Hard Day's Night (Tina)

[Oliver]

When someone had a Secretary, they didn’t need a slave thought Oliver bitterly as he left the gleaming white steps of Parliament house and wandered into the mocking first rays of sunshine after pulling a 23 hour shift. He hefted his small knapsack on his shoulder, wondering if they were just the same thing anyway only with different titles. A lone piece of yesterdays’ news fluttered across the paved expanse of Central Plaza before coming to rest in the fountain in the distance, not unlike a peculiar printed butterfly choosing a water lily instead of a rose. Sighing, the young man pressed onwards through one of the causeways. Three blocks into the West Quadrant the Museum he had spent so much time in during his younger years loomed on his right, steeped in the very history that was the city of Valir.

Just before the end of the ancient columns Oliver turned down an alley, two blocks in and one block right again until he saw the familiar red brick of his apartment building. He had called Tina last night just before dinner to let her know he wouldn’t be home; The machine had picked up. Hoping fervently that he hadn’t missed some sort of important date that he was supposed to remember as a matter of course, Oliver ran his swipe-card over the high-tech lock on the door and began his nimble ascent of the dully carpeted stairs. Four flights up he abandoned the landing and moved down the hall to #410. After jiggling the lock that had never quite liked him but worked perfectly well for Tina, Ollie opened the door and stooped automatically to pick up the small pile of mail that had been pushed through the mail slot earlier that morning.

“Tina?” he called, shutting and locking the door behind him. “I’m home!” There was no answer. The excited voices of a children’s cartoon show presenter drifted to him from a TV down the short hall. He shrugged his bag off of his shoulder and onto its usual sitting position on to of a high dresser in the hall where Jacey wouldn’t be able to get into it and started cycling through the mail. Bill. Bill. Museum Alumni Newsletter. Bill. Handwritten envelope. For a few seconds, Oliver merely stood at his arrived location by the kitchen table staring at the familiar block-written hand denoting his sister’s name and address as though he couldn’t believe it. With a frown he flipped the envelope. There was no return address, but he knew who it was from anyway.

“Tina!” he called louder.

[Tina]

"Jeeze Ollie, relax," Tina said with a sigh as she made her way from Jacey's room. "I just got Jacey to go to bed," she commented, passing by the answering machine that she hadn't checked. Honestly there was just some times where her half brother just needed to relax.

Of coarse, it was obvious by the dishevelment of her red locks that she was also caught in slumber before she heard Oliver's entrance. She rubbed her eyes as she straightened what looked like to be a men's large sweatshirt and a pair of basketball shorts. She yawned and stretched as she finally reached the kitchen and walked her way to the fridge, pulling out a carton of chocolate milk that had "Tina" written on it and took a swig, not bothering to get a glass. It wasn't until after she sat at the table with carton in her hand that she realized what exactly Oliver was holding.

Great. Just fan-fucking-tastic.

there was a moment when she used to be annoyed by the letters. But that was in the first year or so of the divorce. In the second year, the letters had become more frequent and most of them hidden from Oliver or Jacey. After all, the last thing that Tina needed was Oliver worrying. Though now, well into the third year since her divorce, the letters were a bit on the terrifying side. Damn Oliver for getting to it first.

Her eyes widened as she set the carton on the table and peared at the envelope and reached for it. "What could he possibly want now?" she half-snarled as she took the letter and opened the envelope carefully.

[Oliver]

It was too late for Oliver to relax. His family was the most important facet of his life, indeed he really didn’t have any other interests apart from work and that was more of an obligation than anything else. He threw a scowl at his irresponsible older half-sister before he shuffled towards the refrigerator, pulling open the door and draping his right arm over the side of the door as he hunched to see if there was anything left in there worth eating. He bypassed the fruit, which Jacey needed more than he did, and ignored the suspiciously Tina-shaped bite that had been taken out of a chocolate bar that apparently hadn’t been able to avoid it’s destiny long enough for him to come home. He heard Tina’s growl about her ex husband, and his face took on a look rarely seen by any except the woman currently in his company.

