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Post by Hollie Clarke on Feb 11, 2011 16:23:22 GMT -5
It had been a long year. With the turmoil thrown up by R4's demise, a lot of friendly faces had left the Venia; Sam, Ollie, Ally, Eva. It wasn't like Hollie didn't have anyone to talk to, Will and Natalie were still around, having a wonderful time expecting the arrival of their first child, and Luke was around as well, although he hadn't been the same since Ally had jumped ship at the soonest moment. Then there was the arrival of Charlie and Janey, Hollie quickly became friends with them, the amount of time they were spending hovering around Engineering, her office and Will's were really the only safe places for them.
Of course, she still had her Dad as well. The hostage situation had brought them closer than ever, and she was so glad that, for once, she had a stable person in her life. And that, for the first time ever, that person was related to her by blood. Her own Dad. She wouldn't admit it out loud, but it was actually kind of wonderful. Having someone there to hold her steady, protect her if need be, support her. It had taken a little while, but she'd accepted him fully into her life now, and there was no turning back.
All the while, it was becoming more apparent that maybe it would be a good idea if she could actually see. After extensive research about the surgery that would be required to her brain, she finally decided that she wanted to have the operation done, and that she was going to go to a clinic on New Earth, where she knew people had said they were entirely satisfied with the procedure. Entirely satisfied was an understatement, she'd never heard so much gushing.
After doing Sam a quick favour, it was good to hear from him again, she went off to the clinic, her Dad with her the whole way. They explained the procedure again before she signed all the paperwork, and reminded her that she would be kept in a medically induced coma for at least a week after the operation, just to give her body time to heal. They didn't try and force the eyes to work like other hospitals, they were all about letting them heal naturally, work in their own time. This was one of the main reasons Hollie had chosen this place.
So, saying goodbye to her Dad, she had felt the anesthetic kick in, and she'd been out like a light.
~~~~
Hollie let out a low moan. A machine was beeping rhythmically somewhere near her head, her whole body numb from being still for so long. Her eyelids crept open, and she immediately shut them again, shocked by the bright light that she saw.
That she saw.
"Welcome back, Miss Clarke."
"The light hurts," she croaked.
"Your eyes need a few moments to adjust, take your time."
Taking a breath, she tried opening them again, letting them slide open slowly, bit by bit. It took over a minute to get them fully open, but once they were open, the ceiling came into focus -- white tiles, arranged... symmetrically? Adjusting her line of sight, she shifted herself up a little on her pillow, as much as she could manage with dead legs and arms. The Doctor came into view, smiling at her. He had greying hair, so had to be getting on in years. There was another woman in the room, presumably a nurse, and then...
Hang on.
"Dad?" She couldn't see him. ”Where are you?” |
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Post by Michael Clarke on Feb 13, 2011 13:35:15 GMT -5
One standard year. Michael couldn't believe that time had flown past the galaxy so quickly, but his surprise was limited by his experience with how time operated(speed of light quick). The Captain had undergone a lot of overhaul in the past several months, not limited to welcoming new faces onto the Venia and going on several training operations for the Alliance that allowed Luke to captain the ship(He needed the experience. Michael was going to recommend for Luke to be promoted to Captain on the new black project that the Alliance was working on entitled Helios.) and ALSO gave Michael some time on Earth, which was beneficial to him, seeing as his father was slowly declining in health and probably wouldn't last beyond another two years or so(Michael had even brought Hollie on a trip or two. Her grandparents had been thrilled). The Captain was starting to feel...old. Not that thirty nine was exactly pushing it in terms of senior citizenship, but the wear and tear of the past year had caught up to him. Michael was now prone to staying in his quarters, drinking Chrysalis and thinking about what life was life without the responsibilities of the Alliance, of being a Captain. He wanted to have...a life? Was that the term? No, he had life. A different life was the term he was looking for. It didn't help that he missed Jennifer, occasionally bringing out a small holo of her that he kept in the bottom drawer of his desk, attempting in vain to reach out and restore the relationship that he had broken.
But the lurking feelings of weariness were put aside when he watched Hollie go into the operation room, the Captain ecstatic that his baby was finally going to get what she had wanted ever since her birth(well, one of the things). When he was told it was going to be a week before he could see her, the Captain took the time to arrange a few surprises for his daughter when she awoke, including a possible lead on an issue both he and Hollie wanted resolved.
As Michael walked into the med-unit on day eight, the A.I. at the center of the circular room telling Michael:
"Captain, your daughter is ready to be visited." The Captain smiled as he turned left towards the wing of rooms Hollie was in, walking down the hall hurriedly. It wasn't a very easy process to keep Hollie onboard when he relayed their genetic relation to the brass a few months ago, but they knew that Michael wasn't going to pilot their number one asset unless she was onboard. So she stayed on, to the angst of a few councilmen(conflict of interest? Please.)
