Work Text:
It was very quickly discovered that the Unsinkable Eight could not be separated from each other. After their rescue from the compound following Agent Young’s shift in allegiance they were all held in the same facility, a real facility this time, where they were triaged and allowed to stick together while their official legal accounts were taken. The contrast of their time in the bunker and their time in this legitimate legal building was so stark, the care and treatment far more victim oriented and truly focused on the wellbeing of the girls - and it was clear that keeping them together was a prominent aspect of their wellbeing. When it was suggested offhand that the girls would room in separate lodging, the girls instantly clung to each other, fear sparking in their eyes at the idea of yet again being separated from the safety of the group. Leah began to hyperventilate immediately, gripping Fatin’s hand so tightly it had to be painful, while Toni instantly slung an arm around Martha and grasped Shelby tightly around the waist. The twins held fast to each other while Dot stood at the front of the group, like a mother hen protecting her brood. The nurses and agents were quick to assure them that nobody would be splitting them up if they didn’t want to be, it was just merely a suggestion, and the relief that went through the group was palpable.
Still, the initial plan was for the girls to return home after all the legal proceedings were done. It’s what everyone assumed would happen, what else would be done? It wasn’t like they would stay at the federal building forever, and they had lives to return to. So once the legal proceedings were over, the girls packed up and got ready to return home. Thankfully, they weren’t returning completely alone, as Fatin and Leah were returning to the bay together, Toni and Martha would be able to return home together, of course the twins were returning to the literal same household, and Dot and Shelby were the Texan duo. But still, saying goodbyes in the airport was traumatizing in a way. Toni and Shelby were holding each other so tightly, both trembling with adrenaline and fear at the thought of Shelby returning to her hate filled household. Fatin and Dot were speaking quietly to the side, as the realization that Dot was returning to an empty household once again sunk in. Leah was standing by herself, picking at her left eyebrow with a frown on her face, surveying the group and realizing for the first time in a long time they wouldn’t be within an arm’s reach if they needed each other. And then it was time to go. They stayed together until last call announcements were made, group by group departing until only Rachel and Nora remained, waiting for their flight back to New York (“I don’t like this Rach," Nora had whispered to her sister. “It doesn’t feel right… us all being apart”).
In the end, it took less than a month. It started small, with Leah calling Fatin in the middle of the night unable to breathe from a nightmare and begging her to come over for the night, hating how pitiful she sounded but nonetheless desperate for comfort. Fatin took absolutely no convincing ("Say less babes, I’ll be there in less than ten, okay?”) and after that night became a staple in the Rilke household. Rachel of all people was the first to start a groupchat, reaching out with details they had quickly given each other in the airport and sending out a simple text of “missing you nerds''. Instantly the chat was flooding with agreement, some more subtle than others. In a side group Martha sent the message, “I can hear Toni crying at night. She really misses you Shelby.” Once the dam was opened there was no closing it, as each girl admitted the ache in their hearts given the distance from each other. And thus, a plan was formed.
For most of the girls, the decision to move in together was plain and simple. The majority of them had already turned 18 by the time all the proceedings had finished, and the remaining youngsters were mere months from their birthdays. Most of the parents didn’t put up a fight either, still too guilty about their involvement with the Dawn of Eve or just genuinely seeking to lend a hand in a chance at happiness (“I will miss you both so much,” Mrs. Blackburn had said, “but I understand that you went through things on that island that I will never be able to understand. And those girls will. They are your family just as much as I am, and if being apart from them causes you too much pain you have my absolute blessing to be together again”). Getting Shelby out of the Goodkind household, however, was proving the most difficult. Technically, she was 18, and her parents had no legal standing over her anymore, but try telling that to Dave Goodkind. He was baffled at the mere principle Shelby would want to keep in contact with the girls from the island, let alone the severity of how much she was missing their physical presence in her life. He would never agree to letting her move out of his house into a home with the other girls. That meant an escape was necessary (“Ah yes, a plan within a plan! First, free the princess, then, prowl the real estate market for a castle.” Fatin had joked, earning a, “Fatin, take this more fucking seriously” , from a frustrated and worried Toni).
