luciana-hewitt-blog

[luciana-hewitt-blog]

nctalielewis :

          By the way another laugh spilled free it was obvious she got a kick out of the introduction. “Nice to meet you, Luce,” she could never resist giving people nicknames that made things less formal, and certainly not once she’d been drinking, “I’m Natalie… Nat. See? Now we’re not strangers. Can’t say the same for the rest of this crowd but—” trailing off she let the shrug of her shoulders do the rest of her talking. Even though she’d been in Wilmington for a few months now she hadn’t made much of an effort to meet many people. Most of that was intentional, but honestly she just hadn’t had the right motivation to get out there and socialize. Tonight was the odd exception. Flagging down the bartender she ordered them each a new drink, one tequila sunrise for her new companion and a Jack n’ Coke for herself. While they waited for them to be finished she turned back to the woman and flashed a happy smile. Natalie was always happy when there was liquor running through her veins. “I’m glad I came and sat by you,” she admitted somewhat offhandedly, “you’re too pretty to be at the bar alone.” Speaking of which… “Why are you at the bar alone?”

Luciana chuckled at the nickname and nodded. It was fine. She didn’t mind the ones that were chosen usually. Lu, Lucy, Luce. As long as she knew it was all fun and games, who cared. “Exactly. It’s nice to meet you, Nat.” Lucy raised her glass and emptied it with one last sip while Natalie ordered their next round of drinks. Luciana’s mind lingered on Nat’s decision for Jack’n’Coke before her next words caught her attention and Luciana off guard. A laugh escaped her lips and she leaned towards Natalie with furrowed brows. “Are you...” She smiled, not wanting to offend her or scare her away if she did. “Are you flirting with me?” Lucy grinned and a very faint blush crept up on her cheeks. “Thank you. I’ve only just really got to Wilmington,” She admitted. “I officially moved here sometime in September, but I’ve been to New York for a while because of my job and now my new work here has kept me busy. I haven’t yet had the time to socialize really and haven’t made actual effort to meet people anyways. Who are you here with?” Luciana kept an eye on the bartender who was currently busy mixing her cocktail. She was kinda glad that Nat had sat down next to her too. Hopefully, she hadn't scared her away with her comment earlier. It’d be a shame to actually spend the whole evening sitting at the bar on her own.

[luciana-hewitt-blog]

laraturncr :

“I actually had someone suggest that, I forgot about it.” Lara sheepishly admitted as she shrugged her shoulders, making a mental note about the little trick that would help her achieve getting rid of the pesky itch and avoid any type of infections which she didn’t want to deal with while having her arm heal. “I might have been a little dramatic but I don’t do well with listening to the doctor’s orders, I blame the fact when I got strep throat at the age of seven and got a shot in my ass.” 

Luciana nodded with a smile. “well, if it was suggested twice there sure is something to it.” At the woman’s next words Lucy blushed very faintly and a laugh escaped her lips. “Well, then I probably shouldn’t tell you that I am, in fact, a doctor.” She chuckled. “But don’t worry. I’m specialized in children’s and youth medicine, so I probably won’t ever officially bother you with anything.” Lucy really did hope that this wouldn’t change anything about the woman’s plans to give her advice a try. “Anyways, I’m Luciana. Luciana Hewitt. I work at New Hanover Medical Center.”

[luciana-hewitt-blog]

@bxlymxwll

A sigh left Luciana’s lips but besides that, she changed silently.  She was used to working overtime but today she’d tried harder to be able to leave on time than most days. Usually, Lucy combined staying in longer with picking up Genevieve from school instead of driving home first, but today, Luciana didn’t even have to pick up her daughter. Jenny was invited over to a friends house after school. No, finishing on time today was completely for herself. She would meet up with one of the surgeon residents at the end of their shift to grab a bite, some coffee and catch up on some hospital gossip. Luciana had met Bexley back in September when she’d moved to Wilmington in the first place and they’d stayed in contact while Lucy’s been in New York. Now, they tried to meet up before or after their shifts whenever it fit and took a moment to relax before entering the day’s chaos or coming back down after a shift of madness. 

Hurriedly, Lucy took the stairs, her steps echoed from the stone around her. She arrived at the entrance hall only a few minutes late and only slightly out of breath. She spotted the blonde woman from afar and walked up to her with a smile, greeting her with a hug. “Hey. Sorry, I’m late. Everything alright?” Lucy brushed back a strand of her hair and sighed. Signaling Bexley that today’d been stressful. Again. “You want to go to the cafeteria downstairs or try one of the places across the street?”

[luciana-hewitt-blog]

elliotxholt :

Yeah, and there it was. He had been waiting for that. Elliot tightened his arms over his chest and braced himself for it. Let her talk, because he knew it would be even worse if he interrupted, or tried to explain himself before she was finished. He wasn’t always the smartest person in the world, but he also wasn’t the dumbest. So he let her talk. Vent. Cast his eyes to the ground as Lucy kept talking, now feeling guilty on top of everything else he was feeling about the mix up.

Yeah, he should’ve figured it was more than just the reality of what happened. And Elliot couldn’t even say that Lucy was overreacting, because he would think the exact same things if he was in her position. And he thought that he was the excessively paranoid one. “Okay, I get that. Trust me, I do. I panic when she’s out with her friends and doesn’t immediately answer the phone.” He wanted a repeat of their really terrible history about as much as Lucy did. “But that didn’t happen. And if I have learned one thing over the years it’s that you can’t dwell on what-ifs. Because all it does is hurt, and make you upset, or long to fix the things you can’t ever change.” Easier said than done, really, but he had been making the conscious effort to stop looking back. To stop looking back and thinking of all the things that he could’ve or should’ve done. “I made a mistake. And this is nowhere near the worst mistake I’ve ever made, you know that.”

That was one of the fundamental differences between Chelsea and Lucy - he forced Lucy to live through all of his mistakes. Chelsea only heard about them, years later. It was no wonder Lucy hated him, really. Or was at least angry with him, if the way she was slamming around that poor casserole was anything to go by. “C’mon, Lucy, you can’t be mad at me for trying to move on with my life.” Yes, she could, because that was exactly what was happening right now. He’d been alone for at least the last eight years - he figured he’d at least earned the right to be with someone now. “I don’t know what you want me to say. I am sorry. Believe me, I wish this hadn’t happened either.”

Trust me. Luciana turned around and rearranged the sets on the table slightly so they were sitting there perfectly. How? How was she supposed to trust him after everything that had happened? Lucy had lost her trust in the world a long time ago. Losing Elliot’s support and not getting through to him with her own in a time when they would have needed each other most had only made matters worse. Luciana hadn’t seen her ex-husband in years and now trust should have been restored within months? A lump was forming in her throat that made it harder to swallow with every word Elliot said. You can’t dwell on what-ifs. Well, how was she supposed to stop when she kept dreaming about the what if Alex had never been- tears welled up in her eyes, but she blinked them away.

