Archive of Our Own ^beta

Caitlin didn't know what happened when the feeling hit her.  Cold everywhere, surrounding her, overwhelming her.  Before she knew it, the ice overtook her, and she found herself displaced from her own body.  Her consciousness faded as Caitlin disappeared into the background and another soul took her place to face the outside world.

----

"Oh boo hoo!" the mean-spirited Lexi LaRoche teased as she pushed the weaker girl to the ground.  "Gonna cry because you're going to have to cut that ugly-ass hair?" she taunted, referencing the gum that she had just stuck in Caitlin's hair.

Caitlin couldn't bring herself to look up from the ground as her tears fell into the schoolyard mud that she had fallen in.  She hated feeling so helpless in the face of the school bully who had relentlessly tormented her throughout her first year of junior high school.  Caitlin never knew what she did to deserve to be the target of LaRoche's verbal and physical humiliations.  Just because Lexi was a pretty and popular cheerleader, and Caitlin was an intellectual - it didn't seem like a good enough reason to be at the bottom of the school social caste.  Caitlin wanted to do something with her life, she wanted to help people.  What purpose Lexi dreamed of for her life, Caitlin could only guess.

Caitlin gritted her teeth, trying to cut off the tears.  Her sadness gave way to anger.  Anger at the injustice of this system where good people like her were tormented while jerks like Lexi and her footballer friends were praised.  Caitlin wasn't just mad at her suffering, she was mad at all the suffering of people who didn't deserve it.  Caitlin wanted to make a move to get up and run away, but as Lexi's boot made contact with Caitlin's side, it was all over.

The spot on Caitlin's torso where she had been kicked turned cold, and the chill quickly spread outward through her body.  The terrified Caitlin felt like she was drowning as the coldness engulfed her face, turning her skin pale.  She struggled to breathe as her vision blurred beneath her glowing eye lenses.  Caitlin's control over her body fully receded as a wave of color traced the lengths of her long brown hair, turning it snow white.

Caitlin's eyes were no longer fearful or angry.  The glowing pupils now housed a certain determination.  The scorned girl pulled herself up off the ground and faced the bully eye to eye.

"What the hell?" Lexi looked startled at Caitlin's transformation.

But the white-haired girl was not here to answer the bully's questions.  She knew what her mission was.  With a surefooted confidence she threw her pale fist and hit the bully girl in the gut.  Lexi cradled her stomach for a second and then looked back at the girl who hit her.

"Wow you're even more of a freak than I thought!" the bully spat at her.  "I thought I taught you that your place was on the ground.  Well let me remind you!"  Lexi threw her fist forward, but before she could make contact, the other girl launched a blast of icy air from her hands, striking Lexi with incredible force, sending her flying back and crashing into a tree that was several feet behind her.

Several other students saw the commotion after watching Lexi fly through the air, and turned to see what was going on.  Lexi moaned in pain as she cradled her broken arm that had hit the tree the hardest.  Several of Lexi's friends gathered around her to see how they could help the popular girl.

Not fully knowing what she had done, the white-haired girl looked at her hands in horror.  Did she just really hurt that other girl?  But she needed to, right?  To protect....  She had so many questions she started to panic.  She backed away until she ran into a bench behind her and sat down.  Whistles sounded throughout the grassy recess area and multiple school administrators ran up, first to the injured cheerleader.  Some students then spoke to the adults, pointing in the direction of the white-haired, muddy clothed girl who looked like Caitlin.  The adults looked shocked and horrified as they stared at her.

-----

She was still trying to figure things out, sitting in the principal's office when the car pulled up outside the school.  Caitlin.  She was here to protect Caitlin.  From the school bully.  But she was-?  It didn't make any sense.  How did she send that girl hurtling through the air.  She looked again at her pale hands.

"Who am I?" she said quietly to herself.

The two adults were talking as they walked into the office.

"Thank you for coming, Mr. Snow," the principal said as they entered the room.  "We have a zero tolerance policy towards violence here; I'm sure you understand why.  Caitlin is in a lot of trouble, but I want to know if there are any any problems going on at home that we should be made aware of.  This sudden outburst coupled with her recent bold choices in fashion may be a sign of emotional distress."

