Hello there :)

I proudly present my first fanfic for the Silent Hill franchise. Please, bear with me and let me say a few words first.

I've been a fan of the games for a while, but have to admit that I only played (that is, from the beginning to the end) Silent Hill, Origins, The Room and Homecoming so far (with Shattered Memories on my waiting list), simply because I never owned a PS2 and had to stick to playing part 2 and 3 occasionally whenever I got the chance (luckily, the PS3 conversion will be out in a few weeks, so, yay). That said, I try to stick to canon as much as possible; still, I had to make one major change for this story to work: I asked myself the question - what if Alessa never really left Silent Hill as shown in the Good/Good+ endings of Silent Hill? You see, the girl that would become Heather is said to be the reincarnation of both Cheryl and Alessa, but the Incubator gives the child to Harry - so, who or what is/was the Incubator, if not a small fracture of Alessa's soul still bound to the town?

So, proceeding from this train of thought, the idea for this story was born. The characters lingered on the edge of my mind for a while, demanding to go to Silent Hill, but I never had a reason to send them there. Now I have one. And you can find out the why and how and everything.

Read and enjoy.

-o-

And if you happen to belong to those who follow my other WIP, And One Makes Three, don't worry, I won't abandon one story for another. I just had to get this out of my mind.

„Nothing. Again."

Frustrated, Beth kicked the bin she had just thrown the test into. Another blue stripe. Number seven. Almost three years now, but she had never lost track.

„Honey, come on. Don't take it out on the furniture."

Angrily blinking away the tears that had sprung to her eyes, Beth looked up at her husband. Matt had been so kind and understanding during the past years, but every time she noticed that she had her period – again –, she was afraid that he wouldn't understand anymore, that he would leave her if she couldn't give him what he wanted so badly. This time she had been three weeks overdue, longer than ever before. She had been so anxious, almost hopeful when she had locked herself in the bathroom to take the test.

And a single blue stripe on a white plastic stick had once more crushed her hopes.

„Should I take it out on you instead?" she snapped, regretting her harsh words immediately afterward. It wasn't his fault, she knew that. The doctor had said it wasn't her fault, either, but what else could it be that prevented her from conceiving if not a condition the doctors just hadn't found yet.

„I'm sorry." She sat down on a kitchen chair and rested her head in her hands. „I really am. I don't know why... I just can't seem to-"

„No."

Wood scratched across the tiles, and warmth embraced her as Matt rested an arm around her shoulders. She didn't dare look up as he spoke.

„Don't do this to yourself. Remember what Doctor Williams said? It's not us. We're perfectly fine. The both of us. But sometimes... it just takes a lot of tries. You are putting too much pressure on yourself. Too much stress-"

„Can have negative effects on the process, I know." Finally, she worked up the courage to look in his eyes. „But how can I stay calm? It takes me years when it should merely be a few months!"

„But we have years! Beth, you're not even thirty, we have plenty of time. It doesn't matter if it takes another three years, or even five! We'll have a child. When the time is right."

He sounded so comforting, but the faint look of hurt in his eyes was almost enough to make her cry. She barely kept her voice under control.

„Will you wait that long with me?"

A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth, and he gently kissed her forehead.

„I will wait with you until the end of the world, if need be. But trust me, it won't take that much time." He softly pushed her away and looked at her in earnest. „We should take a break. Not only from... this, from everything. You need some time away." He stroke her hand soothingly. „We could go up north, Maine maybe. A quiet place, few people... something to take your mind off all this. What do you think?"

Beth smiled weakly upon this suggestion.

„That would be nice", she murmured, „just you and I for once. No one asking about how the grandkids are coming along."

From the corner of her eye, she cought a glimpse of Matt making a face.

„Just what I said, you stress yourself too much. You need a break." He stood up. „Tell you what. On Monday, you'll ask Angela for a vacation. Make it four weeks. And then we'll look for a place to hide for a while."

„A month?" Beth bit her lip. „I can't leave for a whole month!"

„Of course you can." He pulled her to her feet and held her tight, looking down at her. „Tell Angela why you need this break. She'll understand."

Suddenly feeling drained, Beth leaned her head against his chest. The steady rhythm of his heartbeat finally calmed her completely.

„Alright. I'll try. But don't get mad if I can only have a week or two. Lindsay is sick, and Angela needs me."

Matt kissed her again, then let her go.

„I won't get mad. As long as you stop worrying so much. It doesn't make things better." After a look out the window, he turned toward her again. „We still have an hour or so of sunshine. Shall we take a walk?"

Beth stared thoughtfully out on the sunlit front lawn. A cat lay lazily on a patch of moss, untouched by worries and sorrow. It would be nice to forget. At least for a while.

„Can we stop by the café? It's Saturday. May's serving chocolate cake today."

Laughing, Matt went to retrieve their coats.

