Aria was pretty damn near flabbergasted when Lacie snapped at Amber. She took a small step back, eyes wide as she stared at her best friend in concern. Lacie's eyes were glossed over with - were those tears? What was she crying about? Was she still freaking out over cream cheese? Aria didn't have time to mull over it for too long as Amber began to sob and Lacie struggled to console the child.
"Hey, kiddo," Aria cooed to the babe and stretched her arms to the child, taking Amber from her mother. Amber clung to her almost immediately, trying to wrap tiny arms around Aria's neck and burying her face into Aria's shirt. It didn't matter that Amber's tears would leave a stain; there were plenty more where that came from. She rubbed the child's back soothingly, walking around just a little to ease her hurt feelings. Meanwhile, she stared at Lacie over Amber's shoulder. "Lace, calm down. Breathe. Everything's fine."
Back to paying attention to Amber, Aria walked into the living room and plopped herself onto the couch, still holding onto the babe. She had to ignore the clog of emotion in her throat at the feeling of holding a child in her arms - of the thought of holding her own child in her arms like this. She smiled down at Amber and pulled the child away.
Now, didn't Auntie tell you that we don't do cry-babies in this house?" Amber looked away, but nodded slowly. "Good. Remember that. You gotta remember that mommy can't always read your mind, babe. Tell her you want to get down next time and then come get hat, okay?" Aria took off her hat and set on the child's head of curls, smirking. "Now, go give mommy a kiss and say sorry."