Well, since you wriggled so nicely, everyone has already replied and I'm far enough ahead to be able to... please find the next part below
Also, it may interest you to know, that I recently added a PWP bonus part to the mix. That will come up after 'The Real Me' ends...
Just cos.
Thanks,
Katharyn
------------------------
Title:
Tara and Willow – Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda – Chapter Eighty-OneAuthor: Katharyn Rosser
Feedback: Absolutely, yes please. That’s why I write for this place, to engage in the discussion about the story.
Spoiler warning: Not sure why I am bothering, really, but Season 4 and Season 5 of BTVS.
Distribution: This story was written for Pens. Pens is its home. No archiving off Different Coloured Pens and the Kitten Board please. No conversion to eBook or other formats please. Enjoy it here.
Summary: ‘The Real Me’ continued.
Disclaimer: I don’t own any of the copyrights or anything else associated with BTVS. All rights lie with the production company, writers etc. I am making no money from this series of stories however all original characters and situations remain my property. As this is a missing scenes and alternate reality fiction lots of scenes are new versions of those seen in the show, as such dialogue and situations are taken from the show. I’m sure you can tell which. All credit for those aspects goes to the original writers.
Rating: Occasional, tasteful, adult situations and contextual bad language. However by and large equivalent to the show.
Couples: Tara and Willow forever, that’s all I’m bothered about.
Text convention: Use of
italics denotes either special emphasis if used for a single or a few words in a sentence OR first person thoughts if used for a whole sentence.
Notes: So I’m really hoping that the last part will have gone over okay, we’re still in ‘The Real Me’ of course, but that was the big, bulky information-dump introduction to Hope. I guess I wanted everyone to see where ‘Hope’ comes from, rather than just making her ‘Dawn’ with dark hair, extra height and more up top.
I’m also anticipating speculation, about the deep, dark secret… Of course, months before I post, I have no idea what I’ve already given away as I write this but I will say it’s not essential to the story and I may not ever clarify it. You don’t have to, you know? There are things that shape us, that stay with us, but when things look up – you don’t have to dwell on, talk out or deal with. Or we might… I have to say, I’ve actually enjoyed these Hope parts, both Tara’s introduction to her and Hope’s own words. I guess she fits into usual High School kid that I tend to write, really. Toni from Sidestep was complex but not bitchy. A good kid really and I think that’s where I’m going with Hope, but do we really need another, bitchy Lehane girl? I’m guessing not, that might be too much. I figure that if they were too alike they’d either take over – or destroy – the world.
Thanks to: Anyone who ‘gets it.’
“Everything, okay?” Willow asked as Tara led Hope back in. Since she’d been asked to wait outside because of the very dead, very bitten and thus not very bloody body, something had to have happened to reverse that.
Tara was all for keeping Hope out of the life that the rest of them had to lead.
“Just some crazy guy,” Tara said, tipping her a look that said she shouldn’t go into it now. “Don’t worry, she’s fine – but I wanted to bring her back in.”
Hope had sat herself on the other side of the store, already writing in her journal. Probably about the crazy guy. That was probably enough to make anyone’s journal. ‘Dear Diary, today I got shouted at by a crazy guy.’
She did love that journal though… everything went in there. Or maybe it didn’t. But everything
looked like it went in there. You couldn’t see someone like Hope doing it half assed.
“It’s a good job you went out then,” Willow said, kissing her girlfriend on the cheek, noticing Hope watching them and then writing in her diary. “You think she really writes down every time she sees us kiss?” They’d speculated on it before, but there was often a flurry when they did.
“I don’t know.”
“What about when we…? Do you think she… makes notes?”
“We’ve been keeping it down,” Tara reassured her. “Haven’t we?”
“At least when she’s in, I guess.”
“So what do we know?” Tara asked.
“People who know vampires better than I do,” Willow replied, pointing at the small circle – more of a triangle since there were three such experts – “say there were four of them. At least. Probably happened last night.”
“I guess that must be right then,” Tara agreed. “Since they’re the experts.”
“Hey, T, did you let the squirt back in?” her sister asked.
Tara nodded, not going into details. Telling Faith some guy had been shouting at her sister would be… bad. For him. And a distraction from what was important right now, Willow got why Tara didn’t say. It’d been dealt with. It didn’t need to be FUBF’d.
Effed Up By Faith.
“She’ll be okay, she knows stuff happens,” Willow pointed out.
