Howard supposed that he should have been more concerned after watching his son disappear under a fingertip the size of a building, but for the life of him, all he could do was chuckle. A quick glance upward, one that netted him a view of two sparkling rows of enamel, and he supposed no longer. Laughing once more, one of his hands found and grasped the small pair of sandals that rested to his side before he hopped to his feet. Breaking into a soft sprint, the tanned flesh below him yielding ever-so slightly with each quick step, he began to move to the center of Abigail's palm. Approaching the mighty leaning tower currently burying itself into the veritable field of skin upon which he inhabited, he really couldn't help but admire it, something he had found to be the case increasingly often over the last three-and-a half years. The appendage was impressive, of course: The finger dwarfed even Alphas, made even them look small. Truthfully, though, there was little about Abigail that wasn't impressive from that sort of standpoint, and as awe-inspiring as she could be on that front, there was another upon which she dwarfed even that.

As if on cue, the mushing digit began to rise as Howard moved to within a few inches of it, and no sooner had it lifted and began it's ascent than he was greeted with yet another example of what impressed him more than anything else.

"Dad, she cheated!" a child's voice called from before him, and the newly freed four-year old sat up and looked indignantly at him before standing to meet him.

The tenderness with which Abigail could act probably entranced him more than anything else. That she could exhibit such practiced, precise control to the point where she could press a finger down onto such a small form and cause no harm other than annoyance...she really was an amazing woman and, over the last few years, a wonderful friend.

Taking a look down at his son, panting heavily after his run across Abby's palm, he was reminded that there was one more role in which she excelled, a role he hoped she would accept more...formally, soon, along with another.

"I did no such thing," a gleeful voice thundered from above as Howard rested a hand on his son's head, ruffling his blonde hair. Father and son turned their attention skyward, to the radiant visage of their frequent hostess. Her dark hair was brushed behind her shoulders, and the tender blue pools of her eyes focused lovingly down upon the two even as her cherry-painted lips curled in a triumphant smirk at catching Corey yet again in their frequent game.

"She pressed down and made me fall!" Corey pleaded as he caught his breath. She had done that, of course, after the boy had passed the halfway point of her palm. Howard had gotten a good view from his perch along the side of Abby's hand as her pursuing digit had pressed down into the soft palm upon which Corey had been running, depressing the skin around it and tripping the child up as the surface below him had suddenly inclined, leaving him helpless as his pursuer proceeded to smother him with victorious affection.

"Ah, but did you two actually make that against the rules?" Howard playfully questioned, knowing full well the answer.

"Um..." Corey responded, pursing his lips and looking down at his feet, acting as if he were thinking it over. "No..." he quietly added a moment later.

"Then it's just something to be ready for next time, then, isn't it?" Howard asked, kneeling down to his son's level and pulling him in for a quick hug against his side.

"I guess," came the answer, and while a bit of a pout over losing persisted in his voice, one look at Corey's face made it clear he intended to not let it effect him again.

"And besides," Abby's pleased voice added from above, "you made it so much farther this time! I have to keep things interesting or I won't be able to keep up with you at this rate!" A smile crept onto the little boy's face at that, accompanied by a slight giggle. Howard brought a hand to his mess of hair once more to give it another ruffle before handing the child his sandals and standing up once more. If his internal clock was right, it was about time for-

A soft ping echoed through Abby's home, confirming Howard's suspicions.

"Alright, champ, looks like it's time for you to get going," he said with a smile, and Corey seemed to get his second wind as he quickly fell to his bottom and hurriedly put on his sandals.

"Excited to go to the game?" Abby inquired sweetly from above, and Corey nodded vigorously as he finished with his footwear. "That's good, I'm sure you'll have a great time." With his minor preparations done, Corey stood once more, and Howard wasting no time in lifting his son up onto his shoulders even as Abby began to slowly stand, leaving the mountain range that was her couch behind. As usual, the speed at which Abby rose, the levelness she held her palm at...everything was perfect. To the two Betas, it was as simple, comfortable elevator ride. In no time the Omega had left the sofa behind and closed in on the monolithic gateway that was her front door, casually opening the oversized slab of wood and taking a relatively small step outside.

From her palm, Howard could see Abby's eyes cast downward and beyond her upturned palm. She exchanged short pleasantries with the Alpha chaperone he knew to be down on the walkway that had come to pick up Corey for his trip, asking how she was, all that fun stuff. Soon enough, though, those orbs focused on the two once more.

"All ready to go?" she asked with a pleasant smile, receiving an excited "Uh huh!" as her answer.

"Do you want to say bye to Ms. Abby first?" Howard asked, grinning softly to himself given that the question posed only ever had one answer.

"Yes!" Corey exclaimed, and his grin gave way to another chuckle. Looking up into Abby's face once more, those cherry cushions parted in another wide smile that showed off her immaculate pearly whites even as it began to lower in tandem with her now rising palm. Her beautiful face, which for most of the day had been like a far-off moon, descended upon the two, her lovely features filling more and more of their vision. Reaching up, Howard grasped Corey underneath his arms and lifted him slightly, shifting him over until his son was perched on his arm with Howard's hand supporting him to his side.

