Welcome to Hickstead, home to both Seven Oak Stables, and Blue Acre - two rival stables. Both offer opportunities for their clients to reach the highest level of excellence. Each stable differs from the other, so choose wisely and never forget, loyalty is everything... Meanwhile as the stables battle it out, there's trouble brewing at the university. Be careful, if you don't pick a side you may get caught in the cross-fire...
This is an chilled out rpg with a super friendly and relaxed atmosphere! Remember to sign up with your characters full name in all caps and don't forget to do your claims! Thank you and Welcome, we've been established since 10th March 2009 but unfortunately have had to close guest view of our boards due to multiple sites ripping off our hard work, such a shame! Come chat to us in Discord before joining if you like!.
She ignored the snort of laughter, watching the way he tried to repress it - now wasn't the time and she knew he had no idea what she was talking about until the words were out her mouth. She didn't know what to expect, she'd run the possibilities through her head over and over since she'd found out. When she felt him pull her close she went willingly, her arms automatically wrapping around his waist. "I think the term is we're pregnant." She heard him say and she smiled faintly; okay so she wasn't freaking out, and he didn't sound mad or frustrated. "We're in this together." She let out a small sigh of relief at that, but she still didn't know how he felt about it. Maybe it was a sense of doing the right thing that he said that?
Flynn stepped back when he did, looking up at him shyly, her nerves not quite over. "I've heard that the third time's a charm, but you were expecting a different result by the third test?" Her smile was a little sheepish, and her cheeks flushed slightly, "No but.. I just really wanted to be sure." She admitted, "Before I went and changed our lives and it turned out to be wrong. I just needed to know that it was true." Flynn felt he would understand that, she had needed it for her peace of mind at least. She answered his smile with a smaller one of her own. "I've never done this before... well, with human babies, so I'm following your lead here." Nodding, she let out another breath. "Well, I'll call the Doctors and book in a scan so they can check everything's okay." She hesitated, "But how do you feel about it?" Her eyes searched his, "There's no pressure, if.. you're not ready or.. this isn't how you pictured it. I just.. I'd understand if this wasn't what you wanted." It would hurt, but she'd get it.
"Honey, I'm home." She smiled through the nerves at that. She knew Bruce found it funny but she thought it was sweet - she liked it, knowing that he was home, that he was greeting her. She'd been through times where her ex had barely acknowledged her, coming home and too interested in grabbing a beer then asking her how her day was. Of course, this meant she actually had to tell Bruce now, rather than keep running through scenario's in her head. Her feet felt rooted to the floor, unable to get her to leave the bathroom. She'd taken three tests just to be certain, she hadn't wanted any false positives or false negatives to surprise either of them later down the line - nobody needed that kind of emotional upheaval.
She pressed her lips together though her answering smile was a little tight at his expression. He was confused, which she understood - it wasn't a normal way she tended to greet Bruce, and she saw his gaze dart to the hand behind her back. "Do I want to know?" Her smile was a little more relaxed at that, though her nerves heightened as she knew the time was now. "Well, I hope so." And without preamble - before she could lose her nerve of have him start to get concerned with what she was hiding - she produced the three positive pregnancy tests. "I'm pregnant..." Her eyes glued to his face; it was out there now, no taking it back. God she hoped he was okay with it.
Flynn stared at the three pregnancy tests sitting in the sink, as if that might change the outcome. Not that she wanted to, but she'd been here before - in this situation. The accidental pregnancy. Last time this had happened, it had set off a series of events that had lead her to lose the first man she had loved. Not that she would ever go back and change things. She adored Liam, he was the light of her life, but having gone through all that before, it hit that little bit of fear in her that this might mess up every good thing she had going with Bruce right now. There was excitement too, she loved Bruce and couldn't imagine her life without him. She felt like maybe things had gone wrong before to lead her to this life with Bruce - who she was meant to be with, the love of her life. But a baby was a huge commitment, a huge thing and it would change their lives together. She had brought it up with Bruce so knew he was happy to have kids, but that didn't mean he'd meant now. They hadn't talked about the future properly, about marriage or actually trying for a kid. She had to admit she either had terrible luck or she was ridiculously fertile. Yay for her.
