November 2050
"Is he here yet?"
"Not yet, sweetie." Max replied.
"Mom! Is he here...?" Rachel started to call down from her room.
"Not yet! Your father just asked me not two seconds ago." Max answered, before giving Chloe a jokingly exasperated look.
Chloe paced nervously, fidgeting and adjusting her suit jacket, cut in a men's cheongsam fashion. Traditional Asian influences were very much in vogue over the past five to seven years, and while Chloe - along with Max - thought she looked pretty damn good in it, at the same time she fretted.
Geeze, always that worry about cultural misappropriation. On the other hand, if Asians adopted a ton of Western style years ago, how come we can't return the favor? Anyhow...okay Chloe, you're worrying over nothing. I mean...this is your daughter's first real boyfriend - potential boyfriend! Gah. He should be be bending over backwards to impress you!
All the same, Chloe spent too many years as a politician, often concerned to the point of obsession with personal appearance and style, along with whatever messages her looks, actions, and words sent out to the rest of the world. She never failed to amaze - or dismay - herself, how she went from 'rebel without a cause' iconoclast to - well - she wasn't exactly sure how best to describe it, except to say that after having seen Carrie-Anne Moss in 'Jessica Jones' almost thirty-five years ago, that was definitely the foundation from which she projected out her various style incarnations over the decades.
Max sighed softly, batting away at Chloe's hands, and tidying up the mess she'd made of her lapels. "You're going to be absolutely fine, babe. As long as you don't - you know...just don't say or do anything stupid. Easy, right? Use those finely honed political instincts, the one's that have carried you so far in life...not to mention paying off the mortgage on the summer house in Calgary."
Chloe laughed lightly, resting her forehead against her wife's. "And when those fail?"
"Easy! I'll start kicking your shins under the table." Max replied with a poisonously sweet smile.
"Damn. Guess I'll give the reconstructive surgeon at the hospital fair warning then."
Chloe stole a lingering kiss from her wife, their moment suddenly interrupted by a melodious chiming at the door. She glanced quickly in the hallway mirror. As she straightened out her sleeves one last time, she hissed out, "Alright. Showtime, Synergy."
Max snickered. "Wowser. That's an old reference, even for us."
Chloe impishly laid a soft, open palmed swat on Max's backside as she walked towards the door. Jerked her neck back side to side with a satisfying crack, and then loosened up her shoulders, before pulling her lips into the exact smile that won her countless campaigns in the past. She then opened the door.
While she'd seen the pictures of Sandeep Choudry in the past - Rachel practically forced all of the ones she had in her face last night - she had to admit that photos alone didn't do the young man justice. She didn't have to be straight to appreciate his good looks - lean, with a runner's build, jet-black hair and caramel colored skin -or the charm of his bearing; the soft, easy-going smile, the cute wire-rimmed glasses - clearly an affectation considering the operation to have bionic lenses installed were almost an outpatient procedure in this day and age. He was possessed of an almost regal bearing and posture, but he didn't project any air of arrogance. At first glance, she was tempted to write him off as merely 'squeaky-clean', but it was clear that behind those eyes, there were more than a few braincells banging around. At the very least, there was nothing about him that set off immediate alarms...
...which means he's either really a nice guy, or a master manipulator. Ooookay Chloe. Time to play it cool. Adult Mode: Activate!
"Hello. You must be Sandeep. My daughter has told me so much about you." She stepped back into the house, and swept towards the interior with her arm. "Won't you come in?"
Sandeep walked inside, and Chloe could see him quickly appraising his surroundings; she knew that look. The quick read, trying to gather as much information as possible about a new locale, to figure out how best to adapt and behave. It reminded her of herself, during those times she was trying to address a new constituency on the campaign trail, and looked for some commonality or expectation to latch onto.
