Completion 7/?
Completion
Chapter 7
Marissa woke up to Abby’s smiling face peaking into her cocoon of blankets again.
“Mo’nin’ mama,” she said cheerily. “Sweep good?”
“Why yes I did,” Marissa smiled, levering herself out of the blankets and rearranging her pillow so she could sit up.
“You no wears jammies,” Abby giggled, as Marissa tucked the blankets under her arms. “I no likes jammies.”
“Oh really?”
Abby nodded. “Bu’ dada says I’s hafta wear ‘em to stays warm.”
“Your dada’s right,” Marissa told the earnest toddler with a grin. “You need to stay warm.”
“How’s come you no wears jammies den?” Abby questioned.
“Uh,” Marissa floundered for a moment. “Because your dada keeps me warm,” she finally answered honestly enough. She stuck her tongue out at Jim when she saw him standing in the doorway, arms crossed and a smile on his face.
“Swehat kweeps me warm,” Abby declared.
“But you still have to wear jammies,” Jim interjected. “Or at least a diaper,” he compromised, when she began to frown. “You’re being a very big girl during the day and using the potty, but we don’t want any accidents at night, now do we?”
Abby made a scrunched up face. “No. Yucky mess.”
“Yes, it was a mess,” Jim agreed with a fond smile. “Now that mama’s awake, why don’t you go get Sehlat. You can play with your guys while mama gets dressed.”
“O-tay,” Abby agreed. “Kiss bye,” she told Marissa before she gave her mother an enthusiastic kiss on the cheek.
“Have fun, baby girl,” Marissa told her. “I’ll be out soon and then maybe we can plan something fun.”
Abby nodded, her only concession to actually hearing Marissa, as she raced to gather her guys and start playing.
“So, I, uh…I have to go to the bridge for a little while,” Jim told her from the doorway, his face slightly flushed.
“Oh, okay,” Marissa answered slowly, taking in his tense posture, even as he tried to lean casually.
“It won’t be long,” he quickly reassured her. “Maybe a couple hours.”
“I thought we were in transit.” She had her suspicions about their supposed shore leave, but she wasn’t quite ready to bring them up - yet.
“We are,” Jim agreed, his eyes shifting away from her. “But there are some…things…I need to see about and…”
“Jim, if this is about last night,” Marissa cut him off hesitantly. Last night had been the most emotional she had ever seen Jim. He had really let his guard down and she was sure that she wasn’t supposed to wake up to witness it.
He’d been upset and angered by the biography published about him a couple years ago, but it hadn’t torn him apart as her absence seemed to have. All the things about his past that had been revealed by the biography had only pissed him off because he didn’t like showing weakness - any weakness; to anyone. Last night he’d opened himself to her and truly admitted how much he needed her; how important she was to him. Now in the light of day Marissa was sure he was feeling vulnerable.
“It’s not,” he replied quickly.
She looked at him with narrowed eyes, noticing the hitched shoulders and his flushed cheeks.
“Not totally,” he finally relented. “I do have some things to go over with Spock about our stop at Galdonterre, though.”
“Okay,” Marissa agreed, not surprised to see the tension leave Jim’s shoulders when she didn’t push. “I’m sure Abby and I will be just fine for a couple hours. It will be girl time.”
Jim grinned, finally relaxing totally. Part of Marissa thought she should be hurt by his avoidance, but he really didn’t like talking about his emotions, and she didn’t want him to be uncomfortable. She wanted him to be able to come to her and if that meant letting him leave and get some space, that’s what she’d do. Besides, she looked forward to spending more time with Abby. Even if she just sat and watched, the little girl was the most fascinating thing Marissa had seen. The changes in four months time were amazing.
“I wouldn’t tell that to Abby unless you want to have your hair brushed and then tied into knots and your nails colored - badly.”
She cocked her head curiously, waiting for him to explain.
“It’s what she and Uhura do when Spock and I play chess,” he explained.
“Oh,” Marissa replied, a sudden feeling of sadness overwhelmed her.
“Hey, what’s that look for?” Jim left the doorway and was immediately sitting at her side, a hand resting on her leg comfortingly.
“It’s nothing, really,” Marissa sniffed and then shrugged. “It just kind of hit me, when you said that, you know? All the things I missed. I mean potty training and this new naked thing and…and girl time,” she finished thickly.
Jim pulled her into his arms and held her close. “Ah, Mariss, it’s okay,” he spoke softly into her hair.
