A/N: Thanks to the amazing dameofdownstairs for the artwork for this chapter! If you're not on tumblr, Google my tumblr (chelsiesouloftheabbey) and check it out! Many thanks as well to brenna-louise, who not only faithfully betas this story but who also came up with the idea for the Halloween inspiration. This fandom is full of caring and generous friends and I am truly grateful for ALL their support. Special shout-out to the BIMP in charge, who I know loves the baby bump in that pic. :)

This chapter covers about two and a half months' worth of time ... little snippets, in which we tell the kids about the baby, see more of the house (also on tumblr), and have a bit of Halloween fun. Please leave a little review to let me know what you've thought. Song choice: "Never Gonna Be Alone," by Nickelback. I know, not my usual style.

xx,

CSotA


You're never gonna be alone, from this moment on

If you ever feel like letting go, I won't let you fall

You're never gonna be alone, I'll hold you 'til the hurt is gone ...


August 15, 2015

"You're pregnant?"

The look on Daisy's face was incredulous, as though she couldn't quite comprehend the words.

"But … But … Papa, you said you and Elsie weren't having a baby! You said … You said you weren't ready!"

"What? Charlie, what is she talking about?"

Elsie's confused question reminded Daisy that she and her Papa weren't the only people in the room. Embarrassed, she jumped off the couch and ran into her room, almost slamming the door behind her and thereby angering her father.

"Daisy!"

Elsie reached her hand over to his arm, holding him firmly in place. "Don't," she advised. "Not now."

Charles looked at her incredulously. "That kind of behavior is unacceptable," he whispered. The stern hardness of his voice, despite the whispered volume of it, frightened Tommy, who sat across from Charles and was attempting to assess this precarious atmosphere in which they now found themselves. "And I only said that when she asked about it in England. You remember ..."

"Ah, yes," Elsie said, understanding at once. "Alright."

"I'll talk to her," Tommy said evenly, his eyes examining Elsie with something akin to curiosity.

"Thank you, Tommy." Elsie smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes, and Tommy noticed.

"Elsie? Are you ... happy?" he asked suddenly.

She tilted her head and looked at him, then nodded.

"I am, yes," she said quietly. "I … I'd been led to believe that this would never be a possibility for me; so it's been rather a shock, but a welcome one."

"This doesn't mean we care about you or Daisy any less," Charles added, his voice a quiet rumble as he attempted to calm himself. "It's important to us that you know that."

Tommy nodded slowly, thoughtfully, as his eyes flicked back and forth from Charles to Elsie.

"I knew something was up," he said to Elsie. "You weren't yourself, really."

Elsie smiled at him, acknowledging the truth in his statement with a raised eyebrow. "I know you did. We needed to wait to tell you, but I knew you were aware that things weren't … well, normal."

Tommy's brow furrowed. "Why did you need to wait?" And then he saw the sadness flit across her eyes and quickly added, "I'm sorry. It's none of my business, I suppose."

"No, it's alright," she replied, silencing anything Charles might say with another squeeze to his forearm.

Elsie took a deep breath and swallowed, thinking of the most simplistic way to explain it all.

"I was married before; once … a long time ago. He died suddenly, in a car accident, much like Daisy's mother."

Tommy nodded; he knew this already. Daisy had mentioned it, but she'd said Elsie never talked about the man whose picture sat on the shelf in the bookcase, tucked between a few knuck-knacks. He'd examined it once but had never wanted to ask about it. Daisy told him it used to be over the fireplace, where the photo of them at the school play now resided.

"His name was Joe," Elsie explained. "We wanted a baby very much, but it just didn't seem like it would happen. At one point I was pregnant, four months along; however, I had an accident at work, and we lost the baby, and it just … never happened again. Sometimes, for some women, it's just very difficult; it's common to have a miscarriage in the first three months, and the truth is that I didn't want to tell people that Charles and I would be having a baby if there was a chance that I'd have to go back and … and tell them we weren't."

"That's happened to Jimmy's mum," Tommy said quietly.

"Has it? I didn't know that," Elsie remarked softly, somewhat surprised that she'd never heard. Stories travel fast in Misty Cove, as she well knew.

