The Choice

Posted on Mon May 3rd, 2021 @ 1:23pm by Commander Hades,MD & Skye

1,304 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Episode 109 - The Dust Settles
Location: Verdari Colony
Timeline: Current

ON:

Hades knocked on his daughter's door. She had gotten the second biggest suit in the palace. "Skye? May I enter?"

Within the massive suite, his teenage daughter stood by the open balcony doors and looking out over the gardens as she plaited her hair. Hearing the knock at the door she felt guilty, her gaze flitting between the door and the teddy bears which now adorned her bed. They hadn’t come with the suite, which was insanely big. No, she had acquired them from what had apparently been her childhood bedroom.

One of the staff who helped maintain the building had shown her where it was, probably to get her to turn off the music for a while. It had been… something.

Very pink and bright and wholesome. A place she had given up believing in a long time ago. Long story short, she loaded up a dolls pram full of the babyish teddy bears and now they pretty much took up the entire bed.

“Come in,” she said, snatching up her sweater to pull it on. It was too big but it hid scars she didn’t like him to see. Especially here, when it was so easy to imagine how different her life could have been. “Everything okay?” she asked as she moved to sit on the edge of her bed, picture of innocence.

Hades looked around the room. He smiled. "I see that the bears have moved to your new room." He picked up one dressed like a doctor. "This was Gid Gid. I got him for you when you were born and you didn't let him out of your sight." He placed the bear back. "Shall we walk through the garden?" He held out his hand.

Her gaze lingered on the bear. It had been the first she had chosen to rescue, even though it had clearly been more 'loved' than the others. A few threadbare patches here and there showed signs of too many cuddles and being dragged around or possibly flat out eaten. Yet it had been given pride of place.

"Sounds good," she said as she took his hand. He clearly wanted to talk and she was worried for him. The death of her step mother had hit him hard. Really hard. And she wasn't entirely sure what to do to help him. Back on the station it had been basic things, like making sure he ate and dragged himself out of bed. Here... here there were people almost falling over themselves to make sure everything was just so.

Even as they stepped out into the warm sun, the lavish gardens which stretched off into the distance was full of lush colours and were meticulously maintained and laid out. At least there was no extravagant statue of her father.

"What's on your mind?" she asked as she sat on the edge of a small water fountain, studying him.

He studied the fountain, it had been her favoured place before that evil woman had kidnapped her. She would arrive soon, the trial would be swift and the punishment harsh. He studied Skye. "You know I resigned before we left the station. I had hoped to go back but...There is a chance your brother is still alive, Carolyn's husband. I have to stay, make sure to try and find him and then there is the colony, without a leader." He paused. "Will you stay with me?"

“Still alive?! How?” Skye demanded, instantly on her feet. Then the whole part of what he said registered. “So you are gonna stay here to be like royalty?”

"Something like that." He said as he smiled. "It is more then that. Our colony has a lot of healing to do. As for your brother he is trapped in another dimension of sorts." He paused. "Skye I wish you to stay with me but if you choose to go back we shall talk often, you will come visit and I will visit you and I have secured employment for you and a place on the station..."

“Oh…” she sat back down. “I’ve never had a job. I didn’t even go to school -“ Skye said slowly. “I don’t think I’m the working 9-5 kind.”

"It is not a regular job. Your aunt, Splendora owns a Bounty Hunting business that will also function as an artifact retrieval business, amongst other things." He smiled, "You have a habit, much like a raven, of liking shiny things. I have a feeling your … ability to liberate expensive objects would be in handy."

“That’s just a fancy way of saying I’m an amazing thief,” she grinned.

He laughed and then from almost air produced one of the fancy like eggs she liked so much. He presented it to her. "I believe you liberated something similar not long ago."

She grinned, her eyes shinning in delight. “I neither confirm or deny it,” she smiled as took the egg, weighing it in her hand as she weighed her decision. “It sounds like something I could do … but I just found you. And I want to help find Harris. Can I stay? At least for a little while? Unless the job is a now or never…”

"You can stay as long as you want," He said tears in his eyes. He pulled her into a hug. "I'm so glad I found you again."

It took a brief moment but she eventually relaxed and held onto him. "I'm glad I found you too," she admitted. She wished it had been sooner. Or that her mother had never taken her from here to begin with. But what was done was done.

"I know I cannot erase the past but I promise you that I will help you get through it and we will build a happy future here."

"You've already done plenty," she assured him. "And you saved my life."

He smiled as he lead her to the bench. "I will always be there. I do however reserve the right to send your boyfriends to another dimension."

"We aren't going to have 'the talk' are we?" she asked, horrified. She'd heard stories - or rather overheard - teenage girls giggling away as they told their friends of being sat down by their parents and having the big talk about sex and relationships and a parent's wish for celibacy. Skye had thought them ungrateful brats. Wasn't that better than having no parents at all?

"Not until you turn fifty-five"

"Fifty-five?!" Skye spluttered. "But...."

"It's a good dating age." He smiled. "I'm being generous. Should be sixty-five."

"That's not generous, that's... wait. Are you messing with me?" Skye asked hopefully.

He smiled, "Maybe...maybe not." He kissed the top of her head. "You're my princess. Nobody's good enough for you."

“That’s gonna make my list of potential husbands short,” she whispered.

He laughed. "But the ones that do make it will the better of the group." He looked at her. "Now. How about we talk around town and go shopping?" He paused. "And Carolyn will be staying with us."

“Really? She knows about Harris then I take it?” Skye guessed.

"Yes." He smiled. "I cannot begin to tell you how I feel having you all here. It is he first time I felt happy after Kalani's death."

"And if taking me shopping will make you even happier, who am I to argue?" she said as she hugged him.

He smiled. "We'll get chocolate too." He was beyond happy to have his daughter back. His heart felt full and a sense of peace settled over him.

He'd said goodbye to Ariana, Carolyn was with him, Skye, what else could he want. Just one more goodbye to his sister and then he could begin his life here.

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