Thanks once again, to ultraluckycatnd for the beta!
Tilly talks his ear off as he drives them home—her first day working at the Rollin' Bayou has been a roaring success. She tells him about the different people she met, how sweet Sabine is, the actual heart-shaped beignet she'd made which Margot admired, and so on. Rogers nods along, occasionally throwing in a question, but mostly he just listens to Tilly's chatter and smiles.
"So, are you going to start charging me rent now? Haha."
Even though she turns the question into a joke, Rogers notices the the hint of insecurity in her tone. "No, I'm not going to charge you rent. But I think you should go on marmalade runs from here on." He pretends to look stern while saying it.
"I can work with that," says Alice and grins, reassured.
Two days later, Rogers gets home after a long day at work to find Tilly sitting astride a chair in front of the aquarium, staring intently at the fishes. She gives a start of surprise upon hearing him and turns her head. She smiles when she realizes who it is. Rogers takes off his boots and hangs his jacket on the coat stand. He joins Tilly and immediately notices a new aquarium ornament in the tank—a pirate ship complete with a peg-legged pirate and doubloons spilling out from a treasure chest.
"Tilly, did you buy this?" he asks, not entirely pleased. "You shouldn't be spending your money on things like this."
Tilly just narrows her eyes. "Relax, Detective. It cost five bucks. And you know what—the fish like it."
"Is that so?" he laughs.
"Mmhmm," she says, pointing to where her namesake little red starfish has started poking at the ornament. As they watch, the starfish crawls over it and knocks it over.
Rogers laughs. "Looks like your starfish thinks she's a kraken."
Tilly just glares at him, and he laughs again.
"How was your day at work?" he asks. This was Tilly's second day working at the Bayou. She had not gone into work the day before, as Sabine had another person helping out on alternate days.
"It was really good…" says Tilly. She abruptly stands up and starts pacing the room.
"What's the matter?" Rogers asks, concerned. He hopes things haven't gone south at the Bayou.
"Margot asked me on a date."
Rogers relaxes with a sigh and grins. "You had me worried there for a moment. And you said yes, right?"
"Yeah, but I'm scared," she blurts out.
"What of?"
"What if…what if she doesn't like me anymore after spending a whole date with me?"
His face softens. "Of course she's not going to stop liking you, Tilly. She asked you on a date, remember?"
"I know…but…what if I get upside down again? What if my medicine stops working and the puzzle pieces in my head get jumbled up once more…"
"Tilly, it's going to be okay." Rogers tries to reassure her.
"You don't know that, Detective! Everything's happening all at once! I have a real job—I never had one of those before. And now I'm going on a date, and I'm scared I'll get mixed up again and I don't want to live in a box or under the Troll, even if he is a nice Troll and was looking out for me all this time." The words tumble out of her, apparently taking the wind out of her sails, and she plops down on the couch with a thump, twisting her hands over and over.
Rogers sits next to her on the couch. Making sure he has her attention, he says, "Tilly, I'm not going to say everything will be smooth-sailing from now on. You'll probably have both good and bad days—and some of the bad days may seem worse than any that you've seen before. But, this time, you won't have to face them alone. It will get better."
"What if it doesn't?"
Rogers's heart breaks at the terrified, vulnerable expression on her face. Perhaps it would help if he shared some of his own struggles with her. He takes a deep breath and begins. "After I lost my hand, I started to use alcohol to cope with…everything."
Tilly stares at him in surprise.
"It was slowly destroying my life—I lost most of my friends, and I was in danger of losing my job. I knew I had to do something. So, I finally decided to get help. I quit drinking altogether. It took me a long time to pull myself together, and there are still days when I struggle with the temptation to—. But it does get easier with time. And I give you my word, Tilly—you'll never have to go back to living under the Troll. Okay?"
"Okay." Tilly gives him a watery smile, looking genuinely touched that he had trusted her with this confession.
Rogers reaches out with his arm, hesitates for a second, and then continues on, wrapping his arm around Tilly and drawing her to him. She rests her head on his shoulder and dries her tears. Once she is calmer, he pats her on the head comfortingly before letting go.
"Come—let's have dinner, and then, go get some sleep. You've had a long day."
Tilly breaks into a yawn at that. "Yeah…I'm so sleepy."
Rogers smiles.
Later, as he lays in bed, the detective ponders over this unexpected turn his life has taken. He has never considered himself a do-gooder. This is the first time he has ever truly helped someone beyond the call of duty, but he doesn't think he deserves any special recognition for his actions. As he had told Weaver the other day, he somehow feels responsible for Tilly's welfare. She is a special young woman with an original turn of mind, and with a little bit of encouragement and nurturing, Rogers is sure that she will thrive. As he drifts off to sleep, he makes a promise to himself that he will do his best to ensure it.