Morningstar Manor

Home from work, Charlie called in at the day care to pick Nia up and was told that Deacon had already done so. So Charlie went family hunting and found them in the shrubbery - mainly due to the sounds of giggling.

"Well - my favourite people," he said.

Mornings after the nights before could be bad enough. But ones where a bright and vivacious toddler had decided that she really wanted to play 'horsies' were utterly hideous.

Charlie shushed Nia. "Daddy D's asleep," he told her. "So sssshhhhhhh and let's find another game to play."

"No," Nia said, bouncing, "horsies. Daddy be horsie and Nia go giddap." She clucked her tongue and patted his head then began to sing "Horsie, horsie don't you stop" at the top of her voice.

Charlie moaned and went to make breakfast. His only comfort, and that was bad karma, was that there were plenty who would be feeling worse.

Pushing Nia's stroller with his elbows, Charlie peeled an apple for her with the smallest blade of his Swiss Army knife and passed pieces down.

"'Nuther bit, peeeeees," she said, waving a hand, and he put a slice if apple in it and grinned as she, unprompted, chanted, "'N'koo, Daddy."

Sometimes being a Dad was just grand.

Yes it was cold but there was lots of great piles of snow in the garden and that meant there was really only one thing for them to do.

Go play in it!

Deacon and Charlie bundled Nia up in a snow suit, hat, wellies, scarf, gloves and the poor thing could barely move but that didn't stop her from bouncing around in the snow excitedly. Charlie and Deacon were bundled up too and making sure that Nia didn't get lost in any of the bigger drifts.

"At least she's wearing bright pink," Deacon said. "If she does go down in one of the big ones we'll still see her."

Niles had woken up this morning to the sounds of his cat joyfully batting bulbs around his Christmas tree. Being of the mindset that it was the documentarian's job to simply observe, he grabbed his point and shoot camera and started snapping pictures as Lola darted in and out of the tree. After he got one that he felt was particularly awesome, he put it onto his computer and made a personalized card for each of his friends that he was delivering gifts to today, and the ones that he'd gifted already. After sticking the coordinating card with each gift, he happily carried them down to be delivered. Had he gone overboard? Yes. Were his gifts bordering on extravagent? Some were. But it wasn't like he didn't have the money and he adored having people to actually buy for. Whistling, he headed back up to his apartment.

It wasn't to be expected that on a day as important as this one Nia would sleep late in the morning. So it was with less shock than smiling acceptance that Charlie and Deacon were woken by lusty squeals of "He's beeeeeen - he's beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeen" at about five thirty.

At least it would give them a chance to get well ahead of themselves with the cooking, Charlie thought as he slipped out of bed and went to fetch the girl and her stocking. Now was the time, he was veru concious, that they would be making memories and traditions to last her all her life and he was very concerned that this Christmas would set golden standards.

Deacon was dragging himself from bed as well and made a quick trip to the restroom then slipped on pj pants and an old tshirt and got their camera. It was their first Christmas with Nia - they had to have pictures. ( Lots of pictures. )

They'd gotten a fake tree this year - since they were going to be out of town a bit - and after moving a few things around had finally gotten it in place and put together. The lights were strung and twinkling merrily and Deacon was taking a break and sipping some coffee and they decided what to put on next.

"Tinsel?" he said, looking at Charlie and then down to where Nia was sitting in a pile of the sparkling stuff and beaming.

Charlie had called that morning and had a fair idea of when Andras would be home, so headed down with Nia on one hip and an envelope folder under his other arm.

He smiled at Nia and said, "Shall we find out if he's there? Do you want to knock?"

"Knock knock," Nia said, and her little fist padded at the door. "Knock knock, who dat dere?"

"Andras," Charlie said, and knocked as well.

"Andras whooo?" Nia said.

Yesterday - though smaller than past years - had been great. Andras and Leo and Erik and Andy had come and they'd brought some food with them and Charlie had been cooking like a maniac - though Deacon had helped too. They'd stuffed themselves, lounged on the couch where Deacon insisted they watch football even if he was the only one to appreciate it, and Nia had basked in the attention she received from everyone.

Now, the morning after, Deacon felt like he had a food hangover and was in his favorite chair sipping his coffee while Nia watched cartoons. But even full to the gills he was still thinking about the left over in the kitchen.

"But, Charlie," he was saying with a little smile, "Pumpkin Pie is traditional breakfast the mornin' after Thanksgivin'."

Coffee was a wonderful thing. Coffee and muffins were even better. Coffee and muffins and watching your little girl coloring pictures of turkeys and pumpkins was probably the best. Okay so technically she wasn't his little girl yet - they were still waiting on all the adoption paperwork to go through but as far as Deacon was concerned Nia was his.

"That's gorgeous, baby," he said when she proudly showed him the rather messy picture. Nia beamed and started a new one and Deacon smiled and sipped his coffee.

*******

Kara was sitting on one of the couches, sipping her coffee and going through the last few things she had to do before heading to Boston for Thanksgiving. Today was the last day at work then she could leave tomorrow - well they could leave. Her and Niles. That thought made her smile.

*******

Jack had been up before the sun. Mrs. Eddings's heater had busted, lift two had gone wonky, something had been messing with things in the basement... Yawning and already looking a bit ragged he stopped into the Mocha. It was time for a break dammit.

******

Jason was taking a break too, sitting just in the doorway of the Mocha and watching the room as well as the lobby. Oh sure Frank was covering the desk for a bit but it was the holidays. That meant guests were coming to the Manor and Jason liked to keep an eye out to see who the guests were. Holidays - at least for him - were always stressful.

With a duffle bag trundling behind him and a suit bag over his arm, Charlie left the bedroom and went along to the living room.

"Well," he said. "I have twenty minutes 'til my cab comes. Who wants to kiss Daddy bye bye?"

