RP: Meeting the Tween Who: Lucy, Jaimeson, and Bella (npc), Bella/Hailey phone call at the end. What: Bella is home for the holidays, so it's time to clue her in. When: 18 December 2027 Where: Jaimeson's house Warnings: Emotions, discussion of abortion Completion Status: Complete
The past month had been the longest stretch of unproductivity Lucy had had in as long as she could remember. With no job and a surprise pregnancy, she'd spent far more time feeling queasy and agonizing over where her life would go now than she had any right to. But in accepting the pregnancy, she'd finally decided to stop feeling sorry for herself. Today, though, had been an extremely slow day filled with fretting over meeting Jaimeson's daughter, of the tough conversation they would be having with her.
She and Jai had decided that he would pick Bella up from the Hogwarts Express and take her for a bit of shopping before meeting her at his place for dinner. Although she'd pestered Jamie today, dragging him out shopping and generally making him distract her ( though of course that had included telling h she was pregnant, which was still so bloody strange to say out loud!), now that she was standing in he boyfriend's kitchen, facing his daughter, all that anxiety crashed back over her.
"Hi Bella. Is it okay if call you that?" she asked, hoping that giving the preteen agency would endear her to her some. "It's great to finally meet you. Your dad has told me so much about you."
Jaimeson had given Bella the gift he had picked up just for her when he had picked her up from the train station. He had wrote Bella the day that they decided they'd be doing a family dinner so that it wasn't so awkward for the preteen when they arrived home and Lucy was already there. Jaimeson had taken Nate's advice, he wasn't about to surprise her with anything. Well, anything but the fact that she was about to become a big sister. It had been so tempting to buy shirts, he had wanted to get her one that said 'big sister' but he knew he needed to hold in his excitement. His daughter was likely about to not react as happily at first.
When they'd arrived back at the house, Jaimeson had given Lucy a large smile from the door. All was well was the message he was trying to convey. Shuffling in behind him from the snow was his mini-me, Bella. Her dark locks had been pulled braided back into two large space poof buns that were on either side of her head. She wore a large black peacoat that her father had sent her so that she'd be warm on the trip home. She shed her layers at the door, before following Jaimeson deeper into the house. Jaimeson was nervous about how his daughter was feeling, but he figured now was as good a time as any he supposed to start breaking the ice. Thankfully, Lucy was taking the first steps.
"Yeah," came the soft preteen voice, bobbing her head in a nod to confirm her words. Nervous eyes watched the woman in front of her, but she had been taught manners. She'd never forget those, her father had taught her better than that. "It's nice to meet you too... Dad's told me about you," she said, shifting nervously in front of the woman. "He says that you like the same kind of music I do, that one of you like the Ghoul Sisters too," she said excitedly.
Her baby would probably look similar to Bella, Lucy realized absently, completely charmed by the way her hair was styled. And it would seem she already had an in with the preteen. She smiled back at Bella, nodding. "I love the Ghoul Sisters! I also love listening to a lot of Muggle music. My current obsession is Pink," she admitted, wondering how familiar Bells was with Muggle music.
Though she remembered how Jaimeson had played a John Legend record the first time she'd been here, the night of the gala over the summer. That had truly been the night her life had completely changed trajectory, and she was working on trusting that it was still going to be an amazing life she could be proud of.
"How was your first term at Hogwarts?" she asked curiously, wondering what Bella's favorite classes and professors were and if she loved her dorm. Had she made friends yet?
From behind Bella, Jaimeson was grinning from ear to ear. It was that toothy smile that showed even just a hint of his gums. He had known both were into Pink, he had hoped they would discover it on their own. He had been right, his girlfriend mentioning her immediately. Merlin, he was so lucky, he thought as they interacted.
