31 December 1893 - Gallagher/Potts Wedding at the Potts Residence, Hogsmeade

Zinnia Gallagher.

It sounded odd and had a lot more syllables than what she was used to, but she supposed she’d get used to it. Just like she’d get used to being a missus and not a miss. The ring on her finger still felt strange too and she felt like she noticed it at the strangest of times, like when she was arranging flowers in a way she’d done a hundred times over. Now it was permanently affixed, telling the world that she was the wife of Mr. Rhys Gallagher. She’d said hello to the people she knew, which was pretty much everyone given that only immediate family attended, and there were many more Potts than there were Gallaghers, before deciding she ought to find her new husband. Check in on him and make sure no one from her family had made her a widow.

She took a deep breath and pressed her hands against her stomach, trying to calm the jumble of emotions swirling in her brain. It all happened so quickly – the unexpected pregnancy, the proposal, and now the wedding. Zinnia felt a mixture of excitement and apprehension, a constant tug-of-war between the joy of starting a family and the uncertainty of marrying someone she hardly knew. At least the apprehension hadn’t gotten a hold of her today and she had managed to make it down the aisle before the year ended instead of getting cold feet. She still felt bad about that, saying no on their original wedding day, but getting married to essentially a stranger had been too overwhelming a few days ago.

Finding Rhys off to the side, Zinnia made her way toward him. She managed a small, nervous smile, hands twisting into the front of her dress as her gaze met his. Merlin, she hoped their baby had his eyes. “Feels kind of surreal, doesn’t it?” This. Them. What was to come.

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Rhys Gallagher

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Bee made me something beautiful<3

Honestly, Rhys felt like this week between Christmas and New Years was the longest year of his life.

Between making sure everything was set for after the wedding, for the first attempt at the wedding not to happen, to attempt two to simmer down and solidify everything, he felt like his was living in a constant state of existential crisis. He couldn't crack though. He knew that Laurel Potts was just waiting for a sign of weakness, for her to slip something into his champagne and the next thing he knew he'd be dead in a bush at his own wedding.

He was exaggerating... maybe.

This time they'd gotten through it though and Rhys was exhausted, looking forward to heading back to the cottage, whether that was alone or with his new bride remained to be seen. If he survived the day... he had to stop thinking like somebody was going to murder him. Somebody would notice if the Chief Constable died at his own wedding, even if it was a rushed affair and soon enough most people would be able to tell why.

Standing off to the side, he surveyed the mood of the party. The sisters were doing their best to keep things light and airy, some happy cadence even if things were simmering under the surface. He caught Zinnia making her way over and he straightened up a little, passing her what he hoped was a reassuring smile. "I hope it wasn't too disappointing."

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There was an air of awkwardness between them, or at least that’s what Zinnia felt, even as he tried his best to smile at her. Her fingers loosened on the dress, finding that her grip hadn’t gotten too tight for her liking, blue eyes flickering around the room. Her sisters were doing their best to chatter with each other, although it wasn’t like much had happened between Christmas and New Years, outside of their first wedding. They were all probably pleased that the second time was the charm and not the third, so they didn’t have to do this again. Mama probably would have been pleased if she backed out tonight.

A soft sigh escaped her. “It was perfect.” Zinnia reassured him. For what their situation was, it wasn’t like they had much time to throw anything together. “But I’m exhausted. I don’t understand how people do this every night. I could sleep for a week.” Though whether or not that was here or with her new husband was yet to be seen. She couldn’t not live with him, not after Rhys had gone through the trouble of finding them an adorable cottage with a garden she had instantly fallen in love with. (And had plans on how she wanted to plant things in the spring.)

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Bee made me something beautiful<3

It was hard to tell if she was placating him or if she was truly content with the day's events. Rhys hoped it was the latter, but he thought she might just be trying to be kind. In the moment, he appreciated it, whatever the reason.

"I am also exhausted." He admitted with a wry smile. She had a far better reason, growing a child must take a lot of energy, but he couldn't pretend to know anything about it. The stress of everything probably didn't help much. The guilt over the entire situation weighed heavily on him. He hadn't been sleeping well at all to boot.

Fortunately the evening was slowing down, hopefully it wouldn't be too much longer before they were ushered on their way. It clearly wouldn't be a traditional wedding night, they had already jumped to that part, had gotten themselves here with that, but he was still hoping it wouldn't be terribly awkward. "You look beautiful." He'd been meaning to tell her all night, but hadn't had a moment alone with her to tell her.

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“Are you going to sleep at the cottage tonight?” She asked, but she already knew the answer — he’d rented out his townhouse so the cottage was the only place he could call home. Mama would let her stay here if she wanted (would probably prefer it, actually), but no matter how awkward things were going to be between them, it was better to get used to it now rather than later. They’d done the easy part, getting married and all, so now came all the hard parts of getting to know each other while existing in each other’s spaces.

