Awww! Poor Stephen! ):
I bet anything 3 months will begin to feel like 3 days

I know I'm late, but amazing job!
I'll be waiting for more (:

You're going to hate her more.
Thank you, love
And then I'll be waiting for you to be online again

Chapter 14: Slowly Getting There

The next three months Stephen lived with the Riccis were okay. He eventually went back home and everything was back to normal. Everyone was happy and Stephen became a healer.

If only things were that easy.

Now for the real story.

The next three months of Stephen’s life were hell. Well, at least the last two were. For the first month, almost everything was going well. That was before Stephen had misplaced his wand. After that, Diana was forcing him to eat meat or anything that had its taste. Since he refused to eat anything of the matter, Stephen was “grounded” almost every night. If his wand hadn’t gone missing, he would be back home, with people he actually liked. At least Raul was trying to make his life a bit less difficult by letting out the house without Diana following him. Stephen couldn’t even visit Chelsea to ask for help without Diana following him there and being nosy. But even after that, Diana still had someone keep an eye on Stephen, which was starting to freak him out.

Quickly dialing his brother’s number on his phone, Stephen waited anxiously for Leonard to pick up.

“Hello?”

“Giraffe, I need you to apparate me back home,” Stephen said.

“Why can’t you do it yourself? You have your own wand,”

“I would if I knew where my wand was. It’s disappeared and I can’t find it anywhere,”

“Then go to Chelsea’s house, she’ll apparate you back,”

“Again, I would if Diana would stop following me everywhere I go and eavesdropping on my conversations,”

“Then how are you able to talk to me right now?”

“They’re going to some gala thing tonight and are out shopping. I said I already had clothes so I won’t have to go with them. I seriously think Diana doesn’t want me to leave,”

“Wow, I knew the woman was somewhat mental but not like this. Since I personally can’t get you, I’ll send Lexi and Kat to Chelsea’s place. Hurry up and get there, then apparate back to your parents place, find your wand, pack your things and apparate home,”

“Simple enough, I guess,” said the monster, quickly making his way out the apartment and catching a taxi crosstown.

“But are you at least eating well?” Leonard asked, hinting the worrying tone in his voice that reminded Stephen of his mom.

“Define it,”

“Don’t tell me they’re making you eat meat. If I wasn’t touring for the next three months, or the entire summer, I’d come get you and feed you myself,” Leonard chuckled.

“Well then it’s a good thing you’re touring. I’ll call you back if anything else happens, just make sure your phone is on,” Stephen said, feeling Leonard nod over the phone and hung up. Hurrying his way to Chelsea’s floor, he knocked hoping someone would answer right away.

“I’ll get it!” Stephen could hear the voice he sadly hadn’t heard in so long and missed. When Lexi opened the door and laid eyes on her best friend, all Stephen could see was horror in her eyes. “Stephy?” she asked, her hand slowly reaching up to touch his face. “Why do you look so dead?”

Stephen sighed. “It’s a long story,” he said as he walked into the senior Way home. Out of instinct, Stephen made his way to the kitchen and sat down at the counter. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Chelsea and Kat, along with Lex, rushing into the kitchen.

“May I ask as to why you’ve gotten so thin in three months?” Chelsea asked; more like demanded. “Your dad as called me once in a while and I kept lying saying that you were alright and doing well. It’s pretty obvious you aren’t,”

“Grandma, is Stephen going to die?!” Kat cried, clinging onto her dear friend. “Don’t die, Stephen! I won’t let you die!”

“Katlyn, Stephen’s not going to die, but he might become very sick if he doesn’t take care of himself. Have you spoken to anyone else? What about your girlfriend?” Chelsea sat in front of him; her bright blue eyes staring into Stephen’s dead green ones.

“No. Every time I try to call someone to write a letter, Diana would barge in on me and make me do something to keep me distracted. Now my wand’s gone missing and you’re the only hope I have to get back home. As for Aimee, I haven’t talked to her either. She’s most likely mad at me and would break it off again,” he explained, banging his forehead onto the counter. “Oh and as for why I’m freakishly thin now, Diana made meat every night and when she offered me and I denied, I was ‘grounded’. So I haven’t been eating right these past months and since I don’t go anywhere without Diana as a shadow, I stay indoors. That’s also the reason why I haven’t passed by here recently or at all,”

“So what do we do now?” Lex asked.

“We have to apparate back to their house, get my things, and summon my wand and apparate home,”

“No, don’t apparate home. They’ll know you’ll go there first so just apparate back here and to Tyler’s house. I’m sure they’d like the company,” Chelsea smiled, getting to her feet and heading to the secret room she had in her big apartment. “On second thought, don’t go to Tyler’s house. You can stay in here for some time. Just until they believe you’ve run off, into the world on your own,” she called out, making her way back into the kitchen. “Go on now. I wouldn’t want them to catch you sneaking out or anything,” she shooed them. Lex nodded, taking Stephen’s and Kat’s hands and letting Stephen apparate them to his parents’ home. The condo had seemed orange, with the sun slowly setting from the outside. This meant they only had enough time to pack and find his wand.

“I’ll go pack while you guys summon my wand. It has to be in this house somewhere,” Stephen said, hurrying over to his rental room. It was a good thing Lex cast the undetectable extension charm on his suit case. And it was a good thing Stephen barely unpacked and put everything back whenever he washed his clothes or used something. Closing his suit case and heading back to the hallway, Lexi’s voice called out to him; sounding as if she had found something interesting.

“Well, we found your wand,” Lexi said, handing over one of Stephen’s prized possessions. “Diana was hiding it in the closet, behind many clothes. I guess she really didn’t want you to leave. Plus, she kept all the letters we’ve sent you,” she showed them and stuffed them into her bag.

“I thought only stepmothers were evil,” Kat said, bracing herself to apparate again. “Come on, you know I really hate to apparate but we have no other choice. I just want to get out of here and -,”

“What do you think you’re doing?” Diana, Raul and Clare burst through the door.

