Smugglers Cove (Love2write and Silence)

Anna grinned. "Oh I don't think that it would be all your fault. There is someone in your house who has seemed to instigate trouble more often than others." She sort of figured that Star knew exactly who she was talking about. From the first that she could remember Killian had been a trouble maker. He loved to make things exciting no matter what was going on. Even if things were already too exciting he found a way to make the kids think it was all a game. It was not difficult to sense that little bit of fear from Star. Fear that perhaps Claire was digging too deep. That was a valid concern. The girl had likely gotten herself into some sort of icky stuff.

Star smirked. "Oh yes. Killian is still very much a child himself. But I love it."

With the comment from Star she was brought back to the conversation and Anna continued with her little line of thought. It was far more pleasant than thinking about what Claire might have gotten herself into. In fact it would be interesting to see what was out there. "That's who I meant." A smirk came to her face and she leaned forward a little to see Killian had practically squeezed the air out of her husband. "And I'm sure he won't grow out of it."

"Probably not." Star chuckled. She glanced over ar Kato. "So, after 20 years, can you say you're glad you stuck with him?"

Taking a deep breath and looking about thoughtfully she shrugged her shoulders. "Oh I guess." Still she was hiding a bigger smirk. "Had that man in bed with me once and I couldn't get enough of him after that."

Star laughed. "Anna! Still so naughty." She winked at her friend. "Never lose that. He needs you to keep him young."

"I know. While I get old." Anna glanced at the floor for a moment and then her friend asked about the aches. "Not very much helps anymore. Bullet wounds are a real nasty thing to deal with down the road."

"They've got some new experimental procedures to help with old wounds like that." Star suggested. "You might have Kato look into it for you. You've still got several decades to go without having those wounds a constant pain in your side."

Shaking her head and chuckling a little Anna rolled her eyes. "You act like I'm going to be around for a long time yet. How about you? No problems with the injuries? It's all still making that gradual healing? Kato is getting older, but not quite as fast as we all thought." Chippeqouti blood was strange. It seemed that injuries improved with time and the body naturally healed itself and regenerated damaged or missing tissue.

Star shook her head. "I have some aches from time to time if I sit too long or do a repetitive activity. But most of it has healed fully. And...if I do have a bad day I just grab one of Belen's incredible blankets and nap with it. That thing does wonders. I wonder if it only works on chips or if it would help you."

Almost instinctively Anna started to laugh. "I did steal one of those blankets one time when we lived with your parents to try out. It smells good, but I think it might be a Chip thing. Put it back on his side of the bed. You know he never noticed those sorts of things."

"You mean Kato?" Star chuckled. "That man has tunnel vision, I swear. Some things he see's all the details of while the rest of life passes him by. Hopefully he's grown out of that. That would have been so irritating for me if Killian was like that."

"Mr. Goggle Eyes. Yes that would be my man." Anna giggled a little bit. "Its a good thing he doesn't mind my nick names for him."

Star chuckled and shook her head, finishing up her cake. "Oh, lord. I could eat cake all day. You'd better take some home with you when you leave."

"So I can get fatter than I already am?" Anna chuckled and served another piece of cake up. "Kato does notice that kind of thing and if I gain even 2 ounces he reminds me that it makes back pain worse to have extra weight. Such a nerd."

"Aw, well. He's just trying to look out for you." Star smiled. "Killian only cares if I start looking like a bippen." She snickered.

Almost choking on the cake in her mouth Anna covered her mouth until her eyes watered. "Oh my gosh. Did he actually say that?"

"Oh yes." Star nodded, still smirking. "Remember that one year where I got the bone shakes and could barely move? I probably gained about 20 pounds. And one day, he rolled over in bed and looked at me and said, "You're looking a little like a Bippen." She laughed. "So I made sure to be careful after that."
Anna's mouth dropped and her eyes got wide. "That's practically calling you fat. Wow." Snickering a little she shook her head. "Sometimes I think you've got to be a saintly woman. I would have probably lost my temper. You were so miserable with the bone shakes and it was impossible not to gain weight."

Star shrugged. "I was rightly pissed for a few weeks, but after I began feeling better I knew he was right, and I didn't feel that great with all the extra weight either anyway." She took a sip of juice. "I've learned to take most of his 'painful' comments in stride with the fact that he absolutely adores me and doesn't really want to hurt me. He...just doesn't have that much tact."
"He never did." Anna thought for a moment before she said anything. "I went to him once thinking he didn't care about Kato and I. Probably the best thing I could have done and it seemed to be the biggest mistake of my life at that point." Briefly her face turned red with shame. "That day I missed coffee with you I was running away. Went up to tell Killian cause I thought he would just tell Kato and that would be it. I didn't want to leave Kato wondering if something happened to me so I needed someone to pass on the news and I didn't think he would try to stop me." Raising her eyes she looked at Star. "He listened very nicely and then told me he would tell Kato the dumbass reasons I was leaving and then proceeded to tell me I had a god complex. I was so mad at him for weeks and then I cried at you only a few days later."

Star smiled softly. "Good for him. He tells people what they need to hear. Not what they want. Much needed in a day and age where everyone is overly polite for fear of ruffling feathers." She glanced over at Claire and Robert who were talking on there own. She sighed softly. "You know Claire is starting to ask questions. Doing her own research even into our pasts. I'm terrified at what she'll uncover."
The little woman winced at the thought of Claire looking into her parents. "You saying that you'd like me to do a little hacking tonight to find out what kinds of records she's hacked so you know what to expect?"
Star looked at her awkwardly. "If you could. I need...I need to get ahead of this. It...it would be better if she heard about us from me and Killian rather than from some other scources who don't know the whole story."

Nodding her head Anna sighed. "Well if she's already started to dig you might not be ahead of it, but at least you'll know what to expect. Do you want me to send you the links?"

"That would be helpful." Star nodded. "And, don't say anything to Killian yet. I'm not certain how he'll react."

The fact that Claire had started to dig was bad news and Anna was a little nervous. She had only witnessed the time Killian ripped the arms off that Gillick, Kafus and it was horrifying to say the least. "I know what you mean. Does he still have nightmares?"

"We both do, from time to time." Star shrugs. "They are far less frequent though. Usually we'll encounter something that triggers it before hand then there will be a week or so of nightmares, then...it passes."

Anna took a deep breath. "Well then lets just say for now that you enjoy your day and I'll get cracking tonight when I get home. You'll have something tomorrow morning. So you enjoy your day and if you must, put things off for a day with Claire. Tell her you need time to talk with Killian about this stuff. I'll hack her pad and see how much she's read of the records."

"Thankyou, Anna. You're a good friend." Star gave her a quick gentle hug. "Don't forget to enjoy yourself too. It is a party after all." She grinned and raised her cup.

Accepting the hug she smiled carefully and then picked up her cake again. "Of course I will. I'm going to eat everything unhealthy I can till Kato comes in here and then I'll eat carrots like a good little bunny."
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Talking about the clinics was always a bit odd in Killian's mind, but he was trying to be nice and learn more about them. The journal was about the only thing he kind of kept up on and that was only due to Star reading helpful hints from the doctor section aloud. Personally Killian would have been just as happy to find those helpful tips out by accident or by personal experience. Still it seemed his wife was insistent on learning what they didn't already know and he was having to learn all this stuff about himself and humans.

More than likely the only reason he had learned half the things he knew was because of all Star's funny rules about his nights to help the kids with homework. Killian remembered sitting up at night and pouring over the kids school books so he would know what they were going to be asking him about. Reading had become somewhat easier and his spelling improved as well. Kato had been talking briefly about the clinics all that time and Killian suddenly remembered that he was supposed to be listening and he heard the part about Kato retiring. Not having Kato at the clinics would be so different. It was true that he didn't go with Star very often because they were both pretty healthy these days, but he still thought it was strange that Kato could be thinking about quitting.

Before he could ask Kato about why he would be retiring he was asked about the fleet and Killian shrugged, "Eh its just about the same." Somehow he forgot that he hadn't ever described what the same was. "We just make the transports and once a month I go along on the risky route. A few smugglers and privateers watch the less traveled routes. Nothing terribly exciting." While he was thinking about it Killian continued. "Why are you retiring? You can still work at the clinics with uh...Jacob. Just because he's working there doesn't mean that you have to stop."

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By the time they got home Anna was a little sore, but she was managing alright. It was a good enough excuse to go sit in their room a little earlier than usual. "Honey I'm gonna go lay down for a bit. See if I can get some pressure off my back. You and the boys just go out riding or something I'll be fine." Anna gave him a look when he started to pry. "Star asked me to look into something for her and I don't want you to be peering over my shoulder. Nothing dangerous for us. I promise." By the time she had her men shuffled out the door she was starting to worry a little. It might depend on what Claire hacked.

That girl was her father's daughter. Constantly getting into things that she shouldn't be. Sitting down in their room Anna pulled up a small screen on her tablet and tapped in a few codes till she got the device running the anti-encryption program she set up. Only in a matter of minutes she pulled files from Claire's tablets and log ins from multiple sites.

Seemed that the girl had gotten herself into a lot of different things. Maybe stuff that she wouldn't have known about without some kind of help. There was no one online to help her and at least not that it showed. That was a little disturbing. Claire had to be meeting with someone in person. How else would she know about these sort of sites. They were hacked records from the Gillicks. It wasn't just the records that the Gillicks made available there were things that they wouldn't likely release. Records that described the living conditions in the games and the protocol. These records were very damning for the Gillicks and they had done their best to cover the scandal of the games and make it disappear. Something that had almost been accomplished because survivors didn't talk about it. So who had an incentive to bring this all up and to the light of day? That was the real question.