“How is it okay, Jim?” Marissa asked. “I’ve missed four months of my baby girl’s life.”
“Yeah, but over all it’s not that much.”
“Not that much?” Marissa sat back and looked at him incredulously. “She’s not even two yet and she talks so much - in full sentences! And she understands so much and she’s potty trained already and I missed all that. I missed it and I can never get it back.”
Rubbing his hands up and down her back, Jim sighed. “Yeah, you missed some things, but her whole life is ahead of her. You’ll be there for that. In the long run she won’t even remember that you were ever gone.”
“But I will, Jim. I will,” Marissa told him sadly, laying her head against his chest with a forlorn sigh.
They sat there for awhile, both lost in their thoughts on what they’d missed and how they were going to continue.
“We can’t get those memories back,” Jim finally said. “But we can make new ones; with Abby and with Ty here,” he ran a hand over her belly. “And Abby won’t remember those four months and we’ll…we’ll learn to put it behind us too.”
“You’re right,” Marissa eventually agreed, her hand absently petting his hand where it rested on her belly.
“Of course I’m right,” Jim said with somewhat forced levity. “I’m the captain!”
Marissa gave a huffing laugh and playfully slapped his hand, but made no effort to move away.
“Jim, I need to tell you something,” she spoke up, suddenly sounding very serious.
“Yeah?” he looked down at her with a worried frown.
“Well, it’s just…” she paused looking up at him, her eyes wide, a slight frown on her face.
“What is it, Mariss?” Jim prodded, trying to keep the worry out of his voice but not really succeeding.
She sighed dramatically and Jim stiffened. “It’s just that I’m not really planning to name our son Tiberius Leonard,” she finally told him, with a slight upturn of her lips.
“What?” he looked at her in confusion, not expecting that particular change of topic at all. “Then what? But you said… do you mean… So James?” he fumbled, remembering what she had said in the exam room. It hadn’t been his first choice of name, or even his twentieth, but it was way better than Tiberius.
“No,” she shook her head, still looking at him, but now he could see the little glint of mischief in her eye as she fought to hold back a grin.
“He got another daddy I don’t know about?” Jim asked with an incredulously raised eyebrow and a quirky grin. She was up to something.
“No,” she said, now grinning fully at him.
“But you said…”
“I want to name him Seamus,” she interrupted him. Looking down at her belly and rubbing it gently. “Seamus Leonard.”
“Seamus?” Jim asked curiously. He didn’t not like it; he just couldn’t ever remember hearing that name before.
“It’s Celtic for James,” Marissa told him. “We can call him Shea for short.”
“Seamus Leonard Kirk,” Jim said slowly, trying it out. “Shea. I like it,” he announced, placing his hand over Marissa’s. They smiled as they felt Shea give a nudge.
“Good,” Marissa said, leaning over for a quick kiss. “Because that’s his name, though I really kind of like Tiberius.”
“Marissa,” Jim growled low in his throat, before pulling her close and kissing her soundly.
The door chimed, interrupting their quiet moment.
“Do’r!” Abby called out, the sound of her feet running into their room was almost instantaneous. “Dada, mama, do’r!”
“Yes, Abby I heard it,” Jim chuckled, giving Marissa a quick kiss before standing up and sweeping Abby into his arms. “You better shower mama,” he told her.
“Yes,” Marissa agreed with a wry grin. “I’m feeling decidedly sticky in places,” she laughed. “Should probably change the sheets too.”
“Probably,” Jim agreed with a wink, before leaving with Abby. “Shall we see who’s at the door, munchkin?” His voice carried back into the room.
“Yeah!” Abby answered enthusiastically.
Marissa shook her head and got out of the bed finally. She hadn’t been lying; she was feeling sticky, and a bit sore, in certain places. She debated taking a sonic shower, but eventually gave in to the luxury of hot water and a steamy room.
Half way through her shower, Jim popped his head into the bathroom. “Veronique is here,” he told her. “If you don’t mind, she’ll watch Abby while you finish up and I’ll head to the bridge.”
“The sooner you leave, the sooner you can come back,” Marissa said as she rinsed her hair. “We can have lunch and then maybe go swimming after Abby’s nap.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Jim replied, but his voice was closer. “Kiss bye?” he asked, as he opened the shower door.
“Jim!” Marissa laughed, before leaning to kiss him. “You’re incorrigible.”
“I know,” he smiled winningly. “Bones tells me all the time. See you soon. Have fun with Veronique.”