Sighing, she chewed on her lip as she debated how best to tell him. Straight out with it probably. Anxiety swirled in her stomach. She knew him but what if he didn't want to have a baby now? She could never go down the other route, she already loved the kid, even as scary as it was and the fact it wasn't planned. She'd taken the tests as she'd felt that things were off about her recently. Her moods had been somewhat up and down, and despite the obvious that she was late, she'd felt more tired than usual, and had a taste for some rather odd things. It didn't have to mean anything but these were exactly the things that had happened to her when she was pregnant with Liam and it felt like a sign. She was right. Liam was at school for the day and then off to a friends for a playdate after - thankfully being picked up by the friend's mother which gave her the whole day to process the information and then talk to Bruce about it, without her son hovered within ear shot. The front door shut and she looked up as she heard a shout, still deliberating awkwardly in their ensuit bathroom. "In here!" She called as she picked up all three tests and grasped them in a trembling hand, hiding them from view temporarily.
"I wonder how much it would cost me to put a bubble over the property?" Flynn raised an eyebrow, pretending to look severe, "More than your life is worth," She warned - she knew he was playing and she was happy to reciprocate. "We could live like Sandy in Spongebob Square Pants, just without the ocean surrounding us." Flynn pretending to consider it and then shook her head, "No deal, I want the ocean." She pretended to sound serious, as if she was being demanding. Flynn generally didn't ask for much, there were some things she demanded out of life in general and asked of her partners, but she didn't demand. "You could call me Sir, sometimes?" Flynn laughed and wagged a finger at him, "Ahh I see, and how will I know when's the time?" She asked, tilting her head a little.
"I'll take you every way I can get you." Flynn chuckled and right on cue her mind hopped into the gutter and she gave him a wicked grin, "I know you will." She winked, glad that Liam was too young to get the jokes. At some point she knew she'd have to start watching her teasing around her son but at least by that age he'd be old enough to roll his eyes and leave the room if he didn't like it. "I'm sure I've grown out of the door slamming phase." Flynn gave him a dubious look, "Hmm, I don't know if I believe that." He was quite a big kid after all. "Though I'll have you to keep me in line if I haven't." She swallowed the mouthful of ice cream and grinned, "That you do, and I have plenty of practice with it." Being a nurse had really helped prepare her for difficult people - not that he was difficult in the slightest but between nursing and mothering she was good at keeping people behind the line.
She laughed slightly at his wiggling eyebrows. "I'll give you a demonstration, later, when we're in a less public setting." She took another mouthful as she considered the words with a hum. "I hope you're ready to work really hard," Flynn sighed dramatically, but really all Bruce had to do was pull her in close and she was won over. She watched her son trundle over to the counter top, dragging his feet just a little to prove a point but still doing it; so she didn't berate him. "The tub is just inside the freezer door." Liam perked up at that and raided the fridge for the tub, pulling off the lid and then peering into the container. "Can he have the whole pot?" Liam asked, genuinely curious. Flynn finished off her own desert whilst Liam discussed the pup's treat.
"Living in a bubble sounds like fun. Especially if it was the two of us." Flynn raised a brow and thought about it for a moment, tapping her chin as she considered. "Hmm I don't know.. I'm not sold on the idea of being stuck in a bubble with you." She teased, though she would absolutely live in a bubble with just them two; naturally her son would have to visit but it was what it was. "I have enough trouble with the young riders calling me mister, so I think you calling me Sir would get old really quick." Flynn chuckled and gave a slight nod, "Noted, don't call you sir." She grinned, knowing some people liked it. She was not interested in being called ma'am - it made her feel old.
Flynn saw the look on Bruce's face and she knew he was thinking up a good response. "I'll give them their eviction notice." She laughed and then nodded in agreement, "I think that's a good idea, then it can be just the two of us, finally.." then she shot a look at her son. "Mostly." She laughed softly, tucking into her banana split; delicious. "Yes, but I'm smart enough to know to throw something between the door and the frame before they connect." Flynn laughed, "Well now, don't you try and get smart with me, I'll see right through it." She warned, wagging her spoon at him and taking another bite of her dessert.
"I've had it on good authority that I'm quite good at the D and the A." Flynn raised a brow, tilting her head curiously. "Are you sure? I might need some firm proof of that." She teased. "He'll love having his on dessert." Liam grinned at that and finished his dessert, going to hop down frm the table. "Finished!" Flynn chuckled, "Bowl, please." She warned, wanting him to take it to the sink to clear up.
"They do!" Flynn raised a brow and shot him a worried look, "Now I'm starting to get concerned that you want to live in your own little bubble," She teased. "That, and the curtsy." Flynn gave a little coy smile and tried not to laugh, "I could handle calling you Sir every once in a while, but I think the curtsy's might be pushing it." She joked, Flynn had no trouble with the odd joke but she was an independent woman after all, she only bent the knee to a man on certain occasions. "You think we should be charging them rent?" Flynn laughed at his comment, shaking her head slightly. "I think we should probably be kicking them out, if we've been replaced; and it's time to find a new side piece." though she had no intention of window shopping and her eyes were not interested in wandering.
