Lost & Found

[Judah Dashiell]

[member="Thessa Kai"]


Shaggy head shook, spraying droplets of water everywhere. He had tried his best in avoiding getting soaked by the rain but it seemed impossible now, especially since Thessa seemed so apt to have this conversation in a storm. Probably didn't effect her in the slightest. He listened to her story, eyes searching for any signs of deception. Nothing so far and it would be odd to drag in an outside party (the couple) if it was all one elaborate ruse.


"Of course I knew you 'before'. You were my wife. We have a son together, he's fourteen now."


Rain dripped off his matted down curly hair. It was starting to become a little too cool for him, the rain coupled with the breeze. Judah wasn't used to standing out in farm fields getting drenched.


"Mind if I get out of the rain? Either in the barn or I go to my ship and come back later....its up to you."

 

[Thessa Kai]

[member="Judah Dashiell"]
Face paled, instantly. Legs shook. She found herself sinking to the ground in a half collapse. Wife?

Son???

Mouth sat ajar until a shaky, hand finally came up to cover it. Iced-azure eyes were wide open, staring stunned and up at the man that was her husband.

Husband.

She wanted to move and to say something, to respond to him. By she couldn't. She was frozen. Stunned. And she wanted to remember everything. But couldn't remember anything. There was a severe sense of loss.

 

[Judah Dashiell]

[member="Thessa Kai"]


Watching as her gaze remained fixed on him, the Galan half-collapsed on the ground at the news. She looked how he felt all those years ago when she left. Surprised. Defeated. Shocked. Water dripped from his soaked curls as he took a deep breath, deciding it wasn't going to help anyone by sitting out here.


Moving quickly, he picked up Thessa 'bridal style' , moving towards the barn.Long strides went across the waist high grain field, making quick work of the task. In no time Thessa was safely inside the barn, half propped up against some grain sacks.


"Alright, stay here. I'll be back."


Judah stepped back out of the barn and into the rain. Someone has to bring in the farm equipment after all.

 

[Thessa Kai]

[member="Judah Dashiell"]

She blinked but stared dully ahead as he scooped her up. A surprised grimace flickered across her face as a twinge went up that back injury. The cold and rain were definitely getting to it. At least she didn't have to limp back to the barn.

Still, it felt like she was being carried by a stranger, even with what he said. And she wondered how many times he'd scooped her up in the past. Had she laughed when he'd done it?

She sat against the grain. Some electric, warm lights flickered on above them, set on a timer. But she was soaked and it wasn't much warmer in here. Knees drew up to her chest and she shivered.

He said something but she couldn't focus. She felt sick and....utterly lost.

Iced-azure gaze remained staring straight ahead. She waited in silence and alone. She would move eventually. But she couldn't now. And where had he gone?

It almost felt like a dream; like he hadn't been here at all.

 

[Judah Dashiell]

[member="Thessa Kai"]


He had gone off to put up the rest of the farm equipment, knowing how easily it would be prone to rust and malfunction. It seemed Thessa was making her way as a farmer now. Any little thing wrong with the equipment would start a domino effect that could easily put the farm under. By the time he had returned to the barn, she was gazing straight ahead and unmoving.


Remembering the mention of the elderly couple who rescued her, Judah picked her up again. She was either too sick, in too much shock or a mix of both to move. It was too cold in the barn to stay. Best they went to the wooden farmhouse in the distance, warm lights cutting through the dark. She might need medical attention, especially with the wincing.


It didn't take long to reach the home. Doors were naturally unlocked as he slowly entered, looking around the home. Thessa remained in his arms, taking care not to bang her against the doorway or get caught up and trip himself.


"Hello? Anyone here? I need some help...."

 

[Thessa Kai]

[member="Judah Dashiell"]

She barely registered that they were back at the house and he was carrying her again. He was strong. And just slightly warmer than being on her own, though they were both soaked. She heard Mrs. Allen's voice getting closer. Followed quickly by the Mister.

"Jane!? Jane! We were so worried and about to come looking. Please, bring her in here." Mrs. Allen motioned to a small room off the front. Jane/Thessa's room for the past six years. There wasn't much. Simple furniture. One holo of her with the Allens and her banged up flight jacket over the back of a wooden chair. The only thing salvaged from the crash.

"You're not from around here," Mister Allen eyed him up and down, leaning on a cane. Still recovering from the sickness from a few weeks ago. "What happened?"

Jane was clearly in shock.

Mrs. Allen was curious too but she had manners. "We've got some spare clothes that should fit you, son. We'll take care of her. Why don't you get changed and meet us at the table for a talk?" She pointed to their room just off the hall.

 

[Judah Dashiell]

[member="Thessa Kai"]


Bedsheets were brought back as Judah laid her down on the rustic little bed in the room. He was careful not to jar her back anymore than trip already caused. The older woman seemed to have the situation under control while man of the house seemed keen on kicking him in the ass.


