James brought over the omelettes, setting one down in front of her. "Surprised the girl isn't up yet, actually. She's not one to miss out on a meal too often," he said, shrugged, then took a seat next to Chloe.
"I should thank her; it was most kind to lend that blanket," Chloe stated, then, hungry as she was, she began eating rather hastily. Soon she caught herself and slowed down to eat more politely.
Finished, she stood up and put her plate next to the sink. She then looked back at Lambert, who was still eating. Sitting back down at the table, she said, "Thanks again for the meal, James. I enjoyed the omelette."
"You see what your knowledge tells you you're seeing. ... how, what you think the universe is, and how you react to that in everything you do, depends on what you know. And when that knowledge changes, for you, the universe changes. And that is as true for the whole of society as that is for the individual. We all are what we know, today. What we knew yesterday, was different; and so were we."
- James Burke, The Day the Universe Changed (1985)
"Yeah..." Lambert said, suddenly wondering about something. "Like I said, I'm surprised she's not up yet."
He shrugged, finishing the last bite of his omelette and glanced up as Chloe thanked him and took her plate to the sink.
"Glad you liked it, Chloe," he said, but then something on the table caught his eye and he didn't say anything else.
It was a small folded piece of paper, set off to the side on the other side of the table, so he hadn't noticed it before. On the front "James" was written in small letters.
He snatched it up and opened it.
Quote:James,
I will be home soon...... I'm going to see Buster.
- Pita
His blood froze in his veins, and he stared down at the note for a long moment, unable to comprehend what he was reading.
Finally, he came to a decision. It wasn't really a decision, even, considering he had little choice in the matter. He stood up, abruptly, crumpling the paper and shoving it into his pocket.
"I... uh... need to go..." he said to Chloe, who glanced at him with raised eyebrows from the sink.
He stepped out of the room quickly, and went up to grab a few things from his room. The most important of these, of course, was his sidearm.
He was back in the living room, and about to head straight for the hanger, but then paused, remembering Chloe was here.
"I'm sorry, Chloe," he called to her. "You can... uh... make yourself at home while I'm gone."
While Lambert ran about collecting his things, Chloe was overcome by another inexplicable feeling: worry. She stood up, but felt so dreadful inside that she quickly sat back down again. "Why do these feelings persist?" she thought, "I could've sworn that it was the wine from last night, but no. What's going on?"
Finally he yelled out, "I'm sorry, Chloe! You can... uh... make yourself at home while I'm gone."
"I... take care, James!" responded Chloe, a bit perplexed. She then heard a door slam, and he was gone. Chloe finished her orange juice, thinking, "Make myself at home... yet I must also check Veilleur." A minute passed, and she heard the engines of his Guardian turn on, then fly away.
"You see what your knowledge tells you you're seeing. ... how, what you think the universe is, and how you react to that in everything you do, depends on what you know. And when that knowledge changes, for you, the universe changes. And that is as true for the whole of society as that is for the individual. We all are what we know, today. What we knew yesterday, was different; and so were we."
- James Burke, The Day the Universe Changed (1985)
James Lambert walked through the underbrush that had grown in thick over the months since he'd last been to this place. Despite the roughness of the yard, the house itself still looked just as he'd left it.
Still fine on the outside, but missing its soul within. A reflection of its owner, I suppose.
He pushed aside some tall weeds and stepped up to the front door. His keycard had been lost quite some time ago, but he still remembered the master passcode.
After a moment's hesitation, he reached up and tkeyed it into the panel next to the door. The door clicked as it unlocked and the security system shut down.
He was mildly surprised. Thing still works.
As he stepped into the front room, he was immediately taken back in time. He remembered many of the joyous times he'd had in this room, back when life had seemed like it might actually turn out right.
The housewarming party, when the presence of many of his close friends and colleagues had first brought life and warmth to this place...
Most of them are dead or gone now... such people will never grace this forsaken place with their presence again.
The night Baker had visited, and he and Pita had convinced her to eat spaghetti and play a board game with them...
Pita's gone now, and Baker's the Fleet Admiral - not to mention incredibly disappointed in me.
And finally, the night before he'd left Liberty. The night Chloe had come to shelter here after the Nomad had attacked them...
Odds are I'll never see Chloe again, and she must distrust me so very much.
Yes, the ghosts in this place were real for him. It was just too much for him, the reminder of all the ways he'd failed over the past few months. Draper, his psychologist, had been right. He needed to put these ghosts to rest if he wanted to move on with his life.
And yet, weren't ghosts of the happy past still better than the sheer emptiness that had gripped him for the past months? Could he fix this place and somehow fix himself too?
He exhaled slowly in a long sigh, staring at the room lit by the door standing open behind him. He stood there, casting a long shadow over the room for what felt like an eternity, and then he finally spoke to the resounding emptiness that filled the house.
James set his Guardian down on the pad opposite Pita's, and did not hesitate to pop the hatch and climb out. When he saw Pita was hesitating, he smiled up to her and gestured for her to come and see the house.
She nodded, climbing out of her ship. She walked across to where he stood and, without thinking about it, wrapped her arms around him in a hug. He smiled, hugging her back and feeling as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders.
