Hello again!

Has everyone been having a good week? I hope so! :)

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Chapter 2: Early Years

To say Aleena was a normal child would be a lie. Dwight knew there was nothing normal about her the moment he discovered her outside of his and Lia's home. The two hearts beating within the baby's small chest only showed this abnormality even more so. However, he thought that those occurrences might be where it ended for little Aleena's oddities. Truly though, it was far from over for the extraordinary little girl that was now a part of his and Lia's life.

It was the next day that Dwight went into the city and gathered the proper paperwork to make himself and Lia guardians of the child. Social services allowed them both to keep the child as an emergency temporary home. There was really no use to take the child away and put her into foster care or an orphanage since both were willing to take care of the baby. Luckily, having lived within the system himself, Dwight knew exactly how to get things done as quickly as possible. It also did not hurt knowing the right people which helped things along the way. In the end, they had everything done and over within only three weeks' time. It was made official. Both Dwight and Lia Tate were now proud parents of little Aleena Tate. And truly, neither could be any happier.

Dwight himself was already happy and willing to let the child join the family, even from the very start. He had always wanted to be a father and now he finally had that chance. Lia, on the other hand, took some time to warm up to the child. Yes, she agreed to allow the baby to live with them and was even glad to provide a loving home for little Aleena. However, it still did not mean that Lia felt as though she should completely allow herself to fall into the role as a mother. After all, she had given up on the dream of being a mother decades ago. To suddenly have that chance now, Dwight knew it must be almost overwhelming for her. But as the months passed, having a small and innocent life to take care made Lia grow fond of the baby. Soon, Dwight saw how Lia seemed to gain a slight bounce in her step as she took up the new role in her life. Even if she constantly denied her affection, he knew that secretly Lia was overjoyed by having a child of their own.

Things seemed to grow steady and customary for them as they adjusted their life with the newcomer of the home. Luckily, Lia had retired about a year ago, so she was able to take care of the child quite easily while Dwight himself continued on with his own job. And whenever he returned home afterwards, he was always glad to help immediately in taking care of little Aleena. They had arranged up the old storage room to be a suitable place for the baby girl to live. In the very same room which they had been planning on having their own children living in when they had tried for a child many years ago. The walls were even still painted blue from their expectancy to have a boy, with baby boy clothes still packed away in their boxes. Lia kept saying how she would make a trip to gather up some baby girl clothing for Aleena, but Dwight said how he didn't think the little girl would mind wearing boy outfits for the time being. As he had stated, 'Might as well put the old clothes to good use, right?'

Yes, things were quite usual for them. Nothing irregular to speak of. That is, until Dwight began to notice a few things.

They were little at first. He did not even think of it in the beginning, but . . . The newborn baby being able to lift her hands up in the air, even her legs in a slight way, was very unusual. As well as the way the child seemed to always hold eye contact with him, Lia, or anyone else who came by to see the child. Nothing that a normal baby should be able to do until three months of age. At least, that is what the children's care books had said when Dwight studied over them. But of course, there was always the exception to the rule, so he merely passed these off as simply nothing to note.

Then as time passed, Dwight noticed how the child did not seem to cry very much. Only on a few occasions when necessary for the baby to let them know of her diaper needing changed or to feed her. Other than that, little Aleena was very quiet. Sometimes so quiet that he felt the need to walk into her room to check up on her and make certain that she was all right. But of course, as always, he would be greeted with the observing gaze of the baby, constantly curious with those wandering brown eyes of hers. When he brought up his concerns to Lia or other friends of his, they laughed and dismissed his worries, telling him that it was normal for some babies to be more calm and quiet than others. But of course, others found it funny to tease him on the choice he and Lia made in raising a child in the first place when truly they all believed the couple to be too old for such a thing. But Dwight would always wave these comments off, knowing it was just his friends' ways of being concerned in him and Lia pushing themselves in the task of taking care of a baby.

