What's a Girl to Do? (Season 6)

Chapter Two: The Sweetness and the Sorrow

Two days later, I was in my office looking over some old trial transcripts and feeling frightfully bored with it. Ever since the boys were born, Hugo and Allie hadn't given me any meaty cases to work on, and I was growing frustrated with the menial tasks handed to me, which were barely enough for a paralegal or a summer intern. Shaking my head, I continued working until around noon, which is when I got a text from Fiona.

Setting aside my own notes, I picked up my phone and gazed at it. "Well, why didn't you just call me?" I mutter to myself when I read her text, pressing down the number three and listening to the rings. "Fi. Hey."

"Hey, Murph," she replied, her voice a combination of giddy and uneasy. "Do you have any plans for lunch?"

I sighed. "Nope," I replied. "No plans."

"Great!" she said enthusiastically—too enthusiastically. "I was wondering if maybe you wanted to come by the diner?"

I dragged my free hand through my hair as I considered her question. All of us were against the notion that she had taken Jimmy back over the summer, and the pair of them were literally joined at the hip. After everything he'd done—of which I'd heard detailed accounts from all my siblings, save Liam, who didn't remember Jimmy much—I was surprised that someone as fierce as Fiona would throw away her willpower for someone like him...

"Murph?" Fiona asked, her voice nervous. "You there?"

I cleared my throat then, and my older sister quickly sighed in relief on the other end of the phone. "Yeah, I'm here, Fi," I replied. "I'll be there in fifteen minutes, okay?"

"Thank you, Murph," she replied, cutting the call.

I got to my feet, taking my blazer from the back of my chair and putting it on, before attempting to organize the paperwork into each correct file folder. Next, I grabbed my bag, and phone, which I kept in my hand as I crossed my office, flipping off the light as I opened the door. I stepped out into the hallway and pulled my door closed behind me, making my way down the corridor and towards Rachel's desk.

"Going out for lunch?" she asked.

"Meeting Fiona at the diner," I replied. "And I'm swinging by to pick up Iana afterwards, so I'm finished for the day."

Rachel nodded. "Of course."

"See you tomorrow," I called over my shoulder. I stepped into the area with the elevators and pressed the 'down' button, accessing my texting app next and informing Nicholas that I was leaving early to meet Fiona before picking up Iana. I smiled to myself as he replied, as I stepped into the elevator, letting me know that he would pick up the boys on his way home later that afternoon, and I thanked him.

I walked out into the parking garage when I arrived, going towards my car at a steady clip, and fished the keys out from my pocket, unlocking it automatically. I got inside, pulling the door shut behind me and positioned my bag carefully on the passenger seat as I buckled up and started up the ignition. As I pulled out of the garage, I found the most direct route to the diner at the given lunch hour, and went straight there.

Pulling up in front, I grabbed my bag and got out of the car, slamming my door shut before I made my way towards the entrance. I stepped inside then, and the various members of the staff greeted me, and Fiona popped out from the back at all the commotion. I regarded my older sister then; she looked tired, and seemed to have lost a good five pounds, but most of all, her dark brown eyes appeared nervous.

"Fi?" I asked, stepped forward. "You okay?"

She hesitated for a moment before placing a hand on my arm. "Let's talk in my office," she suggested, turning around and heading there.