"It's great to meet you at last, Congresswoman!" There was a light accent in his voice; Chloe guessed Brooklyn, considering what Rachel told her about his family's origins. "Oh, these are for you." At this, he held out one of the two parcels he bore; for Chloe, a bouquet of gorgeous blue lillies. "A couple years ago, when you were speaking at the dedication for the new biodome at Blackwell, you specifically mentioned your fondness for lilies. I have a friend who owes me a favor, so...anyhow, I hope you enjoy them!"
Chloe gathered them up, smiling to herself, despite her best efforts. She didn't have the heart to tell him her statement back then was simply 'color commentary' that she made up off the top of her head, in order to have something meaningful to say at the event. But more important than that, it showed her he was paying attention, and making an effort to impress. She glanced at him over the flowers, and could see he was nervous, but doing his best to keep it from showing, or negatively influencing his demeanor.
Good...good for you, kid. You're courting the Queen of all Arcadia Bay, as far as I'm concerned. Glad you're trying to impress her parents as well.
"Thank you," she murmured. "They're lovely. Why don't you come in, we're just about to eat. Oh, and if you wouldn't mind..."
But he'd already deduced that they specifically took their shoes off at the door in the Price-Caulfield household, quickly doffing his slip-on's and placing them neatly on the rack.
Oh boy. Either you're as great as Rachel seems to think you are, or we're all going to end up mysterious shoved into the fridge in pieces after you gain our trust.
Deciding to go with the former - for now, she opened up her mouth to announce Sandeep's arrival. But it was clear Rachel already knew, given the excited thumping of her daughter's footsteps as she all but leapt to the stairs from her room. The girl halted suddenly, then blushed, cleared her throat, and elegantly glided down the stairs, doing her best to keep from looking too anxious and eager.
"Sandi. Hey..." Rachel casually waved, trying to pretend that she merely woke up with her blonde hair in a complicated plait, nails done and face lightly made up. She took his hand, and they glanced nervously at each other, then back up to Chloe.
Chloe chuckled lightly, and turned away, walking towards the dining room, announcing, "Two minutes to dinner, guys." She turned the corner, leaning against the wall, out of sight, but not out of earshot...
...she was the father of a seventeen-year old girl, after all.
"You look...really amazing!" Sandeep exclaimed, prompting a soft, cooing, "Thanks." from Rachel. Chloe thought she heard the distinct sound of kissing, and just bit her lip, glancing over at Max, who was walking out from the kitchen. She then smirked in her wife's direction, holding up a finger to her lips.
"Hey...so I made ramen and pork buns, because I you told me once you really liked that kind of food when you were living in New York. Did I remember right?" Rachel asked.
"Yeah! That's brills! But...I hope you didn't cook for me just because - ah, heh - you think it's expected, being a woman and all. I would have been just as happy to make something for you." He replied.
"Wah? No. Ha ha, I mean, gleesh, it's not like it's nineteen eighty-seven or something! A girl can cook for a guy if she wants, and have it be empowering and stuff. I mean..." and with a light laugh, Rachel continued, "...there's an ancient saying about the quickest way to a man's heart is through his stomach."
"Actually, that's the easiest way. The quickest way would be cracking right through the sternum, but that's not easy at all."
Rachel laughed; maybe a little too brightly, a touch loud; he laughed along with her.
"Well good! Ha, great. Yeah, I made them, so I hope you like. I mean, I did...most of the work. I may have had my Mom show me some of it..." Rachel stammered.
"Oh damn. She's got it baaaad." Chloe mouthed silently.
"Told you." Max mouthed back, playfully tapping Chloe's chin with her fist.
The two of them walked into the dining room. Chloe smirked as she saw the young man 'snap to', in the presence of his teacher. He quickly held out the other gift in his hand. "Mrs. Price-Caulfield! I brought this for you."
"Sandi, I keep telling everyone in class to call me Max. That includes you. Even outside the classroom." She paused. "Especially outside the classroom." She opened the box up, curiously peeking inside.
"Right. Sorry. Not...not used to that. Sorry Mrs...er. Max."
