Chapter Text
Mishi
“Over here, kiddo! Welcome home!”
Jack waved at her through the crowded airport arrivals area, and gave a bark of laughter when he saw what she was wearing.
“I’m surprised Geneviève didn’t burn those,” he told her, readjusting the “I heart NY” baseball cap on her head and eyeing the Brooklyn sweatjacket.
“I kept them hidden,” she told him, kneeling down to release Simi from her carrier. The little dog stumbled out a little dopily, clearly still under the influence of the sedatives she’d been given for the flight.
“And who is this?” her boss asked, crouching down to let the dog sniff his hand.
“That’s my dog, Simi. You said it was okay if I brought her, right?”
“Yeah, of course. What’s one more dog hanging around the locker room, right?” He patted Simi again, then straightened up.
“Thank you for picking me up! You didn’t have to.”
Jack shook his head. “Don’t even. It’s my pleasure. I had to make sure they actually gave you back, right? I told Geneviève, you may have gotten Tobias, but you are not keeping Mishi. Did you get away all right this morning? Anybody give you trouble in Paris?”
She nodded, knowing who he was really asking her about. Which reminded her. Cheyenne had pressed the ziploc bag into her hand as she’d been leaving Bruna’s that morning for the last time, with strict instructions to deliver it to Jack as soon as possible. Then she’d put her hand on Mishi’s head in an almost loving gesture before storming off in a huff when Bruna gave Mishi some sandwiches for the trip.
“Cheyenne gave me this to give to you.” She fished the plastic bag out of her backpack and handed it over to him. Jack unwrapped it gingerly, like he was expecting something dangerous inside.
“Oh my god,” he deadpanned when he saw the content. “Goddamn diva. She couldn’t just pick up the phone to tell me?”
“Congratulations,” Mishi told him shyly. She’d caved halfway through the flight and checked the bag herself. Then she’d had to purchase the airplane wifi so she could google “How to tell if a pregnancy test is positive.” The lady sitting next to her had been abnormally kind to her after that.
Jack had to take a moment to collect himself, staring wetly up at the airport ceiling.
“I can’t believe it," he laughed. "I’m having a kid with that lunatic.” He gave a fond huff.
Mishi smiled awkwardly, reserving judgement. Finally Jack nodded, tucking away the pregnancy test in his coat pocket, and picking up Simi’s carrier.
“All right then. Time to rejoin the Metropolitan for good. Both of us.”
The dancer nodded, smiling. In the end, she’d said goodbye to Timeo. He was sweet, but Cheyenne had been right. It hadn’t been like that. She hadn’t talked to Tristan either since their last performance together. He’d promised to contact her if he came to New York. But Mishi had decided. She didn’t want to be held back. She didn’t want to be distracted by Paris. She was back where she wanted to be, with Simi by her side, in New York. She was back, baby.
“Ready to head out?” Jack asked her, taking her backpack in his other hand. Mishi nodded happily. “Let's get going, then. You’re going to love what we did to Tobias’ apartment, I’ll show you.”
“Oh, can we stop on the way?” she asked.
He looked at her curiously. “Sure, where do you want to go?”
She took a deep breath.
“Let’s get a bagel. In Brooklyn.”
Jack laughed. “Sure thing, kid. Let’s go.”