Chapter Text
Edmund Bridgerton returned to class on the following Monday, looking much better than he had the previous Wednesday. He opened the brightest smile the second he crossed the decorated door and his eyes fell on Kate. In a blink, he dashed across the room, slamming straight against his teacher's legs before she could even brace herself.
"Whoa, careful there, mate!" Kate laughed, patting the small boy's head affectionately.
"Hi, Miss Katie!" Ned pulled away from the embrace just enough to beam at her.
"Hello, Neddy." Kate smiled as she leaned down, pushing a lock of the boy's unruly brown hair from his eyes. "Are you all better?"
"All, all, all better!" He agreed with a cheerful nod. "I was super strong and I almost didn't cry, like you asked."
"I knew you'd be the strongest."
"Your Newton necklace helped me a lot." The little boy told her solemnly, fumbling with one hand for the chain inside his uniform shirt. "I took very, very much care of it, I promise."
"I had absolutely no doubt in my mind you would." Matching Ned's matter-of-fact tone, Kate accepted the necklace he was handing her, clasping it around her own neck once more. "Thank you for keeping him safe for me, Neddy-boy."
"I did, I kept him very safe, all the time." For a moment, the boy beamed at her proudly, before he remembered something, reaching out for a bag Kate had not noticed he'd dropped when he smashed straight against her. "Oh, oh, and, and I got you a present!"
"Oh." Kate blinked a little stupidly as Ned held the paper bag towards her before she carefully reached out to take it. "A present?"
"Yes. For you." The four-year-old paused, as if trying to remember a line someone had taught him. "You were very nice to me when I was really ill, and I shouldn't have told Papa that I was feeling alright when I wasn't and... And... and I am sorry I vomited in your shoes, because vomit is really yucky and smelly, and I'm sorry." He blinked eagerly up at her, looking very proud of himself, not only for the present but for remembering all he had to say.
"You didn't have to get me anything because you were ill, sweetling."
"But I wanted to! To say thank you!" He insisted stubbornly. "I picked it myself! Well, Papa helped me, but I picked it mostly myself. And he helped me write a card too! Like, Papa took me to the mall and I chose the one I think you'd like. I think you'll like it, because I chose it for you."
There wasn't much to do but open the present, smiling softly under the young boy's expectant gaze. It hadn't been necessary to feign a look of wonder as she pulled a shoe box from the bag, opening it to find a pair of stylish, comfortable-looking moss green boots. "Ned... They are absolutely lovely."
"Yeah?" A wave of pride flooded Ned's features. "I picked it! Even the colour! I picked one without laces because laces are annoying! Papa even let me pay for it!"
"You have excellent taste, buddy." She ruffled his hair, smiling at his pleased grin.
"There's a card too! I made it!" Neddy shoved his hand inside the bag, pulling out a white envelope, closed by a Spider-Man sticker. "I picked the sticker too!"
"How did you know I love Spider-Man?!" Kate gasped, a little exaggeratedly, although it was not really a lie, and Neddy's eyes shone brighter.
"I love Spider-Man too!" He practically vibrated on the spot, bouncing on his feet. "I like the Hulk too. And Flash. And Batman! Papa and I watch Batman all the time!" "But Spider-Man is my favourite," Kate smirked covertly, more than a little familiar with the countless arguments she'd had with Anthony over the merits of Batman, his favourite superhero, and Spider-Man, hers. It felt a little like smug vindication to know that, despite his best efforts, his own child had the good sense and taste to recognise the superior hero.
"He's my favourite as well." The gleam in his eyes at her admission warmed her heart. With all the care in the world, she removed the sticker from the opening, pressing it down to the other side of the envelope for safekeeping before she reached for the contents. There were two slips of paper inside, one bigger than the other. The bigger one clearly contained a child's drawing and some scribbled words, and it was the one she pulled out, leaving the smaller, which only had a few lines of a very familiar handwriting, safely tucked inside. She wanted to inspect that one privately.
"Let's see what we have here!" She hmmed as she scanned the note with Ned bouncing excitedly next to her. "'Thank you for taking care of me, you are the bestest. Ned.' Did you write this?!"
"Yes!" He all but yelled in her ear, his smile so big his cheeks were probably sore from the effort.
