Myka, Pete and Amanda go to Colorado.
When Myka's alarm went off at five the following morning, she groaned. Today was the day she was flying to Colorado with Pete and Amanda. She would be going to see Tracy, her sister, who she hadn't seen since she was abandoned by her parents. She might very well have to see her parents too, and she felt like she had a huge hot rock in her stomach every time she thought of them. Warren Bering, who had deliberately abandoned her because of her ability, and Jean Bering, who'd let him. How do you talk to people who have done something like that? And it was a pretty sure thing that they were going to blame her for what happened to Tracy, too. She huffed out a hard breath of frustration and dragged herself out of bed and into the shower. It was going to be a long weekend.
They headed South into Louisiana, to Baton Rouge, and flew from there to Colorado Springs. The drive took them a little over an hour, and the flight was just over four hours. Amanda didn't speak at all during the journey. Her bruises were fading and she was wearing makeup to cover up what remained – evidence of the incredibly quick healing abilities of weres. Pete chatted to Myka amiably, but he too fell into silence as they got closer to Colorado. The anticipation was killing Myka. She didn't know what she was going to face with Tracy. She knew exactly what she would have to face if Warren Bering got involved; outright hostility at best.
Pete took her hand after a while, and although she was initially a bit taken aback, his thoughts were clearly that of a person worried about a friend. He didn't think of her 'that' way now, if he ever had. That much, she was sure of.
The drive from the airport wasn't very long. Myka found herself interested, despite herself, in the changes in Colorado Springs since she'd left. She'd left the city less than a year ago, but she felt like it had changed almost beyond recognition. As she thought about that, however, she realised that she, too, was almost unrecognisable from her old self.
The street where Tracy lived was beautiful. Tree-lined with kids playing, white picket fences, the whole nine yards. When Claudia did the background check Myka had requested, she'd found that Tracy's name was still Bering but that she was living with a man called Kevin Waterson and a young boy. David. Claudia hadn't been able to find out if the boy was Tracy's or if he belonged to this Kevin guy from a previous relationship.
Myka had left Pete and Amanda behind in the car. It didn't feel right to introduce herself – or reintroduce herself – to Tracy this way, with other people along. Or not at first, she thought. She knocked on the door, wincing as she recognised her police officer's knock. It was an ingrained habit to knock that way, hard and fast. She was surprised she hadn't yelled "Sheriff's Office," or "Colorado PD". She smiled wryly at herself.
The door opened to reveal a tall-ish man with black hair and an impatient look on his face.
"Yes?" he asked, and she lifted an eyebrow at his tone.
"Hi," she began, "I'm looking for…"
She didn't manage to get anything else out.
"Look, I told you people before, we don't want what you're selling. I don't care if it's Jesus or Buddha or vacuum cleaners, we don't want any." He went to slam the door and she put her foot in the way.
"I think you're misunderstanding, sir. I'm looking for Tracy Bering."
"Oh," he said, pulling the door open. "Fine. Sorry. Who are you?"
His eyes roamed her body. She felt the direction of his thoughts and poured a little more energy into her shields.
"My name is Myka. I'm her sister."
He scowled at her.
"Tracy doesn't have a sister," he began, but he was interrupted by a voice from behind.
Shit this is who Warren warned me about, the crazy sister… The panic in his thoughts made them loud enough to be heard even through her shields, and she took a deep breath.
"Sweetie, who is it?"
A tall, willowy woman with brown hair came up behind the man – Kevin, Myka reminded herself – and smiled over his shoulder politely at Myka. Her mind glowed redly. She was a were.
"Tracy Bering?" Myka asked.
"Yes," she said, smiling in a puzzled way. Myka noticed, belatedly, that her right arm was bandaged.
"I'm Myka," she began, and Tracy's face dropped.
"Oh my God," she breathed, leaning heavily on Kevin. "You're real," she said, and she pulled Kevin out of the way and beckoned for Myka to come in. Myka did so, closing the door behind her, and followed Tracy and a puzzled and annoyed Kevin into the house.
Tracy sat down at the kitchen counter, pulling Myka into the chair next to her. She held both of Myka's hands in hers, and her thoughts fluttered against Myka's shields urgently.
"I remember when the woman came to take you," she said, her eyes searching Myka's. Myka couldn't recognise the little girl she'd known in this tall and beautiful woman. She figured she probably looked a lot different to Tracy, too.
