A/N: I just couldn't leave it hanging where it was, so her I am... again. There's a surprise for all of you at the end of this chapter! :3
All You Got
Epilogue
Tegan's P.O.V.
"Momma T, when's grandma gonna be here?" I peer down from guitar playing, feeling a small hand tugging at my shirt tail
"I told you already Adele; Momma Sara's bringing her and your great aunt Julie in from the airport."
"But when's she gonna be here?" I smile and lean the guitar against the edge of the couch, scooping up the small girl to sit on my lap.
"I don't know, It could be days... maybe years!"
"You're lying!"
"I am not. They have to face the evil dragon on their way here" Adele gasps in mock surprise, her brown, almost green eyes growing wide and her chubby fingers covering her gaping mouth.
"No way! There's no dragons in Amsterdam."
"You know best." I say with a mischievous smile.
"When's Uncle Justin gonna come visit again?"
"You're just full of questions today. Hmm I don't know when he'll be coming back. You know he just visited a couple of months ago. Do you want me to make you a snack? You need your strength for fighting off dragons." As she's nodding vigorously, the door suddenly bursts open and the sounds of several voices spring through the house. Adele squeals in excitement and launches off of my lap and out into the foyer to greet the guests. I lag behind chuckling at my daughter's crazy energy level. I find myself ginning so wide my face feels like bursting as I embrace Julie and Sonia tightly. It's been such a long time since we've seen either of them , it's hard to believe they're finally here. Adele clings to Sonia as the three new arrivals peel away their winter coats and make their way to the living room to catch up. As if an amount of catching up could erase more than a year of being apart.
Sara's P.O.V.
Sonia, Julie, Tegan, Adele and I all sit in the living room, resting and digesting the extravagant meal that Tegan had prepared for us. Luckily her cooking skills have improved in the years since we've been together- thanks in part to cooking classes that we'd gone to together back in Canada. Julie and Mom are curled up on the love seat opposite the couch, Julie's arm flung across Mom's shoulders casually. I note this with a content smile. Adele, unusually placid, is curled up on my lap. She's usually running around and demanding someone look at her drawing or play with her, but as her bed time slips farther and farther away, I can tell she's fading fast, but still happy to be staying up late in the company of her family.
"We're so glad you're here, guys. We just wish you could visit more often" I say
"We do too, but it's so difficult since you two moved practically across the world. I'm glad you're happy, but it's so far away from home."
"Here is home now." Tegan says, glancing over at a nearly dozing Adele fondly.
"Besides. We didn't have a choice. If we wanted to start a family, we couldn't risk it being broken up if someone somehow found out." I add, a tinge of homesickness and regret making their ways into my voice.
"It's lucky though; that they granted you asylum here in Amsterdam." My mother says, in an obvious attempt to brighten the darkening conversation tone.
"Mommy, what's asylum?" Adele pipes up from my lap, drowsiness hanging thick from her voice.
"Hmm... I think it's past your bedtime."
"Noooo!" Cries Adele in anguish. "I wanna stay up with Grandma and Auntie Julie!"
"They'll be here in the morning. Tegan?" I say, catching Tegan's attention- she's the only one who can hope to get Adele to bed when she gets into one of her slightly unpredictable crabby moods. Tegan smiles nonetheless and scoops up Adele from my lap and carrying our daughter to her bedroom, Adele begging all the way down the hall to pleeaassee tell her the story about the dragon just one more time!
As Tegan and Adele's voices fade into the small bedroom at the end of the hall, Mom and Julie turn to me, beaming.
"She is so good with Adele." says Julie, sharing a cheerful but slightly loaded look with my mom.
"She really is." I agree quietly, nodding and sipping tea from the lukewarm mug in my small hands. After a study about the adverse effects of coffee were released, Tegan and Adele have demanded that I switch indefinitely to tea.
"Actually there's something I wanted to talk to you two about. Tegan and I were thinking..." I begin.
"What were we thinking?" Tegan asks, walking back into the living room and and taking her seat close tom eon the couch.
"I was just going to talk to them about maybe moving here to Amsterdam." Julie and mom exchange anxious glances, but they don't look very surprised.
"You know we can't do that. Our home is in Calgary. Besides, we're both too old and set in our ways."
"Speak for yourself, I'l the younger sister. But... Julie's right. I mean, we'd love living closer to you two and of course Adele, but we can't just pick up and leave."
"I-It was just a suggestion. I'm just saying it's a strain on all of us to keep flying across the world just to see each other." I say, feeling slightly foolish about my suggestion.
"If you two want to keep your relationship a secret forever..." Tegan says, always the most blunt and brutally honest one in the room.
"You're saying that you tell all of your friends here? And I know Adele doesn't know."
"Yes all of our friends know. People here are so much more open minded, you wouldn't believe it. But we haven't decided about Adele yet." I say with a slightly nervous glance towards Tegan. Telling Adele is one thing Tegan and I keep disagreeing on. She thinks we should just come out and tell her, and I think we should wait. Telling her now could lead to a lot of premature questions and discussions I don't think any of us are ready to have.
