Post by Deleted on Jul 26, 2014 12:48:37 GMT -8
"Emm,"
Though Hunter had only spoken her name, she knew the tone of voice. He knew her when she was angry. He’d seen far too much of that recently. He knew the lengths she would go to to protect her family, their family. It was hard, though. Every member of her blood was dead, except for the child that this strange woman was holding. She forgot the hesitations she’d had upon finding out where she’d come from. She was a good person, and so was Hunter. People were more than a sum of their genetic parts. Their son didn’t have to follow in the footsteps of their despicable family members. She tried to steady herself, knowing that Hunter was right. She couldn’t let her temper get ahold of her. Though directness and force were her preferred methods of getting what she wanted, in this instance they would do more harm than good.
"Yes,"
Emmarie received no satisfaction that Boribeth agreed with her assessment of insanity. In fact, it only chilled her bones. Most people who were insane were blissfully unaware of the fact. Or they fought it, expressing that their delusions were real, but other people didn’t know well enough to understand the world.
"He was safe with me."
“For that, we are very glad,” Emmarie said. Still, how long would he have been safe for? Would he have been the victim of her insanity when he cried through the night? When he threw tantrums as a toddler? When he started talking back?
"Thank her,"
Trusting Hunter's judgment better than her own at the moment, Emmarie looked at Boribeth. "Thank you very much," she said, her tone genuine. She was careful not to go too far, for she didn't wish to make the woman feel like she was entitled to any favors from them in return.
"That's the child of William Hunter and Emmarie."
Despite herself, Emmarie began to tremble. Thinking you knew something was completely different than knowing it to be fact. He was alive. Nothing else mattered more to her… not at that moment, not in her entire life.
"Let her hold him..."
She bit down on her lower lip, terrified that anything that she would end up saying would be the words that caused the woman, whose psyche was clearly crushed, and who Emmarie would have felt sorry for in other circumstances, to change her mind about handing over their son.
"He was supposed to be mine. Abandoned, alone, no one to love."
He never should have been alone, and Emmarie had never— and would never— abandon him. Not if she was granted immortality, and lived to see the ends of the universe. Not for anyone, or anything. Not ever.
"Derelict spaceship, manufacturer unknown. Ask for Rick."
Emmarie looked over at Hunter, perplexed. Sure, the woman hadn’t made a lot of sense, but that seemed robotic. Alien. It was like someone had programmed her.
Emmarie was pretty sure she knew who was responsible for her current state.
"For trade or sale, Orion infant in suspension chamber. Novelty item or experimental purposes. Alive."
The words struck Emmarie like a blow to the stomach, and she reflexively inhaled. Someone had tried to sell her son?! The anger swelled within her again, and she forced herself with tremendous force of will to remain calm. To resist the impulse that was building within her to find each and every person who’d taking actions against her child, and end their existence. Hunter was smart. If he was provoked in the right way, Emmarie was certain that he could figure out the slowest, most painful way to kill someone. To break their mind–
She froze. Thinking like that, she was no better than the people who’d done this to him in the first place. She was better than that. She wasn’t just her base impulses. She had lived through so much. She was stronger than this.
Her thoughts brought back to the present, to what she needed to do, she realized Boribeth had continued on her peculiar rant. She hoped the security team had been paying attention to it all to make sense of it. It sounded like a shopping list or something. Slowly, Boribeth began to stretch out her arms. Emmarie froze, afraid that anything she said or did would cause the woman to lose it. Her fingers twitched, and Boribeth drew him nearer once more. Emmarie’s heart raced, but every beat seemed hours apart to her mind.
"Be strong,"
Emmarie wasn’t sure who Boribeth was telling to be strong, herself, or the baby. Either way, Emmarie wasn’t in a position to care. There was nothing she could do for the woman. Hopefully the act of returning their child would get her some leniency when she went to trial. A space in a psychiatric facility instead of a penal one. As Boribeth extended her arms fully, Emmarie grabbed him as quickly as she dared without jostling him in a manner that would harm him. Standing up, she took long steps back towards the doorway that the security team was guarding, fearing that Boribeth would do something stupid or something crazy.
