Painting Party

The little girl clapped with delight as the beds of the dorm room all lifted from the walls and landed in the center of the room. Noble brushed off her hands, quite pleased with the work.

"That… that just saved us at least an hour's worth of work."

Because school was in session, some of the staff who usually watched the older children were free to help with the painting. The one who had just spoken looked at the neatly arranged beds with his mouth hanging open. 

"Think nothing of it. Happy to help." Noble used her Ability to drape a sheet over the furniture. 

The workers shook off their amazement and gathered up their supplies. Soon they were prepared to work.

Their little supervisor perched herself on top of one of the bunks and nestled down to watch. 

"How do you want to divide the room?" Fort asked. 

Opal had left them to their work and whether Fort liked it or not, he was the most senior government agent in the room…even if he was technically a volunteer.

"You all can get these three walls. I will paint the fourth and help the rest of you when I am finished," Noble rolled up her sleeves and picked up a single brush from the pile.

"Oh you will, will you?" Fort tilted his chin incredulously. The wall she indicated was the longest of them all. 

"Naturally…" Noble smirked. 

"You think you can paint that one wall before all of us can finish the other three?" 

"I do," the Awakened answered easily. 

"How about a little competition?" Fort picked up a roller and swished it around like a sword. 

The action brought forth a peal of giggles from their little mascot. 

"What do you say?" The man coaxed the little girl. "Would you like to see us have a painting race?"

The child bounced up and down on the bed with an enthusiastic nod.

"You heard the boss," Fort raised both hands in surrender. "A race it is!"

Noble smirked. "You're on!" 

"No switching tools now! Brushes are much slower than rollers, and you might feel very tempted to change." Fort narrowed his gaze at his wife. 

"I will use only regular brushes and paint," Noble nodded and crossed her heart. 

"Good." The government agent held out his hand and the two shook. 

"My dear, there is one little detail you forgot." The woman's eyes swirled for a moment. 

Taking a step back, Fort furrowed his brow. "What's that?"

"You told me I could only use one kind of brush, but you didn't give a cap to how many I could use." Noble opened her handbag. A dozen paintbrushes floated out and stood ready at attention. 

"That…that's cheating!" Fort's mouth hung open.

"Is it?" His wife asked innocently. "What do you think? Can I use more than one brush?" she turned her eyes on the little one.

The child giggled and gave two thumbs up. 

"The judge has spoken." Fort kicked at an imaginary rock on the ground. A hint of a smile flashed across his face. "But we will still win. Go!" 

He turned to the other workers, and they dashed to the wall. The race was on.

It took a bit of coordination, but Noble was able to get the brushes under control and working in unison in only a matter of minutes. While the Awakened was sure her plan would work, she had never kept that many objects under her control to do such an intricate task. 

Once she figured out how to divide her attention properly, the whole thing appeared like a dance. After some trial and error, each brush took just the right amount of paint, pressed just the right amount to spread it, and left just the right amount of space between the end of the stroke and the ceiling for an edge brush to complete the job.

When the work no longer required all of Noble's attention, she took a seat by the little girl on the covered bed. 

"What do you think? Pretty neat, no?" 

The child nodded, her eyes glistening with fascination and wonder. The three-year-old shivered, and Noble reflexively held out her arm. Before she knew what was happening, the girl had cuddled up beside her and sighed contentedly. 

Noble's stomach knotted. Deep joy at having the little creature rely on her so heavily mixed with the guilt of what she would have to tell the child at the end of the day. 

Noble would not be coming to visit again. 

'It is better for both of us if we part ways now instead of later when it will hurt much more.'

However, Noble could not bear to pull herself away. It felt too natural to comfort the child. With each passing moment, she felt a little more of her resolve slipping away. 

"Finished!" Fort wiped his brow. "I told you we would be first!" 

"Only because I felt sorry for you and sent half my brushes to help you. I am nearly done as well." Noble rolled her eyes before concentrating on the last couple of strokes. 

"A win is a win." The husband insisted. "Isn't it?" he asked the little girl. 

She laughed, pointing to the paint on the man's nose. 

"I am going to take that as an agreement. I want my prize now." Fort crossed his arms.

"Prize? We never discussed any prize…" Noble thought for a moment. "How about I treat you to lunch in the cafeteria here?" 

"That wasn't exactly what I had in mind." Fort was cut off as Opal hurried into the room. 

Dismissing her staff to complete their other daily chores before the school children returned, Opal marveled at the completed work.

"The Awakened really are on another level! That was a Herculean task, but you made it look easy. I don't suppose you would have time to do another room before you leave?" The facilitator clasped her hands against her datapad in a silent plea.

"Why would we not have time? I said I would be here all day." Noble furrowed her brow.

Opal dropped her eyes, embarrassed. "Oh! Of course, I just assumed after what Inspector Fort showed me…"

Even though he was behind her, Noble could feel the sudden spike in her husband's emotions. She turned just in time to catch Fort running his finger frantically across his neck with an exasperated look. 

The man cleared his throat. "May I speak with my wife privately?"

Opal immediately understood. Nodding, she held out her hand to the child. "Come on, sweetheart. I will take you to the lunchroom. The adults need to talk."

The little girl looked up at Noble. Bending over, the floating Awakened pressed her finger lightly under the child's chin. "I'll come find you in a bit. I promise."

"You can use my office if that is helpful." Opal took them to a small room which barely held a desk and a couple of chairs. "I will get the little one set up with something to eat. I will return shortly."

The facilitator and child headed down the hall. Fort shut the door behind them and took a deep breath. He seemed nervous and excited. The amount of energy coming off of him was befuddling to Noble.

"What is it?" She asked when they both were seated. 

"You have been spending a lot of time here for the past couple of weeks." Fort shifted uncomfortably in his seat. 

"If you are going to tell me to stop, you do not have to. Today is my last day. I promise." Noble did not want a speech about how she had thrown herself into something too deeply. She already knew. 

"Is it because of her?" The man pointed to the door where the little girl had been smiling at them only a few moments before. "You have become quite attached."

"I know. Please don't tell me it is unhealthy…" Noble's eyes welled with tears.

Fort pressed his lips together. "I wasn't going to say anything of the sort."

"But you were thinking it, I know it!" A single drip of water slid down the woman's cheek.

Feeling the conversation was getting away from him, Fort took the woman's hand. "I was actually going to suggest that you see her more often. How would you like to see that little angel every day?"

"That would be horrible!" Noble blurted, startling her husband. She began to sob in earnest. "I ache knowing I have to say goodbye today. If I wait another month or two, it might just break me again. A child like that is too precious for someone not to adopt her. Do you really think her new parents would be alright with some stranger asking to see her? No!"

"I could think of a way for her new parents to continue letting you see her." Fort's words caught the woman off guard. 

She sniffed and wiped her tears. "Oh? You have no idea where she will end up or what those people will be like."

"I can fix that too," the man's smile grew. 

Noble looked at him incredulously. "Can you now? Tell me then. What is your surefire way for me to still see that precious little one and be able to pick who her parents are?"

Squeezing both of his wife's hands, Fort winked. "Simple. We'll be her parents."