“GO, GO, GO!” Kat yelled, hugging Stephen’s arm tight as Lexi held his other arm, and apparated. But the apparition wasn’t quick enough. Diana managed to jump on the misfits, apparating herself with them. Mostly everything was a blur. One thing Stephen could remember was kicking Diana’s shoulder so she wouldn’t know where they were going. He also felt Kat tighten her grip on his arm and his sleeve was suddenly wet; as if she were crying. As Diana’s figure became smaller, the misfits hit a floor with a thud, all in different places. Slowly getting up and rubbing the back of his head, Stephen looked around; recognizing the familiar home he hadn’t visited in a while.

“It’s going to be okay, Kat! I’m sure Stephen would cure you!” Lexi cried from another room. Quickly getting to his feet and heading upstairs, all he saw was Lexi and Kat on the ground, and Kat’s arm had a large cut on it. “She got splinched!” Lex cried a bit harder, pulling Stephen to his knees on the ground. “When Diana managed to grab her, Kat lost her concentration. I couldn’t go back to her grandmother’s place, it was just too risky. I just had to bring us further away where your mom had never been before. Do something Stephy!” Nodding, Stephen quickly ran downstairs and opened his suitcase. He knew one day this little potion would come in handy. Especially since Kat never really liked to apparated; but getting to places was much faster that way. Basically running up the stairs, he knelt next to Kat.

“Don’t let me die, Stephen! I’m too young to die!” Kat sobbed, her tears coming down like waterfalls.

“Shut up, you’re not going to die,” Stephen said, opening the small vial.

“Hurry up! I CAN SEE THE LIGHT!” she cried harder, reaching her hand towards the “sky”.

“Kat, that’s the light bulb above you,” Lexi said as Stephen slowly poured some essences of dittany onto the cut. “How did you manage to make that?”

“From the book Leonard gave me. Tricky little potion, but I think it came out pretty well,” Stephen said and watched as the cut began to slowly close up.

“Stephen, give me your glasses! I wanna look smart for when I go to heaven!” Kat said, reaching up for his face and taking his glasses.

“I don’t have my contacts with me. Give me my glasses back or I’ll splinch you!” he threatened, taking back his glasses from her. “Anyways, let’s get you bandaged up and rested. I’m sure your uncle wouldn’t mind us staying here again,”

“At least he would feel better if you called or wrote a letter before entering his home,” Tyler spoke, walking up the stairs with a sleeping Nathan in his arms. “What are you doing here anyways?”

“Rescuing Stephen from his evil biological parents. Kat got splinched apparating here so we’re just going to clean her up,” Lex explained, heading towards the room Kat had always stayed in whenever she felt like crashing here.

“Alright. We don’t mind you staying here, but does this mean your mom is going to end up coming here, Stephen?” Ty asked, entering the room behind the misfits. Though he should’ve put Nathan in his crib first before entering.

“No, she doesn’t know where we went and she doesn’t know where you live. So I think we’re good, hopefully for the rest of my life,” Stephen said, bandaging Kat’s arm. Tyler nodded, heading out the room and into Nathan’s. After Stephen was done with Kat, the misfits just sat in the room, quiet for the first time around each other.

“Oh, I have to show you guys something!” Kat suddenly spoke, making Lexi and Stephen jump. The hyperactive girl jumped from the bed and reached for her bag. “My band is touring in the fall and you guys are invited for when we hit London,” she clapped her hands together and took out a flyer. “You’re allowed to bring one guest each and you get in for free,”

“Sounds like fun, I’ll go,” Lexi smiled, looking over the colorful flyer in front of her. “Well, we all know Stephen’s bringing Aimee,”

“I haven’t even asked yet,” Stephen defended.

“Right, her dad can be uptight at times. Looks like it’s time to meet the parents,” Lex teased with a smirk growing on her face. “That should be fun,”

---------

“I’m nervous, my palms are sweaty, my heart’s racing and I feel like my legs are going to give in on me. Is this normal?” Stephen asked as he walked with Aimee towards her father’s job.

“What, didn’t you meet your other girlfriends’ parents before?” Aimee asked, rubbing the back of Stephen’s palm, trying to calm him down.

“We weren’t together long enough for me to actually meet them. You’re making it sound as if I’ve had loads of girlfriends before you,”

“Well then how many did you have?”

“Two,”

“Are you sure?”

“I think I’m capable of remembering. We’ve been dating for six to seven months; do I really have to meet your dad?” Stephen asked, but it sounded more like he was pleading not to meet her dad.

“Do the other months of us dating count?”

“Up to you,”

“Okay, so in this case they do count. This means we’ve been dating for over a year and it’s time for you to meet my dad. I’ve met your parents and you didn’t say anything about it,” Aimee protested, stepping into a building and pressing the elevator button. “Why don’t you want to meet my dad?” she added, now stepping into the elevator, followed by the annoying boy she called her boyfriend.

“You ended up at my house unexpectedly and stayed. No one told you to meet my parents,” Stephen laughed, still being dragged by the blonde in front of him. “Honestly, do you think your dad would be alright with his little daughter dating someone older than her? Plus, I’ve never met past girlfriends’ parents so I don’t know how to act,”

“We’re only a year apart. It’s not like you’re thirty years older than me. Then we would’ve had a problem,” she explained. “And just be you. He slightly knows you from my aunt’s party, remember?” Aimee knocked on a door, but stepped in anyway. “Hi dad, I want you to meet my boyfriend Stephen. Stephen, this is my dad. Glad we got that over with,” she quickly said and walked out the room. Dumbfounded, Stephen had no clue what to do now. Does he follow behind her or stay in her dad’s office?

“It’s alright, Stephen. Aimee’s told me all about you and so, you have permission to date my daughter,” Mr. Beaumont said. “Now go on, enjoy the concert,” he added, going back to his work.

