 | ShatterStorm Productions
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| ShatterStorm Productions
|
Series: Light, Water and Muses. An alternate universe for a variety of television series. See disclaimers below.
Rating: PG
Category: Yet another mirror universe for the SGC. Sorta…
Pairings: Darya/Karen.
Disclaimer: Stargate SG1 and all their characters belong to MGM, Showtime and Gekko Productions.
Disclaimer: “ER”, the characters and situations depicted are the property of Warner Bros. Television, Amblin Entertainment, Constant C Productions, NBC, etc. They are borrowed without permission, but without the intent of infringement. This site is in no way affiliated with “ER”, NBC, or any representatives of any cast members. This site contains relationship stories between mature, consenting adult females.
Notes: All words in italics are phonetic foreign words, mostly Greek.
Spoilers: Nope!
Summary: Family and friends begin to gather in numbers for the happy event.
++ Kim Legaspi ++
I'd hardly expected to be in this position. It seemed so recently that I'd introduced Dare and Em. Man, they were what people spent a lifetime looking for. Warm, friendly and loving, both women were enhanced by the power of two. As a confirmed single girl and happy with it, I had rolled my eyes and supported them. As long as they didn't infect me with their monogamy cooties, I was all good. Then came promises of forever and the welcome addition of Emily. They were prepped for a long and happy future.
Until that bastard on his motorcycle.
There had been times when I honestly wasn't sure that Darya would survive the loss. If not for Emily and to a lesser extent, my nearly constant presence, perhaps she would have wasted away. Certainly, I hardly expected to be three states away, witnessing my pal getting remarried. Xavier was as curious as I was, and he hadn't been around for the day-to-day battle for Darya to reclaim herself from Em's death.
Add that to the stress of having Kerry with me, and I was feeling wary and maybe a bit jumpy. Kerry Weaver had given me quite a chase, all tease and fear, but the reward was worth the hassle. How I loved a good hunt. Poor Kerry, giving me all the right signals and having no damn clue what was building between us. It was hard to believe that we'd been together for only eleven days! Something about Kerry's strength and vulnerability made me feel so differently. I suspected that the monogamy cooties had finally gotten to me… Yuck.
“God, Dare,” Xavier grumbled like a proper drama queen. “Get the door. I'm freezing.”
On cue, the carved wooden surface swung inward and Janet squealed in delight, leaping onto Xavier and trying to strangle him. I was next, squeezing her tight. Quickly yanked into the warm house, we were immediately fussed over by the new mom. “Ohmigod! How the hell have you two been? Was your flight okay? Who's your friend? Get those warm clothes off and I'll send the dogs off for the twins. I'm so happy we're together!”
X finally grabbed her around the jaw to quiet the excited stream while I laughed and laughed. “Hello, dah-ling,” X purred and kissed Janet between the eyes. I was next, adding a crushing hug to the hello.
“God, but you look fabulous, Jan! Let's see, the flight was thankfully boring, and this is Doctor Kerry Weaver, MD. Kerry, this is the infamous Janet Fraiser, also MD. Where's Dare?”
“Running a last minute errand, she'll be here any minute. Emily'll be down soon with Karen.”
“Excellent. I'm looking forward to meeting her.”
“Behave, Legs,” Janet chuckled and smacked my arm.
“Legs?” Kerry grinned up at me and I sighed melodramatically as we stepped into the big living room. “Not that you don't deserve the nomer.” I kissed her softly for the compliment.
“It's the weird last name,” X supplied helpfully and I flashed him a dirty look. All I got for the trouble was a cheeky grin and he turned thoughtful “Though we never could come up with something consistently funny for Farazell.”
“Not that you didn't try,” came a familiar voice from across the living room and Davie stepped out of a doorway there.
“Davie!”
There was another round of happy catch-up and hugs. A wary-looking, gorgeous blonde hovered in the doorway and Janet went over to kiss her softly. Ah, so this was the famous Sam.
