OOC: So this is totally one of the most amazing things I’ve co-written so far with our CSO Jenn over on the Leviathian.

To: Pied Piper Orphanage on Delotha
From: Tabris Asam, Starbase 323

I am writing in inquiry regarding adoption of one Neltus Omad. I too am an El-Aurian who was displaced from his home at a young age. I had a home and two parents but my planet of origin was abandoned early on and I was unfamiliar with it. I have been alive for over 400 years and have learned many things, the one that has eluded me thus far however is the joy of parenthood. I am currently being posted to a Starfleet engineering officer onboard a vessel with an existing population of children that Neltus would join when I am on duty or away. I understand if you have concerns with a child on a starship, the possibility of him losing his parent again is greater than if I lived on a planet. In hopes to ease your concerns I have included the safety records of the ship I will be stationed on, their school curriculum, and my own history including relevant evaluations. I look forward to your reply and hope that I may be able to offer Neltus a home, and an understanding of what it means to be El-Aurian.

Tabris Asam

Karra was always excited to get these types of messages, but she knew that they didn’t always pan out. Her first order of business….

To: Tabris Asam, Starbase 323
From: Karra, House Mother, Pied Piper Orphanage, Delotha

Mr. Asam I am very excited for your interest. And though I am always excited to place children with those of similar cultural backgrounds, I would invite you to come visit and meet all the children before setting your heart on a particular child. We put the child’s wishes before those of the adults. I hope you understand. They have been through enough already without forcing a family they are fearful to join. Once you have passed a background check I will contact you again.

Karra, House Mother

Then to take care of the background check:
To: Zanya
From: Karra

Zanya, I’ve had an inquiry about a Star Fleet officer adopting Neltus Omad. The officer is Tabris Asam and is currently posted to Starbase 323. He is being transferred to one USS Ark Angel. Or so his letter claims. I have included the personal information he sent along. As always I trust you will get back to me as soon as possible. Be safe my friend.
Karra

To: Karra, House Mother
From: Zanya

Karra, this is wonderful news! First Ark Angel is a great ship. It is family oriented and also made for long range/long term missions. There is a large civilian presence as well and many children. Neltus will not lack for experiences or friends. Now as for Tabris Asam. He is as he says he is. An engineering officer, and a good one at that from what I can tell. He is El-Aurian and lived briefly with his family on Earth. I have no reservations.

Zanya

To: Tabris Asam, Starbase 323
From: Karra, House Mother, Pied Piper Orphanage, Delotha

I have received your background check and am pleased that everything has been approved. Please notify me of when you will coming to visit.

Karra

Tabris had been waiting for a response, not sure if it would be positive or otherwise. He smiled as he read the words inviting him to visit and sent off a message to the Starbase’s command staff saying simply “Requesting permission to use leave for family business” The base commander had no issue with one of the many, many, transferring officers to take what they had earned and sent a simple reply “Request received and permission granted.”

He took some time with this next part as he wrote back a two part letter to Karra.

To: Karra, House Mother, Pied Piper Orphanage, Delotha
From: Tabris Asam, Starbase 323

I have permission to attend a meeting at the orphanage in 4 days and look forward to meeting you all. Enclosed with this letter is another meant for Neltus himself and I welcome you to read it and pass it along at your discretion.

To: Neltus Omad, Pied Piper Orphanage, Delotha
From: Tabris Asam, Starbase 323

Neltus I wanted to introduce myself in a small way before I came to meet you. You’ve never met me nor have you ever heard of me and I know that to each other we are but strangers. I am hoping that, in time, I may take you under my wing and help you grow and thrive, all with your permission that is. I too am an El-Aurian and am at the ripe old age of 417 yet I’m told I don’t look a day older than 200! The one thing that we both share, besides our heritage, is a close family bond. I hope that you may accept me as someone that can fill the role of a parent, and I hope that you may be my son.

Tabris Asam, Eng

OOC: Love this post! Though I admit at first I thought it was an adoption of another plant :P

GM CockRoach

Karrah read the letter to Neltus and she thought all day about giving it to him. If this Tabris took to another child it would shatter his heart. But the background check led her to believe that this would not be the case. And she hoped it worked because Neltus would need a family that would survive as long as he would. After much thought she gave the letter to Neltus to read. They talked late into the night, far past his bedtime about what this meant and what may or may not happen.

At the agreed upon date of the visit Karra couldn’t help but be a little nervous. The children would know why the man was there. He wanted to adopt, and if one of them was lucky, they would get a new home. Karra was out in the yard when a stranger was stopped by Yaren before being allowed into the village proper.

It was 4 days after his letter had been sent and Tabris was himself nervous. He had been many things in the past, none of them prepared him for a bunch of kids. He was greeted by Yaren and they exchanged pleasantries as well as identification checks that Tabris assumed was mandatory. He approached the person standing in the yard and said, “Hello I’m Tabris Asam, I’m looking for the House Mother Karra?” Tabris stood somewhat awkwardly though his life experiences would lead one to believe he should be confident. Parenthood was never an easy thing despite the reading or training one may have, and it was a unified theory across species that it didn’t matter how much one prepared, there would always be surprises. This, though, was different; he wasn’t having a baby with a partner, he was hoping to pluck a child out of the place they had grown up and try to get them to adapt to something, and someone, brand new.

Karra walked over looking at what appeared to be a young man. “Mr Asam, I am house mother Karra. Come this way. Yaren, would you watch the littles for 2 minutes?”