Lucy turned to look at Elliot and listened to his helpless apologies. The problem was that Lucy already knew that he was sorry. It just didn’t change a thing. “You don’t get it.” Again, tears welled up though she was able to hold them back. For now. “I’’m not mad at you for moving on. I’m the one who ended things between the two of us and I still can’t even imagine us together again. There’s just too much that happened. But can you imagine what it felt like, sitting there in that café, realizing that Chelsea can offer Genevieve everything I can’t and that I wish I could? An intact family. More or less. A stay-at-home mom, her father, a sibling. The four of you as a picture-perfect family. If only I wasn’t there.” Now, Luciana lost the fight and her own body betrayed her. The first tear escaped, rolled down her cheek and reached her chin when Lucy angrily wiped it away with the back of her hand. “I can only imagine how the holidays must have been like. Wonderful, right? And the first ever Christmas with a whole family for Jenny as well.” A sob shook Lucy’s body and she had to wrap her arms back around her to keep her whole. “I’m not angry at you for moving on. I’m so happy for you. This is everything I ever wanted for you. For us. And I was completely unprepared to meet that other woman in your life, in Genevieve’s life, and realize-” Now, the tears were streaming down her cheeks and Lucy tried to blink them away desperately. “realize that you had all of it. But with someone else. You can’t blame me for being jealous of that. Not when I ran into this so damn unprepared. It was so sudden. Yes, you’ve made a mistake and you can apologize all you want. Just sometimes, Elliot, sometimes saying sorry can’t fix a damn thing and we both know it.”

[luciana-hewitt-blog]

laraturncr :

Lara stared after the other woman with her eyebrows raised at how motherly sounded but she probably had a point, here she was more focused on the itch than actually considering the fact she could get an infection then that would be another problem to deal with. “Then do you have another suggestion on getting rid of this itch or you’re going to tell me to deal with it.”

“You should cool it down.” Lucy was glad that the woman was open to suggestions and help instead of getting angry at her for intruding on her personal issues. It was just that Luciana was a doctor and infections because of tiny wounds underneath a cast weren’t that uncommon. Especially with children. Her area of expertise. “Simply lay a cold pack on the area. The change in sensation will at least lessen the itchy feeling. Don’t leave it on there for too long. You don’t want to freeze your arm off,” Lucy chuckled. This would almost certainly not happen. “and you should lay some piece of cloth in between so the cast doesn't get damp. Give it a try”

[luciana-hewitt-blog]

chelsea-heskett :

She relaxed her shoulders as Lucy handed Jack off to Genevieve. That was a more familiar, more comfortable image: Jack bouncing on her knee, with Jenny’s arms wrapped around his torso for support. It made Chelsea ease up a bit. Kept her stomach from churning. With Jack out of her grasp, it made it easier for Chelsea to distinguish them as mothers. As people. As Elliot’s partner. She hadn’t even gotten there yet–thinking about them together physically. She willed her mind to wander off to other places, ‘cause those types of thoughts had to be the worst she could ever think off. It couldn’t be comparable. One glance at Lucy, and Chelsea knew there was no comparison. Lucy was smarter and smaller and prettier and–why was she thinking about this? Tipped her head back to swallow down some more hot chocolate, ‘cause the sooner she finished her drink, the sooner she could get the hell out of here.

Chelsea was happy to hear Jenny talking. They both had a knack for that, chatting to fill up the void of silence. If Chelsea only looked at her and Jack then it made it a whole lot easier to relax. Tried not to pay too much attention to the dynamic between the mother and daughter. Her ears went red when Lucy called her Gen. There was that possessive feeling. Again. Chelsea thought she was the only one that called her that. Must’ve been a maternal thing. Must’ve been their thing. Chelsea had only been a substitute mother while Lucy was away in New York for the holidays. Some shoddy replacement. How could Chelsea ever call Jenny that again? It wasn’t theirs. Jenny wasn’t her daughter. She felt like it. That had felt real–that sense of family, but Lucy was living proof that it was all a fantasy. At the mention of Christmas and presents, Chelsea wanted to start bragging. Start saying anything that made herself feel better, and like she was as important to Jenny and Elliot as she previously thought she was. She decided to keep her mouth shut. 

I’m not in a hurry. It felt like a warning. A threat, even. Lucy was here and she was here to stay. Chelsea cleared her throat. “You’ll probably like it a lot better here by the time summer rolls around. Nothing’s ever fun in winter.” She said, ‘cause weather was always a good small talk topic. Bet that Lucy would disagree. Chelsea had heard before that New York was always pretty over winter. She, however, preferred the sunshine. The beach in her backyard. The two of them couldn’t be more different, it seemed. They only shared a love for Elliot and Genevieve. With what she said next, rattling on about her work, Chelsea thought that family was the only thing they had in common. I didn’t mean to intimidate. Chelsea gave her a closed-lip smile. Hadn’t that been the point? To intimidate her? Show her who the better person was? Lucy was a specialist. “That’s really interesting. What’s your research about?” What else was she meant to say? She’d be lying if she said she wasn’t intrigued, anyway. “It’s really great that you love your work. I can see where Jenny gets that strong work ethic from.” Her and Elliot. Glancing over at Jenny, busy showing Jack something on her phone, Chelsea reached forward to tap the girl on her arm. “Jenny, have you told your Mom about Harvard yet?”

Of course Lucy had asked about Jack’s “father.” She’d definitely thought that Chelsea was knocked up and abandoned. She was sure that had been Lucy’s assumption. I think it’s a great achievement, as if Chelsea needed to be talked to about the process. Lucy might’ve specialised in children’s medicine, but that didn’t mean she knew IVF the way Chelsea did. Was it possible to feel possessive of a fertility treatment? Scrunched up her nose, ‘cause that was definitely how she was feeling. Like she was on the defensive. She replied with a nod, instead. It was Lucy’s next question that had Chelsea the most insulted. She tried to keep her composure, hiding a grimace behind the rim of her mug. Her hot chocolate was almost over, so hopefully this would be over soon, too. 

“No, no, I bought a place in Wrightsville Beach when I moved back to town. So, yeah, I own that.” Had to repeat that fact, just so Lucy knew she wasn’t a total low-life. “My Mom lives over in Murrayville. My father passed a long time ago.” Hopefully that bit of information distracted the woman from her previous statement. “Before I got pregnant I was working as an architect in Charlotte. Sketching up designs for apartment complexes, event spaces, shopping malls. Anything, really.” Tried to make it sound fancy, but nothing compared to research and routine examinations. “I decided to take a break from work when I moved back here. I just wanted to enjoy being pregnant, and now I’m just enjoying being a mom.” It was the best way she could make ‘unemployed’ sound good. “Money isn’t really an issue.” Not that it was any of her business, but Chelsea was trying to mind-read. Was assuming that Lucy was assuming the worst of her.  “Y’know how it is. Kids are a full-time job.” 

When Chelsea mentioned summer, Luciana felt like a stone had been lifted off her chest. Well, one of the many that currently kept her from breathing right. The weather was a safe topic. You couldn’t go wrong with that. It was small talk. “I hope so. I grew up in California and since I’ve been living in New York for years, I haven’t had a real summer in ages.” She took another sip of her cocoa that was slowly turning cold and added some more so they could stay on the safe topic for a while longer. “I like it when it’s warm outside and the sun is shining. Being able to just throw on a lovely dress and go out in sandals is the best feeling.” Lucy started stirring in her cup again and realized that there were thankfully only a couple sips left. 

