II.
The last time Sloan had seen her half sister, Sunny's mother, Rashida, was the summer before her junior year in high school. Their father had a beach house in North Carolina and, along with an uncle and a handful of cousins, they all went down to spend a week near the water. Sloan loved the endlessness of it, often times sitting up on a hill by herself to watch the dark waves while everyone else circled around a bonfire near the dock. One night, she noticed Rashida was doing the same thing, only at the edge of the dock. Her toe circled mindlessly in the water. She got up and went to her, the group at the bonfire barely acknowledging Sloan as she marched passed.
"What are you doing?" she asked, sitting next to Rashida who smiled lightly. She dunked her razor burned legs in to the water next to hers, flecks of moonlight bouncing off the surface and back in to the starry night.
"Thinking," Rashida answered simply, looking farther out across the water.
"About?" Sloan prodded, the futur anchor already driven to get the most information out of people as possible. Rashida admitted that she had seen Sloan sitting by herself every night and wondered why she had never come to say hello. Sloan's cheeks flushed.
"I only just saw you tonight. You could have come and said hello to me, though." Sloan's voice was even and non accusatory and Rashida only laughed.
"You're a little intimidating."
The first few seconds of Sloan's morning began so utterly disorienting that she had to lie still and just breath in order to digest all of it. Her neck and back were aching, her knees were drawn all the way up to her chest, she wasn't in her bed. Oh right. She was on MacKenzie's couch. An unfamiliar, yet at the same time strangely unmistakable, voice was murmuring melodically next to her. She cracked open her eyes.
Sunny was sitting between her and Mackenzie, head of dark hair pressed against the back of the couch, eyes fixated on her friend. MacKenzie was singing to her, a song about a little boy who only knew how to play one song. Over the Hills and Far Away. Even though Sloan was absolutely sure Sunny understood none of it, her little breaths were quick and excited. MacKenzie's accent laced elegantly through every syllable and, Sloan figured, she could easily convince anyone that her second career consisted of singing English lullabies to terrified children. When the song finished, Sloan let out the breath she hadn't even realized she'd been holding as another foreign sound met her ears. Sunny laughed brightly. Real and unguarded and breathy and totally adorable.
"You really like that!" MacKenzie said, laughing herself, her tone a mix of surprise and apprehension, like she had been singing to a ticking time bomb that was due to go off any second. Sloan feared making her presence known would be just the thing to do it, but her legs had cramped and she needed to move soon or risk being stuck in that position for the rest of the day. MacKenzie reached for the TV remote, turning up the volume a few clicks on a "Meet the Press"-esc type morning sho was tentatively trying out. It was Sunday morning.
"I didn't know you sang, 'Kenzie," Sloan said, voice laced with sleep as she tried to untangle her limbs. Both MacKenzie and Sunny jumped in surprise, all eyes now on her. Sunny didn't move an inch either way but she didn't seem to be regarding Sloan with the same fear she had the night before. MacKenzie looked flustered.
"Sloan, I didn't know you were awake!" she whined, eyes unable to stay off the television for more than 3 seconds at a time. "How embarrassing!"
Sloan rolled her eyes, lowering her head now to Sunny.
"Ohayou gozaimasu," Sloan greeted gently, carefully gauging every tiny muscle in Sunny's face. A soft good morning. It was such an amazing stroke of luck, Sloan figured, that she was fluent in Japanese, although Sunny was usually pretty difficult to understand through her hysteria. Sunny lifted one of her hands, spreading her fingers as her eyes stayed on Sloan's.
"Ohayou!" she said back, charcoal bangs falling in to her eyes.
Sloan wasn't sure whether to cry or celebrate or both. It was the first, true, non-fear driven interaction she had had with Sunny since their first night in the JFK terminal. She lifted her own hand and pressed it against Sunny's, tears spilling out of her eyes.
"Kenze, what did you do to her while I was asleep?" Sloan laughed, her eyes never leaving Sunny's curious little face. MacKenzie had her hand over her chest, overcome with emotion of her own as she watched the scene unfold next to her.
"Nothing! Honest," MacKenzie grinned, Sunny tipping her head backwards to stare at her new friend.
