𝐍𝐎𝐎𝐍 𝐓𝐎 𝐍𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 → 𝑭. 𝑯

𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐘 𝐒𝐈𝐗: 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒚 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒊𝒕

𝙖𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙡 𝟲𝙩𝙝,𝟮𝟬𝟭𝟵

JULIETTE HARGREEVES WAS FULL OF SURPRISES. It was clear to all of the Hargreeves' siblings by the time Juliette stabbed the table back in '63 that while she was timid and soft spoken, there was a hidden side to her that was for the better or for worse.

Juliette Hargreeves was and wasn't what people thought her to be.

Viktor Hargreeves saw it in Juliette constantly. And he saw it now.

Juliette sat in the passenger seat of the stolen car that she had hot-wired. Viktor merely blinked as she clipped the wires and the engine roared as the sparks lit up. She hadn't said anything since she came out of the hotel and sat, staring out into the world.

"Juliette?"

"Hmmm?"

"Can I ask you a...personal question?"

"Of course you can."

Viktor sighed, one hand on the wheel and the other on his forehead, "Is there...another reason why you're helping Harlan?" He asked. "I don't kno–I just feel like there's something more to what you're telling me."

Juliette nodded, turning her head towards her brother-in-law, "Harlan's your son."

"What?"

Juliette repeated her sentence, "Harlan is your son. He is your child. He may be well over 60 and you're barely 30, but you are his parent. A parent protects their child with everything they have even if they're wrong." She turned her head back to the front, smiling, "When I was kid, my mother used to tell me that she'd always be with me, she'd always love me, that she'd protect me no matter what I did. She taught me to be compassionate for others because not everyone had parents or someone that would do the same for them. Not everyone grows up the same. Not every family's the same."

"We would know a lot about that." Viktor commented and the two shared a laugh. "You really think Harlan thinks I'm his dad?"

Juliette smiled at the hope in his eyes, "The best one he's ever had." Juliette felt a lump in her throat, "I've only ever had my mom, but she was enough was me. I never knew my father, so my mother filled both shoes. I promised myself that if I ever had children, they would have a father." She inhaled shakily, "I never got what you have."

"You wanted children?"

"It's always been an option." She thought back to her old life, "I thought I'd grow up, go to college, stay with the band, find a guy who loved me, get married, travel for a few years, and maybe have a baby." She laughed. "I had a few names lined up by the time I was ten."

"Did you have the same dream when you met Five?"

"Yes." She answered instantly, "When I fell in love with your brother, most importantly after we got married, I dreamed of having kids. Maybe two." She frowned, " but reality loved to kill me slowly. The truth was we had to survive. We barely had food for a few weeks. The weather wasn't kind in certain years. Babies wouldn't survive, nor was I be able to properly conceive, but kids were always near my heart. Later in the Commission, I tried to save Lila, who was only around eight when we got there. So, to answer your question, I have a soft spot for humans, for life, for children, for those who never got to live a regular life."

"Like you?"

Juliette stayed silent for a moment. Maybe two. She stared at herself in the rearview mirror, seeing herself stare back. She was more tired, more racked with heavy questions than ever, but for a moment, she blinked and saw her true fifteen year old self – joyful, full of life, naive, unknown, living in a bubble happily and unaware.