Max laughed. "Oh! Little chocolates shaped like apples. Sandi, that's so sweet, not to mention clever." Chloe peered inside, laughing lightly to herself. "Well, I guess we have something extra for dessert then."
They quickly sat down to start the meal, and Chloe was happy enough to allow small talk between her wife, daughter, and Sandi to dominate for the next half hour; it was a good way to learn more about him. Not only was he in chess club - traditional, two-dimensional chess, not the weird, multi-level board stuff that was suddenly in fashion again - but he played violin, and was a rising track star.
Perfect. Shit, this kid is too perfect. But on the other hand...
Chloe was willing to admit that maybe "nice" was coming back into fashion. When she was growing up as a teen, the world in her eyes was meaner, far more cynical. And why not? The political process was swiftly falling apart, corruption and bribery ruled the day, and mankind seemed hellbent on destroying the planet. A massive and ever-increasing societal gap put much of her generation at loggerheads with her parents, and worse yet, their parents. Who would blame her for growing up hardened? She was but a product of the society she was raised in.
By comparison, the year twenty-fifty wasn't perfect, but there was certainly more to be hopeful about, and a brighter future lay ahead. Global warming wasn't about to be reversed, but the absolute worst was being slowly mitigated or adapted to...assuming you were lucky enough to not be born in one of the unfortunate hellholes that sprung up before people started to get their shit together about the environment. Social and business reforms that Chloe's generation put into place softened the worst excesses and roughest edges of the "crony capitalism" that plagued the late twentieth and early twenty-first century. Parents still seemed to hover more over their kids than Chloe thought was healthy, but the kids growing up seemed alright, by and large.
Fuck it, if kids are nicer today, it's because they actually feel like they have a future to look forward to. Max and I weren't so certain, when we were their age.
Finally, it was Chloe's turn to talk, out of expectation if nothing else.
"So, Sandi...graduation's coming up soon. Any thoughts about what you want to do with your life?"
It was precisely the sort of question that Chloe would have despised being asked when she was that age, which is why she was so eager to put it forward; if nothing else, she figured it would be an excellent way to see where his head was at.
"Well, to be perfectly honest, Congresswoman, I haven't thought that far ahead." He paused thoughtfully, then held up a quick hand, the one holding his chopsticks. "Don't misunderstand, it's not for lack of ambition, but at the same time, I think it's important to see what's out there, before committing to a lifetime path." He took a bite of one of his pork buns, grinning at Rachel, who beamed effusively in response; chewing and swallowing, he continued, "Mom'd love for me to follow her footsteps, especially since it looks like my sister is set on being a musician like our father."
"Ha ha. Total aff. I think she's a chib jell - your Mom, I mean. But Shakti is soooooo good." Rachel blushed, at having interrupted. "Er, you're good too, but.."
"Yeah, I pose. I total pose compared to her..." Sandeep replied, dropping into a much more casual tone.
Oh! So you can speak like a normal teenager when you want to. Thank God. Worried you were a Replicant or something.
"But you're the best, the absolute best at..." Rachel turned to Max, "Mom, isn't Sandi the total best holo-sculptor in your class?" She then looked back at the young man and grinned, "I'm pretty great at drawing, if I say so myself, but gleesh, the stuff you pull out of your head. Without trying. So jell."
Chloe could see the blush through his dark skin. Sandeep bowed his head, and murmured, "Oh - I - hah. Yeah. I guess so. I enjoy it, but it's not the sort of thing I can make a living at. It's a great past time, sure...but as a way to support yourself?" At this, it was hard for Chloe to tell if he was being honest, or merely putting on the responsibility act for her benefit.
