Summary: Did we make a work of art just so you could deface it? Did you let it fall apart just so you could replace it? Chapter Text *TICK-TOCK* *TICK-TOCK* It's quiet. Incredibly so. Been like that since we got here and the compy lawyer handed me the paperwork to start signing. Even though I wanted this, I can't help but feel a bit bad about how I decided to go about announcing it. I mean a letter? Seriously, what the fuck were you thinking Ripley? *TICK-TOCK* *TICK-TOCK* ...She's looking at me. I don't need to look over at her to know she's looking at me. God dammit woman, just let me finish signing and we can get out of each other's lives. "We're almost finished Mrs. Aaron, just need you to sign those papers after Mr. Aaron is done" I still can't believe she wants to keep my last name...I guess it helps her stay close to them. Strange, she's the reason they're gone and yet she wants to stay close to them... *TICK-TOCK* *TICK-TOCK* The fact that she fucking knew Lucy had my service revolver. She knew and just let our daughter leave. She could have done anything to stop her. But no, this...woman beside me just let Lucy go. ...Almost done with this paperwork. Just one more signature and... "Here" I say sliding the papers towards her as I stare her down. As expected, she returns the favor and glares at me while she takes those damn papers... I turn away. I'm not playing this game anymore. I've dealt with that glare these past few days enough after she told the press it was my revolver that Lucy used...surprised the lawyer here didn't give me or that woman at least one though... ...You're an odd man Stillson. *TICK-TOCK* *TICK-TOCK* "Mrs. Aaron, are you alright? Do you need some tissues?" I take a quick glance over at her. Sure enough, she's crying. It looks like she's as surprised as I am. "...No thank you, I'm fine" I roll my eyes. No you are not 'fine' woman. I know enough about you to know you are not 'fine'. I hear the faint scribbling as she starts signing. A few odd minutes pass by and she's finished. She silently passes the papers to Stillson. The compy looks over the papers before making them all neat and tidy and the punching a staple into one of the corners. He then speaks. "Alright, with that you are now no longer, husband and wife" He looks between the both of us "Court settlements can start whenever the both of you are ready" "Believe me, we're ready" I groan, keeping my eyes laser focused on the compy in front of me. Stillson cocks an eyebrow at this and looks at her "Are you both ready for court settlements?" She looks at me. I just nod. Stop stalling and get it over with. "Yes Mr. Stillson. We're ready" The compy scoots over to his computer and types something in before speaking "Alright, I can fit you in around the sixth of January. How's that sound?" For the first time since this whole thing started, me and the woman share an awkward look before turning back to Stillson. "Is there a problem with that date?" he asks confused. I point towards the woman "It's her birthday" Stillson reels his head back and lets out a long 'oh' "Yeah, that would be an awkward birthday" He types on his computer before turning to us and speaking again. "Best I can do is February fifth. Is that alright?" --- ...201M2026, February 3rd, Volcaldera Bluffs City Limits I can't believe after four years, I'm back here again. If that wasn't enough, it's because I'm here for a wedding...that my dead daughter's high school sweetheart is having...and I only agreed to come because I'd get to talk to Samantha face to face after four years. I hope I made the right decision in doing this. "Hey, c'mon Cuddly Bear, it'll be fiiiiine" Dana says, in higher spirits than me. I let out a tired sigh "Dana, this isn't exactly a vacation for me. I'm meeting Sam for the first time in four years and I don't even know where to begin" My human wife just scoffs at my worries "Relax Ripley, I'm sure she'll be alright. And besides, Jill's gonna be there!" Right, Jill works at that bar Anon owns. Still can't believe that wimpy kid owns a bar of all things now and Jill works at it. More insane is that Sam works there too. Never pictured her tending bar, but I suppose for someone like her, it's a good fit. As I pull my Torino into the parking lot of our hotel, I notice some figures at the front entrance...wait a minute... Before I can process everyone there, Dana sticks her head out of the passenger window and yells at the top of her lungs. "JIIIIIIILLLLLL HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!" The woman then leaps through the window...don't ask how, she just does. After that, she sprints towards the pig tailed woman and pulls her into a massive bear hug. I weep for your spine Jill. I pull in closer and I'm able to make out the figures as Dana says plenty of 'hi's and 'hellos' to each of them. It's Anon. That Stella girl he's marrying. That punk Reed, I'm still in shock he's apparently a cop now. A liopleurodon and a troodon I can't say I remember. Jill obviously. And the last one...Samantha. My God, her wings aren't what they used to be. Has she been preening since the divorce? I mean, it's clear she's not doing it anymore right now at least, but... I pull into a spot close by as the crowd makes their way over...all pulled by Dana in a line, like she has them in a buddy system of sorts and she's the teacher bringing her kids on a field trip. "Cuddly Bear! I gotta introduce you to all the new friends I got!" I hear some giggling and snickers at the pet name Dana calls me by as I get out of driver's side. Even Sam is giggling. I'll admit, it's nice to see her actually doing well. Anon speaks up, trying and failing to hold back his laughs "C-Cuddly Bear?" I glare at him, but to my surprise, he does not even flinch. That's one weapon in my arsenal gone for good, damn. I just pinch the bridge of snout as I make my way towards the trunk I popped open. "I told you not to call me that in public, Red Comet" The liopleurodon cocks an eye brow at that "Okay, Cuddly Bear I can gauge what the deal with that is, but 'Red Comet'? The hell is up with that?" Jill finally chimes in "Old boss has always said just about anything regarding what she did before running Valhalla" She grabs one the suit cases in the trunk and continues "One of those things she apparently did, was professional wrestling. Hence the name 'Red Comet" Samantha asks, puzzled "So, she was a professional wrestler?" Dana answers, in her usual nigh impossible to read way "Nope. I was a mountain climber, trying to tame Mt. Everest like she was a wild animal!" "I-Huh?" I pat Sam on the shoulder "Don't think too hard about it, trust me" "And that's how I saved Christmas from being changed into soulless corporate cash cow for extraterrestrials!" After helping Dana and me get our bags into our room, Anon was pretty insistent we all eat out somewhere. I asked why and he said it was for Samantha's birthday. He wanted to celebrate it in some way despite her protests and thought I should come along. Before I could decline, Dana immediately jumped at the chance to get to know everyone more. I pulled her away to try and convince her that I would handle Samantha and I's baggage later...but then Dana got serious, saying I wasn't going to dodge the issue this whole trip and she was going to make sure I didn't. So why did she start off this party by telling one of her tall tales? We're at some pizza place, the food is nothing like Moe's but it's not bad...oh great, I'm also gonna have to talk to Moe, that'll be one hell of conversation. Everyone looks at Dana in a mix of awe and absolute befuddlement. Me and Jill though, have been through this rodeo multiple times. Dana always makes up these ridiculous stories about her past, even I'm not too sure what she was doing before I came into the picture. Most I could garner is that her father is or was, depending on her 'backstory', a dino-human hybrid. Her mother a full blown human. Apparently, according to what research has been done by medical professionals, when someone that's a dino-human hybrid mates with either a regular human or dino the genes pull directly from said full blooded humans or dinos for the child, regardless of whether the child is male or female. In some cases though, like Dana's, some genetic structure can be pulled from the hybrid parent. Stuff like Dana's silver hair, her red eyes and of course her caveman strength. Suddenly, there is a singular person clapping for Dana's story, though it seems awkward at best. "Wow, uh, Mrs." Stella pauses not sure she caught our last names. Dana puffs out her chest a bit in pride "I'm still Dana Zane" she moves towards me and traps me in a hug "despite having big buff dino man to protect me, I still wanted to keep my family name" I can feel the heat around my face as she nestles her head against my chest. Seriously, why does she do this stuff? We're both in our forties for crying out loud! "So, you and a human, 'Cuddly Bear?" Samantha asks, a massive shit eating grin on her face as she looks Dana and I's way. My wife responds by slamming me on the chest and nearly knocking me out of my seat "It's because of the big belly he had! And he had to go and get rid of it..." Dana trails off with a disappointed look on her face. Sam wheezes at this in response. Takes her a minute to recover "Y-You actually liked that thing?!?" She wipes away her tears before continuing "I tried and tried to get his lazy ass to work out and get rid of that thing! But his response was always this zombie like groan" Laughter erupts from nearly all corners of the table at my expense. This isn't at all the way I thought this would go. And it's starting to piss me off. Dana seeing this jumps in "Alright, as much as I'd love to hear more embarrassing stories about my Cuddly Bear, what