Chapter 4: Reconciling

Year 2151 – Earth, Ireland

Hannah had opted to spend the night at the hospital, making a makeshift bed beside Lauren. She was still quite pissed at Will. She ranted to her mother for hours about what an idiot he is, during her thankfully lucid moments. She propped herself onto the bed with her back against the wall, reading one of her text-books, trying really hard to concentrate on something non-William related. If the miserable scowl on her face was any indication, she was failing badly. Lauren managed to break through the awkward silence.

"So are you just going to keep that miserable look on your face all night?"

"No, mum.," Hannah responded.

"I'm just saying, all this negative energy is not conducive to my condition."

"Well, you have Will to thank for creating the negative energy," she concentrated harder on the book in her hands.

"Excuse me dearie, but it seems quite silly to me that the woman who married a boxer, is upset that he likes to box."

Hannah finally set down the book. "That's not what I'm upset about! I'm mad that he went behind my back to organize a fight!"

"From the sound of it, it seems he was just trying to support you, dearie."

"Why are you taking his side in this?"

"Because as long as I've known him, he's been nothing but loyal and dedicated to you. Every time I saw him stepping into that ring, he did it to fight for the both of you. He's always wanted nothing but the best for you, same as me."

"He still shouldn't have lied to me," she said with deflating anger.

"You're right. He shouldn't have, but if he thinks this can help the both of you achieve your dreams, I think he's earned a show of support from you. You're both in an unstable position right now, and I just want a sense of security for you two before I die." Lauren began badly coughing towards the end of that last sentence, and Hannah's heart broke a little more as she rushed to comfort her mother.

"Don't stay mad at him over this dearie…that's all I ask," she said in a very weak voice.

Maybe mum is right. She and Will are the only family I have right now…and mum's not going to be around much longer. But I really don't want to lose Will either, especially not over a stupid boxing match. Maybe I should go over to the apartment and see him, talk this out.

"Alright mum, I'll try," she said while softly hugging her.

A soft smile grew on Lauren's face and she gave a weak chuckle as she said "Besides, any man that could put up with you while you were in your goth phase is worth keeping at all costs."

Hannah suddenly grew beet red from embarrassment. "That was years ago! We agreed to never talk about that again!"

Lauren gave the best laugh a terminally ill patient was capable of. "Hahaha! You stopped wearing the makeup when you were 19. Three years is hardly ancient history." Hannah couldn't help but laugh along now.

"Will didn't seem to mind it all that much," she boasted.

"I'm just saying, I think it's telling he proposed to you after you grew out of it," Lauren retorted.

"You might have a point there." Hannah laughed along, treasuring this little moment of levity with her mother, that made them forget for just a brief moment that she was living on borrowed time. They both suddenly remembered what time was, as the clock gained their attention. It read 11:20 P.M.

"You've been here for hours, dearie. You should probably head home now."

"Yeah, you're right," Hannah conceded, abandoning her plans to stay the night at the hospital. "I should probably patch things up with Will. Are you going to be Okay here?"

"As good as I'll ever be…Don't worry about little, old me anymore. Just have a safe drive home."

"Okay mum," she leaned down to kiss her mother on the forehead. "Let me know if you need anything. I'll try to visit again next week."

"Take care of yourself, dear." That last comment brought a little tear to Hannah's eye as she headed out the door. Even when riddled with cancer and at death's door, her mum was still thinking of her daughter's well-being before her own.

"I can only hope I'll be a quarter of a wonderful mother as she is. I need to be, for little Michael. He deserves the best and that's just what I'll give him and to any of my future children. After all, I have such a great example to draw on.