"Oh my god, there's so much to do," Sloan said, jumping off the couch, her mind revving at a thousand miles a minute. "She only has three outfits and I mean, I've only bathed her once since she's been here. Once, MacKenzie! I'm terrible, she was freaking out, it was like bathing my mother's cat! Maybe we can teach her some English now! Maybe I can go back to work...,"
"Sloan, Sloan, SLOAN!"
MacKenzie stood up, finally having to elevate her voice to contend with Sloan's anxious ramblings, pressing her hands against her friend's shoulder's. "I know this is all very exciting but we can't get too far ahead of ourselves, alright?"
Sloan nodded, trying to calm down, narrowing her eyes at MacKenzie.
"She's not screaming," Sloan whispered, ecstatic.
"No," MacKenzie smiled, both of them turning their attention back to Sunny who remained, un-moving, on the sofa. Her sweet, naturally sad eyes watche intently.
"Where do we start?" Sloan asked, anxious.
"Definitely breakfast."
"What do you think she's thinking?" MacKenzie asked, grinning as she leaned back on the bench she shared with Sloan. Only one of tons lining the many running paths that mazed through Central Park. Sunny, clad in brand new pink and blue sneakers that lit up when she walked, was stomping around in the dirt in front of them, squeaking passionately at trails of ants.
"I don't know," Sloan said, sipping a smoothie. "Maybe Godzilla?"
They laughed. A couple of bikers waved as they rode past.
"Her and Neal will get along just fine."
The three of them had had a busy day. After Sunny patiently let Sloan bathe her in MacKenzie's tub and brush out her desperately tangled hair they had ventured out for new clothes. After nearly two hours climbing practically every floor of Macy's, Sloan was satisfied that nobody would ever accuse her kid of being unfashionable. She instantly felt guilty for thinking so. Sunny wasn't really hers. Everything was all still so new. MacKenzie couldn't help but walk out of Macy's with a new pair of heels.
Sunny made her way back over to Sloan and MacKenzie and Sloan bent her straw so Sunny could sip out of her cup.
"Thank you so much for everything, MacKenzie. Really, I wouldn't have been able to do all this without you."
"No, please. Don't worry about it!" MacKenzie insisted, grinning at Sunny who watched her, interested. She steadied herself with little hands against their bench. "I invited Will over for dinner."
A fleeting panic gripped Sloan's gut before letting go just as quickly. The man who had practically single-handedly taken care of the first few stages of Sunny's journey hadn't met her yet. Sloan figured it would be near impossible to fully thank Will for everything he had done.
"We should go, I'll help you cook...,"
MacKenzie laughed. "Sit! Will's bringing over pizza. Besides...look at her."
Sunny had darted back off across the path, now examining blades of grass before standing up and shrieking back to MacKenzie and Sloan a mess of words MacKenzie couldn't understand.
"What is she saying?" MacKenzie asked Sloan, who just smiled and shook her head.
"She says she'll live here. In the grass."
They caught a cab back to MacKenzie's. Sunny, fully exhausted, fell asleep across their laps. Sloan deposited her on the couch as soon as they made it upstairs, her arms beginning to ache. She wished she could take a nap too but she was far too wound up.
"What if Will doesn't like her?"
MacKenzie leaned across her kitchen counter, scanning through one of a pile of newspapers stacked next to her.
"What do you mean? Of course he'll like her...," MacKenzie said absentmindedly, highlighting a few sentences in pink.
"Will hates kids," Sloan said.
"Oh, come on, Will doesn't hate kids," MacKenzie said, head lifting, eyes crinkled behind her glasses. Sloan raised her eyebrows at her.
"Since when?!"
"Since...since...I don't know when! He won't hate her, okay? She's beautiful."
Sloan could see how Sunny, MacKenzie cooing adoringly down at her, could have so easily fallen in love her.
They didn't have a whole lot of time to argue; a few quick knocks rapped against MacKenzie's door and the both of them jumped in to action. Will, eyebrows raised at the two of them crowded in MacKenzie's foyer, stood out in the hall balancing a pizza box.
