Haunted Roads

Who: Maggie and Sophie
Where: Starting outside Sophie's school
When: Friday Afternoon


Time moved too fast sometimes. Other times it seemed to move too slowly. The years that Bastian had been gone had felt like she was stuck in molasses, dragging her feet through the motions of day to day life, trying her best to make Sophie happy but knowing that the girl missed her father and no amount of Maggie's actions could change that fact. The past few weeks though, they seemed to be on a lightening pace.

She couldn't keep up with it. Didn't know what to make of the immense changes that had come so quickly. All she could do was keep her feet moving and hope that she didn't stumble. She wasn't sure she could make it much longer without that stumble.

Extra shifts had been handed out to Maggie like they were candy, apparently there was a bit of a staff shortage too many pregnancy leaves all coming at the same time. Must have been something in the water. Maggie couldn't complain too much about the extra hours, money was always something that their family needed, especially trying to keep the bar up and going. Expenses never seemed to stop adding up. But the extra hours didn't help the situation at home.

She didn't like to think of it as a... situation, but she wasn't entirely sure what else to think of it as. A change in circumstance? A change in the way she had to view the world? Knowing that things... no beings she had never thought to be real were very much so... it fundamentally changed a great number of things. Almost too many things. Despite all that it did change there was one thing Maggie was determined not to let it change and that was their family. She prayed every night that it wouldn't, that they could somehow sort through it all and make sense of this new world. But she knew that prayer alone wasn't going ot manage it.

She had to make certain that it didn't. She knew that talking with Sophie was the only way and once that hurdle had been crossed a small amount of peace had settled into Maggie's heart. Things were far from simple and far from certain but it was the small things that were what mattered to Maggie. Knowing that Sophie had accepted this... change in the person that her father was meant a great deal to Maggie. It wasn't easy for her, it sure as hell wasn't easy on Bastian but knowing that Sophie was finding her own peace with the idea went a long way to curing those nervous motherly worries.

Of course that didn't last long with a teenager. The message that she'd received from Sophie that she wanted to talk had sent a whole new flurry of those through her. Overreacting... perhaps but it was one thing for the mother and daughter to talk another to receive the request (that she didn't put out first) from Sophie. The topic... a mystery. Left her mind entirely to wander which wasn't always the best thing despite the fact that Maggie trusted her daughter. She wouldn't be a mother if she didn't have the ability to think of the worst.

So even before the final bell rang at Sophie's school she had her old worn volvo parked directly in front of the school. She was waiting for the students to come spilling from the doors including her daughter.

Who: Maggie and Bastian
When: Wednesday Night
Where: Barking Spider

Maggie was in the back, up to her elbows in suds as she worked her way through the last of a few odds and ends that needed to be cleaned before the evening could officially be called. A few knives, cutting boards... hand washing them kept her hands busy. Strains of music still made their way back to where she stood, the running water not even cutting off the butchering of 'Bohemian Rhapsody' that was currently going on. Maggie could only smile to that as maybe someone hadn't fully thought through their aspirations to follow in Queens' footsteps just yet. At least they had a passion for the song... even if it was entirely out of key.

And the keyboard they had brought in was just painful.

A towel was picked up and Maggie set to drying the last few items as the music finally came to an end. Open Mic night... you never knew what the proverbial cat was going to drag in and tonight it had been all sorts. Not that Maggie had been around for the whole evening but glad as she was to have the bar holding such nights again she'd had to stop by after her shift at the hospital. After work she had come she had managed to change out of the cheerful bear printed scrubs she wore while working... some how that just never seemed to work when she stepped foot in the bar. Instead she was clad in nothing more fancy then a pair of jeans and a simple scoop necked shirt that skimmed her figure.

It had already been near to closing when she arrived. Maggie had sent Jonathan on his way home assuring him that she could help close the place up and that she wouldn't take no for an answer. She did have her moments of stubbornness. A buss to his cheek and she'd made herself at home behind the bar, greeting regular customers but mostly just setting about tidying up and readying the bar for it's closure.

Hearing the music though... despite all the challenges life had thrown them over the past decade... always brought her back to another time. When she'd first met Bastian. The sound of his fingers working over the strings on the guitar as he worked out the chords that fit the melody in his head perfectly. It had been too long... felt like it had been too long since those days. And that was almost as painful as the reality of their lives now, complicated and uncertain.

But it was that simple thing missing that made it so much more difficult.

