We gotta hold on to what we've got

[Ella Thomas]

On her break, Ella had casually picked up a Quidditch Monthly magazine someone had left in the staffroom, flicking through it for want of something to do whilst she had a quick sandwich and coffee. But she had stopped in her tracks upon seeing Ryan's face at the top of the 'buzz' column, curious as to why on earth there would be gossip flying around about him. Him and Emilie were about the most normal, uncelebrity-like celeb couple imaginable - the Quidditch press had tried numerous times to catch either of them 'out and about' but given up on realising they really were just like any other ordinary couple and not particularly newsworthy. Ella couldn't quite believe the news she saw about Ryan in the magazine though.

Now, after 6 and having finished up her shift, Ella thought she would call in on Emilie on her way home. Standing outside their place she knocked on the door, the Quidditch magazine rolled up in her left hand, and waited anxiously for Emilie to answer. "Em, thank god," she greeted as she answered the door, "I need to talk to you about Quidditch. I know, weird sentence to come out of my mouth, huh?" she commented lightly with a half-smile.

[Emilie Langley]

"Who'll that be, Adam?" Emilie spoke to her little boy as she heard the knock on the door, scooping him up in her arms she made her way to the door & opened it with a confused look on her face. A look that grew even more confused when she saw her best friend, Ella stood there asking her about Quidditch.

"You want to talk to me about Quidditch? Me?!" she asked with a giggle before nodding her head to motion the girl inside. Passing baby Adam to Ella as her son went crazy, squirming to get to his aunty she gave Ella a hug and looked at her, "Quidditch really isnt my area of expertise. Baby drool, fairytales and apple pies then yes, I am all yours but Quidditch?!" she laughed, making her way to the kitchen where she was busy preparing dinner for her husband's arrival home.

"Tea? And something to eat?" she asked, pushing the plate of freshly baked scones towards Ella before sitting herself down to continue peeling the spuds.

[Ella Thomas]

Ella nodded, "I know, I thought I'd mix it up a bit though," she commented with a smile, aware of how ridiculous her wanting to talk Quidditch with Emilie was. Anxiously hoisting the strap of her satchel up her shoulder she moved past her friend into the house, smiling in reflex as little Adam was so pleased to see her. "Hello little one! You are getting more gorgeousa every time Aunty Ella sees you!" she greeted him, giving Emilie a one-armed hug whilst she held him gently to her chest. Following her friend through to the kitchen, the brunette let her bag fall to the floor and put the magazine down on the kitchen table. "Alright, you caught me, I'm not here to talk about Quidditch as such... rather about Quidditch players, in particular a certain Quidditch player also known as your husband I believe," she admitted with a shy smile.

Gently rocking a fussing Adam, the girl nodded, "A cup of tea would be lovely, thanks Em," she accepted but something in her tone suggested she was somewhat distracted. Then, sitting down opposite her friend at the table she let out a soft sigh, "Em... I'm just going to come out with it... why didn't you tell anyone Ryan was quitting pro-Quidditch? I mean not that it's everyone's business but considering even the sports mags know I kinda thought you might have been a bit more... well worried about it all, I mean now I'm worried!" Ella exclaimed, looking over at her friend in concern.

[Emilie Langley]

Emilie continued to look confused as Ella spoke, she thought that once she'd started to talk then it'd all become clear but if anything, she was just getting more confused.

"Right. You want to talk to me about Ryan & Quidditch? Do you need tickets? Is that it? I'll get him to get you some, no probs..." Emilie shrugged, smiling as Ella fussed over Adam before preparing a cup of tea for her, pushing it over to her with a frown as her friend seemed...off.

Emilie remained silent before giving a soft laugh, shaking her head, "I havent told you he's quitting because well, he's not! That's just preposterous!" she scoffed before picking up the magazine, her eyes widening as she saw her husbands face looking back at her, confirming every thing Ella had just said. "What is this? Why would they print this? He cant...we cant afford for him not to work! What about Adam?!" she thrust the magazine in the direction of her baby, looking at Ella with her eyes wide with worry.

