You can have one (Open)

Mystique had been doing some shopping around Hogsmeade and told Alice if she had behaved she could get a treat from Honeydukes. Now it was time to pay up since Alice had been very well behaved. She picked up the 5 year old and carried her into the shop. When they arrived Alice immediately reached for the sugar quills, they being her favorite treat. She laughed and grabbed a pack of them for her and one for Charlie for when she saw him next amongst a few things for herself

Jacob had a nappy bag over his shoulder and Charlie in his arm as he wandered down the main street of Hogsmeade. He would normally do the usual shopping in Diagon Alley or at the muggle shops near his house, but he knew that Helena was feeling more and more uncomfortable by the moment and he wanted to surprise her with some of her favourite sweets and so he had taken Charlie for a trip into Hogsmeade. The Honeydukes Shop wasn't packed, but there were a few wanderings admiring the range of products. Jacob, however, knew exactly what he was getting for his wife. He grabbed the large sized bag and began to drop in handfuls of her favourites. Charlie made a gurgling sound and Jacob laughed softly, knowing that Helena would probably let him have a gnaw on one of the sweets with his tiny teeth. "You'll have to wait, little one," he whispered to his son, kissing his forehead. He was heading toward the counter when he saw a tiny head of familiar blonde hair. "Alice!" he called to the little girl, grinning as he adjusted Charlie in his arm.

Alice looked up when she heard her name called and looked behind her. She smiled when she saw her father and ran over to him hugging his legs, careful not to knock him over as he was holding Charlie "Daddy!" Mystique smiled at the two and walked over "Alice, I told you no running off. Hello Jacob." She said then her eyes landed on Charlie and she smiled "Hey baby boy." She said dropping a kiss on his head

Jacob laughed as Alice ran straight into his legs, though he could tell she was being careful not to be too rough on account of her baby brother. It was actually not far from his first birthday, which reminded Jacob that he needed to pass on the details of the party to Mystique. “How are you two?” he asked as he dug around in the nappy back to find the invite to Charlie’s birthday party, “we haven’t given them out yet, of course, but I wanted to give you all the information. Then you can let people know if you want to invite anyone..”

"We're good. just doing some errands for the shop. Oh that reminds me, something came in the other day and the minute I saw it I knew I had to tell you about it. Its a beautiful dress that I figured Helena would absolutely love to have for after she has the baby." She said with a small blush. After being miserable for so long she finally came to accept the fact that Jacob would not be coming back to her and decided to be happy for him instead "How is she by the way? Still pregnant?" She took the invitation and slipped it into her purse "I will be there of course. As will Alice." She said "Can I hold Charlie for a bit? Ive missed him."

Jacob was surprised to hear Mystique talking about Helena so freely. It wasn’t uncomfortable, per say, but it was such a change from the woman that he had seen a mere month or so ago. It really had been that long, but he figured that with her shop opening and his work getting busy, they just didn’t get the chance to see each other often. “Oh, I’m sure she’d love to take a look at it,” he said with a smile, “I’ll pass on the message.” The man was glad that Charlie’s mother and sister would be able to make it, and he carefully passed Charlie over to Mystique as he spoke, “of course you can. Helena’s doing well, but the baby is holding on tight. Should be arriving any day now- which is why Charlie and I were getting some sweets for her.”

Mystique took Charlie in her arms and smiled at her son. She loved the little boy with all of her heart. "He looks more and more like you every day." She said as she bounced the giggling boy in her arms. "Sweets are a pregnant womans kryptonite. Has she tried any muggle ways of inducing labor? Walking, bouncing, exercise? The most proven way to induce labor however is sex." She said without even flinching or hesitating. Which was odd because she was speaking with her ex fiance.

Jacob smiled at her words about Charlie looking like him. “Helena says the same thing,” he said, enjoying the sight of his son happily in his mother’s arms. He could tell that things were different for everyone now, and though there was a chance it would change again, he wanted to hold on to this peace for as long as he could. He laughed at her advice, nodding as he said, “that’s always my first suggestion, of course. But it’ll happen in its own time.”

Mystique bounced Charlie in her arms and Alice reached up to Jacob wanting to be held "daddy pick me up!" She demanded at the top of her lungs which made mystique flinch "Alice. Inside voice" she said before turning back to Jacob "I'm sure it is. You always were quite... Hands on"

"Settle down, sweet heart," he said as he swooped down to pick up Alice, glad that she was so excited to see him, but also conscious of the other people in the shop. Never the less, he still risked a noise when he lifted her high above his head, looking up at her face, "have you been behaving yourself." He through Mystique a look at her words, raising an eyebrow and smirking, but not actually responding.

