Phone Tag

[Zander Ellison]

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<SIZE size="50">Being out for a walk and ending up talking to a news crew was not Zander's idea of a good morning. In fact it was the worse idea ever. He'd no desire to have to deal with it, but he had been somewhat cornered. The walk that morning had been necessary. Tyler now nine was needing new clothes, he was growing fast, and being the adult Zander had to be the one to help him get the clothes. It wasn't an easy task leaving the house. Tyler was well behaved, but sometimes would not really dress for the weather. Which often meant stern words from Zander and a lot of patience. But not just because of the young boy. Also because of the young girl, only 8 months old and dependent on Zander for everything. Just as Tyler had once been. These two young children were not his own. Not by direct bloodline. Tyler being his youngest brother and the baby, Abby, being his niece. This however meant nothing, Abby and Tyler felt more like his children. He has practically raised them. They were two children who from unforseeable circumstances had been parent less. Zander had been the one ready to step in as parents. The eldest Valentine was in most senses of the word, a mess. The Valentine family had been torn apart. They'd lost their parents in a car crash, which had left Zander the eldest to take up the role of parent. When he had just recently turned sixteen. It had been hard, Zander had to be the parent, look after his eight siblings and let them all go through some form of grieving over the parents. The eldest Valentine had tried his hardest, but he felt like he had failed. He hadn't done his job right and the family was in tiny pieces. He was at a loss most days. Going through the daily tasks of the day but being most of the time on auto-pilot. It was tiring. And the more time past the worse he felt about it. He was barely sleeping, and he was using most of energy to keep himself from breaking down. His day was made better by watching Abby, Tyler and Jamie. Abby as she was the baby and was all forms of adorable, and both Tyler and Jamie because they were growing up to be fine young people. They had little characteristics that reminded him of their parents. Jamie was growing up to be a fine young lady and she looked exactly like his mother had in pictures at the same age. That was maybe the hardest part for Zander.

He's spoken to the camera crew just after going into the third shop of the morning. They had spotted Zander, asked his age and how long he'd been taking care of the children. Zander had replied somewhat honestly. Just saying that Tyler was 7 and Abby was 6 months. Before he was really aware what was going on he had a camera in his face and a guy with a mic beside him. Zander moved to walk away but was asked to stay. With Abby in her lean and Tyler standing at his side, somewhat annoyed at having stopped. "Are you a single parent?" the guy with the mic asked, Zander just nodded and replied a quiet yes. "What do you think of the treatment single parents get from society?" Zander wondered what the piece would be about. He looked down at the two young children he considered to be his kids. "Well, it could be better, but I've never been bothered by it. I don't most are. You tend to focus on the kids rather than people you don't know." Zander had never noticed people around him. "Is it hard?" the followed up with giving little time for Zander to compose himself. "Yeah, it's hard and I have no social life, but it's worth it. It is very worth it."
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[Peyton Davidson]

To say that today was a big day for Peyton Davidson would have been an understatement. The twenty three year old had been setting everything up for this photoshoot for the last two weeks. She'd entered a contest at school several months earlier at the suggestion of her photography professor. I think this will be an excellent opportunity for you to expand your horizons if you happen to win. Without any hesitation she'd entered and much to her surprise she'd gotten word two weeks ago that she'd won. It was a studio shoot which was new for the young blonde as she was much better at nature shoots, but like her instructor had told her...this would expand her horizons and only hone the skills she already had. Peyton wasn't the worlds best when it came to her art, but she was definitely getting better the more she studied it. Taking a last walk through the sets she decided that everything was in order now all she had to do was wait for the models to get here.

The music was blasting, which normally wouldn't have bothered Peyton much, but it was hard having to shout over the noise to direct the models. Something just wasn't working, but she wasn't sure what it was. Hitting the pause button on the iPod that was hooked up to the sound system Peyton pinched the bridge of her nose between her fingers. "Okay everyone take five," she said with a heavy sigh. Maybe I'm just not cut out to photograph people...nature is so much easier to capture for some reason she thought as she loped back into the break room. There were a few tables and chairs casually strewn around the room and a TV attached to a post on the wall. Clicking on the television she grabbed a bottle of water from one of the coolers and an apple from one of the trays of fruits that had been so generously supplied. As she munched into the delicious fruit she heard a somewhat familiar voice coming from the TV, but of course it was a voice she'd not heard in quite a while. Turning up the volume she watched the news story that unfolded. Zander was being interviewed about being a single parent. Her brow furrowed slightly as she realized that there had been quite a bit the guy had not been honest with her about when they'd talked previously. She had known that he'd had several brothers and sisters, but she didn't know that he was the sole caregiver of all of them. Shaking her head lightly she felt bad for Zander, though it had been almost a year since she'd heard a word from him. The relationship there had ended way before things could even get started and now she felt she somewhat understood why. Clicking off the TV she capped her water bottle and headed back out to the studio to start again.

After a long day of snapping photographs of overly primped models the young blonde was more than happy to be home. She wasn't sure how the actual shoot itself went or how she felt about it, but after going over the thousands of pictures she taken with the creative director she found that she'd actually gotten some killer images that were going to not only be displayed at her very first gallery showing, but also in a newly established high end fashion magazine. "Tomorrow I'll head to the countryside and take some pictures the way I like to. Nice and quiet and alone," she said out loud to herself as she plopped down onto the couch, clicking on the radio with the remote. She grabbed her phone from her back pocket and found that she had a couple of missed texts from her brothers. After replying to those she flipped through her contacts list before landing on Zander's name. Peyton contemplated for a little over a minute before hitting the 'Send' button, dialing his number. She wasn't really sure what she was going to say if he answered, but luckily she didn't have to think too hard about it when she got his voicemail. At first she wasn't going to leave a message, but then decided to just go for it. "Um, hey it's Peyton. I, well I saw you on the news today and I guess for some reason I thought it would be a good idea to call you. But, um, anyways you know after seeing the story on the news I guess all I wanted to say was that you know, like, if you ever need to talk then I'm here...I guess, just, um, I don't know. You can call me if you want to. I hope things are going okay with you. Maybe I'll hear from you later," she said, mentally berating herself for how extremely lame the message was. Sighing heavily Peyton shook her head before going to run herself a bath and soak the day away.

