Into the Depths

Chapter Eight - Surprise! Things Don't Get Better

"I'm going to upload a recording of Jeffery, and it's going to be the most viewed video ever!" Ant stuck out his tongue at his sister as he walked out of the bridge, nearly tripping over the Jeffery Knight as Jeffery zoomed between his feet like a cat. The door closed on the pair, although it certainly didn't block out his voice.

Fontaine rolled her eyes at her brother's (and Jeffery's) antics, although a small grin betrayed her amusement. Ant may have been obnoxious, but at least he provided entertainment.

 (Jeffery still gave her the stink eye from when she'd kissed Finn. She was secretly thankful Ant couldn't speak fish.)

He also provided, y'know, a lot of irritation. She thought back to a couple of weeks ago, when they'd explored the underwater maze. Her mother hadn't allowed her to come as she wasn't quite healed, and Ant had made it very clear that he was going to mock her all the way through, even when they got lost and had to deal with the minotaur. 

Jokes on him, though. She'd given him all the ideas about echolocation and told him how to use the Mimic Knight correctly, so it ended up being a good thing she was still on board.

Her musings were interrupted by a hand being placed on her chair and spinning her slightly around. With a squawk, Fontaine balanced herself, still slightly weary of using her arm. 

Speaking of which...

Kaiko snorted at her daughter's dramatics when Will had spun her chair. It happened often, and each time Fontaine made sure to be as dramatic as possible, a sort of game to them. Will made sure he never spun the chair hard enough to hurt her, and Fontaine made sure she didn't make it out like she did get hurt.

Understanding what her mother wanted, Fontaine turned from grinning at her dad to quietly pulling up the sleeve of her suit. It was slow going, as the suit was already stretched quite thin- she had somehow had a bit of a growth spurt, managing to break 5 feet, if only by a couple inches. Unfortunately, the suits were designed exactly, and even four inches made a big difference. 

Finally getting the sleeve above her elbow, Fontaine glanced up at her mother, then down at her arm with a wince. 

The wounds had healed well, and there were no infections or other complications. But that didn't stop them from scarring. The white lines were thick and irregular, displaying what had happened for all to see. 

She was glad that her wetsuit covered them.

Kaiko gently ran her hands along the scars, bending Fontaine's wrist back and forth and twisting her arm around to see its full range of motion. Satisfied, she gave her a pat on the arm and stood up to hug her, running her fingers through Fontaine's hair. 

"If you'd like, I'll allow you to go on missions with us. But if it starts to hurt, rest, alright?"

Fontaine huffed a sigh and rolled her eyes, leaning back in the chair. Her father chuckled and touched her arm lightly, motioning for Kaiko to follow.

"She's right, Fontaine. You don't want permanent damage- well, uh, in terms of mobility, anyway." He brought his hand up to the back of his neck, expression apologetically sheepish as both his daughter and wife glared at him.

"Sorry. That was a bit insensitive, wasn't it?"

Kaiko put a hand on Will's bicep, pushing slightly. 

"Yeah, it was. C'mon, I need your help with some repairs in the engine. I'm not tall enough, you gotta get me up there."

Will flashed another look at his daughter, then turned to follow his wife out the door, leaving Fontaine alone on the bridge.