to make things awkward | fillie

30 | family therapy

Leaving Lucy at the adoption agency was one of the hardest things Finn had ever done. It rivaled the experience of handing her over to the nurse at the hospital. Of course, now, he knew he'd be seeing her again, the only question was when? Even so, it was almost as heartbreaking because Lucy was aware now, she could talk, she could look sad, she could cry out to them. And she did. In that moment, Finn thought he'd be going to jail for kidnapping his own daughter. Thankfully Millie had stepped in and assured her they'd all be together again in no time.

Was it a lie? Perhaps. But it was a necessary one. It quelled her tears, that was all that mattered.

Over the course of the next day, he, Millie, and Ava made endless calls to the courts but kept getting voicemail after voicemail. They couldn't find the judge's direct line anywhere, and the offices were closed for some stupid holiday. Ava tried getting her friend to move up the meeting and she said she would if she could but she couldn't get out of her prior commitments. That was when Millie decided they should record something themselves and send it to every news outlet that would listen. Even if it was TMZ or some other gossipy network, at least it would be out there. They'd been away from their daughter for close to 48 hours, every minute felt like an eternity.

Maybe that was why they decided to go to their fourth family therapy session even though they were missing a third of their family. Even with Lucy gone, it brought butterflies to Finn's stomach to think of the three of them as a family. One unit. Them against the world. At first, he thought a therapy session without Lucy would be a waste of time, but Millie pointed out that they needed advice right now. They needed counseling on how to handle this incredibly difficult situation they were in.

"I'm so sorry you are going through this." Dr. Laurie said to them, her eyebrows knitted.

"Thanks." Finn said, "If you know any ballsy reporters looking for a good story, let us know."

Dr. Laurie smirked, "Sorry, fresh out." then she sighed, "Are two even up for a session today? I wouldn't blame you for being emotionally drained."

Beside him, Millie snorted, "We are, but I was thinking you'd be able to help us sort through it. When we get her back, we don't want her coming back to brokenness."

"Okay." The doctor said, "Well, I think I might have something that could help, at least it will help you to better understand each other so you can be more united for Lucy."

Finn and Millie looked at eachother, then to Laurie and nodded, "Bring it on." Finn said.

Dr. Laurie explained what they'd be doing. It was something Finn had done before as an acting exercise, but he could see how it would be beneficial as a therapy exercise as well. Mirroring could break down barriers between people that they didn't know were there and while he could remember doing this with Millie as kids to prepare for their roles in Stranger Things, he knew this go-around would be far more complex, especially since Dr. Laurie said she'd leave the room to give them privacy with it. They would discuss it after.

Three minutes in, neither of them had said anything, they were just standing with their chests five inches apart and their hands moving in sync like a couple of mimes. Finn knew he had to be the one to break the ice.

"So," he started, "This is fun."

Millie's eyes shot to his and then she smiled, "It's a surprisingly good distraction."

With their eyes now connected, their hands began moving in a near-perfect synchronicity.

"What um—" he paused, unsure if this was an appropriate question, but Laurie told them to talk about anything and everything, "What happened. . .between you and Jake?"