The Deal

38- Tickets

Neil looked down at the tickets before looking at JJ who had a smile on her face. He shook his head. "No. You know Saturday is the day I spend with Lara. Just her and I. Why did you get tickets for that day?"

"Neil come on. I worked my ass off to get these. Do you know how hard it was to get these? One Saturday with the three of us won't hurt." She looked up at him, seeing his frown deepen.

"We spend everyday together. We have done for the last 7 months. We practically live together. It's Lara and daddy day. Not you." JJ bit her lip as she felt her cheeks burn.

"That's fine. You two go then. I'll give the ticket to someone else." Neil watched her pick up her bag.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going home. Gonna sleep at mine today." She sighed as she turned around to pick up her phone. "I'm gonna say bye to Lara before I go. Is that okay?"

"Do whatever you want. You sure as hell do anyways." He dropped the tickets on the bed and groaned as she left the room without a word. JJ walked down the hall as she wiped away her tears. With a deep breath in, she pushed the door open to Lara's bedroom.

"What did he say?" Lara screamed when she looked up from her book.

"Well I think you two might be going. But I have to work, monkey. I won't be able to come."

With a frown, Neil walked to Lara's room. He heard the hushed whispers and opened the door. "Daddy please tell JJ to miss out on work so she can come with us. Pretty please."

"You two already knew about this?"

"It was my idea. Sorry we didn't tell you, I wanted it to be a surprise," Lara said. She had a frown on her face as she looked between them. Neil glanced over at JJ who was staring down at the floor. "JJ promised she would come with us and now she's saying she has work."

"It's okay. JJ will come with us, won't you?"

"I've got work Neil."

"But since you already made the plan with Lara without telling me now you have to otherwise she will be upset."

JJ nodded her head before saying goodbye to Lara. She quickly glanced up at Neil who was staring straight ahead with his jaw clenched. Deciding not to say anything to him, she cleared her throat and turned around to leave.

* * *

When they took their seats, JJ took the seat beside a stranger and Lara sat between them. "Are you sure you don't want to sit here?" she asked for the second time. "You and daddy always sit next to each other."

"No. It's your special day and we want you between us both."

"This is going to be so cool. Thank you so much JJ."

"Anything for you, monkey," she whispered before kissing the top of her head.

Throughout the musical, Neil kept glancing at JJ who remained stationary. She had her head resting on her hand as she stared straight ahead, not even at the stage. When they were finished, they walked to the station together. The trains were crowded and Lara stayed glued to the both of them. Neil stood beside JJ, placing a hand on her hips to steady her. Eventually she shuffled out his reach and leaned against the door. Lara's grip on his hand loosened and she gently pushed through to stand in front of JJ. From the train station to the flat, the only noise between them was Lara talking and Neil occasionally joining in. It was only when they got to the floor did JJ speak.

"I'm gonna head home," she mumbled.

"Already? You promised we would make something when we got back."