Disclaimer: I do not own Degrassi... Wish I did though.
Author's Note: And yet another Imogen I couldn't get out of my head. I wanted to get this out before "Never Ever" because this is one of the back stories I imagined for so long. The whole reasoning behind her crying on the ground, her dad, lack of mother mention... But then that last promo came out and down the toilet it sort of went. Anywho, I'm not too sure how it works for people with Alzheimer's who stay at home, especially if there's a minor living with them, so let's just pretend I'm correct in this assumption, yeah?
What Becomes of the Broken
Fiona Coyne walked into the halls of Degrass with her head high and arms full. Today was Imogen's birthday and even though Fiona didn't have the money for a gourmet breakfast like she would have liked to have gotten, she was still proud of what she accomplished. She had woken up two hours earlier than normal and baked muffins, but not just any muffins, she baked Nutella muffins knowing her girlfriend was madly in love with the spread and hazelnut coffee. That was the special touch, though, the coffee. Fiona found a cute thermos with the characters from "Adventure Time," a cartoon Imogen loved to watch, and decided to purchase it, put the coffee in and give it to her this morning. It was a small gesture but Fiona knew Imogen would love it, she knew her girlfriend was easy to please especially if Imogen knew Fiona's heart was behind it and Fiona couldn't wait to see Imogen's reaction to the thermos.
First, Fiona needed to stop at her locker and exchange her books. As soon as she rounded the corner she heard the familiar grunts and chatter of the hockey players, her "neighbors." Pausing her movements only long enough to roll her eyes, she continued on. In all truthfulness, she didn't like the hockey team much, especially Luke Baker who was downright rude. Mike Dallas she had a small acquaintance with, but she still kept herself guarded as he was still convinced he had a shot with Fiona despite the advise he himself had given her the night she and Imogen made things official.
"What's up, Fi?" Dallas said with his trademark grin, thinking he was so smooth and suave.
"Morning, Dallas," Fiona politely responded as she put the thermos down on the floor and began the combination on her locker then successfully opened it.
"Muffins? For me? Aw, I knew you liked me," he smugly said reaching for the plate.
Fiona quick to react, moved her hand holding the plate away from Dallas's grasp. "Ah, ah," she warned, "They're for Imogen. Today's her birthday," she said with a proud smile on her face.
Dallas took a deep, annoyed, breath and nearly rolled his eyes. It took all his will power but he refrained. "So you baked her muffins, huh?"
"Yup," Fiona answered proudly, gathering up books and other essentials.
"I have to admit, that is a little sweet."
"Thank you."
"Yo, Dallas!" called Luke, "Come over here, man, quit talking to that dyke."
Ass, Fiona thought as she glared at him.
"Hey, she's my lesbro!" Dallas called back, moving toward the rest of the team.
Fiona rolled her eyes and finished gathering her things before making her way toward Imogen's locker.
SSS
Imogen Moreno was at her locker, gathering her books for her first two classes and got distracted by a graphic novel, The Magdalena, that she had forgotten was in her locker. With a small, curious smirk, Imogen opened it to the first page and her smiled widened, enjoying the artwork and storytelling. She was so enthralled in the graphic novel that she didn't hear the person coming up behind her, putting an arm around her waist. For a split second, Imogen's heart stopped and she took in such a sharp, and shallow breath that she nearly choked, but it subsided almost as quickly as it occurred and she smiled when she smelled the lovely sent of lavender and knew right away it was Fiona, "You scared me," she said. The shock on her face turned into a warm smile as she turned around and put her arms around her girlfriend's shoulders, "Why, good morning, Fiona Coyne," she whispered as she leaned in for a short, chaste kiss on the lips.
They parted. "Sorry I scared you," Fiona said with a sly smile obviously not meaning her apology. "Happy birthday," she said as she backed up and held up her hands. "Nutella muffins," she said holding up the plate with the muffins in the one hand, the wordlessly held up the "Adventure Time" thermos in the other.
"Oh my god, Fions!" Imogen exclaimed happily as she grabbed the thermos, "I love it!" she all but shouted for all the school to hear and excitedly placed a hand on Fiona's neck and pulled her in, once again kissing her, only this time, they held it a little longer. When she pulled away, she looked at Fiona and noticed her eyes a bit cloudy. She smirked knowing she always had that effect on Fiona and said, "Thank you."
"Well, we, uh," Fiona stammered, "We still have about 15 minutes before first period, wanna sit and enjoy your muffins I made for you?" she asked, holding out her hand toward the ground as an invitation to sit on the floor.