Bella's eyes had grown wide with excitement, an excited gasping noise leaving her. "Really?! Me too!" She practically shouted at the other woman, clearly having the same issue her father did. She tended to be a little loud when she got excited. "Dad's only gotten me a couple of her albums, but he's promised if I get good grades he'll pick me up the ones I'm missing," she admitted happily, words rushing out. She had been working so hard in school to make it happen, she was only missing three if she had counted correctly.
It didn't pass her notice that Bella had either ignored or simply hadn't heard her question about school, but Lucy could forgive it in the excitement of the moment. She chuckled at the enthusiasm, nodding her head. "Really," she confirmed. "I bet you'll get the ones you're missing quickly! It's good to have tangible goals and rewards," she said, liking that Jaimeson had used something Bells enjoyed to encourage her with her schooling. Lucy hadn't necessarily needed that sort of motivation, but whatever would work to keep the kid engaged in learning, she supposed.
"Have you ever been to a concert?" she asked, realizing there was a lot she didn't know about her boyfriend's daughter. She wondered if he felt that way about Bella sometimes, considering the previous custody arrangement. Had her mother let her go to concerts and do other things that some might not find age appropriate?
Jaimeson had noticed the missed question, but he was giving Bella the benefit of the doubt. He watched Bella shake her head no, not able to help himself. "Yes she has, don't let her fool you," he warned Lucy.
"Aunt Zee doesn't count! She's family!" she quipped, causing Jaimeson to burst into laughter. The holidays were about to get a lot louder with his Aunt and Uncle married, he mused as he watched Bella give him that look she definitely got from him. That smug, she knew everything, look.
"Why don't you tell Lucy about school, she asked you a question," he reminded her gently, redirecting the conversation from the outburst. "I love it! I've made loads of friends. Oh dad!" She excitedly turned to her father, over animated as only preteens could. "Can Mare come stay over summer break? Please, please, please?" she asked fervently, which just received a look from Jaimeson that told her to stop.
"We will discuss it later, right now we've got bigger things to talk about. Don't be rude," he said, to which received a pout. Great, it was off to a good start.
Lucy hid a soft snort behind her hand at the interaction between father and daughter, utterly amused at the way they called each other out. "I don't know. I think it depends. Did Zee just put on little performances at family stuff? Or was it a legit concert? Family or not, concerts are concerts," she chimed in, shrugging her shoulders a bit.
She crossed over to the icebox to start pulling ingredients out for the dinner she and Jai had planned to cook tonight while Bells tried to convince her dad to let a friend over this summer. It was one of Bella's favorite meals, and she felt no shame in that little bit of subtle bribery. Hopefully Bella wouldn't be upset with how familiar Lucy was in the space, though she knew she was doing it to distract herself from the 'bigger things' Jaimeson had so casually dropped. Would Bella want a friend over this summer once she knew that she'd have a new baby sibling arriving at some point in July? Her hand rested briefly on her lower belly at the thought, though of course there was nothing to feel just yet. She wasn't quite nine weeks yet, after all.
"Remind me, which house did you get sorted into?" she chimed in. Had Jaimeson even told her? They'd been rather caught up in their romance, and it suddenly felt as though there was loads she didn't know about the girl.
Lucy chiming in only made poor Bella groan, because there had been at least three concerts that she had gone to that were her aunt's. Jaimeson was grinning that obnoxious winning smile as he resisted the urge to kiss Lucy. He knew it was still far too early for that in front of Bella. Sure, they'd be telling her about the impending pregnancy, but she didn't have to see them kiss the first hour she had met Lucy.
"Gryffindor," she said excitedly. "Just like Headmaster McGongall was, though I had really hoped I might get Ravenclaw like Aunt Hailey. She sent me one of her posters for my dorm room," she said happily, bursting with energy. Bella looked up to a lot of the power witches that were not only in her family, but from history as well. Her eyes grew wide then as she realized her father's new girlfriend had red hair. Was she a Weasley? Her father had just called her Lucy. Could she be related to Hermonie Granger-Weasley? "What house were you?" she asked curiously, having heard all Weasleys had been Gryffindors, it was a thing.
