Ella (![[info]](https://www.insanejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} kindwithcourage) wrote in ![[info]](https://www.insanejournal.com/img/community.gif){kind=small} madisonvalley,@ 2018-01-24 08:30:00 |
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WHAT Unexpected family time
WHEN Wednesday morning
WHERE Ella + Max's little house
WARNINGS Relationship confusion! but really, not much
STATUS Closed | Incomplete
Ella felt her bed moving and wondered what it could be, stirring from her peaceful sleep only to find a small child trying to climb onto the bed with her. She gasped, but that just made the child giggle.
"Mama, mama," he said, and that was enough for her to connect the dots.
"Maximilian?" she murmured, shifting so that she could lift her son up to join her on the bed. He promptly smushed her cheeks together with his hands and she couldn't help smiling. "Hello my darling boy," Ella greeted, confused but happy.
"Cakes for breakfast? Please?" Max widened his eyes and looked as hopeful as he could because he knew that was how to get Mama to agree. Plus, on mornings where Papa wasn't home yet, usually Mama wanted to make a big breakfast.
Ella considered it for a moment, which made Max's lip wobble a bit. That made her break into a grin. "Of course we can do pancakes," she replied, more than confident that she could whip up two plates of pancakes for them. "Shall we make banana pancakes or blueberry pancakes?"
Max considered it for a moment and then looked very much like he just had the best idea ever. "Strawberry!" he declared.
"I'll have to see if I have some, sweetheart," Ella replied, not sure that she had strawberries on hand.
"Strawberry!" he repeated.
"We'll see," she cautioned, climbing out of bed. Ella set him down so that she could pull on her dressing gown and get her slippers situated. Max was already walking out the door though and she hurried to catch up to him. They walked hand in hand down the stairs and Ella marveled at how cute he was. He had to be five or six now, but she didn't want to ask.
"Alright, do you want to help me mix the ingredients?" she asked. He nodded his head vigorously so Ella lifted him up to sit him on the counter and began gathering up the ingredients she needed. They got through it quite easily so clearly this was something she did frequently with him and he knew many of the ingredients, even if he didn't know the full or exact words for them.
They were just about to sit down at the table to eat their pancakes when the door opened and before Ella could react, Max was off like a shot screaming, "Papa! Papa! Cakes!"
Was it Kit? Could it be? Ella was frozen in the kitchen for a moment before she dared to venture toward the door and stopped again when she realized it was Mr McCree. Her whole world shifted in that moment and she just looked at her friend with her son. Oh
***
McCree hadn’t had much warning, but he was sure that no one ever did when it came to events within the dome. He had been working a later shift at Lou’s and the night had gone pretty badly. There were some rowdy patrons that just didn’t want to keep a level head about them. McCree had been there plenty of times in his years. He had even been the one flat on his face after being thrown out of many a business and bar.
This group was just pushing things a bit too far. Much too far for his liking. Because of it, he had ended up sleeping in the back office at Lou’s.
When he had woken up that morning, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Nothing at all. He thanked Lou, assured him he’d be back for the early evening rush, and started off. There were a few stops he had to make and a few things that needed to be tended to before he headed home.
Upon arriving home, McCree had removed his hat and carried a large bouquet of dusty pink roses, a few items from the store that Ella generally needed, and a special treat for Max. A wide grin was on his face as Max rushed forward.
“Whoa, there. Easy there, kiddo.” Setting aside the store items and Max’s treat, McCree gave the small boy a warm hug with his robotic arm before picking him up with ease. “Cakes, huh? I don’t know about that. Thinking you should be eatin’ some good ol’ fashion liver and beans,” he joked. Smiling as he approached Ella, McCree handed her the roses.
Leaning down, without missing a beat, McCree pressed a loving kiss to her lips. “Sorry for the late night, Ellie. Even Lou said to thank ya. Said I was a lucky man and, well, I’d have to agree with him.”
***
It was abundantly clear to Ella that Maximilian and Mr McCree firmly believed themselves to be father and son. Ella wanted her son to have that kind of relationship, but this was all very jarring. First, her son appeared to have aged a handful of years overnight and now Mr McCree was handing her roses and- Oh! The kiss surprised her tremendously and she clutched at the flowers as she tried to make sense of this. Perhaps she was the one who had forgotten? Ella couldn't bear to break her son's heart and she wasn't sure what to do with Mr McCree.
"Thank you," she replied faintly, looking down at the flowers. He'd called her Ellie. He had certainly kissed her as if he was very familiar with her. "Let me put these in water," Ella added, recovering her bright and cheery demeanor. Perhaps once she had a moment, she could call Mrs Wanda and ask for her advice. She moved to the sink and let the water run cold.
"Please, sit and have some breakfast with Max. I'll only be a moment." Ella retrieved a vase from the cabinet and filled it halfway before putting the beautiful roses in. They were her favorite shade and quite suitable considering they were meant to be in thanks.
"How was your shift, aside from having to stay the night?" She was guessing that was the case, and was quite grateful she hadn't woken up to two surprises in her bed this morning. That would have been most uncomfortable and impossible to fake her way through. Ella did feel bad about trying to deceive him at the moment, but she did not want to worry him.
