"I'm home!" Penny's voice trilled through the house. Her words weren't slurred, but the rhythm of her heels, clacking down the hall, gave away the few drinks she had at the cast and crew party.
DJ was in the nursery, rocking their son. Penny stood in the door for a moment, smiling as Chris yawned and snuggled closer to his father, who was also smiling big time. The ceiling lights were dimmed, and the creak of the rocking chair was cozy.
"And how are my baby and hubby doing?" Penny spoke a little quieter, but still with a lot of enthusiasm.
"Doing fine." DJ's eyes looked up, slowly trailing over the slit up the side of her tight red dress with a plunging neckline, her costume for the play. "Did you have a good time at the party?"
"Yes." Penny walked into the room, attempting to do a model strut, but with her stilettos sinking into the carpet and her slightly inebriated state, she just managed not to fall into DJ's lap with Chris. "But I missed you."
"Same." DJ leaned forward, and Penny placed her hands on the armrests to give him a kiss. The rocking came to a stop, Chris’s slow breathing still keeping that rhythm. "You were amazing on stage though."
"You really think so?" She bat her eyelashes. DJ nodded.
"Everyone was good, but you were amazing."
"With such a flattering nature," Penny trailed her fingers down DJ's arm, "I'm surprised you haven't made up with Raymundo yet."
"Flattery isn't going to fix what's bothering Raymundo and giving him such a bad attitude."
Penny frowned and pulled her hands away. "Then maybe he should see a therapist about that. You know some good ones."
"He won't go." DJ lowered his eyes to look at Chris, who was sleeping peacefully. "And I'm not going to force him. Telling more people won't help." Because he has a point about the less people knowing the safer we all are.
"Then what will help?" Penny crossed her arms.
"If I knew I'd already be doing it." DJ looked up. "But this is a problem I'm not sure any of us can help with." DNA is DNA. Proof Ray isn’t a normal human.
Penny sighed and crouched, holding her arms out. Chris was transferred and she lay him in his crib while both parents were silent.
But not a perfect system.
Penny's soft fingers pushed DJ's bangs back. "If there's nothing we can do, then maybe it is best to let the friendship go."
DJ's mind continued to whirl long after joining Penny in bed. There was a thread of an idea, a way to help Ray, if only DJ could fully grasp it enough to make an actual plan.
Word count: 459
