Rita glanced behind her seat and found Grace with her head tilted against the window, her eyes shut and her mouth agape slightly, her thumb acting as a dummy of sorts. Tucked under her arm she cuddled a toy bear, one of clear importance. Rita wondered which parent had brought it, it was pink and a bunny so she presumed it had something to do with the girl's Father rather than her less than cuddly Mother.
Rita turned back in her seat and looked to Connie who for the foremost of the journey had remained in a speechless trance. Her eyes had not trailed from the road once. Her lips had not moved and no vocal sound had been made. Instead the radio filled the silence of the car, although she was sure that neither she nor Connie had actually paid any attention to the words.
"You ok?" She dared to ask. Connie's eyes remained transfixed on the turns in the road, although a small sigh escaped her lips. Sam had clearly tested her once too much.
"Not now. We'll talk later" Connie allowed her eyes to finally leave the road, instead peeking into her rear-view mirror and catching a glimpse of her snoozing daughter. If she was going to talk rudely about Sam, she preferred not to do it in front of Grace. It wasn't fair on her if all she heard was her parents slag each other off.
"Do you want me to cook tonight? Give you and Grace Time together…" Rita offered as she placed her hand over Connie's which rested on the gear stick. Connie snatched her hand away, again taking a look in the mirror to make sure Grace was still asleep.
"She knows" Rita stated bluntly as she shuffled in her seat and folded her arms. She gazed out of the window as she stropped.
"HOW!" Connie exclaimed rather loudly, louder than she had anticipated. Grace stirred in the back but didn't awaken, instead her grasp of the bear tightened.
"She's not stupid Connie. She worked it out straight away!"
"I can't believe this…" Connie mumbled.
"For what it's worth she gave us her blessing, said that her friend Jessie has two mums, and that everyone thinks she's dead cool" Rita revealed. Connie's face softened.
"Thank you" Connie croaked. The car came to a stop on the driveway and Connie placed her hand in Rita's smiling.
"Anything for you" Rita smirked cheekily as she placed a kiss on the tip of Connie's nose.
The pair then turned their attention to Grace who was still flat out.
"I'll carry her up to bed, save's waking her" Rita stated.
"You don't have to…" Connie started as she undid her seatbelt and opened the car door, mirroring Rita.
"You can't carry her in your condition, and it's not worth waking her up" Rita added sensibly. She reached the back door and pulled it open gently, her hand reaching out to stop Graces head from snapping forward. She then leant over the young girl and unclipped her seatbelt. Grace remained flat out, the long flight from America having completely wiped her out.
Connie watched on from the doorstep where she had been rummaging about for her house keys. Rita finally got the belt free and ever so carefully placed one arm around Grace's back and the other underneath her small legs. She lifted her free of the booster seat and cradled her closely against her chest. With one quick kick the car door shut and Rita trod across the gravel to where Connie stood holding open the front door with a loving grin spread across her face.
"It suits you" Connie said softly as a hand ran across Grace's forehead, pushing her fringe from where it had fallen into her eyes.
"You suit me. All of this suits us" Rita replied as she wrapped her arms tighter around Grace, enjoying the warm embrace that made her feel as though she belonged. For the first time in such a long period, she felt as though she belonged, she had everything that she had never realised she wanted.
Rita looked to Connie with her large brown eyes, her heart pounding ten to the dozen.
"I'll take Grace up to bed, why don't you chill out on the sofa and i will be back shortly with juice and food"
"Mhm, sounds perfect" Connie purred as she placed a kiss on Rita's cheek and then bending down to place a kiss on her daughters forehead.
Rita steadily made her way up the winding staircase, all the while cradling the child as though she were a tiny infant. She realised looking down that motherhood could be something that would suit her. The unconditional feeling of looking at something that was part of Connie. Grace was the apple of her Mother's eye, her world. She felt her heart swell as she though of her baby, the baby that was growing inside of the frustratingly beautiful Consultant.
The broody Nurse soon came to a door that had the girls name stuck on to the wood. She smiled gently before her hand twisted the door handle, revealing a room adorned with photos, shades of pinks covering bed surfaces and wall space. A scatter of teddy's sat across Grace's bed, several looking old and worn, obviously sentimental otherwise they would have been thrown away years ago.
Rita managed, one-handed, to both cradle the back of Grace's head and pull the duvet back from where it was tucked under the pillows, the sheets underneath crisp and fresh. Grace wriggled in Rita's grasp as she placed Grace down, still fully clothed. The girl looked so peaceful, so instead of getting her into her nightwear, Rita just slipped off her trainers and tucked the duvet around the sleeping child.
The nurse watched for a few moments as Grace adjusted herself to her new surroundings. She curled up into a foetal position and placed a thumb in her mouth. Rita felt her heart tingle as she realised just how much she already adored the little Beauchamp and she knew that with the addition of the baby and the impending wedding, she really was going to have the most perfect family in the world.