Anna dug as far as she could into the record only to come up empty handed. After nearly an hour of that she started to open the files one at a time until she came across an odd looking one. It was titled differently than the others. When it came open the screen filled with images and then gradually the sound of gunfire started and she realized it was a film of the games. Near the front of the camera they were focused on Killian.

He had become the face of the games for a time and this was during the height of it. Those few short months and the Gillicks had kept records to see how the Chippeqouti fought. Anna started to feel sick part way through. There was so much blood, but she needed to know how much Claire had watched. A sickening taste filled Anna's mouth and she forced the acid back down her throat while she gazed at the screen. It was horrifying and watching the killing and suffering like this...it was almost indescribable. She couldn't believe that Claire had made it this far. Then it came to the center of the field, a part that Anna had never witnessed because they stayed close to the wall as Killian directed that day.

In the middle she watched as the unmistakable figure of Killian bludgeoned many men to their death and then turned to break a child's neck. It was with such force that she could see the neck stretch slightly and then the head begin to disconnect from the body. Finally it notified her that Claire had gotten no further. Anna stopped the video there and she closed her eyes. There was no relief from the images in her mind. There were several other files that contained video feed and each equally disturbing in their own way. Carefully constructing a report for Star and giving her the video time clips, then sent the message with the instructions not to watch or read before bed. Reading about it was one thing. Seeing it was another and it brought all the horrifying details to life.

One of the last clips had showed Killian leaving the game. Escorted out with blood dripping from his body. He wiped what he could off his face with equally bloodied hands and then went to his cage to sit. His eyes almost completely lifeless.

Just to be sure that Claire didn't watch anything further Anna put tags on all of the information so she could inform Star if there was anything further they should be aware of Claire watching or reading. Anna put her pad away in the drawer and left the notifications on if there was going to be any other activity from Claire that indicated she was searching deeper. That night there wasn't anymore looking into the files for which Anna was grateful, but she couldn't sleep. Waking up frequently she would be pouring sweat and then she would wipe her face.

Reaching over she carefully squeezed Kato's hand. "Its not pain baby. I just have bad dreams is all." Eventually they faded into twisted horrific images and she couldn't quite imagine how she was going to tell Kato what had happened. She couldn't tell him what Claire had gotten into. No doubt Star was going to be having issues as well and Claire needed help. At least Star knew what was going on now.
 
Kato shrugged as Killian asked him why he was retiring. "Oh, its just about time. Anna and I are getting older. She's been having more pains than she should at this time of life. In ten years it'll probably be worse. I'm considering moving her to a climate with more oxygen and a sun that isn't so harsh."
"There's plenty of oxygen here. You're just wanting to get out and do something exciting." Killian hated to think that Kato would be moving. So far the doctor had been his only friend. "Umm...I see a lot of different planets on the travels. Want me to start charting out some of them and taking weather pattern readings and stuff over the next few years? I pass all the same planets once a month."
Kato's eyes lit up. "That would be excellent if you could. Thank you, Killian."

Chuckling a little Killian met his friend's gaze. "I'll try to find one close. That way Star and I can come terrorize you. Besides I know how much you like data. I'll have heaps of it for you."
Kato laughed. "I like medical data, not planetary data. Don't drown me." He shook his head. "At any rate I'm still thinking 10-15 years down the road. Who knows, maybe by then I'll have changed my mind."
"Maybe if I gather enough data you'll decide to stay here. Too much damn work to decipher all those numbers eh?" Killian started to laugh a little. He was getting better at jokes that weren't horribly morbid or difficult to extract from his conversation as a joke.
Kato chuckled. "Oh I see. So you're not doing this out of the kindness of your heart. Its totally for selfish reasons." He smirked.
"Well if you're still determined to move I'll pick through all the numbers for you and give you the short version of what the planets are like." Killian grumped mildly and grinned. "I might do it out of the kindness of my heart if you asked."
Kato chuckled. "We'll see. I'd rather not move. I just want to do what's best for Anna. Even modern medicine still hasn't found a way to combat age."
"Yeah I know." Killian got a little more somber. "Got to have my check up in a few months. I still don't like doctors poking and prodding at me."
Kato chuckled. "At least I've seen it all before." He winked.
"Doctor humor." Frowning at Kato he turned his head away briefly. "You people are sick in your own way."
Kato laughed again. "We have to be to deal with the mortality of life everyday." He patted Killian's arm. "Well, why don't we talk about something more pleasant now."

*****
Star's heart dropped in the pit of her stomach when she got Anna's message. Claire had dug up information and vids on the games. She wanted to watch them and see exactly what Claire had found...but Anna's warning not to watch before bed gave her pause. Was the footage that damning? She tried to sleep...but she couldn't sleep past the curiosity. Finally she got up and went to the living room with the datapad and began to read through the attached tabs.

Star paled the more she read. How the hell had Claire gotten her hands on this? No wonder she was acting so strangely around Killian. She almost opened the vids, but turned off the data pad. She'd read enough to know what Claire had found without needing to watch that hell. She groaned softly, leaning her head back on the chair. This was not good. Not at all. Killian would be devastated if he knew that his baby girl knew this about him. She had to stop Claire from searching anymore.

***
The next morning Star knocked on Claire's door, taking a shaky breath. This was not going to be easy, or pleasant. But she knew Claire. The girl was too much like her father. Too curious, too stubborn to stop until she had the answers to satisfy her.
Claire started to push on Robert. "Get in my closet." Hissing at him she pushed a few more times till he got the idea and then she heard her mother knock again. "I'm getting decent. Just give me a minute." Once she had Robert safely stuffed in her closet she put on a robe and wandered to the door with a grin on her face. Pulling it open she saw her mom standing there and she stepped out. "Hey mom."
Star smiled gently at her. "Hey baby girl. Have a few minutes to talk?"
"Sure." Claire pulled her bedroom door behind herself. "Why don't we go down stairs or out to the patio?"
"Uh..." Star winced. "This is not a conversation we want to have in the open."
"Then why don't we talk about this after I have a shower?" Claire was trying everything in her power to keep her mother out of her room for now. If Claire had a shower her mother would leave her room and Robert could get back to his.

Star raised a curious eyebrow. Her mom radar was going off. It told her Claire was trying to hide something. Maybe she'd found more vids? Or something worse. She heard a sneeze from inside the bedroom and her eyes met Claire's as her little girl winced and seemed to shrink. "Uh, huh. Shower...right." Star pushed open the door to Claire's room and went straight for the closet. That was the only place she had to hide the boy. She pulled it open.
Claire tried her best to keep her mother from opening the door again and barging right in, but there was nothing going to hold her back either. Eventually she just followed her mother into the room and watched as Star tore the closet door open and there stood Robert in his boxers. "Hi." Nervously he met her gaze and waved.
"Come here, Son." Star said in a gentle tone, taking his hand and guiding him to the bed. She took Claire's hand and sat between them, putting her arms around their shoulders. Her face was completely calm, and her voice patient. "Robert, are you ready to marry my daughter and be a father to her children?"
Robert took her hand and a deep breath. Taking a seat on the bed he got a sheepish look at Star and then gazed at Claire who was currently staring daggers at her mother. "Uh...I uh...We're not planning any kids yet." While she was listening to Robert's answer Claire let him finish before piping in. "Mom, I'm almost 25. Pretty sure that I can do this if I want. Last time I looked there wasn't any law saying you or dad had to approve of who I chose to spend my time with or who I decided to share my bed with or anything else like that. We're taking all the precautions not to have kids. Ok. Its casual till we decide if we want to go further."
Star looked over at Claire. "Hun, you completely right. And you do not have to defend yourself to me." She said with a gentle smile. "But...you are living proof that protection does not always work. I just want us all to be sure, that Robert here is man enough to own up to his child and not flee, if it happens." She tightened her grip on his shoulders a little. "If...you are both ready to take on the responsibility of parenthood, then...have as much sex as you want. If not...well, I have done my responsibility in forewarning you.
It was less than ideal having Claire's mom talk about him like he wasn't there and Robert sighed. "Yeah I'll own up to anything that happens." He was afraid of what would happen if he didn't and he did like Claire. "So far I think I want her for a long time. Maybe forever. We haven't decided that yet." Looking at her mom Claire nodded. "Alright. So there we have it. Is that what you wanted to talk to me about? Did you alread know I was sleeping with him?"
"No." Star shook her head. "We have something else a little more serious to talk about...but...it can wait." She looked over at Robert. "Hey...treat my daughter with the respect she deserves, alright? If you don't, you'll find I'm much scarier than her father." She ruffled his hair and left the room.
Claire frowned at her mother. What in the world was she talking about? "Yeah how about we talk about this later. I need to get Robert out of here before dad finds out. Just don't tell him ok mom?" The young man nodded at Star and he couldn't help a little worry that came into his eyes. There were so many rumors about her dad that floated around and he wasn't sure if he believed them or not and then her mother claimed to be worse. Rumors must not be true, but there was always the danger of mamma bear and he didn't want to be the recipient.
Star looked over her shoulder at Claire, "I think it might be best if I tell him. He'll find out anyway...better he hear it from me."
"Fine." Claire stood up and started to strip her robe off while she changed. It didn't matter since it was only Robert and her mother in here anyway. "Go tell him and if he goes berserk we're leaving."
Star frowned slightly but didn't respond. She needed to address this thing with Claire as soon as possible.
*****
Star lay in bed that night with Killian, her arm over his chest. "So, Claire and Robert are sleeping together." She said casually.
 
Killian got into bed that night. He was thinking that Claire was a little clingy with her boyfriend that day. She'd barely said anything to him since she got here and then again maybe there wasn't too much to say right now. Nestling a little further into the bed he felt Star rest an arm over his chest and he put one hand over hers. "Uh huh." Yawning he started to turn toward Star and then it all hit rock bottom. "She's what?!"