"Well hey, why not!" Chloe interjected. "There's at least one person at the table who did, and does quiet well for herself making a living as an artist. And she teaches, putting to rest the old adage of those who can't..." She leaned in, kissing the corner of Max's mouth. "Besides, this isn't forty years ago, when the government spent more on fuel for a stealth bomber than grant money for the arts. Talented people making art is an actual career path now. Hell, I say give it a shot, if it's where your passion really lies. Man, I would have killed to grow up in the last ten years, you damn lucky kids. When Max and I were in school - hah, Max more than me - real holograms were just something you read about in sci-fi stories." She took a moment to pull a few sips from her glass of wine, and then concluded, "Anyhow, my advice? As long as you figure your shit out by age thirty, go nuts."
Sandeep coughed once, nodded, and said, "Well, if I'm going to be honest, I was considering politics. Public service. I just didn't..."
"...want to come off like you were kissing my ass?" Chloe said, intrigued.
He could only nod at first, before continuing, "I've actually admired you a lot, Congresswoman. My parents moved here specifically because of the quality of life Arcadia Bay offers, and it's hard not to talk about the history of that without your name coming up. I just...it really speaks to me, the notion of public service. Making things better on behalf of the people you represent. That's something I'd like to do in my life, one way or the other."
Chloe tried not to let it go to her head. She was pretty sure that Sandeep was being honest in his praise, but it was still way too soon for her to make any sort of judgement.
On the other hand, I've got a need for an intern coming up...
Steepling her fingers, Chloe said, "Tell you what, let's talk more about that later, maybe?"
The rest of the evening passed by in a pleasant blur, far too quickly for Rachel's liking. Chloe had to remind her at least once that it was a still a school night, and she'd see her boyfriend...
Shit, I can't believe I actually used the word. Oh well, I guess it's for real now...
...at school in the morning.
Before retiring for the night, Chloe lay back in bed, and remarked, "Huh. Gotta admit, kid's hella nice." Max rolled over onto her side, then lay her head on Chloe's chest, kissing gently. She sleepily murmured, "Toldja."
"Yup. Remind me to call off the hit squad tomorrow."
Max hit her side. "Oh God, Che. I'm still kinda laughing over here, at what a stereotypical 'Dad' you've turned into; hardly any boy is good enough for your little girl.
Chloe shrugged, wrapped her arm around Max, and then gave her a shit-eating grin. "Well, it's true. Although Sandeep...I can see why she likes him. And he seems pretty taken with her, too. Just a shame you know; probably won't last."
Max frowned at this, glancing up. "That's harsh, don't you think?"
"Well, no. I mean, I'm not saying it to be mean, I'm not lying here in bed going, 'Oh Lesbian Valkyries Above, please cut short my only daughter's first romance'. Point being, they're high school kids. They're gonna go to college, and...drift apart and...well it's all sweet, while it lasts, but in what reality do high school sweethearts stay together and ultimately get married anymore?"
Max lifted up her head, perching her chin on her first. "Oh. Really? You really just said that? You maybe wanna take any of it back, babe? Just in case you forgot that I can't do that sort of thing for you, anymore..."
Chloe opened her mouth. Closed it, then opened it again. Pursed her lips in thought, and then held up a finger, "First off, I'd like to point out that I was a high school dropout. Second, our romance didn't truly blossom until we were past college age..."
The rest of her argument was muffled by the pillow Max hit her in the face with.
September 2051
"Mooooom. Pleeeease. Seriously. San Francisco's got more than enough water without you adding to it. I'm worried you're...you're gonna dehydrate, or something."
Chloe glanced out over San Francisco Bay as Max fussed over their daughter; more to the point, she took in the complicated levee system that kept the worst of the rising sea levels in check. Turning back to both of them, she smiled warmly to herself.
Her little girl was all grown up now. An adult, at least in the legal sense, attending her Mother's alma mater, San Francisco Art Institute, and rooming with her friend Shakti, to boot. Rachel hadn't figured out exactly what she was going to do with herself, torn between modeling and illustration. For a moment, Chloe caught sight of her golden blonde hair, the way it picked up the noon-day sun, and felt a tightness gnawing in her sternum.
Huh. Look at that. Look at you. It's like Rache - my Rachel - got to live the life she deserved, through you. Except if we're gonna be honest, you've got your shit together, a hell of a lot more than she ever did.
