The ladies were the only passengers.

Eleanor and the Little Sisters were looking out their windows as the plane took-off. Most of the little ones seemed excited, opening their mouths in awe to be in the air. Some of the girls were afraid, covering their heads and cowering.

"Don't be scared, Amy!" a Little Sister said, Tenenbaum walking down the aisle to pat her on the head, another Little Sister doing likewise.

"Angels always fly! They don't fall!" another explained.

"Surprised the angel sings so... deep, though. She'll wake up everyone!"

"Of course the angel sings deep! We're in her tummy!"

"Yeah, and we can see lights in her tummy!"

"But if I'm in her tummy, why can't I smell ADAM?"

"I guess she didn't get any ADAM."

"Well, yeah! A Big Angel doesn't need any ADAM, 'cause she comes from heaven!"

"A Big Angel? She kinda looks like a, uh, a giant butterfly...with stiff wings..."

As the Little Sisters chirped amongst themselves, Eleanor silently sat, arms crossed, looking out her window. She was rather unhappy, sometimes looking at her dirty socks, though walking barefoot was something she was used to. Thinking about what she did in the orphanage, she felt like a dirty sock. She recalled fighting with Father: burning Splicers to death, stabbing them, and smashing them, while Father shot, drilled, and Plasmided others to death. Even Splicers were people, but those teenaged boys were not Splicers. They deserved to die... she thought. They were the reason they reminded her of Splicers, they were the reason she killed them.

Eleanor slowly inhaled then steadily exhaled, shoulders dropping. Maybe I should have forgiven them, as I forgave Mother?

Hearing something touch her seat, Eleanor turned her head, a Little Sister crawling over. The girl knelt before Eleanor, looked up at the Big Sister, cocked her head, and smiled.

"Thank you for saving me, Eleanor!" the girl stated as-matter-of-factly. She got her bum down, little legs dangling. Pushing her fingers through her hair, the child looked back at Eleanor, and smiled again. "I'm better now, too! See?" She raised her arms and curled, showing off invisible muscles. Eleanor could not help but smile back but then looked away.

"Eleanor? What's wrong?" the Little Sister asked, leaning at her and placing a hand on her shoulder.

Eleanor sighed, then softly placed her hand on the child's, but could not look back into her eyes. "I've been bad, Cindy."

"No!" the Little Sister exclaimed, giving Eleanor a little shake. "No! You're good, good! Your daddy beat Splicers, just like Mark!" Cindy assured.

Eleanor chuckled. If only she was still a kid, but then, something clicked in Eleanor's head. "Wait... Mark? Who's that?"

Cindy took her hand off Eleanor, placed her own under her chin, and thought hard. "Hmm... Oh, I dunno. Hee hee!" Cindy replied, Eleanor chuckling and smiling at how cute the girl was acting. "Oh wait, now I remember! He was my daddy!" Cindy replied happily—her happiness drained, "...that your daddy killed."

The two girls' expressions dropped.

Eleanor's heart sank. Puppy dog eyes...that was all she could do, then looked away. Her throat felt heavy. She might cry at any given second, and did not like the thought of crying before children.

Eleanor bit her lower lip. "Cindy, child, I... I'm so sorry."

"Eleanor?" Cindy asked, Eleanor unable to look at the kid, but Cindy poked her shoulder until she got her attention. "Remember the toy I gave you? I know it's really, really rude, but... can... can... can I... can I have it back? Please?"

After a second, Eleanor put her hand in her pocket, feeling Little Daddy silently sitting in there. She took him out, Cindy gasping and her eyes getting bigger and bigger as Eleanor past her the Big Daddy doll.

"Little Daddy! You're back!" Cindy exclaimed, tilting her head, and hugging her toy. Eleanor smiled. "Mmmmf! I missed you. And I knew Eleanor would take good care of you! Heee!" She looked back at Eleanor. "Oh, don't worry Eleanor, I'll share! I promise, really, Little Daddy has as many girls he wants."

Although Eleanor would never admit it, she felt a little rush of jealousy and regret, but how could she say no to Cindy? That doll was especially precious for both of them.

Cindy and Eleanor did run some parallels, which brought back bad memories of Eleanor seeing father shoot himself so many years ago. Yet, Cindy also saw her father get killed in front of her. Although this freed Mark from his forced servitude, it was still an unpleasant thought. If only she could have saved both their fathers...

"Eleanor..." Cindy whispered, patting the big girl on the shoulder. "Eleanor?" she whispered again, so Eleanor looked at Cindy. "I still remember her. She's still alive, you know?"

"Mother?" Eleanor asked, curious. How does she remember her own parents?

"Shh!" Cindy hushed, as if afraid of the word Eleanor just ushered. "But no, no. Not...mommy. I remember...her. Like me, she likes making sandcastles. She's like you, a big sister. She's still alive, she didn't die." Cindy continued, Eleanor giving the child a weird look.

"What? You mean..."

"The Big Sister who taked me so long ago, who left notes for daddy for me...she's still alive. I just know," Cindy explained.

"Don't worry, Cindy, I'll make sure she won't take you again," Eleanor assured.

"Oh, no, she won't try that. Rapture is gone, remember? She knows. I think she wants to see me, someday, and say sorry."

"Oh? Hunh... Maybe, I'll get to meet her, too, someday," Eleanor said. Meeting another Big Sister and...just talking to her...

If this other Big Sister was not totally crazy, Eleanor figured it would be nice to speak with someone who was in Rapture for as long as she. It would also give Tenenbaum some solace to know that at least one Little Sister she could not save so long ago survived. In theory, a Big Sister could swim out of Rapture and reach land, eventually, but it was quite the swim.

Eleanor could hear Tenenbaum mumbling to the children as the Little Sisters ran and jumped around the plane, treating the seats and aisle like a playground. Eleanor smiled. It was so cute to see Tenenbaum being the mother for so many children, but even the best mother could not handle two dozen kids at the same time.

"Eleanor?" Cindy asked, sliding off the seats.

"Yeah?"

"Will you play with us?" Cindy waddled on the spot for a second and then cocked her head, grinning eagerly.

Eleanor stared blankly, then she slowly made a serpentine visage. Eleanor leapt forth at Cindy, the child giggling aloud while trying to dodge Big Sister. Eleanor grabbed Cindy by the ribs, the girl squealing as Eleanor gently put her to the floor, tickling her. Cindy laughed, kicking and writhing from the assault of tickles.

"Hih hih hih! No fair! I wasn't ready, Eleanor!" Cindy shouted, trying to squirm away. "Save yourself, Little Daddy!" Cindy cried, throwing him onto an empty seat.

"Oh, no! Not you, too!" Tenenbaum exclaimed while chuckling, watching Eleanor tickling Cindy. "I can't handle a Big Baby!"

"Get her!" one of the other Little Sisters shouted.

Eleanor looked down the aisle—a horde of Little Sisters charged. Her jaw dropped and her eyes widened as the mass of little girls avalanched upon her, taking her to the floor. Despite being so young, the Little Sisters were much stronger than they looked!

"Sounds like ya'll are having lots of fun!" Julian Sinclair's voice came from the cockpit.

"Oh, yes! They are!" Tenenbaum called back. She took her seat, putting her hands on her lap, and she just watched the Little Sisters buzzing upon Eleanor. They were all happy, smiling, and laughing...all a mother could ever want for her children.