WHO: Six & Sam Carter WHAT: Late night chat WHEN: Backdated to before the Fear Gas Plot WHERE: Their house WARNINGS: Low STATUS: Closed | Completed gdoc
For the past few weeks, Sam had been on edge, watching carefully for any sign that there were still replicators in Madison Valley. If even one survived, they could suffer a re-infestation in a matter of months and that was not something she wanted to happen. At least she was confident that Fifth and her doppelganger were gone. Even though she was aware it didn’t make logical sense, she still blamed herself for the whole mess that the town experienced. At least some of the items that were destroyed had miraculously reappeared and most of the damage was repaired now.
She’d been giving Six space since her encounter with the replicator version of Sam. It had to be traumatic for the girl and Sam didn’t want to push her too hard. Tonight, unable to sleep, Sam had slipped out of bed and headed for the kitchen to make a cup of tea. When she heard footsteps, she assumed that Jack had followed her despite her efforts not to wake him, so she was startled to find Six standing there. “What are you doing up?” she asked.
*
Six was glad the replicators were gone and especially that Not Sam was gone as well. She really did not like the idea of someone pretending to be one of her guardians. She was just glad Jack had gotten there because who knows what Not Sam would've done.
But ever since the replicators had left, she'd noticed that Sam had been keeping her distance. It didn't surprise Six and she had been expecting it, but it still made her a little upset. But maybe Sam just needed some time after what happened, so Six waited until she was ready.
She had gone to bed with Poptart and Pichu, but she woke up in the middle of the night feeling hungry. She got out of bed and tiptoed into the kitchen, a bit startled to see Sam there at first but she quickly relaxed. "I got hungry," she replied. "What are you doing up?"
*
“Couldn’t sleep,” Sam said. “There’s a package of cookies in the cupboard. Maybe I’ll have one with you.” She paused. “If that’s okay.” If Six didn’t feel comfortable around her yet, she would understand. After everything the girl had experienced in her life before Madison Valley, having to deal with replicators was unfortunate.
She mustered up a smile. Being a mother was something that she’d always wanted and always felt just out of her grasp. Spending time with Janet and Cassandra helped to assuage those feelings and Sam hoped that this recent event hadn’t completely ruined any chance she had of developing that relationship with Six.
*
"Okay." Six went and grabbed the cookies. She also grabbed a cup and the milk from the fridge. As far as she was concerned, one couldn't have cookies without milk no matter what time of the day it was.
"That's fine," she said, pouring milk into her cup then handed Sam a cookie. Why wouldn't it be? It wouldn't be the first time they had milk and cookies together. Unless Sam still felt guilty about what happened. Which Six thought was a bit dumb since it wasn't her fault.
Or maybe it was something else. Six wasn't really good at gauging other people's feelings. "Why can't you sleep?" she asked.
*
Sam was used to nightmares and sleepless nights. It was something she tried to keep from Six, though she wouldn’t be surprised if the girl had noticed. “Thanks,” she said when she took the cookie. “Dealing with the replicators again brought up some bad memories.” Along with a lot of feelings like guilt and anger and others.
“Are you doing okay? I’m sorry that you had to deal with that.” Sam supposed that not having kids at home was probably a good thing or her enemies might have tried using them against her there too.
*
Six had definitely noticed. Mainly because she'd had plenty of sleepless nights herself before she came to Madison. It was never a good idea to sleep for too long back in her world. Otherwise, an adult could possibly snatch you up and maybe eat you. So Six had learned to live on very little sleep. It had taken her a while to get a full night's rest when she had moved in with Sam and Jack. She was now sleeping through the night, but occasionally she ended up waking in the middle of the night, like now.
"I'm fine," she replied as she dunked her cookie into her milk. Usually she would've just left it at that, but she continued. "I didn't like Not Sam, though. She was kind of creepy. And I'm glad you're okay. I was worried about you."
*
Hearing Six refer to the replicator as “Not Sam” made Sam smile a little. “She’s very creepy,” she agreed. “And I wish you never had to meet her.” She paused. “I wasn’t sure if you would need some space from me after that.” Sam wouldn’t blame Six one bit if it was difficult to look at her in the wake of dealing with the disturbing robot version.
“Jack told me that Poptart protected you,” she added. Talking about the dog might be a better option.
*
"Me too." Six did not like Not Sam at all and was glad she was gone. But she was more glad that her Sam was back safe and sound. Hopefully nothing like that happened again or at least, not for a while. She hated having Sam (and Jack of course) taken away from her, even temporarily. "I'm fine now," she told her. Yes, she had been a bit wary at first. What if Not Sam was just pretending to be Sam? But with the replicators all gone, she knew it was actually her guardian.
"She did. She got lots of treats," Six smiled slightly.
*
“Good,” Sam said. “You deserve some treats too. What do you say we do a girls day out this weekend? We can get breakfast, go shopping, do whatever you want.” She didn’t think Six would appreciate mani/pedis yet, but she might suggest them while they were out and about. IT really didn’t matter to her what they did since she just wanted to spend some time with her daughter.
*
"We can do that." It would be nice to spend time with Sam. And no, she didn't appreciate mani/pedis. She wasn't really sure what they were, but she might give it a try if they decide to stop at a spa.
Six yawned. "Guess I should get back to bed." Now that she was fed, she was feeling sleepy again. "Goodnight, Mom." She headed back to her bedroom.