Summary: After dinner conversations.
Her mother had asked almost no questions, letting Ruby and Dia drag her around, showing her everything of interest to them, especially Nico. There was a family sing a long and lunch and dinner and the girls tucked into bed with their grandmother reading them a story and it had been a whirl of conversation flowing by Maki like a river engorged after a storm. When the girls had been tucked in, Nico had gone outside to settle Smiley and Scherzo for the night. She'd been taking on that task since Maki had agreed she needed to work toward getting her full range of motion and stamina back. Both horses adored her and Nico didn't mind the chores. Maki suspected she appreciated a captive audience for whatever Nico was thinking about, which would be whatever Nico was talking about. Outside the stable, whenever Maki managed to sneak a glance at Nico, unaware, Nico was usually staring after something, her profile sharp and thoughtful. Then she would catch Maki and be all "Nico Ni" but the smile would lack its genuine glow, dulled like a dusty diamond.
"Ruby and Dia are certainly thriving here." Maki's mother annnouced her reentry into the living room.
Maki put aside the book she'd been pretending to read.
"They are resilient, curious, and energetic." Maki smiled. "I think that they would do well in any environment."
Maki's mother shook her head. It was still so hard to give her stubborn daughter a compliment. "I mean to say, you have done well, Maki. They are healthy and happy, after a trauma that could have changed their lives dramatically for the worst. I am proud of you, my daughter."
"They are lucky Maki found them." Nico walked into the kitchen, to wash her hands. Maki tried not to focus on the yearning edging Nico's voice. "And I am alive because they found me."
"You never did explain…" Dr. Nishikino the elder left an opening for Nico's response.
"Nico needed a job, made some friends and then made some enemies. When someone puts a bullet in you, it's time to hit the trail. Smiley had good instincts."
"He and Scherzo are getting along." Maki offered before her mother could come up with more questions.
"Smiley gets along with everyone. He and Nico are a team."
Maki got along with no one, really, not without effort, although every day spending time with Nico seemed more natural. Did that make them a team?
"Is it time for brandy yet, Maki?"
Maki raised an eyebrow. "Of course, Mama."
Nico was already halfway to the kitchen. "You two settle in the library. Nico will grab the glasses and make sure the girls are asleep."
So they don't overhear anything. And the library was farther away from their rooms. Maki twirled a curl of hair as she followed her mother into what usually felt like a sanctuary. Now it seemed small, closed in, entirely lacking a breeze or view of the stars.
"Nico's a natural with children. Ruby and Dia are already so fond of her."
"She's had to raise three siblings with her mother. Her father died in a mining accident. Her brother had just been born."
Dr. Nishikino sighed, "No stranger to difficulties then."
"No." Maki opened the cabinet with the brandy, carefully lifting the decanter, "Nico has been a big help to me. This place will be lonely without her."
Maki's mother was openly staring at her daughter and Nico had frozen in the doorway, her face expressionless. No words came to save anyone. Nervous in the silence, Maki gripped the decanter tightly, determined not to lose her grip on it.
"Glasses." Nico said, placing them in an even row on the sideboard, avoiding eye contact even as her hand brushed Maki's back. She retreated into the depths of Maki's favorite armchair, pulling an afghan around her.
Dr. Nishikino took the decanter from her daughter's shaky hands, pouring out three even measures. She stepped over to hand one to Nico and got a murmured thanks.
"Ever been to San Francisco, Nico?" Dr. Nishikino joined her daughter on the divan.
"Nope. Nico's family stopped at the Rockies." Two sips and Nico put the glass aside with a yawn.
"We've done a good job of rebuilding after the earthquake and fire."
Nico had her legs pulled up in the chair, but brought a hand down squarely on the arm, "Nico prefers a place with ground that doesn't split open."
Should Nico be that adorable, Maki thought. The tiny terror was often brusque or smiley, sometimes three different people in a minute but with her hair down and a soft expression as she stared into the fire, Nico was one of the most distracting sights Maki had ever seen.
"Maki?" Her mother nudged, having asked a question and been ignored.
Maki gulped down brandy, coughing at the unexpected surge of biting liquor over her tonsils. "What?"
"I just wondered if you missed going to the theatre? Many are still standing."
"No." Maki wiped off her chin with her hand, frowning at her mother for the disturbance.
"The destruction of the earthquake just a couple years after the Black Plague nearly convinced your father to move elsewhere, but now he can not be pulled away from his rebuilding and expansion plans for the hospital. He believes that through the efforts and investment of the business community, San Francisco will truly be one of the greatest cities in the world, not just the "Paris of The West."
"Papa always says San Francisco is his second first love."
Maki's mother chuckled, "My husband is a romantic."
Nico nodded, yawning.
Dr. Nishikino drank the last of her brandy and stood, "I will take myself to bed, Maki. Don't worry about disturbing me if you decide to stay up later." The brandy glass made a slight squeak as it returned to the sideboard. "Good night, Nico."
"G'night."
Maki started to rise but her mother held out a restraining hand, "I know where I'm going, Maki. You needn't rush. You and Nico enjoy your brandy. I can get the girls breakfast in the morning."
Nico's yawns had settled a sleepy calm over the room, like a blanket. Maki stretched out her own legs, as if this were any other evening after a taxing day. "All right. Good night, Mama."
"Good night, Maki."
