|
|
Katherin Berlow's sunflower eyes blinked open. She was laying in her bed asleep when the phone ringing brought her back to reality. She grumbled a little as she focused onto the time on the holographic clock by her bed. "Who the Hell is calling me at one in the morning?" Her voice was a touch strained from not being used all night. She cleared it and sat up hearing the phone ring again. She stared at the floor while her long brown hair hid the aggravated expression on her face. She stood up and shuffled out of her bedroom and pushed a button on a flat screen in the hallway. A blue-eyed man with short dirty blonde hair appeared before her. Kitty's knotted hair was still in her face when he spoke. The Big Decisions
"Kitty? That you?" he asked.
"Lucas? Why the hell are you calling me at one in the morning?"
"Oh good, it is you. Look we have a problem," Lucas answered quickly.
"We? You called me, I'd say you had a problem." Kitty pulled the hair from her face.
"No, I said we because it's our son."
"Hatch?" Kitty was suddenly alert and her eyes narrowed at a distraught Lucas. "What did you do?" she growled.
"He's in jail and I don't have the cash to get him out right now."
"Jail?" Kitty was on the edge of losing her temper. "Why is he in jail?"
"Just go down there with a hundred dollars!" Lucas flared and the screen flickered off. Kitty was ready to rip the screen off the wall.
"Bastard," she snapped and went into her room to get dressed. Her roommate Erica Brasseur heard the commotion and had gotten up in a slight rage.
"Who the fuck calls a person at one in the God damn morning!" Her voice rang through the hallway. Kitty came out of her room wearing pants under the t-shirt she had slept in.
"It was Lucas, Hatch is in jail," Kitty answered in an exasperated tone.
"Hatch? What's he doing in jail?" Erica calmed a touch and pulled her short black hair into a ponytail.
"Probably mixing up with those delinquents Lucas lets come to his house all the time." Kitty walked past her and down a set of stairs to the living room.
"I don't know why you let that man have part custody over Hatch." Erica crossed her arms. "He was a cheap, lazy, bastard when you married him and he's a cheap, lazy, bastard now." Erica followed her.
"He's changed, Erica," Kitty seemed to be convincing herself.
"Changed?! Your son is in jail and you think he's changed! I'll bet he won’t even pay for bail!" Erica yelled while Kitty grabbed her jacket and keycard. "Where are you going? To kick Lucas' sorry ass? Can I come?" Erica's feral nature was showing all too well at this point.
"I'm going to get Hatch..." Kitty walked out the door and towards her craft. Erica's brown eyes flared and she went out too. Kitty got into her craft and swished the card through a slit next to the steering stick. It hovered a few inches from the ground and Erica leapt in before Kitty pulled out.
She drove in total silence. Quite a few things were going on in her head right then. The day before she had been offered a promotion to full coronal if she agreed to run an experimental spaceship called the Endurance. It was built with the sole intent of having nothing but defensive systems. Kitty was perfect for the job, and she knew it. The problem was if she took the promotion she'd be traversing the galaxy and would only be around earth's orbit two weeks out of the year. She wouldn't be able to see her family much and Hatch would have to live with his father. Unless he could come with her, but that was unfair to Lucas. She re-gripped the steering stick as the blue jet shaped machine hovered down the industrial black plastic road. She was lucky; no one seemed to be driving at this ungodly hour but her.
"Kitty, stop!" Erica yelled. "You just flew past the station!"
"I did?" Kitty slowed and looked behind her.
"Yeah, ya' did." Erica sighed as Kitty backed into the parking lot. The craft stopped, landed, and Kitty got out.
"You coming?" she asked. Erica took in the number of police crafts.
"Uh...I think I'd rather stay out here."
"Suit yourself." With that, Kitty went into the station.
"Ma'am?" A lady at the front desk waved her down.
"I'm here to pick up a Scott Hatchet Wesley-Berlow."
"Follow me, Ma'am." The lady led Kitty back to the jail cells. As soon as she spotted a boy with brown, spiky hair, she stormed past her.
"HATCHET!"
"Uh-oh..." Hatch uttered.
"What the Hell are you doing in jail?! Did your father have something to do with this?!" Kitty's temper flared.
