5 1/2 Temple Meadow - The Shape of Home | Rossian

        Saturday, August 26, 1922  

The McCormick Home
6:30 AM

---

The light filtered through his curtains in a soft amber glow, casting shimmers of gold along his bedroom walls. The scent of cinnamon filled her senses as she inhaled deeply, a reminder of the place she'd fallen asleep the night before. With her eyes still closed, her fingers walked across the mattress, in search of the boy she'd come home to. So many nights she'd fallen asleep crying, and equally as many mornings when she'd woken to reach for him, only to remember why he wasn't there.

This time, her hand grazed his side and she hummed, closing the distance between them as she snuggled closer, resting her head between his neck and shoulder. "Morning," she murmured, dropping a series of brief kisses along his neck, and feeling more at peace than she had in months. Her arm wrapped around his middle as her eyes finally opened, peering up at her husband while a smile peeked at the corner of her lips. He was always cutest in the morning, she mused, when his curls were all messy and wild and the creases of the pillows had made small indents on his cheeks.

It was hard to believe she was here. Despite everything that had happened the night before, some part of Rosalie had expected to wake up in Maddox and Julia's attic with Fawn curled up on her chest. But she was home, with Cassian, where she belonged. The only thing missing was her little demiguise, but she'd collect her later that morning when she went back to the Barlowes' to pack her things.

Speaking of which.

"I'll have to head back to Maddox's," and then quickly, before confusion or panic could set in, "To get Fawn and my things. Julia's probably wondering where I am." She squeezed him a little tighter, unable to tear her eyes from him. It had felt like ages since she'd been able to properly look at him, and now that he was here, she could hardly get enough. "Staying here or want to come with me?"

Rosie finally let him go as she sat up in the bed, stretching her arms above her head before she tousled her hair back and away from her face. "Bet your parents will be surprised." She grinned down at him, her eyes finding the sparkle that she'd hidden away for awhile. "Hope we didn't keep them up too late."

---

Later, at Breakfast

"I spread extra butter on your toast." She smiled, setting his breakfast down in front of him and then settling herself directly onto his lap. Looping one arm around his shoulders, Rosie nuzzled his face with hers, dropping a tiny kiss on the tip of his nose. How Cassian intended to eat with his wife perched completely in the way of his food, she didn't know but those were his worries, not hers.

The house had been quiet when the two had snuck downstairs, hand-in-hand. His parents slept in on the weekends, and while Cassian and Rosalie usually did as well, they figured it'd be easier to have a few moments to themselves if they started breakfast a bit early.

The tea kettle was the only noise loud enough to sound through the house and as soon as it began to whistle, the girl hopped up from his lap and hurried back to the stove. "I've got orange juice for you, gimme just a second," she called over her shoulder. Cassian had never been a big fan of tea - some Englishman he was, she mused - but Kari had apparently gone to the market within the last day or so and had gotten a fresh container of juice for him.

It was interesting to her how easily she fell right back into domesticity with him, wanting to take care of her husband in the way she couldn't while she'd been gone. She knew he didn't expect it of her, but she liked the role she had given herself and was happy to take up her place within it again.

Her tea fixed and his juice poured, Rosie turned back to the table, just in time to see Julian descend the last step and stop. He looked back and forth between the two of them, while Rosie offered him a shy smile. "Morning, Mister McCormick," she said softly, setting Cass's glass in front of him as she resumed her spot on his lap and took a quick sip from her own.

She met Cass's gaze, her eyes laughing over the rim of the teacup. "Kettle's fresh if you or Kari want any."

The McCormick Home
6:30 AM

"Morning."

It was morning. The surrealism that had seen him off to sleep the night before rose with him as golden beams of sunlight made their way into his room. In the stillness that engulfed the house, Cassian found himself absent of the pressure that never failed to accompany them. This morning, that pressure was suspiciously ... gone. He felt light...weightless almost, despite being firmly pressed into his mattress with his face half buried in his pillow.

