Mending Hearts
Chapter 4
"Gabriel Lee Kingston" I barked into the phone, my hand gripping my Nokia touch screen tighter as my anger and fear boiled over like a pot of water left on the stove too long. "This is the sixth time I called you! If you don't pick up your goddamn phone soon I'm going to snap your neck when I find you!" I hit the end button and slammed the phone on the table, not really caring if it broke or not. Where could he possibly be? I'd spent the past 11 hours appariting back and forth between the burrow and New York looking for him.
Harry and I hadn't spoken yet and I didn't blame him. When I mentioned I had a daughter he looked so hurt and confused. Maybe he knew Maggie was his, or maybe he didn't have any idea what was going on and jumped straight into conclusions. Deep down inside he should have known that I couldn't be with another man so quickly after we had broken up, but perhaps his hurt feelings clouded his judgment.
Tears rolled down my cheeks as I put my head in my hands, my butt was hard against the wood chairs at the kitchen table. It was almost midnight; Ginny had gone to sleep already and I hadn't seen Ron or Harry almost all day. I didn't care though, they didn't matter. Hermione had been with me the whole day, appariting back and forth with me. She's a great friend; she always had been there for me.
"Where could they be?" I muttered, lifting my head to look at Hermione. I knew she didn't have the answers, but just seeing her face gave me a little comfort.
"I don't know Steph." She murmured softly, her hands were set on her blue jeans. I had ran out of tears hours ago, crying wouldn't help me find Maggie.
There was a pound on the door and my eyes shot over, hoping it wasn't more bad news. Hermione stood, the back of her legs pushing the wood chair back as she stood up, and walked towards the door. I felt tears returning yet again and I couldn't control myself as they began to stain my cheeks once again. Hermione opened the door and I felt my auburn eyes stare at the kitchen window, unable to look and be disappointed again. But the moment I heard the rustle of the leaves outside in the cold fall air my eyes swept towards the door.
"Stephanie" I heard my brother Gabriel say, my sleeping daughter held tightly in his arms. I felt my body stand up, my fingers flat on the wood table as I clung to it as if I would fall over had I let go.
"Maggie" Her name slipped off my tongue and it tasted sweeter than it ever had in my entire life. Moving from the table I literally ran over to my brother and daughter by the chilly door. Holding out my arms I took her from my brother and into my own arms. Her eyes fluttered as I pressed my body against her small one. She moved her arm over slightly and opened her green eyes to meet my brown. I planted a fat, wet kiss on her forehead as she squirmed in my arms, waking up unpleasantly from her nap.
"Mama" she whispered; her voice was heavy with a deep slumber laced within it. Her small hands lifted up and grabbed at my face as she smiled. God, I missed that smile. "Mama" she repeated, obviously awaiting a response from me.
"Hi honey" I told her, smiling as she touched my cheek again. Squirming in my arms I held her upright so she could kiss my cheek and grin. "Mama missed you too."
"Mine" she commanded me, her small voice sounded more powerful than normal. She giggled, pulling my hair then putting her small arms around my neck.
"My baby" I murmured into her hair, both my hands wrapping around her small waist and holding her close to me. "My baby" She cooed softly before letting out a loud cry, holding out her hands. Rolling my eyes I placed her on my hip, walking over to the fridge to find some apple juice. "Did you bring her diaper bag at least Gabe?" I asked, pulling a jug of juice out of the fridge. "And where the heck did you go? What happened to your place?"
The diaper bag I had given Gabriel before I left was slung over his shoulder, he looked exhausted. I let out a small sigh, realizing how unfair and mean I was being. "I took Mags to the park" he began, walking in further so Hermione could close the door. "When we got back the place was trashed, I didn't want to go in incase someone stuck around to find us so we left. Maggie and I hopped on the first plane to London and then came here." He shrugged off the diaper bag and set it on the table, pulling out Maggie's pink sippie cup from the bag and tossing it to me.
"How did they find us?" I whispered turning and setting Maggie down so I could pour her juice. She cried out loudly and stuck her hands up to try and get me to pick her up again. "Stop it Maggie." I told her, turning towards the fridge and filled her cup full of apple juice. Turning around I handed Maggie her cup and ruffled her hair affectionately as she put it to her lips and took as big of a drink as she could. Her brown eyes looked up at my brown ones and they danced with happiness.
"Love mama." She told me, taking a large gulp of her juice.
"Mama loves you too." I said, scooping her up into my arms again and fixed her shirt that was a little twisted. Maggie could stand well on her own but not walk at all, only being able to take a step or two before crashing on her butt. "I'm glad I told you the address I was going to." I murmured to Gabriel, hugging my daughter tighter to me.
"I'm just glad she's alright." Hermione told me, smiling as she took a step towards me. Maggie shrunk back, hiding her face in my chest as Hermione moved closer. She was terribly shy when she's tired. I looked to Hermione and smiled coyly.
"She's shy, epically when she's tired." I explained as Maggie rubbed her eyes with her small hands. I understood too, it was after 12:30 and way too late for her to be up. "I need to take her to bed." I muttered, looking to Hermione for an answer as to where she could sleep.
"We'll set her up in one of the upstairs bedrooms." Hermione informed me. "Come on." I nodded, grabbing the diaper bag off the table and securing Maggie in my arms.
Hermione led us up the stairs and into an empty room. There was no crib for her to sleep in tonight, so I had to make do with what we had. Laying down two blankets on the floor, I laid Maggie down so she would be as comfortable as possible on the floor. Inside her diaper bag was her favorite pink blanket and her stuffed elephant, both she never went anywhere without. Her eyes drooped slightly as I planted a large kiss on her forehead.
"Mama" Her voice was growing fainter with every minute that passed. I smiled down at her and shushed her softly.
"Mama will be up again soon, I promise." She smiled before her eyes closed completely and a soft snore escaped her pink lips. Standing up, I headed for the door and shut it almost completely so only a little light penetrated the room.
"She's adorable." Hermione complimented. "Looks almost exactly like-" I shot her a glare and she quickly shut up. We walked downstairs in silence; tension was rising in the house.
"Okay big brother" I started as I entered the kitchen. He was sitting at the table with his head in his hands. "you have some explaining to do."
He let out a loud sigh, turning his head towards me. "I already told you what happened. I got home and someone had broken in. I panicked because I knew I wouldn't stand a chance against anyone with a wand and took off straight away for here."
"You never saw anyone in the house?" I questioned. It didn't make sense, why would someone with magical abilities completely trash a house, unless they were looking for something.
"No, we never even went in. I saw the door was open and we split." At least my brother had good instincts.
I frowned, "Whoever they are, I have a feeling we haven't heard the last from them."