"Twice," Tommy added. "Jimmy said his mum always wanted a girl, but …" He stopped, not wanting to make Elsie sad. It was a tricky conversation, he knew; this wasn't the sort of thing parents would talk about with younger kids, and he was proud that Elsie was telling him.

"So, here we are," Charles offered. "The baby is due in February. In that time, we need to be prepared; Elsie needs to get a good amount of rest, primarily because as the baby grows it will put pressure on her back again," he said, looking at Elsie, who smiled and nodded for him to continue. "And, we'll need to move."

"Wow," Tommy whispered. "That's a lot."

"It is, and I'm sorry about the timing. You've already been through a lot," Elsie said sympathetically.

"Oh, don't worry about me. I'm the least of your concerns," Tommy said wryly, shooting a glance at Daisy's room.

"That's not true at all," Charles said. "Elsie and I have one main 'concern,' as you labeled it, and that's simply called children. Your worries and thoughts are no less valued than Daisy's in our eyes, and neither of you count any more or any less than this baby we happen to have on the way."

"We've not forgotten about November," Elsie added. "Come hell or high water, we will be at Adoption Day, and we will still become your legal parents … if you still want that, of course."

"Yeah, I do," he smiled, getting off the sofa. "Right, then. I'm going to go and talk to Daisy."

"Thank you," Charles said, and he and Elsie watched as Tommy left the room.

As soon as the door to Daisy's room closed, Elsie got up and stood before Charles, prying his knees apart with her leg to get closer and grasping his face in her hands before leaning down and kissing him fiercely.

"What was that for?" he asked after their lips parted.

She carded her fingers through his hair, shaking her head as she looked at him with tear-filled eyes.

"'Elsie and I have one main 'concern,' and that's simply called children,'" she repeated, her voice thick with emotion. "'Neither of you count any more or any less than this baby.' Charles Carson, I think I loved you more in that one moment than I ever have before. Oh, you dear, dear man," she whispered, wiping at her tears with the back of her fingers.

"Well," he rumbled, "it's true, isn't it?"

She kissed him again, and then he wrapped his arms around her as she hugged his head to her chest.

"It is," she agreed.


"Good afternoon, Misty Cove PD. Willis here."

"It's Elsie," she'd said without preamble. "It's been a week. What the hell's going on?"

"God, I don't even know, Elsie. Like I told you last week, O'Brien withdrew her confession, which we heard about through the DA's office because she's gotten a lawyer. It seems that they want an official statement from you - a deposition, which we can do here at the station - but they're dragging their feet something awful."

"But why? What do they think I could possibly say to help them?"

"Our understanding is that they're going to enter a plea of "not guilty by reason of mental illness."

"Oh, I see." Elsie had been quiet for a moment, and Willis hadn't been sure whether or not she was still on the line.

"Elsie?" he'd asked after a few moments. "Are you still with me?"

"I am," she'd said determinedly. "And if they think I'm going to make a statement that Sarah O'Brien is completely unstable, they've got another thing coming!"

"They're going to ask about the letter," he'd reminded her. "And about what you know of the fire."

"But I don't have direct knowledge about the fire, except what I've heard. Isn't that inadmissible or something? What do they call that? Hearsay?"

"Perhaps. But ... Elsie? Get an attorney, if you can, just as a precaution. And not your husband, either. Doesn't look good."

"I shall," she'd said determinedly. "And don't worry. If they want me to talk about Sarah O'Brien, then what they'll get is an earful of how perfectly sane she was for ninety-five percent of the time I knew the woman. Showed up to work on time, never out sick, meticulous with her planning, and a very successful teacher despite the fact that she didn't particularly seem to like the children. When do they want me to come in?"

"Probably next week, if that gives you enough time. Someone from the DA's office will be here and get your statement, and her attorney will be here, too, and will get to question you afterwards. Hopefully that's all you'll have to do. The deposition will be admitted as evidence, so let's hope you don't have to go in and testify during the actual trial. Does that all make sense?"

"It does."

"Okay, then I'll call you when we have a date, and you get an attorney … just in case."

