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Rocket had gone by her nickname for so long that there were times where she couldn't even remember her actual name anymore. And that's how she wanted it. She was Rocket. No one could take that from her. Not like how everything else was taken away.
She and Sweet Pea grew up together. They came up with each other's nicknames. They were so close that they were basically sisters.
No. They were sisters. If no one was going to take care of them, they would take care of each other. From the earliest days of their friendship to their joint institutionalizing at the Lennox House for the Mentally Insane. Sweet Pea was almost too protective of Rocket. While Rocket always had Sweet Pea's back, she felt like she didn't actually trust her very much.
Which is why, despite being distraught that she had to part with Sweet Pea, she felt as if her way of telling her that all she didn't have to be looked after anymore. She could take care of herself. And with that, she had more responsibility thrust upon her. Not only was she looking after herself but now she had to look after Amber, Blondie, and Babydoll.
Babydoll.
When she got there, she went by the name of Mary Reeves. But they gave her the name of Babydoll to officially let her know she's a part of their group and, with that, she began their escape plan.
Almost nothing went to plan. Rocket was stabbed by the cook but was able to make a recovery before he got the boot. Blondie accidentally let it slip that they were trying to escape so she and Amber got into a knock-down-drag-out fight that ended up with them needing medical attention. And then Babydoll... gave up. At least that's what Rocket thought. Why else would she let Sweet Pea escape by herself and willingly go to a lobotomy? Why else would she be smiling when the hour of the appointment grew closer? Why else would she tell Rocket about how she would be "free" soon?
All these questions ran through her head in the week since the escape. It consumes just about every second of her life to the point where when Amber went up to her in the day hall, or The Theatre as they called it, she first assumed that Rocket had suffered a similar fate as Babydoll.
"Hey", Amber suddenly asked, bringing Rocket back to reality. "You alive?" Rocket looked over at Amber. Sure enough, her wrist was still wrapped up in bandages after breaking in during her scuffled with Blondie.
Rocket rubbed her head, still having trouble processing recent events. "Yeah, yeah. I'm still alive". She placed her hand on her stomach, right where she was stabbed and stitched up.
"That's good," Amber remarked, somewhat snarky. "For a second, I thought you were in a coma."
"No," Rocket sighed. "Not me". She thought of seeing Babydoll getting wheeled out, barely showing signs of life. That was the last time they saw her. She had no idea if she was okay.
She looked around the room, desperate for a way to get her mind off the subject. It was just the usual suspects playing cards, playing chess, sewing maybe. But then her eyes landed on the stage. The place where Dr. Gorski would conduct her sessions. At that moment, Blondie was the one having a therapy session with Dr. Gorski.
"She seems guilty," Rocket remarked, hoping to get something across Amber. She didn't respond. Maybe she should try again. "She's apologized to you a few times now". Amber sighed. That was some sort of reaction, at least. "Maybe you should-"
"I don't owe her forgiveness," Amber interrupted in an aggressive manner. "And neither do you".
Rocket chose not to respond. This was yet another failed attempt to get Amber and Blondie to make peace. She didn't blame her though. Rocket herself only begrudgingly brought herself to forgive Blondie because she had to look after all of them now. But Amber was right. She didn't owe Blondie forgiveness. Especially because who know how different things would be if Blue didn't overhear Blondie talk to Dr. Gorski.
She was silent for the rest of the day before she was escorted back to her room. Why even bother trying at this point? Maybe she couldn't look after the others. Maybe she was wrong about herself.
As soon as they got to her room, Dr. Gorski, along with Amber and Blondie managed to catch up with her.
"I'm sorry, Zackary," Dr. Gorski, told the orderly, panting heavily from her tiring search for Rocket. "I need to borrow Rocket for a second."
The orderly, despite already having inserted the key, nodded and stepped out of Rocket's way. Rocket, however, was not in the mood.
"Can it wait, Doc?" she groaned. "I could really use some alone time right now."
"Rocket, I insist that-"
"Hey!" called Zack the orderly. "Don't touch th-"
Rocket, never one to follow orders, turned the key and pulled the heavy cell door open. Zack tried to jump her at first, originally thinking that she was going to steal the keys. But he, Rocket, Amber, and Blondie froze upon seeing someone else on the other side of the door.
But it wasn't someone new. Instead, it was Rocket's old cellmate.
"Baby?" Rocket gasped, tears welling in her eyes.
