AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've decided to change Emily's father's name from Harold to John. Sorry, just wasn't feeling the Harold anymore. So, I've updated the scene where her father is referred to as John, and this is your warning not to be confused by the name change. ;)
The occupants of the car were cramped, tired, and the long checkpoint line to enter the sector was making them all just a tad miserable.
It was further proof of why the US had never fully recovered from the pulse; there was absolutely no encouragement for commerce of the traveling kind and few people wanted to brave the sector checks or live in decrepit cities, unless they had to. Of course, getting out of cities was no easier than getting in, so the general population tended to stay a few sector checks of where they were born and raised.
As the car inched along at a pace that made them envious of snails, Katherine Montgomery reflected that travel post-pulse had slowed to an agonizing crawl, the estimated journey time more than doubling. Nervously, Katherine checked her watch and shared an uneasy glance with John, who was not so much driving as going nowhere.
With the time getting later and later, farther past the time they had said they would arrive, John and Katherine shared an unspoken sentiment that the object of their journey was less and less likely to be there. That was if the checkpoint ever started moving.
It had been so long since they'd seen Emily and her contacting them now was so unexpected that both John and Katherine had a hard time grasping the reality that she'd be waiting in Seattle for them.
Mercifully, at just about the point where Katherine was considering walking across and abandoning the car for lost, the pace picked up a bit. As they got closer to the desired search and interrogative questions, the cause of the delay could be seen.
Someone had evidentially tried to ram the checkpoint and been less than successful, judging by the dented bicycle and man on the ground being swarmed by sector policemen. Trained in the new and savage third world that America had become, both Katherine and John flinched in sympathy for the fairly old man and then promptly turned their eyes back to the road.
Only a few cars later, Katherine and John found themselves coming to the mandatory checkpoint stop. The overly edgy sector police swarmed the car, shining flashlights in and demanding sector passes. It was apparent that the elderly man's attempt at ramming the checkpoint was ill fated for both himself and those trying to get through legally.
But Katherine was nothing if not prepared, at least for the less surprising facts of life, and she quickly handed the sector police a ready-made packet containing the work ids and specially commissioned sector passes for both her and John.
After shining the flashlight into the eyes of Katherine and John several unnecessary times, just to prove that they could, and repeatedly asking the same questions of destination, where they were coming from, and reasons for travel, the head sector policeman nodded gruffly. He handed back their important papers and motioned his men back, ready for the next car to interrogate, "All right, you can go. Have a good stay."
He couldn't have been less sincere if he'd tried. But Katherine and John were less than inclined to worry about his sincerity, and happily drove into the first corner of Seattle, one step closer to reaching the mysterious figure of Emily.
The remaining checkpoints gave them little hassle, owning neither the fault of being the first guard of the once grand city or of a potential security infringement to put them on edge. Suddenly, it all seemed to go very fast, and before Katherine or John knew it, they were cautiously driving their way towards a not all that run down apartment building. The meeting place Emily had given them.
Excited and well aware of how late they were, the car was quickly parked, and Katherine and John hurried in the building and up the stairs.
Two knocks later, the door swung open to reveal a woman with a nervous smile and the unmistakable features of their daughter. Even over twenty-years later, it was definitely Emily, in the flesh, there, waiting for them.
Trying to keep her jaw off the floor, Emily took in the sight of her parents, the aging that more than twenty years had put on them, and suddenly her nerves and their lateness didn't matter. Her reasons for having left so many years ago didn't matter. Taking a deep breath, Emily swung the door open wide and stepped back to invite her family back into her whirlwind life, "Hey there… mom… dad… why don't you come in for the family reunion," desperate to ease the tension, she added, "the neighbors, you know, just love to stare and gossip. I think."
Not needing a second invite, John and Katherine stepped through the door quickly, and Emily barely had time to lock the door before she was engulfed in a huge hug from both her parents. Apparently, the issues of years ago didn't matter to them right now either.
"Oh Emily, it's so good to finally see you again. We've-we've missed you so much," Katherine gasped out, all her carefully planned speeches and words flying out of her head.
Chiming in, John added, "Look how grown up you are, how different!" Then he pulled back, dragging Katherine with him to let Emily breathe and guide them towards the couch before old emotions became too much.
Nodding helplessly and wiping at the tears springing to her eyes, Emily nodded, their faces bringing all the good times back, "I've missed you too. You have no idea how I've missed you." And she forced herself to sit down in the face of the two people who had kept her sane when Manticore wanted her crazy, knowing this was just the start of a long catch up and explanation process.