Ages:

Delia - 63
Melinda - 59
Scott - 29
Mackenzie - 24
Freya - 6 months

Mackenzie laid in bed watching her daughter sleep. It was something she liked to do after she had a bad night when her nightmares about Preston were too much for her to try and fall back asleep. Her face relaxed as she caressed Freya's cheek. Her blonde curls were just too cute, the way the hair curled around her ears.

She'd recently moved in with Scott. It was temporary, while they looked for somewhere bigger. Somewhere for Freya to grow up.

"You always look so content when you're with her," Scott whispered and pressed a kiss to her shoulder.

"Oh, Scott," she sighed and leaned into his chest. "I'm so glad it was you."

"I couldn't resist watching you with her," he smiled as she turned around in his arms.

"You scared me," she yawned, sitting down on the bed nearby. "I hope I didn't wake you."

"Nah," he chuckled, going to the bathroom. He was quiet as he turned the light on and splashed water in his face. He went about his morning routine, brushing his teeth, shaving, and showering, then combing his hair. "I have to get ready for a patrol."

"Okay," she laid back in the warm blanket a little while longer. "She'll be awake soon and I'll be busy. Don't worry."

"I wasn't-" He came out of the bathroom, toothbrush hanging out of his mouth.

"You were," she replied. "You've already taken too much time off to be home."

"I've taken time off so you wouldn't be stressed," he answered, coming toward her, shaving cream applied to his cheeks. "It's not a bad thing that I want to be with you or that I love you and that you have a daughter with someone else. I'm here for you and for Frey. No matter what." He kneeled and pulled her to sit up.

"Even if I can't give you what you want?" She hinted, pulling on the sleeves to the shirt she wore.

"What?" He asked. "Sex? That's not the end of the world, Mack, you know that." She looked away and he kissed her so deeply that she forgot about her own worries, about what she'd lost before this day and how Scott had made it better. His arms soothed her and lips repaired her. "Sex isn't everything," he said as he pulled back, holding her face carefully in his hands. "We aren't going to be that couple that can't have a relationship without it, okay? We will get there when you are ready."

"I know, Scott, but it's just everyone who I know that's happy in their relationship is having it… and I try to get myself comfortable with the idea. I want to be intimate with you like that, I really do." She paused and looked at him. "I want you, but I'm just not ready and I hate myself for it."

"God, Mack, I want you too." He laughed, kissing her hands. "But not at the expense of losing you. I'll wait twenty years if that's what you need me to do."

She laughed and kissed him, "You won't have to wait twenty years, Scott O'Neill. I promise." She said, holding him tightly because she thought if she let go even for a second, she'd lose him.

The news was everywhere. The newspaper, the TV, the radio, and people's faces as she carried her daughter in her arms down the street. Mackenzie tucked Freya's little head down in her neck and cooed softly against her.

"I know... you're still tired." She whispered, rubbing her back. "We're almost at Nana's store..." She was standing at the stoplight, holding her little girl, and the smell of her hair made her smile as the woman next to me whispered to her friend. "If you have any judgment to give, it should be about your shoes," she scoffed, kissing Freya's cheek. "Have a nice day." She crossed the street, bouncing the little girl lightly as she squirmed. "I know you're hungry, baby. We're almost to the store and mama will feed you."

She reached for the door handle and then walked inside.

"Hey Mack," Melinda said, walking out from the back. "Hello, sweet little Freya." She pinched the little one's cheek before kissing her nose. "Did you sleep well, baby?"

"No, not really. But these days, three hours of sleeping is better than nothing. Scott always helps when he gets off and I've been sleeping more now that he's home at night." She sighed and walked into the backroom. "Can we talk in private? I need to feed her."

"Of course we can. What's up?" Melinda said, shutting the double doors and turning the light on.

"The verdict... it's everywhere," she said and sat down in a chair, opening her shirt slightly and messing with her bra. "And I think she's sensing it... she's been off today."

"Babies do sense things from their parents," Melinda said, looking at the energetic baby in her arms, laying a feeding blanket over her softly. "I didn't hear the verdict yet. I've been avoiding everything by doing invoices in a dark room."

"He got away with it. Not guilty on charges," she muttered with a shiver down her spine. "I knew how little the chances were with how much time had, but I still hoped... maybe because of the DNA with Freya that it would prove something happened, but all it did was help him spin his affair story."

"Oh, baby girl," Melinda said, walking toward her daughter, embracing her. "Everything is going to be okay. It's going to get better."

"Mom, I was scared. I didn't know how to tell anyone," she whispered. "When I told Katie, it wasn't even on purpose. I was talking about Chase, but it came up, and then we got in that accident."

"Baby, you're spinning," Melinda whispered, trying to calm her down in some way. "This was not your fault. What the hell does a verdict do? This world sucks and I'm sorry, but it always has. But this little girl in your arms, she's the most beautiful thing in the whole world to come out of that kind of situation. She brought you out of that hole and so did Scott."

"I know," she sighed. "It's just that I can't even walk down the street without someone staring. I had to go to online classes because people think I am the campus whore and I lost my best friend because of what he did to me. I can't handle this stress anymore. I don't know why everyone thinks I can."

"People believe in you because you're doing it, Mackenzie! You are an amazing mother to Freya despite the circumstances you are being put under." Melinda said."And Lorelai? I don't know what to say about her. Just give her time."

She smiled up at her, thankful for the guidance she had always given her in hopes that it will be passed on to the little one in her arms. "Oh... there's that laugh," she laughed as Freya giggled. "Are you done, sweetheart? What's so funny?" She fixed her top quickly before laying Freya over her shoulder with the blanket tucked under. "That's my girl," she cooed and then kissed her back as she burped, spitting up on the nursing blanket. "What?"

"It's amazing to watch you interact with her," Melinda said, smoothing out her hair.

"I got most of it from you," she laughed, wiping Freya's face clean. "But Katie was a mom before I was out of high school, so I picked up some things from her too."

"Yes. You were always over there helping with Ash weren't you," Melinda said and then heard the front door open and Scott came in the back. "And you were such a help with Lana and Emma."

"Yeah. I tried… hey, Scott," she said as Melinda took Freya, wrapping her in a blanket. "It's nice to see you."

"I tried so hard Mack," Scott sighed, kneeling to hug her. "But it wasn't enough. I'm sorry."

"What are you talking about?" She asked, fixing her shirt before standing, only a few inches shorter than him.

"I'm gonna go show all the customers how pretty you are," Melinda whispered as she slipped past them, closing the doors behind her. "Let's give mommy some space..."

"I worked that case every step of the way. I wanted that bastard to be put away for good, but our law system sucks." He muttered. "It really does."

"You worked my case?" She asked. "Why didn't you tell me? All this time I thought it was someone else who didn't know what I went through... and here it was you and I kept talking all this shit about how stupid the precinct is... oh, Scott. I'm so sorry."

He hugged her, tightly, kissing the top of her head. "I couldn't tell you," he whispered. "I needed to be clear-headed about it. As much as I could be."

"I want us to be something more," she whispered, looking up at him. "Something better than we have ever been."

"We will, Mack," he held her tighter. "In time... we just need time."