Fic - Guiding Light - Five Times Francesca Rivera Saved the Day - Pts. 1, 2 & 3
Title: Five Times Francesca Rivera Saved the Day
Fandom: Guiding Light
Summary: Scenes from Francesca's life. Other characters include, Olivia, Natalia, Emma, Frank, Buzz, Rick and a little bit of Reva, Phillip, Beth and Blake
Word Count: 13,638
Rating: PG-13 (for language)
Disclaimer: All characters, but one, belong to P&G/Telenext. No copyright infringement intended.
A/N: This is unbeta'd. All mistakes are my own. I think Word caught most errors, but I have to warn you that I am liberal with the commas. Also, I'm a dialogue whore. I greatly admire those writers who can compose paragraph after paragraph of thoughts, feelings or even descriptions, but that isn't my writing style. In fact, you might end up feeling like you have too little information, but I hope it's just enough. One last thing, I tend not to refer to the characters by anything, but their names. My apologies if that gets repetitive.
November 28, 2009
“Olivia!”
“What?”
Natalia refused to repeat herself again, so she let her glare answer Olivia’s question. Olivia knew exactly what she wanted, but had decided to be stubborn.
“Fine!” Olivia finally acquiesced. She opened the farmhouse door.
“Hey Olivia, didn’t you hear me knocking?” Frank asked, slightly out of breath, as he had just ran from the side door to the front, finding both locked.
“I guess I just forgot what knocking sounded like,” she replied with false cheer.
“Olivia!”
Natalia had just about all she could stand of Olivia Spencer today. She was tired, she was swollen in places she didn’t even know existed and more than anything, she just wanted to see her feet again. Francesca had been due a week ago, but she was already picking up Olivia’s personality traits. She simply refused to enter the world until she was ready. Stubborn. She decided to ignore Olivia and address Frank.
“Hi Frank, what brings you by?
“Oh, I just wanted to check on you and the baby.”
“We’re fine, Frank,” she replied. Both still sharing a body, she added to herself.
“Do you need anything?” he asked.
“No, thank you though,” she answered with a slight smile.
“Are you sure?”
Olivia was cranky before Frank arrived and his doting on Natalia was just making it worse.
“Yes, she’s sure! Don’t you have some keystone cops to command?”
Natalia was on her feet in an, well not in an instant, but eventually.
“That’s it!” She turned to Frank, “Thank you for checking up on us, Frank. We’re fine and we’ll call you if anything comes up,” she said, as she guided him towards the door.
“Okay, well do call me if you need anything. Have a nice weekend,” he replied just before the door was shut behind him.
Natalia turned her attention to Olivia, who had the good sense to look contrite at that point. Olivia knew that she was being childish, but she just couldn’t stop herself.
“You can go to.”
“What? Natalia come on. You’re a week past your due date. I’m not going to leave you here alone,” Olivia protested.
“I don’t need you here. I can take care of myself. I’ve been taking care of myself long before I ever met you.”
Natalia could see that Olivia was stung by her words. She was just too tired to think about that right now. She loved Olivia, was in love with her, but at the moment she needed some distance. They were both nervous about the baby, both tired and driving each other crazy.
“I won’t leave you here alone. I can’t. I’ll be on the porch,” Olivia responded softly. She grabbed her laptop and headed out the front door without looking at Natalia. She had scarcely had time to sit down on the bench and open her laptop when there was a crash from inside the house. Olivia jumped up and ran inside, looking around franticly.
“Natalia? Sweetheart, where are you?” she called out.
“In here,” came the reply from the kitchen.
Olivia entered the kitchen to find Natalia surrounded by broken glass, standing in a small puddle, with the biggest smile on her face. Olivia was momentarily puzzled.
“My water broke,” Natalia spoke through her grin.
“Your water broke?” Olivia questioned. Her water broke. Oh my God, it’s almost over. Olivia smiled. Oh my God, her water broke! That snapped Olivia into action. She took Natalia by the arm and moved her around the broken glass and into the living room.
“My overnight bag is by the stairs. You need to call Frank and let him know we’re on the way to the hospital. Then call Phillip, since he has Emma this weekend,” Natalia rattled off quickly.
“Okay. Let’s just focus on getting you to the hospital right now. I’ll take care of everything. Don’t worry,” Olivia soothed. She grabbed Natalia’s bag, their purses and her keys in one hand, while holding onto Natalia’s arm with her other hand.
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After several hours, Francesca Olivia Rivera finally decided it was time to make her debut into the world. Both Natalia and Francesca were doing great. Frank was a proud papa and Emma had insisted that Phillip bring her to the hospital first thing Sunday morning. She was dying to meet her new little sister. Olivia and Natalia were finally alone with their baby girl. Francesca had been brought in, so that Natalia could feed her for the first time. Natalia was slightly nervous, after all it had been almost twenty years since she last had a newborn. Olivia took Francesca from the bassinet
and handed her to Natalia. She then climbed onto the bed, lying on her side, so that she could hold Natalia, while Francesca was feeding.
“Olivia, I’m sorry that I told you to leave this morning. I was just so tired and…,” Olivia placed a finger on her lips.
“Shhh, it’s okay sweetheart. We’ve both been pretty stressed out this week. You had every right to clunk me over the head with a Virgin Mary statue” she grinned. Natalia let out a tiny chuckle and shook her head.
“Seriously though, I didn’t mean it when I said I didn’t need you. I need you and want you more than you’ll probably ever know,” Natalia spoke, the last coming out in a whisper. Olivia looked at her through watery eyes, as Natalia leaned down and kissed her tenderly. It was a kiss filled with love, promise and home. Olivia placed her head on Natalia’s shoulder, gazing down at their daughter, the picture of contentment.
“Lucky girl,” she smirked.
“Olivia!” Natalia laughed, then swatted at her leg. “What am I going to do with you?”
“I don’t know, but you better figure it out, since you’re stuck with me for life,” she said, smiling up at Natalia. That I am, thought Natalia, as she returned the smile.
Francesca gurgled, but it sounded like a giggle. She had known just the right time to make her entrance.
October 31, 2014
“Emmy, Emmy!”
“I’m right here, Chessy,” Emma called out in an exasperated tone. Emma loved her little sister, but at times, she could be annoying, especially now that Emma was officially a teenager.
Francesca, sensing her sister’s annoyance, poked out her bottom lip in a perfect imitation of her Ma, while raising her right eyebrow in perfect imitation of her Mommy. Even Emma couldn’t sustain her annoyance against that combination. She grabbed Francesca and plopped the girl in her lap. She began to tickle her, until Francesca started to giggle and squirm.
“So, what’s up, kiddo?” she asked, as Francesca settled again in her lap.
“I not a kiddo. I Chessy!” she was indignant.
“Okay, Chessy,” Emma laughed.
“It’s howlaleen!”
“You mean Halloween?” Emma corrected.
“Uh huh. We need to twicks Mommy, then Ma will give us tweats,” Francesca stated excitedly.
“Who told you this?” Emma questioned.
“Wafe!”
“Rafe, huh?” Emma could only shake her head and smile. She knew that Rafe and her mom weren’t as close as she and Natalia, but they both had come to respect each other. Of course, they couldn’t show their affection for each other like normal people. No, they had to punch each other on the arm or in this case, play twicks.
“Okay, so did Rafe have a plan?”
Francesca pulled Emma down, so that she could whisper into her ear.
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Natalia moved around the kitchen with ease. She had left work early, picking up Francesca from Buzz, with a promise to stop back by Company to show off Francesca’s costume. She then picked up Emma from school. All three made it back to the farmhouse and now Natalia was working on dinner. After some super secret meeting between the two, Emma had went to her room to do her homework and Francesca was drawing at the kitchen table. Olivia would be home any minute, so they could eat dinner and then take the kids out trick or treating. Luckily, Halloween was on a Friday this year, so they didn’t have to worry about Emma being out late on a school night. By next Halloween, Emma would be in High School, so this would probably be the last year she would be interested in trick or treating.
Olivia entered through the kitchen door to the delight of both kitchen occupants.
“Mommy!” Olivia barely had time to put down her coat and briefcase before she had an armload of Francesca.
“Hey pumpkin,” she said, receiving a hug and kiss from her youngest daughter. She made her way over to Natalia and received the same.
“Hey, something smells good,” she smiled, as Francesca leaned side to side, touching her shoulder and then Natalia’s.
