"It's A Boy"
Note: Cori's mother comes over to visit with her daughter and grandson. Fergus spies an unwelcome visitor approaching his house while working outside, and he rushes to intercept. There is a reason why he's so reserved! Trigger warning for mention of past abuse.
"Chapter 3: Standing His Ground"
1501
It hardly surprised Fergus when he opened his front door to head out for work, only to find his mother-in-law standing just outside with one fist raised to knock. He often wished she wouldn't drop by unannounced. It used to bother him a lot more early on, because he was not a man who liked unexpected visitors, but he had never confronted her about it and was used to it by now. She was a dear lady, and had always been very kind to him, so he kept his silence on the matter.
"Oh!" She pulled back her hand, then chuckled apologetically. "Good morning. I was hoping to speak with my daughter and visit with the baby before I go home to rest for the day."
From inside came the irritated squawk of a very bored Fairy infant.
"Morning," Fergus gave a rare smile and stood aside to let her in. "She's inside, trying to keep Himself entertained. Now that he's crawling, he's getting into everything."
Cori's voice reached them from the kitchen. "No-no, darling, that's hot."
This was immediately followed by the ear-splitting wail of a baby who had not gotten his way.
Fergus hunched his shoulders and made a slight face, and when his mother-in-law giggled and gave a muttered 'oh my', he nodded his head. "He's fascinated by the fireplace. And on that note, Mother, I bid you good day."
The Tooth Fairy nodded back, watching her son-in-law leave (or flee) the house to begin his work day. Always so stiff and reserved...but thank Titania he's nothing like his father!
Why she thought of Fergus's father at that moment, she had no idea, but the day's events would leave her wondering if she had been given a flash of foresight.
Fergus, who was a tanner by trade, did his work far from his home to keep the unpleasantness away from his wife and son. Cleaning and preparing hides to make leather was a smelly job, but it put food on the table, and he considered it to be an honest living. And, thankfully, Fairy soap was enhanced with magic to make it more effective than anything the humans of this era were using. After a dip in the nearby stream and a change of clothing, he came home every night smelling faintly of sandalwood. And every night, his beautiful wife was there to greet him.
From where he worked, Fergus could see his small cottage in the distance, but only because he knew what to look for. The home he shared with his wife and baby had been built into a hillside, and if it wasn't for the smoke that billowed up from the concealed chimney, even he would have had trouble spotting it immediately. He glanced in that direction for a moment as he scraped the fur from a deer skin.
He really didn't know what Cori saw in him. When he first met her, he thought she was the most beautiful creature on two wings, but he had given her no indication that he was interested. And why should she have given him the time of day? He wasn't nice. He wasn't friendly. He loathed society, and spent most of his time by himself. So, it came as quite a surprise when she marched right up to him ten years ago and introduced herself.
Fergus knew who she was, of course. The Tooth Fairy bloodline was well known, and this was the daughter of the current Tooth Fairy, but she had introduced herself as 'Cori'. And she had never told him why she approached him that day, nor had he asked her. He was simply glad that she had.
And now, ten years later, they were married and had a child. They were happy...mostly. But there were little things that made him, in his eyes, 'defective'. Nearly all Fairies enjoyed having their wings touched, as long as it was by someone they loved and trusted. It was soothing, in a way, and could sometimes promote better sleep. He didn't like having his wings touched. At all. Not even by Cori. And she respected his wishes and avoided them.
One of his father's favorite punishments when he was young was to grab a wing and twist, and such a thing would cause agonizing pain to any Fairy, even if the person doing the twisting stopped before the point of causing physical damage, which his father usually did. Usually. Fergus had learned very early on that if he gave in to tears, whether they were tears of the physical or the emotional, the damage would be much more severe. As such, he had trained himself to be as unemotional as possible, to the point where he now had trouble showing emotions even when he wanted to.
Cori had reached him. For whatever reason, she had approached him and persisted until she had gotten to know him, and for that he would always be grateful.
Still...
Sometimes there were nights when he would get caught up in staring at the glowing coals of the fire, and she would have to call his name a few times before he would hear it and respond. There were nights when he would sit bolt-upright in a cold sweat, with no memory of what he had dreamt about, and she would reach out in her sleep and pat his arm.
There were times when he would get blindingly angry for seemingly no reason at all, and these were the times when he got very still and silent. When this happened, it was always brought on by the smell of pipe tobacco and liquor. For this reason, he avoided the taverns at all costs, but all it took was passing someone on the street and catching a whiff of where they had been. And his mind would call up the image of a huge, drunken Fairy who smoked a pipe and beat his son just because he could.
The man who made his son sleep in the stable, because that was where 'animals' belonged.
The man with a heart of stone.
His father.
Fergus hadn't seen his father in fifteen years, and he didn't care if he never saw him again. So, when he saw a familiar shape flying in the direction of his house, Fergus dropped the skin he was cleaning and stood rooted to the spot in disbelief. How did he find out where I live?
Then he was winging it back to his house, desperate to keep his father from darkening his doorstep and entering his family's life.
Fergus swerved in front of his father in mid-air, holding up his hands in a motion that clearly meant 'stop'. And, miraculously, his father did. "That's as far as you go, Brandel."