Luciana wasn’t completely oblivious to what was going on in the people around her. She could see that Chelsea wasn’t comfortable with talking about Lucy’s work. That’s why she’d apologized and now shrugged off the obviously only politely posed question. “Oh, it’s not that interesting. Really, it’s nothing. Just a minor detail.” It was anything but just a minor detail and she’d just made a serious understatement, but enough was enough. Chelsea could ask Elliot about it if she wanted to be further intimidated by the whole medical field of hers. That’s why Luciana only nodded at Chelsea’s next statement. “Thank you, and yes, I do love my job. Jenny’s gotten that from us both, Elliot and-” Lucy didn’t finish her sentence since Chelsea had reached out for her daughter. Lucy’s heart skipped a beat. It was unbelievable. They had just installed a speech dynamic between the two of them. Couldn’t she leave the children out of this? 

Genevieve looked up from her phone, startled at the sudden interruption. Just as her mother had moments ago, she blushed ever so faintly at the question and with that, legitimized her mother’s very real reaction. “Uh, no,” she looked at Chelsea with furrowed brows but started smiling as she realized she could maybe impress her mother. With a turn of her head, Jenny smiled at Luciana instead. “Chelsea’s helped me with my homework and I came up with the idea. I wasn’t really serious. Just wanted to get to dad, but maybe I could one day go to Harvard. I mean, why not, right?” With a look at her mother’s cup, she stole the biscuit from the saucer and stuffed it in her mouth in one go. 

Luciana, next to her daughter, could feel her own heart shatter with every word that left Genevieve’s lips. This had never been meant to happen. She was supposed to know things like that first and impress other people with her slightly embarrassed daughter. It shouldn’t be the other way around. There was a sudden realization that this had been exactly why Chelsea had brought this up. She had wanted to show Luciana that the two of them had shared moments that were usually reserved for parents only, that she was intruding. Successfully. Lucy forced herself to smile back at Jenny. “Of course you can, sweetheart. Just look at where your parents went. If you work hard, you can achieve anything. And you know you can ask me for help always. Harward should be glad to have you one day.” When Jenny stole the biscuit, Lucy playfully pinched her side softly and grinned. “You little thief!” She exclaimed with a laugh and earned a laugh back from her daughter. The girl continued to grin by her mother’s side and focused back on Jack. Lucy, still smiling, looked back to Chelsea and felt like repeating herself. Her parents. But she didn’t. Instead, she took another sip from her cup. She knew, she would always win this one.

“A house close to the beach. That’s so nice.” The sigh that left Lucy’s lips was full of melancholy. “We had a summer house at the beach in my youth. But still, you have family close by. As far as I know, Murrayville isn’t that far from Wrightsville Beach, right? That must be wonderful.” Lucy imagined short notice visits for dinner or sunday afternoon tea with grandparents and suddenly wished that her own family would live closer to Wilmington. Luciana nodded at Chelsea’s words and took another sip from her cup. It was almost empty by now and Lucy smiled at the woman across from her. Partly because of that. “I agree, kids should always come first, but as much as I wish I could have given up my job for my family, I couldn’t and also didn’t want to. I think that nowadays, women can be more than just mothers and it takes off pressure from the child as well when the mother has another purpose in life than just maternity. That’s a very individual decision though.  I worked from home a lot when Jenny was younger, so it worked out just fine. And you could work from home too if you wanted to, couldn’t you?”

[luciana-hewitt-blog]

elliotxholt :

Oh, no. He never liked when that disappointed glare was directed at himself. She was the kind of person who had a quiet anger, and that was really more terrifying than if she just straight up yelled at him. Elliot straightened up when she finally turned to him - he wasn’t sure why, he supposed he just wanted to seem more together. Put across a good impression after he’d screwed up so badly today. This was familiar, too, the two of the standing around, arguing with each other. Vaguely familiar, anyway - he never remembered what they argued about, if anything, but they always managed to do it. There was always something. The more things changed the more they stayed the same.

He didn’t want to say no, that he would really rather get home as fast as he could, so he could avoid this conversation. But Elliot didn’t want to seem rude and he figured he at least owed Lucy an explanation. And he was sure that Genevieve would want to stay, while they were here. “Sure. Why not.” Oh, he could think of a lot of reasons why not. He forced a smile, falling silent as he continued to just watch her. Hoped and hoped that the two of them could at least get through a dinner with some sort of civility. Well, no such luck apparently, because then she was talking again and Elliot waved his hands, because he didn’t know what to do with them. “I made a mistake, okay, I’m sorry. I forgot that I called you. I asked Chelsea because I didn’t think there was going to be anyone to pick Jenny up from school.” And he was not about to go down that road again, that was for sure.

Why not. Was he even serious? Luciana could have listed about a hundred reasons why instantly. She really didn’t know why she was doing this to herself. She could have called for Jenny, told her to get the stuff she wanted to take with her for the weekend and Elliot would have been gone within minutes. But ultimately, they needed to talk about this. They couldn’t just put it off until they forgot about it or it happened again. At least Lucy couldn’t leave this situation unsettled. Otherwise, she would mull it over through the night and get no sleep at all. Well, she probably wouldn’t get much sleep anyways. 

“Oh, that’s what it was to you? You’ve made a mistake? You’re sorry?” Lucy took a step towards Elliot and asked him in the sweetest voice. “You forgot that you’ve called me? Well, I don’t think you are aware of the consequences this could have had. Just imagine what would have happened if one of us hadn’t been that on time, yeah? Sure, Chelsea would have been worried, worried that she’d fucked it up, but can you imagine how I would have felt? When I would have been waiting there in the parking lot and Jenny would have been gone already. When I would have started pacing around, that all to familiar fear creeping up on me because Jenny wouldn’t have been leaving that building any time soon. I might have waited half an hour, maybe an hour, until I would have checked in with Jenny’s friend’s mother. The one that lives close by. To check if she had taken the girls home together. And guess what, she would have told me no. And by that time, I would have been close to a panic attack. I would have checked your apartment next because it’s closer to school, no Jenny there either. Then I would have come here, to an empty house like I already did for months of my life in the past. And then,” Luciana’s voice broke. The words had been coming faster and faster. The monologue getting out of hand. The step she had taken towards Elliot had long been taken back. Her back against the counter, Lucy had her arms wrapped around her, because what she was talking about right now was her biggest nightmare. “Then, I would have had to call you. And no, I wouldn’t have called you any sooner, because a, I knew you were at work, and b, I already did this once. Because I wouldn’t have wanted this to happen again. Like a sick, twisted repetition of our past. All over again.”

Luciana pressed her eyes shut and took a shaky breath. Then, abruptly, she went and turned off the oven. “But thank god this didn’t happen, right. No, instead I was faced with that new girlfriend of yours.” Lucy took the casserole out of the oven and went towards the table. “With the nightmare that could have been in the back of my mind while I had to watch her interact with my daughter and-” The casserole hit the table with too much force. One of the glasses fell over and Lucy reached for it with shaking hands to put it back in its place. Then, she turned back towards Elliot, her voice shaky. “And that utterly adorable little boy. Jack, right? Momma and Papa with a girl and a boy. Isn’t that what we’ve always wanted? Now, guess what that must have felt like.”

