Hey guys, sorry it's a wee bit late tonight but at least we got the chapter up, right? If you guys like Hannah, you'll see more of her this chapter, as well as the Jon Weasley family ;) As always, let us know what you think- it only takes a few seconds to leave a comment :D
Luna and Ron were entering their second week with their foster children and everything was going okay so far. The two boys had calmed down somewhat, but Ron insisted that was because they were busy plotting something big. Caitlin was sleeping through the night and Hannah, while still quiet, seemed to be adjusting okay.
Because of her busy schedule, Frankie hadn't been able to return to the house until that weekend and she and Will both carried bags of packages into the house.
"What's all this?" Luna asked when she opened the door.
"Loads of toys," Frankie replied. "And some clothes."
Luna gasped as she stood back to let them inside. "Frankie, you didn't have to do that.."
"We wanted to," Frankie replied.
"That was very sweet of you both," Luna said pecking Frankie and then Will on the cheek. "The kids are in the back with Ronald. "
"Great," Frankie smiled. "Come on Will."
"Frankie tells me you have five children altogether?" Will asked as they followed Luna through the house.
"Five next week," Luna said. "Right now we just have Caitlin, Hannah, Joey and Zack. By next Tuesday we'll also have Jenny, another five year old."
"And how's Ron doing with all this?" Will asked.
"He's dealing," Luna said with a laugh. "It's been awhile since we had such young kids around here. I've missed it."
Frankie couldn't wait to see Hannah again and she hoped that the young girl wouldn't be too upset that she hadn't been by again until now. She stepped out onto the porch with Will and Luna and saw the two boys playing football with Ron. Caitlin was in her playpen, but Hannah was nowhere to be seen.
"Whoa," Joey stopped when he saw Frankie and Will with their packages. "What's all that for?"
"Frankie and her husband Will brought you lot some presents," Luna told him. "What do you say, Joey?"
Joey shrugged. "What did you get us?"
"Joey!" Luna raised an eyebrow. "What have we been talking about since you got here?"
"You're supposed to say 'thank you'," Zack told his friend.
"Oh yeah," Joey said sheepishly.
"Either of you boys like to play chess?" Will asked pulling a new set out of the bag.
"I never played it," Zack answered.
"I can teach you everything I know," Ron said mussing Zack's hair.
Frankie felt someone tugging on her jumper and she turned to see Hannah staring up at her. "You---you came back," Hannah said softly.
"Hannah," Frankie grinned at her. "I was wondering where you were!"
Hannah smiled hesitantly at Frankie.
"She likes to play in the garden," Luna said. "She was helping me earlier. Weren't you, Hannah?"
Hannah nodded silently.
"There's someone I'd love for you to meet," Frankie said kneeling down so she'd be eye-level with Hannah. "Will?"
"You must be Hannah," Will smiled invitingly at her. "I've heard loads about you."
Hannah looked at Frankie and then Luna with a stricken expression on her face. She wrapped her arms around Frankie's leg and turned her face away from Will.
"Hannah?" Frankie asked. "What's wrong, sweetheart?"
Hannah shook her head but didn't say a word.
Frankie patted her back soothingly. "We brought some presents for you. Would you like to look at them?"
When Hannah didn't respond Luna leaned down next to her. "Sweetheart... you can tell us if something's upset you."
"Can we go back in the garden?" Hannah whispered in Luna's ear.
"You don't want your gifts?" Luna asked perplexedly.
Will wondered if perhaps he was the problem. "I'll just show the boys what we bought for them. Come on, Joey, Zack..."
Frankie tucked Hannah's hair back behind her ear. "Hannah..." she said softly. "Are you scared of Will?"
Hannah nodded.
"Honey, you know you don't have to be," Frankie told her gently.
"Will's a really nice young man," Luna said. "He has a niece who's a couple of years older than you."
"And he spoils her rotten," Frankie said. "And he loves my nieces Caroline and Emma like they were his own..."
Hannah blinked back tears as Luna brushed her hair back.
"It's going to be okay, sweetie," Luna said picking her up. "I promise."
"Hannah I'm sorry," Frankie stood up. "I never meant to upset you."
"How about we go inside?" Luna asked. "Just the three of us and we can take a look at what Frankie brought. What do you say?"
"Just us?" Hannah asked.
"Just us," Luna promised.
"Okay," Hannah agreed shyly.
Frankie picked up the bag and followed Hannah and Luna into the house.
"Well first," Frankie smiled at the little girl. "I saw how you liked those dolls upstairs in Drew's old room so I found these.
She gave Hannah a set of the newest paper dolls on the market- these dolls actually moved around to model the clothes put on them.
"For me?" Hannah asked hopefully. "Really?"
"All for you," Frankie nodded.
