reversedpolarity | future!verse: A Quick Visit

She had been nervous about meeting his parents and though she'd already developed a comfortable relationship with his sister, she was still a bit nervous. With the face to face meeting, she would be able to hear them should she not block them. She was already debating on how much of that she should allow. No one else but Monty knew about her telepathy. Of course, much of the crew of the Enterprise crew knew, but they wouldn't have relayed it back to anyone else. Like her parents. Regretfully, she still hadn't come up with a good way to tell them.

On arrival, jet lagged and stiff from sitting, but not nearly as bad as it could have been, Liz took Monty's hand and smiled. Looking around she could feel what he felt about the terrain. Of course it seemed to be a much better bit of weather than usual, she was still noticing the things that he would have remembered and loved. "You're going to show me around and all the places you loved and remember, right?" she asked, looking like a little kid, excited to see something new for the first time.

He stifled a yawn, because although he'd slept a bit on the shuttle, the trip over had been much swifter than if they'd traveled by civilian means, and he'd had more of a nap than any actual sleep. He had a feeling that they were both going to be in need of taking a day or so to adjust to the time difference, but the plan was to stay for about a week - maybe a bit more, assuming there were no pressing matters to get back to in California. It was a bit strange, still, to think that for now - until they got properly settled in - neither of them really had much in the way of responsibilities. He'd be starting his new job at the Academy fairly soon, but until then, he was more or less on vacation.

He gave Liz's hand a small squeeze, replying, "Aye, I will - when I wake up." He had taken the liberty of purloining one of the transporters back at Starfleet HQ to send their luggage over; it would already be at Clara's house, waiting for them - one of the privileges of rank. It was just one less thing to have to worry about while jet-lagged and tired.

They didn't have far to go to find his father; he was waiting for them just outside the shipyard, and when he spotted them he gave a wave and meandered over in his own time, hands tucked into his pockets. "Alright?" he greeted them, looking the both of them over.

Liz laughed lightly and squeezed his hand back. She figured that they weren't going to get much done in the next couple days. They were probably just going to want to sleep and get back on time with Scotland. This was her first time here and considering she'd spent so much time out in space traveling the galaxy, it was a surprise that she hadn't visited more than a quarter of North America. Mostly, she had stayed wherever her parents were.

When Monty's father came walking up to them, relaxed, hands in his pockets, she smiled. You are more like him than I realized, she directed his way, not wanting to say it out loud for no reason other than paranoia. She smiled as he greeted them and looked mildly stunned, unsure how to respond because this was her father-in-law. She wasn't her mother, so hugs weren't the immediate answer.

He wasn't entirely sure how to react to Liz telling him that he was so much like his father. It could be worse, he supposed. "Been a while," he said after a moment, while Liz was busy being uncertain as to how to greet his father.

"Oh aye," Arthur replied, laughing. "That is has." He smiled warmly and took his hands out of his pockets, beckoning for both of them to come give him a hug at the same time. After hugs had been given, he stepped back again, adding, "So you're the lass that stole Montgomery's heart. It's good tae meet you at last."

The warm greeting made it feel right and she hugged him, smiling the whole time. Yes, there were plenty of similarities between Monty and his father. Arthur, luckily, had always been a kind man when she spoke with him, which wasn't as often as she may like, but often enough. When he expressed that she was the woman who stole his heart, she blushed, unable to stop the reaction.

"I suppose I am," she said. At this rate, she was going to have a smile planted on her face the entire time they were there. Her cheeks already hurt. "It's lovely to finally meet you in person. I've been anticipating it for some time now," she said kindly.

You suppose, mo grodh? Scotty teased silently, giving her hand another squeeze. "Is Mum hysterical yet?" he asked aloud, the question directed, of course, to Arthur. Knowing Rose, she would have called Arthur fifteen times during the trip to come pick him and Liz up.

"Gettin' there," Arthur replied, breaking into a wide grin. "I'm stallin' an' keepin' the both o' you here tae give her time tae get herself worked up intae a real fit." At the look on his son's face, he cracked up, and motioned in the direction of his car. "I'm just foolin', lad. C'mon, car's this way."

Lad. Only his father would think it acceptable to call his forty-one-year-old son 'lad'.

You don't like me that much. She pretended to ignore the mini-conversation they were having. Some people said that couples had a very strong bond were able to communicate wordlessly; Monty and Liz took that to a whole other level. Liz laughed when Arthur admitted to Rose being about in a fit of hysterics. He may be teasing, but Liz was pretty sure that was the truth of it. Rose wasn't very subtle... ever.

