Surprise!

[Riley Mauven]

The year had gotten off to a hectic start and Riley could think of nothing more relaxing right then than staying with her mother and stepfather over the christmas holidays. The eighteen year old had been apparating back and forth between her boyfriend's apartment, her own and work at the Quidditch pitch and had quite honestly worn herself out. But through all of it the young woman had an overwhelming sense of achievement, like all of her hard work at Hogwarts (well, hard work on the pitch at least) had paid off and now she was reaping the benefits of being an independent young woman out working in the Wizarding World. Riley had brushed shoulders with more than her fair share of famous Quidditch players, and even brushed more than just shoulders with Will Connors who had become her boyfriend and her love. Riley had come to believe that the life she was living was a dream come true, that she could get used to untangling herself from her boyfriend's sheets to face the Daily Prophet reporters hiding out for just one blurred picture of the elite Quidditch couple, and she could certainly get used to travelling the world with her team, even if her head hit a different pillow almost every night. There was one place though that Riley May's blonde head hadn't graced as of late, and that was home. It seemed odd for a teenager to grow tired of freedom, but that was exactly what had happened to the eighteen year old. Though it was embarrassing to admit, she missed her mother and maybe even her stepfather Tamas, who she was slowly growing to like even honoring his marriage to her mother by taking his surname.

So as the christmas holidays came about, Riley Mauven could think of nothing she wanted more than to spend it with her mother, with her new family. That included the additions of Tamas and Lea. Frances would of course have no objections, and Riley had discovered that as promised her mother had kept a room prepared in her new European manor for Riley and Kalani, just the way their room had been at the apartment. The white children's furnature was still with small butterfly stickers littered along its wooden frames, that much had been confirmed by her new adopted sister Lea, who Riley had owled about surprising her parents, the fourteen year old vowing not to utter a word of it to either Frances or Tamas. Lately Riley had been feeling ill, though the feeling was one she had not quite been able to place, and she had hardly had time to call in to St. Mungo's with her busy training session so she had simply dismissed it as overworking. The truth was she had been training far too hard, and missing the ones she loved and she was sure that Kalani was becoming sick of her twin sister cimbing into bed with her on the lonely nights that she got back from training early. So when the morning had come for her surprise for her mother, Riley had packed her bag with a few short flicks of her wand, kissed her sister goodbye and apparated to Europe, the address of her parents' new home inked messily on the back of her hand. Riley was hoping Lani would be able to make it too, but her sister's ballet rehearsals had her busy and Riley was not yet sure she would be able to make it.

Landing just outside the manor with a crack, the blonde put her bags down on the doorstep and looked at the smudged ink to double check the address once more. Sure enough it was correct, and the young woman's figure could be seen from far away as she contemplated how to go about her surprise. She looked so tiny in comparison to the vast landscape of the manor, and if anyone had looked close enough they would have seen her soothe her sick stomach gently with the palm of her spare hand, desperately trying to settle the nerves. For little did anyone know, but Riley Mauven had another surprise for her family, one that she wasn't too sure that they would be happy with, scratch that, she was positive they wouldn't like it. In the past day the petite woman had made it to St. Mungo's and taken a pregnancy test and ever since the sweet sugary taste had been all she had been able to taste on her tongue, no matter how she tried to wash it back wih cereal or milk. The "Congratulations!" she had received from the healer had been no consolation to the way she was feeling, Riley Mauven was pregnant and eighteen and there was not a damn thing she could do about it.

The meeting of her mother at the door had been just as the eighteen year old had pictured it, Frances' fluffy bunny slippers had been seen through the panel glass of the door and in a few seconds Riley's thin frame had been surrounded by that of her mothers, Frances' own surprise for her daughter hidden beneath a loose sweater in much the same way as Riley's, the bumps touching only slighty as they embraced, neither woman acknowledging just what was beneath those deceptive sweaters. A few words were exchanged, but they blurred in Riley's mind as she climbed the stairs to her childhood bedroom, well, her childhood furnature in a new bedroom. And with a resounding "Oof." she had fallen into her matress, her fingers grasping a quilt with a pink and white pony design etched among its threads. Riley's fingers moved along the material, resting lastly on a cushion she must have had since she was three years old. The clanging of her mother attempting to begin a dinner could be heard all through the house, even the grumblings of other family members who knew what kind of burnt delight they were in for, and through the noise Riley clutched the pillow to her stomach and lay in the foetal position, reciting to herself the words she would need to the courage to repeat to her mother during her stay. "Mom, I don't know how to say this.", "I don't know how it happened, it just did.", "I'm sorry.", "Mom.", "Mom," no matter how she repeated it, the word tasted sickly sweet on her tongue, just like the potion had and no matter how she tried, she couldn't imagine it all working out, she had a career, a boyfriend, a life. Not a baby.