„Whatever you like, honey. Whatever you like."

-o-

„Coffee's ready!"

Tracy's call was the signal for both Angela and Beth to drop whatever they had in hands and return to the small kitchen in the back of their shared office. Every day at eleven, they had a second breakfast, ejoying coffee, pastries and the newest gossip. Today's topic seemed to be the elementary school's spring fair.

„We still have to set a schedule for Friday", Angela reminded them as she poured herself a cup of coffee, „for the readings especially. When we trusted Brad with it last year, the kids started a food fight."

„Took me three days to get the peanut butter and jelly out of my hear", Tracy grudgingly reminded them, „no way in Hell I will do that!"

Angela snickered, and Tracy shot her an irritated glance.

„You can laugh all you want, you could just shave your head and would look just as good."

„Which doesn't mean that I will shave my head, even if it happens." Angela took a sip from her cup. „But fine, I will do it. Which means you two have to arrange who will keep an eye on the stall."

„I can do the afternoon, Tracy can have one to three."

Tracy looked relieved while Angela eyed her suspiciously.

„Are you sure you want to do this? Lindsay will probably on bed rest until next week, so you'll likely be on your own."

„I think I can handle it. They are smaller than me, after all."

The other women laughed, and Angela took some notes on a scrap of paper.

„Fine, it's settled then. I talked to Principal Edwards, we'll get free food and drinks. Oh, and Mr. Young will help us set everything up. He'll expect us at ten, and Adrew alredy volunteered to help, too, so we should be fine."

„He volunteered?" Beth smiled at the thought of Angela's slightly chubby, a bit sluggish but always cheerful boyfriend. „Or did you threaten to force him to take up running again?"

„I didn't need to threaten him." Angela smiled almost viciously. „I figure he just thought if he helps us carrying furniture, he'll escape the duty to deal with unruly second-graders."

Laughing, Beth chose another pastry.

„It's a miracle you convinced him he actually wants to be with a woman who'd like to have a dozen children." She licked sugar from her fingers, ignoring the sting of envy she felt at her own words. No use in taking it out on her friends. „Matt wouldn't mind, but he's busy in the arts-and-crafts-corner."

Being an illustrator, Matt was quite talented at both drawing and painting. When the arts teacher, Mrs. Holloway, had asked him to offer a drawing lesson at the fair, he'd been more than happy to say yes.

„Oh, don't worry, we'll manage." Angela chuckled. „Especially without Brad. I know he meant well, but seriously, for someone with four little brothers he is amazingly inept at keeping a bunch of kids at bay."

„Poor kid. I wager he wouldn't want to help, even if we asked him ever so kindly."

Through their laughter, they barely heard the bell signaling that someone was at the back door. With a sigh, Tracy got up.

„I'll get it. Must be the UPS guy."

As she left the room, Angela got ready to follow her, but Beth grabbed her arm and held her back.

„Angela, wait. I... need to talk to you."

Puzzled, Angela got back on her chair.

„What is it? Is something wrong?"

Hesitantly, Beth played with her almost empty cup.

„You could say that..." She looked at the woman who was both her boss and her friend. „I... I think I need some time off."

„Time off?" Angela seemed concerned. „Are you sick or something?"

„That's what I need to find out." Beth tried to swallow the lump in her throat, without success. „You know, Matt and I... we try to have a child. It's been three years now, but... the doctors say we are alright, that it just takes some time, but I'm not so sure about that."

„Oh, Beth, I'm so sorry." Angela hugged her sympathetically. „I didn't know... why did you never say anything?"

Beth smiled sadly.

„I wanted to tell you once I'm sure... but it never happened..." She twisted the tail of her blouse. „Matt is so sure that it's just... that I out too much pressure on myself, that's how he said it. And he wants me to take a few weeks off so we can... get away for a while." She paused. „I guess he hopes that once I'm out of town, maybe relax a little... that it will work. Finally."

With furrowed brow, Angela stared at the kitten calendar pinned to the wall. Tracy had brought it; it had been a gift from her niece.

„You, I think we can work something out. You didn't use up all your days last year, and once Lindsay is back, I guess we can manage without you for a while." She glanced over to Beth. „I figure a week doesn't cut it here. How much time do you need?"

Beth swallowed hard before answering.

„A month."

„A month." Angela bit her lip. „That's more time than any of us is usually gone... but I'll see what I can do here. I assume you'd like to leave rather sooner than later?"

„As soon as possible."

„Thought so. Well, I'll talk to Tracy and Lindsay, and we'll work something out. I tell you as soon as I know." Angela stood up when she heard Tracy call from the corridor. „Until then, we should see to the next delivery."

Just before she left, Beth called out to her. „Angela?"

The other woman turned around, hand on the doorknob. „Yes?"

„Thank you."

Angela's broad smile chased away some of her worries. „You're welcome."