[luciana-hewitt-blog]

elliotxholt :

Natural. Normal. Kind of like the way he used to just stand in the kitchen and watch Lucy cook, sometimes trying to be helpful, but usually just watching, because he was fascinated by it. For a second it felt like it was ten years ago, where nothing had happened and everything was alright. But only for a second. He kept his distance, leaning against the door frame and letting her do her thing. Some things didn’t change - he still liked to watch. But now it was mostly awkward instead of interesting. Keeping his distance for the sake of avoiding being yelled at. Face the inevitable, right?

“I should’ve figured that.” He crossed his arms over his chest, glancing up toward the ceiling - he could hear music coming from her room. That should’ve been a giveaway. Could the kid listen to the music any louder? Oh, well, he’d talk to her about it later. That wasn’t important right now. What was important was trying to get rid of this completely uncomfortable atmosphere that was surrounding the two of them. Sure, he and Lucy weren’t on as good of terms as they used to be, but they should at least still kind of be able to talk to one another. “Look, if you’re going to yell at me about this afternoon, could you just do it?”

Lucy didn’t look up when Elliot entered the kitchen. She checked the casserole in the oven, got out cutlery and glasses and returned to the table. After he’d answered, there was silence and Lucy figured he was watching her, awkwardly, not exactly sure about what to do with himself. Good. She sorted through the cutlery, putting everything in its destined place. She could hear her own pulse and noticed that the music from Jenny’s room had gotten louder. She had probably heard her father arriving and decided that she didn’t wanted to witness another uncomfortable situation today. Lucy couldn’t exactly blame her.

She had just been walking back to the oven when Elliot started talking. Lucy stopped, turned towards him and crossed her arms in front of her chest. She felt like crying. This felt like everything they had gone through after Alex had disappeared. They had argued a lot. At least now Elliot wasn’t drunk. And they weren’t married any more. Luciana wasn’t sure if she could ever handle Elliot and Chelsea getting married. The thought had popped up in her head without warning and Lucy sighed. “You know me. I’m not going to yell at you if I can help it. Are the two of you going to stay for dinner?” How could he even think she was simply starting to yell at him? Was that Chelsea’s way of handling things? Had he forgotten that it took quite some while until Lucy would raise her voice. That before she’d do that, she’d become quiet like she already was now. Quiet and exasperated and tired and so damn disappointed. It was the word that would describe the look she gave him best. In the end, if Lucy really couldn’t help it, he was right. She would be a raging, yelling force of wet anger. Luciana couldn’t be angry without crying. Damn, she hated arguments. 

“Well then, how would you describe what happened this afternoon, Elliot?”

[luciana-hewitt-blog]

taylor-carson :

“No-no, buddy,” Taylor reminded her curious little boy who was trying to grasp an object dangling upon a bag of the person in front of them. When they began to notice his tug, Taylor reached down and lifted her son into her arms with an apologetic look. “I’m sorry. He’s at that brave stage where he wants to touch everything.”

Luciana felt a tug on her bag and turned around in confusion. She had just come out of a restaurant, chinese takeaway in a plastic bag dangling from her wrist, when the tug had distracted her. Being confronted with a blonde woman around the same age as her with a toddler in her arms, Lucy smiled understandingly looking from the toddler back to the mother. “Hey, you’re fine. He looks like he didn’t mean to anyway.” A chuckle left Luciana’s lips and she carefully took the little boy’s hand. “How old is he?”

[luciana-hewitt-blog]

chelsea-heskett :

Her heart must’ve stopped when Lucy reached out for Jack. There was that feeling of possessiveness again. Chelsea didn’t want to see what Lucy was like with Jack. How much better of a mother she must’ve been. Jack almost immediately reaching to attack her hair before, out on the street, had been enough. It was hard to see them and not think of Alex. Of the family they used to have. How Chelsea, how Jack, must’ve seemed like some sort of a replacement. Maybe ‘cause they were. A sequel that shouldn’t’ve been made, with a cast that could never compare to the original. That was Chelsea. As soon as Jack was seated on Lucy’s knee, Chelsea wanted to snatch him back and make a run for it. Kept her eyes on the swirls of chocolate in her mug, instead, slipping off her coat and tucking it over the back of her chair.

Jenny didn’t seem to notice, too busy bopping Jack’s nose. Chelsea hoped her mother couldn’t notice. Couldn’t pick up on how rigid she was. Her hands were shaking in her lap. Jack was staring at her from across the table with wide and happy eyes. “Oh, right. You were in New York for a bit, right?” As if Chelsea had no idea about the trip. Lucy being in New York meant missing out on Christmas and New Year’s Eve celebrations. “The holidays must’ve been hard. I mean, being away from Jenny.” An observation. Chelsea hated it the nights Elliot and Genevieve stayed at their apartment downtown. Her guest room was Jenny’s room, now. The left side of her bed was Elliot’s. The weeks Lucy had custody of Jenny always felt different. The house was quieter. Chelsea missed her. Looked at her now, spooning the froth off the hot chocolate and into her mouth. 

Lucy had a perfect smile. But Jenny likes it. And Chelsea glanced at the girl, who seemed quiet for the first time in her life. Chelsea must’ve been picking at things to dislike about Lucy, ‘cause she had to swallow back a comment about Jenny being able to talk for herself. About the fact that she knew Jenny liked it–remembered the first day she’d even met the girl, where they talked about soccer and school and all the friends she’d made so far. If Chelsea and Jenny could do anything, it was talk. She was definitely overanalysing. The jealousy bitter and hot on her tongue as she took another sip of her hot chocolate. The school has a good enough reputation, even though Genevieve was enrolled in one of the better elementary schools around town. And it was just elementary school. It wasn’t college. Wasn’t Ivy League. They weren’t going to find anything like that around here. Lucy thought the neighborhood they were living in was up to par with the school, as if Forest Hills wasn’t one of the most expensive and prestigious parts of Wilmington.

Chelsea was definitely out of place here. Felt like a wreck listening to Lucy talk in a way that was so unfamiliar. Felt so damn uncomfortable watching Lucy with her arms wrapped around her son. She wondered if this is how Lucy had felt when Jenny waved Chelsea over to their table. When Jenny greeted her happily outside of the school earlier.

Maybe it was because Jack was so young, and Chelsea hadn’t gotten to this point of mothering yet, but–the way Lucy chastised Genevieve for interrupting had Chelsea shaking with adrenaline. Jenny was rolling her eyes, and Lucy was shaking her head. As if this encounter couldn’t get more awkward or uncomfortable. Chelsea didn’t like that. Didn’t like how it sounded, or what it meant. Trailed back to her previous thought, that it was like Jenny couldn’t speak for herself. Chelsea knew that Lucy wasn’t a bad mother. It wasn’t that. It was just… Different. She wasn’t sure she’d ever be like that. She wasn’t sure if that was a good or a bad thing. “Yeah, I can only imagine that it’s been hard to settle with everything that’s been going on. The holidays and going away and your job. Is it a similar position to your previous one?” Chelsea tried to sound casual as she asked her questions. Ultimately, they were ammunition to further destroy her own self-esteem. “I don’t know a lot, but, you’re a doctor, right?” 

