Joy often found herself wondering how she was able to find people like she had. The same person that she had help find a killer. The same person that she had broken into a mental asylum for. The same person who had been drowned. The same person who saved her sister.
"Hey Kid, get your ass up here!" Called a voice from up the stairs, Joy's train of thought breaking as she heard the voice.
"Give me a second!" She shouted back, getting out of the chair that she had settled herself in. As she stood up, she looked around the room, smiling slightly when she saw that Sophia had fallen asleep on one of the many chairs, her book laying on her chest.
Joy smiled and walked over to the little girl, smiling as she watched the rise and fall of the book that was laying on her chest. After Ronan and Joy had stopped Abigail, it caused a chain reaction of some kind. Making all of the people that she had killed come back to life in their own times.
"Alright, let's get you to bed." Joy said, snaking her arm under Sophia's legs and her back, lifting her up with a small grunt. Joy held onto the little girl and ascended the stairwell, going up a level in the house.
"What's? You two think you're funny huh? May I remind you, I'm the one making you girls food?" Joy heard, making her smile as she finished walking the stairs and started walking down a hallway, smiling as she walked past the kitchen. Joy looked in for a second and smiled when she saw that Ronan was at the stove watching as something cooked, while Iris and Rose were messing with him.
Joy smiled and continued walking, Sophia cuddled closer to Joy's body. Joy smiled as she held onto the little girl, Joy having long since gotten over the marks on Sophia's eyes and mouth. After Abigail was defeated, for some reason, when all of them came back, they still had something about them that was linked to the way they died. Ronan, still had his gunshot wounds. Iris had some stained red on her face the tracked to her chin from her mouth, nose and right eye. Rose had half of her face still black and charred, but the rest of it had healed and she no longer was on fire. And Sophia, well, she kept the marks that she had gotten from being drowned.
"Mmh." Sophia groaned as she woke up a bit, her eyes opening to see Joy holding her. Joy just smiled and opened a door to one of the rooms, holding the door open with her foot and stepping in.
"It's okay Sophia. I'm just going to put you to bed." Joy said, the girl in her arms looking around in an exhausted manner, before she nodded and rested her head against Joy. Joy smiled and walked over to the single bed, putting Sophia down softly. Joy grabbed the sheet at the foot of the bed and pulled it up, the sheet covering the girl.
"Goodnight Sophia." Joy said, leaning down and giving Sophia a kiss on the forehead. The little girl nodded in turn and rolled over, Joy smiling. Joy turned around and left the room, smiling as she watched Sofia sleep.
"Oh, almost forgot." Joy said as she was just about to close the door. She then opened it a bit and flicked one of the switches, turning on a little lamp that glowed a dull and soft pink. Joy then closed the door and walked to the kitchen, walking in to see that Ronan was, for some reason, pulling up his pants. Ronan finished tying his belt, he looked up to see that Joy was at the doorway.
"Joy! I'm trying to cook, could you tell them to stop messing with me!?" Ronan complained, pointing at Rose and Iris in such a manner that he could be considered a child. Joy rolled her eyes and walked into the kitchen, making both girls look at her expectantly. Ever since Joy and Ronan had helped the twins, they had always only listened to Joy, much to Ronan's annoyance.
"Leave him be you two. We like eating food, don't we?" Joy said, making the girl's nod.
"I guess. Even if half the time it is crap." Iris said, getting a laugh from Rose.
"Hey! I know it's not that good most of the time, but com'n! I'm right here!" Ronan complained, pulling out a spatula from a drawer and using it on whatever he was cooking.
"What are you even cooking Detective?" Joy asked with a slight mock in her tone, which made Ronan roll his eyes.
"I am cooking my mother's famous chilli pasta. And before you ask, yes, I have got her famous mushroom pasta for Rose and Sophia." Ronan said, Joy smiling and nodding at him. Soon, Joy and Ronan had discovered that Rose and Sophia hated anything spicy. So, Ronan stuck to giving them mushroom pasta, which both girls enjoyed.
"Alright, gotta serve it up now. Rose, could you go and wake Sophia up please?" Ronan asked, the girl nodding and walking off to wake up the smaller girl. Ronan started tipping the different pastas into five plates, three of them chilli, two of them mushroom. After he had finished filling the bowls, he smiled when he saw that there were leftovers.