Standing up and letting her toes sink into the carpet, Riley stuffed the cushion she had been clutching up her Quidditch sweater and stood, analysing herself in the full length mirror, her hands moving over the artificial bump beneath her breasts as she turned sideways, "Mom, I'm pregnant." she recited. ​

 

[Lea Mauven]

The holidays had rolled around quicker than Lea had expected, which had pleased her greatly as they would be the first full holidays that she would be spending with her new family; Frances, Tamas, Riley and Kalani. She had recited their names, age and occupations over in her head each night so many times that she could hardly believe she belonged to them anymore. She whispered the list to herself when she couldn't get to sleep at night, and now that she was at home with them it seemed all too good to be true. Her adoptive mother and father had been married before she moved in with them, and the Tahitian girl had never seen a bigger home in her life, not to mention her bedroom, which had been everything she had ever dreamed of and more. More importantly she felt safe there, and even though she was growing up she relished the kiss goodnight she received from each of her parents, and relished even more the sound of them kissing eachother goodnight before settling into their own bed down the hall. And despite the level of contentment she felt, Lea Mauven spent each night huddled under the covers ofher canopy bed reading poetry to herself and wondering how she had ever gotten so lucky until she collapsed under the covers and one of her parents removed he glowing wand from her warm palms. Each morning of the holidays she awoke to her parents, a smile upon her face that was bigger than could be seen on anybody. Lea Pleasance had a family, and nothing was going to knock the smile off of her face because they were perfect.

When Riley had contacted her about the surprise vist, the Hufflepuff had eagerly promised to keep it a secret, she had read in books that secret keeping was a vital part of any successful sister relationship, among other things like fighting over clothes and boys, but she and her new twin sisters had much time to fulfill the last two. So when she heard the doorbell ring, the fuzzy haired blonde had been just as excited as her mother to see her sister Riley standing at the door, or was it Kalani? The girl would have to learn the difference between the two. She left her mother to greet her sister and slipped back up the stairs to her room, only a few minutes later burying her face in the pillow at the sound of her mother in the kitchen. Lea couldn't understand why Frances insisted on serving burnt or undercooked dinners when her husband Tamas was a chef, her mother was no prize housewife, but it did make the fourteen year old giggle. Hearing her sister come up the stairs, Lea decided it was the perfect time for them to bond, so she made her way to her sister's bedroom, not meaning to sneak or to be so quiet, she just wanted to make sure she wouldn't be interrupting anything. Pausing outside the door, Lea rose up on her toes, hearing Riley speaking to herself, but she was rather confused about what it was the eighteen year old was saying. Without thinking, she creeped closer towards the door and listened in, the plot thickening with every word, and making the young girl jump as the mumbling figure in her bedroom stood up. Through a crack between the door and the frame Lea spotted something quite peculiar, her older sister appeared to have something up her sweater that she was rubbing, it couldn't be, could it?

The 'p' word rang though Lea's ears, it was something she had only really heard announced on daytime soap operas on the television, but here it was on the other side of the door she was leaning up against. The fouteen year old gasped, the silent scream broken by her mother calling out for the girls, wanting to tell them something. Lea wasn't sure she wanted any more surprises that morning, but she quickly stumbled away from the door, bolting down the stairs "Coming mom!" she called, secretly hoping the surpise was that they were going out for lunch instead of eating another helping of burnt toast. ​

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[Frances Mauven]

Frances Mauven was a mother. For most of her life she had known it was what she was, that her teenage pregnancy had made her who she was today, maybe it was even her own true calling. So for eighteen years she had cared for her twin daughters, working so hard to give them everything they needed and doing all of the things moms were expected to do, which included crying at their school graduations and missing them every minute after they moved out of home. As hard as mothering was, Frances missed having her children around and after marrying Tamas and moving into their expansive hom she had felt as though it was empty, and though the addition of Lea to the family had helped, the couple wanted babies, babies of their own flesh and blood. Luckily Frances had discovered she was pregnant, and in true Mauven style, on the night of her honeymoon. It seemed to suit the pair though, so far they hadn't managed to to anything typically, now this pregnancy was no exception to their own rule. It had been eighteen years since the woman had been pregnant, so she was now in her fourth month and only just beginning to settle into the pregnancy, it was a lot harder when you were in your thirties than it had been when she was a teenager, full of energy.