How long have you been living in Wilmington? This was exactly what she wanted to avoid. She was sure Lucy already knew the answer. Knew what a low-life she was compared to her and Elliot. “I grew up here. I moved away for college, though, and only came back here over a year and a half ago?” Squinted to try to calculate how long it had been. “I did a cycle of IVF up in Charlotte and when I got pregnant my Mom convinced me to move back. She didn’t want me to go through any of it alone.” Chelsea reached across the table to shake Jack’s hand. Grinned down at her little boy. She wasn’t sure if Lucy knew about Jack’s conception. Wasn’t sure if Elliot had told her that, or if she was going off of the assumption that Chelsea had been knocked up and abandoned. “I love it here. It’s home.” It might not’ve been New York, but that didn’t matter. The only cities Chelsea really liked, anyway, were ones that existed in picture books of gothic architecture. She left that part out. Left out being unemployed, too.

Luciana tried to listen to Chelsea’s words intently. She wanted to soak it all up just so she could mull it over once she was home again and again. There must have been some flaws to the woman in front of her, something she could direct her irritation on. But Genevieve had continued playing with the little boy in Lucy’s lap and it had been distracting. When Jack had squealed in delight a second time Lucy simply handed him over to Jenny so the both of them could have their fun. It was quite obvious that Jenny knew what she was doing with Jack and what he liked. It made Lucy want to cry in frustration about how Chelsea was able to offer her daughter a better family than she could. An intact one. A father, a sibling, a mother that was there whenever needed. Lucy, on the other hand, had nothing to offer but herself whenever she wasn’t at work, and a house that was still partly empty and not cozy and homely yet. 

Instead, Lucy swallowed it down and nodded. “Yes, exactly. And yes, I’ve missed her a lot. Especially during the holidays.” Luciana didn’t want to tell Chelsea how much it had hurt to spend the holidays without Genevieve, when all those years, it had only ever been the two of them. How scary every single day had been since the first day she had left her back in Wilmington. For the first bit, it had been like Alex all over again. No child to wake up in the morning, none to pick up from school, none to have dinner and watch tv and spend every free minute with. When she had had the chance to work from their old appartment, she’d become agitated around 4pm when all she could think about was that Jenny should have been home by now and every  day she had to remind herself that Jenny would never come home like that into this appartment again. No, Lucy didn’t say any of this. She wouldn’t open up like this to a woman who could so easily hurt her. 

“And I’ve missed you too,” Jenny assured her mother with an empathetic smile. “But we talked nearly every day. I was scared in the beginning. School had just started and you know how I was the new kid in class and I wasn’t even sure if I would make friends.” Wide-eyed, looking at Chelsea, Genevieve explained the same situation that she had already talked about a thousand times by now to Chelsea again. Even though Jenny knew Chelsea already knew and Jack got irritated by loosing the girl’s attention. With a careful cuddle, Jenny calmed the little boy down again. “The present I sent you for Christmas did really get to you in time, right? Mom?” They had talked about that before and Lucy had sent her a picture of the package once it had been dropped off at the appartment, but Lucy nodded nevertheless. “It did and it was a lovely surprise, Jen. Thank you.” This time, Lucy wouldn’t think off scolding Jenny for interrupting her. She knew her daughter would probably want to talk about the time they had to spend apart for quite some more. It hadn’t been easy though Jenny had talked about how nice it was with Elliot and then with Chelsea too. And Lucy had been glad that her daughter had been well and happy, but she had been equally as jealous and worried nevertheless. 

Having a face to add to all of Jenny’s stories didn’t help putting Lucy at ease at all. It made everything so much worse, in a way. It had been this woman who had celebrated Christmas with her daughter. The four of them had unwrapped presents together and had had a merry time like every other normal family did. Picture perfect if it hadn’t been for that other woman in New York who sure had been in the back of Elliot and Chelsea’s mind somewhere. If it wasn’t for her, Lucy now saw, the four of them could start living as a happy normal family right now and Luciana wanted to scream in Chealsea’s face that she wouldn’t give up her family that easily.

Instead, she shrugged and took a sip from her hot chocolate. “It’s fine. Having to spend the time in New York simply meant it’ll take longer to settle, but I’m not in a hurry.” This was her new home, Lucy had to remind herself. She wouldn’t just off and leave again with Genevieve under her arm because of some new woman at her ex-husband’s side. Lucy’d come here to give Jenny a chance to get to know her father and to have a real family. And this was what was happening. Even though Luciana didn’t like how. 

“Yes, I’m a doctor,” Lucy nodded with a smile. “I’m a specialist in children’s and youth medicine at New Hanover Medical Center, but it’s nothing like my old job. In New York, I was working for a teaching hospital and focused on research and teaching. I did practice, but not so much as I do now. It’s more routine examinations and simpler injuries. A lot of my time is spent on follow-ups, but I don’t plan on stopping my research work altogether. I already have some ideas for work that could be done here and I still do have this ongoing research study which I will probably have to go back for another time.” Luciana talked about her position not so much with pride but with passion. Her job was one of the few things she was sure about and therefore, indulging on one of her favourite topics, she had forgotten to hold back and keep her distance. Lucy blushed faintly and took another sip from her cup. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to intimidate. This is probably a bit much.” A sigh left her lips and she looked over to Jack and Genevieve who were looking at something flashy on Jenny’s phone.

“That’s nice. There’s no place like home.” At Chelsea’s words, Luciana looked back up to the woman in front of her and smiled. “IVF. Yes, Elliot told me about it when I was asking about Jack’s father.” She nodded and took her spoon to stir the chocolate back up from the ground. “I think it’s a great achievement. The possibilities for families with fertility issues and women who want to start planning for a family but haven’t yet found the right partner. Sadly it’s still very stigmatized.” Lucy realized that this might be a reason for Chelsea not to be comfortable talking about the topic, but it was a medical one and Lucy could work with that. “So, are you and Jack living with your parents and what are you doing for a living then?”

[luciana-hewitt-blog]

elliotxholt :

See, this was what happened when he agreed to take on extra shifts and had the memory span of a goddamn goldfish - he forgot that he’d already set up some kind of school pickup for Genevieve and ended up double-booking, so to speak. If he’d remembered that he asked Lucy to get their daughter, he definitely would not have called Chelsea. That was a meeting he wanted to put off ever happening. Possibly forever. But he made a mistake, because really, what else was new, and now everything had spun out of control! Of course it had. Lucy was probably going to yell at him, too. Why not, really. At this point Lucy would have to get in line behind the rest of the people who wanted to yell at him. But he had to interact with her to get his daughter - who probably felt about as uncomfortable and confused as Elliot did, so they did have something in common. He was trying to figure out what to say to Lucy, if he had to say anything at all, but he was pretty sure that, at this point, he had to embrace that he never said the right thing to anyone. So it was a productive drive over.

Taking the steps to the door, he knocked on it a few times before he just let himself in, because, well, there were some things that still felt natural to do with Lucy, even if they hadn’t done them in years. “Hey, Lucy. It’s just me,” he called out, needing to clarifying before she thought he was a stranger or some kind of burglar. He stood awkwardly near the front door, not wanting to get too far into the house and feel like he was intruding. While some things were still natural, other things were not. In some ways, he did feel like a stranger to Lucy, despite their history. “Where’s Jenny?”

Pasta and veggies were already steaming in the casserole next to her and Luciana stirred the tomato sauce one last time, when she heard a knock at the front door and Elliot’s voice a moment later. Lucy closed her eyes and took a deep breath to prepare herself for what lay ahead. “I’m in the kitchen,” she answered and started carefully pouring the sauce over what was already waiting in the casserole. Luciana hated arguments, but she knew that sometimes they were unavoidable. Her heart was beating heavily in her chest and she decided on simply finishing the preparations before she would give Elliot any actual attention at all. 

