#swynanastasia | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

prince--thomas · 2 years

Text

Bring Back My Bonnie to Me [Part One] ~~ [Tonnie + Elinor]

In which Tom and Annie meet face to face for the first time since Levi was born...[takes place: May 23, 2022 evening]

@ugly-anastasia, @mamabear-elinor

[tw -- order stuff, manipulation, thoughts of violence/murder lol]

THOMAS: This was only Tom’s second time at the old castle in the woods and it gave him the same sense of dread and foreboding as it had the last time he’d seen it. Its parapets rose high, disappearing into the trees and a dense fog lay like a blanket over the ground. A chill ran up his spine, despite the relatively warm day. Dawn was just cresting over the horizon, but in the dense forest you could not see it. It didn’t matter to Tom anyway. It just marked his second…third? day without sleep. And another sunrise where his son was still missing.

He had come only on behest of his aunt, with no idea why she had called for him. At the very least, he could see Merida and see if she had any updates on their situation. What they were going to do. And look at his cousin with his own two eyes and know she was alright.

He could do that.

The knocker on the large oak door echoed and it took only moments for Elinor to open it.

“Oh, Thomas,” she frowned, reaching up to put her hands on either side of his face. She brushed at his oily, messy curls and brushed her thumbs against the apples of his cheeks. “We are going to fix all of this, I promise.”

Tom wanted to tell her that they couldn’t fix all of it. Unless that demon could bring back Eric from the dead. (And would Tom even want him to?)

Instead, he just nodded mutely and allowed his aunt to pull him into the castle. “Come, sit down near the fire. You’re cold as ice.” She squeezed his hand, but he barely felt it. He let her lead him, though, as if he was just a small boy again, clinging to his mother’s skirts.

That was until he stopped in the doorway of the sitting room, his feet planted. “What--what are you doing here?” he snarled, his eyes wildly darting about the room--looking for his son. “Where is Levi? What have you done with him?”

“Thomas.” Despite his own anger and his own exhaustion, his aunt’s voice was still an effective whip, cracking over his head.

He was breathing heavily, his fists trembling where he clenched them.

“Let her explain.”

“Aye, she bloody well better.”

ANNIE: Annie was really good at the art of curating an emotional crisis. Her most recent online scandal was proof of that. She knew how to put on just enough makeup that she looked tired, but not ugly; the perfect messy bun that said “I don’t care what I look like right now, but I do still look good;” a matching lounge set that was cute and understated and, like, respectful or whatever. Annie was good at reading the room.

But Annie’s current emotional crisis was not curated. She did not have any makeup on, and her hair wasn’t in a perfect messy bun, it hung around her face in a frizzy, unbrushed mess. She was wearing the same jeans and blouse she had been wearing all day, but there was a noticeable coffee stain down the front. Annie clutched at the offending mug tightly, like it was a life raft.

Tom had been right. She had handed her day-old son over to murderers. What kind of mother did that? And what was going to happen now?

“Tom, I didn’t know,” she whispered hoarsely. “As soon as Elinor told me, I– I realized I had been wrong. She was just so… Eloise, she always knew exactly what to say. I thought I was doing the right thing for Levi by listening to her. And then…” Annie’s voice caught in her throat and she started to cry– not for the first time that day, or even that hour. “I’m sorry, Tom!”

THOMAS: “I bloody told you!” Tom bellowed, his shout echoing off the walls. All his frustration, all his fear, anger, and grief unleashed. He took a step forward.

Elinor cut in front of him, drawing Tom up short. “Thomas--”

Tom sucked in a deep breath and then turned away from angling towards Annie. He crossed to the other side of the room and began pacing back and forth, a couch and coffee table between himself and Annie on the other couch. Elinor stood in the middle of the room between them. He ran a hand through his hair.

Then, all of the sudden he stopped short and whirled on Annie again, gripping the back of the fragile, antique wood hard enough heard it crack.

“Where is he?” he snarled, eyes hard and sharp. “Did you LEAVE HIM WITH THEM?”

ANNIE: For Annie, tears were usually a defense mechanism. She cried when she felt backed into a corner, because she knew how to use her tears as a weapon. But she wasn’t fighting Tom. That wasn’t what this was about.

Instead, she yelled back at him, her voice low and still thick with tears and decidedly more British. Yelling felt better than crying. It felt like she was doing something. It was practically her and Tom’s primary form of communication, wasn’t it?

“I told you, I didn’t know! Stop bloody shouting at me! You’ve got no idea what it’s like to be in my position! You think I wanted this? To find out the people who were supposed to be giving him the life he deserved are bloody psychopathic murderers?!”

THOMAS: Tom didn’t want to stop shouting. Maybe, once upon a time, he would’ve felt bad for it. For shouting at Annie, the mother of his child, a woman. But right now he only saw her as a kidnapper. Taking his son from him. Leaving his son in the care of, as she said: psychopathic murderers. He had no sympathy for her. Her tears meant nothing to him. How many tears had Levi cried? How many more would he cry if he grew up in the clutches of the Order?

“I told you!” he bellowed right back at her. “I told you and you didnae listen to me! I begged you but you thought you knew better, eh? Knew my family better than I did. Thought I was what? Crazy? A brute? A liar? Why? Why would--”

“Tom--”

“Nae, Auntie,” Tom snapped at his aunt. “She deserves this! I tried--” Tears suddenly clouded his vision “--I did everything I could.”

Elinor reached out and gripped his shoulder with surprising strength. “I know,” she murmured to him. “I know. Fighting isn’t going to fix this. It is what they would want. You need to be strong. For Levi. For your son.”

Tom let out a shuddering breath, bowing his head forward as he gripped the back of the couch. He sniffed once, then sucked in a deep breath and nodded. He looked back up, still glaring at Annie but when he spoke, some of the heat was gone from his voice.

“You’re gonnae help us get him back. And you are gonnae listen. And do everything that I say. Are we understood? This is not your world. It is mine.” He is my son.

ANNIE: Annie opened her mouth to tell Tom exactly what she thought of him. That she thought he was stubborn and secretive and no, she didn’t think he was crazy, but she didn’t trust him, and that was enough to get her to listen to Eloise over him.

(That wasn’t the whole story, of course. The whole story was that Annie didn’t really feel inclined to trust men as a baseline, and she had developed a deep aspirational obsession with Eloise over the past few months, and she felt drawn to people who validated the things she already believed about herself. Annie wasn’t self-aware enough for that part, though.)

Elinor was the one to interrupt Tom, though, and now Tom was crying, and that was what actually scared Annie. She wasn’t afraid of him. She was afraid of what he was afraid of. If his family was capable of murder, what else were they capable of? What else did Tom know?

Annie stared at Tom, wide-eyed and pale. Her hand twitched and more coffee splashed out of the cup, but she didn’t notice.

“Why do you think I’m here, Tom? Obviously we’re getting him back,” Annie said, but her tone didn’t have the irritable, sarcastic tone she usually took with Tom when she said things like that to him. It was at once both desperate and flat. “I don’t care what I have to do. Sure. I’ll listen to you. If you know something I don’t, that’s fine. But I have information, too. Stuff you might not know. And they still trust me. So we’re gonna need to work together.”

THOMAS: Obviously we’re getting him back, Annie said, but that--meant nothing.

There was no ‘obviously’ about it. Tom would not underestimate the Order. They wanted his son. Tom had, technically, sworn his son to them. They would make good on their threats. He knew that they would. This was a dangerous situation. Not just for Levi, but for Tom--for everyone that he cared about.

He glanced at his aunt, who was still standing at his shoulder, a hand on his arm. Her gaze was steady, but firm and he appreciated it. At least someone else here knew what the stakes were.

“Alright: what do you know then?” Tom asked. He resented this. Working with Annie. But, at heart, he was a warrior. And it would be stupid not to take advantage of the assets he had. It didn’t mean anything. Tom wasn’t doing it for Annie. He was doing it for Levi.

