a_littlefaith | (no subject)

It's not often Beth has a chance to ride anymore, but she still loves going to see the horses at the stables.

At home, they'd had four and Beth had been the only one of her siblings to have her own horse. Not because she was more well loved by her parents (though she was, she knows this, especially by her father) but because she had been far more interested in caring for a horse than Maggie or Shawn had ever been. She misses them, misses caring for them, but right now she doesn't have the time or the money to dedicate to something like that. Going to the stables when she has free time works as a good substitute, though, and she actually has the afternoon off for once.

She could spend it working, she knows she could find plenty of things to fill her time, but she figures she deserves a day off every now and then. Curtis would tell her to take the time off, he would tell her she works way too hard and so she decides he's right -- even if he hasn't actually said it to her -- and heads for the stables.

It's a nice surprise, catching sight of a familiar face when she arrives at the stables and Beth's expression brightens as she heads for Serena.

"Hi," she says happily. "Fancy meetin' you here."

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"Not as often as I'd like," Serena answers. She feels a little guilty for thinking so and even more for saying so, but she figures if she can trust anyone in this strange place with the truth it's the girl she's known from day one. Beth is unlike anyone she's ever known. Kind and unbelievably sincere. Forgiving. "It's so expensive to get a sitter and until he can sit up on his own there's no point trying to get George in a saddle, yet."

Beth laughs and nods, trying to imagine someone as small as George in a saddle. They'd have to strap him in pretty good and there's no way that would even be a little bit safe.

"If you ever wanna leave him with me, I don't mind," she says. "If I'm not at work, I'm usually watchin' Judith anyway and I bet she'd be fascinated by a baby. It'd be no problem to watch him, too." Carl does a lot of work with Judith, but when the two of them are home together, it's a joint effort, both of them just falling naturally into the roles they need to. "And you don't need to pay me anything either. I'm already doin' it every day with Judith without gettin' paid."

That's what she has a job for. Two jobs, technically, although hopefully once she and Curt start working together more she'll be able to focus more on music.

"That's very generous," Serena says, though she isn't exactly surprised by the offer. Beth has already proven to be so good with children and with George in particular. There aren't many other people Serena would trust with him, paid or otherwise. She'd asked around about the sitter she's used the most often and she's fine, but Serena's not sure she could trust her were things to go awry as they tend to do in Darrow. "And very sweet. How old is Judith, now?"

"Three," Beth says, then laughs softly. "Sometimes I can't believe it. I remember when she was just born, how small she was, the way it sounded when she cried. So small and even her crying seemed too quiet. She was so hungry most of the time right after, we didn't have enough formula for her at first..."

Then she smiles and says, "She's not quiet anymore, though, jeez. That kid can really shout when she wants to." And Beth loves that she has the chance to do so now, that she can run around the apartment with her toys and no one has to worry about being heard.

"It's incredible that something so small can have such strong lungs," Serena says, thinking of George. The first few nights after she'd brought him home she'd thought she might go mad from his crying. If Pemberton had been there, they might have shared the waking, but she had to handle it all on her own. Now, gratefully, he sleeps through the night most nights, though often her own nightmares spare her the same bliss. "It must have been awful, though, not being able to keep her fed. When George was... in the hospital, it made me feel so lost."

"It wasn't easy," Beth agrees. "It's just... no one ever figured we'd have to worry about feeding an infant during the end of the world without her mother around." She had expected Lori to nurse the baby, but then suddenly Lori hadn't been there anymore and they had been stuck trying to find formula in a world that had all but fallen apart.

"But they're both okay now," Beth says with a smile. "And we're real lucky for that."

Darrow may not always be perfect, but she'll never not be grateful for what it's given them. Her own life back, of course, but a real life for Judith and Carl, too.