Who: Mary MacDonald and Gabriel Corner
What: Unexpected visits?
When: The other day
Where: Her flat



Mary was so so nervous about this. There was this tiny part of her that kept saying she would feel so much more comfortable if she could choose herself when she would be going in to the appointment, although she knew at the same time that it was only her way of using the bloody regulations as a scapegoat for her own anxiety. The past six weeks, this little tiny child inside of her--he'd just been an extra bit to her that made her ill from time to time. But--but this appointment--this was big. This made him real, this made the pregnancy real, this made the fact that she was going to be a mother in a mere seven months extremely real.

More than anything, though, it made Mary nervous. Nervous about her future, about being able to provide for her son, about raising him on her own...she had just enough to make it through now, but babies weren't cheap. There was so much she didn't have, so much she hadn't done yet that--she was going to be a mum. And there was no stopping that. She wanted to give so much to him, she could feel that tug already but--what if she couldn't provide for him? What would happen if things ended up badly, how would things pan out then?

Her thoughts were interrupted mid-panic attack by three quick and crisp knocks at the front door to her flat. Strange, she wasn't expecting anyone today except for Mackenzie, but surely she would have used the floo. Standing, Mary went to the door and opened it slowly before letting out a slow breath. "Gabriel..."

Gabriel could not help but fidget slightly under her gaze, having been completely sure that she was going to hurl the nearest object at his head. If he was in her situation, that would have been a likely reaction to his appearance, but he was glad she seemed more stunned than anything.

"Hello, could I--speak? With you?"

He had a very long, drawn out speech in mind. It explained everything that had gone on through his mind, his prior feelings for her, what they were going to have to deal with once it became public knowledge, and his devotion to the child and his future and everything that went along with it. Gabriel was actually rather proud of it; it had segue ways into different points, and it ended with a quiet flourish that he was sure Mary would appreciate.

But it all went to shit, apparently, because his mouth blurted out the terrible greeting, and now he stood feeling ready to be sick. His heart was already begin to pound quickly and heavily, and Gabriel couldn't imagine merely two minutes ago when he felt calm and collected about the whole ordeal.

He really didn't want her to hate him. "I---can I--come in?"

"Of course," she breathed, opening the door and ushering him in. Good Lord, her flat wasn't entirely tidy and she had company and--no. No panic attack. She wasn't going to panic that he was there unexpectedly and wanting to talk to her and. "Here, let me...you can sit, and I'll just--I'm going to put a kettle on," she murmured softly, waving him towards the couch before she shuffled to the kitchen. She needed to get herself thinking clearly for this. Stalling in the kitchen to put on tea would be good enough, right? And--and, he liked tea, didn't he? Tea would be good, even if she couldn't actually have any of it. She filled the tea kettle up and placed it carefully on the burner, her mind still racing from the appearance of Gabriel on her front doorstep.

After a few minutes of clattering around the kitchen she appeared once again in the living room and sat down in a chair opposite of him before smiling feebly. "So--erm, you...you wanted to talk?" The truth was that she was still a bit miffed at him for not saying anything immediately, but Mackenzie had done a decent job of neutralizing that anger. It was a very big exclamation to make, and they both needed time to think about it and everything a baby would entail. She would hold the stuff throwing until he proved that he really deserved something breakable being chucked at him.

God, she hoped this wouldn't feel so strained and tense the entire time...

He had never been in her flat. He was planning to have a child with this woman, and he'd never been inside her flat. When Mary disappeared into the kitchen, Gabriel took the time to look around, try to gather the thoughts that had gone from precise and clear to entropic, hurtling themselves around his head in chaos. He only knew where she lived because of Mackenzie, he had never thought to ask in all of their time as co-workers, and now that he was taking the place in---it did seem like Mary's flat.

Gabriel knew that it was, but if he had been thrust randomly into this room and asked who this place belonged to, Mary MacDonald would come first to mind. He supposed that was a good thing, but the underlying panic that he knew little to nothing about this woman, outside of the tidbits he'd come to find at the Prophet...it was beginning to hit him, and Gabriel wished he'd had these panic-inducing thoughts before he'd decided to come over and proclaim his devotion to their child.

"I---yes," he said, having remained in the same spot, still standing and forcing his face to not take on a terrified expression. He did have practice at that, what with his crowd of friends, but nothing had ever been this serious. "I wanted to say that--I'm sorry, for...for leaving, and that---I---want to be here. For--the baby."

Now he hoped that his shaky voice actually sounded believable, but Gabriel also knew he was ready to fight any suspicious feelings she may have.

He was--wait, he was sorry?! This was--this was monumental. She let out a slow breath before laughing. She honestly had no idea why he had shown up, but this...this was the last thing she truly expected. Which was very dim of her, given it was the only real thing they needed to talk about but--she didn't have to do this by herself. She didn't have to raise her son by herself and she was going to have help and--she couldn't help it but she started to cry and. Ohhhh, dear. Without really thinking about it, Mary stood and rushed (she wouldn't call it rushing, but something similar) to where Gabriel stood before hugging him tightly.

She pulled away from the hug to study his face carefully, now biting her lower lip. "You're--you are serious about this, right? You're not going to say this to me, to get my hopes all up and then just--just leave, are you?" Mary didn't honestly think Gabriel to be the type of man to do something like that, but--well, she just wanted to be sure. This was going to be a big commitment for them and..."I need to know that--that however long down the line, you're not going to get cold feet about this."

Gabriel hadn't expected being tackled and the crying, but he did gather that it was better than being pummeled with a dictionary, or something equally as heavy. He did hug her back, however, and took the few seconds to press the side of his face into hers, trying to get some sort of physical reassurance that this wasn't going to ruin their lives.

He smiled lightly when she spoke him, glad that he hadn't been completely wrong with expecting Mary to question his intentions. That had to mean something, right? Gabriel had kept it a secret to himself, how much he actually did admire Mary during their time at the Prophet, well--until that morning, but he felt that familiar twisting in his stomach he used to get around her all the time. Maybe this would be easier than he thought.

"He's always going to be my son," he said softly, reaching up to wipe away some of her tears. Gabriel didn't want to lead Mary into the conclusion that they were going to start dating again, because--while he saw that as a definite possibility (and the idea of marriage was knocking sharply at his door, but for all the wrong reasons) it could lead to disaster and that was the last thing he wanted when dealing with the mother of his child. But, he couldn't help but let his fingers linger on her face before letting his hand drop down to the side of her neck. She needed to relax.

"You should sit," he said, the arm around her loosening, "and have some tea and...stop crying." Gabriel grinned, eyebrows rising with the tease.

She sniffled a bit before smiling. "They're happy tears," she murmured, now aware of the kettle whistling happily in the kitchen. She looked in the general direction before looking back at him. "Would you like some as well?" She wasn't planning on having tea, and she didn't have the heart to give him a lecture about how pregnant women really shouldn't have coffee or tea (at least not as often as she was used to...if at all). The sitting down could wait, she'd have all day to sit and not do anything, right now she just...she sighed, giving him a small smile before walking to the kitchen without an answer. He was going to have tea, and he was going to like it.

"I--are you busy the rest of the day? Or do you have an hour or two that--that you could spare?" She called out curiously. It'd just hit her that he was here, and her first prenatal exam was today and--he needed to be there. If he wanted to be in their son's life, he needed to start from the get go and this was a perfect opportunity. She was going to be civil and invite him and then, they could both go through this together and. Mary came back to the living room, tea tray in hand before setting it carefully down on the end table. She sat down (finally), just as he'd suggested, and waited for him to do the same.

Gabriel once again waited for her to return, and smiled gently when she came back with tea. This was going so much smoother than he'd expected, and only a few tears! Brilliant, really, and maybe this calm was part of that saying, that the storm was just beginning to brew, but Gabriel would be rather glad to sit in it for as long as possible if it could keep the peace.

"Oh, I'm free---I told the Prophet that I would be coming back tomorrow, so they currently think I'm still out of the country. I guess I had a feeling that I would need a day or so."

He smiled weakly, wondering if there would be (not wondering, knowing, so he supposed...fearing) major mood swings concerning his rather abrupt decision to leave the country at finding out that Mary was pregnant. That...could lead to some interesting situations. Probably just best to do anything she wanted, for the time being. Pouring a cup for himself, Gabriel looked up, "What do you need me for?"

Oh, there had been mood swings about him leading. Many, many mood swings that Mary had battled through for the past week. Honestly, it wasn't as if she fled the country when she found out--not that she could, bloody Ministry regulation--and then she was on an entirely different source for anger and that just wouldn't do because the last thing she needed to do at that moment was blow up on him for something. No doubt she would bring it up later in a moment of dire need of a guilt trip to send him on, but...there was no reason to kick up dirt at that moment. "Right...you were out of the country..." she said faintly, absentmindedly stirring the tea in her hands.

She wasn't quite sure how to word things. This felt big, like something that she had to word just right. Especially because it was Gabriel and he was a journalist and so he understood the use of words and--she let out a soft sigh, closing her eyes. "I have an appointment today. And it's about--our son and. If you want to be there, I would....I'd like that, a lot." Mary could have figured out a better way to say it, but--she was still trying to hold back a stray tear or two and decided that it would be easier in the long run to spare him the dramatics (so to speak).

A wave of other things the two needed to do before the summer hit her quite suddenly; they would have to baby proof their two homes, she would have to either figure out a way to keep herself afloat and still have time to watch the baby or come up with the money to watch him. They'd have to get clothing, and cribs, and find room for a bloody nursery in her flat and--she let out another huff of a sigh before smiling at him. Oy, pregnancy was going to drive her nuts.

"O-oh?"

It was a nervous sound, and if he hadn't been sitting directly in front of her it may have sounded worried or nervous and fearful, but with his expression lighting up the way it did, Gabriel was sure his short and quiet reaction would be taken positively. At least he felt positive about it, it had made his heart thud rather hard in his chest; could you cause something like a heart attack from too much excitement?

"Yes, of course, of course, I would be---yes." Gabriel let out a quick, probably once again nervous sounding chuckle, but his smile was wide. Maybe they could hear the heartbeat. Gabriel was pretty sure that they'd be able to, by now, he'd read that in one of the books he may have picked up in Austria (but, it was in Austrian, so he'd only been able to decipher a bit of it--).

Huh. She didn't kill him, actually had hugged him, and was inviting him to experience a healer appointment with her. This had gone remarkably unlike he thought it would.

Mary nodded. "Good. So...yes," she said before laughing. Good lord, she wasn't getting anything proper out of her mouth today, was she? "It's in about an hour or so. I was going to have Mackenzie come over, since--I can't actually floo myself anywhere anymore---" because I'm a second class citizen in this ass backwards culture that you lot invited me to join in the first place she said, stopping herself from saying what she wanted to say before it came out.

"But. Maybe it's a good thing you decided to show up when you did," she added softly. Like fate she thought, taking a small sip of the tea. The week had been quite frustrating, but this wasn't so bad. This was actually quite good. And maybe, just maybe, if this appointment went well and they didn't get in a huge blow out argument in the next few weeks, he'd want to go to the next one...and the next one, and the next one and...maybe this would work. Maybe, despite all the difference in opinion and lifestyle and everything between the two--maybe they could make things good for their son. At least she was feeling hopeful about this, right?