geeky_agent | OOM: Visiting Family

Current Mood: worried

OOM: Visiting Family

She almost wishes Caiti would be there.

It would mean more questions and more problems, yes. They'd still have to explain Caiti having met Jack already in Morocco two years prior and she just knew that wouldn't go over well.

Still, she can't help but wonder if maybe it would be better to get everything out in the open now. (Not everything.) Caiti had always been good at dealing with problems between her sister and brother and it sounded like she and Jack had gotten along pretty well and she hadn't seen her in months...

This had probably been a bad idea but it was too late to back out now.

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"I'm not, Momma!" Comes a voice from the bathroom. A few minutes later, Tori wanders out, damps spots on the front of her shirt and the cuffs of her sleeves were wet as well. "I'm done."

Chris looks over at Jeannie with a small smile.

Jeannie gives Chris a long-suffering but amused look and sighs as she pulls out a pair of light pyjamas. "Come on, my little mermaid, let's get you into your jammies."

Tori pouts, but obediently pulls off her t-shirt and jeans, and then dons the pyjamas as her mother folds the wet clothes over the back of a chair. Tori jumps into bed, bouncing on the mattress once before Jeannie's stern expression puts a stop to it. Jeannie wraps her daughter in a hug, kissing Tori's cheek. For all her preschooler rambunctiousness, Jeannie wouldn't trade Tori for the world.

"Night-night, sweetheart, I love you. Do you want me or your Auntie Chris to tuck you in?"

"Auntie Chris!" Tori squeals.

Jeannie looks over at Chris with a wry smile. "I guess I didn't even need to ask."

Chris looks down with a grin, ignoring the twinge of sadness and guilt that comes when she realizes how long it will be till she sees Tori after this trip.

"All right, Tori, c'mon," she says, pulling back the covers for her to lay down.

Tori obediently curls up, resting her head on the pillow and grinning sleepily up at her aunt. "I'll see you tomorrow morning, and we can play more?" she asks eagerly.

Jeannie tries to hide a grin. Looks like someone's going to be trying to hog Chris all weekend.

"Yes, I promise.," she says, pulling the covers up around Tori and tucking her in. "And in the morning we can go swimming just like I said we would."

Tori smiles at that, too tired to come up with more than, "Ok."

"Ok," Chris echoes, giving her a kiss on the cheek. "I love you. Good night, Tori."

"Good night."

Jeannie turns out the light as they leave, closing the door behind her. Out in the hallway she can hear the murmur of voices from the living room, even if she can't make out what they're saying.

"I'm glad you and Jack came out to see us; Tori's missed you. We've all missed you," she says, softly. Then after a moment, she adds, "Why didn't you tell us about him before this?"

The question catches her off-guard and not wanting to look like she was thinking of a lie, Chris goes with the first thing that comes to mind. "It just ... didn't seem like the time."

She reminds herself that the hardest part of this weekend was almost over and hopes that Jack did better in his chat with Ryan.

And that they didn't contradict each other.

"I mean, work has been keeping me really busy and there's been a lot going on for both of us. I wasn't sure when he'd be able to come up here and I knew after I'd mentioned him that you guys would want to meet him. It just seemed easier."

Somehow, Jeannie doesn't quite buy it, but she's not sure how to ask without sounding accusing, and she doesn't want to argue with Chris this weekend. "Have you mentioned him to Caiti?"

"Not really. I mentioned there was someone I was dating but I didn't go into much detail." She wasn't entirely sure if she wanted to explain to Caiti that the guy she met in Morocco, calling himself Frank, was actually her new boyfriend Jack who had already known about Caiti before they even met.

Jeannie nods. "So... things are working out all right between you and Jack? You're happy?" she asks, hoping that Chris is, despite the concerns she and Ryan might have. Chris deserves someone who makes her happy and if Jack is that person...

And her smile now might be tone of the few genuine ones she's had all evening. "Yeah, I am."

There's a pause and then she continues on, realizing there's more she needs to say. "I know you've both been worried about me and I'm sorry about that. And I'm sorry for springing this on you last minute. I know this is a lot to deal with but once things settled down back at home, I wanted you guys to meet him."

"It's okay," Jeannie says, smiling back. "And I'm glad you've found someone that makes you happy."

"So am I." Chris was about to say more when she notices something else that's impossible to ignore.

"Did it just get really quiet all of a sudden?" Which was fine when it came to Tori but a little more worrying when it came to the conversation downstairs.

"Yeah, it did," Jeannie agrees with a bemused look. "I think that's our cue to head downstairs."

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OOM: Visiting Family

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