[Previously OTC 23.1: What scares you? Also for muse_shuffle June, Disk 1, Track 1: White Chalk, by PJ Harvey. Set significantly into the future. Characters used with love, if not permission.]

Dorset's cliffs meet at the sea
Where I walked
(Our unborn child in me)
White chalk
(Poor scattered land)


It's early June and Gotham is muggy. Hot and muggy, and Cissie still has four weeks before the baby is born. Even with air conditioning, sleep is almost impossible between the heat and being completely incapable of finding a comfortable position. It is nearly four am, and Tim is not home yet. It is later than usual, but not so much later that Cissie is especially concerned. Not any more than she usually is when he goes out, anyway. Besides, his side of the bed is currently occupied by a gray cat and a just-shy-of-four year old. Sadie's caught some kind of summer flu, and it's just easier for Cissie to care for her if she is in the same room.

( Sadie has finally fallen asleep, and Cissie is close to following her when the phone rings. )