And so, when three months had passed, Dwight (and even Lia) noticed in surprise how quickly the child was developing. Dwight had found little Aleena sitting up already within her crib, smiling at him when he walked into seeing her holding out a toy to him. She even babbled quietly at him, gurgling and giggling as he walked over to pick her up, ready to feed her for the night. Then, a few more months passed, and Lia discovered Aleena standing up in her crib one morning, even trying to walk around on the small bed. Of course, the baby fell down each time with a bounce, unable to completely stay up properly. And then there was the words the child was beginning to speak, or at least trying to say to them, little things that really she should not be able to even babble. Dwight and Lia both knew that a baby should not be even able to do such a thing until at least a year old. Lia stated in delight that their child might grow up to be a genius with how advance she was. Dwight only smiled and nodded, hoping dearly that it was just an unusual case of their child being quick to develop than normal.

But in his gut, Dwight knew that there was nothing truly ordinary about the child. For he saw Aleena's uniqueness whenever he would catch the child staring with keen interest up around the room, seeming to track moving objects with her eyes carefully. Nothing that he could see for himself, and certainly not Lia or anyone else for that matter. Dwight wondered that maybe it was something within the air that only the child could see for herself. To which he knew he should not be thinking or believing in such things, but there was always that possibility of this child having some sort of unique sight that others did not possess. But of course, he kept these notions and thoughts to himself, knowing others would only laugh or call him crazy.

It still did not mean that he did not worry. If the child continued to develop at the rate she was, it would attract the interest of others. And this might cause consequences leading up to the child being taken away from her family if suspicion grew large enough. Dwight tried to keep himself realistic in mind, knowing that truly not everyone is going to recognize immediately what is different about the child. Only he himself who knew that there was something strange about the child would see the obvious. So most likely, no one would ever suspect a thing. But it still did not mean that Dwight would not worry.

His worriment only escalated on the day he discovered just what little Aleena could do.

It was his day off work, relaxing in the living and reading the morning paper. He could hear Lia in the kitchen cooing to their daughter and feeding Aleena in her highchair. Aleena was still rather small for being a little over a year old now. Nothing too severe to worry over, but Lia still seemed to be determined to get their child to the proper weight as their parenting books suggested. When a knock came from the front door, Dwight had only just glanced up from his paper when Lia came into the room and swiftly opened the door.

"Oh! Angie, I'm so sorry. I completely forgot today was Thursday," Lia said to their arriving guest. Dwight could see it was his wife's shopping friend Angie, an elderly woman, much older than the couple themselves, who always wore her Sunday best and kept to a tight schedule in her life. Angie stepped into their house, sniffing as she eyed the place in a careful manner.

"Yes, well, you have become rather absent-minded since that child arrived," the elderly woman said, seeming to dismiss Lia's apology. She looked down to the timeworn pocket watch chained to her purse, clicking it open to examine the time. "If we are going to make the sales in time, we'll have to leave now."

"Yes, of course. Just let me gather up my things," Lia said, hurriedly going back to the bedroom to get her purse.

Folding up his paper in a neat fashion, Dwight only glanced up briefly towards Angie before standing up to go into the kitchen to check on Aleena, moving himself as far away from Angie as he could get. It was not that he did not like her per say . . . No, no, he was lying. He really did not like Angie at all.

She was very much stuck in her family's traditional ways, believing that everyone she knew should follow in her footsteps. People who might live differently or seem odd in any manner were looked down upon by the elderly woman. For example, a fifty-two-year-old couple taking in a child not related to them by blood seemed to be far too taboo to Angie. Dwight gritted his teeth together when recalling how Angie wanted to scold both him and Lia on taking in some 'tramp's' child. He was just glad that Lia had been the one to be swift in changing the subject, for he had been awfully close to simply telling the elderly woman that she was no longer welcome in their house. He put up with a lot from her already, but calling their child a tramp and scolding them on adoption, in general, was something he would not stand for.

