Disclaimer: They don't belong to me... yada yada yada. They're being borrowed and will be returned... yada yada yada. I don't profit monetry wise and trying to prove so would cost you more than you'd gain... yada yada yada.
A/N: So, I thought about making Jack actually Tom from chap one... but it sounds too cliché and I don't generally do cliché. Plus, then I'd have to write about how everyone reacts to Jack being alive, and this is so close to the ending already that I thought I should finish it sometime this year. Oh, and this should be the last appearance of Natalie rather than Claire. I hope.
Wow, only two reviews... am I loosing my touch here?
CSIcrazy: Great that you loved it, sorry you had to go to bed... that sucks! I wanted a longer review pout
genevra: Ahhh, Go the blonde moments! Yeah, took your advice. Makes my life simpler. Now, how long do you consider too long?
The sun shone through the window and across her face, waking her slowly with its warmth. She heard the muffled sounds of the early morning waking of Drovers and slowly opened her eyes to find a small person staring at her from the doorway.
"Good morning sweetheart." She said, allowing herself a moment to live as Charlotte's mother. "How'd you sleep?"
The small child made her way slowly over to the bed, cautious of the suitcase that was haphazardly sprawled beside the bed. She clambered up onto the highset bed, and snuggled up to Natalie and didn't reply.
"What's wrong sweetie?" Natalie asked, revelling in the feeling of her small daughter once again in her arms.
Charlotte pondered for a moment, in that way seven year olds do best.
"It worked, didn't it?" She asked the confused Claire.
"What worked?"
"My wish."
"Which wish would that be?" Natalie asked, amused.
"My birthday wish. You're my mum aren't you?"
A stunned Claire could be found, minutes later, clutching onto her small daughter, still stunned. 'Thank you dad.' She thought to herself, glad (not for the first time) that some part of her father had survived within her, and was still strong enough to maintain his life and personality through manifestations.
The first time he'd appeared, she'd almost driven the car of the road in shock. She'd gotten angry again with him, about him leaving half the farm to her little sister who had left them both behind so long ago. He'd sat there and taken every word, waiting until she'd run out of steam, and began crying. Jack had explained that it wasn't entirely fair, but couldn't she remember all the nights she'd wished for her little sister to be there, all the tears she'd cried before closing herself off to the pain, and the love. He'd reminded her of all the little things they had done as sisters, the days they'd spent rambling around the property, or holed up in his study while he tried to work.
He'd appeared again, the day she "died", as the police (who'd responded to her panic button call) had strapped her into the stretcher, and prepared to winch her into the chopper, replacing her body with a fake. He'd looked at her, and whispered that it was all going to be okay. One day, she'd be able to return, and her sister would have her baby, safe and sound. She'd return, and it would all be okay.
Jack had appeared once more in her life, soon after Michelle was born. Tom had just finished assuring her that once everything was over, they'd be able to rush the baby's birth records through the system, but until then, she needed to choose a name that wouldn't be suspicious, that had no connections with her past.
After Tom left, she'd gazed down at her daughter, knowing that her life had just got more complex; her identity had just gained another dimension. Another complication. She starred into the eyes that resembled his so much and quietly thanked whoever it was who was responsible for this turn of events for this small consolation, this small gift, this small reminder and wept. Jack arrived that moment, and she knew he couldn't just be a ghost, because this was not where he belonged. He belonged back in Australia with her other daughter. He'd reminded her of the day she got "married" to Alex, and in that moment, she'd chosen. Alex was still not proud of his middle name, and the less people who knew, the better he reckoned.
"Mummy?" A small voice asked from the doorway. The usually confident voice held a small amount of jealousy and worry.
"Morning baby girl." Checking to see that Bom was once again asleep, Natalie left her older daughter. "We need to talk." She told Michelle, in a voice that offered no room for comments or rejection of the idea.
They made their way into the sun filled room that had occupied two sisters the night before. "Remember, on the plane, I was looking at some photos?"
"Yes Mummy." The usually cheerful and talkative child seemed to have disappeared.
"Do you remember the picture of the baby?"
"Yes mummy."
"Well, the baby is Charlotte." Natalie was somewhat hesitant as to how to continue this. She was unsure of whether her younger daughter would take the change as well as the elder had.
However, the natural curiosity Michelle had inherited from both her parents won over any jealousy the child might have still housed. "Why do you have a photo of Charlotte?"
"Because, baby-girl, she's my daughter."
"But Charlotte's mummy is dead. She told me." Natalie had to smile. Her daughter's total trust of the word of someone she had only met was still cute. She hoped the child would eventually grow out her gullibility before it got her into trouble later on in life. "You're not dead, are you mummy?"
"Well baby-girl, it's a bit more complicated than that. How about I explain it to you after breakfast?" When the youngster smiled and nodded, Natalie stood, and motioned towards the door. "Why don't you go and wake Charlotte, and then we'll go and see if anyone else wants pancakes."
"Okay mummy." The once-more cheerful girl left the room. "Does that mean we're going to stay here? With Daddy and Charlotte?"
Natalie smiled before answering. "I don't know sweetie. But I hope so." She watched the small girl leave the room, and listened to the squeal as one child woke the other. "I really hope so."
A/N: Yes, I did get the idea for the wish from Tess. Wonderful, wonderful ep that was. Any ideas as to what to change the title to?