AN: I know you're missing ROGAN - but there's a lot of them coming in the "next week" of this timeline when Logan comes back home.
It had just finished snowing an hour ago and the maintenance guys, two of them, were still shovelling the fresh fluffy snow off the railway platform where Paris stood, Timoteo at her left and Gabriela at her right, waiting for the Essex steam train to pull up. This was a part of the Dynasty Maker's children's Christmas party which was going to take place on the train. There were going to be elves, carol singing, games and religion neutral gift giving in the end.
From the two clinics there were eight doctors from each clinic, management and administration personnel and a good 30-something nurses altogether, employees currently on maternity leave and far more children than Paris could count for, having left the planning for her assistant this year, waited along-sides them. Each year the percentage of employees with kids kept growing. It was safe to say this was not Paris' scene, but for the past 7 years, the first year having managed to perfectly dismiss any need for such celebrations due to the fact that one-years olds really didn't register the holiday season as such unless it was pointed out to them. But here she was - doing it for the sake of the two children that were her main focus in life at this point. Had she heard herself think that ten years ago, she would've probably reconsidered the whole thing. But there they were, by her side, waiting patiently, the nanny who was getting paid almost as much as some of the senior nurses at her clinic, having clearly paid off for teaching them proper manners.
As the black steam train pulled up in a demonstratively slow manner, blowing its whistle she could hear the kids cheer excitedly, hers included. While she still had to fake her excitement at this type of event to go along with the commercialization of childhood happiness like this essentially was, the smiles on her twin's faces lit up her face nonetheless.
It was just as they were getting ready to board, the elves, dressed in green jumpsuits, helping the smaller kids to find their seats, when Paris noticed a boy, roughly the age her own kids, showing far less interest in actually boarding the train than the vehicle itself.
"1953 Colonial Heart, 1927 Wallingford,1972 Pullman," the blonde haired kid listed in repeat. It took Paris a few seconds to realize that it were the models of the train carts he was listing, seeing one of those names on the side of the train.
"Silas! I got us aisle seats," Paris heard Vikki call out to him from the other end of the cart, and to which the boy actually reacted. It was only then as Paris recognized that the boy had familiar looking facial features - that nose and placement of the eyes just screamed Tristian.
It was then it was Gabriela's turn to board the train, making it impossible for Paris to observe the kid or his interaction with his mother any longer, and she boarded the train herself after both her kids, allowing the goofy elves to direct them towards their seats.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I'd sort of held those seats for us," Vikki's voice said, as she approached Paris' family's seats from the back, not quite seeing their faces at that moment. "See," she gestured at a hat and a pair of mittens she'd used to mark the seats, which Paris hadn't noticed.
"We just followed the elves," Paris replied, apologetically. She was the type of person that went by rules in this type of things. But somehow seeing that this was a little bit of a special circumstance and the train cart was filling up pretty fast, and she might have ended up sitting separated form her kids altogether is she decided to change places now, she relented, not wanting to tell Vikki to look for some place else either. After all she was new at the company and her cirumstances were certainly a little more challenging than other's.
"Would you mind terribly? He gets a little particular about his aisle seat, it can't be too close to the entrances and so on…," Vikki explained, pleadingly.
"Hey, kids - do you think we can scoot over, so Silas can sit next to you?" Paris asked her kids, thinking quickly.
"How do you know his name?" Vikki asked, sounding surprised.
"Oh, I heard you outside, I sometimes remember random things like that," Paris explained like it was no big deal.
The seats were really meant for just two to be sitting side-by-side, but three skinny eight-year-olds could scoot if they wanted to and thankfully the kids weren't complaining at this point, simply wanting for the train-ride to commence.
Paris helped her kids shed off their winter coats and reached up to place them in the overhead net-shelves, and then removed her own black wool coat she'd worn for years.
"So you must be roughly the same age? Silas, here, is eight. What are your names?" Vikki asked, having simply unzipped her jacket and removed her neckwarmer.
"They just turned eight too," Paris commented, expecting her kids to introduce themselves.
"We're not supposed to say our names to people we don't know," Gabriela, dressed in a red velvet dress, which shed' picked out herself for the occasion, replied in a snappy tone.
