Inspirations and Reunions
by EstiRose
It had been a good evening for both of them.
Jeremy had been perfect, his choir not only singing pleasantly, but beautifully. It had meant that his good reputation would increase, and he needed that. He’d had so many ups and downs over the last few decades.
And Alberta had been glad to see him, too. Still alive, still fighting. Every so often she was afraid that he’d died, he who had pulled her out of her funk after Silas had died, been killed by Leland. They’d spent a lot of time together after that, only leaving when they got tired of each other.
She walked over to where Jeremy was. He was chatting with someone, probably a sponsor or something. She smiled graciously at the person, waited until they had left to turn her attention wholly to her companion. “So, how’d that sound, dear?” Jeremy asked.
“Perfect, as usual,” Alberta answered, grinning. “Your hours of practicing paid off.”
Jeremy shrugged. “I didn’t mind. All of them are really nice kids, most of them can sing, and I worked hard with those who couldn’t.”
His eyes had wandered over to a cluster of choir members. She knew who he was looking at. “Your protege will be fine,” she said. “He did well tonight.”
“I worry about him,” Jeremy said absently. “He’s going to be one of us, you know.”
Alberta nodded. She didn’t sense the boy, but Jeremy had always been more sensitive to that kind of thing. “You can’t protect him forever.”
“I’ll protect him as long as I can,” Jeremy responded sternly. “Otherwise, I’ll have abandoned him like- nevermind.”
“Does this ‘nevermind’ have a name?” Alberta asked.
The corners of his mouth quirked up in a wry grin. “Yeah, she does. You remember that I got back into being in choirs a decade or so ago? It was thanks to someone very like Anthony. A girl, in fact. She was a runaway, and for some reason she was singing a hymn on the street near where I’d gotten drunk. I could tell she was going to be one of us. I got her on a bus, sent her back home. Had bad luck the very next day, had to change my identity, and lost complete track of her.”
“And you’re not going to lose this one,” Alberta said softly. “I suppose if something happens to you I’m supposed to take care of this one, too?”
“I’d be very grateful,” he responded. “You haven’t had a student in several years. What was the last one? Greer?”
“Yes, Greer,” Alberta said, trying not to wince whenever she thought about the poor girl. She shouldn’t have pushed her away like that. She should have stayed until Greer came back to learn. It wasn’t Greer’s fault that her former occupation was one that most Immortals felt was abhorrent.
Probably noticing her distress, Jeremy changed the subject. “I want to keep an eye on him. There was another one of us in the crowd tonight. I’m hoping that whoever it is just came because a friend’s child is in the choir.”
“I’ll help you keep an eye on him,” Alberta volunteered. “To help ease your mind.”
“Thanks,” Jeremy said, smiling.
Someone was walking up to them. She’d thought that they were blocked off from the crowd, but oh, well. Jeremy was blinking, his jaw hanging open.
And then she turned around, and saw why. “Greer?” she managed to blurt out. Her student was standing there, looking positively shy.
Jeremy had, at that point, scraped his jaw off the floor. “Excuse me, you wouldn’t happen to have run away from home in June of 1982, perchance?”
Greer grinned. “Yes, that was me. Thank you for the bus change, by the way. I never got into choir, but at least I got home.”
“Good. I was hoping that you hadn’t died yet, but at least you’re still alive.”
“Alberta is a good teacher,” Greer responded. Alberta personally thought she hadn’t been, but obviously if Greer was still alive, she wasn’t going to argue.
“I see,” Jeremy said.
“I wanted to thank you, too,” Greer told him. “There’s a friend of mine going through some rough spots in their life, and being in the choir helped. The performance was beautiful, by the way.”
“Thank you,” Jeremy managed. Alberta suppressed a grin. She knew how much Greer had meant to him. To see his inspiration alive meant much to him, she knew. Jeremy had always wanted to take Greer’s kind in. “Since your friend is in the choir, I assume I’ll be seeing more of you?” he asked. At Greer’s nod, he continued. “Then I’ll leave you two to reacquaint yourselves. I’m sure you have a lot to talk about, and I must get some words in with a few people.”
Jeremy departed. Alberta knew that it was because, no matter what, it was a bit painful to know that someone else had found one of his ‘kids’ and trained them. “Did I offend him in some way?” Greer asked.
“No, when he said he wanted us to get reacquainted, he meant it.”
“I know…. Well, I suppose it doesn’t matter what I know, anymore, really.”
Alberta gave Greer points for avoiding talking about her Watcher past. It had been a very touchy subject when she was training Greer, and still unnerved her now. “How have you been?”
Greer shrugged. “Okay. Moved around a bit to lose a couple of people, met Michael again, moved up here. Found a lot of new friends and a new purpose in life.”
“Michael?” Alberta asked. Then she remembered. “The man that you were dating when I met you?”
Her companion grinned. “Yes, that Michael. He retired, and we’re married now. Didn’t take his surname, though, so I’m still Georgina Lewis.”
Alberta shook her head. Only Greer would do something like that. It was her choice, though. “Have you gotten in many fights?”
“One or two, not more than that,” Greer’s expression turned serious. “I’ve never been a fighter. I try to avoid them. But when I’ve fought, I’ve done fairly well. You were a good teacher.”
“You didn’t learn half the stuff I was supposed to teach you,” Alberta said sadly.
“You were scared. I don’t blame you,” Greer said. “I don’t hang with our kind a lot because I know that they’ll get upset. There’s no way to erase my past, and I’m not ashamed of it. But I accept that I’m always going to make our kind uncomfortable. I’ll live.”
But there was pain in that expression. More pain and loneliness than one Immortal could really bear. It was a kind of pain that mortals couldn’t ease.
And Greer was facing it alone, when she shouldn’t have to.
“Not like that, you don’t,” Alberta said sharply. “There are some things that we simply have to have our kind around for. Don’t cut yourself off because of what you what you once did.”
“I can’t help it,” Greer said.
Her student was going to need lots of help, and failing that, lots of love. Well, Jeremy loved her regardless, even if he hadn’t the slightest idea of why Greer had been there that night. And as far as she was concerned, Greer was her student. She couldn’t turn her back.
“I need to go,” Greer spoke suddenly. “My group’s about to leave. I need to be with them.”
Actually, they probably weren’t leaving yet, but Alberta let it go. “Just remember, we’re here. You know how to get in touch with Jeremy, or at least your friend does. Don’t be afraid to be around us.”
Greer didn’t look like she really wanted to do that, but she nodded before she disappeared. Alberta hoped that she would come back.
She went off to find Jeremy, to talk to him about Greer.
-end