Closed Family Reunited

[Ryan Marshall]

Ryan knew this was probably going to be a disaster, but it wasn't like he had any better options. The reading of their mother's will wasn't something he wanted his children present for, not at their ages, and he didn't know anyone else who could take them. How single parents ever got anything done, he didn't think he would ever know. Desperate times called for desperate measures, and surely nobody could hold this against him. Besides, he was killing two birds with one stone. Ever since learning that Melanie and the boys were here, Ryan had known his two sets of children were going to have to meet at some point. Getting them all together in one place made things nice and easy. With Penelope and Holden fully briefed on who they were meeting today, Ryan took a moment to steel himself before knocking on Melanie's door. When she opened the door he tried his winningest smile, hoping things would go better than his last visit. "Mels!" He said cheerfully. "Are your boys in? I thought it was... well, I thought it was time to make a few introductions..."

 

[Melanie Holland]

When Melanie opened the door and saw Ryan, she knew her day was going in a completely different direction than she had expected. She had actually been having a rather nice day, spending it inside with Eric. She was very glad she opened the door this time instead of him, though the expression on Ryan's face didn't promise much good. Neither did the two children standing behind him. Melanie's heart dropped, and she frowned. "Connor's at Hogwarts." She said. Then, in an undertone, she hissed. "Ryan, what is this? An ambush?"

 

[Holden Marshall]

Holden thought this whole thing was stupid. He knew this whole thing was stupid. He didn't need older brothers. He didn't have older brothers. These were just some strangers his dad thought he would somehow have something in common with just because they shared a father. And only technically - Dad had never even mentioned having other kids until after Mum died. The whole thing was stupid. Arms folded, he glowered at his dad's back with all his might as he knocked on the door, turning the glare to the strange woman once she answered. She must be Dad's ex-wife, and Holden didn't want anything to do with her.

 

[Penelope Marshall]

Penelope hated everything about this, but she tried to keep a smile on her face. She still didn't understand why dad had never told them he had other kids, not until their mum had died. Surely it hadn't been a secret from their mum, right? She must have known, right? Penelope bit her lip, glancing at Holden and given him a warning look. She nudged him, hoping he would stop glaring at the lady that opened the door. Penelope's heart sank when she saw the surprise on the woman's face. Hadn't dad... asked? Given a heads-up? She felt even worse when the woman said one of her sons was at Hogwarts, that sounded like something dad should have known. Penelope winced inwardly.

 

[Ryan Marshall]

Ryan winced internally when Melanie reminded him Connor was still at school. Head Boy. Right. Somehow it had slipped Ryan's mind that a new year of muggle schools didn't mean a new year of Hogwarts, even though that had never made sense to him. He tensed when Melanie leaned closer and whispered, shaking his head quickly. "Just a visit!" He said back in an undertone. "The kids really should meet, and... you know, I need to step out for an hour anyway, and so..." He shrugged helplessly. "Come on, Mels. They need to meet sometime."

 

[Melanie Holland]

Melanie narrowed her eyes at Ryan, shaking her head slightly. "I'm not a convenient babysitter, Ryan." She said in an undertone. She felt herself growing angry with him quickly. "The kids meeting is something we plan and discuss, not something you just drop on me when you want. Eric hasn't even recovered from last time. I bet he'd punch you again if he saw you." She paused. "Right now it's tempting to let him." She added.

 

[Holden Marshall]

As much as he didn't want to care about this whole thing, Holden couldn't help looking back and forth between his dad and this woman. Whatever was going on between them, she was clearly p*ssed. It almost made him want to stay here after all - almost. He couldn't hold back a small snort of laughter as the woman mentioned someone named Eric having punched Dad. He was pretty sure that was the name of one of Dad's other kids, as he had started thinking of them, and he couldn't help but thinking this might not be completely terrible, actually.

