Work Text:
1990
Amanda and Vanessa had been living with Henry for the better part of a month now, the two settled in nicely.
Two? No, three. Amanda’s gaze shifts to a four-month-old Abby, contently cooing in her arms. The past year had been nothing but a whirlwind, from being sixteen and reading that cheap pregnancy test, being abandoned by Cecil, to now escaping her abusive father And living in an entirely different state with her baby. Meeting Vanessa had been one of the best things that she had ever done, the two now in a relationship. It’s three in the morning, and she’s standing there in the guest bedroom trying to get Abby back to sleep
“Abbygator, what am I gonna do with you? Hmm? You don’t let mommy sleep.” She hasn’t slept properly in days, falling asleep at school and struggling to keep up. She looks over at the bed to see Vanessa out cold, smiling. Amanda slowly makes her way out into the living room only to come face to face with Henry. “Abby woke you up?” He asks, the teenager nodding. “Yeah, but I fucking got her, Henry.”
Henry sighs. He doesn’t understand her struggles with being a team parent, but he does understand being the parent of an infant that won’t sleep. “Amanda, I want you to go back to bed. You need rest.”
But Amanda is stubborn. “I need to get Abby situated. She’s my responsibility.”
“I got her. I want you to sleep for once.” Henry waits for a response, arms open.
“I don’t want anything to happen to her. I barely fucking know you.”
“I wa- am a father, let me help you.”
“Yeah? Well some ‘fathers’ harm their children beyond belief, Henry.” Amanda’s heart pounds slightly, getting ready to walk into the kitchen and prepare a bottle.
Henry’s eyes soften and the puzzle pieces click into place for him. Amanda ran from New Jersey from the very man that was supposed to protect and love her. Without thinking, he pulls her into a hug. “You didn’t deserve that. The man that raised you is no father.”
Amanda doesn’t hug back, but she hands over Abby. She leans down and kisses her forehead. “I love you, little sleep stealer.” She sluggishly walks back to bed while Henry grabs the portable play yard from nearby. Vanessa cracks an eye open, sitting up. “Need help?”
“I’m perfectly fine, Vanessa. Gee, I wish play yards like this existed when Charlotte was a baby. Hers was a pain in the ass to put together. but this? This requires nothing!”
The mention of Charlotte causes Vanessa to die inside a little bit, but she doesn’t cry. Instead, she helps bring the play yard in the living room. “Mandy’s conked out.”
“Good. She needs it. Are you two..?” The question from Henry makes Vanessa turn a shade of pink. “Yeah, we are. Why? Are you going to kick us out?” Henry stares at her for a moment. “No, why? Kicking you guys out because you’re gay is just stupid. It’s fucking 1990, not the 50s. I’m gonna tell you what I told Amanda: get to bed. I got your daughter.” Henry thought his little joke was the funniest thing in the world. “I’m just messing with you, Vanessa.”
“My daughter?” That actually gets a smile out of Vanessa, the teenager chuckling. “ I guess you have a set of lesbian teen parents living at your house, then.”
Vanessa knew Henry was just joking, but she couldn’t help but admit to herself that she felt a bit of an attachment to Abby.
That joke had some weight of truth to it.
“Hey Nessa?”
Vanessa has not heard that nickname in so long. “What?”
“Do you happen to know the name of Abby’s father?”
“Some guy named Cecil.”
“Alright.”
“Why?”
Henry just shrugs.
He busies himself by feeding Abby a bottle, talking to her about his daughter. “She was just like you. Rough sleeper, my Charlotte was.” After she’s fed and burped, Henry settles her in the play yard before setting up his own spot on the couch. His eyes flicker to the music box on the shelf, his lips turning downward. Abby starts to fuss and cry, the man looking from the baby to the music box. Should he try this? That very music box was made for Charlotte when she was a baby, and Henry hasn’t touched it since she died when she was eight. He didn’t want the girls to wake up, so he bites the grief-covered bullet and leaves the couch to retrieve it. “Let's try this.” He murmurs, picking up Abby; holding her in one arm and winding the box with his free hand. My Grandfather’s Clock begins to play, the old melody lulling Abby to sleep. Henry breaths a sigh of relief, putting her back down. “Guess you two are more alike than I thought.”
The next morning, both girls emerge from the bedroom after much needed sleep, Vanessa leaning on Amanda. Henry’s reading the news, Abby laughing on his lap as he makes faces. “Morning girls.” He greets, and Amanda practically rushes over. She gets on her knees, looking at Abby. “Hiya, Abbygator! Did you give Henry trouble?”
“She didn’t, actually. Turns out a little bit of music puts her right to sleep.”
“Like Charlotte.” Vanessa inputs, Henry nodding.
Henry started telling more stories about his daughter, and it broke Amanda‘s heart. Finding out that it was Vanessa’s very father that robbed Henry’s only child of her life made her realize why Henry was even willing to let them both stay with him. Vanessa had been Charlotte’s best friend, the two doing everything together. But there was another reason behind it.
If he couldn’t save his daughter, he might as well save somebody else. That somebody else happened to be the daughter of the man that killed his little girl, a teen mom, and her baby.
