Todays story is by Jana (lovingjcinalee)
"Hey guys." She said walking into the beanery with a tray of cookies in her hands. "Hey Andy, what are you doing here? It's Christmas eve!" Ben said surprised to see her. Since Andy was transferred to 23 she had still come around quite frequently but still Ben hadn't expected her to come by on a holiday.
"Just wanted to drop off some cookies for everyone to make shift a little merrier." Andy smiled. Her smile was as big as it could be but it didn't fool Robert who was silently sitting at the dinner table.
"You want to join us for dinner?" Vic asked. "Yea I would love to." Andy replied and went to help Vic and Travis with the cooking. Every now and then she could feel his eyes on her but she tried to ignore it, not wanting to end up in another fight with him and ruining Christmas Eve for everyone.
"What else can I do?" She asked Travis as she finished her last task. "Uhm nothing really left to do, go and have some fun." He nodded in the direction of everyone. They were caught up in multiple conversations but Andy felt the need for a break so she went to her usual place. Or what used to be her usual place when she worked here. Most days it still felt surreal that 19 wasn't her home anymore and in some ways she felt like she let her dad down. It was his house and he may have never said it to her in so many words but she knew he always wanted her to take over 19 some day.
"You've got nowhere better to be?" She heard an all too familiar voice asking. A voice she hadn't heard as much this year as the previous but she would still recognize it anywhere. A voice so familiar it used to feel like home, that is before she burned it down.
"Where should I be? I've got no one." Andy huffed. She was leaning on the railing, looking over the barn that for once was actually decorated. Robert came closer and stood beside her. His body was still being pulled to her but he knew better now. "Your tia? Don't pretend you've got no one Andy. You have a family." Robert said annoyed. After all it was him who now was alone. She had family but for him, Andy was all the family he had.
Andy's mind wandered back to the days after her dad died. She had been an absolute mess but Robert never left her side. Back then she had said that they were all they have, both with no family left. She almost had to laugh about it now, now that she knew her mother was alive, now that she had her tia, tio and prima back in her life. If she had only known back then. But him, Robert, he still had no one.
"They invited me but I can't get myself to go." Andy said and her voice broke. Robert had an inner battle. She didn't deserve his empathy. "How come?" He then asked nonetheless. Andy looked at him, for the first time since he joined her on the catwalk, trying to figure out if he was sincere. If he was actually showing interest in her or if he was just being polite. "My mom is there." Andy replied still looking into his eyes.
"Oh." Was all Robert said. They never talked about her mom since the day she came back. Not once Andy had mentioned her and while he had tried to bring it up a few times in the beginning he had given up after getting blocked by Andy each time.
Andy looked back down to her hands. Maybe now was the time to say all the things she wanted to say the day of crisis one training. After talking to Diane that day she was ready to talk to Robert, she was ready to have the fight, she was ready to put in the work but after getting interrupted by Aquino she never found the confidence again.
The fairy lights covered almost every area in the station this year. After everything that happened they probably needed the extra to make it feel festive at all. It made Andy feel like she was in a fairytale, even though she never liked them much growing up. Her mom had read some to her when she was young, but only the ones with dragons got her full attention.
