Post by Mistress Wisewings on Feb 9, 2009 12:43:56 GMT -6
Summary: It’s time for school for Logan and Kathryn Danvers and Elena and Clay find themselves reluctant to let their children go. Can the Pack help the overprotective parents with this important day?
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters mentioned in this story. They all belong to Kelley Armstrong, who is a wonderful writer of the Women of the Otherworld series.
--Letting Go--
“Mom! Where are my pencils?”
I grinned despite of the hollow feeling inside of me. “Look inside the front pocket of your backpack, Kate.”
There was a pause and I could hear my daughter unzipping one of the pockets. “Oh. There they are. Thanks Mom!”
I returned to my cup of coffee, watching my husband, Clay, at the stove, making breakfast. I was rather surprised when Clay started preparing food for us. Usually, back at the Pack’s house, Jeremy, Clay’s adopted father, made food for everyone. Maybe Jeremy taught his son how to cook.
“You okay, darling?” Clay’s southern-accented voice pulled me from my thoughts. He already was piling four plates with pancakes and bacon.
I put on a smile. “I’m fine, Clay. I was just thinking.”
“About?” He put a plate in front of me. I inhaled the delicious scents wafting into the air and it nearly melted my iron defenses. Nearly.
“Just normal thoughts.” I snatched the bottle of maple syrup (the real stuff… not the store-bought kind) he set on the table and squirted a generous amount on the pancakes. I lifted a piece of pancake to my mouth when I heard a loud stampede come down the stairs.
“Good morning Mom and Dad!” Logan and Kathryn chorused, taking their normal seats at the table and began to scarf down the food. As I chewed, I shared an amused look with my husband as watched our kids.
Werewolves didn’t change on the full moon as fiction dictates. We can change whenever we want, but it takes a lot of energy and we usually eat large portions of food so we could get the energy to change. For Logan and Kathryn, however, we weren’t sure what would happen when they were born. There were no records of full-blooded werewolves before. Not even Jeremy, our alpha in the Pack, knew. So we mostly played by ear for years. I still remember when Logan and Kathryn had their first Change. Unlike the slight pain we feel when we Change, the twins shifted without any sign of pain or discomfort.
“Elena?”
I lifted my gaze back to Clay, who stared back at me with his blue eyes filled with worry. Logan and Kathryn didn’t notice, as they were too busy eating what seemed to be seconds of pancakes.
“Are you sure you are fine, darling?” The way he said darling, the way country singers with their twang said it (dahlin), sent a shiver down my spine. I used to hate the way he seemed to butcher the endearment, but I had gotten used to it over the years.
I nodded, stuffing another piece of pancake in my mouth so I didn’t have to say a word. Clay, however, didn’t let up and he continued to watch me as we ate. I shoved my irritation aside, not wanting to start an argument in front of our children. They already saw enough out of us (though we definitely made up minutes later, ending up in bed).
“We’re done,” the twins chorused again. They got up and put their dishes in the sink and raced to the bathroom to wash their hands.
“At least they have manners instead of what kids do nowadays,” Clay replied, grinning.
I nodded and swallowed. “Yes. Maybe they can teach their friends to have manners.”
My husband laughed and I smiled. I loved Clay’s laugh, a deep sound that filled any room. Actually, I love everything about my husband. He could be very annoying and childish, but he also had the qualities that I had first seen in him when we first met. He was smart, witty, good-natured, and had a sense of humor. All good qualities.
A knock on the front door snapped me out of my daze. I had forgotten that the Pack and a few friends were coming over to see our kids off too. I continued to eat as Clay got up to answer the door. I had to hide a smile when I heard Logan and Kathryn rush into the living room to greet their extended family.
Eventually I joined the group, sitting down next to Clay. It was hard to imagine that in a few hours the school bus would be coming to pick up the twins. My heart pounded in my stomach and I almost felt nauseous. I could feel my maternal instincts kick in, wanting to keep my children home. Besides, a good majority of the mutt population knew of who Logan and Kathryn were.
“Relax, Elena,” Jeremy said.
