Hello, there. Here's the first official chapter of "Through the Lens". I do not own Call of Duty. Enjoy!

Through the Lens

A Call of Duty and OC Story

By SamuraiWriter

Chapter 1:Changes

The sound of an alarm clock killed any dream that Brenda had, and it introduced Brenda to the confines of her bedroom. The early morning sun had already seeped through the cracks of the window blinds. Brenda groaned and forced her eyes to open, wiping away the rheum in her eyes as she turned to read the alarm clock. It was 8:35AM. Brenda sighed and dropped her head back onto her pillow. She stared at her ceiling fan, which was riddled with accumulated dust. Brenda had told herself that she would clean the ceiling fan; that was about one week ago. Letting out another sigh, Brenda raised herself and stepped out of bed, heading towards the bathroom to freshen up and take a shower. After about 20 minutes, Brenda was out of the shower, clean and a semi-new woman. Still, Brenda lacked the proper motivation to start her new day.

Brenda exchanged her sleeping attire for a more professional look. She gathered a black blouse and a matching black skirt from her drawers and gently placed them on her bed. She retrieved stockings from smaller drawer in the corner of her bedroom and placed them next to her selected clothes. Brenda walked to and opened the closet door and pulled out the ironing board. After opening it, she placed it out in the middle of her bedroom floor, grabbed her black blouse, and begin to press it. Between presses, Brenda stole a glance at the clock. It was 9:01AM.

"Where does the time go?" Brenda whispered to herself.

Then, something hit Brenda. She turned towards the clock again; it still read 9:01AM. She blinked, and then directed her attention to her calender. For the month of May, her calender had the picture of recently bloomed flowers scattered along a countryside. Brenda walked up towards the calender and gazed. Every day of the week had been marked with an X expect for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Brenda remembered that she hadn't marked Friday because she was way too exhausted from her work day. That would mean that it was Saturday. Brenda did not work on the weekends. Brenda turned to her laid out clothes and the ironing board. She sighed a third time. "Great..." she muttered.

"Ma...where are we going?" the small child asked. She had looked at her mother from the back seat of the car, overwhemingly safe by the seat belt. Her black afro puff was pushed against the car seat along with her entire back. The little girl's mother hesitated a little before answering her question. The mother reached a red light and took the opportunity to turn around to her dangerously curious daughter and flash her a smile. The smile had caught the girl off guard, but it was not a false or two-faced smile. It was a smile of reassurment, a smile of love.

"I told you before. You're going to spend some time with Auntie Brenda for a while." she answered.

Yes. Her daughter had remembered when her mother first told her that. She was still disatisfied with the answer, as her mother had not disclosed where SHE would be. That is what truly worried the child, and she constantly demanded to know where her mother was going. "But where are YOU going! You didn't tell me that..." The child's voice began to fade off, as the tone and volume of her voice had surprised herself. Her mother looked at her for another second before answering.

"Ma's going away on a business trip, but she will be back."

The light had turned green, and the mother turned around and continued driving. Her daughter had remained silent for 2 minutes, but her curiousity caused her to blurt out more questions. "How long will you be gone, Ma?" she asked.

"I don't know, Joanne." the mother answered.

"Will it be for a day?"

"No, Joanne. It will definitely not be for just a day."

"What about a week?"

"I'm not entirely sure, Joanne."

"Why not, Ma?"

"Because...I just don't know."

Joanne sat there, puzzled. "You should know. My trips only last a day, Ma. I'm pretty sure it's a day."

Joanne's mother sighed. "Joanne, this trip is not like the trips you take in school. This trip is far more complicated and...it's just..." Joanne did not know how to explain the matters of her business trip to a child, let alone her own daughter. Joanne was oblivious to the life of her mother. To Joanne, her mother was a big-time lawyer working for the "Super Ultra Agency For Lawyers". Joanne would go to school bragging to her friends about her mother's job, and her friends would look and listen with a mixture of awe and jealousy. Joanne made her mother's career sound like a luxorious occupation, when in reality, her job was as cold as ice. Joanne's mother ran a finger through her black, permed hair and made a left turn.

"Let's just drop it, JoJo. Please?"

Joanne ignored her mother's request and asked another question. "Are you going to meet Daddy?"

Joanne almost blanked out after hearing the question. Joanne's father had left two months ago and had only left behind a tearful wife and a kiss on the forehead for Joanne. Problem was, Joanne was unaware that her father had actually walked out on her and her mother, and Joanne's mother wanted to keep it that way. Ever since Joanne's father left, Joanne's mother beaten the idea of her father going on vacation to preserve the innocence and the remaining bit of happiness in Joanne. She knew it wasn't right, but it was the only solution.

