hey do you think that maybe one night parker goes over to nate and sophie’s to have dinner and to watch some reality tv with sophie (sophie likes it for the drama and the emotions and the stories, parker considers it a fascinating psychology experiment), and as it gets later in the night parker starts getting sleepy bc maybe she had a long day of scuttling around in the vents and she’s soooooo so tired from it, so she keeps yawning and yawning. and sophie keeps asking her if she wants to call it a night and parker says not yet because she wants to see how the newest fight between some of the contestants ends, but really she just wants to keep hanging out with sophie. and sophie secretly doesn’t mind because she wants to keep hanging out with parker. so they keep watching and parker gets sleepier and sleepier until she’s like hmm maybe i’ll just close my eyes for a second, and then she decides to lay down and her brain goes ooh sophie lap, and so she lays down on sophie’s lap
and sophie just. she’s shocked and amazed and she’s also trying not to cry because she still remembers how skittish parker used to be and how much she used to keep to herself. she used to keep herself so separate. and even if parker hasn’t been like that anymore for a long long time, it still consistently floors sophie to see how much her girl has grown and changed. for a few minutes she’s scared to move too much lest she wake parker up… but then when parker stays asleep and also starts snoring softly she figures she’s alright, so she tugs a blanket over and lays it across parker, and then she starts petting parker’s hair. and parker still stays asleep and maybe also makes a happy sound and tucks her face a little further into sophie’s lap, and sophie has to take her eyes off the tv for several seconds to look up at the ceiling and attempt to blink away her tears because that’s… that’s her girl. that’s her girl, that’s her parker. that’s her parker being so so sweet and clearly feeling so comfortable and safe and at home. when she finally looks back down the tears fall anyway so she figures oh what the hell and just wipes at her cheeks with almost the same rhythm that shes stroking parker’s hair
eventually nate passes by the living room and glances fondly at his girls and then he double takes and takes a few steps backward because hold on, is— is sophie crying???? and he frowns and furrows his brow and opens his mouth to ask her if she’s alright, but before he can say a word sophie’s gesturing frantically at him to be quiet, stay quiet, don’t say anything, parker is sleeping, and nate holds his hands up like alright alright i get it, i’ll leave you two alone, and he does—he was gonna ask sophie if she was coming to bed (and also if parker was staying because the guest room was made up and everything, she was more than welcome), but in lieu of that he just goes to get himself ready for bed and figures she’ll be on her way eventually
and yes, sophie does eventually figure she should probably call it a night—she’s starting to yawn herself, and this rerun that’s started playing now is one she’s seen recently and she doesn’t feel like watching it again, so maybe it’s time to turn in. so she turns the tv off, and then she looks down at parker in her lap… parker who’s still asleep and snoring softly and who looks so lovely, so at peace. so much so that she can’t bear the thought of waking her up to get her to the guest room. so instead she very carefully slips out from beneath parker’s head and replaces her thighs with one of the couch pillows, and she tugs the blanket up higher to tuck it beneath parker’s chin, and then she takes a moment to admire this sweet woman who’s become her dearest family, as close to a daughter as she’s ever known. a decade ago she wouldn’t even have been able to imagine parker coming to her house, and now parker’s asleep under her favorite afghan. it’s amazing how things can change, isn’t it? she’s the luckiest woman in the world. she takes a few more seconds to appreciate the sight of her sweet girl, and then she tucks a lock of hair behind parker’s ear, brushes her knuckles over parker’s cheek, and kisses parker’s forehead, and then she heads off to bed herself
she texts the boys as she’s brushing her teeth, of course: Parker ended up staying here—she fell asleep on the couch and I couldn’t bear to wake her up. the responses are immediate: a Thanks for letting us know. Maybe we can come pick y’all up tomorrow and go out for breakfast. from eliot, followed by a WOOOOO BOYS NIGHT and a lol jk, thanks Soph, and good thinkin cowboy let’s do breakfast from hardison. she agrees that it’s a date, and hardison sends her a Sleep tight, don’t let the bed bugs bite!!!! and eliot just sends her a single red heart. affection wells up in her chest so fast and big that it hurts. already she’s counting down the hours until she can see her boys and give them both big hugs. just as much as parker’s her girl, they’re her kiddos too (yes, even eliot, who’s much closer to her age than he is far. they’re all her little ducklings—there’s really just no two ways about it). once she’s done she slips into bed beside nate, and she curls around him and thinks about waking parker up tomorrow with a fresh cup of coffee. maybe parker will even let her fix her hair or something. braids, perhaps. parker always looks so pretty in braids. with that thought on her mind and a smile on her face, she finally drifts off, content as can be
meanwhile, downstairs parker bobs ever so gently to the surface of her consciousness; she’d been out cold for the last while, but for whatever reason she’s just barely awake now. immediately she knows where she is: nate and sophie’s, still. she recognizes the softness of their couch’s cushions, the gentle tick tick tick of the clock on the mantelpiece. her head rests on something soft, and tucked around her is something even softer that smells like roses and orange blossom. sophie. sophie. she’d fallen asleep on sophie earlier. there’d been fingers in her hair… then sophie must’ve tucked her in. and now, upstairs, in her and nate’s bedroom, after petting her hair and tucking her in for bed, sophie is sleeping. her sophie. her sophie who took such nice care of her. something in parker’s chest both tightens and wobbles. yknow, for so long she’d never had a mother, and she’d figured she never would either. and what did it matter, really? who needs moms. if you have one, great. if you don’t, fine. it’s not a big deal.
except it does feel like a big deal. now it does, at least. now that she has one. isn’t that funny? she has a mother. she has family. and the very best at that. there’s almost a temptation to wander upstairs and join sophie under her blankets like she used to wish she could do sometimes when she was little and scared and spending yet another first night in an unfamiliar house, but honestly, she’s too comfy right where she is; sophie did a great job tucking her in. plus this isn’t an unfamiliar house—this is her home, her home away from her home with the boys. she couldn’t feel scared here if she tried. nah, she’s warm and safe and comfortable, and she’s… mm… yeah, she’s… ooh, big yawn. she’s just… just about back to s… back to sleep…
her last thought is that she’d like sophie to play with her hair again tomorrow. maybe sophie could put it up somehow. braids, perhaps... yeah, braids. she’s always liked wearing braids. tomorrow, she’ll ask sophie to give her some braids. it’ll be perfect.