When she stepped back, he gestured over to the house. "So, here we are, kiddo. Just like we left it... aside from the weeds. Don't worry, I'll get rid of those soon."
She nodded and looked around. "It looks a little forgotten about," she said quietly before starting to walk towards the house.
"Yeah..." he said as they walk up to the front door. "Tends to happen when you live in the woods and leave for a while. But like I said, we'll get it fixed up again."
As they stepped up to the front door, Lambert reached out and keyed in the master code. The door unlocked.
Pita nodded. "I can help... or pretend I can help." She shrugged before stepping inside.
Pita had a look around the room, brushing some of the dust off things with her hand before eventually curling up on her usual chair. She grinned, now having trouble containing her excitement. "I really, really can stay again? And you don't mind if I do?"
He beamed, for it warmed his heart seeing her back in her favorite chair. "You belong here, Pita. I wouldn't want it any other way." He glanced around for a long moment, surprised how the presence of another particular person could so completely change the way he viewed a place. Then he took a seat across from her.
She closed her eyes for a moment before opening them again and looking across at James. She nodded, obviously happy with whatever she was thinking.
"Happy to be back?" he paused for a moment, then adds, "Want to see your room? Promise I didn't touch anything while you were gone."
She nodded. "I think I am more than happy… because happy isn't enough of a word to explain it!" She grinned. "My room? Can I.... please?"
He smiled back, realizing this was more smiling than he'd done in months. "Of course," he said, gesturing back towards the kitchen and slowly standing up. They walked back through the kitchen, and James stepped in front of her to open the door to her room. "Here it is... just like you left it."
Lambert looked around. He had always been partial to the light green color scheme Pita had chosen. It was cheery and encouraging, he thought.
Pita immediately jumped on her bed, landing on her back. She giggled and pulled one of the pillows across her chest, hugging it. "I missed my room."
She looked around, noticing it was exactly how she had left it. The light that had been missing from her eyes had returned. She rolled over onto her tummy and hanged off the bed trying to reach something under it, poking out her tongue as she did so. Pita awkwardly sat up again and looked at the picture she had drawn of them and the house before she had left. She shrugged and held it out for James. "It hasn't changed really, it’s still a happy place."
James smiled and took the picture from her. He remembered that she had been working on it, but hadn't seen the finished product before she'd left. "Wow, Pita. This is great!"
He held it up to the light, admiring her careful albeit unpracticed lines, use of bright colors, and even the details like his Navy uniform and the tree in front of the house.
He lowered it. "It is a happy place, isn't it? Let's never run away from here again, deal?"
She nodded vigorously. "Deal!"
He spent a moment with her in shared silence, and then took a step backwards. "You spend some time getting reacquainted with everything in here, I'm gonna start getting the yard back to something resembling presentable.”
After checking the local time on his neural net, he added, "And then... I'll make us a yummy dinner in an hour or so. Sound good?"
Pita nodded, then hesitated. "You'll just be outside?"
He nodded. ”Just outside. Come grab me if you need anything, okay?"
"Okay," she said, grinning. She then jumped off the bed and gave him another quick hug before starting to look around her room, trying to find where everything was again.
It didn't take long before Pita curled up back on her bed and fell into a restless sleep.
Pita woke with a fright, taking a few moments to register her surroundings. She rubs her eyes and recalls the events of the day. Her tummy growls at her, she tried to think of the last time she ate something but couldn't remember. She considered going and getting something from the kitchen, but she wasn't sure if James would like her doing this. She decided he probably wouldn't mind, but she wouldn't just to be on the safe side.
She walked outside to see if James was really here. She was still not convinced she wasn't dreaming.
James sat in the kitchen, still wearing his work clothes. They were stained green in several places. He sat at the table, facing away from Pita's room, and was gazing out the window at the side yard with oddly intent focus.
It was getting late and the light outside was fading, bathing the kitchen in ever-growing shadow. The glass of juice in James' hand glistened with condensation that reflected a length of time spent at the table.
Pita made a bit of noise as she stepped into the room, and he whirled to face her, his features softening into a smile as he realized who it was.
"Hey there, look who decided to wake up."
He paused a moment, then added, "How about that dinner? Anything in particular sound good?"
The sudden movement of Lambert moving to face her gave her a fright and she jumped slightly. Moving her hand up to bite her nail, she stopped walking and watched as he smiled.
She nodded slightly to his question about dinner. "I should... I think."
Pita walked across to the table, still looking half asleep. She takes a seat next to James and rests her head on her arms as she smiles slightly.
"Anything apart from sandwiches and toast and stuff..... I've had a lot of that on that base....." She shrugs. "Apparently I wasn't allowed to cook."
He narrowed his eyes at her in an exaggerated fashion. "I wasn't aware you knew how to cook in the first place," he said, with a healthy dose of sarcasm.
"Regardless, how's some pizza sound? I think we've still got some stuff for topping around here."
He stood, walking over towards the pantry. "I'm sure it can be figured out..."
He started searching through the various sealed containers, looking for ingredients.
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