Hi, Hi,
Okay this one-shot hasn't got a lot of HunterxMorgan but it was a missing moment that I have wanted to write for a while. It will continue into one maybe two more but if you do have HunterxMorgan-ness that you want written then I will be happy to do it.
Hales if you are reading this I am sorry that I haven't spoken to you in forever! I am so sorry but I swear I have lost my phone charger. I think it has eloped to vegas with my camera usb and I shall not hear of them until they are married knocked up and come grovelling back needing a place to stay and some food.
KeroaucinaHackney
I stood cursing the slowness of the till girl, who looked extremely bored and unhelpful, waiting to buy bottle of frozen water I was holding. It was only April here and the weather was what would be considered summer weather in Britain. Sky and I had both had to go and buy clothes that allowed us to not sweat to death. Morgan had only been laughing at my constant stream of grumblings. Thinking of Morgan served as a welcome distraction from the queue that I swear was going slower than a glacier. I really loved that girl; she had been through more in the past seven months than most people would go through in an entire life time and she had come out stronger and smiling. The past few weeks had been some of the best of my life. The heat must have affected my brain somehow because I seemed to have turned into a lust filled teenager; Morgan had completely shattered my self-control. I was shocked out of very happy day dreams by the snippy till girl who was tapping furiously on the counter looking at me like I had come from mars. I paid for the water and turned my attention back to the arrival boards.
The airport was filled with families and university students going on their holidays to sun filled beaches and I had wonder why the hell they would want to go to somewhere hotter? I was tapping my foot impatiently; the flight from Heathrow was due to land in five minutes that meant I had another forty minutes to wait around. I wasn't good with waiting aimlessly, I could wait and watch a witch that I was investigating for hours and never get bored, but standing here doing nothing was driving me crazy. I rocked on my heels, counted the ceiling tiles, drank my water and contemplated going back for another bottle but the queue and the grumpy till girl put me off that idea. I stared at the clock and watched the flight getting closer to the top of the screen.
Finally my brain was reclaimed with thoughts of Morgan and I allowed myself to become distracted. I must have been happily in day dream land because I nearly jumped out of my skin when a familiar voice sounded in my ears, "Fine then if you don't want me here I'll just go home again." I grinned down at the swoosh of red hair as my little sister stalked away from me. I grabbed the handle of her backpack making her fall to stop. "Sorry, Allie, if I'm staying here you've got to come and share in the torture. It's just not fair if you don't." I hugged her, noting that she had gotten taller she now came to my shoulder. Her blue eyes sparkled up at me, reminding me of Da's, "Now that's not true big brother, I've heard that your time here has been far from torturous." She grinned at me with a knowing look and mentally I cursed Sky and the Eventide gossip gene. "Come on let's get going so I can kill our cousin." I grabbed her suitcase and dragged her towards the entrance.
Alwyn bobbed along beside me, she had always been very bouncy, if she could get through life skipping without looking like an idiot then she would. She was just a very springy person; I always thought that the inside of her head must be like a bouncy castle with all her ideas bounding around like sugar-high children. "So..." I knew what she wanted to know, I also knew that I had at least another hours worth of resistance, and by that time we would be back in Widow's Vale and she would be in full on hyper mode, I could put of this discussion for another twenty-four hours. "Big Brother if you think I am giving up that easily then you have forgotten how persistent I am." I rolled my eyes, groaning internally ... she was extremely persistent, I should know I was the same just in a less annoying way. "That I haven't forgotten but I know that you can't keep it up forever. Besides don't we have more important things to talk about?" I asked her pointedly, her face sobered. "We do." She said decidedly, "How is he? He always sounds fine on the phone." I nodded, the frequent phone calls to Alwyn where the highlight of our Dad's day sometimes. To be fair it is almost impossible not to be happy when talking to Alwyn, she just had that effect. "He is getting better. His magick is recovering from years of being out of commission and he seems cheerier." She nodded. "Is he still having nightmares?" I shuddered remembering the screaming that regularly comes from my Dad's room at night. He doesn't remember the nightmares in the morning and Sky and I can't bear to tell him. "Yes, but they are becoming less frequent and quieter which is good, but I don't think they will ever completely go." She nodded and tied her hair up in quick practised motions; she only tied her hair up when she was agitated, she was worrying about seeing our father again. "It'll be fine Alwyn, just relax." She shot me an aye-right right look. "Hunter, I can barely remember the man. I have only spoken to him on the phone and the last time I saw him I was four and covered in sand. I am now fifteen and not used to being someone's daughter. So forgive me for being a tiny bit anxious." Alwyn was the only one who could out rationalise me so I kept quiet for fear of tempting our her red head temper. I drove up to the house, parking the car right in front of the pathway. Sky's car was gone; she was giving us some privacy.
