[Vidchat] My friend, the ex-terrorist. [CLOSED]

A screen sparked to life- A terminal painted a dark study with white light, illuminating a visibly exhausted Sarah Thompson. The woman had already gone to the neck of a bottle of Batarian whiskey as the terminal connected to Natalie King in Eden Prime.
The woman gave a simple wave and took a drink. "Hey, girl! Can you read me okay?" She asked, leaning forward to get a hard look at the terminal's camera lens.

"Yeah, I'm getting you," Natalie King replied, brushing some hair out of her face. If the other looked carefully, she might've noticed the glint of metal-the casing protecting her cheap cybernetics. There were shadows under her eyes and a bottle of beer (crappy local stuff) near her hand. "How's it going?"

"Exhausted. Working for Jaquento, running around and helping Chris when I can, and she dropped a bombshell that she'd like to adopt a kid and asked me what I thought. I don't think it's a good idea, but she came from a big family, and ..well, that family's mostly gone now." She took a drink, glancing off screen for a moment. The woman mussed her hair, running a hand across her scalp.

"Long day. What about you?"

"I'm alright," The marine replied, "Good as can be expected with...everything. Shiori isn't sleeping well-you know all those horror stories about babies keeping you up all night? They're true." Nat smiled a little, "Don't regret having her though. But on the subject of kids-that must've taken you by surprise. Never said anything about it before?"

Sarah leaned back, scratching briefly at her jawline. "Well, on occasion, but I was working, she was doing her thing and we didn't see each other very often." She peered over to the sound of shuffling in the next room. "Maybe we'd be together three months at a time, two times a year, the rest with me working or out on the mission." She leaned forward, taking another sip from her drink.
"I thought if there ever came a time where I could stop, we could start a family, but I thought I'd be dead before such a day came. Now that it's here, I know I want to start a family with her eventually, I just don't know how." She rubbed her face, muttering under her breath. "She's working, and ..I'm -"

A voice offscreen. "Who are you talking to at such a late hour?" A frazzled raven-haired woman wandered into view, giving a stern look at the terminal, then to Sarah. "Ten minutes, or I drag you back." She growls, wandering away. Sarah stared, wide-eyed, her lips tightly sealed. She glanced over at the screen and then back at her partner as she left.

"So.. Apparently, I have ten minutes. How big is the baby nowadays? How's the baby-mama?"

Nat chuckled a little at Chris's intervention, "Alright then. Well I know what you mean-when Kaseka and I got together I was still deployed to the Fleets-and I only got a couple of months of leave a year then. And then the fucking war happened. So you imagine my surprise when she decided we were getting married and havin a kid," King grinned, shaking her head slightly, "You talked to her about how you feel and all that?"

To the final question she leaned back in her chair, "Shiori's doing well-she's still tiny, but Kaseka says it's fine. And Kaseka's doing alright. She quit her job-wouldn't go back to the Citadel-but I'm not sure how long the unemployed thing will be."

Sarah leaned back, setting her bottle down. "Well, it's a crazy time right now, I'd suppose. I was unemployed for a while, and mostly got odd jobs working construction or security but that never lasted long. Chris has her own company and a few workers working for her, a LOT of people got married after the war ended." She chuckled, shaking her head. "As for 'our' baby-talk, we haven't really discussed much. It's not exactly like the Asari- We'd have to adopt, and ..well, I'm still stuck in my old ways. I'm not big on the whole idea of 'parenthood.' She finished off her drink.

"Well," Nat said thoughtfully, "Nothing like the apocalypse to sort out priorities, right? Or at least to get you to drag someone to the altar," She laughed, "Well, hey, at least you've got steady employment now. It can be bloody stressful when it's up in the air, yeah?" She grimaced, "I thought I was gonna get a medical discharge for a while there." To the words about adoption she tilted her head, "Well there are ways to get around that-have been for a while-but most of the labs aren't concentrating on helping gay couples have children at the moment." She frowned, "Well, I'd suggest talking to her about it, yeah? I mean, it's a big decision and if it's not something you feel up to..."

caring for a little person was a helluva responsibility-one Nat didn't always feel up to. Especially now she had two little girls depending on her.

Sarah opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by a tapping on the doorframe. "Ten minutes are up." Chris stated, her accent thick and tired. She stepped over, grabbing the vanguard by the arm. "Come on.." She groaned. "Too much time on the extranet."

The blonde protested, but relented. She gave Nat a tired grin. "I'm sorry- The boss wants me out.' She shrugs. "I'll talk to you later, Nat." A wave, and she turned her terminal off.