Break the silence.

[Madeline Speare]

She's just been sitting there for twenty minutes now. Doing nothing. I sigh softly, moving onto to stomach so that I'm level with my three year old. "You going to say anything Abby?" I ask softly, gently playing with her foot.
She giggles, but says nothing else. I've come to the conclusion that my daughter is boring. She never really says anything when it's just me and her, and Ian says she's pretty quiet when she's with him too. I find that very odd, and I'm starting to think that they may have given me the wrong baby at Mungo's. Usually my children never shut up, even when they can't talk. Poppy would ramble about things for hours, Alex would sit there and make words up or just spit bubbles, Erin would too, and Fin as well.
Abby just sits there and stares at me with those big blue eyes.
"Come on baby girl, please say something? For ma?" I plead, hoisting her into my lap.
She laughs, throwing her hands up into the hair, hitting me lightly on the side of the face.
"So much for that," I say, before glancing around.
Shit. I've lost track of Davey and Keria. Some baby-sitter I am. I turned my back on my niece and nephew for two minutes, they're worse then Alex.
Charlie and Gracie are going to murder me.
"Okay, games over you two!"

[Charlie Owens]

Charlie stood on the doorstep for a moment. This house was a far cry different from the old house, but he liked it better. He liked the small size of it, compared with the unnecessary amount of space of his childhood home. And this place was all his, all his and his family's at least, and he had no associations and no fear.
He could walk into any given room here and not have to think 'This is where I found Davey' or 'Last time I spoke to Keira was in here'. No, and that was pretty nice, really. It was a better atmosphere and that lifted Charlie's spirits a little.

He wasn't in the best of moods this afternoon.
Grace had been in a lot of pain that morning, so much that she wouldn't even fight for the usual Independence that she always won. Charlie was very used to starting the day with the usual 'I can do it myself' bickering when she clearly couldn't. He thought that his wife was quite quite mad sometimes, because no woman who's been chair-bound for nearly eight years can do everything herself and he would tell her so and she would say that his mental handicaps had never stopped him and he'd sigh and just let her get on with it until the point where she swallowed her pride and called him back to help her.
He was used to that, so he was very unnerved when it hadn't happened and when she couldn't move enough to hug the twins properly.
On her request, he'd let her sit by the window for a couple of hours with her chin resting on her hand and staring out at the street, before he'd finally said that he was going to take her to hospital and she hadn't argued about that either. Much anyway.
It was just another one of those bad days. They happened sometimes, came and went and they got over it and that was that, but they always left him in a bad mood.

Even more so when he'd had to sit in a muggle hospital for hours, waiting for someone to finally see her and asking under his breath every five minutes why they couldn't just go to Mungo's and have done with it.
He knew why though, he'd heard her say it enough, that she was what she was and she knew where she belonged.
And then finally, she'd just told him to go home because he was stressing her out, as per usual. So he'd stubbornly stuck around a little while longer until she practically begged him to go home and she'd call him later, and he'd finally gone.
He hated the feeling of walking away from his wife even more than he hated that she was in pain.

Pushing his key into the lock, he steeled himself for the ensuing attack and pushed open the door all the way. With the unerring skill of a man who'd gone through this routine way too many times, he caught his son before he could even set foot outside the front door, holding him upside down casually as he called out down the path, "Game's up Keira. You won't make it all the way on your own."
His daughter, who'd managed to flit past him while his attention was otherwise indisposed with Davey, looked up before she'd even reached the gate, scowled and trudged back up the steps and past him into the house.
"Good girl."
"Daaaaaaaaaad!" Davey struggled against his father's grip, swinging back and forth still upside down.
"Ha," Keira poked him in the forehead, skipping back into the other room.
"You loose 'em MJ?" Charlie laughed slightly, heading through to the living room and dropping Davey onto the couch so he wouldn't hurt himself.

[Madeline Speare]

"I did no such thing," I protest, trying my best to sound offended.
Moving into a more comfortable sitting position I send Keria and Davey a wry grin,"They're just trying to get me into trouble."
I hated to admit it, but Keria and Davey were my favourites, I wouldn' t admit it though, mainly 'cos good aunts are suppose to have favourites. I think it was mainly because they reminded me so much of Charlie and myself, back when we were younger.
"CHARBLIE!" Abby bellows, grinning up at him, her hands outstretched.
"Oh the horror!" I cry out, putting my hand dramatically to my forehead,"My own daughter! My flesh and blood!" Fighting back a smile, I fall back wards, pretending to be dead.

Falling back wards though, I hit my head lightly on the leg of the couch. "Ow," I murmur, sitting back up, rubbing my head with my hand."Your house is too small Charlie-Doodle, see look at this," I say, gesturing to how small the living room was."Your couch is trying to concuss me,"

[Charlie Owens]

"Abby!" Charlie laughed, stooping down to pick her up when she reached out for him, lifting her up high for a moment before bringing her back down to a normal height again, "Heya babe. You're getting prettier every day m'darling."

"The couch does that to me all the time," Davey nods firmly, sharply in her direction.
"Shut up Davey," Keira puts her hand over his face and pulls him backwards.
"Let go of your brother's face," Charlie told her half-heartedly, then grinned slightly at Maddie, "It's not too small. There's only four of us so there's no need to waste space. And if you weren't so dramatic, then the couch wouldn't be danger. No one else really has that problem, MJ."

