Fic: Gossamer (5/18)
Mar. 15th, 2012 01:40 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...
*****
It was late when Henry dropped her off at her house. The lights were on in the living room, blazing brightly across the dark lawn, and there was a strange car parked on the side of the street in front of her house.
"Who's that?" Henry asked, as he pulled up behind the car and put his own into park.
"Oh, I don't know," Paige said, with a shrug. "Probably one of Uncle Dave's work buddies. He has poker nights on Thursday; maybe he moved it up."
Henry nodded, reaching across her to open her door before she could do it, herself. Paige rolled her eyes at his semi-gallant antics, leaning over and wrapping her arms around him in a quick hug.
"I'll see you at school, tomorrow," she told him, and then she surprised both of them by pecking a small kiss on his cheek.
"What was that for?" Henry asked, raising an eyebrow in curiosity.
Paige just shrugged, giving him a little, enigmatic smile as she climbed out of the car.
"I'll see you, tomorrow," she repeated.
Henry looked like he was going to demand an explanation for her behavior, but then he just waved and drove away. Clearly, he was willing to let the matter drop, for at least a little while.
Paige headed up the driveway to the house, hitching her purse higher on her shoulder as she dug around for her house keys. But, the front door opened under her hand before she could unlock it, and she found herself meeting her aunt's inscrutable gaze.
"Aunt Julie, what's wrong?" she asked, cautiously, as she moved past the older woman and into the foyer, toeing her shoes off in the doorway.
"Nothing's wrong," Julie hastened to reassure her. "It's just – you'll see," she finished, frowning.
Thoroughly worried, now, Paige went into the living room. She saw her uncle, first, greeted by the older man's gentle smile. Jeff was slouched on the opposite side of the couch, and he smiled when he saw her, but the smile didn't match the hard look in his eyes as he practically glared holes in the wall opposite him.
Then, as she moved further into the living room, she saw exactly what the overprotective men in her family were staring so fiercely at. Nick was sitting one of the uncomfortable, hard-backed chairs from the dining room, an uneasy expression on his face.
Paige stopped short, her aunt's vague words suddenly making sense. Until he'd called, yesterday, she honestly hadn't given Nick very much thought. She certainly hadn't thought that he'd actually come to her house. She honestly hadn't thought that he'd cared about her or the baby enough for that.
But, he was here, now, and she was going to have to deal with him, one way or another.
She moved further into the living room, taking the space that Dave and Jeff had left open for her, and meeting Nick's surprised gaze, squarely.
"What do you want, Nick?" she asked, bluntly, dispensing with any of the usual pleasantries and getting right to the point.
"I was hoping that we could talk," Nick said, as he shifted in his chair, clearly uncomfortable with the hostile stares being lobbed his way. "In private, maybe?" he added, a hopeful note in his voice.
"No, I'm fine here," Paige said, blandly, leaning back against the cushions. "Go ahead and talk."
For a moment, something dark and sinister flashed in Nick's eyes, but it was gone so quickly that she almost thought that it was a trick of the light.
"I wanted to apologize for my behavior, for the past few weeks," Nick began, still shifting in his seat. "I was scared when you approached me with your news, and I overreacted. It was-" He paused, and took a deep breath, trying to gather his thoughts. "It was pointed out to me that the way I acted was selfish and immature."
"That's one way to put it," Dave muttered, under his breath, and Paige was hard-pressed to keep from cracking a grin.
"So, why are you here, now?" she asked Nick, keeping her voice level.
"I've been giving it a lot of thought over the past few weeks," Nick told her, "and I've decided that I want to be a part of my baby's life. I don't want my baby to think that I don't love it."
Paige didn't answer right away, still lost in her own thoughts. There was a part of her that cheered at seeing Nick step up and take some responsibility for their baby; after all, that was what she'd wanted ever since she'd found out that she was pregnant. But, there was another part that was uneasy with the whole thing, a part that just wanted to tell Nick to take a hike and never look back. She'd done fine without him for the last two months; she didn't need him, now.
'But, this isn't about me,' Paige reminded herself, firmly. 'This is about my baby, and about what's best for her.'
"I have a doctor's appointment next week," she finally said, looking over at Nick. "You can come to that."
"What about after that?" Nick asked, and his voice sounded almost hopeful.
"How about we take this one day at a time?" Paige suggested, instead, and she thought that she saw something like frustration flash across his eyes.
