Title: It's Something About The Stars
Author: oh little j
Words: 4, 609
Pairing: Tommy/Jude
Spoilers: N/A
Rating: M for course language, historical violence, nudity, and sexual suggestions.
Full Summary: AU. Set in Nazi occupied Holland/Circa 1942. Tom is a jew, Jude isn't. What happens when their parents send them off to the coast with Katerena? Will they and their love for one another prosper as her father predicted? Or will something more tragic occur that none of them could foresee?
Background Information/Notes: Okay, so this is the new rewritten version. I've only kept one aspect of the old ISATS and that was the dinner they were introduced at. Everything else is basically different. Tom does not have the same last name as before or as he has on the show, it was changed for dialect issues. Jude is different, more of a girly-girl, and Katerena, though I don't think I specified last time, is an average of seven, but she's very witty. This is potentially longer than three of the old ISATS chapters put together and it took me longer to actually let it flow out. Criticism is welcome; I'm hoping that my facts are kept straight. As of now in the story, Nazi's have occupied Holland for two years. The Harrison's emigrated from Germany in 1935, The Drexler's (Tom's family) emigrated two years later where Oskar & Edward met at work. I'm on my way of uploading the PDF file that contains more background information of the characters involved in the story. I will bring it to everyone's attention when I do. If you'd like you may request the link and I will send it to you. Okay, so I shall stop now. Please review? It'd feed my little muse. :) Enjoy!~
Chapter One:
Promises and Introductions
It was a warm day for October, but one was not to complain. The Netherlands always had a particular chill to it after August and any ounce of warmth they got, everyone appreciated. From their third floor apartment, children's laughter could be heard along with the skip of a rock, a game of hopscotch probably taking place. Jude, however, was not one of those children. Long ago, even though she was only ten at the time, she declared herself too old to do things such as that. Since then she'd immersed herself in classical music. Taking up the piano, violin, even occasionally singing, but she found more comfort in the melodies of instruments. And now, as the sunset over the Prinsengracht, Jude found herself getting lost in the ivory keys of the grand piano that she forced her parents to awkwardly fit into their sitting room. Beside her Katerena, her younger sister, danced through the sitting room and onto the bright green carpet that covered an expansion of their waxed wood floors.
A light breeze blew through the slightly opened lace curtains and Jude closed her eyes, turning her face towards the open window. She took a deep breath and played effortlessly, not even needing to worry about looking down. But just as she reveled in the peace that she felt, her mother breezed through the room, shutting the windows and drawing the mandatory black-out curtains, darkening the room significantly. Jude stopped on a halt, her fingers slamming down on the keys. "Really, Mutter." She said, her eyebrows knitting together as a frown dawned across her features. "Must you really draw those curtains?"
Victoria looked over her shoulder as she moved to the next window, repeating the same actions as she had the first. "Yes, my liebling." She said, turning to face her eldest daughter with her hands on her waist. "We all read the notice. We must draw the black drapes" Her eyes flickered over to Katerena who still danced through the sitting room despite the lack of music. Jude shook her head, her loose blonde curls bouncing around her face. "Katinka," Victoria called, laughing softly as she stopped with a stumble, dizzy from twirling aimlessly. "You and Jude go change…our guests should be arriving soon."
Jude who was absentmindedly flipping through her book of sheet music looked up now, intrigued. "Guests?" She asked, her brows lifting. This was the first she'd heard of guests. Why hadn't she been told? She would've washed her hair, helped her mother clean up more.
"Yes our friends, The Drexler's, are coming for dinner…" Victoria stated as she walked back into the kitchen where she'd been cooking since early that afternoon. "And they're bringing their son, Thomas."
Jude swung around to straddle the piano bench in a very unladylike way, even though the long skirt of her school uniform didn't show anything, and gaped. "I wish you would've told me!" She exclaimed, brushing her fingers over her hair. Jude was at the height of her 'boy craze' stage and she was the typical girl; always needing to look nice before leaving the apartment, higher shoes, make-up. Without another word she rushed off to the room she shared with Katerena and closed the door before her younger sister had even made it out of the sitting room…
Later that evening, when the sun had set and the Jewish curfew went into effect, Victoria sat reading a book while Jude and Katerena played a game of cards. Edward, their father and Victoria's husband of 17 years, had not come home yet which was normal on a Thursday. It was his choice night to stay after work, or at least that is what he told his children, but he actually traveled to a small backstreet a ways from the Amsterdam bank, where he was employed, and gathered with a group of at least 10 other men, their main goal to stop the Nazi's from their supposed solution. They'd all heard Adolf's radio speeches, the violent way in which he enunciated his words; they'd seen pictures and noticed the anger his face held. How many countries had bowed before him? How many Jews had they already sentenced to death? And not just Jews, but handicaps and gypsies too. They'd decided a long time ago that they'd try within their power to end this war, to stop the killing, but so far…they were getting nowhere. With more and more actions against Jews taking place everyday, their attempts were futile. The cobble stoned streets were stained with blood, storefront windows were constantly being broken and screams were always echoing throughout the canal as families were harassed and badgered into the trucks to be hauled off to concentration camps.
