Who: Finn and Laura What: A visit When: September 29, 2019 afternoon Where: Finn residence - Justice Drive. Rating: Low Status: Complete
While Finn wasn’t really one to make what would commonly be referred to as ‘house calls’ he didn’t mind doing it for people who either couldn’t make it into the library for whatever reason, if they couldn’t come to the books he’d bring the books to them, while he wasn’t getting paid for doing this it was just in his nature, he loved seeing that smile on faces when he brought them their literature.
Today he had nearly a dozen books in his satchel bag that were going to a few different people. First up was Rebecca - the lady in her fifties who was still nursing a broken leg from the hurricane and had a liking for fantasy romance novels, next up was Jack - he loved engineering and was reading his way through anything on the subject he could find, lastly he was dropping off a few more of the classics for young Caitlyn Finn. He could see a lot of himself in her, that love of books and he wanted to nurture that, another booklover in this world was a good thing.
Humming a song to himself he walked down Justice Drive he knocked on the door of the house that was recorded as being the Finn residence, hopefully they’d be home and he could pass on the books.
--
Cas and Dorian had gone out for a bit, and Caitlyn was at dance class. Laura hadn’t seen April in a while, and was concerned about where the girl had gotten to. But today, she wasn’t really feeling up to going out as part of the search party. Thankful that the morning sickness wasn’t so bad today, she was able to go answer the door, albeit it slowly. Dizziness and fatigue were still an issue, but as long as she rested and took things slowly she could manage.
Opening the door, she offered a small, surprised smile to the visitor on the stoop. “Finn, hi. How are you?” She moved aside to allow him in.
--
Finn smiled when he heard the door unlock and open, he hadn’t talked to her for awhile and he didn’t count the quick ‘hi’ they said to one another when Caitlyn was in the library borrowing or returning books. Despite the size of the island and the fact the population wasn’t really that large he knew weeks or months could go by without seeing or talking to acquaintances or friends but it happened, life often got in the way and right now Finn was quite distracted with wedding plans.
“Hey Laura. I’m not too bad, busy with work.” He said with a shrug before taking two books out of his satchel bag. “I’ve just come around to drop off some more books that I thought Caitlyn might like. She’s reading quite advanced books for her age!” That was definitely not a bad thing, some of the books written for younger kids were so simple and boring.
--
Taking the books, she looked at the titles and then smiled. “She really is. Thank you for bringing these by, I know she’ll appreciate them. Do you happen to have any suggestions of any good books that I could read? I’ve been feeling a bit under the weather, but it’s hard for me to just sit around without doing much. It would be nice to get back to reading again, it’s been a while but I used to read a lot back home.” Because what else was she going to do when she avoided socializing.
It was different now, she needed to get out there and meet more people. Working part time at the bakery helped some, but she needed to do more. It was important now.
---
He was getting a pretty good idea of what kinds of books Caitlyn was interested in and he didn’t mind bringing them over if they couldn’t get to the library. “I’m sorry that you’re not feeling too well lately.” Feeling under the weather was never a nice thing, but the closest he had gotten lately was those few days after the hurricane with the exhaustion.
“Recommendations... that depends on what kind of genres you like, there’s a bit of everything from Jane Austin, Agatha Christie to James Patterson or Stephen King. I can bring some around if you can’t make it to the library with your new job. How’s it going at the bakery?” He had seen her in the bakery and was happy that she had gotten a job, it did help the days go by a bit quicker.
--
“Thanks. Hopefully it will get better, I’m not sure I can tolerate months of this.” She turned and led him further inside, glancing back with a smile to invite him to follow. “Can I offer you a drink or something to eat?”
“I’m willing to give anything a try, I haven’t just sat down and read in so long that maybe my tastes have changed.” At the question about her new job, she smiled again. “I like it a lot. Meg is nice enough to let my try my hand a baking a few things, and I am learning of lot from her.”