“Lasagna,” Natalia replied, “Why don’t you set the table and Chessy, you go get your sister. Make sure you both wash your hands.”
“Okay.” She scampered down from Olivia’s arms and was gone.
Olivia pulled Natalia into her arms and gave her a proper kiss.
“Hi,” she said, leaning in for another kiss.
Natalia pulled back and pushed her away.
“Oh no. You show me your trick of setting the table and you might get a treat later,” she gave Olivia a wink. Olivia just smirked, as she moved to clear away Francesca’s drawings and crayons.
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About an hour later, dinner had been eaten, dishes washed and costumes were donned. All four had made their way to Company.
“Papa Buzz, I back!” Francesca called out running to Buzz, who scooped her up.
“Who do we have here?” he asked.
“Petew Pan!”
Olivia had read the story of Peter Pan to Francesca and at the moment it was her favorite. Natalia had suggested that she dress up as Wendy for Halloween, but she had promptly said no. She wanted to be Peter. Olivia couldn’t help, but take a bit of perverse pleasure in imagining Frank’s reaction to his daughter basically being in drag. Good times.
“And who is this?” Buzz asked, as Emma came around the counter. Emma held up the hook on her hand in answer. Yes, both their daughters were in drag. Emma had not been happy with the idea of dressing as Captain Hook, but Olivia had taught Francesca her best “please, for me” face. Emma never really stood a chance.
“Hey Buzz,” Olivia greeted him warmly, with a kiss on the cheek. Natalia had already been pulled away by Blake before she could even greet the man.
“Hey, so you girls have big plans this evening?”
“Oh yes. We’ll be tricking and treating all over town tonight,” Olivia replied with a smile. Francesca looked at Emma and both girls giggled. Natalia had escaped Blake and made her way over to her family, as Frank came out of the kitchen.
“Hey Pop,” Francesca smiled at him and leaned over into his arms.
“Hey baby. How’s my favorite girl?” he tweaked her nose, making her laugh.
“I Petew Pan!”
“I can see that,” he said with the slightest of frowns.
Bingo, Olivia thought with a smirk. Natalia’s elbow to her ribs, got rid of that smirk rather quickly.
“Behave,” she whispered, then was sure she heard a mumbled,
“That’s no fun” from Olivia. She just smiled.
“Alright girls, we need to get this show on the road,” Natalia announced. They all said their goodbyes and made their way out of Company.
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A couple of hours later the little family had arrived back home. Emma shed her costume almost immediately, but Francesca probably wouldn’t take hers off for days. She did remove her triangular hat to let her short mop of brown curls loose. She was sitting in Natalia’s lap at the kitchen table with Olivia and Emma in chairs on either side of her. Both she and Emma had dumped their Halloween loot onto the kitchen table.
“I can’t believe Dr. Rick gave the girls apples. Who gives out apples on Halloween, unless they’re dipped in caramel?” Olivia groused.
“Olivia, he’s a doctor, of course he would give out healthy treats.”
“What about that thing ‘An apple a day, keeps the doctor away’? It seems like it would be bad for business, plus you’ve never seen him guzzle down a convenience store hot dog. That’s healthy.”
“Mommy, can I have some watew?” Francesca asked around a mouthful of chocolate.
As she got up Olivia asked, “Are you sure you don’t want some milk instead?”
“No, watew,” she repeated, glancing at Emma. Then they both watched their mom remove a cup from the cabinet and move to the sink.
“Awww, what the hell?” Olivia screeched, after being doused in the face with cold water from the sink sprayer. She grabbed the kitchen towel from the counter and brought it up to wipe her face, only to find it filled with flour. Her first instinct was to rinse off the flour, so she turned on the sink, only to once again be smacked with cold water.
“Damn it!” She was now a pasty mess. She blindly reached for a paper towel to wipe her eyes, not noticing the black smudges on the paper towel. She was vaguely aware of giggling that was going on behind her, but when she turned around, it erupted into full on laughter. Even Natalia, who was not privy to the “twick”, could not contain her laughter.
“Olivia, you look like a panda!” Natalia was laughing so hard, she had tears in her eyes. Francesca had moved to Emma’s chair during the hi jinks, so Natalia got up, pulled another towel from the drawer and made her way to Olivia. Not before Emma snapped a picture with her phone though. Rafe is going to love this one. Olivia looked at the towel wearily, then snatched it from Natalia’s hand.
“Oh, come on sweetie. It was funny,” Natalia flashed her dimples.
“Ha Ha.”
This caused renewed giggles from Emma and Francesca and also widen the smile of Natalia. Olivia turned back to the sink to hide her smile, which transformed, ala the Grinch, into an evil smirk upon seeing the sprayer again. Before anyone knew what was happening, she grabbed the sprayer, turning it on her family. Suddenly giggles were replaced by yelps and squeals, as Emma, Francesca and Natalia ran from the room.
Satisfied with her handiwork, Olivia sat down at the table and swept all the candy into her briefcase, locking it away. That’ll teach ‘em. A few minutes later, Natalia tentatively stuck her head around the entrance to the kitchen. She was greeted with the sight of Olivia munching on a pumpkin shaped peanut butter cup. She made her way into the room, followed slowly by Emma and Francesca. She decided to inspect the sprayer. Ah, so someone had taped the handle down, filled the kitchen towel with flour and rubbed coal on the paper towel. The plan was way too involved for Francesca, but also too devious for Emma. No, this had Rafe’s name written all over it. She couldn’t help, but smile. Francesca, on the other hand, was frowning. She had noticed that all her tweats were gone. She walked over to Olivia, climbing onto her lap and placing her hands on Olivia’s cheeks to pull their foreheads together.
“Mommy, did you eat my tweats?” she ask with a slight quaver in her voice. Olivia almost cracked.
“No. Did you play a trick on Mommy?”
Francesca’s bottom lip protruded, “Yes.”
“And did someone help you?”
Olivia thought she wasn’t going to answer, then finally she began to shake her head side to side, rubbing their foreheads together.
“You did all that by yourself?” Olivia was highly skeptical.
Francesca was insulted. She pulled her head back and dropped her hands from Olivia’s cheeks.
“Yes! I smawt!” she stated emphatically, placing her hands on her hips. The corners of Olivia’s mouth began to creep upward. Natalia had a hand covering her smile and Emma just rolled her eyes.
“Oh, come on Mom. You know I set everything up, but it was Rafe’s idea,” Emma said in exasperation.
“Emmy!” Francesca wagged her finger.
Emma rolled her eyes again, “Whatever, I’m going to watch The Great Pumpkin.”
This time Olivia took Francesca’s cheeks in her hands.
“What did Rafe promise you?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.
Francesca tried to look away, but Olivia held firm.
“He said if we twicked you, Ma would give us a tweat,” she offered, barely above a whisper. Natalia couldn’t hold back her snort at that part. Olivia cut her eyes briefly to Natalia and then addressed her daughter again.
“That wasn’t very nice to trick Mommy,” Olivia was really struggling to keep up her serious façade.
Francesca sniffled.
“Olivia, it was just a joke,” Natalia scolded.
“Fine, but don’t you ever listen to your brother again,” Olivia addressed Francesca, then rubbed their noses together. Francesca giggled and threw her arms around Olivia’s neck. After a few moments, she pulled back from Olivia.
“Mommy?”
“What pumpkin?”
“Can we have ouw tweats back?” she asked with a wide grin, that included two tiny dimples. Olivia looked to Natalia, who carried an identical smile. How could she say no to those faces?
“Okay,” Olivia smiled and reached down for her briefcase, but it wasn’t there. “Hey, where’s my briefcase?”
“Emma took it with her, when she went to watch TV,” Natalia answered. “Didn’t you notice?”
“No. Didn’t you think it was strange that she took my briefcase?” Olivia countered.
“No. I guess I was distracted by you grilling our four year old,” Natalia tossed back as she made her way into the living room. Olivia stood up with Francesca and followed her.
Emma was sprawled across the couch. Olivia’s briefcase was open on the coffee table. It, the couch and Emma were littered with candy wrappers. Emma’s eyes looked glazed.
“Emmy!” Francesca was horrified that it looked like Emma had eaten all their tweats. She began to cry in earnest, while clinging to Olivia. Olivia could only rub her back and whisper that it would be okay, while frowning at Emma.
Natalia had started to pick up the empty wrappers around Emma, whose head had rolled towards her.