ANNIE: Annie frequently preached that anything was possible if you set your mind to it. That didn’t mean she always believed it. But it was what people liked to hear, and right now, she didn’t really want to think about what would happen if they didn’t get Levi back (because she had thought about it. She had mulled it over all day. She didn’t know all the details of why they had killed that boy, Tom’s cousin, but it meant they were dangerous and they would kill again and Levi wasn’t safe there).

So right now, she was gonna have to believe it. She was putting her whole mind to this— every last ounce of determination she had. She was even working with the last person she wanted to confront right now. It was going to be worth it. It had to be.

“There’s going to be a party. Monday night. It’s kind of a meet-the-baby welcome-to-the-family type thing. And I’m invited, obviously, and they think I’m still totally fine with, uh… him being there.” Annie stumbled a little over that part, her face reddening. There was a reason they thought that. Because, for a moment in time, Annie had been totally fine with that. “Apparently it’s at a new location, this property they just got in London. They sent me the address and all. So I think I should just, I guess, uh, go in there, get Levi, and make a run for it. Not totally foolproof, but… it’s the best plan I got.”

THOMAS: Yeah, of course it was a new property. The Order wasn’t going to go back to their old haunts. The places that Tom, Phil, and John knew. The places they knew the weaknesses of. It would be stupid to stay there and, unfortunately for Tom, the Order was not stupid.

Part of him wanted to pace the floor, but Tom had never been one for pacing. He was stoic and still, as the storm raged inside him. He rubbed an exhausted hand over his face, trying to blink away the tears and bleariness. His mind chewed over Annie’s words, trying to find fault with them. He was so focused on the plan itself that he almost missed the other part.

The most important part: they think I’m still totally fine with him being there.

So, she had left Levi. She had been planning on leaving him properly. The Order hadn’t taken Levi. Annie had offered him up to them on a silver platter. Tom wanted to launch himself over the couch and strangle her. But even with the righteous fury coursing through him, he was too tired. Instead, he took a deep breath and stood up straight again, but he didn’t look at Annie. He couldn’t. If he did, he’d start shouting again.

He looked at his aunt.

“Do you think it will work?” he asked his aunt, because he knew she’d know better than him. After all, this was women’s territory. Babies and parties and things like that. His aunt had plenty of experience organizing such events.

Elinor nodded. “If they believe she gave Levi up of her own volition and just wants to come to the party, they won’t see it as a threat. She is still his mother.”

And though that did not mean as much as a father to the Order, it still meant something.

“Aye. Alright. But I’m going with her.”

“Tom, no--if anyone spots you.”

“No. I am going,” Tom snapped harshly, glaring sharply at his aunt. “I have to go.” The fire gave way to tears again as the fear squeezed his throat.

ANNIE: Annie was inclined to side with Elinor. Because even if she realized, now, that she had been wrong about Tom, she still trusted Elinor more. Tom was the one who was angry and emotional and who was making her feel the depth of all the terrible things she didn’t want to confront about her mistake.

But, then again…

Annie didn’t want to go alone.

“You can’t come in, but it might help to have someone driving the car,” Annie suggested weakly. “And, uh… I mean, obviously I don’t wanna think about the worst case scenario, and I am pretty scrappy, but if it comes down to it, might be good to have someone there for backup who’s, uh…” How was she supposed to put this. “…Trained for this kind of thing?”

THOMAS: Tom was trained for this kind of thing.

Maybe this was what his whole life had been leading up to, in some strange, twisted way. The Order had given him the tools he needed to tear it down. To save his son. If he was someone else, maybe he would not be able to. Even another Prince. Another Prince would not have the skill he had, passed down to him through his father, nor the special time spent training--the whole Order investing in him, Phil, and John, they way they hadn’t in their peers.

They had crafted Tom into a weapon and set him loose under false pretenses. Now, he was the banshee on the moor and he was coming for them. Something about that soothed him. He knew, objectively, that killing anyone would lead to his own death, but he was a talented soldier. He did not have to kill them in order to fight.

Tom still did not want to look at Annie, to speak to her. He was still boiling over with fury that she would leave their son in the clutches of the Order.

But, after a long moment, he managed to nod. Just once. “I’ll drive. You’ll go in and fetch him. If things start going wrong, text me.” He said all of this still looking at his aunt, but eventually he turned and met Annie’s gaze, his own hard as stone.

“If he’s gone, if I lose him--”

The threat burned up in his throat, because he did not know what he would do. Part of him felt that it might be satisfying to run Annie through with a sword, but the grief at just the thought was far too painful to even comprehend. So, instead, he just let it linger.

“Come on,” Elinor said softly, putting her hand on Tom’s shoulder. “You both need to rest. You have a long day tomorrow…”

ANNIE: It was what Annie was thinking, but would not say.

They weren’t going to lose him. It didn’t matter that the Harringtons had been nothing but kind and welcoming and accommodating to Annie (well, maybe sometimes they had been a little cold, which always just made Annie crave their approval all the more). According to what Elinor had said, these people were crazy evil murderers, and Annie was getting Levi out of there before any of this continued.

Not that she was comparing Charlie to a murder cult, but if the past year had taught her anything… it was when to get the fuck out of a situation.

So no, Annie was not going to let herself imagine what would happen if she failed. She nodded at Elinor and didn’t look at Tom, and then she went to start her skincare routine. She knew she wasn’t going to sleep much tonight. It was probably useless. Still, Annie clung to the routine.

#swynanastasia #swynelinor #tonnie #elimas #bring back my bonnie to me #my bonny lies over the ocean #the fall of rome

2 notes · View notes

prince--thomas · 2 years

Text

Levi John Phillip Tremaine Harrington (the First) ~~ [Tonnie]

In which Annie and Tom become parents...[takes place: May 20, 2022]

@ugly-anastasia

[tw -- labor and all that comes with it (though not super detailed)]

ANNIE: Annie always knew when it was time.

Jaxson’s due date came and went and Annie didn’t bat an eye, and when the doctor finally delivered all 8.5 lbs of him seven days later, Annie was exhausted but not surprised. Harlynne jumped the gun, sending Annie into an early labor, then taking her time and only turning herself around to emerge head-first in the fourteenth hour. This time, a few days before he was due, Annie knew her son was coming. And he would be here sooner than anyone expected.

Maybe it was something each of her kids had gotten from her, a stubborn refusal to be on anyone else’s schedule. Maybe that was why Annie could always tell. She had gone along with Eloise’s suggestion to travel out to London the week of the due date, but Annie had, deep down, had a feeling Levi would show up much sooner or later than that. And her theory was confirmed while driving to Jaxson’s soccer game, early Saturday morning.

“Zelly,” Annie said calmly, pulling into the parking lot of Swynlake General while Jaxson stared at her, bewildered, and Harlynne obliviously babbled into a plastic toy cell phone. She knew her sister was probably busy with some work thing, but her mother was much further away geographically and she needed someone who could be here fast. “Zelly, I need you to get to Swynlake as soon as possible and watch the kids. It’s time.”

She wanted to wait for her sister to get here anyway before she checked herself in (someone had to stay with the kids) so Annie decided to make a few more calls. Her thumb oscillated between two different names— next to each other in their phone due to their shared last name— and then, against her better judgment, called the latter name. She just felt… wrong not doing it. She didn’t want to be alone, too.

Also, she was kind of scared to tell Eloise that she wasn’t going to London (she knew she wouldn’t make it in time). So maybe Annie was putting that one off a bit.

“Hey Tom,” Annie said cheerfully. “You’re not driving or anything, are you?”

