A Lifetime of Mistakes - Christopher

[Jaxon Falco]

Jaxon was having a distracted day, there was too much on his mind to think about the day to day of the ministry. At the moment for him the Ministry was unimportant, sure he sat here and signed papers and organised Chris’s schedule he did what he had done every day since Chris had got him a job as his secretary. This job has been his everything for so many years, this was all he wanted a proper paying job especially for someone with his condition, he did love this job so why did it all feel so meaningless. It was an easy answer his family, with everything Darius had uncovered for him and all this guilt that he had carried for years over what happened with Layla. Now none of it made sense, he could not even remember that night and it was eating him alive. One of his main jobs as a Father and a husband was to protect his family, it was a promise he had made Sonya a long time ago and what if he had let Greyback bite Layla what if that was on him.

Then there was all the more reason for Layla to hate him, for their entire family to hate him and he deserved that. He deserved all of this. Darius probably thought he was helping by finding this out, that it might change everything as it was not him, but he would still be to blame. No matter the scenario he was the failure here. Leaning back in his chair Jaxon stared at the ceiling for a moment, watching the fan on the ceiling spinning round and around and around it was as stuck as he was. What was he going to do here?

Christopher Davis

[Christopher Davis]

Christopher tapped on the door to Jaxon's office, smirking when he found his best friend, practically brother, staring at the ceiling. "Don't make yourself dizzy looking at that. I'm not explaining to your darling wife why you're coming home queasy, or worse, vomiting. Not after that one drunk night many eons ago." One drunken night, and they never lived it down from Sonya.

Sitting down, he dropped the divorce papers from his now ex-wife on his friend's desk. "Annadora finally sent me these." It would probably make Jaxon smile. He of all people knew what an unfaithful person his second wife was. The woman was rarely faithful to anyone, and he kicked himself regularly for not having seen it before he married her.

"And something is bothering you." He could tell. They could read one another like a book.

[Jaxon Falco]

Jaxon was taken out of his depressed spiral by a tap on the door, he did not immediately look up he slowly lifted his head to find Christopher at the door. Of course his old friend could not help but poke fun at him ”I don’t believe I am that bad? And we don’t bring up that one night for I still never here the end from it, one drunk night and your wife never forgives you” God he had not thought about that for a long old while, they had been out of their minds drunk. Probably one of the few times he had as a married man when he realised he was too old for that, unlike their bachelor days.

Sitting up in his chair Jaxon picked up the papers deposited on his desk a smile breaking across his face. ”Wahay, how the hell did you manage that?” it was a bloody miracle, ding, dong was the blasted woman dead? That must be the only way? Hopefully Chris had not had to pay her anymore money to bugger off. ”Now that is worth a drink, do we still have that bottle we said we’d keep for this day?” It had been a long time ago they made that agreement and it was a mighty fine bottle hopefully it aged well otherwise this would be disappointing.

Chris brought up knowing there was something up and Jaxon shook his head ”Hey come on we are celebrating now, I’ve got glasses you got that drink?” Nope he didn’t need to go there not now not with his concerns, this was a good moment, he couldn’t go spoiling that again.

[Christopher Davis]

Christopher had to laugh. Sonya was definitely one to hold a grudge. "Correction my dear friend. We don't discuss it with your wife around. Mine was never around. Now if the girls found out... Then we'd never hear the end of it from seven of them!" Jaxon's three, and his now four with Colette. He still couldn't get over the fact that now between the two of them, they had seven daughters...

Another laugh came from him as Jaxon asked how he'd managed to get the divorce finalized. "She sent them to me yesterday, with a note saying 'Here you old goat, you have your divorce'. It made Elena laugh, and I sent them to Pheobe. She sent them to Pollux this morning, and I figured bring them back in to show you."

At the question of the bottle they had kept for the day Annadora finally signed the divorce papers, Christopher flicked his wand behind him, bringing the bottle into Jaxon's office.. "I've had it in my desk all these years. I had the hope that she would eventually get tired of getting them delivered once a month. It only took what? Thirty years or so? So this has had quite a while to age well."