If there was anything or anyone that could stop the pointless war that was killing so many useless souls, it wouldn't be a mix of men meeting in a stuffy underground room, whispering in hopes of not being heard.
"Mädchen!" Edward called as he opened the front door, setting his briefcase and hat on the table beside the front door. "I'm home!" Immediately, Jude sprang up and rushed over to him, throwing his arm around his neck before he could hang his jacket up.
"Vater!" She cried, burying her nose in his neck and inhaling his scent, a mix of aftershave and cigars. "I missed you. How was your day?" She released her hold on him, taking his jacket from his hands and hanging it up for him.
"It was like any other day, Jude." He answered with a smile, caressing her cheek and wrapping his arm around her shoulders as the two walked into the sitting room. "I'm sure your answer differs from mine."
Jude's blue eyes, reflective to her father's, brightened exceptionally. "Oh yes! It was! I got an A+ on a pop quiz in mathematics and me and Rosaline-"
"Rosaline and I," Her father corrected, smiling down at her.
"Rosaline and I," She stressed, chuckling softly. "were cast as Hermia and Titania in our school's production of 'A Midsummer Night Dream'."
Edward unwound his arm from her shoulders and walked over to Victoria, kissing her lips softly. He whispered lovingly to her, stroking her cheek and pressing repeated kisses to her lips. Jude smiled softly turning her head and dancing over to the window, peeking out the dark curtains and down into the street. Her parents were the only ones she knew that still showed affection to one another, everyone else becoming to wrapped up in the war to worry about little things like love…not when people were being dragged out of their homes and never to be seen again, but the Harrison's…they were different.
Suddenly there was a hard knock at the door, resounding throughout the apartment. Because they were occupied and you couldn't walk down the street without being reminded of the Nazi's presence, the Harrison's stiffened at the sound, eyes darting around to one another. Edward was still hunched over Victoria, though their faces weren't joined at the lips, and panic had washed over his face. After a silent second, the knock resounded again, and Edward straightened up. "Coming!" He yelled, unbuttoning the solitary button holding his suit jacket closed and walking over to the door. Fear always ran through his veins when there was a knock for he never knew if it was really just his friends or if it was the Gestapo coming to take him and Victoria away for their part in the resistance.
He took a deep breath, shakily passing through his slightly parted rosy lips, and pulled the door open. His face broke out into a wide smile as he seen The Drexler's standing outside in the hall. "Mädchen, kommen her!" Edward called with laughter laced through his voice. Jude, whose long legs carried her quickly to her father first, rounded the corner she was a bit surprised to see her father embracing a tall, dark haired man. Off to the side a shorter, thin woman stood with a navy blue jacket on the tell-tale yellow star stitched onto the left breast of her jacket. Beside her stood a taller, stocky young man, who stared off in shyness, and wore a black jacket the same yellow star stitched onto the left breast. Edward pulled back after a few moments and by then, the other two Harrison's had made their way to the crowd. With his arm still around Oskar's neck, he gestured for Jude and Katerena to come closer. "Sind diese meine Töchter…Jude, Katerena meet Mr. and Mrs. Dressler…and their son, Thomas."
A smile spread across Jude's face as she stepped forward, her hand extended towards the elder male Dressler. "Nice to meet you, sir." She said as he shook her small hand. After he released her hand, she turned to his wife. "And the same for you, Mrs. Drexler."
A shy smile brightened her features and she shook her head, her hair swishing around her face. "You too, dear, but please call me Hannah." Jude nodded as she felt Katerena move by her side. "And aren't you just a darling." She gushed at the younger girl, petting Katerena's tight red curls, and smiling widely. Before Katerena could respond Edward was shuffling everyone into the sitting room while chatting away with Oskar about the bank. Jude took Katerena's hand and spun her round as they followed their father. It wasn't long before they were seated on the floor in the previous spots, cards in hands. They were just about to resume playing crazy eight's when Thomas approached the two and took a seat. "What're you guys playing?" He asked, his voice soft with a hint of pubescent deepness.
"Crazy eights!" Katerena replied, sitting up on her knees and hiding her face behind her cards, only her eyes showing.
