reversedpolarity | future!verse: A Quick Visit

Entry tags:

future!verse: A Quick Visit

While sorting out meeting up with Liz's parents hadn't been too much of a hassle, trying to find a time to meet his family was proving to be more difficult than it really should be. They ended up having to take a shuttle over to Scotland - a fairly quick trip, though of course not so quick as the transporters would have been - where they'd be staying with Scotty's sister for a few days before heading back to California. Of course, traveling from one side of the world to the other meant they'd had to get time zones sorted out, and in order to arrive at Scotland at a reasonable time, they'd had to leave California at a very unreasonable time.

The trip was uneventful, and when they reached their destination, the worst they'd have to contend with was a bit of jet lag. For once - miracle of miracles - it wasn't raining, and while the air was definitely cooler than in California, it wasn't half so bad as Scotty had feared it would be. And although it didn't exactly feel like home, not anymore, he realized he'd missed it more than he thought. "Well, love, this is it." Now to go find his father, who was supposed to be picking them up.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

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.

Clara had to shift Kevin over to one hip in order to hug Liz properly, and then she tilted her head over to give Scotty a look that meant 'you had best get your arse over here so I can give you a hug'. The minute he stood up, William did too, following along behind him like a little shadow. "I can't tell you both how good it is to see you," Clara said, shifting Kevin on her hip again.

"Mum said that--" William started again, earning himself another stern look from his mother.

"William, you worry about what William says," she told him, before sighing and shaking her head at Liz. "I don't care what Gran - sorry, Mum, I'm so used tae callin' her Gran for Will - anyway, I don't care what she says about grandchildren. If you value your sanity, sell any kids you have to the circus." That earned a long-suffering Muuuuum out of William, and Scotty couldn't help but snort.

Liz laughed. Yes, she was sure now that William was exactly how Monty probably was as a kid. It's a good thing she won't have to worry about what to expect. She was getting a preview right then and there. She watched anxiously as Clara shifted Kevin on her hip a second time. Liz was still making faces and talking to the little one. She just couldn't contain herself.

Of course, Liz laughed with Monty. "I have no intention of selling children," she piped in, her focus on the baby. Liz looked down at William and smirked. Liz of course was having sudden onset biological clock syndrome. "Can I hold him?" she asked Clara tentatively.

"Thought you'd never ask," Clara teased, handing Kevin over without hesitation. "I don't know how he's put on so much weight." As soon as Kevin was successfully handed over, she sat down to get a cup of tea for herself, motioning for Scotty and Liz to sit down again as well. The minute Scotty was seated, William climbed into his lap as if he'd done it a million times before, and really, all Scotty could do was sit there and let him do it.

And his attention was quickly taken up by being bombarded by a million and one questions about what being in space was like and what ships were like and Clara tried to interject to keep William from bothering him, but he didn't mind answering the boy's questions.

Liz took Kevin and held him up, cooing and talking to him. "Are you getting too big for mommy? Huh?" she held him on her right, nuzzling her nose against his hair and reveling that familiar scent babies have. She's immediately taken with him and he smiles at her. She even gets him to giggle.

Clara and Monty took a seat, and then so did William. Monty didn't look put off by it, but rather that he didn't have much of a choice. Liz, cuddling Kevin and watching her husband was having a very hard time not getting emotional. She didn't have any sisters or brothers. There weren't any kids in her family. She was it. It was up to her.

Liz did take a seat beside Clara, leaning back and holding Kevin, his toes pushing against her thighs. She continued to coo and purr at him, speaking softly and asking all sorts of questions people ask of babies as if they actually had an answer. Meanwhile, she could hear William asking too many questions to keep up with, but Monty kept on answering.

Clara managed to interject a few questions of her own for Scotty - and for Liz - mostly about when they would want to head back to her house, and how long they would be staying. Since Scotty was content to answer William's questions, she didn't bother warning him about bugging the poor guy to death, and eventually the little boy yawned and curled up in Scotty's lap and went to sleep. Clara offered to take him up to his bed, but Scotty waved her off and picked the boy up himself, and after some directions on how to get there, carried him off.