“She’s fifteen,” Giles said. “A tad on the young side to be exposed to - ”
“I’m right here,” Hope said. “Right here, you know? You’re talking about me and I’m right here.”
“There’ve been thirteen year old Slayers,” Faith reminded him while she ignored her sister. But Willow considered that they were probably both right, for different reasons.
“That doesn’t mean it was a good idea,” he said, miffed to be accosted by his own history lesson. Who’d have thought? And by Faith?
“I’m going to head out, T,” Faith said, pointedly ignoring the man who was officially her Watcher – or unofficially since she was actually still wanted on suspicion of crimes she’d definitely committed – and instead informed Tara.
“No, you’re not,” Buffy said. “This one’s mine.”
“Two lots of head are better than one. There’s never been a time that’s not been true.”
“Oh, God, listen to yourself - ” Buffy started.
“You’re watching your sister,” Tara interrupted before the innuendo could get any clearer. Clear enough for Hope. “Remember?”
Faith was about to say something to them, then turned to look over to her sister instead. “Hey, Hopeless?”
“Yeah?”
“You okay sticking with the witches?”
“Yeah,” the girl shrugged like she didn’t mind at all. She’d spent more time with them than Faith, after all.
“There, see? Sorted.”
Buffy wasn’t having it though. “You can’t just assume that Tara and Willow will - ”
“No,” Tara said, sighing. “It’s okay. We’re going to see your Mom later, Buffy. She can come hang out if she wants. Joyce will be glad to see her again.”
“But my Mom’s working tonight,” Buffy said to them. “So she won’t be watching Hope. Look, why don’t you just tell Faith she’s got to do it, before she gets away?”
“Later!” Faith called and it was already too late.
“Maybe she’ll find the vamps, that would have to be worth letting her off the hook,” Willow said, trying to keep the peace. Trying to be a good girlfriend and friend both, even though her natural inclination was to side with Buffy.
“If Hope were my sister…” Buffy said, letting the rest of it just hang there. A huge sigh.
“So what’s happening now?” Hope asked. “Did someone call the police?”
They all looked at each other, no one had actually thought to do that… yet. But it was a good point. “Oh yeah, that.”
-------------------------
The detective that finally came around – once the police had turned the store into a crime scene – was kind of cute, for an older guy, but he didn’t want to speak to me. There were plenty of people there who weren’t telling him what was really going on and I think he kind of knew it.
But that was okay, because he didn’t want to hear it. All on his own he decided it might’ve been a gang thing. Everyone nodded when he said it and just said things that fitted with what they’d said. And when he wondered if the killers might have been on something, Giles had mentioned ‘the scourge of PCP in Sunnydale’ and that was that… everything back to normal.
I don’t really know what PCP does, but I do sometimes wonder whether there’s ever actually been
any in this town? They all use it as an excuse so much, seems like it should be more common than candy if so many people were on it?
It’s not real though, not real at all.
You know what is real though? What my sister’s going to do to them. Faith’s out there, hunting them down. Buffy and the others will be out there soon too. They’re leaving me with Buffy’s Mom – or at least at their house. Turns out Joyce is off to some function for her gallery tonight and so everyone had to decide who was looking after me.
Like I really need looking after? I mean, I’m fifteen and pretty soon they’re going to have to get used to leaving me on my own. It’s not like I’m a kid, is it?
But Tara was the lucky one; we could’ve just gone ‘home’ if they’d not moved out of the Rosenberg’s today. But for some reason – I think it’s because of all the spell defences on the Summers house – I usually get watched round here anyway. It’s okay, Mrs Summers has a neat spare room with a bed and a desk. They call it the guest room, but it’s really all mine. I can do my homework, watch TV, take a nap if I want to.. Sometimes I have to do that; they can be so late getting back.
When people talk about a good night’s sleep, I usually end up wondering what that is? How many hours? Usually I wake up when they get back, I like to do that. So I know everything is okay. It was the same when me and Faith were travelling. I think that’s where I get it from.
So Tara’s coming around after she and Willow move in into their new dorm room. I wonder if Faith’s actually going to get around to moving us into the apartment she keeps telling me about, or will she just give me a key, point the way and that’ll be it? Probably that. She’s not really… well, organised.
Or well organised.