It had to be done relatively quickly and definitely very stealthily. They waited for Dave to leave the house for his Christian soul cycle class, Shelby exempt as she recovered from the island. That left them maybe an hour and a half for Dot to come screeching up to the house with her car and hopping out to help Shelby pack. Shelby’s mom was aware of what was happening, and supported it wholeheartedly. She knew that living under Dave Goodkind’s roof would only ever lead to hurt for Shelby, and though it hurt to see her first born baby go, she knew she would be leaving only to be welcomed into the loving arms of her friends. Within the time Dave was gone, Shelby’s clothes were packed, a few most precious items and photos carefully stowed, and goodbyes exchanged with her younger siblings and her mom. It was agreed that for the time being, Shelby’s mom wouldn’t be made aware of their new address in order to make sure that Dave wouldn’t be able to track them down. Shelby’s mom made her promise not to feel guilty, reminded her that she was worthy of happiness and love, and sent her on her way. As sad as it was to leave, Shelby had never been more excited than she was hopping into the passenger seat of Dot’s car and watching Dot pull out of the driveway in the direction of the airport.
The combined profit of the multiple lawsuits the girls were able to file against the Dawn of Eve group allowed them to float in a relatively comfortable manner for a time, and the break was deserved. The majority of the girls accepted the grace period with open arms, deferring college plans in order to focus on simply readjusting to life, with the exception of Nora who was enrolled in online classes. It was also enough for Fatin’s mom (who had wised up in the time Fatin was missing and divorced her husband, begging Fatin’s forgiveness upon her return that was readily given to her) to find them a decent home in Los Angeles. Not a mansion by any means, but large enough to comfortably fit the eight girls, and ironically rather close to the ocean.
Their first night in the new house, none of them slept apart, instead opting to drag blankets and pillows into the living room and cuddling up in a dog pile much like they had on the island. The girls recognized that they would need to deal with their separation anxiety at some point (“What if we like… just didn’t though? What if we just kept living together and expanding the group to fit whoever we end up shacking up with? ” Fatin had mused at one point, which earned a loud snort from Rachel. “ Oh yeah, we’ll just become the crazies who move off the grid and only interact with each other and eventually have inbred children and grandchildren because they never leave the property. No thanks.”) but for the moment, they just basked in the comfort of the proximity to each other.
Eventually, as time went on, they did spread out across the four bedrooms that Fatin’s mom had fought so hard to secure them, with the twins sharing a room, Shelby and Toni taking another, Leah and Fatin another, and Dot and Martha in the final one.
It wasn’t uncommon to be woken by a creaking floorboard and for eyes to open and land on a sheepish looking Dot, who would just offer a simple, “Routine consciousness check”, in terms of explanation, too set in her habit of keeping everyone alive to fully give it up.
Nighttime was especially bad for Leah. She had explained how bad her paranoia got in the compound, how her mind was never quiet but constantly humming with fear and worry. She had considered that maybe one day they would just be left there, locked in their dorms to starve and wither away without anyone noticing (Dot was quick to assuage that fear, retelling her massive feast during her interview - “Damn Dottie, I wish I’d thought of that! ” Fatin had exclaimed while laughing, and even Leah managed a small smile) or worse, that she was the only one alive, that her friends were dead and she didn’t even know. The horrors of that bunker often haunted her in her sleep.
Most nights all it took was Fatin’s soothing touch and calming words, Leah curling into her and tears drying quickly as they drifted off again in each other’s arms before any of their housemates even had a clue. Other nights, it would be a long and arduous process, Leah’s sobs so loud they would wake the house and the girls bursting in the room to find Fatin desperately trying to reassure her of reality (“I’m here Leah, I promise you I’m here. We’re all here, everything is okay, we’re safe”). Those nights usually end as the first night did, with all the girls piling into one room and touching Leah in some way to reassure her of their presence. They’d all slide to the floor, pulling blankets and pillows with them. Fatin would remain holding her the most securely, with Dot and Martha crawling closer as well to cuddle, Nora and Rachel each reassuringly holding a hand, and Shelby and Toni alternating turns in stroking her hair. The presence of her friends, her found family, would slowly but surely bring Leah back, exhausted but nonetheless free from the terrors of her delusions. In the morning, she’d sheepishly offer her condolences for dragging them all out of bed, but each and every time she was assured that she should never consider her need for support a burden.
Nora breaking down wasn’t something anyone saw coming. It truly came out of nowhere. Toni and Rachel were in the backyard, locked in some sort of wrestling match that Dot and Fatin were cheering on. Leah was sitting quietly in her armchair, reading through some manuscripts since she’d picked up an internship at a publication company. Shelby and Martha were engaged in soft conversation, laughing every now and then. Nora was on the couch, allegedly working on college things but in reality carefully bouncing her eyes around each member of their little party, going round and round again until she just suddenly burst into tears.
