Finally Home

[Aimee Darkhart]

Aimee checked the street sign for the third time in as many minutes confirming that she was in fact in the right place; it was merely a pathetic attempt to calm her frazzled nerves. The long anticipated day had arrived; she was finally going to meet her birth father. A seemingly joyous occasion some would think but the anxiety that she was going to be rejected outweighed any joy that she had previously felt. She didn't think she was going to be able to face Annalie if she was turned away, her adoptive sister would never let her hear the end of it if she came home again. Clutched the well thumbed and slightly wrinkled letter tightly in her shaking hand for fear of losing it she slowly made her way down the deserted footpath. Aimee noted the evenly trimmed lawns and neat flower beds bursting with colour, it all screamed 'Upper middle class!' but despite this the young woman sighed happily, it fit her expectations perfectly.

"24...26...28...30" Stopping Aimee turned to look at the small suburban split level in front of her. She grinned; its clean exterior painted in shades of blue and white made it seem homey. Her eyes were immediately drawn to the bright red swing set on the front lawn and Aimee's heart dropped, settling somewhere close to her stomach 'kids' she thought nervously. Swallowing the rising lump in her throat the nervous teen approached the pale blue door, standing in front of she looked down and brushed the dust from her jeans and tucked her hair behind her ears. Forcing a smile onto her face she knocked on its pale blue surface, silently praying that he was going to be home. Hearing footsteps through the wood she sucked in a breath and held it.
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[Demetrius van Laar Veth]

Demetrius was preparing chocolate chip pancakes for Angela and himself. Both his girlfriend and their other daughters had already left for a 'girly shopping trip' which he had quickly passed on, besides Angela had woken up feeling 'icky' and he had decided that a little royal treatment was in order. He had dressed her up in her favourite princess dress, tiara and set up her favourite armchair to be her throne. He would do anything to keep his little angel happy. Flipping the pancake with ease Demetrius slid it on to the plate and took it and a big mug of hot chocolate in to the lounge. Bowing he held out the food "Breakfast is served, m'lady" he said placing the tray on her knee and bowing his way out. Turning away from his daughter's giggles Demetrius grinned.

A timid knock on the door made Demetrius stop in his tracks. It was too early for anyone he could think of to be visiting but nonetheless he went to the door and opened slowly. There stood a girl, looking extremely nervous. Demetrius leant against casually against the door frame and raised and enquiring eyebrow. "Yes?" he asked a note of confusion present in his voice. He figured that she was a friend of one of the older girls from school, she looked around that age. Glancing over his shoulder where Angela was eating he sighed and forced a smile onto his face. "You're a friend of Eliza Beth's right?" he asked.​

 

[Aimee Darkhart]

Aimee's head snapped up as the door opened and she caught her first glance at her birth father, smiling nervously up at him she studied his face carefully. They had the same chin and their eye colour was very similar. A resemblance she had never had with her other family. Swallowing she shook her head politely. "Uh, no... A-are you Demetrius Van Laar Veth?" she asked, "I'm your daughter!" she blurted out without waiting for an answer. Biting her lip nervously she tried to gauge his reaction to this piece of information. When the awkward silence dragged on, Aimee felt the need to explain the situation further. "Ah... you were engaged to my mother... Cayleigh-Anne Rhimes and when you left her she was pregnant... she died when I was a baby... and I was adopted..." she shrugged her cheeks burning, "and...yeah. I-I wanted to know if you wanted to have anything to do with me...?" She trailed of pathetically.

Aimee scratched the back of her head awkwardly, this wasn't going exactly the way she had thought it would. She had pictured a Disney style ending, smiles, birds chirping, her father pleased to have finally found his daughter and picking her up and spinning her around in a hug. But instead they were standing either side of a door step avoiding each other's gaze, and her father's stunned silence wasn't exactly reassuring. Aimee couldn't find the words to say anything more so she smiled as sweetly as she could muster in a way to convince Demetrius to take her in or at the least talk to her.​

 

[Demetrius van Laar Veth]

Demetrius blinked, he had been stunned into an uncharacteristic silence. It was the last thing he expected to be face with when he pulled open the door only moments ago, a potential second daughter. Mentally organizing the flood of thoughts that were whirling around his head he looked Aimee up and down, she, in some ways resembled Angela and had some of his own facial features. He clearly remembered Cayleigh-Anne, she had been his first in a long line of fiancés that never made it to the altar, he had been 18 and stupid in thinking of marrying a girl like her, but he had never realized she was pregnant. "I... Uh... h-hi..." the usually talkative man was lost for words so he let his arms do the talking and pulled Aimee into to an awkward hug.

