Chapter Text
This week they had decided to go out for lunch instead of staying in; Rebecca usually going to pick up something for them before meeting Keeley at her office, but they wanted a change to their routine. So today they sat outside at a small cafe near Richmond Green, eating their salads and sandwiches, and enjoying girl talk as they usually did.
“When’s the last time you two went on a date? I mean a proper date where he wined, dined, and shagged you,” Keeley said, taking a large bite out of her sandwich.
Rebecca took a sip of her water before answering. “Well, seeing as he still doesn’t know any of the five-star restaurants in town, I wine and dine him.”
“And shag him, right?”
“Yes, Keeley,” Rebecca replied in fond exasperation.
“Right, okay. So you haven’t answered my question. When was the last time?”
“Oh, um, it’s been a while.” Rebecca looked up, thinking for a moment. “Since... before Tabitha came along, I believe.”
“Are you fucking with me?”
Rebecca frowned. “No, why would I be?”
“That’s been like six months, babe!”
“No, it hasn’t,” Rebecca said defensively. “Considering Tabitha was four months pregnant when I met her, and she's seven-and-a-half months now...” She held her fork in her hand, poking around in her salad.
“Okay, fine. But Jesus. You two haven’t...”
Rebecca shook her head fiercely. “I think not with a teenager in the house.”
“Babe, who cares? You’re still kinda in that newlywed stage of dating. You two should totally be shagging all the time!”
Rebecca put her fork down, taking on a serious expression. “While I appreciate your concern for my sex life, getting Tabitha sorted has been my top priority. I’ve wanted her to feel as comfortable as possible in an unfamiliar place. I’ve wanted her to feel supported.”
“That doesn’t mean you and Ted can’t fuck,” her friend retorted, reaching for her glass of water.
“Keeley!”
“Sorry, babe. I just want you to be content and fulfilled,” Keeley finished with a shrug.
“I am. I don’t always need sex for that.”
Keeley held her hands up. “All right, I’ll drop the sex issue.”
“There is no sex issue because there isn’t an issue. We just haven’t had the time.” Rebecca picked up her fork again, moving it around before scooping up some spinach and blue cheese and putting it into her mouth. “There are other things in our lives currently that require our attention,” she said as she chewed, “and I’d appreciate it if you didn't try to make me feel like I was neglecting Ted or a part of myself because of it.”
“I’m sorry, Rebecca. That wasn’t my intention,” the tiny blonde apologized, looking down at her plate.
“I know you mean well—”
“I just think you wouldn’t have gotten so worked up if you let Ted release some of that tension.” Rebecca glared at her. “Right, sorry. I’ll stop now. Promise.”
“Thank you.”
Keeley took a drink of water and went on, “Well, anyway, it’s time you two had some time to yourselves. Take him to that restaurant at The Dorch.”
Rebecca shook her head. “We go there often. No, I’d like to take him somewhere new.”
“Aw, that’s sweet.” Keeley’s eyes bugged out a second later. “Wait, are you planning to propose or something?”
“No, Keeley.” Rebecca sighed. “I just want to take him somewhere else for a change. No need for anything special.”
“Have you ever cooked for him before?”
Rebecca looked at her friend incredulously. “What makes you think I know how to cook?”
“Touché. Anyway, I'll come and hang out with Tabs. Roy’s hosting his yoga mums tonight, and you know how he is about that.”
“If you’re sure?”
"'Course, I’m sure, babes. Someone needs to keep her company while you and Ted are off shagging. Preferably somewhere publiiiiiic,” Keeley sing-songed, her voice rising a bit at the end.
“You know that’s not going to happen. Behave, or I won’t tell you about it later.” Rebecca winked, taking a breath, and then continued, “I think Nora’s coming over tonight.”
“Really?”
“Yes, they’ve hung out a few times recently.”
“Aw, good. I love that they’re becoming friends.” Keeley smiled. “After your talk with Nora, I was worried.”
“I was a bit, too,” Rebecca replied, “but they bonded through their shared love of Alanis Morrisette.”
“The power of music.”
“Mm, indeed.”
xxx
That evening Rebecca came down the stairs in a red sleeveless dress that clung to her curves. It was mid-length, hitting her just below the knee, and the skirt was pleated. It was low-cut, showing off just a hint of cleavage, and she wore a pair of gold Louboutins on her feet. It would certainly have the right effect on Ted.
As she descended the last stair, Rebecca moved towards the living room, where she knew Keeley, Tabitha, and Nora were all curled on her couch watching Lust Conquers All.
“He’s so hot,” Tabitha said, stuffing a handful of popcorn into her mouth.
“Yeah, I wouldn’t mind chatting with him,” Nora agreed.
“There are so many things I’d let him do to me,” Keeley quietly admittied. “Don’t tell Roy I said that.”
The three of them burst into giggles, and Rebecca shook her head, coming around the couch to stand in front of them.
“Right,” she started, holding her arms out at her side, her black YSL clutch in one hand. “What do you think?”
"Holy shit, Rebecca!"
“Wow, Aunt Stinky, you look amazing!”
Tabitha smirked. “Seriously, you’re going to take Ted’s breath away.”
“You think?” Rebecca asked, twirling around once for them.
“Yeah, I mean, anyone who has eyes can see how beautiful you are,” Tabitha confirmed with a nod.
