Son of the Force
Susan looked at the child, sleeping on the other side of her bed. She had taken his belongings when she stormed out of med lab. Andre had been exhausted and she had fed him, bathed him and dressed him before putting him to bed. She knew she should get up, there were a million things for her to do. But she couldn't tear herself from his side. She had longed for this day since the day she had given birth to him at the IO. That same day he had been sent to his great grandmother, Susan's maternal grandmother, who into her 80's was both lucid and capable of caring for a child. She was a stubborn old woman. Susan suspected she would be one to die quietly in her sleep; age would not interrupt her life. Even now she ran a dance studio for girls. Her students were renown throughout the galaxy. Susan was rather like her in some ways. However, aside from the fact that the woman had been mother to her dead daughter's daughter , Susan loved the accepting streak in her that allowed her not to condemn Susan for her immoral conduct. It was a mother's nature, to accept when no one else will. Not even father's, of course Susan and her father had not spoken from the time she left as a teenager to his dead a few years earlier. He could not have been told. He wouldn't have understood. Still, he was her father, and she had loved him, naming her child after him.
She rose then, moving to the computer. It would be hard to contact her grandmother on Earth, with the war, but she could send a message to an associate, who would then send a message on ward until the message reached her grandmother. It would be short however, much like telegraph messages in the early twentieth century and to the point. She would write a long letter which could be taken to Earth by one of the many Rangers who were on Earth, or near Earth for a mission. That complete, she moved back into her bedroom, clearing space in her closet for her son's belongings. Career military herself, all her clothing was ironed to the point of creaseless ness as soon as they were cleaned and then hung neatly in her closet. Her son's clothing, having been stuffed in a bag for several days was full of wrinkles. She washed all the clothing, modern technology allowed it to be completed with in fifteen minutes. While she waited, she sat resting, deciding that after all the time she had wasted that day, a few more minutes would not hurt, even though there were many reports waiting for her attention. She pulled out her Torah, but instead of reading from it, held it, finding comfort from the old leather as she thought. Her emotions were wild. Aside from joy and elation, which had held her while her son was awake, she was filled with doubt and anger. Doubt on how she would raise a child. What if her child suffered because of mistakes she made, or because of her life style, or because of the war. It had been another reason she had sent the child away, because she could not bear hurting him. And anger too, her child had been missing for days, but because of the war, and Clarke, she had not know until she had found him. What if he had not been found, what could have happened until she had found out. Her grandmother had been worried for nearly four days, and would be so for as many more until word reached her. Susan in her temper, did not think that perhaps it was a blessing she had not known as there was nothing she could have done, besides all is well that ends well.
She took the clothes out of the cleaning unit and ironed them, smiling at what a motherly thing to do this was. As she completed each garment she hung it in her closet. There were only a few things. She would buy some more for him tomorrow. That done she took a long bath and changed, curling next to her son. What would she do with him. She could enroll him in Kindergarten of course. But her days began long before school time and ended long after school let out. Even though she had just reunited with her son, she could not take a day off the next day. They were fighting a war. It had been so long since she had had a rest. She felt so tired. The day's events made her feel as if she were a hundred. Her back ached, sore from her child's birth, when hiding her pregnancy had required her to work full time, her job as now, was an active one and her back had ached horribly. The pain had never gone away. It was worse these days, with the 16, 17 hour days she was pulling, running around all day, sometimes at night as well, when she strained her tired eyes to read the reports.
She put a hand to her back, rubbing it slowly, thinking over the child care problem. And then her mind clicked and she smiled. There was one person on this station who she knew would be good for obtaining anything, even someone to watch her child. It was someone she could trust as well. She pulled herself from Andre's side once more to go to the computer and she contacted him. He answered, surprised to see her, " Marcus," she spoke, " I need a favor..."