Hine Bati Habaita (Sandra, Clark, private!)

[SA Sandra Hilshire]

The bullpen of the famous BAU. It just looked the same way as usual. And Special Agent Sandrine Hilshire felt like she was coming home. She left without telling anyone where she was going. It could have cost her the job. Luckily, it didn't. Some days after negotiating with Hotch, she asked Clark over. Someone needed to know. And he was probably the best one to talk to. Silent when a friend asks him to stay silent.

"You probably wondered why I was away", Sandra asked. She looked at Clark and tried to smile. "Hotch only knows that I had to solve some family issues in Europe. Not that it was a lie, but it's not the whole truth. I want someone to know... but can you promise me not to tell anyone?"

[SA Dr. John Clark]

Clark had been pacing around the Bullpen all morning--he could sense something was going to come out of left field today but couldn't put his finger on it... and then he noticed an old friend had returned.

"Hello again, Sandra," he started, a bit awkwardly. "I figured it was something big... but assumed that since you didn't call me or Blackout you had things under control." If Blackout had seen any indication otherwise, the big machine would've started engines and started making his way to her, with or without the help of his human parent/partner.

"Speaking of, we should probably take this over to my office quick before--" the armored Fed was cut off by a box on treads streaking across the Bullpen, taking the petite woman off at the knees. "SANDY!!!" Blackout exclaimed, throwing a pair of spindly mechanical arms around her in a bearhug and barely keeping her from crashing to the floor. "We were worried about you!"

"--before something like that could happen. You remember the big lug, of course?" Clark finished belatedly. "Anyway, you remember the Division Six philosophy... 'See All, Hear All, Say Nothing,'" he assured her as he led them back to his secured office.

[SA Sandra Hilshire]

Stuck in an odd state between shock and ease, the woman answered: "Those issues I mentioned to Hotch were indeed family issues. As far as I know, he thinks it has something to do with my father. But it is about someone else. Maybe it wouldn't be too bad if Hotch knows... because he might know my current situation best."
It was weird to talk about this. She never did that before, not when she was planning to stay somewhere.
"The point is that I have a daughter. And even if you don't have any biological children, you can probably imagine how it feels when you hardly see your own child. But what would you do in such a situation? How would you try to handle that? A job you really love in one country and a child..."
Sandra stocked. How should she call him? They never where a normal couple, but still regarded the fact that they were the parents of a child they had together.
"...and the father of that child who you both also love."

[SA Dr. John Clark]

As they cleared the door, the red phone on Clark's desk rang. "Excuse me, I need a minute to take this," the MIB noted.

Blackout looked up at Sandy, suggesting, "Can I have a few words in private?" and gesturing toward the door to Clark's file-room. While Clark took his call, the computer core awkwardly tried to make conversation with the woman, all the more clumsy because of his stilted mechanical voice.

"Where to start? This is awkward... between Paisley, Dad having been broken up by your departure, me having a crush on you too... and with family in the mix that makes things even more complicated. Paisley's started dating again, though... and if things get to a him-or-me, my father would need you more than I do. After all, compared to an organic lifespan I might as well be immortal... when the time is right, there will be someone for me too, though it would be preferential if I could find a partner and adopt children with her while my father still has time to see them."

The machine paused, collecting his thoughts--his logic processes were faster than a human mind, or even any but a handful of other computers, could even comprehend let alone keep up with, but much like his human father, he too struggled with understanding and expressing the capacity for "feelings" he had developed, and the majority of the time even he could only offer best guesses for what was in whatever passed for his heart. That this young woman was important to him, though, was a certainty.

[SA Sandra Hilshire]

Although some things have changed, everyone and everything basically stayed the same as before. Especially Blackout. He was Clark's true son. It doesn't matter that he has no human body. Most people would find it confusing, awkward or even sick. But Sandra never did.
"I don't know if any country would allow us to do it the way I want it to be. There are many places in the world that don't even allow gay couples to adopt. So it's even more doubtful that a child can officially have three parents."
The words of the young woman were hasty, but she never felt more sure about something in this world.
"The thing is that I don't want my daughter to abandon anything if she doesn't want to leave behind. Especially not the father who raised her. Who kept loyal even when I started to deny their existence in my life. The love I feel for them is different from the kind of love I feel for you two here. But that doesn't mean one kind of love is worth more than the other, does it?"
There was not only her daughter she wanted to protect from abandonment and leaving something behind, but also herself. Every new step, every development also meant burning old bridges. It never really felt right.

[SA Dr. John Clark]

The bulky computer fell silent for a moment, thinking. "True--that's a very difficult subject with logical arguments to be made on all sides," Blackout finally said. "And I can understand your position more than might be expected--since I am obviously unable to conceive biological offspring, that requires adoption, and I'm not sure that even if I COULD find a woman who'd marry me that a human-machine relationship would be legally recognized either."

The machine paused for a moment, fidgeting a little with his manipulators. "This much is certain, though... no matter what, when you and yours are on this side of the Big Pond, you always have a place to stay with us anytime you want or need it."

Just then Clark lumbered in. "My apologies for that... I swear, not a ONE of those bloody wankers at the Hoover Building EVER knows when to shut their damned noise-holes. I swear, they make me want to go all Chris Rock from Lethal Weapon 4 on them: 'You have the right to remain silent, so SHUT THE [BLEEPED FOR NETWORK TELEVISION] UP!' But enough about them..." he trailed off, then patted Blackout on the "head" as he continued.

"Big Guy here brought me up to speed on your situation," the odd Fed noted as he tapped his sunglass lens, lines of text just barely visible scrolling across it when viewed from just the right angle. "And he's right... it's not much, but you and yours are welcome at our place anytime. May need to do some quick renovating to knock an apartment out of one of the unused offices, but... shouldn't be too much work."

Clark paced as he shifted gears. "The big worry for you is going to be Paisley... one the one hand the two of you do need to talk, and yet on the other I frankly expect her to go postal if she sees you again. I know for a time she was involved with a cop in New York, and has reconnected with her ex-boyfriend... sounds like he's not long for this life thanks to metastatic cancer, so they're talking about having him impregnate her before they have to... ahhh... remove the Little Guys." This last part, Clark was noticeably hesitant about, and visibly winced at the thought of it, not to mention his posture changing and legs clamping together as if to protect his own manhood despite the armored codpiece built into the "inner shell" layer of his suit.