A/N: Am I fired? LOL I'm just having a real hard time writing lately, I don't know what it is. Maybe having both girls back on the screen will help. I love the whole Clarke and Madi relationship already so that could help too.

Chapter 18

It was a good thing that Clarke loved the two girls that were currently kicking her ass at mini golf. It wasn't even really a contest at this point. She was losing pretty horrifically. It wasn't her fault that her ball went everywhere but where she actually wanted it to go. Lexa seemed to be able to aim it just right and get it close, and her daughter was just as good.

She knew her dad used to bring Avery here on occasion, so it was reasonable that the girl was good because she'd played on it several times. But the fact that her girlfriend was also able to destroy her was just not cool. Ok so she wasn't like big into the game. In fact, she rarely played, but still this was getting ridiculous.

She moved over to a half wall on their current hole and leaned her body against it. She watched and waited as Avery took her shot. It was cute how her daughter would sit and line up her shot and concentrate so hard.

Lexa walked over to her and came in close, so she was standing in between Clarke's legs. "Don't pout," she teased.

"I'm not pouting," Clarke argued. They both knew she was lying. She may not be big into sports and sport related activities, but she could be extremely competitive when she wanted to be.

"You are too, but it's cute." Lexa gave her a teasing smile. "You can't be good at everything."

"I don't think I have to be good at everything," Clarke told her. "I just hate that it's taking almost twice as many tries as the two of you." That might be an exaggeration, but it was taking her at least one to two more strokes on each hole.

"It's all about the angles," Lexa smirked. She knew how competitive Clarke could be, but she was hoping her girlfriend was still having fun anyway. She and Avery were having a blast, if it wasn't obvious by Avery's laugh as she landed her ball in the hole.

"Yeah, yeah," Clarke waved off. When Lexa moved to take a step back, Clarke looped her fingers through the other girl's belt loops. "Not so fast," she commanded as she pulled Lexa in closer. "Kiss to make it better?"

Lexa rolled her eyes but obliged her girlfriend and planted a deep kiss on her girlfriend's lips. They got lost in it for a minute before pulling away a little breathless. "Better?"

"Much better," Clarke agreed.

By the end of the game, Clarke could only admit defeat. Still there was a smile on her face as Avery took her turn on the last hole and managed a hole in one. The girl jumped up and down with fists in the air. She was definitely very proud of herself.

"I never do that on this hole," she squealed. "Mom, did you see that?"

"I sure did, baby girl. Good job!" There was only one thing that could feel better than being the winner, and that was seeing how happy her daughter was. "Wanna take my turn for me?"

"Sure, but you still lost."

"Oh, the sass on this one," Lexa teased. "Sounds like someone else I know.

"I am not sassy!"

"Not normally, no," Lexa agreed. She moved close to Clarke to talk quietly in her ear. "Your sass happens when you're in bed," she purred causing to the other woman to shiver a little at the insinuation.

Once the final scores were tallied, Lexa beating Avery by only four strokes, they turned their clubs in and made their way out to their car, well Abby's car. Avery still was avoiding her grandfather's truck. Clarke preferred the truck, but she'd only use it when Avery wasn't with her. She'd have to figure out what to do with her own vehicle once she made it back out to DC. She rarely used it out there anyway.

She drove to the nearest grocery store to try and figure out what to have for dinner later. "What does Tommy like to eat?" she asked Avery as she parked the car. She wanted to be sure she made something the little boy would want to eat.

Avery shrugged her shoulders. "I dunno. Dino nuggets, mac and cheese, sometimes hot dogs."

That wasn't going to work for the grownups. She could always make something different for him, she supposed. "Nothing else that the rest of us like to eat?"

"He loves spaghetti, too. He loves to slurp the noodles and get sauce everywhere." Avery let out a laugh as she pictured the last time she'd eaten over at her aunt's house. He had sauce everywhere but in his mouth.

"I can work with that," Clarke decided. She wasn't really sure about the mess Tommy might make, but she knew kids loved to make messes. She was positive they already had noodles at home, so she'd just need to get everything else.

Lexa pushed the shopping cart, following the two girls as they piled one thing after another. Apparently, they were no longer shopping just for tonight's dinner. The cart was almost full. Even with all the items Clarke put back on the shelf after Avery tried to throw it in the cart when she wasn't looking. She did manage to hide a package of Oreos down in the bottom, but Lexa didn't say a word, she just shared a smile with the little girl. She liked them too, after all.

When they finally made it up to the register and started unloading everything onto the belt, Clarke finally took notice of the cookies. She looked first at Avery and then at Lexa, both of whom had an equally guilty face, with a hint of a smirk. "You two couldn't even get the chocolate frosted ones for me? It's the least you could do," she told them as she threw it on the belt.

Lexa and Avery shared a winning smile. Lexa held out her hand and the little girl took it as they ventured back out to the cookie aisle. It was the least they could do since they'd won the battle.

"Sure, then leave me to do all the work," Clarke grumbled as continued to empty the cart. She could only roll her eyes when they made it back just as she was putting the last few items up. And rolled them again when she noticed they not only had the Oreos, but another snack item. "Popcorn?"

"Yeah, so we can watch a movie tonight," Avery told her mother as if it should have been obvious.

Clarke threw her hands in the air, knowing she had lost this round. She was happy to see her girlfriend becoming buddies with her daughter, even if it meant she was outnumbered. As she watched them high-five, she knew it was something she wanted for the rest of her life.

~CL~

Clarke was still trying to finish up dinner when the doorbell rang. She had help in the beginning, but it was quickly evident that this was one time that there were to many cooks in the kitchen. Plus, she wasn't sure what the joke was, but those two kept giggling to each other. So, she'd finally just sent them off to do something else.

