A New Chapter (Geoff)

[Riley Neves]

Riley sort of looked at her relationship with Geoffrey like a well written book. It made her laugh, made her cry, and she wanted to read it a thousand times. And maybe all this was, this little announcement she had, was writing a new chapter, introducing a new character. And in this particular story, Geoffrey was still the main character. Of course, this was different in her story with Roland, but still...

Or maybe she was just trying to make herself feel better. She and Roland had discussed how to make the announcement that they were engaged, especially now that they were back at work and it was only a matter of time before someone noticed her ring.

But before that, they both had people that they wanted to tell individually. Ama, for one, Ted, Hayden... Geoffrey. She didn't want him to hear it from anyone but her, but she had a terrible feeling about telling him. It should have been happy news that she'd be excited to tell her best friend, right? She was dreading it

Jensen, the butler, let her in, and she refused to wait while Geoffrey was 'fetched.' Once she was sure he was home, she went straight to his room, knocking on the door lightly. "Geoff, it's Riley," she said before pulling her bottom lip between her teeth.

[Geoffrey Montgomery]

At least this time, Geoffrey wasn’t in bed. He was actually sitting at his desk, writing something. It was his resignation letter from the Ministry, a decision he had just recently made. He just couldn’t see himself going back to work, back where it had all happened. There would be a job for him in the family business; all he had to do was ask for it.

At the sound of the knock on the door, he quickly put the letter underneath a stack of other parchments and took out a book to pretend to be reading.

“Come in,” he called.

[Riley Neves]

Riley frowned as she heard him tell her to come in, rather hoping he'd be just a little happier to see her. She was asking too much, that was fine. She still owed Geoffrey so much... she owed him her life, in her opinion. She just couldn't figure out how to be there for him.

"Hey," she said, putting a bright smile on her face and closing his door behind her. "I brought you something," she said, deciding that she was going to ease into the news. She was wearing her ring... but it, like her relationship with Roland, was unconventional, and if Geoffrey did notice it, he may not pay any attention to it. She came to his desk and handed a box of chocolates from a little muggle shop in London that she loved, and knew that he liked, too. At least at once, he did.

She set the small box on his desk though, giving him a pursed-lipped look. "You gonna get up and hug me?"

[Geoffrey Montgomery]

He looked up at her as she entered, and even broke into a smile. She looked... good. Really good. There was a glow about her that he hadn't seen since... well, ever. Roland, damn him, was apparently treating her well.

"Thanks," he said, nodding at the chocolates. "I hope they're the peanut butter ones. Those are my favorites," he added, as if he needed to remind her.

He was thinking about cracking into the box, but she distracted him with that look, followed by the question. He was barely able to bite back a snarky retort asking if she thought it would be OK with Roland. But he was determined to have a better attitude than the last time she had come here. So instead, he got up and put his arms around her without a word.

"I'm sorry. I just... it's good to see you."

[Riley Neves]

"Of course they're the peanut butter ones," Riley said, rolling her eyes as though it was silly of him to even think she might have gotten anything else. They found the place in their seventh year, and Riley constantly went back... usually with Geoffrey, but not always. She hadn't taken Roland there yet, though.

There was a flash of anger in his eyes when she asked for some kind of a greeting, and her brows furrowed, but it was gone just as quickly, and he hugged her. She sighed softly, closing her eyes and putting her own arms around him. It felt familiar and safe and normal. She missed Geoffrey's hugs, and wondered if he ever missed hers.

"Hey, don't be sorry. It's good to see you, too. I was going to stop by a couple of days ago, but I was... out of town. You look like you're doing better. I'm glad."

[Geoffrey Montgomery]

Of course he missed her hugs. He missed everything about her, really. And maybe she had every reason to stay away... but it still hurt.

"I am doing a little better. A couple of guys from work dragged me out of the house a couple of nights ago... I can't say it went well, but I think it may get easier from now on."

Really, he wasn't doing better. The night out had gone poorly, especially when he got drunk out of his mind and went home with some girl. But he had gone out a second time, just for a walk, and he didn't feel the crippling panic, so maybe that, at least, was improving. It would just take small steps.

"You went out of town... with Roland, right?" He brought up Roland's name as an atempt to prove that he was OK with it. He wasn't, really, but he didn't want her to stress about it. She ahd been through enough, and she didn't need him guilting her about it. "Did you have a good time?"

[Riley Neves]

Riley smiled, glad to hear that he'd gotten out of the house. He needed it desperately in her opinion. She wasn't going to force him, though.

"Well, even if it didn't go well, you survived. And I'm glad it will be easier... think you might be up for going to London with me soon?" She reached over and picked up the box again, handing it to Geoff with a smile that said she knew he'd been thinking about it.