“I don’t feel so good, Ma,” Emma moaned. Natalia lifted her into a sitting position. “Oh, that was a bad idea. I’m gonna puke.” And she did just that, right into Olivia’s Hermes briefcase.
“Nooooo!” Olivia squeaked. She slumped down in the chair, with Francesca still clinging to her for dear life. Now all she wanted to do was cry right along with her daughter.
“Oh, Emma. Let’s get you upstairs and cleaned up,” Natalia helped Emma off the couch and up the stairs to the bathroom. Olivia spoke softly to Francesca.
“It’s okay, pumpkin. She left the apple that Dr. Rick gave you.”
Francesca buried her face in Olivia’s neck and cried harder. See, I told Natalia. Stupid Rick and his stupid apples.
“Okay, how about if we go to the store tomorrow and you can get all the treats you want?”
“Wweally?” Francesca hiccupped, then sniffed a couple of times.
“Really and it’ll all be yours,” Olivia smiled, as she wiped away her daughter’s tears.
“Okay,” she smiled, while she hugged her Mommy.
“Mommy?” Francesca questioned, leaning back.
“What pumpkin?”
“Youw bwiefcase stinks.”
Olivia couldn’t help, but laugh.
“That it does,” she replied, making a silly face. Francesca started to giggle.
Natalia made her way back down the stairs to the living room.
“Sounds like you girls are having fun,” she said fondly.
“How’s Emma?” Olivia asked.
“Cleaned up and in bed. She’ll be fine now that she’s purged most of the candy from her system,” Natalia replied, as she cast her eyes at Olivia’s ruined briefcase and crinkled her nose in mild disgust. She picked up the offending item and walked into the kitchen. Olivia followed with Francesca. She placed her daughter on a chair and gave her crayons and paper.
“I hope you didn’t have anything important in here,” Natalia said, indicating the briefcase.
“No.”
“Oh wait!” Olivia moved towards the briefcase. Seeing the pukey mess, her heart sank. “Fu…dge,” she amended, looking at Francesca. Natalia was alarmed.
“Olivia, what’s wrong? What was in there?”
“The building permits I needed for The Beacon expansion. They had to be filed first thing Monday morning. Now, I’ll have to wait another six months. That means six months of paying the contractor for nothing, since he can’t actually do any work without the permits,” Olivia was trying to control her anger.
“Oh Olivia, I’m sorry. Can’t Mel get copies for you?” Natalia asked as she pulled Olivia into a hug. After a moment, Olivia pulled away and sat down at the table.
“I have to file the original copies,” she exhaled and put her head down on the table.
Natalia rubbed the back of her head in comfort. Francesca had managed to climb down from her chair. She walked over and stood by Olivia.
“Mommy?”
Olivia raised her head up and pulled Francesca onto her lap.
“What pumpkin?”
“Don’t be sad. I made you a pictuwe.” She smiled and held up her masterpiece. Olivia took the picture and smiled broadly at Francesca’s attempt at Peter Pan and Captain Hook.
“It’s beautiful, pumpkin. Let’s get Ma to put it on the refrigerator right now.”
Olivia handed the picture to Natalia, who smiled at her. Natalia moved to put the picture on the fridge, but noticed some writing on the back. She turned the paper over and realized that it was some sort of legal document. She walked back over to the table where the rest of Francesca’s drawing paper was sitting. She began to turn over the papers. Each one had similar writing. The last one she turned over had Application for Building Permit printed at the top. Her face broke out into a full dimpled grin.
“Natalia? What are you doing?”
Natalia didn’t answer. She simply handed Olivia the paper. Olivia took it with a curious expression. She looked at the paper and her mouth dropped open. She looked up slack jawed at Natalia, then to Francesca, who shrugged her shoulders, and then back to Natalia.
“I guess Emma’s not the only one who knows the combination to your briefcase,” Natalia smirked.
Olivia guffawed. Her girls were too smart for their own good. Thank God! She pulled Francesca into a tight hug and gave her kisses on both cheeks. Francesca giggled uncontrollably. Olivia stood up and walked over to Natalia. Both she and Francesca pulled Natalia into a hug. They pulled back slightly. Francesca swayed side to side, touching first Olivia’s and then Natalia’s shoulders.
“Mommy?”
“What pumpkin?” Olivia knew she would never get tired of hearing that word from Francesca. Natalia knew she would never get tired of hearing those words from either of them.
“Youw bwiefcase still stinks.”
Laughter billowed out from the little farmhouse, carried along on the wind, to the trees, where it was forever preserved.
July 4, 2019
“Ma? Mommy?” Francesca called out from the hallway outside her parent’s room.
“Come in, sweetie,” Natalia replied.
Francesca burst through the door, at full speed, then dove on the bed, much to the chagrin of her Mommy. She landed half on Olivia, with just her head landing on Natalia.
“Come on you guys! It’s time to get up and get going. We’re gonna be late,” Francesca enthused.
Olivia groaned, while Natalia smiled down at her youngest daughter.
“Sweetie, it’s hours until the barbeque. We have plenty of time.”
Francesca scooted up, so she could whisper in Natalia’s ear.
“Yeah, but you know how long it takes to get Mommy going in the morning. If we start now, we’ll make it on time,” she whispered. Natalia bit back a laugh.
“I heard that!” Olivia rolled over and pulled Francesca to her chest, moving her hands down to tickle the girl’s sides. Francesca squirmed and laughed uncontrollably, while Natalia smiled at them both.
“What’s all the noise about?” Emma asked sleepily from the doorway.
“Good morning, baby. Your Mom is just torturing your sister…again,” Natalia smiled up at Emma.
“Come help me, Jellybean,” Olivia said, while continuing her tickle attack. Emma hesitated. She was almost eighteen now, practically an adult and much too old for such silliness. Right? Nope, she was Olivia Spencer’s daughter after all. With that thought, she crawled in next to Natalia and grabbed Francesca’s feet.
“Nooo, Emmy!” Francesca got out between giggles. She fought to get away, but it was no use. She did the only thing she could. “Ma! --giggle-- Help!”
“Okay, you two, that’s enough,” Natalia lightly scolded.
Emma let go of Francesca’s feet and fell back against Natalia. Olivia relented and Francesca collapsed onto Olivia’s stomach.
“Thanks, Ma.” Francesca said, after she caught her breath. Natalia smiled at her in response.
“Hey, you brought it on yourself, pumpkin,” Olivia smirked, then ran her fingers through Francesca’s unruly hair, trying to smooth it down.
“It was the truth,” Francesca grumbled. Olivia gave her hair a slight tug. “Ouch! That’s abuse,” she laughed.
Natalia wrapped her arms around Emma, pulling her close.
“Why don’t you and Chessy go down to the kitchen and start breakfast? I’ll get the tickle monster going and join you girls in a few minutes.”
Emma enjoyed being embraced by Natalia a moment longer before answering.
“Okay kiddo, let’s go and let Ma work her magic on the monster,” Emma grinned at her Mom, before she leaned over and gave the monster a kiss on the cheek.
“Oh boy! Can we make pancakes for breakfast?” Francesca asked excitedly, as she bounced against Olivia’s stomach.
“Now, who’s abusing?” Olivia grunted.
Emma stood up and motioned for Francesca to follow. Before she did, Francesca leaned over to give Natalia a hug. She then scrambled off the bed.
“Hey, what about me?” Olivia asked, feigning offense.
“Oh no, I’m not getting caught by the tickle monster again,” Francesca shook her head. She grabbed Emma’s hand as they left the room and headed down the stairs.
Once the door shut, Olivia turned to Natalia with a pout.
“Hey, the girl is smart,” Natalia pushed Olivia’s bottom lip back in. Olivia nipped at the finger, but Natalia was too quick.
“Come on monster. You get a shower and I’ll go help the girls with breakfast,” Natalia reached over to gently tug Olivia out of bed. Olivia gave a not so gentle tug of her own that landed Natalia in her arms.
“Olivia!” Natalia protested.
Olivia ignored her protest and pulled Natalia all the way on top of her. She tangled one hand in Natalia’s hair, while the other found it’s favorite spot at her lower back. She brought their mouths together in a delicate kiss, which deepened rather indelicately. Natalia finally broke the connection and pushed up off of Olivia’s chest.
“We don’t have time for this today,” she smiled and tried to move away, but Olivia now had both hands around her waist, holding tight. “Olivia, let me go!”
“Never!”
Natalia smiled down at her with a mix of affection and exasperation.
“Just let me go help our girls with breakfast.”