[Ella Thomas]

"Em, who are you talking to? Miss 'I Just Don't Get It' Thomas when it comes to anything sporting," Ella reminded her, lightly enough, but she anxiously chewed on her lip as she looked down at little Adam. Glancing back up she nodded, "Thanks for the tea,"

Watching Emilie as she read the magazine, Ella realised, "You didn't know, did you? Oh my god I am so sorry! I just... I saw the magazine and I mean it's in the gossip column, sure, but it sounds pretty legitimate. The Tornadoes have confirmed he's leaving them at the end of the season, I don't see why they'd lie, I thought... I thought you knew," she exclaimed in despair. "Look, maybe I read it wrong and he's not leaving Quidditch completely, maybe it's just the Tornadoes? Did he mention anything about transferring? He might be going to play for Wigtown or Appleby or... okay I've ran out of teams," Ella admitted, trying to backtrack and calm her friend down in order to give them a chance to calmly work out what the hell Ryan was thinking.

"See that, that right there is what I thought you looked like right now! I thought you were worried but hiding it, pretending everything was okay, and I came here to make sure you weren't doing that again," Ella explained sadly. Amanda had quietly informed her that Emilie had found it hard to cope and ever since then Ella had felt terrible and wanted to try to help her friend out in any way she possibly could. "He really hasn't said anything about this?" she asked hesitantly.

[Emilie Langley]

Emilie shook her head wildly, sighing loudly as she sank into her seat, her eyes still scanning the magazine to see if maybe it was some kind of cruel prank, but no, it was there in black and white.

"You havent read it wrong, it says here 'that the Tornadoes have confirmed his choice to part ways at the end of season, there are no details of his plans from there but coaching has been rumoured'" Emilie read from the magazine, shaking her head to herself, "He always said if he wasnt playing for Tornadoes, he wouldnt play. They're his team, he wouldnt go elsewhere" she shook her head, biting her lip furiously as she tried to come up with some plan that would allow them to live without either of them working, which of course wasnt possible.

Blushing as Ella mentioned Emilie's hiding how bad things were, she looked down at her hands and shook her head, "I was coping fine..." she muttered, feeling like a bad mother for not being able to do everything like she felt she should have.
"Nothing...nothing at all. Do you think he's leaving me?" Emilie felt her eyes fill with tears at the very thought of it, a life without Ryan would be no life at all.

[Ella Thomas]

"Well maybe- maybe it's wrong, maybe I don't know the Tornadoes are keeping him on not as a player but a coach or... well maybe he's changed his mind about team loyalty? He might want to try out another team because... okay I don't know enough about the world of sport to carry on," Ella sighed, reaching across the table to Emilie, "I'm sorry you found out like this, I didn't mean to, I hate seeing you worried like this," she said in concern, squeezing her friend's hand softly.

"Em, look I'm not going to go there because, look, from what Amanda said, you weren't. You didn't fail, that would be impossible, you just needed someone to pick up the slack so you could look after yourself every once in a while. And, hello, excellent slack picker-upper here, if you ever need her," Ella reminded her lightly with a sad smile as she looked down at Adam and gently rocked him. Looking up, startled, she gasped, "Em, no, god no!" she exclaimed in a horrified voice, "Don't even think like that for a second! Ryan may be having some sort of weird lapse in judgement with quitting the Tornadoes but the idea that he'd ever leave you is just... unthinkable. Even if he'd been hit smack in the head with a bludger, one look at this little guy and at you would remind him who are the most important people in his entire world. He loves you, he... adores you, why would he ever, ever be thick enough to do that, hmm?"

[Emilie Langley]

Emilie shook her head, "They just took a new coach on though, we went to the meal for him. You looked after Adam for me that night, remember?" Emilie looked sadly at Adam who was beginning to rub his eyes tiredly, Emilie reached across to retrieve him from Ella and began to rock him gently as she paced the room.

"It wasnt your fault, you assumed I would know because I should know! We should make these decisions together, especially something as stupid as giving up his job!" Emilie's voice went high, Adam jolting slightly in surprise before Emilie shushed him & rocked him once more.

Shaking her head, Emilie looked at Ella, "If Ryan had helped around the house more...but he's busy with work. He works hard, really hard. Well, until now when he's thrown it all away for some strange notion. Maybe it's because they havent been winning and he's fed up being on the losing team? He's not usually that childish though..." Emilie shrugged, this was so out of character for her husband, which is why she was having a hard time getting her head around it.