"That's amazing, Neddy! I love it very much." Kate ruffled his chestnut hair as the boy preened under the attention. "Your writing is getting so good, I'm really proud."
"My Papa helped me with the words, because I didn't know how to write all of the words. He wrote the ones I didn't know on a paper, and I copied them. But I wrote them on the card myself! And I drew everything as well! Papa didn't help at all!" He tugged on Kate's arm so he could point at the figures on the page. "Look, it's our classroom, and this is me, and this is you, I made you with your new shoes, look! And this is Newton!" There was a small pause as Ned turned to her, blinking his big chocolaty eyes. "When are you going to bring Newton to class, Miss Katie? You said you would!"
"I know, buddy." Kate pushed the hair that had once again fallen from his eyes in his previous excitement. "I'm working on a date for my sister to bring him here for a morning, with Principal Danbury."
"You have a sister?"
"Yes, I do."
"What's her name?"
"Edwina." Edmund seemed to ponder on that new discovery for a second before he nodded.
"She starts with E, like me, right?!"
"That's right."
"Is she big or small?" Kate couldn't help but chuckle at the question.
"She's... She's younger than me and she is a little small, but she's a grown-up."
"I don't have a sister or a brother." Ned sighed a little dejectedly. "But my Papa has a loooooot of them, like this." He lifted his two open hands. "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven..." He lowered three of his fingers. "Seven, like this."
"That's a lot of bothers and sisters." Kate nodded solemnly, as if she were not only aware that Violet Bridgerton had had eight children, but had once been very familiar with all of them. "Why don't you draw your uncles and aunties so you can show them to me?"
"Yeah! I'll..." The little boy bounced around, reaching for his bag with all the energy of an overly excited puppy. "I can do that! I make very good drawings! I can even write their names... I think. I'll, I'll try! But I think I can!" And with that, Ned was gone, shoving his rucksack into its usual place in the cubby before running to his seat, already speaking to his friends in rapid pace as he reached for the can of coloured pencils.
Kate smiled gently as she moved to her chair, staring at the present sitting in front of her, trying to ignore the silly thumping of her heart as she imagined Anthony shepherding his overly excited son around a store in search of a pair of women's shoes. A pair of pretty, comfortable shoes meant especially for her.
Goodness, that was a dangerous line of thinking.
With one eye set on the arriving children organising themselves around the room, Kate put the card Ned had made her back into its envelope and fished the second, smaller note from it.
The handwriting in the slip of paper hadn't changed much in the past eight years, still the same tight, efficient bundle of letters Anthony had always favoured. It wasn't even a very long note. Just a few lines that read:
"Kate,
I'm sorry to hear about your boots. I hope these will serve as a suitable replacement and a token of appreciation for all you do for Ned.
Anthony."
It meant nothing. It was just a gift to thank her for taking care of his son. She's gotten that type of gift before, although they were rarely anything as nice as the pair of boots sitting in their box under her desk. The note wasn't even particularly personal, either. It didn't mean anything but that he was a parent who appreciated the person who cared for his child six hours a day, five days a week. It didn't mean anything.
Still, Kate's heart was thumping madly as her eyes traced the neat words again and again, as if it had been the most romantic of gestures she'd ever seen. As if her mind could memorise every brush of his pen against the sheet of paper. Telling her heart again and again, it wasn't that big of a deal, was proving to be the most futile endeavour she'd ever seen.
If this is what she got like after one silly, rather impersonal note and a nice present... How the hell was she going to survive until Summer Break?!
She was so damn screwed.
Anthony stood in the school's courtyard, his eyes surveying the mass of children and parents milling around for the third time in ten minutes. He had seen classes come and go within that time, including several of the kids he recognised as Ned's classmates and still, his son was nowhere to be seen, which was probably a bad sign.
There was that girl, Lettie, who cried for her parents at drop-offs and, according to Edmund, as soon as Kate asked the children to start packing up, her pigtails swinging wildly as she hung from her father's arm with a huge smile on her face. To his left, he could see Hector, the boy Ned always complained about, throwing a tantrum with his mother. He could see the two girls, Laura and Marina, who, according to his son's reports, were either best friends or did not like each other, depending on the day or hour. It seemed they were friends once more, since they were playing together while their mothers talked in a corner. And there was....
