"Daddy, are you awake?"
"No."
"Oh, okay." Addy lay quietly between them for a few minutes trying to figure out what to do. Then she started to fidget, talk to her echidna and when she started to sing they knew it was over.
"Daddy?"
"Yes Adelaide."
"Can I get up now?"
"Yes you can." She scrambled out of bed and Alfie wriggled over to cuddle up to Quinn, he'd missed her despite sleeping in the same bed. They got precious little time together as it was. He really needed to take her up to the Beach House again and get naked with her for a weekend, although right now that would probably be low on her list of priorities like he seemed to be. She didn't move and didn't even acknowledge he was there.
Addy obviously went to the bathroom and then came back. "Daddy, I need some help."
"With what?"
"Isla's surprise."
"I want to cuddle Quinn."
"She's sleeping. Leave her alone." Quinn did her best not to laugh so he knew she was awake and Alfie groaned as he rolled out of bed reluctantly and cursed agreeing to help Addy last night. Quinn's laugh proved that she wasn't completely pissed off with him it seemed.
Quinn could hear them in the kitchen, she was pretty sure Isla could too, they weren't exactly quiet and she did wonder how this was going to play out, she had her doubts but she'd cooled off a little and could see he was trying. As frustrating as it was cooking with Addy, Alfie was very patient with her when she wanted to do it all herself.
Alfie quietly knocked on Isla's door and she waited until she answered. Opening the door he let Addy in, carefully carrying her breakfast on a plate. "I made you breakfast." She chirped. Alfie just stood at the door and watched Addy, she looked so pleased with herself. "It's pancakes."
Proudly she presented the plate of pancakes, laden with haphazardly chopped bananas, blueberries and raspberries. They had lost a couple on the way and Alfie did consider picking them up and throwing them back on the plate but he wasn't that petty. "It's vegtari-egan." Addy tried to spit it out.
"Addy Darlin', I think you meant vegan." Not only were they vegan they were gluten free too because that apparently was a new development according to Quinn, Isla had recently discovered a gluten intolerance or as Quinn sniped at him after she had dinner with her sister when Addy was sick, a 'hippy fucking trendy need to be a fucking pain in the ass.' intolerance. He was constantly amused by her rants, they were very Ruzek-like.
"Vegan." She leant against the side of the bed and watched Isla. "Do you like it? I made them, with my Daddy. He help me."
"Thank you Addy, that's very nice of you. They look delicious."
"Also gluten free in case you were wondering." Alfie added, smiling sweetly. "Addy, how about we leave Isla in peace to eat her breakfast."
"I want to stay."
"It's okay Alfie, she can stay." Isla could see why her sister had fallen in love with Adelaide.
"Are you sure? She can be annoying in the mornings."
"I'm not annoying Daddy, I'm happy."
"Yes you are, adorably happy. That's why we love you." Alfie never missed a chance to tell Addy he loved her. He wanted her to have no doubts about it. He knew his parents loved him, they told them all constantly and that was one thing he clung to as he grew up without them.
He took some through to Quinn, Addy had insisted that she make her breakfast also but was too distracted now to take them into her. Alfie decided she needed to experience the whole thing as well. She took one mouthful and screwed up her nose. "These taste like shit."
"Yes, yes they do, because they are Vegan fucking hippy shit."
"The things you do surprise me."
"Baby, I'm just trying to get laid." Alfie disappeared into the bathroom with a devilish laugh. He wasn't going to change who he was just because she was pissed with him.
She set the plate aside and settled for the coffee instead. "This isn't doing it."
"You break my heart. Maybe later?" He winked as he came back out already dressed. She knew he had to go into work for an hour or so to check on Talia. He was going to take Addy with him because he didn't want be accused of dumping Addy. Quinn told him not to be so stupid, if Addy didn't want to go she was happy to have her stay. Kneeling on the bed he gave her a sweet kiss.
"Adelaide." He had called her several times before eventually knocking on Isla's door and finding Addy tucked up in bed watching some videos with Quinn's sister. "I've got to go see Talia, are you coming?"
"No thank you Daddy. We watching videos."
"What are you watching?"
"Silly Kittens."
