Family Time

Quinn smiled as Rajat climbed into his lap, looking at the blank screen.

"Where's mommy?"

Quinn chuckled and wrapped his arms around Rajat and grinned.

"She will come on soon, Rajat. Remember, no telling mommy about the ice cream for lunch. She wouldn't understand. That's just a thing for me and you, but you were right. It was good ice cream."

Rajat grinned.

"Yep. Bet mommy didn't have ice cream for lunch."

"No, you are probably right, so let's not pick on her about it. This is so we can all see each other. Do you want your own chair?"

"I'm good"

Quinn laughed and hugged Rajat. The boy had been very good for his mood. Brianna's letter still rested in his pocket and he was not sure what to do with it. He was lost in thinking when he saw the icon pop up that the chat client was loading. He activated the screen and they waited for Tijgerian's image to come up.

She smiled and put on her best face. Rochelle had reminded her of the time for their nightly video chat. She had been gone two days and she missed Rajat like crazy. Sleep had began to evade her again and she wondered why it was she slept well when John laid next to her but when he did not, she had nightmares. She ran her hands over her face and sat at the desk in her hotel room. Clicking on the icon, she waited for it to load.

When the image cleared and Rajat's face was seen, her smile brightened. "My sweet sweet boy! I miss you so much" she said. Taking in the sight of Rajat sitting on John's lap made her smile. "I take it you're being a good boy?" She gave her stern face and waited. Her eyes drifted to John's as Rajat spoke and could tell he was sad about something. His smile appeared to hide his emotions but she could read him well.

"Oh yes, he has been a very good boy. We decided that he needed to watch cartoons this morning so he watched a marathon of them while I took care of a few things. He even helped out a little licking stamps."

Quinn chuckled.

"You should have seen his face when he tasted the glue, Tij. It was pricele..." "It was yucky, mommy!"

He smiled and winked at the screen.

"How are your meetings going, Tij?"

Rajat leaned forward, grinning.

"I miss you mommy. When are you coming back?"

She smiled and listened to their day. Chuckling about Rajat's distaste of stamp glue, she shook her head. "I bet it was yucky." She looked at John for a moment before looking at her son who said he missed her. Her heart ached for him and wished she could touch his soft hair and kiss him, inhaling his scent. She was homesick. Well, homesick from her cub.

"I'll be home as soon as I can. The meetings are boring but productive. I'm close to landing one of the largest accounts in Paris. I miss you too baby boy." She touched the screen of her laptop and ran her finger over the image of Rajat's face. A tear pricked her eye but she remained stoic and as unemotional as she could.

"I'm glad to hear things are going well, Sevti. We both miss you."

She smiled and gave a nod. "They are. Paris is beautiful. The art and architecture alone keep me fascinated." She looked over at Rochelle who pointed to her watch to let her know the conference call to the India office would be starting soon.

Looking back at Rajat and John she smiled again. "I miss you my son. Please be good and listen to Mr John." She looked at John and gave him a soft smile. "Thank you for keeping him. I'm sure he's having a great time."

He smiled at this affectionate side. He was still not used to seeing it.

"We have both been having fun, and we look forward to mommy's return."

She smiled. "Soon. Very soon. It looks like I must go for now, I have another conference call." She yawned from lack of sleep and shook her head, chuckling. "It's been a long day. Sweet dreams my boy." She kissed her index and middle fingers, then placed them on the screen against Rajat's cheek. Waving, she smiled and hit the end button, ending their video chat or so she thought. Slumping back in her seat, she closed her eyes for a brief moment.

"Sleep is over rated...what the hell is wrong with me?" Shaking her head, she stood and stretched, gearing up for her conference call.

Quinn saw her hit a key, and apparently her side shut own because her next words were obviously not meant to be heard.

"Sleep is over rated...what the hell is wrong with me?"

Quinn and Rajat looked at each other in surprise and Quinn ended the call on their end. She was having trouble sleeping? Strange...she seemed to have no problem sleeping when they were together. He made a mental note to ask her about that, then looked at Rajat.

"Ok, you have just enough time to go pick out a movie before bedtime, so make it a good one. I'll bring snacks in."

Rajat climbed down and ran toward the TV, calling back over his shoulder.

"Orange juice please..."

Quinn watched as he scrolled through the menu on the screen for a moment and then selected one. He walked into the kitchen and pulled a plate of snacks out and filled two glasses with orange juice. He brought it all back in to the TV area, setting it on the coffee table just in time to watch the title screen roll by.