Enough time passed that Chloe could see that now; for all her talent and ambition, Rachel Amber was possessed of more than a few personal flaws as well. Even if her life hadn't been so tragically and unfairly ended, Chloe couldn't help but wonder if her future would be as bright as her namesake's.
Now, now, don't be shitty, Che, as Max would say. No sense in being jealous of Frank. Hell, even he's married now. And Max and I...I wouldn't trade us for the world. Anyhow, if this is a second chance to do it right, to do it better...then way to go, Rachel. Way to fucking go.
"Now remember, you ever get homesick, you just get in your aircar and fly home for the weekend. Dad and I will pay for the fuel charge, and everything, and..."
"Mom. Staaaahp." Rachel giggled, gathering Max up and hugging her fiercely. "By the way, Dad? Thank you so so so so SO much for the schway aircar. The absolute beeeeeest!" she sang, glancing in her direction.
Chloe shrugged, then walked over, leaning in to join the group hug. "Flying car. Another thing I would have given my left breast for, by the way. Anyhow, you earned it, even if you did get that one B-plus on your report card..." she teased.
"Gleesh, Dad!" Rachel stuck her tongue out. "You're one to talk."
"Yup. I dropped out of high school, and got a shitty truck."
"Awww. I...I loved that thing." Max sniffled, daubing at her eyes. She stepped back, and asked. "Are you sure you've got everything? Your dorm assignment, and your classes and...uh...um."
Rachel reached out, squeezing her mother by the shoulders. "Mom. Yes. I love you, and this is uber-schway-sweet that you're having trouble letting go, but it's time for me to ghost. I promised Shakti we'd meet for a late lunch at Ghirardelli Square."
"Oh?! We could join you. I haven't been there in years..."
Chloe reached out, taking Max's hand in her own. "It'll still be there later, baby. Anyhow, I was thinking about taking you to Stormy Leather; we could get you fitted for an early birthday corset." she purred meaningfully against her ear, eliciting a deep, crimson blush from the other woman.
Rachel gave a sheepish smile and started to back off. "Oh God, you guys...don't be weeeeird, ewwww."
Chloe shook her head, "We'll be as weird as we like, young lady. Now, c'mon. One last hug, and then you can run off to freedom, sweet freedom."
A final round of hugs was exchanged. One last wave of tears was shed. As she saw her off, Chloe wrapped an arm around her daughter's shoulders, slipped a five-hundred dollar debit chit into her shirt pocket, and leaned in to whisper, "Do your old Dad a fave, and show up for Fall break, okay? Gonna take your Mom some time to get used to you being gone now."
Rachel smirked. "And you?"
Chloe swallowed hard against the sudden lump forming in her throat. She said nothing for a good few seconds, instead stepping back to appraise the girl, no, the woman that stood before her. The product of almost two decades of blood, sweat, and tears. Love and long, fearful nights, yelling, and laughter, fights and forgiveness. She couldn't help but be possessed of the notion that once Rachel walked away from her, she was well and truly her own person, at long last. And another chapter of her own life would close as well.
Chloe could understand Max's difficulty in letting go; in a very real way, they were losing their little girl, once and for all.
All good things have to come to an end. And all other good things start somewhere.
She all but crushed Rachel against her, and whispered, "T-take care of yourself, okay kiddo?"
Rachel pulled back. "I'll call. I promise."
"I know...see ya 'round."
She was thankful that the tears didn't start until her daughter was out of sight.
"Gonna be weird." Chloe mused, as the two of them had an early dinner at a nearby Italian restaurant a few hours later.
"I suppose so." Max agreed. "It'll certainly be quiet. Eighteen years, it's been the three of us. And then suddenly, it's not." Chloe watched as she reached across the table and took her hand, bringing it to her mouth and kissing the fingertips. "Suppose it's time for us to figure out who we are again; just you and me."
"Yeah..." Chloe whispered, her pulse quickening a bit.
