Chapter Text
“Hello, darling” You were greeted with the soft voice and adoring eyes of one Larissa Weems and your heart was working overtime in your chest. You couldn’t believe how lucky you had gotten to have this wonderful woman in your life and to be able to call her yours. You walked around her grand desk to carefully lower yourself into her lap. “Hey..”, you mumbled and took her face into your hands to kiss her gently. She reciprocated by pulling you closer and you could feel her warm hands caressing your hips. Your mouths were moving slowly against each other for a moment before you pulled back with a pleased smile.
You rested your head on her shoulder and let out a contented sigh. “I love you so much,” you whispered against her ear and you could see a faint blush forming on her cheeks. She lifted her hand to delicately rub your arm and responded in a tender voice “And I love you, my darling.” You wondered if it was possible to explode from happiness as a wave of affection and pure joy washed over you. You didn’t think you would ever tire of Larissa confessing her love for you. You stayed on her lap for a while, simply enjoying each other’s presence and comfort. Life had been awfully turbulent recently and you wanted to soak up every moment of peace you could get.
As you were walking back to your room your phone rang and it was not a number you recognised. You warily answered and were met with the gruff voice of what you assumed was a police officer. “We have unfortunate news for you. Your sister died in an accident and left a child behind.” You were stunned and your brain was trying to make sense of the situation. You were an only child or so you had always believed. Was this a mistake?
The police officer explained that it had been a half-sister on your father’s side and you felt a surge of rage and hatred rush through you. You hadn’t spoken to your father in years and for good reason. He had been horrible to your mother and entirely disinterested in your life or well-being. The fact that he apparently had an affair and a daughter he never bothered to introduce to you only confirmed that cutting him off had been the right decision. And now your sister was dead and you would never find out if you could’ve had a relationship with her. Your heart ached for this lost opportunity and you had to take a few breaths to force down tears that were threatening to spill out.
“Since there is no other parent in the picture and there was no success contacting your sister's parents, you are the only close relative we could get a hold of,” the voice on the other end of the phone stated and you suddenly realised the implications. “What happens to the child?”, you enquired anxiously, walking up and down the hallway to release nervous energy. “You may accept guardianship, otherwise it will be put in the foster system.” You knew damn well what happened to kids in the system so you didn’t hesitate to inform them that you would take in your sister's child.
You were given details about the social worker and grief counsellor who would accompany the child to Jericho to ensure a smooth transition into the new home. You were highly concerned about them refusing to allow you to be the guardian since you lived and worked at Nevermore Academy and you vowed to ask Larissa for support. “Can you tell me anything about them beforehand?”, you asked and the surly police officer responded with a sigh “The child is a 10 year old boy who insists on wanting to be treated like a girl and be called Emily. The mother had encouraged this behaviour.”
You frowned and forced yourself to stay calm and polite despite the anger roaring up in your chest. “Thank you. So when will she arrive?” Your voice was sickeningly sweet as you internally dared the man on the phone to correct you. He only huffed and mumbled something to himself that you assumed was probably derogatory if not downright offensive. You were informed of the date of your niece’s expected arrival and the conversation ended. Your head was spinning and you felt overwhelmed by everything you had just heard and you decided you couldn’t be alone right now.
You barged into Larissa’s office without bothering to knock first and the woman in question looked up from her laptop with a startled glare. Before she could berate you for interrupting her work in this fashion you burst out “I have a dead sister.” and flopped down in one of the armchairs by the fireplace. She came to sit opposite you and gave you a bewildered look. “Care to elaborate, darling?” she teased when you didn’t say anything further and you took a few deep breaths to calm your nerves.
After you had explained everything both of you shared a stunned silence and the reality of the situation dawned on you. You would be responsible for a child that had just lost their mother and you felt utterly unprepared for the task. “What am I going to do? I would never forgive myself if I didn’t take her but I don’t know the first thing about parenting, let alone how to handle her trauma and grief.” You looked at Larissa with tears in the corners of your eyes and she beckoned you to come closer and sit in her lap.
Once seated, she started stroking the sides of your arms in a soothing manner and responded in a calm voice “You can only do your best but I have full confidence in your ability to be a supportive and loving parent to Emily. Besides, you won’t have to do it all alone.” You looked at her with wide eyes and she laughed softly. “You didn’t think I would let you walk the path of parenthood alone, did you? If you’ll have me I will be at your side every step of the way” You let out a squeal and grabbed her face to press your lips together. She responded immediately by deepening the kiss and you felt warmth pool in your abdomen.
She tasted of the hot chocolate you had shared earlier and when your tongues touched you experienced a tingling sensation all over your body. Your mouths moved against each other and you felt her fingernails lightly digging into your neck. You let out a low moan and your fingers came to tangle in her silky hair as you tilted your head for better access. You eventually broke apart for air and she looked at you with flushed cheeks and a blissful smile on her face. “I’m taking that as a yes,” she whispered against your mouth and you nodded with a wide grin. With Larissa by your side you felt infinitely more confident about this whole endeavour.