"Okay. Quinn is just having a shower, then you need to get dressed okay?" He waited until Addy answered him and nodded at Isla. He noticed that she had only eaten half her breakfast and offered to take her plate. He reminded Addy that she hadn't had breakfast yet and to make sure she ate something. She wasn't particularly nice when she was hungry and was still on antibiotics and needed to eat when she took them.
Quinn was cleaning up Alfie's mess in the kitchen when Addy and Isla came out of the bedroom. She made Addy some normal pancakes and sat her up at the bench, Addy had no idea that her pancakes were different, she had been proud of her work and thought they were all eating the same thing and had Alfie cheekily reminded Quinn that perhaps she could force feed some to her sister for shits and giggles.
"Did you like the pancakes I made?" She asked Quinn.
"I did, thank you sweetheart, they were delicious."
Isla snorted. "You ate them?"
"Yes I did, Addy did a great job."
"I did, I tried hard, we made them from vegetables." She still didn't get the vegan thing. "I made bananas too with a knife. Daddy watched me."
"It was such a lovely thing to do Addy." Quinn patted her hand and glared at her sister. She'd just about reached her limit with Isla but this had been building for years.
"Thank you for trying Addy. You did a good job." Isla refused to acknowledge that Alfie had made it all happen and that annoyed Quinn, she could barely say his name.
"Addy and Alfie did a great job."
"Of course." She was so dismissive of him and she didn't understand why. She was starting to see why Alfie had been annoyed with her and she regretted taking Isla's version of events as gospel.
"What is your problem?" Quinn exploded. "He's trying which is more than I can say for you. He got up early and help make you god damn gluten free vegan pancakes for breakfast and you still aren't happy. Do you think he had to do that?"
"I didn't mean I didn't appreciate it; they just weren't great." She screwed up her nose and laughed a little, trying to make a joke out of it.
"Did you not like them?" Addy's lip quivered, she was devastated and Quinn was surprised by how that was making her feel, she hadn't really experienced this with Addy. She knew she didn't like it when Addy was sick or hurt but she'd never had someone be mean to her and make her feel bad before. "I'm sorry. I tried really hard."
"Thanks very much Isla." Quinn turned to Addy. "They were great Addy, I loved them and Daddy ate them too. We love that you wanted to make us all something special. You are such a sweetheart."
"Vegan can be hard to do; some people don't realise what it involves. I hope he didn't use butter?" Isla smiled sweetly. "And gluten is hidden in everything. I guess I will find out soon enough if there was gluten in it."
"I can't with you." Quinn actually started to cry and she hated herself for letting herself get sucked in again and treat Alfie like shit for this. "He fucking checked every god damn thing. He's not a fucking idiot. Why do you hate him?" Addy was a little shocked, she never heard Quinn get angry and it frightened her.
"Stop Quinn, I don't like it." Addy whined. "I call Alfie." It was like a knife to Quinn's heart.
"Quinn, don't be so dramatic." Isla rolled her eyes. "I said I appreciated it. They just weren't great, cooking gluten free and vegan is hard for beginners."
"Just stop. Stop." She fled the room, which upset Addy even more. She didn't know what to do so she cried too and ran after Quinn.
"Quinn, don't cry." Addy was stressed, she couldn't cope with Quinn's crying. "I call Alfie. I want Alfie."
That hurt Quinn, she hated that Addy was caught up in it all. She wished that she had gone with her Daddy now. "No, it's okay Addy. Let's not call Daddy. He's busy at work."
"Alfie will come home soon? I ask Alfie to come back. He will fix it."
"When Daddy gets home we will all go out somewhere nice." They loved to do something with Addy on the weekend if Alfie wasn't working before they had dinner with his family. Sometimes it might be a bike ride, a trip to the park, the aquarium, a museum or even just out for afternoon tea.
Isla was in cleaning up in the kitchen when Quinn came out. "I think you should go." She told her sister coldly. "If you can't respect me, or Alfie or his daughter in my house then you are not welcome here."
"Quinn, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you."
"Yes you did, you always do. I am never good enough for you, you are never happy for me. I don't know what you are trying to do here, do you want me to be as bitter and lonely and miserable as you? You know what, I am not, I am happy, I love my life with Alfie and Addy and I don't give a fuck if you like that or not."
