Except for the two young men who brought her a white coat and waited while
she changed into it, Maria hadn't had contact with anyone for nearly two
hours. She stood alone in the small room with her arms crossed uneasily
across her chest. She tried to wait patiently... but for what she wasn't
sure. She nervously looked at the white walls around the room trying to
find anything to take her mind from her worries. After a small eternity,
Maria's gaze fell upon the two-way mirror. She wondered about the person
watching her through the mirror. She had absolutely no doubt there was
someone watching her. In fact, Maria doubted that even the briefest moment
passed without at least one person carefully and deliberately observing her
every move in hopes of witnissing "alien abilities."
Maria, dressed in the white coat, stared at herself in the two-way mirror. The hair she prided herself in keeping perfect was ruffled and misplaced. Maria sighed and walked to a corner of the room out of sight of the mirror. She bent her knees and slid her back against the wall until she was crouched in the corner. She brought her legs against herself and held them tightly as she buried her head into her knees. Maria looked like a mental patient struggling to get her grips on reality.
She figured that if the blind wait didn't kill her, then it might drive her so crazy and she may become the mental patient rocking silently in the corner. "No," Maria thought shaking her head. "I refuse to think me or Hope will be anything less than a happy family again." She shook her head again trying to shake her fear. She knew she needed to be strong for Hope. Hope needed her and she had to be there for her... completely.
As her thoughts continuously convened on Hope, Maria's patience grew agonazingly low. Not knowing was killing her. Maria wanted desperately to wrap her arms around Hope and hold her tightly, to soother her, to comfort her and to tell her everything would be alright. Most importantly, she couldn't wait to take her home.
Maria's head jerked upward when she heard the door slide open. For a moment, all time stopped and all she could see was the face of her baby girl. Her heart caught in her chest and she forced herself to breath.
"Mommy!!!!!" Hope shouted excitedly.
Maria heard her daughter's cherubic voice and watched as Hope ran through the door and directly into her arms. She hugged Hope with all her strength and Hope returned Maria's hug with the tightest embrace her 8-year-old arms could muster.
"Hope!" Maria whispered as she swept Hope off her feet and stood. Maria hugged Hope with no intentions of ever letting her go. It felt like an eternity since Maria had last held Hope in her arms.
Maria felt the soft warm lips of her daughter as Hope gave Maria a kiss on her cheek. "I knew you'd come Mommy! I missed you sooo vewy much. Can we go home now?"
Maria looked at her daughter. She knew the deal. She knew she wasn't gone home, yet. Not until she awed their captives with some alien magic... the alien magic she did not have.
"I gotta show Adam my loose tooth!! See mommy?" Hope gave Maria a great big smile to show her the loose tooth that she moved back and forth with her tongue. "I'm a big girl now, Mommy!!" Hope said happily forgetting her surroundings.
"Oh wow!! Look at that tooth! We gotta start making an appointments with the tooth fairy!" Maria smiled.
Hope ran her small hands through Maria's tousled hair. "Want me to bwush your hair mommy?" Hope's smile faded. ".Ms. Mildred says that girls with messy hair aren't pwetty."
Hope sniffed and Maria immediatley recognized her daughter's struggle with tears as they welled up in her liquid honey eyes.her father's eyes. "Ms. Mildred said I would never see you again, Mommy. She said that I would die fwom crying befowe we ever got to be together again. I was so scawed, Mommy. So, so scawed." Hope's bottom lip quivered as her tears flowed carelessly down her rosy-pink cheeks.
