Chapter Text
Susan never liked the number 14. She'd been newly fourteen when life collapsed, to be more specific, her mother's life ended and Susie's own imploded. If she had to pick one day when her childhood officially ended, it wouldn't be her 18th birthday or even the day she took her first life, it would be the day she held her baby brother— still very much a child, while he wept in the corner of the hospital and her father was anywhere but with his children.
But the little girl– turned woman– grew up. She grew up to do horrible, horrible thing and believed herself to be an awful person. Fortunately, she found an equally terrible man to share her life with.
Edward and Susie got married almost 4 years ago. It only took the dissolution of everything they had worked so hard for, for them to finally find their way back to each other. Bella's death had sent him into a tailspin, finding out that his own brother was behind it nearly killed him. Little did they know that that would just be the tip of the iceberg. What happened next would nearly destroy them both. Edward came back from making Freddy chop the Gospel's head off a broken man, Charlotte wouldn't let her son near the manor, Sabrina could barely look at him, and he no longer had a brother. He shut himself up in his office like the stereotype of the mad Duke he would become. Susie couldn't do anything, he wouldn't let her and truthfully she was still reeling from the gun he pointed at her head, grief stricken or not it had scared her.
So, she threw herself into the coke, like that wouldn't explode in her face. She had the distribution and the knowledge to pull it off, it had been nothing she did just the volatility of the situation. It was barely two months in to moving blow when Vargas decided she was worth more in his possession than she could ever sell for him. They took her right from her loft, while she was sleeping, kept her in Madrid of all things while they waited for the ransom.
The men who kept her were idiots, Bobby Glass never negotiated or paid ransom, nor did the imprisoned man have the resources to stage a war, Susie realized a couple of horrible into her captivity that he wasn't coming, nor could she fight her way out, so she had but one option. It only took a stolen cellphone and a single word on a voicemail for her salvation to come. She just had to whisper 'Monty' into the phone and Edward was on his way. What happened next was a blur, she was dehydrated, injured, and had her eyes shut until she was safely back in Edwards arms.
He apologized to her, desperately, many times, and in ways that might make Mr. Darcy himself blush. He told her he wanted to try again and she finally let herself believe it. He couldn't bear to lose her. It took a night of fighting, then crying, then kissing and making up for him to convince her to come home with him and brought their life back together for the most part. Sabrina and Charlotte came back too.
Bobby Glass was another issue entirely. She loved her father of course but she couldn't forgive him for leaving her to die. He'd been wanting to throw her out for a while anyway, she went from being his heir apparent to a simple pawn. She's still tied to him of course, Edward had barely made a dent in his 100 mil debt and was practically being strong-armed by both Bobby and Moretti. They work together now as partners, equally, of course it helps that they are also life partners.
Eddie proposed twice, once in bed in their afterglow and again in Paris. She said yes both times, the easiest answer of her life. They were married quickly after that with only a handful of guests but Susie and Eddie thought it was perfect.
They made their life together, slowly and step by step. They'd based it on mutual respect and agreements. She didn't have to see her father and they'd keep their holdings, telling him just enough to keep the old man satiated but equally expanding without his knowledge. Her entire adult life, she'd drawn a line between business and pleasure, Edward had made it almost impossible but no less necessary, little did she know that surrendering to her basic denied wants and needs would be the best damn thing she ever did.
14 has gotten better though, Lord Theodore Edward Johnathan Glass Horniman will be the 14th Duke of Halstead, eventually. For now, he is nearly 3, so Teddy fits him much better. Susie never thought she could love someone so deeply as she does her children. He inherited his father's curls and honeyed eyes but his personality is all Susie, feisty but with the largest heart she's ever seen. When they found out she was pregnant, just a month after their first anniversary, she'd was truthfully excited, scared shitless, yes but exhilarated at the opportunity that was presented to them.
Then, six short months ago, on the 14th of June, they were gifted with Lady Beatrice Maria Eleanor Sabrina Horniman, or Honeybea as her brother has christened her. If one could bottle sunshine and place it in to a living being, it would be Susie's daughter. She inherited all of the features of Susie's mother's features, just a hint of dirty blonde hair on the top of her head and large aquamarine eyes, the same shade as Susie's.
Ideally they would've finished all the drudgery before the 23rd of December, given them all enough time to enjoy Beatrice's first Christmas and Theodore's first with somewhat of an understanding of Father Christmas and the joy of the season, the little boy has been wearing the same reindeer jumper for a week. Unfortunately, due to Chucky of all people, Susie's little family is forced to spend what would've been a lovely winter's day at Glassknuckles. Luckily for the children, Uncle Chucky, as he has dubbed himself, brought gifts. Teddy received a large plush tiger that is bigger than the little boy himself, complete with eyes and a collar of precious stones, that Susie and Eddie will have to remove before it becomes a choking hazard. Beatrice received a diamond chain that occupied her for an hour as she watched the sparkly gems gleam, she's her mother's daughter.
Mercifully, both kids fall asleep easily, Teddy on the loveseat and Bea in her bassinet and the Duke and Duchess of Halstead are left to their own devices, discussing business through hushed voices, they are still gangsters after all, "So we'll look into the farms in Rabat?" Eddie checks another item from his list.
"We're due for a holiday." She smirks.
