Betazed: Meet The Family

Posted on Sat Sep 28th, 2024 @ 5:16pm by Leiddem Kea (*) & Delaney O'Callaghan

Mission: Shackles
Location: Betazed
Timeline: Feb 2398
2331 words - 4.7 OF Standard Post Measure

Leiddem kept tapping his foot as he waited for the shuttle to stop and they could get off and be surrounded by his four sisters and parents and anyone else that his mother could grab into the welcome committee that could potentially be waiting for them. He had enjoyed the last 2 days of just travelling and showing the woman his culture but it was fast becoming a reality that the future was going to be changed by him listening to someone's warnings properly for once. It was not that he set out to experience everything on his terms but where Delaney was concerned he was not even going to consider risking it. If he could explain to her how much he had been changed for the good by her he would but he was not going to spill that secret yet- he had time now.

“You are fully prepared for this right? We could go somewhere else?” He teased Delaney as he stood to gather their luggage to leave. He knew she would not but for his own sanity he wanted to offer it, Kasseso and Destra had already warned him via a sly message of his mother's plans via Jeassaho which was welcome if not odd they had gone to her instead of coming to him but it was not like he spoke to anyone properly.

In keeping with all expectations, Delaney had been a bundle of nervous energy since well before the sun had risen. Never one to find sleeping particularly easy in the first place, and typically an early-riser even when there wasn't a work shift ahead of her demanding it, she was already well-practised in moving about in the morning without waking up Leiddem and that had certainly been made easier by the fact that there was an actual outdoors to sit down in and nurse a coffee whilst watching the first hint of pale light sneak up over the horizon. It had been telling enough that it hadn't taken her boyfriend long to join her, and the understanding that he was as anxious and jittery as she was about meeting his family had gone a long way towards Delaney choosing to just gather up her wits and push forward. She usually arrived at this point, sometimes much faster than others, where tenacity and a certain level of frustration with her own reluctance brought out her fighting spirit. It wasn't about pretending she was no longer nervous; she was an easy read even for a non-telepath because she typically wore the entire contents of her head on her sleeve. She'd just reached a point where it wasn't going to control how she approached the rest of the day.

"Fully prepared and ready to impress." The cup of her hand against his cheek was leverage to place a kiss on the other. "How bad can it be, I already bamboozled the best Kea into liking me enough to keep me around."

"Oh, you bamboozled Jeassaho huh? I feel like I do not want to know how you managed that." He flirted as he bent and kissed her softly. "You bamboozled me enough to love someone other than myself and I thank you every single day for that." He grinned more and took a deep breath. He could do this, he was sure of it as he needed to do this for her. "Okay let us go." He announced picking up the last couple of items shoving them in his pocket and quickly checking everything before leaving the shuttle with his hand tightly in his. He smiled at the pilot and the shuttle port staff before he became subtly aware of his mind being prodded by a familiar mind. "They are here."

Leiddem grinned as his niece bounded up to him talking aloud rapidly in Betazoid. He could hear Jelena trying to keep the young girl in check but she had broken free and Salak ran to the man as he bent to hug her tightly to him. The woman wore a brightly coloured wrap-around dress and sandals, she looked stunning as the colour matched her skin tone and brought out the colour of her hair more against her pale skin.

“Uncle Leiddem....” The little girl stated as she was hauled off her feet and hugged.

"Sorry... she was asked to wait," Jelena said aloud in standard speaking fast in her own nervousness of not getting it wrong. "And to speak in standard... she ignored both. But he expected Mother and or Kasseso and Destra but got us instead as they were all conveniently given the wrong time so had to stay at work. You must be Delaney? Is it appropriate to hug or not?"

As was quite typical when faced with adequate distraction, Delaney had become so entranced by the reunion between uncle and niece that she'd quite forgotten her own nerves. If anything, the flow of unfamiliar words gave her an excuse to simply enjoy the visual impact, which left her smiling broadly and, it had to be said, somewhat triumphantly. In the conversations they'd had about their recent brushes with future possibilities, there had been room enough for speculation about children and Delaney had vehemently predicted that Leiddem would be a natural if ever faced with the prospect of fatherhood. As far as she could tell, the proof was already unfolding in front of her, and so when asked a direct question, there was no question of her response running through any sort of filter before she spoke. She was hardly in possession of very good ones to start and being rendered a puddle of affectionate goo wasn't going to help.

"Practically mandatory," she reassured, stepping forward into the welcoming arms to embrace the other woman. As with most things she did, Delaney hugged with her entire person, a balm of radiant warmth to a telepath gathered into the brief squeeze of genuine excitement. "It's so lovely to finally meet you."

The older woman wrapped the human up in a hug pulling her to her. "I am so pleased you brought him home." She whispered quickly before pulling back to survey her daughter now sitting happily on her uncle's shoulder as if it did not make the whole situation complicated. "Sal... you need to duck when Leiddem tells you to. Let me have the bags as you have Salak."

Leiddem glanced up awkwardly at the girl and grinned with a wink before he reached over for Delaney's hand. "Laney meet Salek. Salek meet Delaney."

"She is pretty." The tiny Betazoid commented aloud in standard making her mother roll her eyes.

"I like to think so," Leiddem answered back loving how honest the little girl was. She could not keep the thoughts to herself whether it was aloud or in her mind.

