All we are and all we seem is but a dream within a dream
Title: Godspeed
Author: therageofstone
Fandom: Heroes
Rating: K
Length: 1675
Notes: This is my first foray into actually sharing fanfiction. Yes, Amanda is an original character; hence this thing isn’t going much further than this blog. No, I do not own any bit of Heroes. Do not sue me about this. You will get nothing out of it; except a couple of copies of Shakespeare, Chaucer and a couple score other volumes that I will be loathed to part with. The song is Godspeed (Sweet Dreams) by The Dixie Chicks off the album Home. Feedback is manna from heaven. If you read, please say something. I have a fragile ego…
Amanda wandered down the hall to the bedroom that was provided for her by her biological father. She had been perfectly happy to stay in a hotel so as not to disrupt the workings of the family house, but Nathan had waved her off and told her that it would be ridiculous, particularly when there were so many guest rooms standing empty in the huge house.
She learned that there was another Petrelli child that had recently moved in, a sixteen year old Texas cheerleader who kept finding ways of getting into disagreements with their biological grandmother. Not that Angela was a particular dream to get along with, but Claire seemed to have an abnormal talent for getting into shouting matches with the Petrelli matriarch. Amanda had joined in on one about being removed to Paris. Angela wouldn’t tell her why and suddenly Amanda found herself on one side with Claire, refusing to leave the country, while Angela and Peter, her new uncle, insisted that they must. They had eventually had to table the matter as the youngest members of the Petrelli family, Simon and Monty, returned home from school.
The subject had yet to resurface. When it did Amanda planned to inform her grandmother she would not go to France for love or money. She could speak several languages, but her tongue just wouldn’t work properly to form the syllables of French. Plus, she was going to need a damn good reason to leave so soon after arriving in New York. If it was good enough, she guessed that she’d ask for a ticket to London or Edinburgh. She shook her head. She could think about that later; now she just wanted sleep.
She shifted the guitar on her back as she walked by the room of her youngest half sibling, Monty. She paused when she heard him fussing in his bed. She knew that he had been put to bed about an hour before and wondered what he was still doing awake. She knocked on the door softly and the noise stopped.
She opened the door slightly, “Hey buddy, is everything okay in there?” she said quietly. Monty had seemed fascinated by this newest sister. Amanda thought it was because she paid attention to the youngest Petrelli boys.
“Can’t sleep,” was the tiny answer from the darkened room.
“Is something wrong or you just can’t get comfortable?” Amanda asked as she entered the room.
“There’s so many new sisters,” he said, pouting slightly, “and you both have super powers, like the X-Men.”
Amanda couldn’t help smiling, “Well, my power isn’t as cool as Wolverine’s or Storm’s, but I did get it from our Dad, so you may have one too, when you grow up a bit.” She sat on the edge of his bed, guitar on her lap. He traced the edge of the guitar body with his finger as he sat up.
“Really?” the hope in his tone was slightly heartbreaking. She knew he wanted so much to have something cool like Uncle Peter and his Dad. “I could fly?”
“Sure, eventually, but right now I could show you something cool with my ability if you’d like.” Amanda had freaked out the first time her power had manifested. She had been in her car driving home, singing along to the radio, when her vision had become clouded with images. She had been appropriately freaked out. She had since learned control. And Monty was, at least for the week that she’d been here, a willing guinea pig when she experiment with different facets of the ability.
“Yeah!” was his usual enthusiastic response.
“Alright, just let me tuck you in here,” she did so, “and set up my guitar.” The shoulder strap went over her head and she settled the guitar in her lap.
“Are you going to sing me a lullaby? Only babies need lullabies” he said looking at her with the sort of false front that children get when they don’t want to seem too young.
“I’m going to sing for you, your own private concert, how do you like that? And I still like lullabies and I’m not a baby.”
“But you’re a girl, you’re allowed to listen to those.” He protested.
“I happen to know that my twin, your older brother, listens to lullabies all the time. He just doesn’t tell anyone that that’s what they are. You don’t have to tell anyone that I sing to you. It’ll be our secret.”
“Am I going to meet him too?” he asked, his voice slurring a little with the sleep that was coming for him.
“Eventually, you will.” Her twin, Justin was busy with a job out west for another couple of weeks before he could make his way to New York to meet their biological family.
“Good, ‘cause I think I have enough sisters. I want another brother.”
