side blog with no rights :’) Dani. she/her. 31. literal witch. (not really a writer. but I do write.) NO TERFS, NO NAZIS, FUCK TRUMP, AND FREE PALESTINE
My requests for fics are currently closed. Thank you for your understanding. <3
P.S.- I'm an adult, and my page is intended for adults 18+. If any of my content makes you uncomfy, please unfollow and/or filter your tags. I still love you either way. <3
I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE MEDIA YOU CONSUME.
If the last season/series finale of a show was so bad/you hated it so much, does it ruin the entire show for you? Or, can you go back and watch it and still enjoy it while ignoring how it ends?
(Not just ST, but any show in general?)
I can, personally! for example, I also love the BBC Robin Hood series from the 2000s and the entire last season is so frustrating lol. but I often go back to it. similarly, I rewatch The Office alllllll the time and after Michael leaves it is borderline unwatchable lmao. I think if something brought you joy, even if it didn’t end in a satisfying way, you can still find that joy in it.
“People can hate on you for doing what it is that makes you happy, but ultimately it has to belong to you. It shouldn’t matter what anyone else thinks. Life is not easy. The road to happiness is not a path well trotted. You have to find your own path to enlightenment.”
With their bellies full and some brandy in them after a day on the trail, they both fell asleep easily, despite the commotion at the restaurant. Caleb watched, sitting up in bed, as she washed her face and neck in basin of water she requested from Wilson, dabbing gingerly at her skin. She brushed out her hair before tying it back loosely with a ribbon for sleep. He had always been intrigued by the way she could be so worldly and tough, but also so delicately feminine. Of course she could handle the long trek to Dakota, sleeping in a tent and going without proper bathing for days at a time; but she was still a woman not immune to the simple pleasures in life when available.
When they first moved into their shack on Sykes land, he would lightly tease her for her nighttime washing routine.
“I don’t know what you need to do all that for. You fixin’ to meet a queen in your sleep?” He chided from behind her.
Nellie scoffed, turning to him from her dressing table. “Some people like to go to sleep without the day’s dirt still on ‘em. Would you rather I lay my head next to yours with the day’s sweat still on my brow?”
A few days later, Caleb would start joining her at her vanity to gently wipe his face before getting into bed at night and she would quietly smirk to herself.
In their hotel room, Nellie and Caleb awoke early the next morning after a comfortable sleep on a proper mattress. They gathered their personal belongings, bringing them out to the edge of the road to load the wagon and head out for another long day of travel. Nellie watched as the town began to come alive this morning; the sun rays beaming between buildings illuminating the dirt roadways. Miners walked up the main drag towards Alder Gulch for another long day of extracting gold. How sad, she thought, these men laboring for wealthy corporations who didn’t lift a finger, earning meager wages, and then spending what little money they earned in a town overpriced just due to its proximity to gold.
The next proper destination would be another mining settlement, Jefferson City, after a night of camping along the way, somewhere in the Jefferson river valley. More mountain passes and winding flats as the wagon roads hugged the river flow.
As Caleb brought out the last of their belongings, the dry goods door opened with a jingle of the bell, drawing both of their attention to the young clerk, someone new and much younger than the Wilson Nellie had met yesterday, approaching them.
“Can I help you?” Caleb asked, dropping a sack to the ground.
“I’m awfully sorry to bother, but we got a complaint from the Young American Eating House this morning. Something about a scuffle that happened last night?” He looked between the couple.
Caleb stepped toward him, a quiet growl emanating from his throat. “And what about it?”
The young man was already spooked. “W-well… the owner wants you to pay for the broken property. Uh, i-if you can.”
“If I can? What, don’t I look like I got the money? Huh?” Caleb puffed his chest, stepping closer to the man.
“No, sir. I just… well, they would like you to pay for the glass and a chair.” He gulped.
Caleb chuckled. “Yeah? Well…” He grabbed the man’s collar. “Why don’t you tell him I ain’t paying nothing for his lousy bar. Only thing I would pay him is another visit, and trust me, he don’t want that.”
The young clerk’s eyes were wide as he stared back at a glaring Caleb. “Y-yes sir, I’ll tell him. Consider it settled.”