When he'd gone, Clara just shook her head, smiling, and reached over to brush Kevin's hair down. "Are the two of you plannin' on kids?" she asked Liz, once Scotty was out of earshot. "I have to say, I never imagined Montgomery bein' much for it, but seein' him with Will..."

Liz answered only half-heartedly because she was completely taken with Kevin. Watching Monty with Will was absolutely the cutest thing she'd ever seen. Monty himself took Will up to sleep and Liz felt her heart clench at the site. She was again easily distracted by Kevin, but she did give one last peak out of the corner of her eye as her husband carried the curious one away.

Clara's question interrupted a very serious conversation Liz was having with Kevin about whether or not he was going to be as talkative as his brother. She rested Kevin on her lap, facing out and looked at Clara, hopefulness in her eyes, but hesitant. "I want kids. I've wanted kids for as long as I can remember," she admitted, "but Monty and I haven't talked about it recently. It had been mentioned a few times before and he was willing to consider it, but we never discussed it further." Liz would agree that Monty was a surprise with how he dealt with William, but she didn't want to take that as an answer in case he only liked William because he could give him back at the end of the day.

"Well, if you want to try an' convince him..." She glanced in the direction that her brother had gone, a slight smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "I could always let the two o' you borrow Will for a few days. If that wee terror hasn't run Montgomery absolutely ragged by the time you give him back, I think you'll both be just fine."

Scotty returned before Clara had a chance to really say anything else, and he sat back down beside Liz, surreptitiously making a face or two at Kevin, who gurgled and grabbed his nose. "The lad's sound asleep," he reported, sitting back up after gently reclaiming his nose. "An'... I hate tae run out on you, Clara, but I'm beginnin' tae think I could use a nap myself."

Liz looked at Clara, eyes narrowed as she considered it. "Monty does seem quite taken with him..." she added to the scheming. She only had time to give a nod and a sort of 'we'll talk later' look before her husband returned. It was about now that Liz really wished she'd told Clara about her telepathy. They could continue the conversation.

When Monty had his nose taken hostage, Liz laughed, bouncing the little one on her lap and rock him a little as well. She was easily distracted by Kevin and at Monty's quest to sleep she found an opportunity to speak with her sister-in-law. "Why don't you go nap then?" she asked as if he would dare not take a nap.

"I think I will." He leaned over to kiss the side of Liz's head and got up, wandering off in the direction of the room that he and Liz were staying in. When he was gone again, Clara grinned a very Scott-like grin at Liz.

"Right, then. Where were we?" she asked, leaning forward to pour herself another cup of tea. "If you want to borrow Will, I'd be ever so glad to get him out of my hair for a day." She laughed, and added, "You know, he does remind me so much of Montgomery, when he was a kid."

Liz murmured a little sleep tight, still bouncing the baby softly on her knee. She looked over at Clara and shrugged after Monty disappeared. She'd go wake him up later and probably be more cuddly than necessary with all the kids around. Being on a ship of adults had felt weird in the beginning and as it went on, she got used to it. Now she realized how horribly dull and unimaginitive things were when kids weren't around.

"We will definitely borrow Will. We can come up with something fun for him. I'm already making Monty take me around to all the places he loved," she said with a smile. Kevin reached for a button on her shirt and was tugging it towards his mouth. Liz adjusted him and nuzzled him again. God, I need one of these.

She looked up and agreed, "I may not have known him as a kid, but I was just thinking how William must be the little carbon copy of Monty." She considered now would be getting to a good time to explain some things about herself, but they were chatting and it would have to wait a little for a lull in the conversation.

"Don't get me started," Clara laughed. "Not only will I get myself in trouble with Montgomery, I shudder to think I might start soundin' like my mother." Her warm smile and the amusement in her eyes suggested that she feared no such thing; like her brother, she took after their father more than their mother. "Lucky for me, growin' up with Montgomery I've already got a head start in knowin' how to deal with Will."

