"You know people make fun of the kids who have their mom walk them to school," Nicky pretended to complain, lightly aiming a kick at the brick wall with the heel of her boot.

Closing the door to the store behind her, Galina rolled her eyes and slipped a pair of black leather gloves over her hands. Aside from the small smile that tugged at her lips, she tried not to show how much being referred to as a mother-even indirectly-by Nicky, meant to her. It temporarily lifted some of the fears that had been weighing on her heavily since yesterday, but only for a moment.

"We're going the same way, "Galina reminded her, "would you prefer me cross the road and act like I don't know you?

"Now why would I want that?" Nicky asked, blinking innocently at her. "You know I don't care what other people say..."

And as if to prove her point, she moved closer and reached out to clutch her foster mother's arm affectionately. She turned her head to offer a salute to Dmitri through the glass door, who waved back from behind the counter he was entrusted with manning while his wife ran her errands. As Nicky and Galina began walking down the street, Nicky dropped her hand but still stuck right at her side and didn't seem opposed to being accompanied on her way to school at all.

"Vasily called while you were asleep last night," Galina said conversationally.

"Oh, yeah," Nicky nodded, "what's he got for news?"

"He said they can't make it to dinner next weekend, something to do with work," Galina sighed, "but he and Lida will be staying over Christmas Eve with us."

"Where are we going to put them?" asked Nicky, raising her eyebrows. "I guess I could give them my bed...I don't mind sleeping on the couch."

"The couch folds out," Galina replied. "They can have it."

"You're going to let them sleep in the same bed?" Nicky asked slyly. "I wasn't sure if you'd be funny about that."

"Considering they live together I think it would be sort of pointless, don't you?" Galina chuckled. "But I told Vasily he better get on proposing soon if he knows what's good for him."

"So long as Lida never finds out it was at your suggestion," Nicky replied. "What about Max and Yuri?"

"They'll be along on Christmas day," Galina said, pursing her lips slightly. "Maxsim has finals in all his classes to study for and Yuri is busy with work too. This is the longest I've gone without seeing them…"

She sighed and glanced appreciatively at Nicky. She didn't know what she would do without her. Their home had felt too big once the boys had moved out, which was ridiculous considering its small size, but she had been lonely living there with only her husband. Nicky didn't even realize that her foster mother needed her more than she did. She was the center of her life, loved beyond measure...and the reason that Galina had spent a sleepless night tossing and turning.

The hairs on the back of her neck had not stood down since her conversation with Gloria. The more she thought over everything, the more her denial began to give way to panic. She didn't understand what would drive Nicky to steal, when she had everything she needed and a fortune she'd inherit in a few years when she turned eighteen. It didn't make sense, and yet it wouldn't be the first time Nicky had been guilty of theft. As much as she wished it were not so, Galina knew she needed to take these accusations seriously-in as delicate of a way as possible. She was terrified that too much of a reaction would damage their relationship or even cause Nicky to be taken from her, but sweeping it under the rug wouldn't help Nicky either. She felt helpless.

"You look much better than yesterday," Galina observed, more to convince herself than her foster daughter. Nicky's skin wasn't quite as pale as it had been when she'd arrived home from school yesterday. She had slept for over twelve hours and Galina had let her sleep, even though it had bothered her that Nicky had skipped supper. She had only nibbled at her breakfast that morning as well, which had been concerning, but Nicky had assured her she felt fine to go to school. At least she seemed to be in better spirits.

"Yeah...I guess I've just been tired," Nicky replied, hoisting her backpack up higher on her shoulders. "I've had a lot on my mind…"

"About what we talked about the other night?" Galina asked, watching her closely out of the corner of her eye.

"I guess so," Nicky said honestly. "It's a big deal. A huge change that I didn't expect."

"A change for the better though, I hope?" Galina asked questioningly.

"I think so," Nicky answered shyly. "I just don't want you to regret it. There's an impartial part of me that just wants to advise you to chill out and think about it a little harder. Don't you have friends to tell you that sort of thing?"

"If I did, I wouldn't listen to them," Galina smirked. Which was the honest truth. She had kept her intentions quite under wraps for now anyway. Dmitri had been a little skeptical at first, but had agreed to go along with it if it was what both Nicky and his wife wanted.

"We're alike, you and me," Nicky rolled her eyes. "But everyone knows you're supposed to want to adopt a baby. What do you want with a mouthy teenager?"

