his own property, and farther from any road than Billy's, so it had the least cling of town-scent of the three. Which he for one appreciated. He sat up when he saw the truck pulling back in, and stood, leaning his arms on the rail and he waved, smiling good naturedly. Billy was sold, now all Maddie had to do was come see how perfect it all was, and it'd be fine.

Billy pulled the truck up to a stop and switched the engine off, not wanting to pollute the atmosphere around here with unnecessary fumes. "See - what do you think?" he asked, turning excitedly to the two women, but just knowing they were going to love it.

Maddie was standing with one hand on the truck door, just staring. Because it was beautiful. It was possibly the most beautiful place she'd ever seen. Definitely the most beautiful house. She sort of slowly looked around, vaguely noting the wolf up on the balcony there but... wow. "Billy, it's..." she started, not sure she had a word yet. She made herself look back at her boy. "You were talking about the nursery?" Quite suddenly, as they had been pulling up to the place, she'd sort of stopped feeling quite so ornery about things. He was just excited, right? And the place was looking nice...and...she wanted to see this nursery now. And their room.

Lullaby got out of the truck last, and was also the one that wound up shutting the door behind Maddie. It had been weird, watching the lines around her seemingly retract. Like they just...sank right back into Maddie the closer they got to the house, and then they were gone. Gone-gone. Nonexistent, and that was before she'd even said a word to Billy. She looked around, and she could see that everyone else was looking ridiculously happy and the like, but she didn't quite know what was so special. The place was definitely gorgeous, the land was pretty and she looked down towards the water. But...she didn't quite have the same reaction as everyone else.

"Perfect?" he asked as he walked round and took her hand. "Come on - I'll show you the nursery. And that - see that window there? That's our room," he told her, before looking round to Thia. "Come on - you can look round, decide which room you want to be yours. I'm sure you'll find one that's just perfect for you," he told her, before pulling Maddie toward the house, giving Oz a wave.

Oz waved, smiling down at Maddie and Billy, feeling pretty good about everything in general. He knew Billy'd love it. He sat back down, waving for Thia to come in, since she hadn't started following right away, and he knew shouting to her wouldn't do any good. Then he settled in again.

Maddie allowed herself to be pulled along, though really being pulled was a loose definition considering she was eager to get in there as soon as she could. She walked in the open door, and was trying to look everywhere at once. Which was not working out for her nearly well enough. "It's beautiful. And yes, I wouldn't have...it's perfect." she settled into.

Lullaby wandered up onto the huge wraparound porch, just beneath where Oz was sitting, but she didn't go inside. Everything felt a little weird, and she didn't quite know why. So...instead of going into the house, she decided to walk down the little path towards the lake, and see how that was.

Billy just let Thia wander off - you found your own way around this place. He just felt that to be the case. He'd felt the pull to the places that he'd really wanted to go, and they'd just been there. Thia would find her own place and love it the way they loved this. Home - it already felt like home, the way that no other place ever had done before. "Come on, I want to show you upstairs, then we can explore together," Billy told Maddie, excitedly.

Maddie was already heading towards the stairs. "I want to see our room, and the baby's room...what color is it? What color will she want it? Oh, but I'm not sure I would want to change anything..." she started, still looking around like she was trying to take everything in all in one instant. "We're going to need more furniture." she assessed. "We're going to need a lot of things, is the wolf okay with that?" Since she knew they wouldn't be footing that bill. "Billy, we have to have the ceremony here."

"I'm sure oz will be fine with it - he really, really wanted us to have this house and you know what he's like," Billy said, leading her upstairs to the bedrooms. He didn't answer her questions about décor - he wanted her to see it all herself, a description could never be enough. He led her down the landing, before turning to her. "Our room or the baby's room?" he asked her, wanting to know which one she'd like to see first. "Then we'll go outside and find the perfect place for the ceremony."

"Baby's room." Maddie said, after a brief hesitation. Mostly because she figured she actually wanted to spend just a weeee bit of time with Billy in their room. She was already thinking about what to do with the other space. She'd have to explore downstairs, but she was willing to bet there was a perfect room for her to have all of her magical supplies, everything she needed, all in one place, organized nicely, not just in an ancient trunk. She could even start a business, couldn't she? She could sell little trinkets. White magic for people, protection spells, charms...yeah, with a place like this, she could do that no problem. She wondered if they could set up a room for her to grow herbs in...maybe glass in part of the balcony? There were a lot of possibilities. Her mind was having trouble keeping up with them all.

Billy grinned widely and led her to the left and into the room he already had labelled in his mind as 'the nusery'. Not that there was anything about the room that really said 'nursery' - no furniture, no murals of small fluffy animals, or toys. It was a completely bare room, the walls a pale creamy colour, the floorboards smoothed and polished a deep, rich tan colour. the only addition was a large, thick rug in the centre of the room. Yet Billy just knew in his heart that this room was a nursery.

Maddie drew in a breath and smiled, looking around it. "Oh its perfect!" she said, mind filling in where everything could go. "It'll be absolutely perfect. All we need is a few things, and..." she turned and put her arms up around his neck. "I love it." she told him, grinning. All of her ire from before had gone, she wasn't even thinking about it whatsoever anymore. It didn't matter. Because he'd been absolutely right. She loved it.

Billy kissed her deeply for a moment, holding her close before letting her go, keeping an arm around her waist as he walked them over to the window. "And we can get some chairs so that we can sit up here and look out," he told her, frowning a little at that - he wanted to be able to imagine the scene, yet he couldn't. He just couldn't picture it in his head. He shook the momentary annoyance off - he wouldn't let his own failings mar this moment. Instead he looked out over the lawns, noting the orchard off to one side, then out over the lake - he could just about see Thia wandering through the trees, down to the beach. the beach where they'd have a jetty built, maybe a boat house. Somewhere they could put Oz' idea into practice.

"I like that idea." Maddie said. "When do we even get this place? When can we start moving here?" she asked, looking out the window too, before she turned her gaze back on Billy. She nuzzled under his jawline for a moment, sort of only dimly aware that they weren't alone in the house and all that, but...it was nice. And maybe the wolf had the right idea, getting them this. Maybe a house that was for them, that they could both move into and set up together would be good for them. She knew she liked the idea, and she could feel like she could rearrange things how she liked, because it would be their house. They could do everything together this time, instead of her being there but not. For the first time in a long time she actually wanted to start getting herself things.

"Straight away," Billy said, without hesitation. "We'll spend today seeing what's here, working out what we need. A lot of our things back at the other house won't do - we'll leave them there. Oz wants to move his family over there while his place is done up anyway, so they'll need to furniture. And then we'll start moving over tonight. Is that soon enough?" he asked her. He wanted to be here now, he didn't want to leave again. This was home.

Maddie laughed, nodding. "Yes, I think tonight is soon enough." she said, shifting to stand in front of him. She hooked her arms up around his neck and kissed him, probably a little more seriously than they had time for, if they were going to be packing up to get back here as soon as possible. All she really needed was her clothes and her trunk. Everything else was sort of forgettable, or at the very least, she didn't need it. Not right now. Not tonight.