Earlier, I told Mrs Summers that I’d asked Tara again to show me what she and Willow do. I should’ve waited for Buffy’s Mom to go out because she got all flustered and I had to say – again - that I meant the witchy thing, not the lesbian thing and then – just because I said ‘lesbian’ she got all shocked. Like it was a dirty word or something.
I guess, if you look at the internet, it kind of is. Not that I do that… but Willow’s told me more than once about her she’s pissed that anything she wants to look at always comes back – in the search – with a lot of porno first.
Mrs Summers doesn’t mind
lesbians, she obviously likes Tara and Willow a whole lot. But I think she thinks I’m a vulnerable, young mind and that if you say the word around me then I might just get made into one. Is it that simple? I tried it you know, I said it out loud ten times, looking at the swimsuit section of an old catalogue and it didn’t do anything for me.
I don’t think I’m a lesbian.
At least not because of saying the word.
But just to be sure I switched to the guys swimsuits and said ‘heterosexual’ out loud ten times too. Why do all those guys look like ken-dolls? I mean they have muscles and everything but nothing – you know – down there. Not that I was looking. Not much anyway.
I think Buffy kind of regrets letting her Mom in on the whole ‘I’m a Slayer thing’ because now, when Joyce asks how things are, whether there’s anything she should know, Buffy actually tells her. And that started another ‘loud discussion.’ Anyone would think I was Buffy’s sister the way that Joyce sometimes tells her off for not keeping me out of the way and things.
I’m not a baby, but sometimes I think she thinks I am. Maybe just that I’m the normal girl – and I guess I am, compared to Slayers and witches and ex-demons and… Xander. Also, she doesn’t think that Faith’s looking after me right and so she expects Buffy to do her part – along with all the others.
That’s okay though, I like them all well enough and Faith’s done me the biggest solid already. You know, apart from the other
thing, she stuck around here.
We could’ve been on the run now, I guess she’d have taken me with her – she always said she’d never leave me behind - and… it was bad enough when she was in hospital and everyone was looking after me and saying it wasn’t my fault. But leaving it all behind to be on the run with her? I’m glad we didn’t have to do that.--------------------------
“Hey you,” Willow said, coming back into the room with what should be the last box.
Tara smiled to herself, anticipating the slightly breathless kiss before it even landed on her neck. They’d been carrying boxes full of their stuff – and been together - for long enough that it was definitely the physical effort that lead to the lack of breath. Not the occasion.
Moving in together was old hat, almost. They’d practically spent half of last year in the same bed and then they’d moved into the Rosenberg house so they’d done it once. Now they were just moving together. It felt like less of an occasion.
“Sure you want to do this?” Willow asked.
“Move into dorms?”
“Share a room with me again, without much in the way of personal space,” Willow said. “You know, just a room. Not a whole house.”
“No question,” she said. “But if there was one thing I’d do differently…”
“What?” Willow asked, enfolding her in her arms from behind.
“I’d get a Slayer, maybe two. Perhaps even a Slayer’s sister. You know, to help us move.”
“We’ve moved everything now and do you really want Hope – or Faith – going through our stuff?”
“We don’t have many secrets,” Tara said, holding Willow’s hands under hers. “I mean there’s that one, small box but... you’re right. No one should be going in there.”
“Anyway, you had your chance,” Willow said. “You could’ve brought Hope here and she could’ve helped you while I’m out. Or… were you trying to escape?”
“Says the girl who volunteered to go hunting?”
“I asked first.”
“No,” Tara admitted. “I… This place isn’t very big, but also I feel like we should keep Hope going round to see Joyce.”
“Empty nest syndrome?”
“Some of it was really good, she’s got back into her work in a big way, but every so often she says something that tells me she’s missing having someone there now Buffy’s in dorms again.”
“You’re so thoughtful,” Willow nuzzled up against her neck.
“Hope likes her too, I think – I think it’s a good idea for her to have a mother figure, don’t you?”
“Lord knows her sister doesn’t meet the criteria. She means a lot to you, doesn’t she?”
Tara thought about that, or at least the reason. “I always wanted a little sister, but instead there was just me and Donny… he wasn’t much like a little sister.”
“She’s a good kid. Can you imagine if Faith was like her?”
She shook her head as she decided. “Probably she’d have been a rubbish Slayer.” And a rubbish Slayer would’ve been a quickly dead Slayer, so… no.
“You think?”
“Buffy and Faith, they’ve both lasted longer than most – that’s what Giles says anyway. I think maybe that’s because they think for themselves.”