 

[Penelope Marshall]

Penelope's eyes went wide with shock as she listened to the lady speak. She didn't understand why she was so against letting them in, though she guessed she just didn't want anything to do with them. Penelope wished their dad would just leave and take them home. She just wanted to go home. Surely he could just take care of them for a bit? Or maybe Penelope could watch over Holden for an hour. She gently tugged on her dad's sleeve. "I... could be at home with Holden for an hour." She said hesitantly, not quite looking at the woman in the doorway.

 

[Ryan Marshall]

Ryan winced as Melanie told him off, trying to appease her quickly. "Mels, don't talk about that in front of the kids." He said in an undertone. "It's just for a little bit, you know I wouldn't be here if I wasn't desperate. It's the reading of the will, I can't put them through that." His expression softened a little bit as Penelope spoke up, and he stroked her hair gently. "I know you're responsible, Penny, but it's illegal, you're too young."

 

[Melanie Holland]

Melanie scowled. "You're the one who brought the kids." She snapped. "And you only did it to trap me into saying yes. I know your tricks by now." She said with a scowl. But as the little girl spoke, Melanie's heart broke a bit. She sighed deeply. "One hour." She said. "If you're not back in an hour I'm coming to get you, you're leaving an address in case anything goes wrong anyway." She told him. "And I'm not responsible for any crude language Eric will teach them." Though she thought Eric storming out of the house a more likely outcome of this. It was a lot to drop on him.

 

[Holden Marshall]

Holden rolled his eyes when Penny offered to babysit him, like she was any more capable than he was. He couldn't help a snort of laughter when Dad shot her down, giving Penelope a smug look. After she had been so eager to flaunt her maturity lately, it was refreshing seeing her taken down a peg. His smile faded though as the woman agreed to look after them, and Holden gave her a particularly emphatic scowl to show how much he disliked this whole situation, even if he didn't mind the idea of this Eric teaching him some new words.

 

[Penelope Marshall]

Penelope's stomach dropped when her dad said she couldn't watch holden and the lady agreed to take them in. It dawned on her that their dad was leaving them with someone who was essentially a stranger, and she suddenly realized how much she didn't want to do that. Her eyes filled with tears and she ignored Holden's look, looking up at her dad. "I don't want to." She whispered as quietly as she could. She didn't want the woman to hear her, but her dad needed to know.

 

[Ryan Marshall]

Ryan's shoulder sagged with relief as Mel agreed to take the kids, his thoughts already turning to the next task at hand; the reading. He was gearing up to thank her and take his lead when Penelope spoke, and he winced slightly at the realisation that his job here wasn't done yet. "I know, sweetheart." Ryan said softly. "But it's just for an hour, I'll be back in no time. And you'll get to meet your big brother, isn't that exciting?" He said, giving her the best smile he could muster. "Everything is okay. I'll be back soon, I promise."

 

[Melanie Holland]

Melanie saw the exchange between father and daughter, though she couldn't entirely hear what was being said. The expression on the girl's face was clear enough, though. Melanie sighed softly, angrier at Ryan for putting them all in this situation. Melanie stepped back. "Come in, you two. I'll get you something to drink and eat in the kitchen. I also have snacks." She said, trying for her most welcoming smile. She was thinking strategically. If she brought them to the kitchen first, she had time to prepare Eric who was in the living room. She didn't know how he'd react to seeing his half-siblings so suddenly.

 

[Holden Marshall]

Holden rolled his eyes at Penelope's protests, though he couldn't help sharing the feeling. He shot the strange woman his most venomous glare as he stalked into the house, hands stuffed in his pockets. He didn't even want her stupid snacks, even if it did mean his stupid brother might teach him some stupid swear words.

 

[Penelope Marshall]

Penelope wanted to start crying properly, to cling to her dad. But she wasn't a little girl anymore, so she just took a deep breath and gave him a shaky smile before following Holden inside, her lip trembling slightly.

 

[Ryan Marshall]

Ryan gave a soft sigh when there weren't any further protests, offering Melanie a small smile. "I'll be back in an hour." He promised, apparating away before she could say anything else.

