It was morning, and James opened the door to the outdoor balcony to let the early morning light in. The sky was a little overcast and gloomy, so it wasn't very bright, but it was nice to get some fresh air flowing. Thankfully, it wasn't too cold, and James didn't plan on keeping the door open for too long, since he didn't want Evaline to get uncomfortable.
James had changed his clothes, and combed his hair, and just as he went to sit by Evaline, there was a knock on the door. James could recognize the three quick knocks and timing to be Elise coming in with breakfast.
"Come in," he said as he took a seat next to Evaline.
The door opened, and Elise came in holding a cup of the banana smoothie Elias had given him yesterday. She quietly closed the door behind her and walked towards him, offering a smile.
"Good morning, James and Evaline," she said. "Here's your breakfast. It's more of a liquid food, but Elias insisted I give you this instead."
James took the cup with a small smile, starting to stir the smoothie a little with the straw.
"I had some yesterday and told him I liked it," James said. "I guess he was taking notes."
Elise let out a breathy laugh, still smiling as she sat on the chair next to him. "Elias doesn't normally take notes. You must be special."
James shrugged a little with a shy smile, and then took a sip of the smoothie.
"I guess I'm honored," he said.
"I'm glad you two are becoming friends," Elise said. "I told him that you wanted to go on this trip to help him despite not really knowing him, so I think you were off to a good first impression. We're both very glad you are here."
"I'm glad to be here too," James said. "I'm glad I finally got to meet him."
Elise offered another smile, lingering her gaze before turning to look at Evaline. "You've been very devoted," she said after a longer pause. "Evaline is also lucky to have you. You've been taking good care of her, but remember to stretch and get daily exercise day-to-day too."
James nodded.
"I've been doing some exercising on my own," James said. "Just... in here."
"However you do it is fine. I just want to make sure you're moving. Speaking of..." Elise sat forward on her chair, reaching out to take Evaline's arm and outstretching it forward. "Evaline would also need to move, too. It's difficult in her state, but if you can stretch her everyday, it would lessen the state of atrophy for when she wakes up."
James raised his brows and looked over to Evaline.
"Yeah, I can do that," he said. "If you could show me how, so I don't hurt her or anything, I can do that every day."
"Of course," Elise said with a little smile, then proceeded to spend the next couple of minutes showing James various stretches on Evaline.
She explained how the joints of the neck, shoulder, elbow, wrist, hip, knee, and foot were crucial to stretch, and would demonstrate the movements. It started with circling her fingers at first, then her hand from her wrist to her fingers, then elbow to fingers, then shoulder to symbols?, moving back and forth in little circles. She did the same to her leg, explaining how it was important that James bend her knee or position her to her side to move her hips.
"The stretches are important to do everyday, but it's even more important to move her position whenever you can," Elise said when she finished, demonstrating by carefully sliding Evaline on her side so she was facing them, pushing her hip out and her knees bent towards them. "Can you do this everyday? She'd be most comfortable if you can do this every few hours during the day, if you can do that."
"I can do that for sure," James said with a nod, following Elise's example and adjusting Evaline's arm and shoulders so that she was more comfortably turned on her side. He pulled away and gently pulled the covers back over Evaline, up and over her shoulders. "I'll schedule it in so that it's consistent."
"Good, good," Elise said with a nod, then paused. "She'll need to be cleaned, too. I've known doctors who have a weekly cleaning schedule, but the more often she's cleaned, the more comfortable she'll be. I can also do it if you're not comfortable."
"I wouldn't mind doing it," James said, standing beside Evaline's bed, looking down at her. "I might ask for your help the first few times, though."
"Of course. I'd be happy to help as much as needed. I can come by later with all of the supplies to teach you everything." She then gestured to the IV bag. "And also teach how what to do if the bag runs low, or if the wires get loose. I'll always be here if there's an emergency, but I figure you'd like to be independent since you spend the most time with her."
"I appreciate it," James said, his eyes still on Evaline. "I'd want to know what to do in case of an emergency. Thank you. I'd like to be trained to take care of her well."
Elise glanced at James, offering another smile before she went ahead and slightly repositioned Evaline's arms to be at a more comfortable position. "You're a good man, James. And an even better friend, and an even better partner. Evaline can't say it, but she must be so grateful to have you."
James flicked his eyes away with a faint, weak smile.
"Thanks, Elise," he said softly, before turning his attention back to Evaline. Gently, he leaned over and reached out to set his hands over hers. "I'm grateful to have you too, Evaline."
There was a small pause before Elise spoke up again. "It's very selfless, what you do," she said. "You are making a big impact. It's not easy to take care of someone in this state, but you do it without question or complaint. It's very admirable."
James looked up at Elise, but he only held her eyes for a moment.
"I'm just doing what I know she'd do for me," he said softly.
Elise smiled again. "I can tell you really love her."
James looked back down at Evaline.
"I do," he said, looking at her with tenderness in his eyes.