"I guess that's what we'll have to do, then," he finally said. "I just hope that I can convince you that I've changed, and that I'm serious about what I said."
"We'll see after next week," Paige repeated, firmly, and Nick nodded in agreement.
"Oh," he added, a second later, "my mother wants to meet you. I was thinking that you could come over for dinner, some night?"
"Sure," Paige said, figuring that she wasn't committing to anything serious just by agreeing to meet his family for dinner. After all, they were going to be involved in the baby's life, too.
With nothing left to say, Nick stood to go, and Paige escorted him to the front door. They parted with a guarded goodbye, and Paige watched him walk to his car, in silence. After he'd driven off, she shut the front door and headed back into the living room, where her family was still waiting for her.
"I don't like him," Julie said, bluntly, as Paige reclaimed her seat between Dave and Jeff, leaning against her uncle as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
"I thought you didn't like him when he wasn't going to step up and be involved with the baby's life," Paige reminded her aunt.
"I just don't like him, period," Julie told her. "He's too slick, too polished. Henry's a good kid," she added, suggestively, and Paige laughed.
"Henry is an amazing guy," Paige agreed. "And, if things go there-" She trailed off, not wanting to dwell on something that she hadn't even discussed with Henry, yet. "I do think that I need to let Nick be involved in the baby's life," she said, changing the subject back to the original topic. "He deserves that kind of chance."
From beside her, Dave snorted, the sound rumbling through his chest. Paige could almost imagine what he had to say on the topic, having heard it, before.
"Uncle Dave, be nice," she said, looking at the older man. "Like it or not, he is a part of the baby's life. Which means he's going to be a part of mine."
"I just don't want you to rush into anything where this boy is concerned," Dave finally told her. "You've got a good head on your shoulders, Paige. Don't let him push you into anything you're not ready for."
"I won't," Paige promised. "All we're going to do is talk."
"Paige," Julie added, "you know that we will support you, no matter what choice you make."
"I know," Paige said, touched by her aunt's concern for her. "I love you guys."
Standing, she stretched, feeling her joints pop with the movement.
"I think I'm going to turn in, early," she said, as she headed for the stairs. "I'll see you guys in the morning."
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...
*****
It was late when Henry dropped her off at her house. The lights were on in the living room, blazing brightly across the dark lawn, and there was a strange car parked on the side of the street in front of her house.
"Who's that?" Henry asked, as he pulled up behind the car and put his own into park.
"Oh, I don't know," Paige said, with a shrug. "Probably one of Uncle Dave's work buddies. He has poker nights on Thursday; maybe he moved it up."
Henry nodded, reaching across her to open her door before she could do it, herself. Paige rolled her eyes at his semi-gallant antics, leaning over and wrapping her arms around him in a quick hug.
"I'll see you at school, tomorrow," she told him, and then she surprised both of them by pecking a small kiss on his cheek.
"What was that for?" Henry asked, raising an eyebrow in curiosity.
Paige just shrugged, giving him a little, enigmatic smile as she climbed out of the car.
"I'll see you, tomorrow," she repeated.
Henry looked like he was going to demand an explanation for her behavior, but then he just waved and drove away. Clearly, he was willing to let the matter drop, for at least a little while.
Paige headed up the driveway to the house, hitching her purse higher on her shoulder as she dug around for her house keys. But, the front door opened under her hand before she could unlock it, and she found herself meeting her aunt's inscrutable gaze.
"Aunt Julie, what's wrong?" she asked, cautiously, as she moved past the older woman and into the foyer, toeing her shoes off in the doorway.
"Nothing's wrong," Julie hastened to reassure her. "It's just – you'll see," she finished, frowning.
Thoroughly worried, now, Paige went into the living room. She saw her uncle, first, greeted by the older man's gentle smile. Jeff was slouched on the opposite side of the couch, and he smiled when he saw her, but the smile didn't match the hard look in his eyes as he practically glared holes in the wall opposite him.
Then, as she moved further into the living room, she saw exactly what the overprotective men in her family were staring so fiercely at. Nick was sitting one of the uncomfortable, hard-backed chairs from the dining room, an uneasy expression on his face.
Paige stopped short, her aunt's vague words suddenly making sense. Until he'd called, yesterday, she honestly hadn't given Nick very much thought. She certainly hadn't thought that he'd actually come to her house. She honestly hadn't thought that he'd cared about her or the baby enough for that.
