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Ema's met some pretty weird people in her time studying abroad. There's been some good weird, some bad weird, and some just plain weird weird. Then there's this kid, who is arguably a mix of good weird and weird weird, but given that Ema would describe herself as a mixture between good weird and weird weird, Ema thinks she likes her.
The issue is the fact that she's way, way, way too young to be wandering about on her own, she has a faint American accent, and she's slurping down the milkshake Ema had caved and bought her like she's never seen food before in her life, or at least never seen a milkshake before. If it's the latter, that's honestly a tragedy and it's one Ema is happy to avert.
Ema's got her own milkshake, too—and she discovered last week that dipping chocolate Snackoos into milkshakes makes both the shake and the Snackoo taste orders of magnitude better, so she's pretty content on that front. But she's also (in theory) a functional adult, which means she probably should be trying to figure out where this kid came from and where she should go instead of just buying her a milkshake and calling it a day.
"So," Ema tries, "you said your name was..."
It was something weird as all hell, so Ema should remember it, and she's pretty sure it started with an A...
"Athena," the kid says, and slurps more of her milkshake noisily. Then she makes a peace sign and announces, "I'm twelve!"
"You're... twelve," Ema repeats. Dear god this kid should not be wandering around alone. "Well, like I said, I'm—"
"Ema Skye!" Athena says. Looks like this literal twelve-year-old has a better memory than Ema, that bodes well for the looming forensics exam. "How old are you?"
Ema smirks, and leans back in her chair, crossing her arms. "I'm nineteen. You can call me Ema if you want. So, Athena, do you have a last name?"
"Cykes," Athena says immediately. "I'm Athena Cykes. I got it from my mom, Metis Cykes!"
Metis Cykes? Okay, well, mom definitely has a sense of humor and some knowledge of Greek mythology, good to know. That being said, if her dad's name turns out to be Zeus, Ema will flip the table right here and right now. And... also that isn't entirely relevant right now. "Alright. Where is your mom, Athena?"
Athena stops slurping her milkshake and stares down at the table forlornly. "She's... s-she's..."
"Oh," Ema says quietly.
She remembers—their parents leaving late one night, never to return. Lana promising she could stay up until they got home so she could tell them goodnight, except the hours kept on ticking and the key never turned in the lock. And then, when the sun was rising, a knock coming on the front door. Lana rushed to open it, and just... froze, when she did.
Ema never heard what the officer standing there said. She remembers seeing his mouth move, and she remembers Lana just... nodding, numbly, until he would go away and let her close the door. Then she collapsed against the door with a choked sob, and... nothing was the same ever again.
"She's dead," Athena says, and Ema chokes on her milkshake.
"I-I. Wasn't... expecting you to just say that," Ema manages.
"N-No? I'm... I'm sorry!" Athena winces. "Oh no, your heart's really sad, d-did your mom..."
Die too?
"It... wasn't just my mom," Ema says, looking away. Then she goes back over the conversation mentally, and—stops. Looks back at Athena. "Hold up. You're literally a twelve-year-old, how did you read my mind?"
"I-I didn't read your mind," Athena says stubbornly, crossing her own arms across her chest in a mirror image of Ema. "I heard it! In your voice. I heard the discord in your heart, you're... you're really sad, I-I'm sorry-!"
"Whoa, no, it's okay. It's fine." It's not, but Ema's had plenty of time and distance (literal, in both senses) to get over it—and anyway, now she's more curious than anything else. "Back up a bit... you heard my emotions? In my voice?"
"Mhm." Athena starts slurping again. "I-It's... I know you won't believe me, but—"
"Sure I will," Ema says, and she might regret that later, but also it never hurts to play along with a literal child, and... Ema knows how much it hurts to not be believed. She was fourteen, she was sixteen, and... it fucking sucked, actually. She's not doing that to anyone else. "So you can... hear feelings?"