“Hope thinks for herself too,” Willow pointed out.
“I think, maybe, I meant that they don’t just do as they’re told. They improvise. Sometimes they improvise
a lot. They’re more alike than they seem, you know?”
“Don’t tell them that,” Willow said, “they might feel the need to have another fight about it.”
“Better on the practice floor than out there,” Tara said. “I mean, I know that it’s both of them, but I figure it does Buffy more good than Faith.”
“No way!” Willow didn’t let go despite her shock at that statement.
“Oh, I know what you mean. I can see why you’d say that,” Tara agreed. “But I think that for Faith it’s one of those things that if she gets alienated again then she could easily go right off the deep-end and this time there’ll be no bringing her back.”
“No one will give her the chance,” Willow warned, as if she didn’t know the stakes. “But what do you mean about Buffy then?”
“She’s got like an… everyday need to get rid of all that tension there is between them.”
“You think there’s tension?” Willow asked.
“Not
that kind of tension, that’d be like those stories on the internet,” Tara said. “People who’d never, ever hook up, getting together.”
“Funny stuff.”
“I guess.”
“So, beating on Faith does Buffy more good but there are more serious consequences if Faith doesn’t get to do it?” Willow summarised.
“I really think the alienation that’d push Faith away would actually happen if Buffy fell out with her,” Tara said. “I mean, really fell out with her. Gave up on her.”
“I think, maybe, you’re right,” Willow decided. “And this, Tara Maclay, love of my life, is why you’re essential to all of us. You figure stuff like this out and then you do something about it.”
“Anyone could - ”
“No one did,” Willow interrupted, holding her. “No one did. No one realised that, deep down, Faith did need other people. Maybe she doesn’t even realise it herself – she’d deny it, I’m sure. She needs other people to approve of her, someone to tell her she’s doing a good job.”
“It’s not me though. Hope does that,” Tara said. “She just knows her sister, what Faith needs. So I think mostly I picked it up from her.”
Willow kissed her neck again, but denied it. “I don’t think so. I think you’d have her pegged anyway. You’d have figured Faith out. Hope’s just a useful guideline.”
“She’s more than that.”
“Well, not
just a useful guideline, she’s a good kid too.”
“And the rest. Do you think they’ll be okay?”
“In the apartment?” Willow asked.
“Yeah.” With Faith about to take her sister to live in an apartment that made their dorm look like a dog house, ill-gotten gains, she was worrying about it. Not the location. Just… how things would work out.
“Maybe. I can see why you’d worry though.”
“I think… with a little help, they can make it into a home. Like this place,” Tara said.
“Home, isn’t a place,” Willow promised her. “It’s just where
you are.”
Pulling Willow’s hand to her lips, she kissed the back of it. “Thanks, love.”
“Oh, it was my
distinct pleasure. But don’t worry, she’ll be fine. She’s fitting in, she’s ready to go back to school… Nothing to worry about.”
“Who do you mean?” Tara asked. “Faith or Hope?”
Willow laughed. “I can see that could be confusing. I actually meant Hope.”
“I just… I don’t want her to feel like an outsider,” Tara said.
“The unsaid part of that was ‘like me’ wasn’t it? You’re not an outsider, Tara.”
“I sort of am,” Tara said. “And that’s okay. I’ve not been around as long.”
“No. You’re one of the good guys,” Willow said.
She didn’t mean to freeze, to tighten up. But she knew she did because Willow reacted to it. Holding her. Their skin in contact. How could she miss it? “What?”
“Nothing,” she lied. No, it wasn’t nothing. Would they think she was such a good guy in a few months time? Or… would she be the great deceiver in their midst?
“You’re so good you keep everyone from killing each other,” Willow said. “You’ve got Faith and Ethan working for us instead of causing trouble. You’ve got your own Slayer – just with no salary for being her Watcher in all but name. And… well, I know that you’re an insider better than anyone. I mean, you’ve been insider me often enough.”
Tara groaned. It was a truly terrible joke at just the perfect moment.
Willow wasn’t done though. “I doubt that you could possibly have been
more insider me…”
She groaned again.
“Sorry, sorry. But… Stop worrying. We’ll be fine here. They’ll be fine there. We’ll help if they’re not,” Willow promised.
“Okay. I get it, I should stop worrying.”
“Didn’t I just say so?” Willow asked.