--
Finn followed, closing the door behind him. “A drink would be lovely, but only if it’s no problems.” He never expected to be invited into people’s houses, he always hoped that he wasn’t imposing on anyone, a force of habit from his youth. Only come in when invited. Some days when he did these rounds he ended up drinking cup after cup of tea that all he did when he got home was pee.
“I’m glad that you’ve found something to do that you enjoy, I found it so hard when I first got here and there was nothing to do, I was used to being in the family’s bookstore like 6 or 7 days a week and helping out wherever I could. Then I get sent here and damn I was so bored!” Because he was here almost from the beginning he had seen the island grow and grow in both good and bad ways, but he was glad to have his job in the library and would continue to work there for as long as he was on the island.
Thinking for a minute he looked through his bag, finding one of the paperbacks that Rebecca had finished and Finn was supposed to return. “I was going to return this title but if it’s something that you might like I can leave it here with you.” He said, with his usual smile.
--
Leading him into the kitchen, she nodded. “It’s no trouble at all. Coffee, tea, something else?” Laura liked Finn, he had been nice to her when she was new and unsure, and offered support when Caspian was away. It was easier to be friendly and sociable around someone she knew was safe and reliable.
“It helps a lot that Meg is so nice, I’m used to working with people who aren’t always so nice. It makes a big difference.” Looking to the offered book, she smiled and shrugged, hesitantly taking it. “Sure, I’ll give it a try. Are you sure it doesn’t need to be returned right away? Is someone else waiting for it?”
--
"A cup of tea would be lovely, black and no sugar thanks." He said as he followed Laura, putting his bag down onto one of the chairs at the dining table before walking over to the kitchen counter to continue their conversation.
"Meg's lovely, I've known her for years and you couldn't have a better boss." Finn smiled, glad that Laura was enjoying her job and getting along with Meg. He chuckled softly. "No, you're right, no one's waiting on this title, I'll just put it through the system when I get to work in the morning."
--
Putting some water on to boil, she listened to Finn with a little nod. But something he’d said caught her attention. “Do you know a lot of people here well?” She remembered he’d mentioned being on the island a while, but that didn’t necessarily mean he knew everyone. Laura’d worked in the same bar for years, but only got to know a few faces.
--
“I’ve got a lot of acquaintances, you know, people I see around or who come to the library regularly and I know a lot of faces but I wouldn’t call many of them my friends, maybe only a dozen or so who I’d want to invite around for dinner.” He’d say hi to people in passing or chat if they were in the mood for it but those who really knew him knew that Finn was naturally introverted and would happy swap human company for those of his books, sometimes Riley’s extroverted nature made up for both of them. “But you do overhear some interesting things when people think no one’s around, happens a lot in the library. Why? Want the dirt on someone?”
--
She knew that loose leaf tea was better, but all they had were bags. The limitations and the rationing of food was proving to be more frustrating than Laura had originally imagined. She’d gone without for most of her life, but it was because of lack of funds, not lack of availability.
At the question, she shrugged, turning to watch him as she waited for the water to boil. “Just… curious about things. You’ve been able to give me a lot of information, and I appreciate that. But I was wondering who else is good to know. And who to stay away from.”
--
Finn had his own selection of loose leaf tea that had gotten smuggled onto the island, not that he shared the information about this underground network that operated, the fewer people who knew the better as not to put those involved at any added risk. Maybe next time he’d bring over some from his own stash.
He thought for a moment, trying to think about who would fit into those two categories. “Most of the residents are okay, but go with your own gut feeling on individuals as there’s always rumors of spies on both sides. There’s a few creepy guys that I’d stay away from but I don’t think they’d actually do you any harm and the usual town drunks that are more of a nuisance than a threat. If you ignore the armed guards and cameras everywhere, it's really just like a typical town. Be nice to the shop owners and they’ll be nice in return.” He was still trying to figure out if he could trust Laura with the information about the Faction and the smuggling network.
--
Laura listened as she watched him intently. Nodding, she looked down with a bit of a smirk. “I’ve never been very good at letting down my guard much to trust enough people. Even in the ‘typical town,’ I always kept to myself. Here, it just feels like a bad idea not to make connections. I guess the one bonus of having people is having someone who can help when things go wrong.”
