Flashback From The Future XVI

"Hello princess, what are you up to?" asked Lia with a cheerful voice as she walked into the dining room and Joy looked up at her.

"Hello Aunt Lia, I am doing my homework" replied Joy in a monotone voice as Lia frowned, she had been speaking like that for a while now, she rarely showed emotion, it made her worry a lot.

"Oh that's nice princess, do you want me to help you?" asked Lia with a smile as she pulled out a chair beside Joy and she sat down.

If Joy was being honest, she didn't want anyone to help her, she wanted to be alone, but knowing Lia, she just would not let her be.

"Sure Aunt Lia" replied Joy.

"Yayyy, that's awesome princess, what do you need help with?" asked Lia with a smile and Joy scrunched her nose as she started to sneeze repeatedly.

"Princess, what's wrong? Are you okay? What's making you sneeze like this?" asked Lia in worry as she handed Joy a tissue and Joy blew her nose as she sneezed once more.

"I think it's your perfume Aunt, it's very… *Achoo*, very strong" said Joy as she sneezed again and Lia frowned.

"Oh really, I didn't notice, I'm sorry princess, I think that you are allergic to the scent of this perfume, well you don't have to worry, I won't use it again" said Lia as she smiled and Joy nodded.

"You feel better now?" asked Lia as Joy nodded, she had stopped sneezing.

"Alright, so what do you need help with?" asked Lia as she smiled and Joy pointed to her textbook.

"It's Geography, I have to memorize all the fifty states and their capitals" said Joy as she blew her nose again.

"Ohh, ahh, I see, 5th grade Geography, it's been a long time since I've done this" said Lia.

"If I'm being honest, I kind of forgot this all" said Lia as she laughed.

"My dad was teaching me a song on how to remember all the fifty states in Alphabetical order, we stopped at H" said Joy.

"Oh that's nice princess, your father always had a nick for remembering things, I can't even if I tried" said Lia as she laughed.

"Mhmm" said Joy.

"Are you hungry princess?? You seem to have everything covered, how about I go get you some snacks?" asked Lia with a smile.

"Okay Aunt" said Joy as Lia smiled.

"I will be right back sweetie" said Lia as she smiled and she got up to go to the kitchen.

Lia walked back into the dining room a few moments later with a tray of cookies and some chocolate milk as she placed the plate of cookies and chocolate milk on the dining table in front of Joy.

"Thank you Aunt Lia" said Joy.

"Oh you are welcome sweetie" said Lia with a smile as she caressed Joy's hair and tears started to fall from Joy's eyes.

"Oh sweetie, what's wrong? Why are you crying?" asked Lia as Joy started to cry.

"Be… because… because my mom used to touch my hair just like that" said Joy as she cried.

"Oh sweetie, I am so sorry" said Lia as she hugged Joy and Joy hugged her.

"I should have remembered that, I am sorry for remining you about her" said Lia as she hugged Joy.

"It's fine Aunt, I just miss her so much" said Joy as she sniffed.

"Oh princess, we all do, but we have to learn to move on and live with it, because no amount of tears can bring them back, even if we wish so much for them to come back" said Lia as Joy sniffed and she nodded.

"Should I call your dad or do you feel better now?" asked Lia.

"No don't call him, I'm fine now Aunt" said Joy with a sniff as she did not want Dom worrying about her again.

"Alright sweetie, how about you take a break from your homework and go and watch some tv until you calm down?" asked Lia as Joy nodded and she let go of her.

"That's it princess, here don't forget your milk and cookies" said Lia as she handed Joy the plate of cookies and glass of chocolate milk.

"Thank you Aunt" said Joy as she sniffed and she walked out of the dining room as Lia smiled sadly and she sighed.

…

"Hello, Hello" said Lia with a smile as she knocked on the door of Dom's home office and she walked into his office and she closed the door behind her.

"Hi Lia, I didn't know that you were here" said Dom as he continued to work on his laptop as Lia sat down across him.

"I just came an hour ago, I didn't want to disturb you since Alfred said that you were working" said Lia as she smiled.

