No Pairing
New Orleans, Louisiana
The Compound, French Quarter
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Davina groaned and rolled over before remembering Hayley was in her bed.
Hayley smiled, "Sorry, I hope I didn't snore."
Davina blinked, "I have no clue. I slept...I guess like I did when I was dead! Jeez, what a night. How are you doing?"
Hayley winced, "Okay. I'm sure your dad will be able to work everything out fast. I know Jack needs to get back to Mary. She really depends on him now."
"Let's go eat. I'm starving. My parents usually make a big breakfast on weekends. It's this thing my Uncle Elijah does in Mystic Falls. You hungry?" Davina asked.
"Starving!" Hayley said rolling out of bed. She was wearing Davina's shorts and a t-shirt. She threw on a sweatshirt Davina lent her and then headed downstairs after using the bathroom.
Jackson and Tommy were already in the sunny kitchen eating waffles with strawberries and powered sugar on them.
"It's real maple syrup," Jackson said with his mouth full. His plate was loaded, as was Tommy's.
Rebekah was sitting at the table drinking orange juice and eating fruit as Marcel worked the waffle iron.
"What?" Hayley squirted. He repeated himself and she rolled her eyes. He was acting like he never got fed at home.
Marcel beamed to see his daughter and her friend, "D.! Hayley! Finally, what will it be? Belgium waffles? Pancakes? Beignets? Take your pick. Rebekah is making me juice all this fruit..."
Davina smiled, "Dad, can I have one of everything?"
"Of course, baby girl! Hayley, you two? Boys, more?" Marcel asked with enthusiasm. He seemed to be having the time of his life, but Hayley caught a worried glance between him and Rebekah.
"Something is wrong, isn't it?" Hayley asked in a dry voice.
Tommy looked up in surprise, "What do you mean?"
Rebekah shifted uncomfortably, "Why don't we talk about it after breakfast?"
Jackson looked at Hayley and swallowed, "Please, ma'am, if there is something we should know, just tell us."
Marcel turned off the stove and leaned against the counter with his eyes closed a moment. He pinched the bridge of his nose and exhaled.
"Ah, I don't know how to say this, but Hayley, Aiden, and Tom need to stay here in the city with us. Jack, you need to go back with Ollie and your grandmother. I'm sorry. If we get caught not honoring the guardianship, then they could all end up in foster care," Marcel said in an even voice.
Hayley breathed out, "But Mary? She's been taking care of Aiden and Tommy since the Crescent curse ended...and me and Jack..."
Rebekah put a hand over Hayley's hand, "Marcel spoke to Mary last night. She is going to bring Aiden and pick up Jackson. I am so sorry, but we will take good care of you until we can work this out."
Hayley fumed and broke off the contact by getting up suddenly, "But I want to go home. I want to be with Jack! Goddammit, this is all my fault!" Hayley got up and burst out the kitchen door into the city. Jackson wasted no time going after her.
Davina frowned, "Tommy, are you okay staying here?"
"Yeah, I mean, yes, ma'am. If y'all don't mind us, as long as I am with my brother, I will try not to cause you not trouble. God's honest truth," Tommy promised.
Marcel said down in the seat vacated by Jackson, "Hey, Tom, we are real happy to have you guys here. Davina knows this, this house is plenty big and we will do our best by you. We don't ever want you to feel like a burden, ever."
Tommy nodded, "Thank you, sir. I appreciate it. It's awfully nice of you. So my brother is on his way?"
"Yes, Mary said before noon," Marcel assured him.
Davina smiled at Tommy and then Marcel and Rebekah, "Mom, Dad, you always did want a bunch of kids, so...here you go."
Rebekah nodded and gazed at Marcel, "That we did, sweetheart. And now, we get to go shopping today!"
Marcel acted like he was having a heart attack, Rebekah told Tommy, "Ignore him! Every time he fusses about me shopping, I tend to spend twice as much money. We will have to get you boys some more boyish furniture and things like alarm clocks...Marcel, they should probably have a little tv for their bedroom. Tommy, do you have a laptop?"
Tommy shook his head, "We have a generator only at the Bayou so we don't run a whole lot of electronics there, ma'am."
Hayley and Jackson came back in the kitchen door holding hand, Hayley whispered, "Sorry about that."