"This doesn't mean you're getting out of telling me why you're so morose lately. But I figured it would cheer you up. It has everyone I've shown them to so far." He hadn't had a chance to talk to Pheobe yet, but he would do that later, see how exactly she felt about it. She would probably be thrilled that she no longer had to worry about her mother coming back into their lives.

[Jaxon Falco]

Jaxon laughed quite loudly at the pointing out of their wives and daughters, god there were not enough men around. Thankfully all their daughters had partners and it helped even the odds a little, even if the women were in total control of it all. ”Jesus” He muttered to himself more than Christopher ”That is why that remains between us, along with most of the stories of our Durmstrang days and early ministry work” They were guys and they had done a lot of foolish stuff and got away with it back then, stories that were best left in the past and not told to their families, even though Sonya certainly knew about them all.

Flicking though the pages that finalised Christopher’s freedom, Jaxon could not believe the end of that era he had been unhappily married for so long. ”She’s right you are an old goat, she’s probably found someone richer then you that she can tempt into marriage” Then after she did that she would probably be back sniffing around again knowing her, but Chris did not need to know that he would keep tabs on her. Ever since she had turned out to be a total disaster Jaxon had kept an eye on it, he had been Chris’s bodyguard long before Elena came around. ”freedom at last what a notion” Jaxon agreed as he turned to dig out the needed glasses, thirty years with that woman you can’t make it up that also meant Sonya and him had been married a fair old time. Were they getting old? Most likely. ”let’s hope it aged well otherwise this could be quite the laugh”

Christopher being Christopher attempted to pry, but he would have to work harder than that, this was his moment escaping an awful divorce. Jaxon was not going to weigh this down with his issues at least not until he had a drink. It was not that he didn’t want to tel Christopher, hell Chris knew more about him than Sonya did and despite everything in his past chose to be his friend and hire him, but it did not mean that Jaxon was still concerned about loosing his friends respect. He was after all his only friend.

[Christopher Davis]

Christopher nodded, more than happy to keep those secrets to themselves. "Melissa knew some of how we were in the early days, but she usually found it funny. I'm glad I had the boys with her. Annadora... She would have been one to spoil all our fun if she'd known us as teens." He missed his first wife dearly. But he had Elena laying claim to him now. Which wasn't so bad. She had her wild side when she wanted to.

Christopher shrugged when Jaxon called him an old goat. "And you're an old grouchy dog. Or so I've heard the kids calling you lately. And I pity the fool that decides to take that harpy as a wife." Jaxon was probably right. At the mention of freedom, Christopher chuckled. "You may want to retract that statement. I showed Elena last night. She's already laid claim to me apparently. So not entirely free. But it's Elena. I don't think I mind."

He sat the bottle on the desk, laughing right along with Jaxon. Dear god... This was going to be the laugh, no matter what. He was actually hesitant for once in his life. Alcohol that had been aging in a dark space for the better part of thirty years? Gods... This was going to be funny.

"You can pour because you're being evasive. I know you better than just about anyone. Sonya would be top on that list, but she has good reason to be." He pushed the bottle towards Jaxon, indicating he should crack it open and pour, giving him a distraction. Something to do with his hands even.

[Jaxon Falco]

Jaxon snorted at the notion of Annadora truly knowing what they were like as teenagers causing trouble, that woman barely knew them, except maybe the depths of Christopher’s families fortune. He liked to say he had never trusted her, but he had been sucked in by her too they all had. ”Well then it is very good we will finally put her behind us, can’t have anymore of those stories getting out” they had a lot of fun and did a lot of stupid stuff back then, but that was what boys did at least that was what they did and based on their sons … well they were all a bit stupid.

