Recognizable characters probably aren't mine.
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Susan checked the clock and sighed. Too late to make it to Vessna's open house, but at least she'd be home before her baby was in bed. She navigated through the traffic—not so heavy at this time of night, at least—almost automatically. It wasn't that she didn't appreciate the confidence that the senior partners at the ad agency had in her, but an international project of this size required so much of her time outside normal working hours…. She sighed again. George had spent almost a year on the night shift when Emily had been Vessna's age, and she remembered how he'd worried that he was missing her childhood. Now she was starting to feel the same way.
George's car wasn't in the driveway when she got home, but he and Vessna might have stopped somewhere for a snack. "Hello, Em," she greeted her oldest daughter as she walked in the door. Emily grunted something from her reclining position on the couch, her nose buried in a book, that might have been a greeting, and Susan shook her head. Buck was the more studious one, but when Emily focused on something, she focused. "Is you brother home yet?"
One shoulder twitched. "Got in ten or twenty minutes ago. He's taking a shower."
"Ah." Susan couldn't hear the water running, but—
"Hey, Mom," Buck greeted, coming down the stairs to join her.
He was in the shorts and t-shirt he preferred to sleep in rather than his uniform, and Susan couldn't help but be a little grateful. Six months after his graduation from the police academy she'd finally become at least accustomed to seeing him dressed as a police officer, but she still couldn't bring herself to like it. She knew as well as anyone what this city could be like. He knuckled her temple lightly, and she returned the gesture and smiled. "Hello. Emily said you just got in. Have you eaten?"
"Not yet, but I was going to go make myself a plate. Do you want me to make you one too?"
"That would be wonderful. I'm just going to go get changed."
She heard him asking Emily if she wanted something to eat too, but when she came back down Emily hadn't moved from her position on the couch so apparently she hadn't been interested. Buck was in the kitchen at the table, two plates set out, and for a moment she thought she saw something slightly…awkward…in his expression. It disappeared as soon as he saw her, though, and with a shake of her head she decided to blame the impression on her own exhaustion.
"So, how was your meeting?" he asked, starting in on the weasel chunks.
"About like usual. A lot of arguing and then re-agreeing to everything they already agreed to last week." There were times when she thought that each client should get a limited number of words per subject, and after that they weren't allowed to talk any more. "How was your day?"
"Pretty good. I, um…." The awkwardness returned to his expression, and this time she knew that she wasn't imagining it. "You know, I was thinking, it's not really convenient to take the bus down to the station every day and then either taking it back or having Cliff drop me off in the evenings. I mean, it's out of his way, and the bus wastes a lot of time."
Susan nodded, unable to deny it. For awhile she and George had shared one car between them, with the one who didn't have the car on a given day taking the bus, but shortly after she'd accepted her job at the ad agency they'd had to give in and buy a second vehicle. "You're thinking about getting your own car, then?" It was probably a good idea, although who knew where they were going to put it. They already had hers and George's, and the garage was so full of junk there was no way they could fit a car in there…well, they'd figure something out. The initial expense might be difficult for him to handle though; maybe that's why he'd been so hesitant to bring it up.
He shook his head. "Not exactly. I mean, half the problem is the traffic, and having my own car won't fix that."
He'd been assigned to a precinct on almost the opposite side of the city, and she nodded in understanding. "Do you think you could transfer to another precinct?" She knew she'd feel better if he was closer to George, although she wasn't about to bring it up.
"Probably not. Actually, um, I was thinking about maybe getting an apartment closer to the station."
He blurted the last out so fast that it took her a moment to process the words, and then her hearts seemed to stop for a moment. "You're leaving?"
"It's not—I'm not leaving. I mean, I'll still be in the city, and I'll still probably be home most nights for dinner, but it just seems like it would be more convenient if I actually lived closer to the station."
"Convenient?" She heard her voice rise sharply, and a part of her knew that she was overreacting to what really shouldn't be a major event, but she couldn't help it. They'd lost him once, on the ship, and it had been a miracle that they'd gotten him back again. She hadn't even been there the day they'd taken him away; she'd simply come back from a work shift to find George clinging to Emily and absolutely inconsolable, her ten year old son nowhere to be found. And even if this was a completely different situation, even if he was still in the city, he wouldn't be here. Here where she could check on him, make sure that he was safe, on the nights when the nightmares still came.
A squeal jolted her out of her train of thought, and Vessna flung herself across the kitchen into her brother's lap. Buck scooped her up, obviously glad of the distraction.
"Hello, Neemu," George greeted, coming in behind Vessna.
She didn't respond—she couldn't respond—and he touched her temples lightly.
"Suse? What's wrong?"
"Your son wants to move out."
"What?" George looked at her for a moment, and then lifted his head to stare at Buck. "You're leaving?"
"I'm not leaving," Buck repeated. "It's just—I found an apartment closer to the station. It's not like I'll never be home or anything like that, I just think it'll be easier than fighting the traffic and everything every day. Plus, with me gone, you can move Vessna up into my room and actually have a spare room for all your stuff again, instead of letting it all pile up in the garage."
"You already found an apartment?" Susan demanded. Bad enough thinking about the idea in the abstract, but if he already had a place….
"I'm supposed to pick up the keys this weekend," he admitted after a minute. "It's like twenty minutes away; it's really not a big deal."
"You're leaving?" Vessna asked, obviously picking up on the important part of the conversation. "But I don't want you to leave."
"What's going on?" Emily asked, joining the rest of them in the kitchen. "Is Buck going somewhere?"
"I found an apartment closer to the station."
"Oh. Is that all?"
All? Well, Emily had grown up on this world and probably didn't even remember being split up on the ship; there was no way she could understand how this felt to her parents. Or to her mother, at least…George's face was blank, and it was hard to tell what he was thinking. "But what will you eat?" she couldn't help asking. "What about utilities? And laundry?"
"I can cook," Buck pointed out. "And the apartment has water and electric. And I'll take my clothes to a Laundromat, like everyone else in the city without a washing machine does."
Perfectly reasonable answers, but she shook her head anyway.
"Well, how much are utilities?" George asked, and she couldn't help but be grateful for the support. "It could be expensive, you know. Are you near a bus stop?"
"There's one about two blocks away, and utilities are included in the rent."
"What about furniture?" Emily asked. "I am not helping you haul your bed down out of your room. Do you remember how much work it was to get it up there? And that was with the guys from the moving company helping us."
"The big furniture is included, the only thing I really need are a few more chairs and some pillows and stuff." He sighed. "Look, like I said, I'm supposed to pick up the keys this weekend. I'll take you all over and you can see it then, all right? Maybe Sunday?"
Susan shook her head, pushing her chair back from the table. She'd barely touched the plate that Buck had made for her, but the way she felt right now there was no way she'd be able to manage even a single bite more. She needed to…process…as Elena always said. "I'm going to take a shower. Excuse me."