"Mhmm" said Dom as he smiled.

"Hey, you seem too busy to talk to me" said Lia as she frowned.

"No I'm not, honestly, I am all ears, I am just typing a report, but go on, I am listening" said Dom.

"Okay" said Lia as Dom nodded.

"Dom, how is Joy?" asked Lia.

"She is relatively fine, why do you ask? Did something happen?" asked Dom.

"No, nothing happened, I mean nothing serious, but I am just worried" said Lia.

"Worried how?" asked Dom.

"I mean about Joy, I am worried about her, she's young, she's a growing child, and she has to deal with so many feelings and emotions with everything that happened" said Lia.

"I mean… a girl needs a mother" said Lia as Dom stopped typing and he looked up at her.

"I see where you are going with this Lia, and I beg to disagree, Joy is fine" said Dom.

"Dom I'm not saying this because of you, but because of her, she's 10, very soon she will be a teenager, then an adult, I mean girls need their mothers Dom, you know that" said Lia.

"Well Joy is different, she doesn't need anyone but me, I will do my best to be who she needs" said Dom.

"I know you will Dom, bur there's only so much you can do on your own, you need someone to help you" said Lia.

"I mean, are you going to be alone like this continually?" asked Lia.

"If you are talking about dating Lia, I will stop you right there, I'm not going to do that, Joy is the only woman that has a place in my heart, she's my girl, and no one else is going to take her place" said Dom.

"I'm not saying it like that Dom, who said that another woman is going to take her place? She's always going to be your daughter, always" said Lia.

"I know that, and I would rather keep it that way" said Dom.

"So you are going to be alone? You aren't going to remarry?" asked Lia.

"There's no need for me to" said Dom.

"Dom, can you hear yourself right now? You aren't an old widower, you are only 35, surely women will approach you" said Lia.

"And I will easily turn them down when they do" said Dom.

"Dom, so you are prepared to live as a widower for the rest of your life?" asked Lia.

"Yes" replied Dom simply as he went back to typing and Lia sighed.

"Are you saying that because of her?" asked Lia as Dom stopped typing and he looked at Lia and she read his silence as a yes.

"It's been 6 months Dom, 6 months" said Lia as Dom sighed.

"6 months too soon" said Dom.

"You can't mourn her forever Dom, Natasha would want you to move on" said Lia as Dom looked at a picture of Natasha on his desk as he held it in his hand.

"I guess that when you come to the realization that you will never see her again, talk to her, see her smile, it gets harder to forget and let go" said Dom as Lia sighed.

"Dom what happened to Natasha wasn't your fault" said Lia.

"Oh but it was, in a way it was, she died when we were on bad terms, if only I had sorted things out with her, if only I had been more understanding, if only I had been there, I had gone with her, or stopped her from going, she would still be here" said Dom as he kept his eyes focused on the picture.

"But you weren't" said Lia.

"I wasn't, and it will forever haunt me" said Dom.

"You love her don't you?" asked Lia.

"I have always loved her, always… I just… I was just so stupid when everything happened, I didn't hear her out, I didn't listen to her, try to work things out" said Dom.

"I wondered if it would have been easier for me to forgive and forget if Joy wasn't involved, but it just… I was just so bitter for no reason, even if she did what she did, I should have just forgiven her, because life is so… it's so feeble, it can be taken away in in instant" said Dom.

"It's useless to hold onto grudges, especially for the years that I held onto mine, if I had a second chance, I would change everything, because I never wanted her to leave me or our daughter, never" said Dom as he sighed and he put back the picture on his desk.

"You would work out things with her if you had the chance?" asked Lia as Dom looked at her.

"I would, even if it meant me begging her on my knees, I would do it, just for her to forgive me, I wish that I could tell her, that I loved her, she was my first love… she always has, and always will be" said Dom sadly.

"No one can take her place in my heart, no one" said Dom seriously as Lia sighed.

"I get you Dom, I really do" said Lia as she held Dom's hand and she smiled as he smiled sadly at her.