Maggie could hear the jingle of the door as the last few patrons begrudgingly made their way out. She hung the towel up and stepped out of the back and behind the bar. "Good night?" She asked, placing her palms flat on the counter behind her. "This place needs music, live music. Makes it..." her eyes closed briefly before opening them and looking over at Bastian. "alive again."

When: Afternoon
Where: Daren’s Condo
Who: Daren and Maggie

Poor Maggie was all in a fluster. That’s what happened to good girls when they attempted to juggle both a husband and a lover. Of course, Maggie would have none of that. No. She was far too moral to keep it up no matter how tempting, and no matter how Daren might get hurt because of it.

Of course he’d bat his eyes, but otherwise he’d keep a stiff upper lip. Strong man of bearing after all. His pain would be a private thing and Daren would be far too well mannered to let Maggie see how she hurt him. No, it was her happiness that concerned him, her well being and she should of course, do what was best for her, and for her family.

Of course he’d understand. Daren was a sensitive, modern man after all.

Hadn’t he been there when she needed him? Even helped in the search. Of course he understood. Maybe one day he’d even find it in his heart to be happy for her.

Oh, this was all too easy.

Never mind that she was fucking him over and he, by all rights, should challenge Bastian to a duel and put Maggie over his knee. This was an amusing thought, and it was this that he had in his mind when the bell sounded and he answered the door. Of course, he’d cleared his face of the evidence of any amusement. Nope, it was all about concern for his darling, flustered Maggie.

“Darling. Come inside.” He kissed her cheek and put a hand out for her to take if she would, and follow him in to the livingroom. “Is everything okay with Sophie? She’s not gotten into any trouble, has she? What’s wrong?” Was it his fault the rebellious brat of a daughter was so easy a target? But all spoken with the deepest concern and love, of course.

Who: Maggie and Bastian
When: Wednesday Evening
Where: Maggie's Apartment

It had been the longest two days of her life. A path had been worn through in the carpet of the bedroom. More than a few cups of tea had been left to go cold. Dinner had not been prepared at all let alone with the usual care that Maggie put into her meals. But mostly, her worry showed in the deep lines that were worked into her pale skin. Her nails were bit down, in a habit that she thought she had given up as a girl. Maggie had tried to not let it show though, she didn't want Sophie worrying more than she probably already was. It was a parents job to lessen the worries of a child, no matter their age...

Maggie certainly felt as though she hadn't been accomplishing that job as of late. Far from it.

It didn't matter that Bastian had called the night before to let them know that he was alright, that he hadn't been taken by those that had taken him before. It had only lessened what she felt for a moment. A brief reprieve that he was still alive, but that didn't cover the fact that she knew the reason that he was still gone. The reason had been her...

Maggie glanced up at the clock again, for the hundredth time that evening. Where was he? Was he coming back? She just wanted to talk with him and explain it all to him. Not that it would change the fact that Daren existed, that her relationship with him had... but it was a more complex situation than that and Maggie needed to explain it. What she could.

She'd followed John's advice. Ended it, as she had always planned to but had been unable to do before the damage had already been done. But that only clearly illustrated the problem with not telling the entire truth. And she hated herself for not following her better judgment and saying it all to begin with. But there was nothing to be done for that now. Just waiting... waiting for him to come back and to try and rectify the situation.

As long as he was alright. She could live with whatever else happened. He'd said he was... but she just needed to see him to know that was the truth.

Who: Maggie and Priscilla
Where: Daren's Condo
When: Monday afternoon



A week. A week exactly. Had it been that long? In one breath it felt like no time at all and in another it felt like it had been so much longer than just seven days. It was a week that had aged her and had brought a vitality that she hadn't known in years all in one fell swoop. Elation that Bastian had found his way back to them. Fear that it wouldn't last. Contentment that their family was whole. Aching guilt that there was one person she had yet to speak to... And that feeling never went away. It clouded nearly every happy moment she had just seeing Bastian seated in the same room again, conversations that she hadn't thought to ever have again...

All of it held that touch of guilt to them. She had to talk to Daren. Though what she would say? That was as much a mystery to her as the true story behind Bastian's disappearance. Honesty? That was the only approach Maggie could think to take. The only approach that had ever truly crossed her mind. She wasn't the sort to float half truths or omissions in an attempt to make things better for herself, though she would be lying if she hadn't thought to do so to spare another's feelings. It was a wasted effort though, lies to spare feelings always came back to harm two-fold.