Martha startled so badly that she fell from her chair to the floor, and after helping her up, Shelby quickly rushed to Nora’s side. There was the thunderous sound of footfall as the other four girls entered the room from outside, Rachel demanding to know what had happened as she made her way to her sister. “Is she hurt?! What happened?! Nora, what happened?!”
As everyone grew closer, all Nora could do was shake her head through tears. “How can you all just forgive me for what I did to you?!” She cried out in despair. “Rachel, you lost your hand, Leah, I made you think you were crazy, and Toni and Martha, you two almost died . How can you just forgive me for that?!”
Quiet settled over the group as they took in what Nora was talking about. Nora having been an operative for Dawn of Eve wasn’t something they all really spoke about. After the shark attack on the island, Leah had confronted Nora about it, and seeing no logical way out from there, Nora confessed. She explained all about how she had met Gretchen and how they spoke about their “fellow women suffering”, and how she was convinced that this would be a good thing and never believed anything of this scale would happen. And… the group kind of took it in stride, instantly trying to think on how to survive against this Gretchen woman. Nobody really considered the lack of closure for Nora, nor did they really think it needed to be talked about more. But now, it was evident that it needed to be brought up.
“Nora, you were manipulated into it,” Shelby spoke softly, taking Nora’s hand in her own. “Nobody here blames you for what happened.”
“You were just trying to help me Nora, to protect me, and it’s not your fault that that sick woman preyed upon your good intentions,” Rachel continued, as the others murmured their agreement.
But Nora continued to shake her head. “And look where those good intentions brought about. There was so much suffering on that island and I just allowed it to happen. Leah… Leah you were suffering so much and I just let you believe you were out of your mind.”
Up until then, Leah had been quiet, remaining in her chair and observing the situation unfold before her. It was clear that she was thinking heavily, the gears in her head visibly churning. Although the girls moved past Nora’s transgressions, Leah had kept a bit more distance at first. Now, months later, her walls had been lowered considerably, and she considered herself to be quite close with Nora, but what happened on the island was certainly significant. She could feel that awful buzzing in her mind again as the memories of her paranoia came flooding back for the moment, but she forced it out as she finally spoke.
“I mean, I really would’ve appreciated if you had padded that pit a little bit before you led me into it…” Leah began, starting in a very serious tone before a playful smile pulled at her lips, glancing up at Nora to allow her to see the lighthearted glint in her eyes. “But yeah, other than that there’s no hard feelings.” She stood then, crossing over the room and engulfing Nora in a hug. Nora melted into it, once again crying but this time in relief. The others were quick to join in, and soon an all out cuddle pile had broken out. Comfortable silence fell across the group again, before Toni spoke up.
“So I won that wrestle match, right Dot?”
Rachel immediately shot upright, shouting her protests, and Fatin and Dot began to talk loudly about the possible scoring merits, giving the play by play of what had gone down before they came inside as Shelby, Martha, and Leah all laughed and listened intently. Nora just continued to sit quietly though, watching her found family with a soft smile and warm eyes.
One day, Shelby and Toni were both struck down by food poisoning, and the island was dragged to the forefront of everyone’s mind. To be fair, Shelby probably should’ve trusted her gut not to buy the tacos from the shady street vender in the beat up van, but Toni had looked so gleeful when she spotted it, walking hand in hand with her after a successful night out that she disregarded that initial instinct.
While Shelby was certainly uncomfortable and in a fair bit of pain, the fear and panic in Toni’s eyes upon awakening to such sickness was unmatched. The chills, the sweat, the overwhelming pain and feeling of nausea, all of it sent Toni right back to the last time she suffered these symptoms, stranded on that island with the bare bones of medical essentials. And this time the girl she loved was suffering from it as well. When Toni opened her eyes and noticed Shelby’s state her distress increased tenfold.
“M-Marty! Marty!” Toni shouted with the little strength she had, watching helplessly as Shelby got up and darted to the bathroom in the hallway. Martha appeared in the doorway just as Shelby rushed passed, turning to look after her in confusion before seeing Toni’s state in the bed as she lurched over and began to throw up.
“Oh Toni… it’s okay, it’s going to be okay, we’ll help!” Martha disappeared from the doorway just as quickly as she came, hollering at the other girls for assistance. Toni could hear the other girls start to stir and emerge from their bedrooms, asking what was happening and hearing Martha rapidly fill them in. Soon, Rachel and Nora appeared in the doorway, and Toni could only assume that Leah, Fatin, and Dot were with Shelby. Martha followed right behind the twins, carrying the garbage pail that usually resided in the kitchen. “We’re here Toni, it’s all going to be okay.”