Maria wiped her daughter's tears and said, "I love you, Hope. Don't you ever forget that, k? Wherever you are don't forget that your mother loves you. I always have and I always will." Maria hesitated before continuing. "Someday, Hope, you will find obstacles in your path. Those obstacles will be hard to get over, but you will get around them. People will say that the things you believe aren't true. They may say the tooth fairy isn't real, that love isn't real, that dreams are not real. But you must never believe anything those people tell you. If you believe, then it is real," Maria whispered as she held on to her daughter tightly. "Always believe in yourself and your dreams," Maria emphasized her last word. She wiped away her own tears as she spoke. "Because whether you see me every day or whether you see my only in your dreams.your life has to go on. As long as you keep hope, there's always a way." Maria kissed her daughter's forehead and prayed she understood what she was trying to tell her. She knew that Isabel would try to enter Hope's dreams. Maria wanted Hope to understand that the dreams were real. "Do you understand that Hope? Do you promise Mommy that wherever you are or whatever happens you will always keep going letting your dreams and your beliefs be your guide?"
Hope nodded, "I pwomise, Mommy."
Maria no longer cared about the hot tears flowing carelessly down her face. This pain... the ache that was ripping through her like scissors through paper was certainly killing her. She felt like she was drowning in an ocean. Maria tried to pull away from the pain to be there for Hope, but it just seem to get a hold of her through the person she loved most.her daughter. And it pained her more than anything to know that it was because of her that her daughter was in danger. Whether Maria had to pay with her life a million times in order to save Hope's or whether she died today in the arms of her enemy, she would do it gladly if it meant saving her most valuable gift - Hope. She looked into her daughter's innocent wide eyes and saw hope in them.
Hope wiped away the tears from her mother's face and looked deeply into her eyes only to be acquainted with eyes of a mother who was drinking in the sight of a daughter as if wanting to capture it's memory forever.
"I love you, Mommy," Hope spoke softly and the innocence held in her eyes soon turned into something more. A Sorrow. "Don't Cry, Mommy. We can go home now. We wont have to stay with the Mildwed Lady." Maria tries to smile for her daughter. Though Hope's words were ironic, Maria was glad that they were at least somewhat true. Hope would get t o go home.away from the suffering.away from the pain.
Maria tried to smile for her daughter. Though Hope's words were sadly ironic, Maria was glad that they were at least somewhat true. Thought they would not leave together, Hope would be released since Maria turned herself in. Hope would get to go home...away from the suffering...away from the pain.
"Of course, we can go home soon, Baby. Everything's alright now," Maria whispered tucking back a strand of Hope's golden hair.
Hope nodded as she rubbed her sleepy eyes with her small hands. She yawned and found comfort and warmth laying her small head on Maria's shoulder.
"That will be enough teasing, Marianna," Mildred interrupted shaking her head at Maria.
Maria looked up and heard her nightmares voiced.
"You didn't think that we would actually let her stay here with you... did you? That's not part of the plan," Mildred said. The woman's cold grin widened as Maria continued to stare her down.
Then, as abruptly as it all had started, it all ended. Hope was pulled from Maria's grasp when two men in white coats jerked at Hope's hands and arms. Hope screamed with fear as she was snatched from her mother's arms.
"Mommy!!!!" Hope cried as her small hand made a vain attempt to clasp her mother's sleeve.
"Hope!!!" Maria screamed. She tried to run toward her daughter, but two more men in white coats ran into the room and held her back. With a man holding each arm, Maria could only squirm and scream. "Let her go!!!" Maria shouted and kicked wildly.
Mildred smirked. "I'm glad you finally decide to collaborate, Marianna. We were starting to loose our patience. And I don't think that's a side of us you'd like to see," Mildred spoke firmly and eyed Maria with a stern look.
She returned her attention to her clipboard and began writing. Mildred's frosty face was indifferent to the cries, screams, and begging that echoed in the room. She made notes for a small eternity while the men in white coats kept Maria and Hope at lengths from each other within the room.
Mildred callously yawned and glanced at Hope. She rolled her eyes in annoyance at the child's behavior. "She was very well behaved before you showed up," Mildred said casually and turned her eyes to Maria.
Maria continued to struggle against the two men as Hope's screams got louder and louder. Maria kicked and bit with no avail.
