Chapter 14: Chinese Whispers
. . .
A loud thud abruptly pulled Ellie out of her dreams. She groaned softly as she remembered what she was dreaming about – she and the captain of her soccer team, the most handsome and the most popular boy in the school, were just about to kiss! And there was this noise again. She sighed deeply and decided to check it out. She got up from her bed and slowly left her room. The living room and the kitchen were empty. The only sound she could hear was coming from her mom's bedroom. She entered it and saw Lily sitting on the bed. She seemed to be half-conscious. Obviously, she was woken up just as suddenly as Ellie was.
''Hi, lil' one.'' Ellie told her, sitting on the bed next to her. ''What's going on?'' She asked.
''I don't know...'' Lily said, shrugging her shoulders. Before Ellie could say anything more the bathroom door flew open and Jo showed up. She rushed towards the chest of drawers but suddenly stopped as she saw Ellie and Lily watching her.
''What are you two doing up already?'' She asked, surprised.
''There was a thud like a bomb was being dropped.'' Ellie told her.
''Oh... that... Sorry! I dropped a jar of body scrub while I was showering. Twice.'' Jo admitted. ''Darn! I need to start the coffeemaker!'' She exclaimed suddenly and rushed to the kitchen.
Ellie glanced at Lily, who closed her eyes and fell back onto the pillow. She smirked and followed her mom. Like she said, she was indeed in the kitchen and was fighting with the coffeemaker.
''Mom? What's going on?'' Ellie asked.
''I overslept. I must have hit the wrong button on my phone. I was aiming for the 'snooze' but I guess I turned it off completely.'' Jo told her quickly. Her hair was still wet from the shower and she was wearing jeans and a bra only, as she didn't have time to find and put a blouse on yet.
''I wonder what Mac will say when he sees you running around in circles like that every morning... only half dressed.'' Ellie teased. Much to her surprise her mom didn't make a witty comment, not even about her being a 'smart ass', but instead turned to face her and stared dumbly at her. ''What?'' Ellie asked with a frown.
''Gosh, you're right...'' She gasped and forgot about the coffee maker for a moment. For some strange reason, it had never occurred to her that living with a man again would be a challenge on so many levels. Of course she felt comfortable around Mac. Sometimes she even thought that she felt more comfortable around him than he felt around her. But still, spending time together, even as often as they had been over past weeks, was different than living together. Living together meant sharing a big part of her personal life with another person. It had been years since she had done it and suddenly the doubts started to rise in her. What if she didn't remember how it should be done? What if she found herself unable to do it? There would be no turning back. She wouldn't be able to simply say 'sorry, but I thought it would be easier, this isn't what I want'. Until now, this whole playing house with Mac was making her happy, but every play eventually becomes tedious.
''Mom? Weren't you in a hurry?'' Ellie asked, pulling Jo out of her thoughts. She shook her head lightly as she tried to silence them for now.
''I am, I am.'' She answered and quickly left the kitchen. Ellie rolled her eyes and took her mom's travel mug. While the coffee maker was slowly pouring freshly made coffee into it, she took an apple and washed it. Then she placed it on the counter, grabbed the bottle of milk and added some to the coffee. She threw two lumps of sugar inside and placed a lid on the mug just at the moment when her mom returned to the kitchen. This time she was wearing a gray top and black suit jacket, along with a few necklaces.
''Amy will be here in about an hour. She'll take Lily to preschool. Then she'll pick her and Rick up.'' Jo said quickly. ''I asked her to make lunch for the three of you...''
''But mom, I'm going shopping with Lacey after school.'' Ellie cut her off. She saw how her mom opened her mouth, but before she could say anything she added, ''I told you that yesterday.''
''OK, OK. But don't stay too long, I'll be needing your help with packing.'' Jo told her and Ellie nodded. She handed her mom the travel mug and an apple, which Jo took from her with a slightly baffled expression. Then she smiled at her and pecked her cheek.
''Thanks, hon. Bye!'' She yelled from the corridor and the sound of the front door closing followed.