Abby's face continued to close in, and as expected, it soon became apparent that the tip of her nose was aimed squarely at them, dropping closer and closer until finally it halted just a hair's breadth away from the two. Leaning into the cartilaginous protrusion, Howard's action soon found itself repeated as Corey eagerly leaned forward on his perch with arms wide, affectionately embracing the tanned skin before him and nuzzling into it, his small eyes closed.

Howard's heart melted every time he watched that, and it made him so happy to know that he wasn't the only one who felt that way during these moments. He was thankful to Abigail for so very many things, but nothing could compare to what she did for Corey, what she was to him despite how dramatically small he was to her. Something he had once thought would be lost to his son forever.

Corey's eyes opened, and ever-so-quickly he delivered a small peck to the target of his embrace before leaning back into his perch.

"Bye, Ms. Abby," he stated energetically, "thanks for playing with me! I'll win next time though!"

"Any time, sweetie," Abby responded with the gentlest of whispers as her face began to ascend once more, allowing her cinnamon-scented breath to cascade over them as her head tilted back. "But we'll have to see on that, won't we?" she added playfully, drawing a giggle from the child. "Alright then, going down."

The world blurred a bit as Abby descended, though with more than enough restraint to prevent their stomachs from rising out of their mouths. Or the two of them from flying right out of her palm, for that matter. Still, Abby's hand soon hovered (as much as a thing so large COULD hover, he supposed) above the ground, and Howard found himself looking up into yet another pair of icy blue eyes.

"Hey, Tricia," Howard called up to the smiling Alpha that loomed over the side of Abby's hand, and the two exchanged pleasantries of their own as he walked to meet her, and soon Corey was seated comfortably in a smaller yet still larger palm.

"Now, you be good for your chaperones and to the other kids, okay?" Abby commented from above and behind, and a "Yes, ma'am!" followed from Tricia's hand.

"And you be sure to thank Mr. King for setting this up for all of you," Howard appended, receiving his own affirmation in response.

Goodbyes were said then, and Abby rose again to her full, mountainous stature as Tricia went on her way.

"It really was great of Greg to set this up for the kids," Howard commented as he fell backwards into the center of the comfortable palm. "I bet they'll have the time of their lives today."

"Mmhmm," Abby uttered as she crossed the threshold back into her home, closing the door behind her. "I know he's been pushing the owner for a long time to get something like this set up. I guess when your All-Pro tight end suddenly becomes your Super Bowl-winning, All-Pro tight end, he becomes a lot easier to listen to if you don't want him bolting to another team. "Face of the Franchise" and all that."

Howard chuckled a little. Greg King really was a good guy, something he hadn't really expected when he had met the Alpha during one of his frequent visits to the Facility as a volunteer. He had been surprised to learn that he had shown up there within days of being drafted to see what he could do for the city's Beta population, and his support had only furthered after scoring his first huge payday. Truthfully, Howard worried for the man a little. He poured so much money into charity, he might not leave enough for himself.

Apparently, though, he was dating another Omega. And one thing Howard had learned over the last few years was that money didn't really seem to be an issue to the protective titans.

Other things had been learned to, of course, and looking up into the distant sky at the underside of Abby's chin, they really were wonderful things.

Abby eventually plopped back down upon the couch, and wasted no time in spreading her length across it, becoming a mountain range all her own. On her back now, reclining against a pillow that rested upon the furniture's arm, Howard's city block-sized bed tilted to the side. Not altogether unexpected, of course, now that they were alone. He had no qualms with allowing himself to tumble gingerly down the squishy incline as Abby made adjustments here and there to keep his speed under control.

Eventually, he tumbled onto his destination, and it really was his favorite place to be when they were alone. Shifting his prone form into a sitting position, he once more looked into Abigail Everett's oceanic eyes from atop one of her massive breasts, the only thing separating him from the supple flesh underneath being the cotton fabric of her blouse.

He avoided noting, of course, how effective a barrier that actually was.

"So, Mr. Lindon," Abby began, her voice and narrowed eyes making her the very picture of slyness, "I believe you have a couple of hours before your shift at the clinic. Any ideas on how to pass that time?"

Howard smiled. There were plenty of ideas, sure, and on any other day he'd probably suggest them.

Not today, though. No, today he had resolved to do something much different than when they usually found themselves alone.

"Actually, Abby, I do," he began, his voice wavering somewhat. A waver that did not go unnoticed by his hostess, and her sly visage shifted into something a bit more curious. Wavering wasn't really the norm for Howard, and he knew that. Hadn't been for quite some time. But this was something a bit different than having some simple fun. This was far more important than that.

"Abby," he started again, this time with a deep breath, "can we talk?"