(no subject)

The next time that someone tells me to go back to where I belong, which time period do I say I belong to?  Which universe?  Do I pick a family, and does Lynn come with me or not?

Going to New York.

Instead of suffering through nightmares, some nights Janie would spend curled up in bed, working on physics formulas.  It's what made everything make sense.  Tonight was one of those nights, and she was lost in the world of her sheets, paper and the soft scratching of a pencil, the world reduced to symbols on a piece of white note paper.

 

Her daughter stood in front of her bed, staring silently.  Janie gathered the papers, and set them on the night stand, before moving aside and patting the spot next to her in bed.  Lynn jumped in and immediately snuggled against her mother.  The two lay awake for a bit, not speaking to each other, until they both drifted off to sleep. 

 

---

 

When Janie received the letter, she read it once, twice, and her heart sank.  They were gone.  Those who treated her like family, like the extended family she never had and always wanted.  The world that was like a second home- in the process of being destroyed.  They were immortal, this wasn't supposed to happen.  She didn't know how to react, what to do.  How to help Phoenix, who she was sure needed support.

 

Her reaction was to run.

 

Lynn stopped her, and tried to convince her to stick nearby for Phoenix, for Sam, because they all needed to be together.  Janie tried to stay, but the thoughts of losing family yet again became too much, and all she wanted to do was drink.  Phoenix, Sam and Lynn would be okay together,  Janie knew they would.  Her father would pick up Lynn and everything would be alright.

 
It had to be alright, if only she could escape.  So, without a word, she packed a small bag and went to New York City, where she could drink away the pain and loss in anonymity.

She didn't plan on Lynn following her.