Really, one might be asking why exactly Lia and Dwight were even friends with the elderly woman. Well, Dwight never truly considered himself as a friend to Angie. More like an unwelcome acquaintance. But Angie had been an old friend of Lia's family, so his wife remained friendly with the woman. It also did not hurt by Lia feeling sorry for Angie since the woman was all alone now with her husband passing away only a few months ago and her son dying in the war. So, Dwight remained quiet in the background when it came to Lia's friendship with Angie.

Dwight had just stepped around the corner of the kitchen, walking by the refrigerator when he halted in his steps. Eyes widening in stunned silence, the only thing he could do was stare at little Aleena sitting in her highchair. He watched as the child held out her arms in an outstretched manner, wiggling her fingers in the air as she reached for her bottle. The bottle which now wobbled in midair as it floated towards her from the kitchen table. Aleena's eyes could be seen focused solely on the bottle. Her face scrunched in hard concentration. But no matter how much she reached out with her little grasping fingers, the bottle did not seem to move any closer. It seemed she was struggling on getting it to simply float away from the table at all.

"We're leaving now, dear," he heard Lia call from the living room.

Dwight walked swiftly to the bottle, snatching it out of the air and held it tight in his grasp. Aleena in her chair blinked at him, appearing confused that he would grab it away from her reach. She made displeased noise, holding her hands up to him and opened and closed them in a grasping manner, most likely wanting him to give her the bottle. But Dwight ignored this as he turned hurriedly around, holding the bottle behind his back.

"You can watch Aleena for a while, right?" Lia said, not really asking but more of telling him what was expected to happen for the day while she was out.

"Uh—yeah. Yeah, of—of course," Dwight said with uncertainty. He gave his wife a wary smile. "Have fun, honey." Lia nodded curtly, turning to walk out of the house with Angie.

Dwight held his breath until he heard the truck starting up and leaving the driveway. Letting out his breath in a gust, he felt relieved to have caught Aleena's actions in time before his wife discovered it.

"Daddy! Milk!" cried Aleena next to him. He looked over to her, seeing the child reaching out her hands for him to give her the bottle. Handing the drink over, Aleena grasped it tight in her little fists and began drinking from the bottle hurriedly.

He could only continue to stare at her in amazement as she drank from her bottle. Grabbing a chair from the kitchen table, he sat down next to the child and observed her for a moment. Aleena watched him, slowly pulling the bottle away from her mouth as she seemed curious by him taking such a sudden interest to her. Looking down at her bottle and then back at him, she held out the drink to him as if offering to share.

"Thank you, Aleena," Dwight said, taking the bottle from her. Examining the bottle, he could see if there was anything out of the ordinary about it. It was nothing more than a simple plain bottle. Sitting it down carefully on the table across from Aleena, he turned his attention back to her. "Aleena, can you make the bottle come to you again?"

The little girl nodded, focusing her eyes onto the object in determination. She reached out her hands, grasping at the air again. Dwight watched, fascinated by what occurred. The bottle shook on the table, edging little-by-little off of the wooden surface. It bobbed and swayed in the air as if attached to an unsteady string, moving its way in slow fashion towards Aleena. But then the bottle suddenly fell to the ground as if the string had snapped, bouncing and rolling away from the two sitting down. Aleena dropped her hands with a deep frown on her face, clear disappointment written on her expression.

"It fell," she stated to Dwight, pointing at the bottle as if asking him why it did that.

"Yes, I see that," Dwight nodded, reaching down to pick the bottle up from the floor. He stared at it for a second before placing it back on the table. "Aleena . . . have you done this before?"

"No," Aleena answer, shaking her head. Dwight nodded slowly, staring at his daughter, studying her.

"Good," he said, trying to sound firm. He reached forward, taking her tiny hand and holding it in comfort. "Aleena . . . you may not understand this now, but I need you not to do that again. All right? Can you do that for daddy?"

Aleena scrunched her face in a pout. "Why?"

Dwight shifted on his seat, trying to think of a reason the child would understand. He knew that Aleena understood things much more clearly than what other children would. She seemed to comprehend almost everything Lia and him said with ease, taking in stride their words and meanings. He did not ever have to dumb down his words like Lia and others always did themselves or wanted him to, always saying how a baby would not realize what he was saying anyway. But would Aleena understand that it was dangerous for others to see her possessing . . . powers? Would she realize what others would think of and how frightened people could become if they saw her doing such things like making bottles float to her?