That morning had gone as every other had, the family mulling about the house, Frances burning more food and attempting for the twentieth time to knit, determined she would learn before her baby was born. The ringing of the home's doorbell had distrupted the suburban bliss, and sent the pregnant woman running to the door to throw her arms around her daughter Riley, squeezing her tightly, feeling a little pressure against the small swell in her belly. "Look at you, you've grown! How have you been? Is work going well? Oh sweetie I missed you so much!" the mother's words raced around Riley's ears, the two still tightly embracing. Frances and her husband hadn't told their adopted daughter she would be getting a brother or sister just yet, nor had they told Frances' twin daughters, and now that one of them was going to stay with them over christmas it seemed like the perfect time. "I'm just making dinner baby, why don't you go and settle yourself in your new room?" the blonde suggested to her daughter, ever since moving in with Tamas and becoming pregnant, Frances had vowed to attempt to become the perfect housewife, and despite her husband being a restaurant owner and amazing chef she still wanted to try. So far the family had suffered through watery mashed potato and sausages, burnt chicken drumsticks and butter chicken on rice, minus the rice. Though nobody had the heart to tell her how terrible her cooking was, so the mother was still blissfully unaware.

After consaulting with Tamas and making sure the dinner was sitting nicely in the pot with not much of a danger of burning, Frances called for her daughters to come downstairs, she was eager to share her surprise with them and desperately hoped that they would both be very happy for her. The older woman stood with her husband, their hands intertwined in their large kitchen and spotted her two blonde daughters coming down the stairs, one straight after the other. "Girls, we have a surprise for you," Frances began, squeezing her husbands hand in excitement, "There's going to be another baby in the house soon." she said with a smile coming over her, saying no more as she assumed her daughters would know exactly what she meant.​

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[Tamas Mauven]

As of late everyone one of Tamas Mauven's emotions could be boiled down to either excited, anxious or nauseous because of an extreme amount of the first two, although his wifes cooking did aid in his nausea. Love her as he might, his wife was not a chef and for a man who was it was difficult for him to sit an eat her food without a word. But he managed anyway because he loved her and if their unborn baby could handle it, so could he. Of course he would pass on the pickles and ice cream but the food that Frances made for the family that was growing as her stomach was. As much as he loved the four girls he considered to be his daughters, Simone included, they weren't really and it was wonderful that he would father children with the woman he loved despite and because of her unfortunate talents in the kitchen. In five months they would be parents together and they still had not told anyone, only discussed it privately as his arms were wrapped around Frances' waist and his hands touching the bump that was only just there. Tamas already knew that his wife was going to be a great mother - her two daughters were proof of that as she had them at such a young age and raised them as she was growing too - but he was frightened that he would not be a very good father. As much as he cared for Simone, she had very big problems in her life and they had manifested under his roof. Her only saving grace was that she was a talented writer and his only help in this was providing her with any materials and other works of literature that she wanted or needed and he wanted better for Riley, Kalani, Lea and the unborn baby that Tamas had a mental picture of as a cherub with his wife's blonde hair and blue eyes. His fears went unspoken to not make Frances unnecesarrily stressed as he had read, in one of the baby books he had picked up, that stress to the mother can cause stress in the baby and upset the whole process and the last thing he wanted to do was to mess up this child before it was even birthed.

Tamas had been writing a letter to Simone when he heard the door bell ring and stood up to walk over but Frances had beat him to the door and his eyes widened slightly when he saw Riley. It certainly was a surprise to see her here and after her mother had spoke so quickly it was hard for anyone to understand, he gave Riley a tight embrace and a kiss on the top of her blonde head like he did to Simone every time she returned home for a visit. They were both his daughters, after all. "You look well, Riley," he said with a smile before nodding his head in agreement with Frannie's words but giving her a look that said that he would try to salvage the dinner as much as he could. Of course it would have to be in secret but Tamas would make an effort so between quiet words and Frannie doing various things he tapped his wand on the pot to at the very least neutralize the taste which he had, thankfully, managed. He had not had the chance to improve it in the least bit but the news they were about to share was more important.

