chasingtwisters | At the rec center. {For James}

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At the rec center. {For James}

Moira doesn't plan on actually going to the Thornton rec center; yet here she stands, in the main lobby, glancing at various pamphelts in her hand. A customer at Coombs & Co. happened to have one of these flyers in her hands, advertising a nutritional pregnancy course, and Moira, having a moment of, oh fuck, this baby is actually happening, noted the information for later. She's still trying to keep her pregnancy a secret; she doesn't need James' father, or, God forbid, her damn mother, finding out. She's in her second trimester now, apparently, and she has to actually deal with the stress in her life.

But she's not thinking about that now. She's thinking about how she woke up from her post-work nap knowing, with absolute certainty, that she was carrying a girl. She'd scryed after, just to make sure, and in a rare instance of her magic actually working right in recent days, the water confirmed her earlier vision. She doesn't know if James would want to know or not; she doesn't know how to tell him, really.

She doesn't know where things stand with James, and it's a thought that frightens her just as much as the baby herself does. She's not prepared for motherhood; she's not prepared for much of anything these days.

So she stands in the lobby of the Thornton rec center, wringing her hands as she tries to read the information about the classes while simultaneously also hoping she blends into the walls.

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Very rarely does James stand-in for his father at these staff meetings. That's Demetri's thing, but his brother is busy with his actual job at the Mayor's office. However, the Thornton Recreation Center is one of the pride and joys of the family and missing a meeting would lead to more questions than anything else. The family definitely doesn't need questions or people poking around considering everything that's going on lately. Once the meeting is over, where James merely served as a figurehead and a yes-man to funding some additional projects, he heads downstairs taking off his suit jacket because he wants up to the station for some work.

He just comes to the bottom step when he spots Moira standing in the lobby. Ever since that hard conversation a week or so ago, not quite an argument but not quite pleasant either, he hasn't seen her. He isn't certain where they even stand anymore, and that's not what he wants either.

But he walks up to her anyway. "Hey, I didn't think I'd see you here," he says.

Moira's almost zoned out enough to lull herself into a light trance, rereading paragraphs without seeing the words as she tries to steady herself. It's at this point that James finds her, and she almost jumps, unused as she is to anyone approaching her that isn't Riley or a customer.

"Hey," she says, once she manages to contain herself. She offers him a weary grin. "So they dragged you out here huh? Yeah, there are some classes I'm considering signing up for." She shows him the pamphlets with a shrug. "I'm not much of the rec center type, even though it is really nice."

"I'm glad I ran into you," she tells him, meeting his gaze directly. "I wanted to talk with you. Is there somewhere private we might go?"

James scratches the side of his face, looking back over to the staircase. He sees the pamphlets in her hands are for some of the pregnancy classes offered by the nutrition staff, and he suddenly feels incredibly terrible. With everything that's been going on, there's still the baby to consider. He sighs to himself, wondering how things got so terrible so fast.

"Yeah, there's an office upstairs for the family," he says, gesturing towards the stairs. "You wanna go up there?"

"That would be nice," she says, glancing towards the stairs. She wonders what a family office consists of, and how much of the Thornton influence resides there. But it's guaranteed to be private, and Moira thinks that it will suit their purposes, regardless of the cold decor and/or awkward photographs lining the room. She sighs, trying not to shake her head. When did things get so awkwardly shitty that she needs to talk to James in his family office about the gender of their baby, among other things?

"I'll follow you?" She says, glancing at him. She imagines it's the sort of office that requires keys.

The office is really just for show. The family name is on the building, but aside from showing up to pay the bills and order folks around every now and then, his father hardly concerned himself with day to day operations. But still he wanted the largest office in the building to have his name on the outside of the door, though it's rarely ever used. He leads Moira upstairs wondering if there's even anything left to be said between them. He still cares for her and he's concerned how her pregnancy is proceeding. She's not showing a great deal yet at 14 weeks, but her stomach looks fuller and he's sure there are other things happening.

He uses the key to unlock the office and flicks on the switch. It's a very large, comfortable office with a good view of the woods behind the building. There's a couch which he lets Moira have. "Do you want some water or anything?" he asks thinking he could page the receptionist.

Moira raises an eyebrow at the grandeur of the office, not really surprised by still curious as to why anyone would need so much space. She appreciates the view of the woods, though, and as she settles herself on the couch, she finds her gaze wandering there more often than not. It helps her to have a reminder of nature nearby.

"I think I'll be okay, thank you," she tells him, leaning back on the couch. She isn't sure how to begin; there's so much she needs to say. "So, do you want to know the gender of the baby?"

Even though Moira refuses his offer, James still heads over to the mini bar to pour himself a glass of iced water. At Moira's question, he misses most of the glass with a start. He hadn't been expecting her to ask that of him. "Shit---" He grabs a towel from the bar and wipes up the mess he's made. He turns back around, and he feels a little excited by the idea.

"You really know that already?" He asks going over to the couch to sit beside her. "I didn't know that."

Edited 2014-09-07 20:20 (UTC)

She doesn't expect to honestly shock James, but when he spits out his water, her eyebrow raises. "Yeah, I...had a vision, this morning," she says, running a hand through her hair. "And then I confirmed it by scrying later. So do you want to know?"