Michael walked into Hollie's room and saw her daughter's eyes...they were alive, searching, probing the new world around her. The doctor turned around with a small smile, saying:
"Hollie is going to need a few hours before she can move around, but until then, she's all yours." As the doctor walked out of the room, Michael could hear him mutter under his breathe:
"This is why I do my job."
Michael sat at the edge of Hollie's bed, one of his hands reaching for hers. saying with a smirk:
"Bet you never thought your old man looked this bad huh? Got all your looks from your mother."
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Post by Hollie Clarke on Feb 14, 2011 16:56:13 GMT -5
It hadn't really registered at first that the Doctor had called her 'Miss Clarke'. She'd been Sampson all her life, even after her adopted parents died. She'd loved them so much, she'd decided to keep their name, and it wasn't like anyone else had come close to being her parents anyway. Then when her biological father had actually come along, she hadn't dared change her name because of the implications it meant for her being on the crew. But as the year went on, and they managed to smooth things over, she made the change. She was now, legally, Hollie Olivia Clarke. And no one didn't know who's daughter she was.
Her eyes focused in on the man that she'd been dying to meet for over a year now -- by meet, she meant see -- and her reaction couldn't be helped. At first, she thought she was losing her sight again, but then she realised that it was just the tears clouding her vision, and a ridiculous happy smile found it's way onto her face. Leaning forwards, she threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly as she said, "you're perfect." He was just like how she'd imagined a Dad would look. Somewhat rugged, strong, handsome.
He was right about one thing, from what she could remember of what she'd seen of herself in that dream, she definitely didn't look that much like him. But it didn't matter, she loved him all the same. Something did dawn on her though, what if that dream had shown her a false reflection of what she'd looked like? She could have imagined anything. "Can I, um, have a mirror?" she rubbed her eyes, "I know it sounds vain, but it's been twenty-three years, and I want to know what I look like." There were so many things she wanted to see; old baby photos that she'd kept, photos of her family, her friends on board the ship, but she wanted to settle, once and for all, who she was.
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Post by Michael Clarke on Feb 16, 2011 18:33:42 GMT -5
"You deserve to see yourself after all this time. I don't have a mirror on me right now, but come on..." Michael got up off the edge of the bed and helped Hollie to her feet(blatantly disregarding the doctors advice), putting an arm around her waist to steady her as he lead her to the restroom, where a mirror stood fastened. He led her in front of the mirror, smiling as he asked:
"Like what you see?" She was gorgeous, radiant, all those words that could be bestowed on a woman that conveyed beauty. And he had the job of beating off every single man that came into contact with her.
He wouldn't have had it any other way.
"Once I get you out of here, we're going to do a lot. But we can do a video chat with your grandparents. In fact I know we need to do that before we leave." His face did grow somewhat serious as he thought about his parents, knowing that his father...well, he wouldn't last very long. But at least she would be able to see him alive...that's what mattered to him the most.
"Come on baby girl, back to bed." He got her out of the restroom and back onto the bed, saying:
"There's also something I wanted you to see." He reached into his front pocket and pulled out an old holocube, the captain pressing a button down on the cube to reveal a miniature projection of a young Michael and a stunning blond in his arms, smiling widely with a baseball cap on her head.
"Your mother."
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Post by Hollie Clarke on Feb 16, 2011 18:51:14 GMT -5
Hollie touched her face. Her eyes looked a little weird, probably from the crying, and it wasn't going to stop anytime soon, it seemed. Everything was so overwhelming, knowing that this time she had her sight, and she was going to keep it. Last time had been a fluke, an unintentional mistake made by R4. But this was real, and it wasn't going away, not ever.
"Yeah," she breathed. She had nothing to compare her beauty to, but just by instinct, she could tell that she should have believed what people had said in the past. It was so much better knowing herself.
Hobbling back to bed, using her Dad for support as her legs were most definitely not fully awake yet, she sat on the bed, and ignored the nasty look they were getting from the nurse. The nasty look which she could see, and yet ignored anyway. It was her life, she wanted to be out of here as soon as possible, she desperately wanted to explore.
Nodding about the video chat, she watched as he pulled the holocube out of his pocket.
The tears started again. Not that they'd stopped.
"Oh," she said, the mere sight of her Mom taking her breath away.
