AU: A teenage Harriet time travels and meets teenage April. (Inspired by The Way Home)
She doesn't know what's happening. One minute, she was fine, and the next, she's fallen into a stream by her grandparent's farm house and was gasping for air.
It freaks her out, so much so that she considers just going back to the house and reluctantly apologising after the disagreement she'd had with her mom about a house party she'd been to recently, but her stubborn nature sets in and she decides that, actually, she's not quite ready to do that yet. Instead, she finds herself roaming around the farm land (and praying that the midwestern humidity will soon kick in and dry out her now-wet clothing quicker), far enough that her mom hopefully won't be able to find her, but not far enough to cause any real concern.
When she reaches the pig's barn, she finds herself confused when she notices a girl they're tending to the creatures - about the same age as she is. Her long, unruly auburn hair is tied back in a ponytail, and she's sporting some wire-framed spectacles and a mouth full of braces, but there's a sense of familiarity about her that Harriet can't quite put her finger on. The girl stops what she's doing for a moment and notices Harriet standing in the doorway, causing her to almost knock an empty bucket over. "Uhm, who are you? Can I help you?"
"I could ask you the same thing. I didn't know grandpa had hired help around here."
"Sorry? Grandpa?" The redhead responds, her voice rising a few octaves as she scrunches her nose in confusion, "My parents own this farm. Karen and Joe Kepner, do you know them? They don't have any grandkids yet...Kimmie - she's my sister, she's only a few years older than me. Maybe you've got the wrong address?"
Harriet's eyes widen, and it suddenly hits her just why this girl seems so familiar to her. The way her voice would get all high-pitched when she was nervous, the petite frame, the hair colour...she'd seen this girl in old photos of her mom. She was pretty sure that this was her mom, but how the heck was that possible? How the heck was she existing at the same age as her? Surely this had to be a dream, and she was going to wake up any minute now?
"Right...sorry, I probably did get the wrong address. Uhm, what's your name?"
"April. Like the month. What about yours?"
"My name is Harriet."
"Thats a nice name. Like The Spy. I loved those books as a kid."
There was no denying that this was her mother. What the hell was she supposed to do with this information?! She thinks for a moment, and decides that she may as well just go along with...whatever this is. Maybe she will, in fact, wake up soon, and none of this will matter. Its not as if the younger version of her mother seems to know who she is, anyway.
"Yeah...my mom read them to me as a kid, too," Harriet adds, feeling awkward, "Hey, uhm, would it be cool if I stay here for a while? Just until I can...phone my parents or something?"
"Sure. I just finished up here, so we can go up to the farm house. My mom's cooking meatloaf if you'd like to stay for dinner?"
"I...think I'd like that." A part of her thinks it'd be nice to see more of her mom's life as a teenager, and see the younger versions of her other family members, too - if they even exist in this world. It's not that often that she even gets to visit Moline and the farm house, even in real time, but she cherishes the time that she does get there. Its a nice break from the hustle of living in the city.
"Great! Let's go then!" April gleams, leading the way up to the farm house and doing her best to make small talk.
The farm house looks somewhat different when they make it inside. The structure is the same, but some of the decor is slightly dated - she figures grandma and grandpa must've updated it at some point. She recognises them immediately - they look the same mostly, only with slightly less wrinkles and more vibrant hair, and feels warm when she sees how welcoming and happy they are.
"Mom, this is Harriet. I think she got a little lost, so is it okay if she stays for dinner until her parents can pick her up? I promise we'll stay out of the way."
"Oh, of course! I'm so happy that you've finally made a friend. Dinner will be ready in half hour."
"Thanks, mom! Come on, we can go up to my room."
Much like the rest of the interior, April's room looks dated. There's several boy band posters on the walls, and not everything matches, but it does feel very her: there's a lot of floral prints and some throw pillows on the bed, which she knows her dad would hate, and the thought amuses her.
They both sit down on the bed, and she Harriet finds her eyes wandering over everything. She spots a few family photos here and then (but very few with friends or her peers from school), and notices the array of science fair trophies on one of the shelves, as well as a stuffed animal on the bed. Its a little crazy to think that this was her mom's sanctuary once upon a time.