“We will,” she replied, but he had already left the bathroom. There was nothing to do but finish quickly and get dressed. She knew Ronnie wouldn’t mind watching Abby, but she didn’t like to keep her friend waiting. Besides, Marissa hadn’t seen her in years.
Pulling her damp hair into a pony tail, Marissa exited their bedroom, her eyes immediately narrowing in on her old friend. “Ronnie!” she called happily.
“Marissa!” Veronique smiled, standing up from where she was crouching next to Abby on the floor, and sweeping the smaller woman into a hug. “Look at you,” she said, pulling back slightly and holding Marissa’s arms out wide.
“Please don’t,” Marissa replied blushingly. “I know I look like a scarecrow, even though no one will say it directly.”
“A little bit,” Veronique agreed with a hint of a smirk.
Marissa huffed in humor. “I could always count on you not to bullshit me.”
“That’s true,” Veronique nodded. “And I’m always right. I told you Gary was not the man for you.”
Marissa laughed as she led her friend over to the couch and sat down, Abby happily playing at her feet and ignoring the grown ups. “Yes, you were right, as was Janine - and Mae and Brian and Craig. But I don’t think any of you would have predicted Jim.”
Looking her over, Veronique shook her head slowly. “No, I don’t think so. I don’t think any of us would have thought you had the balls to go after someone like him.”
Blushing, Marissa looked down at her hands where she was fiddling with the hem of her shirt. “How much do you know? About us?”
“From gossip around the ship? Bits and pieces. From the captain?” Veronique queried with a raised brow. “Nothing. He and I are on good terms now, but as no more than Captain and Ensign.”
“Now?” Marissa questioned. “Meaning you weren’t on good terms before?”
Veronique shrugged. “I’ve only been on the ship for a little more than a month,” she told Marissa. “Let’s just say he didn’t make any secret of the fact that he didn’t want someone to replace you. Aside from that I don’t really have much to do with him on a daily basis. He knew we were friends and that I was capable of doing your job and that was enough. We haven’t had any contact missions since I’ve been on board, so most of my time is spent in Roose’s domain - who I love, by the way - or dealing with Spock. Though meeting the Queen of Cloral was quite the experience, I must say.”
“She is special,” Marissa agreed with a grin. “Jim had mentioned something about her being involved with finding us. He hasn’t told me much, though.” She looked at her friend hopefully.
“Don’t look at me,” Veronique held up her hands in defense. “I’m not up on the whole story. I was just a pawn in this whole thing.”
“A pawn?” Marissa laughed. “You make it sound like there’s some big conspiracy going on instead of just an away mission gone bad.”
Veronique looked at Marissa oddly for a moment, before she seemed to come to some conclusion. “So, you and Jim?” she said brightly. “How did that come about? I’ve heard the scuttlebutt around the ship, but…”
“Oh, you know the usual,” Marissa waved her hand dismissively, though she was blushing. “Girl goes to ex-boyfriend’s cabin, hot boy captain walks in, girl propositions hot boy captain, girl gets pregnant, girl eventually tells hot boy captain, hot boy captain panics and girl gets mad, and eventually hot boy captain and girl become friends and partners and have an adorable baby girl.”
“I see, the path to true love and all that,” Veronique nodded sagely and then laughed. “He panicked?”
“Just when I told him,” Marissa automatically defended Jim. “By the next day he was at my prenatal exam and totally supportive.”
“I’m not surprised,” Veronique agreed. “I’ve only seen him as a father and he’s…he’s good. Very devoted and patient. Doesn’t go with his reputation at all, but now that I’ve gotten to know him a bit better, it’s not surprising.”
“He’s a natural,” Marissa said, stroking Abby’s head and grinning when Abby handed her a guy to hug. “He’s got issues. The whole universe knows that,” she added bitterly, “but he was born to be a father.” Absently she brought a hand to her belly and began to rub.
“So the rumors are true,” Veronique nodded towards her hand. “You are pregnant.”
She nodded. “I didn’t know I was when I left,” Marissa told her with a small frown. “We’d been trying for months and…well, the timing didn’t seem right, if you know what I mean. Jim had been working a lot of hours and we’d barely had anytime to…” she trailed off, shrugging.
“Have wild monkey sex?” Veronique answered slyly.
“Wild monkey sex?” Marissa burst out laughing. Her amusement caught Abby’s attention and she climbed into her mother’s lap, ready to laugh too.
