Taking A Chance

Returning Home

Two hours later after talking to the others about the Admirals plan for the Blade, Lance watched the Blade ship Keith flew, disappear from sight.
He returned home later that evening, and as he walked towards the house he could hear laughter and squealing. The smell of food filled the air, but he didn't feel hungry.
He walked in the front door and the noise vanished.
‘Lance, are you okay?' asked Jorge, wide eyed.
‘Sorry?’ asked Lance, confused. He then looked down at himself and saw all the blood on his armour. ‘Oh, yes, I'm fine. I'll go get cleaned up.'
He hurried upstairs, grabbed a towel, shorts and t-shirt from his room and went to the bathroom and locked the door. He looked at himself in the mirror and grimaced, and started taking off his armour and putting it in the bath tub.
There was a soft knock at the door. ‘Lance, let me in please,' Marco said.
Lance sighed and unlocked the door. Marco came in, and closed the door behind him.
‘Mama wanted me to check on you,’ said Marco. ‘Do you need medical supplies?’
‘No, I'm fine,’ Lance said. He pulled of the top part of his under suit, to reveal saturated bandages. He took them off and threw them in the sink, to reveal a newly healed pink scar.
‘What happened?' asked Marco.
‘An angry kalgar didn't like being woken up,’ said Lance. ‘I'm fine really. I'll remember to clean up before I come home next time, I wasn't thinking.’
Marco looked at his brother a moment, then left.
Lance locked the door and stripped off and stepped into the shower and washed away all the blood. When he was done he washed and dried his armour, and washed the under suit and wrung it out. He removed the bandages from the sink and threw them away, then went back to his room and placed his armour on the floor and hung his under suit up, before flopping on the bed. The house seemed eerily quiet, and he drifted off to sleep.
When Lance didn't come down for dinner, Maria worried even more. Once dinner was finished, and the kids showered and in bed, she went to Lance's room. He looked pale, and whimpered softly in his sleep. She sat on the edge of the bed and pushed his hair from his face.
His eyes blinked open. ‘Are you hungry?’ asked Maria. He shook his head. ‘If you change your mind there's a plate in the fridge.' He just nodded, and closed his eyes again.
Maria left and went downstairs to the loungeroom.
‘He's very down,' she said. ‘It worries me.'
‘It worries me too,' said Jorge, ‘but he's a grown man, with a horrible job. He may just need space.’
‘I understand that,' said Maria. ‘But with Keith not here...he seems...more vulnerable.’
‘It looks like Keith had to heal him before he left,’ said Marco. ‘The blood on him was his own.'
They heard movement upstairs, and a few minutes later Lance appeared in his armour.
‘I have to go,’ said Lance. ‘Should be back tomorrow some time.'
Before they could answer he was out the door. All they, could do was watch Blue disappear into the night through the window.
Lance was back around lunchtime the next day, carrying two suits on hangers. He put them in his room, changed and went down to the kitchen. Molly and Jaya played on the floor at her feet and he went and gave them a cuddle.
‘Hungry?’ asked Maria.
Lance nodded and sat at the table. While his mother got him something, he crossed his arms on the table and lay his head on them, and promptly fell asleep.
He woke to a light shake of a shoulder and sat up.
‘Sorry,’ he said.
‘Eat, then go get some rest,’ Maria said, placing a bowl of warm stew in front of him.
She returned to the kitchen and finished cleaning up and came back to find Lance asleep again.
It broke her heart to see him so exhausted.
‘Lance,' she said, softy. ‘Go up to bed.’
‘Mhm,' he replied, and left the table and when upstairs.
The quiet was short lived when Lance was gripped by a nightmare.
Maria hurried up stairs and sat on the bed, and Lance flung himself into her arms and sobbed. All she could get out of him was that Keith was dead.
Soon he fell back into a restless sleep, letting out the occasional sobs or whimper.
‘Pa,' Molly said from the doorway.
‘Papa's just tired, sweetheart,' Maria said.
She came into the room holding Jaya's hand.
Jaya let go of Molly's hand and stood next to the bed. He looked up at Maria and pointed to Lance.
Maria picked him up and sat him on the bed. He crawled over to Lance and tucked himself into Lance's arms and curled up, and Lance settled into a peaceful sleep.
Maria picked up Molly and took her downstairs.
Two hours later, Lance woke up and frowned at the purple bundle in his arms.
Jaya stirred in his arms and opened his yellow eyes.
‘Hey, little man,' said Lance, 'how did you get in here?’ Lance ruffled his hair and Jaya giggled. ‘You are so much like Keith.'
‘Keef,’ Jaya said, in a high squeaky voice.
Lance grinned. ‘You said your first word.' Lance scooped him up and hurried downstairs.
‘Mama, Jaya, said his first word,’ said Lance. ‘Go on, Jaya say it again.‘
‘Keef,' Jaya said, happily.
Maria laughed. ‘There's going to be no stopping these two now. Any piece and quiet we had is gone.’
Lance put Jaya on the floor and Molly hurried over and took his hand, and babbled to him as she lead him away.
‘She's really taken with Jaya,' Lance said.
‘To a kid he would be like having a walking, talking teddy bear around,' Maria said.
‘True,' said Lance. ‘I can't wait for Keith to hear him say his name.‘ Some of his happiness dropped away.
‘I know you miss Keith,' said Maria, ‘but you can't keep thinking the worst will happen while his away.’
‘I try not to,’ said Lance. ‘The thoughts just push their way in. I spent so much time antagonizing him, and fighting with him to keep my emotions buried deep down, but now I've got nothing to keep me distracted when his not here.’
Maria brought two mugs of coffee to the table, and they sat.
'Why don't you start painting again,’ said Maria. ‘You're art supplies are in the shed, and there's a new art shop in town.'
‘Really?' he asked. He liked that idea. It would be a relaxing way to distract himself. 'I could get a small studio built in the house.’ He drank his coffee thoughtfully.
Half an hour later he was out in the shed, lugging out a large plastic box.