about you Samantha? You got anything like that?" Sam blinks and just takes a big sip from her cherry soda, causing some light laughter fill the air. "Falco Lombardi" I say as I take a sip from my root beer. My mere mention of my former wife's fictional crush causes her to nearly spit her drink all over me and Dana. She gulps down the cherry soda and her face is beet red as laughter and questions come from around the table. "Leo wasn't fucking around! You did join the Air Force because of Lylat Wars!" Anon laughs out. Reed sips on his tea while chuckling "Okay, this I gotta hear" "Anon, I still don't know what 'Lylat Wars' is" Stella says confused by all of this. Sam speaks up from behind her embarrassment "I-It's this comic where these- Y'KNOWWHATNEVERMINDLETSMOVEON-" Ooooh no, you're not getting away that easily "It's a bunch of furry animals in space flying around in spaceships" Leo, that liopleurodon I've recently become acquainted with, chimes in "And Sam likes the bird of the group" Samantha stands up from her seat, fuming "I do not anymore Leo! It was just a childhood thing, nothing-" I cut her off "Sam, you made your own flight suit to match the one that fox girl had in later issues when you were in high school" There's only a few snickers from the people in the know at the table. Other then that, dead silence as Sam sits back down and hides her red face in her hands. "...itwasn'takrystalsuitok" Anon's face contorted into what I can only describe as a face I thought only that one actor nicknamed 'rubber face' could make. "Sam, did you make your own original char-" The old girl shoots out of her seat "IMGONNAGOSMOKERIGHTNOWBYE" Laughter roars out again as she leaves the table to go outside. Even I'm laughing a bit and Dana beams a smile at me. "Alright, Cuddly Bear, I did my part" She pats me on the back "You go and talk to her" I double take at this "Now? I was thinking-" I feel a hand on my shoulder. It's Anon. "If you don't take care of this now, it's gonna boil over into something ugly. That's what you said to me, right sir?" ...Fuck, why did I say that? But, they're right. I should settle things between me and Sam now. It'll only get worse if I don't. I get up from my seat and make my way towards the front entrance while the others wish me luck. I'm at the door before another hand grabs me. It's small. I turn around and it's Judee, Tarja's kid that I somehow didn't recognize. I saw her once during the investigation of the shooting. Some asshat was trying to get info out of her, even though she was home sick on the day it happened. Needless to say, that prick lost his job...though I think he was afraid to vent his frustrations on me after losing his kid that day... I notice she's got something behind her back "Is something wrong Toivo-" You're not a cop anymore, relax "I mean, Judee?" "Oh! Uh, n-no, Mr. Zane. I-I just thought..." She trails off and then quickly puts something into my hands "You and Samantha should have these! Good l-luck!" With that, she heads back to the table. I look down at my closed hands and open them to see... ... ...Lucy and Naser? Not them exactly, they're little puppets that look like my long gone children. 'Wow, how cute' No, not now dammit. 'Why not? Don't you need us to help you end it?' I don't need help from ghosts. ... C'mon, breath in and breath out, like Crane said... ... Okay, they're gone...I hope. Now holding the grim reminders in one hand, I make my way outside, looking for the woman I once called my wife. --- ...201M2025, September 20th, Doctor Crane's Office I've been here for about half an hour now, yet it feels like it's been an eternity. Crane, a regular at Dana's bar and a psychiatrist, has just been silently listening and jotting down whatever notes he's taken about me and my problems. Dana set me up an appointment "You gonna say anything about my mental state Crane, or you just gonna keep silently judging me?" I growl at him, getting impatient. The auburn parasaur just cocks an eyebrow at me and sighs. He closes his notebook and looks at me "Ripley, Dana set this up to help you. And I cannot help you if you insist on being this difficult" Is he seriously? "Crane, you've done nothing but listen to what I have to say and just take notes about it" I fall backwards into the chair and rub my temples with one hand. Then I spring back up and extend my arms to the side in exaggerated fashion. "Hell, at this rate, Jill was a better therapist than you" He chuckles at this "I know what you mean" He flips back to professional mode "But I mean it Ripley, I'm here to help" His attempt at comforting me just causes me to sink into the chair. Crane continues "And I think I know what's really eating away at you right now. You still feel guilty about leaving Samantha the way you did" ...What on Earth? Is he seriously going lecture my love life? With how much of a mess he is in that regard? I lean forward and pinch the bridge of my snout with a groan "Crane if you continue down this train of thought I swear-" He cuts me off "What? You will destroy what you have formed here and 'move on' again?" This fucking... ... I slump back in the chair. He's right, Dana would have my head if I did anything rash "What can I do? I told you already, from that phone call it's clear she wants nothing to do with me anymore" Crane shakes his head "You also said it was you who 'set her off" He opens his notebook and flips through the pages "And then you proceeded to have a drink with Dana. When she brought up what had happened in Volcaldera Bluffs 'that day', you then recalled your arrival on the scene and-" "Crane, can you just get to the point?" He lets an annoyed sigh "My point, Ripley" he closes the book and sets it on the desk beside him "Is that despite having claiming to have 'moved past it', you are still suffering, not just from the loss of your children" He leans forward in his chair "But, you also haven't truly moved on from Samantha" If I wasn't here for Dana's sake I swear, this fucker would be splatter on the wall for even saying that. "If you are implying I don't love Dana then-" "That is not what I said Ripley" He gets up from his chair and walks towards his desk, picking up the framed picture on his desk. "Still loving someone and not being able to move on from someone are not as similar as you think" I get up and make my way towards the parasaur "So what? Are you saying I'm obsessed with my ex-wife? Rich coming from the guy that still has a picture of his" He places the picture back on his desk "Yes, I suppose it is" He turns to me with a stern look "But, in my professional opinion, you should face this head on. You should meet Samantha and discuss things, otherwise there will be no closure in this chapter of your life" I scoff at his theatrics "Easy for you to say. You still have a son" 'Damn Dad, that's depressing. Even for you' ...No, you're not here. 'Really? Because if I'm being honest, I feel like a million bucks! Y'know, despite the whole dying thing' GOD DAMMIT CAN YOU TWO JUST- "RIPLEY!" I'm taken away from the terrors by Crane's yelling "As we discussed, deep breaths" 'Pfff, yeah. Like that'll work, right?' ...What have I got to lose. I take in a deep breath and slowly let it out. Just like that, my children stop taunting me. "Ripley, I think you should meet Samantha as soon as possible and discuss things. It's the only way I think, that you will be able to fully move on from everything" I feel a pit in a stomach grow from this "You think so?" I ask, unsure. Crane pats me on the shoulder smiling at me "I know so" He moves back to his chair and grabs his notebook "Now, let us continue where we left off. I believe it was Naser's accident when he was a boy and you were trying to get Lucy to visit him in the hospital, correct?" --- ...Present Day I'm outside of this pizza place, looking for Sam. Where on Earth could she have gone? It's just a smoke break right? I scan the parking lot and give up, before I decide to try behind the restaurant. Sure enough, there she is...chatting with the orange dilophosaur waiter from earlier that made her blow soda through her nostrils. I still don't know why on Earth this guy wears those ridiculous sunglassess. I walk up and catch the end of a conversation I wish I hadn't. "Like I said Sam, the smuppet market has sky rocketed. That's why-" "Dirk please! I have had it up to here with your bizarre puppet porn thing, so please just shut the fuck up about it!" The dilophosaur scratches the side of his head in confusion "But, you were the one that asked why I wasn't working Junes anymore? I'm just telling you why" I turn on my heel and start to walk away as casually as possible before the dilophosaur calls out. "Oh hey, your the 'fuck face' Sam talked about right?" I hear Sam wheezing at the casual insult thrown my way. Boy, is the thing with these puppets in my hand kind of awkward now considering what I heard. I turn around stuffing the Lucy and Naser puppets into my pocket. Sam collects her self and starts "I-I think this is something that's been a long time coming Dirk" She smiles at the dilophosaur "Could you give us some privacy?" 