February 27th, 1894 - Gallagher Residence
post-snowstorm-start

Rhys had a bad feeling about this whole thing. After the tremor had rocked through the sleeping boroughs, Rhys had sent his men home and told them to stay put. After the cold snap of the last few days and now the cold, he just felt some unnatural disaster coming and knew he couldn't leave Zinnia home along for it. Normally he would hunker down at work and do his best to keep an eye on Hogsmeade from there, but with a wife and unborn babe at home he needed to reorganize his priorities.

In the first lull of the storm, Rhys had gone outside and gathered as much wood from the pile as he could unearth from the accumulating snow. By the second stall, he knew he'd made the right choice in being home. After leaving his boots by the door and hanging his snow-covered jacket and hat by the fireplace, he added another log to the fire and checked on Zinnia where she was curled up on his sometimes-bed. "Warm enough?" Roxy was curled up right beside Zinnia, after not being allowed on the sofa for her entire life, had gotten quite used to it.

He hovered by the fire himself, warming up his cold hands. He had half a mind to pull the mattress from the bed and set it up right next to the fire so Zinnia would be warm enough and they could keep this fire going all night. Not that Rhys wouldn't also keep the bedroom one going, but he could keep a better eye on her from here. "There's extra blankets in the closet in the nursery," he recalled, thinking they might need them tonight.

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Zinnia Gallagher

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   Kieran Abernathy, Zinnia Gallagher

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Zinnia felt her entire life had been turned upside down as of late. It wasn’t bad, necessarily, just a new normal that both she and Rhys were adjusting too. They both worked, him more than her, only because she didn’t dare show herself anywhere she could hear the rumors that floated around them. At least with the snow she had a new excuse as to why she wasn’t leaving the house, and parts of her were relieved that Rhys had come home too, where she knew he was safe. Zinnia had been worried about him at work, knowing that he’d be the one to want to dig out all of Hogsmeade if it meant keeping everyone safe.

She’d spent much of the morning napping on and off, the pregnancy making her exhausted more than she could ever imagine, although once Rhys returned home she’d moved to the couch to be near him. Wrapping the blanket a bit tighter around her shoulders, Zinnia turned bright blue eyes toward him and smiled softly. “I’m okay.” She shifted on the couch, pressing her feet against the cool ground as she took a quick glance out the window, watching as the thick snowflakes coated the outside. Her fingers gently ran through Roxy’s fur, who was snoring softly on the couch next to her. They’d gotten pretty cozy on the couch together lately.

“I think we’ll need them.” Zin murmured, finally tearing her gaze away to blink at her husband, who might be colder than he was letting on. Rhys was a good man, and he had been kind and attentive to her since their marriage, and maybe it was time she returned the favor.
Shivering then because the floor was cool against her feet, Zinnia kept the blanket wrapped around her as she moved toward the nursery to grab the extras in there. She hadn’t touched the walls yet as she hadn’t decided what she wanted to paint on the walls. She grabbed the extra blankets and piled them into her arms before she walked back into the living area, depositing all but one onto the couch near Roxy’s head; the dog stirred but didn’t completely awake.

“It’s freezing out there. How bad do you think it’s going to get?” Zin asked as she unraveled the blanket she was still holding and draped it across Rhys’ shoulder. Then she stepped closer to the fire, letting her shoulder brush against Rhys’s as she raised her hands much like he had done.

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Bee made this beauty<3

Rhys hadn't meant for her to get them, but by the time he stood from stoking the fire, she was already across the room. He shook his head helplessly. "I was going to get them." He sighed, smiling softly as she draped the blanket around his shoulders. The casual brush of her shoulder against his did not go unnoticed, and he was encouraged by it. Rhys had tried to make sure that he was making this whole life shift easier for Zinnia, to the best of his ability, but could never quite tell how he was doing at it.