“Jesus, Rebecca!” Keeley popped up from her spot and moved to stand in front of her best friend, cupping Rebecca’s chest in her hands. “Your breasts always look perfect, but they look extra perfect in this dress.” She shook her head. “I mean, poor Ted. I wouldn’t be surprised if the man tries to shag you on the ta-”
"Okay!" Rebecca stopped her before she could finish her sentence, a nervous chuckle following. “Yes, thank you, Keeley.”
Together, Nora and Tabitha laughed from their spots, watching as the two older women hugged each other.
“Sorry,” Keeley apologized. “It’s just... my best friend is super fit, and Ted is a lucky man.”
Rebecca rolled her eyes playfully, hugging her tiny friend again. “I appreciate it. Now…” She stood back, smoothing a hand down the front of her dress. “I don’t know what Ted has planned for the rest of the night after we go to dinner, but I don’t want you two staying up too late. Especially you, Tabitha.” She moved closer to the young girls, bending down to kiss each of them on the tops of their heads. “You need all the rest you can get.”
“Oh, come on, Aunt Stink, she’s not a little girl.”
“I know that,” Rebecca replied, poking Nora in her side. “But she’s going to have her baby soon and be up at all hours for feedings and nappy changes. She’s going to be exhausted.”
"Don't worry, I'll make sure they don't stay up too late," Keeley cut in. “We’ll probably watch a scary movie after this anyway. We need a change of pace.”
“All right. If you need anything, I'll have my phone on hand. You know where we’ll be. Roy is on standby in case something happens. The Higginses are too.”
“Rebecca!” Keeley cut her off again. “We’ll be fine. Now go, babe. Ted is waiting for you.”
“Right,” Rebecca said, blowing out a breath. “I’ll see you later.”
“See you later,” Nora called as Rebecca started walking out of the room.
Tabitha’s voice came after hers. “Have fun!”
And Keeley’s followed next. “And don’t forget protection!”
xxx
“Woo whee,” Ted started as he sat across from her at a table meant for two. “I tell ya, Rebecca, that dress is really something.”
Rebecca smiled as she listened to him, looking over the menu.
“I mean, I’ve seen you wearing something like that before, but shoot, it’s doing things to me.”
Rebecca chuckled, lowering her menu. “Is it?”
“Sure is. Not sure I’m gonna be able to last long with you looking like that.”
“Oh?”
Ted shook his head once. “No, ma’am.”
“Well, then... shall we leave? Grab some takeaway, go to your flat and have some fun.”
“Th—that’d be nice,” he stammered a bit. “But I kinda like showing you off, letting everyone see I got the prettiest lady in this restaurant.”
“All right,” she said, relenting and picking up the menu again. “Don’t say I didn’t give you the choice.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he replied with a nod of his head. “I won’t.”
A waiter stopped by their table, taking their food orders before heading off and returning with a bottle of wine.
“So…” After pouring some wine into a glass for her, Ted began, “Got anything interesting you wanna talk about? Some girl talk, perhaps?”
Rebecca chuckled over the rim of her wine glass, watching him pour his own wine now. "If I tell you that, it defeats the purpose of girl talk."
“Well, dang it. I guess that’s fair,” he said, leaning forward a bit closer to her. “I couldn’t tell you about the Diamond Dogs either.”
“No.” She laughed, shaking her head. “Some things are better left between friends, I think.” Rebecca lifted a hand from her lap and placed it on the table, palm up, offering it to him. He gave her his hand and squeezed it gently.
“I know that’s right. We’ve got some good friends, don’t we?”
“We do.”
“And we’ve got a couple of sometimes kids at home.”
Rebecca frowned. “Sometimes kids?”
“Yeah.” Ted nodded. “Tabitha and Nora. I mean, one’s your goddaughter, and we don’t really see her that often, but she’s kinda yours. And I don’t really know what we’d call the other one. Seems old-fashioned to call her your ward, and you have no relation to her,” he said as he shrugged, “so I don’t know what else we’d call her.”
“Hm, I hadn’t thought of that,” she replied.
“I mean, we introduced her to the team as your guest, but a guest is usually someone who doesn’t stay very long.”
“No, you’re right.”
Just then, their waiter returned with their appetizers, breaking them apart for a moment so he could put the platter between them. When he was gone, Ted continued.
“So Tabitha’s like our sometimes kid. We only have her for a while.”
“That makes me sad,” Rebecca said to the table, scooping up an octopus leg and putting it on her plate. “I’m going to miss her when she leaves.”
“Do you want her to?”
She looked up at him and held his gaze for a moment. “I don’t know.”
When they finished their meal an hour later, they went to a bar for a few drinks before going to Ted’s flat where they made love, falling asleep tangled in each other’s limbs.
xxx
Two days later, Ted and Keeley were sitting in Rebecca’s office at the club, catching up together when her cellphone rang.
She looked down at her desk, frowning when she didn’t recognize the number. Rebecca silenced the call, deciding that if it was important, whoever it was could leave a voicemail. As she took up her conversation with them again, her phone rang.
Ted asked, “You gonna answer that, boss?”
She shook her head, declining the call once more before it rang a third time. Realizing they were going to keep calling, Rebecca finally picked up her phone, sliding her finger across the screen, and lifted it to her ear.
Just before she could answer, Nora’s shaking and frantic voice came through the speaker.
“Aunt Rebecca! I can’t get a hold of Tabitha. She’s not answering her phone.”
Rebecca’s face paled, and Ted stood from his chair with a worried look on his face. Her eyes shifted at Keeley’s movement, the tiny blonde looking at her with concern too, but all Rebecca could hear was the sound of her blood rushing to her ears.