Mildred shook her head at Maria and said, "Like mother, like daughter. Well, isn't that nice?" She began to write again in her clipboard. Mildred placed the end of her pencil between her teeth and mimicked Barbara Walters interviewing Hollywood's most controversial. "So tell me, Marianna, your life as a celebrity has surely affected your daughter as much as it has affected you. After all, it is not every child who can say that her mother is a Grammy-award-winning performer. Tell us now, did you ever think that your fame could possibly provide a peaceful life for your daughter?" Mildred chided. Once again, Mildred was playing games and enjoying the reaction she got out of Maria her Hope cried out in desperation.
Mildred chuckled and resumed her game. "But more than your celebrity lifestyle and fame, it seems your daughter has inherited other qualities from you as well. Would you like to tell us what those qualities are, Marianna?" Mildred asked as her voice grew more and more serious and lost its wickedly playful manner.
Maria calmed herself and glared at Mildred. She wanted to appear calm and somewhat in control for her daughter's sake. "That a girl!" Maria thought as Hope continued to jerk and screech.
Maria hesitated and bit her tongue. She vowed to keep any and everything from their captives until Hope was set free. "Let Hope Go!" she spoke sternly. "Let her go and I'll tell you all you want to know."
Mildred rolled her head backward and laughed loudly before speaking. "Well, well, well. Seems our resident celebrity has some demands!! How surprising!!" Suddenly, her face became very grave. "This is not Hollywood, Marianna. And I am not your go-to-girl. I thought you would have learned that by now. Pavlov's dogs were quicker than you." She changed her tone and spoke very slowly as if Maria were a child trying to come to grips with reality. Now, I do understand that you are... what would be the politically correct way to say this? Um, you are... humanly challenged. So, you may have some issues understanding things, but just be certain that this is not a place where you will be the one making the demands. Here, you follow orders; you don't make them. Do I make myself clear?" Mildred looked Maria squarely in the eyes waiting for her submission.
Maria looked up at Hope again and knew she had to cooperate to insure Hope's safety. If they had any doubts before, their captives were now certain that threatening Hope's safety was a surefire way to get anything out of Maria. She turned back to Mildred and nodded her compliance.
Everyone in the room then turned as the door slid open. A tall, dark-haired man entered the room. A sneer of satisfaction was pasted plainly on his face.
Maria recognized him immediately. "Jackson!" Maria whispered.
"Well, hello, Marianna. Nice to see you again, too. Did you miss me?" Jackson asked sarcastically.
When Maria shot him a look of death, he was merely motivated to smirk more. Jackson walked up to Marianna and observed her closely as if examining the fine details of an ancient statue in a museum. He then began to circle around her not wanting to miss a single feature. "You know...I never did imagine that what I was looking for was standing right before me... much less did I ever imagine it would be you. Little Liz Parker never did mention what you were to me! The poor, infantile idiot!" his eyes then turned cold as the venom of his glare dominated his words, "I knew her naivety would be useful for at least something!"
He then turned to Mildred and took the clipboard from her. After studying it carefully, Jackson gave Mildred a questioning look. Both people then turned their attention to Maria. "Seems you don't want to play nice, do you?" Jackson asked. He snapped the fingers on his right hand and one of the men holding Hope slapped the petite girl across her face.
Hope cried out when her face stung at the man's strike.
At the sound of her daughter's agonizing cry, Maria once again began struggling against the two men holding her back. She jerked her entire body and gave the men a good fight. "What do you want from me Jackson???" she screamed at the tops of her lungs. "Do with me what you please, but leave Hope alone!!! Jackson, please!!!" she begged. "Let her go!!" Maria screamed as hot tears rolled down her face. Watching helplessly as a man slapped her daughter was unbearable for Maria. She felt herself losing what little control she had left and she wondered if coming here served to help or further Hope.
When Maria saw Hope get slapped, mental images of Michael being hit by Hank flooded her head. She knew how being abused had scarred Michael and she refused to let that happen to Hope. Hope may have inherited Michael's nose and chin, but she would never let her develop Michael's fears. His fear of being too close, his fear of letting go of emotions, his fear of loving. Even with Hank out of his life for years, Michael still had nightmares. Maria knew he would never fully recover from the mental and physical abuse he suffered as a child. And she refused to let that happen to Hope.
