Disclaimer: all characters belong to Disney as far as I know. No copyright infringement is intended; no money is being made.
Notes: just a note, I'm trying to be politically correct about magic and religion the same way the show was. Attitudes expressed in this story do not necessarily reflect my beliefs or my level of knowledge. bows Note 2 I don't remember what Rebecca's mom was named but I think it was something terribly cliché, so it's Esmerelda until I watch that ep again =P
Second Chances
Ep 3: Familiar
Annie: Since ancient times people have believed in animals with special spirits and special powers. In Egypt sacred animals lived like pharos, and then were mummified like them. Witches had animal companions called familiars, and some Native American tribes believed in totem animals. They believed they could connect their spirits with the animal spirits, to borrow some of the animals' strengths and powers. To be as brave as a lion, or as clever as a fox, or as wise as an owl.
Fi turned a page in her book, engrossed despite the aches in her arm. It was a volume of Celtic legends Jack had found for her in a used bookstore across the street from the hospital. She thought of the Sidhe, the fairy folk, maybe they were real, maybe she could see some someday. Grandma Kathleen and Grandpa Colin had mentioned wanting to take her to Ireland.
There was a knock on the door and the nurse came in, "You still up Fiona?"
"Yeah. Reading."
"How are you feeling?"
Fi groaned in reply, "Like I fell off a mountain and hit every rock on the way down!" And scared, scared that Rebecca had been wrong and a transfusion of her immortal blood would... Fi wasn't sure what she was afraid of. She could remember vague nightmares, saying, "want to die when I'm old and be with my dad..." and Rebecca snapping, "Well your choice is to take the chance or go see him now!" and everything was red, red, red. Fi wasn't sure if that had really happened or not, but Rebecca certainly would have yelled like that.
The nurse held out a little dish of pills and a glass of water. "Doctor's orders are to take these and get some sleep. You need anything? Bathroom?"
"Nah, I'm ok." Fi took her pills and lay back.
"I'll check on you later."
"'Kay, good night."
"Good night." The nurse turned off the light and let herself out. Fi heard her hanging the 'do not disturb' sign on the doorknob and walking away. Then the hall was quiet.
Fi remembered that afternoon, Rebecca sitting on the end of the bed crying from happiness and Annie hovering outside the door looking lost. Poor Annie, stuck without a clue. Maybe Rebecca wouldn't mind telling her.
Dear Annie, welcome to my life, again....
Fi looked up. A huge owl was hovering just outside the window, its spread wings wider than the window frame. Its eyes burned yellow. Fi could see the shadow of feathers on her blanket. The owl was so beautiful, like a tiger, so wild it took Fi's breath away.
Then it pushed its wings down and lifted silently away. Fi thought she saw it dive like a shooting star over the city, but that must have been her imagination.
Rebecca's family always lived in the same kinds of houses: anonymous brick or pastel painted, without porches so the neighbors wouldn't wonder why they never sat outside.
Coming home from school, Rebecca noticed a cat sitting on the cement block they called a 'front stoop.' It was brown, with huge wide ears and green eyes, and it lounged across the stoop as if it owned the place. Rebecca offered her hand and the cat gave her fingers a cautious sniff. Then it sat up straight and poised like an Egyptian temple cat, and nodded regally.
In Egyptian Rebecca murmured, "I thank you for your approval, noble spirit. I fear my parents will not share it."
The cat stretched its neck up to lick her hand in a blessing any girl would have recognized.
Her parents were waiting inside. The school and the hospital had called of course, to say what a hero she'd been. Rebecca had slept over at the hospital last night, not wanting to face them.
"Rebecca." Her mother's voice, not pleased.
"I'm home."
"The school called. They told us what you did."
"Look, dad, I was the only person there with the right blood type and we know from your research and from all of us going to the doctor that whatever makes us like this isn't medical, so there wasn't any danger!"
"Probably!" Her father snapped, "There could well be effects that a test would not show. It was a chance you should not have taken!"
"Would you have done it, if it hadn't been Molly's daughter?"
Rebecca wasn't sure what her parents wanted to hear so she told the truth. "I'm not sure. Probably not."
The cat had gotten in somehow; it jumped its front paws on Rebecca's leg and meowed, an amazingly loud sound for such a skinny creature.
"Oh, what a pretty cat!" Esmerelda offered her hand for the cat to sniff.
"He was out front when I came home. Does he have a tag?"