“Oh, thank you,” was all that could come out of Stephen’s mouth. He walked out, headed towards the elevators and waited.

“I told you there was nothing to worry about,” Aimee poked Stephen’s temple and laughed.

“I hate you,”

--------

“I didn’t know the band’s fanbase was this insane!” Leonard yelled over the loud music. Stephen, Lexi and Aimee shrugged. Sure they teased Kat all the time, but they knew she was usually passionate about her band and playing drums. And speaking of the fans, they were mostly teenage girls who began flailing whenever someone from the band or another band, passed by. But luckily, Kat’s band was next and these fans would move closer to the stage in a few minutes.

“Oh look, the lights are diming!” Lexi jumped up and down excitedly. “Leonard, put me on your shoulders!” Groaning, Leonard did as he was told. He knew otherwise Lexi would stab him with one of her heels.

“Stephen, can you carry me on your shoulders?” Aimee asked, making her hazel eyes big, like that of a puppy dog.

“What?”

“Just do it!” Aimee said, lifting herself onto Stephen’s shoulders and making sure he was holding her tightly. Just then, both girls decided to scream their lungs out when Kat walked on stage.

“We love you, Kat!” they said in unison. Both boys had to endure their poor shoulders being crushed for the next forty-five minutes to an hour. Never again are they coming to a show where Kat’s band is headlining. Not to mention the pain they’re going to be feeling tomorrow after the exhausting night.

“Stephen, why aren’t you in a band? You know how to play guitar and you can sing. Why not try it out?” Lexi asked as they waited for the crowd of teenagers to clear up and bit. Sitting on the floor, Stephen shrugged. He never really thought about being in a band. Though playing in a “band” at Tyler’s wedding, felt pretty cool in a way.

“I guess I’ve usually been focused on being a healer that I haven’t thought about being in a band,”

“How about when you become a healer, you try out for a band? I’m sure someone’s looking for your skills,” the blonde smiled, leaning her head onto his shoulder.

“If Kat can get into a band, then I’m pretty sure you can too,” Leonard spoke, lying down on the floor, trying to trip people. Well, he was successful at one person who somehow didn’t see his massive body there. “Seriously, I’m not that thin for people just to walk into me like that!”

“The next time, just don’t lay on the floor,” Stephen laughed.

“So what did you guys think about the show?” Kat quickly rushed to them after being followed by her little fans. Stephen and Leonard gave her thumbs up. As for Lexi and Aimee, they both began talking about how amazing it was. Yet, they wouldn’t feel the pain Leonard or Stephen would be in later.

“Oh, before you came, we were telling Stephen he should be in a band, but he doesn’t want to be in one,” Lex said.

“I never said I didn’t want to be in one. I just said I hadn’t put much thought to it,” Stephen argued, pushing Lexi onto the floor.

“We can call my uncle! I’m sure he’ll know at least someone who needs a guitarist! Even more so, a lefty guitarist!” Kat squealed, taking out her phone.

“Can’t we wait until I become an actual healer to do this? I need a fall back at least,”

“Alright, fine!”

Awww! Poor Kat!
At least getting splinched didn't change her attitude any

Great chapter hun! (:
Can't wait for more! even if I am late in reading it!

OMG I love Kat: "Hurry up, I can see the light!" And stupid Diana, I knew she was hiding his wand! Evil woman.

Can't wait for the next chaaapter! A little birdy told me it would be up soon
<3

It's okay, you're forgiven because of work and school and never answering me lol.
Tis little birdy is right!

Chapter 15: Birthdays, Engagements, Christmas, Jobs and Weddings, Oh my!


“So instead of going to a two-birthday kids’ party, we’re going to one for three,” Stephen complained, carrying about six heavy bags downstairs with him. Lexi and Aimee followed behind. Since they began dating again, Aimee was always spending time at Stephen’s house, but mostly learning to cook from his mom. “I bet Lori’s going to have a fit since she wasn’t made Nathan’s godmother,”

“Yeah, but she’ll most likely tell you since we barely talk and such. But why didn’t Lucy and Tyler make them the godparents?” Lex asked. Stephen shrugged, feeling Aimee and Lexi take his arms as they apparated to Chelsea’s house. The usual white walls were now decorated with green and blue streamers, balloons, plates, cup, hanging décor and snowflakes; indicating the winter time. “We’re here!” Lex called out.

“Oh good, you can place the gifts under the table,” Chelsea smiled, taking one bag from Stephen’s hand and sliding it underneath a table with a teal colored cover. She then proceeded to greet them each with a kiss on the cheek and a hug. It was something she only did to those she cared about and trusted.

“Everyone else is in the kitchen already. I have to go prepare some things before the rest of the guests arrive,” The trio nodded, watching as Chelsea headed towards her studio. Just then, more people began to apparate and the trio was pushed slowly towards a wall.

“Do the kids parents really have this much family?” Aimee asked, watching as people from different sizes moved side to side, greeting Tyler, Lori, Adam and Lucy. Let’s not forget their kids as well. Seeing two familiar heads walking towards them, Stephen felt someone grip his arm; only to find Kat trying to escape the massive amount of people that had just arrived.

“Hey guys, Leonard says we should go outside and have a snowball fight,” Kat jumped up and down, just to end up stepping on Stephen’s foot.

“Alright, as long as you don’t step on my foot again!” he retorted, shaking his right foot around. “Did you tell your grandma?”

“Yup and she says it’s alright since we don’t know most of these people and wouldn’t want to be around them,”

“Okay, let’s go!” Leonard said, making everyone in the group apparate towards the park. The small hills and large rocks, including the lake, were covered in white snow. There were only a few parts that weren’t touched yet due to restrictions for being too close to the trees. But other than that, it felt like the perfect place to be on a winter day.