Star's grip around his chest tightened slightly, half expecting him to leap out of bed. "You heard me. Now...calm down." She ordered gently. "She's a grown adult, old enough to make her own choices. They've been warned about potential consequences but we have to respect their boundaries."

"What the hell is she doing sleeping around with him?" Killian grumbled a little as Star told him to calm down. "Well...Well they need to be serious about each other. Claire isn't some whore that he can just try out and then decide what he wants to do with her. She should know better than that."

"They know that Killian. I think he really does care about her. And Claire is smart, but...you always taught them that natural consequences are the best way to learn. Can't stop now."

"Natural consequences." With a huffaw he pushed her hand off his chest. "You'd use that against me. Damn it those kids." Flopping onto his stomach he pushed on his pillow till it was against the head board and then mashed his head against the pillow. "So when did you find that out?"

"This morning." Star sighed lightly. She debated whether or not to tell him about what else Claire was doing, but decided against it. That would hurt him too much and bring up way to many painful memories. "When you see them tomorrow, you need to be calm and nice and show that you support them as much as you can. She wants to trust you with this, but she's afraid you'll freak out. Be calm and supportive, and when she needs advice, she'll be wiling to come to us."

Rolling his eyes he turned his head toward her. "Why the hell would she think I'd freak out anyway. I never have before."

Star shrugged. "Boys are different. You've been very protective of her. Maybe too protective sometimes in her opinion, considering the last few boyfriends that didn't make it past the first date."

"They were pieces of shit." Killian pushed up on his elbows. "All they wanted was in her pants and this kid said he cared and I'm ok with that. He passed the first round and if the other two were scared off its because they weren't any damn good."

Star decided to leave it at that and not press the issue any further till she'd had a chance to talk to Claire. "I know, hun. I know." She gently rubbed his back and lay back down.

Wincing a little Killian let himself lay back down again too. His back had been slowly getting better over the last several years and that meant that the feeling was returning to portions of it. Where he had been numb once now it tingled and sometimes it was painful to the touch. For the most part he didn't say anything to Star cause it felt like things were constantly changing. Even his knee was starting to improve without the constant strain on it and his leg had begun to do much better as well. Once they removed those metal supports in it the bones began to take care of themselves. The limp was minimal most days and he felt better in general than he had for years before this.

All the time that he had worked for the company Killian hadn't taken much for sick days. Only the days that Star needed him at home for the kids or something. Otherwise he had saved nearly a year worth of vacation time and sick leave together. So this week off was nice. Some time to just be with Star and the family. All the kids had come home for the week and with it came a little bit of chaos.

Turning over in the middle of the night he edged his hand along the bed and he finally decided after he reached the other end of the bed that Star had to be in the bathroom or she was needing a few moments to calm down. Maybe she had a dream and he didn't wake up when she tried to talk to him. Killian felt kinda bad about that. Sometimes he wasn't the best at being alert in the middle of the night if there wasn't imminent danger. There hadn't been for a long time and for the most part he had gotten the dreams under control. Occasionally things were worse and he'd talk in his sleep. Star knew to wake him up when that started and then that was sometimes the end of it.

By morning he pulled himself out of bed to see she was gone again. It had to be a rough night for her. Rubbing his face he tried to make himself feel awake. That didn't seem to be happening so he got up and took himself to the bathroom to shower. Killian out of habit brushed his hair, though it seemed to serve no purpose. With the towel wrapped around his waist he started for the bedroom to pull out his work clothes and he just opened the first drawer of shirts when he remembered that he wasn't working today.

When he came half running down the stairs like most mornings he found that Star was already out walking or something. The front door to the house was unlocked and so he went over to get a tea to start the day with. Since Star met his mother that was about the only hot beverage they drank besides an occasional hot coco. Pouring a cup for himself Killian sat down in his chair. Star's datapad was sitting on the table and he leaned back in the chair. Might be a nice relaxing morning to try reading a little news. He had done his best to get into the habit of reading when he had a chance. It helped him keep up on events and not sound like a complete idiot if he got a chance to talk to someone.

Turning the pad on he typed in her code. He knew it well enough and his was upstairs anyway. The page opened to where Star had left off and there was a link to a video. They had never had qualms about the other using their pads so he opened the link. Maybe she was watching something last night to wind down. Sometimes she found funny stuff. Familiar sounds started in the background and then entire scene unfolded. Killian shut the link and checked the next 5. Each time it only played a few seconds and then he began to scroll through the rest of the stuff. What was she doing last night? Reaching the top of the message he read the message from Anna and then shut the pad off again. Leaving his tea in its place Killian wandered back up to his bedroom.

Laying on the bed he tried his best to shut out the images. Little Claire had begun to dig up all of this and why? He almost felt sick at just the memory of games and the sounds. After a few more minutes he cleared his head enough to think that he should retrieve the pad so that one of the boys or Danica didn't open it and read or watch the videos. Wandering down the stairs again he snatched the pad from the side table and walked it back upstairs. If he was going to leave one downstairs for the kids it would have to be the family one in the kitchen. They could look at that one for anything. Typically it just had pictures of outings they made or some of the funny things that Star found to help with those days when life sucked.

Killian set Star's pad on her side of the bed and took his shoes off so he could lay back down. He didn't want to get up or face any of the kids today. Eventually he would have to talk to Claire, but he didn't want to.

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Claire got up early the next morning and she wandered out to the kitchen. She knew her mother was up earlier and dad preferred to sleep. If it was something he was going to be talking to her about too Claire figured he would be up. "Hey do you wanna walk outside to talk about whatever this super important thing is?"

Star looked up at her. "Sure." She finished her coffee and walked with Claire outside into the warm sun. Star took a deep breath. "So, you mentioned you've been doing research into mine and Killian's past."

The young woman brushed her thick black curls away from her face and pulled them into a ponytail. Following Star outside they started down the steps of the first patio and then onto the second before they reached the little dirt trail. "Yeah I did some research. Just because your books weren't that helpful and I only read them cause I had so many people at school and other places ask me about you two. When I left home it was like the whole world changed."

Star chuckled weakly. "Killian and I have done our best to protect you and your siblings from the things we've seen and been through." Star looked over at Claire tenderly. "You've found out some things about dad in the games, am I right?"

"Yeah." Claire shrugged. "Everybody would stop talking when I walked into rooms or they would change the conversation and I decided I had to know why. Its kinda disturbing to find out your parents aren't who you thought. Especially when your dad turns out to basically be a mass murderer."

"I'm not going to pretend that what Killian did to survive was ok. But he did it to get back to me. To save me. It was an impossible situation of kill or be killed. And you know full well from how we raised you that he's not the man who had to do those things anymore."

Looking at her mom she tried to appear indifferent, but she was still afraid to a degree. "Well I don't know what to think anymore. How could someone who did those things turn around and pretend to be somebody else? It was definitely him. I know it was."

"Because deep down, you know the man you saw in the games was not your father. He was a person put in an impossible situation by sick twisted people. And when it was done, he suffered horribly, for years. We still bear the scars of that time...but he healed, and became the person you know him today. The person he always, truly was."

Claire cast a sidelong glance at her mother. "Really? Mom be honest with yourself. He was that person before the games. What about the smuggling years? He had a reputation and we both know a smuggler doesn't get a reputation without killing people. You didn't put stuff in the book because he told you not to? Are you really safe with him?"

"Absolutely. He has never once harmed me not even come close to harming me. 'Cept when we first met." She smirked slightly at the memory. Star looked down at Claire. "You owe your father your life a dozen times over, Claire. I know this information about his past hurts right now...but I encourage you to not let this ruin the beautiful relationship you have with him. He's still the same father you've known for 25 years."

"Seems to be pretty convenient that he just happens to know the right people to get him out of trouble. You know they would have tried him for multiple crimes here if he didn't fight for the rebellion on the planet before we came here. Queen granted him amnesty because of grandpa and grandma. Do they even know what he did?" Claire stopped walking and she faced her mother. Her lightly tanned face almost squished up with the effort it took not to cry.

Star put a hand on Claire's shoulder. "That was 24 years ago, Claire. And he has paid for it. Every night for 5 years he paid. With every war he fought in to protect people, he paid, with our enslavement to the Gillicks he paid. If you want justice for those people then know this...he paid, and he's never stopped paying for it. The only thing left is to kill him." She sighed. "I've forgiven him. Anna and Kato have too. Question now is are you going to make him suffer more for crimes 2 decades past...or are you going to forgive him too and let it go."

The only thing left is to kill him. That phrase rung over and over in Claire's mind while she stared at her mother and she started to cry. "Mom..." Wrapping her arms around Star she let her tears soak her mother's shoulder. "I don't want that to be dad. That's what people know and...Robert is the first guy that hasn't asked me incessantly about you two. Why didn't you tell me instead of letting me find out like this?" Burying her head in her mother's shoulder she continued to cry for another couple of long minutes. Finally she started to dry her eyes and sniffed a few times. "Guess we should go back and make some breakfast. Twins will be up and making a mess otherwise." Those two were kin to trouble when it came to cooking. They made messes every time and they were nearly impossible to keep track of if they got started on something.

********************************************

Dominic and Danica raced for their parent's bedroom. Fumbling with the door the first one poked their head inside. "Hey is mom in there?" Danica tapped on Dominic for an answer and he shook his head at her. With a grin at each other the two of them bolted for the bed and they landed roughly beside their dad.

Having fallen asleep Killian wasn't really aware of his kids till he bounced almost off the bed. With a surprised yelp he rolled off the edge before he peered at the two of them laughing at his surprise. "You two." Grumbling he got back onto his side and rolled his eyes. "Just get out of here and leave your mother's pad right where it is." Pulling the covers over his head he waited for the weight on the bed to shift. He knew that once they moved he wouldn't be falling toward the dip in the bed.