Her back against the wall so no one could sneak up on her, Emmarie pushed the blanket away from their son’s face. Before all this had transpired, she had thought that she would be consumed with warmth, a sense of purpose, and poignant thoughts about motherhood and how it felt to her. And she was half correct, her face lighting up as she stared down at the face of the most important person in her life. Forgotten was the anger she’d felt mere instants before; it seemed pointless now, really, with things right in her world for the first time in over a month. Gone was the hauntingly beautiful quality of an Orion woman preparing to devour everyone who stood between her and the things she desired in life, replaced by a wonderment that made her appear younger than her 26 years. And as big, crystal blue eyes looked up at her for the first time, she had her first insight as a mother.
We were supposed to have four more months to figure out what we were going to call you, Emmarie realized. Breaking from her reverie for a moment, her eyes sought out Hunter’s, and she realized that she had been so caught up that she hadn’t realized he’d followed along with her. Still it made sense. She looked up at him, eyes wide, “What are we going to name him?”
She was willing to bet all the strips of gold pressed latinum in her quarters that there was some study that had been done stating the respective pros and cons of the various Federation standard names, and that Hunter had memorized it.Please do not insist we name him Finius, she silently pleaded.
Though Hunter had declared him healthy, she had to confirm for himself, unwrapping him enough that she could see all of the fingers and toes. Counting twice, she nodded with satisfaction before wrapping him up once more. “Do… do you want to hold him?” she asked, realizing that his desire was likely as strong as her own had been. Still, after all that had happened, handing her son over to anyone— even Hunter— was difficult. Before she had a chance to change her mind, she extended her arms towards him. Still, she peeked around him to make sure no one was sneaking up from behind.
Tag: @hunter, @boribeth, @jonathanrichards, @jorge052
Though Hunter had only spoken her name, she knew the tone of voice. He knew her when she was angry. He’d seen far too much of that recently. He knew the lengths she would go to to protect her family, their family. It was hard, though. Every member of her blood was dead, except for the child that this strange woman was holding. She forgot the hesitations she’d had upon finding out where she’d come from. She was a good person, and so was Hunter. People were more than a sum of their genetic parts. Their son didn’t have to follow in the footsteps of their despicable family members. She tried to steady herself, knowing that Hunter was right. She couldn’t let her temper get ahold of her. Though directness and force were her preferred methods of getting what she wanted, in this instance they would do more harm than good.
"Yes,"
Emmarie received no satisfaction that Boribeth agreed with her assessment of insanity. In fact, it only chilled her bones. Most people who were insane were blissfully unaware of the fact. Or they fought it, expressing that their delusions were real, but other people didn’t know well enough to understand the world.
"He was safe with me."
“For that, we are very glad,” Emmarie said. Still, how long would he have been safe for? Would he have been the victim of her insanity when he cried through the night? When he threw tantrums as a toddler? When he started talking back?
"Thank her,"
Trusting Hunter's judgment better than her own at the moment, Emmarie looked at Boribeth. "Thank you very much," she said, her tone genuine. She was careful not to go too far, for she didn't wish to make the woman feel like she was entitled to any favors from them in return.
"That's the child of William Hunter and Emmarie."
Despite herself, Emmarie began to tremble. Thinking you knew something was completely different than knowing it to be fact. He was alive. Nothing else mattered more to her… not at that moment, not in her entire life.
"Let her hold him..."
She bit down on her lower lip, terrified that anything that she would end up saying would be the words that caused the woman, whose psyche was clearly crushed, and who Emmarie would have felt sorry for in other circumstances, to change her mind about handing over their son.
"He was supposed to be mine. Abandoned, alone, no one to love."
