"C'mon mummy or they'll be all gone!"
"Calm down Ellie. Those stars aren't going anywhere." Charlotte said and ruffled her daughter's hair as she grabbed the folded up blanket and the thermos full of hot chocolate from the counter. Eloise pulled at Charlotte's pant leg, attempting to get her attention again.
"What is it?"
"Betcha can't catch me!" Eloise giggled and ran outside. Charlotte sighed and shook her head, following after her with a small laugh.
"Boo!" Eloise grinned, popping out at her from behind the side of the house. Charlotte laughed.
"C'mon you little monster. Lets go."
The little red-haired girl instantly charged down the grassy hill toward the clearing.
"Eloise don't run!" Charlotte called after her, but it was too late. Eloise had slide on the dew-covered grass and epically crashed into one of the plastic chairs.
Of course, by the time Charlotte reached her, the girl was standing and already running again in the direction of the more flatter area of the clearing, now chasing a couple of fireflies.
"Let me see your head." Charlotte said, kneeling down to inspect where Eloise had crashed the moment she reached the little girl, who was standing there impatiently. Charlotte let out a sigh when she realized that she was probably going to have a bruise by morning.
But she spread the thick blanket out on the grass as Eloise went back to chasing her fireflies nearby for a moment, again running. Charlotte just smiled – Eloise was a lot like she had been when she was younger, but she never really remembered being that hyper – or running into things. Of course, the ice-cream cone she had eaten before they had left probably had something to do with her hyperactivity.
"Get over here then. It's going to start soon." She said and Eloise instantly skipped over, flopping down on the blanket and curling up next to Charlotte, where she too lay on the blanket, looking up at the sky.
"Tell me the con…contell..catel…"
"Constellations." Charlotte provided as Eloise struggled with the word, Charlotte's fingers running through Eloise's red curls gently. "What about them?"
"Tell me those again please mummy."
"Well, you see those three stars right here? That's Orion's belt. And if you look close, you can see Orion."
"The warrior." Eloise grinned. "Right?"
"Yep." Charlotte laughed. At least she remembered something. Charlotte often brought her daughter out here to look at the stars, and had taught her the constellations. It was good to see she had paid attention.
'Where's the fishes?"
"Fish, Eloise. But I don't know." She frowned, scanning the stars. "I don't think you can see them this time of year."
The two were silent for a moment, staring up at the sky. Watching, waiting.
"Look Ellie!"
Charlotte pointed to a star – well, meteoroid – streaking across the sky. Eloise instantly shut her eyes, and Charlotte knew she was wishing on a star again. When she opened her eyes, she was smiling even wider.
"What'd you wish for?"
"I can't tell you silly! Then it won't come true!" Eloise said.
"All right! All right! Don't get fussy – just asking." She laughed.
"Ooooh!" Eloise pointed to the sky again, as it seemed several of the meteoroids were streaking across the sky, just like the one had been. The meteor shower was what Charlotte had brought her out to see that night – especially because it was her birthday. She smiled slightly, watching the girl stare up at the sky in wonder. Charlotte's gaze eventually wandered upward, but her attention soon focused on the nearby noises.
The unintended slam of a door. Soft footsteps against the grass.
"About time you got here daddy." Eloise stated, her gaze not straying from the show above as she spoke. There was a soft laugh before Daniel sat down on the blanket on the other side of Charlotte, looking rather tired.
"S-Sorry. I got, er, distracted."
"As you do everyday Dan. But it's all right. You haven't missed it yet." Charlotte said and shifted so he had enough room to lie down on the blanket too – which he did. She curled against him, laying her head on his chest as she watched the stars above.
"Sorry I, uh, wasn't here earlier." He said quietly.
"Quite all right." She replied, equally quiet.
"Did I miss her, er, party?"
"No – you forget we had to reschedule it for tomorrow just so you could be there. You're not working tomorrow, remember? You promised."
"Uh…."
She leaned up to look at him, narrowing her eyes slightly.
"Daniel Faraday, if you miss your daughter's birthday because of work, I will kill you." She threatened darkly. He grinned almost sheepishly.
"N-no. I don't have work." He said quickly, reminding himself to cancel the projects he had planned on working on tomorrow. Eloise's birthday was far more important anyway.
"Good." Charlotte murmured and lay back down, reaching to entwine her fingers with his as she looked back up to the sky. The shower was almost over now, the last few stars streaking across the sky.
She glanced over at Eloise – who had fallen asleep.
"What, like, happened to her, uh, forehead?" Daniel asked, obviously looking at Eloise's forehead, where a bruise was already forming from her crash earlier.
"Incident with a plastic chair." Charlotte sighed as she sat up, running a hand through her hair, which had grown much longer than she usually allowed.
"Ah."
She chewed her lower lip for a moment, trying hard not to say it. But after a moment, it slipped out.
"Do you think they see the same stars?"
"Charlotte, please don't start." He sighed tiredly, sitting up next to her.
"I'm just wondering. With all these issues with electromagnetism, who knows if those are stars half the time, or something else."
"Stars are, er, stars, Charlotte." He stated.
Frowning slightly, she stared at the tree across from them.
"Five years ago we came here – it seems like it was just yesterday."
"Well, that's probably because, um, the time here is, different…."
She smiled lightly – same old Dan. That hadn't been what she had meant of course, but oh well.
"Do you think they're trying to find us?"
"I..I….uh…." Daniel stammered slightly, frowning. He really didn't have an answer to that question. "I don't see why you want to leave all of a sudden."
"I want Eloise to have a normal life, away from bloody jungles with smoke monsters and new things to find a cure for every day. Pregnancy issues, time flashes – I mean, we only just got that problem solved. And I'm getting sick and tired of the color green…." She muttered. He let out a sort-of laugh, before getting to his feet. Extending a hand, he helped Charlotte up.
'C'mon. Lets get back inside before we all catch something deadly." She mumbled. He nodded, bending down to pick up the snoozing Eloise as Charlotte grabbed the blanket and the still-full thermos. He began back up the hill that led up to the Barracks as Charlotte glanced up at the sky, watching as one more star streaked across it. Shutting her eyes for a moment, she made her wish upon the star.
"Charlotte? Coming?"
She glanced to where Dan was already standing at the top of the hill. Nodding, she began toward them.
"Coming."
"What were you doing?" Daniel asked as they entered the house, Charlotte shutting the door as she layed the blanket on the couch, taking Eloise from his arms to carry her upstairs.
"Wishing on a star." She replied.
"What'd you, er, wish for then?"
"I can't tell you. Otherwise it won't come true." Charlotte smiled.