All these little things seem to matter so much.

                                    

                                          
Lorraine wakes up in a dimmed room and a sound of a Carolyn hysteric in the distance . She groans as her head pounds and the voices around her echo.She doesn't remember anything really, just that she fell.  She rubs her stomach, hoping that that'll stop her from throwing up.
But, it fails miserably, retching into the nearest trash can in the room. "Oh hon..." Carolyn frowns, holding Lorraine's hair and rubbing her back in support. "Here." She hands Lorraine a simple baloney sandwich with orange juice. "I'm not hungry. I bet Judy is." Lorraine politely declines, staring at Carolyn
"Nice try but I already fed her.Come on, Lorr. You'll feel so much better. Just try it." She watches as her friend takes a small bite and chugs the orange juice. She makes a face when the baloney hits her mouth, immediately spitting it out onto a napkin. Lorraine just looks at Carolyn, irritated. "What do you want that you'll actually eat? It can be anything." Lorraine pauses, rubbing her stomach. She bites her lip in contemplation, what did she want to eat?
"I saw Oreos on your counter, pickles in the pantry. I want that with toasted burger and mustard."
 "Coming right up." Carolyn smiles, tapping on Lorraine's protruding stomach gently. "Carrie?" Lorraine calls quietly, but loud enough to catch her friend's attention. "Can you add the biggest whip cream tower with chopped up pickles as sprinkles? Like a big big tower just right on the side..."  Her eyes light up at the thought of it. "Yes ma'am." Carolyn rolls her eyes, disappearing into the kitchen. Lorraine picks up the landline next to her, dialing Ed. She frowns as it rings. All she wants is to spend new years with her husband. 
                   ______________
"Here's that monstrosity of a sandwich for my pregnant best friend!" Carolyn hands Lorraine a plate with her sandwich, and a separate one for her whipped cream. Lorraine squeals and hugs Carolyn, it looks exactly how she imagined. "Best thing I've tasted." She sighs deeply as she chews, savoring each bite.
" Ed will hopefully be back in one to two days, three tops." Lorraine's face turns into a frown, her eyes widening. "He's already been gone for a whole month." Lorraine mumbles. "It's been a week." Carolyn corrects. 
"I just miss him. I've going on five months and it hurts to know that he's just been so booked with work. I know he hates it, he loves being around while I'm pregnant. And I know it's only been two months that's he's really been working, but I miss him. I want to have these little moments with him before the baby. Because what I saw it..." She pauses. Her eyes turn cloudy as her thoughts pull at her once more. 
"Lorr, are you okay? You can talk to me about anything." Carolyn's eyes meet Lorraine's. Lorraine's blue eyes flood with tears,
"My vision. I saw Ed trying to protect me and the baby. But at the same time, he's helping this other family. And then last month we thought we almost lost the baby and that can't happen again...He's just being pulled so many directions at once and I just want it all to stop for him."  Lorraine bursts into tears, hiding her face in her hands. "Judy and the baby need Ed right now. None of this is fair to Judy because  everything always changes so fast for her. I just want everything to slow down. I need my husband." Lorraine sobs into Carolyn's shoulder. 
"Hey, breathe. It's gonna be okay. I've talked to Judy, and she's so excited to be a big sister. She's gonna be okay." A warm smile comes across their faces as they hear the girls giggle and laugh downstairs. "You're doing such a Great Job, Lorraine. You and Ed are the strongest people I know, you two will get through this. The baby's safe, you're safe." Carolyn is pulled into the brunette's warm embrace as she sobs. The room echoes with sorrow.
                 _______________
"Hey uh, Ed sent a voicemail for you and Judy. I'll send her your way." Roger smiles awkwardly at the door. "Mom, are you okay?" Judy asks, wiping her mom's wet cheeks. 
"I'm okay, baby."Lorraine's cold hand comes to cup her daughter's round face. "I'll leave you two to it, goodnight." Carolyn smiles as she exits. 
"Okay missy, are we ready for me to play the message?" Lorraine reads the message out loud, grinning as she imagined Ed's voice. 
Lorraine and Judy,
Hi, my sweet girls. I wish o could call you, but the connection has been strange on my end. I just wanted to let you know that though things have been a little rough, but I'll be home soon. I miss you two so much. Judy, make sure you look after your mom. She's carrying a very special person for us after all. And Lorraine, please don't stress yourself out. I'm okay, hon. I'll be home soon. I love you two so much. And tell baby bug to lay off of her poor mom for a while!
Love always, 
Ed Warren.
"I miss daddy. I can't wait for him to come back." Judy sighs, holding a lock of her mothers hair. "I know, honey. Me too." The two sit in a comfortable silence. This case couldn't end sooner.
                       ___________
"Mom?" Judy chirps, laying on her mom's stomach. Lorraine mom hums in response. 
"You're okay, right? " her daughter asks. "Yeah honey, I'm okay now. I just got overwhelmed yesterday, that's all." Lorraine could tell her words weren't comforting. "When Carolyn told me that you fainted because you had a vision of  daddy, I got scared. You and daddy have been through so much, I don't want anything to happen again." Her voice turns into a hushed tone as she sobs.
Judy was very bright and observant for her age. She noticed how when things got too loud in her mother's head, she would rest her hand on her stomach and fidget with her rings. Or how guilty her dad felt about going on cases, knowing he and her mom would feel guiltier just leaving a family helpless. She also noticed that though it had been 12 years, her brother's death had a funny way of sneaking up on her family. Though it isn't right to question God, she wondered why she'd make her mom, who has such a pure soul, go through all that pain.
Seeing her mother's unconscious body turned her world upside down. Judy wouldn't know how to move on if her mom didn't wake up again. To lose a sister and her mother would've been something a fourth grade simply could not recover from.
"I'm sorry I scared you like that, hon. Mommy just has a lot going on, none of it involved you." Lorraine felt like a dagger stabbed her in the heart. Here her daughter is, sobbing because her mom's latest episode. It shouldn't have to be like this. Judy deserves to have a normal life, but it'll never happen. Not with who her parents are anyways. Lorraine just wants things get better. 
Judy's timid voice echoed through Lorraine, begging to be held. "I got you. Mommy's right here." She chirps, her tone soft and quiet. Her fingers rake through her daughter's long dark hair as Judy's cries turn into little hiccups. 
"I love you, Judy Grace." She peppers kisses on her daughter's cheek as she watches the soft patterned snores. She closes her eyes, falling asleep in her baby girl's warm embrace.

                        __________ 
A/N: hi lovelies! Hope everyone had a great new year! I decided to give some Carolyn content, as well and Judy fluff. Did you catch my reference to Vera's film,"Higher Ground" even though it wasn't an exact quote? 😉. Also, I'm still working on my earlier POV chapters(yikes) and I'm still revising them. I'm asking you to bare with me during this torturous time 😭.
Anyways, hopefully I'll have more content soon. Who knows there might even be a reunion with the lovers soon.... As always let me know what you think! The title is taken from "Here comes a thought" From Steven Universe!
-V:)