Who: Roxas, Laura and Emily What: Meeting kid When: Morning Where: Street Warnings: TBD Status: Closed/In Progress
Laura was scared. One minute, she’d been playing in the front yard of the house she shared with her mother and father, and the next, she was in a noisy, unfamiliar place and she had no idea where her parents where. There were big, loud things that kind of looked like covered wagons, but not being pulled by horses. Everything was frightening and she had no idea what to do.
It was a huge relief a few minutes later when she spotted a familiar face walking past and ran over to him, grasping his hand with her small one. “Papa, what is this place? Why are we here? I want to go home.”
***
Roxas was surprised; he wouldn’t have thought of himself as having a kid, although he had seen the announcement on the network. Who would he have a child with? Xion, from back home? But the girl didn’t seem like a Nobody, somehow. He took her hand gently and knelt down in front of her, trying to imagine what this must be like for her.
“Um,” he said. “This is going to sound strange, but please don’t worry. I’m sure everything will work out, and I’ll look after you. But I… don’t actually know you yet, even though I’m your Papa. This place is… not exactly my home, that’s Twilight Town, but it’s where I live right now. Where is your home? And, I’m sorry to have to ask this, but what is your name?”
***
Why was her Papa asking her name? This was all so very strange, but she was determined to be brave and not cry. The fact that he was holding her hand made it a little easier.
“I’m Laura,” she said. “We live in Madison Valley. You and momma and me. And I.” She corrected herself quickly, knowing that her mother would be disappointed if she didn’t use proper grammar. “Why don’t you know that? Did you get hurt working on the railroad? Should I go fetch the doctor?”
***
The railroad? The railroad! She must be from the old west timeline. Roxas was both relieved that he knew a bit more what was going on, and terrified. Looking after a kid would be hard enough; looking after a kid from an entirely different time period was terrifying. For her as well! He knew how it felt to be in a new place with no idea what was going on and where nothing was familiar. It was not a pleasant feeling.
He had a feeling he knew who her mother was, though. “Momma is Emily, right?” he asked, just to confirm. “Well, don’t worry, I didn’t get hurt on the railroad. And don’t worry, I think you’ll be home again soon enough.” He had seen something about a date the kids would be leaving, and he assumed she’d return home at that time. He had to tell her something in the meantime though. “This is still Madison Valley, but… you’re in the future. And the past. At the same time. It’s hard to explain.” He certainly wasn’t good at explaining things; usually people explained things to him, not the other way around. He cleared his throat and tried again.
“This is Madison Valley in the future. I’m like your Daddy, but a version of your Daddy from the future. But I’m also much younger than your Daddy is, where you’re from.” He hoped that made sense. It only slightly made sense to him.