Nanowrimo 4/30
Title: Untitled.
Author/Artist: jencatd
Character(s) or Pairing(s) in this part: New Zealand/Hungary, France, Taiwan.
Word Count: 1981
Overall Rating: PG
Overall Warnings: Character Death (England, before the start of the fic) and occasional swearing, I guess.
Overall Summary: Human AU. When William's Father dies, his family gather at his house in England for the funeral, and learn more about their Father and their family than they expected.
Next Part: Nanowrimo 5/30
Previous Part: Nanowrimo 3/30
From the Beginning: Nanowrimo 1/30
CAST
New Zealand - William Kirkland
Hungary - Elizaveta Kirkland
France - Isabelle Kirkland
Taiwan - Mei Williams
“Uncle Will!” William thought he heard a kid’s voice over the intercom, but he wasn’t entirely sure. He was standing on a rugby field waiting for the opposing team to kick-off and start the game, but for some reason they weren’t doing it.
“Uncle Will!” Now he was sure a kid’s voice was coming over the intercom just as he felt the ground rumbling underfoot like it was an earthquake. The force of it was making his body shake too, and he felt like he was going to fall over.
“UNCLE WILL!” William’s eyes snapped open, and then he closed them again. That sunlight coming through the window was so bright, his head was hurting, and he felt sick. The bed shaking certainly didn’t help. He could hear the springs creaking like someone was jumping on it, and heard the sound of little girls giggling over the top of it. All the shaking was making him feel a lot more nauseous as well.
“Please stop jumping…” He said under his breath and the jumping stopped. He felt one more massive jolt go through the bed, and then felt two people weighing down the blankets on either side of him.
“Yaay, Uncle Will’s awake!” William opened his eyes and saw one of Matthew’s daughters lying next to him. Was it Madeleine or Serena? He still felt quite nauseous, and the girls made the blankets wrap more tightly around him.
“Ohhh…” William covered his mouth with his hand and hoped he wasn’t going to be sick. He didn’t think he’d had enough beer to be hungover, but the bed also felt like it was far too warm and had far too many blankets on it.
“You look kind of white, Uncle Will, and your face looks all wet.” The little girl said. She had blonde hair like her Dad, brown eyes, and was wearing a red dress. William closed his eyes again and hoped she and her sister would go away. He wished Matthew or Mei would turn up and collect their kids so he could go back to sleep.
“Madeleine! Serena! What are you doing in here bothering your Uncle?” Mei’s voice rang out loud and clear across the room, and the two kids dashed out of the room. He heard Mei enter the room, and a moment later something cold was being placed on his forehead. “Sorry about the girls. Elizaveta told us you were sick this morning, but you know kids. They wanted to see you so they came in.”
“N-no worries.” William opened his eyes again and looked up at Mei. “Did you have a good trip?”
“Uneventful for the most part until the cab driver almost drove off without Matthew when we got here. It seemed like he didn’t even notice Matthew hadn’t gotten into the cab yet. Do you feel well enough to sit up for a moment?”
William sat up, and that simple action made him feel dizzy so he closed his eyes again. He guessed Mei was covering part of the bed and the pillow with towels like he and Elizaveta had done whenever they or their kids were sick just in case. It was a lot easier to wash towels than it was to wash sheets.
“You can lie down again, and I’ll just add one more towel.” Mei said, and William lay back down again on the bed. He had no idea how he’d gotten sick, just that he was. “There’s a bucket next to the bed that you can reach if you need it, and Elizaveta will check on you later on.”
“Thanks.” William said. “Is Alfred here yet? I know he and Dad weren’t getting along before Dad died so…”
“Alfred and Mathias are here, and you can see them when you feel a bit better.” Mei said. “Try to get some rest for now, and when you feel a bit better you can come down and see everyone.”
William looked at Mei before she left the room, and suddenly it looked like his Dad was standing there, but he couldn’t have been. He knew Maman had given him and Elizaveta the room he and James had shared as kids, and he remembered being stuck sick in bed when he was a kid watching his Dad leave the room. He closed his eyes, and opened them again, and his Dad was still standing there in the doorway wearing his favourite clothes and his hair hadn’t gone grey yet. Now he really knew he was sick, but his mouth was moving before his brain could stop it.
“Dad?”
“I’m not your Father.” Dad said in Mei’s voice. “But I’ll go get Elizaveta.”
William watched the door close, and his Dad disappear. The rational part of him knew it was Mei, but the rest of him had seen Dad, and didn’t want him to leave. He closed his eyes and opened them again, and the door was opening again. Part of him hoped it was his Dad, but the rest of him knew that was impossible. The door kept opening and Maman walked into the room closing the door behind her.
“How are you feeling?” Maman asked in French as she found a chair and sat down next to the bed. William watched her and tried to remember how to respond. “Elizaveta is worried about you, but seeing things when you have a fever can happen.”
