Fic: Gossamer (12/18)
Mar. 15th, 2012 11:57 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sara_wolfTitle: Gossamer
Rating: PG
Warnings: none
Summary: "Paige, you're pregnant." Three weeks after her parents' death, Paige receives some surprising news. What she decides next will change the course of history, not only her own, but that of the family she doesn't even know exists...
*****
Six Months Later
"So, how's married life treating you?"
Paige shot Henry a look of wordless exasperation as she passed him a screaming one-year-old, flapping her hand at him to get him to move backwards. Pax's sobs quieted into hiccups as soon as she was in Henry's arms, and Paige glared at him.
"Well, let's see," she said, a testy tone in her voice. "Nick skipped out on our daughter's first birthday party to go to work, the party starts in an hour and I have nothing to feed anyone, and I'm plunging an overflowing toilet after my darling baby girl flushed her daddy's very expensive watch down the drain." Shooting the pair another look, where Pax was currently cooing happily in Henry's arms, she muttered, "Oh, and apparently my daughter likes you better than me."
"She does not," Henry protested. When Pax burst into giggles as Henry tickled her, he shot Paige an apologetic look. "She's just sensitive, and she can sense that Mommy's a little stressed out right now."
"You're not helping," Paige informed him, shortly.
"No, I'm plunging," Henry told her. Shifting Pax to a more comfortable position on his hip, he used his free hand to pull Paige to her feet and out of the bathroom. "You and Pax are going to go relax in the living room; I am going to fix your toilet."
"Are you staying for the party?" Paige asked, and Henry shot her a grin over his shoulders as passed Pax back to her and he rolled up his sleeves.
"Where else would I be?" he asked.
"Your godfather is a good man," Paige told Pax, as they went back down the hallway to the living room. "He's the best."
She settled Pax on the couch, flicking the television onto something with bright colors and cheerful sounds. Then, she headed toward the kitchen, where the only thing ready for the party was the sheet cake that she'd ordered two days ago. The kitchen was empty, and she had no idea what she was going to serve the people who were coming over.
When her phone rang a few seconds later, she answered it with a distracted greeting. The sound of her aunt's voice had her sighing in relief.
"Aunt Julie," she said, happily, and she could practically see the older woman smiling. "I need a favor."
"I figured you'd be a little frazzled right about now," Julie told her. "I still remember the chaos that erupted when your mom and I were trying to plan yours and Jeff's fourth birthday parties."
"Well, that's what you get when you both have kids born on the same day," Paige teased. "So, do you think you can run to the store for me? I have a half a dozen people coming, and nothing to feed them."
"Leave everything to me, sweetheart," Julie assured her. "I'll see you in about half an hour, all right?"
"You're a lifesaver," Paige told her. "Thanks, Aunt Julie."
With the food taken care of, it felt like a giant weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She finally felt like she could relax for the first time all day, and even getting a call from Nick didn't faze her. She just told her husband to have a good day at work, promised that she'd wait up for him until he got home, and told him that she'd give Pax his presents. She didn't even feel like throwing anything when she hung up the phone, which was the first time all week.
About fifteen minutes later, Henry emerged from the bathroom, wiping his hands on a towel.
"Bathroom is fixed," he declared, triumphantly. "I salvaged Nick's watch, and dried off the insides, and it's even working, perfectly."
"Thank you," Paige said, smiling at him. "What would I do without you?"
"Suffer horribly, of course," Henry said, airily, as he dropped down onto the couch beside her and Pax. "Get the food situation figured out?"
"Julie is coming by in a few minutes with supplies," Paige told him. "All we have to do until she gets here is relax."
"Sounds good," Henry replied, leaning back against the cushions. "So, how's school going?"
Before Paige could reply, there was a knock on the door, and Paige pulled a face.
"So much for relaxing," she muttered. "I'm coming, I'm coming!" she called out, when the person on the other side knocked again. Pulling open the door, she grinned when she saw Prue on the other side. "What are you doing here?"
"My godmotherly duties," Prue said, brandishing a stack of brightly-wrapped presents. "I get free rein to spoil your daughter, right?"
"You and Henry." Paige shook her head as she stepped back to let Prue into the apartment. "My daughter is going to grow up with a complex."
