Grown-ups (Keter)

[Feena]

"Good, errr... Afternoon darling," Feena greeted with a big smile after checking the chrono above the door.
She'd been awake all night, and had forgotten the time hours ago. It appeared that she had now been awake a full 28 hours. With a cup full of caf and a busy mind, it was easy for her to forget to sleep.

"I'm glad you could come see me here."

The Archon motioned at her office, clean, neat- except for her cluttered desk. Piled with mountains of work she was still quite behind on. She tried not to let it get to her but...

"Take a seat. Would you like something to drink? I can have tea made?"

She hoped he would take her offer. She really didn't get to spend enough time with her husband, and what she needed to talk about with him might not sit too well with him.

@[member="Keter"]

 

[Keter]

Keter hated how Feena spent more time at work than with her family. He couldn't even ebgin imagining how it was affecting Felicity and Celeste. He just hoped she would return soon. THe girls couldn't have him as their only role model. Things wouldn't work out well if that was the case. Still, he entered her office with a polite smile, moving to sit at the chair facing her desk as if he was another of her many visitors. "It is good to see you too, Queen," the blond said, leaning back in the chair as he eyed his wife. "I am fine thank you. To what do I owe this call?"

@[member="Feena Mason"]

 

[Feena]

Feena tried not to let her smile fade at his dismissal of her offer. Tried. Failed. She cleared her throat and leaned back in her chair, picking up the now cold cup of caf.

"You like to get right down to business, don't you, Dear?" she sighed, "Alright. It's about Felicity, actually."

She took a deep sip of her drink and waited. It wasn't often that she spoke of her daughter in this office. Last time she had a conversation about the girl, it was with a few trusted confederacy agents, concerning her safety. She hadn't mentioned what she had heard to her husband, worried that he might think her paranoid. Maybe she was paranoid. Maybe she was going crazy.

@[member="Keter"]

 

[Keter]

The blond tilted his head to one side, curious. Though she often asked after the girls, Feena had become somewhat...quiet in regards to Felicity as of late. "Yes?"

@[member="Feena Mason"]

 

[Feena]

Feena cleared her throat and set the cup back down on her desk, folding her hands on her desk.

"I want to move her out here. With me."

She paused a moment before continuing.

"She's old enough to start learning. She's going to follow in my footsteps one day. She will learn more from experience, and.... Well, after what happened to me, I just want her someplace where I can see her."

@[member="Keter"]

 

[Keter]

Keter was silent for a while before sighing. "Rather than come home, you'd prefer to bring her to your work? Are you that married to your duties, Feena?" he asked, looking at her levelly. This was nothing new. They had talked about such things before. "Why not just have us move here, if that is what you want?"

@[member="Feena Mason"]

 

[Feena]

Feena was silent for a good while. It was a difficult question to answer. And he looked so disappointed in her. It was complicated. And she hadn;t had nearly enough sleep.

"You all can't move here," she sighed, "There isn't enough room for you all. And Dis is safe. Safer than here. Nobody is going to bring a war to Imerria. Nobody is going to attack somewhere so remote."

As she said it, she realized what question would come next. If Dis was safer, then why bring Felicity here? And honestly, she did not have a good answer. Not really.
"Look, Keter, Felicity is special. She needs an education. She needs instruction. She will get that here. Security around me has been doubled. I can make sure she is safe here too."

She sighed and looked right over his shoulder. She couldn't stand to look at his face right now.

"I want to come home, Keter," she whispered, "I really do..."

@[member="Keter"]

 

[Keter]

He glanced down briefly before bringing his gaze back up, trying to catch hers. "Then come home. Can you not manage your workload? Are they overworking you? Have you spoken to people about taking time off? What about Celeste? First with Felicicty and now her too?" he said soflty. He was hurt, but he hid it well. Feena was too caught up in the big picture. SHe was off saving the galaxy. Her family could wait. It had cost her once. He had hoped she would elarn not to repeat that mistkae. But here they were.

The blond shook his head. "Remember, Feena? I would never let anyhting come between us or our family. If you're having trouble...I can help."

@[member="Feena Mason"]

 

[Feena]

Feena smiled slightly at his offer to help. She doubted that he could help her. She doubted that anyone could help her. But she knew that he sincerely wanted to help, and that was all that mattered.

"Miss me, Keke?" She asked, a little hint of playfulness, which faded just as quickly as it appeared.

Feena looked down at her hands, so neatly folded over the pile of work on her desk. So much work. Every time she vanquished one pile, a new one appeared. Overwork. Maybe here was right.
No. He absolutely was right. And she needed help.

"...But, there is no one who is qualified to help me. Not you, certainly. I appreciate the offer, but how could you help? "

@[member="Keter"]

 

[Keter]

"Yes," he answered honestly. "And the CIS survived before you joined, and it will endure after you leave. Just...set it all aside, for us," the blond urged her. "We are your family. And Celeste is growing up not knowing her mother, and Felicity feels abandoned. Return to us. Please." He leaned forwards in his chair, reaching out to hold her hands in his own.

@[member="Feena Mason"]

 

[Feena]

Feena stiffened. He wanted her to just... leave? Abandon this? All she worked for? Everything she sacrificed for? Abandon her people? Her home?
No. How could she? But Felicity, Celeste... Keter. She owed them more, surely?
She looked down at her nearly empty cup. But, what about all the people she saved with the Sanctuary Project? All the children who would have died without her care? All those families. Didn't they matter too? Maybe even more? There were so many...

