11 Eldercrest Downs - Fever Pitch - Barlowe/Laurence Clan

Saturday, December 24, 1921
Barlowe Residence
Just after dinner

Dinner had been good.

Try as Maddox had to insist that Julia didn't need to have Fidele come over to help with the cooking, the man couldn't argue that it had made the process easier. His ambitions for the evening had nearly been tempered by the limitations of his abilities in the kitchen. The man was a fair cook. Nothing groundbreaking or likely to be featured in 5-star establishments, but he'd had to learn for the sake of caring for his children. His...honest children who'd never been afraid to make it known somehow when what he'd prepared wasn't edible. He'd had no choice but to improve, and so he had, now capable of making several tasty dishes.

That didn't mean he'd have been able to pull off the feast they'd just consumed, not by himself and probably not even with Julia's help. It only made sense they'd invite the house elf to share their table when the meal was ready. After all the hard work he'd put in, Maddox wouldn't have felt right turning him away with a wave of a hand.

It wasn't how he'd been raised, and seeing the sincerity of the elf's joy had cemented it as a good decision.

Warm bread with herb butter, roasted chestnut soup, smoked salmon with dill and lemon, honey-glazed ham, baked cod, mince pies and Yorkshire pudding; nearly all of it was gone now, split between the pair of adults, their four children and the helpful little elf.

"Don't go far," Maddox said to the children as he rose from the table. Maddox caught the elf trying to clean up from the corner of his eyes. "There's no need, Fidele. We're very grateful for what you've already done. If you'd like, you can return to the castle, but you're free to spend a while longer here."

Not wanting to take the chance of his daughter or son wandering off, he thought better of his mild request. Better to state it as a requirement.

"Couch, all of you," he said as they too began leaving their chairs. "Mo, grab your brother. I think he left one of his trucks beneath the couch if he starts fussing. Don't let him go until we're done. There's a few things Julia and I would like to speak with you all about."

He let them go on ahead of him into the living room, remaining behind in the dining room to get the table cleared and any leftovers packed away.

He'd be there in a moment.

There was a wall of silence surrounding the little girl, so thick it was nearly palpable. Christmas Eve dinner with Mr. Maddox's family. Games in the early evening – she didn't play. Christmas tunes belted over the radio — too loud. Kathryn soldiered her way through with an enduring stoicism, not able to be drawn out by the well-intentioned coaxing of any who had tried their hand at reminding her that it was the season for good cheer.

She...didn't feel cheerful.

Kathryn Elise felt heavy. It was a heaviness that persisted from the moment her mother had told her the news. It had cost her sleep, her nerve and her appetite. Her stomach could scarcely tolerate the thought of being packed with anything when all her mind could focus on was the baby and the new house and the new family. It was no secret that the 10-year-old didn't handle change well. This matter was no exception. On the contrary, it was a seismic unearthing that had Kate pulling so far inward that she may as well have been a ghost.

A new baby. She wouldn't be her mother's baby anymore. There would be someone else, far more demanding and deserving of Julia's time. Evander had already planted seeds of such a fate. Whenever her mother watched him, the boy devoured her attention like a giant, unending void that couldn't be satisfied. The woman had no choice, of course. He was two and got into things if ignored for too long. The boy had ripped apart her favourite storybook while her mother had been helping her with her multiplication.

He hadn't been left unattended since.

Another baby would do the same. No, it would do worse. Smaller, more vulnerable, unable to satisfy its most basic needs.

Put the families together, and Evander would never leave. He would always be there, and so would the baby. There would be no room left for her, no attention left for her after an exhausting day of wrangling the pair.

It had already begun. Julia was so tired most days. Sometimes, that meant cancelling a few things on the schedule. The things that 'didn't matter as much'. It all mattered. Every minute, every second, every mundane tick.

It mattered.

But not for much longer, she supposed.

Kathryn rose from the table when the others began to, the majority of her dinner remaining as it had been when it was all first put on her plate. She didn't care for the fatty ham or the strong flavours of the fish dishes. She had a spoonful of the soup before deciding that the rich texture was unpleasant. All the melted butter in the mashed potatoes made it impossible, and she'd certainly noticed that the herbed bread carried its own butter as well. The meal became a lost cause at that point. Now free from its obligations, she replaced her silverware neatly on either side of her plate, angling them to point directly ahead, their bases matched so that neither was closer to the edge of the table than the other. She smoothed the skirt of her satin dress, grimacing at the wrinkles that had formed while she sat.

"Don't go far."

She had no intention of doing so.

"Couch, all of you. Mo, grab your brother. I think he left one of his trucks beneath the couch if he starts fussing. Don't let him go until we're done. There are a few things Julia and I would like to speak with you all about."

The couch? Was it time to begin? Her eyes found the cockatrice-shaped clock through the archway leading into the kitchen. Her mother hadn't given a specific time, only that it would happen, then they could leave.

