Coming out of hibernation! Determination is my middle name and yes, this fic is still going alongside the many other things in my life. There's a lot of cute family bits in this one (I love this family dynamic) and we only have one more chapter to go now!
Enjoy!
"Hello!" she calls through the eerily quiet house – for the past few weeks she's certainly become accustomed to the noise and chaos of a new baby. Not that she minds too much. Unlike Sarah; she acts like she's ready to pack her My little pony backpack and leave any day now. "Mom? Dad?"
The gentle hum of the TV calls her to the living room, where she finds Rachel cushioned between Lily and Sarah, clearly relieved to have found a quiet moment. Ellie suspects that most of the day hasn't gone so swimmingly, seeing as the normally tidy lounge has toys and such strewn around. "Hi mom." She keeps her voice low, moving some baby blankets out of the way to find some space of the couch. "Rough day?"
"A long day," she sighs, "I think I'm ready for bed right now."
"That sounds good."
Rachel gives a soft smile, shifting Sarah slightly, "how was school? I bet it's nice to be back."
"Yeah . . . sure," she agrees after a pause, "these six thirty am starts are really fun." Ellie pouts, absentmindedly eying the TV. "Mom, why do you watch Animal cops? It just makes you cry!"
"It's an inspiring show."
She gives a soft roll of her eyes, throwing herself back into the soft cushions. Her legs curl up into her side, and she quickly finds her comfortable spot wedged into the couch. Rachel gives her a side glance, chuckling to herself. Though she's enjoying the quiet after a lengthy at school, she can feel a conversation poised on Rachel's lips, and turns to find her brunette watching her. "Take a picture, it lasts longer," she starts cheekily.
"Oh, Ellie," she tsks, "sometimes I think Daniel is more mature than you."
"You're probably right mom," she laughs honestly, tugging off her shoes to allow to optimum comfort. Still, the look in Rachel's eyes hasn't subsided; if anything it's grown stronger. "Am I in trouble of something?" Her response in wary, unsure.
"What? No!"
Ellie tilts her head, "then why are you looking at me like that?"
"Can I not look at you?"
"Not without telling me why!" she argues back with all the petulance of a five year old. Rachel only shakes her head with amusement. In her arms, Sarah shifts slightly, only to smack her lips together and continue her slumber.
"Do share, mother," she opens the floor for Rachel to speak, a gnawing curiosity getting to her. When Rachel is unusually quiet, she feels herself perk up a little. "You're pulling that face that you do when there's something on your mind. . ."
She lets out a small gasp, "I don't pull a face!" A pout lingers on her lips.
"What is it you're thinking about?"
Rachel's eyes are soft, but there's still a cautious glint within the deep pools of brown. "You."
"Me?"
"About what you said?"
Cocking her brow, she half smiles. "Mom, you have be more specific. I talk a lot." Her eyes momentarily flicker to the TV, where she feels herself melting a little at the cuteness of a three week old kitten. But it doesn't hold her concentration for long; Rachel's voice quickly has her listening intently.
"You know what I'm talking about." Her smile is sweet, like honey, and brings a warmth rise through Ellie's chest.
"Mom," she begins, almost shyly. This feels familiar to all those years ago, when she'd sat in the dressing room with Rachel, nervous and unsure. The same vulnerable look is in the woman's eyes, and if she wasn't seventeen and a good few inches taller than Rachel she'd probably be crawling into her lap for comfort right now.
Rachel smiles, a serene little action. "I love you, always have and always will." A glint grows in her eyes, "even when you are being an idiot."
Though she wants to roll her eyes like the typical teenager, she chokes out a laugh, "well good because I can't promise I won't do anything else stupid. I've got all of college to get through yet. Good luck to you and dad."
"College?" There's genuine surprise in her voice, alongside a glisten of hope.
It hits Ellie the wrong way, "yeah . . .? You don't think –"
"Of course I do. I just thought you didn't want to go."
She shrugs, all too nonchalantly, even though her heart is pounding a million times a second. "Well, you know. My grades are better, and I graduate next year – I mean, I've been looking at some places. Mom, why are you looking at me like that?"
"Like what?"
"Like you're gonna cry."
With a little tut, she shakes her head. "Am I not allowed to get a little emotional? The thought of you going to college soon . . . where have the years gone?"
"Well, you did take up a lot of that time popping out more kids," she smirks.
"Ellie!"
"Only telling the truth," Ellie grins, "I'll probably come back from college and have two more siblings."
Rachel tries to appear stern, but her façade quikly fizzles away into giggles. "Your father and I are not that bad. Besides, Lily is our last child."