'Dirk' flicks his cigarette on the ground and stamps it out "Alright. Kick his ass if decides to be a dick or I will" With that colorful farewell, he heads inside through the back door. Now it's just me and Sam. We stand there for a good few seconds before she begins. "So, Ripley" She takes one last drag of her cigarette and then flicks it the ground and stamps it out "You married a human, huh?" I shrug "Um, yeah?" She scoffs at my reaction to the question "Just surprised is all. You had to have been one of the most well hidden racists I've ever known" I pinch the bridge of my snout "Sam, I wasn't that ba-" She cuts me off holding up her hand "No, you were" Sam then leans against the wall as she glares at me with her amber eyes and chortles "When you first met Anon all those years ago, you just wouldn't shut up" She re-positions herself and imitates me as she speaks "It was always 'Lucy brought home a human boy!' or, my favorite 'First that LGBT crap and now this!" I can't let her step all over me "Hey! It's not like you were any better!" I point at her as I continue "You were always living in your own little fantasy world where everything was just peachy! Well, it wasn't. Anytime I came to you with legitimate concerns, you just blew it off!" Sam steps off of the wall "Oh! So now you have the balls to actually speak up to me? After we've been divorced for five years?" She clasps her face in her hand and then looks up at me. "You really haven't changed since then and here you are, trying to act like you have" Sam walks up to me and looks me in the eyes "I know that's rich coming from the woman who let Lucy leave that night, but-" She looks down at the ground, thinking carefully about what to say next. She looks back up at me, eyes filled with sadness "I can't keep regretting what I've done, otherwise I'll never be able to keep going like I have now. Yes, because of what I did people died, including Naser and Lucy" Tears are forming in her eyes "But I- no we can't keep holding on to that!" Sam grabs my hand and looks at me with pleading eyes through her tears "Ripley...don't fall like I did. You found a second chance I didn't find for five years after what happened" She places her other hand over mine. "Please, for the love of God, just move on and live your life!" ... I wasn't prepared for something like this at all. I wasn't ready for Sam to be apologetic. I don't know what to so here...I still have those puppets Judee gave me... I reach into my back pocket and pull them out. When Samantha sees them, she shakes her head and chuckles at them. "What?" I ask inquisitively. She takes Lucy from my hand and looks at her "Judee tried giving these to me last month, on my birthday" Sam brushes the puppet's silver hair and lets out a sigh "I told her I already have enough reminders of my children" She places the puppet back in my hand. "I don't need effigies of them" I cock an eyebrow at her "I think it's a cute gesture" I say inspecting my son "It's doubtful Judee meant any harm by it" Sam lets out an annoyed sigh "Were you even listening? That's not what I said" She snatched the puppets from my hands "And besides, Judee stalked our daughter and Anon while making these, among others" Judee was what? "She was following Lucy and Anon through out the school year?" My ex-wife stuffs the puppets in her jacket pockets "Only between classes is what she told me" She chuckles again "Judee even had this whole idea for a little puppet show about how Lucy and Anon fell in love" Jeez, and I thought I was obsessed with what that boy was doing with my daughter. Speaking of which... "So, Anon and Stella? The girl I found still in the classroom after the shooting?" Samantha's eyes widened at my words "She was still in the school when you got there?!?" I nod "Yup. I was about to make even more of mess where Naomi was killed. The nearest thing I could throw was desk and Stella was under it, just, blankly staring at nothing. Curled into a ball, probably scared half to death by the officers there" Sam puts her hand over her snout "That poor girl..." And then she glares at me "You nearly having a bitch fit over Anon probably didn't help her situation back then" I face palm "You think I don't know that?" We must've talked for hours about what we've been up to since we divorced. Me confirming that yes, Dana did in fact suplex me when we met. How our wedding reception was and the fact that it was, somewhat barren, save for some of Valhalla's regulars and Dana's little sister...can't believe my old man refused to show up... Then again, after what happened here at Volcano High, in due part to how I handled the storage of my service revolver... Samantha was talking about her first day at 'Soaring Angel' when I interrupted her. "Why'd you do it?" She seems puzzled by my interruption "Do what now?" I let out a heavy sigh "Leak to the press that Lucy used my service revolver" Her face is bewildered at first, like she can't believe what I'm asking. Then it changes to a very visible rage as stops leaning against the wall and flicks her cigarette to the ground. "You announced our divorce" she grabs me by the collar and pulls me down to eye level while flaring her wings outward "with a fucking letter!" She practically throws me away like a used tissue when she pushes me away "YOU DIDN'T EVEN HAVE THE FUCKING BALLS TO SAY IT TO MY FACE!" The anger with in me starts to build up. I can't hold it back at all "Well gee, it's almost like I found out my wife did something NO FUCKING PARENT SHOULD DO WHEN THEIR CHILD IS ABOUT TO LEAVE THE HOUSE WITH A FUCKING GUN! JUST LET HER GO!" She pinches her bridge again "It's not like I wanted too, Ripley" She takes in a deep breath and lets it out before continuing. "When I was confronting Lucy about it, I saw right through all of what she said" She looks up at me with a great deal of sorrow painted across her face "But, as I was processing what to do I-" The tears start building up in her eyes and it looks like she's about to break down right then and there. "This doesn't excuse any of it, but I heard a voice. I think it was my conscience or some shit, egging me on about how I'd be like my grandmother" She falls to her knees as she covers her eyes "It taunted me with everything that cunt had done to try and change me. S-so I-I-" She begins sobbing as she struggles to say her next words... ...But I see were this is going. And quite frankly, I'm abhorred. "...So you let her go because of that?" I growl with venom apparent in my voice. At this, Samantha whips her head up "Y-Y-You know how awful s-she was!" She stands up, the rage burning in her eyes again "And I fucking know that's no excuse and what I had done was nothing short of disgusting and awful!" She walks right up to me and points at me with furious anger unlike anything I had seen before from her. "But don't you fucking dare all high and mighty about this!" She jabs her finger into my chest "YOU WERE FAR FROM A MODEL PARENT YOU METEOR DODGING SON OF A BITCH!" I break away with my arms, but she continues as I turn away, gritting my teeth. "You never tried to be a part of anything in Lucy's life after what happened at the bluff! After that, it was almost like she barely even existed to you! No matter what it was she came to us about, I had to try my best to handle it myself, because you didn't want to hear it!" Is she seriously doing this now? I turn around and point at her "Like I said before, you were off in your own little world! So what else could I do but leave you with the kid who seemed to inherent your 'make believe' bull-" *CRUNCH* Samantha is hunched over, her fist against the brick wall of the restaurant. It's dented, with all sorts of crack across it now. She removes her fist and there is now a bloody stain from the impact. She turns to me with a look that could melt me down into nothing if she had heat vision. ...I'm scared, but I hide that fear like I always have. She then starts again, practically yelling loud enough for the entire city to hear. "THAT'S JUST LIKE YOU! ALWAYS REFUSING TO ACCEPT WHAT YOU'VE DONE UNTIL I FUCKING PUSH YOU TO THE EDGE!" She places both hands on her chest in an exaggerated motion "I'VE COME TO TERMS WITH WHAT I'VE DONE AND I'M TAKING RESPONSIBILITY FOR IT! BUT YOU!? YOU CAN'T EVEN DO THAT FUCKING MUCH!" She grabs me by the collar again and pushes me against the wall with incredible force. "YOU LEFT YOUR GUN AT HOME THAT NIGHT! YOU TREATED LUCY EVEN WORSE WHEN ALL THE LGBT SHIT STARTED! YOU TOLD HER MUSIC WASN'T GONNA CUT IT WHEN SHE GREW OLDER! YOU CONSTANTLY GUILT TRIPPED HER WHEN NASER JUMPED OFF THAT CLIFF! BUT NEVER HAVE YOU TAKEN RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY OF IT!!!!" Her grip tightens as her face contorts more with rage "THAT IS WHY I LEAKED THAT INFORMATION TO THE PRESS! SO YOU WOULD HAVE TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR FUCKING ONCE IN YOUR GOD DAMN LIFE!!!!" She lets go of me, breathing rapidly and heavily. I just slump onto the ground. It's all I can do as she keeps glaring daggers at me. She walks off away from me and from around the corner Dana and Anon are coming around to see what's going on. They both take note of the crater in the wall and Anon starts. "Raptor Jesus, what happened?" Samantha doesn't answer and walks past him. He follows. Dana runs to me and gets down on one knee beside me. "What the hell happened? Did you say anything stupid?" My eyes flare at her "Me!? She was-" *SMACK* "Ripley, I want you to be honest with me and nothing else. No bullshit" She glares at me deep into my soul. She's dead serious. I let out a sigh of defeat and begin "The topic of our parenting came up" Dana interjects "And you acted like you did nothing wrong. Like when we first talked about that, hm?" There's another heavy sigh as I hide my face in the palm of my hand "Yup" Dana gets up and extends her hand out to me "C'mon, you're fixing this" I look at her with absolute bewilderment on my face "Now? I can't now, believe me. Sam will want some space" She cocks an eyebrow my way "Some space so you can figure out how to dodge responsibility again? Not on my watch" She grabs my hand and forces me upwards. "Dana, I'm telling you! We have to wait at least a day!" She scoffs at my warning, still pulling me to the front of the restaurant "Man you weren't kidding, she really did wear the pants in your relationship!" I'm getting my hand wrapped in gauze by a worried Stella as Anon