75 Godiva, Sunday evening

[vdistinctive]

There wasn't anything quantifiable that Eliot could nail down, but he could tell when Fandom managed to shake off its latest evil invasion. It was like an enormous, evil weight had been lifted from the world.

It was an enormous relief, but mostly Eliot kind of wanted to take a nap. Again. Apparently freaking out as hard as he had took a lot out of a person, more than sleeping a good 10 hours straight thanks to the medication Hardison had dug up.

"Right," he said. "So . . . what. We should be good through, like, March now, right?"

[ooc: for the family, especially, but can also be open!]

Comments

[godilovedthis]

"I don't think she wanted me here," Kathy said, frowning, her fingers moving to her side. Under her shirt, some of the skin looked oddly gray. "She definitely didn't want me fighting. Which isn't fair. That's why I came."

[vdistinctive]

"Savin' people's gotten a little . . . complicated for her," Eliot said. "You're lucky you don't have to remember that."

[godilovedthis]

"Why is it hard?" Kathy asked. "It's just the right thing to do. Did I think it was hard once?"

That couldn't possibly be right.

[vdistinctive]

"It went -- bad. For her. She had to have a lot of folks come help her out, and she worries it means she's not good enough." Eliot smiled sadly. "She's wrong, but that's somethin' she's gonna have to work out for herself."

[godilovedthis]

"But helping out is what friends do!" Apparently, at her heart, Kathy was, in fact, a Saturday morning cartoon, one that truly believed in the power of friendship. "I'm here to help but that's not because I think you can't be a hero." She frowned. "Was this because she was dead? I remember everyone was mad about that. Or sad and that made them mad."

[vdistinctive]

"That's the one. That's a pretty major thing to handle, even when you know what friends are for."

[godilovedthis]

"I'll be dead soon," Kathy mused. "And then I'll turn into a monster. Maybe that's just something that happens to Kathies."

[vdistinctive]

"Never," Eliot said. "Not a chance. I've met a couple Kathies now, and I know you're not all doomed."

[godilovedthis]

"What happened to the rest?" Kathy asked, propping her chin in her hands, like a little girl waiting for a story.

[vdistinctive]

"One of 'em became the mayor of LA." He didn't remember a lot of details from that one, but still. "Another was a lawyer."

[godilovedthis]

"Oh," Kathy said, scratching thoughtfully again. "That must have been nice. Both of them. But I think I'm out of time."

[vdistinctive]

"No," Eliot said, much more firmly than he intended. "You're going to be fine, Kathy. You've got yourself some magic friends back home, I'm sure they can help you."

Since he had no idea how, and was trying really hard not to panic about it.

[godilovedthis]

"No one's figured out how yet," Kathy said with a wan smile. "You know that. You think they would have let it get this far if we knew how to fix it?"

[vdistinctive]

"You ain't done till you're done, darlin'. Don't count 'em out yet."

[godilovedthis]

"Either way, I'm glad I got to come and say goodbye," she said. "We didn't get a chance to say it properly last time, did we."

[vdistinctive]

"No," Eliot said. "No, we didn't. And I've regretted that ever since."

[godilovedthis]

Kathy opened her arms. "We're gonna do it right this time," she said. "Last time pays for all."

[vdistinctive]

"That we are." Eliot scooped her up into a tight hug. "I'm so glad I got to see you again, darlin'. No matter what else, I'm so glad to get this chance."

[godilovedthis]

"Even though you have a Kathy?" she protested, holding him tightly. "One that's not broken?"

[vdistinctive]

"Even then," Eliot said. "Ain't no such thing as too many Kathies."

[godilovedthis]

"I wish I could stay," she said. "It's nice here. Warm and there's food and the puppy and family. Do you think I could?"

[vdistinctive]

"I dunno," Eliot said honestly. "I hope so. It hasn't worked before, but. . . ." He let out a slightly brittle laugh. "Ain't I just told you that somethin' not working before don't mean it can't work now?"

[godilovedthis]

And Fandom, being the cruel mistress she sometimes was, chose that moment to open a portal. "I don't think so," Kathy said, looking at it. On the other side, a gray world lay, malignant and cold, though sunlight could be seen.

[vdistinctive]

Eliot pulled her into a tight, tight hug. As if he thought if he hung on hard enough, he could keep any of this from happening. Stop time and keep Kathy here, keep her from fading anymore.

"I'm never gonna forget you, kid. Never."

[godilovedthis]

"I'm glad one of us won't," she said, holding him just as tightly. "I love you, Dad."

And pulled away as the portal call grew too strong to ignore.

"I love you." That was what they hadn't had a chance to say last year. It was important to say again. Down her forearm the words Say I love you whenever you can were written, just for that reason.