"Oh, just relax and have fun," Prue chided her, cheerfully. "It's a party, remember?"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Nearly three hours later, Paige dropped onto the couch with a groan as the last of the party guests left. Along with her family (none of Nick's relatives were willing to grace their tiny apartment with their presence), the party had consisted of Prue, Henry, and several of the moms from Pax's playgroup. There'd been more people than she'd anticipated, and chasing around after several toddlers had left her completely exhausted.
She waved limply at Prue from her position on the couch, watching as the older woman left, shutting the door gently behind her. And then, just Henry was left.
"I figured I'd help you clean up," Henry explained, before she could ask him what he was still doing there. "This place is a mess."
"Cute, charming, and you do dishes," Paige mused.
"You think I'm cute?" Henry called back, teasingly, from the kitchen.
"Adorable," Paige assured him. "Hey, Henry? Thanks for everything."
"You okay?" Henry asked, poking his head out of the kitchen, a concerned tone in his voice.
"I'm fine," Paige said, quickly.
Part of her wanted to tell Henry everything; about the long nights alone, about the fights with Nick. But, another part insisted on keeping everything secret. She didn't need to drag Henry into her crazy, messed-up life. She didn't need to burden him with her problems.
"Everything's fine," she replied, trying to convince herself as much as him. "Hey, need any help?"
"No, I've got this," Henry told her. "Pax still asleep?"
Paige looked affectionately down at her daughter, where she was sleeping on the couch, her long, dark curls spread out over the throw pillow she was cuddled against.
"Out like a light," she responded.
Of course, that was when Nick, in a spectacular burst of bad timing, came home, throwing the door open so hard that it slammed back against the wall. Paige burst up from the couch and Henry came storming out of the kitchen, both of them ready to snap at Nick for being so loud when Pax was trying to sleep. But, then Paige noticed the way he was very carefully trying not to sway as he walked, the glassy sheen in his eyes, and she felt sick.
"You're drunk," she said, accusingly, and Nick turned to look at her, tipping his head to the side as he tried to think of a response. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Henry glaring at Nick like he wanted to punch the other man, and she wasn't sure that she would have tried all that hard to stop him.
"Yes, I am," Nick finally replied, nodding as though pleased with the answer he was able to give. "I am very, very drunk."
"It is your daughter's first birthday," Paige said, quietly. She was surprised at how calm she was able to keep her voice, given that she wanted to completely explode right then. "You missed our daughter's first birthday to go and get drunk off your ass."
Nick nodded, again, his eyes closing as he swayed on his feet from the slight movement.
"I did," he agreed, after a moment. "I am very sorry, but that is what I did."
"Would you care to explain why?" Paige gritted out.
Nick was silent for several long moments as he thought about his answer. When he finally looked at Paige, his eyes were strangely unfocused.
"My brothers wanted to spend some time with me," he finally told her. "They thought that we should – bond. Yeah, bonding. That's what we did."
"You bonded with your brothers," Paige echoed, slowly. "Well, I sure hope it was worth it."
"We didn't bond and get drunk," Nick blustered his way through an explanation. "I got drunk because we bonded."
Paige shook her head in disgust, glaring at her husband.
"I'm spending the night over at Henry's apartment," she informed him, an icy tone in her voice.
"Are you coming home in the morning?" Nick asked, and there was a plaintive, almost vulnerable note in his voice.
"Honestly," Paige said, with a quiet sigh, "I don't know."
Picking up Pax, who was somehow still sleeping through all their arguing, she brushed past Nick to grab her purse and her keys off the table beside the door. She brushed against his shirt, recoiling instinctively at the feel of something wet and sticky on his sleeve. When she looked down, she saw a smear of red on the side of her hand.
"There's blood on your shirt," she said, slowly, looking back at Nick for some kind of explanation.
"I-" Nick started, and then he trailed off as he stared at the blood on her hand, a haunted expression filling his face. "I cut myself," he murmured. "On a sharp piece of glass. I cut myself."
"Are you all right?" Paige asked, keeping her voice neutral, and Nick jerked his head in a quick nod.
"Fine," he said, shortly. "I – I'm fine. I need to sleep."
"I'll talk to you later," Paige told him, getting another nod in response.