Jude laughed, shaking her head at her younger sister. "U bent soms zo stom." She said quickly in Dutch, the only language Katerena really understood, and rolled her eyes.
Thomas watched the interaction with enlightenment, remembering his days of sibling banter with his late twin sister Anna. It'd been a year or so since they heard from her, which was when she decided to run away despite her parents and Thomas' pleading. It was believed she made it as far as the Belgium border before being snatched up by SS officers and murdered or placed in a work camp, which is just as well as murder. She'd sent cryptic telegrams to her family, always hopeful about the war, but none-the-less they stopped coming and they started to worry. When there was no word from her after three months, they held a small ceremony and burned candles in respect. Their feelings of mourning passed, but there were still times Thomas walked past Anna's room and swore he could hear the Chopin playing from her pink polyphone player.
"Do you know how to play?" Jude asked, breaking his train of memories and wonder.
"Play what?" He'd forgotten what they were talking about and his eyebrows knitted in confusion.
"Crazy eights, silly goose." Katerena said before Jude could answer, giggling into her palm.
"Uh, yeah…but -"
At that moment Victoria stood at the doorway of the sitting and dining room. "C'mon everyone, dinner is ready." She said softly, her hands clasped in front of her abdomen. Katerena hopped up first, her hunger pursuing everything else. When everyone had filed into the dining room, that was painted a light eggshell blue, Victoria immediately started seating people where she'd preplanned everything. It'd been a long time since she threw a party, or even served a dinner on a social level, and it was second nature to her to do just as she did.
Katerena to my left, Jude to my right…Edward, you have your regular place. Mr. Dressler, to his right please. Mrs. Drexler, I mean Hannah, right here beside my Katinka and your husband. Thomas beside Jude.
And when everyone took their seats and food was served, idle chatter was thrown around the table, but Thomas still couldn't seem to get his head out of the haziness of his sister's memory…
After the food was finished, albeit wasn't the best of meals but the war made them grateful for what they did have, and the coffee diminished everyone except for Jude migrated back to the sitting room. From where she stood at the sink, elbow deep in dish soap, she could hear talk of the war and what it meant for them. She could hear a muffled whimper and a sniffle, but she continued to wash the plates. Without notice, Thomas showed up at her side, a towel in his hand. Wordlessly, he grabbed a plate and began to dry it. "Where does this go…?" He asked, holding up the plate with his toweled hand.
Jude's blue eyes flashed to his brown ones for a quick second before pointing above her head to the white cupboards above her head. "There…" She murmured, feeling a flutter of something or another in her belly that she refused to acknowledge. Forcing herself to look back at the dishes, she could make out the tune of 'Clair De Lune' as he whistled softly.
"So, haven't I seen you somewhere?" He asked, stacking the plates beside him so they could be put away in the cupboard when he was finished.
"Uh…maybe?" She replied, looking over at him briefly. She was popular in the Montessori school and had a large circle of friends, but she couldn't recall seeing him before.
He laughed at her expression, her plump bottom lip caught between her milk white teeth and a thoughtful expression crossing her blue eyes. "I think so. A year or so before I attended the Montessori school and you had an array of friends then." He said, drying the plate and looking off as he set it on the counter. "Do you still have them?"
Jude frowned slightly, remembering back to when Jews had still attended the same school as she. "Uh, I guess you could say that." She murmured, staring straight ahead then. "I lost quite a few good friends when they…you know."
He nodded, picking up the dried plates and walking to put them away. "Yeah, I know." He said so-very-softly, looking down at the blue designs etched into the white china.
Before they could go on with their conversation, Katerena danced into the kitchen. "Momma says boil some water for tea and to make sure you bring in the wafers with the cups." After Jude had replied with a silent and complacent nod, Katerena exited just as fashionably as she'd entered, leaving the two alone again…
"Ah! My dearest, Jude. C'mere." Edward said warmly, opening his arms as his eldest daughter set the polished tray on the coffee table. Without hesitation she went to Edward's lap and sat down, her pale arms wrapping around his neck. "The Drexler's will be coming over more in the next few days, will you be okay with that?"
Jude felt exceptionally young on her father's lap, his voice condescending and large hand rubbing circles on her back. Her blue eyes found Thomas' then the ones of his mother and father. They were nice and clean, smart, just like Carolina had been. Sometimes she couldn't understand the hatred that the Nazi's held for the Jews. They were nothing Adolf Hitler claimed them to be. "No, I wouldn't mind at all." She murmured, shaking her head lightly. Jude mirrored Thomas' soft smile though as her father turned to speak rapid German that even she could not understand, something settled in the bottom of her stomach. Something she couldn't place, but she knew it was telling her something was wrong.