---
Finn knew exactly what Laura was talking about, he used to keep to himself and still did in a sense, he wasn’t the one out there making friends left, right and center. Only if the showed similar interests did he put the effort in. “All I can say is go with your gut when it comes to making those connections, if you think that they’re worth the time and effort building some kind of friendship then go for it, if not then save it for someone else more deserving.” He grinned a bit. “But you’ve got at least one good connection at least.” Of course he was talking about himself.
--
“And I am so thankful for that.” She gave him a small but genuine smile and turned to tend to the whistling pot. She poured the water carefully into a mug, then brought it, along with a tea bag to the table. She motioned for him to sit and relax, then went to pour another. “How do you take your tea?”
--
“Black will be fine, I’m a bit of a purist when it comes to tea.” He said with a smile as he took a seat. “Coffee I’ll have white but tea, especially the flavored stuff is best served as is.” Not everyone thought the same but to each their own and he wasn’t about to judge anyone on how they enjoyed their beverages. “I’m sure Meg will also have some good contacts and connections too, and she’s a great listener too.” Which was all that was needed, an understanding person who’d just sit and listen without judgement.
--
Laura nodded a bit as she listened, preparing her own tea with a bit of honey and lemon. It wasn’t what she usually went for, but it seemed like a better choice than coffee. Joining him at the table, she sat across from him and gave a small smile. “I hope she won’t be too upset with me when I need to reduce my hours some.”
--
Finn took his offered mug and gave Laura a nod of thanks, holding it in his hands and letting the warmth seep into his palms before he brought it to his lips for a sip. “I’m sure she won’t be, having an extra set of hands around, even on reduced hours is better than having none at all and it’s not like we actually work for a wage here, it’s more so we don’t go crazy with boredom.” Though he was sure there were people who had done just that. “I don’t get many people wanting to help out in the library but I’m glad for those who do, it gives me some downtime and a chance to get out and do things before the shops shut. I didn’t have that luxury that much back home when I had to mind the store all day long.”
--
Laura nodded in understanding, her hands wrapping around her mug. Her hands absorbed the heat and kept the liquid warm. “I just feel badly for just getting started, then having to leave. But once the baby comes, I know it will be difficult to do both.”
--
Finn looked up from his mug and blinked, Laura was pregnant? How could he not have picked up on it from her words alone, probably because it wasn’t something he was familiar with as most of his friends were males or those back on the mainland hadn’t had children before he got sent here. “Yeah.. but it happens. Congratulations.” He also hoped that she’d keep it under wraps for as long as possible, who knew what the government was doing with those babies that were born on the island, no one ever saw them and Finn still refused to believe previously healthy fetuses would suddenly die upon delivery. “What does Caspian think about it?”
--
Laura managed a faint smile, but her eyes were focused on her tea as if it held all the answers. “Thank you. He’s happy, excited. We’d been discussing having another child for some time now. But we’d just gotten married and were still adjusting to living together again and helping Caitlyn adjust… we never imagined we’d be sent here. Or what this place would be like.”
She was silent for a long time before snapping out of whatever terrifying little daydream it was that distracted her. She hadn’t forgotten the warning he gave her when they first met. Smiling a bit more again, Laura cleared her throat and looked to Finn. “I’m sorry. How are things for you? Outside of the library.”
--
He was happy for them, although not the best place in the world to be having another child these things couldn’t be helped as it wasn’t like contraceptives were easy to come by on the island, not that Finn had ever had the need for them. He took a sip of tea and smiled.
When the topic was changed his smile grew wider, he didn’t really like talking about himself that much but the happiness of his engagement and the upcoming wedding to Riley was infectious and he couldn’t help but smile, or grin when he thought about it. “They’re going great. Though trying to organize a small wedding without friends wanting to throw bachelor parties or make it some big festivity can be a bit stressful. But at least the rings are safe and we were able to get a license and everything to make it official, just need to pick a date, get the priest and go for it.”