"Aren't you gonna get up?" Danica pleaded in a playful manner.

With his heart still beating at a nearly dangerous pace he pushed the covers down and scowled at them both. "Not right now."

"Oh ok." Dominic grabbed his sister's hand and the two of them ran for the stairs laughing the whole way. It wasn't long till they decided to make pancakes for everyone and whipped cream with berries and tea. All of it sounded good. So did having a side of sausage links and eggs. Mom loved eggs and Dominic was pretty good at cooking them. Mikey came to the kitchen to join them, though he was more of a chopping guy since he burnt most things he tried to cook. Another part of his job was to keep the music playing. So he grabbed the family tablet and opened the music box so they could listen to all the same old music their mom used to play when they were little and helping her cook.

When Star came in the three of them grinned at her. Zach was quietly sitting in the living room with his wife and trying not to be too distracted by the constant noise of the other 3. Their mom said something about Killian and Dominic shrugged. "We tried to get him up, but he's sick or something. Kinda grouchy too." Merrily the three continued with their ambitions to make a gourmet breakfast and Claire ducked in to sneak a few bites of fruit for herself and Robert before dodging out of Danica's reach.
 
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Star got a little worried when she heard Killian was still in bed. Was the thing with Claire and her boyfriend still bothering him that much? She trotted up the stairs to the bedroom. Star pushed open the door to the bedroom. "Killian ? Twins said you were sick or something. You ok?"
Hearing someone come up the stairs again only made Killian want to groan. He would eventually have to face them, but this was going to be difficult. When star pushed the door open he didn't even move. "I'm fine."
"Liar." Star went over to the bed and sat down beside him. "Is this hideout about claire and robert?"
"Should have given me points for trying to sound convincing." Mumbling from underneath the covers he finally poked his head out when she mentioned Claire and Robert. "No. I can't help it if they're sleeping around and we did the same thing before we got married."
"So...whats up with you then?"
Killian took a deep breath and set a hand on her pad. "That's what happens to be up. I don't even know what to say to her."
"Oh, shi* Killian. You wern't supposed to see that." She sighs. "I talked with her for a while this morning. She just needs time to process."
"I guessed as much after I saw what was in that damn message." Rubbing his head he rolled onto his back so he could see her a little better and then pushed up on one elbow. "Eventually the kids are gonna find out. What the hell do we tell them? Obviously Claire already found out and maybe it would have been easier if we told her before this so she didn't get curious and go looking for herself."
"Maybe. Too late now." Star shrugged. "I don't know, Killian. The other kids don't seem as curious or care as much. Claire is too much like you though, too curious. You will have to talk to her. Eventually."
Frowning he flopped back into the bed. "Ow." He'd slightly miscalculated where the headboard was and his chin was resting on his chest now with the back of his skull firmly resting against the headboard. "Well if we tell the other kids it could be something brief so they don't ever feel curious. I dont' want to do this more than once. I know I have to talk to her, but if I had to do this again and again...." Sighing he tried to shift, but it was hard with her sitting practically on his legs. Blankets were tight and he couldn't shift as well as he thought he should. "I'm not getting up till I have to."
"I know you would like to mope but our kids are only here for a week. Take a shower, relax and come down and visit. Then, if a time comes up where it feels appropriate to talk to them, we can."
"Took a shower this morning and this is as relaxed as I get." Killian ran a hand through his hair and grumbled a little. "No...leave me alone." Finally he had to cock his head to the side so he could make his voice slightly louder than a garbled mess. "I don't want to get up." It was his last protest before he started to squirm to her side of the bed so he could get out from under the blankets, fully clothed.

Star rolled her eyes and shook her head, leaving him to come down stairs when he pulled himself together. She grinned at the sight of pancakes, tea, eggs and sausage all ready and on the table. "Aw! My beautiful kids! You're all amazing." She gave each one of them a tight hug and kiss, even Zach who was sitting with his newly pregnant wife. Star gave Nel a kiss on the head as well, drawing an embarrassed giggle out of her. The cute woman was far too shy and tender for this wild crazy family. But Zach loved her...and that was what mattered.

"I'm not sure when your dad will be down, so...let's just start eating." Star sat them down and poured herself a cup of tea, chatting with the children she loved so dearly, grateful that she was aging so slowly so as to have plenty of time with them, and her grandchildren soon to come.
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Kato nodded slowly as he went over Joseph's reports and recommendations for the new clinic. "Hmm, this is good Joe."
"Really?" The young man asked hopefully.
"Yes. You have some good insights here and some fantastic suggestions on how to improve the clinic's efficiency." He handed the tablet back to him. "You're in charge of this new clinic. Implement your ideas and see what happens. You have free reign."
"What!? But...but I'm barely out of med-school. I wouldn't know..."
Kato shushed his nervous rambling with a raised hand. "You are alot smarter than you give yourself credit for Joseph. I said they were good ideas, didn't I? I think you have more of a business mind than medical but if you can put both together, you'll reach greater heights than I."
"Yes, Sir!" Joe stood, smiling brightly. Kato nodded with a smile in return and Joe rushed out to start working on implementing his ideas to the clinic. Kato packed up his things and headed home. He stopped on the way to pick up flowers and held them behind his back as he entered the house. "Anna, dear. I'm home." He set his medical bag and coat down, finding her in the kitchen. He came up behind her, putting one hand around her waist and holding up in front of her with the others. "Happy Because-I-Love-you day." He kissed her neck with a chuckle.
 
Anna was carefully trying to finish the sweeping around the house. Both her boys had moved out by now and that was probably for the best. She wanted them to be grown up and gone when she died. Somehow she had grown to love all her men much more with age and a little more healing. While she was finishing up with the last of house care she felt a hand sneak around her waist and she giggled some. Dropping the broom on the floor she took the flowers and turned toward him after he kissed her. "Ohh there's my man. I only wished I'd known you before anyone else." Softly kissing him again she winked and set the flowers on the counter. "Doctor Jones what do you think of having shrimp cocktail tonight with a salad?"

She was looking forward to feeding him a meal that she had always thought he liked. Somehow it seemed that shrimp hadn't quite been labeled an evil food and she found that the ginger sauce made it especially desirable to him.

"Mmm, sounds tasty." Kato grinned, going to the sink to wash his hands and help her with the salad. "I gave Joseph run of the new clinic today. You should've seen his face. He was so eager to prove himself."

Anna chuckled. "Well its about time he figured out that he can be smart." Walking back to the broom on the floor she hooked it with her foot and gave it a good upthrust so she could catch it instead of having to bend over. Finishing the last of the sweeping she walked over to the sliding door and swept it all outisde. The little woman paused at the sink to wash her hands too and she winked at Kato. "You know it feels strange sometimes being home alone. Our boys are all grown up now. Couldn't imagine life without you or them."

Kato smiled over at her. "Neither can I. I'm glad you stuck with me."

Rolling her eyes slightly she reached across him to get the soap. "Well it took a pretty determined, hard headed doctor to decide he wanted me enough to make me see things differently."
Kato smirked. "We're talking about Dr. Gent, right?" He was referring to the therapist they'd had who had been instrumental in helping them through those difficult years.

Rinsing her hands off from soap she turned toward him and wiped them all down the front of his shirt. "Noo. We're talking about a sexy Doctor Jones." Swaying her hips slightly she pressed into him and wiggled her eyebrows. "If you're trying to get me wild it might be working."

"Oh?" He chuckled, planting his hands on her hips. "And here I though I'd have to work for it." Kato winked then kissed her before pulling away. "But first, food. And tell me how your day went."
Snorting a little she pulled away from him and started to pull the oils out of the cabinet so she could start the ginger sauce. "Hardest you've ever had to work at getting this girl was raising an eyebrow." Anna chuckled. "My day went pretty good. Getting used to this house wife business. Might have done a little extra stuff on the side for a friend."
"Oh, sounds intriguing." Kato washed the lettuce. "You allowed to tell or is that classified?"

"We could say a certain someone's oldest daughter is very related to their father. Got into some trouble and I need to figure where the feed is from." Anna couldn't really use names, but she knew Kato would likely have it figured out.

"Ohhh. Well...I feel for that person's parents." Kato nodded. "Children...what can you do?"

Anna began chopping the ginger and threw it into the kettle with the oils. Stepping to the side she pulled a few seasonings out of the cabinet. "You want the homemade dressing with that too?"

"What's the shrimp without the dressing?" Kato asked seriously, cutting tomatoes and carrots for the salad. "Anna, I've been meaning to talk to you about something." He was quiet for a moment which got her attention. "You know I'm thinking about retiring in about 10 years here. How would you feel about possibly moving to a new planet? One with more oxygen, a softer sun, just a more comfortable environment in general."

"No, I meant the dressing for the salad." Chuckling she somehow thought he would have made the distinction between ginger sauce and dressing. they were very different things in a culinary world. "I'll make both." Anna took a deep breath when he mentioned talking to her about something serious. "Why would we want to move?"

"I know this planet isn't easy on you or your body. I just thought it might be good to move to a place more comfortable for our twilight years. Its just a thought right now." Kato shrugged.

Anna mixed the herbs to throw into the bowl for the dressing and then reached over to stir the kettle for the sauce. "I don't think the planet here is that hard on our bodies. Lets just see what it looks like in 10 years huh?"

Kato nodded. "As you wish."