"Alright, we got leftovers of the mushroom. Anyone want cheese?" Ronan said, asking the question as Rose returned into the room with a sleepy Sophia.
"Yes please Ronan." Joy said, taking a seat at the table, Rose and Sophia joint her a second later. Joy looked at Sophia and saw her nod.
"Sophia as well Ronan." Joy said, the man nodding as he finished grating some cheese onto his pasta. He then grated some onto Joy's and Sophia's, before putting the grater down. Ronan then picked up the twin's bowls, putting them down in front of them. He then walked back and grabbed Joy's and Sophia's bowls, bringing them over. After he had done that, he grabbed his own bowl and took a seat.
"Smells good Ronan." Joy said, Sophia nodding in agreement. Ronan just smiled and nodded at the compliment, not wanting to take too much praise. All the girls smiled at him, all of them taking some form of humour in the fact that he was a detective, yet he didn't like getting praised.
"Right. Let's eat!" He said, picking up his knife and fork and stabbing his fork into the mass of pasta. After his first bite, he immediately got up and walked to the fridge, pulling out eight water bottles somehow and grabbing a bottle of ketchup.
"I forgot how hot this is." He said, drinking one of the water bottles and finishing it on his first swig of it. Joy, Rose and Iris shared a laugh while Sophia silently giggled.
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"Alright girls, time for bed." Ronan said as he got out of his seat, having ignored the groans of the twins and Joy as he turned to television off.
The twins soon got up and walked off to their room, Joy following shortly after. Ronan smiled and looked down at Sophia, who had chosen to watch some shows with the, after dinner. However, sleep had caught up with her and she had fallen asleep. Ronan reached down and picked her up gently, walking to their room. While the twins shared a room, and Joy had her own room, Ronan and Sophia shared a room due to the young girl's fear of being alone. He opened the door and walked in, putting her down on her bed and tucking her in. He smiled as he looked at her arms, remembering the day when they all went shopping for clothes. Ronan quietly left the room and walked over to the twin's room, knocking on the door softly.
"Come in." He heard from the other side of the door, Ronan opening it. He smiled when he saw that the two girls were both in the same single bed, both girls cuddling each other. Ronan walked over and kissed the, both on the forehead.
"Goodnight you two." He said, pulling the sheet over them. While they were both old enough to put themselves to bed, both the twins had admitted to liking it when Ronan tucked them in, making him happy.
"Night Ronan." The pay both said at the same time, Ronan rolling his eyes, the man not even going to bother telling the, not to talk at the same time. He walked out the room and turned off the lights, closing the door. He then walked to Joy's room, opening in silently and looking in. He had a little smile on his face when he saw that Joy was sitting on her bed in her night clothes. While the other girls liked being tucked in, Joy for some reason, liked Ronan to hug her goodnight.
"You enjoy dinner?" Ronan asked, walking over to the bed and sitting on it.
"Yes. Your mother must've been a great cook." Joy said, Ronan smiling.
"She was the best. I wish you girls could've met her." Ronan said, Joy smiling at him. He reached to her and wrapped his arms around her, Joy hugging him back a second later.
"I'll see you in the morning, okay?" Ronan said, letting go of Joy. She just nodded and laid down, Ronan rubbing her knee.
"Good night." Joy said, Ronan smiling. He got up and gave her a kiss on the forehead.
"Night Kid." Ronan said, smiling as he walked out of the room. He walked back to his shared room and entered it, surprised to see that Sophia was sitting on his bed. He chuckled and walked over, sitting down on his bed.
"You wanna hug too?" Ronan asked, getting a hesitant nod from the little girl besides him. He laid down and patted the spot next to him, Sophia joking him a second later. Ronan put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to him. Smiling when he felt Sophia snuggle into his body.
"Night Sophia." Ronan said, Sophia looking up at him.
"N-Night… D-Daddy." She said, her voice failing her a couple of times. Ronan couldn't do anything but look at her. Once he had recovered, he pulled her closed and hugged her a bit tighter, some tears welling in his eyes.