By
Summary: Guides, Sentinels and Telepaths are real. The births of the men who will make up the GST.
Author's Note: I want to thank Susan Foster who is the creator of the Guide Development Program (GDP) series that features the character from the sci-fi series the Sentinel for giving me permission to use her basic AU. A great show and her AU is fantastic. Of course I have made changes to accommodate our guys. As always a big thank you to Twyla Jane. Not Beta except by me so all mistakes are mine.
Disclaimer: The Sentinel concept is not mine, this is an amateur effort written purely for the fun of it, and no money has exchanged hands, and it is not intended to breach the copyright of Paramount and Pet Fly Productions. The same with the characters of the Magnificent Seven. They belong to someone else.
The world was made up of several large continents, each with their own cultures, languages and laws…some had several. Progression flourished in the 20th century with the invention of cars, airplanes, mass transits, computers, phones, satellites, and so forth. Trips to the moon were possible and exploring space was in the works. Better communications were improving hour by hour, minute by minute. Sentinels and Guides were fully accepted in society as real and not myths though it had been a hard struggle to begin with. Tribal societies throughout history had always known and accepted them as great protectors and healers, it was the advanced civilizations that had to adapt. It had been just as hard for telepaths to get accepted with the misconceptions and fears of their power.Sentinels and Guides usual became part of the police force, search and rescue teams, and other protective type jobs that led them into constant contact with danger. Sentinels were protectors that have enhanced senses of sight, taste, touch, smell and hearing. Most Sentinels had two or three enhanced senses; very rarely did there appear a fully enhanced sentinel (FES). Guides were their anchors in the world keeping them connected and not allowing the sentinel to zone. All Guides were empathic especially to their Sentinels in order to help them control their senses. Their relationship was beneficial to both as the guide would provided an anchor to this world for advanced senses and the sentinel provided the shielding that the guide needed; for once they were on-line guides lost their protective mind shields to the rest of the population around them and could be crippled by the emotional outpouring of others. So frequent tactical and mind contact had to be made between Sentinel and Guide in the form of a hand to the shoulder, arm or back to boost shields and steady the senses instead of fully bonding. The actually act of bonding occurred between Sentinel and Guide several times a day to center the senses and re-enforce shielding and was quite unsettling to those who did not know what to expect. The more number of senses enhanced the more intense the bonding could be.
Zoning for a Sentinel was getting lost in one of their senses to the extent that they ceased functioning or reacting to the outside world. A deep zone could see the Sentinel so far lost in one sense that they could never came back resulting eventual in death…for them and their Guide. Guides could overload and go into empathic shock causing a crippling effect that could lead to eventual demise of both Sentinel and Guide. There can only be one Sentinel for one Guide and vise visa. You can not force a bond between sentinel and guide, it must be the right guide and sentinel and be mutual. A FES can't bond with a Guide just like a Sentinel can't bond with a Fully Bonding Guide (FBG). FESs and FBGs were very rare and a FBG had the ability to perform healing on their sentinel. It was theorized that many so-called faith healers were in fact FBGs.
The relationship between a bonded Sentinel and Guide was a unique one. Just like with telepaths, the civilized population had a misunderstanding about the bonding process between Sentinels and Guides. The act of bonding was seen by outsiders (mistakenly) as a sexual preference (even though no sex takes place), when in fact it was a matter of sanity and life to the bonded pair. Tribal knowledge suggested that rarely did one partner outlive the other.
Telepaths could not readily or easily read others minds despite the propaganda that was spewed by the Hollywood movies. There first had to be a mutual consent for a connection between the telepath and the participants. Then and only then could telepaths communicate with others using their minds and they would never read peoples thoughts without consent. The hysteria that the movies hyped out to people didn't even come close to the truth about the abilities of telepaths. Scientist were still in the development stages of understanding the how's, why's and who could be telepaths.
But progress was being made. Too bad that human nature didn't keep pace with technology and knowledge…or maybe it did.
Oh yes, there were great strides for peace between the nations after the World Wars and several other wars. Would have been better that each nation had also looked into the inner evil fractions of their own land. Hindsight would dictate that if certain inventions such as the atom bomb, nuclear devices, anthrax, and biochemical weapons had been kept secret instead of offering them as gestures of goodwill between countries, the catastrophes would not have happened.
