"The Little Things" by Sam Proops
Note: None of these Characters belong to me, nothing about the show "Strange Days at Blake Holsey High" does… so, please don't hate me if you don't like what happens! It's fiction, as is this show!
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NOTE: This story takes place during and after (AU) the episode "Transference" in which Vaughn gets smarter as Josie gets dumber…
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Marshall and Lucas had snuck out to Victor Pearson's home, hoping to locate and destroy the cold-fusion generator before it was too late, and Josie was lost forever. Meanwhile, Vaughn was no where to be found, and Professor Zachary and Corrine were keeping an eye on Josie in Professor Z's office.
"Josie, are you okay?" Professor Z asked, concern radiating in his voice. Her eyes had begun fluttering open and closed where she sat on the chair; her breathing deeper and her reaction to everything was constantly slowing.
"Josie?" Corrine echoed.
"I... I feel... t-tired." She replied, her voice unsteady and lacking energy. Josie saw her vision tunnel and suddenly her Professor's arms were wrapped around her body.
"Whoa Josie… easy." He murmured, easing her body upright once more. She could only moan in response, everything was hazy and hard to comprehend. His strong hands held her shoulders steady in place, and she missed the nervous glace Professor Z shot at Corrine.
"They need to hurry up," Josie heard Corrine mutter, before everything went dark and she collapsed into unconsciousness.
- - -
"Josie!" Professor Z called, holding the young student loosely in his arms. He had grabbed Josie just as she slid off her chair, and suck to the floor with her. Corrine ran to the sink and dampened a few paper towels with cold water.
Corrine looked on nervously as her science teacher dabbed the paper towels on her roommate's face. "Come on Josie, wake up…"
Scowling in frustration, Professor Z leaned close, making sure she was still breathing. After checking her pulse, he concluded that she was just unconscious. He shot a look at the clock – time was running out. Returning his attention to Josie, he couldn't help but brush a few strands of hair off her forehead. Though they had tried to keep their relationship purely student/teacher, he couldn't help but care for Josie as though she was his own daughter.
Patting her forehead with the cold towels once again, Professor Z said a silent prayer that she would wake up, and everything would return to normal. He couldn't lose her now – not like this.
He just hoped Lucas and Marshall were having better luck.
- - -
"Marshall, Lucas – what are you doing!" Vaughn cried as he entered the room. The roommates were preparing to knock the cold-fusion generator over when Vaughn had startled them.
"Vaughn, it has to be done! If you don't we could lose Josie forever!" Lucas reasoned.
"As this thing gets stronger, Josie gets weaker… what happens when it sucks everything out of her! Huh! What then?" Marshall exclaimed.
"Guys, I can't do this. My dad has never been so happy; ever since the accident he has been lost and apathetic… but now he's PROUD of me, of what I've built… he's filled with hope and he's, he's HAPPY. I can't lose that again; not after seeing him so depressed and angry, and and… -"
"VAUGHN, think! You could kill Josie! Is it worth it?" Lucas cried.
Vaughn seemed to ponder his words for a moment, and then stepped forward towards his creation. He turned to face Marshall and Lucas, "I'm sorry guys."
Security guards filled the room and forcefully led Marshall and Lucas out, their screams echoing eerily down the twisting corridors.
Vaughn's father entered the room, but stopped just inside the doorway. "What did they want?"
"They wanted me to destroy the generator. But I couldn't do it, it wasn't worth it. It was either you or Josie, and you're my father."
Victor came forward and clasped his son's shoulder. "You did the right choice. This is the future right here son. Come; let's go out to eat in celebration."
Vaughn smiled, though it was nervous and showed his fear. Would he really be responsible for Josie's death? Could the generator and Josie's energy really be related?
He would never know.
- - -
Marshall and Lucas had never run so fast before in their entire lives. Numerous teachers and students yelled at them as they raced through the hallways, leaping over book bags, dodging oncoming students, and skidding around corners.
They burst through Professor Z's door so badly it caused two of the three occupants to jump in surprise and shock. The third was clearly unconscious.
Marshall shut the door and locked it, while the pair tried to catch their breath.
"Is… she…?" Lucas panted.
"She's still breathing if that's what you're asking. Though I'm not sure for how long." Their professor replied sadly.
"Did you destroy the cold-fusion generator?" Corrine asked, walking over to the boys.
Marshall shook his head grimly. "Vaughn came into the room just as we were about to. We tried to talk him out of using the machine, but the alarm went off and security threw us out; we ran here as quickly as we could."
"How long ago was your encounter with Vaughn?" Professor Z asked, looking at the clock.
Marshall looked at his watch, "I'd say about ten minutes or so ago, why?"
"Josie has been unconscious for about 15 minutes… and her condition hasn't changed, leaving us the possibility that she might wake up."
As if she were listening to the conversation, Josie let out a soft, barely audible, moan. Everyone instantly crowded around her small form.
"Josie? Can you hear us?" Corrine whispered.
"Josie?" Lucas spoke, louder.
Her fingers twitched at her sides as she let off another soft moan. She moved her head slightly, which was lying on Professor Z's jacket.
Lucas grabbed her right hand, while Professor Z dabbed at her face with a cold cloth.
Eyes opened. Hopes rose. Lips parted. Smiles grew.
"Who-" a pause, a cough; her voice was raw.
"Who are you?"