"Gabriela, we've talked about this - this is a company event - I know these people, even if you don't know all of their names just yet," Paris explained.
"No, it's my fault. And you're right, you should talk to strangers," Vikki commented. "That's something you should remember also, Silas - you hear that," she said to the boy who was fidgeting with his tangle toy. "But how about we get to know one and other then - I'm Vikki, this is Silas," she added.
"I'm Gabriela," the dusty blonde girl spoke, though her name had already been revealed.
"I'm Timoteo," the boy spoke. He looked more like his father everyday, while with Gabriela Paris actually had a chance to forget about Doyle, with Timoteo it was like staring him in the face each day.
"You've got such interesting names," Vikki noted. "There's a bit of a religious affiliation behind those names, isn't there? God's honor, God's messenger… something like that?" she pondered out loud.
"I'm impressed," Paris commented. "Silas should be the God of forest?" she asked, not really needing to ask.
"Well, it looks like we're definitely on the good side of Gods here, aren't we - doesn't even matter which one," Vikki laughed.
As most of the kids were seated the train pulled off. It was just supposed to be a few hours ride while the elves kept the kids entertained with a few games and singing, letting the parents breathe a little easier. Silas wasn't much for participating but he did like to sing, the only trouble being that he would've gladly sang one song over and over again, which took some convincing from Vikki.
"So I hope you've settled in nicely at the clinic by now, and Hartford," Paris commented as the elves had all of the kids' attention an hour later.
"I have - I ended up hurrying the sellers out of their house to move faster, so there's a bunch of unfinished things. But I guess it'll get done eventually," Vikki commented.
"Oh yeah, where are you located?" Paris inquired. Technically she could've just checked the personnel files to extinguish her curiosity, but she decided that'd just make her a creep - maybe she was that anyways?
"Argyle Avenue. I honestly would've been fine somewhere simpler - maybe closer to his school," she said, adding, "but it made sense to get something closer to my ex's mother. Got to take any support network you can get, right?" with a shrug.
Paris didn't really agree, preferring to buy her support system in as a service., but then again she'd always had that possibility, and asking anything from her parents wasn't really even an option in her mind and Doyle's were already dead. Thankfully, neither of her parents lived in Hartford these days, her dad residing in Marsseilles and mother somewhere in the Caribbean - which island it was this time she didn't really care anymore. The only polite motions that she kept up with them was the holiday postcard, but adding nothing personalized other than having the kids sign it themselves.
Paris nodded half-heartedly, attempting to pay attention to the program so see how much damage control she'd have to do later at home. They celebrated a variety of winter holidays at their household. While she identified herself as Jewish, with some alterations, she certainly wasn't going to be the one to force anything on her children. They did the Hanukka traditions, read some Hindu stories about Krishna and Mithra, they went for a nature walk during the winter solstice while talking about the pagan rituals often associated with it, without going into the gruesome details, and gave out presents just as one did during Christmas.
The kids party continued with a few more games and Paris and Vikki continued talking about nothing in particular - the real estate market and good maintenance companies and so forth. They shared a surprising number of Venn diagram intersections - they even had a similar sense of humour, which for Paris was something very rare to encounter. But it was weird wasn't it? She wasn't even sure why she kept engaging with her the way she did, despite the current seting. Perhaps it was some attempt from her to get closer to Tristan this way? Or maybe this was just simple human loneliness - maybe that's what she'd succumbed to - that she needed to search for friends amongst employees?
After the giftbags had been handed out and they were back at their original takeoff point, Paris ended up talking to a some of her employees. Some were simply complimenting her on the event, saying their kids had enjoyed it - but as it wasn't really her doing, she was simply saying how she'd refer the compliments to the organizer, who'd stayed home with the flue. Some wanted to discuss office matters, most of which she simply delegated or postponed until Monday, but there were a few cases she ended up dealing with, leaving her own kids rather bored for the time being. As most of the employees had already scattered, she made sure her own kids went to the bathroom, desperately not wanting to make any extra stops on their way back. Being around this many people was tiring for her.