The excitement with which Bella declared Gryffindor as her house teased a soft groan from Lucy, though it was rather playful. The rivalry between Gryffindor and Slytherin hadn't been as severe when she was in school, but there were still echoes of it. Before she could comment on it, though, Bella was turning the question back to her. Lucy tossed a smirk her way as she said, "Slytherin. It was such a good fit. All the ambition and the determination to put it to good use. I even made Head Girl my year," she told the younger girl rather proudly.
"But Gryffindor, just like your dad! That's exciting!" She didn't want Bella to think she looked down on her house, though she could admit she'd have been more excited if Bells had named Slytherin as her house. "Do you want to help get dinner going?" she offered. There were veggies to wash and chop, though she wasn't sure how much independence Jaimeson let his daughter have in kitchen tasks.
It would seem that Bella's curiosity had gotten peaked. "Sure, will you tell me about being Head Girl?" she asked hopefully, hoping for any tips. She wanted to be Head Girl, she had been dreaming about it since she had met the really cool Head Girl this year. She was awesome and Bella was looking forward to being in that role herself.
Jaimeson motioned towards the veggies. "I'll chop, if you want to wash?" he asked Bella, since he usually enjoyed chopping the veggies so he called dibs on that particular chore.
"Of course! What would you like to know?" Lucy asked curiously as they all started working on different parts of the dinner. As much as she hated handling raw meat, she started cutting up chicken. She would never be an amazing cook, she thought, but she knew enough to cobble together decent meals, and Jaimeson was actually quite fantastic in the kitchen.
"Did you know that sometimes they choose a Head student that wasn't even a Prefect? I was a Prefect too, but it doesn't always work out that way." There was a lot she could tell her about being in the position of responsibility, but she wanted a bit of direction before she went off on a ramble about it. Precision mattered, in her opinion, and she'd always appreciated it when adults talked to her as though she were intelligent and perfectly capable of keeping up.
Jaimeson was enjoying the fact that his girls were getting along. It was even more exciting to think that he had his girls. Would Lucy be having a girl too? Would that be his destiny? A home filled with women? He'd take it, he thought, as he watched the pair talking about how Lucy had been chosen for Head Girl. His daughter asking just what Lucy thought had really made her stand out to be chosen as Head Girl. Confessing that she too wanted to be picked as Head Girl.
Before long everything was ready for dinner, and it was in the oven. Jaimeson sent Bella up to check out her new room, and drop off her things. Introductions had been made, and they still had at least an hour before dinner would be served. When Bella came back downstairs twenty minutes later, Jaimeson and Lucy were seated in the living room speaking in hushed tones. As Jaimeson's eyes met Bella's, he motioned for her to sit across from them in the chair. "Hey, why don't you have a seat? We had wanted to talk to you about some changes that were going to be happening this summer. We want to talk about all of it, everyone is going to get a chance to say what they feel, is that alright?" he asked his daughter, after she had sat down across the pair.
It was obvious to anyone who looked at the preteen that she was nervous, but that little head bobbed in a nod. Her eyes were looking between the two of them, while Jaimeson tried to find his words. Then he settled on just going for it. "Lucy is pregnant, and yes, we do know how babies are made. We were being safe, but not everything is 100% unfortunately," he said, holding up his hand to stop the preteen as an outburst seemed on the tip of her tongue. "Everyone will be heard, but please hear me out first. We aren't going to be getting married, we don't know what we're going to do living situation wise, but you're going to be a big sister in July," he finished, watching his daughter.
Bella sat there, jaw dropped. She had just gotten home! How could he! He'd just gotten custody of her! Was he trying to replace her? That'd be silly, of course he wasn't trying to replace her. Right? Tears welled up in her eyes, causing her to bring small fists up to cover her face, rubbing at her eyes. "Bells," she heard her father saying, but she didn't respond. She didn't want Lucy to know she was crying, because she didn't understand just why she was crying. " 'm okay," she muttered finally when she heard him say her name again. It was then she felt his familiar arms around her, squeezing her against his chest. Tears were streaming down little cheeks, as she muttered into his chest. "You just got custody of me."
