Friends with Benefits, Horizon - 2201

[Mr. Dust]

The message had been pretty vague, but carried all the typical markings of an official and secure message when it had reached Sandra Kelso's private terminal.

To: Major Sandra Kelso
From: Secretary Caitlin McKenzie
Date: 01/18/2201 [Nuuurgh... feels... WRONG.. doing it 'that' way]
Subject: Person of Interest

Dear Major Kelso

Recently it has come to my attention that a certain individual women has been seeking your presence over a number of alliance colony worlds, she has never left a name or any contact details but is incredibly adament that she meet you, currently sources last identified her as heading towards Horizon to request alliance personnel there to get in contact with you.

Normally, as you know, we don't make a habit of pulling servicemen and women from the frontlines just because someone wishes to chat with them, but given how persistant this person is and how podantic they are at keeping their identity a secret, I felt that you may be willing to investigate this in person when she arrives.

Additionally, while you are here, there is an outstanding matter with regards to your pilot Tanya Lauree that I wish to discuss with you.

Date and time are attached to this message.

Regards
Sec. Caitlin McKenzie

[Going on the assumption that Sandra actually responded and decided to go...]

When Caitlin had received confirmation that Sandra would be attending this.. meet and greet, she herself made it a priority to be there before the good major arrived. While she was quite curious on who this mystery women was that had tried to oust Sandra from whatever void she had her ship travel to, she also had another cause to want to speak to her.

She waited dutifully at the entrance to the alliance compound until the major finally arrived, the mystery women had arrived about an hour ago and was... amicable... to being led to a waiting room [that looked pecariously like an interrogation room.. with the lack of anything besides a window, door, two chairs and a table] after she'd been told Sandra was on her way.

When Sandra got out of her transport Caitlin snapped a quick salute "Staff Lieutenant Caitlin McKenzie, m'am!" she stated as if by reflex.

She then extended her hand to shake Sandra's "I must say it's an honour to meet you in person, your a rare breed major... ahem.. sorry, just jittery, not every day I personally greet a veteran."

She then gave the major her hand back "Now then... I'm flexible for time major, your mysterious fan is incessintly tapping her heels in a waiting room inside, and there's also the matter of your pilot, Lieutenant Commander Tanya Lauree. We can discuss this after if you'd rather tend to our guest if you wish?"

[ThatPatriot]

As the shuttle began landing procedures, Sandra glanced briefly out the porthole to the compound outside. This was one of several bases that sprang up post-attack to stop incursions into Alliance space. Thanks to Horizon's positioning and the mysterious attack which abducted over half of the colony, the Alliance Navy sought to establish a presence that interceded the several relays hooking up to the Shadow Sea.

But personally Sandra had no idea why she was here. The message she had received was vague at best. No personnel data, no name, not even a statement as to why she was brought in. The Ain Jalut was still needing to be on maneuvers. And of all time she had to come in while they were still in the middle of it. She gave Cole the ship to carry on the maneuvers but she should be there with them.

As the shuttle touched down Sandra stood up, her dress uniform pressed and clean, and took a step off from the shuttle onto the pavement. There she was met by a women who approached her with an apt salute.

"Staff Lieutenant Caitlin McKenzie, m'am!" The lieutenant then extended an arm to shake hers. "I must say it's an honour to meet you in person, your a rare breed major... ahem.. sorry, just jittery, not every day I personally greet a veteran." Sandra grasped her hand to shake it in response before moving ahead.

"Thank you, feels good to breath some fresh air." Sandra decided to go with the pleasantries, no point in souring the milk with the MoD's secretary.

"Now then... I'm flexible for time major, your mysterious fan is incessintly tapping her heels in a waiting room inside, and there's also the matter of your pilot, Lieutenant Commander Tanya Lauree. We can discuss this after if you'd rather tend to our guest if you wish?"

"Well Lieutenant I am curious as to what would be so important to leave my ship in the middle of a patrol. Who exactly is she?"

Last Sandra had heard of Lauree she was declared KIA. Strangely, as per the usual Special Forces coverup, her death was listed as during a training mission. She certainly was involved in something but it wasn't an issue Sandra would question off the bat. Working for ONI you knew the problems associated with knowing too much. The question about Lauree's death would have to come later.

[Mr. Dust]

"Well Lieutenant I am curious as to what would be so important to leave my ship in the middle of a patrol. Who exactly is she?"

