@frxnkislong​

@frxnkislong

frxnkislong​:

…

“I know,” he said softly, quietly agreeing with the words that she didn’t say.  She didn’t have to say them to know what was on her mind, he felt the same way.  “It’s disgusting, and it’s even more frustrating that I can come in here and say they can handle it.  It’s the sort of thing that should have us all up in arms, ready to burn the whole system down.  But it’s not anymore, and it’s disgusting.  It’s just life.”  He continued to rub out a soothing pattern against her skin.  “but it doesn’t have to be.  It’s not our problem right now, we have to focus on the here and now.”

“What’s wrong?”  He put his feet up on the coffee table, just now noticing that his socks didn’t match.  “Don’t tell me nothing, because the both of us know that isn’t true.  I know I haven’t been here lately, but I am now, and I’m ready to listen if you want to talk about it.  Or we can just sit here and wait if you don’t.”

...

Alice gave a soft hum, not entirely agreeing with Frank, but understanding his point. This was supposed to be a maternity leave, a time for them to focus on becoming parents, not worry about what was going on in the outside world. But it was a little difficult not to. It wasn’t in Alice’s nature to just stop thinking about her work, and besides, they were having a baby in the middle of a war. That wasn’t something that was easy to forget, even for a little while. They were Aurors, Order members, what some would consider blood traitors. Any child of theirs could be a target the second they were born. 

Alice leaned into Frank, sighing deeply as she considered how to express the anxiety she had been feeling. She should have just talked to him about it sooner; instead, she had let it grow and grow until it was so big that it felt insurmountable. They had wanted to have a child for so long, had put it off and put it off until the time felt right, but now that it was happening, she was afraid that she still wasn’t ready. “What if I’m a bad mom?”

@fxprewettx​

** sickness sentence starters.

“  you  need  to  rest.  ”

“  have  you  eaten  today  ?  ”

“  i  made  you  some  tea  and  soup.  ”

“  i’m  fine,  it’s  nothing.  really.  ”

“  listen,  you  need  to  lay  down.  ”

“  please  listen  to  me.  ”

“  do  i  need  to  force  you  to  the  doctors  ?  ”

“  i  hate  chicken  soup.  ”

“  i  can’t  just  lay  about  in  bed  all  day  !  ”

“  it  hardly  hurts  anymore,  honestly.  

“  you’re  burning  up  !  ”

“  lay  back  down  right  now.  ”

“  i  have  things  to  do  today  !  ”

“  i’m  just  dehydrated,  that’s  all.  ”

“  i  will  lock  you  in  your  room  if  you  don’t  stay  in  bed.  ”

“  let  me  take  care  of  you.  ”

“  you  don’t  have  to  do  everything  yourself.  ”

“  i  don’t  need  your  help.  ”

“  i  ran  you  a  bath.  ”

“  tell  me  how  to  help  you.  ”

mxrymacs​:

…

She constantly felt just a breath from completely falling apart.  From crumbling to the ground without a clear understanding of how to rebuild herself.  But if she did that she would take on someone’s attention – whether it was Greta’s or Marlene’s or Lily’s or any other assortment of friend who passed through her home.  They would look at her and feel badly for her, and all that would do was distract from the fact that Emmeline was still gone.  Three days had passed and she was still gone, and Mary had no idea if she was even still alive.  But she was.  She had to still be alive – she’d know, right?  If Emmeline was gone – if she was gone in a way that was far more permanent than this… she would know.  She had to believe that she would feel it if she lost her like that.  So she held on, not because she was anywhere near okay, not because she didn’t care, but because she refused to take on any more attention than was absolutely necessary.  As broken as she felt – it wasn’t about her.  As long as Emmeline came home she would be okay in the end.

She nodded, heading into the kitchen to put on the kettle before leaning against the bar to look out at the assortment of things that she brought.  “Thank you,” she said softly, trying for another smile.  “I’ll grab some plates.”  She reached for two of the plastic sort.  The glass ones were dirty, but on her mission to deep clean the house she hadn’t yet reached the kitchen.  She also grabbed some napkins and forks.  Taking them out into the living room and handing them to Alice, she returned to the kitchen to for the tea, splashing in the sugar and milk to the way she knew Alice took it.  “Thank you,” she said again, settling onto the couch next to her.  “You didn’t have to do all of this.”

...

Alice waited as Mary made her way back and forth from the kitchen to the living room, getting everything settled. She knew that this was exactly what Mary needed, to keep her hands busy, to serve others, so Alice tamped down on her instinct to want to do it all herself. When Mary was finally seated next to her, Alice gave her a soft smile; not one that was pitying, but rather sympathetic. Mary wouldn’t want her pity, or even her focus; she just needed company and for someone else to tell her that Emmeline would be okay. And though Alice knew she couldn’t completely promise it, she also knew that neither she nor Moody would rest until they figured out a way to get Emmeline out of that hell. “I know I don’t,” she replied softly, taking a sip of her tea. “But I wanted to. I know what if feels like to sit around the house waiting for the love of your life to come home.” 

Alice reached over and touched Mary’s arm gently before reaching forward to grab one of the pastries and put it on a plate. In her and Frank’s time as an Auror, there had been multiple occasions where he had been on a dangerous mission and Alice had been filled with the anxiety that came with not knowing if he would make it back safely. In those times, she hadn’t wanted to be alone even more than she hadn’t wanted to talk about it. Alice knew that Mary was a lot like her, and figured she would be feeling similarly. “It’s a pretty shit question to ask how you’re doing, but how are you?”

(*¯︶¯*)