Amanda had become very close with Henry, even opening up about the abuse that she suffered at the hands of her own father. The man actually got sick hearing it all, throwing up in the bathroom. “I’m so sorry, kid.” He told her, and he started pulling her in for a hug. This time Amanda hugged back, tears spilling from her eyes and onto his shirt. “I got you, Amanda. I promise..”
A six-month-old Abby watched the scene from Vanessa’s lap, babbling. Henry turned, a smile gracing his lips. “Look at that. She’s happy. She has your smile, you know.”
“Vanny says that a lot.” Amanda replies, causing Vanessa to comment “I’m not wrong, babe!”
Amanda walks over and quickly kisses her lips. “I know you’re not, Vanny.”
Amanda feels loved for the first time in her life.
She has a girlfriend
A daughter
And a father who wouldn’t hurt her.
A week later Amanda tosses an envelope on the kitchen table, Vanessa leaning on her for comfort. Henry tears it open out of curiosity.
Dear Hen
Would you like to be considered Abby’s grandfather? We’ve been thinking about this for a while. We wanted to ask you, because you’re one of the most caring people we know, and despite your grief, you continue to push on in life.
-Mandy and Vanny
Henry doesn’t say a word, and the two of them fear that they have pushed a boundary. Henry adjusts his glasses and simply looks up. “Give me my granddaughter.” He states, arms open. “You have a grandpa now, little bear.” He tells Abby, the baby happily smiling at him.
There were some times Amanda would slip up and call him dad. One time, Amanda tried sneaking her daughter to school by hiding her in her backpack and keeping it slightly open. Henry, however, was no fool of a man. “Amanda, back it up..what’s in your bag?”
“Fucking textbooks, my trapper keeper?”
“Yeah, yeah. That’s why your backpack’s making noises. And besides, you never leave without Vanessa. So what’s the rush? Because she’s still getting ready.”
Henry approached the backpack, unzipping it to reveal a laughing Abby. “Amanda, really?! You can’t bring her school with you!”
“You’re no fun, dad.”
Henry raises an eyebrow. Amanda hands Abby over. “Buzzkill.”
Henry decides to play the ‘dad’ card. “You wanna be grounded?”
Amanda flips him off and leaves. It’s playful and done with absolutely no malice behind it. Vanessa follows right behind, herself happy because the man who has been grieving for eight years and the love of her life, were both free of their emotional cages for once.
Amanda could never replace the love that he has for Charlotte, but the hole that she left in his heart was a little less empty now.
Vanessa celebrated her 17th birthday at his house, Amanda celebrated her 18th.
Abby celebrated her 1st birthday and first word (mama)
1991 would be the year of fresh starts and new chapters.
All of it would be torn to shreds once again because of William. It was 2 o’clock in the morning, just two months after Abby’s first birthday when Vanessa came running into his bedroom screaming. “HENRY! MY DAD’S CAR IS OUTSIDE! HE KNOWS I’M HERE!! She shouts, clearly panicking. Henry quickly tells her to lock herself, Amanda and Abby in the guest bedroom and to not move. It was nothing but an hour of terror and panic. Vanessa couldn’t breathe, feeling like her lungs were being crushed and she couldn’t move. Luckily, Henry was the one that unlocked the door and not William. “ We need to get your kids out of here.” His voice is full of urgency, quickly helping them pack after Vanessa is calm down. “Where are we gonna go?!” Vanessa shouts, and Amanda answers quickly with a crack and tremble in her voice. “New Jersey. He won’t find us there.”
“Amanda-“
“I said Jersey, damn it!”
14-month-old Abby whines, clinging to Amanda. “It’s okay, buttercup. Mommy’s just scared.” Amanda reassures, and Henry looks at Vanessa.
“ I started the process of getting your last name changed to ‘Shelly’ for protection. That way, nobody would suspect that you’re related to him.”
Vanessa nods. They left first thing in the morning
The 19-hour car ride from Minnesota to New Jersey was nerve-racking for Vanessa. Amanda try to calm her nerves by letting her lean on her shoulder and whispering sweet words. Abby happily babbled to the music, stuffed pig nestled in her lap.
Henry had an old apartment that he used to live in when he lived in New Jersey for six months years ago that was still in his name, and that he still paid for just in case he ever wanted to go back.
He gets them settled in immediately, buying furniture and helping with food. He leaves two months later, promising to come back for bigger events and to check in. Amanda and Vanessa cried together that night, holding each other, and not letting go.
He was at Amanda’s graduation, crying in the crowd. Amanda can’t help but run to him, sobbing.
Abby’s on his hip, pointing: “Gwa’pa Hen!”
“Yeah, it’s grandpa Hen.” She looks over to Vanessa, who’s smirking. “ Did you know about this?”
“Maybe I did, maybe I didn’t. Who knows?”
“Vanessa Shelly!”
They kiss. A name is called onto the stage: Cecil Addams. From the way Amanda‘s body tenses up, Henry can tell this was Abby‘s biological father
“Shit, shit, shit!” She’s whispering to herself, and Henry straightens up. Henry Emily is not a violent man
Unless it comes to his family.
Before he could start anything, Vanessa, with Amanda in tow, just walked him to the car.
After that, it was one of the best days of their lives, unaware that they only had three years left with Henry.
For he would be murdered while Amanda was in prison, and she would never get to say goodbye to the man she considered her father.