paces back and forth in front of me, mumbling the whole time. Everyone else just silently watches, waiting for one of us to say something. Guess I'll- "It's that bad, huh?" Jill asks, breaking the silence. Everyone looks at her as she sits next to me. I sigh "Jill, it's a lot more than 'bad' if I'm being honest" Reed starts "Y'know, you should both put an end to whatever this is." He takes a huff of his vape pen "Preferably, before the wedding" Stella chimes in, finishing up the bandaging of my hand "I'd like that if you could Samantha" She stops wrapping my hand and stands up, with help from Anon "I don't want something to happen between you and Ripley when the reception is happening" I sigh "I know, but he just won't fucking accept his part in all this" I say in frustration standing up and pinching the bridge of my snout. "For fucks sake, I'm even writing a book about all my fuck ups! Meanwhile, he's doing jack shit to come to terms with his!" "M-Maybe he doesn't have to" I whip my head over to Judee. She cowers a bit, but stands her ground. "A-After all. H-His actions p-pale in comparison to his!" She takes a step forward and gives me a stern look "It was his gun, but you let Fang take it knowingly!" I rub my temples with one hand and shake my head "I know Judee" I look back at her "But that doesn't excuse him for all he's done. Like how my fucked up conscience giving me shit advice doesn't excuse me letting Lucy leave" Judee takes an awkward step back and nods. I let out a tired sigh and sit back down on the curb "Besides, I don't want him to write a book like me or whatever. I just want to him take some fucking accountability for once" Anon cocks an eyebrow "You said that's why you told the press it was his gun used in the shooting" he sits on the curb beside me "He already took accountability on live television. What more do you want?" Reed chimes in "I think she wants him to do it on his own this time around, Anon. Y'know, without the push she gave him and an angry politician breathing down his neck" I glance back at him "That's exactly it. I just want him to admit all that from the heart" I clasp my hands together and look down at them "No script or camera crew. No public humiliation. Just an honest to God admittance that he fucked up" I look towards Anon "Like I did with you that night when we talked" "Why didn't you just ask for that?" We all turn our attention to the gruff voice. It's Ripley, hand in hand with Dana. I scoff at his question "Like you would actually do that if I asked nicely" He lets go of his wife's hand and walks towards me "Of course you're doing this shit again" He turns to Dana "See? This is exactly why I said we should wait!" The fuck is he talking about? I shoot up from the curb "Were you just gonna let this fester until the fucking wedding?" He whips his head back at me "That is not what I was suggesting! You know, for someone who insists I don't listen to what you say, you sure do that a lot! Like when I said I re-married over the phone back in September!" I get up close to him, he's pissing me off again "Sorry I took that as you not giving a shit about our children! But how else was I supposed to take it!? Especially since you never called since you left!" "What? Of course I called! It just wasn-" ...Oh you have got to be kidding! "You called Moe instead of me!?" He looks at me like I'm the stupid one here "Why the fuck would I call you!? After what I said to you why would I!?" "BECAUSE YOU SHOULD'VE AT LEAST CARED AFTER HOW YOU LEFT! AFTER WHAT I TOLD YOU!!!" It's dead silent. He stares at me in disbelief. Then he blinks like he's finally put two and two together. About fucking time. "...Were you going to tell me what you did the next morning?" Tears are falling from my eyes "Yes! I was going to come clean about all of it then!" I fall back down to the curb "But I fucked that up drinking all that fucking wine! You were right about my drinking, I'll admit that" I look back up at Ripley "Would you have still left even if I had told you in the morning like I planned?" His eyes are darting around at everyone except me. He's going to avoid the fucking question. I get up fire in my eyes from the anger building up. "Answer me Ripley" I say looking into his soul. He looks into my eyes. He can try to hide it, but I know he's full of dread because of my question. "Sam, I don-" Of fucking course. Without a second thought, I sock him across the face with a clean right hook. Everyone is in shock because of this, evident from the gasps I heard. But I don't care, I want a fucking answer, no matter what. He's down on the ground holding his cheek. "I want that answer Ripley! Now fucking tell me or-" In a flash, a dark brownish blur knocks me backwards, causing me to stumble. This fucker hit me back! "Yes I would! There! Now stop this befo-" He doesn't finish, as I got to my feet, got in the right stance, positioned my fist beside me and jabbed him right in the solar plexus. He falls backwards flat on his ass. I look back at everyone, they're still shocked, but clearly it's different from before. They just look at me in silence, probably too afraid to say anything to me after my display of strength. I look back at Ripley. He's holding his side, Dana helping him get up. I start walking towards him before Anon grabs my wrist. "What the fuck are you two doing!?" I don't look back "Settling it, like you said" "Not here you're not" says a voice that causes both me and Ripley to turn our heads. It's John. He sighs as he stamps out his cigarette "And here I thought your first date was gonna be the only time you two did this" Everyone else double takes at this almost unanimously and shouts. "YOU FOUGHT ON YOUR FIRST DATE!?" I turn to the crowd, now bewildered "You know how you said I probably 'made Ripley worse' Anon?" Anon just nods in response, stunned by my casual tone regarding the current situation. "Well, he was an absolute boy scout like I said" I turn to Ripley, looking ready to tear my head off. I flash a smirk at him "I hit him because I was so done with his gentleman shtick. It was a light slap and I waited for him to retort, but didn't. Saying it was improper to hit a woman" I glare daggers into Ripley's very soul, clenching my fist. "That reminded me so much of my grandmother I punched him with out thinking twice. From there, it broke out into a brawl" Ripley loosens up, stunned by my honesty regarding the fight on our first date. He shakes his head and starts "Don't try and change the subject!" I sigh "We can end this if you just admit you fucked up to my face this time. That's all I want Ripley" He lets out his own sigh and gets up. He walks right up to me and leans forward "You'll have to beat it out of me" Still stubborn, after all that's happened "Fine by me" We both turn to John. He has his face in one hand "Alright" He looks up and turns around "Follow me. The beach were you two fought on that date isn't too far from here" He motions with his hand to follow as he says this. Ripley immediately trails behind him and Dana follows suit just behind the two. I let out a bated breath and look back at the stunned crowd of onlookers and start with Anon and Stella "Still want me to come to the wedding?" I ask with a smile on my face. Stella shakes her head in disbelief "Of course! If this is how you want to settle things between you and him then do it!" I'm honestly shocked by Stella's support. I thought she would object almost instantly. It seems everyone else is just as shocked as I am, as all attention is turned towards Stella. Then I chuckle, remembering the last interaction she had with her mother. Of course she's in support of this. "Oh shit, you two actually going to fight" Dirk says coming out of the restaurant's front entrance. I laugh at this "I thought you said you'd kick his ass if decided to be a dick?" He shrugs "I wasn't completely serious. That guy is a fucking walking semi truck, Sam" He takes off those shades and looks at me with his bright red eyes "But, if you're seriously gonna beat his ass, then I gotta see it" I chortle "A-Alright! Fine. Anyone else coming to watch?" Leo stops leaning against the wall "Fuck it. Night's already been crazy. What's a literal fist fight between a divorced couple?" Reed pockets his vape pen "Might as well. Not like there's to much going on in this city since Commissioner Smirnov 'cleaned the streets" I'm still surprised to hear that old dog is the new commissioner. I should say hi to him. "If you can kick ass harpy, then I want to see it" Jill says getting up from the curb. Anon starts as he brings Stella up with him off the curb "As much as I'd love to see Ripley get his ass handed to him, gonna have to say no. Me and Stella still have things to plan for the wedding" He looks over to Stella "Right, Starlight?" Stella looks over to Anon, almost disappointed "Huh? OH! Uh, yeah, lots of wedding stuff to go over heh, heh..." Judee speaks up "I-I don't want to see this!" She turns to Leo "Take me home, please!" Leo sighs in defeat "Alright, I'll drive you home" They start walking towards the liopleurodon's blue Corvet "Tell me how it goes!" Judee elbows her friend in the ribs. Anon and Stella follow suit and head back to that dark green sedan of Anon's. Just Jill, Reed, Dirk and I as we make our way to that beach from years ago. That fight was more or less one between strangers. But this? This was a deeply personal thing about to happen. I'm not sure if they're ready to see something like this...probably why Anon motioned to leave. As I walk down there, my mind can only think of the day that I'm sure everything about my family changed to get to this point... --- ...Three Days After The Cliff Incident, Lucy's Bedroom, Aaron Household "NO! I DON'T WANT TO GO!" "Young lady, you going to see your