Emilia was curled up in a theatre seat at the Richard Rogers as she worked on her Algebra assignment. Coming to the theatre was becoming akin to whenever she would go to her mother's office after school, although admittedly Lin had the better venue. She had gotten used to the staff that worked there and was on a first name basis with most of the cast and crew.
She was working on Linear equations to the sounds of a production meeting going on on stage between Lin, Tommy Kail, and a few other executives that Lia had been introduced to prior. From what Lia could make out they were discussing the logistics of a second tour, but she wasn't that tuned in. Besides the fact that Lin had given her the, 'Anything said in this room is highly confidential' speech, she found the conversation to be similar to when her mom would go on about real estate law or equitable distribution: boring.
She was in the midst of trying to calculate a quadratic equation when suddenly her phone was taken out of her hand.
"Hey!" She said looking up to find Lin over her.
"You're still working on homework," Lin replied, coming around to the front of her.
"I was using it for a calculator!"
The look on Lin's face was one of disbelief as he slipped the phone into his jeans pocket, "You know when I was fourteen I didn't have a cell phone, much less one with a calculator?"
"Oh my god, is this turning into a, 'When I was your age' conversation?" Lia asked, setting aside her laptop and workbook.
"Yes, and your lisp is really helping your case for teen angst." Lin replied with a smirk.
Lia had gotten fitted for her invisalign earlier that week. She was elated to not have braces, but it was still an adjustment to get used to, one of which was a lisp as she got used to talking with plastic on her mouth. Lin found it hilarious and adorable, much to Lia's annoyance.
"Haha, very funny. Doesn't make that statement any less corny," Lia retorted, rolling her eyes, which gained a boisterous laugh from Lin. "So, is your meeting almost done?"
"Yep," he said. "Then I'll take you home to your mom."
"Can I come over this weekend?" She asked hopefully as she rushed to get to the end of her assignment.
"You can but I've got four shows," he reminded her. He was always gone pretty much all day Saturday since he had two shows. Between shows he holed up in the hotel across the street for a few hours to take a hot bath and a nap. It was his time to recharge.
Lia knew this very well which was one reason she wanted to come. She'd have the apartment to herself. Back in December, she and Ayden had officially become an item. They'd gone on a couple dates, including seeing Hamilton and meeting the cast. She was pretty sure that made her the best girlfriend ever.
"That's okay," she said, scribbling an answer. "I can catch up on sleep and Netflix."
"And maybe studying for your history test?" He added.
Lia rolled her eyes and grumbled. Lin had recently taken to becoming more parental. He didn't let her on her phone and he was on her about her school work. Her first semester hadn't been great. She'd gotten a C+ in history, two B's and three A's. It was her worst report card ever.
Lin grinned and kissed the top of her head before heading back to finish his meeting. About fifteen minutes later, he yelled for his daughter and she joined him, heavy backpack in hand. They both bundled up and headed out to the sidewalk.
After a couple subway changes they were back at Vanessa's. They came home to a more familiar sight - Vanessa in sweats curled up on the couch.
"You look terrible," Lia commented as she dropped her bookbag down and headed into the kitchen for a snack.
"Gee, thanks Lia," Vanessa sat up slowly, as she ran her fingers through her hair.
Lin walked over towards her, planting a kiss on her cheek, "How are you feeling?"
"Like shit," Vanessa admitted but welcomed the affection.
Lin felt awful that she had been so sick lately, "Is there anything I can get you?"
Vanessa shook her head, as Lin sat down next to her, "No, thanks. Every time I've tried to eat today, I've thrown it right back up." The honeymoon stage of their relationship was clearly over.
"Are you sure you don't want to squeeze an appointment in this week with your doctor to check on how sick you've been?"
"I was the same way when I was pregnant with Lia," Vanessa sighed, "I'll feel terrible for the next few weeks and then I'll feel better and won't be able to see my ankles."
"I read that the older women are, the worse they'll feel throughout their pregnancy," Lia chimed in from the kitchen as she chomped on a bag of Doritos.