“Are you mad!? You can’t just apparate us here in the middle of the day! And I thought I made it clear that I don’t want to apparate anymore after that incident!” Kat yelled, punching Leonard’s back with her small fists. Leonard brushed it off, ignoring what she was saying and wandered off towards another part of the park. “Where is he going?” Everyone shrugged, lost that Leonard had only walked away without saying a word. That was until something cold hit the back of Stephen’s neck, making him jump.

“SNOWBALL FIGHT!” Lexi called out, gathering a medium sized snowball in her hands and throwing it in Leonard’s direction. But were four against one really fair here? The group didn’t really care for that. They were just playing a game against the “old” member of the group. But just as their snowballs were heading towards Leonard’s direction, they were each hit in the face with another snowball; causing them to fall onto their backs.

“We got all of them!” A girl’s voice called out.

“Hopefully we didn’t get them too hard or else they’ll push us into the ice cold, dirty lake water,” a guy’s voice spoke to the girl.

“They’ve been through much worse than receiving a snowball to the face,” Leonard’s voice could be heard louder and louder as he stepped close to them. “Now get up pansies. We’re going ice skating,” he said pulling each of them to their feet. “Group, this is my girlfriend Judy. Judy, this is my brother, his girlfriend, his best friend and that’s just Kat,”

“Hey!” Kat argued, pouting her lips and looking away.

“It’s nice to meet you all,” Judy smiled. The girl had dark brown hair and brown eyes, like chocolate. She was a bit small, just reaching under Stephen’s chin. Though with her coat just stopping at her thighs and with ankle boots on, Judy looked much taller.

“As for the boy, everyone this is Cyrus, my boyfriend,” Lexi said, taking the boy’s hand. Cyrus was tall, but a bit shorter than Stephen. He had dirty blonde hair and green blue eyes. Only question was, why did Lexi keep it a secret?

“Pleasure to meet you all,” Cyrus said.

“Alright, enough with the introductions, let’ go ice skating!” Leonard said, pulling everyone over to the nearby ice skating rink.

“Why am I the only one not dating someone!?” Kat complained, waddling around like a penguin.

“Don’t know, maybe that’s why,” Stephen said, looking at her as she waddled onto the ice skating ring. Leonard huddled everyone into a circle and transfigured skates onto their shoes. “I’m assuming everyone’s magical here,”

“Yup. Cyrus is a half-blood and so is Judy,” Leonard explained, looking around to make sure no one had noticed sudden skates appearing on their shoes. “Everyone grab a partner and let’s go”

“But I don’t have a partner,” Kat said lowly, looking down on her feet. “And I don’t know how to ice skate,”

“Come on, I’m sure Aimee won’t mind teaching you. She taught me back in my seventh year,” Stephen said, taking Kat’s hand and slowly bringing her to where Aimee was.

“Yeah, and it wasn’t the easiest thing in the world!” The blonde spoke, taking Kat’s hand; showing her how to keep proper balance.

“Yeah, and I’m pretty sure I still have the bruise for it,” he laughed, following Kat around, making sure she didn’t fall too hard on the ice. For a beginner, Kat was way better than Stephen ever was. She was better at keeping her balance, posture and doing it on her own much sooner than him. Off in the distance, the trio could see Lexi and Cyrus, spinning around. Stephen was a bit upset she never told him, but as long as she was happy, he really didn’t mind. Towards Lexi and Cyrus’ right were Leonard and Judy; who stopped skating and were now in what seemed to be a deep conversation.

“What do you reckon they’re talking about?” asked Lexi, skating her way towards the trio. Stephen shrugged; watching in what he thought was Leonard reaching down to fix his shoelaces. Instead, the brown haired kneeled on one knee and took out a small box from his pocket. Stephen could hear everyone’s breathing stopping, including his. Feeling someone clutch onto his arm, Stephen felt himself breathing again and looked onto the couple; where Judy was nodding her head ferociously and kissed Leonard. Just then, Leonard turned to the group, putting one finger on his lips and quickly apparating with Judy back to Chelsea’s house.

“I think that’s our queue too,” said Aimee, holding Stephen’s arm as Kat buried her head into his chest, with him wrapping his free arm around her, holding Kat tight. Cyrus and Lexi joined them, also quickly apparating back to the home where they had to join the party. In that hour or so that had gone by, not much had changed, and Stephen actually got a good glimpse of the Stemp twins.

“Her name’s Saffron and his is Corbin,” Lucy said, approaching the birthday table with Stephen. The table had three cakes, each for the birthday kid. Nathan’s was blue, close to the color of his eyes but with a hint of hazel, making the icing look almost olive colored. Saffron’s was hot pink; Stephen guessed Lori had definitely picked the color for her daughter’s cake. Corbin’s was a typical sky blue color, not much excitement in the icing color. But he was sure the sparkling birthday candle would give it a pop. “They’re Lori and Adam’s twins. They were born towards the end on December, but since it’s all of their first birthdays and we’re like family, we decided to celebrate them together this once,”

“Except I wasn’t named the godmother!” Stephen jumped to Lori’s loud whispering in his ear.

“If you have godmother issues, take it up with the actual godmother,” he pointed to the brunette who was playing peek-a-boo with Nathan on the ground. “I’m the godfather so I only respond to godfather issues,” he chuckled, just to have Lori flick the top of his ear. Saffron had dark brown hair and eyes like her mother, sat in the middle high chair, clapping her hands in anticipation of tasting the cake. Then again, she wasn’t one until the end of the month so Stephen didn’t really know if she was excited or not. The twin boy, Corbin, looked just like his father. Blue eyes and brown hair. He might as well be twins with his dad and not his sister.

“I wonder what it tastes like,” said Kat, taking the tip of her finger and reaching for a bit of frosting off of Saffron’s cake. Without knowing, Stephen and Kat were being stared at by Lori. Without giving them a moment to think, Lori pounced towards them like a wild cat. “Run!”

