xp_logs | LITD: Tandy, Adrienne and Father Michael Bowen : The Beginning of the End

Michael Bowen visits his neice in the medlab, Adrienne enters half way through the conversation and gets roped into going to Ohio.
trigger warning: Talk of funeral
"This plot has some potentially distressing content"

Tandy sat on the bed with her arms wrapped around her legs with her head buried into them. The blonde was actually afraid to sleep, she kept seeing her face with those red eyes, calling out to her. They were just dreams, right? Lifting her head when she heard someone enter and saw her Uncle and smiled meekly, "Hi." She whispered, realizing that she had been missing for almost a week and he was probably worried that he lost his niece, the only connection he had left to his sister. Her eyes started to tear up again as she changed positions and crossed her legs in front of her.

Michael crossed over to the bed, sitting down and wrapping an arm around Tandy. She looked...exhausted, desperately sad, lost, the priest couldn't come up with the words to describe the look on his nieces face but his heart went out to her. He struggled to keep the relief out of his voice, the whole ordeal had been harrowing for him and he couldn't imagine what it had been like for her. "Hey kid," he replied, "How're you holding up?" It was cliche he knew, but Michael had no idea how to deal with the situation.

"Can't sleep. I still see her." Looking down at her fingers as she spoke. "To be honest Uncle Mike, I am afraid to sleep." Taking a deep breath in, "They told me that he is in a coma and under SHIELD custody."

"She can't hurt you anymore," Michael said more confidently than he felt. He just couldn't understand how Nathan could have exposed his own daughter to this. He wished he could ask the man that.

Tandy wanted to believe him, but she wasn't sure. It felt like no one could protect her from her own nightmares. "What do I do now?"

"You don't let this stop you, you live your life as you want to. If you don't, if you let her get to you then she's won anyway." Michael replied.

Tandy looked over at him before she lowered her eyes. "And my parents? She won there."

Michael fell silent, pain flashing through his eyes. "She did," he agreed softly. " But they'd be happy you were alive and safe." His brother in law would be, and Michael had always believed the best of his sister.

"When is it?" Tandy said softly.

"When is what?" Michael asked in confusion.

"The funeral?" Tandy looked up at him.

"Hey, Sweetie, can I come in?" Adrienne knocked on Tandy's door, waited a beat, and entered. She had a stack of papers under her arm (she was still a teacher, after all, and there was still homework to be done, as Adrienne felt it was important to keep up a routine with Tandy, show her that life kept on going even through tragedy) and two cups of tea in one hand, knowing that Father Michael was with the girl. "I brought you guys some tea."

"Adrienne," Michael stood up and reached out and took a cup from her. "Thank you." He turned back to Tandy. "The funeral is next week, I...I was going to leave in a few days."

Tandy's eyes light up when she saw Adrienne, "Hi and thanks." Looking over at her Uncle and then back at Adrienne, "I am going too aren't I?" Looking over at Adrienne, "Are those for me?" Looking at the stack of papers, like those would get finished any time soon.

Damn, she'd nearly delivered the tea and papers and made an escape before being drawn into the conversation, not wanting to stick around to participate in a discussion about funeral arrangements, but now Tandy was asking her questions. "Well they're not for your uncle," she smiled.

Damn - not the answer she wanted to here. Looking at the papers before taking a sip of the tea, it helped. "Would it be weird if I ask if Adrienne comes with?"

Michael looked at Tandy in surprise, "I guess so, if she doesn't mind coming and had the time. I wouldn't want to put you out, or take you away from your students."

Adrienne tried not to visibly wince at what had just happened, feeling like that stupid coyote who had just run straight into a brick wall. She'd just wanted to bring tea and homework! This was entrapment! But sad kids were like kryptonite to her. "I'm sure the Professor wouldn't mind me being away if one of my students asked that I go with them to their parents' funeral," she shrugged. "And hey, it's giving work to some poor starving substitute teacher out there, right?"

Tandy looked down at her hands again, "I don't know why. I just...don't trust anyone else." Looking at her uncle, hoping he would understand. Her own father - own flesh and blood - killed her parents and kidnapped her and handed her over to a demon.

Michael looked at Tandy, hurt evident across his face as he nodded. "If that's what you want," he said slowly. "I was planning on leaving the day after tomorrow," he told Adrienne. "Can you two meet me at the airport?"

The look on Father Michael's face wasn't lost on Adrienne, but she wasn't sure what to do about it, being unfamiliar with the inner workings of family dynamics when relatives actually cared about each other. Did she encourage Tandy to spend some time with her uncle without Adrienne around, try to get her to build up the trust she said she didn't feel? Or was her responsibility to Tandy despite Michael being upset that Tandy didn't trust him? She went with the latter. "Sure we can. Email me your flight info and I'll set things up."