Who: Mary MacDonald and Gabriel Corner
What: Trips home to meet her family!
Where: A terrifying car? And train. And front porch with a dad and his gun.



Anxiety wretched Mary's face at the moment, and for good reason. She didn't know how much time Gabriel had really spent around muggles, what he was accustomed to and what he would think was just plain bizarre. It didn't ease her mind any that her parents owned a nice farm with cattle and sheep and the whole nine yards and that Gabriel would probably have no idea how to handle himself around livestock (he didn't seem the type, at least), and well...if he didn't know, she was sure her father would not approve of what would eventually be revealed at all. Thank God her elder sister Amanda had already settled down with a good, strong local boy whom her parents doted on constantly.

She sat across the compartment from Gabriel on the mid-afternoon train to Derby, thumbing through the most recent edition of a muggle gossip rag as a cover for her racing thoughts. The magazine was absolute rubbish, but it kept her from thinking about how hectic this trip could become, depending on whether or not she and Gabriel mutually agreed to break the news about the baby to her parents. She had the sinking feeling that any mention of the child currently nestled inside her would induce a string of yelling from her father, emphatically punctuated by the retreival of his trusty twelve gauge.

Gabriel was considering his impending doom as the countryside flashed through the windows. He knew this wasn't going to go well, he wasn't even going to try to convince himself otherwise, and he wasn't even able to find any bit of a positive outcome. What kind of father, family, would be happy to find out that their daughter was pregnant with the child of a man she barely knew, that they didn't know, and oh, yes, he was a wizard who knew absolutely nothing about their culture.

It really wasn't his fault that his parents had kept his social circle rather tight, Gabriel believed.

He took in a deep breath through his nose and let it out, continuing this breathing pattern to ensure that a panic attack didn't strike before he actually reached the platform, because that was entirely plausible. Mary's father was going to--murder him, he was sure, and maybe he should be enjoying the last few moments of his life, but Gabriel found he could barely move from his seat. Though---he did finally look toward Mary, a nervous, but an honestly gallant effort of a smile sliding onto his face.

"Will your family meet us at the--station?" he asked, clearing his throat. In any case, this could go no worse than the events at the Prophet only a few days prior---well, no, they certainly could; he hadn't died in the burning offices.

It took a moment for Gabriel's words to actually register in her mind before she nodded, setting her magazine neatly on her lap with a quick movement. "Mum said she would pick us up when the train got in," she said, her voice hushed as she offered a smile back to him. Her mother, Mary was quite sure, would take a quick liking to him. She would ignore her continually slipping in words like boyfriend and dating and her commenting on how he looked and what he was like and--ugh, she was going to have to quickly explain that Gabriel was just a friend...which probably wouldn't be good once they got to the news (if? were they really going to break this to her parents now?) to everyone.

"And then it'll be a fifteen minute or so drive to the farm," she said, her voice only slightly louder than before. Ah, the humble beginnings of Mary MacDonald. Gabriel would be one of the first to actually see her childhood home. She wasn't usually self-conscious about these sorts of things, but for some reason she was feeling it now. She had so many things she wanted to warn him about, or give him as a tip, but she didn't know how to phrase things properly. Or if he would even care to have the information. She let out another soft sigh, glancing out the window. God, she hoped this wouldn't be a trip that stretched on for what seemed like forever.

Drive, to the farm. What was driving? Oh--wait, no. He knew what driving was, that was when you got into the big thing and--it moved, with wheels. How it moved with wheels, Gabriel would never understand, but Mary seemed quite calm about the whole excursion, so he supposed he should be as well. The muggle world was an incredibly foreign place to Gabriel, as he was sure that she knew, but he did try and do his best to act as if he knew more than he did. It was the only way to stop himself from looking like a fool, and it was the way he was brought up; never show your ignorance.

The rest of the train ride was as quiet as it had been from the beginning, and when the train finally pulled into the station, Gabriel wasted no time in grabbing their trunks and--well, no, he didn't lead the way, he'd rather that Mary accosted her family first, but he didn't want to seem room and lag behind.

Merlin, he had no idea how this was going to go, or if it was even a good idea, but---he supposed in the long run, the fact that he met her parents early on in the pregnancy would help out. He hoped.

Gabriel went down the steps to the platform first, putting down the trunks before stepping back up to help Mary down. Maybe her family would see that he was a gentleman, and not hate him as much (not that he was helping her for show, but--it would help).

She took his hand as she stepped down from the train to the platform, the butterflies creeping up into her stomach as she caught sight of her Mum standing there, just waiting for her and Gabriel to arrive. A grin broke across her face, and she waved excitedly before turning to help him with the trunks. "Just be yourself," she told him firmly, the last bit of private advice he'd receive for a while. Her parents knew that her friends weren't going to be the same as the blokes they were used to seeing around, and she didn't think that he needed to try being something he wasn't just to impress her parents.