"Morning," he muttered back, his voice groggy and distorted by the remnants of sleep.

He could feel the effects of a full night's sleep, appearing more as a strangeness inside muscles that had grown accustomed to waking with the same fatigue that had seen him to sleep. The last time he'd slept so good was before Patrick's passing, and even then, his sleep had been pretty hit or miss. Should he have been surprised that all it took was Rosie curled into his side for most of the night for his body to finally release all its anxiety? It almost seemed silly. Of course that was the antidote. It had been the only thing it craved since the night she'd left. Having his bed invaded by the sweet scent of cherry blossoms was the soothing balm that vials and bottles couldn't provide.

Now he was awake. Now his mind played back the previous night's reunion, and it stirred new longing inside him. Cassian welcomed her close, throwing an arm around her to keep her there.

"I'll have to head back to Maddox's."

...What...? His brows crinkled.

"To get Fawn and my things. Julia's probably wondering where I am. Staying here or want to come with me?"

Oh. Oh, right. The relief that flooded him made him feel ridiculous. Rosie had already said that she was coming home, admitting with her own mouth that the separation had run its course and she didn't wish to continue it from her end either. They'd promised to believe her and to ask where they weren't sure. This time, she provided the clarity all on her own. He let his hand fall from her as she rose, internally trying to ease himself down from the sudden spike of panic.

"I'll come. Help you with your stuff." He'd been the one to help her get them there in the first place and while she could easily shrink it all down to size, it felt...right to be there when she made the official move.

"Bet your parents will be surprised. Hope we didn't keep them up too late."

Cassian groaned, rolling onto his stomach and hugging his pillow instead. "Don't remind me. We'll have no peace when they get up." He allowed a smile, finding it wasn't actually awaiting his permission to present itself. "Although, I don't reckon we gave them much peace ourselves."

In the end, it might only have been fair.

---

Later, at Breakfast

Extra butter on his toast was, objectively, an amazing way to begin his day. His mother always pitched fits about the health implications, insisting a dab was enough, but what was bread without ridiculous amounts of butter? It wasn't like he was eating it for every meal, and it wasn't every morning that his wife fixed him a hearty breakfast. In the last two months, she hadn't at all, and he'd felt the absence in his bones.

Cassian didn't descend the staircase with his wife already expecting her to jump back into 'wifely duties'. Even in the good times, there had never been any expressed expectation. It was always a treat precisely because he knew that she didn't have to. After the turns they'd taken on the previous night, he would have understood a slower return to normalcy. He himself still wasn't sure what he could expect and from where they would have to begin building, but his wife in his lap obscuring his breakfast was a damn good start.

When she vacated his lap, Cassian took the opportunity to help himself to a slice of toast.

In the background, the kettle screamed, settling only when Rosie got back into the kitchen to put an end to its dramatics. Good. The peace they currently had in the house was exactly what they needed to begin slipping back into their own little routines. The last thing he needed was...

Oh, for fuck's sake.

Cass watched his father descend the last of the steps on the staircase to enter the narrow hall. The man made his way down to the kitchen area, his usual morning grumpiness accompanying him the short distance. The man paused in his tracks when he entered to find Rosalie McCormick, tea in hand, sinking onto his son's lap. He looked between the two of them, his expression going blank for a moment as if he were struggling to understand what he was looking at.

"...Good morning, Rosie." The man turned back into the hall. "Kari," he called.

The thuds arrived before his mother, her feet hitting against each wooden step as the woman came at her husband's call. She tied her robes shut as she walked, looking down rather than at where she might have been going.

"What is it, Julian?" she asked, distracted by the neat loop she was forming. "You'll wake the neighbours if you keep that up. As if your son didn't do enough to provoke them the night be – ROSIE!" His mother squealed in delight as she bumped by his father to enter the kitchen.