"I did go with Roland," Riley said, her tone gentle as she searched his face. He didn't seem hostile about the idea, so that encouraged her. "I took him-"

She stopped herself, thinking how Geoffrey might feel if he knew Riley took Roland to Portugal, that he proposed in Portugal, when she spent her whole life swearing to Geoffrey that she was never going back there?

"I took him out of London... I just thought we could use the change. Just for a couple of days. Anyway, it was kind of a spur of the moment decision. It was nice... and Angelique told us we could go back to work. I'm... I'm nervous about that. The Ministry just doesn't feel right to me." She was sure he understood.

She waved her right hand, as if waving the thought away. "Have you thought about going back to work yet?"

[Geoffrey Montgomery]

He smiled almost shyly as he took the box from her and opened the lid to take out one of the candies. As he popped one in his mouth, he shrugged. “I don’t know if I’m ready for London yet,” he said. “But… hey, want to take a walk with me in the gardens? The daffodils are starting to bloom, and it looks really pretty out there.”

The last time he had walked out there, he had actually found it to be rather soothing. It was almost as if the earth was reminding him that the worst was over and that things would always get better. Spring was a renewal, a rebirth… and although everything he had once been had been shattered, that just meant that he had the chance to rebuild his life for the better.

“You’ll settle back in,” Geoffrey said. “At least… until it’s time for you to go on leave.”

His eyes traveled involuntarily to her stomach, but there still wasn’t anything to see. “I… I actually don’t think I’m going to go back to work.”

[Riley Neves]

Riley nodded, smiling brightly. "Yeah, a walk in the gardens would be wonderful. I feel like all I've seen is city and shores, lately." She'd let him take the lead and head outside when he wanted to.

He mentioned her leave, and her eyes traveled down to her stomach. She'd have a bump, soon, even if it wasn't there yet. "Yeah... well. I'm not really looking forward to having to take my leave. I don't think anyone will take me seriously when I come back. Or if I'll even be able to go back to work."

His words made her look up sharply. "What... you mean... never?"

[Geoffrey Montgomery]

He turned away from her, choosing to focus on putting on some shoes to go out for their walk. He had known she would not be happy about his decision, but he actually thought it was for the best. His Ministry job had been an experiment, trying to make his own way in the world, without leaning on his family's money and good name. And honestly, it had failed. He was ready to retreat into the safety of the family business.

"Yeah... never. As in, I'm quitting. I can't go back there, Riley. Not after what happened. I just feel like... I don't belong there anymore. Maybe I never did. Besides, it's a stupid dead-end job, anyway. Floo network? Like I was really going to move up the corporate ladder with that job. I took the job so I could have some real-world experience before I decided whether I wanted to join the family business. And my real world experience got me cursed. I just... I give up. It was a nice idea, but I think my father would rather have me close by anyway."

[Riley Neves]

Riley was shocked and not quite sure how to respond to him.

"Geoff, you've never been interested in your family's business. And since when do you care about climbing corporate ladders? Geoff, please don't quit because of what happened." She was convinced that this was exactly why he was quitting, in fact. God, there was so much that she had destroyed for him simply by asking for his help.

Her heart seemed to drop into her stomach. "Geoff, just take some more time off. But don't leave."

[Geoffrey Montgomery]

He sighed and looked up at her, one shoe on and the other still in his hands. He could see the guilt and pain and worry in her eyes and he couldn't stand it. Her felt like she was judging him, thinking him weak or useless. Or worse... she was pitying him. "Riley, please... don't look at me like that."

He shoved the other shoe on his foot and sat up straighter, facing her. "You know I've never really liked the Floo network job, either. I mean... I'm good with people, and that's what I liked about it. But now, anytime someone comes in to ask for help, I'm going to be afraid of being cursed and I won't be much good to anyone. And I think.... maybe now is the time to re-evaluate what I really want to do with my life. Maybe I'll work in the shipping business... or maybe there's something else that I'm meant to do. But I... I don't want to go back to the floo network department."

[Riley Neves]

"I'm not looking at you like anything."

It was none of those things... she didn't think he was weak, and she wasn't pitying him. Hell, if she really sat down and thought about it, she didn't really want to go back to work either, as much as she complained to Roland that she did. In fact, the only reason she did was so that she wouldn't have to wonder all day if she'd just spent another night dreaming of Roland. Her look was apologetic. God, she and Geoffrey made quite a messed up pair.

"Geoff..." She sighed, running her hand through her hair, which was down now, just out of habit. "Then we'll find you something else that deals with people. And your family... I mean, if you just wanted to volunteer for a while, maybe that will get you back in the swing of things."