It was as they emerged from the station building, she noticed snow was beginning to fall again. By this time the parking lot had almos completely emptied. She was parked at the far corner of the parking lot, which was furthest from the station but closest to the exit. Her kids were sliding on the snow, quite enjoying the fact that the roads were a little slippery where more cars had pressed together the snow, making it icy. She passed a simple grey Honda CR-V, which she recognized because Lorelai drove the same model, and out at the side door there stood Vikki trying to reason with her son.
"I'm not leaving! Dad said he'd be here!" Silas insisted in a grumpy tone from his booster seat.
"He's running a lot late, honey. The station is about to close - we'd have nowhere to get food or go to the bathroom, we can't just wait for him here," Vikki pleaded.
It was odd how with every time Paris had spoken to her it was like her facade was melting away. She'd first come off as arrogant and obnoxious, much like she herself often did - but little by little Paris was given a glimpse that she was just a mom.
"Then we'll go someplace and get food, but he's picking me up here. It's exactly 1 hour and 49 minutes to dad's. Through Hartford it's 2 hours and 38 minutes. I don't want to drive all the way back to Harford," Silas continued decidedly.
Vikki sighed audibly and closed the side door and walked around the car noticing Paris.
"Everything okay?" Paris asked, genuinely.
"His dad is running late, he's not a fan of changes in his plans," she sighed.
Paris pressed open on her car key remote, seeing her kids reach her Lexus RX, so they could take their seats.
"Anything I can help you with?" she offered, unsure what had come over her. She wasn't usually like this, she didn't bud in like this.
"Nah, it'll be fine, it just might be a long night," Vikki added, and dialled a number on her phone.
As Paris walked towards her car, careful with her step, she could hear the one-sided conversation in the distance.
"He doesn't want to go to Harford with me," Vikki said.
"Well then you shouldn't make promises like that," she added.
"You know it's not that easy with him - he likes his schedules," Vikki continued.
"Well that would just leave me driving to Hartford with a screaming and kicking eight year old - I swear sometimes I feel you're doing this on purpose…," was the last Paris heard and that whole conversation certainly shifted something in her in regards to the impression she had of Tristian. Whenever she'd thought of him, he'd been the misunderstood, but internally good guy, who was a good father - yet from this one sided glimpse what she got was something very different.
"Finn? What fuck are you doing?" Sylvie asked in confusion as she heard his brother rustling in her blue Hydrangea bushes at 7.30 AM the next morning, as she was just having her first and only peaceful cup of coffee on her balcony. It was not like Finn was known for his love for horticulture and she truly hoped the days of getting hammered to the stage of relieving himself into a random bush were behind him by now.
"I needed…," Finn began, gesturing at the magnificent bouquet in his hand. "We have a vase for these, don't we?" he asked, sounding entirely sober.
He'd given Charlie her space the day before, knowing she also had to work a half shift. But because instead of her call, that he'd spent all day waiting for, all he'd heard from her was that she was tired and not feeling up to it - not a reschedule or anything, he hadn't gotten a wink of sleep that night, worrying about what was going on in Charlie's mind. Charlie had a morning shift that Sunday - but still, he didn't feel quite at ease with the way they'd left things, feeling like he needed to do something.
"What did you do, Finn!?" his sister asked sternly, positioning her hand on her hip, with the coffee cup in her other hand. This didn't look good. This looked like a guilty man grasping at straws.
Finn really didn't know what to tell her - he hadn't done anything. It was just his past that was haunting him.
"I need to show her I'm serious…," he said in a focused manner, as he climbed the stairs up to the balcony and headed for the kitchen to search for a vase.
Hearing this from his brother made Sylvie's heart melt, yet she was still wondering about what had brought reaction on. Surely, something had happened.
"Here, let me," Sylvie insisted, seeing him bother with vases way too small for the enormous bouquet he was holding. It had been too early for florists and deliveries, this short notice at least. Sylvie found a large cylinder shaped large glass vase but instead of pouring water into it, she handed him a plastic bottle with water instead. "You wouldn't want to spill that in that new car of yours," she commented.
"Thanks," he managed.
"You'll be okay," Sylvie said, hugging her brother. She didn't know what was going on, but she truly sensed his nervousness. Finn really did care about Charlie - she could tell. It didn't even matter whether she'd meant her statement for the two of them, or just him - he could take what he wanted from that. But what Sylvie wanted was his brother to remember this feeling.