”An old goat and a grouchy dog what a pair we make” Jaxon sniped back at him quickly chuckling a little at the concept of who would marry Annadora next, ”You joke but she probably has someone lined up for the role, we better watch out make sure it is not someone we know” The last thing they needed was her coming back into their lives from a different angle. ”Well Elena is a step in the right direction, she’s fun and she is good for you” Elena was great, Christopher needed a firm hand and someone to keep an eye on him, sure that had been Jaxon’s job for the longest time, but it seemed only fair it was someone else’s responsibility for a little while.

Lifting the bottle from the table Jaxon considered it, it had been a long time since the two of them had brought it and put it to one side with these intentions. ”Ah evasive that sounds like me” Jaxon pointed out as he opened the bottle and poured out two glasses. ”It smells good so I think we are safe” He joked as he placed the bottle down and pushed a glass towards Christopher. More than anything he wanted to down the glass and take another, but this was not his moment this was Christopher's. ”What are we going to toast to then?”

[Christopher Davis]

"I believe it was Cal who called you the grouchy old dog. The one, single child of ours other than Blair who could get away with that." The only reason either daughter could get away with calling Jaxon a grouchy old dog was because Callie herself was a wolf, like Jaxon, and Blair shifted into one with her animagus ability. And both had run with him multiple times. "When was the last time you ran with Cal and Angel anyways? The kids could probably use a bit of help with the pups."

Christopher put his hands up in a 'not it' fashion at the mention of Annadora's next victim. "Dora's next victim is not my problem. She's notorious in our circle, it'll get around quickly enough once it hits the offices that the divorce is final and Elena's gotten herself situated as whatever she wants to be situated as." His now ex-wife wouldn't be welcome in quite a few places now because the divorce was finalized. People put up with her because she was a Davis. No longer. Back to being Annadora Jacobs for her.

"Why do I have the feeling that I'm being set up here? Are you and Sonya plotting with Elena to get me from one ball and chain to another?" It was an old joke between them, but still, a good one. It only got better with age really.

At the question of Jaxon and evasiveness, then that nose that Christopher was very thankful for in moments like these confirming it was safe to drink without their daughters finding them in a drunken stupor after one glass each, the question of toasting. "Sonya and Elena I say. The two women who can put up with either of us alone or both of us together. And Hell knows why they do it!" The two women they relied on most, not just as partners, but as their friends to help manage the other one.

Christopher took a healthy draw off the glass, the burn in his throat the fire that made the bile of the week disappear, along with that envelope's arrival. "Okay Jax, what's got you so evasive? More than normal."

[Jaxon Falco]

”Yes Cal was always one for those type of nicknames, it is the sort of thing she would do, hurt my feelings” Jaxon mockingly held a hand to his chest pretending to be offended by the nickname, but she had called him a lot worst in the past Blair had too. At the notion of running with them Jaxon considered it for a moment trying to find the best way of phrasing what he had to. ”Oh yes it has been awhile, I’ve been rather busy recently haven’t seen them” Pups was a bad idea for him they had too much energy, he had done his work raising his kids and then raising all of their kids when they were cursed for the same life as him. He was grouchy and old, they did not want him around. Also he had been strategically using his changes to try and track down Greyback with the help of Darius, not something anyone really knew about.

Oh Annadora, how Jaxon was not going to miss that woman in the slightest, she was awful in a million ways and now that their paths were no longer going to cross Jaxon was very happy. ”Well may the lord have mercy on whomever that may be” Jaxon chuckled away to himself very happy to be able to shut the door on that part of their lives, it was much overdue and had been going on for way too long. ”You have that feeling because you know me too well” Which was of course the truth, but there was no setup at least as far as he was concerned, unless Sonya and Elena knew something that he did not know? It was possible his wife had a habit of scheming and she was very good at it. ”No comment?” Jaxon teased him.

