Chapter Thirteen:

Determined

Days after the amusement park incident, Yakko and Wakko were released from the hospital to finish their healing at home. That ment it was back to the water tower for all four Warners.

Upon arriving at the tower's entrance, the Warners lingered, fearing in the back of their minds that someone might be lurking about inside. Being the oldest, Yakko chose to enter first, telling the others to stay where they were till he got back.

He checked the closets, the attic, the rooms, and even the cabinets. All was as it should have been.

"Ok, it's clear." Yakko said, ushering them inside.

"Ya know, it feels kinda weird being back here after all that's happened. Like we've been gone for years or something." Dot said after they got inside.

"I guess that goes to prove that time doesn't fly when you're not having fun." Yakko said.

"You can say that again..." Dot said. "But don't." She added, stopping Yakko before he could repeat his sentence. She wasn't in a joking mood at the moment.

"Come on Annie. Let's go unpack." She said as she led Annie towards the stairs. Yakko started to say something as she walked away, but got distracted when the alarm on his watch went off.

"Pain killer time." Yakko said. Then he and Wakko were off to the kitchen.

They got some water and attempted to open their pain medication. Unfortunately, with only two good arms between them, it proved to be a bit more difficult than expected.

"Stupid child safety locks." Yakko muttered as he struggled with the bottle. "Hay Wakko, hold the other end of this while I turn the cap, ok." He said.

"Ok." Wakko said as he abandoned the bottle containing his own medication and went to help Yakko.

"Alright, on the count of three, I'm gonna push in, and turn it. Ready? 1...2...3." Yakko said. Then he pushed in and turned the cap, opening the bottle and spilling it's contents all over the floor. Both he and Wakko reached to pick up the pills at the same time, smacking their heads together in the process. They recoiled from the impact, then started to slip on the pills, sending them crashing to the floor rather painfully.

"OW…" They both whimpered as they lay there on their backs.

"Are you two ok in there?" They heard Dot call as she rushed to come check on them. She was at the door a few seconds later. She sighed when she saw them. "Are you two really in that much of a hurry to go back to the hospital?" She asked.

"Is that a trick question?" Yakko asked.

"Never mind. Just gimme your hands." Dot said, extending her hands. They both complied and she helped them up.

"Now scoot, so I can clean this up. I'll bring out your pills in a minute." She said as she ushered them out of the kitchen. She let out a short sigh once they were gone.

"Those two are gonna kill themselves long before anything else does if I don't keep an eye on them." She muttered to herself before turning her attention to the task at hand. A few minutes later, she emerged from the kitchen carrying Yakko and Wakko's medication on a plastic tray, along with two glasses of water.

"Here ya go. The ones on the left are Yakko's, and the ones on the right are yours Wakko." Dot said as she sat the tray on the coffee table in front of the couch they were sitting at.

"Ok." Wakko said. Then he dropped his pills into the water and swallowed the entire glass. He then let out a loud belch and pet his belly with a satisfied expression. "Thanks." He said.

"Yeah, thanks Dot." Yakko said, sounding slightly thrown off by what he had just witnessed.

"No problem." Dot said. "Just remember to call me next time you need help with something, ok? I've already seen you two get hurt really bad once, and I don't need to see it again." She said.

"Speaking of watching someone get hurt, are you still so sure we can't talk you out of going through with that plan of yours? I mean, the guy you're going after is the first person who's ever truly caught us off guard and really hurt us." Yakko said somberly.

"I'm sorry Yakko, but this is just something I have to do." Dot said. "Catching this guy is probably the only thing that can make me feel safe again at this point. Besides that, I owe him one for what he did to you two. And for what he did to Annie."

"Thanks to him, she barely says a word all day. I can't get her to smile. She wakes up crying in the middle of the night. And she's completely lost her appetite." Dot said.

"I already understand why you wanna catch the guy. I might not even object so much if you'd at least wait till me and Wakko are well enough to watch your back." Yakko said.

"I have to be alone for this to work at all Yakko. Besides, we need to resolve this as soon as possible. Something bad could easily happen to at least one, if not all of us, if we don't do something about this right now." Dot said. Yakko sighed as he mentally agreed with her statement.

"Fine, I won't try to talk you out of it anymore. Just… wear a bullet proof vest or something, ok." Yakko said, sounding slightly defeated.

"Ok." Dot replied with a subdued tone and a respectful nod of her head. A brief but awkward silence followed.

"I should probably go check on Annie right about now." Dot said, excusing herself from the room.

She soon found herself lingering outside the door to the room that she and Annie shared, feeling more than a bit hesitant to enter. A deep unpleasant gloom seemed to radiate from the very walls and pierce straight through her.

After a moment or so of simply standing there, she silently opened the door a bit and peaked inside as if to see whether it was safe to enter. She saw Annie sitting quietly on the edge of the bed, casually tossing something back and forth between her hands. It was the rubix cube Natasha had given her during their stay at her apartment.

Annie abruptly paused and held the cube at arms length in her right hand. She eyed it briefly, then started to shift the cube at a surprising rate. Within seconds, it was solved. However, Annie didn't seem particularly pleased with her accomplishment. Instead, she simply looked at the cube with a joyless expression, then sighed and casually tossed it away over her shoulder. She was clearly even more depressed than she had been over the past few days.

Dot wanted so badly to make her feel better, though nothing she had done so far had seemed to work. Despite not knowing what she could possibly do to make the situation any better, she took a deep breath, then entered the room.

"Hay Annie." Dot said as she walked in. "Sorry I took so long getting back. I had to clean up after Yakko and Wakko." She said in an attempt to make small-talk.

"It's ok, I like being alone anyway." Annie replied. Dot sighed lightly, then walked to the bed and sat next to Annie.

"Annie, what's been bugging you lately?" Dot asked. "I know it's more than just the obvious. You where upset that night at the hospital, but not the way you've been for the past few days." She said. Annie merely turned away and remained silent. Dot sighed once again.

"Alright, I won't try to force you if you're not ready to talk about it yet. But I'll be here to listen whenever you are. I am your Mommy after all." Dot said earnestly. The room fell silent for a moment.

"I had a dream about the night I was born." Annie finally said.

"What happened in the dream?" Dot asked.

"He said I was a lab accident." Annie said with a quiet sadness. Dot hadn't a clue how to respond. "I've had some other dreams too. About the day the stork brought me." Annie continued. "I'm not really yours, am I?" She asked, turning to Dot with tears in her eyes. Dot immediately drew her closer, wrapping her in a comforting hug.

"You are as far as I'm concerned." Dot said. "No matter where you came from, you'll always be my Annie. And no one is ever taking you away from me." She said with resolve.

(A.N) Due to certain technical difficulties, I was unable to post this chapter at it's scheduled time. Hopefully, this will not happen again in the near future.

On a separate note, I would like extend a special thanks to acosta perez jose ramiro, who has reviewed every single chapter so far.