It's Skipped Again (Aiden)

It had skipped again, and April was worried. Well, she was always worried when she missed her period. Damn it, Elliot and her just needed to find a better form of protection. He said that he used a charm to keep her from getting pregnant, but sometimes she questioned it. So here she sat in an empty hospital room, praying that she was right...that her daddy wasn't at work today and that she would get someone that had NO affiliation with Aiden Showers...but with his recent promotion to head of Mungo's she found that that would most likely be impossible. Groaning she laid back on the hospital bed while she waited for the Healer that would tell her her fate. She had begged for confidentiality, so that her father would not know...so the hospital had her down as a Jane Doe. Being the daughter of a Head Healer had its advantages...that and claiming to be scared within an inch of your life also had its key advantages.

This just kept happening, and she was honestly considering banning herself from having sex with Elliot...but it was just soooo GOOD! She couldn't help that her boyfriend had the body of a God and the skill of a professional porn star. It was SO not her fault! She supposed she was a bit to blame by the fact that she could not resist him, but then again...she hoped that he couldn't resist her either. God, if her father found out he was going to kill her...and chop Elliot's dick off. (His words, not hers)

Laying back she sighed and pressed a hand to her belly, God, she just couldn't bare the thought of having a baby in there...she just couldn't. Her father would disown her and never EVER speak to her again. He would send her away and never speak to her again, and she would deserve it and just have to accept the fact that she had fucked up her life so royally; that not even daddy, her hero, could save her. Tears in her eyes she whimpered and swallowed hard. Where was the damn Healer?!

Aiden sat in his office, currently destroying things around the room with small explosions from his wand. He wanted to kill someone, or at least kick the living shit out of someone. And he had one person in mind. Elliot Valentine. That kid had defiled his daughter for the last time, especially if she turned up pregnant. It was almost comical that she thought he wouldn’t know about her coming in. Not only was everyone in the hospital afraid of getting fired by the head of the hospital, but his best friend’s wife was head of the maternity ward. As soon as April had come in, Merideth Spencer had paged him and warned him of it. She was a mother, and practically an aunt to April. So he knew she would want to protect her more than anything. In this case, protection meant informing Aiden, and for that, he was extremely grateful.

As soon as he was calm enough to go and see her, he made his way there. Normally, he didn’t take easy little appointments such as these. But for April, he would go. And he would teach her a lesson like never before. She would either learn to use more than one form of protection, or she would be scared into abstinence. But in Aiden’s mind, those were the only options. If she was pregnant, he was pulling her out of school. God damn it, he was going to throw up if he thought about this any longer. He closed his eyes before entering, and taking a deep breath, walked inside and closed the door behind him. He held up a hand, to make sure she knew to stay silent. Then he put on his reading glasses and perused her chart.

“Miss....Doe, is it? It seems you are in for a pregnancy test. Tell me...” He said, looking up with dark, intimidating eyes. “Does your beloved father know that you’ve been naughty?”

He cleared his throat and stood, the weight of his job title and parentage almost visible in his stance. He took a few steps toward her, and as soon as he was next to the hospital bed, he reached out and smacked her ass hard with the clipboard.

“Oh my goodness, I am SO sorry! That must have just slipped right out of my hands. You’d think after this long at being a healer, I would have gained control over my nerves.”

He smiled kindly, but she of all people would know the fury that was really behind his eyes. And no, it wasn’t just anger. He was also severely disappointed that she was even here to begin with. He knew she had been sleeping with Elliot, and though he didn’t like it, the bigger issue here was protection. Or lack thereof. And he was not letting her leave today without FULLY understanding that.

Aiden

479

April had to admit that it had been a while since she had been legitimately frightened of her father. But his expression and demeanor told her that she was in deep shit. Merlin, someone had ratted her out! She wished her father had never gotten that stupid promotion, April couldn't take two steps without him being right on her heel. After a couple more minutes of him talking and her getting a very rude smack to the ass she felt tears come to her eyes. She knew that he was going to start screaming at her at any moment...and she just didn't have anything to defend herself with. She loved Elliot, so they made love often...but she would never reveal that to her father. Keeping her lips firmly closed so that her father would not scream at her mouth she stared straight ahead.

