@halfwayinlight I thought I would have this up for Christmas. Sorry it’s a tad late.
It’s a quarantine Christmas vacation
II
“I’ll see you after the new year.” David gave her a hug before he left the office, catching the elevator with Graham and Emma. They were all headed for his house, where Emma would pick up her son.
“Give Mary Margaret and Neal my love, and tell her that when she gets tired of you there’s always an empty room above our garage,” she teased. Though it was a joke she would miss him. They’d been sharing Archie’s apartment for months now, and though they both longed for their families it had been an interesting bonding experience, bringing them even closer.
Belle only lingered a few minutes extra in the office, leaving a few surprises in Ariel’s desk for her to find. While the rest of the team was taking the month of December off, to spend time with their quarantined families, Ariel had volunteered to liaise with the team temporarily taking their place. Belle was pretty certain the decision had been at least influenced by the agent in charge of the team, Eric del Mar. The first time they’d met in the cafeteria Ariel had been so flustered she’d accidentally stolen a fork. She still kept it in her desk, jokingly calling it her lucky dinglehopper.
With one last look around to make sure she hadn’t forgotten anything - a month was a long time to be away from work - Belle headed for the elevator and punched the button to take her up to the lobby. Her bags were in the back of the car; it was the first time since September she’d been home. Not being there for Thanksgiving had been hard, but knowing she would get the whole month for Christmas had made up for it.
Archie’s car was in the carport, leaving her spot in the garage free. Belle hoped he’d only moved out of her space recently; it was silly not to use it when she was gone, not that Archie would be driving much. The sound of the garage door meant she couldn’t hope to surprise anyone, but it didn’t matter when the door opened and Claire raced out to greet her.
“Mommy.” She was barely out of the car when her daughter jumped the last few feet, certain that she would be caught. Belle scooped her up, hugging her tight. She needed a million hours of cuddles to make up for missed time. “I missed you.”
“I missed you too, baby.”
“You can’t go in the kitchen ‘cause it’s a surprise, but papa said that if you’re hungry I should show you the cuter board in the living room. Uncle Archie let me help with the crackers and the grapes but not with the cheese ‘cause the knife is sharp.” When she put Claire down her daughter still stayed close.
“I think papa probably said it was a charcuterie board, but I like yours better.” She had to guess that it was Archie’s influence more than Gabe’s, unless he had somehow discovered pinterest and been way more bored then he let on. “Where is your papa sweetheart?”
“He had to take Donut outside so she could go potty.”
“I don’t think I understand.” She tried to puzzle out what Claire might mean about taking a donut outside. None of her toys, to Belle’s knowledge, were named donut.
“You will.” Bay chuckled as he came out of the kitchen, a towel tucked into his pants. He probably hadn’t grown at all in the past couple of months, she just wasn’t used to thinking of him as being that tall. When he hugged her her head fit neatly under his chin. “Welcome home.”
“I’m so glad to see you sweetheart. Thank you for all the videos, they brighten my day.” Bay had introduced the whole family to Tiktok, setting everyone up with private accounts. The rest of the team now had accounts, and shared videos, but Bay and Henry were responsible for most of the sharing. She was grateful for the multiple one minute videos she saw each day, and often rewatched, though Claire’s fascination with the fireplace had given her more than one moment of concern.
“Of course the damn dog would decide it needed to go out the moment you arrive home.” The back door slammed, letting in a cold breeze, her husband, and a dog. It was an odd looking thing that could only be classified as a mutt, with a reddish brown head that looked vaguely like a retriever and a body in gray and white that looked like it should belong to another dog entirely.
“Donut?” she guessed. Her attention only lingered on the dog for a moment. She was much more interested in the man crossing the room towards her. Almost three month since she’d been able to touch Gabe was almost criminal in her opinion. Someone should be arrested
“I can think of some names that would be more appropriate for the mutt but your daughter insisted.” She couldn’t answer, not with Gabe’s lips on hers and his hands at her waist. God she’d missed the taste of him. And the feel. And the smell.
“They’re kissing already,” she could hear Claire whisper loudly. “Do they have to take a really big breath like when you some swimming under water?”
“Something like that,” she could hear Bay reply with a chuckle.
“Hugs are better,” her daughter declared. Belle had to laugh at that, when the kiss ended.
“I like hugs too, sweetheart.” Gabe was wearing one of the sweaters they had picked up on their trip to Ireland last year, and the wool was soft against her skin. She wouldn’t mind standing just where she was for a while.
“Especially when less clothing is involved,” Gabe whispered in her ear. Bell elbowed him lightly in the ribs. That wasn’t fair; it would be hours before they could have that kind of alone time.
“So is anyone going to tell me about this new addition to the family?” No one had mentioned a dog on any of their calls, which were at least once a day.
