12303.09 - 21:00 Hours – Star Base 71- Family Quarters UTC-2053
The trip back to SB 71was uneventful. Jacob and Christine took advantage of the quiet before returning to the storm of home. As promised, they had lunch with TJ. Christine had to admit she could see what Jacob did to him. TJ had the makings of a good Star Fleet Officer, but he needed encouragement to go out there and be TJ, not his parent's son. Christine had fought that battle within herself for so long that she could give him a different perspective and a friendly ear who would listen. It did TJ good to know he was not the only one going through the struggle. They promised to check on him when they returned to Earth, so they watched him rejoin his classmates in training. He had a promising future ahead of him.
Their drop-off with Alan at SB 71 was rapid. Richard was already 10 hours behind heading back to Earth, but he took five minutes to see Christine and Jacob off. Unfortunately, the Haida was at warp before they left the docking bay. Alan left the two to meet with the rest of the presentation team before retiring to his assigned quarters. He would see Christine the next day and reassure Jacob with a handshake before heading off, leaving Christine and Jacob ambushed by Bennu and the kids.
As overwhelming as their love was, it was good to have the kids back in their arms. Josh and Brielle didn't stop bouncing and talking until lights out were called at bedtime. Then, with their excitement of having their parents home spent, they fell quickly into a deep sleep. Then, with a hug, Bennu told the couple good night and that she would pick the kids up after school the next day so they didn't have to worry.
With the kids in bed, and Bennu gone, Christine and Jacob collapsed on the couch with Ember leaning over into their laps, showing them that she missed them too.
Christine leaned back on the couch, "Are you sure we have only been home six hours? It feels like we have been going for 24 hours."
Jacob reached back and wrapped his arm around Christine, pulling her to him. "It will be all right, love," Jacob kissed her temple. "They were excited to have you and me back home." Jacob petted Ember with his free hand.
"Then why do I feel like I have failed them while I was gone?" Christine sighed and leaned her head over on his shoulder.
"You didn't." Jacob tried to get her to smile. "Tomorrow is another day, and our family is back together again."
"I just don't know what to do now," Christine closed her eyes. "We are home, but the past few days have changed things so much." She looked at the engagement ring on her left hand.
"First, you need sleep." Jacob tipped her chin up. "You are tired; we are all tired." Jacob stopped petting Ember and took her left hand into his. "And this is just evidence of what we already knew."
Ember nosed Jacob's arm for him to go back to petting her. When he didn't react, she started nosing her way under Christine's arm to get pets. With a smile, Christine let go of Jacob's hand and let her hand drift down to pet Ember. "Ember is glad she can return to being your babysitter, not just the kids."
"She certainly earned her treats while you were gone." Christine smiled as she petted the dog. "I feel like I have been through a battle, but the battle hasn't even started yet."
"That is for us to think about tomorrow." He leaned over and kissed her temple, "Tonight, let us just enjoy being home in our bed, with our kids in the next room."
Ember got off the couch on cue and went to the hallway.
"I think that is our cue to go to bed," Jacob smirked at the patient dog.
"If we stay here much longer, I will fall asleep," Christine said as she sat up away from Jacob and stretched.
"As much as I would like to reenact the first time you slept in my arms, I prefer the version where you are in bed next to me." Jacob moved to stand up but couldn't.
"Need a hand?" Christine smirked and offered her hand to Jacob.
"Picking up the kids hurt my injury, but it was worth it." Jacob accepted her hand and limbed his way behind her to the doorway to the kid's room.
"I can run a deep ultrasound before we turn it in if that would help." Christine offered as they watched the kids sleep.
"I would appreciate it." He wrapped an arm around her waist. "They have grown so much since I left."
"At this age, two months can mean a lot." Christine started to step away, holding Jacob's hand as she did so. However, her progress was halted when she realized Jacob was still at the doorway.
"I don't want to leave them again, Christine." Jacob only had eyes for the children.
"And you won't." Christine smiled and gently tugged on his hand. "Come on; they will be awake again soon enough. They have lots more stories to tell you over breakfast."
With a quiet nod, Jacob let Christine lead him to their bedroom. While Christine dressed for bed and gathered what she needed to treat his back, Jacob stripped down to his boxers and sat on the bed.
Christine returned to their bed clad in one of his t-shirts, which caused Jacob to smile. "Lay down on your stomach, so I treat you properly." Jacob did as she asked. "Let me know if this gets too warm. This should relax the muscles enough for you to sleep tonight."
"Thanks," Jacob said, muffled by his pillow.
"If you haven't guessed already, I'm glad you are home." Christine leaned over and kissed a scar on his shoulder before beginning the treatment on his back and hip.
"Me too, love." He smiled up at her.
Christine began moving the wand over the injured muscles, "Even though Torbin and Jazz took you away from us, I do like them. They also seemed very impressed by your work. So it would not have surprised me if he had offered you a job.
"Who says they didn't?" Jacob cringed slightly as she found a sore spot.
Christine's jaw dropped, and she stopped moving the wand for a moment, "What?"
"Before we left the planet, Jazz offered me a position on Torbin's permanent team. Of course, I turned it down, which didn't surprise them." Jacob said over his shoulder. "As much as I liked working with him, my family is more important."
"Professionally speaking, a position on Captain Torbin's team is a lifetime chance." Christine focused on her work.
"It is but for now, I'm going to stick with being a good Dad and husband." Jacob gave her a cheeky smile.
"But Jacob…."
