One thing Gerry never thought about, but was now grateful for? An elevator. He was pretty sure Bill couldn't handle the walk up the stairs to his and Ginny's place. Rose stood by her husband's side, clinging to him.
"I'm a little jealous." she said sweetly, looking up at him. "You getting to go see a whole new world."
Gerry hadn't told them the whole truth of why they were going. If they all knew that Bill was basically living on borrowed time, there was no way in hell he could get his mom to let him go. Maybe, he thought, one day he would tell her the whole story. He smiled to his mother. "I promise. Next time, I'll take you all."
Bill gave her a squeeze. "Yeah. Consider this a bit of a boy's vacation." He nodded to her. "Besides. What kind of trouble could we possibly get into?"
Rose smiled up at him and pulled him into a kiss. "Uh huh. You just be careful, mister."
With a ding, the doors opened and they made their way into the apartment. Keirra had arrived at one point or another. She'd managed to change into a stretchy pair of yoga pants, and a long t-shirt. She hadn't really given any details just yet either. Played it off like she was grumpy and pregnant. Took every opportunity to hold her kid, and pet that dog that she gifted to Gerry. The portal for now, was closed. The energy of it would go away at some point, and she'd have to recharge the stone. For now, though, it was still going strong. She'd taken some time to tell Zver where she was going. There'd be no secrets between the two of them.
Kara's interaction with Ko, up to this point was minimal. There was obviously a bit weirdness there. But she understood and appreciated Keirra's place in her boyfriend's life. Plus, she'd made Nasya. How bad could she really be?
A smile crossed her lips as Gerry and the Parents entered the room. Her arms wrapped around her boyfriend as she leaned up to plant a kiss on his lips.
"Everything cool?" Gerry whispered to her. Kara gave him a look. Keirra was an...acquired taste. Never one to much filter...anything. But the tall brunette beauty was making a go of it.
"Yeah. We're good." She said a little smirk gracing her features.
Gerry gave her another squeeze and set his eyes on Ko, a smile spreading across his face."Heya Ko." He said, moving over to her.
Keirra was fat and sassy, sank into the couch cushion with a baby propped up on one leg, and the puppy's head resting on the other. "Hey Big Guy," she answered back with a soft smile. The hand that wasn't around Nasya's back reached out. "Help my fat ass get up.."
He reached out, one of those big meathooks of his wrapping around her hand and pulled her to her feet. His arms encircled her, pulling her close. "Thank you." he whispered.
"Ngh," a grunting little noise left her as he hoisted her up. She kept a firm hand holding Nasya, and was easily pulled into that hug. "Always," she answered back, resting her head on his chest. She loved Gerry. Maybe not in the way that she was supposed to.
The people in that room took incredible care of Nasya, though. Ginny was a total mama bear. Even with Ko, she had a bit of a protective streak. That child wanted for nothing. Especially from the man they were all there for. Bill stepped in, Gerry still the absolute spitting image of him.
The first time they'd met, Bill had immediately wrapped her up in a big hug, welcoming her right into the family in the way that only he could. The man even appreciated her frank and unfiltered way of dealing with people. He set those eyes, the same as his son's, upon Keirra and big grin splitting his lips. "Jeeeesus...lookit you, kiddo. You look great."
That blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail, but a few strands hung over a single icy eye that moved to Bill. "Hey, Pops," she answered, pulling away from Gerry to give him a hug. "You mispronounced fat," she teased him.
It was hard to miss that his usual tight squeeze of a hug missed a lot of its strength. "Psh...last time I saw ya, you were skin n' bones. I think ya look absolutely beautiful." He told her with a bright smile.
Keirra tried, tried not to frown. Her eyes looking up to him, and her hand rubbed his back. She was going to fix this, if it was the last thing she did. Worst comes to worst, she could owe Zver's psycho friend a favor... She didn't want it to come to that, though. Gerry would probably never stop worrying about Ko if he met that stab-happy bitch. ...Ko loved her.
Rose, ever the sweetheart, nodded. "Motherhood definitely suits you, Keirra." She nodded happily.
"And when did you go blonde?" Bill asked her.
"You're too sweet, pops," she smiled, trying to play it cool. "Thanks, Ma." Keirra had warmed right up to Gerry's parents. Probably because she never had any of her own, and they'd always been good to her--if not slightly concerned. Within reason, of course. Though, that was the thing about them. Incredibly warm people, the Finnegans. It wasn't hard to see where Gerry got it from.
Rose stepped in giving her a warm hug and a kiss on the cheek. "How far along are you now, sweetie?" she asked
Returning the hug, and the kiss, her eyes went to the ceiling. "Um..." she bit her lip. "Middle of July, I think, is when I'm due," Ko answered. "I got my girl," gesturing to Nasya. "And soon I'll have a boy." Keirra was warming up to the idea of a boy at this point.