“She was sleeping in Claire’s playhouse a few weeks ago. We made calls but no one seemed to be looking for her. The vet gave her a clean bill of health and a little snip snip so it looks like we are pet owners now.” Gabe groused, but couldn’t hide a smile when he looked down at his daughter gently petting the dog and whispering confidences in her ear. “She certainly is more comfortable sleeping on Claire’s bed.”
“I thought we should call her Goldilocks since she was in someone else’s house. Archie voted on Snow White for the same reason. But the short one had the final say so she’s Donut.” Bay shrugged. “I’m going to go check on things.”
“Things?” Belle asked as he headed for the kitchen, where she wasn’t allowed to go according to Claire. She assumed that he was helping with dinner; Archie had mentioned something about cooking lessons with Bay which was good, since Archie knew more about cooking than Gabe by quite a bit.
“Dinner, obviously, but I promised not to spoil the surprise by sharing the menu.” He tugged her towards the sofas, where the ‘cuter’ board was laid out on the coffee table along with an open bottle of Bordeaux. Belle sat on the sofa next to him but turned so her legs were across his lap.
“So you decided that a six year old, a college sophomore, and a full time roommate with his six computers wasn’t interesting enough, you added a dog to the mix?” She and Gabe were both relieved that Bay’s college was still doing online classes, and Archie being around made sense both for Archie not being alone and for help around the house, but it was a full house especially when both kids were home schooling, Archie was working from home and Gabe was working on a new book.
“It was snowing.” Gabe was full of bluster, but Belle knew that he’d been thinking about getting a dog anyway. In fact she was a little surprised it had taken so long, except that they had talked about waiting until Claire was old enough to have some of the responsibility. Gabe loved on every dog they saw at a crime scene. “She’s gentle with Claire.”
“You’re a marshmallow, Gabe Gold.” She kissed him on the cheek. “I am confused by the name, though.”
“It’s your fault, actually. You know how she loves stories about when you were pregnant, and how much you loved eclairs.”
“I always love eclairs, I just loved them a little more then.” And Gabe, bless him, had indulged her with early morning drives to the bakery, late night drives to the grocery store, and at least a few times special flavors overnighted from out of state bakeries.
“Most people would call it an obsession, sweetheart.” There were no eclairs on the charcuterie board, of course, but he did hand her a cracker topped with brie and raspberry habanero jelly. “You know how she likes to say that she is mommy’s favorite eclair.”
“She is my favorite.” It had been a joke at first, calling her baby a little eclair. She and Gabe had spent months debating baby names; sadly between the two of them there were many names that reminded them of cases they had worked and people they did not want sharing a name with their baby. It was a nurse who had misheard eclair and thought she was saying Claire, and the name had worked. She and Gabe both loved it.
“Claire reasoned that her favorite treat from the bakery is jelly donuts. Like mother, like daughter.”
“You can’t fault her logic.” Belle laughed, even more amused now that she understood the name. “I’ve heard worse names for a dog.”
“Bay says dinner in five.” Claire appeared a moment later, dog at her side. Belle scooped her up, holding her on her lap. It didn’t get much better than holding her little girl while cuddling with her husband.
“Good, because I’m very hungry.”
“I’m very hungry too, and Uncle Archie made…” Belle quickly put a finger to her daughter’s lips.
“Let’s let Bay and Archie have their secret for a little longer. They wanted dinner to be a surprise, remember?”
“I forgotted. I won’t say anything, okay? Papa says secrets are good sometimes like when Bay says something is a secret or when there’s presents under the tree. But sometimes secrets make you feel bad in your tummy and then you have to tell mommy or papa.” Claire nodded her head wisely, explaining back what had been explained to her.
“Papa’s right, sweetheart. You should always tell mommy of papa if someone wants you to keep a bad secret.” She hated thinking about anyone like that near her daughter, but she and Gabe knew too much about the kind of people that manipulated children. They’d talked a lot about how to keep their kids safe. “But this is a very good secret. Bay and Archie are making yummy food. And we know it must be yummy because they’re not letting your papa in the kitchen at all.”
“Hey, I can cook,” Gabe protested, though not with much vigor.
“You cook more than you did when I first met you, though that’s not saying a lot considering I think you spent at least five years using nothing more than the microwave and coffee pot.” While no one would call him a gourmet he could pull together a meal. Spaghetti was still his most often made dinner. Grilled cheese and tomato soup were a close second.
“That might be true but you could still spend tonight on the sofa if you don’t watch yourself.”
“That anxious to spend the night alone again?” She raised an eyebrow, teasing him back.
“Never again, if I had my way.” They kissed again, over their daughter’s head, only stopping when Archie coughed politely.
“Dinner’s ready.” Claire wiggled down first. Belle was slower, but when she stood she gave Archie a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
“We have so much to catch up on, Arch. We’re going to eat so much popcorn.”
