It was almost two weeks later when Elanor had the opportunity to speak to her dad again. Between their busy schedules and the fact that it appeared to Elanor that her father was avoiding her, they had barely seen each other, much less had the time or energy when they did see each other.
The conversation happened on one of their rare coinciding days off. Elanor had been cleared of schoolwork and of her apprenticeship for that day and her father, who was always on call and never really had a full day off, was sitting across from his daughter, playing chess.
"How has your apprenticeship with Dr. Griffin been going?"
"It's been interesting. I've been shadowing both Dr. Griffin and Dr. Jackson, since they've both been really busy. There's been a lot of little kids showing signs of oxygen deprivation. It's really worrying to me. The air has never been this bad for this long before"
"Are you learning a lot?"
"Yeah, I've learned some really....."
"Do you know what Dr. Griffin has been doing in Mecha station recently?"
Elanor paused and looked up at her father. "Are you using me to spy on Abby?"
"Elanor, there are things going on that you don't understand. Now tell me, what has Abby been doing in Mecha station?"
"I don't know"
"Has she talked about anyone by the name of Raven Reyes, or anything about a strep outbreak on Mecha?"
"There's no strep outbreak on Mecha that I know of"
Marcus stood up. "I have to go"
"Wait," Elanor grabbed her father's arm. "I'm not going to allow you to use my mentorship as a way to spy on Abby. If you need information on Abby from now on, you get it from someone else. Not me"
Marcus turned to his daughter. "We're going to continue this conversation when I get back"
---------------------
Hours passed before Marcus Kane returned to his daughter, who was curled up, asleep on the couch in the middle of his quarters. His mother, Vera, sat next to his daughter, gently stroking her head.
"Hey" Marcus said softly. "How is she?"
Vera looked up from her granddaughter. "When I got back home, she was a bit of an anxious mess. She wouldn't tell me what was bothering her, but whatever it was meant a lot to her"
Marcus nodded, rounding the couch and shaking his daughter awake. Vera left the room without a word, sensing that the father and daughter pair would need some time to talk.
"Dad?"
"Its me, Nellie"
"Why did you leave?" Nellie asked, sitting up from her position on the couch.
"There's a lot going on right now that you wouldn't understand. But Abby was arrested again. This time it was worse. This time she's facing a few charges. Theft of rationed medicine, unauthorized deployment of a spacecraft, wasting critical resources. It doesn't look good for her, Nellie." Marcus grabbed his daughter's hand. "I'm telling you this for a reason, Elanor. I talked to Jaha and he agreed to let you talk to Abby. It will be brief. But at least you'll be able to see her again"
"When?" Nellie asked, her hands shaking in anticipation.
Marcus sighed. One of the reasons he loved his daughter was her giant heart and overwhelming empathy for everyone she met. It contrasted greatly with his reserved and analytical nature. He sometimes wished he possessed his daughter's capacity for empathy, but there were other times where Nellie's huge heart got in the way of her everyday life.
