Thanks to all reviewers - 10 is a MUCH better number but much too long to reply to individually. I'd love to do a drabble on Kally...but not in this series

---------------------

One Complete Unit

---------------------

"Twins." Alanna looks at the bundles in her arms and sighs, averting her eyes from their perfect symmetry with a grimace.

Alanna was happy when she had Thom, a bit amazed that she could have produced this life, but happy nonetheless. But now, when she holds the twins in her arm for the first time, she cringes inside as she sees their faces, faces too young to be anything but identical.

Cringes inside, inside only, because George is sitting beside her on the bed, and though she tells him everything, this he will not want to know.

He won't want to know that she doesn't love these kids. Won't want to know that she can't even look at them for too long, because they bring back too many memories, too many thoughts she's kept hidden away in the back of her mind for so long. Won't want to know that the only thing keeping her from breaking down is the fact that these twins have tiny wisps of blond-red hair – not fire-red, blond-red.

He won't want to, and he never will know, that from now on she'll take every command, every plea for help that comes her way. She would have done so anyway, for the sake of duty, but now she'll go because she wants to leave. So she doesn't have to watch these two faces smooth out and mature, so she doesn't have to see them running around the lands, being two of one complete unit, whenshe will never be complete again.

So she doesn't have to face the possibility of maybe seeing a little girl dunk a little boy into a frozen pond for an unknown offense far into the future, and then having to remember another little girl, and another little boy, and an offense committed far in the past.

Alanna places a smiling mask on her face, and holds firm to it. Amazing how much you can remember of old etiquette lessons when you really, really want it.

---------------------

Reviews & CC appreciated, wanted, needed. Suggestions for future drabbles would be great - spelling mistakes if anyone can find any, because I don't exactly have a beta.