“So how's the older sister?” X teased after planting a wet kiss on Davie's forehead. “The much, much older sister.”
“You hush, little man,” Davie retorted, wagging a finger at him. “Or I'll…”
“You'll what, Mother Superior? Take a ruler to my knuckles?” Ah, there it was. The Nickname. Xavier had begun using it in high school, and never let Davie forget her initial desire to enter the convent. None of this little cadre had, in fact. Go figure that we had never grown out of acting like teenagers together.
Then the door opened and a petulant voice carried in to where we had all frozen in our tracks. “Can somebody give me a hand?”
For some reason, I was suddenly afraid to face Darya. The look in Xavier's eyes reflected that feeling. The last time we'd all been together…
Janet sighed and went for the door, Sam in tow. Their voices were a murmur and the woman we were all here for stepped into the room with an expression of happiness, terror and pain. “Oh guys… I'm so happy to see you.”
X and I quite nearly suffocated her with our much larger bodies, the embrace joined in by Janet and Davie. We all stood there for what felt like a very, very long time.
++ Xavier ++
There were no words for how jazzed I was to be with my oldest and dearest friends again. And for a happy event finally. Poor, poor Dare, put through far too much. I hummed softly against her ear while she sobbed happy-sad tears into my shirt. I stroked Janet's dark hair and felt Kim's curls nestled into Dare's dark ones. Davie's low murmur grounded us all.
Then the tension broke with Dare's giggle. That was all it took to set us off like a pack of wild hyenas cackling in the night. Sniffling and giggling, we all went to the couches and sprawled out to catch up.
Unlike the last time we four had been together, this was just like old times. An excited flurry of quick catch up, a few running gags tossed in for laughs and a delighted quiet where we merely enjoyed the simple pleasure of togetherness.
Janet's teenage daughter seemed fascinated with the gang of us, watching silently where she sat at the dining room table fiddling with some incomprehensible pile of gauzy squares, ribbon and what I swear was birdseed. She was a pretty girl, bright-eyed and well-behaved, at least today. Whatever background she had come from, the end result was a good one.
The teenager, what was her name… was smiling now, and Kim grinned flirtatiously at her. “I hear you're the reason the Shrimp here got all domesticated and had babies.”
“Well, I um,” the girl spluttered, glancing at her mother in confusion. Janet tossed a pillow into Kim's head and they glowered fondly at each other.
“Keep your hands off my daughters,” Janet threatened. “Both of them.”
With a mock-indignant look on her face, Kim feigned wounded dignity. “Now really,” she huffed, exasperated, but with a definite twinkle in the eye. “Would I do something like that?” Glaring at the gang of us, who looked wry at her melodramatics, she sighed again and climbed off the couch. Plopping herself in the chair next to the teen, Kim put on her most charming manner. “Tell me about yourself, kiddo. Any boyfriends? Girlfriends? Following in your mom's footsteps? Tell me everything.”
Her eyes widened in surprised fear, and I couldn't help chuckling. “Trust me, it's in your best interest to tell the psychic piranha here everything, and in explicit detail. She'll ferret it out of you anyway, and the teasing is much more comfortable when you tell all.”
There was the sound of footfalls and the girl suddenly grinned in that same almost predatory way Janet did. I was struck by the commonality of the expression. “I'm not the reason mom got all 'domesticated' and had babies.” She twisted to point back towards the stairs. “She is.”
++ Art ++
Oh peachy, put in the spotlight by the sixteen-year-old. Cubby noticed the strangers and froze, trying to hide in my hair. As he was draped on my back while I held his sister, it wasn't hard. I watched Fawn grin in that same evil manner that she shared with her mother and sister. “Are those the twins?” The woman with curly blonde hair beside Cassie asked. “They're beautiful.” Fawn beamed winningly and I had to roll my eyes at her flirting.
I came over to where I could see the three newcomers, a dark man I knew was X, the blonde and a petite red-head. “Fawn,” I introduced with a nod to my armload. “And Cubby's shy.”