The dark-haired man took the side of his wife and held her hand as they waited for Lea and Riley. Once they were down, he let Frannie do the speaking. His thumb slid over her knuckles in the deepest affection as she told the blonde girls that there would be an addition to the Mauven family, little did they know there would be more than one new member in a few months time.​

 

[Lea Mauven]

In just a very short time Lea had become accustomed to being a Mauven, accustomed to their quirks, their relationships and their home. But there was something that Lea had not yet gotten used to, in fact she had not yet been exposed to it at all. And that was the way in which Mauven's gave away surprises. Lea had always been a quiet, yet thoughtful and bubbly young girl but ever since moving in with her new parents she had grown and become more confident and outgoing, more comfortable being around the family and speaking to them in the way they had always spoken to eachother. Unlike many families the fourteen year old had come across there was not much that the Mauven's kept from eachother, so for it to take this long for Frances and Tamas to tell their children they would be expecting a brother or sister was unusual, though understandable, at Frances' age she had to make sure that she wasn't going to lose the baby before she announced the good news to her family and the world. After overhearing her sister Riley, Lea seemed to have a new understanding of secrets and surprises and had decided that they were much the same thing, and when her mother had called her, the Hufflepuff was not at all surprised that the surprise had not been described explicitly as 'good news' like the usual delivery of a pregnancy.

Even at her young age, Lea knew that nineteen year olds did not usually have children, especially not unmarried ones like her sister Riley, which was why when her mother and father began to share the news the young girl was a little put aback by how pleased they seemed with themselves. But she dismissed it with a light shrug of her small shoulders, the Mauven's were nothing if not unpredictable, obviosuly the delivery of this news was no exception. Rising onto her toes, Lea Pleasance placed a small peck on her father's cheek, she had gotten used to the ritual of it whenever she saw him, it had become second nature for her to show her affections that before being adopted she had kept bottled up inside of her out of fear of becoming hurt. Leaning back from the kiss, Lea stood right next to Riley, the height difference between the pair had begun to narrow, the roots of their blonde heads coming closer to oneanother each month that they were seen side by side. Her older sister seemed nervous, a little twitchy and somewhat off colour, but Lea hardly noticed, more excited to see how each member of the family would take the news that Riley seemed unable to deliver herself.

At the mention of a baby, Lea nodded her head, this certainly wasn't new information to her, at least she didn't believe it was after listening in on one of Riley's private conversations. Without thinking, the words naturally flowed from the Hufflepuff's lips, "I know that already," she started, her icy eyes rolling in her head in a perfect teenage 'I told you so' fashion, "Riley's pregnant." she spilled, she couldn't understand why Frannie hadn't just said so bluntly herself, instead she had chosen to step around the mention of who's baby it was, but luckily for the family, Lea had cleared any confusion right up. "So, what's for lunch?" she asked in passing as she turned her head towards the stairs, she was about ready to head back up to her bedroom if her parents had nothing more to say, still Lea was a little disappointed that by the smell of things her mother was still preparing what they were about to attempt to digest. ​

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[Tamas Mauven]

Once Frances had shared the wonderful news, Tamas had placed a kiss on her cheek but his affection was interrupted by Lea who said she knew already. He arched his brow and awaited some sort of explanation but it was not at all what he was expecting. The news that the couple had shared with two of their daughters was in addition to something that Lea knew. But in denial, Tamas said firmly, "No, it's Frances. We're having a baby, not Riley." He looked at Riley for a long moment, expecting her to confirm these words, congratulate them and eat food that wouldn't taste very good. His eyes narrowed on her stomach and back onto her face and groaned deeply. Riley was a bright girl so Tamas didn't quite understand why she had made the same mistake that Frannie did all those years ago. Now it was fine but he knew they had genuinely struggled, surviving on her small salary. He wanted to tell her that she had to right this mistake and tell her to go back in time, get her to be chaste or something but as he looked into her eyes he knew there was nothing to be done. He looked over at Lea and said in a low grumble, his agitation and rising stress levels clear, "Why don't you go to your room, I'll send your lunch up soon." He wanted to boil over but as he looked at her and saw the eyes that mirrored his wife's Tamas knew he couldn't say anything. He didn't want to offend Frances because she had also had two children at eighteen years old. He squeezed her hand, trying not to squeeze it too hard for far it would hurt her but it was all he wanted to do. This was something he would expect of Simone and not of Riley, she was so sensible all the time and then he thought of the father. He could ring the boys neck for what he done and how likely it was that he would leave her in the same state that Frances had been.​

