[A/N: A mostly very happy chapter I wrote in just a couple of hours. Mainly to the tunes of Taylor Swift. Hope you enjoy!🍃)

It was June 12th. The summer had officially begun, as I strolled around Highbridge Park with Dom while taking Tobi for a walk. We had both gotten piragua, as we had caved by the sight of the piragua cart.

"I seriously can't wait for the summer break", Dom exclaimed. "I just love, y'know, not having to do anything. Although I've got to prepare for next year-", he continued, but I cut him off.
"Gosh, don't remind me. College applications. I'm already stressing out about it and I'm only a freshman. No, Tobi. No-", I said as she suddenly dived head-first into a bush after a ball someone had thrown for their dog. I pulled her back and stared at her with an angry face, but she just looked at me playfully with such puppy eyes.
"I've got your ball here. You can play with it later when we get to the open field", I casually explained, but also thinking where there will be less people.
"And where there will be less people. Seriously, did everyone decide to come here today?", Dom rhetorically asked, looking around as he had said exactly what I had been thinking.
I pulled on Tobi's leash, and we started walking again. I took a spoonful of my strawberry flavoured piragua.
"Seems like we weren't the only one with a good idea", I quietly replied, feeling slightly off and jumpy, but I was trying to mask it. "Also, thanks for getting me out of the house, it's The Tonys tonight and it's just a lot going on", I continued, as I hesitantly looked at Dom. He just continued to talk, not thinking twice about how I'd sort of mentioned that I wasn't feeling my best.
"Lin's nervous, I guess?", he asked me.
"Well... yeah. I think he is. But I guess he's mostly excited to be in the room with everyone. And then there's the, um, shooting in Orlando... so he's been at the Rodger's all morning, he decided that they'd changed the choreography so that they won't use weapons", I hesitantly said. Dom raised his eyebrows, looking at me with an impressed face.
"That's really cool", he concluded, sounding like he really meant that - which he probably, also, did.
"How was school, then?", I asked him, trying to redirect the conversation from the shooting that I didn't want to be reminded of.
"Same old, same old. Carson said that there are some new puppies at his grandma's kennel ready for adoption, so I'm thinking of taking Flo to see them. They're golden retriever puppies, and I think she has seen the Air Bud and Airbuddies films a little too many times so it's her favourite dog breed", he laughed a little, realizing that his piragua was melting all over his hand, making him desperately trying to eat all of it.
"Sorry, but what's Air... Bud?", I confusedly asked, trying not laughing at his desperate save, but failing. He gave me a betrayed look as we arrived at the open field.
"You haven't seen Air Bud? Not even Airbuddies?", he asked, sounding seemingly shocked. I grinned a little, as I furrowed my eyebrows and shook my head.
"No?", I said, still confused as we reached the open field.
"Those films are literally my childhood!", Dom exclaimed, but I just shrugged my shoulders as I unleashed Tobi and threw her ball.
"Never heard of them", I stated, watching Tobi run towards the ball at full Tobi. I glanced at Dom, and shrugged my shoulders again.
"Cons of being raised in a dysfunctioning household and then in the foster system I guess", I joked as Tobi returned just as quickly as she had left, the ball in her mouth. "Good girl!", I said as I threw it again. Dom laughed at my joke, which was a relief.
I didn't want him to feel bad for me.
"I genuinely thought everyone had seen them. My french cousins are literally obsessed with them-", he continued. "We have to watch Air Bud, Rue. It's a classic", to which I cracked a laugh and replied.
"Sure", I said and watched Tobi come running back again, only to drop the ball at Dom's feet and look up at him with puppy eyes. "So your family's thinking about getting a dog?", I asked him as he kindly threw the ball for Tobi.
"Well, it's Flo's biggest dream to have a dog. And I wouldn't mind. I mean, Tobi's pretty cool", he said as he watched her dart into the distance. "So my plan is to go to Carson's with Flo and my parents today, and campaign for a dog", he explained. "I mean who could say no to me? Or a little 7 year old girl?", he joked.
"Not me", I said and leant onto his shoulder, as he leant in and kissed me. The butterflies in my stomach started flying around again.
I never wanted them to stop.
"You know, you always talk about Flo and your family and I haven't even been at your house", I realized, saying the thought out loud as we let go of each other.
"We pass by my place on the way back, if you want to drop by?", he asked me as Tobi came back, once again, and still as excited about the ball. I picked it up and threw it again.
"You sure? I mean, I've got Tobi", I replied, taking another spoonful of my piragua.
"No problem. And Tobi's definitely a Flo magnet", he told me.
"Alright"