“They’ll be fine. Emma knows all your baking secrets,” Olivia replied and in one quick motion, she reversed their positions.
“Besides, the monster needs to be fed now,” she continued, just before dipping her head to claim Natalia’s lips once more.
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Pancakes had been eaten, showers had been taken and the car was loaded with enough food to feed the entire town. Natalia had insisted on making extras, just in case Rick forgot something or everything. Emma and Francesca were already in the car, planning their strategy to win the three-legged race. Natalia made one last pass through the kitchen, to make sure she hadn’t forgotten anything. She decided that everything had been packed, so she made her way out to the front porch.
Olivia was sitting on the bench, apparently lost in thought. Her face looked pensive. Natalia sat down on the bench and took Olivia’s hand in her own.
“Olivia?”
As if awakened, Olivia turned towards Natalia.
“Humph?”
“What are you thinking about?” Natalia asked, although she thought she might already know.
“Oh, nothing really,” she gave Natalia a half smile.
“Were you thinking about a day from ten years ago?” Natalia hadn’t really wanted to bring up that day, but thought Olivia might need to talk.
“Maybe a little. It was so long ago, now, but the memory just hit me like it was yesterday,” Olivia’s voice was tinged with a sadness that tore at Natalia’s very soul. That she was the cause of that sadness, almost too much to bear.
Olivia continued, “On that day, Emma and I were waiting, but you and as it turns out Chessy, never came. Then you did come back and it was hard, but we put our lives back together. Sometimes the thought of never being with you or having Chessy, slips into my head and I feel staggered. I literally want to fall to my knees. It’s just unimaginable.”
“Olivia, I can never make up for that day or take away that pain. I can only tell you how much I love you. How proud and happy I am that you chose me to share your life with and promise to never run from you or your love, ever again. I will spend the rest of my life loving you and our children and being insanely happy. You’re the reason I look forward to going to bed at night, waking up in the morning and every moment in between. I’m thankful everyday that you had the capacity to forgive me. I love you,” Natalia reached her hands up to wipe away the tears from Olivia’s cheeks.
“God, you’re sappy,” Olivia managed to break the serious air.
Natalia laughed, “Shut up.”
Olivia pulled Natalia in for a kiss, then leaned their foreheads together.
“I love you,” she whispered, “More.”
Natalia laughed again. She was about to reply, when one of her daughters, most likely Francesca, decided to lay on the car horn. They both laughed, then got up and headed towards the car, hand in hand.
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The Bauers’ had hosted another great barbeque. The food was great. The kids had a fantastic time playing games and having a massive water gun battle. Emma and Francesca had triumphed in the three-legged race. Olivia and Natalia were overjoyed to watch their girls have so much fun and to just be together on this day. Evening had arrived and with it came the promise of fireworks to end the celebration.
“Damn it,” Rick Bauer cursed.
“Dr Rick, such language and to my virgin ears,” Olivia feigned offence.
“That you can even say that with a straight face…,” Rick shook his head.
“Ha! That she can do anything straight these days…”
“Shut up, Reva!” Olivia snapped. “What’s the problem, Dr Rick?”
“I can’t get the igniter to work for the fireworks display.”
“So you got a problem with your igniter, ah?” Olivia asked with mirth. Reva snorted and they both stood smirking at Rick.
“Oh, what are you two, twelve?” Rick rolled his eyes.
“Come on Rick. I’ve got kids and Reva here, has great grandkids waiting to see the fireworks. Fix it,” Olivia huffed.
“Hey!” Reva and Rick said at the same time.
“What?” Olivia was the picture of innocence, as she shoved a big bite of pecan pie in her mouth.
“Olivia!” She turned at the sound of Natalia’s voice. “What are you doing?” Natalia asked, as her foot tapped.
“Muthin,” she replied around a mouthful of pie, while desperately trying to hand off the pie to Reva, behind her back. Reva smirked, but kept her hands to herself. Natalia stepped right up into Olivia’s personal space. She reached around her and took the plate of pie from her hand.
“And what’s this?” Natalia inquired.
“Where did that come from?” Olivia questioned, with faux surprise.
“Olivia Spencer! I swear if you lie to me right now,” Natalia left the rest unfinished.
“You really shouldn’t swear, sweetheart. I’ve already had to admonish Rick,” Olivia deflected. Both Rick and Reva took a step back from Olivia.
Natalia threw the pie down and grabbed Olivia by the ear, pulling her into the house.
“Ow, ow, ow, ow…” was heard until the door slammed.
Reva and Rick both shook their heads and laughed.
“She’ll never learn,” Rick said.
“Nope,” Reva replied, “So how ya gonna fix this igniter problem?”
Inside the house, Natalia had pulled Olivia all the way to the bathroom. Once inside, she closed the door and pushed Olivia up against it with her body. She grabbed Olivia by the back of the head and pulled her into a passionate kiss. Olivia was momentarily stunned, but recovered quickly. When Olivia’s hands started to wander, Natalia pulled away from her completely.
“Wait.” Olivia pleaded. Natalia said nothing. “What was that?”
“That is what you won’t be getting for the next week,” Natalia said, then pulled the door open, propelling Olivia forward. Before Olivia could respond, Natalia was through the door and gone.
“Damn it! Stupid pie.”
-------------------------
Olivia had pulled herself together and made her way back outside only to find Natalia releasing her wrath on Rick.
“…so you thought it was a good idea to let a nine year old handle fireworks?” Natalia asked, her voice was full of anger. Olivia walked behind Natalia and placed her hand on the woman’s lower back. Although still not happy with Olivia, she instinctively leaned into the touch.
“Ma, I was the only one with a brain big enough and hands small enough to fix the connection. Nothing bad happened.” Francesca defended Rick’s bonehead decision. Olivia, having clued into the situation, tried not to smile at her daughter’s words.
Natalia pointed at Francesca, “You, button it and go sit with your sister.” Francesca pouted, before she caught the wink from Olivia. She smiled in return and headed toward the blanket where Emma was seated.
Natalia turned her pointer to Rick, “You, don’t ever endanger my daughter again with your bonehead decisions.”
“Sorry. But she did fix the igniter problem. Thanks to her, we’ll still have a fireworks display,” Rick smiled hopefully. Natalia only glared. Rick finally had the good sense to slink away. Natalia then turned to Olivia.
“And you! You’re already in the doghouse. If you don’t want to extend your stay, then don’t encourage Chessy’s reckless behavior,” Natalia finished with a frown.
“How did…”
“I know everything and you should at least know that by now,” Natalia replied, grabbing Olivia’s hand and pulling her along towards their daughters.
Emma had spread out the blanket on a slope in the backyard. She and Francesca were playing a hand game, when Olivia and Natalia arrived. Francesca stopped the game.
“Ma, I’m sorry for making you worry,” She said. Her eyes were pinned to the ground. Natalia sat down and pulled her close.
“I know, sweetie. You have to understand though, that just because you can do something, doesn’t mean you should,” Natalia replied. She looked over at Olivia who had sat down beside her. Olivia smiled and mouthed ‘Okay.’
“Okay.” Francesca threw her arms around Natalia’s waist and hugged her tight. Natalia smiled at Olivia over their daughter’s shoulder, then moved her mouth to Francesca’s ear.
“I love you, sweetie.”
“I love you, too Ma.”
“God, you two are sappy,” Emma said with an eye roll. Both Olivia and Natalia busted out laughing. Francesca let go of Natalia and jumped on Emma. Through Emma’s surprise, Francesca was able to push her down and now sat on her stomach.
“Ah, Chessy, get off!” Emma laughed.
“Nope. I’m gonna sit her until some of the sappy runs off me and lands on you,” Francesca replied, with a huge smile and two full dimples.
Olivia pulled Natalia over to sit between her legs. Natalia leaned back into Olivia’s chest, with her head resting on Olivia’s shoulder. They both enjoyed watching their daughter’s antics. Olivia had wrapped her arms around Natalia’s waist and made lazy circles across her stomach, with her hands. Emma wasn’t doing as good, since Francesca had decided to shake the sappy off by bouncing.
“Ah, seriously Chessy, stop! I ate too much cake and ice cream today. You know what happens when I eat too many sweets, don’t you?” Emma pleaded. Chessy shot up off of her sister, like one of the fireworks going off overhead. Emma just managed to roll over away from the blanket in time. Francesca shut her eyes and held her nose. Olivia pulled Natalia tighter and leaned in to whisper in her ear.