Snickering a little she leaned over and kissed him. "Nobody knows what their life will look like in 10 years. It might as you wish by then." Finishing up the sauce she pushed it away from the hot burner and turned the stove off while she poured the sauce in a dish for dipping and then had the dressing for the salad in a separate bowl. "Ooh my man will be so impressed with this." Chuckling a little she let the bowl of dressing pass under his nose. "Decided I had to do something special for you and then tomorrow we'll do something special again. Have to do something great every night of the week leading up to our anniversary. Hmmm."
*********************************************************

Eventually Killian made his way down the stairs. He was feeling a little sick after the videos and the stuff that Claire had read. There were so many things that he had tried to wash out and even though he hadn't read the articles he saw the titles to them and it was all he needed. The kids were here and Star needed to enjoy this time with them. Then next week he could go back to work or try to take a few more days off to get himself sorted out. Killian hated to admit it even to himself. It felt like he was teetering on the edge whenever this stuff came up. So much of it brought back horrible memories of things that he had never been able to describe or even try telling Star. That one night he'd told her all he could manage.

Before going downstairs Killian put a little oil on for anti stress from the medicine cabinet. His hands were almost shaking and he did his best to calm himself. If he wasn't calm he knew he would probably snap at somebody or be a grouch. When he got to the table he pulled the chair out quietly and sat down. Almost staring at the food with a blank expression he jumped a little when Mikey pushed a platter of pancakes in front of him.

"Uh dad?" The young man stared at his dad for a long moment. "Dad?"

Killian cleared his throat and looked at Dominic before he served a pancake onto his plate. "What?" He was trying to act as calm and natural as usual, but he couldn't help that sneaking feeling that kept coming back. What if they all knew already?

"Nothing... You just. You're just not yourself today. Sure you're not sick?" Dominic never remembered his dad looking like this. He only remembered the version of his dad that was busy with work, but always had plenty of time to play around. This wasn't at all like his dad and he hated to admit that it made him a little nervous. Even when he had rolled off the bed it hadn't been a normal reaction for him and that look in his eyes.

The oldest, Zach remembered the expression though it was a distant memory. He did know it wasn't the usual for Killian anymore. Zach never did find out what the look was for, but he always assumed it was tremendous stress of some kind. After the bombing he remembered a similar expression though it wasn't quite as worn looking.

Mentally Killian was kicking himself. He couldn't even pull it together enough to act normal at the dinner table. How in the world was he going to make another 5 days with the kids here?

*******************************************************************************

The next day before Kato got off work Anna dropped her jacket at the door and then flicked one shoe off and another. She had never tried this before and she wondered if he would trip over the trail of clothing she was leaving or if he would even notice. To make sure he noticed she did a few obvious things like leave her skirt in the middle of the hallway and drop her bra in front of the bathroom door and then she hung her underwear on the doorknob of their bedroom. If he didn't catch the clues she would be shocked for all time.

Anna had started a little journal of all the fun things a woman could do to get her husband's attention once they were older and single without children to interrupt the possible scenes. One day she was going to pass the little book of tricks onto Star. Sometimes she wondered if her dear friend found things not quite thrilling enough at home and when you had a day to scheme up plans it was far more fun.

When the bedroom door creaked open Anna smiled at her husband. "How'd you like the booty trap?"
 
Star glanced at Killian sadly, but kept on a smile for the kids. "Alright you guys. Tomorrow we're going over to Uncle Kato's to ride horses, but today is free to do whatever we want. We can go shopping, go see a movie, rent one here, play some house games. Plenty of options. So we're going to whiteboard it and see what we want to do." The whiteboard had been a clever idea of Star's to cut out the argument portion of figuring out what they wanted to do as a family. She wrote out several ideas on a white board or piece of paper then had everyone vote on their top three picks. From there she wiped out options and had them continue to vote until their were only two options left. From there, the option with the most votes won.

"And the winner is house games." Star announced with a grin. "Claire, why don't you and Robert choose something fun for the family?"

******************************************************************
Kato looked down as he nearly slid on an object upon entering the house. "What the...why is there a jacket on the floor?" He picked it up, only to notice a pair of shoes leading out of the living room. His face twisted in confusion as he continued follow the line of clothing? All the way to the pair of underwear on the door handle. "Anna? You dropped some laundry out..." He opened the door and flushed, as Anna posed on the bed for him, a pile of clothing in his arms.
"Booty?...oh!...I thought you were having trouble with the laundry." He chuckled awkwardly, face flushing as he tossed the pile in the corner before joining her on the bed. "Well, I like it very much."

******************************************************************
Star watched Killian from the mirror as she brushed her teeth. He'd been quiet all day, even during the family games he hadn't participated much. She spit out the toothpaste and rinsed her mouth. "Killian. Maybe you should just talk to them tomorrow. Get it done and over with."
Shaking his head he reached for his toothbrush in the cabinet. "Just give me a little time." He didn't like talking about this stuff and he wasn't real sure how to say it. Mostly he'd spent the day trying to think of ways to manage getting through the day. "Well...Hmmm." Shoving his toothbrush in his mouth he started to brush his teeth just to avoid talking with her for the moment.
Star shrugged in resignation. "Are you at least going to talk to Claire?"
"Rrrmmmm." Mumbling a little he tried not to let the toothpaste run out of his mouth and leaned over the sink.
Star rolled her eyes. "Better sooner rather than later. Talk to her now before she has a chance to come to the wrong conclusion."
Spitting the toothpaste out he rinsed the brush and stared at her. "Fine I'll talk with her."
Star nodded before climbing into bed. "Good."
******************************************************************
Star knocked on Claire's door that next morning right after Killian had gotten. She knew he would have trouble initiating the conversation, so she was going to do it for him. "Claire, your father would like to see you in the bedroom."
 
Today they were gonna head out to Kato and Anna's place. That meant that more than likely there wouldn't be any talking about this stuff and Killian figured he could get up a few minutes later and take his time getting ready. There were little ways to avoid un-pleasantries like this one. Sleeping hadn't been real great, he was tired out and most of it was just the emotional drain and then the physical exhaustion of very little sleep. Finally Star left and he put a little more of the oil on. Taking a few deep breaths he tried to prepare himself for the day and hope that he didn't look as awful as he felt.

Claire rolled out of her bed when she heard her mother call to her. "Alright I'm coming." When she stepped into the hall she stared at her mother. "I don't really want to talk to him about this. Do I get a choice?"

"Mmm, no." Star replied. "I've found the best way of getting over these sorts of things is to talk about it and get it out in the open so the wounds can heal. Come on now."

Groaning she followed her mother down the hall and up the stairs to her parent's bedroom. Once she was inside she saw her dad get a surprised look on his face. Like he hadn't expected her to come at all.

Killian had been rubbing the back of his neck when suddenly the door opened and he froze. There was both Claire and Star. "Uh..." Letting his hand drop he stared at them like he had no idea what he was supposed to do with this. Claire didn't even look all that happy to be in here and he had a feeling that Star had already talked to her about this. It was hard to know exactly how much Star had said and Killian wasn't in the habit of telling anyone much of anything. He just accepted what he did and quit trying to balance it with the good things. Nobody cared if he did good things or not anyway. "So you found out."

The young woman tilted her head the side. "That's it?" She was feeling a little frustrated. "You're not even upset about it? Not gonna scream me out or anything, or tell me how much you regret all that shit?"

Frowning a little he shrugged."Don't really see the point. Bothers me, all that stuff." Leaning over he grabbed a jacket off the edge of the bed. "You shouldn't be looking that stuff up. If you want to know something ask me and its your privilage to know. You're my daughter, but I don't want you telling a bunch of other folks about this stuff."

"Its not like I want to turn into the gossip mill." Claire stared at him for a long moment. "Why didn't you just tell me?! I had to find out because people treated it all like a secret."

Killian swallowed and glanced at Star. "Guess I uh...I don't know. Wanted you grow up normal."

"Why didn't you tell us you were sleeping with Robert?" Star asked, but didn't wait for an answer. "We each have our reasons for keeping the secrets we do. For us, we wanted to protect you and your innocence as long as possible. One day, when you have children...you'll do the same."

Claire narrowed her eyes and glared at her mother. "Maybe I didn't say anything cause I didn't want someone to go ballistic and kill him."

"What the hell!" Killian almost yelled. "I don't have time for this shit."

"Calm down, Killian." Star said in a firm calm tone, then looked sternly at Claire. "You have no right to talk to your father in that manner. He has never done anything to you to warrant such disrespect, it doesn't matter what his past is. You can express your frustration without being cruel or disrespectful."

The girl stared at her mother for a moment. "Frustration? More like horror. What was I supposed to think?"

Killian wasn't anywhere near settling down. "You're supposed to keep your nose out other people's business. That's it. Whatever the hell else you wanna know just ask. Don't look up anymore of that shit."

"Because asking you about that stuff is a good idea?" Claire tilted her head to the side and took a step back toward the doorway. "You can't even hold it together and none of us have said a damn thing."

"We are trying to make right now, Claire. Now ask your questions so we can all put this behind us and move on."

"Then dad needs to get a grip. I'm not saying another word till he sits down or something." Claire moved a little further away. She was still partially afraid after all the videos she'd seen and there were some things a person couldn't un-see.

Growling under his breath he took himself over to the bed and sat down. "Fine I'm sitting." He was still feeling high agitated with the entire situation. This was the last thing he wanted to talk about with anyone. It had been difficult enough with Star and he had wanted to just make a quick general statement and never have to actually answer any questions.

Claire glanced at her mother and then cautiously took a step forward. "Why didn't you try to save those people instead of killing them? I read the books and you saved hundreds maybe thousands of lives."

"Because I couldn't. I'm not a god and I'm not immortal." Killian glanced at her almost angrily. "I did what I had to and it was to survive because I made a promise to your mother."

