Home Is Where the Heart Is

Posted on 05 Jun 2017 @ 5:27pm by Charlotte Franklin

647 words; about a 3 minute read

[ON]

Charlotte had been sitting in the living room, waiting for Nara to return home. She already knew what she was going to say to Nara and had also practiced what she would say to Amaranai. Neither conversation was going to be easy but the past several days had made Charlotte realize that her sister could die without Charlotte ever finding out. The rest of the Franklin family might not care, but Charlotte still did and she wasn't going to stand for it any longer.

Commander Nara Doteen, Charlotte's surrogate mother and Amaranai's counselor at the Academy, arrived home one day last week with news on Amaranai. She told Charlotte about the loss of the Galileo (a ship that Charlotte hadn't realized Amaranai had been transferred to) and the crew's disappearance and sudden reemergence on a Klingon vessel.

Though Charlotte understood the words that Nara was using, she didn't understand a lot of the context, but that was because she was fifteen and wasn't a cadet or anything close to that. What Charlotte did understand, though, was that her sister had nearly been killed and Charlotte would never have known about it.

Tonight, Nara was going to come home and Charlotte was going to tell her that she wanted to join Amaranai wherever she was going to be. Charlotte would be appreciative of Nara and her compassion for the past two years. Charlotte would praise her as a mother-figure and a model citizen and officer. And yet, Nara would probably offer a counter argument to Charlotte going in the first place.

Nara arrived home at six, as she usually did, and she noticed Charlotte was waiting for her in the living room. She was dressed more formally than usual but Nara dismissed it as wanting to dress up for her sister's arrival later that evening.

"Nara," Charlotte said. "Can we talk?"

That was not a good way to start a conversation.

"Sure," the woman said and made her way to the couch.

The girl took a deep breath and sighed and then looked at the Starfleet officer.

"As you know, Amaranai is home."

She paused. Even though Charlotte had rehearsed the speech several times, the words were not coming to her any longer.

"I can't believe I'm saying this," she continued. "But I realized that I miss my sister."

Another pause.

"I haven't seen her in a few years and I have a feeling that once she leaves, I might not get to see her again. I already thought she was lost and now she's back. I just . . ."

Charlotte paused. The woman listened to the girl with patience and didn't say anything until Charlotte was ready.

"I'm grateful for everything you have done for me," she said. "You've shown me what a mother was supposed to be like and cared for me even when I most likely didn't deserve it."

At this point, Charlotte's eyes were beginning to tear up.

"I don't want to leave you but I want to be with my sister too."

Nara, who had expected this conversation since they had been told that Amaranai was actually alive, moved closer to Charlotte.

"It's okay, Charlotte," Nara said. "I understand. I really do."

She placed a hand on the girl's shoulder.

"If you hadn't said something, I was actually going to suggest it to Amaranai when she stopped for a visit tonight. You've been apart for too long. You only have one sister and I think it's time for you to join her."

It was interesting that Nara would state that Charlotte had only one sister considering that Charlotte had two other sisters, though they were non-committal to Charlotte, so perhaps that was why Nara only considered Amaranai as her sister.

"Thank you," Charlotte said as she embraced Nara. "Thank you."



[OFF]


Commander Nara Doteen (NPC)
Starfleet Academy Instructor

Charlotte Franklin (PNPC-Franklin)
Civilian

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