brother, even if I have to drag you down there!" "NOOOOO!" This is a nightmare. First my sweet Naser goes and does something like that because of a joke and now my husband is trying to force Lucy to come and see our son, only mere seconds after we got word that he had just woken up. I have to stop this. I grab my husband's wrist and pull hard "Ripley! If Lucy doesn't want to see Naser right now th-" *SMACK* I stumble backwards, nearly knocking over some of Lucy's things. I look over and see shock on his face as he looks at his hand. Lucy looks more scared and confused than she did already. It looks as if the image she built up of us just came crashing down completely like a skyscraper. I stand up and compose myself before speaking to Ripley. "She does not have to come if she doesn't want to" I stare directly into the man's soul, knowing he won't fight this any further "And that's final" He clenches his fist, but it takes one glance at Lucy for him let out an exhausted sigh and relent "Fine" He turns to our daughter with a stern gaze "But you are coming next time we visit. Do you understand" Lucy just nods in response, terrified of the man before her. "Good" He looks back at me with remorse "I-" he stops, not wanting look weak in front of Lucy, despite having every right to. He just groans and walks out of the room with no words and heads downstairs. Lucy buries her head into her pillow and starts sobbing into it. I make my way to the side of her bed and sit beside her. "Lucy, can you tell me why you don't want go see your brother?" She looks up at me, fear in her eyes and then she buries her face in her pillow again and mutters something under there. I cock an eyebrow and lean in close "Because what?" I ask gently. Lucy raises her face from the pillow and yells at me "BECAUSE HE PROBABLY HATES ME! I LIED TO HIM AND HE NEARLY DIED BECAUSE OF IT!" She promptly returns to the pillow, sobbing again. I don't know what to say to that, but I have to say something "L-Lucy, you know that-" She cuts me off "NO! IT'S TRUE! AND DAD HATES ME TOO!" She sits up and buries her snout into her knees to hide her sorrow "Dad probably wishes I was never born..." I gasp at this "Lucy! Your father does not think that!" She turns to me, her face unchanging, tears running down her eyes. "How do you know that?" ... I don't know that for sure. I can read him like a book normally, but now? Something like this? I can't possibly know what Ripley is thinking... Lucy returns to her sulking "That's what I thought..." I reach out "Lucy I-" She turns away and hides herself in her wings. She won't let me in at all. I knew I'd have to deal with her being like this, but I didn't think it'd be so soon. Let alone because of... I look around her room and hone in on the gift Lucy got from my Grandfather, Sergei. The Old Bird sure has an eye for what kids like Lucy have passion for. I get up, grab the guitar from the spot it was leaning against on the wall and bring it over to my pirate princess. "Here Lucy" I say lightly setting it next to her back "Practice while your father and I are gone. You can think of a song to play when Naser comes home" She glances over her shoulder at me, unsure "B-But Dad said I didn't-" I roll my eyes and cut her off "Lucy, no offense, but your father is full of shit on this one" The little ptero turns around completely to face me after hearing me swear "You said a bad word! You never say bad words!" I laugh a little at this "Lucy, dear, every adult says bad words" I walk over to the other side of the bed and sit next to her "We just don't say it around our children because it's not good to do so" She giggles a little at this "Tell that to Dad. He contributes to the swear jar in kitchen more than me or Naser combined!" I laugh and pull into a noogie as she playfully resists and laughs with me. That's good. A girl her age should laugh, not cry. This moment is interrupted by the horn of Ripley's car blaring past the walls. I sigh and let go of my daughter. As I get up I see the sadness on her face creep up "Bye Mom, I love you" As I open the door with my back turned I feel tears start to build up. I don't look back, but I return the sentiment "I love you too, Lucy. Practice while we're gone" "Okay!" She says, her voice much more chipper than it was before...though I can hear the falsetto in that voice. As I close the door behind me, I hear the discordant notes slowly turn into something pleasant. I hope I'm doing the right thing...no I am! I know this is the right thing to do! Everything will be fine! Just fine! --- ...Present Day, 2:35 P.M. Raptor Jesus, this is not fine... The four of us thought this fight would probably be fun to watch, but boy were we wrong. It was a mess the moment it really started. Despite how much Ripley tried and tried to overpower Samantha, it's clear who the better fighter overall was...and it was just painful to watch...sad really. It went on for hours. Dirk just up and left saying he got bored, but I could tell he was uncomfortable seeing this. Jill probably would've left if her and Samantha weren't already friends, same for Dana if Ripley wasn't her husband I imagine. As for me...God I dunno, it's like looking at a car crash. It's so spectacularly awful, you just can't look away, no matter how hard you try. No wonder Anon and Judee opted to get the hell out of Dodge as soon as possible, the both of them must've known how ugly it would get. Now Samantha is just pummeling her ex-husband and he's just...taking it. Like all that fight he had earlier is just gone. Ripley's getting called all sorts of names while this is happening. "I've seen enough" Dana says making her way over to the massacre. "Same here" Blacksad says in response, grabbing Dana's wrist and then putting his index finger and thumb into his beak to blow out a loud whistle. "LAY OFF OF HIM SAM, HE'S HAD ENOUGH" Samantha looks our way, vitriolic anger in her eyes dissipating as she sees us. She looks back to Ripley who she's on top of now. We would think the man dead if it wasn't for the subtle movements of his chest indicating that he's still breathing. Sam, now looking like she's just murdered someone and has come to terms with it, gets off of the giant and slowly falls to the ground beside him. Dana tries to go to his husband, but Blacksad doesn't budge. The human whips her head around at the spino-stego "Let me go! I need to help him!" The hybrid just shakes his head "It's alright, he's been through a hell of a lot worse" He looks at the two just laying in the sand "The both of them have. That's why this won't go any further" I let out the bated breath I didn't even know I had in me "I hope your right Blacksad" Who knows what they're going through right now. I look over at the onlookers, still lost in rage. It doesn't last long though. Dirk is gone, Jill is motionless, Dana looks ready to chop my head clean off. Reed is abhorred and John is looking about the same as Reed. I look down at Ripley and...Oh my God. He's swollen and bloody all over and he has a few teeth missing...he's...Oh thank God, he's breathing. I don't think I could live with myself if I...I need a moment. I get up off of him and fall onto my back next to him. I stare up at the orange tinted sky due to the sunset and start sobbing. Why do I feel this way? This is what I wanted isn't it? To beat this man to a pulp for all the wrong he's done...while ignoring what I've done in the process, like I have been for years... "Oh God..." I clasp my hands over my eyes as I start bawling over this realization. I'm no better than he is. I'm probably worse in some regards. I'm such an awful person... "...i'msuchanawfulperson" ...Well, there you have it Ripley, it boiled over into something ugly like Anon said. It's a relief to here her even mumble that but...not like this. It shouldn't have happened like this. None of this should've. ...No wonder John hooked us up all those years ago. Despite how different we may seem on the surface, we're pretty much the same at the core... "Sam" I barely croak out. She uncovers her eyes and takes a side glance at me "Y-Yeah?" I return the side glance "Remember a few nights after that whole or-" Don't call it that you dumb fuck "I mean, concert of Lucy's that was a mess?" Sam looks up at the sky, searching her memory and then cocks an eyebrow at me "You mean when you yelled at Lucy for having a midnight snack?" ... Y'know, when she puts it that way... "Yes, that night" I look up at the orange sky with her "Naser came and told me Lucy was just standing in front of the microwave in the middle of the night. Just watching the dino nuggets she was warming up in silence" I glance back at Sam, she knows some of it too. She adds "And Naser came to you because Lucy told him to 'fuck off'. Lucy's words when she told me" Okay, I didn't know that "What did she say about me" Sam scoffs "Oh you know, that you're a tyrant and you don't even try to understand her. The usual I had to hear about you from her" ... I have no idea what to say to that. Lucy talked about me behind my back. With Sam... "In hindsight, it seems obvious you two talked about me" The old girl laughs "Oh, Naser talked to me about you too" "Wha- SHIT!" I sit up and feel all that pain come back instantly "D-Did he say more or less the same?" Sam shoots upwards, surprised "Yeah. He did. More so about how you never gave him room to breath and always put this pressure on him" I lay back down gently "Yup. That sounds like how I treated my son" And thinking about it only reinforces how awful I was. Some father I was, playing favorites like that. Sam doesn't lay back down, but instead reaches into her pockets, taking out the puppets, Lucy and Naser. She looks at them and tears form in her eyes "Ripley, they would also-" She hitches a breath "Also a-ask