“And even if things started not to be okay, the average ambulance response time in Los Angeles is six minutes, so help could be here quickly.” Nora added, trying to be helpful in any possible way. Martha and Rachel both shot her a look, but it actually did seem to calm Toni down for a fraction of a section, the reminder that they did have access to outside help this time if need be.
Leah’s face appeared in the doorway, sending a sympathetic look towards Toni before turning to the others. “Fatin is going on a supply run, I’m going to go with her to try to cut down on the time.” At the mention of supplies, Toni shot upright as much as she could, grasping tightly to Martha’s hands and looking around the room wildly at everyone else.
“The meds, give the meds to Shelby, please just give the meds to Shelby.” Toni pleaded, wide eyed and frantic with tears running down her face. No matter how many times Martha assured her that there would be no shortage of meds, no having to choose between who was worse off or who needed the meds more, the delirium and panic forced Toni to continue to beg. She was frantic, beginning to hyperventilate with tears streaming down her face. She simply refused to calm down until Martha gave in, promising her that the meds would go to Shelby first.
“Okay Toni, okay, Shelby will get the meds first, don’t worry. She’s getting the meds first, Fatin and Leah are on it.” She whispered soothingly, getting in bed with Toni despite the sweat and sick and holding her close. Rachel stayed on the edge of the bed as well while Nora left to go help Dot with Shelby.
Shelby was doing her best to comfort Toni from the other room, but was otherwise occupied, Dot holding back her hair as she rested against the toilet bowl. “I’m fine Toni, I promise I… nothing… nothing worse than that bender Fatin took us on when we first moved in, right?”
In a way, it was true. The night they moved into the house Fatin insisted that they throw their own welcome party, which quickly turned into a night of mixing way too many drinks and not enough forethought of the effects that would hit them the next day, and it shouldn’t have been a shock to any of them when it felt like the Grim Reaper had come to collect in the morning. They had joked that it was worse than the mussels on the island, and this time Shelby had been able to take part in the suffering. But overall, they were laughing, because they knew it was a consequence of a night well spent and that with some painkillers and water it would soon pass. This was far too similar to the suffering on the island though, too much the same and too all consuming that Toni wasn’t able to just laugh it off. Despite Shelby’s best efforts, she wasn’t able to shake Toni out of her panic before she had to go back to dealing with her own sickness, turning back to the toilet bowl as Dot spoke soothing comforts. Hearing Shelby’s struggle, Toni whimpered, screwing her eyes shut tight before letting them fly open again, settling on Martha’s face.
“I don’t want to die anymore Marty,” Toni rasped out frantically, looking at her with such intensity and fear that Martha could feel her heart breaking. “I don’t want to die. I know I did, I know on the island I thought it didn’t matter, even before then, but I don't want to anymore. I don’t want to leave you guys, I don’t want to lose you all, I don’t want to die.”
Martha was too emotional to respond, so shocked by Toni’s words that tears began to fall from her eyes as she struggled to find the words, but Rachel sprang into action. “Oh come on Shalifoe! Stop being so dramatic man, you’re gonna let some rotten tacos take you out?! Before we have a rematch?! Sounds like you’re just trying to avoid me beating your ass. You’re not going anywhere and neither are we.” Her tone was filled with nothing but kindness and gentle teasing, and as she spoke she crawled into the bed as well on the other side of Toni, taking her hand and giving it a squeeze. Martha took her other and did the same while shooting Rachel a grateful glance.
It wasn’t long until Fatin and Leah returned, rushing in and administering the medicine to the girls, Shelby first as promised. Once Toni was confident that Shelby had been taken care of, she allowed the others to take care of her, gratefully accepting the medication and forcing it down. Leah and Fatin had also grabbed things to make chicken soup, and Dot dutifully moved to the kitchen to get started on making it.
Slowly but surely, with the medication came lucidity, and hot embarrassment began to hit Toni as she looked around at the mess she had made of herself and her surroundings. “I’m sorry,” she croaked out, hating how weak she sounded and the way her voice quivered as tears of embarrassment brimmed in her eyes. “I made a mess, I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t you dare try to apologize.” Martha said firmly, shaking her head to emphasize her point. “You aren’t feeling well, and we’re going to take care of you, just the same as you would take care of us.”
