Who: Isobel and River When: Foredated to Monday night Where: Their place What: Watching a movie and chatting Status: Closed; Completed Gdoc Rating: PG-13 at most.
Saturday morning arrived and Isobel’s alarm went off, but the sun didn’t come up. Following a morning of errands and training, the sun still did not rise. The sky remained stubbornly dark and by the time Isobel arrived home, a pizza in hand, she was convinced this was Dome shenanigans. Wonderful. It was like when the sun wouldn’t set. Everyone’s internal clock would be thrown off. As it was, Isobel had ingested far more caffeine than normal just to make it through the day. She silently cursed Madison Valley as she stepped into the house and kicked off her shoes. She would be lucky if she could get any sleep tonight.
“River! I’m home.” No, Isobel knew she didn’t need to call out to River. No doubt the young woman already knew she was home. It was just a habit by this point. Isobel put the pizza down on the kitchen table and dug out some plates from the cabinets.
Tonight they were spending some quality time together and, despite the Dome deciding to make it permanently night, Isobel was determined for it to happen. They hadn’t spent time together in a while and Isobel wasn’t about to let the Dome snatch away the moment from her. Most important, Isobel wasn’t sure how this potentially permanent night was affecting her niece. She wanted to make sure River was okay.
River, despite having an alarm, tended to wake up before it. That was something that she had a bad habit of doing. So when she did get up Saturday morning the alarm was turned off and she slipped out of bed. She knows that Isobel had probably gone off to run errands and would be back eventually. She was never too worried about the older woman never coming home.
When she does check outside, however, she takes note of the lack of sun. Where it would possibly bother others it wouldn't bother her too much. After all, she'd lived out in the Black and in space it could get pretty dark. The only time one dealt with the sun was if they ventured onto other planets. So this? It was what it had reminded her of.
She's in her room when she hears Isobel. Though she'd known the other woman was there before she'd called out to her. Isobel just had a familiar presence in her mind whenever she was home, Kyle was the same when he was around too. As were her friends.
Slipping out of her room she moves out toward the kitchen before moving over to hug Isobel and giving her a soft smile," Dome took away the light." That was all there was to it. "You didn't get lost in the darkness, that's good."
From what River had told her of her own world, Isobel knew she should have expected the young woman to take the sudden plunge into permanent darkness with ease. The blond offered the young woman a smile and returned the hug gently. “It certainly enjoys playing tricks,” Isobel replied, playfully ruffling River’s hair as she stepped back. “And no, it will take more than this to throw me off.” Though Isobel was not as familiar with constant darkness as River, she was confident in her abilities should something or someone decide to take advantage of the change in scenery.
“I got us some pizza and I figured we could watch some movies? Or catch up on some shows? Whatever you are feeling.” Isobel was good with either option. With Halloween approaching, there were always plenty of scary choices available. Of course, neither of them tended to really enjoy scary movies too much. Isobel would never turn down “The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown.” It was a classic.
"Least it didn't take you with the darkness," River states softly. The dome taking Max away and then Michael had actually done a number on her. They were important people in her life. She still had Isobel, Kyle, and Alex though. Even if she knows that the dome could easily take them from her too and if they ever did that... then she'd hate everything. The ruffling of her hair, however, gets her a bit out of her head and she gives a soft smile," That's good to know." If the darkness had gotten to Isobel then she'd have gone off after the older woman.
Pizza was always good. Turning she moves to grab them drinks since Isobel had grabbed the plates for the pizza. "Let's watch Charlie Brown." She wasn't overly fond of scary movies too much. There were some that she liked but she wasn't entirely fond of them. "There will be ghouls and goblins out eventually," she states softly. "Are you going to dress up?"
Isobel missed her brothers terribly. The thought that neither of them would be present to walk her down the aisle hurt the blond more than she admitted. She did her best not to let her thoughts linger in that dark place. She knew she could ask Alex or Maria to do her the honor; Maria had already offered. In the meantime, Isobel would do her best to not leave River or Kyle.
“I would give it hell if it tried to.” Isobel meant both the darkness and the Dome. She would never leave River’s side without a fight.
Isobel loaded up their plates with pizza. “I was hoping you would say that.” She winked at the brunette and started towards the living room, plates balanced in both hands.
“And I think that is plenty without adding their inspirations from the media.” The alien settled onto the couch and immediately took a bite of pizza. She’d worked up quite an appetite between running errands and the workout this morning. Plus, Jendrys really had the best pizza.
