"Inventing the Future"

Author's Note: There's some heavy stuff ahead, including a mother/daughter showdown, and some issues get resolved. Even with this messy business, I promise Sarah won't be the mother-in-law from Hell. Get yourselves some popcorn, and sit back. This is going to be a long one!

"Chapter 27: A Clash of Wills"

"You want me to do what, now?" Cap squinted up at Jaming before gesturing with his pipe. "I have people countin' on me, boy! This is a shop boat, not a barge. I can't cost my tenants a full day's work in pursuit of something that might not even be there anymore."

This wasn't the answer Jaming hoped for, but it wasn't unexpected. "It's there. I'm sure of it. I would not be asking if it wasn't important."

"It's my call to make, but I can't make it lightly," the old man sucked on his pipe and blew out a noxious cloud of tobacco smoke, hardly seeming to notice as Jaming muffled a cough behind his fist.

"I understand, sir. I'll find another way." Jaming turned to leave, doing his best to conceal his frustration and disappointment.

"Now, hold on a minute," Cap reached out and snagged Jaming's elbow.

Jaming reflexively yanked his arm out of Cap's grip, but turned back to hear what he had to say. He still wasn't too keen on being touched for the most part. Though he usually tolerated it when he knew it was coming, he still reacted defensively when it came as a surprise.

"I didn't forget what you did for us during that strange storm. I don't think the others did either. Give me a day or two to see if they're willing. Can't promise nothin', but I'll see what I can do," And then Cap gave a sly smile. "I'm sure your Meredith will say yes."

Jaming flushed, then frowned when Cap laughed at his reaction. "Um, yes...thank you. If you'll excuse me."

"Yep. Hey, son!" Cap bracketed his mouth with his hands to help his voice carry. Jaming was already descending the gangplank.

The inventor turned back to look quizzically at Cap. "Yes?"

"Lighten up, will ya?"

Turning his back and striding away, Jaming muttered to himself, "That's easier said than done."

As Jaming crossed the docks, he spotted Meredith and Sarah speaking in low, heated tones. He slowed his walk, remembering how he had angered Sarah not too long ago, and a cold sweat broke out on his forehead. He wasn't too worried about what Sarah thought of him, but if Meredith took offense at his 'treatment' of her mother, he would have a lot of explaining to do!

"I won't hear another word, Meredith! I expect you to be packed and ready to board the train tomorrow morning!"

"But-"

Sarah imperiously held up a hand. "It's all settled."

Jaming goggled in disbelief as Sarah walked away with her head held high. 'It's as if everything I said earlier went in one ear and out the other!'

Sarah brushed past him without a word, and Jaming could swear that he actually felt a physical chill. There was no way she didn't know he was there; she was ignoring him. He looked back at Meredith, and took in the expression of utter defeat on her face. 'Oh no...'

She couldn't actually be considering it, could she?

Meredith turned and headed in the opposite direction of the shop boats. By all appearances, she had been on her way to work. Now it seemed that she had decided not to show up.

She didn't seem to have seen Jaming, but he wondered if she simply didn't want to speak to him just then.

Jaming then noticed that she wasn't heading in the direction of her tree house. Nor was she approaching her usual shell-gathering stretch of beach. She was heading in the opposite direction, where there was a cave that was rather more like a tunnel. He had always gotten a strange feeling there, almost as if the place was haunted, but it had never felt like a threatening sort of presence. He knew that she occasionally went there when she craved solitude. 'She must want to be alone.'

That didn't mean he couldn't check on her to make sure she was all right.

When Jaming found her sitting cross-legged near the far opening of the tunnel-like cave with her elbows resting on her knees and her chin propped up on her folded hands, she didn't seem at all surprised that he had followed her.

"I'm probably not very good company today." she warned.

Jaming sat down beside her with his legs stretched out in front of him, putting his arm around her shoulders. "I'm not very good company most days, and yet you're there for me."

She leaned against him, her eyes studying the far wall. "How did you find me?"

"I followed you," he replied, idly toying with her hair. "I was coming back from speaking to Cap, and I happened to catch the tail end of your argument with your mother."

