[ She doesn't know if she can talk about it or not. She isn't ready to say it out loud to someone other than her parents. Bree knows she wants to, eventually. Right now, she can't. ]
I um...I don't think I'm ready to.
[ Not specifically, anyway. She'll tell him lesser things. ]
When you go back into stasis, it's like you were never here. You forget about all of this, being in space, Nadril. It's like stepping back into your life and you have no idea the world ended.
[ That's all a little confusing, like how one can go back to their old life and memories if the world doesn't exist anymore, but really, that's not what he cares about right now.
Something happened to her, something really bad, and he won't pry about what it was, he'll let her talk on her own terms when she's ready, but he wants to try and help if he can. ]
So when you went back to your life, something bad happened. [ Again, he doesn't ask, he just reaches out slowly, to rest a hand on her wrist, hoping that's okay. ] I'm sorry you had to go through that. You haven't been sleeping well, have you?
[ She tenses, but the touch is slow enough that at least she knows it's coming and she doesn't pull away. Looking down, she shakes her head. She knows she's sleeping because she wakes up from the nightmares. ]
No. It's um...it's bad dreams.
[ She stays away from 'nightmares' to downplay it, at least a little. ]
[ There are only a few possible things that could have happened to her that she wouldn't want to talk about, and that would make her tense a little from someone touching her. He hopes he's wrong, but if it's what he thinks it is, he's horrified on her behalf, and feels even more protective of her. He also pulls his hand back quickly, now that he knows touch isn't a comfort right now at all. He won't do that to her. ]
I'm no stranger to bad dreams, so I know the look.
I don't have them as much anymore, but I had a trick for how to get through them. I can show you?
Okay. One sec. [ He gets up from the bench, collecting a handful of small stones, holding them in his palm. ] So think about the people you're really, really close to. Like, when you're most afraid, the people you'd think about first. For me, when I was young, it was just my family: my brother, my three sisters, my mom and dad, and me. Seven altogether. So then I'd have a circle of objects, stones or buttons, whatever I had, and I'd point to each one and count out loud real slow. When I was older, I'd just count in my head a lot, but having something to point to kind of helps just...ground you.
So think of your people, take all the stones you need, and count. Sometimes you have to do it a lot, but it can calm you down.
[ Brianna listens to him and looks at the stones, then does a quick mental count before taking one and placing it in her own palm. ]
Mama.
[ She takes another. ]
Daddy.
[ Then another. ]
Da.
[ Another. ]
Fergus.
[ They're close here, even though she hadn't met him yet, in the past. After a moment of contemplation, Bree takes one more stone and places it in her palm. ]
[ Gently: ] You got it. It's perfect. So just hold onto those stones, and keep counting. [ He drops the rest of the stones back to the ground, leaning over a little and resting his arms on his knees. ]
Think you might be able to sleep? I'll walk you back to your room.
[ He's being so nice to her that she might cry. She's been so taken care of by her parents; to know someone else would without even knowing what's wrong is making her chest tight, and she blurts out a truth. ]
I traveled back in time, Luke.
[ He deserves to know that part at least. An answer to a question unasked. ]
I don't know how to explain the way it's done. But I did. My mother has too, and I was trying to find her. I went from the 20th century to the 18th while I was in stasis.
[ She has no idea what it all means, how it's possible, if it was all in her head, if it really even happened. It feels real. God, all of it felt real. But how could it be if the world ended? ]
[ He'd been wondering (based on how she's dressed), but it felt like totally the wrong time to ask. At least she's explained, though the answer sort of spawns more questions in his mind. ]
So you...you went back in time to find your mom because she traveled back in time, too, and you were there - [ and something terrible happened ] - but then you woke up here again.
That's...wow. [ He takes a breath, just processing it. ] How does it work? How did you know it would work, when you went to find her?
[ This is easier to talk about. Something different that has nothing to do with being attacked. ]
I knew because my mother did it on purpose. The third time. It's...I don't know if it's magic or science, Luke. But she fell through time from the 1940s to the 1740s. She came back three years later and then went back twenty years later. To find the love of her life.
[ It doesn't sting so bad to say that now, not now that she's met Jamie and seen them together. It hurt fresh off of Frank's death. Now Brianna can see it's true. ]
I followed her because I read something from a newspaper. That there was going to be an accident. I knew it would work, and that I had to find her, to warn her.
[ This sounds complex and confusing, but he believes her; of course he does. ]
So she went through time, fell in love with someone, went back to the 1940s, and then went back to him twenty years later. Got it. [ He just had to say it out loud to make sure he was following. ] You followed her to keep her and that guy she went back for safe. [ And that's incredible of Brianna. Not knowing how any of that even worked, she took a huge risk, doing something she knew little about just to try and keep her family safe. That tells him everything he needs to know about her. ]
You're a pretty incredible person. [ He smiles just a little. ] So when you said "daddy" and "da" before - that's because of all this timeline stuff?
The man who raised me knew I wasn't his. Because my biological father was in the past. My da is a Scotsman. There was a war and he was afraid for my mother's safety. She was pregnant with me and married to my daddy in the 20th century. So my da sent her back. He thought he would die and they were both giving me my best chance.