"I don't know. Maybe it's time we stop worrying about someone finding out and throwing us in the slammer." My mom's voice is light and cheerful, but I can hear the worry and slight anxiety behind it.
"You know we couldn't risk having Adele taken away from us. And 14 years in prison... that's just harsh."
"How about we sleep on it while we're here?" Julie says before failing to stifle a huge yawn that spreads in a chain reaction throughout the room.
"I guess that's our cue." chuckles Tegan, getting up from the couch. "Come on guys, I'll set up the guest bed." I get up after Tegan and clear the table. The house is quiet but peaceful, the hushed sounds of good night's and thank you's the only noises interrupting the silence.
As I walk down the hall to the bedroom Tegan and I share, I stop in front of Adele's room. Pushing open the slightly cracked door, I walk over to her bed and place a hand gently on her head. She's already asleep, and probably has been since her head hit her pillow. As I sit on the bed next to her resting body, the choice to leave Canada resonates again within me. It had been the only choice for Tegan and I. Some things are too important to risk- and family is one of those things.
I reluctantly lift up my tired body and walk across the hall to the bedroom, closing Adele's door gently behind me. Feeling the comfortable darkness surround me as I close the door behind me, I strip down and crawl under the covers to cuddle against a warm, waiting Tegan. We whisper our goodnights and soon her breath has become slow and easy. But I stay awake for a long time, just holding her as tightly as I can without waking her up. Sometimes with Tegan resting so still beside me, I can hardly believe she's chosen to stay with me after all. But as I fall asleep, I know I'll wake up to her making breakfast with Adele and I'll know why... unconditional love.
Partners in Crime
(Sonia and Julie)
Prologue
January, 1980
Julie's P.O.V.
"What about university?" I cry, whipping around to face my younger sister fiercely. News that my younger sister is getting married is not exactly what I expected to hear while home from college for winter break.
"I'm not going to university. You know I probably wouldn't get in anyways."
"How do you know- you haven't even applied!"
"Julie- just because you got accepted to the University of Toronto doesn't mean I could."
"You're not stupid, Sonia. You could do so much more if you wanted to!" My sister looks down and away, her full lips trembling slightly. Her fingers massage a no doubt aching temple and she lets out a deep shaky sigh.
"This is... w-what I want to do." I shake my head and walk across the room we used to share, dodging around the twin bed that used to be mine and sitting next to Sonia, who shifts away from me slightly.
"You're lying, I can tell. Jack is not what you want. Especially not now; you're barely nineteen!"
"Don't give me a fucking lecture, Julie. I already got enough from mom and dad when I told them. I know what's best for... for myself and right now this is it."
"Do you love him, really? If you do, then I'll leave you alone and be your maid of honor or your flower girl or whatever you want." Sonia looks down at her knees, refusing to answer and gnawing at her bottom lip- I know there's something she's holding back. I rest my hand on hers and her head rests gingerly on my shoulder. I close my eyes and feel her taking a deep breath and squeezing my hand in hers.
"I-I love him, Julie." I nod solemnly, an unexpected weight of sadness washing over me. I should be happier for my sister, but all I feel is alone, and I don't know why. It definitely doesn't make any sense, since I have a perfectly fine boyfriend waiting for me back in Toronto. As I fretfully play with Sonia's hair between my fingers, I try to remember our childhood together. It all seems so far away and foggy when I try to go back to the sights and sounds and experiences that had captivated the both of us in our youth.
"Are you going to marry Rick?" Sonia whispers into the quickly darkening room.
"I don't know. He hasn't asked" I reply truthfully.
"Don't you want to marry him, though? If he asked you."
"I don't know. I mean, I guess when college is over we might consider it."
"I want you to."
"Why?"
"So I'm not alone."
"You'll never be alone, sis. I'll always be right here for you."
"But you're practically living in Toronto now."
"It's just for college. My home is here. I'll come back to stay, and maybe I'll bring Rick with me."
"Will you- oh, wait... Oh my God!" Sonia jerks up out of my arms and flies into the bathroom that is joined to the bedroom. I recover from the sudden shock of her departure and rush after her, opening the bathroom door to find her hunched over the toilet heaving her guts out. Immediately springing into action, I kneel next to her and hold back her long dark brown hair.
When Sonia's done being sick, I help her up slowly and wipe off her face with a hastily dampened wash cloth until her breathing levels off.
"Do you have the flu?" I ask, already planning to compulsively sanitize my hands immediately after the point when it stops seeming rude.
"No..." Sonia croaks as I lead her to her bed and make her lay back on the pillows.
"Did you eat at that crappy mexican food place on the corner again?"
"No, I'm fine really."
"You call puking your guts out fine?"
"Julie, you don't understand- I'm pregnant." I stare at her with a slack jaw and gaping mouth, unable to believe it. Suddenly, our mother's voice calls us to dinner and I can tell from the scared expression on Sonia's face that she hasn't told our parents yet.
A/N: Well I hope you all loved the sneak peek for "Partners in Crime". The fic will center around Julie and Sonia's relationship and also fill in a lot of the blanks from All You Got. I'll be publishing the first chapter within the next couple of weeks, so be on the lookout :)