He must have peeked out because the blonde grinned. “They look so much like you.”
“They should,” I deadpanned. “I'm their father.” Oh, it was perverse of me to say it, the truth masquerading as a lie, but I couldn't help myself. This woman was pushing buttons. With an internal sigh, I fed my audience the line that protected the secrecy of what we did beneath Cheyenne Mountain. “Seriously, my brother, who looks like a male version of me, donated. Janet likes my coloring.” I shrugged and smiled, knowing the expression made my kids look even more like me.
“I can see why. It's a terrific combo. I'm Kim Legaspi, and you must be Art.”
“In the flesh. Hey, Emily was napping with us, she should be wandering downstairs in a minute with Karen. They're playing with the puppies up in Sam's room.” A sudden rush of sound from the stairwell prompted me to warn, “and here they come. Hope none of you have a problem with dogs.” A furry wave of chaos erupted into the common areas of the house, yipping and jumping. I tumbled Fawn into the red-head's lap and swung Cubby around to dump him on Kim. “Here. I need to go wrangle puppies.” I pinned the sheepishly grinning Cass with a mock-glower. “You can come help, since you put me on the spot.”
“Kay,” she agreed willingly enough, always thrilled to be working with the dogs. She had real potential to become a trainer or vet or the like. “Can we harness them up?” Each pup had a nylon harness with a nameplate stamped into the nylon where it ran down between their shoulders. It would cut down on confusion over the next few days, since they would be in and out of the house.
“Yeah, might as well.”
++ Davie ++
We old friends caught up further while Sam, Art and Cassie wrestled the noisy pups in the kitchen. Janet kept looking longingly at the doorway, still clueless at just how blatantly she wore her heart on her sleeve for those she loved. From the first day I met her and Xavier, I knew she would always put those she loved before herself. And she certainly hadn't outgrown that character trait. Wrapping an arm around her shoulders, I squeezed lightly. “Jan, I adore your kids and the dogs and both of your partners,” I said softly. She started when I mentioned the plural partners, and I merely quirked an eyebrow at her. “You can't seriously think that I would forget you said it this morning, Shrimp?”
“I…” she faltered.
“Not to mention the fact that Darya told me about it,” I teased playfully and she grinned, relieved.
“Dammit Dare,” Janet groused playfully. “Always did have to tell my secrets, didn't you?”
Darya grinned where she was curled up along Xavier's ribs.
“She only mentioned that you'd found someone that truly makes you happy, Shrimp. I know you've always wanted a family, and I'm glad you've finally got one,” I replied, squeezing her hand.
It was a perfect moment for said puppies to come thundering out and say hello. Behind them was a grinning Art and the still-shy Sam, with a happy Cass in tow. Janet was blessed with warm kisses from her women. Cass gathered up Fawn from Kim and hugged her sister close while sighing melodramatically at the adult's antics. I was impressed with the teen, definitely had her head on straight from what I could see. And she obviously adored the infants, despite what a pain I'm sure they were sometimes. Watching her hold the now-smiling Fawn made me want to hug my own sister. So I did, moving away from Janet to jump on my only sibling.
“We're almost too close in age for me to remember you that small,” I teased as Darya squeezed me back and I settled to the couch beside her. Fawn was perched comfortably on Cassie's intertwined fingers, watching the room with bright eyes. Now that that little girl was all smiles, I could see the distinct resemblance to Janet. “You know,” I chuckled suddenly, the blatantly mischievous tone making the ones that knew me well flinch in nervousness. “I do believe Janny's entire relationship history is right here in this room.”
I watched Janet's eyes widen. “Oh, Davie, no,” she murmured. “Evil wench, don't go there.”
My chuckle merely grew more evil and I smiled sweetly, reaching around Xavier and Dare to pat Janet's cheek. “We're all family here, Shrimp.” At least I had the decency to flash an apologetic look at Art, before glancing around the room. “Let's see. First crush and first kiss. That would be me. First girlfriend, which is Dare here. First husband.”