"It's got nothing to do with me not wanting you to be happy."
Quinn just ignored her. "What hurts the most is you upset Addy… she is four." She waved her hands in the direction of the bedroom, Addy was sitting up on the bed listening to music. "… she was so excited last night to make you breakfast, she got her Dad up early, which he did without complaint to do something nice for you because Addy wanted to make you happy and you just crushed her. Do you know how upset she is?"
"Not as much as you."
"Don't you dare. Don't you dare tell me that she is not upset. You've got no idea." Quinn knew how stressed Addy was the moment she asked for Alfie and it took her a lot of cajoling to get her to stay in the room so Quinn could talk to her sister without Addy hearing anymore of it, she didn't want Quinn to go or cry anymore. "She wants to call him to come home. She gets anxious and it's your fault."
"She's a kid and you are over reacting."
"And you are a bitch. I don't need this; I don't want you around Addy." Quinn spat at her. "Or Alfie. And right now, I can't stand to look at you."
Quinn quickly got Addy dressed and took her down to the park. She needed to get out of the house. Addy had heard enough, it upset Quinn when Addy called her Dad Alfie because she knew what that meant and she felt like it was her fault. There was no way Alfie would blame her for what she had been dragged into but that didn't make her feel any better. Quinn knew how much he hated it when Addy got anxious, it could knock her around for days.
She spied Alfie jogging towards them, Quinn had let him know that she had taken Addy out and he just assumed it was the three of them so was a little surprised that it was only Quinn and Addy at the park. "Hey pretty lady, can I have your number?" He dropped a kiss on Quinn's head.
"Yes, yes you can."
"Oh yay. It's my lucky day." He took over pushing Addy on the swing. Quinn asked him about Talia just so that he didn't ask about her morning. He knew her well enough to tell she was upset but right now she wasn't talking about it.
"Do you mind if I head back? You can stay here with Addy for a bit, she's having fun."
Alfie reached for her hand. "Hey, what's up?"
"Nothing, Isla is just packing ready to leave for Mom and Dad's."
He tugged on her hand again and pulled her close. Placing a sweet little kiss on her lips he noted that she just sighed a little. "I love you." He watched her go and something about the way she walked bothered him.
He had every right to be worried especially when Addy told him that Quinn cried and sad bad words to Isla. More precisely she said 'Pops' bad word. "Why?"
"She didn't like my pancakes. Quinn was angry, she cried. I tried to make her happy again Alfie." He was furious. He didn't need to know the whole story, finding out that Quinn was crying was enough for him. She had done nothing but try to keep the peace and keep her sister happy and it obviously wasn't good enough for Isla. He didn't really care that she didn't like him, it didn't make a scrap of difference to him but upsetting Quinn and Addy was way too far. He didn't miss that Addy called him Alfie either.
"I thought our pancakes were the best. Quinn loved them; she didn't want to share them with me she loved them so much."
"Really?"
"Yep, they were delicious."
Addy wanted to go home. "Alfie, we go see Quinn? She's very sad. We need to fix her."
"Thank you for looking after Quinn for me." Alfie swung her up onto his shoulders. "Let's go."
"He's obviously just looking for a mother for his kid." Alfie could hear Isla before they even got in the apartment.
"Fuck you." Quinn was angry. "Fuck you. You've got no idea. You've been here three fucking days and you've made up your mind. What the fuck would you know about me or my relationship with Alfie? You don't know me; you are never fucking here and when you are you insist on telling me all the things that I am doing wrong. Get the fuck out of our house."
"Are you seriously telling me you are okay with being put last? Behind his daughter, his family, his job? He will always pander to her and you are too."
"I can't with you. How dare you question how we raise Addy? She is four and she is his daughter and I will help Alfie raise her and love her and protect her every single god damn day from people like you." Quinn was hysterical and Alfie literally ran the last few steps.