----------
Christmas

The white snow was slowly and gracefully falling in the backyard of Grandma Fanelli. The Fanellis, including Lexi, would spend Christmas Eve here, bad or good weather. It was either that or have Grandma Fanelli go to their house and drag them to hers. Adriana and Giovanni were sitting in the living room, near the fireplace with Grandma. They were chatting away about Leonard’s engagement, Lexi’s idea to most likely be a model for Chelsea and the anticipation of waiting for Stephen’s healer results. The conversation was cut short when many footsteps were heard coming down the stairs and heading towards the backyard. They could hear the sliding doors of the backyard open and close continuously until all the youngsters were out of sight. One of the aunts set a charm on all the windows, in case they decided to break one in their chaos.

“Isn’t it wondrous to see them all grown up? Going their own ways soon and possibly starting a family of their own one day?” Grandma asked, specifically eyeing the eldest Fanelli boys and girl.

“Yes, it is. I didn’t know time was going to pass by so quickly,” Giovanni smiled, watching as the youngsters threw snowballs at each other. When Stephen threw one at Leonard and hit him in the face, Leonard charged for Stephen, falling to the ground with him. If only there were one day those two won’t argue or fight about the silliest things.

“You did a great job, with all three of them,” Grandma said and with a small smirk on her face, she walked towards the Christmas tree. Both Adriana and Giovanni were taken aback by what was just said. But then it hit them on who she was including. How could they forget the girl who was always following them around? The girl who left her old friends at their first school to join her best friend at Hogwarts. The one who always puts Leonard and Stephen in their place when they fought. Like now. Lexi managed to pull Leonard off Stephen, whose both faces were red from drowning each other in snow.

“Adri, an owl just sent a letter for Stephen with a note saying that it’s urgent he opens it now!” Adriana’s younger brother, Marcus, walked up and handed her the letter.

Looking at the envelope, Adriana sighed, opening the sliding door and yelling out to Stephen. “Stephen, get off your brother and get in here! You have a letter that needs to be opened now!” With that, he raven-haired boy rolled off his brother and made his way back into the house. Along with every other person in the yard to follow him. Taking the letter from his mom, Stephen carefully tore it open and read it out loud.

Dear Mr. Fanelli,
After carefully reviewing your application and test results, along with hands on exams on patients, the St. Mungos Admission Department hereby congratulate you on becoming a healer. With having one of the tops scores and determination, it was no doubt you’d be one of the very first to be picked. You may work at any St. Mungos hospital that is certified. Along with this letter comes a list of supplies you will need once you’ve decided to take on your job. You may also pick what department you’d like to work on and schedule that works most for you. Your healer certificate is included with this letter as well. Hoping you are well and enjoying your holidays.
- Melanie Rumford

After Stephen had finished reading, he went numb. He couldn’t yet process the letter he had just read to everyone and himself. Without thinking, he checked the larger envelope to see if it was all a joke. It wasn’t. Inside was a certificate indicating that he was now an official healer of St. Mungos. Everything around him went too silent. You may even be able to hear a pin off in the distance. It wasn’t until he heard hands clapping and cheering, that Stephen snapped back into reality.

“I did it. I actually managed to become a healer,” he said, feeling his mother’s arms embrace him. Without second thought, he embraced her back; trying to contain his excitement from the recent news.

“We’re so proud of you,” Adriana whispered into his ear.

“Stephy is all grown up now! Make sure you say hi to Kat for me whenever she’s in the hospital,” Lex joked, hugging him and letting go when Grandma Fanelli approached them.

“To congratulate you, I want to give you the first gift of Christmas,” said Grandma, handing him a box wrapped in penguin pattern paper and a red bow. Tearing the wrapped off and opening the box, Stephen laughed.

“Bright green scrubs,” he chuckled, taking them out of the package and placing it against his body. “Should come in handy,”

“Grandma, can we eat already? I’m hungry!” Leonard complained, throwing himself onto the red couch nearby.

“Fine, then we’ll open the rest of the gifts. And since you’re so hungry and can’t wait to eat, I’m sure you won’t mind your grandfather telling the story of our first Christmas together,” Grandma Fanelli smirked, chuckling as she signaled everyone else into the dining room.

“I’m not so hungry anymore,” Leonard sighed, but headed towards the dining room anyway. Lexi and Stephen laughed to themselves, knowing Grandma Fanelli always liked to mess with the small minded.

--------------

The chilly fall air swept through the raven-haired boy’s head as he waited patiently for his brother’s wedding ceremony to start.

“Are you bummed he didn’t ask you to be his best man?” asked Lexi, sitting down to Stephen’s left. Aimee had saved them both a seat, due to her arriving early for once.

“Not really. I’m relieved in a way. At least now, I won’t have to make a speech,” he confessed. Looking at his watch, Stephen noticed that the bride was now twenty minutes late.

“Someone needs to talk to her,” he overheard one of the bridesmaids say to another. Stephen felt a nudge on his right side. He turned to see Aimee, nudging her head. It could only mean one thing; she wanted him to go talk to Judy.

“I’ll be back,” he sighed, getting to his feet and heading to the room where the bride was. Of course all of the bridesmaids were there; trying to convince Judy to come out. “Excuse me,” he said as he pushed them aside. Knocking on the door, he hoped she would open the door for at least him. “Judy, it’s Stephen,” he said, which seemed like the magic words. Judy opened the door, just enough space for Stephen to squeeze through. But she quickly shut the door, making sure no one else was able to get in. “So what’s wrong?” asked Stephen, leaning on the wooden door. The bridal room had windows in the shape of the ends of the swords; three on each window. Judy’s dress had one strap, which was on her left shoulder. It flowed down with ease, including the few ruffles here and there that were an off white, like the rest of the dress. Her dark hair was done up in curl, few strands hung loose for a more formal look. She sat down on a circular stool, and leaned an elbow on the small dresser in front of her.