 

[Zander Ellison]

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<SIZE size="50">It wasn't until the next day that Zander had noticed he had a missed called, from a girl called Peyton. He didn't remember the name, he couldn't remember who it was, however if he had her number and she had his, he figured he knew her from somewhere. At first he thought it was someone from the ministry but he knew that most of them didn't have phones, and then there was his muggle world. Which he also doubted any of them had his number. He didn't know if he should just get rid of it, or listen to it. In the end as he put Abby down for her nap, he called his answer phone service. The female voice on the other end was familiar but once again he couldn't place where he knew it from, although the girl on the other end seemed to know who he was. Clearly they'd met before but Zander couldn't remember it. It wouldn't be the first time either. He was often so wrapped up dealing with his family that any forms of social life took a back bench, that clearly made the eldest Valentine forget who they were. He couldn't exactly be blamed. How was he meant to remember. With his family crumbling, he was barely dealing with what was in front of him he could hardly be expected to remember some girl. In the end Zander saved the message, he wasn't sure why but it seemed to him like something he should hold on to. He put the phone back in his pocket and then continued about the house, doing the chores as Abby slept, Tyler was at school and Jamie was doing class work in her room.

Zander quickly forgot about the message until a few days later. It was almost a week since the interview on the news and Zander had quickly forgotten about that too. He pushed both to the back of his mind as he worked away on the paperwork he did for the muggle company he worked for. Tyler was still at school and would be finishing up soon. Jamie was working again, and Abby playing in the baby chair that Zander had put beside him as he worked. She was playing with his keys. Shaking them and then Laughing like it was the funniest thing she'd ever seen. Each time she laugh, Zander laughed. She had an adorable little laugh. It brightened his world. It reminded that through all the crumbling his family was doing the world was still an amazing place. In the end, Zander had closed over his work in boredom. He had planned to do more but he couldn't. He noticed on the table was a magazine. One that belongEd to Jamie he was sure. Since Abby couldn't read and Tyler had no interest in fashion. He reach over and pulled it over to him. He sat back down and flicked it open. While his attention was turned to Abby, tickling her lightly on the stomach he flicked open to some fashion shoot. He looked down at it and noticed a name Peyton. The girl who'd called him. It was the exact same name. Then it came back to him. The girl he'd been late for the date with. Zander remembered her. He pulled out his phone and went to his contact list. He flicked through it until he found her name. He was about to press call, when he wondered why. He'd been late, there had only been one date. But Zander was desperate for some company. In the end he didn't call, instead he put the phone away and went to get himself and Abby ready to pick Tyler up from school.

It was much later in the day, when he was finally alone for the first time since the morning that he took out his phone again. He stared at the screen before going to his contact list. He went to her name and just stared at it. What could he say, he hadn't told her about being a parent, he wasn't too interest in talked about it. Despite his better judgement he pressed called. It rung and rung. He was hoping she wouldn't pick up, and Clearly luck was on his side, because he heard the reassuring tone of the answering machine. He paused slightly. Letting the silence be the first milliseconds of he message. "Hey, it's Zander." he started trying to sound cheerful, happy and not like the entire weight of the world was resting on his shoulders. "I'm sorry it took me so long to get back to you, I've been um busy. You know why. I saw your photos in that magazine. They were really good." he sighed slightly. "things are okay for me. Thanks for the offer, umm. I might take you up on it. I'm just so" Zander stopped. He was about to say he was tired, that some days he just wanted to break down. But the sound of Abby crying filled his ears. "I'm sorry, um I have to go. Maybe I'll here from you at some point. Take care, bye." he disconnected the call and went to take care of Abby. Putting the call out of his mind.
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[Peyton Davidson]

Everyone who had seen the magazine had congratulated her on a job well done. Peyton simply smiled and thanked each person as they did, but for some reason she hadn't been completely happy with it. The young blonde simply chalked it up to an awesome experience, but fashion photography was just not something she found herself interested in.

While she was sitting in class taking notes she heard her phone buzz. She looked at the screen and saw it was her brother, Patrick, who was calling her. She knew he was in town on leave and would be for the next few days so she was hoping he was calling to say he was going to take her to lunch. Apparently when he couldn't get her to answer he opted for texting her instead. You, me, and Avery for a late lunch today. Be there or be square. Peyton smiled and shook her head as she placed her phone back in her bag and returned her attention to the lecture.

Later that afternoon she met Patrick and Avery at a local cafe for a bite to eat. She didn't get to see her brothers very often, but when she did they always seemed to revert back to their old ways of being very childish and immature which usually meant loads of laughs. They all took turns pairing up and picking mercilessly on the third one, but when it came back around where it was her two older brothers picking on her she crossed her arms and pouted. "You two are so immature. I mean really," she said through gritted teeth as she tried her best to suppress a smile.