"That one looks like you!" Hannah said excitedly, pointing to a raven-haired doll.
"I suppose it does," Frankie grinned at the girl's exuberant tone.
"She's my favourite," Hannah said picking up the doll.
"Well that isn't all I got you," Frankie said. "My niece Caroline also helped me pick out some dress up clothes she thought you might like."
Hannah hugged the doll in her arms and watched as Frankie pulled out a fairy princess gown, complete with a tiara.
"That is just gorgeous," Luna said. "I can see how Caroline would have picked it out."
"That's for me, too?" Hannah asked picking up the tiara.
"Yes," Frankie said. "Let's try it on you."
Hannah nodded and bit her bottom lip as Frankie placed the tiara on her head.
"Like a real princess," Luna said smiling at the little girl.
"Caroline and Katie have come up with this princess club," Frankie said. "I'll bet when they see you in this they'll make you a member."
"Really?" Hannah asked .
"Let me see if I remember..." Frankie pursed her lips. "Caroline is Jasmine, Mia is Sleeping Beauty, Em is The Little Mermaid, and Katie is Tinkerbell."
"I don't know who they are," Hannah's smile disappeared.
"I didn't either until Caroline forced me to watch every single one of those movies," Frankie said. "They're all characters in Disney movies."
"I'm sure we have a few of them around here," Luna said. "We can watch them sometime Hannah."
"I-I'd like that," Hannah said.
"I know who you could be," Frankie said smiling at the little girl. "Belle from Beauty and the Beast. You have brown hair just like she does."
"I do?" Hannah asked. "Really?"
Frankie nodded. "Just like her."
Hannah looked shyly down at the paper doll in her hands. These people were so nice to her and she wanted to trust them, but it was hard for her to believe that someone other than her mother could ever love her.
Frankie just wanted to scoop the little girl up in her arms and hug her and tell her everything was going to be okay.
"I--I also bought you some new clothes," Frankie said reaching back into the bag and pulling out some jeans, t-shirts and jumpers. "I got a lot of purple stuff for you since that's your favourite colour."
Hannah's eyes opened wide and she stared at the beautiful clothes speechlessly.
"And this one is from the Quidditch team I work for," Frankie said pulling out a pink sweatshirt that said 'Puddlemere Princess' written on it.
Luna laughed. "That's adorable."
"Do you like it?" Frankie asked Hannah. "If you don't, I could get it in a different colour..."
"It's pretty," Hannah said softly.
"I'm glad you like it," Frankie said smiling at her. "And you can wear it next week when we go to the big match..."
"Definitely," Luna said. "This is really lovely of you Frankie."
"I was happy to do it," Frankie said.
"Thank you," Hannah whispered.
"You're very welcome," Frankie said.
Luna smiled. "Hannah, why don't you go and show Frankie what we did in the garden while I put all your things upstairs?"
"I'd love to see what you did," Frankie said when Hannah looked as if she wanted to run upstairs with Luna.
"Okay," Hannah said quietly.
They went back outside and Hannah reached for Frankie's hand to lead her over to the garden.
"I used to help my mum out in the garden when I was your age," Frankie said conversationally.
"Sometimes I helped Mummy with ours," Hannah said softly.
"What sorts of things did your mummy have in her garden?" Frankie asked.
"Lots of flowers," Hannah said. "And carrots for the bunnies."
Frankie smiled. "I bet you loved helping your Mummy out, didn't you?"
She nodded. "But Daddy didn't like us to be out here alone."
"Why not, sweetheart?" Frankie asked gently.
"He said we were hiding," Hannah's voice was almost inaudible.
Frankie stopped walking and knelt down in front of Hannah. "Hiding from what?"
"Him," Hannah said hoarsely.
"Oh," Frankie said, biting back her anger. She still couldn't understand how a man could do that to his wife and daughter. She could sense Hannah was on the verge of tears and Frankie wrapped her arms around her and patted her back. "I'm so sorry that you had to grow up like that, Hannah."
Hannah clung to her. "I miss my Mummy a lot. Daddy was angry and said we hid too much so he made her go away."
Tears pooled in Frankie's eyes as she hugged Hannah. "I wish I could have met your Mummy."
Tears coursed down the little girl's cheeks. "I miss her a lot."
"I know you do," Frankie said. "Do you want to talk about her with me?"
Hannah wanted to desperately. She had a feeling Frankie would understand her. But at the same time, her trust in adults was so disillusioned after the way she had been treated by someone who was supposed to take care of her. She shook her head, her eyes dropping away to look at the ground.
"Whenever you're ready to talk about her," Frankie said wiping a tear from Hannah's cheek. "I'll listen, okay?"
Hannah nodded, still looking away.
Frankie stood back up. "How about you show me that garden now?"
"You still want to see it?" Hannah had thought for sure that Frankie would just walk away and decide she wasn't worth all the trouble.
