Welcome to Gaia! ::

Door knocking was unusual for the small, quaint little Payne household. Jules felt safe referring to it as a household, now that there was more than just a single, lonely soul living under the simple roof. Granted, it wasn't much but it was still a friendly face to come home to.

Paws pattered after bare feet as she made her way towards the door. The afternoon had been spent reading, the faint scent of cookies made the day prior still wafting in the air.

Usually the boys who approached her to tend to her yardwork waited until the weekend to knock on her door, so curiosity got the better of her and she found herself quickly unlatching the security chain before opening the front door.

After all - if anyone nefarious was afoot, it would take all of a minute before Angelite could take care of business.

Blue eyes blinked as she stared at the short woman on her doorstep. A smile curled its way up across her lips as she instinctively drew forward to pull the young woman in her arms.

"Rory - what a surprise!"

The teenager had run off during the Gala; Jules had presumed she'd either found the affair to be boring or made friends along the way. Well, friends that weren't as boring and old as she was. "How are you doing, darling? I'm so sorry to have gotten separated from you back at the affair."

Releasing her from the impromptu hug, she ushered the girl into her house without hesitation as the small kitten at their heels meowed for attention. Ignoring the feline, she continued, "Is everything okay? Do you want something to eat?"

Ignoring the cat had proven to be a fruitless endeavor. As hard as it was for Jules to put her foot down and insist that pandering to a needy little voice would only encourage it further to continue its negative behavior... well, she'd always been a sucker for a sad face.

Pausing to pluck up the kitten from the floor, she cradled the purring monster in her arms as her free hand moved to gently rub beneath its chin. She was still making her beeline towards the kitchen; despite the girl not answering about food, it was instinctive for the older woman to at least prepare drinks, at the very least.

At the mention of Rory's father, Jules gave pause as an eyebrow arched. It didn't bother her that she was being sought out for advice - she was delighted, in fact - but if Aurora was having issues with her father because of whatever it was...

"Oh? Did you and he get into a fight?"

She was quick to set the kitten down alongside its food dish, the small feline apparently excited at the sight of food and the sudden recollection that food was delicious, having forgotten such imperative knowledge in its concern for attention. As he munched away on the dry kibble, Jules busied herself with washing her hands, back turned towards the young woman as she listened to her predicament.

The sex talk was an easy speech to give on auto-pilot when dealing with young patients. She'd given it on more than a few occasions, whether out of concern or having been prompted by curious questions. She wasn't an OBGYN nurse by a long shot, but being an RN on top of a grown woman...well, she at least had the power of information under her belt when the situation arose.

Being asked it on a personal level, however, threw her a bit off her game. She was in capris and a blouse, her scrubs were hung up in her closet. Aurora should really be having this conversation with her mothe...ah, right.

Without missing a beat, she moved to reach out for the fridge, opening the door as she glanced back briefly towards her turquoise haired charge. Her first impulse was to remind her of her age - she wasn't an adult and she shouldn't be thinking about sex.

Yet, Aurora was at least being responsible and pursuing options. She'd clearly stated that her and her new beau weren't ready for that stage of their relationship but the big what if continued to dangle over their heads.

“Well...you have graduated from high school,” she started slowly, one hand reaching into the refrigerator and pulling out a decently sized pitcher, “I think it's more than appropriate timing for you to be looking for a, erm, lady doctor about now.”

Technical terms were so much easier than trying to figure out sugar-coated words.

The pitcher was set on the counter, soon followed by two large cups, filled with ice. Lemonade was poured, straws were dropped in and one cup was offered to the teenager - the young woman - as Jules took a sip of her own.

It was slowly dawning on her why exactly Rory was approaching her. As a seventeen year old (and an innocent one at that), the poor girl probably didn't have the first clue as to what to do.

“I know of a few clinics you can go to that don't require parental consent, if that's what you're worried about.” The nervous expression on young Rory’s face wasn't hard to miss. “Unless you'd be interested in some company going with you?”

She continued to sip on her lemonade as Aurora slowly responded. It wasn't hard to see that she was uncomfortable with the entire situation and frankly, Jules was too on her behalf. It had evidently taken a great deal of courage for her to find an adult she could trust with her predicament and there was a small, secret sense of pride that the older woman had at being the one chosen for the task.

Setting her lemonade down, fingers fell across the countertop as she leaned forward, pressing her weight into the granite.

“I'm not going to tell you not to do it. You're old enough to make these kinds of decisions for yourself and I trust you to be smart. You haven't proven me wrong thus far.”

Which was true. Considering she was a Super Senshi, Aurora was a clever child who deserved respect for being incredibly mature for her young age.

Taking a deep breath, Jules continued, “If you're avoiding your father for the time being, you'll have to pay out of pocket. Going to any clinic or doctor’s office will send the EOB to your father. Do you have any money saved up for this?”

"Even if he didn't respect that, I presume my dear friend Hydra wouldn't tolerate any sort of...nonsense."

Words were left unspoken, the remaining commentary inferred with her mention of the corrupt senshi. It may have been a good twenty years since Jules herself had to worry about the pressures of dating life and making The Choice when it came to losing her own virginity but she could still remember the angst and dilemma that choice had been for her.

Fingers rapped against the table as her eyes narrowed. The older woman's mind was racing at a mile a minute.

"I'll cover your first visit, but you'll pay for your prescription and the refills," she offered as a compromise, exhaling softly. "Consider it payment for helping me with the kitten and any followup issues I may have with him."

"Hey, what are friends for?"

Her smile was soft, hiding the gentle sadness as she wondered if this was what she was meant to do in life. How sad it was, to have the desire to help but then be stripped of the opportunity of a family to provide for with such eagerness. Cruel, even.

"You don't have to pay me back - it's a trade, remember?" Pulling out her phone from her back pocket, she began to type out a note for herself. "I'll set an appointment up with my physician - I think you'll like her, she's got a good bedside manner."

It would have been much easier to take her to a clinic and be done with the whole thing, but knowing that Rory felt the need to approach her about such things only concerned Jules over whether or not she'd actually seen a proper doctor for other basic needs. Well, she'd take care of it, regardless.

"Now..." She glanced at the watch wrapped around her slender wrist, "I don't know about you, but I'm feeling famished. Can I fix you something too, since you're here? And you can tell me all about this new boyfriend you've been hiding from me?"

The playful tease in her voice wasn't hard to miss, the older woman moving to turn towards the fridge, "How do sandwiches sound?"