 | ShatterStorm Productions
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| ShatterStorm Productions
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Title: Milestones
Author: A. Magiluna Stormwriter
Feedback address: stormwriter@shatterstorm.net
Date in Calendar: 14 June 2009
Fandom: Poltergeist: the Legacy/LWM
Pairing: Alex/Rachel
Rating: PG13
Date Written: 13-14 June 2009
Word Count: 2134
Summary: A big step in Kat's future reminds Rachel and Alex of a big step from their own past.
Series: Light, Water, Muses
Book: Inversions
Website: ShatterStorm Productions – Light, Water, Muses
Archive: ShatterStorm Productions only…all others ask for permission & we'll see…
Advertisement: Part of the FSAC:DD09
Disclaimer: This story is an original work of amateur fiction, and is written purely for the private entertainment of P:TL fans. This story is no way affiliated with Trilogy, MGM Worldwide Television or the Sci-Fi Channel. The characters are their property, and this story is not meant to infringe upon the copyrights of MGM, Trilogy, or anybody else who owns an interest in "Poltergeist: the Legacy".
Author’s Disclaimer: All original characters belong to ShatterStorm Productions and are the creations of A. Magiluna Stormwriter and Shatterpath. They also belong in the Light, Water, Muses universe, tho’ this is a standalone within the whole of that universe.
Author’s Notes: This is the tenth calendar that has started with a PtL story of mine. I wanted something really special for Alex and Rachel, some sort of anniversary or celebration, and I couldn't think of one that could be written with or without sex. And then this idea hit and I ran with it. It took its own life at one point, and I worried that I'd get it done in time, but I trusted my muses and got this little gem.
Dedication: To my muses. I’d be nowhere without them.
Beta: shatterpath, as usual
This isn't possible. This simply isn't possible. I can't be old enough to have a daughter graduating from high school today. I'm not even going to begin to contemplate the fact that she's already eighteen and legally an adult.
I feel so old. I know how stupid that may sound, but it's the truth. Connor would be nearing his twenty-first birthday if he'd survived that damned crash eleven years ago. Of course, if he and Patrick and survived, my life would be entirely different. I wouldn't have faced the Cantwell legacies. And I wouldn't have Alex, Rose, and Michel. As much as I loved -- and still love -- Patrick, I cannot imagine my life without Alex in it…
Dear God! I just realized that I'm going to be sixty-four when Michel graduates high school! He'll be changing my diapers!
Kat's voice slams into the cocoon of solitude I've built around myself this morning, and I reluctantly slip the satin bookmark back into my journal before closing it. Taking a deep breath, my body goes into auto-pilot as I head toward the door.
"I don't know, Kat, maybe it's in your closet?"
The slightly sarcastic edge becomes known only as an afterthought, and is quickly shrugged off as Kat's excited fear hits me like a brick wall. She follows the emotional beacon and I'm reminded of Michael's horses turning skittish. The sensation of "Mom" settles over me like a protective second skin, and I reach out to pull Kat close. She puts up a token resistance, a remnant of her teenaged independence, but soon succumbs to the safety of my embrace.
"Thanks, Mom," she whispers into my neck, holding on as tightly as she had when she was young and frightened.
I'm instantly thrown back in time and want nothing more than to hold my little girl close forever. This lean, muscular body in my arms is a dichotomy in sensation: wholly unknown and uncomfortably familiar. Far too quickly, she begins to squirm and I reluctantly let her go. The preternatural calm settling over her does little to soothe my soul at the thought of letting her go to fend for herself.
"It's gonna be okay," she whispers, stroking my cheek in an eerie echo of her father's actions in the past. "I'm not leaving the nest just yet." Her crooked smile, so much like Patrick's, eases some of the tightness around my heart and I grin back. "So really, where's my sundress?"
"You're serious?" I ask around a chuckle and swat at her playfully. "Did you even consider looking in your closet?"
"No, Mom, I figured it grew legs and bolted on its own. Yes, I looked in my closet. I'm not stupid." Her words are accompanied by the patented Kat Corrigan Eye Roll of Doom. I won't be missing that when she leaves.
"How about we go check one more time, and if we can't find it, we'll pick out something else you can wear."
Kat considers this for a moment, then smiles brightly. "Deal." She grabs my hand and drags me off to her room.
I'm more than a little surprised that her room is still so pristinely clean. Oh, I can see signs that she's been rummaging around for her dress, but she's become a meticulously organized person over the last few years since we moved to Las Vegas. I'd love to take credit for that, but I know it's not my influence. Settling on her bed, my eyes follow her to the closet in question. And no, no yellow sundress is in evidence. She growls under her breath, frustration coming to the forefront easily.
"What about that green dress Alex got you for your birthday?" I offer helpfully. "I know it's not what you wanted, but it matches your eyes so nicely."
Kat pulls out the dress in question and stares at it for a long moment. "I suppose I'll have to," she says hesitantly. "I mean, it's not that I don't like this dress. I love it. I just…" Something changes suddenly and I'm not sure I'm able to keep up. "Daddy always said I was his little ray of sunshine," finally comes out in a lost tone. "I wanted to wear that sundress because it reminds me of him, and I could pretend he's here today."
Tears prickle in my eyes at her admission and once again she's wrapped in my arms before I even realize I've moved. "Oh, honey," I breathe against her temple, just holding her for a long moment before I pull back to meet her troubled gaze. "Little girl of mine, your daddy and your brother are always going to be at your special days because they're here in your heart and in your mind. Do you really think they'd miss seeing you all dressed up and giving your speech on your graduation day?"
"No, of course not. Can you picture your brother all dressed up in a suit to watch his baby sister get her diploma?" This elicits the laugh I'd hoped it would, and I tweak the tip of her nose. "I still miss them, too, you know. Every single day until the day I die. But I wouldn't want to give up our life with Alex, and Rose, and Michel either. Family is family, no matter what happens to them, right?"