Nia peered at him round the leg of the table. "Peep bo," she said. "Bye bye."

Charlie sighed. He didn't think she had grasped that he was going away properly, instead of just going to work.

"In that case I'll kiss, D," he said aand leaned across to do so. "Mwah."

Charlie had got off work at lunchtime when Loki had arrived, had issued a few terse instructions then had - wandered. Consequently he was rather late in picking up Nia from the day care and getting home.

"Hungry," Nia said. "Wan' cookie."

"I'll get you something now," Charlie promised as he took their coats off and led her through to the kitchen to see what was in the fridge.

They were having a lazy afternoon. Just as well really because when Charlie had woken up his head had been pounding and his stomach felt like it was full of frogs.

Now Deacon was watching the football, stretched out on the couch like a big lazy lion with a selection of snacks and a six pack in a cooler. Nia had a cookie and was hosting a 'tea party' in a pillow fort under the dining table and Charlie was sitting up at the table, drawing and trying not to move his feet, because he had teddies of various shapes and sizes propped against his shins.

It wa getting on for half time and Charlie glanced at Deacon and wondered if he'd like coffee, but decided to wait until the break to ask.

Nia wasn't quite well enough to go to the day care today. In fact she was still grumpy and grizzly and a bit sleepy, even after having slept most of the way across the Atlantic and again once she got home. So Charlie had taken her down to the Mocha to do some colouring, just to get her out of the apartment while Deacon caught up on business a bit, and Charlie was 'working' by exchanging cheeky texts with Leena.

His phone beeped and he passed Nia the orange crayon then read the text and snickered.

Ted had got there around midnight but the party had still been going strong. So he waited until the house was in darkness before taking the shortcut from the farm track, where he had left his Porsche, down through the garden to the side entrance. No locks and chains on the doors in the country and mercifully no dogs in this household either.

It took no more than a minute to slip through to the back staircase and climb to the second floor. Here was a light on in one of the guest rooms and he heard the deep mutter of a man’s voice. He scowled to hear the reply in a light laughing tenor and walked on sneering. Some of his pervert brother’s pervert friends obviously.

At the end of the landing was a closed door and beyond it would be the nursery where he and his brother had slept when they were little, and the playroom and the apartment where his Nannies had lived. It had been a good place – his place once he had got rid of Harry, as he had been called then. He tried the door ( Read more... )

Erik's tea was wonderful stuff. By eleven in the morning Charlie had been back on his feet and they had walked over to Leysters to pick up Nia and take her to the Dean Forest Railway where they were having a Thomas the Tank engine day. It had been quite a convoy because everyone had gone and Charlie thought they had had a good time, though Nia had been by far the most enthralled.

On the way back they had dropped in at Goodrich to see a genuine castle, then had a fish and chip supper at the farmhouse before Andy and Erik and Seth and Nick and Andras had returned to Leysters, leaving Charlie to linger for a last private moment with Deacon

It was traditional, Tom had said, to spend the night apart so Charlie had agreed to it and was putting his over night bag in the Land Rover beside Nia's car seat. She would continue to stay with Nana, just to give them a little bit of a honeymoon, and was looking forward to it, though right that moment she was grumbling.

"I don't like to leave you here all on your own," Charlie said to Deacon, his expression genuinely concerned. "I really don't." ( Read more... )

Andras was only going to be staying one night before transferring to Leysters with the rest of the wedding party, so Charlie was determined to make something spectacluar for dinner.

The salmon was marinating, the salads were made, the carrots julienned and the wine chilling. Now he was making a pudding - whipping cream - and singing to himself as he did so.

And dancing, of course, while Nia sat under the table with a pile of ancient Lego and hammered bits together.

Charlie hadn't slept particularly well - which was upsetting because he usually slept so much better at the farm than anywhere else. He told himself it was that he was listening for Nia, or just the change in temperature - by 3 am the house was chilly - or that he didn't have the hum of the aircon to lull him, but he knew he was kidding himself. the truth was that he was almost unbearably excited, and filled with restless energy.

So this morning after breakfast he suggested a walk. "We can take the back pack for Nia, though she can walk as well most of the time. Swing by the top of the wood, round the estate and be in the village in timme for lunch?"

"Sounds like a plan," Deacon said, sipping his coffee. "She'll be tired on the walk back so the backpack is good. And we gotta show the little munchkin around the village after all."

Like the proud papas they were.( Read more... )

After breakfast they had chilled a bit and let Nia play in the garden. Then just around noon they had walked down the lane and climbed over the stile into Tom's fields and taken the footpath across to the deer park to Join Bella and Edward, who had driven down the previous evening, for lunch.

It had been a hearty sensible type of lunch, suitable to set up people who were going to be doing hearty sensible things.

"I need some fresh air," Charlie said. "I'm stuffed."

"In that case," Bella said with a smile, "you can all come out with me. There's something Nia might enjoy and it will give you a chance to work some of that lunch off."

She patted Charlie's stomach and he hastily sucked it in.

"Daddy FAT!" Nia crowed and hooted, pointing.

Mum's car was perfectly adequate. Charlie remembered her driving a series of smallish hatchbacks of the Golf variety, so this sleek Audi soft top was a nice surprise. It had taken them from the civilised environs of Begravia to the wilds of Gloucestershire in just a couple of hours and they were pulling into the farm yard in time for lunch.

"Potty," Nia announced and nodded at Charlie when he glanced at her in the mirror. As usual he had let Deacon deal with the motorways while he had taken over on the winding roads of the countryside. He didn't think they had suffered time wise but Nia probably did need a comfort stop.

He pulled up outside the farmhouse, dived out and investigated under the usual pail for the key.

"Here we go," he said. ( Read more... )