THOMAS: Although he had read all the books that said a due date was more of a guideline than a sure thing, Tom was still operating under the fact that his son was not coming for several more days. There were several more days to prepare. To get things in order. He wasn’t even sure what things he still needed to get in order, but it felt like there was always something. He had cleaned the whole house top to bottom on his last day off, much to Phil’s delight and John’s bemusement but he’d just been nervous--

What if there was too much dust and the bairn choked? That didn’t make any sense, but--Tom couldn’t help himself. He wanted as much time as possible. To finish the finish on the bairn’s crib. (There was one more layer drying on the one for his own bedroom, he’d gifted Annie with hers last week.) To fold all the wee clothes he’d bought (there weren’t many, he wasn’t sure how many he needed and had no one, really, to ask--except Hera, but even the witch couldn’t help him with everything.) To find a place for the diapers and the toys and everything that a baby needed in their house, which felt so tiny the more Tom tried to cram into it. There was so much to do…

Tom was asleep on his cot at work when the phone rang. The ringer jolted him from his sleep and he groped blearily for it as one of the other firefighters threw a pillow in his direction. It was the middle of the day, but that didn’t matter for the fire house. Tom rolled off the cot and left the room, so as not to disturb his bunkmate.

“Hullo? What? No. I’m not.” His heart jumped to his throat. There was only one reason that Annie would be calling: “What’s wrong?”

ANNIE: Tom sounded like he’d just woken up. Well, she thought, not her fault that he had the weirdest sleep schedule in existence. Although that would probably help him, once the baby was born…

Suddenly, Annie felt nauseous again, and it wasn’t the nausea she had gotten accustomed to over the past nine months. It was the realization that the baby was here several days early, and she and Tom hadn’t really talked about how they were going to do this. Annie had just assumed, like Eloise had told her, that Tom wouldn’t care to be involved. That obviously wasn’t the case, Annie could tell from his tone.

So what was she going to do with that?

She couldn’t think about that right now. She was stressed enough as it was, and wasn’t stress supposed to be bad for the baby or something? “Nothing’s wrong,” she said quickly, trying to keep her voice even and calm, even though she felt anything but. “I just thought I would let you know that I’m going into labor, I’m at the hospital, and you’re going to want to drop by in the next couple of hours if you want to be here when the baby is born. But my sister’s on her way, so no worries if not!”

Her voice betrayed the slightest strain. The truth was that Annie had never done this before, going to the hospital alone like this. Even if it was someone she hated, she wanted someone by her side. Even Charlie.

Even Tom.

THOMAS: “What? But--there is still two days,” Tom said, stupidly.

He had just been--counting on two more days. Two more days to prepare for the Order. Two more days to…prepare for the bairn. That was what the doctors had told them. May 22, the day after Philly’s birthday. They had plans tomorrow: to go to the pub. A last hurrah for Phil before Tom was not able to go out to the pub anymore. Two more days. He had needed those two days to stretch on and on, until he felt like he was ready.

Except, you were never ready for a baby. That was what Mistress Alexander had told him. That was what all the baby books he’d diligently made his way through said. He had just thought--maybe, he would be. He could do whatever he needed to in order to be ready.

Tom was still standing in the middle of the hallway, frozen. Several seconds had passed--he wasn’t even sure if Annie had said anything else.

The bairn was coming. Today. Right now.

Tom jolted, as if he’d been struck. “‘Course I’m comin’.” He spun in a circle in the empty hallway, trying to determine where best to find Chief Denim and tell her that he had to leave. Should he call Elliot to come and cover for him? “Do you--uh, do you need anything? I can swing by your house…” He twisted his ear as he started down the hallway of the fire department.

ANNIE: Annie wasn’t entirely unprepared. She had a “go” bag in the car with the essentials and some snacks and entertainment for the kids, a tip she always gave anyone she met who was pregnant. Nothing ever happened the way you planned it, and while Annie had humored Eloise by arranging to go have the baby in London at the hospital Eloise suggested, she had known it was pretty likely that life would have other plans.

And she was secretly kind of happy it had worked out this way. She wanted Dr. Robbins to deliver her baby. Annie trusted Eloise’s judgment, obviously, but Dr. Robbins had been there from the beginning. Before Annie had even known Eloise.

Ughh, Annie did not want to have to tell Eloise about this. Wasn’t that funny? That, for once, she was dreading hanging up with Tom and calling Eloise?

“I’m good. I have the go bag.” Annie reached for the bag and dug through it, double checking that everything was there. Except… wait. There was one thing. Why hadn’t she put that in the bag? Maybe– oh, yeah, Annie had been updating it recently. “Actually… sorry, I forgot the baby book. It should be on the kitchen table. There’s a key under the mat. Just don’t take too long, I really think we’ve maybe got an hour.”

She wasn’t entirely sure about that timeline, and she didn’t want to make Tom panic, but after two births, Annie was pretty in-tune with her own body. One thing was certain: the baby would be here soon.

THOMAS: An hour?!

Tom felt his whole body jolt as if he had been struck by lightning. In just one hour--his son would be born? He had thought labor took much longer than that! His brain was pure static as he wandered the halls of the fire department, as if they were a brand new labyrinth instead of the place he spent most of his time these days.

It took him a moment to process that she wanted him to swing by her house to…pick up a book. He almost wanted to scoff at her, but being annoyed was the farthest thing from his mind right now. Though, he wouldn’t be stopping to get a bloody picture book and risk missing his son’s birth. There was no way on Earth he’d miss that. Even if he had to run all the way from the firehouse to the hospital. It was only about two miles away after all.

“Er, right. Okay.” Tom made a note to text Phil and John, see if one of them would run by to grab the book. They would probably want to come to the hospital anyway.

“I am gonna find Chief Denim and then I’ll be on my way over.”

~~ ~~ ~~

It took another three minutes to find Jean. Another two to explain the situation and have the chief release him with a clap on the shoulder and well wishes.

It wasn’t until then that Tom realized that--the baby was coming and something could go wrong, because things went wrong all the time. He got in his truck and gripped the steering wheel, taking a deep breath to steady himself, feeling a little panicky which was an uncomfortable feeling. Tom was used to being calm in emergency situations but--

This was his son.

Tom made it to the hospital and was quickly ushered to Annie’s room. Benefits of knowing all the nurses who worked the A&E.

“Hey,” Tom said as he skidded in, boots squeaking on the polished floor. As soon as he made it into the room, he felt awkward. There was no one else. No nurses or doctors. Just Annie in the bed. He glanced around and wondered what he was supposed to be doing. “Uh, er--how are you feeling? How is everything going?” His eyes glanced at the readouts from the EKG, her blood pressure was a bit high but he figured that was to be expected.

ANNIE: Thankfully, it hadn’t taken Drizella long to arrive. She didn’t live very far away, and she was also a very aggressive driver who didn’t believe speed limits applied to her. Which was concerning in most scenarios, but helpful right now. Aside from Mummy (who would take a bit longer to get to the hospital), she was the only person Annie really trusted with Jaxson and Harlynne right now.

They were in the waiting room, watching something on the iPad while Drizella supervised. And Annie, for the first time, was alone. Yes, she knew multiple people (Mummy, Eloise, Tom) were trying to move heaven and earth to be at the hospital right now, but nobody had made it back. Until now.

Annie’s eyes flicked up from her phone screen as Tom burst in. “Hi—“ she started, though just as soon as she said it, she was hit with a sudden, painful contraction. “Oooof, okay,” she groaned, grimacing and trying not to show how much pain she was in. “Did you get the book?” she asked through her teeth, as the contraction continued.

THOMAS: Tom tensed as Annie did, as if he could feel the pain too. It wasn’t pain, though, it was just--

He wasn’t sure what he was feeling. Anxiety wasn’t an emotion that followed Tom until recently. Through the last few months, he had been plagued with it to the point where it had become a constant companion. Most of the time, it buzzed low, like feedback from a radio station not tuned correctly. Now, it was at full static, drowning out any other thoughts in his brain. He wanted to help, but he didn’t know how. He felt guilty, but this guilt was pointless--what had happened had happened and he couldn’t feel it too deeply anyway, because his son wouldn’t exist without all the rest.

