Dee's Unnamed Fic: Chapter 2
However, their conversation was interrupted by Hugh, who called them from his room.
“I gotta tummyache.”
“Really sweetie? Let mommy help you,” Molly replied to the boy.
Meanwhile, Dylan just stood there brooding, and trying to repress his anger. He felt that the best strategy was to try to keep calm.
A while later, Molly came out of Hugh’s room.
“Is he better now?”
“Yes.”
“So, I will ask again, where in the hell where you?”
Molly did not say anything.
“Answer me!”
“Well, I have a confession to make.” Molly felt that she might as well confess.
“What?”
“I’ve been having an affair.” She felt really guilty.
“With whom?” He had his blank face on, and was filled with emotions of anger and betrayal.
“It doesn’t matter. I broke it up. That’s why I was late, I had to take care of that.”
“Who was it?”
“What difference does it make, Dylan, what matters is that I’m sorry for all the hurt I’ve caused.” Molly’s face betrayed guilt.
“Yes it does. Was it an officer? Someone under your command? A younger guy? Who?”
“Dylan, please stop torturing yourself.” Given that she had had the affair with a younger man, she thought that this detail had better be left out.
“It’s nothing compared to the way you just tortured me by your betrayal." His face was starting to show the anger, though he tried to keep his voice down for Hugh’s sake.
“I really want to make amends, Dylan and regain your trust.”
“Well, we do owe it to our son, to try to keep together,” he said quietly. “I’m willing to give you another chance on one condition.”
“What are they?” Molly really wanted another chance from Dylan.
“Quit the High Guard.” Dylan somehow had this irrational idea that if she decided to get into civilian life, then another affair would be less likely to happen.
”Why don’t I just transfer to another base?” Molly thought that all Dylan wanted was to get her away from her former lover.
“This is not a debate.” He had his ‘don’t argue with me’ face. “If you want another chance, this is the only way to get it.”
Molly did not say anything.
“I’ll give you six months”
“Okay,” she replied. “Why don’t we go to some marital counseling?” After the war with the Magog, the new High Guard was able to start training more people in other necessary areas such as psychology, science, and xenology.
“Talk to some stranger about our problems?”
“It’s what they’re trained to do,” she answered simply.
“I was able to get through losing civilization, and everyone I knew without a psychologist.”
“I wouldn’t be to sure about that,” Molly thought to herself, as she was not blind to his having a screw or two loose at times, but said, “But I’m sure the recovery was longer and more difficult than it could have been. With a psychologist, especially one trained in marital counseling, we could identify the issues that we need to work out.”
“Fine, let’s go see a psychologist,” he replied with sigh, feeling that the only issue at work was her cheating.
That night, Dylan went to sleep in the guest room, and went to see Edna’s friend the next day, with Hugh tagging along.
He knocked on the door, and the man, who had white hair and a beard, answered.
“Morning to ye.”
“Morning,” he answered “Say good morning, Hugh.” Hugh, who was holding his toy ship, was shy and sometimes had to be reminded of simple social things.
“Good morning.”
“Would the young one like some cookies?”
“Yay!”
“What do we say, Hugh?” Dylan said, trying to hint subtly.
“Thank you.”
Hugh sat at the kitchen table eating cookies and drinking Fulian mare’s milk, while the old man was showing Dylan were the ‘small beings’ were supposed to be. The place were he was taken was at a rather dark basement.
“So, you are saying that they live here?”
“No, under here, or at the sides.”
Dylan was able to get a scanner and a flashlight, somehow, and pretended to look for them.
“I don’t sense anything.”
“I know that they are there. I’ve seen odd things going on.”
“Like what?”
“Well, for one thing, all my Serdotian flowers are always stolen.”
“Huh?” Dylan replied as he realized that Serdiotian flowers were worth 1/10th of a throne per dozen.
“How do you know that your neighbors aren’t stealing them?”
“Why would they? Serdotian flowers are worthless.”
Suddenly, they heard someone walking towards them.
“Hugh?” Dylan asked, but after realizing that it wasn’t him, he quickly grabbed a rake, hoping to use it as a quarterstaff.
“I mean you no harm,” said a voice.
“Told you so!” the old man exclaimed, as he directed his question to the mysterious voice. “Why are you here? And why just decide to talk now?”
“We need help.”
“Who?” Dylan was skeptical.
“We. You’ll know the answer soon.”
Before they both knew it, they were alone in the basement again.
Back at the kitchen, where they went next, Hugh had overindulged on the cookies and looked a bit green.
“Daddy, my tummy hurts.”
After giving him some special tea, Hugh was lying down on the couch.
“So, what’s your theory on this?” the old man asked.
“Well, whoever it is, they don’t seem to mean you any harm.”
“Should we tell the authorities?”
“No. They won’t believe us and we need more proof. I’ll investigate when I can.” In reality Dylan loved the idea of using his skills again in some way.
Ever day for the next week, Dylan, with Hugh in tow, tried again to contact those beings, but to no avail, until one day, when he had left Hugh with a friend and his son, when he heard a voice say:
“How are you?”
“I’m fine,” Dylan replied.
“I sense that your soul is troubled. Someone you love betrayed you.”
“What makes you say that?” Dylan did not want to talk about it.
“We have our ways.”
“You said that you needed help. Why?”
“Well, it is a long story, but it must be told.”
Onward To Chapter 3!
To D. Lerious's Fan Fiction
Home