Frankie nodded. "I cannot wait to see it."
"I helped plant some more of those," Hannah showed her some sunflowers.
"Sunflowers!" Frankie exclaimed. "That's one of my favourite flowers. You did a great job, Hannah!"
Hannah blushed at her praise. "I like them too."
"You know," Frankie said thoughtfully. "I've been meaning to have a garden of my own at my house, but I keep putting it off. Do you think someday you might be able to help me?"
Hannah stared at her in shock.
"What is it?" Frankie asked.
"You want my help?" Hannah asked.
Frankie nodded. "I need all the help I can get. In fact, if Luna says it's okay, perhaps you could go with me to one of the nurseries in town and we can pick out some flowers...and maybe a couple of carrot seeds...for the bunnies."
Hannah hesitated a moment before nodding a little.
Frankie beamed at her. "Fantastic!"
"Hey Frankie," Will called out to her. "We have to get going soon- I promised Mum and Dad we'd meet them in town."
Hannah tensed up and hid behind Frankie.
Frankie nodded to her husband before kneeling down. "Hey it's all right," she said soothingly.
"You---you're going?" Hannah asked.
"In a few minutes," Frankie said. "But I promise I'll be back soon."
"We're going to my mum and dad's house for lunch," Will explained.
Hannah shrugged away from Frankie and ran back toward the house.
Frankie sighed and got to her feet. "It's like I'm getting through but then she puts up a wall."
"Ron was telling me that she doesn't say too much around him either," Will said putting an arm around his wife.
"I think what her father did to her made her weary of all men," Frankie gazed at the door where Hannah had just disappeared.
Will nodded. "I figured as much. That poor little girl..."
"Maybe I should go try and talk to her again," Frankie mused.
"I'll ring mum and dad to let them know we'll be a little late," Will said putting his arms around her.
"Thanks," Frankie gave him a quick kiss. "You're the best."
"She means a lot to you, doesn't she?" Will asked her.
"There's just something about her," Frankie replied. "I feel like I want to make her happy."
"Then you should go and see what you can do," Will said squeezing her hand. "I'll be playing football with the boys."
"I don't think it'll take long," Frankie went inside the house and upstairs to Hannah's room.
The door was ajar and Frankie knocked gently on it before opening it all the way. Hannah was lying down on her bed, hugging a teddy bear to her.
"Can I come in?" she asked softly.
Hannah nodded wordlessly.
"I didn't mean to make you upset down there," Frankie sat on the edge of the bed.
"Scared," Hannah said weakly.
"What are you scared of?" Frankie asked.
"Daddy," Hannah whispered. "He's going to come back and get me."
"What makes you say that?" Frankie was startled.
"He said he'd get me," Hannah replied hugging the bear tightly to her.
"He can't get you sweetheart," Frankie reassured her. "He's in prison now."
"I just want my mummy back," Hannah said sitting up and looking pleadingly at Frankie.
"I wish I could get her back for you," Frankie said. "I really do."
Hannah nodded and then did something Frankie wasn't expecting. She threw her arms around Frankie's neck and sobbed into her shoulder.
Frankie hugged the little girl back and let her cry. Remembering the cuts and bruises, she rubbed Hannah's back lightly in case she was still hurt.
For the first time in a long time, Hannah actually felt safe. She held on tightly to Frankie, worried that if she let go, Frankie would leave.
"It's going to be okay," Frankie held her closely. "Hannah I promise nothing bad will happen to you now."
Hannah nodded and continued to sob into Frankie's shoulder. Neither of them knew that Will was standing just outside the door watching. His heart broke for Hannah and he was amazed at how this girl had opened up to Frankie.
Frankie held the little girl until her sobs subsided and when she pulled away, Frankie saw that Hannah had fallen asleep.
Gently, she let go of Hannah and lay her down on the bed. She placed a blanket over her and then leaned down and placed a kiss on Hannah's forehead.
"Sweet dreams, Hannah," she whispered.
"Are you all right?" Will asked his wife as she emerged.
Frankie shook her head. "I can't leave her, Will."
Will looked at his wife pensively. "I'm sure Mum and Dad will understand if I go alone," he said. "Mind if I tell them what's going on?"
Frankie shook her head. "I don't mind. After what she just told me, I don't want her to wake up and find me gone. I just don't understand how someone could do that to a child! She's his flesh and blood! She's this sweet, sensitive, smart little girl that anyone would be happy to call their own and he broke her into a million pieces, Will!"
"Come here baby," Will hugged her.
Frankie rested her head on his chest. "I want to protect her."
"I can see why," Will nodded. "She's really sweet Frankie. She deserves better than she's gotten."
"And she'll have it," Frankie said determinedly. "I'm going to stop by and see her every single day."
