Golden Rain [COMPLETE]

°•° 13 °•°

A knock sounded at my door as I scrambled around my apartment, Abigail staring at me from where she perched, ready to go, in her carrier on the kitchen counter.

"One second!" I called as I continued to try and zip up Abigail's overstuffed diaper bag. I had no clue how much I would need to take on this trip, so I had brought almost everything, just to be prepared. The bag was a little too small.

Finally, it zipped and I flung it onto the couch and rushed to my apartment door. Running my fingers through my unruly hair and readjusting my glasses that I had thrown on instead of taking extra time for my contacts, I pulled open the door to see who it was.

I was met with both Sav and Miranda. But my attention pulled to Sav. I let out a loud laugh. "You actually wore it?"

Sav looked down at the ugly sweater that I had ended up buying as part of her Christmas gift. It was the ugliest one I could find, with bright blue tinsel wrapping the sleeves and an extremely fat depiction of Santa shoving cookies into his cheeks. There were even little bells hanging from the hem that jingled annoyingly everytime she moved.

"I thought I would show you that I appreciated your gift," she defended, raising her arms so that the bells tinkled. But by raising her arms, she also showed the bracelet that I had included in the gift slipped around her left wrist. It was a simple chain with green beads and a charm shaped into the letter "S". She gave me a small smile when she saw that I noticed it, and I returned it.

"I'm almost ready. Just give me a few minutes to gather everything up." I turned back into my apartment and left the door open so they could come in while I was finishing up.

"You wouldn't mind if I went and talked to Kaybree, would you?" Miranda said. I spun back around to see her lingering in the hallway and gesturing toward the elevator.

"Of course not. She might still be sleeping but you can go ahead and check." I smiled. "She's been asking when you'd come back."

Miranda grinned. "I'm glad she enjoys my forced company."

Laughing, I shook my head. "I promise she's happy when you visit. Nothing forced about it."

She grinned and sent me a small wave and then made her way back down the hall. I got back to work getting ready to leave.

Sav leaned against the kitchen counter next to Abby. "Hello, beautiful," she said to her with a smile. Abigail blinked and then sneezed.

Grabbing my packed duffle bag from my room, adding it to my growing pile of things on the couch, I spun in a circle, scanning the room to make sure I wasn't forgetting anything. "Anything else?"

Sav raised her brows and then pointed down. I followed her finger to my socked feet. "Right. Shoes. Those are important."

"Not really, but they're considered a social requirement."

I nodded sarcastically and then turned back toward my room.

I returned with a pair of sneakers and laced them on. Then I grabbed my coat, slipping it on too. "Warm thing for me." I snatched up one of Abby's blankets and then went over to her, wrapping it around her small body with a smile. "Warm thing for you, flower."

I ran my knuckle down her nose gently and she let out a rushed breath like it tickled. I chuckled once.

"That's cute."

I looked at Sav. "What, Abby? Yeah, she is."

Sav rolled her eyes, clarifying, "Well, yeah, she's adorable. But I meant your nickname for her. Flower. It's cute."