Darcy Lewis (tasergoddess) wrote in madisonvalley, @ 2016-12-18 15:18:00 |
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Entry tags: | !closed, !completed gdoc, !log, [plot] ghosts, ~2016 december, ~25 points, ~~haymitch abernathy (drunkstrategist), ~~~~ darcy lewis (tasergoddess) |
Who: Haymitch and Darcy
What: Haymitch is being haunted
When: Sunday morning
Where: Their home
Warnings: Talk of Hunger Games, death and alcoholism
Status: Closed | Completed GDoc
At first Haymitch had though Madge’s arrival had sparked his imagining Maysilee but it had soon become apparent that it was yet another weird and wonderful thing sent to test them all. He supposed it was about time he was subjected to something but that it had to be this seemed a little unfair.
He’d spent the previous night on the sofa because he didn’t want to risk accidentally hurting Darcy and the baby. It had been a long time since his sleep had been disturbed and with the return of the sleeplessness had been the return of the want for alcohol. He was fighting it but he’d cancelled a meeting that morning, the first he’d cancelled since he’d started running the groups.
***
For once, Darcy woke up before her daughter and decided to take advantage of the sleeping baby to go downstairs and check on her boyfriend. Whatever was happening in town was making him restless and seemed to have triggered the return of his nightmares. She was concerned about his well being and also a little concerned that the nightmares might make him want to drink.
He was tossing and turning on the sofa when she got downstairs. “Haymitch, wake up,” she said gently, resting a hand on his shoulder. From experience, she knew that the kindest thing to do when he was in the throes of a nightmare was to wake him.
***
Haymitch was trying not to make Darcy worry but it was difficult when he was seeing a dead person all around town. Lack of sleep and guilt was taking it’s toll on him but thankfully when Darcy lay a hand on his shoulder he didn’t lash out, instead he jumped awake and looked at her with blurry eyes for a moment before sighing heavily.
“Sorry sweetheart” he said, sitting up and rubbing a hand over his face, “I didn’t wake you did I?” he hadn’t yet shouted in his nightmares but he couldn’t be sure what had happened here.
***
“No, you didn’t,” she said. “You were having another nightmare though.” It had been a long time since they spent a lot of sleepless nights helping each other through those, but Darcy still remembered the best way to deal with them. His were far more ingrained than hers given the sheer brutality of what he suffered and she understood why he turned to the bottle for solace.
Hopefully, she and Stephanie were enough to keep that from happening again. “Do you want some coffee? It’s early. Steph’s not up yet.”
***
“I forgot what it’s like not to have a good night’s sleep” he admitted to her as he slowly woke up properly, the couch wasn’t all that comfortable but then he wasn’t exactly sleeping well anyway. Stretching his back, he stood up.
“Coffee sounds good” he nodded, glad they still didn’t keep alcohol in the house. “You and the little bit sleep okay?” he asked her moving closer to press a kiss to her lips.
***
She leaned in to indulge him a quick kiss before moving out to the kitchen to get the coffee started, assuming he would follow. Once the coffee was brewing, she went to the fridge to decide what they should have for breakfast.
“She actually slept for almost five hours straight,” Darcy said. “And then she fell back to sleep within about a half an hour without eating too much. I think her tummy is getting bigger. We may be getting full nights sooner than we think.”
It was probably going to backfire now that she said it, but she was ever hopeful.
***
Darcy was right to assume, Haymitch followed her into the kitchen watching her movements to try and take his mind from ghosts and drink. He wouldn’t give in, he loved his family too much for that but it wasn’t going to be easy. Luckily Darcy knew what he was like and would hopefully ignore him if he got snappy with her.
“That would be nice” he said, he felt bad that it was mostly on Darcy to wake when Steph did and feed her. They were only really giving her bottled expressed milk when she was being watched by others or when Darcy got to the point where she really needed a break. Haymitch found feeding her rather relaxing but then the bottle wasn’t actually attached to his body.
***
“Waffles or omelets?” she asked, glancing over her shoulder with a brief smile. Darcy definitely knew not to take any unpleasantness that might be forthcoming as a personal thing. Even when they first met, when he was first getting sober and she offered him a room because of her friendship with Peeta, she hadn’t taken his grouchiness personally.