when I w-would do something about you" I roll to my side in pain and balance myself on my elbow "What did you tell them?" She sniffles and starts sobbing "T-That it would w-work out in the e-end. T-That y-you would c-change y-your tune!" She buries her face into her arms. My ex-wife chokes out a multitude of apologies to Lucy and Naser between sobs...just like that night years ago... After a minute or so, she stops sobbing and looks towards me "S-so, I imagine the rest of that happens like I remember?" Wha- Oh right. I nod "When I got down there, I asked what the hell she was doing at this hour. Lucy just told me to fuck off like she did Naser and that's when we started yelling at each other" Sam looks at puppet Lucy and then to me "I gonna assume you were more angry about the principle of what she was doing?" I face palm "Sam, it was a school night. Do I really need to explain why Lucy being up that late was an issue?" She looks around and then falls back into the sand "No, I guess not" She holds out a hand with the puppet Naser to me. I hesitantly take the puppet and painfully lay back down, resting my son on my stomach. "Anyways, I was done after...God knows how long and so was Lucy, who just stomped back up the stairs and into her room" Sam turns her head at me, curious as to where this is heading. I don't know if she's ready for this one. "I noticed Naser was still there, gave him a stern talking to and he checked out" I notice Sam glaring at me. I sigh "He checked out after I told him that Lucy was as much his responsibility as mine" Sam just looks at me like she wants to slap me, but knows that'd probably be too much right now. I continue "With everyone gone, I noticed those nuggets were still there and...well..." Sam chuckles at this "You fucking hypocrite" I side glance at her "You're the one that always said not to waste food, dear" She laughs "You didn't need any help there, dear" Then she looks more intently at the Lucy puppet and sighs "Neither of us did a good job with them. My favorite was Lucy" I hold up my son "And mine was Naser. When really, we should've never done that in first place" We both look up at the orange sky as the sun sets on the ocean to my right. We don't really talk much, just sit there and contemplate what on Earth either of us could say next. It's almost tranquil as we sit there. Like everything else in the world has stopped. All the sounds are gone and it's just us. I don't feel anything from this. Maybe back then, I would've felt something, but now? There is nothing. Nothing between us anymore. We're truly done with each other after this. ...And then I feel something I haven't felt in God knows how long. Relief. I look back at...this puppet that resembles my son. I sit up, still feeling all of that pain. It hurts like hell, but I push through it all and now, I'm on my feet. I turn towards the ocean and the sun damn near blinds me, but I push through that too. Each step I take is more painful than the last as I make my way towards the edge of the beach. The ocean water soaks my feet as I stand there, my goal in sight. Doing my best to ignore all the pain and hurt in my body now, I prepare to throw this damn puppet into the ocean. Before I can do it, a small and familiar grip holds my arm at bay. It's Sam. She looks up at me and says only one word "Don't" I look at her other hand, holding the Lucy puppet tightly. Then I look at my hand, holding the Naser puppet, just as tightly... ... I can't. I fall to my knees in defeat and look to the ocean. I look down at the puppet in my hand. It's dumb expression would make most people smile...but it just brings tears to my eyes. I'll never really see my son face to face again. I'll never see Naser or Lucy again, at least not until I kick the bucket... "I never got to apologize for being so awful to the both of them..." I nestle the puppet against my head as I start to sob into it. Sam kneels next to me "Neither did I Ripley" She looks at the Lucy puppet in her hand "And I hate myself for it, everyday" I sniffle and look at my ex-wife "How do you just keep going? After all we did and what happened, how?" I ask pleadingly. She looks at me puzzled "I should be the one asking you that. I mean, you found a new place to live, I assume you got another job and you found love again" She looks over the ocean, a solomn look on her face. "Meanwhile, for four years of my life, I worked ten hours a day in retail and either drank my sorrows away or fucked them away with random guys on Cinder" She chuckles "I only fairly recently started getting my shit together and have tried to move on" I shake my head in bewilderment at all I just heard "Raptor Jesus, Sam. I'm so-" She cuts me off "I don't want an apology, Ripley. Not from you" She grabs my face and turns it towards me. She's staring at me with a stern, yet concerning gaze "I want you move on. Like I have been recently. That doesn't mean throw that puppet to the ocean or start writing a book like me" She lets go of my face and stands up. I look up at her "What should I do?" The ptero just smiles and holds her hand out to me "Well, for starters, you can stop worrying about me to the point you hire John to start stalking me" ...Son of a bitch "I should've known John came clean to you when he said he was done spying" As painful as it is, I grab Sam's hand and she pulls me up. She smiles back at me "You should've known John would never lie to me. Especially after what happened when you tried to throw me a surprise birthday party" "Ugh, don't remind me. I still have the scars from that fiasco" Speak of the devi- "AAAAAH CUDDLY BEAR I WAS SO WORRIED" Knocked back down to the ground by my wife as she smothers me. Though she immediately reels back after I scream in pain. "...Oh, uh, sorry" She whips her head toward Sam and glares at her "You! If you do that to my Cuddly Bear ever again, you'll have to eat meat ground up and through a tube after I finish ripping off your wings, feather by feather! Got it!" Sam, actually scared for once throws her hands up "O-okay, okay! I swear, that won't happen ever again Dana!" Dana points to her eyes and then flicks her wrist towards Sam's eyes. After that she turns to me holds out her hand. I grab it and she pulls me up effortlessly. When I make it to my feet I see Reed and Jill are here as well. Jill lets out a bated breath "Hooooly shit! I thought one of you was actually going to kill the other!" "Thanks Jill, I'm fine" I sarcastically say. She just cocks an eye brow at me and shakes her head after rolling her eyes. "So, you two have fought like this before?" Reed asks inquisitively. Sam puts her finger under her snout and then replies "I think it was about four- no five times and this is the sixth" I cock an eye brow at that while everyone else, except John, is dumbstruck "Sam, I think it was actually three times and this was the fourth" She looks at me bewildered "Really? I thought-" John interrupts waving his hand and pinching the bridge of his snout "Okay, okay. How about we just drop that and every body hits the hay for the night. That sound good to every one?" He looks around and we almost unanimously nod in agreement. Yeah, after today I'm beat, both figuratively and literally. "I'll patch you up with the first aid kit we brought Cuddly Bear" Dana says helping me along. Sam catches this "You both brought a first aid kit? Were you expecting to fight me?" I shake my head "You wouldn't believe the amount of brawls Dana gets into on road trips" Jill nods in agreement "It's true, harpy, she gets into some nasty scuffs over the most ridiculous things sometimes" Dana puffs her cheeks in a child like pout "No body insults my knowledge of the Japanese language and gets away with it!" There's just some small talk as we make our way towards the parking lot. When we get there, Sam realizes she doesn't have a ride. John starts to offer one but... "We'll take you home Sammy!" Dana interrupts John, not even letting him get a word out. Jill holds back laughter "Sammy" Dana snaps a finger her way "Quiet, Julianne" Jill gets red in the face and fires back "I-I told you not to call me that!" Before Sam can register the new ammunition against her coworker, she's stuffed into the back of the back seat of the Torino. Dana goes to the driver's side...and pushes the seat forward "Go ahead, get back there and talk to Sammy while I drive her home!" I scoot over as Dana shoves Ripley next to me, not even letting either of us object. She sits in the driver's seat and starts the ignition. After that, she throws her head out the window "C'MON JILL! I'LL DRIVE YOU HOME TOO!" I can just barely see Jill exaggeratedly sweeps her arms side to side "NOPE! NUH-UH! NOT GETTING IN THAT DEATH TRAP OF AWKWARDNESS YOU SET UP B- DANA!" It's too late, Reed and John have already left in a flash. The poor girl's shoulders slump and she sulks over into the passenger's side. "Alllllright! Everyone's here! Let's get you all home!" She shifts the gears pulls out and shifts into drive to start driving home. For quite a bit, it's silent. I'm not sure I want to talk more with Ripley since Dana and Jill are here. I can tell the big lug feels the same, since he keeps avoiding eye contact with me. It's probably been a few minutes now and I notice something...odd. "Uh, Dana?" She glances at me from the rear view mirror "Yes, Sammy?" Ugh, I'm stuck with that now aren't I? "You sure you know where you're going? We've passed my complex fi-" "I'm taking a short cut!" ...She's doing this on purpose. She's not letting me go until I start talking to Ripley again...but why is she holding Jill hostage too? I sigh and look over at Ripley still avoiding eye contact "Hey, you are actually okay, right?" He scoffs "My wife forced me to sit next to my ex-wife like a child" He looks