Imogen said nothing as she smiled softly and wordlessly closed and locked her locker. Both girls sat on the floor, each with a muffin in hand, both taking sips from the thermos. "This is pretty good," Imogen said, taking another piece of muffin and putting it into her mouth.
Fiona let out a small laugh, "Why do you sound so surprised I can bake?"
For a second, Imogen was silent, afraid she might have offended her girlfriend unintentionally, "I, uh-"
"Relax, Immy, I was playing with you," Fiona laughed, "Actually, all my cooking expertise is really just baking. I can't cook a meal to save my life."
Imogen smiled, relieved and then said, "Speaking of cooking," she paused and reached for Fiona's hand, gently interlocking their fingers, "My dad is taking me to dinner tonight. I want you to come."
Shocked, Fiona was quiet for a second before saying, "You want me to meet your dad?" Truthfully the thought made her excited.
Imogen smiled widely and squeezed her girlfriend's hand with excitement and a little anxiousness. "I want to tell him about us," she said, then thinking to herself, Before he gets so bad he won't even remember who I am, let alone who I'm dating. Her father's Alzheimer's had been getting worse and worse at an alarming rate and she wanted him to know how happy Fiona made her before he was completely lost.
Fiona was speechless as her mouth hung open, forcibly suppressing a smile and failing at it, showing off her dimple. "I, uh, okay!" she stammered and let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding. Then her mouth closed and her eye brows scrunched together, "Are you sure?" Fiona knew Imogen wanted to take things slow and it had only been just over two months since they'd gotten together and made things official and in all honesty, Fiona could admit those were the happiest two months of her life thus far.
"Very," Imogen replied reassuringly, "I've actually been thinking about telling him for a while." It was true, she wanted him to know before it was too late.
"Really?"
"Yup."
"And you want to tell him at dinner?"
"More or less," Imogen replied with a nod.
Fiona let out a small laugh and said, "Okay, Im, whatever you want." Fiona leaned forward and softly kissed Imogen.
Their moment was broken much too soon by Luke who yelled out, "Eww!" The girls pulled away from each other, Imogen tilting her head down, not necessarily in shame, rather in annoyance, but Imogen being Imogen wouldn't say anything back to Luke or any who could potentially do her harm for that matter. "No one wants to see that," he said moving toward them.
Not moving from her spot, Fiona looked up and with a look of pure irritation said, "No one said you had to look. If I didn't know better, I'd say you enjoy watching us and probably gay guys kiss." She finished with a smug smirk.
"Not even," Luke replied, "I don't watch sinners sealing their tickets to hell." He walked away.
Scoffing, Fiona stared with her mouth opened and face disgusted and asked disbelievingly, "Was he serious?" Oh, how she disliked Luke Baker; dare she say she hated him.
"I think so," Imogen replied.
The rest of the day passed without much disturbance and luckily, Luke hadn't bother either girl since the morning, only glared when he passed them in the hallways.
SSS
Soon it was dinner time and Fiona was on the verge of panicking on what to wear. She had nearly emptied her closet and looked at her clothing options for something suitable. She was secretly thankful that she didn't have the enormous wardrobe she once did otherwise she might have pulled out her hair. Imogen had told her they were just going to a pizza parlor that she loved, they apparently had insanely good pizza. Still, despite that it was going to be a casual dinner, Fiona always dressed to impress. She sighed before picking up a simple black skirt. She squinted her eyes and looked to the side and saw her boots and decided on those with black nylons. Then she looked through her blouses and found a black one with white polka dots. She was satisfied with her outfit and began to get ready. After a quick shower she applied her makeup and let her hair down. She grabbed a red and black stylish flannel jacket and made her way out.
SSS
Meanwhile, Imogen was at home playing on her computer, editing photos. It was almost time for her to start getting ready for dinner. She smiled when she looked at the clock, knowing Fiona would be on her way. She sighed contently and grabbed her "Adventure Time" thermos and smiled at Jake and Finn. She looked up at her closed door and frowned. It'd been a while since she saw her father. When she got home, the caretaker had said he was mostly there that day, no outbursts which left her hopeful that they'd have a good night that night. She spun in her swivel chair before raising to her feet and going to her closet and look through her clothing. After some debate, she decided on her khaki overall skirt, a mid sleeve maroon shirt, combat boots and black nylons. It was a simple ensemble for a simple dinner at a pizza parlor. She quickly took a shower, applied a small amount of makeup and put up her hair in a single high bun and left two strands on either side of her face before putting on her glasses. With one last look at her clock, she let out a small squeal before grabbing her brown bolero jacket.
