Across the Divide and Through Valhalla

Always Have Family

Chapter 33

After lunch, Sherry took the girls outside, and they played with an old tire swing for a little while before they went on a hike behind the house. By the end of the day, Sherry wasn't the only one that was worn out. Cloud and Zack helped her make a quick dinner. By that time, all of the men had come back in, and thankfully, Daniel didn't say anything. Although, he did continue to give Genesis glares throughout the evening. Sherry was just glad that was the worst of it.

After dinner, they had to figure out where everyone was going to sleep. Thankfully, the air mattresses were back, and it made things a little easier. Daniel and the girls all crashed downstairs, and Cloud and Zack agreed to sleep in the living room. Sherry realized they were still taking turns sleeping. She sighed as she admitted to herself that there probably wasn't much she could do about it at this point. They were grown men anyway. Once that was all settled, she bade them all goodnight and fell asleep almost as soon as her head was down.

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The next morning, Sherry was woken by a tiny body bouncing on her stomach. She didn't even have her eyes open before she grabbed the body mid bounce and pulled the giggling girl down beside her. She finally opened her eyes and grinned at Anna. The girl poked her side, and Sherry laughed. It was Stella she heard though. She looked up to see the girl standing next to her bed and holding a tray.

Sherry sat up and gave her a curious look. It was at that point that she saw Daniel standing in her doorway. Her brows scrunched down a little as he gave her a half-shrug and a strained smile. "I guess you could call it a peace offering. The girls were excited to help."

Sherry felt tears instantly prick her eyes as she gave him a smile. "Thanks."

She took the tray from Stella and carefully set it to the side before she grabbed both girls in a tight hug. "Thank you both too."

Stella pushed back and frowned at her tears. "What's wrong?"

Sherry smiled brightly and kissed her forehead. "It's just that I love you both so much."

The girls giggled when Sherry poked them both in the side, but she didn't get into a tickling competition. Instead, she set them beside her and pulled the tray into her lap. "Are you both going to help me eat?"

They laughed again as Daniel spoke up. "We ate already."

She gave him a nod but gave each of the girls a piece of bacon anyway. Her brother sat on the side of the bed and watched them. She gave him a look before she spoke again. "Girls, your dad, and I have some errands to run today, but after we are done, how does a visit to the park sound?"

The girls both responded with giggles and nods. Sherry looked over to see Daniel had started frowning again, but he gave her a nod. She was glad that he seemed to be accepting the necessity, at least.

Once Sherry was finished eating, Stella retook the tray and ran toward the kitchen. Sherry had to remind her not to run with glass, and the girl slowed. Once the girls and Daniel left her alone, Sherry quickly got dressed and headed into the living room. She wasn't surprised to see all of her guests around the table. She was surprised to see Daniel talking with Zack. Although she realized she shouldn't have been. Zack had a way of getting to people, and they did have a few things in common.

She joined them but didn't get to say anything before Anna insisted on being picked up. Once the girl was settled in her lap, she looked to her guests. "I have some errands to run this morning, and after that, I planned on going to the park with Daniel and the girls. I know there is stuff to be done, but would you mind if I had the day with my family? They have to leave in the morning."

Caius had been leaning against the wall nearby. At her question, he stood and put a hand on her shoulder. He gave it a gentle squeeze as he nodded. "Take care of what you need to."

She smiled up at him and looked around. Zack and Cloud nodded as well. Sephiroth was giving her a contemplative look, but he nodded too. Genesis was the only one to speak. "Infinite in mystery is the gift of the Goddess. I have the impression that this is important for you, so I will not object. We can postpone until they are gone. Besides-" He looked down at the two girls and smiled. Sherry shook her head when they both grinned back at him. At least she wasn't the only one that thought he could be charming when he wasn't an ass. At their grins, he continued. "I believe it might be best, given what we still have to handle." Sherry mouthed a 'thank you' over the girl's heads, and he smirked back.

Once that was decided, Sherry helped Daniel load the girls into their car seats, and the family headed to take care of all the paperwork. It ended up taking them most of the morning to get everything signed and notarized, but by lunch, everything was official. Daniel was co-owner on everything.

Sherry felt both better and worse afterward. She knew that things were handled at least, and it was one less thing she had to worry about, but it also meant that she was one step closer to leaving them behind forever. She physically shook the thoughts out of her head as Daniel pulled into the Subway next to the park. They all grabbed a sandwich for lunch and walked down to eat at one of the picnic tables.

It was next to impossible to keep the girls seated long enough for them to finish eating. Sherry finally gave up and wrapped the last of her sandwich back up so she could take them to the playground. The first thing they both wanted to do was swing. Stella was big enough that she didn't need help and she had to show that fact off. Anna, on the other hand, was thrilled to be pushed.

It wasn't long until the girls joined a small group of children running around the playground, screaming and giggling. Sherry took a seat on a nearby bench and was watching them with a smile. It wasn't long until Daniel joined her. They were both watching the girls when he spoke up. "They're going to miss you."

Sherry had to fight the sudden urge to cry as she turned to him. "I'm going to miss you all too."

He finally turned to her. "What am I going to tell Sam?"

Sherry shook her head. "The truth. I know it'll be hard, but she trusts you. Besides, I'll be visiting in a couple of weeks. I have a book tour, and Mia was kind enough to book an extra day in Charlotte so I could visit you guys."

Daniel gave her a nod before he leaned back with a sigh and looked out for the girls again. It was several more minutes before he spoke again. "You know, as much as I hate this, I have to admit the universe, or whatever, picked the right person."

She looked over sharply. When he finally turned to look at her, she couldn't stop her tears at the look he was giving her. It was worse when he spoke again. "I can't stand the thought of losing you, but you are the best person to help them. You've always given us everything we needed, even before mom died. It tears me up, but I know you'll succeed."

Sherry couldn't speak right away; she was crying too hard. Daniel shook his head and wrapped her in a quick hug. "You need to stop that. I'll start crying too, and then what'll everyone think."

Sherry gave a hiccupping laugh and shook her head. "They probably already think there's drama going on. What do we care anyway?"

He gave her a sad smile. "Yeah. As long as we have family, right?"

Sherry felt like her chest was going to rip open, but she gave him a nod. "We'll always have family. No amount of time or space will change that."

Daniel gave her shoulder a squeeze before he stood. He smiled down and helped her to her feet. He gave her another quick hug before he turned back to the playground. "It'll be dinner time by the time we get home. We have to leave early too."

She nodded as he tried to round up the girls. Sherry went to the closest water fountain and splashed a little water on her face before she joined them. The last thing she wanted to do was to worry the girls. It would be hard enough saying goodbye the next day without adding to their upset.

When she rejoined them, Daniel had a crying Anna in his arms and a pouting Stella trailing behind him. Sherry laughed at the sight and picked Stella up. She was almost too big to be carried, but for the moment, Sherry didn't mind.