Writing Request: Babysitter (BSG: Hera, Kara)
Writing request for greycoupon! Who requested either Hera's first words, or Starbuck making new year's resolutions. So I tried to give you both, after a fashion!
Disclaimer: Not mine, making no money.
Babysitter.
"We'll be back just after midnight."
"Sure, no problem."
"In case you wanted to join the party."
"Helo, there's no hurry. What am I gonna do? Look for Lee and embarrass myself to death?"
"Anders might be around."
"Helo, you won the game, I'm yours for the night, just get out of here."
"Are you sure Kara, because it's really not a big deal..."
"Come on, Karl, when was the last time you had a babysitter? Never? Who else are you going to trust with the munchkin?"
"All right, all right, I'm going. Me and Sharon, we're really grateful. You're right, we haven't had a chance to go out since...since Hera came home."
"Get going, Karl."
"She's eaten, but there's a spare bottle in the cooling unit."
"Got it."
* * *
"All right, Hera, you see this? This is not a good hand. This is the kind of hand that got me into this mess. See you've got Prince red - which would be great, if you had anything else red. You know red? Say it with me, 'red'."
"Okay, so you're the quiet type."
"The point is, you want to ditch as many of these cards as you can. Now, bet's to me. No - no come on, Hera, don't eat the cards. What is Helo teaching you? Yeah well, not Triad, that's for sure. When you grow up, if you treat my viper this way, I'm going to have second thoughts about flying lessons."
* * *
"I have been through every last cupboard, kid, and I have no idea how they keep you entertained. But here's what I've got. Three crayons - which isn't so bad, because you've got red, blue and yellow. Those are primary colours. I know, I know, we didn't do so great with red when we were playing cards, but it's never too early to learn about green. Green? You wanna say that?"
"Right, quiet type."
"I also found you a toy viper. This is much better than that raptor Daddy hung above your bed. When you grow up and you have one of these, they'll write your name, right here. Of course, we're going to have to be careful about your callsign. Short Circuit could be insensitive. Well, who are we kidding, you'll grow a thick skin. I hope."
"No - no, come on, Hera, don't eat the crayons!"
* * *
"You know the whole quiet thing is getting a little creepy. I mean, I get it, I'm a thrilling conversationalist, you're hanging on my every word. But your daddy's getting a bit freaked out that you haven't started with the words yet. Apparently that's sort of bad at your age and he's worried about trauma and psychological damage."
"Yeah, I think psychologists are dumb too. Nothing helps with my nightmares either."
"But you might want to try, just for your dad because he's a really great guy. Can you say that? Dad?"
"Okay, forget about the words, just some sort of noise would be nice. I mean, last time I was here you spent the whole time laughing or screaming or something, so what's with the silent treatment? Kids are supposed to be loud, right?"
"Kacey was loud."
"Okay, not loud. But I could always hear her making some sort of noise. Well. She's with her mom now."
"I miss her."
* * *
"You're done with the crayons? Yeah, well, you don't have to throw them at me, you know. 'Kara,' you could say. 'Come look at my kickass drawing. I've got red and I've got blue and I've got yellow and I drew these cool...circles."
"Hera, who taught you to draw that?"
"Hera?"
"Oh gods, sweetie, don't cry, I didn't mean to snap. Here, I've got you, I've got you, I'm sorry. We'll just, we'll just take this bad picture and hide it, okay? Then it can't upset either of us any more. Here, look, I'm folding it up and putting it away."
"Erf."
"What did you just say?"
"Ferferferferferf."
"Oh thank the gods. You're just babbling. Gods, kid, you know how to turn me into a wreck. Good thing no one else is here, right? Can you imagine that? Wow. Okay. You want something to eat? Your dad said there was a bottle around here somewhere."
* * *
"I give up, Hera. I put you to bed, you stay awake. I let you run around, you don't get tired. I put you to bed in your parents' bed, you stay awake. Now I'm in here with you and you still won't sleep."
"Give me a clue. You want a hug? All right, here, hug."
"Yeah, I know you want your daddy, but he's not here right now. He's out at the bacchanal. You know what that is? It's a big party. For grown ups. Everyone gets drunk and dances and then sometimes some of them hook up and...go do grown up things. It's new year. It's a chance for everyone to start over. Make promises to each other to be better people."
"God, it's eleven-thirty hours and you are still awake."
"Do you want to make a new year promise, Hera? You want to promise me you'll go to sleep?"
"I make the same promise every year. Never keep it though."
"I always promise not to be such a screw-up."
* * *
"What the frak?!"
"Gods, Kara, put the gun down, it's only us!"
"Fwak!"
"Hera? Oh...frak."
"Fwak!"
"I'm sorry Helo - I must have fallen asleep. I didn't realise it was you."
"Fwak!"
"And now I've ruined your daughter forever."
"Kara, are you kidding? She's talking!"
* * *
Authorial Ramblings ahoy!
This turned out awfully artsy with its dialogue-only style. It was honestly not intentional; I'd planned it out in my head as third-person limited with a very "Kara" narrator. But when I started writing it, it just...ended up as this. I think I like the brevity and plainness of the style, though I'm painfully aware that this sort of style can be both confusing and interpreted as pretentious?
Well...I just hope it works. It was fun to write. Didn't take me very long because it almost wrote itself.
It's the shortest piece I've written in this project by about a hundred words (not counting the drabble), and I wish it were longer, but I don't think that the format could have supported it.
I hope no one feels cheated by the length; it certainly doesn't reflect lack of interest!