"Dad never talked about you, not once, after they took you. He ignored me when I asked about you, and eventually I just figured you were my imaginary friend or something. I wasn't sure I could trust my own mind. Mom… she never mentioned you, either. Not even when she…"
Myka read from her eyes that Jean Bering was dead.
"I'm sorry," she said, more as a matter of reflex than anything else. Tracy smiled slightly.
"Thank you."
There was an awkward silence for a moment. Tracy jumped up then, and offered Myka a drink. She asked for some coffee, and Tracy busied herself with the small ritual of making drinks and getting cookies and assembling them on a plate. Myka didn't want anything to eat but she sensed that Tracy needed a few minutes to get herself together. Kevin was leaning against the kitchen worktop, looking at Myka suspiciously. She looked back impassively until he looked away.
Bitch. The thought came quite clearly, the energy with which it was projected making it audible through her shields.
"I never knew where you went," Tracy said, after she'd served up the coffee and cookies. Myka took a cautious sip of her coffee, nodding for Tracy to continue.
"Dad never said, and I didn't know who… who the woman was," she said, nervously. As if she was apologising for not trying to find Myka when she grew up.
Myka let her shields dip a little more, and all she could hear from Tracy was what she'd already said. She was sincere, and she was embarrassed and sorry that she'd never tried to find Myka.
"Look, Tracy," Myka began with a slightly pained smile, "none of that was your fault. Dad had his reasons. He gave me up to children's services, said I was too difficult for him and mom to deal with. I went through a few foster homes and when I was fifteen or so I was adopted by a really nice couple. I left school, joined Colorado PD. I made detective, eventually, and then my partner was killed in the line of duty. I was offered a job as a Sheriff of a small town in Mississippi a while ago, and I thought – why not, you know? It seemed like a good idea, a change."
Tracy smiled at her uncertainly.
"I… I'm sorry, Myka. I didn't know he'd given you up. I never understood, and he would never explain."
"I'm sure he had his reasons, Trace," Kevin said in a flat tone. Myka was concerned to note that Tracy winced, just slightly, at Kevin's tone.
"I guess," she said, her eyes pleading for Myka to say nothing more. Myka looked at her for a moment steadily and nodded slightly.
Please don't challenge him, he hates it when women challenge him. He's so much nicer when I do what he wants…
"So, what brings you here?" Kevin asked, his voice filled with accusation.
"I came to see how Tracy is. I heard she was attacked," Myka said, without any expression in her tone.
"And how did you hear about that, all the way from Mississippi?" Kevin asked, his tone again accusatory.
Warren warned me that she might pretend to be law enforcement…
"I have some friends in law enforcement up here, they keep me up to date on some things," Myka said, and Tracy winced a little.
"Wrong answer," Kevin said, his eyes angry. "No-one called the police."
Fucking bitch was lying anyway. There are no fucking panthers in Colorado.
Myka looked at him in surprise and disgust.
"She was attacked by a wild animal and you didn't report it?" she asked, her tone bemused and challenging.
"She wasn't attacked by a wild animal. It was a dog, and she didn't want it to be put to sleep, so she didn't report it. Isn't that right, Trace?" he said, and Tracy nodded, her eyes not quite meeting Myka's.
"Now, I think it's time for you to be going," Kevin said loudly.
"I would love to, but there's something I came here to tell Tracy, so if you can just let me do that, I'll be on my way." Myka's voice was calm, and she waited for Kevin's reaction. He would either back off or he'd try to throw her out. She almost wished he'd try.
He puffed out his chest and looked like he was about to start something, but Myka simply gave him a level look, showing clearly that she was not intimidated, and he piped down. He continued grumbling under his breath for a moment, perhaps to try and save face, but he subsided quickly.
Myka sent a quick text to Pete, asking him to come in with Amanda, and warning him that Kevin was volatile. Pete knocked on the door a moment later, and Myka smiled at Tracy reassuringly.
"Just some friends of mine," she said, and Tracy looked uncertainly from her to Kevin and back again. Myka left them for a second to let Pete and Amanda in, and when they returned to the kitchen, Kevin was posturing again.
"Look, I don't know who you think you are, lady, but this is my house…" he began, and Myka raised an eyebrow at him. He stopped talking.
"I will be more than happy to go, as soon as I've said what I came here to say," Myka repeated, and Kevin glared at her. He wasn't calling her a bitch anymore; he'd graduated to more unpleasant words, and even with her shields as strong as she could make them, his insults were more than audible to her.