She wasn't in any hurry to take Kevin back; in fact, she was rather enjoying having a moment to sit and not have to worry about holding onto him. He was old enough to have started crawling, and between him and Will it was next to impossible to keep them from getting into the middle of everything. "I'm just waiting to wake up one night an' find Will's gone and snuck out onto the roof. Too bright for his own good, that one."

Liz was in no rush to give Kevin back. She'd missed having children around. Part of her always wondered why she didn't go into childhood psychology. It would have made a hell of a lot more sense, actually. It would have been a 'soft' specialty though. Her father wouldn't have approved which is probably what stopped her in the first place. "I think Will is going to grow into an incredibly bright kid. He's definitely got a lot of spunk," she smirked.

The though of Monty out on the roof brought a smile to her face and she leaned back, holding onto Kevin and teasing him until he'd giggle. She smiled up at him. Yes, she needed one of these soon. Liz looked over at Clara and decided that now was probably as good a time as any to explain her telepathy. She settled Kevin in her arms and he seemed to get comfortable too.

"I've been meaning to tell you something, Clara," she started, her tone light, "Monty has known since we first had started dating and that was back when it was still developing, but I feel like I should tell you now that I have the opportunity to see you in person... I'm telepathic. It came on after some of the space travel started when I was stationed as a shrink for active Starfleet crews. I came on slowly at first and it's mostly come to probably the strongest it's going to be. Just to clarify before you freak out on me, I block out most thoughts. I don't sit hear and read people's minds. I am empathetic as well, but that's also under my control..." Liz looked a little worried for a second, unsure of how Clara was going to react.

Clara settled back against the couch, sipping at her tea as Liz told her there was something she'd been meaning to tell her. It was kind of odd, the way she started out talking about it... Something that Montgomery had known about, alright, that meant it couldn't be bad. And then... Telepathic. It didn't really register at first. She'd heard of telepathy in other beings, of course - Vulcans, who had touch-telepathy, and Betazoids, who were almost uncomfortably telepathic. But telepathy in humans?

"Huh," she said, after a moment, taking another long sip of her tea. "Well... As long as Montgomery's alright with it, I don't see any reason to worry about it." She gave Liz a smile, and added, "It makes a lot of sense, actually. You're good at hidin' it, but sometimes... Sometimes I wondered if you didn't know what Montgomery was thinkin' before he knew it."

That couldn't have gone any better. It was a flash back to how Monty first reacted. She'd told him and he was more concerned for her. Of course, Clara was so similar to her brother, it didn't really surprise her that she was understanding. Her comment about knowing what Monty was thinking, well, that made her laugh. "Yes, I do actually know what he's thinking before he says it and on occasion he will actually run thoughts by me first," she said with another laugh.

"It's not dangerous, it's not contagious. It's not much of anything other than something I've been spending the last five years learning how to control and understand. Monty's been a big help with that. It was hard for a long time because it wasn't like I was born with it and it isn't like my parents are this way. It was just me. It's got to do with esper ratings and anomalies and sciencey things that aren't important. I just wanted you to know because all the important people in my life should know... even though your parents don't know.. and neither do mine..." she trailed off.

"Oh, Liz," Clara sighed, resisting the urge to reach over and pet her hair. It was a mother thing, and seeing Liz looking a bit uncomfortable about talking about her telepathy, those instincts took over, even though Liz wasn't really that much younger than she was. "I'll keep it secret as long as you want me to, I promise." She settled for giving Liz a hug, and a reassuring smile. "But I can tell you right now that if it doesn't bother Montgomery, it won't bother Dad, though... I'd leave it to him to tell Mum, if I were you."

Clara gave her that look. The one that protective mothers give when they feel like their child is learning a lesson about something that won't matter years down the road. She hugged her in return. She knew that Clara wouldn't say anything, but it didn't hurt to mention it. "Thank you," she said, even though she was going to get scolded for thanking her at all. "I'm waiting to tell your parents because my parents don't know and we all know it would get back to them immediately," Liz laughed, though it was a sort of nervous sound. She looked down to Kevin and saw him drifting off. Liz smiled.

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject