zach (zloper) wrote in valesco,
@ 2009-07-25 18:02:00

Entry tags:

fiona finnegan, tom finnegan, zachary sloper

Fiona! awkwaaaaaaard
Zach didn't really believe in hiding, not really, but he knew when he wasn't wanted somewhere. So after his probably-not-well-received owl and between working and keeping an eye on Bertram post-breaking up a rockstar's wedding, Zach hadn't really tried to get back in Brianna's good graces. There wasn't much else he could say until she got un-mad at him. Somehow.

But hiding while shopping in a babystore was something Zach did believe in, with a hat pulled down low over his forehead. He wasn't top news really, he didn't go out partying with the other models and do stupid shit like Bertram, but the last thing he wanted was Brianna's face to end up in a tabloid with the story splashed over it. So, he was currently standing in the middle of this store he called World Of Tots and Baby Things of All Sorts looking completely lost, even though he'd already been in there at least four times. The sales clerk had left him alone (finally - no he didn't know what he was looking for, no he didn't know what sex, no he wasn't interested in her number) staring at the wall of plastic tubs and mats and other baby-sized things.

He knew they didn't need clothes yet, mostly he wanted Brianna to help pick some of the stuff out (plus he wanted to know what they were having, so they could get the right kind) so he was looking at the practical things. He thought. The sign said Baths and Bassinets, and surely they would need some of those right?

Zach reached for the nearest baby tub, inspecting the inside and underneath, turning it over in his hands and looking quite perplexed by the whole deal. Why was it a bath when it was really just an odd plastic tub. "There's no faucets or anything, what is the point?"

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nastyshock
2009-07-26 05:03 am UTC (link)

Fiona hadn't been too far from Zach when he'd let out his ignorant musings. She actually winced and turned around to check out the idiot and then realized that it was Zachary Sloper, her sister's boyfriend(?), and father of Brianna's unborn child.

...ugh.

Knowing that Brianna would rather her not get involved with the issues she and Zach were having, Fiona started to make her way out of the store, when she saw her husband enter after stopping somewhere across the street first. Normally this would be a good thing, but since she'd told Tom about Brianna's...situation, he'd been staring at his gun rather often and muttering about 'killing that bloody Sloper kid.'

Great. Now she had to save Zach's life, even though she really wanted to strangle him herself.

"Hey Genius," Fiona said quickly as she came up beside him, "You can't sit a bloody infant in a tub, and---all right, let's go this way." She grabbed Zach's arm and pulled him toward the maze of cribs to keep hidden from Tom. They were on these platform things, so a short person like herself would be okay, but Zach might have to duck a bit.

"If my husband sees you, he's going to kill you so---keep that hat on tight."

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zloper
2009-07-26 05:26 am UTC (link)

"Bwah," Zach said as Fiona grabbed him away. Wait, when had she shown up? He fumbled with the tub and finally just let it fall as she tugged at him. "I thought they like, were supposed to use a sink! What's the point of buying a new tub if I can just, hold it myself."

He twisted around a little to try and get a glimpse of Tom, it probably wasn't the best deal, but, well he liked Tom! And Tom had liked him, he'd thought. "Wait, I thought you would be the one getting the gun." Zach looked down at her, glancing at her very large tummy and shifted awkwardly. "You look, good. Glowing, right? And why would he kill me? I didn't do anything wrong." Rolling his eyes, Zach started speaking before Fiona could, "Yeah yeah, I'm always wrong. I got that."

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nastyshock
2009-07-26 07:08 am UTC (link)

"Do you ever shut up? For one bleeding second?"

Fiona shook her head quickly, unable to understand how Zach thought he could read her mind (she straightened up at the compliment, but that would not deter her). Had she sent him a howler or anything like that in the past three months? Had she let her husband go after him like he wanted to? No, she hadn't, and all his talk made her want to hit him even more.

Her hands went up in frustration, and Fiona attempted to push herself up a bit to get a look at where Tom had gone. When she couldn't see him she figured this was either a really good thing, or a really bad thing. Turning back to Zach, she sighed,

"That's the thing, you're so quick to talk and make sure you're not in trouble that you don't bloody listen and then get in trouble." Fiona puffed her cheeks, unsure if she should keep talking or stick to her 'staying out of it' routine she'd been so good at.

She tapped her foot for a moment, realizing that the hell to it all, Brianna was always going to be her sister---this fool might not even be in the picture tomorrow.

"I don't know the whole story between you and Brianna, but this whole 'it's cool' business has got to stop." Fiona let out a quick breath from her nose, feeling Seamus kick as if encouraging her on. She knew she didn't have all the details, but she could sort of smudge some of it, "A card and a pacifier aren't going to solve anything. I don't know what you've got planned, but---stocking up on random baby supplies doesn't mean shit when the big picture is still fuzzy."

Oh, she liked that one. Fiona sighed and rapped her hands on her stomach, knowing she was going to get a retort that would make her angry. Because that's how it seemed to go.

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zloper
2009-07-26 07:44 am UTC (link)

Zach stuffed his hands in his pockets and watched Fiona. He should probably feel lucky she was here, but all he heard was Brianna's words over hers. Didn't they get it? Why he was here anyway? He huffed a little, looking all the part of a surly teenager being dressed down. Which he was.

"I don't see why it's wrong to want to be a father," Zach said, his tone a touch petulantly. He sighed and shrugged, toeing the carpet a little. "I mean, I didn't plan on it happening for the next oh, five or six years, but, really, it's not as horrible as you lot are making it out to be, to want to do this. With her. My parents, they weren't, you know, perfect or always there, but I miss my father, and it's like. This is my chance to do that. And a plan? I don't know. I have nappies and some stuff, but I want to do this with her and she won't even talk to me."