”Oh here here” Without Sonya, Jaxon’s life would not be a fraction of what it was today and without Christopher he would never have met her. These women were a massive part of their lives and without at least Sonya they would be the same wild bachelors they had always been. Throwing the glass back Jaxon downed the whole thing in one go no hesitation, sure there was a burn, but he had done many a shot in his time and with certain boasts and immunities as a result of being a werewolf he was much better at handling liquor. ”Gosh thats good”

”What did I say? This is your night, we can save my issues and stuff for another time when the drinks are stronger”

[Christopher Davis]

"Blair has called you worse. I've heard it from her lips directly. So trust me, Callie calling you a grouchy old dog is nothing compared to what I've heard your daughter call you when she's mad at you." Blair was definitely her father's daughter in every way that mattered. She had his temper and the mouth that went along with it.

Christopher gave his friend, his brother really, a gentle smile. "You may want to stop being the loner you're becoming and run with them at some point. Remind Cal why she still calls you Big Bad. Angel and Stefan can probably also use a reminder while you're at it. You're turning into a loner, and we both know where that will lead. You led the pack back home, you've got a micro pack here." He saw Jaxon pulling his 'lone wolf' stunt, something that they hadn't seen him do since Layla was bitten. And then he had an entire pack plus his family depending on him. "Just try it, see if the girls give you a run for your money anymore. You can rope Blair into running with you guys, I'm sure she could use the excuse to chase Angel down and jump him." Sometimes he wondered how the boys had survived with Blair being at Durmstrang with them. Blair was as rough and tumble as they came with the girls.

It wouldn't have surprised him in the least if Sonya and Elena were maneuvering him into another ball and chain situation. Probably minus his brother's knowledge. "You, dear brother of mine are a horrible liar. All you have to do is admit that your wife may be up to something, but you have no idea what. I'll grill my dear little sister later when I see her." Christopher had zero issues questioning Jaxon's better half, but the woman was tricky, to say the least. "You may need to be there though to help me corner your Wiley wife."

His night. Hah! Not when Jaxon was being a mope. "And my night, my rules. I want to know what's got you so gloomy and grouchy and evasive. Christina's already upset for gods know what reason right now, Callie is being weird according to Pheobe. I can only take so many weird behaviors right now. And all of our children want to kill Alex Weaver, for what reason I have no idea, other than I hear he's an asshole." He'd heard about Jaxon's own attempt, their daughters having stepped in to calm the savage beast from that incident. "So talk to me. What's going on?" He poured himself another drink, surprised that the two of them weren't on their asses. Yet.

[Jaxon Falco]

Jaxon sighed, there was a possibility all of their kids and friends had called him worse, they were too big for their boots all of them and they did not have any respect for their elders, but that was their children. ”Oh you know how she can be and her sister and of course my darling wife, I am quite used to all this name calling” They cared really … at least that was what he told himself about them, they were troublesome but he would not be without any of them and because of him they had been without Layla for too long.

The big bad wolf need to make an appearance? Jaxon was intrigued by that, by being needed they were all so grown up these days did they really need him? He had become accustomed to not being needed these days. They were al so independent and better at the whole werewolf thing than he had ever been at their age, besides if they had needed him in some capacity they knew he was always here, so why had they not come to him? Unless of course they were up to no good … which was always a possibility. ”Yeah? You think so? I can pop my head in and keep an eye on all of them if you think they need it?” The fact that Jaxon did not know that they needed it … well that showed how out of touch he was getting, time to do some knocking on door and checking on people. Rubbing his face with his hands Jaxon sighed again, yeah he had to do better.

Sonya was always up to something, so if she was up to something with Elena then that did not surprise him at all. There were always schemes going on around him, he just did his best to stay out of whatever it was she was planning, it was better for both of them if he just chuckled and replied with a ”oh no, you know Sonya I’m not getting in the way of my wife, thats a bad idea”

My night my rules? What were they teenagers again? Of course if anyone was going to find away to bother him into talking it would be Christopher and well Jaxon had been trying to find away to tell him all of this anyway .. he had just not found the right moment. Leaning over Jaxon poured himself quite a generous drink which he downed in one go before opening his jacket and pulling out his wallet. The photo had been sitting in there since Darius had it developed and Jaxon let out a deep sigh before placing the folded photo on the table and sliding it towards Christopher.