After hugging both of her brothers goodbye, Peyton headed home to do some studying before heading back to school for her photography lab. As she pulled her keys and phone from her bag she noticed she had a voicemail so she decided to give it a listen. It was from Zander. The young blonde was a little surprised that he'd actually returned her phone call. He sounded tired. He sounded like he needed some help. Peyton felt sorry for him, but she had a pretty good feeling that pity was the last thing he needed. She heard a baby cry in the background before he hung up. She looked at her phone trying to decide what she should do next. Without much thought she pressed the send button and waited as she heard the phone ring several times before going straight to voicemail. "Hey it's Peyton. I got your message. The offer still stands, ya know, I'm here if you just need someone to talk to or even if you feel like you might need a break for a couple of hours. I'm pretty okay with kids actually. I hope you're doing well and maybe I'll hear from you soon," she clicked the phone, ending the call and sighed. Seemed like a game of phone tag had started. She smiled at the thought as she pulled her book from her pack and began to look over her notes.

 

[Zander Ellison]

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<SIZE size="50">For the past two days Zander had been going pretty much non-stop, there had been influx in his work load at the Ministry. He had worked really hard over the past few days. All his muggle work taking a stop backwards as he focused solely on the thing that needed done first. He had mixed this in with the fact that he was in the house almost all of the time, and Abby was a young baby who needed a lot of attention. Zander was pretty much exhausted when he got home from taking Tyler to school. He wanted to just sit down and fall asleep. He couldn't. He didn't couldn't. It was fairly hard to when he had to do a hundred things before he could just sit down. When he could sleep for longer than a couple of hours. On top of this, Zander was feeling a little unwell. He hadn't slept enough in the past few weeks, and this was beginning to really take a toll, he was waking up and he was feeling unwell, so unwell that he found he generally couldn't eat until lunch. Which didn't fair too well. It wasn't going well for the eldest Valentine who was working himself into the ground to provide for all his family members. He couldn't even remember the last time he'd actually done something that was 100% for himself. The last time he had done something without taking Abby, or without having something else to do in mind. He hadn't even really given himself much thought. Not in a long while. His life meant very little in comparison with others. It didn't need to, but he made it so, generally so that he could just focus on them. So that if things went wrong with him it wouldn't matter. His family meant everything to the eldest Valentine. He was just trying to be okay. He was trying, but with the recent death of Kailey, it was proving hard. He noticed his phone that was sitting on the table beside the door was flashing at him. He picked it up, he noticed he had a voice mail. He didn't have any time to check it, but he made a mental reminder that he had to call them back, or at least check the message. Instead he got Abby settled in the little pen they had set up in the living. Mostly so that she could be in the room with him. He kept an eye on her at all times. As soon as he noticed that she was hungry or tired he could do something. Zander kissed the top of her head before sitting down at the table. He could not sit for long, as the doorbell went. Zander stood up and went to get it. He knew who it would be. Jamie, since she was currently staying at home was being homeschooled. Zander had asked a lot of friends to help him out by tutoring her if they had the time. All of his friends had been happy to give him a hand, most of them knowing of his situation.

Once that was set up, the former Hogwarts student walked back to the living room. He looked at Abby, who was sitting up staring at the direction of the door. She looked ready to cry. The eldest Valentine panicked slightly at this, he really didn't need her crying. He smiled at the very girl and made his way to her. He lifted her from the pen and bounced her in his arms. He tickling her stomach with his hand and laughed lightly as she laughed. "It's alright baby girl. I got you. I got you." He whispered quietly to her. He kissed the top of her head. He noticed that she no longer looked ready to cry. Which made him very happy. It really did. With this small victory, the young man, with a free hand took out his phone and looked at the message. Peyton. This made him smile. She was probably one of the only people in his life who just made his life feel more like his, and not just like he was the figure in all of theirs. On a whim, he called back. He was sort of hoping that this time he'd actually catch her, but he didn't, the answer machine gave a beep and he took a deep breath. "Hey Peyton, it's Zander. I guess I wanted to talk." He smile at Abby who was still in his arms. He tickled her lightly with the hand holding her. She gave her usual light laugh, that filled his life with incredible joy. "I've been working non-stop for the past few days. Needed someone to talk to, who isn't you know. A baby. Kinda hoped I'd not get your voicemail, but yeah. How've you been? I hope I hear from you soon," Zander hung up and then went to fix Abby something to eat. He had tried to sound as upbeat as he could, but it was hard, when he really didn't feel like it. He was exhausted but there was really nothing he could do about it. He had to keep going. As always.​

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[Peyton Davidson]

The music was turned up in the apartment which meant only one thing...it was cleaning day. Most people hated the thought of having to clean their house, but for Peyton it was invigorating. Plus she always made it fun. It was a sort of game that she and her brothers had used to play. It had always made their chores go by fast. Now that it was just her she continued on with the tradition and she still had fun with it. The blonde danced through the kitchen with a mop in her hand using it as a microphone from time to time as she slid it across the floor, cleaning every surface. Once she finished in the kitchen she moved on to vacuuming the carpets through out the apartment. Dancing along to the beat of the music the entire time and singing even louder.

She walked back to the living room and cut the music while she wrapped the cord back up. She hummed lightly to the tune still in her head until she heard the phone ring. Popping up quickly she stubbed her toe and cursed out loud as she hopped around searching for the source of her missing phone. "Don't hang up. Don't hang up," she said as she searched frantically. It was then that it stopped ringing and several seconds later she heard the message alert. "Dammit," she seethed as she continued looking for her phone before finally producing it from under one of the couch cushions.

Peyton listened to the voicemail and noticed that Zander, even though sounding slightly upbeat, didn't sound quite right. Something was off. She was trying to decide if this little back and forth game was ever going to produce anything and wondered whether or not she should even keep it going since it seemed like they weren't meant to reach each other directly. Sighing heavily the blonde searched through the contacts and hit send when she found Zander's number. She heard it ring three times, knowing good and well that after the next ring his voicemail would pick up and she'd leave yet another message for him, but this time right before the fourth ring could come about she heard his voice. "Hello?" Peyton stopped dead in her tracks. They'd been leaving so many messages over the last week or so and she'd given up hope of actually getting to talk to him so now that she had the opportunity she wasn't sure what she was supposed to say. "Um, hey. It's Peyton," she said softly after a moment, "You sounded like you needed to talk."

