Days With Zion Dawsey

31. Priorities

The next day Zion awoke with an unfamiliar feeling. First of all, he didn't have one nightmare that night. But that might've also been because he got home pretty late last night. But he also kind of felt better. He couldn't explain, but seeing his son at peace the other night made him feel at peace for a short second as well. And even a short second was enough for him.

It was Sunday, so he didn't have to work that day. He got up, took a shower and made himself some coffee. He usually drives by that bakery just around the corner for breakfast. So he intended to do that as well. And afterwards, he might text Bonnie because he still felt like they had a lot to talk about.

But for now, he was on his way to his car after getting dressed. The newspapers were on his porch and as usual, he picked it up and started reading on his way out. Oh how he wished he didn't. Because the front page was a picture of him and Kent fighting. He suddenly remembered the whole dilemma with Kent and his mood was immediately ruined.

And then he heard a vehicle stop right in front of him. He looked up with wide eyes, the coffee in his hand slipping and falling to the ground. In front of him was Bonnie's car, the red bmw. He frowned and rushed to her side.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know where to go. They were surrounding my front yard and I didn't know-" Bonnie said, stepping outside.
"Hold on. Who are they?" Zion asked, shocked to hear Bonnie so distressed. He watched her walk to the back seats of the car and realized River was with her.

"The paprazzi. Have you read the papers? They were there last night and today I woke up to noises from my front yard. I called the police and they left for a while. It was long enough for me to start packing and- I was going to get a hotel room for us, but that wouldn't feel much safer. So I came to you, because you live farther away and I've never seen any-"

"It's okay, slow down." Zion said, watching Bonnie get River out of his car seat. The boy looked as happy as ever, not really understanding all the mayhem that was taking place around him. Zion saw that she had packed a few bags and took those out.

"Alright, let's go inside." He said, getting angrier by the second. He looked around, hoping not one of them was stupid enough to follow Bonnie. Once inside, he told her to follow him into a guest room.

"You can put your things in here." He said, setting her bags down.
"Thank you." Bonnie said, setting River on the floor.
"The room is not baby proof, I wouldn't let him crawl around." Zion said.

"Oh, he doesn't crawl yet. He just pushes himself up and falls back down. Could you watch him for a second, I have his travel crib in the trunk." She said, walking out to get her stuff. Zion only took a deep breath and watched his son push his bottom up. He chuckled at that. Don't babies normally start pushing their upper body up?

"What are you doing?" He smiled, crouching down to help his son out. He lifted his upper body and let his son stand on all fours for a second. Then he watched him give in and roll on his back. Now he kicked and squealed again. Zion shook his head and tickled River's belly, completely abandoning the thought of hiding the fact that he enjoyed being with his son.

"Did he roll on his back again?" Bonnie giggled, scaring Zion for a second. He forgot about Bonnie and jumped when she appeared out of nowhere. But he soon relaxed and picked River up. Once Bonnie finished setting up the travel crib, she threw a few of River's toys in it and nodded for Zion to put River inside.

The two watched their child with small smiles playing on their lips. Bonnie looked up at Zion next to her. He noticed her stare a second after and looked down at her as well.
"You're jumpy today." She said.

"Well, you caught me off guard." Zion scratched his neck. He took a step back and then cleared his throat.
"We have a lot to talk about. Would you like some coffee?" He asked Bonnie, who still had to get used to that side of him. The nice or somewhat gentle side.

"I'd love one right now." Zion nodded and looked at the crib.
"Do we just leave him here, or?" He wasn't sure about that.
"I put his favourite toys in there, he'll entertain himself for a little while. Besides that, I always have my babyphone with me." Bonnie told him, showing him the device and so the two went downstairs into the kitchen.

Once the coffee was done, the two settled around the kitchen island, surrounded by silence.

"So where do we even start?" Bonnie joked, knowing they had to talk about a lot.
"We should start with Kent and how we're going to deal with him." He said. Bonnie nodded, but couldn't help the disappointment of Zion not even bringing up the previous night. Was she the only one that felt the way she felt last night?

"I'm getting my weekly report every Sunday about Kent. So I'll share every information I get as soon as I get it." Zion told her.
"Wait, what? What report?" She asked with confusion.
"I hired a detective, someone I trust to follow Kent and find out more about him." He said.

"Ever since you had that suspicion?" Bonnie asked, making Zion nod.
"Pretty much." He answered.
"Wow." She said, taking a sip of her coffee.

"What?" Zion asked.
"Nothing, I'm just surprised you even have a detective." She shrugged.
"Well, I'm serious when it comes to-" He stopped talking, not wanting to sound cheesy. He was just getting the hang of being around River, he didn't need to tell Bonnie about his feelings for the kid.

"Zion, just say it. You care about him and I know that." Bonnie told him, sighing when he didn't answer. She put her cup of coffee aside and turned towards him.
"He's a baby and just because I was being a bitch back then with the contract and stuff- doesn't mean you should let it out on him. He clearly enjoys your company as well." She said.

"I'm not letting it out on him, trust me. I'm just new to all of this. It's an adjustment that I need to make with myself. I don't love changes and right now my whole world and my whole priorities have changed. I just need time." He told her with all honesty.

"And that's totally fine. I really don't mean to rush you into anything. Let's just talk about last night." She couldn't help but say.
"Last night?" Zion asked, clenching his jaw. Bonnie looked at him with an annoyed frown. Neither of them said anything and so she just sighed and shook her head.

"Fine." She stood up and walked out of the room. Zion shook his head and finished his coffee. He knew exactly what Bonnie wanted. But he really couldn't figure out his feelings for her in the moment. He might be a genius, but he was not good at multitasking. He could only focus on one problem at hand. And that was Cirus Kent. He needed to get him out of the way first.