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Harland quarters - Where in the universe is Molly Kendrick

Posted Jan. 30, 2020, 12:28 a.m. by Ensign Chloe Harland (Nurse) (Kate O'Neill)

Posted by Lieutenant Nathan Harland (Counselor) in Harland quarters - Where in the universe is Molly Kendrick

Posted by Ensign Chloe Harland (Nurse) in Harland quarters - Where in the universe is Molly Kendrick

Posted by Civilian Aedan Teller (Owner/CEO of OMAP Industries) in Harland quarters - Where in the universe is Molly Kendrick
Posted by… suppressed (3) by the Post Ghost! 👻
SNIP

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1000 hours the next day
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Chloe rubbed her eyes trying to massage the ache out. She had been on the phone since three am with her family in Connecticut. The first call had been to Nicole. Kevin and several other of her family members were out looking for Molly so Chloe was able to tell her sister in law Molly was at least safe. Whatever went on between Molly and her mother had not lasted long. Chloe had closed her eyes for thirty minutes before the calls started coming in: her mother, her sister Delaney, her brother Thomas, and the list kept coming until Nate cut the line at five-thirty am pointing out that Molly’s parents knew she was safe, had talked to her, and they could call back at a decent hour after they knew something. By six-thirty am Logan and Mara were up for the day which meant so was Chloe. Breakfast was a disaster with Molly going between crying to anxious about having to go with Nate to Delta Shuttles. Nate had left close to when the kids got up to talk to whoever he needed to in order to help their niece. By seven-thirty am Chloe quit for the day. Logan had been sent to school and Mara was curled up on the couch watching some mind-numbing cartoon about Paulie Pulsar and his Band of Celestial Friends who saved the day. Chloe thought she had been free but by eight am her sister had called once again.

“Meredith I had no idea she was coming here,” Chloe growled for the tenth time rolling her eyes, Nodding her head she moved to the cabinet pulling out her bottle. The dosage on the bottle was ten mg so she could take up to eight a day according to the maximum daily limit. Since she had built up a tolerance she had pushed a few more mg from time to time but that was when she was alone. With Nathan here, she tried to cut back and some days she was able. Today was not looking good though to hit the sixty mg mark. Popping two pills in her mouth Chloe spoke between sips of coffee to wash them down.

“Why are you blaming me,” Chloe yelled into the comm feeling her anger rising. Picking up the remote for the TV she turned it up to give her some privacy. Even though Mara was too little to understand any of this, Chloe didn’t like to fight when she could avoid it in front of the kids.

“Because if you had just stayed here Molly would have listened to you and not run halfway across the galaxy to find you. You know that is why she went there so don’t act stupid. She lived with you all last year. She got close to you and you left her,” Meredith snapped back.

Entering their quarters Nathan came in with Molly behind him as he perched himself in the doorway as Chloe talked, to whom he thought had to be Merridith. The room itself was loud as he could see Mara dancing to some cartoon on the screen as only a two-year-old could. Leaning into Molly he whispered in her ear as he placed his hand on her back to head to the room with Mara. She had been very quiet since the whole ordeal and seemed to rather just sit silently than say any counter. Looking back over at Chloe it was clear she hadn’t seen either of them yet, her back turned and her attention clearly on the call.

“Meredith I left because I was a mess there. I needed to get my head back on straight and to try and fix things with Nate,” Chloe tossed the dishrag she was fiddling with across the kitchen.

“No, you left because things got tough. You had no idea Nathan was even stationed there so don’t give me that malarky. You ran away and that taught Molly it was okay to run away,” Meredith began to unload all her pent up feelings onto her sister.

“I am going to hang up in about ten seconds. You are not going to blame me for what Molly did,” Chloe began to pace the room moving things from one place to another trying to dispell all her nervous energy in the inanimate objects.

“Someone has to. Everything she had done is because of you. She got hooked up with some musician like you,”

“Nathan is a psychiatrist,” Chloe yelled throwing a pillow across the room.

“Who was in a band and can’t keep a job which shows,” Meredith spat out angrily. How her sister was so blind to all of this was making her crazy. Chloe was the only one who married a rebel which had so many repercussions on the family. Why Chloe couldn’t see this astounded Meredith and she was bound and determined to show Chloe the error of his ways.

Nathan couldn’t help but smirk a bit as he kept listening, moving from the archway he sat down right behind Chloe, her complete focus on the call seemed to keep his presence completely silent as he reached forward grabbing an Apple as he began to bite into as he listened to all of Merridths points about him. He couldn’t help but smirk to himself at the absurdity of all but it was good for entertainment value.