“Oh, girl, that's me,” Xavier piped in. “None better. No offense, Art.”
Art snorted and shook her head. “None taken. You people are lucky I'm not a completely jealous Greek bitch,” she half-heartedly grumbled, glancing over at Darya with an almost apologetic look on her face. Huh, it seemed like they had mended most of the fences between them, but perhaps not all.
“Oh, Artemis, you wouldn't hurt a person of the cloth, would you?” I pouted prettily and earned a flat look that was oddly comical. Oh, she was good.
“So that's where Emily learned it,” she deadpanned, desert-dry. Snickering sounded around the room and I conceded the round to her with a toast of my coffee mug. Art looked subtly smug and leaned into Sam's taller body. “My brother's a priest and I kick his butt as often as I can,” she shrugged. “And I raised my younger sister. And I'm the military equivalent of cop and a professional peace-keeper and dog handler. That look doesn't work on me.”
Janet piped up, “unless Fawn does it.”
Cassie couldn't help herself and started laughing at the surprised and mildly disgruntled expression. Fawn merely smiled prettily, all dimples and sunshine and Art grinned back softly. We all howled at the comedic timing and Fawn preened as the center of attention. Cubby stirred from where he'd dozed off in Kerry's lap, looking around blearily.
“Okay then, where was I?” Going back to my train of thought, I jumped to my feet to pace and tick off the points I'd already made. “Crush, kiss, girlfriend, hubby. Ah yes, covered everything except…” My gaze turned to the couch where Janet sat with her lovers standing sentinel over her. “The real marriage, which would be Artemis. And not forgetting Samantha.” I smiled my gentlest and most caring smile at the three of them. “Lover brought into Janny's life by circumstance and friendship. What more could a girl ask for? And these three beautiful kids. And the dogs? And family all around. Very lucky, Janny, and so very blessed.”
“Wait, Kim wasn't…?” Kerry asked, finally joining the conversation. Not that I could blame her silence, these people were a tight-knit, boisterous group with many, many in-jokes between them. It was daunting for me to get myself insinuated, and I'd known them since they were still suffering from puberty.
“Oh no, Ker!” Kim denied quickly. “No, Janet and I so never went there.”
“As you can see, Kerry,” I jumped in to help Kim not get shafted. “Other than Sam there, Janet's tastes obviously tend to run to the swarthier end of the spectrum.” I blatantly didn't mention Alex. No need to ruin the happy occasion with another reminder of death's dealings.
“So that's why you asked me if you could sleep with Fin?” Art teased gently and leaned over to rub noses with her wife. “It wasn't my charm and good looks?”
++ Karen ++
Sounded like Art was herding pups again. Goddess, but they were a lot of work, and I was just a doting aunt! Emily whined at me while I tugged her limp body into her clothes, still sleepy from her nap and rough-housing with the boisterous puppies. Even a warm bath hadn't perked her up. “C'mon, Monkey,” I coaxed and scooped her up. “There's company here to see you.”
“Comp'ny?”
“Yep. Bet you have an aunt Mim waiting for you.”
Okay, that perked her right up as more laughter floated up to us from downstairs. Sounded like they were having a good time down there. It irritated me that I was terrified to go down there and face them. Emily slipped away and was down the hall with an excited squeal. It took a lifetime of military training to catch the streak and I growled, “No! The stairs are dangerous.”
Emily glowered and squirmed like mad as I navigated the stairs. “Mim? Mim!” At the bottom step, she was off like a rocket again. “Mim!”
“Monkey!” crowed an attractive blonde, jumping up from the couch and accepting the charge with a flourish. “Oh, sweet baby, I've missed you.”
Was it wrong that I was jealous?
Amidst gentle laughter, Emily proceeded to catch up her adopted aunt with such enthusiasm, her voice was high-pitched and stuttery. How many times could one little girl say, “and then”? Kim listened to it all, throwing in the occasional, “Really?” Or, “You don't say.” Even a few uses of an admiring, “Wow!” That left me to go stand stiffly behind Darya, my posture tense and unwelcoming. I hated that I felt threatened like this, but I knew I was being silently judged. It had been a long time since Em's ghost had hovered so close.