Tabris nodded and blushed ever so slightly at the mistake but realized he wouldn’t know anyone by face or voice anyway.

The Bajorin security chief smiled, “Of course.” He stepped into the yard and picked up a couple of the kids lifting them up high and rough housing with them.

Karra led Tabris past the kitchen and into a small living area with three bedrooms off to the side. “You’ll stay here while you visit. Pick any room you want. There is drink and food in the kitchen. Once you settle, come out to the yard. I know you are eager to meet Neltus. He’ll be home from school in a couple of hours. Routine is the best thing for young nerves.” Karra left him to settle and returned to the yard so Yaren could return to his job of keeping them all safe.

Nodding he picked the second room on the left and took a seat, not bothering to grab any refreshments as he figured that of anyone, the house mother would absolutely know best. “Two hours till he gets back of course, would you prefer I wait till he’s settled and maybe had a bite to eat and decompress from school? I don’t want to impose” Tabris commented as he shifted nervously before rising, “I think I’ll have some tea if I’m not imposing” He said with a smile

Once he returned to the yard, Karra watched him to see what he made of the small swarming monster all eager for his attention.

Tabris returned from the kitchen with a piping hot cup of whatever local tea was in the kitchen. It could be cooking herbs for all he knew but something to calm the nerves. There was something about this process that Tabris found unnerving, he had worked on sublight freighters moving through astroid belts with no navigation but a periscope and a good person at the helm. He had survived Earth’s World War 3, he had worked on helping the Bajoran resistance during the occupation but nothing prepared his nerves for the potential of a family.

The sounds started soft, then grew louder and louder as a cacophony of little footsteps and shrill voices burst into the room. Tabris was mid sip as he felt the wave of small individuals crash into him sending the tea, and cup, flying into the back wall. Knocked to the ground he couldn’t make out what anyone was saying or the pretend games they were playing but he found something welling up inside him, a laugh. No. A giggle! He started to giggle for the first time as he tried to sit up but was knocked to the ground by someone who was ‘smiting an ogre’ or something like that.

Karra watched without a word or offer of help. She did catch the cup before it broke and cleaned up the tea. Neltus wasn’t quite as outgoing as his house siblings. Karra had a feeling that it was because of his empathy. But today he was just as engaged as the rest of the children. Even, despite his small size for an 8 year old, picking up one of the smaller children and trying to help them get a better shot at the ‘ogre.’ She nodded in approval of Tabris’s mirth. He’d better have a lot of it and patience. Though the gods of profit better believe the children took hers away some days.

Tabris Asam, Eng

The older children arrived and already knew from the craziness in the kitchen that a visitor had arrived. They were more stoic about it. They would rather the younger ones find a family. They all figured they were close to being adults anyway. After about 10 minutes of the craziness, Karra, despite being a small Ferengi woman, her voice cracked good naturedly around the room. “You have studies? Yes? You can play more later. Out of my kitchen so I can actually get food ready for you monsters.” The children all scattered except Neltus. He stood by the doorway watching Tabris looking very shy. “Neltus would you like to help me cook? We can make your favorite.”

He nodded but didn’t move. Karra left him be and started busying herself around the kitchen. Like she told Tabris, routine is the best thing for nerves. As she went about her daily cook prep, Neltus eventually relaxed enough to speak. “I read your letter.”

Tabris sat up on the floor, one leg drooped down as he rested his arm on the other. He watched the young lad as he shifted uneasily before Tabris said, “I’m glad you did. What did you think of it?” As he spoke he didn’t move, this was the boy’s home after all and he would surely respect his position as the guest seeking approval. Neltus looked Tabris up and down and didn’t say anything before joining Karra in the kitchen saying, “Do we have enough to make hasperat tonight?” He walked back over to the room and said, “Do you cook?”

Tabris by now was standing as he waited for either the boy or the house mother to return and smiled as the boy did, “I do indeed.” He replied calmly as the young boy thought for a minute, “Then come and help.” The boy said as though it should have been obvious. Each helping hand meant there was more work done with less effort from the group, and Tabris was an able bodied man after all right? Joining them in the kitchen Tabris said, “What are we making?” Neltus looked at Karra and said, “So can we make hasperat?” The boy showed a little bit of excitement with his question, that childlike innocence and enthusiasm shining through a touch.

Karra snorted, “Of course, but you know Yaren and his wife will show up if we make that. So we’ll have to make lots of extra.”

Neltus moved over to the large table and put several things on the table creating two work spaces. He slid a chair out of the way so Tabris could help at the table. Then he kneeled on a chair so he could work easily despite being a little short. He worked quietly for several minutes. Neltus was thoughtful and like any 8 year old would let his mouth run, but when it really mattered he was hesitant to say the wrong thing. “I always wanted to meet someone like me. Karra said I have something called ‘empathy.’ She said it’s why I don’t like when the babies cry.” He glanced at Tabris to see if Tabris thought he was weird. “I don’t remember my mom and dad. Zanya told me that they died when I was still a baby.” He wouldn’t say that he had nightmares about pain and fear but didn’t know from what, whenever he thought about before he was here. He was sure he was making it up. That it was just his imagination. He looked over at Tabris giving him a good once over. “You don’t look 200 or 417. You look younger than Yaren.” He kept working quietly for awhile, but if Tabris was listening closely he’d hear Neltus whisper, “I’d like to have a family.”

