Don't Tell Mama (The Summer Brood & Guests)

[Tristian]

Tristian did not know who he wanted to shut up more; Lorelei or Jesse. He did not dare look at his mother. He had grown to learn her different expressions over the years and right now he really did not want to know which one was gracing her face right now. When Mordred had entered he had risen from his seat however a firm hand had grabbed his wrist and encouraged him to sit back down again. She had left it there for a moment before moving it back to clasp her hands on the table in front of her.

Mordred looked terrible. Guilt washed over him instantly. The bruise was part of it, it looked nasty and as good as it had felt to do at the time he was severely regretting it now. But it was the look on his face that was really stoking the guilt. What had he been through in the past few days? What had he done to himself? The guilt intensified when he realised he should have been there sooner, that he should have gone to him the minute he left Lorelei’s bedside, that asking Aiden to look after him was not fair on her and was not fair on Mordred. He should have been there, he should have done something.

What kind of a friend was he to just abandon Mordred like that? What if he had ruined things forever now? Why would Mordred ever want to be his friend after he just ignored him like that. He could not go to him, he knew he would rage and Mordred didn’t need that, he didn’t need another punch, he needed someone who would take care of him, someone who would look after him and Tristian had to be there for Lorelei…he should have been there…

‘This is my fault’ thought Tristian, ‘I’m sorry Mordred…I’m so sorry…’

And now he was going to have to watch as his mother tore his friend to pieces. For she had to now, the truth was out and as much as Lorelei had watered it down Jesse had been right there with all the extra details. Gwen loved her children…fiercely…and she would destroy anyone that did anything to hurt them.

He couldn’t let that happen, she had to understand that Mordred was in a bad place, that in his right mind he would never have done what he did to Lorelei, that he never would again. She had to know that underneath there was still someone good, someone…he loved…

He might not have been there these past few days, but he could do something now.

“Mother, Mordred never meant too-”

She raised up her hand to stop him speaking and he fell silent.

[Guinevere]

Gwen had paid close attention to everyone’s faces when Mordred had entered the café. What she saw, was exactly what she expected, in particular from the brunette on the other side who looked like she almost had tears in her eyes and she looked upon him.

“Oh fuck indeed,” she said as she looked at him, “glad you could join us Mordred.”

She felt Tristian rise from his seat and reached out and grabbed his arm and slowly he sat back down again. She then kept her eyes on the Mordred, as Lorelei provided her account of what had transpired, a neutral expression on her face. Her eyes shifted briefly to both Tristian and Jesse, and her eyebrow raised at the mention of a Mermaid Princess, but other than she kept her gaze on Mordred. Once Lorelei was done she saw her daughter sway slightly and hold on to Mordred, she frowned a little in concern, but before she could say anything Jesse was filling in the gaps.

Again she continued to look at Mordred as her son recounted just how much blood had been there and that Lorelei had been stabbed in the stomach as well as hurting her arm. When Tristian started to speak Gwen raised her hand to silence him.

She had heard enough.

She slowly rose from her seat, her eyes never leaving Mordred.

“Tristian, please kindly show your sister to her seat, I fear she may still be a recovering from her recent exertions,” she said in a low quiet tone, the kind of tone there is before a storm.

She reached into her bag and pulled out a blue and silver silk scarf, “use this Lorelei, that should keep your arm in place and stop it from being in so much pain.”

Slowly she began to walk around the table to where Mordred was, as she passed Lorelei she drew her daughter into an embrace dropping a quick kiss on her forehead and handing her the scarf, although her eyes never left Mordred. Once standing in front of him, she looked up at him, first to the dressing on his cheek then to the bruise on his chin, and then into his bloodshot eyes.

“Sit,” she said quietly, indicating the seat next to Genevieve, before calling out over her shoulder, “Todd!”

“Yes your majesty,” said Todd, in the tone of someone who knew exactly what the Queen wanted and was already away to deal with it without needing any further information.

Gwen finally pulled her eyes away from Mordred to look at the rest of them, in the same quiet tone she said, “this ends now.”

Turning to face them she placed her hands on the table, leaning forward a little in the same way she did in her council table when speaking to her councillors, “I love each and every one of you, very, very much, but I will not hesitate to drag you all back to Camelot and the Summer Country if this continues.”