"What?! No! I mean..." Hatch wasn't used to seeing his mother like this. "It was my fault! I swear!" Kitty didn't say a word and she walked to the desk with the fine in hand.
"What was he arrested for?" Kitty asked sliding her keycard on the counter. "He was caught assisting a hacking," the woman answered and swished her card through a little black machine on the desk.
"Assisting a hacking?" Kitty suddenly remembered Lucas's old job. He had sworn to her he didn't do that sort of thing anymore. "Did they catch the guy he was assisting?"
"Unfortunately no. We do have a picture of the suspect though. Have you seen him?" She pushed a button and a holographic image of her husband appeared.
"Yes...yes I have. That's my ex-husband." Kitty was so angry she couldn't think straight anymore. Hatch came out of the jail cell a bit meekly and walked up to his mother. When he saw his dad's picture on the holographer he went pale.
"Shit..." he muttered. "Mom, I swear it's not what it looks like!" He prepared to defend his father once again.
"Get in the craft!" Kitty pointed out the door. Hatch did as ordered. Erica looked behind her as Hatch got in the backseat.
"So, what'd ya' do? And how pissed is Kitty?"
"Lucas was doing me a favor and Mom looks ready to rip the station apart..." Hatch muttered.
"Oh...shit..." Just then, Kitty stormed out of the station, taking down one of the doors with her. Erica quickly slipped into the driver's seat.
"ERICA! OPEN THE DOOR!" Erica reached over and pushed open the passenger's side. Kitty got in.
"Card, please." Grumbling, Kitty handed over the card and Erica started the craft. The ride home wasn't only as silent as the ride there, but even more awkward. Erica swore Hatch was ready to wet himself in the back each time she checked to make sure he hadn't jumped out along the way. Once they arrived Erica stopped the craft and it landed. No one bothered to get out. Erica sighed, closed her eyes, and leaned back against the seat. "Are we spending the night in the craft, or what?" she asked. Kitty threw the door open and got out with a slam. She walked inside, but Hatch and Erica stayed in the craft. "She'll be fine in the morning, Munchkin." Erica still made fun of his height even though he had a spurt at fifteen and was now taller than her.
"Thanks Erica…" Hatch got out and she followed.
Erica's eyes opened as the first rays of dawn crept into the window. Someday she was going to break this habit, but for now instinct overrode her urge to have the sleep requirements of an infant. She got up, stiffly, from the couch and quietly went upstairs. She came back down fully dressed and went into the kitchen for her daily shot of orange juice.
Hatch came down a little while later. "Hey, Squirt." He just grunted as a response and sat down at the table. Erica removed a plate with two toaster pastries on it from the food storage box. She pushed a button on the left bottom rim and they started to warm. "You're mom up yet?" He grunted again as she placed the plate onto the table. Kitty came down the stairs in full air force uniform with her brown hair in a tight bun on the back of her head. She looked totally alert and fresh. Erica pushed a button on the liquid dispenser that said OJ and pushed her cup underneath it.
"I'm going to work early." Lieutenant Coronal Berlow's heels clacked on the floor. She took a toaster pastry and left.
"Good morning to you too." Erica grinned while watching her cup fill. "What you want for breakfast, Kiddo?"
"Ugh." His head hit the table.
"Ugh it is." Erica drank down her orange juice in one gulp, pushed some buttons on the solid dispenser, and eggs with toast materialized within it. The food steamed as she placed the plate in front of the teen and generated him a cup of pineapple juice. "Ya' didn't sleep too well, did ya'?" Erica sat down and ate the last toaster pastry. Hatch nibbled his toast. "You going to school today?" She prodded.
"Yeh…" he answered. The boy could have cancer, the flu, and be an amputee and he would still go to school the next day. Erica admired that, a little.
"You can nap on the shuttle." Erica heard it land outside. Hatch just got up and walked out. Erica tossed his leftovers in the trash and set it on disintegrate.
Erica pulled on her black trench coat, finished off another glass of juice, and left the house. She arrived at her retro bar and grill called the Bloody Dingo. Erica unlocked the building and went inside. She turned on the lights, started up the old stove and the dispensers, gave the counter one more wipe down, and jumped over it to flip the CLOSED sign on the doors to OPEN.
