First Encounters [Tag: AFB people]

A smile firmly across his features as he watched Liv press a kiss onto her child James brought his arms to rest in his lap after the weight of the child was fully removed from his arms, It was a sweet thing, seeing a mother with her child. Seeing the love that was shared between them. Scooting away from her James motioned for Kat to move off the bed and into the nearby chair which the young girl did so with minor protest. "Always happy to help Ma'am." James said with a nod as he saw Doc Mitchell make her way through the door followed swiftly by Serenity who was apparently acting as her aid for the time.

"How we feeling Miss Stevenson?" she asked as she came to stand at the foot of the bed. Motioning for James to move out of the way he did so with a nod and a quick "Yes Ma'am." Before coming to stand beside Kat who sat in the chair still absorbed in her bracelets. Coming to stand before Liv the doctor began running through some questions to gauge Liv's comfort as she began to go over different things that rested on her mental checklist. "any pain? discomfort?" she asked as she motioned Serenity to hand her stethoscope over. Listening to Liv's heartbeat after asking permission she nodded to herself as she made a note that it was still good. Running over a few more questions with the girl, this time about her child it was only a matter of a few questions before she was satisfied with her findings. "Alright Miss Stevenson, Think you're clear. Medically anyway. I'd like to take it easy until you get your strength back but nothing major." She then greeted with a smile which James returned in kind.

"You'll want to have someone help you get all this stuff moved though, Don't want you lifting anything too heavy right now." Doc Mitchell began "I'll get Coll-" she started before stopping at the sight of James hand raising. "I'll help her doc." he said with a nod "I don't head off base again until tomorrow." He explained while getting to his feet. "I'll help her get all moved." Doc Mitchell thought on the matter for a moment before her face went soft. "Alright dear." she said with a nod at his response. "I'll let Collin Know that she's getting moved in." With that the woman turned to leave the room, behind her followed Serenity but before doing so the teen smiled to Liv and the child. "Welcome ma'am." She greeted once more before joining the doc as she disappeared through the door once more.

"Well, that's settles that." James said as he turned back to Liv who still rested in the bed. "The housing isn't that far off, just a few blocks. I can fit most if not all of this in my vehicle, hell, think we already did." he said, ending in a chuckle at the half joke about how they had done so once already that day. Think you'll be bunkin with some of the other new arrivals, not many of them. Think there was a duo of em a few days ago and The scout team likes to hang out there a lot." he said as he came to stand near the head of the bed that rested against the wall. "Just a word of warning though, if Clara gets on your nerves don't be afraid to tell her to go away, Although her sister is pretty good about keepin her in check." he said as he held out his arm to help her up. "you'll understand when you meet'm."

Watching the doctor and Serenity depart once more James turned to face the two girls. "Alright Kat, Run along now." James said before patting the girl on the back. Making his way to stand before Liv he brought his arm out to aid her to her feet which she thankfully did with little hesitation, "We're ya'll goin J?" Came Kat's voice from behind him, Not answering right away James focused on getting Liv to her feet, Taking Jason in his arms at her request once more he got the child situated in his arms before turning to Kat to answer her question. "I'm not taking you anywhere without you're ma's permission little lady." He responded, his tone serious but only as to get the girl to understand he meant business.

Quickly Kat turned on her heels and darted into the other room, half way to the door she began calling to Rachel who was presumably in the other room at the time as the faint answer to the girls calls could be heard followed by the distant shouts for the young girl to not yell, although she was doing the same which nullified the entire purpose of what she was saying which to James was ever so amusing.

Watching the young girl disappear through the very same door the doctor and Serenity had a few moments prior James stood quiet for a moment before turning to face Liv. "I say we got about five minutes before Rachel gives up arguing with her and she comes back." He said with amusement tugging at his words. "You good to go?" he then asked her before handing her son back to her. "I'll start moving this stuff to the car, You watch out for the return of the little hoodlum." With those words James squatted down to lift the first of the boxes of baby supplies. "You need anything else before I start loading things up?" he asked as he steadied the box in his arms, still listening to the distant murmur of Kat presenting her case to her mother and her mothers protests that were sure to fail eventually.

Taking a moment to adjust his grip on the box of supplies James listened as Liv began to explain the state of her shoes and why they were so large. "No worries." he said as she finished, in all honesty he'd seen people do way crazier stuff to keep going so oversized shoes wasn't that strange. Listening on as Rachel was clearly losing the fight with her daughter he heard the young girl cheer before tacking on "Love you mom!" Everything went silent after that, at least for the few seconds it took the young girl to close the distance between the kitchen and the room James and Liv resided. "Welp, sounds like she gave up." James joked mere seconds before Kat came skipping back around the corner with glee. Looking over at the young girl as she approached James smiled. "Let me guess, You got the okay?" he said already knowing the answer. "Yup! Let's hit the road!" she cheered as she fake marched passed James and Liv towards the door that exited to the side of the building.