"Got it. Thanks. I know I was short with you before, but I do appreciate your looking out for me."

"No problem, Elsie. Just sit tight and we'll be in touch."

"Alright."


September 13, 2015

"Why are we going out to lunch?" Daisy asked from the back seat. "We always go home after church."

"Actually, we have an appointment," Charles replied, turning onto the main road and leaving the church parking lot - still rather full - behind them. "And then we're going to lunch."

As he headed over to the shoreline, he glanced in the rear-view mirror and saw Daisy's furrowed brow.

"An appointment? Where? Like at the doctor's?"

"No," Elsie explained patiently. "We're going to see the house, actually."

Tommy looked over toward Daisy and shook his head silently.

Don't, his face said.

Daisy just pursed her lips and clenched her teeth, turning back to the book she was reading.

She was very angry at the thought of leaving the farm and had been giving her Papa and Elsie a hard time about it every time they brought it up. She'd been reprimanded once by each adult and had lost television privileges one evening for being rude, and Tommy was trying to keep her quiet now so that the ride to see the new house wouldn't be completely unbearable.

Tommy understood why she was upset; after all, if anyone understood change, it was Tommy Barrow. But he was older, and he had a different perspective. Tommy knew that they'd be moving no matter what the kids said, for two reasons: first, he had realized immediately that there wasn't enough room for another kid to be living on the farm, and second, he knew Charles and Elsie had found a place that they were absolutely in love with. One necessity, one wish … So nothing Daisy said out of anger or spite would serve to do anything except get her into more trouble.

He'd tried to explain that to her last night ... again; Daisy hadn't cared.

"I won't go in," she'd told him.

"Fine, stay in the car," he'd shrugged - just before he'd walked out of her room, having left her there to think about just what she might be missing by doing just that.

And now, as he sat and noticed that she was gripping her book so tightly that her knuckles were white, he wondered if she'd follow through.

But once Charles turned onto the small street where the house sat, Tommy saw Daisy look up from her book, and he heard her gasp.

"Wow," Tommy breathed, unbuckling his seatbelt as Charles put the car in park. "Holy …"

"Yes, it's quite something, isn't it?" Elsie beamed, turning to look at the kids. She noticed Daisy staring out at the ocean and hoped they could coax her into at least going in to see what the house looked like. She and Charles had been by two weeks previous, and after that visit (their second), they'd submitted an offer; it had been accepted within four hours, with the contingency that they not close until November, giving the current owners time to finish and move into their new home.

They hadn't told the kids, and were both silently praying that Tommy and Daisy would fall in love with the house today.

Tommy was the first out of the car, and he practically ran up to the porch steps. He stopped when a man stood up from the chair he'd been in, its height and the wall of the porch meaning the man had been hidden up to that point.

"Hello there, you must be Tommy."

The man held out his hand and Tommy shook it, nodding.

"And you are …?"

"Evelyn Napier. I'm the realtor."

"Evelyn?" Tommy asked, the corner of his mouth and an eyebrow quirking up.

But Evelyn was used to it and simply rolled his eyes a bit. "Yes, Evelyn. Mums … sometimes they don't think much when they name their kids."

Tommy laughed, and then turned as he heard Elsie and Charles behind him; and, behind them, Daisy.

Thank goodness, he thought, and he made his way to her side while the adults chatted.

"You didn't stay," he said, half-teasing her.

"No," she grumbled, kicking her heel into the grass. "It was hot in the car."

"Uh-huh," he said, chuckling. "Okay."

"I wanna see it," she admitted quietly. "I don't suppose we get a say anyways."

"I doubt it," Tommy said. "Look at the bright side: it's still in Misty Cove. We don't have to switch schools. Besides, Daisy, it's on the ocean. Can you imagine being able to play and explore on the beach every day?"

"Yeah, that would be cool," she admitted. "Come on, they're going in."

Daisy and Tommy headed up to the front door, and stopped suddenly when they got inside.

"Wow," Daisy said, and her voice echoed up the huge staircase. "This is … big."

