Chapter 161: Extras #5

"Thanks for bringing me here," Elise said softly. "I don't suppose you'd let me do this alone?"

I shook my head, "Sorry hon. I'm sure everything is going to go ok, but you're not that person anymore. You're fae, you're part of a noble family, and you're a child."

I added with a bit of a smile, "Plus you're my daughter now, right? All my maternal instincts have kicked in."

"Ok mom," she replied with a wry smile of her own. I could still see the anxiety in her eyes though. She was nervous about this meeting, and honestly so was I.

Not that I thought there might be any physical danger, but I knew the whole situation was bound to be very emotional. And I really wasn't comfortable with this, but Elise had her mind made up. If I didn't let her do it, she'd just sneak off and do it on her own. At least this way I was here for her if things got out of hand.

The two of us were waiting on a bench in a park. It was warm and sunny, the weather was perfect. A beautiful Saturday in July. People were out and about, walking dogs, playing with their kids, or just enjoying the afternoon sun and this little slice of nature that cut through the sprawling city.

Apart from our purple hair, we fit in pretty well with all the humans around. I was a little on the small side, my daughter even more-so. We got more stares because of the hair than our size.

Elise was wearing jeans and a t-shirt, I wore leggings and a tunic top. We both had sneakers on our feet. I had a tiny purse hanging at my left hip with the thin strap running across and over my right shoulder. It was just big enough to hold an ID card, a money card, and a 'phone'.

My daughter didn't have a purse, or any of those other things. I hadn't bothered to get her an ID card, and she didn't need a 'phone'. And she could always borrow my money card if she needed it. Sometimes she even told me ahead of time when she was going to take it.

The two of us were quiet again for a while, just watching the humans as they went about doing their thing.

Eventually I asked, "You're sure they'll be here?"

"Pretty sure," she replied. "I asked Padraig and he did some digging. He said she comes by here on weekend afternoons for a walk. I'm sure the others will come with her since they're visiting."

I nodded slowly, "And you're sure you really want to do this?"

Elise sighed, "Yes mom, I'm sure. I need to tell them what happened, and I wanted to say goodbye."

Before I could ask, she added "And no I don't know how they'll take it. But I still have to try."

"Ok hon, I'll try to stop fussing."

She smiled, and I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and gave her a supportive hug. She leaned her head against my shoulder for a moment, then straightened up again as she said in a hushed tone, "Here they come."

Elise was looking to the right and I followed her gaze.

Approaching along the path were two human women and two boys.

The younger woman was pushing a stroller. She looked to be in her mid-thirties, and she was a few inches taller than me. Her hair was long and black, and currently pulled back into a single loose ponytail. She was wearing a sundress and sandals, and even while she talked with her sister and enjoyed the walk she kept one eye on the precious cargo in the stroller.

The older woman looked about forty. She was tall and full-figured. Her light-brown hair came down to her shoulders. I could see some of my cousin's looks in her face, but she had Abigail's eyes. She was dressed casual, in stretch-pants and a t-shirt.

The two boys were about eight and ten, both were in jeans and t-shirts like their mom. They were walking ahead of the women, talking to each other about a movie or video-game or something.

Elise and I watched as they got closer to where we were sitting. I could feel she was tense now, and when the group came within a couple meters of us she got to her feet. I remained seated, but I was alert and a little tense as well. I figured in a worst-case scenario, all I had to do was grab my daughter and I could teleport the two of us back to the car.

Both women looked over at us when Elise stood, and the older one's eyes strayed from my girl to myself. Our eyes met and I could tell from her expression she recognized me. We'd only met once before, about two decades ago. It was just after her twenty-first birthday, and my cousin wanted to share some family secrets with her oldest daughter.

Rachel stopped in her tracks as she stared at me and Elise.

Lindsey stopped as well, she looked at her sister and asked "Rach? What's wrong?"

"Andrew, Eric!" Rachel called to her boys, "Come here please."

The kids moved to their mom's side, and she reached down to hold her sons' hands as she continued staring at me.

"I remember you," she stated. "You're Tegan, right?"

I stood up beside my daughter as I nodded, "Yeah I am. Hello again Rachel. It's been a while."

Lindsey looked back and forth between me and Elise, then at her sister. "What's going on Rachel? You know these two?"

