Fic, The Girl in the Mirror, Claudia, 15
Oct. 23rd, 2013 07:53 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fredbassettTitle : The Girl in the Mirror
Author : fredbassett
Fandom : Primeval
Rating : 15
Characters : Claudia, Claudia’s mother
Disclaimer : Not mine, no money made, don’t sue.
Spoilers : None
Summary : Hannah Brown watches her daughter grow up, and keeps her fears to herself.
A/N : With thanks to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
lukadreaming. This is for my ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
trope_bingo square ‘secret twin/doppleganger’.
6 Months
“Her eyesight is fine, Mrs Brown. There’s absolutely nothing to worry about.” Dr. Morrison smiled reassuringly.
“But she reaches for things that aren’t there.” Hannah Brown knew that her concerns sounded silly, even to herself, but having got as far as taking her little girl to see the doctor she wanted to make absolutely sure that there really was nothing wrong.
“She has absolutely no problem focussing and all her reflexes are normal.”
Hannah knew that the doctor, a brisk no-nonsense woman in her late 50s, had already written her off as an over-anxious parent.
The consultation was clearly over.
One
Claudia was a contented baby, there was no disputing that.
But at times Hannah wondered if it was entirely normal for her daughter to be quite so peaceful.
She rarely cried; slept through the night in a way that amazed everyone who knew her, and never seemed to get anxious.
But she did still have a disconcerting habit of looking past you a lot of the time, staring at something that no one else seemed to be able to see.
Her husband thought nothing of it, neither did any of their friends.
But Hannah couldn’t entirely shake off her concerns.
Two
The terrible twos. Except that they weren’t terrible, at least not in the way that everyone had predicted.
Claudia had grown from a happy, contented baby into an equally happy, contented toddler.
She would play quietly with her toys for hours, never demanding attention from her parents.
But there were still times when she would reach out for something that wasn’t there, or start giggling happily for no discernible reason.
And then Hannah’s fears would resurface, no matter how hard she tried to tell herself that there was nothing wrong with her lovely daughter, no matter what the doctor said.
Three
Hannah handed her mother-in-law a cup of tea and a slice of cake, then settled herself down in the corner of the sofa, her feet tucked up underneath her.
The house was in its usual state of lived-in chaos, but she got on well with her mother-in-law and was never on the receiving end of any pressure to turn her home into the centrepiece of a lifestyle magazine.
“Is she having her afternoon nap?”
Hannah nodded, despite the fact that when she’d last looked Claudia had been playing by herself.
Maybe today she’d feel able to finally confide in someone.
Four
A year later, she still hadn’t plucked up the courage to broach the subject of her concerns with her mother-in-law, or anyone else. Not even her husband.
No one else seemed to notice anything different about Claudia.
But every now and again she would still stare over her mother’s shoulder and smile widely.
Yet every single time Hannah turned around, there was never anything or anyone there.
She began to wonder if the house was haunted.
But when they moved to a house with a bigger garden, the same thing still happened.
Whatever it was had clearly moved with them.
Twelve
Time passed with frightening rapidity, and the quiet, self-contained toddler had grown into an equally self-contained girl on the brink of becoming a teenager.
Claudia did well at school, making friends easily, and doing well at school, despite the frequent moves brought on by her father’s career progression in the prison service.
But Claudia was still equally happy by herself, curled up reading a book, or taking the family dog, an elderly collie, for a walk.
And if Hannah occasionally heard her daughter talking to herself, it was easy to ignore.
After all, everyone did that at times, didn’t they?
Sixteen
Boys caused less disruption in their household than Hannah had expected. The majority of the ones her daughter brought home were well-mannered, despite an occasional tendency to dyed hair and the occasional body-piercing.
As far as the rebellious teens were concerned, Hannah felt they’d got off lightly.
Claudia was bright and hard-working, and GCSEs were not expected to cause her any problem.
She had already her sights set high. She wanted to study law at Oxford and was determined to achieve her goal.
Hannah had no doubt that her daughter would succeed.
Her other fears, she still kept to herself.
Eighteen
Three As and one A* ensured that Claudia got the place she wanted at Trinity College, Oxford, deferred for a year so she could do voluntary work at a school in Uganda.