"Well," Charles said, placing a hand on her shoulder and giving her an encouraging squeeze, "we need a lot of rooms. I need an office, and none of you should have to share your room if that's possible … which it would be, here. You and Tommy will actually be mostly alone upstairs … your own space, sort of."

"Really?"

"Mm-hm. My office would be up there, but Elsie and I will have our room downstairs, and the nursery will be next to it."

"So we're definitely moving here."

Charles gently guided her back out onto the porch, his eyes silently telling Elsie to move on ahead with Evelyn and Tommy. He sat on the front steps, and he motioned for Daisy to sit beside him.

"Daisy, tell me what's wrong," he said kindly. "You're so very upset about this. Now, I know it's been a lot for you. We moved to Misty Cove, then from the beach to the farm, and now this. It's a lot to have happen in such a short time."

She nodded. "Yeah, it is. But, Papa, I love the farm. Elsie loves the farm. It just seems wrong for us to leave. And I don't want to."

Her eyes welled up, and Charles imagined he could feel the upset pouring off of her.

"Elsie's not selling the farm, Daisy. It will still belong to the family."

"Wait. She's not?"

"No," he said slowly, his brow furrowed. "We told you two the other night that John and Anna would be moving in and … ah, wait, that's right. I'm not sure we actually specified that they'd only be renting and not buying the house, did we?"

Daisy's face brightened a bit as she wiped at her eyes. "Nope. So we can still be there whenever we want?"

"Well, within reason, yes. Elsie will be the owner still, and will still be working there, as will the rest of us when she needs us to help out. And you can go riding like you've been doing. Anna will be able to do more lessons and so the place will be busier - more kids and such, especially over the summer - but, yes, we will be able spend a good deal of time there."

Daisy scooted over closer to her father, and he put his arm around her and kissed her on the head.

"I miss Mummy," she said suddenly.

"I know you do, sweetheart," he replied in a whisper.

"I wish I could tell her about Misty Cove … about my teachers, and Tommy. Even about Elsie. But then I wonder if she'd be angry, and I wouldn't want her to be upset."

"Oh, petal, she wouldn't be angry," he said. "I like to think she'd be happy that you're happy."

Daisy was quiet for a few moments, then quietly asked, "We wouldn't have come here if she hadn't died, would we?"

He didn't answer right away, and she prodded him after a moment. "Papa? Would we have moved if Mummy hadn't died?"

"I'm not sure," he finally answered. "Probably not, no. Do you wish we hadn't?"

But Daisy shook her head almost frantically. "Oh, no. I love it here. And we'd never have met Elsie, and Tommy could never have lived with us. But …"

He squeezed her tightly, wrapping her in both of his arms and pulling her onto his lap, making her giggle.

"But you miss her. It's perfectly alright for you to miss her; I'm sure you always will, although it gets different as time goes on. Do you know what you should do?"

She shook her head, looking into his soft, hazel eyes. "What?"

"You should write her letters," Charles said encouragingly. "As many as you want. And we can put them someplace special and then bring them with us when we go back to visit Uncle Robert and Aunt Cora. When we go to the cemetery, we can read them to her. Do you know that I bring Tommy by the cemetery in Misty Cove quite often to talk with his Mum?"

"Yeah, he told me," she said. "He said you stay in the car most of the time, and it's just him and his Mummy."

"I do, and so it is. And you can always talk to your Mummy, too. It doesn't have to be letters and it doesn't have to happen in England. Go for a walk in the field with Max and just … talk." He tapped her on the nose with his knuckle and kissed her on the forehead. "I'm sure she is watching over you, love. I bet you Mummy is always there with you, and I know she's so proud of you for finding your voice again."

Daisy smiled up at him, then kissed his cheek. "I love you, Papa."

"I love you too, petal."

They turned at the sound of the door opening behind them.

"There you two are," Elsie said, coming to sit beside them. Her eyes widened when Daisy slid off of her father's lap and snuggled in beside Elsie instead.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I didn't know you were keeping the farm."

"But we … ohh, my goodness," Elsie said, looking at Charles, who was shaking his head.

"We could have made that much clearer," he confirmed. "Yes. I'm sure Tommy has the same misunderstanding about it all."