She sat down next to him, putting her head in her hands. This was not going at all the way she envisioned it. "Okay. So don't go back to the Ministry. But don't work for your family either... you know that won't make you happy, either."

[Geoffrey Montgomery]

He didn't want to say it to her, but he felt like being happy was an impossibility right now. Maybe it would get better, but as everyone kept telling him, it would take time for the fear to subside, the pain to ease. And right now, he had a long way to go.

"It's like you told me last time.... I need to take charge of my own life, and do whatever I want with it. I need to feel in control again... and if I go back there, I won't. Maybe you're right... working for Dad and Uncle Edward won't help, but at least for now, it's safe and it will keep my mind occupied until I can decide what I want to do instead."

All of those reasons sounded good. It almost sounded like he was thinking clearly and taking positive steps toward recovery. But as they both knew, the primary motivation for quitting was fear.

[Riley Neves]

"Tell me what I can do. To help, I mean. What can I do to help you find something, or..." She trailed off, not even knowing if there was anything she could do. She still felt that gaping chasm between them... if only she'd gone to him sooner after it happened. She didn't know how to cross it to be his best friend any more. "I wish I could just take this all back."

It was silly to say... she couldn't. Unless she could get her hands on a time turner and go back and stop Lyle Inophen... but then, she would be dead more than likely, and maybe Roland too.

"No..." She said the thought outloud. There had to be a way to make it work. "We can go back and change this, right? I mean, we just need a time turner and well thought out plan, and then... it never happened."

[Geoffrey Montgomery]

Shaking his head, Geoffrey reached over and put his hands on her shoulders. "No. What's been done has been done. We can't undo it, we just have to learn to live with it as it is. I wish I could go back... fight him off or something. But no good will come of it, ultimately. All along, even when Samantha was almost killed in Hogsmeade... this whole war felt kind of distant to me. I didn't understand the kinds of things they could do... the depth of their hate, the power of their destruction. My eyes are open now... I know what it feels like to be helpless. Maybe I'll never be the same as I was... but maybe that's a good thing."

[Riley Neves]

"Why can't we undo it?" Riley asked, thinking her idea could be a good one. She just needed a solid plan to back it up. In every scenario she came up with, though, Roland died. "Everything should go back to the way it was. I should have never involved you in this, Geoff, and I'd take it back in a heartbeat to save you from this... so let me. We can go back and fix this."

She was grasping a strings, she knew, and sighed. It wouldn't work, and there was no telling what would happen instead if they changed the past. She just so desperately wanted to feel normal again, and she wanted Geoffrey to be the same carefree guy she'd always known.

[Geoffrey Montgomery]

Geoffrey sighed. It was strange, but even though she had come over here to try and help him, he somehow was switching back into his old role of comforting her, just like always. It sort of felt comfortable and familiar, and yet… he couldn’t help but feel just a little bit annoyed, like it was always about her.

“You know it won’t work. Time travel is a dodgy thing… you can fix one thing and mess up something else entirely. It’s not worth the risk, Riley. Look…. I did what I did because you asked me to do, and you know what? I’d do it again if I had the chance, because you’re my best friend. It didn’t turn out so well for me, but that’s not your fault. And ultimately… I’m alive, you’re alive, Roland is alive… the bad guys got what they deserved. I got hurt, and I have a few things I need to deal with. Maybe things will never be the same again, but that’s life. It’s a series of changes.”

[Riley Neves]

Riley didn't want him to comfort her, though. She was trying to help him. Besides, she was here for him, and she had Roland if she needed comfort when this was all done.

If given the chance, she would go back and never have told Geoffrey anything. She wished she listened to Roland when he suggested that she leave Geoff out of it. At the time, she thought it had just been their seemingly mutual dislike that made Roland say it... now she just wished she could have been smart enough to see this coming.

She sighed. What did she say to that? "Just take more time off. You might change your mind about the Floo Network, right? I guess there's always a chance."

She stood up, and sighed. "You ready?"

[Geoffrey Montgomery]

Geoff nodded quietly. His mind was really pretty much made up about quitting… he had even discussed the matter with Christine. But if it would make Riley feel better if he didn’t commit to it just yet, then he would promise to wait.

“OK,” he said. “I’ll put a hold on my resignation letter for now. I really don’t see me going back… but maybe you’re right and I need to think on it a little longer.”

He knew she wanted to help, and part of him realized that he was not really letting her. He still felt so incredibly awkward being the one who needed help, and was not good at accepting it. He was supposed to be the one who helped everyone else… not the other way around.

Standing up, he placed his hand in hers. “Yeah, let’s go. I think I need some fresh air.”