“Wha’s fu’ny?” she asked innocently, her head cocked and a grin on her little face.
“Veronique is funny,” her mother replied, still giggling.
“’Nique fu’ny,” Abby agreed, adding her own chortling. “Mu’keys fu’ny too. ‘Nique wike mu’keys?”
“Why yes I do,” Veronique managed to agree, her lips pursed tightly as she tried not to laugh at Abby’s innocent question.
“Mu’keys are from Earf,” Abby told them matter-of-factly, “an’ dey live in twees and eat nanners an’ go eee-eee-eee an’ swin’ fwom de twees.”
“Yes they do,” Marissa said. Her face was still full of humor, but she looked down at Abby proudly. “You are so smart baby girl. Where did you learn about monkeys?”
“Spa’k gives me bo’k,” she told her mother. “I’ has pi’tures an’ he weeds i’ to me.”
“Well that is very nice of Mr. Spock. Does he make the animal noises too?” Marissa asked with a straight face. Veronique managed to cover her snort of amusement with a cough.
Abby scrunched up her nose and shook her head. “He no good. Dada iz good. He dos all de no’ses.”
“I’m sure he does,” Marissa smiled widely.
“A natural,” Veronique agreed with Marissa’s earlier statement. “I bet there are people that would pay a lot to see Captain James T. Kirk make animal noises.”
“I’m sure there are,” Marissa replied dryly. “Abby are you thirsty?”
“Jus’ pweese,” she said immediately.
“All right.” She put Abby back on the floor and stood up. “Ronnie? I was going to have some tea and some toast. I haven’t had breakfast yet.”
“I’m sorry,” Veronique frowned instantly. “I didn’t mean to disrupt your morning. You need all the food you can get.”
“Ha, ha,” Marissa rolled her eyes. “You’re as bad as Jim. When I’m hungry I eat, I promise. I was just excited to see you. Now, I’m eating. The excitement has gone.”
Veronique chuckled. “Tea would be lovely.”
“Two sugars?”
“Yes, please.”
Once the tea was made and Marissa had consumed two pieces of toast slathered in peanut butter while standing in the kitchen, they settled back on the couch, each sipping at their hot beverages, Veronique looked over the top of mug and raised an eyebrow. “So, number two was planned?”
“Yeah,” Marissa nodded, carefully lowering her drink to her lap. “We thought it would be good for Abby - to have a sibling; someone to play with. There still aren’t a lot of families on ships.”
“Just for Abby?” Veronique asked with a knowing grin.
Marissa looked at her sheepishly. “Not just for Abby. I wanted another and so did Jim. He actually brought it up first - in the most awkward, but endearing way.”
“Jim Kirk awkward? Now that I would pay to see.”
Marissa smiled fondly. “He has his moments. A reputation is one thing, but I learned early on in our friendship that not everything is as it seems. Jim’s a man just like anyone else. Just some things about him have been blown way out of proportion.”
“Really?” Veronique asked skeptically. “Because as far as I can tell the crew thinks he can walk on water and are extremely protective of him and by extension, Abby and you.”
“Really,” Marissa countered. “He’s just a man; just an extraordinarily good looking, intelligent and confident man.”
“Like that’s normal,” Veronique snorted under her breath.
“He’s got his insecurities like anyone, he just hides them better.”
“Well, I think by the time I came on board he was beginning to crack,” Veronique said, a suddenly serious tone in her voice. “I’d heard from your step mom that you two were together and had a daughter. I admit I had trouble wrapping my mind around that piece of information. But once I met him, saw his reaction to me and everything,” she waved her hand, “I began to understand. He was nothing like I would have thought. And I could see how much he cared for you.”
“How so?” Marissa couldn’t help asking, ignoring for a moment the fact that Ronnie had talked with Nancy. She wanted to know about Jim and how he was. Not in a ‘oh look how much Jim missed me’ way, but just to know how he was. It wasn’t like he was being very forthcoming about it.
“He was so…sad,” Veronique continued, struggling for words. “I mean, I’ve seen grief before. My grandfather died when I was a teenager and my mom was really worried for my grandmother. They’d been married for sixty-two years and then she was alone. Jim looked just as lost; just as alone. He’d spark when Abby was near, but he wasn’t the Jim Kirk that I expected - the one who could face down Romulans and Admirals with a smile and turn around and save the world on a whim. The cocky, over-confident, ne’r-do-well that his reputation painted him wasn’t there. And I could tell that the people around him: Doctor McCoy, Mr. Spock, Janice Rand, even Maria Roose, were obviously worried about him.”