"I don't know," and it worried him. There were a lot of people who would be very cold and very stranded tonight and Rhys couldn't do anything for them; and it was harder than he could vocalize. His responsibility was to the town, to the people who lived there, but even he could not change the weather. So he was home, taking responsibility for the most important persons.

Pulling the blanket tighter around the shoulders, Rhys debated his next step, but ultimately decided they should probably take refuge in the living room tonight. "I think we should sleep by this fire tonight. I can make up a bed on the floor for myself."

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“You’re on fire duty, and I’m on blanket duty.” Zinnia replied, offering him a soft smile as she turned her attention back toward the crackling fire. He’d thought ahead to grab firewood, and honestly if he had stayed at work instead of coming she might be almost frostbitten by now. Of course Zinnia didn’t need him to survive, she’d be doing other things to keep herself occupied during the storm, but it was nice to not be stuck inside by herself, worrying over where her husband was. He was a good constable, fretting about the people and Hogsmeade like they were his children; Zin smiled softly, because even if they never fell in love, he was going to be a good father to their babe.

That was, if they survived the blizzard. The snow kept coming down and didn’t seem like it was ever going to stop. Zinnia tore her gaze away from the window as Rhys spoke, her lips pursing together in thought. Her hand moved to rest on her belly, a habit that had formed very recently even if there wasn’t a huge bump yet. “I can’t let you sleep on the floor. It’s cold out.” Zin sighed. She had no problem sleeping out here tonight. “There could be a draft, or the floor could get really cold, and I know you need to be rested for tomorrow…” There wasn’t a doubt in her mind that Rhys would be up early to make sure everyone survived the night, or to help those who might be stranded. She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. “I think… I think we might need all the blankets tonight.” Together. Her eyes shifted toward him, wondering if he caught on to what she was saying.

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Bee made this beauty<3

Rhys chuckled as she made a perfectly logical excuse. He didn't expect her protest to his proposed plan, and so he faltered at how else to make sure they were both comfortable tonight. Keeping both fire going between the living room and her bedroom wouldn't be too hard, he had to maintain them both throughout the night anyway, but this one was larger and they could get closer to it. She had a point though, the draft and cold of the floor posed a problem. He was pretty sure he wasn't skilled enough to charm the sofa to be any larger so he was drawn back to his original thought of bringing out the mattress.

"I suppose I could rearrange the furniture a little bit, bring out the mattress from your bed?" He had missed her inuendo completely, as he was still uncertain as if to when, if ever, they would ever share a bed again, even in the sleep sense, let alone anything else. It was far from his mind as he worked through how best to keep them both comfortable tonight. But if he could make her comfortable there, closer to the fire, he would be fine on his couch. He'd gotten used to it. Roxy could provide Zinnia with some extra warmth too, as Rhys was positive the dog liked Zinnia far more than she liked him anymore.

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Zinnia couldn’t help but curiously watch Rhys, wondering what was going through his head right now. He spent a lot of time tiptoeing around her and she had done the same in turn, although eventually they’d have to figure something out… at least to stop their child from questioning why mum and dad slept separately. They had a few years before that happened. A few years would give them time to work on their communication, because tiptoeing around wasn’t doing either of them favors. (Yet Zinnia would continue to do it.)

At least she won this battle of Rhys not sleeping on the floor in the middle of a blizzard. She’d take the small victories right now. Zin nodded, flicking her eyes to the bedroom before back to him. “We can do that.” She still worried about him being cold on the couch, because the mattress would block the heat, and maybe soak it up, leaving him cold. He didn’t seem to want to share the bed, and Zinnia wasn’t going to press the issue, right now at least. They could pile blankets on him, but Zinnia wasn’t positive that he wouldn’t be frozen by the time morning rolled around. “Are you sure you’ll be warm enough on the couch? We have other options.” She asked, tipping her head to the side in question. There was no way everything would arrange nicely, and she wasn’t about to try to charm anything to make it smaller. It was a bit selfish on her part, but oh well.

She couldn’t help but shiver, as if the cold had snuck, but it was more from just the thought of it than anything. Zinnia pursed his lips together as she blinked at Rhys.

