Earth's Children

Author: Luna Sealeaf

Summary: Harpers' parents tell their tale of life and love in Post-Commonwealth Earth

Rating: PG-13 (Maybe R for a few graphic(violent) images or dark themes)

Disclaimer: No, I do not own the universe of Andromeda, nor do I own characters such as Harper or Brendan (obviously) I made up the characters of Josephine and Evan...blah blah blah..etc, you get it. Please don't copy my story (at least not without letting me know first) and please don't sue.

When the dark wood fell before me,

And all the paths were overgrown...

I did not believe because I could not see

Though you came to me in the night

When the dawn seemed forever lost

You showed me your love in the light of the stars

Cast your eyes on the ocean

Cast your soul to the sea

When the dark night seems endless

Please remember me...

Though we share this humble path, alone

How fragile is the heart

Oh give these clay feet wings to fly

To touch the face of the stars

Breathe life into this feeble heart

Lift this mortal veil of fear

Take these crumbled hopes, etched with tears

We'll rise above these Earthly cares

Cast your eyes on the ocean

Cast your soul to the sea

When the dark night seems endless

Please remember me...


Please remember me...

Episode Nineteen

I've never believed in miracles. I've never believed in God. I've never believed in fate, or destiny, or whatever else you may call it. I wasn't even sure I believed in such a thing as luck, for who knew what that really was? Josephine once told me that sometimes she prayed; not because she honestly believed it would do any good, but because it helped to comfort her. I had scoffed at the idea when she suggested I try it sometime. I had told her the only divinity I needed in my life was the one who slept next to me every night. I belonged to the Order of Josephine. We had laughed over it and never really talked about it again.

But when Seamus was taken I did pray. I hoped for the first time in my life that I had been wrong; I begged to Whatever Deity Still Lives that my son was alive, that he was safe. I was not so selfish as to pray that I would see him again. But despite what my wife had said, the prayers did little to comfort me.

Until they were answered.

The loss of Seamus had broken us. We tried to be cheerful and optimistic for Brendan and Caitlin, for we both truly loved them; but each of us were slowly fading away. Although Josephine and I clung to each other at night we rarely spoke during the day. Brendan was rarely ever home and Caitlin...she was worse off than any of us. Every morning her eyes were ringed with dark circles. She would not eat and cried, often shrieking, almost every day. When any one of us tried to comfort her or talk to her she went in a rage. It was as if she wanted to share her grief but was incapable of doing so, and the frustration nearly drove her mad.

I had taken to going on long walks every morning and night. Sometimes Josephine or one of the children accompanied me, but more often than not I would go alone. It was late evening when my son was returned to me. I had gone to the beach, trying to ignore the litter and trash that pervaded its shores. I had wandered farther than I had thought and was startled to find myself on the border between the Nietzschean Quarters and Human Ghetto. Hands in grimy pockets, I turned to walk back when a movement in the darkness caught my eye.

Turning slowly I saw a figure move towards me and was instantly on my guard. The sun was setting but the figure was hidden by shadows. My hand went to my boot, out of which I took a long knife and held it behind my back, moving forward cautiously. I'd rather face a danger head on than let it take me in the back. The figure slinked forward, stepping onto the rocks a little ahead of me. I gasped loudly and felt my heart stop, for I was looking at a ghost. For surely it could not really be Seamus, my lost son, who was standing there. It was not possible. I stared at the specter for a few minutes and it stared back.

"Dad?"

I had to catch myself again; it had spoken, but the voice was not my son's. It couldn't be. Seamus had a voice of laughter and sometimes mockery; this voice was hollow, haunted, and the word said far too timidly.

"Seamus?" I replied despite my disbelief. Racing through my mind were the words What if? What if? What if? -repeating a thousand times in one second. And then I felt the wind knocked out of me as the ghost threw himself at me, arms held tightly around me. He was crying; and it was then that I realized it was real. This was really my son; alive and returned to me. A miracle had occurred; my prayers had been answered. My knife cluttered to the rocks forgotten as I held my son to me. It didn't matter that he smelled badly; it didn't matter that his eyes were large and sunken into his face; it didn't matter that he was so skinny I could easily have picked him up. All that mattered was that he was here, with me, and safe.

There were not enough words for all that needed to be said.

