Starring:
Summary: Over ice cream, the mother and son pair share confirm that they're going to be okay.
Date It Happened:
Before You Know It
Lucky Joe's Diner
Manhattan, New York
The cheerful red, white and chrome of Lucky Joe's Diner somehow manages to make zero class totally comfortable and homey. And it has really good food, which is the main thing. As evening starts to settle in over Manhattan, Niki treats Micah to supper — or breakfast, or lunch, because Lucky Joe is flexible like that — and ice cream, which is what's on the menu right now. Sitting in comfy a booth in a corner with winter clothes piled around her, Niki is just enjoying spending time with her son.
"I can't decide, mom." Micah complains, looking over the menu. For a diner, they sure do have lots of flavors. Maybe Lucky Joe likes ice cream? "Rocky Road, or Mint Chocolate Chip?" he asks, glancing up briefly from the menu.
Since it's a corner booth, it the seat loops around halfway — and Niki has made use of this by sliding over to sit closer to Micah. She looks at the dessert menu, an over-exaggerated look of thought on her face. "You never wind up liking Mint Chocolate Chip as much as you think you're going to." She remembers things like this. Listen to her, she has mom wisdom. "You take Rocky Road, I'll take Mint Chocolate Chip."
Micah looks over at Niki with a forced frown on his face. Not hard at all for someone to tell he was trying to hold back a smile. "That's only because you eat it all before I can." he says, not able to hold the frown any longer. Lips quirk up into a big grin. "I can live with that." he adds.
"Hey!" Niki, certainly not holding back her smile, which is wide and bright, good-naturedly elbows Micah. Of course, she doesn't even use a tiny fraction of her strength, it's gentle. A friendly waitress, her old-fashioned uniform matching the diner dcor, appears at that moment and Niki hands her the laminated menu. "One Rocky Road and one Mint Chocolate Chip," she orders before leaning into Micah a little. "This is nice."
Leaning back into his mom at the same time, Micah nods. "Almost…..normal." he says, smiling and lifting his eyes up to hers. It's left unsaid that it would be better if his dad were here, but the emotion in his eyes should be enough to convey that. "OH, and extra whipped cream!" Micah adds loudly to the waitress.
Niki rolls her eyes at Micah's addition to the desert, but smiles anyway. "Normal," she repeats, reflective. "Yeah," she adds quietly. An arm wraps around Micah and she squeezes his far shoulder. "We're doin' all right, aren't we?"
Micah watches as the waitress disappears to fetch their order, hoping she doesn't forget the extra whipped cream. Yes, he's an addict. But aren't most computer nerds addicted to something? At least ice cream is legal. "Yeah. We're doing ok." he replies, reaching out to play with the silverware on the table. "I miss dad though." he comments.
"So do I," Niki admits, leaning down enough to rest her cheek against Micah's head, just for a few moments. "It's normal," she says; there's that word again, "to miss him, but we gotta be strong. That's what he'd want." She runs a hand through the growing kid's hair and leans back away to look at him. "I think you're doing great."
In the time since the wonderful revelation, Micah's had time to collect, assess, and reassign his emotions about it. It took some work, but he's come to terms that it has to be the way it is. "Thanks, mom. And I know it's what he'd want. Just doesn't make it easy, you know."
"I know, baby." The look that mother levels on son is nothing short of respectful and admiring. His maturity never fails to surprise. "I'll always be here for you." Where D.L. isn't is the unspoken part. Where she hasn't been, some times in the past due to situations out of her control. Niki has, undoubtedly, said this a million times. She means every one.
One million, four hundred thousand. But who's keeping track? "I know you will, mom." he says, nuzzling his head into her arm. Curl be damned! They'll….recurl….or something like that. "Do you think he'll ever let us come visit him again?" What remains unsaid is whether or not Micah will have to wait until he is 18 to exercise that right.
"Honestly? No, Micah." Niki, crusher of dreams since 2006. Though her tone turns firm, her frown is apologetic. She shakes her head, brows raised high as she explains. "I know you wanna hope. I do too sometimes. But we have to face the fact that he's not part of our life anymore." That could mean forever.
The waitress takes this moment to stroll on over with two heaping bowls of ice cream.
Micah nods at the tone, and his expression downturns for a moment. His head even hangs a bit so hopefully his mom won't see the thoughtful look. Is it even worth him pressing his luck? "But, when I'm eighteen I can go see him, right? I mean, he can choose not to see me, but no one can stop me, right?" Micah, dominator of the internet, seems to have done some detective work. Into legal code and statutes. Of course, then the ice cream arrives. "Alright! She remembered." he grins, looking at the mountain of whipped cream on his bowl.
Niki flashes the waitress a quick smile for the ice cream, but it disappears fast. Hope and determination like Micah has should be inspiring, but in this circumstance, she doesn't want to hear it, and her expression makes that all too obvious. "Micah…" Her shoulders slump as she purses her lips at him in hesitation to answer. "That's a long time from now." It's not, really. Micah will be eighteen before she knows it.
