The Garden of Vacant Dreams

A Shadow of a Doubt

A/N: Saban/Disney own the characters you know, I own the characters you don't.

Chapter 25 

A Shadow of a Doubt

She pressed as hard as she could against the tough stone wall, ignoring the bruising in the palm of her hand from the rock she was using to carve. Every day the rock threatened to break the gentle layer of skin within her palm but she pressed on.

'11-20-14'

She was upright on her knees, a look of determination written across her face. As she finished carving the last number, she slowly dropped her arm and proceeded to sit on her calves.

Her eyes wandered from the date she had just written across all 719 dates she had previously carved into the same wall.

"1 year, 11 months, 19 days." She said aloud. "My name is Jamie Marin Oliver... and today I am 16."

'Sixteen.' She thought. She never could have dreamt she would be spending her 16th birthday on another planet, the captive of a man who had stolen her life, destroying every good thing she had ever had.

She rested her hands in her lap, opening her palms up to face her. Her left hand took the rock out of her right as she surveyed her deeply bruised and tender right palm. She slowly ran her left thumb over the area wondering, as she did most days, if she should discontinue her daily routine. Her eyes shot back up at the wall, her late father's words echoing in her mind.

"You're an Oliver." He told her. "Never forget that."

She thought of his smile, his laugh, his gentle touch. She thought of the softness of his tone, and how it soothed her in even the toughest moments. She closed her eyes and meditated the way he had taught her, those thoughts always at the forefront of her sessions. Today was especially tough for her as she had envisioned this day so differently for so long.

"When I turn 16 I want a strawberry ice cream cake." She told him. "And I want you to teach me how to drive so I can take us to the movies."

"We can do all of that." He replied with a smile. "Only I'll have to drive us to the movies. You can take the jeep as far as the end of the block, how about that?"

"Deal!" She replied enthusiastically.

"You know we've got a few years to go before that happens, J-O."

"I know... I just wanted to tell you now, Dad."

"Don't rush to grow up." He replied, pulling her into a side hug and gripping her tight as he kissed the top of her head. She smiled, letting him despite her pre-teen reluctance. "Call me selfish, but I'd like to keep my daughter around as long as I can!"

She opened her eyes as she tried to digest what she was hearing. She wiped away tears as she slowly stood and listened. She could hear music being played just down the hall. She hadn't heard any music in all the time she had been there. She walked over to her cot, placing the stone beneath her pillow before leaving the room.

She followed the sound of the music as it echoed down the candle lit hallway.

"Girl take a seat, rest your weary bones

Your secrets safe in my hands

Tell me about the years and

Let me buy an hour

Maybe help me to understand"

As she got closer, she realized it was coming from Samuel's lab, his door just slightly ajar. She slowly opened the door, peering inside cautiously.