 

[Kalani Mauven]

It would be good to be on holidays and take a break from Edgar Kane. It amazed Kalani how easily he could rile her up and how much pleasure he took in it but that amazement was surpassed by her annoyance with him and how he seemed to tease her for her attraction to him even though he was gay. It was almost cruel but she stuck by the story that a drunken man's tongue did not speak a sober man's thoughts. She would rather be dammed to hell than have her pride hurt again by him, even for a little while she couldn't remember the insult, but a break would be nice so she kissed Jennifer on the cheeks, wishing her a Happy Christmas and telling her not to have too much fun with Amy over the break, and proceeded to apparate to the Mauven family home where Riley already was. She only hoped that being back at home would bring her sister to sleep in her own bed. Bless her soul but Kalani was getting tired of Riley getting up in the middle of the night to go to the washroom and come back moments later smelling rather vile. It sounded like a rather bad case of the stomach flu and suggested Riley go see a Healer at St. Mungo's but she seemed to want to do things the muggle way like their mother had raised them. But if Riley did not go to a healer, Kalani might just take matters into her own hands because the last thing she needed was to be infected with some virus because her sister was home sick! She needed to be at her prime and she could hardly do that when getting sick and becoming as frail as Riley seemed to be lately. If Lani didn't know her twin better she would have thought of bulimia but Riley was a strong girl and wouldn't risk her career for anything, or so the short haired ballerina had thought.

With a loud pop, Lani had apparated into her home's front foyer and rubbed her aching head. Even with the daily apparation from New York City to Saint Petersburg and back she had not quite gotten used to the nausea and the very sudden pang in her head which was coupled with the feeling of whiplash. She would have preferred to fly and that was saying something because it was the one thing Kalani would never be able to share with her twin... a love of flying due to her fear of heights. "Mum?" she called as she walked in further, still rubbing her head and about to say, 'Dad' when she saw the group of them. She grinned brightly and practically skipped over, ignorant to the tension in the room as she beamed brightly, returning to what she normally was around the people she knew. It was much different than what Edgar got to see of her and she could even feel it in her voice, "Hey family! I've missed you lot tonnes!" She looked over at her mother as she said the word tonnes, noticing the hand that was on her stomach only now and with a giddy grin she teased, knowing just by the way her mother's hand was placed that she was pregnant, "Looks like someone got ahead of us with the Christmas desserts."​

 

[Riley Mauven]

The call of her mother startled Riley and she threw the pillow from underneath her clothing, not waiting to see it land before taking a breath to compose herself and run down the stairs, just after her youngest sister Lea. Even the sudden change from being upstairs to downstairs seemed to triggor the sick feeling deeply rooted in the eighteen year old's stomach, causing her hand to instinctively rest on the small bump she had tried to cover up with a baggy Quidditch sweatshirt. Too consumed in the chaos going on within her own body, Riley hadn't considered at all that her mother could be pregnant, to her Frances was old, it didn't matter if she had been a teenage mother, to Riley she and her twin sister and now their adopted sister were it. She didn't see that Tamas and her mother may want to start their own family at some point in time. Upon reaching the bottom of the stairs the blonde made the effort to smile through her pain and stepped forward lightly on her feet, noticing her mother and 'father' standing together holding hands. She wondered what on earth kind of news required them to be so close together, and come to think of it, the grins on their faces were bigger than she had ever seen them, even when the engagement had been announced that hadn't seemed this cheery. Hopefully, she thought, the news they had to share would detract from any of Riley's pregnancy symptoms. Riley caught a glint of her mother's wedding ring as they delivered the news, and noticed, but barely, that her hand was cupped on her stomach, exactly the way hers had been only minutes ago. Yet still, the connection had not been made in her mind.

