Picking Up: Chapter 4
"I'm expected back in a couple of days," Talia mentioned the next night with a failed attempt at sounding casual, not quite meeting Susan's eyes. The other woman immediately stiffened. She stood and gathered up their glasses to avoid looking at Talia as she responded.
"I'm sure you'll be glad to be home, get back to your life," Susan said tensely as she headed for the kitchen. As she started to walk passed, Talia caught her wrist and stared at her until Susan returned the gaze.
"I don't have to go," she murmured in a throaty voice. The silence stretched between them until a little voice spoke from the hallway.
"Mommy? I'm thirsty." And just like that the moment was broken. Talia let go and Susan went to help her daughter.
A few minutes later, Sofie sat on the couch finishing her water. She had seated herself beside Talia, and when she put her empty cup on the table she snuggled in close. Talia relished the feeling of the small body pressed against hers and the contentment rolling of the sleepy little girl, and spoke up only with great reluctance. "I think you better get back to bed, little one."
Without moving from her comfy spot, Sofie asked with a yawn "Will you tuck me in?"
Talia stroked her forehead and murmured her agreement before they got up and slowly made their way through the house.
Sofie climbed into bed and waited for Talia to pull up the sheets around her before asking hopefully, "Tell me a story?"
Talia smiled, unable to resist a few more moments with the girl and sat on the edge of her small bed. "Alright, but just a short one."
"Something about Babylon 5?"
Talia agreed with a smile.
"When I first arrived on Babylon 5, I was told I had to check in with the second in command. I knew nothing about her except a name, Susan Ivanova. For days I tried to reach her, but she was always busy, always working. Finally I was done waiting and went to find her at work.
The first time I saw her… Her hair was up, pulled back tight the way she usually wore it back then, but it was just the same shade as yours. She was rigid and wanted nothing to do with me, but she was beautiful, and I found myself pulled to the way she commanded everyone around her. There was something about her, something strong and powerful, but I could tell there was more underneath; something sad and maybe just a tiny bit lonely. I could relate to that. The way she held it all together, stayed strong through the pain, it was beautiful.
The only thing more beautiful to me than your Mommy on the outside, was your Mommy on the inside. But, that didn't change the fact she didn't want me around. I kept seeking her out, trying to connect, until finally she told me about your grandma—the first Sofie.
You see, back then I worked for an organization that was very bad, except I didn't know it yet; they had hurt your grandma very badly, and your Mommy was still very angry about it. So she didn't want me around as long as I was part of a group that was doing such bad things, but I didn't understand yet.
For months and months I watched your Mommy from a distance, and I loved her a little bit more with every passing day. The way she smiled when caught off guard, the way she always did the right thing no matter what, the way she fought to protect absolutely everyone, how incredibly stubborn she was and the way she *always* had to be right, the way no matter how bad a day got she was always standing straight at the end of it… It felt like I loved everything about her, except her continuing refusal to even speak with me.
Your Mommy can be a very stubborn lady when she puts her mind to something, and she had definitely put her mind to keeping me out of her life. I'd like to say I persevered in the end; certainly I didn't stop trying to form some bond, but she won out, like she always does. After I'd been on board for over a year, I discovered one day that there were many people on the station who were trying to escape the people I worked for. They told me all their stories of the horrible things that had happened to them, and I realized your Mommy had been right all along; she was very smug when I told her that.
That night I went to her asking to talk, not because I thought she was beautiful or strong or the most amazing woman I'd ever met, but because she would understand. Maybe it was because I'd finally realized the Corps was bad, and maybe it was because I finally came to her not because I was in love with her but because I needed a friend, but whatever the reason she let me in that night, not just into her quarters but into her life.
She helped me believe things would be okay; a funny talent for someone who always believes the worst, but I knew she was on my side and as long as I had her things couldn't be too bad. After that night… suddenly those smiles of your Mommy's were turned on me, and for a few weeks I got to have the most wonderful woman in my life, and I'd never been happier. Until now."
Talia had noticed Sofie's eyes drift closed halfway through the story, but she'd been unable to resist finishing her fairy tale. She sat there for another moment just watching, amazed by how much the little person before her had come to mean to her in such a short time. She rose to leave, but then on impulse leaned down and placed a feather-light kiss on the girl's forehead and whispered "Night Sofie."
The murmured, half-asleep reply was surprisingly clear, and loud enough to be heard not only by the woman leaning over her but also the one standing hidden in the doorway. "Night Mama."