A/N: Hi all! This category sneaked past me for a while, and I've had this story brewing in my head for quite some time now. Ever since I saw the movie, actually. ^_^ Well, I hope y' all like it, and here it goes!

Chapter 1

The English countryside rolled drearily past as Molly rested her head on the glass. Rain drops dotted the smooth surface, but she paid no attention to them. She was too lost in thought.

She still couldn't believe that she had finally escaped. Sure, she had been thinking about it for months, but she never truly believed that she would actually run away. The idea of it was always in the back of her mind. One last hit was all it took.

Molly's hand involuntarily flew to the top of her head, touching it lightly. It was still tender. Bringing her fingers down in front of her face, she saw a few, small spots of blood. 'Great,' she thought, adjusting her black beret to cover up the cut, 'just what I need.'

The train began to slow down as it pulled into the station. Molly picked up her guitar case and waited for everyone to leave the train before leaving it herself. Stepping off the train, she found herself in London, the place where she had said that she would go if she ever ran away. She sighed, pulled her frayed jean jacket closer around her U2 Rattle and Hum concert t-shirt, picked up her guitar case, slung her duffel bag over her shoulder, and headed out into the streets.

Unfortunately, as she came to find out, it was no longer sprinkling, as it was while she was on the train. It was now raining very hard, with the wind blowing fiercely, making each individual droplet feel like a needle when it landed on your skin. Standing under the wide awning of the station, she tried to figure out where she was going to go.

It was getting rather late in the afternoon, she discovered when she looked at her watch. Some places might be closed. Scanning the streets for any activity, she saw no sign of a cab. Leaning up against the building wall, she thought of her two options: stay in the nice, warm, train station, or wander the streets, looking for someone to take her in. While the first one seemed the most logical one to take, Molly leaned more towards the second one. She needed somewhere to stay, and one could only live on food from a vending machine for so long. Besides, she had been called the "queen of the illogical" before. Taking a deep breath, she started walking around on the streets, trying to find somewhere warm and dry that would let her stay there for a while.

Wandering the streets for what seemed like an eternity (but was really only about a half hour), Molly came across a small coffee shop. Checking the sign on the door, she saw that it would still be open for a few more hours. Looking around for no particular reason, she pushed open the door and stepped inside.

Immediately, she was engulfed in warmth and the smell of coffee. Looking around, she saw that it was a nice looking shop, with some large, fluffy couches in the back, a few tables closer to the front, and what looked like a small stage in one corner. She took off her beret, stuffed it in her jean jacket pocket, and went up to the counter.

"Excuse me." She said to the woman behind the counter. The lady turned around and smiled at her.

"Well, hello there! You look absolutely drenched! What can I do for you?"

"Where is your bathroom?"

The lady let out a small laugh, then pointed to the back with a long, blood red nailed finger. "Right back there, hon, second door on the left. Go get dried off before you catch a cold or something worse!"

"Thank you." Molly said as she rushed off into the bathroom. The lady was right; she needed to dry off before she caught something. She had a history of catching very bad illnesses, having been in the hospital many times because of them. Grabbing the handicapped stall, so she'd have more room to move around while she changed, she proceeded to squeeze out her strawberry-blonde hair into the toilet bowl. When every last ounce of water that she could squeeze out could be squeezed out, she then squeezed out her beret. Rummaging through her duffel bag, she pulled out her maroon Smithereens shirt and a pair of black jeans. She kept her tennis shoes on. They were perfect in the rain. She stuffed all of her wet clothes into the outer pocket of her duffel bag and came out of the stall.

Pausing in front of one of the mirrors, she lifted up a bit of her hair. The cut that she had had stopped bleeding, but had started to sting a bit. She grabbed some paper towels, got them wet, put a little soap on them, and started to clean out the cut.

