A/N: Thank you so much to everyone who voted, Forever My Girl won Best OC-Driven in the 2015 Profiler's Choice Awards! It tied with, if I remember correctly, three other stories, so congratulations also to the other OC winners!
Thank you again, now onto another year of writing!
"Come on Darcy, I can't keep doing this," JJ begged her granddaughter as the infant wailed impressively. She was three weeks old, was missing her mom dreadfully, and wasn't afraid to let everyone know that fact. Henry had decided he was at his wit's end, and had gone out to spend the day with Lily.
Sitting in the rocking chair in Haven's room, JJ gently pushed the bottle teat past Darcy's lips, forcing the baby girl to latch on, and letting out a sigh of relief when the crying stopped and she started to drink.
Rocking softly, she looked around the room as Darcy ate. Haven's bed was still messy and untidy from the last time she'd slept in it. Her washing basket was filled with dirty blankets and cloths she'd been using for Darcy, her desk overrun with baby supplies... her room had become the picture of how overwhelmed Haven was feeling. Covering every reminder that Haven was still practically a little girl was another reminder that she was a mother too.
She'd known Haven wasn't coping well, especially while grieving Connor's death, but part of her was still angry at her daughter for so easily running off and leaving Darcy behind.
"She'll come back for you, sweet girl," JJ cooed softly, smiling down at her granddaughter as Darcy sucked eagerly at her bottle. "She will"
Darcy stared up at her, her big beautiful eyes locking onto JJ's as she kicked her feet out and sighed. She truly was the image of Connor, but with Haven's complexion and dark hair, and JJ knew that she was going to grow to be a very beautiful girl.
"You're just gorgeous," JJ chuckled. "So cute"
Patting Darcy's back as she rocked gently back and forth, JJ fought back the tears that were welling in her eyes.
She just wanted everything back to normal.
Sitting beside Adam on the grassy hill overlooking the park, Haven had very quickly realised where she was sitting.
In the exact same place she had sat with her mother the morning after she had told her parents of her pregnancy.
However, the quiet thrill that had filled her back then at the prospect of being a mother had been replaced by a feeling of emptiness. A sadness, that her little girl would never know her father, and a quiet grief for the life Haven no longer had.
She was still engorged, in large amounts of discomfort, and for the most part, it hadn't helped her ever changing mood. It was also making her extremely self conscious, and coupled with the fact that she was still tender from giving birth, she was feeling rather out of sorts sitting beside the handsome older boy.
"So you're living with your friend right now?" Adam asked, sipping his coffee.
"Yeah," Haven said quietly, toying with the straw on her smoothie. "Things got... a little rough at home"
Adam turned to look at her. "What happened?"
Haven remained silent for a minute, looking down at the ground. Did she really want to tell Adam, a boy she barely knew, everything that had gone on?
Would the fact that she was three weeks post giving birth push him away?
It was a chance she had to take. He would find out about Darcy sooner or later.
"I had a baby... nearly a month ago," she said quietly. "My mom and I had a huge fight last week and I just... couldn't handle being in that house anymore. She gave me the cut on my cheek"
"Do you and your mom get along normally?" Adam asked.
Haven nodded, sipping her drink. "Yeah... she was there for me throughout my entire pregnancy, and now... now that Darcy is here, it's like we just can't get along anymore. I think she feels I didn't do enough for Darcy when I promised my parents I wouldn't leave them to look after her... it's just a mess right now"
"Maybe a week away has been enough... maybe you should go home... try and fix things with your mom?" Adam suggested gently. As he spoke, he placed his hand on the small of Haven's back, a gesture that didn't go unnoticed by her, but surprisingly, was comforting.
"Maybe," Haven replied, finally lifting her face to look at Adam. She broke into a shy smile, chuckling softly. "But I don't want to talk about that right now"
"Ok," Adam mused. "What do you want to talk about?"
"Why did you come over and talk to me the other day?" Haven asked immediately. Seeing the look that crossed Adam's face, she bit her lip. "Sorry... that sounded kind of aggressive"
Adam chuckled. "It's alright. To answer your question... I came over to you because I was wondering if you were ok... and it doesn't hurt that I think you're gorgeous too"
Haven blushed, a smile crossing her face as Adam moved closer.
"You think?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper as she lifted her face.
"Yeah," Adam breathed, moments before his lips met hers in a gentle kiss. Haven was surprised, but she didn't push him away.
Something inside her was telling her that this was what she needed.
Hearing the front door quietly open and click shut again, Will looked up from where he was trying to soothe his fussy granddaughter.
"Haven?" he said incredulously, his jaw dropping when he spotted his forlorn looking teenager standing in the hallway, her bag slung over her shoulder, the cut on her cheek still sporting an angry shade of red.
A chair scraped in the kitchen, and Will grimaced.
This wasn't going to be pretty.
"You better start talking right now!" JJ said angrily as she walked into the room, her fierce gaze glued to her daughter.
"I needed some space-" Haven started.
"You know what, so did I when I had your brother, but it didn't mean I took off and left everyone else to look after him! Darcy is your responsibility, you need to buck up and start acting like her mother, rather than someone who flies in and out of her life!" JJ said, her voice rising.
"Yeah, well you didn't have to listen to Dad jump in front of a train, did you? I'm sorry that I'm not good enough for you, but I can't do this, not now!" Haven spat back, throwing her bag down near the door.
Henry, who had come home only an hour earlier, stood anxiously in the archway, watching his mother and sister with wide eyes.
"You don't have a choice!"
"I DON'T CARE!"
"STOP!" Henry yelled suddenly as Darcy started to scream again. "Seriously, I get that this is all very stressful for everyone, but please, just go more than five minutes without having a go at each other. Mom, Haven literally just walked through the door, shouldn't you be glad she's home safely? That she has a friend who is so willing to look out for her?"
JJ took a deep breath, scowling at Haven before turning back towards the kitchen.
"I'd be a lot happier if you could just attend to your child," she said in a low voice, shooting a glare in Haven's direction before disappearing into the next room.
"I'm going upstairs," Haven muttered, reaching down and grabbing her bag before heading up to her room. Henry winced as her door slammed, turning towards his dad.
"She'll come around," Will said softly, snuggling Darcy close as her cries started to settle again. "They both will"
"I hope so," Henry sighed, collapsing into the opposite armchair.
Will nodded reassuringly. "I know your mother well enough to know that, yes, she feels like Haven has failed her, but I know she'll start to see reason soon," he explained quietly.
Henry swallowed thickly.
He hated the unrest. He wanted his happy household back.