"Well," Dwight began to explain to the child, "you see . . . mommy and others might be scared if they see you doing that."

"Why?" Aleena questioned again, tilting her head in curiosity.

"Because . . . normally . . . people can't do those sorts of things," Dwight said carefully, hoping to convey his warning to the child the best way he could.

"Why?"

"Well . . . they just can't." Dwight folded his hands together, trying to think on what to say. "You see, you're special. You can do things that normal children could never do. And since you are different, people tend to see this as a bad thing. Most people don't like others who are different."

Aleena furrowed her brows, seeming confused by this. "Different bad?"

Dwight gave a slow nod. "To others, yes, being different is bad." He stared up at the ceiling in thought briefly, gathering his words before looking at the child again. "That's why you can't show others your special abilities. You have to keep yourself . . . hidden."

"I hide?" Aleena looked conflicted by this, seeming uncertain by her daddy's words.

"Yes. You hide away and stay safe. Don't ever let others see what you can do."

Staring down at her hands, Aleena wiggling her fingers in thought. Her face furrowed in deep thinking as she seemed to take in what her daddy was saying. Then she looked up to Dwight once more, seeming to wonder about something in particular. "Different with daddy?"

Dwight hummed, trying to think on what Aleena was saying. "You can be different around me, yes. I understand your . . . gifts. But mommy and others won't. Don't ever show them what you can do."

"Okay, daddy," Aleena replied, nodding her head, seeming to get what he was saying. Dwight only hoped that his warning stuck with her and that he did not have to worry about future incidents. But for now on, he knew he must keep a better eye on her. Best not let anyone else ever see what Aleena could do. He only prayed that this would be the last surprise Aleena ever threw at him.

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Aleena knew that Dwight and Lia were not her real parents. She knew the moment she saw Dwight holding her in his arms when she first arrived outside their home. Why she knew or how she remembered that, she did not know. She just . . . knew. It was hard to really explain or even think about. It was just how her mind worked. It jumped around and thought ahead on certain things. While on other subjects, she realized she simply could not understand. Such as why her daddy wanted her to act 'normal' and told her that different was a bad thing. Why was different bad? She would have assumed the key to living an exciting life, and being a part of society, would be people having unique qualities to make the world have a great diversity. But whatever, grown-ups were weird sometimes.

Yes, Aleena knew they were not her real parents, but it still did not mean they were not her caretakers. They were her parents, just not her 'parents.' She liked to think of Dwight and Lia as her second parents, and the other ones she did not know were her first ones. She loved Dwight and Lia and respected them. They took the time to raise her when others would not have. This was especially true from the way that Angie woman constantly said to Aleena's parents. For this, Aleena knew she would be eternally grateful for. She just sometimes wished she knew who had been her other parents. 'Parents by blood' is the term Angie liked to use. Angie also liked to say 'tramps' sometimes, too. Aleena was not sure exactly what a 'tramp' was, but from the way her daddy seemed to get whenever the elderly woman mentioned it she knew it must not be a good term. So, Aleena did not like it either. Her first parents must be something better than that.

And yes, Aleena did remember almost everything that happened in her life. She knew exactly how long she has been alive (two years, seven months, sixty-five days), what year it was (1972), and where on Earth she was (Rachel, NV, United States of America, North America, Northern Hemisphere). Why did she know all of this? Beats her. It was just her mind storing away knowledge, really. It was more like she gathered the information from others without realizing it. Like . . . without even thinking about it, she had heard what others around her talked about and then it had been stored into her brain. Like a filing system of some kind. Not only this, but she also felt very aware of things around her. Time itself seemed to constantly be in check in her subconscious. The world, spinning below her feet and through space itself. It made her wonder if other children or grown-ups felt the same way in the world. Probably not.