Arthur called Monty 'lad' and Liz held down another laugh. She briefly thought about how Monty would adapt those same kind of habits as a father. She was avoiding the baby conversation though. She didn't want to start up on that again until they were settled and things felt normal.

I beg tae differ. His father turned to lead them to the car, and he followed, slipping his arm around Liz's waist. I'm apologizin' in advance for Mum, by the way. He just knew his mother was going to relish every minute of playing the batty mother-in-law - and doubly so because Clara and her husband were going to be there as well. He just hoped that Clara's kids would be enough to keep Rose from bombarding him and Liz about the question of grandchildren.

The car ride was uneventful, with Scotty trying not to fall asleep again, and occasionally pointing out interesting landmarks that he and Liz would have to find time to visit sometime. Eventually they pulled up to a large house out in the country, and of course, there was Rose, waiting for them at the door. She was approaching the car before they even had a chance to get out.

"Arthur, you ought to have called," she scolded, before turning her attention to her son and daughter-in-law. "Montgomery, Elizabeth, it's so good to see you both." And there were the tears, and she insisted on several hugs, before herding all of them back up to the house.

Liz just nodded silently. She didn't need an apology for his mother. She was well aware of what she was getting into with him. There were plenty of things for her to be nervous about and meeting Rose was definitely one of them. Arthur, as mild mannered as he was, had to be the easy part. Rose was a whole different story.

Monty was falling asleep on the ride back, but so was Liz. They were both tired and rightfully so. With the time changes completely messed up she was having a hard time keeping her yes open. Traveling could make even the best of them tired.

Upon arrival they were bombarded with hugs and tears. Liz hugged her mother-in-law as she should, thanking her for having them - as if that was needed - and then they were on their way into the house. Liz was anxious to meet Clara in person. They'd had a few meaningful conversations and Liz felt closest to her already. She'd saved them from the wrath of Rose more than a few times over the years.

As soon as everyone was inside, Rose ushered them into the living room, where she had afternoon tea waiting for them - for which Scotty was grateful; a bit of a snack and a good hot cup of tea would perk him up to no end. He settled down on the couch with a sigh, glad to be sitting somewhere comfortable, and snagged a scone for himself, mostly ignoring Rose's chatter as she went on and on at length about relatives he hadn't even spoken to in years. Eventually, Arthur reminded her that they had to do shopping for dinner, and led her off so Scotty and Liz could have some peace and quiet.

The peace and quiet didn't last very long, though. Clara must have been holding her son back, because the minute Rose and Arthur were gone, a young boy absolutely tore into the living room, and flung himself onto the couch with Scotty and Liz, worming his way in to sit wedged between them, as if they hadn't only ever spoken over the telecom. "Mum'll be down in a minute," he announced, stealing a piece of Scotty's scone.

Liz responded politely to Rose, answer questions and being generally pleasant. She did love his mother. She was eccentric and she took some getting used to, but she was a wonderful woman. Monty was only a shell of himself, having been more tired than Liz, or maybe Liz was just better at faking it than he was. She sipped from her cup and went on chatting until Arthur managed to detach Rose from her son and daughter-in-law.

There was all of a second before they were being interrupted. William, Clara's son, wedged himself between she and Monty and Liz laughed when he took a piece of Monty's scone. Immediately Liz wrapped an arm around him and smiled, "You are awfully big. I had no idea," she teased, running a hand through the little one's hair.

He was going to give William a mock glare for being a scone thief, but the look on William's face when Liz ruffled his hair got Scotty chuckling instead. Nevertheless, he leaned in against Liz, and took another piece of Scotty's scone, at which point Scotty gave up and gave him the whole thing and grabbed another for himself. "Mum said she wanted t'avoid--"

"William, that's quite enough. And you apologize to your Uncle Monty for taking his scone." And there was Clara, standing in the doorway with her younger son in her arms, giving William the Look. William mumbled something that might have been 'sorry' around a mouthful of scone, though he didn't look particularly apologetic. Clara, however, smiled as she turned her attention to her bother and sister-in-law. "How was the trip?"

Liz had to stifle a laugh. You weren't supposed to laugh when kids were behaving badly, but what was she supposed to do? The kid was a spitfire and there was absolutely no holding that back. She assumed it was because he was half Scott. From the stories she knew, the Scott boys - meaning Monty - were a handful.

When Clara enters and scolds William, she looks down at him then back up at Clara. Liz was first to get up off the couch and cross the room. She had to hug this woman. She'd been her own personal anchor while out in space. Liz wraps her arms around Clara, her littlest one, too. "I am so glad to finally meet you in person," she said, smiling brightly. Liz pulled back and beamed at Clara, then made a few unflattering faces at Kevin.

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