"She won't say... she won't even tell us why she won't say. All we have thus far is that she's been popping up all over alliance worlds specifically asking for you, when she didn't get the response she was after she simply left and appeared somewhere else... eventually it was decided that her persistance may be worth your attention... anyone that goes through this much effort to contact a servicewoman must have something worth while to tell us. Or.. you rather."

She led the major into the complex and after the formalities of signing in were done with, Sandra was brought further into the complex and ushered into a room next to the one containing the mystery guest, here Sandra was able to view her at her leisure from behind the magic mirror.

"Do you recognize her at all?" Caitlin queried with a slightly raised brow, looking to Sandra for a confirmation.
---

Dominika sat in her seat quietly, her heels developing a nervous twitch that caused her to repeatedly tap them against the floor while she fiddled with her fingers, every once in a while she'd rub her arms as if to comfort herself when she wasn't biting down on her lip. She peered around the room again but couldn't find anything to catch her gaze, the magic mirror looked exactly like the wall it was built into so aside from a niggling feeling of being watched she was not aware by whom.

[ThatPatriot]

"She won't say... she won't even tell us why she won't say. All we have thus far is that she's been popping up all over alliance worlds specifically asking for you, when she didn't get the response she was after she simply left and appeared somewhere else... eventually it was decided that her persistance may be worth your attention... anyone that goes through this much effort to contact a servicewoman must have something worth while to tell us. Or.. you rather."

As they were led into the complex, past the various checkpoints, Sandra was starting to wonder how this woman got onto several Alliance worlds and they had NO information on her whatsoever. Maybe she was visiting worlds with lower security standards - Elysium was one that had one of the best by comparison. But still, if she was traveling around why didn't NCIS pick up on it or a Navy base report it? Why was it only now?

"Do you recognize her at all?"

Sandra looked at the brunette woman and couldn't place her anywhere. She would've remembered a punk kid if she ran into one. But this woman wasn't ringing any bells.

"No." Sandra continued to look but it wasn't coming to her if she did meet this young woman. "So this kid snuck onto several Alliance worlds asking for me and no one mentioned or reported it?

[Mr. Dust]

"No." Sandra continued to look but it wasn't coming to her if she did meet this young woman. "So this kid snuck onto several Alliance worlds asking for me and no one mentioned or reported it?

Caitlin had to stiffle something between a snicker, snort and laugh by way of making a throat clearing noise, covering her mouth as she did so. "Be reasonable major, you can imagine how deep the administration branch of the navy would be buried in backlogs if we catered to every person that was wanting to see their family whom were out serving on the frontlines..." she glanced through the window as well.

"Evidentally, she's not a relative of yours it seems, and since no indentification was provided we weren't prepared to simply pluck you from patrol on a whim.... initially" she added.

Caitlin then opened up a dossier on her omni tool to review the limited data she had on the woman "She didn't sneak onto these worlds major, facial recognition and security didn't flag her as a risk or person of interest so she wasn't scrutinized by us until word circulated of repeated requests for you... when we saw a pattern developing we then decided it was time to get her grounded and get to the bottom of this.... of course she's only going to tell us more if she's talking to you specifically........ we've been thorough in scanning her before she was permitted inside, she has no weapons and no bio amp."

She then took a step towards the door "If your willing to go in and talk to her, I'll have security just on the otherside of the door if you wish?" she asked calmly.

[ThatPatriot]

Sandra listened to the lieutenant, noting a rather curious contradiction. Facial recognition did not flag her as a problem yet they had no info about who she was. It just happened to ring a major bell of issues that the lieutenant didn't seem to grasp initially - at least not obviously. Facial recognition doesn't function without a the database, and if she wasn't in the gov't databases she would've been flagged. Whoever this was, she could get on a world even in the core sectors and do whatever and no one could trace her outside an Alliance world. Dangerous situation. Sandra was going to have to lodge a serious complaint.

"If your willing to go in and talk to her, I'll have security just on the otherside of the door if you wish?"

"Let's get on with it."

Leaving the confines of the observation room, Sandra headed over to the interrogation room grasping a tablet with the woman's information on it and noting the MP outside the door. Lightly expecting whatever, she tapped on the door console and opened it, stepping through and the door shutting behind her. Casually she walked to the opposite side of the table and sat down, placing the tablet on the table in front of her. "You've certainly been busy traveling, seeing the sights. What's on your mind?"