"No. I'm not from around here."


The missus intervened and Judah found his way past the older man, heading in the direction the woman had pointed. Stripping down, he found and old pair of pants and shirt, pulling everything on before collecting his wet clothes. A bit of poking around and he found a laundry/mud room, hanging his clothes out to drip dry.


Taking a seat at the small kitchen table, he waited for the couple to return back to the room.

 

[Thessa Kai]

[member="Judah Dashiell"]

Thessa sat numbly as the man who claimed he was her husband left. She shivered. Mrs. Allen quickly helped to peel off her first layer of clothing, bringing some dry ones for her to change into. She checked her vitals.

"You're in shock, my dear. Rest. I'll be back."

She stared ahead, catching a glimpse of the edge of the table where Judah and Mister Allen sat. She clung more tightly to the blanket around her shoulders. Again, she wanted to move and speak but she couldn't. Not yet.

Misses Allen joined the others at the table. "Please, sir? Tell us what happened to her and who you are. We're definitely thankful. If you happened by and found her collapsed. She has some health issues..." voice trailed off.

 

[Judah Dashiell]

[member="Thessa Kai"]


Hand moved through his hair, trying to dry out the mass of curls best he could. At least excess water wasn't dripping down in every direction upon him, getting the borrowed shirt damp. The elder man kept a good eye on him while they waited for his wife to finish up. Judah didn't blame the man. Stranger coming into a home was a danger in a place like this, not as if there was law enforcement of security around.



"Judah Dashiell, pleasure to meet you both." There was a pause. "Please, don't go thanking me. I'm afraid I caused this. Thessa is my wife....er...ex-wife now I suppose you could say. I've had a private investigator looking for her for nearly seven years now. "


"Tracked her back here after she bought some medicine, I followed and....well, I put her into shock by giving her the news of myself and our son."

 

[Thessa Kai]

[member="Judah Dashiell"]

They were shocked. Of course, not as much as Thessa. "We always wondered," Mrs. Allen breathed. "We tried finding out who she was when we first found her. But there wasn't much to go on and our resources were limited out here," voice trailed off. "We always hoped her memory would start coming back, too."

"Our Jane is Thessa."

Mister Allen leaned forward. "Wait just one minute. How do we know you're telling the truth? You got any proof about what you're saying?"

Of course he was protective.

 

[Judah Dashiell]

"Of course. Without any prior knowledge to where she came, I imagine the task has been daunting. Even with the knowledge I had its been difficult. Spaceport cameras and a bit of outside the law digging only helped us in this case. "


Judah knew there would be questions on if he was telling the truth. He had expected it to come from [member="Thessa Kai"] herself but he had shocked her with the entire 'husband' and 'teenage son' thing. Comm sat on the worn wood table in front of him and he reached for it, moving to a holoimage gallery containing the proof he needed. Holoimages of their time together ; their wedding day, Makai as a youngster, Thessa and himself as Republic fighter pilots. Judah was certain the flight jacket would be enough proof.


He slid the comm over to the older man.


"Thas all I have for now. When the rain storm stops I have more proof back on my ship. I have no intentions of taking Thessa or Jane away from you.... I doubt she'd want to come back anyways. However, when I lost hope of her returning there were formal divorce procedures. Half of the company was rightfully hers and I do have the paperwork for a sizable sum of credits."

 

[Thessa Kai]

[member="Judah Dashiell"]

The old man studied the comm. A voice spoke quietly at Judah's side. "You looked for me...all this time?" She clutched a blanket around her shoulders. She was in dry clothes, hair was still damp from the rain and it tumbled over her shoulders and back. The Galan was trying to work through the shock.

She didn't even hear the credit part. Money had never been her focus, anyway. That never changed with the accident. She could live meagerly; she was used to it. And it was hard for her to imagine something different.

She slid into a chair, between Judah and Mister Allen. She leaned in toward the old man, looking at the comm screen. "Can I see?" Voice was quiet as her iced-azure gaze looked over the images.

 

[Judah Dashiell]

"Of course I kept looking for you....I mean....you were the love of my life. If I didn't keep looking I was going to go crazier than I already I was."



Judah smiled faintly. There were good times, before [member="Thessa Kai"] had started to act like [member="Danger Arceneau"] was slowly killing him. Before she seemed to lose all faith him. Before she stopped trusting him with everything and anything important.


That was a different time. It was hard to separate the woman in front of him from all that. This Thessa had no idea of what had happened in the past. It was unfair of him to pounce on her at first, take his anger out on the woman. At the time though he thought she had been playing dumb.


"Go ahead and scroll through, I've got a whole bunch of images in there..."

 

[Thessa Kai]

[member="Judah Dashiell"]

The love of his life?

