A New Beginning
by Danielle :-)
11-27-99
Revised 4-23-01


Madeline Series
Part 5 Version II


Disclaimer: No one belongs to me except Madeline, and Bunny sort-of, because TPTB have forgotten about the poor guy and I saved him from going into oblivion. Cassandra belongs to Rebeckah. Rebeckah and I wrote a story together involving Cassandra and Madeline, so if you haven't read it yet, check it out under Cassandra! This kinda ignores the ending of our Mother May I story, though, because I started this before that one was finished... this does have major spoilers for that series, so you might want to read it! This story goes along with some things from the show, but don't be surprised to find some inconsistencies . The Graduation song by Vitamin C doesn't belong to me at all, I found the lyrics at http://www.lyricx.com/vitaminc/graduation(friendsforever).html and used them because I like the song and it fit into the story. :-)
Dedication: To all my great friends at school. :-) Thank you.


~~~~~

Last Friday of August 1999
Evening
(A few months since Miss Parker's death)


Madeline plopped down on her bed, needing a short break before finishing packing for college.
Sydney was driving her up to New Hampshire the next morning. Resident students had the weekend to settle into the dorms and Madeline wanted to get there as early as possible Saturday.

It had been hard for her to get excited about college, because she was still trying to adjust to Park's passing. She hoped, though, that she'd be able to enjoy the college experience and get as much out of it as possible- academically as well as socially.

She'd talked to her soon-to-be roommate, Amy, a few times and expected they'd get along well. They had a lot in common, including a deep religious faith.
She heard a knock on the front door and went to answer it.

"Hi Sydney!" She greeted him with a smile and ushered him into the- *her* - house.

"Hello Madeline. I came by to see how packing was going."
She smiled at his fatherly concern as she led him to her room. She gestured at the room as an answer and he laughed.
Clothes, book, and various other things covered every available surface, as well as a few unavailable ones.
"I pretty much know what I'm taking, I just can't seem to get motivated to pack it!"

Syd smiled sympathetically but didn't say anything.
"Broots and Debbie will be here at 7 to pick Bunny up, and then we can leave." Madeline told him.

"Okay." He agreed, "Broots was telling me today how excited Debbie is to get a pet, especially Bunny."

Madeline smiled sadly, knowing Bunny was going to the best possible home, but wishing she could take him with her. She didn't miss Park quite so much when she was holding the rabbit her guardian had loved so much.
"I'll get here at 6:30, alright?"

"Sure, Syd. I'll have everything packed and ready by then, honest." Madeline smiled, "I'd better hurry up and finish so I can say good bye to Cassandra before it gets too late!" And Angelo, she silently added.

"Alright, I'll let you finish then. See you in the morning."
"Thanks Syd." Madeline gave him a hug before he left.
'He's been great since Park died...' Madeline thought as she quickly got everything she needed or wanted packed. 'I'm going to miss him. And Angelo and Cass, too! They've all been wonderful. I'm sure as heck not going to miss Lyle, or Brigitte though!'

She grimaced as she thought of those two. True, Lyle was *much* improved since they had taken care of his split personalities, but he still scared her, and delighted in making her uncomfortable every chance he got. Brigitte, though, she was unbearable!!

'It's like she got pregnant and suddenly got the urge to mother everyone! And a critical, hovering mother she makes! She's been treating me like a child since Park died- it is **so** annoying! God, I feel bad for this kid!'

Having found motivation, Madeline quickly finished packing. As she drove to the hospital, she thought about all that had happened since "Mother's" farmhouse exploded. Everyone but Cassandra, Pearl, and "Mother" had gotten out. Everyone had grieved for Cassandra in their own way for about a month until Miss Parker one day got a phone call. It was Pearl, who had amazingly managed to get Cassandra's battered body out of the house before it exploded. Using money no one was sure how she got, she had made sure Cassandra got exceptional medical care. The blind woman's recovery had been slow, and she had suffered a considerable relapse after Miss Parker died. She would probably always walk with a limp, and her right hand had been so broken it would forever be useless.

