A/N: I received an Anon message asking, "Can you maybe do a fic on Therese playing something for Carol? or teaching Rindy how to play?"


Harge had become more lenient throughout the year, and was allowing Rindy to sleep over one entire weekend out of the month. Carol and Therese always made the most of it, taking trips to the park, going to the cinema, and one time even taking a drive to Niagara Falls (this led to Rindy overflowing the bathtub that night in an attempt to recreate the experience, much to Carol's dismay; Therese had made sure to take several photos of the incident). Every Sunday morning before Harge picked up Rindy, Carol would make breakfast while Therese and Rindy sat at the upright piano tapping away at the keys. Therese had taken to teaching the young girl how to read music and Rindy had taken to spending time alone with Therese.

One summer morning, Carol went out to buy a copy of the Sunday paper, leaving Therese and Rindy to their own devices. Therese was sorting through photo negatives at the coffee table when she heard the soft pattering of feet on the carpet.

"Mommy?" Rindy called out, her voice comically raspy from sleep.

"Good morning, sleepyhead." Therese stacked the negatives neatly and started to get up from the couch. "Mommy went out, she'll be back soon. Would you like something to drink?"

"No, thank you," Rindy replied with impeccable manners for a five-year-old at half-past ten in the morning.

"Okay. Do you want to play at the piano?" Rindy had learned how to read music at an alarmingly fast pace. Her sense of rhythm was steadily improving, as was her ability to play with both hands at the same time.

"Yes, please. Will you play with me, too?" Rindy asked, sounding a little more awake at the thought of getting to make music with Therese.

"Of course!" Therese laughed and made her way over to the piano. She ruffled Rindy's hair when the girl was within reach and the young girl lovingly hugged Therese in response.

After about five minutes of playing scales and messing around by playing only the black keys Rindy stopped suddenly and turned to Therese. "Why are you always with Mommy?"

"What?" Therese's fingers froze on the keys, and the ringing of the overtones matched the buzzing in her head. "What do you mean, Rindy?"

"You and Mommy are always together, like how Aunt Abby and Mommy used to be." Rindy looked inquisitively at Therese.

Therese brushed her fingers lightly across the keyboard, thinking of how to respond in the simplest way possible. She and Carol had discussed the possibility of Rindy voicing her curiosities, and had never come to a clear decision on how they would approach the subject. "I'm with your Mommy because—because I love her very much."

Rindy continued to stare intensely at Therese, searching her face for any hint of deception. Therese anxiously waited for a response; trying not to appear too unsettled, she placed her hands gingerly on her lap. "Okay. I love Mommy a lot, too." Rindy nodded in approval of Therese's statement, scratched an itch on her nose and then said, "Do you know how to play that song Mommy really liked from the King and I?"

Therese felt that she was going to get whiplash from the way the young girl switched topics. Last month, after Harge dropped off Rindy one Friday evening, she and Carol decided to take her to see a musical on Broadway. They got the last three tickets for the King and I (Carol had been running behind, as usual) and Rindy had been captivated by the colorful costumes and intricate set. After the show Carol had not been able to stop humming "Shall We Dance?" and had lifted up her daughter on several occasions so that she could swing her around, singing slightly off-key.

"I think I do." Therese scrunched her eyebrows together in concentration. "Can you sing it for me, just to refresh my memory?"

Rindy nodded wildly and began to sing softly, "Shall we dance, bum bum bum, on a bright cloud of music shall we fly, bum bum bum…"

Therese laughed loudly at Rindy's interpretation and then started to play the melody on the piano. Once she figured it out, she started to fill in the chords with her left hand. "Yes, that's it!" Rindy exclaimed gleefully. "Can we surprise Mommy with that when she gets back? She doesn't smile as much when Daddy comes to pick me up, and I don't want to make her sad."

Therese had forgotten how perceptive children were; she'd forgotten that even though children didn't have the words to describe the world around them, they still felt and perceived everything. "Of course, Rindy. I don't like seeing her sad, either."

Satisfied by Therese's words, Rindy hopped off of the piano bench and started moving towards the kitchen. "Could you make me some toast, please? Mommy always ends up burning it a bit. I like the way you do it."

Therese couldn't keep the smile off of her face as she followed Rindy to the kitchen to make some breakfast for the both of them.

Therese was just finishing up her own piece of toast when she heard keys jingling at the door. Rindy whipped her head towards Therese and whispered, "Can we play it for her now?"

Therese nodded, wiped the crumbs off of her hands hurried over to the piano.

"I'm sorry I took so long." Carol sighed dramatically as she closed the door behind her. "I passed by a client from the store and he just wouldn't—Rindy! Good morning!"

"Mommy! Therese and I have a surprise for you!" Rindy ran to her mother and pulled eagerly at her hand. "Come to the piano!"

"And what have I done to deserve such a thing?" Carol's voice was filled with amusement as she let her daughter tug her along to the living room. "Good morning, darling," she said upon seeing Therese at the keyboard.

"Good morning." Therese smiled sweetly at Carol and then nodded at Rindy as she began to play the opening chords.

Rindy grabbed her mother's other hand and began swaying them back and forth as she sang the chorus to "Shall We Dance?". Carol threw her head back with laughter and sang along with Rindy, helping her with the lyrics. Therese beamed at the sound, glancing away from her hands every so often to watch as Carol spun Rindy around in the air and dipped her dramatically.

Rindy wrapped her arms around her mother's neck and whispered in her ear, "Therese says she loves you very much, Mommy."

Shocked, Carol lost her rhythm for a bit and asked, "And what do you think of that, sweetheart?"

Rindy pulled away from her mother to look in her eyes. "I think that she's very nice and I hope there's always space for you two to be in the same room."

Carol pulled Rindy back to her chest, placed a kiss to the side of her head and softly said, "I hope so, too."