“I saw Dad…” William said in French. When they were kids Maman made them speak French when they were at home, and how to speak it was slowly coming back to William. “I wanted-”
“You wanted him to stay?” Maman said. “When you were a kid you always wanted your Father to stay with you when you were sick, and he’d stay until you fell asleep.”
“Maman, could you stay? Please?” William said. He felt really silly asking for her to stay as he was a grown man with children of his own now, but Maman just smiled at him.
“Of course, my dear,” Maman said. “Of course.”
William woke up for the third or fourth time just as it was getting dark. Maman was gone the first time he woke up, but that was okay. He was feeling a little bit better now, and he knew his fever had come down a little since he didn’t feel as hot as he felt before. He had used the bucket a few times, but now all he felt was tired rather than sick. He hadn’t seen his Dad again so maybe he’d appeared just so someone would come and stay with him?
He rolled over and decided to ponder it again when he felt better. As he rolled over he thought he saw a flash of movement for a moment, and when he looked towards the window his Dad was standing there again in front of the window! He didn’t know if his Dad’s presence was a genuine haunting or if he just appeared because he was sick, but he didn’t feel scared or anything. Then he heard the door open again, and he flopped over onto his back again to see Elizaveta coming in this time. He quickly glanced back towards the window for a moment, and his Dad had vanished again. Was he watching over him when no one else was here?
“Hey,” Elizaveta said as she sat down on the chair Maman had left by the bed.
“Hey.” William said as Elizaveta put her hand on his forehead to check his temperature.
“Good, your temperature’s come down. What were you looking at when I came in?”
“I saw Dad standing in front of the window, and I think he’s been keeping an eye on me.” William said. “Did I miss anything interesting today?”
“Al, Matt, and Angie have all arrived today, and so has Uncle Ryan. Al brought his partner Mathias to finally meet everyone, you’ve already seen Mei and the kids, and the reason I hadn’t come back earlier was because I’ve been keeping an eye on Peter and Wendy. They’re sick too, and Maman and I are trying to figure out why you three got sick and James and I are fine.”
“How are the kids now?”
“They’re a lot better than they were, but I’m not letting them be up and about again at least until tomorrow. Did you three eat something last night the rest of us didn’t?”
William lay there for a moment trying to think if he and the kids had eaten something the others didn’t. Was there anything at dinner just the three of them liked, or everyone else was too full to eat?
“The brandy snaps. I remember the kids and I eating some of those, and the rest of you being too full from dinner to have a go at them. Was the cream a little too old?”
“That’s possible. Maman and I didn’t check the date on the cream before we whipped it to fill the brandy snaps. We’ll have to be twice as careful with whatever we serve from now on. I wouldn’t want all three of you to get sick again or anyone else for that matter.”
“Good idea.” William yawned.
“Would you like something to eat or drink, Will? Or to go to the bathroom?”
“Bathroom.”
“I’ll go with you.” Elizaveta said. William got out of bed and started shuffling towards the door, and Elizaveta brought his bucket with her just in case he needed it. He wasn’t used to moving this slowly, but it couldn’t be helped and Elizaveta was there if he needed her. He saw Matt on the way down the hall and considered saying hello, but he felt nauseous again so he just gave him a quick nod of acknowledgement.
Fortunately no one was using the bathroom so he quickly used it then waited for Elizaveta as she cleaned out the bucket he’d been using. On the way back he stopped for a moment to check on Peter and Wendy and saw James sleeping in a chair next to Wendy’s bed. He reckoned James had probably been sitting there almost all day, and saw another chair next to Peter’s bed where Elizaveta would’ve been keeping an eye on Peter. The two kids were asleep and seemed to be okay for the time being.
“The kids-”
“The kids will be fine. Let’s get you back to bed and resting as well.” Elizaveta gently tugged on his arm to get him to start moving again, and he shuffled back into their room and got back into bed. He was a little worried about the kids, but another wave of nausea put paid to that. His concern must’ve been noticeable to Elizaveta.
“Just rest, Will. Don’t worry about me, the kids, the rest of the family or anything. Just rest and concentrate on getting over this.” Elizaveta said, and he nodded. Thanks to the nausea he didn’t trust himself to open his mouth and speak. “I’ll come back later to check on you again, and… oh!”
“You can see Dad too? It’s not a feverish dream I’m having?” He didn’t need to roll over again to know his Dad had reappeared possibly over by the window again.
“I can. Thanks for keeping an eye on him, Dad.”
William suddenly felt something ruffling his hair, and then the presence was gone. He wondered if his Dad had gone to check on the kids in the next room, and yawned again. He looked for Elizaveta and saw she was sitting in the chair she sat in when she first came into the room to see him, and closed his eyes again. He figured she would stay until he fell asleep like Maman did, and he knew she would come to bed later so he tried to relax and soon went back to sleep.
