Give thanks, bitches.

[Beatrice Reynolds]

Prudence let out a little gasp when Finn told her that he was in love with her aunt and that she was the first person to hear about it. "Auntie Bee!" She gushed happily before reaching her hands up so her wonderful aunt would get the hint to pick her up. Beatrice reached down without a second thought and snuggled the tiny three year old close to her, "What did Finn tell you about me? Is he spreading rumors?" She was obviously kidding and she certainly didn't expect for her niece to lean in and whisper "he said he loves you" in her ear. He loved her? Finnick Radke actually loved her? She set Prue back on the ground because the little girl wanted to go and get a cookie and well.. now she could focus on her boyfriend.

This was a big moment for them! It even distracted her from the gut wrenching pain of not having Gin here to share this with. "You know.. I heard a rumor that you love me." She leaned in so she could give him a kiss on the bridge of his nose then she moved her lips onto his. Was it inappropriate to slip her tongue into his mouth when her family was around but she didn't see the harm if it was only for a second. "I love you, Finnick Radke." She wanted to list all of the things that she loved about him but they didn't have that many hours to spare.

She was going to write him a little book of things that she loved about him. She had even decided to do the math and figure out how many days it had been since they became an official so that could be the number of things that she loved. She had this little winter wonderland all planned out in her head and that.. that was going to be the night when she hoped that they would make love with the fake snow falling on them while soft music played in the background to set the mood. He deserved the best of the best, right? "Have you ever been ice skating?"

Well that was random.

[Esme Russel]

Sorry for the gifs
Kendra knew that she hadn't always been the best mother to her children. She knew that she had distanced herself from her middle daughter for getting pregnant and she knew that she had been cruel in choosing a cruise over a family dinner so she finally decided to change. She had been packing when she came across the news which was talking about the shooting once more. How could she leave her children when some people didn't even have the joy of spending the holidays with them ever again? She knew that her ex-husband was going to be there but she chose to ignore that and she s like Roy and new husband with her. It wasn't like Roy and William hated each other or anything! It was just a little awkward given the circumstances surrounding her and 'Roy's' son, Prescott. It seemed like the only person who didn't know that Prescott's biological father was William was the man himself. Roy only knew because she had to confess to the drunken night that led to his conception when Roy had been out of town on business.

She wasn't going to lie and say that the drive down there hadn't been filled with thoughts of self-doubt but she was doing this with advice from Miranda so she felt like she could maybe actually manage to show her children what a real mother did. She knew that her little prepared daughter probably spent hours slaving over a hot stove to ensure that everyone would leave well fed so there wasn't a real need to bring anything but, she still felt like there was something special about baking for her. Maybe, that would be what reconnected them? When the kids were younger and things were still somewhat decent with William, she use to bake them these special chocolate cookies. It was a secret family recipe that had been passed down from generation to generation so she knew for a fact that her daughter wouldn't have already made them.

She led her little family inside the house and greeted each of her children with a peck on the cheek before heading into the kitchen to see the daughter that she owed the most apology to. "Hello, darling.." She was clearly nervous considering that her hands were shaking so much that the plate in her hands was moving. She set it carefully down on the counter before offering the redhead a rather unexpected hug. She even held Cici! She never held Cici like this! Thank goodness that her daughter wasn't shy! Roy seemed a little out of place before he looked and saw Mark. He knew him!

"Mark Daniels! There's no one better, there's no one greater!" He felt like giving him a nice big greeting before giving him a 'bro' hug. "How are you doin'? Is this your date? She's pretty." He actually had the decent to say this while looking at her face and not her ass plus he sounded almost fatherly saying it not like he wanted to jump her body and have his way. "But really, how are you two doing?" He made the mistake of not warning them that young Prescott had no censor. "Scottie, introduce yourself! Mingle!"

Prescott looked Keisha up and down before saying (in the sassiest voice that he could manage), "Don't talk black to me." Roy was actually in too much shock to even speak so he just stood there like an idiot with his mouth opened. Had he really just heard that come out of his son's mouth? Hopefully Keisha would take it lightly and not get too offended over it.. Besides, William had probably said a million times worse already!

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Seeing Dallas being so sweet to Kat definitely hurt Esme in a way that she couldn't explain even if she wanted to. It wasn't about either of them because seeing Martin and Lorelai and Finn with Beatrice made her experience the same pang in her chest. Why wasn't Jonathan here to comfort her? Or, at least to celebrate their daughter's very first Thanksgiving? They would never get to make up for this if they missed it and she worried that he would end up regretting it. She knew that he was hurting so she was being careful not to pressure it but she needed him, too. Being alone seemed to be his way of dealing which conflicted with her desperate need to never be alone.

There was a selfish side of wanting him to be there, too.. She didn't want to look like the girl who couldn't even keep her marriage afloat. What if this ended up on the burn blog? She could already picture it now - maybe they'd call her fat, too. Yeah, she was fat and that was why Jonathan didn't want to deal with it anymore. He'd been living this married life thing to impress Genevieve and show her that she could be a straight woman but now she was dead so the act was off. She knew logically that none of this was accurate but logic really couldn't compete with her already fragile emotions. She couldn't cry! She just needed to force a smile on her face and power through until he snapped out of this.