“So about this doghouse thing…”
Fandom: Guiding Light
Summary: Scenes from Francesca's life. Other characters include, Olivia, Natalia, Emma, Frank, Buzz, Rick and a little bit of Reva, Phillip, Beth and Blake
Word Count: 13,638
Rating: PG-13 (for language)
Disclaimer: All characters, but one, belong to P&G/Telenext. No copyright infringement intended.
A/N: This is unbeta'd. All mistakes are my own. I think Word caught most errors, but I have to warn you that I am liberal with the commas. Also, I'm a dialogue whore. I greatly admire those writers who can compose paragraph after paragraph of thoughts, feelings or even descriptions, but that isn't my writing style. In fact, you might end up feeling like you have too little information, but I hope it's just enough. One last thing, I tend not to refer to the characters by anything, but their names. My apologies if that gets repetitive.
November 28, 2009
“Olivia!”
“What?”
Natalia refused to repeat herself again, so she let her glare answer Olivia’s question. Olivia knew exactly what she wanted, but had decided to be stubborn.
“Fine!” Olivia finally acquiesced. She opened the farmhouse door.
“Hey Olivia, didn’t you hear me knocking?” Frank asked, slightly out of breath, as he had just ran from the side door to the front, finding both locked.
“I guess I just forgot what knocking sounded like,” she replied with false cheer.
“Olivia!”
Natalia had just about all she could stand of Olivia Spencer today. She was tired, she was swollen in places she didn’t even know existed and more than anything, she just wanted to see her feet again. Francesca had been due a week ago, but she was already picking up Olivia’s personality traits. She simply refused to enter the world until she was ready. Stubborn. She decided to ignore Olivia and address Frank.
“Hi Frank, what brings you by?
“Oh, I just wanted to check on you and the baby.”
“We’re fine, Frank,” she replied. Both still sharing a body, she added to herself.
“Do you need anything?” he asked.
“No, thank you though,” she answered with a slight smile.
“Are you sure?”
Olivia was cranky before Frank arrived and his doting on Natalia was just making it worse.
“Yes, she’s sure! Don’t you have some keystone cops to command?”
Natalia was on her feet in an, well not in an instant, but eventually.
“That’s it!” She turned to Frank, “Thank you for checking up on us, Frank. We’re fine and we’ll call you if anything comes up,” she said, as she guided him towards the door.
“Okay, well do call me if you need anything. Have a nice weekend,” he replied just before the door was shut behind him.
Natalia turned her attention to Olivia, who had the good sense to look contrite at that point. Olivia knew that she was being childish, but she just couldn’t stop herself.
“You can go to.”
“What? Natalia come on. You’re a week past your due date. I’m not going to leave you here alone,” Olivia protested.
“I don’t need you here. I can take care of myself. I’ve been taking care of myself long before I ever met you.”
Natalia could see that Olivia was stung by her words. She was just too tired to think about that right now. She loved Olivia, was in love with her, but at the moment she needed some distance. They were both nervous about the baby, both tired and driving each other crazy.
“I won’t leave you here alone. I can’t. I’ll be on the porch,” Olivia responded softly. She grabbed her laptop and headed out the front door without looking at Natalia. She had scarcely had time to sit down on the bench and open her laptop when there was a crash from inside the house. Olivia jumped up and ran inside, looking around franticly.
“Natalia? Sweetheart, where are you?” she called out.
“In here,” came the reply from the kitchen.
Olivia entered the kitchen to find Natalia surrounded by broken glass, standing in a small puddle, with the biggest smile on her face. Olivia was momentarily puzzled.
“My water broke,” Natalia spoke through her grin.
“Your water broke?” Olivia questioned. Her water broke. Oh my God, it’s almost over. Olivia smiled. Oh my God, her water broke! That snapped Olivia into action. She took Natalia by the arm and moved her around the broken glass and into the living room.
“My overnight bag is by the stairs. You need to call Frank and let him know we’re on the way to the hospital. Then call Phillip, since he has Emma this weekend,” Natalia rattled off quickly.
“Okay. Let’s just focus on getting you to the hospital right now. I’ll take care of everything. Don’t worry,” Olivia soothed. She grabbed Natalia’s bag, their purses and her keys in one hand, while holding onto Natalia’s arm with her other hand.
--------------------------------------
After several hours, Francesca Olivia Rivera finally decided it was time to make her debut into the world. Both Natalia and Francesca were doing great. Frank was a proud papa and Emma had insisted that Phillip bring her to the hospital first thing Sunday morning. She was dying to meet her new little sister. Olivia and Natalia were finally alone with their baby girl. Francesca had been brought in, so that Natalia could feed her for the first time. Natalia was slightly nervous, after all it had been almost twenty years since she last had a newborn. Olivia took Francesca from the bassinet
and handed her to Natalia. She then climbed onto the bed, lying on her side, so that she could hold Natalia, while Francesca was feeding.
“Olivia, I’m sorry that I told you to leave this morning. I was just so tired and…,” Olivia placed a finger on her lips.
“Shhh, it’s okay sweetheart. We’ve both been pretty stressed out this week. You had every right to clunk me over the head with a Virgin Mary statue” she grinned. Natalia let out a tiny chuckle and shook her head.
“Seriously though, I didn’t mean it when I said I didn’t need you. I need you and want you more than you’ll probably ever know,” Natalia spoke, the last coming out in a whisper. Olivia looked at her through watery eyes, as Natalia leaned down and kissed her tenderly. It was a kiss filled with love, promise and home. Olivia placed her head on Natalia’s shoulder, gazing down at their daughter, the picture of contentment.
“Lucky girl,” she smirked.
“Olivia!” Natalia laughed, then swatted at her leg. “What am I going to do with you?”
“I don’t know, but you better figure it out, since you’re stuck with me for life,” she said, smiling up at Natalia. That I am, thought Natalia, as she returned the smile.
Francesca gurgled, but it sounded like a giggle. She had known just the right time to make her entrance.
October 31, 2014
“Emmy, Emmy!”
“I’m right here, Chessy,” Emma called out in an exasperated tone. Emma loved her little sister, but at times, she could be annoying, especially now that Emma was officially a teenager.
Francesca, sensing her sister’s annoyance, poked out her bottom lip in a perfect imitation of her Ma, while raising her right eyebrow in perfect imitation of her Mommy. Even Emma couldn’t sustain her annoyance against that combination. She grabbed Francesca and plopped the girl in her lap. She began to tickle her, until Francesca started to giggle and squirm.
“So, what’s up, kiddo?” she asked, as Francesca settled again in her lap.
“I not a kiddo. I Chessy!” she was indignant.
“Okay, Chessy,” Emma laughed.
“It’s howlaleen!”
“You mean Halloween?” Emma corrected.
“Uh huh. We need to twicks Mommy, then Ma will give us tweats,” Francesca stated excitedly.
“Who told you this?” Emma questioned.
“Wafe!”
“Rafe, huh?” Emma could only shake her head and smile. She knew that Rafe and her mom weren’t as close as she and Natalia, but they both had come to respect each other. Of course, they couldn’t show their affection for each other like normal people. No, they had to punch each other on the arm or in this case, play twicks.
“Okay, so did Rafe have a plan?”
Francesca pulled Emma down, so that she could whisper into her ear.
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Natalia moved around the kitchen with ease. She had left work early, picking up Francesca from Buzz, with a promise to stop back by Company to show off Francesca’s costume. She then picked up Emma from school. All three made it back to the farmhouse and now Natalia was working on dinner. After some super secret meeting between the two, Emma had went to her room to do her homework and Francesca was drawing at the kitchen table. Olivia would be home any minute, so they could eat dinner and then take the kids out trick or treating. Luckily, Halloween was on a Friday this year, so they didn’t have to worry about Emma being out late on a school night. By next Halloween, Emma would be in High School, so this would probably be the last year she would be interested in trick or treating.
Olivia entered through the kitchen door to the delight of both kitchen occupants.
“Mommy!” Olivia barely had time to put down her coat and briefcase before she had an armload of Francesca.
“Hey pumpkin,” she said, receiving a hug and kiss from her youngest daughter. She made her way over to Natalia and received the same.
“Hey, something smells good,” she smiled, as Francesca leaned side to side, touching her shoulder and then Natalia’s.
“Lasagna,” Natalia replied, “Why don’t you set the table and Chessy, you go get your sister. Make sure you both wash your hands.”