"I'm sure she'll like that," Will said. "I'll head over to meet Mum and Dad."
Frankie gave him a kiss. "Tell them I'm sorry."
"They'll understand," Will caressed her cheek. "I'm proud of you Frankie. You're really helping Hannah out."
"I'm trying," Frankie said. "I'll see you later tonight."
"Love you," Will gave her another kiss.
Frankie went back inside Hannah's room and lay back down on the bed, being as quiet as she possibly could.
"Mummy," Hannah whispered cuddling up closer to Frankie.
Frankie brushed back a wisp of her hair and ran her hand over Hannah's back in a comforting manner.
"Is everything okay?" Luna whispered from the door.
Frankie nodded. "She fell asleep."
"Will told me on his way out that she was upset," Luna said quietly.
"She cried herself to sleep," Frankie whispered.
"Poor thing," Luna said sympathetically. "I've been putting that salve on her back but she's going to be scarred most likely."
"Are you certain?" Frankie asked. "Surely, there's something we can do..."
"I'm no medical expert," Luna shook her head. "But they're pretty deep. I'm going to talk to Lizzy and see if she can recommend anything."
Frankie nodded. "Do you happen to have Beauty and the Beast here? I'd like to watch it with her when she wakes up, if that's okay?"
"We might," Luna said. "If not, I'll see if Allie and Jon will let me borrow their copy."
"You don't mind me sticking around for awhile, do you?" Frankie asked.
"Of course not," Luna said. "We're always glad to have you here Frankie."
Frankie smiled. "Did the boys like what we gave them?"
"Are you kidding?" Luna grinned. "They're still out back playing with the football."
"I'm glad they liked it," Frankie said softly.
"Ron and I really appreciate this," Luna told her. "I wish everyone took this much interest in orphans. Life is hard for them and you've just made everything a little easier."
"I wish I could do more," Frankie said looking down at Hannah.
"To her, you are," Luna said softly. "I can tell she looks up to you."
Frankie smiled. "There's just something about her."
"I agree," Luna replied.
"How is she doing with the other kids?" Frankie asked.
"Not so good with Joey," Luna said. "He's not the easiest little boy to get on with. Zack doesn't bother her too much, and she actually likes helping me with Caitlin sometimes."
"When are you thinking of introducing her to Caroline and Em?" Frankie asked.
"I should do that pretty soon," Luna replied. "I just didn't want to overwhelm her."
Frankie could certainly understand that. In the distance, she heard Caitlin starting to cry and Luna quietly excused herself to go and check on the baby.
Hannah whimpered slightly in her sleep and Frankie stroked her tearstained face.
"Sweet Hannah," Frankie whispered. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you. I promise."
"Don't go away Mummy," Hannah whispered, still sleeping.
The old Frankie would never have found herself in this type of situation and would have rather ran a mile than be here. But the grown-up, mature Frankie couldn't have left even if she'd wanted to. This little girl needed her and Frankie wanted to be there for her.
"I'm right here," she whispered. "I'm right here, Hannah."
The little girl's eyes opened with a snap. "Where'd my Mummy go?"
Frankie pushed a strand of hair off Hannah's forehead. "She's in heaven, sweetheart."
"Why?" Hannah's lip trembled.
"I-I don't know," Frankie said softly. "But I know that she wishes she was here with you right now."
Hannah wiped at her eyes with her little fists. "You stayed with me the whole time?"
Frankie nodded. "I told you I'd be right here, remember?"
"I didn't think you would stay," Hannah said tentatively. "Cause you said you had to leave."
"There's no place in the world I'd rather be than right here," Frankie said. "And Luna said we could watch a movie, if you'd like. Just you and me."
Hannah stared at her in amazement. "Okay," she said, a small smile on her face.
"And in my family, when we watch movies, we pop popcorn and drink pumpkin juice," Frankie said getting to her feet.
"I never had popcorn," Hannah admitted.
Frankie smiled. "Well, you're in for a good time then. I bet Ron and Luna have some popcorn around here somewhere. You want to go see if we can find some?"
"Okay," Hannah replied. "What movie are we going to watch?"
"Belle," Frankie said bowing in front of Hannah. "We're going to watch Beauty and the Beast."
"Bell?" Hannah asked confusedly.
"She's the main character in the movie," Frankie said. "And she's one of those Disney princesses I was telling you about. Wait until you see the scene where she dances with the beast for the first time. She has this really beautiful yellow dress on. Now normally, I wouldn't think yellow would make a great colour for a dress, but it is gorgeous, Hannah. Wait until you see it."
Hannah smiled at Frankie. "I like yellow."
"But not as much as purple, right?" Frankie asked her with a grin.
"Purple is my most favouritest colour." Hannah nodded.