Author/Artist: jencatd
Character(s) or Pairing(s) in this part: New Zealand/Hungary, France, Taiwan.
Word Count: 1981
Overall Rating: PG
Overall Warnings: Character Death (England, before the start of the fic) and occasional swearing, I guess.
Overall Summary: Human AU. When William's Father dies, his family gather at his house in England for the funeral, and learn more about their Father and their family than they expected.
Next Part: Nanowrimo 5/30
Previous Part: Nanowrimo 3/30
From the Beginning: Nanowrimo 1/30
CAST
New Zealand - William Kirkland
Hungary - Elizaveta Kirkland
France - Isabelle Kirkland
Taiwan - Mei Williams
“Uncle Will!” William thought he heard a kid’s voice over the intercom, but he wasn’t entirely sure. He was standing on a rugby field waiting for the opposing team to kick-off and start the game, but for some reason they weren’t doing it.
“Uncle Will!” Now he was sure a kid’s voice was coming over the intercom just as he felt the ground rumbling underfoot like it was an earthquake. The force of it was making his body shake too, and he felt like he was going to fall over.
“UNCLE WILL!” William’s eyes snapped open, and then he closed them again. That sunlight coming through the window was so bright, his head was hurting, and he felt sick. The bed shaking certainly didn’t help. He could hear the springs creaking like someone was jumping on it, and heard the sound of little girls giggling over the top of it. All the shaking was making him feel a lot more nauseous as well.
“Please stop jumping…” He said under his breath and the jumping stopped. He felt one more massive jolt go through the bed, and then felt two people weighing down the blankets on either side of him.
“Yaay, Uncle Will’s awake!” William opened his eyes and saw one of Matthew’s daughters lying next to him. Was it Madeleine or Serena? He still felt quite nauseous, and the girls made the blankets wrap more tightly around him.
“Ohhh…” William covered his mouth with his hand and hoped he wasn’t going to be sick. He didn’t think he’d had enough beer to be hungover, but the bed also felt like it was far too warm and had far too many blankets on it.
“You look kind of white, Uncle Will, and your face looks all wet.” The little girl said. She had blonde hair like her Dad, brown eyes, and was wearing a red dress. William closed his eyes again and hoped she and her sister would go away. He wished Matthew or Mei would turn up and collect their kids so he could go back to sleep.
“Madeleine! Serena! What are you doing in here bothering your Uncle?” Mei’s voice rang out loud and clear across the room, and the two kids dashed out of the room. He heard Mei enter the room, and a moment later something cold was being placed on his forehead. “Sorry about the girls. Elizaveta told us you were sick this morning, but you know kids. They wanted to see you so they came in.”
“N-no worries.” William opened his eyes again and looked up at Mei. “Did you have a good trip?”
“Uneventful for the most part until the cab driver almost drove off without Matthew when we got here. It seemed like he didn’t even notice Matthew hadn’t gotten into the cab yet. Do you feel well enough to sit up for a moment?”
William sat up, and that simple action made him feel dizzy so he closed his eyes again. He guessed Mei was covering part of the bed and the pillow with towels like he and Elizaveta had done whenever they or their kids were sick just in case. It was a lot easier to wash towels than it was to wash sheets.
“You can lie down again, and I’ll just add one more towel.” Mei said, and William lay back down again on the bed. He had no idea how he’d gotten sick, just that he was. “There’s a bucket next to the bed that you can reach if you need it, and Elizaveta will check on you later on.”
“Thanks.” William said. “Is Alfred here yet? I know he and Dad weren’t getting along before Dad died so…”
“Alfred and Mathias are here, and you can see them when you feel a bit better.” Mei said. “Try to get some rest for now, and when you feel a bit better you can come down and see everyone.”
William looked at Mei before she left the room, and suddenly it looked like his Dad was standing there, but he couldn’t have been. He knew Maman had given him and Elizaveta the room he and James had shared as kids, and he remembered being stuck sick in bed when he was a kid watching his Dad leave the room. He closed his eyes, and opened them again, and his Dad was still standing there in the doorway wearing his favourite clothes and his hair hadn’t gone grey yet. Now he really knew he was sick, but his mouth was moving before his brain could stop it.
“Dad?”
“I’m not your Father.” Dad said in Mei’s voice. “But I’ll go get Elizaveta.”
William watched the door close, and his Dad disappear. The rational part of him knew it was Mei, but the rest of him had seen Dad, and didn’t want him to leave. He closed his eyes and opened them again, and the door was opening again. Part of him hoped it was his Dad, but the rest of him knew that was impossible. The door kept opening and Maman walked into the room closing the door behind her.
“How are you feeling?” Maman asked in French as she found a chair and sat down next to the bed. William watched her and tried to remember how to respond. “Elizaveta is worried about you, but seeing things when you have a fever can happen.”
