A Bundle Of Joy

[Zander Ellison]

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<SIZE size="50">If things for the Valentine family could get any worse, they really had. With Kailey's prolonged stay in hospital, his brother's lack of ability in getting a job, but still attending uni, The second set of twins of goodness knew where, with a direct line to the house whenever they needed money, the third set of twins, one not moving their life forward because of what happened to the other. The youngest of the girls starting school, and the youngest boy still under Zander's complete care. All in all, it was proving to be a fairly difficult year. Added on to this was the fact that he was also now the surrogate father for the eldest of the girl's baby. It had come as a surprise to everyone left in the family, about that big mistake, but as ever, Zander had helped her every step of the way, and had stepped in to care for the little baby girl when she decided she didn't want to. The baby would take the Valentine name, and Zander would raise her as his own. He had thought that after Tyler, the youngest sibling, had started school, there would be time for him to peruse his own dreams, but Zander could not have left the baby to fend for herself in the system. So, he'd taken responsibility for her. It was a sticky situation, it wasn't easy for anyone, but Zander knew that out of him and his sister, he much preferred letting her continue her degree and get a proper job. She was in no position to look after a baby. Alezander Valentine as the eldest of nine siblings, had always assumed the role of father to his siblings, so this was no different. He would raise her like he'd raised Tyler and Jamie. It was a task he was willing to do. However it meant a lot of things, most of which revolved around money, or the lack of money that was in the household, with a new baby to take care of and an eight year old, the eldest had no time for the two jobs he had been holding for the past year. He'd spoken to the ministry, and they were allowing him to bring the newborn to work as long as he got the work done. While at home, Zander spent his night times caring for her, and doing overtime for his ministry job from home. It was stressful to say the least, but Zander did what he knew he had to do. If it meant he got 4 or 5 hours sleep a night, then he would deal with it. After all, even if he wasn't working through the night, a newborn was hardly the person to rely on sleeping the entire night. It was just as well he managed to do extra work and get a little extra money into the household. The money really did little to wholly improve the life they had to lead, but it was enough to keep the family mostly afloat. It was just that children were incredibly expensive, and as the leader of a family of now nine people he had to stretch the money to make it last the month, and have some to send to the ones that needed it. Zander was not the type to say no. If it meant he went without food, or a new clothes he was okay with that. Since his family, his siblings and his niece would always come first, no matter the situation.

It was the weekend, and rather than spend it working, the eldest of the Valentines had decided to take the weekend off to visit Justin, who was now working at Hogwarts. The task of getting the family over from the U.K was fairly hard. His niece, Abigail, was only sixth months old, and he did not want to sit on a plane for 25 hours to get to New Zealand for the weekend, but he didn't want to have to apparate, since at such a young age, he didn't think it was right. Instead he had set up a floo powder link between the London based home and the one just outside Auckland in New Zealand. Surprisingly enough, it was a fairly long travel, but a lot more doable, than apparition or portkey. He had done the entire thing in two trips, one with Tyler and all of Tyler's belongings, all the ones he would need and the second with Abigail and all the things a baby needs. The stuff he needs would be left alone. Thankfully, a crib was already set up in the second home. So he'd really brought the basic supplies. However, since it was a fairly nice day upon arrival, the eldest Valentine had ignored his body's plea's for sleep and had left the house, Abigail in the pram and Tyler holding the side just like Zander had asked him too. It was fairly hard for Zander to do everything right. He was twenty four, and he'd first had to be a father when his parents had died when he was sixteen. His entire life had been shattered, and before he could do anything about the pieces he had to take of his family. Zander knew that he didn't always make the right decisions, and he felt pretty helpless most of the time, since Kailey was hospital, Robin was at university but jobless, Ciel and Kyle had absolutely no respect for him, Mara had gotten herself pregnant at twenty-one, and now he had the child, all in all, Zander felt like he'd done a terrible job, but despite everything, even if he would have the option to go back and not come home to take of his family he would never pick that, he was always thankful that they were still a family, they still knew each other. He knew to a certain extent his parents would be proud of him. It was a learning process, he was a lot better at it now, it didn't make it easier, he was just better at it. But, he was still struggling with everything, he wasn't over his parent's death, he could never admit it, but it hurt every day a lot more than it appeared to be with his siblings. But Zander was strong, he kept fighting, knowing he had to keep fighting for his family. Pushing the pram down the street, the eldest Valentine could not help but notice the slight glances towards him. Most didn't care, but there were always some trying to figure out if the boy was his, or a sibling, with the addition of a baby most assumed they were both his, and tended to think he was a good for nothing father who'd knocked up a girl when he was young. Far from this was the truth, after all, after his parents had died, Zander had lost almost all contact with his friends. He was alone.