Then, she walked out of the apartment without looking back.
Continued here
Rating: PG
Warnings: none
Summary: "Paige, you're pregnant." Three weeks after her parents' death, Paige receives some surprising news. What she decides next will change the course of history, not only her own, but that of the family she doesn't even know exists...
*****
Six Months Later
"So, how's married life treating you?"
Paige shot Henry a look of wordless exasperation as she passed him a screaming one-year-old, flapping her hand at him to get him to move backwards. Pax's sobs quieted into hiccups as soon as she was in Henry's arms, and Paige glared at him.
"Well, let's see," she said, a testy tone in her voice. "Nick skipped out on our daughter's first birthday party to go to work, the party starts in an hour and I have nothing to feed anyone, and I'm plunging an overflowing toilet after my darling baby girl flushed her daddy's very expensive watch down the drain." Shooting the pair another look, where Pax was currently cooing happily in Henry's arms, she muttered, "Oh, and apparently my daughter likes you better than me."
"She does not," Henry protested. When Pax burst into giggles as Henry tickled her, he shot Paige an apologetic look. "She's just sensitive, and she can sense that Mommy's a little stressed out right now."
"You're not helping," Paige informed him, shortly.
"No, I'm plunging," Henry told her. Shifting Pax to a more comfortable position on his hip, he used his free hand to pull Paige to her feet and out of the bathroom. "You and Pax are going to go relax in the living room; I am going to fix your toilet."
"Are you staying for the party?" Paige asked, and Henry shot her a grin over his shoulders as passed Pax back to her and he rolled up his sleeves.
"Where else would I be?" he asked.
"Your godfather is a good man," Paige told Pax, as they went back down the hallway to the living room. "He's the best."
She settled Pax on the couch, flicking the television onto something with bright colors and cheerful sounds. Then, she headed toward the kitchen, where the only thing ready for the party was the sheet cake that she'd ordered two days ago. The kitchen was empty, and she had no idea what she was going to serve the people who were coming over.
When her phone rang a few seconds later, she answered it with a distracted greeting. The sound of her aunt's voice had her sighing in relief.
"Aunt Julie," she said, happily, and she could practically see the older woman smiling. "I need a favor."
"I figured you'd be a little frazzled right about now," Julie told her. "I still remember the chaos that erupted when your mom and I were trying to plan yours and Jeff's fourth birthday parties."
"Well, that's what you get when you both have kids born on the same day," Paige teased. "So, do you think you can run to the store for me? I have a half a dozen people coming, and nothing to feed them."
"Leave everything to me, sweetheart," Julie assured her. "I'll see you in about half an hour, all right?"
"You're a lifesaver," Paige told her. "Thanks, Aunt Julie."
With the food taken care of, it felt like a giant weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She finally felt like she could relax for the first time all day, and even getting a call from Nick didn't faze her. She just told her husband to have a good day at work, promised that she'd wait up for him until he got home, and told him that she'd give Pax his presents. She didn't even feel like throwing anything when she hung up the phone, which was the first time all week.
About fifteen minutes later, Henry emerged from the bathroom, wiping his hands on a towel.
"Bathroom is fixed," he declared, triumphantly. "I salvaged Nick's watch, and dried off the insides, and it's even working, perfectly."
"Thank you," Paige said, smiling at him. "What would I do without you?"
"Suffer horribly, of course," Henry said, airily, as he dropped down onto the couch beside her and Pax. "Get the food situation figured out?"
"Julie is coming by in a few minutes with supplies," Paige told him. "All we have to do until she gets here is relax."
"Sounds good," Henry replied, leaning back against the cushions. "So, how's school going?"
Before Paige could reply, there was a knock on the door, and Paige pulled a face.
"So much for relaxing," she muttered. "I'm coming, I'm coming!" she called out, when the person on the other side knocked again. Pulling open the door, she grinned when she saw Prue on the other side. "What are you doing here?"
"My godmotherly duties," Prue said, brandishing a stack of brightly-wrapped presents. "I get free rein to spoil your daughter, right?"
"You and Henry." Paige shook her head as she stepped back to let Prue into the apartment. "My daughter is going to grow up with a complex."