On her way down the stairs, she nearly tripped she was so excited, but she made it down without a hitch and was greeted by her bloodhound, Volta, who's tail was wagging and smacking loudly against the wall. "Hello my baby girl," Imogen said to Volta, getting to her knees and cupped her dog's face and leaned forward, almost touching the dog's face with her own. "How's my little girl?" Volta excitedly hopped forward, knocking Imogen down on her butt and began to excitedly lick at her young master's face cause the girl to laugh. "Stop, Volta!" she happily shouted through her laughs. Finally Volta backed away and let out an excited bark before running off.
Raising back to her feet, Imogen fixed herself and called out, "Dad?"
"Hmm?" her father replied from the kitchen.
She made her way toward the kitchen, anxious because she hadn't seen her father since she came home. She always worried when she didn't see him and that worry was weighing down on her. "You almost ready?" she asked, "Fiona's gonna be here any minute-" Imogen stopped talking when she saw her father standing and staring intently at the refridgerator. "Dad?" she asked carefully, "You okay?"
Jaggedly, Louis Moreno turned to look at his daughter and stared at her perplexedly, "What did you say now?"
Imogen's heart ached at the sight of seeing her father. It was only last semester that he had to resign from his position at Toronto University, his Alzheimer's, which was diagnosed only eight months prior, sped up faster than his doctors thought and he was getting more and more confused lately. It worried Imogen that she might have had to go through with her father's plan, his will.
Louis had already made her get her driver's license and practically gave her his black Jeep Cherokee and told her to keep the keys away from him. Her eye brows scrunched in sadness, she hated seeing her father like this. "Dad, it's my birthday, remember?" she tried, letting the words come out of her mouth slowly. This was the first time he had forgotten since she'd been born.
"Oh, right," he replied almost airily, then smiled like a proud father, "My little girl is growing up, entering high school."
When he said those words, Imogen knew he wasn't there with her, he was somewhere else in another time. She let out a small sigh and walked forward, reaching for his hand, "That's right, daddy," she said, playing into his words, "I'm very excited." She held his hand in hers and fought the tears that where threatening to fall.
Just then, the door bell rang and Imogen knew it was Fiona and right now, the timing was horrible. Her dad couldn't go out like this. "I'll get it, daddy," she rose, "Stay here." Volta also rose from her spot at the doorway as Imogen walked. "Stay," she said to her dog and walked past her. Volta, obedient as always, sat right back down. Once Imogen got to the door, she paused with her hand on the handle and sighed before turning it and opening the door to reveal a very excited looking girlfriend of hers.
"Hi," Fiona said with a big, bright smile.
"Hey," Imogen said, a little dejectedly, leaning her head against the door, "You look great."
"Thanks," Fiona said suspiciously, "You too. You okay?"
With a sigh, Imogen stepped to the side and let Fiona stepped through the doorway and Imogen gently closed the door. "It's my dad," she started, "He's having an episode."
"What do you mean?"
"He thinks I'm barely starting high school."
"Oh," was all Fiona could say. Imogen had explained her father's condition and how it progressed. "What do you need me to do?"
Imogen smiled warmly at her girlfriend's gesture, but there wasn't anything she could do, it was really only Imogen and one little phone call. "Nothing," she replied, barely above a whisper, "But dinner tonight is canceled."
Fiona nodded, "I thought so. Maybe we could cook here? Order something?" she asked hopefully.
"You don't have to stay here, Fi," Imogen said, a hint of sadness in her voice. She secretly wanted Fiona to stay, it was her birthday after all.
"I wanna stay here with you." It was a statement said with finality. The brightest smile, the biggest Fiona ever saw spread across Imogen's face and Fiona could have sworn she saw little stars in her pupils. Imogen flung herself into Fiona's arms and wrapped her own around Fiona and held tightly.
Slowly Imogen pulled away, not letting go, and locked eyes with her girlfriend and stole a glance at her lips. Subtly, Imogen leaned forward, Fiona too, and right before their lips met, Volta let out a howling, high pitched bark and jumped out of the kitchen. Imogen completely released Fiona and looked at her dog who was still barking at her and pointing with her nose toward the kitchen.
"What is it?" Fiona asked.
"Dad?" Imogen called out, walking forward, "You okay?" She made it to the kitchen doorway and saw her father staring blankly at the coffee pot, which was smoking on the stove. "Dad!" Imogen shouted and ran forward, grabbing a dry cloth, picking up the coffee pot and ran it under cold water in the sink. When the pot cooled enough, Imogen shut off the faucet and turned to her father, "Dad, what happened?"