A shocked Blondie, her left arm in a sling, covered her mouth with her right hand. Amber was smiling ear to ear, feeling more relieved than she had in a while. Babydoll, on the other hand, simply stood there with a blank expression on her face but Rocket was too overjoyed to notice.
"You're okay," she exclaimed as she ambushed Babydoll in a tight embrace. "I knew you were okay! I just knew it!"
For a few seconds, there were silence. No one moved or spoke at all. Rocket just held on to Babydoll, not wanting to let go... until Babydoll finally spoke.
"You're alive..." she said softly.
Rocket let go of Babydoll, her joy slowly turning into befuddlement. "Of- Of course, I'm alive". There was a small look of disbelief on Babydoll's face. "Why wouldn't I be alive?"
"You were stabbed," she muttered in response. "The cook... He-"
"I'm okay," Rocket reassured her, almost desperate to prove this was real. "I- Look!" She lifted her medical gown to reveal the scar on her stomach. "I'm alive. The cook's gone". She let go of her gown and put her hands on Babydoll's shoulders. "You know that. You- You saw me before you-"
Babydoll raised her arm and pointed behind Rocket. "What about them?"
Rocket looked behind her. Dr. Gorski and Zack looked to what Babydoll was pointing at specifically. Amber and Blondie.
"What about them. Baby?" asked a concerned Rocket.
"They're dead".
Amber and Blondie stared at each other, even more confused. Sure, their fight had ended with them in casts but there was nothing to indicate that they were dead.
"What are you talking about?"
"Blue," Babydoll answered, a tear streaking down her face. "Blue shot them. He- How are they-"
"Rocket," Dr. Gorski suddenly spoke up. She turned to see Dr. Gorski's stern but sympathetic glare. "Please" was all she needed to say. Rocket walked over to the group, leaving Babydoll with a sense of loneliness.
"Don't worry, Babydoll," the good doctor reassured her. "They're all okay. Rocket will be right back". Babydoll solemnly nodded in response. Dr. Gorski turned to Zack. "Could you make sure she lies down and gets some rest?"
"Yes, Dr. Gorski". Zack entered the room and approached Babydoll before Dr. Gorski took her girls out of the room and to the side of the entryway.
"What's going on?" Rocket pleaded. "Why is she here if she's not okay?"
"Why did she think I was dead?" Amber questioned.
"Why we were dead," Blondie chimed in.
"I wanted to speak with you girls before any of you met up with her again", Dr. Gorski began. There were hints of both pity and warmth in her voice. "I know you three had formed a special bond with Mary-"
"Babydoll," the three said simultaneously.
Dr. Gorski sighed. This was something she would just have to get used to. "Well, Babydoll has gone through some changes after the process". There was shame in her voice. Shame over how she ever let Blue into the facility in the first place. "She can respond to people again but-" She sighed deeply. "Reality is different for her now".
Amber and Blondie didn't know what to ask. Rocket was too desperate for answers. "What does that mean?"
"Babydoll is in her own little world now". She gestured to the hallway they were standing in. "To her, all of this is a brothel. Blue was the owner. I was a dance instructor and she and everyone else were all dancers... or something even worse."
"What about her sister?" Amber asked, remembering Babydoll's stories.
"Or her stepfather?" Blondie joined in.
"She doesn't remember even having a sister," Dr. Gorski informed them. "She thinks the stepfather was just a cruel priest who sold her to this place".
She doesn't remember her sister or why she was there in the first place. Rocket gripped her fists upon thinking about that sorry excuse for a stepfather. She tried not to crack a smile upon hearing the news that Blue and the stepfather had been detained. They couldn't control Babydoll. She couldn't remember her accident with her sister. Was this what she was talking about? Was this the "freedom"? It couldn't be.
"She seemed happy when I told her that Blue was no longer with us," the doctor continued. "Though, maybe she thought he was dead". She chuckled, even if she did so a bit guiltily. She looked over at Amber and Blondie. "Perhaps, she took the fight between you two that Blue had chosen not to break apart as him killing you. And I think that she should be able to know you're all okay". She removed her glasses so that the girls could see the sincere look in her eyes. "But I don't think we should try and break this world she made for herself."
"Why not?" Blondie asked, angrily.
"We can't just lie to her forever," Amber insisted.
"This isn't right," Rocket grunted. She couldn't believe this was happening.