But it didn't last long and it wasn't more than a minute before her chin began to quiver and the tears slowly poured down her face. However she just stood here, not making a sound. In all reality she had asked for this, and she knew that was what her father would point out. He looked stressed and tired, maybe that was her answer....maybe she was pregnant. God, she hoped not. If April was pregnant she would be sick. It wasn't that she didn't want to have Elliot's baby, it was just that she wanted to wait....wanted their first child to have both their mummy and daddy together. She wanted Elliot to do what he wanted in life and not have something tying him down. Just as April wanted to do something with her life other than being forced to stay home and take care of her children.

Her hands reached down to her the hem of her top and she nervously wrapped her fingers around it. Why was her father smiling like that, why couldn't he just be real with her? This wasn't a time to joke around or act like a pompous douche bag, although many people found this to be the proper description of her father. She never really believed it until she was at the brunt of it.

"What do you want me to say?" she whispered. "I did use protection...it just.... happens..."

She knew that something such as that would not be an excuse for her father. However she had to stop taking her pregnancy potions, they were conflicting with her anti-depression meds.

"Do you have my results?" she whimpered. "Am...am I...pregnant?"

April

Aiden felt his left eye begin to twitch. It was almost imperceptible to most people, he was sure. But it was a common occurrence for him when he was stressed. He also felt his hands begin to shake as he tried to center his emotions so he wouldn't go off on his daughter like a bloody freight train. But it was so difficult for him in this moment. The blood within his veins was literally on fire and his temper was very close to exploding. She was not being very vocal right now, and damn it, he NEEDED her to be vocal! He needed her to use her fucking voice so that he could know that she had retained at least SOME of what he had taught her throughout her life. But here she was, once again using her tears as a defensive mechanism, and he was tired of it! The truth was, she knew she had fucked up. She knew that she had gone over the line. If she hadn't, she wouldn't even be here in the first place! God, he really wanted to shake some sense into her, but he knew that his intimidation factor would last longer if he just used the powerful gift he had been given. His lecturing ability.

"I cannot believe you, April Olivia Showers! You know how to protect yourself, and you sure as Hell know that you are too God damn young to be a mother! Have I taught you absolutely nothing throughout your life? Or is it that you don't even have an ounce of respect for me after all that we've been through together? Because I am pretty sure I taught you better than this. And I am damn positive that your mother has! So let's start from the beginning, shall we? Months ago, when you first started dating this jackass, I warned you not to become intimate with him. But you were still on birth control because it was the safe thing to do. And do you remember what you did? You threw the fucking thing into the God damn ocean! So maybe that right there, was a less than intelligent thing to do. Did you go back on it, April? Did you even think about it? Or did you just trust the dumbass with a dick to do the thinking for you?!"

His chest was heaving, and he knew that his wife would royally kick his ass for speaking to their child this way, but sometimes yelling was the only thing that would get April to break down the walls she put up. And yes, his words were harsh. But Aiden had never been very good and keeping his emotions in check. The rest of his family knew it, his friends knew it. And without a doubt, April knew it. But he still didn't feel like he had put his point across well enough for his teenager to comprehend.

"You think I haven't thought about your anti-depressants, huh? I'm a healer, April, it's what I do. If you had even thought to ask me, you would have found out that there were alternative birth control potions that could have been prescribed, that would not have interfered with your treatment for depression. But you didn't ask me, did you? God, you want me to be involved, you WANT me around, but do you let me in? I feel like it's a fucking one-way street, April! You don't give me the benefit of the doubt and TALK to me, but you still expect me to be around for you one hundred and ten percent of the time. Well guess what? When you shut me out, there is nothing I can bloody do! So from now on, you tell me what to do. Because you either want my help or you don't, and right now, I feel so betrayed it's...I can't even describe it."

His eyes filled with angry tears, and he knew he had to stop before he said something he truly regretted. He had probably already gone too far. His logical, sane mind knew that he had. But he wasn't thinking with logic right now, he was overwhelmed with shock and fear. This was his baby girl...and she was sitting before him, possibly carrying a child of her own. And he had no fucking clue how to help her with that. He turned and took a few steps away from her, trying to gain his bearings, but it didn't really help. So he pulled up the chart and turned the page, actually reading what was in front of him before saying another word.