In the year 1976, disaster struck in the form of a small band of dissenters who accidentally released a biochemical virus (nicknamed bio virus) into the air in China. As with most rebels, they didn't know the strength of the virus or take into account their own deaths. Surely not all of them wanted to die…but they all did. So much for their cause and agenda.
The bio virus while airborne lasted only a few hours…but from human host to human host it traveled around the world.
Most of China didn't have the wealth of cars, planes, phones, computers or even television. They still pulled carts by oxen or humans, worked with bamboo hoes or stones, had open air markets, bartered for every piece of food and had a high infant death rate. The virus was fast…very fast. It took it a couple of weeks to travel to a major city in China before anyone noticed. Panic spread and all resources were diverted to make a counter agent. The frantic call was put out to other nations for help.
With the mass air travel in that time, it didn't take it long before it would hit every city in China. It didn't take it long before it hit every continent. It spread like wildfire with an incubation period of a day or two and then death after the first symptoms in two to three days. Not all died after first contracting the virus. Some survived though not many. There were some that were immune, not many but some. Whole villages where wiped out leaving bodies rotting and decaying in the streets. There were not enough survivors in major cities to bury everyone right away, much less go to neighboring small townships and clean the streets. The scavengers had a feast…and then most of them died.
The antidote was discovery in the United States by the best minds; most were flown from around the world to the most completely updated laboratory. America, with the assistance of Canada and Mexico, started producing vast quantities of the drug and then initiating inoculations as soon as possible in their own cities. Every able body was drafted to help in the factories for boxing, shipping, and administrating the drug.
They were not quick enough.
By the time a counter agent was found and produced, nine tenths of China, Russia, Middle East and parts of Europe were gone. Africa, South America, and Small Island countries were destroyed…zero survivors to anyone's knowledge. In the US, Canada and Mexico, there were fifty percent casualties. No one knows if these figures are correct because after averting one demoralizing disaster another hits destroying vast amounts of vital information.
It almost wiped out the sentinels with their guides and the telepaths…there were few left.
The bio virus didn't differentiate between poor or rich, average or intelligent, good or bad. It struck everyone. In the process, it nearly wiped out all the records and most of the history of the world. Before the virus hit, the world stored most information on computer systems and back ups. The bio virus took out almost all of the personnel that ran these systems.
The second disaster was a computer virus started unintentionally by a clerk in England who had survived the bio virus. The hacker who created the little munching computer virus died shortly after he sent it. Lucky for him the bio virus got him…not so lucky for those that had to live with the repercussions.
The little malicious data moocher moved so fast it made PAC MAN look like a snail that was asleep. Computer systems failed around the world and data was lost…knowledge was lost. Other systems controlled by computers failed such as power plants. Water treatment plants, sewage plants, food processing plants, petroleum plants all dependent on electricity failed at the same time. All systems that required energy stopped. Mass panic hit. Total rioting started as everyone scrambled to secure basic provision for themselves and their families. When the power stopped, people were trapped in stores and had to break through the doors and windows to escape. Some were sealed in rooms with no escape and died there painfully.
Nuclear power plants started to melt down. China, Russia, Europe and the Middle East lost another five percent of their people simply because there was not enough personnel left to control or shut all the plants down.
Canada and the United States fared better in that they had enough expertise left to scramble from one plant to another gaining control. Mexico almost made it to all theirs……just one went off. Fortunately, there was no one around when it blew…..unfortunately; it contaminated a pretty good size area. The wind pushed the fallout to disperse over the Pacific Ocean tainting a vast section.
Governments that were in power toppled because they didn't have enough police or military units alive to conscript to enforce marital law. There were no communications to even sound the alarm or prevent the looting, killing and mass hysterics that spread throughout the world.
Society fell back into the dark ages. The feudal system began to reassert itself and take control. Loyalties were aligned and established creating communities that consisted of several neighborhoods. New boundaries were founded and territories shaped.
For the most part decency survived in the world…for the most part.
And life's rhythm started again.
JOSIAH (1973)In a small town in New Mexico, the labor room was as pristine and sterile as it was at any other hospital. Doctors and nurses moved confidently around fetching things, as they were needed. Melissandra Sanchez face was showing the strain as she pushed when the doctor told her to push and rested when he told her to rest. A bead of sweat formed and ran down her forehead and cheeks each time she pushed. Her hair was soaked as Malone, her husband, wiped her face and coached her through each contraction while he held her hand. But it had been hours since she had started labor and the child had not come yet. She was tired and weary, but continued to follow her instincts and her doctor's orders. Malone was beginning to worry.