“Okay then, can I sing for you now?” She asked. He nodded and she began to strum her guitar softly. Images of moons and stars and darkened landscapes fell over her eyes as a second reality over true vision.
“Dragon tales and the water is wide, pirates sail and lost boys fly, fish bite moonbeams every night, and I love you,” She sang softly.
Monty’s eyelids began to droop and she focused on projecting images of comfort, warmth and safety into his mind.
“Godspeed little man, sweet dreams little man, my love will fly to you each night on angels’ wings, Godspeed, sweet dreams.”
He smiled and snuggled a little deeper into his comforter. She gave an image of downy feathers coming down to hover over him a light push toward his mind.
“Rocket racer’s all tuckered out, Superman’s in pajamas on the couch, Goodnight moon we’ll find the mouse, and I love you.” Here she imagined Nathan sleeping on a couch in a t-shirt and superman pajama pants with Monty and Simon curled up next to him and sent that toward the little boy. “Godspeed little man, sweet dreams little man, my love will fly to you each night on angels’ wings, Godspeed, sweet dreams.”
His eyes were now shut and he had curled on his side as she played the guitar softly. She turned the vision of her music inward as she played the last part.
“God bless Mommy and matchbox cars, God bless Dad and thanks for the stars, God hears ‘amen’ wherever we are, and I love you. Godspeed little man, sweet dreams little man, my love will fly to you each night on angels’ wing, Godspeed, sweet dreams.”
She finished and got up, slung her guitar over her shoulder and gave the little boy in the bed a kiss on the forehead. She smiled to herself and left the room, closing the door behind her. She quietly entered her own room and set the guitar on its stand. She then noticed Claire sitting on her bed.
“Oh,” she said, startled, “Claire, it’s not nice to scare a person like that.”
“Sorry,” Claire said looking slightly chagrined, “I didn’t mean to.”
“Can I help you with anything? Or are you just practicing your startling people skills?” Amanda groused. She was tired. She gathered her pajamas and moved into the en suite to change.
“That was really sweet. What you did for Monty just now.” Claire said.
“He was having trouble sleeping. I take it you are too? Do you need a lullaby?” Amanda emerged from the bathroom dressed in her pajamas and sat down next to Claire on the bed.
Claire made a scoffing sort of snort, “No. I really don’t want to be sent to Paris.” Amanda was confused by the sudden topic shift. “I don’t even understand why they want us to go.” Claire sounded a little lost.
“Well, I’m going to refuse going to France, whatever the reason may be.” Amanda nudged Claire’s shoulder with her own, “I can’t speak French. If they are shipping me off to Europe, they had better have a damn good reason and a ticket to London.”
Claire looked down and examined her knees, which she had pulled to her chest. Amanda sighed and looped her arm around the younger girl’s shoulders.
“Look, they can’t send us anywhere if we don’t want to go. You came here to find Peter. I came here to find Nathan. And we both found a few more relations than we bargained for. We are not going to get shipped off tonight.” Amanda said.
“We might if Angela has anything to do with it.” Claire muttered.
Amanda chuckled, “Perhaps, but I doubt it.”
Claire still looked unconvinced.
“I have a feeling that Angela would rather have the challenge of taking us on wide awake and fighting. The bigger the challenge, the more she gets to lord it over us.” Amanda yawned. “That said, I’m about to fall asleep where I sit. So you should go to your room and we can look forward to Battle: Paris Part Deux tomorrow. Things will look better in the morning. They almost always do.”
With that Claire nodded and eased herself off the bed. “I guess I’ll see you in the morning then.”
“Whenever I get up. I doubt they will start in on us right at breakfast. Angela seems to need the placebo effect of a cup of de-caf before she’s ready to argue.” Amanda yawned again and followed Claire to the door. “I’ll see you in the morning. I think we all need a few sweet dreams tonight.”
“Thanks. Sorry to startle you earlier.”
“Hey, it happens. Besides, isn’t that what sisters are for, to talk to and terrorize?” They both giggled quietly and Claire left for her room. Amanda closed her door with a smile on her face. Apparently, Claire was less of a pain than she first thought. Perhaps this biological family thing could work out after all.
She slid into bed. God bless Mommy and matchbox cars, she thought, God bless Dad and thanks for the stars. Here’s my ‘amen’ from wherever I land.