Frankie picked her up. "It's my most favouritest colour too. In fact, I might know a spell that could turn our popcorn purple. What do you think?"
Hannah giggled. "Okay."
Frankie carried her out of the room and downstairs.
"Dark purple or light purple?" Frankie asked her.
"Ummm..." Hannah thought for a moment. "Light."
"Excellent choice, dah-ling!" Frankie said dramatically. She set Hannah down on the counter and rummaged around in the pantry looking for a bag of popcorn.
Hannah watched Frankie look around and couldn't remember feeling like this since before her mother had died.
"Found it," Frankie said triumphantly. She peeled back the plastic cover and then placed the bag inside the microwave. "In about two minutes, we'll have purple popcorn."
"Is it good that way?" Hannah asked.
"It's yummy," Frankie replied. "What do you want to drink? Pumpkin juice? Soda?"
"I like pumpkin juice," Hannah said. "Please," she remembered to add.
"Coming right up," Frankie said smiling at her.
Hannah smiled back, feeling better than she had in ages. She'd watched a few movies before with her mother but none since going to live at the orphanage.
Frankie poured them both a glass of pumpkin juice and grinned at Hannah. "You can carry the popcorn and I'll carry the juice. How's that sound?"
Hannah nodded. "I'm real careful."
Frankie's smile faltered a bit. The poor girl was probably afraid of what would happen if she dropped or spilled something on the floor. Another product of her father, Frankie thought bitterly. She set the glasses down for a moment so she could help Hannah off the counter.
"You're a sweet girl, Hannah," Frankie said setting her down.
Hannah looked shyly at her. "Thank you." she said softly.
Frankie handed Hannah the bowl. "Ready?"
Hannah nodded and followed her into the sitting room.
Frankie set the glasses on the coffee table and then walked over to one of the bookshelves that housed Ron and Luna's movie collection. "To tell you the truth, Hannah, I didn't know any of these movies before, either. Caroline knows most of them by heart and she kind of got me hooked on them too."
"Do you like them now?" the little girl perched uncertainly on the edge of the sofa.
"I love them," Frankie said, finally pulling out the DVD of Beauty and the Beast. "This one is my favourite, but I also really love Cinderella."
"My mummy read that story to me once," Hannah looked at the bowl of purple popcorn.
"She did?" Frankie asked turning to look at Hannah.
She nodded. "It was in a book."
"I could read to you sometime if you like," Frankie said smiling at Hannah. "I'm not as good at is as Will though. He does the voices and he makes Caroline and Emma giggle."
"We don't have the book anymore," Hannah said. "Daddy put it in the fire."
Frankie again resisted the urge to verbally annihilate Hannah's father. "Well, there's loads of books in your new room. And we can read one of them tonight, if you like."
"You're going to stay that long?" Hannah asked in astonishment.
Frankie nodded. "If Ron and Luna say its okay, I'd like to."
"I hope you can," Hannah said with a red tinge in her cheeks.
Frankie smiled and grabbed the remote control before sitting down beside Hannah. "You are going to love this, Hannah."
For the next hour and a half she watched spellbound at the movie on the screen in front of her.
Frankie smiled as the credits began to play. "I love a happy ending..."
Hannah nodded, still transfixed. "I get to be her?"
"You sure do," Frankie said turning off the television.
"Will they let me?" Hannah asked softly.
"I should think so," Frankie replied. "We'll have to ask Caroline, Mia, Katie and Emma, but I think you're a shoo-in."
Hannah nodded. "Thank you for being nice to me."
Frankie shook her head. "You don't have to thank me for that, Hannah. It's something I'm happy to do because you're such a sweet little girl."
"Mummy used to tell me that all the time," Hannah confided.
Frankie put an arm around Hannah and kissed the top of her forehead. "Your mummy was right."
Hannah leaned into her. "Frankie?"
"Yeah?"
"Are you my friend now?" Hannah asked timidly.
Frankie smiled. "Yes, sweetheart. I'm your friend now."
"I never had any friends," Hannah looked down at the empty bowl.
"You do now," Frankie said. "You have me; Luna, Ron, and I know my nieces are going to love you..."
Hannah smiled tremulously at her.
Luna came into the sitting room with Caitlin. "Hiya, girls. How was the movie?"
"I liked it," Hannah said shyly.
"It's a good movie, isn't it?" Luna asked smiling at Hannah.
Hannah nodded.
"I was wondering if I could stay a little longer," Frankie said to Luna. "If you don't have anything planned, I thought I might stick around long enough to read Hannah a story or two."
"I'm sure Hannah would love that," Luna said warmly.
Hannah beamed at Frankie.
"All settled then," Frankie grinned at her.
Hannah wrapped her arms around Frankie. She didn't know what story she wanted Frankie to read, but she hoped it was a long one.