"What did your mom mean before? About you finally making a friend?" Harriet questions. The lack of photos makes her wonder if many other people come here, but she hopes thats not the case.
"Oh, uhm...I don't really have many friends. I spend most of my time with the animals, so I guess they're kind of my friends..." April sighs, looking down at her hands, "People at school don't really like me. They...call me Duckie. You know, like 'ugly duckling'. I bet you don't have that problem though. You're really pretty."
Harriet feels bad for even asking, and wishes she could make things better for her. "Thank you, but you're really pretty too, you know. Who cares what other people think? One day, I bet you're going to be having the last laugh, and go on to do great things. Trust me on that."
"You think so?" April laughs bashfully, finding that somewhat hard to believe. Sometimes she wondered if she'd ever find someone to love her, or be able to do all of the things she wanted to do in life - like be a doctor or get out of her small town.
"I know so."
"Thank you...that means a lot."
There's a beat of silence for a moment, before the sound of Karen Kepner shouting from downstairs that dinner is ready forces them to move.
It's strange, sitting around a table with her grandparents, mother and her aunts. Strange but also, wonderful. Their dynamic seems so different to how it does when they're all together now - her aunts having been forced to mellow over the years (within reason), whilst her mother seems so much happier in the present day. It makes her wonder how different things might be with her own parents as she gets older and maybe has children of her own, and that thought both scares her and excites her in a way.
After they're done with their dinner and Harriet finds herself getting lost in conversation for a while - they ask her about where she grew up (she tells them she's visiting from Boston, since it isn't technically a lie), what she wants to do in the future (she wants to go into the medical profession, like her parents, but hasn't decided on what path she wants to take yet) and when she plans to visit Moline next (soon, she hopes). Its beginning to get dark out, which causes her to make an excuse to leave - saying that she definitely phoned her parents and that they definitely agreed to pick her up just down the road (she hasn't, and they didn't, but they don't need to know that).
As Harriet makes her way out of the front door and onto the porch with April, the tiny redhead smiles at her, before pulling her into a very tight hug that catches her off guard. "Thank you...again, for what you said," She explains, pulling away after a few beats, "It really does mean a lot. I know we just met, but I feel like I...know you, you know? I wish we could hang out more. Maybe we can when you visit next?"
"Yeah, I think I could make that happen," Harriet agrees, although she's not entirely sure how, or if its even possible, given she still doesn't understand how this whole...time travel? alternate universe? very strange yet very real-seeming dream? works, "Take care of yourself."
April nods, waving goodbye as Harriet leaves, wandering off down the pathway. It's only once she sees that April has gone back inside that she changes directions and heads back towards the pond. If that was how she got here, then it must be how she gets back, right?
As she walks towards the edge, she braces herself and jumps in, struggling for a moment until she comes up for air again and manages to climb out. It's still dark outside - like it was when she'd left the old farmhouse, so she wonders if anything has actually changed. She certainly doesn't feel any different, minus the fact that her clothes are dripping wet once again.
Retracing her steps there, she notices that the porch light is on, and sees a familiar mane of fiery read hair as she gets closer - no longer as youthful as she was when she'd seen her only moments ago, but back to the version that she'd grown up with. The version that she called 'mom'.
"Oh my god, Hattie?! Are you okay? What happened?! I've been worried sick!" She explains, noticing her daughter's wet clothes but pulling her into a hug anyway. Despite the fight that they'd had before she left, Harriet can't help but return it, feeling a new sense of appreciation and understanding of the woman standing in front of her.
"I'm fine, mom. I'm sorry...for going off like that. I didn't realise it was so late...and I'm sorry for fighting earlier. I didn't mean to worry you."
"Its okay, bug. I'm just so glad you're okay. I'm sorry too...I shouldn't have gotten mad. Come on, let's go inside and get you cleaned up."
Harriet nods, happily going back into the farm house with her mother's arm wrapped around her, and feeling grateful for the adventure she's been on - even if she didn't fully understand it yet.