Todd returned, holding a small green box out to the Queen, which she took.

Her expression finally softened and said, “you have all got to stop hurting each other.”

Turning back to Mordred she looked at him and said, “and yourselves.”

She sat down in the other empty seat beside Mordred and opened the first aid kit on the table, looking through its contents.

“You’re all family,” she said as she pulled out a tube and checked the date on it, “unity is important, family is important, because when things get tough, when things go wrong, it is your family that backs you up, it is your family that is there by your side. In all this mess…at least…I am grateful that when things got bad your family was there for you Lorelei…but when we turn on our family…”

She reached up and gently touched the dressing on Mordred’s face, starting to gently peel it away, “…we do not settle our problems with duels, we do not hurt each other, whether it is with our swords or our words because every cut we give each other puts a wedge between us…and that is not what I want for any you.”

She looked into Mordred’s eyes and said quietly, “yes Mr LeFey, you too.”

As she continued to gently removing the dressing she said, “We all make mistakes, we all do things we wish we didn’t and yes…some of us do worse things than others, but in the end we know we still love them...because they are our family. Yes all families fight, yes sometimes you do just want to take up a sword and solve all your problems, or perhaps push someone away so you don’t…but in the end…why do something now when tomorrow…we might regret it. Talk to each other, try to understand each other, because I think that when you do you might just realise how much you need each other, and how much you mean to each other.”

She turned briefly back to look at her children as her other hand delved back into the green box, looking for the dressing, “And honesty…well…honesty is key to that. We must first be honest with ourselves before we can be honest with each other’s. So here are a few truths children.”

The dressing in her hand she turned to look at each of them, starting with Meredith, “Sweetie, sometimes people make mistakes, and it is ok to feel stupid sometimes, it doesn’t make you like ‘all the rest’, what it makes you is human, don’t let it make you bitter, use it to make you stronger.”

She looked at Gaston Jr, “Rejection hurts my darling, and I know you have much of it in your life, but if you don’t like how the world is treating you then change the world. Never change yourself to meet someone else’s expectations, and never give up, because I know you are stronger than that.”

To Jenny she smiled and said, “My darling girl, you are no one but yourself and you have no idea how much I admire that, but don’t close your mind to new opportunities, new experiences, don’t get stuck in the same old routine, after all, you would never wear the same outfit twice to a night out, treat life like a night out, never do the same thing twice.”

Looking between her first set of twins she said, “polar opposites, the two of you, but you don’t realise how much you have in common my darlings. Try to see that in each other, and perhaps be a little kinder to one and other.”

She passed her gaze over Tristian and Lorelei to look over at Genevieve and Jesse, “My babies, it makes me so happy to see you both so close, but Jesse, my sweet baby boy, try to make a few more friends, I know it is hard because not everyone thinks the same way you do, but one day you will come across someone that does, you will know it when you see it. And Genevieve, darling girl, you are doing so well and I can see that you are blossoming here, but just remember, you live in no ones shadow, you are wonderful in your own right, sometimes I think you forget that.”

She turned to Lorelei, “Sweetling, you are so creative, your imagination is unparalleled and I know that you did what you did because you thought it would help, because you thought it was the right thing to do…but sweetling…there is always another way. Follow your heart and your passion by all means, but do not forget to be counselled by your wisdom as well.”

Then she turned to Tristian, “My boy…you don’t have to wear the mask all the time. It’s exhausting and the more you wear it the harder it is to take off…sometimes…you just have to be you…if you can’t be comfortable with yourself then how can you ever expect anyone to see who you really are?”

Finally she looked at Mordred, gently squeezing some of the cream on to her finger, she reached up and started to dab it gently along the cut “And you, sunshine, you have got to start believing that you are not defined by your mistakes. You need to look in the mirror and see that under all of this is someone that can be loved, is loved and is capable of loving someone else without messing things up. Like I said, we all make mistakes…but it’s what we do after that counts. And you don’t have to go through that alone, you can always count on your family to set you back on the right path…because we love you.”

