The Day the Earth Stood Still
- Tom's reaction to the news of Rachel's death. He reflects on her childhood and her relationship with her family, and goes into so much shock that he can't tell if he's crying or not.She was loved, and she was feared. Both with good reason.
- As soon as they get out of the military base, the first thing Jake does is cry into Tom's shoulder about Rachel. AlcatrazOutpatient's reading
makes this even sadder; Jake's voice breaks when he says "I thought you were dead."
War Games
- Tom is utterly distraught as the Yeerk kills his family in his nightmare. He pleads for it to stop, to no avail.
City of Lost Children
- The whole fic is about Tom reminiscing on how much of his life has been stolen from him. He misses being happy, can do nothing but watch as his mother tries to unwittingly lure Jake into the same Fate Worse than Death as him, and it culminates in a failed suicide attempt. The only consolation is that this version of Tom will get better.
Back to the Future
- When Steve tells Tom to stop talking about Yeerks, Tom assumes that he preferred Essa 412 at first... then Tom remembers being Forced to Watch Alahar 318 use his dad's knowledge of anatomy to knock a girl unconscious.And now here I was, whining because Dad didn’t particularly feel like dwelling on those memories. Because when he said back to normal a selfish part of me bristled at the implication that normal meant when I’d been docile and silent and helpless. Of course that wasn’t what he meant at all. Of course not. I could see that for myself, if for once in my life I looked beyond my own hurt indignation and remembered the pain other people had gone through.
- Jordan isn't taking Rachel's death well, which culminates in her lashing out at Sarah when she asks what Rachel would've wanted.
Ghost in the Shell
- One Christmas Eve, a little boy sung "O Come Emmanuel" (as song about slaves longing to be freed) in the Yeerk Pool, inspiring so much hope in the human hosts that the caged ones went quiet... Until Essa decides to put a stop to it by snapping the boy's neck. The silence is broken by a woman's scream. The incident caused Tom to lose faith in God.Essa: <You didn't even know his name. You never saw him before in your life. He was no one.>
Tom: Someone loved that kid. Somewhere out there.
Essa: <Oh come on, you don't know that. He was a stranger.>
Tom: He was human. - Tom visits Rachel's grave and talks about how he used to think he'd be better off dead because he keeps making things worse. Then Tobias says that he blames himself for Rachel's death.
Total Recall
- Cassie and Tom have a heart-to-heart conversation about how the former regrets creating the circumstances that ultimately led to Rachel's death.
