Reunited (Part 2)

Posted on Thu Mar 21st, 2024 @ 10:01am by Lieutenant Commander Liam Reynolds & Lieutenant Amia Telamon MD

1,082 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Episode 1: Palingenesis
Location: The Promenade
Timeline: Current

Previously:

Liam: Amia your not going to believe .....

"Dad," a voice ran out. Liam bit his cheek. He was seemingly out of time at getting a headsup to Amia in.

Amia stood with her mouth open. If she was bewildered before, she was gob-smacked now.

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ON:

"Jon? Is he here too? What 'other place'? Married? Widowed? Dad?" Amia stumbled as he was bombarding her with all kinds of things that made zero sense to her.

"Mum," the young half Baku and Betazoid said walking round his new father. He dropped the jumba stick in shock.

" MUM???? " the little boy who rushed up to Liam and was now approaching her was the last straw........

Amia felt her knees giving so, rather than fall, she sank down and plonked to the floor, allowing the boy to get close.

"I'm sorry Little Man, I have a child but she's a girl, although she looks a lot like you, I have to admit." she began to try to respond like someone who wasn't hallucinating - which was all she could assume this must be.

"Dad?" Cade said confused. "Mum's counterpart?"

Liam nodded and bent down to pick up Amia. Wrapping his arm round her torso, he picked her feet up with his other one like a husband carrying his wife over the threshold. "Perhaps we ought to sit down all of us?" he suggested carrying Amia in the direction of the closest thing with seating which happened to be french pastry shop.

"Counterpart?" Amia murmoured, hoping only Liam would hear her but the lad had the ears of the young and picked it up too.

"Have you been back to the MU again, Li?" she asked with dread in her heart, her face and her voice.

"Not willingly," he said the pain evident on his face as he placed her down and pulled out a chair for her. "I got out again and found out about Cades existence. I managed to get an old friend with lets just say more specialised skills to rescue Cade from that hell hole. Amia ..." he tried to think how to word this delicately ..... ermmm ... Its complicated ..... and I don't remember everything .... to say we .... well the other you and me ....."

"You are my mother in the other reality," Cade spat out. "But your dead there."

"Presumed dead," Liam amended. In truth he had no clue what his evil emperor counterpart had done to her variant. It was probably highly likely though. Going by what he had seen him do to other in both his nightmare visits to the alternative reality." And yes that's the gist of it."

"Cade, why don't you go get another jumba stick," he said passing the child some credits. "Give me and Amia a chance to catch up in regards to this "odd" situation. And this place does milkshakes look. I'll get us a couple."

"Grown up talk," the child nodded. He nodded and grabbed the credits and headed off. Turning back he yelled, "Chocolate."

"So the boy.... Cade.... you and my MU ...... other....... Not your counterpart and her.... the real you.... and her?" Amia was desperately trying to work this out. "And the MU Cade? the adult one? Was he still alive over there?" Her mind raced... or was this universe's Cade over there too, she wondered.

"Did you go alone to the MU?" she asked, looking him in the eyes and seeing the pain there. It hurt her enough to see him like this that she squashed back her own mixed, muddled up feelings back down and reached for his hand.

"I don't remember all of it. There's repressed and hidden memories. The first time when the other me was doing all those horrible tests on me, your counterpart she did everything she could to make it less painful and easier for me to endure. Clearly things blurred over into a different type of relationship and I can understand that as in this reality I .. well... you know how I have felt/feel .... about you. If there was a variant of Cade I didn't meet or hear anything about him I'm sorry.

"And yes both times I've been there I was alone. Kidnapped by people over there with some technology we don't have here. Imprisoned against my will. He's dead now. So I really am hoping this is the end of such trips.

I know this is weird. I'm sorry its such odd circumstances but he's half your DNA. And if your working here now alongside me our paths will cross," Liam said. "He's only just started to open up and feel safe. It must have been so weird for him me looking like the emperor there. The one who treated him so badly. Kept him hidden. Locked away. He's starting to trust that he's safe with me now."

"I can see how that would be terrifying for him, poor little mite. You say the MU you is dead now? What about the MU me? His mother?" Amia asked, trying to put this jigsaw into some kind of order one part at a time.

"I strongly assume dead. He found out she was helping me and punished her the first time round. Finding out that Cade wasn't his and she kept quiet to try stay alive was probably the final straw. He rarely gave a second chance as it was.

He kept Cade there in his "floating fortress" to keep face trotting him out as heir when required, keeping him isolated and controlled when not. Its not a nice place. Niska's variant got him away towards the end and If your counterpart was alive hers would have found her. Very resourceful woman Niska's variant," Liam answered.

"What's a *variant* Li?" Amia asked, wrinkling her nose in confusion. "Is that Niska, your cousin, six times removed? Is her 'Variant' her MU version? No it can't be or My counterpart wouldn't have had one that wasn't me..... I can't take all this in, I'm sorry....... Will Cade be afraid of me? Was his mother good or bad to him? Will he be mad that I'm not her? Or relieved? What do you want him to see me as? If he hates me, will it be safe to bring Liana here?" she stopped.

tbc....

 

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