Two people, one a man with long black hair, the other a woman with short purple hair, walked into the bar moments later. "Hey, guys."
"Hello, Erica." The man tightened his ponytail.
"Hello you miserable little God-damned, sorry-ass, fucking excuse for a waste-of-a-life," the woman uttered.
"Poached, right Neo?" Erica grinned at the one with purple hair.
"Aye." The two took their seats. Smiling, Erica generated some fresh eggs and began to prepare them accordingly. Not many places bothered to cook anymore, but that’s what made the Bloody Dingo special.
Nick and Neo Writer, a three year's difference between the two, were always the first into Erica's place. They would have been good paying customers, had Erica let them pay for their food. Once the eggs were done she placed the two plates in front of them.
"Hello my little Doberman." A man with short red hair walked in and behind the counter to kiss Erica on the cheek.
"Hi, Fry," Erica answered. "I thought you had to be at the hospital today?"
"I do, in about thirty minutes. I thought I'd come check on you."
"I'm alright. Had to help Kitty bail her kid outta jail this morning." Erica fixed Fry's usual decafe with a biscotti cookie inside.
"Hatch? He doesn't seem like the type to get arrested." Nick stabbed his eggs with a fork.
"He's not. That damn waste of carbon got him in trouble." Erica broke Fry's cookie as she thought about Lucas. "Sorry."
"It's alright." Fry waved and took his breakfast. "What happened?"
"Kitty wouldn't tell me. She was pretty moody though, went to work early."
"I'm sure he has a good excuse made up for when he gets home. He really loves his father," Dr. Writer said with the same tone she did when talking to a patient.
"Don't throw in that psych crap with me, Neo," Erica muttered.
"Psych crap? All I said was that he loved his father."
"Yeah, but I know its coming."
"Neo does have a valid point, Wolfy." Fry used yet another one of his canine themed nicknames for Erica.
"Don't you have to go to work now?" She hated it when he took Neo's side. Fry checked his watch and drank the rest of his coffee.
"I guess so. Bye." He kissed Erica on the cheek again before leaving.
"I'm surprised he came down here." Neo smirked.
"And what's that supposed to mean?!" Erica snapped back.
"He's usually so wrapped up in work you'd think he'd have gone in early rather than come and see you."
"Neo…" Nick warned. Erica audibly growled at her snide remark.
"As much fun as this is; I have to go to work." Neo got up and left some cash on the counter.
"Bitch." Erica snatched it up and gave it to Nick.
"I'll sneak it into her coat later." He stuffed the money into his pants pocket. "It's all an act you know, she's not really like that."
"Yeah, yeah. Well she should become a soap star." Erica took Neo's clean plate and disintegrated it.
"She could become rich in a New York minute." Nick just shrugged.
Hatch attempted to sleep as the large shuttle made its rounds. He was trying not to think about what would happen to him when he got home.
"Hellooo? Hatch!" A blonde girl sat next to him. "You up all night ‘inventing’ again?" She said inventing with finger quotes.
"No…" Hatch muttered. Jenny was one of his few friends. It was already hard for him to make friends anyway, much less keep them. He had gotten lucky with Jenny; she was obsessive enough to hold up their friendship from both sides.
"Then what was it? You're always so secretive. If we're gonna be friends you have to tell me stuff." She pushed his arm.
"I spent the weekend at Lucas' place." Hatch put in.
"Lucas? Who's that?"
"My mom's sperm donor." His head was rested on the shuttle window as he spoke.
"I guess you don't think too highly of him, huh?"
"Erica's more of a father to me than him…"
"Ouch." Jenny bit her lip. The shuttle stopped and the kids got off. It was a pretty big school, but word still spread fast.
"Yo Wesley. Heard you busted outta jail. Way to go, man!" Some random guy hit his fist on Hatch's arm as he walked by.
"You were in jail!? What happened?!"
"Nothing." Hatch picked up his labtop computer from a hook on the wall with his name under it. Jenny picked hers up a few steps down. They had class soon, but Jenny wasn't about to let this go.
"We're talking about it at lunch. K?" Jenny yelled as she joined the other females while they segregated to their gender specific classrooms.