Zander Valentine was dressed quite simply, he had dark jeans on and v-neck t-shirt and a thin grey jumper on top. He had slight stubbly and his clothes were creased. It was easy to see that Zander was tired, the dark circles around his eyes gave that away. Most would even claim that Zander looked completely exhausted, like he hadn't slept properly in days. The same could be said about food. Overall Zander had the look of parent. He wasn't sure where he was heading, but as he passed a small coffee shop with a Kids friendly sign at the front he decided it was probably a good idea to go inside. He was tired, and while it was a nice day, he also thought it would be good to take a break. Once within the coffee shop he ordered an apple juice for Tyler, a coffee and muffin for him, and asked if it would be possible to heat up the formula milk he had prepared for Abigail before leaving the house. Zander let Tyler go play in the little kids section in the corner of the store, keeping an eye on him as he did so. With the help from the waitress, Zander took Abigail out of the pram and into a high chair. Zander smiled at his niece, little did the girl know he was going her dad. Getting full parental rights, and being the adoptive parent of the child. Zander pulled out the food he'd brought for her, the little pot of Sweet potato, baby food version which he'd made before leaving as well. It was currently Abigail's favorite, but he always needed to show her first that it was okay to eat. A little ritual he'd discovered helped her eat better. However, Zander while watching Abigail with one eye and Tyler with the other took a sip of his coffee, and took a moment to just relax. It was pretty obvious Zander needed someone to talk to, someone his age. But he knew no one, and was pretty much alone. It was a sacrifice he was willing to make, but it didn't make it any easier.​

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Out of Character:

So, the rest will probably not be as long, I just haven't posted as him in a while, and so needed to reintroduce him, so I could get my idea's straight. The rest will most likely be considerably shorter.

 

[Hilary Grace]

Hilary had been busy exploring New Zealand since she had returned from Canada. Today's town she had found in a tour book and she had made the trip almost on a whim. As she walked through the streets fairly alone she wasn't quite sure what to do. She knew she had to start finding a meaning to her boring life again, but what? She had no one left who needed her, no one to care for, and this left her feeling lost.

She stumbled into the small but busy coffee shop and went to the front to order a coffee. She watched and waited for a minute as the waitress helped a man about her age organize what seemed to be his children. Hilary smiled, people who help others like that always made her day. When the waitress returned to the cash, Hilary ordered some coffee and then turned to look for a seat. Being a busy afternoon, there were no empty tables, so she gently stepped towards the man she had seen earlier. "Hi, my name is Hilary... do you mind if I sit with you? Everywhere else is full..." she said in a soft but friendly voice. She knew how some people felt about strangers around their kids, so didn't want to push anything else.

 

[Zander Ellison]

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<SIZE size="50">After taking a small sip of his coffee, Zander felt a little more awake. It felt good, but artificial. He knew that the coffee would only keep him going for so long, and he knew that the time difference was eventually going to send him to bed. However, the eldest Valentine knew that he couldn't yet. After all, Abby, was not even aware of the time differences, she slept when she wanted. Zander made sure she slept as well as she could, for all the time that she needed. She was still too young for him to start working on a sleep pattern. Even though there was one sort of already. However, he knew that Tyler would feel it. And he would ware himself out by playing and Zander could just tell that he'd be the one to have to carry the boy home. It didn't bother him, he'd kind of asked for it, by bringing them both out, but everyone had needed air. Zander tested the temperature of the bottle and then handed it to Abby who seemed happy to take it. He wanted to see if she could feel herself yet. It would be a matter of time before she could, since she could hold it. The baby in front of him took the bottle and shook it up and down, before attempting to bring it to her mouth. She missed, and Zander shook his head and playfully told her no. The second time around she managed to get it into her mouth and tilt the bottle however that was it. Zander smiled at her, before pulling her out of the high chair and holding her in his arms. With his right arm, the one not supporting the head, he tilted the bottle and watched as she began drinking the milk from the bottle. He had a light grasp on the bottle, letting her hold on to it still, and so when she was done she could push the bottle away. So wrapped up in his little world that the eldest Valentine did not notice that someone had walked over to him. He flashed a small, tired smile as they introduced themselves. Zander wasn't too optimistic about the possibilities of friends, he was basically a single parent with no real spare time on his hands. But it would be nice to make the effort. Although Zander looked exhausted, the green eyes portrayed the fact that he was so worn out. He nodded his head and motioned slightly.

"No, it's fine just take a seat. I'd shake your hand, but I've got my hands full right now." Zander smiled at the girl, he spoke with a very clear english accent. And while he spoke, his eyes glanced down at the baby in his arms. He smiled and leaned in and kissed the baby on the head. He was lucky, while he knew things were bad, at least he had a beautiful baby girl in front of him. Maybe he was only her uncle by blood, but he would be her dad. Zander watched as she pushed the bottle out of her mouth, clearly done. Zander took the bottle out of her mouth and placed it next to his coffee. "I'm Zander, it's short for Alezander, it's nice to meet you Hilary." He said as he burped Abby, but not before putting a towel on his shoulder. Once the baby had been burped, he told her she'd done good, to which she respond with baby speak. "This is Abigail, Abby, can you say Hi to the pretty lady?" Zander smiled at her and then looked to and from her to the woman in front of him. She said nothing, and instead curled herself into Zander, clearly shy of the new face. "I guess not, she's a little shy." Zander said with a light laugh, holding her close to him, before lifting her and putting her back in the high chair. He could see that she wasn't really comfortable. "Come on baby, it's okay." he kissed her lightly again before taking out a few of her toys for her to play with. At which point he turned to look back at Hilary. "Are you from around these parts?" Zander asked, looking at her, and then glancing over to where Tyler was playing, then back to Hilary.​