Finn drove across town at the early morning hour, knowing Charlie was due at work by 8.30, hoping to leave the bouqet at her doorstep before she left. As he got there, he noticed Archie's car in the parking lot, reminding him of his presence which he would've rather forgotten about.
Finn punched in the access code Charlie had and let himself through the street door, having already filled the vase with water by the car. He'd sent flowers at least several dozen times for one reason or another, but he'd never actually delivered them himself before, nor had the gesture meant as much to him despite being quite clueless whether this would help the matter one bit. Maybe he'd just come of needy? But that he certainly was.
As he placed her vase down at her doorstep, expecting her to step out of her apartment within the next 10 minutes, he briefly regretted not having a piece of paper and pen with him to leave a note. Though, then again, he didn't off the bat know what he should write.
He walked back downstairs, thinking that perhaps if he thought of something to write before he actually got to his car, he might still have time to return and leave the note. It was one thing to try to convince her that he was serious, quite another to actually make long term promises. Speaking about their future had been a topic that had been almost like a taboo topic at this point, just barely mentioned during their time together. Something that was bound to be painful and meant major changes at least for one of them, hence they simply hadn't had it, excusing it by the simple fact that they hadn't really gotten to know each other well enough yet to talk about it. They were applying the rules of a traditional relationship onto theirs that wasn't very traditional at all. Instead of taking things slow, they had been rushing, skipping steps, feeling the pressure of their barely outspoken deadline.
Finn got the pen and a pad of post-its from the car, and put pen to paper. This wasn't the time for poetry or long lenghty serenades -he wrote simply what was on his mind.
He was just about to head back towards the building, as Charlie emerged from the door, saw him and slowed her pace.
Finn was relieved to see that she wasn't mad, at least her face didn't show it, even showing a weak smile.
"I was just going to leave a note," Finn said, feeling like he needed to explain. He didn't want her to think he was stalking her or something.
They walked closer to each other, so they wouldn't have to jell on the street this early in the morning.
Charlie took the post-it from his hands and read it out. It said, "Please don't ghost me. I want to be a better person for you - with you. Finn." He'd underline the 'please' and added a little heart.
Charlie looked down, as if feeling ashamed. "I didn't mean to ghost you. The workday turned out to be longer than I expected - I just didn't feel like I'd had much chance to think about things and then my period hit me and I just...was, am, feeling pretty horrible physically," Charlie confessed.
"Oh, I'm sorry…," Finn reacted, feeling like the last place someone in physical pain should be going to was work. She did look a little tired, not her usual cheery self - even her hair wasn't braided, just swirled into a messy bun. Somehow when she'd said she couldn't have kids he'd thought that maybe she didn't have periods - but apparently there was a lot he didn't know about the female anatomy when it came to things like that. He was in uncharted waters.
"But I loved the flowers," Charlie said, raising the corner of her mouth.
"My sister might hate me for cutting holes in her garden," Finn added, squinting his eyes.
"And Finn… I'm not mad at your history - if that's what it really is. I just… I've never felt jealous like this - I don't know how to deal with it. But it's like… layered, it brings out some self-consciousness in me that I don't particularly like, I compare myself to these girls...," she tried to explain, but was already feeling a lump forming in her throat. "But I really didn't want to make you think that I was ghosting you - I'm sorry," she added.
Finn had to admit, that this was quite nice to hear - sure he'd had girls be jealous for one reason or another, but somehow this he actually kind of liked. Finn could tell she was emotional, maybe it was the hormones or maybe something more. It wasn't nice to see her hurting like this - no matter whether it was physical or emotional.
"Hey, come here," he said and wrapped his arms around her for a hug. Hugging her felt oddly satisfying - it was like he had been broken and just holding her was slowly mending him. It was scary to think someone made him feel like that, or how horribly the potential loss of her had made him feel. He was just now beginning to realize that whichever way this went - it was most definitely not going to be easy. It was either trusting her completely, trusting her with his heart - life even, or having it broken, or breaking it himself. But for now - he just wanted to put his own emotions aside and care for her.
"Now what do I have to do to convince you to quit that job of yours - call in sick or something?" he asked, pushing a stray hair behind her ear, not letting on how scared he'd been. She had enough going on.