Last Day in Australia

Log Title: Last Day in Australia Characters: Kimber, Major Bludd

Location: Alice Springs - Australia

Date: May 15, 2016

TP: Killing Jar TP

Summary: It's Kimber's last day with Major Bludd.

As logged by Kimber - Sunday, May 15, 2016, 7:41 PM

14 Gap Road - Alice Springs - Australia
This is a two-story townhouse with a yellow-brick front and a second-floor balcony that overhangs the front of the building.

Bludd gives a quiet sigh and rests his chin atop Kimber's head. "Gonna be very strange not havin' you around," he says, giving her arm a squeeze.

Kimber twists her head around to look at Bludd. "Admit it - it's strange to have me around, too," she grins. Her hologram hides the puffiness of her eyes from crying, but Bludd can tell from the waver in her voice that she's trying to put on a brave face in spite of not wanting to leave. "I hope everyone's OK back home," she says with a frown of guilt. "I shouldn't have stayed away so long, but it was just so hard not to!" She turns to look out the window again and snuggles back against Bludd.

"I've grown very accustomed to it, m'dear," Bludd drawls, smiling. "You make me feel like a different person. A person who'd rather spend time with you than go back to doing military work. If not for this previous commitment, I'd say hang the sense of it an' take you to see the country."

Kimber turns around to beam up at Bludd. "Really? You're so sweet! I wish I could stay and see the country. I wish... I wish there was a way we could stay together, and you wouldn't have to go back to fighting, and I wouldn't have to go back to being in the spotlight all the time, and we could just hang out and snuggle and see things and make babies together!" She laughs at that last bit, eyeing Bludd to see his reaction to the jesting tease.

Bludd nods at Kimber's statements, smiling fondly at her, until the end of her last sentence. Predictably, he stares at her in surprise and shock at the statement. "I -- er, well--" he stammers, "I certainly like the first part of the process, but I'm far from certain about later stages." He smiles weakly at her.

Kimber bursts out into loud, boisterous laughter at Bludd's predictable response. She sticks out her tongue at Bludd's weak smile. "Well, maybe not the last part. I think I'm too immature to be a decent mom." She waits for Bludd to argue, and if he doesn't fast enough, she punches him on his upper arm. Before he can say anything, she rushes in with, "I'd be a great mom, and our kids would have the best bunch of aunties - although they might have to get used to being around kids with eyepatches, if they take after their dad," she teases.

Bludd doesn't immediately respond to Kimber's claim, and gets punched in the arm. He gives her a mock-sour look at the eyepatch comment. "Smartass." He grins at her, then sobers somewhat. "I ... don't think I'd make a very good dad."

Kimber scooches around in her seat, and reaches up to gently touch Bludd's face. Suddenly serious, she says, "You'd make a great dad. There's a kindness in your beneath the surface, and you're very caring and protective of what's yours. There are good qualities in you that could be passed along to the next generation. I know you do bad things sometimes, but I don't think that's you. You're not a bad person." She says the last bit with solid conviction.

Bludd stares at Kimber in disbelief for a moment, clearly touched by her proclamation. He leans his face into her hand for a moment, gazing at her in adoration. "I..." He frowns a moment in thought. "Thank you," he says finally. "But I wouldn't want to find out the hard way that you're wrong. You might say I had a bad role-model for fatherhood."

Kimber laughs affectionately. "Who is? I mean, I don't kill people, but I'm immature, loud, vain…" this time she doesn't pause for Bludd to contradict her, determined to make her point. "My parents died when I was young - they didn't have a chance to raise me past my teens. You - I'd bet you'd be there for your kids, and make sure nothing ever happened to them. I was kidding about wanting children, but if I did - I'd want someone like you looking after them."

"You're somethin' else," Bludd says with warmth in his voice. "I'm sorry t'hear you lost your parents so early... I lost me mum when I was just a boy. It kinda made a wreck of me an' me dad both. But you're right about me being protective. I'd do anything to protect my family, if I had one." He reaches out and cups her chin in his hand. "I'd do anything to protect you, too."

Kimber flushes beneath her hologram. Bludd can't see it, but he can feel the warmth in her skin. "I'm your family now," she declares forcefully. "And you're part of mine! Family can't always be together, but I want you to know, wherever you are and whatever you're doing, there's someone out there who cares about you, OK? Someone who sees the good in you, even if sometimes you have to do bad things to get by. And I hope for you that won't always be the case."

Bludd's jaw drops at Kimber's declaration. He swallows a lump in his throat and slides his hand around to the back of her neck. "An' don't -you- forget," he says very quietly, "the same applies t'you. I've never met anyone like you, Kimber, an' I keep wonderin' if I'm dreamin' an' when I'm gonna wake up!" He leans in to kiss her gently. "If this is a dream," he murmurs, letting his forehead rest against hers, "I don't ever wanna wake up."

