Centuries of Sin : Book IV

23

“What are you doing here?”

Francesca seemed surprised that her brother had shown up again, and he chose not to mention the fact she hadn’t known it was him before she answered the door.

“I thought you might need the rest,” Sawyer smiled, and she glanced past him to check there was nobody else there before letting him into the house.

“I appreciate it," she muttered as she stared down at her feet before looking back up at him. "It's not that I'm not coping. We just..." Francesca sighed and trailed off.

"You haven't left this house since Saga was born - I assume you have a lot to do? Are you going to be leaving soon? Do you have everything you need yet?" he glanced around, fully aware they hadn't picked anything else up since he was there the day before.

"We have a baby, I can feed her, and she has somewhere to sleep. What more do we need?"

"Francesca..." Sawyer sighed; he knew better than to even try to reason with his sister when she was in this mood.

"She's in the living room with Jonas... I assume you're here for her and not me."

"I'm here to see both of you," Sawyer rested his hand on her shoulder, but she shrugged it off and went through to the living room.

She sat down on the couch beside Jonas and reached for the baby, who was sleeping in his arms. At the last moment she drew her hands back, and looked at her brother.

"Would you like to hold her?"

She shook his head softly and sat down on the chair opposite them.

"No, it's OK... I don't want to wake her."

He looked at his sister, conscious of the tension between her and Jonas, and he guessed that she had been crying again, because her cheeks were a little flushed.

She had been upset when he left them the day before, and he felt bad for it now he saw that she seemed to be struggling.

Every time he had been there it had been Jonas holding the baby, and he was concerned that his sister was finding it difficult to adjust.

"I thought you would have Elizabeth with you," Jonas smiled, but there was something in his voice that made the statement less casual.

Sawyer's gaze flickered between Jonas and Francesca, and he tried to figure out what had gone on between them.

"She wasn't in the right frame of mind."

"You can just say that she doesn't want to see me," Francesca looked at Sawyer blankly.

As far as she was concerned it was a factual statement.

"That's not it..."

Francesca narrowed her eyes slightly, but Jonas looked up from watching Saga and raised his eyebrow fleetingly.

"Oh?"

"It's weird being back here; it'll take a while to adjust to sleeping in the same bed every night again." It was a believable enough excuse, but Sawyer decided not to give Jonas a chance to question it. "When will you be taking Saga home, anyway? You can't stay here with Karoline forever."

"We haven't discussed that... I'm not ready for other people to see her, and neither is Jonas."

"So... you have discussed it?"

Francesca sighed and shook her head.

"I'm not Alpha here, and neither is Jonas. We've spoken about it together, but we need to speak to Selene and Valo; this is their pack."

It was surprising to Sawyer to hear his sister speak like that - he didn't think that she would respect Selene's authority, and she had never cared much about doing the polite thing before.

"When did following custom and asking permission from the Alpha become even remotely relevant to you?"

"The exact moment I found out about Saga. What I want doesn't matter anymore, Nathan; we need to keep her safe, and that means following the rules so that we have a safe place to raise her."

Sawyer sighed heavily and glanced toward the door before standing up.

"I should get back to Elizabeth."

"You've only been here for five minutes," Jonas smiled, "I'm sure she'd cope if you stay here a little longer."

There was a spark in his voice that made Sawyer look at him sharply.

"I'm sure she would."

Francesca didn't seem to have picked up on what was going on, and she dragged herself to the kitchen leaving the two men in an awkward silence that was only broken when the baby moved slightly and made a soft noise in her sleep.

"Are you sure you don't want to hold her?"

"I'd better not."

"Are you worried Elizabeth is going to get broody if you go back smelling like you've been holding a baby?"

"Something like that."

Jonas raised his eyebrows and smiled dryly, but didn't ask any more questions about it.

Sawyer felt slightly uneasy, but Francesca returned with a cup of herbal tea and set it down on the coffee table before scooping Saga into her arms and settling down to nurse her.

He smiled softly at the sight of his sister and her daughter, but he tried to avoid watching directly.

"How did you know she was hungry? She wasn't even fussy."

Francesca was watching the baby and she didn't look up to answer her brother.

"This is for my benefit; I was getting uncomfortable. I thought you were leaving, anyway?"

"I was...I mean, I am. I don't want to leave Elizabeth alone for too long."

"Oh come on, Nathan. You were complaining about sharing a home with her cousin yesterday, it's not like she's alone. If she doesn't want you to spend time over here you should just be honest about it."

Jonas' eyes sparkled with amusement as he watched Sawyer shifting uncomfortably and trying to think of an excuse to give his sister.

In the end, he sighed and decided it was better to just be plain about it.

"She's on Heat, Francesca."

She blinked at him and then shook her head slightly.

"Oh... that's it, is it?"

"It's the first time she's been in Heat since..." he took a deep breath and swallowed a lump in his throat before starting the explanation again. "It's the first time she's been in Heat since Cordelia."

He had used the name as a euphemism, but Francesca could see how painful it was for him to think about.

"She stopped doing anything to suppress it a while ago, didn't she? I was under the impression she's far more comfortable with this side of herself now from everything you've said."

"She is, and she started transforming again months ago, but she's only just come into Heat again. We didn't expect it to happen again, and it's not that I'm trying to take advantage of this, it's just..."

"...you're afraid?"

Francesca's tone was unsettlingly gentle, and he sighed heavily and nodded in response.

"Yes."

"You know that she's in Heat; as long as you're careful you don't have anything to worry about."

"She doesn't want us to be careful - she wants a baby."

He had expected Francesca to be shocked, but she looked him in the eyes for a moment and she didn't seem surprised at all.

"Do you want a baby?"

"I don't know..."

She narrowed her eyes and smiled wickedly.

"Liar."

"It doesn't matter what I want, Francesca. I'm scared that she only wants this because she's in Heat, and even if she really does want us to start a family, it's not the right time... we haven't technically asked whether the pack is willing to let us stay with them, let alone a baby."

"I tell you what..." Francesca paused to cover herself and then passed Saga to him without even asking whether he wanted to hold her, "I'll go and talk to Valo and Selene, and you can stay with Saga and Jonas until we get back. They're reasonable people, and there's no reason for either of us to avoid them."