"I'll get the door," Avery shouted from the living room as she dashed out. She was super excited to see her aunt and cousin. Her Uncle Luke wasn't so bad either, but she didn't see as much of him. He usually worked late and didn't come home until after her grandpa had picked her up.

"Avery!" Tommy shouted as soon as he saw his favorite person. He dropped the bag he had been carrying and ran over to her, throwing his arms around her.

"Hey, Tommy," Avery greeted.

"He's been so excited to come over and see you. I think he missed you," Trish told her, as she picked up her sons bag and carried it into the house.

"I missed him too," Avery admitted. "Mom says I have to go back to school next Monday. And I can still come over to your house on Wednesdays if I wanted."

"And do you?"

Avery pulled away from Tommy and threw her arms around her aunt. "Well, duh."

"Good, because I missed you, too," Trish admitted. "Where's everyone else?"

"Mom's still cooking, Lexa and I were watching TV in the living room. Uncle Derek's been staying here but he's not here tonight," Avery ticked each person off the list.

"And your grandma?"

Avery didn't answer, instead she turned her eyes down the hallway where her grandmother's bedroom was. The door was closed. No sound could be heard either.

"I see. Why don't you take Tommy and your Uncle Luke to meet Lexa. I'm going to go see if your mom needs anything." And after that she'd head to Abby's room and force the woman out if she had too. This was a family dinner after all.

"Hey, how's dinner coming?" She popped through the doorway as Clarke was dumping what looked like spaghetti sauce, into a bowl of noodles. "You know your kitchen will never be the same after my son gets a hold of his plate."

Clarke smirked. "So, I've heard. I remember when Avery was a toddler, we'd just strip her down to her diaper to eat. Pretty much no matter what the meal was, because she could make a mess out of anything."

"Yeah, I wish Tommy was still little enough to do that with. If you didn't notice, I keep a giant plastic sheet below my table these days."

"Ooh, that's a good idea. I'll have to remember that one," Clarke made a mental note.

Trish's eyes lit up and a big, teasing smile appeared. "Why little sis, are we thinking of having a baby."

Clarke clamped her hands over Trish's mouth and threw a look towards the door to make sure her girlfriend was no where in sight. Of course, she was thinking about it, with Lexa, someday. But it was way to soon, and she didn't want her girlfriend to get scared off. Even though they had talked about it in the abstract.

"Shh. Don't say that crap out loud. But, yes," she whispered. "Not anytime soon, but I do want more kids someday," she finished quietly and then pulled away from Trish.

Her friend smiled, but Clarke could see there was something else in her eyes. She couldn't tell what it was though. And Trish didn't offer anything up. She'd find out eventually she supposed. "We ready for dinner?" she offers up instead.

"Yeah I think so. Avery set the dining room table since there are too many of us to eat in here," Clarke told her.

"Alright, you gather the troops. I'll go get your mom."

"Are you sure?" Clarke asked hesitantly. Her mother was getting better, but she still didn't want to push.

"Yep, I'm positive." Trish put her hands on Clarke's shoulders. "I get why you don't push her and why you leave her be. I, fortunately, don't have to follow those same rules."

Trish didn't offer anything more, instead making her way towards Abby's room. She had come to think of the other woman as a mother figure to her over the years.

While it still hurt that her brother was gone, she was so grateful of all she had gained after his passing. Avery's very existence made her miss him just a little less. Because of him, she'd been able to make friends with Clarke and slowly become a member of the Griffin family. Long after Clarke was a way at college, they would invite her over for dinner and began treating her like a daughter.

She knocked on the closed door but didn't wait for a response before opening it. She knew Abby would likely just refuse her if given the chance. When she entered the room, she found the older woman sat in her wheelchair, staring out the window. "Dinner's ready."

Abby gave no sign that she was aware Trish was coming over, so she likely wasn't. She didn't seem surprised either. More just plain worn down by life. "I'm not hungry."

"Well, we can't make you eat. But this is a family dinner, so your presence is mandatory," she used Abby's own words against her when Trish had tried to decline those early dinner invitations.

"Not today."

"Yes, today. Your family is all waiting in the dining room. Tommy was super excited to see his Grandma Abby the doctor, so he could tell her all about how the school nurse fixed up his owie when he fell on the playground at school." If there was one thing Trish knew could guilt Abby into showing up, it was her grandchildren.

And there was no mistake about it. Tommy was her grandchild, just as much as Avery was. When Clarke became Aunt Clarke it just became the natural progression. Jake and Abby had spoiled him on each of his birthdays and Christmases. It made the pain of Trish's own mother's non-involvement much easier.

Abby turned her chair away from the window and gave a small nod in defeat. She let Trish push her through the house and set her up at the dining room table where a chair had been pulled away. A plate was put in front of her and she had to admit it smelled delicious.

"Who cooked?" Abby asked.

"It was all Clarke. She kicked me and Avery out of the kitchen," Lexa admitted. "I don't think she appreciated our laughter. It was her own fault though, kept muttering to herself."

Clarke snapped her eyes to Lexa. That did explain the giggling, but she had no idea she was responsible. She had gotten so frustrated though when she tried to remember the 'secret' ingredients her father had always put in his spaghetti sauce. She hoped she did it justice.

Abby was the first one to take a bite and she had to hold back tears at the taste. Clarke had managed to recreate her father's recipe. Her husband was gone, but when she looked at her daughter, and then her granddaughter, she realized a part of him would still be here. His memory would live on.

Sitting there at the table with her family, a small piece of her heart began to repair itself. She'd make it through this, and these people were the reason why. And as she watched Lexa laugh at something Avery said, she couldn't wait to see what the future held for all of them.