Boggles my mind that for as much as my impression of Erin Gilbert is that she's been a New Yorker for the past two decades, I just did the tenure track math with her canon resume and realistically, she's only lived in the city since she started working for Columbia University. Just five or six years. That's all. I've been assuming both Erin and Abby transplanted in the early 00s, but Erin just...can't have been in NYC any earlier than 2010-2011.
SO now I have so many questions, like - if Abby landed in NYC YEARS before Erin did, did she have a whole meltdown when she found out Erin had moved there, too? You know Abby kept an eye on where Erin was and what she was up to over the years. It would figure that Abby could relocate to one of the biggest cities in the U.S., build a home and a life there, and still not be able to get away from Erin. New York City was something she had that was all hers but now she would associate this place with Erin, too. This would happen to her, and she'd be privately angry and devastated and choking on all the feelings all at once.
Pst, @erin-gilberts since some people are giving out fic snippets to trick-or-treaters....
I've also dug up a scene from my ancient idea for a Yatesbert Amnesia AU. I wasn't sure what I still had on it, and um... turns out I have a lot more than I remember???? This document was labeled "Chapter 19" and apparently my working fic title was "Pretend Truths".
It's a first draft and comes with all first draft caveats. The premise was Abby and Erin have just moved into a fancy condo together with that sweet, sweet government money, but then a bust goes wrong and a ghost steals a couple of years of Abby's memories so she no longer remembers anything about their reunion or the movie events. She takes one look at Erin's clingy concern and the condo they share and assumes they're dating now. They're not. But Erin... goes with it! Because the alternative is Abby being mad at her all over again about being abandoned and Erin would prefer not to face that again. Fake dating! :) What could go wrong?
(Feelings. Feelings could go wrong. Or at least make things super complicated!)
I couldn't begin to tell you what plot points led to this scene, but it's primarily a conversation between Abby and her younger brother OC I gave her. *shrug* I thought maybe you'd enjoy reading it :)
(@ you and anyone else who sees this: Please feel free to steal anything you see here because I highly, highly doubt I'll ever go back and finish this story, and if I did, our takes would be different anyway. So have at it!)
1600 words behind the cut:
Abby didn’t mind her old, worn out bed at her old, worn out apartment that night. In fact, she hardly slept at all that night. Her mind kept replaying moments from the date: Erin’s blush when Abby flirted with her, the feel of Erin in her arms as they danced, the disappointment in Erin’s voice when Abby insisted she had to leave.
The heated way Erin kissed her.
Never had she imagined Erin kissing her like that. This week had been one remarkable, never in her wildest dreams, moment after another, but making out with Erin topped the cake. Took the cake. It was the icing and the candles and the birthday kid nabbing the biggest piece all rolled into one.
With a cherry on top.
The next morning, Abby beat everyone to the lab except for Kevin. Though, Kevin didn’t really count. He was still sound asleep on a cot behind his desk. (They should really hire a proper night shift security guard at some point.)
It was nearly eight. Her brother would be up and ready for the day. Abby moved to a room upstairs where she wouldn’t wake Sleeping Beauty and called her brother.
Ethan answered after a single ring. “Hey, you’re alive!”
Abby frowned. “Who said I was dead?”
“You know how telephones work: you tell one person you’re in the hospital, they tell someone else you were in the morgue.”
Abby hummed. “Mom’s still pissed I let a ghost steal my memories, huh?”
“She ranted to me for thirty minutes the other day.”
“Sorry.”
“Nah, it’s fine. It’s my fault for being the favorite child.”
Abby laughed. “You are so not the favorite child.”
“No, you forgot it. They made it official with a ceremony last year.”
“Ah, that would be a good one. But the joke’s on you. My memory is already coming back.”
“Really? Because I heard you forgot my child’s name.”
“I did not forget Reyla’s name,” Abby sidestepped.
Ethan tsked. “That’s the second child.”
“I remembered Lanie after Dad said it.” Abby snapped her fingers. “Oh, and her middle name’s Kyla! Ha!”
“Nicely done! You had to read back through a lot of emails to find that.”
“I remembered it on my own, thank you very much.” Abby frowned. “Though, I should have read back through my emails. Those have to be a goldmine for jogging my memory.”
“So what did you read to remember things? Just your journals?”
“Yeah, and talked to Holtzmann. Erin helped with things too.” A happy rush filled her chest as she spoke her girlfriend’s name.
“So not all of your memories are back yet?” Ethan asked.
“I have enough,” Abby insisted. “Anyway, I’m calling to make sure you’re still flying in with Mom and Dad for our book signing.”
“Hell yeah. I’m not missing your first signing.”
Abby grinned. “Good. So what time are you guys arriving tomorrow?”
“We’re leaving on the first flight, so I think we’re due in around nine. I don’t know. I’m just chilling this weekend and letting Mom and Dad be the adults.”
“The kids wearing you out?”
“No, this month has been rough for work.”
Ethan had the Yates tendency for science and technology careers in a different direction and had become a social worker. Abby could only imagine what Ethan meant by ‘rough’.
“Well, I will make sure to have a fun, low key weekend planned for you when you get here. I’ll even keep ghosts away if you want.”
“I don’t want,” Ethan said. “If a ghost shows up while I’m visiting you, you better believe I’m getting in the car with you to go find it.”
Abby laughed at his enthusiasm. “Okay, you win. You are the best of us kids.”
“Duh.”
“Hey, um.” Abby bit her lip.
“What’s up?”