Alwyn got out the car looking up at the tiny house, "You couldn't cut the hedge then?" she ran her hands over the over grown wisteria. "Nah, we wanted to give the neighbours something to gossip about, we were going to get some jangling chains and a constant storm just to keep the image up." Alwyn snorted, "Why not just play the Scooby-Doo theme tune over and over to reinforce it and your car needs a new paint job, Honda's always did look good in bright colours." I rolled my eyes, grabbing her suitcase out of the boot, I winced at the weight. "Christ, Alwyn what they hell did you pack." She rolled her eyes, "It wasn't me. Most of that," she pointed to the bag in slight disdain, "is a care package for you lot from Aunt Legh." Just as I had been hoping, I needed a good dose of Aunt Legh's thoughtfulness in the form of home baking; it would almost be as good as having a plate of her cooking. I rushed up the path, desperate to get to the food contained in the suitcase.
"Christ Hunter, you couldn't have gone any faster. Imagine if I told you I had a fry up contained in there." Alwyn rolled her eyes at me then froze. I looked up to see Dad standing there staring at Alwyn like he had seen a ghost. I had always known that she looked like Mum but seeing Dad's reaction confirmed it. Alwyn looked as if she had just been hit by a steam roller; she unfroze and ran to our father, enveloping him in a hug. Dad's eyes were round as saucers as his skinny arms came round her. The last time they would have hugged Alwyn would have barely come to Dad's knee caps, now she was almost up to his shoulders. He pulled back a little and I had the urge to look away but I just couldn't. "My god, lass, you really do look like your Mother." His eyes were sad as he traced Alwyn's face with his fingers. Her head ducked, she was embarrassed then her stomach rumbled. I snorted and she glared at me from under her hair. "Hungry are we?" she glared some more as I pushed her into the kitchen, Dad followed behind us.
Alwyn sat at the dining table in the kitchen nervously playing with the strap of her backpack; I could tell she was deciding if it would be too rude to ask me for a shot of whatever alcohol I had hidden. Dad was shifting nervously in the corner trying not to stare at Alwyn. I loved British repression, it was so peaceful, and the awkward silences really did allow you to get all your thoughts in order. I put a plate of toast down in front of Alwyn while I started making dinner, she had an appetite like four horses and a heard of milk cows. Okay the silence was getting too much even for me, "So Alwyn, anything interesting happen at home?" Her eyebrows quirked at me and I got her aye-sure look again. "Oh yeah of course, the recent flower show was praise of the county, Mrs. Tanoch begonias are now starring in their own bb2 drama. William has passed his one way system, so now it takes you five minutes to go from Temptations to Tesco's even though they are across the road from each other and hell mend you if you don't follow his system. Aunt Legh has made twelve trifles since you left and has become interested in the wisdom of Nora Robert's novels, do not ask why because I haven't the faintest. Siobhan has become a political activist and is now participating in rallies and protests against injustice and cruelty, she was very proud of her first arrest and has almost persuaded her Mum to hang up the bail slip on the kitchen wall. Marith has delighted in the prospect of planning her eighteenth birthday and Isla has recently discovered the joys of the Jeremy Kyle Show and is now addicted to making fun of every recovering alcoholic on crack with three children all from different fathers." Her face was twisted into a smirk and Dad just looked slightly bemused. "Westmare hasn't changed much has it?" his voice was almost hopeful and it broke out into a rare smile as Alwyn and I shook our heads.
All the tension left the room after that, Sky came home and we sat eating dinner exchanging stories about Westmare and home, which resulted in a large bout of home sickness from me. It had been seven months since I had been home and I actually missed the mental little place. Alwyn wasn't really helping in her slight nostalgia rant, it wasn't her fault really, she was just a very good story teller. The girl had read more books than Matilda and had a slight addiction to using more imagery than is strictly necessary in everyday conversation, but she did make for interesting post-dinner conversation.
I had just made a pot of tea and Alwyn and Sky were at loggerheads as usual. Put the two grouchiest together in a small space and your asking for trouble, Dad hadn't lost the slight confuddled look he adopted when Alwyn came through the door. I couldn't blame him, if you weren't used to her then you either got a headache or wanted to make her an appointment at a mental hospital. She didn't have the slightly over caffeinated pep that Mary-K sported, it was more that he things that came out of her mouth were just so odd-bod and insane that you wondered how she came up with them. He caught my eye and motioned me over, "Has she always been like this?" he asked. "Do you remember the day that you Mum took the three of us up into the woods behind the old house?" He nodded, "Do you remember the fact that Alwyn insisted on taking honey sandwiches so she could tempt out the faeries, kelpies and various other mythical creatures and sat for two straight hours at a brook not moving waiting for one to come?" He nodded again "And that we never believed her when she said one had come, we just teased her for weeks but she was absolutely adamant that she had seen a faery and just ignored us." He nodded again.
"She still believes that she spoke to a faery." My gaze rested on Alwyn who looked older than most fifteen year olds should, was still arguing with Sky her temper wavering. "So, she hasn't changed then." Dad's eyes were looking at her as well. "Not in the slightest."