Fic: Gossamer (11/18)
Mar. 15th, 2012 12:05 pm![[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
"You look beautiful, sweetheart."
Paige looked away from the full-length mirror that she was standing in front of. She glanced back at Julie, who was beaming at her with an ear-to-ear grin on her face.
"Thanks, Aunt Julie," Paige said, with an answering smile of her own.
"And, Pax thinks so, too, don't you darling?"Julie cooed, bouncing the giggling baby girl in her arms.
Pax burst into a bright peal of laughter, reaching towards Paige with chubby arms.
"We don't want to rumple Mommy, sweetheart," Julie started, but Paige shook her head, holding her arms out to take her daughter.
"I don't care if I'm wrinkled," she said, as she cuddled the six-month-old to her chest.
"I'll bet Cheryl cares," Julie remarked, and Paige shot her aunt a wry look.
"I don't care what Cheryl thinks," she muttered.
But, she still tugged, self-consciously, at the skirt of her dress with her free hand, smoothing away nearly invisible wrinkles. Then, she forced herself to still her hand, leaving the dress as it was. If hugging her daughter wrinkled her wedding dress, then she'd wear the wrinkles with pride.
She looked up at the sound of a knock on the door frame, and a grin broke out over her face when she saw Prue standing in the doorway. The other woman grinned back, moving into the room and dropping her purse on the chair by the door, murmuring a quiet greeting to Julie as the older woman slipped out of the room.
"I didn't think you were going to make it," Paige said, absurdly happy to see Prue, there. "I thought you had to work."
"I convinced my new boss to give me the rest of the day off," Prue explained. "Sorry I'm such a mess," she went on. "I was cataloguing inventory in the storage rooms all day. I feel like I'm covered in a ton of dust."
"You look great," Paige assured her, quickly. "But, I thought your job was assistant curator and acquisitions."
"Oh, it is," Prue replied. "But, we're shorthanded, so I also get all the grunt work until we can hire more assistants. It's hard work, dirty-"
"But, you're having a blast, right?" Paige asked, with a knowing smile.
"Wouldn't trade it for the world," Prue said, and then she frowned, thoughtfully. "Okay, maybe for a position at the Louvre-"
"I could see you working there," Paige said, thoughtfully. "Here, hold Pax for a second."
She passed her daughter over to the other woman, reaching for the necklace lying on the table.
"My something old," she said, by way of explanation. "This necklace was my mom's. Dad gave it to her for their fifteenth wedding anniversary."
"It's lovely," Prue told her, as she shifted her goddaughter to her hip. "What about your something new?"
"Earrings," Paige replied, brushing back a lock of hair to reveal a set of diamonds hanging from her earlobes. "Nick lost my necklace right after Pax was born. I told him I didn't care about it. Cheryl gave it to me, and that thing was as ugly as sin. But, he saved up, and he bought me these earrings last week."
"They're beautiful," Prue said. "Why'd he need to save up, though? I thought you said that his family was loaded."
"They are," Paige said, flatly. "But, Nick cut himself off from his family after Pax was born. Said they would only be a toxic influence, and he didn't want that for our daughter. So, he got a job answering phones at a pro bono law firm, and I'm working temp jobs while I apply to colleges. We don't make a whole lot, and we're living in Julie and Dave's basement until we can afford an apartment of our own."
"Sounds like it would be easier to have his family help out," Prue pointed out.
"It would be," Paige acknowledged. "But, we're going to make it on our own. We don't need Cheryl, or her ideas about how we should run our lives."
"Okay," Prue said, although from the look on her face, she clearly thought that Paige was nuts. "You know, if you need anything-"
"We'll be fine," Paige assured her. "Now, for my something blue-"
"You mean other than the long face that Henry's sporting?" Prue teased, gently. When Paige shot her a questioning look, she continued, "Oh, come on, Paige. You know that boy is completely gone for you."
"Henry and I are just friends," Paige stressed, emphatically.
"Does he know that?" Prue asked, a skeptical tone in her voice.
