CW: Mention of suicide, nothing graphic
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A few small details have been changed for the sake of this story.
The day Dani's and Jamie's lives changed forever was the day both had woken up in a bad mood. Both were hungover after a long dinner party the previous night with Ellie and her latest boyfriend. There were a lot of partners in the past year, but this one had managed a month with Ellie which was cause for celebration.
It had been a long night of alcohol, party games, and loud laughter. Jamie and Dani walked their guests out and saw them into the cab then returned to their bed, sleeping before they could even say goodnight. The morning brought headaches and queasy stomachs, which never resulted in particularly good moods.
"Who's opening today?" Jamie groaned. It was a good day to be hungover, if there was ever a good day since on Sundays the store didn't open until noon.
Dani rolled onto her side with her back to Jamie, "I'm not going to unless you're there."
"Last time, I opened while you slept," Jamie said.
"And I did before that so we're even now." Dani yanked the blanket up over her bare shoulders. The room was pretty chilly. She felt Jamie wrap her arms around her from behind and plant a kiss on Dani's shoulder. "Sex isn't going to change my mind."
Jamie sighed and resigned to just cuddling her girlfriend. "Worth a shot." She took a deep breath. "I need something to settle my stomach."
Dani nodded in agreement and slowly pushed herself out of bed. She grabbed the sweater which she had apparently left on the floor the previous night and wrapped it around herself. The more she walked the worse she felt so, in the kitchen, she pulled a counter stool in front of the oven where she sat making coffee. A few crackers helped a bit, but she knew that she would need a greasy breakfast to push herself over the edge.
The coffee pot began to bubble and Dani filled two waiting mugs. It had only taken a year of coffee every day from Ellie to finally convince Jamie of its importance. Now, Jamie was so dependent on her morning cup of coffee that even Dani's subpar brew was tolerable.
At the smell of coffee, Jamie stumbled through the apartment in socks and an oversized t-shirt. "God, the sun is so bright this morning." She sat down at the counter and readily accepted the crackers and coffee. "Are you going to make breakfast?"
"I made the coffee," Dani cried.
"Okay, Poppins, coffee and breakfast are not equal tasks," Jamie snapped back. "Maybe we should just pick up something on the way to work."
Dani shook her head, "We're not opening the store feeling like zombies."
"Not like anyone's gonna be there at noon on a Sunday, anyway," Jamie said.
"You said that last time and it was our busiest Sunday in a month." Dani swallowed another cracker and washed it down with a sip of coffee. "If you go now to the bagel shop, you'll make it back in time for us to start getting ready for work."
Jamie scoffed and pointed at her chest, "Me?" Dani just raised her coffee mug in response which elicited a loud and dramatic groan from Jamie. "Fine, but you owe me."
"Yes, because walking downstairs is so taxing," Dani quipped back. It was true, their apartment building sat on top of a bagel shop, an eye doctor, and a convenience store. Jamie was glad it wasn't a pub and Dani was excited to have such easy access to her favorite breakfast food.
With Jamie gone into the bedroom to find pants and a jacket, Dani grabbed the morning's newspaper from outside their door. As always, nothing interesting graced the daily news. Even as a kid, Dani always thought this was probably the most boring city in the world. Back then she hated it, but now she couldn't be more grateful for the quiet normal.
The telephone rang and Jamie called for Dani to answer. Dani inwardly groaned but knew that it was only fair at this point. Besides, it wasn't that far from where she sat. The phone was attached to the wall just next to the fridge.
"Hello?" Dani said into the receiver. She had it tucked between her shoulder and her ear as she leaned against the wall and sipped her coffee.
"Dani?" A familiar voice asked on the other end.
Immediately, Dani straightened up and grabbed the phone back into her hand. "Owen, hi."
Jamie padded out from the bedroom and, after hearing Dani refer to the caller by name, grinned and rushed over. "Let me say hi." Dani held the receiver between the two of them and Jamie greeted Owen.
"It's good to talk to you two again," Owen said. Their communication wasn't the best, but they still made sure to call at least once a month. His voice was usually more chipper and light hearted than it was today, now solemn and quiet.
"Everything okay?" Jamie asked.
Owen was quiet for a moment on the other end, "No, it's not. It's about Henry. He was in a car accident and he didn't make it, I'm afraid."
Time stood still in that moment. Dani had really only seen Henry twice in her entire time working for him, but even so he had felt like such a main presence in her life the whole time. Besides, there was a connection forged between everyone present that night, their last night at Bly. It felt like he was the first link to fall and she felt the Lady start to claw a tiny bit in the back of her mind.
"Christ," Jamie whispered. She ran a hand through her hair.
"And the kids?" Dani asked. Her heart beat fast in her chest. She didn't know what she would do if they had gotten hurt, too.
"The kids are fine," Owen rushed to assure. "They're here with me now. Turns out they had just gotten to Paris yesterday morning."
Jamie grabbed Dani's arm to steady herself. "Blimey, Owen, tell me those kids aren't going to the system."
"No, no. It used to be they would go to Hannah," Owen's voice wavered at the sound of her name. He cleared his throat and kept going. "But, Henry changed his will three days ago. He's named you two their legal guardians."