"I'm home," Seamus wept and I was soon crying too, crying as I have not done since -since I could not remember. I helped him back to the house, neither of us able to speak, just clinging to each other, all dignity and pride forgotten. As we walked I looked over him; his clothes, a dark crusty brown and gray, were little more than rags; I could see the bones of his chest and his arms were thin and spindly. Yet for all that, he had grown a little taller, only an inch or two shorter than myself.

I cannot describe the looks on the faces of Josephine, Brendan, and Caitlin as the two of us walked inside. I was grinning broadly now, even as tears still streamed down my face.

"Mom-" Seamus started to cry out but he could not finish for Josephine had flung herself to him, taking him from me and into her arms, sobbing wildly. She only paused to look over him, whispering,

"Is it really you? How is it possible?" But before he could answer she was hugging him again. A moment later Brendan and Caitlin were crowding around the two of them; talking and yelling and crying and all trying to hug him. The light in our lives burned once more. I think we spent more than an hour just standing there, hugging and crying and talking incoherently. Then at last Josephine released him, told him to sit and rest so she could get him something to eat. Seamus nodded faintly and went to sit on the homemade, dilapidated couch. Brendan sat next to him, an arm slung around his cousin's shoulders. I took a chair and pulled it over to the couch, next to him but also across from him. Caitlin sat on the floor by his legs, looking at him as one might look upon a god. She was smiling broadly; never had she looked so beautiful. So happy.

We had little food left and were not sure when we'd be able to get more, but that didn't stop Josephine from making a huge dinner for Seamus. Scooping it onto a plate and handing it to him she watched him eat for a few seconds then paced nervously. Finally she sat on the other side of him, eyes still shining with tears. When at last he had finished eating he clasped his hands together and stared at the floor.

"You look exhausted Seamus, why don't you go to sleep? We can talk in the morning, if you feel like it." Josephine said softly as she ran a hand through his hair.

"Yeah...I'd like to sleep." Seamus echoed faintly. He cast a wide-eyed look at all of us before giving the briefest of smiles and slowly going upstairs.

I'm pretty sure none of us slept that night. I felt Josephine wake up several times in the night to sit up in bed and look at the form of our son as though to make sure he hadn't disappeared in the night. He had been gone for little over a year. His sudden return was hard to believe.

The next morning was a bit tense as we all tried to eat and keep from staring at Seamus. He picked at his food and evantually went to the living room. I asked Brendan and Caitlin if they'd mind letting Josephine and I talk to him alone for a few minutes. Caitlin frowned as though she were a little confused at our words but Brendan nodded. Exchanging looks with Josephine I took her hand in mine, rubbing it gently to try and give it warmth before following our son.

He was leaning forward, head almost resting on his knees, when we entered the room. He stayed in that position for nearly five minutes before sighing heavily and sitting up. Josephine reached forward to take his hands in her own.

"Can you tell us what happened Seamus? How you came home?" the words were said soothingly; softly. Seamus nodded and closed his eyes, perhaps to gather his thoughts, before speaking.

"I don't know where they took me, exactly. I think it was a couple of cliques from the Ghetto. And I kept being taken to different buildings. Sometimes they questioned me about stuff, mostly about Caitlin, but sometimes they asked me questions about myself too. Some days they put me through -experiments" His voice sounded strangled as he said the last word and I reached over to grip his shoulder tightly, feeling my own throat tighten even as anger welled up in me.

"And then other days I would work in places -factories, mines, things like that." His eyes lifted to meet ours. "There was a little girl there. I think she was only four...her name was Eriko. I -I started to take care of her. They didn't feed us individually, you know. We had to fight for our rations, and I gave most of whatever food I could get to Eriko." His eyes seemed to lose focus as he continued talking, "She was so little...but I thought she was growing stronger. I thought I was helping to save her. She was the only friend I had; and I think she mistook me for her Dad, or maybe her older brother. But then -but then she fell sick. I think; I'm not sure. She stopped eating and just grew weaker and weaker, sometimes she'd throw up. After about a month she just died."

Seamus was now staring at his open hands, a look of bewilderement on his face. I got the feeling that the little girl had died in his arms. He was silent for a few minutes; Josephine was crying silently beside me.

