The Age of The Masrui

"Yeah, I am going to be in the business." Sienna agreed with Thomas with a smirk. "Who wants a normal job, that is far too boring."

Marlowe shook her head, placing the chinese menu down on the side and walking over to pick Theo up. Carrying him over to the table and asking, "What menu do you think we should choose food out of, Teddy?"

---

"He said she broke down, she has gone on a walk to think about it but he reckons she is going to choose to get rid of it. He wants it."

“Astrid is an alcoholic basket case I suppose... Reid is sweet, he deserves someone who can fully commit to him.”

---

Theo looked over the menus, looking at the pictures with quiet decisiveness

“No Sienna, you’ll not be,” Maddox sighed.

“She has the family strong will, you can’t drill it out of her,
son.”

"If she does decide to get rid he is going to be devastated," Ronan grimaced, "I imagine he is already attached as if it were a one year old."

---

"I know, it is a hard decision," Marlowe hummed softly, watching his facial expressions change with an affectionate smile. "They all look so yummy."

"Yeah!" Sienna smirked at her father, leaning into Thomas' side as she crossed her arms over her chest.

“I hope he doesn’t punish her for it... pregnancy is hard. Giving birth is hard. I wanted my baby, it’s even harder if you don’t.”

---

Theo passed her a menu for a pizza place, pointing to the nuggets in the picture.

“You can go live with granddad then.” Maddox shrugged. “No playtime there.”

"Could you see Reid doing anything like that? He wouldn't, not with her.. that's the worrying part for me though; he'll be too accepting and understanding, he'll be a mess the moment he gets a moment alone though."

---

"Oh okay, those look yummy. If everyone else chooses that too then that's what I'll get you." Marlowe promised before turning to face the others as she kissed her sons cheek and placed him down on the ground. "We have one vote for the pizza place, I vote Chinese - what does everyone else fancy?"

"Uncle Dorian and Cal will take me out like they normally do no matter where I live, so I'll go pack." Sienna answered confidently with a grin, before looking up at Thomas. Humming in response to her mother, "I vote pizza!"

“We’ll be here for him no matter the outcome. We can fly back tonight if you think he needs you. I don’t mind.”

---

After a couple of hours, towards noon, Astrid walked back into the apartment, setting her keys on the side.

---

“Pizza sounds good for us two.” Rose hummed with a smile, “nice and easy.”

"We never get Chinese anymore," Marlowe whispered a frown, more to herself as she picked up the menu and flicked through it for herself. "I'll just get a cheesy garlic bread one then, I suppose." She decided, before offering the menu out to Maddox.

"I want the one with the goats cheese and onions. It's so good." Sienna decided, before grabbing Thomas by the hand and tugging him towards her room. "Come see my clay figure. I got to bring it home, I just need to convince daddy to let me buy more clay and some oil paints to make it look how I want it to."

---

"I told him to call me once she had told him a decision, either way." Ronan whispered, "So, we'll go back if it is bad news. Until then though, lets at least enjoy tonight?"

---

Reid was in the kitchen, tapping his fingertips against a glass filled to the brim with more gin then tonic. So lost in his own thoughts he didn't even notice her come in.

“Hey.” Astrid greeted quietly as she walked in, kicking her shoes off towards the side as she held her arms out to be hugged.

---

“We’ve said the next thing you buy for your hobby will be something you’ve bought with pocket money.” Maddox sighed.

“Maybe in a moment, Sienna.” Thomas murmured, moving his arm away and shifting in discomfort.

“Tommy?” Rose frowned as she looked over.

“I just need a moment. I’ll be up soon.”

---

Bella nodded. “Sounds good to me.”

Sienna frowned, taken aback; being told no by him being a completely alien concept to her so simply moving to stand beside her father instead. Whispering to him, "But half of my pocket money goes into the account you forced me to set up for a house or something. I'll never have enough."

"It'll be good for you to have savings, See." Marlowe assured, asking Thomas quietly, "You need some pain killers? We're well stocked."

---

"Oh... Oh, hi." Reid whispered, turning to face her. Taking a few steps forward and slipping his arms around to hug her.

---

"It'd be ashame to waste a nice comfortable hotel bed, hm? Haven't you missed those?"