She continued to work away on Mordred’s cut and still focusing on it said over her shoulder quite cheerily, “Genevieve, Meredith, pour the tea please before it goes cold, and will you all tuck into those cakes please? I have three before you all turned up and I’m starting to feel guilty.”

[Meredith Emrys-Pendragon]

Meredith barely heard anything anybody else was saying, she was too fixated on Mordred, trying to catalogue everything about him and everything she would do to fix- only she shouldn't, she didn't have to fix him, he was the one who had messed up and he should be fixing it, but she wanted to. She wanted to tell him it was okay she forgave him and everything was going to be fine but she didn't know how to, and she definitely didn't know if it was the right thing to do.

Before she could quite process her thoughts Gwen was speaking, and Meredith tuned in automatically, dragging her eyes away from Mordred finally to look at the queen, because that was definitely the Queen speaking, and you listened when she spoke - she may fail almost all her princess lessons but that was something that stuck with you.

What Gwen had to say brought her to tears, she tried so hard to hold them back but she could feel them rolling down her face despite all her best efforts. She dabbed at her cheeks with a napkin quickly, but she knew it was pointless. The sudden outpouring of love from Gwen was overwhelming. Everything she had to say was, somehow, just what she needed to hear, and it was almost like she wasn't just applying that salve to Mordred's cheek, she was applying it to everyone, and yes things were still going to be difficult and there were still things to be figured out and talked about and sorted... it all just seemed somehow easier now.

When she was finally done, she dabbed at her cheeks again and nodded quickly, standing up and reaching for the teapot, feeling as though a weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

[Mordred Le Fey]

He stood, frozen at the door like a rabbit in headlights, as everyone else reacted to his presence. He almost flinched as Gwen swore - that was something he had not heard before, and even in his current state, something he would not forget for a while. He contemplated turning and running back out the door, but the part of his mind that was still capable of rational thought quickly swallowed that impulse. He knew it would only make things worse; in the long run it would be easier and less painful to endure whatever was to come now. He was pretty sure he was about to be banished, or sentenced to death or something in a similar vein. He knew he wasn't getting out of this unscathed.

He wanted to look at Meredith, he wanted to meet her eyes, to let a look tell her everything he'd been thinking, everything he'd wanted to call her and say, everything he'd written in his secret journal that he hoped no one would ever would read... but he couldn't bring himself to look her way. He couldn't meet her eye, he was too scared of what he would see there. And so he looked to her side, catching the glare being thrown his way from Gaston Jr. He took a deep breath, exhaling loudly, and looking at his feet. This was it. He was in hell.

And then Lorelei spoke, and Mordred brought his gaze up to stare at her, willing her to stop, to tell Gwen anything except the truth. He could sense his fate being sealed with every word that left the kid's mouth - especially when Jesse spoke up. He brought a hand up to his head and ran his hand forcefully through his hair, feeling frantic - he needed to do something, to stop this - but he already knew it was too late. Too much had been said. He needed to speak, he needed to say something - anything - to defend himself, but what could he say? How could he possibly explain any of this?

He looked up just in time to see Lorelei trip, and he instinctively reached out and grabbed her, stopping her from falling. His eyes met hers for a brief second, before he looked away, ashamed and completely unsure of himself, of the situation, of what to do. And then Gwen was speaking. He could feel her eyes on him, he knew she was watching him, but he couldn't look at her, he couldn't bring himself to meet her gaze. But now she was in front of him, and he couldn't avoid looking at her any longer. He slowly raised his eyes to meet hers, and immediately felt like he was about an inch tall. He followed her instructions without question, moving to the seat beside Genevieve and sitting down, feeling a momentary flush of relief - at least Gwen had sat him next to the most understanding of all the Summers. He sat silently, his eyes fixed on the table, his hands in his lap, unable to bring himself to meet anyone in the eye, least of all Meredith. He glanced up as Gwen aimed her words at him, and felt an odd sense of gratefulness towards her - she knew, or at least at some idea, of what he was going through, and what he had been doing to himself over the last few days. It didn't make him any less afraid of her though, and as she sat beside him he held his breath.