After a few moments of pure admiration, her heart feeling like it was going to implode from all the emotions she'd experienced in the last ten minutes alone, she smiled at her Dad, saying, "I can see why you fell for her." She really did look a lot like her Mom. In the past, that wouldn't have been welcomed, but now, it was comforting.
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Post by Michael Clarke on Feb 16, 2011 19:12:46 GMT -5
Michael smiled warmly, saying in response:
"She was a pretty one, that's for sure. Her heart was what made her special though. Jen was always willing to help, willing to go the extra mile. Can't believe she wanted me around her. Told her that too." The smile disappeared slightly as he sat back down on the edge of the bed, asking Hollie quietly:
"If you had a chance to see her...see your mother...would you be willing to go?" Michael knew that this was totally out of left field and that Hollie would probably go on yet another emotional rollercoaster, but he was going to have to break the news to her sooner or later...why hide it? Michael did take the liberty of explaining how this would be possible:
"I had been looking through databases for any kind of trace of her and found a possible lead. The name is different, but she looks identical to Jennifer in all aspects, even her hometown listing. She's in a suburb just outside of Albany and I'm willing to bet more than anything that it's her. I don't know if she'd be willing to see us, but I think we ought to at least try."
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Post by Hollie Clarke on Feb 17, 2011 13:39:54 GMT -5
"I think I have a pretty good idea why she kept you around," Hollie said with a smile. He wore years of command and combat on his face, but she imagined he was quite the pretty boy when he was younger. Not to mention the fact that he was about as good as they came.
The mere mention of her mother made her heart stop.
He'd found her?
So many thoughts began to rush through her head. Should they go? Would she see them? What would she think? Would it be different now? Would she recognise them?
... This was the woman that abandoned her the day she'd found out that she was blind. Why give her the chance of getting to know her daughter now that she could see? She hadn't tried to find her, not to Hollie's knowledge. But then, she'd forgiven her Dad, who did the same thing, why couldn't she do the same for her Mom?
Hollie realised she must have been quiet for what seemed like an age. Maybe she should actually try saying something.
"Yeah." She hadn't expected that to come from her mouth. Making sure her body was working in sync, she nodded, "let's go see her."
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Post by Michael Clarke on Feb 17, 2011 18:48:40 GMT -5
Michael gave her a small smile, taking her hand and squeezing it slightly before he told her:
"Ok then. I need to get the both of us tickets off world. It shouldn't take very long to get there. Until then, rest up baby girl. We have a long trip." He gave her a quick kiss on the forehead before he told her:
"The moment I get word you're ready to leave, I'll be back."
Michael was proud of the way Hollie was walking around, as if she hadn't had the most life-changing operation on the face of the planet and sight was normal for her. He did enjoy her reaction when their shuttle went into space, her eyes sparkling as she surveyed the stars. It was a beautiful sight for Michael to gaze on, and he wouldn't soon forget it. Once planet-side, they managed to snag a metro-train up to Albany, the former capital of New York(Manhattan had been crowned capital city of the whole state in 2200 after Albany's economy went into a state of freefall. It was only fifty or so years ago that the city began to revive). Both Michael and Hollie were fortunate to be greeted with a warm spring afternoon when they arrived in town, not having to deal with any freak snowstorms(they were common this time of year). The captain managed to find the address he had dug up through Alliance records, matching the address on his datapad to a small house in a quaint neighborhood not too far from the train station they had arrived at. Michael's hands trembled slightly, his right hand taking Hollie's left to not only re-assure her, but to re-assure himself. He stayed silent and still for a few more moments, attempting to collect his thoughts. Would she welcome them with open arms? Shun them without any desire of reconciliation? Why Albany? Why hadn't she tried to contact Mike or Hollie all these years? Would she care?
Only one way to find out.
Michael walked forward, knocking on the wooden door. He heard a "Just a minute!" come from inside, the captain's hands now trembling even more. His heart felt like it was going to rip through his chest.
The door opened, revealing a slightly aged, but still extremely attractive Jennifer in a tanktop and sweatpants(well, that was one way to answer the door), hair tied back in a bun and a mild coat of sweat on her face. Interrupted a workout? Hopefully.
"How can I..." Jennifer stopped when her eyes caught Michael, the woman's facial expression puzzled. She was silent for a few moments, one hand covering her mouth as if in shock.
"Don't know how else to say it, but ah...hi." Boy that was a stupid line, but Michael didn't know what else to say in order to break the absolute surprise on Jen's face. The woman swallowed hard before saying quietly:
"You know...this has got to be a joke. Some kind of...some kind of trick. No one knows about you. No one..." She turned to Hollie and almost instantly tears began to flow, Jennifer shaking her head as she walked backward, leaning up against the doorway, hands covering her face.
