Campbell Saunders (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
headup_stickontheice) wrote2013-05-20 06:21 pm
headup_stickontheice) wrote2013-05-20 06:21 pm
Entry tags:
Welcome Home.
Who: Cam and Lucette [Closed/Isolated Event]
What: Who do you want to see?
When: Monday, May 20th, 2013, early morning
Where: F1-002
After what Cam saw on that scavenger hunt, he really doesn't think he needs a "prize." The last few days he's been trying to figure out what to say to Koushirou, first in asking what the hell the things that appeared in front of them were -- because it looked a whole lot like his mom, sounded like it too -- and then, well.
About the Dark Field.
But he's panicking again, quietly, and he doesn't want to throw this on anyone else. No matter how much he knows -- or thinks he knows -- that he has to share things with people, he wants to do something for himself. Maybe Iori'll end up saying something first. Probably. Besides, now he's got something else to think and worry about.
The message he'd gotten last night, waking him up and pretty much destroying his chances for a good night's sleep. Now, he leans against his bed with Lucette next to him, the little angel glaring at his D-Terminal.
Helplessly, he turns to her. "You...did say you wanted me to get a prize."
"I changed my mind!" Apparently watching him cry there in the Underwater Tunnel shook her. Hey, he understands; it shook him too. "We don't know what this is, Campbell. I don't trust it."
"I don't either," he admits. "But..." He's quietly staring at the device.
Who do you want to see?
"Campbell?"
Who does he want to see? Well...
He picks up the D-Terminal and almost whispers. "Mom."
The D-Terminal clicks on, without him pressing anything, and appears to be loading or buffering something. It's an application, one that starts on its own. As Lucette cries in surprise, he's transfixed. On the screen, he can see them. His family.
In the kitchen, his younger siblings Lily and Will look at the TV intently, watching a hockey game. His older brother, Justin, stands by the counter, keeping a casual eye on the game as well. And what the view focuses on, that's his mom, by the sink, washing off a watermelon.
"You sure you don't need any help, mom?" Justin. Jeez, he sounds so responsible.
His mom laughs and Cam's hands tremble. "Watch the game. Or your siblings. That'll help."
There's no sound expect the background hockey game and Lily's yells when the other team scores, echoed by Will's like a monkey. But Cam doesn't see that, for the D-Terminal continues to show his mom, washing off a watermelon and humming a soft nonsensical tune. One hand holds the D-Terminal and one hand reaches over and strokes the screen gently.
In a choked voice, he murmurs to Lucette, "It's them."
A minute or so passes before Mrs. Saunders takes the fruit -- all cut into pieces -- to the table, at which point Will cheers loudly and grabs for a large piece. Lily immediately takes it from him and replaces it with a small one, but the kid looks like he could care less and Lily grins. Cam laughs and a few tears slide down his cheeks.
"They're awful tonight!" Lily grumbles, about the hockey game, between bites of watermelon.
"Awful!" Will parrots. Justin rolls his eyes and Mrs. Saunders appears to fight laughter.
To Cam's surprise, Justin scoffs, "Yeah, that's 'cause they don't have little Cam. Just wait, Leafs'll go all the way once he's on their team."
Cam chokes back a sob.
"Me too." Lily pokes their mom's arm with a watermelon rind. "Mom, mom. Can I go to Toronto when I turn fifteen like Cam? Huh? Can I? I'll beat up all the hockey boys!"
With a strained but loving smile, Mrs. Saunders replies, "Let's work on getting you to ten, sweetheart." Lily deflates a bit, but she takes it in stride and then scowls at the TV again.
"Come on, ref! You're blind!" She huffs and sighs and pointedly turns away from the hockey game, as if it disgusts her. "Mom, dad's getting back tomorrow, right?"
"Yes, dear. He should at least." Her waning smile matches Cam's. His dad always has to travel so much for business. He's rarely around. Cam missed him before when he only saw him a few days every couple weeks, now he misses him even more. "...He said he had something for you, though. Both of you."
The younger kids cheer and Justin frowns. "He's got something for Cam too, right?" Cam starts to curl in on himself, but he keeps watching. Lucette reaches to take the D-Terminal from him, but he stops her. "Something else for the...next care package."
And in that moment, Cam remembers this. Well, not really remembers, he wasn't there. But he knows when this is. His family sent him monthly care packages during his time in Toronto, and this one would've been during April -- his April, not April here, in Terminal Tokyo. It would've been midway through the month, when he was struggling through French and studying with Maya and Tori and Tristan (and Zig, and Zig) pretty consistently. Just a week or two after he got his cast off. The package arrived on a bad day, with some of his favorite chips, notes from his siblings and mom, and a postcard from Ottawa, where his dad had gone on business.