A quick air kiss over her daughter's head. Then the only sounds in the room were the logs in the fireplace, settling as the flickering flames turned wood to ember and ash. The fire had been good company on many nights. Maki stared, letting her thoughts feed the flames as well, gunsmoke ephemerance up the chimney, nothing lingering. Maki allowed herself one quick glance. Nico had somehow made herself even smaller. Sleep had stolen the energy that propelled Nico. It was obvious Nico still needed rest, needed to heal and regain her fortitude. But waking, walking Nico would never stop long enough to hear that diagnosis.
###
Nico was warm. Too warm. She had burrowed deep enough into the wool blanket to start her own hearthfire. Everything about her time here had been warm, even as prickly as Maki was. But the doctor couldn't hide the caring. Her eyes opened into deep amethyst studded caverns of concern and affection, with perhaps flickers of closer bonds that might mature into…
This interlude had been like nothing in Nico's adult life, the closeness of a family, freely given love from two small, lonely children, and someone who could be a partner. Nico and her mom had worked together, raising her siblings, but it was something else to be two adults relying on each other as equals, watching out for beings so vulnerable and trusting. And caring. The way Ruby would smile shyly and ask Nico to sing…
Time to fold up the blanket, lay down on her borrowed bed, and get more rest for the adventure to come. One more day. Then, Nico rides off to rescue Honoka, bring down the A-Rise gang, and ensure that she was all right with the law. She wanted to be able to offer a future. And not as a fugitive. Maki, Dia, and Ruby deserved the best. Nico would be the best. But first...
Maki. Sleeping. Fire mostly out. Nico dealt with the last embers, surprised that the doctor was undisturbed. She seemed to sleep on the couch more frequently than in her room. Nico supposed it was easy enough to fall asleep in front of the fire.
Nico knelt beside Maki, taking a moment to refresh her memory of Maki, in shadows and moonlight, the evenness of her breathing, the slight pucker of her lips, the wavy knots her hair seemed to work itself into. It took all of Nico's self control not to brush straying strands off Maki's forehead, but Nico turned that motion into a poke.
"Wake up, Doctor Maki."
Maki swatted, groaning, "Just Maki."
"Time to tuck you into bed with your mama."
" "m not a kid."
Nico grinned as Maki sleep grumbled, her eyes mostly closed.
"Nico knows."
"Good." Maki turned over, "Sleeping here."
"No, you're not." Nico slid her arms under Maki's torso ready to flip her.
But at the contact, Maki sat up.
"All right, all right."
"Want Nico to read you a bedtime story."
"Go 'way." Maki pushed off Nico.
"Yes, ma'am." A quick spin, Nico heading to her guest room.
Maki's whisper reached out, "I didn't mean…"
"Nico knows. Good night, Maki."
"G'night."
###
The door slipped out of her hand. It wasn't really a slam. Or a call for attention. But it did wake her mother, who had been restless, listening for her daughter.
"What time is it?"
Maki shrugged, glancing out the window, "Moon's up but low."
"Forget how to use clocks?"
Maki snorted, pulling out her pocketwatch. "3:37, Mama."
"Thank you, Maki." Dr. Nishikino sat up, leaning back against the headboard, watching her daughter lean and stare out the window.
"Have you taught Dia and Ruby all the constellations yet?"
"Of course. And the stories."
That's my girl, Dr. Nishikino thought.
"Dia wants to see the sky from Alaska. When she's older, I might take them on a ferry from Seattle."
Ah yes, Nishikinos spoil their knowledge seeking children.
"They really like Nico."
"Yes. They found her, they feel an attachment."
Maki might have been about to turn back to bed, but now she'd frozen, a sculpture in moonlight and granite inertia.
"Nico is very determined to fix her 'error.'" Dr. Nishikino continued to push, "She seems capable enough to do it, too."
"She is."
A pause. Was Maki shivering? Mornings could be cold. Especially if thoughts ran restless. Imagination could be either cruel or kind, a simple coin spinning between hope and desolation.
"Are you going to let her go alone?"
The question cracked the statue Maki had become. She turned, her mother recognizing the stubborn set of her jaw.
"Of course not."
That's my girl, Dr. Nishikino thought. "C'mon and warm up and let me nap again before I have to cook you girls breakfast."
"Okay, Mama."
couldn't keep Maki safe anymore by discouraging adventure. What she could do was ensure her daughter left no neglected responsibilities to worry at her concentration. And keep faith.
"Nico is lucky to have met Dia and Ruby."
Maki had pulled a nightshirt over her head, "Do you ever think about destiny, Mama?"
"It doesn't usually come up at my weekly ladies lunches."
"Maybe, it's being out here…" Maki crawled into bed, "The scale of everything is so much bigger, so distant. I can't help wonder exactly what brings someone into anyone's life. The probability of running into any single person is so low. Is it chance, fate, destiny, luck, magnetism…"
A deeper question than expected. But some days – or nights – a rare urge to talk through something seized Maki.
Dr. Nishikino chose her words carefully. "Choices, Maki. Nothing as fancy as those myths of yours. I think we all make choices. And from those choices, we find the paths that let us move forward."
"I should have told you about Nico."
"It would have been nice. But I know you. You don't share, especially if it's…private."
Maki sighed. And suddenly she was wrapped in a hug.
"You are doing well, Maki. I have faith in you."
"And my choices.?
"Are you where you want to be?"
Inhale. "Yes."
"People always say horses know where to go. Maybe you do too."
Maki snorted, a fair imitation of Scherzo, and let her mother's giggling warmth lull her back to sleep. Her next choice could wait 'til after dawn.
A/N:
December...wow.
I think that's the longest conversation I've written between Maki and her mother.
And peace and freedom and no frikkin' genocide, please and thank you.