“I just wish Faith would… get it,” Tara said. There was a connection between the sisters, one that was diamond hard and could never be fractured. But around that things were more fragile… “I know they’re close and I know they’ve been through a lot that neither of them wants to talk about – but it’s almost like Faith has no idea how to deal with her. She’s been a sister much longer than she’s been a Slayer but she’s better at killing things.”
“As long as they’re happy, as long as
we’re happy, does it matter?” Willow asked.
“I… guess not. Shame there’s boxes all over the bed,” she said, glancing at it.
“Oh?”
“I was thinking being insider the most wonderful girl in the world,” Tara said.
“Oh? What time’s she coming over?”
Willow squealed as Tara pushed her backwards onto the bed. They’d find a spot.
-------------------------
“So, you ginger snatch goblin, you’ve still got that ‘just got fucked’ look about you.”
Willow groaned, though not in the same way as she’d been groaning when Tara had been… okay, she wasn’t going to give it the name that Faith had just in general principle. And ‘snatch goblin’? Was Faith even aware of both levels that worked on?
But she and Tara, they’d been making love enthusiastically enough that all three naughty words were merited.
“You should probably be grateful I only said it now,” Faith added, as if that made it better.
“Oh, yeah, you’re definitely learning,” Willow acknowledged.
“Or maybe your girlfriend’s a good influence on me?”
“My girlfriend? What about yours?”
“No goblin going on for me. Yet. Give it time though.”
Willow sighed. “Maybe we should be like hunting, instead of having conversations I really don’t want to have?”
“Don’t worry. Keep thinking your happy thoughts, Red, I’ve got it covered.”
And that was the thing, Faith was probably right. Somehow she’d gotten herself into patrolling, just with Faith, when there were plenty of people who could’ve come along. But Tara was with Hope while Buffy’s Mom was about to go to work. That’d leave Buffy and anyone who wanted to go along to pick up another patrol route and there were plenty.
But between them they should be able to track down four marauding vampires who’d been killing people in their town. Somehow though she felt like she was riding with Billy the Kid, while Buffy was Pat Garrett.
Except… that really didn’t hold up, did it? Bad analogy. No biscuit. Faith – unlike Tara - probably wouldn’t get it anyway so she kept her mouth shut.
“So, how are you and Hope settling in?” Faith hadn’t bothered asking about their move into dorms, so… Olive branch. She’d make the first move.
“Stuff got moved,” Faith said, shrugging. “One place is pretty much like another.”
“Must be nice to have your own space though,” Willow suggested. Especially since it was a luxury apartment with a value well into six figures. Yeah, that must be nice.
“I could say the same. Your new neighbours know you’re there now, after whatever she did to you that got you looking so freshly… plucked?”
“No…” she said, happy to go with the pretence. Sure, sound was bound to travel and walls weren’t all that thick. But – for all they knew – their neighbours hadn’t moved in yet. Or hadn’t been in at the time. All sorts of reasons to believe that… no.
“Liar.” Faith didn’t seem offended by it though, just as if the denial was as much as she could’ve expected.
“And Hope?”
“Hopeless? Well, she’s, I don’t know. I leave her to her own – whatsit? – devices as much as I can. Give her room to be independent,” Faith said.
Was that really what it was? Or couldn’t she bothered? No… It was more like Faith’s concern operated on a different level. That until it got so serious she had to take notice then… she could just leave her sister to it. “Do you have to call her that though?” Hopeless? Really?
“No, but I like to. She doesn’t mind.”
“How do you know? Have you asked her?”
“No,” Faith admitted. “But she hasn’t tried to scratch my eyes out, so I’m calling it as good as confirmed.”
“No, that’s what
you’d do,” Willow told her. “Not her.”
“Well, then thank God for Tara, I guess.”
“Mmm, thank God… and say what now?” Willow asked, not expecting the outright praise of her girl – not that Tara didn’t deserve it.
“And you.”
“Umm…” Now she really was on unsure footing.
Faith’s saying ‘thank God’ for me? Without being sarcastic? Ummm… “Buffy… is that you?”
“No, it’s not fucking Buffy! It’s me. Jesus! Every time I say something – I don’t know – nice I get accused of being Buffy again.”
“All right, all right. So… are you coming onto me then?” Willow asked, running out of plausible ideas for what might lead Faith to give her a compliment.
