Tina sighed again, trying to think of what to say. "I never really gave it much thought. It's always been me and Migs, but that doesn't mean I don't want to share things with you, Tommy. I mean, half the time Migs doesn't even clue me in, and I don't want to bother you with all my stupid problems. But you're right. We have a lot to work on."
Tina's frown deepened as he spoke. She remembered when Mike had explained his, and hearing Tommy's now...she couldn't help the sickening feeling that entered her system.
"Mike doesn't know your flash, does he?"
She already knew the answer to that. Tommy's seemed to be the horrible missing puzzle piece, and she knew if the brothers had talked about it Mike would be in more of panic mode than when he called her from Tommy's bathroom last week.
She swore under her breath. "God, I hope these don't come true. For all our sakes."
"I want you to be ninang to my kids because that's how much I think of you, T." he replied, "You're family and that's why I think I have to fight so hard to get this right between us. It wouldn't matter if you were just some girl who followed me home one day."
Tommy confirmed the concern she had by answering her question, "No he doesn't. I told him that I was at the police station to see him but that's it. He can't know, T. He won't propose to Quinn if he knows and I won't be held responsible for breaking up his family just because the flash might come true."
"I know. I want to fix things, too." Tina felt her throat do that stupid thing it does when she's about to cry. "Well, that'd just be creepy if I was," she offered, her voice a little shaky with both emotion and weak laughter.
She swiped at a few tears that had fallen and sucked in a ragged breath. She knew Tommy was right; that Mike would be a wreck if he knew, but she wasn't used to keeping things from him. Well, other than the time she may have let the cat kill Pancakes III. And she didn't even know where to begin voicing her concern about Mike proposing to Quinn. She couldn't explain it, but that still gave her a bad feeling.
"Honestly, I don't know what to do. I know he'll flip out if he knew, but I don't know how to help. The only thing I've been doing is hoping that these stupid things don't come true. That they're just warnings or something."
"We'll fix it bunso. I know we will," he choked out, "You've been my little sister longer than I can remember and I can't think of what my life was like before you. You know me better than Liz!"
He paced a few times in the kitchen to try to calm himself down. He was trying to think rationally about things and getting upset wouldn't help.
"I just hope these flashes are just potential futures, too. If you stay in New York then you can't get caught here, right? And if Mike and Quinn are engaged then he won't be so angry - not that I want them together if they shouldn't be..." he trailed off.
"I know." Tina smiled a little, wiping her remaining tears away with her sleeve. She shook her head, another weary half-laugh escaping her. "Jeez TomTom, way to get me all emotional."
She laid back on her bed, readjusting the phone against her ear. "Yeah, it makes sense. Do you remember hearing about that FBI agent?" It was all over the news when he had committed suicide. He wanted to prevent accidentally killing a mother of two boys and show that these futures didn't have to happen. She wasn't condoning his actions, but they were, in a way, oddly...hopeful. "Maybe he was right."
A sudden thought occurred to her. "Tommy...what if she says no? What if that's why he does it?" She bit her bottom lip anxiously before making a firm decision. She sat up. "I'm coming for Christmas. I don't care if I have to stay clear of my dad's house, I want to make sure you and Mike are okay."
Tommy grabbed a tissue and blew his nose, "I don't know what you're talking about T," he laughed, "We're having a very mature conversation about things that are important to us.
"I do remember hearing about that!" he exclaimed, "I think the woman and boys are under FBI protection now just to make sure. I can't imagine why he would go to such extremes. Couldn't he have just quit his job and moved to another country?"
He hadn't thought of that option - what if Quinn decided she didn't want to get married and that's why he...
"You can just stay here for Christmas. We'll keep you with myself or Mike at all times to make sure your flash doesn't come true, okay?" he said hopefully.
"Whatever you say," Tina teased, even as she sniffled. She sighed dramatically. "This is why we need to work on communicating. If we don't, we end up saps crying over the phone."
"Yeah...I have to admit that I find what he did poetic, though. In a sad, possibly twisted way. Like most poetic things are."
She smiled her signature half-smile again. "Thank you. I'm sure my dad will find a way to work or something anyway so I don't need to be home. Maybe we can all prevent each others' from happening, then. Like if me and Migs are together we can't both be stupid...hopefully."
Tommy groaned, "There's nothing wrong with being saps crying on the phone. Well, as long as it's only occasionally. We'll get better at this, I promise. Less crying next time."
"I wonder if the agent had his own family that he left behind?" he wondered out loud, "That would make it even more tragic."
"Maybe you two should hole up at our parents' house? That way you'd be surrounded by enough food to survive a few millennia." he half laughed, "I don't want either of our flashes to be true.."
"Yeah, keep telling yourself that," she laughed. She quieted after a moment. "We will. I really am sorry. I didn't know the way me and Migs' are made you feel out of the loop and all."
"Yeah, I wonder, too. I think he would've taken that into consideration, though. Leaving behind your family isn't some easy thing." She sighed. That's definitely something she knew.