It had only been three days.

She still texted him though just to say that she wished that he was here and that was about the time when she saw her mother walk in. "Hi mom." She didn't really sound enthusiastic about the whole thing but that had more to do with the fact that she was already upset than anything her mother could have ever said or done. She watched her mom with Cici for a few minutes before turning her attention to Kat and Dallas. "Dallas um.. You already know my mom but Kat, this is my mom and her husband, Roy and then that's my brother, Prescott."

Kendra greeted Kat with a smile and a polite hello but she simply glared at Dallas... He'd hurt her baby girl! She still hadn't quite forgiven him for that and maybe she never would. "I'm going to take Cici outside to play if that's okay, dear?" She just wanted to get away from Dallas which she did as soon as she got the okay from her daughter. Esme sighed before looking back over to Dallas, "Sorry about that.. She's just holding onto the past."

[Mark Daniels]

Mark nodded along with what Keisha was saying. He was also familiar with those type of relatives because there were actually some of those in his family. They lived far away, thank goodness. Ain't nobody got time for that. He continued holding the bowl but his arm was getting extremely sore therefore he let the bowl down on the counter and relaxed.

He winced slightly while he gently massaged his forearm. Mark's "battle wound" was still tender and had long way to go healing wise.

When Kendra and her family arrived, Mark's eyes lit up. He remembered them, although it'd been such a long time but it made him happy to see them. When Roy approached him, his smile broadened. He'd known him for a while now, "Roy!" Mark greeted accenting a little more in the 'y' before bringing himself in for the bro-hug (although that hurt but he didn't make it seem to obvious, probably Keisha saw his face)

When the two separated and Roy commented on Keisha, Mark turned to her and said, "This is my friend, Keisha George." he moved out of the way so he wasn't deadbeat meat for more pain just in case.

He then looked to Prescott. Mark knew this boy when he was just a baby. He called him Scottie and hopefully he wouldn't get mad because usually kids nowadays weren't too fond of nicknames. Although when Prescott started being sassy with Keisha, Mark rose an eyebrow. Was that supposed to be racist?

How could it be? Kendra and Roy were kind folk. They wouldn't teach their children to say that now — or would they?

"Scottie, that's Keisha.... Keisha, this is Scottie." Mark got the two familiar with each other while trying to sound enthusiastic but it ended up sounding as if he were a kinder garden teacher trying to get two kids to get along after an unfriendly greeting.

[lydia]

Lydia sighed and gave Cooper a halfhearted smile. "No, no...I'm not really okay. But I'll live." She shrugged and gripped his arm tighter.
"I miss her, too. I can't help thinking what it would be like if she were here...she's probably be wearing a vintage inspired dress and impossible heels. Her extensions would more than likely be in, and she's have some type of smoky eye going on. She would walk out of that door," she pointed to the kitchen. "She'd walk out holding a tray of some kind of finger food and offer one to everyone while her skirt flowed behind her and her perfume left little clouds in her wake. She would laugh and kiss our foreheads and tell us that we look cute and to lighten up."
As she said all of this, she really pictured it happening. Genevieve bringing light into the room, her sparkling personality making everyone smile despite themselves. She was just magical like that. She was sunshine.

"It sucks. It...It really sucks. But we know that she would want up to be happy. We know that, and we're going to try our hardest." She smiled up at Cooper, squeezing his arm. "And we're going to remember that we love each other so, so much. We're going to remember that Ginny lived in love, and for us to just be mopey would dishonor her wonderful memory." She said that words, but it was hard to believe them. How were they supposed to just be okay? Every time she closed her eyes, she saw her lips forming a smile. She saw her eyes crinkle at the corners. She heard her laugh, she heard her voice, she heard her biting sense of humor. She felt her gentle touch on her skin. How was this ever going to be okay?

[kat]

Kat sighed and smiled at Dallas. How lucky she was to have him. He was honestly being better than she could have even imagined right now.
She squeezed his hand back. "Thank you...I'm...I miss her. We all do. It's just...I don't know." She shrugged and blinked away a few tears. She didn't want to cry right now.

She smiled a little at Esme's mom, but felt incredibly uncomfortable at the way she looked at her boyfriend. Bitter old woman have a problem? She may be pregnant, but nothing would stop her from defending her man. She was the only one allowed to be mad at him. Everyone else could suck a dick.
"Lovely..." Kat mumbled when Esme explained. She seemed to be really upset. Clearly everyone was, but she looked to have more on her mind than just Genevieve or anyone else who died this week.
She grabbed her hand and pulled her down so she was sitting on her lap. She wrapped her arms around her waist and squeezed her tight. That move was actually something Gin used to do and she'd just picked it up, and realizing that was another heavy pill to swallow. She hoped Esme didn't catch it.