Adjusting his grip on the box again he took a moment to steady his grip before he gave Liv a nod as he heard her question as Kat marched off. "You'll be there for about a week, after that you'll move to a more permanent place, after the interviews that is." he responded in the kind manner he always had with the newcomers. "You'll probably get a visit from Collin before then though, he likes to greet all the new people when they show up." James tacked on before turning to join Kat. "This way." he called looking back towards Liv, seeing that she was pretty much ready to go. "Hold the door Kat." he called as he turned back to see the young girl begin to make her way through the side exit of the building that acted as a fire exit in the building they were in. "Yoooou got it J!" the young girl cheered, her happiness from winning the argument with her mother showing clear as day in her tone as she watched James cross through the doorway with his hands occupied with the box.

Waiting for Liv to cross through the door as well the young girl smiled at her "Newcomers dorm here we come!" she then cheered as she waited for her to pass through, after doing so she would then take up the rear as they rounded to the front of the building. "That's my ride." James said with a nod in the direction of the woodland green Humvee, it's designation markings on the side along with what remained of a long placed sticker belonging to one of the members of his squad. "I'll get this loaded up, anything else you want me to go fetch before we head off?" He asked before moving around to the rear to place the box in the back.

Heaving the box into the rear of the vehicle James secured the back door before stepping around and popping the drivers side door open, Stepping up and getting into the front seat he brought the seatbelt around himself, Clicking it into the buckle before glancing at Liv and the baby to see they had already done he then turned his attention to Kat who sat in the back seat, her seatbelt still resting against the seat James furrowed his brow. "Kat, buckle up." he said, his tone firm he still made a point to not come off annoyed as it would only serve to start an argument like it always did with her mother. "Fine." the young girl responded before pulling hard on her belt and clicking it into place. "What was that Katlyn?" James asked, his tone still firm although he didn't fully mean it this time around, His purpose only serving to try and teach the girl respect as did her father. Shortly a soft "Yes sir." met his ears which led to a smile. "Thank you Katlyn." he said before throwing the Humvee in gear.

Reversing out of the parking spot and back onto the road James put the vehicle into drive and felt it lurch forward slightly before beginning to roll at a steady pace. "Well, That was medical. Up here." he started as his free hand acted to draw attention to the buildings as they pass. "These two bigger buildings down here are common buildings, right one is mess hall, left is entertainment center of sorts." Letting his hand fall as the buildings passed he took the second or so to glance at his traveling companions. "These coming up." he started as his gaze came back to rest on the road ahead, "These barracks coming up serve as general housing. Where you'll be staying after the week or so you spend in the newcomers dorm." he explained with a glance in Liv's direction. "That there." he said as his finger once more came to point at an approaching building. "That's town hall, or as best of one that could be mustered for the time being." As it passed James could see Collin standing in the front greeting a few faces he didn't recognize mixed in with a few he defiantly did. Shaking the thought from his mind James returned to looking for buildings to explain, the newcomers area wasn't far off and so James fell silent until it came into view. "That's your new home for now." he said with a smile as the barracks grew closer, resting against the eastern wall it was slightly secluded from the other buildings, which in all honestly was why it was chosen. Before the end it served as new recruit housing which James felt was slightly fitting for it's new job.

Pulling into the small plot of road in front of the building James put the Humvee in park "We're here." he said with a smile towards Liv which was quickly answered with a cheer from Kat as the rear door popped open and she bolted out the door towards the building in a half skip. "I'll get the box, follow Kat on in." He said to Liv before opening his own door and setting to fetching the box from the rear of the vehicle.

Sitting on the bed in the far corner of the new arrivals area Clara let her feet dangle lazily over the edge as she lay against the soft cushion of the mattress, although it wasn't the most comfortable thing in the world it beat the hard cots that they generally ended up sleeping on whenever a true new arrival showed up. Why they chose to stay there was beyond her, apparently something Ellie had discussed with Collin a few weeks into their stay about her proving to be a good judge of character or something, Clara didn't really care to listen to the reasoning behind it, all she knew is that she got to see all the new arrivals and that was always fun!