[Mr. Dust]

Dominika snapped to attention when she heard the door open, her eyes flashed with recognition when she saw Sandra Kelso herself walking through it, coming in and sitting down just opposite her, it was like a lucid dream.

"You've certainly been busy traveling, seeing the sights. What's on your mind?"

"My god... your..... your really here!" she said in almost a gasp, her eyes glued to Sandra like flies on tape. She didn't know whether to feel nervous or ecstatic to see the person she'd been searching for for so long so close she could actually reach out and touch her.

"I... s-sorry... I needed to... see you, had to find you, too risky to stay in one place, they'd find me... eyes and ears everywhere!" she said in a bit of a whimper, shaking her head vigorously.

"Only one of two people that can keep me safe... only one that won't send me back... to them... keep me safe.. keep me safe..." she said to herself quietly, bopping her head back and forth like the nervous wreck she was becoming. Both due to situation and also lack of OWD in her veins.

"Met each other before... you saved me... from him... spared my life, almost wish you hadn't... worse things then death... here now, where it's safer... until eyes find me... tell the ears... then they find me, always do!" she mumbled sporadically, some points she could have even passed herself off as a salarian... verbally anyway.

[ThatPatriot]

The woman was speaking erratically at the sight of Sandra. The marine tried to listen in on her speech but she was having a difficult time trying to get the full picture. Her body language also seemed to give off someone who had problems that were never addressed medically, maybe some reaction to drugs or something. Sandra couldn't tell either way. But she was keeping her guard up on the off-chance that that this person could do something randomly.

Then the last bit in her frantic speech was catching Sandra's attention. Sandra picked some words in a calm tone but audible enough to be noted.

"Okay, okay, calm down...take a breath...no one's going to find you here. You're safe here."

[Mr. Dust]

Caitlin watched with intrigue from behind the magic mirror as this mystery woman became much more animated when Sandra entered, Sandra however was doing a decent job of keeping her relatively calm. She jotted down some notes as the conversation continued...
---

"Okay, okay, calm down...take a breath...no one's going to find you here. You're safe here."

"NO! No.... already been here too long!" she muttered quickly, her right thumb tapping repeatedly upon her left hand, another nervous tick, she shook her head in response but seemed to calm down a little.

"They're looking for me, ever since I escaped... bounty on my head, the one that got away they say... found new keeper.. or.. new keeper found me, protected me.. kept me safe and fed.. but.. only if I was a good girl."

She realised what her hands were doing so she simply tucked them under each arm and instead started bouncing lightly up and down upon her seat "Taught me hand to hand.. didn't help me, others came.. they wanted me dead, knew too much.. but.. old keeper saved me.. took me away.. helped me save Omega.. then left me" she muttered, eyes looking down upon her lap.

[ThatPatriot]

"Keeper? Someone who watched over you? Someone who controlled you? A slaver?"

[Mr. Dust]

[Son, Patriot son.. I am disappoint, I know you can do better! ;P]

"Keeper? Someone who watched over you? Someone who controlled you? A slaver?"

She gave a curt nod, not meeting Sandra's eyes for a few moments, only after a dull silence did she meet her gaze once more and continue "I'm not suprised you don't remember me... you... you had your team.. yourself to worry about..." she said more as an after-thought than anything.

"I'm... glad you got back to your ship... you..." she placed her hands upon her temple and gazed bug eyed at the table between her and Sandra.

"You... bad things would have happened to you... he'd make sure of that.. evil man... wish he stayed down when you shot him" she muttered, biting her lip, her arms moving to clutch at each other once more.
---

At the last part of the woman's mutterings, Caitlin's ears and eyes perked, whoever this woman was, she and Sandra had seemingly met before and it was in an evidentally hostile situation, a man was also involved. She leaned closer to the glass, hoping that Sandra could put the pieces together herself.. that'd save Caitlin a lot of drama picking through archived mission reports to get to the bottom of this.

That... and the woman's name would be helpful as well...

[ThatPatriot]

While her words started to become more structured and less jumbled, the last details in her speech really started to strike a chord over who this woman was. And now the face was starting to stick out as one she had seen before. As her eyes focused more on the woman's face, it became all the more clear.