"What's up, sugarface?" She asked with a slight smile. It was almost funny how a few short months ago they hated each other, and now they were best friends. It probably tripped Dallas out more than either of them, and she was a little excited to see his reaction to this sweet gesture right now.
It also felt funny to have her baby bump resting against Esme's hip, and have her arms wrapped around the other girl's tummy. She really wore pregnancy well, in Kat's opinion. She preferred being fit herself, but didn't mind the growing human in her belly. But Esme had that pregnancy glow everyone talks about. It was really enough to make any expectant mother envious that they didn't look as lovely as she did.

[Jonathan Russel]

It would be an understatement to say that Jon had been distant since the shooting, upon losing his best friend, the first girl he let his guard down for when he had been a broken kid... he was more numb, than anything. He hadn't spoken a word, hadn't cried -- he avoided the subject at all costs and continually built up these walls so that no one would bother him about it. Heck, he hadn't even seen Gavin, which he knew he should have, he just couldn't bring himself to face anything, anyone.

Jon didn't know how to react to death. He had no idea how to cope, nobody had taught him how to be okay with death, how to accept it, how to mourn, move on... when his dad died, nobody was there for him. He remembered watching his mom cry at his dad's funeral, sure, but he also remembered how cold and unloving she was towards him after, and Jon didn't want to mirror either reaction, so he simply did nothing.

He'd been out on a drive, took a walk around the woods behind the park where it was quiet, just wanting to be alone. He hadn't even realized that it was Thanksgiving until he'd returned to his car and started driving again, seeing all the festive decorations on store signs he would pass by. That's when his heart dropped to his stomach. He'd left his family on Thanksgiving day. And he knew it, too, it had just slipped his mind, Jon knew there would be a party going on at his home and, upon checking the time, he knew everyone would be there or arriving by now.

Pulling up to his home, Jon bit his lip. He'd been so caught up in himself, that now he was mentally kicking himself for being so selfish. The guilt ate away at him, and he sped walk to the door, his keys jingling in his left hand as he opened it, walking into his house, and looking around at everybody. He pursed his lips, then tried a small smile, walking towards the dining room, then scoping around for his wife, letting out a breath and approaching her.

Out of all people, Esme was the most understanding of the way he was acting, and the fact that she was still around made Jon feel all the more worse -- who was he to deserve someone who treated him so wonderfully when he wasn't returning any of it? Especially now, he'd been gone most days, barely speaking a word or two to anybody. Today was a day he should be letting everyone in, especially his wife, and he grabbed hold of her hand, leaning down to kiss her cheek in greeting, "Sorry I'm late, baby."

[Esme Russel]

The idea of Jonathan not making it to Thanksgiving was almost heartbreaking despite the fact that Esme understood that her husband needed time on his own to heal. She didn't expect him to be perfectly happy after losing his best friend but even Gavin was here! If he could fake happiness and thankfulness for his girlfriend when he had just lost the most important person in his life than why couldn't Jon? Sure, everyone grieves differently and all of that nonsense but the whole purpose of this party was so they could all get through this horrible day together. Kat's sweet gestures helped but it wasn't the same as her husband being there.

"Jon's not here and... I know I shouldn't be offended because this is a really hard time for him but I hate it. I hate how distant he's been.. I hate that I can't make it better. I just don't understand what I'm supposed to be doing right now because he wants to be alone and I want to be with him." There wasn't really a way for them to be together and for him to alone, was there? It wasn't like she needed him to survive. She loved him and everything that he brought into her life but she knew that she had people who loved her other than him. If she really needed it then she could call on almost anyone for almost anything.

"I know that I'm being silly and selfish and I need to give him the time that he needs to heal properly without pressure but I just wish that he could be here.. I just want him to be able to separate the tragedies that happened and the celebration of Cici's first Thanksgiving and our first Thanksgiving as a married couple." Last year, she was pregnant with Cici and they had spent the day at her father's house with his girlfriend. She could still remember how special that it was to finally have someone like him to spend the holidays with. It'd been all that she had wanted for so long so finally getting it was like all of her dreams coming true all at once.

She wasn't expecting to see her husband walking through the door but it was definitely a nice surprise. She saw her father watching him like he was some sort of a God and she wondered if that was the look that she had on her face, too. She wouldn't know it but her eyes would literally light up when he came into a room like magic. He and Cici were her greatest things in this whole crazy world - they were those two perfect, pure things that everyone needs in their life. She would love them through anything and she knew that the feelings were mutual. All of her anger and disappointment just melted away when he took her hand.

The apology wasn't even necessary in her mind but she still appreciated it. "I'm just glad that you're here now. Cici is with my mom and I made your favorites just in case you were hungry when you came home." She stood up so she could wrap her arms around his neck and just feel that closeness that she had been craving these past three days. "I'm so happy to see you." She could feel the tears threatening to escape her eyes but she fought them back with everything that she had. Jonathan didn't need to deal with her crazy pregnancy hormones right now! The only thing that she wanted him to deal with was the fact that there was food to be eaten and family to mingle with.