Tabris Asam, Eng

Tabris nodded as he worked to chop the vegetables and peppers very thinly because a good hasperat was a spicy one.He listened to the little boy speak and got flashes of feeling but nothing too strong as he wasn’t a good empath because while he had the ability it was never practiced on Earth. When he said he was an empath Tabris nodded and said, “That’s because Neltus you are an El-Aurian, as am I. It’s why I don’t look 417 as well. It’s part of what makes you, well, you. We are people who live incredibly long times and have the ability to, well, feel what someone else is feeling. I’ll tell you that I’m not very good at it because I grew up on Earth, not around other El-Aurians. As a boy you’ll age like most kids, you’ll become an adolescent then an adult and something switches where you age really, really slowly.” Tabris said as he finished the peppers and tossed them into a bowl. He indeed heard what the little boy was saying as he whispered and Tabris said, “So would I” in an equal whisper. Neltus listened quietly as he worked on rolling the ingredients that Tabris had prepared into the wraps.

Karra listened quietly and smiled. After dinner while the children cleaned up she took Tabris back into the small living area at the back of the house for guests. “I think that Neltus is very taken with you and the idea of having a family. Over the next few days you need to spend time with him. I don’t want you spoiling him. He still has school and chores, but it’s your job to make sure it happens. This is easy because he knows what to do and what is expected. He struggles with some subjects in school, as all kids do. I’m not helping him, you will. If you like you are welcome to have meals back here just the two of you, and of course to create a bed time or end of the day routine. You need to talk to him about how things will change. He won’t be here anymore. It’s important you be up front with him.”

The next morning Karra stuck her head into the back and knocked on the door. “Children are getting up.” And then she walked to start food for breakfast. As Tabris woke slowly after the knock he blinked a few times before reaching for his glasses on the side of the end table. He put them on and blinked as he put on his slippers and looked for his potential son’s room. He wandered the halls and tried to focus on the names written as he came across a door he swore he walked past three times. There were two names, Vedi and Neltus written in the script only a 3rd grader would have. He knocked and waited patiently, “Good morning, ready to start the day?” Tabris said through the wood.

Neltus hadn’t slept well, the nightmares were back yet again and he had thrown his covers off at some point. The boy heard the knock and shook awake as he shouted “NO!” He panted, gasped for air as he looked around. Vedi looked at Neltus with a half dazed expression and said, “Another one? You should talk to Miss Karra, this is the third one this week.” The comment was of a concerned friend rather than an annoyed roommate as Neltus panted. He rose from bed, toes hitting the floor as he rushed to get dressed for the day. “Uh… come in I guess?” He called out to who he could only assume was Tabris.

Tabris opened the door and saw the kid wiggling with a shirt half over his torso as he stifled a chuckle. He looked to the other boy who looked to be of similar age and asked, “Is he always like this in the morning?” Vedi, not thinking perfectly clearly said “Only if he’s had a nightm…” Vedi stopped. His cheeks as red as can be as Neltus shot a glare that looked like it could slay a nausicaan. “Aaaaaaaa night after meeting someone like you.” Vedi said as he quickly and politely excused himself from the room as fast as possible. Neltus hopped on the bed and slipped on his socks slowly while looking at Tabris, “You stayed. I thought you would have left” What went unsaid was the shock of anger that flashed throughout the room. This was a chance to have a family and Vedi might have just ruined it. Now the boy knew his friend wasn’t trying to do anything wrong, but that flash of rage was powerful. With his shoes on finally Neltus started to walk out of the door as he said, “Come on”

Tabris Asam, Eng

Tabris briskly tried to keep pace as he tried to wrestle with what had happened in the room, “So I was talking with the house mother last night…” Tabris said as he swallowed a little, “And I’m going to be spending the next few days here to do my best to show the house mother, and you, that I can be the person you need. And so that you can make up your mind if I’m the right person for you.” He said sensitively. “She told me you have school and chores, just like anyone else here, can you run me through what a day normally looks like?” Tabris said as he wanted to give the boy the ability to have a voice and speak about what his life entailed. He didn’t wait too long before saying, “She also said there are a few things you struggle with in school? I’d love to help you with those”

“Well we’re supposed to straighten our rooms up in the morning. I help Karra in the kitchen. She has breakfast done but I help her prep for lunch. We all come home for lunch. If I’m lucky she lets me help with dinner too. I like to cook. But I’m in charge of watching the little ones after dinner until clean up is done.” He kept moving, agitated. He knew Vedi didn’t mean it because he felt how bad Vedi felt and that just made him feel weird and uncomfortable. But he didn’t want Tabris to think he was a big baby. Who wanted a big baby? If he wanted a baby he’d be here for one of the little ones. He was a big kid. He had to prove it. “Sometimes Balluphur lets me help repair stuff around the village. I like making things.” He was angry at Karra very suddenly. Why did she have to tell Tabris he wasn’t smart! The anger was very noticeable and the twisted effect on his self esteem as well. “I’m good in school. Really I am. I just get distracted by the other kids is all.” He didn’t say it was the emotions of the other kids, he still wasn’t sure he believed that was a real thing.

Tabris nodded as he walked, trying his best to remember being an 8 year old again, but let’s be fair that was over 400 years ago now. “You’re in charge of the little ones? That I’m sure is a tough job. Not just anyone is that responsible.” Tabris commented, seeing how the boy responded to those sorts of compliments. The agitation was noticeable as the boy walked, leaning forward ever so slightly, footsteps were hard even if the foot making them was small. “You get distracted because of the other kids? Do you think that’s the empathic part of you trying to get your attention?” Tabris tread on shallow ice at the moment, being put into a situation he was wholly unprepared for when dealing with a child.”You know I’m an engineer in Starfleet, I make things all the time. I’d be happy to have some help fixing things.” He said optimistically.