"Yeah," Paige said, softly, "he does. We talked."
"I'll be that was uncomfortable," Prue muttered, shooting Paige an innocent grin when she glared at her. "Hey, you can't hit the woman holding your kid, can you?"
"We talked," Paige repeated. "I love Henry, I really do, but Nick is Pax's father. Henry understands that."
"Doesn't mean he has to like it," Prue shot back. Then, her tone softened as she added, "And it doesn't look like you like it much, either."
"I care about Nick a great deal," Paige protested, automatically.
"But this isn't how you imagined spending the rest of your life," Prue interjected, quietly. "Be honest, Paige. When you think about walking down that aisle, who do you really see waiting for you at the end?"
Paige closed her eyes, blinking back the sudden rush of tears that she absolutely refused to let fall. Henry's face had immediately flashed through her mind at Prue's question, but she resolutely pushed the image away.
"That's not fair," she whispered, glaring half-heartedly at Prue. "Nick and I are building a life, together. We have a family."
"But, you don't have to be miserable," Prue told her.
"I'm not," Paige snapped, sighing in resignation at the surprised look that flashed across Prue's face at her tone. "I'm not," she repeated, softer.
"But, you're not happy," Prue protested. "Not like you could be."
"I think it's a little late for my fairy tale ending, don't you?" Paige asked, rhetorically. "This is my life, Prue. There's no changing it, now."
Prue nodded, wordlessly, finally giving up the argument. "Okay," she said, quietly. "But, you're not walking down that aisle without something blue and something borrowed."
In answer, Paige picked up her bouquet from where it was sitting on the table. Sprigs of bright blue baby's breath were mixed in with the rest of the flowers.
"I've got the something blue," she replied. "Just missing the something borrowed."
"I've got that," Prue told her, snatching her purse up and pulling a jewelry box out. "This was my mom's," she explained, as she opened the box and handed it to Paige. "She called it her good luck charm."
"Prue, I can't wear this," Paige protested, as she looked down at the beautiful charm bracelet resting on the cotton padding.
"Sure you can," Prue responded. "Here, hold Pax."
Without waiting for an answer, she passed the baby back to Paige. Then, she grabbed Paige's free hand and deftly fastened the bracelet around her wrist.
"There," she said, satisfied. "It looks perfect on you."
"Prue, this was your mother's," Paige protested.
"And she wouldn't want it to sit in some drawer, somewhere," Prue shot back. "Now, say thank you."
"Thank you," Paige echoed, with a small smile.
Before she could say anything else, there was a knock on the door, and Dave poked his head into the room.
"You ready?" he asked, without preamble. "Everyone else is ready to get going."
"Yeah, I'm ready," Paige said, tugging one more time at her dress before she forced herself to stop.
She passed Pax back to Prue, giving her daughter a kiss before she left. Then, she linked her arm through Dave's as they went down the hallway to the room where the ceremony was going to be held.
"You look beautiful, sweetheart," Dave told her, as they stopped in front of the closed double doors.
"Thanks," Paige said, softly.
"Your parents would be proud," Dave went on, and Paige felt tears pricking at her eyes, again.
"I hope so," she whispered, blinking the tears away and hoping that her makeup wasn't about to be smeared.
"I know so," Dave told her, firmly. "You ready?"
Paige nodded wordlessly, stepping back as Dave reached out and pulled the doors open.
She and Nick had wanted a small ceremony, but Cheryl had stepped in fairly early on and taken over the whole affair. As a result, the people packing the church weren't anyone that Paige recognized, and she had the feeling that Nick would be hard-pressed to name any of them, as well. The only people she really knew were her family sitting at the front, and Henry and Prue sitting beside them.
As if he'd sensed her thinking about him, Henry craned his head around, meeting her eyes. He gave her an encouraging smile, his whole face lighting up with the gesture. You're going to be fine, he seemed to be saying, and Paige felt the butterflies in her stomach disappear.
"I'm ready," she said, quietly, answering Dave's question.