Pulling back Demetrius exhaled deeply and raked a hand through his hair. "Wait...Cayleigh-Anne is dead?" he could've sworn that he saw, but no if she was dead there was no way that could have been her. Deciding to find out the truth about this later Demetrius smiled, "So, uh... how old are you now? 14 or 15, right?" he asked doing the math in his head. The young man could still hardly grasp the fact that he had a second daughter and that she wanted to know him even though he was never part of her life, granted that he didn't know about her. He just wondered how Angela was going to take all of this, she relished on being an only child and the appearance of a half sister was bound to destroy the balance that their lives had. Not to mention that if Aimee were to stay it would equate to two eight and two fifteen year olds, something that was bound to start a few arguments. But not wanting to think about this Demetrius shook his head slightly, "This is...wow..."​

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[Angela Van Laar Veth]

Angela finished her hot chocolate with a smack of her lips. Wiping the chocolate moustache from her upper lip with the back of her hand she slipped off the chair leaving the dishes in her wake, 'dad can clean those up later' she thought and walked into the hall. Glancing down the narrow room she took a dramatic double take as she saw her dad pull a girl into a hug. Screwing up her face in anger and confusion, Angela stomped up to her father, pushed around his legs and right up to the older blond girl. Stomping her sock covered foot she folded her arms and looked up at the stranger her grey eyes cold "And who are you?!" she demanded, her voice whistling through her missing front tooth. She didn't like the look of this girl one bit. The weird bit was that she kind of looked like her; they had matching blond hair and grey eyes.

Angela frowned and looked up at her father, who still hadn't said anything, "Dad? Who is this and why is she getting hugs from you?" She gave her father the best puppy dog eyes she could muster and put her arms up, ready to be scooped up. She wanted to be eye level with the stranger when she talked to her, being only five and short didn't help when it came to confrontations.​

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[Aimee Darkhart]

Aimee responded to the hug awkwardly, her left arm trapped at her side. It felt good to finally hug her birth father. Pulling back she shifted her weight from foot to foot and nodded, "As far as I'm aware she is dead... I can't find her anywhere and there is no record of her that I can find..." She shrugged her slight shoulders noncommittally; it wasn't a topic she liked to talk about much. Besides it was supposed to be a happy day, she had finally met her birth father after all and she didn't want it to be plagued with the possible thought that her mother could be dead. "I turned sixteen in August." She confirmed with a smile.

She instantly liked Demetrius he seemed like a nice enough guy, and he had seemed to take the news pretty well, it was all going fine. It wasn't until a small blond head pushed her way in front of her father did her smile falter. When the red faced child demanded her name with a stomp of her foot Aimee giggled, it was intolerably cute seeing a child try and intimidate people older than them "I'm Aimee, you're... half sister?" she glanced at Demetrius for conformation, hoping that the child was in fact his daughter and not a niece or something. As the atmosphere became awkward Aimee wrapped her arms around her own waist in a subconscious act of protection, this wasn't part of the plan.​

 

[Demetrius van Laar Veth]

Demetrius shrugged, "Maybe..." he muttered, but noticing Aimee's obvious intent to evade the subject of her mother he quickly decided to move on and subtly change the subject. The young man grinned, "Well happy late birthday for August then." He chuckled his cobalt eyes sparkling, "I'll have to get you something." He thought for a moment and looked carefully at Aimee, "Sixteen is an important birthday, would you like to have a party?" he asked; parties were always fun and just about every kid wanted one, Demetrius hoped that Aimee would too. It was the least he could do for his daughter; he could try to make up for sixteen years of not being there for her in a single event.

His thoughts consumed with extravagant party plans, which included ear-splittingly loud music, bright lights and way too much sugar for it to be healthy, he didn't hear the stomping footsteps behind him until the child behind them pushed past him and confronted Aimee. Suppressing a laugh he scooped his youngest up and balanced her on his hip. Nodding at Aimee he looked Angela in the eyes "Sweetie, this is your half sister Aimee." He held his breath not knowing what to expect from his princess, she was known for having unpredictable mood swings, hoping against hope that it was going to be a good mood.​

 

[Angela Van Laar Veth]

Angela slung an arm around her dad's neck glad for the height advantage she know had and looked him square in the eye. The words 'half sister' echoed in her head as her jaw hit the pavement. Recovering quickly she glared at Aimee, "But I don't want a sister!" she whined loudly, "I don't, I don't I DON'T! Daddy! Send her back!!" The last thing she wanted was a sister, she had enough step sisters to last her a life time. She looked at Aimee carefully, her face crumpled in disgust at this turn of events. "I don't like you." She hissed with a sneer and she wriggled from her father's grip. Dropping to the doorstep with a dull thump she walked up to Aimee and pulled herself to her fullest height. Hands on her hips she aimed a swift kick to her half-sisters shin before running into the hall laughing.