"I'm sorry, girls," Dr. Gorski responded, almost in a pleading sense. "But I'm afraid that if you were to tell her about her sister or what she did, she'll never know peace. She needs this. But she does need to know that you're all okay so that the peace will continue". She placed her glasses back on. "I know you're not all on the best of terms right now but, for her sake, I think it might be time to make amends". She nodded at Amber and Blondie. "Come along, girls".
The three of them walked a few doors down to their cell while Rocket stood next to the open door, waiting for Zack to leave so she knew it was okay to come back in. And that it would be okay to be with her Babydoll again.
Neither Amber nor Blondie could sleep that night. Granted, they had trouble sleeping every night and there were a number of factors for this. At first, they had trouble sleeping for their respective injuries. But after a week, that wasn't a bother anymore. Not much later, it was because they were concerned for Rocket and Babydoll. Would Rocket be okay sleeping by herself? Would she be okay without Sweet Pea? Was Babydoll still alive? If she was, was she nothing but a vegetable at this point? After the day that had just occurred, most of those concerns were gone, even if a few new ones had popped up. But now, the main concern, the one that had been there, since the beginning was more prevalent than ever. Their relationship had been torn to pieces.
Blondie did the same thing she did every night - lying down on her side and crying. She faced the wall so that Amber, whose bed resided on the other side of the room, couldn't see her. But as hard as she tried to keep her tears quiet, Amber could still hear some of the sniffling and whimpering that she was letting out.
Amber, on the other hand, was lying flat on her back, her blood boiling. Maybe she should have begged Dr. Gorski to transfer over to Rocket's room. She knew Blondie felt guilty but it was too late for that. They were both here now, along with Rocket. Babydoll will never be the same again. Blue was able to accomplish as much as he did because he overheard her. But Blondie knew why Amber was mad at her and she knew why Rocket took so long to forgive her. She wasn't reading Amber's mind when she took a deep breath and finally decided to speak her mind.
"I wasn't able to finish talking to Dr. Gorski," she said, only barely audible to Amber.
Amber sat up, her back resting against the wall. "What the hell are you talking about?" she asked her.
Blondie rolled over so she could look at her cellmate. Her eyes were red and mildly swelled from spending the last few minutes crying. "I hadn't finished my session with Dr. Gorski. The one Blue overheard".
Amber rolled her eyes. Was this her excuse? She couldn't spill even more of their secrets to Blue. But fine. She would go along with whatever Blondie was about to say. "What were you going to tell Dr. Gorski, then?"
She shifted herself until she was sitting straight up, her legs dangling off the side of her bed. She had her arms around herself, as if she was giving herself a hug to feel safe. She cleared her throat before she could muster what she was about to say. "I was afraid that..." She sniffled again. "That if we escaped, then we would be found and sent right back here to Blue. And that's why I was talking to Dr. Gorski". Blondie finished talking and winced a little. She wasn't sure how this would go or how Amber would react. At the very least, Amber had finally given her a moment to explain herself.
Amber turned her head to look at Blondie. She saw the frightened girl she had gotten to know over the years. She saw the guilt and desperation in her eyes. She was telling the truth. "So what you're saying is..." she asked, in a less aggressive and more worried tone of voice. "You weren't just telling her that we were going to escape..." It hit Amber so hard it felt like she had just been run over by a train. "You wanted to tell her why we were going to escape." Blondie nodded before she wiped her eyes. She wanted to expose Blue. That was her idea of truly being safe. "What happened?"
Blondie looked down at her lap. Even though it was dark and she could barely see through the tears that kept welling, she still didn't want to face Amber. "I was telling her about the escape plan and before I could tell her about Blue..." There was a crack in her voice. She wasn't sure she could keep her tears in for much longer. "Blue was right in front of the stage and I knew he could hear me and..." She sniffled again. "And I ran away!" Though her voice was hushed, she still might as well have been wailing. She completely broke down. She collapsed off of her bed and onto her knees, hiding her sobbing face with her hands.
Whatever anger Amber had been feeling at her for the past week had suddenly vanished. She rushed down to the floor and wrapped her arms around Blondie, wanting her to know it would be okay. She tried her best to hug Blondie without causing any pain in her already injured arm.
"I'm sorry," came Blondie's muffled voice before removing her hands. "I'm sorry. I should have told her. I just-" She wiped her eyes with arm.