"Get out." Alfie's sudden appearance made Isla jump. "Get out. You can leave now. You've upset Quinn and that pisses me off. I don't care if you don't like me, but treat your sister with the same level of respect that she gives you." He would always stand up for those that he loved, he'd done it his whole life. "You've done nothing but make her feel like she is not good enough and let me tell you something, she is ten times the person you are. It takes an amazing person to come into the life of a little girl, who by the way had been through more than you could ever imagine and make her feel special and loved and safe, I honestly don't think you would stand a snowballs chance in hell of being half as amazing as your sister is. How dare you come into our house and act like you know better and question our relationship. I love your sister, that should be enough for you."
"It's not your house Alfie."
"I feel sorry for you." He cut her with her eyes and Isla shrunk away from him a little, he was imposing when he was angry. "I feel sorry for you that you are that lonely and bitter that you can't stand to see your only sister happy. I feel sorry for you that you can't see the love in this house because I can tell you it's pretty fucking incredible. I just feel sorry for you to be honest."
"Alfie." Addy was clinging to his leg, she hated this and it was killing Alfie listening to her desperation. "Alfie, pick me up."
He put his hand on Addy's head to try and comfort her. "Now, you have completely broken your sister's heart and I won't let you continue to do that and you are upsetting Addy. So leave. Now." He held the door open for her. "If you've forgotten anything we will send it to your parent's house. You are welcome back here anytime you decide to treat your sister with the respect she's earned and deserves."
By the time Alfie shut the door Addy was hysterical. "Adelaide, it's okay baby." He knelt down and hugged her. "Let's go give Quinn one of your hugs."
She was just standing there, utterly distraught and Addy ran to her as Quinn sat down heavily on the couch and wrapped her up in her arms and buried her head into his little girls neck, it would be sweet if it wasn't so devastating. Alfie hated seeing them both in tears. "This is killing me." He muttered angrily. He knew they had a strained relationship but he didn't expect it to be quite so bad.
"It's okay Addy." Quinn stroked her hair back from her forehead. "Please don't cry sweetheart, Daddy and I don't like that."
"You know that's bullshit right?" Alfie was worried that Quinn would start to worry about what Isla accused him of. He sat on the coffee table in front of them both and rested his hands on her knees. "You are not the bottom of my list, not by a long shot."
"I know. She's just a screwed up old hag." Quinn sobbed. "I'm sorry I let her get to me."
"It's okay Darlin'."
"It just hurts you know."
"Yeah I do. But hey, you and me, we are okay."
Quinn sighed and looked at him, her eyes were red rimmed and puffy from crying. "You know what really hurt; when she upset Addy. Alfie, that hurt so much. All you did was try and do something nice for her and she just kept shitting on you and on Addy and I hated it. It made me so angry."
"Quinn." Alfie waited until Quinn looked at him. "The only reason I was playing nice was to make you happy, not Isla. I don't care Quinn, I care about you, I care about Addy. Right now that's all that matters to me. You are my two favourite girls in the whole world."
"I was stupid to think this time would be any different."
Alfie ran his hand down her cheek and under her chin, Addy was hanging around her neck. "Not stupid, that's family. Darlin', I love you, probably more than yesterday to be honest and I'll love you more tomorrow because that's the way it is." The only thing he liked about this whole debacle was the fact that Addy was clinging to Quinn, usually when she was upset she gravitated towards Alfie for comfort.
"Me too?" Addy didn't want to miss out on the love.
"Yes Adelaide, you too. Daddy and Quinn love you more and more every day." He jumped up and pulled them both up off the couch. "Right, time for a great big hug. All together. My two favourite girls in the whole wide world. And ice-cream….who's up for Ice-cream?"
"Me." Both of them cheered, Addy was obviously a lot more enthusiastic about it than Quinn was but she appreciated that he was trying to move on. It wasn't exactly Ice-cream weather but Addy loved it any time of the year.
Quinn bailed on dinner; she just didn't think she could cope with the happy family scene tonight. Addy begged her to come but it was too much for her and they promised to come back after dinner and stay another night. "I can sleep in your bed again to cuddle you? That will make you feel better."
"It's okay Sweetheart, as long as you are both here I will be okay. You can sleep in your bed and Daddy will look after me."
"Will you read me a story?"
"Of course I will, I'll read you two if you want." Quinn beckoned her in for kiss. "I love you so much Adelaide. You and your Daddy stole my heart."
"I didn't mean it." She looked worried and that at least made Quinn smile.
