Hide and Go Seek

Posted on 11 Apr 2020 @ 12:02pm by Civilian Eddie Reynolds

Mission: Mission 4 - Race against the machine
Location: Reynolds quarters and surrounding dec
Timeline: Pre - new mission
1518 words - 3 OF Standard Post Measure

ON:

Tia felt she was being extremely brave. She was standing outside Eddie's mom's quarters and about to press the chime. But, she was sincerely hoping that his mom wasn't home. She wasn't that brave. When the door opened she was so happy to see that it was him. "Hi, sorry to bug you but I guess Atlas is lost and I thought maybe the two of us could help look for him?"

Eddie opened his mouth to reply but his mother’s voice rang out, “who’s at the door love?”

She appeared behind him. “Hello,”

Eddie looked at Tia shrugged, no escaping this now. He looked back to his mother. “Mum this is Tia. Tia, mum.”

Tia instantly tensed up. "Uh Hi Mrs. Reynolds. I'm Tia. I was hoping Eddie might be able to help me search for a lost item." She wasn't sure she wanted to mention that it was True's cat, because Tia had heard that Eddie's mom didn't like True.

She looked at Eddie surprised. "This is Tia?"

Eddie nodded.

Charlotte to the little girls surprise held her hand. "Nice to meet you."

"Likewise." Tia said, completely flabbergasted. She took the hand. "I'm sorry to bug you." At the moment she couldn't really remember why she'd thought that finding Eddie here was a good idea.

"Well your not bugging me dear. I understand there is an issue," she smiled. She kissed Eddie on the cheek. "Don't miss dinner honey. It would be nice to get to know you better Tia. Please call again."

"Uh yes ma'am." When Eddie followed her out Tia was still staring at him. "That . . . did not go as I expected." She still looked a bit terrified as she waited for him to answer her. "Are you okay?"

"That was …. weird," Eddie said following her. "So Atlas got out again?"

"Again?" Tia tried to recall when he'd gotten out before. "This might be a bit embarrassing for you. Apparently your dad was skinny dipping and Atlas stole his uniform with the communicator in the pocket. He was able to get out of the holodeck and is now roaming the ship. I certainly wasn't going to tell your mother that though."

"Appreciated," Eddie said laughing. "Skinny dipping … Ooookay .. well yeah Atlas has got out a couple of times, before we gave her to True. Best get cat hunting." He stopped for a moment trying to remember where he had found him last.

"Ah. Yes, he's very smart." Tia agreed. "So . . . . if I were a cat where would I go?" Tia thought about getting down on her hands and knees and pretending to be one, but she had a feeling Eddie would give her very strange looks if she did that. But . . . . it would help her to think. And wasn't the point of a relationship to get to know the other person and all their oddities? Tia decided to go for it. She suddenly dropped to the floor and onto her knees and looked around at more of Atlas's level.

"Ermmmmmm .." Eddie started. He didn't know what was going on. "Are you okay?"

"Yes," she said stopping and sitting back on her legs. "I thought it might help if I got down to Atlas's level and thought about where I'd go if I were a cat. Try it." Tia reached up her hand to him.

"No …… " Eddie said as someone in uniform walked past them and gave them a funny look. "I'm good. He sniffed the air. "Fish," he stated. "This way. I know he won't resist fish."

Tia got up with a small sigh. She knew that would happen, Eddie thought her weird. But he had a good nose. She didn't smell anything yet. She hurried off after him, nearly running into him when he stopped to smell the air again. "I've been thinking." Tia said, trying to distract herself from the Atlas situation and how she had behaved. "Do you want to go to the movies with me? In the holodeck. There's a 20th century program I want to try out."

Eddie was confused. Tia now seemed to be asking him out on a date. It probably wasn't when he thought about it some more. Just as friends ….. "Okay as long as its not a chick flick."

"And there's popcorn," he added quickly. He sniffed again, "this way …"

"Uh yes, there will be popcorn and candy . . . . it's an old fashioned theater. And what is a chick flick?" Tia asked, completely confused. "Chickens watch movies?"

“No it’s means a completely girly movie,” Eddie said laughing at the idea of chickens watching movies.

"Oh!" Tia said . . . . . her eyes got wide suddenly when she realized that it wasn't really her that found the situation funny. "I felt that. When you laughed." She thought about it for a moment. She thought she was okay, it hadn't scared her, only surprised her.

“You felt me laughing. This link makes you empathic like me? Or just you can read me through it?” He asked suddenly.

"Before you started laughing, I could feel you were amused. I don't know if it's supposed to do that all the time or just once in a while." Tia shrugged and sighed. "So many unknowns. I feel like a science experiment."

“I feel what everyone’s feeling. My gift from my betazoid side. Not as strongly as dad of course, he’s more betazoid dna. I’ll erm try feel the good emotions. The bad ones can hurt,” he told her. “But then unless your a Vulcan a lot of folk don’t have a lot of control. Dads teaching me some shielding techniques.”

"Well that's good. I'm glad it's only you I can sense, that would be totally confusing if it was more. I suppose I never really thought about that before, what you must feel from other people." She was thinking about it now though. Had she felt something that had ever hurt him or confused him. Tia pondered things while they walked.

Eddie nodded, “half the problems identifying the emotion. I’m still learning. The first time I actually did it ..... oh it’s so embarrassing. I thought True liked me and actually I was picking up on her liking dad.” His cheeks flushed red as he shared that.

"Oh," Tia said. She was unsure of what think of this. It was kind of an odd admission. "Did . . . did you think you liked her as well?"

"I had just had a huge surge of hormone changes and my gift had started. I thought I liked every girl I met but looking back its crazy. I was all over the place. Some days I still am. But lets be realistic, shes a lot older than me and dating my dad. Look I like True but as my dads girlfriend. Nothing else," he said. He could sense that this bothered her and that was the truth. if she was sensing his emotions hopefully she was going to get that.

He didn't say it out loud but did think ~Besides its you I asked out.~

"Hormones are really weird." Tia agreed. She decided to push it to the back of her mind because after all, he wasn't still acting that way about True, not that she had ever seen anyway. She wasn't sure what else to say and opened her mouth to offer to let him pick the movie they saw when in the back of her mind she wondered if that was really fair.

Eddie knew she had started to say something then changed her mind. People did that a lot round empaths. His dad had said only push if you knew them and the circumstances well. He didn't think this applied at present. He had no clue how to handle this type of conversation. He wished he hadn't said anything now.

He cleared his throat. Deflect.... "So .. back to the cat?"

"Yeah. I hope Atlas is okay. Oh right, we were following your nose, sorry I distracted you." Tia made a gesture for Eddie to lead on.

"Yeah dad and True have found him," He tapped his head. Eddie had decided to tease his dad about skinny dipping and now his dad had come back and said everything was okay.

"So we could go do your cinema thing. Unless you want to come have dinner with mum?"

"Oh well I want a little time to get that ready." Tia said, and decide what movie they might be watching. "But . . . I guess I could go talk to your mom. If you think she'll be nice to me?"

"Your mum was nice to me," Eddie shrugged. "She made an overture. Thats progress … I think."

Tia smiled at him. "Okay then," She took a hold of his hand as they walked back.

Eddie flushed a little red totally confused. Friends didn't hold hands did they? However it was nice and he didn't want to ruin it so he kept his mouth firmly shut.

---

Amiltia Hawkins
Cute/Odd 12 year old
PNCP by Keading

Eddie Reynolds
Awkward 13 year old
PNCP by Reynolds