Hello Mother, Hello Father
A/N: So I wrote this in the leftover time from my English exam :) Fitting for the subject, I thought. Anyhow, completely random and out of nowhere but I hope you enjoy and please review! Oh, and I'm sorry about my lack of updates on my stories! I've only got one exam tomorrow and three more before holidays so I'll use all my free time to update :)
Cate tried to hide her smile as she made her way up the stairs leading to Baze's loft. She had managed to convince Ryan to come back early from their honeymoon and wanted nothing more than to see Lux. She missed her daughter like crazy, and despite the fact that she was with Ryan in one of the most romantic places on the planet, she couldn't help but let her loneliness for Lux get in the way of having the best time she could.
Cate knocked on the door of the loft, not waiting for a reply before pushing it open and walking in. Cate grinned as she walked into the loft and saw Lux and Baze standing in front of the TV, Wii controllers in their hands as they played the video game.
Both Baze and Lux turned their attention to Cate as she entered, grinning widely. "Surprise!"
"Cate?" Lux frowned, looking at Cate confused before she glanced up at Baze, concerned when he looked away and walked over to the kitchen. "What are you doing here?"
Cate was about to reply as Lux turned to walk over to her, but she froze and her eyes widened as Lux's wrist, or more so her pink cast, came into view.
"Oh my God!" Both Lux and Baze rolled their eyes as Cate almost ran over to Lux, freaking out and examining her arm before turning to look at Baze accusingly. "What the hell happened to her?"
"Uh... hello? Right here." Lux waved slightly and Cate turned her attention back to her.
"What the hell happened?" She repeated.
Again Lux rolled her eyes. "It's nothing, Cate. Relax."
"Relax?" Cate looked back at Baze. "She has a broken arm."
"Wrist." Lux corrected, downplaying it. "And it's just a hairline fracture."
Cate closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead stressed causing Baze and Lux to exchange an amused look. "What happened?" Her tone was firm.
Lux looked up at Baze and he shrugged, signalling that Lux may as well tell her. "Just a little go-karting accident. It doesn't even hurt. The doctor just freaked out. Like you are doing right now."
"A go-karting acciden- that's it. I'm taking you home." Cate grabbed Lux's arm, beginning to pull her towards the door.
Lux pulled away, looking at Cate angrily. "I'm not going anywhere. You said I had two weeks. It's not my fault you can only put up with your new husband for eight days."
"Get your bags. We're going home." Cate ordered sternly. Lux looked at her angrily and was about to protest but stopped herself, noticing Baze. He was doing all he could to avoid looking at Cate, and from the way he had acted since the wedding, Lux knew Cate being there had to be hurting him.
"Fine." Lux mumbled, reluctantly heading to her room to quickly pack her bags.
Cate rolled her eyes as she looked around, taking in the state of the loft. Empty take out containers and used glasses occupied the table and benches, there were unopened newspapers and letters on the floor and the pile of dishes at the sink looked like they hadn't been done in days.
Lux emerged a few minutes later, bag hanging on her arm. "You know, I could stay here and you and your husband could have sometime to yourself." Lux emphasized the word 'husband'; her tone holding anger.
"You're coming." Cate ignored Lux's argument, grabbing one of her bags.
Lux gave up after realizing she was never going to win. She glared at Cate quickly before turning to Baze and smiling slightly, wrapping her arms around his shoulders as he hugged her back. "I had fun this weekend. Thanks, dad."
"Me too, kiddo." Baze smiled, cupping the back of Lux's head.
They pulled away a few seconds later and Lux smiled at him once more before glaring at Cate and storming past her. Cate turned to Baze, thinking that she should say something but not sure what to say. "Thanks for taking her this week." She finally settled on.
Baze nodded, shoving his hands in his back pockets. "You should probably go."
Cate looked hurt but nodded, realizing her being there was probably hurting Baze more. "Bye, Baze."
Baze didn't respond, instead turning and walking back into the kitchen and allowing Cate to let herself out.
Cate sighed and walked out to the car. Lux was leaning against the passengers door and playing on her phone. She looked up and glared once more when Cate approached. Cate smiled back at her slightly, unlocking the car and getting into the driver's seat.