“Whoa whoa whoa you need to back that bus up. Nathan,” Chloe started immediately defensive. Part of Meredith’s issue with Nathan was that even when Chloe was trying to force him to divorce her Nathan refused. Meredith was divorcing husband number four and just plain jealous that after all Chloe and Nate had gone through, he was still standing by his wife and refusing to give Chloe the divorce she kept screaming she wanted. Chloe tried to remember this but at times with Meredith it was hard.

“Joined Starfleet, quit Starfleet, got a degree, quit that degree and oh joined Starfleet again,” Meredith continued on her tirade. “He didn’t even tell you, left with a month after the baby was born. Do you realize how that makes our family look,” Meredith grumbled?

“No, but I am sure you are about to tell me,” Chloe stared longingly at the bottle of booze on the shelf. If she wasn’t pregnant, she would down the entire thing.

“It shows that you are unstable. You need to be home with the people that know how to take care of you. You need to be a role model for your niece who frankly,”

Nathan put down the apple which was half eaten as he put his feet down as he slid out from the chair as he walked over to Chloe as he wrapped one arm around as he turned her gently around as he lifted one finger to his lips to try and keep her quiet as he took the communicator from her hand. “Meredith… I really think you need to consider that the next time you wish to complain about our family, that you have been married four times… and if I understand what Nicole said you have been dating three guys right now at the same time, and you left your kids with Drew and Jen during Christmas to go skiing with one of them… I think it’s a cry for help… my father is nearby and I think he would love to get into that head of you and find what little remains of a brain, but for right now kindly stay the hell away from my family.” Nathan said as he clicked the comm call off as he tossed it onto the dinner table.

“And you wonder why she doesn’t like you,” Chloe said looking at her phone and then her husband. The statement was false. Her family loved Nathan’s humor and family-oriented nature. What they hated was that he was the only ‘outlaw’ that didn’t seem to know his place or role when they wanted to assert it on him. Chloe though loved Nathan’s to the point nature. He might at times said things a little less blunt but he was always honest in his appraisals of the situations.

“She loves when I give free medication… that’s when she loves me,” he said as he shook his head at the notion of every truly being liked by her.

“Now…” Nathan said as he pulled Chloe fully into his arms as he wrapped them around her, leaning in to kiss her deeply before separating slowly as he had an innate desire to linger in her arms before heading into the living room. “Computer turn shows volume down by 40%,” he said as he took a deep breath. Looking over at Molly he couldn’t help but noticed her snickering slightly, clearly enjoying Nathan’s brash approach to her aunt.

Mid-dance Mara looked over spying her Daddy. While she loved him visiting, she wasn’t particularly thrilled with the way he hogged the TV or controlled the volume. Recently her mommy had created ‘get nuts’ as she called it which was a wonderful game w her mommy turned the TV really really loud. Then she, Logan, and Mommy danced around until they didn’t have any energy left. Usually, the game was played before a nap when Mara felt particularly rambunctious.

“Oh you finding it funny miss, half of this is your fault… but you are cute and I will excuse like 30% of it,” he said with a small wink before he could feel the tugging of Mara down at his leg as he kneeled down to lift her up.

“I like your math,” Molly said leaning back on the couch kicking off one shoe then the other into a pile at the end of the couch. Leaning back she began to text one of her friends that had been blowing her up the entire meeting with Delta Shuttles.

Putting her hands on either side of Nathan’s face she pressed her nose to his. Her eyes were going cross-eyed as she tried to look at him but was lacking the fine motor skills to do it. *No dad dee,” she said trying to scold him for turning down her show. He used that word so much she was realizing whenever she was having fun. “I dance,” she did a little hip wiggle in his arms in an attempt to show him what she wanted.

“Oh, you dance do you? You can dance if you want to… you can even leave you, friends, behind, cause if they don’t dance then they’re no friends of mine.” Nathan said, the line from the old Earth song clearly not resonating with Mara or Molly as both seemed to stare at him like he had a second head.

“And what do you think buttercup, how have you been?” he asked as he gave her raspberries on her cheek as bursts of giggling came out. “You been good for mommy?” he asked as he stopped the raspberries as he flopped down on the couch next to Molly and placed Mara on his lap. Looking over at Chloe he gave a small reassuring wink, he wanted her to feel secure, she needed that just as much as the kids.

Nathan Harland

Chloe made three cups of coffee and brought them to Nate and Molly. “Just so you know, without caffeine this isn’t doing much,” she set one on the table next to him, handed Molly hers and then curled up in the chair across from her husband and Molly.

Seeing the coffee Mara stuck out her pudgy hands opening and closing them rapidly saying “cuppa pah tee.” Sending Nate a look indicating he was not moving fast enough she wiggled some as if the motion would get the cup closer to her hands.

“Cuppa pah tee?” Nathan asked as he squinted as he tried to figure out just what she needed.

Her comment made Chloe laugh out loud as she sipped her own cup. “Here Mara,” Molly clapped her hands grabbing Mara’s attention. “You can have some of mine. Uncle Nate’s is yucky.”