"What I want is very simple, my dear." Jackson responded to Maria. "I want you. I want you to show me who you are...or should I say,,, WHAT you are?" Jackson whispered in her ear.
Maria looked at Hope who was still crying and calling out her name. She looked back at Jackson and nodded. "I'll do as you please, but let Hope go."
Jackson smiled. "Isn't it much easier when we just play nice to begin with, Marianna?" Jackson sighed. "Seems that wherever you come from, you were not taught any manners, though," Jackson tisked. "Tell me, Marianna, who is the child's father?"
Maria's face froze. Her lips parted and she mentally told herself to close her mouth. She was prepared for anything. In return for Hope's safety, Maria welcomed the dreaded white room Max had seen so long ago. She smiled at the thought of being prodded and poked as long as Hope could run and play freely. She was ready for torturous electric shocks. She was fully prepared to be torn apart limb by limb in turn for her daughter's well- being.
But not once did the idea cross her mind that the captors might want to know who Hope's father was. In a society where single parenting was not uncommon, Maria was rarely questioned and had never given any thought to needing to explain. She opened her mouth to say something... but nothing came out. She pleaded with her usually quick-witted mind to develop a lie... a fast lie that would suffice the curiosity of her captors.
Jackson sighed, "You space people are really hardheaded aren't you?" Again, Jackson snapped the fingers on his right hand.
Maria waited with terror to see what torture the second snap would bring.
A tall blonde woman dressed like a nurse came in with a needle in hand. When Hope saw the needle and realized the woman was approaching her, she began to scream and kick again.
"Hope!!!" Maria cried.
The nurse injected a clear fluid into Hope's forearm. Instantly, Hope's head fell limply against her shoulder and the guards finally loosened their grips on her. Maria struggled against the two men who were holding her back.
Jackson snapped his fingers a third time and growled, "Let her go."
Hope ran free from the two men and was at Hope's side in milliseconds. She scooped the girl's small body into her arms and held her. Hope's head and arms hung limply and her features began to turn pale.
"I hope that next time you learn how to play nicer," Jackson spoke sternly as he and the others left the room.
A mother stood alone in the small room crying and holding her daughter's limp body in her arms.
Maria, dressed in the white coat, stared at herself in the two-way mirror. The hair she prided herself in keeping perfect was ruffled and misplaced. Maria sighed and walked to a corner of the room out of sight of the mirror. She bent her knees and slid her back against the wall until she was crouched in the corner. She brought her legs against herself and held them tightly as she buried her head into her knees. Maria looked like a mental patient struggling to get her grips on reality.
She figured that if the blind wait didn't kill her, then it might drive her so crazy and she may become the mental patient rocking silently in the corner. "No," Maria thought shaking her head. "I refuse to think me or Hope will be anything less than a happy family again." She shook her head again trying to shake her fear. She knew she needed to be strong for Hope. Hope needed her and she had to be there for her... completely.
As her thoughts continuously convened on Hope, Maria's patience grew agonazingly low. Not knowing was killing her. Maria wanted desperately to wrap her arms around Hope and hold her tightly, to soother her, to comfort her and to tell her everything would be alright. Most importantly, she couldn't wait to take her home.
Maria's head jerked upward when she heard the door slide open. For a moment, all time stopped and all she could see was the face of her baby girl. Her heart caught in her chest and she forced herself to breath.
"Mommy!!!!!" Hope shouted excitedly.
Maria heard her daughter's cherubic voice and watched as Hope ran through the door and directly into her arms. She hugged Hope with all her strength and Hope returned Maria's hug with the tightest embrace her 8-year-old arms could muster.
"Hope!" Maria whispered as she swept Hope off her feet and stood. Maria hugged Hope with no intentions of ever letting her go. It felt like an eternity since Maria had last held Hope in her arms.