Tom stepped a little further into the room. “Er, uh--no. John said he’d bring it,” Tom told Annie, still standing awkwardly in the middle of the hospital room. “I didnae--wanna miss anything. They are coming, though. Uh, soon as Phil’s class ends.” He hoped that the baby waited until after that, but he supposed he wouldn’t know either way. Phil and John weren’t going to be in the room. They’d wait out with Annie’s sister and children, he supposed. Could probably watch them, if Annie wanted her sister in the room with her.

“Can I, er, get you anything?”

ANNIE: Annie probably would have rolled her eyes at that, because really her house was not that far out of the way and she had told Tom she thought they had at least an hour. But it was kind of hard to be irritated at him while her mind was being inundated with the uncomfortable sensation that was contractions. It wouldn’t be long now. Everything was about to change. Forever.

Which was too big of a thought for Annie right now. Right now, she just needed this baby out. God, it had been long enough.

“Can you grab my juice?” she managed, letting out a long breath as the contraction finally passed. She gestured to a fluorescent-colored plastic cup full of pulverized fruits and vegetables that was sitting on the nearby chair. Drizella had brought it over for her, but now she was out in the waiting room keeping an eye on the kids. “I already told you, Tom, it’s probably gonna be another hour. You probably just want to sit in the waiting room with everyone else. You really want to see all this?”

She said it because she didn’t want Tom to think she needed him back here. But… maybe she kind of hoped he would say yes. Maybe she did kind of need someone back here. Not him, specifically. Just someone. And Tom would do.

She supposed that was how they had gotten themselves into this situation, wasn’t it?

THOMAS: Tom quickly crossed to grab the cup and then to the bed to hand it to her, which meant he was close enough now that he could grip the white rail around the bed if he wanted. He didn’t. Even if he did kind of want to, just for something to hold onto. He felt like a little boat, tossed out into sea. It had been so long since he’d been on the water that his sea legs hadn’t quite solidified yet.

He was bloody terrified, thinking of all the ways labor could go wrong. Tom didn’t know many of them, but he’d watched enough movies and such to know that it could end bloody and terrible. He wasn’t prepared. He didn’t know what to expect. Somehow, through all of this, the actual labor wasn’t something he’d really thought about. And it wasn’t like he and Annie had talked about it either. He supposed they were supposed to, in the third trimester, but they’d hardly spoken at all the last few months. They’d not even talked about if she wanted him in the room or not.

He hadn’t even really thought about if he wanted to be in the room or not. When he thought about labor, he thought about women screaming and men downstairs, where the sound couldn’t quite reach, sharing cigars and waiting to be told if they had a boy or a girl. It was old fashioned, of course, but Tom had always been old fashioned. Not necessarily by choice, but certainly by birth.

What had his father done?

Tom realized he didn’t care because he wanted to be here for every second of it. How was he supposed to miss his son’s first breaths? His first cries? The first time he blinked open his eyes?

“Do you want me to go?” He managed to ask against the rioting inside of him that told him just to not give her a choice in the matter.

ANNIE: Luckily, Annie didn’t have to answer that, because another contraction seized her. Christ, this baby was really in a rush, she thought, focusing on her breathing the way she had been taught in all those prenatal classes she used to take before Jaxson and Harlynne were born. She hadn’t had time this year. But she remembered.

“No,” she exhaled, not looking Tom in the eye. She had all kinds of emotions about this, and she had a feeling that looking at him would trigger them and she would totally lose control. “I’m gonna need someone to grab the doctor when it’s time, so I guess it’d help if you stuck around. I just wanted to put it out there, like, you really don’t have to.” She relaxed. “You kinda look like you’ve seen a ghost, though, so, like, if you’re gonna pass out–” Annie waved a hand vaguely. “Just don’t, okay? It’s gonna be a little distracting to Dr. Robbins.”

THOMAS: Tom didn’t know how he should feel about Annie admitting she didn’t want him to leave. He had been preparing for a fight. Or--maybe even for begging. This was supposed to be Annie’s moment, anyway, from all the books he’d read and all the advice he’d gotten. It should go however she wanted it to go. She got to decide if she wanted him to stay or go. But Tom couldn’t imagine a world where he wasn’t right here, in the room, when his son was born.

But she surprised him. She wanted him to stay. Or, at least, she wasn’t going to kick him out. And, even though she wasn’t looking at him, he caught just a glimpse behind the mask. Enough to realize she probably didn’t want to be alone. He could imagine labor was terrifying, because it sounded bloody terrifying. Not that any woman he knew talked about it that way, but from the things he read--

Annie’s comment made him snort and he did reach out then to grip at the side of her bed. “I’ll be fine,” he told her. “I am used to it, innae way.” This is what he had been trying to tell himself, in preparation, anyway. “I did grow up on a farm, y’know.”

Did she know that? He had bloody no idea, to be perfectly honest. There had never been a point of their relationship where they’d actually talked about anything of substance.

ANNIE: “Are you calling me a cow?” Annie retorted, though, surprising even herself, she laughed instead of being offended. Maybe it was the hormones, maybe it was the high pressure and the fact that Tom was the only other person in the room, or maybe it was the fact that, sitting in this hospital bed with her sweaty hair sticking to her forehead and her body sending continuous waves of pain signals– she didn’t feel one bit pretty.

And for once, it wasn’t really a big deal. She kind of had… other things to think about right now.

Annie chuckled. “I’m kidding– ooooh, okay.” She was almost grateful for the contraction, so she didn’t have to interrogate the fact that she was making good-natured jokes, or wondering about his life that she knew so little about now. None of that mattered. Tom was going to disappear. He seemed committed now, but Eloise knew him better than Annie did, obviously. Annie should listen to her assessment.

The contraction continued, and Annie tried to focus on her breathing. This one was longer, and it felt different. “I think you should– maybe– grab the doctor? Don’t panic, I just think– can’t hurt.”

THOMAS: “Wha—no!” Tom said, baulking that any woman would think that he’d say something like that, though of course Annie would think that. Since she always thought the worst of him. No matter how hard he tried.

For a few moments, he just stared at her as she laughed and then doubled over with a grunt. He wondered if the laughter was delirious or—

The flicker of any hope that Annie and Tom could get along had died long ago for him. When she’d contacted his family behind his back was the last straw. A family he’d warned her about. A family who wouldn’t even talk to him. (Alright, well, Mellie did, but he didn’t want to put her in the middle, so he rarely talked back.) He couldn’t forgive her for that kind of betrayal, though he hoped, one day, they could be civil. Maybe this was a flicker of that. Not hope but just—civility.

Tom was knocked out of it when Annie spoke again.

“Oh, uh—right.”

Honestly, for labor, this whole thing was much more calm than Tom imagined. When he stumbled into the hall, heart pounding—everyone else was just going about their business. When to him, he felt like they should be rushing about like the firefighters at the station when a call came in.

He wanted to shout: HELP!

But instead, he just went up to the first person in scrubs he spotted.

“‘Cuse me, ma’am, er—my—“ Tom stumbled.

The nurse stared at him, clearly irritated.

“Annie Tremaine. Room 337. She, uh, asked for the doctor? I, er, think she’s ready to start pushing.”

The nurse’s face brightened slightly. “Alright, I’ll let Dr. Robbins know. Don’t you worry, let her know we’ll be right there.”

“Thank ye,” Tom said, giving her a nod before beelining back to the room.

“Doc should be here soon,” he told Annie, speaking around his cuticle as he bit at it nervously.

ANNIE: By the time Tom returned, the contraction had ended and another begun, intense and painful. She remembered the last time she had gone through this, with Harlynne, she had been self-conscious about the way she looked, with her face beet-red and her hair sticking to the sweat on her face. Maybe that was the silver lining of her general disdain for Tom. She didn’t care what he thought she looked like.

She’d clean herself up in time for the Instagram post later. For now, she just had to get through this.