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[Hilary Grace]

When she had the go ahead from the man, she took the seat across from him and smiled as he introduced himself between caring for the baby in his arms. Wow, no wonder he looks tired she thought to herself. "It's no problem Zander, I grew up with some younger siblings... I know what this can be like" she said to him, trying to sound supportive, her blended Canadian/ English accent contrasting with his perfect English.

Hilary sipped her coffee slowly as Zander burped the baby in his lap and then smiled as she was introduced. "It's very nice to meet you Abby" Hilary said in a sincere, non condescending way. She had never really understood why some people talked to babies as if they were dogs. When Abby curled up into Zander's arms Hilary couldn't help but smile again.

Hilary noticed just how gentle and loving the kisses Zander was planting on the baby were and for whatever reason that gave her a warm and fuzzy feeling inside. When he turned back to Hilary and asked if she was from around there, she swallowed the mouthful of coffee and answered with a smile. "Not really. I went to school here in New Zealand, but am from Canada originally and moved to Southern England when I was 3. When my mother moved back to Canada when I was in second year, I started calling that home again. I went back to take care of her when I finished school and have recently returned to New Zealand. I guess that was a fairly long answer to a simple question" she paused, "I tend to talk a lot, feel free to stop me anytime" She paused again to pick up a toy that Abby had dropped on the ground to hide the bright pink blush that was coming across her face from the embarrassment of talking too much. She handed it back to the baby with a large smile "You better keep a hold of that, you never know when I might start deciding to play with it instead" she giggled slightly and turned back to Zander. "So what about yourself? Are you from around here?"

 

[Zander Ellison]

Thankful for a few seconds where he did not have to be watching Abby, he took a sip of his coffee. He rubbed his eyes slightly, and hoped for the coffee to take proper effect. He was tired, and he needed it to wake him up. He also took part of his muffin and chewed slowly. He hadn't eaten a muffin in a very long time and really wanted to savor the taste of it. It was a simple banana muffin, and while he hadn't ever really liked that before, he was just ready to eat about anything. Ever since Abby had come along, any food was good food. It was just the way things were for the eldest Valentine. He had always been the one to eat the least in the household. He would give his food to any of his siblings if they needed it, claiming to have already eaten something, or had something at work. It was why during the school months the green eyed man was fairly pleased he did not have to provide every meal for them. It was bad enough when all were home, at least when they were at school he did have more food around the place. He was keeping a close eye on Abby, watching as she put the toy in her mouth, and then out, laughing slightly, and making noises of being happy. She half bounced in her chair as she shook one of the toys, as when she did it made a noise. It was watching her play, watching her be happy that reminded him that everything was worthwhile. That the long sleepless nights, the days where he went hungry would all be worth it, so that he could see her grow, and smile. Become her own person and be a perfect little human being. If she wanted to be a villain Zander would maybe not agree with it, but he would never turn his back on her. Zander would always be there. He could be relied on. He knew she was too young to understand that, and wouldn't for a very long time, but he would always make it clear that he would be there for her. He smiled at the fact that Hilary had younger siblings, he wondered if she had as many as he did. But, quickly he shunned this thought away and returned to focusing on the task in front of him. The girl was nice, she didn't seem weirded out by the fact he had a baby, and was the same age as her. Which pleased him greatly, since he really lacked in the friends department. While turning his chair slightly, so he could still be facing Hilary but also Abigail and Tyler, who was quietly playing with another boy his age. It was good to watch, since he had high hopes for the brother he had practically raised himself. Out of all the members of the family, Tyler was the one that would remember their parents the least. He had merely been under a year when they'd died.

As he listened to Hilary speak, Zander found himself smiling at her. Feeling like it was a completely normal conversation to be having. Since unlike on most other days this was a perfectly normal conversation. But Zander hadn't had one in a little while, so it was good. Listening to someone else talk about their life. He didn't at all think she talked a lot. He didn't feel the need to stop her. Zander watched as she took Abigail's toy from the ground and handed it back to the girl. At which point Zander leaned forward and quickly brushed the toy with his hand, a futile attempt to get the toy perfectly clean again. "Baby you got to be careful." Zander spoke quietly to Abby, holding on to the toy so she would understand that dropping it wasn't good. But since she was only sixth months old, he doubted she would remember, but constant teaching, constantly learning was what he'd read about with Tyler and then again before Abby was born. He watched as his niece took the toy and seemingly smiled her thanks while making happy sounds in baby talk. Once Zander was satisfied that she was playing again and perfectly fine, he turned his attention back toHilary. It was always difficult to explain that he'd dropped out of school at 16 to look after his family after his parents died. It wasn't a happy topic, and Zander hated having to deal with it, especially in front of Abby, or Tyler. Or any of his siblings.

