Delbert waited nervously at the dock at the bustling space port for a particular ship to dock. Usually he'd have his eyes peeled for an Imperial Naval vessel, but today was much different and much more nerve-wracking. He had spent long, long hours trying to locate his guest, but it hadn't been in vain. Though difficulties had arisen when he had learned that she had settled into a quite remote planet, he had managed to set up a correspondence through mail. Finally the passengers started to leave the ship when the vessel had been secured. Delbert raised the sign he had constructed to signal over his guests. Even though they were easy to spot, a petite woman in a faded yellow dress with a large, yet awfully awkward man in tow stood out somewhat at least to him. He feared he'd simply be lost in the crowd but he had the benefit of luck on his side it seemed as he found the couple making his way towards him.
"Welcome to Cresenctia Ms. Porter and Mr. Tarzan. I am Dr. Delbert Doppler." Delbert smiled as the two approached and held out his hand to shake. Quite frankly he was on edge. He knew about Jane's past with his wife, it was actually the reason he sought the woman out. He felt that it was high time that the two of them got the closure they needed. He just hoped that he could be accepted by his wife's old lover. Even though they hadn't spoken in years, Jane was quite important to Amelia and therefore her opinion mattered to him.
"Ah, so you must be Dr. Doppler, then." Jane clutched her husband's hand as tightly as a mother might latch onto a small child in a marketplace. The poor man had spent his entire life in the jungle away from anything remotely similar to civilization. To be in such a crowded space port was sure to be overwhelming. "May I ask when our next ship is leaving? The one to Montressor? I don't wish to be rude of course, Tarzan's just never been around so many people before." She smiled apologetically.
"A concern that I took into account, my dear." The canid looked at his astrowatch. "The ship disembarks within the hour so it might be wise to start heading in that direction soon enough. Also you may simply call me Delbert, Ms. Porter."
"Then you can call me Jane." She noticed Tarzan looking from one thing to another in quick succession, too awe-struck to comment just yet. "Tarzan, I want you to meet Delbert." She figured the two should be properly introduced before too long. The astrophysicist outstretched his hand politely to shake.
The jungle man looked at the hand curiously before pressing his palm against Doppler's, splaying their fingers against each other. "Del-bird?"
A confused Delbert looked at Jane questioningly but was met at a poor attempt to stifle chuckling. "Um… yes. Close enough." He cleared his throat awkwardly and beckoned for the couple to follow. "Now be sure to stay close, it is quite easy to lose your way here."
Jane pulled Tarzan in tightly and followed their guide close behind. "Delbert I really can't thank you enough for this. Until you contacted me like that, I thought that she had been lost in battle long ago. Now that I know that first, that is not the case, and second I have the opportunity to see her again…." She trailed off. It had certainly been a trying several years since she and Amelia reluctantly parted.
"I'm sure that you both had quite a list of unanswered questions." Doppler navigated the crowd with practiced ease, but made sure not to lose his charges. Quite soon enough they were at their dock. "Ah, just in time for boarding. We mustn't lag behind, now."
Delilah loped along the road happily as she pulled the carriage behind her. Delbert carefully guided her away from a particularly delicious looking roadside plant, much to her disappointment. Jane however wasn't paying attention to the amusing interaction between steed and master; she was altogether too preoccupied staring in awe at the large mansion they were approaching. She knew that he had had enough funds and connections to both find her and then to pay for travel expenses for both her and Tarzan. She did not expect him to be this wealthy. "Delbert, your house looks beautiful!"
The canid laughed modestly and adjusted his glasses with his free hand. "I've always felt that it was more space than I ever needed. With the kids around though, I'm sure they will find their own use for it." He guided his awkward steed to the stables behind the house and helped his guests off the carriage. "Amelia's home looking after the children while I went to pick the two of you up. I am more than positive that she knows I have a surprise for her however." He chuckled as he freed Delilah from the carriage. "Remaining subtle and secretive when I have something planned is most definitely not one of my strong points and she has guessed without fail everything I have tried to surprise her with." Delbert put a feedbag over the bullabduo's head before leading Jane and Tarzan to the door. Before opening it he added with a sly smile and a wink. "However, I do believe I've got the drop on her this time if you don't mind me saying."