Louis turned toward his daughter, no recognition in his eyes, only confusion, "Catalina!" he called out, turning his head around the kitchen, "Catalina!"
At the mention of her long dead mother's name, Imogen's heart broke. He was extremely lost in his memories. "Dad," she called out, reaching out to her father, "Dad, it's me, it's Imogen," she pleaded.
"Where's Catalina?!" he almost demanded, almost yelling, pulling away from Imogen.
"Dad, mom isn't here." She stood still, her hands limp at her sides.
"No!"
"Dad, please," she whispered, her voice cracking, obviously fighting sobs and tears. "Daddy," she breathed.
Fiona walked up to Imogen and placed her hand on the younger girl's shoulder. She was such at a loss, she had no idea what to say or do.
"I think," Imogen started, "I have to call his doctor." She paused and turned to Fiona, her eyes completely glazed over, "They might have to restrain him if he doesn't come back. He hasn't been back all evening." She turned back to her father, "Dad, can you sit down please? I'm going to call mom, okay?" He didn't say anything nor did he move, only stare at her in confusion which caused to her sigh, "Louis, can you sit down, please? I'm going to call Catalina." His face brightened and a smile consumed his features as he obediently sat and stilled. Without another word, Imogen turned, taking Fiona by the arm and pulled her along out of the kitchen.
Once they got into the living room, Imogen let go and pulled out her cell phone and looked for her father's doctor's number.
"Are you okay?" Fiona asked carefully.
Imogen stopped what she was doing for a moment not looking at Fiona, "No," she flatly said and went back to looking for the number. Once she found it, she called, brought the phone to her ear and waited anxiously. "Doctor Sammler?... Hi, it's Imogen Moreno... Yes... My father, he, well, he's having an episode and heated up a pot and... Yeah, it's been all evening, since I came home from school I think..." She looked up at Fiona, her eyes scared, "Yeah, my dad and I were talking about that last month... His moments have been happening more often and lasting longer, I think we might have to..." Imogen took a shakey breath, "I understand... No, there's no one else here, my uncle is in Winnepeg... I am, I just turned 18, I can sign the papers..." Although it didn't show in her voice, tears began to fall from Imogen's face.
Fiona didn't focus on anything else that was being said because she saw the instant change in Imogen the moment she told the doctor she was 18, that she could sign the admittance papers. In that moment, Imogen grew up, in a split second she was an adult by force and Fiona couldn't help but wonder if she was even ready for that.
"Thank you, Dr. Sammler, I'll see you soon." With that Imogen hung up the phone and crossed her empty arm across her body and brought up her hand holding the cell up to her mouth and touched the phone with her lips and began to pace the room. Her breathing sped up, her heart was pounding and she felt like she was about to vomit and pass out.
"Imogen?" Fiona said softly.
Imogen didn't hear her as her packing increased and her breathing became more shallow. Her arms dropped and she began to shake them. "Oh god, oh god," she started to repeat, "Oh god, oh god."
"Imogen?" Fiona tried again, but her girlfriend didn't hear her and instead continued pacing, shaking her arms, covering her mouth with her hands and back again. Fiona had never seen her like this and it worried her, she was at a loss. Fiona stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Imogen from behind tightly and leaned her head against the back of Imogen's wordlessly.
The younger girl stopped her mantra and slowly her breathing was returning to normal, she leaned her head against Fiona's and finally the tears she was letting out slowly exploded from her eyes like a swollen river during a downpour. Hard sobs followed as Imogen broke down and her knees nearly gave out on her, but Fiona was there, behind her, supporting her, keeping her from falling.
"I've got you," Fiona whispered into Imogen's ear.
SSS
It wasn't long before the doctor and nurses from the hospital came. Louis Moreno had been prepared for such a thing and had had a bag for him ready for months. Fiona mainly stayed to the side, holding onto Volta's leash. The dog was anxious, letting out yelps and small howls, knowing her master was being taken away. Imogen spoke to the doctor and signed the papers. Some birthday, Fiona thought melancholically.
"I'm very sorry about this, Imogen," Dr. Sammler said sympathetically, putting a hand on Imogen's shoulder before leaving. Imogen only nodded.
"Am I going to see Catalina?" Louis asked an orderly at his side.
Before the orderly could speak, Imogen said "Yes, Louis, you will," she paused as she walked up to him, "But you have to be patient , okay? You have to wait for her."