"Tsh..." Meredith snorted mirthlessly, shaking her head. "Boy, is she pissed at you. I'm sorry if she said anything nasty to you. All I got was her side of it..."

"No, she didn't," Jaming shook his head. "Not to my face, that is. I don't know what she said to you, other than what little I caught before she walked off. She seems...quite determined."

Jaming was both startled and dismayed when Meredith suddenly burst into tears, and as she tried to apologize he gently shushed her and gathered her close. He couldn't tell her so, but he sometimes envied her for still having one of her parents around to fight with. That didn't mean that he wanted to see her so conflicted, though! Sarah was most definitely in the wrong here.

"I just feel like such a horrible, selfish person..." She told him when she was able to get the words out, "What am I supposed to do here?"

He passed his hand over her hair, so much softer than his, and suppressed the anger that was directed at Sarah. "I can't tell you that. What I can tell you is that you are most definitely not a horrible, selfish person. Forget about 'should' and 'supposed to'. Put those on the shelf for now. What do you want to do?"

Meredith expected the answer to be difficult to give. When 'should' was removed from the equation and she forced herself to think about it objectively, though, the answer wasn't hard to say at all. "I want to stay here. Going back for a visit someday might be okay. But going back to stay? I...I think I'd go crazy. But how do I tell her that?"

"It won't be easy," he sighed, rubbing her back as she leaned on his chest and hiccuped quietly. "Meredith...are you sure you're not staying here partly because of me?" She didn't answer him right away, and he took her silence as confirmation. "Because if it makes it easier to decide, I'd follow you anywhere."

Boy, didn't that make him sound like a creepy stalker?

Fortunately, she seemed to know that he didn't mean it like that. "That's my newest reason for wanting to stay here, but Palm Brinks just isn't home anymore. I know I'm not going anywhere, but I'm just not looking forward to that confrontation tomorrow."

"Do you want me to go with you?"

"Are you kidding?" Meredith finally looked up at him, "She'll eat you alive..."

He chuckled darkly and pressed his forehead against hers. "I defected from Emperor Griffon and lived to tell the tale. I say bring it on!"

The next day Jaming walked with Meredith as she drew near the station, his spine as straight as if he had swallowed a poker. His stomach felt like it was filled with butterflies, but it was more out of concern for her than from his own nervousness. He didn't like confrontations unless he had a pretty good chance of coming out on top, and not only was that not a guarantee in this case, it wasn't even his fight.

Jaming looked over at Meredith, and his brows drew together when he saw how very pale she was. She almost looked like she was going to be sick! He slipped his hand into hers, but kept his grip loose in case she didn't want that at the moment. "I'm with you."

She lightly squeezed his hand. "I know. Jaming..."

"Yes?"

She drew a deep breath and turned to him. Sarah was visible from where they stood, but she hadn't spotted them yet. "I think it might be better if I did this on my own. She'll probably get angry and have a go at you if you're there."

Jaming was already expecting that, and he knew that he could handle it, but this wasn't about what he wanted. What he did next didn't come easily to him at all; he honored her wishes. "If that's what you want. But if you need me, I'll be nearby." He leaned forward, ignoring the other people on the crowded platform, and lightly rubbed noses with her. Being unable to kiss her back wasn't so bad when there were other ways to express it. "You can do this. I love you."

She returned the gesture before hugging him and kissing his cheek. "I love you, too. This shouldn't take long. I hope."

Jaming let her walk on ahead and, never taking his eyes off her, he moved out of the flow of traffic and stood with folded arms. He would be able to see and hear everything from where he was without being seen by Sarah, but he resolved not to interfere unless Meredith called for him. 'Just when I was beginning to like Sarah, she had to go and pull a stunt like this...'

"Meredith, you're not packed!" Sarah seemed astonished by this. She herself was carrying a single suitcase. Meredith hadn't even brought her purse.

"No," Meredith agreed. "I-"

"Well, no matter," Sarah interjected, unwilling or unable to let Meredith finish. "We can send for your things later. The train's going to leave soon."

Meredith chewed her lower lip and looked down. Her nose detected the faint scent of Jaming's cologne. He never wore much, and it was barely noticeable on him, but some of it must have rubbed off when she hugged him. He was nearby. She wasn't alone. Her mother couldn't bully her into obedience this time. She raised her eyes and met her mother's gaze with a calmness that she hadn't expected. "I'm not going with you, Mother."