"So was Sarah."
"Your dad is getting a vasectomy this time, so no more children. I get a headache enough from you." At first, Ellie is somewhat offended, until she sees the sly twitch of Rachel's lips as she holds back a grin.
"What are you implying?"
"That you're a pain in the butt," Rachel affirms, "and so are all your siblings."
"Hey, they're your kids, they get it from you," she shrugs.
Before Rachel has the chance to argue back, and if her expression is anything to go by, she's definitely armed for it, the front door bursts open. Alongside the icy breeze comes her brothers hiding under scarf and hat sets, her dad shortly behind them with their schoolbags and a pile of paperwork. "We're home!" he shouts, his booming voice enough to wake up Sarah and Lily.
No cries come from either of them, both seemingly content with the length of their nap and happy to see Finn. Rachel beams up at him, "hey baby."
"Hi beautiful," he supports himself on the arm of the couch as he leans down to give her a longing kiss. On the way back up, he ruffles Ellie's hair, "hey squirt."
"Dad!" she grumbles.
"Ellie!"
With an exaggerated eye roll, she huffs and pats down her hair. The sound of hushed squabbling comes from the hallway, with shoes and coats being stripped rapidly. Then, all of a sudden, "Mom, guess what, guess what?" Daniel surges into the room, jumping onto the small space remaning on the couch. Ellie feels somewhat cramped, but forces that to the back of her mind in favor of her curiosity.
"What?" Rachel asks softly.
"Nooooo. Daniel, don't!" Caleb is uncharacteristically pleading with his older brother.
It doesn't have an effect. "Caleb has a crush!"
"A what?"
"Way to go, Caleb!" Ellie celebrates, "when's the wedding?"
Finn pops his head from the kitchen doorway, "Who's the lucky girl?"
"Dad, how un-progressive." She turns to her embarrassed brother, "if you want to like a boy, you go for it Caleb. No judgement from here."
"I don't like a boy," he sighs, ignoring Daniel's snickering, "and I don't like Jess either."
"Jess and Caleb sittin' in a tree," Daniel smirks, "K-I-S-S-I-N-G."
"Mom," the seven year old pleads.
"First comes love, then comes marriage –"
"Daniel."
"Alright baby, that's enough," Rachel says softly, but there's a warning tone to her voice. Ellie glances at Caleb and his face that would make any tomato jealous; for a moment she actually feels sorry for him. Before she can offer him words of support – that urge comes as a surprise to her – he runs toward his room with Daniel quick on his feet after him and still singing.
Finn shares a look with Rachel, "I'll go sort them out." And trudges up behind them.
"Well, that went well," Rachel sighs and lifts herself from the couch. Lily is placed gently in the bassinet, where one of the many teddies occupies her. Sarah even is kind enough to bring her some more (so she can nab Daisy from the baby's unsuspecting hands).
"What're we having for dinner?" Ellie asks, clearly the most important questions on her mind.
"No idea, I have a feeling your dad might want to go out. He's been hinting."
She beams, "yes. Let's. Good idea mom."
"Only if someone can babysit Lily. I don't think she's quite as keen to stay up that late yet."
"Someone will want to. Look at her, she's adorable!" Lily decides this is the perfect time to blow a spit bubble, "adorable and covered in saliva. What more do people want?"
A chuckle comes from Rachel, who grabs a couple of grapes from the fridge and a bottle of water. Ellie follows suit, but goes for the less healthy option of chips from the cupboard. It's on their way back into the living room that they find Finn, Daniel and Caleb stood solemnly at the door, all matching expressions of upset
"What's wrong?" There's genuine concern in Rachel's voice.
"Rex is . . . dead."
Her and Rachel share a look. If it's shock (or happiness) they never quite speak their feelings.
Instead, they somehow end up having a funeral for a damn spider in the back yard.
Ellie keeps close to Vanessa and Rose as she walks through the hallways, sniggering a little as she walks past Callum and the light bruising still remains around her eye. He looks at her, but more warily than anything. She mentally gives herself a high five.
Ellie. 1.
Callum. 0. Zilch. Zero. Nada.
"Did you finish that biology paper yet?" Rose asks, her forehead creasing, "it's taking me forever to get through."
"Almost done," she nods.
"It gets more interesting," Vanessa sighs, "well, as interesting as mitosis can get."
"I was going to do it last night, but we ended up having a funeral for the stupid spider and mom wanted me to help her take down the Christmas decorations since. Sarah cried the entire time. I don't think she understands that it's a once a year thing."
