”No, no,” Lorna sobs, trying to free herself but Nicky’s arms are too strong for her. ”I-I don’t deserve to-to be taken care of…not-not when I—when I neglected my own, my own baby! If I-If I wouldn’t have gotten thrown in here, my son would be alive! I’m a terrible mother—he probably hates me for what’s happened.”

”Listen here, kid,” Nicky softly commands, ”I know what a terrible mother is, and what it’s like to be neglected. You sound nothing like the piece of shit mother I had. You love your son—you cry for him, you talk about how much he means to you—you are a great mother. You didn’t fucking neglect him; it’s not like you wanted to get sent here. Now, you had better stop this fucking negativity; it’s all nonsense, kid. Your son is watching over you, and he knows you love him and can see the pain his death has caused you. Beating yourself up is not gonna do a damn thing to make any of this easier.”

Lorna looks down, her sobs and cries calming down now. ”I’m-I’m sorry.”

Lifting her chin tenderly with her thumb, Nicky peers into her eyes with concern. ”What are you sorry for, kid? I hope you don’t think you need to apologize for feeling upset…You just lost your baby, you have every damn right to feel this way.”

”I know…I’m sorry that you had a terrible mother who neglected you,” she quietly says, leaning her head onto Nicky’s shoulder.

Nicky wraps her arms snugger around her, pressing a kiss to her cheek. ”Don’t worry about it, kid. Red’s my mother now, and that’s made up for all the shit Marka’s put me through. It is kinda sweet of you to care, though,” she strokes Lorna’s hair softly, giving a sad smile to her. ”Ya wanna try and get some sleep, kid? Ma told me you barely slept last night…might make you feel better if you have a little nap.”

Lorna slowly nods, but looks up at her with pleading eyes. ”Would you-would you stay with me and uh—never mind, you probably got stuff to do,” she mutters, nervously staring down at her hands.

”Wait, kid,” Nicky gently says, lifting her face back up to her own. ”I don’t have anything else to do. You want me to stay with you and? You want me to hold you, is that it?” She watches as Lorna timidly nods her head, her eyes looking anywhere but at the redhead.

”Why are you afraid to ask me that—what, did you think I would refuse? I’d never say no to you—you’re such a sweet girl—how could I say no to holding you?” Her fingers brush delicately along the shorter woman’s cheek. She looks softly down at Lorna and pats her chest, ”Come on, kid, come here.” Once Lorna’s settled into her arms, Nicky lays back against the pillow and pulls the blanket up to cover them. ”Close your eyes and sleep. You must be exhausted after everything you’ve dealt with these last couple of days, baby.”