Mary led the way to where her mum stood, setting down the luggage before pulling her into a warm embrace. "It's so good to see you again," she murmured happily as she looked at her mum and then back at Gabriel. "Mum, this is Gabriel Corner," she said with a smile, knowing all too well that her Mum would be pulling Gabriel into a warm hug. It didn't matter that the two had never met before, Kate MacDonald was not overly shy about making others feel welcome.

"It's nice to meet you, Gabriel," Kate said happily, carefully examining this boy her daughter had brought home. He didn't seem too bad, and she liked that he had helped Mary off the train. She wasn't sure if he would have the same first impression on her husband, Jackson, but he'd always been hard to impress.

Gabriel was surprised by the hug, and he hoped it didn't feel too awkward on his part. You just---didn't really hug, in his family, or with his friends. Well, no, he hugged Rebecca after long school breaks, and he hugged Daniella because she had known him since he was a child, but--okay, he could hug. He could definitely hug. Gabriel grinned shakily over Kate's shoulder toward Mary, and pulled back with a much more genuine smile.

"The pleasure's all mine, Mary's told me much about you and your family," he said with honest interest in what was to come. Hopefully he made it out alive, of course, but he did have the small notion in the back of his head that he could, well--just disapparate out of there if some serious trouble started.

That would probably seem terribly rude, but he didn't think in a life or death situation, he should be concerned with hurting feelings. Etiquette went out the window when there was pain to be inflicted. Gabriel lifted up the trunks once more, forgetting for just a second that he couldn't pull out his wand, "Are we off?"

Mary would not be too happy with him if he just popped off on her like that. Her parents weren't that threatening or scary, honestly. And he was off to a good start here! As long as he didn't upset her mum, he would be fine. Her dad was a bit scary, but if he overreacted, he would get an earful from both Mary and Kate and maybe that would be enough to offset any sort of conflict-starting on his part.

Kate nodded happily before digging through her purse to find her keys. "Yes, I've parked the truck just outside so you wouldn't have to carry your things so far." she smiled warmly at Gabriel before going back to her rummaging as she walked.

Mary grabbed the side handle of the smaller trunk, gently tugging at it to take it away from Gabriel. There was no sense in making him carry everything when she was perfectly capable of helping. "I'll sit in the middle once we get everything loaded," she explained to him in hushed tones. She knew he'd likely have no idea what she was talking about, but the game plan would probably help, and this way she wouldn't have to worry about him making a scene (not that he would).

"So, how was the trip? I hope the train didn't have too many delays," Kate said calmly, turning her attention to Gabriel. Mary was doing her best to hold in her laughter, knowing full well that Gabriel had no real idea what a train delay felt like (no, the Hogwarts Express did not count as a true train ride in Mary's opinion) and that the question would probably throw him for a loop. She sent him a careful wink when her mother's head was turned before shaking her head. The train ride had been decent and they hadn't arrived too far off schedule.

"The train ride went as smoothly as could be expected," Gabriel responded immediately. He knew what a delay was, and their ride had been relatively on time, from what he knew, so therefore---no delays. That made perfect sense to him, and he was about to take the trunk back from Mary (she was pregnant, she shouldn't be lifting or...wheeling heavy objects!) when they reached the car and tugging it away from her seemed pointless. Though, he did make it a point to put the trunks into the trunk of the---car, that was the word. He really should have done more research, but at least he remembered that much.

Getting into the car, however--that was different. And the doors shut on the side of him, and Gabriel wondered what would happen next. It looked a bit like the carriages at Hogwarts, but seeing as muggles didn't have magic to make this...compartment on wheels move, he didn't know---

Gabriel let out a choking sound as something in the front of the car roared, and then there was a bit of shaking, and he pressed hard into the seat as they began to move forward. Oh--oh dear, there were---other cars and they were moving in and out of each other and how did you stop this thing?

He turned to Mary, looking absolutely terrified, except of course---he was trying to look as calm as possible at the same time. Not a very attractive expression, a voice in the back of his mind muttered, but Gabriel ignored it and grabbed onto Mary's hand.

Mary let out a rather undignified snort at the entire situation. If only she had a camera...Okay, so it wasn't very nice of her, but this was really funny to her. Her Mum had been driving since she was young and Gabriel was absolutely terrified of what was going on. She gave his hand a gentle squeeze before leaning over to whisper in his ear. "Just like the train, love. You'll be fine. I promise." Hey, if the pregnant woman trusted the car enough to ride in it, shouldn't he?

Kate hummed to herself in the front seat, watching the two in the backseat in the rearview mirror. That boy...she wasn't sure about him, but she was willing to give her children's friends the benefit of the doubt. She tutted to herself before turning on the radio, figuring that the two would like a bit of privacy.