Feeling tears trickle down her nose, Emilie nodded her head "I couldnt live without him, I'd...oh god the thought of not having him...oh I couldnt" Emilie began to panic, handing Adam back to Ella quickly she rushed to the sink and splashed water on her face, breathing heavily as she tried to calm herself down.

"How are we going to live?" she asked out loud, wiping her face with the hand towel, turning to Ella, hoping she had all the answers she needed.

[Ella Thomas]

Ella slumped slightly in her seat, "Oh, yeah, I remember," she realised, deep in thought as she passed Adam back to his Mum, "No but I'm sorry, I hate to be the messenger like this. I did think you knew because I assumed he'd talked it over with you, I didn't think it was the kind of thing he'd do without consulting you," she explained anxiously, wondering what on earth was going through Ryan's silly head.

"I know but... look I love Ryan and all but he's not the most... observant of people, I think he just didn't pick up on the fact he wasn't around enough. Having his dinner waiting and a big smile on your face probably didn't alert him to any issues, you know?" she pointed out tentatively. "Well he got his dream job, he worked hard to keep it, which is why this seems such an... uncharacteristic move for him," Ella decided aloud, picking up her cup of tea with a sigh as she took a sip. "Is something up with him? Has he been acting at all different or off lately?"

"Oh god, Em, don't do this to yourself!" Ella exclaimed worriedly upon seeing how much the thought of not being with Ryan distressed her best friend. Taking Adam back she looked over at the blonde sympathetically, reasoning quietly, "Well you don't need to even think about that because you don't have to live without him, Emilie he's your husband for life, he's always gonna be here with you and with Adam."

She shook her head, "He must have a plan, surely he can't just have quit without having something else?" she suggested but now she'd said it she wasn't so convinced. She didn't want Emilie to know this however so she quickly continued, "Look, even if he doesn't have a solid plan right now, you two will work something out, he'll do anything to provide for his family and make sure you're all taken care of, he wouldn't see you lose this place or not have money to buy Adam's things or... I don't know, the point is, Emilie, you need to talk to him about it and find out what the bloody hell he's thinking by not talking to you about practical stuff like this first," she advised seriously.

[Emilie Langley]

Wringing the hand towel in her hands, Emilie shook her head as Ella asked if anything was up with Ryan. "He hasnt been any different around us, he's just Ryan here" Emilie shrugged as she frowned, "But then I managed to hide how I felt from him...maybe he can hide it from me too?" she muttered, hating that she hid things from Ryan now, they were married & supposed to be there for each other and the thought of not being there for her husband was heartbreaking.

Emilie looked sadly at Ella, "You always were very optimistic" she gave a small smile and shook her head, "Maybe he's depressed? And this is the beginning of some kind of breakdown? Do I wait for him to tell me or do I tell him I know? What do I do?" Emilie shrugged, Ella knew how much Emilie hated confrontation.

[Ella Thomas]

Ella looked thoughtfully at Emilie as she tried to recall herself if Ryan had seemed off in any way when she'd last seen him. "He's Ryan, I just don't think he's capable of hiding things from anyone, let alone his wife, pretty much in the same way we both know Adam is incapable of being distrusting towards anyone, even strangers. They may seem complex but deep down, I'm pretty certain they're not," she commented with a fond smile. "Honey, don't hate me for saying this but... I think you guys should talk, if you feel like you need to hide things from him, that's not healthy. Sure we all have our little secrets but he's your husband, Em," she reached across to her friend to gently squeeze her hand in a comforting manner, or at least she really hoped it was!

Shaking her head softly, "I'm not optimistic, I just know you and I know Ryan and I just... I don't think he'd ever do something like this without his reasons, yeah? The reasons might not make any logical sense to me or you or anyone but him but... I kinda hope he has them all the same," the brunette admitted with a small smile. "He's not depressed, he's not going to have a breakdown, just calm down... look, I think the sooner you both know where you stand, the better. I know you hate confrontation but this-" she gestured to the magazine, "-this you have to tell him you know so he can get explaining!"

