Chapter Two: Magic In The Family

Welcome back!  This is the second chapter of the Bateman Legacy and quite a bit happens in it.  I would like to request that if anyone is actually reading this, to please give me some feedback on how to make it better.  I'd like for my writing to be at least moderately entertaining!

And now, on with the show!

 Bianca turned out to be very helpful around the house.  She kept the place clean and she was even handy enough to upgrade several of the plumbing devices to be self-cleaning.  Alan found that he rarely had chores to attend to upon returning to the house.

 He took it upon himself to set up furniture in the spare room, as Bianca was far enough along in her pregnancy that he didn't want to make her lift anything heavy.  Besides, the bed and crib were easily assembled once he bought them.  The dresser was a bit more of a hassle, but he got that set up as well without too much trouble.

 With two people in the house, Alan finally broke down and bought a run-down, used washer and dryer set.  It was too much work to cart the clothing over to the laundromat and besides, Bianca seemed to be perfectly happy to do the laundry for both of them.  Alan wasn't going to complain.

 Actually, he very much appreciated Bianca's presence.  The house didn't seem so empty any more, even if they weren't chatting but simply sharing a room and going about their own business.  Alan was even beginning to consider seeing if she wanted to move in on a more permanent basis.  His plans for moving out of the town once he got a better standing in his career were fading as he realized how much he enjoyed his friendships here.

 Bianca was also a pretty good cook.  Not as good as his mother, but far better than him.  He couldn't even manage a salad without messing something up.  Dinner conversation often centered on what both of them had done during the day, with little talk spared for the future.

On his off-days, Alan would take Bianca to the library in his new truck.  For now it sat in the empty driveway, but he was setting aside funds to build a proper garage for it.  He was happy to simply have a method of travel that wasn't dependent on his own power.

 Bianca devoured texts on pregnancy, childbirth and child-rearing.  Alan perused a few of them, but he had to admit to queasiness at the sometimes graphic detail.  At least he picked up a few tips on how to deal with hormonal, emotional pregnant women as he had been floundering.  He had a sneaking suspicion that it would help with any sort of emotional sim in the future, but for now it was enough that he knew how to comfort, or at least not upset, Bianca when she was feeling under the weather or down.

 Bianca felt the pains of labor early one morning.  She could have woken Alan up, but he had worked late the night before having recently gotten a promotion to back up vocalist and she didn't want to bother him even more than she already was.

 She regretted her decision to bike to the hospital shortly after beginning the ride, but it was too late to just give up then.  Bianca had never given up in her life and she wasn't about to start now.  She would just keep her little bicycling decision to herself and hope nobody saw.

 She did choose to take a taxi back though, as once she was done giving birth she realized the biggest flaw in biking to the hospital had been a complete disregard for how she was going to get her child back home.  She named her little boy Marlin and found herself truly happy for the first time since finding out she was pregnant.  She'd had second thoughts often during her pregnancy, but after holding Marlin for the first time she wouldn't have let him go without a fight.

 For the first few weeks after giving birth to Marlin, it seemed like the house was out to get Bianca.  Everything was always breaking and she began to seriously consider a job as a repair woman.  Certainly she had plenty of experience repairing broken plumbing.  She just needed to get some skill in with repairing electrical things, though she didn't really relish the idea of risking electrocution.

 Alan had fallen in love with little Marlin.  He was an adorable baby and rarely cried.  He was also an attentive listener to new pieces Alan was trying to learn.  Alan was even coming to think that maybe he wouldn't mind if Bianca stayed in the same house forever, and not just because she made it less lonely.  She was actually a wonderful person who seemed to compliment his personality perfectly.

 Oftentimes, getting home late from work, he would stop in Bianca and Marlin's room to feed the little boy a late night bottle and snuggle with him as his mother slept on unawares. 

 Bianca was getting more proficient at cooking.  She began to consider maybe picking up a job as a dishwasher instead of a repair woman.  It seemed less life threatening.  Though she had to admit that she was delaying getting a job.  It made her feel guilty to continue imposing on Alan, but she really didn't want to leave.  Besides, Marlin was already attached to Alan and would surely be upset if they left.

 Annoyed one day at the washing machine (which was always acting up) Bianca pulled out her wand and sent an icy blast at it.

The result was predictable and she grumbled as she set about repairing the mess she had made of the machine.  Luckily it didn't kill her.

 "Why Marlin, you just keep getting bigger.  Soon you'll be able to crawl around."  Realizing that the child would indeed be moving around soon he started figuring out how to baby-proof the house.  "Gotta make sure you can't get into the cabinets..."