"Rosie, darling, was that you?" Kari placed a hand tenderly on the girl's cheek, bright eyes lighting up at the sight of the girl. "Merlin's beard, but it's been ages. How've you been? Are you taking care of yourself? You've put on some weight. Not much, but it's a start, isn't it? Cassian!" she cried suddenly. Kari's hand fell from Rosie, both now nudging incessantly at her son. "All the chairs we have at the table, and you're asking her to share. Get up. Be a gentleman and let her have the seat. Ugh. Men."

Kari shook her head as she pulled her own chair from beneath the table. Her eyes widened with emphasis when her son didn't immediately move.

"Julian, talk to your son."

"Kari..."

"Heavens, we've got so much to catch up on. He's missed you terribly, you know. Didn't know his right from his left. How long will you be staying, dear?"

It had begun.

"...Good morning, Rosie."

And a good morning it certainly was. The young woman couldn't remember the last time she'd had such a pleasant morning; not that the Barlowe household wasn't. But it'd been difficult to find peace and contentment in a morning routine that didn't include her best friend, when for so long it had.

"You'll wake the neighbours if you keep that up. As if your son didn't do enough to provoke them the night be – ROSIE!"

Rosie's smile widened as she set her teacup down, her eyes shining for the mother-in-law she'd come to adore. She nearly melted as Kari's hand cupped her cheek, feeling like she was releasing a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. It was another uncertainty within the labyrinth she'd built for herself that was solved. Little by little, she was finding her way back out, one step at a time.

Kari's warmth flooded her and it took everything in the girl not to fling herself at the woman she'd grown close to in the time she and Cassian had returned from France.

"Rosie, darling, was that you?"

Rosie's eyes widened, the lips that smiled parting to speak, but closing quickly with embarrassment as she realized what Kari was implying. She and Cass both knew they hadn't exactly been...quiet but...Merlin. She giggled sheepishly, before realizing that his mother must have believed it was some other girl in her husband's bed last night. Why would she think that? Rosie's head turned, moving from Kari to Cassian, her eyes boring into his, her smile tightening as she tilted her head a bit. Had he brought other girls here? Why else would his mother think it wasn't her...?

"Merlin's beard, but it's been ages. How've you been? Are you taking care of yourself? You've put on some weight. Not much, but it's a start, isn't it?"

Those were a lot of questions. Forgetting the new inquisition she wanted to bring down on Cassian for the moment, she turned back to her mother-in-law, while stealing a bite of her husband's toast. "I'm doing okay. I've been eating really well actually and -"

"Cassian!"

Rosie stopped mid-bite, her eyes flicking back to her husband momentarily. Had he done something when she wasn't looking or...?

"All the chairs we have at the table, and you're asking her to share. Get up. Be a gentleman and let her have the seat. Ugh. Men."

She nudged him forcefully and Rosie held in a laugh, handing him back his toast. It hadn't been his idea for her to perch on his lap, but she doubted he would make any real move to hoist her off of him. The onus would be on her. As Kari and Julian squabbled for a moment, she perked her eyebrows at her husband and rose from his lap, settling into the chair next to him. Hand resting on his knee, she reached for her tea again.

"Heavens, we've got so much to catch up on. He's missed you terribly, you know. Didn't know his right from his left. How long will you be staying, dear?"

Another shy smile as she brought her cup to her lips. "I missed him too," she said quietly, squeezing his knee slightly. "I'm staying. For good," she continued, looking back and forth between Julian and Kari. "...if you're both okay with it, of course."

She didn't imagine Kari wouldn't be, but Julian had always been more hesitant about the two of them. She supposed he had his reasons, and she couldn't blame him. If he wasn't ready for Rosie to stay in house again, she and Cassian would have to figure something else out.

There was no way they were going to be able to heal their marriage and remain apart.

It...was too early for this.

The look that passed between Cassian and his father may as well have been an entire lecture series on exasperation. Was it even 8AM yet? Neither knew but for different reasons, both men were suddenly...tired.