“Okay,” she breathed, nodding and fanning herself with the neckline of her shirt. “I’m telling you. Now’s your chance. This ain’t gonna be–”

Just as she said that, the door opened and in walked… not quite Dr. Robbins.

“Mummy!” Annie didn’t even think about the fact that her accent completely changed, the way it sometimes did when she felt an emotion particularly strongly. “Oh, thank god.”

THOMAS: The door opened and in the frame stood a tall, sharp woman, whom Tom knew to be Rodmilla Tremaine. He had met her once, in passing, and had found her to be more tolerable than her daughter, but intimidating and cold. Nothing like his own mother. He was not surprised that she was here but—it made him feel even more awkward and out of place.

Automatically, he stepped away from the bed, so that the mother could go to her daughter’s side. His hand lifted again to his lips as he chewed on his cuticle again, eyes darting around.

Thankfully, only a few minutes later, Dr. Robbins burst in, in all her sunshine and rainbows. Her eyes crinkled with a smile and Tom felt a little better at once. Behind her was a whole gaggle of nurses.

“I hear we’re ready to have a baby!” she announced brightly, clapping her hands together.

The relief was short lived as the team bustled in and went about fiddling with this and that, pushing Tom even further into a corner of the room, where he felt like he would be out of the way.

ANNIE: When Annie had given birth to Jaxson, she had been nervous. She had realized, suddenly, that there was so much nobody had ever told her, and all the prenatal classes in the world still couldn’t answer those questions burning deep in Annie: what if something went wrong? How would she ever be okay? And even if everything went right… her life was about to change forever, wasn’t it? Quickly, too quickly, she had gone from girl to woman to wife, and now she was about to be a mother.

Annie wasn’t nervous anymore. Or, she wasn’t nervous in the same way. Harlynne had been different, because Annie had been afraid she would mess up a girl the same way her mother had messed up her. And now, this little boy was going to be different, because Annie barely knew his father and they hardly liked each other and what if people treated him differently, the way Eloise had cautioned they might? And then there was the poison from all the way back in September– that Dr. Robbins had told her seemed not to be a problem, but who ever really knew?

There was one thing, though, Annie clung to as she breathed in and out, to the rhythm of Dr. Robbins’ instruction. This baby was hers. This body that had created this baby was hers. She had made this choice, all on her own. And whatever happened next… it was going to be on her terms.

“I’m ready,” she grunted, in a much lower and decidedly more British voice than she ever let anyone hear her use. And her mother reached for her hand and Annie took it and it didn’t matter whether or not she felt nervous, because she was doing it anyway. And, come to think of it– that was a pretty good Insta caption, was it not?

Annie would keep it in her back pocket for later. Because right now, it was time to–

“Push!”

This was the part Annie didn’t explain to people when she told the story, because real emotions were private things. Pain was private. So was pride. She glossed over those things, exaggerating the details that didn’t really matter. The songs she had put on her birthing playlist, for example (it was a lot of Beyoncé) or the advice that you should always flatiron your hair ahead of your due date. It was easier than showing her softer side.

So it was just that room, Mummy and Tom and Dr. Robbins and the nurses, who saw Annie sweat and grunt and groan. And it was just that room who saw her burst into tears the moment she heard that first cry.

“Good work, Mum,” Dr. Robbins said gently.

Annie sniffled, then laughed and shook her head. “Sorry, I– oh my god, his hair! He’s so ginger!”

THOMAS: Wait, I am not ready! Tom wanted to shout as soon as Dr. Robbins entered the room. His hands were sweating, his heart was racing. He felt like he might pass out, like he might fall off the edge of the world and into nothing.

Wait. Annie started to push. The tide was rising, he thought to himself. There was no fighting the tides. There was no fighting labor. Tom did not want to fight anymore.

Wait, please, stop. He just wanted a moment to breathe fist.

But just like the rest of this journey so far: no one listened to him. They couldn’t. His son certainly couldn’t, sailing into this world without any idea of what he was getting himself into. It reminded him of Eric, tumbling down a rockslide. It reminded him of Merida, goading him into a fight with wooden swords, or fists when they were younger rolling around in the flowerbeds.

It reminded him of seeing Eloise crying in the wedding chapel when he’d come to get her to walk her down the aisle. I am not ready, Eloise had wept, and Tom didn’t know what to do. The whole church was waiting.

I have you, he’d told her. We’ll do it together.

The moments slowed, stretching like molasses as these memories filled the spaces between contractions, the spaces between his heartbeats. Tom moved forward without thinking about it, drawn towards this fate like he had always been. The nurses parted like a sea: Tom the prow, Tom the ship, Tom—just one man. A man who wasn’t ready until he had to be.

Tom watched his son born and Tom heard him wail. He thought of banshees and the wind that used to scream around the castle on dark, stormy nights and of gulls that called in the sky, a sailor’s first sign of land. Of home.

Dr. Robbins placed the baby—his baby—his son—Levi—on Annie’s chest, still wet and squirming. His face was scrunched and red. His body scrunched and red too. Tom just stared, too afraid to move. He watched Levi’s chest shudder with gasping breaths, watched his fingers reach and clench, his legs kick haphazardly.

Someone nudged his shoulder.

“Dad?”

“Huh?” Tom ripped his eyes away, but only for a split second before looking back, as if he was worried Levi would disappear if he didn’t keep his gaze on him.

“Do you wanna cut the cord?” The nurse smiled and held up a pair of scissors.

“Oh, uh—” Tom glanced at Annie, at the baby, at the scissors. He lifted his hand. Took them. The silver flashed in the lights. The scissors were trembling, his hand was trembling.

“Take a deep breath,” the nurse advised, her voice teasing.

Tom didn’t notice. He breathed in. Tom had never trembled before. He had cut through blood and sinew and bone before with confidence. Had killed and maimed, his aim steady and true. He was deadly. Now, he had to do the opposite. Levi was life, brilliant and red and screaming.

Annie rolled him and Tom cut the cord in just one snip. He flinched; Levi just kept crying.

The nurse took the baby then, Tom once again following them like a shadow over to the weight station, where they cleaned him and pricked his foot and weighed him.

“A perfectly, beautifully healthy baby boy!” Dr. Robbins announced, handing the now swaddled baby back to Annie. “Congratulations.”

ANNIE: Babies were really quite ugly, objectively. They didn’t photograph well until they were at least a few weeks old. Annie had discovered this when Jaxson was born, having never seen a newborn in person before that point. She had saved all the pictures for the newborn photoshoot they eventually had a professional do, with lighting and editing and perfect pastel backgrounds.

But they were always so beautiful they made Annie want to cry, little eyes opening for the first time, little fingers and toes and little tufts of hair that were too short to be tied up in a hair bow. She looked down at her son and he blinked at her, and it filled Annie with a strange emotion she couldn’t quite name. I did this! I made this! she wanted to shout to the whole hospital, and the fact that it was her third didn’t make it any less extraordinary.

She was too tired for that, though. Just like she was too tired to think about what was going to happen with Tom, or his family, who were surely rushing to Swynlake as quickly as they could right now, and they could burst in at any minute… no, she wasn’t going to worry about that.

Annie looked up at Tom, smiling sleepily. “It’s a good thing he got your nose instead of mine, it looks like,” she observed, because it was impossible for her to talk about her feelings right now, but she did want to talk about Levi. Her son. Her son.

THOMAS: Tom watched the baby, feeling like he was looking at him through a telescope, as if he’d been out, drifting at sea for years—his whole life—and he had finally spotted land.

It was so strange. This whole time, the baby had been more of a thought than a reality to him. He had to keep repeating it to himself. Had to stare at the little black and white ultrasound photos and try to imagine. There was no imagining anymore. It was not a trick: he had a son. The baby laying in Annie’s arms was his. He didn’t know what to do with himself. He wanted to shout, he wanted to get on his knees and weep and pray.

