'Victoria, what do you think about the revival of Edge of Tomorrow?'
'Miss Chase, would you play Honor St. Raven if it was offered to you?'
Victoria was in a mood. She tries to force a smile, and Joy's hand squeezed hers gently. She looks over at her wife, and smiled a little.
'Humor them, love. Do what you do best.'
Victoria nods, and turns to the paparazzi. 'First off, I don't know, and second if the opportunity came up, I would consider it if it didn't interfere with my schedule.'
The paparazzi was hungry for answers, not letting up, they kept pressing her. Victoria held her tongue the best she could.
'Miss Chase, is it true that you and your partner are expecting again?'
'Miss Chase?'
Victoria was clearly trying to get through the crowd, her mood was anxious; she needed one of those pills that she was prescribed last year after her anxiety attack. Joy had her arm around Victoria's waist, trying to keep Victoria close to her. Softly, Joy whispers, 'It's alright darling, take a deep breath. You don't have to answer them if you don't want to. Remember that.' Gently she takes Victoria's hand for a moment, gently squeezing it again.
'It will all be over soon. They're just a curious bunch.'
Taking another deep breath, she answers as calmly as possible,' Yes, my wife and I are expecting again. No more answers.'
Joy leads her wife inside, and they found the nearest bathroom. Victoria runs to splash cold water on her face. Joy puts her arms around Victoria, and Victoria reaches for her hand, grabbing it in her own.
'Thank you,' Victoria says, barely whispering. She hated when she had these anxiety attacks. But Joy was always there with a smile, or a hug. Joy nods, kissing her cheek gently. Victoria smiles, squeezing her hand gently. At that moment, she looks at Joy, her hand pressed against Joy's belly.
'I'm worried about you. Are you doing alright? I'm worried for you and the baby.'
Joy was always amazed at how much Victoria worried about her. Her first thought had jumped to the baby Joy was carrying…their baby. Joy touches Victoria's hand gently.
'Thanks for your concern, honey. I'm alright, and judging by the amount Jules has kicked in the last fifteen minutes, she seems pretty healthy to me.'
Victoria smiles and Joy kisses her on her lips gently.
'I love you Victoria. I'm here for you, I'm your wife. I took the vows and moved to Toronto to be with you. We have two wonderful children and another one on the way. Your career has bloomed again. We have great friends and a wonderful support system. I'm proud to be your wife. And for the record, Chase is a prettier last name to have.'
Joy was making references to how she hated her maiden name. Although she still used it professionally, she, with support from Victoria last year had her last name legally hyphenated to include Victoria's last name. It seemed to flow better than just Scroggs alone. Victoria smiles sweetly, gently pressing her palm against Joy's stomach, smiling as she feels a flutter against her palm. Reassured, she adjusts her hair, fixes her makeup and reaches to take Joy's hand.
'Come on baby, let's go and socialize.'
Joy squeezes her hand, sharing a smile as Victoria leads her out into the gala, showing her off to every person she knew. She even proudly talked about their kids, and the anticipation she had about the birth of their baby. Joy stood there watching Victoria working the room, sipping her water and smiling. Placing her hand on her belly, she says quietly, 'Mommy's doing a great job working the room, isn't she?'
She feels a flutter against her palm and she sighs contentedly, sipping her water glass.
'It's rather silly, I feel as if I'm talking to myself…but I'm not.'
Another flutter was felt and Joy took another sip of water, as Victoria came up behind her, putting her arms around her.
'How are you feeling, darling? Did you eat anything yet? I was just asking because I haven't yet, and I thought we could return to our table. My feet in these Manalo Blahniks are killing me. I forgot how exhausting mingling can be sometimes. That and it helped build up an appetite.'
Joy smiled sweetly at her wife. 'I haven't yet,' and she looks at Victoria's shoes, pointing out, 'I told you those shoes were too much. I wore them last week, remember? I remember because I asked you to give me a foot massage after those daytime talk shows you had to appear on. Whoever thought six inch heels were great probably never tried them.'
Victoria laughs. 'But honey, you're six months pregnant. I don't know what you were thinking wearing them and now that I've worn them, even I cannot stand them. Tonight's going to require a foot massage for sure.'
Joy smiles sweetly as Victoria gets her meal from the buffet set up. 'Of course I would do that for you. It's only fair that I reciprocate.'
Victoria smiles as she piles food on her plate. 'This gala is lovely,' she muses, and then looks at her wife, touching her hand gently. 'Babe, you must try the crab puffs. Really, they're mind blowing.'
Joy continues to pick out food, smiling. 'I will, darling.'
They go through the line, and finally, they return to their table, sitting down. Victoria proceeds to eat, looking at her phone and checking her email, whilst Joy was eating, her other hand touching Victoria's arm.
'Babe, they're going to start speaking soon, what are you doing?'
Victoria smirks, 'Oh you'll see.'
Joy feels her clutch vibrate against her lap. She raises an eyebrow.
'Really? We're right next to each other. You could have just said it.'
Joy checks her phone, finding a text message. She reads it, and it says, 'My love looks stunning tonight. If we weren't in a public place…'
Joy glares at Victoria, smirking. 'Is this your attempt at trying to be explicit to what you want in a text?'
Victoria grins and winks. She continues eating her food, and Joy puts her phone away, touching Victoria's hand.
'Finish eating and meet me in the restrooms.'
Victoria raises an eyebrow. 'Honey…'
Joy smiles sweetly. 'I know. Just meet me.'