"What do I want with a baby?" Galina replied. "I'm too old for a baby now and at least you don't wake me up several times a night." Except when I can't sleep because I'm worried about you" she thought silently to herself.

"You seem to find it hard to believe that anyone could want you, Nicky," Galina added softly, swatting at Nicky's bouncy curls lovingly. "And that makes me so sad because you don't see how remarkable you are."

"Well, my own parents didn't want me," Nicky brushed her off. "So, why should you?"

"Your mother wanted you, Nicky," Galina said gently. "She didn't want to die."

"I don't know…" Nicky said wistfully, dropping her gaze down to the ground. "We didn't spend much time together when she was alive, either. She worked all the time."

"She loved you," Galina replied. "I believe she made her choices with what she thought was best for you in mind. That doesn't mean she didn't get it wrong; mothers aren't always right. You'll understand that more when you grow up and if you decided to have a child of your own. But your mother did want you."

'Yeah…" Nicky mumbled. She didn't even bother to bring up her father. He definitely didn't want her, and after how she behaved, she almost couldn't blame him. It made it impossible for her to sincerely believe that the Reznikovs knew what they were getting into. Galina seemed too inclined to believe the best in her, even when the evidence was staring her in the face, and Nicky wished she could be better for her, to be the sort of daughter that was worthy of that sort of love. She just kept doing the wrong things and she didn't know how to stop.

"Our court date is in January," Galina told her. "That gives you a few more weeks to get used to the idea and think up anymore questions you might have."

"Okay," Nicky nodded.

"I'm not going to change my mind, Nicky," Galina assured her, unable to resist reaching out to squeeze Nicky's arm.

Nicky turned her head to stare at the hand on her arm. Then she looked up to catch Galina's blue eyes. Her own brown were filled with uncertainty, and the whites were redder than Galina would have liked to see. Nicky had dark bags under her eyes and her lids looked creased. Galina took one look at her and decided that now was the time to say what she had been mulling over during her sleepless night. She cleared her throat.

"I was wondering what you would think about going to see a therapist, Nicky?" she asked casually, still keeping a tight grip on Nicky's arm.

"A therapist?" Nicky blinked, a frown etching her face. "Why?"

"Because I think it would be good for you...for all of us," Galina replied.

"They made me go see one after my mom died," Nicky shook her head. "I didn't like it."

"You can choose who we go see," Galina pressed. "You don't have to go by yourself this time. We could all go. Dmitri too. Or just me, if you'd rather."

"Dmitri in therapy?" Nicky said skeptically. "He's a man of such few words, I'm almost scared about what could come out."

"Well, maybe he'd just listen," Galina smirked. "But he loves you too, Nicky. He's going to start painting your bedroom today when I get back. I'm going to buy the paint once I leave you."

"Oh, so that's the errand you had to run," said Nicky. She had texted Galina a picture of the shade of blue she wanted yesterday during homeroom.

"That, and one other thing," Galina replied with a small smile. The other thing had simply been her need to walk with Nicky and be with her. She hadn't had anytime with her yesterday because Nicky had come home and gone straight to bed. She was more worried about Nicky than she let on. She knew she needed to keep closer tabs on her every move, she thought therapy would be a good thing for them, but she didn't want to make Nicky think that she didn't trust her. It was a delicate balance.

"I'll think about therapy," Nicky told her. "But what if I decide I don't want to go?"

"Then I won't make you," Galina shrugged. She had to look more closely at her foster parent paperwork to find out if she needed permission to even take her in the first place. She didn't want anything Nicky might reveal to be reported back to the case workers and potentially compromise her adoption. She was so tired of social workers, and being inspected, and needing their permission for every little decision she made. She wanted to take care of Nicky without the state's interference. She just wanted to be Nicky's mother.

"Is this about what Ceci said?" Nicky asked bluntly. "Is that why you want me to see a therapist?"

Galina squeezed her a little bit more tightly. "What did Ceci say?" she asked casually.

"You know what she said," Nicky said darkly, her eyes narrowing. "Ceci told me herself that her mom went to talk to you. They think I stole from them…"

"Did you?" Galina asked quietly, still keeping a tight hold on Nicky's arm.

Nicky shook her head. "No…"

"Okay," Galina replied. "Then I believe you."

"You do?" Nicky asked, looking surprised.