”We were getting the floors done in the old house and they found a bunch of stuff hidden around the house under the old floorboards … now only one of my children likes … or liked cameras and wanted one so badly for her birthday and when it went missing, I assumed it was Dimitri that stole it to bother her or .. be Dimitri” Leaning over Jaxon filled his glass again not drinking it this time just swirling it around. ”The camera that was found was … shredded, somehow Darius managed to get the film out in one piece and this is one of the pictures that was on it”

There had been lots of lovely pictures of the moon and dark trees, but this one Jaxon could only assume she had dropped the camera as she was running away and was being followed by not one, but two werewolves that were going after her.

”Other than Darius you are the first one I have showed it to you”

[Christopher Davis]

Christopher had to laugh at the idea of the two younger girls of Jaxon's brood calling him names. "Blair's your miniature, that's why. Layla and Niki I can't see calling you names. Sonya... Well, you pursued her and married her, so you're stuck there, my brother."

He chuckled a little as Jaxon realized that the kids were up to something. "I think they're just getting too big for their trousers at this point. And Pheobe seems furious with Angel over something, so he could probably use a good reminder he's not exactly top dog entirely around here." Jaxon needed a pack again, not to keep being a loner. "And I think Cal's pups need a visit from the top dog too. You need a pack again Jax, you've done the lone wolf thing since we came over here. You're miserable without a pack. Even if it's just Angel and Stefan again, they were part of your pack back home. Cal's got her kids, I'm sure she can use a hand with them too. Someone to help teach them how to defend themselves too. What you used to do at home for the newly turned ones." That had kept Jax busy back in Bulgaria, he needed something to do here too.

At the mention of getting in Sonya's way, Christopher laughed at Jaxon's decline of invitation to help corner that wife of his. "Scaredy cat. She's not that bad, she loves you too much to do anything major to you anyways."

He watched as Jax poured quite the drink for himself and downed it. Something was really wrong. He listened as Jax told him about the floors and finding stuff hidden under them. Oh, gods help him if he decided to redo the estate's floors! He listened and looked at the picture put in front of him by his brother. "Wait... One is you, I know that for sure, but who is the second? Are you thinking you're not the one who bit Layla?" If that was the case, this would hopefully change the relationship between Layla and Jaxon. Which would be a good thing in his mind. But they needed to know who else had been lurking around the grounds that night too.

[Jaxon Falco]

If there was one person that knew him better than he knew himself, that was not his darling wife. It was Christopher. It had been the two of them for so long, the man had given him all of the opportunities he had in life and truly helped shape the way he was today. To sit here and listen to Christopher talk about his actions and his need for community rather than ‘lone wolfing’ well it just touched Jaxon to see how well he could be understood as a wolf by someone else. Someone who took the time to know him and took the time to see him. With their children mostly grown and having been wolves for several years, knowing the drill well he really did not think they needed his leadership. Jaxon had never been a great leader of people, he would usually shy away from that type of roll. The idea that they needed him, well it was novel after all these years to be needed. ”Top Dog?” Jaxon questioned with a chuckle ”Not just some old dog I think you mean? That being said I could probably still run rings around Stefan and Angel” He was pretty sprightly for his age and those two were getting safe in their desk jobs not used to running against anyone else. ”Teach again? God nobody wants that, I never had anything to actually teach remember no training i never knew what I was doing, still barely do”

At the notion of being a scaredy cat Jax just chuckled ”Scaredy Pup I think you mean” Sonya would always be the best think that happened to him and he would never know what she saw, he was not in her family circle or anywhere near her level. Just some werewolf and back when that curse was even less understood than it was now. Yet she saw something in him.