"No..." Another moment passed, linking her face to a man she had shot. A man who took a bullet to the head...then lived. "No I do remember you. But you were younger, then. Three years ago...on that ship...with Yousuf..."

[Mr. Dust]

"No I do remember you. But you were younger, then. Three years ago...on that ship...with Yousuf..."

"No I do remember you. But you were younger, then. Three years ago...on that ship...with Yousuf..."

A warning light was going off in the back of Caitlin's mind, this woman, Sandra and one 'Yousuf' were on a ship together three years ago. Sandra had apparantly shot another person, this 'Yousuf' but didn't kill him. In all of this exchange, this woman seemed to of "got away" as did Sandra. This was all very strange.. and... almost convenient. How often do slaves escape their keepers, the documented amount were very few indeed.
---

"No I do remember you. But you were younger, then. Three years ago...on that ship...with Yousuf..."

A mild look of relief washed over Dominika's face after seeing Sandra's acknowledgement "Oh thank god...." she sighed with relief, clasping her hands behind her head and resting her forhead upon the table for a few moments.

"Time gets..... funny... on that ship... amongst.... them... I..." she looked up at Sandra with puppy dog eyes "I don't even know what year it is anymore..." she confessed.

Then she started 'wigging out', stepping up and out from her chair as she moved around the table and fall to her knee's at Sandra's lap, she clapsed her hands together almost as if praying "Please... you have to help me... I have nowhere to go and... they have my family, my mother and little sister... I... I don't even know if they are still alive but..." she started tearing up and continued.

"... but if they are... they... <sniffle> they'll be on their ship... the s-s-s-slag huis, their slaver ship...." she then made a grab for Sandra's hand or arm, whichever she could land a grip on first. "You'll save them right!? That's-- that's what you do right!?" she said louder, becoming a lot more animated now.

[ThatPatriot]

Sandra was understandably flustered as the young woman approached her so quickly, unloading in emotion with her pleas to save her family. The Major wasn't aware of the specific ship she spoke of. The notion they ran slaving ships wasn't new. But the woman bawling out before her was. It was an awkward bit of a situation, Sandra wondering if there was some step that they had skipped through in a movie.

Though it did bring up something similar when she had saved imprisoned children on a batarian world who were due to be slaved out - albeit it they were more scared and shocked than crying and frantic. Sandra tried to muster up some words but choked a bit before speaking them.

"Yes...yes I do..." Sandra placed a reassuring arm around her back and started rubbing it. "You are a strong person, though. I never thought I'd see you again.

"C'mon, let's get you cleaned up and looked over by a doctor." With both arms she gently brought the young lady up to standing. She kept both of her arms on the woman to usher her through the door. Sandra gave a quick glance to where the invisible wall would've been to make sure whoever watched on the other side picked up on her cue. "You know, I've never known your name all this time."

[Mr. Dust]

"You are a strong person, though. I never thought I'd see you again."

"I... I had to... escape" she said between sniffles. She truly thought this day would never come, sure there were dozens of other well-to-do marines in the Alliance, but the only one whose loyalty to it she could be sure of was Sandra, she didn't hear any names of any of the other members of her team while they were being held prisoner.

"C'mon, let's get you cleaned up and looked over by a doctor." With both arms she gently brought the young lady up to standing. She kept both of her arms on the woman to usher her through the door.

Dominika didn't resist, the touch Sandra gave her was a familiar one, but unlike previous times, this wasn't going to be a precursor to sex... at least... she didn't believe it would. He expectations in humanity had rightly taken a nose dive in the last several years, she didn't hold anyone on a pedestal of 'cannot do any wrong'... Sandra was the closest to it though.

"You know, I've never known your name all this time."

Her ears perked up, her name... it was something she kept very close to her chest while working to get where she is now. Something that'd been drilled into her mind was that the Bacalou had eyes and ears everywhere, like a cancer it was in everyone... some were just more resillient than others. She leered at the nameless male guards on either side of the door when they left the room, refusing to so much as make a squeak until she was sure they were out of ear-shot of them.

When she glanced behind her just to double check she looked forwards once more, walking alongside Sandra. It was almost comforting to being able to walk down a hallway without having to fear bumping into a guard, or Kobe, or Yousuf, or Ijana.. but Ijana was nice, she fed her, she-- "Dominika..." she said a little above a whisper. "Dominika Podravka" she confessed finally.