"What do you want me to do?" she asked, pulling her hand away from his to softly touch the rim of the cup, "Just... quit? Retire early and then... what? Go back to Dis? Wander the halls? Redecorate over and over and over and over again? Yes, I will have time for Celeste and Felicity. And you. But what would I do with myself?
Think about it. Felicity would go nowhere. She would do nothing. She'd be the daughter of the former Archon who abandoned her duty. And Celeste would have her Mother, but how could she ever be proud to call me that? If I left now, I would be the Galaxy's biggest coward. How could they be anything but ashamed of me?
Don't you see? This is why I want to bring Felicity here with me. And Celeste, some day."

She lifted the cold liquid to her lips and drained it as if this would somehow end this line of conversation and bring them back on track. She doubted it though. Nothing was ever this simple.

@[member="Keter"]

 

[Keter]

Keter listened quietly, his face stoic. WHen she stopped speaking to drink, he nodded slowly. "You already decided, haven't you? This is just to let me know, not to let me weigh in on your decision," he stated simply.

@[member="Feena Mason"]

 

[Feena]

"Yes," she answered without hesitation, "I have decided."

She felt terrible saying it, but lying would be terrible to do now. She knew him better than to think sugar coating this fact would make it better. She looked down at the empty cup. Empty. So empty.

"Do you hate me?"

She asked it before she had time to think about what she was saying. She was looking up at him, silver eyes almost pleading. She felt so pathetic in front of him now.

@[member="Keter"]

 

[Keter]

He stood up as he spoke. "Never, Queen. BUt I promised ntohing would come between us. And...well, your work is coming between us," he pointed out with a smirk, leaning over the table. "So I hope you're ready for the consequences, my dear," he chuckled, tweaking her nose before leaning back. Things were going to get interesting...

@[member="Feena Mason"]

 

[Feena]

Feena was stunned to say the least. What did he mean by that? If she'd gotten a little more sleep, maybe her mind would have worked a little quicker. The sad fact was, all this work, all these all nighters, were seriously starting to slow her down.

"Don't do anything stupid, Keke," she replied, folding her hands on her desk, "You know I can't protect you if you do something... illegal."

She held back a yawn, and rubbed her eyes.

"But, I will make a deal with you," she said, quickly looking through her schedule, "I can spend two weeks out of every month at home. Does that work? Half my time here, half at home? Felicity too."

She didn't really know if she could swing it, honestly, but if it would save her marriage... Well, she was willing to do almost anything. She was just going to have to work harder to make it work.

@[member="Keter"]

 

[Keter]

Keter chuckled as he leaned forward to plant a quick kiss on her forehead. "Feena...relax. I will never leave you unless you order me otherwise. ANd whilst that sounds...agreeable, you are working too hard and would only make things worse by limiting your time. You're killing yourself Feena. And the CIS is letting you. That, is what must change. And if you do not resolve it, I will," he promised her with a slight bow as he stepped back from the desk.

@[member="Feena Mason"]

 

[Feena]

Feena opened her mouth to respond, but she found herself honestly speechless. He was right. He was so right that it felt like a kick to the stomach. She was going to end up dead at her desk one of these days if she didn't get help. She used to have help when Isley... But Isley was gone. He wasn't her friend anymore. He wasn't even her assistant. He met a woman and forgot all about his duty. It was perfectly typical, of course, but it didn't mean she was going to forgive him anytime soon for abandoning her when she needed his help the most.

But she had Keter. She always had Keter. When all her friends left, when being her friendship was no longer enough for them, when it got too hard, he was still there. He was always there. And she was an idiot.

"I'm afraid, Keter," she admitted at long last, "I am really, honestly, terrified. I can't eat. I can't sleep. I check everything before I lay down at night. I keep a blaster in my bedside drawer, just in case. I have to medicate myself just to fall asleep. And even with all this, I can only close my eyes for a few hours at a time. A pin could drop across the apartment and wake me."

That was hard to admit. That was so hard to admit, especially to him. But if there was anyone alive that she could be honest with, it was Keter. He wouldn't judge her. He wouldn't call her weak. He would help.
"What do you plan to do? If this doesn't get better, if nobody helps me, what will you do about it?"

@[member="Keter"]

 

[Keter]

Keter tilted his head to one side. "For such a clever woman, you can be so stupid," he said with a sigh, but smiled. "You never thought of coming to me, of asking me?" he queried, lowering himself to one knee and bowing his head. "I am your knight Feena, now and always, remember? Command me, and I shall obey," he swore solemnly, glancing up at her. "And if you trust me, let us stand with you. Dis is but a fortress. It is not a home. Home shall always be wherever we are all together."

"And if that fails...then the CIS will be made to know regret for not caring for it's archon."

@[member="Feena Mason"]

 

[Feena]

Behind her eyelids, tears were gathering, threatening to overflow. She took a deep breath when he knelt in front of her desk, pushing it back. She was always pushing it back. And the pressure would keep building.

"I am still bringing Felicity here," she said after a moment, "But I want you to stay here too. And Celeste... I suppose it would be alright. I could hire a nanny to look after her while I work. And Felicity could learn here and you could help me and... And..."

She was talking fast now, so fast that she had to stop herself and take a breath before she made plans she didn't really want to make.

"I will sleep better with you next to me, I think."

If he had only been here all along, things would be quite different, she was sure. Better late than never, though, she supposed.

@[member="Keter"]

 

[Keter]

Keter smiled as he bowed his head again. "As you wish, so shall it be Queen," he promised. That was all that was needed.

@[member="Feena Mason"]