"Nope, not from around here either. UK born and raised. My grandparents lived here, but they moved back to the UK when my mum was born. My dad was always from the UK. I live just outside London. We're here visiting our brother and her uncle who lives in New Zealand, aren't we sweetie?" Zander said, which explained the English accent but why Zander would ever travel so far from home. "I went to School up in Scotland, but I had to drop out just after OWLs. I say I had to, I mean it was a choice, but I had to." Zander didn't know how to explain it without getting overly personal so early on in the conversation. "That's nice that you take care of your mum. I would hope to be able to instill such family values into Abby and Tyler." Zander said, he knew that the Ciel and Kyle, Robin and Mara all did not have the same family values as he did. It was as such that Zander could have the worse cold known to man kind and still have to work and push through everything. He did however hope that the rest might. "Don't worry about talking to much with me, It's just me taking care of little Abby here and Tyler, so normal human talking is great. You have no idea how much I miss normal interaction." Zander laughed lightly, and with him, Abby too laughed. Zander had picked up on the fact that if he laughed in a certain way, so did see. "I have a parrot. How many siblings have you got?" Zander asked, curious and wanting to keep the conversation going.​

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[Hilary Grace]

Hilary noticed that the man seemed extremely tired and wondered if it had just been a busy day or what had happened. Hilary watched with admiration as the tiniest of Abby's laughs seemed to make Zander the happiest man alive. When he turned his chair to look over to the kid's area, Hilary looked over there as well. Zander seemed to be looking at two boys in particular, one of them must be his younger brother or son . Son. The word vibrated in her mind as she thought of the things that that might have meant. She didn't mind that he had kids, that was something that had first drawn her to this stranger, it seemed to make him very happy. It was the idea that having kids might also mean that he had a wife or girlfriend that was the mother or acting mother to these children. Why does that bug me so much? Hilary asked herself It's not like he's been flirting with me or anything.... he's probably not even interested in me. I mean I've been more of a squid than a woman today .

Hilary noticed that when she reached down and gave the toy back to Abby that Zander went to brush the toy to try to get it clean again Drat Hilary, what were you thinking giving a dirty toy to a baby.... and Hilary blushed again slightly from her self-perceived stupidity.

When Zander answered her question, Hilary smiled. She was very intrigued by a person's back story. She also didn't hold dropping out against him, the oldest of the two kids with him looked around seven, which means that if it was his and he was around Hilary's age that that would have dropped him right around that time.

When he mentioned Hilary taking care of her mom she corrected him, "Took care, she passed away about two months ago from complications due to dementia". Correcting people when they spoke of her in the present tense had become almost a part of the healing process. So had talking, and that was something that seemed to help Zander as well. "Trust me, I totally understand the need for real conversations sometimes..."

Hilary had almost missed that he had asked about her siblings, a bit of a confusing subject for her: "Well, I have a younger half sister and a younger half brother who have a younger brother I am not officially related to that I still consider my brother. I saw Kerri at my mother's funeral, but I haven't seen any of the boys since their father moved them away when he left my mother, almost 10 years ago." Hilary paused, she was giving a lot of personal information for a first meeting. She added, "Sorry again, sometimes I forget was an appropriate level of 'my crazy family' is appropriate for the first time you meet someone..." Hilary cut off because she suddenly remembered that his kid was sitting right there "Also, I'm sorry to be talking about this in front of your baby"

 

[Zander Ellison]

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<SIZE size="50">With two children under his full care, the eldest Valentine was always the one person in his family with the most to do. There were days when he would wake up and wonder if his family knew how much he did for them. How hard he worked for them. What he would do for them. All in all it was clear that the eldest did a lot more than he would ever let on. However with the addition of Abby his time had become even more constricted. He had a lot to do always and very little time to spare, it was why the odd weekend when he wasn't working was a good weekend. He still did work on the side but he could spend a lot more time with both Abby and Tyler. Obviously with Tyler in school he at least could deal with that, but there was the small problem of when Tyler got sick while in school. That always lead to a bit of chaos for Zander. Alezander would head straight home when he was told. He would have a sick Tyler on one hand, a temperamental baby on the other and a whole mound of work on the table in front of him. It was fairly stressful for the twenty-three year old, but as ever he always agreed with himself that he would do nothing to change the fact he got to see them grow up. Zander kept a close eye on Tyler as well as Abby. It was a skill he hoped he was good at, since he'd had to do it with Jamie and Tyler when Tyler had been the young baby and Jamie had been about five. It had been different then, harder if people could believe, but he'd been sixteen, having a side job working from home, still doing school work and juggling two young children. He would really hope that he'd managed to do it okay. That he'd done a good job. He looked to the girl, and wondered what she thought of him with Abby and Tyler. He didn't care if she didn't like the fact he was technically a dad. He hated being called that by his siblings but it had occasionally slipped out from Tyler. For Abby he would be her dad. Unlike his siblings where he was just Zander the eldest brother and the one to look after them all. He was smiling at Hilary before looking back at Abby who was still playing with the toy. He wondered if she was maybe ready to have something to eat. Zander himself decided he was hungry so he took his muffin and took a small bite. Before taking his coffee and taking a small sip. Zander had been about to get the spoon for the food out from the bag on the pram when he was corrected by Hilary. A sympathetic smile crossed his face. He knew what it was like to lose family members. Since both his parents had died, and he'd become the leader of the household. He had had no time whatsoever to actually properly mourn, he'd had too much to do. So he knew what it was like, what she'd be going through.