Obedient as ever, Kathryn turned to make for the living room, her singular mind on the task of listening, then leaving, but she stopped short when she realised her mother remained to help with the plates. There was a small system failure, a hitch of movement, as the little girl thought to turn back and wait for her mother to be done so they could walk to the living room together. Then she remembered she wasn't allowed to be a baby anymore. She couldn't cling to her mother's frock tail, hopelessly lost and in need of an anchor. She had to do as she was told and cause as little trouble as she could.

Kathryn sucked in a deep breath, doing everything she could to ignore the way her chest tightened as she instead followed behind Benny. She kept blue eyes trained on the carpet beneath the couch, her gloved hands folded in her lap, and her spine uncomfortably straight. She was seated by her brother, but her mind was back in the kitchen with the mother she was losing.

Christmas was hard for Morgan. Her mum was gone, and the girl hadn’t been the nicest to her at the end. At the time, she’d been hurt that Caroline had kept her father from her. Morgan fell for Maddox hard and fast, and bonded with him quickly. She preferred being with him than being with her mother because he was new and he gave her so much attention.

But her mum had been gone for a couple years at this point… and Morgan found that hole in her heart slowly mending itself. Which also made her feel guilty. Would it be bad if she started enjoying holidays again?

Anyways… This Christmas was more of the same. Games… songs… laughter. It was nice, even though she missed Caroline. And the food… her dad had gotten so much better at cooking, and she was full.

And while Morgan was still irritated at Benji for signing her up to help in the library, she was happy to have a friend over too. (And she may not entirely hate the library or spending time with Julia. She just refused to admit to these things out loud.)

”Don’t go far.”

Where the hell would she go? Now that Morgan was full of Christmas Eve dinner, she was ready for the ice cream that was in the freezer. That usually happened right after dinner.

"Couch, all of you. Mo, grab your brother. I think he left one of his trucks beneath the couch if he starts fussing. Don't let him go until we're done. There's a few things Julia and I would like to speak with you all about."

She stood up and looked at Maddox, confusion written all over her face. She then glanced over at Benji, who was making his way to the couch with his little sister following him. She frowned at the change, then looked at the toddler.

”Come on, you gotta come with me,” she said to Evander as she lifted him out of his highchair. Once she inspected his face and hands, she made her way over to the couch while holding him and sat on the other side of Benji.

”Any idea what this is about?” she asked as Evander rested his head on her chest, his tummy full of delicious food.

Fidèle glanced up at her, waiting for his mistress's permission.

As kind and gracious as Maddox had been to him, the house elf ultimately deferred to Julia in this happenstance. It was obvious to the woman that the invitation to have him join them for the meal had touched the elf deeper than she had anticipated. Fidèle had taken the news of Rosalie's leaving hard. More than once, Julia had found him in the girl's old room, straightening her bed, despite it never being slept in. Once she had caught him teary-eyed while doing so.

She hadn't seen him this happy in months.

"If it is alright, Lady Julia, Fidèle would like to go home. It will be an early morning, but Fidèle is so grateful to have been included."

"Nonsense," Julia said with a light smile, "You did most of the work. No need to be grateful. Head on home and get some rest. We're glad you joined us." The elf bowed deeply and with a snap of his fingers, vanished from the dining room.

Julia watched as Benji raised an eyebrow at her, but nodded to his sister for her to follow. Kate...was stoic and quiet. It had been that way since the girl had her meltdown a couple of days ago. Julia had thought it best to tell Kathryn ahead of time - privately - knowing her daughter didn't handle change well. And as suspected, she hadn't. It had torn at Julia, watching her little girl, who so rarely showed emotion, spiral in front of her.

She had offered her reassurances and gentleness, wanting Kathryn to understand that this changed nothing between the two of them. Kate was the light of her life and had been since the moment the little girl had placed her gloved hand in Julia's at that hotel in London. It was difficult for her daughter to understand that there was enough love and room for everyone, but the woman knew it would just take time and constant reassurances that the mother-daughter bond between them wasn't going away.

She flicked her wand at the table, sending all the dirty dishes floating into the kitchen where they settled themselves beside the sink. Any with leftover food to the far counter, while the sink turned on and invisible hands began the labor of washing. "I'll help you pack up the leftovers. You three will be eating Christmas dinner for a week," she smiled at him, waiting until the kids were out of view before she gave a little squeeze of his hand.

"Worried?" she asked him as she opened up the icebox to make some space. It wouldn't be an easy talk, but if she'd gotten through it with Kate in one piece, Benji and Morgan shouldn't be much more difficult.

Benji didn't know why he was here.

The boy wasn't an idiot and understood that his mum and Professor Barlowe were best friends. The man often came to family get-togethers, usually birthday parties or a dinner here or there. Benji had accompanied his mum and sister to Barlowe family things too, but they'd never had Christmas Eve dinner together.

Christmas was one of those holidays that felt very insulated. It revolved around family, and didn't typically involve friends on the main two days of celebrations. Often, the Laurences held a holiday party a weekend or two prior where all family friends and associates would be invited to share in festivities.