"Tracy," she began, turning to sit next to her sister, taking her hands and Tracy had hers, "I came here because of the panther who attacked you."
"I told you, it was a dog…" Kevin said, and Tracy turned to him and quietly said, "No it wasn't, Kevin. Let her talk."
He gaped at her, his mouth opening and closing like a landed fish, but he shut his mouth again, and both Pete and Amanda shot him contemptuous looks.
"So, this panther?" Tracy prompted, and Myka nodded.
"You know about vampires, right?" she asked, and Tracy nodded.
"Of course, everybody does. I mean, I've never seen one, but we've seen them on the news and stuff. What does that have to do with a panther biting me?" Tracy asked, puzzled.
"Well, it's just… vampires are just the start of it. I learned a lot, moving to Mississippi, and I know that vampires say that it's a virus that makes them the way they are, but that's just not true. They are supernatural beings, I guess, and they're not the only ones out there. The stories are true. There are people who can change into animals," Myka said, prompting a snort of derision from Kevin, and a wide-eyed look of realisation from Tracy after a moment.
"Werewolves? And other animals? You mean…?" she whispered, and Myka nodded.
"Yeah. Panthers," Myka said.
"Oh my god," Tracy said, pulling her hands away and putting them over her mouth.
"I know this is a lot to take in, Tracy. Which is why I asked Pete and Amanda to come along," Myka said.
Tracy turned to look at her other two guests, her hands still on her mouth.
"Are you guys…?" she trailed off, and Amanda and Pete nodded solemnly.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Kevin demanded, his need to be in charge reasserting itself after the shock of Tracy telling him to let Myka talk.
"Myka's just explaining that I was bitten by a kind of werewolf – a were-panther, I suppose? Is that the right term?" Tracy asked, sounding surprisingly calm.
"Yeah," Pete said, nodding, and Kevin scoffed loudly.
"Bullshit," he said, laughing nastily. "What do you want? Money?"
Myka looked at him in disgust.
"No, we don't want money, and certainly not from you," she said, with distaste. "Like I said, I came here to make Tracy aware. The bite could change you, Tracy. It's very likely to, in fact, and I didn't feel right knowing that you would change at the full moon, and you wouldn't know what was happening," she said, turning back to look at Tracy.
"Bullshit," Kevin said again, and Pete shot him a filthy look before turning his back on the rest of the room and stripping so quickly that Kevin didn't have time to react. Then he was transforming, changing into a giant wolf, nothing like his normal friendly dog form. He turned to face them, and walked over to Tracy, placing his big head in her lap and looking at her appealingly. After a moment of fear, she smiled widely.
"Oh my God, that is just so amazing," she said, her eyes bright with the wonder she was feeling. It made Myka smile.
"Get away from her!" Kevin said, staring at Pete in terror.
"It's just Pete," Myka said, trying to reassure Kevin, but apparently that didn't help.
"He turned into that… thing, I saw it. You people are freaks!" he said, running out of the room and pounding upstairs.
Myka turned to look at Tracy, a look of puzzlement on her face, and as Tracy looked from the soulful eyes of the wolf in her lap to Myka's confused expression, she started to laugh.
What an idiot! How can he be scared of this guy - he's a cutie?
Myka started laughing too, and after a moment Amanda joined in with a snort. They kept trying to stop, and then one of them would catch the other's eye, and it started again. After about ten minutes, they all calmed down, and Amanda knelt down near Tracy, looking at her carefully.
"I did this to you. I bit you," Amanda admitted, her face flushed.
There was silence for a moment.
"Care to tell me why?" Tracy asked gently. Amanda looked up at her, eyes wide. Myka couldn't help but notice again that the woman was beautiful.
"It's my fault," Myka said softly.
"That's not true!" Amanda said, and Pete whined.
"Okay, maybe it's not my fault, but it was because of me. There was this woman, in Mississippi. Her boyfriend – he tried to attack me, with this other guy. They were both my deputies, and they almost killed me. A friend of mine, she's a vampire – she killed them both, to save my life. And since then, his girlfriend has been trying to get to me and the vampire. She tried to kill me herself, and Pete saved me," she said, and he whined a little and turned to snuffle at her. She petted his head absently. "Pete killed her, and afterwards her family tried to burn down the vampire's house. Sally – that was her name – she persuaded Amanda that I had done some awful things to her, and that's why Amanda came up here and bit you. I'm so sorry, Tracy. I didn't mean for you to get caught up in this."