Instead, he just stood awkward and stiff, still half in shock, still—uncertain about all of it. Like he was going to wake up from a months’ long dream. Could he reach out and touch him? He wasn’t sure. His vision suddenly went blurry and he blinked quickly, not caring as the tears carved two streams down his cheeks. He just didn’t want to not be able to see Levi. He couldn’t take his eyes off of him.

Annie’s voice made him flinch, like he was a fish on a hook and she’d just tried to reel him in. He blinked, looked at her, and then back at the baby.

“Bloody hell,” he finally managed. Probably not the best first thing to say when your kid had just been born but bloody hell. “He—he looks like me!” Tom stepped close enough that his hip bumped the bed as he peered closer, his hands wrapping around the railing of the bed and gripping tightly.

ANNIE: “Yeah, I freakin’ told you he was yours. And you didn’t even believe me. How’s that for a paternity test?” she snorted, but it was sort of affectionate in its own way. It was the way Annie talked to her sister, and, increasingly, her kids— irreverent, a little guarded, but more genuine than the tone she took with her Instagram followers. Or with the majority of the people she knew in Swynlake.

That wasn’t to say Tom was family, of course. Except… well, maybe that was exactly what he was. How did that old saying go? You could pick your friends, but you couldn’t pick your family? Annie hadn’t picked Tom. Well, maybe she had picked him once. But since then, they had said so many unforgivable things to each other, had done so many unforgivable things to each other, and yet…

Here they were. Bound together forever.

Well, probably not really. It was totally possible, even likely that Tom was gonna disappear just like Eloise said. Get scared, or go chasing down another silly cause. Annie was ready for that. But Tom was standing there with stars in his eyes, looking like he’d hit the lottery. And Annie thought… well, they might as well have this moment before things inevitably got complicated again.

“Go on, you can hold him,” Annie said, maybe a little reluctantly, leaning closer so Tom could reach for the baby. “Be careful. Support his head. Don’t drop him.”

THOMAS: Tom didn’t know what to say to Annie, honestly. And for the moment, he didn’t even really care that much. It wasn’t that he hadn’t believed the paternity test but--seeing it for himself…he didn’t know how to describe it. It was like looking through a looking glass into the past: his son, a reflection of himself, clean of any of his father’s sins.

Also with beautiful, bright red hair.

When Annie shifted, trying to hand the baby off to Tom, he flinched and then stiffened, before forcing himself to lean down and slide his hands under the baby’s back and head. He knew how to hold babies. He had nieces and a nephew. Had gone to see them when they’d first been born, though he never thought he’d held one quite so small.

Levi was so small and he squirmed as Tom lifted him into his arms, making his heart squeeze anxiously. He tucked him quickly to his chest, folding him into the crook of his elbow. There was that old adage about how men only fell in love with their babies once they were born and they held them. Tom would’ve said he loved Levi before that moment, but the strength of the feeling that dragged him under could be nothing else but a riptide of love. Tom’s knees felt weak and he managed to take a few steps to sit down in one of the chairs near Annie’s bed.

Once he was settled, he lifted one of his hands to stroke his thumb against Levi’s soft forehead. He touched that lovely full head of hair, the nose that looked like his, albeit smushed and red. Tom smiled, and there were still tears on his cheeks as he leaned over to kiss the baby’s forehead, the corner of his deep blue eye.

Levi squirmed and made a noise in the back of his throat.

“Ach, come now, mo chridhe. Tha thu bòidheach. Tha gaol agam ort,” he murmured in Gaelic.

Tom looked up at Annie after a moment. “I, er--can I take him to go see John and Phil? Let you rest for a mo’.” The nurses and doctors were still moving about, cleaning up, and Mrs. Tremaine stood cold-eyed and stoic, stroking her daughter’s hair. His gaze darted between them uncertainly as he stood carefully, not wanting to let go of his son quite yet.

ANNIE: Annie didn’t know what Tom was saying, but the way he said it was enough. And Annie wanted to believe it. She did. Maybe Eloise was wrong about him. Maybe he would stick around. Maybe love was powerful enough to overcome whatever forces had overtaken Tom and made him the way that he was, made him turn on his family…

God, no, it was all those stupid hormones, making her feel sentimental. Had the past ten years taught Annie nothing? Love was powerful, but it was fickle. Maybe Tom was in love now. But he could change his mind. Annie had to look out for what was best for the baby. Tom was not what was best for the baby.

She sat up a straighter, her expression a little more guarded now. “Mummy can go with you,” she said hesitantly, shooting her mother a look. She would have insisted on going herself, but she could use the rest… and she really didn’t want to talk to Phil Knightley right now.

THOMAS: If Annie said no, Tom didn’t know what he was going to do, because he’d asked it like a question, but he meant to do it either way. Levi was his son. He could take him to go see his friends, the only family that he had. He was just going down the bloody hallway--he was ready to argue.

Annie agreed. As long as he took her mother.

Tom didn’t argue. He was too elated. He didn’t have time to worry about Annie and what she did or did not want. He had just enough affection towards her for having given him his son that he only nodded and then didn’t wait for Rodmilla to follow him out of the room. He walked carefully, tense--looking at everyone walking by him in the hallway as if they were an enemy or a danger. He wondered if the lights were too bright. If the smells were too strong. If it was too loud.

But they made it to the waiting area without incident.

John and Phil, who were sipping coffees--Phil checking his phone, John reading a book--stood up at once at the sight of him. Matching grins on their faces. Phil reached him first, all gangling, galloping limbs--moving far too fast than was probably appropriate in a hospital. He clapped Tom on the back and crowed something stupid about breaking out the brandy and cigars.

John followed at a more measured pace, his presence warm as he peered at the baby, gripping Tom’s bicep, giving it a squeeze. “Good job, Tommy,” John told him with a little nod, and it was the same kind of approval that Tom imagined a father might give.

Tom gave him a hesitant, watery smile.

“If I had to share a birthday with anyone, I am glad it’s this little guy,” Phil said proudly, reaching out to touch Levi’s cheek.

“His name is Levi John Phillip Tremaine Harrington,” Tom told them, saying his son’s full name for the first time.

John and Phil beamed.

They visited for a while. Tom sitting between them, admiring his son, appreciating the warmth of his tiny body, the weight of him steady in Tom’s arms. His breathing was steady, Tom fascinated by the rise and fall of his little chest. Until it started to hiccup and Levi’s face scrunched. He began squirming and the gentle shushing Tom had been doing before wasn’t working.

It was then the thin shadow of Rodmilla Tremaine fell over them. “He is hungry. We should take him back now. I can do it, if you wish.”

Tom instinctively tucked the baby closer to him. “No, I--I got it.” He stood up and gave John and Phil a nod, freeing them from waiting and telling them he would see them at home until later tonight. He planned to stay until visiting hours were over and then be back right away in the morning. He moved back to Annie’s room and reluctantly handed the now properly crying baby back to Tom, the cries echoing in his head.

“He’s hungry,” Tom couldn’t help but say, even if he figured she already knew that. Tom just wanted to make sure that he was alright, that he would always be alright.

ANNIE: As the mother of two little ones, Annie was no stranger to the sound of babies crying. It didn’t alarm her anymore. It had, once– Harlynne used to scream so loudly that Annie was always worried something terrible had happened to her. But now it was just a part of life. Babies cried, spaghetti sauce spilled, you took care of it. Nothing to freak out about.

“Yeah, I figured,” she said, holding out her arms to take him. She bit back a snide remark about how Phil’s ugly face probably was what Levi was crying about, because there was no need to bring bad vibes about right now.

She looked down at Levi, who looked much less peaceful now, but that was okay. You had to fight for what you needed in this world, didn’t you? “You can head out if you want. I mean, you don’t have to, but this part isn’t really that interestin’.” Annie wasn’t all that concerned about privacy– it wasn’t anything Tom hadn’t seen before– but she wanted to give him the out. And… well, she knew Eloise would be here soon. Annie didn’t really want them to run into each other.

Now, that would certainly not be good for the vibes.