Alice laughed happily as her father lifted her up and nodded "I've been super good daddy. That's why mama brought me here to get me a candy is a reward for being good" she said smiling, she had one of her front teeth missing which was more evident when she smiled. Mystique chuckled when he raised an eyebrow at her "am I wrong?" Was al she asked on the matter

“Of course!” the man said, “that makes so much sense, little lady.” Alice was usually very well behaved, though occasionally she would throw a royal tantrum and get on everyone’s nerves. Much like almost any small child. He shook his head, chuckling at Mystique’s words. “No, you’re not wrong,” he replied, before an idea popped into his mind, “do you have a mobile phone, Mystique?” he

Alice clung to her father with her arms around his neck. She loved both her daddies vey much and loved being able to see them. She had not seen daddy Jacob in quite a while and when she did momma Helena was usually cranky and daddy said it was because she had a baby in her tummy. Like mommy did when her mommy was pregnant with her brother. She rested her head on Jacobs shoulder and just listened to her parents talk. When Jacob asked mystique of she had a mobile phone she nodded "yes I do. Why?" She asked curiously

Jacob swayed in place, holding Alice against him, the wolf in him feeling like he wanted to protect her from the world, but knowing that she had her mother for that. Because no matter how much he adored the girl, she wasn’t really his, and he couldn’t ask for time with her. He had no right to want to have her stay with him sometime, but he did feel like he could ask to see her more often. So he smiled once again, and said, “if we exchange numbers, maybe we could organise catch ups and the like. It’s much more convenient than an owl.”

Mystique could feel the paternal vibes coming off of Jacob and knew he saw Alice as his own daughter, which she loved. She suddenly had an idea which brought a wicked grin to her face "that sounds excellent. I actually had a small favor to ask. I have something to do this weekend and I have to go it of town and can't take Alice. Alex is busy with classes and I was trying to find someone to take Alice for the weekend. Would you like to do it? That way you can spend some time with her?" Mystique had absolutely nothing new to do but she knew that Jacob wanted time with Alice, he just didn't want to ask. Or maybe he felt like he couldn't. But either way she made the offer to please him.

Jacob was surprised by her offer, and appreciated it a lot. And he wanted to say yes without a thought, but the problem was that Helena was about to have a baby, and he knew that Jace already struggled with having Charlie around, let alone having Alice as well. But then again, there was a large possibility that Jacob would have to stay at the school anyway, so he could always have her there. “Well, I would love to, but I’ll have to check on what’s happening this weekend,” he said slowly, “I can call you about it later, once I find out if I’m going to be at Hogwarts or at home?” The gesture meant a lot to him, and he hoped she knew that.

Mystique nodded, knowing he would have to speak to Helena "absolutely. Also there's one more thing. I was planning to take Alice on a little vacation to a muggle theme park soon. I was wondering if I could take Charlie for a weekend to bring him along with" she hated having to ask for time with her son, but she understood the custody agreements. "We're going to Disney" she said looking at her daughter who was beaming with excitement "I get to see Mickey!"

Jacob was thankful for her understanding, and he wondered just for a moment how much less stressful their break up would have been if she had been like this during that time. “I’ll let you know as soon as I can,” he said, regarding the weekend. Her question about taking Charlie made him unsure, because although she seemed to have matured significantly, she had not always been like this. There was a reason he had full custody. “I.. can we talk about that later?” he asked when Alice interrupted his train of thought, “how exciting, baby! Have you been talking about it non-stop since your mum told you?”

Mystique frowned when Jacob did not give her answer about disney. She felt like he didnt trust her with her own son "Jacob, you know Im trying my best." She moved her attention to Alice, the frown still on her face as she held Charlie close, wanting to be near him until Jacob took him again. Alice nodded and smiled "Yeah. I love Disney. I watch the movies all the time on the telly at home. My favorite is Cinderella cuz she has a magical fairy godmother and mummy is magic."

Jacob felt a little bad when she spoke, but he tried not to let it get to him. It wasn’t about Mystique, it was about what was best for Charlie, and although her new-found maturity did perhaps add something to that equation, it didn’t change everything. He would also have to speak to his lawyer, to make sure that it was even allowed. So he gave her a gentle smile, that told her they’d talk about it soon, he returned his attention to Alice. “That’s wonderful, honey,” he said happily, giving her a tight hug before saying, “we have to get going, though. Some of the things in these bags will go bad if we’re out for too long.”

Mystique hesitated before handing over Charlie. She missed her son. She hated having to give him back. But she had to. She took Alice back and put her on the floor beside her holding her hand "Well, you havr my number. Dont hesitate to stop by next time youre in the neighborhood." She said before giving him a small smile and kissing Charlie goodbye and walking out of the store