Madeline got to the Centre around 8:30 and had no trouble getting to Cassandra's rooms. Mr. Parker and Mr. Raines allowed Madeline to visit her friend because of all the help Madeline had been to both Cassandra and Lyle. Cassandra and Madeline had gotten extremely close while working to help Bobby, Romeo, Lyle, and the other personalities come together, and had gotten even closer grieving together.
Madeline wasn't surprised to find Angelo is Cassandra's room. She gave them both a hug and settled down on the couch between them.

"Are you all packed now, Tigrita?" Cassandra asked teasingly. Madeline had sent her a few mental images earlier in the day, and seeing the mess through Madeline's eyes had given Cassandra a good laugh or two.

"Yes." Madeline laughed.

"Madeline nervous." Angelo said.

"Yeah." Madeline didn't even try to lie- an impossibility around these two, "I mean, college is scary enough, but I never thought I'd have to do it without Park." She finished quietly.
"She is always with you, Madeline. Do not forget that!" Cassandra reminded her gently, yet firmly.

Madeline nodded but then panicked, "What am I going to do without the two of you?"

"Madeline will be fine!" Angelo took her hand and smiled at her. Madeline couldn't resist the urge to smile back.
"Angelo is right, Tigrita, even though you do not believe it. You will go to college and meet many new friends. Soon you will not need us."

"Don't say that!" Madeline begged.

Cassandra could sense the girl's rising distress and decided to speak no more on the subject. She knew that Madeline was worried enough about college, and wasn't ready to think about outgrowing her hometown friends yet.
"I'm kind of glad to be leaving though..." Madeline admitted hesitantly, as if afraid to tell her friends what they already knew, "I would go crazy if I have to stay around Brigitte any longer!"

Cassandra nodded, and Angelo grimaced. They could sense everyone's displeasure with the Chairman's very pregnant wife and were both very glad she didn't seem to know they were alive.

"And Lyle?" Cassandra asked gently. She had tried to appeal to him to stop his constant teasing of Madeline, but not succeeded. They had been able to rid him of his psychopathic tendencies, but no matter how hard she tried, Cassandra could not get him to realize how emotionally fragile and uncomfortable Madeline still was around men.
"I'm glad to be getting away from him- even more than Brigitte!" Madeline announced with feeling.

Madeline spent another hour with her two friends at the Centre, before giving them tearful hugs. Cassandra promised she'd have Angelo send Madeline occasional e-mails to help ease her mind about their safety.

Back at the cottage, Madeline sat in the living room with Bunny in her lap. He must have sensed the impending change because he didn't struggle for the entire hour Madeline absentmindedly stroked his soft white back.

Madeline didn't move when she heard the sound of the back door opening around midnight. She smiled gratefully at Angelo as he made his way to her side. She handed him Bunny and couldn't help but smile as she watched him grin like a child as he held Bunny up to his cheek. Then he regretfully got up to put the animal back in his cage. When he had made sure it was safely closed, he turned to Madeline.
"Time for bed." He said in the no-nonsense tone the teenager had come to love, "Big day tomorrow."
Angelo wandered around the house while Madeline got ready for bed. When she was ready, he came back into her rather bare room, and sat down on the edge of the bed. And as he had done many nights in the past few months, Angelo rubbed Madeline's back and sang the three verses of "Silent Night" over and over in a surprisingly melodious voice until she fell asleep, like her mother used to do when she was small and had trouble sleeping. As he was leaving, she stirred long enough to mumble "Good night."