But Aleena still felt this strange thirst for knowledge. Even though she knew more than she should for her age (at least from she heard others say about her), she still craved to know more about the world. Everything was still a mystery to her, and she wanted to understand as much and as quick as possible.

Currently, Aleena stood by her mommy's knee, tugging on her dress. Aleena wanted to get her mommy to take down the large book from the high shelf in her daddy's study room. Something about the book made Aleena just want to look over it again and again.

"Mommy? Mommy?" Aleena called to Lia.

"Not now, sweetheart. Mommy is busy," Lia replied, giving a side glance at her daughter before turning back to speak with one of the other women from book club. The group of women sat around the living room, chatting away about gossip of the town or something. Aleena really did not care what exactly they were talking about, for it all sounded useless. It all seemed rather boring to her on the way grown-ups only wish to talk about meaningless things. Stupid grown-ups.

Aleena huffed, walking away from the women as they all laughed about a man getting caught with his pants down with another woman. Was that really something they needed to focus on? Aleena knew sometimes she had trouble keeping her pants up as well as they were rather large on her. Surely even adults can have trouble with pants, too. And from the sounds of it, that other woman with the man was only trying to help him get the clothing item back up when her husband came home.

Aleena gave the women in the living room a glance as she reached the door to her daddy's study. None of them was paying any attention to her, so she just shrugged her shoulders and walked through the slightly open door. Inside the room, she stared around at the many bookshelves that lined the walls, all the brown boxes with stuff piled into them, and the desk that had some many neat looking objects from her daddy's job. Walking over to the largest bookshelf in the room, Aleena stared up at the big book pushed back on the top shelf. Sure, she could grab any other book in the room, but she wanted that book more than the rest.

Glancing around, Aleena made certain that her mommy and none of the other ladies were around. She knew her daddy would be upset if anyone else besides him saw her different abilities. She had not made anything else float around since that one day with the bottle. In fact, on that day, she had only really done that because she had been really thirsty at the moment. Really, if anything, she did not truly need to bother making things move to her since all she had to do was cry and her mommy or daddy would get something for her. But of course, lately, crying to get something was not as effective as it had been during her early days. Apparently, when one reached a certain age, grown-ups were not really fond of the crying anymore. At least, that is how it seemed from the way her mommy acted. Daddy did not seem to mind getting things for Aleena when she wanted them, but mommy would complain and grow irritated. So Aleena had stopped crying and decided to just get what she wanted for herself.

Like now, for instance.

Making double sure that no one was around; Aleena focused her eyes on the book, beginning her concentration. It was a struggle. The book was rather large and seemed too stubborn to be moved from its particular spot. But eventually, as small beads of sweat formed on Aleena's forehead, the book wiggled and shuffled across the top of the shelf, falling to the floor with a thunk. Wiping away the sweat from her brow, Aleena smiled proudly as she walked over to the book.

She sat down in front of the book, pulling it closer to her the best she could. It was a rather heavy book for a two-year-old, so she grunted as she brought it close. Flipping the book open to the middle, she stared at the pages with blank eyes as she realized something. She had no idea how to read. Huffing in frustration, Aleena crossed her arms and pouted as she glared at the book. She felt so stupid. She should be able to read already like all the other adults could, not be lost to what all the scribbled words were on the pages. Furrowing her brows, she wondered if there was a way for her to teach herself on how to read.

She spotted another large, red book in the corner, leaning against her daddy's desk. Her mind lit up as she remembered her daddy always using this book to find words to use in his writing reports that he likes to do for work. Perfect. Maybe this book could help her as well. Scooting over, she pulled the red book over and flipped it open, seeing right away the infinite list of words within. The book seemed to explain exactly what each word meant and how to say the words properly. She already knew all her ABCs and what sounds they make from that Sesame Street show on the television her parents had recently bought. So learning to read should be easy enough.

Well . . . it was not as easy at first as Aleena assumed it should be. But eventually, after pouncing each word as carefully as she could out loud from what the red book directed her to, she felt as though she had the hang of things. Now, it was just to put it to the test by reading the other large book. She decided to flip to the beginning of the book and start from there. She believed it was best for her to go in order of how the book was printed. Scooting down to lay on her stomach, Aleena kicked her legs lightly in the air as she began to scan over the many pages before her.

