Daria was so engrossed in her reading that the phone rang three times before she answered.
“Hello. Oh hi Jane. No, I was reading.”
“Not much. It’s been a crazy day so I was enjoying a few quiet moments before going to sleep.”
“Well Quinn has been in rare form today. She barely let me have a second alone the entire day.”
“No I don't know what's come over her. She’s just been in one of those moods lately.”
“It started after the last time you were here. You two really seem to have come to an understanding. You spent more time in her room than you did with me. What’s up with that anyway?”
“Very funny. So why are you calling at this hour?”
“Trent called and said he’s coming back this weekend? I guess the tour was cut short for a good reason.”
When Daria heard Jane’s explanation of what Trent told her she was very amused.
“That’s a pretty good reason. So what do you need?”
“Oh sure. I guess we can get there. It’d be nice to catch up with his life since the Spiral went on the road.”
“Of course Quinn can come too. Trent and her really hit it off. If she found out she was going to miss him she really would throw a fit.”
“We’ll come Saturday. School starts back Monday so things will be pretty busy the day before.”
“Okay fine. I hate to cut this short but it's pretty late. I’ll call you tomorrow okay?”
“Bye.”
Daria put the receiver back on the cradle. Placing a marker in her book, she set it on the nightstand, got up and went into the hallway. Walking to Quinn's room, she slowly opened the door and peeked inside.
As Daria stood there she thought how much this little girl looked like her mother, from the red hair down to the perfect skin and nose, it was almost like looking at a picture of her younger sister. When she got older she would have to chase the boys off with a stick.
It didn’t take too long for her thoughts go back to that horrible night. It was almost two years ago when she got another late night phone call. This time it was from her mother. Through all the crying Helen was doing she was able to make out the terrible truth. That night everyone lost something. Mom and Dad had lost a daughter, she had lost her sister, and in Daria’s mind the worst thing was that this sweet, innocent child had lost both her parents.
As much of a shock as learning about the car wreck had been the next few days held even more surprises. When the will was read Daria was surprised to discover that Quinn and Neil had requested Daria be given full custody of their only child. She didn’t know if she was ready for parenthood but it was the only request Quinn had made so Daria accepted the responsibility
The first few months had been difficult. Daria had been living alone for years so she had to adjust to having to be responsible for another person’s needs, often at the expense of her own. It was even worse for Quinn. First she had lost both her mother and father and then she was moved to a different city to live with this lady who she only saw a few times each year. Needless to say there had been many sleepless nights and unfinished meals. It would have taken longer to adjust had Dad not come up with a brilliant idea.
One day Jake showed up at the house with Quinn’s old canopy bed. Daria had thought it was silly for him to have kept the old bed but it was just the thing. It had belonged to her mother and it was at least a piece of her that Quinn could connect with.
From that very night things started getting better for the pair. There were still those difficult times like today but she now knew those were just part of an eight year-old girl's life.
Daria stayed there for a few minutes longer then decided it was time to call it a night. She carefully started to close the bedroom door when it let out that annoying creak she hated. Before she could close the door completely she heard a voice.
“Huh?”
Daria stuck her head through the opening in the doorway, “It’s just me. Sorry. Go back to sleep.”
“A.D.?”
“Yes.”
“Could you sleep with me for a while?”
Daria walked over to the bed and lay next to Quinn.
Quinn smiled.
“A.D.?”
“Yes Quinn?”
“I dreamed about Mom and Dad.”
“You did?”
“We went swimming.”
“Did you have a good time?”
“ Yea. It was really fun.”
“That's nice.”
“A.D.?”
“Yes?”
“I miss them.”
“Me too.”
A few moments passed in silence as the two lay together under the broad canopy.
Quinn opened her eyes again.
“A.D.?”
“Yes?”
“I love you.”
“I love you too Quinn. Now let's get some sleep.”
“Okay.”
The End
As usual, Daria belongs to MTV. This was written for my own amusement.