Joanne saw the corner of her mother's lips curl up a bit. "Hmm...maybe."

Just the possibilty of seeing her father again had made Joanne bounce in her seat, and her mother hated that. She hated her daughter getting excited over false statements and impossible ideals. It added to the guilt that she had already been feeling. As usual, Joanne's mother hid her guilt with another smile and said, "Excited to see your Auntie Brenda?"

"Yes!" Joanne said with confidence and happiness. Her mother smiled.

"Do you think that she will be happy to see me?" Joanne asked.

Her mother let out a small laugh and another bigger smile. "Of course she'll be happy to see you. She's your Aunt, after all."

Despite her sister's confience, Brenda was not particularly happy to see her sister and her niece. Not that she didn't love them, but Brenda just was not in the "family get-together" mood. Before Brenda could say anything, her sister had made her and Joann'e way inside her apartment and looked around. "Well. Good morning to you too, Brionna." Brenda said sarcastically.

Brionna turned around and gave her sister a smile. "This place still looks like a shithole. You know that, right?" she said.

"I am aware of that, yes."

"Hi, Auntie Brenda!" Joanne blurted out. She then gave Brenda one of her hardest, lovable smiles she had ever done. No matter the mood, Brenda could not help but let out a small smile at her enthusiasm. "Hello, JoJo." Brenda responded.

"I need to talk to you." Brionna said, her facial expression a serious one. "Alone."

Her dark brown eyes looked down at Joanne, who was focusing on the small orange and white fish in the small fish tank in the dining room. She walked over to her daughter and whispered something in her ear. Judging by Joanne's negative reaction and her pouty lips, Brionna had instructed Brionna to go over to the next door neighbor's apartment until Brionna and Brenda had finished talking. Brenda's next door neighbor was a jolly old lady who had become friendly with both Brionna and Joanne. Brionna flashed Joanne a stern look, and Joanne, filled with defeat, trotted out the apartment and next door. Once both women heard the next door neighbor's door open and close, Brionna turned back to Brenda, who looked confused as ever.

Nonetheless, Brenda motioned over towards the dining room table for them to sit down. Brionna then proceeded to take her own seat, and Brenda sat down in the chair across from Brionna, her morning coffee releasing hot steam into the air above. She took a sip and motioned her coffee towards Brionna, asking if she would have liked some of her own. Brionna declined with a lazy shake of the head. "My body's gonna need more than coffee after what I have to ask you." she joked half-heartedly.

This worried Brenda. She was about to open her mouth, but Brionna had cut her off before Brenda could get one word out. "I need you to look after Joanne while I'm away." Brionna said.

Brenda blinked. "Where are you going?"

"On a mission."

"To do what?"

"Don't worry about that."

"How can I not worry about that? You're my sister. I'm worried about whatever you do."

"Are you really worried?"

Brenda's eyes moved to the side. "Yes. Well, I started caring a bit more when you had a crazy mome-"

"Epiphany." Brionna corrected, her tone sharp and strong enough to cut through metal.

"Right. Sorry. An epiphany, and decided to dabble in espoinage." Brenda said, a smirk working its way to her face.

Brionna clutched her heart and pretended to be in pain. "Oooh, that cut deep. Dabble? I'm a full-fledged CIA operative, thank you very much. I take my job very seriously." she said, sticking her tongue out at Brenda.

"Seriously, Brionna. When are you going to tell Joanne?" Brenda asked, her voice and facial expression holding deep concern.

"About what? My job, or her father?"

"Both."

Brionna winced slightly after Brenda said that. She lowered her head and stared down at the wooden dining room table. She didn't know if she could tell Joanne about everything. Brionna's only fear was that Joanne would find out and hate her for lying to her. Unfortanetly, that fear seemed to be drawing closer with each passing day.

"She will have to know eventually, Brionna..."

"So, will you look after her? I don't how long I will be gone, Brenda. So, just do this for me? Please...I can't leave my baby with anyone else. After her father left, I had to scramble around looking for baby sitters for her until I got back."

"Why didn't you just call me?" Brenda asked.

"Wasn't thinking. Besides, you were kinda going through a cukoo stage of your life, and I couldn't have that around Joanne." Brionna answered.

Brenda rolled her eyes. "I just had some problems. Nothing ser-"

"Had?"

A sigh and a topic change. "You seem to be forgetting that I have a job, as well. Who will look after her then?"

"Simple. She will be at school. You will be at work. Joanne gets out of school around the same time you get off of work. It's easy."