"Yes," Galina nodded. "If you tell me something, then I'll believe you. You don't ever have to lie to me...even if you did steal the money from Gloria's register. All you'd have to do is tell me and I'd help you make it right, because that's my job."

Nicky looked back down at the ground and awkwardly pulled her arm out of Galina's grasp. She crossed them in front, hugging herself and was briefly at a loss for words. What could she say to that? She knew her foster mother was trying to make her feel better but it was actually making her feel worse.

"Red.." she croaked awkwardly.

"Yes?" Galina murmured.

Nicky exhaled loudly. "You're a really good mom," she said, still not looking at her. "I was really scared...Ceci and I had a fight at school yesterday. That's why I just wanted to go to bed. I was scared you were going to send me away."

"That's not going to happen," Galina replied.

"I know," Nicky mumbled, hugging herself even more tightly. "But I don't blame people for thinking what they do. They're missing money and they know I got in trouble for that before. It's my own past working against me.

"Remember what I told you when you first came to live with us?" Galina asked.

"No, what?" Nicky frowned.

"That it's a new beginning with a clean slate" Galina replied. "You don't have to worry about that stuff anymore."

Nicky swallowed a lump in her throat as they reached the school, for which she was both grateful and disappointed about. She was feeling very loved and safe right now. A part of her would have been happy to walk around Astoria all day as they were, but the other part of her was so consumed with a shame right now that made her want to run away and hide. As they prepared to part ways, Nicky forced herself to turn and look her foster mother in the eye.

"Thank you," she mumbled gruffly.

Galina gave her a gentle smile and clumsily stroked her thumb briefly across her daughter's cheek. She wished her a good day, and then continued walking, albeit rather slowly, so that she could keep Nicky in sight until she reached the front doors and disappeared into the building. Then she quickened her stride and tried to convince herself that she and Nicky had made progress that morning. Despite what she'd said, she didn't believe Nicky was telling the truth, but she also didn't want to be accusatory and be proven wrong. That was a gamble she was not prepared to take and all she could hope was that Nicky would come to her herself about any wrongdoing, in time. Until then, she planned to get better at watching Nicky like a hawk to prevent anything else from happening.

XXX

Sitting at her desk in Geography class after lunch period, Ceci scowled as the teacher called Nicky's name out while taking attendance. She rolled her eyes up to the ceiling and then dropped her gaze over to Nicky's vacant desk by the window. Where could she be? As much as Ceci wanted to convince herself she didn't care anymore...she did.

In spite of herself, she had been keeping a close eye on Nicky all day. She'd said hello to her friend in homeroom and they'd talked briefly during English class in the period before noon. Ceci thought that Nicky's skin seemed grayer than it had in the morning. Her eyes were bloodshot and she'd hardly been able to keep her head up. Ceci had suggested Nicky call it an early day and go home. She'd even offered to escort her to the office and wait there while they called Galina to pick her up, and it had been infuriating when Nicky dismissed all of her concerns by claiming to just have a headache. Now absent from their afternoon class, Ceci wanted to believe that Nicky had taken her advice but she knew that probably wasn't the case. She had seen Nicky walk out the school doors at lunch with a group of seniors that had a reputation for the exact sort of think Ceci had told Gloria she was afraid Nicky was getting involved with.

Finished taking attendance, the teacher selected a student to carry it down to the office and then moved to the board where a projection of notes was displayed. Ceci obediently opened her notebook to a fresh page and popped the cap off of her favourite pen. She was actually grateful for the task, she needed something to do with her hands. She focused on copying what the teacher had written in her neat penmanship and tried to lose herself in the fact and figures she was to be committing to memory, but her thoughts continued to revolve around Nicky.

"Cecelia? Ms. Mendoza?" The teacher had to call her name out three times before Ceci looked up.

"Sorry, Mr. Walker," she smiled apologetically.

"Ceci, your mother is waiting for you in the office," her teacher informed her quietly. He was holding the telephone in his hand, which Ceci had not even heard ring so lost in thought she was. "She said it was urgent. You can pack up your stuff and catch the assignment tomorrow. Okay?"

"Okay…" Ceci replied, looking alarmed. Gloria had never pulled her out of school before and even if her teacher had not already specified that it was urgent, it was where her mind would have gone. She quickly packed up her books and once alone in the hallway, she stole a glance at her cell phone to see if her mom had texted her any clues. She had not.