His father sank into an empty chair, wisely ignoring most of the theatrics that his wife had entered the kitchen with. Cass wasn't nearly so fortunate, not when half the theatrics were turned on him. That was...of course...when she wasn't putting her foot in her mouth. He didn't understand why she'd ask whether it was Rosie. Nevermind that he hadn't brought any other women home. They could imagine, for a moment, that he had.

WHY WOULD SHE BRING IT UP IN FRONT OF HIS WIFE?

Fuck's sake.

A good wingwoman she would never be.

The moment Rosie looked at him, Cassian raised both hands in surrender. "Don't ask me. It's too early to know what she's on about." His mother had come in like her own kind of storm, and he wasn't interested in being carried along with it. He didn't have other women and wasn't trying to have another ...er...thoughtful conversation with his wife before they'd even grabbed her things.

Truly, they'd both already suffered enough.

Cassian! All the chairs we have at the table, and you're asking her to share. Get up. Be a gentleman and let her have the seat. Ugh. Men."

Was...was it too late for him and his wife to go back to bed? He sat, mouth agape and dumbfounded while his mother chastised him for apparently depriving Rosie of a seat. He hadn't, not that he knew of. Rosie had been something of a mini tornado from the moment they'd gotten downstairs. After nudging him into the damn chair herself, she'd fixed them both breakfast, moving from place to place, while she grabbed things. When she was done, she'd deposited herself in his lap, and he'd been quite happy for that fact.

Mind you, it had made eating more of a challenge, but that could hardly compare to the warmth that spread from her into his lap and up into his chest.

Eating was overrated anyway.

"Julian, talk to your son."

Cassian and his father looked at each other, but the man remained silent. It was too early in the morning for him to want to know what fresh hell he'd walked down his own staircase and into. The man likely wanted his cup of tea, maybe his own toast and another hour before he had to begin figuring out what his son and daughter-in-law were trying to do this time. It was true; he hadn't always been the most gung-ho for their relationship. He'd been scared. He'd been angry. Even then, Cassian didn't see resentment from the man across the table but something more akin to resignation.

This was life, and this was how his son and his son's wife intended to float through it – chaotically and without forewarning. Cassian hoped that wouldn't be the case. He didn't want uncertainty to govern them to the grave.

Rosie handed him his toast before abandoning his lap, evidently more enthralled with his mother's greeting than he currently was. The boy barely managed a bite before...

"Heavens, we've got so much to catch up on. He's missed you terribly, you know. Didn't know his right from his left.

He nearly choked.

"Mum. We're just trying to have breakfast. She doesn't need all that."

"Eat your toast, dear," she replied with a dismissive wave of her hand. She hopped up to fix herself and his father some tea. "Staying? Julian, did you hear that—"

"I heard—"

"We'll have to celebrate. After the play, of course. He can't very well miss that – no, that might be too late. I'll fix us something special tonight – I'll need to go back to the market. Would you care to join me? We can catch up."

"We're going out for a bit."

"After. Will you be gone all day?"

That...that could be arranged.

"Don't ask me. It's too early to know what she's on about."

Rosie smiled politely, but said nothing preferring to let the ease of the morning continue than drag her husband through another heart-to-heart that neither of them had the stomach for at the moment. They still had a long day ahead of them, and there wasn't a reason to make it difficult when things had been going so well.

"Mum. We're just trying to have breakfast. She doesn't need all that."

"Eat your toast, dear. Staying? Julian, did you hear that—"

"I heard—"

"We'll have to celebrate. After the play, of course. He can't very well miss that – no, that might be too late. I'll fix us something special tonight – I'll need to go back to the market. Would you care to join me? We can catch up."

"We're going out for a bit."

"After. Will you be gone all day?"

Rosie's eyes flitted back and forth across the table watching the conversation go back and forth like a tennis ball. Merlin, she'd forgotten that when Kari got started there was no stopping her, whereas the men at the table simply grunted their answers in apparent annoyance. It brought another smile to her face, enjoying the familiarity she'd come to know in the time she'd spent here.

