Title: Finding Family Lost
Author: Neeritai
Everything Else: See chapter 1.
Chapter 3.
They had been searching for a while without any luck. Rommie was about to suggest that she check the Maru and see if maybe Harper had gone back there, when Siobhan gave a shout of "Seamus!" and ran forward, throwing her arms around her cousin and knocking him down in the process.
Harper quickly got his breath back, after having been bulled over by someone calling him 'Seamus'. Almost no one had called him Seamus after he left Earth, except for Beka, and only when she was angry or worried. He realized by the voice that the somone was female - maybe some smart woman had finally noticed his dashing good-looks.
Siobhan stood suddenly, irrationally nervous. She held her left hand out to help her cousin up. He took it and stood, a 'wity' phrase on the tip of his toungue, which promptly died as he glanced at the scar that ran across the back of her hand.
:FLASHBACK:
A blond boy and girl were running hurriedly through the remains of the streets of Boston, talking animatedly.
"Shay, this's a really bad idea!" the girl said, lagging a little behind the boy, who completely ignored her. "Seamus, r'you listenin'? This's stupid!"
The boy rolled his eyes and turned his head towards her, but kept running. "Look, if you're so worried about gettin' in trouble then you c'n stay here. I don't need your help!"
The girl glared at him. "I'm not worried about gettin' in trouble, moron, I'm worried about you gettin' yerself hurt!"
"I'm not a baby, Siobhan. I c'n take care of myself."
"Maybe, but if you did get really hurt, you know your mum an' da can't afford to pay for a doctor! You're so-"
"Shhh! We're 'ere! Be quiet, Siobhan. 'Less you want me to get caught," he said, as if daring her to do so.
She glared at him again, and stopped running as they reached their destination: a semi-abandoned warehouse. Seamus grinned at her, and motioned for her to follow him. "I know how to get in. I foun' the entrance last time."
"What?" she said, stopping in her tracks. "You mean you were stupid enough to come without backup?"
"Shush!" he said again, a finger to his lips. "I didn't get caught then, and we won't now. C'mon."
She whached herself lightly in the forehead with the palm of her hand, hoping this was not the stupidest thing she had ever done. She knew it wasn't the stupidest thing Seamus had ever done. 'Boys,' she thought, shaking her head and following her cousin into the nearly pitch-black warehouse.
"'Kay," said Seamus. "Y'see those guys in the blue shirts? Those short crates next to 'em have what I need. All yeh've gotta do is get a crate open and grab one o' the things from inside."
Siobhan nodded, swallowing her protests. Seamus would do this whether or not she helped. "Doesn't sound hard, if you can get 'em to at least look away. Make some noise too, to cover the sounds I make," she added, the two of them taking for granted that Siobhan would be the one doing to actual taking. They both knew that she had a skill for not being noticed and for being quiet.
Seamus nodded. As Siobhan moved slowly and silently toward the crates and the men, he moved away from them, to the other side of the warehouse. He pried the lid off of a crate that was sitting on top of another against the wall and grinned at what he found. Spools of thick metal wire would make a nice racket.
He grabbed the crate and shoved it off the one it was sitting on so that it fell sideways, spilling the wire out with a series of loud crashes and sending the men hurrying towards the noise. Even before the crate hit the floor, Seamus was running for the protection of more crates. As soon as he knew they wouldn't see him, he made his way somewhat more stealthily to where Siobhan was just lifting the loosened top off of the crate of tools.
As soon as she heard him she spun around. Seeing that it was only him, she smiled wordlessly, and handed him the crate lid. He took it just as wordlessly, and held it as she pulled a tool out of the open crate. She held it out quizzically, silently asking him if it was the right thing. He nodded, and placed the lid back on the crate. Neither wanting to wait for the men to search the warehouse, they hurriedly exited the building.
When they got outside, they started running and didn't stop again until they were far away from the warehouse. Siobhan sat down with a satisfied sigh. "We make a good team," she said. She looked at the tool in her hand. "What is it?" she asked her cousin.
"It's a nano-cutter. I've seen the guys who fix ships use 'em. They cut exactly where you want 'em to, and they can cut pretty much anything. I need this thing for my latest brilliant idea."
Siobhan rolled her eys at him, but handed the tool over when he held out his hand for it. "You turn it on like this," Seamus said, fiddling around with it a bit before the blade appeared. "Then you turn it back off like this." This time he got the idea quickly, but unnoticed by either, the blade did not latch closed.
Grinning, Seamus threw it up in the air - opening it the rest of the way - and tried to catch it, but missed. Siobhan reached for it and caught the end of it, causing the now fully-open blade to hit the back of her hand.
She screamed in pain, and dropped the cutter, grasping her hand.
"Shit!" said Seamus, staring wide-eyed at the bloody tool lying in the dirt. "Siobhan, are you ok?"