"Shit!" She put her hands on the sink. "God that hurts! I knew I should have taken some hydrogen peroxide or something…" Bracing herself for a few seconds, she studied herself in the mirror. It had been a while since she had seen herself in a large mirror. She didn't look half bad for what had been happening for the past few months; her cheeks may have been a little more sunken in, and her eyes had some dark circles underneath them, and she was a bit paler than before, but it wasn't anything too noticeable. Pulling a bit of her hair back again, she started to work on cleaning the cut, breathing deeply as she did so. When she felt like it felt better, she fixed her hair in such a way that would cover it up, tossed the paper towels in the trash can, and headed back out into the coffee shop.

"Well, well!" The lady behind the counter said as Molly pulled up a stool. "You feel a bit better?"

Molly nodded. "Yeah, just a bit cold. Could I get some coffee?"

The lady laughed. "Well, of course, hon! That's what we do here! What can I get for ya?"

"Tall, white chocolate mocha, skim milk, 1 shot of espresso. Also, do you have any green tea?" Molly was a Starbucks regular, since where she went to secondary school was right next to one. Her friends swore that she had had at least one of everything in that place. She didn't put it past her.

"Ah, a coffee regular. Yes, we do have green tea, but I'll have to brew some up fresh for ya. That okay?"

Molly nodded. "That's fine."

The lady turned around and started making her coffee and brewing her tea. Molly chewed on one of her nails as she took in a few more details of the place. A blown-up replica of Van Gogh's "Starry Night" was painted on the back wall, over by the stage. There were 3 stools next to the one Molly was sitting on, all painted black and covered with a robin's egg blue cushion. It was one of those kinds of places where one could stay for hours and not really realize it. Molly loved it.

"Here ya are, hon!" The lady put the cup of coffee on the counter in front of Molly. "Hope ya like it."

"Thank you." Molly took a sip of the coffee. It was fabulous. Possibly even better than a Starbucks one. 'Nah,' she thought as she took a longer sip, 'nothing's better than that.'

"You're from out of town, aren't you?"

"Is it really that obvious?" Molly laughed a bit.

"I've owned this coffee shop for about 15 years now. I have a way of knowing." She tapped the side of her head. "So, where did ya come from?"

"Manchester, actually." Molly took another sip of the coffee, trying not to notice the lady's look of astonishment.

"Manchester? All that way? That's a long way for a young girl like you to be traveling alone! Why'd you leave?"

"I ran away." Molly replied sheepishly. She was beginning to feel a little degraded.

"Ran away? From home, you mean?" The lady's wide eyes were squinted a bit, giving her an all-around look of being intrigued. It looked a little creepy.

Molly nodded. "Yes, from home. I ran away."

The lady now looked concerned. "Well, where ya gonna go for the night, hon? Got somewhere to stay?"

"Well, umm…hey, do you have a phone?" An idea just came into her mind. Her older sister, Miranda, lived in Greenwich. If she could get a hold of her, maybe she'd let her stay with her for a while.

"Not in here, but there's a pay phone just a little ways down the street. I can watch your stuff for you, if you'd like. It might seem a little suspicious to see someone lugging all this around just to use a pay phone."

"That would be great. Thank you so much Ms…umm…"

"Just call me Angie. Like the Stones song."

"Okay. Thank you very much, Angie. I really appreciate it." She grabbed some change out of her duffel bag and was about to leave when she realized something. "Sorry! I'm Molly, by the way."

Angie smiled. "I thought so. You look like a Molly. Here." Angie reached behind the counter and pulled out a huge purple umbrella. "You're going to need this."

"Oh, thank you!" Molly walked out the door, popped the umbrella open, and went down to the pay phone.

"Hello, operator? I'd like the number for a Miranda Caulfield, Greenwich area…yes, if you could connect me, that would be great!...Thank you."

Molly was huddled into the tiny pay phone, trying to keep herself warm. The rain had stopped, but the temperature outside was extremely cold.

Ring. Ring. Ring.

"Hello? Is this Jeff?...yes, this is Molly…I've been better. Hey, is my beloved sister there?...She is?...Well, Jeff you know how much I adore talking to you, but can you give the phone to her?...Thanks….Hey there Mira! How's it going?...mmmhmmm…great to hear!...I'm calling from a pay phone…In London…yes, I'm in London!...I ran away…you know, I'd rather not tell you over the phone. It's more of a face-to-face kind of thing…mmhmm…hey, listen, I need to ask you a favor. Would I be able to stay with you?...well, I've been planning this for a while, but actually doing it was kind of a whim thing…hey, hold on, I gotta put some more coins in." She rummaged through her pocket and pulled out a few more quarters.