Maria felt the soft warm lips of her daughter as Hope gave Maria a kiss on her cheek. "I knew you'd come Mommy! I missed you sooo vewy much. Can we go home now?"
Maria looked at her daughter. She knew the deal. She knew she wasn't gone home, yet. Not until she awed their captives with some alien magic... the alien magic she did not have.
"I gotta show Adam my loose tooth!! See mommy?" Hope gave Maria a great big smile to show her the loose tooth that she moved back and forth with her tongue. "I'm a big girl now, Mommy!!" Hope said happily forgetting her surroundings.
"Oh wow!! Look at that tooth! We gotta start making an appointments with the tooth fairy!" Maria smiled.
Hope ran her small hands through Maria's tousled hair. "Want me to bwush your hair mommy?" Hope's smile faded. ".Ms. Mildred says that girls with messy hair aren't pwetty."
Hope sniffed and Maria immediatley recognized her daughter's struggle with tears as they welled up in her liquid honey eyes.her father's eyes. "Ms. Mildred said I would never see you again, Mommy. She said that I would die fwom crying befowe we ever got to be together again. I was so scawed, Mommy. So, so scawed." Hope's bottom lip quivered as her tears flowed carelessly down her rosy-pink cheeks.
Maria wiped her daughter's tears and said, "I love you, Hope. Don't you ever forget that, k? Wherever you are don't forget that your mother loves you. I always have and I always will." Maria hesitated before continuing. "Someday, Hope, you will find obstacles in your path. Those obstacles will be hard to get over, but you will get around them. People will say that the things you believe aren't true. They may say the tooth fairy isn't real, that love isn't real, that dreams are not real. But you must never believe anything those people tell you. If you believe, then it is real," Maria whispered as she held on to her daughter tightly. "Always believe in yourself and your dreams," Maria emphasized her last word. She wiped away her own tears as she spoke. "Because whether you see me every day or whether you see my only in your dreams.your life has to go on. As long as you keep hope, there's always a way." Maria kissed her daughter's forehead and prayed she understood what she was trying to tell her. She knew that Isabel would try to enter Hope's dreams. Maria wanted Hope to understand that the dreams were real. "Do you understand that Hope? Do you promise Mommy that wherever you are or whatever happens you will always keep going letting your dreams and your beliefs be your guide?"
Hope nodded, "I pwomise, Mommy."
Maria no longer cared about the hot tears flowing carelessly down her face. This pain... the ache that was ripping through her like scissors through paper was certainly killing her. She felt like she was drowning in an ocean. Maria tried to pull away from the pain to be there for Hope, but it just seem to get a hold of her through the person she loved most.her daughter. And it pained her more than anything to know that it was because of her that her daughter was in danger. Whether Maria had to pay with her life a million times in order to save Hope's or whether she died today in the arms of her enemy, she would do it gladly if it meant saving her most valuable gift - Hope. She looked into her daughter's innocent wide eyes and saw hope in them.
Hope wiped away the tears from her mother's face and looked deeply into her eyes only to be acquainted with eyes of a mother who was drinking in the sight of a daughter as if wanting to capture it's memory forever.
"I love you, Mommy," Hope spoke softly and the innocence held in her eyes soon turned into something more. A Sorrow. "Don't Cry, Mommy. We can go home now. We wont have to stay with the Mildwed Lady." Maria tries to smile for her daughter. Though Hope's words were ironic, Maria was glad that they were at least somewhat true. Hope would get t o go home.away from the suffering.away from the pain.
Maria tried to smile for her daughter. Though Hope's words were sadly ironic, Maria was glad that they were at least somewhat true. Thought they would not leave together, Hope would be released since Maria turned herself in. Hope would get to go home...away from the suffering...away from the pain.
"Of course, we can go home soon, Baby. Everything's alright now," Maria whispered tucking back a strand of Hope's golden hair.
Hope nodded as she rubbed her sleepy eyes with her small hands. She yawned and found comfort and warmth laying her small head on Maria's shoulder.