"Negative," he said coolly. "You are not pregnant. And you are free to go."

784

April's voice had gotten caught in her throat and her stomach felt like someone had poured acid into it. She didn't know what her father expected her to say, she had apologized...but that was all she could do. And at this point...she never wanted to speak with her father again. He knew how much she loved Elliot, how much he meant to her...but he couldn't see past his own face and pride to believe that he loved her. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she continued to listen to her father rant on and on. She wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of knowing that he had made her feel horribly worthless. That at this point she wanted more than anything to go outside and jump in front of the night bus. Closing her eyes she begged internally that when he stopped for a breath of air that that would be the end. But of course it wasn't...and he started up again.

Without thought she wrapped her arms around her stomach. She knew that she couldn't be pregnant...she just couldn't be...but that didn't mean she felt any less horrible. Her stomach turned and churned, threatening to expel its contents all over the floor and bed. But she knew it wasn't a bout of morning sickness or anything of the like. No...this was because her father had filled her with such disgust for herself that she wanted to vomit. Closing her eyes she tried to tune out some of the things he was saying to her. But they just stabbed and stabbed repeatedly at her heart and veins. Causing her head to throb and her body to shake and shiver.

Finally...it ended and her father finished with the words "Negative" as well as his apparent eagerness for her to leave. Sniffling she nodded and rose from the bed, gathering her purse and redressing. They had made her put on a gown so that they could examine her stomach in case she was pregnant...but that seemed to be pointless at this point. Whimpering softly, because she was truly at a loss of words she fumbled with her purse and jeans. Tears rolling down the bridge of her nose she sniffled and swiped at her eyes. Smearing the makeup she had put on all down her face.

Getting dressed and gathering her belongings she glanced at her father once more. But she couldn't even look at him. Bowing her head in shame, and partial fear she scurried past him and began making her way down the hall. But before she could get to the door she flung herself into the girls bathroom and locked the door. Dropping to her knees in front of the toilet she threw up. She threw up everything that had managed to work its way into her body. April had never felt so horrible, so disgusted, so worthless...and it was her daddy that made her feel that way. Her hero...her knight in shining armor...the man that had saved her so many times in her life had yelled at her, scared her, and insulted her to the point that she believed him...to the point that she didn't know what else to do other than to get sick in the bathroom.

Closing her eyes she rested her head on the cool rim of the toilet seat and cried. This time her tears were without sound. Her sobs echoed through the bathroom and no doubt disturbed several patients in the rooms beyond the hall from the lobby. Taking her wand she flicked it at the door, her non-verbal magic sealing her inside with a silencing charm. April didn't want to be seen, she didn't want to be heard, she didn't want to have to look at anything or anyone. Not even herself. She was nothing but an ugly, little, disgrace that her father had to put up with.

Out of all of this she never thought what this had to do to her father's reputation as Head of Mungo's...she never thought that it would hurt him. She was selfish...a selfish, little, brat that didn't deserve what she had in life. Burying her face in her hands she cried harder, the sick feeling returning causing her to retch and dry heave over the bowl. The only thing worse then what she was feeling at the present moment...was that she was feeling it alone...and that her daddy hated her so much now that she couldn't even expect him to come and comfort her.

Slowly reaching into her purse she pulled out a picture that she kept with her wherever she was. It was of her and her daddy from this past year. It had been before she had started dating Elliot...before Gabby had been brought into the family. Before any of this bullshit drama had started...her daddy looked so happy, and April looked so...well...she was happy too, but being a teenager caused her to take the picture with an attitude. Closing her eyes she whimpered an curled up into a ball. Those were all distant memories now...polaroids from the past that she had no hope of bringing back into the present day. God, she just wanted to DIE she was so fucking pathetic!

"I...I...HATE...You!" she sobbed, glancing at her reflection. "Why...why can't you do the world...a...a favor...and...and just DIE...the next time you try and off yourself!"

She stood and glared into the mirror.

"You...you can't even do THAT right."

All the anger she had felt under her skin, at herself, at her father, at the world began to boil. Her eyes darkened and without another word or breath she threw her fists into the mirror as hard as she could. The glass shattering and piercing her hands with an angry scream. Or...had that been her screaming.