“Something to choke on?” he muttered under his breath, straightening and knocking the fridge closed with his elbow in one slick movement. Turning his eyes on his sister he took the three steps necessary to close the gap between them, an expression of pure curiosity on his handsome face. “Well?” he ventured. “Astound me!” The miniscule sounds that betray the fact that someone is in close proximity to one’s person alerted Oliver instantly to the fact that they weren’t alone. “Jacey, I thought Mummy just told me she’d tucked you in?”he asked without turning to look at his neice. He would have been amused if his body wasn’t screaming from exhaustion and hunger.

“Uncie Ol,” she giggled, two hands supporting her plump babyish body as she swung from the door frame. The giggles receded down the hall, followed by the sounds of bed springs creaking under the slight weight of a child. “Uncie Ol!” she demanded from her room. Directing a look at Tina that distinctly said she wasn’t out of the woods yet, Ollie sighed and wandered down the hall doing everything he could to muster up his dwindling strength in order to put on his happy face for his neice.

“Hey there, Princess,” he said, taking a seat on the pink floral blanket that she had snuggled cheekily under. She giggled and hid her face. Smiling despite himself, Ollie leaned in close to the small, face-shaped lump underneath a bright yellow daisy. “Would you like pancakes for breakfast?” The face-shape nodded. “Ok,” he said, feigning the tone of someone who’s not entirely convinced. “But you have to stay in here and play while Mummy and I have a talk to the Pancake Man. Ok?” More giggling. Shaking his head at her cuteness (and it’s undeniable effect on her soft-hearted uncle) Ollie returned to the kitchen having reasoned Tina would have had time to read the unwanted correspondence.

“Well?”

[Tina]

Tina was a very laid back individaul. She could take threats towards herself easily. Hell, she would just give it right back. But there was one thing that people seemed to forget about... Tina was a mother. Her blue eyes fixated on the piece of paper, ignoring her brother's very rare quips of dislike towards anyone in general. Her eyes scanned. Particular words like "taking Jacey", "custody case", and "father" seemed to stand out and do one of those things that most people should never ever do...

Stanley's letter was an attempt to get Tina to allow him visitation rights to their daughter.

Tina's hands clenched the piece of paper, almost ripping them with her nails. Her eyes narrowed as she continued to read. So this was how it was going to be. When Jacey had been born, Tina had no problem with allowing visitation. Unfortunately Stanley would either not show or just take the time alotted to harass his ex-wife in stead. She still had some of the marks to prove it. After a year of this behavior, Tina refused to let him visit or even allow him near the apartment building. So long as he never set foot near the apartment, Tina would not get the authorities involved, after all, she was living with her brother, splitting rent, taking care of a child, and trying to help pay hospital bills... what good would spending the money for a restrainning order do?

At Oliver's reappearance she just looked over at her younger brother with what looked like very chaotic looking eyes. They seemed almost to be scrambling for some sort of answer. The thought of someone taking her daughter away was frightenning and infuriating at the same time. Her lips tightened into a worried expression as she crumbled up the letter.

"Stan wants visitation or he's going to take me to court," she said simply in a tone that hopefully masked that she was seething. The only things that kept her from smashing something were a) the fact that Ollie had a long shift and would not feel like cleanning up her messes (though he probably would anyways), and b) that Jacey was awake and in the next room awaiting attention. She simply closed her carton of chocolate milk, stood up, put the carton in the fridge, and slammed the refridgerator door as hard as she could.

[Oliver]

Oliver felt the words Tina repeated from her ex-husband’s letter trickle through him as though a refrigerated egg had been cracked on his head. He knew his half-sister so well not to believe that the same sticky ice-cold feeling was creeping down her spine too, and for a few pregnant moments Ollie stood still and waited for his heart to start beating again. His life wasn’t easy, but then was life meant to be easy? Would it be the same for him if he didn’t have Tina and Jacey to provide for and love? Would it hold the same flavour if he didn’t feel responsible for not only his existence but theirs too? In a split-second revelation Oliver discovered something within himself that he had never known was there before. Leadership.

