Bittersweet Reunion

Posted on Sat Jul 27th, 2019 @ 2:51am by Commander Logan Vance & Cadet Senior Grade Kit Kacy
Edited on on Sat Aug 3rd, 2019 @ 3:58am

Mission: Preludes
Location: Starfleet Intelligence, Earth, Logan Vance's Office
Timeline: 2385 - Four Days After 'Looking In A Mirror'
Tags: Prelude

Logan's mind kept wandering. Two days after he'd made his deal with Kit, word had come in. They had only found a handful of survivors. Kit's parents were not among them. It had been hard to tell her that. What he had been able to tell her though was her siblings, Flick and Pippa had been found. They were hungry, dirty and scared but they would be ok.

Now four days after his visit, he said, impatiently waiting for news. Finally a knock on the door. "Commander Vance?" a head poked inside the door. "They're here."

He nodded and dismissed the young Ensign and turned to Kit who sat just a few feet away. "Are you ready?"

Kit looked up from the spot on the floor she had been staring at. Was she ready? Ready to see them or ready to acknowledge that her parents wouldn't be walking through that door with her brother and sister? She took an anxious breath, but then nodded. "Yes, Sir." She was ready as she could be.

"Ok," he nodded and moved to the door. He opened it and stepped outside. A moment later, he returned with the two Kacy siblings, looking a bit traumatized and thin but no worse for wear otherwise. "Go say hi to your sister," he told them.

"Kit!" the pair chorused before sprinting to her.

Kit caught them both in her arms, hugging them tight to her. "I was so worried," she murmured as she pressed kisses into their hair. They lingered there for a while, holding onto each other, Kit unwilling to rush them, but eventually they pulled back. She crouched in front of them, taking in their faces.

"Mom and Dad," the twelve year old said forlornly, her expression far more adult than it should have been. "They're dead, aren't they?"

Kit swallowed hard. "I don't know, Pip."

Flick frowned deeply. "They could still be out there," he stated firmly, "just like we were. They just haven't been found yet."

Pippa looked like she was about to argue, but then her jaw clenched hard, seemingly deciding to let him have his hope.

Kit gave her little brother a trembling smile and nodded. "That's right. We don't know yet." She wanted to cry, knew she had to hold it together. She couldn't break down in front of her siblings when they were so fragile. They needed her strength. She rose to her feet. "But Lieutenant Commander Vance here is going to keep looking for them. He and his people won't stop until we have answers." All three of the Kacy kids turned their eyes to Logan.

Nothing like getting put on the spot, Logan thought to himself. "I made a promise to your sister," he confirmed. He knew there was little chance of them being alive. He knew it was likely Kit knew that too. If they weren't found in the next three days, it was unlikely they'd be found at all. He moved towards them, "all that matters right now is we keep you three safe and make sure you all have a place to stay until we know more. I've made some arrangements. A couple who is willing to look after you, Flick and Pippa, until your mom and dad come home." Or likely until Kit finished her classes, he thought to himself. He looked up at Kit and shared a look that said all it needed to.

Both of the younger Kacys frowned. "Why would we live with some couple?" Pippa asked, eyes darting from Kit to Logan and then back again. "Aren't we staying with you?"

"Yeah," Flick emphasized unsurely.

Kit felt her guts twist. She hadn't been expecting to have this conversation quite so soon. "I live in the dorms at school, you guys. They aren't built to accommodate extra family members," she explained slowly.

"So you're dumping us with some random people?" Pippa all but accused, crossing her arms.

"No, of course not! The Kiernans don't live all that far from here and it's only until I can figure out better housing for all of us, okay?" She sounded a little desperate, she knew that, and she could see that her siblings were picking up on it. Pippa only frowned more deeply and Flick looked on the verge of tears. "We're going to get through this, you hear me? We're going to figure things out."

"I want Mom and Dad," Flick whispered, bottom lip quivering.

Kit immediately pulled him back to her, hugging him tightly. "I know, brat. I know." God, did she know…

"Your sister will be able to come and see you when she's not in class," Logan assured them. "I made sure of that." He'd even made sure Kit's allocation of transporter credits were increased to the point she could see them every day if necessary, especially at the beginning. He'd also offered his personal assistance with any issues that might come up while she finished her training. It had cost him quite a few favors but he didn't mentioned that to her.

He felt for Kit. He felt for her siblings. He knew what it was like to lose your parents. And he knew what it was like to have younger siblings look to you for answers and having to give them even when you didn't have any. In the end, he made poor decisions and now he was stuck. If he could keep the same thing from happening to her, he had to.

"Are you guys hungry? I think Ensign Livingston has food for you. Your sister will come too, don't worry."

Flick pulled back out of Kit's hug and looked up at her. "Can we?" he asked, clearly starving.

She gave him a watery grin and nodded. "Duh." She ruffled his hair.

As the kids turned toward the door, Kit looked over top of them and met Logan's eyes. She offered him a sad smile and mouthed, 'Thank you.'

Logan acknowledged with a knowing head nod and a slight smile. He didn't relish the conversation later that he knew was coming but for now, he'd reunited a family instead of tearing one apart and it felt great.

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Agent Logan Vance
Intelligence Officer

&

(Eventual) Cadet Senior Grade Kit Kacy
Security Officer