Turning to face her father who looked alarmed at her behaviour she poked her tongue out. "And I never will!" she called with a giggle and turned away to skip to her room. "Oh and my dishes are on the chair dad!" she yelled slamming her bedroom door behind her.​

 

[Aimee Darkhart]

Aimee shook her head meekly, "You don't have to do that. I don't need a party." She whispered quietly with a small smile, she was never one to be against a good party but she didn't feel she should agree so readily to one when they had only just met. Greeting Angela's cold eyes with a smile she extended her hand in an attempt to get into her good books. But Angela's reaction shocked her. The whining hurt her ears and she found herself taking a step back in surprise. Sneaking a stunned look at Demetrius she rose an eyebrow at her half-sister. "Sweetie, I can't not be your sister..." she began but was cut off by Angela's hissed retort. Blinking stupidly at the 5 year old she watched nervously as the young girl dropped to her feet in front of her. The kick took her by surprise and she almost swore in pain. 'That girl can kick' she thought, tears prickling the corners of her eyes.

As the girl ran off Aimee looked at Demetrius, "Is she always like that?" she asked, hoping the answer was no, she didn't feel she could live with the constant whining. She always hated judging people but she felt Angela was a perfect example of a spoilt brat. "Um... so... what happens now?" She asked the atmosphere awkward once again. She wanted to know if she was wasting her time, whether or no she could stay with her new family or if she had to go back to Annalie's constant taunting.​

 

[Sianna Piripitus]

Sianna pulled up in her car and came to a halt in front of her house, looking towards the door she noticed the blond on the doorstep. Frowning for a brief moment she raised her eyes at Emmaline sitting in the front passenger seat. Unclipping her seat belt she opened the door and hopped out. Opening the door on the driver's side she opened up the door and helped Zeiva out. Pulling out the bags on the floor in front of the seat she handed a couple to both Zeiva and Eliza Beth before walking up to the gathering on the front step. "Whats going on here then?" she asked pleasantly, smiling kindly at Aimee.

The red head looked at Eliza Beth who wore a frown; she obviously knew this girl and didn't seem to like her. Sianna herself couldn't work it out. The girl looked nice enough her to her, she radiated as certain level of innocence that made Sianna feel that she was a pretty sweet person. 'I wonder what she did to make Eliza Beth, a girl who always saw the best in people, not like her?' she thought trying to read Eliza Beth's expression and failing.

 

[Eliza Beth Stewart]

Eliza Beth jumped out of the car and hauling bags made her way up the path to the front door. She stopped dead when she recognized the blond standing on the doorstep in front of Demetrius. It was none other than Aimee Darkhart, a Slytherin in her year that had a reputation for having break downs and screaming at innocent people, one of which was her own sister. Poor Annalie had been so upset when she finally got away from the screaming. Eliza Beth had been nearby during that fight and had resented the Slytherin since.

Scowling at the unexpected visitor Eliza Beth stalked up to her and dropped the bags at her feet with a thud. Folding her arms and raised an eyebrow, "And what the hell are you doing here?" she asked coldly ignoring the shocked expressions on the faces of her adopted parents. Now was not the time to explain why she was mad but instead the time for Aimee to explain the reason why she was standing on the doorstep of her house.
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[Emmaline Stewart]

Emmaline followed quietly behind her older sister. She to recognized the blond on the doorstep but tried to keep herself neutral. She had heard the rumours floating around about the older Slytherin but she wasn't sure as to believe what the rumour mill spat out. For all she knew it could be far from the truth. So she, unlike Eliza Beth, smiled gently at Aimee and tried not to appear as unfriendly and unwelcoming. Besides if the rumours were true she didn't want to end up on her bad side.

Aghast at the tone her sister was using Emmaline nudged Eliza Beth sharply in the side. "Eliza Beth!" she hissed. Turning to Aimee she shrugged, "What my sister meant was: what a surprise to see you here." the usually quiet Ravenclaw asked politely. She was sure this was the first time she had ever spoken to Aimee and she didn't want to give off the wrong impression. Besides you wouldn't get any information out of someone who had been so blatantly insulted by her older sister's demeanour."What brings you here?"
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[Zeiva Stewart]

Zeiva was silent as she dragged the heavy bags up to the front door. She could sense how uncomfortable her sisters were feeling and felt it wise to keep quiet for as long as possible. It was clear that this girl standing awkwardly on the doorstep of their house was someone from Emmaline and Eliza Beth's school and by the looks of it they were far from friends. Looking curiously at the girl she frowned, 'she doesn't look like a conventional mean girl.' she thought. Shrugging she let the conversation continue, besides you could find out a lot by listening, and that was what Zeiva was best at.​

 

[Demetrius van Laar Veth]

Demetrius smiled weakly, "She can be, she used to being an only child. She was one for quite a long time you see" he said simply. And it was true his Angel still hadn't adjusted to have 3 new sisters it was expected that she would take getting another one just as badly. "Um... well-" he began but was cut off by the arrival of his girlfriend and stepchildren.

