She should be happy, Sam thinks as she looks around the shack. Her and Steven have a few nice possessions between them—some gym equipment from Steve's ex, a diamond necklace, The Mermaid's sign which they had scavenged as a reminder of the beginning of their relationship, a pack of cigarettes she'd hidden in the flower pot after telling Steven she'd give up—and that's a lot more than most people had. More than that, they had each other, and the things they'd been through together cemented their relationship more than the memories they had from high school ever could have.
But there was another thing that they had in common. A friend and a family member who was conspicuously absent from their lives. And they had lost so much, gained so much, that she shouldn't give him a second thought, but she misses her brother.
"But that's not Oliver. He's only a blank who lost his head in all the chaos," Steven reiterates to her for the fourth time.
"I'm going to go see him, talk to him, and if it doesn't work out, that's all there is to it," Sam says as she packs up some food and other supplies for the trek into London.
"And you're sure you want to do this? And that you don't want me to come with you?"
"Yes, I can handle this," she responds before giving him a kiss and heading to the door. "I'll get back tonight. If I see any of the other musketeers, I'll say hello for you, yeah?"
Steve just looked at her as she headed out into the wilderness.
It's hard to find him, and she sees so many disheartening things on her way there—"Blanks not allowed," the sad faces of those with no place to stay and no one to lean on, a human ripping off the arm of a blank and laughing at her while saying "Need a hand?"—that this is starting to seem like the worst idea in the world. But her resolve is strong, and she asks around for a property salesman with half a head until she's directed to a house which is only fairly dilapidated. It doesn't have any glass in the windows, so she hears the sound of her brother's voice as he explains the many advantages of the "completely free-of-charge air-conditioning which these windows provide".
Sam waits until he's done showing the couple around and comes out of the house. She sighs at the sight of the football he's used to replace his head; it's a crippling sign that Oliver's not who he once was. Still, she calls out to him, and his smile stays on his face as he approaches her (though it wavers a bit when Sam has to put out her hand to stop him from walking into her).
"Hello there, Sam! So nice of you to come into town. Didn't get lost on any ring roads, did you?"
"I was hoping we could talk. About…well, I'm not sure if I can bring myself to say 'being a family', but I was thinking that we could go to someplace quiet for a couple of hours."
"Of course we could! I know just the place," Oliver says as he starts jovially walking down the road. She follows, though she wasn't sure how she felt about this yet. There weren't feelings of anger, happiness, regret, she was just…blank.
He describes the places they're passing as he goes, and Sam wonders whether she's currently less emotional than this alien-created being with his enhanced capacity for friendliness. It seems typical of humankind to be prejudiced and abusive to something which is programmed to cause as little trouble and ill will as possible.
Eventually, they come to a small park, and Oliver sits down on a hillside with a satisfied "Ahhhh!" She sits next to him, and finds herself looking down at the ground rather than seeing his comical appearance as she speaks.
"How much are you like my brother? What do you know about yourself, about us?"
"Well, I remember pelting you with water balloons one summer, your friends inviting me to your sleepover and playing a surprisingly fun game of Truth or Dare, the old house with the big garden, our beloved dog Diggy…" he lets out a small sound of amusement as he continues, "our terrible attempts at naming pets."
"No, you don't remember. You've been given those memories. Gary explained this to me—said that the Network offered to give you selective memory, the chance to only remember the things that can make you happy. Do you remember—no, have you been programmed to remember cutting my hair off and making me cry, listening to our parents arguing while we huddled in our beds and hoped that mummy and daddy would stay together, the endless amount we argued when Gary told you he slept with me?"
Oliver's smiled seemed to freeze on his face. "W…well, you've, er, clearly not enjoyed bringing up those memories, have you?"
"I was close to my brother! And those bad times we went through are just as important as the good times to make a family bond strong!" She has to stop now, shaking her head before she can make herself keep on talking. "Maybe this idea was completely terrible. Oliver's been turned into fucking compost! He's not sitting next to me here, of course he isn't. You're just a blank with a fucking idiotic football head."
"But I want to be your brother." He moves closer to her, and Sam resists shrinking away from him. "Please. You're important to me. I know you'll say that's my programming, but it doesn't make it any less true. I'm still like him, I promise: still working as a real estate agent, mother's cottage pie is still my favourite food, still can't stand reality TV shows—not that I have to anymore. And when you and Steven want to start your own family, you'll need someone to show you where the best house is for raising the kids."
She looks at him, and seeing his brother's smile with those cartoonish eyes topping it off makes her laugh a little. If he's been able to patch himself up, she should try to do that, too. It's a painful thought to look ahead to exactly how she can accept this replacement, and Sam knows it won't be easy, but she'll try to fill the blanks in her family.
This is something that's been on my AO3 account for ages and I'd never posted it to this account, for some reason.
I think I've written Sam as being too accepting too quickly, so maybe I'll rewrite it... But have it as it is for now, anyway!
I've also had someone suggest I write more of their new-found familial relationship, but sadly, I haven't really had the plot bunnies for that.
Anyway, enjoy! And feel free to leave constructive criticism.