The Eye of a Hurricane

Lin

A/N: please comment or vote! You'll make my day!

I'd finally worked up the guts to kiss Pippa. I'd kissed her hundreds of times on stage, of course, but it was all scripted. This felt completely different. She'd let me kiss her, and she'd returned it, even.

After she'd left for the night, I wandered back to my room and changed into my pajamas then brushed my teeth. I was pulling the covers back when I heard crying from down the hall. I wandered down and pushed the door open, finding Luna sitting up in bed.

"Sweetheart, what's wrong?" I sat on her bed and she immediately climbed into my lap.

"I had a bad dream," she told me tearfully, burying her face in my shirt.

"I'm sorry," I told her, running my fingers through her hair gently. "Do you wanna tell me about it?"

"We were in Puerto Rico and Daddy was trying to save us but he couldn't," she told me as she cried. "And the boat floated away and he couldn't get us."

I hugged her a little tighter. "That sounds scary," I sympathized. "But your daddy's okay. And you're safe here with me."

"Uh-huh," she nodded, rubbing at her wet eyes. I pressed a kiss to the top of her head and just held her as she calmed down. I found myself rocking her gently back and forth. After a few minutes I realized she'd fallen back asleep. Carefully, I guided her body back onto the mattress and tucked her in again. Isabel turned over in her bed. I stood up and pulled up her covers a little.

"You okay?" I whispered, patting her back.

"Yeah," she whispered back.

"Okay. I love you," I told her. She mumbled back that she loved me too and I think she almost immediately fell back asleep. I smirked as I left the room. I thought back fondly to when I could sleep like a rock. Kids could sleep anywhere.

In the morning, Luna was being extra cuddly. She insisted on me carrying her around. I managed to successfully multitask getting the coffee going, then getting cereal poured. Today, Luna sat on my lap as she ate breakfast.

"Isabel, you'll stay for math tutoring today," I reminded her as I took a sip of my coffee. She groaned.

"Do I have to?" she whined.

"I think it's a good idea," I told her. "You're behind and you seem to be struggling."

"Why do we have to know fractions anyway? It's not like we use them in real life."

"You'd be surprised," I told her. "But if your teacher's offering extra help you need to take it. I'll pick you up at four."

She grumbled and stirred at her cereal. I hated to make her upset, but she wasn't going to get any better without help. I suspected there was something deeper going on; some kind of learning disorder. If we could get her diagnosed, maybe we could get her the help she needed.

After the girls were ready, I took them to school on the subway. After I'd left the building I got out my phone and texted Pippa good morning. I asked if she could come over tonight and she confirmed yes. That gave me something to look forward to.

I worked hard throughout the day, then made my way to the school around 2:30 to pick up Luna. She was full of energy as usual, so I took her to the park to play while we waited for Isabel to finish tutoring. I hoped the playtime would drain her energy a bit so my couch would be spared.

I'd done some research into gymnastics centers and found one near our apartment. I called and signed her up for a class that met twice a week. I couldn't wait to take her and let her run around, jump, and play. Hopefully her energy could be channeled in a good way.