There was another short pause as he lingered his gaze on Eve, and then he glanced at Elise, pulling up the chair behind him to sit beside the bed again for the moment. He still had his unfinished smoothie, so he took it off the side-table he'd set it on, taking a sip again.
He noticed that Elise lingered in the room, and he looked over to her expectantly as he sipped on the drink, not sure if she had something else to bring up.
"I was thinking of what you just said," Elise said after brushing some of Evaline's hair out of her face, then pulling up another nearby chair to sit next to him. "About how you're being selfless for her because she'd do the same to you. And you were selfless to Elias too by helping him even though you had no obligation. I haven't asked him myself, but I'm fairly sure he would also do the same to you if the roles were reversed."
James paused on drinking to respond.
"I guess we have that in common," he said, then returned the straw to his mouth.
"Helping strangers out of the goodness of your heart?" Elise said, glancing over with another small smile.
"I... I mean, I haven't known Elias that long, but, yes?" James said.
"I think it's more than just Elias," she continued. "I think you're overall a generously selfless person. You said you became a wanted man because you stopped a plan that would prevent deaths of children, right? That was a significant sacrifice."
James stopped sipping on his smoothie again, looking to the side a little awkwardly.
"It was the right thing to do," James said simply. "And I would do it again if necessary. I still believe it was worth it."
"That's incredibly brave of you, James," she said with a gentle softness. "I'm glad you told us your true history. It has made me appreciate who you are so much more."
James nodded slightly, feeling a little more awkward as she continued to compliment and reassure him. He wasn't sure how to respond to it, aside from a simple: "Thanks," that came out quietly. "It was nice to finally tell everyone. It's nice to feel more... understood, even though the circumstances around how I met you all and got to where we are now are quite dramatic and bizarre."
"It is dramatic and bizarre, isn't it?" Elise said with a breathy laugh. "But I don't believe it's an accident. I think you were meant to meet Evaline, then meet us, which leads to us all understanding each other. The journey to it was a little strange, but I'd say it's worth it."
James couldn't help but turn his eyes to Evaline with a small hint of sadness, though he tried to disguise it.
Was this meant to be too? Her, being comatose... possibly forever? That wasn't to say that he regretted ever meeting her. It was quite the opposite. But he couldn't help but wonder if this was what life was going to be like for them for the rest of their days. There were too many unknowns to tell, but he felt like he had to at least consider it and prepare his heart for it.
Elise seemed to detect a vein of similar thought since she spoke again. "The journey was also full of hardship, but hardship can make you stronger. And wherever there's hardship, there's also hope, too."
James didn't have much to say to that in reply, but he nodded slightly.
"I do have hope," he said quietly. "Even if sometimes it wanes."
"I think it's important to hold on to at least a small speck of hope when you can," Elise said. "Even in the hard days, you can fall back on the hope that there will be better days in the future."
"Yeah," James said, though his answer felt weak. He had hope for Evaline, but what he struggled with was having hope for himself. He didn't want to say that out loud though. Not at the moment.
He sipped on his smoothie again and then cleared his throat.
"So," he said. "Elias was telling me a little bit about you guys. It sounds like you've been pretty close, especially in your childhood. He really admires you."
"Oh, yes," Elise said with a brighter smile, leaning back on her chair. "Elias told me he told you. We are six years apart, and since our parents gave us freedom in exchange for their absence, I filled the role for him. I tried to make his life as easy as possible, but it could be a bit stressful. Once when we were younger, he accidentally called me mom. I've never let him forget it."
James laughed lightly in the back of his throat.
"I imagine it must've been a lot of pressure to have to step into the parent role when you were still just a teenager, but I greatly respect you for sticking with it all those years," James said, having to push back his own guilt. He wasn't trying to project -- he really did mean it -- but he had to fight to not make it about him.
"Like you said, it was the right thing to do," Elise said, nodding her head once in appreciation.
James smiled weakly.
"Yeah," he said, trying to think of a way to steer the conversation in a different direction.
"Elias mentioned that you also have a sister who is six years apart, but younger instead," Elise said instead. "I know it was different circumstances and settings, but how was your dynamic?"
"Oh, well... in short, I was the responsible one, and she was always causing trouble and I would get blamed for it," he said with a faint laugh. "She was always the most confident person in any room."
Elise smiled warmly, seemingly invested in what he had to say. "That sounds familiar," she said with a little laugh. "I guess the dynamics of a brother-sister with an age gap isn't too different across worlds."
"I guess not," James said, meeting her eyes with a small smile.
"Do you miss her?" she asked.
He let out a huff of air through his mouth. Elias had asked the same thing.
"Yes," he said, his smile waning. "I do. But I made peace with the fact that I'll never see her again long ago. When I became wanted, I knew seeing her again would only put her in danger. I guess, even when worlds apart, the distance feels the same somehow."
"Even if you'd made peace with it, I am so sorry you can't see her again," Elise said softly with gentle understanding. "I know the circumstances are different, but it did break my heart when I found out Elias was going to be drafted and be unreachable. It's difficult being worlds apart, but... maybe there's hope there, too. To see her again someday."