It was a testament to my mood that when Dare touched me, I jumped. “Hey,” she soothed. “C'mere.”
Still feeling wary and strangely guilty, I leaned over to snuggle into the curve of her neck and shoulder, sighing heavily. “Nervous.”
“I know, my love. Please be patient, not just with them, but yourself too. I'm unnerved myself.”
It was an awkward embrace, what with me draped over her from behind the couch, but I clung tightly for long moments. It was reassuring to me that Dare did the same. So I warmly kissed her neck, earning a shiver and whispered, “Love you.”
“Love you too,” she murmured back just as quietly and squeezed me until I grunted. “Ready to meet the relatives?”
“I suppose,” I sighed dramatically and she chuckled. When I resettled myself to rest elbows on the back of the couch, our audience was watching curiously.
“This is Xavier Greer, surgeon extraordinaire.” The dark man waved the intro off and batted his eyelashes.
“Flatterer. It's good to meet you, Karen.”
Well, the first one had gone well, and I willingly shook his hand. “Likewise. How is Chicago treating you?”
“Honestly? It's cold. I haven't noticed anything else yet.”
I grinned in appreciation of his disgust of his new city. “Yeah, I can believe that. LA to the Windy City? In February? That's harsh. I remember coming from Las Vegas to here. It's not dissimilar in summer, but winters were a rough education.”
“Exactly,” he enthused and gestured haughtily at his friends. “But these evil wenches have been completely unsympathetic.”
That only made them laugh.
++ Darya ++
I had no clue how to proceed. It was like watching gladiators face off from across the ring.
Kim had been through the day-to-day horror of Em's loss with me. Em had been a good friend to her long before I had entered the scene. I could still remember that first day, the flash of warm hazel eyes and that smile that could kill at a thousand paces. I remembered Em's tears when she held Emily, who was screaming in outrage at being thrust into a cold world. I remembered long nights huddled with Kim, barely able to function, even for Emily.
In time, the emotional ice age had passed.
I could still remember that first day I'd laid eyes on Karen Taylor, the flash of glittering emerald eyes and a slow smile that froze me in my tracks. I remembered her gentleness with Emily, and how much my young daughter adored her new mom.
And I knew, beyond the shadow of a doubt, exactly why our friends and family were gathering now.
I loved this tall woman utterly.
And finally, at long last, Kim could see that.
In an instant, with a bare nod of the head, Kim accepted the passing of the gauntlet. Even if she didn't like it much.
“This is Doctor Kim Legaspi and her girlfriend, Doctor Kerry Weaver. Both MDs.”
“And Doc Janet and Doc Sam,” Karen chuckled. “Hey Goldston, we're outnumbered.”
“Yup,” Art agreed placidly. “But we have more fun.”
Amid the chuckles, Karen moved to meet Kim halfway. The tall women took careful stock of each other and I could only hold my breath. Perhaps it was asking too much that my family get along, but I really hoped that they could. It was a cool meeting, but I was satisfied that they could behave.
“Okay troops,” Art suddenly barked like a drill sergeant and leapt to her feet. “Intros over. There's tons to do and organize.” She was right, there was a ton to do and we were all put to work moving chairs, chopping vegetables and shoveling snow. It was hugely entertaining that Art was at the center of the chaos, directing everything with a loud voice and a gentle hand.
“Fine, 'daddy',” I finally mocked and Art sighed.
“Would you rather have Jack stroll in and do it?”
That made all of the locals laugh. The bulk of the SGC invites would not be here until tomorrow. Their gift was to cover shifts so that Karen and I could have a few weeks off to ourselves. After a short honeymoon, we would collect Emily and do something fun as a family. My sneaky woman wouldn't tell me exactly what, and I was just as curious as my daughter.