It would be different now wouldn't it? She wasn't in the throws of grief or wasting away into nothing while depression held her prisoner within her own mind. She felt lighter, like the sun had risen and she could finally see through the fog that had surrounded her for so long. It was still there, still needed navigating, but it wasn't so thick that she felt lost anymore.

This could become home. Earnestly, this time.

"We have to head back to my cousins' to get my things," she offered up. "It will probably take all afternoon, but maybe tomorrow instead? Before he has to head to the theatre? I'll help you cook." Her eyes flicked back to Julian, and then to Cassian's plate, where she reached for his toast again.

---

The Barlowe Home
11:00 AM

Rosalie's hand held Cassian's as they stood in front of the gate to Maddox and Julia's home. The last time they'd stood here together, she'd cried in his arms, not wanting to let him go but knowing she had to. Now, she was coming home, putting an end to the separation that had gone on for far too long. "Come on," she said gently, dropping a kiss on his cheek. "Maddox and Julia will both be happy to see you. You won't believe how big Evander's gotten." She smiled, tugging lightly on his hand as they crossed the yard and climbed the short steps up the porch.

She was sure without Cassian, Julia would have descended on her with the third degree, worried that something had happened between the time she'd said she'd be home and the time she actually arrived - an easy twelve hours later. Cassian showing up hand-in-hand with her would quiet all the questions before they could be said. She realized that sending a quick owl back might have been needed, but they were past should-haves.

She turned the handle, pushing the door open as she led the way inside. Somewhere towards the back of the house, Jude was squealing brightly while Evander bolted towards the open front door like he'd been waiting.

"ROSIE'S HOME!" The boy's shout of excitement rang out before Rosie could call for Julia or Maddox. She smiled, dropping Cass's hand to kneel and scoop Evander up in her arms. "There you are, Ev. I was just telling Uncle Cass how big you've gotten. See him there? You remember him?" She smiled, turning the boy back towards Cass as Julia rounded the corner, hoisting a happy, flapping Jude towards his father who was emerging from a separate room.

"Rosie, where in the world..."

Her cousin stopped short, eyes widening slightly at the sight of the boy she hadn't seen since the night they'd run off together. "Cassian?"

The Barlowe Home
11:00 AM

---

Following Rosie to collect the rest of her things had sounded like the only acceptable option, the chivalrous and caring one, the one that would bring him the most peace...right up until the moment when they arrived at the gates to the Barlowe residence. He could still remember the night he'd taken her there and how she'd cried while he did everything he could to hold himself together. Something inside had shattered that night, something he couldn't quite name but could feel in the very marrow of his bones. Standing before the property in the light of day didn't force the demons to disperse; it just illuminated the walkway to the front porch better.

The last time he'd seen Professor Barlowe had been during his sixth year at Hogwarts. The last time he'd seen Julia? She had pressed a ring into his palm and had had him promise to protect Rosie, to look after her and keep her safe. Seeing the country home that stood tall with its shadow blanketing a portion of the front yard, all he could think was how he would explain just how he'd managed to fail so abysmally.

They'd been hunted. There wasn't anything he'd been able to do to prevent her father from taking and nearly killing them. He couldn't keep their baby alive. He hadn't been able to keep their lights on and food on the table – not by himself. She'd been forced to work while they watched life take little swipes at their marriage.

Did Julia already know all of that? Rosie had been gone for two months. In that time, some things must have already come out. His wife hadn't exactly been paying them a social visit. She'd been beside herself that night.

"Come on."

Did he had a choice? They were already there. Logically, he knew that he could retract his offer and tell her that he'd wait for her at home – hell, that he'd wait for her by the gate. But he couldn't.

"Maddox and Julia will both be happy to see you. You won't believe how big Evander's gotten."

