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Chapter Twenty-Three

We spent the next day with Sali and Maggie when they returned from Hawaii. Together, we decided that Nora and I would move into the attic studio, so that Harper and Moreno could take the second floor for when the baby arrives. Nora stood happily in the center of the cleared-out space that didn't take long to shift around, with so many people helping out.

"It looks good up here. We just need a few furniture pieces," she said, then pointed to the opened closet where some of our clothes hung. "It blends into the wall like a secret hiding spot."

"Sali's genius, I'm sure. It does make more sense for us to be up here."

"Yeah." She smiled at me while I sat on the edge of the bed watching her. "Olivia won't knock on the bedroom door anymore asking if I'm okay when she hears me shout."

I laughed at that, shaking my head. "That was a fun morning."

"She's cute."

"She's a little terror, but she's a lot of fun."

"Wonder what Harper's kid will be like." Nora fussed with something in the closet before pulling out a white blouse and skirt combination. Her expression fell slowly before she replaced the skirt with a pair of black slacks.

"Only two ways that could go. They'll either be a super hippie or a superhero. No other way."

"What if they're both?" She held the outfit up to me and I nodded.

"A superhero super hippie? I mean, I could dig it." I chuckled while watching her dress.

As time wore on, she moved slower and her smile faded. The same battle waged when she attempted to pick out her undergarments. She shifted from regular bra to sports bra, and panties to a pair of boy shorts.

"Honey, what's going on with the outfit changes today?"

"I don't know what to wear," she said, growing flustered in a heartbeat. "I don't."

"What have you always worn to work?" I sat up properly on the edge of the bed and held my hands to her.

"Everything. I didn't really think about it. If we were in the field, I wore jeans and such like you…"

"Right. What did you wear on regular days?" I gestured toward the closet and she pointed to the pants and shirt combo she laid out on the chair in the corner.

"That. Pants or a skirt."

"Okay. You figured that part out. What about underclothes?"

"I wore whatever was clean," she answered right away, then gnawed on her cheek.

"The same applies now, baby."

She let out a slow breath and held up her regular bra. I nodded and watched her fasten it, while kissing her naked stomach.

"Is your belly okay?"

Again, she nodded her answer then hugged me around the shoulders once her tits were hidden away. I stroked the back of her legs in gentle passes.

"Yeah. I think I'm anxious…"

"I think you are, too." I gave her rear a squeeze. "We're on the same team again and we'll be together all day, save for when I have to head into the field. We're working on a serial case right now, but there isn't anything active. We're looking at seven crime scenes and you'll be doing what you always do. Connecting pieces, coming up with hunches, suggesting where we go next. Right?"

"Yes," she agreed, and the briefing seemed to settle her a little bit. She broke away from me to continue dressing in a more decisive manner until it wound down to shoes. As before, she pulled out a pair of pumps and ankle boots. She crouched down, her chin on her knees as she stared at both pairs. Nora's level of distress, or inability to manage it, became flagrantly clear.

I broke away from my perch on the bed and joined her, mimicking her posture. I lifted the black pumps and handed them to her. She nodded, glassy eyes meeting mine as she drew in a slow breath.

"You're okay," I whispered while placing the boots back in the closet. "It's your first day back and it's making you anxious. We're going to be forgiving about that today, right?"