--
Laura couldn’t help but smile seeing Finn’s happiness. “That is so exciting. I wish you all the happiness in the world.” Laura and Caspian’s wedding had been small as well, and she has few friends to speak of to invite. But it was the happiest day of her life, second only to the birth of her daughter.
--
“We’ve been together for years and act like an old married couple anyway. This is just making it all official so we’ll be Finn and Riley Thompson.” Just hearing it made him feel all giddy inside, ever since Riley had first mentioned that he wanted to take Finn’s surname instead of hyphenating or using his own, there was a reason for it all but something Laura really didn’t need to know. “I just hope he likes the pair of wood rings that I made for us, they’re a bit more personal than a pair of gold bands and he loved my piano wire engagement ring.” He was a typical gushing engaged guy.
--
Laura nodded with a small smile. “That is so romantic. And very personal. It’s wonderful to see true happiness here. I wish more people had the chance at it.”
--
He knew just how lucky he was to have Riley and the happiness they shared was something rare here. Everybody was trying to just live their lives the best they could given all the circumstances. "We're lucky. I know a few others have found love here but it's not the norm. But that's one thing they can't stop." He hoped.
--
Laura nodded in understanding. She couldn’t imagine life without Caspian, let alone having to manage this place. She was sad that he and their family were forced to be here, but at least they were together.
“I know we don’t know each other very well, but if you or Riley ever need anything, I am always happy to help.” She meant it. And Finn may not realize it yet, but Laura was a very powerful ally to have.
--
Finn was the only one in his family and close circle of friends that had got ‘exposed’ and moved to the island, he had people here who had become friends but it didn’t stop him missing those on the mainland, at least he still had a way of sending them letters but he was sad that they couldn’t come to the wedding. Such was life now.
“And if you or your family need anything, let me know. Librarians know more than just books.” He gave a wink and tapped the side of his nose. He got a good feeling from Laura and Caitlyn, but he’d wait a bit longer to see if he could trust them with the deeper secrets of the island.
--
Laura nodded with a small smile. “If… if anything happens to me, will you make sure that they’re okay?” It was something she worried about more and more every day. It was hard to find peace of mind around here.
--
Finn reached over, a hand reaching out for one of Laura’s. “I will, I promise.” He knew it was a dangerous thing to say, but if something was to happen to Laura he would look out for the rest of the Finn family, though he was pretty sure that Laura was definitely one of those people who could look after themselves, from their previous conversations he could see that she was one strong woman. “Do you have any family, off island?”
--
Taking the offered hand, she squeezed it lightly. “Thank you. I really appreciate that.” Laura wasn’t sure that strength was enough to keep herself and her family safe, but she tried not to let her fear show too much. At the question, she shook her head no with a sigh. “I was in foster care most of my life, or in a government lab. I never really thought to look for my birth family. Caspian and Caitlyn and Dorian are my family.”
--
Finn realised long ago just how lucky he was to have family back on the mainland who loved him and maybe, one day, if by some miracle he was able to get off this island he could go back to some kind of normality with RIley by his side. “It was just… if anything did happen there might be a way to get word out to them… but if they're all here, then it’s one less letter to sneak out.” He did have a few people on the island who he had promised to send letters to their family if anything should happen to them, at least there was one less. “But I’ll do all I can to keep them safe, family isn’t always blood.”
--
Laura nodded a little, almost missing the bit of information he’d shared. After a moment, she looked to him, arching a brow but saying nothing. She stored it away for now, and instead offered him a small smile. “You’re right about that.”
--
“I’ve had to create a family here, I was the only one in my family affected by the radiation leak. Coming here alone, not knowing anyone wasn’t easy but you end up making friendships and a few of us got lucky and found our soulmates on this tiny rock.” Finn took a sip of his tea. “There’s a silver lining to nearly everything, I guess.”
--
Laura nodded and smiled a little. “I’ve never been very good at making friends. I try but…” She just shrugged at herself, she knew she needed to keep trying. “But it’s good to hear that people make some kind of life, even if it's not the one we all hoped for.”