"Oh Adelaide, having your heart stolen by you and your Daddy is the best feeling in the world."
Alfie had barely got through the door when Lola was onto him. She'd already talked to him yesterday and knew it wasn't going well. "Where is Quinn?" She'd kill Alfie if he'd been an asshole.
"At home, she's had a big few days."
"Is her sister still in town, you should have bought her."
"Isla doesn't like Daddy, they sweared." Addy helpfully bought the shit fight to dinner. Now that things had calmed down Addy was more than happy to share the drama; she did love a good dramatic act. "Quinn said Pops bad word at Isla….like a lot. Daddy did too. Lots and lots and lots."
"Thank you Adelaide. You can go now, go find Sam and Poppy." He pushed her towards the lounge room where the kids were playing. She had been helpful enough already. They had spent the afternoon snuggling up with each other and watching movies after they had let Addy ride her bike down to get an ice-cream. It wasn't her best skill and she was slow enough that they could walk along behind her. Several times Alfie had to catch her as she started to wobble to keep her from tumbling off but she was determined to do it herself.
"What happened?"
"She just doesn't approve of her sister's lifestyle choices."
"What does that mean?" Mae wanted to know. Suddenly he felt like he was in the middle of a Spanish inquisition. All he really wanted was a beer and to go top up his testosterone with Riley, George and Colt. Hell, he'd even take Sam and Billy at this stage. He was done with females for the moment.
"Well me and… she's a vegan."
"Oh…" Mae nodded. "Explains a lot. So she's a nut-job?"
"Yep. A gluten intolerant vegan I might add. Addy and I made these crappy cardboard tasting vegan pancakes this morning and then she left."
"That bad?"
"Well they were vegan and gluten free, what do you think? They were fucking terrible. It wasn't pretty. Quinn just wanted a bit of time to herself. She's okay, Addy and I are going back after dinner and will stay there tonight."
"Next time she's in town, bring her along. We'll make you seem like Jesus Christ re-incarnated." Mae did love a good evil plot.
"Yeah right, she already thinks I'm a dick, having you all let loose on her would make her take out a restraining order on Quinn's behalf. Pops would probably handcuff her to the table and force feed her a juicy steak and a piece of bread."
"How cool would that be?" Iris was all for it.
"You know, you mob actually seem normal compared to her. I can't see her coming back anytime soon."
"I think we just got a backhanded compliment." Lola was amused. She did know how much Alfie wanted Quinn's sister to like him and Addy. He was so in love with Quinn and he'd been nervous meeting her parents and they had been great. Isla was his last hurdle and it had gone to shit.
"Can we drop it? Addy was upset about it and I don't want her to hear it all again." Alfie was glad Quinn wasn't here. "It's between Quinn and her sister."
Quinn was curled up on the couch watching some mindless TV when they got home. She took Addy to bed like she promised and read her a story while Alfie stretched out on the couch and closed his eyes. He was tired, it had been exhausting and Addy hadn't exactly been the best bed partner last night and he was still catching up from the few nights he dealt with Addy being sick. It was nice to have the place to themselves again and spend some time alone though and he couldn't wait for her to get Addy to sleep and come cuddle up with him.
Coming back in she stretched out in front of him and appreciated Alfie held her tight. "How was dinner?"
"Relatively quiet. Pops told me off."
"Why?"
"Because I left my 'better bit' at home alone." Alfie laughed. "I told you he loves you more than me."
"He's so sweet."
"Yep. Do you want to talk?"
"No, not right now." She kissed his forearm which was resting under her cheek. It was a soft little kiss followed by a small lick, she nipped his skin and sighed when he ran a hand up her leg under her dress. "I want some love."
Alfie kissed her neck while his hand roamed over her hip and she moved her legs, rolling forward a little giving him a little more room to move. "Really?" Quinn just relaxed and he did all the work. His breath was hot on her neck. "I love you baby."
"Alfie." She made it quite clear what she wanted and they ended up on the floor and he made her feel loved and adored. They didn't do this a lot because of the fear that Addy would appear from nowhere but they got carried away in the moment.
"Nothing's changed Darlin', nothing. You are my world and I am happy with you in my life." He made her look at him. "And I didn't go looking for a Mum for Addy, I just wanted someone to love me."
