RP: Telling the Girls

[neve_stadheim]

Date: October 24th, 2011
Characters: Neve Stadheim, Shelby, Mackenzie & Bryn Stadheim (NPC), Jake Abernathy, Star Abernathy (NPC)
Location: Abernathy Home
Status: Private
Summary: Neve and Jake finally tell their girls.
Completion: Incomplete

Comments

[jake_abernathy]

Jake would freely admit that he was nervous. Knowing his daughter's temperament, he had a right to be, and seeing Neve's three children, well, that scared him too, because he already cared about them, had even before they had started dating. He wanted them to accept it, but he knew that was hopeful thinking there.

He felt almost bad that they had chosen his place because of his fears about Star, and yet she'd seemed fine with the choice, so he was willing to believe it was okay or she would tell him otherwise. Star sat poised on the end of the couch, looking distinctly ill at ease. He suspected on some level she knew what was going on, and was trying to deny it to herself.

He would be right. Star was trying very hard to tell her that this wasn't what she thought it was, that her Dad was seeing Miss Neve. They'd been hanging out even more than they used to, and she'd been busy with school and stuff and hadn't given it too much thought, mostly because the childish part of her hoped if she didn't acknowledge it, it wouldn't happen.

He glanced up at Neve, wanting to take her hand, knowing that would be a dead giveaway. "We wanted to let you all know that your mother and I are seeing each other," he said, as honest as she would be, and gentle as well.

[neve_stadheim]

Nervous didn't fully cover how Neve felt. She was usually calm, scarily so sometimes. In this situation though, she felt extremely nervous. Her girls were her world, had always been, and would always be. But her world was getting bigger, it included Jake, and to some degree, if Star would allow it - Neve wanted to include Jake's daughter as well. She knew some of the past history though, knew that Star wasn't fond of her father dating, and might not be fond of her. Which Neve would accept, but she wasn't going to back down.

She didn't so much care about the venue, which was why she didn't mind one bit about doing it at his place. Either way they were going to have upset children on there hands, and honestly doing it at Jake's meant Mackenzie was actually less likely to run away from home. Neve was fairly certain Mackenzie wouldn't make it that far in Jake's neighborhood without turning around and heading back to the Abernathy's home.

Shelby eyed her Mom and Jake, big blue eyes studying both adults. Her Mom was acting odd, had been acting a little secretive about Jake lately. They spent a lot of time together before, but that had seemed to increase in the last month, and Shelby thought if she were to bet money it was because they were dating, though part of her didn't know how she would handle her Mom with someone who wasn't her Dad. Meanwhile, Mackenzie tried not to scowl, feeling left out of the loop somehow, though she didn't know what that loop was. Bryn was the one who was blissfully unaware of any kind of tension in the room, only curious why they were all sitting in the living room doing nothing.

She wanted to take his hand, needing some kind of physical reassurance that this was the right thing to be doing. Until the words were out there and her girls knew, she wouldn't do that. Neve let out a sigh of relief when Jake told the girls, she wasn't usually the type to follow anyone's lead. It felt right though that Jake was the one to say it, why that was though she didn't know.

"What?" Like clockwork Mackenzie was the first of her girls to say something, her middle child looked from her Mom to Jake and back to her Mom. "You're kidding, right?"

Neve closed her eyes briefly, knowing she should have expected this. "Jake and I are seeing each other." She confirmed, holding her daughter's gaze before glancing at Shelby and Bryn. Her nerves eased when Shelby seemed to just be thinking on it all, and Bryn just kind of smiled at her Mom when she met her gaze. Of course her youngest didn't know exactly what this meant for her, and she was thankful for that.

[jake_abernathy]

Star echoed Mackenzie, her arms crossed protectively over her chest. "You gotta be kidding," she said disbelievingly, because she didn't want to believe it. Not Miss Neve, not her friend's Mom, for God's sake! This wasn't fair, not at all.

But it had to be true, because Miss Neve repeated it, and her Dad reached for her hand to squeeze it. Her eyebrows came together in a scowl. "That's not fair!" she said, standing up abruptly, her arms tightening even further around herself.

"Star, it is fair. We've talked about this before," he said gently. They'd discussed that sometimes grown ups needed other people, that didn't mean that he would love her any less than before.