She was in labor for 12 hours before the birth of their first child. As the babe wailed loudly, she turned to her husband Malone and tiredly asked, "What is it? A boy or a girl?"
Malone looked over at the child as the nurses cleaned and did all those things that were necessary after a birth. He then beamed joyously back at his wife as he said, "A boy! We have a son!"
Joy radiated from both parents' faces as they watched the medical staff cleaned and clothed their son.
"What are they doing?" asked Melissandra as she watched the doctor and nurses work over their newborn son. They were putting her child through some kind of contraption and taking readings. "Why are they doing that?"
Malone looked back and saw them passing their child through some instrument he had noticed when they first came into the room. It was compact and looked like a MRI unit that hospitals used to run screening test on. Concerned that something was wrong he asked out loud, "What are you doing? Is something wrong with him? What is going on?"
A nearby nurse went over to reassure the parents that everything was fine. She said, "That is the new machine to identify newborn Sentinels, Guides and Telepathy. The Institute School has sent one to every major hospital to identify a potential candid. They want to keep track of the children so that we don't lose any potentially gifted children. I didn't realize we had lost so many over the years because we didn't know what we were dealing with then. Everything is fine. This is just a precaution."
Malone and Milessandra looked even more concerned as they starred at the proceedings going on over their son. "What will happen if he is found to be a guide, sentinel or telepathy? Will they take him away from us? They can't do that, can they?" worried Malone. "We haven't even got to hold him yet!"
"Now don't worry." soothed the nurse. "They won't take your son from you. This is just to identify potential children, to keep track and offer help when it is needed. Some guides and sentinels when they come on-line need to be brought to the School for further training. But the children are usually in their teenage years before they come on-line. Only fully five senses sentinel and their guides come on-line early. Telepathy is different in that they are born with the ability to link to anyone at once. With them it is just a matter of informing the parents and the School so they can set up a teaching structure for the child to control and develop their gift. This is just to help, no need to worry."
Suddenly the staff got very excited. Applause broke out as the doctor very gently brought the child to his mother. "Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Sanchez, you have a health baby boy and a potential sentinel or guide!"
For the first time Melissandra and Malone looked at their son. Grins broke out and they greeted the new addition to their family. Melissandra held her son as Malone gazed into his son's eyes and said, "Welcome, Josiah Matthew Sanchez. Welcome to the world and our family. May God guide and protect you all your life!"
CHRIS (1975)
In the year 1975, in the upper state of New York on a small ranch, a beautiful baby boy was born to Mackenzie and Delores Larabee. This was just another normal routine pregnancy and birth with nothing extraordinary...except it seemed that the child was acutely aware of his surroundings. It puzzled the hospital staff, but since the child was healthy and there were no abnormalities, he was sent home. They were a small clinic and did not have the special machines from the Institute School of the Gifted to test the newborn boy. There was talk of taking the child later to be tested at a nearby larger community that had one of the machines. Of course Chris' parents did not notice anything was wrong. To them their child was perfect in every way.
Then the bio virus spread followed by the computer virus. The Larabee family was spared and was thankfully that they had survived. Many of their friends and family had not.
Amazingly, even with the downfall of the current government, the US citizens still held their independence highly. While there were no longer any states (the lines had blurred with the crises), each new community recognized that there had to be law and order to keep their freedom as much of the country had fallen to criminals and such. New officials were elected in each town or area to help control the situations.
Chris was a delightfully exuberant child that was happy and always ready to help his family. His sage colored eyes were always looking into the eyes of others and he seemed to know what was required of him and what type of comfort that was needed. Like all other children, Chris raced to and fro at each new discovery of his every expanding world. It wasn't until two years after the disasters struck in the year of 1978 that they discovered their son's gift.
When he was three in 1978, Chris insisted on helping his mother in the kitchen and his father outside as much as he could. He was quite and there didn't seem to be much communication that was needed with the child. He just seemed to pick up on what was required of him. Then the day came when Delores found out that Chris was special.