An hour later, Katerena lay curled in Victoria's lap asleep while Jude sat at the piano playing Shubert's Serenade. It was one of the first pieces she'd played on her own without the help of her teacher, which pleased her to no end and caused her to excessively play the piece in her earlier years as a pianist. Thomas sat by his parents, not listening to a word they spoke to the Harrison's though he should've, and instead kept his eyes on Jude. He was seemingly infatuated with her, though his curiosity was more bent on the fact that she was not like the rest of the kids their age, being hateful towards his kind.
"Thomas…" Oskar said quite loudly, waking Katerena, in an persistent tone. It was, after all, the third time he called his son. "Come on. It is time to go." His eyes lifted to see Katerena rubbing her eyes with the back of her hands and yawning. "I'm so sorry, 'Tinka. I'll see you later." He waved to her, smiling. Katerena reminded him of his own little girl and despite what his wife and son thought, he believed in his heart that she was alive and she'd be home soon.
Without struggle, Victoria stood up with Katerena in her arms and walked to the door with Edward and Jude to show the Drexler's out. Immediately after kissing both of Hannah's cheeks as well as Thomas', she took Katerena to her shared room and put her to bed…
Long after the Drexler's left and their electric lamps were traded for candlesticks, Jude and Edward sat at the piano playing side-by-side. When they'd finished Jude's favorite piece, Clair De Lune, Edward closed the cover over the keys and looked at his large fingers. Jude glanced at her father, who for the longest time was her hero, in fact he still was, and wondered what was on his mind. For so long they'd been on the same page, like bookends, but since the war had invaded Holland he'd flipped a switch. Something was different about the man who used to sing her to sleep and tickle her until she cried, she knew it - she could feel it - but she couldn't place her finger on it.
At length he spoke, "Jude, I know you are older now. You've matured beyond your years and the knowledge you capacitate brings me pride. Not everyone is blessed to have a logical daughter." The tone in which he spoke, all the while still studying his fingers, made the worrisome feeling she had earlier come back. "I want to tell you a secret. Something you cannot tell Katerena, not your teachers or your friends. No one." He looked at her now, into her eyes that reflected his own. She caught her breath and nodded with her lip between her teeth. "Do you promise?"
"Ja Vater, verspreche ich." She whispered desperately, grabbing at his large hand. "Please…tell me."
He licked his lips and stroked the top of her hand with his thumb, dropping his gaze to the floor. "I…I…I am part of the Dutch resistance. I have been for some time now and only now am I realizing the danger that I am putting our family in." Jude stayed quiet though her grip on his hand tightened. "I am very sorry for that. I wanted to wait until you'd become familiarized with the Drexler's before telling you so, but after tonight I knew that I couldn't hide it any longer."
"But why, Vater? Why now? Why not keep it from me?"
"Because, Jude, you will be leaving home…"
"What?" Her voice rose exceptionally high as she stood from the piano bench, looking down at him with her fists balled. Leaving home was not something she was ready to do. Her parents were her world and Katerena, though she teased her, needed her guidance. Her heart raced inside her chest at the suggestion and Edward stood too, grabbing at her the tops of her arms and looking her in the eye. Fear, hate, anger, confusion rose to the brim of her orbs as they stood in front of one another. Jude, who was stood just shorter than her father's chin with the help of a pair of high heels, a present from her father's associate, shook her head violently. "No, I will not leave home. You're right I am smart, smart enough to know that I cannot survive on my own in a war!" Though she whispered, she had enough contempt in her voice at the idea, it felt like she'd shouted.
"You will not be alone," He asserted, shaking her once for good measure, hoping to knock some sense back into her.
"…and who will you be sending me with? And what about Katerena, huh? What shall you tell her when I am leaving? Does mother know about this? Does she know you want to send me away like some harlot daughter that has disrespected the family's name?" Sure, she may've been acting a tad over dramatic, but she could only see red after his suggestion.
"You will be leaving with Thomas Drexler. Katerena will be going along with you two and you will be traveling to the coast of Denmark." He said softly, watching as her features dropped into a shock. Still holding onto the tops of her arms, he directed her to sit in the love seat they occupied earlier and pulled her against his chest. "The last thing I want to do is send my daughter's away. You two are my life, after all, but staying in Amsterdam could be dangerous. I do not know what I would do if the deaths of you and your sister are on my hands." He pet her blonde hair, sighing softly and kissing the top of her head. "And as far as your mother goes…we planned this together. We will stay here together, facing whatever demons may come along. Your mother is a strong woman as am I, Jude. We will make it…the war cannot last much longer. Our family will prosper when this is over, you'll see in due time child."
