[4400] [Gen] [K+] Too Blue to Fly
This ficlet was part of The Great Ficlet Project, in which 26 different fandoms were represented, each with a ficlet based on a song lyric provided by my friends list.
Title: Too Blue to Fly
(Hank Williams lyric, provided by Pixie_on_acid)
Genre: Gen
Pairing/Characters: Richard, Isabelle
Length: 407 words
Spoilers: Set after Being Tom Baldwin
“I want to go with you this time.”
He doesn’t stop packing to look at her. “I know you do, sweetheart, but it’s just not a good idea.”
“It’s not fair!”
Turning, Richard squares his shoulders and stares his daughter down. “That’s just it, Isabelle. That is an argument that a child would make. Adults accept that life isn’t fair.” Isabelle hangs her head, and he sighs defeatedly, though he knows he’s won. He doesn’t want to hurt her. “You’ve come a long way, Isabelle. It’s amazing what you’ve learned in just a few weeks. But people outside the Center, they don’t know about you. NTAC doesn’t know about you. We’d like to keep it that way. So when you go outside the Center, you are not only going to have to look like an adult, you are going to have to sound like an adult and think like an adult.”
“I know. It’s just… no one understands what it’s like. How am I supposed to know who I am if I can’t get out and experience life?”
“I understand more than you think I do, Isabelle.” Richard pauses, remembering what it was like when they were first returned, how fast and strange the world seemed to him. “You missed the years where your own life would have changed, but I missed the years where the whole world changed. Either way, we both have to figure out who we are in this world.”
Isabelle looks at him curiously. “You don’t know who you are either?”
Richard rubs his eyes tiredly and turns away again. “I thought I did, but then I lost your mother. Look, I’ll only be a couple of days. Shawn is needed here, and there’s no one else to do this for the Center right now.”
Isabelle walks over to the bed and sits down next to Richard’s suitcase. She picks up a shirt from the pile on the mattress and begins to fold it, mimicking his motions as he does the same. “I know. I’m sorry. I just wanted to take my first flight.” She smiles up at him. “It’s on my list.”
Richard smiles back, but it quickly fades. He glances over at his desk and the certificate Lily gave him for his birthday. “I’m driving.” Isabelle looks at him with confusion and concern, and he lays a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “It’s alright. I’m just not quite ready to fly.”
Title: Too Blue to Fly
(Hank Williams lyric, provided by Pixie_on_acid)
Genre: Gen
Pairing/Characters: Richard, Isabelle
Length: 407 words
Spoilers: Set after Being Tom Baldwin
“I want to go with you this time.”
He doesn’t stop packing to look at her. “I know you do, sweetheart, but it’s just not a good idea.”
“It’s not fair!”
Turning, Richard squares his shoulders and stares his daughter down. “That’s just it, Isabelle. That is an argument that a child would make. Adults accept that life isn’t fair.” Isabelle hangs her head, and he sighs defeatedly, though he knows he’s won. He doesn’t want to hurt her. “You’ve come a long way, Isabelle. It’s amazing what you’ve learned in just a few weeks. But people outside the Center, they don’t know about you. NTAC doesn’t know about you. We’d like to keep it that way. So when you go outside the Center, you are not only going to have to look like an adult, you are going to have to sound like an adult and think like an adult.”
“I know. It’s just… no one understands what it’s like. How am I supposed to know who I am if I can’t get out and experience life?”
“I understand more than you think I do, Isabelle.” Richard pauses, remembering what it was like when they were first returned, how fast and strange the world seemed to him. “You missed the years where your own life would have changed, but I missed the years where the whole world changed. Either way, we both have to figure out who we are in this world.”
Isabelle looks at him curiously. “You don’t know who you are either?”
Richard rubs his eyes tiredly and turns away again. “I thought I did, but then I lost your mother. Look, I’ll only be a couple of days. Shawn is needed here, and there’s no one else to do this for the Center right now.”
Isabelle walks over to the bed and sits down next to Richard’s suitcase. She picks up a shirt from the pile on the mattress and begins to fold it, mimicking his motions as he does the same. “I know. I’m sorry. I just wanted to take my first flight.” She smiles up at him. “It’s on my list.”
Richard smiles back, but it quickly fades. He glances over at his desk and the certificate Lily gave him for his birthday. “I’m driving.” Isabelle looks at him with confusion and concern, and he lays a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “It’s alright. I’m just not quite ready to fly.”