For once Hatch couldn't concentrate on his work. That nights events had struck a nerve.
"Are you sure about this?" Hatch asked while Lucas sat at the computer in the public coffee house.
"Of course I am." Lucas answered as a list of binary scrolled up the screen. "All I have to do is hack into the database and you'll be scot-free. Nobody’s watching right?"
"No, I don't think so…" Hatch looked nervously about the coffee house.
"Don't look so guilty, you'll attract attention." Lucas grinned. "Are you paying attention, Wesley?"
"What?" Hatch blinked a few times. His professor was standing over him. "I said, are you paying attention?"
"Uh, yeah…" Hatch swallowed.
"Then why don't you turn your labtop on and bring up your homework assignment?" He opened Hatch's computer for him.
"Right. Sorry sir." Hatch could hear some snickers from the class as he pushed the red button on the side.
"Could Scott Wesley report to the main office?" He heard the secretaries voice ring through his class. Hatch cringed every time he heard his first name; it usually meant trouble. He closed his labtop and stood.
"I expect that assignment on my computer before school is over." The professor declared as Hatch left the room.
"Yes sir." Hatch answered along the way. The walk to the office took longer than it should have. Once he arrived he saw his father's face through the door's small window.
"Lucas?" Hatch stepped in. "What are you doing here?"
"Checking up on my son. I wanted to see if you got to school ok." He answered. The secretary left the room for some papers.
"Is it safe to be here? The cops are looking for you."
"The cops are always looking for me. I just wanted to say that everything is taken care of." Lucas gave his infamous smirk.
"It is? But how?"
"I told you your old man could handle it." Lucas hit him on his arm. Hatch was starting to bruise there. "Let's go get something to celebrate."
"Celebrate? Lucas I'm in the middle of first quarter." Hatch reprimanded.
"You're a bright kid. One missed day of school can't hurt." Lucas rubbed Hatch's already mussed brown hair.
"I don't know; mom's already mad about the jail thing."
"She wont know, I'll have you back before first quarter is over." Lucas slung his arm around Hatch's shoulder and walked him out. The secretary came back in with some documents in her hands. When she saw they were gone she dropped them.
Kitty walked along the sterile halls of the Intra-Planetary Space Exploration Organization. IPSEO was a NASA ran base centered around the Endurance project. When Kitty was chosen to work on the project she was slightly surprised that the air force would be interested in something built on the concept of totally defensive systems. Space exploration also seemed to be something that NASA would want to exclusively handle, but it wasn't her position to question such things. Her job was to follow air force orders and that was all. As she approached the meeting hall her mind started to traverse through the events of that morning. She knew Lucas was a bad influence on Hatch, but despite that he was a good man and she trusted him. Her mind snapped directly back to business once she walked through the meeting room doors.
"Berlow, you’re early." General Darren West, a seasoned soldier with salt and pepper hair, a forty year old fit physic, and a hard smile, greeted Kitty when she walked in.
"It’s always best to be punctual or better, sir." She stood to attention and saluted.
"At ease, Lieutenant Coronal." He declared. Kitty spread her feet a bit, but still stood firm. "Have you given thought to my offer yesterday?"
"Yes, sir, I have. I’m afraid to inform you that…" Her portable vid beeping interrupted her. "Excuse me, sir."
"Of course." General West folded his hands together while he sat at the end of the long meeting room table. Kitty unfolded the vid and saw a picture of Hatch’s principal flicker onto the screen. Fearing the worst, Kitty snapped off the privacy speaker from the side and placed it in her ear.
"Yes, Mr. Dean?" Kitty answered softly. "No, not at all. Is anything wrong?" As he spoke Kitty’s knees bent slightly. "Are you sure?" She glanced at the patiently waited General. "I understand. Yes, thank you." Kitty removed the earpiece and placed it back on the phone before closing it. "I’m afraid to inform you that I can’t accept unless my son can come along." Kitty’s face was stern as she spoke.
"I’m happy to hear that, light coronal. I’ll see what I can do."
"Thank you, sir." Kitty smiled as the rest of the people filed in to attend the meeting.
