Anger and Acceptance

Posted on Thu Mar 23rd, 2023 @ 9:41pm by Harper o’Leary

Mission: Season 6: Episode 2: Survival
Location: Harper's tent
Timeline: Md1 21h00
547 words - 1.1 OF Standard Post Measure

Harper had spent her days looking after Niamh and the two siblings she had volunteered to look after. It helped. But at night when the children were asleep, her anger and hurt came to the fore and she spent hours sitting and thinking and wanting to yell.

But she wouldn't. It hurt. She had thought that Emily and she, had had a good thing going. That Emily and her loved each other. Now it felt like she had been used until someone better came along again. She had let herself love again and it ended up in pain. It hurt. She had guven Emily a part of her and Emily had said she was falling but now had eyes for someone else. Well she hoped they worked it out... no, no she didn't, if she was honest. She didn't wish them well. Hell, part of her wanted to lash out at Emily. But she wouldn't.
She was better than that.

Harper stood and moved to the sleeping section where Kendra and her brother Edward were sleeping and checked on them. Their parents had died in the chaos and she wondered if anyone would claim them. If not, she would apply to be their guardian. Maybe it was for the best. She would just keep to herself from now on. No putting herself out there, no dating or sleeping with people who would just use her and then walk away when a better prospect came along.

She could focus on Niamh, Kendra and Edward. Be their parent. Run her store, maybe this new galaxy had new herbs and such she could use in her products. She would have to make sure her gathering kit was prepared.

Gently she tucked the covers up over Edward, the nearly 3 year old boy with pale blond hair and then moved to repeat the gesture with his sister Kendra who was 8 and her light brown hair tumbled across the pillow.

Her wrist chrono vibrated as she left the sleeping section and she moved to heat the bottle for Niamh. Being a new born and only days old, she ate every two to three hours and woke often during the night so Harper was not getting a lot of sleep. But even as she finished preparing the bottle for her daughter she knew she wouldn't have it any other way.

She may not be Niamh's biological mother but she vowed that, it would never matter. She was her daughter.

She entered the second sleeping room and found Niamh waking up. Humming softly she scooped her up, and after changing her nappy she settled down on the camp bed that she used to sleep on and fed Niamh. Eventually Niamh went back to sleep and Harper placed her in the small cot she had, had salvaged from her birth parents cabin and tucked her in. Then, Harper changed into her own sleep gear and went and made sure the tent flap was secured and turned off the main lamps, leaving only a soft lamp in the children's section and a torch on in her sleeping section.

One last check on Kendr and Edward and Harper slipped into her own camp bed and pulled the covers up. She might get another 2 hours sleep... while she could.