Sarah blinked, faltering a little before smiling indulgently. "Yes, Cricket. Of course you are."

Shaking her head slowly, Meredith answered in a voice that was quiet but firm. "No."

Sarah's smile slowly faded, and her face became stony. "He persuaded you to stay, didn't he?"

"No. I don't want to go anywhere he isn't, but even if there was no Jaming, I still could never live in Palm Brinks again. And-"

"He's poisoned you against your own mother."

"Mother, stop it!" Meredith's shout drew many a stare, and though she wasn't aware of it, Jaming had shifted his position as he forced himself to remain where he was. She lowered her voice once more, and though her voice shook with anger and sadness, she was no longer pulling her punches. She was used to Sarah badgering her into giving in, but verbally attacking her boyfriend most definitely crossed the line. At least Jaming had made an effort at diplomacy! "Don't ever say that about him again. He hasn't influenced my choices in any way, and he's never been anything but polite to you!"

"You were never this disrespectful before you met him!" Sarah shot back, clearly having chosen Jaming as her scapegoat. Her anger over having her will thwarted far overshadowed her positive opinions of Jaming, and she knew that she would regret her words later, but at the moment she couldn't stop herself. Her daughter was breaking away from her, and she hated that.

"Wanting to have a life of my own is hardly disrespectful!"

"You can have a life of your own in Palm Brinks! You can bring him with you! He even told me he'd be willing to go!"

Meredith's face paled before turning a rather interesting shade of scarlet. "You're not listening to me. I left that place for a reason. You know why I left, and you know that it had nothing to do with Jaming. I didn't leave because of him, and I'm not staying because of him."

Sarah could feel her control over her daughter slipping away faster than she could recover it. She was losing.

"If I went back to Palm Brinks, I wouldn't have a life of my own. I would have the life you want to force on me." Meredith was shaking now as her body was flooded with adrenaline. It didn't feel good.

"I can't believe what I'm hearing...Meredith, I'm your mother!"

"I know. And I love you. I hate saying these things to you! But don't make me choose between your happiness or mine, because that's not fair." Meredith's voice was losing strength now, and she looked absolutely desolate. What did it take to get her mother to listen to her?

Sarah felt something inside of her turn over, and she finally realized that her demands were unreasonable and that she was dangerously close to losing her relationship with her daughter. Maybe she had already damaged it beyond repair, and they were just going through the motions. She wanted to say something, but nothing came to her. She and Meredith both had tears running down their cheeks now, and they were drawing many a curious glance from the passengers boarding the train.

"You're...going to miss your train," Meredith looked down, wishing she could sink into the floor and disappear. It was only the knowledge that Jaming was nearby that kept her from fleeing the platform.

Sarah set down her suitcase and slowly stepped forward. She reached out and put a finger under Meredith's chin. "My baby...What have I done to you?"

Meredith looked up, stunned, then found herself enveloped in her mother's arms. "I don't..."

"There's no more time to talk; the train's about to leave, like you said. But...I was wrong. And I treated your young man abominably." Sarah stepped back, smiling sadly. "I hope you'll come back to Palm Brinks soon. For a visit. Jaming is welcome, too...if he'll accept my invitation after this."

Jaming was still listening, but he was no longer watching them. If there was one thing he hated, it was emotional goodbyes. The mixture of gladness at Meredith's salvaged relationship with her mother and the intense jealousy he felt because she still had one swirled unsettlingly in his heart, and he focused on the ocean horizon in an effort to keep his composure.

Most of all, though, he was proud of her. When the train puffed to life and began to pull out of the station, he went over to check on her. "How did it go? Are you all right?"

Meredith smiled as he put his arm around her, and she slipped her arm around his waist as she leaned into the hug. "I am now."

"That's...that's good."

Meredith got a better look at his face, and she saw that his eyes were a bit shinier than usual. "Are you all right?"

"Yes," He nodded, and he was telling the truth. Mostly. "Shall we go for a walk?"

She smiled. "Walk this off, you mean? Absolutely."