As she reached out and began to pull off the dressing on his cheek, he wanted to stop her, he wanted to place his hand over the dressing and keep the wound covered. He felt too vulnerable here, with his wound on display, with the queen beside him. But she was treating it. She was doing what he should have done himself, days ago. He finally raised his eyes, looking at the queen. He listened to her words and couldn't help but look at her incredulously - could that really be the case? But she saw the look in his eyes, and addressed him directly, and he lowered his eyes again, feeling even more ashamed of himself. He listened as she addressed each of her children in turn, feeling once more, as he had so many times over the years, an intense jealousy at how much Gwen cared for her children. Why didn't his mother love him like that? What made Gwen's children so special? What had he done wrong to make his mother so indifferent?

But then she was talking to him. He winced as she dabbed the cream onto his cheek, the cream soothing but making his cheek sting. He listened carefully to her words, hardly daring to allow himself to believe them. Wasn't he defined by his mistakes? Could he really be loved? Was he loved? And then she said it. They loved him... how could he believe that after everything he'd done? He felt tears welling in his eyes and blinked rapidly, trying to get rid of them before they fell. He looked up again as Gwen continued to care for his cut, and looked her in the eye. He didn't know what to say, he didn't know how to even start atoning for everything - but he knew he needed to start. He needed to start fixing things. Starting with himself.

"I'm so sorry." He spoke quietly, only loud enough for Gwen to hear, as he dropped his eyes again.

[Jenny]

There was so much tension and drama in this room - and Jenny was loving it. It was rare that things around here were this interesting, and her mouth fell open in shock and admiration as she heard her mother swear. This was amazing.

She said nothing as her mother began her monologue - even Jenny knew interrupting her mother in this sort of situation was not worth the pain and trauma that would follow. She simply watched and listened, watching her mother take care of Mordred in a way that actually made her feel somewhat emotional. She couldn't help but wonder if Mordred had ever been taken care of like that.

And then her mother was speaking to her. She looked at her, wondering briefly what she meant - and then she spoke to her and her twin together. She rolled her eyes slightly, and turned to her brother. "Look, if you really want me to watch Star Wars, I guess I could give it a go." She said quietly. "Like, once. Only once."

[Genevieve]

Genevieve could not have loved her mother more in these moments. She sat silently, waiting for Gwen's anger to overflow and hit them all - but it never came. She instructed Mordred to sit beside Genevieve, and as he sat down, Genevieve attempted to give Mordred an encouraging look, but he did not look at her. He didn't look at anyone. She looked away, instead watching her mother as she spoke to each of them, and took care of Mordred's cut. She wanted so much to be just like her mother.

She blushed slightly as her mother spoke to her. How did she know these things? How did she know all of her children so well. Genevieve sat and mused over her mother's words, wondering how she could improve, how she could make her mother proud.

When she heard her name again, she immediately jumped up with a smile, picking up the nearest pot of tea and serving her siblings with a smile.

[Lorelei Summer-Lac]

Mordred caught her, and Lorelei fought the urge to wince. Reflex just kicked in as the hands that had technically messed her body up something awful, had technically caused much of the chain of events that led to this. And he instinctively caught her. Because of course he did. Lorelei flashed him a quick smile, but moved away, still unsteady, turning just in time to see that her mother had rose.

Lorelei's muscles locked, her mind whirring. She shuffled as if to try and protect Mordred of all things. Like Tristian, she knew, just knew, that Mom was going to kill them or at least him, since she probably wouldn't kill a daughter (plus why else have the chair of shame out if you weren't going to put the shameful daughter in it?). Mom moved, and Lorelei watched, heart thudding. The quiet tone made her shake. "Oh, I'm totally fine. I just get all woozy from telling--" Lorelei started, pausing as Mom pulled out the scarf. Her mouth kept moving as Mom drew closer, and she felt arms around her for a moment, a scarf left in her hand.

And like that, Lorelei had been disarmed and quieted. She stared at her mother, wishing she could somehow help Mordred. She could heal, right? She'd gotten that from both her parents. At times it was the only thing she thought she got from her parents. She should've offered to heal Mordred then, but she'd wanted him to scar. Lorelei almost winced at that thought, the baleful part of her rearing its head.