She liked to think that the words she had spoken so many times when they first starting dating would help, but they didn't make her heart feel any less heavy with the prospect of laying it all out on the table. She cared for Daren, how could she not? But did she love him? Perhaps... but not in the way that she had always loved Bastian. And that had proved to be just as strong as it had always been. Even amidst all the questions that still begged to be answered.

Maggie knew that Daren was busy with a million bits of business this week. She knew that fact and yet some part of her had hoped that the edge to her voice in the voicemails she had left would have brought a quicker response from him. But the last thing she wanted was for him to have been distracted from the work that she knew he needed to get done. No matter how badly she felt the need to speak to him. The time was only making it harder for her, making her feel as though she were living some painful lie that ate at her day and night...

That was the reason that straight after her shift at the hospital she had punched the floor for his condo instead of her own apartment. Just to check. Just to see if by chance he'd arrived home and maybe had a few minutes to talk. She probably should have gone home and changed, left her colorful scrubs behind but she had to go now, while she didn't have to explain to Bastian where she was going. She felt she owed Daren the words before she spoke them to Bastian. Purse slung over her shoulder and her hair finally freed from the ponytail she wore while working Maggie approached his door.

The bell sounded loud. But perhaps that was just her nerves.

When: Early Night
Where: Old Town Towers
Who: Bastian, Maggie, Sophie

Somehow he had convinced Sophie that they should wait a night in going to the Towers. It hadn't been easy, no words really were explanation enough, but he had to make it work. It was better that then face them with such a cruel truth so shortly after he arrived in their home. Theirs....not his...such thoughts made him so heavy hearted. Everything had changed....he came back hoping it would be the same but he should have known. The world kept turning, everyone had to keep living....he had just never thought that things would go this way for all of them. He had wanted to give them all so much better...

Before daylight came Bastian was up, shutting every blind, making sure that not an inch of light could get in...he could have gone back to sleep then but instead he stayed awake. He sat there...watching his little girl sleep from the couch that he'd taken up as his bed for the night. He was afraid if he closed his eyes for too long she'd be gone. It was a foolish thought but there it remained all the same.

She was so much different now. He could so plainly see how the passing years had affected her. A tough women who no longer was a little girl at all. he wondered all through the night if Maggie had so much of the life he'd missed captured somehow. Of course Maggie would...but would he be able to look at it? To face completely just how much he had missed? Nothing could make up for those lost years...and nothing would make up for it if he was gone for so much more.

He told Sophie he had no want to leave again...but that tug at the back of his mind reminded him every second that she was out there and less then happy with him. His sire. The bitch.

Bastian pretended to be asleep when Sophie woke for school. It was difficult to let her leave at all but he had...and while she was gone he took that time to rest. Unfortunately for him she was back before night fell, leaving no chance for him to go out and try to feed. He was paler today then yesterday but Bastian dismissed the comment of it away, saying only that it was caused by a bad nights rest. That was all.

But again he had to stall; he hated the lies…the pathetic attempts of explanation that likely made no sense. He could only come up with so many reasons…but through them all he knew that she knew something was up. She was smart, too smart for all his attempts.

Still she let him wait till nightfall. Content it seemed, to simply be around him.

Finally the time came and Bastian got to his feet. He was nervous there was no denying that. Nervous…fearful….and half tempted to try to convince Sophie that they should meet somewhere else. But he knew that any that were after him would know long ago where both all his family lived. His showing there or not, wouldn’t change that.
So he took them outside, he turned in his key to the hotel as he could never stay at any for long…and used that stolen car to drive them to the towers. There he parked in the back; the car wouldn’t be used again. He couldn’t push his luck for too long.

Once parked it was up to Sophie to lead the way, pulling him along through the unfamiliar halls.

Who: Maggie and Daren
When: Monday Evening
Where:t The Towers then Salish Lodge



She hadn't meant to cancel their plans on his birthday of all days. Maggie was well known for making certain that the birthday of most anyone she knew was celebrated in some fashion. A plate of cookies, a cake, dinner... something. Especially for the man she was dating. Seemed somehow a bit more unforgivable, well it would be if it hadn't been for the fact that it had been that she was called in to cover a fellow nurses shift. All the talk she'd made over the course of the week for the meal she'd been planning... they knew not to call unless it was actually an emergency. Daren had understood, there was little that could be done.

