Darling

Tragedy Strikes

TW: Character Death, sad feels.

Mary was watching the Littles in the playroom. As much as she loved watching over them, she was glad that the daycare would reopen soon, as she and Renee were beginning to feel exhausted.

'Speaking of Renee,' Mary thought, 'where is she?'

"I'll be right back, loves," Mary stated, not wanting to worry the two. Both Littles gave a small nod, before returning to their play. Natalie was lining up her dolls, while Luna was in the kitchen area, sorting the plastic foods into different categories. 

Mary arrived in the kitchen, hoping she was far enough away that the Littles wouldn't hear the conversation. She pulled out her phone, tapping Renee's contact. A horrible static sounded when she attempted to call. She went pale, hoping against hope that it was just the phone that wasn't working. She then clicked on the contact for her previous colleague.

Before Mary had worked at the primary school, she had been a scientist with her wife. She had known her colleagues well before she had quite, as she'd been working there for years. So much had happened since then, between getting trapped near a black hole, participating in a bloodsport in another universe, and then returning to her own universe. Though this colleague had been the reason that she'd been in that situation, she learned later that she had been forced into it, and therefor, had forgiven her. 

She tapped the call button, and waited. "Hello? Dr. Somers?"

"Dr. Reid... Is Renee alright?" Mary asked, her voice becoming tight. She'd known from the other universe that Renee had a history of getting trapped within other universe, and had hoped desperately that one had not been her Renee. 

"Mary... I... I'll be there in 10 minutes to talk about..." The other doctor's tone had become somber and tight as well. The woman on the other end hung up. Mary sighed, tears spilling down her cheeks. She let out a choked sob, before taking a shaky breathe. She needed to be strong for the two Littles in the room next to her. She knew if she panicked, so would they. She steadied herself, walking into the playroom.

"Alright dearies. We have a guest coming," Mary explained. "Now, the guest might have some big, scary news, but I'll be right here the whole time. No one's in trouble, but I need you two to be as big as you can be for a wee bit."

Luna stood up, putting away their toys. They then took out their pacifier, signifying that they didn't feel as Little anymore. Natalie looked at Mary like she had that day a few years ago. She had that knowing look that she had when her father had passed away.

"Dr. Somers... Is Renee ok?" Natalie asked.

"I... I'm afraid not, dear," Mary said, her voice breaking slightly. Luna was silent. They felt awkward. These two had known Renee for years, while they'd known her only a few weeks. They felt like it was their job to be strong. Their job to detach, so that they'd be strong enough to take care of the two who would be soon grieving a loss, because Luna could tell by the way that the two women spoke that Renee was not coming home. 

Natalie began to sob quietly, and Mary let a few tears slip. Luna walked over to Natalie, wrapping an arm around her. They lead her to the doorway wordlessly, where Mary hugged them both tightly. 

"I'm sorry," Luna whispered to the heartbroken women. 

"For what, love? You haven't done anything," Mary said softly, smiling sadly and wiping a few tears off of Luna's face that they hadn't noticed.

"You two were so close to her. You cared so much, and then she's just..." Luna's voice broke. "Gone."

"Love... You loved her too. You and Nattie and me... We were the light in her world. She told me every day. She told the two of you every day... We were all special to her. She loved us, just as much, if not more, than we loved her," Mary explained, hugging them both tighter. 

There was a knock on the door. "You two go to the kitchen table, alright?" They both nodded, and the redhead went to the door, opening it to find Dr. Reid. The long-haired redhead looked at Mary sympathetically, before pulling her into a hug.

Ashleigh was not a huggy person, but seeing someone so shattered... It made her feel broken as well. Mary was startled at first, but hugged back tightly, sobbing into the other woman's shoulder. When Mary calmed down a bit, Ashleigh let go.

"I'm... So sorry... I promise that if I'd known-" Ashleigh began.

"No... It's not your fault. Come in. We need to discuss this all together... Us, and the wee ones, though they're not so Little right now..." Mary explained, moving so that Ashleigh could enter. Mary lead her to the kitchen table, where Luna was hugging Natalie tightly, stroking the blond's hair.  Luna looked up at the unfamiliar woman. Ashleigh could only imagine what was going through their head at the moment.

To Luna, it felt like the end of the world. The fact that they'd lost one of the few people that had finally truly loved them, and that the others who they cared for were hurting and there was absolutely nothing they could do about it... It broke them like no one could imagine. Hugs could only do so much to help with loss. 

As much as Ashleigh hated to interrupt, she couldn't bear the silence. She cleared her throat. Natalie put a hand over her mouth, muffling her sobs. "I-I take it that... You all have already heard the news. There was an... Accident in the lab. Renee fell through a portal, and it closed before we could get her out... From the bottom of my heart... I am so, so, sorry. I wish there could have been something I could've done..."

Mary wrapped an arm around Ashleigh's shoulder. Ashleigh shook her head slightly.

"I will... Leave you all to it... Just know that Renee is probably never coming home..." Ashleigh made her way out the door, leaving the family to grieve. Mary sighed. 

"Do either of you want anything to eat?" Mary asked softly. Both shook their heads. "Right... How about we get into our jammies and cuddle up in the-the big bed."

"Yeah, that sounds good," Luna said softly, pulling Natalie into a standing position. Natalie nodded slowly. Her sobs had gone, leaving small sniffles behind. "Hey Nat, want me to help you into your pajamas, or you got it?"

Both women were surprised by this question. Mary had known that Luna had leadership skills in them, but had never thought that now of all times would be when they displayed them. Natalie was surprised that Luna hadn't turned on her the moment that they weren't Little, remembering those awful first days in the daycare, when Luna hadn't been regressed and would attack almost anyone. But then Natalie remembered something. Luna had attacked everyone that came near them... Except Natalie. Had Luna cared about her, or simply tolerated her? At the time, Natalie had been unsure, but now it was clear that Luna did care, just as Renee had cared. Natalie whimpered at the thought.

"O-Oui... Merci," Natalie muttered. Luna lead her up the stairs.

"I'm gonna change first, and then I'll help you, ok?" Luna asked. Natalie nodded. 

Luna made quick work of removing their diaper and changing into one of the plain white medical ones, as by this point, they no longer trusted their bladder. They then changed into the same moon and star gown that they wore every night. After that, they went into Natalie's room.

"What do you wanna wear?" Luna asked. Natalie held up a pink night gown and, just as Luna had put on, a white diaper. Luna quickly helped her change, feeling slightly awkward at helping someone else change, but they knew that Natalie needed some nurturing, even if it was from her 'Little Sibling' and that 'Mommy' needed a few minutes to herself to recover. Though, they had started to feel a headache coming on, and hoped that it was just from crying. 

They guided Natalie to Mary's bedroom, to find Mary in Renee's clothing. She was in an oversized band t-shirt and a pair of grey shorts, an outfit that Renee had often used as pajamas. Mary pat the spots next to her, and both Littles climbed in next to her. Both of them cuddled into the redhead's sides, resting their heads on either of her shoulders. Mary wrapped an arm around them. 

"Everything's gonna be alright, loves. I promise," Mary said, hoping that this was a promise that she would be able to keep.