They kept in touch by email and Skype, and when Hannah wanted to feel close to her daughter, she would sit on the window seat in Claudia’s bedroom looking at the familiar posters on the wall, surrounded by books and a multitude of much-loved soft toys.
Sometimes she even talked quietly to heselfr, and Hannah thought wryly of her past concerns now she was doing the same thing.
Twenty-Two
Watching Claudia receive her degree was the proudest day of Hannah Brown’s life.
Claudia looked beautiful in her crisp white blouse, tailored black shirt and black gown, her dark hair curling softly over her shoulders.
She happily posed for photos, eyes shining, hair ruffled by the breeze, and they walked arm in arm around the college, in the sun.
She’d received the offer of a place on the Home Office graduate entry scheme, which she’d be taking up instead of a place at the College of Law in Guildford.
Hannah deleted the photos that showed a shadow by Claudia’s side.
Twenty-Eight
Claudia had been expected home for the weekend, but something unexpected had cropped up and she’d had to cry off.
The following week she told Hannah that that she had an exciting new position, one that she couldn’t say much about due to the constraints of the Official Secrets Act.
From the little she managed to glean, there was something about Claudia’s new job that Hannah uneasy, although she’d never admit it to her daughter, for fear of being labelled an over-anxious mother.
Shadows seemed to be growing around Claudia, and Hannah was careful not to take many photos now.
Twenty-Nine
Hannah Brown was finding it hard to remember things: where she’d put her car keys, what she’d gone into a room for.
She felt as if her life was unravelling around her and that she was losing what she held most dear.
She wanted to be close to her daughter, but Claudia hadn’t telephoned the way she usually did.
Standing alone in Claudia’s bedroom, she looked into the mirror on the wall.
Behind her stood a woman who looked uncannily like her daughter, but Claudia had never in her life worn lipstick that red or styled her hair that way.
Epilogue
The girl in the mirror smiled, red lips tilted upwards and then was gone.
Hannah’s fears melted away like mist in sunlight.
There were only a few more hours to go and then she’d see her daughter again for the first time in two weeks.
Jenny had a new job, starting on Monday.
It looked like there would be more secrets, but she was used to that.
Government departments were all much the same when it came to that sort of thing.
Hannah Lewis turned away from the mirror, a smile on her face.
Jenny would be home again soon.
Author : fredbassett
Fandom : Primeval
Rating : 15
Characters : Claudia, Claudia’s mother
Disclaimer : Not mine, no money made, don’t sue.
Spoilers : None
Summary : Hannah Brown watches her daughter grow up, and keeps her fears to herself.
A/N : With thanks to
lukadreaming. This is for my trope_bingo square ‘secret twin/doppleganger’.6 Months
“Her eyesight is fine, Mrs Brown. There’s absolutely nothing to worry about.” Dr. Morrison smiled reassuringly.
“But she reaches for things that aren’t there.” Hannah Brown knew that her concerns sounded silly, even to herself, but having got as far as taking her little girl to see the doctor she wanted to make absolutely sure that there really was nothing wrong.
“She has absolutely no problem focussing and all her reflexes are normal.”
Hannah knew that the doctor, a brisk no-nonsense woman in her late 50s, had already written her off as an over-anxious parent.
The consultation was clearly over.
One
Claudia was a contented baby, there was no disputing that.
But at times Hannah wondered if it was entirely normal for her daughter to be quite so peaceful.
She rarely cried; slept through the night in a way that amazed everyone who knew her, and never seemed to get anxious.
But she did still have a disconcerting habit of looking past you a lot of the time, staring at something that no one else seemed to be able to see.
Her husband thought nothing of it, neither did any of their friends.
But Hannah couldn’t entirely shake off her concerns.
Two
The terrible twos. Except that they weren’t terrible, at least not in the way that everyone had predicted.
Claudia had grown from a happy, contented baby into an equally happy, contented toddler.
She would play quietly with her toys for hours, never demanding attention from her parents.
But there were still times when she would reach out for something that wasn’t there, or start giggling happily for no discernible reason.
And then Hannah’s fears would resurface, no matter how hard she tried to tell herself that there was nothing wrong with her lovely daughter, no matter what the doctor said.
Three
Hannah handed her mother-in-law a cup of tea and a slice of cake, then settled herself down in the corner of the sofa, her feet tucked up underneath her.