He'd called his mom later that night, and they ended up talking about the Battle of the Bands Maya would be taking part in before the end of term, and what he should get her as a good luck present.
Cam remembers this. This actually happened.
His mom continues, replies, "I'll call him and make sure, honey." She laughs lightly. "Don't let your brother know how much you're doting on him. He'll want you to do it when he's home too." Justin rolls his eyes and takes an extra large bite of the watermelon. While the younger two are distracted again by the game, she confesses to her oldest child, "I know he's having a great time in Toronto. Friends, a girlfriend. Too much horsing around." That darn broken arm. "...But I'm really glad he'll be home in a few weeks."
Cam never really heard when his mom and Justin talked low. His dad's not around, so Justin is sort of a surrogate parent at times. She sounds so weary right now. And Justin, his grumpy older brother? Well, he seems a lot older.
Justin reaches over and shakes his mom's hand lightly. Watermelon juice runs from his fingers to the table. "You know he misses you too, Mom. He'll be ecstatic."
Another quiet laugh. She's moping up the juice with a napkin. "I've become a helicopter mom. He's not even left the nest yet." Her laughter grows at the absurd statement, and Justin shakes his head.
Their focus returns to the TV. It's like they both just know where to end the conversation. The feed cuts and Cam is left in silence. Silence except for his tears, except for his sobs. The D-Terminal remains clutched in one hand and Lucette is shaking his shoulder.
"...And I'll have a talk with whoever ordered this Scavenger Hunt, I will, you hear? We'll get it fixed, or I'll smash it, what a horrible thing to do--" Maybe she's been talking for awhile. Nothing really excited for Cam except for his family. And he gets it, he understands. Because right now he's shaking with sobs, trying to catch his breath. He can understand her worry.
But when he finally looks at her, his face is full of utter joy. Pain, but also joy. "D-did you hear them? H-how much they talked about me?"
He laughs and it turns into cries again, and the D-Terminal finally slips from his grasp, to the floor. He grabs Lucette in a hug and laughs through his tears. In shock, she hugs him back.
All Cam can think, in that moment, is that he'll get home, he has to, he'll get home, back to that loving family.
What: Who do you want to see?
When: Monday, May 20th, 2013, early morning
Where: F1-002
After what Cam saw on that scavenger hunt, he really doesn't think he needs a "prize." The last few days he's been trying to figure out what to say to Koushirou, first in asking what the hell the things that appeared in front of them were -- because it looked a whole lot like his mom, sounded like it too -- and then, well.
About the Dark Field.
But he's panicking again, quietly, and he doesn't want to throw this on anyone else. No matter how much he knows -- or thinks he knows -- that he has to share things with people, he wants to do something for himself. Maybe Iori'll end up saying something first. Probably. Besides, now he's got something else to think and worry about.
The message he'd gotten last night, waking him up and pretty much destroying his chances for a good night's sleep. Now, he leans against his bed with Lucette next to him, the little angel glaring at his D-Terminal.
Helplessly, he turns to her. "You...did say you wanted me to get a prize."
"I changed my mind!" Apparently watching him cry there in the Underwater Tunnel shook her. Hey, he understands; it shook him too. "We don't know what this is, Campbell. I don't trust it."
"I don't either," he admits. "But..." He's quietly staring at the device.
Who do you want to see?
"Campbell?"
Who does he want to see? Well...
He picks up the D-Terminal and almost whispers. "Mom."
The D-Terminal clicks on, without him pressing anything, and appears to be loading or buffering something. It's an application, one that starts on its own. As Lucette cries in surprise, he's transfixed. On the screen, he can see them. His family.
In the kitchen, his younger siblings Lily and Will look at the TV intently, watching a hockey game. His older brother, Justin, stands by the counter, keeping a casual eye on the game as well. And what the view focuses on, that's his mom, by the sink, washing off a watermelon.
"You sure you don't need any help, mom?" Justin. Jeez, he sounds so responsible.
His mom laughs and Cam's hands tremble. "Watch the game. Or your siblings. That'll help."
There's no sound expect the background hockey game and Lily's yells when the other team scores, echoed by Will's like a monkey. But Cam doesn't see that, for the D-Terminal continues to show his mom, washing off a watermelon and humming a soft nonsensical tune. One hand holds the D-Terminal and one hand reaches over and strokes the screen gently.