Leah came into the room with a soft knock on the doorframe, hovering in her spot with a gentle smile. “Fatin has set up a place for you and Shelby in the living room so that we can get the room cleaned. It’s pretty luxurious, if I do say so myself.” She spoke softly in such a soothing tone that Toni couldn’t help but feel comforted. Leah was just that way. It wasn’t that she was necessarily very confident, nor was she always right, but when she told you that you would be okay, that everything was under control and safe, you believed her because she spoke it into the universe as though it were nothing more than truth itself. (Toni had told her that once when she was coming down from a bad case of paranoia. She had isolated herself in her room, humiliated by her panic and believing that she was “a crazed lunatic, why do you guys put up with me? Don’t I scare you? Because I scare myself.” But Toni had sought her out, nudging the door open just enough to fit in and closing it shut gently behind her before deftly crossing the room to sit beside her. Leah had barely looked up when she entered, head buried in her knees as she held herself curled up in a ball. They had sat in silence for a while, before Toni took it upon herself to break it. “ You know, you can definitely be crazy sometimes, but so can we all. And you’re not a lunatic. I actually think you might be one of the calmest ones here.” Leah had shaken her head immediately at that, lifting her head just enough to glance at Toni. “No, the calmest of us would be Dot and you know that.” She had murmured, before lowering her head again. Toni had hummed in approval, accepting defeat and shrugging. “That’s fair enough. But you still just… have this sense of calm about you Leah. I don’t think any of us could ever be afraid of you when you’ve got that aura of ready knowledge about you. I think… I think I would have really appreciated having someone like you around when I grew up actually. If anything, you make me feel safe to be around.” They stayed in silence a bit longer after that, Leah lifting her head to scan Toni’s face for any insincerity or malice and finding none. And when Toni moved to leave, Leah threw herself at her, hugging her and thanking her. They left the room together that day, arm in arm and basking in the comfort of each other.)
That same comfort was found within Leah helping Toni carefully out of the bed and allowing the smaller girl to rest practically all of her body weight against her. Martha and Rachel stayed in the bedroom, stripping the bed of its sheets and readying them to be tossed into the laundry. Once they made it to the end of the hall, Toni caught sight of Shelby, tucked snuggly under a massive blanket atop a pile of pillows. Her girlfriend definitely looked worse for wear, but offered her a gentle smile with tired eyes. As they made their way even further into the living room, she could see that Fatin and Nora were on the ground, struggling with blankets, pillows, and dining room chairs to make a fort above the couch where Shelby was resting. “I tried to tell them a canopy wasn’t necessary,” she called out weakly, shaking her head good naturedly. “They wouldn’t take no for an answer.”
“Well of course it may not be necessary ,” Fatin stressed, trying to get one of the blankets to stay draped even though it kept slipping back down. “But if you two are gonna need to be camped out here while we take care of you it could at least be in style.”
Leah helped Toni down onto the pile of pillows beside Shelby before turning to help her own girlfriend at the task of setting up the canopy, listening carefully to Nora’s instructions and then making sure Fatin was listening as well. All at once, Toni began to cry. Fear and concern coursed through the girls as they rushed over, looking her over and beginning to scramble for meds before Toni called them off, shaking her head. It was a cry of comfort, of relief and home, being taken care of by the people she loved and the people who loved her. She had never felt that before, and now with these girls, she had found the comfort and love she had been deprived of her whole life. And she never wanted to let it go.
The girls quickly developed a tradition of taking turns cooking dinner for the household. Some were much better at it than others, with Dot and Fatin quickly becoming the resident chefs, and some… struggled, to put it nicely, as Leah and Toni each almost burnt down the kitchen on separate, and frequent, occasions. For weeks however, Rachel had been given the easy way out. The girls insisted that they just get takeout, or prodded her in the direction of far easier dishes like just spaghetti, but Rachel had had enough of their babying. She was a damn fine cook before the incident, and she wasn’t going to just hang up her apron now because she was lacking a hand.
That being said, Rachel was struggling, clear and simple. The potato she was trying to cut kept rolling away despite her best efforts to keep it steady with her amputated limb and cut it with the good one. Despite strides she had made in trying to get over her pride and accept help more readily from those who care about her in her life, this time, she refused. All she wanted to do was make dinner for her family, a simple task that surely she could manage.
Nora stood in the kitchen with her as she cooked, hovering around with her lip caught between her teeth. The twins had learned that they needed to adjust their relationship with each other, Nora needed to give Rachel more space and Rachel needed to accept her help more readily. Still, knowing what to do to be better doesn’t necessarily mean old habits were easy to break.
“Rachel, why don’t you let me cut that for you?” Nora broke finally, pushing off the wall where she had been leaning against and making her way to Rachel’s side.
