Half-Hearted Smile
By Classic Cowboy
If you're gone
Maybe it's time to come home
There's an awful lot of breathing room
But I can hardly move
If you're gone
Baby you need to come home
Oh come home …
There's a little bit of something me
In everything in you …
- Matchbox 20
"Teela …" A familiar voice called through the darkness, "Teela time to wake up." Teela slowly opened her tired eyes to find herself back in her old room in Eternos Palace. She climbed out of bed and looked around at the undamaged room, exactly as it was before the Horde's invasion.
"What?" Teela asked as she looked out at the flawless beautiful city of Eternos, untouched by the Horde. "What happened? The Horde? How did I get here?"
"Wake up, sleeping beauty," Man At Arms smiled down at his daughter, "Someone's back and anxious to see you."
Teela jumped out of bed and ran to the throne room, and gasped when she saw He-Man standing before the King and Queen. "He-Man!" she squealed as she ran toward the returning hero.
"He-Man has returned victorious over Skeletor, and now returned and defeated the Horde with ease," Duncan said proudly, "As expected."
"But where's Adam?" Teela asked glancing around the crowded throne room, which was instantly filled with laughter.
"The coward died a coward's death running from the enemy," He-Man shrugged, causing Teela's eyes to widen in terror.
"No …" she whimpered, back stepping away from the group, shaking her head feverishly. "No, you're lying!"
"Good riddance I say," King Randor said, taking a drink of wine. "He was a shame to the family name anyway."
"Teela, dear, I hope you don't mind," Queen Marlena said, stepping in with Addison, Teela's new born son, in her arms, "that we name Addison the crown prince in light of this miracle."
"No, Adam was the prince, Adam …" Teela said, tears forming in her eyes.
"Is as dead as a door nail?" Man-At-Arms added trying to be helpful.
"Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go," He-Man said turning his back on the group and started toward the exit.
"He-Man, wait don't leave too!" Teela said grabbing his arm.
The Guardian of Grayskull jerked it free and glared down, "Don't touch me. I'm a hero remember? I don't need filthy people touching me."
"What?" Teela asked taken back.
"I don't wish to have anything to do with scarlet women and soldiers' prostitutes," He-Man sneered at the redhead. "Good day."
"He-Man, wait!" Teela called after him. "WAIT!"
"WAIT!" Teela yelled sitting up in her cot clutching her chest. She glanced around the dank quarters she was staying in at Fort … Fort … "Where am I now anyway …"
She sighed and laid back down on the cot. It has been a very hectic few months, a very hectic few years. "First Skeletor, then Snake Men, Rebels, and then finally the Horde." Teela breathed as she looked out her window over the Eternian sky. But as important as these known threats were, they paled in comparison to the worry on Teela's mind at the moment.
As if on cue, the sound of an infant's cries echoed the quarters, and Teela quickly climbed out of bed to cross the room to the crib in the corner.
"Shhh, it's ok," Teela cooed the child as she rocked him in her arms. "Mommy's here, Mommy's here," she repeated as she moved to her bed to sit down.
Addison, Teela's infant son calmed down, and began to wiggle in her arms. She sighed, understanding exactly what he wanted. "Ok, I get the idea, kiddo, you're hungry. Just wish the door would lock, but you poo yourself all the time so what do you know about modesty?" She asked as she slid down a strap of her nightgown to give him nursing access. "Ouch, easy, would you?" She winced but smiled just the same as he latched on.
She maneuvered herself to look out her window again. "If Adam could see me now …"
Adam.
Just thinking of her best friend brought worried tears back to the young woman's eyes. He-Man and Adam have been gone for so long. He-Man, she had no doubt could take care of himself. It was common knowledge he was far more then a typical human. Adam, on the other hand … she has been terrified for his well being since his departure on Starship Eternia.
