Lightning gazed down at the girl that was snuggled into her side. Claire had fallen asleep on the couch next to Lightning after their early morning time together. The woman felt that it was best to let the girl sleep downstairs with her instead of waking her up and making her go to her room to sleep alone. Lightning didn't want to risk letting Claire have any more nightmares about the car crash in one morning.

Lightning glanced at the clock and gently tapped Claire on the shoulder. "Time to wake up, Claire."

Claire wiggled softly and yawned. "Five more minutes," she groaned.

Lightning smirked. Serah always used to say that to her when they were little. "No. Now," she ordered and stood up. "I have to work today and I can't be late."

Claire sat up and rubbed her eyes. "Fine," she huffed. Claire got to her feet and walked shakily to her room to get ready to go. Lightning watched her go, a wistful smile on her lips.

Why does she have to look so much like her mother? Lightning thought to herself, resenting the idea the moment she considered it. She shook her head in an attempt to clear her mind as it became crowded with both good and bad memories. "Not now," she murmured.

"Farron."

Lightning looked up from the newspaper she was reading. It had been a slow day at work so she was having lots of time to herself. "Hm?"

"I need you to fax these papers for me, pronto. Can you do that?" one of her comrades said.

Lightning took a deep breath and ran her fingers through her hair. "Sure," she answered and grabbed the papers from his hands. Lightning had gone from being one of the top soldiers in their military branch to being condemned as a secretary and having to do a lot of paper work. Her superiors were worried that the emotional trauma from losing her sister would cloud her judgment in the field, so they put her in the office as a precaution. "I'll get right on it."

"I can always count on you, Farron, and for that I'm thankful," he added with a wink.

Lightning mustered up her heavily used fake smile, stood from her desk, and walked to the fax machine. She unenthusiastically put the paper into the machine and punched the buttons on the front. She loathed office work.

She walked back to her desk in the entryway of the building. Once she sat down she called the man that had her fax the papers. He picked up almost immediately. "Done," Lightning informed and hung the phone up.

Moments later, someone entered the building and approached Lightning's desk. She snapped her focus to the visitor. Her lips curved up at the corners a tiny bit. She'd recognize that silver hair anywhere. "Hope?"

The young man smiled at her. "Hey, Light! How's it going?" he greeted. He was carrying a large, rectangular bag with him and he wore a red baseball hat and red jacket.

Lightning was amused as he struggled to carry the bag and keep a steady walking pace at the same time. "What are you doing here?" she asked.

"I'm working. And that would explain this dorky outfit I'm wearing."

"Working? Aren't you supposed to be in school?" Lightning asked, confused.

"I work during the days and go to school at night," he clarified.

"Really? I didn't think you were able to do that in high school."

Hope laughed. "High school? Where have you been, Light? I'm in college."

"Oh."

Hope's smile grew. "Well, I've got pizzas to deliver and I was thinking that maybe you could help me," Hope hinted.

"Whatever you need, Hope." Lightning left her station and escorted Hope to where he needed to go. It didn't take them very long since everyone he needed to find were on the first floor. The two of them went back to Lightning's desk.

"Thanks for the help, Light."

"It was nothing."

"Well, I guess I'll see you around," he said and waved goodbye.

"Bye, Hope." She smiled at him. The rest of her day seemed to flash by. She got off work and drove to Claire's school to pick her up.

Lightning saw Claire standing on a sidewalk being surrounded by girls that looked the same age as her. Claire saw that Lightning had pulled up next to her and she sprinted to the car. She climbed in looking upset. Lightning looked at her niece, searching for any immediate reason for why she looked so hurt.

"Were those your friends?" Lightning questioned, already knowing the answer. Claire was silent. Lightning sighed. "What did they say to you?" Claire still didn't respond. "Okay," Lightning breathed.

Lightning drove away and went to one place that she knew Claire would like. It was a small park in the middle of the town that got lots of visitors each day. Lightning noticed Claire's face noticeably light up the moment she realized where they were. Lightning parked and exited the car with Claire following close behind her.

Lightning gazed down at her niece. "You can go play if you want. We'll stay for as long as you like," she said. Claire smiled and ran straight to the sand box. Lightning sat down on a bench and watched Claire.

"Well, well, well. Long time no see."

Lightning looked toward the sound of the voice. She chuckled. "Yeah."

"Second time today. It must be an omen, or something," Hope joked as he sat down next to her. He wasn't wearing the hat or jacket anymore.

"Working?"

"Yup. Babysitting for my neighbors. Their kid is playing with the others," he said pointing to the pack of children in the center of the park. Lightning nodded, understanding. "So what brings you here?"

"Uh, I'm here with my niece," she explained. Hope went quiet.

"You're her guardian now, aren't you?" Lightning gave a small nod. "I heard about what happened. I'm sorry, I can't even imagine-"

"It's fine, Hope… It's fine," Lightning interrupted.

"Right. Sorry," he apologized once more.

Suddenly, Claire came running up to Lightning. "I want to go home."

"Uh, okay. Are you sure? We just got here."

Claire moved closer to Lightning and whispered in her ear. "They're here," she said and pulled away.

Lightning looked around and saw the girls that were surrounding Claire earlier. They were staring at Claire and herself, talking amongst themselves. "Oh," Lightning sighed.

"What's the problem?" Hope asked.

Lightning leaned closer to him. "Some of the other girls are picking on Claire," she said and leaned away.

"I see," he replied.

Lightning stood up. "Bye again, Hope."

Hope waved. "Bye. Oh, and call me if you need anything, like a babysitter, or something. I'm in the phonebook." Lightning thanked him and walked away.

Once they were in the car and on their way home, Claire started to speak. "They make fun of me and call me names."

Lightning looked through her rearview mirror at Claire. "What do they make fun of you for?"

"They call me orphan because my parents are dead," Claire elaborated.

Lightning sighed, but stayed silent. She didn't know what to say or how to handle the situation. The rest of the night was about as quiet as the car ride.

A/N – Okay, so pretty uneventful. At least I got two chapters out in less than a week. Hey, GunMetalX , I threw some Hope in there, just for you… Kind of.

Don't forget to leave a review and tell me how I did or what I can improve on. Thanks!

Smallish edit: April 14, 2011