Her parents hadn’t known she was dating Erin, and she didn’t remember ever telling Ethan. But she was figuring out forgotten memories felt differently than events that had simply never happened, and telling Ethan about dating Erin felt like it had never happened.
“I want to tell you something. I don’t know how much it will come up this weekend -- we haven’t talked about to handle you guys coming in, yet.”
“What’s going on?” Ethan said, concern slipping into his voice.
“Nothing bad. Just something I haven’t told Mom and Dad, yet.”
“You found a way to open your own portal to the other side without releasing doom and gloom upon the rest of the world.”
“No.” Abby forced herself not to get distracted by how awesome that idea sounded. “Erin and I are dating.”
Silence.
Abby waited.
“What?” Ethan finally answered.
“I’m dating Erin. She’s my girlfriend.” Abby couldn’t keep the smile off her face as she said it.
“Holy shit.”
Abby laughed. “Yeah, that’s fitting.”
“Wait, when did this happen?” Ethan asked. “Is this before or after the amnesia?”
“Before, technically,” Abby said. “But we’ve only been dating a couple of weeks.”
“What do you mean by technically?”
“I mean, I don’t remember all of it yet, but Erin said it’s been two weeks.”
“Wait, this is real life, right? You haven’t suddenly teamed up with Holtzmann in our lifelong blood feud and are trying to prank me?”
“You and Holtzmann do not have a blood feud.” Abby rolled her eyes.
“Uh, she’s trying to steal a family title that’s been rightfully mine since birth. That’s a blood feud.”
“I definitely do not remember meeting you in the hospital at the ripe old age of ten and thinking ‘yep, that’s my best man.’”
“Everyone already knew it wouldn’t be Steph or Mike by then. They suck.”
“This has nothing to do with your prank war with Holtzmann,” Abby said. “And why would she prank you with my relationship with Erin, anyway?”
“Who knows. I’ve just learned to be suspicious when she’s involved.”
“She’s not involved. It’s just me and Erin. We’re dating. That’s all I wanted to tell you.”
“Huh.”
Abby gave him a moment to process this.
When he still hadn’t spoken after three moments, Abby prompted him. “What are you thinking?”
“Honestly? I’m kind of bummed I wasn’t involved somehow in this big revelation.”
“That’s your reaction?”
“Well, yeah. I’ve known both of you my entire life -- or practically my whole life in Erin’s case. By the way, you should remind Holtz of this, because if you’re dating Erin then that just strengthens my claim to best man.”
Abby was absolutely not discussing the possibility of her and Erin getting married someday in the future. That definitely felt like it would jynx things.
“How would you have been involved in my romantic relationship with Erin? You’re my little brother. That’s weird.”
“I wouldn’t be involved in the romance part of it,” Ethan said. “I’d be the precocious kid who schemes to get the two love interests together.”
“You’re thirty-three and this isn’t a movie.”
Ethan gave a melodramatic sigh. “Erin would get it. ...Right? She does still like romcoms, doesn’t she? I have a clear memory of her gushing nonstop about Tom Hanks one Thanksgiving. Which in retrospect, she’s not wrong about. Tom Hanks is very crush-worthy.”
A smile toyed at Abby’s lips -- not because her girlfriend and her brother both had a crush on the same male celebrity, because gross. No, Abby smiled because Ethan was right. He had bore witness to her entire relationship with Erin.
“Ha, I just pulled the Lovers card for you,” Ethan said.
It took Abby a moment to realize what Lovers card he was talking about. “You pulled a Tarot card for me?”
“I’m doing a whole spread for you. Don’t you want to know what’s hiding behind this amnesia veil?”
“Hmm, that’s a good reminder. We should add Tarot cards to the list of paranormal tools and events to reinvestigate. Just because Erin and I didn’t find any proof of psychic abilities in Tarot readers in college, doesn’t mean psychic communication with entities or forces is impossible. A ghost did interfere with my memories.”
“I’m not sure what the connection there is, but I focused on the question “What has Abby forgotten about her relationship with Erin” and so far the cards are saying exactly what we already know. You have amnesia which makes you feel a little conflicted and uncertain in your relationship.”
“I’m not conflicted!” Abby said. “At least, not anymore.”
“That might be what the Six of Swords of saying at the Heart of the Matter,” Ethan said. “You’re moving forward in the relationship and things are becoming more stable.”
“That’s true.”
“I’m flipping over the hidden influences now.”
Ethan immediately followed this with a hum, though he didn’t explain it. Silence for a few moments as Abby presumed he was flipping over cards. Then, Ethan let out a sharp, “Oh.”
“What is it?” Abby asked.
“Uh….” Ethan trailed off. He cleared his throat. “Um, no it seems fine. You’ve got The World in the physical realm. Your memories are returning. Eight of Coins in the mental realm, so whatever work you’ve put into your relationship with Erin is paying off. The psychoenergetic realm shows the Three of Elixirs which is a happy celebration. You just caught the ghost who blocked your memory which I know isn’t ‘hidden’ by any means, but may have had hidden consequences. Then, there’s Temperance in the Emotional Realm. Consciously you’ve been conflicted about your relationship, but subconsciously you know the truth. It’s a reminder to listen to yourself.”
“Okay, so what was that ‘oh’ for?” Abby asked.
“Um, well… there’s a Seven of Blades as the hidden influence of the Heart of the Matter,” Ethan said. “A deceit of some kind. When paired with the Three of Elixirs, it may mean the ghost you caught isn’t actually the ghost you were looking for. Or the ghost tricked you and you didn’t catch anything.”
“No, we definitely caught something,” Abby said. “And it was definitely the ghost… at least, I think it was.”