She'd once seen Prince Adam as a god, an insurmountable force, but that image was shattered when they were mere children and she saw him break his own leg. While her affection for her best friend was only multiplied, she now saw him as much a fragile human being as her. She didn't know how she'd react if He-Man came home with news of Adam's …
"No, don't even think about it, Adam will be fine. He's as stubborn as He-Man, if not more. He'll come home, same as He-Man, help fight back the Horde, and everything will be fine."
Another small nip caused Teela's mind to return to the here and now, as she glanced down at her son. He already looked so much like his father, yet he'll never know him. Addison's father died not long after he was conceived. Teela hadn't even known she was pregnant at the time. Surprise, surprise…
Another thought crossed her mind, the two men she loved, off in the sky, chasing Skeletor. She always had trouble decided who she loved. Did she love her hero or her best friend? She spent so much time pondering that, bouncing between He-Man and Adam the years prior their departure, she knew that both were just as frustrated as she was. But perhaps Addison is even more of a blessing then she first thought.
"Who would be a good daddy for you, Addie?" Teela asked the feeding child. It narrowed it down a lot who would be good for him. He-Man was always running, rescuing the innocent, fighting the good fight. He'd not be there to teach Addison how to fish. Teach him the value of sports, games, jokes, and fun in general. Give him 'the talk' when he was old enough. Help him pick out the perfect clothing for his first date with his first crush, or be there to place a comforting hand on his shoulder on his first heartbreak.
No, He-Man may teach him to fight, teach him the value of team work, but he would be better suited for a uncle or maybe even godfather, not really a father type at all.
She closed her eyes and an image came to her mind that made a smile grace her fair lips. She could see an older Addison riding on Adam's shoulders, his legs around the blond prince's neck one arm thrown around his forehead, and a fishing pole in the other. On the end of the fishing line was a fairly small fish flipping and flapping as Adam ran with Addison holding on, both grinning like idiots. "Momma, Momma, look what I caught!" her imaginary older son yelled, giggling happily. But as she opened her eyes the green field was replaced by her room and Adam was gone again.
Adam would be the perfect father for Addison, she knew if anyone on Eternia had a big enough heart to be Father of the Year, let alone life time, it would be Adam. But … could she love Adam enough to marry him and allow him to be a REAL father to Addison and maybe even possible future children? She already loved him, but could she LOVE him? Or maybe this trip will have changed He-Man for the better, making him a good father figure. Maybe the trip will have changed Adam for the worse.
She didn't know and it was so frustrating not knowing what kind of state her boys would be when they came home to her physically and mentally. Teela sighed, looking down at her apparently half starved son, "Think they'll still care for me, after …" Teela drifted off, not wanting to think about being rejected by either of them.
Addison as if sensing his mother's distress opened one eye, giving what Teela recognized as one of her own 'are you stupid' looks. She gave a small smile wondering how the infant, just a few weeks old, already picked up some of her trademark glares. "I know, Adam and He-Man both aren't shallow, they won't hurt me or you if they can help it … but … if they'd just come home …"
"Excuse me, Captain Teela?" a voice called from the door, causing Teela to jerk, and spin around where her back was to the door.
"Yes Sergeant?" Teela asked, looking over her shoulder to the soldier standing in her door. "Is anything wrong?"
"No, ma'am," the man said, blushing slightly, "I apologize for not knocking, I just heard voices and thought I'd check to see if you were alright."
"Thank you Sergeant, I was just speaking to my son," Teela nodded toward the child in her arms. "And I've been better, but … I'll be alright." She finished with a half-hearted smile.
To see you when I wake up is a gift I didn't think could be real
To know that you feel the same as I do is a Three-fold utopian dream
You do something to me
That I can't explain
So would I be out of line,
If I said I miss you.
I see your picture,
I smell your skin on the empty pillow next to mine
You have only been gone ten days, but already I am wasting away
I know I'll see you again
Whether far or soon
But I need you to know, that I care
And I miss you
- Incubus
Classic Cowboy is also the writer of Sacrifice; The Master League; The Time Has Come: Cringer's Goodbye; True Power; and The Return of He-Man