6/24 Instance: Keep Your Pimp Hand Strong

[tears~fall~like~glass]

timeline: after A Bargain of Necessity


Rachel: Rachel had established the fact she was a total idiot. Again. Over a smoke on the patio this time. Then, she'd gotten a grasp on her stupid feelings and wandered down to the boathouse to knock on the door, completely dreading what Bobby was going to say about everything the entire way.

Bobby: Dog and baby both were making their displeasure known. Their snack was late, and Yoda was trying to trip him while Ripley wailed and pounded on her high chair tray. "Yes! I hear you! I can't move any faster, babies!"

Rachel: Hearing the commotion through the door, she debated just walking in and decided it'd be better to at least ask first, calling through the door after a brief knock, "You care if I let myself in?" Hopefully, she could be heard over the noise.

Bobby: "Huh?" He couldn't immediately hear who it was, but hey... psycho killers didn't ask to come in, right? "Sure! In here!" Ripley chucked her baby spoon at his head.

Rachel: While she didn't exactly qualify as a psycho killer, it could be argued that psycho was accurate. Slipping into the house, Rachel found herself almost stumbling over the stubby-legged puppy that'd rushed to the door. She held her arms out, flailing a little, but managed to keep her balance, unsteadily coming into the kitchen where she ended up taking a baby spoon to the side of the face. "Ack!"

Bobby: "Rae! Just in time!" Bobby grinned at her and cackled, shoving a bowl of baby cereal into her hand. "Have fun, auntie!"

Rachel: Rachel looked down at the bowl she'd been given, managed a slight smile, and tossed a piece of cereal to the floor to distract Yoda long enough for her to sit down in front of Ripley's high chair. "Guess I could use some fun."

Bobby: "Awesome! So I can feed the four-legged one." Bobby grabbed the biscuits and pulled another chair over beside Rae and Rip. "Sit," he tried, but the corgi only bounced.

Rachel: Pulling a silly face caught the little girl's attention, and Rachel was fairly pleased as her screaming quieted because she wasn't sure how much more of that she could take. On the other hand, it all provided a distraction while she worked out what to say. Looking down to the dog, she snorted, finally asking, "So... Yoda doesn't take up that much room on the tribbles, does he?"

Bobby: "Sit?" Yoda spun in a circle. Finally catching what she'd said, he looked up in confusion. "Yeahwha?"

Rachel: "Would you care if I crashed here? Just tonight?" Rachel distractedly asked, flashing a grin to Ripley as she ate.

Bobby: "Trouble in paradise?" Rachel now had his full attention, despite the dog flailing for his treat.

Rachel: "More like nuclear explosion," she snorted, adding as she scooped up another spoonful (with the spoon she probably should've rinsed) for Ripley, "Your dog's about to consider eating your hands."

Bobby: "Huh? Oh..." He gave the puppy the treat and looked back up at Rae. "That... doesn't sound good. What happened?"

Rachel: Mouth working to form an answer, Rachel knew Bobby was watching her, but she couldn't quite bring herself to look back over at him, as this was the moment she had been dreading. After coaxing the girl to eat another spoonful, she managed, "It wasn't, and I walked out on her. Like, after she gave me the option to go."

Bobby: "You walked out on Paige," he said, voice flat. "What... why?"

Rachel: She inwardly cringed at the tone, pulling a slight face as Ripley got a handful of the cereal, flinging it everywhere much to Yoda's delight. Moving the bowl from reach, she offered, "Because she doesn't communicate with me? Because I'm an idiot? Because walking away when things get hard is something I'm actually really great at? Take your pick, or I'm sure I could come up with a few more."

Bobby: "But... you haven't always walked away, not with Josh. Not... not in the end, anyway." He sighed. "I know she was upset recently, but she didn't want to talk about it."

Rachel: "Hardly a surprise. She never wants to talk about anything," Rachel muttered bitterly, adding, "Paige and I aren't Josh and I."

Bobby: "Paige is... well, you know! She's Paige! She deals with things... her own weird way." He flipped the dog another treat and glanced at her again. "I didn't mean... look, I just meant that I knew you and him had your ups and downs too, but you stuck it out. That's.... well, that's just what you do."

Rachel: "Yeah, well, it wouldn't kill her to let me in on those ways," Rachel rolled her eyes. Ripley batted away her second attempt at another bite, and she decided that was probably a sign she was finished eating. Setting the bowl aside, she risked freeing the child from the confines of her chair, "It's like I'm there for everything, but she talks to you about all the important stuff."

Rachel: "And yeah, that's what I do. I've been doing that for a while. It's just all blown up spectacularly now because opening my mouth is something else I do," she sighed as she lifted the kid, briefly holding her up high and pulling another funny face. Wait. Kids could puke after eating. Lowering Ripley, she sat back down, holding her in her lap instead.

Bobby: Ripley liked Auntie Rae's bright hair and went for it with a happy squeal. "One time, a long-ass time ago, after Eve killed her ex, she like... well, she went a little crazy. It seems to happen to all of us around here. She clammed up, acted like nothing was wrong, then just exploded." He shrugged, helping her disentangle the baby's sticky hands from her hair.

Rachel: Rachel hissed at the sharp tug, making another face, which was also a source of amusement. If this was what she did to hair, she felt bad for Lorna. She reached up for her hair while Bobby caught Ripley's hand, commenting, "Yeah... I just... suck at this, and girls suck..." she looked to Ripley and added, "Except you, which is something coming from Auntie Rae." Shit, had she really just spoken in third person? And called herself that?