Once they arrived at the medical area of the facility, the duo moved on inside to where a doctor was located. A brief confrontation ensued when the doctor produced a syringe which resulted in Dom 'taking cover' behind Sandra, though the majors reassurances calmed her down... eventually. However when the doctor asked Sandra to leave, to give them privacy, Dom was quick to seize Sandra's hand and implore her to stay, teary eyes threatening to overflow if she didn't comply.

The doctor drew some blood for anaylsis and did some routine check-up's, when he performed all he believed Dom was comfortable having him do he called in a female doctor to assist with more uncomfortable examinations while he got to work on the blood and other items. Dom was comfortable enough by now to let go of Sandra's hand when the female doctor arrived.

--- A Few Minutes Later on the otherside of the room ---

The doctor didn't need a microscope to study the bloodwork, not in this day and age where omni-tools and projected screens could do all that for you. Biometric readings and other biological charts appeared on the holographic screen, the doctor giving a few "hmmm"'s here and there.

"Well... I wouldn't say she was a healthy patient, a few redeeming qualities in her vitamin levels but... hmmm..." he started, then gestured to one of the higher readings on the chart, expecting Sandra to pay attention.

"You see this here? This is a perfect match to the database we have on addicts, those addicted to that Oya Dust that the Bacalou peddle, initial hypothesis is that she's been using this substance for... years. She hasn't seemed to of used any recently... roughly.. two, three months before last dose, her insides are effectively tearing her up inside from withdrawals, oya dust is a highly addictive substance. There's a few other drugs as well... Hallex... dreadful. I'm surpised she's able to put two words together that make sense let alone full sentences."

He studied it some more when the sound of a curtain drawing once more was heard, the female doctor had emerged from her one on one with Dominika, timely too as Caitlin entered the medical bay as well.. no doubt wanting the latest intel on mystery women.

"We have a butchered women in here..." the female nurse said bluntly. "Preliminary examinations tell a rather unpleasant story, it seems she's been the victim of numerous sexual encounters.... most of which, if not all, weren't consented to. I also noted that she has a D2 and D6 brand on both her wrists as well as shoulders. Also.... while she's responsive to touch, she seems like she may have a very high physical pain threshold but... I'm not a psychologist but I fear her reactions to a males touch may provoke a violent episode given how she responded to certain questions I asked her."

She looked over her shoulder, seeing the shadowy outline of Dom getting dressed then she looked back at the group. "I also found an implant chip in the back of her skull, easy to miss, couldn't get a good look at it but I believe its of batarian design.. likely to enduce certain behaviour in their captives. Doesn't generally show up on hand-held scanners, makes them easier to move in plain sight."

[ThatPatriot]

"You see this here? This is a perfect match to the database we have on addicts, those addicted to that Oya Dust that the Bacalou peddle, initial hypothesis is that she's been using this substance for... years. She hasn't seemed to of used any recently... roughly.. two, three months before last dose, her insides are effectively tearing her up inside from withdrawals, oya dust is a highly addictive substance. There's a few other drugs as well... Hallex... dreadful. I'm surpised she's able to put two words together that make sense let alone full sentences."

"I wouldn't be surprised if she's been on it for much of her life," spoke Sandra quietly and discreetly. "She was with the Bacalou as of four years ago, could be even longer given them."

Next came the nurse after her examination. And Sandra caught sight of Caitlin entering the room as well.

"We have a butchered women in here..." the female nurse said bluntly. She looked over her shoulder, seeing the shadowy outline of Dom getting dressed then she looked back at the group. "I also found an implant chip in the back of her skull, easy to miss, couldn't get a good look at it but I believe its of batarian design.. likely to enduce certain behaviour in their captives. Doesn't generally show up on hand-held scanners, makes them easier to move in plain sight."

"Thank you for that information. Lieutenant, a word, please," spoke Sandra again, motioning for the Lieutenant to leave the room with her. She gave a passing glance to Dominika as she was still getting dressed behind the curtains. Outside she made sure the door was closed and that they were away from it enough to not make their conversation overheard. "I hope you're taking this as serious as I am. An unidentified woman waltzes onto several Alliance worlds, no ID, no red flags, stumbles onto this base enough to get my attention, and she lo-and-behold has a control chip implanted in her skull. Someone may be controlling her right now or may have been directing her here for their own purpose. And I can guess who that 'someone' would be.

"As much as I want to help her I can't ignore the major security risk this poses."