In a choked voice, he murmurs to Lucette, "It's them."
A minute or so passes before Mrs. Saunders takes the fruit -- all cut into pieces -- to the table, at which point Will cheers loudly and grabs for a large piece. Lily immediately takes it from him and replaces it with a small one, but the kid looks like he could care less and Lily grins. Cam laughs and a few tears slide down his cheeks.
"They're awful tonight!" Lily grumbles, about the hockey game, between bites of watermelon.
"Awful!" Will parrots. Justin rolls his eyes and Mrs. Saunders appears to fight laughter.
To Cam's surprise, Justin scoffs, "Yeah, that's 'cause they don't have little Cam. Just wait, Leafs'll go all the way once he's on their team."
Cam chokes back a sob.
"Me too." Lily pokes their mom's arm with a watermelon rind. "Mom, mom. Can I go to Toronto when I turn fifteen like Cam? Huh? Can I? I'll beat up all the hockey boys!"
With a strained but loving smile, Mrs. Saunders replies, "Let's work on getting you to ten, sweetheart." Lily deflates a bit, but she takes it in stride and then scowls at the TV again.
"Come on, ref! You're blind!" She huffs and sighs and pointedly turns away from the hockey game, as if it disgusts her. "Mom, dad's getting back tomorrow, right?"
"Yes, dear. He should at least." Her waning smile matches Cam's. His dad always has to travel so much for business. He's rarely around. Cam missed him before when he only saw him a few days every couple weeks, now he misses him even more. "...He said he had something for you, though. Both of you."
The younger kids cheer and Justin frowns. "He's got something for Cam too, right?" Cam starts to curl in on himself, but he keeps watching. Lucette reaches to take the D-Terminal from him, but he stops her. "Something else for the...next care package."
And in that moment, Cam remembers this. Well, not really remembers, he wasn't there. But he knows when this is. His family sent him monthly care packages during his time in Toronto, and this one would've been during April -- his April, not April here, in Terminal Tokyo. It would've been midway through the month, when he was struggling through French and studying with Maya and Tori and Tristan (and Zig, and Zig) pretty consistently. Just a week or two after he got his cast off. The package arrived on a bad day, with some of his favorite chips, notes from his siblings and mom, and a postcard from Ottawa, where his dad had gone on business.
He'd called his mom later that night, and they ended up talking about the Battle of the Bands Maya would be taking part in before the end of term, and what he should get her as a good luck present.
Cam remembers this. This actually happened.
His mom continues, replies, "I'll call him and make sure, honey." She laughs lightly. "Don't let your brother know how much you're doting on him. He'll want you to do it when he's home too." Justin rolls his eyes and takes an extra large bite of the watermelon. While the younger two are distracted again by the game, she confesses to her oldest child, "I know he's having a great time in Toronto. Friends, a girlfriend. Too much horsing around." That darn broken arm. "...But I'm really glad he'll be home in a few weeks."
Cam never really heard when his mom and Justin talked low. His dad's not around, so Justin is sort of a surrogate parent at times. She sounds so weary right now. And Justin, his grumpy older brother? Well, he seems a lot older.
Justin reaches over and shakes his mom's hand lightly. Watermelon juice runs from his fingers to the table. "You know he misses you too, Mom. He'll be ecstatic."
Another quiet laugh. She's moping up the juice with a napkin. "I've become a helicopter mom. He's not even left the nest yet." Her laughter grows at the absurd statement, and Justin shakes his head.
Their focus returns to the TV. It's like they both just know where to end the conversation. The feed cuts and Cam is left in silence. Silence except for his tears, except for his sobs. The D-Terminal remains clutched in one hand and Lucette is shaking his shoulder.
"...And I'll have a talk with whoever ordered this Scavenger Hunt, I will, you hear? We'll get it fixed, or I'll smash it, what a horrible thing to do--" Maybe she's been talking for awhile. Nothing really excited for Cam except for his family. And he gets it, he understands. Because right now he's shaking with sobs, trying to catch his breath. He can understand her worry.
But when he finally looks at her, his face is full of utter joy. Pain, but also joy. "D-did you hear them? H-how much they talked about me?"
He laughs and it turns into cries again, and the D-Terminal finally slips from his grasp, to the floor. He grabs Lucette in a hug and laughs through his tears. In shock, she hugs him back.
All Cam can think, in that moment, is that he'll get home, he has to, he'll get home, back to that loving family.