This seemed the sort of thing one did with a boyfriend, and not just a good friend. He hadn't asked questions, though he was sure both Julia and Maddox had caught the strange way he looked back and forth at them throughout dinner - sometimes over the lip of his cup, sometimes while chewing thoughtfully.

If he had paid much attention, he might have noticed the slightest change in his little sister's demeanor, but Kate was always quiet and subdued. Rather, he hadn't picked up on anything, other than how unusual it was that he was here.

Not that he was complaining. He and Morgan were friends - real friends - again, and had even spent some time together not doing their library duties. As she plopped herself down on the opposite side of him, Benji grinned glancing back at his sister who sat stoically and unmoving. "Cheer up, Katie. It's Christmas. We don't always have to look like we're anticipating the apocalypse."

”Any idea what this is about?”

"Nah," Benji said, shrugging his shoulders with a shake of his head. "I just came for the food." He glanced back towards the kitchen where he could dishes being sorted before he turned his attention back to Morgan. "Suppose we're about to find out though. We can say with full confidence it wasn't us that charmed the tower bathrooms to flush up instead of down."

That...had been a nightmare. Whoever had pulled that prank definitely deserved to be expelled. Definitely. And...it definitely wasn't them.

Besides, if the culprits were caught, Maddox and Julia wouldn't have waited until Christmas Eve in the privacy of the Barlowe home to punish them.

Fidèle couldn't be convinced to stay. Shame. The elf seemed to have been enjoying himself through dinner, but he understood and wouldn't make a fuss for the being known for their nervous disposition.

While Julia charmed the dishes over to the sink, where they began their own washing with the animated sponge, Maddox began collecting the leftovers. She wasn't kidding that they'd be having a few more nights of the stuff to look forward to despite all they'd already eaten.

With the exception of one. The usual exception, but this time it seemed all the more exceptional. Maddox's gaze lingered a moment on Kathryn's abandoned meal. "Planning to take it home for her?" he asked, nodding Julia's attention toward the food that had, at best, been picked at. "I doubt she ate before she came," the little girl's internal clock would never let her. Even when she didn't want to, she was typically better at finishing her plate. "I take it the talk didn't go well?"

He left it for now, packing away what remained of the ham instead.

Over in the living room, he could hear the children begin their speculations. It hadn't escaped his notice the way Benji kept throwing odd looks at him throughout the meal, but between the pair of them, all their children were a little strange, and he'd learned not to ask too many questions for his own peace of mind. The looks Rosalie and Cassian used to shoot him during his lessons were enough. Whatever imaginations were conjured inside the young Hufflepuff's mind could remain there.

"Worried?"

He levitated the ham over to her for her to place in the icebox before turning to the mashed potatoes. "About either of our daughters setting the house on fire after? Only mildly." Kathryn was...Kathryn and the last time he'd sprung such big news on Morgan, her reaction...begged caution with any such ventures in the future. His daughter was no longer 11, but in some ways, the world still seemed to end at the mildest inconvenience. Such was the disposition of many teenage girls, he was learning.

"In hindsight, we should've done this at your place. You could afford to lose a room or two to youthful devastation."

With the last of the leftovers put away, Maddox led them into the living room where their children waited. He left the armchair for Julia, leaning against its arm with his hands hanging loosely in his pockets. A quick sweep revealed a sleepy toddler, a stoic little girl, and a pair of teens possessing varying levels of curiosity.

"It's been a long day," Maddox started. "For all of us." He was beginning to feel it. Lovely as they all were, he needed to conserve some of himself for the bigger festivities of the next day. "So we won't be spiralling into any long speeches. Observant," nosy, "as at least two of you are, I'm sure it hasn't escaped your notice that Julia and I spend a lot of time together. We've decided to take the next step and join our families together. That, naturally, involves all of you so we'd like to keep you inform. There are a few changes coming."

And only two of them handled those well – one being a toddler who seldom knew the difference.

"Cheer up, Katie. It's Christmas. We don't always have to look like we're anticipating the apocalypse."

She did not look like she was anticipating the apocalypse. Kathryn's cheeks brightened at the very suggestion, the implication striking her that her face was not set in a manner that others may find appropriate or pleasing for the situation. She should smile, she thought. Her mother had read her the story of Ebenezer Scrooge. The man disliked Christmas, and others, in turn, disliked him. No one mourned his death when he was gone, and the only family he'd had did not care for him. The story didn't improve until he was no longer himself.

If she presented herself similarly, she would arrive at the same fate. If she couldn't be happy about the baby and the new house and the new father – new sister, new brother, new life – she would rot in the ground at the back of a graveyard where no one brought her flowers or remembered her name.

Cheer up.

She had to cheer up, but she couldn't feel her lips to coax them into a smile, and she hadn't the first clue how to replace the heaviness that crushed the bones of her chest into a lighter, airier feeling.

She was the odd one out, again. Unable to conjure Christmas joy and merriment. Kate could only stiffen at her brother's words, fidgeting her way through her discomfort with her fingers.

”Any idea what this is about?”