- - -
The day that Lucas and Marshall had their confrontation with Vaughn was five months ago. It was the summer, and the students at Blake Holsey were back with their families until the school resumed in the fall.
The only three occupants of the school were Professor Zachary, Josie, and the janitor, who seemed to live at the school.
Professor Z had sold his house across the state in exchange for one right down the road from the school; Josie loved taking walks to the school.
Yes, Josie survived the incident with the cold-fusion generator. If you could call it living. When Josie had woken up, she hadn't recognized anyone for a few moments, but after a few minutes she seemed to remember Professor Z, or simply "Z" as Josie refers to him. However, her memory had been completely wiped, and on a good day she could name a handful of elements on the periodic table and laugh about the time everyone in the school was covered in honey.
Otherwise, Josie barely remembered anyone from her old life. Sometimes the Science Club – minus Vaughn – would visit her, while she was with her special needs assistant, which helped her manage her life as well as educate her at a basic level.
Occasionally Josie would ask Z about members of the Science Club, even Vaughn, completely out of the blue. A few hours later she would have no idea who they were. Many quiet meals were interrupted by a randomly blurted "Marshall turned into neon," or "Corrine repeated the same day over and over and over again," or "I was once reallyreallyreally tiny, huh Z?" Z would often reply with a smile and a nod, wondering why Josie was given this fate.
"Z! Come! Look!" Josie called, sitting on a bench by a tree, on the Blake Holsey grounds. She enjoyed taking walks to the school; Z believes that she still remembers the school, even if all she remembers about it is that she went there at some point.
The sun was shining brightly in the cloudless sky, and a cool breeze caused the un-cut grass to dance wildly.
Z smiled and walked over to his adopted daughter, and sat down next to her on the bench. She inched over to him slightly, and the professor wrapped one arm around her shoulders. In the weeks after the accident, Josie was forced into various tests and experiments that judged her physical and mental capabilities. It wasn't pretty; Josie soon grew to fear and hate these tests, just as a young child would hate going to the doctors. The sad part was that her mother gave her up for adoption after the tests were over and the doctors concluded that mentally her mind changed all the time. Some days she would act her age; other days she was four years old and afraid to be alone. It didn't help that Josie didn't recognize her mother.
Josie wrapped her arms around her father, and buried her face into his chest. Today was a nice day. The sun, the breeze, and the sounds of nature all around Josie filled her with happiness and joy.
Shifting a bit, she turned her head so that she could see the grass in front of them. Something caught her eye and she pulled away, falling to the ground and kneeling in the grass.
"What is it Josie?" He inquired, noting the look of concentration upon her face. He knelt down next to her.
"Something…" she murmured, running her fingers through the grass as if it were her own hair. "Something was here. You put it in your hair… a whatyamacallit…"
Z knew that she was referring to the hair clip she and Vaughn had found when the pair had gone back in time. "I don't know what it's called, I'm sorry." If there were two things that he didn't want Josie to remember, it was Vaughn and Victor Pearson.
"Oh…" she said, disappointed. She continued to stare intently at the grass, and then looked up at the school. A movement caught her eye and she stood and ran towards the front of the school.
Thinking Josie had run off freely, for no reason, the young Professor sat back down upon the bench, watching her run. Watching her run to a person… to… oh no!
Professor Z stood and ran towards Josie.
Josie however, slowed to a walk and approached the seemingly-familiar person. She knew him from somewhere…
"It's you!" she called, now coming within a few feet of the man. She didn't seem to notice that he started to back away from her. "You! You and I found the… the… whatyamacallit! Hi!"
She stopped talking, however, when she noticed the mixed look of horror, fear, sadness, and guilt. She took a step back. "What?"
"Josie!" Z cried, reaching his daughter and pulling her back sharply. "Stay away from him."
"But… I know him…" Josie answered, confused.
"I'm sorry, but you must have me mistaken for someone else, I'm sorry." Vaughn said quickly, turning and leaving as fast as his feet would allow him.
An eerie chill swept through Josie, and she took a step closer to her father on instinct. "I don't like him, do I?"
"You did, once," Z replied, wrapping an arm around her and starting to lead her home.
"What happened?"
"He did something to you, something that caused you to lose your memory," And your life. He added silently.
Josie snaked an arm around her father's waist; she liked being close to him, she liked feeling safe. "You were my father before this happened, right?"
The question threw Z off; Josie normally never made references to things like this. "I was just your teacher before, but I certainly cared for you and looked out for you."
"Oh." She answered simply, the gears in her mind working slowly. "Well it's good that he did whatever he did."
Professor Z stopped walking. "Why would you say that?"
"Because," Josie reasoned with child-like simplicity, "If he hadn't then you never would've adopted me."
Z smiled at her and kissed her forehead. Josie smiled back.
The two walked back to the house in high spirits; Josie running ahead of her father to kick rocks down the road, giggling playfully as she played games with herself.
After dinner Z found Josie sitting on the steps of their porch, gazing at the sunset, where he often found her.
"I like the way the colors are blending tonight," she stated simple. Z smiled. She said that every night. Wrapping their arms around each other, they watched the sun fade off into the distance before retiring inside. At they sat, father and daughter, Professor Z couldn't help but think about the words that Josie said earlier. He smiled sadly; tomorrow she would wake up having forgotten most of today's events. However, it was the little things that made each day worth living. And for both of them, it was all they could ask for and more.
el fin