Athena nods. "Earlier, you were feeling really, really sad. Right now you're feeling... happy, a little... surprised? Confused?"
"Curious," Ema offers.
"Yeah! Curious." Athena beams. "I can only really figure out general feelings, and if someone's feelings don't line up with what they're saying, I can kinda hear that, too."
"That's... really cool."
Athena's eyes widen. "Y-You think so? You really think so?"
"Uh... yeah? That's fu—" Ema remembers her present company. "Freaking awesome, Athena!"
What should have encouraged the kid only serves to make her shrink down into her seat. "N-Not really... Crowds can get... really bad, and... m-my aunt, she just gets mad if I point out how s-sad she is all the time..."
Uh oh. Ema's got a bad feeling about this. Still, she asks, "Your... aunt? Is that who you're staying with?"
Athena nods. "She told me to wait for her on that bench until she got back, but I can still see it from here, so it's fine..." She hesitates. "R-Right?"
"It's fine," Ema agrees. "Though... do you happen to know your aunt's name?"
Athena only knows her aunt's first name, though she is quite certain that she doesn't share a last name with her. And, unfortunately, her aunt's name is one of the most common names in the country.
That being said. Ema Skye, future forensic investigator, is not someone to ever take lightly, because she has a phonebook, decent knowledge of French, and most importantly, stubbornness. (It's a trait the Skye sisters have always shared.)
Hours pass as Ema calls number after number, asking after a little redheaded girl named Athena Cykes. A couple of people express concern, but no recognition. A few numbers are picked up by husbands or wives, and Athena is certain her aunt lives alone (aside from her, of course) so that rules those ones out too.
Honestly, Ema isn't sure how she'll know which number is the right one, or if Athena's aunt will even pick up. But she'll give this woman the benefit of the doubt, for now. If she can locate her this way, great, she'll bring Athena by herself. If not... if not, Ema will get to yell at her anyway, eventually, because if she can't find her the authorities sure fucking will.
It's been hours. It's getting dark outside, and the employees at the cafe they're sitting at keep giving them sympathetic looks as they go through the motions of closing up.
Ema's phone rings, again.
A woman, probably, picks up. "Hello?"
"Is this Marie?" Ema asks.
"Who's asking?"
"I'm not a telemarketer, if that's what you're asking. My name is Ema Skye, I work with the local police department?" Technically not a lie. She does get to shadow people on investigations, sometimes. Occasionally. Not as often as she used to, but it's better than just the sheer monotony of studying and studying and studying. "Does the name Athena Cykes mean anything to you?"
The woman on the other end sucks in a breath. "No. Don't call this number again."
She hangs up. Ema debates the merits of calling her back anyway or just taking it to the local precinct first thing tomorrow morning. She's leaning towards calling her back anyway, maybe from someone else's phone, when a choked sob from across the table draws her attention.
Uh oh. Red alert, the child is crying. Repeat, the child is crying.
"S-She..." Athena sniffles. "T-T-That's her. S-S-She was l-lying, I could... I c-could hear it in her voice, b-but... but why?"
"I don't know," Ema says, because it's true. She doesn't know... for sure. But she can think of a few ideas, none of them good. She glances down at the entry for the number in the phonebook website she'd been referencing. "Let's... tell you what. I'm going to make a few more phone calls, and then we're going to get you somewhere safe for the night, okay?"
"B-But... the bench—! She knows, somehow. S-S-She knows that I left it somehow, I-I have to wait for her, I have to prove I'm a big girl—"
"Athena. Sweetie. You are a big girl," Ema says firmly. "But it's a big world, and I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I left you on that bench and something bad happened to you tonight. If you want, you can go sit on it while I'm making this last phone call? Maybe she'll come back."
Instantly, Athena perks up. Visibly so. Ema doesn't have the heart to tell her that last bit was sarcasm. "O-Okay! I'll b-b-be right here, then!"
