Meanwhile... Washington DC
In the middle of a tv show that was on more for the kids' entertainment than the adults', Reyes turned to Cat and said, "Tell me about William."
"Tell you what about him?"
"Anything." Reyes said simply. "When he was a baby, I thought I'd see him grow up. But I haven't. I begged Dana not to give him up like Spender wanted her to, and later when it came time for the custody hearing, I argued that she ought to support Fox. Obviously I failed on both accounts. I want to know what sort of person he's grown into."
"You cared about him as a baby. I've heard stories." Cat stated.
"John and I both did. William was the sweetest baby..."
"He's not sweet any more." Cat smiled at Reyes' surprise. "Which isn't to say he doesn't have his moments of sweetness. Stubbornness and determination pour out of him, and now that I've met his mother too, the fact that he's headstrong comes as no surprise. He got a genetic double helping of will.
"However, he can be kind and gentle. It's just not his predominant nature. Not like my son Owen's, but his life and Owen's have been very different so far...I think in the long run William's personality will protect him more than being sweet would. People won't be as likely to hurt him.
"I wonder, though, if he if defenses would have been built up less had he always been with Fox. I can't imagine why they fought so hard to keep him when it's fairly clear that they didn't love him half as much as his father does."
"They thought of him as a possession." Reyes said grimly. "He was their toy, and they didn't want anyone else to have him. I'm luckier than William, my adopted parents really loved me."
Cat nodded, figuring out why this woman felt so strongly about her step- son's adoption."I'd like to think that most people who are adopted are luckier than him."
Reyes sighed. "What about you? If Fox had gotten custody of William, would you still have wanted to marry him?"
"Why wouldn't I have?" Cat asked blankly.
That made Reyes smile. "Some women wouldn't want to get involved with someone with a child."
"Monica, I enjoy being a mother so much that I have had five children. Do you really think that a baby step-son would have been off-putting?"
They giggled until Kyle looked up from the tv and demanded to know what was so funny.
Meanwhile... New Mexico
William felt part of his mind reaching out towards the beacon, almost as if against his own volition. This time he didn't try to stop it. Feeling it carefully, he thought he felt the trigger. He let his thoughts brush it very lightly, not applying enough pressure to move anything. It was probably a lot like a trigger of a gun, he thought, you had to push hard.
Emanuel was right. He would know what to do.
"When that Andrew guy brought us here he told my dad that you people have compounds like this all over the country." William told Emanuel.
"We do."
"Then does every one of them have one of these beacon things? 'cause we could have moved to another state, you know."
"No. This is the one and only beacon. If you had been some place else we would have kept you at the closest compound until we could have had you transported here."
"So, is like the Area 51 mojo of this area what made you all decide this was the place to keep the beacon?" Emanuel gave him a blank look, and William sighed. "Nevermind."
As he spoke to Emanuel about the inconsequential, he continued to gently explore the beacon, and learn about its structure.
In the middle of a tv show that was on more for the kids' entertainment than the adults', Reyes turned to Cat and said, "Tell me about William."
"Tell you what about him?"
"Anything." Reyes said simply. "When he was a baby, I thought I'd see him grow up. But I haven't. I begged Dana not to give him up like Spender wanted her to, and later when it came time for the custody hearing, I argued that she ought to support Fox. Obviously I failed on both accounts. I want to know what sort of person he's grown into."
"You cared about him as a baby. I've heard stories." Cat stated.
"John and I both did. William was the sweetest baby..."
"He's not sweet any more." Cat smiled at Reyes' surprise. "Which isn't to say he doesn't have his moments of sweetness. Stubbornness and determination pour out of him, and now that I've met his mother too, the fact that he's headstrong comes as no surprise. He got a genetic double helping of will.
"However, he can be kind and gentle. It's just not his predominant nature. Not like my son Owen's, but his life and Owen's have been very different so far...I think in the long run William's personality will protect him more than being sweet would. People won't be as likely to hurt him.
"I wonder, though, if he if defenses would have been built up less had he always been with Fox. I can't imagine why they fought so hard to keep him when it's fairly clear that they didn't love him half as much as his father does."
"They thought of him as a possession." Reyes said grimly. "He was their toy, and they didn't want anyone else to have him. I'm luckier than William, my adopted parents really loved me."
Cat nodded, figuring out why this woman felt so strongly about her step- son's adoption."I'd like to think that most people who are adopted are luckier than him."
Reyes sighed. "What about you? If Fox had gotten custody of William, would you still have wanted to marry him?"
"Why wouldn't I have?" Cat asked blankly.
That made Reyes smile. "Some women wouldn't want to get involved with someone with a child."
"Monica, I enjoy being a mother so much that I have had five children. Do you really think that a baby step-son would have been off-putting?"
They giggled until Kyle looked up from the tv and demanded to know what was so funny.
Meanwhile... New Mexico
William felt part of his mind reaching out towards the beacon, almost as if against his own volition. This time he didn't try to stop it. Feeling it carefully, he thought he felt the trigger. He let his thoughts brush it very lightly, not applying enough pressure to move anything. It was probably a lot like a trigger of a gun, he thought, you had to push hard.
Emanuel was right. He would know what to do.
"When that Andrew guy brought us here he told my dad that you people have compounds like this all over the country." William told Emanuel.
"We do."
"Then does every one of them have one of these beacon things? 'cause we could have moved to another state, you know."
"No. This is the one and only beacon. If you had been some place else we would have kept you at the closest compound until we could have had you transported here."
"So, is like the Area 51 mojo of this area what made you all decide this was the place to keep the beacon?" Emanuel gave him a blank look, and William sighed. "Nevermind."
As he spoke to Emanuel about the inconsequential, he continued to gently explore the beacon, and learn about its structure.