After a few more minutes of playing with Tobi at the park, finishing off our piraguas and quickly texting Lin and Vanessa, I was standing in the doorway of Dom's apartment with Tobi by my side.
Dom was already taking off his shoes.
"Rue, come in-", he laughed, taking my hand and pulling me in as he closed the door behind me. "Ma, I'm home! And Rue's here too. Plus, we've got her dog with us", he loudly called, looking at me with a witty face. It only took milliseconds before a small girl came running, with the same dark brown curly hair as Dom.
"A dog?!", she excitedly exclaimed, and I instantly assumed it was Flo.
I held Tobi in the collar to prevent her from jumping all over Flo, knowing how she loved kids. That, while Dom stopped Flo from instantly hugging Tobi.
"Flo, wait, you gotta let her get to know you before you hug her", he calmly explained to his sister.
"I know, Dom", she rolled her eyes and held out her hand so Tobi could smell it. Still, she looked at Tobi with mixed emotions. Like she was very excited about having a dog to pet, but that she was also scared of petting her. She looked at me. "...does she bite?", Flo hesitantly asked.
I shook my head.
"No, I promise. She's the kindest dog I've ever met", I said, and Flo hesitantly began to pet Tobi, and the delight previously mingled with terror turned into just pure delight.
"Hey Rue", the voice of a woman said. I looked up and saw, what I presumed to be Dom's Mom, coming towards us. She had a kind face, with the same curly hair as Dom though her skin was slightly darker. She had a slight French accent, too. "Sorry, I was on a call. Still am. It's nice to finally meet you", she said and held out her hand for me to shake, beaming at me. I stood up and took it.
"I'm Agnés", she told me.
"It's nice to meet you too", I said, trying to come off as normal, though my head was filled with thoughts of everything I had to do.
"Dominic here has been keeping you from us for quite some time, eh?", she joked, looking at Dom with a playful face. Before Dom could say anything, I replied.
"Probably my fault. I haven't been well, so...", I explained, sounding more casual than I ever thought I would. She didn't seem to mind my explanation, and just looked at me with a happy look on her face.
"Well, I'm glad you're feeling better. Are you staying for dinner? Dom's in charge of making soup. He's a great cook, y'know", she said, but Dom just shook his head in embarrassment. I mischievously smiled.
"No, I actually didn't. And I'd love to, but I can't stay", I said, glancing at Dom. She beamed at me.
"Alright. Anyway, I gotta get back to that call", she told me, pointing to the headphones that she had hanging around her neck. "I'm excited to see you again, Rue"
"You too", I replied, and she turned around and walked away. I looked down to see that Tobi was thoroughly enjoying the attention she was getting from Flo.
Though, Flo was looking up at me.
"Are you Dom's girlfriend?", she bluntly asked. I blushed.
"Flo!", Dom exclaimed. Flo looked at him.
"Well isn't she?", she asked with a genuine curious look on her face.
"I am", I replied, and Flo looked at me, all excited. She squealed.
"Yes!", she exclaimed. "What's your name? Mine's Florence Ella Marie Moreau-Fletcher", she was talking quickly, curiously waiting for me to reply.
"That's a pretty name. My name's Rue"
"The whole name!", she said, with a face that said duh. I giggled.
"Alright, my whole name is Ruth April Miranda", I told her with a quirky look on my face. "But I'm gonna change it soon", which led to Flo looking at me with big eyes, and I glanced at Dom who hadn't really heard about this either. He was looking at me with a surprised face.
"What? Why?", she asked me.
"I was adopted, and I didn't want to keep my middle name", I simply said.
"That's so cool", she said as she turned to Dom. "Can I change mine? I wanna add Rose. Or Cinderella. Or Ariel!", she told him, fully serious.
"Hold up. I think you'll have to convince Mom and Dad, and y'know, they picked your name so I don't think-", Dom replied, a little confused by her request, but before he could continue Flo had already run away to their Mom.
Dom looked at me.
"Well now you know how it is to have a sister that's ten years younger than you are", he laughed.
I nodded, smiling.
"She's really cute though", I told him.
"Don't let the cuteness fool you", he said, as he took my hand and led me to his room, while I tightly held onto Tobi's leash. "Well, here's my humble home", he gesticulated with his arm, as I carefully looked around his room. It had white walls with a brick accent wall by his desk, and a window with a great view over the Highbridge Park. I instantly found his collection of DVDs.
"You really still watch DVDs? I thought you were joking-", I exclaimed, letting my hand drag over the backs of them. "And VHSs?"
"Only way to watch the classics", he said.
"You do realize that there's Netflix, Hulu, HBO, Amazon Prime now...", I joked. He cracked a laugh.
"I know, I know", he said. "So what are you changing your name to?", he kindly asked me, gently looking at me as I scanned the titles.
"Um, Ruth's gonna stay Ruth so don't worry. But April's going", I told him.
"Why?", he asked me, always interested in knowing more.
"I think my biological parents were drunk and high when they named me and realized that it was pretty easy to name me after the month I was born in", I explained as I picked up Tobi in my arms, and pet her behind my ear. "Well, I don't think, I know", I added, as the flashback of my drunken father shouting that at me a few months before I was taken away.
Dom nodded.
"Understandable", he concluded.
"Instead, I'm gonna take the name Eileen. And I'm letting Lin and Vanessa pick a name for me, too", I told him.
"Do you know what they have picked?", he curiously asked me.
"Yeah. Lía. It 'means bearer of good news'", I replied, smiling at the memory of yesterday where they both had replied with Lía instantly after I had asked them if they wanted to pick a name for me.
"I like that. Rue Eileen Lía Miranda. It has a nice ring to it", he stated. "Do you know what Rue means in french?", he suddenly asked, and I just shook my head.
"No?", to which he just let a smile spread across his face.
"Street, or road. Like you're the way to go", he jokingly, but sincerely, told me.
I smiled too, as I pet Tobi's head.
"Did you hear that, Tobi? I'm the way to go", I giggled.
Dom looked at me.
"You definitely are"

