frxnkislong:
…
If leaving that morning hadn’t been necessary he wouldn’t have done it. His knowledge of babies, while still limited, had grown significantly the past nine months, and from what he understood birth could be rather unpredictable. But going to the office was a far cry from Romania, and if she needed him she knew how to get him home. Apparation would have him home in five minutes flat. But he was relieved that hadn’t been necessary. He was relieved he could do the last minute task at the office without trouble and get home to her before things got moving.
He carefully kicked his shoes off at the door and put down the bag he took to the office before finding Alice on the couch. He wrapped an arm around her back, brushing his thumb in a circular motion against her arm while he considered his answer. She needed to rest, but she also deserved the truth from him. “Chaotic,” he admitted. “some Muggle baiting incident up by Kent. But not unmanageable. They’ll sort things out just find there, and we can sort our things out here. How are you feeling?”
...
Alice sighed contentedly as Frank’s thumb brushed her back, sinking into the comfort of his touch. His mere presence had an immediate effect on calming her nerves, and she was grateful for that. When she was with him, all of the fears that she had didn’t seem quite as big as when she was alone. They were still there, but far more manageable. Alice frowned at the news, saddened by the fact that she didn’t feel any surprise to hear it. Things like this were becoming the norm lately, and there was no reason to think that it would slow down just because she was on maternity leave.
Alice bit her lip at his question, wondering how much to say. Frank had been gone so much for the second half of her pregnancy that so far she hadn’t shared any of the worries that had been circulating through her head and her heart. She felt a little silly about them, but even though she knew it was ridiculous, she couldn’t banish the fear that she wouldn’t be a good mother. “I’m okay,” she finally said, her answer coming slowly. “Just...nervous, I guess.” She shrugged, clearly holding back.
“Boys… Thanks for choosing me to be your mom.”
@frxnkislong
I know you and I love you. And I can’t wait to spend eternity with you.
vancexemme:
alamoody:
The way that she responded told him well enough that she understood he was saying all the words for himself rather than her. Mentally preparing for it, so that he could keep the same neutral dissipation he attempts to give everyone. People didn’t like when they saw you react, they’d lived through it, they didn’t need your involuntary input on the matter. He gave a swift curt nod, she had nothing else to say and she was ready to start this. Alastor had given a swift knock, knowing that Mary would soon let them in, and really that was all considering she’d arranged to give them the flat while they’d do things. Kind of her, but also something completely to her benefit. Mary did not need to hear what they would and he was sure Emmeline wouldn’t want to.
The pair walked into the flat, and Emmeline was already set in the living room ready for the day’s events. He was grateful she’d moved out of her room, she’d have all the reason to stay in there, but he wasn’t sure sitting on her bed would be very professional. “ Alright, Emmeline, Alice, and I are here to get the events of your capture down, from the very night of it to the end where I saw you in the mansion. Please don’t leave out any detail, I know there is always an urge to do so, but it’s for the best that we know it all. If you need to take a break or skip over a question feel free to tell us and we will do our best to accommodate.” His voice was stern, very professional as he took a seat across her. It was a bit cold, to go into it all like this, but he needed to give himself no room to break. Alice would be able to provide a more gentle approach, that was the main reason he’d ask for her here as well as for support for him. Plus Emmeline had seen how he was at work before, this man would be familiar enough to her.
@vancexemme
Knowing the debrief was coming didn’t make it much easier to prepare for. She was both grateful that Mary wouldn’t be there and nervous to be alone during it. In the end, however, her wish to keep the gritty details from Mary’s vivid imagination won out and sat in one of the plush armchairs, making it clear where Moody and Alice would sit on the couch across from her. Whiskers had nudged his way into her lap, purring and pushing the top of his head against her chin before settling in a mass of fur in the cradle her crossed legs created.
When Moody and Alice came in and joined her, she could feel the unease crackle from both people and not for the first time she glanced at Alice with some concern. The last thing she wanted was to upset her when she was so pregnant. She didn’t know a lot about babies or having them but she knew one of the rules was don’t upset a pregnant woman. Still, Moody got into it straight away, using his business voice she’d grown accustomed to mocking while she tossed a quaffle at his recruits’ heads.
Emmeline waited for Mary to kiss her temple and go before she set her shoulders and looked at the two of them. “As you know, I attended the party under disguise with the rest of the Order. After an hour with Mary and Marlene, I checked in with you,” She nodded to Moody, “And spoke briefly with Daisy Hookum. She was having trouble with her underskirt and another guest pointed her upstairs toward a loo to fix it in private. I watched her go upstairs and after about forty minutes I noticed she hadn’t returned. I went upstairs to check on her and found her body in a guest room, where William Mulciber also was. We fought and Freya Rosier arrived, stunned and then tied me up. They argued the benefits of just killing me before fetching Bellatrix Lestrange.” She paused there, letting herself take a breath, looking away from both of them to pet Whiskers for a moment, willing her voice to remain steady and calm.
That was the easiest part of the story and her hands were shaking. She would ease all three of them into it.
@alicelxngbottom
...
Alice was used to Moody, so she knew by the nod he gave her all that a normal person (someone who knew how to emote) would have been able to say: that he was grateful she was here, that he was glad to have the support, that this was going to be a difficult conversation. All things he didn’t want to verbalize, especially in this situation. Alice understood, and her nod in response told him everything she held back from saying: that she was here for him, that she knew he was too close to Emmeline to not be affected by this, that she would be strong for all of them. Alice was probably one of the more empathetic of Moody’s Aurors, but she was also fairly good at being able to hold herself together and compartmentalize her emotions until she was in a place to deal with them.
Entering the flat, Alice gave a reassuring smile to Mary as she said goodbye to Emmeline and left, grateful that Mary wouldn’t have to hear any of this. It wasn’t that Mary was fragile by any means, but rather that no one should have to hear a detailed account of the torture their partner had to undergo. If this were Frank, Alice was fairly certain she would want only the important details, too.
Alice sat down next to Alastor on the couch, nodding in agreement with what he said, allowing Emmeline to start at her own pace. She felt a pang of guilt to find out that not one but two of her cousins were involved in what Emmeline had undergone. Never had Alice felt more ashamed of her maiden name, or more grateful that her parents had been different. If they hadn’t been, would she have been there alongside Bellatrix and Freya? No, she couldn’t think that. If anything, she would have been like Regulus.
Alice turned her attention back to Emmeline, her well trained eye catching the unsteadiness of her hands. As the younger woman paused, Alice leaned forward, a sympathetic expression on her face. “I know that this is going to be hard to relive, but in my experience, it can be a healing process.”
@alamoody
If [your plans] are at 6 PM, we can go hiking before that. We’ll go in the morning. We’ll go hiking early so you can be there by 6 PM.
#relatable
@frxnkislong
its always “wyd” and never “biagftsoybtpoftwtlwyfmwfbifidwtffafiicfawtmafwy”🙄