"Mom?" Ceci was shocked to see her mother looking as she did when she arrived at the office. Gloria was sitting in a chair with her head in her hands, but at the sound of her daughter's voice, she leaped up to her feet.

"Let's go," Gloria said urgently, slinging her violet purse over her shoulder. Through the open door of the principal's office, Ceci could hear people speaking in hushed voices to one another. She made out the blue uniform of not one, but two, police officers and felt a shiver crawl down her spine. She waited until they were outside the school and had walked past the police patrol car parked at the curb, before she spoke.

"Mom, what's wrong?" Ceci asked worriedly.

"Baby, it's Nicky," Gloria answered, straight to the point. Tears stung in her eyes and before she could waste time worrying about whether or not Ceci would permit her to hold her or not, Gloria had pulled her into a tight embrace.

"When I heard what happened, I wanted to make sure you didn't hear it from another student," Gloria said, her voice thick with emotion. Ceci's arms hung limp at her side but she did not pull away, even when Gloria squeezed her even more tightly.

"I had to see you with my own eyes to make sure you were okay ...logically, I knew you were. You weren't named and I know you have enough sense not to put yourself in a predicament like that, but I still-"

"Mom," Ceci cut in impatiently, "what happened?"

Gloria swallowed and pulled back a little, allowing Ceci to breathe a little more freely now that she wasn't being squeezed so tightly. She still held onto her daughter gently by both arms, directly facing one another on the sidewalk next to the busy street.

"A car accident," Gloria answered. She looked up into the confused face of her daughter. Ceci was so much taller than her, so lithe, and so elegant. She had been just a little girl the last time she'd been able to get this close to her, and it was under such tragic circumstances now that she knew her daughter was allowing this closeness.

"I guess on lunch break, Nicky went out with three other students. They got in a stolen car...and then they crashed it. I forget the name of the driver but he's a senior. Nicky was sitting in the back seat behind him, but she didn't have her seatbelt on."

"Is she going to be okay?" Ceci asked panicked, tears spilling down her cheeks now.

"Yeah, I think she's going to be okay," Gloria tried to soothe her. She used the pad of her thumb to wipe away Ceci's tears. "Galina said she was going to need a few stitches and they're watching for concussion."

"She called you?" Ceci asked.

"Mhmm," Gloria nodded. "She was hysterical. I think she was at the hospital by herself and that's just about the only coherent thing I could get out of her. I don't think she had seen Nicky yet. She was waiting for the social worker to arrive."

"Nicky's worker?" Ceci looked alarmed. "They aren't going to take her, are they?"

"I don't know how this all works, baby," Gloria shook her head. She reached down and squeezed Ceci's hands tightly in hers. "But Nicky broke the law...Galina said something about drugs being found in the car too."

"That doesn't mean Nicky took any," Ceci objected, eyes once again streaming with tears. "Mom, you didn't say-"

"No, love," Gloria reassured her. "The only one I've spoken to was Galina and that was only a two-minute-long, very confusing conversation, and then I came to get you right away."

"Thank God you did," Ceci whispered. "Mom, I saw her leaving with those guys at lunch. I knew better. I should have stopped-"

"You did nothing wrong, baby," Gloria cut in. She squeezed Ceci's hands once more and then released them. Wrapping one around her daughter's waist now, she lifted her other arm to hail a cab that was approaching. "I'm telling you, mija, none of this is your fault. You've been such a good friend to her."

The taxi pulled up to the curb in front of them. Gloria kept an arm around Ceci's waist and opened the door to the car. "Let's get you home," she suggested, tossing Ceci's backpack in first and then standing back to allow her daughter to get in before her.

"No, mom," Ceci objected. "Can't we go see Nicky? Even if they don't let us in the room, I want to be there."

Gloria, who had been about to give the driver their home address, nodded slowly at Ceci and then instructed him to take them to the civic hospital where Nicky had been brought. She felt her daughter exhale a huge sigh of relief and then allow her head to fall against her mother's shoulder. Gloria gently wiped the tears from Ceci's eyes again and pressed her lips against her head, kissing her hair. There was a pang in her stomach at the heartbreak she sensed they were driving towards and she wished with all her might that she could be wrong about that.

Thank you for reviewing galinareznikovlove, Juliette45, Johanna-002, whenaspritemeetsaunicorn, and wallscollide.