"What?" Dani's voice was small, scared. She felt Jamie's hand tighten around her.
"Tell me how it happened," Jamie said. Her voice was flat, with no emotion. Dani looked over at her girlfriend, confused as to how she could focus on anything other than the fact that they were now in charge of two children.
"I don't think–," Owen started.
"Owen," Jamie almost yelled, "tell me how it happened."
Owen let out a deep sigh, "He was drunk and his car hit a tree going around a turn."
All three were silent and Dani knew Jamie was making the same connections that she was making, the connections Owen had probably put together hours ago. The updated will, the arrival in the same city as Owen (who was the closest to Italy, where Henry, Flora, and Miles had apparently been staying the past few months after a short time in New York), Henry's death within 24 hours of their arrival… He had made sure the kids were all taken care of before he took his own life.
Jamie started hyperventilating. She set her hands on her hips and leaned forward a bit. "I'm gonna be sick."
"Look, I know this is a lot to take in," Owen said. "There's still more paperwork and legal stuff to parse through here. Miles and Flora are more than welcome to stay with me, of course, so just take your time."
"Thank you for calling, Owen," Dani said. "We'll talk soon, okay?"
"Of course," Owen said. Then the two hung up.
Dani pulled Jamie over to the couch and handed her a small wastebasket in case she did happen to get sick. She rubbed her back quietly, letting everything from the conversation fall over her again and again as if the more she thought about it the less shock she would feel.
After a bit, Jamie seemed to feel better because her breathing slowed and she set the wastebasket on the floor below her. She didn't say anything yet, though, just stared straight ahead.
"They're all gone," Jamie whispered. "The Wingraves. Except for Miles and Flora, of course, but Charlotte, Dominic, and now Henry…" Her voice fell off. Sometimes Dani forgot that Jamie had worked for that family for so long. With her record, Jamie had really struggled to find someone to trust her enough to hire her as a gardener. It was Charlotte who was set to do Jamie's interview and, according to Jamie, Charlotte opened the front door, saw the pain in Jamie's eyes, and offered her the job immediately. From what Dani had heard, Charlotte always had a way to see someone for exactly who they are. And not too long after Jamie started, it was just quietly assumed that she was part of the family. When Hannah was overwhelmed, or Charlotte went out, Jamie would take Miles and Flora into the garden and show them how to plant flowers or teach them to name the herbs they harvested. They were her second family, after having lost her first one and now, she had all but lost this one, too.
More quiet tears fell from Jamie's eyes. She pressed a fist against her forehead, the pressure of it releasing some of the pain she felt. When the initial shock passed a bit and Jamie descended into silent grief, Dani took her girlfriend's hand. "What are we going to do?"
Jamie sniffed. "What do you mean?"
"About Miles and Flora," Dani said. "What are we going to do?"
"Bring them here, of course," Jamie said. Her eyebrows crumpled, confused by Dani's question.
Dani shook her head a bit, "Don't they have any other family?"
Jamie used a kleenex to wipe her nose. "Charlotte was raised by her great aunt and Dominic and Henry's parents died before the kids were born. You, me, and Owen are all the family they have left. And you know Owen loves them to death, but wouldn't know what to do with them every day. Especially with a new restaurant."
"There has to be another option for them," Dani whispered. Saying it broke her heart. She wanted so badly to take in those two kids. She would go to the ends of the earth for them, but she knew she couldn't.
The pushback from Dani angered Jamie, who moved away from Dani a little. "You're saying you don't want them?"
"No," Dani rushed to say. "I just mean… they've seen too much death as it is. I don't want to give them a home knowing that they'll see mine someday soon."
Tears rose up again in Jamie's eyes and she slid her hand behind Dani's neck. "Don't talk like that. After Henry, I can't think about losing you today, too."
"We have to think about it," Dani whispered.
"No," Jamie asserted. "We can have so much more time. They're going to have to deal with losing us eventually, even if it wasn't for the Lady in the Lake."
"It's hard enough thinking about leaving you," Dani said. "I can't deal with the guilt of leaving them, too."
"That's what you're doing now, though, Dani." Jamie used her hand to tilt Dani's chin up and guide her eyes back to Jamie's. "You're leaving them now or you're leaving them later. I've been in the system and, trust me, they would rather have you leave them later after having years of a loving home than have you leave them to the system now."
Dani readjusted on the couch until her legs draped over Jamie's and she could wrap both arms around Jamie's neck. Both held eye contact for a long time. Then, she said, "I know I said we had to open the store together, today, but what if you open by yourself and I go to the travel agency to pick up some plane tickets?"
The fear was still there for Dani. She knew that she had been effectively raising those kids successfully for months at one point, if you take out the murderous ghosts, that is, so they could do it again. Somehow, though, the idea of having Flora and Miles close again seemed to cause an itch in the back of her brain. The Lady of the Lake wanted to be close to them. One day at a time, though, and today she was not in control.
"Mm, we'll probably need a bigger place, too," Jamie said as she looked around their apartment.
"I like this apartment," Dani said. "It was our first home together."
"They can sleep on the pullout for a bit, don't you think?" Jamie asked.
Dani nodded, "It'll be humbling after that massive manor."
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