"I didn't know I'd have such fierce competition though," Delaney joked, giving the little girl her full attention. Growing up the youngest hadn't given her much experience with kids but, being in some respects not that far removed from their way of viewing things, a normal level of banter still came across as genuine. "Leiddem told me that you're best person to talk to about all the important things I need to know about Betazed," Delaney stretched the truth to secure a co-conspirator. "Cake, ice cream, chocolate," she began reeling things off on her fingers, "Chocolate cake, chocolate ice cream..."

"Mama says I am not allowed them all the time," Salek commented sadly as she glared at her mum as if to prove the point.

"I am sure you can have some of those things whilst Uncle Leiddem and Delaney are home," Jelena said shaking her head. "I have another 2 variants at home if Leiddem did not mention." The woman stated as she lead the way to the transporter to get to their home hub.

"He's been filling me in on the family tree, it sounds like it has as many branches as mine." With them all turned to follow, Delaney offered the little girl on her boyfriend's shoulder a conspiratorial wink and then turned her attention towards the girl's mother. "Though, in my case, I'm surrounded by brothers."

The little girl grinned knowing she had her uncle's girlfriend on her side almost as much as her uncle. "I think that might be better," Jelena admitted as the transporter field surrounded them and teleported them instantly several miles to the west. Instantly Leiddem knew he was home from the heat change. "Here we are. You ready?" She wondered glancing to Leiddem who shrugged as well as he could with Salek on his shoulders.

It was taking time but Delaney was starting to learn that the little inklings of intuition she felt at times towards Leiddem's mood were more than likely telepathic titbits being shared along the connection they'd forged. As far as she could tell, that was more a product of his mind's infrastructure and less anything to do with her, though Leiddem was adamant that not every non-telepath was capable of reciprocal empathy. She didn't think it really took anything special to know how nervous he was now, apprehensive not only about introducing her to his family but just being back around them in general. She knew that shrug of his all too well, it was never as nonchalant as it seemed. Giving his hand a squeeze, she spoke up. "Absolutely."

Jelena looked at the pair and laughed as she pushed open the garden gate and watched as her newly freed daughter ran ahead announcing aloud and telepathically which meant the door was opened before Leiddem had gotten through the gate. Several people appeared in the doorway but it was easy to tell they were all Betazoid and related.

"You never told me."

"He looks far too skinny."

"She's beautiful."

"I thought he might have brought Jea and Reuben with him."

Several voices all spoke at the same time before an older woman stepped past the younger ones and smiled reaching out for Leiddem who promptly leaned over to hug the woman. "Mother." He said aloud.

As was the case with a lot of things in life, now that the time had finally arrived and anticipation could be put to rest, Delaney found herself more intrigued than nervous. The family resemblance was strong, the siblings had certainly all been tarnished by the same brush as her grandmother liked to put it, and it occurred to her as she stood back and allowed the reunion to flourish without interruption, that Jeassaho was well on the way to being an exact replica of her mother. There were worse aspirations, Delaney decided, given the older Betazoid could easily have passed as an older sister. A warm smiled tugged at the human's lips as Leiddem stooped to accept his mother's hug. She knew he felt out of place and inadequate amongst his sisters but Delaney could recognise the maternal affection, reserved for the youngest and final baby, because she'd grown up surrounded by it herself.

Lweanisa smiled as the man hugged her tightly. "You are too tall and too thin suddenly, little one." The woman said taking the hint to speak aloud before she turned to Delaney. "And you have to be Delaney. It is lovely to meet you." The woman did not ask for permission to hug but simply wrapped the human up in the same affection as Leiddem had gotten.

One of life's natural huggers, Delaney folded into the embrace with warm reciprocation. "Thank you so much for having me, especially at such short notice." As much as she didn't want to weigh down proceedings with medical chit-chat, it felt timely to acknowledge that the Kea matriarch was doing more than just hosting her youngest's girlfriend. As relatively straight-forward as the surgery was, Delaney was still sure several strings had been tugged to fit in with their timeline.

The older woman hugged the woman close for a lot longer than was needed before she pulled back but kept her hands on Delaney's arms. "We are always ready to help family." The woman assured pulling the human inside the house as a man appeared from the kitchen. "That is my husband, Odendrom." She introduced as the man came forward grinning more as glanced around at the group of women and younger.

"You can call me Oden." The man assured shaking his head at his wife's insistence of using his fall name. "I am not as huggy as my wife and daughters but you are most welcome in our home, Delaney."

"It certainly feels that way," Delaney reassured, the warmth in her eyes easily translated as she studied the man whose entire life was spent in the company of women. Curiosity left her wondering how much of his father Leiddem represented but, determined to remain focused in a room full of telepaths, the redhead caught the stray thought before it could derail her entire stream of consciousness and added, "Leiddem has told me so much, this already feels familiar." She looked up at her boyfriend then, aware that she was somewhat tattling on him but seeing no harm in the gentle encouragement towards admitting he held quite an abundance of affection for his home.

"Oh has he?" One of his sisters turned his gaze on the woman and grinned.

"What? I like here." Leiddem commented as he faced all three of his sisters gazing at him with grins.

"Yet you don't come home more often little one," Lweanisa commented bluntly as her son shrugged.

"Does Jeassaho get this when she comes home?" He wondered glancing around. Lweanisa smiled and touched his cheek.

"You know she does." She reminded. Leiddem grumbled and looked at his father for help but a silent conversation went through them both before Leiddem rolled his eyes. "Enough of the teasing though. He came home and he brought a guest."

That was the miracle despite anything else. She was just relieved he had come home.