../For The Love Of Maia\..
Summary: A woman by the name of Sara Rutledge arrives, causing Diana great concern. But is she who she claims to be?
Warning: This story is loosely based on spoilers/rumours that are floating about regarding Season 3. If you don't want to know, might be best not to read!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything but my precious 4400 DVDs. Upsetting as that may be.
Thanks to my reviewers! mwah! Here is Chapter 2 )
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Chapter Two
'Maia..come on. We have to talk about this.'
Diana tapped on Maia's bedroom door.
'Sweetie, please.'
After being greeted with silence yet again, she opened the door and went in, to find Maia curled up in her bed, faking sleep.
'Maia..'
'Go away.'
'You have to understand...I'm doing what's best for you.'
'You're keeping my sister from me. She's the only family I've got left and you wont even let me see her.'
'That's not true, Maia, we're a family, you and me. Your sister ...well, we don't even know if she really is your sister. And besides, I didn't give her a definate no. I said I'd think about it.'
Maia sat up. 'She is my sister! I would know. She's my real family. Not like you. You don't understand.'
Diana bit her lip, hurt. She knew people often said things they didn't mean in the heat of the moment, espedcially kids, but it wasn't like Maia to say something so intentionally cruel. She took a couple of deep breaths to calm herself.
'Well Maia, we are family wether you like it or not. There's a certificate on the mantle which proves it. And it's not about to change anytime soon.'
There was silence, then a grumbled 'We'll see.'
Diana clasped her hands together to stop them from shaking.
'Goodnight Maia.' She fled into her own bedroom and sat down on her bed, her shoulders shaking with sobs.
Everything had been going so well. She should have known someone would come along and screw it all up. The universe seemed to have it in for Diana. She was always afraid to feel happy, because it seemed as soon as she did, the powers that be would swoop in to make her miserable again.
She knew in her head that, by law she was Maia's legal guardian and it would take more than just a couple of minutes in court to change that. But in her heart, she knew that if Maia wanted nothing other than to live with her sister, it wasn't Diana's right to stop her. Or was it? Maia was her daughter, and she loved her more than anything. As a mother, she had every right to stop her, but as a human being who understood having an obscurely small family and feeling completly alone in the world...why was everything so complicated? How could she be given such a wondeful gift, only to have it abrubtly taken from her. How fair was that? And where was Sara when the 4400's were picked up from quarantine? Where was Sara when Maia's foster family returned her? Why had she been uncontactable when Homeland Security officers tried to find any remaining Rutledges?
She couldn't loose another person she loved. This was too much. She put her head in her hands, and cried.
In the next room, Maia could hear her mother's sobs through the thin bedroom wall.
She wiped her own tears away with the back of her hand and hugged Lemon closer to her. She was so confused.
She had known that someone was coming, a long lost sister, but she hadn't really though past meeting her. She hadn't thought about how her mother would feel, how she would react. Or even how she herself would feel. If she thought about it, she knew she wanted to stay here. Sara may be her sister (and Maia wished she could be sure of whether she was or wasn't), but Diana was her mother, in every sense of the word. She had taken Maia in when no one else would take responsibility. She had looked after Maia for months, never once complaining, and eventually she had even made Maia her daughter for real. No one had asked her to do it, she wasn't made to, hadn't been lumped with Maia and had no other choice. She had chosen to look after Maia, to be a mom to her.
Maia wanted to stay with her mom, and, after the conversation they had just had, was afraid that everythibg would be ruined, that Diana would decide Maia didn't need her, or that she didn't want her, and dump her with Sara. But that wasn't what she wanted. She knew she should have told her mom that, then maybe the whole painful situation could have been avoided.
She closed her eyes and tried to sleep, but she could still see the pain in her mother's eyes, the hurt Maia had caused her. Maia sat up, tears running down her face. Clutching Lemon, she made her way out of her room and padded next door where she came to a standstill next to her mom's bed.
'Mommy?'
Diana had cried herself into a restless sleep, and her maternal insticts caused her to wake up instantly at the sound of Maia's voice. Disoriented, her first thought was that Maia should be in bed asleep and if she wasn't then something must be wrong. She reached up and cupped Maia's face with her hand.
'Maia? What's wrong?'
Sobbing, Maia collapsed on top of her mother, and buried her face in the bedclothes. And it all came back to Diana.
'I'm sorry, Mommy, I didn't mean it. Please, I want to stay here, I really do. If you don't want me to see her then I won't. I'll forget all about her. I'm sorry I said all those mean things to you, I'll never say anything mean ever again. Please let me stay here, please say you'll keep me.'
Diana breathed a shaky sigh of relief. In her sleepy state, she let herself believe that everything would be okay.
'Oh Maia, baby, it's okay.' she whispered, stroking her daughters wavy locks. ' You know that no matter how many mean things you say to me, I'll still love you. No matter what.'
'I love you too, mommy.'
'And besides, never say never. You might want to make that promise when you're done being a teenager.'
'So I can stay? You'll still be my mommy?'
Diana laughed softly and hugged Maia tightly to her. 'You, my girl, are the only reason I have to get up in the morning. This is your home, no matter what happens, okay? And hey, I need you here- otherwise it''ll be back to cold pizza for breakfast.'
As she watched Maia fall asleep beside her, Diana couldn't help feeling glad that, no matter what her daughter had been through, regardless of the things she could see, she still managed to come across as a little kid. As she began drifting off to sleep herself, she barely registered Maia's sleepy whisper.
'You have to look after me, mommy. It's not over yet.'
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All the answers will be revealed in good time, folks! Next chapter will be up soon.