"No. Perhaps there is an ad in the paper, if he is lost. He is thin enough to be a stray."
The cat had successfully distracted only one parent. "We'll discuss your punishment at dinner." Her father said.
"All right, dad." Rebecca picked up her backpack and took it up to her room. When she came down to get a snack she found her mother giving a saucer of tuna fish to the cat. He nibbled daintily, but the food vanished with surprising speed. When Rebecca came in he looked up and meowed a hello before going back to his meal.
"It is almost as if he remembers you."
"Mom, can we keep him if he doesn't have another home? Please?"
"Perhaps."
"I just noticed, he looks so much like Haidar. Do you remember? My favorite of the temple cats?"
It was the wrong thing to say. Her mother visibly stiffened. "And I remember how much you cried when he died. Do you really want to suffer so again?"
"Yes. Go back to your tuna, cat. You can be the second Haidar."
Haidar meowed as if in agreement.
"Your father is very angry."
"I know."
"What will you say to him?"
Rebecca started looking for something to eat. English muffins, margarine, orange marmalade. Perfect. She started two muffins in the toaster. "I'll tell him maybe I did the wrong thing but it was the only thing I could do. Whatever punishment he decides, it's all right."
"Does the arrival of a cat change you so much?"
"Not just a cat." It was because of the silver ring snug on the third finger of her left hand, and the email tutorial program loading to her computer upstairs, and the thought that she might actually have friends again, Molly and Fi and maybe that girl with the yellow hair. She was different because she had things to look forward to.
The toaster's timer rang and Rebecca snatched her muffins out, scorching her fingers as she transferred them to a plate. She spread on a little margarine and a lot of marmalade, and took her snack upstairs.
Annie was sitting in her bed reading when Molly came in. "Hey honey."
"Hi Molly, what's up?"
"Fi called from the hospital. They're letting her come home tomorrow."
"All right!" Annie waved the book in her hand, "Guess I'll have to return her library."
"Guess so." Molly sat down backwards on Annie's desk chair, "Anything going on? You haven't been doing much besides reading."
"It's nice to take a break from all the stuff that happens on the road, and Fi's got good books. Hey-can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"Who was that girl?"
Molly didn't ask which girl. "That's a tough question. I'm not really sure."
Annie made a question face.
"A long time ago I had a friend named Rebecca. The best friend I ever had until I met Rick. Then one day Rebecca left. Just gone, her house was empty like no one had ever lived there. I never found out what happened.
"Just last year a girl who looked just like Rebecca came to see me, or maybe to see Fi, before a show. She said she was Rebecca's daughter-with the exact same name-and her mom was too busy to see me."
"Weird."
"I know. Fiona went to see her but wouldn't tell me what they talked about. Rebecca promised he'd come see me before the show, but..."
Annie could guess. "She never came."
"She never came. Fi took me to her house and it was empty, cleaned out. Just like the one my Rebecca left."
"So she's the girl at the hospital? The Rebecca who's the daughter of your friend Rebecca and looks just like her."
"Yes."
"It's like a soap opera or something!"
"I know. So strange, I could almost believe my Rebecca cloned herself somehow... to be another girl's best friend."
"Or just to help Fi." Annie said, and carefully didn't look at Molly to see her reaction. "I hope she emails you."
"I do too. Whatever Rebecca's secrets are, she's still my friend. I still, you know, love her."
"I know exactly." Annie said. Sally, her friends from the island, her friends in all the places she'd lived, her new adopted 'sis' Fi, the boys... she knew.
"Here-have you got the Another World cd?"
"Of course, I got it off the internet while we were living in Paraguay." Annie reached back to pull the cd off her rack. "Want to autograph it for me?"
Molly laughed and signed the lyrics booklet with a silver gel pen. "Listen to track fourteen. And go t sleep before midnight, ok? Ned and Irene are watching a movie but it's almost over, then they'll be coming to bed."
Annie yawned. "Don't worry, I never play electric guitar after dark."
"I know, I know, unlike Carey who they raised. Good night."
"Night Molly." Annie carefully book marked Fi's book and put it down. She turned off the light and got into bed, then remembered the cd. Track fourteen was the Rebecca song; she'd listened to it in jungle camps where the only other sound was rain on tent canvas, but she wanted to hear it again now. She turned on a flashlight and looked for her cd player. When she lay down again it was with her headphones on and Molly's silky voice in her ears.