Hannah headed into her car from the hospital lobby, rain still falling down but much more gently then before. As she drove her way back home, her thoughts drift to the past, like her embarrassing "goth phase" her mother remarked on. The night she and Will first met, that lame house party…

Year 2146

A 17-year old Hannah Rivers, wearing heavy black makeup, was toiling away in her school's greenhouse, working on and studying various plants. This was an extracurricular activity of hers so there was no one else in there. She liked being around plants, nurturing life, helping them grow. It was a dream of hers to go to college and study agriculture, maybe solve world hunger some day with a new strain wheat. As of right now though, she mostly deserved the solitude, her father had recently past away, and in her grief, she found distraction in getting more involved with her studies, being surrounded by the life of beautiful plants & flowers provided a decent cover from the shroud of death.

Hannah's sense of tranquility was interrupted by a blonde-haired girl, in similar goth attire to her own, it was her friend Liz.

"You realize everyone has gone home now, right?" Liz said while approaching her friend.

"I was just checking on this little side-project." Hannah adjusted the UV lamb above the bright red rose. Not paying much attention to the blonde girl, as she walked closer to her. A sympathetic frown hanging on her face.

"You're not doing yourself any favors by hanging out here alone," Liz said to her.

"This is exactly where I want to be," she replied indignantly.

Liz gave a sigh and said "Alright listen, I think I have an idea to help pull you out of your stupor."

Hannah stood there thinking quietly about whether or not to hear whatever dumb idea Liz came up with now. She loved her friend's cheerful and helpful personality, but she was definitely not in the mood for cheer right now. On the other hand, she didn't want to come off as a bitch and just dismiss her kindness offhandedly like that.

"Fine, what is it?" She asked. Liz started listing things off her fingers.

"Well, the Rugby team just won National…"

Bad start.

"…So there's going to be a huge party at Donovan Murphy's house…"

People, ewww...

"…And there's going to be lots of booze…"

A step in the right direction…

"…and loud music to help you relax and get her mind off things."

That depends what the selection is, but ok...

Liz looked like she was done listening things. "Is that it?" Hannah asked.

"Okay well I also wanted to make my move asking out Connor and you'd being doing me a huge favor by being my wing-girl."

"Pass."

"Come on!" Liz now sounding desperate. "It's a huge house so we'll have plenty of places to hide when you don't feel like talking to anyone."

Hannah took a while to ponder the offer. She definitely wanted to say no but she knew Liz would not stop pestering her until she agreed. Besides, some music and drinks didn't sound so bad.

"Fine. But I reserve the right to leave at any moment."

"That's alright with me! I'll meet you there then." And with that she dashed out of the greenhouse. Leaving Hannah to her thoughts again.

"This is probably a bad idea," she groaned to herself.

Later that night.

Hannah drove up the Murphy residences where rows of cars crowded the entire block. Loud party music and drunken wails could be heard miles away. The perfect place for someone to drown out the sound of their own thoughts. Hannah made her way into the house and found her friend Liz mingling with some tall guy she quickly identified as Connor, the lunkhead Liz had spent the last 2 years pinning over.

"Oh great! You made it!" Liz yelled jovially, quickly wrapping her arm around Hannah's shoulder, a red solo cup in her other hand. "Connor! This is my *blech* friend I was telling you about! Her dad just died! Isn't hat *blech* awful!" Connor drunkenly nodded in agreement. "Christ! That does suck!"

Hannah was really irritated right now.

"Yeah, can we not talk about that please?"

Liz, to her credit, quickly noticed the faux pas. "Oh shite! Right, sorry!" She quickly grabbed a cup from the counter and handed it to Hannah. "Here! You have to try this whiskey!"

She looked into the cup.

"This has a ping-pong ball in it."

"Oh sorry, well the keg should be around here somewhere."

"Right…well if you don't need me for anything else, I'm just going to wander the place."

"Sounds good! I'll just be right here with Conner! Try to enjoy yourself!"

And with that Hannah walked away and went on her quest to find solace, sadly she was met with disappointment: The music wasn't anything to her taste, the whiskey tasted like piss and really she had nothing in common anyone that was here. Mostly everyone was too inebriated to make small talk and anyone who wasn't… well Hannah wasn't too good at being an icebreaker. She was an ice-WALL most of the time if anything. So she continued to wander the house until she found a quiet room upstairs that looked like some sort of study. There were bookshelves covering two sides of the room with a large window sill overlooking the pool outside, an aquarium on the other side providing the only light source. Hannah decided to not flip the light switch and instead just walked over toward the window sill and sat down.