That's all I got tonight.
luv and laters,
C
Author: therageofstone
Fandom: Heroes
Rating: K
Length: 1675
Notes: This is my first foray into actually sharing fanfiction. Yes, Amanda is an original character; hence this thing isn’t going much further than this blog. No, I do not own any bit of Heroes. Do not sue me about this. You will get nothing out of it; except a couple of copies of Shakespeare, Chaucer and a couple score other volumes that I will be loathed to part with. The song is Godspeed (Sweet Dreams) by The Dixie Chicks off the album Home. Feedback is manna from heaven. If you read, please say something. I have a fragile ego…
Amanda wandered down the hall to the bedroom that was provided for her by her biological father. She had been perfectly happy to stay in a hotel so as not to disrupt the workings of the family house, but Nathan had waved her off and told her that it would be ridiculous, particularly when there were so many guest rooms standing empty in the huge house.
She learned that there was another Petrelli child that had recently moved in, a sixteen year old Texas cheerleader who kept finding ways of getting into disagreements with their biological grandmother. Not that Angela was a particular dream to get along with, but Claire seemed to have an abnormal talent for getting into shouting matches with the Petrelli matriarch. Amanda had joined in on one about being removed to Paris. Angela wouldn’t tell her why and suddenly Amanda found herself on one side with Claire, refusing to leave the country, while Angela and Peter, her new uncle, insisted that they must. They had eventually had to table the matter as the youngest members of the Petrelli family, Simon and Monty, returned home from school.
The subject had yet to resurface. When it did Amanda planned to inform her grandmother she would not go to France for love or money. She could speak several languages, but her tongue just wouldn’t work properly to form the syllables of French. Plus, she was going to need a damn good reason to leave so soon after arriving in New York. If it was good enough, she guessed that she’d ask for a ticket to London or Edinburgh. She shook her head. She could think about that later; now she just wanted sleep.
She shifted the guitar on her back as she walked by the room of her youngest half sibling, Monty. She paused when she heard him fussing in his bed. She knew that he had been put to bed about an hour before and wondered what he was still doing awake. She knocked on the door softly and the noise stopped.
She opened the door slightly, “Hey buddy, is everything okay in there?” she said quietly. Monty had seemed fascinated by this newest sister. Amanda thought it was because she paid attention to the youngest Petrelli boys.
“Can’t sleep,” was the tiny answer from the darkened room.
“Is something wrong or you just can’t get comfortable?” Amanda asked as she entered the room.
“There’s so many new sisters,” he said, pouting slightly, “and you both have super powers, like the X-Men.”
Amanda couldn’t help smiling, “Well, my power isn’t as cool as Wolverine’s or Storm’s, but I did get it from our Dad, so you may have one too, when you grow up a bit.” She sat on the edge of his bed, guitar on her lap. He traced the edge of the guitar body with his finger as he sat up.
“Really?” the hope in his tone was slightly heartbreaking. She knew he wanted so much to have something cool like Uncle Peter and his Dad. “I could fly?”
“Sure, eventually, but right now I could show you something cool with my ability if you’d like.” Amanda had freaked out the first time her power had manifested. She had been in her car driving home, singing along to the radio, when her vision had become clouded with images. She had been appropriately freaked out. She had since learned control. And Monty was, at least for the week that she’d been here, a willing guinea pig when she experiment with different facets of the ability.
“Yeah!” was his usual enthusiastic response.
“Alright, just let me tuck you in here,” she did so, “and set up my guitar.” The shoulder strap went over her head and she settled the guitar in her lap.
“Are you going to sing me a lullaby? Only babies need lullabies” he said looking at her with the sort of false front that children get when they don’t want to seem too young.
“I’m going to sing for you, your own private concert, how do you like that? And I still like lullabies and I’m not a baby.”
“But you’re a girl, you’re allowed to listen to those.” He protested.
“I happen to know that my twin, your older brother, listens to lullabies all the time. He just doesn’t tell anyone that that’s what they are. You don’t have to tell anyone that I sing to you. It’ll be our secret.”
“Am I going to meet him too?” he asked, his voice slurring a little with the sleep that was coming for him.
“Eventually, you will.” Her twin, Justin was busy with a job out west for another couple of weeks before he could make his way to New York to meet their biological family.
“Good, ‘cause I think I have enough sisters. I want another brother.”