The door clicked open and Doppler took a quick peek inside to see if Amelia was in the immediate vicinity before clearing the entryway for his guests. "If you would please wait here for a moment, I will look for Amelia." He removed his travel coat before offering to take theirs. He hung all three up on a nearby coat rack before calling out. "Amelia? I'm home!" He set about looking for his wife.
He found his feline wife in a room they had converted into the children's play room. Amelia was on the floor quite busy separating a squabble between Mary and Daniel while simultaneously letting Elizabeth play with her short hair. Abigail was watching her siblings from the safety of their mother's lap. She turned as she heard the door open. "Ah, Delbert! I was beginning to wonder where you had run off to. Though I am still curious as to who you went to pick up." She gave a wry smile when she noticed her husband flustered. She got it once again. "Honestly dear, you were readying the guest room. It would be quite imbecilic of me to remain ignorant. It does have me wondering. You have never once invited a guest without at least informing me of it in advance, even if I were to be gone the duration of their stay."
The admiral watched as her husband plucked Daniel from his argument and Abigail from Amelia's lap. "You will learn, soon enough." The astronomer struggled with their son when it was perfectly clear that he did not in fact, wished to be held at that moment. He set the boy down once more who promptly set about chewing on his father's shoe. He found that Mary also decided to attach herself to his foot and then stared up at him gleefully. "You go on without me dear. I'll join you shortly." He paused as he looked down at the children. "Or at least eventually."
Amelia chuckled bemused and picked up their remaining child before planting a soft kiss on her husband's cheek. "Now to see what all the fuss is about." She carefully pried Delbert's spectacles out of Elizabeth, who had taken her parents' touching moment to pluck them off of her father's nose, and left the room to greet this mystery guest.
Jane nervously watched Tarzan as the curious man observed all of the strange knick-knacks that the Doppler family had lying around. She felt the anxiety of seeing Amelia again truly sink in. How much had Amelia changed? How would she react to seeing her here, in her home all of a sudden? What would the felinid think of her now after all these years? What would she think of Tarzan? Her attention was drawn by the sound of the familiar voice, one that she only remembered from dreams. She bit her lip in anticipation as it drew closer.
"Do forgive the mess, the children can be quite a handful when they are particularly excited. I would have tidied up however I wasn't given any-" Amelia was cut off when she finally saw the guest. Well, guests but while she didn't know the odd man, the woman was all too familiar. "-warning." She finished quietly as the admiral clutched her small child close so as to not drop her in surprise. It couldn't be. But yet there was that tussle of brown hair, that shade of blue that Amelia had only seen in that pair of eyes that hadn't been replicated so perfectly throughout her travels. That unmistakable yellow dress. The very one that she had long ago been accustomed to seeing amid the deckhands scrambling about the ship. Yes it had faded over time, but to Amelia it was a shining beacon of memories long gone. "Jane… she finally murmured. Is that… is it really you?" She cautiously approached and reached out to the woman with her free hand. Amelia was snapped out of her daze when she saw the large man appear behind Jane, eyeing her and her kit suspiciously.
"Yes Amelia… it is." She patted her husband's hand comfortingly in an effort to ease his discomfort. "I'm so sorry about this, Tarzan's parents were killed by a leopard and his close family similarly attacked so he is a bit… cautious around felines." She sighed apologetically. "But I really wanted you to meet him. Both of you are important to me." Jane stood between the two a little more nervously than before. However the fact that a small child sat in Amelia's arms seemed to keep Tarzan satisfied enough to not rush to a defensive stance. All things considered, it was the best that Jane could hope for at the moment.