I withheld my growl, but I was pretty sure Jeremy knew what I would have done. He continued to stare at me until he turned his attention to Logan, who was seated next to him.
“Excited about your first day?” Nick asked, his feet perched on the coffee table in front of him. I sent him a glare and he gave me a wink. Cheeky bastard. Logan and Kathryn giggled.
“Uh-huh,” Kathryn said. “We get to meet other kids our own age.”
“It’s going to be sooo fun!” Logan exclaimed, bouncing in his seat.
Jeremy chuckled and ran a hand through his grandson’s hair. “I bet it will be.” He shot a look at both Clay and I, telling us to go with the flow. Damn him and his psychic ability (though he denies it) to read us. He knew that both Clay and I were nervous about letting our kids go to kindergarten.
“What will you two be doing while they are at school?” Paige asked, leaning against Lucas.
“I need to finish my article and send it to my editor,” I replied. “And Clay needs to finish grading those papers.”
Clay had decided to go back to teaching at the local university while I settled down with writing articles for the local newspaper. The good thing about my job was that I could do my work at home while I took care of the kids.
My husband groaned. “You just had to remind me of that, didn’t you darling?”
I grinned at him and he smacked me on my arm.
We continued to talk until we heard the school bus round the corner. My heart froze and I could see Clay stiffening, tensing up. Logan and Kathryn jumped down from their seats and hugged everyone before they went to Clay and I.
“We’ll be good,” Logan said, smiling and throwing himself into my arms. I held him close, feeling the tears start to well up.
“You better,” I whispered, kissing his blonde head. “I love you.”
“Love you too, Mom,” he said back. Then he switched with Kathryn.
Clay and I watched from the living room window, arms wrapped around each other, as our children boarded the bus and waved at us from the windows. The bus then rolled down the street and vanished around another corner.
“This is the best thing for them,” Antonio’s voice said from behind us. “They will get a good education and grow to be wonderful citizens and even better werewolves.”
The words comforted us little. Clay’s arms tightened around me.
“They’ll do fine,” he whispered, doubt barely lacing his voice.
I nodded. “Yes, they will.”
--
Fin
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters mentioned in this story. They all belong to Kelley Armstrong, who is a wonderful writer of the Women of the Otherworld series.
--Letting Go--
“Mom! Where are my pencils?”
I grinned despite of the hollow feeling inside of me. “Look inside the front pocket of your backpack, Kate.”
There was a pause and I could hear my daughter unzipping one of the pockets. “Oh. There they are. Thanks Mom!”
I returned to my cup of coffee, watching my husband, Clay, at the stove, making breakfast. I was rather surprised when Clay started preparing food for us. Usually, back at the Pack’s house, Jeremy, Clay’s adopted father, made food for everyone. Maybe Jeremy taught his son how to cook.
“You okay, darling?” Clay’s southern-accented voice pulled me from my thoughts. He already was piling four plates with pancakes and bacon.
I put on a smile. “I’m fine, Clay. I was just thinking.”
“About?” He put a plate in front of me. I inhaled the delicious scents wafting into the air and it nearly melted my iron defenses. Nearly.
“Just normal thoughts.” I snatched the bottle of maple syrup (the real stuff… not the store-bought kind) he set on the table and squirted a generous amount on the pancakes. I lifted a piece of pancake to my mouth when I heard a loud stampede come down the stairs.
“Good morning Mom and Dad!” Logan and Kathryn chorused, taking their normal seats at the table and began to scarf down the food. As I chewed, I shared an amused look with my husband as watched our kids.
Werewolves didn’t change on the full moon as fiction dictates. We can change whenever we want, but it takes a lot of energy and we usually eat large portions of food so we could get the energy to change. For Logan and Kathryn, however, we weren’t sure what would happen when they were born. There were no records of full-blooded werewolves before. Not even Jeremy, our alpha in the Pack, knew. So we mostly played by ear for years. I still remember when Logan and Kathryn had their first Change. Unlike the slight pain we feel when we Change, the twins shifted without any sign of pain or discomfort.
