Criminal Minds ~ DNF

12

Winter in England was not a fun alternative to the Virginian sun. Gloomy, damp, cold, and snowy. The complete opposite to what George had gotten used to over the last three years. He shivered in the backseat of his mother's car, sorely missing the heated halls of Heathrow airport.

"Tell me again how this happened?" His mother asked, not taking her eyes off the road.

"Weren't you listening the first three times?" George questioned, exasperated. "I got shot by a serial killer, what else is there to it?"

"But ho- you know what? Never mind. You'll have to tell Dad and Nana Peg anyway," Mum sighed. George had forgotten all about Nana Peg!

"She moved in last year, right? After the whole debacle with Mr. Oliver down the street?" Mum nodded.

"Daft old man. He got arrested last month, you know."

"He what?!" George has missed so much in his absence! It was like skipping one day of school and going back to find twelve new assignments and missed GCSEs.

"Yeah, he got done for kidnapping. Remember Lilly-Ann from down the street?" George rolled his eyes in clarification. How could he forget the girl? She had practically hung off his shoulder for most of last year's Christmas party. "She had a baby and Mr. Oliver took him."

"Jesus," George mused. "Lilly-Ann had a baby?"

"Dont take the lord's name up in vain and yeah, little Stevie. Cute little kid, though her parents weren't very happy about it."

"Christ, I've missed a lot," George murmured. At the name, he was met with a rather dirty look. He'd forgotten about his mother's die-hard Christian ways. "Ack, sorry, I've spent too much time around Tommy. I'll try not to swear."

"That Tommy kid again! He's a right nuisance, that boy! We told you to go to America to get away from him and you took him with you! You need to stay away from him, you hear? I'm not going to tolerate..." George leaned his head on the car window, tuning his mother out.

"... blonde idiot... George, are you even listening to me?" Mum asked irritably.

"Not really." Mum opened her mouth to reply, probably some snide remark about how she was his mother (no shit) but George cut her off.

"Mum, I'm an adult. I think that authorizes me to pick who I spend my time around. Besides, I'm old enough to make my own decisions."

"Yeah, well, your own decisions also got you shot in Florida, so I'd hold my tongue if I were you," she hissed, turning back to the road ahead. When she heard George's sharp intake of breath, she continued. "Save it. You're gonna need your wits about you for when Nana Peg can't keep her mouth shut any longer. She already told Alistar and Katherine that you were back, no doubt Uncle Richard and Aunty Rachel will show up soon as well. If I'm honest, I'd be unsurprised if everyone  is home waiting for you." George sighed. While it was entertaining sometimes, that was one of the things that he hated about England. Everyone was in everyone's backyard. Most of the women were terrible gossips, sitting at the garden table sipping tea and telling each other the ins and outs of the neighbor's lives.

What was worse, it sounded like the whole family was coming to see him. As far as British families went, the Davidsons were one of the larger ones. The eldest was Grandma Margaret, respected by everyone and while she was a little questionable at times, her word always went over anyone else's. The youngest was George's niece, Jennifer. She was a sweet, innocent if careless five-year-old with tiny ears and a button nose. Though he loved the perky child with all his heart, George dreaded seeing her mother again.

As briefly mentioned before, George had not left for America on good terms with Kate. When Nana Peg had inevitably told the entire family that George was gay, (honestly, he should have known better than to tell his scatterbrained grandmother anything worth sharing) Katherine had forbidden George from speaking to her ever again, afraid that the homosexual within him would rub off on her or baby Jenny. It had resulted in a fight of such magnitude that the entire family was split in half for months. Kate was still spiteful about the whole affair, though Mum had told him that she cried when they were told of his injury. Maybe his homophobic sister deserved a second chance...

Aunty Rachel and Uncle Richard though! They were amazing, and George had missed them a lot when he left. Seeing them again would be fun. In fact, he was on relatively good terms with everyone in his family except Katherine and her husband. George's mother spun the wheel of the car clockwise, turning onto a road that George hadn't seen in quite a while. Nostalgia and anxiety crashed over him. Nostalgia, because he remembered the countless times he had driven down this road to get home over the years and anxiety because it dawned on him that he wasn't just going home for fun. He was going home because he wasn't welcome in Virginia until he had fully recovered from the gunshot. That meant his family would be paying extra attention, fawning over him. The next few months were going to be nightmarish.

"Georgie!" A small voice squeaked at the brunette as he stepped out of the car.

"Oof-" George stumbled to catch the five-year-old tornado that was hurled at him. She wrapped her stubby little arms around his neck, planting sloppy kisses all over the side of his face. George smiled fondly at the child.

"Hey, Jen! How're you?"

"I'm great! You came back!!" She cried. George laughed softly, a noise he hadn't heard come out of his mouth for quite a while.

"I did, that's true," he chuckled.

"Fuck's sake, Jennifer, watch his chest!" He heard a voice shout from inside the house. (At the curse, George's mother put a hand over her heart like she was offended by it on a personal level) "I told you to wait for him to come inside!"

"It's alright, Kate. I'm okay," George's smile fell slightly as he addressed his sister.

"Either way," she said. The slim, brown-haired woman that George had grown up with stood in the doorway with one hand resting on her hip.

"Really, Kitty, she's just excited. Leave her be," George smiled at his older sister. She hesitated and then gave a little smile back. Katherine taking the child from George, both adults stepped inside.

"George!" About twelve people cried simultaneously. Oh boy, George thought as he was enveloped in a massive group hug on one side of his body, everybody trying to avoid touching the... well.

"Hi," he laughed. When he was released, he could see everyone. Rachel, Richard, Alistar and Kate as mentioned before as well as many more. Nana Peg, his father, cousins Brendan, Sarah, Abbigail and Margot, plus Aunt Nicole.

"Sit down, sit down! Come here, love, we shouldn't have crowded you like that," Nana Peg practically shoved George into the couch.

Ahh, so it was starting already...

____________________________________

Word count: 1211

Luna xx