Goodbye
Posted on Thu Jun 4th, 2015 @ 1:46pm by Captain Julius Whitlam
Mission:
Prelude to War
Location: Whitlam Home, San Francisco
Timeline: MD01: 2015hrs
He’d endured goodbyes before long cruises many times in his career, but none were as difficult as this one. None thus far were as likely to be the final goodbye.
Joe was of an age now where he was beginning to understand that daddy went away for long periods of time, but he was used to that. Since he’d been born, Julius spent most of his time away from the family. So for Joe, it wasn’t far out of the ordinary.
Elouisa didn’t really pay much attention. Like her little brother, she was used to her father being away, but right now she was more interested in a holographic shapes game that was suddenly the most important thing in the world. He couldn’t take it personally, that was her personality. Kind of the complete opposite to her older sister, Erin.
Erin was the kind of child who scared her parents with how much knowledge she possessed. Julius was convinced that Erin knew exactly what was going on, knew the risks to her father’s safety, and feared for the worst. “Can’t they send somebody else, Dad?” she asked, hugging him tight. “The Dominion is dangerous,” she added matter-of-factly.
He smiled in a sad way as he held his daughter out in front of him, crouching down to her level. “Everybody has to do their part, sweetheart,” he said, wiping a tear from his daughter’s cheek. “I have to do my job. But I’ll make sure they don’t hurt me and I will come back to you. I promise.”
She hugged him again and kissed his cheek. “Make sure you do, Daddy.” She didn’t sound convinced.
They then got the kids off to bed; a mercifully quick process tonight, which was fortunate as he only had a few minutes before he needed to be back on the ship. In the living room, he held his wife in his arms, hugging her tight.
He didn’t want to let her go. For a fleeting moment - half a beat of his heart really - he thought about ignoring his orders, resigning his commission, staying in San Francisco, being a stay-at-home dad while Zoe worked at the university. It would be so much simpler; so much safer and he wouldn’t miss a minute of his kids growing up. But things weren’t that simple; they never where when an officer’s duty was involved.
He kissed the top of Zoe’s head and she squeezed him tighter. After a moment she pulled back and looked up at him, her eyes wet with tears. “You have to come back to us,” she said with pleading eyes. “I know you have to go, but promise me you’ll come back.”
His heart was breaking and he leaned in to kiss her. The kiss lingered, neither wanting it to end. “I will,” he said, when their lips finally parted, then kissed her again.
Letting go of her was the hardest thing he’d ever had to do. The urge to stay was so strong, but his sense of duty was stronger. “I love you,” he said, feeling tears in his own eyes.
“I love you,” she said.
He took a step back and mustered as reassuring a smile as he could. “I’ll see you soon,” he said.
“Not if I see you first,” she replied, completing the farewell they shared every time.
A genuine smile stretched across Julius’s face as he reached up and tapped his commbadge. “Whitlam to Manoora. One to beam up.”
Captain Julius Whitlam
Commanding Officer
USS Manoora
