I Just Want To Be Normal

"Isabel?" Parker stopped once she was in the doorway, and dug her phone out of her purse, handing to Jack. "Jack, go call Dawn and Greg, let them know we found her."

Jack moved off, down the steps, and started dialling as Parker crossed the room. "Isabel, are you okay?" Parker sat down on the bed, studying her. "You had us all really worried."

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"Sorry," she said quietly. "I just had to get away for awhile."

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Parker reached out, and hand to push some of Isabel's hair out of her face. "We have some news for you. And I don't think it'll help your mood." She sighed. "Someone's been impersonating you. Talking to people when you're somewhere else. Did Max say what happened to Lonnie? Or could she, just possibly, be here on the Island?"

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"He never said. We got so involved fighting about Vilandra, and what she did...what I didn't tell him." Isabel shrugged, "I assumed she left town. So I suppose she could be here." She bit her lip, turning the idea over in her head. "What did she say? Who did she talk to?"

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"She was evidently mega-bitchy to Dawn, and said something that made Cedric suspicious. It was while you were in Ethics class; she was in town, at the Perk." Parker was quiet a moment, then tentatively asked, "Your nightmares. Could she have....?"

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"I suppose," she nodded. "The last time I tried to I couldn't. But I was much younger then. And I never tried again as I got older because it just seemed wrong." Isabel's face grew serious, "Obviously she wouldn't have the same problem."

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"So whatever you've been dreaming-- Isabel, it wasn't you, or Vilandra. It was that bitch." Parker shook her head. "Come on. You shouldn't be alone out here, it isn't safe with her roaming the Island. Now that she's tipped her hand, you won't be fooled next time."

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As wonderful as it would be to believe that Lonnie was the cause of everything, Isabel didn't think it would be that easy. "At least some part of it was true," Isabel said. "Remeber I read about it in Special Collections. I did betray him."

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Parker was quiet for a long moment, then said softly, "For a long time, I thought my mom betrayed me. She didn't. She had reasons for doing what she did. You don't know what Vilandra's reasons were-- she was alien, in the middle of a war, and she didn't survive to tell her side of the story. Maybe she was just doing the best she could." She took Isabel's hand and squeezed it. "And whoever she was, you're more than the sum of a dead girl's memories, Isabel."

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"I guess I'll never know the truth. But it doesn't matter. You're right. She's not me," Isabel said. "I guess I just need to fiugre out what to do next."

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"You can do it at the dorms. Where it's warm, safe, and people who care about you are. Greg is going nuts. And Jack and Dawn are worried too." Parker tugged on her hand. "C'mon."

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Isabel let herself be tugged along. "Sorry, I didn't mean to worry everyone."

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"We know you didn't. You've just got a lot pushing at you. Jack--" Parker paused outside the door, and briefly looked annoyed. "Well, great. He's got my phone. I guess I'll get it later." She turned back to Isabel and squeezed her hand. "Quiet, and your own place. This will make more sense after you've had time to think."

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Jack walked away from the cabin, dialling Dawn's number. The relief he'd felt when he'd seen Isabel - and it was Isabel, of that he was sure - was almost as strong as the relief that she hadn't seen him.

He held the phone to his ear, waiting for Dawn to answer.

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Dawn stopped mid-cave when the phone in her pocket vibrated, and went back outside to answer. "Hello?"

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Jack didn't bother with preliminaries, just went straight to the news. "We found her at the cabins. So you can stop looking."

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"Oh, thank god," Dawn sighed in relief, then covered the phone and called into the caves. "Greg? They found her at the cabins."

More quietly, she asked, "And you're positive it's her? That it's not...the other her?"

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"I only got a quick look, but yeah, it's her." Jack leaned his forehead against a nearby tree. "I'd recognise Isabel anywhere, Dawn. Trust me, it's her."

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"Yay," Dawn said quietly, looking out at the water. "Is she okay?"

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"I don't know." His words trailed into silence before he added, "Physically, she loooked fine. Parker's with her. I imagine she'll make Isabel go back to her room, if you want to check for yourself."

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"I'll see if I can get there before my trip, but give her a hug for me, just in case I don't make it?"

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