"But, I do not want to go. I want to stay here…attend the Montessori school and keep training to become a pianist." She murmured into his chest, fingering the red silk tie he wore. "What happens if I'm not careful? The Gestapo will come for me…and Katerena. What would become of her, then?"
"Don't worry about that, my darling. Everything will be fine, I promise."
Jude nodded mutely against her father's chest, closing her eyes and breathing softly as her father began singing "Schlaf, Kindlein, Schlaf" softly. The late hour and the softness that her father's voice possessed caused her arm to fall slack with sleep after only a few minutes. Edward stayed sitting with his eldest daughter's head on his chest even after the flame of the candlestick burned out, the smoke curling up towards the ceiling. The next week was something to not be anticipated. He was quite sure there would be lots of tears and begging, but he knew the decision he made was the right one. His sanity would be much more at ease with his two daughters away from danger. Denmark was just across the way from Switzerland, neutral land. Adolf dare not set foot on Switzerland's land and he'd heard of many Jews that escaped through Denmark and to Switzerland. He just hoped his girls would have a chance to live after the war because despite what he'd just told Jude, there was a heavy weight in his gut telling him that his final years…were the ones coming approaching…
The next morning, Jude awoke in her bed wearing the same clothes as the night before. Sunlight streamed through the window that sat high atop the opposite wall where the door that led to their home stood. Just by how bright it'd become in her room, she knew she was already late for school. She'd already missed her language studies class and she was sure her class had already moved onto their mathematics lesson. Quickly she rolled from her bed and raced to put her school uniform on. Stopping halfway through buttoning her shirt, she began pulling the pins that held her hair in place. Reaching for her brush, she tugged it through her disheveled blonde locks. When she'd finished tying a ribbon in her hair she ran out to the kitchen, where she found her mother on her hands and knees singing as she cleaned their floors. "Mother!" She cried, not seeing Katerena anywhere in sight. "Why did you let me sleep so long?"
To say Jude startled Victoria would've been an understatement. The sponge that she'd been scrubbing the floors with dropped from her hand and sloshed water over the rim. A somber look engulfed Victoria's normally bright features and she sat down, drawing her legs beneath her. "I'm sorry, darling, but your father and I have decided that it's best that you don't go to school anymore…"
"What?!" She shrieked in the same voice she'd used on her father the previous night.
Victoria sighed and wiped the back of her hand across her forehead, in hopes to wipe away the non-existent sweat. "You've heard me right. You cannot go to school anymore, if you'd like I can help you study so you're still on track when you do return -"
"And when is that going to be?" She asked, cutting her mother off. "One week? A month? A year? I love school! Why would you take that away from me…?"
"Jude, I-"
"Don't say it! You're not sorry…you're not." She shook her head, crossing her arms over her chest and staring down at her mother.
"Jude," She repeated again, reaching for the sponge in the bucket and squeezing the extra water out. With a smack she returned it to the linoleum floors and began scrubbing again. "you may either join me in cleaning, ask me to help you study, or go to your room. I will not deal with your intolerance."
Gritting her teeth, she turned on her heel and left the kitchen. Victoria could hear a rustling about in her room, but chose to say nothing. She believed everything would settle out in time, that Jude would accept the conquest they were to send her on. Of course, it would come with a price to pay, but she was willing to pay it if it meant the safety of her children was ensured. She was scared more than she let on to Edward; scared that if she let her babies go off into their war-ridden country, they would end up in the same roadside ditch as the Jews were discarded in once they were killed. But Edward's insinuations were correct, she was a strong woman. One that could survive by all means, but that didn't mean that she couldn't fear.
The slam of their front door startled Victoria from her reverie and she shot up from the floor, quickly running to the windows to see Jude running down Prinsengracht. The tan color of her pea coat stood out from the array of work shirts and black Gestapo coats. Tears fell silently from her eyes and dripped from her chin, onto her blouse, as she watched her eldest cut around a side corner, disappearing from her line of sight…
Translations:
Mutter - Mother (German)
Liebling - Darling (German)
Mädchen - Girls (German)
Vater - Father (German)
Mädchen, kommen her - Girls, come here! (German)
Sind diese meine Töchter - These are my daughters. (German)
U bent soms zo stom - You are so stupid sometimes (Dutch - Not a direct translation)
Ja Vater, verspreche ich - Yes, father, I promise. (German)
Schlaf, Kindlein, Schlaf - A German Lullaby; English translation - "Sleep, child, sleep"