Smiling Demetrius waved at Sianna and the girls as they started up the path. But then the young man noticed his eldest stepchild face, she looked about ready to explode with anger, this wasn't good. Giving her a stern look at her use of tone he turned away from her for a moment as he slung an arm around Aimee's shoulders and presented her to his girlfriend. "This is my daughter, Aimee." he said carefully judging everyone's reactions to the news. It was a mixed bag overall, some good some bad. "Angela's half sister. Cayleigh-Anne's daughter." he explained. He turned to Sianna and raised his eyebrow in an unspoken question of whether or not they could take her in. He hoped she understood the sign.
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[Sianna Piripitus]

Sianna although disgusted by her eldest daughters manners grinned broadly at the news. "Your daughter?!" she asked excitedly. She didn't know that her boyfriend had had another daughter. Sure she knew back in the day he was known for being a bit of a womanizer but that was a long time ago. She smiled kindly at Aimee and gave her a quick hug, "I'm Sianna, Demetrius' girlfriend and Eliza Beth, Emmaline and Zeiva’s mother." she said and turned to Zeiva, "Honey can you take the bags in please?" she asked handed her the young girl her bags.

Turning back to Aimee and ignoring the still angry looks of her other daughters she nodded at Demetrius. She understood his question and she was all for offering the girl a place to stay if she wanted it. It would of course take some minor reshuffling on the bedroom front but they could make it work. "Aimee, you're welcome to stay here if you want to." she said choosing to pretend the snort of disagreement from Eliza Beth didn't happen. Her boyfriend's daughter was welcome to stay.

 

[Zeiva Stewart]

Zeiva was stunned, Demetrius had another daughter?! This was news to her. Recovering quickly from this bombshell she took her mother's bags and began slowly walking through the door to see if she could try to catch a little bit more of information before she was out of earshot. But unfortunately there was a pregnant pause and Zeiva thought it unwise to linger in the doorway for any longer for the fear of being caught eavesdropping. So she quickly hurried inside.​

 

[Aimee Darkhart]

Aimee frowned at Eliza Beth's choice of greeting toward her. Sure it was no secret the two girls didn't like each other but she didn't need a snobby Ravenclaw jeopardizing her chances of getting a loving family after all these years. So she decided to take the high road and smiled sweetly at both Eliza Beth and Emmaline. Responding to Sianna's hug she grinned, "Nice to meet you. I'm Aimee Darkhart." she replied. She liked Sianna instantly, she was kind and welcoming toward her and god knew that she deserved a bit of that after the last few years of living with Annalie.

Aimee could suppress the excitement that ran through her body at the mention of her being allowed to stay. She bounced excitedly on her toes and couldn't rein in the grin that spread across her face. This was one of the happiest moments of her life and she couldn't wait to shove her happiness in Annalie's face. "Really?!" she asked wanting to be sure that she had heard correctly. "I'm really allowed to stay?!"
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[Eliza Beth Stewart]

Eliza Beth froze, surely she didn't hear correctly. Aimee could not be Demetrius' daughter. The thought was beyond comprehension to the Ravenclaw. Him having one bratty daughter was bad enough but to have two was a complete disaster! But there was no denying it, she looked like him and obviously there was no convincing him or Sianna out of it. "You?!" she scoffed trying to make out that there was some kind of mistake that there was no way she was going to have to see more of the Slytherin brat, just because her father was dating her mother.

The thought of her staying didn't occur to her until it was mentioned and Eliza Beth snorted in outrage. Turning to Sianna in disgust she wrinkled her nose, "You CANNOT be serious!" she cried, "Her?! Staying here? You're joking!" To say she was unhappy about the situation was an understatement. She was furious; she already had two sisters and a stepsister. She didn't need another one, especially if her name was Aimee Darkhart. "This is so unfair!" she shouted not caring about the neighbours. Turning on her heel she stomped in to the house, up the stairs and into her room slamming her bedroom door behind her. ​

 

[Emmaline Stewart]

Emmaline rolled her eyes at her sister's public display of anger. Sure she hated the idea as much as Eliza Beth but she didn't feel the same need to vocalise is so loudly. She didn't want to have to share her life with someone like Aimee and the kind of reputation that followed her around like a bad smell. She just wanted a quiet school life, she didn't need to be caught up in the dramas that Aimee was a part of.