“Elena?”
I lifted my gaze back to Clay, who stared back at me with his blue eyes filled with worry. Logan and Kathryn didn’t notice, as they were too busy eating what seemed to be seconds of pancakes.
“Are you sure you are fine, darling?” The way he said darling, the way country singers with their twang said it (dahlin), sent a shiver down my spine. I used to hate the way he seemed to butcher the endearment, but I had gotten used to it over the years.
I nodded, stuffing another piece of pancake in my mouth so I didn’t have to say a word. Clay, however, didn’t let up and he continued to watch me as we ate. I shoved my irritation aside, not wanting to start an argument in front of our children. They already saw enough out of us (though we definitely made up minutes later, ending up in bed).
“We’re done,” the twins chorused again. They got up and put their dishes in the sink and raced to the bathroom to wash their hands.
“At least they have manners instead of what kids do nowadays,” Clay replied, grinning.
I nodded and swallowed. “Yes. Maybe they can teach their friends to have manners.”
My husband laughed and I smiled. I loved Clay’s laugh, a deep sound that filled any room. Actually, I love everything about my husband. He could be very annoying and childish, but he also had the qualities that I had first seen in him when we first met. He was smart, witty, good-natured, and had a sense of humor. All good qualities.
A knock on the front door snapped me out of my daze. I had forgotten that the Pack and a few friends were coming over to see our kids off too. I continued to eat as Clay got up to answer the door. I had to hide a smile when I heard Logan and Kathryn rush into the living room to greet their extended family.
Eventually I joined the group, sitting down next to Clay. It was hard to imagine that in a few hours the school bus would be coming to pick up the twins. My heart pounded in my stomach and I almost felt nauseous. I could feel my maternal instincts kick in, wanting to keep my children home. Besides, a good majority of the mutt population knew of who Logan and Kathryn were.
“Relax, Elena,” Jeremy said.
I withheld my growl, but I was pretty sure Jeremy knew what I would have done. He continued to stare at me until he turned his attention to Logan, who was seated next to him.
“Excited about your first day?” Nick asked, his feet perched on the coffee table in front of him. I sent him a glare and he gave me a wink. Cheeky bastard. Logan and Kathryn giggled.
“Uh-huh,” Kathryn said. “We get to meet other kids our own age.”
“It’s going to be sooo fun!” Logan exclaimed, bouncing in his seat.
Jeremy chuckled and ran a hand through his grandson’s hair. “I bet it will be.” He shot a look at both Clay and I, telling us to go with the flow. Damn him and his psychic ability (though he denies it) to read us. He knew that both Clay and I were nervous about letting our kids go to kindergarten.
“What will you two be doing while they are at school?” Paige asked, leaning against Lucas.
“I need to finish my article and send it to my editor,” I replied. “And Clay needs to finish grading those papers.”
Clay had decided to go back to teaching at the local university while I settled down with writing articles for the local newspaper. The good thing about my job was that I could do my work at home while I took care of the kids.
My husband groaned. “You just had to remind me of that, didn’t you darling?”
I grinned at him and he smacked me on my arm.
We continued to talk until we heard the school bus round the corner. My heart froze and I could see Clay stiffening, tensing up. Logan and Kathryn jumped down from their seats and hugged everyone before they went to Clay and I.
“We’ll be good,” Logan said, smiling and throwing himself into my arms. I held him close, feeling the tears start to well up.
“You better,” I whispered, kissing his blonde head. “I love you.”
“Love you too, Mom,” he said back. Then he switched with Kathryn.
Clay and I watched from the living room window, arms wrapped around each other, as our children boarded the bus and waved at us from the windows. The bus then rolled down the street and vanished around another corner.
“This is the best thing for them,” Antonio’s voice said from behind us. “They will get a good education and grow to be wonderful citizens and even better werewolves.”
The words comforted us little. Clay’s arms tightened around me.
“They’ll do fine,” he whispered, doubt barely lacing his voice.
I nodded. “Yes, they will.”
--
Fin