Tears leaking from her eyes, she shook her head. "No," she moaned through clenched teeth. "It hurts and it's bleeding all over my shirt."
Seamus looked around helplessly. "D'yeh've somethin' we can bandage it with?"
Siobhan nodded, still holding her hand. "Use my headband," she said, refering to a dark green cloth she wore tied around her head.
He untied the cloth and laid it across her outstretched legs. "Put your hand on the cloth, and I'll tie it."
Siobhan complied, cringing as her bleeding hand touched the cloth. Seamus quickly tied it and said, "C'mon. Your mum'll know what to do."
"No!" Siobhan said, "Knowing my mum, she'll bring me straight to a doctor, and she can't afford it any more'n your's can. You know that!"
Seamus nodded glumly. Then something occured to him, and he brightened up a bit. "Darl can fix it! And we don't have to pay him so much, either."
Siobhan hesitate, then nodded. "'Kay. Let's go." She stood up, her hand having already bled through the makeshift bandage.
Seamus picked up the nano-cutter, and holding it carefully at arms length, he closed it. He shook it, and when it didn't open again, he put it in his pocket. He would have to be very careful with it if he wanted to have all of his fingers when he finished his project. Or, come to think of it, all of his limbs.
Darl was a middle-aged man who firmly believed that if the Earthers didn't all stick together and realize that the Ubers were the enemy, then they would all die. He was also an unofficial doctor. He was not of the same quality of Doctor as those that served the Nietscheans (and the few Humans lucky enough to be able to afford them), but his equipment was relatively clean, and he didn't charge as much. He also didn't insist on money, like the real doctors did - food or a favor was enough for him.
Darl looked up from his work as somone ran through his open door. He sighed as he saw who it was. "Seamus." He said in his deep voice. "No, yeh may na' borrow anythin' fro' me today. Yeh know, yeh've yet ta return what I lent yeh last time."
"No, it's not that," said Seamus, breathing hard. "It's my cousin."
Darl looked around him and saw a girl about Seamus's age, eight or nine, probably. What was her name again? Bah, he couldn't remember. Something with an 's'. "Come 'ere, girl. What's wrong with yeh?"
Siobhan held out her hand with the bloody green cloth around it.
Darl carefully removed the cloth and whistled softly. "Nice gash yeh've got there. How did yeh manage that?"
Siobhan and Seamus explained what happened - leaving out the warehouse and the fact that they stole the nano-cutter - and Seamus showed him the tool when he asked about it.
"Hmph," he said. "Not too clever o' yeh two ta be playin' wi' somethin like that."
Seamus squirmed uncomfortably under the doctor's gaze. Darl looked away from him, and told Siobhan to sit down and hold out her hand. Then Darl placed the injured hand in a bowl of pre-boiled water, and poured alchohol over it. Siobhan yelped as the alchohol cleaned the cut. Darl then rinsed it off, and said, "Right, now I need ta sew yeh up." He looked at Seamus. "C'mere. I need yeh ta make sure she doesn' move er hand."
Seamus came over, not entirely sure what he was supposed to be doing. Siobhan looked a little pale, although that could have been blamed on loss of blood. "Sew me up? You mean, like with a needle?"
Darl nodded. "Yup. Less you wan't ta be bleedin' ta death. Which I wouldna reccomend. Hold his hand," he said, nodding to Seamus. "Every time it hurts, yeh can squeeze his hand instead o' movin' yer other one," he said, his comment directed to Siobhan. She nodded nervously, grabbing Seamus's hand and hoping this was not going to be as painful as it sounded.
-
Seamus looked at his cousin worriedly. She had passed out while Darl was sewing up the cut, and had yet to wake up. "Is she gonna be ok?" he asked Darl.
"Hmm? Oh, she'll be fine. But don' let her pull them stitches out. If I've gotta put 'em back in, I'll charge yeh double." He thought for a moment, then said, "As for the price, my lamp's broke 'gain. If yeh'll find what yeh need ta fix it and make sure it's fixed, that'll be payment 'nough." He thought for a moment. "Oh, an' when yeh bring back the lamp, be sure ta bring that tool yeh borrowed back as well."
Seamus nodded, thankful that Darl hadn't asked for something he couldn't do himself. Siobhan groaned, and opened her eyes. She sat up slowly, and gazed around. "What happened?"
"Yeh passed out, girl. Yer hand'll be fine if yeh just let it rest fer a while. If yeh want, I can get th' blood off 'o yer shirt."
She kept everyone from knowing about the wound except and Seamus and her twin, Declan (neither twin could ever keep important secrets from eachother), by keeping her hand bandaged and saying she had scraped it. In time her hand healed, but she was left with a long, dark scar across her hand that never faded.
:END FLASHBACK:
So... What did you think? (More will be coming, but I'm afraid it may take a little while. Don't hit me, I'm working on it!) - Neeritai