"I'm sorry, I must have the wrong apartment...,"
"UGH, get in here!" MacKenzie exasperated, quite literally tugging him in to her apartment before shutting the door behind them. Sloan was fidgeting anxiously. Will looked at her expectedly as MacKenzie scurried off to the kitchen with their dinner.
"Well?"
After a heavy beat of silence a small smile tugged at Will's lips.
Sloan grinned, shoulders sagging a little as relief started flooding through her, warmth settling in her fingers. She wasn't sure what she had really been afraid of. Will had never faltered on his promise. I'll always be standing right next to you...and in front. She knew he couldn't possibly have known that that statement would include handling the hasty, overseas adoption of her little niece. Sloan swallowed and motioned for him to follow her in to MacKenzie's living room.
Sunny was still asleep on the couch, covered with an afghan that usually had a home at the edge of MacKenzie's cushions. Her cheeks were flushed from the days activity, hair a wild mess around her face. Will stood in front of the couch, Sloan behind it, both staring down at the sleeping toddler. Will folded his arms across his chest, unsure of what to do with them.
"I guess I should wake her up...," Sloan started.
"YES, COME ON! Dinner's going to get cold!" MacKenzie called from the kitchen. "AND SHE WON'T SLEEP TONIGHT, SLOAN!" Will groaned a little.
"Thank you Mother Hubbard." He shared a glance with Sloan, starting to head towards the kitchen ("OH, HONESTLY, WILL, THAT'S THE BEST YOU CAN DO?") as Sloan bent over the back of the couch, beginning to gently shake Sunny awake. The little girl began to rouse, breathing kicking up a few considerable notches as she began to frantically look around, trying to gather her bearings.
"Hey, hey, Sunny," Sloan whispered. "Hey, it's okay." She gently murmured a few things to her in Japanese. That they were at MacKenzie's, that they had played at the park and now it was time for dinner. Sunny sat up on her knees and gladly let Sloan take her in to her arms, burying her warm face in to Sloan's neck as she carried her in to the dining room. It was a welcome change from what the two were used to; only fevered exchanges that ended with one, or both, of them in tears. If Sloan still wasn't feeling some leftover nerves about Will she probably would have been more anxious about it.
MacKenzie and Will were already far in to a debate when Sloan set Sunny down in a chair at the head of the table, her own head barely clearing it. She took a seat next to her, across from Will and on the other side of MacKenzie. Sunny noticed Will instantly, her little face scrunching in confusion. Sloan took a tentative bite of her pizza even though she wasn't the least bit hungry. MacKenzie and Will's chatter was beginning to die down and Will finally turned to Sunny.
"Hello," he said evenly, presenting Sunny with his hand. "Will McAvoy."
Sunny's eyes widened even further as she glanced between Will, his hand, and back again. MacKenzie nearly choked.
"Good god, Will! She's three!"
"Well excuse me for not insulting the kids intelligence, Mac!"
The two became riled again, Sloan watching Sunny as the little wheels turned furiously in her head and finally, the little girl broke, yelping at Will in rambling sentences of Japanese. Once Sloan could piece together what she was saying she snorted, MacKenzie looking at her in shock and Will continuing to stare, bewildered, at Sunny. She slid off her chair and grabbed a hold of Will's hand, trying as urgently as she could to get him to his feet.
"What's going on?" MacKenzie asked Sloan, Will having no choice but to stand up and follow Sunny back out in to the living room. Sloan, extremely amused, only shook her head and motioned for MacKenzie to follow. Will looked back at them, desperate.
"Sloan, what in the...,"
Sunny dipped underneath the coffee table she had found refuge under only just the night before, fumbling with the remote to MacKenzie's television. When she couldn't get it to work she thrust it at Will, pointing frantically at him then back at the television, continuing on in the only language she had ever known, her tongue tripping over every other word like any three year olds would. Sloan took in the scene with a certain air of appreciation, knowing she would probably never get the chance to see Will and MacKenzie, as flustered as they were now, ever again. She took the remote gently from Will, patting her friend on the shoulder, grinning down at Sunny before flipping the channel to A C N.
"She recognizes you from TV."