Awkward reunion *Dani, Alec*

Charlie didn’t really like returning to places that held memories he would rather forget. Unfortunately his little sister had decided to get pregnant. While his parents had been told the news, Charlie had been at the Ministry of Magic, working. It was a years internship that was very promising, he had enjoyed it immensely and made many contacts. Although a couple of weeks before it came to an end, Charlie received an owl informing him of the exciting news that Danielle had had a baby boy. About nine months ago Charlie had been told about her pregnancy but hadn’t wanted to see her. He had been so busy and why would he go home? There was nothing to congratulate her about! It was rather embarrassing!

Charlie loved Dani, she was his sister, and he knew Alec was bad news! How stupid were they?! Their mother had of course recommended two options but they wanted to ruin their lives. Dani could have been someone big but she just wanted to be looking after a baby when she was a child herself. He knew he sounded like he knew it all, but how difficult was it. A baby would hold her back, and tie her down to Alec. If anything happened, they had a baby stuck in the middle of the both of them now.

To make things worse, Mother had demanded Danielle stay at their house for the duration of her pregnancy. The whole time she was there, Mother was constantly telling her to do the right thing. She was ashamed, and found it so difficult to talk to her about anything else. In the letter he had received about the birth, Mother had also asked him to go to Woodberg and show that even though Danielle was just a black sheep. Charlie was the angel and she wanted everyone to see that even though one child was ruining her life, the other was becoming quickly successful. Charlie didn’t want to go back to Woodberg at all, not even go anywhere near Amorcya Island, it hadn’t been long enough for him to get over all the drama he had left behind.

Charlie was standing outside ’14 Crystal Avenue’, apparently where Danielle and Alec live. What had annoyed him, ‘Matthew’ had been born and yet he hadn’t been owled, Matthews grandparents hadn’t even seen him. Even though they weren’t happy about what Dani had done, he was still their grandson. Charlie didn’t even know what Matthew looked like, although did it matter? It wasn’t as if he was planning on staying long enough for Matthew to remember him. If little babies could do that, he wasn’t really sure. Charlie began to wonder if he had shown signs of being a metamorphmagus, it was of course in his blood but he didn’t know if he would actually be one.

Sighing, Charlie hoped to get this over and done with. He knocked on the door, three sharp knocks and waited for the door to open. Charlie had no idea what to expect from the ‘happy’ couple. If he was in their situation… well, that would be impossible so there would be nothing he would do better, he already was.

Alec had just gotten his son to sleep. It had taking a lot of rocking. A lot of singing. A lot of “shhhh”ing. But it had happened. Matty had finally closed his eyes, and he was now sleeping peacefully in the portable crib they kept in the living room. Punching the air in his silent triumph, Alec let himself fall back onto the couch, placing one arm over his face. If his kid was sleeping, then Merlin be damned if he wasn’t going to catch up on a little shut eye himself. Fortunately, the couch Alec and Dani had picked out was very comfortable. Perhaps that was the reason they’d picked it; so they could sleep on it when Matty was sleeping. Alec shifted so he was lying on his side, facing the crib. The sides were see-through, so he could watch Matty while he was sleeping. Alec and Dani had finally fallen into a routine when it came to Matty. Danielle had gone back to school, and she was doing well. Alec could not put into words how proud he was of his girlfriend. She was doing well at school, and she’d managed to keep her friendship with Gabrielle and Michelle.

Of course, it wasn’t hard for the twins and Dani to keep their friendship. Gabrielle was over every other day, and Michelle came over when she could. Alec, Emily and Jake still saw each other, which Alec was grateful for. He wasn’t sure he would’ve made it through the first couple of weeks if it hadn’t been for his best friends. They’d come over a lot, in spite of the fact that they’d just moved into their own house. Alec was actually kind of surprised that Jake and Emily had moved in together. It had always been a plan that the three of them would live together after school, but of course, things changed when Dani got pregnant. Surprisingly enough, even Ruby had warmed towards Matty, and she was the one who usually scoffed at children. Ruby and Danielle still didn’t get along, but Alec didn’t expect that to change, ever. Ruby mostly came over when Jake owled ahead to find out where Dani was going to be that day.

