Chapter 97: Father

A Big Bang.

Not as grand as the universal one, but Amy Hart's fist nevertheless resounded against her desk ten years ago. In front of her, she stared wide-eyed at her fellow researcher and friend, Rachel. The pixie-haired woman, in turn, thinned her lips, just as mystified having delivered the news.

"What the fuck," Amy begins. "So that strange infrared data we captured...they're really just asking us to ignore it?!"

"I'm afraid so."

"No!" She straightens, leaning forward into her desk. "What brain-dead senior ordered such? We're all astronomers here mapping out the universe, and yet, someone told us to simply disregard something that popped up for several days just to disappear? Even if it was an error, we should at least verify first."

Rachel raised her hands quickly as she reclined into a swivel chair next to her. "Easy, Amy! Charles was the one who told me, but he said it came from a court order initiated by NASA and the U.S. Military. This came only last night after he submitted our draft designation on the signal."

Amy recoiled and blinked as she was hit with more crazy. "Excuse me, what!? Shouldn't there have been a process to inform us first?"

"I know this is all very sudden. We could try appealing it, but if there's this much effort put into stopping us from looking into it more, maybe we should drop it?"

Before Amy could protest, a knock on the side of her opened door shattered her thoughts. She looked past her friend to see one of the local facility handlers peeking in.

"Um, sorry, but someone from the military said he's here to see you out in front."

Stiffening, Amy took a moment to swallow before switching her gaze between an equally stunned Rachel and the handler a few times. After getting her gears in her head back into position, she broke into a small, dry laugh.

"Wow, so...did we just catch a UFO signal or something? They don't even let you breathe to consider it, do they?"

Rachel coughed. "Regardless of what it is, do we dig our feet in?"

Leaning back, Amy sighed as she tilted her head, conceding. "Look, with Daniel to take care of, I'm not blind enough to waste time and money against bigger authorities that could probably make us disappear."

"You certainly look like you were about to."

"Haha, nonsense!" Amy cheerfully waved her hands, yet sweating. "Ahem, let's go greet our guest, shall we?"

As she got up, however, another gear spun in her head. No sooner does her smile crack towards her friend as she quivered. "Wait, I'm not actually about to disappear now, am I? We don't even know what we saw!"

"Well..." Rachel glanced away before forcing a smile and pulling a thumbs-up. "You're thinking too much. Good luck!"

"That's no reassurance!" Amy cried. Huffing, she stomped towards her friend, grabbing her arm and pulling her up. "To hell with that, you're coming with me!"

Rachel shook. "Hey, they were looking for you, not me!"

"Don't act as if you're not already in the same boat as me. If I'm in trouble, so are you!"

"D—don't be silly, Amy. Besides, someone should be there to pick up your son from school if—"

"If what?" Amy cut, grinning as she dragged her poor friend with her. "Since you're thinking I'm overreacting, surely I'll be there to pick him up, just as usual. Are you implying you'd go to Daniel's school because I won't be there?"

"Ahaha, no, my mistake. I just figure this might take some time, you know. Since there's no reason to worry, let's not pull me into this, please."

"But if they ask, I'll have to be honest about your involvement. May as well be up front with them since there's no reason to be worried."

Wiggling her lips, Rachel dropped her head. "Fuck. You're the worst."

Amy's malicious giggles filled the hallway as they left to meet this official. However, despite her hope to amicably close a matter they weren't too invested in any way, an entirely different matter had opened upon reaching the lobby.

The army official, dressed in a typical green uniform with metals and insignia, stands up from a chair. More alarming, Amy's eyes widen to the unmistakable piercing blue eyes and a sharp jawline. His face, a mix of rugged handsomeness and a certain softness around the eyes, was one she had once known intimately.

He smiled weakly as he removed his cap. A shock of dark hair, slightly tousled, fell over his forehead. "It's been a while, Amy."

The astronomer held her breath as the same light, but stubborn southern drawl escaped from his lips. At this moment, it may have been better to disappear than deal with this guy, but it was too late to just turn away.

Thus, she gritted her teeth. "What the hell are you doing here, Mack?"

Her ex-boyfriend shut his eyes and sighed, keeping his hat close to him. "I've been sent to clarify that the signal reported yesterday on—"

Amy waves. "Yes, yes, it's very obvious that was not a star, but probably some secret deployment you don't want to be on record. If that's not correct, I'm not interested in the details, especially with you. Since we have barely analyzed it, let's just end this matter and forget."

She needed to end this quickly.

Mack snorted and lifted a folder. "Alright, then I'll just have you and your friend sign this for me. You'll still have to follow up with the letter you received, but this will help conclude filings from the military's side. Rest assured, nothing further will be required of the parties as long as records are removed and designation cleared."

Amy snatched it without hesitation and reviewed the contents. Meanwhile, Rachel watched, her brows furrowing as her stomach churns. She could do nothing but wait amid the strangling silence.

After several minutes of reviewing the non-disclosure agreement, Amy pulled out a pen and signed, marking initials on each page as further acknowledgment. The sounds of impatient scribbling worsened the tense mood.

Once she handed it over to Rachel, who began to review it as well, Mack clears himself as Amy's uncomfortable gaze returns to him. "So, how is Daniel?"

"He's doing good, but that, of course, is none of your business," she warned, crossing her arms.

"I figured you'd say that. I'm still hoping we can work this out amicably."

Amy scoffs. "There was a time before we separated, but you made your choice and I made mine. Don't try being a father, Mack. He doesn't need you."

Mack breathed out. "I'm aware of that, but that doesn't mean I can't—"

"That's enough," Amy cuts, then turned her head impatiently towards her friend. "Rachel, are you done?"