About an hour later, outside of the home, as night began to settle, Dwight pulled up into the driveway in his truck. Tugging his messenger bag onto his shoulder, he stepped out of the vehicle and made his way into the house. The first thing that hit him was laughter from the group of women sitting inside of his home. Blinking in surprise, he looked at his wife in question as to why exactly there were so many women within the home.

"I thought you'd be at Angie's for book night," Dwight commented to Lia. He smiled and nodded in welcome to the ladies as they all greeted him politely.

"Oh, Angie wasn't feeling too well this evening, so we decided to have book night here," Lia explained, still having somewhat of a chuckle within her voice.

"And I do think we should have it here more often," one woman of the group said. "It's much homier here than at Angie's. And, no offence of course, but it's much more entertaining to be able to let loose and not just stick to discussing our books."

"Let's hope she gets sick more often," another woman said. The group all giggled as though the statement was scandalous. Lia shushed them to be quiet, though was somewhat laughing as well.

"Now, don't be too hard on old Angie. She means well enough," Lia told the group of ladies. They all sort of muttered in agreement, though Dwight felt as if they only agreed as an act of politeness.

"Well, I'm always happy to welcome guests into the home," Dwight said, nodding to the ladies with a kind smile. He then frowned when realizing he was not seeing one particular child in the room. "Honey, where's Aleena?"

"She should be back in her room playing with her toys," Lia commented, absently waving her hand towards the hallway.

Dwight nodded and went towards the back room, letting the women continue on with their gossip and laughter. He went to go into Aleena's bedroom that was next to their own, but passing by his study, he noticed the room slightly ajar. Peeking around the corner, he chuckled under his breath as he saw Aleena laying on her stomach and kicking her feet out with his volume of American history setting in front of her. She seemed to be trying to read the text, which Dwight had to admit was rather adorable how much she tried to be and act like an adult at times. She wanted to grow up so fast.

"What do you have there, sweetheart?" Dwight asked his daughter, coming into the room and setting his bag next to his desk. Aleena sat up as fast as she could, beaming brightly at her daddy.

"Reading!" she exclaimed in merriment.

"Reading," Dwight nodded in approval, smiling at her as he sat down at the desk. "And what exactly have you been reading?"

Aleena pulled the book around the best she could so her daddy could look at it with her on the ground. "About guys, who got angry and threw tea into a river."

"Oh?" Dwight blinked, unsure if he had heard her correctly. Did she . . . did she just talk about the Boston Tea Party? Had she actually read the book?

"Yeah. They—they were mad 'cause of, um, these other guys who bullied them over ta—taxes." Aleena pointed at the pictures illustrating the colonists throwing the tea chests into the Boston Harbor. She then flipped the pages more towards the beginning of the volume, pointing at another picture showing an explorer meeting Native Americans during the early 16th century. "And—and the other guys, when they, um, they were mean to the Indians when they got the big boats here." She frowned, feeling at a loss by this piece of information being stated and explained. She looked up at Dwight in question. "Why would they be mean to the Indians, daddy?"

Dwight was at a loss for words. He could only stare at Aleena in amazement as she gazed back in expectancy for an answer for human cruelty. Clearing his throat abruptly, Dwight shifted in his seat as he wished to explain this the best he could. "Um, well . . . through the history of our planet, people tend to be cruel to others who they don't understand or find different from themselves."

". . . Different like me?"

Staring at the large, brown eyes of his daughter, seeing the uncertainty within her irises, Dwight felt a tight lump in his throat. He did not wish to admit it, but he knew what people have done to others in the past could happen to Aleena as well. Humans were cruel and vicious to others of their own kind. Another species all together would be no different in falling right into the same path of hatred and brutality.

