"Mom?"<br/><br/>There was a tone of voice, Gwen had realised more or less since Toby had learned to talk. This tone could strike fear into the heart of a parent - and yet, she couldn't put her finger on what exactly it was. Except, it was<i> that</i>one. "Yes, darling?"<br/><br/>"If you want to date Mr P, I guess it's ok."<br/><br/>Gwen noticed the hairbrush -- which had innocently been making it's way towards her hair -- stopping in mid-air as she heard Toby's words. "Toby," she squeaked. Then, she cleared her throat and tried again. "Toby, baby, where did you get that idea from?" Turning in her chair, Gwen looked at her son. He shrugged slightly, but Gwen wasn't prepared to be put off by his sudden realisation that he'd Said The Wrong Thing To Mom. She turned a stern (ish) glare at him. "Toby?"<br/><br/>"I don't know, Mom. Mrs Q said you're lonely an' I didn't think about that, an' I should have. I've got to .. to be the man, don't I?"<br/><br/>Gwen opened her arms and he stepped into them. As she wrapped him in a hug, she smelled her son's hair, the scent of his skin. In that moment, she would happily kill anyone who ever hurt this child. But, Gwen was very aware, that was because she was awake. She adored Toby and the pair of them had been through such a lot together. They were a team of two and that he was prepared to stand there and say that hey, this was ok - it tore at her heart. "Darling, I'm so proud of you. But you know, Mr P is not Mom's boyfriend. He's dating Miss Sinclair."<br/><br/>Toby nodded. "Rosalie thinks they're gonna get married an' have babies, an' that she's gonna be a bridesmaid. Do you think that's true, Mom?" Gwen looked at him and smiled. Her hand reached and stroked his hair and she shook her head. Whatever was it which put such thoughts and ideas into children's minds, she wondered. Mostly, Gwen blamed Disney - it was insidious, even if the child personally didn't watch it, it was all over school, in every child-friendly restaurant, and on the TV in a hundred ways.<br/><br/>"Toby, if Mr P and Miss Sinclair get married, then we'll hope for them to be really happy, baby. We like Mr P, so we want him to be happy. Right?"<br/><br/>He nodded, although he didn't seem entirely convinced and then, the reason for his dubious expression was spoken. "Mom, you smell funny."<br/><br/><div style="text-align: left"><span style="font-size: 16px"><span class="fixed-color" style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0)"><div class="bbm_float fleft" style="float:left;margin:0 10px 5px 0">
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</div> Gwen chuckled. "It's perfume, baby boy. Mom's got to get ready for work now, ok?" She was sitting in her dressing gown, after all, and she did need to get herself ready. So, that was what she did. She'd more or less finished her hair when Toby had wandered in with his whole 'it's fine to date Mr P' thing, and so, Gwen got herself dressed. She'd done as McSleazy had asked - or demanded, she supposed - and she'd bought a nice, lacy bra. Sitting on the bed, she lifted one leg on to the chair and slowly pulled on her stocking. Although the stocking part was nude, it had a subtle, but definitely there, seam up the back, so she made sure those were straight. First one leg, then the other, and then she pulled the thin black garter over her thigh. Finally, she slid into the dress he'd given her and slipped her feet into the stiletto heeled boots which were going to kill her feet before the night was up. <br/>
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Turning to look at herself in the mirror, Gwen had to admit that she scrubbed up alright. The dress was tight-fitting and showed off her figure in a way which Gwen usually didn't. Even when she was dressing for work - which was far more revealing than she normally did - Gwen was more conservative than the other girls there. Still, as she walked in to work that evening, Jeff turned and looked at her. <br/>
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"Hot damn it." His eyes travelled over her and he nodded. "Mr Rhodes is going to want a private meeting with you."<br/>
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Gwen looked at him, shaking her head. "Not if that means sex, Jeff. I'm here to wait tables."<br/>
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He shook his head. "You could make a look more money sweet thing." Gwen felt nauseous as he spoke, but she kept a calm face. <br/>
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"Not happening, Jeff."<br/>
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And with that, she went to put her coat in her locker.</span></span>​</div>