Tracy looked at her, her gaze calm and level. There was nothing in her now of the nervy woman she had been when Myka first arrived. Myka wondered whether it was Kevin's presence that shook her confidence so profoundly.
"Whatever happened, Myka, it doesn't sound remotely like it was your fault. Someone targeted you, and I haven't heard a thing to tell me it was deserved. Am I right?" Tracy asked, her eyes slightly narrowed.
"You are totally right," Amanda broke in. "Myka didn't deserve any of it. Sally was my friend, and she told me that Myka had done all of these awful things to her. I had no reason to disbelieve her. We'd been friends for so many years. But Myka didn't do a damn thing. Her deputies - they were planning to rape and murder her, and the local packmaster got a witch to do a spell to prove it. Myka is totally blameless. The fact that I bit you – that's on me. I believed Sally, and she was lying."
Tracy was staring at Amanda, and she turned her head to look at Myka.
"They were trying to rape you?" she asked in a whisper.
"Yeah," Myka admitted, her eyes on her shoes. She didn't like to think about it too much. When she did, it made her feel like she was dirty on the inside of her skin, in a way that would never wash out. She stared at her hands for a moment. She would never be able to leave, to move past that moment, when she closed her eyes and felt Walter pulling at her uniform pants, felt Marcus' boot connect over and over with her ribs, her abdomen. She knew what it felt like to hate someone, but she couldn't fathom hating someone that much, that you enjoyed their suffering in the way Marcus plainly had. She took a deep breath, and Tracy grasped her hand tightly. Pete whined, and Myka stroked his long nose again absently. Amanda put her hand on Myka's shoulder, and for a moment Myka felt almost as safe as she did with Helena. Protected, even loved. It was… it was too much. She poured more energy into her shields, concentrating on blocking out their thoughts and on not crying in front of her long-lost sister and a were she barely knew. And wolf-Pete.
"So, now you know," she said briskly, after a moment. "I'm so sorry, about all of this. We think that you'll probably change, but not into a full panther. Because it was a bite, and it's a genetic thing, really, being a were. From what I can tell. I brought these guys with me so that they could show you that what I was saying was true, and so they could talk you through the change at the full moon."
Tracy nodded, lost in thought, and much less upset than Myka had thought she would be. She seemed almost pleased at the idea of being a half-were. It was not what Myka had expected.
What happened next, however, was almost exactly what Myka had expected when she came here. She felt the anger and menace in the new minds approaching, and in Kevin's mind as he crept downstairs to let them in. She let her shields fall, and she recognised her dad's mind, along with a few other men, all intent on dealing with these 'freaks' with their crowbars and shotguns.
"Trouble," Myka said shortly, warning Amanda and Pete, and they all stood, turning as they heard the noise of the lynch mob approaching.
"Dad," she said, flatly, as the men burst into the kitchen, brandishing their weapons.
"How the hell did you get here?" her father asked, his face a mask of shock and fear.
"I took a flight, and I knocked on the door," Myka said tonelessly. This man had been the reason for so much pain in her life. And now, looking at him, her only thought was that he was pathetic. He was shrivelled and greying, and he'd lost most of his hair.
Can she hear what I'm thinking?
She shot him a filthy look.
"Of course I can. I always could," she said, and she was satisfied when he paled.
Goddamnit Jean told me she wasn't lying. What kind of freak is she?
"I'm not a freak. And what the hell kind of father abandons his own daughter? I was twelve years old!" she said pointedly, and he turned his face away, reddening.
"Now, you boys probably think this is going to be a fun little fight for you," she said, looking each of the men in the eye steadily, "but it turns out, people who turn into animals, like Pete here, and Amanda," she indicated them both with a quirk of her eyebrows, "are supernaturally strong and fast. And I have recently, through no fault of my own, imbibed a fairly large quantity of vampire blood. And guess what? That makes me supernaturally strong and fast. So I suggest that whatever my asshole, abandoning father told you, you ought to think about not believing it. Because he's much more scared of you finding out that he had a daughter that he abandoned than he is of you guys getting hurt."
The guys looked at each other, and they were confused and a little pissed off that they didn't know their buddy Warren had a daughter, and that he'd abandoned her.
"That's not true, you guys. I don't have another daughter," he said.
"Yes he does," Tracy immediately said, and Warren frowned.
"Regardless, that's not why we came here," he interrupted, as one of his cronies started to talk. "We're here to deal with these freaks," he said, indicating wolf-Pete and Amanda. And Myka.