She glanced at him when he snorted, just about managing to hide it - Liam too engrossed in ice cream to notice their conversation had lowered in register. "My sisters learned very quickly not to slam doors. Very hard to slam a door that is no longer there." An eyebrow raised, "I've not heard of that one before, I'll keep that in mind.. the same goes for if you start slamming doors," She grinned wickedly. "You know it's only called PDA if you are out in public?" She gave him an innocent look, "Liam is here- that counts as PDA... and I figured that if you don't like PDA, you clearly don't like A in general." She pressed her lips together to avoid grinning and giving the game away.
"Just a reminder that chocolate will make him sick." She looked over at Liam as she dug into her desert, where he was just hovering with his spoon about to go down to the dog. A small helping of chocolate sauce included. He looked guilty at being caught and gave a small grin as he put the spoon in his mouth instead. "There is a small tub of vanilla ice cream you can give Gizmo when you've finished." Liam lit up and nodded, "Okay, he can have his own!" He agreed, and Flynn smiled, glad that her son listened.
She saw him nod at her question, and then pull a face - well, she didn't think her kissing was that bad. "PDA is where cooties come from." Flynn raised an eyebrow and gave a small nod, "of course they do," She agreed; she'd remind him of this next time he tried to grab a quick cuddle. His chuckle made her smile though, unable to stay serious for long. "Careful, I could get used to this side of you." She gave him a cheeky grin in response, "Do you like being called sir?" She asked innocently, pretending she didn't know what she was doing.
"As long as you don't hide him in the garage. It would be horrible if he got together with the lady I keep out there for when you're at work. If they hooked up, it would leave both of us high and dry." Flynn made a small gasp, touching her hand to her lips, "Oh no, that's exactly where I've been leaving him!" She joked, making sure to scoop the ice cream evenly so there was no arguments on who had the bigger treat.
"I get the feeling that the teen years are going to be a hoot." She let out a low laugh at the words, glancing at her son who hadn't heard. "Tell me about it, I hope you're ready for temper tantrums and door slamming?" She muttered back - not that she had a teenager and could say for sure but she'd heard enough. Flynn took her bowl and smiled at Bruce, "and thank you," She said; ordinarily she would have kissed him but of course... no PDA. She chivied Liam back to his chair at the table, having always been one to prefer eating at a table to eating on laps, and settled back in her own. Gizmo sniffed around them for a moment and then came to plonk his butt by Liam's seat, gazing up at the boy with a wagging tail.
She watched the movement of his brows and she pressed her lips together to hold back the grin for as long as she could. "I can live with no PDA." Now it was her turn to raise an eyebrow. "Wouldn't want to gross the boy out, or think that it was normal." She was pretty sure he was joking.. he hoped he was joking. She liked the PDA, though she did chuckle when Liam pulled his face about them. She decided to test to see whether he'd hold out of the joke. "Oh really? So you wouldn't mind it if I didn't kiss you in public? No holding hands or hugging? Not even one tiny little touch?" She mused, tilting her head and moving closer to him as she spoke, before going to move away.
"Really, where? Do I know him?" She pretended to think about it then shook her head, "No I don't think you do, we make sure he'd long gone before you get home," She teased, though in all honesty she would never do that kind of thing to Bruce. She didn't condone cheating, she felt people were cowards if they couldn't just admit they weren't in love anymore. "Next time make sure click your heels together." Flynn gave a playful roll of her eyes and a curtsy. "Of course, sir, begging your pardon, sir." She teased.
"You calling my saucy?" Flynn laughed and nodded, "Oh very saucy," She teased, raising a hand and about to swat him on the butt when she stopped and lowered her hand. "Of course, no PDA." She glanced over as Liam bounded in, dog bounding in close behind. "Don't forget to wash your hands." She bit her lip to avoid chuckling, especially when she caught Liam rolling his eyes and huffing a "Yess," Liam caught her eye, and the reprimanding look she gave him for the attitude; and looked a little contrite as he washed his hands and then eagerly stepped forward to grab a bowl. "Thaaaanks you!"
She laughed at his expression, "Oh no! Does that mean that I need to be... mature?" She held back her smile, pretending to look serious as she nodded at him, "Oh yes, and not only that but you don't get to sleep in anymore, no more swearing, and absolutely no PDA," She punctuated her words by counting off each one with a finger and then a smile curled the edges of her lips. It wasn't really true, though Liam did tend to come and jump on them sometimes at the weekends he tended to get up and play with his toys, and he'd heard his mother swear plenty of times. PDA.. well, that he still pulled a face at, but before Bruce, the last person Flynn had been kissing had been Liam's dad - and he had been just a baby.