"You okay with that?" she asked.
Chloe could only nod.
"Good. As much as it hurts to let her go, let's promise ourselves not to be 'those parents'. That just because the nest is empty, we don't drift apart from each other."
Chloe bit her lip, staying silent long enough for Max to prod. "Penny for your thoughts, sweetie?"
"What? Oh. Nothing. Just...thinking about all the spontaneous kinky sex we can finally start having in the living room again"
Max burst out laughing, her head lowering to the table.
"Chloe! You've really never changed, have you?"
June 2058
Chloe smiled to herself as she adjusted her bolo-tie in the mirror. Maybe she couldn't quite rock the old Zatanna outfit like she did on her own wedding day, but damn if she didn't look good in a tux.
Or at least what passed for it in the mid-twenty-first century. The current fashion was more showy, less austere. Brocade panels in the nehru-collared suit jacket drew attention to the curve of her waist and hips. Knee high leather boots paired up with dark slacks, in ways that Chloe swore should be way too flamboyant for public consumption, but apparently it's what was 'hip' in this day and age. So Rachel assured her. Repeatedly.
Face it. You're sixty four. You stopped know what was cool or why a loooong time back. When you were a teenager, you dreamed about a future like this, where people didn't have such a formal stick up their ass. Enjoy it, now that it's here.
She reached up,touching her temples, where she allowed the silver streaks of hair to show through. The rest she still dyed black, which she'd done so long that there were days she completely forgot she was ever born a blonde.
A pair of slim, young arms came around, tugging at her lapels. "You look really fab, Dad. No worries, okay?"
Chloe smiled, gave a light laugh, and turned around. "Who said I was worried about anything? Can't I indulge in a little vanity at my age?" She then stopped short, taking in the sight of Rachel, fully atired for the wedding ceremony: a heavily-brocaded green silk sari, with a matching headdress. which partially covered the loose waves of golden hair running down her back. Arms and hands were done up with complicated patterns drawn in henna.
Chloe fought back a few tears, and breathed out. "I can't believe my little baby girl is getting married."
Canting her head to one side, Rachel teased, "You just can't believe that Sandeep and I are getting married."
"I should point out to your mom that we were both technically correct; the two of you did drift apart during your college years. I'm just glad it didn't get weird, because that man was the best intern I ever had in my life. But he did almost get engaged, and there was that girl you were absolutely mooning over, senior year..."
Rachel rolled her eyes and blushed, clearly fighting to keep from biting her bottom lip and smudging her makeup. "Yeah, Dad? I don't want to say Jessica was a phase, but...Jessica was really kind of a phase..."
"Still, I guess it was meant to be...because here we are."
"Just like you and Mom, I might add. We had a great example to follow." Rachel pointed out.
Chloe took Rachel's hands in her own, and sighed softly. "Yeah. I suppose so, at that. Still, I can't believe how fast the time goes. It seems like just yesterday, we were getting you your first dog, what was her name. Trixie?"
"Ohm-Gee, Dad, Trixie was a lifetime ago!" Rachel laughed.
"Feels that way to you, maybe, but when you get to be my age, the years go by, faster and faster. And you wish you could just make time stop, or rewind it back a bit..."
For perhaps the first time in her life, Chloe said the words and failed to recall the that for one short week in October, her wife could do precisely that.
Rachel gently rested her forehead against Chloe's shoulder. "Daaad. Don't go and break out into a rendition of 'Sunrise, Sunset'. You know, like you did at karaoke after the rehearsal dinner?"
"Hey! In my defense, I was hella drunk."
"Yeah, no shit." Rachel giggled.
A silence passed between them, before Rachel said, "Just wish Grandpa Ryan was here to see it. He - ah - he really tried to hold on, near the end. Ha - damn. Have to stop or I'll make my mascara run."
Chloe gathered her daughter up in her arms and hugged her tightly, stroking her head through the veil. "S'okay. I'm sure he's watching with Grandma Vanessa from...you know...somewhere. And at least Grandma Joyce and Grandpa Dave are here."
