Fic: Gossamer (6/18)

[sara_wolf]

Title: 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...

*****

It took another couple of weeks to set a date for Paige to meet Nick's family. His family was always busy, it seemed, and every time Paige suggested a night that she could go to his house for dinner, Nick always had some excuse for why they couldn't meet. She was beginning to think that Nick was avoiding her, and she wondered if he was beginning to regret his promise to be involved with the baby.

But, finally, he found a night that would work for his family. Paige had to bite back the impulse to tell him that she felt so honored, saying instead that she was looking forward to the chance to meet his family.

Although, privately, she wasn't sure how she felt about the whole thing.

Everything was so complicated, right now. Despite the fact that she and Nick were now connected through their baby, for the rest of their lives, they were still barely more than strangers. Their exchanges were extremely polite, and when they talked, it was more pleasantries than anything personal. She hadn't told Nick anything about her family or her life, and he hadn't shared anything like that with her. She couldn't imagine how they ever thought that they could be compatible.

Also complicating things was her relationship with Henry. Not that they'd gone beyond friendship, yet; Henry seemed to want to take things slowly, almost like he was afraid that she would think that he was taking advantage of her. Paige didn't mind, though. She wasn't ready to rush into anything with anyone, even her best friend.

'I don't even know if Henry feels the same way about me that I do about him,' Paige thought, wryly, but then she remembered all the excuses he'd come up with to spend time with her, all the times she caught him staring at her with some strange expression on his face. 'Okay, maybe I do know how he feels about me. At least, I think I know.'

Her rambling thoughts were cut off when Julie pulled to a stop in front of Nick's family home. Paige shot the huge mansion a dubious look, suddenly having second thoughts about going in there, even just for dinner.

"I can come with you, if you want," Julie said, almost reading her thoughts. "You don't have to go in there by yourself."

"I'm okay," Paige said, reassuringly, as she twisted around in her seat to face her aunt. "Besides, it's just dinner, right?"

Her words sounded weak, even to her ears, and Julie certainly didn't look convinced. But, finally, the older woman nodded, albeit reluctantly.

"I guess we have to let you go, sometime," she said, ruefully. "I just – I promised your mother that you would be safe with us, that I would protect you."

"It's just dinner," Paige repeated, leaning over and hugging her aunt. "And, I have to make nice with these people; they're going to be involved with me and the baby for the rest of our lives."

"I just don't like that boy," Julie told her, quietly. "Paige, I want you to promise me that you'll be careful."

"I will," Paige said, earnestly.

"And don't let them pressure you into anything," Julie stressed, emphatically. "Not even so much as another dinner with them, not if you don't feel comfortable."

"I won't," Paige assured her. "Trust me, Aunt Julie, I'm more than done with letting Nick push me around."

"All right," Julie relented. "You'll call me, if you need me to pick you up," she added, as Paige climbed out of the car.

"I will," Paige promised, and then she watched her aunt drive off, the car growing smaller in the distance.

Turning around, she looked at the huge mansion, apprehension filling her at the imposing sight. The house looked like the kind portrayed in horror movies, the one that lured in young, impressionable women looking for adventure.

'Oh, knock it off,' Paige told herself, sternly, as she looked at the house. 'There is nothing evil lurking inside that house. Nick and his family are perfectly normal people.'

But, she couldn't help the nerves that fluttered in her stomach as she started up the driveway to the front door.

She rang the doorbell, and the sound echoed through the house. While she waited, she smoothed down the front of the dress that she'd worn to make a good impression on Nick's family, silently lamenting the fact that she wasn't going to be able to wear her nice clothes for much longer.

The door opened a few seconds later, and Paige found herself facing a stone-faced man in a stiff, formal suit. The man eyed her, silently, for a few seconds, and Paige forced herself not to fidget under the man's stern gaze.

"You must be Miss Matthews," the man finally said, and Paige held out a hand for him to shake. "This way," the man added, spinning on his heel and ignoring her hand which she lowered to her side, feeling foolish.

The man announced her when he escorted her into the dining room, and now she did fidget, finding herself being stared at by half a dozen people. Nick was the first to break the uncomfortable staring contest, pasting a smile on his face as he walked over to where she was standing.

