Lightyears - Episode 7 - The Visitor

“Josh is dead?  He was Adam and my best friend growing up.”
 
“Two years ago.  He died of the disease.  The one we have.  I don't know if you know this, but he and I married to get me out of captivity.  I was there for six months too…and he took a liking to me.  It gave me an advantage in negotiations to release our parents, then Josh died.”
 
“Do you have kids beside the one with…” He gestured toward the hallway.  
 
“My oldest daughter is Jake's, but Charlotte and Spencer were Josh's, and then there is Adam's kids.  What about you?”
 
“I have two boys with my wife Sarah.  They are twelve and thirteen—Ethan and Liam.  Our sister Brianna is married to Brett and have four children—two girls—Hope and Francesca and two boys—Logan and Samuel.  Of course, Adam was married to Aubry and had Max and Zac.”
 
“How does the birth order go?  I am presuming I am the oldest.”
 
He nodded.  “You are, then me, Brianna and Adam.  I still cannot believe our younger brother is gone.  I could not believe you took in his children when you never met him or them.”
 
“The Freedom Alliance couldn’t find anyone who was family, so they crossed the kids’ DNA with anyone in our intergalactic databases, and I matched them.  They are a part of my family now, so I will not give them up without a fight.”
 
“No one is asking you to.”  He tilted his head to the side to look at me.  “You thought I would come here to take Max and Zac away from you?”
 
I nodded.  “I have people fight me for everything I have, including my children, so…”
 
 He shook his head.  “Absolutely not.  We are not uprooting them again.  At this point, after their parents died, they need a stable environment.”
 
“I totally agree.”
 
“What is the deal with that Jake guy?”
 
“It is complicated.  He and I met in high school.  We were engaged.  I kept putting off marrying him.  We had Zariah, had a big fight and then he has spent the last ten years in captivity while I raised Zariah who is now fourteen.”
 
“Do you still love him?  It is obvious he is still into you.”
 
 I nodded.  “However, a lot has happened to me in that ten years too.”

“I know all this must be overwhelming for you…and you are going to want a DNA test to confirm what I am saying.  I am also thinking you are going to want to speak with all your contacts to collaborate my story.”
 
“Spoken like a true Federal Agent.  I just have to give the information to my Clue Club sisters.  We will know who you are by tomorrow night at the latest.”  I didn’t see any signs of worry or anxiety.  “Jessa is the heir to the IIB.  Alex is an empath.  Zebby is my best friend.  All of them have my back.”
 
“Does Jake know you are IIB?”
 
I nodded.  “On my current case, he is my partner.  I don’t usually take on partners.  I find they slow down the process because I have to run everything by them, but I don’t mind working with Jake on this one.”  I sipped my drink before admitting, “Yes, I will want a DNA test, but I will also do a thorough background check.  I don’t trust easily.”
 
“I don’t blame you.  I am that way too.  I think it comes with the job.  I am here for a few days, so where do I bunk?”
 
“Let’s see—”
 
Jake called over the music, down the hallway, “He can stay in one of the rooms on my side of the quarters.”
 
“He wants to observe you,” I advised Peter, pointing toward Jake’s side of the quarters.  “As long as you are on the up and up, you should be fine.  Jake is good people, but he cannot stand people to hurt the ones he loves…and he loves me.”
 
He moved off the barstool and headed down the hall.
 
Once Jake got Peter settled in, he moved back down the hallway and came over to me.  I put my hand up.  “I am going to take the fingerprints from his mug and run them.  I am going to test his DNA and run it against mine. We are going to give his name to our contacts…and we are going to make sure he is above board.”