"What if I have to work double shifts?"

"Just get like one of the neighbors to watch her."

"What if I..get hit by a bus?"

Brionna snorted, and Brenda let out a chuckle. "Just a little dark humor."

Brionna leaned in a little further, as if she was looking at something in the air. "So, will you do it?"

It didn't seem like Brenda had a choice. If Brenda refused, where was the child suppose to go? It was best that Joanne stayed with someone she knew well and loved, rather than some stranger. Brenda knew that it would be a tiresome task, but the desperation in her sister's eyes carried a persuasive energy that was working its way to Brenda. There was no way out of this favor; there was only one answer.

Brenda nodded. "Yes."

Brionna beamed. She jumped across the table and tackled Brenda into a hug.

It had been only 5 minutes since Brionna went next door to get Joanne, and she was already back. Brenda had thought that Brionna would have taken more time to explain to Joanne the matter at hand. Brenda walked to the door and opened it, hoping to see Brionna holding a crying, slobbering Joanne. Instead, there was no Brionna and no crying, slobbering Joanne. There was Joanne with a bag in her hand, looking up at Brenda. Brenda looked back at Joanna, and then looked around.

"Where's your mother?" Brenda asked. She asked it as if Joanne was a lost child.

"She left. She kissed me on the cheek and told me that you were going to take care of my until she came back. Is that true, Auntie?" Joanne said. Brenda nodded and stepped aside to let Joanne in. Joanne stepped in and looked around, as if she had never been there before. Joanne turned back to her aunt. "Where do I sleep?"

"I have another bedroom. You can sleep in there." Brenda said. Joanna walked away after hearing those words. There was no laughter, no blush, no smile. There was no happiness anymore.

Suddenly, Joanne stopped, and slowly turned back to Brenda. Brenda just quietly looked back at her until she said something.

"Auntie Brenda?"

"...yes?"

"Is Ma gonna be okay?"

Brenda didn't know the answer to that question, but giving Joanne an unsure answer at a time like this was the last thing she wanted to do. So instead, Brenda smiled and nodded. "Yes. Your mother is going to be just fine. Trust me." she said.

Joanne only stared at her aunt for a few seconds, until she finally gave in and smiled. "Okay." she said. And with that, Joanne turned and walked to the extra bedroom. When Joanne disappeared into the room, Brenda dropped her happy disposition and frowned at the floor. She walked over to the dining room table and sat down. Her shaking fingers grazed through her curly, natural black hair and then collapsed onto the wooden table. Her eyes traveled throughout the apartment and didn't stop until she reached her smashed camera that hung on a shelf. The same camera that marked the end of her career as a war photographer. The same camera that marked the start of nightmares full of faces that have yet to cease. Brenda didn't feel confident having Joanne in her apartment while Brenda was dealing with her fair share of problems. Joanne was now going through a tough situation; life without a mother. Joanne already had a missing father. Her mother leaving would not do good for her psyche. Fortanetly, it was only a temporary leave. Atleast, that's what Brenda hoped.

Brenda took another glance at the camera, and she closed her eyes. She inhaled, exhaled, and reopened her eyes.

"What now, Brenda?"

Oustide, Brionna wiped the last of her tears as she walked to her car. She suddenly stopped when she saw an unexpected, but familar person leaning against one of the doors of her car. The person gave her a small smile, and Brionna snorted in response. She held her head down for a bit to conceal her smile, and walked over to the person once she had composed herself. "What the hell are you doing here, Allen?"

Joseph Allen let out a chuckle and opened his arms a bit to embrace Brionna. "Just checking up on my girl. Making sure she doesn't pussy out on this assignment." he said in a jocular tone of voice.

Brionna gave him a fake shocked expression. "Me? Pussy out? Please, Allen. Don't compare me to you, okay?"

"Ooh, fiesty. I like that."

"I'm sure you do."

Allen laughed. "Just admit it. You like me too, don't you?"

Brionna looked off to the side before answering. "Eh. You're...starting to grow on me. Anyways, let's go. Can't be late for the meeting."she said.

Allen ignored the last part of the sentence and slipped his arms around Brionna's waist. "Oh really? I'm starting to grow on you?"

Brionna gave him a small nod. "Yeah..."

Allen gave her a slow grin. "Well then, let me grow on you some more." were Allen's last words before he pressed his lips smoothly and gently on Brionna's lips.

Dear God. I didn't expect the first chapter to end like that. Ah well, what's done is done. I hope you all enjoyed this first chapter of "Through the Lens". Tell me what you think of it.

Thank you!