Tabris Asam, Eng

Neltus was a big kid, he had just told himself that right? This man seemed to want to connect and Neltus, for his part, really did want to have that family and Tabris seemed like an alright guy. The boy stopped and took a breath. This caught Tabris off guard but the adult paused for a moment, trying to study what the boy was doing. Neltus took a few moments before exhaling calmly and he said, “I don’t know if it’s the thing Karra says I have. All I know is that during class it’s hard to focus and I get distracted easy even if no one is saying anything.” The whole idea of feeling someone else’s emotions was weird to the kid, after all why didn’t anyone else here have that ‘ability’? “After dinner is cleaned up I do my homework and read a bit before I go to bed.” He finished as they arrived at the dining hall. “Are you going to join me at the table or…” Neltus said at a loss. He hadn’t had anyone go this far in the adoption process before, anyone before saw that his species lived for 600-700 years, figured he’d be a little kid for longer than they’d be alive, and never bothered to meet.

Tabris looked over the room and said, “If it is distracting you, I bet we can figure something out to help make it less distracting, no matter what is causing it. As for eating with you, we can join the others or have a spot to ourselves if you’d like.” Neltus thought it over and said, “Why don’t we have breakfast with everyone.”

Karra was queen of her table but never seemed to be still. With several little ones needing sippy cups and food cut up special and food cleaned off the floor, and tears whipped when the older kids left for school it didn’t seem that the woman ever stopped or sat down. She watched to see what Neltus would do before he left for school.

Vedi walked over to Tabris after Neltus had headed out for school. “So Neltus probably won’t want me to tell you this, but sometimes he has nightmares. That’s why he was so crabby this morning.” He shifted from foot to foot for a moment. “I just don’t want you to think he’s like that all the time. It always upsets him, and he doesn’t want you to think he’s a baby.” He walked away in a hurry but stopped and bent down hugging two of the younger children, another Cardassian child, a girl, and a Bajorin boy. He promised to see them at lunch and then he took off on a jog to catch up with Neltus.

Karra, answer Tabris’ confused look. “Vedi, Mecona, and Julin were found together at a Cardassian outpost. Claiming to be siblings and Vedi has worked very hard to keep them together. It’s a shame really because no one wants Cardassian and Bajorin children together. Those three are what peace looks like.”

After the children left and she had the younger ones settled in the front room she returned with a PaDD. “Homework time Mr. Asam.” There were pages and pages of questions. What ifs, and how would yous, and it went on and on. The hardest questions, “What is your plan for Neltus if something happens to you?” And they went on. “This has to be finished before we can move further in the process. You can work while he’s in school. I’m also here to answer any questions that crop up. Either from the paper work or from anything that you see around here. It might be nice if you and Neltus have lunch together today.”

Tabris took the PaDD and looked it over, some of the questions were fairly basic, some seemed downright strange, and others such as the “What is your plan for Neltus if something happens to you?” were difficult. He looked up at Karra and said, “Thank you ma’am I appreciate your availability even when you are so busy. I hope that my answers suit your requirements” He said as he pondered. He wasn’t going to try to give her the ‘best’ answers, just the answers that were true and honest to how he acted. He rose to help clear what was left of breakfast before sitting back down at the table to start the questions.

The questions grew more difficult as he took more and more time to answer then. The clock struck the hour closest to lunch time as he still hadn’t gotten to that final question when he rose and stretched. Putting the PaDD down in order to make it on time to his lunch with Neltus. He started to walk towards the school, pondering and questioning himself. Was he ready? Was he going to be able to be a good father? Would Neltus be able to adjust to having a family? Was Tabris the man to do that? When he arrived at the school he waited for the bell to ring.

Neltus wiggled in his seat as the bell grew closer to ringing. The time was growing closer and closer till finally it rang out and he was free! At least for a little while. The boy ran outside and was surprised, “Tabris? What are you doing here?” He asked, almost embarrassed as he shifted the weight of his bag slowly. Tabris smiled, “I wanted to have lunch with you and I thought we could walk back together, what do you think?” Neltus smiled and said, “That sounds great!” The walk was quiet, footsteps falling on a dirt pathway playing a soft beat on the ground. The enthusiasm of the boy whisked away as he was unsure of what was supposed to be said or done; Tabris too at a loss for words.

Kara saw the awkward silence, but she wasn’t going to fix it. They had to find their own way. But that night she did talk to Tabris after the children went to bed. She collected to finished PaDD from him. “So you will have several files to be filled out when you return to your ship. It’s called a home study. The ship’s counselor, in your case, will come and inspect your quarters. That means you will have to request family quarters before that happens. She will inspect them and return the form to me. You will also have to have recommendations from your Department head and another officer in command, as well two personal letters of reference. And you will need an updated complete physical form filled out by the medical staff on board. Once you leave you are not allowed to come back for a month. We don’t have the ability to video call but you can write as often as you want.” This was the tricky part. Oftentimes people came in and were eager to take the children home after that first visit. But tell them to wait a month, and the idea the fervor died out and they lost interest. It was heartbreaking, but at least the children didn’t go to homes where they were ‘trophies.’ “After that second visit, if you both agree and all your paper work is in order, we’ll proceed with the legal proceedings. Unfortunately, Neltus won’t be able to go with you until that is finished.”