Bobby: "And to be fair, she hasn't told me anything for a while... so I'm guessing she's just internalizing everything, to use a nice five-dollar word from the SHIELD shrink," he chuckled.

Bobby: "Girls suck in the best ways possible," he clarified, then made a face. "I need to not say shi....aaah, stuff, like that in front of you, right baby girl?"

Rachel: Rachel snickered, "I'd comment, but since we're not talking about that in front of the impressionable child..."

Rachel: "It's..." she caught herself on the same word Bobby had, instead using, "...crap, and I can only explain that to her so many times before I'm annoyed. And, y'know, I'm not completely innocent there either, but at least I realize it."

Bobby: "I don't know that she thinks she's completely innocent, but then I don't know what really happened so I can't really say." Bobby noticed Yoda was sitting, finally, and praised the pup. When he flipped another treat to him, he caught it mid-air. "Impressive. Most impressive!"

Rachel: "It was mostly crying and her not seeing my point and saying she's dealt with everything, like her family and issues about Eve and such, so she doesn't need to talk about it. I dumped all my guilt over what happened with her family out there, told her she would've been better off without me, tried to talk things out, and finally left. ...Basically."

Bobby: Bobby looked up at her. "Wait, what happened with her family?"

Rachel: Rachel blinked. She didn't realize he was probably missing that important bit of the story. "They disowned her when they found out we were dating."

Bobby: "Oh... well, shi....aaaah, yeah." He reached over and grabbed a toy to hand to Ripley. "I didn't know," he said quietly and ran his hands over his face and through his hair. "Her crazy inbred folks took notes from mine. How nice."

Rachel: Rachel caught the toy before Ripley could throw it down to the floor, thus starting a new fun game. At least this one didn't involve her hair. "Yeah, it was a lovely time. I got beaten with a broom, Paige got called a whore..." Then, she realized that was probably another one of those words that shouldn't be said, "I mean, um... Well, I meant that."

Bobby: Bobby cursed under his breath, shaking his head. "So that was her issue." Yoda hopped up to rest his front paws on Rachel's leg and sniff at the toy. "No wonder." He was still shaking his head, because... well, what else was there to do?

Bobby: "You realize, I'm supposed to kick the a-s-s of whichever of you hurts the other," he said, looking up at her with a smirk as he spelled it out. "How am I supposed to figure out which one of you to smack?"

Rachel: Rachel made sure she had a firm hold on Ripley before petting Yoda with her free hand, trying not to laugh too much when he skittered back after being bopped in the nose with the toy. "I guess the safest route would be to smack us both, however I'm of the opinion you shouldn't smack the one that's entertaining the kid."

Bobby: "Well, no, I'd have to take Ripley, cover her eyes, then smack you." He nodded, sure of this now.

Rachel: "No need to yet," she snorted. "I'm going to try talking to her, just not tonight. Think you can hold your smacking off until after that?"

Bobby: "I'll stay my pimp hand." He gave Ripley a look askance, figuring that was safe enough since the kid couldn't talk.

Rachel: Rachel grinned at that, peering down at Ripley as she wondered aloud, "You think pimp hand is another phrase that should be avoided?"

Bobby: "Yeaaaaah, I'm gonna guess it is, but I'll go with it this time." He looked up at her again. "The tribbles are yours, or, you know, the guest room. But if you really like tribbles and dog hair, knock yourself out."

Rachel: She glanced to Yoda, who seemed to be debating how safe the toy in Ripley's hand was once more. How much could one little dog possibly shed? Looking over to Bobby, she answered, "The tribbles have the tv going for them while the room has a bed, soooo... We'll see where I end up, I suppose. Either way, thanks."

Bobby: "No problem. You can get up to help us change diapers! Yay!" Bobby gave her a cracked grin. "That'll motivate you to go make up if nothing else will."

Rachel: For his trouble, Yoda ended up having the toy hurled at him with a delighted squeal, and she offered the child to Bobby before getting up to go retrieve it, commenting, "Yay. That might end up being easier than making up though."

Bobby: Bobby bounced Ripley on his knee and when she squirmed put her down. "Well, Yoda will appreciate the extra attention." Ripley rolled to her hands and knees and rocked, trying to figure out this crawling thing. "And if you're here long enough for her to get mobile you better run," he laughed, gesturing at the baby.

Rachel: "Oh, well... That might be even more incentive to work things out," Rachel smirked, placing the toy on the floor near Ripley. Then, she snagged the bag of dog treats, pulled one out, and held it up for Yoda to see, ordering, "Sit."

Bobby: Yoda promptly gave her his paw.

Rachel: Not exactly what she'd been expecting, but she shook his paw and gave him the treat anyway, patting his head, "Close enough." Sighing, she straightened, "So, I guess I'll go become one with your couch." After a moment of debate, she offered, "I'll even take your kid, if you want."

Bobby: "Ooooo, this is an offer I can't refuse." He perked up and then wrinkled his nose. "That means I can go pick up the dog crap down by the dock uninterrupted. Yay."

Rachel: Rachel set the treats aside and moved to retrieve Ripley, shrugging, "At least it's marginally better than diapers." Though, until diaper time came about, they were going to chill and watch Star Wars.