RP: In the Family Way Date: 3 May 2006 Characters: Miles Bletchley, Liam Bletchley-Vane, Daphne Bletchley Location: Bletchley Manor - the beach on the estate Private/Public: Private Rating: PG Warnings: Miles is thinking; Liam is cute Summary: Miles asks his son about his thoughts on Mummy Daphee, and whether or not she would make a good full time mummy. But then Miles thinks, and that leads him down a very dangerous path. Seriously dangerous.
So it might not have been an entirely selfless act to take Liam flying down to the small beach by the Manor. He'd heard nothing but an endless litany about how marvellous Uncle Theo's house was, and how much fun he'd had there with Daphne and Nigel and that smarmy git Nott and his wife.
Perhaps he hadn't spent as much quality time with Liam as he should lately, but once they were on the broom, and he let Liam direct them, the boy seemed to have totally forgotten about horse rides, and whatever other nonsense was at Nott's.
Walking along the beach, Liam had been running towards the water and bending down to pick up shells, or rocks, or whatever else seemed to pique his interest. It was hard to believe that only a year ago he'd first found out he had a son, and in that time the boy had lost a mother, and a grandmother figure. You could not really tell from just looking at the boy - the tragedies not truly stopping him. Liam seemed to have all but forgotten the women, and Miles wondered if that was because of his friends, or because of Daphne. Her offer to adopt Liam to was something he had been considering all week, but really, it was a double edged sword.
If she adopted him, and they did find a way to annul this marriage, then he'd have to get used to the idea that she wasn't going to be around forever. But then, if something happened to him, he knew Liam would be in the safest of hands. For all that he had entrusted Draco as the boy's godfather, and as much as he disliked Millicent and her lifestyle, he had not a single concern about Daphne's ability as a mother. She seemed a complete natural in the role, looking after her own son and just taking Liam under her wing without a single complaint about him.
Of course, it did help that Liam was just so very much enamoured with Daphne. How could he truly say 'no' to the adoption offer?
Just as he was beginning to become lost in thought, Liam raced up to show him the shell that had washed up. "Can I go swimming in the ocean and find more, dad?" he asked, looking back as a small wave crashed against the sand, the water coming up to cover their ankles. Liam giggled and splashed away from the water. Miles smiled and laughed. "Well if you're running away from it, I'd say you don't want to go for a swim. In a few weeks, when it's much warmer. We'll all come down."
Liam's eyes lit up. "Daphne and Nigel too?" he asked eagerly.
"If that's what you'd like." He paused for a second, kneeling down to his son's level. "Do you like having Daphne and Nigel around all the time?" he asked seriously. Now was as good a time as any to ask the boy the important question.
"Is she going to go away?" Liam asked, looking a little worried as his smile dropped. "Did I do something wrong?" he asked, not wanting them to go away.
Miles saw the look on his son's face, and already had his answer. He just had to be sure. "No, no, nothing like that. I just wondered if you liked the fact that she is around, and not Mummy 'Milda." He hoped the boy would understand. Having his dead mother's ghost hanging around didn't help.
Liam sighed a little, shrugging. He wasn't sure what Daddy really wanted to know. "Mummy can't do what Daphee can, and that makes her angry. But she's happy when I show her what I've done, and sometimes she sings me back to sleep in the middle of the night."
Miles really didn't like the idea of Romilda's ghost coming in to his house at night, but he had no control over that, unfortunately. Sighing, he ran a hand over his hair. "But what if Daphne was your real mother - if she adopted you? And - what if I adopted Nigel? That means that she would be your mummy, and I'd be Nigel's daddy as well. You know, like Uncle Monty and Marlowe."
He looked into his son's big green eyes, hoping he understood what he was trying to explain as he patiently waited for all that information to process.
Liam finally understood when he talked about 'doption. Uncle Monty was now Marlowe's daddy, as Aunty Verty was his mummy. But they weren't his first mummy and daddy. At the mention of Daddy 'dopting Nigel, and Daphee 'dopting him, a thought struck him, and he blinked as his eyes widened. "That means Nigel would be my real brother? And Daphee my Mummy?" he gave his father the biggest grin, and in that moment, Miles knew that there was only one course of action.
"Well it does involve some paperwork, and we have to talk to lawyers and stuff, but yes, that's exactly what it would mean. But Mummy 'Milda will probably get really mad, and yell and stuff." Miles already suspected the ghostly temper tantrum when she found out. It would be enough to wake the dead.
Liam giggled at the thought, but he didn't think she would be as angry as daddy thought. "Daphee is gonna be my mummy?" he asked again, just to be really sure.
Miles laughed, pulling Liam to him for a hug. There was no way the boy needed to know the true motivation for Daphne's offer, but if it was going to keep that look of joy on his son's face, then who was he to say no. "Yes, son, she really is."
As Liam launched himself back at Miles in a huge hug, he knew that Daphne would be pleased to hear the news. He launched Liam into the air, and suggested they fly straight back to ask her if she wanted another new son.
He'd asked if she wanted to come with him to the beach, but she had declined, her stomach bug still lingering. Miles hadn't argued, but he was starting to worry. She had been emotionally all over the place the past few weeks - and now this stomach bug and nausea. He'd thought she was getting over the pox, as her appetite and her pre illness curves were starting to return.
So she'd been a little moody, and after the way the party ended on Thursday night, well, how could she really explain what happened then?
But the thoughts all began to coalesce, and he stopped dead in his tracks. Montague's mention of Verity's condition, and her symptoms had been almost exactly what had been going on with Daphne. It was too co-incidental to blame on anything else, and a sudden light flicked on in the back of Miles' brain.
He stood there as Liam raced to get the broom. He counted, and didn't like the way that the numbers weren't adding up. He might not have been in many relationships (ok, so none lasted more than a few weeks before), but he did know that a woman's monthly cycle came monthly.
He last remembered Daphne being in that odd mood before she fell ill with the pox. That was weeks - months ago now. As he realised just how long ago that was, and matched that up with Montague's conversation, the knut finally dropped.
Fuck. Daphne was pregnant.
His wife was pregnant and she must have been too scared to tell him because he'd always said he didn't need or want any more kids, yet... Fuck. He stood there on the beach, a hand running over his hair as he was slapped hard in the face with the realisation. He was pretty sure he'd forgotten the contraceptive charm a time or two, or three... maybe a half dozen times. It was all making sense. He took a deep breath as a wave of... shock... washed over him.
He didn't hear Liam calling out to him, and it was only by sheer virtue of the fact that Liam had carried the full size broom to where he stood, the tail twigs dragging in the sand, that he realised he had lost track of what was going on. He gave Liam an automatic smile, but now his thoughts were as far from here as possible. Daphne was pregnant, and wasn't telling him... Hell, could he complicate things any further?
He barely remembered getting on the broom and riding home. For all he knew, Liam was the one who flew him. Even as they arrived back on the front steps, Liam dragging him inside to talk to Daphne, he was only beginning to understand that the consequences of his actions were once again taking a turn that he had not foreseen.