Consequences

Chapter 36

The next lunchtime, Connie and Grace arrived in the department in time for her shift; seeing as Connie was on the late, Grace was going to be going home with Zoe and Max after their shifts had finished and staying there. She was having a mini kind of Christmas with them seeing as she wouldnt see them til after the New Year; as they walked through to her office, she tried to avoid making eye contact with Jacob but Grace had spotted him and went over to him to give him his present.

"Hi Jacob" she smiled as Connie watched from her office doorway.

"Hi mini-me"

"We got you this; a thank you for looking after me when mom was ill" she said as she handed him the gift bag.

"Thank you"

"You're welcome" she smiled before walking back over to her mom.

Connie smiled and wrapped an arm around her daughter as she led her into the office; hanging their coats up, Grace sat on the sofa with her tablet whilst Connie got to work. At just after five, she had taken her break so she could see Grace off; with Max putting her bags in the car, Grace hugged her mom.

"Have fun and be good, okay?"

"I promise"

"And i'll come and pick you up at lunchtime"

"I can drop her off tomorrow night if it's easier?" Zoe offered. "Give you chance to sleep and get anything you want to do done"

"Er...how about i give you a call when i'm done?" She compromised.

"Deal; ready to go Grace?"

As Zoe and Max got in the car, Grace hugged Connie again before looking up at her.

"Are you sure it's okay for me to stay at Zoe's?" Her daughter asked.

"More than certain; you'll only get bored here and i know you have a strong bond with them and that's never going to go away. We have all the time in the world to hang out; so...go and eat loads of junk and have lots of fun, okay?"

"Promise?"

"I promise; we have Christmas Day, dont we? It's gonna be extra special this year; so go and enjoy yourself"

Grace nodded as Connie kissed her forehead again before watching as her daughter got into the car and Zoe drove off; wrapping her arms around her to take the chill off, she felt a jacket been placed around her shoulders before she turned round.

"Hi" she whispered.

"Hi" Jacob replied. "You been avoiding me?"

"I've been working...and avoiding you" she admitted.

"Thanks for the present" he said as they walked round to the Peace Gardens.

"That was from Grace, nothing to do with me"

"Either way, thanks; you didn't have to"

"She said you made her feel better; and won her over with banana milkshakes" she smirked.

"What kids doesnt like milkshake?"

"Grace certainly does; you made a good impression on her. You cheered her up and reassured her when i couldnt; i know we got off on the wrong foot" she said as they took a seat, having got a coffee each from the coffee cart opposite. "The person you seen, that wasnt the real me..."

"I think it was; you come across as fiercely independent and indestructible but underneath it all, you're the same as the rest of us. You were ill and scared and vulnerable and you didn't want your team to know incase they didnt see you as the boss anymore"

"That predictable am i?!"

"No...but for the record, i didnt tell anyone what i saw; sounds like you had a rough time of it though"

"Like you wouldnt believe; i tried to fight it but i couldnt. I dont think i've ever been so scared...or seen Grace so scared before" she admitted.

"You're okay now though?" He questionned.

"Yeah; just been a long six months" she answered, looking at him. "About the other night..."

"It's cool, we were drunk..."

"Why are you so intent on annoying me?"

"You're fascinating...and beautiful"

"I have Grace to think of"

"I'm not pressuring you; i'm just putting it out there. I like you; i like what we did. The rest is up to you..."

As she watched him walk away, she couldnt help but smile at the possibility of a different kind of future for her and Grace; a future with Jacob in it.

By the time her shift had finally ended at midnight, Jacob had visited her office several times and had even stayed after his shift had finished at seven with a mug of coffee and salted caramel cupcake; as she let herself in the empty house, Connie slipped her shoes and coat off before climbing up the stairs. 

It couldnt have took her long to fall asleep as the next thing she knew, the alarm clock on her bedside was blaring away; switching it off, she checked the time: 11am before dragging herself out of bed. Grabbing a shower and bite to eat, she quickly wrapped the last few presents and placed them under the tree before going food shopping and picking Grace up on the way home; as Zoe opened the door, Connie smiled at the sound of Grace's laughter from inside the apartment.

"Come in; your daughter is currently thrashing Max at her Dance game" Zoe explained, shutting the door behind her. "Coffee?"

"No thanks; we have plans for this afternoon" she answered as they headed into the living area.

"Mom..." Grace beamed, running over to hug her.

"Hi baby; having fun?"

"Yeah, Zoe and Max got me a new game for my console; he is sooooo bad at it"

"Wanna get your stuff together? I have plans for this afternoon for us"

"Okay"

When they got home, Connie told Grace to put her stuff in her room whilst she put the shopping away.

"What are we doing mom?" Grace asked as she entered the kitchen.

"I thought we could make a cake for Christmas and some cookies to take into work tomorrow; what do you say?"

"Okay"

Connie smiled and turned up the music as they sang along whilst making their goodies.