Wow, it's really been a while since I wrote this story. I had several large papers and projects due, but I should get a little better now that I'm through with most of them! This chapter really just wrote itself, but a quick warning: VERY LONG CHAPTER AHEAD!
I'm really happy with how this one turned out :).
Let me know what you think!
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Francesca really didn't want to admit it. She really didn't.
But, as much as she didn't want to, she was going to. Fran stood in front of her bathroom mirror with her hands in fists at her side.
She'd forgotten what her husband smelled like.
She figured she was a few days away from forgetting what her husband sounded like to and she wanted to scream as loud as she could.
Yes, it's a bit of a weird thing to think about, but she couldn't remember it and it was killing her.
It had been almost exactly two years since she'd laid eyes on him, and at least four months since she'd spoken to him. When she asked Nathan and Maran if they'd spoken to him, grim frowns covered their faces and they shook their heads.
Ella was two years old now. She blabbered on and on all day, speaking nonsense to her dolls or begging her mom to let her go play outside. She remembered her dad and got especially excited when she saw a picture of him.
He called her every night to tell her a bedtime story, but she hadn't spoken much then. Fran almost cried when she had to explain why daddy couldn't call anymore, because she didn't know herself. Nathan and Maran swore up and down they had no clue what was going on, and for a moment she thought they were messing her.
Maybe Tony was going to surprise her...but she waited months and he never came. What really sealed the deal that Nathan and Maran didn't know anything, was the looks of pity they always gave her.
She plopped down on the couch in the living room and blew out a breath so large she almost fell off. Fran had just put Ella down for a nap and watched as Nathan stepped into the room quietly. She huffed and flung her body into the back cushion. The large, grey-haired man set a cup of coffee on the table in front of the couch and sat down in a chair opposite Francesca.
"The tracker on his phone turned on," Nathan murmured. Fran felt her heart clench and a sob escape her before she even knew it was coming.
"Does that mean he's alright?"
"It could mean a lot of things," Nathan told her in an unsure tone. She clenched her fists in frustration.
"Just tell me!" Nathan jumped at her high pitched voice and cleared his throat to pretend like it hadn't happened.
"When there's a certain amount of...danger in a situation," he paused to take a breath, "Boss told us to turn our trackers off so it can't be traced back to the other men." Fran let out a loud sob and covered her mouth before waving for Nathan to continue.
"You said there were more options?"
"There's one more, but—I—are you sure?" It seemed like Nathan was really trying to get out of talking to her, but this was her husband and the father of her child. She wasn't going to let this go.
"If for some reason the enemy has access to his phone, they could have hacked into it and turned it on. I know your husband never lost his phone. I don't want to give you too much hope or doubt, because anything could happen—"
"Then what am I supposed to do now?"
"Well, I've turned off our tracker so the enemy can't trace us. Right now, it's just a waiting game." Nathan tucked her head onto his shoulder as soon as she started crying. She had been waiting for so long, and though she would wait until the day she died, Fran dreaded raising Ella on her own.
She could do it. Fran was absolutely positive she could raise Ella on her own, but having a...certain relationship with her parents caused her to pray night and day she would have Tony here with her.
Tony already loved Ella, so much, and he deserved to raise her along with Francesca.
Her daughter came stumbling down the stairs and Fran quickly untangled herself from Nathan's arms.
"How was your nap, baby?"
"Good!" Ella squealed and climbed onto Fran's lap.
"Are you hungry?"
"Yes! Yes! Yes!"
"Alright, alright," Fran chuckled and tickled her daughter a little bit.
"I'll go make something, what would you like Gabriella?" Nathan asked.
"Cheesy," she answered, making both her mother and Nathan laugh.
"Which one?" When Gabriella said "cheesy", it was either grilled cheese or macaroni and cheese, both of which she had been obsessed with lately.
Instead of answering she looked to her mother for the answer. "Macaroni," and "grilled," were words Ella couldn't say no matter how much she tried. Fran held the letter M until Ella shouted her answer.
"Mac!"
Nathan left the room with a quiet chuckle and Ella started to bounce on her mother's lap. Their knees clanked together roughly so Francesca lifted her up and sat Ella beside her. She smiled and pulled her tangly hair back into a ponytail.
"Do you want to watch a movie?"
Francesca and Ella sat back and watched a few minutes of the movie before Nathan called for them in the kitchen. Fran almost burst into tears watching her daughter shove food into her mouth...when Tony was really hungry, he looked exactly like that.
She forced the tears down, and instead, a loud laugh bubbled up through her throat. Nathan and Maran, who had also been eating the macaroni and cheese, looked up at her with a concerned look. Ella didn't even flinch, her head remaining almost entirely in her bowl.
At some point, tears started to come out with every laugh, and Nathan quietly pulled her out of the room and to her bedroom.