But that didn't mean that Maggie could do her best to make it up to him. She'd spent the better part of an hour rummaging through her closet trying to find a dress for the evening. He was always trying to outfit her in some designer outfit even through her protests. Maggie had just never been able to keep the lovely garmets. Felt like such a waste in her life, worn once and never again? Instead Maggie kept just a bare few and gave the rest to charity. It wasn't just the extravagence that made the gifts hard to accept... It had a great deal to do with the fact that she felt as though she already took enough from him by the very fact that she didn't return his feelings in full (or perhaps his perceived feelings would be the more accurate description) only exacerbated the situation. Resisting the urge to find Sophie and ask her opinion on the black dress she had finally unearthed, Maggie smoothed her hair back and found a pair of heels that would suit the evenings purposes.

A nice dinner to celebrate a belated valentines day and birthday.

A note was hastily scribbled down for Sophie and stuck to the magnet bearing Sophie's name, to the refrigerator. Food was in the freezer and she would be back later. It was always hard for Maggie to walk out the door like this... she knew Sophie held little regard for Daren despite all the things he had done for them. Maggie wasn't certain where they would be right now if he hadn't been around to help out on those rare occasions where Maggie actually admitted to needing help. But he had been and she would always be thankful for it. He was a friend and she did care for him and couldn't help but accept that she did have feelings for him. She just... couldn't love him. At least not as he deserved to be loved. She couldn't. Not when her heart would always belong to one man. Even in all the years he'd been gone... It could never be replaced.

She glanced down at the simple silver watch that adorned her wrist and quickened her pace, hurrying for the small clutch bag she had set out earlier in preparation for this evening. Purse tucked under her arm and a simple black coat slung over her arm Maggie hurried out the door. She had made the reservation but she hae known Daren long enough to simply let his driver know what time they needed to be picked up and where they were going. She wanted to keep something a surprise for Daren.

Who: Maggie and OPEN (Can be a narrative)
When: Friday Evening, nearing closing time
Where: Barking Spider Tavern


Maggie smiled as she finished pouring Jacob a glass of his favorite Pyramid Hefe weizen. A slice of lemon, from the batch she had cut earlier that night, was placed on the edge of the glass before she pushed it toward him. Jacob was a regular, had been for at least a decade Maggie would surmise. He'd been a fisherman for years of his life, making the trip up to Alaska to make his money before turning to his wife back in Seattle. He was a good man, perhaps spent a bit too much time on the stool, third from the right every weekend but at least he was a kind man and Maggie only had to call him a cab every once in a while. He missed his wife who had died the previous year, Maggie understood that and was more than willing to let him spend his time in the bar, watching tv, talking with the rest of the regulars.

A surrogate family of sorts. Perhaps dysfunctional but Maggie understood the need.

Drink passed on, Maggie took a small towel that was tucked into the waist band of her apron and wiped at a few spots on the bar top. Always moving, always cleaning up where she could. Maggie figured that if she stopped, she'd never be able to start up again. Exhausted as she was. Her eyes strayed to the clock on the wall, only an hour or so to go. Last call in half an hour. Then the drive back to the towers. Check on Sophie. And sleep. Oh sleep. That was what really called to her right now. She tried to not let that show though, kept the small curve to her lips as she bustled around behind the bar, but her eyes with their faint shadows tended to show just how tired she was.

Maggie had sent home Jonathan hours ago. He needed his rest far more than she did and it was a light Friday night, at least by this point it was. She also hoped he could at least stop by the apartment and make sure Sophie was inside and not... well Maggie didn't like to think about where she could be if not safe at home. But such was the fact of life when living with a teenager who was far too smart for her own good. Far too smart.

"Maggie when you going to sing for us again?" The question was called out from an old timer in the back at a table who was sitting with a few old friends. They'd been hashing out the fate the Mariners this season for the better part of the night but a song drifting through the background had reminded them of a time when there had been live music at the bar far more often. Maggie knew it had been a draw, but she couldn't bring herself to find others to play... It just didn't seem right when it wasn't Bastian. Maggie merely shook her head at the old men and offered the usual response. She hadn't been much of a singer to begin with and they'd all been far too kind to put up with it the few times that she had attempted it.

They meant no harm, but no matter what happened in her life now, she was all too easily reminded of better times. Happier times that could never quite be had again. She'd almost grown used to it... and that was scarier than the prospect of never being as happy as she once had again.

Only another hour to go.