Title: Will It Be Me?
Author: Megan Faye
Rated: Teen/R
Disclaimer: I don't own Rent or NBC's Kristin. And yes, I know that Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel aren't sleeping together, and they never have or will. This is fanfiction only!
Special thanks to I-Stalk-Espinosa-xo, my wonderful new beta! You are patient and talented! And to The Last Truffula Tree, a talented young writer, who inspires my imagination! Thank you, my new friends!
Extra special thanks to my poor husband, who is dealing with heat, no air conditioner, and no dinner because I'm too busy writing this.
Tommy and Aldo congratulated the two of them. Aldo knew that it was hard for Kristin to say the words out loud. Just saying them and making it official added a bit of stability to their new relationship.
After work, the two hopped a cab to Queens to Maureen's parent's house. Even though they had been together less than a week, they were best friends, and it felt like a natural progression of their relationship. Meeting the parents seemed like the next thing to do.
"Maureen!" her mother called, hugging her lovely daughter.
"Hi Mom! Hi Daddy!" she called over her mother's shoulder. "Mom, I want you to meet Kristin Yancy, my girlfriend." Maureen took the dish of food they'd brought so her mother could greet Kristin.
"Yes, hello dear," Maureen's mother gave out quick hugs and led the two women in. "Call me Nancy."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Nancy."
"Kristin cooked some of her mother's casserole for dinner. Its amazing. Its called-"
"Hum-dum-ditty. There's no real recipe for it, so its usually never the same twice. This one has potatoes, peas, carrots, cheese, rice, and a biscut crust."
"No meat?"
"Mother, I'm a vegetarian," Maureen pointed out, with her best annoyed grin. From her tone, Kristin assumed it was not the first time she'd had to remind her.
"At least you eat regularly now, sweetheart." Maureen rolled her eyes and brought the dish into the kitchen, leaving her mother and girlfriend alone.
"I make sure she's well fed--" Kristin stopped as she was pulled into a very firm hug.
"I don't know you, but that is the first time my daughter has smiled at me in ten years. Thank you," she whispered, voice catching. She released Kristin and stepped back. "We sound like we argue, and I may not look as though I approve, but Maureen hasn't come in that door with a smile since Joanne, and even then, it wasn't like that."
"I'm new at all this. I've never dated a woman before, and I've only known Maureen for about 5 months."
"How long have you been dating?"
"Kind of a loaded question. It's either been ten days, or three. Depending on when you start counting." Kristin followed Nancy into the kitchen.
"I count it as 2 months," Maureen called. "Since you got sick-"
"You're not well, dear?" Nancy gasped. She felt the same fear rise in her chest as she had when Joanne first got sick.
"I had a chest cold that got really bad. Maureen took care of me." Kristin gave a small, shy grin.
"She had Pneumonia. Other than that, she was fine. What's in the oven?" Maureen asked as she slid Kristin's casserole in on the top shelf.
"Veggie lasagna." Maureen closed it and smiled at her mother. "I know what you eat. Its a mother's prerogative to annoy her children, dear. Should you ever decide to have any-"
"Mother!"
"You'll understand what I'm talking about."
"Kristin, I give you: My Mother!" Maureen held her hands out toward her mother.
Eddie Johnson stood at the door to his kitchen and listened to the laughter coming from his wife and daughter. Maureen had such an beautiful laugh when she was really happy. He hadn't heard that laugh in far too long. The woman she brought home was the polar opposite of Joanne; she was small, blond, perky, and could hold up her side of the sarcasm just as well as Maureen. He had yet to meet this young woman, but he already liked her.
"Is dinner nearly ready?"
"Hi, Dad! This is Kristin. Kristin, this is my Dad, Eddie."
"Pleasure," the man said, taking Kristin's hand.
"We're still waiting on Sasha and the girls," Nancy said over her shoulder while she pulled plates from a shelf.
"I never told you about my little sister!" Maureen gushed. "She's twenty-seven has two kids, Allie and Kassidy. Her husband, Ron," she started, rolling her eyes as she said her brother-in-law's name. "Is a total sleaze, and we're just waiting for the papers to be finished so we can roll them up and beat him with them."
"Maureen!"
"Mom, he cheated on my sister, and therefore he is scum." Nancy sighed. "I may have had issues with Mark and Joanne, but I never walked out on one family to play house with another."
"Enough, Mo," Maureen's father gently commanded. Maureen clamped her mouth closed when she heard the door open.
"Hello?" called a soft voice.
"Sasha!" Maureen called as she stood to greet her little sister. The sleeping baby in her arms stirred.
