Part Eight
Pairing/Characters: Cosima Niehaus, Sarah Manning, Alison Hendrix, Felix Dawkins, Kira Manning
Summary: Felix and Alison stop by for a visit.
Disclaimer: Not mine.
Word Count: 960


It's Felix's idea that they hang out. He insists, saying that she and Scott need a break.

"Get lonely at your place without us?" Cosima teases.

"Are you kidding? Five whole days of no one bursting in unannounced, needing something? It's a bloody miracle," Felix retorts.

"So you decided to burst in on us?" Sarah counters.

"Missed you too," Felix smirks as he drops onto the couch next to Sarah.

"You gonna join us, Alison?" Cosima asks.

"Is it really necessary that we all sit on the couch?" Alison questions. "I hardly think that—"

A nod from Sarah has Felix pulling her onto the couch next to him and she lets out a squeak of surprise.

They sit awkwardly for a moment and Cosima bursts out laughing at Alison's expression—she might be more comfortable around them, but she's still not one for burrowing together on the couch.

Beyond stating that things are going well, they don't talk too much about what Cosima and Scott are working on. Cosima asks how things are going with Donnie and Alison seems optimistic. Apparently finding out about the clones has really helped their marriage.

Kira, who has been coloring nearby, perks up at the mention of Gemma and Oscar. "Can I meet them?" she asks.

"I'm not sure, monkey," Sarah replies.

"Why not?"

"They don't know about us," Sarah clarifies.

"Auntie Alison can tell them and then bring them over," Kira replies, as if they're all being idiots.

"We weren't really planning on telling them," Felix explains.

"Why not?"

"We weren't planning on telling you either, monkey," Sarah tells her. "You're just too smart for your own good."

"Oh."

"Maybe one day," Cosima offers.

"What?" Alison exclaims.

"When they're older and can understand it better, obvs," Cosima says.

"I..."

"You're kind of stuck with us, now, Alison," Sarah points out. "And they already love Felix."

"Well Felix is special," Alison argues.

"And that's why you're my favorite," Felix grins.

"Oi, real nice, Fe," Sarah says, elbowing him.

"But I can meet Auntie Helena's kid, right?" Kira asks.

They all fall silent as Kira confirms what they've all been avoiding talking about.

"As long as Helena is okay with it, monkey," Sarah says, finally.

"She will be," Kira assures them.

Felix clears his throat. "Um, should we maybe—"

"We'll deal with it when we have to," Sarah interrupts.

"As usual," Felix says.

"If she was here, we would," Sarah replies. "But we don't even know where she is. And Helena can take care of herself."

"She did take out the Proletheans," Felix agrees.

"She what?" Alison questions.

"One less thing to worry about," Sarah replies.

It's such a Sarah reply that Cosima laughs, especially because Alison seems so horrified.

"Maybe we should talk about something else," Felix suggests.

"Like?" Sarah retorts.

"How's Cal?" Felix asks,

"Fine," Sarah replies. "Spending time with Kira."

"That's good," Alison says.

"And he's fine with..." Felix questions.

"Yeah," Sarah says.

"Hmph."

Alison eventually heads home to have dinner with her family and Felix has a date. Though Cosima enjoys seeing them, she's tiring more easily than she'd like to admit, (Sarah knows—obviously—and has her own methods of coercion) so it's probably better that they only hang out for a few hours. She, Sarah and Kira eat dinner and watch a movie before heading upstairs for story time.

This has become Cosima's favorite part of the day. She and Kira snuggle together on the bed next to Sarah who is now the reader at her own insistence. Cosima doesn't mind because once Sarah got over whether or not her book choices were appropriate, it's obvious that she's enjoying it too.

After three chapters tonight, Sarah announces that it's time for Kira to go to bed and carries her into her room. Cosima uses this time to mark their place and get comfortable. Sarah's gone longer than usual this time, making Cosima curious. When she returns, there's a slight hesitation surrounding her as she climbs into bed.

"What's wrong?" Cosima asks.

"Nothing."

"Sarah..."

She sighs. "Just something Kira said."

A few different things run through Cosima's mind. "Was it about Gemma and Oscar?" she decides to ask.

"No," Sarah chuckles. "That, she seems to get."

"Then what?"

Sarah doesn't answer and so Cosima reaches out and laces their hands together, which has become a necessity for both of them. Cosima hopes that waiting Sarah out will encourage her to talk.

"Do you think Kira should be back at school?" Sarah asks, eventually.

It's not what was bothering her, but Cosima can tell that it's something she's been thinking about, so she allows the topic change.

"Probably," Cosima replies. "The return to routine and all that."

"I should have done it right away," Sarah says. "I can't believe I didn't think of it sooner."

"You had a lot on your mind," Cosima points out.

"Kira should be the priority," Sarah protests. "Mrs. S left her with me, believing I might actually be ready to be the mom my daughter deserves and what do I do? Keep her out of school."

Cosima squeezes Sarah's hand. "Sarah, no parent is perfect. Kira knows you love her and that you're trying. That's more than some kids get."

"Yeah..."

"And Kira seems to understand that things are crazy right now," Cosima continues. "Sometimes I think she understands things better than the rest of us."

Sarah laughs.

"Besides, you're not the only one involved here, right?" Cosima points out.

"You're saying I should talk to Cal?"

She hadn't been, but it's probably a good idea. The fact that Cosima had been referring to herself causes an odd feeling to settle into her stomach.

"We can figure it all out tomorrow," Cosima says.

"Okay," Sarah replies.