--
“Good friends tend to find you, not the other way around. If they expect you to change things about yourself then they’re not the type of person you want around you.” Or at least that was what Finn had discovered over the years, those kinds of people were more interested in propping themselves up rather than helping others do the same. “”You need to make some kind of a life here, otherwise you’ll end up like those old guys at Josie’s that drink all their allowance away.” He never wanted to be like that, it was too depressing.
--
Laura just smiled, more than she’d usually allow anyone outside of the family to see. “I used to serve drinks to guys like that. They’re not so bad. Misunderstood, usually. But you are right. The people I hold dear accept me for who I am, and they often see things in me that I don’t.”
--
“I know what you mean, but if they don’t want help when it’s offered to them there’s not a lot you can, other than hoping that they see the light, eventually.” Everyone had their coping mechanisms, unfortunately for some that meant alcohol or some other kind of addiction. “Well I see a strong person and a ferocious Momma Bear.” Finn didn’t want to imagine what Laura would do if someone tried to do something to Caitlyn but he knew it wouldn’t be good.
--
Laura smirked and looked down. “That’s nice of you to say. I don’t know if I am very strong, or a very good mother, but they’re things to aspire to.” Just when she was beginning to get the hang of motherhood, they were sent here, and now with another child on the way, Laura felt like it was foreign territory again.
--
They might not know a lot about each other but Finn could see those qualities in Laura, he had gotten quite good at seeing qualities in people and as they had discussed, people might not see it in themselves. “To not go crazy and keep your family together here shows strength. I’ve lived here for so long that I’ve seen all sorts of people, but it takes a strong person to not let all that has happened get you down.”
--
Laura sighed and shrugged, looking to her tea again. “I just have to continue to remind myself that I have survived worse, I just need to make it through this for my children.” She worried still, that things would get worse, for them or for her. Caitlyn had no idea about her mother’s past, and Laura had only told Caspian bits and pieces of the torture she endured. Sure, her family know this place made her more nervous than usual, but she hoped and prayed they’d never understand the depths of her fear. Forcing a smile, she tried to change the subject. “They need me. Caspian is an incredible father, but I don’t know how he would be able to manage diaper changes and early morning feedings and constant crying on his own.”
--
Finn nodded. “I don’t know how you do any of it, kids around Caitlyn’s age I can deal with but any younger and I’m way out of my league. I’m not exactly ‘father material’ but unless they’ve created a way to give men wombs I don’t think I need to worry.” At least Riley had his fix of kids working as a teacher and Finn when they came into the library for story time, he wasn’t sure if he could deal with children all the time. “I suppose I better finish my tea and let you get back to whatever it was you were doing before I dropped in.” As great as it was catching up he still had a bit of a feeling that he might be interrupting something, even if it was just housework
--
Laura shrugged. “I don’t know how I do it either. When I found out I was pregnant with Caitlyn, I was terrified. I never had a mother, and I barely had a childhood. I didn’t know what to do with a baby or a child. And at that time I was just figuring out how to be a person in the world again. But once I held her in my arms, I knew there was no going back and I didn’t want to. I’ve been lucky, she was such a good baby, and so good now too. I don’t know what this new little one will be like, but if things are any indication so far, I think it may be more of a troublemaker than it’s sister.”
When he mentioned leaving, she sat up a bit straighter. “I’m sorry to keep you so long. We rarely get visitors and I don’t get to chat with people much. I’m sorry for bothering you.”
--
Finn didn’t want to mention the time that a customer back at his family’s book store once handed him their baby, it went straight from asleep to screaming in less than a minute and Finn stood there without an idea of what to do. He was 17 at the time and from then on his grandparents and mother decided that children were not ‘Finn’s thing’ and thankfully never pushed him to get married young and have kids. “You’ll only know when they’re born. They might shock you and be a horror now but an absolute angel out of the womb. My mom used to say she thought I was trying to play football with her internal organs.”
