When Adeline found herself in the world of the Little Women, she is concerned with three questions; how did she get here, how is this happening, and...
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can she change the story?
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oc x laurie
"This love will keep us from blinding of the eyes, silence in the ears, darkness of the mind." Godspeed by James Blake
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Once the tears and smiles died down, Marmee stared at the table of food sadly and looked back at her five daughters.
"What is it?" Meg asked her Mother.
"Not far from here lives a young woman, Mrs. Hummel. Her five children are in one bed to try and keep from freezing and there is nothing to eat. My dear daughters, would the five of you give your breakfast as a Christmas present?" Marmee asked sweetly, knowing how much the girls were looking forward to eating.
"Is this the part where you say Father would want us to?" Beth asked quietly, accepting that it was the right thing to do. Marmee nodded slowly.
Across the way, Laurie and his Grandfather, Mr. Laurence, were enjoying their own Christmas breakfast as Mr. Brooke joined them.
"Thank you, Mr. Laurence, for inviting me to join you," John Brooke smiled, nodding gratefully to the rich older gentleman.
"You're welcome. Perhaps you could tutor my Grandson in manners as well as mathematics," Mr. Laurence chuckled, watching as Laurie was distracted by the window to the outside world.
Laurie watched as the March women bustled up, bringing their food and empty bellies towards the Hummel house in the woods. He smiled as he watched Jo and Addy link arms, skipping through the snow in joy. The white flakes adorning Adeline's dark hair made him feel as if he was dreaming, and he wondered where they could be bringing all this food on Christmas.
"Grandfather, I have an idea,"
The March women made their way into the Hummel house as Addy stared in devastation, watching the faces of the poor hungry Hummel children. She did not hesitate as she saw Mrs. Hummel, a thin woman who did not look much older than her and grabbed the baby in her arms, introducing herself. Adeline had always loved children, especially babies, and her instincts kicked in.
"Oh, angels have come!" Mrs. Hummel grabbed Adeline's arm, grateful tears gathering in her eyes.
"I'm back, we brought food and blankets and sweaters. And we brought some medicine too! These are my girls," Marmee spoke proudly, placing a hand pointedly on Addy to include her in the bunch.
After sharing all they had, the girls walked back with full hearts and inspired minds. Adeline walked into the house first, hoping Laurie had seen them and organized what she thought he would. Sure enough, there was a grand feast set on the table while Hannah fussed with it, causing the women to stop and gasp.
"Is it fairies?"
"Santa Claus,"
"No, it's old Aunt March!"
"Mr. Laurence sent it over," Hannah interrupted their thoughts.
"The Laurence boy's Grandfather? Why?" Meg asked as all the girls walked excitedly towards the food.
"He saw you giving away your Christmas breakfast and wanted you to enjoy the day," Hannah smiled, grabbing Marmee and handing her an envelope.
The girls ran to the window, looking out at the large empty house.
"But I thought he was a mean old man!" Amy gasped, confused about why this old man wanted the girls to enjoy their Christmas.
"That's so generous of him," Beth sighed.
Adeline waited, hoping someone would mention something about Laurie so that she could interject that she thought he was the one who put his Grandfather up to this. No one spoke, so she tried to remain nonchalant.
"I bet it was his grandson, Laurie. We should make friends with him, shouldn't we Jo?" She asked pointedly as Jo blushed lightly before snapping out of it.
"Boys scare me, and that big old house scares me," Beth spoke gently as Adeline ran her fingers through Beth's hair gently.
"Jenny Snow said that Mr. Laurence's son was disowned because he ran off with an Italian woman and now his son is an orphan and spends all his time locked up in that house with his tutor," Amy stated as a matter of fact. Marmee cut in sharply.
"He is a very kind man who lost his little girl when she was a child, and now he has lost his son as well," Marmee was not impressed with Amy's gossiping tone.
"He lost his daughter? How sad," Beth pouted as everyone moved to the table to eat.
"But doesn't Laurie seem so romantic? He's half Italian," Amy sighed while stuffing treats in her face. Meg snapped her head to Addy, remembering the way he looked at her sister the night he helped them.
"Isn't that right, Addy?" Meg smirked as Addy blushed.
"I mean- he was dancing with Jo for so long!" Adeline interjected, trying desperately to get the idea of her and Laurie out of everyone's mind. Jo stared strangely at Addy, wondering if she maybe was feeling something for the Laurence boy.
"Oh don't be ridiculous, I saw you two share a private dance outside before I hurt my ankle," Meg chuckled and Marmee raised an eyebrow at her new daughter.
"That was nothing. He told me that he thinks Jo is wonderful and adventurous," Addy lied, hoping to throw the scent of embarrassment off of her. The girls allowed the conversation to change, but Jo felt a weird feeling in her chest that perhaps Addy and Laurie had something that she did not.
"Well, I did not bring breakfast, but I do have a surprise," Marmee smiled knowingly, holding up a letter as the girls rushed to her side, setting up in the living room to listen to Marmee read them the letter from Father.
"Jo sits in the back so no one can see her cry," Amy teased as Jo shoved her.
"When will he come home?" Beth asked gently as she sat on her Mother's lap.
"He will stay and do his work faithfully as long as he can, and we won't ask for him back a minute sooner than he can be spared," Marmee smiled sadly, knowing that this was hard on her family to be parted from their Father. She began to read;
"Give them all my dear love and a kiss. Tell them I think of them by day, pray for them by night and find my best comfort in their affection at all times. Tell dear Adeline that I cannot wait to meet her and she sounds like she fits in wonderfully with the March women. A year seems a very long time to wait before I see them but remind them that while we wait we may all work so that these hard days need not be wasted. I know they will be loving children to you, do their duty faithfully, fight their enemies bravely, and conquer themselves so beautifully that when I come back to them I may be fonder and prouder than ever of my little women."
The girls all sat with tears in their eyes, wishing that their Father could be with them on Christmas. Adeline even felt herself wavering with emotions, knowing that the girls will get their wish one day.
AN: This used to be merged with the last chapter and then it hit me that this chapter was SO long so I split it up lol