Rebekah got up and hugged her, "It will all work out, dear. You can still see each other each day at school and we'll work something out for weekends, okay?"
Hayley smiled through a fresh batch of tears and said firmly, "Yes, we will be fine. I didn't mean to seem ungrateful. Thank you for doing this. We know you don't have to."
Marcel put a hand on her shoulder, "Honey, it's okay. We want to. Don't forget that we are still working on those Moonlight rings. As the so-called King of this city, I am not just for the vampires, witches, or humans...the wolves are part of this city, too. Come on, guys, let's finish eating."
An hour later, Mary and Aiden drove up to the Compound. Mary's hands were aching and Aiden had to drive, even though he did not have a license. Ollie said he didn't want to come. Jackson brought in the bags that he and Mary had hastily packed. There wasn't much here.
Mary thanked Marcel and Rebekah, "We are in your debt. You know our young wolves cannot go back into the system. Thank you for doing this. It won't be easy, but we will make do. Jack say your goodbyes." Mary kissed Hayley and stepped aside to give her and Jackson a moment. She knew they would see each other at school, but she would not see the boys.
"Tommy, come say goodbye," Mary said roughly.
Tommy hugged Mary and found himself dissolving into tears, she hushed him, "You'll be with your brother. He'll look after you. I love you, boy. My sweet, sweet boy."
"I shoulda been home with ya last night, Gram," Tommy said guiltily.
"No, Tom. You need to live your life. I spent mine living in a swamp, but that don't mean you boys have to. Aiden, I already barked your ear off, but you are not to be with Josh constantly. Keep to your studies," Mary hugged Aiden firmly. "Now go, I want to talk to Mr. Gerard."
"Don't worry, Mary. We won't let Josh and Aiden run off together. The boys education comes first. Plus, they are just a phone call away," Marcel commented.
"I know, but it will be different. Maybe good for them to see the city and how the other side lives. You know, Marcel, just like young vamps, young wolves can be wild and fierce. They need a hard hand on their backside often to learn how to mind. Promise me you won't hesitate to whup them or set them straight when they get outta line, your missus, too. Spoiling them ain't gonna do them no favors," Mary lectured.
"Yes, ma'am. You sound like my Uncle Elijah. We will discipline them when they need it and give them all the love we can. Our lawyers will see what they can do in the meantime," Marcel promised.
Mary gripped his strong brown hands with her twisting, wrinkled ones, but Marcel still felt strength in them.
"Thank you. Come on, Jack. We got a ways back. You're driving," Mary informed him.
"Okay, Gram. Love you guys," Jackson said hugging Aiden and Tommy as they came back into the entryway. Hayley hung back in the courtyard. She could not say goodbye.
Rebekah went to round up the kids to take them shopping while Marcel got some work done at home.
"I think I'm just going to stay here," Hayley faltered trying to avoid crying again.
"Nonsense. You are not going to wallow in self-pity when we can go out and spend a lot of money amusing ourselves. Now, this house is quite large enough for you all to choose a bedroom of your own. Why don't you go pick one so I can determine what we need?" Rebekah insisted.
"If you insist," Hayley monotoned heading upstairs to pick a bedroom.
"You'll feel better after we go shoe shopping! I promise," Rebekah called after her.
Davina beamed with approval, "Good job, Mom. See? You are good at this. I kind of feel like I have a sister and two brothers now."
Marcel came into the room behind them and draped his arms around them, "You do, young lady. They are sweet kids. D., I am really proud of you for being so generous. You know, it's not always easy to share the attention. I don't want to mention a certain person but we spent decades bickering..."
"Kol," Davina said with her eyebrows raised. "You still sort of bicker with him."
Rebekah guffawed, "Oh, they get along brilliantly now. You should have seen them in the 1840s...they were pushing each other out of windows and fist fighting in the middle of the street. It was lovely. I do not see Davina and Hayley doing that, thank goodness."
"Well, it's probably different for a witch and a wolf. You know, two vampires can get a little moody and emotional about things. I'm not defending myself, but Kol loved to set me up to get in trouble," Marcel explained.
Davina shook her head, "It sounds like you are making excuses for yourself. I better see how Hayley is doing. Ten minutes, Mom?"
"Meet you in the car, darling," Rebekah said smirking at Marcel.
When Davina left, she said, "She figured you two out."
