The Bolt from the Blue (Working Title)

Chapter 26- Invisibility

Not many people actually phoned John: before he'd started dating Sam, it was almost exclusively Monica or his parents, or Alex if she was exceptionally drunk. He'd forgotten that he'd even given Daria his number until he answered her call.

"John, it's me." Her voice would have frozen oil.

"Hello," John remembered how he'd told himself that he was going to try and reconnect with her- the trouble was, he couldn't think of a single thing to say: it was too late for 'I'm sorry'.

"I wanted to check that Sam was okay."

"Oh." John had not been expecting this. "Yes, he's fine; he's out of hospital."

"It was Veronica who put him in there, wasn't it?"

"What? That's-" It wasn't exactly untrue, but John didn't want to fuel Daria's anger any more, "What makes think you that?"

"That's what she does: that's all she'll ever do." This didn't sound like Daria; these words weren't hers.

"She's a human being, Daria, she can change." He wanted to purge this anger from her, to cleanse her of this hatred, even as he knew that only a few days before he'd thought the exact same. When had he changed? What was the moment? How could he replicate this for Daria? "Daria, look, it's not what you think; she has a sister who-"

"I don't care." The words were so blunt, they almost dented the phone as they left. "She's evil."

"Daria, that's-"

"Evil has to be eliminated." She hung up. John was about to call her right back to try and talk her out of not only staring into the abyss but hurling herself right into it when his phone rang again. He really hoped it would be Sam. Sam, who had stopped John himself doing things he would regret, would know what to do about Daria: he'd make everything right just by talking. It was a gift John really needed to learn.

But it was Monica on the phone. "I need a favour!"

"This really isn't a good time."

"I know, I know, but if I don't go into work right now, I'm fired. Please, please, please look after Simon."

John rubbed his temple; he really didn't want this to become a habit. "Yes, okay," he heard himself reply. He could worry about Daria and cuddle Simon at the same time- in fact, one might help with the other.

He arrived and was immediately handed a wailing Simon.

"He just won't stop crying, I don't know what's wrong!" Monica yelled over Simon's incoherent screaming. The little boy pushed against John's face, trying to force him away even as John held him aloft. "Simon, come on, you like Uncle John!" Monica pleaded.

"No!" Simon screeched, trying to jam his hands into John's eyes. John turned his face away and lowered Simon onto the floor, where he lay on his stomach, literally kicking and screaming.

"I'm sorry," Monica mouthed.

John simply opened a portal and let her run through it, away from the terrible, all-consuming noise.

"Simon, please be quiet," John begged, trying to think of somewhere he could take his nephew that might calm him down or at least swallow the noise. "Do you want to go see Niagara Falls?" But Simon couldn't hear him over his own cries. John put his hands over his ears and tried to think. Monica would have already offered food and drink and toys- was there anything John could give that Monica couldn't? "Sy-sy," he knelt down next to his nephew so he might hear better, "Uppys." He opened a portal above their heads and pointed invitingly, "Uppys."

Simon's screaming ceased. His limbs stopped flailing against the uncaring floor and he sniffed a little. "Uppys." He repeated.

"Come on," John picked his nephew off the floor, "Up, up," he prompted Simon.