Christine Chapel Pike (ncc1701rn) wrote in saveatlantisic, @ 2019-03-28 11:37:00 |
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February 7
Christine Chapel + Claire Temple
Christine's House | G
Claire stops by to visit Christine and the baby
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January had been such a roller coaster that Claire barely noticed when the month ended and a new one began, and then she was flooded with such relief that it took her off-guard a bit. She hadn’t realized how much she’d been holding in and holding onto. Or maybe it was more that she was trying to avoid it, which was the complete opposite to how she knew she was supposed to handle what had happened to her. Even though she and Solaire had solved the puzzle, for lack of a better phrase, she’d been feeling out of sorts. Strong enough to work, but vulnerable enough that sometimes, she still heard voices and saw shadows move out of the corners of her eyes. Claire had always been good at compartmentalizing; it wasn’t until she had a chance to relax that her mood ever shifted. With everything that had happened, she’d neglected to check in on Christine and the baby like she’d meant to, so on a day off, she made a lasagna and bundled up for the trek over to Christine and Christopher’s house. When she got there, she knocked on the door and took a small step back. Emily was now a month old and Christine could hardly believe it. January had always felt like the longest month in the year but not this one. The baby kept her busy and she loved every minute of it but she was getting restless. It had been hard not to leave the girls with Chris and go help out in Medical with all that had happened the last few weeks but she hadn’t done it. For one thing, she knew that Leonard and both Claires would have immediately sent her home so she had stayed. Not that she hadn’t checked in because she had but she’d not left the house except for a couple of times to let Lauren play in the snow with her daddy while she stayed on the back porch where there was heat. She’d just put Emily down for a nap when she heard the knock and she hurried to get it. When she opened it and saw Claire, a big grin erupted on her face. “Hey!” she said. “I’m so glad to se you! How are you doing?? Come in!” It was easy to feel comfortable with Christine, and all it took was her friend’s smile to remind Claire of how much she missed seeing Christine at work. She returned the smile with a bright one of her own as she leaned in for a one-armed hug. “They’re making me take a day off,” she explained with a playful roll of her eyes. “The horror, right? So I thought,” Claire held up the pan. “I don’t know anyone who’d say no to free food.” She stepped inside and let the door shut behind her. “And I missed you.” “I’ve missed you too,” Christine said and took the dish from her. “Oh lasanga! Yours is the best, let me put it in the kitchen. Have a seat. Do you want some coffee or anything?” She hadn’t realized how much she had missed Claire or how much she had missed seeing people in general. “I feel like we’ve been cooped up forever. With the weather so cold, I haven’t wanted take Emily out but thank goodness Chris had kept Lauren entertained with playing in the snow. I swear I think he loves it as much as she does.” It made her happy to see him playing with his daughter and he’d been amazing with the baby. “I’m glad that things worked out and he came here so that we could actually be a family.” “There’s something about snow,” Claire agreed, “brings out the kid in us again.” Having kids would do that to a person, too, but Claire thought it had more to do with being able to find joy in simple things than anything specific to children - though maybe they provided clarity. She let Christine put the lasagna away as she slid into a chair in the kitchen. “Coffee would be great, actually.” The whole domestic family life Christine had going on wasn’t something Claire had ever pictured for herself, but it warmed her heart to see it working out for someone else. “I’m really glad you have this chance, too. Atlantis is — well, my mamá would’ve called it a blessing. I can’t really disagree.” Christine smiled as she made the coffee and handed Claire a cup before she sat down next to her. “I agree with your mama. Chris was killed before I had the chance to tell him I was pregnant with Lauren so she grew up without him although I told her about him and I had pictures and things but when we came here and found him, it was a miracle.” she smiled. “Watching them get to know each other was, as your mama said, a blessing. They adore each other and they’re pretty smitten with Emily too. Not that I blame them.” she looked around the house and sighed. “There are days when I think I’m dreaming and that I’m going to wake up and find out that I’m back on Sahara III in the desert, just me and Lauren.” “I know the feeling,” Claire admitted. She held the coffee cup between her hands as she thought about how sometimes, she went to bed afraid she wouldn’t wake up in Atlantis. She knew what it was like to know that Atlantis was her only chance. Matt was alive in New York, but she’d left not knowing that, and she had no idea if they would ever see each other again. She smiled at Christine. “All the more reason to really go for these second chances. Life is so short.” She and Christine, and anyone else in the medical field, knew that first-hand. “I’m glad you can all be together here. And in at least one future, too.” “Me too. I don’t have any idea about the other futures but this one is the one that counts. I’m here and so are our girls so that’s all I need.” She was so grateful to have them. “Lauren was asking for a brother or sister almost since she could talk but I didn’t think that would ever happen. I could have met someone I suppose but I never really thought about that. It was hard to imagine being with anyone but Chris and I was so busy that I didn’t get out much.” “Some things…” Claire shrugged a shoulder. “Maybe it’s just meant to be.” If Matt hadn’t fallen in her lap, so to speak, Claire wasn’t sure where she’d be. Her life would have been so different, and not necessarily for the best. And her love life was, as a result of her love for her work, either nonexistent or a rollercoaster of emotions. She wasn’t sure she’d ever have that domesticity that Christine had. Honestly, she didn’t think it was what was right for her and Matt. But it was so damn nice to see her friend happy. “When it’s right, it’s right. You know?” “Yeah, you really do. The funny thing is that I actually knew him before. He was a Starfleet Admiral and people were a little bit in awe of him, me included,” she laughed. “Yet when he was choosing the crew for the Enterprise, he picked me which was a big surprise. I had no idea he even knew who I was but I was honored. Then we got thrown into a horrible situation before things were ready to go and I ended up being his private caregiver and helping with his therapy. I’d done a lot of work with PTSD in graduate school. I was pretty much the only person who could stand him but I never expected things to turn out this way for us.” “Hey, when you see someone with the skills you need, you don’t let them slip out of your fingers,” Claire pointed out. “You snatch ‘em up before someone else gets wise.” It said a lot about Christine’s knowledge and abilities that she was hand-picked in that way, and Claire suspected that was one reason they’d gotten along quickly. Claire didn’t suffer fools or know-it-alls (especially not the latter, when she was leaning that way herself), or laziness or people who couldn’t keep up. Her smile softened a little. “Honestly, I think the best things are unexpected. I didn’t expect Matt, either, but here we are. And I think you learn more about yourself that way, too. When you’re out of your comfort zone and tossed into a situation you’re not prepared for.” “I agree with that. When we first started working together, Chris couldn’t walk. He couldn’t feel anything at all below his waist and he’d always been in control, a leader, used to being the one who gave the orders, not took them,” she grinned. “Stubborn as a mule but then so am I. His doctor suggested horseback riding as part of his therapy, it was something they’d been doing for people with PTSD and paraplegics. We got into a shouting match at the stable one day and I….” she started laughing. “I threw horse poop at him. I don’t have a great aim so I didn’t actually hit him but his face was hilarious and after that he was much better and I think that might be when we realized that we worked on more than one level.” Claire laughed. “That’s one way to break the ice.” Sometimes that was all it took to open the floodgates. She took a sip of her coffee. Seeing Christine’s little family made her hopeful for her and Matt. Not for children of their own (she could hear her mother’s disappointment, even across multiple dimensions), but more that Atlantis could be good for them, too. That it was good for them. It wasn’t alcohol, but she raised her coffee mug in a toast, anyway. “Here’s to the two of you.” She paused and grinned a little. “Four of you, I should say. I hope he knows how lucky he is.” They were all lucky. |