"Yeah," Dwight whispered gravely. "Different like you." Aleena looked back down at the images before her, still feeling confused as to why anyone could possibly be so hateful to others. And simply because of there being differences in the world. But at the same time, and for the first moment in her life, Aleena felt almost scared of the world.

"That's why I can't be different, right daddy?" Aleena finally replied, staring back up at Dwight as she grew to understand why he had warned her about her 'gifts' in the beginning.

"You can be different. Just . . . don't let others see your differences, okay?" Dwight responded. Smiling to comfort the child, Dwight patted Aleena gently on the head in reassurance. "Sweetheart, there really is nothing wrong with being different. It's just, well, others tend to be frightened of things they don't really understand. At first, at least. Through time and patience, people do open up and realize that there's nothing to be afraid of."

Aleena nodded, understanding how her daddy was trying to comfort her and keep her from becoming afraid of others. Still . . . she saw a growing pattern within the book in front of her. Even though she was only in the beginning parts of the pages, it seemed as though repeatedly people treated others poorly, a theme of cruelty throughout history. Would she really be treated any different in this world if others realized what her abilities were?

"Aleena . . . can you really read that book?" Dwight suddenly asked his daughter, eyeing her with a careful gaze. The little girl looked back up at Dwight, nodding her head. The man hummed, trying to wrap his mind around the amazing occurrence of an almost three-year-old child knowing how to read without any help. And such advanced reading as well. "Have you always known how to read?"

"No. I learned," Aleena said, pointing at the red books still lying on the ground just to the side of her. Reaching over, Dwight picked up his old dictionary from the ground. He stared at it, feeling greatly proud of his daughter.

"You taught yourself how to read from a dictionary," he commented. He saw Aleena nodding in the corner of his eye. Directing his gaze back onto her, he gave her a warm smile. "Very good, sweetheart. I'm very proud of you." He reached forward, rubbing an affectionate hand on top of her head. Aleena beamed, delighted that she made her daddy feel proud of her. Dwight leaned back on his chair, nodding down at the history book still lying in between them. "So, do you like the history book?" His daughter nodded in a slight indication.

"Um . . . if people are mean . . ." Aleena frowned looking back and forth between her daddy and the book, hoping for Dwight to clear away her confusion as to why the world acted in such a way. She pointed at another picture in the book that illustrated harsh cruelty inflicted onto others. "Can you change them? Make people nice?"

Dwight leaned back in his chair, adjusting his glasses on the bridge of his nose as he stared up at the ceiling in thought. "I would like to change people, make things better for the world." He sat up straight again in the chair, keeping a steady eye on Aleena. "But not by changing history. I believe history must be left alone as it is. It's not something anyone should ever try to shape for themselves."

Aleena frowned, furrowing her brows as she tried to understand what he was trying to explain to her. "How do people make things nice if can't fix the past?"

"To make the future better." Dwight nodded at the history volume. "That's why I have that book in the first place, to remind myself of the past. History tends to repeat itself. So, if we learn from the past, we can try to make sure our mistakes won't happen again for the future."

"We learn from mistakes?"

Dwight nodded in a slight gentle way. "Yes, we learn from our mistakes. And we all must make sure not to cause the same fault or harm as before."

Aleena stared down thoughtfully at the pages, thumbing the edges of them and feeling the rough texture. "Does everyone learn from mistakes?"

"Not always. Most tend to forget our past mistakes, only focusing on their way into the future. And this is how history ends up repeating itself."

Giving Dwight a disappointed frown, Aleena huffed and felt at a loss of what exactly was the right answer for living through this strange world if no one wished to learn and make a better future. Was that not the point of living in the first place? Make a better life and world?

"Then . . . will people still hate me, too? 'Cause I'm different?" Aleena asked. Dwight sighed, giving his daughter an apologetic look, knowing he could never make everything perfectly safe and fine for her.

"I'm sorry. I'm afraid there will always be people who have hate within them," he told her, holding a forlorn expression. When seeing the sad face of Aleena, Dwight hurriedly cleared his throat and patted her shoulder in reassurance. "But don't worry, sweetheart. Not everyone is like that. There are many people out there who want to shed away hatred and live happily with all."