"You are not touching my sister," Tracy said. "And for your information, I'm one of those freaks," she said, standing up and moving in front of Myka and her friends.
"What?" her dad asked, his jaw tight. "What happened? Kevin? You let her turn into one of those things?" he spat, turning to Kevin with a glare.
"She said a dog bit her," Kevin protested, his arms up in defence.
"No I didn't. I told you it was a panther, and you made me change my story," Tracy said contemptuously.
"Mom?" came a small voice from behind Warren and his buddies.
"David," Tracy said, holding out her arms. A little boy appeared from behind her and threw himself into her arms, looking frightened.
"Mommy, what's happening?" he asked, and his voice sounded strange, to Myka. Like it had an echo.
"Nothing, honey. Grandpa was just leaving with his friends, to go hunting, right Dad?" she said, with a glare at Warren.
"Yes, of course," Warren said hastily, obviously not wanting to make a scene in front of his grandson.
"Okay David, wave goodbye to your grandpa and his friends," Tracy said, smiling broadly and a little psychotically at her Dad. Myka was impressed. And a little frightened.
"Bye, Grandpa," David said, waving. Warren smiled queasily and turned with a final glare at Myka and her friends.
"David, why don't you stay here for a minute with the doggie and I'll just talk to Kevin for a moment," Tracy said, before practically dragging a spluttering Kevin through to the other downstairs room.
David went to cuddle with Pete, who, while very much not looking like a dog, licked the kid's face from chin to hairline, making him giggle.
"You're a nice doggie," he said, laughing to himself.
Pete's answering thought made Myka chuckle.
Sure, kid. You keep thinking that.
"You're not a dog?" the kid asked, confused.
"What did you say?" Myka asked, and Pete drew back from the kid's hands in confusion.
Did you just hear me, kid?
"Of course I heard you, you're talking in my head," David replied to Pete, matter-of-fact.
"Oh shit," Myka said, her head dropping to her hands.
"You're not supposed to say that word, Aunt Myka," David said solemnly, turning to her with a chastising look on his face.
"How did you know my name?" she asked, and then held her hand up. "Never mind. You heard someone say it in your head, right?"
"Yes," he said, his little face crumpled in confusion.
I'm gonna change into a human now, kid.
"Okay, Pete," the kid chirped. Myka groaned.
"Oh no," David said, tragically. He was, Myka had to admit, a cute kid. He had pretty green eyes and curls. He looked a little like Myka, in fact.
"What's up, kid?" Myka asked.
"My mom is telling Kevin that she's leaving him, because he called Grandpa to come here and hurt you and Pete and Amanda," he said, sadly.
"Oh," Myka said, sitting down next to the kid. "I'm sorry about that, kid."
"It's okay, Aunt Myka," he said, jumping up and sitting on her knee, surprising her intensely. "He shouldn't have done that. I wouldn't want anyone to hurt you or Pete or Amanda. You seem really nice."
"Thanks, kid," Myka said, and he hugged her gently, before jumping down and running to watch Pete change from wolf to human.
"Wow," he said, and Pete chuckled, dressing quickly, as Amanda and Myka looked at each other in bemusement. That explained the weird echo she could hear when he talked, she supposed. But did he tell everyone he could hear them the way he'd just told them?
"No, Aunt Myka," he said, sounding a little annoyed. "I heard that you could hear thoughts too and that Pete and Amanda knew so I figured it would be okay."
"Oh, yeah, of course, kid," she said, and slammed her mental shields up, pouring as much energy into them as she could.
Can you hear me now, kid?
He turned to look at her.
"Where did you go, Aunt Myka?" he asked, looking worried. "I couldn't hear you for a minute."
"It's okay, little man. I can make my thoughts private, so no-one can hear them but me. You don't need to worry," she said carefully.
"Okay," he said, frowning slightly but then smiling as Pete turned around and he saw him in full human form for the first time.
"Hey Pete!" he said, and Pete offered him a high five.
"Hey little dude," Pete said, clearly happy that the kid wasn't scared of him.
"I couldn't be scared of you, Pete, you're like the cutest wolf ever," David said, his face confused again.
"Ah but what about if I turn into a dragon?" Pete said, and chased David around the room with his 'claws' as David squealed in delight.
"Is he always like this?" Amanda asked, watching Pete run around like an idiot.
"I haven't ever seen this side of him, I have to be honest," Myka said, smiling as she watched him run around, tickling David when he caught him.