"I'm glad you could make it," he said, as he led her to the empty chair beside where he'd been sitting.

"Five minutes late," his mother muttered, quietly, and Paige blushed, furiously.

"We ran into traffic," she said, defensively, not wanting to explain how much time she'd spent staring anxiously at the house.

Nick's mother just raised a skeptical eyebrow at her, clearly not believing a word, and Paige clenched her hands into fists under the table to stop them from shaking.

'I am not going to let you intimidate me,' she thought, fiercely, and she thought that she saw a smirk flash across the older woman's face.

"Paige Matthews," she introduced herself, holding a hand out toward the woman. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you."

"Cheryl Long," the woman replied, taking her hand.

To Paige's surprise, a distinctly unpleasant look flashed across the older woman's face for the briefest moment, her lips curling up with distaste. The expression disappeared almost as quickly as it had appeared, and Paige could almost convince herself that she'd imagined the whole thing. But, she wasn't imagining the pointed look that Cheryl shot her son a second later.

'I guess I'm not going to be going on her Christmas card list,' Paige thought, wryly.

Then, she turned her attention back to Nick as he introduced her to his siblings. The scowling, dark-haired man in a pristine suit was his older brother Duncan, and the older man smugly informed her that he was a lawyer, dropping different names, like a district attorney called Turner, like she was expected to know who they were. Paige just shrugged and smiled her way through the spiel, figuring that they were just trying to intimidate her.

Next was Nick's twin brother, Gregory. He had the same cold, condescending tones of his mother and older brother, and Paige instantly disliked him. Their younger sister, Jolene, was much the same way.

Paige was starting to hate the whole family, actually, and she idly wondered if it was too late to back out of having Nick get involved with the baby.

A spike of pain shot through her forehead at the thought, and she winced, rubbing at her temples. She'd had headaches before, but nothing that came on as suddenly as this.

"Paige?" Nick asked, quietly, and she looked up at the sound of his voice. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," Paige assured him, dropping her hand from her forehead to rest on her abdomen. "Just a headache. I probably just need to eat."

"Mason!" Cheryl called out, sharply, hearing Paige. "Get our guest some bread, please. And, dinner is-"

"Coming, ma'am," the stone-faced butler, presumably Mason, replied, as he put a plate of rolls in front of Paige, before disappearing into the kitchen, again.

Mason came back a few minutes later, his arrival breaking the uncomfortable silence that had fallen over the room. Dinner was served, quickly, and they started eating, still without saying anything. Paige was sure that the food was delicious, and she was certainly hungry, but she was so nervous that everything tasted like ash in her mouth.

"So, Paige," Cheryl said, about fifteen minutes later, "have you found out if you're having a boy or a girl, yet?"

"I still have a few more weeks before I find that out," Paige told her. "I don't really care either way; I just want the baby to be healthy."

Cheryl made a noncommittal noise, her gaze unusually sharp as she stared at Paige.

"You're, um, you're welcome to come with me, Nick, to the appointment, tomorrow," Paige stammered, nervously, looking away from the older woman to glance over at Nick.

"I actually have things to do, tomorrow, but I'll try to be there," Nick said, without elaborating, and Paige bit back a frustrated sigh.

For all his claims that Nick wanted to be involved with the baby, he wasn't making much of an effort. This was the second appointment that he'd begged out of, claiming that he had more important things to do. Paige couldn't help but wonder what was supposed to be more important than their child, and she wondered if it was a reflection of the kind of father he was going to be.

'I think I made a big mistake in coming here,' she thought, even as she was considering how to gracefully bow out of the rest of the evening and have Julie come pick her up.

A second later, another spike of pain shot through her head, and she almost doubled over in agony. She closed her eyes to shut out the light from the chandelier that was suddenly too bright, rubbing futilely at the bridge of her nose to try and stave off the pain.

"Do you maybe have some aspirin?" she asked Cheryl, who was watching her with a sharp-eyed gaze.