Caleb held the collar and his gaze for an extended second. He scoffed, pulling his hand back, spitting down to the ground between their feet. “You better not still be standing here when I get back from fetching my horses.” He turned to leave, stomping away. “Pay for broken property.” He scoffed again. “This good-for-nothing town, full of…” His voice trailed as he got farther away.
The young clerk exhaled, standing still.
Nellie cleared her throat. “I’m real sorry about him. He’s got a nasty temper, don’t take it personally. How much is the restaurant owner asking for?” She reached for her purse.
“Oh, n-no, miss. That’s alright. I’ll just figure something out. You can just be on your way.” He smiled meekly.
Nellie cocked her head. “Oh, no I insist. If something was broken, we ought to make it right. How much?”
The clerk stared. “I…” He glanced down the road, scanning for the large man that scared him.
“I know my husband isn’t very reasonable, but I’m happy to pay. Don’t worry.” She looked back toward the stable, gesturing toward Caleb. “I can handle him.”
After a slight hesitation, the man sighed through his nose in relief. “The owner’s asking for two dollars for the replacements, miss.” Nellie nodded and collected the money from her purse tied to her belt, handing it over to the man. “Now, go on, he’s on his way back.”
The clerk nodded, scurrying back into the store. She watched Caleb walk the horses attached to their wagon up the road start loading it up. He was still muttering to himself, his face frozen into a scowl.
“C’mon, help me load this so we can get out of this whore.” He spat.
Nellie sighed, reaching for their sacks and small wooden chests, lifting them up and into the wagon. Within a few minutes, they were rolling up the same street they had come into town on. She looked over to Caleb who was still visibly angered by being asked to pay for the items he broke in his fight.
“That boy was just doing his job, there was no need for all that.”
“No, Nellie, that was ridiculous! I ain’t paying no one for nothin’.”
“You were the one who caused a scene and damage. It’s only fair you pay for it, Caleb. That’s how life works.”
“Yeah, not for a Sykes, it don’t.” He said sternly.
Nellie glared sideways at him, silently. There was a moment of quiet, only the creaking of the wagon and horseshoes clacking over the rock. Nellie’s silence was heavy on him. Her judgement always was. Caleb huffed, pursing his lips in frustration as he looked out in front of him.
“I’ll only take half the blame for last night. That other clown is just as much to blame. That store worker should have asked us both. Anyway, too late now.”
“Well, I paid him.” Nellie crossed her arms.
Caleb’s head snapped over to look at her. “Woman why’d you do that?!”
“I make my own money and you ain’t got nothing to do with it, I’ll give it to who I damn well please. Even if I’m paying for your actions.”
He shook his head. “What I get for picking an independent woman. You’re gonna drive me to the nut house.”
“Yeah, but you’d miss me though.” She smirked.
They carried on, traveling some 50 miles by the time the sun had begun to disappear under the rocky terrain. They passed a commercial stagecoach coming the other way, making the journey from Jefferson City back to Virginia City. The coach drivers warned them that there were some suspicious individuals a few miles ahead, suggesting they turn back or stop somewhere soon. The Benton Road, like many of the roads connecting the various mining towns, was prowling grounds for highwaymen and road agents. These outlaws would ambush travelers, robbing them of their goods and any money, often in violent ways.
Nellie and Caleb decided to venture slightly off the trail, setting up their camp for the night hidden by a thicket of juniper trees and silver buffaloberry shrubs. The wild fruits of the bushes would be more good picking for the morning.
Just as they did the previous camping night, Caleb set up their shelter and started a fire while Nellie tended to the horses. He helped himself to a loaf of bread and dried, cured meat they had packed from home, sitting down by the fire. He watched Nellie across the fire as she gently brushed their horses, caressing their snouts as she groomed them. She hummed a bright tune as she moved in careful strokes. She reached into her pocket, pulling out a handful of sugar cubes and offering them to the animals. Each horse calmly lapped up the cubes, smacking their lips. Nellie spoke softly to one of them as she leaned into his long neck, patting his jaw lovingly.
Caleb watched as she cared for the creatures, listening to her hum. A smile teased his lips as he stared. He thought once again how she could be so tender, despite her fierce independence and sharp wit. In the time that her had known her, she never stopped surprising him. Between her beauty, her kindness, her hardiness and street smarts, her wisdom. He’d never understand why or tell anyone, but he knew how lucky he was.
Nellie looked up, feeling his eyes on her. “What?”