Tabris understood as he listened intently and made sure that he was going to be able to follow every direction perfectly. He clarified a few points, such as inspection of family quarters on the starbase or on the ship he was going to be assigned to and whatnot. He was a little more than just sad when he heard that Neltus wouldn’t come home with him soon and was worried that there would be hiccups and problems. He wasn’t exactly sure what was going to be of the next little while was going to bring.
Karra, Tabris, Neltus

Neltus was still in charge of the littles after dinner. He helped cook, they ate, and then he played. Vedi played with the littles before dinner and then helped clean up after. Neltus introduced Tabris to Mecona and Julin. “These are Vedi’s little brother and sister, and since Vedi is my brother, they are mine too.” These two out of all the littles followed at Neltus’s feet all the time, no matter where in the room he went and as soon as he sat down they were crawling all over him, literally. Neltus introduced Tabris, but didn’t at this point, explain he might be his dad. They’d just met after all. But he did enjoy watching Tabris play with the littles. He tried to imagine that it was him when he was little. “When…if....I’m adopted, I’m really going to miss them. If…if it’s you would you bring me back to visit?”

It had been a month! And Neltus couldn’t stop bouncing around. He was usually distracted by the frustrations of the other kids at school, but today he couldn’t sit still. Wiggling in his seat, bouncing his feet under his desk, tapping his stylus rapidly until the teacher asked him to stop because it was distracting. No one was mad at him though. They all knew, he hadn’t stopped talking about it all week. Even the other kids weren’t annoyed with him. Tabris was supposed to be back when he got out of school. Tabris had written every day, and Neltus was always really excited to get the letters. But it had been hard to write at first. He didn’t know what to say. So he just answered whatever question Tabris had asked. Eventually though Neltus relaxed and writing his letter at the end of the day was something to which he looked forward.

Tabris had been reading each and every letter and they made him smile every time. It started off slowly at first, just simple answers to questions such as “what’s his favorite color or favorite food” but eventually it flourished into long letters of the little boy sharing about his day, his hopes, his dreams, and Tabris doing the same. They had been exchanging letters daily and Tabris looked forward to getting off of every shift to read what his soon to be son had to say and write back. He loved that kid, it wasn’t that he had been raising him since he was a baby or that he had spent every moment with him, but the two were bonding as best as they could over the letters and Tabris shared as much as he could about what his life would be like. Tabris talked about the other kids onboard and the school facilities, he talked about what it looked like and all the amenities, he was hopeful that Neltus would be excited.

Now Tabris was back for his second visit. Karra was hopeful too because Tabris had written so frequently. But he could feel her apprehension and it bothered him. He just knew Tabris was going to come back. And Karra seemed to like him. But she was worried because she knew it didn’t always work out. When Tabris had visited the last time he told him all about the Starbase he was currently at. His letters had included some information about the new ship he was on: The Ark Angel. It sounded huge to him and Neltus couldn’t even fathom something that big. As the bell sounded Neltus ran out of the school building and stopped right outside the door. Tabris wasn’t there.

Vedi ran right into him. “Come on Neltus move!” Vedi pushed him over to the side to let the rest of the children out of the school house. “He’s not here Vedi.” Vedi shoved him. “Duh! Karra said he wouldn’t get here till dinner. I don’t know much about star travel but they can figure time pretty accurately. So if it’s dinner time, then it’s dinner time. Come on. If you hurry your school work will be done before he gets here.” Neltus nodded and followed behind Vedi. He was disappointed. He knew Vedi was right but he was hoping Tabris would be there when he got out of school.

Tabris was on the shuttle, the changes had been noted but he was still disappointed by how he wasn’t able to make it to the initial after school meeting, but he was going to be there for dinner and that was what mattered. He had let Karra know who he knew had passed on the message. He hadn’t had time to send a letter to Neltus directly and that bothered him, hopefully it hadn’t sent the poor kid into a nosedive.

But in typical 8 year old fashion he soon forgot about the disappointment in the chores and school work he had to do once they got back to the house. Neltus remembered there was an air of expectation from everyone. The closer it came time for Tabris to arrive, the more unconcerned Naltus tried to act. But when Tabris actually arrived, everyone had the good manners to go in the other room while they laughed when Neltus threw himself into a huge hug on Tabris.

Tabris’s eyes watered gently as the boy threw himself on Tabris for a hug, Neltus was genuinely happy to see him and that made Tabris feel really special. “How’s it been kiddo?” Tabris said as the boy let go and Tabris got down on one knee to be eye to eye with the boy, his hands on the kid’s shoulders. “Well it’s been weird!” Neltus said as he started rambling at some speed, “So it’s like I feel really different, like I still live here and I still am technically an orphan but I guess I really don’t feel like one because you’re here right? Like I feel special that you’re here but I know I’ve been annoying to everyone else although they tell me they haven’t been annoyed. Oh!” He said bouncing slightly as he talked, “I haven’t felt distracted at school lately, ever since we’ve been writing letters it’s been like it doesn’t affect me as much!” Tabris could do nothing but smile as he listened, this was what he had been looking forward to for so long but it was never the right time. Hopefully he would be able to grow old with a son out there among the stars.

