I wasn't a fan of the last chapter but hopefully this one will make up for it.

I still own nothing.

Previously… Time and place agreed upon Andy hung up the phone. She went upstairs to get in a shower before leaving but was perversely grateful when she heard Theo fussing. The less time she had to overthink and change her mind the better.

They'd decided on Randolph Park and so here Andy sat and waited on the bench nearest the south gates. Theo, still crabby about leaving the ducks, refused to be cheered by any degree of bouncing or tickling and simply clung to his mother's shirt, so they sat quietly just waiting on Marissa. A flurry of papers announced her arrival.
"Oh no," Marissa said blushing and beginning to curse as the white sheets flew in every direction.

Andy instinctively grabbed what she could, while juggling Theo, trying not to wrinkle the pages or let him eat them. Marissa sprang after the others. Between the two of them they gathered what Andy hoped was all the pages and she helped put them back into the loose folder they'd been stored in.

"Thank you so much for helping. I never would have gotten them all up on my own," Marissa said, thanking Andy profusely.

Andy felt the awkwardness set in as she nodded. "Not a big deal."

"So.." Marissa began.

"There's no way for this to be normal or at least not-awkward, so why don't we just begin and the beginning," Andy blurted out.

Marissa looked puzzled but nodded agreeably. They sat in silence for a few more minutes before Marissa had to ask, "So what does that mean in these circumstances exactly?"

Andy laughed a little, as much at herself as the situation. "That would probably help right?" she joked slightly before standing up. "Let's walk and talk. Everything seems a lot more manageable when you're moving," she said adjusting Theo on her hip. At least the papers flying had seemed to pull him out of his mood. They'd moved about ten feet when Andy began to explain "I just meant we should try to get to know each other a bit first. I really know nothing about you and you really know nothing about me, pictures and a letter in a box will only get you so far," Andy said quickly.

Marissa nodded in understanding. "I think that's a good idea," she agreed.

"So tell me a bit about you," Andy said before cringing. "That sounded like the start of a bad a job interview at Pizza Hut, I take it back."

Marissa laughed and felt like maybe some of the ice had broken. "It did a little," she teased back "but I'm not really sure where to begin. I mean you know most of the small talk stuff," she said with a shrug.

"I know pieces but I don't know most," Andy corrected gently "but I get what you mean. Why don't you tell me about the papers I helped you collect?"

Marissa flushed, "Okay, well they're for a class. It's kind of a long story," she said looking hopefully at Andy.

"My ride isn't here for two and a half hours and this one is easily entertained," she said jiggling Theo on her hip.

Marissa looked skeptical but she wasn't about to derail their progress, "Umm. Okay, well it's for a communications class. I'm a Journalism major at Ryerson. This professor, well he's kind of crazy, but he demands we make 'Thought webs' on everything we think. It's supposed to bring us greater understanding of how we think and then how we can find our own approach to getting information across," Marissa explained.

Andy looked at her with raised eyebrows, "That sounds exactly like the kind of class I would have detested," Andy said cringing sympathetically.

"You went to university?" Marissa asked, the shock evident in her voice before she realized how that sounded. "I didn't mean it like... I didn't think police.."

Andy laughed, "It's okay really. Yes, I did go to university. U of T, Criminology class of 2006. You'd be hard-pressed to get an interview with TPS without at least an undergrad degree," Andy explained.

"I'm really sorry, I didn't know," Marissa apologized again.

"Really don't worry about it. Most people don't know, but now you do," she added with a smile. "Tell me about your classes. My sister-in-law is a journalist. It would be fun to shock her with something she didn't know I knew," Andy requested adjusting Theo once more as he peered curiously at Marissa from his sling.

"Okay," Marissa agreed happily, beginning to tell Andy about her classes.

It seemed unlikely but their conversation flowed easily after that point. They talked about university and their majors. They talked about their jobs. Marissa had an internship at a very small local newspaper. Andy told her about being a cop and some of their more interesting cases. They talked about Marissa's boyfriend, Richard, who hated his name and being a Richard III but not nearly as much as he hated being called by his family nickname, Trey. They talked about Theo and how Andy was convinced she'd won the baby lottery. Before long two hours had passed and Andy suggested they go to a local diner for coffee. Marissa agreed and they set off for the diner just a block away.

The diner was nearly empty when they arrived. Andy recognized their waitress, Linda, and greeted her happily. They chatted briefly while the woman asked about Sam and when she was coming back to work. She cooed over Theo and brought out a little bowl of oatmeal for the baby. Andy decided to let him have at without assistance. Babies were washable.

"We come here a lot," Andy explained, somewhat embarrassed.

Marissa seemed amused. "I see that. So, what was it you wanted to straighten out exactly?" Marissa asked carefully not wanting to ruin the progress they'd made.

Andy took a deep breath, knowing that this had to be addressed. "This isn't something I really talk about. I mean I haven't seen my mother, our mother I guess, in nineteen years. I have a husband I love, a baby I love, and a job I love. I really do consider my family to be complete. When you showed up it was a lot to take in," Andy explained.

"I'm sorry I just arrived. I know now I should have called," Marissa began but Andy waved her off.

"It would have been a shock either way. You did what you thought was best and I can't fault you for that. What you should know though is that most of what you inferred was true. My parents got divorced and things were never the same. Things were okay for a while after that and then out of the blue they weren't. It wasn't that I didn't want to be a part of your family. It wasn't that I resented Jacob or whatever else I can imagine you might think. I thought about this a lot over this weekend and I think some things are best left in the past," Andy said softly.

Marissa looked stunned. Things had been going so well.

"That doesn't mean I don't want to get to know you. It doesn't mean I don't want to be your sister or that I don't want my baby to have another aunt to adore him. I just need some time to build up to that. I think we get to know each other as friends before we tackle the sister part but I'm not sure if I can ever give you all the information you want," Andy said apologetically.

Marissa nodded as she took it in. She glanced over at Theo and couldn't help but smile at his oatmeal covered form. Andy clearly adored her baby and the way she spoke of her husband and even his sister didn't strike Marissa as someone who would take family ties lightly. The more she spoke to Andy the more she realized she was missing large parts of the story, and the story she had the feeling would be difficult to hear. "I think I agree," Marissa said carefully. "I do have a question though."

"No promises but I'll try."

"Is Jacob the past or is he included in this long lost sister thing?"

Andy raised her eyebrows, apparently the soft and fluffy sister had claws. "I need time before Jacob," she said simply, her tone daring Marissa to comment.

Content with her reply, Marissa nodded. "As long as it's not too long. I won't lie to him forever even if it's by omission," she said.

"Fair enough," Andy replied before grimacing at her son who was now just fingerpainting himself with oatmeal. Washable or not she didn't relish this cleanup.

"I'll take his hands and arms if you'll get his face," Marissa suggested gamely.

Andy smiled. "Deal."

Within five minutes they had a cleaner if somewhat disgruntled baby tucked back in his sling and had wiped up the mess he had made.

"I have to meet Sam at the station in about ten minutes," Andy explained as she was paying the bill, tossing off Marissa's attempts to pay for her own coffee. "If you'd like you can come and get a look inside. You can't go anywhere really interesting but the front desk is surprisingly entertaining at this hour," Andy offered with a smile.

"Okay," Marissa agreed quickly. "Worst case scenario I get a great thought web out of it," she said with a smile as they exited the diner and headed toward the fifteen.