Rose grins, "if only it wasn't. I love Christmas."
"Hmm, sorry to be the Grinch of the group, but I'm happy for the annual celebration. There's only so much cheesy music I can deal with."
"But it's all so pretty," Ellie argues, "and you get presents."
"I guess so," she shrugs.
"Yeah," Rose grins, "this year Ellie got a late Christmas present in the form of a little sister. Best present ever, right?"
"She's actually pretty funny. And she doesn't cry as much as Sarah did. Plus I got to name her so that automatically makes her ten times cooler." She grins.
"You're better at being a big sister than I'd ever be – I would definitely be in jail for homicide about now."
Ellie laughs, opening her locker to throw in her books. "Oh don't worry I've considered it. But most of the time they're not that bad," she says honestly, "and I've totally got Daniel and Caleb trained to do my nails, even though they'd never admit it to anything." More giggles erupt from her lips, "once I told them it was vampire repellent and they put it on too."
"What?" Both girls screech at once.
"It was the funniest thing!"
"Oh my god Ellie," Rose shakes her head. "You are terrible."
"It was inspired!"
Vanessa grins at her, "on that note I'm going. Got that algebra test to study for. Have fun torturing your little brothers Ellie." She gives her a sly nudge. "See ya Rosie posie."
A look of distaste crosses over Rose's face, following by a pout at the nickname. "Come on," Ellie grins, "let's go."
"What? You gotta get home before the folks come looking for you."
"Hey, they're actually being really cool at the minute. Like, weirdly cool."
Rose frowns, "whoa, did the hospital send the right parents back with the baby?"
"I sure hope so."
The drive home is quick, even with the snow threatening to make the tyres slip on every corner. While she loves Christmas, the sight of the cold white flakes causes her to frown a little, and then become even more despondent when she realizes how old that makes her feel. She shrugs off her damp clothes at the door and rushes upstairs.
So absorbed in her daily routine, she barely notices the letter on her bed until she sits down beside it. The now crumpled paper rustles as she quickly tears it open in inquisitiveness. One glance to the closed door, and she throws herself against the headboard, eyes trying to recognize the handwriting. But it's not one she's seen recently, or ever. A lump catches in her throat, heart beginning to pump dangerous.
Ellie, it reads, the handwriting careful and controlled. It's a whole category away from Kate's messy scrawl in the last letter she read.
I'm your grandmother. Well, I suppose I don't even have the right to call myself that, seeing as I've only met you a couple of times. Let's go with Mary.
I suppose you're wondering why I've contacted you and no, I'm not going to force myself into your life. I doubt that you want that. I'm nothing more than a stranger to you. But there is a reason why I'm sending this letter, and it's to thank you. Katherine came home a few weeks ago, without any warning – after years. More than I can count.
You know, I thought a lot about what I'd say to her when I finally saw her again, if I ever did. But none of those words came out and instead a great relief that I never thought I'd feel before came. I had really missed her. She is my daughter, of course I missed her.
Again, why am I telling you this? She told me about what happened between you two, with Finn and his wife (I'm a big fan of her, by the way) and how it made her realize a lot of hard lessons, but lessons that needed to be learned. It made her come back to me. She's so different, but so similar. It's nice to have her back. It was also nice to hear about you. I know we'll never be close, but we'll always be connected by blood and that means something to me. I'm proud of what I've heard about you, you sound like a very headstrong young woman (you must be if you can refuse Katherine like that).
I don't want to blabber on and bore you. I simply wanted to thank you. There's a change in Katherine that can only be good, and I'm hoping that this relationship between the two of us lasts. She's even making an effort with my husband. I know it's because she met you. I don't know how to thank you enough. I can only wish you the best in life.
Inside this envelope is a little something to help you with that and please, don't feel rude for taking it. Like I said, we're connected by family. And I somewhat feel like I owe you a lot for the missed years (Christmas, Easter, tooth fairy and all that malarkey) so please use it wisely.
Lots of love,
Mary.
(PS – don't feel obliged to write back, just enjoy).
Ellie doesn't feel the tell-tale signs of tears yet, but there's a heavy weight as she glances over the letter again. In all honesty, with her thoughts on Kate all those years she never even considered her other half of the family. Grandparents and even Kate's sister – her aunt. They'd merely been an afterthought. She'd definitely never expected to be contacted by one of them, especially so out of the blue.
