Monica is around two and a half, more or less. I couldn't decide if I wanted her to be two or three, so middle ground it is. This thing is written from her perspective –which was kinda difficult to do–, so if you don't understand something don't hesitate to ask.

Monica tightens her arms around Carol's neck, her eyes glued on her mother's form as she waves and steps inside the car parked in front of their house. She watches as the vehicle speeds away for a few more seconds before she lets her head drop onto her auntie's shoulder.

"Mommy go 'way?" she asks, voice shy and making grabby hands against the blue shirt pressed against her cheek. Auntie bounces her and turns sharply back into the house, closing the door.

"Just for a few hours, LT. But don't worry, we're going to have so much fun together you won't even notice." She sounds excited, but when Monica looks up at her she can see her eyes sparkle.

"Auntie sad?" Auntie choughs and runs a hand over Monica's wild curls. She raises a little hand and pats her auntie's cheek. "Auntie happy! Hugs!" she presses her little face to the pale neck and the arms around her tighten.

"Thank you, Mon, that makes me feel so much better." Auntie presses a kiss to her cheek and sets her on the floor. Monica takes the offered finger and toddles with Auntie Carol to the kitchen, where she's raised again over ground level to be seated on the counter. Auntie winks and presses a finger to her lips, making Monica giggle. Mommy never lets her sit on the counter! "Well, let's see what we can make for dinner, huh?"

" 'Paghetti!" exclaims Monica, chubby hands clapping together.

"We had spaghetti for lunch, Lieutenant; how 'bout something else?" Auntie pauses, opening the fridge for a second before looking up at Monica, a grin spreading on her face. "What about tacos?"

"Tacos!" yes, yes! Auntie Carol may usually be a disaster in the kitchen, but if there's one thing she's the best at, is making tacos.

"It's unanimous, tacos it is!" Auntie Carol opens a drawer and takes out two chef hats. "But I'm going to need help for this incredibly difficult task, will you do me the honor of being my assistant, Lieutenant Trouble?" Auntie puts on the big hat and offers the other one to Monica. The girl takes it eagerly and puts it on. It's crooked to the side, but Auntie seems to find it funny so she just grins and salutes, chest puffing forward.

"Aye aye, Capt'n!" Auntie salutes back and starts taking the ingredients out of the fridge.

"Ok, remember the rules: no knives and–"

"Hands 'way from fire."

"Good girl."

They get to work, Auntie doing most of it, but Monica helps where she can, passing over the ingredients for Auntie to cut and then passing over the biggest pan she can grab. Auntie laughs and tells her to set it back, and together they take out the biggest frying pan in the kitchen. Together, they set it over the stove and Monica puts the oil, stopping when Auntie tells her to. When it hot enough, they put first the onions and with a little kitchen rag covering her hand she stirs it while Auntie holds up the cover. Once the onion is golden, Auntie puts the rest of the veggies and the chicken. Monica stirs it and taps the wooden spoon against the rim like Auntie's taught her to let the stray bits fall back inside.

"Awesome, I couldn't have asked for a better assistant. But you're going to have to close your eyes now, it's time for the secret ingredient." Monica whines and shakes her head.

"But I wanna know!"

"It's not much of a secret if more people know about it, Mon." Monica pouts, lower lips sticking out and Auntie pokes it back in, laughing when the little girl fights against a smile. "How about this: You close your eyes now and I'll tell you the secret ingredient as a present for your tenth birthday. You'll be a big girl then and maybe you'll even be able to help me cut some veggies. How 'bout that?" Monica thinks it over. Ten is a long time away, but Auntie said that she would be able to use knives by then so it sounds like a good deal. She's going to need the most serious promise to make sure Auntie keeps it, though. She raises her chin and offers her hand, all fingers curled into a fist except the pinkie.

"Pinkie Promise!" Carol grins and nods, her much bigger pinkie curling around Monica's. There, now Auntie will have to tell her the secret to her tacos when she's ten, not one day later.

Monica holds her end of the bargain. She closes her eyes and covers them with her hands for good measure, turning her face away. She hears Auntie open and close cabinets and the clink of glass against glass and then the distinctive sound of veggies and chicken being stirred.

"Ok, you can look now."