Mary thought momentarily about how terrified she was the first time she floo'd somewhere. She was sure this was twenty times more agonizing for Gabriel. Maybe she could get him more used to it by the end of the trip...if he'd get anywhere near the car again, that is. She would be willing to put 5 galleons on him contacting the Ministry and requesting that the fireplace at her parent's being temporarily connected to the network so they wouldn't have to deal with all this again.

No, he was never getting into a car again. He had absolutely no reason to, not when he was a capable wizard who could apparate and disapparate from place to place. That wasn't rude, Gabriel would never force any of Mary's family to take a mode of transportation. He let Mary whisper and he nodded along with her words, but Gabriel's eyes shut tightly so he wouldn't have to experience this terrifying ordeal---no, no he really didn't need this experience, he really didn't need this to--better his life, or anything Mary might say to defend this--car.

Gabriel couldn't tell you how long this 'ride' was, if you could call it that. All he knew was that there was music coming from somewhere, Mary and her mother had a conversation of sorts, and there had been a loud sound emitted from the car or--one beside it that sounded like a horn. That had nearly caused him to open his eyes in terror, but Gabriel remained steadfast in his avoidance of experiencing this 'typical' part of Muggle life.

Then---silence. Silence was...good? Was silence good? There was no rattling, either, there wasn't the sound of that--thing that made it move. The--key. The wheel? What made it that sound? Oh, it didn't matter, just that they were stopped and he could open his eyes now.

Maybe.

No, he would, and Gabriel blinked a few times, looking out the window of the car to see a---farm. They were at Mary's family farm. Gabriel realized that he was about to experience another thing he had never done in his life, and that was be on a farm. Merlin--her life was terribly different than his in so many aspects; how were they supposed to do this, this--creating a family? It seemed like every aspect of their lives was against them.

Mary squeezed his hand tightly when she saw his eyes crack open. Her mum was rambling on about the plans for the new year, and all Mary could do was nod in response. She was actually worried about how Gabriel was doing, and why he was so--no, she wasn't going to try and figure out why he was so quiet and just looked like his life was about to end at any moment. "We're here," she said softly, debating whether or not she should move to open the door just yet or not.

She thought that things were going to go swimmingly when she suggested bringing him home for the New Year, she really had. But--she wasn't sure about that now. Maybe it was just the car, she didn't know. But hopefully this would be a good few nights for him and he wouldn't just--regret everything. And it felt a little selfish, but she was really excited to be home and to be back on the farm. It didn't seem like things had changed at all from when she was younger, and for that she was especially glad. "I promise it'll be a good trip," she told him, giving him a smile that she hoped was encouraging

There were a million things that she wanted to tell Gabriel or explain, but she didn't even know where to start. But--no. No, no no. What was her father doing...on the front porch...with the bloody shotgun. The last thing she needed was her father getting some idea about--ugh.

Gabriel was more than happy to be out of the car. It took a bit of self-control not to sit on the ground and thank the heavens that he'd made it to their destination in one piece, but he remained standing and proceeded to remove their trunks out of the back of the car. Without the whole--moving at the speed of light thing going on, this...'vehickle' did seem quite useful. It could maybe earn another try from Gabriel, but he believed he would be heading home via apparation or floo.

He pulled the trunks out and began to drag them up the path toward the house (no, he was not going to let Mary carry anything heavy, before he simply hadn't had the chance to snatch the trunk back without looking rude--) and he stopped at the porch steps to look up at whom Gabriel presumed was Mary's father. This was it.

"Hello Mr. MacDonald, I'm Gabriel Corner," he said, putting down the trunks and sticking his hand out to the man. Gabriel's eyes scanned down the long, metal object in her father's hand---must be a muggle man thing. Maybe he would be getting one, soon? "Thank you for inviting me to your home."

"Mum, he's got the bloody gun out," she hissed, giving her mom a look of panic. Why would her father need the gun when he was just meeting Gabriel. This...was the last thing she wanted to deal with this weekend. She made her way up the sidewalk, standing next to Gabriel now. She laughed lightly before gently grabbing the barrel of the shotgun and carefully yanking it away from him. "Daddy, you're so funny!" She was going to lock the thing in her room so he couldn't get to it, oh my God.

Jackson MacDonald grunted and shook Gabriel's hand. Well, at least the toff had a strong hand. "I'm watching you," he mumbled with a bit of a glare before stomping back into the house.

Mary sighed warily. "I'm--I can't even apologize for him. He's not always welcoming. But at least he didn't read you the entire right act! I promise he won't be this way the entire time we're here." Well, as long as they didn't tell him any life changing information. Maybe she should just mail them a letter with the news instead...