He never should have been alone, and Emmarie had never— and would never— abandon him. Not if she was granted immortality, and lived to see the ends of the universe. Not for anyone, or anything. Not ever.
"Derelict spaceship, manufacturer unknown. Ask for Rick."
Emmarie looked over at Hunter, perplexed. Sure, the woman hadn’t made a lot of sense, but that seemed robotic. Alien. It was like someone had programmed her.
Emmarie was pretty sure she knew who was responsible for her current state.
"For trade or sale, Orion infant in suspension chamber. Novelty item or experimental purposes. Alive."
The words struck Emmarie like a blow to the stomach, and she reflexively inhaled. Someone had tried to sell her son?! The anger swelled within her again, and she forced herself with tremendous force of will to remain calm. To resist the impulse that was building within her to find each and every person who’d taking actions against her child, and end their existence. Hunter was smart. If he was provoked in the right way, Emmarie was certain that he could figure out the slowest, most painful way to kill someone. To break their mind–
She froze. Thinking like that, she was no better than the people who’d done this to him in the first place. She was better than that. She wasn’t just her base impulses. She had lived through so much. She was stronger than this.
Her thoughts brought back to the present, to what she needed to do, she realized Boribeth had continued on her peculiar rant. She hoped the security team had been paying attention to it all to make sense of it. It sounded like a shopping list or something. Slowly, Boribeth began to stretch out her arms. Emmarie froze, afraid that anything she said or did would cause the woman to lose it. Her fingers twitched, and Boribeth drew him nearer once more. Emmarie’s heart raced, but every beat seemed hours apart to her mind.
"Be strong,"
Emmarie wasn’t sure who Boribeth was telling to be strong, herself, or the baby. Either way, Emmarie wasn’t in a position to care. There was nothing she could do for the woman. Hopefully the act of returning their child would get her some leniency when she went to trial. A space in a psychiatric facility instead of a penal one. As Boribeth extended her arms fully, Emmarie grabbed him as quickly as she dared without jostling him in a manner that would harm him. Standing up, she took long steps back towards the doorway that the security team was guarding, fearing that Boribeth would do something stupid or something crazy.
Her back against the wall so no one could sneak up on her, Emmarie pushed the blanket away from their son’s face. Before all this had transpired, she had thought that she would be consumed with warmth, a sense of purpose, and poignant thoughts about motherhood and how it felt to her. And she was half correct, her face lighting up as she stared down at the face of the most important person in her life. Forgotten was the anger she’d felt mere instants before; it seemed pointless now, really, with things right in her world for the first time in over a month. Gone was the hauntingly beautiful quality of an Orion woman preparing to devour everyone who stood between her and the things she desired in life, replaced by a wonderment that made her appear younger than her 26 years. And as big, crystal blue eyes looked up at her for the first time, she had her first insight as a mother.
We were supposed to have four more months to figure out what we were going to call you, Emmarie realized. Breaking from her reverie for a moment, her eyes sought out Hunter’s, and she realized that she had been so caught up that she hadn’t realized he’d followed along with her. Still it made sense. She looked up at him, eyes wide, “What are we going to name him?”
She was willing to bet all the strips of gold pressed latinum in her quarters that there was some study that had been done stating the respective pros and cons of the various Federation standard names, and that Hunter had memorized it.Please do not insist we name him Finius, she silently pleaded.
Though Hunter had declared him healthy, she had to confirm for himself, unwrapping him enough that she could see all of the fingers and toes. Counting twice, she nodded with satisfaction before wrapping him up once more. “Do… do you want to hold him?” she asked, realizing that his desire was likely as strong as her own had been. Still, after all that had happened, handing her son over to anyone— even Hunter— was difficult. Before she had a chance to change her mind, she extended her arms towards him. Still, she peeked around him to make sure no one was sneaking up from behind.
Tag: @hunter, @boribeth, @jonathanrichards, @jorge052