"Hey, Kol and I are good now. We've grown up and put the past in the past. Now that we have Davina, I guess I can see that maybe I wasn't always as innocent as I pretended to be. But those days of us fighting and getting into trouble are over. Now, we have to be examples for the younger kids. Speaking of...Josh, about time!" Marcel said smiling at the younger vampire.
"Hey Marcel, Rebekah...Wow, heavy news. So, how's everyone doing?" Josh asked casually. It was clear he was looking around for Aiden.
Marcel said, "Rebekah, you take the kids and go. Have fun, babe. I am going to have a talk with Josh."
"Fine. Good luck, Josh. Marcel is in lecture mode," Rebekah laughed, grabbed her purse and left.
"Uh-oh, who is getting lectured? I hope not me," Josh stated lightly. Marcel began to walk to his study. He had some paperwork he wanted to share with Josh.
"No, buddy. I just think we need to sit down and have a talk about things with Aiden while he is living here. I don't want there to be any confusion," Marcel said firmly.
"Of course. What do you mean?" Josh asked politely. Marcel let Josh enter the wood paneled room that was lined with book shelves first. Marcel sat behind his desk and began to flip through files.
"First of all, Aiden is now officially my ward. I will treat him, and Tom and Hayley, just as I do, Davina. He is a child," Marcel started.
"Okay, I sort of thought it was just a formality, but that's fine," Josh said slowly.
"It may be temporary, Josh. But it also may not be. Mary, is still hanging on, but did you notice her gait? Her voice? I don't think she is doing well. I'm going to see if I can get a doctor I know out to the Bayou to look in on her," Marcel revealed.
"I don't know. I see her all the time so it's kind of hard to notice," Josh said chewing on his lip.
"Next, as a child, Aiden is going to have some boundaries, school first, reasonable curfew, going to bed at a decent hour and all that," Marcel mentioned as he leaned back in his rich, dark leather chair.
"Come on, Marcel. He's almost 18. Does he really need a freaking bed time? That's kind of insulting," Josh scoffed. He crossed his legs and glanced behind him at the doorway. Aiden was mature beyond his years. He certainly didn't need Marcel to tell him what to do.
"Buddy, this is the kind of thing I want to clear up. I don't want you undermining mine and Rebekah's authority. This is the first day with these kids. I want to make it clear that we care and will do what is best for them. Hell, the number of times you have been blowing off your duties and late these last few weeks makes me thing that you need some stricter limits yourself," Marcel warned.
Josh blew up, "Come on, Marcel. Don't make this about me. What are you afraid of here? That I'm going to steal Aiden away to my apartment for hot sex while he's supposed to be at school. You know we haven't taken our relationship that far. When he's of age and ready, it can be physical, right now, it's just emotional. That is the truth." Josh uncrossed his legs and crossed his arms.
"I'm proud of you, Josh. I was not afraid that you would 'steal him away.' But I am afraid that his proximity will be a distraction to both of you. Like I said, this could be a more permanent situation. This kids need to focus on their education and futures. Unlike us, they are not immortal. They don't have all the time in the world. I want them to make the best of this opportunity," Marcel said passionately.
"I get it, man. I guess I was being a little selfish with Aiden, but you are right. This is a time for him to really figure out what he wants: a life in the Bayou with his pack...or a life in the city with me," Josh determined.
"Exactly. Now, let's go over the plans for the expansion of the faction council. I made some notes, but I am interested to hear your ideas. You know, if I end up moving back to Mystic Falls, I am going to need someone solid in charge," Marcel teased.
"I guess that leaves me by default," Josh replied.
"No, but it is going to leave you with a sore ass if you don't have a little more confidence in yourself and focus. Now, sit down and let's get to work," Marcel grinned at his young friend.
"Do I have a choice?" Josh sighed looking towards the door.
"No, because you are not joining them for that shopping trip...Work, Josh," Marcel directed.
"Yeah, um, sure," Josh tried again.
"Fine, Josh, call Rebekah, you can meet up with them...," Marcel said with a wry smile.
"No, it's okay, Marcel. I want to help you," Josh lied badly.
"Joshua, get your butt up, call Rebekah and have some fun. She probably needs you to carry the bags. And honestly, it would probably mean a lot to Aiden," Marcel pushed.
"No, really, Marcel," Josh argued.