Bianca was facing a huge hurdle.  Several actually.  One, she needed to get a job and get back on her feet but she didn't want.  Second, she was having what she supposed must be a mid-life crisis, and quite certain that she was aging far too quickly.
"Alan, do I look old?  Has having Marlin made me old?  Do I look like my sisters?!"
She may have been overreacting a bit.

 Alan, normally the least flirty guy you would ever find, decided the best way to convince Bianca that she wasn't old-looking, and that she still looked better than her older sisters, was to give her a kiss.

 Things progressed fairly quickly after that, although the cry of Marlin from the next room kept them from going any further than messing around on top of the covers of the bed.

 Bianca went to care for her son, a tad bit confused.  Alan had always refused her advances before.  She couldn't fathom why he would be interested in her now, especially since she had a baby.

 Despite her best efforts, Bianca could see the wrinkles appearing on her face.  Alan continued to assure her that she was in no way "old".  Bianca also rarely slept in her own bed any more, nor did either of them worry about Bianca leaving, but foremost on her mind was the encroaching wrinkles.

 Marlin grew into a young boy who spent far too much time shoving the cylinder into the square hole, to the bafflement of both his mother and Alan.  The best Bianca could do to explain it was to say, "I guess he must have inherited some of my magic...I can't tell for sure though."  Alan decided not to mention that he would prefer it if they just kept the magic a fair distance from him.

 Not that that stopped him from spending time with Marlin.  The little boy didn't show any other signs of being a witch and even if he had Alan loved the boy.

 He also loved Marlin's mother, but that was a completely different story.

 They had let their friends know that the two of them were "seeing" each other now.  It wasn't really too much of a surprise for anyone, considering how Bianca had just sort of become a permanent room mate and, her flirty nature being well known, it being hard to imagine her staying there without Alan and her being together.

 Most days consisted of the three of them in the main room, Alan practicing his guitar despite having no intentions of moving.  Bianca would often be reading or playing with Marlin.  The boy was already talking and taking his first steps.

 Late night snuggles were still a routine Alan and Marlin engaged in that Bianca remained oblivious to.  Despite her tendency to stay up late, she was often in bed by two and Alan didn't get off work until one in the morning and the ride back home took quite a bit of time.

 Bianca aged gracefully into her wrinkles, soon coming to accept them, if not without a fight.  It helped that Alan truly didn't notice them.  That and the fact that much of her attention was taken up with caring for Marlin.  She couldn't imagine what she would have done without Alan to help her.

 Which was why she was so nervous one morning after a positive test.  The last time she had told a man she was expecting his child he had dumped her and moved on to someone else.  It didn't help her that when his next conquest got pregnant he continued to move.  She still felt like she was risking Alan.

 Alan, much to Bianca's annoyance, could immediately sense something was up.  As he put it, "You never wear baggy clothes like that.  What's wrong?  Are you feeling okay?"  Bianca loved Alan, and she was scared of losing him, but she had to admit he could be more blunt that he needed to be.

 She insisted that they eat breakfast first and then she needed to talk to him.  She barely tasted the pancakes as she ate her rather small portion and then washed up the dish, before sitting back down to wait for Alan who, despite his curiosity, still ate like he was a growing teenage boy.

 Hesitantly Bianca broke the news to Alan after cleaning up the rest of the dishes.  She was hoping mostly that he wouldn't yell.  At least with the stereo nobody would hear and she could attempt to keep some of her dignity when she had to find a new place to live.

She did not expect Alan to lower himself down to one knee and fish out a small box.

 The fact that he already had a ring was what truly sealed the deal.  It wasn't just him asking to marry her to keep the baby legal.  If he already had the ring, before she had even told him about being pregnant, then he had been planning to ask her already.

 Needless to say, she said yes.  Her days of hopping from boyfriend to boyfriend were long behind her.  Alan was just relieved she had said yes.  He was a bit in shock about the baby, but they had handled and were handling Marlin just fine.  The two of them would be well able to care for another child.

 They had a small wedding a little while later, inviting over some friends and their families for a little party.  The garage, recently completed, served as a reception hall that housed cake and dinner.

There wouldn't be a honeymoon for the two of them, but they didn't need one.  They had each other after all.

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Whew, I was afraid Bianca would refuse to get married.  She's a flirty night owl, a bit childish and carrying around a ton of commitment issues, and being a snob she wants to live in the lap of luxury...Which probably isn't going to happen, at least not while I control her. 

Some bonus pictures!

 Alan is really excited about his soon-to-be born kid.  More excited than Bianca, for sure.

Marlin was at the wedding of his mother and Alan.  I think he might have a better relationship with his step-father than he does with Bianca...