[Mr. Dust]

"I hope you're taking this as serious as I am. An unidentified woman waltzes onto several Alliance worlds, no ID, no red flags, stumbles onto this base enough to get my attention, and she lo-and-behold has a control chip implanted in her skull. Someone may be controlling her right now or may have been directing her here for their own purpose. And I can guess who that 'someone' would be.

"As much as I want to help her I can't ignore the major security risk this poses."

Caitlin nodded attentively "Absolutely, though I believe the kind of chips slavers use tend to prevent those implanted from performing certain actions as oppose to... espionage tasks. Still, we are getting new information by the second with every little bit this woman tells us..... assuming it's true" she said with a more skeptical tone.

"I don't dispute the fact she knows you anymore, or at least... that the two of you have met. I've also been looking into her 'adventures' to various alliance worlds and why the database didn't flag her, did you convince her to tell you her name yet?" she asked quzzingly.

A possible theory was starting to formulate in her head as to why things were playing out as they were, the list of people that generally 'got around' alliance worlds without being impeded by scanners were deep cover operatives.... for the Alliance. Not to say the potential scenarios were exhausted by that alone but implications were quite unsettling.

[ThatPatriot]

(Mini post is mini)



"Dominika Podravka. And the last time I saw her she was a slave of the Bacalou...one to none other than Yousuf Mo'Alim - A.K.A. former Head of Confederate Homeland Security, A.K.A. a major lieutenant in the Bacalou organization last I checked."

[Mr. Dust]

"Dominika Podravka. And the last time I saw her she was a slave of the Bacalou...one to none other than Yousuf Mo'Alim - A.K.A. former Head of Confederate Homeland Security, A.K.A. a major lieutenant in the Bacalou organization last I checked."

Caitlin gave a nod of understanding "So the Yousuf she spoke of in the other room and the one you shot in the head are one and the same..." she said, more of an after-thought outloud.

She raised her arm to fiddle with her omni-tool as a man approached with a casual stride behind her. "Damian, I need--oh!" she said with mild suprise, hearing the footsteps approaching and turning to see its origin.

"I was just in the middle of forwarding a message to you, what are you doing this side of the base?" she asked quizzingly, to which Damian admitted he'd come for a check-up with the doctor and had just finished utilizing the restroom, and was on his way back to his desk.

"Right, well.. Damian, this is Major Kelso, Damian is a recent transfer and one of our mid-level intelligence personnel, helps ensure alliance encryptions are as up to date as possible where Horizon transmissions are concerned."

Damian gave a swift salute before Caitlin got down to business "I need you to find out everything you can about our guest, Dominika Pod.. rav..ka" she said with some difficulty, pronounciation of foreign names weren't a strong suit.

"She hasn't been flagged on any alliance scanners, I'll need you to help investigate why that is as well, top priority" she ordered, to which Damian gave another salute, reconfirmed his orders and dashed off. Caitlin then crossed her arms and turned back to Kelso.

"Assuming she isn't being controlled somehow this very moment, she'll be a wealth of knowledge on Bacalou operations... and even if she is a plant, leading us into a trap, we can still take ad-- so the two of you never met prior to that day?" she changed her tone almost instantly to a lighter one as the door mechanic disappeared to signify it was opening.

Sure enough, Dominika walked out into the corridor, an uneasy slouch in her posture, hands tucked underneath her armpits as she gave a worried glance to her right and then her left. She shuffled quickly over to Sandra, closely followed by both doctors.

"It is my professional recommendation that she be admitted here for medical attention, but she is adamently against the notion. I can't help someone that doesn't want it."

"It's what we do here Miss, you don't have to worry about a thing" the female doctor assured her, to which Dom merely shook her head vigorously.

"I'm... not staying anywhere that has syringes and drugs and doctors I don't know" she said bitterly, looking up at Sandra as if expecting her to take Dom's side in this fuss.

[ThatPatriot]

"Dominika..." As the young woman moved over toward Sandra, Sandra outstretched her arms to grasp her by each shoulder. "Dominika, what's going on? C'mere. What is the problem?"

Sandra tried to be cool and calm but not unnoticed. It was something that she had done with her daughter Madison when she had a fit or a tantrum. Sandra had little time to spend at home and learned that the best thing to do was to settle an issue here and now. There was no point in wasting it on prolonging a fight.