Marissa sniffed and reached for the box of tissues.
Veronique leaned forward and clasped Marissa knee. “I didn’t come here to upset you ‘Rissa.”
“I know,” Marissa said as she dabbed her eyes. “I know. It’s just that Jim has been…Jim is…He’s Jim.” She shrugged helplessly. “He hasn’t said much of anything about how he is, how he was. I know my being gone wasn’t easy for him, how could it be? But now he’s been so focused on me and Abby… and I know there’s something going on on Galdonterre, but he won’t say anything and I haven’t wanted to push.”
“Well, that I don’t know about,” Veronique told her. “Like I said, I was late to this party, so I only have bits and pieces. I can tell you that he wouldn’t let Janice hold your memorial until over a month after you were gone. And after the whole fiasco with Tenial it was like he just closed up, I guess. He definitely had a shell around him when I met him. He did make attempts to get out, though, like with the scientists we just transported. He came to their going away bash on Ten Forward, though I guess that didn’t end too well.”
“Wait,” Marissa held up a hand. “Tenial fiasco? What…? And what happened with the scientists?”
“Well, maybe I should let Jim…” Veronique tried to back pedal.
“Oh no you don’t,” Marissa countered immediately. “Jim hasn’t told me anything and now that you’ve said something you have to tell me.”
“I don’t know much,” she hedged. “Just that after your memorial Tenial approached Jim and he kicked her out of his quarters and she got mad and started spreading rumors that he had propositioned her and…other stuff,” she ended uncomfortably.
“Oh, I can just imagine the other stuff,” Marissa said wryly. “Tenial has always had a thing for Jim and she hates me. Poor Jim. What about the scientists?”
“Oh, that was mainly Abby, I guess,” Veronique explained. “One of the scientists - Carol someone - was trying to get Abby to like her or something like that and Abby ended up getting hit on the head.”
“She hit Abby?” Marissa asked incredulously, her face suddenly alert, her stomach sinking. When someone tells you that your partner - in an alternate universe - fathered a child with another woman, you tend to remember the name. Marissa really hadn’t thought about Carol Marcus since Selek had first told her about the woman and her relationship with Selek’s Jim Kirk, but to hear it now, even if it was only her first name, sent alarm bells ringing in Marissa’s head. Veronique might not have been referring to Carol Marcus, but Marissa couldn’t help the worry that suddenly overcame her. It seemed like too much of a coincidence.
“No, no, no, no,” Veronique protested. “That came out totally wrong. There was a scarf involved and somehow they were tugging at it - the scientist and Abby - and Abby fell backwards and knocked into a table and something fell and gave her a bump on the head. She was fine. No damage, but Chekov was squirming with guilt for days. He was the one watching her at the time.”
“Well, things happen quickly with toddlers,” Marissa said stiffly, her eyes no longer on Veronique. Her face was rather pale and she had a white knuckle grip on her coffee mug. “Why was this…Carol? Do you know her full name? Why was she trying to get Abby to like her?”
“I’m not really sure,” Veronique hedged, but then caught the piercing look from Marissa. “Rand seemed to think she was interested in the captain and she was…you know, just trying to ingratiate herself,” she admitted. “Of course this all happened the night before they left, so nothing really happened. I’m sure Jim wasn’t interested anyway. He was still so…”
“Ronnie, it’s okay,” Marissa forced a smile. “Jim thought I was dead. If something happened between Jim and this…Carol…” she shrugged, and then swallowed heavily. “Jim’s a man, after all,” she finished with a tight smile.
“Yeah, sure he is, but he was also missing you horribly,” Veronique argued. “I honestly don’t think anything happened. Just Abby getting a bump on her head.”
Things were quiet for a moment as Marissa sipped her tea and Veronique struggled to figure out how to take back some of the things she had said. She obviously didn’t want to give Marissa the wrong impression.
“So, you said earlier that you saw Nancy, my step mother?” Marissa finally broke the silence with a new topic. “How’d that come about? I can’t imagine you trudging to the wilds of Colorado.”
Veronique cleared her throat uncomfortably. “Well, I, uh, happened to be on Earth at the time. For your…your funeral,” she finished awkwardly.