Zinnia would be lying if she didn’t say it scared her, but his next set of words eased something inside her gut. Rhys was trying his damn hardest to make this an easy transition for her and here she was, resisting every effort he was putting in. She offered him a shy smile, a soft blush painting her cheeks. “Thank you. You look very handsome.” He did clean up nicely, and Zin could appreciate that. She blew out another soft breath, like she was trying to ease some of the nerves inside her belly. Not that it did much of anything.

Stepping forward without saying anything, Zinnia wrapped her arms around his middle, although still kept a safe distance from him. It still felt odd to touch him like this, especially with their family around them, but Rhys was her husband, and if anything, she wanted to at least be friends with him. “I think I’d like to sleep there tonight, if that’s okay with you.” Step one would be spending the night, no matter how weird and uncomfortable it’d feel. She was going to have to get used to it before the baby was born, anyway.

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Bee made me something beautiful<3

Rhys nodded along; he'd already kicked Barnabas out and was letting the townhouse. He'd needed that money to offset the purchase of the cottage, so it was currently his only place of residence where he could sleep. He had slept in his office more than once, he supposed that was an option, but it would look suspicious if he did it too often. Plus he didn't really like the idea of Zinnia sleeping in the cottage alone. Rhys had already cut overnight shifts out of his own schedule for the foreseeable future for that very reason, so barring emergencies, he could be around in the evenings. He supposed it was a perk of seniority in the constabulary.

"Thank you," truthfully he felt awkward in anything but his constable's uniform, but he supposed he was able to make this old suit work for the evening. Buying new hadn't made any sense, not with everything else, so he'd just had it patched up by his step-mother and had run with it. It was with great restraint that he managed not to pull at the necktie that he felt was strangling him.

That Zinnia also planned to spend the night in the cottage was a bit of a welcome surprise. He certainly couldn't blame her for wanting to stay here at her mother's. "I'd like that, if you're comfortable with it. I'm all set up on the sofa." He'd purposefully had gotten one that was large enough for him to somewhat comfortably sleep on. "You might have to fight Roxy for the foot of the bed though." Rhys chuckled, only half-kidding. His pup was in the habit of sleeping there when it was just the two of them and she definitely wouldn't fit on the couch unless she slept on top of him.

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What was the worst that would happen if she spent the night? Zinnia was already pregnant, they were both exhausted, so they’d probably pass out the moment they got home. (Home. How odd to think her family home she was currently standing in was a place she used to live.) Part of her felt bad that Rhys would be sleeping on the sofa, it was almost unfair of him to go from his own room to sleeping there, but Zinnia wasn’t sure she was ready to share a bed with him. “I like to.” Even if they weren’t sharing a bed for her to wake up next to him, she’d at least like to wake up in the same place as him.

Zinnia giggled then, shaking her head. “I’m much shorter than you, so I think she’ll like sleeping with me more because she’ll have more room.” Her legs wouldn’t go as far on the bed so Roxy would be able to stretch out. Maybe she’d even cuddle the pup before she fell asleep. Actually, now that she considered it, she was excited to have a dog around the house again. Maybe Roxy would like to chase sticks in the yard.

Zinnia blinked at Rhys, offering him a small smile. “I was thinking tomorrow you could make some pancakes and I could um… make… something to go with them?” Like scrambled eggs. How hard could those be? All you did was break them into a skillet and move them around until they didn’t look wet anymore. Of course Zin also didn’t know if he worked in the morning, but she wasn’t opposed to having breakfast for dinner.

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Bee made me something beautiful<3

Rhys found himself a little relieved that Zinnia was amenable to staying at the cottage. They were going to have to find some sort of comfort zone where they could both be content with their situation. He hoped anyway. He was trying to make it easy for her.

"I'm sure she'll love that." Rhys was beginning to think he would definitely be Roxy's second favorite person in no time at all. At Zinnia's request to share breakfast in the morning, Rhys nodded, smiling slowly. "I already bought of the ingredients." He'd have to get some sort of easy cooking lessons from his step-mother, maybe just a couple of simple things. He would have to cut back on eating at the Broomsticks as often as he used to, but it still wouldn't hurt every once in a while.

"I took the next couple of days off so we can figure out the rest of the cottage." Whatever it needed. He was pretty handy, could fix anything she thought needed fixing. Figure out what, if anything else they needed. Rhys had tried to get everything he thought they might want, gotten it furnished and most of the basics. At her mother's suggestion, he'd shown Zinnia ahead of time so she could start thinking about what she wanted, anything to make it feel like a home she could enjoy eventually.

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For what felt like the first time tonight, Zinnia felt herself relax as she offered Rhys a small smile. They might not know each other well, but they were at least on the same page about the few things that mattered right now. Step one was breakfast. They weren’t going to starve, she had enough savings to fund a nightly habit at Three Broomsticks for a while, but that probably wasn’t healthy for the baby. Zin had plans to corner Dahlia later on tonight and beg her for some cooking lessons, under the guise of being able to count it as their wedding gift — if anyone knew how awful she was in the kitchen, it was her little sister.