"I don't remember a lot of what happened for the next while." He was lying; I could tell from the way he averted his eyes when he said those words. And it made me want to cry as well, for I knew it meant that things too terrible for him to tell us had happened. He was trying to protect us, when it should have been the other way around. He pressed his hands to his eyes for a moment before continuing in a cracked voice,

"Mom, Dad, I saw, I saw -Uncle Devin!"

"What?" Josephine rocked forward and I was shocked too. Those were probably the last words we expected to hear from him.

"He was in one of the factories. I recognized him after awhile, and we were able to talk. He told me that he had a plan to escape; had been stealing stuff, he wouldn't tell me what, to bribe one of the night guards with. I think they were drugs, but I don't know for sure. We spent the last few months together; I told him about all of you, and about Aunt Orla..." His shoulders slumped and Josephine looked at me with pained eyes.

"He got really mad when I told him how the Nietzscheans who'd taken me had been after Caitlin. Anyway, he finally got enough of whatever it was, to bribe the guard. He'd been planning this for months but he claimed my being there didn't change anything. But it did..." He stopped talking again, took a few deep breaths before he could say anything else,

"I guess the guard had only expected Devin. When he saw me, maybe he panicked. Maybe he thought Devin had lied and there really were a lot more of us escaping. One kludge disappearing was no big deal, but more than one and he'd get blamed for it. Just as I had left the gate, when he saw Devin, he raised the alarm. Devin shouted at me to keep running, so I did. I didn't look back, and I didn't stop running till I recognized where I was." He was openly crying once more.

"If it hadn't been for me Uncle Devin would have come back. Just like Aunt Orla always said he would. It's my fault Brendan and Caitlin aren't ever going to see their Dad again..." Neither of us could stand to see him this way; Josephine quickly folded him into her arms, tears running down her face. She kissed his head and held him to her for a few minutes before speaking.

"It's most certainly not your fault, Seamus. It was Devin's choice. If I had been in his place, and Caitlin or Brendan in yours, I would have done the same. So would your father. It's the Ubers' fault that Devin was taken from us. You are blameless." She stopped talking as his crying increased.

"At least you were able to see him, and he you." I said at last, feeling like the words were vastly inadequate. But Seamus nodded and at last his tears ceased.

"Anyway, you're home now. That's all that matters. We're together again, and nothing will ever change that." I said confidently. My son grinned back at me and that's when I knew everything was ok.

The very next day I crept out of the house early in the morning. I was gone for a day and a half, searching the edges of the town, crawling through the spindly trees and bushes till I finally found what I was seeking. I clutched the small, quivering furry creature in my arms as I made my way home.

I told Josephine how to prepare it, and what to save. She gave me a puzzled look; obviously surprised and curious at my strange behavior.

After a small feast of rabbit stew, I waited till I was alone with Seamus. We were outside; it had taken a few hours to finish making what I'd captured the rabbit for, but when I presented Seamus with it, he stared blankly.

"What is it?"

"A rabbit's foot, of course! You may not have noticed but our Irish luck doesn't seem to be enough. Sometimes it needs a little help. And there ain't nothing luckier than a rabbit's foot," Staring at it curiously he accepted the gift and held it in his hand for a moment, finally turning to smile at me.

"Thanks Dad; I just hope it's as lucky as you say it is..." It was then that I told him, haltingly, about how, though I'd never been a believer, as he knew, I couldn't help but wonder if there was such a thing as some other wordly force, since he'd come back to us just like a miracle. He looked doubtful, but agreed that it was something to think about.

It was five months before they came looking for him. We never told either Brendan or Caitlin what Seamus had told us, and I have no idea whether he told them or not.

The day was cold and clear; Seamus had come back to us in the summer of his sixteenth birthday. It was now winter but as of yet there was no snow. The day started out as it normally did. After breakfast and an hour or so spent chatting and going over what had to be done that day, Brendan, Caitlin and Seamus decided to go back to their old haunts.

"Stay away from the junkyard," Josephine said worriedly. The boys laughed;

"Don't worry Mom, there's more than one of those around here. And we know which one to stay away from." She smiled and waved them out the door, turning back to me, face shining.

"I still can't believe it Evan...it's been months but I'm still afraid.."

"I know," I said softly, coming over to kiss her mouth, eyes lingering on hers. "It's like our lives were taken away, and then given back just as suddenly." She laughed suddenly, a sound that was music to my ears.

