Doomsday

It was colder than she would have thought, kneeling on the frost-bitten ground, one gloved hand tracing a headstone that was before her. Her index finger traced out the name 'Paulina', a slow and reverent movement to her tracing. The girl's lovely face was twisted into a sorrowfuly expression, and her dark eyes were filled with pain. Tears tracked their way down her face, and she leaned forward, until her forehead was resting against the even colder stone. She could feel the letters pressing into her skin, but she made no move to back away.

"I've missed you, Aunt Polly. I've gone to school, just like you always wanted, and I've learned so much. I'm going to be a scientist, just like you always wanted me to be. An Engineer, so I can build things. Won't that be grand? Maybe one day I can invent a TARDIS. I'll go back in time after you. Then we could travel to so many places, just like we did in my stories." She sniffled.

"I wish you were still here. You're my best friend, you know, and I miss you. You're the only person I know who would have given everything for me. I know how the Doctor feels, you know? Nobody stays for long. They've all got so many lives, and so much going on. They don't need me to hold them back. The only person who would have stayed with me is gone forever. And there's no way to go back- the walls have sealed us apart."

Martha Smith leaned back on her heels, placing the small bouquet that she'd brought in front of it. "I want to be brave, like him. I can smile and laugh, even when I'm thinking about you. I can make other friends, and wish that they understood me like you did. And maybe someday I'll find someone who can understand me that way. Maybe then I won't have to be alone anymore. I can be normal, and love, and laugh and live. Until then, I'm on my own. It's better that way anyhow, innit?"

"Thanks so much, Aunt Polly. You gave me life. I looked into your kind eyes, and saw hope. I'm staying with Dad's sister for Christmas, you know, and she thinks I'm shopping. She'd be so angry if she knew I was here. But I had to see you, Aunt Polly. I had to bring you the present, and wish you a Happy Christmas. I love you, and I'll be 'round. Just you wait, someday I'll be happy again, and I'll build you a better headstone than this stupid Angel. And someday I'll be buried next to you, where I belong, Aunt Polly. Because sometimes I think that you're really the only one that ever cared."

Martha pressed a kiss to her fingertips, which she then pressed against the cold headstone. Then she turned, her face a calm mask, and walked away.

I'll always look back, as I walk away

"Mama? Is the plane still in New York?"
"Yes, Olivia. Have you changed your mind? I know that I've never been a good mother to you, but." There was a pause on the other end of the phone, and Olivia took the moment to wipe at her streaming eyes, trying not to smear the mascara she'd used in the process. Theodore Morhan, who was helping her pack, ran a thumb under her eye to catch a tear, and Olivia found a broken smile for him.
"Livvie, I know your going through a hard time, honey. First Hector, and now this- this boy-"
"His name is Jason, Mama."
"Yes, Jason. I think it's time I took reponsibility for you. I may not understand motherhood, but I do understand heartbreak."
"Thanks, Mama. My friend Theo's gonna drive me to the airport."
"Alright, sweetheart. I love you."
"I-I.....love you too, Mama."

She hung up the phone, and Theo draped his lanky arm around her shoulders, pulling her close for a minute. Nat had wanted to be here, but he was so upset and feeling so guilty that Evander had taken him for a walk instead. Theo, no matter how upset, would stay here with Olivia. It was just what he did.
"What exactly are you doing, Ollie?"
"Getting some peace, Dory."
Theo placed a kiss on the top of her head, letting her cry on his shoulder for a few minutes. Then he pulled away, letting his brown eyes meet hers.
"Are you running from him, Ollie?"

Olivia paused for a few minutes, trying to consider what Theodore was saying to her. She finally had to shake her head.
"I love Jason, and I will for a very long time. I can heal without my heart, but I can't do it, watching him walk around. He's got it, but I don't think he wants it, Theo."
"I think that's a bit harsh on him."
Olivia shook her head again.
"No it isn't. Can we just go?"