“Nothin’. You’re just bein’ awfully sweet on them horses is all. You think they realize how nice you’re bein’?”
She chuckled. “Just because they can’t talk to us doesn’t mean they don’t understand. They want love and care at the end of the work day just like anyone.” She caressed one of their snouts once more before coming to sit next to Caleb.
“What’s that song you were humming?” He asked.
“It’s a song ma used to sing us as girls, Green Lilacs.”
“Well go on, then. Sing it for me.” He smiled slyly.
Nellie furrowed her brow. “Sing it for you?”
“C’mon, darlin’. You got a nice voice. Let me hear my little birdie sing.”
Nellie shook her head with a giggle as she adjusted her position. She took in a breath and began tapping her foot on rhythm. She hummed a few notes before she sang, her honey voice lilting along with each note.
“Green grow the lilacs, all sparkling with dew
I'm lonely, my darling, since parting with you;
But by our next meeting I'll hope to prove true
And change the green lilacs to the Red, White and Blue.”
As the final note finished, she took a dramatic bow, folding herself over her knees with her arm stretched out to her side. Caleb clapped slowly, chuckling.
“Your mama used to sing that to you?”
She nodded. “When pa used to leave on business, she’d sing us to sleep with it. It’s an old Irish song pa heard in his travels.”
“Hmm.” Caleb hummed with a smile. He sucked in a breath, pushing himself up with his hands on his knees. “Why don’t you come sing me to sleep, huh?” He stepped toward their tent, pulling back the overhang to invite her inside.
Nellie stared for a moment, a smirk spreading across her face at his suggestion. She nodded once, slowly standing up and holding his intense gaze as she crossed in front of him, ducking into the shelter. She lowered herself on to their bearskin makeshift mattress, leaning back on to the palms of her hands looking up to her husband. Caleb chuckled to himself as he followed, letting the tarp fall closed behind them.
The next morning, they packed up and continued north toward Jefferson City. It was a newer city, having been incorporated just the year prior, with new surface gold being struck only months ago. Though much less established than Virginia City, it had long been a stop for the stagecoach lines between there and Fort Benton. There, a rooming house called the Emerson offered lodging for travelers along the road. Not much else populated the mining settlement. There was a post office, general store, and a couple blacksmith shops scattered amongst basic cabins.
Luckily, with the lack of entertainment and crowds, this stay would prove to be uneventful, unlike the previous stop. Nellie and Caleb secured a room not too dissimilar from the last at the Emerson for the night, but at a much cheaper rate than Virginia City. The pair stopped into the store, stocking up on some non-perishable items to carry with them in the coming days; various dried fruits and canned goods. Caleb made sure to acquire two bottles of whiskey.
The couple retired to their room, quietly turning in for the night. While Caleb fell asleep quickly, thanks to a few hefty swigs of the whiskey, Nellie found herself hindered by a sudden uneasy feeling. It crept in slowly through her veins, almost undetected until it was an all-consuming sense of dread. Sleep did not come easily, and in the fleeting moments when it did, clouded her subconscious. In the morning, she remained mostly quiet and uncharacteristically scatter-brained as they readied themselves. Caleb took notice, commenting on her strange state once they had set out on the road again.
“You sure you’re alright? You’ve been a little out at sea all morning.” Caleb glanced sideways at her.
Without hesitation, and with a sense of urgency, Nellie blurted: “What do you think of us catching a boat in Fort Benton?”
“In September?” He furrowed his brow. “There ain’t gonna be any boats runnin’. And anyway, we can follow along the river just fine.”
“It’ll take twice as long, though. I just want to make it to ma.”
“We’re on our way to her, Nell.” His tone growing exasperated. “What’s gotten you so worked up all of a sudden?”
“I don’t know, I just got this feeling… I have this bad feeling that it’s serious. Maybe we could try finding someone to take us down the river. If we paid them-“
“Nellie,” Caleb interrupted. “Calm down, alright? We’ve only got a fortnight of traveling, we don’t need to pay any money on a trip we can make ourselves. It’ll be alright.”
Nellie went silent, biting her lip. Her eyes hung low, not looking up at him as she quickly but shallowly nodded. She understood his reasoning, and normally she would agree; she just couldn’t shake this feeling in her gut that they ought to move quicker to get back home to mama. Caleb stared a moment before letting out a sigh, leaning back slightly. He kept his gaze forward, staring out at the road in front of their horse. If it were anyone else, he would shut them down immediately with such a request.
