17316/Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun
Date of Scene:	01 March 2024
Location:	Penthouse - Kord Co
Synopsis:	Daddy Ted returns! Clara and Ted reconcile and set off to return home for the weekend.
Cast of Characters:	Clara Jennings, Ted Grant

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Clara Jennings has posed:
    Clara's been enjoying her new life as much as she can. She has her very own job now, curating books for Mr. Korb. It is a rather unusual library to assemble and maintain, but it seems to please him that she is working so hard on it. Further, she is doing research and making suggestions on how to expand it. Also digging into consulation work to get books his people should be reading to improve the bottom line.

    Tonight, though, she is not working. She is in her room, talking to her new friends. Bailey and Bongo are both with her.

    "So, as you can imagine, um, it was very exciting to be there in the museum at night. Outside, there were, umm... gunshots. And shouts in a language I did not understand. It was Cairo, you see, and there were rebels.. or was it insurgents? Um. I get them confused. But I was there to get three books before they were damaged by fire."

    As she goes on, she is fidgeting. Yet it does not seem to bother her as much. Certainly it is a distraction. Yes she wishes her hands would stop bothering her, but since the bots never express an issue with it, at least there is less stress. At least she feels okay about, well, being there.

Ted Grant has posed:
Ted Grant's search for Clara Jennings was nearly over before it began. After an angry exchange with Megan, and a vigil with no Clara, they discussed where she might possibly go. Titans? Megan was tasked to try to reach them. Meanwhile Ted tossed Clara's of so tidy little room. Almost immediately he discovered the pretty blue business card of Ted Kord. Megan remembered that Clara had met the billionaire and his SO on Conservatory business and she might have headed that way. Megan looked up and Ted was gone, with the card. Ted was not a gearhead by any means. However he recognized the business card was also a swipe card. It opened the penthouse elevator. It seemed to indicate to the bots he passed by that he did indeed belong there because they got out of his and even pointed out Clara's room. The door was ajar and he opened it silently, waiting for someone to notice him. Of course the bots did, Clara had her back to him.

Clara Jennings has posed:
    Since it is evening, Clara is in her more comfy clothes. She's wearing blue beetle gear, which is one of those really soft, baggy sweaters (at least three sizes too big) and a pair of matching joggers. On her feet she's wearing her red panda slippers, though. Sure, it's not yet past dinner, but she's in relax mode. Mr. Kord has never seemed to mind her interesting take on evening wear. During the day she's pure professional, though.

    Clara needs a moment to realize the the bots seem to be noticing something behind her. At first she checks her hair. Just to make sure she didn't leave something there again. Eventually, though, she turns and sees Ted.

    She takes a step back, nervous. Not that she expects to be attacked. More like she is very worried that he will express more anger with her. "Da... Mr. Grant. Umm, you... that is to say, you are..." Her hands collide, more anxiety than ever is trapped in those flailing digits of hers. "Good evening. Um." She is looking down at her feet.

Ted Grant has posed:
Ted Grant wants to say, "What the hell do you have on?" Actually he wants to wring her pretty little neck. No he wants to give her a hug. He goes with the hug, patting the back of her head, finally letting up when she needs a breath of air. "I'm sorry. And don't call me Mr. Grant."

Clara Jennings has posed:
    The hug is confusing at first. She does not understand it at all. She was sent away. She made him upset. For a while, she is just limp in his arms. Other than her fidgeting, as her hands retreat to her sides and pluck at the pants. Her right hand has found the little Blue Beetle design and is tugging at it a bit. No doubt she will ruin these in a few weeks with her relentless anxiety.

    "But, umm, I..."

    She is crying. Frustrated. Confused. Upset. She cannot settle her emotions and the pain of the moment is only growing.

    Her voice is very faint as she asks, "Why are you sorry?" She almost says it. The name he told her not to use. But if both Daddy and Mr. are wrong, she has one option. It is obvious that she does not want to use that option. She wants to go back. It is that thing Ted mentioned: reconciliation. But she does not know what that means.

Ted Grant has posed:
Ted Grant gets handed a hankie by the larger of the two bots. "I set you up to choose between me and the Conservatory job. I triggered a breakdown. I betrayed someone who trusted me and when you tried to do what you thought was right I had a fit and told you to get lost. I... God... I figured you were starving in an alley. this place is bigger than mine and you got robots. Well mannered ones too."

"Come back with me and let's talk okay? then you decide where you want to go and what you want to do. Megan wants to know you're all right too. She tried to cave my head in with a roatry dial phone I keep. She broke the phone."

Clara Jennings has posed:
    "Oh, I only starved in an alley for a few days," Clara says helpfully. "It was a longer walk than I thought it would be. Thankfully, umm, Mr. Kord let me get cleaned up and gave me a job. I um, I work with his library! A private one, and um, I am trying to be useful."