“My tivo is full of things to marathon.” Their online marathon dates hadn’t been the same, and David had no appreciation for corny sci fi. “It’s been killing me not to watch Star Trek Lower Decks until you got here.”
“I can’t wait.” She followed Archie to the dining room, Claire holding her hand and Gabe right behind her. Bay was waiting next to the table which had been laid out in all the best china. In the center of the table was a platter of turkey meat. There was cranberry sauce and corn souffle and mashed potatoes, gravy and rolls, candied yams and green beans. It was a full Thanksgiving feast. “Oh!”
“We didn’t want you to miss Thanksgiving. Facetime Thanksgiving isn’t really the same.” Bay’s apron was covered in a million questionable stains, but Belle didn’t give a thought to her clothes before hugging him.
“I didn’t tell, Bay. Not even a little bit,” Claire proudly exclaimed. Bay picked her up.
“Of course you didn’t, Plum.” Bay set her on her chair. Next to her on the ground was a dog bed and a large bone. “Before eating remember that this is only possible because Archie taught me so if anything’s wrong it’s his fault.”
“It’s going to be perfect.” Belle say down between Gabe and Claire, holding both of their hands. “I am so thankful for all of you. My family.”
@halfwayinlight and I were watching Jane Eyre and somehow it spiraled into a Jane Eyre Hogwarts AU
I saved the transcript because it amused.
II
Rochester’s prowling like a bear. He's an animangus
Harry potter au
He's keeping a deatheater in the attic?
Mhmm. victoria era. Jane’s definitely a witch.
Rochester’s a Ravenclaw
Mrs. Fairfax is a squib
As is Mrs Reed. which is why she hates jane so
The Reed children have some vague abilities. John is the weakest, Georgiana is more focused on love charms. Eliza is the most skilled of them but only modestly
And Jane's father was a muggle but her mother was rather gifted
Eliza rejects it all, though. It's too much effort for Eliza to care to expend.
And Jane is talented
Mrs. reeds family is old wizard blood, so when half muggle Jane shows so much talent it makes Mrs. Reed so angry
She's a little mudblood and better at magic than any other reed kids
She totally lashed out and calls Jane a mudblood
Blanch went to Beauxbatons
John Reed is expelled from Hogwarts and sent to Durmstrang.
Brocklehurst wanted to be an Auror but got rejected bc he sucks at it so he teaches cast off kids and hates anyone who shows more promise or skill than him.
I would like to add:
Jane should have been a Hufflepuff. Mrs. Reed managed to block her from going. Mysterious things happened at Lowood, though, and Miss Temple, a witch, discovered she had powers and either secretly taught her or was able to get her into Hogwarts for her last couple of years?
Adele had to be brought to England because her powers were starting to manifest and the place she was staying was for muggles.
Tell us the story of when you got Bailey and how you decided on her name?
I got Bailey at the farmer’s market. I would go to the market every Saturday and pick up fruit, veg, bread, and treats. One time I picked up my constant companion.
There’s a park at the end of the street where they do the market here. the local Humane Society sets up in the park with cats and dogs, and those baby fence things so they can have little areas for play. I used to go check them out all the time. One time I saw this adorable little pup (she was about 2) and I realized she had no back leg (later I noticed the lack of tail too.) . I asked to hold her and played a few minutes. She shook; her mama had recently been adopted and she didn’t play much with the other dogs.
The next week she was still there. And the next week. My sister came with me sometimes and we visited the dogs. Week after week she was there. I saw her in June the first time. We were renting a townhouse from our parents and they had a no pet rule.
We talked mom into coming to the farmer’s market with us (not with the purpose of the dog, just to get her to pick out fresh fruits and veg and walk for a while.) We went to look at the dogs (how can you resist stopping to look at the dogs?) Mom pointed to one and said ‘look at how sweet she is’ and my sis and I said ‘that’s the one we keep telling you about!’
An hour later we had dad down at the farmer’s market. Got the parental stamp of approval and got a dog.
Bailey, who had been surrendered by a family that kept her in the garage and was at least emotionally abusive (she was nervous of big gestures and hid a lot) was ours. She came with the name Baby which we so weren’t keeping, but we thought it might help her if we had her name something similar. Bailey’s Irish Cream is a favorite drink of ours so she ended up Bailey (similar to baby, plus the drink) River (after the Firefly character.)
send me a made-up fic title: "From the Start It Was a Terrible Idea"
I’m going to give you two, because two fandoms jumped into my head.
From the Start It Was a Terrible Idea Pennyverse
Archie and Bay are responsible for Claire for a weekend while the team is on a case and Gabe is on a book tour. Claire has them wrapped around her finger.