"Right." She hugs me tightly again and whispers, "Thanks, Mom," before turning back to her closet. She studies the green dress critically, eyes moving between it and her cap and gown.
"Alex would be thrilled if you wore that dress, but we'd both understand if you choose to wear something else."
Kat smiles back at me, and I can see the spark of something in her eyes. Oh dear…
"So I can wear a sports bra and the boxers Dace bought me?"
"Not unless you want me to take you over my knee and spank you," I grouse back.
Her delighted laughter is infectious. "Like you could catch me, Mom! Besides, Anastasia'd have my ass in a sling if I wore anything less than dignified."
She holds my gaze for a moment or two, but breaks our impromptu staring contest first. "Sorry, Mom. I couldn't help myself."
"You've been hanging around Dace far too much, young lady."
"I could say the same about you," comes the quick retort and she smirks when my cheeks obviously redden. "Oh, I know you're not doing anything like that. Not that you wouldn't enjoy it…or so I'm told. 'Cuz, you know, I'm a good girl and I'd never do anything so disgusting as what Dace and Anastasia do for a living."
Shaking my head, I swat at her rear. "You're a pain in my butt, you know that, Katherine?"
"Unfortunately." My teasing gets its desired effect as Kat sticks her tongue out at me.
The knock at the door stops either of us from saying anything further. As one, we turn to see Alex standing in the door, looking utterly beautiful. In her hands is the missing yellow sundress. "Am I interrupting something? I thought I'd--"
"Ohmygod! You found it!" Kat launches herself at Alex and practically tears the dress out of my dear wife's hands. "Where the hell was it?"
Alex glances at me over Kat's head and grins when I shrug at the swearing. If I've learned anything since living in Las Vegas, it's that I really need to pick my battles. And this? Not that big of a battle in the grand scheme of things really.
"I thought you might enjoy it being aired out a bit," she starts slowly. "And I know how much you love that lavender mint blend of mine, so I spritzed it and left it out in the sun on the line. I hope that’s okay."
Kat's broad grin upon smelling the dress lights up the room. "Thank you, Alex!" she squeals and pulls my love into an impromptu hug. "For everything." The last two words are probably meant only for Alex, but I can hear them loud and clear. I echo that sentiment completely; my life would be nothing without her influence.
"You're family, Kat, and I'd do absolutely anything for my family, you know that."
"I know," Kat replies before groaning when she glances at the clock. "And now you two gotta get outta here. I need to shower and get ready, and so do you. Plus, you have the mini-reau posse to get dressed yet."
Chuckling, I press a fleeting kiss to Kat's temple again before grabbing Alex's hand and heading to our own bedroom. Once inside, I find myself enveloped in her arms, her lips nuzzling at my neck. I lean back into her touch, reveling in the bone-deep safety and familiarity of our relationship.
"So how you doing, Mom?" she asks in that low tone that makes my insides turn to jelly.
"I don't want her to go," I finally whisper, turning to bury my face against her neck. The emotions I'd been dealing with earlier in my journal come rolling back to the forefront and I'm really not sure if I can do this. "She's my baby girl; she's all I have left."
"I know," Alex murmurs, leading me to the bed. Once settled, she pulls me closer, stroking my back gently. "I don't know what I'll do when Rose is old enough to graduate. Or Michel, for that matter. But I'll know then what I know now. It's Kat's turn to make her way out into the world and meet her destiny."
"It's not like she's going to go far, Rachel. She's going to UNLV, not the Sorbonne in Paris. Though, you know, that might be fun for her to do a year abroad."
She raises her hands in defeat and grins at me. "Okay, okay, I'm just sayin'… But really, love, she's not going to be all that far away. Remember the rules Anastasia made for helping Kat with college. She wouldn't make things harder on you, now would she?"
Grudgingly, I have to nod in agreement. Anastasia spoke with me long before she brought up anything with Kat. And I was impressed with the stipulations that were made; Anastasia's far more demanding than I ever thought I'd be. And Alex is right that Kat will still be close enough to see on a regular basis. But she's still going to be away for part of the week. And I know that she'll come home on the weekends, as well as at least twice a week to help Art with the dogs, but it's not quite the same.
"Alone?" When I nod, she grins and rubs the tip of her nose against mine. "But you're not alone, Rachel. Not by a long shot. But it's okay. Gramma Rose said she felt the same way when I went off to college."
I nod slowly and sigh softly, resting my forehead against hers. We sit that way for several moments, just taking in the calm of our little haven. The comforting solitude allows dormant thoughts to swirl to the foreground, and I suddenly come to a startling realization. The fact that I hadn't thought of it previously is almost laughable, and I can't help the small burst of undignified giggles escaping. At Alex's curious expression, I shake my head slightly and lean in to press a tender kiss to her lips.
"I can't believe that we forgot," I say slowly when I pull back from the kiss. "Ten long, incredible years, and we completely forgot about it. I'd blame Kat's graduation, but it's been almost two months now."
Suddenly, recognition dawns in her eyes and she starts to laugh. "We're being idiots, aren't we? Look at everything we've survived together over the last ten years, and what are we doing? Fretting over Kat graduating high school and heading off to college."
"Tell you what," she purrs, hand stroking down from my cheek to my hip. "When Kat goes off to her graduate overnighter party, you and I will come home and have a little party of our own. It won't be hard to get Dace and her pack to take Rose. And I've got a feeling we can get someone to watch after Michel for a night. What do you say, love? Celebrate the last ten years, as well as the next step in our journey together?"
A slow, seductive smile spreads across my face. "I say it's time to celebrate."
