Completed but sucks: I lost interest in this story around chapter 7. I tried to finish it strong. But really, really lost focus. So quality really went down from there. And most of the final chapter is a rough outline. Sorry. You really shouldn't read it. XD

Disclaimer: I own nothing to do with the Eragon world. The idea of a human Saphira and Thorn was borrowed from Sussiekitten. Gasey is my own character. Pronounced like Casey, cept with a G.

Notes: It's an AU, which means alternate universe. That means no dragons and dragon riders. But lots of coffee!

Warnings: Eragon and Murtagh. Plain and simple. Don't like it, don't read it. Oh. Watch out for Arya bashing. I have nothing against her, really.


Whatever Happens

"Baby… I have some bad news…" The girl turned from the locked door and looked up with nervousness in her eyes.

"Really?" The boy stepped closer to her and threw his arms around her waist. He drew her closer and smirked. It was Saturday and he had come to pick her up. They were supposed to be on their way to the movies. But instead, as soon as he arrived, she ushered him up the stairs to her room and shut the door behind them.

"Knock it off!" She snapped and pushed his hands away.

Signing softly, he shook his head. "Okay, what'd I do now?" She had been so moody lately. He had begun to wonder if it was time to call their off and on relationship of the past year a failure and move on. He probably wouldn't miss her that much anyways.

She bit her lip and turned away but she didn't answer.

"What is it? What's wrong?" He persisted, his tone slightly on edge. He was getting tired of her attitude.

"I… I'm… uh…" She stuttered for a moment before finding her voice. "I'm pregnant." She blurted out, her back still to him.

His eyes widened and his mouth dropped open. "What?"

"I'm pregnant." She said again, spinning around to face him.

"Pregnant?" He repeated in disbelief. "How?"

She pursed her lips and cocked her head to the side. "I believe you were there." She snapped.

"But we only did it once!" He said, shaking his head. And it had been awful and awkward and things kept getting in the way.

She shrugged. "That's all it takes."

"I wore a fucking condom."

"Then you didn't do it right!"

His eyes narrowed. "It's not rocket science."

"Well…" She threw up her arms as she spoke. "It didn't work!"

"But…I can't be a father!" He shook his head again. "I just turned 16!"

"And I'm only 15!" She snapped loudly.

Her tone caught him off guard and he visibly flinched. After a moment, he sighed and drew her into his arms. "I'm sorry." He said softly. "I didn't mean to yell. Just… surprised me. I wasn't expecting…"

She closed her eyes and laid her head on his chest. She felt like any moment she would melt.

He hugged her tighter and closed his eyes. "Don't worry. Everything will work out. It'll all be okay." He had his doubts. Nothing would be okay. He knew he didn't love her. And he suspected she didn't love him as well.

"How?" She sobbed. "How will everything be okay? What are we going to do?"

"We… we're going to have a baby." He heard his voice crack. "We'll… graduate high school and… get married. We'll get jobs and we'll get a house. And maybe… until then… our parents can help with babysitting. It'll work out. You'll see."

"But… I had all these plans. I was going to go to Paris after graduation. And I was going to model and study fashion!"

"You'll get to." He promised, rubbing her back as he held her. "Whatever happens… I'll… I'll find a way to make it work. I'll take care of you. Both of you. I promise."

Chapter 1: Working Day and Night

10 years later…

"Gasey? Gasey! Get your ass down here now!"

She looked up at the open door as the voice reached her ears. What had she done? She had come home as soon as school was out. She had fixed herself a snack, called her father, and went upstairs to do her homework. She had been silent. She was careful not to disturb her mother. She hadn't even seen her mother yet that day.

"Gasey! NOW!"

Oh no! Now she was really going to get it. She had made her mother call twice. "Coming!" She called, jumping up and hurrying down the hall.