While at home, I later got a text from Dom.

>> Campaign worked. This is Ariel. Name courtesy of Flo.

To it, was an attached picture of a little yellow furred fluffy golden retriever.

<< Oh my god I love her

I quickly tapped send as I watched Vanessa and Lin fix the finishing touches before they were off to the Tony Awards. Vanessa's dress was absolutely stunning, and really, she was the one waiting for Lin. She turned to her Mom and Dad that were going to me and Sebastian tonight during the awards.
"Oh, and Sebastian needs to be in bed by 7 pm", she said, finishing off a long instruction of everything you could possibly think of.
"We know, hun", her Dad, Frank, said, while holding Sebastian in his arms.
"We've raised children too, y'know", her Mom added, with a smug look on her face.
"I know", Vanessa said, cracking a smile. "Just promise you'll call if anything happens", she told all of us, and I looked down, because I knew that it was mostly meant for me.
I didn't want anything to happen.
Though I knew these people cared for me, loved me even, I was still scared for how they'd feel about me if something did happen.
"We promise", her parents said in unison.
"Okay, I'm done. Let's go!", Lin announced, almost jumping from excitement or nervousness. Or a mix of both.
"Alright. Bye, Niñita. Love you, love you, love you", Vanessa said as she embraced me, kissing the top of my head. It filled me with such warmth. She let go and looked straight at me. "Hey, you okay?", she asked, not wanting to sound or seem worried even though she was.
And it was a legitimate worry, because I hadn't been alone with anyone else other than them for this long since the kidnapping.
I nodded, smiling just a tiny bit.
"I'm okay", I told her, and it was a genuinely sincere answer. She grinned.
"Good. See you tomorrow then", she said, all smiley, and turned to take Sebastian from Lin's embrace, and Lin turned to me. He hugged me tightly, for a long time.
"You'll be alright, you know. I know you will", he quietly said, so only I would hear. As he let go he nodded at me, his eyes meeting mine, and I nodded back.

Because somewhere deep inside I knew I was going to be alright.

They walked out the door, waving at us before closing it behind them. Vanessa's Mom turned to me.
"Okay so I know Vanessa has prepared for us to make something to eat, but I'm thinking takeout", she announced. "Who's with me?"
Vanessa's Dad instantly raised his hand, and helped raise Sebastian's hand, too.
"We are!", he exclaimed, and so I giggled and raised mine, too.
"Let's order pizza then!"

I was setting up the dinnerware at the coffee table in the living room, as we had the TV on in the background.
"Pizza's here!", Frank announced as he walked through the door. "I got some garlic bread too, just in case"
"Hurry, hurry! It's just about to start!", Vanessa's mom announced, all excited as she came into the room with a salad bowl from the kitchen.
"Alright, alright", Frank said as he put the pizza cartons on the edge of the coffee table. Sebastian was playing with his train track on the floor, and I walked over to tell him.
"Hey, it's pizza time bud", I told him. I didn't need to say anything else.
"Pwizzah!", he exclaimed, standing by Frank and watched with fascination as he cut the pizza.
I sat down on the sofa, in my corner, and carefully took a slice of the pepperoni pizza on my plate. I suddenly let in on the urge to blink and tap at the same time before taking a bite. I couldn't understand why - and I rarely did, I just did whatever came to mind.

I anxiously looked at the pizza, feeling as if I really didn't want to eat. Which I rarely did, though I knew I had to.