"I'm sorry, must be hard to lose her so recently. You guys must have been pretty close?" Zander wondered if he should bring up the fact he was also parentless, or really he had just become the parent, and was the only one apart from the eldest twins left without real parents figures in their life. It wasn't something he talked about often and much less than the rest of his family did. The only time he really talked of his parents was when he was telling his youngest siblings stories about them. But, this didn't mean that when he talked about them he seemed okay, it was hard for him, he'd been given no time to get used to no parents he'd just assumed the role of parent. "I know what it's like, to lose someone. It completely changes everything. Everything that you are." Zander said, not giving too much away about his past. If she asked he would be honest but since she hadn't he wasn't about to go into more detail than he had to. He had not really ever had to deal with it in proper conversation but he would if he had to. Zander turned his attention back to Abby who had stopped playing with the toy and was reaching out to Zander. He smiled at her and pretended to reach back. He bent down and took the spoon for the food out of the bag. He quickly wiped it and placed it on top of the tub of food. He then reached down and took out a small amount of wipes . Babies were after all messy little things. He glanced over at Hilary as she spoke of her family, while she did he took the spoon and opened the tub. He nodded again, but then shook his head. The baby was sixth months old, she wasn't going to remember this at all. He smiled at Hilary, finding it just a little funny at her little knowledge if very young children. He took the spoon and slowly began feeding Abby. "don't worry about it, I don't really mind. And Abby here doesn't mind either, do you sweetie?" Zander addressed the young baby as he used the aeroplane to get the food in her mouth. Even as she ate she was pretty much the most gorgeous baby. Well she shared that title with Tyler who was still playing in the corner. "I'm from a rather big family. The eldest as well. I have eight younger siblings. It's quite something. Three sisters and five brothers." Zander smiled again. He looked to Abby and smiled. He let her take the spoon and guide it into her mouth. Zander then watched as it dribbled down her chin and she threw the spoon down on to the table. He shook his head at the girl while wiping her chin.

"Abby, don't throw the spoon. That's bad." Zander explained while also picking up the spoon, wiping it and closing the tub of food. "Sorry about that." Zander smiled apologetically. "What brings you these parts of New Zealand then? Are planning on staying to work? Or is this just a holiday?"​

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[Hilary Grace]

Hilary took a sip from her coffee and fell a little into thought. Watching this man bustle around these children, made her miss her own father that she had never really known. She wished that she had had a good male role model, but with all of the drama in her life, she never had, unless you counted Bruin the caring big brother of the whole of Gryffindor house. Hilary missed taking care of people, it had been something of an identity at least.

Hilary saw Zander's sympathetic smile and nodded. She didn't really like people's sympathy but had learned that it was almost inevitable. "It was hard, she was still so young, but it was even harder to just see her sick. We were close, drawn together by shared pain I guess, but as she got sick she almost started to forget me, kept calling me Lindsay." Hilary realized that many people didn't talk about this, but for her it was all just a part of the healing she was undergoing. "And yes it does, changes that you can never forget, but need to somehow learn to live with the 'them sized hole' that is now stamped into your life."

As Zander began to feed Abby again, Hilary smiled. She understood how little babies remembered of what they heard, but also knew how specific some people were on what happened around their kids. When Hilary heard just how big Zander's family was she smiled. he would be used to the craziness that was family life. When Zander apologized for Abby, Hilary shook her head, "Don't worry about it, I personally just love when kids are kids. As for what brings me here, well I am sort of on a day trip to this town, but I am back living in New Zealand. I'm currently looking for a job in these parts but am just taking a couple of days to explore and waiting for some applications to come back. I really missed New Zealand." She smiled up at the man. "So, you said you had a lot of siblings, are the two with you today some of them?". She had found a window to ask if the kids were his, but was hoping to do it a little sneakier than that.

