Emancipated and Quite Capable

"This is Miss Hannah Alenko," Jack explained. "She called me Dad."

His tone was calm, but from his expression it was clear he hoped this was as weird for Kaidan as it was for him.

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Yeah, don't worry about that, Jack: Kaidan looked like his eyes were about to pop out of his head.

"...Excuse me?"

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Hannah heaved a sigh. "You're both my fathers," she said. "There's a big portal out in town - I hung around for a while, there were a lot of other kids. Some from the same parents but different places. Don't worry so much."

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"I think this is a perfectly normal amount of worrying," Jack said. "If anything we aren't worrying enough."

He ran a hand through his hair, dislodging what he hoped was the last feather. "So -- how did you decide to go jumping through a portal?"

He hadn't been surprised by that fact about his previous children: Emma's daughters would never have listened to reason, and any child raised by Sebastien would have a skewed sense of danger. But Kaidan tended to be more protective.

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Hannah shrugged. "It was interesting," she said. "And EDI was watching me."

EDI, sadly, could accidentally be an enabler.

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"...Right," Kaidan said, leaning against the railing of the stairs. "I have no idea who Edie is," he added, glancing at Jack.

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"She's not one of my friends either," Jack sighed, returning the glance before he turned his attention back to Hannah. "I'll guess she's not someone our future selves should trust with babysitting too often."

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"Oh, don't. EDI is great," Hannah said. "She said this would be 'an interesting experience', and so far she's right."

She looked at Jack. "You both look really different-- and not just because you don't have wrinkles."

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"Uh-huh." Jack sounded unconvinced on the topic of Edie, whoever she was. "And -- how do we look different? I wasn't planning on getting wrinkles anytime soon."

Though some part of him was pleased to know there was yet another world where he lived long enough to get them.

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"You're not in a uniform yet and it makes you carry yourself differently," Hannah pointed out. "You also seem looser. Not quite like my dad yet. He can carry more."

She looked up at Kaidan. "And you are going to get really grey."

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Kaidan immediately reached up and ran a self-conscious hand over his hair. "...I have been getting a few grey hairs. I mean... what?"

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"They only show because your hair's so dark," Jack told Kaidan. "I'm trying to imagine what made me put on a uniform. Your people must have been persuasive."

In theory it could have been another military, he supposed, but ... come on. That was as likely as Hannah's other parent being another Alenko.

Edited Date: 2013-04-06 07:12 pm (UTC)

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Hannah shrugged. "You're good at what you do," she said, which was reason enough in her book. "But the reasons aren't that important. I just wanted to see the island."

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"Welcome to the island," Kaidan said, sighing.

He finally got all the way down the stairs, rubbing at his arm. "Uh..."

Sorry, Jack. This was his first time.

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"It's not a bad island," Jack echoed, laughing a little at how strange this still was, then glanced back to Kaidan. "Did we warn you this might happen? I feel like I've mentioned the triplets."

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"You did," Kaidan granted. "But this is, uh. Running into it is... uh, it's different."

Especially since the kid was with Jack who, sex pollen week notwithstanding, he saw as a friend. (Hell, he was trying to figure out how that would even work, because he was completely incapable of being anything but monogamous, and Jack was... well, definitely not that.)

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"You told me it probably would, if that's a consolation," Hannah said. "He told me to stay away from portals."

Futilly. But Kaidan had tired.

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Jack could be monogamous, especially as long as there weren't naked vampires rubbing up against him. Whether it would ever be an entirely natural fit for him the way it was for Kaidan .... ahahahaha no.

"It is unexpected," he admitted, since he also hadn't thought about Kaidan that way outside sex pollen week, which didn't count. And then there was the entire question of how two men reproduced, but Jack was setting that one aside for after a lot more coffee.

To Hannah, he said, "He gives good advice. I'm practical. But you're here now, so -- is there anything in particular you wanted to see on the island?"

Edited Date: 2013-04-06 07:44 pm (UTC)

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Hannah thought about that one for a decent period of time.

"I want to see the food stores and the coffee place," she decided. Mostly because she was hungry. Also because they would be excellent places to people-watch. "Because I really want coffee."

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Jack eyed her. "We can go there," he said. "I'm not certain coffee's good for you."

Though the kid seemed level-headed enough that a little caffeine wouldn't ruin her life, or anything.

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Kaidan phrased that as a, "You are not getting coffee. It's harmful to kids, okay? ...has anyone been letting you have coffee?"

Poor Kaidan. Doomed to be the bad cop.

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"Joker says," Hannah started, then stopped.

Kaidan really didn't know what Joker said about him. Or Jack. And sticks up places.

"...that too," she sighed. "Can I at least get some cake?"

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Joker and EDI could feed their half-robot kids whatever they wanted. Kaidan and Jack got to feed Hannah.

"A small piece," Jack said, so Kaidan wouldn't have to totally be the mean one. "And only if you have some fruit too, all right? You need vitamins."

Edited Date: 2013-04-07 01:12 pm (UTC)

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"Cheesecake has vitamin A in it," Hannah felt she had to point out. "I don't need the fruit."

Because that's how it worked.

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