***
He had given her a brief look of concern, but said nothing of it. Perhaps she had had an equally exhausting night with Max. It was one of the many reasons why he hated leaving her like that. It didn’t happen often. A true rarity at best. McCree only stayed when it was late that he wouldn’t want to wake Max or Ella at some unseemly hour. He always sent messages as well, called, or heard Lou relaying the news. At least Ella would know he was somewhere safe rather than wandering home in the middle of the night.
“Holler if you need help with that vase,” he teased with a grin before turning his attention back to Max. The two settled at the table and McCree set to work helping Max with his breakfast. The way McCree smiled and interacted as was though they had done so for years. He was still the scruffy vigilante on the outside, but there was definitely a warmth that had overcome him. Not to mention the distinct lack of cigar smoke.
When Ella returned, McCree stood to meet her at the sink. He placed a hand against the small of her back and ducked his head just so to rest his chin against her hair. “Long. Too long. Hope I didn’t worry you too much. Had Lou make the call to let you know. You got it, right?”
***
Ella looked over her shoulder at them every few moments. While she wasn't certain she could believe what she was seeing, it was abundantly clear that her son adored Mr McCree and the opposite was true as well. It reminded her a bit of Christmas and how he'd been different at that time as well. Despite it being odd, it was certainly good to see because she'd very much wanted him to find happiness and settle down here in Madison. She just hadn't quite expected that he would settle down with her.
She jumped slightly as she felt his hand on his back, nearly colliding with his chin. Oh, this was so very odd. Ella was quick to say, "You startled me! Oh, I didn't hurt you did I?" That was certainly easier than outright lying to him about not being worried because she hadn't known to expect him or that she hadn't heard from Mr Lou because he'd never called.
"What matters is you're home in time to have breakfast with us," Ella added, extracting herself from him as best she could without arousing suspicion. She was probably doing a terrible job of it, but she hoped it would be alright. She didn't want to disappoint him, not when he was clearly so happy.
"Mama, Papa! I need help!" Max interjected, and she was so grateful for her son in that moment, the relief clear on her expression.
"Coming, darling," she said as she gave Mr McCree an apologetic smile and returned to the table to sit down with her son. "Would you like more strawberries, too?" Because of course she'd used the strawberries they'd found in her fridge, and with only a few left, she'd thought it would be worthwhile to eat them with their pancakes.
***
There was something wrong, but McCree would not allow Ella nor Max to fret. It was for a time when Max was napping or asleep. Had she not gotten the message? Had something else happened? He was clearly concerned and it showed on his face.
Still, McCree moved to the table and dropped a kiss onto the top of Max’s head. He moved to Ella next and leaned down to press a gentle kiss onto her cheek. “You two enjoy your strawberry cakes, now. I’m gonna wash up a bit.” There was still a faint smell of old beer and liquor in his shirt, and McCree didn’t want that around either of them too much. “I won’t be long, darlin’.”
Which he wouldn’t be. Washing up would just be a quick shower to rinse off the grime from the bar. He even made sure to get his clothes into the wash basket. That had taken a bit of reminding at first, but McCree had definitely gotten better. When you lived on your own for so long, changing your ways tended to take some time.
“Hey, Ellie! Can’t find any of my tee shirts.” He had called out from the bedroom, not thinking anything of it considering it was the room they shared.
***
Ella thought she'd gotten away with it when he said he was going to wash up. She was so relieved that she didn't even think to question the use of bathrooms or the fact that there were no clothes in the house for a man larger than a four month old. She just smiled reassuringly at him and then turned her attention back to her son and her breakfast.
Max was just about full from his pancakes when she heard Mr McCree call from upstairs that he couldn't find any of his clothes. "Oh no." Ella looked toward the ceiling in confusion, which seemed to worry her son.
"Mama are you okay? You look funny," Max said, not fully understanding what was wrong.
"I'm- yes, of course sweetheart, I'm fine. I just need to go help Mr- your Papa find something suitable to wear. We'll be back in a few minutes," she promised her son. Ella got up from the table and moved to her son's side, giving him a big hug and a kiss on the forehead. Oh, she hoped this wouldn't end badly. After a long moment, she let him go and made her way upstairs, only to flush scarlet at the sight of Mr McCree in nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist.
"Oh!" Ella quickly diverted her eyes and stopped where she was near the top of the stairs. "I ah-" She cleared her throat. "I am sorry, Mr McCree," she began, her gaze flicking up to meet his before going back to the floor. "I should have been honest with you from the start, but I- I cannot say I understand fully what is going on. Maximilian was four months old yesterday," she explained, "and now he is five or six." Surely he understood now where she was going with this.
"I'm afraid you won't find any of your things here, Mr McCree." It felt odd, calling him Mr McCree when he'd kissed her so lovingly and inspired such butterflies in her stomach. It was a feeling she had not had in some time. "Maximilian and I live here alone." Ella couldn't even bear to look up at him, so worried he would hate her for not telling him the truth right away.
***