The blond wiped her hands on a napkin. “Maybe? I’m not sure yet. Are you thinking of dressing up?”
There was a part of River that wished the dome would just give Max and Michael both back. However, she had the others and knew that they'd be there if she ever needed them. Sure, the dome could take them away too. Chew them up and never spit them out... but she couldn't let herself think like that. Of course, her captain was there too and that just meant she had more family to worry about.
"I'd give it hell too."
There was no way that she'd let the dome take her away from Isobel and the others. She would fight if it so much as even tried. Especially when she wanted to be able to see the other get married. Wanted to be there for her whenever she needed.
Their drinks are set down before them and got the movie going before sitting down beside the blond, picking up her plate of pizza and taking a bite of it. After she swallows the piece of pizza in her mouth she gives a slight shrug to the question.
"Don't know. Never done it before... maybe I will this year."
Isobel knew both River and herself were lucky to have the amount of friends they had in Madison Valley. Yes, she missed her brothers desperately, but at least they had others here to lean on if they ever needed help. The Dome could take them too, but Isobel didn’t like to think about that. If she did, there was a good chance she’d never want to leave the house. Maybe not even her bed.
River’s comment earned her a smile and Isobel squeezed the girl’s shoulder. “I know you would.”
Like River, Isobel would be there for her and for their friends no matter what. It was what family was for and River was as much Isobel’s family as Kyle and the others. She was still so grateful the Dome had allowed Max to be River’s guardian, otherwise Isobel never would have had the chance to know this strong, kind young woman beside her.
The movie on, Isobel couldn’t help but still laugh at some of the lines and the two indulged in pizza and their drinks. Even after all these years, the movie still held up.
The alien offered an encouraging smile. “You should do it at least once. Just for the experience.”
River, honestly, hadn't expected to make the friends that she had in Madison Valley. There were the people that Isobel knew and then there were the ones that she knew. Of course, there was even Eddie. Someone that the dome had decided she needed children with. That had been an interesting way to meet someone. Speed dating was normally nice too and she'd met good friends that way as well.
It was wild to think that when she'd first showed up that she'd only been seventeen. That her brother nor her captain had been there for the birthdays that she had. Three years had passed..., though it felt longer, and she wondered how she'd managed to survive Earth that Was. Though she knows that it was due to Max being her guardian and then after him being sent home... it had been Isobel. The woman had taken her in and made her family.
She gives a soft smile at the movie as they eat their pizza. Charlie Brown was something that she found she enjoyed. It was vastly different from anything she would've ever watched back on Osiris or anywhere, really.
"I'll have to find the perfect costume then," she states softly. This year? She'd have fun and try not to let anything overwhelm her. "You and Kyle should dress up too, have a little fun."
That was something Isobel and River had in common. Isobel had never expected to make the friends she had in Madison Valley either. When she first arrived, she wasn’t sure how she was going to survive here. Having Max and Michael for a time had helped, but after they’d left, Isobel had to venture out to find a way to survive here without them. Obviously, she’d had Kyle, Alex, Maria, and Rosa too. Honestly, she didn’t know what she would do without that support system from home. Without Kyle.
Oh, she knew she would charge on and River would be an integral part of surviving without those people here, but she knew she would desperately miss them too. Losing Kyle would wound her and it would take time to get over. Hopefully, that never happened.
The blond settled back against the couch, pushing those thoughts from her mind and choosing to focus on Charlie Brown and River instead. To take in the happy moments while she could.
“If you need help, you know where to find me,” Isobel replied, giving River a smile. Would Kyle and her dress up? Maybe. They hadn’t done anything like that and it might be fun. “And maybe we will. It feels like a while since the two of us have had a little fun.”
There was, honestly, a part of River that wondered if the Captain, Isobel, and the others would be taken from her. If the dome would rip them again. Captain Reynolds had been a part of her family for years. Her brother had gotten her onto Serenity and things had gone from there, she'd found family that she hadn't known she'd wanted or needed.
For now, though, they could focus on Charlie Brown and not the what ifs of life. There was a lot the dome could do and they needed to focus on the better things, the good things. Things that they didn't want to change and would do whatever they could to keep it from changing.
"I'd like that," She states softly. "We could go together." Maybe there would be something to find for Isobel too. "I hope so, you should have fun, you deserve it."