rebecca. it's like a name and a title in one..

              She was lost, having no idea what else to tell the older woman. Between the sadness and guilt she felt for making Haley cry, Sophie’s hands moved to wipe away tears that made her vision more blurry than it already was. How she wished things could have been different. All those times she had made a wish in the past, to have Jude in her life - she would take them all back, just to make one wish, and that’d be to still be able to dream, for the future. For her baby. “I’m sorry.. I didn’t want to make her cry.” Voice cracking, Sophie’s head shook slowly. “I’m so sorry..”

Turning to set Haley down in her car seat, she wrapped the baby’s blanket around her and stood up, wringing her hands together in worry. She didn’t really know what to say.. “You didn’t make her cry on purpose honey, babies just react to how sad other people are. She wants you to be happy, that’s all. You have nothing to be sorry about, you love her, she loves you, and I love both of you. Come here Soph.” She said softly, holding her arms around to wrap them around the younger girl. “I’m sorry you felt like you couldn’t talk to me.”

“Well, you know, brain balls and all,” they say with a laugh, bouncing the baby in their arms in soft excitement. “Right. I pretty much scream ‘never having kids’ so it would be a fun way to scare old friends,” they agree with a nod, “But maybe. I’m pretty good with kids and babies so I might take her off your hands a night or two a week. As long as you promise that you can find a different babysitter every so often so that we can down wine and be adults and shiz.” They smile brightly at Rebecca, happy that they came back, and hopefully this time for a while, “Yeah. It’s all boys right now, my cousins can’t seem to have girls.”

“Meh, small detail.” Rebecca waved it off with a grin, watching happily as Haley reached out towards Temple with her tiny hands. Kid was as happy as a clam every time she held by someone she considered new, even when they weren’t new to her. “I also screamed that though and we all know I practically had runway lights up my legs, I’m glad it happened though. Won’t have another but.. she’s good. But yes, you take her and you prank away. She’d like that.” Not that she had a choice but she would like it anyway, as long as attention was on her. “Of course we can do that, I have a sitters list a mile long at this point. I may not join you in the wine though, we’ll see. I’m trying this life sober right now.”

              “Is that how they described you? I was the golden one - right behind Carson until I was proved to be less pure than they thought. I call it breaking free but whatever. Jake hasn’t met my parents.. any of his grandparents in fact and he’s just fine. Sixteen was a tough age for me. Did you have fun then?”

“No, it was far more colorful than that. My baby bro is the golden one, he was going into politics which I’m not very happy about but that’s his choice, he’s a good kid. I’m not worried about her not meeting them, if they wanted to see her then they’d make the effort. I enjoyed sixteen through nineteen and then at twenty I was gone from here practically overnight.”

He squinted his eyes at the woman, unsure if she was serious or not. “I feel like you’re just messing with me,” he told her, an observing for any tell-tale signs that she was kidding.

“I wish I was, eggs jiggling is why I don’t eat eggs. Like I eat them in things if I can’t see it but I don’t eat eggs by themselves. Sometimes I’ll have eggnog at Christmas but it’s mostly just rum over eggnog really.” 

“Oh my God.. If she’s not responsible at the age of 27, I don’t think she ever will be.” She shook her head. “Oh right, you dad was a mayor right? So you are one of those families who put up a nice face in order to avoid any drama or scandal? Sounds like a movie plot to me.Isn’t that exhausting though? You know, fake smilies and laughs..”

“And that’s her problem. not mine. My brother is the only sane one of the family so I hope he does well.” She started, nodding her confirmation at Sarah’s question. “Bingo. That’s us. Let’s just say this is the first time I’ve been truly sober since I was 15 and I hate it.”

“Too bad you can’t hide it from me. A few phone calls and some medical records and voila - suddenly, I know exactly how old you are. Maybe I should announce it everywhere so that I’d be taking away that little bit of excitement from your hands.” Rick let out a laugh. “That’d explain how her brain melted.”

"You’d also then have my entire tragic medical history and be in shock and awe and still not be able to cure me, so ha on you and your excitement.” She added, sticking her tongue out at him. “Most people know how old I am here, it's no secret. Not when you were born here and your dad was the Mayor.” 