"It's okay," consoled Amber, who rubbed Blondie's back softly. "It's gonna be okay."
"No, it's not!" Blondie moaned. "Rocket got stabbed. And Babydoll..." She couldn't bring herself to say it. But she didn't have to. Instead, Blondie buried her face in Amber's shoulder, her tears seeping through her gown. "It's all my fault! None of this would have happened if it wasn't for-"
"If it wasn't for Blue," Amber finished for her. She ran her hand through Blondie's hair. "None of this would have happened to me or you or Rocket or Babydoll if it wasn't for Blue". Blondie didn't respond. Amber's shoulder was completely soaked. But she didn't care. She let Blondie let out everything she needed to. But she still longed to make her feel better. "We wouldn't have had to do any of this if it wasn't for him".
Blondie held on to Amber as tight as she could with just one hand. "Still..." She struggled to catch her breath. 'I... I should have-"
Amber moved her lips close to Blondie's ear. "I forgive you". She whispered it softly and it sent chills throughout Blondie's entire body.
She didn't stop crying but seemed to go more quiet. She'd been pouring her heart out and giving herself nothing but guilt and shame for the past few minutes. Even if it was what she had wanted for a while now, she didn't think it would happen. She lifted her face off of Amber's shoulder. Her face was almost entirely red. Her eyes could hardly been seen. Her cheeks were stained with tear streaks.
"You do?" she sniffed, seemingly in shock.
"Yeah," said Amber, putting on a welcoming smile. "There's nothing we can change about it now..." She moved her hands up so she could cup Blondie's face, making her feel safer and warm. "So let's deal with it together".
Blondie wiped her nose and eyes with her free hand. She wanted to believe it. She wanted to think she could be forgiven but she wasn't sure. "Amber..." she began. "I don't know what to-"
Blondie was silenced when her lips suddenly met Amber's. She was shocked at first. Shocked that Amber would even want to be with someone like her. But as they continued, Blondie knew what Amber was saying. She wasn't forgiving her out of pity. She forgave her out of love and friendship. And she was sealing it with a kiss. With that, Blondie began to go along. After all the hell they'd been through, she didn't want to ever let go of Amber.
She was right. Things would never be the same again. But that didn't mean they would be bad.
Rocket stood completely still as she held her medical gown just above her stomach so Babydoll could see her recent scar.
"Just got the stitches removed the other day," she noted, almost proud.
Babydoll brushed her fingers against the scar. Rocket winced a little. Even if the touch was gentle, the mark would still hurt for a while. But she decided to grin and bear it. For Babydoll. She didn't want to upset her or make things worse. And even if it hurt, she wasn't going to turn down a chance to feel the soft touch of Babydoll's hands.
"I still can't believe you're alive," Babydoll remarked. There wasn't much emotion in her voice but Rocket could see a hint of a smile on her face. "These last few days, I thought you three were dead".
Babydoll removed her hand from Rocket, who dropped her gown and plopped herself down on one of the cell's beds. "I can't believe it either". She eyed Babydoll with nothing but admiration and relief. "Truth be told, I wasn't sure if I'd ever see you again".
Babydoll, rather then sit on the other bed, walked over to Rocket's and sat down beside her. "I didn't think I'd be back here again. I thought I'd be with the High Roller forever until Madam Gorski visited and told me that Blue was gone".
There was a lot that Rocket would have to get used to when talking to Babydoll in the future. She made a mental note to herself to always refer to Dr. Gorski as ‘Madam’ around her. "Well, being here isn't the ideal situation but I'd rather be stuck here know Do- Madam has everything under control."
"Well, I'm glad you're all okay," Babydoll said softly, wrapping her fingers around Rocket's hand. "Especially Amber and Blondie".
"Yeah, must have been flesh wounds or something," Rocket lied. She then felt a yawn coming. She tried to stifle it but that only succeeded in a strained jaw. "It's getting late, Baby". As much as she didn't want to, she slipped her hand out of Babydoll's. "Maybe we should try and get some sleep now". She scooted over and began to lie herself down on her side. "Good night, Babydoll" Rocket closed her eyes shut... only to open them up again when something didn't feel right. Sure enough, Babydoll was still seated at the edge of the bed, looking back at Rocket.
"Can I sleep next to you?" she asked.
"What?" asked a perplexed Rocket. Granted, she wasn't complaining. She was just taken aback.