"I'm booooored!" Clara groaned while she rolled to face Ellie who sat reading a book in the corner, it's cover old and torn it was a wonder she knew what it was in the first place.

"Well, you know where the books are." Ellie said, her gaze never leaving the pages as one hand fell to point towards the small bookshelf of reading material she had collected, most was higher level and as Clara always put it "Boring school stuff" but the bottom was reserved to goofy Juvenal fiction, among them sat books such as The Uglies, it's sequal The Pretties and a hand full of other books, only a few of which Clara had bothered to pick up.

"I don't waaana reeead bookworm..." she grounded as she once again turned away from Ellie. It was about this time that the front door clicked open and in came Kat, Collins youngest that Clara and her younger sister had taken a liking to. "Kat!" she cheered as she shot to her feet. Only getting a few steps in before seeing another figure come through the door, a woman carrying a baby. "New people! ♪ We just got new people, wonder who they are! ♪" she sang with glee as she began to skip towards them, Behind her Ellie had quietly closed her book and put it in her pocket; Getting to her feet to follow she kept a close eye on Clara to keep her in check, she had a tendency to be a little overbearing which landed her in hot water many a time. "Wait.. You got a baby!?" Clara practically shouted as her mouth fell agape, it wasn't long after Ellie's hand found it's way to hit the girl upon the head.

"Ow! What? What I do?" she said as she began to rub her head and turn towards Ellie.

"I'm sure the babies mother doesn't much enjoy the prospect of getting her child back to sleep. Think before you shout Clair." Ellie said placing her hand on Clara's shoulder.

"Oh.. Yea.." Clara said a little quieter at the realization of what she had done, head down as she turned towards the new arrival "Sorry Lady.."

"Sorry ma'am, Clara has a tendency to be a little.. Excitable at times." Ellie said, the gracefulness in her voice causing her words to flow like water among the air between them. "Greeting's, I am Ellie, The loud one here is Clara. That." she said as her finger found its way to point towards the small eye peering out from behind a nearby wall "That's Emmi, The youngest. She's about Kat's age."

Moments later James made his way through the door, his arms full of supplies brought by the lady, presumably baby supplies. "So lady. What's your name? I'm Clara, Oh wait, you already know that. How old is he? He's really cute, how old are ya? I'm.." Once again a hand found it's way to hit her upon the head followed by a stern look from Ellie. "Boo. I know you wanna know too." Clara came.

"Perhaps I do, But barraging the woman as she arrives isn't the way to go about asking her." Ellie returned, once again bowing her head in apology to the woman "Go help James." And with that Clara grumbled slightly but did as she was told, scampering off through the door with a smile as she called to James. "Welcome ma'am, once again." Ellie said, offering her hand in greeting she held it there, her eyes ever watching at everything the woman did, the way she moved, the way she would respond, it was this observatory nature that was the reason they were still here, even though they had been there for weeks on end now. Her eyes set to studying how the woman would behave she waited for the woman's response.

Taking notice of the ever apparent jumpiness of the woman Ellie kept her hand outstretched for a time before she felt the woman's hand meet hers, Letting the shake last for a moment it was then she heard the woman state her name, Ellie nodded. "Good to meet you Liv, that's an interesting name, Taken from the Norse origin of life I take it?" Clara had sense made one last attempt to get a word in as she moved passed the woman to aid James but was thwarted by a tap on the shoulder and a stern look from Ellie. Quietly Clara made her way around and disappeared through the door, only appearing again with a load of supplies. The smile ever present on her face as she went to work. "Again, I apologize for Clara's behavior ma'am." she reiterated, her eyes still watching the way the woman acted, She seemed tense, defensive and cautious; All understandable behaviors Ellie thought.

The handshake coming to an end Ellie noted that the woman's posture seemed to relax ever slightly "No thanks is necessary Ma'am, We are but a humble welcoming party of sorts, I'll try to keep Clara Behaved." With those words the younger sister, Emmi, scooted her way towards Ellie, gripping the back of the girls shirt as she stole glimpses at the woman before her. "I'm not going to hold your hand Emmi, If you want o greet her then seize the moment." Ellie's way of speaking always seemed to confuse the young girl, although she could peace together what she meant for the most part this time. With a push from behind by the arm of Ellie the young girl found herself standing in front of the eldest in full view of the newly arrived woman. "Oh, Umm.. H.. Hello miss.. Miss Liv." Emmi stammered out before quickly running to hide by the wall in the corner yet again. "Wow. You got a full sentence." Ellie joked, "I find it infinitely amusing that she's related to Clara in any shape or form but I guess that's genetics for you." Ellie said amused.