"That will be enough teasing, Marianna," Mildred interrupted shaking her head at Maria.
Maria looked up and heard her nightmares voiced.
"You didn't think that we would actually let her stay here with you... did you? That's not part of the plan," Mildred said. The woman's cold grin widened as Maria continued to stare her down.
Then, as abruptly as it all had started, it all ended. Hope was pulled from Maria's grasp when two men in white coats jerked at Hope's hands and arms. Hope screamed with fear as she was snatched from her mother's arms.
"Mommy!!!!" Hope cried as her small hand made a vain attempt to clasp her mother's sleeve.
"Hope!!!" Maria screamed. She tried to run toward her daughter, but two more men in white coats ran into the room and held her back. With a man holding each arm, Maria could only squirm and scream. "Let her go!!!" Maria shouted and kicked wildly.
Mildred smirked. "I'm glad you finally decide to collaborate, Marianna. We were starting to loose our patience. And I don't think that's a side of us you'd like to see," Mildred spoke firmly and eyed Maria with a stern look.
She returned her attention to her clipboard and began writing. Mildred's frosty face was indifferent to the cries, screams, and begging that echoed in the room. She made notes for a small eternity while the men in white coats kept Maria and Hope at lengths from each other within the room.
Mildred callously yawned and glanced at Hope. She rolled her eyes in annoyance at the child's behavior. "She was very well behaved before you showed up," Mildred said casually and turned her eyes to Maria.
Maria continued to struggle against the two men as Hope's screams got louder and louder. Maria kicked and bit with no avail.
Mildred shook her head at Maria and said, "Like mother, like daughter. Well, isn't that nice?" She began to write again in her clipboard. Mildred placed the end of her pencil between her teeth and mimicked Barbara Walters interviewing Hollywood's most controversial. "So tell me, Marianna, your life as a celebrity has surely affected your daughter as much as it has affected you. After all, it is not every child who can say that her mother is a Grammy-award-winning performer. Tell us now, did you ever think that your fame could possibly provide a peaceful life for your daughter?" Mildred chided. Once again, Mildred was playing games and enjoying the reaction she got out of Maria her Hope cried out in desperation.
Mildred chuckled and resumed her game. "But more than your celebrity lifestyle and fame, it seems your daughter has inherited other qualities from you as well. Would you like to tell us what those qualities are, Marianna?" Mildred asked as her voice grew more and more serious and lost its wickedly playful manner.
Maria calmed herself and glared at Mildred. She wanted to appear calm and somewhat in control for her daughter's sake. "That a girl!" Maria thought as Hope continued to jerk and screech.
Maria hesitated and bit her tongue. She vowed to keep any and everything from their captives until Hope was set free. "Let Hope Go!" she spoke sternly. "Let her go and I'll tell you all you want to know."
Mildred rolled her head backward and laughed loudly before speaking. "Well, well, well. Seems our resident celebrity has some demands!! How surprising!!" Suddenly, her face became very grave. "This is not Hollywood, Marianna. And I am not your go-to-girl. I thought you would have learned that by now. Pavlov's dogs were quicker than you." She changed her tone and spoke very slowly as if Maria were a child trying to come to grips with reality. Now, I do understand that you are... what would be the politically correct way to say this? Um, you are... humanly challenged. So, you may have some issues understanding things, but just be certain that this is not a place where you will be the one making the demands. Here, you follow orders; you don't make them. Do I make myself clear?" Mildred looked Maria squarely in the eyes waiting for her submission.
Maria looked up at Hope again and knew she had to cooperate to insure Hope's safety. If they had any doubts before, their captives were now certain that threatening Hope's safety was a surefire way to get anything out of Maria. She turned back to Mildred and nodded her compliance.
Everyone in the room then turned as the door slid open. A tall, dark-haired man entered the room. A sneer of satisfaction was pasted plainly on his face.
Maria recognized him immediately. "Jackson!" Maria whispered.
"Well, hello, Marianna. Nice to see you again, too. Did you miss me?" Jackson asked sarcastically.
