Beyond the Family Ties

Part 27

After picking up her daughter, she went to the park, where she wasted time pushing Laurel on the swings, sitting on a peeling green bench as they watched ducks glide across the surface of the pond, eating pretzels and people watching as hours slowly dragged by. Freen would be waiting for her to come home by now, and Becky was tempted to do it, but she was still angry. Angry enough to walk her daughter through the city as the sun started to set, the sky painted shades of pink and tangerine, steely clouds drifting across the sky as the sunset was reflected off a hundred windows at once. It wasn't too far to walk from the park, and she stood outside the hotel for a few moments, spying the DEO agents milling about in the lobby, before she headed inside.

Booking a room for the night, just below the penthouse, she let herself go up to the room, and unlocked the door, stepping into a room that was only slightly less lavish than the one her mother was staying in on the floor above her. Marble and leather, sandalwood and creamy tiles, velvet drapes and wingback armchairs. She smiled as Laurel ran over to the king sized bed that dwarfed one end of the long room, watching as her daughter scrambled up onto the high bed, before she kicked off her shoes and ran over, jumping on beside her. The mattress bounced, and Becky laughed as Laurel laughed too. Pulling her daughter into a tight hug, Becky rolled over onto her back, cradling Laurel to her chest, and pressed a firm kiss to the top of her head.

"I've missed you," she said, smiling up at her daughter as she pushed herself up off her chest.

"I missed you too," Laurel said, giving her a gap-toothed smile, before reaching out to gently touch the bruises, "how did you get these?"

Lips stretching into a wide smile, the scab pulling at the edges and opening slightly, Becky tried to open her left eye as much as she could, despite the fact that it was swollen nearly completely shut. "Mommy was clumsy and walked into the door. Silly me, huh?"

"I'll kiss it better," Laurel said, leaning down to press a kiss to the corner of Becky's eye, and Becky tried not to wince as tears welled up and her heart tugged slightly.

"Thank you, baby. Now, how about we order room service? Do you want pancakes for dinner?"

"Pancakes?" Laurel repeated, her eyes lighting up with excitement as she sat up.

Sitting up, cradling her daughter in her lap, Becky hugged her tightly, "just this once."

"Is Aunt Freen coming here for some too?"

Faltering for a moment, Becky's lips curled into a small, strained smile, and she kissed Laure's temple, her voice low as she tried not to let it shake. "No. No, Ducky, she's not. It's just you and me tonight."

Looking confused as she turned to look up at Becky with wide brown eyes, she quickly forgot abandoned any further line of conversation about why they were staying at a hotel for the night, and why Freen wouldn't be there, and became enraptured in a showing of Moana that Becky put on for her on the gigantic flat screen set before a wide leather sofa.

Ordering pancakes, waffles, fries milkshakes and fudge cake for dessert, Becky shed her clothes and slipped on one of the hotel robes and slippers, before emptying the mini fridge of the snacks, and settling down beside her daughter. It wasn't long before hotel employees knocked on the door, and the coffee table was strewn with silver platters holding plates of food. Making a fun night out of it, Becky built them a fort out of the hotel pillows and the bed sheets and spare blankets, nestling into the small space with her daughter as they snacked on the variety of foods and watched the movie together. Laurel was asleep before Moana ended, and Becky lay there as Aladdin came on next, watching the movie as her phone vibrated in her pocket, the calls going unanswered.