#swynanastasia #tonnie #levi john phillip tremaine harrington (the first)#my bonny lies over the ocean #the fall of rome #JUNIOR #my booooy #my soooon

2 notes · View notes

prince--thomas · 2 years

Text

A Threat at the Door ~~ [Tonnie]

In which Annie brings her concerns about the Order to Tom...[takes place: early June]

@ugly-anastasia

[tw -- mentions of stalking, threats, violence]

ANNIE: They had settled into something of a routine, Tom and Annie. Annie dropped by Tom’s house, usually while the kids were at school and daycare, with a cooler bag of frozen milk and whatever other random baby items she had impulse-purchased from Instagram ads that week. Sometimes it was a little hat or a sleeper. Sometimes it was a toy. A baby nail clipper, a pacifier clip, a bath thermometer– she didn’t know if Tom already had this stuff, but buying it made Annie feel like she was a part of things, ordering them online, bringing them over.

Levi was officially a month old, which meant that Annie was bringing the first year photo mat, rolled up neatly and tucked under one arm. She wasn’t going to Instagram the photo, obviously– her account was still on lockdown and would remain so for the foreseeable future– but she just wanted it for the baby book!

“Good morning,” Annie said when Tom opened the door, smiling politely, though she was feeling a bit shaky. She had some… not-so-fun developments to tell Tom about. Hopefully that could wait until she got her one-month photo, though. She held up the cooler bag. “I’ll go put these in the freezer?”

THOMAS: Tom did not keep most of the gifts from Annie. He found them frivolous and unnecessary. Yes, maybe it was petty, but he also wanted to prove to himself that he could do this without crutches. He didn’t need a thermometer for the bath. The toys he allowed, or clothes. Really practical things. But most of it, he tossed in a box and kept it out of sight, still not sure what to do with it. Give it away? Give it back to Annie? Give it to Levi, when he got older?

He didn’t waste the time worrying about it now. There were much more pertinent things to worry about. Like the Order encroaching on Swynlake. Like the fact he was supposed to go back to work in a few weeks. What was he going to do about Annie?

This tepid arrangement was not going to last. Annie would grow bolder, Tom more possessive. He already felt the creeping sense of irritation as she entered the house.

“Sure.” Tom watched her cross to the kitchen.

“Baby’s sleeping,” he mentioned quietly, moving toward the bassinet in the living room.

ANNIE: Once Annie put the milk away, she was planning on getting to work on the one-month photo, but… oh. He was sleeping.

And after Harlynne and Jaxson, Annie knew how rare and precious and fleeting naptime was. It never lasted as long as you needed it to, and you grasped at those minutes, trying to use them to clean up or prepare for the rest of the day or maybe, sometimes, catch a few minutes of sleep yourself. So Annie wasn’t going to wake him up. Maybe later.

Still, Annie took out her phone and snapped a quick picture of him sleeping. He looked so peaceful. He had no idea of the storm that was swirling around him…

“It’s not goin’ anywhere. I promise. Just wanted it for me,” Annie said in a low voice, then put her phone away. She turned to face Tom, her eyes darting around nervously. It was now or never– probably better to do this when Levi was asleep, even if he couldn’t understand it either way. It mattered to Annie. “Tom, we need to talk about something.”

THOMAS: The camera made Tom nervous. He wasn’t sure why, since the Order already knew everything—because of Annie. They knew he had a son. They knew where that son was. What he looked like. What his name was. Who his mother was.

All of these things, Tom had tried so desperately to prevent. Maybe that had been foolish of him. Maybe he never should have even tried.

But he didn’t want Annie to have photos of their son. He didn’t feel she could be trusted with them. Even without the Order, he didn’t want his baby posted all over the internet. Used as some sort of weird power play.

Her reassurance did nothing to reassure him. He grunted a little in reply but didn’t say anything else, still watching her stoically.

When she said they needed to talk, his face twitched down into a scowl. He had known this was probably coming at some point, because he was sure he knew what this was about: Annie wanted to take the baby back. Tom didn’t want that. As much as the baby was a burden, as much as he worried he was doing a good job, he also felt like he was starting to get the hang of things. And he didn’t want to let him go. Especially not with the Order whipped up into an even bigger frenzy.

“And what’s that?” he asked, voice flat.

ANNIE: Annie did not want to talk about this. Oh, she did not want to talk about this. Especially not to Tom, whom she was certain would blame her. But he had to know. For Levi’s safety. At the end of the day, that was more important than anything else. So she took a deep breath and steeled herself. Maybe Tom would be mad at her. Maybe he would tell her everything she secretly knew was true, about how irresponsible and stupid she had been. But that didn’t matter more than Levi.

“I’ve been getting, uh, weird stuff in the mail. From your sister, I’m pretty sure. Like, she sent me a bouquet of roses the other day with this weird threatening letter. I know Levi’s staying with you, so he’s safe and all, but… I just thought you should be aware. In case she tries anything,” Annie explained, avoiding eye contact with Tom. “And I guess I was wondering if you had any ideas on what I should do. If there’s a way to get her to stop. It makes me worried about Harlynne and Jaxson, y’know?”

THOMAS: It wasn’t about Levi.

Well, it was, but it wasn’t about their custody arrangement. Which meant that Tom’s shoulders relaxed slightly. He was relieved. And then, felt bad for that relief. Annie’s family was potentially in danger. And it was his fault. The Order’s technically, but he’d brought them into her life. Even if there were so many reasons why this had also been her own doing.

Tom didn’t want her hurt. And he especially didn’t want her children hurt. Once, Tom had believed the Order wouldn’t hurt innocent Mundus children. Now? He wasn’t so sure.

His weight shifted and he ran a hand over his beard, which was longer than usual. He pulled at the hairs on his chin thoughtfully.

“There isn’t a way to stop, unless you move. She is going to keep trying. The Order will keep trying.” Tom realized, as he spoke, that he was probably going to have to share some form of their plans for the Order with Annie but that could be tabled for the moment. He had to find the best way to do it that didn’t compromise the mission in any way. He still didn’t trust her, after all.

“Do you know what this note said? Do you have it?”

ANNIE: “Um, yeah,” Annie said, digging through her purse for the card. She had thrown the roses in the trash, but after those awful divorce proceedings, Annie had learned that it was a good idea to hold onto stuff. Just in case. Not that she really had the time, money, or resources to press charges against Eloise right now. You never knew, though.

She glanced at Levi nervously. He was still sleeping. Good. She didn’t want this stuff anywhere near the kids when they were awake, even if they couldn’t understand it.

Annie handed the card to Tom.

Annie,

Every time I see the color red, I can’t help but think of your sweet little boy. Why don’t you give me a call so we can arrange a time all to see each other? I would hate to drop by without warning.

“I threw the roses out, but I figured I should keep this,” Annie explained. “I know it seems innocent, but I just thought it was sort of creepy. Given everything that’s happened. I dunno, she makes it sound like she’s gonna show up at my house, right?”

THOMAS: That was Eloise’s handwriting. Tom recognized it at once. It was the same handwriting on all the bins he’d taken when he’d moved to uni and in all the cabinets in his childhood kitchen. Eloise had always liked things in their proper places. It made him miss her. He knew she was too far lost, maybe to ever be pulled back, but—he missed her anyway. He was not very close to Olivia. She had been married and moved to Denmark when he was still very young and Melody was his younger sister—and years younger at that. She’d always been his responsibility.

It was Eloise whom Tom was closest to, even if most of that was bickering between them.

His thumb moved over the “E” and he frowned, feeling that old, fresh wound in his chest.

“Mm,” he hummed, the gears turning in his head. He wasn’t the strategic one. If he had gotten this note: he would’ve believed it. He would’ve—been confused.

Reading it now, with Annie already putting it in context, he could see what she meant.

“I—think it might be an empty threat at this point,” Tom said with a little shrug. “Or…it will be soon.” He hesitated again, not sure what to reveal. He wished for John. He would know what to say. How to explain all of this.

