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Chapter 54 – Arles' Black Eye

Samuel had returned with two containers of chips within moments. They sat on the sofa, and watched tellie together. He had dimmed the lights, and within a surprisingly short period of time, Samuel had fallen asleep.

Karen looked back at him and laughed under her breath. "And that's one way to get out of reading those letters, Angus."

She reached across his waist, and pressed a button on the inside of the arm cushion of the sofa. It caused the back of the sofa to slowly recline. Samuel grunted, and Karen quickly put her hand on his chest, "Shhh… sleep, Samuel."

He took a deep breath and seemed to slip into a deeper sleep.

Karen went back to eating the chips from the container and watching the tellie. She wished she had gotten another glass of the blue liquid she had enjoyed so much at dinner. Just as she made up her mind that she would get up and get herself one during the next commercial break, commercials began to play.

She closed the container of chips and sat them on the table as she got up and went into the kitchen. She made herself a glass of the blue drink and sipped it.

She saw movement out of the corner of her eye through the back glass doors. She walked over to investigate and saw a small bit of smoke.

She opened the door and walked out on the back deck. She didn't see any more smoke immediately, but as she decided it was just a trick of the light, she saw it again.

"Arles?" She called.

She heard a cough next door. "Yeah?"

She rolled her eyes and walked off of her deck, across the sand, and to Arles' back deck.

He was standing there, holding a joint, and looking down at a small leather bound book. "Everything alright, Karen?"

She walked up the steps. "You're smoking?"

He glanced down at his joint. "Yeah. You know I smoke, what's the problem?"

She groaned and sat down on one of the chairs at the table. She noticed a black gym bag sitting on the table, with his green oxford lying on top of it. He was wearing a grey t-shirt.

"What are you reading?"

He turned to look at her and held the closed book in his hand. "Practicing my German." He grinned.

He pinched the front of the joint, and slipped it in his pocket.

"Did you and Kelly have a good time?"

He nodded. "Yeah. It was nice."

She grinned. "What did you do?"

"Just dinner. This place where the sea gulls fly around and make you feel guilty for eating."

Karen giggled and crossed her arms. "Yeah, I know that place. It has the tables that sit over the water? Right?"

"That's the one."

"You've been spending a lot of time with her-"

"We're just friends. And she believes I'm going back to New York tonight, so I'll probably not be able to see her for a while."

Karen nodded. "She's one you can be honest with-"

He shook his head and sat down across from her, "We're just friends."

"That's what Samuel said you had told him-"

He shrugged his shoulders. "Cause that's true. You're so interested in my love life. I'm telling you, that's not for me."

She watched him pull the black bag into the chair next to him, unzip it, and put the leather book inside. "Sammy told me about your news."

She smiled, "Yes. He told me."

He sat back and grinned. "I'm happy for you guys. I would like to suggest Arles Lovell as a name."

"So, you finally know."

He looked surprised. "You knew my new name?"

"Of course, I did. Samuel told me. I love it."

Arles rubbed the side of his face. "It could have been a lot worse. The other Arles is 'Arles Lavatch'."

"Where do you guys come up with such odd names?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "Family names-"

She grabbed his hand and pulled it down to see his face. There was a large bruise forming above his eye. "What is this?"

He rubbed the side of his face again. "Damn it. I thought I had got it all-"

"Have you been in a fight?"

He crossed his arms. "Maybe-"

"Arles. What is going on-"

"Nothing-" He smiled.

She pointed. "You are going to tell me."

"Why? You're not my boss-"

"You need one-"

"No, I don't-"

"Kelly wouldn't have hit you-"

He groaned, "No, of course not."

She rose her eyebrows at him.

He crossed his arms and laughed. "You worry too much, Karen."

Karen wasn't having it. "I will go wake up your brother in a second-"

He sighed and sat back. "Why….are you so concerned with me?"

"You know why!"

He rubbed his hands together and she noticed his knuckle was missing a bit of skin, too.

She quickly reached over and grabbed it. "And this?"

He looked at his hand, "That's from playing the drums. Ask anyone. Your knuckles always look like this. Sammy is always putting it back together for me."

"Have you played tonight?"

"Yes, Madam Inspector." He laughed. Clearly he was still feeling the effects of the joint.

She let go of his hand and pointed at his eye. "So, you're going to tell me this black eye is from playing drums, too?"

He crossed his arms and grinned. "I'm really doing it wrong if it is." He mocked smacking himself in the face with a drumstick and laughed.

She couldn't help but smile at his silliness. "So, you aren't going to tell me-"

"Nope!" He smiled. "I'm actually American and can plead the Fourth Amendment."

"I think you're probably meaning the Fifth-"

"I probably need to get a copy of that and read it." He told her as rubbed his eye again.

She narrowed her eyes at him and shook her head.

"Where is Sammy?" He asked.

"Watching the television."

He grinned, "Through his eyelids, huh?"

"First time he's slept in days. Thank you for suggesting that."

"Always works." He told her.

She relaxed. "I want to ask you about something."

"More about my love life?"

"No. About….your sister."

He pulled another chair over and propped his feet in it. "What about Genie? Is she being a pain? She's like that-"

"No." She stopped him. "Your other sister."

He looked surprised at her. "Sam told you about Caroline?"

"Yes."

He propped his hands on top of his head and relaxed. "Well, I'd appreciate it if you kept that entire thing to yourself about her-"

"Of course. I won't say anything."

He nodded. "What do you want to know?"