~~~~~
Saturday Afternoon
Guild Hall, College

Sydney's car was parked at the back of Madeline's new dormitory, along with quite a few others. They made several trips up to her room before the car was empty. Amy wasn't there yet, so Madeline randomly chose one of the beds. She hoped they could switch the room around soon anyways.
"Don't forget Tuesday afternoon at four you have an appointment with Lauren. You remember where her office is?" Sydney spoke of the therapist who would be meeting with Madeline while she was at school. The aging psychiatrist had worked hard to find someone he felt confident would help Madeline when he was too far away to. The two of them had spent many hours discussing Madeline's past and her current progress, as well as what still needed to be accomplished.
"Yes." Madeline became nervous, even though her brief meetings with Lauren over the summer had gone well and she was easy to talk to.
"Don't worry, Madeline." Sydney squeezed her shoulder.
The girl nodded and willed her stomach to calm down.
Amy and her entire family- parents, two younger sisters and boyfriend- arrived a few minutes later. They had Amy's belongings up in their second floor room in no time at all. Then they decided to go out to lunch, and invited Sydney and Madeline to come too. They had a lovely meal at Red Lobster, taking their time. Neither girl was quite ready to let her family go home just yet. When their waitress started giving them pointed looks, they regretfully headed back to Rivier for their good byes.
Sydney checked to make sure Madeline was all set and had everything in her room before she walked him out to his car. She gave him a big hug, unwilling to let go. She had tears in her eyes as he bid her a gruff good bye and good luck and drove away. She waited until he was out of sight before heading back up to her room.
Amy came up ten minutes later, also teary-eyed. The girls propped their door open and began to discuss how they should arrange and divide the room. The sink was behind the door, next to a closet, two rows of drawers built into the wall under the mirror, and another closet. They decided to move Amy's beds against the wall opposite the door, under the window and put Madeline's lengthwise against the left hand wall, opposite the closets. Amy took the closet and drawers closest to the window and Madeline began unpacking her clothes into her's.
Amy set up her stereo, and Madeline agreed to listen to some Christian cd's Amy had. In the process, she got some ideas for upcoming Christmas present requests. While they were unpacking, a girl they had met during the overnight a few months ago popped her head into their room with a cheery, "Hi girls!"
"Hey, Charlotte!" Amy greeted.
"Hey." Madeline said from where she bent over making her bed.
"My roommate's not here yet, and I don't want to start unpacking until she gets here." Charlotte told them.
"Who's your roommate again?" Amy questioned.
"Her name's Shelley."
"Oh yeah, cool." Madeline remembered the redhead. The four of them had hung out together at the possible-freshman's introductory weekend sleep over.
The three girls chatted until Charlotte saw Shelley. They left Amy and Madeline to finish unpacking. It didn't take them too long to finish making the small room as homey as it was going to get. They went looking for Charlotte and Shelley and found them right next door.

Madeline made many friends at College her freshman year, becoming particularly close to Shelley, Char, and Amy. Amy and Shelley often went home for weekends, giving Char and Madeline an opportunity to bond.
First semester they all took time to adjust to not living at home, but it was especially hard on Madeline. She wished Park was there so they could swap college stories- she had heard some outrageous ones from her guardian and would have loved to hear more curled up on the couch in the cottage, cuddling Bunny while talking late into the night. She stayed at school on weekends, and went to Charlotte's for Thanksgiving. Madeline also missed Sydney even though Lauren was a great therapist, with new ideas and techniques that continued to help Madeline grow and put the past behind her.
One cool Friday afternoon midway into the semester, the phone in her room rang. Madeline picked it up because Amy had already left for home.
"You have a visitor at desk." Steph, who was working desk that afternoon, told her after a quick greeting.
Madeline put her books aside and headed downstairs, wondering who it could be.
"Hey Maddy!" Jarod greeted her with a smile and a hug.
Madeline couldn't believe he was there- he'd given no indication of a visit in his latest email, but she was glad for the surprise. As she turned to thank Steph, her friend mouthed, "Hottie!!" and fanned herself dramatically with her hand. Madeline grinned every time someone said that to her after meeting Jarod. He was known for making surprise visits every couple of weeks, but no matter what time or day it was, everyone suddenly needed to go to Madeline's room to talk to her about something.
They settled cross legged on the bed facing each other, as had become their custom.
"Guess what?!" She began excitedly once they were comfortable.
"What?" Jarod asked eagerly. Madeline loved how enthusiastic he was about everything. 'No wonder everyone around here has a crush on him! He has this amazing ability to make whatever you have to tell him seem like the most important thing in the world.'
"I got an email from Angelo last night!"
Jarod just smiled, and her eyes widened.
"How did you know?!" She couldn't understand it- she had been so floored to open this mysterious email (thinking it was Jarod, who frequently changed addresses) to find a note from Angelo!
"We email back and forth from time to time." Jarod's answer was simple, but Madeline suddenly understood how Jarod always seemed to know everything that was going on at the Centre.
Jarod filled her in on his latest sting and wanted to know everything about her college experience.

~~~~~

Madeline made Dean's List her first semester with a 3.6 GPA on the 4.0 scale. Over the month-long Christmas break, she did return to Blue Cove, but kept busy visiting with old friends and getting caught up on the latest goings-on at the Centre. She spent a lot of time in the vents with Angelo, and visiting with Cassandra.