“Okay.” She scampered down from Olivia’s arms and was gone.
Olivia pulled Natalia into her arms and gave her a proper kiss.
“Hi,” she said, leaning in for another kiss.
Natalia pulled back and pushed her away.
“Oh no. You show me your trick of setting the table and you might get a treat later,” she gave Olivia a wink. Olivia just smirked, as she moved to clear away Francesca’s drawings and crayons.
------------------------------------
About an hour later, dinner had been eaten, dishes washed and costumes were donned. All four had made their way to Company.
“Papa Buzz, I back!” Francesca called out running to Buzz, who scooped her up.
“Who do we have here?” he asked.
“Petew Pan!”
Olivia had read the story of Peter Pan to Francesca and at the moment it was her favorite. Natalia had suggested that she dress up as Wendy for Halloween, but she had promptly said no. She wanted to be Peter. Olivia couldn’t help, but take a bit of perverse pleasure in imagining Frank’s reaction to his daughter basically being in drag. Good times.
“And who is this?” Buzz asked, as Emma came around the counter. Emma held up the hook on her hand in answer. Yes, both their daughters were in drag. Emma had not been happy with the idea of dressing as Captain Hook, but Olivia had taught Francesca her best “please, for me” face. Emma never really stood a chance.
“Hey Buzz,” Olivia greeted him warmly, with a kiss on the cheek. Natalia had already been pulled away by Blake before she could even greet the man.
“Hey, so you girls have big plans this evening?”
“Oh yes. We’ll be tricking and treating all over town tonight,” Olivia replied with a smile. Francesca looked at Emma and both girls giggled. Natalia had escaped Blake and made her way over to her family, as Frank came out of the kitchen.
“Hey Pop,” Francesca smiled at him and leaned over into his arms.
“Hey baby. How’s my favorite girl?” he tweaked her nose, making her laugh.
“I Petew Pan!”
“I can see that,” he said with the slightest of frowns.
Bingo, Olivia thought with a smirk. Natalia’s elbow to her ribs, got rid of that smirk rather quickly.
“Behave,” she whispered, then was sure she heard a mumbled,
“That’s no fun” from Olivia. She just smiled.
“Alright girls, we need to get this show on the road,” Natalia announced. They all said their goodbyes and made their way out of Company.
---------------------------------------
A couple of hours later the little family had arrived back home. Emma shed her costume almost immediately, but Francesca probably wouldn’t take hers off for days. She did remove her triangular hat to let her short mop of brown curls loose. She was sitting in Natalia’s lap at the kitchen table with Olivia and Emma in chairs on either side of her. Both she and Emma had dumped their Halloween loot onto the kitchen table.
“I can’t believe Dr. Rick gave the girls apples. Who gives out apples on Halloween, unless they’re dipped in caramel?” Olivia groused.
“Olivia, he’s a doctor, of course he would give out healthy treats.”
“What about that thing ‘An apple a day, keeps the doctor away’? It seems like it would be bad for business, plus you’ve never seen him guzzle down a convenience store hot dog. That’s healthy.”
“Mommy, can I have some watew?” Francesca asked around a mouthful of chocolate.
As she got up Olivia asked, “Are you sure you don’t want some milk instead?”
“No, watew,” she repeated, glancing at Emma. Then they both watched their mom remove a cup from the cabinet and move to the sink.
“Awww, what the hell?” Olivia screeched, after being doused in the face with cold water from the sink sprayer. She grabbed the kitchen towel from the counter and brought it up to wipe her face, only to find it filled with flour. Her first instinct was to rinse off the flour, so she turned on the sink, only to once again be smacked with cold water.
“Damn it!” She was now a pasty mess. She blindly reached for a paper towel to wipe her eyes, not noticing the black smudges on the paper towel. She was vaguely aware of giggling that was going on behind her, but when she turned around, it erupted into full on laughter. Even Natalia, who was not privy to the “twick”, could not contain her laughter.
“Olivia, you look like a panda!” Natalia was laughing so hard, she had tears in her eyes. Francesca had moved to Emma’s chair during the hi jinks, so Natalia got up, pulled another towel from the drawer and made her way to Olivia. Not before Emma snapped a picture with her phone though. Rafe is going to love this one. Olivia looked at the towel wearily, then snatched it from Natalia’s hand.
“Oh, come on sweetie. It was funny,” Natalia flashed her dimples.
“Ha Ha.”
This caused renewed giggles from Emma and Francesca and also widen the smile of Natalia. Olivia turned back to the sink to hide her smile, which transformed, ala the Grinch, into an evil smirk upon seeing the sprayer again. Before anyone knew what was happening, she grabbed the sprayer, turning it on her family. Suddenly giggles were replaced by yelps and squeals, as Emma, Francesca and Natalia ran from the room.
Satisfied with her handiwork, Olivia sat down at the table and swept all the candy into her briefcase, locking it away. That’ll teach ‘em. A few minutes later, Natalia tentatively stuck her head around the entrance to the kitchen. She was greeted with the sight of Olivia munching on a pumpkin shaped peanut butter cup. She made her way into the room, followed slowly by Emma and Francesca. She decided to inspect the sprayer. Ah, so someone had taped the handle down, filled the kitchen towel with flour and rubbed coal on the paper towel. The plan was way too involved for Francesca, but also too devious for Emma. No, this had Rafe’s name written all over it. She couldn’t help, but smile. Francesca, on the other hand, was frowning. She had noticed that all her tweats were gone. She walked over to Olivia, climbing onto her lap and placing her hands on Olivia’s cheeks to pull their foreheads together.
“Mommy, did you eat my tweats?” she ask with a slight quaver in her voice. Olivia almost cracked.
“No. Did you play a trick on Mommy?”
Francesca’s bottom lip protruded, “Yes.”
“And did someone help you?”
Olivia thought she wasn’t going to answer, then finally she began to shake her head side to side, rubbing their foreheads together.
“You did all that by yourself?” Olivia was highly skeptical.
Francesca was insulted. She pulled her head back and dropped her hands from Olivia’s cheeks.
“Yes! I smawt!” she stated emphatically, placing her hands on her hips. The corners of Olivia’s mouth began to creep upward. Natalia had a hand covering her smile and Emma just rolled her eyes.
“Oh, come on Mom. You know I set everything up, but it was Rafe’s idea,” Emma said in exasperation.
“Emmy!” Francesca wagged her finger.
Emma rolled her eyes again, “Whatever, I’m going to watch The Great Pumpkin.”
This time Olivia took Francesca’s cheeks in her hands.
“What did Rafe promise you?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.
Francesca tried to look away, but Olivia held firm.
“He said if we twicked you, Ma would give us a tweat,” she offered, barely above a whisper. Natalia couldn’t hold back her snort at that part. Olivia cut her eyes briefly to Natalia and then addressed her daughter again.
“That wasn’t very nice to trick Mommy,” Olivia was really struggling to keep up her serious façade.
Francesca sniffled.
“Olivia, it was just a joke,” Natalia scolded.
“Fine, but don’t you ever listen to your brother again,” Olivia addressed Francesca, then rubbed their noses together. Francesca giggled and threw her arms around Olivia’s neck. After a few moments, she pulled back from Olivia.
“Mommy?”
“What pumpkin?”
“Can we have ouw tweats back?” she asked with a wide grin, that included two tiny dimples. Olivia looked to Natalia, who carried an identical smile. How could she say no to those faces?
“Okay,” Olivia smiled and reached down for her briefcase, but it wasn’t there. “Hey, where’s my briefcase?”
“Emma took it with her, when she went to watch TV,” Natalia answered. “Didn’t you notice?”
“No. Didn’t you think it was strange that she took my briefcase?” Olivia countered.
“No. I guess I was distracted by you grilling our four year old,” Natalia tossed back as she made her way into the living room. Olivia stood up with Francesca and followed her.
Emma was sprawled across the couch. Olivia’s briefcase was open on the coffee table. It, the couch and Emma were littered with candy wrappers. Emma’s eyes looked glazed.
“Emmy!” Francesca was horrified that it looked like Emma had eaten all their tweats. She began to cry in earnest, while clinging to Olivia. Olivia could only rub her back and whisper that it would be okay, while frowning at Emma.
Natalia had started to pick up the empty wrappers around Emma, whose head had rolled towards her.
“I don’t feel so good, Ma,” Emma moaned. Natalia lifted her into a sitting position. “Oh, that was a bad idea. I’m gonna puke.” And she did just that, right into Olivia’s Hermes briefcase.
