xp_logs | LOG: Tuesday afternoon, on the way back from Oklahoma

Who: Dani & Forge
Where: Barbecue restaurant somewhere in Pennsylvania
What: Forge and Dani finally talk about her adoption plans.

It was all Dani could do not to pace the length of the small BBQ resturant
she and Forge sat in waiting for Hank to get back from running an errand
before eating. She was hungry, but more than that, she wanted to be alone.
And there was no way they were going to let her. Instead she was very slowly
and methodically shredding a plastic cup.

Forge sat in silence for a few moments, awkwardly watching Dani
destroy the small cup piece by piece. "So," he finally said. "you
asked Dr. McCoy to adopt your baby, huh?"

"Yeah," Dani replied dully. still intent on the cup, "He gave me an out,
but....I dunno. What do you think?"

Forge shrugged. "Baby's going to be around the school still, you know
Dr. McCoy would be a good father, and you'll be right there as well.
Can't see where there's a down side, really."

"S'wouldn't be my baby," Dani replied angrily, annoyed that he would miss
that. "Ain't mine. Ain't....I dunno. My family's dead or gone and here I am
giving the last person away."

"Bullshit," Forge said calmly. "You'd still be around to help, right?
Dr. McCoy would be the guardian on paper and legally - and really,
he's more financially capable than you, he's stable, he's older,"
Forge ticked off his points on his fingers, "and you know he'll love
your baby like it was his own. None of that means you love your baby
any less, does it? You're not abandoning your baby, Dani. You're
giving it a chance that right now because of your situation, you can't
offer on your own. If you ask me, that right there shows you've got
more love in you than you're giving yourself credit for. And that's
what makes family, not a slip of paper."

The cup lay in slivers on the table. "I guess," she muttered, knowing he was
right. He was using her own arguement against her, even. "I know. It's the
exact same arguement for why I even chose this. It don't make it easier."

"I can't imagine it being easy," Forge admitted. "Hell, I can't even
imagine it. I mean, you're a kid like me. A year older, but still -
you're going to be a mother in a few months. I've never even kissed a
girl. I can't fathom what you're going through. All I know is that it
can't be easy, and I want to help where I can, you know?"

That caused Dani to smile for the first time since they'd arrived in
Watonga, "Thanks, Hahkota. I appreciate it and you do a lot already, whether
you want to or not. I guess being a genius ain't so great sometimes, you
know? Having to put up with us stupid-heads."

"It has its moments," he said with a smile. "The cute girl in your
Lamaze class smiled at me last week, for instance. Granted, if I have
to explain another time that no, I'm not the father of the baby, I'm
going to go postal..."

"We could really confuse them and say I'm not the mom now either," Dani
suggested as the baby kicked. "Okay, bad idea. Where is Dr. McCoy? I'm
starving!"