~~~~~

The next few years passed by quickly and fairly easily for Madeline and her friends- who suddenly woke up one day and realized that graduation was around the corner.
Madeline, Amy, Char, Shelley, and some other girls were gathered in Madeline and Amy's room one Thursday afternoon towards the end of their last semester at college.
The Graduation song by Vitamin C came on the radio and gradually all talking ceased as the words began to sink in.

And so we talked all night about the rest of our lives
Where we're gonna be when we turn 25
I keep thinking times will never change
Keep on thinking things will always be the same
But when we leave this year we won't be coming back
No more hanging out cause we're on a different track
And if you got something that you need to say
You better say it right now cause you don't have another day
Cause we're moving on and we can't slow down
These memories are playing like a film without sound
And I keep thinking of that night in June
I didn't know much of love
But it came too soon
And there was me and you
And then we got real cool
Stay at home talking on the telephone with me
We'd get so excited, we'd get so scared
Laughing at our selves thinking life's not fair
And this is how it feels

As we go on
We remember
All the times we had together
And as our lives change
Come whatever
We will still be Friends Forever

So if we get the big jobs
And we make the big money
When we look back now
Will our jokes still be funny?
Will we still remember everything we learned in school?
Still be trying to break every single rule
Will little brainy Bobby be the stockbroker man?
Can we ever find a job that won't interfere with a tan?
I keep, I keep thinking that it's not goodbye
Keep on thinking it's a time to fly
And this is how it feels

As we go on
We remember
All the times we had together
And as our lives change
Come whatever
We will still be Friends Forever

La, la, la, la…
Yeah, yeah, yeah
La, la, la, la…
We will still be friends forever

Will we think about tomorrow like we think about now?
Can we survive it out there?
Can we make it somehow?
I guess I thought that this would never end
And suddenly it's like we're women and men
Will the past be a shadow that will follow us 'round?
Will these memories fade when I leave this town
I keep, I keep thinking that it's not goodbye
Keep on thinking it's a time to fly

As we go on
We remember
All the times we had together
And as our lives change
Come whatever
We will still be Friends Forever

By the end of the song, everyone in the room was teary-eyed at the prospect of leaving each other and the comfort their small dorm rooms had provided.
Madeline was sure she'd have no trouble finding a job- their school turned out excellent, much sought out teachers and she'd made Dean's List every semester. College had become a comfortable, safe place for her- filled with many memories and much growth. She'd even gone out on a couple of dates, which had helped her trust in men slowly continue to grow.
Her friends were all worrying about getting jobs, but Madeline knew what she wanted to do after graduation. As crazy as it might seem, she wanted to go back to Blue Cove, and work at the Centre.