living_history (living_history) wrote in the_colony, @ 2010-10-24 17:35:00 |
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Entry tags: | ^ week 21, bridget mackenzie, leo parker, | bridget and leo |
Week 21: Friday
Characters: Bridget, Leo & Walker.
Location: Farmhouse library.
Summary: Bridget encounters the not so new guys for the first time since Las Vegas.
Rating: G
Bridget breathed a sigh of relief as she left the kitchen, having just finished her stint of kitchen duty helping prepare the copious amounts of food they’d all be feasting on a little later of the day. Her feet were killing her along with her back after being up and on the move for so long, and the young woman looked forward to settling down on the couch in the library with a good book until supper time.
Trying to get a feel for the farmhouse and what had suddenly become his new home, Leo spent the morning wandering as well as dodging familiar faces. As much as he wanted to talk to some of the people he’d missed over the past few months, the idea of actually confronting any of them stung him with panic. Walker followed along quietly for a long while, but now the constant moving and going nowhere was starting to bore him. Catching sight of a woman in the library as they passed, Walker tugged Leo’s sleeve and brought the man to a halt.
Leo peered around the corner and spotted Bridget, her stomach round as ever, standing next to one of the bookcases. His heart seemed like it had skipped a beat. Bridget had sat up with him on nights when she couldn’t sleep. She’d always been straight-forward and honest and he had genuinely enjoyed her company. He was just about to leave the doorway --to turn and walk away-- when Walker foiled everything.
“Hi!” he squeaked from the doorway. Walker remembered Bridget from Las Vegas, most specifically the time she’d taken him to pick fruit.
Bridget turned from her book browsing at the sound of the young voice, and saw the familiar faces in the doorway. “Walker!” Her face broke out into a wide smile and she opened her arms for the little boy to come in for a hug. “You’re talking!” She’d missed him and had wondered about both the boy and his caretaker from time to time since they’d left Las Vegas. While she had reservations about Leo now thanks to what Molly and Derek had said, there were none when it came to Walker.
Walker released his grip on Leo’s sleeve and made his way through the room at a half-run, only hesitating when his eyes landed on the woman’s belly. The boy hugged her briefly before he pulled away and placed his hand on the swell of Bridget’s stomach, eyes wide with curiosity.
“What happened?!” he asked, and though he may have been innocent Leo stepped in from the doorway.
“Walker,” Leo said in the most corrective parental tone he could muster, which wasn’t much. The man shoved his hands in his pockets and half-grinned, looking a bit off to the side.
“It’s all right,” Bridget glanced over at Leo, smile cooling just a bit before returning her gaze on Walker where it warmed again. She didn’t really want to believe that Leo could have been part of a group that had done the sort of things she thought they had, what bothered her more was the fact he’d taken Walker away from them. The boy felt so skinny when she hugged him, and Leo looked half-starved, they clearly hadn’t done so well on their own.
She put one hand over Walker’s little one on the swell of her belly and let it rest there, waiting for a kick or movement to position the hand over. Walker was a little young for the birds and the bees talk, but she wasn’t going to lie to him either. “Remember how my tummy was poking out a little bit when you last saw me?” She waited for the little boy to nod before continuing. “Well, its gotten so much bigger because I’m going to have two babies in the spring. They’re growing inside me, a little bigger everyday, and my belly gets bigger to give them room.”
Walker looked over his shoulder toward Leo with a big grin, one which made Leo at least smile a little. The man quietly crossed over to sit on the edge of the couch while Walker mused silently over the feeling of Bridget’s stomach. It was much more firm than he would have guessed, and it was hard to imagine two little babies being inside there.
“Twins, huh?” Leo dared to finally speak up. “So everything’s been going okay?” He’d often wondered what became of her. As though pregnancy wasn’t already hard enough, this woman was experiencing it without a nearby hospital to drive to in an emergency. There were no ambulances, and few medicines readily available.