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Bee made this beauty<3

Well that was a step in the right direction. He would feel a lot better if they were in the same room so he could keep an eye on her and the fire. He'd still have to get up and stoke the other one, but not quite as often if she wasn't sleeping in there. He thought they were going to need as much heat in the house as they could get. Fortunately, though nice, it was relatively small. That worried him most days, but tonight he was thankful for it.

Moving to start rearranging so he could get the mattress, Rhys paused as he noticed her shiver, taking the blanket she had draped over his shoulders and wrapping it gently around her. He wasn't sure what she meant by other options, so he quirked a curious eyebrow at her. It was going to take him a minute to move the things around, so he picked up the small end table and set it over by the kitchen. "What did you have in mind?" She was smarter than him by far, so maybe she had thought of something he hadn't.

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Zinnia couldn’t help but wonder what her sisters were doing right now… well, at least the ones at home. One? Calla was at school which just left Thistle with her parents. Zin probably would have convinced her sister to have a sleepover in one of their rooms and then spent the entire night talking to her. She was kind of doing the same thing again, although it was her husband who wanted to sleep in the same room, and she wasn’t sure they’d do much more than just awkwardly sit in silence.

Rhys broke her out of her thoughts by draping the blanket around her shoulders, and she offered him a shy smile after thanking him, curling it tighter around herself. This baby sure did suck all the warmth out of her. Zinnia moved out of the way as he started rearranging some of the furniture. Hesitating then at his question, the witch shook her head like she didn’t want to answer him, before she sighed quietly. Despite the unfamiliarity between them, she was determined to make the best of their circumstances.

“Well, I thought… I thought you’d like to sleep on the mattress with me.” Merlin, this was awkward; Zin hoped he didn’t take it as an invitation to sleep in the bedroom every night.. “It makes sense to have all the blankets in one place, plus I feel like I can’t get warm, and I’m pretty certain you’re a human fireplace.” The tease felt a bit forced. Zin paused, feeling a pang of uncertainty about how Rhys would respond to the suggestions. “Of course, if you have any other ideas or don’t want to, that’s okay too.” She hastily added as she brought her gaze toward his.

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Bee made this beauty<3

Rhys heard what she was saying, understood the logic in it, but he also thought he heard a hesitation in it that left him teetering on whether or not her suggestion was a good idea. There was a reluctance he couldn't quite ignore and he didn't want to make it any more awkward that it already was. They were married in name only and while he was doing his absolute best to make sure she was comfortable and taken care of, he was still floundering more often than not.

Sighing, Rhys tried to weigh the pros and cons. "I'll be right back," he needed a moment to think and he had an idea that might help keep her warm without them needing to get closer than she was comfortable with. His issued uniform for the constabulary was of high quality and the socks he'd been given, in addition to the sweater, were particularly warm. They would dwarf Zinnia, but they would keep her warm.

"These will help keep you warmer." He held out the small pile of garments to her. "You'll be closer to the fireplace, you'll warm up soon enough. I think you'll be more comfortable with more room." Rhys decided and went back to rearranging the furniture, pushing the couch back just enough to make room for the mattress. He would be fine on the couch. Roxy would settle with Zinnia and help keep her warm, too.

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She was already pregnant, so it wasn’t like sharing a bed was going to get her more pregnant. The rumors that had popped up around town couldn’t get any worse – what would they say? Oh, that Zinnia girl is sharing a bed with her husband? (If people knew they weren’t, that would be the talk of the town.) She hated hearing the rumors and found that the snow was a good thing – Zinnia could stay hidden without anyone having to see her. They were only married for the sake of this babe, and it was yet to be seen if they’d ever see each other as more. Probably not, given how awkward this whole thing was, and how they walked on eggshells around each other. She just hoped that they could be friends.