"Mr Ned's Dad?" Anthony turned to find Ed Mc... something, he truly didn't remember the last name, a little, dark-haired boy who could not stand still for longer than four seconds and who Ned seemed to consider one of his closest friends, tugging gently at his arm. "Are you looking for Ned?"
"Hey, Ed. Yes, I am. Do you know where he is?"
"He didn't come down with us." The little boy muttered, bouncing on the balls of his feet. "He… he stayed. In the classroom. He's talking to Miss Katie and this older boy."
Anthony sighed, rubbing his eyes. Good God, was Edmund in trouble? Had something happened to him? Or had he just gotten distracted with some new friend he'd made and completely forgotten his father would be waiting for him?
"Thanks for letting me know, Ed. I'll go find him." The little boy nodded with an excited smile before dashing out to where his mother had been chatting with Letty's dad and another mum, Anthony didn't really recognise. The group smiled and waved at him, and he waved back before marching towards his son's classroom, his mind running through all the possibilities of what he was going to find when he got there.
Yet, at no moment during his short journey, his mind had even come close to considering he'd find his son standing as close to his teacher as humanly possible while Anthony's own youngest brother spoke to Anthony's ex-girlfriend.
The two boys seemed to be having two completely different reactions to the exchange. Edmund had a huge pout on his face, his arms wrapped a little possessively around the teacher's legs as he glared daggers at his uncle. Gregory, on the other hand, did not seem to notice his nephew's murderous glare, too busy beaming at Kate while they chatted, his school uniform's tie and blazer missing, probably shoved hapzardly into his rucksack. If, by any chance, Greg had noticed how close his little nephew was to committing some unspeakable act against his person, he most certainly did not seem to care; his entire attention was focused on the woman in front of him.
And to top it all off, because the situation wasn't annoyingly unexpected enough, Anthony's eldest little sister stood beside the group, interjecting on the conversation Kate and Gregory were having at leisure with a self-satisfied smile on her lips and Ned's tiger pack thrown over her shoulder.
It wasn’t usual, but sometimes, on occasion, Anthony wished very hard he had been an only child. He wasn't sure his life would have been entirely easier or fun if it were the case, but at least, he wouldn't have to be dealing with something like this.
"...And my grades are great, even if sometimes I end up getting in... Oh, hi Ant!" The entire group turned to stare at Anthony, standing frozen a few steps away. Greg smiled at him, Daphne offered him a little wave, and Kate looked as if she was wondering how on Earth she had been caught up in that situation. Edmund, after a few seconds of pondering, his face turning from his father to his teacher and then to his uncle and then his father again, seemed to come to a decision and reluctantly removed his arms from around his teacher and dashed towards the comfort of Anthony's arms.
"Hey, little buddy. Gregory. Daphne." He narrowed his eyes at his siblings as he hoisted his frowning son up with a kiss to the top of his chestnut curls. "What are you doing?"
"I'm talking to Kate," Greg replied as if that hadn't been perfectly obvious in the first place. From Anthony's arms, Edmund let out a little huff, leaning his chin against his father's shoulder, his pout only growing bigger.
"And why are you here bothering Kate at her workplace instead of being, I don't know... At school, where you should have been?"
"Classes end early on Mondays." Greg shrugged, and Anthony had to fight really hard against the answer that was bubbling at the tip of his tongue, which he was certain was not appropriate to a primary school corridor.
"I picked up Greg and, since the Secondary building is just a fifteen-minute walk away, we thought we could hitch a ride home with you, instead of taking the tube, since we knew you'd be picking up Ned, and it's such a nice day!" Daphne interjected without a drop of shame.
"Of course you did." He rubbed his eyes with one of his hands, a low sigh of defeat rushing through his lips at his siblings' antics.
It had been two months since class had started and, thus, two months since Greg was let go early on Mondays. And yet, not even once in those eight odd weeks, Greg and Daphne or whoever else picked him up, had chosen to meet Anthony at Ned's school for a ride. And then, the first day after his family discovered that Ned's Miss Katie was in fact his ex-girlfriend Katie, there the two of them were.
If he was being very honest right at that moment, he was not as surprised about them being there as he was about the fact that there were only two of his seven siblings standing there.