"Jen...we need to talk."
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Post by Hollie Clarke on Feb 17, 2011 19:02:38 GMT -5
The journey to Albany had made it hard to remember where she was going and why. Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined space would ever look as glorious as this. The planets, the stars, the moons, all words which now had meaning... well, new found meaning. She could now put a picture to the words, dream up a whole new world made of real things. It was overwhelming and wonderful, she managed to keep from crying, otherwise it probably wouldn't stop for the next few days as she discovered new thing after new thing. As soon as they were back on solid ground though, her stomach started doing double backflips, somersaults, layouts, tucks, anything and everything to signify that she was the most nervous she had ever been in her life. The one mystery that still illuded her was her mother, Jennifer, and now she was possibly going to see that mystery unfold. Hollie clung to her Dad tightly (and he did to her) as they waited for the door to swing open. Judging by his reaction to the voice from behind the door, this was the right place. Absentmindedly, she straightened her jacket, keeping a hold of the hemline so she had something to fiddle with, distract herself, although it was pretty impossible right now. The tears were reciprocated in Hollie's eyes, she couldn't help herself. The woman she'd been angry at for so long, standing in front of her now, just... Gods, there really were no words for how Hollie felt right now. All she contributed was a quiet, "please," her large green eyes shining. |
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Post by Michael Clarke on Feb 17, 2011 19:21:15 GMT -5
Jennifer looked into Hollie's eyes, wiping away her tears as she managed to say through the sobs:
"You...have..my..e..." Michael couldn't stand watching the woman he had fallen in love with be in so much agony without any comfort. He gently took a few steps forward and put his arms around her, Jennifer instantly digging her head into his chest, continuing her lament.
"Shut the door." He told Hollie, kissing Jennifer on the head and whispering to her:
"I've missed you. Missed you more than you could ever imagine." Jennifer pulled back slightly, looking up at Michael as she asked:
"Then why leave me alone? Why?!" Jennifer stepped away from him, wiping away the remaining tears on her face as sorrow gave way to another emotion Michael knew he would have to deal with sooner or later: anger.
"Jen, hear m.."
"No, you listen to me Michael! It's been too long since I've had a chance to talk." Jen took a deep breathe, attempting to compose herself before she went on:
"You left a big wound in me, you know that?"
"I know, Jen, I know and I've been li.."
"Shut it! I don't want to hear excuses! You didn't stick by me like you said you would! You shattered my heart and left me alone to deal with a daughter who I thought wouldn't have a chance at living." Her expression softened as she looked at Hollie, saying a lot more calmly:
"Guess I was wrong..." She walked over to a nearby couch, sitting down on the middle cushion, rubbing her temples with her hands. There was another moment of silence before she asked:
"How did you find me?"
"Alliance records."
"Oh, so they take disloyal husbands?"
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Post by Hollie Clarke on Feb 18, 2011 3:56:40 GMT -5
Hollie screwed up her whole face as she tried to keep it together, and was only just managing it. Closing the door was a lot easier now she should see, albeit it through a stream of tears. It was almost like temporary blindness everytime she cried, everything going blurry.
The anger coming off her mother made her shrink away, wiping her eyes with the back of her hands. They'd made it into the house, but her Dad was taking an emotional beating now... one that he probably deserved, but it was still hard to watch. She'd never seen anger before. It had always felt worse when she could only hear it, not knowing how the person was going to react. But now, she knew she'd been wrong to think that, because it was so much hard seeing the emotions on the person's face, knowing that they were completely sincere.
"Oh, so they take disloyal husbands?"
WAIT A SECOND. "Are you..." come on Hollie, you can manage the words, "are you two still married?"
Why had she not figured that out sooner? Her brain and her body had been so flush with emotions and nerves that it had failed her completely. And now she was standing in a room with both her parents, married, and them with their now not blind daughter. How it should been from the beginning.
"If you thought I wouldn't have a chance at living, why leave me?" Hollie asked, her voice somewhat shaky, "I mean, wouldn't you have liked to have known whether I'd survive or not? Or make sure that I did, by taking care of me, like you should have done." Okay, the anger was coming from her now, but at was accompanying by the extremely strong upset, the one her Dad had faced when he'd first told her. "Why weren't you there? Why did I have to go my whole life never knowing who I was? Why!"