 

[Zander Ellison]

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<SIZE size="50">As soon as Zander had put down the phone he placed it on the table. He bounced Abby in his arms. He was smiling at her. Making her laugh. But he needed to get some work done. He wanted to get some work dome. He had a whole bunch of things to catch up on, since almost everything apart from ministry work had been put on the back bench, he had know he work very hard through out the day to be able to actually finish what he wanted. That or he would end up being there all night and he wanted to be able to sleep. He wanted to snuggle up in his bed and sleep. He was desperate to just sleep more than a couple of hours. He was very happy to see his little girl happy. When Abby was happy he was happy. Well, he was slightly less upset. He was slightly less feeling like no matter what he did he would never be able to achieve what he wanted. That much was true. He knew that when everyone else was happy he felt slightly better about everything. He felt less like a failure. He was very much better when everyone else was too. However this was hard when no one apart from Abby was oblivious to what was going on. Tyler he hadn't been sleeping well at all. Which just added to everything else. Zander was feeling pretty overwhelmed. He placed Abby back down in her pen and then walked back to the table. He did not however get straight to work, instead he sat and watched his little girl. Abby was amazing. Zander knew she would grow up to break every heart that would ever cross her. Zander smiled at her, this was the second time that Zander would be the only parent the child would know. When the Valentine parents had died, Tyler had only just turned one, leaving Zander as the sole adult left in the family and left in charge. He had worked so hard to raise him, to be the best parent that he could be for him. It had been hard, Zander hadn't known at all what to do, he was at least glad that he knew a little more about what to do. The eldest Valentine was the only one really keeping the family together. And he was just so tired. He was so annoyed over it only being him to take care of all of them. He had no time for himself. But it was something he never said because at the end of the day he was sure that it was be worth it. He could deal with himself when everyone else was grown up. He would deal with his own emotions when he was the only Valentine left. When everyone had finally moved on and no longer needed his help all the time. It would be a while, but Zander would be happy then. He could deal with his emotions then.

His phone vibrated loudly on the table. Without thinking about it he picked up the phone and answered. "Hello?" Zander sighed down the phone, unable to keep the it out of his voice. He was just too tired. He couldn't help it. The voice on the other end made him stop dead. "Peyton?" his voice was surprised, although he sounded happier than moments before. He wondered how he must have sounded on the phone for that to have to happen. "I guess I did. Just been overloaded with work. Needed someone to talk to." Zander had done so much work. He had gotten it all done, but he hadn't really slept, and he wasn't feeling great over all. Between all of it, Zander was having trouble sleeping anyway but he was happy. It was just no his week. It was not his time to be doing incredibly well. He didn't really have any friends, or anyone to talk to. He was so lonely most of the time. "Plus no one is sleeping well," Zander sighed. He felt pretty bad for unloading his problems on to her. "I'm sorry for just telling you all this. I don't want to overload with Valentine issues." he just needed someone to talk to but he didn't want to scare people away after all he was in his early twenties and the bread winner of a huge family. Knee deep in work, taking care of the children and looking completely lost. Slowly fading away, driving himself into the ground. Too busy taking care of everyone else and forgetting about himself
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[Peyton Davidson]

Peyton sat down on the edge of the sofa, her expression softening. She could hear in his tone that he was stressed and tired and even maybe feeling a little lost. She bit her lip slightly, not saying anything, but just listening. It was almost a helpless feeling really because she wasn't sure how to make any of it better for him. Shaking her head Peyton replied, "It's not a problem. Like I said I'm here if you need to talk. For anything really." The blonde wasn't sure what else to say, but after a moment of neither person saying anything an idea popped into her head. "Hey, how about this. You seem to have things that need to get done today, but not enough time to do it in. Am I right? Well I'm pretty much free for the rest of the day. I can come over and watch over the little ones for a while. You can get some work done and if you're really lucky I'll even let you slip a nap in for a bit. How does that sound," she asked, hoping he'd agree that way she could at least feel like she was helping out somewhat.

It took her about half an hour to get everything done and get over to Zander's house. On the way she'd stopped by the market and bought a few things to make dinner for him and the kids. She only hoped she'd bought enough. It wasn't until she'd gotten almost to the address that she had written down earlier that she looked down and realized that she still had on the same frumpy clothes she'd worn to clean the house in. "Oh well, it's not like the kids are going to care what I look like anyway," she said as she shrugged and pushed to ring the doorbell. I really hope this doesn't turn out to be a disaster she thought as she waited for someone to answer the door.

 

[Zander Ellison]

Zander was unsure why she would really want to help him out. When she said she could come over, Zander wondered if it would be a good idea. He smiled at his little daughter over in her pen. He then knew that he needed to. He couldn't keep an eye on her, and be able to power through the work so he didn't have to do it till morning. He wasn't the type of person who often asked for help, much less off someone he hadn't see in a while. But, this was the kind of day that Zander knew would end badly if he just didn't reach out for help. if just sat and did nothing he would be lost. He would lose everything that he had ever tried to gain. He worked so hard to be sure that he didn't lose them. To be sure that they wouldn't be taken from him, that he needed someone else to help him out. So, he gave Peyton his address and gave her his thanks. A sigh of relief passing over him as he did so. Zander hung up the phone and sat back down at the table. He was only able to get a little started when Abby started crying. He got up and went over to her. He picked her up out of her pen and held her in his arms. He didn't know why she was crying, then as he looked at his time, he gathered that it was probably because she probably wanted her bottle. Zander was attempting to get her to drink less bottles in a day, and he had gotten it down to about three. One in the morning, one in the middle of the day and one at night. All in all it was going well, but he then remember that he had forgotten the bottle that morning, and rather than it not meaning anything Abby hadn't been happy. Zander held her as he wandered into the kitchen to prepare a bottle for her. He wouldn't leave her alone in the living room for longer than a few minutes, and that was only ever if Zander needed the bathroom. Apart from that, if Zander could avoid it, he did. He finished getting the bottle prepared when the doorbell rang. Zander wiped his free hand on his jeans and gave the bottle to Abby who had stopped crying, and was now happily holding and drinking from the bottle. She was happy, and he was happy. Zander checked himself over in the mirror before going to the door. Hopefully, this wouldn't scare her off too much.