Anthony had gotten an earful the moment he stepped inside his mother's house to pick up his sick son. He had to sit in the living room, after checking on Ned, who had passed out clutching the dog-shaped pendant in his small hand, listening to his mother and Benedict berating him about how they had been caught completely off guard by finding Kathani Sharma in Ned's classroom, and how could he possibly have kept this from them?! And why?!
The answers to that last question were standing right in front of him, looking not at all embarrassed or apologetic about their scheming.
"Well, I'm here. Let's go."
"But we've just got here!" Greg whinned dejectedly.
"And now it's time to leave," Anthony replied drily. "The school day has ended, I'm sure Kate's dying to finish whatever she does after class so she can pack up and go home after an entire day dealing with over twenty four-year-olds." Greg opened his mouth to say something, but Anthony was faster. "And I want to go home after working all day as well. So, say goodbye and get moving, hotshot." He turned to glare at Daphne, who had the audacity to roll her eyes at him. "You as well, lady."
"It was lovely to see you, Kate." Daphne offered Kate an apologetic smile, as if Anthony was being unreasonable.
"You as well, Daph."
"I'm sure we'll run into each other again, soon." His eldest younger sister winked before Greg all but elbowed her out of the way.
"I have to go now. He's my ride." He said with a roll of his eyes and an annoyed huff, as if his brother wanting to go home was a big hassle to him. "But I leave school early on Mondays so I can stop by to catch up, and Anthony can drop me home."
"I don't want to give Uncle Greg a ride," Edmund grumbled into Anthony's shoulder. He had to bite down on his thong to keep from replaying to his four-year-old son that he rather shared the sentiment, and wasn't really feeling too graceful towards his little brother either. He wasn't sure he wanted to encourage this idea of Gregory coming to bother Kate at her place of work once a week.
"You'll be more than welcome any time you want to stop by, Greggy." Kate smiled brightly, ruffing Greg's hair, who beamed as if Christmas had come early.
"No, he isn't." Ned's mumble was too low for anyone but Anthony to hear.
"Say goodbye to Miss Katie, Ned," Anthony muttered, pushing his brother towards their sister by the shoulder.
"Bye, Miss Katie," Edmund muttered glumly.
"What, your dad's here and now I don't get a proper goodbye? Not a hug? Not even a high-five?! How typical." Kate huffed dramatically with a roll of her eyes. Emund giggled at the theatrics as he put his arms out for his teacher to pick him up. After being safely transferred to Kate's arms, he squeezed her tightly with a happy sigh.
"Bye, Miss Katie."
"Bye-bye, buddy." She pressed a loud kiss to his cheek and set him down, ruffing his hair. "You'll be good and I'll see you tomorrow, alright?"
"See you!" He grinned again, pressing a second bone-crushing hug to his teacher's legs before moving towards where Gregory and Daphne were, making a taunting face at his uncle.
Anthony sighed, aware his eldest sister was ignoring the bantering boy as she watched him turn to Kate. "I'm sorry about them."
"I was actually surprised I hadn't run into anyone in your family but you," Kate told him with a little conspiratorial grin. "But I've realised it might be because it seems they weren't aware Ned's Miss Katie was me until your mother and Ben collected Ned early on Thursday."
Anthony groaned at her pointed look. "Can you blame me? You know what they're like." He motioned to his sister, who was not even attempting to pretend she wasn't paying close attention to their conversation. "I'm sure you'll run into just about every member of my family before the month is through." Kate's only response to his annoyed grumble was to throw her head back and laugh. Anthony would be lying if he said the sound didn't still make his heart beat a little faster in his chest. "How was Ned today?"
"Good as new, as if he hadn't been ill a day in his life." Kate smiled gently in the direction of the four-year-old. "He's a great kid. You should be proud."
"He is. I... I am. Proud of him." Anthony cleared his throat. "I have to thank you again for the way you handled him. My mum told me what you did and... Well... I know he can get quite clingy. It's been him and me from the start... There's my family, of course, and they'd been grand and so much help, but... I mean..."
"They're not his parents." Kate completed.