“Nooooo!” Olivia squeaked. She slumped down in the chair, with Francesca still clinging to her for dear life. Now all she wanted to do was cry right along with her daughter.
“Oh, Emma. Let’s get you upstairs and cleaned up,” Natalia helped Emma off the couch and up the stairs to the bathroom. Olivia spoke softly to Francesca.
“It’s okay, pumpkin. She left the apple that Dr. Rick gave you.”
Francesca buried her face in Olivia’s neck and cried harder. See, I told Natalia. Stupid Rick and his stupid apples.
“Okay, how about if we go to the store tomorrow and you can get all the treats you want?”
“Wweally?” Francesca hiccupped, then sniffed a couple of times.
“Really and it’ll all be yours,” Olivia smiled, as she wiped away her daughter’s tears.
“Okay,” she smiled, while she hugged her Mommy.
“Mommy?” Francesca questioned, leaning back.
“What pumpkin?”
“Youw bwiefcase stinks.”
Olivia couldn’t help, but laugh.
“That it does,” she replied, making a silly face. Francesca started to giggle.
Natalia made her way back down the stairs to the living room.
“Sounds like you girls are having fun,” she said fondly.
“How’s Emma?” Olivia asked.
“Cleaned up and in bed. She’ll be fine now that she’s purged most of the candy from her system,” Natalia replied, as she cast her eyes at Olivia’s ruined briefcase and crinkled her nose in mild disgust. She picked up the offending item and walked into the kitchen. Olivia followed with Francesca. She placed her daughter on a chair and gave her crayons and paper.
“I hope you didn’t have anything important in here,” Natalia said, indicating the briefcase.
“No.”
“Oh wait!” Olivia moved towards the briefcase. Seeing the pukey mess, her heart sank. “Fu…dge,” she amended, looking at Francesca. Natalia was alarmed.
“Olivia, what’s wrong? What was in there?”
“The building permits I needed for The Beacon expansion. They had to be filed first thing Monday morning. Now, I’ll have to wait another six months. That means six months of paying the contractor for nothing, since he can’t actually do any work without the permits,” Olivia was trying to control her anger.
“Oh Olivia, I’m sorry. Can’t Mel get copies for you?” Natalia asked as she pulled Olivia into a hug. After a moment, Olivia pulled away and sat down at the table.
“I have to file the original copies,” she exhaled and put her head down on the table.
Natalia rubbed the back of her head in comfort. Francesca had managed to climb down from her chair. She walked over and stood by Olivia.
“Mommy?”
Olivia raised her head up and pulled Francesca onto her lap.
“What pumpkin?”
“Don’t be sad. I made you a pictuwe.” She smiled and held up her masterpiece. Olivia took the picture and smiled broadly at Francesca’s attempt at Peter Pan and Captain Hook.
“It’s beautiful, pumpkin. Let’s get Ma to put it on the refrigerator right now.”
Olivia handed the picture to Natalia, who smiled at her. Natalia moved to put the picture on the fridge, but noticed some writing on the back. She turned the paper over and realized that it was some sort of legal document. She walked back over to the table where the rest of Francesca’s drawing paper was sitting. She began to turn over the papers. Each one had similar writing. The last one she turned over had Application for Building Permit printed at the top. Her face broke out into a full dimpled grin.
“Natalia? What are you doing?”
Natalia didn’t answer. She simply handed Olivia the paper. Olivia took it with a curious expression. She looked at the paper and her mouth dropped open. She looked up slack jawed at Natalia, then to Francesca, who shrugged her shoulders, and then back to Natalia.
“I guess Emma’s not the only one who knows the combination to your briefcase,” Natalia smirked.
Olivia guffawed. Her girls were too smart for their own good. Thank God! She pulled Francesca into a tight hug and gave her kisses on both cheeks. Francesca giggled uncontrollably. Olivia stood up and walked over to Natalia. Both she and Francesca pulled Natalia into a hug. They pulled back slightly. Francesca swayed side to side, touching first Olivia’s and then Natalia’s shoulders.
“Mommy?”
“What pumpkin?” Olivia knew she would never get tired of hearing that word from Francesca. Natalia knew she would never get tired of hearing those words from either of them.
“Youw bwiefcase still stinks.”
Laughter billowed out from the little farmhouse, carried along on the wind, to the trees, where it was forever preserved.
July 4, 2019
“Ma? Mommy?” Francesca called out from the hallway outside her parent’s room.
“Come in, sweetie,” Natalia replied.
Francesca burst through the door, at full speed, then dove on the bed, much to the chagrin of her Mommy. She landed half on Olivia, with just her head landing on Natalia.
“Come on you guys! It’s time to get up and get going. We’re gonna be late,” Francesca enthused.
Olivia groaned, while Natalia smiled down at her youngest daughter.
“Sweetie, it’s hours until the barbeque. We have plenty of time.”
Francesca scooted up, so she could whisper in Natalia’s ear.
“Yeah, but you know how long it takes to get Mommy going in the morning. If we start now, we’ll make it on time,” she whispered. Natalia bit back a laugh.
“I heard that!” Olivia rolled over and pulled Francesca to her chest, moving her hands down to tickle the girl’s sides. Francesca squirmed and laughed uncontrollably, while Natalia smiled at them both.
“What’s all the noise about?” Emma asked sleepily from the doorway.
“Good morning, baby. Your Mom is just torturing your sister…again,” Natalia smiled up at Emma.
“Come help me, Jellybean,” Olivia said, while continuing her tickle attack. Emma hesitated. She was almost eighteen now, practically an adult and much too old for such silliness. Right? Nope, she was Olivia Spencer’s daughter after all. With that thought, she crawled in next to Natalia and grabbed Francesca’s feet.
“Nooo, Emmy!” Francesca got out between giggles. She fought to get away, but it was no use. She did the only thing she could. “Ma! --giggle-- Help!”
“Okay, you two, that’s enough,” Natalia lightly scolded.
Emma let go of Francesca’s feet and fell back against Natalia. Olivia relented and Francesca collapsed onto Olivia’s stomach.
“Thanks, Ma.” Francesca said, after she caught her breath. Natalia smiled at her in response.
“Hey, you brought it on yourself, pumpkin,” Olivia smirked, then ran her fingers through Francesca’s unruly hair, trying to smooth it down.
“It was the truth,” Francesca grumbled. Olivia gave her hair a slight tug. “Ouch! That’s abuse,” she laughed.
Natalia wrapped her arms around Emma, pulling her close.
“Why don’t you and Chessy go down to the kitchen and start breakfast? I’ll get the tickle monster going and join you girls in a few minutes.”
Emma enjoyed being embraced by Natalia a moment longer before answering.
“Okay kiddo, let’s go and let Ma work her magic on the monster,” Emma grinned at her Mom, before she leaned over and gave the monster a kiss on the cheek.
“Oh boy! Can we make pancakes for breakfast?” Francesca asked excitedly, as she bounced against Olivia’s stomach.
“Now, who’s abusing?” Olivia grunted.
Emma stood up and motioned for Francesca to follow. Before she did, Francesca leaned over to give Natalia a hug. She then scrambled off the bed.
“Hey, what about me?” Olivia asked, feigning offense.
“Oh no, I’m not getting caught by the tickle monster again,” Francesca shook her head. She grabbed Emma’s hand as they left the room and headed down the stairs.
Once the door shut, Olivia turned to Natalia with a pout.
“Hey, the girl is smart,” Natalia pushed Olivia’s bottom lip back in. Olivia nipped at the finger, but Natalia was too quick.
“Come on monster. You get a shower and I’ll go help the girls with breakfast,” Natalia reached over to gently tug Olivia out of bed. Olivia gave a not so gentle tug of her own that landed Natalia in her arms.
“Olivia!” Natalia protested.
Olivia ignored her protest and pulled Natalia all the way on top of her. She tangled one hand in Natalia’s hair, while the other found it’s favorite spot at her lower back. She brought their mouths together in a delicate kiss, which deepened rather indelicately. Natalia finally broke the connection and pushed up off of Olivia’s chest.
“We don’t have time for this today,” she smiled and tried to move away, but Olivia now had both hands around her waist, holding tight. “Olivia, let me go!”
“Never!”
Natalia smiled down at her with a mix of affection and exasperation.
“Just let me go help our girls with breakfast.”