''Bye...'' Ellie said to the empty kitchen. Then she sighed and walked to her mom's bedroom. She closed one of the drawers and glanced at Lily. She was still asleep, despite the craziness that had been going on around her only a minute ago. Without thinking twice, Ellie crawled into bed and lay down next to her. They still had at least an hour of peaceful slumber.
. . .
''Hi, Jo!'' Lindsay greeted her colleague as she entered the office.
''Hi, Linds.'' Jo answered, smiling at her.
''What are you doing here so early? You're usually the last one to show up at 9 a.m. sharp and not a minute earlier.'' Lindsay noted, as she sat at her desk.
''I came an hour earlier, because Amy has to leave slightly earlier today. She has to study for an exam.'' Jo explained.
''Oh...'' Lindsay nodded. ''And what do you think about her? She's lovely, isn't she?''
''She is!'' Jo agreed. ''I'm so thankful that you were so kind and shared your nanny with us. Both Lily and Rick love her. Even Ellie doesn't snort that much when she's staying with her, too. They seem to get along pretty well.''
''That's really great.'' Lindsay smiled. ''I'm glad you didn't have to go through the same trouble as us while looking for a nanny. When we found Amy it was like winning the lottery. She was a freshman in college back there and just moved to New York.''
''Yes, she told me she studies Social Pedagogy. She wants to work with children that suffered from crimes.'' Jo said. ''That's why she's better for Lily and Rick than we could possibly imagine. We wouldn't be able to find anyone like her in a thousand years. Thanks once more for contacting us with her.''
''Well, it's nothing. Lucy barely needs a babysitter now. She's either in preschool or with one of us at home.'' Lindsay said. ''Even though... It would be nice to leave her with Amy once in a while and go out with Danny...'' She added sadly. ''But we're too tired for that anyway.''
Jo eyed her a moment and then said, ''you know what? When we finally move to the bigger place, you can drop Lucy off for a sleepover and go out with Danny for a romantic date.'' She offered.
''Really?'' Lindsay asked, her eyes already sparkling with enthusiasm. ''That would be great, but.. would you be able to take care of Lucy as well?''
''Oh, come on. Three kids or four... It doesn't make that much of a difference.'' Jo laughed.
''I trust your word.'' Lindsay laughed too. ''So... when exactly do you move into this new apartment?'' She asked, already longing to spend an evening with Danny and only with him.
''In a couple of days. Mac's stuff is basically already there. Now we're moving mine and Ellie's. We still have to go shopping for things for the kids' rooms.'' Jo told her. ''It makes me slightly dizzy to organize everything, but we're getting there.''
''That's good...'' Lindsay nodded. ''I can't believe you're moving in with Mac.'' She added honestly, which made Jo laughed.
''Frankly, I can't quite believe it myself, either.'' Jo admitted. ''But it seems to be the only way for us to keep Lily and Rick.'' She added.
''Right...'' Lindsay said and grinned at Jo.
''What?'' Jo asked with a frown as she saw her expression.
''Nothin'...'' Lindsay murmured and pretended to be busy with ordering the files on her desk.
''Linds...'' Jo said in a warning tone and she finally got her attention.
''You both keep saying it's for the sake of the kids.'' She said.
''It is.'' Jo confirmed. ''Do you doubt that?'' She asked with a frown.
''No. I'm sure you care about them very much.'' Lindsay told her. ''But I think... it's not the only reason. Am I right, Jo?''
''What do you mean?'' Jo asked her, furrowing her eyebrows even more.
''Come on, Jo.'' Lindsay sighed and leaned back into her chair. ''There's always been this flirty air between you and Mac, but now... now it's even more. You spend so much time together... And a blind man would even notice how you two look at each other.''
''Linds, whatever you think that's between us...'' Jo started, but Lindsay cut her off.
''Seriously? Can't you just admit that you're together?'' She groaned. ''I know, I know, he's your boss and there's department policy. I've been there with Danny, we know everything about it. But I thought we're friends.'' Lindsay said, sounding nothing but hurt.
''Of course we are.'' Jo told her.
''So why don't you trust me?'' Lindsay asked, reproachfully.