"Can you get Allie from the cab?" Maureen nodded and stepped outside. "I'm putting Kass in my room," she said, just poking her head into the kitchen. As the front door opened and closed a moment later, Kristin shifted uncomfortably in her chair.
"Kristi," Maureen called from the kitchen door. "Come meet Sasha and Allison." Kristin followed her girlfriend into the den, where the two women were sitting on the floor with the toddler.
"Hello," Kristin said as she sat next to Maureen. "Kristin Yancy."
"Sasha Douglas. This is my oldest daughter, Allie. She's a little grumpy; she was asleep in the cab."
"Hi, sweetie!"
"Hi," the three-year-old whispered, hiding in her mother's arms. "Aunt Mo-ween? Who she?"
"She's my best friend."
"Oh. I'm hungwy, Mama." Sasha handed her daughter a sippy cup.
"Go see Grandma and Grandpa. Its nearly dinner time." The little girl scampered into the other room. As soon as she was out of sight, Sasha began to cry.
"Sash," Maureen gasped as her sister cried into her hands. "Is Ron back-"
"No, he won't see the girls at all, but Allie keeps asking for him. She's so upset by it all," the woman sobbed. "She cried herself to sleep last night because she needed Daddy to read her a story." Kristin stroked the other woman's hair. "He's taking the house, and we have to move in here with Mom and Dad."
"I can't say I know what you're going through," she started. "But whatever help you need, you've got," Kristin murmured to the young woman. Maureen smiled, feeling more in love with Kristin than she thought possible. "Maureen?" she mouthed.
"Sasha, I'll be right back," Maureen whispered. She lead Kristin up the stairs to her old bedroom. "I want her to stay with me, but I don't know."
"She and those two babies can't stay in that neighborhood; it's not safe for the girls!"
"What do you suggest?"
"I have a two-bedroom apartment. There's room for her to stay there with them, at least temporarily. It's small, but it's better than living at home again."
"And where would you stay?"
"I didn't think about that." Kristin bit her bottom lip.
"Do you want to stay at my place for a while?"
"Like move in?" she asked. Maureen held her breath and nodded. Kristin felt a wave of emotion wash over her.
"Do you want to move in with me?" Maureen stammered. Kristin felt her breath stop. "I know it's fast, but we can live together and still maintain our PG-ratings."
"Oh, we're already into PG-13, headed straight past R and looking toward that NC-17."
"Move in with me, Kristi," she whispered. Kristin wrapped her arms around Maureen's neck and nodded before giving her a knee-buckling kiss.
A week later, the last of Kristin's books and clothes were in the back of Eddie's truck, and were heading to Maureen's place, while Sasha was putting together a crib with Tommy and Aldo's help at Kristin's old place.
"I think it goes that way," Tommy said, head quirked to the side.
"You're an architect? It goes like this, for crying out loud," Sasha scolded, turning the headboard of the crib in the right direction.
"This is more complicated than a condo building."
"Yeah, try doing it when you're 8 months pregnant," came a sarcastic retort. Tommy laughed.
"Mama, I want Daddy to read." Sasha felt her stomach drop.
"Can I read to you before your nap today?" Tommy offered. "I'm not as good as Daddy, but I do a great Papa Bear voice."
"Okay."
"Go hop into bed and I'll be there in a few minutes, Kiddo." Allie giggled and went into her bedroom.
"Thank you."
"Any time. She looks so much like my sister and her kids, its hard to see that little bottom lip shake like that. Pulls my heart." He picked a book out from a box and headed into Allie's room.
"Here, let me. Tommy draws the stuff, I actually have more to do than he does, and yet he gets paid 50 times what I do," Aldo said with a smile.
He put the crib together in 20 minutes with minimal swearing, and only one band-aid. Tommy had gotten Allie to take a nap, and started unpacking kitchen things, while Sasha put books away.
"Sasha," Tommy called from the kitchen. "You hungry?"
"Starving."
"I'm thinking about picking something up from the deli downstairs. Kristin tells me its a great little place."
"Is she as nice as she seems?"
"No, she's about ten million times nicer. She's good, through and through."
"So she and Maureen are good together?"
"I only know Mo with Kristin, but Kristin went from nice, to happy. So, I like Maureen for Kristin. What kind of sandwich do you like?"
"Smoked turkey with Colby jack, lettuce and tomato. No mustard or mayo, and a grilled cheese for Allie." Sasha pulled some cash from her purse, but Tommy held up his hands, refusing the money.
"Let me get this one."
"Thank you."
Tommy trudged down the stairs. There was something special about Sasha.
And he couldn't help but smile.
Onward we go~