"It's cute," Amanda said, and Myka smiled at her.
"It is," she agreed easily. It looked like whatever Pete had going on with regard to Amanda wasn't entirely one-sided. And if Amanda made Pete happy? Well, that was just fine by Myka.
The talking from the other room suddenly escalated into shouting, and Kevin barged out of the room, shouting at Tracy. His face was red.
"Pack your shit up and get out!" he shouted, before storming out and slamming the door behind him.
She's leaving me I can't believe she's leaving me what am I gonna do now…
His thoughts faded away as he followed Warren and his friends further down the street. Myka breathed a silent sigh of relief.
Tracy followed a minute later, turning to Myka.
"I don't know what I'm going to do," she said, her eyes full of tears.
"It's okay, Mom. Aunt Myka will help. Won't you, Aunt Myka?" David said, walking over to her and taking her hand trustingly.
"Sure, kid. Whatever I can do," Myka said. Like she was able to say anything else, with the kid looking at her that way?
"You don't have to do anything of the sort, Myka," Tracy said, sitting at the table and putting her head in her hands. "This isn't your fault. It's been a long time coming."
"Look, I'm sure that's true, but I'm also sure this hasn't helped any," Myka said.
"No. But if it wasn't this, it would have been something else," Tracy said wearily. "I'm just glad I didn't marry him."
Myka kept her thoughts on that subject to herself.
"Look, why don't you pack your stuff up and come back to our hotel with us for now, and we can take it from there. What do you think?" Myka asked, trying for sympathetic. She wasn't great with emotional trauma; never had been.
"Okay," Tracy said, nodding, and she kissed David absently before heading upstairs to pack.
"Damn," Pete said, his brow furrowed.
"I know," David said, sadly. "She's really sad. She likes Kevin a lot. But he isn't very nice."
"Why's that, buddy?" Pete asked.
"He says nasty things about people all the time. My mom says we shouldn't call people names but he does it all the time."
"Oh. That kinda sucks, huh?" Pete said, scratching his head.
"Yeah. My mom says it doesn't hurt to be kind."
"She's not wrong there," Pete said seriously, and Amanda smiled at him. It was a genuine smile, and Myka smiled to herself, seeing it. Definitely not one-sided.
"Aunt Myka, are we coming home with you?" David suddenly asked.
"Uh… I don't know, David. Why do you ask?" Myka asked, wondering where that had come from.
"Well, doesn't it make sense, if mom is going to be one of these half-panther thingies, for Aunt Amanda and Uncle Pete to show her how to do it?" he asked, all innocent eyes and fluttering eyelashes.
"Um… well, maybe," she said, her mind whirling. She truly hadn't thought about that as an option, but it did actually make sense. It just meant she would have to have house guests, which she wasn't sure about. "I guess we'll talk about it when we get to the hotel. Okay buddy?"
"Sure," he said, with a wide smile, and went to sit in the corner where Pete was already on the floor playing with some toy cars.
Myka went to find Tracy upstairs to see if she could help with the packing. She left David with Pete and Amanda, who seemed more than happy to entertain the kid for now. She and Tracy packed up clothes and pictures and knick knacks, boxing them all up quickly, Myka following Tracy's unspoken directions. She realised that she hadn't told Tracy about her gift, yet.
They finished the packing after a few hours, during which Tracy said very little, her eyes red and swollen. Myka got Amanda and Pete to move the boxes into their rental car, since they were possessed of superhuman strength.
"Might as well make the best of their abilities," she said, with a shrug, as Tracy looked at her questioningly when she piled the boxes up on top of an overloaded-looking Amanda.
When they had packed everything up and Tracy took David to the car, Myka followed along, locking the door behind her and posting the key through the letterbox. When she got to the rental car, Amanda and Pete were arguing like an old married couple about how to put the car seat in for the kid. Myka could clearly feel Tracy's frustration, but she was apparently a little too timid to point out that she knew how to do it. Myka tapped Pete on the shoulder.
"What?" he asked, looking annoyed.
"You might want to just let Tracy do that, guys. She's the mom, remember?" she said, and Pete and Amanda looked at her sheepishly. Pete then turned to Tracy and apologised.
"I'm sorry, Miss Bering. I just got a little carried away."
"It's fine," Tracy said, and she seemed to mean it. She stuck her head inside the car and there were a few clunks from inside, and the car seat was safely installed. Myka hid a smile behind her hand.