𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘀

first walk, Kuma and Julie

February, 2021

"Jennie can you bring me a glass of water?" Lisa shouts from her spot on the floor where she's playing with Ella. It's just the three of them today; Chittip and Marco decided to treat the boys to a day at the aquarium. They wanted to bring Ella but their youngest baby has been a little sick lately so they kept her home.

Jennie comes out from the kitchen and hands Lisa a glass, eyes watching the animated cartoon on the TV. Ella crawls away to play with some toys while Jennie retreats back up to her office. As Jennie leaves up the stairs, Lisa notices Ella starting to stand.

"Jennie!" She calls

"Yeah Lisa?" Her wife sighs from the top of the stairs, starting to get annoyed because she has a lot of work to do, and she can't handle Lisa asking her for everything. Lisa notices the annoyance in her wife's voice and brushes it off.

"You're going to want to come here!" Lisa sing songs as she watches Ella stand up fully. Jennie begrudgingly walks down to where she has been summoned, reaching the bottom step right as their daughter takes her first step. Jennie freezes at the bottom of the stairs.

Ella is walking. Their daughter is finally walking by herself! She walks towards Lisa's open arms and falls into her mommy with a loud giggle. Lisa tickles her and kisses her, only causing Ella to laugh more.

"Ella?" Jennie says gaining the attention of their 10 month old. Their daughter turns her head towards her mama and smiles. "C'mere little monkey." Jennie beckons her with a wave of her hand. Ella pushes off of her mommy and starts walking towards Jennie. Half way there, she falls to her knees and Jennie runs forward to pick her up and toss her in the air.

"Our little monkey is walking!" She cheers as she tosses a laughing Ella in the air.

+*+*+*+*+*+*+*-*

Lisa and the kids are in her studio painting. The kids are off in their own world, swirling reds, blues, and yellows around their canvases, while Lisa… well she's worrying. Jennie gets off work around 5 pm, and is normally home by 5:30. She received a text from her wife saying she wouldn't be home for dinner but that was at 4… it's 7:30 now and Lisa hasn't heard from her wife since.

She keeps checking her phone waiting for Jennie to call or text, but nothing ever comes up. She sets her phone down when Ella starts placing her dirty, paint filled hands over Louis's picture. The boy yells out at his younger sister, who doesn't listen. Lisa walks over to separate them. She cleans Ella's hands and lifts her into her arms, then gives Louis a new piece of paper.

She is drawn away again when the sound of a phone vibrating against wood fills the room. With her daughter in her arms, she quickly walks over to retrieve her phone. She breathes a sigh of relief when her wife's contact photo and name pop up on the screen.

"Hello?"

"Hey baby, what are you doing right now?"

"The kids and I are painting, where are you? Is everything okay?" She questions, adjusting the baby on her hip.

"Yeah everything's fine. I'm heading home now, but can you do me a favor and keep the kids occupied? I have something I want to discuss with you, but I don't want the kids around."

"Will it explain to me where you've been for the past 2 and a half hours?" Lisa replies with a snarky tone. Jennie's been MIA all night without any explanation… as her wife, Lisa deserves to know why. Jennie lets out a small chuckle on the other end.

"Yes baby it will. You have nothing to worry about."

"You're lucky I love you…" Lisa sasses with a huff.