Star sat down on the edge of the bed. "I wrote that I was captured by a gillick for a few months and turned into his slave. What I didn't write was that he was trying to break me at every turn. I was on the verge of losing myself when Killian managed to break free from the games and find me...only to get captured again. I made him swear to do whatever it took to get back to me alive...and he did. But that meant he had to be the sole victor of every game. By himself, there was no hope of saving them. It was a choice between something horrific, and less horrific. Sometimes...in the real world...that's all the choice you get."

The girl gulped a lump in her throat. "So you knew and that's why you forgave him?" She almost sick and yet relieved at the same time.

"Of course I knew. Knowing what he was doing every game, to save me...it was torture everyday. But he did it for me. And, as strange as it sounds, I love him all the more for not giving up and letting himself be killed. If he had...my mind would be under the control of a sick twisted Gillick..and you and the rest of our family wouldn't exist."

Claire clenched her jaw. "I didn't know." She lowered her head in shame. "I'm sorry."

Still not feeling great about any of this Killian just stared straight ahead at the wall and he let out a long sigh. "Ok. Just don't look anything more up. I don't want you digging around in those records. Its not safe." Then he had another thought. "Who was it that got you started finding those things?"

"This random guy. Said he knew who you were and he told me he would help me find out the truth that wasn't in the books." Claire shrugged. "Never got the name."

Star put her arms around Claire. "I don't want you seeing him again. Killian's right. Its not safe. Our past...things having to do with our past is not safe. We still have many enemies."

The girl got an almost sick look on her face. "He knows where I live. Maybe I should move in with Robert."

Star looked up at Killian, startled. "Why don't you move back home for a bit till we can get you a new place. If he knows about your home...he'll know about Robert."

He had dropped his head into his hands and he groaned. "Ugh...Claire do you have a deadbolt on your door or encrypted locks or is it still that stupid little lock? You shouldn't even go home unless I go with at this point. Better get Robert out too." Chances were the person knew where Killian and Star lived to. If he didn't that was lucky.

Shaking her head the girl could feel a growing fear. What had she gotten herself into? Carefully Killian got to his feet and he walked over to where Claire was and he walked her to the doorway. "Just go get changed. We'll figure the rest of this out later." Now it didn't make much difference if Robert heard or not. He was equally involved and there was no telling how much this stranger knew. They obviously had a way to hack into the Gillick records and retrieve things. Were these videos going to be used as blackmail or was it for some other purpose? Best thing to do was going to be getting Claire moved out of her apartment and Robert too.

Once the girl was out of the room and down the stairs Killian shut the bedroom door again and he sighed. "Who the hell out there knows how to get that kind of information? It's been 20 years and suddenly they're targeting my kids and I've had enough." From the sounds of it this person had offered to help Claire and that would seem to indicate that they were well aware of who she was.

Slipping the jacket on he grabbed Star's and walked over to stand behind her. "We'll figure this out. Not going to let anyone hurt my family." Once she had both her arms in the jacket he pulled up on it gently and pulled her in for a kiss. "I'm always gonna love you."

************************************************************

Anna could see the shuttle arriving and then the entire Laulorin family pile out. They were like a having a family of giant ants visit. Always milling around and busy as all get out. However, she could see a distinct change in Claire and the young woman was almost sheepish around her father though not nearly as stand off'ish. Must have finally had a chance to talk though it didn't seem to help Killian or Star. Both of them were looking a little worn out and maybe stressed.

"So we even asked the neighbors if we could have a few extra horses to ride. That way everyone can ride one." Anna pointed to the saddle bags. "Got lunches for everyone and Kato said he'd lead the group." He might not have, but she knew that he had a couple of highly enjoyable trails to take and it was good for him to be the one leading a group every now and then on a small exploration that would prove to be completely harmless in the long run. Besides, her boys loved to ride the trails with him and sometimes they would go adventuring and helping Kato find something new.

Awkwardly scrambling into her saddle she smiled at Star and rode up next to her. "So shall we let the men dominate the trail for us? Make sure there aren't any snakes?" Chuckling a little she noticed that Star looked especially upset even with her jokes. "Hey is everything ok?" From the sounds of it things were not quite ok. "I'll do what I can to find out who it is. I've still got a few friends around and we could possibly get them shut down for dispersing subversive materials to the public. I could claim Claire as an undercover agent since she was cooperative and shared the details. I'll just need to talk with her and see if she knows anything about the guy or what he looks like." Sometimes when Anna thought she wasn't any use something like this would come up and then she would remember that while her body was quickly fading she still had a little something left to offer her friends.
 
Star was trying to have a positive attitude as they met up with Kato and Anna to ride. It was difficult though between being worried sick for her daughter’s safety and running on only a few hours sleep. Killian’s dreams seemed to have come back full force with the reminders on the datapad. It had been painful to seem him suffer like this again, especially since their daughter new and was acting odd towards him now. Anna noted her demeanor and asked about. When she explained the situation her friend nodded and promised to find who it was that was targeting them after so many years. Star smiled lightly and nodded. “I’m glad to have a friend like you.”

Kato led the boys up some of his favorite trails. Occasionally he found himself racing them on strips of trail that were wide enough, before pulling back where the trail narrowed again. “C’mon pops! You’re getting slow in your old age.” Joseph laughed as he raced on ahead.
“Nah, he’s always been this slow. Stick up his butt, remember” Jacob smirked, winking at Kato who chuckled with them but was inwardly biting back the pain of the words. There was a reason Jacob had rebelled when he was only 17, thinking Kato was too strict on him and going off to do his own thing. Kato had finally managed to repair relations with him a year ago, but sometimes he was the brunt of comments such as these by Jacob (usually when his mother wasn’t around). Whether in jest or on purpose, he wasn’t certain. But for fear of driving Jacob away again, he let them slide.

“Hey, up here! Found another path!” Jacob called.
“No, Jacob. That one is much too close to the edge of the ravine for the horses. One miss step and they could lose their footing. Better to stay down here.” Kato warned.
“Aw C’mon, where’s your sense of adventure pops!? Oh right, I forgot, you don’t have one.” Jacob guided his horse onto the uneven path.
“When you have your own horse Jacob, you can do as you like. But that one belongs to our neighbor. It would be irresponsible to put him at unnecessary risk.” And yourself… But he didn’t say that.
“Ugh...fine.” Jacob grumbled coming back down to the main path.
“Hey, Jacob! Race to the picnic spot.” Joseph didn’t wait for his brother and took off down the path with Jacob close behind.

While the boys wrestled in the dirt, Anna and Star set out the blankets and things for the picnic. “It really is beautiful up here.” Star noted, looking out over the edge of the mountain. “So nice to live next to a place like this. Though, I do miss the forests.”
 
The little woman peered over the edge with Star. Sometimes she couldn't help wondering what it would be like if she had wings or a paragliding set. "You know I think we should try something exciting in a day or so. Can't tell anyone in advance. Just surprise our men." Anna grinned. "We need to make a date for just the four of us and go paragliding." Momentarily her eyes lit up. "Jump right off the edge of this cliff and float off for a ways. See where we decide to land." Really it sounded like a great idea to her. There was nothing quite like the notion of jumping off a cliff and landing wherever you willed.

In that moment she almost thought she caught a sad look from Star. "Don't worry. Everything will be ok." Glancing over at the boys all wrastling around in the dirt she grinned. "He'll be just fine." Killian was standing back with Kato though it was obvious that Killian wasn't too far off from joining the game with the boys. "You've both pulled through more than anyone else I know." Setting a hand over Star's she grinned. "That's why its up to us girls to keep our men feeling spritely. Keep him guessing." With a giggle she handed a small book to Star. "I've got a few tricks I've played in here. Try it out and see what happens. I keep my Kato from being too worried about much. After all these years we've found our balance. Took a while for me to earn his trust. You've already got your man's trust and his heart." After a moment she sighed and then smiled gently again. "Talked with Belen once. She told me something very interesting about men and it made all the sense in the world. She said that if you have a good man he is very careful choosing his woman because when he makes her his partner he gives her his heart. I didn't know that when I hurt Kato. Kato protects me and it's my job to guard his heart. I've done my best since then to guard his heart instead of shredding it."

**************************************

While the boys were busy playing in the dirt Killian watched them. Off and on he had small flashbacks. Clenching his jaw he determined that it wasn't going to happen. He needed to take control of this and function. Part of him wondered if he could. Still he had to try. These were the kinds of things that tore him and Star apart. It was going to destroy his family and he wasn't about to give them up.

For the time the best he could do is set flashbacks behind himself and get involved in the play. As soon as his youngest managed to get out of the fray Killian pushed Dominic back in and the miniature wrestling match ensued.

"Dad that's cheating!" Mikey pushed at Killian. "That's not how you're supposed to wrestle."

Killian shrugged. "What if I just want to win? No rules?" Seemed that the boys looked at each other and suddenly he had both Dominic and Mikey charging in. The two of them being 3/4 Chippeqouti and better versed in wrestling had Killian pinned after a few minutes, but it didn't mean he hadn't a few tricks. Pulling his legs underneath himself Killian twisted slightly and kicked at Dominic's legs. All three of them were set off balance and Dominic grunted from the bottom of the pile.
 
Paragliding would be fun.” Star noted with a nod, glancing over at Killian sadly. She could see his fists clenching and unclenching. A silent signal of the battle in his mind. Part of her was so angry at Claire for drudging all this up again. Then again, she’d been just as curious and pushy with Killian when they’d been together those first few years. She glanced back over at Anna as the little woman told her not to worry. Star smiled gently, then Anna set the book on her lap and she gaped at the woman. She looked over her shoulder to make sure no one was watching and began flipping through the pages, face turning red at some of the suggestions. She began giggling like a little girl at the thought of doing some of these things to Killian.