    She looks thoughtful, nervous over everything Ted is saying. "Come back?" she asks curiously. "I um, I can talk to you and to Megan, but I work in the morning, too. So um, if that is okay?"

    She is extra nervous. There is that problem with clarity. She wants to know if the D word is okay. What exactly is the term of her return?

    "I am not working for the Conservatory anymore. I am done," she says nervously. "My mother and father dumped there, but I umm, I umm.." She just says it, "I hate them for it. For leaving me. For making me a um, a slave."

Ted Grant has posed:
Ted Grant looks around, "This is all part of the job? You got all this in a couple days? I mean... I knew you were smart but geeze! Anyway you can come over to Megan's place when you get the day off. I mean, it is Friday night. Usually people get weekends off. Right? Imma stay over till Sunday. See if you feel like coming over and talking okay? Whenever you want."

With that he gives her another hug finishing with a kiss on her head.

Clara Jennings has posed:
    "I want to talk to you both together, at your place, ummm, if that is okay." She fidgets more. "And it is Friday. That means, umm, I do have tomorrow off." Technically she does not really have work hours. She does have some appointments. Imagine how painful those must be to those she talks to! They are too darn nice to show it, though.

    "Umm, if I cannot call you mister, can I umm. I mean." She sighs, discouraged with herself. Frustrated. "Are you, is it like it was before?" she asks quietly.

Ted Grant has posed:
Ted Grant wants to tell her a lot right now. But it is not the place. Instead he releases the hug, and walks over to a chair. Then he slaps his leg and says, "Hop on. Does that answer your question?" Then he remembers whlo he's talking to and realizes it probably does not. "I mean you can call me Ted or whatever else you want. I'd be honored to be called your dad."

Clara Jennings has posed:
    She is just there immediately. This time Ted gets hugged tightly and she is crying a lot more. Clara struggles with uncertainty. It is painful. In some ways physically painful at that.

    "Daddy Ted," she says gently. "I was so sad." Relieved of fretting over her usual anxieties, she can just speak. "I want to tell Megan that I am done, too. But I want her to still take care of me, too. Just.. no more missions. No more fights. Just family. I want a family. A real one."

Ted Grant has posed:
Ted Grant provides a shoulder for Clara's head... after he makes her blow her nose. "I'm happy with your first decision. I am proud of what you've done here. And if you need help I'll be there for you. I hope you come over to my place once in a while... but I won't push. I'm sure you and Megan can work something out, maybe easier than you think." Then snugs her again.

"What the heck do you have on?"

Clara Jennings has posed:
    "Oh this? It's very comfortable. I get a wonderful price on our merchandise." She even says 'our'. Little girl has gone corporate already. "This was clearance, too. It is so soft and warm, and I can get it in your size!"

    She raises her arms to demonstrate. She looks like a moth. Her hands just kind of vanish into the sleeves.

    "You think it will be easier with Megan?" Clara asks softly. "And um, I would like to come by tonight. I should let my friends go have fun. They have heard the Cairo story umm, several times."

Ted Grant has posed:
Ted Grant bites back a chuckle. "Tonight is fine. It's nice you have friends. Uhm... one for me? Nah. thanks. I have some many track suits and sweatshirts now and I mean, I'm hard to fit. I take large with four X's but five X'x feel better. I guess we can go now. -I think that one over there is a little suspicious of me. " He peers at Bongo.

Clara Jennings has posed:
    "Bongo is just taking care of me," says Clara. "They umm, they all seem to. It is, well, that is. My problems do not bother them." Her hands, she means. Her difficulties speaking without all the weird pauses. Her anxiety.

    "I want to go home and see everyone," she manages. She is calming down. "I have been practicing my dancing." The bots are interesting partners. She has tried to avoid imposing too much on Mr. Kord.

Ted Grant has posed:
Ted Grant finally takes Clara's hands and holds them. He leans close to her and says, "You never bother me with your fidgets or your stammer. Is that clear. I'm sure as hell not normal in any sense of the word. You can always be yourself with me and, I never had a dance partner I could throw higher. But you gotta give people a chance to accept you. I mean, you're sweet and smart. You don't have a mean bone in your body. The stuff you done with the Conservatory is passed. This is a new Clara. Common let's go." He gets up princess carrying his moth girl like he doesn't want to take a chance on losing her.

Clara Jennings has posed:
    Clara did not expect the princess carry, but it makes her giggle. And she clings to Daddy Ted. "I will be back by Monday morning," she explains to the bots. She thinks of what she might need to bring with her from her new place. But nothing comes to mind. She is not allowed to take Bongo or Bailey outside, after all. Maybe someday she can show them around the gym and her other room.

    She will eventually get back to the earlier points, and talk about them on the way. "Thank you, Daddy Ted. For um, for coming to get me. I am sorry for what I did. I will not do it again." She feels safe again. Finally she feels safe.