Philip let out a breath he didn't know he was holding until Derek informed
them that they were going. Of course that relief soon turned to confusion
when Derek ended up shaking his head, as if dazed and then speaking to
someone behind them and he turned, only to look at the Precept with even
more confusion when the child called him Pappa.
"Umm, Derek?" he asked, at a loss as to what was happening.
Derek stared transfixed at the little girl. Pappa? He shook his head
again, clearing it a bit more successfully this time before standing and
moving over next to the hologram. He bent down and lifted the child in his
arms. And she wasn't a mere spectre. She had weight and mass, though not
much. She was definitely flesh and blood. He stared into her face for a
moment and then glanced around the room and back to the child. "Amelia," he
asked hesitantly.