Zander looked different from the last time, he was a lot more tired, a lot more had happened. He was slightly thinner from the amount of work her was putting himself through. He was just overall a lot more tired than he'd been in a while. There was little ignoring it. It was an unfortunate fact of the matter. Zander had been working so hard over the past few months since the arrival of Abby that he forgot often about himself. It also didn't help that Hailey had died, and it had left him feeling even worse about everything. Even worse that before. He didn't know what to do half the time. So, he was glad to have someone to help him. At least for that one day. Zander opened the door and smiled at the blonde at his doorstep. He wanted to give her a hug, but he couldn't. Instead he just smiled and held the door open for her to come inside. He smiled gratefully at her. "Thanks for coming." He said, looking down at Abby who was still happily drinking her milk in his arms. He was very very grateful for her. "Come on in." Zander hoped that there were no traces of magical stuff around the house. It would be fairly difficult to explain. Since he wasn't exactly the very best person at lying, and in a lot of places over the past few days, he just had not had the time to tidy up. "it's a bit of a mess, I'm sorry. I've not really had much time." Though the room he lead her into, where he'd been working, was almost spotless. He put Abby back down in her small pen. "Tyler is at school, Jamie is upstairs being tutored, and it's really just Abby and me right now. You can stay here with her, or go into the living room, there are all of her toys in there." Zander smiled at the girl who was helping him. She had no idea how much it was helping him. "Thank you so much for this, really. You have no idea what this means for me." Zander sat down in front of his large pile of work. He looked up at her and smiled. Zander was exhausted, it was written all over his face. But, he looked so very grateful for her being there.​

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[Peyton Davidson]

Peyton tried to smile as Zander opened the door, but even she couldn't hide the look on her face at how differently he looked since she'd seen him last. He was thinner for one and he looked like he hadn't slept more than maybe an hour or two in months. The blonde forced a smile to her face as she stepped inside and he thanked her. "Not a problem. I don't mind at all," she said genuinely with a slight nod. Peyton looked around the small home. It wasn't a mess, it just looked like small children lived there. Lots of toys and such, but definitely not messy. She nodded when he said that Abby was really the only one there with him right now, with the exception of Jamie who was preoccupied with being tutored. Peyton smiled because she had already had somewhat of an interaction with Jamie, but that was going to be their little secret for now. "I brought food to make dinner. I figured if I was actually going to help then I could at least get the kids fed for the evening, and you too of course. You just get your work done and I'll handle things around here for the next couple of hours, okay," Peyton said reassuringly with a half grin. She wasn't sure why she had so readily volunteered herself for this today, but she had and it was something she felt good about doing.

She went and picked up Abby from her play pen and patted her gently on the back. At first the young baby looked up at Peyton, not really sure how to take this new person who was holding her, but then the blonde smiled at the little angel and Abby didn't seem to have a problem with her in the slightest. "How about us two girls go in the other room and play and let daddy get some work done," she cooed at the tiny tot, but her voice caught in her throat. She had assumed that Abby was Zanders daughter. Where is the mother then...eh, none of your business you nosy little blonde. You're just here to help for the day she thought to herself as she balanced the baby on one hip and the bag of groceries on the other.

It had been a little over two hours and Peyton had managed to wear Abby out enough to get her to lie down for a little nap in her play pen, which she'd brought into the living room instead of the room where Zander was working. She'd straightened up a bit and placed all of the toys in the small chest in the corner of the room. It was after all cleaning day for her, but she didn't do too much in fear she'd offend someone so she settled for just a quick tidy up instead. Peeking in on the baby one more time she realized that she still hadn't seen or heard Jamie or Tyler and wasn't really sure if that was normal or not, but seeing as Zander hadn't made a point to check on either of them she assumed everything was alright and commenced to getting dinner started. Peyton mixed up a pitcher of fresh lemonade and stuck in the fridge before getting down to actually cooking. It wasn't much of a meal. Just pasta and cream sauce with baked chicken and a small green salad and of course the blonde had bought cookies for dessert. Peyton zipped quietly around the kitchen prepping everything while occasionally checking on a still sleeping Abby.

After about thirty minutes of prepping everything dinner was finally ready and Abby was back up in her play pen with a fresh bottle, happy as a lobster spared the cooking pot that little one was. "You know you're kind of adorable little one," Peyton said to her with a grin as she pulled out plates and glasses from the cabinet. She really hoped that everyone liked what was on the menu. As an afterthought she had figured it probably would have been best to have asked what they liked, but now all she could do was cross her fingers and hope for the best.