"I don't wanna be alone," Babydoll confessed. "Not yet, anyway."
Rocket didn't hesitate. "Of course you can," she said with a smile.
Babydoll laid herself down next to Rocket. The bed wasn't very big so, as soon as Babydoll rolled over on her side, there were only a few inches between them. Rocket swore that she started having heart palpitations. She was going to have trouble sleeping tonight so she might as well spend that time conversing.
"So, Babydoll," Rocket began, quietly. "What's been going on with the brothel since Blue died?"
Babydoll let out a small giggle. It was the most emotion Rocket had seen from her all day. "What do you mean? We're both right here".
Right, Rocket thought. Maybe be a bit more subtle. "Well," Rocket started, making everything up as she went along. "I actually just got back here too."
"You did?" Babydoll wondered.
"Yeah," Rocket fibbed. "So I'm not really up to date on everything."
"That's a shame," said Babydoll, smiling again. There was wonder in her eyes. "It's not a brothel anymore. It's a theater". She scooted down even closer to Rocket. "We're dancers. Real dancers!"
Rocket smiled back, loving this world that Babydoll had made for herself. "We're a troupe now or something?"
"Yes! We're not objects anymore! We're just..."
"Ourselves," Rocket finished.
"Yeah!" Her smile began to fade a bit, causing Rocket's anxiety to slowly rise. She didn't want Babydoll to be upset.
"What's wrong?"
"Do you miss her?"
"Who?"
Babydoll was almost aghast. "Your sister?"
Her sister?
Oh.
"Sweet Pea?" Babydoll nodded. Rocket sighed. It was a miracle that it took this long to get to this point. "It's going to be hard living without her", she said, wistfully. "I just hope she's okay."
"I know she's okay," said Babydoll, almost too sure. It was almost as if she had imagined a new life for Sweet Pea too. "But do you think she'd want to be dancers with the rest of us?"
Rocket chuckled. "Sweet Pea was always the type of woman who forged her own path". Rocket put on a smile again, this one more meant to be reassuring. "Besides..." She gripped Babydoll's hand again. "We all have each other".
She could see relief and hope in Babydoll but her face remained blank. What was going through her head now? Was it a new development? Was she curious about something?
"Can I kiss you?"
Of whatever Rocket was expecting Babydoll to say, it certainly wasn't this. She didn't respond for a bit. It was a lot to process at first. There was a part of her that really wanted this more than anything. But she never really admitted that to herself. But she remembered how overjoyed she felt when she saw Babydoll in her room. She thought about the way her heart went whenever she was alone with her, be it in silence or in the midst of a conversation. She thought about the feel of Babydoll's hand as she held on to it tightly. It all came out at once but she decided to admit it.
"Of course you can," Rocket whispered in response.
Soon enough, there was no longer any space between them. To Rocket, the feel of Babydoll's lips was all that she had longed for. To Babydoll, despite what Blue or The High Roller or Dr. Gorski had told her, this was the most free she'd ever felt.
The next day, they were all at The Theatre. Rocket was sat next to Amber and Blondie, both of whom were closer than ever. They seemed happier than usual. At the very least, they were happy considering their living situation.
On the stage sat two individuals. Sitting in a chair was Dr. Gorski. Lying down was Babydoll. Dr. Gorski didn't ask anything at first. She felt a bit of shame knowing that Babydoll was there in the first place. She was there under false pretenses and, despite having the perpetrators locked up, she was now there for legitimate reasons and possibly for a while. But she saw a serene smile on Babydoll's face. She was afraid that Babydoll was only like this because of the operation. But, then again, it was her job to find out.
"What are you feeling right now, Babydoll?" she queried.
In Dr. Gorski's eyes, she saw a girl who was trying her best despite how awful her situation was.
In Babydoll's eyes, she didn't see Lennox House. She saw what was once a grimy and run-down brothel currently being fixed up to be a brand new theater. She saw a group of women who were all, despite being put through hell, slowly recovering from their trauma and moving forward. She saw three girls in particular who she felt nothing but love and admiration for. Three of the strongest and bravest girls she had ever seen.
She looked over at Madam Gorski. She wasn't that different than the girls she was training to dance. The only difference was that she had more authority. But she had always been trying to help these girls survive people like the priest or the cook or Blue. She looked at this woman, who could only help her so much, and smiled.
"I feel pretty good".