Gasping in pain she lowered herself down to the ground and watched as the red from her hands slid down her arms. Tears rolling down her face she glanced up at the ceiling and let out a loose sob.

"God...I hate...you..." she bawled.

(Words: 1,006)

Aiden stood in a sort of sick silence as his daughter got dressed in front of him. He watched her as she cried, and like a helpless child, he stood without a word. Now was the time the guilt would set in, just like all of the other times he had made a mistake as a father. But this wasn't just any normal fight they had gotten in. He had practically made a grave with that lecture, tossed her in, and buried her inside of it, not caring whether her spirit lived or died. And with the way she left the room right now, he was leaning toward the thought that he had crushed that spirit within her. After a few moments, he followed into the hall, watching her go into the women's restroom. He gently flicked his wand and amplified the sound. And what he heard made him close his eyes and cringe. She was throwing up. He had pushed her to the point of being sick.

He felt tears prick his lidded eyes and his chin quivered, listening to her crying. He deserved to listen to her now, deserved the pain of knowing he was the cause of her broken heart. He needed to be immersed in this feeling of guilt and sorrow, so that he could fully comprehend what he had done to his own flesh and blood.

But it didn't take long before his charm was dispelled and he could no longer hear what was happening in the bathroom. He knew she must have cast a silencing charm of her own, and now he was standing there debating about whether he should go in there or not. He watched a young nurse heading the way to the bathroom and he cut her off. He didn't want anyone in there but himself.

"Walk away nurse," he said darkly. She seemed to misunderstand his intent, because she kept trying to get to the door.

"Step the Fuck. Off."

This time, the nurse was not confused. She looked up in fear at the head of the hospital, and scurried off to find another loo. His hands were shaking again as they made their way up to the door handle. And of course, it was locked. He took a deep breath, not exactly sure what he would find behind the door, but knowing that he needed to check and make sure she was alright. He raised his wand and unlocked it, letting himself inside, but being careful not to let anyone else follow him. And what he saw made him want to sick up in turn. There was blood everywhere, and the feeling of pain and loss was almost palpable. He felt tears streaming down his face in a matter of seconds, and without another thought, his daughter was in his arms and he was taking her to the closest exam room.

He still had tears on his cheeks as he finished bandaging her hands. And he softly stroked her cheek as he injected a pain potion into her arm. What could he say to make this better? How could he fix the broken girl that lay in front of him? Especially when he had been the one to break her. None of what he had said before really rang true, but he knew she had taken it to heart. And he had a feeling he couldn't just step in and be the hero this time. He couldn't fix it this time, not with a snap of his fingers. His baby girl needed help, and this time, he wouldn't be able to. But at least he could try. He stretched the bed and laid down beside her, wiping any remnants of tears that might have been on her cheeks still.

"I believe I neglected to tell you something in my earlier rant. I think you heard enough about your mistake...more than enough, actually. But what I didn't tell you was how incredibly proud I am of you."

He felt himself choking up again, but he had to continue speaking, it was the only way to make his heart continue to beat.

"Oh, there's the normal things, like high marks, and how sweet you are to everyone. I'm proud of what a wonderful big sister you are, and what a wonderful daughter you are to your mother and me. But there's something I am proud of that I haven't told you about yet," he said softly, looking into her eyes. "I am proud that you have found someone good and kind to love, like Elliot. And I am proud of the fact that you and he are faithful to one another. I know I have not always been particularly kind to him, especially with how I spoke of him today. But honey...I know you love him, and that he loves you. And I'm sorry if I made that love feel worthless today, April. I was just scared. I saw my baby in front of me today. My baby that I held in my arms the day she was born...and I couldn't take my eyes off of her beautiful face. My baby that I watched grow big enough to go out onto the ice for the first time...my baby who stole my broomstick multiple times before she had gone off to Hogwarts..."

He felt more tears falling, but this time he was smiling at the memories that were flooding him. But the smile was quickly replaced by pain.

"I was scared that you were going to have a baby, and I didn't know how to help you with that. I felt lost and helpless, love. But that is no excuse to make you feel the same. I am so sorry, my princess. Please don't let those hurtful words tear you down. I don't want to be the cause of your undoing...when your heart breaks, mine does too. I hope you know that."