Flynn returned the quick kiss, "That's exactly what I meant! I get eye-candy while sorting out dessert." She gave a delighted grin at that and a little wiggle of her hips, "And I get eye-candy that cooks." She teased back, though it wasn't a lie. She enjoyed watching Bruce plenty. "Ok, my sexy assistant, you need to slice the bananas in half, and then two scoops into each bowl on top of them so that you get kind of a boat effect." Flynn gave Bruce a mock salute, "Yes, sir," She winked, going to slice the banana's in half as directed and picking up the ice cream scoop. "Then pour over the sauce and finish it off with the decorations." She nodded as she concentrated dolling out what was needed, "Perhaps you should handle the sauce part."
"Make sure you turn the tap off if the trough does need filling." Liam called out a typical almost teenage like 'yeeeahh' as he left, a little dismissive but not rude and Flynn couldn't help but let out a little chuckle at that, glancing at Bruce and pressing her lips together to hide a smile, "you are such a dad now," She teased, hoping he didn't take that the wrong day. Liam was getting so comfortable with Bruce telling him or asking him things, and that dismissive 'whateverrrr' meant Liam didn't care so much about offending Bruce. It meant Bruce would be getting the teenage tantrums as much as Flynn would no doubt about it, and she liked it - a proper family. Her ex, his real father... the fact that he wasn't here spoke volumes, and Flynn didn't even know where he was anymore. Besides, his lack of interest had meant he'd handed over his rights to play father years ago.
She took the bowls and then the bananas as they were handed over to her. "I couldn't ask for a better assistant." She pulled a face at that, "Oh I think you could, but you couldn't ask for a sexier one, right?" She teased, bumping him with her hip gently. "I'm guessing we want sprinkles too?" She nodded and gave him a look as if that was a silly question as she peeled the bananas and placed them neatly in their bowls. "Uhh yes, sprinkles on everything!" She knew it was childish but sometimes if you couldn't still have a bit of childishness in your life what was the point?
"I think the word you are looking for is incorrigible." She gave Bruce a look, "Mmmm..." She mused, though he was on the nose with that word for sure - and her son just gave her a cheeky grin to join in. Damn those two were terrible together sometimes - but harmless she knew. She finished clearing the table as she left her son to ask after feeding the chickens - it was nice that he wanted to take responsibility in that way and she stayed out of the way, letting Bruce handle and instruct. "Sure!" She smiled as Giz came flying in; seeing Liam's face light up at the pup too. Bruce really had been true to his word about the dog - the animal was doing well with training and had been thoroughly looked after without that much input from her; Liam had helped plenty, and instead she spent her time spoiling the pup instead.
"Can you make sure that their water if full too, please?" She smiled as Liam nodded, taking his job seriously. "I will," He promised, and then he went to head out the back door with the food clutched in his hands, Gizmo at his heels. Flynn gave a quick anxious look after him but she had a clear view, and this time she would not let him take any detours - not that she thought he would after the ordeal today. "I got some bananas today, so how about banana splits?" Flynn smiled at the idea and nodded, "Ooh yes that sounds wonderful," She agreed, even better than just ice cream on it's own. "Can I play sou-chef?" She asked, knowing there wasn't much cooking involved in that and she was unlikely to mess up too badly. Her gaze flicked to the window where she could see her son out by the chickens, and then back to Bruce's, more relaxed.
Flynn laughed and her son chimed in at Bruce's expression, and then Liam did one right back, pulling his lips wide and sticking his tongue out. Flynn rolled her eyes but grinned all the same, "You two are terrible," but she meant not harm as she took a sip of her water and leaned back in her chair. An eyebrow rose at his grin, almost concerned about what he might come out with before he seemed to hesitate and change his mind. She caught the glance at Liam and it was her turn to grin, understanding why he'd held back - and glad of it. Nobody needed to scare the little boy just yet. "That's because it's so warm." She nodded but let it slide, holding back from making her own comments of something similar.
She kissed Liam's head after his apology, and relaxed a little. "Just, never go off like that again, make sure you always come and tell me or Bruce." She didn't want to add anything to that - to say 'if' or 'first' in case he took that as he could do it again. He had to come to them, and she trusted Bruce to handle the situation if her son went to him. Liam gave a firm nod, seeming to understand the gravity of it in this case. "I promise," and Flynn kissed his forehead again before she finally let it go for the night. "I'm sure the chickens will love that." Liam looked at his plate of vegetables. "Can I gives it to them?" He asked; he loved the animals, and Flynn often found him laughing at them as they ran across the garden.