Aleena's face perked up at the note, smiling as she felt relief in hearing that. "Like you, daddy?"

Dwight gave a bright smile. "Like me."

Both turned their heads towards the study room door when they heard Lia calling for Dwight from the living room. Getting up from his desk chair, Dwight told Aleena he would be right back to help her put the books away. Aleena watched him go around the corner of the door and disappear down the hall. She held a puzzled expression on her face as she stared back down at the history book in front of her, staring at the pictures on the pages with a studying gaze.

"History repeats hate," she mumbled under her breath as she thumbed at the page. Giving an exasperated sigh, Aleena lifted the cover of the book and flipped it shut.

XxXxXxXx

I know not much is going on just yet in the story, but gotta see how our little Aleena grows up and all. ;) I hope you all enjoyed it so far! Let me know in a review if you can. I would love to know what you all think of the story. :D

Reviewers:

ChickenPotPie: Glad you're liking it so far! Hope that you'll continue to enjoy it throughout the rest to come. :) It just brings me so much joy that you've loved the series so far. I know I can't wait for the future to come. :)

mjahappy: Yay! Glad you like. :)

All The Stories Are True 24601: Oh? Torchwood you say? ;) Glad you're liking it so far! Hope you'll like the rest to come. :)

Aliza Shepard: For the most part, yes. With a few original adventures and adventures from other series of the universe thrown in here and there. Hope that you'll like it all! Keeping my fingers crossed that you will. :) Take care until next time!

Wicken25: Well . . . our Wanda is gone. As for Aleena, there's still much to see with her adventures. I hope you'll like them!

normandy1701: Happy New Year! :) Don't worry everything will be revealed in time. Hope you'll enjoy the story! And yes, I'm not over Wanda, either. :(

swimmjacket: So close, yet so far. If only they knew back then. :( But glad you're interested in the story so far. :) Not certain if I'll be doing the Thirteenth Doctor just yet, but we'll have plenty of time with the Twelfth Doctor. I hope that the story will be good. Nervous as usual when it comes to new stories. Until next time!

Deightfully Tacky: Hello! I'm so glad to have you here in the new story. I really hope that you'll like it. :) No real reason for her last name being Tate. Just thought it sounded nice with her first name haha. Can't wait to see what you think of the rest of the story to come! Until next time. :)

Authora97: I know I feel confliction as well. But I hope in the end, you'll enjoy the story. Keeping my fingers crossed that this chapter was a good read. :) See you again in the future!

Momochan77: Yay! Glad you liked it so far. Hope this chapter was just as good and to see you again for the rest to come. :)

NightHunterDeath: Yes she did. And now she's living in another life without them. At least we know she's being well taken care of. Again, we'll just have to wait and see what Jack meant during that moment. Things will be explained, I promise. :) There will be some more chapters to come with her childhood. A way to see how she grows and such. I hope that's okay. If not, then don't worry it won't be too many chapters. I hope that you'll enjoy it. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. The best advice I could give is to plan out your stories beforehand. Have most of them written up and done before actually posting to the site itself. I had both part one and two of the trilogy and half of part three done before I finally was confident enough with how it was turning out to post. It helps to have it all written out beforehand so that way you can go back and make certain things are staying in continuity. I hope this helps you. :)

bored411: Can't wait for you to read what's to come. :)

LittleDreamerinaTale: I really hope that you'll like the more to come. I'm excited to see what you think of it! :)

wonderbitch26: Honestly, I can't believe it as well. But here we are and I just can't wait for more to come, seeing what you and all other readers think of it. :) Can't wait to see what you think of it. As for ship, um, well, there's no Wanda, and Aleena is a child. So . . . not much romance going on in this story. Mostly just adventures and such. Hope that's okay.

Readsthings: That would be nice, but unfortunately no. Amy and Rory don't know Aleena until, well, later. As we saw in the last part of the series. Hope that you enjoyed chapter 2. :)

That's all for now! Can't wait to see what you all think of this chapter. :)

~Tinker~