"So you're calling Baze 'dad' now?" Cate broke the silence and was trying to sound curious, but the jealousy and disappointment was clearly evident in her tone.
Lux shrugged and nodded as if it was obvious. "Yeah."
"Well... when did that happen?" Cate made no move to cover the jealousy this time.
Again Lux shrugged, flipping through her phone as if she wasn't interested. "I don't know. After you left I guess."
Cate nodded, debating what to say as a silence overcame them. "You can call me "mom" too. You know, if you want?" She finally offered, her tone abnormally high.
Lux smirked slightly at the permission, and she looked up at Cate and nodded slowly though it came out as more of a mock, before turning her attention back to her phone.
They pulled into the driveway and grabbed Lux's bag from the back before slowly walking inside, neither saying anything.
"Hey!" Ryan smiled widely and met them in the foyer, his attention on Lux. "How was Baze's?"
Lux forced a polite smile though Ryan didn't really notice. "Unexpectedly short. How was Fiji?"
"Amazing." He smiled and wrapped an arm around Cate's shoulders as she came to stand next to him, smiling down lovingly at her. "Perfect."
Lux smiled slightly and nodded, an awkward silence filling the foyer. "Right... Well... I'm going to go unpack."
Lux walked past Cate and Ryan and up into her room, leaving Cate to let out a frustrated groan and lay her head on Ryan's shoulder, Ryan looking down at her confused. "What'd you say to her?"
"Nothing." Cate groaned. "She's been like that since I got to Baze's." She paused for a minute before continuing. "She called him 'dad'."
Ryan pulled back slightly to look at Cate. "Seriously?" Cate nodded, frowning and making Ryan smirk. "You're jealous."
"No I'm not!" Cate defended, pulling away. Ryan raised an eyebrow at her and she frowned, covering her face with her hands and leaning tiredly against Ryan's chest as he wrapped his arms around her, laughing gently. "Alright maybe a little." She paused, mumbling into Ryan's chest. "I just don't get why she likes him more than me."
Ryan laughed slightly at her whining tone. "Cate, she doesn't like him more than you. You're her mom. She thinks of Baze as her friend. It's just a different relationship."
"Then how come she called him 'dad'?" Cate whined quietly.
Ryan kissed the top of Cate's head, holding her close. "Mmm... You'll have to ask her."
"Hey." Cate knocked on Lux's floorboard half an hour after she and Ryan had talked, smiling gently.
Lux looked up, glaring when she saw who it was. "Hey." Lux mumbled, looking away and continuing to unpack.
Cate frowned slightly but climbed the stairs nonetheless crossed the room to sit on the desk chair. Lux didn't say anything, so Cate spoke up. "So... how was Baze's?"
"Short." Lux replied after thinking for a few seconds and Cate rolled her eyes.
"Okay. So you're mad at me?"
Lux rolled her eyes, turning her back to Cate as she put her clothes away. "How'd you guess?"
"Okay, I guess I deserved that." Cate sighed. "Look, I'm sorry for cutting your time with Baze short, but I thought we could spend some time together." Cate smiled hopefully. "I missed you."
"Well I'm going back to dad's tonight. We had plans." Lux looked over at Cate. "Which you would have known if you had bothered to ask."
"Lux..." Cate sighed. "Look, I'm sorry about Baze, but I missed you and I thought you would miss me." Lux looked up, calmer, and was about to reply before Cate continued. "You're not going to Baze's tonight. It's our first night back. You're having dinner with me and Ryan."
Lux's anger returned and she spun around to face Cate. "You can't make me stay here. You and dad have fifty-fifty custody. You can't keep me from him."
"Lux, don't be ridiculous. I'm not keeping you from him. You've spent the last eight days at Baze's place. You're staying here tonight, and we're going to have dinner and talk like a family."
"We're not a family! Dad and you and I are a family!" Lux paused, her tone changing. "And now you and Ryan are a family. I don't need to be here to hear about your first few days as a married couple."