She felt completely alone now, taking a few more sips of her lousy drink (if it didn't have the decency to taste good, it could at least get her wasted), away from her useless friends and suddenly the grief that she came here to get away from was creeping back into her mind. She thought of her father, how much she loved him, how supportive he was of her studies and choice of career, the times he would take her out fishing and helped apply a band-aid every time she pricked her finger on the hook.

She missed him. She missed him terribly.

Her face started to become damp with tears.

This party was a terrible idea.

Back in 2151.

"So a match in August then?...Yeah, that sounds perfect. I think Michael will be born by then too…Haha I know, it hasn't really sunk in with me either…I'm in the doghouse right now but hopefully I can make it up to her by knocking your ass out…Hahaha yeah well we'll see about that."

Will heard a knocking at the door.

"I gotta go now, the missus is here…Yeah, nice talking to you too, I'll see you at the conference…Goodbye." Once he had hung up, he walked over to the door and sure enough there was Hannah staring back at him. They shared an awkward silence together, until Hannah finally stepped forward and gave him a hug, which Will hesitantly returned.

"Umm…does this mean you're not mad anymore?"

"I'm still mad at you."

"Well in any case, I just want to say I'm sorry."

"I forgive you."

"You're mad but still forgive me? That doesn't make much sense."

"Just shut up and take the hug."

"Ok, I can live with that," he tightens his embrace around her.

"You better come back to me in one piece after this."

"I promise dear, the only thing that's going to be a mess after this, is Mick," he said while rubbing her back. She gives a sigh of acceptance and ends the hug.

"Come on, it's way past time we went to bed." Will couldn't agree more. He was feeling very exhausted after this emotionally trying day. "Lead the way, Darlin'." They got into their sleepwear and settled into bed together. Hannah pretty much went right to sleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. Will, however, still had things occupying his mind. He looked upon his wife's beautiful face, her heavily protruding tummy under the covers and he was again reminded of why this match was so important to him. He realized it was wrong to go behind Hannah's back like that, but in his mind this was the only way they could get the money to fulfill their dreams. Even though she forgave him for it, he would find some way to make it up to her. He had to be the luckiest man in the galaxy to be with a woman like her. As sleep started to take him away, his mind drifted off to the night they fist met, that crazy house party…

Year 2146

Going to a house party was a great idea. At least that's what Mick tried to convince Will. The Kilkenny rugby team just won the national championship and high school big shot, Donovan Murphy was throwing the biggest party in the county as a celebration. So naturally, the two orphan outcasts from Dublin with no peer group besides their own, were going to stop by and crash it.

"This is a terrible idea," he grumbled.

"Annnd yet you're still in the car," Mick shot back.

"I'm babysittin' ya, so you don't make an ass of yourself."

"Everyone is gonna make an ass of themselves Willy! It's the biggest party of the year! There's gonna be a pool, girls, a hot-tub, hot girls, and Donavan snagged the keys to his dad's liquor cabinet, so that means drunk girls! You can't deny the score, mate!" Mick was very excited. Will wasn't quite sold on the pitch though.

"The rugby team is going score. That's who everyone wants to shag with now. We are the two orphan lads that nobody talks to."

"Well this is our chance to break the curse, Willy! Or did you miss the part where I said everyone is going to be fuckin' plastered at this party! Just find a floozie and work your charm. Hell, you can prolly just lie and say you're on the team, she won't give a shite."

Will finally relented to this idea with a sigh, it's not like they had many relationship prospects anyway. He just hated awkward conversations and loud music, hopefully the booze would alleviate some of that annoyance.

"Alright, fine. But the second you get into a fist-fight with Donovan or something, I'm leaving with the car."