Her arm was in place, she was led back by Tristian, sat in the seat of shame, all while still stunned. She heard Mom keep talking, and she almost couldn't believe it. Because there were times, more times than Lorelei cared to admit, when she wondered. She was the only Lac child, the only product of her parents' love, if you could call her that. She was awkward, unfashionable, overly dreamy, and prone to do things even she thought were foolish in retrospect. She joked, but there were honestly times when Lorelei wondered why anyone would put up with her, even as she barreled forward all the same.

Then Mom stepped in front of her. Words she'd never expected fell onto her, and she couldn't hold the tears back again, welling in her brown eyes, trailing down and messing up what little makeup she'd managed. She'd heard most of the rest too, and, well, she sort of agreed with it. She also made a few mental notes: get Jesse some friends, make another Vivi fanfic, force Jenny to do something new, figure out Tristian's mask... and help patch Mordred up. Her wet eyes shifted between Mordred and Meredith, almost dreading that Mom had read the lines there, had somehow known what Lorelei was pretty sure of herself. Yes, people loved Mordred, and he deserved it, he just hadn't figured that out yet.

"Oh thank God!" Lorelei all but shouted at the mention of cakes. She reached for one with her "good" hand. "I'm super hungry, and this is like, the best thing about tea,' she paused for a moment, looking guiltily down the line, "besides the tea, of course," she added a slight laugh then, around a mouthful of food, added; "Don't watch Star Wars. It's awful."

[Gaston Jr]

His jaw slackened as Jesse went into a lot more detail about what had happened at this duel than Lorelei had…blood…lots of it…what the hell had Mordred done to his sister? He renewed how glare with extra vigour. Even if the way he was looking right now was genuine then he damn well deserved it, not just for what he did to Meredith but for Lorelei too. He was also annoyed at Tristian, he had been there and he hadn’t stopped it? Well of course he hadn’t Mordred was his best friend, no one was better than Mordred in his big brothers eyes, of course he hadn’t stopped it, stupid big brother. He was beginning to think of joining Eddie’ ‘My big brother is an asshole’ club for reals rather than in solidarity. He was after all part of Eddie’s ‘My daddy doesn’t love me’ club…they had jackets…they were pretty neat.

Then things were really going to start kicking off, mother was getting to her feet and she had that kind of tone that one did not mess with. Mordred was going to get it now…

…only…he didn’t…

He listened to his mothers words and with every word she spoke he started to feel just a little bit more ashamed. No. He had been wrong. Mordred did not deserve this…no one deserved to feel that way…

He softened his glare and he even looked a little apologetic…and Tristian…he probably would have tried to stop it if he could…would Gaston Jr really have done any better? I mean not even Padme could stop Anakin and Obi Wan…he’s probably lucky that Mordred didn’t force choke Tristian to death…although…with a glum feeling, he realised that maybe Meredith would have been the Padme in that situation…and Tristian would have been Obi Wan…

Which is when his mother started talking directly to him.

He was really trying not cry at her words, but it was hard. She was right…rejection really was a part of his life. He was never going to live up to his father’s ideals and now he realised that he was never going to live up to Meredith’s either, not if it was Mordred that she wanted…but Mother was also right…maybe it was time to change the world…maybe it was time try…something different…

And Jenny…he smiled a little weakly at her and said, “I’d…I’d like that…and maybe…maybe you could help me pick out some new clothes?”

[Jesse]

Jesse was not particularly good at reading people, nor was he good at sensing the feeling of the room. However, he did now that when his mother spoke in that particular tone it was a very good idea to listen to her because what she had to say was probably important. He watched her as she crossed over to Mordred and for a moment he thought that his mother might do to him what he had seen the young man do to his sister, but instead…she did something none of them had been expecting.

That was mother though, she was surprising. Jesse loved that most about her.

Mordred was never someone that Jesse really had not spent much time thinking about, the two of them tended to stay out of each others way most of the time and it had served them well. He wished he could do what mother was doing, offering him some words of comfort but whenever Jesse tried to comfort anyone it always came out wrong. He knew that in those situations it was probably best just to stay quiet. However he was glad that the rather troubled looking boy did have people around that could offer advice and support, and his mother was by far the best person for that.