It wasn't until the word 'baby' was spoken that it clicked. The four letter word had a powerful effect on the eighteen year old, sending a pang through her lower stomach and at the front of her temple. There was going to be another baby in the house? Surely with the cheerful tone her mother couldn't have been speaking of her daughter's baby? But it seemed that Riley had not one chance to say a word or even think about the confrontation that was about to arise in the happy little family. Lea had taken the wheel and her naive and chirpy self had stuck into the conversation without warning, delivering the very news that Riley would never had have the confidence or guts to deliver on her own. It could have been the hormones that meant that Riley didn't even consider that her parents wouldn't believe Lea, but without hesitation Riley did all she could think to do, try and make light of the situation. "Surprise?" she questioned, as if she had planned the elaborate announcement just as it had played out, her arms right out and though she had just come out of the dark at a surprise birthday party. The only thing that Riley seemed to notice was the look on her mother's face. It was one of horror, of diappointment, but utimately the eighteen year old knew that not only had she completely spoilt her mother's news of her own pregnancy, but she had caused Frances to consider herself a failure. Frances herself had been seventeen when she had given birth to Riley and Kalani, she would never forgive herself for her daughter's mistake.

What Riley hadn't counted on was Tamas' reaction, he seemed to almost be in denial, but she could see as her spat his words towards Lea that he was squeezing her mother's hand ever so tightly. As her sister skipped off up the stairs she seemed pleased with herself, but the rest of the family certainly wouldn't be. Frances hadn't yet spoken, causing Riley's cheeks to flush red, there was no going back now. "Mom", "Mom?" she coaxed, trying to gage her mother's reaction, and ultimately trying to get at least one word out of the woman who had raised her, and all through her life emphasized how hard it had been to be a teenage mother. "Mom please say something." the eighteen year old begged, her eyes welling with tears as she did so. The tension between the shocked parents and begging child could have been cut with a knife, but instead Riley burst into tears, a voice all too similar to her own speaking her mother's title this time, causing the eighteen year old to whip her head around, her blonde pony tail flicking the heat in the air as she did so. Kalani seemed oblivious to what she had just stepped into, something akin to WWIII, the amped up hormones shared between the mother and daughter were enough to send any spectator running for their lives before making the mistake of getting caught up in the situation. But the chirpy form of her twin sister only continued to make the situation worse, despite the tears that rolled down Riley's scarlet cheeks and the repetitive shaking of her head trying to warn her that this was not something she wanted to be involved in. The comment on dessert send Riley's hands and eyes to her stomach, she was more self concious of her body now than she ever had been, she hadn't worried as a young girl about her figure like her friends, but now it seemed to be the only thing on her mind. "Lani, no," she begged, or warned, she couldn't tell the difference. ​

 

[Frances Mauven]

Standing with her husband facing two of her beautiful daughters, with possibly another in her womb at that moment Frances truly felt like one of the luckiest women in the world. Though she had not expected Lea to but in on the good news, at first the mother didn't understand what her daughter was saying, surely she had her information twisted. Tamas confirmed what Frances wanted to say, that it was her having the baby and not her daughter Riley, Frances nodded her head, agreeing with her husband, but when Riley did not deny that she was having a baby a churning feeling began to stir in her stomach. Of all the eighteen years that Frances had been a mother she had told herself that if her twin daughters grew up without getting pregnant like she had, then she had done her job well and succeeded as a mother. But it seemed the longer the silence went on and her youngest daughter took the journey up the stairs to her bedroom that Frances was standing still, and that she was a failure. Riley tried to lighten the mood with sarcasm it seemed, but there was nothing that the mother could say to her. What was there to say? I'm sorry, What have you done? Who is the boy responsible? You stupid girl. All of these seemed like options, though with her mouth still hanging open Frances couldn't imagine any of these phrases tumbling out of it. She clung onto her husband's hand, her mouth now closed and her teeth gritted as her daughter spoke again, not aware that all of her words were blurring in her mother's mind, she was unable to comprehend them. But the words that did come across were those of her second twin Kalani's. Frances didn't know when she had arrived or how much she knew, but it seemed as though it was very little as she continued to speak in a bouncry tone, one that didn't fit into the setting they were standing in right now.