While Christopher looked over the picture Jaxon could scarcely look at him, this was why he was not eager to go back to the pack. He was not a leader he failed to protect his family, what could he teach them? Even if he did not bite Layla that night he should have protected her. Christopher of course went straight in with the billion dollar question. ”Thats the question isn’t it” Jaxon admitted sombrely ”I don’t know, I can’t be certain but there is a chance, but it was so long ago I don’t remember the night, I don’t even know which night it was I’m trying to remember. Layla and I as you can imagine haven’t ever talked about it” Of course they hadn’t talked about it, when he found out he barely had chance to get his head around it before Layla had left the room. The amount of times he had imagined that night and it going different him handling it differently, whether that could have changed it. ”I have a theory and that just makes all of it so much worse because as you know there’s only one wolf out there I’ve ever truly had a problem with” He did not need to say his name Chris knew it was Greyback, when he hadn’t joined him there had been a great number of threats and pushback from him. Whether it was him directly or one of his followers Jaxon had no idea but he sensed his hand in all of this, it was what he did to people.

[Christopher Davis]

Christopher hated when his brother sold himself short. "You're one of the best teachers when it comes to being a werewolf Jaxon. Plus, you taught Angel and Stefan to curb their urges, they in turn taught Cal, she's been teaching your teachings without thinking a second thought about it for years. You're still top dog, whether you want to admit it or not. You can still run rings around the boys, you just need to get out there and do it and stop being a lone wolf. It doesn't suit you. You've been miserable since we came here because you won't go run with the kids." It would do the man a world of good if he'd swallow his damned pride and just go run with the kids for once.

"Chicken! How's that? Damned semantics." Christopher chuckled at the man he called brother, glad the man still had his wife around to keep him straight. Glad Sonya picked him and saw the chicken that he was, taking him in and loving him how he was, fur and all.

He listened to Jaxon's explanation of what he was looking at, and what Jaxon was thinking about what the photograph showed. One wolf in the picture he knew like the back of his hand. He'd watched Jaxon shift more times than he could count, always to make sure the man's heart didn't give out. And then again when he shifted back in the morning, he'd been there for his friend and brother. All of this was before Sonya, but he'd also been there after her too, the two of them tag team taking care of him after a night with the pack.

At the mention of the one wolf who had a problem with him, and he had a problem back with. Fenrir Greyback. One of the most monstrous creatures he'd ever seen. "Greyback... It would make sense... He's always had an issue with wolves that don't do what he wants and act like him. And he's always had an issue with wolves in charge. Hell, authority period."

[Jaxon Falco]

Jaxon chuckled at the suggestion that he was a good teacher, like hell he was, there was not really a teaching to this whole thing there was a surviving and well he hoped he had taught these kids to survive, but if he had his way he would not have had to, they would have been kept safe. ”Top Dog? That one really made him laugh ”I’m hoping not to have to run rings around them” Did he really want to go running with all of them? With Greyback on the rise he felt like he would make them more of a target for attack. He needed to keep them safe, even if he could do with letting of the steam and running, it still concerned him, it always did.

Watching Christopher hold the photography Chris put the glass down on the tale and ran his hands through his hair, this man was his brother he had supported him in so many ways, been there for him through thick and thin. Was this going to be the straw, the step too far, when he realised that he was just a monster after all. That behind all the jokes they made about his condition there was a darker side to it, an uncontrollable animal nature that meant he may have harmed his own child, but could not say for sure.

”It would, it could be him” Jaxon took his glass from the desk again finding his hand was trembling ever so slightly. ”I just .. I .. I would love to say I made my peace with it being me, but if it was him, if he .. if I let him … I don’t know where to begin” What was he going to tell Sonya? What was he going to tell Layla? He was the biggest disappointment here. ”I promised Sonya I’d keep her safe and I’d keep the kids safe, hell we both know how little I brought to our relationship, I was less than nothing and I still am, I had very few prospects and money but I just … I said id keep her safe” If it was not obvious it was killing him inside.