Spoon in hand, Micah delves into the ice cream as his mom smiles. Like any kid, we're talking heaping spoonfuls. Could be a brain freeze in the works. As she mentions the length of time, he looks up at her. "But it's true, right?" he asks, failing to notice the dab of whipped cream on the tip of his nose.
Niki tips her head to the side as she watches Micah devour the ice cream. "Come on," she implores a little, starting to smile. Her tone lightens — it might be an attempt to sway the subject away from D.L., granted. "I don't wanna think about you being eighteen just yet. You're not gonna grow up and leave me old and alone, are you?" She reaches out to dab the ice cream on the boy's nose away with her thumb.
Micah tries to duck away from the maternal instinct to clean the young. But he's not quick enough. Which is good, as he didn't know the ice cream was there to begin with. "Pssh. You're not old, mom." he says, shaking his head. "Not unless you decide to kick me out of the house when I'm grown up." Back to the ice cream! Quick! Before it melts!
"Not yet I'm not," Niki says in (mostly) false horror at the prospect and good humour, then grins and gets around to her own dessert. She isn't quite as gung-ho about her ice cream as Micah is— until she shovels in that first bite. "Mm." She seems to melt a little, not the ice cream. "Are you kidding? I'm keeping you around as long as I can!"
"Besides, you're my mom." Micah grins, pausing long enough to down another bite of the delectable dessert. "You'll never be old in my book." Micah grimaces as the impending brain freeze sets in. That's what you get for big bites, mister. Once it passes, he laughs. "I don't want to be that creepy old guy living out of his mom's basement."
"Aw," Niki laughs at Micah's sweet compliments. Or sucking up. He sounds sincere, so it's okay. "Well, we wouldn't want that," she agrees - at least in part - and downs some more of her own ice cream. With the spoon, extra long for scooping every little bit, still in her mouth, she twists around in the booth to pull her cell phone out of her purse. All she does is check the time. The result makes her spoon in the Mint Chocolate Chip almost as fast as Micah. "I have to drop you off at home. I have an appointment that I can't be late for."
Micah has learned one thing in the recent couple months. Stop questioning what your mom is doing. Though, the reason behind it remains unknown. Maybe he doesn't want to know? Either way, it's a sign of impending departure, so he finishes up the last few bites of his ice cream before using a napkin to clean his face off should anything be left again. "Will you be home before I go to bed."
"I'm going to visit Mohinder at his lab," Niki confesses easily, no prying necessary. She leaves out the part where she's meeting a certain politician and going to said lab with him, but that's— not important. She wipes her hands on a diner napkin and pushes her ice cream bowl ahead. "He's helping to make me all better," she says as she slides on her winter coat, flipping her long hair over the back of its hood. "I'll be back before you know it."
To object, or not to object? Shakespeare never faced these kinds of issues. If he had, surely Hamlet would have been written sooner. "I still think you're fine just the way you are, mom." After all, she is his mother. Mother is god in the eyes of a child. Following her lead and bundling up, the coat does well to hide the shrugging of his shoulders. "If you're not, I'm staying up until you are." he laughs.
Niki pauses halfway through wrapping her red, knit scarf around her neck. She's not just fine. Or… she wasn't just fine. She was a whole world of not fine. "There won't be anymore worrying about… Jessica, or anyone. No more going away for treatment, no more meds," she explains. "Things are looking up for us, you'll see." She flips her scarf around her neck, gives Micah a quick kiss on the forehead, and slides out of the booth with her purse. "And you'll go to bed right on time."
Micah follows suit. Sliding out of the booth, that is. Scarf-flipping….I think not. A smile flirts with his face at mention of the treatment. "So long as you don't become like….the Hulk and change into a big green monster instead." Though, the Hulk really was just misunderstood. His head upturns at the kiss, eyes sparkling his amusement as they reflect the light from the overhead fixtures. "I'll go to my room right on time." he states. "But unless you're going to make Monica check on me every five minutes…" It's clear though by his tone that he's joking. Though, has he not been known to disobey orders in the past?
Niki looks down at Micah as she stands at the register on the counter, paying for their supper in mostly ones, with a tip. "She won't have to, I'll be home," she says, all smiles, before holding onto her swinging purse and sauntering toward the exit, a hand instinctively guiding Micah's back with a light touch. "At least in time to say goodnight."
Watching the transaction, Micah nods. "Ok." he says, turning for the door as the receipt is handed over. And even though he's almost a teenager, only a year to go…he still allows himself to be guided towards the exit. "I suppose you can go to your meeting then." he laughs, pushing open the door and running out into the cold continuing to laugh.
"Well, as long as I have your permission," Niki jokes as the bell above them rings when the door opens and she follows on out. The blast of winter air isn't the only thing to greet them; the usual Manhattan traffic is in full force, too. "Have I told you how much I love you today?…" her voice disappears into the street. With another jingle, the door to the diner shuts.