"Okay, all paid up. Now, where was I?...oh yeah, can I come stay with you for a while?...Please?...I can babysit! You know that! I'm a good aunt! Sherri loves me!...mmmhmm….yeah…Thank you! Thank you so much! You truly are a lifesaver, Miranda, the pineapple kind!...I know you don't like the pineapple ones, but I do. Deal with it…I'll be in a coffee shop on the corner of 5th and Cherry…mmmhmm…yep, that's the one!...Okay…I'll see you then…hugs and kisses, love ya…Bye."

Molly hung up the phone. She was glad she thought of that. Otherwise, she'd be stuck sleeping in the gutter or on the doorstep of someone's house. In other words, she'd be pretty much screwed. She went back to the coffee shop where she was greeted by Angie's smile.

"That was quick! Everything taken care of?"

Molly nodded as she sat back on the stool she was on before. "Yep, it's all taken care of. I just remembered that my sister lives in Greenwich, which, as you know, isn't very far from here, so she's coming to pick me up here. She said I could stay with her."

"Well, aren't you just the luckiest runaway that's ever come in here!" Angie put her hands on her hips. "Most of em wind up sleeping in the gutter or on someone's doorstep. You still look cold." Her voice returned to the concern tone she had earlier. "Drink some more of that coffee. The green tea is all done, too, if you want that."

"That would be great. Thanks, Angie."

"Don't mention it. It's my job, after all." Angie filled up a cup of steaming hot green tea and put it on the counter in front of her. "Here you are. A fresh, hot cup of green tea. Drink it up, it's good for you."

The bells on the door jingled, meaning someone had come in. Angie went to tend to that person, leaving Molly alone to enjoy her coffee and tea. It might be a while before Miranda got there. She sipped some of her green tea, feeling a slight burst of energy as she did so. Staring out the window, she silently prayed that she hadn't made a mistake in leaving. It may have not been exactly what she would call a good place to be, but it was at least somewhere. She just hoped she hadn't made a bad choice.

"So, girl, what's going on?" Miranda said as she started up the car. Molly was sitting in the passenger's seat. Miranda turned down the volume of the stereo a bit, eager to hear whatever her sister had to say.

Molly sighed, turned to her sister, and lifted up her hair where the cut was. Miranda looked over at her, turned back to the road, turned back, and pulled over to the side. "Oh my God!" she said, seemingly choking back tears, "What happened?"

Molly looked out front window, not wanting to look Miranda in the eyes as she said this. "It happened yesterday night. I had gotten up to go to the bathroom, and you know how we have those type of doors on the shower with the metal edges that hurt when you hit anything up against them?"

Molly could see Miranda nodding out of the corner of her eye. "Yeah, I remember that."

Molly looked down at her half-painted nails. "Well, I had just gotten done washing my hands, when I heard someone behind me. Next thing I knew, Dad had a hold of me, with his hand over my mouth. Last thing I remember was him slamming my head against one of the metal edges of the shower." Her hand went up to the cut, which was starting to hurt again. "Lord knows what else he did."

"Oh honey…" Miranda trailed off, reaching over and giving her little sister a hug. "I had hoped that he wouldn't…that he…oh honey…"

"That's when I had had it." Molly said when they had gotten back on the road. "I knew that I had to leave, and soon. So, I grabbed my duffel bag, threw a bunch of stuff in it, grabbed my guitar case, stole the car and drove to the bank, got all of my money out of my savings account, drove to the train station, got a ticket to London, rode the train all the way there, chilled in that coffee shop for a while, and then called you."

