Author's Note: Tomorrow…it seems my fate will be decided. Pray with me, folks, because it's been one hell of a bumpy ride these last few months and I'm hoping to God it'll end soon…
Disclaimer: I don't own FOP, as is evident by these many disclaimers. Hell, I don't even own the right to go home after school, instead of to my friend's house, my foster home. (mutters something about the government)
Chapter Twenty-Four: Deal With It
"Hello, sweetie," Wanda murmurs, drifting down to meet her eye level. Today has been quite a harrowing experience, the kind of thing she'd like to end quite promptly. Perhaps visiting Tootie will endow her with this, since, normally, the girl possesses a sweet disposition and tends to be very receptive to her.
Although, today, she has to say Tootie wears a very ugly look, her eyes downcast. Tears swim in them, but she tries her best to quench them. Wanda gets the feeling Vicky frowned upon crying in the past and she thinks of it as a sign of weakness to start again. But what on earth could have happened in the brief time it took for Jorgen to illegally charge them and return?
Face rigid with fury, Tootie, in an eerie imitation of her elder sister, spits in her face. Wrath seizes her in its fist hold- she said she didn't want to see Timmy and who does he send but one of his disciples? After all, if Wanda's his fairy godmother, she must have something to do with this. Timmy isn't smart enough to plan this out on his own, albeit with A.J.'s guidance.
Besides, Cosmo and Wanda as well as Timmy and A.J. are all on the same side, the one that involves the most pain and anguish for her as humanly possible. She cannot believe they care about her well being, not when they're willing to put her through this. And if she sees one of them, she's seen them all, so why the hell would she want to see Wanda?
Wiping her face off with a shudder, the smile fades from her face. So much for a cheerful disposition or rolling out the welcome wagon. Grr…when she finds out just what caused Tootie's reaction, Timmy's going to get a tongue lashing. The girl's glare could met the steel cabinet across her bed.
"How dare you spit on my wife!" Cosmo exclaims angrily, always with the possessives. He twirls his wand like a baton, and, predictably, drops it. Sparks fly and Wanda instinctively ducks, fearful of that three headed dragon he's so fond of.
"I think we need to focus on the why of her actions, not the action itself," Wanda says wisely, voice not wavering for a second. She scoops up her husband's wand cautiously, handing it to him wooden end first (lest there be any accidents). When dealing with children and or adults, it's always best to ascribe a motive to their actions instead of blindly dealing with them. Tootie doesn't hate or even dislike her, she abhors the situation Timmy's placed her in.
"Get out," She growls, inflecting as much loathing as she can in those two words. Again, she puts up a front. Leave me alone; I want to be isolated…so no one can hear me cry.
Unfortunately, again, her body betrays her, permitting a single tear to slide down her face unchecked. Ever since Wanda poofed in here, she's clenched her fists and held her tongue, but her tears won't remain stagnant. Badly, she wants to discard her sorrow and, whilst pounding Timmy's thigh with her fist, cling to him and sob. Life is full of contradictions.
Inducing a false calm, she continues. "I know you forced Timmy to file those charges or at least influenced him. You all pretend you care, but you could really give a shit less about me."
More tears spill down her cheeks- Wanda holds her arms out to her, but refrains from touching her. She's infringing upon her privacy by being here, and, although she sorely needs the comfort, she might lash out beforehand. Wanda ought to know; she's seen it happen before.
Befuddled, Cosmo asks the obvious question, "What the hell are you talking about?!"
Merely shaking her head, she continues to keep her distance, but her eyes are glued on Tootie's withdrawn ones. The poor girl…
"You know damn well what I mean!" Tootie snaps, raising her head defiantly. Tears stream down her face and she hugs herself, but fails to soothe the beast within. She wants them to tell her they know and it's a mistake, but it was just a cruel, cruel joke. She won't have to meet her parents with a lawyer and hear the same tired excuses of why they didn't care. She won't have to, even worse, face her sister in the court of law.
"No, dear, I'm afraid we don't," Wanda murmurs, floating an inch closer. Tootie glares at her, but cannot hold the façade for long. The fairy godmother already knows she's crying, she can't hide it from her.
"Yeah…you just sit there and accuse us of a crime like we're common criminals. Who do you think you are, Jorgen?" Cosmo retorts, folding his arms across his chest.
She doesn't know who that is…Cosmo, you idiot, Wanda thinks, but lets the remark slip. Chances are, Tootie isn't terribly concerned with that anyway. She'd be willing to bet she's much more concerned with the fact something is going on.
"Sweetie…we weren't here. Anything that happened after we left was beyond our control and we don't know about it. We only know what Timmy tells us, we don't know anything beyond that.
"If he planned something without us there, we won't know about it. Does that answer your question?" Wanda finishes, gazing at her. She reaches her arms out to her and Tootie buries herself in the embrace, sobbing whole heartedly.