Still, she answered his next question. “She’s in her room. Upstairs.” Luciana added grated cheese over the steaming mix evenly before putting it into the oven to bake for another few minutes. She still wasn’t sure how to begin this. She was confused and hurt and her mind was still running a mile a minute. There were so many accusations to chose from that, in the end, Luciana chose to leave it to Elliot to start their conversation. She simply took three plates from the cupboard and placed them on the placemats already waiting on the table.

[luciana-hewitt-blog]

chelsea-heskett :

Jack was happy with his hands in Lucy’s hair. Was that color natural? It was a type of self-consciousness that made her feel insecure about everything. Luciana was tending to Jenny’s hair, something she saw Elliot do quite a lot. Their way of affection, Chelsea was sure. She was left out on that. Family didn’t always have to be biological, she knew that. She’d experienced that. Aubrey like a sister, even though Chelsea was an only child. Jack without a biological father, even if Elliot was filling in on that role. For now, anyway. Chelsea took a quick look at Lucy and she could feel it all slip away, like the color was from her face. And she couldn’t stop thinking about Christmas, and the wonderful day they’d shared together. She couldn’t help but wonder if she was some sort of replacement. A lesser version of Genevieve’s mother. One that didn’t have the M.D. attached to her name, or the cheekbones, or any of it. 

Elliot had been right about one thing. Happiness was some sort of fleeting. It didn’t take long for the next bad thing to happen. And while this felt terrible for Chelsea, maybe she was the bad thing impeding on this family. Keeping them from a reunion. Keeping them from happy. Now she was starting to unravel. Was there such a thing as a ten-year rebound? Chelsea couldn’t’ve been some fresh-out-of-prison fuck. No. Not with Christmas. But Christmas was a lie–and Elliot was only settling, or waiting, for Lucy to walk back into his life. Chelsea had no idea how she was keeping it all together. Must’ve been Jenny, who seemed to share even a smidgen of her anxiety. God, this was awkward. 

Now Chelsea was in the position to fill in all the gaps of information Elliot had left out when talking to his ex-wife about his new relationship. About her. It was Lucy’s right to know about her, ‘cause she was right, Chelsea had been spending a lot of time with her daughter–but did she have to say it? Did she have to say it like that? “Only good things, I hope.” ‘Cause that’s what you were meant to say in any other situation. But, this time? It made it seem like there were bad things about Chelsea, things Elliot might’ve hidden from his ex-wife. So anxious that Chelsea almost pulled the ‘well, I’ve never been to prison’ joke–but that was cruel, and unfair, and not even remotely how she felt about Elliot’s past. Chelsea stood, rigid, as she watched Genevieve interact with her mother. She’d always been enthralled with how Elliot had talked to his daughter. Lucy talked the same way. Like a real parent. Chelsea was a complete and total fake–even with Jack with his head now on her shoulder. 

“I’ve just gotta go and grab Jack’s baby bag from the car.” Chelsea pointed her thumb over her shoulder. “I’ll meet you guys there in a few minutes?” It was a good excuse. She smiled with her teeth, and with dimples in her cheeks, and waved. When she was a reasonable distance away from Lucy and Jenny, Chelsea pulled out her phone to practically abuse Elliot over text message. She tried to keep it quick, so it wasn’t too obvious. Met up with the girls inside the coffee ship within five minutes and an ‘I’m ignoring you’ message to Elliot. Her hot chocolate was steaming at the table by the time she sat down. “Hey.” A little more composed now that she’d taken it out on Elliot. “Sorry if I took too long. Y’know how it is.” Jenny reached for Jack, so Chelsea handed him over. Unsure what to do with her hands now, she stirred marshmallows into her hot drink. Before Lucy could get the one-up on her, Chelsea asked the first question. “So, tell me about yourself. Do you like it here in Wilmington?”

Only good things. Luciana chuckled softly in agreement even though she would have liked to point out that, yes, Elliot had in fact only told her the good things so Lucy would be okay with the situation. It had only made her worry more. Seeing Chelsea in person now, Lucy wanted to ask one simple question more desperately. Why? Why her? What was it about that woman that made Elliot bring her into their family? He had just met his daughter and Luciana had simply expected to get a chance to get used to this new situation slowly and without further complication to their already dysfunctional little family. It wasn’t that Lucy wasn’t happy for Elliot or that it was actually about Chelsea. It had just been too soon. She hadn’t been prepared for this whole patchwork-thing. Not yet..and probably not ever. She probably would never have been. Lucy smiled at Chelsea with a nod. “Sure thing. Take your time.” The problem was for that kind of things, like marriage, or actually being a mother, or taking the driving test, you could never be prepared for them enough. You just had to make it work.

“Can I have whipped cream with my cocoa?” Jenny asked her mother as soon as Chelsea had her back to them. “Yeah, why not,” Lucy answered, what earned her a toothy smile from her daughter. She lay her arm around Jenny’s shoulders and pulled her in softly. This had a surprisingly instant grounding effect on her. “Are you okay with going out for hot cocoa like that? Did you have something else in mind for the afternoon?” Slowly, the two of them made their way towards the coffee shop, while Jenny told her mother that, no, she was fine with that though she had originally planned on reading the last bit of her latest book. The plot had apparently enough of an effect on her to make her want to talk about it. Excitedly, she went on about how one of the main characters needed to be rescued right now though every other side plot was equally as hopeless and needed to be saved. For Jenny, the book was seriously worth talking about, but in the end, all she wanted to avoid was awkward silence between her mother and her while they chose a table and waited for their drinks. She didn’t want to give chance for her mother to ask the questions that were surely unavoidable. Lucy had tried to listen intently to her daughter’s story but mostly failed to do so. All sorts of thoughts were screaming for attention in her head and when the waitress had asked for their order, Lucy had been glad Jenny had to stop talking for a moment. 

Their cups had just been brought to the table by the extraordinarily bored waitress when Chelsea stepped into the café, Jack on her hip and bag in hand. “Chelsea.” Immediately, Jenny straightened up and waved to get the woman’s attention. “Hey, don’t worry about it. We’ve only just got the drinks.” Lucy greeted Chelsea back and reached out for her son so she could take off her coat and have a seat. As soon as Jack was on Lucy’s lap, Jenny cooed at him softly and gave his tiny nose a soft nudge. “Um,” Lucy had been distracted by the playfulness at her side and directed her focus back on Chelsea who had taken a seat across from her. “Well, as you know, I didn’t actually have time to find out if I do yet,” Lucy answered with a smile. “But so far, so good. It’ll take some time to get used to the new job and we haven’t even finished furnishing the house yet, but Jenny likes it and the school has a good enough reputation. As does the neighborhood we found that house in. Elliot lives within a reasonable distance and there’s a nice, elderly woman living next door-” 

“who’s totally creepy.” Genevieve interrupted her mother mid sentence before taking a tiny sip from her hot chocolate what left her with some whipped cream on the tip of her nose. With a helpless smile, Lucy wiped it off. “Jenny, please don’t interrupt my every other sentence.” Jenny rolled her eyes at her mother, Lucy sighed and shook her head while looking back to Chelsea. “Anyway, how do you like it here? How long have you been living in Wilmington?”