It doesn't take them much longer to have everything ready. In another small, meaningless act of rebellion, Auntie sets the coffee table and puts on The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Monica's new favorite. Auntie puts an extra large bib on her and covers the floor around them with another tablecloth. She then prepares a couple of mini tacos and gives them to Monica.

"Please try not to make the biggest mess possible, ok? If Mommy finds out that we're eating in front of the TV she'll kick me out." Monica knows the threat is meaningless, so she giggles. She does as Auntie Carol says, though, because when they finish they're going to have to clean and if she makes a mess it'll be more work. No, thank you!

They sing along to all the songs; well mostly Auntie sings, Monica stumbles a little over the words but she makes up what she doesn't know. When they're done, Auntie wipes her hands and face with the napkins and then pauses the movie so they can take everything to the kitchen, erase all trace that they've eaten in the living room and then they fall onto the couch, giggling like crazy. Once they settle, Monica in Auntie's lap and her big, strong arms around her, they put the movie back.

"Auntie?" Monica says, halfway through the film. Her auntie hums and smooths a hand over her hair. "Why Mommy going on a date?" she looks up and sees her grimace. Auntie schools her features quickly, but Monica's already seen the sadness in her eyes.

"Do you remember when we watched Lady and the Tramp?" Monica hums and turns, forgetting about Winnie and putting all her attention on Auntie. "Well, Mommy's looking for her Tramp. She's going on dates to see if he's good enough for both of you." Auntie tries to smile, but her eyes are still sad.

"Can't you be Mommy's Tramp?" Auntie chokes and laughs, but she doesn't sound happy. Monica's starting to regret having asked, she hadn't meant to make Auntie sad.

"No, baby, I can't."

"Why not? Don't you love Mommy?"

"Of course I do, Mon! With all my heart."

"Then why not?" she's getting frustrated. If Auntie loves Mommy, they why doesn't she want to be her Tramp?

"Because we're both girls."

"So?" Monica frowns, Auntie's not making any sense. So what if they're both girls, can't two girls love each other?

"People don't approve, baby. It always has to be a Lady and a Tramp; it can't ever be two Ladies, and it never can be two Tramps. If people found out, we would lose everything. They would take you away, and I can't risk that." Auntie Carol's eyes shine as she looks deeply into Monica's. She leans in, pressing a kiss to the smaller forehead before hugging her tight.

"I don't get it…" murmurs Monica against Auntie's neck, her eyes prickling with tears too.

"Neither do I, Mon. But this is how the world is. And as much as I hate it, we have to play by the rules sometimes." She tries to grin, and Monica gives her a giggle because she knows that's what Auntie needs. "Do you think you can keep this between us, Lieutenant? Our little secret?" Monica doesn't want to. She wants to go to Mommy right now and tell her that Auntie loves her, that she'll be her Tramp and that she can stop looking. Auntie's right here and she's perfect, they can be a little family all on their own, they don't need a boy to be happy. But that's not what Auntie wants, and she looks sad already; Monica doesn't want to disappoint her.

"Ok, our secret. Pinkie promise." They link fingers once again and finally, Auntie smiles for real. Monica settles against her once again, cheek pressed to her chest and ear close to the strongly beating heart.

She's asleep a few minutes later.

A month passes and Mommy keeps going on dates. Each time, she and Auntie stay at home and they have a blast together, but she knows Auntie is sad on the inside. She tries her best to cheer her up, and it works for a while, but then her eyes dim once again and the smile recedes.

It all changes one blistering night. It's too hot to cook –according to Auntie–, so they go out and have sundaes for supper. Auntie's been quiet the entire week, so Monica does her best to try and cheer her up. She skips the entire way to the ice cream parlor, talking animatedly about her day and then asking Auntie about the cool planes she's tested. She goes into a rant about something Monica doesn't understand squat about, but Auntie's smiling so she considers it a win.

"You didn't get anything of what I've just said, didn't you?" Auntie's laughing, eyes alight and twinkling. Monica shakes her head, smile big and laughs along when Auntie cackles. She swops in and raises Monica to the air. She extends arms and legs and looks to the sky. When Auntie lowers her, she sets her onto her hip and presses a kiss to her cheek. "Thank you for having my six, Lieutenant."