"Everything's fine at home," Thomas Snow responded.  "Her mother and I love her very much.  We've never had any issues with--"  Thomas became silently stunned as his jaw dropped at the sight of his daughter's white hair and pale complexion.  She looked up at him hopefully.  Finally regaining his composure Thomas spoke to her, "Are you ok?" he asked the girl.

She was unsure, but slowly nodded.  "I think so," she said.

"Come on, let's get you home," Thomas held out his hand.  And not knowing what else to do, the girl took his hand and let him lead her from the school.

As they were walking to the car, she finally spoke.  "I know you," she said softly.

Thomas paused and looked to the shaken girl.  "Yes, you do.  I'm your father," he said.

"Dad?" she asked.

"That's right," he answered, trying his best to be comforting.

The girl looked out on the landscape, still trying to make sense of her jumbled and disjointed memories.

"Who am I?" she asked ponderously.

"You're my daughter," he answered opaquely, but she knew it was true.  "Let's get home.  I can give you more answers once we're somewhere safe."

Being safe sounded very good to the overwhelmed girl so she went along with her dad as he drove them both home.

----

As they walked into the front door of their home, the girl's eyes immediately gravitated to a framed family photo that was sitting on a small table.  She walked over and picked it up, examining it.

Thomas saw his daughter looking at the people in the photo.  "That's us," he said.  "Your mom, me, and you."

But even thought a lot was still confusing to her, she knew this wasn't totally accurate.  "I'm not Caitlin," she said.

"No, no, you're not," Thomas admitted.  "But you are still my daughter.  And I do still love you with all the love a dad can give."

She sat down on the couch, still clutching the family photo.  "Do I have a name?" she asked.  

Thomas sat down on the couch next to her.  "I always wanted to call you Khione," he admitted.  "Named after the Greek Goddess of snow."

"That's pretty," a small smile appeared on her face.

Thomas put his arms around his daughter, and she leaned back into his hug.  "I'm sorry that this is all so confusing for you," Thomas said.  "I know it has to be.  You have some of Caitlin's memories, don't you.  But not all of them?"

Khione's white hair brushed against her dad's face as she nodded.

"It's ok, it doesn't have to make sense.  Just know that you are loved," the dad said comfortingly.  "I know you were trying to protect Caitlin."

"I was," Khione responded.  "I didn't mean to injure that girl.  I just couldn't let her keep hurting Caitlin."

"I know you didn't mean to," Thomas responded.  "You may not realize it, but you are very powerful, Khione.  I love you, but you are dangerous."

Khione got scared at the sound of that.  Thomas could feel the cold energy radiating from her, chilling his body.

"You're safe now, Khione.  Caitlin is safe.  It's time for you to rest," Thomas cradled the girl, and kissed her forehead.

"What's going to happen to me?" she asked.

"You'll still be here, you're a part of Caitlin," Thomas responded.

"Ok," Khione accepted her fate to sleep in Caitlin's mind.  She didn't want to hurt Caitlin.  And she hoped someday she might find a way to wake up again when it was safe.  To have a life like Caitlin does.

Khione drifted off to sleep in her dad's arms.  And with her body finding peace, her skin's color returned and her hair turned brown once more.

After a few hours, Caitlin awoke to find her dad's arms around her.

"Dad?" Caitlin asked.

"Caity," Thomas smiled to see his daughter was ok.

"What happened?" Caitlin asked.

"Everything's ok," he answered.  "You're getting a break from school for a bit.  But that doesn't mean you have to take a break from learning.  If you want we can have some more fun with the elements that we made up for our periodic table."

"Maybe in a bit," Caitlin did want to keep studying with her dad.  But after getting hurt by the bully Lexi and then blacking out, Caitlin just wanted to keep being comforted by her dad for now.  Caitlin snuggled into her dad's arms and he held her tight.  Thomas stared into space, thinking how happy he was that Caitlin was ok, but also hoping that he might meet his other daughter again, the one he accidentally created when he was curing Caitlin's dormant ALS, someday...