Thanks all, and next up is hmpf's surrealistic prompt about animals. WISH ME LUCK!
Disclaimer: Not mine, making no money.
Babysitter.
"We'll be back just after midnight."
"Sure, no problem."
"In case you wanted to join the party."
"Helo, there's no hurry. What am I gonna do? Look for Lee and embarrass myself to death?"
"Anders might be around."
"Helo, you won the game, I'm yours for the night, just get out of here."
"Are you sure Kara, because it's really not a big deal..."
"Come on, Karl, when was the last time you had a babysitter? Never? Who else are you going to trust with the munchkin?"
"All right, all right, I'm going. Me and Sharon, we're really grateful. You're right, we haven't had a chance to go out since...since Hera came home."
"Get going, Karl."
"She's eaten, but there's a spare bottle in the cooling unit."
"Got it."
* * *
"All right, Hera, you see this? This is not a good hand. This is the kind of hand that got me into this mess. See you've got Prince red - which would be great, if you had anything else red. You know red? Say it with me, 'red'."
"Okay, so you're the quiet type."
"The point is, you want to ditch as many of these cards as you can. Now, bet's to me. No - no come on, Hera, don't eat the cards. What is Helo teaching you? Yeah well, not Triad, that's for sure. When you grow up, if you treat my viper this way, I'm going to have second thoughts about flying lessons."
* * *
"I have been through every last cupboard, kid, and I have no idea how they keep you entertained. But here's what I've got. Three crayons - which isn't so bad, because you've got red, blue and yellow. Those are primary colours. I know, I know, we didn't do so great with red when we were playing cards, but it's never too early to learn about green. Green? You wanna say that?"
"Right, quiet type."
"I also found you a toy viper. This is much better than that raptor Daddy hung above your bed. When you grow up and you have one of these, they'll write your name, right here. Of course, we're going to have to be careful about your callsign. Short Circuit could be insensitive. Well, who are we kidding, you'll grow a thick skin. I hope."
"No - no, come on, Hera, don't eat the crayons!"
* * *
"You know the whole quiet thing is getting a little creepy. I mean, I get it, I'm a thrilling conversationalist, you're hanging on my every word. But your daddy's getting a bit freaked out that you haven't started with the words yet. Apparently that's sort of bad at your age and he's worried about trauma and psychological damage."
"Yeah, I think psychologists are dumb too. Nothing helps with my nightmares either."
"But you might want to try, just for your dad because he's a really great guy. Can you say that? Dad?"
"Okay, forget about the words, just some sort of noise would be nice. I mean, last time I was here you spent the whole time laughing or screaming or something, so what's with the silent treatment? Kids are supposed to be loud, right?"
"Kacey was loud."
"Okay, not loud. But I could always hear her making some sort of noise. Well. She's with her mom now."
"I miss her."
* * *
"You're done with the crayons? Yeah, well, you don't have to throw them at me, you know. 'Kara,' you could say. 'Come look at my kickass drawing. I've got red and I've got blue and I've got yellow and I drew these cool...circles."
"Hera, who taught you to draw that?"
"Hera?"
"Oh gods, sweetie, don't cry, I didn't mean to snap. Here, I've got you, I've got you, I'm sorry. We'll just, we'll just take this bad picture and hide it, okay? Then it can't upset either of us any more. Here, look, I'm folding it up and putting it away."
"Erf."
"What did you just say?"
"Ferferferferferf."
"Oh thank the gods. You're just babbling. Gods, kid, you know how to turn me into a wreck. Good thing no one else is here, right? Can you imagine that? Wow. Okay. You want something to eat? Your dad said there was a bottle around here somewhere."
* * *
"I give up, Hera. I put you to bed, you stay awake. I let you run around, you don't get tired. I put you to bed in your parents' bed, you stay awake. Now I'm in here with you and you still won't sleep."
"Give me a clue. You want a hug? All right, here, hug."
"Yeah, I know you want your daddy, but he's not here right now. He's out at the bacchanal. You know what that is? It's a big party. For grown ups. Everyone gets drunk and dances and then sometimes some of them hook up and...go do grown up things. It's new year. It's a chance for everyone to start over. Make promises to each other to be better people."
"God, it's eleven-thirty hours and you are still awake."
"Do you want to make a new year promise, Hera? You want to promise me you'll go to sleep?"
"I make the same promise every year. Never keep it though."
"I always promise not to be such a screw-up."
* * *
"What the frak?!"
"Gods, Kara, put the gun down, it's only us!"
"Fwak!"
"Hera? Oh...frak."
"Fwak!"
"I'm sorry Helo - I must have fallen asleep. I didn't realise it was you."
"Fwak!"
"And now I've ruined your daughter forever."
"Kara, are you kidding? She's talking!"
* * *
Authorial Ramblings ahoy!
This turned out awfully artsy with its dialogue-only style. It was honestly not intentional; I'd planned it out in my head as third-person limited with a very "Kara" narrator. But when I started writing it, it just...ended up as this. I think I like the brevity and plainness of the style, though I'm painfully aware that this sort of style can be both confusing and interpreted as pretentious?
Well...I just hope it works. It was fun to write. Didn't take me very long because it almost wrote itself.
It's the shortest piece I've written in this project by about a hundred words (not counting the drabble), and I wish it were longer, but I don't think that the format could have supported it.
I hope no one feels cheated by the length; it certainly doesn't reflect lack of interest!
Thanks all, and next up is hmpf's surrealistic prompt about animals. WISH ME LUCK!