[luciana-hewitt-blog]

laraturncr :

        Lara was scratching inside her cast with the straw, trying to scratch the itch that was driving her crazy and the fact she couldn’t even reach it had her throwing the straw on the table in frustration. “Who the hell thought this through,” She grumbled as she let her arm fall on the table, “Never break your arm, this is the worse itch and I can’t even reach it. I am this close to breaking this cast open.” Lara reached for her bagel and angrily took a bite out of it as she tried her hardest to ignore the annoyance of her broken arm. 

Lucy grimaced. Her features showed a mixture of worry and disgust when the girl used her straw to scratch inside her cast. "Please don’t do this. You can easily damage the skin underneath that cast. People sticking things inside their casts to get rid of an itch is a real problem. It can cause infection.” Lucy’s brows were furrowed and she knew she was probably crossing a line right now, but she just couldn’t hold it back.

[luciana-hewitt-blog]

@elliotxholt

Today had been an awfully long day. First off, Lucy had had the early morning shift, starting the day at 4am and she hadn’t even had a break until her shift had been almost over anyway. Next, Elliot had texted her around lunchtime to pick up their daughter from school because he couldn’t make it. That wouldn’t have been a problem at all. Seriously, Luciana was fine with that. It only made sense that they helped each other out in situations like these. You could never plan on a 100%. That’s just not a thing. Still, the situation for Lucy had changed rather drastically when she hadn’t been the only woman waiting for Jenny outside the school building. No, Lucy had been -  thanks to Elliot - confronted with his new girlfriend and good lord, it had been awkward. Of course, Lucy had played it cool in front of her daughter. She'd taken them all out for a round of hot cocoa, but inside of her, there’d been a turmoil of emotions. Still was. 

Now, Luciana was home, preparing a dinner that could possibly work for three persons, but if Elliot had other plans, would work as leftovers tomorrow. Pouring herself a glass of water, Lucy took a deep breath to calm herself down. If she concentrated on it, she could hear music from Jenny’s room where her daughter was hopefully finishing her homework. It didn’t actually matter. The weekend lay ahead and it was Elliot's responsibility this week anyway. Lucy couldn’t stop thinking about her afternoon, the strange situation she’d unintentionally put her daughter in, about how exasperated she was with Elliot and- damn, she was just so tired.

[luciana-hewitt-blog]

nctalielewis :

          “Yes!” Natalie cheered in tipsy triumph after she’d sank the last ball she needed into the corner pocket of the pool table, effectively declaring herself the victor. Leaving her stick to rest where it’d been haphazardly dropped she quickly got to work scooping up the pile of bills waiting to be claimed, a full spread grin illuminating her face. “I hate to take my money and run, boys, but now there’s a few drinks waiting for me at the bar.” By the time she reached an empty stool and dropped down to take a seat she was still laughing, this time mostly to herself. “What they didn’t realize is that I basically grew up scooping my dad out of places like this,” she overshared to anyone nearby who cared enough to listen, “and had four brothers. That was child’s play.” Turning her head just enough to spot the closest patron Nat simmered down, letting her smug grin ease into something softer. “What are you drinkin’? I’m feeling generous.”

Tonight was one of the rare occasions Lucy had a night off, didn’t have to look for a babysitter and was still feeling awake enough to leave the house. She hadn’t even taken any work home with her. She’d been good to herself and simply decided to spoil herself with a night out. The problem was, while she’d officially been living in town for quite a while, she hadn’t even been here. While her new address was already the default, she hadn’t yet had the chance to socialize at all, leaving her with no one to spend the night out with. Still, she had a surprisingly good time. She was sitting at the bar, watching the people and particularly a brunette who was currently playing some completely baffled guys. Her game seemed effortless and once she’d finished them off, she confirmed Lucy’s thesis vociferously. Lucy took a sip from her almost empty glass and focused on the remaining groups out playing. Realizing the brunette woman was leaning closer and wanted to address her, Lucy focused back on her with a smile. “It’s tequila sunrise. But you shouldn’t waste your well-earned money on strangers. Therefore: Hi. I’m Luciana.”

ooc: her outfit

[luciana-hewitt-blog]

chelsea-heskett :

It wasn’t just the fact that she was beautiful. No, there was more to Lucy than that. She thumbed Jack’s cheek, and Chelsea felt somehow like less of a mother. She offered to go and get hot cocoa to get back at Elliot for the mix-up. She was nice, and smart–God, she was a doctor. And Chelsea thought back to high school, to all the girls that were equally smart and pretty and sporty and kind, and she wondered how that was even possible. If any sort of flaw or insecurity existed beneath a beautiful exterior. She remembered the first day, when she’d met Elliot and was afraid to say she was unemployed. She remembered the sinking feeling in her chest, the shame, when she found out he had been a lawyer. Insecurity streaked through pride when Jenny announced she’d one-up her father and try for Harvard Law. Chelsea barely got through an architecture degree at UNC. These people were Ivy League, and if they hadn’t been through so much tragedy and turmoil, Chelsea knew she would have never had stood a chance. Talk about variables: this wouldn’t be a situation. This wouldn’t even be a concept.

And how the hell was she meant to say ‘no’ to Lucy with Jenny standing right there? Her mother had a good handshake. Strong. The insecurity and intimidation must’ve been written all over Chelsea’s face, and good God, she was so angry at Elliot. How could he let this happen? She… She needed warning, and preparation, and make-up, and jeans that weren’t ripped at the knees. She needed to not feel like this. She needed to not feel inferior. And possessive, in a way, seeing Genevieve with her mother. This must’ve been what Wes had been talking about when he’d said full steam ahead. Jack was babbling and tangling his fingers in Lucy’s hair. 

Did Chelsea mention that Lucy was beautiful? And thin? And an Ivy League doctor? And the mother of Elliot’s children?  

“This isn’t how I thought we’d meet, either.” She tried to relax her smile, but she was sure it seemed forced. No, not forced, awkward. Panicked. Chelsea tried to breathe deep through her nose. If Lucy didn’t pick up on it, then Jenny definitely would’ve. “I’m sorry, I hope this is okay–” apologised on impulse. “I’m not sure what Elliot’s told you. If you even wanted to meet me. I don’t know.” Chelsea tried to play off her nerves with a laugh and a slight wave of her hand. Bounced Jack against her hip to burn off some excess energy. So she’d look less obvious. Couldn’t even look at Genevieve. Didn’t know how the hell she’d ever be able to face her again after this, after finally meeting her mother. Her real mother. Like this meeting shattered any sort of fantasy she had about family. Christmas? Only ‘cause Lucy couldn’t be there. Chelsea? Only ‘cause Lucy couldn’t be there. “I would love some hot cocoa.” Her laugh was shaky. “Only if you don’t mind Jack and I intruding.” That’s what this was, right?