They were in the kitchen preparing for the evening meal. Delores had just pulled the oven door open to check the meat and thought that she would get Chris to fetch a jar of canned green beans from the cupboard in the back room. Delores always did canning every year as it saved on the expense of buying food and after the disasters; this was their only source of vegetables for their meals.
Chris had been setting the table with napkins and silverware (spoons and forks only because he was too young to handle knives yet) when he suddenly said, "O.K. Mom, I'll get beans!" He raced to the back room. Delores shrugged and thought she must have said her thoughts out loud. As he hurried back in, Chris stated, "Dad's coming and he's really hungry!"
His mother was startled because she had just seen out the kitchen window her husband crossing the creek in their backyard heading for home. "Now how does Chris know his father is hungry?" thought Delores.
"Because that is what he is thinking." said Chris as he answered his mother.
"Oh my God!" she breath as she suddenly realized what had happened. Her son could read minds! Her son was telepathy!
"Of course I can." replied Chris. "Doesn't everyone?"
NATHAN (1979)In what was once the state of Alabama, in a large community in the city of Huntsville, another boy was born to the proud Jackson parents. This was their fourth son and already they knew he had a set of healthy lungs. Betty and Obadiah beamed as their son was weighed and measured. As the doctor lifted the child to place him on the specialized machine that they stilled used for detection of new sentinels and guides (one of five devises that survived), he asked them what they were going to name their new child.
Proudly Obadiah said, "Nathan Daniel Jackson, after both his grandfathers." He then gazed lovingly at this wife Betty who nodded her approval.
Suddenly the doctor exclaimed, "Oh my God! I can hardly believe it! Nurse, quickly check these reading and verify what I am seeing!"
The nurse quickly came to the doctor's side and checked the reading. Surprise and excitement colored her voice as she confirmed the doctor's finding. The room became a beehive of activity as the staff realized they had a special child. Concern and fear crossed the Jackson's faces as they observed the frantic movements of the hospital staff.
"What's happening?" queried Obadiah as he took his wife's hand giving it a gentle squeeze. Both parents did not know what was going on and feared for their newborn son's life.
"Betty, Obadiah, you have given birth to a potential sentinel or guide!" exclaimed the doctor as he brought the boy to his parents.
Shocked, they could only look at their new son. As their eyes took in the precious gift given to them, they wonder what the world held in store for their son. Questions arose to the staff about what special care would need to be given and how would they know if they had a Guide or Sentinel. The doctor assured them that they would get all the help they needed. After all, that was what the New Development School was for, to help the parents and their gifted children.
BUCK (1979)
Charity Wilmington didn't know who the father of her yet to be born child was and really didn't care at this moment. She only knew she wanted the pain to quit now and for this birthing to be over with. Usually she was a happy, cheerful person but after 20 hours of labor, she was tired and cranky. If she knew who the father was and he had been beside her during this time, she would have grabbed one of those sharp doctor instruments setting on the nearby table and fixed him so he wouldn't have anymore children. Permanently!
"God, she was tired!" thought Charity. "No more kids for me!"
"Now let's push again Miss Wilmington, it's almost here!" encouraged the doctor as the nurse help Charity raised up midway on the table. "Just a little bit more and the baby will be here. The head is already out."
Charity was really tired now and didn't want to push or do anything but go to sleep. But she was not a quitter and she didn't do things halfway either. So when the contraction hit, she pushed with all that was in her and felt her child move out and knew it had arrived.
"Congratulations, Miss Wilmington! You have a son!" exclaimed the doctor as he handed the squalling baby to a nearby nurse who was ready to take the child and clean it up.
The nurse took the child to the table that was set up to clean the boy and then checked him. After weighing the child, she dressed it and then brought it over to the testing machine that had become such a routine operation for the staff. Other nurses bustled around the room helping with Charity in washing her and changing her gown.
Snapping his gloves off after the delivery, the doctor went over to check the readings on the machine as he asked Charity, "What are you going to name your son?"
"Buck" sighed Charity tiredly as she tried to watch the proceedings of the nurse and doctor who had her child.
"Just Buck?" queried the physician.
"Yes, just Buck. What are you dong?" she asked.
"I'm checking the reading on your son. The readings will show us if your son has any special attributes for being a sentinel, guide, or telepathy." The doctor moved closer as the special device registered the readings. "Oh, my! Miss Wilmington, you have a special child here. His readings show that he is either a sentinel or guide. Maybe even telepathy. Congratulations!"