Rachel ignored her sister and kept her eyes on me. She asked, "Why are you here? What do you want?"

"I'm here with her," I nodded towards my daughter. "She's the one who wanted to speak with you."

Elise hadn't said anything yet, she was mostly staring at the baby laying asleep in the stroller.

I looked at the younger woman and introduced myself, "Lindsey my name is Tegan Brádaigh. I used to go by Tegan Vale. We're sort of related. It's complicated though."

Rachel said to her sister, "She's mom's cousin."

Lindsey frowned at me, "You look pretty young to be mom's cousin. And mom didn't have any aunts or uncles. Or cousins, for that matter."

I replied, "Like I said, it's complicated. And it's about to get even more complicated."

With a nodd to my girl I sort of prompted her to take over, "Elise?"

The two women looked at my daughter, both were surprised to hear me address her by their mother's name.

"Hi Rachel, hi Lindsey. I've missed you," Elise said. She smiled to the two boys who were just staring quietly at us, "And Andy, Eric, you two have grown a lot in the last two years."

The older woman's eyes suddenly widened as she stared at my daughter, and I was positive she'd figured out who my girl used to be.

Lindsey on the other hand just frowned and demanded, "So is this supposed to be a family reunion or something? You couldn't call first, you had to stalk us in the park? Who are you two?"

"I'm sorry Lindsey," Elise said. "Like Tegan said, it's complicated. And you wouldn't have believed us. I really just wanted to see you both one more time, to let you know I'm ok. And to see the boys again, and to meet your little girl. I'm sorry we couldn't have done this with Justin here too, but I understand he's over in Australia now."

From her words and her tone, and the fact that she called me Tegan, I knew Elise had shifted back to 'cousin mode'. Or I guess it was 'mom mode' to her family. It reminded me of the times in the past she'd go into 'dad mode' for me. For the first time in two years she was that sad lonely old woman again, but wrapped up in a tiny purple-haired fae teen body.

Lindsey was still confused and frustrated, while Rachel looked like she was going to get emotional. She took a few deep breaths and kept her eyes fixed on Elise. She quietly told her boys to stay right where they were, then let go of their hands and moved around the stroller so she was standing directly in front of Elise.

She was over a foot taller than my girl, next to her Elise looked about the same size as Rachel's eight year old son.

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Rachel stared down at her while Elise looked up.

"Is that really you?" Rachel asked softly. "Did you... You did it again?"

"Yes Rachel," Elise replied just as quietly. "Tegan offered me another chance. I'm sorry I had to leave you all, but... Well that would have happened in another year or so anyways. It was just a matter of time."

Rachel reached out and pulled Elise into a brief hug. She sighed, "I missed you. We all have. But you're ok? You're happy?"

Elise replied softly, "I'm very happy, and I'm very well. How is Warren? I thought he and Doug might be here too."

"They're both back at Doug and Lindsey's place," Rachel replied. "Watching football."

"Rachel what the fuck is going on?" Lindsey demanded. She was obviously confused and frustrated. "Who is this girl? You act like you know these people."

The older sister sighed, "Lindsey my boys are right here, please don't swear in front of them."

The younger one rolled her eyes, "Fine, sorry. Now tell me what's going on!"

Rachel responded in a firm but quiet tone, "Lindsey this girl is mom. She's not just named after our mom, she is our mom. She's been... I don't know, changed, given a new life. I don't know how to explain it. It's fae magic. Whatever, how's not important. This little girl is our mother."

"That's impossible," Lindsey stated. "You're talking nonsense Rachel. That's the sort of stuff mom was rambling about before she..."

Her voice trailed off and her eyes widened slightly.

Elise was looking at her younger daughter now. "It's true Lindsey. It's what I tried to tell you about, back before I disappeared."

Lindsey's eyes stayed wide as she looked at me again. She gulped and asked nervously, "You're one of them? You're one of those fae everyone's been talking about?"

"I am," I nodded. "Once upon a time your mom and I were family. Rachel knows the whole story, but this isn't the time or place to repeat it. I helped your mother out with magic once, a long time ago. And two years ago I helped her again."

Rachel seemed slightly more relaxed but she moved back to her boys and placed her arms around them both. It was a sort of protective gesture, not that I got the feeling she thought I'd attack or something. But to her I was an alien. And she knew I could work magic.