The house was in its usual state of lived-in chaos, but she got on well with her mother-in-law and was never on the receiving end of any pressure to turn her home into the centrepiece of a lifestyle magazine.
“Is she having her afternoon nap?”
Hannah nodded, despite the fact that when she’d last looked Claudia had been playing by herself.
Maybe today she’d feel able to finally confide in someone.
Four
A year later, she still hadn’t plucked up the courage to broach the subject of her concerns with her mother-in-law, or anyone else. Not even her husband.
No one else seemed to notice anything different about Claudia.
But every now and again she would still stare over her mother’s shoulder and smile widely.
Yet every single time Hannah turned around, there was never anything or anyone there.
She began to wonder if the house was haunted.
But when they moved to a house with a bigger garden, the same thing still happened.
Whatever it was had clearly moved with them.
Twelve
Time passed with frightening rapidity, and the quiet, self-contained toddler had grown into an equally self-contained girl on the brink of becoming a teenager.
Claudia did well at school, making friends easily, and doing well at school, despite the frequent moves brought on by her father’s career progression in the prison service.
But Claudia was still equally happy by herself, curled up reading a book, or taking the family dog, an elderly collie, for a walk.
And if Hannah occasionally heard her daughter talking to herself, it was easy to ignore.
After all, everyone did that at times, didn’t they?
Sixteen
Boys caused less disruption in their household than Hannah had expected. The majority of the ones her daughter brought home were well-mannered, despite an occasional tendency to dyed hair and the occasional body-piercing.
As far as the rebellious teens were concerned, Hannah felt they’d got off lightly.
Claudia was bright and hard-working, and GCSEs were not expected to cause her any problem.
She had already her sights set high. She wanted to study law at Oxford and was determined to achieve her goal.
Hannah had no doubt that her daughter would succeed.
Her other fears, she still kept to herself.
Eighteen
Three As and one A* ensured that Claudia got the place she wanted at Trinity College, Oxford, deferred for a year so she could do voluntary work at a school in Uganda.
They kept in touch by email and Skype, and when Hannah wanted to feel close to her daughter, she would sit on the window seat in Claudia’s bedroom looking at the familiar posters on the wall, surrounded by books and a multitude of much-loved soft toys.
Sometimes she even talked quietly to heselfr, and Hannah thought wryly of her past concerns now she was doing the same thing.
Twenty-Two
Watching Claudia receive her degree was the proudest day of Hannah Brown’s life.
Claudia looked beautiful in her crisp white blouse, tailored black shirt and black gown, her dark hair curling softly over her shoulders.
She happily posed for photos, eyes shining, hair ruffled by the breeze, and they walked arm in arm around the college, in the sun.
She’d received the offer of a place on the Home Office graduate entry scheme, which she’d be taking up instead of a place at the College of Law in Guildford.
Hannah deleted the photos that showed a shadow by Claudia’s side.
Twenty-Eight
Claudia had been expected home for the weekend, but something unexpected had cropped up and she’d had to cry off.
The following week she told Hannah that that she had an exciting new position, one that she couldn’t say much about due to the constraints of the Official Secrets Act.
From the little she managed to glean, there was something about Claudia’s new job that Hannah uneasy, although she’d never admit it to her daughter, for fear of being labelled an over-anxious mother.
Shadows seemed to be growing around Claudia, and Hannah was careful not to take many photos now.
Twenty-Nine
Hannah Brown was finding it hard to remember things: where she’d put her car keys, what she’d gone into a room for.
She felt as if her life was unravelling around her and that she was losing what she held most dear.
She wanted to be close to her daughter, but Claudia hadn’t telephoned the way she usually did.
Standing alone in Claudia’s bedroom, she looked into the mirror on the wall.
Behind her stood a woman who looked uncannily like her daughter, but Claudia had never in her life worn lipstick that red or styled her hair that way.
Epilogue
The girl in the mirror smiled, red lips tilted upwards and then was gone.
Hannah’s fears melted away like mist in sunlight.
There were only a few more hours to go and then she’d see her daughter again for the first time in two weeks.
Jenny had a new job, starting on Monday.
It looked like there would be more secrets, but she was used to that.
Government departments were all much the same when it came to that sort of thing.
Hannah Lewis turned away from the mirror, a smile on her face.
Jenny would be home again soon.