Erica threw her tattered cleaning cloth down and bent over the counter, placing her forehead in one hand. She sighed before standing back up. She turned to see Nick throwing of an apron. "Thanks, Nick. Couldn't have done it without you."
"No problem, Cat." Nick had come in several hours earlier to help Erica out when the place got busy. "Hey, is that Hatch?"
"Eh?" Erica whipped around to see Hatch and Lucas walking down the sidewalk in front of the Bloody Dingo. "Odd...Lucas doesn't usually come around here..." Suddenly her eyes widened as it clicked in. "SHIT! Nick get out there!" Erica yelled as she jumped over the counter. She and Nick burst through the front doors. "LUCAS!"
Lucas turned when he heard his name and was caught off guard by Nick grabbing up his shirt by the collar. Nick was much larger than him and it wasn’t hard to lift the man a few inches off the ground.
"Whoa, guys! What are you doing?!" Hatch freaked when Erica caught up with them.
"Hi there, Nick. Long time no see, eh?" Lucas didn't sound nervous at all by the situation.
"Nick, could you put him down please?" Hatch was growing embarrassed.
"Actually, I'm rather comfortable. So long as Nick has me your attack dog wont maul me." He looked at Erica as he said that.
"What the hell are you doing here with Hatch?! Did you kidnap him?!" Erica yelled.
"Kidnap? God, no! I just though he'd enjoy a free day from school is all. Besides, how stupid am I to kidnap my own son and then bring him to the bar that his mom's roommate owns?"
"Because you never learned the name nor location of my bar." Lucas opened his mouth, as if to say something, but closed it again. Erica's eyes narrowed as she gave a look that clearly stated: "I won."
"Lucas was just taking me out. It's my own free will. No need to get so upset."
"Upset? UPSET? Does your MOM know you're out here with this criminal?!"
"Criminal? As I recall you've been to the pound more times than I've been in jail." Lucas retorted.
"Make sure not to cut your lip with that sharp tongue of yours, hacker." Nick pulled Lucas closer to his face.
"Look, mom's not going to know. Ok? We're going back to school before first quarter is over." Hatch pulled Nick's arm down for him so that Lucas' feet could at least touch the ground.
"First quarter? Try third, squirt."
"Third?!" Hatch freaked. "Oh god, mom's going to kill me!"
"I don't think your mom is going to mind, as long as you use me as an excuse."
"Excuse?! You're the reason I'm out here!"
"Oh sure, let's just all gang up on the little guy." Lucas seemed to be rubbing everyone the wrong way today.
"Little's right." Erica eyed his pants a moment.
"Oh please, like I'd even give you the pleasure of finding out." Lucas laughed. He and Erica started to argue loudly.
"SHUT-UP!" Hatch interrupted them. "If you're going to tear each other apart do it in a less PUBLIC AREA! Please!" He was referring to the crowd that had gathered around them. Erica growled at them all with narrowed eyes. They backed off a little.
"Come on, Hatch. Nick'll take you back to school. I have to get back inside." Erica flipped Lucas the bird before going in. Nick put Lucas down and lead the boy to his craft.
"See you next weekend!" Lucas waved at Hatch before he hovered off.
A mix of NASA and Air Force personnel each took their seats within the meeting room. The last to come in was Frigus Snow. She was a bright young blonde who co-designed the Endurance and all of its systems.
"I’m happy to announce," the engineer wistfully pushed her barely visible ultra thin glasses up her nose. "that after countless testing simulations, internal computer AI calculations, and five years of development and hard work, the Endurance project is nearing its completion. Within one weeks time it should be ready for launch." A slight cheer went through the room. "My thanks to all those that helped in the Endurance’s production and I wish you all the best of luck hiring a crew to fill it."
Kitty left the meeting as quickly as possible. It wasn't long before Frigus came running after her. "Hey, Kit!" She turned to face her friend.
"Shouldn't you be answering questions in there?" Kitty raised a brow.
"Nah, the heads of the operation's got it. Anyway, I wanted to ask you...I heard you're going to captain the Endurance. Is that true?" Frigus looked a bit hopeful.
"Yeah. I'm being upped to Colonel." Kitty spoke the last line with a hint of pride.
"That's great!"
