Heaven Can't Wait - Chapter 26
11 Jun 2018 02:13 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jennickels
Chapter Twenty-Six - Treading on Dangerous Ground
Nicole’s quarters are on the far side of the station. As they walk, Cara attempts to teach Heaven how to skip. The younger girl tries enthusiastically but only manages to run, stop and hop with both feet. Cara finds it hilarious and keeps trying. When Bellamy glances at Nicole, she has a wistful smile on her face. She’s a great mom.
“So where are they moving you to?” he asks as they turn the corner into one of the residential areas. Cara grabs Heaven’s hand and pulls her towards a door decorated with magnets.
Nicole punches in the lock code. “Only up one level. It shouldn’t be too hard of a move.”
Bellamy frowns. “B deck? That’s mostly single rooms.”
“I know.”
“They know you’re having another baby, right?”
She laughs. “Actually, we volunteered. With the influx of new Grounder families, they needed the extra space.”
Bellamy looks around the room—it’s about the size of the one he grew up in so he knows how crowded it is already with just three of them. Adding another child would have made things tight, but now they are moving to an even smaller one? That’s going to be rough with two kids.
Nicole must sense his disbelief. “Don’t worry, it’s only five years, right?” There’s still that hint of uncertainty in her voice, but she smiles. “It won’t be that bad. They’re opening one of the old conference rooms into a play area for the kids. We’ll manage.”
Bellamy nods. “I guess we all have to make sacrifices.” Like sharing a room with Miller and Bryan.
Cara and Heaven situate themselves on one of the beds—a crib made from a century-old shoe box between them—while Nicole inspects the dozen or so packing crates scattered around the room.
How did they get so much stuff? Bellamy never had anything growing up so he’s not sure what the typical amount of possessions might be, but this seems like a lot. Some of the boxes are full of half-dismantled equipment and scavenged knick-knacks. So stuff they found on the ground. And she did say her husband worked in engineering. Makes sense.
“Where do we start?” he asks, clapping his hands together, momentarily forgetting his busted knuckles. Damn.
“What happened to your hand?” Nicole asks when he can’t hide the hiss of pain.
“Uh, would you believe I got into a fight with a wall?”
She snorts. “Probably. Doesn’t sound like a very good strategy in the long run. You pick a fight with one wall, and next thing you know, they’re ganging up on you. Those things are everywhere.”
Bellamy laughs—genuinely laughs—and it feels good. He’s thankful she doesn’t make a big deal about it like everyone else. That’s why he likes Nicole—she just takes everything in stride and doesn’t fuss at him. He’s had enough of the mother hen routine from Kane and Abby.
“These.” Nicole points to two boxes full of electronics. “Unless your hand-”
“It’s fine. I just won’t clap anymore.” That gets her laughing which lightens his mood even more. He lifts the two boxes which aren’t as heavy as they look but still kill his hand. He keeps his face straight because he has a feeling she’s watching him for evidence of his lie. She grabs another crate then tells Cara to stay on the bed. Heaven doesn’t even acknowledge him leaving. He’s not sure if that’s a good or bad thing.
Bellamy notices the stares after the second trip. Nicole’s neighbors stand in their doors or loiter in the hall, watching them with increasing levels of tension. It sets him on edge.
“Not everyone is as amicable about the move as us,” Nicole tells him when the whispering starts.
“You don’t say.”
Nicole sighs. “I won’t lie to you, Bellamy. People aren’t happy. They’re being forced out of their homes, however briefly they were here. The resentment is high. Some of them don’t think the Grounders belong here at all,” she says quietly, eyeing a middle-aged man at the end of the hall. “And they really don’t like you.”
Tell me something I don’t know. Maybe she should talk to Kane. Bring him to his senses.
They make a couple more trips—Bellamy’s hand aching more with each run—before Nicole collapses into a chair. “We’re done.”
“What?” He looks around at the other boxes.
“These other ones are pretty heavy. Jeff can get some of his buddies to help him move them. Besides, we don’t have the space. He’ll have to store all this in engineering.”