Everything had been going so well, but Lucy knew that telling his eleven year old daughter that she was going to have a new sibling, that her father was having a new baby with a woman she hadn't even met until tonight. was likely not to go over well. What she hadn't expected was crying. She'd thought there might be yelling and stomping, but not crying. Even though he got up to go comfort his daughter, Lucy stayed right where she was.
"Oh love, this wasn't planned at all. I know the timing feels terrible, and it's totally fair to have really complicated, mixed thoughts about it." She wanted to say that it was even okay for Bella to cry about it because even Lucy had done that! But she didn't want the girl to think she didn't want the baby. "And your dad worked so hard to get custody of you! This doesn't diminish that at all," she promised.
Bella continued to cry into her father's chest, but it seemed to be slowing down. Jaimeson mouthed a thank you to Lucy. He then pressed a kiss between those two little space buns, squeezing his preteen tightly. "I promise, this doesn't change a thing. You're still my best friend, we're still going to do all of the things I promised. We'll have all of the adventures still," he said with another kiss to the top of her head. He had promised to take her to museums, and a few of her Aunt Hailey's dueling matches. He didn't know when he'd find the time, but he'd find time for all of it, and the new baby.
Jaimeson started to pull away as her tears stopped, reaching his own large hands up to wipe away her tears.
"Can I go upstairs?" she asked in a small voice, nervously glancing between the two of them. Jaimeson wasn't going to press her to stay down there and talk to them.
"You can, but you need to be sure you're back down here for dinner, alright?" he asked softly, watching as she nodded her head. "You know you can talk to me about this at any time, right?" he asked, being sure that he had eye contact with his preteen. Even as she nodded her head, he knew that she wasn't going to tell him exactly how he felt. She would however tell her Aunt Hailey or Uncle Nate. He was sure that when she went upstairs, at least one or both of them were getting a call.
Staying quiet while Jaimeson talked to his daughter until she'd headed upstairs, Lucy felt the knot between her shoulder blades loosen a bit. Although they didn't know how Bella would feel once she got over the shock of the news, Lucy truly thought it could have gone much worse. When Jaimeson came back to sit next to her, she snuggled in against his side.
"I think she likes me, at least?" she said wryly. Sure, Bella had seemed upset about the baby, but she'd really seemed to enjoy chatting with Lucy as they'd prepped dinner. And Lucy really liked her too. Bella was bright and exuberant like her father, but she also had a spark of sarcasm in her that Lucy imagined would morph into a fantastic sense of humor as she grew older. "And I promise, she'll be as involved as she's comfortable with, whether we're living together at that point or not. I knew before I agreed to date you that you and her were a package deal if things were ever to be serious between us." And she would make sure Bella knew that at some point, too.
"She definitely likes you," he agreed, while his arm wrapped around her. He squeezed her gently, that hand coming up to rub at her shoulder. "Thank you, for that... You're a good partner to have in this crazy world. I don't know what I did to deserve you, but I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth," he said, bending his head in to press a kiss against Lucy's head. "I love you," he whispered softly, eyes closing.
"Should I apologize for any of today?" he asked curiously, unsure if he had overstepped at any point. He worried also that seeing the life of a preteen had opened her eyes to the chaos. He didn't want her to be overwhelmed by his preteen. He knew that she'd come around eventually, just not right then. He wondered just who his daughter was calling upstairs. He wondered if she'd tell him later.
Upstairs, just feet from them, Bella was pulling out her phone. She was looking at the two names in her favorite section of the contacts. Pressing send on Aunt Hailey's name. She brought her phone to her ear, sniffling as she sat just inside her closet with the door closed. She wanted privacy, she didn't feel like she had any privacy if she was just in her bedroom. A weird habit she had picked up while living with her mother and stepfather.
