Reconnecting with Family

"He's good."

"Beth why is it in this shot you're wearing a green wrap yet in these shots you're wearing turquoise, and where the flowers come from?" Walter asked.

"Harry. Apparently early in our acquaintance he decide I would make a good mom so he planted seeds in Sirius' mind. Then one day while Sirius was fighting a cold he got an idea when I tried on my green dress. He, how did Sirius put it, he was a little marauder and set us up for this very romantic dinner with all the trimmings including my dress and a day at the spa before hand and he was so damn smug the next day." She laughed.

"In retrospect it's hilarious. Anyway he knew Sirius was going to ask me and decided I needed a welcome to the family present and bought the pareau and the flowers. He also found the spot to take this."Beth pulled out the eleven by fourteen pictures of what Harry had called formal engagement shots. "This day was the first time Sirius did magic in front of me. Unlike most wizards he was very comfortable doing no magic at all for days at a time. I have to thank all of you. You're sharing this with me which is more than my family is doing right now."

Roy felt bad for Beth her parents had basically ignored her existence since the second of December. He couldn't do much though. Beth treated them as family and they couldn't help responding in kind even if it wasn't purely professional.

He quickly ran through the schedule demands of the next day. The schedule the group worked from was slightly odd they rotated in everyone's shift being eight hours but they started in alternating four hour increments they came together twice a day once in the morning for PT and again for twenty minutes in the evenings for schedule review, with Radar working during the day as support staff.

Elsewhere in the castle, Maryanne Stevens was wondering how she and her daughter had grown so far apart. Her daughter was wearing a very nice engagement ring yet she knew nothing about it except her daughter had met him on vacation and her husband disapproved. Which was hardly surprising, Rick had always been protective of Beth and no man would be good enough. Now last night, the healer guard on Beth's detail had been unwilling to impart what she knew to her, Beth's own mother. I

t made her step back and evaluate everything that had happened. What she was seeing about herself and her husband wasn't making her happy, they had always told Beth that being a squib wasn't something to be ashamed of yet they treated her as if she were some mentally deficient child. Not letting her make choices insisting she live with them even though she was grown. And Beth being the tender hearted person she was had let them until it made her sick.

Beth was anything but mentally deficient she had graduated cum laude with a dual major from University of Minnesota. Beth couldn't work in the magical world but she had found a place where her skills and talents were useful to her family and she had done it on her own. Maryanne decided she would put her foot down. She didn't want to lose her daughter, and if she and Rick continued in their course that was what would happen. She got up and left to go to her daughter's suite.

Beth had finally given in to Winry's urging to let her do a scan. She had been queasy all day. When Winry finished she said, "Well?"

"You are definitely pregnant. However that's not the only thing making you queasy, your stress level is causing your ulcer to come back. Bland foods, more milk, prenatal vitamins, I'll check with a friend that does babies and see what she says about ulcer medication. I think it's probably a good thing you intend to move out, it will be easier for you..." She was interrupted by a knock on the door.

It was Maryanne. "May I come in and speak with Beth?"

Winry looked over her shoulder at Beth. Beth nodded. Winry stepped aside to allow Maryanne entrance then said "I'll let the elves in the kitchen know." and left closing the door behind her.

"I am sorry. I'm sorry for not seeing you as the person you are, for being so unkind since you been back, and most of all sorry for treating you as incompetent because you don't do magic."

"Thank you Mother. Would you like to hear about my vacation?"

"Yes, I would. I would also like to hear about the man that put that ring on your finger, and I'd like a closer look at it." she reached for her daughter's hand. "May I?"

The brilliant smile Maryanne got in return made her go misty-eyed, as her daughter's left hand extended to meet hers.

.....

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