Absurd (AU, takes place during Scout's Nonce)

[nepheliad.livejournal.com]

Rating: G
Word Count: A wee little 663
Characters: Bradley and Kathryn, mentions of Isibél, Jordan and Ian amongst others
Summary: AU. "Deleted scene" from Nonce, as much as it can be counted as a 'deleted scene' since I didn't actually write the original story. So not really a deleted scene. But this is what could have been going on with the people who got left behind by the adventurers.

It had been four days.

It had only been four days, but that didn't matter -- it had been four days, and all he could do was worry. Worry and fret and wonder where they had gone.

At the very beginning, it had only been worry for Isibél; only a fear of where she had gone and what had happened to her. And then it had been too long since he'd heard from Jordan Feely, who he'd rung up to see if he knew anything, and a call to Margaret Carey told him very little but that Ian was also missing.

Missing but safe, she had said.

Mrs. Carey knew where they were, or if not where they were exactly, what they were doing. But she wasn't about to tell him, or maybe the children (it felt wrong to think of Jordan as a child, and Ish and Ian weren't much of children, and Ian's cousin Finnegan wasn't any more a child than Jordan was, but to some degree Jordan and Isibél were his children and always would be) hadn't told her anything because they knew he would eventually ring her up and ask questions. So maybe she had really told him all she knew.

He didn't blame her.

There was something not right about Justin, and something not right about Mrs. Dagby, and while Bradley didn't know exactly what either something was, he wasn't blind or deaf or an idiot either way. Something was very wrong, and he wanted Isibél away from it.

Maybe he wasn't meant to play favorites, but on the other hand, he had to. He'd always been there for her, and kept her safe with him the way he hadn't with others. He was an advocate for others. He was loving family for her. Maybe the first unconditionally loving family she'd had -- he didn't know. He thought, though he couldn't be certain, he was the only father figure she'd had. Enough psychology classes had made him feel that way (there were certain things in the way she acted around him when very young that gave the idea she hadn't spent much time around adult men some credo) but he could never have been sure.

It didn't change the fact that either way he loved her, and knew that she loved him. And he loved Jordan, too, though the love was somewhat different. More brotherly than paternal, these days.

"I told you we should have adopted her." Kathryn's voice, soft, broke the silence. She had come in with tea. Her hands were shaking as she set the tray down on the table -- Bradley caught one of them up in his.

"She might have a family, somewhere," he reminded her.

"Maybe she'll find them."

"Katie --" That's absurd died on his lips. So many things Isibél did were absurd. So many things Kathryn did were absurd. People who wrote stories, Bradley thought, had a general tendency toward absurdity.

He didn't love either of them any less.

"What?"

"I don't think she'd be looking for them." If she'd had a family they hadn't really tried to find her, had they? And she was old enough to have mentioned them if she'd wanted to be with them. She'd never mentioned a family.

"Well -- fine." Kathryn, not knowing any better than Bradley (who didn't know any better himself), gave up. "But -- we have to find her, you know. We have to find her."

"She's strong." And not by herself. "And not alone. She's got Jordan and Ian and a couple of other boys with her."

Kathryn lit up just the slightest little bit, and offered, "Maybe Ian's realized what he's got by now, then."

"What?"

"They're in love with each other. Did you miss that? I don't think Ish did. But I think Ian did."

Bradley sighed, and pinched the bridge of his nose, face hidden in the palm of his hand, and shook his head.

Of all the things she would say, in all the situations.

And that applied to them both.

Comments

[rimestock.livejournal.com]

... ilu Kathryn! ♥

(So does your man, of course. He thinks that the two of them, although I'm not sure if he means himself or Bradley along with Kathryn, would have made lovely parents for Ish, if she'd wanted or needed them, and also that Mrs. Dagby – from every story he's heard, however many that is, more likely from Bradley via Kathryn than anywhere else, unless possibly he got to know one of Mrs. Dagby's neighbors, or even Mr Dagby – uh, I lost my point.

That Mrs Dagby is creepy and needs to never be around children ever again, maybe.)

Or maybe Mrs. Dagby just needs to be eaten by a bear.

BUT EITHER WAY, I think Michael bought Bradley a new tin of tea or something and refrained from being blatantly sexual with Kathryn in his presence for, like, a whole week, to express the fact that he's worried, too, and wants Bradley to relax a little.

(And then, probably, that got to the point where he was overheard talking about hiring Bradley an escort to get him to relax, and then there was a big argument, and things were back to normal...)

[chimbleysweep]

Won't he be excited when Jordan returns with some very odd news of fathers. And then Ish comes back a few months later looking like miss sailor with her cigar-smoking, Irish father in tow.

BASICALLY PRECIOUS.