She didn't have ideas, only the truth, and it was far worse than anything Kathryn could've conjured on her own. Didn't they know? Was that why neither of them was upset? Evander didn't know better. He was a baby whose day was made if you changed his diaper and gave him a cup of juice. Maybe they did know but weren't as bothered. Not Morgan. She'd just displayed her own ignorance. Benny might have known, though. He seldom had the appropriate response to the perils of life. Always a grin and a shrug, never taking anything too seriously.

She bet he was already happy. A full stomach and news that didn't upend the earth upon which he walked, untouched by the shattering reality unfolding in real time.

"Nah. I just came for the food. Suppose we're about to find out though. We can say with full confidence it wasn't us that charmed the tower bathrooms to flush up instead of down."

He didn't know then. Why didn't that make her feel better? Kathryn looked between the two, studying the ease in their expressions for something she could replicate. Her eyebrows were too knotted, her lips too hard a line. Where the little girl was wound tightly, she could see the release they easily held. It only made her tighten.

It's been a long day. For all of us."

The apocalypse had come.

Joining the families. Change. Kathryn reacted to none of it. The little girl remained perfectly still, the picture of porcelain. She believed, naively, that if she remained still enough, the apocalypse could not claim her. It would continue rolling along, bulldozing everything in its path, but it wouldn't find her, not there, not sitting without so much as a twitch of a muscle.

It wouldn't find her.

"Nah. I just came for the food."

Morgan rolled her eyes. Everyone knew how Benji felt about food. He’d be happy if it was just him and food left alone on the entire planet.

"Suppose we're about to find out though. We can say with full confidence it wasn't us that charmed the tower bathrooms to flush up instead of down."

Her eyes widened, as if she’d forgotten the prank they definitely hadn’t had a hand in. Could they have found out? But if they were in trouble, there’s no way in hell either of the adults would have waited to discipline them.

Not after the huge mess it had made.

”Of course… there’s no way,” she responded, her eyes on the kitchen where her dad and Julia were. She ran her hand through Evander’s dark hair and breathed in the scent of his shampoo. He always smelt so good. Well – when he wasn’t dirty anyways.

It seemed to take forever for Maddox and Julia to join them. Green eyes locked onto her father; he didn’t look angry. So it definitely wasn’t the prank. Thank god. But… something…

"It's been a long day. For all of us. So we won't be spiralling into any long speeches.”

She raised her brow and glanced at Benji, then back at her father.

”Observant as at least two of you are, I'm sure it hasn't escaped your notice that Julia and I spend a lot of time together. We've decided to take the next step and join our families together. That, naturally, involves all of you so we'd like to keep you informed. There are a few changes coming.”

Morgan furrowed her brows and looked at Julia, then back at her father, then at Benji.

”Wait – what?” Morgan wasn’t speaking loudly, but quickly… as if her brain was tripping over itself. ”You mean this... has been happening for a while?”

She then looked back at Benji. ”Join… our families together? What does that even mean?” she asked, an unsettled feeling beginning to grow.

She adjusted Evander on her lap without thinking, her hand resting between his shoulders as she looked back at her father. The toddler was still, which meant he was probably asleep.

He nodded confidently at Morgan as he draped an arm around Kate to reassure her. His little sister didn't do well with surprises or unexpected changes in plans, and stoic as she was, he knew the wheels were spinning behind those icy blue eyes of hers. His hand brushed gently along her shoulder, trying to offer the girl comfort she didn't ask for. Surely, it couldn't be bad? It was Christmas.

His mum wouldn't ruin Christmas with something bad.

On purpose anyway.

As his mum and Maddox wandered back into the room, Benji quieted, ready for whatever was coming next. Whether it was a scolding for the loo incident back at school or something else, he could handle it.

"We've decided to take the next step and join our families together. That, naturally, involves all of you so we'd like to keep you inform. There are a few changes coming."

While Morgan's reaction was one of confusion and questions, Benji could only feel the beginnings of a smirk curl at the edge of his lips as he looked back and forth between Julia and Maddox. He knew it. He fucking knew it! Benji wanted to crow his victory, but what fun was there in that when he could stretch this out a bit.

He caught the look Morgan gave him, but while she was obviously growing uncertain, Benji was growing more smug.

"Join the families, huh?" he asked, his grin widening with boyish glee. He dropped his arm from Kate and sank back into the sofa, crossing his arms over his chest. His eyebrow raised with amusement as he looked at his mum and then back to Maddox again. "Sooooo, you're like her boyfriend?"

You didn't join families with your best friend for the hell of it.

"Planning to take it home for her? I doubt she ate before she came. I take it the talk didn't go well?"

"No, as much as she doesn't try to be, she's fussy about fish." Julia had picked up on that since the lunch meeting at the Goring where Eleanor had ordered a fish lunch for the little girl. "I'll fix her a little snack when we get home." Kate wouldn't like being offered something outside of the schedule she had cemented in her head, but Julia wasn't about to watch her ten-year-old starve herself on principle.

A line had to be drawn somewhere.