"But he's happy, anyhow," Daisy said. "He's happy we'll be on the ocean; he loves it."

"Does he?" Elsie asked, reaching up to straighten Daisy's ponytail. "You two talk about quite a lot, don't you?"

"Yeah, we do," Daisy said. "It's nice to have a big brother, and Tommy said it's usually nice to have a little sister, too."

"Well," Elsie said quietly, "pretty soon you'll have a little sister or brother as well. Are you going to be alright with that?"

Daisy looked up at Elsie's face and saw the nervousness, the apprehension that maybe Daisy really hated the idea of having a baby on the way.

"I'm sorry," Daisy whispered, her eyes filling up with tears again. "I was so mean to you."

"Oh, Daisy, it's alright for you to be upset. You've had so many things that are new in your life lately. I'm sure you feel like every time you turn around, something is different."

Daisy nodded, sniffling. "Yeah, but this is a really good thing," she said. "Isn't it?"

"It is," Charles said. "And we'll need your help. And Tommy's."

"Really?"

"Oh, of course," Elsie added. "You can help feed the baby, and as he or she grows you can help us teach him or her to walk, and to read, and even to ride the horses one day."

Daisy smiled. "Okay."

"Come on, then," Charles said, groaning a bit as he got up from the steps. "I think we've lost Tommy, and I want Daisy to be able to see her room."

"It looks out over the water," Elsie said, and Daisy's eyes brightened instantly.

"Really?"

Elsie laughed. "Really." She leaned in and added in a whisper, "And so does your bathtub."


Mid-October, 2015

Edith delivered a healthy baby boy on the sixteenth of September, which was about two weeks prior to her assigned due date. Peter Robert Pelham weighed in at a hefty eight pounds even, and Edith was quite grateful indeed that her pregnancy had not gone a day longer. She was in hospital for just a day and a half, having elected to return home as soon as possible. The plan had been for her to be out until the end of October, with various staff (namely Phyllis and Elsie) assuming her duties in lieu of bringing someone in from outside - someone who would undoubtedly be unfamiliar with the school itself.

Thankfully, Edith had suspected for quite a while that her baby would be arriving early, and she'd pulled her two closest friends in for a meeting about a week before Peter was born. They'd set up a system of responsibilities that all three were comfortable with, and Edith had reminded them she would only be a phone call away. If parents needed to be called in, then Phyllis would handle the case from that point forward; she had administrative credentials, and Elsie did not. Elsie would take over the building-centered jobs: dealing with scheduling, facilitating staff meetings, and generally making sure that things continued to operate like a well-oiled machine. When the time had come, Elsie and Phyllis were prepared, and daily meetings between them before and after school made things move along fairly well.

All of this meant, of course, that Elsie was completely exhausted at the end of each day. She had the help of various staff members, and Phyllis was managing most of the busier work, but if Phyllis was busy counseling students or managing meetings then it was up to Elsie to keep the ship afloat. And even with everyone chipping in as much as possible, it sometimes wasn't quite enough, and Elsie was in danger of overdoing it.

"You need to be careful," Charles warned Elsie one night, and she nodded, slightly exasperated with him for nagging her again but knowing his heart was in the right place. They were relaxing on the couch, some movie on the television that neither of them were really watching.

"I know, but- "

"But nothing," he interrupted. "You're going to make yourself sick; your blood pressure, Elsie … you have to cut down on the stress."

She blew her bangs off of her forehead, frustrated. "I do realize that," she admitted, remembering back a month to when she'd gone in to see Willis for her deposition. She'd felt awful the following weekend, and her next doctor's appointment had confirmed that her blood pressure had been up a bit. She'd managed to rectify it, but not before receiving stern warnings from Charles, Richard, and Isobel.

"Look, Edith is coming in for an hour a day starting tomorrow; she feels well, and Bertie will be home to allow her to schedule it. That should help."

As though he'd been reading her mind, Charles asked, "Any word from Willis?"

"No, not yet, but I think that's a good sign."

She sat back, tucked up against Charlie's side, and sighed.