Rebecca moves across the world...
Notes: just a note, I'm trying to be politically correct about magic and religion the same way the show was. Attitudes expressed in this story do not necessarily reflect my beliefs or my level of knowledge. bows Note 2 I don't remember what Rebecca's mom was named but I think it was something terribly cliché, so it's Esmerelda until I watch that ep again =P
Second Chances
Ep 3: Familiar
Annie: Since ancient times people have believed in animals with special spirits and special powers. In Egypt sacred animals lived like pharos, and then were mummified like them. Witches had animal companions called familiars, and some Native American tribes believed in totem animals. They believed they could connect their spirits with the animal spirits, to borrow some of the animals' strengths and powers. To be as brave as a lion, or as clever as a fox, or as wise as an owl.
Fi turned a page in her book, engrossed despite the aches in her arm. It was a volume of Celtic legends Jack had found for her in a used bookstore across the street from the hospital. She thought of the Sidhe, the fairy folk, maybe they were real, maybe she could see some someday. Grandma Kathleen and Grandpa Colin had mentioned wanting to take her to Ireland.
There was a knock on the door and the nurse came in, "You still up Fiona?"
"Yeah. Reading."
"How are you feeling?"
Fi groaned in reply, "Like I fell off a mountain and hit every rock on the way down!" And scared, scared that Rebecca had been wrong and a transfusion of her immortal blood would... Fi wasn't sure what she was afraid of. She could remember vague nightmares, saying, "want to die when I'm old and be with my dad..." and Rebecca snapping, "Well your choice is to take the chance or go see him now!" and everything was red, red, red. Fi wasn't sure if that had really happened or not, but Rebecca certainly would have yelled like that.
The nurse held out a little dish of pills and a glass of water. "Doctor's orders are to take these and get some sleep. You need anything? Bathroom?"
"Nah, I'm ok." Fi took her pills and lay back.
"I'll check on you later."
"'Kay, good night."
"Good night." The nurse turned off the light and let herself out. Fi heard her hanging the 'do not disturb' sign on the doorknob and walking away. Then the hall was quiet.
Fi remembered that afternoon, Rebecca sitting on the end of the bed crying from happiness and Annie hovering outside the door looking lost. Poor Annie, stuck without a clue. Maybe Rebecca wouldn't mind telling her.
Dear Annie, welcome to my life, again....
Fi looked up. A huge owl was hovering just outside the window, its spread wings wider than the window frame. Its eyes burned yellow. Fi could see the shadow of feathers on her blanket. The owl was so beautiful, like a tiger, so wild it took Fi's breath away.
Then it pushed its wings down and lifted silently away. Fi thought she saw it dive like a shooting star over the city, but that must have been her imagination.
Rebecca's family always lived in the same kinds of houses: anonymous brick or pastel painted, without porches so the neighbors wouldn't wonder why they never sat outside.
Coming home from school, Rebecca noticed a cat sitting on the cement block they called a 'front stoop.' It was brown, with huge wide ears and green eyes, and it lounged across the stoop as if it owned the place. Rebecca offered her hand and the cat gave her fingers a cautious sniff. Then it sat up straight and poised like an Egyptian temple cat, and nodded regally.
In Egyptian Rebecca murmured, "I thank you for your approval, noble spirit. I fear my parents will not share it."
The cat stretched its neck up to lick her hand in a blessing any girl would have recognized.
Her parents were waiting inside. The school and the hospital had called of course, to say what a hero she'd been. Rebecca had slept over at the hospital last night, not wanting to face them.
"Rebecca." Her mother's voice, not pleased.
"I'm home."
"The school called. They told us what you did."
"Look, dad, I was the only person there with the right blood type and we know from your research and from all of us going to the doctor that whatever makes us like this isn't medical, so there wasn't any danger!"
"Probably!" Her father snapped, "There could well be effects that a test would not show. It was a chance you should not have taken!"
"Would you have done it, if it hadn't been Molly's daughter?"
Rebecca wasn't sure what her parents wanted to hear so she told the truth. "I'm not sure. Probably not."
The cat had gotten in somehow; it jumped its front paws on Rebecca's leg and meowed, an amazingly loud sound for such a skinny creature.
"Oh, what a pretty cat!" Esmerelda offered her hand for the cat to sniff.
"He was out front when I came home. Does he have a tag?"