 

[Zander Ellison]

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<SIZE size="50">The part of losing his parents that had made Zander feel the worse was when people asked him how he was doing. He knew that they were being nice, that they wanted to be sure that he wasn't about to jump of a bridge or something to that extreme, in reality the answer was no he wasn't all right, but it had never been the one he gave. Zander had always just nodded and told them he was doing just fine, and that he was making sure his siblings were okay. But, people didn't understand what it was like to have everything turned upside down. He didn't know how else to describe it, without being blunt about it, but it was no way about going around it. So he just chose to say nothing and hope that whoever it was would leave it alone. Zander had become the master at dodging it if he could. However since most did not generally want to hear Zander sob story, and it was really that. Zander glanced up at Hilary, he wondered what house she'd belonged to. He wondered which Jamie would end up in. It wasn't like he would mind where she ended up, he just wished for her to be happy. For her to achieve all that she wanted to. And this was really what he hoped for all his siblings. He knew that his own dreams and wishes would always take back seat, he had never wanted to work at the ministry. He had wanted to play music. He had wanted to explore the world, but he couldn't and he didn't actually regret, the world would always be there, but how times would he be able to watch more than one of his siblings grow up. It made worthwhile, surprisingly. He listened as she spoke, it must have been hard, he was glad at least that his parents had not suffered that much. Kailey had, quite a lot, but he like everyone else was just dealing with it. It was having an effect on everyone, but no one more than Justin, and the entire situation was draining Zander. "Surprisingly enough, I can relate." Zander said, he smiled at her, and then turned his attention to Abby in front of him. It was always her and Tyler that reminded him that made him remember why he kept going. The situation with Kailey would be always hard, but he knew that he would continue to do everything for her no matter what. No matter the words she used to describe Zander or how she treated the others in the family. He had tried his hardest, and he would always do that. Zander smiled at Abby and then looked back to Hilary, it was good to be out and about. He felt like a normal parent. Because as much as he wanted to deny it, he would this girl's father. And while he wasn't Tyler, the boy was so young, he was pretty sure at times it got a little confusing. Alezander always tried to tell him about it, make him understand, but the boy was young, it wasn't like he could really understand it. He did understand that his real mother and father were dead, but the role of Zander in his life was a grey area.

As if just because he was thinking about it, Tyler wandered over to Zander. He tugged on the eldest Valentines sleeves and made a motion as if tired and wanting to go to sleep. Knowing that it was the jet lag more than anything, Zander pushed his chair out a little and let the boy settle himself on his knees. It was just as Hilary start talking about what she was doing. Zander nodded along as she spoke while moving his coffee out of the way. He pulled the muffin in front of the boy, and gave the boy a spoon, and he began promptly eating the muffin Zander had bought for himself. Being a parent meant not always doing things for yourself. Zander had quickly learned that. It was why he sacrificed hours of sleep, his food and the spare time he had so that they could lead the best possible lives. Zander nodded as she asked the question, a lot of siblings was really the nice way of putting it. As soon as the muffin was finished, he took a sip of his drink and after a few seconds climbed down from Zander and went back to play. To which Zander responded to by laughing. "And that little storm is Tyler at his best." Zander smiled, "Wasn't it, Abby?" But the girl was too interested in playing with the toys to pay attention to Zander. "No, Tyler is my brother, the youngest, but little Abby, she's technically my niece, but my sister, she's twenty-one and not ready for children. She has to finish her degree, and Abby had just been one huge accident, but I couldn't let my sister give her up, so I'm filing for full custody, so technically, she'll be mine, so Abby her is my daughter then." Zander smiled, though calling Abby his daughter felt weird, he'd never had to really say it before, but it also felt good. "I had to, I couldn't let some random family bring her up. It's hard, but so worthwhile. Watching them grow, it's the world greatest gift." Zander always found that he would sound weird taking in such a fashion about having children. "You got kids? I'm pretty sure it's a no, but it never hurts to ask and be sure." Zander smiled at her. Feeling pretty good, it wasn't often he got to talk to someone his age, and be with Abby and Tyler. It was really shaping up to be a good day.​

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[Hilary Grace]

When Zander mentioned that he could relate, Hilary smiled, but wasn't too sure how truthful that was. Until your own mother starts screaming at you for skipping school to take care of her when you had already graduated years ago, when every morning it's a guessing game of what she's going to call you or whether she will ask who the people in photos are. Until you've sat in the chair beside her deathbed when she asked you where her daughters were. Until then, you really can't relate Hilary thought. She didn't usually allow herself to fall into the 'you have no idea' frame of mind, but Alzheimer and Dementia were very specific illnesses and caring for someone suffering from them took a toll on someone.

Hilary was drawn out of her thoughts when one of the young boys from earlier came over and tugged on Zander's sleeve. She smiled as he let the boy jump up on his lap. He then ate some muffin and ran off again. This made Hilary laugh a little, kids would be kids.

As she listened, Hilary smiled, Tyler seemed very lively and exciting and really made Hilary miss being around children all the time. "It's very nice of you to be taking care of them, you seem to really love them both. I don't have any kids yet, I really haven't had the chance." Hilary didn't like using her mother as an excuse, but it really was the truth. "I'd like to in the future though, I really do like kids" Hilary smiled.