''You think I don't trust you because I haven't shared with you what's between me and Mac with you?'' Jo asked and Lindsay nodded. ''Linds, I haven't shared it with you, because there's nothing to share. There's nothing between me and Mac.'' She repeated. ''We're just good friends.''
Lindsay took a good look at her as she was not at all convinced by what she had just heard.
''So you're just a couple of friends who decided to adopt two kids and live together as a one family?'' She asked with disbelief. Jo laughed upon seeing her face.
''I know it sounds crazy, but... that's the truth.'' Jo said. Lindsay eyed her skeptically.
''If you say so...'' She finally agreed.
''Linds, I can assure you – if something was going on between me and Mac, you'd be the first one to know about it.'' Jo told her and for a moment, that seemed to satisfy her.
''OK.'' She agreed and Jo sighed with relief. She got the feeling that Lindsay wanted to ask about something more, so before that happened, Jo rose from her desk.
''I'm going to make myself some tea. Do you want some?''
''No, thank you.'' Lindsay shook her head. Jo smiled lightly at her and left the office.
She knew that Lindsay had always kept her fingers crossed for something between her and Mac. Also she could understand it was hard to believe that they were moving in together and adopting two kids as friends. But convincing her that that was exactly the case was rather frustrating.
She was just about to enter the kitchenette when she heard some hushed voices. Driven by her instinct she stopped right behind the corner and listened.
''… I heard they have known each other for years and that they had met long before she moved here from DC.'' A female voice said quietly. Jo frowned upon hearing her. Were they talking about her?
''Really? And now they're back together?'' The other asked.
''So I was told. But there's more.''
''Tell me.''
''They have two kids.''
''No way...'' The other female gasped.
''Oh yeah. And since there are two of them, it couldn't be just a one night stand that ended up with her getting pregnant. They had to be together for at least couple of years back then.'' The first one said and Jo rolled her eyes at the pure nonsense of it.
''And they're back together now.''
''That's just...''
Jo decided that there was only one way to check if they were talking about her and Mac. She entered the kitchenette and glanced at two young lab techs.
''Hello.'' She said and smiled casually. They barely nodded in response and got significantly quiet. Then they grabbed their mugs and left the kitchenette in a hurry.
Only then Jo's smile disappeared. She leaned heavily against the counter as she tried to gather her thoughts. Apparently her and Mac became the main subject of the lab rumor. As always, with a rumor there was only a grain of truth in it and the rest was completely fabricated.
Suddenly she didn't feel like drinking any tea anymore. She wanted to talk to Mac, to tell him about it all. She knew that he would take it much easier than she did, as he was never interested in lab rumors. She left the kitchenette and walked to his office.
''Hi.'' Mac greeted her as she entered his office after knocking lightly on the door. If not for Jo's pensive mood, she would notice how happy he got the moment he saw her.
''Hi.'' She murmured in response and slumped down on the couch. He took a look at her, thinking that there was something different about her today. Something about her look. But he couldn't quite figure out what.
''You're here already.'' He said. It was more of a statement than a question. He didn't see her yesterday, as they were both busy arranging the move to the new place.
''I don't know why everybody is so surprise by this.'' Jo snorted.
''I guess it's because everybody knows how much you cherish sleep.'' He joked, but she didn't seem to find it amusing. ''Listen, the beds we ordered for Rick and Lily are going to be delivered today in the afternoon. With that, we can even move in tomorrow.''
Terrific. Jo thought sarcastically. She wanted to make some comment, but when she looked up at Mac, she suddenly forgot about her anger. There was a smile on his face and the way that he spoke, with evident excitement and not weighting every word as usually, indicated how happy he was. For some strange reason seeing him so happy made Jo felt happy as well, almost as if his state was contagious.
When he didn't get any reaction from her, he eyed her more carefully. She seemed irritated and he could only hope it wasn't because of him and the whole change they were going through.
''Jo... Is everything alright?'' He asked, being afraid what he might hear in response.
For a moment she considered telling him about the ridiculous office rumor she had heard, but she quickly gave up this idea. He would get angry for sure and his good mood would be gone. She didn't want that. She also decided she wouldn't pay attention to what other people were saying and simply enjoy their new life.
