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•••
She shouldn't have come. Her first job in a long time, she had forgotten how empty and emotionless she became while on a job. It was worse when she was the one with the gun but he wouldn't let her. Not this time.
The gun clicked.
The man pulled a notebook out of his jacket pocket to pencil in more symbols. He stopped, meeting the woman's eyes. The once vibrant blue had faded to grey, but there was a twinge of something. Hope. She could tell he had found something. Something to bring them home... Well, it wasn't home for her.
"Are you sure...?" Five took both of her hands in an attempt to ease her nerves. He knew the equation didn't look right; he knew that this could be the last time they ever see each other. His eyes flickered to her stomach.
"We have to try." His voice was low. Jane didn't hesitate to grab onto his arm. She pressed a tender kiss to his cheek as blue electricity surrounded his fists. A blue vortex appeared, sparking with intimidation. Five pulled his wife closer to him. Together, they stepped through.
And then the pair came crashing down.
•••••
Five of the seven Hargreeves siblings watched in anticipation as the blue mass grew larger. The wind picked up, the large oak tree that stood proudly over the courtyard violently shook.
Just as quickly as it had come, the vortex disappeared with a pop; but not before two people fell out. The family gasped at the familiar face.
"Does anyone else see little Number Five and a girl that looks like a 1950s Barbie, or is that just me?"
Jane landed on her back, about a yard away from Five. The wind completely knocked out of her. She took a couple of deep breaths, trying to find the strength to get up. She felt dizzy and nauseous. Five was much luckier and stood quickly. His hands brushed off the grass and leaves from the fall. He took a moment to look at his surroundings.
"Shit." He rushed to her side and offered her his hand. Jane blinked a few times before taking his hand. Her vision was hazy but she could tell that she was not in the body she had come in. She intertwined her hand with Five's and stepped closer to him. A pounding headache set in as the siblings, her in-laws, began bombarding with questions.
•••••
Jane sat at the end of the table as Five maneuvered his way around the kitchen. As she looked at each of the Hargreeves' she would see flashes of them surrounded by rubble. She could only imagine what Five was feeling...
It wasn't hard to figure out which sibling was which. Five had told her countless stories from when he was younger, and Vanya's book was something he held very dear to him. It was something to remember them, to imagine what his life would have been like if he had stayed. Jane remembered him asking her to read it. It was the first time she had seen him cry.