Although she couldn’t help but grimace, remembering those cookies she sent Rhys last year. They had turned out… decent enough to send, although she’d tasted one and they were awful.

Nodding then, Zinnia’s face brightened. “I’d like that. I already have a vision for the garden. I thought larkspurs, marigolds and irises, all of our birth month flowers, would look good together.” Absentmindedly, her hand fluttered to her stomach. She was due sometime in July, although if she went into labor early, she’d have to find some roses to plant instead. But, giving birth and having a child was still a terrifying thought, so she quickly pushed the thought from her mind. Out of sight, out of mind. Instead Zinnia focused on making their cottage feel a little bit more like home; she had plans to put some greenery around and maybe paint a wall in their (her) bedroom.

“Do you have pillows and a big enough blanket?” She didn’t want him to get cold. The couch was probably going to be uncomfortable enough as it was, and the lack of pillows or a blanket not long enough to cover his feet would be the cherry on top for an awful situation. Zin could take the couch, even if the idea had already been squashed.

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Bee made me something beautiful<3

Rhys also visibly relaxed as Zinnia smiled at him. That she had plans for the house and garden were encouraging. Rhys' only goal here was to make this as easy as possible for her, and as comfortable. He didn't know what half of those flowers looked like, but he assumed Zinnia knew what she was talking about. He'd have to get some books on gardening and start catching up. "I'm sure it'll be beautiful." This was going to work. A little cottage, two parents raising a child they made in a house that was at least a healthy environment. They would get comfortable together at some point, he hoped anyway.

"I do, I'll be fine." Rhys had made sure he would be some kind of comfortable on the sofa. It would be fine. He slept at the precinct often enough, he could sleep just about anywhere. Plus, when he did go back to work, he would be up early and he wouldn't want to wake her. Perhaps he should keep his clothes in the spare bedroom for the time being. They would have time over the next couple of days to smooth out these sort of details. "Was there anything else you needed to bring from your mother's?" There wasn't a ton of room at the cottage, but if she had anything else she really wanted, they could make it work.

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Zinnia wasn’t sure if she would change things if she could go back in time. Well, of course she’d want the whole courtship part first because that would at least be better than the rushed wedding, and maybe Mama would hate him a little less… and then the whole pregnancy thing would be a lot less stressful than it was now. Okay, so maybe there’d be a few things Zin would want to change, but it was too late now. She released a breath, not that it did anything to ease the nerves bubbling in her stomach; it was a feeling she was going to learn to live with for a while.

Rhys was doing everything right, trying to make this as easy as possible for both of them, so in turn, she wanted to do the same thing, no matter how uncomfortable it was going to feel. They’d learn to coexist and parent this child together in a home that was stable. Nodded as he confirmed about the couch. “Some of my paints.” Zin was considering making a mural on the wall behind the bed, or maybe painting something in the nursery.

She paused then, resting her hand against her stomach before she blinked at her new husband. Worry etched across her face. “What do you think people are going to say?” That part worried her, society and the nastiness that would come from all of their rushed marriage, and the obvious reason she happened.

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Bee made me something beautiful<3

The mental list of things he had to do tomorrow kept getting longer, but he had all day. They could sleep in, have their pancakes and then start the day however Zinnia wanted. If that included a stop back at the Potts family home to get some more of her things, then they could do that.

Thoughts of tomorrow flew out of his head at Zinnia's next question. Rumors were already running rampant and though he usually wasn't cued in, this time he was paying attention. It wasn't great. Lots of questions on his character, which he could handle, but unfortunately it cast a shadow over Zinnia and the rest of the Potts girls, and that was what he hated the most. That he was doing the right thing, that they'd been under the influence of some particularly potent amortentia, none of mattered. They'd taken it too far and were suffering the consequences.

"I'll deal with it." He assured her, daring to put a hand on her shoulder briefly and give a little squeeze. Rhys had no idea how he would deal with it, but maybe he could pull the brunt of the scandal towards himself and she could be left in relative peace. He was the more public figure, he had obviously taken liberties with her, he could handle it.

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Zinnia sighed softly. She’d heard some of the rumors floating around, their engagement had been hasty, but she still hated the idea that their actions were going to impact her sisters. It was too late now, they had this baby on the way and now they were officially hitched; they were going to have to learn to live with their consequences whether they were ready or not. Zinnia was the latter. The squeeze on her arm wasn’t comforting, and she couldn’t even manage a smile at her new husband. Instead her stomach sank to the floor.

Rhys might be a constable, but he couldn’t shield her from everything; people were already saying things when they walked by the store, and Zin had taken to hiding out in the greenhouse. The season would start soon enough and their hasty engagement and birth of their child would be swept under the rug when something even better came along to talk about. Zin took a small breath and stepped back. “Okay.” She whispered, giving a slight nod. “Thank you.” There wasn’t anything else she could really say. There wasn’t anything else they could really do.

Zinnia stepped away. “I’m going to go find some water.” Some fresh air sounded even better than that.

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Bee made me something beautiful<3