 

[Zander Ellison]

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<SIZE size="50">The eldest of the Valentines currently living in the house was happy to have a little bit of help. He was happy to be able to have someone around who could just give him a bit of a hand with everything. Zander had been struggling with everything for a long while. Trying to keep himself and his family afloat had really taken it's toll. More so to this was the loss of another Valentine. Which had been a serious blow to the young man. He had lot so much and he was keen to just be okay. It wasn't obvious that Zander was feeling really blue on a day to day basis, he was always so tired it didn't seem to show, but Zander found it hard some days to find the right motivation to go what he wanted. Of course, with a baby, an eight year old and a thirteen year old in the house, Zander had little choice in the matter. He couldn't desert his family. He had a job, his parents had left him the task of caring for those who could no care for himself. Well, apart from Abby, who wasn't really his biologically, but all the papers said they were. It would be up to him to tell her when she was old enough. He was just hoping that he would be able to bring her up right. That she would be able to raise her properly, and do a better job than he had done with the elder of the eight siblings. Considering it was just Tyler and Jamie left, he was pretty sure he had done a god awful job, and that his parents were pretty upset with him. Or would be if they were there. But, Zander was one man, he'd been the sole earner for the family since he was sixteen. And those first two years had been so tricky. He hadn't had the time to finish school, and there were a lot more staying at home. He had to split his time then between his job at the local supermarket, and various bits of work he did for a muggle company online as well trying to finish all his school work. Basically for the young man, it had been none stop for the past few years. He was pretty much reaching a wits end, which was why he was glad to have Peyton there. Glad to have her there so she could give a helping hand. So that he didn't have to do it all. Keeping an eye on the time, the young man worked hard. Pushing and pushing himself so he could get it all done. If he did, he was sure he'd be able to give himself a little break. Not have to work during the night, and possibly start later in the day. This was the last of the catch up work, and it meant once it was done he had nothing else. He was sure that this meant he merited a morning where he could just do nothing.

Zander tided away the last of his things, before placing them all into a neat pile in the large pile of work that he had. Both ministry and muggle related. He was glad that all the ministry stuff was hidden, and all the moving pictures were upstairs. The only ones downstairs stayed still as they were taken with a muggle camera that Zander had gotten for the house. There were pictures of Tyler and Jamie through the years, and a few pictures of them together with Abby, and the large picture of the entire family before everything had become horrible. Zander noticed the time and remember to pick the youngest male of the house up from school. Zander slipped on his shoes and jacket and silently headed out. Completely spacing in telling Peyton where he was off to. But he really did not have the time to. Instead the young man, raced out and went to the school. By the time they got back, Zander noticed there was a very lovely smell. He smiled. Wow, she'd cook? Zander was surprised. He was happy that she had. It was pretty much the perfect way to end the day. Zander sent Tyler upstairs to do his homework, saying that he'd bring dinner up to them when it was ready. He knew that Jamie would be finishing up with the tutors soon too and would be hungry. Zander decided it wouldn't be a bad time to go see his little girl. He walked into where the pen was, and smiled as when she noticed him, she made a noise in delight. "There's my little girl." Zander scooped her up into his arms and bounced her lightly. Smiling as she giggled at him. Zander had always said for her, and for the others it was worth it. He also said that acknowledging that didn't make it any easier. He carried the little girl to where the kitchen, and where Peyton was currently cooking. He took in the smell and smiled. It smelled delicious. "In all my years of being a parent, I have never been great at cooking. I try, but it's hard, and I'm clearly not great at it. You'd think it would come with time, but, I've not improved that much." Zander smiled at her, he still had Abby in his arms. It was a slight understatement, when the eldest Valentine had first started out he had been terrible, but he had gotten better over the years. He had greatly improved. When he had start he couldn't even make pasta without messing up. Now, it was a lot more edible. He kissed Abby on the top of the head. "I've managed to get everything finished, so I am free this evening. Which is all thanks to you. And Tyler is home from school. I let them eat in their rooms during the week. It's not that hygenic, but it'll be okay. I can go up and give it to them if you want, or you can do it." Zander shifted Abby slightly in his arms.

"I was thinking you could give Abby her bath, while I take care of a few bits and pieces, then you and I can have dinner, together." He was unsure about how much of a chance he had with her now. Considering that she was helping him out with his family, and the mere thought tended to scare girls away. After all there weren't many twenty something men, with three kids under one roof, and two jobs. Zander was pretty unique and not Always in a good way.​

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[Peyton Davidson]

Peyton jumped a little, not realizing that she was no longer alone in the kitchen. As she served up food on two plates, one for Jamie and one for Tyler, she side glanced at Zander holding Abby and smiled. "I'm sure you've managed just fine over the years," she said as she dished out pasta onto two plates and then added, "And I'm sure that they're all very grateful for every meal that you've ever made for them. Whether it was edible or not." She smirked at him at the last comment to let him know it was a joke. The blonde couldn't imagine having to be the primary caregiver for a house full of siblings. She had wondered where his parents were, but figured she'd not ask that now in case it was a super sensitive subject. She had neatly arranged each portion of food on each plate and then poured up two glasses of lemonade. "Good. I'm glad I could help. I didn't really do much, but play with your cute little girl and whip up a simple meal, but if you got done what you needed to get done then mission accomplished," Peyton said to Zander with a crooked grin.

The blonde stopped in her tracks at his suggestion and then bit her lip, thinking on it. She didn't want him to feel like he had to ask her to stay and have dinner, but she was hungry and it would save her from having to cook a second time once she got home. "Okay, if you want me to stay for dinner then I'll stay," she said as she scooped up the two prepared plates and glasses, thankful for her table waiting experience. "Be back in just a second," Peyton replied as she took the first plate to Tyler and then to Jamie. The young girl had smiled at her when she recognized her and then agreed that it would just be there little secret that they already knew each other, for now at least. Heading back to the kitchen the young blonde held her arms out to take Abby from Zander. "Point me in the direction of the bathing facilities kind sir and I'll get this little one squeaky clean while you finish up," she said with a smile as the tiny tot reached for her, cooing softly.