“You sure?”
She glances at his hand with a wry grin. Bellamy shoves it under his arm, ducking his head to hide his smile. He really likes Nicole.
Treading on dangerous ground there, aren’t you, dumbass? She’s married. And what about Clarke? And do you really need to get attached to someone else that will abandon you like everyone else?
Bellamy grits his teeth and tries to ignore the voice no matter how right it is.
Nicole finds a pair of scissors in one of the remaining boxes then calls the girls over. Heaven stops short at the sight of them. She looks up at Bellamy—he’s not sure if she’s searching for reassurance or contemplating his murder. Probably murder by the way she’s scowling. She’s adorable.
“It’s fine. Nicole’s just going to, uh, fix your hair because I was meant to be a tailor, not a barber apparently.”
“Tailor?”
“My mom was a seamstress. You need a button sewed or a hem shortened, I’m your guy. Been sewing since I was old enough to hold a needle and not stab myself in the eye.”
Her contagious laughter fills the room, making Bellamy smile. “You know, I’m going to hold you up on that when the new baby needs diapers.”
He sits Heaven on his lap, facing him, but she keeps swiveling her head, trying to see what Nicole’s doing. “See my problem?”
“Don’t worry; I got this.” Nicole moves back and forth with Heaven’s head like a pro until Cara distracts her with the dolls, keeping her focused in one direction.
“Let me guess, your father was a barber?”
She just grins. A few minutes later she stands back with a “ta-da.”
Considering what she had to work with, she did a great job. It stops just below Heaven’s chin in the front and is shorter in the back. Nicole finishes it off with a barrette to pull the bangs from her face. It has a glittery butterfly on it. Heaven touches it gently, not sure what to make of it.
“Don’t, you look pretty,” he tells her. Cara brings the mirror over to show Heaven which just makes her pull out the barrette. Bellamy sighs, but Nicole just laughs.
“Keep it. Cara’s got more than enough,” she says as she cleans up. “Friends are always making them for her. She likes to collect stuff. Barrettes, magnets, lost little girls.”
Kind of like the way you collect brothers and sisters. He almost snorts out loud at that thought but catches himself. He can’t hide the smile, though.
The door suddenly bangs open, startling Heaven into tears. “Honey, I’m home.” A red-headed man strolls in, dropping a loaded box on the table.
“No,” Nicole says. “Absolutely not. Jeff-”
He silences her protest with a kiss. A deep one. Complete with dip and everything.
“Jeff!” Nicole squeals and slaps her husband’s arm. “We have guests. This is Bellamy and Heaven.”
He finally notices Bellamy, sheepishly setting Nicole on her feet. “Oh. Uh-” He reaches out a hand to Bellamy then spies the grease covering it and drops it. His eyes dart from Bellamy to Heaven, recognition dawning in his eyes. “Uh, sorry about that. Just haven’t been home much lately. We’ve been doing around-the-clock repairs. Raven’s a real slave driver.”
Cara takes that moment to launch off of the chair into her father’s arms. “Daddy!”
“Hey, pumpkin,” he says, nuzzling her neck.
Bellamy skirts around them towards the open door. “We should get going anyway. It’s almost nap time.”
The trio breaks apart. “It was nice meeting you, man. Uh, hey, don’t tell Raven about that slave driver thing. I don’t want to get put on sorting detail.”
Bellamy snorts. “Not a problem. I know how she gets.”
Jeff looks equally relieved and amused.
Bellamy feels almost content as he leaves Nicole’s quarters. It’s something he hasn’t felt often lately so it’s a little foreign. Heaven sits up in his arms, petting her doll. It makes him smile.
“Bae,” she says, lifting the doll right in his face. “Bae.”
“Baby?”
“Bae.”
His smile grows. “Okay, okay, we’ll call it Bae. She’s very pretty,” he tells her, “just like her mama.” He presses a soft kiss to her temple as she continues talking to the doll. The amount of contentment he feels scares him, but at the moment, he’ll take what he can get.