at me and...he's not scowling "Could be worse" I shake my head in bewilderment "You're not mad at her or anything" He glances over at the seat in front of him and shrugs "No, not really" I shake my head, a smile creeping up on my face "That's an improvement over how you used to be" He cocks an eye brow at that "I didn't scowl that much did I?" "Yes, you did" Dana chimes in "Absolutely, Cuddly Bear" Jill too "Oh yeah, your face had one setting, no matter what" He sighs in defeat and clasps his face with one hand "Guess I was" I laugh at his expense and then notice the slight smile on his face. He's doing okay. Dana speaks as we stop "Alright Jill! Here you are, invite over sometime while I'm here!" Jill retorts as she exits "Nah, think I'll pass on that" Ripley speaks up "Why? You still have that ridiculous banner of herself Dana gave you?" This causes me to double take "The what-now?" I look at Jill and she's as red as a cherry "N-No! That'd be weird!" She slams the door and runs off into the complex. ...The fuck just happened? Dana shifts into drive and gets back on the road. I'm still lost "Okay seriously, what was that about?" I ask. Dana answers "Oh! I gave Jill this banner with me on it this one Christmas! It says in big bold words "Best Boss" I giggle at this "Seriously?" Ripley nods "Seriously. Dana gave it Jill years ago, before I even entered the picture. She still had it up at her old place" That's enough to get me to laugh "OH MY GOD!! I KNEW SHE LOVED DANA, BUT I DIDN'T THINK SHE LOVED HER THAT MUCH!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" Dana retorts "Well I didn't think she'd actually hang it up! I gave it to her as a joke!" That info doesn't help my laughing fit go away. It only makes it worse. Just then Ripley speaks "Falco~~" I snap right out of my laughing fit and snap my fingers at him "Hey! That's different! Falco isn't real!" Ripley starts laughing, but it's cut short as he winces in pain "S-still not over him huh?" I pinch the bridge of snout "Not like Dana wanted us to talk only about embarrassing things" Dana perks up in the driver's seat "Huh!? Whaaaaat? Naaaaaah, this wasn't planned!" I cock an eye brow at her "Dana, we've passed my apartment te-" "It's a really loooooong short cut!" She says cutting me off. I sigh and lean back in my seat. I glance at Ripley and he's looking at the Naser puppet. I pull puppet Lucy from my pocket and look at her. It is actually pretty well made now that I really look at it. Ripley asks me a question "Why'd you stop me?" I look over at him "From throwing that little guy in the ocean?" He just nods in response. I look at little Lucy, turning and twisting her "I want you to accept your mistakes and move on from them" I look back at Ripley "Not try to erase them" Ripley's eyes grow sad as he keeps looking at the little Naser "That's why you're writing yours in a book then? So people will never forget?" I shake my head "So people can learn from my mistakes, Ripley. So they can see what I did and hopefully not repeat it" Ripley looks at me, surprised at my words. I don't know why he's surprised, it's the truth. He chuckles and shakes his head "I didn't think you were lying" He looks back at the puppet "Just taken a back is all. We never really talked that honestly with each other after Naser's accident" I sink further into my seat "None of us did after that" He sinks into his seat at that. Everyone in the Aaron family practically clammed up after Naser's accident. I only wish one of us put our foot down on the subject... Ripley still doesn't know why Naser jumped. Lucy never spoke about it back then and I only knew because I was right there. He never knew because he had to take a call from work. After what I put Ripley through today, he deserves to know. "Do you want to know why Naser jumped off the cliff?" He scoffs "Of course I don't, Lucy and Naser never told me, no matter how many times I pressed either of them on it" He looks over at me "Same for you" ...Right, I never told him either I look at the Lucy puppet and it's head slumps over as we hit a bump in the road "Naser just, asked Lucy innocently 'Can we fly?" Ripley almost shoots out of his seat as his eyes widen. Dana takes note of this and brings the car to a screeching halt. Though she probably came to revalation herself and needed to take it in. I tilt little Lucy's head back up "Lucy said 'Yes' as a joke. I giggled along with as she turned her back on Naser" As I remove my finger from under the puppet, the head slumps back down. "By the time I opened my eyes after the giggle fit, he was already at the edge and jumped" Pure silence. Not a word for God knows how long in that car. Then I hear Ripley mutter something. "...It was all my fault" I turn to him and Dana follows suit looking at her husband through the rear view mirror. Where his pupils once were, only pinpricks tried to fill that space as he stares at the little Naser in his hands. "I thought it would fine if we waited until he was a little older. Just a little. And he did that, all because I thought we should wait" He looks over at me "You said we shouldn't wait. When I objected, you didn't say another word. Why di-" He's cut off by the horn blaring from the car as Dana raises her voice. "For FUCKS SAKE RIPLEY! NOT EVERYTHING IS HER FUCKING FAULT! JUST MAN THE FUCK UP AND ADMIT YOU FUCKED UP TOO!" ... That was a lot fucks. Ripley shakes his head and pinches the bridge of his snout. I look at Dana through the rear view mirror. "We both fucked up Dana" I sigh and look at puppet Lucy "One more than the other in some cases, but we both fucked up" Dana slumps in the driver's seat and rubs her temples "I know, just-" She looks at Ripley through the rear view mirror "Every time we talked about you, he's almost always avoided his part in any of what happened and I'm just" she rests her head on the steering wheel "tired of it" I look over at the big lug and he has a sad look on his face. He takes a deep breath and slowly lets it out. "I'm sorry Dana" She looks up through the mirror "I don't think I'm the one that needs to hear that" She motions her head my direction "But thank you, Cuddly Bear" She rests her head on the steering wheel again. No. I am not standing for this "Dana, I don't need an apology. I already told him that much" "You want me to admit I played a part in all that happened" I look over and Ripley is looking at the little Naser in his hand with a steely gaze. He doesn't stop staring at the puppet as he starts. "You're right. I never admitted it and I should have" He looks to me "And I am. I'm just as guilty as you. To a lesser extent, but none the less, guilty" ... ... I don't know if a quadruple take is a thing but I sure as shit just did one. He actually admitted it. And then I hone in on one thing he said "Lesser extent?" He cocks an eye brow "You let our daughter go that night, knowing she had my revolver" "I know, but, lesser extent? That's the best you can-" "Samantha, just take it" He slumps in his seat as he lets out a heavy sigh "It took all the strength I had to say that" I shake my head and chuckle "Okay. I'll take what I can get" Dana whips her head upwards and claps her hands, causing both Ripley and I to jump a bit. "Okay! That was good!" She looks at Ripley through the mirror "Except you didn't apologize" I pinch the bridge of my snout "Dana I told you-" "Then I'll apologize for him!" She clears her throat and gives me her best scowl. "Sam, I'm sorry for being a shit head" PFFFFFFFFFFF "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! HE DOES SOUND LIKE THAT!!!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!" "...No I don't" "Aaaaaand finally here!" No thanks to your 'short cut' Red Comet. We're in front of Sam's apartment complex in Little Troodon. She sighs in relief at the sight of home. I heard Moe hooked her up with a nice place, but I don't know if I'd classify this as 'nice'. I mean, I guess it's nice by Lil Troo standards, but still. The tiny terror pulls on the lever that loosens the the passenger seat. I smile a bit at the fact that she remembers where it is. "About time, I thought you were gonna take Ripley and I across the stars in his hunk of junk, Dana" ...Hunk of junk? "I just had this refurbished" Dana chimes in "Cuddly Bear, we had to push this to start the first hundred miles, like in Little Miss Sunshine" Sam laughs at that "Seriously!? It was Volkswagen in that movie! What's this thing's excuse!?" she chortles out slapping the roof. I wince at the roof slapping "Sam! Be careful, y'know she's sensitive" ... ...Shit... "Oh ho ho ho!" Dana exaggeratedly chortles from the front. Sam gasps in an equally exaggerated fashion "Ripley! I thought you would share info like this with your wife!" I can feel the heat on my face from the blushing "Y-you know I-" The two women stare me down with smug smiles. I relent and rub my temples "Never mind..." Sam leaves for home and waves goodbye before... "Oh! Wait a minute!" Dana yells out, exiting the car and pulling the drivers seat forward "You got a first aid kit right? How about we come in and use it?" I sigh "Dana, she's not gonna-" "Oh. Sure why not? C'mon" ...what... Dana practically pulls me out and pushes me forward towards the now menacing looking apartment complex. Lord help me, I don't know if I can do this on my own. "Just hold still for a-" "AH FUCK!" "Ripley, she said hold still" Well, this is a fine mess. I'm in my ex-wife's apartment, with my current wife currently bandaging me up with all the stuff in my ex-wife's first aid kit...DESPITE OUR FIRST AID KIT BEING IN THE GLOVE COMPARTMENT! "SHIT, DAMMIT!" "Raptor Jesus on his cross of rock, Ripley, just stop fidgeting!" Dana reprimands, as she applies gauze to my torso. I shake my head in frustration "I wouldn't be fidgeting