He leaned forward and softly kissed her forehead. "Please forgive me, my love. I love you more than you can ever comprehend. And I promise that from now on, no matter what happens...even if you did get pregnant...I will never ever make you feel like this again."

1,028

April didn't know what was happening when her father burst into the bathroom and scooped her into his arms. She wasn't sure how to react or what he expected her to say. So she just kept her head bowed and allowed more silent tears to fall. Her father should have just left her to bleed to death, she was nothing but a whore. But apparently her father still wanted her to live. He wanted her to live the life of a whore and plague the other people around her. And to April that was a fate worse than death. Closing her eyes she turned her face away from him as he began bandaging her hands. She couldn't look at her father anymore, not after all that had been said. Of course she still loved him, but whenever she looked at him she heard the words that he had used to stab into her worth. The sharp insults that had cut her so deep.

She wanted to forgive him, she truly did...but at the moment saying those words made her feel bitter and sour. April knew that she did forgive her father, Hell, she loved him so much that she couldn't even imagine a day without him. However that did not change the fact that she was still terribly hurt by all the things he had said. And April knew that those words would haunt her for weeks. And her daddy would never quite know how much they cut at her. Not until she blew up on him...not until she did something so bad that it would help her let go of his cruel words. April couldn't just tell him that she was offended...because if she did her father would just cry...and if he cried it would just make her feel even worse about herself. But if he yelled at her, she might be able to laugh...depending on the deed that resulted in punishment.

Sniffling she still looked away as he wiped the last of the tears from her face. But it was a futile effort, especially after he started talking again. How could he do this to her....how could he say that he loved her just after telling her that she was basically a slut? Closing her eyes against more tears she let out a shuddering breath. When he asked her to forgive him she nodded, sobs caught in her throat.

"Y-Yes....da-a-ddy..." she whimpered. "I...I do..."

Turning away from him she closed her eyes and cried softly. Feeling her shoulders shake she let out a loose sob.

"W-W-Why did you say...all...all that stuff...if...if you...didn't...mean it?" she wailed. "I...I...I didn't...come....come to you...be-because...you...you scream at me first...you...you...you don't let me talk...or...or defend...my-myself..."

Aiden held her close, tears coating his cheeks...and at this point he didn't care about how awful he felt. He just wanted to fix what he had broken. She was absolutely right...he had gone off on her, not really allowing her to try and stand up for herself. One of his favorite things about April was how strong she was, and how much she could take care of herself. But when he was the one to tear her down and to make her feel belittled, he didn't know where to go from that. For Aiden, that was hitting rock bottom. It was the most painful thing in the world, to hurt your own child. And now all he could do was hold her and tell her how much of an ass he was.

"I lost my temper, honey. It's as simple as that. But I don't ever want you thinking that is alright or that it was deserved. You are my beautiful daughter. You are intelligent, strong, brave...and your worth transcends this life. I don't think I could ever describe how incredible you are, and how much you teach me daily."

He pulled her face to look at him and he softly stroked her cheek, remembering all the times he had done so when she was little. That was a time when she felt he could do no wrong...and now she knew the truth. He was as imperfect as they came. But he sure as Hell loved her with everything he possessed. He prayed to God she knew that.

"You are not only wonderful, but you also have high standards and morals. I made you feel like you didn't, but it's not true. I apologize for that. And now it's your turn, baby. Tell me what's on your mind...you deserve for me to listen. Are you alright now? Are you scared?"

April wasn't sure that when her father asked that if he meant was she scared of him...she was a little bit scared of her father without this lecture, but in her eyes he was still her daddy and she still loved him dearly. for six years of her life it had just been her with her father and mother...there was a special bond there that her other siblings would not get to share. So in a way she was very happy to be the oldest child in her home, but it also made her very sad. Her father didn't coddle her like he used to when she was Juney's age, and when Juney actually came into this world he got far more stern with her...and April didn't really like that. She had one night begged her father to see how much he had change and in turn it got them into a huge fight that involved April telling him that she hated him and her father telling her that she wasn't welcome to call him daddy anymore. It had been a night that April had spent crying rather than sleeping and her father had locked himself in his office that entire night because he couldn't stand the sight of her. Feeling more tears slide down her cheeks at that particular memory she wrapped her arms tight around him and buried her face in his chest.