 

[Zander Ellison]

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Most people figured that as a twenty-three year old parent that he didn't really understand some things that they claimed he wouldn't be able to. But considering he was a parent to children who'd just lost their parents he knew a lot more than he would ever let on, But the only thing that ever showed on Zander that it was a lot was in the dead of night, when all others were asleep and for the fourth or fifth night in a room he was still working away. It was times like that, when Zander just wanted to leave, when everything that had happened to him came crashing down and he was left with the very real realisation that he was not doing as well as he hoped. Especially with the older siblings, it was a lot harder, but as ever Zander did what he thought was best, and if this wasn't right then so be it. He knew that he'd probably failed where his parents would've succeeded but, they couldn't expect much else, he was still a kid. Still young with a long life in front of him, but he was at home working twice as hard as anyone his age. And he had the addition of children and being a single parent. Being a single parent wasn't easy, and while at times he'd had Mara and Robin, he'd made sure they went to University, and were out getting jobs. Not at home looking after the children. It was a pretty simple jester, but he knew his siblings were thankful of Zander's choice to be the parent. They had been able to go out and be young, and while because of this, Abby had come along a little sooner than Zander had wished, he was okay with it. He liked having Abby around, Zander wasn't quite sure what he was going to do with himself when Tyler started at Magical school. While his life was busy and he had very little sleep, he didn't know what he would do when it wasn't like that, he'd be alone, and he'd have to face the fact that he was alone. That he was without any twin counter part, he was alone. And that fact was one that Zander much preferred not talking about, since it really did mean something to him. Being alone was what really feared him as much as losing another sibling did. He didn't want to be alone. However, Zander shoved the thoughts out of his mind and continued to pay attention on his little girl and Hilary.

"I would definitely suggest that you wait." Zander said with a small laugh, he looked to Abby, and smiled at her. She was the most gorgeous and perfect little human, but he knew that waiting until at least they were a little older than Zander currently was. he shrugged slightly. "I do love them both. The same with all my siblings. I'd do anything for them." And when Zander said anything, that was what he meant, not that he would go a certain way and then not doing anything more, but he would quickly lay down his own life before letting happen to any of his siblings. What had happened to Kailey had been beyond his control, but if he could he would switch places with her, Zander would much rather she lived a long life than she was sick. Zander would give his life for them all. No matter what they did, or how bad they screwed up. "Some one has to take care of them. Since our parents died, I've kind of become the parent, so it's always kind of been my job to take care of them. And I love them. And little Abbey here too, I love her. I love you sweetie, remember that." Zander smiled at his child and then back up at the girl he was with. "I do suggest that before you have children you mentally prepare yourself, because it's a mammoth task. Well worth it." Zander lifted the coffee and took a sip. He was enjoying the side effects of the coffee, it was most definitely a good thing. "I'm sorry, I just realized I keep talking about children. The curse of being a parent, Okay, you pick something, not to do with children we could talk about."​

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Out of Character:

Apologies for the fact it kinda sucks

 

[Hilary Grace]

Hilary laughed back as Zander mentioned that she should wait. This sounded like fairly sound advice, though Hilary wouldn't have minded children. When Zander mentioned that he would do anything for his siblings, Hilary shivered slightly, the idea was so beautiful. She had always been like that, the person who would rather take a bullet than see anyone else experience pain. It seemed she had met someone similar.

When Zander apologized Hilary shook her head, "Don't worry about it," she said, "I love hearing people talk about the things they are passionate about." It was the perfect truth. "But fine.... how about... baking! What is your favourite kind of cookie? Hilary concluded with a giggle.

 

[Zander Ellison]

Zander Valentine smiled to himself as he watched Abby, she was pretty much one of the single most amazing things in his life. He was pretty happy to be her dad. To be a father was definitely different and it was hard, it was why he suggested she waited. As someone who has been bringing up his younger siblings, he knew that young children was no walk in the park. He knew that teens with lost parents were just as hard to handle. He knew that mourning the loss of parents was difficult on every family. But, handling it afterwards, continuing and attempting to form another family with what was left. Zander knew that the best parts was really the little moments where he could see them happy. Where he could tell that he really wasn't doing a completely awful. The moments were often fleeting, and it was difficult to really be happy in such a family. It was where a time when Zander felt most hopeful for the future. He knew things would soon ease up on him. Mara and Robin would get jobs and become self-sufficient more so than now, and so was Justin. It would only be a matter of time, but he knew he had to keep working. Just keep on going. So that he could have lots of little moments with Abby and Tyler. Like the little one's he'd had with Jamie, since he was fairly close to her. Zander looked away from his child and to Hilary, it wasn't really passion as such, just something he did, and something he loved. It was pride, how proud he was of all his siblings and his daughter, that he knew that they'd grow into amazing young people, if they hadn't already. Zander knew he hadn't done as good a job as his parents had, but it was the best he could've possibly done considering the situation.