The apartment was small. Gasey's bedroom was small, barely big enough for the bed, desk, and dresser that were in it. She had little room to play, but she wouldn't dare complain. Her parent's room was much the same. The oversized bed her mother demanded took up over half. There was a washer and dryer in the closet in the hallway, though the washer had been broken for over a month. The bathroom was beside it. Then there was a living room and a small dining room connected with the kitchen. It wasn't huge, but it was the only home Gasey had ever known.

It only took a minute for her mother to come into view. Gasey lowered her head as she stepped into the small kitchen. Her mind was still racing as she tried to figure out what she could have done to upset her mother.

"Gasey!" Her mother hollered when the little girl's gaze was on the floor. "Look at me when I'm talking to you!"

Meekly, Gasey looked up at her mother, flinching at the tone of voice directed at her.

Many considered the twenty-five year old a knockout. Her long black hair, her green eyes, her pale skin. She was tall, she was thin, and she was curvy in all the right places. If she hadn't of gotten pregnant, she could have been on the cover of magazines all over the world.

Gasey, on the other hand, was nothing like her mother. She was short for her age, unlike either of her parents. She didn't have her mother's sharp features or her elegance and grace. She had her father's dark brown hair and his fierce dark eyes. When the three were seen together, it was clear who she took after. And she had adapted her father's stoic nature at an early age.

She wasn't pretty, by her mother's standards. And she wasn't popular in school. Her mother couldn't understand why Gasey didn't have friends. But in that aspect, she was very much like her father. She didn't socialize well and she kept to herself. Besides, the few times she had been invited somewhere by a classmate she had declined. Asking her mother for permission always ended up badly.

The one thing Gasey loved in her life was her dad. He was always working but he always kept a cell phone on him. That was one luxury Gasey was allowed, a cell phone. No matter how busy her dad was, he always had time to talk or at least text. She knew his number by heart. Her mother's, on the other hand, she'd have to look up if she wanted to use it. Which she didn't.

Gasey stole a look at the clock. It was late, way past her bedtime. But she had stayed up to see her father when he returned from work. And according to that clock, that was to be any minute now. Come on, daddy! He was usually able to calm her down.

"I said look at me! Pay attention!"

"Sorry mom." Gasey murmured.

"How many times do you have to be told to do something? How stupid are you?" Her eyes were furious.

Gasey was attempting to pay closer attention to her mother now and didn't hear the front door open and close or the footsteps in the kitchen.

"You can't do anything right! Good for nothing…"

"Arya, that's enough."

Gasey looked up as her father framed the doorway.

He looked from each before resting his eyes on his wife. "What's going on?"

"Finally Murtagh!" She threw up her arms. "I can't do a fucking thing with her. Your damn daughter left the milk out. Money doesn't grow on trees you know!"

He rolled his eyes. He was the one who was working himself to death at two jobs. She burned through money like it was firewood. He looked tired as he glanced between his daughter and his wife again. "Arya, go and take a hot bath. I'll handle this."

She glared before stomping off. She could be heard grumbling down the hall.

Murtagh sighed deeply as he motioned for Gasey to follow and moved into the living room. He sunk into the couch and rubbed at his forehead.

Gasey followed and snuggled up beside him, burying her head in his shirt as tears slipped down her cheeks. She hated herself for crying in front of her father. She hated herself for letting her mother get to her like that.

He leaned back with a sigh and wrapped an arm around his daughter. "She doesn't mean it, you know? Your mother."

"She hates me!" Gasey sobbed against him.

Damn you Arya, he thought, wrapping both arms tighter around the little girl. "No she doesn't. She just…" He was tired of trying to explain his wife's antics to their nine year old daughter. How was he supposed to explain that Arya hated her life? She frequently felt the need to tell Murtagh how disappointed she was in him. How he could never do anything right. How the only thing she liked about him was riding him?

"Why don't you come to the shop after school tomorrow? We can give your mother a break."

Gasey raised her head and wiped the tears from her eyes with the back of her hand. "Really?"

He nodded and scooped her up in his arms. He lifted them both off the couch in a swift, fluid motion. "Now. I believe it's way past someone's bedtime."