From the Start It Was a Terrible Idea Leverage
Elliot reflecting on how his relationship with Parker and Hardison started and how it was a terrible idea. It’s completely sarcastic and ironic in that way where it ends up with him safe and sleeping between the other two after someone from his past came after him and Parker and Hardison stopped them.
So very shocked this is the one you asked for. Not.
This is the first Valentine’s Day after Belle comes back.
II
“Bay? I brought the book.” Belle used the key that Gabe had given her after the first time she’d spent the night, letting herself in when the doorbell went unanswered. Bay had texted about needing help with a project due tomorrow, and it wasn’t like him to not be around when they’d already set a time.
“Bay?” She kicked off her shoes in the hall, exchanging them for the slippers that lived permanently in a basket, waiting for her everytime she came for a visit. She set down her purse, but carried the book with her. When she passed though the entry to the main room she was surprised to find a vase of roses on the dining room table. They were a rainbow of colors; red and yellow and pink and white, and one that looked like a sunset captured in a flower. She was leaning in to smell them when she heard the garage door open.
“Belle?” Gabe carried his briefcase. He’d mentioned staying at the office to get some things done but had apparently changed his mind.
“This is beautiful, Gabe.” The table was set for two in the best china, something she’d rarely seen Gabe use. The delicate dishes had gold details and a pattern of blue. Cloth napkins were folded neatly and there was a bottle of wine waiting to be opened.
“It is, but I didn’t do it.” Gabe left his case by the door and came closer. “Where’s Bay? He told me he was having a problem with one of his teachers and we needed to talk.”
“He told me he was having problems with a report due tomorrow.” Belle looked at Gabe’s confused expression and laughed. “He played us, Gabe. He is definitely your kid.”
“He did all this?” Gabe looked at the table, and then over his shoulder at the counter. There was a chocolate cake Belle hadn’t yet noticed, a single chocolate dipped strawberry on top. Next to it was a piece of paper, folded in half so it stood up like a tent. Gabe picked it up, scanning the words quicky, and joined Belle in her laughter. “Cheeky lad. He’s gone to spend the night at Michael’s house. He says that dinner is being delivered at seven, please save him a slice of cake, and remember that it’s a good idea to tell a girl she’s pretty and to give her flowers on Valentine’s Day.”
“Technically I think it’s Bay that got me flowers and told me I was pretty.” Belle wiped a little moisture from the corner of her eye; Bay’s reminders that she was accepted and wanted in his family meant so much to her.
“I think when I check my credit card balance I’ll find that I’m the one that ordered the flowers and the dinner.” He wrapped his arms around her waist from behind and kissed her neck. “But at least I can use my own words to tell you that you’re breathtakingly beautiful. Mind, body, and soul, Belle. I should have thought about the flowers on my own.”
“I love it when you give me flowers, Gabe, but the eclair with my coffee was more delicious.” The pastry box had been waiting on her desk when she’d gotten in. “I don’t need flowers. I do need you.”
“I need you too. Need you, want you, love you.” When his hold on her tightened she was glad to lean into him, resting her head on his shoulder. The smell of the roses was heady, the feel of him against her back was warm. His hands were around her waist but a little lower and they would be against her belly. Lower still and he could slip his fingers under her skirt. Belle drew in a breath quickly, suddenly overwhelmed by how much she wanted him to touch her. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt such uncomplicated lust. No doubts, no worry, just wanting.
“Speaking of wanting…” She quickly undid the buttons of her blouse before she tugged at one of his hands, pulling it up to cover her left breast.
“Upstairs?” Gabe suggested, his thumb moving against her skin causing her to shudder.
“Couch. We have thirty-seven minutes until food is delivered and no teenager to shock by being naked in the living room. Besides we never have, on this couch.” It was new, since the last time they’d been together. Sometime in the seven years since she’d been gone he’d gotten the old leather sofa replaced with a sofa of deep burgundy, the cushions wide and soft. It was a good napping spot, and they’d certainly made out more than once there.
“I have candles upstairs. I thought…”
“Later.” She gently pulled away from his hold, turning so she could look at him. “Romance me later, we have all night. Right now what I want most is for you to turn off that fascinating brain of yours and just ravish me on the couch. I want to get absolutely lost in just feeling you everywhere, Gabe.”
Gabe’s breath hitched and for a moment he stood frozen before he swallowed, hard, and nodded. “If it’s too much at any point…”
“I’ll tell you, I promise.” It had been two weeks since they’d made love for the first time since she’d returned. He’d been so gentle and she loved him for it, had loved being with him and wouldn’t change anything. But right now she wanted to revel in the fact that she could simply want him, and take him, and feel him inside of her. Nothing complicated, just love and lust in equal measure. She kissed him, hard, and pulled away. “Last one to the sofa has to answer the door for the delivery man.”
She laughed when he grumbled about cheating, It was shaping up to be the best Valentine’s Day ever.