Frowning, Zach shrugged, "She drives me insane, always has. I wouldn't have it any other way, but, I know I'm not smart enough or anything for her, but when I think of me in a few years its with her, even though she probably doesn't think so. Or didn't."

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nastyshock
2009-07-26 07:08 pm UTC (link)

How could a person be so dumb but kind of cute at the same time? Fiona wasn't thinking it was a good thing for Zach to be, because all it did was frustrate her, but when she managed to take a breath and break apart his words, there was some semblance of someone who actually knew what was going on. He'd probably get along swimmingly for the rest of his life if he just didn't open his mouth.

"We're not making it out to be horrible," Fiona said, a little miffed by the comment. She could have disowned Brianna like so many other people have, instead of helping her set up appointments and dealing with hormones and cravings. "We're just people who need a plan, you've got to have a plan to survive if you're an O'Hara."

Fiona didn't realize her wording until she'd said it, and she flushed slightly. When she'd first gotten pregnant with Claire she was over the moon, but there were days when she found herself terrified of not knowing what to do, or even worse, allowing the mess her father put them through to happen again. She knew that Tom would never become her father, but at the same time the thoughts always haunted her. Brianna hadn't mentioned any of those concerns, but they were part of this new motherhood thing: will I be able to do better than my parents did?

She brushed her hair out of her face, shaking her head lightly at Zach, "For reasons beyond me, Brianna's mad about you too and wants it to work out. Nappies isn't enough to prove that, and saying you want to be a dad isn't enough, you---at this point, you've got to literally do something."

To Fiona, getting down on one knee made a lot of sense, but that might be pushing her nosy-sister act a bit too far. "Look for some flats! Find out when her appointments are, you have to just be there instead of waiting for her take you back."

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zloper
2009-07-26 10:49 pm UTC (link)

"I don't know what to do though," Zach said helplessly, "Those nurses at the hospital are mean, okay. Half the time they won't even let me near enough to talk to her, and well okay I haven't tried in a week or two. And I have a flat! It came with the job. It's good, three rooms and mum came in and did the, mum thing with the stuff. Brianna's the one that didn't want us to move in together in the first place."

Okay, so Fiona's ideas were pretty good, but, he didn't really do this. "Brianna usually tells me what to do and I do it. I don't know if you know this but she's kind of in charge, you know. But I don't, there's like, she thinks I'm like fourteen still and throwing things in her hair in charms. But I'm not! Sure I'm not like, Quinn or Owen but they got all the good stuff like smarts and footballing. I'm not gonna say I'm ready for this, but I don't freak out around Claire anymore, do I? And I can hold Amissa just fine. It's just really fucked up."

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nastyshock
2009-07-26 11:53 pm UTC (link)

Okay, she was just going to ignore everything he said because there were so many things to touch upon, that Fiona was sure that the baby would be born by the time she finished. She was tempted to start calling out for Tom, but once again, her conscience won out (barely) and she stuck her arms out to grab Zach by the shoulders.

And maybe shake him slightly. He needed a really good shake, but she couldn't give him one at the moment.

"You can't be a dad if, for the rest of your life, you're going to sit around waiting for commands. You have to bloody step up and make it work." Fiona pursed her lips, wondering if it was really worth giving Zach advice; she had the strangest feeling that he wouldn't listen anyway and just go on being a fool.

"Start a nursery in your flat, fix your traveling schedule so that you're home more often than not, set up a bloody foundation for a family that's more than being able to tolerate a two-year-old for more than five minutes!"

She finally let go, putting her hands up to gesticulate the end of her cause. What else could she say? Zach had to stop thinking that buying nappies and managing to hold a baby, things five-year-olds could do, was enough to prove to Brianna that he was mature enough to handle this.

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zloper
2009-07-27 12:27 am UTC (link)

Well alright, aside from the shaking, Fiona was probably right. But Zach sort of knew that. The nursery part, anyway. That's why he was here right? He pouted a little, not really wanting Fiona to leave him right now. He bit his lip because he really did want to retort, to say that holding a baby and tolerating kids was a huge step for a guy like him.

"I don't know what goes in a nursery though. A bassinet thingy, but that doesn't seem very big for bigger kids but when do I get one of these," Zach said, waving at all the various kinds of cribs. "I don't know. The books aren't very helpful on that shit. They're like, I don't know, I can't even like, read them and the pictures and stuff, they're like, ew."

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nastyshock
2009-07-27 01:09 am UTC (link)

"Maybe if you like, learned how to like---speak like, I dunno...like...an adult? Maybe people will like...take you seriously."

Fiona rolled her eyes, and she had to rub her belly to try and get Seamus to stop kicking and messing around because he was very adept at reading her feelings, already. Claire had been a kicker too, but she kicked when she pleased (Tom called her his little footy star), but Seamus was most active when Fiona was, so he was doubly exhausting as their daughter.

"It's all a learning process, Zach, you're not going to know and have everything on the first try, but," Fiona sighed, staring at him for a good moment or two before taking in another breath, "But your heart's in it. Just talk to Brianna, I think you'll be fine."

Or maybe not. Over Zach's shoulder she spotted Tom heading straight for the pair, and Fiona's eyes darted back down to catch the boy's, presenting him with a winning smile. She'd already been way too nice to him for one day, she could let the little devil on her shoulder win once.

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