"Do we want dessert?" She stood to help clear the rest of the table, not asking first so Bruce couldn't tell her not to. She took her plate over to the sink, placing it in there and nodded, "Oh absolutely," She was definitely in the mood for something sweet now. "Ice cweeeaam" Liam called from the table, and Flynn gave a small laugh, glancing at Bruce.
"Nah, this is a fish impression." Flynn laughed and then grinned as Liam joined in, catching sight of Bruce's face, then began to imitate him, copying the look. "Careful boys, the wind will change and your face will get stuck that way..." She teased, chuckling as her son immediately stopped doing it and touched his cheeks. She cleaned up the rest of he plate, placing the knife and fork together neatly and then pointing to her son's half full plate, "hey, don't forget your veggies, please," She gave him her 'mum' look and then smiled when he reluctantly stabbed some green and took a bite. "Thank you." She made a point of always being polite about it - she felt it was one thing to be firm but another to go too far and force your kids.
"But I share everything with you." Flynn chuckled, "Expect the duvet half the time - that I have to fight for!" She teased, looking down at her stolen t-shirt and giving him a sheepish smile, "It smells like you," She admitted with a faint blush, glancing at Liam who had gone back to ignoring her for a moment as he polished off his plate. "This is why you need to tell your mum or me when you hear things like that. If that had been a person, like you thought, they would have needed an adult to help them too." Liam looked to his mum as if to check that he should be listening, and Flynn's expression hardened a little, giving him a nod. He had to listen to Bruce as much as her, and he was right. "Besides that, you know I have always told you never to go off on your own, no matter what you see or hear." She had gone through stranger danger with him years ago and made a point of coming back to it regularly.
"I'm sorry," Liam said after a quiet moment, the gravity sinking in a little and his lip wobbled again. "I'm really sorrys." and Flynn softened again, touched her son's cheek gently, "Alrigt sweetie," She didn't say it was okay, that would take away the impact of it, but she released him from the heaviness of the situation, and he put his knife and fork down, plate almost empty but for some leftover veg.
She pinned him with her look as his mouth opened and closed, "I never knew such a good fish impression," She teased, trying to hold in a laugh. "I...I would never!" An eyebrow rose. "Well, only if I thought I could get away with it." She released the smile she was holding in, "Mhmm, there it is," She teased, but she pretended to catch the kiss he blew and keep it. Some people would think it sickening, but she had every intention of making sure he knew he as appreciated really - and that she especially appreciated him being cute.
Flynn went along with the show, pretending to flinch at the cooties and try to dramatically wipe them off, and onto Liam - who pulled a face too and tried to dodge her hand. "Nooo, no cooties!" Flynn grinned, "I'm caring and sharing with my cooties!" Flynn shook her head, "You can keep your cooties to yourself thanks," She laughed, taking a sip of her water as the video ended and Liam rejoined them in dinner. "Yes, like screaming." Liam frowned again, picking at his veg and finishing off the chicken instead. "That's why I went in the woods, I thought it was a person," He remembered it, but he hadn't realised the noise was the fox in the end, only that he'd heard something and it had turned out to be an animal. "They are weird." He decided, looking to his bandaged arm again with a frown.
"There is nothing wrong with your cooking. I thoroughly enjoy the nights off that I get." Flynn gave Bruce a narrowed eyed look, "Are you trying to suck up to me?" She teased, knowing he was being genuine really but unable to help teasing. She was more than happy to give over all the cooking to him anyway, but she liked taking over one or two nights so that he could have a break, and it stopped her from being lazy. She could far too easily get used to having Bruce 'look after' her, he was the sort that just would and would do so gladly but she never wanted to take him for granted like that, and she liked doing it the other way around - waiting on him for a change, and looking after him.
"Oh no, some girls still have cooties. Boys too, when they catch then from the girls!" Flynn let out a small noise of indignation. "If anyone is giving out cooties, it's the boys!" She argued, "You are covered in them," She waved a hand at Bruce but couldn't hold back the smile. She raised a brow at Bruce's look of innocence, not quite believing it as she tucked into the chicken, glancing at Liam to see him mostly engrossed in the video and not as busy eating. He'd picked at his veg and been going mostly for his chicken. "All those funny sounds you can hear between the singing, are actually the sounds that a fox makes." Flynn chuckled and looked over again at Liam as he frowned, then pulled a weird face, "They sound weird? Like people screaming?" He didn't quite believe it was true.
