Take on the World

18.

"Mommy, I missed you!"

Andy barley had time to bend down just in time to catch Luna, who was running full speed to her mother, jumping straight into her arms. It had been yet another two days since they'd seen each other.

That's how it had been for the last three weeks...

Robert would have Luna from the end of one shift, then his day off, then she'd go back to Andy at the end of their next shift. The same cycle repeated with her; End of one shift, day off, end of next shift.

And all three of them hated this... With everything in them.

They hardly even got to spend time with the little girl. Between them working, her going to school... Even on their days off, Luna still had to attend school for half of the day, meaning they spent less than a full day total with her until she was going back to the other parent. 

Andy and Robert felt like they were this bitter divorced couple who were being forced to share joint custody of their child. The only thing being they were never married to begin with, so there was no divorce... Just a bitter couple who didn't even really consider themselves a couple who just silently agreed to share custody of their five year old daughter.

Completely normal, right?

It felt like some secret drug deal too. Every time after a shift when they'd switch Luna, there were no words spoken between the two adults and they made sure no one on the team was watching the interaction.

Again, completely normal.

"I missed you too, mija. So, so much." Andy sighed in relief as she stood up, holding Luna in her arms. "But we need to get going, I've got to take you to school."

"No school." Luna protested, her voice muffled as her head was tucked into the crook of Andy's neck. "I wanna stay with you."

Yep. This was going to be a day where Luna played the "I want to spend the whole day with you, mommy. Don't make me go to school please, I've really missed you." card... And it was going to word. It always did.

It explains the three calls Andy had already received from Luna's school about her recent decline in attendance. Before long she wouldn't only have to explain to the school's principal as to why she was missing so many days, it would be the principal and child services.

It's not like it was affecting her education. The little girl was smart, way smarter than the average five year old.

When Ben would have Tuck come to the station and Luna was there, Tuck would always sit with her and teach her things... It was the most adorable thing to watch. Luna was working out math problems that most kids her age would look at and go, "What's all that?"

"I know you don't want to go, but you have to." Andy began to explain, sitting Luna down on the from desk so she could talk to her face to face. "I would love nothing more than to cuddle you on the couch all day, watching princess movies, but you've already missed a lot of school... You have to go."

"Then I'm going home with daddy, he doesn't make me go to school." She said, crossing her arms in front of her.

Andy looked over to Robert, who had a guilty look on his face. "You what now?"

"Andy, it was only one time." He started to explain, keeping his voice calm in comparison to the small hint of anger in hers. "She was throwing a fit, I wasn't going to take her into school screaming and crying... She's went every other day she's been with me."

"She needs to go to school Robert, doesn't matter if she doesn't want to or not." Andy states plainly, not really caring how angry she sounds right now.

"Can I go home with daddy so I don't have to go to school or not?" Luna asks, bringing the attention back to her now.

Andy would be lying if she said that didn't hurt her. Hearing Luna say she didn't want to go with her because she'd make her go to school hurt. Even if she knew the little girl really meant no harm by it, it didn't make it any less painful to hear.

"Princess, you need to go to school, then after mommy will pick you up." Robert stepped in, he noticed the change in Andy's demeanor after that statement Luna made.

"No, I'm not going to school." She was standing her ground, she was stubborn and hard headed just like Andy. But she'd never been this persistent about something, especially after being told no multiple times. She was always well behaved and knew no meant no. This wasn't like her.

There was a brief silence between them, no one really knowing what to say. Luckily, Vic came walking out of the locker room, getting ready to leave. She looked at the three of them and knew something was up, just by the look in Andy's face.

"Hey, Luna, why don't you come with me for a little bit?" Vic suggested lightly, not wanting to overstep, but wanting to make the situation a little easier for them all. "We can go sit in my car and listen to music, sound good?"

"Yeah, go with Auntie Vic while I talk to daddy." Andy said, picking Luna up off the front desk and placing her down on her feet.

The little girl too Vic's outstretched hand and the two walked out the door to the station. Andy grabbed Robert's hand and practically dragged him up to his office, she knew they wouldn't be bothered up there, she wanted them to go somewhere private and with shift change, this was really the only option.

"How can I trust you with her if you don't even make her go to school?" Andy asked, shutting and locking the door, then moving to shut the blind. "Robert, being a parent is tough, and sometimes we have to do things we don't like, trust me, I know. I've had to make those tough calls more times than I can count. You can't just let her have her way because she shed some tears. That's only going to make her think you're a pushover and all she has to do is cry to get her way with you."

She wasn't wrong, not one bit. It was shown by Robert's silence and stunned look that he knew she was right. But that wasn't going to stop him from arguing back, especially with the tone she was speaking to him in.

"Yeah, and what about all the times you've brought her to the station instead of her going to school?" He asked, he sounded offended, Andy now having the shocked look on her face.

"That was when she was only going three days a week at her old school, there's a difference." She replied, still that bitterness in her voice. "You haven't been doing this very long, and I'll give it to you, you've been an amazing father to her in the short amount of time you've known her, but you still have a lot to learn."

"This is hard on her, you know?" Was his reply, his voice calmer now and not a bit filled with anger.

"Yes Robert, I know it is!" Andy raised her voice, throwing her hands in the air. "You don't think I haven't heard her saying she misses you or asking why we can't just live with you anymore? I can't count the amount of times she's asked if this thing with work is over so we can be together again... She's heartbroken and confused Robert. She got to experience what it was like to have a dad, a dad and a mom and now she still gets to have that but it's different."

Another brief moment of silence fell between the two before Andy sighed and moved towards the door.

Robert was going to say something else, but it didn't seem right with what was going on. He wanted to tell her that Luna wasn't the only one this was hard on. But this was the most they'd spoken in weeks, he wasn't going to say anything.

"I'm going to take her to school, can I trust that you'll do the same when she's with you?" Was the last thing she asked.

He nodded, then watched her walk out the door.