James looked down into his smoothie, which was almost gone. He could feel the sadness swirling slowly in his stomach. It was a familiar feeling. Grief. Loss. Shame.
"I think at this point, when it comes to my family, it hurts more to hope that I might see them again," he said quietly. "I guess... when your heart is broken for long enough, you just learn to live with it and move on, even if its never quite the same again. I think that's how it is with any significant loss. At some point, you learn to live on, even if the hurt's still there."
Elise nodded slowly, her smile turning sad. "That's a very mature way of thinking," she said. "It's not easy or ideal, but it is realistic. I'm sorry that your heart has felt broken long enough that you had to think that way."
James was quiet for a moment, still staring down into his cup.
"Well," he said, looking back up at her with a slightly forced, small smile. "It doesn't mean that there still can't be joy in the midst of it."
"Now, with Evaline and with us, has your heart started to mend, and you have felt more joy than you have in the past?" Elise asked.
"I think I'm starting to," James said with a slightly bigger smile.
"I really do think it wasn't a coincidence that I was the first person to meet you when you arrived," Elise said after a pause. "I had inadvertent ties to Evaline that ultimately brought us back together, and even our backstories have some paralells. If you were from Earth and grew up with the others, I'd have treated you like a younger brother too."
"You think so?" James asked with a faint smile.
Elise nodded eagerly. "A friend of Elias's is practically a family member to me," she said with a smile.
"It's nice to be in the family, then," James said softly.
"I know it doesn't - and shouldn't - replace your real family," Elise said gently. "But you do have a home here. We'll figure out the permanent location later, but what's important is that we have each other."
James nodded.
"Agreed," he said, before taking one last sip to try and finish off his smoothie.
"And, you know..." Elise said after another longer pause. "It helps knowing who you are, and understanding your full background. Elias and I were supposed to be medics for the military, and although I ended up not being strong enough, Elias was a different story. He wasn't a child soldier, but he was forced into the military with powers he had to use for nefarious orders. I know it doesn't mean much here, but it gives me peace of mind that you prevented a similar future in Nye."
James hummed softly as he set his empty cup on the side table.
"I can imagine it was a difficult time for both of you," James said. "When Elias was taken away."
"Yes... it was," Elise said softly. "I didn't really get a chance to talk to him before he was taken away. I still had a network of medics in the military that could pass my words to him, but... it's certainly not the same to seeing and speaking in person."
"I can imagine," James said gently. "I know the pain of not getting a chance to say goodbye. I'm assuming you never saw him during his service in the military?"
Elise shook her head. "No. Only those with access could go in and out. I was grateful that I had a network to fall back on, at the very least. But it pained me to know that Elias could only get to the medic ward by getting hurt, just so we can exchange words."
James looked to Elise with his brows drawn together. Knowing the nature of Elias's powers, he could imagine that getting hurt to the degree he'd need to see a medic might've proven difficult as well.
"How often were you able to send him messages?" he asked.
"Not often. A fast message would take a month. It was difficult when it gets passed to various people, but I'm glad that's all in the past now."
James nodded slightly again. "I am too."
There was another small pause that passed, and James found his mind drifting to Larrel, and even Petrus. He often wondered if they'd ever expected to hear back from it. If they ever waited, and hoped that he would return one day, or if they too, gave up hope long ago because it hurt too much. Hope deferred for so long made the heart grow sick, and at some point, you had to let it go.
Still, he wondered how often they thought about him, or if he was just a distant memory now. Was he always living in the back of their mind whenever they had family gatherings, or were they embittered? Happy he was gone?
He'd never know.
He was just the ghost of a brother and the ghost of a son, and now that he was worlds away... he really was as good as dead. He couldn't even imagine seeing them again. He didn't even know what that could look like.
He let out a quiet sigh as he looked into his lap.
"How has it been, seeing Elias again after all of these years?" James asked. "Was it everything you thought it'd be?"
Elise smiled wistfully as she lingered her gaze on him, setting her hands comfortably on her lap. "After being away that long, and knowing the experiences he went through, it wasn't a perfect, shining moment. It felt surreal, but felt more real the longer we were together. I think because we were apart for so long, I was naturally trying to connect to the brother I once knew. And although his face is familiar, we've both changed - him more than I. I may have watched him grow up, but I missed the part of him stepping into adulthood and changing. We stayed up all night catching up, but I know the years missed can't ever be recovered."
James nodded slowly, watching Elise with compassion, but also a sadness.
"Do you think that you'll ever get back to the closeness you once had before?" James asked softly.
"If anything, I think we will now be closer," Elise said with a sad smile. "I think past hardship and time apart makes you appreciate the moment with each other more."
James mirrored Elise's smile.
"Well... I'm happy for you two," James said. "Really. I'm glad this much of the mission was successful."
"The mission isn't over yet," Elise said, her gaze falling on Evaline. "I don't consider it over until we're all safe and healthy, including Evaline."
James's eyes followed to Evaline as well. He reached out and took Evaline's hand.
"And we'll stay by you until that happens, Eve," James said softly.
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