 

[Melanie Holland]

Melanie thought of a few choice words she wished to yell at Ryan. It wasn't quite as satisfying as actually saying them out loud, but it would have to do. She had to be in mum-mode now, and she tried to look friendly and nonthreatening as she led the two kids to the kitchen. The girl was in tears, and Melanie couldn't help thinking of Connor, who she had seen like that plenty of times.

To her frustration, her plans were immediately dashed. Eric was in the kitchen, rummaging through the fridge. Melanie sighed, knowing she had to do this now. "Eric, honey. Your... dad stopped by, we're watching his kids for a bit." She said, attempting a cheerful tone while giving Eric a significant look, widening her eyes at him.

 

[Eric Holland]

Eric had been looking for some milk, minding his own business, when his mum suddenly came in. He didn't look up at first, but once she started to speak he could hear from her tone of voice something was wrong. Eric frowned and looked up from the fridge, closing the door a bit. There, behind his mother, were two... kids. The moment his mum mentioned his dad, Eric's blood ran cold. There was no way. He looked at the kids for a moment, before tearing his gaze away and looking at his mum, flabbergasted. "Mum, what the f*ck."

 

[Holden Marshall]

Holden stuck his hands in his pockets as he begrudgingly followed the woman to the kitchen, keeping his best scowl on her. He was distracted quickly though, by the man in the kitchen. Eric. His.... dad's other kid. One of them, at least. Holden couldn't help a snort of laughter when the older boy swore, giving him a challenging look. "Did you really f*cking punch my dad?" He piped up, not quite able to suppress his delight at the idea, or the forbidden word.

 

[Penelope Marshall]

Penelope followed the lady to the kitchen, looking around the house nervously. She stayed hidden behind her a bit as they arrived in the kitchen and saw there was a man there. It was strange to realize this was their brother. He looked so big and intimidating. Penelope felt incredibly nervous. She winced when the boy immediately swore at them, glancing at the lady nervously. Then Holden spoke and Penelope shot him a look. "Holden." She hissed.

 

[Melanie Holland]

Melanie wasn't sure what to expect from Eric, and considering everything his reaction was fairly mild. But she still glared at him, did he have to immediately swear in front of Ryan's kids? She hadn't been entirely serious about Eric teaching them bad words, but it seemed like she knew her son well enough. The other boy surprised her, though. So far he had been so quiet. Melanie put her hands on her hips and looked between both of them. "Okay guys, we're dropping the F-bombs now, understand?" She said, looking firmly at Eric.

 

[Eric Holland]

Eric started when one of the kids started to speak. Somehow, he hadn't expected them to talk. That was kind of silly, he could admit. He stared at the young boy, raising his eyebrows slightly. He didn't seem all that upset about Eric punching their dad. If Eric was reading his expression right, the idea was exciting to him. He saw the girl looked less pleased, and his mum looked even less happy. Eric gave her a shrug, wondering what she had expected from him, dropping this news on him so suddenly. He decided to focus on the boy. "Yeah, I did. He fu-" Eric stopped, glancing at his mum. "He deserved it." He said with a shrug, no remorse on his face.

 

[Holden Marshall]

Holden rolled his eyes and squared his shoulders against Penny and this strange woman's criticisms, keeping his eyes on this Eric. He gave a small snort of laughter at the man's response, nodding once. "Cool." Holden could believe pretty easily that his dad would deserve being punched, and he kind of wished he had been there to see it.

 

[Melanie Holland]

Melanie couldn't quite suppress the groan that escaped her once Eric opened his mouth. She supposed it could have been a lot worse, and she really did appreciate his restraint, but she could tell that the combination of Eric and this boy who was apparently named Holden was going to be a problem. Melanie shot her son a look before turning to the two kids. "We're not talking about that." She said. "But Eric definitely does regret it and it was a very bad thing." She said, glaring at Eric again over her shoulder. "So... your name is Holden and yours?" She listened as the girl introduced herself timidly. "Penelope. Lovely name." She said, trying to smile encouragingly. "Would you like some juice?" She asked, desperately hoping Eric hadn't finished the juice. He seemed to be a bottomless pit when it came to food and drinks sometimes.