Chapter Text
Fifteen Years Later:
A bouquet of white lilies held tightly in Gwen’s hands as she sat in the backseat of their rented limousine. She sighed to herself & looked down at the flowers, then back at the cemetery near where they parked. “You don’t have to go out there if you don’t want to dear,” said Alcina, sitting across from her. The younger girl nodded, “I know, but…. I should. It’s the right thing to do.” Over the past years, Gwen’s father still made attempts to contact her, which she eventually gave in. They didn’t talk much, conversing proved rather awkward & was often cut short. But in a way, they had reconnected little by little. Though she still hadn’t forgiven him for what happened to her mother.
Her father couldn’t change the past, but he kept apologizing for it. Gwen was glad he had remorse; as it showed he did indeed have a conscience. She told him about getting married, which he was thrilled about; he was also excited to be a grandfather to her daughters. Occasionally, she would even let him mail gifts to their P.O. box at the post office. At one point Gwen made some copies of their wedding photos & mailed them to him. He was so proud of her that he bragged about her accomplishments to his friends & coworkers.
Granted her father had a difficult time keeping a steady job, but there were signs of improvement. After extensive arguing, he slowly worked on attending meetings about his alcohol abuse. She later finally convinced him to go to rehab, he completed the program & remained sober longer than she expected. Unfortunately, he did have a couple relapses; but he still tried to get clean. Recently he was on the right track, but he soon died from various health problems. Gwen wasn’t sure how to feel when she got the call about his death, but she was glad that their relationship hadn’t ended on a sour note; especially with his most recent girlfriend leaving him. She just wished they had been able to make more progress before he passed.
But they made arrangements, packed their bags & flew to the U.S. as soon as they could. The family decided not to have a funeral, but instead just a small private service. Gwen slowly exited the vehicle with her wife, their daughters following close behind. Everyone was dressed in formal black attire as they made their way to the designated spot. Gwen couldn’t help but feel a bit somber standing in front of her father’s headstone:
Daniel Robert Nadir
February 12, 1980 - March 15, 2036
Gone from the world, but not from memory.
“& what memories they were,” Gwen said to herself, “Definitely can’t forget a guy like him… no matter how hard you try.” Alcina put a hand on the smaller girls shoulder, “He’s in a better place now dear; it will be alright.” The younger woman nodded & laid the flowers at his grave, “Yeah…. I hope so.” Daniela chimed in, “I wish he had made more effort sooner.” Bela shot back, “Yes but it’s better late than never.” Which prompted Cassandra to retort, “Yeah but still, I feel like we barely knew him; even though he was technically our grandfather.” Alcina raised a hand to quiet them as they stopped arguing & tried to show respect.
Gwen took a deep breath while working to mentally come to terms with what happened. She raised her hand & slowly patted the top of his headstone, “You may not have been the best father, but…at least you learned & tried. I’m glad you became a better person; mom would be proud of you too.” She sighed again as her mind slowly worked towards closure & eventually looked up from the grave.
However; out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a young woman standing at another site a few yards from them. She tried not to pay any attention, but couldn’t help stare at her; she felt that somehow she knew her. The other girl had long blonde hair, wore a dark baseball cap, black hoodie, jeans & what appeared to be a faded red scarf. Gwen stared longer than she realized when her wife had to snap her back to reality. “Darling, what’s wrong?” Alcina asked worryingly. “Hmm? Oh uh…nothing, I just uh… Got distracted. Uh… yeah. Let’s get going, we still have to finish getting everything else sorted.” Gwen said quickly before turning around & making her way back to their transport.
The matriarch followed her, their children slowly joining them. Though Daniela took a moment to observe the girl too in confusion before being yelled at to hurry up as she ran back to the vehicle. Later, they went to Daniels apartment & worked on handling the rest of his belongings. Upon cleaning up his former home, Gwen found an urn with a card that was addressed to her. Apparently inside the container were the cremated remains of her late mother, & the card had instructions to take good care of her. Now she couldn’t hold back the tears while holding the vessel, before promptly making sure it would be safe & secure for their trip back home.