"I want you." Jacob carefully rolled over and sat up next to Christine. He picked up her hand and kissed the finger on which he had placed the engagement ring. "I want Brielle to be my daughter, as Josh is my son." He tugged her hand, so he drew her closer to him. "My future is you, not some grand position in Star Fleet."
"Good," Christine gave him a sweet kiss. "Now scoot over. I've gotten used to having more of the bed while you were gone." With a laugh, Jacob shut off the lights and wrapped himself around Christine, happy to be home.
12303.19- 13:22 hours - Star Base 71-
"If we increase the damper by 2%, it shouldn't raise the pressure over the threshold." Alan pointed out the hologram.
"But it will cause increased friction here and here." Christine pointed out. "The weight would be off the pressure point, but the friction will cause additional pain for the patient."
"A silicone casing on the housing would prevent the additional friction." The orthopedist offered.
"Which will raise the overall weight, which defeats the purpose of increasing the dampener in the first place," Alan grumbled.
"I thought only two-year-olds talked in circles." Christine joked.
"You haven't been around enough engineers, then." Alan quibbled back.
"Yeah, just hotshot pilots who fly in circles." Christine smiled and stretched.
"I think this is enough for now." Alan closed the terminal down.
"I need to check on my patients," Christine started toward the door when her com beeped. "Lieutenant Skyler."
"Lieutenant, this is Ms. Pashev. I'm the Assistant Principal for Brielle and Josh's school."
"Oh, hello," Christine responded, confused. "What can I do for you?"
"Would it be possible for you to come to pick up Josh from school? Unfortunately, there has been an incident."
14:43 Hours – Star Base 71- Family Quarters UTC-2053
"At the table, Josher." Christine nudged the seven-year-old into their quarters.
"I said I was sorry." Josh kept his head down and dropped his school bag on the couch before going to their dining table.
"Josher, I'm sorry, does not tell me why I got called to pick you up from school." Christine dropped her things on a side table. Josh flopped down in a chair, not looking at her. "Josh, what happened today at school that caused you to be sent home for fighting?"
Josh shrank in his seat at Christine's frustrated tone. "I got called out of work to pick you up. This isn't like you. Did you hit Robbie Greellen? I want to know why." She gently tipped his head up to stare into his eyes.
"Brielle," Josh replied, trying to avert his eyes. "He was making fun of my sister."
Christine knelt next to him, keeping eye contact with him, "Oh? And what did he say?"
"Well, today was family day. And we had to talk about our families." Josh said, squirming in his seat. "And when it became Brielle's time to talk, she talked about how she had three grandmas. Grandma Fea, Grandma Lynn, and Grandma Jackie. And how she wanted to be a dancer like her Aunt Katie. Robbie told her that she had no family since she was adopted." Josh looked up at Christine, tears in his eyes, "This made her cry and run out into the hall.
"What did your teacher do?" Christine tried to keep her ire out of her voice. Christine had spoken with the kids' teacher several times about Robbie's bullying, but it continued to happen.
"Robbie was sent to time out, but he laughed at how he made Brielle cry."
"Then what happened?" Christine bit her lip to keep her inner cursing voice from becoming outside.
"At recess, I told Robbie to say sorry to Brielle. He said no." Josh locked eyes with Christine. At that moment, she could see Jacob's determination in his eyes: "He told me that not only was Brielle NOT my sister, but you were NOT my mom. Since I didn't have a mom and dad, I didn't have a real family either. That made me mad, so I gave him a black eye." Jacob sighed and looked down at the floor.
With a sigh, Christine reached down and took Josh's bruised and swollen left hand into hers, "AND you broke three of your fingers." Christine took a couple of items from her medical kit and started working on his hand. "You also gave Robbie a mild concussion." Christine gave him a hand look.
"I didn't think I hit him that hard," Josh said sheepishly. He hissed as Christine ran a device over each finger.
"A well-placed left hook can do some serious damage." Christine tried to keep the annoyance out of her voice. The boy was in pain from his injury, but he also knew better than to throw punches. "Now, before we go any farther or your father finds out, what did we learn today?"
"I shouldn't have acted that way." Josh looked Christine in the eyes, "Mister Sam says that we should always try to solve our problems with words, not our fists. Grandpa Skyler said that violence should always be a last resort. But Mum, Robbie not only hurt my feeling but hurt Brielle." Josh got a fierce look in his eyes, "And no matter what Robbie thinks, Brielle IS my sister, and I'm going to protect her from people like him."
With a sigh, Christine put the bone knitter back in her med kit, brought Josh over to sit on the couch, and sat him in her lap, "While I appreciate the gesture, next time, maybe do it in a manner that doesn't involve requiring medical attention? Please." She tapped him on the forehead, "Your hand will be tender for a few days. Put an ice pack on it for a bit, and then go to your room. I want you to think about what happened and what you could have done differently." He nodded silently and sulked over to the replicator and then into his room.
With Josh in his room, Christine leaned back against the couch, holding her head. "What just happened?" Christine looked up at the ceiling. Christine was initially disappointed that Josh would hurt another child. However, it was quickly overshadowed by the fact that not only had Josh adapted to his new life, but he also actually defended Brielle. Josh even referred to her as his sister. Christine's heart swelled when she realized that Josh had called her "Mum" while talking to her.
Christine pushed herself to her feet and went to her computer terminal. With Josh's situation dealt with, now how would she tell Jacob what had happened? Add in that Brielle would be home soon with Bennu. Brielle was doing better, but today's event did not do her any favors. On the contrary, it worried Christine what the emotional trauma blowback would be.