"Yeah..." She sounded a little less enthused about it than Frigus would have expected.
"What's wrong?" Frigus asked.
"I had a rough morning." Kitty started walking again.
"Did your sporty little craft break down or something?"
"No. Nothing like that. You said that the Endurance could easily provide the things needed for not only military personnel, but families too. Right?"
"Yes, of course."
"Proper nutrition, exercise, education?"
"What's this about, Kit?"
"I'm taking Hatch with me." Kitty stopped walking when she said that.
"Great! That'll give me a chance to test the...you're not very thrilled about this are you?"
"Not overly. I let my emotions get the best of me again, and I told General West that I'd only take the position if Hatch could come. I didn't even really give him a choice in the matter."
"What do you think Hatch would pick?"
"I'm not sure. I guess I'll have to ask him when I get home.
"And if he says no?"
"Then I stay on earth."
Erica was waiting on a group when Kitty walked in. "Hey, Kit! Just give me a second and I'll get your usual for you." Kitty shook her head and took a seat at the very end of the bar. Erica came up behind her. "What's going on?" She went behind the counter and made two cups of strong coffee for them both.
"Don't you have to wait tables or something?"
"Nah, that's what the electronic menus are for. So tell me, what went wrong with you day?"
"I took the promotion." Kitty stared at her reflection in the coffee.
"What? That’s great!" Erica hit her on the back and smiled.
"I told them that I'd only take it if Hatch came with me."
"Oh…" Erica was less excited about this.
"I didn't even ask Hatch how he felt about it."
"Well don't worry; after today I'm sure he'll want to come."
"You mean the kidnapping?" Kitty sighed.
"The school called you, huh?"
"Right before I accepted. They said he was kidnapped."
"That flaming pile of shit…" Erica's hate filled rant of interrupted.
"Knowing Lucas he probably just forgot to sign Hatch out. I just wish he wouldn't take these liberties. I know Hatch is his son too, but he's just such a bad influence on the boy." Kitty swirled her cup around making a whirlpool in the hot black liquid. "He's just at an age where he can make his own decisions now. I want to be there for that, but I also want Hatch to be on earth for that too."
"I know, mom." Hatch took a seat next to Erica.
"How long have you been there?"
"I came in at the kidnapping part."
"So what do you think kid? You wanna stay on earth or go up into space and explore new frontiers, discover new life forms, and basically have a more exciting and fulfilling life then you’d ever have down here with your dad?" Erica got up and made Hatch an orange smoothie as she spoke.
"Erica…" Kitty sighed. Hatch smiled a bit.
"Mom, you've known me for sixteen years. I'd think by know you'd know what my answer would be." Hatch took a sip from his smoothie.
"You'd only be on earth two weeks out of the year." Kitty put her coffee down.
"So? That's about how much time I go outside anyway."
"You'd be leaving behind all your friends."
"What friends?"
"You'd have to continue your education through a computer."
"The professors here barely interact with you as it is."
"It would be dangerous. No one knows what kind of hostile creatures we may encounter."
"There are plenty of hostile creatures down here too. I wanna go, mom." Hatch grinned. Kitty didn't show much reaction on her face, but you could tell by her eyes she was overjoyed. Hatch grabbed his mom in a hug since he knew she wouldn't make the first move towards affection.
"Awwwww. That's so cute. Free drinks for everybody!" Despite herself, Erica always got caught up in these gushy moments. "So when are you leaving?"
"In a week or so. Plenty of time to get the files ready for Hatch, I also have another question."
"Yeah?"
"Well, the ship has generators, but I think it would be best to hire a cook. Someone who knows how to make food with just some fire if needed. It’s a lost art you know."
"You want me to go? I don’t have any military training, and I’m defiantly not NASA material." Erica wiped the bar down as she spoke.
"We can get around that."
"You expect me to just drop everything and get shot out into space to face god knows what god knows where?"
"Yes." Kitty answered bluntly.
"Fair enough." Erica shrugged. "Fry’s sister is going too right?"
"I assume so. Since she was second head of the project and all. I have some say in who all gets put on the ship, but that’s really General West and Dr. Meyer’s call.
