NAME: Kirk Baldridge
EMAIL:
TITLE: Sometimes You Get What You Need
DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of these characters, names, places, etc. They all belong to Kim Harrison, and I would just like to take this opportunity to thank her for creating them.
FANDOM: The Hollows
PAIRING: Rachel/Ivy
RATING: K+
SUMMARY: Several of Rachel's relationships are in jeopardy.
SPOILER: Sequel to You Don't Always Get What You Want and set sometime after Black Magic Sanction. While you don't need to read my previous stories to follow and (hopefully) enjoy this one, it would help.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I feel a little explanation is necessary. My Immortal and its sequel, Through Her Eyes, are a separate timeline from my other four stories, which-if you wanted to read them all-technically belong in this order. You Don't Always Get What You Want, Love and Vampires, Disturbing, and Sometimes You Get What You Need.
CHAPTER 14
Rachel knew from experience that shopping with Ivy tended to be an exercise in either patience or frustration. The vampire had a tendency to compare each and every item by size, price, and weight when they went for groceries, and a simple run to the store could take hours, especially when she brought along charts or a calculator.
Therefore, when they got to the Toddler Barn, Rachel got Ivy and Jenks to agree they would spend no more than an hour there. The ensuing discussion of what to get Ceri disintegrated into a bit of an argument, which led to the three of them going to separate parts of the store so they could each select their own present.
Rachel was the first to arrive at the checkout. Not knowing anything about children, especially since desire for her own had been dampened by the worry they would be demons, she chose something more for Ceri and Quen; a photo album with an accompanying charmed camera that recorded sound into the photographs, which played when touched.
Then Ivy, ever the pragmatist, showed up, casually carrying a large box with one arm that Rachel was pretty sure she would have needed help just to get down off the shelf. It was a specially designed do-it-yourself crib that was designed to grow with the child; it was quickly and easily converted into a baby bed, then a stroller, and finally a walker.
When Jenks arrived, a store employee with a basket was following behind him, because there was very little in the store a four-inch tall man could pick up on his own. The pixy's biting sense of humor was on display, as he had chosen several plush, oversized crib toys, each one the most stereotypical, and potentially insulting, version of a 'cute' elf.
"Trent's going to hate those." Rachel smiled. "Nice, Jenks."
The pixy shrugged. "I do what I can."
"Let's hope Ceri finds you half as funny as you do," said Ivy. "Come on. Let's get this over with."