Blinked then as her husband excused himself, before she sighed. That answered that, then. Zinnia turned toward Roxie like she wanted her opinion, but the dog was still snoozing on the couch. Well, they were both living with the consequences of their actions. Absent-mindedly, Zin let her hand rest on her stomach, although she quickly dropped it away once Rhys stepped back into the room, eyes widening for a moment like she’d been caught doing something she shouldn’t have been. Maybe things would be better once the baby was born and they could concentrate on raising it.

She blinked at him as she took the garments from him, not quite sure what she should say. “I… Thank you.” Well, good enough. If Rhys didn’t want to share a bed with her, even for warmth she certainly wasn’t going to force him. Zinnia turned her back to him even though she wasn’t getting naked, her hand braced against the wall to tug on the socks, followed by the sweater, which was much too large on her frame. It was… endearing to be wearing something of his. Zinnia turned around to glance at him. “If you think you’ll be fine, that’s okay. I just don’t want you to be cold on my account.”

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Bee made this beauty<3

Rhys couldn't quite resist the little chuckle that followed her tugging the giant sweater over her head. It was swimming on her, but it would certainly keep her warmer. "I just want you to be comfortable, Zinnia." He nearly sighed it out, but managed to keep the emotion from his tone. He couldn't shield her very well from the outside world, but at home, he at least was trying his very best to make sure that she was comfortable and taken care of.

This whole fiasco could only be blamed on some extra-potent amortentia and nothing else, but nobody knew that. He wasn't even sure she'd told her mother that much, the way Mrs. Potts continued to detest him. It was fair though, he hated himself a little bit for it. He'd managed to ruin her in more than one way and the guilt was always sitting there in his chest, planted and taken root as if it would have a hold forever. Trying to persuade himself that he was doing his best to make up for it only went so far, especially when things were still strained between them. Rhys never knew what she was thinking or if she was any sort of okay with their situation. Not that it would stop him from what he was doing; trying to provide a comfortable home, a stable situation for the baby, a level of affection at everyone's comfort level. It wasn't easy, but he didn't deserve easy, either.

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It felt like they were going round and round a carousel without knowing when it was going to stop. Their conversations were always the same as they tiptoed around each other, how he wanted her to be comfortable and she wanted to give him the same. It wasn’t like anything was easier between them after a few months of marriage, and having this little one wasn’t going to be a magical fix to make them a happy family, either. Outside of Rhys wanting to make this as easy as possible or to make her comfortable (the two sentences she’d probably scream at if she heard one more time), Zinnia had no idea what he was actually thinking.

That was what frustrated her.

Instead of letting that bubble to the surface, Zinnia pursed her lips together and turned toward the window to watch the snow still falling outside. Goodness, she was ready for spring to get here, if only so she could be outside in the warmth. Sunshine and flowers made her happy. Her hands rubbed her stomach as she hoped this baby would bring her happiness instead of resentment before she turned back toward her husband. “Dahlia and Quin made a cake for your birthday.” Zin said, a nice change in the subject. They clearly weren’t getting anywhere else tonight. “Do you want me to cut some?”

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Bee made this beauty<3

Rhys felt the same frustration that Zinnia did, though he wasn't quite ready to let it go just yet. They danced around one another, trying to be considerate and polite, but it was maddening really. He knew this wasn't ideal, but it could be tolerable. Was it too much to perhaps wish that maybe they could find some kind of contentment here, rather than just suffering through it?

She didn't answer him and now she was talking about cake. The back and forth was going to give him whiplash. With years of practiced patience under his belt, Rhys did not grumble like he would have at Barnabas, but the tension had rooted itself in his shoulders and he didn't know how to release it. Running a hand through his hair, likely tousling it into an unruly mess, Rhys sighed softly and ran the same hand down his face.

"I would like for you to tell me what it is that you want from me, Zinnia." The tone was gentle, but serious. He'd been trying and he was starting to feel like it wasn't enough and that just wasn't an option.