"Aye aye, Capt'n!"

They laugh and keep talking, right up until they reach their house and they see a car parked in the driveway. Monica recognizes the car and immediately falls silent. Auntie tenses, the warm hand over her back going rigid. Silently, Auntie takes her keys out of her pocket and starts walking once again. Monica feels her murmur a soft 'it's ok' into her hair. Mommy told them not to wait up, that she would come home late, so her boyfriend's car shouldn't be in the driveway. Had something happened to Mommy?

The door is open when Auntie puts the keys in the keyhole, so she puts them away and opens the door, looking around. There's light shining in the kitchen.

"Maria?" Auntie asks, and there's a bang on the kitchen, followed by Mommy appearing at the doorway, eyes red and scared. She's on them in a second, arms squeezing them tightly.

"Oh, thank God you're ok!" she murmurs, one hand buried in Monica's wild mane.

"Why wouldn't we be?" Auntie asks, and Mommy pulls back, glaring up at Auntie the way she does when they're in trouble.

"Where the hell were you?" Monica's eyes widen, Mommy said a bad word! "I was worried sick, why didn't you tell me you would go out?" Mommy's mad, but instead of saying sorry, Auntie glares back at her, arms tightening around Monica.

"You said you'd be back late. It's not even eight, Maria, I didn't think it would be a problem."

Monica sees a shadow shift in the kitchen doorway, and she takes her attention away from Auntie and Mommy to see what it is. What she sees has her trembling. It's big, really tall and has hair all over its face. It has eyes as black as Mr. Robinson's cat and it's wearing a suit. The first thing that crosses her mind is that the monster beneath her bed has escaped and it's coming to eat her. She releases a terrified squeak and curls around Auntie, arms going around her neck and face pressed close.

"Mon?" Auntie presses a warm hand against her back and Monica tightens her grip, her legs moving higher over Auntie's belly and rising slightly the Bon Jovi shirt she's wearing.

"It's a monster!" she whispers, afraid to let it know she's seen it.

"What are you talk–" whatever she's going to say next it's interrupted by her snort. "Oh, LT, that's not nice!" Auntie's laughing at her, and Monica doesn't understand why. "Hey, big guy, move away from the light, you're scaring the kid." Monica braves a peek from between Auntie's blonde hair and sees the monster step closer. At first, she tenses, sure that it's going to eat them all, but then she sees that he's actually a man. His skin is darker than hers and Mommy's, and his nose is rather big. His lips are big too, and he has a really thick beard. He's still scary, but he doesn't look like a monster anymore.

"My apologies, I didn't want to interrupt." His voice is deep and it has a rasp to it Monica doesn't like. She purses her lips and makes a fist around the back of Auntie's shirt.

"Don't worry." Says Mommy quickly, offering the big man her hand. She draws him forward and to her side. "Girls, this is Ben. Ben, these are my girls: Monica and Carol." The beast of a man –Ben, apparently– steps forward and raises a hand. Monica leans back, but her efforts are rendered useless when Auntie steps forward too and takes the offered hand in hers.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Carol."

"Likewise. And that'll be Captain Danvers for you, you still don't have the 'best friend seal of approval'." Auntie smirks up at Ben and he smiles back as if he thinks it's a joke. Monica knows Auntie is being serious.

"Don't smile, she's being serious." Looks like Mommy knows it too.

"Duly noted," he says, smile not dropping. And then he's looking at her. "And you must be Monica." Drawing forward her inner Auntie Carol, Monica rises her chin and sticks her little hand out.

"Tha'll be Lieutenan' Dambeau." He grins as if he's really trying not to laugh. Monica frowns at him, hand still stretched between them. She sees Mommy pinch the bridge of her nose and shake her head. Finally, he takes her little hand and shakes it.

"Lieutenant Rambeau it is."

"Please tell me you didn't practice this," Mommy asks a few moments later, eyes glued to on Auntie's. Auntie gasps, taking her hand to her chest in mock outrage.

"Of course I did not! I can't believe you'd think I'm capable of such an amazing setup!" She's grinning from ear to ear and it makes her statement sound like a complete lie. Truthfully, they hadn't planned it, but if Auntie gets to put a seal of approval, so does she. "And with that being said," she turns to Monica then, the smile growing impossibly wider. "I'm really proud of you, LT, you're getting tacos this weekend."

