I shall warn you that this is an incredibly short tidbit of the story. i posted it as Proof that I'm not done with the story. the next chapter will be longer but it will be a while before i post more.

IV

The room was cold and small and it reeked so strongly of mold and old straw that Sakura hesitated to go inside. It reminded her too much of the second tower. It radiated loneliness and heartache in a way that seemed to choke her breath. The good doctor moved to flick the light switch and the room illuminated with an unnatural light so bright that it burned her eyes. A heavy feeling hung in the air and seemed to weigh everything down and crush them. Boxes were stacked up and around the tiny space, sitting still and silent. Dalton’s eyes glazed over as he stared at them before moving to the farthest part of the room.

Sakura stayed put. It was as if her feet refused to move and her heart had become lead in her chest. There was something that unsettled her about this room. The air in it cried out in mourning. Dalton lifted one of the boxes that was labeled ‘Alison’ and set it down between them.

“Here we go,” his voice was soft and silent, “I think this should have just what we need.” He opened the box with such reverence and caution that it made his hands tremble. Sakura laid her hands over his as her heart leapt in her throat. Her blue electric blue tear filled eyes met his brown ones and she fought to keep her voice from shaking.

“Who was Alison?” her throat tightened as she awaited his answer. The sadness in the room radiated off of him in waves. And it was affecting her in a way that was surprising. She was siphoning off of his emotions. It had started even before he had flipped on the lights.

Dalton fought the total despair that rose up inside him at her question. He swallowed the lump in his throat and looked around the room in desperation. “She was my little girl.” The pain, even all these years was still fresh. His heart still dropped out of his chest when he thought about her. Sakura hissed and pressed the heels of her hands to her temples as she crumpled into a fetal position on the floor. “Why does she make you hurt so much? There’s so much pain…”

“Sakura?” Dr. Dalton’s gaze snapped to her in worry as he reached out to touch her shoulder. She screamed in pain as she wrenched away from him and curled herself into an even tighter ball.

“It hurts!” she cried out desperately just as the doctor felt a pull at his chest and then nothing. He felt dull and numb. He watched Sakura cry on the floor hysterically for several minutes feeling helpless and empty. He wanted to help her. He wanted to hold her but he didn’t know how to comfort her. He was feeling none of what she was feeling now, of what he was feeling when he had faced the door to this room. After a while her tears and sobs died down and she leaned over spent staring at the puddles her tears made on the floor in silence.

“You hate this room…” her eyes raised to bore into his fall colored ones and her voice was steady and matter of fact. She wiped her eyes and gazed around the room, looking lost. “This was all of her stuff.” She stood up determined and ripped into the box to her right and pulled out a toy carousel. It was pink and gold and the little white horses danced around the blue center on golden poles. She turned the dial at the bottom and it played a tune and spun around as she held it out for him to see.

“You used to play this for her every night. She couldn’t go to sleep unless she heard It at least twice. She used to call it her music box of dreams.” She set it down and pulled out a blue leotard before pressing it against herself and smoothing it lovingly.

“This… She used to dance around the kitchen in this for hours, to the waltz of the sugar plum fairy. She loved ballet and she wanted to be a ballerina. And This…” The lost look never left the doctors face as she reached into the box between the two of them and pulled out a red and white gingham dress, “You bought this for her, that one last Christmas. It was her absolute favorite present that year. She even wore it the next day. She always said it made her feel like-“

“Little Red Riding Hood.” He finished softly as if reveling in the memory himself. His eyes sad and glazed over like a frosted autumn. Sakura finally met his gaze as she lay the dress over the top of the cardboard box. “Why did she die when she was so young?” The question was so pointed and blunt. He could hear the tremor in her voice as if it his own. Dalton wiped slowly at the tears he didn’t realize were leaking slowly down his own face before taking a deep breath.

“She was diagnosed with severe juvenile anaplastic meningloma. It’s a type of cancer. She had a lot of tumors on her heart and on her lungs. There was nothing anyone could do.” There was still that tell tale heaviness in his chest but the fact that he wasn’t in the unbearable emotional pain that usually assaulted him when he thought about Alison surprised him.

“What did you do?” he asked softly rubbing the center of his chest softly. His voice belied his awe as his eyes met hers.

“I took the pain away.” She murmured to him in that soft voice of hers, “ I didn’t mean to but I couldn’t help myself. You just hurt so much…”

The good doctor bowed his head and fisted his hands into his pants. This new freedom he felt almost made him feel a slight guilty. Should he feel guilty for being relieved? It was like a great weight had been lifted off his chest. When his daughter had died he had buried himself in his work. It almost became an obsession. He took and interest and any rare and incurable disease, feeling that if he could gain an inch in finding a cure for anyone of them, he would, in a way, be saving Alison. Even though she was already dead, he couldn’t accept that fact. He’d made strides in the field of health care and juvenile diseases since then. He held many accomplishments for his advancements and discoveries in medicine. He still wasn’t satisfied. He still couldn’t have just…

Let go. Tears began cascading down his face in rivets followed by uncontrollable sobs. His body shook with them as Sakura crawled up beside him and held him. They shared a good long cry together over the girl that he had lost; the girl that she knew, but would never know. The tears of relief and sorrow mixed together, the room racked with sobs, cleansing it and all of its inhabitants.

Giving them peace.

“Thank you.” The soft words escaped Dr. Dalton’s throat as their sobs died into silence. Sakura only nodded her welcome before they both silently stood and began shuffling boxes towards the door. The air in the small room seemed to be a little bit lighter making it easier to breathe. Dalton didn’t know if it was because of the small white haired girl or just because of the huge relief that flooded him. There was a bond here now between the two of them. They felt closer, less like strangers, more like friends. He risked one glance at the rest of the boxes still stacked against the wall and heaved a sigh, hauling the first box into his arms. He returned his gaze to his female companion.

They were her boxes now.

“Are you ready?” He pushed cheeriness into his voice as she nodded eagerly back at him. He held the door open for her and let it close behind them.

Awww... well even though it's short as all hell please still read and review it is a part of the story and I'll probably edit and lengthen it later. I know FP probably doesn't send alerts to the editing of chapters so I'll PM everyone who reviews of any changes in the chapters. I love all the reviews I'm getting and thank you all!