El Goonish Shive: Uncertain Future

by Chris "HomerNet" McFarland

Chapter 4

DISCLAIMER: El Goonish Shive is property of Dan Shive, and is used here without permission. No money is being made from this work.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Since my music recommendation worked so well for the last chapter, I'd recommend listening to Angel by Sarah McLachlan (Also called Arms of the Angel)

"...listen, just be outside, OK?" Susan tapped the button on his dash to shut off the phone link. Dealing with super-powerful 'A' types was never easy, especially considering he was one himself. Such was the kind of person that did not take orders well and often demanded their own way. The entire O.C. was composed of that kind of personality, and though they were all great friends, there was often friction between the members. It usually blew over in a day or two, but if the conflict was allowed to fester, as it had between Ellen and Nanase, that person was usually nearly impossible to deal with. Ellen was filling that roll even better than Nanase had. When Susan had refused to elaborate on why he was stopping by, especially as late as it was and as a man no less, Ellen had become belligerent. He figured it was better for her to be belligerent than the mule-headed stubborn she would have been if Susan had tried to describe the night's events over the phone.

A few minutes later, Susan pulled up in front of Ellen and Nanase's house. It wasn't large, but then the couple hadn't planned on starting a family for a few more years, at least, so it suited them, especially given that they were often called out on government missions on a regular basis. Ellen was waiting outside in her usual sleeping cloths, which still consisted of a tank top and pair of boxers.

When Susan stepped out of the car, Ellen said, "What's all this...?" Susan didn't say anything, just held up a hand in a 'wait' gesture. Without saying anything, he opened the rear door of the car and pulled out Nanase in the same carry she had used earlier that night.

"Do I need to take her back to my place, or can we go in?"

Ellen was struck speechless when she saw Nanase's condition, and waved at Susan to follow her into the house. Susan gave a command to the car under his breath and it closed and locked the doors. His longer legs caught up with Ellen, and they were soon navigating to the back of the house where the couple's bedroom was. Without waiting for permission, Susan laid Nanase out on the bed, her head cradled delicately on her pillow.

"What..." Ellen began. Her voice caught, so she swallowed and began again, "What happened?"

Susan straightened up and looked at the woman on the other side of the bed, "We went to see her mother."

Ellen's face softened from the near panic to one of great concern, "...and? What happened?"

Susan crossed his arms, "She told her mother."

Ellen blinked slowly, her eyes starting to glisten. After a moment, she managed to choke out, "I...I take it her mom didn't like the news?"

"No, she didn't." said Susan, "And no, your presence would not have helped. I went as a woman, and I would have bet good money that had I not used my belt the woman would have attacked me."

A tear rolled down Ellen's cheek. "I didn't expect it would ever go well... The woman is... She just..." Unable to continue, Ellen climbed across the bed and began to stroke Nanase's cheek.

Susan watched the scene for a moment and said, "Why did you do this?"

Surprised at being questioned so directly, Ellen didn't have an answer right away. She stopped her caressing, thought for a moment, and looked up at Susan, "She needed to choose."

Susan's hackles rose slightly, "You put her through hell because you wanted her to prove herself to you? To show you that she loved you more than her mother?"

The corner of Ellen's mouth turned up slightly, "It wasn't for me, I knew she loved me more than anything else in this life... Now she knows it, too." Ellen turned back to Nanase and began stroking the redhead's cheek again.

Susan found she didn't know what to say to that, so he turned and left. A brief call to Justin to let her know that he would be late and Susan had driven to a secluded mountaintop he had discovered a couple of years prior to think. He enjoyed that mountaintop, and had used it frequently, especially when he had lost the coin toss over who was going to get pregnant first.

Susan glanced at the clock on the dashboard as she pulled into the parking garage to her apartment. She had switched back to a woman an hour previous when she realized that she had spent several hours in that form and it would be wearing off soon anyway. It was better to not transform while behind the wheel. It was now very late and she was rather tired.

A brief elevator ride up to the proper floor and a thumb scan later, and Susan was entering her darkened apartment. In the dim light that came in from the hallway, she saw Junior, curled up on the pillow that Nanase had been using on the couch, pop his head up to investigate the sudden disturbance. A look crossed his face which clearly said, "Oh, it's just you," in that uniquely feline disdain, and he laid his head back down to sleep. Susan set her purse on the table next to the door, did the same for her watch, and headed toward the bedroom.

She paused in the doorway to take in the sight of her wife. Justin was stretched out on her side of the bed with her covers mostly kicked off the bed. She rarely managed to get all the way through the night with her covers on the bed since the pregnancy. Susan stepped up to the bed and sat on the edge, kicking off her shoes in the process. As her weight hit the mattress Justin stirred.