''No.'' She shook her head, making a strand of hair fall from behind her ear. Her hand quickly shot out and put it back there. It was only then that Mac smiled. Her hair. It wasn't straight as usual, not even done in soft waves as he had seen it a few times before. Today her hair was twisting at the ends into irregular curls, almost like the ones Lily had. He couldn't help but smile at this realization.
''You know how grumpy I can be in the morning.'' Jo added with a little hint of smile. ''So... tomorrow, huh?'' She sighed. ''We're not even half done with Ellie. I remember it was only a few boxes when we moved to New York. But now?! It's crazy how much stuff we managed to gather over 3 years.''
''We're pretty much done with Rick.'' Mac told her. ''We can drop by your place in the evening to help out if you want.'' He offered.
''You think? That would be awesome.'' Jo cheered up. Before she got the chance to ask Mac about anything more, there was a knock on the door. She turned around and saw Sheldon. Mac waved him in and he entered slowly.
''If I'm... interrupting something... then I can come back later.'' He said hesitantly. Jo instantly furrowed her eyebrows upon hearing him, but Mac didn't seem to notice.
''No, we were just chatting. What's going on?'' He asked.
''I have a wedding invitation for you.'' He said and approached Mac's desk. He handed him an invitation, then he turned to Jo and smiled.
''Really?'' She asked happily. ''You're finally getting married?''
''Yeah...'' Sheldon sighed. ''I can't wait till all these preparations are over.''
''I bet.'' Jo laughed,
''Florence.'' Mac read with a smile.
''Whoa, what?'' Jo asked, getting up from the couch.
''Don't get too excited.'' Sheldon laughed. ''Not the one in Italy. This in Kentucky. Camille was born in Cincinnati. Florence is situated about 10 miles from it.''
''Oh.'' Jo nodded. ''But you're inviting only Mac, as I can see?'' She joked of the fact that Sheldon brought only one invitation and gave it to Mac.
''No, no... I just thought...'' Sheldon faltered.
''This one is for you, too.'' Mac told Jo, showing her the invitation. She leaned over his desk and checked it. Indeed, it was the one invitation for them both. Then she straightened up and glanced at Sheldon.
''I was sure that... Umm... Never mind. I'll correct it.'' He added quickly and stretched out his hand to take the invitation from Mac's hand, but Mac was quicker as he kept it from his reach.
''It's OK.'' He assured him. ''We're going to go together anyway.'' He said confidently. But as soon as Jo glared at him, all his confidence was gone. ''Aren't we?'' He asked with slight doubtfulness in his tone this time. Her first impulse was to tell him what she was thinking about, taking for granted that she didn't want to go with someone else. But then she almost laughed as she saw him looking at her so hopefully.
''I guess.'' She finally said, trying to sound at least a little offended.
''Good.'' Sheldon heaved a sigh of relief. ''I have to run.'' He added and left Mac's office as quickly as possible.
''I'm telling you, Taylor... next time you better be careful.'' Jo murmured, leaning across Mac's desk and eying him.
''What? You're telling me that you have some secret admirer that you'd like to take to this wedding?'' Mac quipped and she narrowed her eyes at him.
''Maybe...'' Jo answered.
''Then why did you agree to go with me?'' He asked with a silly grin.
''Oh... I just didn't want you to fly solo.'' She told him with a smirk and he laughed. ''When is this wedding?'' She asked.
''June 15th. In a month.'' Mac read. ''Plenty of time to find a perfect dress and accessories.'' He joked as he knew exactly why she was asking. Jo narrowed her eyes at him again.
''You're so very funny today...'' She groaned, but couldn't hide the smile that was involuntarily creeping upon her lips.
. . .
Even before knocking on Jo's door, Mac knew that what he would find behind it, was complete chaos. He took a deep breath, trying to prepare himself for it, and then finally knocked. Much to his surprise, the one who opened the door for him was Lily.
''Hiii!'' She greeted him happily.
