Responsibility - Part 1
Posted on Fri May 19th, 2023 @ 11:10pm by Ellie Evans & Jamie Bullock
892 words; about a 4 minute read
Mission:
The Invasion
Location: The Evans Estate - England
Timeline: After The Invasion
The flight home to the eastern anglian fields of England seemed to take an age. Ellie had been impatient through most of the flight, almost wondering whether a flight in the Chameleon Voyager would have been a better option. But the looks on her parents’ faces when the giant zord landed in the lower field had dismissed that idea as an option.
Thankfully, she wasn’t alone. Jamie, with few real relationships among the team, had been a surprising travel partner. He’d said quite gently that it had something to do with not wanting to watch the GPD cleanup around Angel Grove. She didn’t blame him.
The Evans Estate, a historic old country house with surrounding gardens, orchards and seemingly endless grounds, was remote enough that it required an Uber to reach from the airport, a drive that took well over an hour and only made Ellie that much more excited about seeing family again. From the looks of her home country, they’d gotten off lightly in the Kaldor invasion.
She was practically bouncing in her seat when the car pulled through the massive gates and rolled up the long driveway to the front entrance. She jumped out of the car, almost expecting a welcoming party, yet it seemed like there was none immediately ready to greet her. Indeed, Jamie had time to retrieve their cases from the taxi and it was halfway down the lane when the large main entrance opened.
Lady Annabella Evans, a striking woman with hair perfectly coiffed and immaculately dressed, was the first to embrace her daughter. The hug was characteristic of the woman; almost formal and practiced, as though more polite than loving.
“Eleanor, it’s so good to see you safe! When we saw the news about all that frightful mess in Angel Grove we were so worried!” she declared.
“Yeah. I was too.” Ellie shrugged sheepishly, holding tight to her mother for a few moments longer. It seemed to unsettle the older woman but that didn’t bother her.
“Well, you’re home now and that’s what’s important. Come along now.”
“Oh-” Ellie broke away momentarily to motion Jamie forward. “Mum, this is Jamie. He’s…a friend from work.” It felt like the safest way to describe their tenuous connection. Jamie shuffled forward and gave a courteous nod.
“Ma’am.”
Annabella looked the young man down, noting the loose black tee shirt, jeans and scuffed converse on his feet. There was an instant where it sounded like she might have made some sort of sound of disapproval, but no noise came out. She simply stared, then looked back down at Ellie.
“I shall make sure an extra place is prepared at supper.”
As the lady of the house trotted back inside, Ellie gave an apologetic shrug at her teammate. “That’s about as kind a welcome you’re likely to receive…” she admitted. “Don’t worry, they’ll warm up.”
“Yeah.” Jamie returned the shrug, silently wondering if he’d made the right decision to come along.
They wandered into the stately home, Ellie immediately feeling the delight at being in familiar surroundings again. After all the excitement of the last couple of weeks, it was a welcome relief and return to something a little less chaotic. Or perhaps, she noted, a different kind of chaos.
“You’re back, then.” A voice grumbled. Ellie looked up and grinned as her younger sister watched her from the doorway. A quick bound later and the two young women shared a hug.
“Missed you!” Ellie gushed.
“As if,” Maria replied with a poke of her tongue. Her eyes caught sight of Jamie, lurking behind. “You…got a boyfriend?”
“What? No…no!” Ellie flushed, then frantically shook her head. “Jamie’s just a friend. We hardly know each other.”
“Aaaand you brought him home to meet your family,” Maria replied, not accepting the answer.
“Well it’s really hard when you’re-” Ellie almost let the cat out of the bag, but caught herself quickly. “Working so hard. And travelling. I’ve done so much travelling lately - you wouldn’t believe quite how far.” Like, to another planet.
“All right. Keep your little secrets then.” Maria smirked a little. “Have you seen dad yet?”
“No. Is he around?”
“Somewhere.” Maria’s face looked cryptic for a moment. “Good luck convincing him.” She slid away from the door, flicking a pout at Jamie for a second. “He’s cute. If you’re not planning to, I just might…”
Ellie got a little punch on her sister’s arm before she fled, then immediately looked back at him.
“I feel like all I’m going to be doing is apologising for my family the next few days…”
“Don’t worry about it,” he replied. “Family can be…rough.” His expression faltered.
“Yeah.” Ellie felt the faint touch of a nerve as he said that. Jamie hadn’t said much about his own family on the flight, and despite it being the elephant in the room that he had just recently lost his brother, he refused to open up about it.
“C’mon, let me show you around. We might just get finished with a tour sometime next week!” she cajoled, leading him on to yet another part of the vast house.
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