“Okay then, can I sing for you now?” She asked. He nodded and she began to strum her guitar softly. Images of moons and stars and darkened landscapes fell over her eyes as a second reality over true vision.
“Dragon tales and the water is wide, pirates sail and lost boys fly, fish bite moonbeams every night, and I love you,” She sang softly.
Monty’s eyelids began to droop and she focused on projecting images of comfort, warmth and safety into his mind.
“Godspeed little man, sweet dreams little man, my love will fly to you each night on angels’ wings, Godspeed, sweet dreams.”
He smiled and snuggled a little deeper into his comforter. She gave an image of downy feathers coming down to hover over him a light push toward his mind.
“Rocket racer’s all tuckered out, Superman’s in pajamas on the couch, Goodnight moon we’ll find the mouse, and I love you.” Here she imagined Nathan sleeping on a couch in a t-shirt and superman pajama pants with Monty and Simon curled up next to him and sent that toward the little boy. “Godspeed little man, sweet dreams little man, my love will fly to you each night on angels’ wings, Godspeed, sweet dreams.”
His eyes were now shut and he had curled on his side as she played the guitar softly. She turned the vision of her music inward as she played the last part.
“God bless Mommy and matchbox cars, God bless Dad and thanks for the stars, God hears ‘amen’ wherever we are, and I love you. Godspeed little man, sweet dreams little man, my love will fly to you each night on angels’ wing, Godspeed, sweet dreams.”
She finished and got up, slung her guitar over her shoulder and gave the little boy in the bed a kiss on the forehead. She smiled to herself and left the room, closing the door behind her. She quietly entered her own room and set the guitar on its stand. She then noticed Claire sitting on her bed.
“Oh,” she said, startled, “Claire, it’s not nice to scare a person like that.”
“Sorry,” Claire said looking slightly chagrined, “I didn’t mean to.”
“Can I help you with anything? Or are you just practicing your startling people skills?” Amanda groused. She was tired. She gathered her pajamas and moved into the en suite to change.
“That was really sweet. What you did for Monty just now.” Claire said.
“He was having trouble sleeping. I take it you are too? Do you need a lullaby?” Amanda emerged from the bathroom dressed in her pajamas and sat down next to Claire on the bed.
Claire made a scoffing sort of snort, “No. I really don’t want to be sent to Paris.” Amanda was confused by the sudden topic shift. “I don’t even understand why they want us to go.” Claire sounded a little lost.
“Well, I’m going to refuse going to France, whatever the reason may be.” Amanda nudged Claire’s shoulder with her own, “I can’t speak French. If they are shipping me off to Europe, they had better have a damn good reason and a ticket to London.”
Claire looked down and examined her knees, which she had pulled to her chest. Amanda sighed and looped her arm around the younger girl’s shoulders.
“Look, they can’t send us anywhere if we don’t want to go. You came here to find Peter. I came here to find Nathan. And we both found a few more relations than we bargained for. We are not going to get shipped off tonight.” Amanda said.
“We might if Angela has anything to do with it.” Claire muttered.
Amanda chuckled, “Perhaps, but I doubt it.”
Claire still looked unconvinced.
“I have a feeling that Angela would rather have the challenge of taking us on wide awake and fighting. The bigger the challenge, the more she gets to lord it over us.” Amanda yawned. “That said, I’m about to fall asleep where I sit. So you should go to your room and we can look forward to Battle: Paris Part Deux tomorrow. Things will look better in the morning. They almost always do.”
With that Claire nodded and eased herself off the bed. “I guess I’ll see you in the morning then.”
“Whenever I get up. I doubt they will start in on us right at breakfast. Angela seems to need the placebo effect of a cup of de-caf before she’s ready to argue.” Amanda yawned again and followed Claire to the door. “I’ll see you in the morning. I think we all need a few sweet dreams tonight.”
“Thanks. Sorry to startle you earlier.”
“Hey, it happens. Besides, isn’t that what sisters are for, to talk to and terrorize?” They both giggled quietly and Claire left for her room. Amanda closed her door with a smile on her face. Apparently, Claire was less of a pain than she first thought. Perhaps this biological family thing could work out after all.
She slid into bed. God bless Mommy and matchbox cars, she thought, God bless Dad and thanks for the stars. Here’s my ‘amen’ from wherever I land.
That's all I got tonight.
luv and laters,
C