“I’m scared,” she answered.

“Of what?”

“I don’t know. I’m just not good in front of so many people,”

“Oh, so you’re not afraid of marrying my brother, you just have stage fright,” Judy nodded. “That’s normal. Just pretend that my brother, you and the person marrying you are the only ones there. No one else matter, nor are they there. It’s just you guys. Besides, I think half an hour is enough time to scare my brother that you stood him up at your wedding,”

Judy laughed, realizing the monster had a point. “How do you come up with these things?”

Stephen shrugged. “We must never speak of this again,”

“Promise. Just make sure you spoil your future nieces and nephews,” Judy smiled, hugging Stephen and opening the door as he leaned off of it.

“Alright, to a point where I go bankrupt,” he answered, following behind the swarm of bridesmaids who followed behind Judy to the altar. He quickly squeezed through them and headed for his seat.

“So what happened?” Aimee asked, with Lexi listening intensively.

“She had stage fright, that’s all,” answered Stephen, rising to his feet again as the traditional wedding music began to play. It wasn’t at least one minute into the song when Lexi and Aimee began to get teary eyed. This was going to be a long ceremony.

Reception:

“Dance with me, Stephen!” Kat said, pulling him off his chair and onto the dance floor. It wasn’t formal dancing, just them going crazy, not really paying attention to everything else around them. It was another fifteen minutes of dancing when Stephen escaped from Kat and went outside for some air.

“I can see you finally got away from her,” someone behind him laughed. He quickly turned around to see Lucy walk out behind him. “Nice dancing, by the way,”

“Thanks,” he laughed, sitting down on the small steps where Lucy joined him too. “Can I ask you something?” Lucy nodded. “What type of person did you think you were going to marry?”

“Hmm, in all honesty, I wanted to marry a city type of boy. I just didn’t know I was going to marry a city boy who is also a model,” she smiled, looking back towards the glass door with Stephen, where they both could see Tyler carrying Nathan, while talking with Lexi, Aimee and Kat. “Why the sudden question? Are you thinking of marriage?”

“No, not really. I mean, we haven’t said those three big words to each other yet so no marriage between Aimee and me anytime soon. I just always wondered if people marry the type of person they want,”

“They do, once they stop looking,”

“Well, I stopped looking,”

“Then you’ll marry that person you want. Plus, I betted you’d marry Aimee someday,” Lucy smirked, getting to her feet and heading for the doors.

“You bet that I would end up marrying Aimee? What? How can you bet on me?!” Stephen called to her. Luce just laughed and ran inside back to the party. “Hey! I’m not done talking to you! Come back here, you red head and explain this to me right now!” Stephen chased after her, but was obviously not going to catch her nor ever get his answer.

AN: There's an epilogue to follow. So this little adventure isn't over yet.

WELL. That was fast! Let's pretend I was a patient little girl, okay?
I can't believe Leonard's all grown up now! The birthday party was so cute! Aaand I liked the little chat between Stephen and Lucy!

OOOH OOOH OOOH EPILOGUE?!! HURRY UP.
<3

I swear I thought I posted saying that the chapter before this was amazing, but I guess I didn't.
So anyways, both chapters were fantastic! Aw, I loved the Twins/Nathan's birthday party, and the wedding, and Stephen and Luce's conversation.
Incredible, as always Lulu! Epilogue soon, yeah?

Woman! I do too answer you! Or at least I think I dooo! x3
Either way, yay for the new chapter! I remembered this one every day but I kept getting distracted whenever I'd start reading it -.-

GREAT chapter, yet again
I loved the birthday party! lol I can't believe it's over O_O Aside from the epilogue lol
I will try to read it as soon as it's up! no promises though lmao

Why thank you
I do hurry, but you're never ON to read them
Thanks, bestie, is two weeks soon enough for this to end? :/
But you were just on! Don't lie to me, Gissely! I'm emotionally unstable more than usual to have this little story ending.


Epilogue

15 Years Later

“Aimee, where do I put these pies to cool off?” Chelsea asked, taking the newly hot pie out of the oven and setting it on the counter. It was Thanksgiving. And of course, everyone was spending it at Chelsea Way’s house; considering she had the biggest place compared to everyone else. She didn’t mind at all. It was a chance for her family, including those who have spent much time around her, to be together and enjoy each other company.

“There is fine,” Aimee said, dialing a number into her phone. It rang five times before it went towards voicemail. “Can anyone get a hold of Stephen? I keep calling but it just goes to his voicemail,”

“Same with Kat, Garrett, and Leonard. You would think they’d be off the tour by now,” Judy complained, braiding her daughter’s, Stephanie, hair in the living room.

“It’s only three, I’m sure they’ll show up later,” Lexi reassured Aimee, but secretly hoping they would show up soon to help.

“I’M GOING!” a sixteen year old Nathan yelled as he walked into the kitchen, rubbing his ear. “Can I help you with anything, grandma?” he said a bit loudly, throwing a glance over his shoulder and facing Chelsea again. She took his hand away from his ear, slowly rubbing away the redness Lucy had induced. “Mom said I should help instead of lying around doing nothing,”

“I see, well, you can help me season the turkey and all. Just go wash your hands first,” Chelsea smiled, stretching her arm out towards the kitchen and getting spices from the cabinets. Placing them on the counter, she turned to Nathan and said, “You have to make sure you season it all over. If you miss a spot, it’s going to be flavorless,”

“You mean if there aren’t enough of these, this stupid chicken won’t have flavor?” Nathan asked, pointing to each small jar in front of him. He counted about ten in total. It was a no brainer as to why he never really helped on Thanksgiving before. There was just too much to do. As Chelsea instructed Nathan on what to do, Gissel, his younger sister by two years, walked in with her camera.