“They’ll be fine. Emma knows all your baking secrets,” Olivia replied and in one quick motion, she reversed their positions.
“Besides, the monster needs to be fed now,” she continued, just before dipping her head to claim Natalia’s lips once more.
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Pancakes had been eaten, showers had been taken and the car was loaded with enough food to feed the entire town. Natalia had insisted on making extras, just in case Rick forgot something or everything. Emma and Francesca were already in the car, planning their strategy to win the three-legged race. Natalia made one last pass through the kitchen, to make sure she hadn’t forgotten anything. She decided that everything had been packed, so she made her way out to the front porch.
Olivia was sitting on the bench, apparently lost in thought. Her face looked pensive. Natalia sat down on the bench and took Olivia’s hand in her own.
“Olivia?”
As if awakened, Olivia turned towards Natalia.
“Humph?”
“What are you thinking about?” Natalia asked, although she thought she might already know.
“Oh, nothing really,” she gave Natalia a half smile.
“Were you thinking about a day from ten years ago?” Natalia hadn’t really wanted to bring up that day, but thought Olivia might need to talk.
“Maybe a little. It was so long ago, now, but the memory just hit me like it was yesterday,” Olivia’s voice was tinged with a sadness that tore at Natalia’s very soul. That she was the cause of that sadness, almost too much to bear.
Olivia continued, “On that day, Emma and I were waiting, but you and as it turns out Chessy, never came. Then you did come back and it was hard, but we put our lives back together. Sometimes the thought of never being with you or having Chessy, slips into my head and I feel staggered. I literally want to fall to my knees. It’s just unimaginable.”
“Olivia, I can never make up for that day or take away that pain. I can only tell you how much I love you. How proud and happy I am that you chose me to share your life with and promise to never run from you or your love, ever again. I will spend the rest of my life loving you and our children and being insanely happy. You’re the reason I look forward to going to bed at night, waking up in the morning and every moment in between. I’m thankful everyday that you had the capacity to forgive me. I love you,” Natalia reached her hands up to wipe away the tears from Olivia’s cheeks.
“God, you’re sappy,” Olivia managed to break the serious air.
Natalia laughed, “Shut up.”
Olivia pulled Natalia in for a kiss, then leaned their foreheads together.
“I love you,” she whispered, “More.”
Natalia laughed again. She was about to reply, when one of her daughters, most likely Francesca, decided to lay on the car horn. They both laughed, then got up and headed towards the car, hand in hand.
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The Bauers’ had hosted another great barbeque. The food was great. The kids had a fantastic time playing games and having a massive water gun battle. Emma and Francesca had triumphed in the three-legged race. Olivia and Natalia were overjoyed to watch their girls have so much fun and to just be together on this day. Evening had arrived and with it came the promise of fireworks to end the celebration.
“Damn it,” Rick Bauer cursed.
“Dr Rick, such language and to my virgin ears,” Olivia feigned offence.
“That you can even say that with a straight face…,” Rick shook his head.
“Ha! That she can do anything straight these days…”
“Shut up, Reva!” Olivia snapped. “What’s the problem, Dr Rick?”
“I can’t get the igniter to work for the fireworks display.”
“So you got a problem with your igniter, ah?” Olivia asked with mirth. Reva snorted and they both stood smirking at Rick.
“Oh, what are you two, twelve?” Rick rolled his eyes.
“Come on Rick. I’ve got kids and Reva here, has great grandkids waiting to see the fireworks. Fix it,” Olivia huffed.
“Hey!” Reva and Rick said at the same time.
“What?” Olivia was the picture of innocence, as she shoved a big bite of pecan pie in her mouth.
“Olivia!” She turned at the sound of Natalia’s voice. “What are you doing?” Natalia asked, as her foot tapped.
“Muthin,” she replied around a mouthful of pie, while desperately trying to hand off the pie to Reva, behind her back. Reva smirked, but kept her hands to herself. Natalia stepped right up into Olivia’s personal space. She reached around her and took the plate of pie from her hand.
“And what’s this?” Natalia inquired.
“Where did that come from?” Olivia questioned, with faux surprise.
“Olivia Spencer! I swear if you lie to me right now,” Natalia left the rest unfinished.
“You really shouldn’t swear, sweetheart. I’ve already had to admonish Rick,” Olivia deflected. Both Rick and Reva took a step back from Olivia.
Natalia threw the pie down and grabbed Olivia by the ear, pulling her into the house.
“Ow, ow, ow, ow…” was heard until the door slammed.
Reva and Rick both shook their heads and laughed.
“She’ll never learn,” Rick said.
“Nope,” Reva replied, “So how ya gonna fix this igniter problem?”
Inside the house, Natalia had pulled Olivia all the way to the bathroom. Once inside, she closed the door and pushed Olivia up against it with her body. She grabbed Olivia by the back of the head and pulled her into a passionate kiss. Olivia was momentarily stunned, but recovered quickly. When Olivia’s hands started to wander, Natalia pulled away from her completely.
“Wait.” Olivia pleaded. Natalia said nothing. “What was that?”
“That is what you won’t be getting for the next week,” Natalia said, then pulled the door open, propelling Olivia forward. Before Olivia could respond, Natalia was through the door and gone.
“Damn it! Stupid pie.”
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Olivia had pulled herself together and made her way back outside only to find Natalia releasing her wrath on Rick.
“…so you thought it was a good idea to let a nine year old handle fireworks?” Natalia asked, her voice was full of anger. Olivia walked behind Natalia and placed her hand on the woman’s lower back. Although still not happy with Olivia, she instinctively leaned into the touch.
“Ma, I was the only one with a brain big enough and hands small enough to fix the connection. Nothing bad happened.” Francesca defended Rick’s bonehead decision. Olivia, having clued into the situation, tried not to smile at her daughter’s words.
Natalia pointed at Francesca, “You, button it and go sit with your sister.” Francesca pouted, before she caught the wink from Olivia. She smiled in return and headed toward the blanket where Emma was seated.
Natalia turned her pointer to Rick, “You, don’t ever endanger my daughter again with your bonehead decisions.”
“Sorry. But she did fix the igniter problem. Thanks to her, we’ll still have a fireworks display,” Rick smiled hopefully. Natalia only glared. Rick finally had the good sense to slink away. Natalia then turned to Olivia.
“And you! You’re already in the doghouse. If you don’t want to extend your stay, then don’t encourage Chessy’s reckless behavior,” Natalia finished with a frown.
“How did…”
“I know everything and you should at least know that by now,” Natalia replied, grabbing Olivia’s hand and pulling her along towards their daughters.
Emma had spread out the blanket on a slope in the backyard. She and Francesca were playing a hand game, when Olivia and Natalia arrived. Francesca stopped the game.
“Ma, I’m sorry for making you worry,” She said. Her eyes were pinned to the ground. Natalia sat down and pulled her close.
“I know, sweetie. You have to understand though, that just because you can do something, doesn’t mean you should,” Natalia replied. She looked over at Olivia who had sat down beside her. Olivia smiled and mouthed ‘Okay.’
“Okay.” Francesca threw her arms around Natalia’s waist and hugged her tight. Natalia smiled at Olivia over their daughter’s shoulder, then moved her mouth to Francesca’s ear.
“I love you, sweetie.”
“I love you, too Ma.”
“God, you two are sappy,” Emma said with an eye roll. Both Olivia and Natalia busted out laughing. Francesca let go of Natalia and jumped on Emma. Through Emma’s surprise, Francesca was able to push her down and now sat on her stomach.
“Ah, Chessy, get off!” Emma laughed.
“Nope. I’m gonna sit her until some of the sappy runs off me and lands on you,” Francesca replied, with a huge smile and two full dimples.
Olivia pulled Natalia over to sit between her legs. Natalia leaned back into Olivia’s chest, with her head resting on Olivia’s shoulder. They both enjoyed watching their daughter’s antics. Olivia had wrapped her arms around Natalia’s waist and made lazy circles across her stomach, with her hands. Emma wasn’t doing as good, since Francesca had decided to shake the sappy off by bouncing.
“Ah, seriously Chessy, stop! I ate too much cake and ice cream today. You know what happens when I eat too many sweets, don’t you?” Emma pleaded. Chessy shot up off of her sister, like one of the fireworks going off overhead. Emma just managed to roll over away from the blanket in time. Francesca shut her eyes and held her nose. Olivia pulled Natalia tighter and leaned in to whisper in her ear.
“So about this doghouse thing…”