Ch. 17

Laurie had started to go into her home like she said she would; through the back, she had told Rorschach. After he left, however, she stood looking up at the house that she had lived in for the past decade. This usually inviting place seemed dark and menacing to her, despite the lighted windows. She supposed it was the lights that were the most repelling aspect of the what she was seeing, strangely enough. Lights meant that someone was awake -- her mother was awake. It could also mean she had fallen asleep with the lights on again, but Laurie didn't feel like taking that chance tonight.

Laurie turned and looked behind and around her, at the other houses on her street. Tears had welled up in her eyes and for a moment she couldn't see through the blur. She blinked, and all was clear again. She couldn't go inside. She knew that much. In this instant her own neighborhood looked alien to her. Rows and rows of houses she recognized just the other day now meant nothing, just foreign oddities that gave her none of the emotions that came with familiarity. Laurie slipped out the fence that joined her backyard to the neighbor's and cut through the bushes -- just in case Rorschach was watching to make sure she had made it home safely.

She couldn't stay awake any longer, however, and it didn't seem right to go to Hollis' house again. She thought about Nelson for a moment -- he would be the most understanding of all her mother's friends. But he would also do the right thing and call her mother. Then he would know what a drunk she had become. Laurie was embarrassed by the idea, embarrassed for her mother, and for Nelson who would have to intervene. She didn't want him to. Was that so bad?

Laurie hung her head and walked down the empty streets. She would occasionally run across someone walking alone and they would look at her with frightened eyes. This reaction confused her until she realized she was still in her costume. Damn costume -- it really wasn't something that was enjoyable to spend all day in. She could at least thank her luck that her mother had never convinced her to continue on in that awful Silk Spectre getup.

A dog whimpered in the distance -- maybe someone had kicked it. A passing car, and three drunks singing a block down south. Laurie went the long way to avoid them. She could take them on if they gave her trouble, of course, but she wasn't up to it. Not right now. Shops gave way to a residential area, and Laurie wondered where she had seen this neighborhood before. It wasn't until she felt herself stop and look up that she realized what she had been doing. Laurie laughed for a moment; she wasn't planning it like this at all, but her subconscious seemed to have a mind of its own. Unlike her own house, this one looked warm and inviting. It was all for the same reasons, though. The lights were on, and that was somehow a comforting thought in this situation.

She was standing outside Edward Blake's house.

Laurie began to pace back and forth, biting her lip and suddenly feeling very nervous. She mustered up all the courage she could find and walked up the driveway. She jumped when a neighbor's dog started to bark as she walked by the gate. Her heart was starting to pound wildly as she made her way up the steps and to the door. Still not too late to just turn and leave.

But she had no place to go. Damn Rorschach couldn't trust her to tell her where he lived.

Laurie reached up to ring the doorbell and realized her hand was shaking. The dog was barking so much, she couldn't even think clearly. She thought she was going to faint when the door opened before she could complete her task.

"Hey, why don't you shut the f--"

The Comedian -- well, Edward Blake, he was out of costume -- stared down at her with his mouth hanging open. Laurie stared back for only a few seconds before she pushed past him and went into the house. It was either that or run in the opposite direction.

"Well, why don't you come in," said Blake, in disbelief, after he had a moment to compose himself. "No need to stand in the doorway before I invite you inside, or anything."

Laurie found the couch in the living room and sat down on it. Blake was still within view, and he stood in the doorway watching her as if he had forgotten where he was.

"Are you really my dad?" asked Laurie.

Blake looked out the open door, then at her again. Then he closed the door and stepped closer to her.

"Well, yeah," he said, scratching his head.

"Good -- I was worried for a moment that Rorschach was pulling my leg or something."

"Yeah--...Yeah, he said he'd tell you."

"Oh."

They looked away at the same time, and Laurie was certain he felt as awkward as she did.

"Uh, so... I wasn't expecting a visit," he said.

"I ran away."

"What the hell?"

"Well, actually, I guess I kind of got kicked out, too."

"Why, get pregnant?" He laughed.

"No!" Shouted Laurie. Blake raised an eyebrow at her. She looked down. "I'm sorry, but no, I'm not. My mother just... well, she's been getting drunk. She's not herself lately."

"Ah, well, uh..." Blake looked around. "Do you want me to call her or what?"

"No," said Laurie, lowering her voice to an almost whisper. "I was hoping you could let me stay here."

"Uh--...uh sure," he said, hugging himself for one instant as if she scared him, somehow.

"Thank you," said Laurie, lying down right where she had been sitting. She was unbelievably tired.

"I mean, there's not much room here, but if you..."

She must have fallen asleep right then, because she never heard the end of his sentence. The next thing she remembered was waking up with the sun shining in her eye and facing a view of an unfamiliar place. Laurie sat up, looking around her. She saw a television, a bookshelf, a grandfather clock. Had she fallen asleep in the living room, somehow? She must have. She didn't want to wake up her mother by sneaking upstairs, and... no, that wasn't right either. No, she was in Edward Blake's house. Because he was her father. That wasn't a dream, either. She had fallen asleep on his couch, yes, now she remembered. What she didn't remember was there being this blanket on her the night before. She pulled it around her shoulders -- it smelled faintly of cedar.

