Tory held the pins out to Whitney who was twisting Ella's hair into an elaborate up-do. Ella sat at Tory's vanity, staring at the mirror, a contemplative expression on her face. She didn't look very ecstatic for someone who was about to spend an evening with Charleston's most eligible bachelor. She looked as if she were trying to solve a difficult puzzle, eyebrows scrunched up and lips thinning.
Whitney was chattering away a mile a minute about... well Tory didn't really know actually, she'd tuned her yammering out half an hour ago. Tory hadn't been very surprised when a few days ago, Ella had marched into her room at half-past noontime and excitedly relayed that she had a date with one Chance Claybourne. They had been dancing around each other for nearly a month ever since they'd found themselves at the same play. Tory was happy for Ella. Really. Chance was a nice guy but Tory couldn't help the sudden bouts of resentment she felt when she thought of how he had bought his way out of the war while Hi, Shelton and Ben were putting their lives on the life.
Whitney finished pinning up Ella's dark hair and moved back to examine her work. She sighed dreamily.
"You look lovely, my dear. Let me go get you some of my perfume", Whitney floated out of the room in her usual grace and Tory was left with an uncomfortable-looking Ella.
"Tor?"
Tory hummed in response, looking up from where she'd been looking out the window.
"Do you think I'm being selfish? I mean, I know there's a war going on right now but is it bad that I want this to work?"
In the year that Tory had known Ella, she'd never seemed so small and uncertain before. Tory stood and knelt beside Ella's chair, taking Ella's hands in her own. She smiled warmly, the fondness she felt for this girl an all-encompassing warmth.
"It's not selfish of you. Life doesn't stop; not for you, not for me, not for war. This war will end eventually but Chance won't be single forever. So go, enjoy your evening. The world will still be here when you get back," Tory smiled and Ella's eyes were suspiciously bright. When she spoke, her voice was thick with emotion.
"I'm glad I met you, Victoria Brennan," she chokes out and then Whitney is knocking at the door. She pokes her head in the room, eyeing them suspiciously for a moment and then she informs them that Chance has arrived and is waiting downstairs in the foyer. They stand and for a brief moment, Ella throws her arms around Tory, crushing Tory against her body.
"Good luck, El," Tory whispers, voice muffled against Ella's skin. Ella steps back, winks and pirouettes, slipping out of the room. Tory steps back to the window, watching as Chance helps Ella into the carriage. She feels a split second of envy, thinking of how much she'd give to have the boys back there at her side. It's with a heavy heart that she turns to find Whitney sitting at the edge of her bed. Tory eyes her warily and throws herself into Ella's vacated seat in front of the vanity.
Looking in the mirror, she sees how terrible she looks. Her skin is pale, dark bags bruise the skin under her eyes and her hair is a curly frizz. She grabs her comb and begins to comb through when in the reflection, she sees Whitney stand and move up behind her. Whitney takes the comb from her hand, silently settling into the task of combing through Tory's mane.
Tory finds herself watching Whitney's reflection in the mirror. Notices, for the first time, how her lips pull downwards at the corners. How her eyebrows pull together slightly, the pallor of her skin, the slight tremor in her hand. She looks miserable, Tory thinks and she wonders how she'd never noticed it. Even as she thinks it though, she knows the answer. Whitney hides it, behind smiles and laughs, silly stories and ramblings.
Tory feels a deep shame because despite not being narcissistic enough to think it's because of her, she knows that her attitude towards Whitney may have a part in it. She thinks of what she said to Ella about how it's not selfish to want things and remembers how excited Whitney was that first day Tory arrived. How she babbled on about wanting a daughter. She thinks of that day in the carriage, Whitney's stricken face and the crying coming from behind the closed door. She thinks maybe it doesn't matter that Whitney could never replace her mom, the fact that she's there and trying, just like Kit, should be enough. Sure, Whitney annoys her sometimes with her constant attempts to foist some well-off, handsome bachelor onto Tory but she did it because she wanted what was best for Tory- or at least what she thought was best. Tory and her mother had clashed often enough for Tory to know that family wasn't always easy. Besides, they were at war. She thought of Shelton and Hi and Ben and Ruth. Her mother. She should appreciate the people she still has before they're gone.