Monica whoops, arms and legs extending to the sides. Auntie laughs, Ben chuckles, and Mommy looks at them fondly.

After that, Ben's always over. He spends entire afternoons at their house, disrupting Monica's time with Mommy and Auntie. As the weeks pass, she also sees Auntie less and less. She says that Dr. Lawson is making a new plane and that she has to be there to learn how to fly it. Monica thinks she's just doing more hours at work because she doesn't want to see Mommy and Ben. Auntie's eyes are always sad when she's home, and Monica doesn't know how to make it better.

Ben is nice. Like, really nice. He teaches her how to play Uno and he buys her a doll. She doesn't like it, it's too pink, but Mommy and Auntie taught her to be polite so she thanks him and stores it way. She never plays with it and when Mommy asks her where it is, she tells her she doesn't know. She still doesn't let him call her 'Monica', and every time he tries she ignores him until he calls her 'Lieutenant Rambeau'. Auntie's been letting him call her Carol for a couple of weeks now, but Monica refuses to, even after Mommy tried to bribe her with a second ice pop one night.

A week after that, she catches Auntie making a little suitcase in her room. She's putting carefully folded clothes into a duffel bag, a couple of shirts, pants, and underwear. She also puts a hair comb, a toothbrush and– is that makeup? She's never seen Auntie wear makeup.

"Auntie?" she asks, her hands clutching the doorframe of Auntie's room. She jumps, startled, but immediately relaxes when she sees her.

"Hey, baby girl. You should be sleeping, it's late." Her voice is soft, the nice rumble nothing like Ben's unpleasant rasp. She steps inside, toddling over to her and taking the offered hand.

"What ah' you doin'?"

"I'm going on a trip for a few days; clear my head, rest." She pulls the zipper, closing the bag. She then looks back down at Monica. "Hey, don't look at me like that. It'll only be a few days. I'll be back before you know it, you won't even notice I'm gone."

She's lying. They, Mommy and her, drop Auntie off at the airport and wait with her until the flight for San Francisco is announced in the boards. Monica hugs her tightly, not wanting to let go. The following days are eternal. Ben stays the night once, and he snores louder than Mr. Robinson's mower so Monica gets up and goes to Auntie's room at the other end of the hall. She climbs into the bed with some trouble –it's too tall for her–, but she manages and soon enough she's laying in the middle, surrounded by Auntie's smell. It's a bit faded, but she curls herself around a pillow and it's enough.

The following day is the day Auntie comes home and she refuses to get dressed when Mommy says Ben will come with them to pick her up. No, if Ben comes then Auntie will be sad again, and she can't allow that. She hides away in Auntie's room until Mommy tells her that Ben isn't coming with them and to please get dressed or they'll be late. On the drive over she knows Mommy is upset with her, but Monica doesn't care.

Ben hurts Auntie, so Ben isn't allowed around Auntie. Simple.

The second Auntie Carol's in her sight, Monica sprints towards her as fast as her little, chubby legs can carry her and squeals when Auntie raises her to the air and twirls, making everything spin. Once she's back in her arms, she's attacked with kisses and raspberries that make her giggle like crazy.

"Missed you, Auntie." she murmurs almost a minute later, hugging her tightly around the neck.

"Missed you too, Mon."

Later, when they're home and she's helping Auntie unpack while Mommy makes lunch, she sees small, dark splotches all over Auntie's collarbone and when she changes her shirt, she sees they continue down her chest and a few over her shoulders. She's about to ask when they are, but she's already shrugging on a new shirt and Mommy's calling them down to eat.

Two months and two trips later, Monica finds a magazine in Auntie's room. Auntie's away on her fourth trip to San Francisco, so she can't ask her what it is. She grabs it and goes to Mommy instead. She looks over the cover, she can't read what it says but the house is really pretty. The yard around it is really big and it even has a pool!

"Mommy!" she calls, looking around the living room. She could've sworn Mommy was here.

"In the kitchen, baby!" she toddles to the kitchen, magazine clutched in her hands. Mommy is standing in front of the stove, the ingredients for today's lunch laid out as she reads something in her cooking book. "What is it, Monica?"

