[REDACTED], 1974
the emergency lights began to blare from the rainbow room. bea sprints out of her room. she looks to the nearest doctor who runs down the hall.
"what the hell is happening?" she runs next to her.
"number three is trying to fight peter," the doctor shakes her head.
"again? goddamnit," bea curses before full on running to the rainbow room. she throws open the door and yell, "boys, stop!"
the other kids were huddled in the corner, watching the two boys duke it out. peter had a bloody nose and three had a cut lip. the two boys continued to try to take hits.
"you can't win this one, three." three held out his hand to use his power, but peter grabs his arm before he could use it and yanks forward, throwing him off his rhythm.
bea shakes her head. "why is no one here helping me. i guess i gotta do this the hard way." she looks to the other children in the corner. "children, go to your room. i'll take care of these two."
the children scrabble out of the room, trying hard to not get caught in the crossfire. bea walks to them as they somehow hit the floor. she grabs both of their ears, tightly like an angry mother. the fighting ceased as they winced, holding their ears as she pulled them up by their ears.
"ow, ow, ow, ow," peter complained, looking at bea.
"what have i told you two about fighting?" she makes them sit at the table in the corner of the room. she points at three. "you were supposed to stop fighting. do you want me to go tell papa?"
three shakes his head. "no, miss bea. i'm sorry, miss bea."
"exactly." she looks to peter, who smirked at three being yelled at. she points a finger at peter. "don't even get me started with you. i told you to stop encouraging the kid when he tries to pick a fight. come on, peter. you are too old for this."
"sorry, bea," he says, looking down in embarrassment.
bea holds the bridge of her nose as she paces. "what am i going to do with the two of you?" she mutters. "next time, at least, wait for the children to clear the room. i'm gonna go make sure the children are in bed," she sighs, walking out of the room.
"bea, wait," peter says, following her out.
bea ignored his calls.
"bea! hold on!"
"peter, i have a job to do right now," she says, not turning to face him.
peter rolls his eyes and pulls her into the supply closet.
"can it wait?" he whispers, looking at her with puppy eyes.
she could never say no, could she?
"fine," she shakes her head. "you know, i hate when you do that."
"do what?" he laughs with a smile growing on his face.
a small smile peaks on her lips. "i forgive you. as long as you stop fighting with a fourteen year old."
"fine," peter gives in, moving in close. "he started it though."
"real mature, peter. putting the blame on a teenager," bea says, rolling her eyes. he interrupts her with a kiss. she playfully shoves him away. "peter, i need to go to the children."
"fine," he smiles, pulling her close again. "one more?" he leans down placing a kiss to her lips. "alright, go do your job," he rolls his eyes, playfully. "i love you, bea."
bea puts her hand on the door knob. "i love you, too, peter," she grins before opening the door.
september 8, 1986
bea picked at food on the tray next to her. she sat back against the glass. steve and robin sat close to the cell. mike, lucas, and dustin sat in the shadowed areas with the remote to the speaker.
'cowards.' she mentally rolled her eyes.
the only thing keeping her going was the baby and the thought of going home. it was stupid, but in the moment, she wanted lemon cake. instead she was eating canned soup with stale bread on the floor of her childhood nightmare.
"why did you do it? were you really a spy all along?" robin asked. her back rested against the glass cell. bea leaned on the opposite side of the pane of glass.
"we were doing so well and then you left."
bea sighed, putting the stale bread on the tray. "i didn't have a choice. you know that. i gave up so much to help you guys, but it was all for nothing. i wanted to help and everyone accused me of being a spy. i decided it wasn't worth it. i feel like i earned it. the right to be selfish. after everything i've done, i feel like i can justify this."
"i'm sorry," robin spoke, pulling her knees into her chest. they sat in a short silence. steve just sat, listening to the two. "so...you're pregnant?"
bea smiles a bit, letting out a short laugh. "yeah. i think they're a boy."
"how do you know?" robin asked, curiously.
"mother's intuition, i think," bea replied, placing a hand over her stomach. she wasn't showing yet, but she could sense it. "i don't know his name yet, but i want his middle name to be alan."
"alan?" steve looked, resting his head on the glass behind him.
"my father's name. he was in the military before i was born. he was a great father. he spoiled the hell out me. my father used to read to me in the living room while my mother sewed. the adventures of tom sawyer. he died protecting me from this place."
the room feels cold. sad. she could sense pity. she didn't want pity anymore, she just wanted to go home. her feet hurt, her throat felt scratchy from screaming, her eyes burned from crying. the stress wasn't good for her or for the baby.
"you know there is still time for you to choose the right side, bea?" robin's voice rasps.
"unfortunately, picking the 'right' side isn't an option. there is no true right or wrong side. it's just all perspective. i know where i stand. i have been on both sides and i know what your side fights for and what his side fights for. your side will always believe you're in the right, just as we do. the difference between us is we know and accept our flaws. use them. the problem with the good guys is how flawless they believe they are, they suppress them. isolate them. i'm on the side of breaking this vicious cycle of abuse," bea states, making it clear where she stood. it took her a long time, but it felt like a weight being lifted from her chest. bea threw the bread from her tray at the pane of glass across from her. "my children will have a safe place to live this way."
peter safely set will onto the overworld ground. he wipes his nose as eddie attempts to climb out.
"the bag is in her closet," will relays.
"i'll go get it. um...help your brother out," peter says, looking down at a struggling eddie. he runs out the rubble of eddie's former trailer.
he tries the door, but it was locked. he looked around him, making sure no one was around. he carefully used his powers to unlock the door and enters slowly. the coast was clear. he looked around her home. he had never truly taken in the details of her home. she had many photos of her aunt and herself.
'indiana, 1982,' one photo read. it was a picture of bea and lila under an array of buildings. she had a bright, but tired smile.
he felt bad for ripping her away from her normal life.
'would she be happier if i had never come back? did i destroy her life after she finally had it back?' he wanted what was best for her. but was he really what was best?
he shook it off, heading into the hall. he looked into the first room. nothing. the second door lead to the bathroom. then the final door lead to a bedroom. he opened the closet door and in all its glory sat the duffle bag.
"thank fuck," he sighed in relief. peter had no idea what the bag contained, but he knew it was important. everything bea did had a purpose. he slung the bag over his shoulder and headed outside to meet the boys.
"got it?" will asked.
peter replied with a nod. "here, kiddo."
will takes the bag from peter and sets it on the ground to open it. eddie stands behind him with his arms crossed, waiting for the contents to be exposed.
will rummages through the bag. his hand meets metal and he pulls out a gun.
"she probably bought this after the gates opened," will murmured. he pulls out a book. it looked important so he stuck it back in the bag. he feels around for anything else. he finds a couple pictures, another book, a pocket knife, some protective clothing, and a pack of skittles. "this should do." will holds up the bag of skittles. "this is definitely a bea bag."
"we need to get a move on before we lose daylight," eddie says, a bat landing on his shoulder. eddie throught it was insane that a couple months ago, one of these bastards killed him before.
"i agree," peter said. "before we try to find them, let me remind you both, one of you is technically missing and the other one is dead so please disguise yourself."
"yes, sir," eddie said, fake saltuing.
"got it," will answered, nodding.
"let's go find her, boys."