“Oh, we are giving her coffee now? Is that it?” he asked as he couldn’t help but smile softly as he kissed Mara’s cheek.

“But she and I had cuppa coffee parties,” Molly laughed looking at Mara’s confused expression as she looked back and forth between Nate and Molly. “There was far more milk and sugar in it than coffee,” she explained to her Uncle. “The people at Starbucks loved her. Mara what so we ask for at Starbucks,” Molly said in a high pitched happy tone.

“Mah me ma toes,” Mara threw her hands up in the air like it was a football touchdown but then pointed to her feet as she wiggled her toes. Suddenly it became clear. Maybe this was better than a cuppa pah tee. Maybe they were going to have a mah me ma toes party. Those were the best. The drinks had whipped cream all over them and Molly always asked for extra whipped cream for hers.

“Mojitos? What kind of parties are you two having?” he asked as his eyes widened as he looked over at Chloe.

Nate’s reaction caused both Chloe and Molly to break out laughing. Molly even let out a few snorts as she tried to get herself under control as Chloe held the cup out from her body as to not spill it from her hysterics. “Macchiato,” Chloe finally managed to get the words out translating for her daughter. “Jeeze Nate, who would give a two-year-old a mojito?”

“Well she can’t sleep sometimes, mint helps with stomach aches, might be worth a shot if we need her to settle down sometime,” Nathan said with a smirk as he kissed Mara once more as he cuddled up with her on the couch.

Nathan Harland

“Speaking of sleep,” Molly stood up. “I am going to go crash in Logan’s room. I am exhausted.” Not waiting for any reply, Molly moved back towards the bedroom at a rapid pace. At some point, they were going to want to do the whole talking thing and Molly had had enough of that with her parents.

“After we talk okay,” Chloe said stopping Molly before she ever cleared the living area. “Can you come back and sit down please,” Chloe asked turned her body so that she could see her niece. The tension in Molly’s shoulders Chloe knew very well. It was the oh snot feeling you had when you were a teen and your parents wanted to talk.

Molly debated her options. After three seconds she realized she had no options but to come back and sit down. Aunts and Uncles were surrogate parents that loved and took care of you. They were also the people that tended to tell you to get your stuff in order faster than your parents. Slowly turning around she slid her phone into her back pocket and walked back into her living room. She had no idea what to say or do until she saw it. Mara curled up in a ball on Nathan’s nap yawning and sitting still. Glancing at the time, Molly let out a deep sigh of relief. It was almost eleven-thirty which was almost ninety minutes later than her nap was supposed to be. “Okay, Aunt Chloe but let me put Mara to bed for you. If we don’t then she can wake up and it will be annoying to stop talking.” She didn’t wait for a response but just reacted. Molly moved over to the couch scooping Mara up in her arms out of Nate’s lap.

Moving rapidly down the hall Molly slipped into Mara’s bedroom and closed the door.

Chloe

Nathan watched as Molly closed the door then looked back at Chloe. “She does know we can open the doors right?” he asked aloud as he looked like he had just seen one of the dumbest acts he had ever seen. “I mean it’s not like we are more than twenty steps away,” he added with an eye roll as he got up from his chair as he made his way to the door as he stepped in front of it, only to find it locked.

“Nicole and Kevin like to respect her privacy. A locked room is considered a safe space,” Chloe called out turning in her seat. She knew her husband would cringe at the word but it was the galaxy they lived in.

“I love Nicole, she is wonderful and I have nothing but respect for her… Kevin maybe less so… but safe spaces are for people who have no clue on how to control a child and understand that every once and awhile you need to be their parent, not their BFF.” Nathan said with an eye roll at the very notion.

“Molly, you do know I have command access this room as Chief Counselor of the Outpost… so if I have to enter my command codes to enter I am going to be very angry and start thinking we need to get you back home much quicker…” Nathan said as leaned up against the door. “You have ten seconds.”

Nathan Harland

“Yes but like Aunt Chloe said and you say all the time when you need a time out you should take one. I need to reset and restore myself. It has been so much stuff and I need a nap like really bad okay,” she said. Her tone wasn’t defiant but calm as she closed her eyes and hoped Nathan would except her response. All his years of being a therapist and knowing his niece, he would also hear the hint of nervousness in her voice. Molly leaned against the wall holding her breath.

“Kevin has taken to Tao-Vulcan mediation to cope with the stress. They are part-time vegans, she mouthed to him. When things were good, Nathan didn’t stay up on his inlaws. He had always liked the spouses far more. Over the past year, Nathan was out of the loop on so much. She raised her hand lost as to what to do.

Chloe

“Molly, I love you… and I love you are here… but we are not your parents. If you wanna stay here, you are going to open this door and come in here, least you want to go back in armed escort back home.” Nathan said, no emotion in his voice as he looked back at Chloe.