"I'm sorry, it's just that, after all these years, you still sound as strange as the day I first met you. Your accent I mean." She lay her head on my shoulder and sighed.

"That day seems so long ago I can hardly remember it."

"I haven't forgotten; I think you left a scar where you kicked me." She laughed again, lifting my shirt to brush her hands over my stomach.

"You're lying; I never kicked you that hard." She said teasingly, eyes sparkling as they had done before, so long ago.

"No, of course not. You always healed better than you injured."

Her eyes met mine and she wrapped her arms around my shoulders. "I'll take that as a compliment,"

"It was meant as one." I replied, my own arms going around her waist. She leaned up to kiss me and the movement caught me off guard; I lost my balance and we fell to the floor in a heap of laughter, suddenly blessing every single breath that filled our lungs; we were alive again; never had I felt such happiness...

We must have evantually fallen asleep; the day was warm and sunlight filtered through the many cracks in the wall, filling the room with drowsy sunshine. The peaceful atmosphere was shattered abruptly by the sounds of shouting and yelling. I sat up quickly and felt Josephine do the same beside me. Another shout and our eyes widened as we turned to stare at each other.

"Seamus!" We said at the exact same time. I scrambled to my feet and was out the door so fast that I left Josephine behind. My heart leapt to my throat; four Nietzscheans surrounded my son; two were trying to catch his arms and hold him still, another moved in with what looked like handcuffs. I suppose it was a good thing none of them carried guns, I did not bother to look at their weapons, for otherwise as I rushed in among them they would easily have gunned me down.

"Dad no!" Somewhere in the back of my mind I heard Seamus yell as I took out my only weapon, a knife, similar to the one I'd had when Seamus had come back. Only one Nietzschean moved to intercept me; they underestimated my abilities. I stabbed the Uber in the chest and moved to the other three, so quickly that they didn't have time to blink. I knew I couldn't hold them off forever, but that wasn't the point. In a few minutes I had cleared the Nietzscheans from around my son.

"Get out of here, get your mother!" I yelled to him; he stared at me with wide eyes. A Nietzschean slammed the back of their arm from behind me and I felt bone blades cutting into my back. That startled Seamus enough that he scrambled to his feet, ducked from one of the Nietzscheans, and raced to the house. Someone screamed; it sounded like Caitlin, but I was busy trying to fend off the four long enough to escape. I'd draw them off before disappearing into the shadows; at least, that was my plan.

But either I was getting old, or I had overestimated my abilities. A blow sent me crashing to my knees and a kick threw me reeling over the ground. More shouting; more screaming, but the Nietzscheans, all four of them, hovered over me, sending an array of kicks and punchs -and I laughed. I laughed because they were doing exactly what I wanted them to do, without even knowing it. Stupid Ubers; they would never understand risking one's life to save another, except for perhaps their children. But they probably didn't realize I was Seamus' father, and that I was prepared -no, ready,- to risk everything for his sake. I had let them take him from me once; it would not happen again.

At last one of them gripped me by the hair to lift me to my knees; blood ran down my face but I struggled to open my eyes. From the doorway of our house I saw Josephine, staring at me. I wanted to shout at her to run; to take the children and leave quickly. But it dawned on me that she was waiting; for what I don't know. One of the Nietzscheans cursed.

"He's getting away! And those other two brats! Go after them!" I wanted to smile, but my face was too crusted in blood to move any muscles. All that I could think was two things: That I had beaten them, for my children were escaping with their lives, and that Josephine -my Rose- looked so beautiful standing there, with the sun setting in the sky and casting rays of lavendar and light blue over her form. Despite the distance between us, our eyes met and held. I smiled, feeling laughter once again escape from me -this time it was joyful laughter, rather than triumphal laughter. The Nietzscheans holding me said something but I didn't hear; I was too busy staring at my wife; the love that had made my entire life worthwhile. I wanted to say thank you, or at least, I love you, but the words wouldn't form.

I saw one of the Nietzschean's move their hand. Metal glinted in the fading sunlight; a sharp edge was brought to my throat -their arm moved, I gasped for breath, felt the taste of blood instead-

And suddenly I wasn't sitting in a grimy street surrounded by Nietzscheans and covered in my own blood. I was in Dunwich, but I was flying over it; and there was Josephine, as she had been sixteen years ago; a baby held in her arms; there was everyone else, Orla, Liam, Lughna, Devin, Siobhan and Declan laughing and chasing each other. And then we weren't in Dunwich; all of us were in Ireland...or some place that looked like Ireland...