"If you'd like a holiday, I can do better than that." Susie would adore that, two weeks in paradise with the three people she loves the most in the world.
"Mummy?" The little boy pushes himself up off the velvet loveseat in search of his mother, lovey still tucked under his arm, wiping sleep from his eyes.
"Come here love." The boy eagerly crawls into her lap and lets Susie wrap her arms around him. For a woman who spent so long believing she was unlovable, Susie is constantly astounded by how much she is surrounded by. "Perhaps Uncle Jack will give you a boxing lesson when he gets back, would you like that?"
"Yes!" The little boy claps his hands, "Honeybea too?" He has been obsessed with his little sister since they brought her home. Sabrina's grandchildren make quite a quartet these day, along with Teddy and Bea, there's Tarquin who is now 5 years old and not longer a toddler but a full fledged child and Eliana who is only about two weeks younger than Beatrice.
Eddie chuckles at the scene in front of him, their little son, his heir by all technicalities, but Edward and Susan never thought of it like that, Teddy was an amalgamation of everything they had been working for, everything good in both their lives that they've spent so long denying themselves. "I think she's a bit young, son."
"She's just a baby." Their son nods, wise for someone who still needs to be rocked to sleep. "Little baby."
"Yes, Darling."
"Is it Christmas yet, Mummy?" The little boy looks up at Susie and makes her heart clench with how much she adores him. He has asked this same question for the past month but it never gets old.
"Two more days, almost there. And then Father Christmas will come."
"Yay!"
"Teddy, why don't you go pick out one of the books Mummy brought for you? We still have a tiny bit more work to do." Teddy nods his little head and clamours off his mother's lap, in search of something to occupy his time. Susie recognizes that her son and daughter are far too little to truly understand what their parents do but Susie still cringes at the idea of her precious children being exposed to the horrors she was and still is on a daily basis.
Being a Horniman-Glass is inherently dangerous, Susie and Eddie are well aware of that. They both wanted children of course, it was practically a necessity to ensure the continuance of Edward's title, but both of them were entirely aware of their unique situations. Susie grew up like this, with bodyguards following her everywhere just so they wouldn't pluck her off the streets, they still got teenage Susie, of course, put the fear of God in her, made her in to a soldier. Susie has made a silent promise to her children that she'll never let that happen to them.
Beatrice pops her little head out from her cradle, extraordinarily happy despite the world her parents chose to bring her into. Susie is biased of course, all mothers are, but her children are quite possibly the prettiest children that have ever been created, it makes sense, Edward is quite possibly a living incarnation of a Greek god and she isn't bad looking herself, but there's something utterly angelic about Teddy and Bea. The little baby has just enough blonde curly hair for Susie to wrangle into a little red and green bow into it to match her tartan dress. Susie has always had an intense love for fashion however she does have to admit that her daughters clothing trumps her, at least in terms of cuteness.
Edward rushes to pick his darling daughter up twirling her around with such glee, it makes Susie's heart nearly explode. "Hello, sweetheart! Did you have a lovely nap?" Beatrice giggles in response.
Teddy has picked his chosen story and clearly wants to be included in the whole family cuddle pile, Edward talks both of his children in his arms, all laughing like madmen. If Christmas could be boiled down to an image, it would be Susie's family in jumpers and big smiles, all lit by the twinkly lights she put up in her office.
She stands to take Bea from Eddie's arms; she'll be hungry soon anyway. They collapse on the couch, each with one of their children in the arms. Susie looks down at her baby, all 15 pounds of her, and her heart clenches.
"Are you alright?" She'd been so zoned out, she didn't notice, Edward and Teddy have begun their family story time. Edward, the man capable of such violence and cruelty, who she saw go from a well-meaning if naive aristocrat to a blood-thirsty gangster desperate for revenge, now does the voices of the cartoon reindeer in the book.
She sniffs, "Yes. She just looks so much like my Mum." Susie can't say it without her voice cracking completely. Her daughter shares her mother's name as her middle name and her entire face, but she'll never know her. Sabrina is the only one of their parents to have met their grandchildren, Archibald's in the ground and she isn't trusting enough of her own father to introduce him to her children. Susie is very grateful for Sabrina of course, she's been nothing but amazing to Susie, taking her under her wing as a Duchess and as a mother, but there's still a lingering longing in Susie. "She won't know them, or you, or this version of me and Jack." She doesn't want to cry right now, but she might if he keeps looking at her like she's the most perfect creature in the world.
"She's watching over you. She's still with you." She's never been particularly religious, not the way her mother was.
"And it's Christmas!" Teddy adds, like Father Christmas bringing presents will make everything better. They don't correct the little boy anymore, if he would like it to be the most wonderful time of the year, his parents will do everything in their power to make it happen.
Edward presses kisses to the side of her head, his lips on hers used to feel like burning hot excitement, but now that has subsided to deep and warm comfort. Edward is her partner forever and always, they've made the promise to each other so many times, one multiple occasions, but it all doesn't matter anymore because they've ended up here. "I love you all so much." She finally admits, five years ago it would've killed her to admit that to Edward but now she says it every day. "All three of you."
Edward turns her face towards his and kisses her deeply, enough to still make her heart skip a beat, "We love you too, Susan Horniman. Merry Christmas."