Chloe opened her mouth and then closed it. This was new territory for her. They had little kids and her only experience with older ones was watching how her siblings handed them. By default or maybe innate skill, Nathan’s practice seemed to center more and more around kids. She had to defer to him at least this go around. They always presented a united from with Logan and Mara so Molly could be no different.

“So… you have ten seconds, or I will make the choice… 10… 9… 8… 7.”

Nathan Harland

“What,” Molly opened the door immediately. She did not believe a word of what her Uncle Nathan said but she was also not willing to press her luck with that belief. “When you were gone, Aunt Molly and I shared taking care of the kids. It’s Mara’s nap time. I was just trying to help out,” she flopped on the couch putting her feet on the coffee table. Picking up her phone she flipped through the messages that were coming through. “What do you want to know,” she kept her eyes down at the screen not reading anything she was pretending she was.

‘Well I had a long talk with your mom,” Chloe said softly raising a finger to Nathan. She wasn’t sure where Nathan’s head was right now. She hadn’t spent the morning with Delta Shuttles. Molly would get her nap in a bit so that she and Nathan could talk. Right now, Chloe needed to get Molly’s side of things.

“How was old Nicole and Kevin,” Molly rolled her eyes.

“Worried about you,” Chloe took a deep breath. “You wanna tell me your version,” she took a long sip of her coffee. Chloe was not Nate. She wasn’t a therapist or a doctor but she was a mother and a nurse. Both of those job titles got her more information than Nate was privy to at times. She studied her niece. The way Molly was blowing off her and Nathan wasn’t because Molly was one hundred percent annoyed with her aunt and uncle. It was more of a ninety ten split with ninety embarrassed about the topics about to come up and ten with being annoyed by her family. Molly wouldn’t look up but continued to scan her phone waiting for Chloe to lead the conversation. Knowing Nate’s no phone policy in therapy, Chloe decided to warn Molly up front. “It would help if you put your phone down honey. It makes it easier to talk and concentrate.” As if to back up what she was saying, Chloe set her phone on the coffee table.

“Wait you are serious,” Molly looked at Chloe like she had just announced the most outlandish fact. Seeing Chloe’s phone on the table made Molly uneasy. Without the phone, there was no shield to hide behind or ways to pass messages back and forth. That was how things were done. Glancing at her Uncle Nate, Molly wasn’t sure what to do. For years she had texted him during family gatherings complaining about this or that and he had always responded. Most of the time it was to remind her she was a kid and to stay out of adult grumps. Other times it was a bump to play him in the Yahtzee game they shared.

“Just for now okay. Uncle Nate and I have a lot of talking to do but is the stuff true,” she looked at Molly and then down at the table.

“Ugh,” she tossed her phone down groaning loudly. “Which parts,” Molly said getting defensive. Crossing her arms over her chest she stared at Chloe. Molly chewed the inside of her cheek trying to dispell some of her nervous energy. Her Aunt was going to push this probably farther than she wanted.

“Well, we can start with why were you running away from home. Baby your parents love you. Grandma and Grandpa love you. Aunt Meredith loves you even though she can be totally crazy,” Chloe leaned back laughing. As much as she loved her sister, Meredith could really push her buttons. It was the first thing she bonded with Molly over on an adult level.

“Tell me about it. Did you see her last Immediagram post,” Molly picked up her phone and circled around next to Chloe’s chair. Scrolling through the shots she stopped on Meredith’s most recent post about love and the strength of a woman not needing a man which was followed up by the announcement of her being in a relationship. “Nothing is more pathetic than posting all your personal drama on Immediagram yet claiming you are no drama llama zone,” Molly said. “And then she lectures me on how it looks to the family when,”

“Wait! Go back,” Chloe tapped the images trying to move back a few.

“Why,” Molly laughed pulling the phone away laughing. She knew exactly what Chloe had seen and was red-cheeked with embarrassment. Swinging the phone out of Chloe’s reach, her aunt grabbed the back of Molly’s shirt pulling her down in the chair with her so that Molly’s legs draped over the edge.

“What did that say about Uncle Nate,” she laughed. Regardless of what happened to get Molly here, this felt good. Chloe was laughing and happy. Pulling the phone towards her she read the post. “Number one hottest Uncle ever!” read the caption in bold with a picture of Nathan giving a smoldering side glance.

Molly couldn’t stop laughing. “You have no idea how much fun I get made of over this. I took that when he was looking at you at that barbecue two summers ago. I had both of you in it but Diana cropped it out. Now all the girls are begging for where he practices. You have no idea how embarrassing it is to be known as the hot rocker shrinks niece. I mean he is....Uncle Nate,” Molly pretended to let a shiver of revulsion run down her spine as she laughed.

Chloe


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