Christmas Desserts. Frances looked down at her stomach, realising that her small bump could be more easily noticed than she had originally expected. Which brought her attention off of the simple fact that her eighteen year old daughter was pregnant, and onto the fact that this was her moment, her news, and Riley had stolen it from her. It was probably the hormones between the mother and daughter that filled the air which had fueled the rage in the pregnant woman, but all that Frances could do was be mad. Mad at herself, mad at her daughter, mad at her daughter's boyfriend. It didn't matter what exactly she was mad at, all she knew was that what was within her was rage and hormones, a dangerous mix. Frances Mauven released her hand from her husband's clammy palm and let it fly across the hall, just as her daughter Riley turned back from warning her twin sister of the touchy subject of weight. Her palm made a crack! as it connected with her daughter's porcelain cheek and Frances' nostrils flared like a bull charging forward. Falling back, but regaining her balance, the thrity-four year old burst into tears and ran from the situation at hand into the bathroom, clutching her swollen stomach as she leant over, steadying herself on the toilet bowl. Where had she gone so wrong? The tears rolled down her cheeks and she vomited, ignoring that she had just run away and left her husband to deal with the fallout she had dropped him into. ​

 

[Kalani Mauven]

"Lani, no," Riley had said to Kalani which brought her gaze to her and the hands wrapped around her stomach but didn't take it in as quickly as she had her mother's. The thought that her sister being pregnant never crossed her mind because it seemed so odd, so idiotic that she could never think that Riley would have a baby when she was just a teenager. Their lives had been difficult enough being in a family from a teenage mother and an absent father so it had been an understanding that they would never make that mistake so they could make their mother proud so Kalani was all smiles until she saw the feral look on her mother's face just seconds before there was a crack of palm against cheek. For a moment the blonde couldn't quite understand what had happened and she almost didn't want to. Her mother, the woman that she admired and loved, had hit her own daughter. Without a thought as to why she had done that she called out after her as she ran someone, presumably to the washroom, "What the f*ck, Mom?!" She turned to her sister and put a hand on her arms, rubbing up and down them soothingly as she looked into her sister's eyes wishing that she could read her mind so she didn't have to ask why she was crying and why their mother, who would have never done that if she was in her right mind, had hit her. "Are you okay, Riles?" she asked as she hugged her sister tightly, petting her blonde hair as her mind replayed the smack that she just saw and flinched involuntarily hoping that the explanation wouldn't anger her because from the corner of her eyes she saw a big plant and at times of high emotions became her weapons and it was the last thing she would want for anyone, even for her family who were clearly deserving of a good lynching for acting as if they were insane.

Kalani let Riley go from her tight embrace and turned to Tamas who was red in the face from either embarrassment or anger - she couldn't tell - and walked closer to him. "What just happened here?" she demanded the smile that had been worn on her face now a glare into her Dad's eyes and a plant just behind him flailed as she added, "Why did my mother just hit my sister?" She didn't think that it was his fault but right now she would have done anything to protect her family that without her knowledge was growing everyday. Kalani cared for Tamas but he wasn't her real father and the last people she wanted to blame for this was those she loved the most even if she knew it was truly their own fault and each had deserved what was coming to them.​

 

[Riley Mauven]

Eveything was happening to fast for Riley to understand. Just an hour ago the eighteen year old had arrived at her parents' house, a baby in her stomach and the mindset that she had months to let her family know about it, if she would tell them at all. When the test had confirmed her suspicions, of course she had thought over each and every one of her options, one of these had been running away and never telling her family. Of course this option seemed the least reliable, since being on the Holyhead Harpies and dating a member of another team it seemed she had been getting a fair bit of attention from the Daily Prophet, which she found odd being on the other end to what she had been when she had completed an internship there. But now thanks to her nosy little adopted sister all of her options seemed to be wiped off of the table, she was eighteen and she was going to have to have this baby now. All Riley wanted at that moment was for her mother to hold her, stroke her hair and tell her everything was fine, it didn't seem she was getting her wish though, so the blonde would have settled for her mother at least saying or doing something. But never had Riley guessed that something would be slapping her. Never had their mother hit them in their lives, sure she had raised her voice once or twice when she and Lani had been up to no good, but Riley realised as her mother's hand cracked her cheek that she had never had a true reason to be so mad at one of them until now.

