A/N: Positive vibes for me guys! I work in travel and we are expecting a huge announcement on Friday about our state borders, which could mean I spend Saturday RUN OFF MY FEET! Making ALLLLL the money!
"Momma, Momma please can I have a sleepover at Mamaw and Papaw's?"
JJ laughed as she watched Bailey-Rose talking to her mom on a video call from where she was perched on Will's lap. She had been playing and chatting all afternoon, and as the time drew near for her parents to pick her up, she had decided that it just wasn't enough time with her favourite people in the whole world.
"I don't know B-Rose, you've been there all day! Mamaw and Papaw and Uncle Will would probably like some peace and quiet," Lisa chuckled from the other end of the call. "I think Daddy should come and get you, and you can go and play another day"
"But Momma, please?" Bailey-Rose begged. Then, in a flash of eight year old brilliance, she turned the phone, capturing JJ in the background of the video. "Auntie JJ is here!"
Lisa burst out laughing. "I should have known! Of course you wouldn't want to leave JJ"
"So can I? Can I stay?
"You have to ask your mamaw, and you have to ask very nicely"
"Ok!" Bailey-Rose said excitedly, leaping off of Will's lap and haphazardly throwing his phone into his hands. The young couple laughed, watching as she tore out of the room in search of her grandmother, before JJ made her way over to sit on the arm of the chair Will was relaxing in.
"So," Lisa said knowingly, smirking at her brother-in-law, "nice to see you two in the same room again"
Will chuckled, awkwardly running a hand through his hair as JJ's cheeks flushed pink. "We're... doin' better. Still workin' through it, but... we're doin' ok"
"Good. I'm glad to see you two on your way to better days. You both deserve it"
"Thanks Lisa," Will said softly.
"Momma! Momma! Mamaw said yes!" came Bailey-Rose's shriek as she came flying back into the room, leaping back into Will's lap and grabbing the phone. "She said I can stay!"
Lisa chuckled. "Well, god help your mamaw tonight!"
A couple of hours later, dinner had passed and it was now down to Will, JJ, and Will's parents to get one excited little girl on the path to being ready for bed.
"Can we have like, a proper sleepover? With like, a spa time too?" Bailey-Rose said eagerly, tugging on JJ's hands as she bounced from foot to foot. "It would be so fun!"
JJ laughed. "We can probably manage that, but we have to get you in the bath first!"
"Can I shower with you? Then you can help me wash my hair!"
JJ chuckled, not quite sure what to say, but before she could speak, Janine chimed in.
"B-Rose, I think JJ might like to have her own space in the shower," she said with a grin. "You're like a dolphin in there, I think you get more water all over my bathroom than goes down the drain!"
Bailey-Rose giggled. "But we're both girls! And we'll be savin' water!"
JJ laughed. "She knows how to argue her point"
Janine chuckled, shaking her head at her granddaughter. "B-Rose, JJ may not be comfortable havin' a shower with you, I think you should go up and have a bath and one of us can help you with your hair"
"I really don't mind," JJ said with a small smile. "It's not a big deal"
"You don't have to, she's more than capable of bathin' herself," Janine said, giving Bailey-Rose a pointed look.
"It's ok. Like she said, we can turn it into a girly spa night, how does that sound?" JJ replied, looking down at the eight year old with a grin. Bailey-Rose's face lit up, her little hands squeezing tightly onto JJ's.
"That sounds so so fun! Race you to the bathroom!" she shrieked, pulling away and tearing up the stairs as the adults laughed.
"There should be shampoo and everythin' in the cupboard in there, but yell out if you need somethin', especially if it's a lifeguard," Janine chuckled. JJ laughed, nodding at the older woman and heading out of the room. After grabbing a change of clothes from the guest room, she made her way into the bathroom, where she found Bailey-Rose waiting for her.
"Look! I got new PJ's to leave at Mamaw's, they have puppies on them!" Bailey-Rose said happily as JJ shut the door behind her.
"They're super cute, B-Rose! I just have this old shirt, but it's one of my favourites. See? It has penguins on it," JJ chuckled, showing Bailey-Rose the shirt as she set her clothes down on the counter. "Alright, let's get this shower going and then we can hop in and get your hair washed. Can't have you sleeping over with me when you smell like that!"
Bailey-Rose giggled, starting to undress as JJ reached into the shower and turned on the water. Before long, the bathroom was warm and steamy, and Bailey-Rose was clambering into the stall.
Tugging her shirt up and over her head, JJ tossed it aside, only for Bailey-Rose to gasp as she turned back around. "Is that a real tattoo?" the young girl asked in awe. JJ grinned, looking down at her chest where the tattoo of the Olympic rings sat just below her right breast.
"Yeah, it is. I've had it for about three years now," she said, shivering as she finished undressing and the cool air of the bathroom hit her skin.
"That's so cool! Did it hurt?" Bailey-Rose asked as JJ stepped in under the water.