“My…wow, that is so weird,” Marissa finally finished, her eyes wide. “I guess I tried not to think about it. I assumed…here on the ship…for Jim, I guess. But my dad…and Nana Rose. How were they? How did they take it?”
Veronique gave Marissa an exasperated look. “How do you think they took it? They were devastated. Your dad was…he was a wreck. It was a nice service, though. Nancy seemed to be holding it together. I didn’t speak with your grandmother, but she was there.”
Marissa shook her head slowly. “You were at my funeral,” she said bemusedly. “I mean, I know it’s not funny at all, but it’s so… weird. And they held a service here on the ship too. Wow.”
“What did you expect?” Veronique finally asked. “You were dead; at least as far as everyone was concerned.”
“I know,” Marissa said softly, “but I never thought about funerals. He waited a month?” she looked up at her friend, her eyes sad and concerned.
“So I’ve heard,” Veronique answered. “Afterward is when Tenial went after him. You’ll have to ask Rand for the details. I wasn’t here for that one.”
“It just seems like a long time,” Marissa shook her head. “I mean, a month? They couldn’t have thought we were still alive, not after the explosion in Malloribia. Why…?”
“Not ‘we’ Marissa,” Veronique corrected her friend. “Services for everyone else were held within a week or so of the bombing, once Starfleet had officially declared the away team killed in action. Your service was held a month after. From what I hear, Rand kept trying to schedule something - to give Jim closure - but he wouldn’t let her.”
“He wouldn’t let go,” Marissa said softly, her lips pursed as she tried to hold back the tears that were clogging her throat at this piece of evidence of Jim’s distress.
“No, he wouldn’t,” Veronique agreed.
Marissa breathed deeply for a few minutes, her eyes closed as she tried to reign in her emotions. “I can’t imagine…living without Jim,” she finally spoke. “Even on M’Qtobau I knew he was alive; out there, somewhere. But to think…to believe that he was gone…dead… It hurts,” she admitted in a hoarse voice. “It hurts right here,” she placed her hand over her heart. “I just had to survive. I believed that somehow we’d get word out and Jim and the Enterprise would come to the rescue; or at least some other ship from Starfleet. And then we’d be reunited. But Jim…” she trailed off, unable to find words.
“Yeah.” Veronique scooted forward and pulled Marissa into her arms, letting the smaller woman rest her head on her shoulder. Slowly, she rubbed circles over Marissa’s back, trying to ease the tension as the other woman breathed heavily, trying not to cry. “But he’s tough. He managed. And now you’re here,” she tried to console her friend.
“Tough,” Marissa repeated on a huff of air, thinking of Jim last night as he cried, falling apart in her arms. He’d held it together, for Abby and the crew, but it had obviously cost him a lot. And only Marissa knew how deeply it had affected him. If hovering and making her eat helped him, then she would let him. He needed to know that she was all right; and he needed to know that she wouldn’t leave him. Both things would come with time, but she’d let him hover for now and she’d eat if he offered her something. If it helped to ease his worry, then she would do anything.
After a few moments of silent comfort, Marissa pulled away and smiled wetly, as she reached for a tissue to wipe off her face. “So, Jim mentioned something about getting your girlfriend on board. Is it the same person you were seeing last time I saw you?” Veronique nodded. “Tell me about her,” she encouraged, wanting to focus on something else for the moment.
Seeing the way Veronique’s face lit up, Marissa knew it was the right question to ask and she settled in, feeling the warmth and love her friend had for her partner. She was glad Veronique had found someone. She’d always been a loner; part of their group, yet not fully integrated. Their conversation continued amiably for another quarter of an hour, the topics ranging from Clove to Veronique’s research with the Bajorans to life in the library under Maria Roose, before they were interrupted by Janice Rand.
“I should be going,” Veronique said as she stood from the couch, smiling at Rand in the doorway talking to Abby. The little girl had leapt at the chance to answer the door.
“I didn’t mean to interrupt,” Janice said, looking up from her crouch as she hugged Abby. “I just brought some extra clothes,” she indicated the pile of things in her arm.
“No worries,” Veronique smiled. “I’ve got to get back to work anyway.” She approached Marissa and pulled her into another hug. “It’s good to have you back - kiddo,” she said softly, placing a kiss in Marissa hair. “Bye Abby,” she waved at the toddler.
“Bye ‘Nique,” Abby grinned, waving back.
“See you later, Ronnie,” Marissa smiled. “I look forward to seeing Clove.”
“Me too,” Veronique winked.
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