The little loft on the riverside felt a lot brighter these days. Jon's most recent visits had been colored by Ollie's absences, the stresses of raising a special baby girl on her own obviously taking their toll on Piper. But today was something almost completely different. As Ollie swept down onto Lyneth, father and daughter indulging in their closer relationship, Piper greeted Jon with a wide smile and a warm embrace, drawing him over to the kitchen to let her husband and child have play time together. "What a lovely surprise," she smiled to her cousin by marriage. "I didn't think you'd come back here; by all accounts, you and Victoria are inseparable." Deep blue eyes twinkled laughingly as she moved to put the kettle on. "Tea?"
Jon returned Piper's embrace warmly. Despite what others might think of him, he really did care about his family and friends. His life had changed in the last year or so since he'd met and fallen in love with Vicki, but he still cared about his family and tried to make time for them, when he could. Piper and Ollie were no exception. Relieved that Ollie had excused himself to spend time with Lyneth, Jon was left alone with Piper to discuss his concerns. "Tea would be nice, thank you," he replied, cordially, choice of beverage being the last thing on his mind.
The mention of Vicki brought a warm feeling to Jon's heart and a soft, but brief smile to his face, but he wasn't here to discuss Vicki, but Ollie. "We are, aren't we" I asked if Ollie would be one of my groomsmen. I hope you don't mind." He thought he'd start with small talk and ease into discussion of Ollie.
"Of course I don't mind, don't be daft." Even after a year in Rhy'Din, Piper's rounded BBC-standard English accent hadn't suffered at all, her voice still soft no matter what she was saying. Her hands moved automatically to load up the teapot as she spoke. "Have you managed to set a date yet?"
Jon remained standing, taking a lean against the cupboards while she moved about the small kitchen making tea. "We've decided on September," he replied, with a small slightly mischievous smile. "Unless we lose our patience before that and decide not to wait." Or unless she gets pregnant, Jon thought, but as far as he knew she was taking precautions to prevent that, for now. He had been thinking about stealing her away to an exotic locale and eloping, but he had promised her a Big Granger Wedding and was trying not to get too impatient about making her his wife.
Piper's gaze was a little knowing as she eyed Jon, her smile echoing his. A loud cackle of baby laughter caught her attention for a moment, her gaze lifting to glance toward Ollie and Lyneth as she poured boiling water into the pot, leaving it to brew for a little while. "I'm glad you're happy," she nodded, her voice warm still as she perched on a stool beside him. "Everything seems to be settling back to the way it should be."
"Thanks," Jon said, his smile fading. It had been a long time coming, he thought. He had paid his dues and deserved to be happy finally, and he had Vicki to thank for it, but that wasn't why he was here. "Piper..." he started, his expression changing, warm but concerned, hinting at the depth of emotion hidden behind those eyes of Granger blue. "I'm worried about Ollie." There, he'd said it.
Piper's eyes flickered toward her husband as he was mentioned, wary concern of her own flashing across her face for the briefest moment. The smile faded as she looked down at her hands, twisting her hands together before one rose to tuck a lock of sable hair back behind her ear. "What do you mean?" she asked, her nonchalance utterly unconvincing.
She didn't have him convinced in the least. He was an actor and she wasn't. He knew what to look for, noticing every nuance, even the slightest hint that something was off. He'd noticed it right off the bat with Ollie, and he noticed it now with Piper, as well. As much as she might try to pretend everything was fine, he figured she was just as worried as he was. "He's not acting like himself. Something is wrong." He gave her a pointed look, even as she glanced at her hands. "You haven't noticed?"
She rose from her seat, turning her back on the loft to face Jon, her hands twisting together once again, a sure sign of her uncertainties. "Jon ....until a few weeks ago, Ollie was drinking heavily, not washing, and not even sleeping here," she said quietly, her porcelain pale skin darkening with an uncomfortable flush as she admitted out loud to the problems in her marriage she'd hoped no one else had noticed. "Having him here and taking an interest ....that's not wrong, is it?" Her eyes lifted to Jon's, her brow furrowed in a worried silent plea to be reassured.
Jon's expression darkened. He knew all too well the dark hole of despair Piper was describing that Ollie might have fallen into. Jon's personal demon had been cocaine, but he'd fought that addiction and overcome it. Alcohol, he knew, was a far worse demon, but that seemed to be only part of the problem. Ollie's behavior may have been erratic before, but what Jon had just witnessed defied logical explanation. As far as he was concerned, he'd thought Ollie and Piper were happy. What did Ollie not have to be happy about' He had a beautiful wife and child and his career seemed to finally be taking off. Jon's expression changed again, softening, not wanting to alarm Piper, but needing to be honest with her. He reached for her hand and drew her back down to settle in a chair opposite him. "I don't want to scare you, but....I've known Ollie all my life, and he's just not acting himself."
Piper shook her head as she was drawn down into a seat, staring down at her fingers as she turned the delicate band of gold on her left hand. She glanced up at Jon, awkward and uncomfortable. British reserve was something people joked about back home, but it was very real. You didn't talk about what was wrong; you went on as though nothing had changed. "I know," she admitted with a swift nod, biting at her lower lip for a moment before looking up to meet Jon's gaze. "I know something's not right. He asks questions about things that he knows the answer to, he seems to have completely abandoned his painting. The only thing he seems happy and comfortable with is spending time with Lynnie." The unwelcome jealousy she felt knowing that her daughter preferred her adoptive father to her biological mother flared for a moment, and Piper looked away to hide it, not wanting Jon to know everything she was hiding.
Thankfully for Piper, Jon didn't pick up on the jealousy she was feeling toward Lyneth's preference for her father. He was only slightly relieved that he had not been imagining things, that Piper had noticed something off, as well, but that relief was short-lived at the realization that something really was wrong with Oliver. The question was what? Ollie had said some strange things to Jon, and though he didn't want to alarm Piper, maybe it would make more sense to her than it had to him. "He said something about not being able to stay. That he was only here for a short while to make sure his daughter is safe. He said something about the Old Ones." Jon had to pause for a moment to remember what Ollie had said. "The ones who were there before Danu's children, I think he said. Does that mean anything to you?"
Piper's head snapped back around, her gaze suddenly sharp and alarmed, despite Jon's attempt to keep that from happening. "He's not staying?" Her voice had risen in shock at this revelation, one hand rising to cover her own mouth for a moment as she got a grip on herself. "What do you mean' Jon, I didn't even know what fae were until I got pregnant and came here. You know more about magic and myths and what came before than I do!"