“Say cheese, Natey!” Gissel laughed, taking a picture of Nathan and skipping back towards the living room. Nathan didn’t mind, he was used to her taking pictures of him off guard. Usually he was prepared for them, so they didn’t come out as bad. “Saffron and Corbin are here!” Gissel shrieked. After what seem like hours, Nathan finished seasoning the turkey and saw Saffron and Corbin walk in.

“Hey,” he said to Corbin as they bumped hips, considering his hands were currently contaminated. “Oh look, little Sofa has a decent face on today,” he laughed.

“Stop calling me Sofa!” Saffron yelled; punching Nathan’s right hip. “My name is Saffron!”

“Don’t hit me or else you will feel my wrath!” He said, chasing Saffron around with his seasoned hands. With all the kids in the house, it felt like this was more of an event for them then for the entire family. The three Fanelli children, Lexi’s sons and Kat’s daughter were sitting by the fireplace, trying to console each other on why their dads and mom weren’t there with them.

“Do you think something happened to them?” Kat’s daughter, who’s also named Stephanie, asked as she laid her head on Gerard’s lap. So here’s how the children rotation for this little group works. Leonard and Judy had two daughters. Stephanie being the oldest and Alexandra being the youngest by two years. Then Stephen and Aimee had Sierra, their oldest daughter and Gerard being their youngest son. Lexi and Cyrus had Simon and Toby, fraternal twin boys, two years older than Gerard. Then Kat had her daughter, Stephanie last, same age as Gerard. "Nathan, I can see into your future!"

"Awesome! Am I going to be popular or with at least a girlfriend?" he asked, stopping in his tracks and looking at her. Stephanie shook her head and shrugged. "Worth a try," he sighed and walked away.

“Maybe they’re just stuck in traffic. I think it’s already unfair we barely see them on a regular basis, but what can you do when most your parents are musicians and a doctor?” The oldest Stephanie said, huddling her knees close to her chest and stared into the fire. “Not to mention Aunt Lexi being a model, but at least she’s around for all the holidays and birthdays!”

“At least you guys get to see either one of them most of the time. Both my parents are musicians and I stay with my great gran ten out of the twelve months of the year!” The youngest Stephanie complained, covering her face with her hoodie.

“Our parents either need different jobs, work less, tour less or might as well never be here at all,” Toby sighed, playing around with the ends of his dirty blonde hair. His blue eyes soared towards his parents, who were chatting away with his Aunt Aimee and Aunt Judy. “Do you think our parents can feel it when we really need them?”

“Maybe it’s just like that twin telepathy thing you two have! Let’s give it a go!” Sierra smiled, posing herself into a meditation stance.

“Or we can just call dad again and hope he picks up this time,” Gerard chuckled, asking Alex to reach up to the phone for him.

“I think that’s a better idea, Sierra,” Alex hid her laughter and quickly tossed the phone towards Gerard. Sierra pouted, hiding her blonde curls underneath her hood as well. Gerard dialed his dad’s number, until he got an answer.

After trying for about five times, the call went through. “Hell-,”

“Dad?” Gerard asked, with six other ears trying to eavesdrop. “Dad, can you hear me?”

“Gerard? I can- hear what you’re-,” Stephen’s voice came through, though cutting off some of his words?

“Daddy, why aren’t you here yet?!” Sierra yelled into the phone.

“Uncle Stephen, you need to get here before mom blows her lid! Same goes for Aunt Aimee, Lexi and the many guests we have here!” Alex called out, still not getting a decent respond from him.

“I think he might have a bad reception,” Simon spoke taking the phone from Alex. “Uncle Stephen, just know that if you’re not here soon with Uncle Leonard, Uncle Garrett and Aunt Kat, you’re all going to be in big trouble!”

“Give me that!” Gerard argued, taking the phone from Simon. “Dad, just get here. We would like to see you for at least this Thanksgiving..,” he voice shook, but he felt Sierra wrap her arms around him and set her chin onto his shoulder.

“I’m trying! –Broke-we’re not-making it-,” Was the last thing Stephen’s voice said before the line went dead. The cousins, including the youngest Stephanie, all looked at each other with hopeless faces. They weren’t going to see their parents this Thanksgiving.

[Meanwhile in Long Island]

The line went dead. We would like to see you for at least this Thanksgiving was the last thing Stephen heard his son say to him. “Stupid reception!” Stephen yelled, slamming his phone onto the pavement, not caring if it broke or stayed in one piece. “Weren’t you supposed to get the car inspected before we left?!” he yelled at Leonard.

“I did and they said everything was perfectly fine!” Leonard yelled back.

“Well obviously they took you for a sucker because we’re stuck out here, with little to no phone reception, in the cold, without food or a gas station nearby. Can’t we just reparo this or apparate to Chelsea’s house?” Garrett said, leaning on the car and crossing his arms.

“I’m not apparating! Stephen and Lexi have traumatized me enough with apparating!” Kat complained. “I just want to be with my baby!” she added, resting her forehead on Garrett’s arms. “This is your entire fault!” Kat pointed at Leonard.

“My fault!?”

“Yes! First you steal my daughter’s name and now you have us stranded out here forever! I HATE YOU!” With that, Kat, locked herself in the car and laid down on the back seats. Stephen sighed, knowing they would have to repair this car instead of apparating.

“Come on, we have to get this fixed somehow since Kat won’t apparate with us. Would reparo do the trick?” Stephen asked, looking at the car engine with decipher what the problem may be.

“Possibly, unless nothing’s broken and something’s just stuck in there. Then we’ll have a better chance of taking this to a mechanic,” Garrett said, tapping on the car window to get Kat’s attention.

“I don’t have time to push this thing to a gas station or a mechanic! Listen, my kids hate me enough because I’m barely around. If I’m not at the hospital, I’m touring for two to three months. If I’m not touring, I’m at the hospital, mostly with late shifts that make me too tired to enjoy time with them. You guys only have the band, I don’t. I just want to spend time with my family without having to leave the next day to work or a tour,”

“Reparo!” Leonard said, pointing his wand into the car’s hood. “Try to see if the car starts, Garrett. We have some munchkins that need our attending,” he smiled, patting Stephen on his back and listening carefully if the engine would start. When Garrett tried getting it started, the engine struggled but fell silent again. For the next half an hour, the three guys tried different spells and charms that would hopefully start the car, but nothing worked.