"Oh, just relax and have fun," Prue chided her, cheerfully. "It's a party, remember?"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Nearly three hours later, Paige dropped onto the couch with a groan as the last of the party guests left. Along with her family (none of Nick's relatives were willing to grace their tiny apartment with their presence), the party had consisted of Prue, Henry, and several of the moms from Pax's playgroup. There'd been more people than she'd anticipated, and chasing around after several toddlers had left her completely exhausted.
She waved limply at Prue from her position on the couch, watching as the older woman left, shutting the door gently behind her. And then, just Henry was left.
"I figured I'd help you clean up," Henry explained, before she could ask him what he was still doing there. "This place is a mess."
"Cute, charming, and you do dishes," Paige mused.
"You think I'm cute?" Henry called back, teasingly, from the kitchen.
"Adorable," Paige assured him. "Hey, Henry? Thanks for everything."
"You okay?" Henry asked, poking his head out of the kitchen, a concerned tone in his voice.
"I'm fine," Paige said, quickly.
Part of her wanted to tell Henry everything; about the long nights alone, about the fights with Nick. But, another part insisted on keeping everything secret. She didn't need to drag Henry into her crazy, messed-up life. She didn't need to burden him with her problems.
"Everything's fine," she replied, trying to convince herself as much as him. "Hey, need any help?"
"No, I've got this," Henry told her. "Pax still asleep?"
Paige looked affectionately down at her daughter, where she was sleeping on the couch, her long, dark curls spread out over the throw pillow she was cuddled against.
"Out like a light," she responded.
Of course, that was when Nick, in a spectacular burst of bad timing, came home, throwing the door open so hard that it slammed back against the wall. Paige burst up from the couch and Henry came storming out of the kitchen, both of them ready to snap at Nick for being so loud when Pax was trying to sleep. But, then Paige noticed the way he was very carefully trying not to sway as he walked, the glassy sheen in his eyes, and she felt sick.
"You're drunk," she said, accusingly, and Nick turned to look at her, tipping his head to the side as he tried to think of a response. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Henry glaring at Nick like he wanted to punch the other man, and she wasn't sure that she would have tried all that hard to stop him.
"Yes, I am," Nick finally replied, nodding as though pleased with the answer he was able to give. "I am very, very drunk."
"It is your daughter's first birthday," Paige said, quietly. She was surprised at how calm she was able to keep her voice, given that she wanted to completely explode right then. "You missed our daughter's first birthday to go and get drunk off your ass."
Nick nodded, again, his eyes closing as he swayed on his feet from the slight movement.
"I did," he agreed, after a moment. "I am very sorry, but that is what I did."
"Would you care to explain why?" Paige gritted out.
Nick was silent for several long moments as he thought about his answer. When he finally looked at Paige, his eyes were strangely unfocused.
"My brothers wanted to spend some time with me," he finally told her. "They thought that we should – bond. Yeah, bonding. That's what we did."
"You bonded with your brothers," Paige echoed, slowly. "Well, I sure hope it was worth it."
"We didn't bond and get drunk," Nick blustered his way through an explanation. "I got drunk because we bonded."
Paige shook her head in disgust, glaring at her husband.
"I'm spending the night over at Henry's apartment," she informed him, an icy tone in her voice.
"Are you coming home in the morning?" Nick asked, and there was a plaintive, almost vulnerable note in his voice.
"Honestly," Paige said, with a quiet sigh, "I don't know."
Picking up Pax, who was somehow still sleeping through all their arguing, she brushed past Nick to grab her purse and her keys off the table beside the door. She brushed against his shirt, recoiling instinctively at the feel of something wet and sticky on his sleeve. When she looked down, she saw a smear of red on the side of her hand.
"There's blood on your shirt," she said, slowly, looking back at Nick for some kind of explanation.
"I-" Nick started, and then he trailed off as he stared at the blood on her hand, a haunted expression filling his face. "I cut myself," he murmured. "On a sharp piece of glass. I cut myself."
"Are you all right?" Paige asked, keeping her voice neutral, and Nick jerked his head in a quick nod.
"Fine," he said, shortly. "I – I'm fine. I need to sleep."
"I'll talk to you later," Paige told him, getting another nod in response.
Then, she walked out of the apartment without looking back.
Continued here
