to make things awkward | fillie

31 | media heyday

Today was the day. Millie could feel it the second she woke up. She would get her daughter back or she'd be in jail for doing something rash. Okay, maybe not, but she was getting Lucy back today, one way or another.

After yesterday's afternoon confession to Finn, and their subsequent consummation of their relationship, she felt oddly prepared for whatever today would throw at her. Not only prepared, but she and Finn felt like a stronger team now. It was as if they could take on anything. It wasn't the sex that firmed this idea in her mind, but afterwards, when they returned to her apartment, they had talked for hours. It was that talk, the talk that couples had where their love was solidified. The talk that took them to the ends of the universe before returning them to the here and now. That's how it seemed to her anyway. If she hadn't been in love with him before last night, she would have had no safety net to keep herself from falling.

"G'morning." Finn said, hobbling out of her room and into the kitchen where she had brewed a pot of coffee and was sitting at the island, sipping it while looking through the reddit thread her sister had found.

She smiled at him, "Even a shorter hair cut doesn't fix that bedhead of yours, does it?"

"Not when your hands are running through it for twenty minutes before we fall asleep."

She rolled her eyes, "Anyways." She said, "Ava should be here in about thirty minutes, so we should start getting ready if we want to make the meeting."

"Right, yeah." he said, then walked over to her and wrapped her in a bear hug, "Today's the day, Mil. We'll have Lucy home tonight."

She felt so at home in his arms now. She allowed herself to be enveloped in the feeling, closing her eyes and breathing in slowly. He smelled like a forest after it rained. Slightly piney, but with a cool spice to it. Just like he used to.

He squeezed her shoulder then said, "Well I'm gonna get in the shower."

She stood, "Care to conserve some water?"

A sly grin curled his lips, "I'm nothing if not an eco-warrior, babe."

"Babe?"

"What? You don't like it?"

She shrugged, "No it's not that, I just. . .kinda do like it actually."

"Well, then—babe—let's go save the rainforest."

She walked past him toward her bathroom, "That has got to be the absolute oddest euphemism for sex that ever existed."

"Add it to the codeword vault. Once Lucy's back we'll need more codewords for things."

Half an hour later, they were both dressed and waiting for Ava in the parking garage. She pulled up in her land rover and rolled down her window, "Get in, bitches."

Millie scoffed and Finn turned to her to roll his eyes, but then they got in, Millie up front and Finn in the back. They thought maybe using her car would take some of the attention off them.

Sure enough, the paparazzi waiting outside the garage paid them no attention as they pulled onto the street.

An hour and a half later, they were wrapping up the interview. Lea, Ava's friend, thanked them for the opportunity and said she thought they got a lot of good stuff. She told them it would likely be aired tomorrow night and that she wouldn't be surprised if it was picked up nationally before that, at which point she again thanked them for letting her be the one to interview them.

"You sure this is the right idea?" Finn asked Millie as they left Ava behind with Lea and started driving to the courthouse.

"Yes." she said, "You don't?"