Elise spoke up again, "Like I said in my message, I had to go on a long trip. Lindsey I'm sorry I wasn't there for you when you had your girl. I'm hoping you'll introduce us though?"

Lindsey was still very uneasy, and probably struggling to accept what she was being told. She glanced down at the baby that was sleeping the stroller and said, "Her name's Abby. I named her Abigail, after my mum."

That brought a bittersweet smile to my girl's face. She didn't approach too close, she could tell as well as I could that the human women were anxious around us. She crouched slightly and smiled as she whispered, "Hello Abby. You're a beautiful little girl."

"So if you were really our mom," Lindsey asked uneasily, "How come you look like this fae woman now? Why are you so young, and why so small?"

Elise stepped back so she was next to me, and slipped her arm around my waist. My arm moved around her shoulders, our pose mirrored the way Rachel was standing with her two boys.

My daughter replied, "This is what I wanted, but I needed someone to take me in and be my mother. Remember I hinted about maybe staying with you, before? But you didn't believe me."

She held me a little tighter as she continued, "For a long time we pretended we were cousins, but two years ago she adopted me. Now she's really my mom."

Lindsey frowned, then shook her head and stated "I don't... No. I can't deal with this."

Without another word she started walking again. She moved past us with the stroller and continued on her way along the path.

Rachel and her sons didn't follow yet. The two boys had been quiet but both were staring at me and Elise, and they'd been listening. I wasn't sure if they'd figured out yet that the little purple-haired girl used to be their grandmother, but they'd definitely know something strange was going on.

"Will we ever see you again?" the tall brunette asked, as she stared at my little girl.

Elise shrugged, "If you like? We're not always on Earth, but mom works for the embassy so we travel a lot? I'm sure she'd bring me to see you again some time. If you wanted."

I wasn't sure if Rachel had picked up on it, but I could tell by Elise's tone and the fact that she called me mom that she was back in 'daughter mode' again. It might have happened with Lindsey's departure, or maybe it was before that, when she returned to my side.

Rachel was quiet for another moment or two. There were some tears in her eyes, but she shook her head. "Thanks for coming back, thanks for letting us know what happened. We miss you, but life moves on."

She took a deep breath then added, "I'm glad you're happy again. Goodbye."

"Goodbye Rachel," Elise replied. She looked at the two boys and added, "Bye Andy, bye Eric."

As the three humans walked away I heard Andy ask "Mom who was that girl? Why'd she talk like grams?"

"Is Aunt Lindsey mad at them?" the younger boy asked. "Why's their hair purple?"

I still had my arm around Elise. I gave her a gentle squeeze as I asked quietly, "Are you ok hon?"

She leaned her head against my shoulder but she nodded. Her voice was quiet and a bit melancholy as she replied, "Yeah. I needed to see them once more, I needed to say goodbye. And I got to meet Lindsey's little girl, even if she slept through it."

As we started walking back towards the parking lot together I asked, "What would you like to do now?"

My daughter was quiet for a minute or so, staring down at the ground as we walked. We were almost at the car when she finally answered.

"Can we go home?" she asked in Fae. "I kind of miss hanging out with Saoirse."

We normally used English when we were on Earth. I had a feeling by switching to Fae and asking to go home, she was sort of making a statement. Home for her was Otherworld now, that's where our family lived.

"Of course," I replied in Fae. "Back to the estate for now, and at dusk I'll take us back home to castle Brádaigh."

Elise had a sad smile on her face as she replied, "Thanks mom."

PurpleCatGirl

After this chapter I went back and re-read all the chapters she's in, and started to see the pattern and the clues. Those times where she went in and out of 'dad mode' (chapters 102 & 104) and this chapter where she went in and out of 'mom/cousin mode' were actually switches, where formerly-active personalities were returning briefly then going dormant again. 

It also explains how she's managed her life-reboots so well. 'Cousin' Elise almost instantly took over from Tegan's adoptive dad, and 'daughter' Elise instantly took over from the cousin. Now I'm suspecting this young teen Elise has probably been dormant inside since tegan's dad was 14 or 15, suppressed and buried but waiting for her chance to shine. And now after 2 lifetimes, she's finally got her chance thanks to Tegan.

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