Aside from the large red wings they both possessed, there were almost no similarities between father and son. Fergus was large and stocky, but most of his bulk was in his width; he topped out at six feet tall. Brandel was six-foot-seven, and while he had put on a lot of weight, particularly around the middle, he was still just as muscular as ever, and his green eyes were as cold as the North Pole. Brandel's hair had been shaved down to the pate, possibly because of lice, but this was only speculation on Fergus's part, for the man was certainly dirty. And he was definitely drunk.
"Is that any way to address your father, boy?" Brandel smiled as he hovered in front of Fergus.
"Why are you here?" Fergus asked coldly. Brandel looked beyond Fergus, looked down at the cottage, and Fergus moved to block his line of sight and glared; he was in no mood for this, nor would he ever be. "Answer me! Why are you here?"
"I'm here to see my grandson!" Brandel grinned in an effort to seem friendly. "I was offended that I never received a birth announcement, or even an invitation to my own son's wedding, but I'm willing to let that go..."
The implication was clear; he would only let it go if he was allowed to enter that house and little Roy's life. Fergus saw red. "No."
Brandel slowly tilted his head as if he couldn't believe his ears, and demanded, "No?"
Fergus's emotional training served him well as he confronted the man who had made his life a living hell. "You're not welcome here. Leave my property at once."
Brandel hovered closer.
Fergus did not back down.
"Who do you think you're talking to, boy?" Brandel sneered. "I am your father. I have the right to see my grandson."
"It's not a right, it's a privilege. One that I haven't extended, nor will I ever. You're not going anywhere near him. You're not going anywhere near my wife. You're not welcome in our lives. Now go!" Fergus fluttered forward a few feet, and his fists began to glow bright red. "Before I make you."
For a drunken man approaching old age, Brandel was fast. He zipped around Fergus and dove towards the cottage, with no solid plan other than to get his way and see his grandson, but Fergus was hot on his heels.
Fergus snagged the first thing he could reach, and found himself holding one of his father's wings.
Justice!
Or not. Brandel went rigid, as Fairies do when someone holds on to one of their wings, and when his wings stopped flapping he began to fall. His weight dragged Fergus down along with him.
As much as he hated him, Fergus didn't want to kill his father. A Fairy's life force was tied directly to his or her wings, and Fergus let go of Brandel before following him down as he spiraled towards the ground.
While Brandel knelt, panting, on the ground, Fergus landed between him and the cottage. "Doesn't feel too good, does it, you old bastard?"
The next thing Fergus knew, he was rolling in the dirt and wondering how his father could still move fast enough to catch him by surprise. The next few minutes were a blur, but at some point Cori and her mother had come out, and between the three of them they managed to put up enough of a fight to drive Brandel off.
Cori's mother shook her fist at Brandel's retreating form. "Mother Nature will hear about this! Just you wait!"
Cori took out a handkerchief to staunch Fergus's nosebleed. "Oh darling, your nose is broken...Come inside!"
"Wouldn't be the first time," Fergus mumbled, trying to combine the two images of Cori into one. Stupid double vision. Then he grabbed onto her shoulders. "Where's the baby?"
"He's inside, he's in his cradle," Cori put her arm around his waist and draped his arm over her shoulders. "Come inside. We need to set your broken nose."
Fergus raised an eyebrow, then did it himself. "No, we don't."
He went in with them anyway. The nosebleed stopped after a few minutes, and he sat by Roy's cradle and stared at his sleeping son. He reached down with the hand that wasn't bloody, and gently cupped the crown of his son's head in his palm. His boy...His sweet, innocent little boy. "He wanted to see the baby...but by Titania, I'll be damned if I ever let that happen."
Tooth Fairy watched as her daughter tended to Fergus's injuries, and her heart went out to him. "That coward won't be back today, but I'm not so sure about tonight. The two of you will come and live with me until we can settle the matter."
Cori blinked up at her mother. "And how will we do that?"
Tooth Fairy's smile was almost as chilling as Brandel's had been, but for a different reason. Brandel had threatened her family, and she meant to fight this. "I will inform Mother Nature. A threat to any member of the Council is a very serious thing indeed. And this baby is a future member of the Council."
"No," Fergus shook his head. "I won't be driven from my home. If he comes tonight, or any other night, I'll be ready."
Tooth Fairy approached, and sat down at the other side of the cradle. "What is more important, Fergus? Your pride, or your son?"
Fergus had no answer for that, but the way he gently stroked his son's dark brown hair spoke volumes. And he was listening.
"This is only temporary. A tactical retreat, if you will. Brandel may be counting on you staying here. Or he may have left for good. But how can you possibly know?" Tooth Fairy shook her head. "This is bigger than your ego. Take your family, and come and live with me. Just for now. Please."
Roy stirred a little in his cradle, rubbing his eye with an uncoordinated little fist, and sighed as he slumbered on.
Cori put her hand on her husband's arm and gazed up at him, imploringly.
Fergus finally nodded. "All right...We better pack a few things. Thank you, Mother."
And, really, Tooth Fairy had been almost like a mother to him from the moment he began courting her daughter. With no natural mother to raise him and an abusive father, it was a wonder that Fergus grew up to be as normal as he was.
And so, Fergus and his family moved in with the Tooth Fairy.