Who: Irene, Justin, OT Vi, Bridge, Ty When: 11am Where: Armitage House What: Irene stole Justin away and is venting
"Our house burnt. Down." Irene was in the middle of a long rant, having grabbed Justin when he walked in the house. They were tucked away in one of several libraries in the house, Justin sitting on a couch while Irene paced back and forth. She'd been bottling these feelings up for what felt like ages, trying to save Bridgette from them, but they were starting to fester. She couldn't live like this anymore, and when she saw Justin, it clicked.
"It's not even mah house, what am Ah sayin'? Ah have no claim to it. He could have kicked me out at any moment an' where would Ah be? But still it was where Ah was livin', where mah stuff was. Where the nursery was. An' it's gone. An' he was sleepin'. Ah know it's not his fault but Ah needed him, an' he wasn't there. An' he mahght never wake up, Hope said. An' we're havin'- Ah'm carryin' his son an' he wasn't there. An' what if he does wake up? What then? Ah'm always goin' to be second at best. Ah was fahne with that when it was jus' me but Ah have the baby to think about now, an' it's killin' Bridgette."
She took a break to inhale from her tearful rant and Justin took the opportunity, standing and tugging her to the couch to sit. "I'm stopping you right there. Now, take a deep breath." He watched while she did so, then opened her mouth to talk again. He shook his head and held a finger over her lips. "Another, deeper breath. In, then out," he instructed patiently. Her inhale was shaky this time, and the exhale was nothing but sputtering, so he pulled her in, hugging her to his chest and stroking her back. "Shhh," he soothed.
Irene clung to her best friend and sobbed into his shirt. "Ah don't think Bridgette will ever recover... She's so angry at him, an' Ah don't know how to fix it. Ah can't- Ah'm a horrible mother. Ah know she's not really mahne but it feels lahke she is. Ah love her jus' as much as Ah love the baby. An' if Ah can't help her what kind of family are we goin' to have?"
"Bridgette loves you," Justin said confidently. He could see it every time the teen talked about Irene, or was in the same room. "And that will do wonders, I'm sure of it. She's young and emotional, she just needs time to cool off and see this rationally. Besides, there were things in your life that Mama Acker couldn't fix but you survived, right? Came out the other side, maybe even better for having figured it out on your own? Give her time."
Irene hated when he made sense. It took the fight right out of her, usually. She didn't feel confident in their situation, but she did feel better for having gotten her fears out into the open. "Logical jerk," she muttered, letting herself relax a bit and just lean into him.
Justin laughed, grateful to feel the tension leave her body. "Alright, I admit it. First class jerk, making sense and all that in the face of a full-on girl freak-out. Now, tell me about my nephew and/or godson. When the hell did you find out it was a boy, and why didn't you tell me, and how is he doing? Still beating up his incubator?"
Irene brightened a bit. For all her fears and worries, the baby still made her excited and happy. She loved him so much already, she could hardly believe it. She couldn't wait for September so she could meet him. "Ah found out at the hospital. There was a lot of smoke an' Ah was worried about him bein' hurt. Hope accidentally told me. Ah wanted to know, but not lahke that... But. He's doin' well, she said. An' Ah am also well. No more mornin' sickness, Ah've got mah energy an' some other thin's back. Pregnancy is good again."
She was so much happier on this subject, and Justin tried to scramble to come up with questions that would revolve around the baby, but not Gideon. Not easy. But he'd seen the light go out in that second when she was talking about how she found out, and figured she'd wanted the father there. "So, I'm the godfather, right? I mean, I sound pretty good making offers people can't refuse. And I will spoil the shit out of him. Well, I'll spoil the shit out of him anyway, but it's so much better when I can say that I'm the godfather."
Irene opened her mouth to answer when the door creaked open, and she quickly wiped at her eyes before turning to see who it was.