Vedi had watched Neltus with Tabris most of the week, one day while Neltus was out helping Ms Karra, Vedi decided he needed to talk to Tabris. He wanted him to understand what was going to happen after Neltus left, so that Tabris could help Neltus. “Mr Tabris? Can I talk to you a minute? Look, so you know Neltus is like my brother, and I’m sure he’s told you about Mecona and Julin. We’re all really close, but I’ve worked really hard to keep the three of us together. But there are three of us and that’s a whole lot of kids for a family to take. Given that it was the three of us, we’re never going to get adopted. And I want to be practical and know it’s a long shot for all of us, and it’s ok, but it’s still hard. Julin and Mecona are really little. They could get adopted so easy. People want little kids, babies, you know. So after the holidays I’m going to tell Ms Karra I don’t want to go with them. And they don’t have to go together. They’re young enough they should adapt okay after a little while. I want them to find homes. I don’t want them to resent me because they had a chance but lost it because I was stubborn. But Neltus, He’s my brother too, and he won’t understand right now if I tell him what I’m doing. So I just want you to help him, okay?”

Tabris was allowed to stay for a whole week that time. Karra let him leave and go over night with Tabris to one of the other villages that was on a HUGE lake. Neltus had never seen anything so big. The locals told him it was actually a sea, not a lake. Neltus had a whole host of new experiences at the lake, from warm sand between his toes to gently splashing waves as the boy waded into the water. The air smelled funny, and Tabris had explained to him that it was salt from the water. Neltus had made the mistake of getting the water in his mouth while he was splashing around, and it did NOT taste good. He got really mad at Tabris, for a minute, thinking the smile on his face meant he was laughing at him. But that funny other ‘feeling’ he had told him Tabris was kind of sad and happy at the same time. Tabris explained to him that his parents used to take him to a ‘gulf’ when they lived on Earth. And that he’d done the same thing when he was a kid. That he was happy remembering the memory but sad because he missed his own parents. Neltus didn’t say it but he hoped Tabris would take him some time. He was a little disappointed too that Tabris’s parents were no longer alive. He had kind of liked the idea of having grandparents. But he had known when Tabris first wrote to him that they were no longer alive. So Tabris was kind of an orphan just like him. The difference, though, was that Tabris remembered his parents. Neltus wasn’t mad after that. They were only gone a couple days but he’d had a blast! Tabris was super calm and never got frustrated when he got excited and bounced all over the place!

Tabris watched his soon to be son frolic in the sand, play in the waves, and want Tabris to play with him. The man had the smile of an old soul on his face, thinking that this must have been what it was like for his parents to watch him as a boy running around at the gulf when he was 11. He stopped and said, “Neltus! Sunscreen!” He explained the story of how he got really badly burned when he was only a few years older than Neltus and luckily the boy listened. As Tabris spread the lotion on his arms and back, Neltus smiled up at the man and Tabris felt himself being all parental, it was a good feeling. “Alright kiddo, get your chest, legs and anything else alright?. Don’t want to get back to town glowing red do ya?” Tabris wanted to take him home now, wanted to just start their life. This was a weird thing, a good thing, but a weird thing. Like a parent for a moment, not permanent as he would again leave.

Tabris and Neltus even got to stay in one of the extra back rooms at the house, and it was like he and Tabris had their own little house. He’d dragged all his stuff into the back sitting room. He was working on a science project with Vedi. They wanted to build a robot for Karra. She was starting to have trouble carrying stuff around. He was going to build it and Vedi was working on the program. But they hit a snag because they couldn’t find all the parts they needed for the robot’s little design. Tabris helped him redesign it based on what they had in the village so he and Vedi could finish the project.

Everything went so good he was afraid that it was all going to go wrong. And then two days before Tabris was going to have to leave again, Tabris actually yelled at him! Neltus was sure that Tabris wasn’t going to want him anymore. Neltus, being the 8 year old kid he was, was stubborn and silent and glaring. Until he realized Tabris was upset because he wasn’t doing his chores. Karra had asked him to help with dinner and he had been too busy to hear her and then Tabris had asked him, which again he’d zoned out. Tabris actually took his stuff for the robot away, to make him listen.

Tabris had enjoyed the idle chat between the two and was really enjoying helping Neltus and his roommate Vedi work on this robot for Karra, a project that he knew Neltus kept saying that he wanted to complete it before he left and that warmed Tabris’s old heart. There was one thing that caused some concern for Tabris was that while the boy worked he was so engrossed that he, more often than not, ignored what was going on around him or even asked of him. It was dinner time two days before Tabris was set to leave and Neltus had been working on the robot in the dining hall before dinner, a place that was fairly open for larger projects and what not. Dusk was approaching and Tabris had been working with Karra on a few projects while he was at the orphanage when she started working on dinner. “Neltus can you help me make the salad?” She asked while Tabris was working on fixing some of the leaking pipes. After a minute Karra said, “Salad please Neltus” The boy was still engrossed in his work and was working carefully to solder the main board to the daughter boards for the optical sensors. His tongue was out to the left as he leaned in close. Tabris heard nothing from Neltus and pulled himself out from under the sink and said, “Neltus, put the work aside and please help Karra with dinner, you can always come back to this. Dinner cannot wait.” Neltus finished soldering the board and sat back to sigh and put down the soldering iron. Another minute passed as Tabris stood and walked sternly towards the boy and grabbed the tools and main board and said, “Neltus Omad-Asam when you make a promise to help someone I expect you to follow through no matter how much you might be enjoying what you’re doing. You are an important part of this home and play a key role here that will be missed. I do not appreciate your disrespect to House Mother Karra, now go and help her with dinner. This can be worked on later.”