"I know." Quinn kissed him softly. "And you found her."
"Please don't worry and I know what that was about…" he was referring to the sex they'd just had. "…you wanted to feel loved by me and you are. I will do anything to show you how much, anything." She cried on his shoulder. It had hurt her; the whole weekend had been a slap in the face and he hated that. "My sweet sweet Darlin'."
"I really wanted it to go well, I know we are not that close but I really thought now that we are older, you know we could get along." She sobbed. "I look at you and Lola and Mae and Bug and I am jealous. I wanted that too."
"But look what we went through to get that, I don't want that for you. I'm jealous of you too."
"Why?'
"Because you have a Mom and a Dad who love you and you can pick up the phone and call them or go see them. I wish I had that. I get the good sisters; you get the alive parents." He kissed her shoulder and lingered for just a moment as the feeling of despair passed through him.
"Oh Alfie, I'm sorry."
"It is what it is." He never quite knew when that hopeless feeling would come over him. "We've both got a little bit of shit to deal with."
"A bitch of a sister is nothing is it?"
"Well it is to you. Just remember one thing. I'm in love with you, not your sister." He squeezed her around the waist. "And you also have this four year old bucket of sunshine who thinks you walk on water."
"Good to know." She smiled just a little. "Hey Alfie?"
"Yep?"
"Those pancakes were shit."
"They were weren't they." He screwed up his nose. "You know Addy dobbed on you tonight. She told them that you said Pops bad word…'a lot.' You are Pops hero."
"I did. She deserved it."
"That she did. Now, my delicate male ego was bruised. You need to fix it."
"Let me guess, first woman not throwing herself at you?"
"You didn't either."
"I cooked you breakfast, I didn't do it because I was being a cheap date."
He pushed her up off his lap and held out his hand so that Quinn could pull him up off the floor. "You were desperate to get your hands on my package?"
"Not as desperate as I am right now." Quinn smiled sweetly as he dragged her into the shower. They certainly made up for having the cockblocker in bed with them last night.
When they made it into bed Quinn got all emotional again when Alfie reminded her how proud he was of her, that she stood up for herself and Addy and that's what a good Mumma does. "I loved your Mumma bear routine. You've got no idea how that felt watching that."
"You know I love Addy right?"
"I do."
"Alfie, I would do anything for her and I can tell you, when I felt like Isla was having a go at her, and Addy was getting upset I can't explain it. This…." She couldn't find the words. "…something inside me kicked in. I felt so hurt and protective of her. She was so upset that Isla didn't like her breakfast in bed it broke my heart and I was so angry, I wanted to scratch Isla's eyes out. Is that it? Is that what you feel? I know I won't feel what you feel with regards to Addy but it was a little bit overwhelming and I kinda liked it. Is that weird?"
"No, not at all. That makes me feel pretty good."
"But it was such a fucked day."
"Yeah it was, but not that part. When I first met Addy she was all I thought about but I knew that I needed to eventually make a better life for us and then I met you and you have been amazing, getting to know you, falling in love with you has been better than I ever hoped and part of that has been watching you and Addy fall in love too."
"It was so easy. Today felt instinctive, I didn't even have to think about it. I wanted and needed to protect her."
"You are becoming a beautiful Mumma bear."
"I've got a good Daddy to teach me."
"Trust me, we are learning this thing together." He kissed her nose. "Nothing hurts like seeing your baby hurting though does it?"
"No. It's a bit scary. I am glad I am in this with you, I'm glad you had my back, I've never had that before. I've always just put up with it from Isla but you made me feel like I didn't have to anymore. So thank you. Thank you for believing in me and trusting me with the most precious thing in the world to you and for loving me. And I am sorry I let it get to me, and that I took it out on you. You were just being you and trying and I let her control me, like she always has but enough, I've had enough, I don't need her validation anymore because I have you and I love that more than anything, you make me happy."
"Fuck Quinn, I love you. I want this every day."
"What?"
"You, I want you every day, in our life every day, in our home."
"I am."
"No, I want you to live with us. With Addy and I." Alfie held her tight. He'd never lived with a girlfriend before, not officially but it was time. "And Pops of course."