"Of course it didn't go well," Julia sighed softly. "But that was to be expected. It would have been worse to drop it on her with the others." She could tell him more about the conversation and the heartbreaking meltdown that had ensued, but they had children waiting on them, likely growing antsier with every moment that passed.

"In hindsight, we should've done this at your place. You could afford to lose a room or two to youthful devastation."

He could always make her smile, even when nerves were clawing at her chest. "Well, if worse comes to worse, you're welcome to stay in one of the guest rooms until we rebuild your house." She closed the icebox with the last of the leftovers and followed Maddox back out into the living room where she settled herself into the armchair he leaned against.

Her eyes fell first to Kathryn, pink in the cheeks. As much as her daughter tried to put on a brave face, Julia could see through it to the anxious little girl just beneath. This had already been hard for Kate, and the woman knew as the changes mounted and they got closer to the time of the baby's arrival, they would only get harder for her.

It was a road she was determined to walk slowly with her, reassuring her as much as she could, every step of the way.

Maddox, predictably, didn’t ease into it.

”You mean this... has been happening for a while?”

Well...

"Sooooo, you're like her boyfriend?"

Honey-brown eyes fell on hazel, and she tilted her head slightly at her son. It was a silent request to ask him to behave himself, but the boy seemed to only grow in his smugness.

"What your dad means," Julia said, moving her gaze back to Morgan and ignoring her son's question, "Is that we're no longer just friends. We care about each other,” she continued. “And we’ve decided that the best way forward is to take care of one another.”

A pause. Not for drama, but to allow Morgan the space to absorb the words that were coming quickly now.

“There’s a baby coming,” she said softly. “And that means some changes. It also means more people to love,” she added, eyes moving briefly to Kathryn, then back. “And more people to look out for one another.”

She didn't smile, understanding that this was likely shocking and could be upsetting for Morgan as it was for Kathryn. Benji was easy. He was the go-with-the-flow sort of kid, unless it really messed with his equilibrium and something like this certainly wouldn't.

She looked back up at Maddox, nodding that he should take it from there.

"Wait – what? You mean this... has been happening for a while?”

Perhaps not so nosy then. At least one of their children knew how to mind their business. He supposed Morgan's reaction wasn't such a surprise. His daughter lived in her own little world a lot of the time. She'd only recently stopped going off and bringing home strange things she found on her mini treasure expeditions, and she still referred to David as 'his grandson'. She was as Gryffindor as he was, barrelling her way through life without stopping to consider too many of the deeper things, and the girl had a bit of stubbornness in her, too, the way Lynn did. If it wasn't something she wanted to see, she never bothered to open her eyes.

It would be...an adjustment for Mo. He'd never deny that. She'd lost her mother, and while he'd always thought she could benefit from another, he'd never gone looking. It had been the two – then three – of them, and that had become her normal.

Evander was already taking the news better. He was asleep.

"'A while' is relative, don't you think?" The words rolled lazily off his tongue, the man not sharing the urgency that had suddenly taken her.

"Join the families, huh? Sooooo, you're like her boyfriend?"

Blue eyes began a languid stroll over to the boy, who looked as pleased as a puss who'd gotten into the cream. "You could stand to look a little less smug about the whole thing. You'll frighten your poor sister."

Not that Kathryn needed any help. While the other two had been vocal in their reactions, asking questions, their expressions varied, the little girl with her tightly pulled bun and pearl-white satin gloves hadn't moved an inch. Kate gave no indication that she'd heard anything that was said, whether for better or worse. Julia had confirmed back in the kitchen that she hadn't taken the news well, and he could see it now. The light behind her eyes had gone out. It was clear she'd taken herself elsewhere while she waited for it to be over.

He exchanged a look with Julia, not sure how they'd handle that.

"For now, I suppose you could say I'm her boyfriend, yes." There were plans to change that. It was all a matter of time and logistics.

He let Julia explain the baby before continuing on.

"On the matter of changes," he did say this wouldn't turn into a long speech or lecture. He was as matter-of-fact as he was in his lessons, delivering the news cleanly. None of them were the sort that would appreciate having their hands held and gentle voices whispered – all for different reasons, but the point stood. It was best to simply rip the plaster off and then handle whatever came after.

As a family.

"That makes for a lot of us and not enough space," to answer Mo's question on what it all meant, "so we've decided we'll be moving to a bigger house, still somewhere out in the countryside with enough space for whatever you'd like to get up to. It won't be now. The goal's this summer, by the time school lets out."

He paused a moment, looking directly at his daughter this time. "We plan to get married before then," he continued with more caution and care. It had been years since her mother's passing, but he didn't think the news would be any easier. ""Civil, for now, a wedding when it becomes more convenient." When they were moving houses and preparing for a newborn in addition to all the other changes.

"We'll be a family in every sense of the word."

There was...a lot of talking.