"A little bit! It was like a lot of pinching, but it was worth it"
"Does it feel different now?"
"No, it just feels like my skin," JJ chuckled. "It's all healed up"
"Will you get more tattoos?"
"Maybe," JJ said with a smile. "Why, do you think I should be covered like a bikie?"
Bailey-Rose giggled. "No, silly!"
JJ laughed, reaching up and grabbing the shampoo she'd put on the shower shelf earlier. "Alright chatterbox, turn around and get your hair nice and wet, let's get you all squeaky clean"
Bailey-Rose obliged, allowing the water to soak her hair before she leaned back towards JJ. JJ squirted a small amount of shampoo into her hand, lathering it up before starting to work her fingers through Bailey-Rose's curls.
"JJ?"
"Mm?"
"How old were you when you had to start wearin' a trainin' bra?"
JJ let out a little laugh. "Probably a lot older than you think. I think I was about fourteen before I needed to wear any kind of bra"
"Really?" Bailey-Rose asked, her voice evident with her surprise.
"Yeah," JJ chuckled. "When you train gymnastics as much as I do, it stops your body from growing at normal times. So whereas a lot of girls see their bodies change when they're around twelve, maybe even a bit younger, mine didn't really change until I was about fourteen or fifteen"
"But why?"
"Because your body can't change if you don't have enough body fat. My overall body fat was really low because of how much I was training. Which was completely fine, it didn't mean there was anything wrong with my body, it just meant it had different needs to everyone else's"
"There's a girl in my class who already has to wear a trainin' bra. And the boys are really mean and keep teasin' her about it," Bailey-Rose said matter-of-factly. "I think it's silly. It's normal, right?"
"Yeah, of course. Her body's just a little more advanced than everyone else's and that's perfectly ok. Everyone else will catch up eventually. Boys are just immature. Make sure she knows she's not weird or anything, it's completely ok to develop a bit earlier"
"Will I get boobs?"
JJ had to fight back the urge to snort as she directed the showerhead back to Bailey-Rose's head to rinse her hair. "Look, probably! But it's also completely ok if you don't. If you don't get boobs, you never have to wear a bra, and that's pretty awesome in my book because bras can be uncomfy"
Bailey-Rose giggled, leaning back again as JJ ran her fingers through her hair to get the last of the suds out.
"Alright, time for conditioner," JJ said, reaching up and grabbing the bottle from the shelf. In front of her, Bailey-Rose started wriggling around, performing some kind of crazy dance that JJ was sure only an eight year old could come up with. JJ laughed, squeezing some conditioner into her hand. "Hey, crazy, I need you to stand still for a sec"
"I'm a good dancer!" Bailey-Rose exclaimed. "That was my octopus dance!"
JJ snorted, fighting against Bailey-Rose's constant fidgeting as she raked conditioner through the little girl's hair.
"And octopuses go WWWWEEEEEOOOOOOOO!" Bailey-Rose shrieked, waving her arms around and spinning around in her place as JJ burst out laughing. "Look at me, look at me!"
"How much sugar did your mamaw give you, B-Rose?" JJ laughed, detaching the shower head and aiming it at Bailey-Rose. The eight year old squealed, bursting out laughing as JJ somehow managed to rinse her hair.
After Bailey-Rose was rinsed down and both of them were squeaky clean, JJ turned off the water, reaching out and grabbing two towels from the rail. She tied one around herself, before draping the other around her little companion.
"Watch your step as you get out, you spread enough water over this floor to start an aquarium," JJ chuckled, keeping a hand on Bailey-Rose's shoulder as they stepped out. "Stand there for a moment and get dry, then I'll help you dry your hair, ok?"
The little girl obliged, drying herself off as JJ got dressed. As JJ hung up her towel and turned back to her, a cheeky grin broke across the young girl's face.
"Bet you can't catch me!" Bailey-Rose squealed, darting under JJ's arm and throwing open the bathroom door. Before JJ could even respond, she was tearing down the corridor, a flurry of pale white limbs and straggly blonde hair. Unable to help herself, JJ burst out laughing, turning on her heel and diving out into the hallway after the energetic kid, but as athletic as she was, she couldn't catch up before Bailey-Rose reached the stairs.
"B-Rose! What in God's name are you doin'?" Janine exclaimed in amusement as her granddaughter tore past her at the foot of the stairs, giggling maniacally as she went. She fell into step beside JJ, surprisingly agile for her age as the two of them dodged around furniture trying to catch Bailey-Rose.
"Ah, she escaped," Will said simply as the two women passed him. He laughed, watching as JJ reached out to grab Bailey-Rose, only for the eight year old to slip from her grasp at the last second. But moments later, William swooped in seemingly out of thin air, wrapping Bailey-Rose in a towel and scooping her off the floor with a playful roar.