Her sister ran to her defence and it comforted her a little that she yelled after her mother, at least for now somebody was on her side, though she had a feeling it would change soon. Kalani had questioned her enough, she was going to find out sometime, it may as well be right then. "Lani I'm pregnant." she admitted, wrapping her arms tightly around her twin sister, her fingers wrapping around her shirt as the tears began to fall again, this time hot upon Lani's shoulder. She had not even gotten to the worst part yet, "So is mom." she mumbled into her sister's shoulder, hoping that if she held her tightly enough maybe all of the pain and hurt would go away. It wasn't her cheek that was stinging, but the look she was getting from Tamas seemed to sting her more. How had this happened to her? She had always promised herself and her sister that they would not turn out like their mother, that they wouldn't put that stress on themselves or a child, now she understood why she had been slapped, she had deserved it. ​

 

[Kalani Mauven]

Kalani stood looking at Tamas, waiting for an answer from him when Riley enveloped her in a hug as she revealed the awful truth. The dancer heard and understood the words but she didn't want to know this about Riley, she didn't want this for their family and then conformation of what she had suspected when she initially saw her dear mother holding her hands of her stomach so lovingly made it only worse. She starred at Tamas, not doing or saying anything as Riley cried into her shoulder, staining her shirt, because she was so overwhelmed. She wanted to delete the party from existence it had not done either twin any good and now the one person who had given them everything was hurting because of it. Her mother's pregnancy should be something celebrated because it was with a man who loved her, a man who wouldn't run off at the news that he was a father and a man that could make them a family she would be proud to call her own but Riley ruined it. Although her face was washed of any emotions she was boiling over and memories of promises they had secretly made to each other at every one of their birthdays played in her head. When they were small they had held hands and whispered in the early hours of the morning that they would one day make their mother proud of them and when it became their turns to be a mother it would be with someone and a time more appropriate than her mother's had been. Although the twins didn't fully understand at the time why they were frowned upon they were told by their grandmother, repeatedly, that even if she loved them she was still disappointed that they were alive right now.

When Kalani had gotten older and realized all of these things her grandmother had said to her were so awful she had understood that she expected more from her daughter but hadn't understood the depth of her emotions. It was hard to put your feet into someone else's shoes but now it became clear to her. "Stop," Lani ordered in a voice that fought not to be shaky. She didn't want to pity Riley, she wanted to be mad at her and hug her mother and tell her how much she loved her and was sorry for letting Riley make such a grave mistake. She wasn't quite sure why but in the pit of her stomach she felt nothing but guilt, like if she hadn't been so plastered she would have been able to smack Will and Riley into sense but it was too late to smack, even if Kalani's mother had already tried that.​

 

[Tamas Mauven]

Tamas didn't know what to do or say - or even think. He knew that Riley and Kalani were not his own children and he had met them when they were practically adults but he didn't want them to be this. Like Frannie, he wanted better for them. He adored the children and wanted Riley to not cry of sadness when she told her family that a baby was on the way, he wanted her to be much, much older when she told them but most of all he wanted her to have lived first. Uncertain where to focus his anger he just stood there blankly as his wife hit her child and ran off. For a moment he looked in the direction the went. The restroom, he thought. These days it was the only place she ran to. He yearned for the way he and Frannie had imagined telling their three blonde girls, how they would hug Frannie and touch her belly before giving him a hug as well. No, this made it severely more complicated.

As Kalani spoke to her mother in a way that Tamas wouldn't even have spoken to his father in, possibly out of fear, his nostrils flared. This was bringing him into a very dark place and as Kalani yelled at him it was hard to control. He let Riley inform her on her mistake in disrespecting his wife and her mother before he stepped towards her and said, "Never speak to your mother, or me, like that again." This part of his personality was hardly one he was proud of but there was a darkness to his voice, as if he had completely changed who he was but his anger brought him back to the days when he was a boy and taught only hate. "There are much worse things then hitting your children," he said, mostly as a fact but with his anger it seemed to be a threat before he turned to Riley. "Who is he?!" Tamas shouted, his face going red and his breathing heavy as he looked her in the eyes as she wept he took his wand out, itching to go find that boy and to hurt him. No one did this to his family and got away with it, especially not some kid who just wanted to get into his daughter's pants.​