Without Control ((FULL))

[Dreaming_Drifter]

Dr. Sirrah Rawlings

Sirrah gasped and stumbled back, not defending herself at all from her daughter. "Artemis... I'm your mother... Please believe me... I never killed anyone, sweetheart, I promise... Please calm down, honey..." She carefully pried Artemis's hands off of her and held her back gently. "I'm your mommy, Artemis... Artemis Estelle Tayashi... I sang to you every night... Read you stories before bedtime... I walked with you everywhere; everybody in our town loved to see you, you're such a pretty little girl... You loved coloring in kindergarten, and you love to sing... I missed you, Artemis, I missed you so much when you... went away..."

Carefully, Sirrah stroked Artemis's raven hair, tears still pouring down her face. "I haven't had any others, you know... You are my only baby... There was one boy, a little while ago, who called me Nai, but Artemis, I never stopped missing you, I never stopped loving you... My sweet baby girl..."

 

[Dreaming_Drifter]

Dr. Sirrah Rawlings

Sirrah held her child tightly, unable to stop crying, unable to get up or form coherent sentences. She didn't know how this was possible. She knew her baby was dead, buried, over twenty five years ago. Yet here Artemis was, alive and well, yet obviously confused and apparently the same age as she had been when she passed away. Sirrah could only hold her child and rock back and forth, sobbing, a perfect mirror of that horrible accident all those years ago, except this time Artemis was alive, not dead.

 

[Dreaming_Drifter]

Dr. Sirrah Rawlings

Sirrah's sobs slowly faded as she came back to the present, blushing and getting shakily to her feet when she realized what a scene she had just caused. Plus, judging by the look on her father's face, he wasn't pleased with the display of affection Nina had just showed her. She swallowed hard and looked apologetically at Amilia, still struggling to keep herself from collapsing back into hysterics. "Thank you for bringing her to me. She is my daughter, Artemis Estelle Tayashi. We will get to the bottom of how this is possible later. But for now, I think I should just take my daughter home. She's obviously exhausted."

Sirrah looked over at Kevin and Yuri, pleading with her eyes for them to head for the cars, actually giving those instructions to Kevin mentally. She motioned gently for Lulu, Lokita, and Sakura to follow. Unable to look her father or mother in the eyes for fear of what she'd see there, Sirrah walked over and gave a slightly tipsy Erin a gentle one-armed hug. "Happy birthday, Erin dear. May you have many more." With that, Sirrah and her family departed, somewhat subdued and more than a little confused.

 

[Dreaming_Drifter]

Erin Joyce Lee

Ash's sudden assault on her senses made coming back to the present moment very easy. Erin moaned softly and gripped Ash's wrist through her shirt, her cheeks slightly flushed from the small amount of rum she'd had. "Ahh... A-Ash... Please, not here... Just... Gimme a half hour, okay, to get us home?" Erin looked around as she gathered up her presents, trying to find someone who wasn't drunk and who could drive them home, to no avail. "<********... Did EVERYBODY decide to get plastered? Forget it... I'm okay to drive... Very slowly..."

 

[Dreaming_Drifter]

Erin Joyce Lee

Erin shuddered and grinned, pausing in her pursuit of her girlfriend only to grab her new handcuffs and lock her car. She ran inside and chased Ash to their bedroom, skidding to a halt when she saw her girlfriend's surprise for her.

Ash was lying on their bed in a very seductive pose, her clothing gone except for a black ribbon tied in an intricate bow around her waist. Erin nearly dropped the handcuffs in her shock. The instant she got over the initial surprise, she grinned and took off her shirt and jeans. "You ready for this, Miss Dresden?" she asked as she jumped up onto the bed, pinning Ash's hands to the covers and kissing her neck teasingly.

 

[Dreaming_Drifter]

Erin Joyce Lee

Erin grinned against Ash's lips and shook her head, wrapping her arms gently around her girlfriend. "Actually, I had a talk with the Old Man earlier... He all but ordered us to stay home today. Which reminds me..." Erin groped around on the bed and found her pants, sitting up and digging through her pockets. "It was right... Ah! Here it is." She closed her fist quickly around the object and tossed her pants aside, wrapping her other arm around Ash again. "Ashika, you know I love you, right?"

 

[Dreaming_Drifter]

Erin Joyce Lee

Erin giggled and played with Ash's hair with her free hand, her other still tightly clenched in a fist. "Ash, I love you so much more than I love anything else in this world..." She kissed her softly before continuing. "I think... no, I know I can't live without you. I want you by me forever, Ash. I want you to be mine in every way possible and... Well, I should just come right out and say it, huh?" She opened her fist to reveal a dark green, little, velvet box. Slowly, watching Ash's face intensely, Erin opened the box to reveal a diamond ring. "Ashika Rose Dresden, will you be my wife?"

 

[Dreaming_Drifter]

Erin Joyce Lee

Erin beamed, not hiding her own tears of complete joy. She gently took Ash's left hand and slipped the ring onto her finger, setting aside the box and pulling her girlfriend into a passionate kiss. "No pink," she promised a bit breathlessly. "Though it is tradition for you to wear something blue... I had a feeling you wouldn't be quite as adverse to that... I believe a white dress is also customary... Oh, Ash, I'm so happy... I'm going to be the best husband ever, just you wait..." Unable to stand her happiness or voice it any longer, Erin pulled Ash back into a kiss, holding her tightly.