“That chick from Soul Surfer can do it, and I’ve got a whole limb’s advantage on her.” Rachel gruffed out, again trying to line up the knife with the potato.
“I mean, Bethany Hamilton utilized her feet as well to cut fruits and vegetables, do you want me to move the board to the floor?” Nora took hold of the cutting board as she spoke, beginning to try to lower it to the floor.
“Nora I told you, I’ve got it! Just put the fucking board back down, I don’t need any help!” Rachel growled out, trying to grab the board back with the hand holding the knife. As she did, the knife slipped and landed solidly in Rachel’s hand… or at least, where her hand would have been had she had one. Both girls just stared at the cutting board in utter shock, looked at each other, and burst out laughing, hysterical giggles that came tumbling out unrestrained.
Between the fits of giggles, Nora looked up with a mischievous look. “I think… I think I have an idea.”
When Dot strolled into the kitchen a few minutes later, the laughter had only gotten louder. With furrowed eyes, she rounded the bend and found the twins facing away from her, both looking down at something and unleashing gut busting laughter. “What on earth do you guys have there?” Dot asked curiously, leaning comfortably against the counter and taking an apple from their fruit bowl. Absolutely nothing could’ve prepared her for Rachel turning around.
“A KNIFE!” She called out, and Dot instantly choked on her apple. Secured to Rachel’s amputated limb with a hefty amount of duck tape was the chopping knife, and instantly Nora was on the ground clutching her stomach and screaming with laughter.
Dot immediately moved to leave the room, expressing her disapproval of the twins’ mischief with a shake of her head, but Rachel called after her, glee still evident in her voice. “It works though Dorothy! It works, w-” she had to take a break as laughter once again overcame her, resting for a second against the counter and wiping tears from her eyes with her good hand. “Watch this!”
In a swift movement, Rachel swung her arm downwards, and lo and behold, the potato split, falling on either side of the blade in two perfect halves. Dot had to admit, it was impressive, but the sheer ridiculousness of the action had her bringing her hand up to pinch her temples.
“I feel like there is an easier way to do this.” She mumbled, shaking her head as she watched the twins line up another potato to be guillotined.
Rachel just shrugged. “Probably, but this is what’s working and if you guys want to eat before midnight, this is what I’m doing. Now get out of here, you’re cramping my style.”
Dot put her hands up in surrender, turning to walk out of the kitchen. “Alright alright, yes Chef.” She said, walking away from the kitchen and beginning to laugh again when she heard another solid chop followed by the twins’ intense giggling. Safety protocols be damned, her family was innovative, Dot could surely say that.
Movie night also quickly became a tradition, with the girls taking turns with who got to pick the genre and movie. Rachel and Toni both aired on the side of sports dramas, with an occasional thriller tossed in (Rachel had treated them all to Hell Fest a week or so ago and Martha had sworn to never forgive her for it), Dot was a sucker for a good survival movie, and Nora enjoyed her docu-dramas, though she had impeccable taste and somehow always managed to choose one that the rest of the girls ended up enjoying as well, even if they protested at first. Leah was a bit of a wild card jumping from genre to genre seemingly at random, while Fatin always found the latest comedy to have them all in stitches. Shelby always opted for a feel good movie, and of course, Martha was the queen of rom-coms.
The girls were spread across the living room, all content and comfortable in their chosen positions. Toni and Shelby were sitting on the ground with their backs resting against the couch, Toni all but in Shelby’s lap as they spoke softly to each other, most likely not paying attention to the movie in the slightest. Leah and Fatin were in a similar position on the couch, with Fatin sprawled out with her head in Leah’s lap, allowing her to play with her hair as they at least pretended to pay attention to the movie. Dot, Martha, and Nora were all side by side on the floor, lying on their bellies and resting their chins on their hands as they discussed the merits and cons of the two love interests the movie’s protagonist was trying to choose from. Rachel was sitting alone in an armchair, trying dutifully to appear uninterested in the movie although every now and then she would pipe up her own opinion of the love interests to add in the trio’s consideration.
Roughly halfway through the movie the doorbell rang, and Leah moved to get up, though her girlfriend seemingly had a contrasting plan. “Fatinnnn!” Leah got out through laughter, trying to stand as Fatin refused to get off her lap. “Come on, I have to get the door, it’s probably the pizza guy!”
The girls watched in amusement as Leah completed a half drag half stumble gait towards the door as Fatin refused to release her, leaving kisses on her neck and giggling all the while, before they turned their attention back to the rom com Martha had selected for the night. It wasn’t long before their attention was diverted again.