Then, she stepped through the doors and started walking down the aisle toward her future…
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
"You look beautiful, sweetheart."
Paige looked away from the full-length mirror that she was standing in front of. She glanced back at Julie, who was beaming at her with an ear-to-ear grin on her face.
"Thanks, Aunt Julie," Paige said, with an answering smile of her own.
"And, Pax thinks so, too, don't you darling?"Julie cooed, bouncing the giggling baby girl in her arms.
Pax burst into a bright peal of laughter, reaching towards Paige with chubby arms.
"We don't want to rumple Mommy, sweetheart," Julie started, but Paige shook her head, holding her arms out to take her daughter.
"I don't care if I'm wrinkled," she said, as she cuddled the six-month-old to her chest.
"I'll bet Cheryl cares," Julie remarked, and Paige shot her aunt a wry look.
"I don't care what Cheryl thinks," she muttered.
But, she still tugged, self-consciously, at the skirt of her dress with her free hand, smoothing away nearly invisible wrinkles. Then, she forced herself to still her hand, leaving the dress as it was. If hugging her daughter wrinkled her wedding dress, then she'd wear the wrinkles with pride.
She looked up at the sound of a knock on the door frame, and a grin broke out over her face when she saw Prue standing in the doorway. The other woman grinned back, moving into the room and dropping her purse on the chair by the door, murmuring a quiet greeting to Julie as the older woman slipped out of the room.
"I didn't think you were going to make it," Paige said, absurdly happy to see Prue, there. "I thought you had to work."
"I convinced my new boss to give me the rest of the day off," Prue explained. "Sorry I'm such a mess," she went on. "I was cataloguing inventory in the storage rooms all day. I feel like I'm covered in a ton of dust."
"You look great," Paige assured her, quickly. "But, I thought your job was assistant curator and acquisitions."
"Oh, it is," Prue replied. "But, we're shorthanded, so I also get all the grunt work until we can hire more assistants. It's hard work, dirty-"
"But, you're having a blast, right?" Paige asked, with a knowing smile.
"Wouldn't trade it for the world," Prue said, and then she frowned, thoughtfully. "Okay, maybe for a position at the Louvre-"
"I could see you working there," Paige said, thoughtfully. "Here, hold Pax for a second."
She passed her daughter over to the other woman, reaching for the necklace lying on the table.
"My something old," she said, by way of explanation. "This necklace was my mom's. Dad gave it to her for their fifteenth wedding anniversary."
"It's lovely," Prue told her, as she shifted her goddaughter to her hip. "What about your something new?"
"Earrings," Paige replied, brushing back a lock of hair to reveal a set of diamonds hanging from her earlobes. "Nick lost my necklace right after Pax was born. I told him I didn't care about it. Cheryl gave it to me, and that thing was as ugly as sin. But, he saved up, and he bought me these earrings last week."
"They're beautiful," Prue said. "Why'd he need to save up, though? I thought you said that his family was loaded."
"They are," Paige said, flatly. "But, Nick cut himself off from his family after Pax was born. Said they would only be a toxic influence, and he didn't want that for our daughter. So, he got a job answering phones at a pro bono law firm, and I'm working temp jobs while I apply to colleges. We don't make a whole lot, and we're living in Julie and Dave's basement until we can afford an apartment of our own."
"Sounds like it would be easier to have his family help out," Prue pointed out.
"It would be," Paige acknowledged. "But, we're going to make it on our own. We don't need Cheryl, or her ideas about how we should run our lives."
"Okay," Prue said, although from the look on her face, she clearly thought that Paige was nuts. "You know, if you need anything-"
"We'll be fine," Paige assured her. "Now, for my something blue-"
"You mean other than the long face that Henry's sporting?" Prue teased, gently. When Paige shot her a questioning look, she continued, "Oh, come on, Paige. You know that boy is completely gone for you."
"Henry and I are just friends," Paige stressed, emphatically.
"Does he know that?" Prue asked, a skeptical tone in her voice.
"Yeah," Paige said, softly, "he does. We talked."