It was hard to believe sometimes how far they’d come. He was sober for nearly three years now. They’d been together for more than two and had a daughter, something neither of them ever expected or planned for, but Darcy knew they wouldn’t change it for the world. “You know, if you want, I can probably get Jane or Steve to keep her overnight for a day or two. Until whatever this is ends.”
***
“Waffles” he requested, knowing that covering a waffle in maple syrup would help keep the cravings at bay. Sweet things tended to work better than anything else he’d discovered. It had been a tip he’d passed onto others since he’d started running the addiction groups.
It really was crazy when he stopped to think about it all but he definitely wouldn’t change it. His life here held so much more for him than back where he’d come from. He winced and gave a bit of a shrug, “Maybe” he said, he didn’t want to have his daughter out of the house but he couldn’t help thinking it might be safer. He’d feel terrible about her not being there but not as terrible as he would if something happened.
***
Darcy closed the refrigerator door and opened the freezer to pull out a box of frozen waffles. “Maybe you’d sleep better if you didn’t have to worry about waking her up,” she said. Or being woken up by the baby crying. Plus, it would allow Darcy to keep her focus on Haymitch since he needed her support right now.
It would also make Darcy feel like the baby was safer because even though right now all that was happening was Haymitch seeing the ghost of the girl he loved long ago, there was always a chance that things could go sideways and the ghost could end up violent and she would rather not risk Stephanie’s well being if that happened.
***
“I know” Haymitch said, “It just doesn’t feel right. Having our baby stay with other people because her dad can’t get himself together” he admitted, running a hand through his hair.
It made sense, he knew that and he knew Darcy was right to have that concern. He was just frustrated with himself for being the problem after doing so well for so long.
***
“Hey, it’s not your fault,” she said, popping the waffles into the toaster oven and then going over to wrap her arms around Haymitch. “This town is being itself again and you’re being whammied with weirdness. It’s been part of our lives for three years now and it’s going to continue being part of our lives while we’re here. Which means that Stephanie will be growing up with weirdness.”
So, she’d get used to and they’d have to deal with unusual parenting situations while navigating whatever Madison Valley decided to throw at them.
***
Haymitch wrapped his arms around Darcy’s waist and leaned into her, “Yeah, I guess she will” he nodded, it was just frustrating and he had to admit it hurt his pride a little to be breaking down like this but as Darcy said this town whammied them with weirdness.
***
Darcy didn’t see it as breaking down. It was a reasonable reaction to what was happening. If she saw the ghost of someone important to her, she would be having a hard time too. “Don’t worry so much,” she said. “This will end, just like all of the other weirdness, and it might take you some time, but your nightmares will go away again.”
And until that happened, she would be here to support him in any way that he needed.
***
“When did you get so wise? Did that come with the baby too?” he teased her a little, looking up at her. She was right though, his reaction was reasonable he just needed reminding of that. He’d gotten so used to sleeping without the nightmares that he felt it was a huge step backwards to start having them again.
***
“It’s part of the Mom Handbook,” she joked. “That chapter isn’t in the Dad version?”
They wished they had handbooks, but mostly Darcy’s wisdom came from living in this town for three years and going through the same cycle multiple times.
“Seriously though, it’ll be okay,” she assured him. “We’ve gotten through worse. We can get through this.”
***
“Nope, the dad version is pretty slim” he told her, also wishing for handbooks. That would come in very handy, though he did think they’d been doing pretty damn well so far. Stephanie was a very happy baby almost all the time.
“You’re right, don’t let me get too melancholy on you. I might just need a little reminder”
***
The toaster oven dinged and Darcy slid the waffles out onto waiting plates. She carried them over to the table and then went to grab syrup. “I can definitely do reminders,” she promised. “For now, let’s eat. Because you need to keep taking care of yourself too.”
***
Haymitch caught her hand and squeezed it, “You really are the most amazing woman” he told her as she sat down with him, “I love you” It wasn’t something either of them overused by saying all the time, but he just wanted her to know he truly appreciated her. Lifting her hand her pressed a kiss to the back of it before they started on breakfast. Who knew how much longer Stephanie would stay asleep.
***