The Ties That Bind

 Episode Name:  The Ties That Bind

   Written By:  Eidolon

         Cast:  Eidolon, Foster, Green and Svetlana.

  Produced By:  Starfleet

  Directed By:  Eidolon

     Aired On:  Sat Oct 01 19:44:52 2005

     Stardate:  55304.7

Time: Sat Oct 01 18:10:01 2005

Stardate: 55304.5

Svetlana chimes the door to Quarters 1003.

From Quarters 1003's comm, Foster says "Come on in."

Svetlana takes a very deep breath, steeling her resolve before she steps forward.

. o O Svetlana thinks, "I might as well get this over with."

Svetlana enters quarters number 1003.

Svetlana has left.

Green nods approvingly, lowering the wrapped package to in front of the child. "There ya go. Have at it," she grins, before glancing toward the door from her spot sitting on the floor.

Foster, having looked back at the child and fellow officer on the floor, turns back as the door opens. Almost immediately, his smile leaves. His tone? A bit nervous, it seems. "Er. Um. Good evening, Mrs. Suslov."

Svetlana offers a solemn nod to Foster as she stops just inside the door. "Good evening, Lieutenant Foster," she replies in a tone which can only be classified as neutral.

. o O Svetlana is nervous; quite so, in fact.

Green's eyebrows lift. Her own smile fades a bit, but she aims a nod toward the woman, before turning back to watch Anastasia play Giftwrap Destroyer.

. o O Foster thinks, "Oh man. And Kaitlyn isn't even here, what with all her work on evaluation reviews."

Foster steps to one side, and gestures invitingly, trying to be charming despite the piece of gaily-colored giftwrap that's still in his hair. "Please come in. Can I get you anything?"

"No, thank you," Svetlana replies, gesturing toward the child. "I am here to see my grandaughter, not really to socialize."

Green just keeps helping Anastasia get to the prize inside the present box, politely pretending not to hear the other two.

. o O Green thinks, "Very friendly lady... Not."

Foster blinks a couple of times, then steps bac to clear the way. "Well, here she is. Taylor brought a couple of presents for her, which we've been opening. Er... well, you probably already guessed that." The room, mostly clean, is strewn with little bits of the same paper.

Svetlana tips her head slightly, moving to kneel a respectful distance from the child. She's silent for a long moment, tears starting to fill in her eyes. "Hello, Anastasia," she whispers, not reaching for the child as of yet.

. o O Svetlana's heart breaks.

. o O Svetlana thinks, "She is surely Ivan's child. Look at those eyes, that smile."

Green pauses. Okay, it's hard to be politely unknowing at this point. She glances toward Foster, then to the woman, assessingly.

Anastasia looks around when she hears her name again, balancing on her feet against Taylor's leg. Then she smiles, and screams, "HIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHI!" It could be speech. Or it could just be that she likes making sounds like that.

. o O Green thinks, "Aw hell. Don't tell me this is the first time she's seen the kid. Your timing is just fantastic, Tay."

Foster mouths, in Green's direction, 'Her Grandmother'.

Svetlana extends her armss toward Ana, taking a deep breath. "I'm your babushka," she offers, voice still soft as a tear gets away and rolls down her cheek. "Your grandmother."

Green nods as she catches the mouthing, the 'Mrs. Suslov' having clued her in. "Go to Grandma, Anastasia," she whispers, giving the child a gentle nudge. "It's okay, sweetie."

Perhaps its the tear. The Kaitlyn currently in this timeline can almost never bear to see someone crying, so it's likely that the one that was originally here was the same. So, while Anastasia quiets a little and stares for a moment, she reaches for the remaining box, large that it is for her, and tries to give it to Svetlana, one thumb heading for her mouth as she pushes it along the floor with the other hand.

Svetlana takes hold of the box, then offers it back. "No, little one," she murmurs, the sadness lifting for a moment into a smile, "this is yours, not mine. But thank you. Should I help you open it?"

Green has to smile at Anastasia's efforts, and shifts back a few inches, quite content to watch the two for the nonce.