The fellow astronomer shivered, weighed down by the pressure of the custodial dispute in front of her. If anything, this only cements her choice to remain single. Gulping carefully, she nodded quickly as she hurriedly finishes signing next to Amy's own. Handing it off, Amy swiped it away and passed it back to Mack.

"Leave, we're finished here. I don't appreciate that you came here to take advantage of the cease-and-desist, but my answer remains the same. Stop trying to enter my child's life and live your own instead."

Mack narrowed his eyes and took back the folder. "That child came from my life just as it did yours. I'm not asking to be a father to him, but only to see him. If you're not going to personally give me that chance, then so be it, but I'm not going to give up."

He flipped his cap back on, nodded towards Rachel, then turned away as the two watch him leave. Only when the front door follows him shut did Rachel exhale. She twisted her lips anxiously by her friend, who stared ahead with a tightening scowl.

"Amy..."

"Don't. I'm sorry, but I still can't forget his attitude back then. I had even warned him that I could get pregnant when we linked the second time. Do you know what he said? 'We'll work through it.'. That was all a lie, though. He didn't actually think I would get pregnant. The sheer...fucking idiocy!"

Amy's finger dug into her elbows as she squeezed herself more. To this end, Rachel could only lower her head, having heard the story well enough. However, even after ten years, she couldn't help but wonder whether it was right not to give another chance.

Regardless, she couldn't bring it up, knowing the pain the man brought to her friend. Before they could turn away to work that would certainly be less productive now, the front door opened again.

A different man stepped in, dressed in a suit.

His eyes lock onto Amy with a neutral expression. "Are you Ms. Hart?"

The astronomer tried her best to relax and force a smile with her irritable gaze. "Yes?"

The man raised another folder from his side and held it out. "You have been served with a suit through the Civil Court System of Keystone."

Rachel and Amy stiffened. The latter opened her mouth, but any words were stuck in her throat. The timing made it clear who had filed the lawsuit, only making her heart pound with flames.

'That sneaky son of a bitch.'

Amy would have rather fought the disclosure of the mystery signal at this point.

...

..

.

Several weeks passed. Through filings and lawyers, stress inevitably wore down on Amy's face as she sat on top of a hill near the laboratory, raising to the night sky that shimmered with the Milky Way. The atmosphere was clearer than ever with no moonlight to hide away the beauty of the universe.

She wished she could be more appreciative. Her only saving grace was her son, lying on her lap as he fell asleep to the stars. She made sure he remained unaware of the proceedings she had to be a part of, picking him and taking him to places as usual while appearing normal. There was only one time she had to ask Rachel to pick him up.

But the mere fact that she was being disrupted by that man shook her. Was it in his legal right to visit Daniel? Absolutely.

She knew she was going against the current to prevent visitation. Even her lawyers recommended she stop trying to find a legal ground for denial. Mack had no real criminal or abusive faults before or after their relationship.

He was just an asshole who didn't want to involve himself in her child until now. Had he approached sooner while she was raising Daniel, she might've forgiven him, but when her child is already ten years old?

Didn't she promise Daniel that she would be there for him? That he didn't need anyone else to support him?

Her lips broke in disgust as she gritted her teeth, her forehead creasing with shame.

It just felt unfair; to struggle while raising a kid, but get rewarded for seeing their progress in life. Why should she have to share that joy when they weren't there to be part of that initial growth?

She didn't want his influence.

As she thought long and hard about her efforts, a shooting star passed overhead. It was a much-needed distraction for her to return to the bigger picture that transcended any personal struggle.

A shooting star is nothing more than a rock that is burning in the atmosphere, but now, she couldn't help but latch onto the belief that any wish might come true when one catches the beautiful streak at night sky. At this point, what does she have to lose?

She swallowed, grazing Daniel's hair as the wind howls around them.

"Please, just make him go away."

...

..

.

Amy's wish echoes into darkness until Daniel snaps his eyes open, his breath leaving him as he reawakens to an endless fog and dulled grass around. He can't yet question his surroundings nor state, as the last bit of memories from his astronomer mother strikes him with more shame than he's felt before.

Immense shame from his mother, Amy.

"Daniel..."

He blinks, a tear rolling down his cheek, before he turns to the pained voice from above. For a moment, he sees Amy as she was in the memory, letting him sleep on her lap under the nightly sky. It's only when his eyes adjust does Anne fades through, holding him just as his astronomer mother did all those years ago.

However, her lips quiver, eyes misty as the surrounding air.

"I'm...sorry," she lightly chokes, her hands shaking against his head. "I'm so sorry..."

"Mom..." Daniel breathes, his mind swirling.

He swallows slowly, trying to collect himself as the name and image of his father finally buries into his mind.

It would only remain a memory now.

To that end, his star-loving mother's stun fills him as the words of her lawyer replays through his head, just two days before a trial he had been kept away from knowing.

"Ms. Hart, while tragic, you may feel relieved to know that the trial will be dismissed. Unfortunately, your ex was involved in a fatal car accident yesterday. For any misgivings you may had with him, I still provide my condolences and also...my congratulations."

"...I shouldn't have...I didn't mean to..."

While the inner Amy weeps through Anne, Daniel shuts his eyes, so utterly conflicted. Yet, he forces himself to rise and pull his slime mother into a hug, burying her face into his shoulder. Although no tears spill, she is undoubtedly crying with a guilt she had to carry for so long.

So, he sheds tears on her behalf while looking up, expecting to see the white tear in space past their gray surroundings.

However, the fog has seemingly grown denser. He can't even see the night sky, much less the magical tear. Whether that's good or bad is unclear; just as unclear is what life might've had in store for him if he had the chance to meet his father.

It's all in the past now, stored with the memories that this strange realm holds for them.