Frankie hugged the child back. "We can look through Drew's old books and find something," she suggested.
"If you'd like I can send word to Will that you'll be a little late getting home," Luna offered.
"Sure," Frankie nodded. "Thank you- tell him I probably won't be too late. I have some early meetings tomorrow morning."
"I'll tell him," Luna promised.
Frankie stood up. "When do you usually go to bed Hannah?"
Hannah shrugged. "When Luna tells me to."
Frankie giggled. "Well are you tired?"
Hannah shook her head.
"Well good," Frankie said. "That means we have more time to read you some stories!"
Hannah stood up as well and took Frankie's hand. She wouldn't do anything to mess this up. She had her first real friend and she felt happy for the first time since her mother's death.
*** *** ***
Despite his responsibilities at the pub since coming back from Brighton, Jon was trying to spend as much time as possible at home while his wife was entering her final few months of pregnancy. In case anything went wrong this time, he decided that he absolutely had to be around as much as possible.
Caroline had just finished her first week at school and she was pretending to be a teacher with Emma and Mia, who was over playing that afternoon, as her willing students.
"Emma," Caroline said. "Your spelling word is 'book'."
Emma nodded and looked thoughtfully at her sister. "A....b.....g....y," she answered.
Caroline giggled. "You've almost got it Em."
"Yay!" Emma clapped her hands together. "Daddy, see?"
Jon looked up from his paper and smiled. "Yes, sweetheart. Very good."
"This brings me back," Allison said as she watched their daughters and Mia. "I used to do that with you, Josh and Lizzy."
"You and Lizzy loved it," Jon smirked. "Josh and I just wanted to play outside."
"Come on, you have to admit it was fun," Allison said sneaking one of his biscuits. "Though Josh was always trying to correct me..."
"Okay Mia," Caroline said. "Your word is 'super'."
Mia grinned. "S-u-p-e-r, super."
"Very good," Caroline nodded. "You both get full marks!"
"Daddy Em smart!" Emma said excitedly. "Em do good!"
Jon grinned at her. "Come here, smart girl!"
Emma giggled and climbed into her father's lap.
"Both of my girls are so smart," Jon said giving her a hug. "You got that from your Mum."
"Mia's smart too Daddy," Caroline said with a grin at her cousin.
"Daddy says I got that from my mum, too," Mia said grinning back at Caroline.
Allison shifted on the sofa. Adam had grown quite a bit over the last few months and she could never seem to find a comfortable way to sit these days.
"You okay, Mummy?" Caroline asked.
"Yes sweetheart," Allison said. "Your brother is quite active today."
Caroline put a hand on her mother's tummy. "Adam, go easy on Mummy."
"Adam be nice," Emma wagged her finger at Allison's stomach, making them all laugh.
"He's just trying to get comfortable too," Allison said. "I think he's just really ready to meet his sisters."
"We're ready too," Caroline said. "Maybe Adam will be born on my birthday!"
"It'll be close," Allison said.
"Em still baby," Emma said cuddling as close as she could to her mother.
Allison and Jon exchanged a look. "For now, sweetheart."
"Actually," Allison said thinking this was a good time to bring up the conversation she'd had earlier with Luna and Frankie. "There's something I wanted to talk to you girls about. You too, Mia."
"What is it Mummy?" Caroline asked, sitting on the floor next to her cousin.
"You remember me telling you about how Grandma Luna and Grandpa Ron were going to be taking in children from the orphanage?" Allison asked.
Caroline nodded. "The children who don't have mummies or daddies, right?"
"Right Angel," Allison nodded. "I'm glad you remember that."
"Do they have new babies now?" Caroline was curious.
"They have two little boys who are around your age, Caroline," Jon replied. "And there's a baby named Caitlin and there's a four-year old girl named Hannah."
"I like that name," Mia said with a grin. "Hannah."
"Hannah's a very special girl," Allison said. "Your Aunt Frankie likes her very much."
"Special how, Mummy?" Caroline asked.
"Well," Allison pushed herself up. "She lives in the orphanage even though her daddy is still alive," she began. "He used to... used to hurt her."
Mia and Caroline exchanged a look. "Hurt her?" Mia asked uncertainly.
Allison nodded. "Know how sometimes you might drop a glass on the floor and it breaks?"
"That happens to me a lot," Caroline said. "But you and Daddy just fix it."
"Well," Jon explained. "Hannah's dad got really angry when she used to do things like that. And he...he..."
"He would hit her," Allison said gently.
Caroline gasped. "Really?"
Allison nodded gravely.
"Daddies aren't supposed to do that," Mia said looking down at the carpet.
"Daddy never hurt Em," Emma said looking at Jon.
"Not ever," Jon said. "Never ever, ever, ever."
Emma wrapped her arms around Jon's neck and held on tightly.