"I think it's time for your nap now," Nathan joked. Fran didn't smile so he cleared his throat and helped her down onto the bed. "Get some rest, we'll take care of Gabriella." Nathan pulled the covers over her and left Francesca by herself.
That routine continued on for so long that Nathan had suggested seeing someone. Fran was in bed more than she was out of it, and the guilt she felt when Ella came into the room caused her to stay in bed more.
Maran had done a lot of research and safety checks before deciding on Dr. Martin, and they broke the news to Fran one night at dinner. She really didn't want to, but was going to do it for her daughter. Ella was with them when they told Francesca, and she didn't take it very well.
"Something wrong with mama?" Tears were quickly streaming down her face and Fran knew she was seconds away from a meltdown.
"Nothing is wrong with me baby, but do you want to know something cool?
"What?" Ella sniffled.
"Mommy is going to the doctor to get superpowers!" Ella clumsily wiped her face off and reached for her mom.
"What kind?" She asked, so excited she was almost jumping up and down on Francesca's lap.
"I don't know yet, that's why I have to go," Fran whispered in her ear. It was hard to put a smile on her face and convince Ella that everything alright when she didn't really believe it herself.
She saw Dr. Martin the next day.
Dr. Martin was a very tall woman with pin-straight, brown hair and wore business-casual clothing. Francesca felt small in her jeans and sweater. It was clear she'd lost weight, so her clothes hung off her a little.
Fran crossed her legs, then uncrossed them, and crossed them again.
"Are you nervous, Mrs. Romano?"
"Francesca, please—and yes, I'm a bit nervous." Her hands began to clam up in her lap.
"It's perfectly alright to be nervous, I haven't established trust with you yet so we can just relax and talk for the time being. Do you want to tell me about yourself?"
"Um...sure," Fran muttered. She cleared her throat before ranting about her childhood, how her parents disowned her when she chose her career, and...
"Nothing I tell you will be shared outside of here, right? Never mind, I can't—I can't talk about that, can you tell me about yourself?" Francesca tried to turn the conversation back towards Dr. Martin.
"You are correct, Francesca. Nothing in this room leaves this room. If you're worried about the police, your family, or anyone else finding out, I take confidentiality very seriously."
"Let's—I—Can we save it for another time?"
"Of course!" Dr. Martin assured. "Can you tell me more about your career? I always wanted to go to New York to see them, just never had the chance."
The rest of the hour was filled with smiles as Francesca reminisced about her past career. It had been her dream, but now she had another goal in life. The thought took the smile off of her face right after the hour was over.
Nathan was there to pick her up with a shy smile while Maran played with Gabriella at home.
"How was it?"
"I liked it," was all she said. The rest of the drive home was quiet. As soon as Francesca stepped foot inside the house Ella was jumping all around her, wondering what superpower she'd gotten while she was away.
"I...became the tickle monster!" Ella let out a shriek full of laughter as Francesca chased her around the kitchen.
By the time dinner came around, Ella was putting food in her mouth while half asleep. Fran gave her a quick bath before putting her in some dark purple pajamas. She plopped on the couch with a loud groan and decided to watch a few episodes of her favorite TV show before going to bed.
Fran barely made it through the first half of the first episode before she was asleep.
A loud bang sounded hours later and startled her awake. She waited a few seconds and flinched when it echoed through the house again. It sounded like it was coming from outside and Fran fumbled for her phone to call Nathan.
She heard a noise from the stairway and saw Maran's gun pointed towards the door. Nathan was behind him telling her to be quiet and she hung up the phone.
Gabriella.
She'd remembered daughter was upstairs and Fran scrambled to her feet. Gabriella was in danger, and she needed to get there now. Nathan motioned to her quickly that Ella was safe and sound asleep, but Fran wanted to be with her just in case anything happened.
Maran and Nathan moved stealthily across the living room floor towards the front door.
"Go into the hallway, please, Mrs. Romano," Nathan whispered. It had been so long since he had called her that, and strangely, she missed it.
Maran peeked into the small circle in the front door before cursing loudly and trying to undo the many locks it had on it.
"What's wrong, what is it?" Nathan asked. Maran finally yanked the door open and Fran fell to her knees when she saw what—or rather who it was.
Tony was also kneeling on the ground, covered in blood and face bruised so badly she almost couldn't recognize him. Why were Nathan and Tony were still pointing their guns at him?
"Say it!" Nathan yelled. What was going on?
"Tony!" She shouted, running forward only to be stopped by Maran's arm.
"Say it!" Nathan repeated. His hands on his gun were shaking and Francesca just wanted her husband back. He was right in front of her, yet she couldn't reach him.
What happened to him?
"Ti conosco?"
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Ti conosco = do you know me? (sorry if I got this wrong! I had to use google translate.
It's a code phrase between them, so don't worry, he didn't forget who they were.
What did you think so far? Please let me know! I'm so sad to be wrapping up this story. I'm going to miss Francesca and Tony :(.