"What happened?" Wanda murmurs, stroking her hair. Cosmo, taken aback by her radical mood shift, floats aimlessly, feeling very left out. She indicates he hold her too, it might help her calm down.
"Vicky came in here…she…tried to molest me…" Tootie whispers, barely audible. Wanda bites her lip, stifling a gasp of surprise. Cosmo, however, doesn't hold back.
"I knew Vicky was a bitch, but what the hell is wrong with her?! She's a transvestite!" Cosmo cries, not even knowing what the word means. Wanda mentally slaps a hand to her forehead.
Tootie, between tears, chuckles dryly. "Wanda, no offense or anything, but if that's your husband, he's an idiot."
Wanda rolls her eyes. "I know, dear, I know. Sometimes he really outdoes himself, though."
A frown crosses her face- the brevity has dropped again and she's morose. Not only does she have to contend with Vicky's lust with her, she also might have to attest to that in court, with beady eyes watching and predicting her every move. Not to mention the fact if Vicky hires a lawyer, he's bound to be as unscrupulous and slimy as she is.
Clearing her throat, Tootie finishes. There's utter silence in the room, broken only by Cosmo cheering for his godson. Wanda elbows him as hard as she can in the ribs, whereupon he moans in pain and promptly shuts up.
"Sweetie…I know you don't see it this way, but Timmy think he's doing the best thing for you. If he doesn't take Vicky and Ricky to court, when you get out of the hospital, you're legally in their custody and they might do the same thing to you, if not worse. And Timmy might be too late to save you…
"I know you're scared to tell the lawyer and in turn the jury and judge about what they've done to you, but remember at least that you have someone fighting for you. Timmy may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but he really loves you and sometimes, that's all that matters," Wanda says, with a wry smile at Cosmo. She pecks him lightly on the cheek and smoothes his hair, in an effort to communicate how truly sorry she is she hurt him.
"It doesn't seem like he does…" Tootie murmurs, her head buried somewhere in Wanda's chest. For years, she's never known a mother's embrace and now that the occasion arises, she can't extract herself from her hold.
"I wish I could convince you, but maybe only he can do that himself," Wanda says softly, stroking her hair. Tootie's calmed down considerably by now- she might be more receptive to Timmy, whenever he returns. Where on earth could he have gone, anyway?
Tootie nods weakly, vision affixed to the door. Her eyes are troubled and, with a sudden chill down the base of her spine, she wonders if Timmy, despite Trixie's preferences, might still take her back. After all, she'd be a hell of a lot less trouble.
-----
Unconsciously crossing his fingers, he awaits the telltale ringing. Tootie requires a lawyer and Trixie owes him big time. No formal charges have been filed, but A.J. thought it best to alert Tootie as soon as possible, just in case she reacted similarly to how she had recently.
There are two rings, then a third, but, finally, Trixie picks up. He's aware of her caller ID, but she must want to talk to him, otherwise she wouldn't have answered at all. At least, he hopes that much.
Part of him laments the bad terms in which they ended their relationship. Yes, no one had been hurt more than him, but at least she's happy now, with someone that has the power to do so. If he were as in love with her as he'd deemed himself to be before he'd fallen badly for Tootie, he'd be jealous of Veronica, but, as it is…he's happy for her, he supposes.
"Timmy? Why are you calling me? I thought you hated me," Trixie answers and, in hid mind's eye, he can see her bite her lip in confusion. That cute little quirk of hers always made him smile before, but now, there's no expression change. He's far too concerned with Tootie's well being to care about Trixie.
The obvious retort would be "I do", but that will neither help him nor Tootie. A.J. doesn't know he's planning on using or at least getting a lawyer through Trixie, but then again, he never asked. Trixie's wealthier than A.J., from what he's observed, and any lawyer she might provide would be superior to A.J.'s.
Nevertheless, she still doesn't know what he's planning under that pink hat of hers and he can't predict she'll say yes. He's a mere ten feet away from Tootie's room and he yearns to be with her, but every time he thinks about approaching, a deep dread weight settles in his stomach. She might hate him now…
"I need a favor," He says matter of factly, craning his neck to watch her. In fact, he says it rather coldly, sending a shiver through his own body. He's trying to detach himself from her and the situation she put him in by being overly cold.
"Can you call back? This is really a bad time," Trixie murmurs, sounding pre-occupied. It sounds as though she's trying hard to keep it together and he regrets his rash attitude. She might have her own demons to wrestle with.
"Trixie Elizabeth Tang!" He hears distantly, accompanied by the rustling of the phone and what sounds like a muffled sob.
"She'll call you back," Veronica says softly, also pre-occupied. There's a click and then silence.
I have no idea what just happened, Timmy thinks, closing his phone. He, slowly, pensive, walks to the elevator and from there to the cafeteria. Her own demons…