Nanny

Family Man

"Darcy, please stop running off," the nanny demands. She didn't want to yell at them.

"Is everything okay?" The voice of Mister Styles makes her whip her head in his direction. It actually hurt her. She was never sure when he'd be back but it was most likely after supper he'd be back.

"Papa!" Darcy yells and jumps on him.

"Hello, sweetie." He kisses her head. Aubrey didn't say anything and continued to cook their supper.

"Papa!" Emily tugs her father's pants.

"Of course, darling." He picks her up making her giggle. Both girls in his arms. He kissed them both contently.

"How was your day?" He asks.

Aubrey had the need to run from there. He made her nervous like no other. This feeling that somehow made her feel as if she needed to escape herself. Like run from her own body. It's just that intense of a feeling that she felt.

"Do you plan to answer my question?" He asks again.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Aubrey blushes. "I thought you were talking to the girls."

"You're in trouble with papa." Darcy giggles. She thinks it might be the funniest thing she's seen.

"Is she?" Emily asks her father confused.

"No, she's not." Harry couldn't help but blush. It's not like he was old enough to "father" her.

"Would you like some assistance?" He asks setting the girls down.

"I think, I'm good. You can look out after the girls? Eddy is taking a nap." She continues making herself look busy even though it was a simple recipe. It made her nervous having him there. It was so unnatural. It might be because he was her boss.

"Eddy?" He pronounced as if it was two syllables. He hummed in approval. He sat down on the table with Emily who was coloring there.

Aubrey cursed mentally. This was going to be interesting. She hoped not to make a fool of herself. She was more aware of her body movements and it was liable to make her clumsy.

"Nanny, can you help me again with my homework?" Darcy asked standing a few feet from her.

"Why don't you ask your papa?" She looked at the girl.

"Because you know it. And papa is with Emily." Aubrey looked up to see that he was coloring with Emily.

"I'm sure if you asked him, he'd be glad to help you out. You go over there and ask your papa if he can help you. If he can't, I will after we eat supper. Then we'll get you ready for bed. How's that sound?"

"You'll brush my hair and sing me a song?"

"Promise. Cross my heart." She crossed her heart.

"Yeah," she chirped happily. She skipped over to her father.

Harry couldn't help but smirk. It was a kind gesture on Aubrey's behalf. He knew Darcy could get ready herself and she could've asked him first about the homework. Harry was proud to say that Aubrey had gained the trust and respect of the children.

He proceeded to help his child with homework. He occasionally complimented Emily on her work of art. This has been the first time in a couple of days that he saw his children and dedicated time to them. He has been too busy in the office. Today, he left early which was still late compared to the days when his wife was at home and alive.

"The food is ready." Aubrey said loud enough for them to hear.

"I'm not finished yet," Darcy whined.

"You can finish afterwards. Now, put it away and I'll set up the table," Aubrey announced.

"Me too?" Emily asked.

"Yes, please." Aubrey said sweetly to her.

She was sweeter with Emily. All Emily needed was love and affection. Aubrey was gaining some trust and the last thing she wanted was to scare her off. Harry noticed the tone in Aubrey's voice changed when she spoke to Emily. It was more motherly than with Darcy. He was unsure if it made him comfortable for that matter.

She wasn't the child's mother. Aubrey was here to help them adjust to life post loss. He needed to talk to her? Harry wasn't sure if he could even speak up on the matter. She probably was doing it without knowing. Maybe, she sees something he doesn't. After all she's been here more often then him in the past three weeks than he has.

Emily had cleared the table of coloring books and crayons. Aubrey was setting it up. He had to stand up and wash up before eating. He didn't even excuse himself. Harry wasn't sure if there was an easy way to go about it. He didn't want to replace his wife. She was special and unique. So why is it that he feels like Aubrey isn't doing a bad thing? Isn't it bad that she's acting as if she was the mother of these children?

He needed to seek help. He was stressed out; which had to be it. He wasn't one to over think. What got him here was gut feeling and hard work. His gut was almost never wrong. And his gut wasn't saying anything about Aubrey.

"Mister Styles," Aubrey's whisper behind the door makes him aware of life again.

"Yes," he speaks after clearing his throat.

"Dinner is served and the girls are waiting for you. They want you down there if possible." She couldn't even demand him to be down there no matter what. He was safe. She wasn't his wife.

"Yea, I'll be down in a minute." He quickly washes his hands once he hears her leave.

She's too quiet to be her. Why is he so scared? He knew that he wasn't ready to forget his wife and he didn't want the children to forget her either. They barely have memory of her and how could he ask for them to remember her when they're too young, too small to remember?

He walks down there to see Aubrey with Edward on her lap. She was sitting beside Emily. Darcy across from Emily how it has been for as long as they could sit. The head of the table belonged to him and the seat across him remained unused. It was set up just like he'd find every time he had dinner with his children. Why? He still wasn't sure. He needed to ask. All he knew is that his wife no longer sat there. Those days were gone.

{a/n}
December 24, 2015

Sorry, I'm never satisfied with the chapters and end up starting from scratch. It's like I know this has potential. And I can improve it. Hope you like it. Ranting...sorry 🙃