"Exactly." Anthony let his shoulders sag a little. He wasn't entirely certain how much Kate was aware of Ned's familial situation, but, as it had always been, she seemed to understand whatever he was struggling to say. "It's not usually a problem. You've said it yourself, he's a great kid. But sometimes he can get very... Dependent on me, and it's been a bit of a problem over the years. It's not that I don't want him to depend on me or that he can't! But sometimes, I can't be there and he'll have a meltdown, which doesn't help his condition at all and..."
"Anthony." The softness in her tone stopped him dead, his mind still completely and utterly enchanted by her voice. "I get it. We're adults, and life happens. I know how much you care for Ned. It's plain to see in the way he speaks of you. You're not doing anything wrong. Besides, every child has their favourite caregiver in stressful situations, even in... ordinary family situations."
"Yeah, I... I know." He did know. Logically, he knew he had responsibilities other than his son. He knew he wasn't a relapse father who left his child on a whim. He did his best to be there in every possible situation in which Ned might require or want him. His son would always be his first priority, but he had obligations with his work as well, which couldn't be completely thrown to the wind.
But it wasn't as simple as logic, was it? Anthony felt guilt-ridden every time he arrived home to find his baby crying his lungs out, red-faced and breathless, or dozing off after crying himself to sleep waiting for him. It destroyed him, knowing his son had needed him and he hadn't been there. Even if he knew he would have been there, if he only could. Maybe he wasn't trying hard enough. Maybe he'd never be enough. He'd never be the father his own father had been; he'd always known that, but still, it ate him away whenever he couldn't do it.
Kate might not realise just how much he'd needed to hear someone, anyone other than his own family, tell him he wasn't doing anything wrong. He wasn't being a bad father, and the best he could do was enough. His son was happy and loved, and he was enough.
Or maybe she did. She'd always known the exact right thing to say to him.
"Thanks. Thank you." Anthony muttered, because what else could he say?
"I'm happy to help. And I should thank you, too. For..." Kate cleared her throat, her entire face darkening with a blush. "For the card, and..." She waved her hand without meeting his eyes. "Everything else."
"It was the least I could do," Anthony chucked as he tried to break the strange heaviness that had taken over the conversation. "I know how hard it can be to get the smell of vomit out of something." The grimace on the teacher's face confirmed what he had thought when the idea arose to get her a new pair of boots. "Besides, for the first time since Ned was born, I managed to go to the loo when he was ill without a huge meltdown. Just a few tears, this time."
"That's quite the progress." Kate nodded in feigned seriousness, although he could see the amusement curling up her lips. He just shrugged.
"He still stood by the sink waiting for me to finish, though." Kate couldn't help but laugh this time. "But he wasn't wailing and sobbing."
"Baby steps, Anthony. Baby steps."
"Yeah, baby steps." He agreed. He wanted to say something else, maybe thank her again for her words and for the way she took such good care of Ned, but there hadn't been enough time to come up with something.
"Papa! Papa!" Ned showed up at his elbow, tugging on his arm. "Papaaaaa! Can we have chips and milkshake on the way home?"
Anthony raised an eyebrow at the four-year-old who was shooting him his best pleading glance, batting his eyelashes sweetly. "Do you think it's a good idea, mate?"
"Yes." Ned smiled, blinking innocently up at him. "I think it's grand!"
"I set myself up for that, didn't I?" He asked, rubbing his eyes with the heels of his hands.
"You kind of did, yeah." Kate chuckled.
"Right." Anthony sighed, kneeling to be at his son’s eye level. "Buddy, you've just got back from a nasty stomach bug. Remember your tummy hurt and you vomited a lot? I think it would be best to wait a few more days before stuffing your face with a bunch of unhealthy food."
"But Papa!" Edmund exclaimed with great feeling. "It's not unhealthy!"
"Sorry to tell you, buddy, but it is."
"No, like... Like... I don't have to have a chocolate milkshake!" The four-year-old insisted, holding his father's cheeks with both his hands to ensure his complete and undivided attention. "I can get a fruit milkshake, because fruit is healthy. You always say eating fruit is good! And... And... Chips are potatoes, right?! And potatoes are vegetables, right?! They are, aren't they, Miss Katie?!"
"They are vegetables, Ned." Kate agreed, clearly having to hold back to keep from laughing at the scene, which was not at all helpful, in Anthony's opinion. But at least Edmund didn't know chocolate came from cocoa, which was a fruit. Imagine the power that information would hold for him?