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Post by Michael Clarke on Feb 18, 2011 12:23:02 GMT -5
Michael had thought that Jen would have annulled their marriage after he had left, but apparently she hadn't. He would have to explain that little detail to Hollie later. Jennifer was the one who answered Hollie:
"On paper. I never had the guts to change it. Always thinking that he would come back to me." She shook her head, as if disgusted with herself, her ears now receiving Hollie's series of angry questions. Jen was quick to the trigger in answering:
"Because I was afraid, Hollie. Afraid of raising a child by myself, let alone a kid who couldn't see. I was eighteen, on my way to college...I didn't want to...face it alone." She looked up at Hollie as she continued:
"I wanted to forget that you existed and just live a new life, without being burdened emotionally. It was too hard...just too hard..." Michael walked over to the couch Jen was sitting on, taking the liberty of putting himself next to her, saying quietly:
"That's why I ran, Jen. I thought it would be too difficult also. But listen to me..."
"I don't wa..."
"No, you listen to me Jennifer Clarke. We're here to wipe away everything that happened. Hollie is willing to forgive you, I'm willing to start over. It all depends on you, Jen. Wipe everything away." Michael put a hand on Jennifer's back, the woman looking from Michael to Hollie, asking quietly:
"You really think we can piece this together again? After all the wounds we've inflicted on each other?"
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Post by Hollie Clarke on Feb 19, 2011 18:13:06 GMT -5
"After all the wounds we've inflicted on each other?"
Hollie couldn't see what wounds she had inflicted, other than being unlucky enough to be born blind, but she swallowed any comments about it that usually would have come pouring out of her mouth. Fresh start. A family was what she'd wanted for many years, her original blood family her entire life. She had a chance for that now, why let it slip away over some tactless moment?
"Yes," Hollie said simply, brushing the last of the tears from her eyes, "yes, we can."
It took them a while to get warmed up into a proper conversation, talking about what had happened these past two decades. Hollie eventually joined her parents on the sofa, her posture becoming more relaxed as the afternoon wore on. Her hand found her Mom's and they sat together, the two blondes reunited for the first time since the day Hollie was born.
"So, what do we do now?" Hollie asked, looking at them both. It was still a little strange, being able to do that, look at them both. "I mean, we just found you, we can't... leave again, and not see you."
((This is appalling, hopefully my next one will be better.))
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Post by Michael Clarke on Feb 20, 2011 3:05:20 GMT -5
Jen gradually began to divulge information, small bits and pieces that allowed both Michael and Hollie to fill in the twenty year or so gap that existed in their understanding of her. She revealed her current status as social worker, representing children who were in foster care and needed better placement(how ironic). Jennifer also had gone through two boyfriends, both of which didn't pan out very well(one was a jerk and the other was too clingy).
As the evening came and they became more relaxed, Hollie's question brought a bit of the tension back.
"That's something we'll have to decide later. For now..." Michael looked from his wife(boy that sounded good) to his daughter(sounded good too) and said with a small smile:
"Lets go get dinner. Together." Jennifer smiled at the suggestion, taking one of Michael's hands and squeezing it gently, saying quietly:
"I'd like that. I'd like that a lot."
Dinner was to be held at a local diner within walking distance, said diner not being the classiest place that Michael had ever been in, but at that point in time, he wasn't paying attention to his surroundings. He had both of his women back in his life.
That's all he could have ever asked for.
After ordering, Jen put her head on Michael's shoulder, the captain responding by putting his arm around her shoulders, asking:
"Warming back up to me, huh?"
"Don't get too comfy, Mike."
"Oh? What happens if I do?"
"Don't talk like that in front of our daughter, please. This conversation can continue later..." She kissed Michael on the lips, smirking as she continued:
"When we're alone."
"Sorry you had to hear that baby." He said to Hollie with an apologetic smile.
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Post by Hollie Clarke on Feb 20, 2011 9:17:03 GMT -5
Hollie actually laughed when her Dad apologised for what she'd just heard.
"I'm twenty-four, not five. My ears are far from burning."
Actually, sitting here watching her parents being like this was sort of a blessing. She'd never got to see John and Isabelle like this when she was younger, but they'd been quite sedate as far as couples went, close, settled, from what she'd heard/remembered. All the foster families that she'd been with usually took in more than one child, making the places mad houses, and quite often, it was a single parent looking for the kids to keep them company after their partner left/died. And, well, Hollie didn't make their lives any easier. They'd assumed that, being blind, she'd be quiet, unassuming. And... they were wrong.
She'd matured a lot over the last couple of years though, and she wouldn't be causing any trouble for her parents. Past the obvious teasing, of course.
"It's adorable," she smirked, stirring the straw around in her strawberry milkshake. It was a lot more pink than pictures she'd seen on the menu, maybe they'd overdone it with the food colouring or something.
"Because I'm curious," she said, and if she had the chance to strengthen their relationship, she would, "what is your favourite memory of each other?"
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