"They put her Daddy away, didn't they?" Caroline asked Allison.
"Yes they did," Allison nodded. "And now Hannah's living with your Grandma and Grandpa. And Aunt Frankie was hoping you girls would come over and play with her sometime."
Caroline and Mia both didn't hesitate to respond by nodding their heads.
Allison smiled. "Your mum and dad already know about this Mia," she said. "And thank you both- it'll mean a lot to Hannah to know she already has some friends."
"When are we going to meet her, Mummy?" Caroline asked.
"In a few days," Allison said. "We wanted to give Hannah a chance to adjust to things."
Caroline nodded. "We'll be really nice to her, Mummy. And she can even be in our princess club."
"Thank you Angel," Allison said. "I think she'll be very excited to hear that."
"We could go into your room and find the Belle dress," Mia suggested to Caroline.
"Does she have brown hair Mummy?" Caroline asked.
Allison nodded. "She does."
"Then she's a perfect Belle!" Caroline said delightedly.
Mia took Caroline's hand. "Come on, Caroline!"
"Em come too!" Emma said scurrying after Mia and Caroline.
"They handled that well," Jon looked at his wife.
"They did," Allison said nodding. "They're sweet girls, Jon."
"We did a good job Al," Jon put his arms around her.
"We did," Allison said softly. "And you're such a great father, Jon."
"You're a good mum Al," Jon kissed her. "And this one's going to be great too."
"Our little boy," Allison said feeling tears well up in her eyes. She was crying at the drop of a hat these days and Jon had become quite used to it.
"Our little Adam," Jon grinned at her. "Coming to a Weasley home near you in just a few months."
Allison giggled and wiped at her eyes. "You always know just what to say."
Upstairs, Caroline was rummaging through her trunk of princess dresses. "I know it's in here somewhere..."
"This one?" Emma asked holding up the Sleeping Beauty costume.
"No Em," Caroline said. "The yellow one."
Mia was looking in Caroline's closet and grinned when she finally pulled out the yellow dress. "Here it is!"
"Oh good," Caroline said. "Em... remember how I said I was going to give you this dress?"
Emma nodded.
"Is it okay if I give it to Hannah instead?" Caroline asked her sister.
Emma looked thoughtfully at her sister. "Kay."
"It'll be a present from all of us, okay?" Caroline asked them.
"I bet she'll love the dress," Mia said. "And I have some old dress up clothes at home I could give her, too."
"I can't wait until we meet her," Caroline said excitedly. "I'll ask Katie if she has anything she doesn't use anymore too!"
"Frack and Han," Emma said going over to her toy basket and pulling out some stuffed animals. "Em give to Han."
Caroline giggled. "That's really sweet of you Em."
"Not Bunny," Emma said hugging her old stuffed bunny rabbit. "Gamma Cho give to Em."
"You don't have to give everything," Caroline told her. "Just what you want to. I think it's really nice Emma."
Emma smiled. "Kay."
"Let's go show Mummy and Daddy," Caroline said to her sister and cousin. "And we can tell them what we want to give to Hannah."
Caroline, Emma and Mia hurried back into the sitting room, but Jon and Allison were no longer in there. Caroline heard their voices coming from the kitchen.
"Gross, Al," Jon was saying to his wife. "How can you eat that?"
"It's good!" Allison said indignantly.
"What are you eating, Mummy?" Caroline asked.
"Peanut butter and tomato sandwich," Allison replied.
"Ew!" Emma exclaimed, her nose scrunching up in disgust.
"I agree Em," Jon scooped her up. "Ew, eww!"
Emma giggled. "Daddy!"
"That's pretty gross, Aunt Allie," Mia said.
"I need someone on my side," Allison teased them.
"Not even my dad would be on your side for that," Jon said tickling Emma's side. "Right, Em?"
"Right," Emma giggled. "Daddy, I give these to Han!" she held up some of her stuffed animals.
"That's very sweet of you," Jon told her. "I bet she'd love those, Emma."
"And I'm going to give her my Belle dress," Caroline said. "Plus Mia's going to get some of her dress up clothes too."
"And we'll ask Katie if she has anything she'd like to give her too," Mia chimed in.
"That's really lovely of you girls," Allison said. "Your Aunt Frankie is going to be very excited to hear how unselfish you all are."
"Em want to meet Han," Emma said. "Now!"
Jon grinned at her. "I think probably Saturday we'll go meet her."
"When is Saturday?" Emma demanded.
"Three days from now, sweetheart," Jon replied. "That way you'll have all day to play with her."
"I can't wait Daddy," Caroline said. "And we'll officially make her a princess!"
"Officially?" Jon asked her. "Is there a big ceremony?"
Caroline giggled. "I learned that word in school today."