“Yeah, the family trait on my mom’s side for multiples struck again seems like.” Bridget’s tone was rueful as she shifted Walker’s hand to match the movements of one of the twins. He looked up at her with wide, excited eyes and grinned. “Dr. Smith says everything’s going fine, though. Even had an ultrasound last week. We were so lucky to find another doctor.”
The mentioning of another doctor made Leo feel awkward all over again. He thought of Luc, briefly, rested his hand on the back of his neck and gazed tiredly at the floor. Walker, meanwhile, had slipped his hand away from Bridget’s only so he could gently rest his ear against her stomach.
“What’re you gonna name ‘em?” Walker asked.
Bridget focused her attention back to Walker, her smile turning more natural again. “I keep changing my mind. I’m going to have a little boy and a little girl.” she used her free hand to tap him on the nose playfully. “What do you think I should name them?”
Walker thought for a moment, before he finally smiled and leaned forward to tell Bridget his very exciting idea. “Ginger... and Gustav,” he said. “Like the horses!”
“Hmm,” Bridget would name her children after a pair of horses over her dead body, but she pretended to think about it for a moment. “I’ll keep it in mind.” She told him seriously, not wanting hurt his feelings.
“Okay.” The contented child nodded with a smile and moved over to sit next to Leo on the couch. Leo had been trying not to grin at Walker’s suggestion, but now that he was no longer alone on the couch he sat up a little straighter.
“You’re lucky you got an ultrasound and everything,” Leo said after silently marveling over the fact.
“Very lucky, I was surprised as anyone that I’d get to have one.” Bridget eyed him as she leaned against the bookcase. “Dr. Smith was very resourceful.”
She wasn’t certain what to say to him, especially in front of Walker. Part of her wanted to give him a royal chewing out and the other part wanted to welcome him back with open arms. Leo noticed her reservation and looked away from her for a moment.
“Listen, I--” he rubbed again at the back of his neck and looked up at her again. “I’m sorry, for leaving like I did.”
Bridget sighed and looked at him directly. “It was a dumb thing to do Leo, but done is done. I’m just glad you and Walker are someplace warm and dry now.” And someplace with plenty of food, judging from how thin the pair were. Leo nodded but relaxed a little. Everyone had been straight-forward with him, and that had helped immensely. It was a relief to know where he stood.
“Yeah, me too.” Leo took in a breath, and Walker mimicked him, swinging his crossed ankles back and forth in front of the couch. Leo smirked, reaching over to poke the boy’s side, causing him to squirm. “Except Walker here’s so used to keeping on the move, I think he forgot how to hold still.” The man, on the other hand, was reluctant to ever get up from that couch now that he’d sat down.
“I’ve got an idea for something to keep him in one spot for a while.” Bridget smiled at the little boy as the thought occurred to her. “Wait here a moment.”
She waddled her way out of the room and down the hall to the closet, where all the board games were stashed. If she remembered right, there was a jigsaw puzzle there that would be good for a kid Walker’s age.
Though they’d been told to wait, Walker slipped off the cough and tip-toed across the room, peeking around the corner to try and see where Bridget had run off to. Leo didn’t bother to stop him. He figured as long as Walker didn’t go dashing out after her, there’d be no harm done. Walker’s little head of dark, wild hair stuck out into the hall as he waited.
She was back soon enough, holding the puzzle box tucked under one arm. “Close your eyes Walker.” Walker immediately squeezed his eyes shut and held out his hands, palms up and fingers splayed.
“I didn’t know about the two of you being around until this week, so I couldn’t get you Christmas gifts.” She hadn’t gotten anyone Christmas gifts and had been too pregnant for raiding by the time she really thought about it. Bridget grinned as she placed the box in Walker’s hands. “But this can be my gift to you. Merry Christmas Walker.”
He opened his eyes as the small weight of the puzzle box rested in his hands, and the delight was instantaneous. “Wo-ow!” Walker looked over the picture on the box and then ran over to Leo to show him, but the boy was a blur of motion, whirring right back over to where Bridget stood so that he could hug her again. “Thanks.”
Bridget hugged him back. “You’re welcome.”