As the nurse placed her son in her arms, Charity could not help but smile at the little bundle in her arms. "Welcome my son. Let me show you how much I love you. How much I'll always love you" she cooed to him.
VIN (1983)
In a small rural southwest part of Texas in 1980, a funeral was taken place at a small church graveyard.
"Conner," sobbed Valeria as she leaned onto one of several of the traveling women that surround her. They were worried about the very pregnant woman whom the Comanche band had come upon a few days ago in their trek. The small band had moved from their original area as the bio virus spread. They had once been a large community and now the survivors were traveling to find a new area to settle. There had been so many dead that were not buried that diseases started to run rampart through cities and towns including their community. The water, land and animals had become contaminated so they moved on like their ancestor's use to do to fresher country.
The men from the small Comanche band lowered the blanket wrap form into the ground. The heat of the Texas morning was quickly beginning to climb as they covered the grave and then moved aside for the widow. A caravan of cars, SUVs, trucks and vans awaited the somber group to continue their journey. All their possessions were packed in the line of vehicles. Children moved restlessly among the families as they waited upon the adults to finish and the brokenhearted wife to say her final goodbye.
Valeria Tanner could hardly believe that her beloved Conner had left her alone. But there was his body lowered and ready to be buried by these kind strangers who came upon them a few days ago. She knew it was not his fault, but how was she going to take care of their unborn child? How were they to survive with no other relatives around to help?
As another sob racked her chest causing her knees to weaken, the women surrounding her drew closer to help support Valeria. They were greatly concerned for her and her child's welfare. She had hardly eaten in the last few days as she watched Conner slowly wither and die. She would need her strength for the birthing of her child, as there were not any nearby hospitals or doctors to assist. The band had already decided they could not leave a lone woman behind and certainly not one that was pregnant and grieving.
"Come, it is time to go," said Marta, wife of the leader as she gently moved Valeria to the vehicle in front of the motorcade. Taking one last look at the grave, Valeria allowed them to escort her away and settle her into the car.
"What am I to do now?" the sorrowful woman whispered. "Where can I go?"
"You will travel with us," said Marta as she climbed in beside her. "You can join our band and we will help with your child and you will eventually find peace. It may not seem so now, but you will find happiness again in your child."
Two weeks later Vincent Conner Tanner was born into the world. The old medicine woman who helped with the delivery took one look at the child and instantaneously became excited.
"A Sentinel! We have a Sentinel born here!" cried the old woman as she left the birthing room. Her excitement raced through the rest of the Comanche band as they had gathered waiting for the new child.
A new child was most welcome to this band and cause for great merriment. But now to think they had a sentinel was cause for a celebration and since the sentinels had been almost totally lost, this birth was a happy omen for them.
Valeria was amazed at the announcement and asked Marta, "Is she sure? How can she tell?"
"Estelle always knows," replied Marta as she wrapped the baby boy in a soft blanket. "She has the eye."
"The eye?" asked the tired mother as she received her baby into her arms. She was checking him, counting his fingers and toes to make sure he was all right.
"What you would call second sight. She is our medicine woman, our healer." Marta said as she helped clean up the room.
JD (1985)
John David Dunne lost both his parents the same day and never knew them. Peter Dunne was killed the day his son was born. After getting a call from his wife, he was rushing to the hospital when his car was hit head on by a drunk driver just 10 minutes away. He was killed instantly. Christy, his wife, did not know this at the time as she was too busy trying not to scream her head off at each contraction that ripped through her body. The doctors, for she had two called in because of complications that started right away, were doing their best to save her and her baby. Her blood pressure was high and the baby was in distress. Nurses and orderlies were hurrying back and forth on each doctor's command as they struggled to bring the new life into the world while trying to keep Christy alive.
"I need those fetal monitors NOW!" shouted one doctor to a passing nurse.
"Coming through!" another shouted as she rushed into the delivery room pushing the much needed machines.
"Start the intravenous line and draw blood samples. Match her blood and get three units up here stat!" the other doctor shouted. Then a whispered "Damn" was heard from the frantic doctor. Blood splashed on the floor as nurses rushed about.
"It's coming!" yelled doctor number one as he kicked the stool into position and sat down to assist the baby as Christy screamed again. She felt as if she was being torn apart. Again she screamed as the head popped through.