"Speaking of school, you should get to your homework and it's about time for us to bring Mia home," Jon said.
"Does she have to go home?" Caroline pouted.
"I'm afraid so," Jon said. "Claire said she had until six, Caroline."
"Okay," Caroline said glumly.
Mia gave her best friend a hug. "I'll look in my room for some stuff for Hannah. I'll ring you if I find anything good, okay?"
Caroline nodded. "And we'll go play with her on Saturday."
"You can come with me to take her back though," Jon said tweaking Caroline's nose.
Caroline brightened. "Yay!" she said happily.
Allison looked at Emma. "You want to say with me and keep me company?"
"Kay," Emma agreed. "Em stay with Mummy."
"Thanks for letting me come over, Aunt Allie," Mia said waving to Allison. "Bye, Em!"
"Bye Mia," Emma waved.
Allison finished the rest of her sandwich and watched bemusedly as Emma set her stuffed animals up in a line. "What are you doing, Emma?"
"They want to watch," Emma told her mother.
"They want to watch me make dinner?" Allison asked.
Emma nodded.
Allison laughed. "Well, do you know what they'd like me to make?"
"Cheese," Emma said. "Grill cheese Mummy."
"Excellent choice, madam," Allison said attempting to bow to her daughter and the stuffed animals, but when she did so, she felt a sharp pain in her abdomen. "Oooooh...."
"Mummy okay?" Emma looked up quickly.
Allison took a few deep breaths to calm herself and reminded herself not to panic. It was hard not to remember the last time she'd experienced a pain like this. But, the pain luckily subsided and she gave her daughter a reassuring smile. "I'm okay...."
"Baby hurt?" Emma asked her.
Allison shook her head. "Just for a second, but I'm okay now, Em. Really."
"Kay," Emma said, still watching her mother. "Tell Daddy?"
"I'll tell Daddy when he gets home," Allison promised. "You just play with your stuffed animals and I'll get dinner started, okay?"
Emma nodded. "We want to watch."
Allison turned her attention back to making dinner, but she couldn't shake the fear that she'd felt a few moments earlier. She patted her tummy. "It's okay, Adam. Please let it be okay."
"We're back!" Jon called a few moments later.
"We're still in the kitchen," Allison called out.
Jon came in with a grin which faded when he saw his wife's pale face. "Al?"
"I'm making grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner," Allison said trying to pretend that everything was okay. "And I still have some soup left over from last night..."
"What's wrong?" Jon asked quietly in her ear so their daughters couldn't listen in.
"Nothing," Allison lied. "Did you get Mia home okay?"
"Yes," Jon said, a bit sharply. "Allison Catherine..."
Allison finally met his gaze. "A few minutes ago, I was joking around with Emma and I tried to do a curtsy, and I felt this sharp pain..."
Jon's hands gripped hers. "I'll go get Lizzy."
Allison shook her head. "It was probably because I was trying to bend over. It was nothing, Jon. I'm fine now."
"Allie, I still don't want to take any chances," Jon said. "We'll wait until the girls go to bed but I want to tell Liz about this."
Allison nodded. "I'm sure everything's okay, Jon."
"I can't go through that again," Jon said intently.
Allison touched his cheek. "Me, either. I-I'm sure it's okay."
He gave his wife a kiss. "I'll help you with dinner."
Allison smiled. "That sounds great."
"Sissy!" Emma said swatting at Caroline. "Gabey can't see!"
"Gabey?" Caroline asked. "Gabe's not here Em."
Emma pointed at her brown teddy bear. "Gabey."
Caroline giggled. "Where's your purple one he won you?"
"In room," Emma replied.
"Is that your favourite bear?" Caroline asked.
Emma nodded. "Gabey gave to Em."
"Em's got a crush on Gabe," Caroline said in a sing song voice.
Emma giggled and picked up her teddy bear hugging it to her. "Gabey!"
Caroline laughed too. "I bet you could write him a letter Em."
"What are you two giggling about?" Allison asked.
"I'm going to help Emma write Gabriel a letter when I'm done with my homework," Caroline announced.
"You can go get started," Allison said. "We'll call you when dinner's ready."
"Okay," Caroline said. "It already smells yummy. Come on Max! Come on Em!"
Jon quickly fixed the sandwiches while Allison warmed up the soup. Neither of them spoke, both lost in their own thoughts. Jon kept one eye on his wife though as they made dinner.
"Still feeling all right?" he asked her as they set the table.
Allison nodded. "So far, so good."
"I'd still like Lizzy to come over," Jon said.
"Just to be sure," Allison agreed.
"Good," Jon kissed her. "I love you so much Al."
"I love you too," Allison whispered.
"Our little guy's going to be okay," Jon said reassuringly.
"We both are," Allison said guiding Jon's hand to her stomach.