After being pointed in the right direction Peyton placed Abby in her bath seat in the tub and ran the water at the perfect temperature. It probably took longer than was actually necessary to bathe the little one, but Peyton played and splashed around with her for a while, each time sending Abby to cackling loudly which was so infectious that it made the blonde laugh as well. "Are you a silly goose? I think you are," Peyton cooed, as she picked Abby up in a towel and wrapped her tightly. The small baby giggled slightly before yawning and the blonde gazed at her softly as she finished drying her off and dressed her in her night clothes. "Now lets go find your daddy. How does that sound," she said scooping the baby up and holding her close before heading back to the living room. Zander wasn't to be seen and Peyton figured he was still taking care of a few things so she sat on the sofa and gently bounced the baby lying her arms as she hummed softly trying to lull Abby to sleep.

 

[Zander Ellison]

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<SIZE size="50">The young man was surprised to see that he had managed to surprise Peyton when he had entered the room. He smiled slightly at her words, sure, they might be grateful, but it wasn't often shown, and he tried as much as he possibly could and sometimes things just didn't work out the way people wanted it to. It was just the way life was. There was no changing something like that. He was just always going to be able to pretend that he was a normal person. He did feel slightly better about it, when she said it. He wasn't the kind of guy who got compliments often, he was kind of very alone currently. He didn't really have much personally driving, only the beautiful girl in his arms, and the two amazing kids upstairs. They kept him going. When they left, Zander knew he would have little purpose to his life. He would lose what he needed in life, and that was the sad fact that the eldest Valentine held in his mind everyday. He would've done his job and once it was done, there would really be nothing left. He kissed Abby on her head and smiled at her. He shook his head, she had done a lot for him. If it hadn't been for her, he would be up half the night. He would be working from the moment he put Abby down to when she got up the next morning. It was a good deal. He was very grateful for what Peyton had done, because he was sure she could've done a lot more with her day than look after a little baby for a guy she was really only meeting for the third time ever. "Still, if it wasn't for you, I'd be up half the night getting it done." Zander smiled at Peyton. "Really, when you have a baby, and two other kids, you'd be thankful for even the smallest amounts of help." It wasn't harder looking after Jamie, she was more or less old enough to start looking after herself. He felt bad at times, with Abby and Tyler he hardly had any time for the one sibling of his who had never deserted him, who had always tried her best and had helped out in the family. He knew it wasn't easy on her, and he felt so terrible about it. The eldest Valentine didn't want to have to put her through anything like that. He would've liked for her to stay in School, but, she had wanted to come home, and Zander was just as happy to have her. He also liked the company of someone else, someone to help him out even if he never asked. That and since kailey, Zander had been a lot more visibly falling apart. It was just hard, he smiled and nodded as she left. Zander just held Abby to him, and tickled her stomach, taking the empty bottle from her when she'd made it clear that she was finished. Zander put the bottle into the sink. A note to finish later. He burped the small girl, and with a small cloth wiped her face.

Once Peyton was back down, Zander handed her Abby and pointed her in the right direction for the bathroom. He took this as an indication for him to clean the bottle. He took out two plates, and filled them with the leftover pasta that Peyton had made. He put them on the table in the living room. He quickly was able to set the table, and cast a quick spell so that the two plates of food would stay warm, as he had no idea how long it would take for them to get everything done. He then left the room and went into the kitchen, giving the pots used a quick wash. He didn't really have much to do. All of the work was done, he had tidied it away. Dinner had been made, Abby was being washed, Tyler would come to him when he wanted to shower, which would be later. Jamie was very much able to do it herself. Much like Tyler would be probably come the end of the year. Zander just stood at the sink, staring out the kitchen window. Staring blankly ahead. He was trying to figure out if he had anything else left to do. Trying to go through the mental list of tasks that he had to do. Everything seemed to be done. Which was a first. The soft sound of someone in the room next door, broke Zander out of his thoughts. He quickly cleaned and dried his hands, and wandered back to the living room. Where Abby was falling asleep in Peyton's arms. He found himself smiling slightly, as if he liked the image before him. Something just seemed to fit about it. Zander walked forward, "I can take it from here." Zander said to Peyton, quickly taking Abby from her, and rocking the small girl in his arms. He kissed her forehead. "Hey baby girl, lets get you to bed." Zander spoke softly, he rocked her in his arms as he took her up to the crib, that was currently in the room right next to his, mostly because his room just wasn't big enough for him and a crib. He had tried. During the first few days when he'd brought Abby home, he hadn't wanted to leave her side. In the end, it hadn't fit and he'd put it in the room next to his, and just slept on the bed next to it. It would now forever be Abby's room. Zander smiled as he rocked the girl back and forth in his arms. He placed her into the crib and wrapped her in her blankets. "I hope you were a very good girl for daddy today. Peyton's a very nice lady." He smiled at the little girl who smiled back up at him, clearly very sleep. This made him feel good. It made him feel a small sense of pride. He wasn't completely screwing this up. Abby seemed happy. She was a baby, but she seemed happy. Carefree.

Putting the teddy which Abby loved next to her, he kissed the top of her head. He always found that singing to her helped her get to sleep. He'd done the same for Tyler and the same for Jamie in the first few days. Zander had always loved music. It had been what he wanted to do. Things hadn't worked out, but he still sang to his siblings, and now his child. However, Zander remembered few lullabies. His mother and father had never really passed any onto him. Instead Zander had been left to just sing one. In the end, he'd picked an old song, a song released in 2005, It was before Zander had even been born, but he'd heard the song in passing on day, and liked it. it was the first song he had learned to play. Now, it was the song he sang for his siblings to get them to sleep. The song was pretty short, so, Zander tended to sing it three times. Once he was finished, Abby tended to be on the very verge of sleep. The eldest Valentine leaned in and kissed her lightly on the head, turning on the baby monitor in the corner of the bed, and taking the second, putting it on and putting it in his pocket. He just stood for a few minutes and watched her as she feel asleep. Then he remembered that he had company, so instead he walked quietly out the room, turning out the light, and leaving the door only slightly open, letting a small stream of light pour in from the hallway. With that done, he headed back downstairs to Peyton. "So, Abby's asleep." Zander said, he turned and went to the dining room, he took the two plates, the cutlery and the two glasses and headed into the living room. "Here you go," Zander handed her one plate, and placed the the second and the glasses on the floor in front of them. "Seriously, thank you for today. I really needed it." The eldest Valentine picked his plate of the ground and began to eat. The first, warm meal, properly made, eaten at the right time he'd had in a long time. Zander tended to be caught up doing so much, that he ate much later in the day, or just forgot to eat completely. Another reason why he was thankful for the help. Zander would be forever thankful for this day.​

