mercy ; peter ballard

34. the night we met

september 7, 1986

peter burst through the door as the night brushed over the upside down's sky. the door hitting the wall echoed throughout the house. will rushed to the top of the stairs, startled by the noise.

"peter? where's bea?" he asked, craining his neck.

"they fucking took her. we gotta go. eddie!" he shouted.

eddie practically ran out of his room, hearing the urgency in his voice. eddie stands behind will, tugging the sleeves of his blue sweater down. they waited for peter to come up with some kind of a plan.

"we need to find her."

"wait, wait, wait. who exactly took her?" eddie inquired, waving his hands.

peter sighs, holding the bridge of his nose. "i'll give you two guesses."

eddie pauses for a second, "oh."

"oh," peter repeated. he shakes his head. "put on your shoes and grab your coats, boys. if we want her back, we got to go now."

"got it!" will into his room to grab a backpack and his coat. he shoved a couple things from his room that could possibly help into the backpack.

he thought, 'fuck them. i get a good thing in my life for once and they just fuck everything up.'

eddie crosses his arms and moving closer to peter. peter's hair was a mess and his eyes were red. he was stressed and everyone could see
it.

"we're going to find them, old man. bea is a fighter," eddie assures him.

peter nods, pushing back his stray hairs that had fallen in front of his eyes. "i know she is. i'm just...scared. she's everything to me. if i lose her again..."

eddie puts a hand on peter's shoulder. "then let's not lose her."

peter didn't respond. he looked lost again. peter pushed past eddie and sat on the stair steps. he rested his head in his hands.

"you look exhausted, old man. maybe we should wait a day to find them. if i know them well enough, they won't hurt her," eddie says as will almost falls down the stairs. peter agreed with eddie. he needed to be in peak shape to get her back and it was pretty late.

"okay, i'm ready!" will exclaims, throwing his bag over his shoulder.

peter looks up to will. "we'll rest up today, search tomorrow." he stands up and walks past will to his room.

he wallowed in his bed, clutching bea's pillow. how could he be so careless? he knew this was a risk and now she's gone. he was supposed to protect her. protect them.

he tried to use his power to find her, but something was keeping him away. he groaned, rolling to her side of the bed. he couldn't be without her. he needed her just as she needed him. peter grasped a memory he wished he could live in forever.

[REDACTED], 1978

it was late at night. peter and bea were tasked to clean the rainbow room after all the children were put to bed. bea smiled as she pulled the sheets over nine's shoulders.

"sweet dreams, nine," she said, sweetly.

nine smiled back at her. "goodnight, miss bea."

bea walked out of nine's room, closing the door behind her. she heard the door lock behind her. she rubbed her neck as she started to the rainbow room.

peter was already cleaning when the doors swung open. he sat in front of toy bins on the flood, back turned to the door. he smiles a smug smile as he knows who walks in without turning around.

"hello, beatrice," he says, not looking up from the toys he was placing in the bins.

"evening, peter," she chuckled, sitting next to him. she began to help him clean up the toys. "did you have a good day, dear?" she whispered to prevent the cameras from picking up her words.

"mmhm, did you, my love?" he whispered back.

bea gives a little nod. they sat in a comfortable silence for a minute as they continued to clean.

bea began to hum an song she used to hear before she was taken as she straightened a stack of drawing paper in the desk area. peter recognized the tune and smiled. we belong together by ritchie valens. his sister appreciated the song all those years ago.

bea glided around the room like a beautiful phantom as she hummed. she pulled peter to his feet and began to sway with his hands intertwined with hers. he watched her with admiration as she tried to get him to dance along with her.

in that moment, he could care less about who saw. he could only see her. nothing matter except for her.

"alright, darling," he laughed, allowing himself to sway along with her. "only for you."

she smiled as she began to sing the song with peter. neither of them cared if they couldn't sing the right note or dance very well, they were happy with each other.

"we belong together for eternity."

it didn't matter where they were, as long as they were together, they could be happy. they were perfect and imperfect at the same time. the perfect balance. without the other, things would fall apart.

"you are a sight for sore eyes, my dear," he whispered in her ear.

she giggled, "you flatter me too much, peter."

september 7, 1986

will and eddie sat on will's bed.

"i'm worried for bea," will whispered, hoping peter wouldn't hear him. he didn't want peter to feel worse than he already did. "i'm worried for peter, too. he could lash out against them and they might hurt bea if he does."

eddie shook his head. "they wouldn't do that. i know them."

will looks out the painting hung on his wall that depicted his friends. "i thought the same thing when they threw bea out, eddie. they would. we can't take any chances with bea and her baby at risk. peter can't lose bea. we can't lose bea. we only need a little longer before the plan is finished then they can't hurt any of us anymore."

eddie's face fell. he knew will was right. eddie sighs as he pushes himself to his feet. "alright, kid. i'm gonna go check on the old man. you get some rest. we have a long day tomorrow." eddie heads out of will's door. "night, kid."

"night, eddie," will replies as eddie shuts his door behind him.

eddie cracked open bea and peter's door. peter was passed out, drained from how much stress he was under. peter blamed himself. it was no secret. he couldn't find her. he needed to. his attempt to search for her failed. he used most of the energy he had left but had no luck. they were getting smarter. peter needed the sleep for the next day.

"goodnight, old man," eddie whispered. eddie closed the door and peter was left in the dark.