Wherever I was, I knew I had come home.

)(

One day I'll fly away

Leave all this to yesterday

Why live life from Dream to dream...

And dread the day

When dreaming ends?

One day I'll fly away Fly, fly away

I stood there, in the doorway of our home, and watched as his life blood spilled over the street. Tears escaped my eyes, but they were ones of joy. Evan, my love, was free. Free in a way that none of us had ever been. I clutched my arms and shuddered; he was gone. I was alone, just as I'd always feared I would be. But at least Seamus was safe; his coming back had proved that I was right about his destiny; why, the very night before I had dreamed again.

A strange dream, but a peaceful one. I was held in someone arms; it was the shining light that had once needed to know which was stronger, the Earth or the Sun. The voice told me that it had its answer now; I could rest. I had replied that I was glad, for I was tired, and then in the dream my eyes had closed and I had sunk back into the warmth of the light.

But for once, I think I understood what the dream had meant. Today was the day I would die. The thought came to me rather simply; Evan was dead, and I could not live without Evan. Just as I had not been able to live without Seamus. I did not have the strength or the will to move on without Evan. How could my life be bearable without him?

My eyes, fixated on the corpse of my husband laying in a pool of blood on the street, did not see the Nietzscheans come towards me until they blocked my view.

"Tell us where the boy is!" The one in front pushed me roughly with his hand, shoving me inside the house. I looked up at them, feeling as though I were in a trance. Their words meant nothing to me.

I turned my head to look around the small room; then to the kitchen; and to the stairs, picturing the rooms above us. So much life this building had, though it be patched and barely still standing after that fire a few years back This place held the story of my life; of the lives of my family. Here, and one other place. A patch of ruined ground in the small town of Dunwich. I was too old to start all over again. I finally turned back to the Nietzscheans.

"Someday you will find that your power over us has vanished. For humans, Homo Sapiens -sans victus- were created by the Earth itself. You are nothing but an experiment gone horribly wrong!" I spit the words at them bitterly. And I knew they were true. And I think, deep, deep down, the Nietzscheans knew it as well. They snarled and one knocked me to the ground; I felt blood trickle from my mouth. Suddenly I knew why Evan had laughed so before they killed him; death was their greatest threat; what they did not realize was that Death was our final escape!

I rose to my feet and flung myself at them; I would not let them torture me for information. Nor would they take me as a slave. I had control over my life; not them. They just did not realize that yet.

I was hitting the one standing in front of me with all my might; I kicked at the others; I scratched one of them enough to break the skin. Finally they seemed to have had enough. As I turned to try and punch another one, I saw his arm stretch out -and then I felt him pull a blade out from me. I looked down in not a little disbelief; blood was pouring from my stomach. I fell to my knees without realizing it.

"Come on, we have to find those brats," One of them snarled. They left; they even had the curtesy to shut the door behind them. I was alone in the house, slumped on the wooden floor; eyes filled with tears of pain. The blood dripped from my body to the floor and I wondered how long it would take. The sunlight was blinding; I was on my back, wondering when I had fallen. One hand, blood soaked, rested over the wound. The light was growing brighter and brighter; finally I had to close my eyes, because I could not stand it. But the light remained, even though I was sure my eyes were closed.

The pain began to slide away; I was sure Seamus and Brendan and Caitlin would be fine; I was sure they'd be able to take care of each other. I had done all I could for them.

I was so tired now; my body was heavy and weighing me down. I took one last breath...and thought my last thought....

I am glad... for everything.

Author's Note:

Must...not...cry....breaks down

Ok, all better now sniffle I don't really have much to say, except....Epilogue: (in third person, to cover Seamus' last four years on earth) Yay or Nay? I already have one planned out (sort of) but I also understand that there can be too much of a good thing. So let me know what I should do.

Thank you so much, everyone who's read this, (Whether you reviewed or not, though especially if you did) this story meant a lot to me, and so did the characters. I hope the coming season of Andromeda will shed a little more light on Seamus' parents; of all the original characters, I think we know the least about his parents and their life. Anyway, as I said before, Thank You

-Luna Sealeaf