Freezing then as she heard the jangle of keys and the front door open and close, Ella turned wide-eyed back to her friend, "Do it now? It'll be like ripping off a plaster. I can get out of your way if you want or... do you want me to stay, for support in your 'what the hell are you thinking?!' corner?" she offered in a hushed tone as she heard Ryan's footsteps in the hallway.

[Emilie Langley]

"I didnt want to worry him, its not that I dont trust him..." Emilie felt like she had to explain herself but instead she slumped in her chair dejectedly, she knew Ella was right, she had to talk to Ryan and she had to do it soon. For Emilie, not being the perfect little fairytale couple was a bit of a wake up call, she had always imagined married life would be easy if they loved each other but that wasnt the case, at all.

Hearing the unmistakeable sound of Ryan returning home, Emilies eyes widened and she nodded her head, "Stay, you can take Adam so he doesnt have to hear this" she spoke in a hushed tone before standing up, taking a deep breath and picking up the magazine from the table, turning to the stove to try & compose herself before she had to confront her husband on one of the most stupid things he'd ever decided to do.

[Ella Thomas]

Ella bit her lip, "I know you didn't want to worry him so you hid it but, Em, he's your husband. When you get married, you promise to love and support each other and you know he always wants to support you," she reasoned, "You do need to talk to him though," she added seriously, looking over at her friend to make sure she understood this wasn't a confrontation she could really afford to avoid.

"Alright," she agreed quietly, standing up and jiggling little baby Adam as she did so, "Come on beautiful boy, we'll leave mummy and daddy for a bit, yes we will, yes we will," she cooed at him with a grin, breaking off to say to Em, "Good luck. You can do this," she assured her, wrapping her arm around her friend in a one-armed hug before she released her and headed into the living room with the baby. Passing Ryan who seemed surprised to see her there she nudged her head back to the door she'd just came through, "Emilie's in the kitchen," before she moved past him and took Adam upstairs.

[Ryan Langley]

Ryan dumped his kit bag and broomstick by the doorway, having finished another day's training with the Tornadoes in preparation for their last match of the season - his last match with them ever. He had now officially run out of time to tell Emilie about him leaving pro-Quidditch but he just hadn't been able to get up the courage to tell her. He hated spending time away from her and Adam, training, playing matches in other countries, having to do press stuff for team publicity, and when he was at home he was pretty much drained from his day. It was because of this that he'd made one of the hardest decisions of his life but one which he reckoned would probably turn out to be his best. Family came first, always. He wouldn't be the parent who missed their kid's childhood because they were too busy advancing their career. With the flying coach vacancy at Hogwarts Ryan could indulge his lifelong passion for Quidditch but have much more free-time to spend with his family. To him, it was a no-brainer.

Heading through to the living room and rubbing the back of his sore neck (he'd taken an awkward bludger scuff mid-practice) he looked taken aback when Ella appeared from the kitchen carrying baby Adam. "Oh, hey Elz!" he greeted her enthusiastically, bending down to greet his son with a kiss but Ella was just oddly to-the-point and didn't even say hello, just told him where he'd find Emilie. That was the first sign something was up, if only Ryan had been perceptive enough to pick up on it. He went through to the kitchen and seeing his wife facing the stove he came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, kissing her on the neck, "Hey Em," he murmured with a smile.

[Emilie Langley]

Hearing Ryan's voice, Emilie began to shake but breathed in deeply to try and steady her nerves, closing her eyes and counting down the seconds until she HAD to confront him, her eyes opening in surprise when she felt his arms encircling her waist & his kiss on her neck.

Allowing herself to enjoy his greeting, Emilie smiled and turned herself to face him, wrapping her arms around his neck she smiled and placed a tender kiss on lips, "Hey sweetie, good day at work?" she asked him with a smile before moving out of his embrace, the quidditch magazine still rolled up in her hand.

Noticing it seemed to give her a surge of confidence, she held it up to him and smiled tightly at him, "When were you going to tell me that you were giving up your job?" she blurted out, throwing the magazne on the table. "I would've appreciated you telling me first, rather than I find out from Quidditch Weekly!" she added, her temper rising, an unusual feeling for Emilie.