“Hey, what’s this thing sticking out of that pipe?” Garrett asked, reaching into the hood and pulling it out. “Sweet mother of God, it’s A RAT!” he yelled, flailing his arms a bit here and there. “Somebody go check if it starts now!” he added, still having his little episode. Stephen hurried inside the car and turned on the engine. Thankfully, it turns on and sounds what an engine should sound like.

“Alright ladies, get inside! We have a two hour trip ahead of us!” he called out, watching as Leonard closed the hood and Garrett quickly sat in the back seat. Kat had fallen asleep, as always, so Garrett just placed her head on his laps and they were finally on their way towards the city. They all just hoped that the food hadn’t been served yet.

-------

As the food was slowly beginning to being served, the group of cousins sat at a separate table. There was only idle chit chat around them, seeing as they were too upset to talk about anything right now. The plates of food were set on their table, Gerard and the youngest Stephanie took their forks and played around with their food. Sierra, Alex and the oldest Stephanie pushed away their plates, not wanting the delicious food either.

“What’s wrong with them, Toby?” Lexi asked him, crouching down next to her son.

“We got through to Uncle Stephen before and he said something about them not being able to make it today. So they’re upset that their parents aren’t coming,” he explained, glancing back and forth at his cousins.

Lexi nodded, getting back up on her feet and walking over to the table where the adults were sitting. “They talked to Stephen earlier,” he said, sitting down next to Cyrus with everyone’s eyes on her.

“What did he say?” Adriana asked.

“They’re not coming,” Lex shook her head. Sighs erupted from all around the table. Aimee set down her fork and stood up. She was headed towards the door for some fresh air when the doorbell went off.

“I’ll get it,” she said, continuing her way to the door and opening it. Only she found Leonard saying hello, kissing her cheek and walking in. Next were both Garrett and Kat, doing the same thing. Stephen walked up to the door and looked up at the blonde. But the next thing she did surprised him. Her hand found itself across his face, leaving a red mark on his left cheek.

“Okay, I deserved that,” he said. But Aimee flung her arms around his neck and kissed him. It had been three months since Stephen had last seen her, his kids or anyone else at home.

“I thought you said you weren’t coming,”

“Bad reception on Long Island. I actually said I don’t know if we’re going to make it on time. Better late than never,” he smiled, walking into the house. All the green eyed monster could focus on was a certain seven year old boy with brown hair and a ten year old girl whose blonde locks were motionless at the table. “You know, if you don’t eat that, I’m going to have to take it back home for the dog,” he whispered between them.

“Dad!” the siblings said in unison, tumbling onto Stephen and making him fall onto his back.

“I can see I was greatly missed here,”

“Of course you were!” Gerard said. “Stop leaving so much!”

“Yeah, it’s not fair mommy has to do all the work!” Sierra added, softly punching Stephen’s stomach.

“Alright, I promise to work less and be home more often. Especially when a certain little someone is going to Hogwarts next year,” Sierra beamed, quickly getting of her dad and pulling Gerard towards the table to eat.

“Not to ruin the family reunion or anything, but can we eat now?! I’ve waited hours for this food and Aunt Lori’s babies are driving me crazy!” Nathan complained, glaring at the infants in the high chairs.

“You leave my babies out of this, Nathan Way!” Lori yelled, throwing her napkin at him. Everyone laughed, finally getting to their seats and eating the food that has sadly gone slightly cold.

“Sofa, pass the bread please,”

“STOP CALLING ME SOFA!”

The End.

The thought of it being 15 years later scares me because like...there'd be seven Stemp children *stares* O____O

But imma finally comment because I ALWAYS forget! And I'm gonna just be like .... ON IT RIGHT NOW AND COMMENTING.

I. Loved. It.
Yes. I. Did.

OH, and Sofa says she's proud to have the last line. And then Lori fangirls the fact that Stephen has BUBBAS <3333333

Amazing, oh why is it always so amazing?
Is it bad that I never wanted this to end because i didn't, like never ever ever.
But the ending was incredible anyway, even if the thought of seven Stemp children is hard for Adam to handle right now.
And Aimée and Stephen have babies tooooo! Ooooh!
Yeah, gonna stop rambling now. I loved it, Lulu. <3

Hey Lulu....

you make graphics and write as well..You're great!!!!!!!!!!!

It's absolutely amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Loved it!!!!!!!!!!

D'awwwwww that was soo sweet, Lulu! Amazing, I loved it! The perfect happy little ending. Sooo many kids though, I kept getting lost!
<3 Congrats hun, on finishing your first fic!

So I always scroll things to see how long they are, aaand when I was scrolling I saw my name and forgot I was one of the children! And when I clicked the link and saw Georgie Henley I got all happy x3

And then I read the whole epilogue and it's so cute! x3 I can't believe they had THAT many children! O_O Whit will be happy to babysit whenever one's needed

Congrats on finishing! Even though I'm late

Lawrawr mentioned the seven kids. I NEVER knew they'd all be there within 15 years..O___O

Thanks. And of course Sofa HAD to have the last line in this one
Don't worry, Tyler wouldn't mind babysitting, IF they behave
Thank you, bestie I never wanted this to end either :/
Tis my only best "talents:
Thank you Months of writing have worked off lol
I know! I was confusing myself too when I was writing it and I'm NO good in coming up with names either
Thank you! After all those months of you telling me to update quickly, I actually finished!
Oh, Gissely.
Oh Whit will be babysitting the Tycy children when they're babysitting Lorri's babies
And thank you I've actually managed to finish this one Better late than never!