xp_logs | Julian & Sean: Ice Cream Hunt (Reply)

Julian and Doreen's grandfather go on a quest for ice cream for his granddaughter.

Sean looked back at the room where his granddaughter slept. Dori wanted a bowl of chocolate ice cream, and he had no idea where to get her one. He decided to wander around the mansion till he came across a friendly smelling stranger. They might be kind enough to help him, especially for little Dori's sake.

As the doors to the medical bay slid open, he was surprised to see a teenager with scraggly black hair and blue eyes standing before him. His smell was peculiar, a mix of worry and happiness, and Sean looked around to see what might be the cause. He realized the young man must have come to see his granddaughter, "Hello. May I help you?"

Julian was surprised to see Dori's grandfather in the medlab- or in New York at all. "Mister Gallagher," he held out his hand, "Julian Keller, I'm a friend of your granddaughter." As he always did when working with older men, Jules began to play up the respect- they seemed to eat that up.

"Oh, yes," Sean replied, "Dori has said a great many things about you." He looked back at the private room where she slept. "I assume you are here to see her?" He did not want the boy waking up his little one, and he tried to figure out how best to divert him.

"Yes, sir, brought some of her comic books that she'd lent me," he held them up to show the older man what he meant.

"I see," he looked down at the comics, "well, she is taking a nap at the moment, so you should hold on to them for the moment. However, if you would like to do something for her, you can help me find some chocolate ice cream." He gently walked past the boy and guided him with a firm hand on the shoulder.

"Oh, um, okay," Julian walked with him. "I guess...the kitchen?"

"Good idea." Sean said, continuing to lead the boy down the hall. He felt the instinct to act like the paternal figure and pry into his granddaughter's life, the more he knew the better he'd be able to help her with her situation. "I know you two are very close, and I was wondering... how has she been these past months?"

"She's been...well, sir," Julian shrugged. "She's been Dori. I mean, nothing seems to phase her, ya know?"

"Well," Sean started, he couldn't tell if the boy was hiding something or not. His scent didn't give anything away, but his words seemed awkward and forced. "I just want to make sure she been continuing that tradition, she is very strong but that does not mean she can deal with everything herself. Do you understand what I am saying?"

"No, Mister Gahlleger, I don't and frankly sometimes I worry about her. She's positive when it's natural to be sad," he stopped in the hallway. "Is that what you're asking?"

Sean stopped and turned to face Julian. "The fact that you worry tells me that you understand me quite well. She can be extremely positive on the outside, but I wonder who she will let in to help her deal with those things which won't go away naturally." He looked at the boy inquisitively. If it wasn't Julian, then Sean was afraid there might be no one to help his granddaughter when he left, and he would not let that be.

Julian thought for a moment about who Dori would confide in. "As far as I know I'm her best friend here. Well, I mean, aside from Monkey Joe."

"That would be my point, Julian," he had to ask, for Dori's sake, "That is why I am asking you to be there for her. Adding this to his betrayal, she will need her friends more than she knows."

"Mister Gallagher," Julian caught the older gentleman's eyes. "I'm always going to be there for Dori. She's my friend and nothing is going to change that. She knows it too."

Sean smiled, he could almost smell Julian's honest enthusiasm, "Good, now let's find that ice cream."

With a nod, Julian put an arm around Sean's shoulder and guided him toward the kitchen. "You know...I really hate her dad too," he said in a casual, yet conspiratorial, tone.