Theodore picked up two of her suitcases, having agreed to ship the rest of her things to her later. He knew that Olivia was just ready to get out, and he just didn't want to see her cry anymore. Olivia Stanton had shed too many tears lately for his taste.
"Aren't you going to say goodbye? Are you even leaving him a letter?"

Olivia reached into her purse, holding up an envelope.
"I'll mail it from France. I really don't want some misguided attempt at stopping me. He can't afford to come after me once I'm in another country."
"But if he stops you, doesn't that mean he still loves you?"
"Maybe. Or maybe he just doesn't want to let me go. Either way, I don't want to find out."

It was a silent ride to the airport. Theo didn't try to break the silence, knowing that Olivia was using it to brace herself for what was to come. While it sounded easy, Theo knew that going back to her parents was the hardest thing she could possibly have chosen to do. He merely reached over and took her hand, and Oliva clung to it like it was the only friendly gesture in her world. He supposed it probably was.

They drove right out to the runway, and Theo handed off the luggage to Liv's people. Then he embraced her, and kissed the top of her head.
"Call me and let me know when to pick you up, Ollie. Or else I will be the one coming after you."
Olivia smiled.

"Goodbye."

Nothing left to lose

Juliet Morhan had dreamt of being a model for much of her life. By virtue of growing up with two older brothers, she picked up sports out of sheer preservation of spending time with the boys she adored more than anyone else in the world. Out of respect for her parents, she attended college, and obtained a degree in marine biology, her second love. But still, she dreamed of being a model, one that little girls could actually look up to. One that a decent man could be proud to claim. It was a dream. No, it was the dream.

When Juliet was nineteen, she'd been discovered while working at a pizza parlor. With her sweet charm, and her pretty appearance, Juliet made a very good waitress, and it was how she met Harriet Faelings. The big-time agent had liked Juliet's smile, her build, her cute freckles and her red hair. Knowing how rare and hard it was to be found like that, she began to model part-time. Juliet had imagined becoming successful. She once pulled in two major contracts in a forty-eight hour period, something that Harriet told her was monumental in her career.

For the first five months or so, everything went well in the agency. Juliet was pretty and very, very good at what she did; however, Harriet began to notice that her young protege never volunteered to remove her clothing. She decided to push, and assigned Juliet a gig where she would be posing for an art class- nude. There were a lot of things Juliet would do, and while she wasn't an overly religious girl, she had her morals and there was no way she would do such a thing. She declined, and posed in her underwear, and covered her chest with her pose. Feeling like she'd proven to Harriet that she could work around her discomfort, Juliet returned to her normal state of self-confidence.

Juliet how no idea how low one's morals could be pulled by this career. At twenty-one, she graduated with her degree in marine biology, though under Harriet's orders, she didn't tell any clients that she had a college degree. So, Juliet hid her intelligence, and masked it with her smile and shallow answers. Along with this came a margin of success, though since she refused to pose nude, it cut down on her options. After not working for a few weeks, Juliet faced a choice: rent, food, or posing nude. Her pride was too great to go crawling to her brothers for assistance, and so Juliet posed nude for the first time.

Her face was flushed with shame, but apparently the photographer was loving the blushing virgin look, and so she was covered. Well, figuratively. Because she was stiff, the agency assigned a nude male to pose her. The pictures were practically still images of forced exposure. When the agency sent Juliet the proofs, she burned them. She would never tell her brothers, but it was the costliest bag of groceries Juliet had ever purchased.

Feeling stupid, like all that was left for her was naked pictures, Juliet tried to act cheerful for her brothers. It didn't take long for her to feel the strain of that, so she simply stopped visiting, or taking their calls. It was hard, but she found that it was a better and better thing. She couldn't burn the proofs anymore, or she wouldn't get work. Things were rapidly spiralling out of control. She knew that Theo was worried. He left her letters, asking what he'd done and apologizing. One time, he tried to break down her door when she wouldn't answer, but Nat and Evander dragged him away.

