Open Case File [COMPLETED]

Out of Place

If you weren't aware, Mason has a daughter named Sophia. You can meet her in Out of the Ordinary.

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Carter couldn't help but smile at the noise that filled Captain's house. It was the type of noise that came with family and close friends all getting into heated arguments. The type of arguments that could end peacefully or with a smack across the head. But it was all fueled with a closeness that couldn't be broken.

It was the same noise that echoed from the backyard as the cousins all created chaos with water guns and water balloons. When asked how Kennedy and Harrison wanted to celebrate their seventeenth birthdays, they answered with a joint party with the cousins at Captain's house. It was the type of party no one wanted to end.

"Carter," Maggie said, following Carter into the kitchen with empty plates. "Is Yvette all right?"

"Why do you ask?"

"I saw her sitting alone and wanted to make sure."

"I can go see."

Carter loaded up her stack of dishes and pushed through the kitchen door to the back of the house. As Maggie had said, Yvette sat alone at a window seat that overlooked the back porch and yard. From her posture, Carter couldn't see any tension. She seemed to simply be thinking.

"Am I disturbing you?" Carter asked.

Yvette smiled and Carter never failed to admire this woman for her openness. She'd never once had trouble making a spot for her in the Owens, Keller and Evans clan. When Carter had learned of the many cousins she'd grown up around it made sense how she could feel comfortable with family chaos.

"Not at all," Yvette said. "I'd be happy to have your company."

Carter took the spot beside Yvette and gazed out on the water battle playing out on the lawn. Screams and insults were thrown as easily as water balloons. The hot sun made the fact of getting soaked a fun occurrence rather than an annoyance.

But Carter realized Yvette wasn't watching the water war, instead she watched the lone figure sitting on the porch swing on her phone.

Almost fourteen, Sophia looked more like a young adult than most eighteen-year-olds. Carter knew it was more than her physical maturity, it was how she carried herself. Her appearance was never unkempt or wrinkled. Everything about her was composed and contained. She didn't slouch but sat upright with her ankles crossed. Her emotions might play out on her face but rarely did they overwhelm her expression.

Having watched her grow up, Carter knew this was how she'd always been. In contrast to Kennedy and Harrison's boisterous nature, she'd seemed almost dull. But Carter knew otherwise, she wasn't sure she knew of a more brilliant person.

But Carter knew that the type of brilliance Sophia had was isolating.

"Any special thoughts on your mind today?" Carter asked.

Yvette smiled softly but this time Carter saw the worry in it.

"Not special," Yvette said. "It's thoughts every mother has for her child." She rested her hand on her fist. "Sending her to school with kids as gifted as her has kept her from being bored but..."

"But you're worried that when it comes time she won't know how to interact with normal people?"

Yvette laughed lightly. "You said it. The world is full of average people and she's going to have to figure out how to navigate it."

"How does she get along with your cousins' kids?" Carter asked.

In the backyard, Harrison let out a battle cry with Kennedy and charged a blockade. Sophia lifted her head but Carter didn't register any envy or even a hint of desire to join in the fun. After watching Harrison and Kennedy get pelted, she returned to her phone.