Title: Cliffnotes, June 18, 2000 AU
Author: Chance
E-mail: chance1562@aol.com
Feedback: Please g
Category: Family
Spoilers: none
Season/sequel/series: Cliffnotes
Rating: G
Content warnings: none
Summary: In Cliffnotes
Archive: The Wanderings, ELF Command, Avant Guard, WWOMB, anyone else please ask g
Disclaimer: I don't own them (how many ways can that be written you think? g)
Author's notes: Thanks to Diena for the beta g Yes, this weekend has a theme in honor of Father's Day. This one is at a request from Holly and Diena for more Cailin g
For AT, I miss you.
God, how he sometimes hated this day; the constant reminders of what he's had and then lost ate a hole in his heart and made it difficult to get up in the morning. He usually tried to hide, spending time alone and sequestering himself in his work long into the night until he was beyond exhaustion and too tired to think. Carol had understood, had in fact has her own way of coping when it was her "turn." They'd respected each other's need for space and Nathan had been all set to spend this year's occasion in much the same way, but it hadn't been meant to be.
Two days ago, he had been making his way to the Bridge for his shift. Suddenly he's felt a tug on his pant leg and had glanced down in surprise. Looking back up at him, a smile on her face that reminded Nathan so much of her father, stood Cailin Wolenczak. Behind her, a much-bemused look on her face, stood Kristin, shrugging her shoulders at him. He'd found out later that Cailin had begged the doctor to take her to see Nathan and they'd been on their way to the Bridge to find him. Meeting him in the corridor had been a lucky coincidence.
"Hello, Captain Nathan, sir," Cailin had said, letting go of his pant leg.
He'd had to bite back a grin at her title for him. The crew never had figured out exactly when it had begun, but she'd started calling them by their rank and first name one day and had never stopped. Krieg had made the mistake of calling Hitchcock "Commander Katie" and had been assigned to Head duty for a solid week. He'd never done it again.
"Hi Cailin," he's said back, picking her up when the little girl had held her arms up. "What brings you all the way up here?" While it wasn't unusual for Cailin to be on the Bridge, she usually came with Lucas. Later on that evening, Kristin had informed him that Lucas had been "drafted" by one of the science teams for an experiment. She'd seen that he had wanted to go and had volunteered to watch Cailin for the afternoon: hardly a chore.
Everyone had quickly been smitten with the little girl the same as they were with her father and has closed ranks around the "young" family, taking turns babysitting whenever Lucas asked – which wasn't often – or when they thought he needed it. Lucas had never known what hit him.
"I need to talk to you," she'd said, leaning in close to whisper in his ear.
So it had started, a day that usually brought a mixture of both joy and sorrow promised to be different this year, if only for a little while.
*
Nathan made his way down to the moonpool, where Cailin was planning on surprising Lucas, and stopped in the entrance, a smile on his face as he took in the sight before him.
Lucas and Cailin sat on the side of the moonpool, the little girl leaning into her father's side, as he patiently explained – in detail – how the Vocoder worked yet again. Cailin hung on his every word and Nathan was suddenly sure that if- God forbid - anything should ever happen to Lucas, Cailin would be the one to continue his work, bringing the Vocoder into the next level when she was old enough to really grasp the theory. It was a humbling and awe inspiring sight to say the least and Nathan caught himself standing there, just staring until a muffled cough from behind startled him out of his reverie.
He whirled around to see Kristin, an understanding smile on her face, standing behind him, a messily wrapped package in her hands.
"Show time," he said jokingly, holding his arm out for her to take.
She rolled her eyes and took his arm, playing into his shenanigans. Together they walked into the area, a happy squirt from Darwin announcing their arrival. Cailin let out an excited squeal and jumped down from her seat, rushing over and gently taking the package from Kristin's hands. The little girl suddenly became almost shy and slowly walked back over to where her father was sitting, a completely confused look on his face.
"I…I, uh," she lowered her head, a slight blush staining her cheeks.
Lucas bit back a grin and reached down to pick her up, settling her on his lap once he was back up. She raised her head and looked at him, the blush quickly fading from her face when she took in his smile.
"I, that is, Captain Nathan and Dr. Kristin helped me do this," she thrust the package into his hands and leaned back into his chest, waiting for him to open it.
Lucas looked down at the messy packaging, large wads of tape sticking up from the bright paper, and endless rips patched up running the length of it. It was a true Cailin Wolenczak wrapping job, one he would treasure, and he proceeded to unwrap it slowly, saving the paper to remember later. Cailin impatiently wiggled in his lap, her two-year-old body barely held in check to help her father open the present by her will to see him do it himself.
Finally, the gift was unwrapped and Lucas reached down to pick up the object that had been inside the paper. A large lump of gray clay lay in his palm, hard from a firing and glazed with a clear coat, giving it a milky appearance. One end was fatter then the other and two misshapen bumps jutted out form the side, one more toward the "top" of the shape then the other, and another bump protruded from the end, giving the lump a sort of mottled look.
Lucas brought it up close to his face and smiled when he made out the faint fingerprints Cailin must have left behind on the piece when she had been shaping it.
"It's Darwin, so he can be with you when we have to go upworld sometimes," she said softly, watching Lucas' face anxiously.
He hugged her tightly and kissed her cheek. "It's great, you did an awesome job. We'll put it up on the shelf when we go back to our quarters, okay?"
She nodded, beaming up at him before she hugged him back tightly, burying her face in his chest. "I'm glad you like it Daddy, Happy Father's Day."
Lucas coughed lightly, biting back the lump that had suddenly formed in his throat and kissed her again, hugging as tightly as he could with the dolphin clenched in one hand.
Cailin jumped down and raced over to thank Nathan and Kristin, a wide smile on her face and a whispered "thank you" for each of them. Darwin sprayed water onto the deck again, calling for "Cailin, play!" The little girl giggled and ran over to the far side of the moonpool, Lucas watching carefully until Kristin went to join her, giving Nathan and Lucas a chance to talk privately.
"Pretty special," Nathan said, gesturing to the gift as he leaned next to Lucas by the pool.
Lucas nodded and gently ran his fingers down the lumpy side of the dolphin, feeling each line and groove as Cailin had pressed it into the shape she wanted.
"Yeah it is," he said softly, looking up to meet the captain's eyes. "Thank you sir, I know she couldn't have done this without your help."
Nathan shrugged, a smile tugging on the corner of his lips. It had been no small feat to get the clay on board, shaped by Cailin, and sent to be fired, but, with Krieg's "help," he and Kristin had managed to get it all done in time. It had been worth it though, just to see Lucas' face when he'd finally seen it.
"You're welcome, Kiddo. Happy Father's Day." Nathan said, grabbing Lucas to him in a one armed hug.
"Thank you sir. Happy Father's Day to you too," the young man answered, returning the hug.
Surprisingly enough, for the first time since Robert's death, it had been a Happy Father's Day.