When Maria shot him a look of death, he was merely motivated to smirk more. Jackson walked up to Marianna and observed her closely as if examining the fine details of an ancient statue in a museum. He then began to circle around her not wanting to miss a single feature. "You know...I never did imagine that what I was looking for was standing right before me... much less did I ever imagine it would be you. Little Liz Parker never did mention what you were to me! The poor, infantile idiot!" his eyes then turned cold as the venom of his glare dominated his words, "I knew her naivety would be useful for at least something!"
He then turned to Mildred and took the clipboard from her. After studying it carefully, Jackson gave Mildred a questioning look. Both people then turned their attention to Maria. "Seems you don't want to play nice, do you?" Jackson asked. He snapped the fingers on his right hand and one of the men holding Hope slapped the petite girl across her face.
Hope cried out when her face stung at the man's strike.
At the sound of her daughter's agonizing cry, Maria once again began struggling against the two men holding her back. She jerked her entire body and gave the men a good fight. "What do you want from me Jackson???" she screamed at the tops of her lungs. "Do with me what you please, but leave Hope alone!!! Jackson, please!!!" she begged. "Let her go!!" Maria screamed as hot tears rolled down her face. Watching helplessly as a man slapped her daughter was unbearable for Maria. She felt herself losing what little control she had left and she wondered if coming here served to help or further Hope.
When Maria saw Hope get slapped, mental images of Michael being hit by Hank flooded her head. She knew how being abused had scarred Michael and she refused to let that happen to Hope. Hope may have inherited Michael's nose and chin, but she would never let her develop Michael's fears. His fear of being too close, his fear of letting go of emotions, his fear of loving. Even with Hank out of his life for years, Michael still had nightmares. Maria knew he would never fully recover from the mental and physical abuse he suffered as a child. And she refused to let that happen to Hope.
"What I want is very simple, my dear." Jackson responded to Maria. "I want you. I want you to show me who you are...or should I say,,, WHAT you are?" Jackson whispered in her ear.
Maria looked at Hope who was still crying and calling out her name. She looked back at Jackson and nodded. "I'll do as you please, but let Hope go."
Jackson smiled. "Isn't it much easier when we just play nice to begin with, Marianna?" Jackson sighed. "Seems that wherever you come from, you were not taught any manners, though," Jackson tisked. "Tell me, Marianna, who is the child's father?"
Maria's face froze. Her lips parted and she mentally told herself to close her mouth. She was prepared for anything. In return for Hope's safety, Maria welcomed the dreaded white room Max had seen so long ago. She smiled at the thought of being prodded and poked as long as Hope could run and play freely. She was ready for torturous electric shocks. She was fully prepared to be torn apart limb by limb in turn for her daughter's well- being.
But not once did the idea cross her mind that the captors might want to know who Hope's father was. In a society where single parenting was not uncommon, Maria was rarely questioned and had never given any thought to needing to explain. She opened her mouth to say something... but nothing came out. She pleaded with her usually quick-witted mind to develop a lie... a fast lie that would suffice the curiosity of her captors.
Jackson sighed, "You space people are really hardheaded aren't you?" Again, Jackson snapped the fingers on his right hand.
Maria waited with terror to see what torture the second snap would bring.
A tall blonde woman dressed like a nurse came in with a needle in hand. When Hope saw the needle and realized the woman was approaching her, she began to scream and kick again.
"Hope!!!" Maria cried.
The nurse injected a clear fluid into Hope's forearm. Instantly, Hope's head fell limply against her shoulder and the guards finally loosened their grips on her. Maria struggled against the two men who were holding her back.
Jackson snapped his fingers a third time and growled, "Let her go."
Hope ran free from the two men and was at Hope's side in milliseconds. She scooped the girl's small body into her arms and held her. Hope's head and arms hung limply and her features began to turn pale.
"I hope that next time you learn how to play nicer," Jackson spoke sternly as he and the others left the room.
A mother stood alone in the small room crying and holding her daughter's limp body in her arms.