Foster has remained where he was standing and watching, though at least now he's removed the piece of wrapping paper from his hair.

. o O T'Pral thinks, "Eppur si muove. I can also quote Galileo, Mr. Goodwin. At the very least, if the information leaks out it is more likely to be taken seriously by the Romulan people than as a Federation lie made up to discredit their way of life. And it would not be the first time the Federation has withheld data to protect lives against panic and war."

Anastasia smiles and /plops/ back down on the ground, the present between granddaughter and grandmother. Not much is left of the wrapping paper itself, as Anastasia is, indeed, the Giftwrap Destroyer, but the bow still remains. That she has trouble with, and she seems content to have her grandmother's help opening it.

. o O Foster thinks, "There's so much of Kaitlyn in our little Princess. The only thing I worry about is if Mrs. Suslov is going to want to take that part back with her. It might hurt Kaitlyn badly. If only we could get ahold of Doctor Park, we could find some way to mitigate the problem too."

Svetlana gently tugs off the bow, then sticks it onto Anastasia's head with another quick smile. "There you go," she murmurs before she lifts her voice. "How do you feel about this child, Lieutenant Foster?"

Green's eyebrows shoot up at the question. She leans back a little, her lips thinning in her effort to keep her mouth shut.

. o O Green thinks, "He loves her, you... *growl*"

"She's our little Princess and I love her," Caleb replies, without hesitation. "Though, to tell the truth, sometimes she's a little overwhelming, if you know what I mean. Having this tiny little life in your hands is enough to sober any man." He smiles, a little wanly, "Sometimes she ends up sleeping better than I do, I think. There's a big difference between talking about having a family and actually having one. Bigger than I could have ever thought."

. o O Foster thinks, "I knew that question, or one like it, was coming. Why do I feel like this is a bigger test than any I've ever taken?"

Svetlana helps Anastasia open the box, helping tug the contents out. "There is a very large difference between talking and actually having a family, yes," she agrees softly, glancing toward Green, then apparently dismissing her as her gaze turns back to Anastasia. "There is nothing more precious than a child, even when they're older than you were when you had them. There is also nothing more terrible than knowing that your child is gone." She sighs heavily, closing her eyes. "No parent should outlive their child, Lieutenant Foster. No one should have to experience that grief. This baby is all that I have left of my Ivan, and I can't just leave her to be raised by people who I don't know. You must understand that I didn't come here to make people cringe; I came to ensure that this child will be provided for, protected, and cherished, like my Ivan cherished her. There was -nothing- that was more important to him than his family, and I'd like to think that I'm bringing him peace, wherever it is that his soul rests these days."

. o O Foster thinks, "Wait. Does that mean she's here to take Anast... no, no, stop thinking negatively, Caleb. The other option is to get to know us."

The contents being a stuffed purple platypus, utterly soft and cuddly and the size of the toddler hersel. Tay's expression gets, if anything, even more neutral at the dismissive air. "Mrs. Suslov," Tay gets to her feet. "Anastasia has a /family/ here. A mother who adores her. Caleb, who loves her as his own. Many of us, who would surge to protect her and make sure she is happy and healthy. I don't know the best way to convey this to you, but all I can ask is that you at least give us the chance to show you." She gestures toward the baby. "She /is/ happy, and healthy. Kait and Caleb would never let that change."

. o O Green pauses. "What am I saying?" She sighs. "What the hell. I've tossed aside the rest of the 'I'll never...' bits. Might as well go with this one too."