The reassurance was comforting. She wasn't imagining that Bella liked her, and that would make things much smoother as things went on and progressed. Their lives would be forever tangled up thanks to this baby, even if she and Jaimeson didn't last. Though she wasn't particularly worried about things not working out with him at this point. He'd been nothing but responsible and supportive through everything, and she'd come to fully realize that she'd completely misjudged him all those months ago when she didn't want to give him the time of day. "I love you too," she said, her voice barely more than a whisper, still not quite able to declare it loud and proud, her own eyes slipping closed.
"No, there's nothing to apologize for," she answered, wondering just what he thought he'd done that deserved an apology. It wasn't as though he'd sabotaged her birth control in order to trap her in a pregnancy! He'd been far too supportive of it being entirely her choice what to do about the pregnancy for her to think he could have done that. And she didn't think that poorly of him, besides.
Knowing that Bells was coming home from Hogwarts today and that Jaimeson and Lucy were planning to tell the tween about the baby on the way, Hailey had made sure she wasn't doing anything she couldn't drop in case her honorary niece needed her. Honestly, she thought Bella was the coolest kid, and she was so glad Jaimeson had finally gotten custody of her. She knew how hard it was to live with a narcissistic mother, after all. And so, when the call came in, she was prepared for it, and she picked up on the second ring. "Hey babe! How are you?" she asked as casually as she could. She wasn't going to lie about knowing, of course, but she didn't want to start the conversation on the assumption that Bells was pissed.
There was a sigh of relief on the other end of the phone as Bella heard her favorite Aunt pick up. "I just got home," she said carefully, not wanting to just shout at her aunt that her father had a new girlfriend AND a new baby. Lucy was the first girlfriend she had met since her father had won custody less than a month previous. Sure, Bella had known that he was dating, but it didn't make anything feel any better to the preteen. "Dad and Lucy are here," she continued in a pouty small voice.
Oh yeah, there were the emotions. Hailey could hear them clear as day, even though Bells wasn't screaming and crying at the moment. "Yeah? That's great, babe. I'm so freaking excited you're back! I can't wait to hear all about your first term. And you so have to tell me what you think about Lucy! She's been friends with Kenzie forever." She babbled a bit if only to give Bella a few extra moments to calm down and sort out what she wanted to say.
There was a dramatic huff in response to the excitement from Hailey. "He's having a new baby, Aunt Hailey!" she said in a hushed yell, sniffling as she shifted around in her closet trying to get comfortable. "Kenzie's weird, you know? So's this Lucy," she said in that pouted tone. "She likes Pink too," was said in the softest of tones, because she really liked Lucy so far. Her dad was happy, she'd never seen him so happy. But a new baby? That was so much! "I don't want to be a big sister." It wasn't a question, there was on maybes, she definitely didn't want to be a big sister.
The internal conflict was clear, and Hailey truly felt for her honorary niece. "My dad's having a new baby, too," she pointed out, realizing a moment later that she didn't actually know if the news had gotten back to Bells yet. "I was so excited at first, probably because I'm a super adulty-adult now. Blah. But then the more I've thought about it, the stranger and more uncomfortable it's become. I don't remember a time when I didn't have to share my dad with siblings, since Gavin isn't much younger than me, but it really is totally different when you're older." She paused, giving Bella a moment to process what she'd been saying. "But let me ask you this. Do you think Lucy should have an abortion?" she asked rather more bluntly than someone not her parent probably had a right to, but Hailey wasn't about to sugarcoat things for Bells. It was important for the younger girl to have a solid understanding of the situation. Eleven was plenty old enough for bodily autonomy lessons, and if Jai didn't like it, too bad.
