Life, Death, and Time - A Books Of Beginning Collection

Oneshot: Don't Forget, I'm With You In The Dark

Background: Some parts are canon compliant and some parts are very much not. Some next generation stuff. You know the drill.

Content: Kate-Centric. Family. Hurt/comfort. Mild-Angst. Some humor. Mentions of blood. Some wholesome material. Mild Kate x Rafe. 5 times Kate's a great mom and has the hard conversations with her loved ones, and one time she has an easy one.

1. 

Kate was doing her very best to be gentle, though it was difficult not to pull the brush as she raked it through Emma's hair. She wasn't entirely sure how her baby sister had gotten it so tangled, but knowing Emma it was through some sort of troublemaking activity. Emma, of course, would have been happy to leave her hair looking like a bird's nest, but the last time she had come to dinner like that, Miss Crumley had thrown a fit, and Emma had been stuck taking cold showers for a week. 

"I don't understand how you live with such long hair," Emma said to her sister as Kate continued working out the tangles. "You or Gabriel. Seriously, both of you have long hair and its not a mess and I don't know how you do it."

"I just brush it regularly," Kate said with a little laugh. "And I can't speak for Gabriel, but my best guess is that he does the same."

Emma, who hadn't let her hair grow past her shoulders in four years, and who currently had it cropped to just skimming her collarbones, rarely remembered to brush her hair. So long as it wasn't as messy as it was now, Kate just let her live. It was her hair, after all, and she could keep it however she wanted it and brush it when she felt it was necessary. (If Kate was going to dedicate energy to the brushing of anything, after all, it would be making sure that Emma brushed her teeth and didn't get cavities.)

Emma hummed her acknowledgement, then, after a brief pause, said, "I bet I could get Gabriel to let me braid his hair."

"I bet you could," Kate agreed, knowing just how much the warrior loved her sister. She knew that for all the fatherly exasperation Emma brought out in Gabriel, he adored her and had a hard time denying her anything.

"Kate?"

"Yes?"

"I miss him," Emma admitted. "I'm worried about him and I want to see him again but I don't know when that'll happen and it's just like... like... he's my best friend and I haven't seen him since Christmas and I don't know where he is or what's going on. I just really miss him, you know?"

"I know," Kate said sympathetically, because she did, because she too missed the warrior that had quickly found a place in the hearts of herself and her siblings. "I miss him too. I wish I could say I have answers about how he is and when we'll see him. If I could tell you, I would."

"Yeah. I know. It just sucks, that's all."

"Can't say I disagree with you there."

They fell into silence, and Kate could tell that there was something else eating at Emma, something else she wanted to say but didn't yet know how to articulate. She didn't push. Ten years of raising her sister had taught her that the fierce young girl didn't always know how to show her vulnerabilities, especially under pressure. The best thing that Kate could do when Emma was trying to find her words was be a comforting presence at her back, always there and supportive, but not intrusive. 

For several minutes, the only sound was Kate raking the brush through Emma's locks, and occasionally setting it down on the bed so she could use her fingers to undo the knots of chestnut brown hair. Then, Emma sighed, and began to talk.

"Michael and I wrote a letter to Dr. Pym the other day."

"I think Michael mentioned that to me briefly. He didn't tell me what it said, though," Kate commented. She tried to keep her tone mild, a mask of calm to hide the frustration at their wizard friend that was twisting under the surface like a building storm.