“I am taking care of it and Eloise isn’t going to show up here. She knows her cover is blown.”

ANNIE: That wasn’t enough for Annie. Not by a mile. She knew Tom would do anything to protect Levi. That was obvious. She wasn’t sure he could do everything to protect her, though. And, really, why would he? After everything she had put him through. They were bound by this baby, sure, but they weren’t bound by blood.

Even if they were— Annie was done trusting people’s word.

“What do you mean, you’re taking care of it?” she asked nervously, her eyes flicking from the note back to Tom’s face. “I just told you about this now, there’s no way you’re already taking care of it. Unless…”

Was there more going on with Tom and his family than Annie realized? The thought made her even more nervous. “What do you mean by soon?”

THOMAS: Right. Clearly, Tom shouldn’t have said anything. Just--told Annie not to worry and left it at that, because now he had to…sift through what to tell her and what not to tell her. Both to keep her safe (as much as he disliked her, he didn’t want her or, especially, her children hurt) and because, even after everything--or maybe because of everything--he didn’t trust her. Sure, maybe she knew the Order was a bunch of fucking assholes now, but--she was susceptible, clearly, to their manipulation. Even if she didn’t align herself with them, he couldn’t trust her not to let things slip.

And this first attack--it was crucial that they had the element of surprise on their side. If they didn’t, the Order would simply move and they’d lose the trail. There wasn’t anyone on the inside anymore. Eric, in his dying moments, had given them the location of the new headquarters, but that meant there could be no mistakes. Everything had to be done in complete secrecy. The only reason he could even trust the Acherons was because he knew they wanted the Order destroyed even more than he did.

“I told you I was going to protect my son and that is what I am doing. The less you know about the details the better.”

ANNIE: “Tom!” Annie blurted out, her face going a bit pink.

She had tried. She had really, really tried to be nice, and calm, and civil. She was the one who had messed it all up, after all, who was trying to get everyone’s forgiveness. Annie knew she wasn’t really in a place to be making demands. But when it came to Levi, Annie believed she had a right to know. Especially after Eloise had made it clear that Annie was still very much on the Harringtons’ minds.

“You can’t just tell me that. He’s my son, too. I deserve to know if it’s something that involves him!” Her voice dropped lower in the way it did sometimes when she was emotional. “I know you don’t want me to be a part of this whole business with your family, and honestly, I don’t wanna be part of it either, but Eloise is making me a part of it. What’s going on? Are you suing her? Getting a restraining order or something?”

THOMAS: When Annie snapped at him, Tom’s face hardened.

He hadn’t felt particularly keen on Annie the last few months and although they had come to a tepid understanding, he still didn't trust her. Or like her very much. And he certainly didn't like being scolded by her.

“I don’t have to tell you anything, considering the last time I did try to include you in my life, you called me crazy and a liar and then gave our son away to a bunch of bloody lying psychopaths.”

Tom didn't feel the need to cushion his words. Maybe, if he was still a Prince, he would. Annie was the mother of his child and he’d been taught to uphold that title more than any other. But, that title had also been synonymous with wife. Partner. Someone he loved and trusted. Annie was none of those things. She was a stranger who had broken his trust. Who made it very clear that she had no interest in coparenting.

“I am handling it. Eloise is just trying to manipulate you. Don't let her. She’s a coward. Her threats are empty.”

ANNIE: That stung. Because the worst part was that it was true, all of it– and it was one of Annie’s worst regrets. She had been misled and manipulated, but she had let herself be, all because she was weak. Because she put her own vanity and desperation to be loved above her own kid’s life. And now she was paying the price. That nobody trusted her to protect him.

So Annie opened her mouth to retort and closed it again, because she didn’t have much of an argument.

She took a deep breath. “And I– I know I was wrong. We all know I was wrong at this point, so we don’t have to– whatever,” Annie mumbled, waving a hand as though to push the topic aside. She looked up at Tom, her gaze stubborn and determined. “You’re absolutely certain they’re empty threats. You’re not just saying that to make me go away.”

Tom knew his sister better than Annie did– he had been right about her when Annie was wrong about her– but Annie was reluctant to believe she was really safe. She was too scared at this point. She had already lost so much by getting tangled up in the world of Tom’s family– she couldn’t lose anything else.

THOMAS: Tom knew that he should find some sort of sympathy or forgiveness for Annie in his heart. Or even just tenderness. After all, he had been manipulated by the Order his entire life. He knew how toxic they could be. But, he had also never had anyone telling him that the Order was toxic and evil. He had never taken a child away from its parents. In fact, he had left the Order to keep that from happening.

It worried him, the ugly, black anger that he had. It made his heart feel scorched. Like he would never be the man that he wanted to be. A man free of the Order and all the mistakes of his past. There were too many of them, it had been too long for him. There would never be enough time to make up for his past. He would constantly be swimming up from drowning, never breaking the surface.

Was Tom just saying that Eloise was an empty threat to make Annie go away?

“I cannae be absolutely certain, but I know my family and at this point: they have bigger things to worry about. They’ll know that I have Levi. Which is why I have him. They’re not going to involve some random civilians.”

If Annie was someone he cared about, then maybe…

Though, he supposed the Order did underestimate him in that way. If someone took Annie, or her other children, he would get them back. That doubt worked in their favor.

ANNIE: Random civilians. That’s what Annie was. What the rest of her family was. Like they were in a war, and Tom was on the front lines, not her.

But that wasn’t how it felt. Every day, Annie woke up and felt like she was suiting up for battle. She checked the footage on the security cameras she had installed outside of her house, she skimmed the crime news for anything strange, she kept a detailed list of anything that seemed unusual. She tried to think of ways she could fix everything. Because she knew she couldn’t go on like this. Something had to change.

“If you say so,” Annie said uncertainly, like she didn’t really believe that at all. “When you say you’re taking care of it… you think they won’t be a problem anymore soon? You don’t have to give me all the details, I just– that’s the part I wanna know.”

THOMAS: Tom couldn’t promise the Order wouldn’t be a problem. This battle could go wrong for them. Hades seemed confident, but that prick had more confidence than literally anyone he knew. And he was best friends with Phil fucking Knightley.

Anyway--it could go badly. There could be retaliation. They weren’t finishing something. They were starting it. They all knew it, but--

One day, they could be free.

That was the light at the end of this. That his son could grow up in an Order free world. He deserved that. All the children who came next--Magick and Mundus, deserved that. It had taken Tom a long time to come to that conclusion, but he believed it. He could never wash the stain of blood off of his own hands, but he could keep Levi’s clean.

“I believe so. It might take a while but we have a plan. And if anything changes or I ever think you and your family might be in danger, I would tell you.”

ANNIE: It still didn’t feel like enough. But Annie could believe, at least, that Tom couldn’t tell her much more. Either there wasn’t much more to tell, or telling Annie would create more trouble for her. She could kind of understand that. There was a reason she didn’t tell anyone else about Eloise, and it wasn’t just because she was embarrassed (although she was rather embarrassed). She was also afraid of dragging anyone else in.

“Fine,” Annie said, giving Tom a steely look. In some ways, she was just going to have to handle her own side of this. Look into some security cameras for her house. Maybe see if she could get the SSHIIT people to keep a lookout for her (without telling them anything, obviously). Stay quiet on social media, until she was sure that Tom’s plan, whatever it was, had worked.

And if it didn’t? Well, Annie would figure it out. She always did. She missed her life as an influencer, but it wasn’t more important than her kids’ safety. She had learned the hard way what happened when she prioritized her own ego over that.

She turned her attention back to Levi, who was still sleeping peacefully, no knowledge of what was happening. It made Annie’s heart ache. She drifted over to him and then looked up at Tom. “I’ll head out soon, but– just give me a minute, ‘kay?”

#swynanastasia #tonnie #a threat at the door #these two messy bitches #i love them

1 note · View note