"He is?" came the surprised soft voice, but she was quiet as she listened to her Aunt. Her head bobbed in a nod when she heard Hailey mentioning that it was growing not so great with her. Then she dropped the big question. Did she want Lucy to have an abortion? "Yes," she said before even thinking about the question. Her anger was speaking for her, she definitely had her father's short fuse, and none of his coping. He was doing his best to teach her, but how much could you teach a preteen you only got to see when her mother wasn't being a manipulative see you next tuesday.
It wasn't the answer she'd been expecting, though with as quick as it had come, she wasn't surprised. But Hailey wasn't sure she believed that Bells truly felt that way. "From what I understand, your dad and Lucy were being very responsible about things, but she got pregnant anyway. That happens sometimes, and it's great that abortion is an option for people who really don't want a baby. When your dad told me Lucy was pregnant, I thought for sure that she would have an abortion. But what I think or what anyone else thinks doesn't really matter. It's her body that would have to go through the pregnancy or abortion, either way, and so it's completely up to her. I know that might feel unfair, because a baby will affect a lot more lives than just her own, but us women have fought so hard to be able to control our own bodies, and it's important that we respect each other in our decisions."
Hailey paused for a long moment again. "How do you think your dad would feel if Lucy had an abortion now?" she asked gently, hoping to help nudge Bells out of her mental orbit.
"Yeah," she muttered softly when Aunt Hailey pointed out that her father had been being careful. She squirmed in her spot, getting comfortable all over again. If Jaimeson had been giving the talk, she likely wouldn't have been listening. She was still hurt, rightly so she believed. He had just gotten custody of her! She could maybe see where they were coming from though. "He'd be really hurt," she said sadly, looking down at her socked feet on the carpet. "I guess you're right... It's going to be really weird," she whispered the last part, eyes big as she leaned forward to rest her head on her knees. "If the baby cries too much, can I come live with you?" she asked.
It seemed like Bells might be calming down, at least enough to recognize that it wasn't fair for her to throw a fit about it. "Probably, but life is full of things that are really weird and hard and frustrating, babe," she pointed out with a humorless chuckle. Hailey had a feeling Bells understood that pretty well, though. She laughed genuinely at the question, shaking her head even though Bells couldn't actually see her. "Sorry babe, we don't have enough room in the flat for an almost-teenager. But I promise you can escape and hang out with me sometimes. Also, it probably didn't occur to you yet, but that baby is probably going to idolize the fuck out of you." Kind of similar to how Bells looked up to Hailey, though she thought it would be a bit arrogant to point that out.
Another huff left the preteen, but she knew her aunt was right. She squished her toes into the carpet, pressing her chin into her knees. "Okayyy," she said with that long drawn out y. It was then she heard what sounded like her father calling for her. "I think I hear dad, I think dinner is done. Thanks, Aunt Hailey," she said into the phone. She may not have been completely okay with everything just yet, but she could be someday. Aunt Hailey had been right, she really didn't want Lucy to get an abortion, her dad was going to be such a good dad. She let out a sigh, she was going to be a big sister for real. At least it wasn't her mum.
"You're welcome. Love you, babe!" Hailey said by way of good bye. And when the call had ended, she swiped to her text messages and sent Jaimeson a quick message. Better but give her time. Reminded her she can always come hang out with me if things are too much.
Jaimeson had just finished reading the message when Bella came down the stairs. He sent a quick thanks back, before his phone was set screen down on the counter behind him. "Hey baby girl, you ready for dinner?" he asked her with that smile of his, and he was thrilled to see her smiling back at him. "I'm really happy for you dad," she muttered as she hugged him, while his arms wrapped back around her in a hug. She relaxed, squeezing closer. She wanted to spend as much time with him as she could before the new baby was there. "I'm not doing diapers though," she broke the news to him with his own mischievous grin, before she was slipping away to join Lucy at the table.
It was going to be okay. Jaimeson could feel it. He had his support system. He'd have to send a thank you to Hailey. He owed her.