This is a short filler chapter to build Tori and Sophie's relationship a bit more and give a little more background. Enjoy!
Tori was not a perfect person. Although she tried her hardest her whole life to come across as perfect, she really wasn't.
There were a lot of things she was bad at. She had made a lot of mistakes.
And truth be told, one of those mistakes had sparkly hazel eyes and dark curls and the sweetest little voice.
Arguably, it was the best mistake she had ever made.
Hearing that sweet little voice in the middle of the night, however, made Tori rethink her stance.
"Mommy? Mommy!"
Tori groaned softly as she blinked opened her eyes. Sophie didn't often wake up at night, she had started sleeping through the night at seven months old unless something was wrong. Even then, waking up to someone shouting for you was never pleasant.
"Mommy!" Sophie demanded again, sounding teary.
Tori pushed herself out of bed and shuffled over to the crib. Sophie was standing, holding onto the bars, bouncing slightly. In the dim glow of the nightlight, Tori could make out tears on the toddler's face. Sophie whined and held her arms up.
Tori's sour attitude lightened and she lifted Sophie into her arms. She snuggled her close. "Sophie," she whispered, pressing her forehead to Sophie's cheek as she swayed slightly. "It's really early. Why are you awake, hm?"
Sophie sniffled. "Scawy sleep."
"Oh, you had a bad dream."
"Bad dweam,"
"Aw," Tori cooed, wiping Sophie's face with her hand. "You're safe. Mommy won't let anything hurt you."
Sophie curled against her mother, grabbing hold of the shirt she was wearing in her little fist. She was still very much awake.
Tori kissed Sophie's head softly and started to sing to her softly. "You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are gray. You'll never know, dear, how much I love you. Please don't take my sunshine away."
Sophie was born on a painfully stormy, early December day. It was miserable outside and Tori was scared to death inside. The moment Tori and Sophie officially met face to face was the first time Tori had truly smiled in a long time. Sophie was a beautiful baby, a little sparkle of hope to her mother who had felt like her world had collapsed. And Tori had sung "You Are My Sunshine" to her the very first time they were alone together and because of that, Sophie Sunshine was one of Sophie's many, many nicknames.
Sophie's body, which had been tense, had relaxed in Tori's arms, but she was still awake.
"Why don't we go back to sleep?" Tori suggested. She would do anything for Sophie, but she also felt dead on her feet.
"No!"
"You can come sleep with me."
"Mommy's bed?"
Tori chuckled. Much like she and Trina did as children, Sophie jumped at any opportunity to sleep in the 'big bed'. "Mhm."
"Cuddles?"
"Of course,"
Sophie thought for a second. "Okay,"
Tori smiled and crossed back to her bed, where she placed Sophie. She was just about to join her when Sophie suddenly cried, "Bunny!" and threw her arms up in anguish.
Tori sighed. "I'll get Bunny." She went back to the crib and retrieved Sophie's stuffed rabbit. On her way back to bed, she finally dared to look at the alarm clock.
2:46.
Oh joy.
Sophie took her bunny and hugged it close as Tori finally crawled back into her bed. Sophie lay down and curled up against her mother and Tori placed a hand on her back.
"I love you, Sophie."
Sophie peered into Tori's eyes, which made Tori melt every time. "Love you, Mommy."
Tori kissed Sophie's forehead and started to rub her back, humming under her breath.
Sophie's eyes fluttered closed.
Tori's humming stopped when Sophie's breathing evened out and slowed. Despite her own exhaustion, Tori couldn't seem to close her eyes. She just wanted to look at Sophie, her cute curls, and her sweet little face, how peaceful and calm she looked.
How something so beautiful and precious had come from a relationship that had been no less than toxic was beyond Tori's wildest imagination. Some days, it felt like an unwelcome reminder, but usually Sophie's existence proved that the world truly was a good place.
Nothing was ever easy, but life never really was easy anyway. Raising a toddler wasn't a walk in the park under any circumstances, but Tori's circumstances weren't exactly normal. Life was a hectic, emotional whirlwind with ups and downs, especially for Tori and Sophie.
Sophie had some very mild developmental delays in speech and motor skills but her pediatrician felt confident she'd catch up as she grew and wasn't concerned. That didn't stop Tori from being anxious about it of course, but Sophie had made leaps and bounds in just the last few months. There had been a minor fire at the restaurant Tori worked at a few weeks back, but it was minor enough that they were only closed for a few days and the entire staff had been paid as if they had all worked full days for the entire time they were closed.
Life was hard sometimes, but there was plenty of joy in it, plenty of good.
And, God, despite everything, Tori loved her little girl with everything she had.
A/N: We'll be seeing more of the gang shortly, I promise!
Heads up though, I'll be getting into some heavy stuff as the story goes. Tori's relationship with Sophie's dad was not a good one and another character has some stuff going on that Tori's going to hear about and this will all come into play eventually. Just thought I'd let you know!
Thanks so much for reading!