"I guess I'll find out soon enough," she said with a yawn. "I stressed that, up until the day I received the strange note, I had nothing but professional interactions with the woman. She was organized and meticulous about her job, if not personable, and I'd never have expected her to have done anything like this."

"Which may actually help their case of mental instability," Charles reasoned. "Either way, she'll be locked up in one facility or another for a very, very long time."

He'd heard it all before, of course, but the more Elsie explained it, the more he hoped that his prediction would come true. It was high time they moved on with their lives, without the spectre that was Sarah O'Brien popping in and out all the time.


October 31, 2015

Elsie heard Charles grumbling behind her, and she turned to adjust his … well, fur.

"There we go," she said sweetly, kissing his cheek on the only non-made-up spot she could find. "You look marvelous, love."

"I look like a fool. May as well have been the scarecrow …"

"Oh, hush, you," she admonished with a smile, "or you'll sound like the tin man instead. And if you're feeling badly, then look at me. If this costume isn't insulting, I don't know what is. I tell you, really. I could have been the nice one. But we let the kids decide, and it's their night, so come on!"

"I suppose. This is bloody itchy, though. I'm glad the temperatures have dropped."

"Count yourself lucky," Elsie said in a sing-song voice as she turned and gathered up her black skirt to make her way down the hallway. "Some years it snows on Halloween."

They waited in the kitchen for the kids to finish getting into costume, and Charles turned when he heard Elsie's chuckle from beside him.

"There's my little sidekick," she laughed, and Tommy looked up with a scowl. "Oh, no," she added quickly. "Do you hate it?"

But then the boy laughed, and she relaxed. "Nah," he said with a smirk, "just playing the part. I love being the evil thing from it all." And he promptly raised his arms - and, with them, his monkey wings - and proceeded to chase Daisy around the room.

"Stop!" she shrieked, laughing, and Max jumped up and barked at them.

"Oh, come here, Max; you've lost your costume." She reached down and adjusted Max's new "fur" - a darker, Toto-colored version. "There," she said with a firm nod. "That should work."

"Are we all ready then, Dorothy?" Tommy asked. She nodded, and Charles came over with a basket and a pillow case.

"Ah, excellent," Tommy nodded. "Much better than those dumb plastic pumpkins."

Daisy looked confused, and he explained: "These hold more."

"Don't forget- " Charles started to say, but Daisy cut him off.

"Yeah, we know, Papa," she said with a roll of the eyes, and she and Tommy said in unison, "You get all the Crunch bars!"

Elsie just looked up at him and laughed. "I think, my dear, that I should get first pick of the candy." She patted her small but visible belly and added, "You know … eating for two and all."

"I wouldn't dream of touching your candy," he promised. "I'd be homeless before Thanksgiving."

"True," she acknowledged. "Besides, if you do, my monkey will attack you."

As they made their way to the car, Charles pulled Elsie closer for a quick kiss. The kids turned and saw them, then just looked at each other and rolled their eyes.

"We'll just be in the car," Tommy called to them. "You know … waiting for Halloween."

Elsie broke away from her husband and wiped a bit of green paint from his nose.

"Cheeky little things, aren't they?" she chuckled, and he agreed.

"They are, but they're our cheeky little things," he said. "Come on; the Masons are waiting."


Shameless plug: There's a summer fundraiser starting up to support Hearts and Minds, the charity in Scotland for which Phyllis Logan has become the honorary "Flora Elderflower." One aspect of H&M's work is to send Elderflowers - entertainers and carers - to people suffering from various forms of dementia, in order to give them a bit of cheer. Over the course of the summer, let's fundraise to show our support of Phyllis and this cause that she holds dear. Check tumblr and search the blog "heartsandminds4flora" and give it a follow! If you're not on tumblr, feel free to PM me for details. (Just go to my author page and click "PM" and you can send a private message, in order to keep it separate from the reviews for this story.) Donations, messages, even a pic of you raising a glass in support of the cause - all will be welcomed, collected, collated, and sent to Hearts and Minds in September. Please consider joining us - every £, $, and € - or what have you - counts!

Thanks much! xxx