The baby in Chelsea’s arms was still grabbing at her. He had his tiny fingers on a zipper of one of her jacket’s pockets and after he’d lost that, brushed them through a strand of her hair. Realizing how close - probably close enough to intrude Chelsea’s personal space - she was standing to the child, Lucy took a step back. Specialising in child and youth medicine had helped her immensely. She was dealing with children that age on a daily basis, but this was out of work, a different environment, and Lucy couldn’t help the mesmerizing effect the little boy had on her. Nodding at Chelsea’s words, it was just so easy to imagine herself in the other woman’s place. A few years younger. A bit less stressed from work. This wonderful man at her side and a baby on her hips. 

Another thing Lucy couldn’t help was the jealousy creeping up on her. It was blossoming in her chest like a rose, growing its thorns right through her heart. This had been her place in the past. This still should have been her place, right at Elliot’s side. Ashamed, Lucy looked down at her daughter and brushed back a few strands of her dark hair. Now, she had gotten Jenny’s attention, but Lucy had still seen - for a moment - how her daughter had looked at the woman in front of them. There were trust and adoration. Familiarity. Jenny was looking up to Chelsea and Lucy’s jealousy only grew further. Sighing again, Lucy looked back at Chelsea with a smile. Get a grip, darling, she told herself. Lucy was happy for Elliot. They were over and he was free to love and to be loved in return. He had been an important person in her life and she wished him only the best. It was just... so sudden. Lucy hadn’t been prepared for this.

“Please, you don’t have to apologize. This isn’t your fault.” Yet another sigh. This time, it was directed at - even though not present - Elliot. Listening to the other’s words, Lucy became aware of how alienated Chelsea was and shook her head with a reassuring smile. “Elliot’s only ever told me what I needed to know. Still, he had to tell me some since you are spending a lot of time with Jenny. But nevertheless, I did want to meet you,” Luciana chuckled, “eventually.” When Chelsea agreed to their hot cocoa date, Lucy turned towards her daughter. “You heard it. The car’s open. You can leave your backpack here.” Jenny nodded and thankfully simply did what her mother had told her. She’d been standing at the side, a worried expression on her face, biting her lips. It wasn’t every day that two worlds collided and Jenny had actually dreaded the day Chelsea and her mother would meet. She had wanted the both of them to get along, but it just wasn’t that easy with her mom sometimes.

Turning back to Chelsea, Lucy pointed at a coffee shop across the street. “I’d say we just try for some there. And please don’t think you’re intruding. I invited you to join in with us.” With a thud, Jenny had closed the back door of the car and rejoined their little group. Lucy searched for her keys in the pockets of her jacket for a moment, before the short flashing of the lights signaled they were ready to go.  

ooc: their outfits

[luciana-hewitt-blog]

chelsea-heskett :

@luciana-hewitt

It was becoming a routine, the days Elliot had to work past 3pm during the week, and nobody else could pick Genevieve up from school. It had only been a text message asking her today. Chelsea was packing groceries into the trunk of her car when she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. She drove to the school straight from the store, with Jack sleeping soundly in his car seat in the back. Smiled at him in her rearview mirror. Music on low, humming along to the words. She parked in her normal spot and watched out the window as school children started to emerge from the building. And there was Jenny, gripping the straps of the bag on her back. Only, instead of approaching Chelsea’s car, she started walking in the opposite direction. 

Rolling down her window, Chelsea called for her. She couldn’t get her attention. Pulling the key out of the ignition, Chelsea grabbed her purse and Jack out of the backseat. “I know, I’m sorry, buddy.” She hushed against his skin as he started crying, being woken from a light sleep. “Jenny!” Chelsea shouted. She was a little on edge. Where was she going? Hoped she wasn’t being lured out to another car, ‘cause… Alex, he’d been taken from school. Elliot had given Chelsea one job– so she was quick when her feet hit the pavement. When Jenny stopped at a car, a woman was leaning against its exterior. Getting closer, Chelsea felt her heart calm. This was a different type of panic, now. She slowed, combed her fingers through Jack’s hair. Tried to catch her breath before she greeted Genevieve’s mother and Elliot’s ex-wife, evidently here to pick up her daughter from school.

“Jenny, hi.” Chelsea said first, lips pressed into a smile, hand on the girl’s shoulder. She pulled Jack higher up her hip, holding out a hand for Lucy. “Hi, I’m Chelsea… Elliot’s girlfriend. He asked me to pick Jenny up from school. Must’ve gotten our wires crossed.” Jack was whining. Chelsea was a little bit breathless. “Oh, uh, this is my son, Jack.” 

God, she was going to kill Elliot.

It hadn’t been easy, leaving Jenny back here in Wilmington with her father, but her former team had needed her in New York. Lucy had tried to find a way around it, but in the end, she had to leave. At first, she’d expected to be back after two weeks, maybe four. That’s why she and Elliot had decided it would be the best for their daughter to stay behind. The new school year had just started then and it simply would have been cruel to take Jenny back to her old friends and familiar life only to take it all away again a few weeks later. The problem was that Luciana hadn’t been able to return after a month. She had to cancel the flight she’d planned back when she’d left Wilmington and settle for a later date. Knowing she had basically left her daughter with her father, a man she had only just met and didn’t really know, in an unfamiliar environment without friends or further family had worried her immensely. Lucy and Jenny had talked multiple times a week via Skype and  Lucy had checked in with Elliot regularly to ease her mind and to make sure everything was going fine. Whenever she hadn’t been able to reach either Elliot, or Jenny, or both of them, Lucy had felt like she was going crazy only to be met by a very plausible excuse half an hour later. They’d been out to see a movie, to have dinner, to live a life. Lucy had almost made it back home for Christmas, but nevertheless, she was back now. Fortunately, Jenny had gotten used to her new life rather quickly and, for the most part, effortlessly in the meantime. That also meant Lucy had to agree to her daughter’s request that she still wanted to spend a lot of time with her father. Now, Jenny spends every other week at Elliot’s place. 

In fact, this week had been Elliot’s. Still, around lunchtime, Lucy received a message from her ex-husband asking whether she could pick up their daughter from school and of course, Lucy had assured him she would. Dead on time, she’d been waiting in the parking lot in front of the school building, leaning against her car and checking e-mails on her phone until the first children started to emerge from the building. After a few moments, Lucy spotted her daughter from afar and waved to get her attention. Jenny’s face lit up with a smile once she saw her mother and, gripping the straps of the bag on her back, she started walking towards her. “Hey, mom.” Jenny greeted her mother before she turned around, a familiar voice calling her name catching her attention.

“Hey, Sweetheart.” Lucy answered, while her eyes were on the woman calling out for her daughter and getting closer. She had a smile on her lips, a baby-boy on her arm and was, judging by Jenny’s reaction, not a stranger to her daughter. It took a moment for Lucy to realize whom she had in front of her, and her brows furrowed slightly. “Luciana. Nice to meet you.” Lucy shook Chelsea's hand once in that firm, but reassuring manner that was only ever mastered by lawyers and doctors and let go with a smile. Looking from Elliot’s girlfriend to the baby in her arms, Luciana felt the slightest pinch of grief in her heart before grinning and caressing his cheek softly. “Hey little boy, it’s nice to meet you too.” Lucy chuckled softly and looked back to Jack’s mother. “I guess so.” She sighed deeply. “Well, I don’t know about you, but this isn’t exactly how I imagined our first meeting. I was hoping Elliot would have at least introduced us before messing with our schedules like that. The least we can do now is getting to know each other some more to get back at him. Do you have plans, or are you up for a round of hot cocoa?”