Astrid hugged him back as tight as she could bare before pulling away. “I’ve done a lot of thinking... about us... about me... you. This - “ she gestured to her stomach. “And I don’t know how it’s all going to work. I don’t know how to be a functioning human being. I don’t know how we’ll get through the night when all three of us will likely wake up screaming at different times. Or how we’ll keep going across two time zones. How I’ll be as a girlfriend, never mind anything else...I don’t know how we’ll ever make it work.” She whispered, before settling her hands on her middle. “But I do know that this baby will be loved... and that’s what counts, right?”

---

“No... I’m fine.” Thomas replied breathlessly, shaking his head.

“Take the kids upstairs. Now.” Maddox murmured to Marlowe before turning to Thomas. “Dad sit down for a minute mm?” He gently guided his father into the sitting room and down on to the sofa.

---

“Hotel rooms? Reminds me of the old days.” Bella smirked.

Marlowe nodded, walking over to Theo and picking him up in her arms. Nuzzling her face to his head before reaching her hand out and pushing Sienna out of the room.

"What's going on? What's wrong with granddad?" Sienna asked, glaring at her mother when she was met with silence.

"Look after your brother for a little bit, okay?" Marlowe hummed, placing Theo down beside Sienna once they were in her room before walking out, closing the door behind herself and heading back downstairs.

---

Reid's shoulder relaxed, letting out a breath he didn't even realise he had been holding. "I- Really? You.. you are sure about this now? And this decision, you aren't making it just because you know it is what I want?"

---

"A trip down memory lane," He agreed.

“I’m nowhere near ready to be a parent.” Astrid admitted, “but I want this...”

---

Bella kissed him softly then before pulling away.

---

“Dad talk to me?” Maddox frowned as he sat opposite Thomas

Thomas shook his head, face contorting in pain as his hand went to his chest with a gasp.

Marlowe wandered into the room, opening her mouth to say something before deciding against it. Making her way over to Rose's side and resting her hand on her shoulder in silent comfort.

---

"We can do this, we can work it out.. together."

“I’m scared Reid...” Astrid whispered, swallowing thickly. “Terrified if I’m telling the truth. I feel like I’ve been playing pretend at being an adult all this time...”

---

“Call for help.” Maddox suddenly got up as his father gave a shout in pain, hand clutching over his heart before slumping against the sofa unconscious.

“Tom? Thomas?!” Rose panicked, shaking her husband. “Thomas!”

Marlowe grabbed the phone from the counter and called for an ambulance, gaze moving over to Maddox to ask; "You know what to do, right? You got this far, I remember you telling me."

---
"We both have." Reid whispered, "But.. I'll stop drinking too, eat whatever you eat - I'll make the same sacrifices you have to do, we can do this all together."

Astrid nodded quietly. “Then it’s decided... we’re doing this.”

---

Maddox didn’t reply as he shifted his father to check his pulse, pushing his mother away to get better access. “No no no no...” he whined, quickly shifting his father to lay down before starting CPR.

Marlowe frowned, talking quietly to the call responder as she moved to wrap an arm around Rose's shoulder to keep her back.

Sienna had snuck out of her room, frozen on the stairs as she got part of the view of what was going on. Gripping onto the bannister tightly and doing her best to be silent.

---

"Great," Reid grinned

“What I said earlier... I... I didn’t mean platonically, Reid.” Astrid whispered, wrapping her arms around herself in unconscious protection. “I don’t want to do this platonically…”

---

((Can we skip to the hospital, just after he’s gone?))

(( Sure, you first? ))

---

"N- No? Are you sure?"

“You made me fall in love with you despite my promise, asshole.” Astrid teased, giving him a small smile. “You made me love you, and want this family with you…”

---

“We’re sorry, there was nothing else we could do. We declared Mr Levi’s time of death three minutes ago. He’s in the room, we’ve disconnected any machinery that would intrude as you say goodbye. Take all the time you need.” The doctor explained quietly as he entered the family waiting room, giving them all a farewell nod before leaving the family to it.

Caliban was quick to fold his arms around his mother, who dissolved into hysterics against him, crying unintelligibly. Cal rested his head on hers as she cried, his jaw shaking as he tried to hold himself together.

“No... no there must be something else!” Altair hissed as he stood up, not moving when Caius put a hand on his shoulder to try sit him back down.

“He’s been dead officially minutes now... in truth he died over an hour ago on the couch. He never woke back up.” Maddox swallowed thickly, hand going to his hair as he trembled. “I couldn’t wake him up - I - “

“Thomas Levi did not die of a stupid fucking heart attack! This isn’t the way a man that great dies! No fucking way this is bullshit! Someone did something! Someone poisoned him or did something!” Dane was also on his feet then, all anger.