"With, with her?! Shelby's MOM?" She didn't have the words for much else, emotions swirling around her head and chest.

[neve_stadheim]

Shelby watched her sister and her friend both freaking out, her gaze going from them to her Mom and Jake and back again. She had her own feelings on all of this, confusion and hurt mostly, wondering why her Mom had kept this from them. "I don't think they're kidding." She muttered, scowling slightly. Throwing a loud fit wasn't her style, but she wasn't entirely comfortable with this turn of events either.

"Why is everyone upset?" Bryn asked softly, chewing on her bottom lip. Mackenzie was pacing in front of the couch now, and Shelby was scowling like she did when something made her really unhappy and Star was yelling and saying things were unfair.

Neve sighed softly, grateful for the reassurance Jake provided as he took hold of her hand. It wasn't her place to say anything to Star, instead she focused on her own daughters. "Because Jake and I are dating, sweetie." It wasn't a great explanation or one she thought a six year old would understand entirely, it was the truth though.

"You're replacing Dad." Mackenzie practically growled, whirling on her mother. Neve was shocked that her nine year old was acting out in this way, she had been barely Bryn's age when Zach had passed away - though Mackenzie had always been a Daddy's girl. "And what do you mean by 'With Shelby's Mom?'." The middle Stadheim turned her attention on Star, needing an outlet for her anger and wanting to know why it was so horrible if Star's Dad was dating her Mom of all people.

"Mackenzie Ann!" Neve gave her daughter a stern look. "We'll talk about this when we get home." It wasn't that she didn't want to have this conversation in front of Jake, but it really wasn't going to help matters to try and talk sense into Mackenzie right now.

[jake_abernathy]

It was admittedly a bit depressing that three out of the four children seemed to be upset over the announcement. But, Jake thought, they needed to work it out in their heads. He wasn't here to replace their father, he wouldn't think of trying. He could only hope that if things worked out, they would accept him in some way into their lives.

"I would never try to replace your father," he said steadily to Mackenzie, hating that she was throwing a fit for Neve's sake, and needing to at least state that out loud on the onset of things.

Star startled and drew up higher as Mack turned on her. "Because you guys are my friends!" she yelled back. "She's your mom! That's weird.". It also made it harder because Miss Neve had always been nice to her, and it was hard to dislike her after liking her so long. Or think of sharing her dad with her and Shelby and Mack and Bryn. It made her feel panicky deep down.

"Star!" He said sternly. "Do not raise your voice at anyone."

[neve_stadheim]

It was upsetting, though not surprising that the majority of their girls were unhappy with the news. Neve couldn't fault any of them though, they each had their own reasons for being upset and letting them work through it was the only way they would be able to work past it. She understood Star's concerns and worries, or what she could only assume the girl was worried about. Neve wasn't going to take Jake from Star, or try and be a mother to her. She did hope that over time and if things moved a serious direction with Jake, that Star would both accept her and possible want her in her life somehow - but she would let Star come to that decision in her own time.

"You say that now." Mackenzie spat out, glaring at Jake something fierce. She was fueled by angry and extreme emotion, if she were thinking clearly even Mackenzie would likely be horrified with the way she was behaving. She turned her attention away from Jake, focusing in and Star again. "And He's your Dad. That make's it doubly weird......friends parents aren't supposed to date." Mack yelled back, her hands on her hips as she stared Star down.

"Mack!" Neve was slowly losing patience with her middle child. She realized that Mack was taking her anger out at yelling at Star. But it wasn't helping, and Neve would almost prefer it if Mackenzie were having a much quieter freak out like Shelby was - who just kind of stared from her Mom to Jake and back again. "You girls can yell and scream all you want. It doesn't change the facts." Neve gave first Mackenzie and then Shelby a stern look. "Both of you could learn something from your sister." Bryn was still moreso confused than anything else, she still wasn't seeing what the fuss was about.

[jake_abernathy]

Jake frowned faintly, biting back the automatic parental-type response that wanted to come to his lips when Mackenzie spoke to him like that. It wasn't his place, though if she had done it in any other situation he probably would have corrected her as every adult had the right to ask respect of the children talking to them. Instead, he just looked at her, knowing Neve would take care of her children as needed at the time right for her.