Alec yawned, though he was instantly on alert when he heard Matty make a noise. He sat up straight, his eyes on the crib. False alarm. Matty was just gurgling in his sleep. Alec yawned again, falling backwards once more. Dani was asleep in their bedroom. She’d been there for a while, not that she didn’t deserve it. He yawned once more, this time his eyes fluttering closed as he slipped into a light sleep. He didn’t dream. He just slept, relishing in the quiet. Three sharp knocks on the front door caused Alec’s eyes to snap open. He instantly went into defensive mode. That he could blame on his werewolf side. Warily, Alec stood up and made his way to the front door. He opened it slightly, glancing at the person standing on their front step, and threw the door all the way open. “Charlie.”

The door only opened a few inches, until it revealed a young man. “Charlie.” Charlie sighed, "Alec." This was going to be difficult. He hadn't really had a great friendship with the guy and his sister might not even be in, which would mean he'd have to come back and do this all over again. It was like torture. "Danielle in? With the sprog I'm guessing?" He asked, looking at him up and down, at least Charlie knew he looked a bit better than him. For the moment anyway. Alec looked like he wasn't getting any sleep, it was rather satisfying seeing him like this. As if, after all Danielle had suffered with the pregnancy, Alec was getting his fair share of suffering. "Can I come in?" He found it very awkward in doorways, especially when Alec was involved.

What could they even talk about? They couldn't talk about girls, because Alec was with his sister. Quidditch? How long would that last? The only thing they had in common really was now, Matthew. Except Charlie didn't really want to talk about Matthew with Alec. He was the reason Charlie had to come here. Ground control for the parents. It was wonderful. Send out their son to show that they're not bad parents, that they did their job. He couldn't be bothered with all this. He was going around the island and seeing all the changes that had been made over the years. Although it wasn't like he had anything better to do. "Not sleeping Alec? Heard that's a side effect of having kids. Shame that."

“Alec.”

He immediately tensed. Oh yeah, this visit was going to go greeeeeaaaaaaat. “Danielle in? With the sprog I’m guessing?” Alec frowned at his girlfriend’s brother. “Can I come in?” Alec raised an eyebrow. Common manners told him to let the other guy in. However, it was Alec’s house. He paid for it. It was up to him to let the other guy in. And he didn’t have to. Alec frowned. No, erase that. He did have to let Charlie in. If he didn’t, Dani would never forgive him. Alec sighed and stood aside to allow Charlie into his living room. “Dani is asleep. So is Matty. I would prefer it if you didn’t wake either of them up, but seeing as you’re Dani’s brother, I suppose I have no choice but to wake her up”, he said. He started towards the hall, but hesitated as he passed Matty’s crib. “Not sleeping Alec?” Alec turned back towards Charlie. “Heard that’s a side effect of having kids. Shame that.” Alec felt a growl build up in his throat. The full moon must be near. And there was no way in hell that he was going to take this from Charlie.

“No, Charlie. I’m not sleeping well. I take what I can get, because that’s what parents do”, Alec said. He glanced down at Matty as the baby gurgled, his eyelids flickering. “This is my house, Charlie. I didn’t invite you over. You just showed up, unannounced.” Alec was keeping his voice low. He didn’t want Dani to wake up to them fighting. “So if you’re going to come into my home, you are going to be polite to me, and you are sure as hell going to be polite to Dani.” Matty gurgled again, and this time woke up. His eyelids shot open, and before he could start crying, Alec had the child scooped up into his arms, rocking the baby back and forth. “We didn’t plan for this to happen. I know your parents aren’t impressed. Honestly, I don’t care what your parents think. Dani and I discussed our options. Abortion wasn’t an option. Neither was adoption. We made the right choice in keeping Matty, so don’t you dare try to make me, and especially not Dani, feel bad about our decision.”

Matty had slowly drifted back to sleep sometime during Alec’s little rant. “I’ll go and wake Dani now, because I’m sure she’d want to see you. But if you upset her in any way, you can bet I will throw you out on your ass faster than you can count to ten”, Alec said. He turned away from Charlie and walked up the hall to his and Dani’s room, still holding Matty. He pushed the door open, and sighed as he looked upon his sleeping girlfriend. “Dani, you have to wake up”, Alec said, leaning over to nudge Dani gently. “Charlie is here, and I think I may kill him if you’re not out there.”