Neltus was shocked! He’d gotten mad and stubborn refusing to listen or look at him. After he realized Tabris never actually yelled at him. He was just very stern. Tabris told him he wasn’t happy that Neltus had ignored Karra. That Karra deserved more respect than that and he, Tabris, expected Neltus to act better than that. Neltus, of course, overreacted. He went to help Karra and ate in silence and then watched the littles, although he didn’t have to that night, since he had a school project. After he’d gone to his room with Vedi to sulk. Sure that Tabris wasn’t going to want him anymore. He looked at Vedi and said, “I blew it Vedi.” His voice hollow and sorrowful as he got out of his day clothes and slipped on his pajama pants. He then sat on his bed, toes tapping on the floor idly as he thought. Vedi got changed and said as he sat on his own bed, “What happened Neltus?” Neltus looked at the dusty floor and said, “I really blew it. He snapped at me. I was… I was working on the robot right? And I didn’t hear Karra and he said I was being disrespectful…” A tear began to form in the corner of his eye welling up and falling onto his plaid pajama pants he took a breath and swallowed. “He’s not going to want me anymore is he?” Neltus said as he looked up, the tears now flowing quicker. Vedi put his ‘big brother’ pants on and moved over to sit next to Neltus, throwing an arm around his roommate and friend, “He snapped right? I mean that’s what parents do right?” The young Cardassian said as he patted Neltus’s shoulder. “Maybe it’ll be ok?” Neltus stayed quiet, not sure what to feel. He could sense his friend’s uneasy response, his empathy telling him that Vedi didn’t know, and was hoping the words would help.

It actually ended up being the best day ever. Neltus would NEVER admit it, but he was really happy that Tabris had kind of yelled at him. He cared enough to act like a parent and not just his friend to impress him. Vedi had gotten up and told Neltus that he would be back, just needed to run to get something. Neltus didn’t think too much of it, he knew Vedi was trying to help but he felt so alone and worthless that he was totally convinced that he was going to grow up and become an adult on Delotha. Vedi had walked briskly towards the guest rooms and knocked on Tabris’s door. The man answered the door and saw a small Cardassian boy standing rubbing one arm nervously. He blinked a couple of times and grabbed his glasses, “Vedi, what are you doing here? Come in” Tabris said as the boy entered the room he began to spew out words as fast as the boy could speak. “It’s Neltus, he’s convinced that you’re not going to adopt him and he’s worried that you hate him and he just knows that you’re going to leave and never come back and that’ll be the end of it….” Tabris cut him off and said, “Vedi slow down, what? Neltus is worried I’m not going to want him? Why does he think that?” Vedi looked at Tabris like he was a total idiot and said, “Because you snapped at him. Duh.” Tabris blinked and had been doing his best to keep a clear head. Truth be told he was scared that Neltus wasn’t going to want him anymore, he was afraid that the boy would think he wasn’t a good father figure and wanted nothing to do with him. Vedi looked at Tabris and said impatiently while tapping his little foot on the floor, arms crossed with slight irritation at what should be obvious, “Will you just go talk to him?” Tabris, having been told what to do by a child, well more ordered than told, nodded and got up to head to the boy’s room.

Tabris had come to his room after to talk to him, and he’d been crying alone on his bed. Tabris was good at listening and waiting as Neltus went over and over what he was so worried about, everything he had said to Vedi as a concern, worried that this was going to end up in a record somewhere and that now that Tabris had snapped he was even less likely to be adopted. Eventually Neltus admitted he was scared that Tabris didn’t want him anymore because he’d messed up. That was the first time he called Tabris, ‘Dad’ and told him he loved him and really wanted to go home with him. The words stuck out in Tabris’s mind as he would always remember, “Look dad I just don’t want you to think I’m a bad kid! I want to go home with you, I love you…” He said as the tears returned with a vengeance, the young boy leaning into Tabris’s chest as he cried and hugged him tightly. Tabris nodded, a few tears of his own falling on the boy’s head as he said, “Neltus I know we are building our relationship, but I want to be your father, I want to be your dad. Sometimes that means I’m strict, that doesn’t mean I don’t want you. It means I want the best for you. I love you too son, I want you to come home with me too. We’ll write letters and do whatever we can, but you and I both know these things take time. Please understand that when I snapped it was because I saw that you weren’t doing your part and that disappointed me. Sometimes we have to put aside what we want to do, in order to do what we need to do. I hope you understand.” As he was saying this, a small crack in the door opened up, and a small voice whispered “yes!” Vedi had been eavesdropping on the two and let slip the exclamation. He clamped his hand over his mouth as Tabris looked over and said, “You can come in Vedi, Neltus is part of your family here.” As the Cardassian boy entered and stood nervously before the two, rubbing the same arm as Neltus looked at him and glared, then smiled, “You went and got him didn’t you?” As Neltus chuckled a little between the tears Vedi looked at Neltus the same way he looked at Tabris, like the one asking was an idiot, and said, “Well duh! I knew you needed him to make you feel better and he needed you to tell him how much you care, and if you two weren’t going to talk then I was going to make it happen.” Tabris pulled the boy in and hugged him before saying, “Vedi you’re something else.” Neltus punched him in the arm and said, “Yeah, and don’t eavesdrop on my dad and me like that again!” Vedi chuckled and said, “Fine fine… just don’t be like that and actually talk to each other instead of sulking like Alyssa or Lanshay jeeze.”

