Posted June 23, 2021, 3:45 p.m. by Civilian Micah Pikelsimer (Federation Security Agent) (James Sinclair)
Posted by Commander Shara Calloway (Chief Intelligence Officer) in Tennessee, Earth - Home Sweet Home
Posted by Civilian Micah Pikelsimer (Federation Security Agent) in Tennessee, Earth - Home Sweet Home
Posted by Commander Shara Calloway (Chief Intelligence Officer) in Tennessee, Earth - Home Sweet Home
Posted by… suppressed (1) by the Post Ghost! 👻(snip)
“Shara Calloway is who.” Micah said. “The woman who didn’t want to run away. The woman who wants to be here with me. Who wants to be a mom to her daughter. Who wants to stop being someone else. Thats who is here… the core of you. The rest? The part that wants to run, minimize exposure, keep a… oh what do the headshrinkers call it… oh yeah… a ‘healthy emotional distance’ between you and everything that’s going on… Sha, that’s the part of ya that’s still on the job. I get it… I really do. It’s so damn hard shutting that down. And you never can… not all the way. From here till whenever, some part of us is always gonna be working. But Sha…” and he put his hands on her shoulders and held her back so he could look right at her, the water streaming down his face as he looked directly into her eyes, “… you’ve earned your peace. You got your baby girl back. You got to say goodbye to your home finally. You got your life back, if just a bit… it’s still a start.” His voice caught slightly and his eyes grew red as he forced the emotion down to keep it from overwhelming him. “You got family now… you got people who love you. Not for who you were… but for who you are right now. Are you the same Shara Calloway who left the colony all those years ago? Hell no. S#!+, you aren’t the same Shara that stepped onto the Manhattan for the first time. But this one? This Sha that is standing here looking at me? I know that this is you. The one refusing to run. The one who done decided that she’s done running. The one that looked at her daughter and knew that she was on the right path… and who decided to walk it with her. That’s you, Sha. That’s who you are. I can see it. Faye can see it. Your new brussel sprout of a son can see it. What we all need is for you to see it. ‘Cause we do… and we think it’s amazing.”
It would be easy to blame the blurring of her vision on the falling water. There was tension in her body too, perhaps building from when he held her shoulders firmly and wove his words. She normally moved about with confidence, but all that was about her skills. Her as a person was still an enigma and she understood, at least a little, that she was only just starting to reveal herself.
He pulled her close to him again and put his hand on the back of her head and held her close. “I know you…” he said softly.
Micah
At first Shara didn’t know what was happening. her body was shaking, but it was more like she was heaving. Something hard would hold until it released and unbidden her body became wracked with sobs. Big hard silent sobs. Silent tears. It was’t a conscious thing to be so quiet. And such sobbing was the kind of ugly cry that usually was loud and drew attention. But for many reasons she didn’t bother looking for just then, she didn’t. Her body just wouldn’t stop shaking and through her nose she drew in air sharply from time to time as if breathing were something somehow forgotten.
~Shara
Micah held her close and then turned off the water. He lowered the glass wall and let the warm evening air wash over them. He slowly and gently lowered them both down so they were leaning against the stone wall of the shower, her cradled in his arms. He didn’t speak, didn’t move… he just held her to him and let her cry. Every so often, he would kiss her head and whisper softly “It’s okay, Sha… I got ya.” He stayed there, not moving, feeling her body tremble and shake against him. As the sun slowly faded, he watched fireflies blink in and out of the darkness between the trees.
Decades of pent up emotion had reached some sort of tipping point. Yes, she had worked through some of it because of her PTSD, but eve as she coped with the physical reactions of her body, Faye’s recent trauma reminded Shara how thin the line was for her. Yes her daughter was okay now. In fact, once could say Faye had experienced astonishing traumatic growth after recent events, but for Shara it had mentally placed her right back in that damned Tal Shiar facility. Helpless. Unspeakable torments being cast upon the child she had grown in her own body. It was too much , but even on the Manhattan as things had eased and everyone found new equilibrium, Shara’s own emotions where still playing catch-up. Apparently this was what it looked like.
After a while, as the shaking and tears began to slowly subside, he said softly “How ya doin’, love? Any better?”
Micah
She sniffed and snuggled in closer, nodding a little. It was like they had both agreed earlier. Lighter. She felt lighter. The weight of the emotions was gone even if she would have to work through their associations later. For now, it was best to just take the small steps. “A little,” she said softly. “A little tired now actually.” Shara lifted her head and shivered a little, her skin damp only where the air hadn’t caressed it. “I guess we should get dressed and go see if our dinner is ready,” she said quietly.
~Shara
“Now don’t you go worryin’ about that. I got ya.” Micah said softly. Slowly, gently, he stood up, lifting her against him until he was standing with her cradled against him. He walked her out of the bathroom and to the bed. He laid her gently down and pulled the covers up around her. “Wait right here. I’ll be right back.” He turned and walked towards the stairs, stopping at the dresser and pulling out a faded and well worn Fleet Marine Academy t-shirt. He tossed next to her and smiled. “Why don’t you cover up your more edible parts and I’ll get us some dinner.” and he winked and disappeared down the stairs.
A few minutes later, he came up carrying a tray. On it, two bowls of stew and a loaf of bread. Also, two jars of moonshine. He set it on the bed and took a seat at the foot, cross-legged and reached over and took the lids off the jars. “Have a drink, love. Might help. But go easy.”
Micah
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