Kathryn heard nearly none of it. It was the voices that carried rather than their words, the sharp tonal inflections, the smooth cadences, and the firm and gentle strings of sound. They blended together in some far-off plane, muffled and gurgling as if someone held her beneath the waves of a turbulent ocean. She was cold, despite the warmth of the room, and grew colder when Benji removed his arm. Just like that, her anchor was gone, and the little girl found herself in a rapid free fall.

She'd heard the news days before. She knew it was coming. It still struck her with staggering force. Sitting there in Mr. Maddox's living room, her brother and his daughter next to her, it was no longer a thought or an idea. It wasn't some abstract musing her mother had shared. Their words, piercing and sure, cemented this new reality, giving it shape and form.

There would be a baby.

There would be a new house.

There would be a new father. Heavens knew she'd already had such great luck with other ones. The 10-year-old felt sick despite eating nearly none of her dinner. Her stomach bubbled and rumbled, creating its own internal anarchy while she tried to hold everything in place.

"We plan to get married before then."

She rose silently, her posture straight and uncompromising.

"Civil, for now, a wedding when it becomes more convenient."

Kathryn straightened the cushion that had fallen away when she sat, setting it back in place and smoothing the spot upon which she'd sat just a moment ago.

"We'll be a family in every sense of the word."

The news was concluded. It was time to go.

She looked neither to the right nor to the left. Kathryn, her arms clasped tightly before her, walked by the armchair that her mother and Mr. Maddox shared without sparing either of them so much as a glance. Her feet took her, steady stride after steady and determined stride, toward the front door, where she stood facing the sturdy wooden structure as she waited for her mother and brother to come along.

"What your dad means is that we're no longer just friends. We care about each other. And we’ve decided that the best way forward is to take care of one another.”

Morgan furrowed her brow, finding it hard to process what Julia was saying. They care about each other? Okay, well Morgan cared about her friends, but she didn’t have to be a family with them.

“There’s a baby coming. And that means some changes. It also means more people to love. And more people to look out for one another.”

”Oh…” Morgan responded. Something in her chest tightened, sharp and sudden. The news was far too familiar. It took her back to when her dad had first told her about Evander. She hadn’t taken it well then.

The urge to physically move flickered briefly. But instead she tightened her hold on her little brother. She was silent.

"On the matter of changes. That makes for a lot of us and not enough space, so we've decided we'll be moving to a bigger house, still somewhere out in the countryside with enough space for whatever you'd like to get up to. It won't be now. The goal's this summer, by the time school lets out."

Selling the house… But Morgan had already had to say goodbye to her mother’s place. That had been hard enough. And now she had to say goodbye to the only home she had left? Her room was her room. But now…

"We plan to get married before then. Civil, for now, a wedding when it becomes more convenient. We'll be a family in every sense of the word."

For a moment, the news didn’t feel real. To ground herself, she took a careful breath and held it before releasing.

While Kathryn got up and made her way towards the door, clearly ready to get away from everything, Morgan nodded slightly.

A family. A baby. A house. A wedding. All before summer. It was only Christmas. Julia wasn’t showing. That was a lot of people in one place. In a place that had always been just her and her father, and then Evander.

She could handle that. Despite how horribly she’d taken the news the first time around, Morgan loved what they had. And now it was changing in ways she couldn’t quite see yet.

”Summer…” she said softly, her throat tight. She wasn’t going to cry. She could be okay. ”That’s… okay.” She wasn’t sure when she’d decided that, but it felt important to say it out loud.

"You could stand to look a little less smug about the whole thing. You'll frighten your poor sister. For now, I suppose you could say I'm her boyfriend, yes."

"Knew it." The boy was completely unbothered and rather amused by the whole thing. Yeah, it'd be a lot of changes for everyone, but Julia and Maddox had always revolved around each other, as long as he'd known both of them. He wasn't the only one who'd thought there was something more between them, and whether they'd always known or just figured it out, the outcome was the same.

“There’s a baby coming. And that means some changes. It also means more people to love. And more people to look out for one another.”

"Oh."

”Oh…”

He and Morgan responded in unison. His face dropped, all smugness disappearing as he sat up and forward on the sofa. She was...pregnant? His eyes drifted down to her belly which currently looked the same as it always had. Julia was having a baby?

"That makes for a lot of us and not enough space, so we've decided we'll be moving to a bigger house, still somewhere out in the countryside with enough space for whatever you'd like to get up to. It won't be now. The goal's this summer, by the time school lets out."

A bigger house than this one, Benji assumed. He couldn't imagine anything bigger than Arundel, and Merlin knew there was plenty of room for everyone there. Still, he guessed it made sense that Maddox wouldn't want to be carting the whole family into the Laurence castle regardless. Benji understood what it meant to be a man and caring for your own.

Shit. Julia and Kathryn were going to be Maddox's 'own'. For the briefest moment, Benji felt a turning in his stomach. His mother and sister would have to leave. They'd be moving out with the Barlowes and living in a new place that he already knew he couldn't go. He'd have to stay behind. His role in the family and his tutelage under his uncle wouldn't allow for anything different.

What sort of heir wasn't raised within the walls he'd rule?