He could see in Tina’s eyes that she was freaking out. He wondered how long the letters had been coming, and why she had kept it from him because it was obvious that it had been going on for months. Was he coming around again? Did he harass her on the street? Was he planning on it? A scowl creased the otherwise smooth sheet that covered Ollie’s face and he wanted now, more than ever, to not have to be the one to tell his sister that within 4 months their father would most likely join the list of ‘people who they didn’t have anymore’.

“Then we’ll see him in court,” Oliver replied in a heated tone. Both he and Tine knew that they didn’t have the money, but the man of the house would work a second job to make it if that’s what it would take to get that jerk out of Tina’s life forever. In a distinctly brother-like frame of mind he found himself next to the red-head who caused (as well as made reasonable) most of the problems in his life. He folded her into a hug, pulling her close and noticing the way that she smelled exactly like the niece he worshipped so much it hurt. “Don’t worry,” he said softly, his hand on her hair. “I’ll take care of it. I’ll take care of you and Jace, Tina. You know I will.”

[Tina]

Oh yes, a custody battle. Wonderful. Tina had thought that those were over and done with. Now she was going to have to fight to keep her child. After all, it wasn't like Stanley had proven to be the prime example of parenting. Hell, he didn't even know Jacey's birthday. He didn't know her favorite icecream, or that their daughter was afraid of purple dinosaur on television. He had no clue that Jacey's first words were "melba toast" (something she happened to repeat while Tina was giving Oliver a hard time about his submissive behavior). He didn't even know that Jacey had the most beautiful gray eyes that she had ever seen (which sometimes made people mistake her as being Oliver's daughter rather than her own).

Now, the fact that Tina knew her daughter more than anyone else in the world should have comforted her. Instead, she found that she had to remind herself to breathe. Deep breath in, slow breath out. As she breathed out there was still that worried hitch in it that seemed to want to turn into sobbing. They didn't have the money for a custody battle! And most certainly they did not have a prayer (in her horribly frantic opinion). She was unemployed because of her short attention span with a younger brother helping her pay off living expenses. Her unclear mindset left her worrying that because she lacked a career, that she would be deemed irresponisble and unfit to raise a child.

She was still reminding herself to inhale and exhale before she realized that her brother had wrapped her in a hug. The only thing that she managed to do was wrap her arms around Olivers middle and bury her face into his shoulder in a rather helpless manner. It was comforting to know that her half-sibling was always there for her, and she knew that when it came to Jacey, having Ollie as a father figure was the best thing in the world for her.

She gave a tired mix between a sigh and a laugh. "Don't you ever get tired of bailing me out?" She already knew the answer, but it was always nice to hear that reassurance that there was someone who could pull through for her.

[Oliver]

“All the time,” Oliver smiled into the flaming red hair that was so unlike his own. He broke the hug and winked at his half-sibling, glad that, at least for the moment, he had managed to take the edge off of their ‘fantastic news’. “Anyway,” he began again, scratching the back of his head with an idle hand. “You and I both know that Stan hasn’t got what it takes to be a full-time dad. Heck, he doesn’t even have what it takes to be a when-he-feels-like-it dad.” Raising his eyebrows and craning his neck in an ‘I told you so’ manner, Ollie whispered. “He doesn’t even know how to do the Dinosaur Dance to get her to sleep.” With a chuckle, he strode tiredly across the bright green and white checked linoleum of the kitchen floor to retrieve his wallet from the hall.

“Here.” He took a hundred dollars from his wallet, holding it out to his sister. She needed it at the moment, and Oliver needed sleep more than anything else, not that his stomach would agree. “Take Jacey out for pancakes and shopping. My treat. And don’t bring her home until at least four, kay? I’ll be sleeping.” With a grin that was meant to make Tina feel less guilty about taking the cash, Ollie called out to Jacey. “I’m goin’ to bed now, Jace. Mommy’s gonna take you out for pancakes and a shopping spree.”

“Niiight!” came the sing-song reply, despite the fact that it was early morning.