Dinah busily brushed the girls hair, watching her scroll down her socials feed. "You want braids tonight, baby?"
"Yes please." Artemis replied.
She parted her hair and got started. "Let me know if it hurts." She leaned forwards, letting Dick pass behind her. "Are you going to take a shower?"
"A bath." Dick replied. "You don't need the upstairs bathroom, right?"
"Nope." She started to braid Artemis' hair. "Can you ask M'gann to come downstairs?"
"Will do!"
Presently, M'gann came drifting into the room. "Yeah?"
"Can you finish your dinner please, sweetie?"
The martian grumbled. "Not hungry."
"Just a little more? Just finish your veggies and you'll be fine."
They reluctantly agreed, sitting down at the end of the table.
Dinah finished the first braid and began the second, just as Wally walked in from the living room, workbook in hand. "Mom, I have a question."
"Uh, not sure I can answer, but shoot."
"When citing a book, like a novel, should I cite it with quotation marks?"
"Uh, depends on the citation style..." Good thing she'd double-majored in Lit Studies. "You should be good putting it in italics, unless your teacher specified you're using AP."
"Thanks." He popped out again, before returning. "What about poems?"
"Long or short?" She tied off Artemis' second braid. "Good to go!" She turned back to Wally. "Generally, it's: name, title (in quotations), and then maybe publishing info."
"Thanks!"
"Wally!" M'gann called, having finished her vegetables. "Can you clear my plate?"
"Gladly." He took her seat and dug in to the cold curry.
Kaldur took one step into the kitchen, saw how crowded it was, and went to wait in the living room.
"mẹ, can I wear your leather jacket to school tomorrow?" Artemis asked.
"Why?"
"Band rehearsal." She shrugged.
"Alright, but not in class. I won't have your teachers calling me because the patches are too inappropriate."
"Okay." Artemis stood, padding to the closet to remove the article.
With her in the hall and M'gann going up to her room, Kaldur finally felt comfortable entering. He set the kettle on for tea.
"Hey bud," Dinah drew him aside. "Where'd you get that?" She gestured to the bandages tied taught around his shoulder.
"It isn't a big deal, I promise."
"I just want to know."
"I..." He hesitated. "I was still cleaning the underside of a ship... the owner didn't realize and started up the rudder..."
"Oh, Kaldur!" She sat him down, carefully unwrapping the bandages, it was clear he's put them on himself, . "Hold still, I'll get the first aid kit, we'll clean this up."
"I got it!" Wally set down the cleared plate and took off, socked feet thumping on the carpet upstairs.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"I did not wish to interrupt." Kaldur said sheepishly. "You were busy."
"I can always make time, okay? Ah! Wally, thank you."
She assessed the injury; it was pretty deep, but still only superficial, so nothing to be too worried about-- though it might leave a scar. She plied him with alcohol swaps and Polysporin and clean bandages, and when he was all ready she poured him some tea and sent him to lie down.
With Wally done his second meal and Artemis laying out her things for the morning, Dinah found enough time to squeeze in some dishes; in a house of seven people there was never an absence of dishes to do. There was however, a frequent absence of food, she'd have to budget in more groceries...
Heading upstairs, she ran into Dick, wrapped in a towel, walking to his room. "Quick bath?" She asked.
"Not much hot water." He shrugged. "Just enough to wash my hair and do a face mask."
"That sounds like enough." She continued on towards her room, stopping to knock on the closet door. "Conner?"
"Mhm."
She cracked the door open. "How was school, big guy?"
"Bad."
She nodded. "Let's make a plan for tomorrow, to help make it better."
"How?"
"Maybe... lets think of the things we can do when we're angry. Remember what TIPP means?"
"Temperature, Intense exercise, Paced breathing, Progressive muscle relaxation?"
"Very good! what are some ways we can use those?" She really meant we, she needed to control her own anger at Conner's teachers and peers. "We could go for walks, splash cold water on our faces..."
"4-in, hold-4, exhale-8?"
"Yes! Very good!" She stood up. "keep brainstorming, I'm going to take my makeup off."
Later that evening, Dinah made her last lap of the house before bed, checking that the doors were locked and everything was as it should be.
Kaldur was on the couch, flipping through his work binder. M'gann and Wally were brushing their teeth, Dick was blow-drying his curls and Artemis was on her computer in bed. Conner was still in his room
"Dick, are you going to use my straightener tomorrow?"
"I don't know? why?" He shouted over the hair dryer.
"I was going to use it for work."
"Oh, that's fine, I'll wear my natural hair then!"
"Hey Mom." Wally spat out the toothpaste. "Can you read over my essay this weekend?"
"Sure thing!" She replied with a yawn. "Everyone get to bed when you're done, I'll come by to check on you in ten minutes.
As always, it was tough to get all six kids to bed on a school night. "Alright, everyone's phones plugged in?" She asked, standing in the door to Wally, Dick and Artemis' bedroom. The three nodded blearily.
"mẹ, can you pass my water?" Artemis asked.
She did. "Alright, is that all?"
"It's thursday tomorrow, right?" Wally asked, rubbing his eye sleepily.
"I believe so, yes. So sleep tight everyone, you've got school tomorrow." They bid her goodnight as well, and she headed across to Kaldur and M'gann's. "How's that bandage feel, baby?"
"It will be fine." He replied.
"Can I have a hug?" M'gann asked.
"Of course," Dinah stooped to hug her. "Now, both of you rest up. It's a new day tomorrow."
"Goodnight."
"G'night!"
Now that they were settled, Dinah retired to bed, exhausted.
Around 3 am she awoke to her bedroom door opening. peaking out from under her eyelid, she caught sight of a towering figure at the foot of her bed. "Conner?" She groaned. "You wanna sleep in here tonight baby?"
He nodded, climbing into her closet. Dinah smiled a little and rolled over, going back to sleep.