“You are not welcome here, you need to leave.” Fatin was speaking firmly, anger barely hidden, and it wasn’t a common thing to hear. Most of the time, Fatin always had a light to her tone, teasing, joking, or caring. Anger wasn’t really her go to, at least not that the girls had heard since the first days on the island when they’d been a bit at each other’s throats. Needless to say, hearing that anger caught the rest of the girls’ attention quickly, and if that hadn’t, the crashing that came from Fatin being shoved to the ground and knocking over that coatrack certainly would’ve.
In an instant the girls were on their feet, clambering over each other to the front door. There Fatin laid sprawled out on the ground, unhurt but clearly shaken, as Leah shielded her with her own trembling body. In the doorway stood Dave Goodkind. “Where is my daughter?” He ground out, taking a step farther into the house. His daughter stood in the middle of the pack, and was instantly encircled so that she was in the middle, defended on all sides by her friends.
Shelby was shocked and terrified. How was he here, how was her monster of a father here? Then she remembered, she had sent some photos to her mother. The girls had been having such a great day, laughing and hanging out, and she couldn’t help but want to share that with her mom and younger siblings. So she’d emailed her some photos. Mentally she scanned the photos she had sent, trying desperately to figure out how her father had found them, and then it clicked. The water balloon fight in the front lawn. The front lawn with their address plaque in view. Fatin had been so proud of that plaque. She had everyone come outside where she had hung it up and covered it with a sheet for a grand unveiling. “ Tada !” She had shouted, yanking off the sheet to reveal the metal plaque with Home of the Unsinkable Eight engraved in it, a little motif of an island below that, and finally at the bottom of the disc was their address - and now it had brought Dave Goodkind to their home.
Slowly, Shelby made her way to the front of the group, Toni never leaving her side, and faced her father. The second he laid eyes on her, he pointed his finger at her. “Pack your things. We’re leaving.”
“Daddy, I’m eighteen and I can live wherever I want. You no longer have any control over my life decisions.” Shelby’s voice was shaky, but determined. With Toni at her side, holding her hand, she felt far more grounded than she had ever been back in Texas. “I’m not going anywhere. These girls are more of a family to me than you ever will be.”
“These dykes aren’t your family, and I’m not about to stand by and watch you become one of them.” As he spoke, he shot a glance at Leah and Fatin still on the floor, with Fatin whispering reassurances to an increasingly panicked Leah, then to Shelby’s hand intertwined with Toni’s.
The word landed like a physical blow, hitting squarely in the chests of each and every girl. On the ground, Leah stiffened, having only come to terms with her sexuality rather recently. Below her, Fatin’s eyes narrowed and her face contorted, clearly ready to chew the man out, but under that was clearly a fair bit of hurt. Dot and Rachel each immediately started to protest, both speaking at once and cursing out Mr. Goodkind. Shelby looked as though she were frozen, absolute terror in her eyes and standing like a deer in headlights, and Toni only had eyes for her, trying to snap her out of it despite the adrenaline coursing through her veins. And Martha… well Martha pushed her way to the front of the group.
Innocent, pure Martha set herself between her family and this invader, a look of determination on her face. “You can’t have a problem with someone for who they are, and over something they can’t even change.” Martha stated firmly, just as she had to Shelby back on the island after her “Westboro Baptist Church moment”.
“Just the same way we can’t have a problem with you for your traits of narcissistic personality disorder. I mean, grandiosity, callous and unemotional traits, inability or unwillingness to recognize the needs and feelings of others, that’s all very textbook.” This time, it was Nora, stepping up beside Martha and spouting off facts in the most passive aggressive tone possible. “However, that doesn’t excuse the fact that you’re currently trespassing on our property, which could carry a fine of up to $1,000 and a prison sentence of up to six months. Fatin is very speedy with her phone, so I’d suggest you leave before she calls the authorities.”
Dave looked utterly shocked, blubbering for a moment as he tried to process what of that three pronged attack he wanted to address first, but he was never given the chance. Fatin rose up from her spot on the ground, whipping out her phone and dramatically punching 911 into it, finger hovering over the call button. He focused his glare on her, before making a last ditch effort at Shelby. “Shelbs… we can fix this. We can fix you. We can be a family again. Just come home with me.”
“There’s nothing about her that needs to be f-” Toni started to growl, but Shelby put a hand on her shoulder, signalling for her to stop. This was her fight, and she needed to be the one to end it.