"I'm...I'm not scared," she sobbed. "I...I...I'm not..."

She knew those words wouldn't hold up with her father, not with how she sobbed them out like that...but it was the only way her voice would come out now. She was still so hurt by all those things he said and even though he said he didn't mean them part of her thought he did. He had to get such ideas from someplace and April could not help but think that they had been lingering in his mine for years....and this had just been the opportune moment to tell her what he thought about his princess.

"I...I feel worthless," she cried. "It....that...that horrible sad feeling...that...that caused me...me to want...want to jump over the boat..."

April felt even worse telling her father that. She didn't want him to think that it was him personally that was making her feel that way. April knew that without her father she had no chance at survival. April needed her dad to survive...she could not go on without Aiden Showers because then her life would cease to exist. She just wanted the sad feeling to go away....it felt so consuming and it hurt her heart.

"Make it go away daddy," she begged, her sobs echoing in their hospital room. "Make the sad feeling go away!"

April sounded like a little girl again with the way she was talking to Aiden in this moment. She was asking him to take away her pain, and to make her sad, depressed feeling go away, but he almost didn't know what to do. He was now the head of St. Mungo's, he had been a healer for twenty-three years, and he was her father. But he didn't know what to do to make his baby feel better. He was giving her anti-depressant potions, or at least he thought he was. Whether she was taking them or not, that was a different story. But right now, with everything that had happened, his father's intuition was telling him that he should just hold April. Every other thing could wait, but his princess needed him immediately.

"Honey...I'm not sure I can take the sad feeling away completely. I think that maybe we should re-evaluate your medications and make sure you are taking the right potion and dosage. We can find the right anti-depressant and birth control combination. But baby, I think over and above the meds, you just need to know that you are loved. And my job as your father is to tell you that everything will be alright. And I promise you that someday, it will be. I can't tell you exactly when, or precisely how. But I can tell you that it will."

He closed his eyes and released a few more tears before pulling her even tighter in his embrace. He and April always seemed to have these fantastically beautiful moments together, directly after a horrific fight. But he wasn't going to question it, or let the moment pass him by. He was going to savor this time. He didn't know how many more chances she was going to give him before she just gave up on him being her hero, but he wasn't going to take the chance and let this go.

"I love you, April Olivia. And I'm sorry you've had to put up with me mistreating you all of these years. No child should be afraid of their parents. And don't try to deny it, I know that I do scare you when I yell like that. I know...I know I don't deserve you...but I thank God for every day that I was given the opportunity to be your father. And I wouldn't trade it for the world, sweetheart. I wouldn't trade you for anything," he whispered as he leaned over and kissed the top of her head.

April cried into her father just wishing that her pain would go away and never come back. She hated being this way, hated that her father must have felt like he was walking on eggshells. She ruined his life and he just said that it was okay time and time again. April hated that...hated that she was the bane of her parents existence. All those times her daddy had ignored her she saw a reason behind those times....now she knew why he had ignored her. She was a horrible person to be around. And if April would have known someone that was like her she was sure she would have ignored that person as well. Her daddy deserved so much better than her and all she could give her was a base second version.

Closing her eyes into his shirt she took the time to breath in his cologne. Her daddy always smell so good to her and the comforting smell she got from whatever it was he was wearing was almost enough to lull her to sleep. She remembered her daddy taking scarves of hers and just spraying them down with whatever it was he wore. Or she would take his hoodies and wear them just so she could smell him while she was at school. During April's first year of Hogwarts she didn't think she would make being away from her daddy so long. And to help her cope, every week, he would send her another hoodie that smelled just like him...and she would send back the first one to be washed. It always made her feel less homesick and when she slept in her dorm room at night she would wear it and just imagine it was her daddy's arms around her; humming to her until she drifted off to sleep.

He didn't do that anymore, but she supposed that was because she never asked him too. But her daddy didn't now that she missed it, terribly. When she turned thirteen it seemed the relationship between her and her father had fallen apart. But April supposed she didn't do much to keep it together. She went out drinking, got into a lot of trouble, and made her daddy so mad his vein's threatened to pop....now she understood his coldness towards her.

She just hoped out of all that her daddy knew that she loved him with all of her heart...no matter what she said or did.