His Only Hope

Oliver Hargreeves

When you stepped up from the table, you went straight to your room, a new plan in mind.

"Where you going?" Klaus called as you walked off, Five watching you over the rim of his glass. 

"I just need to... check on something," you hinted.

Or someone.

When you reached the room you shared with your two sisters, you pulled the drawer of the side table open, reaching to the back where you had placed your father's monocle.

"Please don't kill me," you whispered as you sat on your bed, closing your eyes and placing the small eyepiece to your temple. One man that your father had imbued with your power had tried to reach his dead mother and fallen into a coma. What if Colleen was...?

No. She couldn't be. You had faith in that.

Pushing away the negative thoughts, you pictured her long blonde hair, her gentle blue eyes, the way her voice always sounded calm and melodic.

Your eyes flew open, a feeling of panic replacing the usual relaxing feeling that filled you when you used this power.

In front of your eyes was the Dallas Sheriff, and kneeling in front of him, sobbing, was Colleen. You stepped to the side, your heart racing when you saw a young boy probably about Colleen's age laying dead on the ground. A bullet hole punctured his stomach, and Colleen pressed her forehead to his, tears tracing her delicate face.

Time seemed to flash back, the scenery blurring. You watched Peter shoot the boy as him and Colleen stood side-by-side in front of the barn, their expressions like deer caught in a headlight. In a fit of rage, Colleen ran to Peter, her clothes and hair messy. You witnessed her wrench the gun from his hands even as he struggled to push her off. She hit him, hard, over the head with it before shooting him in the shoulder. The force blew her back a few steps, and her eyes widened, tears blurring them.

Mark ran out to her from the house.

"I heard gunshots! What the hell happened?"

The scene skipped again slightly, and you watched Colleen push him away.

"Run! They'll blame you!"

The time changed. Colleen was in a woman's prison, surrounded by other girls dressed in orange. Your head pounded with pain, but you didn't remove yourself from the situation yet. You  needed to see what happened.

Years flew by in front of your eyes, and your heart broke as Colleen grew older. Her hair turned gray quickly. She got in fights often after the first few years, her demeanor harder, her usually joyful personality turning hateful.

And then, on a certain day, the scene slowed enough to be in real time. You stepped toward her in the cell, your eyes widening as she fell to the floor, writhing in pain. Guards pulled her out of the room, and you followed them, standing outside the other room they took her in. You could probably step right through the steel door, but you almost didn't want to. Was Colleen okay? What was happening to her?

When they walked back out, Colleen was holding a wailing baby, a tearful smile on her face.

You froze. She hadn't been pregnant before. Which meant...

The situation changed. Reginald stood on the other side of Colleen's cell, a firm expression on his face. Colleen clutched the baby to her chest, but then Reginald said something that made her expression change. She pressed a kiss to the baby's forehead before handing it through the bars to your father. He took it and walked away, hesitating when Colleen shouted something after him. You could no longer hear anything, but her lips spelled out a name - Oliver.