Somehow...he didn't think that to be true. Cassian knew he'd fallen short and wasn't expecting any sort of hero's welcome when he showed up to help his wife home. He squeezed her hand, anchoring himself while he let her lead him up to the front door. She knocked. His heart skipped several beats. When the door opened and a toddler threw himself out into Rosie's arms, all he could do was force a smile and a wave while he felt himself preparing to sink into the ground. Understandably, Evander didn't remember him, offering little more than a passive wave before turning delighted blue eyes back to his wife.

The adults appeared next, each pouring in from a different room. A baby. He didn't know they'd even had one. He also didn't have time to consider it before Julia was by the door.

"Cassian?"

There it was. The moment Julia's eyes fell on him, Cassian could feel himself shrinking. It was unfortunate for his nervous system that his father had drilled into him the correct posture even while drowning in guilt and self-doubt. Men didn't shrink from their mistakes. They faced them head-on.

"Morning," he greeted, his expression tinged with a hint of chagrin even while he offered a wider smile. "I...we...sorry she was out all night. Had some things to work through and then..." The boy's words tapered off, punctuated at the end by a helpless shrug of his shoulders.

Where did he even begin?

"ROSIE'S HOME!"

Well, it was about time.

Hearing his toddler's excited squeals, Maddox abandoned his work on the back porch and made his way through the house. She'd been gone all night – as was her right as the adult she was. That didn't prevent the worry that had made its way into their home as a result. Truthfully, she was no longer as reckless as she'd been when she'd first arrived, and the man no longer entertained the thought that if Rosie was out of sight, she was likely doing something to put her life in danger.

That faith had been hard-won after her little stunt on the roof, but he could say by this point that he worried less that she'd found trouble for herself and more that she was making the decisions of youth.

Knowing that she was going to see McCormick's show, there was even a part of him that surmised the pair had gotten to talking. That Evander was shouting at her return was... curious. Perhaps they hadn't gotten around to the talk they'd needed after all.

Entering the living room, Maddox found himself suddenly in possession of a three-month-old. How had this become the default, and what part of his arms screamed 'inviting' to the woman who wouldn't let anyone else feed him but happily palmed him off the moment something arose? Maddox looked down at his son, who remained content and unaware of the greater happenings within the world. Meanwhile, his mother hurried to the front door. Jude cooed to himself, reaching immediately for the top button of his father's shirt.

Saint Nicholas himself could've walked in with a belly laugh and a bag full of gifts without it meaning a thing to the baby who already believed he had everything he could ever want.

Oh to be so young and cared for again.

"Someone decided to exercise her right to adulthood," Maddox quipped while he gently tried to remove the baby's death grip. It wouldn't be the first button he accidentally yanked on one of the man's older and cozier flannel shirts. Whatever problem the boy had with plaid or buttons needed to be taken up with his mother.

"Didn't do anything you'd be embarrassed to admit to your cousin, did you?"

Did he think Rosie had gone out and decided to have herself a wild night? Not especially, but with her return home, the matter was far less grave.

Finally, he looked up. That's when he spotted their guest. "McCormick." Maddox crossed the room to join the others at the door. He clapped his free hand on the boy's shoulder in further greeting. "So you're the kidnapper. Took you long enough. The girl was eating us out of house and home." His expression softened a little watching the unease on the boy's expression. He knew that what they'd been made to endure had been...difficult. Terrible. Hard. That they'd both come out the other side was no small miracle.

"How've you been?"

"ROSIE'S HOME!"

Thank Merlin.

Rosalie Gretchen was eighteen years old. Julia recognized that made her an adult for well over a year now. The girl had run off and created her own life, and presumably lived as such during that time, but damn it all to Hell if Julia still didn't see her as that little pigtailed girl with more optimism than good sense.

When her younger cousin hadn't returned the night before, she'd worried. The rational part of her knew Rosie was free to come and go as she pleased, and that she'd likely spent the night with Maggie somewhere, but a little notification would have eased the natural maternal fears Julia held. The world could be an ugly place, which Rosalie knew well, but the invincibility of youth could blind anyone who just wanted a night of fun.