Kimber kisses Bludd back, and smiles up at him. "Well, keep dreamin', baby, because I'm real," she says nonsensically. "And I'll keep the offer in mind. I hope I'll never need you in a professional capacity, but don't think that's all you have to offer." She pokes Bludd in the chest. "You have a lot to offer people, y'know, and I don't mind reminding you any time you need it. In fact," she pauses, and then reaches behind her neck and takes off her star-shaped holoprojector necklace.

"We can keep in touch in any number of ways," Bludd reminds her, chuckling at her statement about how real she is. He tilts his head to the side curiously as she removes her necklace.

Kimber offers the necklace. "I want you to take this. You can use it to disguise yourself, and to keep in contact with me any time you need to through Synergy - our holographic computer. Starr leads the Holograms now - I can get by without it. You could use it more than me. It could keep you alive and from getting caught." She smiles up at Bludd, offering protection of her own.

Bludd stares at the necklace, reaching out to cradle it in his hand. "Are you ..." He looks up into her face. "Are you sure?" He frowns suddenly. "Kimber, it's a wonderful gesture and I appreciate it, truly, but ... " He lowers his voice, leaning in toward her. "If you give me this you're aiding and abetting a known criminal. Yes, it would be of great use to me, but I want you to think about the legal implications at work here."

Kimber scowls at Bludd's concerns. "I don't care about legal, Sebastian. I care about your safety. Take this. I'll sleep better knowing that you're a little safer."

"Thank you," Bludd says sincerely, tucking the necklace into his pocket for safekeeping. "Oh! I almost forgot. I have something for you, too." He reaches for his back pocket, then stops and smiles at her. "Hold out your hands and close your eyes," he directs her.

Kimber eagerly closes her eyes and holds out her hands, sticking out her tongue in excitement.

Bludd takes an object out of his back pocket and places it in Kimber's hands. It's a rectangular piece of plastic about five inches long and three inches wide. "Okay, open 'em." When she looks at the object in her hands, she'll see it's an iPhone in a sparkly dark pink case.

Kimber opens her eyes, and squeals at the sparkly pink present. "Yay! I suppose this will be a more direct way than talking through Synergy," she admits with a naughty smile.

"Well, you said you were missing yours, so I thought I'd get you one, so you can do all your mobile and internet stuff on the plane," Bludd says, grinning at her. "I, er, took the liberty of putting my e-mail address in there for you." And indeed, Kimber will find one entry in her contacts list, with the address 'anzacpoet@bigpond.net.au' and no other information. "About that," he says regarding Synergy, "how can I talk to you with this," he pats the pocket with the necklace in it, "if you don't have it with you?"

Kimber hms, frowning. "If I'm in range of one of the other holoemitters, Synergy can talk to me, although there wouldn't be any privacy." She smiles and holds up the phone. "This will offer more privacy. If it's an emergency, though, call out to Synergy and I'll make sure she helps you any way she can."

Bludd nods. "An' I can ask her to disguise me just like you did?" He takes the necklace from his pocket and regards it thoughtfully. "That'll sure come in handy." He chuckles. "Lizzie'll be jealous, though. She's a good friend o'mine, and a makeup artist besides." He lays a hand on Kimber's. "Thank you again for this."

Kimber beams. "I'm glad to help! It makes me happy to help you." She leans forward and places a kiss on Bludd's cheek. "You've certainly done a lot for me."

Bludd closes his eye and smiles contentedly when Kimber kisses him. "It makes -me- happy to help -you-, too," he tells her.

A moment later, the cab pulls up in front of the airport and stops. "Looks like this is it," Bludd says quietly. He helps Kimber out of the cab and hands the cabbie some bills. As the cab speeds away, he turns to Kimber and clasps her hands in his. "Breaks my heart to see you go. But we can stay in touch, and you know I'll be thinkin' of you."

Kimber taps Bludd's chest, and looks up at him with tears rolling down her cheeks. She suddenly throws herself at him, wrapping her skinny arms around his chest and squeezing for all she's worth. "You stay safe now," she says, sobbing back tears in a very unladylike fashion. "If you get yourself killed, I'll never forgive you!" She reaches up and threads her fingers behind Bludd's head, attempting to pull him down for one last kiss.

Bludd holds Kimber close, stroking her hair with one hand. "I promise t'do my level best," he promises, his voice tight. He makes an attempt to brush the tears from her face, but lets his hand drop and allows himself to be pulled down for a lengthy, very sound kiss.

Kimber gives in to Bludd's lengthy goodbye kiss, and then finally drops back, eyes wide and breathless. "I'm glad to have met you, Sebastian Bludd, even if it took getting kidnapped by aliens to get to know the real you. I'm holding you to that promise!" She stands on tiptoes to give him one more last peck on the cheek, and then flees inside before she loses courage and never goes home at all. She pauses inside for one more look out the window at Bludd, and then, waving, she disappears into the terminal.

Bludd keeps the smile on his face long enough to wave at Kimber through the window. When she vanishes from sight he walks a few metres from the terminal entrance, sits down on the curb, and runs his hands through his hair, letting his head sink toward his knees. He sits there for some time, staring down at his shoes. At length he fishes his mobile phone from his pocket and calls for a cab to take him back to Alice Springs.