Alec sat down heavily in his office chair. Dr. Carlyle had fixed him up but his hip still felt a lingering pain from the fall. He leaned back and ran a hand through his hair, trying to sort out exactly what emotion to settle on.
"Alec?" SAM addressed cautiously. "Are you alright?"
Alec gave a sharp, pained sigh. "Tell me they're gonna make it, Sam." He replied.
There was a brief silence. "Cera's vitals are solid; Dr. T'perro believes she will regain consciousness." Another pause. "Tiago has received the best medical treatment available; and he is your son. He is strong."
Alec smiled in spite of the tightness in his chest. SAM had certainly picked up the human capacity to bullshit. Alec leaned forward, chair squeaking in the silence, and rested his face in his hands. He could clearly remember the last time he'd cried; it had been after Ellen had been diagnosed. A few tears managed to slip down his cheeks now which he hastily wiped away. Somewhere along the line he'd convinced himself crying was a waste of time and energy.
Something he could remember less clearly was the last time he'd talked to either of his kids about something other than work. Was it-the hair? No, he was pretty sure he'd spoken to them about something non-initiative related since that….Shit; he hoped he had. He didn't want the last thing he said to one or both of his children to be a lecture on professionalism. That didn't even bloody count as non-initiative; he'd started in about how they were on the Pathfinder team blah blah blah. Another couple tears as he angrily slapped his palm against his forehead at the memory.
"Alec?" SAM sounded concerned. Alec straightened.
"Some new frontier, Sam. Get here and the first thing that happens is Cera gets bashed around and put into a coma; we find our golden world is a hell hole and when I actually manage to fucking fix it my son gets his helmet smashed in for the trouble. Shit." Alec looked towards the coffeemaker on instinct.
"...We always knew there would be risks...I hope Cera and Tiago will both be alright and we will be able to go forward with searching for a new home together." SAM said carefully.
Hope. Alec was ever amazed at just how far SAM had come since they'd integrated. SAM was really learning some human perspectives; recognizing hope as the only thing you could control sometimes.
"Yea...me too." Alec stood. He should be on the bridge. They were approaching the Nexus. He wanted to be down in medbay. But then…he wasn't sure if he could handle that. He grimaced slightly at himself as he straightened his clothes. You're putting work over them; again. They might both die while you're standing at attention. He took a breath and headed out the door.
"Keep me posted on their status, Sam." He said and turned towards the bridge.