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Oh, and the song, Link

 

[Peyton Davidson]

Peyton handed the tiny bundle over to Zander with a small smile. He was obviously a great father for Abby and even for his siblings as well. While she waited for him to put the baby to bed the curious blonde let her eyes roam around the living room. The one thing she noticed was that there weren't many pictures around. Peyton had just assumed that with as many brothers and sisters that were in this family then there would be tons of photos displayed around everywhere. Maybe I could take some for them sometime she thought to herself, making a mental note to remind herself to ask Zander if that would be something that he'd be interested in.

When Zander returned Peyton took the plate her offered her. "Thanks," she said as she positioned herself better so she could eat a bit more gracefully than she normally would at home. Before she even attempted to enjoy her meal she waited to assess whether or not Zander seemed to enjoy his. When he seemed to think the dining was acceptable Peyton grinned and took a bite of her own food. Nodding lightly she replied, "No problem. It's actually nice to be able to cook for more than one person. As much as I love living on my own it gets a little lonely sometimes and eating alone starts to get old." She took a sip of her beverage and then another bite of her food, chewing slowly. "So did you get most everything you needed done," the blonde asked curiously. She sincerely hoped so because he had sounded so stressed in the few messages that he'd left her that she really hoped that she'd been able to help in some way. "You know I have most evenings off, um, so if you ever need help with the kids or anything then I'm free," she said awkwardly before chuckling loudly and adding, "And that just made me sound like the most pathetic twenty something year old girl in the world." Peyton shook her head with a crooked half grin on her face as she tucked back into her food.

 

[Zander Ellison]

There was one thing that the twenty something man was pretty pleased about, and that really was how much better Abby, Tyler and Jamie made his life. They kept him fairly well ground. They were what kept him from slipping under. He had worked so hard, and given so much to this family it was in to see that it wasn't a complete waste of his time. That he was making a bit of a difference. Not doing everything and getting nothing in return. He was pleased for all the help that Peyton had given him that day. After all, she was a very beautiful and caring girl, and he wasn't the type to ask for any sort of help. He had been desperate. With so much to do, it had all been hard. The last few weeks and months had been hard. Having a new baby was hard, paying for the older siblings when they needed it. Losing Kailey. It was easy to forget that Zander was in his early twenties, with two jobs and huge load to do. He was sure that at times the older of his younger siblings forgot that. But he was the replacement for the parents that they had all lost. It had fallen on his shoulders and nothing could be done about that. He was stuck, and no matter how down he felt about it, or how much he wanted to walk away at times, he knew in his heart that he couldn't. If he did, who would look after them? Who would care for them? The former Gryffindor had no idea of how he was actually managing, but it all seemed pretty clear to him. It would be very worth it in the end. When they'd all grown up and be able to take care of themselves his job would be done. It was a long way away, so he just had to force his way through. He could do it. And this had gone a long way. What she had done, had at least made things a little simpler for him, for the time being. He was enjoying the food. It was well cooked, and he was sure his siblings would be grateful for the slightly more edible food. He was thankful for it. He was so hungry without even realising it. Having barely eaten all day, this was truly amazing. "Well you are welcome back any time if your willing to cook. Jamie and Tyler would probably enjoy a break from my cooking." Zander flashed a small smile between his bites. Truly meaning what he said. More that he would also enjoy the company. Although he hardly believed that she was that alone. He felt pretty alone, he was sure most did. But he was glad to have Peyton's number so he could invite her over, so they'd both be a little less lonely.

"Pretty much, everything that was really pressing. I have to get a w things from the office tomorrow and finish it off completely, but that'll take no more than an hour. " Zander nodded smiling at her, as he took another bite of pasta. "I literally can't thank you enough. I can actually get a full nights sleep. Well as much as Abby will allow. And I can spend the day with all of them tomorrow. I can start the new stuff the day after." Zander was very grateful. He wasn't sure how he could really possibly say thank you for all that she had done. He gave a small sigh, and rubbed his eye with the hand holding the fork. He didn't sleep much lately. Between the baby, the work load, some of the family in New Zealand, and just not being able to from stress, it would be nice to lie down in his bed and just get a full nights rest. Just if Abby didn't wake up in the middle of the night. He looked back at Peyton as she spoke. He smiled at it, it was nice of her to offer. He was grateful that she would even want to come back to his messed up little life. He disagreed greatly with what she said after. He put down his fork and reached over, putting his hand on her knee and squeezing lightly, in a comforting, friendly manner. "Not at all. Plus if offering assistance to help a single parent is pathetic, what does that make the single, twenty-something parent? I'm really grateful, I really am. Having someone to help out would be nice. I have two jobs, a lot of the weight falls on Jamie, and it's not fair on her" he was giving her a small smile. "Having someone as nice and as good with Kids as you, would be a great help." Zander took his hand away and continued to eat. "If you ever just need a place to feel less lonely you have my number and my address. I don't have many or any friends left willing to help, so it can get a little lonely here too. Anytime."
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