Laurie heard a cough and looked up. Edward Blake was standing near the front door in a robe, reading a newspaper. She watched him for a moment before he looked up. He seemed startled to see her.

"Oh, hey, uh..." he looked away then at her again. Then he scratched his head. He looked at the paper. Then at her.

"What is it?" she asked.

He shrugged, then walked over to her. He handed the paper to her, folded to highlight a particular article. It was regarding Moloch's capture. Dr. Manhattan -- he had found him, somehow, and now Moloch was in a holding cell. Laurie sighed.

"I don't believe it," she said. She looked up as Blake moved into another room, out of sight. She felt a tug at her hair when she turned her head and realized that her mask was caught in it. Darn -- she had fallen asleep in her mask. She pulled it off and rearranged her hair before looking for her father.

Blake was in the kitchen, busying himself with preparing what looked like coffee. He didn't look up as she came in and sat down at the table to study him.

"Do you feed yourself, or do I have to?" he asked, almost to himself.

Laurie giggled.

"Um, you make me sound like an animal at the pet store."

"Yeah, I dunno," said Blake, shaking his head. He started to fry something up. He still wasn't looking at her.

Laurie took the time to look around the house. It was actually quite bright and tidy for a house that belonged to a man that lived alone. Especially for a man who was the Comedian at night.

"Used to belong to my parents," said Blake, gesturing around. He must have been watching her when she wasn't paying attention to him. "Uh, your grandparents, I guess. Left it to me when they died. I kept it as it was."

"Oh." Laurie smiled a little. "It's a very nice house."

"Thanks. Here."

He practically threw down a plate in front of her. Laurie realized they were eggs. Piles of eggs.

"Eggs?" laughed Laurie.

"Yeah. Don't you like them?"

"No, it's...they're fine."

Laurie started to eat, and realized just how starving she was. She heard a snort and looked up to find Blake looking directly at her this time, but he was laughing.

"What?" she asked him.

"Oh, just..." he was gesturing around his eyes as if to tell her, then shook his head. He left the room and came back with a mirror and gave it to her instead.

Laurie looked in the mirror and burst out laughing. The mask must have been tighter than she thought, or maybe it was because she had it on too long. There was an indentation around her eyes in the shape of her mask. Now she looked like a raccoon. She looked up to find Blake studying her closely. There was still a smile on his face, and without his own mask, his eyes looked warm. Or maybe it was just in the way he was looking at her. It was an almost dreamy look, and it was strange to see it on his face in particular. He shook himself out of his reverie after a moment and wiped his hands on his thighs.

"Well, I, uh..." he said. He started to mutter something to himself as he left the room. Laurie finished the eggs and went to the sink to wash her plate. Then she found a glass and drank water from it. She wasn't keen on having just water, but she didn't want to start taking things from someone else too much without asking -- even if that someone was her father. She washed the glass too and when she turned, Edward Blake was dressed for the day. Not as the Comedian, just dressed in normal attire.

"Gotta take care of some business," he told her. He gestured with his thumb over his shoulder at the same time.

Laurie wondered what sort of work he was going to be doing that day. What was it like in the life of the Comedian out of disguise? She imagined it was full of danger and intrigue nonetheless, with flying bullets and pounding adrenaline as he saved people from burning buildings (ones that he lit on fire himself) before jumping out to protect the mayor by punching him. No, not the mayor -- the president. After running over terrorists with a hijacked schoolbus (still with children inside, all frightened to death), he would stop at a deli for lunch, all the while scoping the place for bad guys. Then he would end the day by foiling a bank robbery in his plain clothes before returning in the evening to become the Comedian and then, really kick it up a notch.

"Where are you going?" asked Laurie eagerly. She had worked herself up into an excitement thinking about the endless possibilities.

"The post office," he told her. She must have had a funny expression on her face, because he burst out laughing. "What's the matter, kid? You look so disappointed."

"I don't know," laughed Laurie, embarrassed. "I guess I thought you were off to do something more thrilling."

"You kidding me? I'm fucking boring," he said. He looked surprised. "Aw damn, sorry about the language. Shit, I mean... Uh, are you going to stay here long?"

Laurie frowned.

"Well, if you don't want me here, I can le--"

He held up his hand.

"I just meant, did you bring anything?" he pointed at her. "Or are you just planning on living in that thing?"

Laurie looked down at her Nightshade uniform. She really didn't have anything, and now she was even more embarrassed. She put her hands to her mouth and shook her head at him. She felt like crying.

"Well come on then," he told her. It took Laurie a moment before she realized he was inviting her to go with him.

"You mean come with you?"

"No, we're going separate ways and meeting up at the same place after travelling different routes to get there -- yes, come with me." He looked annoyed. But then he winked at her at the last moment.

Laurie couldn't help but smile at that. Feeling undeniably happy, she raced forward and took his hand freely. He seemed startled, but he didn't let go. He actually held fast.

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To be continued...