Foster nods quietly. "I thought you might feel that way. It's one of the reasons I advised Kaitlyn the way I did. And... I think my own father would have agreed with you, about not wanting to outlive his children. He could be a hard taskmaster - with me, at least - but I knew he loved me. And I never would have wanted to inflict that pain on him. I can't imagine that your Ivan would have wanted to do that to you either." He nods at Taylor's comment, and then says, "By way of example, when we first found out about Anastasia, the then-head of the Operations Department here, Lieutenant Harris, in addition to extending both Kaitlyn's and my own quota, asked for volunteers to give up some of their own quota for Anastasia. This was shortly after the termination of our timeline, while the station was still under heavy repair. We ended up with a quota reaching between the 300 to 500 range of our own combined quota. People from all over the station contributed. Most of the things in these quarters, and in the baby's room, are a result of that."
He adds, after a moment, "And... I know it might not help, but I knew our timeline's version of Lieutenant Suslov. Not as well as some, understandably, but enough to know that he was a good an honorable man. From what we've experienced, I can only presume that yours was the same, or moreso. He won't be forgotten in any case. When Anastasia is older, we'll be telling her all that we can. And we hope that you'll be here, or us there, to help."
Anastasia, caught between big pink gun, giant platypus, and an entirely too-sober sounding Caleb Foster, shakes the latter in order to draw all the attention back to her! Of course, the giggling and squeezing of the toy doesn't hurt either.

. o O Green thinks, "I suppose this isn't a good time to mention that I was party to your son's death, lady."

"If I were not interested in seeing how she was being cared for, I would have arrived here with FIS agents and a court order requiring that she be turned over to my custody," Svetlana replies to Green, ice in her tone, before she pushes to her feet. "I do not doubt that she is a cause célèbre here on the station; communities tend to band together to support their own in a time of crisis. But, I will be honest with you -- if I should decide that I do not approve of the way she's being cared for, I will move legally to gain custody of her. Hopefully, that will not be the case, but if it is..." She pauses, then leans down to kiss Anastasia on the top of her straw-colored head. "I will be doing what I feel is right for her." She straightens up, taking on a very regal air, nods to both adults, then heads for the door.

Foster nods soberly, "I quite understand, ma'am." He adds, "I hope it doesn't come to that, though, because I strongly suspect that you'd have a real fight on your hands if it did. Kaitlyn and I aren't likely to give her up easily." He takes a deep breath. "But let's not think about that kind of thing more than we have to. I think - and I told Kaitlyn this - that it would be far more likely to expand our family some more, rather than have to contract it."

. o O Foster thinks, "Not to mention that Kaitlyn would be inconsolable."

Green looks at the woman for a long moment. Caleb might recognize the look- it's Tay restraining her urge to protect the pack via any viable means. She falls silent again, lest the wrong words fall from her lips.

"Then we are indeed in understanding, Lieutenant," Svetlana replies softly as she leaves, the doors swishing shut behind her.

Foster's response is the simple hand-signal usually meant as 'stand down', along with a nod of understanding. "Good evening, ma'am," he says, mostly to her back now that the doors are closed. Then he moves further into the room, crouches down, and picks Anastasia up, the girl snagging the big pink gun on the way up and then swatting her 'daddy' with it. "She's just trying to protect her family. I'd expect nothing less from any mother."

Green's hands curl into fists. It's only Anastasia's presence, and Caleb's signal, that holds off an explosion on Tay's part. "I understand," she grits between clenched teeth, "Where that woman is coming from. But, damn, Caleb..." She shakes her head, turning to regard father and daughter. "So are we."

Foster's mouth twitches playfully, "Watch the language around my daughter, Tay." He can't suppress the grin for more than a few moments. "I don't think it will come down to a problem. From what I've read of her letters, she's a very reasonable person. She's just... probably as tense and nervous about this as Kaitlyn and I are. In a situation where a baby wasn't involved, she'd probably be a bit more personable."

Green nods shortly to the first comment. "Once you take the stick out of her rear end, maybe."

"I think it's just that we let things go as they go," Caleb says. "What I said was the truth. If she does decide to try and take Anastasia..." Who turns to look back at Caleb with her name being said. "... away, she'll have a fight on her hands. Kaitlyn in particular. She might seem mild-mannered, but I can't think of many other things that would result in her 'baring her teeth'. I'm glad I convinced her that now would be a bad time to try and adopt Anastasia, though."

Eidolon has arrived.

GAME: Eidolon is joining this location.

The pieces are in position, the players set, the stakes are high. The happiness of the ending, however, remains in doubt.