Before I could force myself to take a bite, Sebastian had climbed up into my lap while tightly holding onto his small slice of pizza.
"Oh, hi!", I exclaimed, giggling a little.
"Hi", he replied, already munching away.
I laughed, and forcibly took a bite.
"Well we've got to take a picture of you two", Vanessa's Mom said, beaming at us as she took up her phone to take a photo. "Say cheese!"
"Cheese!", I repeated, and Sebastian joined me by saying eeeee.
"Great, gotta send that to Vanessa, wait-", she added, but cut herself off as the program began.
"It's starting, it's starting everybody!", Frank announced, coming running from the kitchen with a jug of water in one hand and a pizza in the other.
"We know!", me and Vanessa's Mom exclaimed at the same time, her louder than I, which made us all laugh before our eyes were completely glued to the TV.

And, as expected, they won a lot of the awards. We were all chatting a little in between the awards, praising the cast performances and eating pizza when we weren't cheering for the people we knew.

After a little while, Sebastian was getting tired and had to be put to bed. I was getting tired, too, mainly because there had been so much going on today and in the last couple of weeks that my brain was still catching up. Yet, I had promised myself to stay up and watch it, because I knew how much it meant to Lin.
Still, I was ever so surprised by how calm I was keeping. Maybe it was that everything in my past had ended, and I was finally able to live in the present. I was tapping, blinking and counting, but it wasn't taking over. At least not at this very moment.

I think we were cheering the loudest when Lin won Best Score for Hamilton.

And then I silently wept as he said his speech, not for the part that didn't make everyone else cry, but for the part before that.

"My wife is the reason anything gets done;
She nudges me towards promise by degrees.
She is a perfect symphony of one;
Our kids are her most beautiful reprise", he read off the little note in his hand and it warmed my heart and made me want to cry, but I also didn't want to cry; I just wanted to smile.

Our kids, he had said. Our kids.

So I just sat with teary eyes, beaming at the screen of the TV.

"We chase the melodies that seem to find us
Until they're finished songs and start to play.
When senseless acts of tragedy remind us
That nothing here is promised, not one day", he took a deep breath, and I took one too.

"This show is proof that history remembers.
We live through times when hate and fear seem stronger. We ride and fall and fight from dying embers remembrances that hope and love last longer", he paused, seemingly trying to hold back tears. So was as I, and Vanessa's parents, and everyone at the awards, and probably everyone watching, too.

"And love is love is love is love is love is love is love is love cannot be killed and swept aside. I sing Vanessa's symphony, Eliza tells her story. Now fill the world with music, love and pride", and now both of Vanessa's parents were crying of pride and happiness at the sight of their daughter on the screen and their son-in-law delivering a beautiful speech.
I quickly wiped the tear rolling down my cheek, not wanting to cry because I had cried so much this year already.

I was still stuck on that first part.

That Our kids are her most beautiful reprise.
Our kids.
Plural.

I was never really going to get used to that,
was I?
And I didn't want to, either.
I wanted to take them for granted, but I also wanted to feel the butterflies in my stomach whenever they said I was their daughter.
That I was a part of them as a family.
That I was their family.

I never knew how great that felt until I met them.

—————
Hello, hello!
Here I am, trying to update as often as I can😌 And I wrote this quite quickly, considering that it's me we're talking about here🙈

Anyway, this chapter has a bit of Rue/Dom and officially feel like we need to have a ship name for them. Any suggestions?☀️🍃

Gonna visit my friend in Gothenburg this weekend, which is very exciting. I haven't been there a whole lot and I'm dying to get out of my home town so it'll be a nice break from everyday life! Planning on going to a few museums, do some shopping and eat some good food while strolling around the beautiful city of Gothenburg👌

(Also planning on unironically listening to Gothenburg music on the train there, gonna blast Känn ingen sorg för mig Göteborg (don't feel bad for me Gothenburg) and some other classics of Håkan Hellström☺️)

Plus, it's Eurovision this weekend! The TV happening of the year! I'm, as always, far too excited. I really think Sweden has a chance of winning this year bc our song is a BOP. So I'll be watching that, too!🤩

I'll try to get some writing done on the train ride there and back, but I've probably got some reading for uni too🤷🏼‍♀️

Nothing really exciting has happened in my life since the last update, except...

I'm going to New York and I'm going to see Hamilton!🎉

The tickets are officially booked and it's a dream come true. Planning on being really flipping touristy. If you have been to New York, what is something that I absolutely have to do while I'm there?👀

It's currently my favourite time of the year in Sweden. Everything getting green again, the cherry blossoms are out and about, and there are white flowers that cover the forests! Except from my really bad hay fever, it's a great time😂 So here is a picture of me, which you don't get very often:

(I feel like y'all watched me grow up? I was so young when I started this. Like, look at my hair. I started this with a pixie cut and now I have to put it up with a claw clip)

Q of the Day: honestly I don't know what to write here anymore, guess that's what happens when you hit chapter 85. Drop some suggestions in the comments!😅

Well, I really hope you liked that chapter because I loved writing it💗 And if you did, please consider leaving a like and a comment🌷

Have the loveliest of days,
Sincerely,
H

Published: 11th of May, 2022