I am the angst fairy. Yeah, this is hella short and was written completely on the spur of the moment. I blame Anni.

Lights Out

"Heya Blaze," Sophia said as she finely chopped up sausages, "How are you?"

The answer was silence, as usual, but she smiled anyway. She always felt better talking to him, even when all he did was smile and sometimes raise his eyebrows.

"I'm absolutely knackered myself," she continued, scarping the sausage into a bowl of baked beans. "Being pregnant does that to you." She shifted her weight slightly, turning to grab the three little plastic bowls on the side and began dishing out the sausages and beans.

"Look at me, I can't even knock up a proper meal."

"Foooooooood!" Came the cry from behind her, and she sighed, grabbing two of the bowls and a couple of plastic spoons, before turning to face the three highchairs behind her.

"One for Cillian," she cooed, putting the plastic bowl down in front of him and giving him a spoon. "One for kitty-Cat," she kissed Cat's nose, making her giggle and set her bowl down, before grabbing the third off of the side. "And one for Stevey."

The blonde child reached down into his bowl and grabbed one of the small sausage pieces, shoving it in his mouth and smearing beans over his face in the process.

"No, Stevey," Sophia said, putting his spoon in his hand. "Spoon. Use the spoon."

He flailed around and stabbed her in the eye with it. Sophia let out a yelp, stumbling backwards and putting a hand to her watering eye. "No Steve!" she wailed, wiping the moisture away. "Bad!"

He grinned, and stuffed more sausage in his mouth with his hands. She went to correct him, but was hit in the face by a sticky spoon. She turned around and saw Cat's far too innocent face.

"Cat! No! Naughty!" The baby glowered and threw a handful of baked beans in her face. "Cat! Stop it!"

"Ca', stop it!" Steve echoed, before pulling his bowl on his head. Baked beans dripped down his smug face.

"Steve, no!" Sophia shrieked, heading back over to him.

"When's Mummy coming home?"

Everything seemed to freeze for a second. Sophia took a deep breath and turned around to see Cillian studying her, his face solemn.

"Cillian, love," she said, her voice shaking. "We talked about this. Mummy had to go away to a different place, with Daddy. But she is still watching you and sending all of her love."

"I want her back."

"Cillian sweetheart, why don't you eat your-"

"I want her BACK!" The bowl and its contents hit the far wall.

"Cillian-"

"MUMMY BACK!" Cat shrieked, deciding to jump on the bandwagon. "WAN' MUMMY!"

"MUMMY!" Steve, chanted, banging his bowl on the table. "MUMMY!"

Cillian began to wail. Sophia quickly unstrapped him and picked him up, jiggling him up and down. "Shhhh, shhh sweetheart, it's okay, it's okay…"

"YOU'RE NOT MY MUMMY!" he screamed. "I WANT MUMMY BACK!"

Cat thought this was a fine time to start throwing food, and soon globules of beans were flying through the air once more.

"Shhh, Cillian, shhh…" he began to beat her with tiny fists, and she had to put him down because she was scared of him kicking her heavily pregnant stomach. He lay on the floor, kicking his feet against the wood and drumming his hands.

"MUMMY! MUMMY! COME BACK MUMMY!"

Sophia hadn't cried at the funeral. She had been too tired to cry, up all night with three restless children. She hadn't cried when she'd heard the news either; something had simply shrivelled up inside her, like a plant exposed to the frost. Something had shrivelled and died. In fact, in hindsight, she hadn't cried at all, sleep claiming her instantly each time she fell into bed. She'd always been careful to smile in front of the children, to be calm and kind and friendly.

She cried then.

Sophia Linton howled, curled in a ball in the middle of the kitchen floor, sobs shaking her body, baked beans dripping onto her face from her hair.

She cried for the only friends she'd had, who'd been so cruelly taken from her. She cried for the children who would grow up without ever knowing their parents. She cried for Mia's enthusiasm, Zeb's snide comments, Melinda's naughty laugh. She cried for Blaze's smile in the photo she carried with her every day. She cried for Tiger, the husband she had met and loved and lost so quickly, and the child inside her that he would never meet, that he had never even known existed. Sophia Linton cried for herself and the broken heart which she knew would never heal. She cried for all the lives that had been lost, including hers.

"Soph'a?"

She opened her blurry eyes, seeing nothing for a moment. After a second, Cillian's face swam into view, distorted by tears.

"Shhh," he said, patting her face with a chubby hand. Cat and Steve were quiet now, staring at her in something that almost resembled shock. "It's okay, Soph'a," he said, crawling into her lap and cuddling her. "It's okay."

Sophia closed her eyes, resting her cheek on top of his head of dark hair, rocking him gently.

"Don' cry, Soph'a," he whispered. "Don' cry."

"I will look after yoou while Mummy's gone," she whispered to him. "I promise."

"Okay Soph'a. Love you Soph'a."

"Love you Soph'a," Cat and Steve echoed.

Once the kitchen and children were clean, she tucked them all into their cribs at the end of her bed and read them a story. When they were all finally asleep, she pulled the picture of Blaze out of her pocket and put it on the night stand with the others.

"Night night," she whispered to them. Mia waved, Zeb winked, Melinda laughed. From their wedding photo Tiger swung her into his arms. And Blaze smiled.

Sophia smiled back and turned out the light.