“I saw Dad…” William said in French. When they were kids Maman made them speak French when they were at home, and how to speak it was slowly coming back to William. “I wanted-”
“You wanted him to stay?” Maman said. “When you were a kid you always wanted your Father to stay with you when you were sick, and he’d stay until you fell asleep.”
“Maman, could you stay? Please?” William said. He felt really silly asking for her to stay as he was a grown man with children of his own now, but Maman just smiled at him.
“Of course, my dear,” Maman said. “Of course.”
William woke up for the third or fourth time just as it was getting dark. Maman was gone the first time he woke up, but that was okay. He was feeling a little bit better now, and he knew his fever had come down a little since he didn’t feel as hot as he felt before. He had used the bucket a few times, but now all he felt was tired rather than sick. He hadn’t seen his Dad again so maybe he’d appeared just so someone would come and stay with him?
He rolled over and decided to ponder it again when he felt better. As he rolled over he thought he saw a flash of movement for a moment, and when he looked towards the window his Dad was standing there again in front of the window! He didn’t know if his Dad’s presence was a genuine haunting or if he just appeared because he was sick, but he didn’t feel scared or anything. Then he heard the door open again, and he flopped over onto his back again to see Elizaveta coming in this time. He quickly glanced back towards the window for a moment, and his Dad had vanished again. Was he watching over him when no one else was here?
“Hey,” Elizaveta said as she sat down on the chair Maman had left by the bed.
“Hey.” William said as Elizaveta put her hand on his forehead to check his temperature.
“Good, your temperature’s come down. What were you looking at when I came in?”
“I saw Dad standing in front of the window, and I think he’s been keeping an eye on me.” William said. “Did I miss anything interesting today?”
“Al, Matt, and Angie have all arrived today, and so has Uncle Ryan. Al brought his partner Mathias to finally meet everyone, you’ve already seen Mei and the kids, and the reason I hadn’t come back earlier was because I’ve been keeping an eye on Peter and Wendy. They’re sick too, and Maman and I are trying to figure out why you three got sick and James and I are fine.”
“How are the kids now?”
“They’re a lot better than they were, but I’m not letting them be up and about again at least until tomorrow. Did you three eat something last night the rest of us didn’t?”
William lay there for a moment trying to think if he and the kids had eaten something the others didn’t. Was there anything at dinner just the three of them liked, or everyone else was too full to eat?
“The brandy snaps. I remember the kids and I eating some of those, and the rest of you being too full from dinner to have a go at them. Was the cream a little too old?”
“That’s possible. Maman and I didn’t check the date on the cream before we whipped it to fill the brandy snaps. We’ll have to be twice as careful with whatever we serve from now on. I wouldn’t want all three of you to get sick again or anyone else for that matter.”
“Good idea.” William yawned.
“Would you like something to eat or drink, Will? Or to go to the bathroom?”
“Bathroom.”
“I’ll go with you.” Elizaveta said. William got out of bed and started shuffling towards the door, and Elizaveta brought his bucket with her just in case he needed it. He wasn’t used to moving this slowly, but it couldn’t be helped and Elizaveta was there if he needed her. He saw Matt on the way down the hall and considered saying hello, but he felt nauseous again so he just gave him a quick nod of acknowledgement.
Fortunately no one was using the bathroom so he quickly used it then waited for Elizaveta as she cleaned out the bucket he’d been using. On the way back he stopped for a moment to check on Peter and Wendy and saw James sleeping in a chair next to Wendy’s bed. He reckoned James had probably been sitting there almost all day, and saw another chair next to Peter’s bed where Elizaveta would’ve been keeping an eye on Peter. The two kids were asleep and seemed to be okay for the time being.
“The kids-”
“The kids will be fine. Let’s get you back to bed and resting as well.” Elizaveta gently tugged on his arm to get him to start moving again, and he shuffled back into their room and got back into bed. He was a little worried about the kids, but another wave of nausea put paid to that. His concern must’ve been noticeable to Elizaveta.
“Just rest, Will. Don’t worry about me, the kids, the rest of the family or anything. Just rest and concentrate on getting over this.” Elizaveta said, and he nodded. Thanks to the nausea he didn’t trust himself to open his mouth and speak. “I’ll come back later to check on you again, and… oh!”
“You can see Dad too? It’s not a feverish dream I’m having?” He didn’t need to roll over again to know his Dad had reappeared possibly over by the window again.
“I can. Thanks for keeping an eye on him, Dad.”
William suddenly felt something ruffling his hair, and then the presence was gone. He wondered if his Dad had gone to check on the kids in the next room, and yawned again. He looked for Elizaveta and saw she was sitting in the chair she sat in when she first came into the room to see him, and closed his eyes again. He figured she would stay until he fell asleep like Maman did, and he knew she would come to bed later so he tried to relax and soon went back to sleep.