"I'm really glad you called me, honey." Miranda said as she turned up the volume on the stereo a bit. Molly and her sister had both been nicknamed "human jukeboxes" by their very extensive music knowledge. "I was afraid that after I left that something like this would happen. I wanted you to come live with me, but mom wouldn't let me take you. You know she doesn't believe anything you or I say when it comes to dad." She turned the stereo up a bit more. "Ah, thought so!" Turning it up even more, Molly realized what it was; Eric Clapton's masterpiece, "Layla", the first song that Miranda had taught Molly on the guitar, and also one of her all-time favorite songs. They both started singing to it.

"What'll you do when you get lonely/And nobody's waiting by your side?/You've been running and hiding much too long/You know it's just your foolish pride," at this, they both held pretend microphones to their mouths, "Laaaaaaaayla, you've got me on my knees, Laaaaaayla, begging darling, please, Laaaayla, darling won't you ease my worried miiiiind…."

"Well, here we are!" Miranda announced about an hour later. She pulled up into the driveway of a one story beige ranch house. Just as Molly was turning to open the door to the car, Miranda gently grabbed her arm. Molly turned to look at her.

"Honey, just know this…if there's anything that you want, if there's anything I can do, just call me, okay?"

Molly suddenly started laughing. Miranda looked at her funny. "What? What's so funny?"

"How Beatles was that? 'If there's anything that you want, if there's anything I can do'…sound familiar?"

The two of them broke into song. "Just call on me, and I'll send it along, with love, from me to you!" Miranda put her hand over her eyes. "I cannot believe I just did that. It was supposed to be all serious and everything…my God." She started laughing.

Molly got out of the car, grabbed her things from the trunk, and went into the house.

"Boy, you guys have redecorated since the last time I've been here!" Molly exclaimed as she stood in the doorway. The walls were painted a light blue, the carpet was a navy color, drapes hung in the window…everything was different.

"We didn't redecorate," Miranda replied as she squeezed past her sister, "we only unpacked. The last time you were here, there were boxes everywhere."

"I don't remember it being so…blue, though."

"Oh, well, that we did. Jeff likes blue, and, as you know, I do too."

Molly nodded. Miranda had painted a mural on one of her walls when she was 15 of the sky, and had saved up her money to buy her very own navy colored bedspread. In her case, liking blue was an understatement. Miranda was obsessed with blue.

"It looks really nice. You guys did a good job with it all." Molly smiled.

"Oh, we didn't do it. It was professionally done. Here, let me show you to the guest room." She pulled on her arm, causing Molly to come with her down the hallway to the guest room.

The room itself was small, just at the end of the hallway. It was also painted blue, with the same navy carpet. The walls were lined with shelves, chock full of Precious Moments, Molly's grandmother's collection that was left to Miranda when she passed away. A small window was on the back wall, and the bed was placed to the right of it.

"Boy, this room is cozy." Molly laid her bag and her guitar case down and plopped down on the bed.

Miranda stood in the doorway. "Yep. Jeff said we'd need a guest room at one point. I didn't believe him. Just another instance in which he's right." She walked in and sat down on the bed next to Molly. "You gonna be okay?"

Molly stared up at the stucco ceiling. "Yeah, I'll be okay. I'm kinda tired, so, umm…" she looked over at her sister and started making shooing motions.

Miranda rolled her eyes. "Okay, okay, I'll go. You look like hell anyways."

"Oh thanks. Just what a girl wants to hear."

Miranda laughed. She walked up to the doorway, then stopped and turned back to Molly. "I'm proud of you, girl."

"…For what?"

"For taking control." Miranda said. "I only wish I would have had the courage to do what you did. Good night, hon." She closed the door behind her.

Molly crashed back on the abundance of pillows behind her. She had a feeling that everything would turn out okay now, that everything would be normal.

…well, as normal as it could be with her and her sister under the same roof again. Smiling, she pulled the quilt over her head and fell into a deep sleep.

A/N: Whoo! You know, I had to rewrite this chapter 3 TIMES before I got it right. Or, at least, where it all kind of made sense. Hope she's not a Mary-Sue. If she is, tell me, and I'll try to tweak her up a bit. And, alas, no Willy yet. He'll show up here soon, I promise! Had to get it all layed out first, I'm sure you all understand…well, R+R, and I'll get the next one up ASAP!