This one shot was requested by raeraeweaver1. Thank you!
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Previously: Anne climbs up the unstable ladder carefully and slips under the warm blankets. Setting her personal blanket next to her mattress, Anne lays down onto the goose-feather pillow. The last thought that fluttered through Anne's mind before she slipped into a peaceful sleep was, 'Thank goodness for selfless people like Baylie.'
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After months, Baylie walks up to the the adept trapeze artists. Her face holds a grave look and her eyes fill up with tears slowly as she approaches them. Baylie stands below the two, watching their on-going act. Anne swings off of her trapeze bar and grabs her brothers wrists. The small audience that has gathered in the warehouse gasp. W.D swings backwards toward the hand-built wooden platform and unlatches himself from Anne. As he swings back out, Anne steadies herself and gets ready to grab onto the empty bar that is going to swing back at her. Her brother lets go of the one, flips in midair and grabs the trapeze bar Anne previously had.
Baylie gasps at this incredible trick along with the audience. W.D swings safely on the other platform and drops the bar. Anne, with the other bar, swings forward and mimics her brother's actions, flipping as well. Once again, they all gasp. Climbing down the rickety ladder, Anne and W.D head down to give a final bow. A round of applause echos throughout the dusty warehouse. The few spectators come up, shake hands with the siblings and give small tips for the stellar performance.
After the audience leaves, Anne and W.D approach Baylie with wide smiles. Taking notice of her solemn expression, their smiles quickly disappear. "Is there something wrong Baylie?" W.D inquires looking her in the eyes. Baylie nods her head and turns her back to the two. She starts to walk back into the house with her head down, trying to mask the tears rolling down her face. The siblings gather around the small wooden table and sit down as Baylie prepares her herbal tea.
Anne and W.D look at each other, exchanging worried looks. "Children, I got a letter from my dear sister in Boston. She's fallen ill and she has asked me to watch over her children seeing as her husband is off traveling for business." Baylie says, her back is turned toward the siblings. They exchange glances again, this time it was sympathetic. Baylie presses on. "She is asking me to move their permanently in case she. . . she passes on." She turns around and looks at the children.
Tears start to flow slowly down her cheeks. "In order to cover the expenses of moving down there I had to sell the house and warehouse. Even though I sold the house, I don't have enough to bring you two along. I leave tomorrow. I am so, so sorry." Baylie manages to choke out before a sob escapes her quivering lips. Anne stands up, tears in her own eyes, and wraps her arms around Baylie. Anne nuzzles her head into the crook of Baylie's neck. Baylie returns the hug tightly. After they split W.D engulfs Baylie in a hug as well. Slow tears trickle down Anne's face as she watches their interaction.
Over the past few months, Baylie became a maternal figure to the two. The siblings loved Baylie and Baylie loved them. Baylie never had children of her own. When the two teens the stumbled onto her property was, it was the best thing that ever happened to her. Baylie loved to watch them learn the new trapeze skills and honing in on their natural-born talents. She also loved to watch them break out of their shell and learn to trust her gradually.
"I love you two, you know. This is breaking me inside, to leave you my children." Baylie says as Anne approaches the two people she cares for. Tears fall down each one of their faces. Not even W.D tries to hide his tears. "Let us savor the last few hours with one another, dearies." Baylie shakily responds as she walks over to tend to the tea on the hearth.
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The morning sun blinds Anne through the windows. She opens her eyes to see W.D sitting on the floor and resting his back and head against the couch asleep. Baylie is sitting on the couch, with Anne's head in her lap. Baylie's head rests on the back of the couch. One of her hands is stretched out in W.D's direction and the other limply resting on Anne's head. She was also asleep. Anne decided to savor the moment and relaxes.
She starts to reminisce on all the time they spent with Baylie. The time she took Anne and W.D clothes shopping after she took them in. The time she first showed them how to be an acrobat. The time she took them out to a nearby park and they all took a peaceful walk around the lake. Their countless talks about life and about trapeze work over herbal tea. A single tear trickles down Anne's face. "I'm going to miss this." Anne whispers.
Anne drifts off once again, only to be woken by Baylie's shuffling. Baylie lays Anne head on the couch and gets up to make breakfast and tea. Anne sits up and shakes her brother awake. "Morning." Baylie says as she bustles throughout the kitchen. W.D mumbles a soft 'morning' as he stretches. Anne stands up and stretches as well, her muscles sore from trapeze and the uncomfortable accommodations of the night before.
After breakfast, Anne and W.D help Baylie pack up her stuff. Not one of them spoke, each one lost in their own thoughts. Besides, if one of them were to talk they would probably all burst into tears again. Anne was finishing up packing Baylie's outfits into an old leather suitcase when a knock on the main door interrupted them. Interested, Anne sticks her head out of the small bedroom to see Baylie opening the door.
"Hello Ms. Irvin." A deep voice says, his voice sounding as if the whole speech was rehearsed. "We will escort you to the train station for your departure to Boston." Anne rushes to pack the rest of Baylie's belongings. Anne walks out and hands the suitcase to Baylie. W.D come us and gives her another old bag full of belongings. "Do you mind?" Baylie says simply to the man standing in her doorway. He nods and walks back to the awaiting carriage.
She turns back and looks at her beloved 'children.' Tears fill her eyes as she sets the bags down on the ground. She pulls both of them into a crushing hug, a hug that says 'I don't want to leave.' After Baylie reluctantly pulls away, she whispers, "Stick together my dears. I love you both." She plants a gentle kiss on both of their tear-stained cheeks. She grabs her bags and heads out to the carriage.
As she watches their parental figure leave, Anne hugs her brother and cries into his chest. Tears flowed silently down his cheeks as well. They both sit down on the couch and cry together, just like they did when their biological mother died. Anne falls asleep soon after on her brother, emotionally drained from the whole experience. She doesn't stir until W.D shakes her gently. "We need to leave Anne. The bank officially owns the house now and we can't be caught here. Go gather your stuff and change into street clothes." Anne nods and climbs up to her loft. She quickly changes and puts the rest of her clothes into a small bag Baylie gave her.
She meets W.D at the front door and the two push out into the afternoon air. They walk around the streets, cloaks pulled over their faces. After a half an hour of wandering aimlessly around the New York streets, a brightly colored flyer catches W.D's attention. "Anne, come look at this." W.D calls Anne over and rips the flyer off the nail. It reads 'P.T Barnum's Live Museum of Curiosity. All Oddities Welcome.' Little did both of them know that this flyer would change both of their lives.
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A/N: I hope you enjoyed the second part to Shelter. This one is a bit shorter but a lot more emotional. I am not going to lie, I teared up a bit writing this. Also, I am sorry if the text on the flyers is different in the movie. I couldn't for the life of me remember what it said specifically. Either tomorrow or Thursday I will post another one shot, so be on the look out for that.
Also, I've been reading other Showman fanfiction and saw that many say that they use a stove. I decided to have Baylie cook her food on the hearth of a fire because in the late 1800s, the stove was just invented. Because it was just invented, many poor people like Baylie wouldn't of had it. So, in case you were curious about the whole hearth thing, there you go!
Also, thank you guys SO, SO, SO much for 10k views. 2,000 views in one day is crazy!!!!! If I were to express my gratitude, I'd probably write an entire essay. Lol! Honestly, thank you so much for all of your support and wonderful, encouraging comments.
~wildmustang4002~