The relief to know she wasn't dead, lying cold in a ditch somewhere was palpable.

Jude squealed, flapping his arms excitedly when his brother shouted, his three-month-old mind only understanding something exciting was happening. "Yes, let's go see what all the fuss is about," she smiled at her son, dropping a kiss on his head as she rounded the corner from the kitchen. Maddox emerged from the back porch at the same time, and without a thought, she handed off the baby to his father.

She had a teenager to scold.

"Someone decided to exercise her right to adulthood. Didn't do anything you'd be embarrassed to admit to your cousin, did you?"

Merlin deliver them from the details.

"Rosie, where in the world..."

She stopped short at the sight of the lanky boy who had seemed to grow only taller since the last time she'd seen him. "Cassian?" She glanced to Rosalie, catching the sheepish, shy smile on her face, before she turned her attention back to the boy. So they'd reconciled. Julia had...hoped they might, when Rosie said she was going to Cassian's opening night. As much as she absolutely loved having Rosalie in their home, her cousin wasn't as quiet as she thought she was, and it had torn Julia's heart apart to listen to her crying when the girl thought no one could hear.

Maddox was already engaging the boy, asking him how he was, making jokes as he always did, but it took Julia a moment to wrap her mind around seeing him. After the....disgusting things her family had done to that poor boy, she hadn't seen him. She hadn't had the opportunity to offer her apologies for them or hug him, or...just see for herself that he was alright.

"I...we...sorry she was out all night. Had some things to work through and then..."

"Don't apologize," Julia said, finally finding her voice as she hurried forward, taking the boy into her arms for a tight hug. She'd always loved Cassian, though she could recognize her way of showing it hadn't always been the best. In his years as her head library assistant, her prefect, and all that had transpired between him and Rosie, he had become one of hers, and she'd lamented being unable to tell him properly.

"I'm so happy to see you," she said, stepping back, her hands on her shoulders, taking him in for a moment. He...looked alright. He would, wouldn't he after so many months? "You're okay, aren't you?"

"Julia, no need to fuss."

She ignored Rosie, smiling at the boy and ignoring the fact that both she and Maddox had crowded him at the same time. "Are you staying for dinner? I'll have plenty once its done."

As was typical for the Barlowe home, Rosie had discovered, it all came alive at once. It was a home full of noise, in no great thanks to the two littlest occupants, warmth and the sort of family dynamics Rosalie hoped for their own one day. Kathryn was likely around here somewhere, avoiding Evander and Jude as she usually did. Morgan was likely in her room or out back and Benji...he'd been around yesterday. In any case there was never a lack of action happening in one corner or the other, and as the adults made their way into the room, Rosie couldn't help but smile, nuzzling Evander's cheek with her nose.

Whatever anxieties her husband may or may not have had - and she sensed that he had - he'd soon find they were unfounded. There wasn't a single person within this house that had a bad word to say or harbored ill-sentiment towards him. Rather they asked after him, cared to know how things were going and seemed as concerned about him as they were about Rosie. When she'd first arrived on their front porch, the first words out of Julia's mouth were for Cassian and his well-being.

It was a far cry from Arundel, where things still felt muddy and uncertain, but here in Somerset, where the land hugged the hillside, Rosalie had begun to understood what her family looked like, and that every part of that included her beloved husband without question. It had gone a long way to healing things between her and Julia, when they'd been able to communicate and help each other understand their positions.

"Someone decided to exercise her right to adulthood. Didn't do anything you'd be embarrassed to admit to your cousin, did you?"

Rosie blushed, her smile widening as she gave a shrug of her shoulders. "Rumor has it there isn't much I could do that she hasn't already." A sweet tease as Julia rolled her eyes and waved her off, much more concerned about the boy that stood nervously in her living room.

"So you're the kidnapper. Took you long enough. The girl was eating us out of house and home."