A small wave of relief rushes over her knowing that she doesn't want to meet her. Meeting Kate has been rollercoaster enough for the past year, and she needs to recuperate. Besides, it's almost . . . enough just to have this letter and –
Ellie nosily peers inside the envelope, tugging out the smaller piece of paper with a frown. It's only when she realizes what is it that her eyes bulge impossibly wide. It's a cheque, for five thousand dollars!
"Oh my god," she mumbles out, "is this serious? I can't take this."
Her frowns deepens.
"Can I?"
Guilt surrounds her; how can she possibly accept such a large amount of money from someone that she's never met. Okay, they're related, but that doesn't mean that Ellie deserves the money, no matter how many holidays and birthdays have been missed. She just wouldn't feel right taking it.
But . . . it would be useful.
Really useful.
She can't take it though.
Conflicted, she stares at the check for what be an eternity before someone's knocking at her door.
"Dinner's ready," Rachel sing songs, opening the door to let her voice carry through, "Ellie?" she asks when she spots the teenager's expression. "You okay?"
It takes a matter of seconds for the story to unfold, not as erratically as she'd originally thought, and for Ellie to turn to Rachel in question. "I don't know what to do mom. It's like just taking money from a stranger."
"Well, you can think about it," she gives her shoulder a squeeze, "there's no rush to cash it. But from the sound of it, she really does just want to help you along a little. It's rather admirable."
"She doesn't know me," Ellie argues.
Rachel gives a sweet smile, "that doesn't matter to some people." She lifts the note from Ellie's hands, glancing at the perfectly written words, "she clearly values family. This might be her only chance to give you something."
"I didn't ask for it though." That guilt remains.
"Ellie," she chuckles, "we know you didn't, and she knows that you didn't. But think about it, this is clearly a gift she wants to give, and you're entering a really difficult part of your life where that money might make a real difference. You might be really grateful for that in a couple of years."
She looks down at it one more time, before sighing, "I'll think about it." Ellie tries to focus elsewhere, "can we go have dinner now?"
When Ellie wakes up from her impromptu nap, she's surprised to find her dad home already, and speaks slowly as she rubs the eyes out of her sleep, "have fun at Uncle Kurt's?"
"Except for when he was talking to me about the new spring fashion line, yes. The game was good, I guess. Johnson was playing like he was drunk, but it's the New Year. You've gotta give him some slack."
She nods, "yeah. . . right." A long yawn follows, "when did you get back?"
"Not long ago. Rachel took the boys out to get a new spider, and you were out like a light, so I thought I'd catch up on work." He gestures to the pile of the coffee table.
"While playing Fallout 4?" she grins at the TV.
"All work and no play makes –"
"Don't quote the shining dad, it creeps me out," she laughs, before the former part of the conversation registers, "they're getting another spider, are you serious dad?"
"What?"
"I was glad I didn't have to deal with Rex anymore."
"Aww come on, he was cute – in his own little spidery way. With all those eyes, and all those legs."
Ellie's expression hardens. "He was a spider, dad."
"A cute spider," he corrects. "Besides, it's good for them to have a pet. Teaches them responsibility."
"Why can't we get a good pet, like a dog?"
"Caleb is allergic."
"Well, then we can swap them at the pound."
He turns to her in half shock, half amusement. "Ellie, you love you brother really."
"I'd love a dog a lot more." She smiles widely at him, knowing that it'll never work in a million years.
He lightly flicks the back of her head, "no, no and no." His eyes flicker to the ps4 control, nudging his head in that direction, "now, do you wanna play with me? Or have to got something more important to do?
"Well, I did have a serious meeting at 5," she taps her lip thoughtfully, "but for you, I can cancel."
"I'm honored, really."
"You should be, my company is precious."
Finn gives a hearty laugh, shoving his papers out of the way in favor of resting his feet on the coffee table. "Don't need to tell me twice." Just as she's reaching for the other controller, her phone buzzes. She absentmindedly reaches for it, though her curiosity peaks as she reads Rachel's name. It surges out of the roof when she reads the first message and her eyebrows quickly furrow together.
Don't tell your dad, it starts.
But we've got our new pet.
Confusion hits her like a brick, seeing as he's already aware of that and seems pretty down with getting another gross creepy crawler to keep her up at night. But she doesn't say anything, and instead waits for Rachel to finish typing her message.
Her mouth drops a little when she's sent the cutest picture of a white and grey kitten curled up in a blanket.
His name is spider . . .
She dares a glance to her dad, resisting the urge to facepalm.
That ending was definitely inspired off a facebook post I saw, in case you were wondering :D Hope you're still enjoying.
Please read and drop me a review letting me know what you think (and that you're still here).