Karsi had been pacing the room, too worked up to sit down, also too uncomfortable to sit still for any long period of time. Upon hearing the doctor speak, she blinked rapidly and almost looked taken aback, staring after the doctor in disbelief - it not sinking in yet despite her family going to pieces around her.

Marlowe had been quietly sat beside Maddox as they had waited to hear either way, swallowing thickly as the doctor left the room and she watched the Levi's break one by one. Physically flinching when Maddox's voice cut out, turning toward him so she was able to slip an arm around his shoulder and pull him against her, batting his hands gently out of his hair so she was about to rest her chin on top of his head instead and rest her palm against the side of his head to keep him there. "You tried, you tried so hard."

Louis had attempted to get Karsi to sit down on various occasions, accepting defeat a few minutes previously. Shaking his head at the news and mumbling in agreement with Dane, "No, no your right - that is too normal. This family doesn't do normal anything, yet alone deaths. There has to be someone to be held responsible for this."

---

"I fell in love with you years ago," Reid admitted with a laugh.

“I’ll inform the cousins. The family deserve to know before it gets to the media.” Caius set his jaw, giving his brother a final pat on the shoulder before going to leave, struggling to keep his composure so deciding to go before it broke. “Take care of my niece, don’t worry about anything. We’ve got this under control, he’s had plans in place for something like this for years just in case.” He murmured as he wrapped a gentle arm around his sister, kissing her forehead. “The crown is still yours when you’ve had the baby, I’m not usurping you.” He assured, squeezing her hand gently before leaving.

“I need to recall my children back home. They’re no longer safe. None of us are. Keep your guards close, nobody waives them right now.” Altair moved to lay a hand on his mother’s shoulder. “I’m bringing my children home and then I’ll be right back mom, I promise I’m not leaving you, you won’t be alone.” He whispered gently as he too left the room.

“Don’t agree with me King like you don’t know who the main fucking suspect is right now. Remember who was responsible the last two times a Levi died?! Ronan or Reid had something to do with this, mark my words.”

Karsi stood utterly confused by the chaos going on around her, looking as if she were going to speak several times but stopping. Not quite knowing what to say.

---

“We’re a set of idiots aren’t we?” Astrid laughed softly.

"Oh lets not start blaming the Langstead's just because your wife, oh, wait, ex-wife is getting all cosy with one of them in Egypt right now. Thomas and Noah were best friends, Ronan and Reid adored your father as much as the rest of us. They are not the ones responsible for this, and if anything happens to them now you have made that threat then you need to mark my words, I am not going to let you touch any of them." Louis answered, getting to his feet to glare at Dane.

"Stop, no. None of this, not right now." Marlowe called over to Dane and Louis, continuing to play with Maddox's hair and keep him close. Moving her gaze over to look toward Karsi to check on her.

---

"We are," He laughed. "I love us, we're very amusing."

Karsi wandered out of the room whilst everyone was distracted, going into the room where her father was. Closing the door behind her and sitting at the chair beside his bed, touching his hand and flinching violently to find him cold, the color draining from her as reality set in. “Dad... daddy wake up. Please?” She begged quietly, voice shaking.

“If they had anything to do with this then I’ll burn their entire fucking world down, Bella be damned. She is still one of us, still ours, and still loyal to us whilst we still share a son. Don’t try and play that fucking card Louis.”

“Stop!” Rose cried then as she pulled away from Caliban. “No more, please no more, boys!”

“Mom... I’m sorry I couldn’t...” Maddox started, voice breaking.

---

Astrid just gave him a wry smile before pressing her lips to his, shrugging her bag off and to the floor when her phone began to vibrate in it.

Louis had squared up, folded his fingers into his palms ready to punch Dane before Rose had spoken and snapped him out of it. Shaking his head, he backed off, frowning when he couldn't see Karsi in the room and heading out. Silently slipping into the room a few moments after her and whispering, "Hey..."

Marlowe watched Louis walk out, swallowing thickly when she heard Maddox's voice break. Edging over so she could hold him that little bit closer as her eyes went to Rose.

---

"Aren't you going to get that?" He chuckled against her lips. "It is probably your brother asking you if you are on the plane yet."