"Lux..." Cate walked over to Lux slowly, reaching out to put a hand on Lux's arm. Lux pulled away and continued to unpack. "You and Ryan and I are a family-"
"You left, Cate!" Lux yelled, throwing her arms out. "I've waited my entire life to have a family, and I finally got one. But you just acted like it wasn't a big deal. Like adopting me wasn't a big deal. God Cate, you signed the papers then you acted like nothing was different. Like your wedding was more important than becoming my mom." Lux whispered the last part, crossing her arms across herself protectively. "I get it, I do. Ryan's your husband, and a honeymoon is a rite of passage. I just- I guess I thought you would at least want to celebrate adopting me." Lux's expression hardened and she turned away, finishing unpacking her bags. "But it clearly wasn't a big deal to you. And that's fine. I get it, you had bigger things to think about. But Baze was there, and he actually thought that legally becoming my dad was a big deal."
"Lux..."
Lux stopped what she was doing though didn't look at Cate. "Just please... go. You didn't seem to have a problem with it last week."
Cate looked her; her eyes glassing over. She didn't know what to say. "Okay." She finally whispered before making her way out of Lux's room.
Lux remained in her bedroom for the rest of the afternoon, avoiding Cate at all costs. Ryan came up to tell her that he was heading out to pick up dinner, leaving Lux and Cate alone in the house.
Lux slowly crept down the stairs and hesitated outside of Cate's closed door. The earlier conversation with Cate had replayed over and over in her head throughout the day, and to be honest, she felt guilty for being so harsh. She understood about the honeymoon, but she couldn't help but feel hurt, and even a little jealous, that she had blown over the adoption so fast.
Lux knocked gently on Cate's door, nervously shifting on her feet. "Can we talk?"
"Sure." Cate answered simply, clearly still upset.
Lux nodded to herself, not really sure what to do as she walked a few feet into the room. Silence filled the room with neither mother nor daughter wanting to make the first move. "I didn't want to hurt you, Cate. With calling Baze "dad" I mean. It just kind of happened. He and I have spent a lot of time together and you were away, and I don't know... I guess it just felt right with him."
Cate nodded, not making eye contact. "It's okay."
"No it's not." Cate looked up at Lux, watching as the nervous teenager crossed the room and sat on the bed next to her. She hesitated before continuing, wringing her hands nervously. "I was hurt when you left. I mean, it just felt like your wedding and Ryan and being married were more important to you than me. And I'm not judging, I mean I get it. Ryan's your husband." Cate was about to protest but Lux stopped her, smiling slightly. "And that's okay. I like Ryan, you know I do, but I spent an entire week with Baze and no matter how hurt he was, and trust me, he was, but he still made the week about me. He made sure that our first week as father and daughter was about me."
"Lux..."
Lux looked away embarrassed, quickly swiping at the tears that had filled her eyes. "I'm sorry. I'm being selfish. I just wanted to apologize." Lux mumbled, going to stand up.
Cate stopped her, reaching over to place a hand on her arm. Lux slowly sat back down, and Cate looked at her through her own tears, hand still resting on her daughter's arm. "Lux..." Cate whispered, not knowing what to say. "I'm so sorry. I didn't even think about how you might feel. I was so caught up in the wedding, and my feelings, and everything happened so fast... but you have to know, I never meant to hurt you." She grabbed Lux's hands in her own, rubbing her thumb gently across the top of Lux's hands. "You mean more to me than anything. More than Ryan, more than my job, more than my life. You're my whole world, and you have to know, I didn't really think about celebrating the adoption because to me, you were already my daughter." She laughed slightly, using her thumb to wipe away one of Lux's tears. "That was kind of official the day you were born."
Lux laughed quietly as Cate wiped away her tears, allowing her mom to kiss her cheek gently before taking her into her arms.
"I'm sorry." Lux whispered after a few moments into Cate's shoulder, embarrassed and referring to the earlier conversation.
Cate smiled, rubbing Lux's back and letting her know it was okay. They pulled away after a few minutes and sat in comfortable silence, Cate retaking Lux's hands.
"Cate?" Lux whispered after a few minutes, looking down.
"Hmm?"
Lux blushed slightly, biting the side of her lip. "I will call you mom. Just... you know, give me time."
Cate smiled widely and nodded, cupping the side of Lux's face gently, Lux smiling back at her. "But you are never going go-karting with Baze again."
Lux smirked, taking Cate's hand as she allowed Cate to pull her out of the bedroom and into the living room where Ryan was waiting.