"Not so quick!" he bellowed, making Bailey-Rose squeal with laughter. "You little rascal!"
"Papaw!" Bailey-Rose giggled, pretending to struggle.
"You are a cheeky little monster," William said with a laugh, kissing his granddaughter's cheek.
"Come on rugrat," Janine laughed. "Let's get that little butt of yours upstairs and into some pyjamas. It's time to settle down for bed now"
"Ok," Bailey-Rose said, her voice slightly out of breath even as a grin spread across her face. And with that, her grandparents whisked her up the stairs, leaving JJ and Will alone in the lounge room for a few minutes.
"So I bet that was an experience," Will chuckled. "Did she talk your ear off?"
"She asked about my tattoo... then she asked if she would get boobs," JJ said with a snort, making Will laugh. "And then I was treated to a special performance of her octopus dance, complete with high pitched shrieking"
"She's nuts," Will laughed, shaking his head. "Good luck with her tonight"
Just an hour or so later, the two girls were in the guest room, preparing for their 'sleepover' (although it was more Bailey-Rose bossing JJ around, to which JJ was obliging), while Will tried to argue his way through the door with his niece.
"This is a girls only sleepover!" Bailey-Rose said defiantly as JJ laughed from the edge of the bed.
"But what if I want to cuddle with JJ?" Will said playfully. "She is my girlfriend after all!"
A flutter raced through JJ's chest. Yet again, he had said girlfriend. Affirming their relationship once more.
"Nope! No boys allowed!" Bailey-Rose exclaimed, standing stoically in the doorway.
Will pretended to pout, turning and moping across the hall into his room. Bailey-Rose giggled, pushing the guest room door closed and clambering back up onto the bed. She wriggled beneath the covers, clutching the bear that lived at her grandparents' just for her close to her chest as JJ reached over and switched off the bedside lamp.
It took a few minutes of them rustling around before they were both comfy, and when they were, Bailey-Rose was the first to break the quiet of the room.
"JJ?"
"Yeah?"
"Are you and Uncle Will still gettin' married?"
The question, while innocent, was like a shot of ice through JJ's heart. Because the truth was, while she and Will were talking and things seemed to get a little better each time they spoke, she didn't yet know if Will was ready to commit to her like that again... or if he ever would be.
"I... I don't know B-Rose," she said softly. "I really don't know"
Bailey-Rose was silent for a moment, a stark change to her usual rapid fire questioning. After a few moments' thought, she turned her little face towards JJ in the darkness. "If you don't... can you still be my Auntie JJ?"
JJ's heart swelled, her eyes threatening to well up with tears at the sweet little question. "Of course I can kiddo. Even if your Uncle Will and I don't work things out, you're still very special to me. I promise that won't change. You can always video call me, or even come visit if you're in Pittsburgh"
"I'd like that," Bailey-Rose replied, her smile visible even in the lack of light. "I like talkin' to you"
JJ chuckled. "And I like talking to you"
"JJ, are you gonna go to the next 'lympics?"
JJ had to let out a little laugh, tipping her head over to Bailey-Rose. "I don't think so, B-Rose. I'm getting too old!"
"I think you can do it!" Bailey-Rose replied matter-of-factly. "You're the best in the WORLD!"
"I think that's actually Simone, but thanks B-Rose," JJ giggled.
Bailey-Rose let out a big yawn, one of her hands coming up to rub at her tired eyes.
"I think it might be time to get some sleep, you little crazy person," JJ said gently. "Have you been to the toilet and brushed your teeth?"
"Yeah," Bailey-Rose said, yawning again. Her little body weary from a day of high energy and running around, she shuffled over, snuggling up beside JJ and tucking her head against JJ's collarbone. "G'night JJ"
JJ smiled, placing a hand protectively on Bailey-Rose's lower back. "Night, B-Rose"
She didn't know how long she had been asleep, but when her eyes fluttered open to darkness, the house was quiet and still. She could tell straightaway it was the dark hours of the morning, when the world was slow and sleepy, yet, she couldn't quite work out what had woken her up.
There was a rustle to her right, making her heart leap into her chest until her eyes started to adjust to the darkness and she realised she recognised the silhouette that was quietly climbing into bed beside her.
"What are you doing?" she breathed so as not to wake Bailey-Rose, who was sprawled out beside her, one arm flung across JJ's chest.
"Sorry... I... I missed you," came Will's barely audible reply as he shuffled beneath the covers. JJ felt a wave of warmth rush over her. Turning onto her side, her hand came to rest on Bailey-Rose's arm, while Will wriggled up behind her. His body seemed to envelope hers, embracing her as though they had been made to fit together, his arm draping protectively over her side as his nose nuzzled against the top of her head.
He'd missed her. He was right here, cuddling her in the middle of the night, all because he had missed her from just across the hall.
Filled with relief, love, and warmth, JJ couldn't help but smile as she started drifting back to sleep. Things were definitely looking up.