DISCLAIMER: Fried Green Tomatoes was written by Fannie Flagg. I do not own it and am making no money off of this fic.
SPOILERS: Um, as long as you've seen the movie or read the book, you should be fine.
ARCHIVING: Only with the permission of the author.

A Moment's Peace
By Jaina

 

Buddy Jr. was crying. For a child of barely four months it wasn't an unusual occurrence. He still hadn't learned to sleep through the night and it was wearing even Ruth's usual patience and even temperament thin.

She was just so tired. She and Idgie had been working so hard to get the Cafe up and running and she'd hardly been getting any sleep at night, constantly getting up and down with Buddy Jr.

Ruth sat up in bed and put her feet down on the floor. She rested her knees on her elbows for a moment and then stood. She said a little prayer of thanks for how much better her life was, but she was still so tired. If she could just get one full night's sleep she would feel so much better and she'd be more help to Idgie.

The girl was doing so much, had done so much to help she and Buddy Jr. already that she couldn't stand being a burden to her.

She was halfway across the room to Buddy Jr.'s cradle when she saw a shadowy figure in the doorway. She froze mid-step, her breath catching in her throat with sudden fear.

The figure took another step into the room and Ruth relaxed. The dull light seeping into the room from the half-opened window illuminated long blonde hair, and she relaxed, realizing that it was only Idgie.

"Go back to sleep," Idgie spoke in a low rough voice.

Ruth smelled the faint hint of whiskey clinging to her clothes.

Idgie smiled and reached out to brush a piece of Ruth's hair back behind her ear. Her fingers trailed over Ruth's cheek lightly as she did.

"Go," Idgie repeated softly, and then turned away towards Buddy Jr.'s cradle.

Idgie picked the crying little boy up, and cuddled him close to her chest. She jigged him several times against her body and then settled him even closer to her.

Ruth watched them for a second before going back over to her bed and laying down. She rolled over on her side so that she could keep watching the two of them.

Idgie held the little boy close to her. Sometimes Ruth worried so about Buddy Jr. Worried that someone was too careless with him or wasn't holding him properly, but she never worried with Idgie. Idgie always held him as if he was her most precious possession.

At the moment, she was holding him over by the window, staring out into the night and pointing at little things that Ruth couldn't see. She could barely make out Idgie's voice rising and falling in a familiar rhythm that Ruth knew meant that Idgie was telling Buddy another wild story.

Already she could hear Buddy Jr. beginning to calm and then a few moments later his high babyish laughter. He was still caught up in his Aunt Idgie's spell even if he couldn't exactly understand the stories she was telling yet.

As Ruth drifted off to sleep, she couldn't help but think how wonderfully lucky she was to have a best friend like Idgie.

The End

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