Taking a few steps to a small seating area near the north wall of the building Ellie beckoned Liv to follow before she took up one of the seats, it wasn't anything special, just an old couch flanked by an old dressing table, across sat two separate chairs and between them an old wooden coffee table, it's edges chewed by some animal or another over the course of it's life. Waiting for Liv to sit she kept her eyes on the woman. "It's always good to see new faces." She greeted, "It will take them a moment to get all of your supplies inside I imagine, Especially with how Clara goes about working. Feel free to have a seat. Any questions you may have? Anything you need? Water? A blanket for your child? Anything at all?"

practically skipping her way through the door, her hands full of bags of what looked to be baby supplies. "♪ Hopin a-long, just hopin a-long, gotta get the stuff inside for the newbie! ♪" She sang gleefully on her journey. Setting the bags beside the bed as James had instructed her she looked around to see the new girl and her baby sitting across from Ellie in the living room. Cocking her head to the side for a moment she stemmed the urge to call out to them as she began to make her way back to the door. Greeted by James at the entrence she jumped in surpise as she nearly ran headlong into the man who was partially blinded by the boxes he carried. "Oh! Sorry dude!" Clara called as she veered around him.

"That's all of it Clara." James said, stopped her as she made her way around him to go out the door again for another load.

"Oh? Awesome! Work all done!" she cheered. "scuse me." she said weaving around the man as he bent to set the boxes on the ground near the bags Clara had been carrying. Skipping to the living area setup they had she plopped down beside Ellie. "Hiya!" She said with a smile that stretched from ear to ear. Her hand sweeping in a wide wave towards the girl before feeling a hit on the head. "Oww.. Why you gotta hit me all the time?" Clara grumbled as the hand came to rub the spot.

"I was talking Claire." Ellie spoke as she brought her hand back to her lap, "And I'm sure Ms. Olivia would prefer quiet for her child. So be quiet down." Letting her hand fall back to her lap Ellie continued. "I understand." The girl spoke, Clara turned her head towards Ellie. "Whatcha talkin about?" she blurted out before quickly bringing her hand to her mouth. "Sworry." Came her muffled voice. Ellie smiled. "We've been here for about four weeks. Before that we traveled, the Camper outside is ours." Ellie said as she nodded towards the wall adjacent to them signalling the position of their vehicle. Still watching how the woman responded Ellie had begun to relax ever slightly as she began to understand what kind of person the woman Appeared to be. "When we first arrived it was an odd feeling, having our worries change from a constant need for supplies and safety to whether or not we're on patrol or not. or whether we made it for lunch or not." Ellie let the smile on her features stay as she thought on what to say. "It's an odd feeling being reintroduced into what the world used to be after growing accustomed to the way it is."

"Yea man. Although, If Ellie hadn't found us back then I don't think we'd be around anymore." Clara spoke, Not caring to hide the fact that they weren't sisters or family by any means her tone struck with a note of seriousness that wasn't usually heard in the girls voice. "But she did! And now we got a big sister that takes care of us, and a sweet place to sleep too!" she then added as she snapped back into her cheery air. Looking up and passed Liv she noticed James approaching.

"Well, that's everything Ma'am." He said as he approached. "I gotta get back to base for the night so I'm gonna leave you in the care of these three if that's alright." he said. "You guys don't have patrol tomorrow right?" He asked casually to the eldest. "Yes sir, We are on rest until day after tomorrow." Ellie greeted. "Good, would you mind showing her around tomorrow? I wanted to but duty calls." he said, his features reading that he was slightly annoyed at the fact the opportunity had been stolen away from him. "Alright folks, Be nice to the new person alright? She's been through a lot." And with that James said his goodbyes and left.

"No need to apologize." Ellie said with a nod after James left, Noticing the tears that had pooled in her eyes Ellie thought. Bringing her hand to rest on the womans knee. "Look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Try to make sense of what's around you and let yourself bloom like a flower in the spring air." Ellie sat back with an awkward face that screamed she wasn't good at consoling people that were upset.

"Um. I think what she's trying to say is, You're alright now ya know? And um. Focus on the good things? and forget that bad? I think." the girls face twisted in confusion as she tried to make sense of the quote.

"It's a quote." Ellie said, her elegant speech faltering slightly. "In short it means reach for the stars and keep yourself going." with that Clara smiled "Yea man! Do that. Oh yea, We gotta show her around tomorrow right? Sweet!" Clara cheered. "Yes, In the mean time though, it's about dinner time. Are you hungry madam?" Ellie asked.