The day that someone from the agency told her that she was fat, Juliet decided that she needed to eat less. Her food intake dropped drastically, and she looked thin and awkward. Part of her hoped that she would be considered unsuitable for shoots, but Harriet decided that she was perfect for macabre shoots. This meant, that she was often bruised on set- either by design, of from being restrained by male models, or shackles being put on her delicate skin. Juliet wanted out. She needed to get out- but she felt trapped. Shame and fear prevented her from going to her brothers, and there was no one else she felt could pull her out.

One day, the final straw broke.
"Juliet, let Peter fondle you."
"Excuse me?" Her voice was barely above a whisper.
"You heard us, let him fondle you."
"No."

Harriet walked over to her, fury on those defined features.
"Excuse me?"
"I won't!"
Juliet stepped back, tears streaming down her face to fall to her exposed flesh.
"I won't! I am sick of being degraded, and treated like I'm nothing but a body. I am smart, and I am sweet, and I am more than just a body to be fondled and captured on image. What's next, Harriet? Penetration? It doesn't matter, because I won't be here for it. I am done, Harriet. Finished."
"You'll never model again!"
Juliet smiled, the first time off camera in so, so long.
"I don't care."

She walked home that night, feeling better than she had in a long time. She settled into her apartment, ready for a nice little holiday. Until the morning she awoke to an eviction notice. Juliet was stunned- how had things spiralled so far out of control? She began to sob, her thin shoulders shuddering. She'd been putting on weight, but not near to the point she had been. She had nothing left to lose. Packing her important things into a suitcase, she walked away from the apartment, and did what she should have done in the first place. Juliet went home to her brothers.

Neither was home, and she hadn't spoken much to them in the past three months. She supposed that they had a right- Theo and Lila had a little girl now, and Evander and Nat had lives too. Juliet sank to the floor outside of Nat's apartment door, leaning her frail weight against the door. She supposed a nap wouldn't be so bad...

Scarcely an hour later, Nat and Evander came home. Nat saw the bony heap outside his door, and raised an eyebrow.
"What on-" He paled rapidly. "Jewel?"
Rushing to his sister's side, he picked her up, and glanced at Evander, clearly wanting instruction. Though Evander was also worried, he stayed calm, and unlocked their door.
"Put her on the couch, Nat. Let's be glad we found her before Theo."

Looking at his emaciated little sister, who by now had awoken and was sobbing in his arms, Nat had to agree. And once Jewel had told him what was going on, and Theo was ready to plot, the two of them would pull off the most important prank ever.

Are you sure it isn't indigestion?

Dishes were something that Theodore Morhan had never typically been fond of doing, nor had he ever willingly done it before. Just now, however, Theodore found himself washing dishes and drying them, setting them aside to be put away later. It was his Junior year of college, and he'd been living in this small flat with his wife for the past two years. It wasn't the normal college experience- living in a dorm, and partying, and spending all of his time with girls. He lived with his wife, and that was more woman, and party and just....life than he was willing to live without. And then, just a few months ago, his other girl arrived on the scene. All eight pounds and six ounces of her, with tufts of strawberry blonde hair and big blue eyes. He loved them both- even enough to do their dishes.

Towelling off a final plate, Theo began to put the dishes away- he could hear the sounds of Lila and Belle in the living room- since he could hear his little daughter's laughter from the other room, and decided that Lila was finished feeding Belle. Lila had opted to breastfeed, and Theo hadn't understood. From the few times he'd watched, before Lila began throwing her arm at him, Theo had decided it must be uncomfortable. Sure, it made her larger, and softer, but he was afraid that it hurt her. He didn't want Lila to hurt, especially since there was also the option of bottle feeding.