"Awe dad!" She yawned deeply. "I'm not sleepy!"

He chuckled as he walked down the hall towards Gasey's bedroom.

"Murtagh!"

He sighed and shook his head as he heard her voice. "Just a minute." He called, stepping into the small bedroom. Gasey was asleep the second he tucked her in the bed.

"Murtagh!"

He flinched at her tone of voice as he shut Gasey's door and turned for the other.

Arya lay, sprawled out and naked on their bed.

He sighed as he stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. Clearly she wouldn't let him get any sleep that night.

"Murtagh… hey Murtagh. Dude. Wake up!"

Murtagh groaned and waved the intruding voice away. He needed a few more minutes of sleep.

"Tag! If the boss catches you sleeping again…"

That did it. He sat up and stretched. He had fallen asleep on the tattered couch in the very small room that doubled as the employee break and lunch room. He was at his second job of the day, the coffee shop.

He much preferred it to the glass factory he worked at called Glaze. Not that it was particularly hard. He loaded and unloaded boxes from the delivery trucks. Nothing was ever too heavy for him so he could easily finish a truck in an hour. It was just too quiet for him. Once in a while the truck's driver would stick around and chat with him but usually they'd head out for a break. It wasn't the being alone part that got to him most; he'd always been a solitary person. It was just the piercing quiet that clung to the loading docks. And he hated working those early morning shifts. It was way too dark when he left in the mornings.

The Mud Slide, on the other hand, was always loud and busy, even when it wasn't. It was a specialty coffee shop but dabbled in a bit of everything edible related. Breads, cookies, and donuts were sold around the clock. As were breakfast, lunch, and dinner items. It was a very calm and easy atmosphere. Murtagh worked as a waiter. He took orders and waited on people. Once in a while, if they were really busy, he'd help out in the kitchen. And while he hated to admit it, because he had never really had friends, he enjoyed his co-worker's antics and banter. Thorn matched him in height but the fiery redhead's frame was broader. The guy was ripped but he never showed off or bragged. He was always happy and always laughing; something Murtagh was still getting used to.

"Shit man. How long was I out?"

"Over an hour."

Murtagh rubbed at his eyes and stood up. "These back to back shifts are going to kill me."

That earned him a laugh from his co-worker. "Dude man. How old are you?"

Murtagh shrugged. He felt older than he was. "Sorry about that Thorn."

The man shrugged. "It's been a really slow day. Just wanted to give you a heads up. The boss called a while ago. Said she was coming in for a bit."

Murtagh sighed as he shook his head and straightened his clothes.

"Oh yeah. And your daughter's here."

"Gasey? Damnit!" He couldn't do anything right.

"Chill man. How many times have I told you she's a little angel? She's been hopping around, checking all the salt and pepper shakers and filling the sugar packets."

He smiled and shook his head. "It must be dead if you can stand in here yapping."

"Hey. I don't complain. We still get paid the same." Thorn smiled and clapped him on the back. "Hey. Come on man. Smile. It's Friday. Got the weekend coming up."

"And I'm working all day tomorrow."

"Man, I don't envy you one bit."

"Awe, come on. Get out there before the dinner rush comes in." He gave Thorn a shove out the door and followed.

"Okay, okay." The red head laughed.

Murtagh shook his head as he grabbed his apron and tied it around his waist. He adjusted it for a moment before slipping a pen and order pad into the pocket.

"Hi dad. Nice nap?"

He smiled as he strode over to the counter where she sat. He lifted his finger to his lips. "Shhhh!"

She giggled and mimed locking her lips and throwing away the key.

"How was school?"

"Fine." She answered brightly. She enjoyed school.

"And the bus ride over? Anyone bother you?"

She shook her head.

"Did you get something to eat?"

She nodded. "Thorn brought me grilled cheese." She smiled brightly and he ruffled her hair.

"I have to get back to work."

Gasey nodded and bent over to fetch a box of colored pencils and a pad of paper out of her backpack.