"With your letters, did she write you one?"

"She's small, she doesn't write."

"Samuel had a drawing from her."

"Really? Huh. I might look and see then-"

"So, you haven't read your letters, either-"

"No." He told her flatly. "I have no plans to."

"That's how Samuel is-"

He pointed at her. "That's how you would be, too. Hell, Tony Tyler tore his up."

"He did?"

He nodded, "Oh yes. Several days ago. See, I haven't gone to that extreme yet. Granted, I haven't stolen a ship, either."

"Wow."

"Tony is a bit….impulsive. And an ass. He'll regret that, and told him to at least save the bits. He refused and burned them."

"Burned them?"

He nodded, "Yeah. Just there in the flat. It set off the fire detectors. Legate alerted the Guard and we had five Quauthin here. They have no idea that's what it was, but…well yeah."

"Unbelievable." She insisted. "I wonder if Genie has read hers?"

"I haven't asked." He shrugged his shoulders. "So, you know about Caroline?"

"Yes. Samuel said she has red hair?"

"Yeah, she does." He rubbed his sore eye again, "She likes to ride on my shoulders, and I spin her around. Mum always thinks I'm going to drop her, so I ask her to shout like she's dying. It only winds Mum up more. It's great fun."

"I'm considering that a warning for what you and this baby will get up to."

Arles grinned at her. "My nephew. Oh, I have such plans for us."

She giggled.

He laughed as he pulled the photo device out of his wallet. He turned it on and typed in a password on it. He handed it to her and sat back. "That's her."

Karen saw an image of Genie, Arles, and Samuel standing under a palm tree smiling. In Samuel's arms was a little girl with long red hair that had been braided. She had her head lying on his shoulder and was smiling at the camera, too.

"That's her cheese face. Dad calls it the 'rat face'."

She giggled, "She looks just like Rose."

"Yeah. Funny how that works."

Karen slid her finger across the screen and saw a photo of Samuel kneeling next to the little girl who was kissing his cheek.

Another picture showed the Doctor holding young Caroline with Rose looking at them. They were all laughing.

"They look, exactly the same." Karen said in surprise.

"Well, yeah. Dad is millions of years old. And Mum…..she's weird."

Another picture showed Lewis standing with Arles, playfully holding him in a headlock. Arles was playfully holding young Caroline in a headlock. She hung her tongue out dramatically.

Karen laughed.

Arles rested his hands on his head. "And Papa has a scar. Just there on his forehead. I don't know if you can see it in that image or not."

She zoomed in. "How did he get that?"

"Something he was off doing with Lartius. I'm really not sure. He's never told me."

Karen slid her finger to change the photo and saw Tony Stark and Pepper. Tony wore sunglasses and had a lot of silver in his hair. Behind them, stood a huge, muscular man that she recognized as Soli. He had that same smile. But what really caught her attention more was the same red haired little girl, holding the hand of another girl who appeared to be the same age as Caroline. She had dark skin and beautiful curly hair that reminded Karen immediately of young Genie.

"Who is this?" She asked.

Arles looked at the image. "Oh, Maria. Tony and Pepper adopted her last year."

"She looks like Genie."

"She's Rixalarian, just like Genie. Tony and Pepper couldn't have children of their own, I'm not sure why. None of my business. Lartius was visiting a children's hospital, after this attack on a colony that had a lot of Rixalarian people. Her family died in that. She was a baby, and just barely walking then. Her name was originally 'Madeleina", which is strange because in French that means, 'tower.' So, Tony and Pepper changed it to Maria. I can't remember her entire name. I think she's named after Tony's Mum and Pepper's…something. Grandmum."

"So, she's younger than Caroline?"

He smiled, "Yeah. She's tall. Tony calls her 'his tower' because of her height."

Karen smiled and looked at another photo. Tony held Maria in his arms, and she had put his sunglasses on her face. He looked at her with a huge smile on his face. "Gosh, I can really see the grey in his hair here."

"Yeah. Soli is responsible for that."

"None of you?"

Arles pointed at himself. "I'm the good one out of this lot."

She handed the photo device back to him. "How are you?"

He looked confused. "Fine. Why do you ask?"

He put the photo device back in his wallet, and tossed it on the table between them.

"Well, life changed a lot for you when you crashed here."

He looked away and pointed at her. "I think the same about you. Your life has really changed."

"No, it hasn't."

He looked back at her, "Write yourself a letter to be given to yourself, two months ago. Would you believe it?"

She sat back and propped her feet up in the same chair Arles' feet were in. "No, I would not."

"Exactly my point. And, I'd be willing to bet you wouldn't even want to read it. See, Sammy doesn't get that option."

"Because I'm forcing him to read those letters?"

"No. Well, I don't know. Maybe you are. Sammy sees the future. In small bits. The points of time that can't be changed. He tells me about them, sometimes. I know he doesn't like it. He says he wishes he could just….go through life and be normal."

She shook her head. "He will never be that."

"I agree. And what fun would that be?"

"He told me you can….flash?"

"Phase. Yes. It's causing me problems at the moment, so don't ask me to do it."

"He told me that's what happened with those girls."

"Not just with them." He groaned.

"Has it happened again-"

He rubbed his face and groaned. "You know, Mum. You need to get some rest."

"Arles-"

"Have you had any odd cravings yet? Legate can probably suggest some things-"

"Arles. Talk to me."

He took a deep breath. "I'm fine. Stop worrying about me."

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