''Hi.'' He answered back and picked her up from the floor and gave her a hug. ''Why are you opening the door?'' He asked with a frown.
''They're all busy.'' Lily told him and as if to prove her point, Ellie showed up in the living room, carrying an armful of books.
''Mooom! Which box is for books?!'' She cried out.
''The one near the couch!'' Jo yelled back from somewhere. Ellie walked towards the box and threw all the books inside.
''Oh, hello there, Mac.'' She greeted him.
''Hi, Ellie. Where's Rick?'' He asked, looking around.
''He's helping me pack up.'' Ellie answered and she left the living room.
Mac sighed and then glanced at Lily. She was happy as a bee and he couldn't help but smile upon seeing this. She seemed to be the only one who enjoyed this mess. Before he lowered her down to the floor, Ellie returned to the living room, this time carrying a pile of clothes.
''Mooom! And the box for clothes?!'' She asked again.
''The one next to the window!'' Jo answered her.
Mac furrowed his eyebrows and looked around. Lily was already sitting on the couch and coloring. He walked towards her and took one of her felt-tip pens.
''May I?'' He asked.
''Sure!'' Lily agreed cheerfully.
Then he walked to the big box that was placed near the window. He wrote 'clothes' on it and moved it to the middle of the room. Then he took care of the one with the books. On the third one he wrote 'girly stuff' as it was full of unidentified contents. After a while, all 7 boxes were labeled and gathered in one place. The next time Ellie entered the room, she was carrying some bric-a-bracs.
''Moooom...!'' She yelled again but stopped as Mac showed her the box on which it said 'fragile'.
''Yeah?!'' Jo yelled back.
''Never mind!'' Ellie answered and smiled at Mac. He smiled back and then left the living room, looking for Jo, as he wanted to make sure she didn't need any help.
He found her in the kitchen. She was standing on a stool, which was standing on a kitchen table. She was trying to reach for the light fixture in a clear attempt to take it down.
''Jo! Have you lost your mind?'' Mac gasped at the sight.
''Oh, Mac! Hi!'' She looked down at him and smiled, but he didn't smile back.
''You're gonna fall! Get down.'' He told her seriously.
''I need to take this down.'' She said.
''Don't you have a ladder?'' He asked.
''Sure I do.'' She answered with the roll of her eyes. ''I just need some thrill.'' She quipped. ''What do you think?'' She asked seriously, stretching herself even more.
''I'm not looking at this.'' Mac murmured and turned around. ''Nor am I catching you.'' He added.
''Oh, how very chivalrous.'' Jo mocked. Then she swore quietly, still not being able to reach. That made Mac glance back at her.
''Jo, damn it! Get down right now!'' He ordered in a voice that brooked no argument. That caught her attention and for a moment she stopped trying to reach for the light fixture.
''Will you come up here and take it down for me?'' She asked skeptically.
''Hell no.'' He shook his head.
''That's what I thought.'' She murmured and stood on her tiptoe. The whole construction trembled dangerously and Mac swore again.
''Get down right now. I'll go down and borrow a ladder from the janitor.'' He offered.
''Hey! That's an idea...'' Jo smiled at him and started to get down.
''Careful...'' Mac warned her. Once she was on the table he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her all the way down, to the floor.
''You're such a scaremonger.'' She teased. ''I'd totally do it.''
''Sure you would.'' He murmured skeptically.
''You don't believe me?'' She asked with a groan. ''I can show you...'' She added and made an attempt of climbing back on the table, but he didn't let her.
''Stay where you are.'' He murmured and she smiled at him.
''Aww, were you worried about me?'' She joked as she placed her hand on his cheek.
''What do you think?'' He asked, quoting her earlier words. ''I'm not going to take care of three kids all by myself.'' He added in a joking tone.
''Right...'' She nodded with laughter.
. . .
A/N So it seems my muse gone completely wild and that's the reason why the next update is up so quickly. Also it's thank to Jess ( csinyfan28) – I'm sure she broke a beta-reading record, correcting it in less than 11 hours (despite the time difference).
Thank you so so so much for all the reviews to the previous chapter. I won't mind getting some to this one as well ;)