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In the outfit she wore, Laura Lee saw the baby bump, which she hadn’t noticed the last time she saw Michaela. “Hi. I’m feeling good. How are you?” Her eyes went to Michaela’s belly and then back to her face.
Michaela rubbed her stomach. “Outgrowing all my clothes. But good, thank you. Is he in there?” She pointed to the office.
“Lambchop, no. I think the team is still in with Shepherd.”
“Good, I wanted to catch him before they left,” Michaela said. “Did you need him for something, too?”
“No, I was going to use his office, but thought it best to wait until they leave. It felt wrong to take it over with his coat and bags in there.”
Michaela waved her hand. “He won’t mind, trust me. Come back in and wait with me for him to come back. I wanted to talk with you, anyway.”
Laura Lee followed her back into the office, unsure what Michaela would want to talk to her about. Michaela scooted Lambchop’s jacket aside and took a seat on the couch. Laura sat in one of the guest chairs in front of his desk that had been turned so it faced the couch.
“I heard you’re going to be at HQ for the next month or so,” Michaela began. “And that you’re no longer going to be staying in the apartment.” She smiled knowingly. “I wanted to offer you my car to use at least this week while the teams are gone. I know Charlie Team is taking two of the SUVs out to Iowa with them and Delta Team will have at least one of them parked at Chicago Executive when their flight takes off this morning. I can drive Landon’s car while they’re gone.”
“Wow, that is so nice of you. Thank you. I was thinking I’d have to ask Shepherd about getting a rental car because I knew they’d be short on agency cars and I’m not sure yet what Brad’s schedule will be. If we’re both in the office at the same time, I can just ride with him, but if not, having a car would be convenient. Are you sure you won’t need it?”
“It’s no problem at all,” Michaela assured her. “And I also wanted to invite you to dinner tomorrow night at Brielle and Brian’s place. Kaylee and Annaka will be there, too. We all try to have dinner together a few times during the week when the guys are deployed. Dahlia joins us if Michael is out of town. She probably won’t tomorrow night though, as he’s home. I know you’re staying with Brad, but he’s on in Ops the next four days until seven-thirty and you’d be back to his place shortly after that.”
Laura Lee just stared at her, surprised by the amount of information she’d just shared in those few sentences. Not to mention that she felt stunned that Michaela, too, already knew she was staying at Brad’s and what his work schedule was. “Thank you for the invitation. I’m not sure how late we’ll be working tomorrow night, but if I’m done in time, yes, I’d like to join you for dinner.” She was at a place in her life now where she would like to try to form some genuine friendships with other women.
“Great!” Michaela said. She pulled a key fob from her pocket. “The tank is full, but if you’re driving it when it needs gas, I put only premium in. Her name is Belle, and she is, of course, in the private garage.”
Laura Lee laughed. “Belle,” she repeated. Michaela was a complete girly-girl, the total opposite of herself. She wasn’t sure if they’d have enough in common to be friends, but Michaela had always been welcoming. She hadn’t forgotten that she and Yvette had visited her in the hospital. It really had meant a lot to her.
“Yes, she replaced my last POS that I’d named Beast. It just seemed appropriate,” she said with a laugh.
Lambchop came through the door. “This is a nice surprise, coming in to find two beautiful ladies in my office.” He bent down and kissed Michaela’s forehead. His hand caressed her baby bump. “We’re just about to head out.”
“I’m glad I caught you,” Michaela said. “Laura will be borrowing my car this week, so I’ll drive yours. And I heard back from Gregor. They can’t come over Thanksgiving, but he said they could probably commit to coming the week after Christmas.”
“Probably? He does realize we’re trying to plan a wedding, doesn’t he?” Lambchop said. He bent down again so his lips were near Michaela’s belly. “Do you hear that, little one? Your Uncle Gregor and your mommy are trying to drive me crazy. At this rate, you’ll be here before we get married.”
“That’s right, we’re conspiring for me to birth your bastard child out of wedlock,” Michaela teased, laughing.
Laura Lee couldn’t help but smile. Lambchop pretended to not be amused, but both women knew he found it as funny as they did.
“Anyway, I wanted to let you know that I’m going to give Kaylee the go ahead to start the planning for December thirty-first, a New Year's Eve wedding, if that’s still good with you.”
“Yes, it is fantastic. No matter the leave cycles Shepherd gives, the teams should be able to be back by then.” He kissed her lips. “Anything else?”
“No, I just wanted to tell you that in person,” Michaela said. She smiled. “We finally have a wedding date.”
Lambchop shifted his gaze to Laura Lee. “Did you need something before I head out?
“No, Garcia suggested I use your office so I’m on the same floor with the rest of the team.”
“It’s all yours,” he said. He grabbed his coat and backpack. “Bye.”
Michaela walked out with him, leaving Laura Lee alone. She relocated herself to the desk chair and opened Xi Laing’s laptop. Then she pulled her own from her backpack and got to work, completely forgetting that Madison had said Doc wanted to see her before they deployed.
“Here you are,” Doc said from the doorway.
She glanced up, startled.
“I tried to text, tried to call.”
She glanced around the top of the desk but didn’t see it. “I’m not sure where my phone is.” The last time she saw it was before they’d left Brad’s house. She remembered slipping it into her back pocket. She stood and felt her behind. It wasn’t there. “I bet it slid out in the car. Sorry Doc. Anyway, what did you want to see me about?”