"I'll be that was uncomfortable," Prue muttered, shooting Paige an innocent grin when she glared at her. "Hey, you can't hit the woman holding your kid, can you?"
"We talked," Paige repeated. "I love Henry, I really do, but Nick is Pax's father. Henry understands that."
"Doesn't mean he has to like it," Prue shot back. Then, her tone softened as she added, "And it doesn't look like you like it much, either."
"I care about Nick a great deal," Paige protested, automatically.
"But this isn't how you imagined spending the rest of your life," Prue interjected, quietly. "Be honest, Paige. When you think about walking down that aisle, who do you really see waiting for you at the end?"
Paige closed her eyes, blinking back the sudden rush of tears that she absolutely refused to let fall. Henry's face had immediately flashed through her mind at Prue's question, but she resolutely pushed the image away.
"That's not fair," she whispered, glaring half-heartedly at Prue. "Nick and I are building a life, together. We have a family."
"But, you don't have to be miserable," Prue told her.
"I'm not," Paige snapped, sighing in resignation at the surprised look that flashed across Prue's face at her tone. "I'm not," she repeated, softer.
"But, you're not happy," Prue protested. "Not like you could be."
"I think it's a little late for my fairy tale ending, don't you?" Paige asked, rhetorically. "This is my life, Prue. There's no changing it, now."
Prue nodded, wordlessly, finally giving up the argument. "Okay," she said, quietly. "But, you're not walking down that aisle without something blue and something borrowed."
In answer, Paige picked up her bouquet from where it was sitting on the table. Sprigs of bright blue baby's breath were mixed in with the rest of the flowers.
"I've got the something blue," she replied. "Just missing the something borrowed."
"I've got that," Prue told her, snatching her purse up and pulling a jewelry box out. "This was my mom's," she explained, as she opened the box and handed it to Paige. "She called it her good luck charm."
"Prue, I can't wear this," Paige protested, as she looked down at the beautiful charm bracelet resting on the cotton padding.
"Sure you can," Prue responded. "Here, hold Pax."
Without waiting for an answer, she passed the baby back to Paige. Then, she grabbed Paige's free hand and deftly fastened the bracelet around her wrist.
"There," she said, satisfied. "It looks perfect on you."
"Prue, this was your mother's," Paige protested.
"And she wouldn't want it to sit in some drawer, somewhere," Prue shot back. "Now, say thank you."
"Thank you," Paige echoed, with a small smile.
Before she could say anything else, there was a knock on the door, and Dave poked his head into the room.
"You ready?" he asked, without preamble. "Everyone else is ready to get going."
"Yeah, I'm ready," Paige said, tugging one more time at her dress before she forced herself to stop.
She passed Pax back to Prue, giving her daughter a kiss before she left. Then, she linked her arm through Dave's as they went down the hallway to the room where the ceremony was going to be held.
"You look beautiful, sweetheart," Dave told her, as they stopped in front of the closed double doors.
"Thanks," Paige said, softly.
"Your parents would be proud," Dave went on, and Paige felt tears pricking at her eyes, again.
"I hope so," she whispered, blinking the tears away and hoping that her makeup wasn't about to be smeared.
"I know so," Dave told her, firmly. "You ready?"
Paige nodded wordlessly, stepping back as Dave reached out and pulled the doors open.
She and Nick had wanted a small ceremony, but Cheryl had stepped in fairly early on and taken over the whole affair. As a result, the people packing the church weren't anyone that Paige recognized, and she had the feeling that Nick would be hard-pressed to name any of them, as well. The only people she really knew were her family sitting at the front, and Henry and Prue sitting beside them.
As if he'd sensed her thinking about him, Henry craned his head around, meeting her eyes. He gave her an encouraging smile, his whole face lighting up with the gesture. You're going to be fine, he seemed to be saying, and Paige felt the butterflies in her stomach disappear.
"I'm ready," she said, quietly, answering Dave's question.
Then, she stepped through the doors and started walking down the aisle toward her future…
Continued here
