Coda: Spinning

Five months later...

Rose leaned against the cold hotel sink, masking her sobs with both the water flowing from the tap and the back of one hand pressed hard against her lips. Jared probably knew anyway – he always did – but she needed to pretend she was hiding it from him, putting on a brave face.

The miscarriage had ripped both of their hearts out along with the promise of life it had ended, and the world – their beautiful Beta World – had turned as black and sour as thin gruel left in an abandoned house. Rose kept trying to move forward, to begin looking for the happiness she knew must be in their future, but her brittle house of cards kept crashing, a dozen times a day, as the realization came rushing back. Jared, she knew, was handling it a little better – a little – and she was trying to meet him, but he stood on the bank of a distant shore while she was drowning endlessly in her sea of black grief, waves crashing over her head every time she tried to reach for his hand.

They needed to get away, and had agreed to this tour of eastern Europe; clinging to each other has they tried to lose themselves in the sights and sounds of places neither of them had ever seen before. Rose gamely struggled on, forcing her feet to keep up with Jared as he gently led her to endless castles, museums, and cafes; and managed to forget a few times a day – even though she was never quite sure which city or even country they were in.

Tears once more spent for the moment, she washed her face with the now-cold water, applied a bit of makeup, and stepped shakily towards the door of their hotel room's bathroom. She knew before she opened it what she'd see: Jared, leaning patiently on the wall facing her, hands in his pockets, just waiting. His soulful eyes were huge, a breath away from tears himself, but he waited for her to signal what she needed.

Today it was a semblance of normalcy. She bit her lip hard, keeping from launching herself into his arms, then forced an almost normal voice to ask, "So, what's on the itinerary today?"

Jared swallowed, took a breath, and followed her lead, chattering lightly (albeit more slowly and haltingly than he used to) about the nearby state museum with its fantastic collection of historical knickknacks. She managed to wisecrack, "As long as none of them are extra-terrestrial," reminding him of their visit to Henry van Statten's museum in 2012, where they'd found the last remaining Dalek (or so they'd thought).

He led her down to the subway station a block from their hotel, and she held his hand tightly and stood close behind his shoulder so they wouldn't be separated on the crowded platform. Her eyes were caught by a nearby woman wearing a dark skirt and wrapped in a ratty, moth-eaten shawl, who clutched a baby tightly to her chest as she darted terrified looks around in all directions. She caught Rose staring at her and the shared a long, long look. Rose wondered what her story could be, to make her look so close to the end of her rope (even as Rose tried to ignore the twinge of jealousy at the baby).

Just as the rumble from the end of the platform announced the impending arrival of the subway train, another commotion at the stairs attracted Rose's attention. A huge, hulking brute of a man, surrounded by several henchmen, angrily shouldered his way through the crowd, apparently looking for someone.

A nearby gasp brought her eyes back to the ragged woman, now pushed past the limit. Even as they locked gazes, a decision clicked behind the stranger's eyes, bringing a glint of desperate determination flooding through her gaunt, haunted face. She stepped over to Rose and pushed her baby into her arms; Rose, too astonished to speak, scrambled to get a grip on the baby before she dropped it.

"Take care of him," the woman whispered with a heavy eastern European accent. Then, before Rose could move, she whirled away, took a few running steps, keeping her arms folded before her chest as if she still held the baby, just as the brute caught sight of her and yelled something angrily...

…. and flung herself in front of the oncoming train.

The man gave a wordless howl of rage, roaring above the screams of the nearby crowd. Rose instinctively edged to one side and ducked down behind Jared's shoulder, holding the baby close, as the man swiveled around and mowed his way back to the stairs, cursing loudly. Jared moved slightly in front of Rose to keep her shielded from him.

Once the man was gone along with his henchmen, Jared took a deep breath, glancing sideways at the train now slowing to a stop in front of them and grimacing in horror of what had just happened, then slowly turned to face Rose. She was hunched over the baby, staring down into the blankets. Jared's heart sank. He couldn't bear to see the look he knew would be on her face.

"Rose..." he whispered hoarsely, then began again, stronger. "Rose, we can't..."

"Jared," she interrupted him, looking up with a wide, wondering expression. "Look at his eyes!"

He glanced down, and gasped.

The baby's eyes were a brilliant sea-green.

Diving carefully into the blanket's folds, Jared reached in and gently pulled out the infant's left hand. Turning it over, he sucked in a long, careful breath, shocked but not surprised to find the Sicily-shaped birthmark on the back.

He slowly raised his eyes back to Rose's, seeing the question within. He took a breath, firmed his mouth... and nodded.

She looked back down at the baby, cuddling him closer, her first genuine smile in months gradually claiming her beautiful mouth.

"Hello, Paul," she said.

At long last...

FINIS