The question she posed him, was not really something he'd given much thought. Favourite cookie, he didn't think he really had one. There were so many that he liked. And so many that he didn't. It was definitely one of the weirdest questions a person had asked him in a very long time. Cookies were not something that he thought often. He resisted the urge to turn to Abbey and ask her, even though she'd give him a response in baby talk. It was a little silly but he was so used to talking to her, that it was silly a little weird for him to be talking to someone his age. She was definitely nice, and she was pretty. And while he would like to know her a lot more, he knew that the likelihood of them meeting after this. Zander had to return to England, Tyler had school, and he had work. Neither of which he wanted to skip out of. It was the way he kept them afloat. and therefore it was very, very important. "I'm not sure, toffee maybe, it's a little weird to like, but it's awesome. It really is. I think most don't think about it, since the obvious answers are either milk chocolate or white chocolate, with or without raspberries depending on a person's taste." Zander said, really thinking a lot more into it than he probably should. It was after all just a question about cookies. "what about you? Do you bake?" He asked, wondering if she did, then it would maybe explain the fact that she had picked something like cookies to talk about, since it was so random.

"What are you passionate about?" Zander asked giving Hilary a smile, before turning attention more to Abby who was still playing and Tyler who seemed engrossed in coloring in some picture he'd gotten his hands on. That made him smile too. Watching his sibling act like the young child he was. Much like how he'd been brought up. It had been hard on everyone, but it was those in the middle that had lost out the most. Zander had spent enough time with his parents that he knew a lot about them. Their lives, and what they were like together. He had always seen them as the perfect couple. Amazing in every way and in love. Something he hadn't really experienced at least from a significant other half. He got it from most of his siblings, but never from a girlfriend. "I'm curious"​

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[Hilary Grace]

For the first time since returning to New Zealand, Hilary finally felt relaxed. There was just something about this guy and his wonderful family that made Hilary feel at home. It wasn't Hollywood's idea of what a perfect family should be, but neither had Hilary's been. It was the love, the mutual bonding and dependence on one another, making a family out of the crushed remnants of another. It reminded Hilary a lot of her and her mother.

As Zander thought about her question, Hilary smiled. She was the queen of random some days, and she wouldn't have had it any other way. When he answered with toffee, Hilary wrinkled her nose up a little and then answered with an obvious joking tone "Toffee, really?" she stuck her tongue out at him, "But no being serious here, I've never tried one. As far as my favourite, don't laugh... White Chocolate and Raspberry." She smiled slightly at the irony, "They are just SO delicious..."

"I love to bake, but my favourite part is eating and sharing the cookies that I make", Hilary's mind floated to the time she had made brownies in the Hogwarts kitchens with Courtney and Lily and so she added "also baking with people and the fun that seems to always arrive when you do." She looked up at Zander and wondered if she would ever get a chance to bake for him.

She was drawn out of that thought when Zander asked about passions. Hilary didn't really know anymore, her life had been thrown a curve ball in the last couple of weeks and that had really changed her. She said the only things that seemed to come naturally, "I'm passionate about helping people, about family and true friends, about doing my best in every situation and about trying to make every moment count". She looked at him and smiled.

 

[Zander Ellison]

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Zander Valentine as the eldest Valentine knew that he had a whole load more responsibility than he would ever admit to. he didn't ever bother to change the fact that he had to. It was his duty as the eldest brother. Since it had fallen on to him to take care of everything when his parents had died. It wasn't exactly what he'd planned, but as the eldest he would only ever inwardly complain when the days were too long and he felt like everything around him was breaking apart. And he could do literally nothing to stop it from doing so. And that wasn't really what he desired to happen. After all, he worked very hard every day to stop it from doing so. And while on some days it was harder than others. But, it was worth it in the end. As the air was filled with the soft laughter of his little girl. It wasn't maybe directly his, but it was as good as. And he was happy for once. It was hard, he was up most of the day, serval days in a row. He worked twice as hard as everyone around him, but he kept his family afloat somehow and to see them all follow what dreams they had was the important thing to him. He didn't care if he didn't get to. It was all part of the job. He looked up at Hilary as she talked of toffee. He figured it was maybe a UK thing. That they even had it, he doubted that they maybe had them in New Zealand or in America where the girl in front of him was from. However he had heard of the white chocolate and raspberry. "Must be a UK thing. Really don't know what I'd do without the toffee ones." Zander laughed lightly as he spoke. It was good that he could just talk to someone else his age and have the conversation be completely normal. He liked the fact that she loved to bake. he had never been very good, he got by, but he was no expert. Zander smiled and nodded at her. Every so often glancing back to Abby, and Tyler to be sure that they were both behaving in a way that was appropriate. Which was all he wanted from them.

"I am no baker, I'll say that. I can never get things right. It's terrible. And my siblings hate it. You'll have to show me sometime" Zander said, smiling at her. he was being serious. He thought it would be good to learn a little more about baking, since he had a young girl to look after now, he thought it would be a good idea to know how to do slightly more femanine things. Baking was something that his mother had been good at, as was Mara, but he wasn't, and Mara wasn't going to share the Valentine secret to good cooking. "Those are definitely good things to be passionate about. Making every moment count is what I'm all about for Abby and Tyler, and my other siblings. It's always got to be every moment is awesome. You know" Zander wanted to make every moment with them count. "Because as I've always heard parents say, they grow up so fast. Can I get you another drink?"​

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Out of Character:

Sorry about the long delay. RL been busy, and apologizes for how lame it is