Picking Up

Chapter 2

Three days later, Talia Winters woke to the sound of thunder. She'd always loved storms, and though it was still early morning she got out of bed quickly and grabbed her robe from the closet.

She knew Susan had an early meeting and hoped to find her in the living room, but she was surprised to see a different brunette sitting on the couch and staring out the window. Talia was surprised to sense joy and excitement from Sofie, instead of the fear she would have expected.

"Talia!" Sofie greeted her excitedly as she sat down beside her. "Isn't the lightning pretty?"

"It's gorgeous! I love the thunder too, and the rain. I didn't know you like storms."

"I LOVE them!" the girl enthused. "Mommy doesn't like them, especially if they wake her up, but sometimes she'll go out with me so I can play. I'm not allowed in storms on my own."

"I have an idea. Since I love storms, and you love storms, what do you say we go for a little walk in the rain?" Talia suggested brightly.

"Yes yes yes yes yes yes!" Sofie squealed, jumping of the couch. "I can wear my rain coat and my boots!" Talia found herself grinning as she watched the girl dash off to her room.

She went back to the spare bedroom and searched the closet for something suitable to wear. Though she'd only been there two days, she'd already unpacked; having clothes in a suitcase felt too much like she was leaving, and Talia already felt as if she never wanted to leave. With a sigh, for the first time she could recall Talia Winters wished she owned rattier clothing. Much as she liked to look nice, dresses and business suits were no good for playing.

A little knock came at the door, but Sofie didn't wait for a response before opening the door and bounding in. "Are you playing in the rain like that?" she asked quizzically.

"Actually, I was just wishing I had something to wear like your wonderful raincoat, or at least playclothes to get messy in. I'm afraid all my clothes are a little too nice for playing in the rain."

"You can borrow from Mommy," Sofie suggested. "She mostly wears her uniform and likes to look nice, but she has special make-a-mess-clothes."

"I'd hate to wake her," Talia said uncertainly. She'd been not much older than Sofie the last time she'd played in the rain, and she was surprised by how badly she wanted to go, but she knew how much Susan loved sleep when she could get it and didn't want to disturb her.

"If you're extra extra quiet," Sofie whispered, "she won't wake up. She keeps her messy clothes in the bottom drawer so I can reach to play with them if I want. Mommy's good at sharing."

"Well… Alright. I'll just have to be extra sneaky," Talia relented with a small smile.

Opening the door hesitantly, Talia peeked inside before entering Susan's bedroom for the first time. The room was simple and tasteful, decorated in black and dark blue. The only frill was a large 4-poster bed with a canopy. The place seemed to fit its owner and Talia smiled approvingly as she entered. It wasn't hard to find the clothes Sofie had spoken of, and she quickly selected a pair of old-fashioned jeans and a long-sleeved shirt with so many paint stains it was hard to guess what colour it had been to start with. It was hard to imagine Susan dressed so casually, but Talia smiled at the thought that over the years her Commander had learned to let her hair down.

The drawer squeeked a little as Talia pushed it in and Susan stirred. Talia approached the bed and Susan's eyes flickered open. It was clear she was only half-awake, but she smiled when Talia kissed her forehead and whispered, "Shh, sleep." As Talia started to move away, she felt Susan's hand reach out for hers. Even now, years after the Corps had been destroyed and with it the mandate that telepaths wear gloves, Talia rarely felt skin against her own, and a jolt ran through her at the small contact. When Susan brought her hand to her mouth and placed a feather-light kiss, Talia felt a wave of affection that seemed to belong to them both.

"Night Tal," Susan mumbled, dropping her hand and drifting back to sleep.

Talia was tempted to abandon her plans and crawl into bed beside her former-lover; there was nothing she wanted more in that moment than to wrap her arms around Susan Ivanova and hold her close, but there was a very special girl waiting for her and Talia knew she couldn't disappoint.

An hour later, Susan got up with a smile on her face. She had no idea why the other woman had been in her room, but all that mattered was for the first time in 12 years she had woken to the sight of Talia Winters.

She got up with far more energy than usual, hoping to see her guest and have a few precious moments to spend together before work. Entering the living room, she was disappointed to find it empty, until she looked outside and saw a beautiful sight. The storm had mostly passed but it was still raining lightly, and the sun was shining down on the backyard where Talia and Sofie were spinning together and laughing. Susan had never seen Talia looking so carefree, and her heart swelled with the knowledge that her daughter had brought the woman such simple joy.

A moment later, Talia caught her eye, and suddenly she and Sofie were running to the door hand in hand, grinning from ear to ear. They stopped at the door to wrap up in towels, then came inside and gave Susan the most enthusiastic "good morning" of her life.

Talia and Sofie went off to get cleaned up while Susan had coffee and a quick breakfast. She was nearly ready to leave when Talia reappeared.

"You know, if you're not careful you're going to spoil my daughter," Susan teased.

Talia walked closer with a sly grin and leaned in to whisper in Susan's ear. "She's not the only one I want to spoil." A shiver ran through Susan, but before she could do anything about it Sofie came bouncing into the room.

"Hey little one," Susan greeted her with a warm smile. "I have a very big favour to ask of you. I have to go back to work today, so if you go to camp Talia will be left here all alone, and she doesn't really know her way around base yet. Since you two had such fun this morning, maybe you could stay home today and show her around?"

"Can I take her to watch the Starfuries fly? Pleeeease?"

"That, is up to you and Talia. I just want you too to have fun, okay?"

"Okay!"

"That is, of course," Susan added to Talia, "if you don't mind having your very own tour guide?"

"It sounds perfect," she agreed warmly, "and if Sofie will help me I think we can even find ourselves a yummy breakfast."

"Ooo, yay! Can there be flarn? And pancakes?"

"We'll see," Talia said with a laugh.

It was with great reluctance that Susan dragged herself out the door. Before leaving she kissed Sofie on the cheek, then on impulse repeated the gesture with Talia. She was rewarded with a look that told her under different circumstances the kiss would be returned with interest.

Talia spent a wonderful day with Sofie, playing and exploring the base together. Somehow their day home together stretched through the rest of the week, and when Sofie finally returned to her summer camp the following Monday, it wasn't only Susan that got a hug and an "I missed you" at the end of the day.

This chapter was inspired by a rainstorm, and my sad lack of anyone to play in it with me. Just some fluffy fun, but I hope you enjoyed it! As always, feedback is appreciated.