The twisting in his stomach vanished as quickly as it had came, a smile returning to his face as he saw the sparkle in his mother's eyes. She was happy. Excited. Reserved of course, as she always was, but he could see it.

He could remember how broken she was a couple of years ago and he never wanted to see her that way again.

This...was a good thing. A very good thing. And there'd be a new little brother or sister for all of them.

”Summer…That’s…okay.”

Benji immediately turned his attention back to Morgan, the softness in her voice unusual for the girl who spoke with fire and sass. She wouldn't just be his friend anymore. She'd be his sister. That was...weird to think of, considering everything. But, he just wouldn't consider it anymore.

This had to be hard for her. She hadn't taken the news of Evander well and...where was Kate going?

He sighed as his sister stood motionless in front of the front door like a statue. There she went, being a little weirdo again. He looked back to his mum for permission and when she nodded, he stood, and moved in front of his sister to take her by the hand. She tried to tug away, but he held steady.

"Hey," he said softly, so only she could hear, and knelt down so she'd have to look him in the eye. "Everything will be fine. At the end of the day, it's me and you, right Katie? I've got you and you've got me." He smiled, knowing it was easy to be said with what the changes would mean for them when they were at home. He'd spend as much time with the Barlowes when he could, but the Laurences required a lot of him. "Julia loves you, that's not changing. And now you'll have Maddox and Morgan too." He knew she wouldn't respond, but she'd listen and that was enough.

He stood, pulling her with him back to the couch, and throwing his arm back over her when they sat. To keep her in place, yes, but also to offer that comfort.

"Can I be the best man?" he grinned, offering levity to the situation again. "Promise I'd throw the best bachelor party."

It was a lot of information to take in, she knew and her eyes wandered from each child to the next silently checking in on them. In all of this, she wanted to be sure that their kids were okay. Joining families and changing up lives was never an easy thing, especially for preteens and teenagers who already tip-toed the line of sensitivity.

She worried that besides Kate, Morgan would take it the hardest. She was close to her father, he being her only parent, and as someone who had lost her mother as an infant and grew up with only her father and brothers, Julia was cognizant of what that meant. It would have been hard for her, if another woman had come in later and joined the family.

Morgan had a mother; her being deceased didn't change that fact, and Julia wanted to be respectful of it. She'd be there, as Morgan wanted her to be, but she wouldn't force anything otherwise. They were to be a family, as Maddox said, but sometimes growing a family took time, patience and trust. It was a big leap from being the girl's professor to being her step-mum.

Bringing in a new little sibling would certainly shake things up.

Her eyes followed her daughter as Kate rose and stood still by the door. Despite knowing what Kathryn was feeling, it brought the slightest smile to her face. Her daughter had done what she'd asked her to. Sit and hear them out and then they could go home. Kate was ready to go home and was making that very clear.

When Benji returned with her, she chose her words carefully. "We know this probably feels strange and a little scary, but we love you. All of you, and we're going to figure all of this out together. No one will get left behind."

And she had plans to ask Maddox about a little outing with Morgan at the end of next summer. Her connections at the museum had asked her to visit one of their dig sites up north and help analyze a few artifacts they were anticipating would be found. Morgan loved to collect and scavenge about. If anything, it would give them some time to talk about all the changes and how the girl was coping at that time.

"Can I be the best man? Promise I'd throw the best bachelor party."

Her son could always be counted on the be the comedic relief, couldn't he. "Benji, honestly," she sighed, looking up at Maddox with a slight shake of her head.

Well. It could've gone worse.

Where Benji remained firmly rooted in his smugness, the girls succumbed to a different sort of reaction. Morgan, who'd been...decidedly loud and devastated at the news of Evander, looked now like she was trying to hold everything together. Kathryn put on no such illusion. The younger girl rose and took herself off to the front door, where she...waited for what he couldn't be sure. His house was still standing and would retain its resale value, but such good news was overshadowed by the concern that grew within him.

He left Benji to his sister. For so much of their lives, they were all each other had had. Stoic as the little girl was, it sometimes made it hard to remember she had a whole life before coming into theirs. A time when her brother was her happiness and he was all the little girl had. Her circle had opened up since then, but Kathryn didn't seem much happier for it. She loved her mother; there was no doubt. He was reasonably certain she still adored her brother, as much as she often flinched at his noise and chaos. The rest of the world, Kate seemed to take in strides, never giving away her truest sentiments unless you chose to pay attention.

She was the opposite of Morgan in that regard. His daughter had never shied away from making her feelings plain, often wearing her heart on her sleeve whether she wanted to or not. She lived loudly, for better or worse. Watching her go quiet, holding her brother while she processed his words, the man worried he may have had another sort of storm brewing.

"We know this probably feels strange and a little scary, but we love you. All of you, and we're going to figure all of this out together. No one will get left behind."

He couldn't stress that last part enough. At least two of their children would feel displaced, even if just in the beginning. It was up to them, as the instigators of this joint venture, to ensure they helped them through it.