"Forget the monitors! I need help NOW!" shouted doctor number one to the nurse who was trying to ready the machine.
"Damn, damn, damn," muttered doctor number two. "Pressure is dropping now. Where's that blood!"
Christy screamed again though faintly as she felt herself growing weaker. Where was Peter she thought as she grabbed the sides of the gurney for strength.
"The cord is wrapped around the neck, help me here nurse!" said doctor one as the pool of blood grew around their feet. Together they untangled the baby and watched as Christy was again pushing, and then pushed the child out the rest of the way. Christy had only strength to moan as doctor two struggled to stop the flow of blood as she hemorrhaged.
Doctor one and his staff breathed a sigh of relief as the baby boy took his first breath and started screaming. Rushing to clean and wrap the child, they then placed him into the special machine and read the printout. "Christy, you have a beautiful baby boy that is a sentinel!"
Clapping started as everyone tried to gather around to see the child.
"She can't hear you," sighed doctor two wearily. "We lost her."
Silence swept through the room and then a nurse asked, "What will happen to the child, now?"
EZRA (1988)Maude DeArmond was a beautiful woman and knew it. She could inveigle you into believing that she was nothing but a sweet, naive, thoughtful young woman who would never do anything immoral or detrimental. A true southern belle from Georgia with all the grace and charm associated with high society. In actuality, she has the heart and mind of a pit viper. A vicious spitting King Cobra has more heart than her. The snake would at least protect its young.
Maude was also sharply intelligent and knew exactly what she wanted even by the age of fifteen. She had survived the Great Catastrophes and with the lost of identification information and instant communications, she could be whoever she chose to be. She wanted a life of wealth and all the luxury that went with it. She was not afraid to do anything to achieve that goal.
She did not like being poor and neither had her father. Her mother had died given her birth in 1966 and her father never let her forget it. Paul DeArmond (if that was his real name) had married Marie Rachel Farris for her money and her beauty. Maude Paulia DeArmond had been born with the beauty of her mother and the nature of her father. Nurtured in the lifestyle of the rich and educated in all forms of thievery and cons, she grew in her father's footsteps and beyond. Surviving the calamities but killed by an enraged swindled ex-lover, her father left her to struggle on her own in 1984.
Cold blooded and calculating, she had married wealthy Rupert Albert Standish for his money in 1985. He didn't know that of course. He thought the sun rose and set with his young, beautiful wife. A diamond that he had stumbled across at a friend's house (she was escorted there by an acquaintance of a few days to the party). Her exquisiteness was sought out by all available bachelors there including Rupert. Single all his life, his friends thought he was a confirmed bachelor at the aged of thirty-eight. Maude swept in and changed all that at the age of eighteen.
She had researched all available information on the wealthy residents of New Orleans shortly after her father's death. Knowing who to contact for the information could be a girl's biggest ally in this world and Maude had many circuitous connections. Computer experts could be bought for a price.
When she finally chose her target (Rupert, who was rather handsome), she studied his life for a few months to garner his weaknesses and then proceeded to enact her plan. After they were married, she kept up the charade as she systematically began to manipulate his wealth and money. Some of it she squirreled away into different accounts that he didn't know about. Everyone believed Rupert Standish to be the luckiest man alive with such a devastating beauty for a wife.
Rupert thought life couldn't be better with a wife who not only was beautiful and loving, but who helped him enlarge his fortune. He really didn't put money as his main concern in life so he gladly let Maude take over running some of his accounts, family was his passion. For over a year he pleaded with her about having children. Begging, bribing with expensive gifts, imploring her to give him just one child became his priority. He couldn't understand why she seemed so adamant about not wanting children just yet. Her excuse was always that there was plenty of time for creating a family, they needed more time for themselves.
Maude didn't want children because they would interfere with her plans. She would have to share her growing wealth with them and look after them. She didn't want that in her life.
On a particular sunny day Rupert called her into his study to discuss some changes to his will. They had talked about this before and Rupert always assured her that some portion of his estate would be left to her. That was why she assisted him in amassing more money. The more he had, the more she would get (although she was planning to divorce him soon and get a substantial alimony).
"Maude, dear, I just wanted to let you know of the new changes I've made to my will", said Rupert.