"What's dis?" she raises it over her head, cover to Mommy so she can read it to her. She's silent for a few seconds before she hears the dull thud of the cooking book falling to the counter and the magazine is being taken from her hands.

"It's a real estate catalog…" her voice is soft as if she can't believe what she's seeing. Mommy stumbles back into the kitchen table. "Where did you find this?"

"Auntie's room." Monica toddles closes. She's getting scared, why is Mommy acting like this? Why isn't she saying anything? "Mommy? What's a reel 'state calalog?"

Mommy doesn't answer her. She gets up and puts everything back in the fridge. She races down the hall and into Monica's room, then her own and comes out with two bags. Before Monica can ask, she's picking up the phone form the receiver and making a call.

"Mom, hi… no, everything is fine, I need you to take Monica for a few days… I know, I know, but this is urgent… I'll promise I'll try to explain later but please, Mom–… Thank you, thank you so much… We'll be there in half an hour… love you too." She hangs up and then she's back, grabbing the bags and then picking Monica up.

"Mommy?"

"You're going to stay with your Gramps for a few days, ok?" Mommy practically throws the bags in the trunk and then hurriedly straps her in her car seat. She taps her fingers on the steering wheel, nervously looking at the red light until it turns green.

"Mommy!" she finally exclaims, Mommy's twitching worrying her. Mommy hums, looking at her through the rearview mirror. "What's wrong?" Mommy sighs tiredly, rubbing at her eyes.

"I messed up, Mon. I messed up royally and now I have to fix it. Maybe it's too late, but I have to try." She turns in a street and Monica recognizes the street where her grandparents live.

"Where ah' you goin'?"

"To get your Auntie back." Monica blinks at her mommy. Could it be?

"You gonna ask Auntie to be your Tramp?"

"My what?"

"Like Lady and the Tramp, Mommy. You want Auntie to be your Tramp?" Mommy looks at her again through the mirror, eyes alight.

"Yeah, I think I do." Her voice is soft now, as if she's unsure, but Monica grins anyway.

"Good. Auntie's so much better than Ben. Auntie kisses my boo-boos an' she sings Winnie the Pooh with me an' her tacos ah' the bestest!" she giggles, legs thumping against the car seat. They stop in front of her grandparents' house and they're already waiting outside. Grandpa picks her up while Grandma grabs her bag. Grandma and Mommy talk for a second, and then with one last blown kiss, Mommy is gone.

Normally, Monica would be sad, but now she can't wipe the smile on her face.

A few days later, Mommy and Auntie are back. They're smiling and looking at each other the same way Lady and Tramp did. (Yes, she'd made her Grandpa rent it and watched it last night). They don't tell her anything, but if Ben's disappearance is anything to go by, her mommy and auntie are going to get married.

BONUS:

The sun is shining, the birds are singing… everything is perfect. Monica yawns as she walks to the kitchen, one little fist rubbing sleepily at her eye. She's about to call for Mommy or Mama that she's hungry, but before she can enter the kitchen she sees them. They're in the middle of the kitchen, hugging and kissing. Mama's hand is over Mommy's cheek, their eyes are closed and she can see their lips turned upward at the edges.

She remembers vaguely that when Mommy and Ben kissed, she used to look away and grimace in disgust. But now, now she can't look away. They look happy, relaxed and so in love they practically glow. They pull apart, foreheads coming together and the smiles widen. Their eyes remain closed, but one of Mommy's hands moves to Mama's hair and pushes it behind her ear.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

And that's it. It's a little pathetic that I can write things like this in less than ten hours but then I can only cough up two paragraphs in a month. My mind is a chaotic place, I know. I really should take it to repair.

Anyway, I don't know if you've noticed, but I made Ben be the complete opposite of Carol. He's big, with dark skin, full beard, calm and pleasant. Carol's small, white as a glass of milk, rash and wild. And, well, Ben's male and Carol's female, of course. It's as if Maria was trying to find the opposite of what she desired so she could block those feelings.

And before I forget: this fic is inspired by one of the chapters of Is It Ok If I Call You Mine from XtinaJones91 in Ao3 and also the fic Date Night from natashasbanner, also in Ao3. They're both awesome fics and you should really check them out if you haven't already.