After a few days, their work was done & the family was on their way back to Romania. But during their flight, Gwen’s mind kept shifting back to the young woman they saw at the grave-site. She sat in her first-class seat & pondered heavily as her lover sat next to her, reading a fashion magazine. Eventually Alcina noticed her anxious look & set down her magazine, “Draga mea, what’s wrong? You’ve been on edge ever since we left the cemetery.” The younger woman looked back at her “Sorry I just.. that girl I saw. She... I don’t know, she looked… oddly familiar. I don’t know how to explain it.”
“Hmm…” the matriarch contemplated, “Was she an old classmate & or friend of yours?” Gwen paused & thought for a moment, “No, I don’t think so. Maybe she just looks like somebody I know, I’m not sure.” Alcina nodded, “I see, well unless something actually happens, I wouldn’t worry about it too much.” She shrugged but nonetheless agreed, “You’re right, maybe I’m just overthinking it. Besides, we have more important things to worry about.” The older woman nodded & replied, “That’s true, don’t you feel like a heel flying in first class while the kids are in coach?” The smaller girl shook her head, “No the kids are fine, they’re having the time of their lives. You know they love flying.”
They continued talking & enjoying each other’s company until they eventually arrived home. Gwen picked a spot for her mother’s urn & kept it snuggled safely on their mantle above the fireplace. She felt that her mother deserved to be in one of the liveliest rooms & see the best family memories happen. A couple weeks passed as things slowly began to return to normal. Despite all the chaos that happened, it was still their home. Now with her mother there (still mostly in spirit), it felt just a bit more complete.
However; while everyone was lounging around the living room, their quiet afternoon was interrupted when there was a sudden knock at the door. Alcina looked over in the direction of the noise, “Were we expecting company?” Gwen checked the time as she got up & started making her way over, “Uh… I don't know, but I’ll go check it out.” Though she couldn’t help but feel slightly uneasy when she opened the door. To her surprise, the person waiting outside was none other than the girl she had seen at the burial site. The stranger studied her before asking, “Hi uh…are you, Gwendolyn Nadir?”
The older girl was somewhat taken aback but quickly regained her composure & answered, “Oh um… well Nadir is my maiden name, I’m married now so it’s actually Dimitrescu; & uh... you are?” The stranger replied, “Right that’s what I thought, you probably don’t remember me. My name is Rose.” Gwen paused as she tried to recall, “Rose? Hmm…sounds familiar, but I don’t think I’ve heard that name in a while.” The guest nodded & remarked, “Well it was a pretty long time ago, maybe this will jog your memory.” On that note she took off her red scarf & handed it to her. At first she was confused until she finally recognized the article of clothing.
The scarf was still thick & warm, but it looked a little more worn now. Its original red color wasn't quite as vibrant anymore, it had a few snags & loose strings here & there; but otherwise, appeared that she had taken good care of it. The scarf even still had its original tags with her name written on it in Sharpie, albeit a bit more faded. “Wait…Rose? As in… Rosemary Winters?” Gwen asked dumbfounded. The other blonde shook her head, “Yeah, it’s been a while hasn’t it. I had some questions for you.” The older girl then gestured for her to come in, “Oh I’m sure you do, please come inside. Hopefully we can clear things up.”
Alcina had already stood up & walked halfway to the door when she asked, “Who is she? What’s going on?” Gwen motioned for her to sit back down as everyone gathered into the living room & answered, “Honey this is Rose, she's all grown up now. Remember her?” The matriarch was stunned as she took a long look at her, trying to gather what few memories she had of her, “Oh my, well we certainly weren’t expecting you, hopefully this visit isn’t on bad terms.” Rose took a seat on the couch & replied, “Well… I wanted to know what happened to my father, & what you know about The Umbrella Corporation.” Gwen sat down across from her & inclined, “I see, well…. Sounds like we have a lot to talk about.”