Her attention turned then to the little girl in Amelia's arms. Curious, the child was blonde. The small feline in question held out her arms to Jane, opening and closing her little hands at the woman. "May I?" Jane looked to the child's mother for permission. Her heart skipped a beat as her former lover returned a simple smile and handed her daughter over carefully. There Jane stood, holding the small kit making faces at her. The child giggled in delight and wrapped her stubby arms around the woman's neck. Quite pleased, Jane gave her own light, warm laugh as she very quickly bonded with the blonde felinid. "What's her name?"
"My little Elizabeth. She's certainly more sociable than my others." Amelia smiled warmly as she watched her daughter play with Jane so readily. She expected no less, but it was certainly comforting. It was interesting to note that her little girl was starting to win over the tense man that Jane had brought with her, this Tarzan. The kit was busy making faces at the man before hiding behind Jane, only to find him making a face back when she peeked back out again. It seemed that there was an underlying softness to the man that had at first been hidden.
"I apologize for my tardiness." The voice of Delbert arose from around the corner. He soon emerged, shuffling along with Abigail on his shoulders and Daniel and Mary each clinging to one of their father's ankles. It certainly impeded his movement for them to be dragged along the floor much to the astronomer's displeasure but his children's entertainment. "I seem to have acquired stowaways." He managed to reach his wife, kissing her on the cheek. He watched with paternal pride as Elizabeth seemed to have easily broken the ice between the two couples. Already she was reaching out to Tarzan.
Amelia kissed her husband back. Pulling back, she spoke softly. "Delbert… you found her. You found her and brought her here." She looked back at Jane who was busy showing Tarzan how to hold Elizabeth correctly. "Why?"
Doppler smiled fondly at his wife. "I noticed how you talked of her, dear. The way you sometimes stare out the window on occasion. Considering the circumstances under which you two parted…. Well, I figured it was high-time you got your closure." His tone softened as he took Abigail from her perch and put her on the ground to join the others who were already swarming the new couple. Tarzan was soon on the ground playing with the young children like he would with the young gorillas back home; even if most of them were feline. "You deserve better than the ending fate allotted you." He saw Jane approach them with a smile. "Take all the time you need love." He nodded to Jane before taking the shy brunette kit hiding behind his leg to where the others were, leaving the two women to talk among themselves.
Jane smiled as he passed Doppler to join Amelia's side. "It certainly eases me to see Tarzan finally relax. I was so worried since he had grown up in the jungle his whole life, I was worried that he would be too overwhelmed here. At least that's one less thing to worry over." She admitted with a sigh.
Amelia smiled as she looked from Jane to her family playing with Jane's; together. It seemed so… natural. Delbert sitting on the floor with Abigail in his lap and Tarzan with the other three hunched over conversing with each other, occasionally making glances at the spectacled canid and his daughter. Satisfied, the admiral dared to lightly intertwine her fingers with Jane's like they had so long ago. She was relieved to find the gesture returned. "Jane… I truly missed you."
"Just as I've missed you. Though I'm glad that you've found someone to make you happy."
"My sentiments precisely." Amelia looked over one more time at the men and children. Apparently Tarzan had organized a surprise attack against her poor unsuspecting husband who suddenly found himself swarmed by the other children. Chuckling, her gaze returned to Jane's cobalt eyes. "Why don't we have a spot of tea in the kitchen? We do have quite a bit of catching up to do after all. I believe the men have this covered for the time being."
"By all means, Acting-Lieutenant." She replied with a sly wink before giving Tarzan an assuring nod and following Amelia down the hallway.
"I believe you'll find that most refer to me as 'Admiral' now actually, Miss Porter." She beamed proudly as she spoke.
"Admiral?" This was a detail that Delbert had failed to mention in their correspondence. Maybe he wanted Amelia to inform her herself. While she had expected a rise in the ranks, to be an admiral was astonishing. She collected herself. "And I guess I shall correct you as well. I guess I am 'Mrs. Tarzan' now, or at least technically." She smiled lightly when she noticed her guide raise a brow at the last word. "We're going to need quite a bit of tea before we're through, Admiral."