Petrichor

Spider

Jake stooped low into the base, a hand over Lo'ak's head protectively. The baby was strapped to his chest, but he didn't want to cause his son whiplash. He was sleeping, and Jake planned on keeping him that way.

"I don't like this," Neteyam whispered, one hand curled on Jake's calf and the other gripping Leypa's hand. Kiri was on the other side of Leypa and she too, was attempting to cut Leypa's circulation.

"It's okay, Netty, I promise," Jake whispered back. "Daddy's friend lives here, remember?"

He glanced down at his kids, who nodded their heads in determination. Leypa was acting unfazed, but Jake knew his son well, and there was a slight furrow in his brows as he took in their surroundings.

Jake had to admit, the place was downright creepy. Eywa was doing her best to reclaim the structure, and green vines covered the walls, ceiling and floor.

The only reason that they were in this part of the building was because it had been almost seven months since he'd been there, too nervous to leave Ilhia's side in case she went into labour and he wasn't there, and he'd forgotten which entrance was the one that the scientists regularly used.

Norm and Trudy had been visiting regularly at Hometree, but it had been a while since he'd seen the baby. Spider. Truthfully, he'd asked Trudy to keep the baby at home. Ilhia hadn't found out that the boy was Quaritch's son, and he planned to keep it that way. He wasn't sure how she'd react about it. And any time he did bring the boy up in conversation, her face would go blank and she'd try to change the subject.

Sure, she'd been to the base with him a few times, when she'd been pregnant, and after Neteyam's and Kiri's births. But his wife had an excellent poker face, and he was scared of her. So while she was away hunting, he'd decided to have a little field trip.

There was cracks in the concrete, letting the morning light filter through into the empty hallway.

Jesus Christ, you'd think he'd know his way around a base that he used to live on.

"There!" Kiri exclaimed, her voice loud in the slightly nervous atmosphere, pointing a finger to the end of the hall.

He ducked slightly to see what she was seeing.

The vines had covered most of the window, but he could see movement. Lights?

Jake had them marching to the door and made quick work of the vines. Leypa helped, using his own small knife to hack away at the green.

He was sure six and a half year olds on Earth didn't carry their own knives, but Ilhia had insisted. And so had Leypa, to be fair. Neytiri had backed up the madness, telling him that she had gotten her own knife when she was five, and Ilhia had gotten one when she had been five too.

Lo'ak sneezed as fibres drifted into the air. Shit.

Jake didn't even hesitate to yank the door open, ushering his kids inside. Leypa went in first, his hand still gripping his knife tightly, his arm parallel to his chest. Neteyam and Kiri went behind him, hiding behind his legs, and Jake brought up the rear, slamming the door shut.

He didn't even think that the door would set off a million breach alarms, but it was only open a second. He breathed in the foreign air that was once so familiar to him, feeling it a vast difference from the clean forest air he took in every day.

"Jake!"

The relief that filled him when he heard Trudy's voice was unmatched. 

"Trudy," he breathed, looking up from his kids to see the tanned woman walking towards them with a smile on her face, pulling a mask over her head. She stopped in front of a panel on the wall and flicked a few switches, plunging them into silence.