"That's what I just said!" Star shouted back at Mackenzie, arms flinging back. Her father's obvious disappointment cowed her a little, making her twist back in on herself somewhat, tears prickling in the back of her throat as the emotions roiled through her. She even hated that Miss Neve could make her feel bad even when she wasn't talking to her.

Before Jake could tell her to, Star whirled away and called over her shoulder. "I'll be in my room," she said loudly and hastily, appalled at the thought of actually crying in front of them. She rarely cried especially in front of people not her father. Jake sighed and rubbed his face, grateful she at least made a ham-handed effort at excusing herself.

[neve_stadheim]

Neve was honestly horrified by the way Mackenzie was acting. She wasn't surprised, her daughter had a little too much of her own personality in her. She was thankful in that Shelby at least wasn't back talking Jake, she wasn't talking much at all. Which was a whole different concern, her eldest wasn't nearly as loud as her middle child, but she also wasn't ever as quiet as her youngest either. Getting down to the bottom of how her girls were feeling wasn't exactly appropriate right now, she would talk to them though.

"We're on the same freakin' side." Mackenzie hollered back, throwing her hands up in the air as she yelled. She wasn't calmed by her mother's stern tone, instead it just served to upset her more. "Why are you doing this?" She turned on her mother and Jake, looking between them. "Do you love each other?" Mackenzie was on a tirade now, having gone back to pacing the room.

Everything stopped for a momen at Mack's words, Neve didn't have an answer so she just sighed and was thankful when Star's exit drew attention away from Mackenzie's question. It troubled Neve that Jake's daughter was so upset by all of this. Leaning in towards Jake, she whispered. "Do you want to follow her?" She wasn't going to make Jake stay here with her and her girls when his own daughter was clearly unhappy about all of this.

[jake_abernathy]

"I KNOW," Star shouted back before finally fleeing. She had no idea why Mackenzie was yelling AT her when they were AGREEING, and that confusion only added to the confusion she felt over everything else at the moment, making her more upset and more volatile and more ready to burst.

Jake had no idea how he was going to answer that question that Mack posed them, but almost luckily his daughter chose that moment to leave. His heart tugged, he hated to see her so upset, even if he was obscurely proud that she had at least removed herself from the situation. He didn't know that he loved Neve, not yet, he didn't think, but he sure as hell cared for her a lot and he knew that he was falling for her. It was scary, and there was no real way to explain the process of falling in love to a nine-year-old girl.

He sighed. "I'll give her a moment and then go after her," he said softly. "She needs a moment to herself first, I expect, or there will only be more yelling. "Is there anything I can help you with?" he said quietly, glancing around, indicating her girls.

[neve_stadheim]

Mack didn't say anything in reply to Star. Honestly she didn't know why she was yelling at the older girl when they were the only two people in the room who didn't seem 'okay' with this new information. Well, maybe they had Shelby as well, but her sister was way too calm about it all in her opinion.

Sighing, Neve knew she wouldn't answer Mackenzie's question. She wasn't in love with Jake, not yet anyway. That came with time, and although she could say she loved him as a friend, she couldn't say with all honesty that she was at the point of falling in love in the romantic sense. She thought she could get to that point, since she already cared for him so very much. Part of letting herself feel more and more for Jake was that it was scary, opening herself up like that again and facing the fact she could lose it all over again like she had with Zach. Explaining the intricacies of falling in love to her daughter wouldn't be easy, and wasn't something Neve really felt up to tackling tonight.

She nodded when Jake replied, knowing that he truly knew best when it came to how he should handle Star. At Jake's question, she sighed. Neve wasn't sure there was anything anyone could do to calm her girls down, or two of them anyway. "I'm not sure." She answered quietly, glancing at her girls. "Right now the only one I want to claim is Bryn." At least Bryn didn't seem to be throwing a fit like her sisters.

[jake_abernathy]

Star managed to only close her door loudly, not outright slam it, and Jake took a moment to be grateful his parents were not in the house right now. He hadn't told them when they were telling the children, simply taking advantage of an already planned absence, though they did know he was telling Star soon. His mother had patted his shoulder consolingly and told him to give Neve a hug for her.

If she threw her pillows all across the room, well, no one but her would know, at least right away. She couldn't help but be upset. A few tears leaked out and she tried to sniff them back. It only made things worse.