"Julia's right," he said when Benji and Kate sat. "It won't always be easy. It'll take some getting used to each other, exercising understanding for our differences, and appreciating what each of us can bring to this family." His gaze passed from Morgan to Kathryn then back to his daughter.

"It really will be okay," he assured, his voice softening just enough to be reassuring. "And it won't all hit at once. We'll take it slowly."

"Can I be the best man? Promise I'd throw the best bachelor party."

And then there was Benji. Maddox was actually relieved to see one of the children taking things so well. It would've been him, wouldn't it? A moment of amusement passed between him and Julia, there as their gazes met. "Pleased as you'd surely be to know I have no other options; the position has already been filled."

Disappointing, he knew.

"There's just one more thing," then he'd let them go. Dessert and an end to the lovely evening they'd had. "We'd like you all to hold onto this news for a little. Just until we can get a few things sorted."

It would be naive to think that none of them possessed friends who may be connected to the wrong people.

"So. Any questions?" Concerns? Misgivings? If not, Morgan knew where the ice cream was and could help their guests.

Why weren't they coming?

Kathryn listened for the sound of accompanying footsteps, but they never came. Behind her, both her mother and brother remained firmly planted. That wasn't part of the agreement.

A hand held hers, its texture concealed by her satin barrier. Warm through the fabric, holding hers firmly. She didn't turn to see who it was; she didn't need to. Licorice. Fresh Grass. Traces from the charcoal pencils he'd spent the early morning smudging for his latest drawing. Benny. The boy tugged her. She knew why. He was taking her back. For whatever reason, she didn't try to understand; they wanted the interaction to carry on past the agreed-upon end point.

Kathryn tugged against him, trying to have him stand by the door with her instead, but it was no use, nor was there any expectation she would succeed. He was bigger than her. Stronger. Benny explained that he was a...beater. Not to be confused with an inflictor of violence in the sense her mind had immediately conjured, but for sport with a bat and balls he insisted were safe despite their inherent danger. It was all a little more than she cared to understand. The only thing that mattered was his ability to take her back to where she didn't want to be.

"Hey."

He knelt by her. She could see him from the corner of her eyes, but she never turned away from the door. The muscles in her jaw set, her teeth grinding lightly against each other.

"Everything will be fine."

Everything would objectively not be fine. Perhaps he thought she didn't know. When they moved, he wasn't coming with them. He was staying at the castle. Their mother said he had important things to do and that their uncle was going to need his help.

"At the end of the day, it's me and you, right, Katie? I've got you and you've got me."

It wasn't true. He had Arundel Castle and many things to do. Many people to meet. Many things to learn. He was leaving again, to be a part of someone else's family while her mother took her to be a part of Mr. Maddox's.

"Julia loves you, that's not changing. And now you'll have Maddox and Morgan too."

She didn't want either of them. No one had bothered to ask whether she wanted a father or a sister, a new brother or a baby. They wouldn't, she knew, but had they, she'd have politely declined. There was no declining this, only moving forward. It was a point well proven when Benji took her by the hand again and brought her back to the couch. Kathryn sat without protest, uneasy in her own skin.

No one would get left behind. Understanding and appreciation.

She didn't have questions, only a desire to leave that wouldn't be met.

Morgan felt eyes on her, but she didn’t look at them. Benji knew her well enough to know that her reaction was less than expected. Her father also knew that. And she was pretty sure that he would have told Julia about how she’d taken the news about Evander. As a way to prepare her.

She felt almost glued to the couch, though. While her brain was racing with too many questions at once, the world around her felt to be moving in slow motion.

Benji got up, and Morgan kept her eyes focused somewhere on the ground between her and Maddox. She still held Evander tightly, wishing she could be as young and unaware as him. He wouldn’t care. He loved Benji. More playmates. That’s all that her brother worried about.

Brother… Morgan briefly glanced at Benji as he made his way back, his sister’s hand in his. She’d had a crush on him once. He’d kissed her once – though he refused to consider it a real kiss.

That was probably for the best now.

As Benji spoke – asking some lighthearted question – Morgan couldn’t help but to feel like she was being uprooted. Yet again. Why bother having roots if it always changed? Julia said that no one would get left behind. Perhaps she wouldn’t. But there was also a small part of her that feared the specialness she had with her father would fade.

"It really will be okay. And it won't all hit at once. We'll take it slowly."

But wasn’t it happening all at once? By summer, she’d have a new house, a new step-mum, new siblings, there’d be a new baby… Slow wasn’t in the cards, and there was nothing Maddox could do to slow it down.

"There's just one more thing. We'd like you all to hold onto this news for a little. Just until we can get a few things sorted."

Nodding, almost mechanically, Morgan silently agreed. That was fine. She didn’t want to say the words out loud anyway.

When Maddox asked if there were any questions, Morgan shook her head ‘no’. She finally lifted her head to meet her father’s gaze. ”There’s… ice cream. I can get it,” she said, her voice tight. She stood and laid Evander gently down on the couch cushions. Time alone – that’s what she needed. She prayed no one followed her.