11/11 Instance: Daddy Issues

[tears~fall~like~glass]

timeline: current


Curt: The casket was nice. That was really the only opinion he could give it. Mahogany, maybe? Who cared? He knew he was staring, but he wasn't really looking at the damn thing. His mind was somewhere else. Back in the mansion.

Curt: Back in that room with Laura, like it was the first time. He knew for sure that when he kissed her, everything felt right. All he wanted now was a tear or two for his father.

Laura: Laura had taken the seat next to Curt's and was curiously peering around at all the people, inspecting their behavior - some were completely stoic while others were weeping uncontrollably. She wasn't certain how she was supposed to be acting, but neither of those options seemed like good ones. Pulling her gaze from others, she looked over to Curt and managed a sympathetic expression as she followed his gaze to the coffin.

Curt: He noticed some people still snacking. Surprisingly, he was glad they were enjoying the food. Someone should. His mother had worked herself into a frantic cooking phase.

Curt: He tried to smile at Laura but... he knew this was not easy for her either. He just put his hand on hers, and squeezed it.

Laura: She gave a grim smile and laced her fingers through his, looking around again. They had talked about meeting his family, but these were hardly the circumstances either of them had imagined. She let out a small sigh and shifted in her seat.

Curt: As the preacher finished talking about God and heaven, and blah-blah-blah, Curt noticed a bunch of people staring at him. Why're they looking at me?

Laura: While Laura hadn't been paying the preacher much mind either, she had heard enough to generally know where they were in the service. She gave his hand another squeeze to get his attention and pointed to the bit in the program that indicated he was to read the eulogy now.

Curt: "Oh... right." He nodded to her and gave an apologetic smile to the people in the seats. He got up to the podium and looked at what he had written. None of it really made any sense. It was a bunch of ramblings and quotes. What was he going to say? What he had written was... a joke.

Curt: "My dad loved me a lot. He told me once that the best way to eat a pancake was to cut a square in the middle. See,..." He leaned onto the podium now, using his hands to elaborate the pancake discussion. A few chuckles came from some of those in the seats, expecting this to go somewhere clever and praise-worthy.

Curt: "in the Navy, you're on a boat or in a submarine. And you can't put the syrup outside of your pancake or on top 'cause then it trickles away. So you cut a square into the center and fill it with syrup, then you cut around the outside and dip into it. See?" He nodded, this was practical. This made sense.

Curt: "And you also don't put ketchup on anything made from home. That's bad ... oh what'd he call it? Ju-ju? I think." His mother covered her face, half amused, half embarrassed. Maybe mostly embarrassed.

Laura: Once Curt had stepped up to the podium and started speaking, Laura had stopped peering around at everyone else and fidgeting in her seat as Curt took the podium. She sat back in her chair and placed her full attention on him, curious as to what he had to say. They hadn't really talked about his father's death, and Dr. McCoy had said he needed to grieve. Maybe this would help.

Laura: Plus, she wasn't going to get to meet his father now, and this would give her some idea of what he was like without having to directly ask.

Curt: "He... he liked comedians. George Carlin, Billy Connolly... He could never hold in his laughter at a good joke. And he loved jokes." He nodded. "Dad once told me a great one. Here, uh... Why didn't the dinosaur make breakfast?"

Curt: He looked to the mourners who eyed each other strangely, unsure of the correct response. "Because it was extinct." Curt snorted and chuckled at that.

Laura: It was nice to hear him laugh, as he'd been mostly unresponsive for the majority of the proceedings. It made her smile slightly more than the actual joke. The joke was cheesy but fitting. It reminded her of ones he usually told.

Curt: Curt sniffed and imagined his father laughing. "He liked to go out and hike. He taught me all the different reptiles in the region. And he bought me all the books on animals. What I think all this really boils down to is, my father shared. He shared his laughter, his happiness, his intellect, and his love with everyone he knew. But most importantly with his family." He smiled to Laura. His mother, who sat next to Laura, looked to Laura as well, an eyebrow arched. "I think..."

Curt: "I think I'd like to do the same. I think I'm going to share everything, just like he did." With that, Curt waved to those watching him and shrugged. "Thanks." He walked off and rather than returning to his seat, walked straight into the kitchen, sat down, poured a whiskey, and promptly began drinking.

Laura: Laura watched him walk out of the service and frowned slightly, unsure of whether it was appropriate to follow him or not. The look from his mother had not been lost on her, and she finally glanced back over to the woman. After a moment of internally debating with her brow furrowed, she murmured her condolences to his mother, as she'd seen others do, and got up to go after Curt.

Laura: She took the seat across from him, asking, "Would you care to share what you are drinking?"

Curt: "Absolutely..." he said, sliding the '54 whiskey over to her. "Please, by all means." He frowned.

Laura: After retrieving a glass for herself, Laura poured a little. She wasn't entirely sure she'd enjoy the whiskey, and her suspicions were confirmed as she drained it. Pulling a completely disgusted face at the taste and burn, she pushed the bottle back toward him, deciding, "I believe I will stick to water."

Curt: "It's a good burn,... I guess." he admitted. "It's one of those things where you gotta be in the right mood. Bad things happening can usually put a person in the right mood for whiskey." He poured a second glass. "Sorry about the way you had to meet my family. How you holdin' up?"

Laura: "You could not have foreseen the circumstances," Laura reasoned and gave a shrug, "I am fine, though unsure of how to act. It is not an abnormal feeling. What about you?"

