"Two popsicles then?"

"I'll fix you some profiteroles."

Madison had no idea what those were, but she was sure they would be incredibly delicious. Mrs. Sanchez believed in taste over health. The bat-shifter glanced over to where the Debate had turned to which of the two women were in fact more stubborn. Madison almost smirked, enjoying the irony of it.

About then, Mr. Hannity and Mr. Adler walked into the kitchen, holding bottles of expensive imported beer and talking about sports.

Not the athletics of them, mind you, but about the architectural garishness of the new Cowboy stadium. Mr. Adler gave his wife a peck on the cheek, careful not to say anything that would get him sucked into the Debate. He was a referee in that tradition, not a participant.

“Should we say something?" Mr. Hannity whispered to his daughter, he eyes on the heated exchange.

“Not if you value your life. Interfere and, from what I understand, they'll both turn on you."

Mr. Adler leaned up against the encounter nearby and nodded.

“She learns quickly."

"She's a smart girl."

It was a small compliment that most people would barely notice.

Madison's entire being glowed. Apparently, paternal affection mattered to her, whether she would ever admit it or not.

A few hours later, after the humans had gone home and an amazing dinner had been sampled, the Adlers, the Hannitys, and assorted company were lounging around the family room, which Morgan continuously claimed had its own area code. Billy, Jessica, Mr. Adler, and Heda had found a Scrabble game and an audience. Madison's father had made sure that there was a braille version around, so this time she could actually follow along. Sort of. She had no understanding of more than half the words that got played, and she could not pronounce about a fourth of them.

“Okay, what the hell does ‘yanquis' mean?" she asked when the game finished up, with Jessica Adler winning by a mere two points.

Heda was glowering at the pieces, attempting to see if something might have been miscounted.

"It's a translation of 'Yankee,' from a perspective of someone from Latin America about those not from Latin America."

“And that counts?"

"It's in the Scrabble dictionary," her girlfriend sighed, sinking into her chair and accepting defeat.

“I should have seen that coming," she muttered.

"I knew that the 'q' and the ‘y' were still out there".

“No one's perfect," Jessica replied smugly.

“Oh crap," Mr. Adler said, as the Debate began again.

“She just had to rub it in -—"

Madison retreated to the kitchen, carrying dishes with her despite being told repeatedly by her father that he had a staff for that.