She cast Judah a shy-look before re-focusing on the comm images. Finger scrolled across the lit-up screen. There were so many. The three of them together. "He's so old," she breathed, referring to Makai. She could see the similarities but it was still like looking at a stranger. For both of them and almost at herself.

Her heart ached a little.

Fingers brushed over a younger picture of Makai. She wanted to ask Judah more on what happened to her. If he knew what happened to her and about the accident. But she wasn't sure where to start. And she wanted some privacy for that. It wasn't that she didn't trust the Allens or mind that they knew everything she did.

She just knew things might be better, even for Judah, if he explained things one-on-one to her.

"We looked...happy," she murmured, a million and one questions swarming through her damaged head.

 

[Judah Dashiell]

"He is. Growing up entirely too fast. Makes me feel old, then again....I am old."


Getting older hadn't been so bad at first, beyond the bum shoulder he had been nursing since [member="Thessa Kai"] got into her accident. Judah had expected to get well when it first happened....well, life had other plans and he had been dealing with a sore shoulder early every morning like some geriatric. Probably did him some good. A reminder he wasn't invincible.


"I suppose we were happy. I was happy. Wife and son. Thriving company. Pretty much the galactic dream. I didn't have too many complaints. I'm sure Thessa would roll her eyes at that or disagree but....I pretty much had everything I ever wanted."

 

[Thessa Kai]

[member="Judah Dashiell"]

She stared at the pictures a bit longer before finally relinquishing the device back to Judah. Fingertips brushed his as she passed the device. She drew her scale-speckled hand back. "Why would she...I mean, I roll my eyes at that?"

Iced-azure faze settled on Judah's face. There was still that shyness in her look, meeting someone for the first time. Especially someone that she'd supposedly been intimate with. Shared a life with. A child with.

And he didn't sound too convinced about being 'happy.'

What had she done? Did she even want to know? That girl was long gone.

 

[Judah Dashiell]

"I...uh....probably best not to talk about it right now." His eyes flicked to the Allens before drifting back to [member="Thessa Kai"] ."Not very important at the moment. The context might take a good deal of explaining. Uh...perhaps in the future."


It was too early to explain some of the issues in their former marriage. Issues Judah suspected may or may not be relevant now. It seemed she was busy searching his face and analyzing his words for truth. There were two sides to every coin and he was giving his own version. No doubt the Thessa of seven years past would have an extremely different view. The Thessa of now would have a different view as well.


Device found its way back to his pocket after she had gone through the images.



"I know its over whelming to think about, but Makai would want to see you. At least once....I'll pay for the trip. Maybe not now....I understand its...difficult...but in the future I hope you consider it."

 

[Thessa Kai]

[member="Judah Dashiell"]

"Oh," she replied quietly and let her hands fold in her lap, beneath the table. Her own gaze drifted briefly to the Allens. She gulped, feeling that overwhelming sense that she'd been someone...horrible. Face lifted a little at the mention of seeing Makai. Though, there was trepidation on her mouth.

She leaned forward a bit in her chair.

"I DO want to meet him - I mean, see him, again. And it is overwhelming," she whispered. "But would you...could you explain things to him? Before we meet? About what happened. It might be a little easier."

A slight tremble ran through her body.

Had she been a horrible mother? Would he even remember her? She did the math. He was pretty young...before the accident.

And for now, she ignored the part about him paying or the details of when this would happen. They could work those out later.

 

[Judah Dashiell]

[member="Thessa Kai"]


"It would be easier. He thinks you've died, so it will be a great shock at first. Bringing you home with no warning would be a disaster.....It will be something to ease into."


Ease into for all of them. Judah wasn't sure how anything was going to work. It was clear this Thessa was different from the previous Thessa. There would be the issue of if she was interested in all the trappings and work that came with mothering. Makai was independent to a point but once the boy found out his mother was alive, well, he'd want her around like any child. A relationship wasn't going to be rebuilt overnight. It was going to be difficult on himself and more so on Makai.



"So probably much easier if I tell him first then you follow up after the news sinks in. I'm having a hard enough time and I'm a grown man."

 

[Thessa Kai]

[member="Judah Dashiell"]

"I was dead," she spoke quietly. Medically speaking, she had been. And even beyond that, she lost a part of herself. Perhaps forever. She'd gone through a lot but as she studied Judah's face, she began to realize what this had out him through and their son.

There was anger and frustration when he first found her. Whatever happened, she wondered if he partly blamed himself. Or was frustrated because he felt like he could've prevented it. Of course, none of that mattered now. What was done was done.

"I'm having a hard time too," she agreed. And she was a grown-ass woman. She needed time too. Mister Allen finally piped up.

"You're more than welcome to spend the night on the sofa. Rain might not stop until the morning. I'll let you two work out details from here."

With that, the Allens gave each other a look and excused themselves.