“We’ll see, alright?” He said after a beat. “Let’s just get to Fort Benton, and if anyone’s docked, we’ll see about them taking us down the river.”
Nellie looked at him, offering a small smile. “Thank you.”
Caleb nodded, still looking ahead. Nellie relaxed back against the wagon bench, letting out a sigh. Caleb didn’t come from a loving family, but he came from a loyal family. He understood the importance of being there for your kin, and Nellie just wanted to be there for hers.
With their bellies full and some brandy in them after a day on the trail, they both fell asleep easily, despite the commotion at the restaurant. Caleb watched, sitting up in bed, as she washed her face and neck in basin of water she requested from Wilson, dabbing gingerly at her skin. She brushed out her hair before tying it back loosely with a ribbon for sleep. He had always been intrigued by the way she could be so worldly and tough, but also so delicately feminine. Of course she could handle the long trek to Dakota, sleeping in a tent and going without proper bathing for days at a time; but she was still a woman not immune to the simple pleasures in life when available.
When they first moved into their shack on Sykes land, he would lightly tease her for her nighttime washing routine.
“I don’t know what you need to do all that for. You fixin’ to meet a queen in your sleep?” He chided from behind her.
Nellie scoffed, turning to him from her dressing table. “Some people like to go to sleep without the day’s dirt still on ‘em. Would you rather I lay my head next to yours with the day’s sweat still on my brow?”
A few days later, Caleb would start joining her at her vanity to gently wipe his face before getting into bed at night and she would quietly smirk to herself.
In their hotel room, Nellie and Caleb awoke early the next morning after a comfortable sleep on a proper mattress. They gathered their personal belongings, bringing them out to the edge of the road to load the wagon and head out for another long day of travel. Nellie watched as the town began to come alive this morning; the sun rays beaming between buildings illuminating the dirt roadways. Miners walked up the main drag towards Alder Gulch for another long day of extracting gold. How sad, she thought, these men laboring for wealthy corporations who didn’t lift a finger, earning meager wages, and then spending what little money they earned in a town overpriced just due to its proximity to gold.
The next proper destination would be another mining settlement, Jefferson City, after a night of camping along the way, somewhere in the Jefferson river valley. More mountain passes and winding flats as the wagon roads hugged the river flow.
As Caleb brought out the last of their belongings, the dry goods door opened with a jingle of the bell, drawing both of their attention to the young clerk, someone new and much younger than the Wilson Nellie had met yesterday, approaching them.
“Can I help you?” Caleb asked, dropping a sack to the ground.
“I’m awfully sorry to bother, but we got a complaint from the Young American Eating House this morning. Something about a scuffle that happened last night?” He looked between the couple.
Caleb stepped toward him, a quiet growl emanating from his throat. “And what about it?”
The young man was already spooked. “W-well… the owner wants you to pay for the broken property. Uh, i-if you can.”
“If I can? What, don’t I look like I got the money? Huh?” Caleb puffed his chest, stepping closer to the man.
“No, sir. I just… well, they would like you to pay for the glass and a chair.” He gulped.
Caleb chuckled. “Yeah? Well…” He grabbed the man’s collar. “Why don’t you tell him I ain’t paying nothing for his lousy bar. Only thing I would pay him is another visit, and trust me, he don’t want that.”
The young clerk’s eyes were wide as he stared back at a glaring Caleb. “Y-yes sir, I’ll tell him. Consider it settled.”
Caleb held the collar and his gaze for an extended second. He scoffed, pulling his hand back, spitting down to the ground between their feet. “You better not still be standing here when I get back from fetching my horses.” He turned to leave, stomping away. “Pay for broken property.” He scoffed again. “This good-for-nothing town, full of…” His voice trailed as he got farther away.
The young clerk exhaled, standing still.
Nellie cleared her throat. “I’m real sorry about him. He’s got a nasty temper, don’t take it personally. How much is the restaurant owner asking for?” She reached for her purse.
“Oh, n-no, miss. That’s alright. I’ll just figure something out. You can just be on your way.” He smiled meekly.
Nellie cocked her head. “Oh, no I insist. If something was broken, we ought to make it right. How much?”