When Anna began talking about Belen she closed the book and listened closely. She loved both Belen and Morgan deeply. They meant almost as much to her as Killian did now. “Well, It looks like you’ve done a good job protecting his heart, cause, he’s still here and its clear he adores you.” Star smiled gently, rubbing her friend’s back then looked back up at everyone. “LUNCH!” She called out, hiding the book beneath the blanket and leaning back as everyone raced towards them for food.

Anna, Claire, Donica and Star grabbed their own food first then the boys were allowed to dig in like the savages they were. Several reprimands were given about manners before things calmed down and everyone sat with their food, happily munching away.
Star lay against Killian as she ate her food, hoping her close presence would bring him some comfort. Kato began talking about a waterfall in the area they could visit, even swim in if they wanted. But Star’s mind was distracted, lost in thought as tried to think of how to cheer up Killian.
***

Star lay down a heated-herbal blanket on the bed before Killian came into the room. She sprinkled some calming oil scents on his pillow then put some the same oils in a diffuser that filled the room with a soft scent that couldn’t help but make you relax. In the background she put on gentle music with the sound of rain, then sat on her side of the bed with some herbal massage oils. When Killian came in she smiled at him and patted his side of the bed. “Massage?”

After he lay down she began working at the knots in his shoulders and neck, going for more of relaxing massage than a deep tissue massage. “Today was fun, yeah? I’m still not a huge fan of horses but they aren’t so bad to ride...and the scenery was beautiful.” She worked her hands down to his lower back. “I noticed you were struggling a bit today. Do you...need to talk about it?”
 
When it was finally time for lunch Killian and the boys made a race for the picnic blanket that was laid out on the ground. Thankfully the girls had taken what they were wanting and then the next race was on for the food. Each of the This time even Jacob joined in and the four men made a game of seeing who could get the food without somebody else slapping the wrapped sandwich out of their hands.

After a quick scolding from the women Killian pushed Dominc and Mikey. "You two behave." He never assumed any order from Star excluded himself, but he liked to pretend it did. That was half the fun especially when Star gave him the disapproving looks. It only took a few more moments for them to get started on the picnic. Unwrapping his sandwich Killian had to smirk. There was a huge mess inside the wrapping. Killian's sandwich happened to have gotten mashed a few times during the game. Didn't look quite as bad as Mikey's though. All through the meals the guys laughed at the misfortunes of the insides of the sandwiches falling out on the others. Wasn't till the time to clean up that they cared how much of a mess that they made.

Anna had to smile. It was good to see that Star still had her wild men. In a way she thought it helped Star stay a little more relaxed. The woman had a tendency to get uptight and it was better if she had some extra excitement without the stress. Dominic, Mikey, Danica, and Claire for the most part provided that.

***************************

After they got home that evening Killian waited till all the kids were in bed. He was almost wondering if he could manage to tell them. Still had to do that and while he'd decided what he wanted to say it was probably going to have to wait till tomorrow or at least till he got Claire and Robert moved back here. The two of the would need to lay low for a while. Before they found a new place to stay the two of them needed to be away from whoever it was that had been talking with Claire.

Stepping into the room Killian took a deep breath. It smelled good and then he noticed Star. Smirking a little he took his shirt off and sat down on his side of the bed. "Who would say no to that?" Since Star was offering Killian figured he should be somewhat fast about taking his shoes and pants off before slipping into his pajama pants. This house was a bit cooler than his mom and dad's. The Chippeqouti that sold it had been right about that. While it was very comfortable for Star and something that Killian had been accustomed to, he still liked to wear more clothing than an average human might wear to bed. Mostly he liked to be warm and he stayed warm enough to feel like an oven. Sometimes Star said she could feel the heat radiating off his body and that was when he was most comfortable.

Laying down on his stomach he pushed his pillow away so he could rest the side of his head on the bed. "Mmmm that feels good." Groaning the words he tried to relax his muscles while she worked on the shoulders and then on her way down to his lower back. While she was working the muscles Star asked him about the problem and Killian winced at the mention of it. "Would have joined the boys earlier in their wrestling, just nervous that I was going to take it too seriously and hurt one of them. Feels different now that they're adults and it isn't just a tickle war."

Killian closed his eyes while she kept working his back. "Don't want this to destroy our family. Star when I chose you its because I wanted you for the rest of my life. That hasn't changed and I'm gonna beat this for you. They knew if I got out it would eat me from the inside out. Its not gonna happen. Getting better and I intend to stay that way."

That night Killian was mildly restless. Some of the oils helped him rest and Star was close which had always been comforting. Over the years he had slowly regained his voice. It was as if before this he couldn't speak, couldn't even manage to make a sound come out and now it was becoming more common to speak in his sleep. Whenever he started to mumble or become restless he could feel her hand rub along his back and Star would sometimes try talking.

Turning in the bed after she'd woke him up he wrapped both arms around Star and pulled her close. For several minutes he held onto her without saying anything at all. Finally he let out a shaky breath. "I love you."

**********************************************************

The next morning Killian knew that he would have to start getting Claire ready to go get moved. There could be some risk involved and he wasn't sure if he wanted Claire or Star there. He could take Robert and make sure that her boyfriend came back safely. Then again he needed Claire to see the consequences of her actions no matter the cost. Natural consequences as he had always called it. "Star I need to take Claire and Robert to get them moved. Before we head off should probably take some time to talk with the kids about us." He noted a little bit of fear in her eyes. "Don't worry. I'll be fine and the kids will be fine. More than likely anyway."

Slipping into his boots he tied them on and then walked down the stairs to the main room. All the kids were sitting around and Killian stood near the entry of the living room. He suddenly felt very nervous about all this. However, he was standing here now and the family almost seemed to sense that he had something to say. "I uh...You all need to know that I was in the games once and its true that I was the one they called 'The Beast.' As painful as it was to admit it the kids were old enough that they should know. "I don't like talking about it. If you have to know something for your own peace of mind ask me. Don't go to strangers. Some of them could be dangerous. I've known a lot of bad people and there's still some that would like to hurt the family. I'll do my best to answer your questions." Lowering his gaze some he let out a long breath and he started for the kitchen. Killian hadn't wanted to tell his kids that, but keeping it hidden had resulted in something far worse than if he would have told Claire a long time ago.

Though her name wasn't mentioned and it didn't sound like there had been any mistake at all Claire could feel the guilt rising. There was so much about her parents that she didn't know. It was easy to judge them without knowing what really happened. She had thought that she got the real story. While it was real, it was only part and it had greatly shifted her perspective. After what she'd seen it was still difficult to view her father the same. That look in his eye was the same and it made her even more nervous. How her mother could have asked that of a man that she loved Claire didn't understand. To love someone more for that was romantic and at the same time disturbing. There were going to be plenty of questions for her mother when she got moved in. Now that she knew a little more there were a lot of unanswered questions about both of her parents and especially her mother.
 
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Star was ready for Killian to have another rough night and didn't get upset when he began tossing and mumbling in his sleep. When he did she scooted closer to him, rubbing his back and whispering about how he was safe and how she still loved him. Killian was precious to her. More precious than anything else in the world, and it pained her to see him suffer like this. He'd suffered enough in her mind. Why couldn't the world just let him be at peace? At one point the dreams were bad enough she had to wake him. He stared at her with those beautiful green eyes and pulled her close to his chest, where she just listened to his heart beat for a long while. She smiled softly as he breathed out a shaky "I love you."
"I love you too, Killian. This will pass, as everything else has." She kissed him gently, then snuggled back into his arms, falling back asleep like that.

The next morning Killian announced he was going to tell the children the truth. She feared what their reactions would be. Claire's had been pretty volatile and she was the closest to him. What would the others think? Star stood behind him as he addressed the children, a supporting hand on his back, watching their reactions closely. As Killian finished his short confession, there was a stunned silence in the room. The twins looked at one another with a rare seriousness. Zach didn't look surprised. While Killian and Star may never have told him outright, he'd been old enough to hear it from other sources while they'd been working through it. "Its ok, Dad. That was 25 years ago. We know who you are now and we still love you." Zach said finally, breaking the silence.
The others nodded in agreement. The twins especially looked uncomfortable with the tension and were chuckling to try and lighten things up.
"Our old man? A Beast? Pfft...." Donica smirked, her purple eyes twinkling.
"Well, he is still pretty hot for an old guy if you want to say he's a beast in that way." Dominic chuckled and flexed. "I mean, those abs alone..." He wolf-whistles and Mikey and Donica laugh with him.

Star smiled gently and took Killian's arm in her own, kissing his cheek. For now, it didn't seem the revelation had fazed them too much. Likely because they didn't understand the full ramifications of what it meant for him to be the Beast. Still, she was glad. Star glanced over at her first born who still looked somber despite the other's attempts to lighten the mood. Claire's green eyes stared at Star's intensely, as if a hundred questions raced through her mind but knew that now wasn't the right time. She was grateful for that. Hopefully Claire could get work through this quickly while she was home.

****

As hard as it was saying goodbye to her children at the end of the week, it was also a relief. Star had missed the quiet with just Killian and now they had Claire and Richard moved in. Star knocked on Claire's door once everyone had gone and opened it when permitted entrance. "You getting settled alright? Anything you need?" She asked kindly as she watched Claire unpack another box.
 
Killian stared into the kitchen sink while the kids were all busy processing what he'd just said. In part he wondered if they would all react the same as Claire and if this was the end of his family. Would they even be able to look at him the same? There was some hope considering the fact that he assumed only Claire had watched the videos. Something that even he couldn't finish watching that one night. Each time he clicked one of the videos to watch it he knew what was going on before it even got far enough for the extreme violence.

