Beyond the Milky Way

10.1: Father Figure

"Yeah. You're right. Today's been a hell of a day. You were amazing, today... as usual..."

"... I was okay..."

"You didn't miss; what the hell you talking about?" Bradley laughed. The man warmed up as Lindsay returned a genuine smile. As they walked, Bradley thought back to what took place in the bay. The pilot sensed he should've come out and asked what Lindsay and Keith were arguing about but Bradley considered them good friends; if it was serious, she would've told him by then. Bradley confessed that he may have read too much into how Keith grabbed Lindsay's hand; the move wasn't a romantic touch. Perhaps this was Keith's method of softening up; Bradley noticed that he did so when the attack on Earth happened. The man never revealed if he had lost anyone during the Qees invasion and for all they knew, this was his way of letting out his grievances: finally being kind to the artillery specialist.

The idea made Bradley think of another person who grew even friendlier to Lindsay: Areiv. After Christmas, Bradley took notice that the Esperian spent more time with Lindsay. The man knew the Royal Magistrate instructed his son to guard after her a year ago but he never imagined that it made the two build a stronger connection. The thought frustrated Bradley all the more; he wanted to be more than her friend but how could he express it when the alien took most of Lindsay's time? He needed to get to the bottom of it; Bradley wanted Areiv to confess that he was in love with Lindsay as well.

The idea hit him as they entered the building and Bradley was glad for Lindsay's rain check. The man looked down at her with a smile.

"Whelp! Guess I'll see you tomorrow, then..."

"Okay. Hey... I might be up a little later. Do you... wanna talk then?" her question threw Bradley off as he gave Lindsay a look.

"Uh... sure..." he studied her for a hint but Lindsay sighed as the expected flood of aliens bombarded the elevators. The woman smiled and waved as she joined them and the doors closed. Bradley nearly forgot about his plan but hurried out of the building.

Lindsay showered, dressed and rushed out before anyone could stop her; she was glad that everyone was too captivated with the baby to notice she left. Lindsay descended a few floors, to the one where she resided during their first year on Buno and paused in front of Keith's door for a moment. The woman closed her eyes and exhaled as she finally picked up the courage to knock and when Keith answered, he gave her a relieved smile.

"Lizzie... thank you..." he said and stepped out the way for her enter. Lindsay did and nearly commented on his use of her nickname until she looked around the main room and gawked.

"Shit. Holy... fucking... shit..." she stared at his interior; the walls held the all too familiar globe and anchor paraphernalia: everything from plaques to the red and gold Marine Corps flag. After her observation, Lindsay turned around and stared at Keith, her eyes wide. "You... you..."

"Yes. I'm a former Marine, too..." Keith offered a gentle smile. Lindsay didn't wait to be told as she sat on his sofa and stared off in space. She understood there was no such concept as an inherited military gene but it finally made sense to Lindsay why she always had the ambition to become a Marine. Of all the branches she could've joined, the Marine Corps stuck out to her the most, likely that the urge was because Lindsay's biological father served as a Marine.

"I... I wanna know everything..." Lindsay mumbled as Keith sighed and took a seat beside her.

"... Are you sure? Some things... you may not want to hear..."

"Okay, I'm thirty-four and just found out that I'm adopted; pretty sure that whatever else you got to tell me ain't gonna shock me as much as that!" Lindsay shook her head, failing to cover her smirk. Keith nodded at her remarks, a tiny smirk playing on his own lips.