Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc through 55th cycle. Now cycle 56!

"Making Up For Lost Time"
Brittany & Sue
Sylvesters series
(all series now listed under the communities tab in my profile)

Brittany was spending the first week of summer over with her father. She would still call home to talk to her mother whenever she could, but it didn't change the fact that they were apart, and Sue could feel it. Then one night, while she was talking to Brittany, Joe had asked to speak with her. They were both doing their best to start getting along more, for Brittany's sake. Well, Joe wasn't the one who had to try, it was her, but he didn't bring it up, so neither did she.

"I want to ask you something," Joe had started.

"Not sure I like where this is going, but alright," Sue replied.

"We're going on vacation again this year, and I know that last year this was cause for drama…"

"Because you were seeing Brittany behind my back?"

"Sue…" Joe sighed.

"Sorry, go on."

"It would really mean a lot, to all of us, if Brittany came along this time. I haven't mentioned it to her yet, I wanted to run it by you first, but…"

"Okay," Sue had replied.

"Sorry?"

"I said okay, she can go with you," Sue frowned to herself. "You're right, she should get to go with… her family," she still hated saying it that way, like it was them and only them, and she didn't belong. She knew that wasn't the case, but it didn't mean it didn't feel that way to her.

"Sue, thank you, I know you…"

"Look, she's your daughter as much as she's mine, I'm not doing you any favors…"

"Right, of course," said Joe.

"So where are you taking h… Where are you all going?"

"England, two weeks. We're going to alternate, a few different places across the country…"

"Great, that's great," Sue nodded to herself. "You'll let her know I said I was okay with it, yes?"

"I will."

Not an hour went by that she heard the door open, shut, and then there were footsteps, dashing, searching… "I'm in the kitchen," she called out, and Brittany came running in. Sue barely had time to turn around that she was nearly knocked off her feet, her daughter's arms around her.

"Thank you, thank you!" she spoke, and Sue smiled.

"So I guess he told you?"

"Wh… Oh, yes, he did!" she blinked, then grinned. "I've never been this far, we looked it up."

"You'll do fine," Sue told her.

"I know," Brittany smiled. "I wish you could come with us…"

"You and I have had a lot of vacations together, and they've been great," Sue nodded.

"They have," Brittany agreed.

"But you've never had one with your father, and your sisters, all of them… and that's my fault. But now you can go, and if I was there with you then it wouldn't be the same. You go out there, and you have some fun. When you get back, you get to tell me all about it."

"I can do that," Brittany agreed. "I'll take lots of pictures, if I can figure out the camera. And I'll get you souvenirs."

"Sounds like a plan."

After the announcement that they were going on vacation and that she wouldn't get to see her mother for those two weeks, Brittany had decided to spend the rest of her nights until they left back at her mother's house. Her suitcases were all packed and ready to go when the last night before departure arrived. Sue was all but expecting what happened next. As she was lying down in her bed, the lights just turned off, she had heard her coming, and a moment later Brittany was resting at her side.

"Hey…" she spoke, and Sue breathed out.

"Hello."

"I think Lord Tubbington got used to being at Dad's. Do you think he'll be okay here?"

"I'll take good care of him," Sue promised, even if the beast had never really cared for her.

"Okay… And what about grandpa?"

"I'll take care of him, too."

"Okay…" She paused, then, "Can I stay here tonight?"

"Anytime," Sue told her, and she could make out her smile in the darkness. "Get some sleep, you're heading out early." She felt the bed shift as Brittany settled in, and then she stilled… Within a minute or two she'd be asleep.

The next morning, Sue was up early, making sure Brittany had breakfast ready by the time she got up. They had both eaten, gotten dressed, and then Sue had driven her to Joe's. They would tag behind his car all the way to the airport. Sue had hesitated about taking her all the way there, instead of saying their goodbyes at Joe's, but the way Brittany had it, if they drove to the airport together, then they could be together longer… and she couldn't contest that.

She thought about how much had changed in a year. Last June, she never would have agreed to let Brittany leave the country with her father. Already the thought of ever having to share custody of her was too much, and the realization that her daughter had found her father and had been spending time with him and his family without her knowing… it had nearly broken them, just as much as the freeze out period through half of the school year that followed. Above all else, last year she never would have thought of potentially putting an end to the years-long family secret, and now…

They'd reached the airport, and before she knew it, the time had come for their goodbyes. Brittany had held on to her so tight, for a moment she had thought she would change her mind, decide to stay unless her mother could come along, but then she had let go… She was ready to go.

"You have a good time, okay?" Sue told her, instead of saying anything like 'don't go.'

"I will." Sue looked at her, really looked at that face, the last time she'd get to for half a month…

"I'll see you in two weeks…"

THE END

A/N: This is a one-shot ficlet, which means that signing up for story alert will not bring you any alerts.
In the event of a sequel, the story will be separate from this one. And as chapter stories go, they are
always clearly indicated as such [ex: "Days 204-210" in the summary] Thank you!