When she turned her attention to him he nodded. He was trying to do as she asked, although he had yet to come across anyone that was like him, or anyone other than his sister that wanted to spend more than a few minutes with him. Either they ran away from him or quickly engaged someone else in conversation leaving him to awkwardly sidle away. He would keep looking, just as she asked, and one day, maybe she would be right…maybe he would find someone like him…

However there was one order that his mother gave that he was more than happy to act upon. With a little smile he reached forward for a gingerbread man. He held it up and asked the table, “How does everyone eat theirs? I always like to start with the arms and legs first.”

[Tristian]

Tristian jumped up to fulfil his mother’s command, crossing over to his sister and putting an arm around as he gently brought her to the seat mother had assigned to her. As he did he looked back to where his mother was now standing in front of Mordred, speaking in that same quiet tone that always meant trouble…and then…something wonderful happened…

Mother understood.

Mother knew.

Tristian could not help but smile a bit. Of course she did. How could he ever have doubted her.

Mother would never have hurt one of her own…and of course she would always consider all of the children in Camelot as ‘hers’ and that meant Mordred too…

Taking the scar off of Lorelei he decided to busy himself with helping her tie up her arm so that it was more secure, because busying himself would mean that none of his siblings would see the tears that were threatening to spill from his own eyes. Mordred would be ok, mother was seeing to that now, he was ok, and as with everything his mother would make everything better again. Whenever things got bad, whenever he felt awful he knew he could always turn to her. He only hoped that Mordred would see that too.

The only time he looked up from the scarf he was helping Lorelei with was when his mother addressed him directly. A panic shot through him as she spoke about the ‘mask’ that he wore, not daring to look at any of the rest of them. It was nothing that she had not already said to him before in their private conversations, but hearing it now, in this moment, after everything that had happened…it struck harder than it had before…he knew she was right…it was exhausting…but…the pain of letting it go, of people knowing the truth…how could that be better? One day…one day he would be strong enough to let go of his crutch…and just be himself…and maybe he would let someone else see that too…but for now…he was happy to be the strong and supportive older brother, the faithful and loyal friend and the upstanding and dutiful son.

He wiped at his cheeks as tears started to roll, hoping that no one noticed. He glance at Mordred and gave him a brief nod and a smile. Everything was going to be ok now…there was still a long way to go before everything was fixed, and there was still trouble on the horizon…but for now at least…they were back on the right path…

He was grateful when Lorelei and Jesse broke the tension he laughed, and he realised it was the first genuine laugh he had let out in a while. He didn’t even care that it came out as a bit of a giggle.

[Guinevere]

Guinevere smiled at the poor troubled boy in front of him and placing a gentle hand one his cheek said, “shh…I know sunshine, I know…and it’s ok, come here.”

She leaned in and held him tightly in her arms.

Guinevere knew that the boy in her arms had not had an easy time of it growing up and she had wanted to step in and give him exactly what she thought he needed. She did not doubt that Morgana loved her son; however she had her own difficulties, her own problems that got in the way of that love that made things hard for both of them. She wasn’t sure if things had been sorted in the end, but even if they had the damage had been done to this young man. Gods knew Gwen wasn’t perfect either, with all her children by different fathers, with her own jealousy getting the better of her every now and then, but nothing…nothing would ever stop her from protecting her children…from showing them how much she loved them. And now, she had an opportunity to show this young man that he was a part of that, that to her, he always had been, and always will be.

“If you ever need anything Mordred, someone to talk too, someone to help you, please know you can always come to me,” she said, barely above a whisper so only he could hear, “it’s going to be ok, it’s going to be ok now.”

She pulled away from him, smiling warmly at him. She laughed at Lorelei and Jesse as they began to tuck into their food, her heart swelling with joy to see Gaston Jr and Jenny already trying with each other, and then Meredith and Genevieve, looking brighter, happier, pouring the tea. And her boy, still so sad, so conflicted…but perhaps…perhaps this time her words would get through to him. She reached forward and put a couple of cupcakes on a plate and handed it Mordred, pushing the tea that Genevieve had just poured for him a little closer to him.

“Now, have some tea and some cake,” she said to him with a smile, “and I’ll take care of this cut…you’ll see, after a little tea and cake…everything will seem a little better.”

((OOC – Guys I’m happy to end this here if you want.))