*drums fingers on table nervously* Okay, guys, I can explain.
I know what you're thinking: "BoneyFide13, you said that the 'Lost in the Book with TNBC' event was the next one! Why are you doing 'Wish Upon a Star'?" Well, I am drafting the NBC Book event, that much is true. It's just taking a lot longer because Jill has personal ties with Nightmare, as well as a connection to Scully and Jack, so I need to flesh out the extra layers of the story. In the meantime, I realized that I had a few 'dead' fics—some Books and events that I wrote with Jill's inclusion, but never published. So while you wait, I decided to get the shortest event out of the way.
This is Jill's very first event within her timeline, and this is where she meets Trey, Idia, and Ortho for the first time. I hope you enjoy it!
Disclaimer: Twisted Wonderland and all its properties still belong to Disney, Aniplex, and pretty much everyone except for me.
CHAPTER 1: THE FUTURE
Roughly two years ago, when Jill was thirteen…
The Bones' funeral home was always quiet and stale; it came with the territory. The walls were white, the roof was black, there were few paintings or decorations on the walls… there really was nowhere to look when you needed a distraction. But right now, it had an especially-deafening atmosphere. Jill stared at the beige thin carpet, her words as soft as a whisper.
"I want to be a mortician, like you guys."
Catherine and Christopher Bones gazed at each other. They always seemed alike, with their pale skin and dark hair, but they seemed exactly identical now as they turned to stare at their daughter.
"Are you sure, Jill?" Christopher asked. "We don't want to feel like we're pressuring you…"
"No, of course we don't want to force your hand," Catherine chimed in. Her voice was a bit more hopeful. "But if you mean it…"
"I mean it." Jill managed to look both of them in the eye. "I've had lots of time to decide, and honestly, I don't know what else I would want." Various possible futures flickered through her imagination—a teacher, a scientist, an explorer, a politician—but none of them seemed to fit her.
"Jill, I think you would make a very good mortician!" Catherine said with a grin. "Of course, we'll have to train you, get you used to cadavers and the like…"
"Of course," Jill said, ignoring the uncomfortable churn in her stomach.
"Jill, just so you know," Christopher said quietly, "if you ever change your mind, we'll understand."
"I know, and I'm grateful," Jill replied. "But I mean, I've volunteered here and at church plenty of times already, so I know the basics… I think. And I know how important this job is to everyone in town, and how hard you work. And Grandpa even helped build this place when he worked here! It's the Bones family legacy, right? So… I want to uphold it."
It all sounded phony in Jill's own ears. She could only imagine what her parents thought. Sure, being a mortician wasn't the most glamourous job in the world, and Jill felt queasy at even the thought of preparing a dead body for burial… but it was a duty nonetheless. After all, Catherine inherited the position from Daniel—father to daughter—and Christopher was already in the business when he met his future wife. There had to be something about mortuary work that appealed to them. Jill was a self-proclaimed goth, so she had to like everything dark and spooky, right? This would be okay… right?
As Catherine launched into a lengthy lecture about the history of funeral work, Jill forced herself to listen. She would learn to love being a mortician, eventually.
Mom, Dad… I wonder where you are right now, and what you're thinking about. Please don't presume me dead yet. I'll come back to you soon, I know it. And then things will go back to normal…