[ She's never really talked it out like this before and it's odd to say out loud. ]
It sounds like...a lot. I mean, it must have been a lot to take in when you found out about all this? But not crazy. [ Shit. Who's he to talk about crazy, considering his past? ]
Just so I've got it right in my head: your mom's here. Your...da - the Scottish guy - he's here. Your dad who raised you, he's - is he in stasis?
[ Now, they are. They weren't, for a while, and that was all his fault. ]
So all of this - here - this is all kind of normal compared to your life back there, huh? [ He teases just a little, seeing if he can get another smile from her, even a tiny one. ]
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I um...I don't think I'm ready to.
[ Not specifically, anyway. She'll tell him lesser things. ]
When you go back into stasis, it's like you were never here. You forget about all of this, being in space, Nadril. It's like stepping back into your life and you have no idea the world ended.
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Something happened to her, something really bad, and he won't pry about what it was, he'll let her talk on her own terms when she's ready, but he wants to try and help if he can. ]
So when you went back to your life, something bad happened. [ Again, he doesn't ask, he just reaches out slowly, to rest a hand on her wrist, hoping that's okay. ] I'm sorry you had to go through that. You haven't been sleeping well, have you?
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No. It's um...it's bad dreams.
[ She stays away from 'nightmares' to downplay it, at least a little. ]
Do I look that bad?
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I'm no stranger to bad dreams, so I know the look.
I don't have them as much anymore, but I had a trick for how to get through them. I can show you?
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Show me. I'll take anything that might help me sleep right now.
[ Since her mother conveniently has nothing. ]
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So think of your people, take all the stones you need, and count. Sometimes you have to do it a lot, but it can calm you down.
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Mama.
[ She takes another. ]
Daddy.
[ Then another. ]
Da.
[ Another. ]
Fergus.
[ They're close here, even though she hadn't met him yet, in the past. After a moment of contemplation, Bree takes one more stone and places it in her palm. ]
Me. That's five. Is it enough?
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Think you might be able to sleep? I'll walk you back to your room.
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I traveled back in time, Luke.
[ He deserves to know that part at least. An answer to a question unasked. ]
I don't know how to explain the way it's done. But I did. My mother has too, and I was trying to find her. I went from the 20th century to the 18th while I was in stasis.
[ She has no idea what it all means, how it's possible, if it was all in her head, if it really even happened. It feels real. God, all of it felt real. But how could it be if the world ended? ]
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So you...you went back in time to find your mom because she traveled back in time, too, and you were there - [ and something terrible happened ] - but then you woke up here again.
That's...wow. [ He takes a breath, just processing it. ] How does it work? How did you know it would work, when you went to find her?
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I knew because my mother did it on purpose. The third time. It's...I don't know if it's magic or science, Luke. But she fell through time from the 1940s to the 1740s. She came back three years later and then went back twenty years later. To find the love of her life.
[ It doesn't sting so bad to say that now, not now that she's met Jamie and seen them together. It hurt fresh off of Frank's death. Now Brianna can see it's true. ]
I followed her because I read something from a newspaper. That there was going to be an accident. I knew it would work, and that I had to find her, to warn her.
no subject
So she went through time, fell in love with someone, went back to the 1940s, and then went back to him twenty years later. Got it. [ He just had to say it out loud to make sure he was following. ] You followed her to keep her and that guy she went back for safe. [ And that's incredible of Brianna. Not knowing how any of that even worked, she took a huge risk, doing something she knew little about just to try and keep her family safe. That tells him everything he needs to know about her. ]
You're a pretty incredible person. [ He smiles just a little. ] So when you said "daddy" and "da" before - that's because of all this timeline stuff?
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But she nods, smiling just a little. ]
The man who raised me knew I wasn't his. Because my biological father was in the past. My da is a Scotsman. There was a war and he was afraid for my mother's safety. She was pregnant with me and married to my daddy in the 20th century. So my da sent her back. He thought he would die and they were both giving me my best chance.
[ She's never really talked it out like this before and it's odd to say out loud. ]
I know it all sounds crazy.
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Just so I've got it right in my head: your mom's here. Your...da - the Scottish guy - he's here. Your dad who raised you, he's - is he in stasis?
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You've got it. My brother is here and awake, too. Fergus. He's adopted, before I was even born but we're close.
[ Even though they hadn't met before Bree awoke from stasis. ]
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[ Now, they are. They weren't, for a while, and that was all his fault. ]
So all of this - here - this is all kind of normal compared to your life back there, huh? [ He teases just a little, seeing if he can get another smile from her, even a tiny one. ]
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[ He does get that little smile he was looking for, and then some. ]
Totally normal, Luke.
[ She looks at him with a face full of gratitude. ]
This feels normal.
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We'll find a little piece of normal in all of this. You helped me a lot when I first got here, you know. So if I can help you, too, I will.
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[ She's teasing, and even smiles a little again before looking at him seriously. ]
You're helping. A lot.
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[ He smiles gently back at her, resisting the chance to squeeze her wrist. ]
I'm glad I can help, though.
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[ Bree looks down at the stones in her hand, closing her fist around them before looking back at him. ]
Walk me back?
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If this doesn't help much and you can't sleep, call me, okay?
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[ She looks over at him as the walk, eyes moving over his face. ]
Have you decided where you want to live once we can leave Nadril? Olympia or Wyver?
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[ She smiles a little warmly to herself, then looks ahead as they walk. ]
It's big. A mansion, I guess my mother does really well for herself as a doctor here.
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