“You told me yourself, God doesn’t do ugly, and Daddy, I am beautiful. My love for these girls is beautiful, their love for me is beautiful. Your hatred is the only ugly thing here, and I am not going to let it rule my life anymore. I’m not going to let it keep me from my mother and siblings anymore either, they will be welcome in this home to visit whenever they’d like but you, you are not to set foot on this property again unless you have done some serious soul searching or I will call the police.”
For what seemed like an eternity there was silence, everyone locked in a staredown and unspoken battle. No punches were thrown, but the energy in the room would have matched one with knockdown blows, blood spilled across the floor, and haunting violence. Finally and all at once suddenly Dave turned, walking out the door without a word and getting into his car without ever looking back. Rachel was quick to leap forwards, closing the door and locking it before resting her head against the door and breathing out in relief.
The remainder of the night saw the group once again dragging out pillows and blankets without a word, all subconsciously aware that they needed the safety and comfort of each other's presence to recharge after such an interaction. Shelby and Toni were so close to each other it was hard to tell where one girl began and the other ended, intertwined with each other as though they were one. Leah and Fatin were extremely close as well, as Fatin continued to reassure Leah that she was okay both physically and mentally. Leah felt guilty, being so shaken at demons that came from Shelby’s past, but having that man invade their sanctuary like that had truly thrown her into her thoughts once more. The TV still played in the background, finishing out Martha’s rom com, but none of the girls paid it any mind.
Eventually, Shelby spoke up. “I don’t know what I would do if I didn’t have you guys with me. I draw so much strength and comfort from you lot… I can’t imagine what I would do if you weren’t around.” As she spoke her voice trembled, giving away just how fragile she felt in the moment, and Toni moved to hold her tighter. Sensing the discomfort, Fatin took the opportunity to lighten the mood.
“I’m telling you guys, we should just never move apart! Probably isn’t the most healthy decision in terms of like, dependency and all that stuff my therapist talks about and shit but like… personally, I think the one who was on a deserted island gets to call the shots on what works best for their own mental health.”
That drew a laugh from the group, though Rachel shook her head. “I told y’all, I love you guys but I’m not creating a cult with you.”
Fatin persisted. “We don’t need to be like a creepy cult Rachel! We could just like… all move to the same neighborhood and get houses next to each other, y’know? No need to go off the grid you drama queen, in the good ol public, with everybody else, no need for inbreeding or other cultish activities.”
“That would be nice,” Martha chimed in quietly. “Like… staying close. Not all in one house forever close but… close enough to have nights like this every now and then.”
“Right?!” Martha’s approval fueled Fatin and she pushed herself up on her elbows. “Like, Shelby and Toni are obviously gonna end up together, I hope Leah and I will be together…” she paused in a moment of self consciousness to glance at Leah, who was blushing but nodding along her support. “But I don’t want to lose touch with everyone else.”
The others in the group all voiced their support. Clearly, they functioned best in a group, thrived in the presence of their little family, and it just made sense that they would stick together. Suddenly, there were seven girls giving Rachel their very best puppy dog eyes.
After a few moments of tense silence, Rachel spoke again. “Okay but like… if we did that there’s no way I’d give you guys keys, otherwise I’d wake up in the middle of the night to Shalifoe stealing all my damn sodas.”
“Hey!” Toni shouted indignantly as the others all burst out into laughter.
Rachel continued without acknowledging her, a small smirk on her face giving away her teasing demeanor though. “Probably drive your mom crazy Fatin, trying to find enough houses in the same neighborhood to fit us all. She already pulled some kinda miracle to get us this house.”
To that Fatin only scoffed. “You doubt the powers of my mama. We give her a task, she’ll find it. Not a doubt in my mind. She’d probably like the challenge, what with the amount of people giving her the same old parameters all the time.”
Rachel seemed to consider this seriously, nodding at the ceiling for a time and steam practically coming from her ears as the cogs in her head turned. Eventually, she shrugged, rolling over and snuggling into Nora’s side as she shut her eyes. “Alright. I’m down.”
The whole group broke into raucous cheers, Dot clapping Rachel on back as Fatin and Martha began to scheme about how they would organize weekly barbeques and all sorts of meetups, as though the plan was set in stone and actively about to be put into action instead of an offhand comment about the future. Rachel just shook her head laughing, yelling at everyone to hush so she could get her sleep, but she couldn’t hide the smile that tugged at her lips. Yeah, maybe having these weirdos stick around for the rest of her life wouldn’t be so bad.