"I'm sorry," he told her softly, not wanting to have caused her and her girls trouble, though he wasn't sorry for dating her and wasn't sorry for caring about her. They would push through this, it was only a brief storm, but he still regretted that it might hurt her. He pressed a brief and gentle kiss to the back of her hand, looking at the remaining upset children and the one who wasn't.

[neve_stadheim]

Mackenzie wanted out of the Abernathy house, wanted to be at home in her own room. That wasn't happening though because her Mom wasn't even acting like they were going to leave. She cast a look at Shelby, pleading her older sister to be on her side, to say something or do something that could get them out of here. She was still pacing, and was purposefully not looking at her Mom or Jake right now.

"Mack." Shelby murmured, rising from her spot on the couch to still her sister in her pacing. Shelby felt torn, because she was upset and angry, wondering why her Mom felt like she had to keep this from them. She couldn't be entirely angry though because her Mom seemed happy, and she worried less when her Mom was happy.

Stilling, Mackenzie turned to glare at Shelby. "Why aren't you upset?" She muttered, meeting her older sister's gaze. "Mom lied to us." Or at least that's how Mackenzie saw it.

Shelby sighed and glanced over her shoulder at her Mom. "I am upset." The eldest Stadheim girl confirmed as she drug Mackenzie back over to the couch. Neither girl met their Mother's gaze as they sat back down, and Mackenzie was still muttering to herself about all of this.

Neve gave Jake a serious look. "We knew this was going to happen, Jake." She murmured. "You have nothing to be sorry about." It wasn't his fault that Star was so unhappy about this, and Neve wasn't going to let the young girl's reaction hurt her feelings. They had both known this was going to happen, and Neve had been preparing herself for the fallout since the moment they decided to tell the girls. "We'll get through this." Neve whispered, smiling faintly at Jake before she turned her gaze back on her girls. At least Shelby had manage to get Mackenzie to sit down again, and Neve was never more grateful for the fact that her oldest was logically, and that even if she was upset she could manage to see the other side of things.

[jake_abernathy]

Jake wondered how to explain that they hadn't lied, they just hadn't told them. Omission was of course a way of lying, but they just hadn't wanted to risk upsetting the girls if there was a chance that they might not click in that way. But they had, and they had grown close enough in this short time to risk involving their girls in it all.

"I know we knew, but I'm still sorry they're hurt by it." Even if he did truly believe that they would get over it, hopefully in short order. He didn't think he was such a bad guy that they would continue to protest his presence in their lives. He'd been there for a long time, in one role or another. He squeezed her hand, wondering the limits now that they were in front of the girls, especially since the girls were upset.

"I'll give you a moment with your girls while I go check on Star," he told her, releasing her hand and smiling faintly at her. He wheeled down the hall, leaving them alone in the living room, and knocked on the door, going in even when Star didn't answer. She was curled up in her chair in the corner, throw pillow hugged tight to her chest. He could see she had cried a little, but not a lot yet. Probably wouldn't until she really was alone, he suspected.

"North Star," he said softly, carefully wheeling in and letting the door fall closed behind him. She didn't look at him, keeping her eyes on her pillow.

"G'way," she muttered, scowling faintly.

He pushed forward anyway, stopping just in front of her chair. He stayed quiet, waiting her out until finally her eyes raised to his. "It's not fair," she said plaintively, hurt in her eyes. "They're my friends. It's not fair."

[neve_stadheim]

Neve felt a little at a loss. She had expected Mackenzie to have fits, and even expected Shelby to be edgy about this. She hadn't expected either one of them to think they had been lied to though. Granted not telling them was lying by omission, she just hadn't realized her girls would be so bothered by the fact. Explaining that it was for their own good didn't seem like it would work, since she wasn't entirely sure they would understand the reasoning behind it.

"They're just stinging because I don't keep things from them." She knew that was what this was about. It had nothing to do with Jake, because she was positive if her girls really stopped to think about it they would be more understanding of this, and accepting of Jake. Because her girls really did like Jake, he had been in their lives for awhile now; not in this capacity, but still definitely around. Neve glanced back over at Jake and smile softly, not wanting to push her girls too far by displaying too much affection towards Jake while they're still edgy about everything.

"I hope she's okay." She said, slightly worried about the way Star did storm off earlier. Though Jake had warned her that Star would react that way, so she wasn't taking any of it personal; just like she hoped Jake wasn't taking her own daughters reactions personal.