The glare on Vanessa's face was even scary to Lin.
"Ah, okay. Ms. Wikipedia? Don't you have homework you have to finish up? In your room?" Lin hinted strongly.
"I'll just go and get used to becoming the forgotten child," Lia sassed, grabbing her bowl of chips and backpack and headed back to her room.
Vanessa rolled her eyes at their dramatic child, "They really should include the warning label that cute babies will become teenagers on condom boxes."
Lin chuckled, as he began to massage Vanessa's shoulders, "This baby will be perfect. They'll just skip over adolescence."
"Really?" Vanessa mused under her breath as she leaned into the massage.
"Oh, yeah," Lin loved that the grimace on Vanessa's face was being replaced with a smile, "They'll just go from adorable infant to successful adult. It'll be some weird, unexplainable, genetic shit."
Vanessa giggled, which only made Lin fall more in love with her, "Unfortunately, I was a scientist in a past life and I don't think it works that way."
"So, new plan? We just push the kid onto Lia when she's the successful adult and it'll be payback for her teen years,"
This time, Vanessa openly laughed. She shifted her head and found Lin's lips, giving him a soft kiss. "You know how to make everything better,"
"I have been told that once or twice,"
Vanessa shook her head at his good-humored arrogance, but still gave him another kiss.
"Lia mentioned wanting to come to my place for the weekend. Why don't you let me take care of her and you just spend it resting?"
"That actually sounds amazing," Vanessa looked up towards Lin, "You don't think there was any actual merit to her comment about being the forgotten child?"
Lin shook his head adamantly, "Are you kidding? That was Lia being sarcastic Lia. She's over the moon about the baby."
Vanessa knew he was right. It had always been the two of them, and she didn't want Lia to feel out of place. Lia had been more helpful than usual lately, which Vanessa had appreciated greatly. It was just nice to have Lin reiterate the thought, "You're right. Take her; who knows how much longer we'll be able to do this anyways once we figure out the living situation." Vanessa ended with a raised eyebrow.
"V, we'll figure it out," Lin insisted, already seeing where the conversation was leading to.
"I know," Vanessa replied, "But we still don't know which apartment we're going to keep and where the baby will go. There is just so much to do before this one comes." She looked down at her referenced belly
Lin wrapped his arms around Vanessa, leaning onto her shoulder, "Okay here's how tonight's going to go. You're going to stop over analyzing everything because we won't even know the exact due date until your doctor's appointment next week. I'm going to run you a bath with that lavender epsom salt shit you love, and then I'm going to whip up something before I have to leave so that you and both of our children aren't surviving purely on take out."
"God, that may be the sexiest thing you've ever said to me,"
"I aim to please," Lin said with a smirk, leaving Vanessa with one last kiss and the television remote before heading off to be the world's best baby daddy.
—-
That Saturday, Lia finished cleaning up the living room at Lin's apartment. She'd gotten a new candle and put on a little more makeup than she usually did. Everything needed to be perfect. It was her and Ayden's one month anniversary.
Lin had been gone since about 1:00 and would be out until at least midnight. It was the perfect time to ask Ayden over. They had kissed a little bit but they were both super shy and not sure what to do.
She'd signed into Netflix and had popcorn ready to put in the microwave.
Lin texted her before the show began to make sure she was okay. Now that she had two parents she couldn't get away from all the supervision. They both wanted to check in with her and know where she was. It was so annoying!
The doorbell rang and she ran her fingers through her hair and straightened her top. She opened the door and there was Ayden, looking quite handsome.
Ayden smiled and held out a bag of Sour Patch Kids, which he'd found out was Lia's favorite. Lia happily accepted and invited him in. They got sodas from the fridge and popped popcorn while they chatted.
Soon they were flipping through Netflix as they munched, feet up on the table. It wasn't long before it had turned into a make out session. Lia let him go farther than they ever had - his hand went up her shirt, fumbling in nervousness.