                 “Not bad,” Adam said and managed a smile, however half hearted it was. It just didn’t feel right to smile on a day like this, no matter how hard he tried. People always told him to celebrate his dad’s life, the one he’d lived, on this day, but he just… —he couldn’t. “Well, if anyone can do it, Bec— it’s you.” He meant that. In his eyes, she was the closest thing anyone came to a real life Wonder Woman.

                  “Lucky girl,” he smiled a little again, nodding. It was easier to smile when it came to Haley— she was still so innocent, and she didn’t understand all the cruelty in the world yet. Thank god. “Of course I’ll come.”

“We’ll see, it’s a thoughtful alternative though. It’s gonna be a struggle, but we all have them.” They did all have things they had to work through and this one was Adam’s, just as Rebecca’s sobriety was hers and Ian’s as well.. there was a lot there. But they would figure it out, they always did. Giving him a small lopsided smile, Rebecca pulled away and sank down onto the stool next to him, reaching out to give his hand a squeeze and leaving it there.

“Good, we can go to Chicago whenever you’re ready. You, me and Haley. It’ll be fun. We’ll see him and just.. forget for a while.”

“I could never imagine being a parent,” Temple muses, “But that opens a new can of worms I don’t know if I can deal with.” They nearly push the  packages in to Rebecca’s arms, deftly grabbing the baby. “Some are from my mom. She got baby fever when my cousins started having kids so she got a little bonkers. Some stuff for you too, but it’s hard shopping for the ladies who have everything,” Temple teases with a wink and a grin.

“Like I could? But if you would like to try and parent you can borrow her any time you want, okay? Any time. Seriously. Any, day.. of the week. Or just for pranks and to confuse people, I don’t really care..” Rebecca insisted with a quick nod, smiling happily at the presents as they were shoved into her arms and squeezing them in thanks. “Hey, like we didn’t go baby crazy. if your mom and your cousins need anything just.. call. Because... there’s a lot. But I’m super excited to see these. Thank you!” She added, placing a small quick kiss on Temple’s cheek. 

“Whoa. She sounds like a piece of work. I don’t blame you, I wouldn’t get along with someone like that. My sister is the total opposite of me but at least she’s reasonable. How old is your sister?” 

“She’s very special,. yes. She’s never had to be reasonable so I doubt she ever will be, I don’t remember ever being that bad. She’s like, 27, 28 now. I don’t know.  I know when their birthday’s are but I don’t know the year, there’s enough difference to where I missed a lot. We’re really not a close family, I talk to my brother a bunch but other than that.. we really only interact in public. ”

“That’s a freaking baby, Becks. I mean. I also have a pile of shit in my hands for you and the baby but that’s not here nor there because baby, holy shit. So big now..”

“I know, I made this. I don’t know how but I did and she’s just.. gah. I love her. Almost five months in and I still love her.  Switch on three?”

Rick couldn’t help but let out a laugh. He mostly hated everyone but the mayor’s daughter, with her humor, was certainly not one of them. “It hasn’t, if you really wanna know. I’m still not old enough to be going down that road. And I certainly don’t think the receptionist in a legal hospital would update the file based on my insecurities about my age. Sjejust needs to find her chill… or the way out of the door.”

“I’m not old enough for it either but I still do it because it’s funny. And there isn’t enough opportunity to mess with people here. Gotta take it where it comes.” She explained seriously, wiggling her eyebrows to push how important it was to have this kind of fun. “Maybe it was just one of those really young receptionists who do nothing but play on facebook all day.”

               “We have that in common, I guess. I mean, I don’t know your dad but I trust your judgement. Honestly, I used to be better at this back in the day. You will be surprised with how good sixteen year olds can be. That, or people are too sick.”

“Good call, don’t worry about getting to know him. He’s seen Haley all of.. twice and that was pretty unwillingly on my part. I mean like I might be surprised but... this is me. I was not a saint as a child and said not saintness is the reason I was shipped abroad and missing in action for six years. 16 was a really great age though.”