Sighing quietly at the decision to let Aimee stay, Emmaline gave a half hearted smile, "Congratulations." she muttered moments before she too turned on her heel and walked in to the house, a good sight more quietly then her elder sister.​

 

[Demetrius van Laar Veth]

Demetrius smiled and gave his daughters shoulders a squeeze. Glad that Sianna had gotten the unspoken message. "Of course you're allowed to stay honey." he said. "You can stay for as long as you like." Demetrius was over the moon he had found a daughter he didn't even know he had and she seemed like a sweet kid, who was excited about staying with him. His other children's reactions to the news however were something to be desired. He had never seen them be so positively rude, it was so unlike them. Making a mental note to have a few stern words with them later on he let them leave. Pleased for the absence of kids apart from Aimee for the moment.

"Sorry about them, I don't know what came over them. They are never this badly behaved." Demetrius told Aimee with a slight shrug of his shoulders. "So you'll stay?" he asked hoping she would say yes. He wanted to get to know his daughter and make up for the years he wasn't there for her.​

 

[Aimee Darkhart]

Aimee inwardly winced at the reaction to her being allowed to stay with her father. She never realized just how much the Stewart sisters hated her until that very moment when Eliza Beth started her anger filled rant. Biting her lip uncomfortably she let it wash over her. It didn't affect her like it normally did and she was glad. Breaking down in the driveway was not her idea of a good time.

"Yes!" she said happily, both Ravenclaw's negative attitudes not changing her mind about wanting to stay. In fact it made her want to stay more, if they didn't want her there then she would hang around to annoy them in riposte to their reaction to her. Besides she didn't care about them anyway, she was just happy to have found her father and that was all that mattered to Aimee right now.
​

 

[Zeiva Stewart]

Zeiva heard Eliza Beth shouting and entered the hallway just in time to see both her and Emmaline running up stairs and shutting their bedroom doors. Obviously something bad had happened and the young inquisitive girl wanted to find out what it was. Stepping back out the door she walked up to Sianna and took her hand, "Mum? What's going on?" she asked quietly looking between Demetrius and Aimee curiously. Trying to work out exactly what had happened. But contrary to her sisters the mood out on the doorstep was positively elated. Thoroughly confused at this point Zeiva waited for something to be said.​

 

[Angela Van Laar Veth]

Angela also heard the shouting and she hoped as she ran back down the stairs that the situation was that this Aimee girl had been sent packing. That way she no longer had to put up with the brat taking up the little lime light she had left after the arrival of her step sisters. Stopping next to her dad she realised that this was clearly not the case. There were too many happy people to suggest that Aimee was leaving. Disappointed Angela exchanged an confused glance Zeiva and tugged on her father's shirt. "Dad? What is going on?"

She feared the worst; she feared that this Aimee chick would be staying for good. That was all she needed in an already cramped house. She hated sharing her dad at the best of times but with yet another person was definitely pushing it to the brink of what she could handle. "Daddy?" she asked again. She needed to know what was going on.​

 

[Demetrius van Laar Veth]

Demetrius beamed, truly glad that his daughter wanted to stay even after the chilly reception she had received. He was proud of her; she took the high road and rose above the crap the sisters were giving her. Something was going on between Aimee and them and he was determined to get down to the bottom of it one way or another. But now was not the time. "That's fantastic!" he said with the biggest grin he had worn in a long time, "Although we will have to get your stuff. I'm assuming you have a foster family?" he asked quietly.

As Zeiva and Angela came back outside Demetrius realized that he was going to have to break the news of his daughter's staying to them. Zeiva he wasn't worried about she would take it fine; it was his darling angel that he was worried about. She was known for over reacting and taking things badly. "Zeiva, Angela. Aimee is staying with us now..." he said quietly bracing himself for what was to come.
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[Angela Van Laar Veth]

Angela's chin dropped, she couldn't believe it. She couldn't believe that her father would do something like this to her. "I knew I wouldn't like you. I HATE YOU" she screamed at Aimee, her face turning and alarming shade of red. Whipping around to face her father she scowled harder, "And I hate you the most!" she screamed even louder.

She couldn't believe this was happening. Another sister was all she needed. Stamping her feet in an almost silent tantrum she gave one last scathing look at both Aimee and her father before stomping loudly into the house and slamming the door in a similar manner to Eliza Beth.​