"What?!"
"You heard me, Sarah," Delbert said to Sarah Hawkins. They had managed to quiet B.E.N. down until his system had completely rebooted, leaving the robot scratching his head in confusion before realizing what was going on around him.
"But going to this place you don't even know exists?!" Sarah moaned, "really, Delbert?"
"We managed with Treasure Planet, didn't we?" Delbert said. Sarah rubbed her forehead. If she allowed him to go, it would be the second time Jim would go off with people she didn't even know. That, and it was just too dangerous. From what she had heard about Treasure Planet, with pirates taking them hostage, she just didn't want to risk it.
"Barely!" she blurted out, "and you bought back Morph and B.E.N., both of which can be handfuls!" The crew of the Atlantis expedition sat patiently at a table in the kitchen-visiting hours and closed, and people who were boarding for the night had already gone to bed. Milo could hear squeaks and spurts, a wave of foul smelling air wafting down the stairs, slipping under the door. He wrinkled his nose, waving the smell away from his face.
Captain Amelia sat patiently next to Milo, perched daintily on the edge of a chair. Her children's stroller was sitting next to her, the kids still fast asleep. Mil himself as a pretty light sleeper, so it amazed him how anyone (even kids) could sleep like logs, not getting up through anything.
"Yu must a dmi, they are helpful," Delbert pointed out, Sarah blew a raspberry, unable to come up with a good response. Jim chuckled under his breath.
"And what;s so funny to you, young man?" Sarah said sternly, planting her hands on her hips.
"Sorry," he said quickly, casting his eyes down.
"But why can't we go?" Delbert asked. Sarah groaned.
"Delbert, you are a grown man! Why do you fee the need to ask my permission?!" she complained. She yanked open a drawer and began sorting silverware, all of it dull and tarnished. With the utensils so dirty, it looked almost like B.E.N., with his rusted limbs and broken head.
"Because," Delbert cleared his throat, "I want to take Jim with us." Sarah froze, her fingers wrapped so tightly around the handle of a knife that her knuckles turned white, her fist shaking slightly as she processed what he said. Amelia leaned into Milo, whispering into his ear, "Well, that wasn't a proper answer, eh?"
"Yeah…." he trailed off, pushing his glasses up his nose. The glass was foggy- he made a mental note to clean them later.
"If it's any consolation, Mrs. Hawkins-" Dr. Sweet began, recoiling when Sarah turned on him, flashing the knife in his direction- a large blade made for cutting thick pieces of meat by the looks of it.
"You shut your mouth or so help me I'll slice you to pieces and serve you up to my guests!" she threatened, a shock to Jim and the Dopplers. She was always a cool, reasoning woman.
"Of course," he said politely, raising a hand in defense, "I apologize."
"But why can't Jim come along?" Milo chimed in Audrey rolled her eyes. Sarah froze, brown eyes widening as recounts of Jim's adventures flooded her mind. He and told her everything once he got home- how he found the map, how he had befriended (unbeknownst to him) a pirate, the mutiny of the ship, getting stranded- the whole shebang.
"I just don't want it to happen again…." Sarah felt her lower lip quiver.
"You don't want what to happen?" Milo pressed on, receiving collective glares from Audrey and Sweet when the woman began to cry. Amelia paced a hand on Milo's shoulder, claws digging slightly into his skin. Shaking her head, she said, "If we have time, I'll explain later. For now, let's let the two work out the details." Jim pushed himself up, his mother beckoning to talk to him. Delbert twiddled his thumbs, unsure of what to do himself. After a few minutes, he joined Jim and Sarah, beginning to negotiate terms.
"I guess we should wait in the restaurant then," Dr. Sweet suggested, and the rest of the group ushered themselves out the door leaving a mother, son and colleague to decide whether or not they were free to go.