Chloe was grateful for that much, but also painfully aware that her parents, both of whom were frightfully close to ninety, probably had but a handful of years left to them, at best. Modern medical science was doing great things, but it was also the reason that either of them were still around; even science had its limits, and both Joyce and David were rapidly approaching their own.
'
"Hey, so before we go down that wedding aisle, let me give you a piece of advice?"
"Sure, Dad. Although if this is a crack about clean underwear, I think you should know I'm not wearing any." Rachel said, sticking her tongue out.
Chloe laughed, kissing the top of the young woman's head. "Yeah. You're my daughter. But no, just...marriage takes work, okay? Don't get seduced by the lovely notion of 'happily ever after.' Don't ever think that you're going to be blissfully swept up in love forever - or rather, that love will take care of itself. Does that make any sense?"
"Huh, I dunno. You and Mom seem to make it look double-plus effortless."
"Hah, yeah. That's because you're young and only want to think the best of your parents. Believe me, Max and I are forever, but there's been a lot of work behind the scenes. Times where we had to compromise, or one or both of us had to swallow our pride. There were even a couple of dark moments when I started to worry about our future together but christ, that was decades ago. Anyhow, when the going gets tough, and it will someday, don't act like the marriage is verging on failure because you hit a rough patch. Just know that any truly great love story is only as strong as the two people writing it. Together."
Rachel nodded slowly, lips parting in a radiant smile that melted Chloe's heart.
"Anything else?" she quietly asked.
"No, I think you're gonna be just fine, Mrs. Choudry"
Rachel planted her hands on her hips, and tilted her head to the side. "Oh, it's still Price-Caulfield. Not only that, but Sandeep is taking my name."
Chloe blinked, and laughed as she rubbed the back of her head, "Wow. I don't want to envision the bedroom magic you must have worked to convince him..."
"Dad!" Rachel gasped, blushing furiously, and softly punching her in the arm. "As a matter of fact, Sandeep insisted on it!"
"Uh. Huh. Really. No shit?"
"Oh yeah, he's really into matrilinealism, the notion that since children come from the mother, the family should have the mother's name. He and Shakti got into this long, weird debate about it, last month."
"Always knew I liked that guy for a reason. And not just because he almost single-handedly ran my re-election campaign in fifty-two."
"...that, and his FBI background check coming clean?" Rachel poked, her smile returning.
"I can neither confirm nor deny anything." Chloe replied with a smirk.
Before either of them could continue, the soft strains of the wedding raga that Rachel's soon-to-be father-in-law composed for the occasion could be heard, signalling the start of the ceremony.
"Guess that's us. You ready, Player Two?"
"Yeah, Ready Player One." Chloe answered, holding out her arm, ready to escort her daughter down the aisle.
Rachel turned and hugged her side tightly, one more time. "I love you, Daddy. Thank you, you know? For everything."
Chloe closed her eyes tight, squeezing a few tears out from the corners, reaching up quickly to dash them away.
"No, thank you, kiddo. For making my life amazing."
Arm in arm, they walked out of the waiting area, as Chloe escorted her daughter to the next great chapter of her life.
A/N: Boy, I've only been on hiatus a little over three weeks, and it feels sooooo weird to publish something, like I haven't done it in forever. Although...sorry for it being almost a month since the last time I updated this story. I still feel like there's probably only a couple chapters left to go, especially now that the "Life with Rachel" arc is more or less concluded. Seeing as how I've got six completed first drafts of Black Swan in can, I think I'm going to spend the rest of my "hiatus" trying to really push and get GD done as soon as possible. I mean, I've known from day one how it's going to end, so it's not a matter of writers block. Now that summer has come, and the days are longer, my self-motivation is returning again, as it usually does around this time of year.
Anyhow, I hope everyone is doing well. Have a happy Lets-All-Kill-Caesar Day, today!