“No. I’m just saying… thank God for Tara and if Tara’s going to do all that happiness shit then… she needs you around too. Hopeless does too. You two are her favourite dykes, you know that, right?”
“Wow, thanks. I think I'm tearing up here. It’s just – it’s just your way with words. It’s like poetry, really. It touches my soul.”
Faith laughed. “You know me, Red. That’s about as good as it’s ever going to get.”
“I know, I know… I’m just wondering why?”
“Ethan,” Faith said.
This just got weirder and weirder. Ethan was influencing Faith into what? Good behaviour? Showing appreciation of others? If this wasn’t Buffy, then they were surely in serious danger of an apocalypse. Maybe things had already fallen apart and the whole world was irretrievably askew? Hadn’t she noticed while they were in bed?
Or this could be some weird, alternate reality. Yeah, that could be it.
But it was one where Tara still made her feel very, very good and so… was there a rush to get home?
“He kind of pointed out that there’s better ways to get what I want than to fuck or hit people. Or both, sometimes. Of course, he said it fancier than that.
“And so, I don’t think I said ‘thank you.’”
“You still haven’t,” Willow pointed out. Being told that she hadn’t wasn’t exactly the same.
“You get the idea though,” Faith said, “Just take what you can get.”
“Okay, okay…”
“You’ve stuck by her, Tara I mean.”
“That’s what I do,” Willow said. “I’m like crazy-glue Willow.”
“Can’t have been easy,” Faith said. “After… well, what I did. Standing up for her against all your friends. Standing up for me too – even if it wasn’t about me?”
“That didn’t come into it. Giving you a chance was only fair to Hope. There was talk – not from any of us, mind – about her being taken into care. If Joyce hadn’t intervened…”
Faith’s lips were pulled tight. Touchy subject, obviously. “She wouldn’t have gone.”
“I don’t think Child Services give you any choice.”
“All the same. She wouldn’t have gone. But… not many people stood up for us, not for either of us. Tara did, and you stood with her, Red. More important… you’ve stood up for Hopeless. Even if I fuck up again - ”
“You’re not going to f – you’re not going to do that.”
“Jesus, Red, you’d think you’d be able to say it, if you’re doing as much as I know you are.”
“Well,” Willow hedged. “You’re making it into a bad thing and whatever I’m doing, I guarantee it’s not a bad thing.”
“No… I guess not.”
“You’re not going to screw up though, right?” Since she was out here, all alone, with Faith. The renegade Slayer on probation… yeah,
now was the time to worry about that. “Hope needs her big sister. When you were in hospital. It took a Slayer to drag her away just to get some rest or some food.”
“Me? I’m a Slayer, Willow. My days are numbered and the numbers aren’t as big as y’alls. That’s just a fact - ”
“You can’t know - ”
“Don’t blow smoke up my ass. I know it. You know it. We all know it. But if I’m going to go, I’m going to go kicking and screaming while I’m still pretty. And on the way, I’m going to kick death in the nuts.”
“Tara told you that?” Willow asked, because she was pretty sure she’d heard something like that before.
“Something like it, some TV show from England,” Faith said. “Seemed like a great idea though, no matter where it came from. Point is – and I’m never going to say this shit again – I know that the kid will do great with all of you guys around. Just… she’s fifteen already. That’s what I really wanted to say, she’s fifteen and… don’t you dare let her go into care. Don’t let them even try. Don’t let them even talk about it. Right?”
“What, what is it?”
“Willow,” Faith said, putting her on alert by using her actual name. Stranger and stranger. “This isn’t for me – what I’m asking. It’s for her. No matter what, don’t let them try to take her down that route. Take her away, take her somewhere. Or – if you have to – you tell her to run, hide her, whatever… but don’t let them try to put her in care.”
She’d never heard anything like that before in Faith’s tone. Absolute concern for someone else. Laced with terror of the outcomes. It couldn’t have been more surprised if Faith had started talking to her in fluent Swahili.
But she was adamant that it shouldn’t happen. She sounded pretty adamant that
Hope wouldn’t let it happen. And if Hope was going to fight it, then someone else had to stand with her and do the same.
“I… I promise. But… you’ll be fine. Just so long as you stay pretty.”
And then normal service was resumed. “Aw, shit, in a couple of years, she’ll probably be taking care of me. Reminds me, I need to leave some money for her to bail me out.”
*******************
by faolan228 » Sat May 11, 2013 9:43 pm 