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Rhys didn’t answer her question, which was fair given that she hadn’t answered his either. Their carousel was spinning and spinning, and Zinnia was starting to get dizzy from it, and from the looks of Rhys, running his hand through his hair and down his face, it was evident that he was feeling the same. They couldn’t keep tiptoeing around each other, even though that was the route she’d prefer to take, given it was the easiest. It was why Zin had given them an out, a way to just push what they were feeling to the side for the sake of making each other comfortable and making this as painless as possible, but he didn’t take it. Fine.

Zinnia turned toward him and frowned. “What I want Rhys, is for you to stop treating me like a perpetual child. I don’t expect this to be easy, but it’s like you expect it of me because you’re trying to make this as painless as possible.” She tried her hardest to keep the anger from seeping into her tone, but it was proving almost impossible. “I didn’t ask you to marry me, and I only agreed because you deserve to be in this baby’s life, too. But you have to stop seeing me and our child as some kind of mistake you're atoning for and start seeing me as your wife.” Of course Zinnia could take her own advice. Half of the time she ignored that she was pregnant because she didn’t want to admit how they’d gotten here.

They’d both been there when they’d made the mistake of conceiving their baby, and she had a feeling they both blamed themselves for the predicament they were in. Perhaps she should’ve just married Alvin instead or disappeared to have this baby. It would have been a heck of a lot easier than trying to navigate being married to Rhys.

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Bee made this beauty<3

Fortunately, Barnabas was truly the only one who could flip his anger switch instantly and so Rhys listened to her and all he could think of was finally. Finally they were at the heart of this and Merlin he was almost thankful she was angry with him. Angry he could deal with, anything was better than the polite avoidance they'd been drowning in.

"I don't see you as a child," he countered lightly, taking a couple of steps toward her, so he was just a pace or two away. "But you are my responsibility now." All he wanted was to make things easier. She'd suffered far too much at the hands of society because of this. Sure people whispered about him too, but nobody was brave (or dumb) enough to say anything to his face. Her mother was the only one who kept taking jabs at him and he could take it. Laurel Potts had every reason to hate him and he would never say otherwise, but he couldn't have Zinnia following suit.

"And you are not a mistake," it had happened accidentally, and he was trying to atone for that, mostly because it had made things so difficult and he wanted to just absorb all of the bad for her, but not because he thought of her or their child as the mistake. "I am a... fixer by nature." He blew out a breath, not sure how best to explain himself. "And I know I can't fix this for you, but I am trying to make it easier because you don't deserve for it to be this hard."

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Zinnia didn’t take her cool gaze off him even as Rhys stepped forward, standing nearly in front of her. If she were to step forward and reach out, she might have been able to touch him, but there wasn’t a reason to do that. Her nostrils flared with anger, but he was right – there was very little Zinnia could do on her own with a baby in tow. She’d have a job, mama wouldn’t fire her, but society would eat her alive. She was already leaving the house as little as she possibly could, and she was running out of excuses as to why. Zin took a couple steps back to put some distance back between them.

If she knew Rhys a bit better this conversation might be easier, but all it was leaving her was feeling frustrated. Even hearing him say she wasn't a mistake did nothing to ease the tension building in her shoulders, not that it was visible under all the garb she was currently wearing. And as much as he wanted to fix this… “What’s hard is hearing what everyone says about us,” Because if the one person picked up on the fact that she hated to leave the house, it had to be Rhys. Not that he’d ever mentioned it. “But what’s harder is coming back here and walking on eggshells. I don’t know what you want from me. To stay out of your hair? To be your friend? To put on a show for everyone like this little arrangement was planned?” It was all so mentally exhausting, but Zin knew that Rhys could say the same things about her. She hadn’t made it clear what she wanted out of this either, although that was probably because she wasn’t even sure.

She sighed. This was a mess and not even magic was a cure all for it. They could have hidden this pregnancy for a few months and figured things out, but it was too late now.

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The following 1 user Likes Zinnia Gallagher's post:1 user Likes Zinnia Gallagher's post
   Daffodil Grimstone

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Bee made this beauty<3