Curt: "I'm... really upset that my eulogy was a bunch of dumb jokes and stories about breakfast." He drank the second glass, hissing after and smacking his lips. "Aw yeah... he only drank the good stuff. And by good I mean stuff that could sterilize the Great Lakes."

Laura: "I thought it was nice," she admitted as she rinsed her glass, filled it with water, and retook her seat. After a moment of contemplation, she added, "It sounded like he was similar to you."

Curt: "Well... he was my father. That's sort of the thing that happens, there. I forget... did you know your father?"

Curt: He poured another glass and eyed the bottle carefully. She is going to either figure out to take this away or let me get drunk. I wonder which...

Laura: She slowly shook her head, "You were working on that before the cure, and I got the results. However, I did not want to open them without you."

Curt: "Oh, really?" He asked, pushing his frames up the bridge of his nose. "Interesting... may I inquire why you waited?"

Curt: "Why would it be important that I was there? It's your father."

Laura: "I... I just felt like it was something you should be around for," Laura answered, not particularly sure how to put the emotions into words, "Nor was I certain about opening them by myself or what I would do with the information."

Curt: "Well... we're here now. You have them?" He realized that was a preposterous question. They were at his father's funeral in Australia.

Laura: "I do," she answered, producing the folded envelope from the small purse she had brought with her. She set it on the table between them and frowned slightly, asking, "Are you sure you want to do this rather than finish your father's service?"

Curt: He was impressed that she brought it around with her. This could mean she was curious, even bothered by the results. It meant she was invested. Progress. "My mom has her sisters and my dad's brother to help her right now. I gave the eulogy, the burial isn't for another three hours. Let's do this." He said, gently nodding and pouring another glass, his curiosity growing.

Laura: Laura took a sip from her own glass and picking up the envelope after she'd set it back in the table. She had started to gently pry the envelope open, but when that didn't work she simply used a claw as a letter opener. Then, she shook the papers out, placing them in the space between her and Curt so they both could see the results.

Curt: He read through and looked at the information. "Well... you don't have any hereditary diseases... yet. Nothing they screen for at least." He said, optimistically.

Curt: He waited for her to notice the names. See what her reaction was.

Laura: She hadn't even taken notice of that bit of information because she was focused on the names. Blinking, she slowly reached out to pull that sheet closer to her, looking it over again to make sure had read it correctly. It still said Nathaniel Essex.

Curt: "Now... correct me if I'm wrong." He knew his memory was still a little fuzzy. "But... that's your captor, right? The guy who imprisoned you for years and tried to turn you into his personal killing machine?" He looked to her with concern. He wasn't sure if she knew how to process all of this.

Laura: The information still hadn't quite processed, and it was a few moments before she nodded. There was another pause before she mumbled, "That is correct."

Curt: "... You know, there's a very small percentage this information is incorrect." he said cautiously. "Probably somewhere around .002%."

Laura: "Yes, I am aware. I believe you told me it would be how accurate it would be before you ran the test."

Curt: "I'm... I'm sorry, Laura. I can't even begin to imagine what you must be thinking about..."

Curt: His hand gently rubbed her back.

Laura: She shook her head and began to gather the papers, "I am not entirely sure what to think."

Curt: "Laura, try to express it. What are you feeling right now?" He knew this was hard, but this could be crucial.

Laura: "Surprise," she determined easily, brow furrowing as she worked to figure out everything else, "Frustration... Disappointment... Relief..."

Curt: He nodded. "Sounds reasonable." He thought about his father and what he would say to him if he were standing in the kitchen now. "What would you say to Essex, now that you know?"

Laura: "Why?" she suggested, as that was the one at the forefront of her mind.

Curt: "Because it's good to talk these things out? Because he essentially stole you away, experimented on you, and abused you for years but the whole time it was his own daughter? That's... gotta mean you have some kind of reaction."

Curt: "What would you say to him?"

Laura: Laura shook her head, "No, I meant I would ask why. Why would he... do all of that? Fathers, from what I have seen and determined, are supposed to be... Well, not mad scientists."

Curt: He felt bad not catching that. Of course that would have been her question. He should have had more confidence in her to not take an immediately violent approach. "I don't think you're ever going to know now." He said with a disappointed shrug.

Curt: "But... at least you do?"

Laura: "No, I will not," she frowned, giving a shrug, "I suppose so."

Curt: 'Something to be said about at least knowing. I'm sorry though, this is probably the last thing you wanted to hear." He pulled her in for a strong hug.

Laura: "It is definitely not what I was expecting," Laura leaned into the hug, adding, "Perhaps I will try some more of the whiskey."

Curt: He laughed. "I think you deserve it." He gave her the bottle and poured his own. He could hear the chairs moving slightly as people raised themselves out of them. "It's over... People are going to start looking for me. They're gonna try to get me to share random, pointless, memories with them that I don't really want to hear about right now..." He looked to the hall where he could hear people approaching.

Curt: "Laura? Let's get out of here. I'll meet up with them at the actual burial." He took her hand and the bottle and pulled her out the door with him. Despite their nice funeral clothes, he wanted to go outside, in the sun, and just sit out in the tall grass with her. Get away from this place.

[steyn]

Sinny's the baby daddy! Daddy's little girl is a death machine ^-^

[Slarti]

Bwahahahhahahahahahaahhaaahaahahahha!!!! Evil! I love it!

Yeah... bobby's gonna cringe over sending a girl to kill her father >>

[PanicSwitch]

[Ult_Sm86]

LMAO!

That's amazing.

[puppygirl]

Yeah... bobby's gonna cringe over sending a girl to kill her father >>

BUWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!! Nice job Freezerpop!

[Starfish]