They cuddled as they watched both Despicable Me movies. At around 10:45 Ayden's phone buzzed with an alarm. He needed to leave now to make it home for curfew. He gave her a sweet kiss goodbye, leaving Lia sighing with content.
Lia turned on a mindless movie she'd already seen and curled up on the couch. It wasn't long before the busy teenager fell asleep.
Around 12:30, her dad came home after the show. His daughter had irresponsibly left a candle burning in the living room. He walked over and blew it out, then found the remote and turned off the TV. He looked down at his sleeping daughter. How many nights like this had he missed? When his little girl fell asleep and he could have carried her to bed? He decided not to dwell on it. He was thankful he had Lia now, and would have even more memories to share with the next baby. Lin gently scooped her up and carried her to her bed.
—-
The next morning, Sunday, they decided to head to a diner for a father/daughter breakfast. They made friendly banter over pancakes, sausage and eggs. Lin was glad things seemed to be going more smoothly between the two of them. After their rift in December over the party, Lin had been making an effort to be more responsible and to hold her accountable. She was a good kid anyway but he felt like they were getting closer.
"I threw up all over the doctor," Lia told him, laughing as they got off the elevator. She was telling a story about a childhood visit to the doctor that hadn't gone so well.
Mrs. Cavanaugh, one of their neighbors, was walking down the hall and smiled as she saw them approach.
"Lin! Lia!" She greeted them. "How good to see you!"
"You too," Lin said. "How's your wrist been doing?"
"Oh, much better after wearing the brace thank you," she smiled. "I was hoping I'd run into you, Lia, so I could ask you about that handsome boy I saw come to your door last night."
Lia gaped for a moment, stunned. They'd been careful so Lin wouldn't catch them but she hadn't thought about neighbors. Lin furrowed his eyebrows and looked at his daughter. This was news to him.
"Uhhh...oh!" She snapped her fingers. "Yeah that was a friend from school. He just came by to drop something off."
"He was handsome," she told the teenager, winking. "I'd go after that one if I were you."
Lia laughed uncomfortably, hoping her little lie had been enough, but somehow she doubted it. They said goodbye and walked to their apartment silently.
Lia hoped her dad would just let her go to her room but she found out it wouldn't be that easy.
"Hold up," He told her, setting the keys down on the counter. "What was that about a boy coming by?"
Lia's heart pounded. "I told you. He was dropping something off for school."
"On a Saturday night?" He called her on the unlikelihood.
"Uh-huh," she said, shifting uncomfortably. Her father gave her a look.
"You're not lying to me are you?" He asked, raising his eyebrows in seriousness. "Because you know how your mother and I feel about lying."
She wasn't sure about other kids, but when adults gave her that look it crushed her. She hated disappointing people and she adored Lin. The teenager broke down and confessed.
"I'm sorry!" She told him. "It's just we never get any privacy. We didn't do anything."
"Well that's good to know," he told her. "Lia, you cannot have boys over here unsupervised. It's not appropriate."
"But I can have girls?" She argued. "That's sexist. What if I'm a lesbian?"
Lin shook his head. She was definitely her mother's child. "Are you?"
"No, but that's not the point," she told him.
"No," he agreed. "That's not the point. The point is you snuck a boy over here without permission. Give me your phone."
"Why?" She asked him defensively.
"Because you're being punished," he explained, holding out his hand. She scoffed and fished it out of her coat pocket and handed it to him. Not because she thought Lin could actually punish her but because she knew her mom would give her hell if she found out she'd given another adult a hard time.
"You can go to your room," he told her. "I'll let your mom know you're grounded for two weeks."
Lia gaped. "Grounded?" She looked at him, incredulous. "You can't ground me! Only my mom can."
"I'm your father and you're living in my house, so yes I can," he informed her, though he felt like he had no idea what he was doing. He'd never done this before. Could they refuse to be grounded?
Lia gave her father a death glare before storming off to her room and slamming the door. Lin sighed and tossed his coat over the back of the chair.
And he thought things had been going great.