Take on the World

12.

Andy woke up earlier than usual, she wasn't a morning person, never had been, but for some reason she found herself in a good mood when she woke up just as the sun was rising. She carefully removed herself from Robert's arms, making sure not to wake him, then made her way out to the kitchen to start some coffee.

After her coffee brewed, she walked out to the back patio, Robert had a fenced in backyard that was perfect to watch the sunrise. She never actually got to sit and watch the sunrise before, it was oddly calming, and definitely a beautiful sight.

That's when she knew it was going to be a good day.

As she stood outside, pulling her sweater tighter around her to try and shield herself from the chilly morning air, she heard the sliding door open and close. When she looked over, Luna was walking over to her, wrapped in a blanket.

"Mija, where are your shoes?" Andy asked, picking the little girl up and settling her on the hip. "It's cold, you're going to get sick."

"The sun woke me up," Luna yawned, placing her head in the crook of her mother's neck, pulling her blanket closer to her. "And I wanted to see the pretty colors with you."

"They are very pretty,"

They stayed like the for a few moments, just silently enjoying the sight and comfort of each other. It wasn't too often they got quiet, calm moments like these, Andy made it a-point to always cherish these moments, the small ones, they always meant the most to her.

It was just Andy and Luna outside for some time, then Andy heard the sliding door open yet again and looked back to see Robert, he must've woken up.

"Good morning," She gave him a soft smile, keeping her voice quiet, he looked like he was still half asleep, and Luna was currently sleeping again in her arms. "Sorry if I woke you."

"No, you're fine," He replied, placing a kiss to the top of her head, his hand finding its way to gently rest against her side. "Why are you awake so early? We have the day off,"

"I don't know, just woke up." She shrugged, leaning back into him. She really liked this— the feeling of waking up, all three of them together, it was nice.

They lounged around for as long as they could before Luna had to get ready for school. They had breakfast, got ready for the day, then dropped the little girl off at school. It was rare for Andy and Robert to get days off, so they weren't really sure what to do with themselves besides tidy up the house or sit around and watch whatever daytime shows were airing.

Robert had a surprised planned, and he really wanted to fulfill it today, time willing. They had a few hours before Luna would needed to be picked up from school and then a few hours after that before their scheduled parent-teacher conference was to occur. He wanted it to be just him and Andy though, they hadn't had much time to themselves recently, this would nice for a change.

"Come on," He said, getting up from the couch, turning around ad extending his hand out to Andy, who was currently looking at him very confused. "We're going somewhere..."

"Where?" She didn't like surprises, he knew that, but she still took his hand and let him pull her up to her feet.

He placed a quick kiss to her lips before answering her question. "You'll see, just wait."

The drive was silent, neither of them saying a word. Andy watched out the window, seeing the town go by and eventually seeing nothing but trees. Once they pulled off onto a gravel road, she knew exactly where they were going. For their first, date— it really wasn't a date, they never really said it was, but there wasn't really anything else you could call it, they went to a secluded park right outside the city. It had hiking trails, a small playground, a view of the ocean, and places to just sit and relax.

"Why are we here?" Andy asked as Robert put the car in park.

"You're impatient, aren't you?" He chuckled, Andy glaring over at him. "Just trust me, okay?"

"Fine," She huffed, getting out of the car. "But only this once."

They walked hand in hand for a bit, Andy not sure where they were going. Eventually, Robert led her to a bench the overlooked the water. It was beautiful, the sight in front of her. The way the water met the sky, the two shades of blue distinct in their own ways— it was mesmerizing, and oddly eerie at the same time.

It was silent, Andy waited for Robert to say something, but he never did, she took comfort in the silence though, something about it was comforting to her. The way they sat silent, their hands still intertwined, resting in Robert's lap, just watching the way the water rippled.

"Are you gonna tell me why you brought me here?" Andy finally asked, eventually growing tired of the silence and suspense.

"Remember in the aid car, you had just lost the patient, we were sitting in silence, and then you started freaking out because you lost your ring..."

"The one with Luna's birthstone in the middle, yeah." She nodded, still not quiet sure where this conversation was going.

"And ever since then, you constantly go to fiddle with it and it's not there, so..."

Robert pulled a small, black velvet box out of his pocket and opened it to reveal a silver ring, similar to the one she used to have, Luna's birthstone in the middle.

Andy didn't know what to say. She had bought the last ring for herself, as a reminder that she was the mother to a beautiful little girl, it didn't have much meaning other than that. For some reason, this one meant so much more, and she couldn't figure out why.

"It's not the exact same, but..." Robert tried to say but Andy cut him off by smashing her lips into his, her hands cupping either side of his face.

She pulled away after a moment, resting her forehead against his. "It's beautiful, thank you."

•••

"Hi mommy!" Luna said as she got into the backseat of Andy's car, throwing her backpack on the seat beside her.

"How was your day my love?" Andy asked as she turned around to make sure the little girl got strapped in properly before pulling away from the school.

"We got to play games with colors, and paint," She began to explain the events of her school day. "And then Miss Robbins talked about the meetings tonight..."

"Auntie Vic said you can stay with her tonight while daddy and I go, are you okay with that?"

"Yay!" Luna squealed, Andy watching from the rearview mirror as the little girl danced around in her seat happily. "Will uncle Trav be there?"

"I'm not sure," Andy replied.

The drive back home was just Luna rambling on about her school day, Andy occasionally replying to show she was listening to everything the little girl had to say. Once they got home, Luna ran in fully expecting to see Robert inside, Andy had forgotten to mention he had a few things at the station to cover and would be out for a bit.

The two sat in the living room, watching movies until he came home. The minute he walked through the door, Luna was up off the couch and running over to him.

"Daddy!"

"Hey princess," He returned her excitement, lifting her off the ground and taking her into his arms. "I've missed you."

The three of them just spent time watching movies, talking, or playing dress-up— per Luna's request of course, she even managed to get Robert to let her paint his nails, he even wore a tiara... Andy laughed at the sight, even though it warmed her heart to see it. Every time she would let out a little giggle or even smile at him, he'd tell her they were never speaking about this again, and to never bring it up at work, which that only made her laugh more.

So as they sat on the floor around the small table in Luna's bedroom, Andy looked around at everything she had, the two most important people in her life, and she could not feel more grateful than she did right then.