"See, Papa?!" Anthony took his son's little hands in his so the boy would stop squeezing his cheeks in his excitement to prove his point. "I always have to eat my vegetables because they're healthy! And chips are vegetables, because they're potatoes!"
"They are vegetables." Anthony agreed, and Ned almost jumped in excitement. "But," The boy deflated instantly, and Anthony was torn between laughing and feeling sorry for his dejected little face. "When you fry the potatoes, it makes them unhealthy. We could get a smoothie instead, what do you think?"
"I don't wanna." He pouted. "I want chips and milkshake."
It was a lost battle from the start, Anthony knew. "Look, that's what I can offer. We'll get a small fruit milkshake on the way home, and I'll make you some mash for dinner."
"Just milkshake and no chips?"
"Sorry, bud. Chips are a no-no this time. But I'll make Chicken and Mash. Mash is potatoes, and they're not fried." Edmund frowned, his forehead wrinkling as he considered the proposition before he let out a big sigh.
"I suppose that will do." He told his father officiously, the tone making Anthony smile. "Can we not get a milkshake for Uncle Greg?"
"Sorry, mate. If we're getting milkshakes, we can't leave Uncle Greg out of it." No matter how undeserving Uncle Greg was at that specific moment, Anthony refrained from adding.
"We could get him a smoothie," Ned suggested as Anthony rose to his feet with a groan.
"We'll see about that when we get to the shop, bud." He put out his hand, and Ned grabbed it instantly. "Let's go, so Miss Katie can go home and rest." He turned to the woman who had been quietly watching the exchange with a soft, lovely smile on her lips. "Thanks again, Kate."
"It was my pleasure."
"Miss Katie!" Edmund chirped. "I'm getting a milkshake and then Papa is making me mash!"
"That sounds really yummy, buddy." She told him kindly. "Enjoy, and I'll see you tomorrow."
"See you tomorrow!" He waved, walking backwards with his hand still clutched to his father's.
"Bye, Kate!" Greggy screamed.
"Bye, Greggy! Bye, Daph." Kate waved at his siblings with a bright smile, and Anthony tried to pretend he wasn't watching her as she stood by the door for a few seconds before walking inside of the classroom.
"We're getting milkshakes!" Edmund announced to his aunt and uncle, while his father was still half distracted by the closed door. "But not uncle Greg. He's getting a smoothie."
"Why?!" Greg cried, looking offended. "I want a milkshake!"
"Papa said so."
"I said we'd discuss this when we got to the shop." Anthony sighed. Greg beamed victoriously, and Ned made a face. They started moving towards the school's exit, Gregory teasing his nephew as if he, too, was four and not thirteen.
"So," Daphne muttered in a low voice as she fell in step with her eldest brother a little behind the bickering boys, ignoring the glare he was shooting at her. "What were you and Katie talking about?"
"Ned." He grumbled dryly. "I don't know if you remember, but he's the reason we're all here right now."
"Only Ned?" She raised an eyebrow at him, and Anthony wanted to scream. That was why he hadn't said anything. Yes, Kate had been his girlfriend, and yes, he might still have some feelings for her, but Ned was his priority; Kate was at her workplace. And most of all, it was none of his siblings' bloody business!
"What else would we talk about? Guys, no fighting." He ignored the scoff his sister let out in favour of watching the boys pushing at each other.
"Oh, I don't know," Daphne muttered in faux thought. "Maybe all the years you were together way back when, maybe?"
"We have nothing to talk about other than Ned."
"Oh, come on, Ant! We all know you've never really..."
"Daphne." He growled, his patience coming short. "If you don't shut your damn mouth, you're not getting any milkshake."
"Oh, brother," She smirked. "What would I do without your milkshake?!"
"Shut up." He grumbled, fishing his pockets for his car keys. "And wipe that grin off your lips or you're walking home."
Daphne threw her hands up as she moved towards the passenger seat, the smirk still very firm in place, and Anthony knew for a fact it wasn't the last he was hearing of it from her.
Great!
Just great! As if having Kate back in his life wasn't trouble enough.
But God, he really hoped she'd liked the new shoes he’d picked for her.