"Dr. Meyers? Short bald guy with bad breath, right?" Erica recalled meeting him during one of the projects required attendance parties.
"Yeah, that’s him." Kitty still hadn’t drunk any of her coffee and it was starting to get cold.
"He’s not coming? Wimp."
"Well the guy does have a wife and family. They can’t really expect him to up and leave."
"As opposed to you?"
"That’s different. Dr. Meyer’s is NASA; they have more respect for families than the Air Force does." Kitty was attempting to make a joke.
"Ooo, a funny from the light coronal. Haven’t done that in a while." Hatch finished off his smoothie.
"I make jokes all the time, you just don’t get them." Kitty grinned slightly.
"Me and the rest of the civilian population." Hatch twisted the glass about in his hand much like Kitty had done earlier.
"Congratulations Coronal." Fry was suddenly standing behind them.
"Thanks, Doctor." Kitty replied while Fry went behind the counter to kiss Erica.
"What? No hello? Just start with the molesting?" Erica cleaned out Hatch’s glass with a wet cloth.
"Hello my miniature dobie." Fry had his mouth close to Erica’s ear.
"Whoa, tone it down a little. Minor in the room." Hatch raised his hand. Kitty got up and stretched her back.
"Not for long. We’re going home." She started walking before Hatch could argue.
"I’ve come with news." Fry stepped in front of Erica and held her left hand.
"Yeah?" Erica didn’t mind the affection, but sometimes Fry could lay it on thick. She just hoped he wasn’t going to ask her to marry him or something.
"They asked me to be head doctor on the endurance." Fry grabbed her right hand and smiled.
"Surprise, surprise." Erica smirked. "So you’re just going to abandon me on this hell of a rock?"
"Of course not, my little colbie." Fry’s expression was dead serious. "I’ve asked if you could come with me. A lot of people are bringing their families along."
"So, you want me to drop my life to fallow you into the depths of space?" Erica raised an eyebrow.
"If you don’t want to go, I can decline." Fry let her hands go.
"No, no. Don’t do that." Erica was having fun toying with him, but she couldn’t hold her serious tone much longer. "I’ll go. The ship could probably use a cook." She smirked.
Kitty's eyes glanced over at her son who was staring out of the craft window. They hardly ever really spoke anymore but he was willing to drop everything he knew to follow her into the depths of space. She looked back at the road just as Hatch glanced her way. She was feeling slightly guilty about taking him with her without even consulting Lucas, but he had his chance. It was clear that Hatch had picked her over him. She couldn't help but chuckle at that, of course she immediately wished she hadn't.
"What's so funny?" Hatch asked.
"Nothing, just military humor." Kitty lied and began to focus on her driving.
It was dark when Erica finally came home after closing the bar. She got out of her craft and went inside. "Hey all, anybody else home?"
"We're in here," came Kitty's voice from the kitchen.
Erica strolled in and immediately began making herself dinner. She grabbed an after-work bottle of water and joined Kitty and Hatch at the table? "So, how'd Lucas take the news?"
"Er...he took it...." Kitty looked away.
"Hey, Kiddo. I think I left my coat in the craft. D'you mind getting it for me?" Erica smiled.
"Okay." Hatch got up from the table and left.
Once Erica heard the front door close, she turned to face Kitty. "Have you even told him, yet?"
"Not...exactly..."
Erica frowned. "Katherine Berlow, I'm disappointed in you."
"I'll tell him." Kitty assured herself more than Erica.
"When you're 5 million miles away from the planet?"
"I'm going to bed..." Kitty stopped the conversation abruptly and went upstairs.
"She wont tell him." Hatch was suddenly next to Erica now. She jumped when she heard his voice.
"I know." Erica sighed. She stared her water for a minute before screwing off the top and taking a swig. Replacing the cap she looked at Hatch. "So, which of us will have to do it."
Hatch shrugged. "I have no idea. He won't listen to you, and if I tell him, I'll be gone faster than you can bark at a cat." Hatch smirked at his comment.
"Oh, hah! You've got Lucas's sense of humor..." she stated, shaking her head. "Anyway, I'm off to bed. You should do the same." Erica grabbed her bottle and went to go upstairs. Hatch followed her.
Ready For Launch
be patient