Author's Note: So I decided to post another chapter. I've had some time with Fanfic.net being down. Anyway, please review!
Chapter Four: Back Yard Miracles
"Will you go to sleep already?!"
Beka Valentine tossed and turned a few more times before she slammed a pillow over her ear. But nothing she did could block out the sound of soft crying from the tiny alcove in the wall where a small cot rested instead of a desk. Beka gave up and stumbled over.
"Oh, shit!" she cursed, hitting the corner of the wall. The crying stopped, suddenly, reduced to sobs. "Lights on, low."
A small figure appeared, with messy hair and a tearstained face. The pretty blue-green eyes that were so like Beka's were now red and swollen.
"Mind if I sit down?" Beka asked, hoping she could talk the girl into going to sleep.
Andy shook her head, but curled up in the corner of the cot that was farthest away from Beka.
"What's wrong with you?" Beka said a bit too harshly. Hey, she was tired.
Andy remained silent for a long time, sobs racking her body every once in a while. When she spoke, it was in a soft, hesitant voice. "You hate me?"
It was a question, not a statement, as if the girl was unsure but could not properly express herself. Beka looked at the small thing in front of her, a smaller, more delicate and fragile version of herself. She looked at the red hair that both had inherited from the Valentine family genes; the blue-green eyes and curls that both had inherited from their twin mothers, Cassandra and Rebecca; the pale skin that came from both inheritance and a life spent under artificial light. Could she hate something that was a part of her?
"No. Not anymore."
With that, Beka extended her hand, and to her surprise, the little girl took it.
"C'mere, you can sleep with me tonight, okay?" Beka offered, and was surprised again as Andy held out her arms to Beka. "What? Oh."
Realization dawned on her as some mothering instinct in her showed its face, and she picked Andy up. The girl wrapped her arms around Beka and laid her head on Beka's should, completely at ease. Beka wondered at how light Andy was. She put Andy down in Beka's bed, and lay down beside her. Andy once again wrapped her arms around Beka and said,
"Rebecca? Story?"
Beka's eyes widened. "Story? I don't know any stories! At least, not any that Dad would want you to hear."
"Please?"
Andy was so plaintive that Beka did her best to make up a story, dredging up memories of romance stories she had read. She had liked none of them; the woman was never the heroine or even a strong character, but she suspected Andy would like a story like that. "Okay, well, there was-"
"No. 'Once upon a time,'" Andy corrected, using the longest phrase Beka had heard from her.
"Okay, once upon a time, there was a beautiful woman. She lived with her evil father and her brother, the jail keeper. They kept her locked inside her room all day and all night. But one day, a handsome man tried to rescue the woman, trying very hard to break through the barriers that surrounded her. The woman's father and brother worked to stop the man, setting up more and more challenges to stop the man from rescuing the woman. But the handsome man succeeded at last, and carried the woman off to his wonderful house, where they both had everything they wanted and a great sex life, and they lived happily ever after. The end," Beka finished, and looked at the girl. She was fast asleep. Finally.
Just as Beka started to fall asleep, she heard a small voice whisper, "What's 'sex life'?"
********************************************
"Good morning, Beka."
"Mornin', Dad. Hey, mind if I take Andy planetside today? I heard there's a great little beach, and I want to teach her how to swim," Beka said, smiling at her dad.
Ignatius smiled back. "What's this? You actually want to spend time with your little cousin? And a month ago, you were threatening to kill yourself."
"I had...a change of heart, that's all," Beka said, shrugging, then plopped herself on her father's lap. "She's really sweet. Are you sure she wasn't adopted?"
"She doesn't act too much like a Valentine, that's for sure," Ignatius replied. "She's her mother's daughter, that's for sure."
"Mmm?" Beka wondered, leaning back against her father's chest and closing her eyes. She felt safe, like a little girl again. "What do you mean?"
Ignatius wrapped his arms around his daughter and said, "Well, Cass is a special person. Always quite and calm, with a sort of balance around her. She rarely gets excited, or mad, but when she does...you get out of the way. And, whenever you're around her, you get the feeling that she has some special connection with the universe. She's a truly good person, Beka. Certainly not a Valentine." He got a faraway look in his eyes as he added, "Your mom was like that, too."
"I miss her," Beka admitted softly.
"You remember her?" Ignatius asked, looking worried. Beka didn't notice.
"Just a little. Mostly blurry memories and a couple clear pictures of her. She looked sorta like me, and like Andy, too," Beka told him, smiling.
"Well, you do know the reason you and Andy look so alike, right?" Ignatius wondered. When Beka shook her head no, he said, "Well, Joe and I are twins, and your mom and Cass are twins as well."
Beka's eyes flew wide open. "You're kidding. I knew you and Uncle Joe were twins, but mom and Aunt Cassie?"
"Nope. Have you ever seen your Aunt Cassie?"
"No, I guess not."
"I'll show you a picture sometime."
"That's why Andy and I look more like sisters than cousins?" Beka asked, accepting it for the moment.
"Probably," Ignatius answered. "That's also probably why my brother and I both fell in love with Reba and Cass-they're so much alike."
"Did you love mom very much?"
"Yes, of course," Ignatius said, too quickly, then changed the subject. "So, you want to take Andy to the beach?"
Beka noticed her father's tenseness, and agreed. "Yup. She says she's lived on the Mikelmas Drift all her life. I figure it's time for her to learn about the real world."
Ignatius laughed. "Just don't shock the child too much. Listen, how about you talk Rafe into going down with you? The three of you can stay for a week while I set up our next...business venture."
Beka smiled and hugged her father gleefully. "You're the best, dad! Love you!" With that, she ran off to tell Andy the news.
"I only wish I deserved that," Ignatius said
softly.