"You've mistaken me for this little endless stomach," Rosie said, tickling Evander before swinging him back and forth as he arched backwards and let her hang him upside down. In any case, it would probably be music to Cassian's ears to hear that Rosie was eating - and well. Her physique was nearly what it was at Hogwarts now. Healthy, athletic, not so skinny that you could see her spine through her skin.

And then Julia was fussing. She'd always been a fusser in her gentler moments, an attribute not many outside of the family ever got to see. It warmed the girl's heart, but knowing her husband, it would easily overwhelm him.

"Julia, no need to fuss."

She set Evander back down on his feet as she returned to Cassian's side, taking his hand and giving it a light squeeze. "We won't have time for dinner. He has to be at the theatre early. But why don't you catch up while I go check on Fawn and start gathering my things?" Her eyes flitted to Maddox. "Is she out in the barn?"

It was safe to say that it wasn't the welcome he was expecting.

To be entirely fair to the couple, it wasn't that Cassian thought they would come down on him. He didn't walk up to the front door expecting their hands to be flailing about, their faces red and puffed up with anger, demanding to know what he'd thought he'd been doing. Professor Barlowe alone was an unlikely candidate. Outside of negligent creature mistreatment, he didn't think he could remember a time when he'd seen the man get upset. He and Rosie turned up without so much as prior warning she'd be gone, and the man had pulled for dry humour rather than anything else.

Julia, while certainly having displayed her displeasure more openly in the past, hadn't been the type either. The night she'd caught them running, she didn't haul Rosie back to Arundel Castle. She didn't berate or belittle him, nor did she try to convince him that he wasn't good enough to take her younger cousin and disappear into the night.

But that made it worse, didn't it?

While the pair remained light and welcoming, Cassian was instantly transported back to that balmy summer night just outside the hidden floo station in Arundel Village. Julia hadn't wanted her to go, but in place of opposition, she'd asked that he take care of Rosie. Cass didn't need an accountant, and he didn't need a written account of the last year or so of his life to understand that he'd done anything but. The miscarriage, the attack – there had been more than one, and he hadn't been there at all for the first one. Needing her to work dangerous hours, sitting next to her while they worried over their next meal...

If Julia knew even half of it, he didn't think she would receive him so warmly into her home now.

"McCormick. So you're the kidnapper. Took you long enough. The girl was eating us out of house and home."

His smile was laden with chagrin. In another life, he'd have had a cheeky grin to offer as he confirmed he was, in fact, the reason for Rosie's 'poor behaviour'. That ease was buried under several layers of guilt. He was the kidnapper, wasn't he? The one who'd absconded with Rosie? It was him.

Cassian wasn't expecting the man's expression to soften, nor did he expect the hand at his shoulder and the way it melted some small part of him.

"How've you been?"

"Don't apologize. I'm so happy to see you. You're okay, aren't you?"

"Julia, no need to fuss."

Cass rubbed awkwardly at the back of his head, uncomfortable with the attention that had been placed on him given everything he felt. "I'm alright, really." Rather, he would be. It wouldn't happen overnight, but with Rosie back, it was one less fallen domino that he had to worry about tipping the whole thing over. "Working at the ministry now," he continued, as if believing he had to convince them that his entire life wasn't unravelling. As if he hoped to save some portion of the esteem they held him in. A promising student returned beaten and disgraced. It was a hell of a pill for his pride to swallow. "Just had opening night for the play. The kids—"

Are you staying for dinner? I'll have plenty once its done."

"We won't have time for dinner. He has to be at the theatre early. But why don't you catch up while I go check on Fawn and start gathering my things?"

"I'm afraid she's right. I'll have to get to the theatre early, make sure everything's in place. But...we're...we're gonna be having a celebratory dinner tomorrow for Rosie coming home. I don't know if you'd be interested in coming?"

It only seemed right, and maybe it could be nice finally having some portion of the families' meeting without the underlying hostility that had always been present. Cassian thought it might be nice to not have it all feel so...divided.