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Rhona had been busy all morning. Her little studio apartment had to be tidied and dusted and all manner of straightened before Raven came over to visit. It was Rhona's first visitor and the most important one she would ever have. The bay window opposite Rhona's daybed had been dusted and the plants adorning it had been watered, pruned, harvested, and prodded until they were perfect. Everything had to be vacuumed twice before Rhona was satisfied with the way things looked. Just one more touch and...

Cool summer breezes wafted through the windows in the kitchen and the living room, adding that last little something. Rhona pulled a few leaves from the basil plant next to the window and shredded it in her hand as she assessed her apartment. Was it clean enough? Light enough? Good enough? Absently, she tossed the shreds into the pot of tomato sauce on the stove and tested the flavor again. It was almost perfect... almost. Everything had to be perfect for Raven. She used tomatoes and basil from the plant in the window for the sauce, homegrown lavender and mint for the herbal tea too. She didn't want Raven to worry about her, to think she was anything less than self sufficient... for the most part.

It had been so long since she'd last seen her. Months. Sure, they'd gone that long before, but they were on different sides. Now they were family... they should be talking more, right? She adjusted the large mirror above the day bed and smiled, finally at ease with her apartment. Now she just had to wait for Raven to arrive.

There was a thud from inside of the apartment. The official story was something fell, but Rhona had fallen quite literally over herself. The knock, though expected, scattered her nerves and sent her careening around her own ankles and onto the floor. Okay, well hopefully the disasters were out of the way for this visit. They'd parted on such bad terms and just... it seemed like they were always leaving on bad terms...

Not this time. This time Raven was leaving with a stomach full of good food and a heart full of good times. No excuses. Rhona bounced up off the floor and tossed her apron over the back of the couch on her way to the door.

No excuses.

Rhona opened the door and was ready to throw her arms around Raven when something stopped her. Something... literally stopped her. It got in her way and halted her forward momentum. She looked down to see what she had bumped into and nearly fell over. There was a roundness to Raven now. Subtle, but there none the less. Rhona's hands hovered over the curvature of Raven's abdomen unassuredly before she took a step back and worked to pull her face into a smile.

"I guess it's a good thing I made herbal tea then," she chirped a little too happily, pulling the door wide open for Raven to enter.

"Oh," Rhona assured, still far too happy to be genuine at that moment, "it's not that I'm worried about biting it's that..." She clenched and unclenched her hands in the air over the counter where she was pouring them both glasses of bright red iced tea, "it'd just that I'm worried about... breaking... them..." And it wasn't really a lie. Rhona knew how delicate babies were, and how that was even more true before birth. It also wasn't the real truth... Rhona stilled the beating of her aching heart. What was she even thinking anyway? That she'd magically steal Raven away from Jett? That she'd break his heart like that? It was... it was stupid...

She turned away to stir the pasta sauce and wipe her eyes a little. This would still be a good day. They would leave on good terms.

"This sauce is a little... well it's quite seasoned. Is it okay for the baby to have such spicy things? I can whip something else up!" She turned again, smile slowly transforming into something more genuine -- fake it till you make it sort of thing. She placed a blow of lemon wedges on the island counter and pulled out a stool for herself and Raven.

"You'll need to give me a list of things that it's okay for you and the baby to eat and drink!"