if I weren't in my ex-wife's apartment right no- GOD DAMMIT, AH!" Sam hollers over from the desk she's sitting at "Seriously? That's what has you riled up? We shared the same bed for twenty and half years, Ripley" I glance at her hunched over at the laptop on the desk, typing away "Twenty and a quar- AAAAAAH FUCK!" "Ripley, so help me if you don't stop moving, I'll add to your injuries!" ...Better stop moving. As I finally rest and let Dana do her work, I actually let my eyes wander around. It is pretty spacious all things considered. There's a nice widescreen here too. Moe really did get Sam a nice place. I turn my gaze towards the right of the TV and... ... "SHIT!" "RIPLEY!" "I'M SORRY, OKAY!?" Dana sighs as she looks in the direction I am "What's got you- oh" She stops on the same shelf I did. The one decorated with pictures of my children... "I want to remember the good times is all" It's Sam and she's right behind us, looking at the pictures. Dana stops bandaging me as she looks like she's seen a ghost...I know what's going through her mind. Sam looks at my wife with concern "Is something wrong Dana?" "Huh?" She looks up at Sam "Uh, yeah. I just need a minute" The ptero walks over and places a hand on Dana's "I understand, go take a break. I'll finish him up" Dana tilts her head "Are you sure?" Sam just pats the human's hand in a motherly fashion "Of course I am, it's my fault he's like this anyways" My wife nods and gets up to head to the bathroom... "Be careful, Red Comet" I say, shooting a worried look her way. She looks back at me with a weak smile "Of course, Cuddly Bear" She slinks over to bathroom and shuts the door behind her. I let out a sigh. Sam catches this and presses me. "What's up with her? The whole time she's been eccentric and bubbly" She finishes wrapping the the gauze and grabs the clips from the kit to hold it together "But during our talk and now when I mentioned why I keep pictures of my kids, she clammed up and became more reserved and closed off" She finishes fastening the clips and I start "It has to do with something she told me before our fight. When we decided to fight, Dana was basically pleading with me not to do this, saying I was making a mistake" I look to Sam, who's at full attention...sorry about this Dana. "I asked why she cared. She told me her father killed her mother" Sam covers her snout with both hands and shakes her head "Ripley..." I nod and turn my head to the puppets on the coffee table "It's the truth. She thought she should tell me, instead of dancing around the subject like she usually does" I can hear Sam shuffle around as she tries to process this. "Her father was a caveman, like Spears. Her mother, a full blooded human" I look over to Sam and she's looking at the puppets like me. Though she does look my way and I can tell she knows where this is going. She doesn't like it. "One night, her parents got into an argument. Dana doesn't remember what it was even about, but she remembers what it led to" I look back at the puppets "It got to the point of violence. Dana's mother was the first one to hit the cromagnon that was her father. Dana and her sister didn't know what to think. Her father back handed her and-" I look back at Sam who's braced herself for the worst. I let out a bated breath and close my eyes. "Her mother's head violently twisted around about three or four times. Right in front of Dana and her sister" I open my eyes and look at Sam. She doesn't look my way, only gazing at the puppets trying to process it all. She then speaks up. "How old were they? Dana and her sister?" "Dana was thirteen. Her sister was only nine years old" Sam covers her snout with her hand "So all that bravado-" "She did it for her sister. To stay strong for her, because there was no body else to do so" My ex-wife looks at me with pleading eyes "Ripley, is her sis-" I hold up a hand to cut her off "She's much better now. I've talked to her a few times and she's doing well for herself" I chuckle looking back at the laptop on Sam's desk. "She's a writer for some online news outlet. I think it has something to do with video games or something like that" Sam sinks into the couch with a sigh of frustration, while covering her face with her hands "And I went beat the shit out of you in front of her. I really am an awful person" I sigh and shake my head "Sam, you didn't know. Hell, I only found out recently" I look at Sam as I sink into the couch, minding my wounds. "It's why I held back so much in our fight. I was afraid that this time I would-" She cuts me off "I think might've actually killed you if John hadn't yelled at me" I shrug "You probably would've, but you didn't. That's all that matters" Sam sits up and looks at me intensely "I mean it Ripley! I should've stopped myself sooner or I-" I stop her again, remembering something my old man said often. "Should've. Would've. Could've. It doesn't matter now, what's done is done. It's in the past now" Sam stops and takes in what I said. And then she- "OW! FUCK! WHAT WAS THAT FOR!?" She glares at me "Where the hell was that nugget of wisdom when we where talking about you needing to move on!?" ... "Jeez, Sam, I don't know! It just now came to me!" Fucking punches me after all the... I sink back into the couch and Sam follows suit. She sighs and glances over at me "Ripley, I know we'll never really move on from what Lucy did but-" "You think we should at least stop killing ourselves over it?" The tiny terror cocks an eye brow at that "I mean, kinda? I just think we think need to accept it and just get on with our lives" She shrugs "At least that's what Anon told me" I cock an eye brow at that "Anon said that?" As I ask this I notice Sam's eyes widen, like there's a multitude of things running about in her mind. She hesitantly looks my way and starts "Uuuuh, speaking of Anon! I have to tell you something else about the night before the shooting, that he told me..." She trails off...what is she talking about? --- ...7:25 P.M. Anon & Stella's Apartment ...This fight scene isn't helping calm my nerves, but Stella insisted on watching some shonen crap to fill the fight shaped hole in her heart. God I hope everything turned out okay between Samantha and Ripley. I really don't want to wake up the next morning and find out one or both of them are dead. Doesn't help that Reed texted me saying the fight itself was hard to watch... Maaaaybe I should call to check if Samantha's alright. "Anon, I told you calm down. We did the reading about it this morning and it said things will turn out alright!" I sigh at my stego wife's optimism "You don't know that man like I do, Starlight" She looks at me somewhat annoyed "You keep saying that! What on Earth did Ripley do when you first met him? You've never told me!" ...Huh. She's right. I have never told her about Ripley from back then. As far as Stella's concerned from what she told me about her interrogation, he was a patient saint. Oh, but I knew better. I rub the back of my neck "Well, he showed me his golfing form" Stella tilts her head in confusion "Well, that's not so-" "Up close. Nine-iron inches away from my face" I can still feel the wind from that swing. Stella's eyes widen at this "Ooooooh. I see...he was that kind of dad" I nod "Yup. Now you know why I was scared shitless around Monty at first" "Well, I'm sure it'll be fine" Stella snuggles up against my chest, looking back at the TV screen "Besides, from what I've heard, Samantha can handle herself" "Heh heh, yeah..." I look over at my phone on the coffee table, still wondering when I'll get a text, call or anything from anyone really. Just as I was thinking this, Stella's phone starts blaring that Pre Cure intro I am so familiar with. She picks up the phone and looks at the screen. She cocks an eye brow and tilts her head "Huh. Samantha's calling me first" Stella looks over at me "Should I put it on speaker, Moonlight?" "Uh, yeah, lets" Is all I can muster to get out. Stella hits the answer button and immediately hits the speaker button, motioning me to start. "Um. Hey Sam, how'd the fight go?" Smooth. "Uuuh, not great, but it doesn't matter, Ripley and I are both okay" I let out a sigh of relief and sink into the couch. "Though, speaking of Ripley, he may be a bit mad at you Anon" ...What? I tense up immediately "Sam, what did you tell him?" Stella glares at me "Did you not tell him about the night before between you and Fang?" "...uuuuuuuuuh" And then my phone went off. 'I AM THE STORM THAT IS APPROACHING~' I look at the screen...it's him... ...Fuck. [NOTES] Hey, been a while since I left chapter notes. Figured I should since this in another lengthy one like Chapter 4. So, I struggled a bit with the name of this chapter and eventually settled on Vandalize, another song by ONE OK ROCK. I feel like this song and it's lyrics represent both Samantha and Ripley's initial and still leftover feelings from the divorce. I hope what I wrote illustrated that well enough and doesn't come across as messy and all over. The next chapter (will for real this time I mean it) be the long awaited light hearted chapter of the fic. It'll detail some of the wedding and mainly be some short stories about the characters just living their lives. Yes, that compy is supposed to be Wendy's dad and yes, he'll be at the wedding. That's all you'll get for now. Also yes, the comic that inspired Samantha to join the Air Force, is just Star Fox in comic form, if that wasn't obvious enough in previous chapters. The other comic mentioned in Chapter 4's flashback to that night is supposed to be a Pikmin reference. Thank you for keeping up with my fic, all of you, and I hope you all had a happy Thanksgiving and Halloween. (if you celebrate it where ever you live that is) See you next chapter! And in advance, Merry Christmas!