“No, no. You’re not bothering or keeping me at all, I just didn’t want to be invading your personal time. I know you wouldn’t get much time in the house by yourself and I’d hate to be interrupting that.” He looked down at his mug. “I have a habit of over apologizing and thinking I’m interrupting people.”
--
“One can only hope. As long as this child is nothing like me, that is all I can ask for. I am so glad that Caitlyn has her father’s personality.” Laura vividly remembered the negative ways she was described as a child, and although the reports and circumstances were less than ideal, she wasn’t sure if she would be able to handle a child that was anything like the holy terror she had been.
She smiled softly to Finn and nodded. “I do the same thing. I always assume people don’t want to talk to me. I guess everyone has their habits.”
--
Finn was more like his mother, there were some things that he said or did which reminded him of his father but he was definitely his mother’s son and he was proud of it. Krys was a strong woman and alongside his father they gave him a great childhood that he knew a lot of people never got to experience, he was lucky and knew it. “I’m really going to have to meet this husband of yours one day!” He sounded like a decent kind of man, or at least how Laura talked about him.
He nodded. “If I’m in the library it’s a different story, they’re there because they’re after books or information and we’ve got a common interest we can talk about. When I get out of this comfort zone I always feel like I’m interrupting them somehow.”
--
Laura smiled slowly. She idolized Caspian, flaws and all, and she would never say a negative word about him to anyone. To many, he was powerful and intimidating, but to Laura he was home. She couldn’t imagine a life without him anymore. Which was all the more reason why they needed to get out of this place.
“I’m not sure I have a comfort zone. Just places where I’m less anxious or more anxious.” She smirked at herself but it was the truth.
--
That’s what love was, accepting the good things with the bad. It was how Finn felt about Riley and obviously how Laura felt about Caspian, he knew that little smile anywhere.
“Well, at least your anxiety isn’t dialed up to eleven all of the time, that gets tiring really quickly. I’ve seen it in so many people when they first get here, hell I even went through it when I arrived, I didn’t know what I was going to do or what was happening. Getting put on this island with actual sick people was a bit confronting when I was so healthy and didn’t feel any different. Except for the…” He put a hand over the top of his mug and as he lifted it a sphere of black tea emerged from the ceramic and hovered for a few moments before he let the tea go back down into its natural form.
--
Laura smirked a little. “Anxiety is my default setting. Coming here wasn’t so bad I suppose, since I’ve been held for my power before. It just bothers me that my family is stuck too. But it’s been bad at times, I do my best to manage it. For Caitlyn, she seems very sensitive to emotions…” She wasn’t sure if it was an ability, or just a personality trait, but she didn’t want to subject her daughter to her constant worry.
Watching Finn show off his ability, Laura arched a brow and peered at the sphere before looking to him curiously.
--
Finn nodded, he hoped too that young Caitlyn’s sensitivity wasn’t some kind of ability, it was bad enough having innocent children on this island because of their parents but he didn’t want to think about what they’d do if a child started showing signs of having an ability, if they’d take them away for testing or something. No one deserved to be a lab rat.
He curled his hand back around the mug. “Hydrokinetic. I can manipulate water particles, turn it into ice or steam or just about anything, except I can’t create it out of thin air. It had only just started to manifest itself when I got moved here but I’ve gotten much stronger over the years, so much so I was able to keep the dock from getting damaged in that hurricane. Not that I’d do that again in a hurry, I was drained for days.”
--
Laura smiled faintly and nodded. “You’re a hero. Thank you for helping us on the island when you could. My ability is… well, nearly the opposite of yours. I can create and control fire. I’d show you, but most people find it very off-putting. So I keep it inside.” She smirked at herself and shrugged. “I’m always warm on a cold day, I suppose that’s a benefit.”
--
“I was more worried that if the dock was ruined in the storm surge that it would stop the food deliveries, so it was worth the exhaustion and a few days of headaches. I’ve never done something that big for that long and hopefully I won’t need to do it again in a hurry.” But everything was worth it, not that anyone really knew what he had done during that storm. Finn’s eyebrows raised slightly when Laura said about her ability. “I’ve only met one other Pyro before, years ago. I also know now not to do anything to piss you off.” As fire and water were opposite elements. “Sometimes I cheat and make the waves bigger when I’m out surfing, just because I can.” Had to have some perks to having such an ability.