After Jake left, Neve rose from her seat to move over to the couch with her girls, settling down next to Bryn who really seemed to be completely okay with everything. "Girls...." Neve trailed off when both Shelby and Mack turned glares on her. "Stop that." She wasn't going to put up with attitude from her girls. "We're going to discuss this more when we get home." Neve didn't feel entirely comfortable having an in-depth conversation with her girls here.

"Why Mom? You drop this in our lap and expect us to be okay with it?" Mackenzie shot back, not willing to wait until later to talk about this.

"And with Star's Dad." Shelby pointed out. "If you two break up I'm out a friend." That was what this boiled down to for Shelby, she was afraid of losing her friend in all of this.

Neve sighed. "I don't expect you to be okay with it, but I do expect you to treat Jake kindly." She pointed out, before shifting her focus to Shelby. "And you won't lose Star as a friend." Neve really would make sure Shelby didn't lose a friend, and if she were being honest she really didn't want to think about things ending badly with her and Jake.

[jake_abernathy]

"I know. That's half of Star's problem too," Jake replied quietly. He rarely kept things from Star. SHe had sort of known he'd dated, but he'd never brought anyone around her until Karen; she'd never known what it meant directly pertaining to her. She hadn't taken well to it, and she probably wouldn't this time around either. Though having known Neve for years might help, after the initial resistance to it. He wasn't certain, as his daughter's reactions weren't always very predictable.

"She'll be okay," he said, smiling at her faintly. His daughter was nothing if not tough, though the more she grew up, the more he realized she did have some insecurities that he couldn't help--he could only continue to be there for her.

"Well, can't that be a good thing? You already know them--you don't have to meet them new, and figure all that out. You know they're nice," Jake offered, leaning forward slightly.

She didn't answer, just looking at him with those big eyes that tore his heart sometimes. Her pillow got held even tighter.

"Neve is nice too, you know that," he continued gently, not liking how her lips tightened and flattened slightly.

"She's not my mom," Star said fiercely.

"No, she's not, and she knows that. She is an adult you will respect, though. I've told you before, I'm not going to put up with your attitude." He was serious, but kind, even though he could see how upset she was. Her jaw jut was rebellious, and he knew it wouldn't be an easy road.

"I don't want you to date her," she said stubbornly. There were a million things she wanted to say, but she had no words to say them yet, so she stuck with simple stubbornness.

"I love you, Star, but I'm going to date her. Just give it a chance," he asked of her.

[neve_stadheim]

"We'll get through this." Neve murmured, not sure if she was trying to reassure Jake or herself that they would get through this. She never kept things from her girls, and hadn't had a serious relationship since Zach's death. So she could understand why Mackenzie and Shelby were upset, and why Bryn wasn't. Her older girls likely saw Jake as a replacement, and Neve was just going to have to work harder to assure them that Jake wasn't intending to replace their dad.

"They all will." she replied, knowing her girls would get over this, and would likely even come to accept it once they realized that she wasn't trying to replace their dad or ruin their life with this.

Mackenzie was the first to speak after Mom's comments. "He's not Dad." the nine year old snapped. "He's never going to be Dad." She continued, getting up from the couch to begin pacing again, though it was short lived when Neve reached out and pulled her into her lap.

"Mackenzie Ann." Neve's tone wasn't harsh, just firm. "Jake isn't your father, and he doesn't want to replace him. He will be in my life and yours though, so I do expect you to be kind to him." She paused and let Mackenzie go again. "You girls like Jake, and you like Star. I don't expect you to be okay with this right away, but I'm going to date Jake and you're going to give this all a chance, for my sake, please." Neve rarely asked much of her girls when it came to something she wanted. She wanted this to work out though, and wanted her girls to accept her relationship at some point.

"Mom, does Jake make you happy?" Shelby was fighting to set aside her own worries and hurt feelings. She didn't want to lose Star, and worried that her friend would be upset with her because of all of this. If her Mom was happy though, Shelby thought maybe she could deal with the possibility of losing a friend.

Neve smiled softly. "He does." She answered honestly. "I'll really only be happy once I know you girls will be able to adjust." Which she hoped would be fairly quickly once the initial shock wore off.