He was really sad when Tabris left at the end of the week, but before he left Neltus made sure that Karra knew he wanted Tabris to adopt him and he wanted her to tell the judge, really really really soon please.
Karra, Tabris, Neltus

Knock, knock, knock. “We’re up Ms Karra!” Vedi yelled through the door. Well he was, Neltus had stayed up late finishing their robot. He got up and walked over to Neltus’ bed and shook him. “Hey sleepy head, time to get up.” Neltus groaned and rolled over pulling the blanket over his head. “Ugh…..” Vedi laughed and jumped onto Neltus’ bed and bounced, “Get up sleepy head! I’ll go get Mecona!” Neltus threw the blanket off and jumped up. “NO! She always gets my stomach!” Vedi laughed and walked out the door, already dressed for school. A few minutes later Karra came into the room. “Neltus, you aren’t going to school today.” Neltus was confused, “I’m not sick. I was only joking with Vedi about Mecona. That’s all. I’m okay Ms Karra.” Karra walked over and sat down on his bed. “No Neltus. Today is a very important day for you.” Karra felt a little sad to Neltus and he was confused because she was smiling. The feeling was called ‘bittersweet’ but Neltus wasn’t familiar with that feeling and didn’t understand it. She stood suddenly pulling Neltus into a huge hug. “The judge is coming today. Our subspace com is on the fritz again and we have no ability to do video comms, so the judge arrives today to talk to you about Tabris adopting you.”

This was a hard situation for Karra. Zanya had brought Neltus here so long ago. 8 years. He was barely 4 months old when Zanya had walked into the village, the small bundle tightly strapped to her chest. He had been severely malnutritioned and so tiny. Zanya never explained how or where she found the children. She brought what information she could find and then once they arrived she and Karra would do the rest. The only information Zanya had found was Neltus Omad’s name, his parents names, and birthdate. That was all that was left of the records in his village. Zanya had taken a DNA sample and the Federation had run the results to see if he had family anywhere in the known vastness of space. None was ever found. Karra had nursed him back to health, building on the work that Zanya had done to save his life. He’d been late to get his grown spurts, and those early months and years, Karra had worried non-stop about the small little boy. Now Neltus was healthy, needing vitamin and mineral supplements on occasion, but he was smart, determined, and a caring young man. And today the Federation judge was arriving to talk to Neltus about what he wanted. Of course the judge had to approve, but Karra’s heart was over full with the idea that Neltus had found his family and it was also breaking because she was losing one of her littles.

Neltus bounced around the house for the first half of the morning. Karra kept him busy helping watch the youngest children during the early morning. The judge arrived and Karra was relieved to see that the woman was very grandmotherly looking. “Ah, Ms Karra. Thank you for having me here. I don’t like interviewing children over letters. I like to have a conversation with them and get to know them at least a little in the short time I get with them.” Karra smiled. She liked this woman and she set her up in the back sitting room, and then she went to get Neltus.

Neltus walked in with Karra looking at the floor and shifting from foot to foot. “Hi Neltus. I’m Judge Arroz. I’d like to talk to you about Mr Tabris Asam.” Neltus looked up grinning and squeezed Karra’s hand. “He’s going to adopt me and I’m going to go live with him, he’s going to be my dad!” Neltus’ eyes got big and then flushed in embarrassment, “I mean, if you say he can.” Judge Arroz just smiled. She had Neltus sit down with her, and Karra wandered in and out the whole time. She wanted to be there for Neltus but she also had the littles to watch. Arroz stayed until lunch. Then, Neltus went back to school early to catch up on what he missed that morning.

Judge Arroz had Vedi, Mecona, and Julin come into the room with her. She gave Karra a knowing smile. “I understand that the three of you are Neltus’ best friends.” They all nodded. Mecona and Julin were interested in all her PaDDs and materials and she let them play and draw on them. Vedi was suspicious until she asked her next question. “What do you think of Mr Asam?” Vedi understood. She wanted their opinion before she approved Neltus’ adoption. “I like him. He’s really good for Neltus. He’s patient and listens, even when Neltus is crying and being unreasonable. And he’s super patient. He helped me and Neltus with a project we’re doing for school. Julin and Mecona like him. He helped me and Neltus watch them in the evenings. He promised to let Neltus come visit us.” He wasn’t being heavy handed in his praise, he liked Mr Tabris and wanted Neltus to get adopted. Arroz nodded, “What about you Julin.” She had a picture of Tabris on her PaDD and pointed to it. “ABIS!” I wove Abis! He makes my robot talk.” And Julin runs off to get his toy robot and shows Arroz how Tabris makes it do silly things. She turned to Mecona, “What do you think little lady?” Mecona looked at the picture. “He’s a good daddy. I want him too.”

Arroz spent the afternoon with Karra going over all the paperwork Karra had collected over the months on Tabris. “Well he’s certainly made an impression on Neltus. What do you think, Ms Karra?” Karra smiled, “I have no reservations Judge. Tabris has been wonderful. He writes every day, he’s spent every single minute of his two visits with Neltus and they’ve even had to work through some rough patches. Growing pains of becoming parent and child, and they weathered it like champs. I’m very happy for Neltus and Mr. Asam. Neltus already calls him Dad and can’t wait to be with him.” Arroz nodded. “I still have to talk to Mr Asam and go over the home visit paperwork. I will be video comming with him. You’ll have my decision soon.” Karra smiled, “It’s close to the holiday. It’d be a nice surprise for Santa to bring.”

Karra, Tabris, Neltus