--
She laughed a little and nodded. When she was younger, after being released from the lab, she was terrified of water. Caspian had helped her adjust, but it took a long time, and the phobia snuck up on her without warning. She tended to stay away from the beach if she could, and did her best to avoid swimming. But otherwise, she managed the fear well. “It was very noble of you to help. You’re a hero.”
--
Finn shook his head. “I’m no hero, I just knew I couldn’t sit by and do nothing. As hellish as this place can be it’s still my home.” And he couldn’t let down Riley, he didn’t want to think about life without his fiance in it. If they ever got off this island they had ideas, getting a nice small place in a town where Riley could teach at the school and either a small bookshop for Finn or a public library to work in, but it was just all dreams because over the years nothing had changed, didn’t stop them from dreaming though. “I admit that I do miss my family and all those milestones that I couldn’t be at. But I can’t dwell on it, maybe one day.”
--
Laura offered him a small smile. “No maybes. One day. One day we’ll all get to go home, and we can move on from the things here and have a better life. We have to believe that.” She looked down into her cup of tea, trying to think of something else hopeful or inspiring or strong to say, but that was never her strong suit. She tried to think of what Cas would say. “We have to hold on to hope, that is what will drive us forward.”
--
Finn wished he had that confidence about the future, he knew one day they’d get off this island but after so many years here that hope that it was going to be soon had long since disappeared. “In some ways I’m grateful that they brought me to this island, I wouldn’t have made the friends I’ve got or met Riley, it was destiny I guess.” Everything happened for a reason, even if sometimes he couldn’t see why. “Hope is important, I haven’t lost that but I’m not holding my breath that we’re going to get off here anytime soon.”
--
Laura frowned a little but nodded in understanding. She wasn’t an inherently optimistic person, not given her history. She was trying to be different here, to be better, to hope for the best for her family even though she knew better. But Finn has been here longer, he knew the reality of the situation and she couldn’t deny that. Clearing her throat, she stood to bring her abandoned tea to the sink to dispose of. “I suppose you’re right.”
--
He could see that his honesty didn't really sit well with Laura, not that he could blame her as he probably just ruined her hope. He finished his last mouthful of tea, stood up and followed her to the kitchen to put his dirty mug in the sink. "Though things are changing, if you can call the recent string of violence 'change'. But I do know that people aren't just sitting idly by." The last was added in a whisper, because who knew who might be listening in.
--
She understood his honesty, and once the initial sting left, she would appreciate it as well. At his whispered statement, Laura arched a brow slowly and looked to Finn questioningly, but said nothing aloud.
--
“Let me know when you finish that book and what you think of it, there’s probably a few others that might be of interest to you. I’m always happy to do house calls.” Finn handed her the mug and smoothed out the front of his shirt. “I better be heading off, I promised Riley I’d make dessert tonight. You’ve got my number if you need something.”
--
Laura nodded slowly, still a curious look on her face. Accepting the mug, she placed it in the sink so that she could go see him out. “Thank you for the books and the visit. We’ll try to make it back to the library again sometime soon.”
—
“I hope that you’re feeling better soon. My Ma used to recommend ginger or peppermint for tummy troubles.” It didn’t help everyone, but at least it wouldn’t hurt the baby. “And it’s no problem, if you’re not feeling well just let me know what you want and I’ll drop them by and maybe a few other recommendations.” Though it wasn’t really his place to tell the Finn family about the Faction, he’d ask a member proper about it.
--
“I’ll try it. Thank you for the suggestion.” She offered a genuine smile as they moved toward the door. “And thank you for thinking of Caitlyn, I really appreciate it.”
__
"Got to nurture a kindred spirit." Finn said, returning the smile, kids who enjoyed books was an uncommon sight and he'd do all he could to keep that love alive for the next generation. "Thank you for the tea."