Two Pink Lines

17

The past month had proved to be a good one for all of them. FP and the kids picked up their belongings from the trailer, and he and Alice decorated the house to have some more touches of he and his kids to help make them feel at home. But perhaps the best thing to happen was FP getting his job at Pop's back.

It was important to him that if he and his kids were living with Alice and Betty, that he helped out in the finance department, even though Alice insisted that wasn't necessary. She was just happy he was safe and with her.

He also wanted to be able to provide for her and their baby, and thankfully Pop was more than willing to give FP his job back.

The only downside about the job is it brought a lot of late night shifts and weird hours upon him, meaning he either missed out on spending time with everyone because he got home so late, or he missed out on sleep because he was working a midnight shift. But if it means the kids and Alice are well taken care of, he doesn't mind too much.

"Alright, I'll see you soon. Bye." FP sets his phone down and sighs. "I've gotta go."

"No." Alice whined. They had been nearly asleep when Pop called FP's cell phone. "Why?"

"The guy working the midnight shift called in and Pop asked if I could cover it."

"Does he not know you've got a hormonal pregnant girlfriend who needs you."

FP smiles. "I'll sneak up tomorrow night to sleep with you, and I'll put my phone on silent this time."

"Fine." She frowns, unwrapping her arms from around him to let him up. She sits up against the headboard and FP raises an eyebrow at her."

"You can go back to sleep, babe. I'll be home when you wake up."

She shakes her head. "We hardly ever get alone time, I'll go to sleep when you leave."

"Alright, I'll be back I'm just going to go grab my uniform." He leaves the room as quietly as possible and heads downstairs to get his uniform and wallet.

He shuts the door behind him when he's back in her bedroom, and she watches as he brushes his teeth and combs his hair, smiling at how effortlessly handsome he is. He winks at her when he catches her staring and she blushes.

She curls up in her blankets as he gets changed, making small talk with him as she fights the urge to go to sleep.

"What time is your shift done at?"

"Five." He answers with a groan, midnight shifts always feel the longest.

"Well hopefully you'll be able to get some sleep before the kids wake up and start making noise."

"Yeah here's hoping." He sits on the edge of the bed and leans over to give her a kiss. "Alright gorgeous, go to sleep, you're exhausted."

"Am not."

He smirks, she's very obviously tired, the pregnancy draining her energy faster than usual. "I'm heading out now, figured I'll grab a bite to eat before my shift starts."

"Ok, have a good shift." She tells him, eyes fighting to stay open.

He chuckles and smooths her hair out of her face, dipping down to brush a kiss to her forehead. "I'll see you in the morning, Al. I love you."

"I love you too." She mumbles, eyes closing as he gets off the bed. He shuts off the bedroom light and closes the door behind him as he leaves the room, giving one last glance at her falling fast asleep.

•

She sleeps peacefully for a couple hours, that is until her bedroom door creaks open. She blinks her eyes as she tries to make out the person. "Jellybean? Honey, is that you?"

"Yeah, it's me." She tip toes over to Alice's side of the bed and the woman looks at her curiously. "I can't find dad." She tells with a shaky voice.

"Pop called him around midnight and asked him to come cover a shift. He'll be home in the morning." Alice informs her. "Are you alright?" Jellybean shakes her head and bursts into tears. Alice stands up from bed to draw the girl into a hug, rubbing her back to soothe her. "What happened?"

"I had a nightmare, and it felt so real. I just wanted to come see dad to make sure he was alright, but I couldn't find him so I thought my dream was true." She sniffles and pulls away from Alice's hug to wipe her tears. "I'm sorry for waking you up."

"Oh honey, don't be sorry, you've had a rough go lately."Alice kisses the top of her head and gives her a small smile. "I know I'm not your dad but I'm all ears if you want to talk about it. Betty and Polly used to have nightmares too and it always helped them when they talked about them."

Jellybean nods and sits on the edge of Alice's bed. "I had a dream that dad got arrested again." Alice frowns, understanding immediately why the girl is so upset. "They took him away for good this time and I was never going to be able to see him again, I didn't get to say goodbye either."

Alice takes the spot beside her and curls an arm around her. "I get why that was so scary for you honey, but I promise, no one is going to take him away again. His name is cleared, and he's perfectly safe here, you all are."

"I know, I just don't want him to get taken away again. It was awful when he was gone, I just got to see him again and then he was taken away."

"Your dad is a good man, JB. He's not going to do anything to get himself in trouble, and no one is going to take him from you again. He's here to stay."

Jellybean smiles. "Thanks, Alice."

"You're welcome. Are you feeling a bit better now that you've talked about it?"

"A little. I still wish he was home right now though so I could see him." She frowns. "I usually sleep with him and mom when I have a nightmare because I have a hard time sleeping after."

"Well I may not be either of your parents, but you're more than welcome to sleep in here with me." Alice offers.

"Really?"

"Yeah of course, if it makes you feel better, I don't mind one bit."

"Thanks, Alice." She crawls over to the far side of the bed and slips under the covers, nuzzling into the pillows and shutting her eyes.

Alice smiles at the sight and gets into bed herself, happy that she could at least make Jellybean feel a little bit better.