Family Part 25

 It had been a little over six years since Deirdre's death and Crowley still missed her friend.  It hit the hardest whenever one of the kids did something particularly noteworthy.  Something that she would have shared with Deirdre right away.  She was very grateful that Adam had lived up to his promise to be just a phone call away if she ever needed him.  He still brought the kids around every now and again, though Arthur refused to go back to Tadfield.  Too many memories, he said.  

The twins were off to university and Oscar was the only one left at home.  Because of this, Crowley and Oscar actually ended up getting a lot closer than they had been originally.  They spent a lot of their free time together and Crowley often helped Oscar with his homework.  

"I absolutely hate these history books."  Crowley said as she looked over it.  

"Why?"  Oscar said, tilting his head and looking very much like his father.  

"Because they're wrong."  Crowley pointed out the section on the French revolution.  "I was there.  That's not how it happened at all.  There were a lot more people beheaded than that."  Crowley smirked.  "Your father was nearly one of them."  

"Wait, what?"  Oscar asked with a laugh.  

"He was setting up the book shop and he got peckish, as he says."  Crowley rolled her eyes.  "He desperately wanted some crepes and swore that you couldn't get any decent crepes outside of Paris.  And, of course, your father 'has standards'."  Crowley said the last bit in her best approximation of Aziraphale's voice which caused Oscar to laugh.  

"As much as I enjoy that story, I can't exactly write about that in my report."  Oscar said and Crowley sighed heavily.  "Yes.  We have to stick to the official historical texts instead of first hand witness accounts."  She rolled her eyes and Oscar giggled before they got back to work.  

It was nice having all that time with Oscar though she did miss the twins.  Freddie had been nice enough to go to school in London so it was just a short train ride for him to get home.  Evan, on the other hand, wanted to study art in Paris.  She was exceptionally good and Crowley found it difficult to tell her no.  And it was just popping across the channel so it wouldn't be too bad.  

Oscar came home from school and he had a bit of a bounce in his step.  Crowley had the usual snacks waiting for him on the kitchen table, sipping a glass of tea as she waited to hear about his day.  It was a ritual they'd established back when he first started school.  She'd done the same with the twins.  

"Where's dad?"  Oscar asked as he took a seat and grabbed one of the sandwiches on the table.  He was almost so hungry immediately after school.  

"He's in the study.  Is everything okay?"  Crowley raised an eyebrow as she watched him.  Oscar shook his head.  

"I just got some really good news and I wanted to tell both of you."  Oscar grinned at his mother and Crowley nodded.  She snapped her fingers and after a moment, Aziraphale came into the dining room.  

"You know I hate it when you do that."  Aziraphale said softly as he took a seat next to his wife.  When Oscar raised an eyebrow Crowley chuckled.  

"I change the words on the page to whatever I need to tell him at the time."  She grinned and Oscar shook his head with a soft chuckle.  

"You said you needed to tell us something?"  Aziraphale asked.  

"Yes.  Right.  So....I found out today that I have been accepted to university."  Oscar grinned.  

"That's wonderful."  Aziraphale nodded.  

"Absolutely brilliant.  I knew you would.  My smart boy."  Crowley reached out and tousled Oscar's hair which caused him to make a face.  "So, which one is it?  Did I finally manage to talk one of my children into going to Oxford?"  She tilted her head.  

"Um.....a bit further away than that."  Oscar bit his lip.  

"London?"  Aziraphale asked with a raised eyebrow.  

"Not quite....."  Oscar cleared his throat and ran his fingers through his hair.  

"Where exactly have you been accepted, Oscar?"  Crowley sat back in her chair and crossed her arms.  

"UCLA."  Oscar said rather quickly before taking a large bite of sandwich.  Crowley just stared at him for a moment.  

"UCLA?"  Aziraphale asked and Oscar nodded.  

"As in the University of California at Los Angeles?"  Crowley asked.  Again, Oscar nodded.  "In America."   

"There's only one California that I know of, dear."  Aziraphale said.  He put a hand on Crowley's thigh and squeezed gently.  

"Yes.  As in the one in America."  Oscar nodded after finishing his bite of sandwich.  Crowley just stared at him for a long moment, then shook her head.  

"No.  I absolutely forbid it.  You'll have to apply somewhere else."  She got to her feet and started to walk away but Aziraphale stopped her.  

"What?"  Oscar asked.  "I don't understand.  I thought you'd be proud of me."  

"I am proud of you, dear.  Very proud of you."  Crowley smiled softly.  "But I refuse to let you go half a world away just to get an education that could just as easily be gotten down the street."  She crossed her arms.  

"I don't want to go anywhere else..."  Oscar started.  Crowley held up a hand.  

"You're not going.  End of discussion."   This time she was successful in getting away from Aziraphale and going outside to the garden.  She had some frustration to get out.  

"Dad, will you please do something?"  Oscar sighed heavily.  

Crowley could hear Aziraphale and Oscar talking as she moved around the garden checking her plants but she couldn't make out what was being said.  She hoped that her husband was talking some sense into their son.  After a few minutes, Aziraphale came out to the garden.  

"He was very excited to share that news with us."  Aziraphale said as he watched Crowley.  She kept her eyes on the plants.  

"I'm aware."  Crowley cleared her throat.  

"Darling, why are you not okay with this?"  Aziraphale stepped a little closer to Crowley.  Crowley stopped what she was doing and looked at Aziraphale.  

"I don't understand how you are."  She stepped closer.  "Our youngest child would be literally half a world away by himself."  

"He's actually talked to a few people.  If you recall Adam's friend Wensleydale lives in America.  He's agreed to let Oscar stay with him while he's in school.  And Anathema's parents are there as well."  Aziraphale kept his hands at his sides as he talked.  

"Anathema's parents are ancient."  Crowley rolled her eyes.  "You know how hard it was for me to let Evan go to Paris.  For Satan's sake, I almost wouldn't let Freddie go to London."  She started to pace a bit in the garden.  "And now you're expecting me to let Oscar go all the way to America....."  She stopped her pacing and closed her eyes.  Aziraphale walked over and put his hands on her shoulders, sliding them down until he laced their fingers together.  "How am I supposed to deal with that?"  

"First and foremost we aren't confined to traditional means of transportation to visit our son."  Aziraphale said with a small smile.  

"What if something happens?  What if he needs me?"  She looked Aziraphale in the eye.  Aziraphale reached a hand up and put it on her cheek.  

"Then we pop over to wherever he is and help him.  It's one of the advantages of our powers, my love."  Aziraphale smiled.  Crowley closed her eyes and took a deep breath.  

"When did I become such an irrational parent?"  She kept her eyes closed and felt Aziraphale pull her into a hug.  

"When you were reminded that loss is a thing that can actually happen."  Aziraphale answered, though he knew that Crowley had known for a very long time.  Crowley sighed heavily against Aziraphale's shoulder.  She wrapped her arms around him and just held on.  

"Can you promise me that he's going to be okay over there?"  She said softly, her voice a little muffled against his shoulder.  

"He won't be alone.  And we're always just a phone call away.  And he's immortal."  Aziraphale nodded.  They still didn't know for sure but he had a feeling it was true.  "He's going to be perfectly fine."  Crowley moved back a little bit and nodded.  

"I'm going to hold you to that."  She smiled a little before giving Aziraphale a quick kiss on the lips.  It was time to go apologize to her son.