The older woman made a silent gesture to Mason, who'd been hovering in the doorway, and a few seconds later, a glass of water and a couple of white pills appeared beside her plate. Paige gratefully swallowed the pills down, gulping almost desperately at the water. When she put the glass down, Cheryl was still staring at her, with that same, unnerving gaze.

"So, Paige," she said, quietly, "have you given any thought to your future with my son?"

"My future?" Paige repeated, feeling stunned. "I – um – no, not really. I mean, I guess I want-"

She trailed off, nervously, not sure how she was going to finish her sentence. Not that it seemed to make much of a difference, since Cheryl seemed to have her own ideas in mind.

"I was thinking about a fall wedding," Cheryl told her, and Paige choked on the bite of food she'd just taken.

"Excuse me?" she demanded, incredulously.

"Did you want to get married before the baby was born?" Cheryl asked her, curiously. "And, here, I thought you would want to get married after you got your figure back, such as it is," she added, a tone of condescension in her voice. I mean, being a teenage mother is going to be hard enough on you; I was just trying to make things easier."

"Married?" Paige echoed, slumping back against her chair.

"Well, it would have happened sooner or later," Nick spoke up, nonchalantly, and Paige silently bristled at the self-assured tone in his voice.

'But, I don't want to marry you,' she thought, immediately, wincing as yet another jolt of pain hit her, this one bad enough that, for a moment, she couldn't even breathe. 'I don't love you; I don't even know you.'

"I don't know," Paige said, stalling for time as everyone else at the table looked at her, expectantly. "Marriage is huge, Nick, and I just don't know if I'm ready for something like that." Letting out a weak chuckle, she added, "We're just kids, ourselves, really."

"Should have thought about that before you got knocked up," Jolene muttered, from the far end of the table, subsiding when her mother shot her a sharp look.

She hadn't bothered with being quiet, obviously not concerned if Paige heard her, and a smirk crossed the younger girl's face when Paige blushed with embarrassment. She could feel tears threatening to emerge, but she fought them back with an effort. She cried enough, these days, with the way her hormones were out of whack; she certainly didn't need to have a breakdown in front of a bunch of near-strangers.

'I didn't ask for any of this to happen,' she thought, angrily, blinking back the tears that pooled in her eyes. 'I'm scared all the time, and it's not like you're being any kind of help.' A spike of pain shot through her head, and she rubbed and her temples, distractedly. 'I just want to do what right for my baby.'

'Which is marrying Nick,' a little voice in the back of her head piped up, persuasively. 'Look at this place; it's huge, and these people are obviously not hurting for money. And it seems pretty clear that they're not going to turn their backs on Nick, or the baby. We'd have a good life, here, and we'd never want for anything.'

'But, I don't know him,' Paige argued with herself, wondering absently if she was losing her mind.

'But, I can get to know him,' the little voice added. 'He doesn't really know me, either, but he's willing to make an effort, and I can hardly do any less than that. Maybe I need to give him a chance.'

"Well, Paige?" Nick asked, looking at her, hopefully. "What do you say?"

"I don't know," she admitted, softly, and Nick reached out, taking her hand.

"I know you're scared," he said, quietly, squeezing her hand. "I am, too."

There was a vulnerability in his voice that she'd never heard, before, and Paige looked up, startled. She found herself caught by Nick's piercing gaze, his hazel eyes staring at her so intensely that it felt like he was looking into her soul.

"I know that this probably isn't the fairy tale you dreamed of as a little girl," he said, still holding onto her hand. "And I'm no white knight. But, I promise you, I will be the best man, the best father, that I can be. Our baby will be loved," he added, reaching out and brushing the fingers of his free hand over the bump that was just beginning to show. "I promise you that. I know that sometimes things will be hard, but we'll always have each other. Our baby will never be loved, more."

He smiled at her, encouragingly, giving her hand another gentle squeeze.

"What do you say, Paige?" he asked, an entreating tone in his voice. "Will you marry me?"

'I love my baby,' she thought, as she looked at the hopeful expression on Nick's face. 'And, maybe, I could learn to love you, too.'

"Yes," she murmured, watching as Nick's face lit up with excitement. "Yes, I will marry you, Nick."

Continued here