"I'm sorry."
The words tumble out of Tory's mouth before she can stop them and behind her, Whitney freezes. Swallowing down her shame, Tory takes a deep breath and continues.
"I'm sorry for treating you so horribly and making you so miserable. I'm sorry I'm not the daughter you want and I'm sorry you can't have her but you have to understand that I don't want to marry. At least not now and not for money. You won't ever replace my mother but you're family?"
Her voice trips and shakes along the way, the end coming out like a question. Suddenly struck by some indescribable fear that Whitney won't accept her apology, that she'll get angry, Tory looks up at Whitney who looks like she's struggling not to cry. She nods frantically, head bobbing. She takes a moment to compose herself and then speaks.
"I would never try to replace your mother, Tory. I know that I could never be what she is to you or what she was to your father but I wanted so bad for us to be a family that I couldn't see you didn't want a new one," Whitney cried, blue eyes swimming in tears. Tory feels something curl in the pit of her stomach, something that feels an awful lot like self-loathing.
She's on her feet and hugging Whitney in a flash.
"I got one anyways and I do want it," Tory mumbles against Whitney's soft blonde hair, swallowing around the lump in her throat. She feels the sob shake Whitney's body and then it's she who is comforting Whitney instead of the other way around.
When Whitney's tears finally dry up, Tory steps back, feeling strangely light. She smiles at Whitney who wipes at her face with dainty hands.
"How about we go drag Kit from his lab?" Tory muses. Whitney tries to smile but it comes out wobbly and weak as her eyes well with tears once again. She looks away from Tory, blinking at the window.
"It is a beautiful day out. We could have a picnic," she says, voice breaking at first and then gaining strength. They head out together and split once they reach the kitchen. Tory opens the door to the cellar, making her way down the steps. Upstairs, she can hear Whitney puttering around in the kitchen.
Down below, Kit is banging a mallet onto a sheet of metal, thick gloves obscuring his forearms. He looks up at Tory, eyes wonky and immensely wide through the lens of his glasses. He looks like a mad scientist with his hair sticking up in tufts all over the place and the crazy eyes.
"We're having a picnic," she says in way of explanation as to why she's down there.
"What time is it?" he asks, big eyes blinking at her.
"Five," she replies.
"Huh. I thought it was still morning," he sounds confused as he strips his gloves and takes off the bifocals. Tory rolls her eyes amusedly, leading the way back upstairs where Whitney is preparing sandwiches. She stacks the mountain of sandwiches all on a tray, sending Kit to call Lorelei, Linus and Nelson over. Meanwhile, Tory busies herself by pouring the iced tea into tall glasses.
Outside, they settle themselves in the garden and let Cooper loose. The sun is shining, the sky overhead is a cloudless, never-ending blue and the humidity isn't too high. All in all, it's a pretty good way to end the day. They stay out there till dusk, watching the sun go down over the hills. There's laughter and stories and Tory forgets that there is a war raging on outside this bubble of peace. She laughs when Cooper comes up to Whitney and starts licking her face. When Lorelei tells a story about little Shelton and little Hi pranking Kit, she laughs along ignoring the pang in her heart. It's her family, missing a few people but still whole and Tory wishes they could stay in this bubble of peace forever.
NOTE: Helloo. So sorry for the wait. As you can see, this was mainly a filler chapter for 2 reasons. 1) so I could focus on building background relationships and 2) because I'm evil and I needed to create suspense for when I reveal Ben's status.
Aren't Tory and Whitney adorable? Like I know I am warping the characters a bit here but it's an AU okay set in wartime. There's bound to be mushy moments. Personally I just love the potential their relationship has and I love the Ella and Tory friendship (totally gonna ignore Terminal events).
Anyhoo I hope you enjoyed. Thank you for all the reviews :*