Fatherhood, and Motherhood, had certainly enhanced their lives. Lila had more passion for the stage, and more smiles for Theo. Theo himself had a bounce in his step, and an eagerness to learn more about how to be a better father. Lila, who took day classes, was always home with Belle during the evening. Theo wasn't sure what they did to pass the hours, and unless Lila volunteered the information Theo wouldn't ask. After all, those were precious mother daughter moments. Theo took night classes, so that during the day he could spend time with her.

Theo liked to do as much as he could with his daughter, and he took her to the park, and took her on long walks, and watched movies, with her, and played with her, and danced with her. Little Belle was only a few months old. She wouldn't even remember these things, though Theo knew that he would remember them. He was pulled from his reverie, however, as Lila called his name from the other room."Theo! Theo, look here!"

"Hmm?" He continued to put away the dishes, as he could hear no panic in his wife's voice.
"Theo! She's smiling! It's her first smile, come [i]on[/i] you'll miss it!"
"Are you sure it's not indigestion, or something?"
"Theodore George Morhan!"
"Alright, alright."

Theo draped the towel over his shoulder, and walked into the living room, a smile on his lips and kneeling down in front of the couch where Lila sat with Belle."Hey, darling."
His daughter turned her head at the sound of his voice, and beamed at him, her mouth open wide. Theodore swiped at her mouth, catching some of the drool on his sleeve. He suddenly had to agree with his wife; Belle certainly [i]was[/i] smiling- and the most beautiful smile he had ever seen. He leaned in, kissing her nose.
"You're my beautiful, precious baby."

He looked up, and stood, kissing Lila."You're my beautiful, precious love."

My love is just waiting to turn your tears to roses.

Wufei was still sleeping, sprawled across their bed, exhausted from the mission that the pair had just returned from. Leaning against the doorway, Sally observed him laying there, his fine and chisled body pale in the pre-dawn light. It had been one of their successful missions, no injuries, no killing, merely stopping the ability of their foe to rebel. Sally herself required little sleep, and was often awake before Wufei.

Sally wasn't the typical woman, especially not a traditional Chinese one. She hadn't been born looking like one, so she'd never bothered to act like one. Here she was, unmarried, and living with Wufei. She fought, and swore, and drank, and all of the uncouth things that a traditional woman would never think of doing. For all that, Sally still did some traditional things- mostly to please Wufei, though the extent she was willing to go to wasn't great. She washed his clothes, cleaned his house, and cooked his food. This morning, she was making something simple for breakfast, because she didn't feel like doing anything overly much. She was feeling heavier than normal, more tired, more connected to her flesh.

Sally wasn't the idiot that Wufei often proclaimed her to be. She also was a Doctor. With that combination, Sally knew full well what was wrong with her. That was what worried her more than anything else. She would rather receive a fatal injury on a battle field, than be like this.Well, perhaps that wasn't true. She folded her arms over her chest, feeling her silken pajamas underneath her skin, tired enough to want to go back to bed, but alert enough to know that if she did, Wufei would notice. Sally knew the symptoms- occasional morning sickness, change in appetite, abrupt change in hormones....she was a week away from her due period, and her thoughts would be confirmed then.

For as long as she could remember, Sally Po had wanted a family. Being deprived of a true and loving family so young, she'd always wanted to rectify that. But with the crumbling political system coupled with her own spiraling career in the Alliance Military had led the young Major to realize that such a goal could never truly be accomplished.

And yet, here she stood now, on the brink of such an instance and journey. Could she possibly be able to carry this child, raise it? Would Wufei choose to remain with her, and with their child? Would the fear of another person to fail be enough to spearhead his weaknesses into leaving them? Or worse, would he remain, resenting both the woman and child who had enslaved him more than ever to the demons of failure that haunted him?

Sickened by the nearly panicked thoughts that rushed through her mind, Sally sought more practical ways to distract her mind. Deft fingers parted and twisted her hair into her normal plaited twists. Silently, she found her clothes and changed into them, neatly folding her pajamas, and laying them to the side. With a final, lingering look to the man she loved, Sally Po exited the bedroom, softly shutting the door behind her