"Pffft. Some mate you are. I'm challenging every one of those lunk-heads to a fight and I want you in my corner!" He chuckled out loud. Will chuckled back at him.

"Fuck no to that, Mick! You're going solo on that one. Haha."

The finally arrived at the Murphy house and enough the entire place was a riot, it was everything Will feared. Loud music, people shouting incoherently, annoying light shows, the smell of piss & puke heavy in the air, and here was quiet, reserved Will Shepard surrounded by it all. This was going to be a long night, he thought. Mick, meanwhile, had already made his plan of attack.

"Alright I'm goin' by the bar. Where will you be?" Mick asked.

"I'm…just gonna hang by the pool and pretend I'm having a good time." Will said while walking over a lawn chair.

"Alright, more action for me then." And with the two went their separate ways for the night. Will grabbed a solo cup filled with what he guessed was scotch, (he couldn't tell, he wasn't much of a drinker). Being by the pool proved to be a bad idea once some moron decided to do a 20-foot cannonball into the pool, splashing anyone close enough to the edge.

"Well, so much for that idea." Will began wondering the property in an attempt to find some kind of spot that was relatively peaceful spot to hang out. In spite of being completely surround by people, Will couldn't help feeling completely alone. He didn't really know anyone here, to him they were all just acquaintances from school, and everyone here either dancing or behaving like drunk idiots, didn't lend much opportunity to start a conversation.

His wanderings eventually lead him to the one relatively quiet spot in the house, the study. The lights were out, but from what he could gleam it was a fairly standard study room: upholstery furniture, shelves filled with books that have probably never been touched, the most striking detail though was the large aquarium built into the wall that gave the whole room a flowing, blue color, it had such a calming effect he didn't bother to flick the light switch. He could use some peace & quiet about now. As he moved toward the couch, he suddenly heard a feminine voice.

"You lookin' for the after-party?"

Will quickly noticed he wasn't the alone in the room. That's when he saw her. A girl, perched over by the windowsill. From what he could gather she had black hair, black tights or leggings perhaps, with a grey hoodie and solo cup in hand. She blended so well in the darkness he didn't noticed her at all.

"I'm sorry!" He said in a startled voice. "I didn't see you there."

"It's alright. I'm usually hard to find." She took a sip of her drink.

"Is it alright if I hang here? I was just looking somewhere to get away from the noise." He asked while awkwardly scratching the back of his neck.

"It's fine. That's why I'm here." She turned back to look out the window, while Will moved towards the chair closer to her. As he got a better look, he could tell this girl was…well beautiful. It might have been the light from the aquarium bouncing off her but from what he could see, she had a breath-taking visage; soft cheeks, a cute nose, deep blue eyes, dark make-up and all-black attire that gave the impression she was into the goth scene, the black calf-high boots lend further evidence to this theory. Although her make-up looked a little smeared on closer inspection. He settled into the chair, sipping on his beer. Will decided to be the brave one and break the silence.

"So…you know anyone here?"

"Not really. Just trying to find somewhere away from the noise and my thoughts."

"Huh, well noise usually helps you stop thinking."

"Nah. That's what the alcohol is for. I'd rather have the headache later than now."

"I hear that…I don't really know anyone here either, I just came as a favor for my mate."

"Ha, same."

"Really? Bribery or blackmail?"

"Emotional handwringing more like it. What about you?"

"He promised me booze and girls. That's usually enough for me."

"Haha." That gave Hannah a much-needed chuckle. His answer was so typically but she found his honesty refreshing. "Have you found them?"

"Well, the beer is shit and nobody here is really my type sooo no."

"That's a shame." She said while circling the rim of her cup. Will left his chair and moved against the wall closer to the girl."

"So you go to the same school as everyone here?"

"Technically yes, if you mean in Kilkenny, but not for much longer. I'm going to college soon."

"That's nice. You got a major yet?"

"Agriculture."

"Haha! I thought that went out last century. Everything is all urban and big cities now."

"As long as people need to eat, they will pay people to grow them. And they DO still have farming in the cities."