The clerk stared. “I…” He glanced down the road, scanning for the large man that scared him.
“I know my husband isn’t very reasonable, but I’m happy to pay. Don’t worry.” She looked back toward the stable, gesturing toward Caleb. “I can handle him.”
After a slight hesitation, the man sighed through his nose in relief. “The owner’s asking for two dollars for the replacements, miss.” Nellie nodded and collected the money from her purse tied to her belt, handing it over to the man. “Now, go on, he’s on his way back.”
The clerk nodded, scurrying back into the store. She watched Caleb walk the horses attached to their wagon up the road start loading it up. He was still muttering to himself, his face frozen into a scowl.
“C’mon, help me load this so we can get out of this whore.” He spat.
Nellie sighed, reaching for their sacks and small wooden chests, lifting them up and into the wagon. Within a few minutes, they were rolling up the same street they had come into town on. She looked over to Caleb who was still visibly angered by being asked to pay for the items he broke in his fight.
“That boy was just doing his job, there was no need for all that.”
“No, Nellie, that was ridiculous! I ain’t paying no one for nothin’.”
“You were the one who caused a scene and damage. It’s only fair you pay for it, Caleb. That’s how life works.”
“Yeah, not for a Sykes, it don’t.” He said sternly.
Nellie glared sideways at him, silently. There was a moment of quiet, only the creaking of the wagon and horseshoes clacking over the rock. Nellie’s silence was heavy on him. Her judgement always was. Caleb huffed, pursing his lips in frustration as he looked out in front of him.
“I’ll only take half the blame for last night. That other clown is just as much to blame. That store worker should have asked us both. Anyway, too late now.”
“Well, I paid him.” Nellie crossed her arms.
Caleb’s head snapped over to look at her. “Woman why’d you do that?!”
“I make my own money and you ain’t got nothing to do with it, I’ll give it to who I damn well please. Even if I’m paying for your actions.”
He shook his head. “What I get for picking an independent woman. You’re gonna drive me to the nut house.”
“Yeah, but you’d miss me though.” She smirked.
They carried on, traveling some 50 miles by the time the sun had begun to disappear under the rocky terrain. They passed a commercial stagecoach coming the other way, making the journey from Jefferson City back to Virginia City. The coach drivers warned them that there were some suspicious individuals a few miles ahead, suggesting they turn back or stop somewhere soon. The Benton Road, like many of the roads connecting the various mining towns, was prowling grounds for highwaymen and road agents. These outlaws would ambush travelers, robbing them of their goods and any money, often in violent ways.
Nellie and Caleb decided to venture slightly off the trail, setting up their camp for the night hidden by a thicket of juniper trees and silver buffaloberry shrubs. The wild fruits of the bushes would be more good picking for the morning.
Just as they did the previous camping night, Caleb set up their shelter and started a fire while Nellie tended to the horses. He helped himself to a loaf of bread and dried, cured meat they had packed from home, sitting down by the fire. He watched Nellie across the fire as she gently brushed their horses, caressing their snouts as she groomed them. She hummed a bright tune as she moved in careful strokes. She reached into her pocket, pulling out a handful of sugar cubes and offering them to the animals. Each horse calmly lapped up the cubes, smacking their lips. Nellie spoke softly to one of them as she leaned into his long neck, patting his jaw lovingly.
Caleb watched as she cared for the creatures, listening to her hum. A smile teased his lips as he stared. He thought once again how she could be so tender, despite her fierce independence and sharp wit. In the time that her had known her, she never stopped surprising him. Between her beauty, her kindness, her hardiness and street smarts, her wisdom. He’d never understand why or tell anyone, but he knew how lucky he was.
Nellie looked up, feeling his eyes on her. “What?”
“Nothin’. You’re just bein’ awfully sweet on them horses is all. You think they realize how nice you’re bein’?”
She chuckled. “Just because they can’t talk to us doesn’t mean they don’t understand. They want love and care at the end of the work day just like anyone.” She caressed one of their snouts once more before coming to sit next to Caleb.
“What’s that song you were humming?” He asked.
“It’s a song ma used to sing us as girls, Green Lilacs.”
“Well go on, then. Sing it for me.” He smiled slyly.
Nellie furrowed her brow. “Sing it for you?”
“C’mon, darlin’. You got a nice voice. Let me hear my little birdie sing.”