It was way past her bedtime when Murtagh was able to clock out, which was why he found her in the employee's lounge, fast asleep on the same couch he had been earlier that day. He smiled, watching her. It wasn't fair she had to spend so many nights there, keeping herself company while he worked. She had a perfectly capable, if reluctant, mother.

He sighed softly and bent over to pick her up. "Come on Gasey." He held her with one arm and grabbed her backpack with the other. She shifted against him but didn't wake up.

"Later." Thorn mouthed more than whispered with a wave.

Arya waited until after he had tucked their daughter in and closed the door before she pulled him aside. "Murtagh!" She said with a smile. "How was your day, sweetie?"

He eyed her for a moment before sighing. He was too tired to play along with her game and try to figure her out. "What do you want? It's late."

She pouted for a second before crossing her arms. "Look. I know its last minute but my agent got me a job." She said flatly before her demeanor changed. "It's a national commercial campaign!" She squealed, excited by the prospect.

"That's… great." And he meant it. A happy Arya was better than an unhappy one. He smiled at her and stepped around her to head to the kitchen. "Want a drink?"

"No." She shook her head and followed close behind. "But there's more."

He pulled a soda can out of the fridge, popped it open, and leaned against the counter. "Yeah?"

"They need me there tomorrow so I'll have to leave really early."

He lowered the can to the counter beside him after taking a sip. "Arya, I have to work tomorrow."

She shrugged. "Then call your mom. I won't be here."

He sighed and rubbed at his forehead. "How long this time?"

"At least a week."

"Fine."

She looked surprised for a moment that he didn't argue more. "Well… okay… I'm going to bed then. I'll try not to wake you when I leave. And I'll call you when they get me settled."

He figured he'd still be the one leaving before she did. Her idea of early was after sunrise and she had never been able to remember his schedule. He had made a point to write it on a calendar hanging on the fridge but she never remembered to check it.

"At least she seemed happy." He mused, grabbing his drink and walking out towards the living room to sit on the couch. With a sigh, he pulled out his cell phone. He punched in the number without looking at the clock. He knew it was late and he knew she'd be asleep. He sighed again as the phone rang and rang and rang.

"Hello?"

"Hey mom." He said with an apologetic tone. "Sorry for calling so late."

"What'd she do this time?"

He frowned. "Do you always have to think the worst of her?"

"Until she proves me wrong."

Murtagh closed his eyes and rubbed at his head with his free hand. "Can you take Gasey tomorrow morning? Arya's leaving and I have to go to the factory."

"She's leaving? Finally getting that divorce I've been telling you about for years, huh?"

"No mother. She's leaving on a job. She'll be back in a week."

"You should take this chance and hightail it out of there. You guys could come and stay with me; lord knows this place is big enough with only me here now that your father is gone."

Murtagh had heard the offer many times before. His mother wasn't going to rest until his marriage was over. He just couldn't bring himself to do that to Gasey. Arya may not have been the best mother in the world. But she was Gasey's mother. And Murtagh still had faith in her that she'd change. She just needed… what? More time? More space? He wasn't sure. But he knew it had to be on her own terms. He couldn't force her to be the good mother he knew she could be. "Can you take Gasey or not?"

"Yes sweetie. I'd be happy to."

He breathed out a sigh of relief, though he knew she'd say yes. She was always there for him when he needed her. "I'll have to drop her off early."

"I know the drill. What about Sunday?"

"Yeah. Gasey and I will be spending the day at the Laundromat. Washer's still broken." And it would probably remain broken until he had another day off. He just didn't have the time to go shopping and a washer one of the few things Arya wouldn't shop for.

"Want me to do that for you?"

"No. It's my only day off to spend with her."

She was silent on the line for a moment. When she spoke, her voice was soft and thoughtful. "I still think you need to take that little girl and run."

"Bye mom."

"See you tomorrow Taggy. Love you!"


Author's Notes: I found a few notes for this story, scribbled on an old notebook from like 2 years ago. So experimenting.