"Alright! I'll take your word on it."

"So what are you studying?"

"Oh I'm too stupid for studying. I'm just training to be a boxer."

"I thought THAT went out last century."

"Well, as long as people like to punch each other, someone will get paid to do it."

"Touché." He stretched out his hand to her.

"Name's Will by the way. Will Shepard." She accepted his hand and shook it. "Hannah Rivers…You can sit right there if you want." She pointed an empty spot next to her on the windowsill and he accepted, and they both start staring out the window together. Observing everyone's joyous buffoonery outside. It was Hannah's turn to break the silence this time.

"So how did you sneak away from your parents to come here?"

"They're not a factor. I don't have any."

Hannah did not expect that answer. "Really?"

"Yeah. Spent most of my life in foster care. Didn't even get a letter or anything."

Hannah's heart went out to poor Will. She could relate to loss but not total absence.

"That sounds terrible. I'm really sorry."

"It's fine, I try not to let it bother me."

Hannah looked down towards her shoes. "…I lost my father last month. Car accident"

"Shit, now I'm sorry." He leaned in closer to her. "Is that what the mascara tears are for?"

"Huh?"

"You've got like make-up smears across your cheeks." He said while pointing at his face. Hannah looked quite annoyed as she touched her cheeks and say he was right. "Shit!"

"What was he like? Your dad?" Will didn't know why he was suddenly so invested in this girl's story…well the fact that she was cute was the most obvious reason, but beyond that he felt there was a genuine connection forming between them. Hannah seemed surprised by the question, but as soon as she got her face in order, she obliged him with an answer.

"He was…one of those people you don't appreciate till their gone." As she said that it looked like tears were threatening to break free from her eyes again, but she stood strong and held them back. William really admired that sort of strength.

"Well he must've been a good man to raise someone as strong as you." Hannah was taken aback by that comment. It was an awfully presumptuous thing to say, but at the same time he wasn't wrong and quite appreciated being complimented in such a way. She didn't know if it was the alcohol or merely the fact he was willing to listen to her when she really needed someone to talk to, but he did look very handsome…probably both if we're being honest.

"Yeah, he was. I'm sure whoever raised you didn't do a bad job either, to be someone so nice."

"I'm nice when I can be." He said in a somewhat flirty tone. The alcohol was definitely getting to him. They scooted closer together until they were rubbing shoulders together, their backs against the window now. Hannah summoned up some more liquid courage.

"So you said none of the girls here are you're type. So what is your type?" Will, being put on the defensive now suddenly felt bashful but he persevered.

"Well…uhh…hmm, smart girls, black hair, not afraid of what people think of them, ones that…look really good in leggings." As Will listed the items off his list, Hannah was slowly moving closer to his face. Not at all missing the fact he was oh-so-subtly describing her, and she was vulnerable enough right now to let it flatter her. She was about to go in for the kill when suddenly the last working brain-cell in mind started firing off!

STOP! Are you crazy?! We know nothing about him and you're seriously going to make a move on him while your both drunk? You're better than that!

"I also really dig goth girls." Will said while giving an intense "bedroom-eyes" stare.

Fuck it! He's cute and I could use a shag. Why the hell not?

She crashed her lips into his at great speed that threw Will back on the other side of the sill. His lips tasted amazing! Even with that awful whiskey covering them. After a couple seconds, she broke off and then thought of something really bold.

"There's a bedroom down the hall. Wanna mess it up?"

After a about half-a-second, Will answered with a nonchalant "Yeah, sure." And they both darted out of the study together hand-in-hand. This had all the makings of a joyous if not immediately regrettable night, and yet, to the pleasant surprise of both of them, no regrets were ever had. Either that night or any night since.

A/N: Wow, this took way longer than it should have. Really sorry to those of you who have been waiting patiently for this. My only excuses are a bad case of writer's block and working 2 jobs. Hopefully it doesn't take 2 months for the next one but I can't promise anything with my schedule. Hope you all enjoyed this! Don't forget to review :)