James takes a deep breath as he looks at her. Suddenly he feels like hugging her or something. He doesn't even know why. Maybe he just misses her. He hates this. Hates how distant they've become, but he doesn't know how to fix it. What he's supposed to do? But he does know how to do the right thing when it comes to the baby. No matter what happens the child is innocent here. "Yes. Of course I want to know," he says, looking at her.

She knows that they have a hell of a lot to talk about, a lot more than just the baby. She doesn't know what she can do to really fix things between them; she just knows that she wants to fix them. Well, at the very least, Moira can tell James the gender of their baby. "We're having a girl," she tells him after a brief pause. She can't help but smile at him; she really likes the thought of having a daughter, herself, and picturing James with a baby girl is a really sweet thought.

"A girl," James repeats with faint disbelief. It's hard enough to continously tell himself he's going to be a father, but to know something so epcific like this, to know he's going to have a daughter, it's hard to say what's even going through his head. But when he looks at Moira, he smiles at her faintly, thinking they should be happier about this. Happy together. He reaches out for her hand, squeezing it in his. "We're having a girl," he says, no matter what happens with them, he will be there for her.

"I have to admit, picturing you scaring off her future dates has been pretty entertaining," Moira tells him, still smiling. It's one of the few spots of happiness she's been able to find in her life as it currently stands. She looks down at their entwined hands and glances up back at James, squeezing his hand in return. She feels lighter, somehow, holding his hand. For the first time, she has a sense of hope that things can get better from here.

He laughs at the thoughts, but also warms to the idea of Moira thinking about him being around long enough to do that. He knows nothing about them and their relationship has been traditional or easy, but it's them. "Well I've had plenty of practice on that front with June," he says smiling. "She'll be the most excited about having a niece. And I think Demetri likes the idea of being an uncle. And Daniel...well, Daniel is Daniel. But they all know now."

"Yeah, I got to talk with Demetri," Moira says. "He told me he was looking forward to being an uncle; I told him to be prepared for diaper duty." She feels able to relax more, the longer she just sits with James. Just being with him puts her more at ease. "I think our kid will end up having everyone doting on her."

He is definitely surprised to know that Moira has spoken with Demetri, but he's also thankful to his brother for making the effort to reach out to Moira. "I think she will---" He pats her hand a couple of times before slipping it away, not wanting to making her uncomfortable. It's been so long since they talked. "How are you doing? With everything? I thought about calling you a couple of times...."

He pauses for a second before giving her a sad smile. "Honestly Moira, I don't know how to fix this, how to forget everything, but I miss you."

"She'll be a little princess," Moira says, glad to have both spoken with Demetri and letting James know she had, especially since his brother appeared to have a lot on his mind, that day.

"I've been better, truthfully," she tells him, because the truth is the least of what he deserves. "And I would never ask you to forget; I ran away. It was shitty of me. I'm trying to work on fixing it, myself."

He takes a second, hearing her words, and then he sighs shaking his head. "I'm sorry. I didn't intend to.....you don't need to apologize again." They don't need to rehash everything. For one it isn't fair for Moira. She already feels bad enough, and if her family isn't speaking to her as well, she probably feels alone. James never wants to do that. He wants to take care of her. Still.

"You can still call me. Or come over. I would like that," he says.

"I'd like that too," Moira replies with a soft smile. "It's good just to hear your voice," she admits, playing with the ends of her hair. "I think, sometimes, you're the only one who 'gets' me."

"Me?" James asks pointing at himself, but he smiles back at her, feeling too pleased over that. He isn't sure why, but that makes him happy, to hear that he's special to her somehow. She is for him. That's why it hurt when she left, because she's special and he doesn't want to lose her. He doesn't want to give her the opportunity to break his heart either. He just felt like he couldn't trust her.

But it seems so long ago now. Or maybe he's distracted by her soft smile and the way she twists her hair in a bashful gesture. Still, leaning over, he kisses her mouth in a gentle kiss.

"Yeah, you," she says, nudging him playfully with her shoulder. It surprises her, too, that the cop that once found every excuse to throw her behind bars actually understands her better than her own family. "I'm surprised, too. In a good way," she adds.

She grins when he kisses her, returning the gesture just as gently, bringing a a hand up to stroke against his cheek.

James kisses her back, feeling immediately warm and good all over, and it's easy to see why he has missed her. She makes him happy, less grumpy and worried about everything happening with his brothers and sister and their father. He hugs her closely then pulls back for a second with a smile.

"We should go somewhere. Just for the weekend. That's not a boat full of everyone in town or our family." James says it before he thinks about it enough to change his mind. Maybe they need this. Maybe the time away will be just what they need to reconnect. He thinks maybe Moira could use a break too. "What do you think?" he asks.

She grins into the kiss, reveling in how utterly content she feels in the moment. Just being with James like this, close together and simply kissing, makes her feel grounded and as warm as though she were sitting by her fireplace back in her cottage. Something about James just feels like home to Moira; their closeness helps to soothe away the edges of her current riffs with her family members.

"That sounds perfect, actually," Moira admits when she pulls back, still smiling at him. "I think that would do us both good."

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At the rec center. {For James}

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