"mmyer home." mumbled Justin as he turned over to face Susan.

Susan smiled gently, "Yes, I just got through the door."

"zzats good." Justin grabbed Susan's hand and clasped it tightly, closing her eyes to go back to sleep.

"Justin?" a gentle hum was the only response she got, "What would you have done if we hadn't told my mom?"

Justin cracked an eye open, "Told her about what, hun?"

Susan didn't immediately answer. After a quiet moment she said, "You know I love you, right?"

This statement caused Justin to sit up, her pregnant belly causing her a little difficulty. She wasn't due for over six months, and already she was having difficulty with her movement. "What's this about, sweetie?"

What could Susan say? That she had suddenly started to question if she could sever her ties to everyone she had ever known for the man who was now pregnant with their child? That she was worried that she would have to prove to herself that she loved Justin beyond measure?

"Susan," began Justin, "I could never question whether you loved me. Here," she took the hand she had been holding and pressed it up against her tummy, "Do you feel that?" Susan nodded, "That's how much we love each other."

Susan blinked back some tears and swallowed thickly. Once again, she found she didn't know what to say. She leaned forward and kissed Justin, who started helping her remove the rest of her clothing.

Epilogue

Nanase's tail flipped up and down powerfully as she searched the surrounding waters. Her lover was lost to her, the one who had saved her life was somewhere and Nanase was starting to panic. She ducked some floating seaweed and arrowed into the reefs near the coast. Even the merfolk avoided this area. A seahorse with dark coloring on it's head swam next to her. It seemed to guide her to a particular reef, and waited for her to investigate.

She saw the entrance to a grotto. She was afraid of the grotto, but knew she had to at least investigate it. As she swam through the entrance, she saw that some luminescent sea life was lighting the grotto quite well. Before she could venture further, a shark passed in front of her. She stopped and swam back, but before she could leave, she saw something in the corner of her eye, a glimpse of brown hair. She looked past the shark and saw her lover, Ellen, casually sitting on a ridge on the other side of the grotto. The shark circled back and looked directly at her, daring her to cross.

Panic rose up inside her, and she nearly turned back, but then the seahorse darted in front of her face. It seemed to be trying to block her way from leaving. It was silly, she could have simply swept the seahorse aside with her hand, but she felt she couldn't somehow. The seahorse uncurled it's tail and seemed to point into the grotto and to Ellen. The shark was still circling; seeming like it would wait forever for her to enter.

Nanase took a deep breath of water, looked Ellen in the eye, and started swimming as fast as possible through the grotto.

Pain seared through her body as the shark tore into her. She closed her eyes and started thrashing about. She felt something grab her wrists and fought, but was unable to summon the strength to break the grip. She realized her eyes were closed, so she opened them to see Ellen.

The shark was gone, so was the pain. In fact, she wasn't underwater. She wasn't a mermaid, neither was Ellen. She was in their bedroom, on their bed, and Ellen was looking down at her with concern. "You OK?" she said.

"Yes...I...bad dream."

"Ah..."

There was a moment of awkward silence, then, "I'll call Susan to pick me up. I imagine they're worried about me."

"Za...?" Ellen said in obvious confusion, "Susan brought you here."

"She did? I don't remember..."

"She told me that you had gone to see your mother."

Memories of the night flooded Nanase's thoughts. "Oh, right." she examined her hands absently, "I...guess I'll find someplace else to stay. I'm sure you can get Elliot to apologize to Mom for me."

Ellen was growing alarmed and concerned at the same time. "I'm sure he can, but why are you leaving again?" Nanase stared dumbly at Ellen. Ellen sighed, "You don't have to go anywhere. I love you." Nanase still didn't seem to understand what was happening. Snorting gently, Ellen decided to stop talking and do something. She grabbed Ellen gently with one hand, swept the redhead's hair out of her face with the other, and then pulled her lover into a kiss.

Nanase closed her eyes and felt Ellen's arms circle her. She began crying, and Ellen ended the deep kiss and pecked along Nanase's cheek until Nanase's head was rested on Ellen's shoulder. Quiet, exhausted sobbing filled the room. "I thought you didn't love me anymore." cried Nanase.

"Of course I love you. I'll never stop loving you…that I promise." With that said, Ellen whispered a command to the house, the lights dimmed and the doors locked, and she gently laid Nanase down on the bed again, this time holding her close. They didn't let go of each other for the rest of the night.

The End...

For Now