Marcel plucked the large wooden ruler out of the cup holder and wagged it at Josh.
"That's it, buddy," Marcel thundered, "Go out and have fun or you're really going to get it. No lie."
Josh made a horrified face. He knew Marcel was joking, but that ruler was no joke.
"Going. Sorry, Marcel. Love you. Thanks, bye," Josh said walking out backwards. He dialed Rebekah in the hallway and meet up with her and the kids on Canal Street.
That evening, Marcel was tired from overworking. Rebekah found him in their bedroom undressing.
"Hey, how'd it go?" he asked gently.
Rebekah smiled, "Great. I had to force those kids to accept anything, Marcel. They are so unselfish and down to earth. They kept saying they didn't need new socks and underwear. Poor Tommy didn't even want to let me get him new shoes when the ones he have now look like they were Mary's late husbands hand-me-down boots."
Marcel smirked, "But you wore them down...I know you."
"Of course, I did. That's my job. Davina was a big help, too. She was very sweet. Hayley was crying, I suppose, over Jackson and she got her all settled. Marcel, is it awful if I already feel like I'm getting attached to them?" Rebekah said softly as she plopped on the bed.
"Not at all. How was Josh? Was he all over Aiden?" Marcel prodded.
"A little. But I guess in a cute way. Aiden is mature and didn't let Josh hang over him. By the way, Josh is still here...We ate out, but he is helping the boys put their new clothes away. I ordered a bunch of stuff at the department store that should be here tomorrow. It's almost as if those kids were living in the 1800s again in the Bayou, or worse," Rebekah complained.
"We need to set some ground rules for everyone. I don't think Josh should be here past 8 or 9pm. Bed around 10ish. Shower every day, brush teeth, keep your room clean, do your homework first before other stuff...What am I missing?" Marcel said sitting down beside her. He pushed aside a stack of files he had been reading in bed.
"Ask for permission before leaving...No drinking, drugs, smoking, cursing, or anything dangerous. Tell us the truth...Oh, I bought them new cell phones," Rebekah said.
"You're good at this," Marcel smiled. He was proud of Rebekah.
"Oh, I'm good at other things, too. Let me know you," Rebekah said coyly.
The door burst open, it was only their vampire speed that saved Davina from seeing her parent intwined. "Mom! We need more towels."
"Oh, they are in the basket. Hang on," Rebekah said getting up.
"Knock, please," Marcel said with a smile.
"Lock your door, please," Davina sassed.
"Watch it, little lady. I am not too tired to chase you down the hallway to whack you with a file folder," Marcel quipped.
"Oh, no, not the file folder...," Davina replied laughing.
Rebekah headed out to look for the basket of clean towels.
"How was today?" Marcel said on a serious note.
"I felt a little guilty. The wolf kids...just are so unspoiled and are not materialistic, it's amazing. Not like the snobs at my old school." Davina admitted.
"Are you going to miss any of the kids there?" Marcel wondered.
"Nope. I have Kaleb at my new...Oh shit, I forgot to call Kaleb. Bye, Dad," Davina said pulling out her phone.
"Language! D." Marcel said as he leaned back on the bed.
Rebekah came back carrying the remnants of the clean clothes.
"Hey, until we know what is going on, let's keep this quiet with the family. They really don't need to know the details yet, do they?" Rebekah pressed.
"No, why?" Marcel asked.
"I just don't want to explained everything to everyone if the kids are just going to go back to the Bayou.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Sunday was a productive day. All three kids got new tvs, computers, and some bit items like DVDs, computers, and more clothes. Rebekah had got them new backpacks and outfits for school as their old clothes were threadbare.
Kaleb and Josh came over to hang out. Marcel had not gotten a clear answer from the lawyers. yet. Marcel and Rebekah went over the house rules, but because all three newcomers seemed to gloss over any negative consequences.
Monday, January 31, 2011
The four teens were now riding the bus together which was nice for Davina. The school day was uneventful except that Ollie seemed depressed and said very little. Jackson confronted him in private and told him again that the other kids had not abandoned them.
"I know that, man," Ollie growled.
When the four teens got home, they discovered that Davina and Rebekah were to fly to Mystic Falls to help with a big spell.
Marcel would be a single dad, but Rebekah was still he would manage. After all, what could go wrong?