[Madeline Speare]

"She gets that from me you know," I grin, hoisting Abby up into my lap as she crawls back to me,"Oh, so now you want me?" I tease, brushing the hair back out of her eyes.

Shaking my head, I make a soft tutting noise in the back of my throat,"Keke, let go, his face is already deranged looking," I say, shooting Davey a wry grin.
Letting Abby bend my fingers in ways that they really shouldn't, I throw Charlie a fake glare,"I am not being dramatic, your living room is trying to concuss me."

[Charlie Owens]

"Well, I hardly think she gets it from him," He laughed, lifting up Davey's feet so he could sink down onto the couch and prying Keira's hands away from her brother's face when she didn't comply to his command.

"My face is fiiiiiiine," He protested, sticking his tongue out at her and rolling off the couch with a thump, lying back on the floor instead.
"But your brain is all wrong," Keira leant over the edge of the couch to stick her tongue out at him, then ducked back and out of the way when he took a swipe at her.
Charlie knew much better than to intervene. It was easier to just let them get on with it. A little infighting was to be expected, considering that usually they got on very well. They reminded him of when him and MJ had been younger a lot of the time.

"You are being a little dramatic," He grinned, shaking his head, "The living room isn't particularly violent, you see. It might be more believable if you told me the kitchen was trying to concuss you, that room really is meanspirited, but this room...no, doesn't hurt a fly usually."
"The kitchen is where I shut my hand in the door, look!" Davey leant forward to thrust his hand in Maddie's face, showing her the fading bruise on the back of it.

[Madeline Speare]

"Well I'd hope she'd get it from me, or I'd be rather worried," I laugh, grinning down at Abby, watching as she tries to grab onto my necklace.
I laugh, watching Keria and Davey,"They remind you of someone Charlie?" I ask, raising an eyebrow at him, knowing all too well that we'd play fight like that back in the day. Glancing back at Keria and Davey, I grin wryly,"Just make sure you two don't leave marks,"

"I am not being dramatic, someone could get hurt in here." I nod, then take hold of Davey's hand, pulling him forward and settling him next to me,"Awh, poor baby, what kind of house are you living in Charlie?! Look at the dangers it's doing to your children!"

[Charlie Owens]

He glanced at Keira and Davey, who were shooting glares at each other and grinning alternately, "Yeah, just a bit."
The outcome of their playfights also reminded him of how he and Maddie had been in their youth. Keira always won, just as Maddie had always won.
Charlie had really been no match for Maddie's temperment, and whereas he did have a strength, height and age advantage, he didn't really like to use them. Davey would always let Keira win eventually.
"Yes, no marks, or you'll get me in trouble with your mum."

"Only if they insist on throwing themselves around, this place is perfectly safe for sane people," He laughed.
Davey nodded in agreement with her, looking back at Charlie earnestly as if he was hard-done by and relying on his aunt to save him.
"How about you tell Aunt Maddie what you were doing when you shut your hand in the door, Davey?" Keira interjected smugly.
"I didn't do anything! She's lying Aunt Maddie!"
"I am not! Dad!"
"Davey was trying to kill a butterfly," Charlie rolled his eyes, deciding he would get no peace in quiet until the explanation was out of the way, "By shutting it in the door, but he shut his own hand in there instead."
"He's a murderer." Keira agreed.

[Madeline Speare]

I grin wryly, up at Charlie I quickly glance over at the twins.
"Just wait till I teach you two how to fly, then you two can cause some serious damage," Running my finger along the bridge of my nose,"Your Da knows, he broke my nose when he slammed into me."

Abby and I both gasp dramatically.
"Davey!" I scold, trying to look as serious as I possible can.
"No!" Abby bellows, frowning at her cousin.
"I'm very disappointed Davey," I say, glancing at Keria, before hanging my head dramatically.
"Shame, shame," Abby agrees, nodding furiously.
I have to try not to grin as Abby does this, but I don't think it's working to well.

[Charlie Owens]

"Oh you don't," Charlie iterjected hastily, struggling to keep a straight face, "They stress me out enough as it is. Don't need them to be airborne."
"I want to fly!"
"You can break noses by flying?"
"I really want to fly!
"Alright, shut up," Charlie gave up on trying not to grin and did it anyway, pulling Keira back onto the couch where she was leaning excitedly over the edge.

Davey hung his head, tucking his chin right down to his chest to hide his grin.
Keira leapt up to shove him over, but Charlie caught her with his arm round her waist and pulled her back again, laughing softly, "Let your brother repent."
"I'm sorry Aunt Maddie. I'm sorry baby Abby," He grinned, "Uncle Nate told me that butterfly blood is yellow and I wanted to see."
"EW!"
Charlie had to resist the temptation to put his hand to his forehead.

[Madeline Speare]

"What?" I grin innocently up at Charlie,"It's fun, Alex is already flying,"
"Fly! Fly!" Abby cheers, throwing her arms up above her head,"See? Even Abby thinks so,"
Glancing over at Keria and Davey, I grin blowing my bangs out of my face."I know what I'm getting you two for Christmas then,"

I have to clap my hand over my mouth as Davey explains himself, trying hard not to laugh. I should have known, Nate use to tell me stories like that. "Don't listen to Unlce Nate Davey," I grin, ruffling his hair,"He was the one that said marmelade was really troll ear wax, remember that?"