"Getting down to the wire, then!" She said, brightly. "Let's hope you don't end up with a giant like this one." she muttered hooking a thumb to Gerry. "13 lbs." She said with a shudder.
Gerry made a face. "Oh, I was not."
"Uh. Yeah. You were. I was there, sweetheart. Your giant head got stuck and they had to use the forceps. Practically needed to get the jaws of life..." Rose mumbled distantly.
A snort came from Kara, which earned her a narrow-eyed stare from Gerry. "What?" the brown-haired beauty said defensively. "Your head IS huge."
That...well that made her go a bit pale. "I'll die." It was true. Nasya in all her little glory had taken Ko out of this world for a small period of time. If she had a Gerry-sized baby? She didn't even want to think about it. It was the banter that made her snicker, "I guess that's why his head is shaped so funny..."
Gerry reached up and touched his head self consciously, which just made Kara laugh harder, Ginny trying not to as she looked away.
Bill patted his son on the shoulder. "It's okay kid. It looks distinguished."
Ko held the baby out to Rose so that she could take over. Rose took Nasya in her arms. "Ga!" the little one said excitedly, her little attempt at saying grandma reduced to 2 letter word, reaching out and smushing Rose's cheeks to a delighted chuckle. "I'mma come back for your cooking soon, Ma," Keirra promised with a grin. "But for right now, I promised these boys a drive around Rhydin..." Eyes moved to Gerry, "You ready to go, Buckethead?"
Gerry smiled at them and turned to Ko. "One second." He nodded.
Gerry stepped up to his mother and the baby, leaning down and kissing her on her pudgy little cheek. "Daddy loves you, baby. You be good."
He turned his gaze upon Rose. He couldn't tell her everything just yet, but in his mind he swore to her that he would save Bill. Rose looked up and reached a hand up, touching her son's face. "Come back."
Gerry nodded. "I promise."
Bill stepped up.said his goodbyes to Ginny, Kara, and his mother, reaching out for Nasya and
"Alright, quit huggin' the munchkin." He grumbled.
"Poppyyyyyyyy!" Nasya called out, her traditional battle cry upon seeing the old man. Bill scooped her up and put his forehead to her's.
"Poppy's gonna miss you, munchkin." He said to her with a warm smile. "You keep being your perfect little self, okay?" Nasya just made a happy little "eeeeeeee" sound before he handed her back off to Rose.
Ginny's turn was next, giving Gerry a good squeeze. "Seriously, don't make me come after you two." She grinned to herself.
"Least you know where to find me this time." Gerry chuckled.
Bill smiled down to his wife, when they returned, he would be his old self again for her...for everyone in that room. "You be careful, you hear me?" She told him.
"I make no guarantees." Bill smirked.
"Mmhmm." She narrowed her eyes, but softened, reaching out and pulling him into a kiss. Finally they parted.
Finally, Gerry stepped up to a concerned looking Kara. The man she loved was disappearing again, but this time with his ex-wife. The thought alone filled her with dread. The last time he left was supposed to be forever. She'd gotten a second chance then, and the thought of losing him anyway was almost too much to bear.
A forced smile came to her lips as Gerry cupped cheek, looking her right in those beautiful pools of blue. "I'm coming back. We're going to make everything okay again." He whispered.
Kara wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him hard. Her fists gripping his shirt tightly. "I love you."
"I love you, too." He said quietly, giving one last kiss.
Bill nudged his son out of the way. "One side, Junior, one side." He said, stepping up to Kara. She looked at him with a stern expression, poking him in the chest. "I want a full report. Tell me all about it when you get back, got it?"
A smile crossed the old man's lips. "All the sordid details. Got it."
The pair of them finally wrapped each other in a tight embrace before he joined Gerry, turning to face Keirra.
"We're ready."
Softening slightly when they said their goodbyes, she smiled and moved over to give her daughter a kiss on the cheek. "See you soon, Mini Me," she promised the kid and pulled the stone out of her pocket. It was a gift from a friend. One that helped her track down Gerry in the first place. She opened the portal and it flickered lightly. Soon, the shadow stretched out over the wall. "I'll protect him," said the shortstack before waving them on through. "Come on. Let's get this show on the road. Bye everyone," she called out. She'd let them step through before she went after them.
Bill paused a moment at the portal, a moment. A current of fear running through him as he stood before the gateway to another world. Then, slowly, a grin spread across his face. He glanced back at Rose, looking like a kid. With a deep breath, he stepped on through.
Keirra would wait for Gerry to go through, then she'd follow after them both. She took a final glance to Rose, and then determination was heavy on that face. Pops wasn't dying. Not today, not any time soon. Once they were all through, the portal would fix closed behind them.