Louis tilted his head and looked at Imogen intently, "You look so much like my Catalina. You are beautiful too."
Imogen smiled sadly and fought the sting in her eyes, "Thank you," she barely managed to say as they began walking with Imogen following while Fiona closed the door to the house, leaving Volta inside, before she joined her. They loaded Louis into their van and he smiled excitedly, truly believing he was going to see his wife. This scene, witnessing it, living it, that smile he had shattered Imogen's heart. Then he turned toward her and waved enthusiastically goodbye, while Imogen waved back, however, hers was weak and lacked energy
The van doors closed, the engine started, and then drove off. Imogen was frozen in place for a moment, her hand still waving before a small sob escaped her lips. Another one followed, then another and each more painful than the last. It didn't take long before Imogen fell to her knees right there in her driveway right next to the Jeep her father gave her, covered her mouth with her hand, and she bawled. Fiona joined her on the ground, on her knees, putting her hand on her back, rubbing it softly as Imogen cried. Her sobs getting louder and louder before she turned her whole body and practically threw herself into Fiona, who in turn wrapped her arms around the younger girl and silently began to cry along with Imogen.
Time pased and both girls sat at the couch, Imogen in between Fiona and Volta. She leaned on Fiona, her head on the older girl's shoulder while Fiona had an arm around Imogen and Volta, who was on the couch, her big heavy head on her young master's lap. They had been silently watching cartoons that under normal circumstances, Imogen would beam but right now, she barely noticed them and when the show ended, Imogen turned off the TV and sat quietly with her eyes downcast. Slowly, Fiona took Imogen's hand in hers and smiled supportingly and squeezed it.
Imogen took a deep breath and asked "Can you stay here tonight?"
"Of course," Fiona replied.
Imogen smiled and rose from the couch, "It's almost midnight. I'm tired."
"Wanna go to bed?"
"Yeah."
Imogen took Volta out one more time before her and Fiona made their way upstairs toward her bedroom. Imogen stood still when she saw her father's bedroom door open, she didn't know how to feel. Everything just spun as she walked toward the door and slowly closed it before making her way to her own bedroom. Once inside, Volta moved straight to her dog bed and laid in it.
"Immy?" Fiona asked. When Imogen turned toward her, she continued, "Do you have something I can change into?"
"Sure," Imogen said as she walked to her dresser. After a minute, Imogen handed over green flannel pajama bottoms and a grey tank top to Fiona, "These okay?"
Fiona held up the clothing and smiled, "Perfect."
Imogen gave a small, weak but happy smile, "Be right back," she said before making her way to the bathroom.
It wasn't long before she returning, sporting yellow Joe Boxer shorts, the trademark smiley face on the shorts, and a black tank top and found Fiona sitting cross legged on the floor, petting Volta. Imogen smiled again, it was a genuine and for the first time that night, she felt like she just might be okay. Fiona rose and walked up to Imogen and the girls then silently made their way to the bed and crawled in, laying on their backs as Imogen turned off her lamp.
It was almost awkward and Fiona wanted so badly to say something but didn't know what to say. Soon, however, Imogen shifted to her side, facing Fiona and snuggled up against her, her head basically resting on her shoulder and an arm draped across her waist whereas Fiona moved one arm around Imogen's body while the other placed itself on top of Imogen's arm that was laying on her belly.
"Thank you," Imogen said.
"You're welcome," Fiona replied as she played with Imogen's hair. "What's gonna happen tomorrow?" she asked.
Taking a deep breath, Imogen held it for a moment, thinking about the answer. To be honest, she didn't have one, "I don't know," she replied, "I know I have to call my uncle, he's got power of attorney, or whatever it's called."
"What about you?"
Imogen only shrugged as she closed her eyes, "I don't know. I'll think about it tomorrow." She didn't know what tomorrow held, nor the next day. She'd deal with it later. Right now, right at that very moment, she was in the arms of the girl of her dreams where she actually felt safe, felt as if things would actually work out. Imogen closed her eyes, listening to the heart beat of her girlfriend and soon, her breathing and her own heart beat matched Fiona's and soon, she fell into a deep, dreamless slumber.
END SCENE...
Author's Note: Alrighty! So, I know this won't be how Imogen's family life will be in "Never Ever" because it's already stated that her mother is estranged so... Meh... I may continue little snippets of Imogen and Fiona after this. Anyhow, I have no beta so any mistakes found, I'd appreciate it if someone would point them out. Thanks, y'all!