Maude tensed; new changes could be detrimental to her so she paid very careful attention to what he was saying.
"I've changed it to where half of my estate would go to you and the other half would go to our children." Rupert forestalled her protest with his raised hand, palm facing out. "I know we agreed to wait, this is in case we do have children."
"What happens if we don't get to have children? I mean, say something happens to you before the child is born?" Maude was calculating and shrewd and Rupert's new will guarantee her more money than before.
"If something were to happen to me before our child is born, you would be executor of their inheritance with free reign of the management of the money. Otherwise, if there are no children, I have named several charities to divide the other half of the estate between," replied her husband.
And that decided the event to Maude. With a child she would have all the money. As executor with free control of the inheritance, she could control the spending and distributing of money. Of course she would take care of the child. After all, she would have their money to use on them…just most of it coming to her.
"I think that's a very thoughtful change, darling! I love you for planning to take care of our future." she purred as her mind rapidly shifted to add this new detail to her scheme. Plans were being hatched as she smoothly moved to her husband side and reached toward him for a kiss. She would throw away the birth control pills tonight.
In 1988, Ezra Phillip Standish came into this world after a long arduous labor. The difficulty she had with this pregnancy decidedly stopped all future childbearing. She was not going through the morning sickness or labor pains again. Beside, with this son she would have everything she needed.
Rupert held his only child and thought the world was wonderful. He was delighted to note that his son had his auburn hair and his mother's green eyes. Actually, as he looked closer at the small infant in his arms, the child's eyes were a darker green, more emerald in color. His son was small but perfect in his sight.
He noticed that Maude seemed rather disinterested in her newborn son, but Rupert put it down to a form of baby blues after affect. She would snap out of it in time, he thought as he cooed at his son. Living for Rupert had reached the highest plateau. He had a family and someone to carry on his name. Life was rich and full.
Ezra loved his mother but adored his father. He learned early on in life that his father was the one to seek out if he needed help. His mother always seemed to be too busy and would send him to his nanny. His father would stop to spend time answering questions and explaining the unexplainable to the curious boy.
Rupert was amazed at his son. From the early age of 18 months, Ezra had an extraordinary quick mind, extended vocabulary and loved to talk. He was walking and with movement came an expanded play area, his curiosity multiplied.
Ezra had the run of the house, garden and kitchen and he ruled supremely with the exception being his mother. His gentle loving nature made him an enchanting child to everyone and they dotingly surround him with love and laughter. Maude had yet to find a use for her son, but then she paid little attention to him and therefore didn't notice her offspring's remarkable talents.
By the age of three he was reading classics his father had started giving him as gifts causing his vocabulary to swell exponentially. His nanny, being French, would sing and speak in her native language around him. Not to be outdone, the chef began teaching Ezra his native tongue of German. The chauffeur and gardener, not to be left out, commenced his Italian and Japanese lesions. When Rupert realized his son was absorbing reading and language lessons at three, he decided to have Ezra tested and find an appropriate tutor.
The tutor was excided to find such a gifted child. The testing revealed a highly intelligent child with aptitudes in reading, languages, and mathematics. It was discovered that Ezra also loved music.
Ezra's nanny was a sensitive Guide who had yet to find her Sentinel. As the child starting showing his aptitudes for learning, Felicia realized that Ezra was a Guide. A very strong Guide she noticed so she went to her employer and told him. Ezra had not been tested when he was born because he was born at home by a private physician that did not have access to a machine.
Rupert was so excited that he wanted immediately to tell Maude and shout it to the world, but Felicia stopped him. She couldn't tell him that she didn't trust his wife or the bad impressions that she received from her. So she told him that Ezra was at a critical stage and that he needed special instructions at this time. Too much emotion from everyone around him would be disastrous and his relationship with his parents was especially emotional for the child. That was why most times when a Guide was found, they were sent to the New Development School to be shelter from the emotional atmosphere until they could handle the input. Since the school was so far away and they wouldn't want to sent Ezra away, the less people who knew the better. She also explained that since she was a Guide (howbeit unbonded) and Ezra showed very strong Guide abilities, she could shield him until he could handle the overload himself. Rupert did not want anything to cripple his son or to send him away, so he agreed that he wouldn't tell his wife or anyone else. Rupert went to his grave with the secret that his son was a Guide and Maude never found out.