"No. Perhaps there is an ad in the paper, if he is lost. He is thin enough to be a stray."
The cat had successfully distracted only one parent. "We'll discuss your punishment at dinner." Her father said.
"All right, dad." Rebecca picked up her backpack and took it up to her room. When she came down to get a snack she found her mother giving a saucer of tuna fish to the cat. He nibbled daintily, but the food vanished with surprising speed. When Rebecca came in he looked up and meowed a hello before going back to his meal.
"It is almost as if he remembers you."
"Mom, can we keep him if he doesn't have another home? Please?"
"Perhaps."
"I just noticed, he looks so much like Haidar. Do you remember? My favorite of the temple cats?"
It was the wrong thing to say. Her mother visibly stiffened. "And I remember how much you cried when he died. Do you really want to suffer so again?"
"Yes. Go back to your tuna, cat. You can be the second Haidar."
Haidar meowed as if in agreement.
"Your father is very angry."
"I know."
"What will you say to him?"
Rebecca started looking for something to eat. English muffins, margarine, orange marmalade. Perfect. She started two muffins in the toaster. "I'll tell him maybe I did the wrong thing but it was the only thing I could do. Whatever punishment he decides, it's all right."
"Does the arrival of a cat change you so much?"
"Not just a cat." It was because of the silver ring snug on the third finger of her left hand, and the email tutorial program loading to her computer upstairs, and the thought that she might actually have friends again, Molly and Fi and maybe that girl with the yellow hair. She was different because she had things to look forward to.
The toaster's timer rang and Rebecca snatched her muffins out, scorching her fingers as she transferred them to a plate. She spread on a little margarine and a lot of marmalade, and took her snack upstairs.
Annie was sitting in her bed reading when Molly came in. "Hey honey."
"Hi Molly, what's up?"
"Fi called from the hospital. They're letting her come home tomorrow."
"All right!" Annie waved the book in her hand, "Guess I'll have to return her library."
"Guess so." Molly sat down backwards on Annie's desk chair, "Anything going on? You haven't been doing much besides reading."
"It's nice to take a break from all the stuff that happens on the road, and Fi's got good books. Hey-can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"Who was that girl?"
Molly didn't ask which girl. "That's a tough question. I'm not really sure."
Annie made a question face.
"A long time ago I had a friend named Rebecca. The best friend I ever had until I met Rick. Then one day Rebecca left. Just gone, her house was empty like no one had ever lived there. I never found out what happened.
"Just last year a girl who looked just like Rebecca came to see me, or maybe to see Fi, before a show. She said she was Rebecca's daughter-with the exact same name-and her mom was too busy to see me."
"Weird."
"I know. Fiona went to see her but wouldn't tell me what they talked about. Rebecca promised he'd come see me before the show, but..."
Annie could guess. "She never came."
"She never came. Fi took me to her house and it was empty, cleaned out. Just like the one my Rebecca left."
"So she's the girl at the hospital? The Rebecca who's the daughter of your friend Rebecca and looks just like her."
"Yes."
"It's like a soap opera or something!"
"I know. So strange, I could almost believe my Rebecca cloned herself somehow... to be another girl's best friend."
"Or just to help Fi." Annie said, and carefully didn't look at Molly to see her reaction. "I hope she emails you."
"I do too. Whatever Rebecca's secrets are, she's still my friend. I still, you know, love her."
"I know exactly." Annie said. Sally, her friends from the island, her friends in all the places she'd lived, her new adopted 'sis' Fi, the boys... she knew.
"Here-have you got the Another World cd?"
"Of course, I got it off the internet while we were living in Paraguay." Annie reached back to pull the cd off her rack. "Want to autograph it for me?"
Molly laughed and signed the lyrics booklet with a silver gel pen. "Listen to track fourteen. And go t sleep before midnight, ok? Ned and Irene are watching a movie but it's almost over, then they'll be coming to bed."
Annie yawned. "Don't worry, I never play electric guitar after dark."
"I know, I know, unlike Carey who they raised. Good night."
"Night Molly." Annie carefully book marked Fi's book and put it down. She turned off the light and got into bed, then remembered the cd. Track fourteen was the Rebecca song; she'd listened to it in jungle camps where the only other sound was rain on tent canvas, but she wanted to hear it again now. She turned on a flashlight and looked for her cd player. When she lay down again it was with her headphones on and Molly's silky voice in her ears.
Rebecca moves across the world...