Author's Note: Sorry it took so long to put this up, but I wanted to make sure I had it just so, since there were a few things that I really wanted to be sure were done right. Enjoy-- references to "Dreamfall: The Longest Journey" and "Doctor Who" are in this update!


Ophelia slammed her bedroom door and flopped across her bed, a look of sullen displeasure on her face. She felt, admittedly, more like one of those overly emotional adolescents, rather than the woman she had grown into.

“But still!” she muttered to herself angrily. “But still... I can't believe she said that to me!”

She had gone home, hoping that Cy would be around; at least Cy would empathize and acknowledge that things were difficult. Cy wasn't home; Ophelia had no idea where she was. Probably some important meeting or something. But Emily-- she had just made everything about herself, hadn't she?

“Right? Right.” she muttered to herself, sitting up. She walked over to her dresser and, after some rummaging, pulled a thick volume from beneath a pile of old sweaters. She glared at the book, her fingernails digging into the cover.

“It's not fair. Why the hell did I have to be the one to do this?” Ophelia demanded, clenching her hands still more tightly. “I didn't have any choice in the matter! I was forced! So, why the hell do I have to devote my whole life to this? Why can't I live the kind of life I want? Just because I was supposed to die in some alternate universe?”

She angrily hurled the book against the wall. “You... you heinous witch!” she screamed. “You weren't thinking at all, were you? You just were concerned about own f***ing happiness, weren't you? You used me!”


Ophelia's eyes fell upon a small package on a nearby tabletop. Chamomile mints, useful for relaxation. Also, most people in Ophelia's family more or less stoned from consuming chamomile. In her adolescent years, Ophelia had found the mints to be most useful for getting to sleep when she was stressed.

“This is definitely a three-mint experience,” Ophelia said aloud to herself, tugging the package open. She shook out three chamomile mints and popped them into her mouth. She curled up in her bed, letting the mints dissolve into her mouth...


Ophelia looked around, astonished. There was nothing but a gray sky and a broad expanse of whiteness-- snow-- as far as she could see. In the near distance, there was a shack, resembling a clumsily-built dollhouse. Ophelia looked down at herself; she was wearing nothing but white undergarments.

“Goddamn it,” Ophelia muttered. “I swear, if some pale weirdo shows up, telling me to save someone...”

“What was that about telling you to save someone?” a familiar voice asked.

“You,” Ophelia whispered. She turned slowly to face Gabrielle Gibson. Gabby. The woman who gave her the mission of ensuring the fate of the world so many years ago.

“Hello, sweetie,” Gabby greeted her, smiling cheerily. She indicated their surroundings. “What do you think? Just a bit of an experiment. Something to waste time here.”

“Kind of bland... reminds me of a certain video game. And where the hell are we? I figured this was another weird dream,” Ophelia responded.

“Yeah, I wanted to start small,” Gabby responded. “That was a pretty fun game, by the way.” She held her hand out, and a small tuft of flowers and green grass emerged from a nearby pile of snow. “And we are... well... kind of in a place between the living world and the world of the dead.”

“But you're dead!”

“Technically, yes. And technically, no. In your world, I am currently a tiny little egg inside my mother's body, just maturing and waiting. So, I'm not really one thing nor another right now.”

“You know,” Ophelia said irritably, following Gabby as she wandered about, making flowers erupt from the earth, “I am really peeved at you right now.”

“Are you, now?” Gabby responded, unconcerned. “Careful. Step to one side.” Ophelia just barely managed to sidestep a tree as it emerged from the earth. Gabby snapped her fingers, and said, “That might be a bit better.”

Ophelia looked down at herself. At least now, she was dressed. “You used me! You didn't give me any choice about keeping an eye on Charise. I was too young to understand the implications, when I was told to do this. And now, what? Here I am, with a life I'm unhappy with. I can't even have kids!”

“Great Solunar,” Gabby muttered, rolling her eyes. “If I would have gone with my second choice, I wouldn't have had to hear this. Most I'd have to hear is that her coworkers don't like her life choices.” Turning to Ophelia, she added, “And who said anything about you not having kids? Oh, spoiler!”

'Spoiler'?” Ophelia repeated, making a face. “Who the hell do you think you are, River Song?”

“Got that a bit backwards,” Gabby responded, pointing to the shack. It became a modest country cottage.

“What's that supposed to mean?”

“I don't think I'm her. She's supposed to be me.”

“What?”

“My old boss and I, when were testing out Project Wells, we made a few accidental stops. Long story short, we ended up pretty much being responsible for a whole ton of Doctor Who episodes. For the record, the library thing... that was my boss's idea. Some weird family joke or something, I think.”

Ophelia stared at Gabby silently.

“Yeah, I know, kind of weird. Sorry, kiddo,” Gabby apologized, making some rose bushes appear.

“So, what now?” Ophelia asked. “Am I going to have kids?”

“I don't know. There are too many possible time lines. I do know that there are some universes in which I do not exist, in which I was never born. I have also seen times in which my mother married another man. Instead of existing as I do, I am so pale... with such dark hair... and so serious.” Gabby sighed. “Ophelia, I went into this mission, knowing full-well that I might prevent myself from existing. That did not matter to me. What mattered was the happiness of Charise, my grandmother. I did not want her to suffer at the hands of that terrible man. You have done a wonderful job thus far, caring for her well-being.”

“You've been visiting Artemis, your mom, haven't you?” Ophelia asked. “She mentioned that she had seen you in some of her dreams.”

“I figured that just in case I'm not born, it would still be nice to meet Mom. She's beautiful, Lia. You and Charise are doing well with her. She's going to really grow up to be a great person.” Gabby smiled, tears in her eyes. “At this point, there is a fifty-percent chance that I will not exist. Too many factors have changed. The incident in which my parents got together will never happen. There will be more players on the field, so to speak. And besides...” Gabby took a deep breath. “Besides... do you know the chances of that exact sperm and exact egg meeting to create 'me' as I am now? Extremely unlikely. So, even if 'I' do exist in this time line, even if 'I' am born... do you really think it will still be me?” Gabby shook her head. “And you call me selfish. If anyone is selfish, it's you. Selfish and shortsighted.”

“What's your problem?” Ophelia snapped.

“My problem is, you are assuming that your life is so limited. You are alive. You would not be, without my interference.”

“So, because you saved my life, you own it?”

“Not at all. I'm just saying that you have more possibilities, more chances at happiness, than you realize. You are just limiting yourself so much. My grandmother is happy. As far as I'm concerned, your job is finished. So, go, live a satisfying life,” Gabby responded, surveying her work. Flowers and trees everywhere, and the sky was a bright blue. She nodded with satisfaction. “And, hey, worst-case scenario, I can just hang around here.” Gabby turned to Ophelia and said, “And just so you know, there is another with your same mission. But she is less consciously aware of it; she just knows that she has to act to preserve the well-being of her family.”

“But... who?”

Gabby smiled and shook her head. “Spoiler.”