Ema watches Athena go to sit again. She doesn't take her eyes off the kid as she calls the old friend she'd been staying with before she struck out on her own, and who she's still on... decently good terms with? Even if she's like, seventy-three percent sure that she's an ex-girlfriend of Lana's, at least she and Lana were still on good enough terms for her to be able to stay with her.
Anyway, she picks up pretty fast, given that she should be at work right now. "Hey, Ema? What's up?"
"Theoretically speaking," Ema starts.
"Uh oh."
"Theoretically speaking, if I found a twelve-year-old girl whose legal guardian abandoned her in the middle of the city and refused to acknowledge that she existed when I figured out what her phone number was, would I have to turn her over to the police immediately or can I make sure she gets a good night's sleep and some actual food first?"
"Theoretically speaking..." She sighs. "Ema, we both know this isn't theoretical, is it?"
"Nope. Her name's Athena Cykes and her aunt apparently told her to wait on this specific bench until she came back. She's been here since this morning, I've been here since this afternoon, and her aunt hasn't come back."
"What the—" A pause. "You aren't on speakerphone, are you?"
"Nope. Go the fuck off, I'm not even within earshot."
"What the FUCK, then. Wait, you're still watching this kid, right?"
"Yep. She wanted to go sit on the bench while I made this last phone call in case her aunt came back. I... didn't have the heart to tell her she wasn't coming." Ema sighs. "Her mom's apparently dead and she hasn't even brought up another parent, so..."
"I hope she has better other relatives," is the vaguely horrified response.
"Yeah. Me too."
"If she doesn't, hell, I'll keep her. How old did you say she was?"
"Twelve. She was very insistent about that." Ema hesitates, then decides fuck it. "She's also absolutely not neurotypical and claims she can hear emotions from people's hearts by the way they talk, no matter how well they think they hide it? I'm inclined to believe her. She picked up on a lot she shouldn't have."
"That's... huh. That's pretty cool, actually."
"Exactly! That's what I told her!"
"As for being neurotypical, bold of you to assume I'M neurotypical."
Ema laughs. "Good point. So... what should I do?"
"I'll handle it. Bring her by the station first thing in the morning, but I agree, she deserves a good night's sleep first."
"Thanks. See you tomorrow."
Her friend hangs up with a click, and Ema stuffs her phone back into her bag. For a few long moments, she just watches Athena, kicking her feet back and forth, blissfully unaware of the details.
That shitty aunt of hers will be lucky if child abandonment is the only thing she gets charged with, if Ema has her way. Hell, if Ema gets to give this woman a piece of her mind, the criminal charges will be the least of her worries.
Ema keeps extra blankets and pillows in her flat's closet, mostly in preparation for once Lana gets out of prison (soon!) and can come visit her for a change. In the meantime, though, they work great for the little girl who had conked out almost as soon as she'd sat on the couch.
Throwing hands with shitty legal guardians aside, because damn was Ema lucky to end up with someone who actually liked her, the fact that this girl can just... hear if people aren't being genuine? It's incredible. Ema would be lying if she said she wasn't a little bit jealous.
But it really, really is incredible. This kid is going to go far, someday, Ema can tell—she just needs some actual supportive adults. And dammit, Ema is going to find those actual supportive adults for her, because. Well. She's been there.
When all is said and done the next day, when Athena ends up going off with her uncle (who had been horrified that his separated from and soon to be divorced from wife had just abandoned Athena somewhere), Ema waves to her as she goes.
Athena waves back, and then she's gone. Ema doesn't waste much time in finding a familiar number, one she'd kept even if she didn't text it for much besides emergencies. She sends him a text to keep an eye out for a girl named Athena Cykes, the next time he's in Germany—because she's definitely going to go far.
Seven years later, when Ema runs into a spunky young redheaded lawyer named Athena Cykes back home in LA, Athena doesn't recognize her. That's fine. Ema sure remembers her, though—and she was right.