"Doctor Wendy Lawson"

3 months later, March 1989

It was an early morning not too close to the beginning of Spring. Of course, the winter months bore little to no difference to the spring months. They were both equally bright and both had a slight chill in the air- the kind that was enough to bear while wearing a t-shirt. No one owned a coat. Not really. As the usual breeze waved the bedroom curtains, Lillian rose to the ringing of her landline.

Tying her robe tight around her waist, Lillian stumbles over to the phone, yawning. Picking it up, she scratches the back of her head and stretches her neck. The warm morning light warmed her face as she stood in front of the window, one arm hugging herself and the other cradling the phone by her ear.

"Hello?" She suppressed a yawn, looking to the clock and seeing that it was nearly five in the morning.

"Lillian?" The voice on the other end was broken, pained and familiar. They choked on their own breath, obviously distraught.

"Maria? Is that you? Are you alright?" The sniffling didn't end. "What's wrong?" Lillian began to panic and looked at the bed where her girlfriend should be. Knitting her eyebrows together, Lillian turns back to the receiver. "Did you ring for Carol? She isn't here but I can find her, I'm sure she's around somewher- Maria?" At the mention of the blonde absent from the conversation, Maria howled. Her cries muffled as she shoved her arm against her mouth.

A lump rose in Lillian's throat. She picked up the receiver also, and began to wander around the bedroom. Panic rose in her chest when she found that Carol wasn't in the bathroom, closet or main area.

"Maria, please speak to me!" A heavy sigh came through the speaker.

"Can I come round?" Nodding weakly, despite being alone, Lillian utters a weak 'yeah' before hearing the line go dead. Placing the phone back on the coffee table, Lillian walked into the closet.

She felt numb and scared, however, she knew she couldn't greet Maria wearing only a robe. After throwing on the first nightgown she found, Lillian rushed out of her bedroom with a newfound rush of adrenaline.

"Carol?" She call out into the open entryway from the balcony, searching the ground as she expected to see the blonde stumble from one of three directions. "Carol!" She called out, more desperate now. Desperate for the comfort that Maria was seeking. For a confirmation that nothing bad had happened to the woman she had yet to tell that she loved her.

The doorbell rang triggering Lillian to rush down the stairs, almost tripping over her slippers. As soon as the door was open she was engulfed in a hug by none other than Maria Rambeau. Rubbing a hand down the woman's back, Lillian closed the door and cradled the woman's head as she sobbed.

The gut-wrenching sound made her want to cry; and the longer they stood there the more Lillian feared the worse.

"Maria," she whispered once the brunette had calmed down, "what happened?" Lifting her head from the blonde's shoulder, Maria took Lillian's hands.

"I- uh... it's a, uh, a long story." Stumbling over her words, Maria wiped at her eyes. "Can we sit?" Nodding, Lillian lead the taller woman into her own lounge and sat her down on the sofa. Rather than taking the seat beside her or across the room, Lillian pulled a foot stool up in front of the brunette and placed a comforting hand on her knee.

The two women sat in a silence that felt like it lasted an eternity. Lillian was patient enough to not push the upset woman. So, when Maria finally heaved a deep breath and sat straighter, Lillian bit back the question about her uniform.

"They told me not to tell anyone but... you deserve to know, Lilly." Cocking her head, Lillian watches Maria struggle to find her words and squeezes their hands together. "We, uh, were close colleagues of Doctor Wendy Lawson... she was working on this weapon she said would end wars. There was this plane that she'd built, said we couldn't test it because there were lives at stake." Shaking her head, Maria bites her lip. "It wasn't an authorised test, no one wanted the project to fly but Lawson insisted. But Carol- god she was an idiot- said that 'if there were lives at stake' then she should fly the plane. I didn't agree, neither did Lawson, but you know Carol..." wiping her eyes, Maria smiles weakly. Lillian felt heavy as her fears were confirmed more and more. "She doesn't take no for an answer. So they took off, I stayed with Goose. An hour later and radio starts erupting with noise- bangs and static. There was this explosion in the distance and already the air medics were on their way to the site." By this point, Maria was crying again and shaking her head. "Thry died, both of them. The only thing left was half of her fucking dog tag. Half..." Maria broke down once again, burying her face betqeen her knees.

Lillian sat straighter, her hand making it's way to her throat as she struggled to breath around the lump forming at the base of it. She was in pain. Her entire body hurt and she had no idea what to do. She didn't even know she could cry until that moment, never having needed a reason to before. Now, she was shaking from head to toe as red blotches stained her face.

Eventually, the two women simply found themselves hugging each other and sobbing over the loss of their dear friend.

ACT¹
FIN