Tina laughed again. "Mama Chang doting on Mike will never not be funny, but you know he gets restless there. We could always stay with you if you'd like." She stared at the ceiling, wrapping her free arm around herself. "Me neither. I really don't know how we'd deal if they did." She frowned at the thought. "Anyways...I'm probably cutting into Lily-time, huh?"
"Like they say, T, the best way to fix a problem is to first identify it." he replied, "We've done that so now we can work on fixing it."
Liz and Lily walked into the kitchen where Tommy had ensconced himself for the last half hour. Lily crawled up on his lap to give him a loud kiss on is cheek while his wife squeezed his shoulder. He smiled at them both and mouthed the words "Is it okay??" to his wife who nodded.
"Okay, Liz says it's fine if you guys stay here." he grinned, "She's the best isn't she?"
He politely said good bye to his favorite little sister and told her he'd have the cookies in the mail in the morning.
Tina's frown deepened as he spoke. She remembered when Mike had explained his, and hearing Tommy's now...she couldn't help the sickening feeling that entered her system.
"Mike doesn't know your flash, does he?"
She already knew the answer to that. Tommy's seemed to be the horrible missing puzzle piece, and she knew if the brothers had talked about it Mike would be in more of panic mode than when he called her from Tommy's bathroom last week.
She swore under her breath. "God, I hope these don't come true. For all our sakes."
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Tommy confirmed the concern she had by answering her question, "No he doesn't. I told him that I was at the police station to see him but that's it. He can't know, T. He won't propose to Quinn if he knows and I won't be held responsible for breaking up his family just because the flash might come true."
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She swiped at a few tears that had fallen and sucked in a ragged breath. She knew Tommy was right; that Mike would be a wreck if he knew, but she wasn't used to keeping things from him. Well, other than the time she may have let the cat kill Pancakes III. And she didn't even know where to begin voicing her concern about Mike proposing to Quinn. She couldn't explain it, but that still gave her a bad feeling.
"Honestly, I don't know what to do. I know he'll flip out if he knew, but I don't know how to help. The only thing I've been doing is hoping that these stupid things don't come true. That they're just warnings or something."
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He paced a few times in the kitchen to try to calm himself down. He was trying to think rationally about things and getting upset wouldn't help.
"I just hope these flashes are just potential futures, too. If you stay in New York then you can't get caught here, right? And if Mike and Quinn are engaged then he won't be so angry - not that I want them together if they shouldn't be..." he trailed off.
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She laid back on her bed, readjusting the phone against her ear. "Yeah, it makes sense. Do you remember hearing about that FBI agent?" It was all over the news when he had committed suicide. He wanted to prevent accidentally killing a mother of two boys and show that these futures didn't have to happen. She wasn't condoning his actions, but they were, in a way, oddly...hopeful. "Maybe he was right."
A sudden thought occurred to her. "Tommy...what if she says no? What if that's why he does it?" She bit her bottom lip anxiously before making a firm decision. She sat up. "I'm coming for Christmas. I don't care if I have to stay clear of my dad's house, I want to make sure you and Mike are okay."
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"I do remember hearing about that!" he exclaimed, "I think the woman and boys are under FBI protection now just to make sure. I can't imagine why he would go to such extremes. Couldn't he have just quit his job and moved to another country?"
He hadn't thought of that option - what if Quinn decided she didn't want to get married and that's why he...
"You can just stay here for Christmas. We'll keep you with myself or Mike at all times to make sure your flash doesn't come true, okay?" he said hopefully.
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"Yeah...I have to admit that I find what he did poetic, though. In a sad, possibly twisted way. Like most poetic things are."
She smiled her signature half-smile again. "Thank you. I'm sure my dad will find a way to work or something anyway so I don't need to be home. Maybe we can all prevent each others' from happening, then. Like if me and Migs are together we can't both be stupid...hopefully."
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"I wonder if the agent had his own family that he left behind?" he wondered out loud, "That would make it even more tragic."
"Maybe you two should hole up at our parents' house? That way you'd be surrounded by enough food to survive a few millennia." he half laughed, "I don't want either of our flashes to be true.."
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"Yeah, I wonder, too. I think he would've taken that into consideration, though. Leaving behind your family isn't some easy thing." She sighed. That's definitely something she knew.
Tina laughed again. "Mama Chang doting on Mike will never not be funny, but you know he gets restless there. We could always stay with you if you'd like." She stared at the ceiling, wrapping her free arm around herself. "Me neither. I really don't know how we'd deal if they did." She frowned at the thought. "Anyways...I'm probably cutting into Lily-time, huh?"
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Liz and Lily walked into the kitchen where Tommy had ensconced himself for the last half hour. Lily crawled up on his lap to give him a loud kiss on is cheek while his wife squeezed his shoulder. He smiled at them both and mouthed the words "Is it okay??" to his wife who nodded.
"Okay, Liz says it's fine if you guys stay here." he grinned, "She's the best isn't she?"
He politely said good bye to his favorite little sister and told her he'd have the cookies in the mail in the morning.
"I love you, T. We'll talk soon. Bye."
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