A/N: Geez, it's been like a year. Or two.

This Would have been part of Moonlit Mist but got a little too personal with Hannah. Kept on going and it turned into this little, angst-ridden ficlet. Yeah. Oh! And no ownership

One Day at a Time

High up in a tower, with the sun as their only witness, a Lord and Lady paced. They were at the utmost, highest point in their entire little makeshift kingdom. The Lord in the room and the Lady on the balcony. From there, either of them could look down and virtually see everything—the Grounds, the City, the Safari, the Town, the Hospital. All of it. They could see to the very boundaries of their land. To the points where their bustling population of supernaturals blended seamlessly with a reservation. A place where clueless, blissful humans performed recreational habits. Like fishing or hiking. All the while never knowing or dreaming what was really happening to their world.

A rogue pack of wolves attacking lumberjacks in Dunn County, North Carolina? Unusual, they said, but not impossible. A change in the weather made them migrate closer to the city, where food is more probable, they deduced. The Night World knew better. Droughts and famine where, recently, everything was green and growing? They blamed Global Warming. Spontaneous forest fires? Well, they told themselves, because of the droughts of course.

Eruptions of long-inactive volcanoes. Temperatures dropping to never-before reached levels. Off-the-chart earthquakes and rainstorms.

All attributed to Mother Nature's fickleness. And, again, only the Night World knew better.

But there were more incidents. Signs of dark days that no one could have disregarded even if they had no knowledge of the truth. Kidnaps, rape, public violence. The death toll had reached and is reaching an all-time high even without the help of a full-fledged war. Kids, women, men—there seemed to be no method to the madness. Though they still tried to put a finger on it, those humans. The officials credited it all to various unnamed serial killers.

The truth was so, so much worse.

Hannah Snow, or 'Lady' as her people have been calling her, felt the weight of it all on her young shoulders, every day. She read all the recent newspapers she could scrounge, watched all the news programs there was to watch. No teenager in the world could claim to do as much as she did. Every day there was work, work, work. And every day was more horrifying than the last.

She would be alert for the latest tragedy, bullet point it, and then move on to the next thing on her list of "Things to Do". Meetings. So many meetings. A lot, if not most, were instrumental meetings. Significant. She would feel moments of pride when she realized that something, some tragedy, was kept at bay thanks to her and Circle Daybreak's efforts.

But then another disaster would rear up its ugly head. Reminding her and everyone else about the evil that lurked just outside their borders. Talking to her—taunting her—about all the lives she had once again failed to save. It would break her spirits every time.

But every time she'd have to piece herself back together, because what else could she do? Each day she had to find the will to fight, and each day it got harder and harder to do so.

Leaning over the railings, on the brink of hyperventilating despite all the fresh air, Hannah bit her nails and tugged on her hair. It was still early morning. She didn't have to worry about her looks for the council meetings yet. She didn't have to worry about putting up a pretense either.

Oh, if only there were something that could undo all the damage in the world! If only there were something she could do that would be of actual use…

You're doing it already. The voice slipped into her thoughts, uninvited but not unwelcomed. Thierry had been listening. She could feel him trying to placate her from inside the room. You're doing all you can, Hannah. You're not leading this war alone.

I know, she told him but she couldn't hide how her nerves were still all in such disarray.

Thierry's worry reverberated through their bond. He searched deeper. Hannah felt no invasion. Thierry's thoughts in her head felt as natural as her own.

She heard him sigh audibly as he found the real root of the problem. He crossed over onto the balcony to get to her, to embrace her. These times that they spent alone with each other, just to be with each other, were a rarity. They both were so, so busy.

Another dejected thought escaped Hannah as his arms encircled her waist. Thierry caught it. It made him hug her tighter.

Hannah, please. Please don't lose hope.

How? And all at once her fears were rushing out of her, a waterfall made up of everything that kept her up at night. We wait and wait, Thierry, it's all we ever do now. We can't do that much longer. We have to fight and we have to do it soon. The Others aren't waiting for a declaration. They don't care…

She made some sort of choking sound while she screamed in her head, unaware of anything but her emotions. They don't care! They're already killing! They're already out there, somewhere… they could be recruiting, Thierry! And all those innocent people—

So what do you propose we do?

Thierry waited patiently for her answer.

She didn't have one.

As it was, Hannah couldn't even think let alone articulate exactly what she thought they had to do. She didn't know. She just had the desperate need to get something done. Anything… she's felt too helpless for far too long...

I know, was all Thierry offered her, eyebrows up and un-mocking. And Hannah knew that she should be mad… no… she should be furious at her soulmate for trying to soothe her like this—like she was some infant on the verge of a tantrum. This isn't what she wanted at all. What she wanted was for him to spring into action, call on shots that would both start and end this war as fast as possible with as little damage as possible. Do everything and anything in his power to ensure the safety of all their loved ones, of all the good, deserving people in their precious Circle.

She could have been mad, would have been mad. But she knew too much. She knew none of that was possible. And she knew that the last thing she wanted to do was blame Thierry, of all people, for something out of both of their control. In the end, she was faced with the same decision that hung over her every morning.

Stay strong and fight, or break down and rest?

And it was the same every day, how she didn't have a choice. She never had.

You always have a choice… just stubborn… too righteous…

Hannah laughed. A delirious sound, but still a laugh. She felt more than heard Thierry's chuckle and his arms were around her once more.

Yeah… it's just as well, she thought. I do have a choice and I'll always choose to fight—'til the day I die.

An image leaked out of Thierry's mind then. It was her, without all the worry lines and the signs of fatigue that have diminished the shine in her once clear, gray eyes. Her hair was still a young and healthy flaxen color. She had the demeanor of one with infinite knowledge and the wherewithal to use it. She looked brave.

In Thierry's eyes, she still looked like that. In his eyes, she was still as capable, still as hopeful. He still believed in her.

Around the same time her eyes got dangerously watery, Thierry's lips were brushing against her own. Hannah felt astonished at first and was almost ashamed to realize that it's been too long. She shook with his gentle touch but willed herself not to cry. It came easy now, to harden her feelings.

"So strong…" Thierry whispered against her cheek, and Hannah could feel his own silent cries through the cord; his kisses held all the vulnerability he'd never show to anyone else. It comforted her tremendously, knowing that she wasn't alone in this battle. They'd get through this one way or another. They just had to take it one day at a time, that's all.

Whatever future laid ahead, whatever war would be fought, Thierry would be right by her side.

Count on it.

A/N: Yeah. I know. Not as good as it could have been . so angsty. And it felt a lil rushed, don'tcha think? I was just too eager to post something again for this forum! Ah well. Just gotta keep writing to get better.

Reviews are love. :)

~panini