Nellie shook her head with a giggle as she adjusted her position. She took in a breath and began tapping her foot on rhythm. She hummed a few notes before she sang, her honey voice lilting along with each note.
“Green grow the lilacs, all sparkling with dew
I'm lonely, my darling, since parting with you;
But by our next meeting I'll hope to prove true
And change the green lilacs to the Red, White and Blue.”
As the final note finished, she took a dramatic bow, folding herself over her knees with her arm stretched out to her side. Caleb clapped slowly, chuckling.
“Your mama used to sing that to you?”
She nodded. “When pa used to leave on business, she’d sing us to sleep with it. It’s an old Irish song pa heard in his travels.”
“Hmm.” Caleb hummed with a smile. He sucked in a breath, pushing himself up with his hands on his knees. “Why don’t you come sing me to sleep, huh?” He stepped toward their tent, pulling back the overhang to invite her inside.
Nellie stared for a moment, a smirk spreading across her face at his suggestion. She nodded once, slowly standing up and holding his intense gaze as she crossed in front of him, ducking into the shelter. She lowered herself on to their bearskin makeshift mattress, leaning back on to the palms of her hands looking up to her husband. Caleb chuckled to himself as he followed, letting the tarp fall closed behind them.
The next morning, they packed up and continued north toward Jefferson City. It was a newer city, having been incorporated just the year prior, with new surface gold being struck only months ago. Though much less established than Virginia City, it had long been a stop for the stagecoach lines between there and Fort Benton. There, a rooming house called the Emerson offered lodging for travelers along the road. Not much else populated the mining settlement. There was a post office, general store, and a couple blacksmith shops scattered amongst basic cabins.
Luckily, with the lack of entertainment and crowds, this stay would prove to be uneventful, unlike the previous stop. Nellie and Caleb secured a room not too dissimilar from the last at the Emerson for the night, but at a much cheaper rate than Virginia City. The pair stopped into the store, stocking up on some non-perishable items to carry with them in the coming days; various dried fruits and canned goods. Caleb made sure to acquire two bottles of whiskey.
The couple retired to their room, quietly turning in for the night. While Caleb fell asleep quickly, thanks to a few hefty swigs of the whiskey, Nellie found herself hindered by a sudden uneasy feeling. It crept in slowly through her veins, almost undetected until it was an all-consuming sense of dread. Sleep did not come easily, and in the fleeting moments when it did, clouded her subconscious. In the morning, she remained mostly quiet and uncharacteristically scatter-brained as they readied themselves. Caleb took notice, commenting on her strange state once they had set out on the road again.
“You sure you’re alright? You’ve been a little out at sea all morning.” Caleb glanced sideways at her.
Without hesitation, and with a sense of urgency, Nellie blurted: “What do you think of us catching a boat in Fort Benton?”
“In September?” He furrowed his brow. “There ain’t gonna be any boats runnin’. And anyway, we can follow along the river just fine.”
“It’ll take twice as long, though. I just want to make it to ma.”
“We’re on our way to her, Nell.” His tone growing exasperated. “What’s gotten you so worked up all of a sudden?”
“I don’t know, I just got this feeling… I have this bad feeling that it’s serious. Maybe we could try finding someone to take us down the river. If we paid them-“
“Nellie,” Caleb interrupted. “Calm down, alright? We’ve only got a fortnight of traveling, we don’t need to pay any money on a trip we can make ourselves. It’ll be alright.”
Nellie went silent, biting her lip. Her eyes hung low, not looking up at him as she quickly but shallowly nodded. She understood his reasoning, and normally she would agree; she just couldn’t shake this feeling in her gut that they ought to move quicker to get back home to mama. Caleb stared a moment before letting out a sigh, leaning back slightly. He kept his gaze forward, staring out at the road in front of their horse. If it were anyone else, he would shut them down immediately with such a request.
“We’ll see, alright?” He said after a beat. “Let’s just get to Fort Benton, and if anyone’s docked, we’ll see about them taking us down the river.”
Nellie looked at him, offering a small smile. “Thank you.”
Caleb nodded, still looking ahead. Nellie relaxed back against the wagon bench, letting out a sigh. Caleb didn’t come from a loving family, but he came from a loyal family. He understood the importance of being there for your kin, and Nellie just wanted to be there for hers.