But, he was here, now, and she was going to have to deal with him, one way or another.
She moved further into the living room, taking the space that Dave and Jeff had left open for her, and meeting Nick's surprised gaze, squarely.
"What do you want, Nick?" she asked, bluntly, dispensing with any of the usual pleasantries and getting right to the point.
"I was hoping that we could talk," Nick said, as he shifted in his chair, clearly uncomfortable with the hostile stares being lobbed his way. "In private, maybe?" he added, a hopeful note in his voice.
"No, I'm fine here," Paige said, blandly, leaning back against the cushions. "Go ahead and talk."
For a moment, something dark and sinister flashed in Nick's eyes, but it was gone so quickly that she almost thought that it was a trick of the light.
"I wanted to apologize for my behavior, for the past few weeks," Nick began, still shifting in his seat. "I was scared when you approached me with your news, and I overreacted. It was-" He paused, and took a deep breath, trying to gather his thoughts. "It was pointed out to me that the way I acted was selfish and immature."
"That's one way to put it," Dave muttered, under his breath, and Paige was hard-pressed to keep from cracking a grin.
"So, why are you here, now?" she asked Nick, keeping her voice level.
"I've been giving it a lot of thought over the past few weeks," Nick told her, "and I've decided that I want to be a part of my baby's life. I don't want my baby to think that I don't love it."
Paige didn't answer right away, still lost in her own thoughts. There was a part of her that cheered at seeing Nick step up and take some responsibility for their baby; after all, that was what she'd wanted ever since she'd found out that she was pregnant. But, there was another part that was uneasy with the whole thing, a part that just wanted to tell Nick to take a hike and never look back. She'd done fine without him for the last two months; she didn't need him, now.
'But, this isn't about me,' Paige reminded herself, firmly. 'This is about my baby, and about what's best for her.'
"I have a doctor's appointment next week," she finally said, looking over at Nick. "You can come to that."
"What about after that?" Nick asked, and his voice sounded almost hopeful.
"How about we take this one day at a time?" Paige suggested, instead, and she thought that she saw something like frustration flash across his eyes.
"I guess that's what we'll have to do, then," he finally said. "I just hope that I can convince you that I've changed, and that I'm serious about what I said."
"We'll see after next week," Paige repeated, firmly, and Nick nodded in agreement.
"Oh," he added, a second later, "my mother wants to meet you. I was thinking that you could come over for dinner, some night?"
"Sure," Paige said, figuring that she wasn't committing to anything serious just by agreeing to meet his family for dinner. After all, they were going to be involved in the baby's life, too.
With nothing left to say, Nick stood to go, and Paige escorted him to the front door. They parted with a guarded goodbye, and Paige watched him walk to his car, in silence. After he'd driven off, she shut the front door and headed back into the living room, where her family was still waiting for her.
"I don't like him," Julie said, bluntly, as Paige reclaimed her seat between Dave and Jeff, leaning against her uncle as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
"I thought you didn't like him when he wasn't going to step up and be involved with the baby's life," Paige reminded her aunt.
"I just don't like him, period," Julie told her. "He's too slick, too polished. Henry's a good kid," she added, suggestively, and Paige laughed.
"Henry is an amazing guy," Paige agreed. "And, if things go there-" She trailed off, not wanting to dwell on something that she hadn't even discussed with Henry, yet. "I do think that I need to let Nick be involved in the baby's life," she said, changing the subject back to the original topic. "He deserves that kind of chance."
From beside her, Dave snorted, the sound rumbling through his chest. Paige could almost imagine what he had to say on the topic, having heard it, before.
"Uncle Dave, be nice," she said, looking at the older man. "Like it or not, he is a part of the baby's life. Which means he's going to be a part of mine."
"I just don't want you to rush into anything where this boy is concerned," Dave finally told her. "You've got a good head on your shoulders, Paige. Don't let him push you into anything you're not ready for."
"I won't," Paige promised. "All we're going to do is talk."
"Paige," Julie added, "you know that we will support you, no matter what choice you make."
"I know," Paige said, touched by her aunt's concern for her. "I love you guys."
Standing, she stretched, feeling her joints pop with the movement.
"I think I'm going to turn in, early," she said, as she headed for the stairs. "I'll see you guys in the morning."
Continued here