There had been a reason that he never watched any of the films about hero's or wars with his children when they were growing up. Killian couldn't stand to watch that kind of film for good reason. When he turned around again Zach was being his usual dependable self. He had always been a special kid in his own way. The boy had forgiven him for more than Killian could have ever thought possible. Left the boy in jail while he went to ask Star about adopting him and Killian had personally messed up so many times trying to help the kid. Zach kind of got the butt end of the stick several times. He was the one that saw the most mistakes growing up because he was the oldest. Yet if he knew all these years it had not changed much if anything at all about their relationship. In away Killian found that comforting and he only hoped that the others could put it aside as well. Claire was perhaps the only one that would have a more difficult time.

The twins like usual had some sort of off topic comment that came out rather strange and Mikey went right along with them. Raising one eyebrow Killian stared at them for a moment and then shook his head. "You three..." What could a person say when their kids started to make comments like that. "Just hurry up and get some breakfast."

*******************************************************************************

Claire was disappointed to be moving in. Her dad had gone down with her and Robert during the last few days he had off to get them moved. While she sorted her stuff out in one of the lower floor rooms she pushed all the boxes that belonged to Robert over to a side of the room. He would have to come get that stuff later. Killian had gone to work, but Robert was in his room and he was getting stuff put away. Now they were just going to have to get up earlier in the mornings to go to work. Claire had started to shove a few more of her things into her closet when she heard Star knock on the door. With a sigh she walked over to the bedroom door and opened it. Her mother was standing there asking if she needed help with anything. "Not anything I really need help with." Claire let out a breath and then motioned for her mother to step into the room. She knew better than to speak loudly and so she kept her voice down. "How could you have asked anyone to do that?"

"Ask anyone to do what, Honey?" Star questioned, then a look of revelation came to her face. "Oh, you mean ask Killian to do whatever was necessary in the games to come back to me? Is that what you mean?"

Once her mother was inside the bedroom, Claire walked over behind her and shut the door so that they could continued the conversation in private. She nodded at her mother. "Yeah, how could you ask him to do that? Not that you would want somebody you loved to die, but still. That sort of stuff changes people. It's sick. "

Star sat on Claire's bed with a sigh. "For one thing, I didn't know he'd be fighting children. I thought he'd be fighting Gillicks, or other experienced warriors. But, even if I had known...how could I ask the man I loved to give up, roll over and die. Would you ask that of Robert? Or would you want him to do whatever was necessary to come back home to you?"

The young woman shifted uncomfortably on her feet before she sat down next to her mother on the bed. "I don't know. I've tried theorize about it. Just I find it so disgusting. If you watched the movies you would know sometimes he killed people in creative ways and it wasn't necessary. Almost like it was for variation for the crowd, to test himself, or whatever else. Couldn't say I would tell Robert to give up, but I'm not sure I would want him back if he did something like that."

"But neither have you been through the things with Robert that Killian and I have been through." Star answers. "I don't come from a perfect past either. What he did...it was horrible...and we had to work through it for years. But he would not be the man he is today if I hadn't stuck with him and helped him past it." Star put a hand on Claire's shoulder. "Honestly, if our roles were reversed, and I found out Robert had done those things, and you were defending him...I would probably be very upset too, and plead with you to leave him...for your own safety. So, I understand where you are coming from."

A deeper frown came to Claire's face. "Well you know what? If you can easily put yourself in my shoes then you know something is wrong." All of this had been deeply unsettling for her and Claire didn't want to believe that it was her father who had done those things. "I've never seen him mad. What happens if he loses his temper? Sure he's yelled a few times and we were always scared of him when he did, but its different now that I know what he can do."

"What he did do...in the past, Claire. This topic is 25 years old. The man you saw in those vids did horrible things in the past...but he also did many wonderful things. When I first joined his crew, and ended up in that coma, he took care of me for months, even though he could've left me to the Alliance. Heaven only knows how many creds he spent to see me healed. Then he let Timo aboard his ship, a boy who would've otherwise been a street rat. He rescued me from a gillick who was doing terrible things to me, only the cost was doing terrible things himself in order to survive long enough to save me. He fought in so many wars to save enslaved Chippequoti, help humans hide from gillicks who wanted to enslave them, rescued people from the games...twice. The list goes on and on, Claire. If you're going to insist seeing the evil from his past, you have to see the good as well."

Claire's eyes narrowed. "You mean all those colonies that you two joined were people he saved? Why doesn't dad ever talk about the good things he did? He doesn't talk about himself, his past, and barely his work. I had to go to others to learn anything about him and if he did so many wonderful things he should counter the stuff they say about him."

Star smiled sadly. "Killian tortures himself for the things he did more than anyone else ever could. He's never forgiven himself I don't think. Perhaps, he sees their cruel words about him as part of the penance he must pay for the games. I think he believes that even all the good things he has done still doesn't come close to making up for the games. Maybe it doesn't...but the point is...he still did them, without complaint. As I said, he's been fighting ever since that time to make up for the impossible situation he was put in. The ones you should really be angry at, are the Gillicks. The Gillicks are the ones who sanctioned the rape and murder of children and innocent men in the games, not Killian."

"Fine its wrong what the Gillicks did." Claire was almost exasperated with this conversation. Her mother was going to stand by Killian no matter what. "You were never very clear about your part either. Why in the world would he think things were so desperate that he had to get to you if you weren't in the games?"

Star stood and pulled off her shirt, revealing the dark, faded burn scars on her back and throat. "These scars have faded after 25 years, but I didn't get these from war. I got them from the gillick who held me as his slave for 3 months." She put her shirt back on and looked seriously at Claire. "He kept me in an electric collar, like a pet. He tortured me almost everyday to break my mind, to make me...loyal to him. Before Killian rescued me, he succeeded by implanting a special chip in my head that controlled the chemical response of my brain to him and Killian. Killian saw this happening to me when he came to rescue me the first time. What man would not do everything in his power to stop the torture of the one he loved?"

Somehow Claire had never really thought that the scar's she'd only caught a glimpse of on her mother had been part of the war. She almost shuddered at the thought of what being enslaved would mean. "They did that to you?" Claire blinked a few times. It was starting to make more sense. Her mother asked him to come back out of desperation and that was what drove both of them. "What did the implant do?"

Star looked away, her eyes lost in memory. "It made me think I hated Killian...and...that I loved the monster who held me. For several weeks, I would literally do anything for him out of loyalty. Some...horrible things which I'd never repeat. Though I did try to kill Killian twice because of it." She looked at Claire, tears coming to her eyes. "I never wanted you to have to know about this, to carry the burden of sufferings 25 years past. Neither did Killian. That is why we never spoke of it. Better for our children to remain happily ignorant, thinking life can always be beautiful."

"So you tried to kill him and he didn't hurt you?" Claire was almost confused. If he had been the monster she thought he was then he wouldn't have tolerated that from her mother. Gazing deeply into her mother's eyes she waited for a long moment before saying anything else. "So did you really love him even when you knew what he did, or did you both somehow feel obligated because you were afraid no one else would have you?"

"No. I truly did love him, do love him. And he me." Star sat beside Claire again. "Claire, your father and I were best friends before we ever became lovers, which wasn't until nearly a year later. We'd been close friends, deeply in love for at least four years before those events ever happened. When you find someone you love that deeply, that love covers a multitude of sins. That's not to say we didn't have times were we nearly gave up and parted ways...but, we had a saying, 'We'll get through it, together.' and we always have. And that moto has served us well."

Now that she had everything she needed Claire stood. "Ok." Walking with her mother back to the door of the bedroom she nodded. "Thanks. I just needed to know that." Opening the door she let her mother out and then closed it again behind Star. Some of it made far more sense now that she knew about her mother. At least she knew what questions to ask after she got her mother talking. There was certainly love there and a whole lot of it. Her mother and Killian would kill for each other and there was no doubt about that. In fact it only made her wonder more if the other scars that had obviously been faded almost to the point of non existence had anything to do with those years. So many people invested in the books and they wanted to read them for the parts of her parents life that was so vague in the books you wouldn't recognize the real person if you met them.

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The man stared at the house from the outside for a long time. He'd known that little Claire would hate her father, but now the man moved her into his home. Perhaps there was still a chance. He had never really shown his face to her and he wouldn't have to. Claire had brought him here and he could complete his job without flaw. All he had to do was make sure that the first phase had worked. She needed to reject her parents. If she did that the rest of it would be easy. In the event that the girl was still devoted or her parents had found a way to lure her back in there was an alternative way to complete the job. The employer was waiting with a good sum of money at home. He would be more than willing to see to it that the life was destroyed and the family.

************************************************************************************************

Killian started on the winding lane home from his shuttle landing pad. It had been a long day at work and he yawned a little. Still he intended to go through all the usual routine at home with Star. That was what made life worth it. They would have a quiet dinner and he would get to sit with her after. Just the two of them and sometimes they got to talk and other times they were completely quiet. He liked the little routine and it made life nice and predictable. It didn't really matter if it was considered boring. Boring was a good thing after everything else that happened in their lives.

On the walk toward the house he came to the little cross roads that led to his house or the neighbors and a man was standing there. "You lost?" It wasn't entirely uncommon for a visitor to the area to get lost if they were going to visit someone in the area.

"Yes. I was hoping there would be someone that knew the area well enough to direct me to the MacFaul home."

Walking over to where the man was at Killian pointed down the lane. "You go on the left for and then see that little light over there?" Momentarily he felt a twinge of pain like a muscle cramp or something. At least it passed quickly. It happened from time to time with the old injuries. "When you get to that light post you take a right and then you'll see a big gate and that'll be the place."

The man nodded. "Thank you."

Watching for a moment Killian was finally satisfied that the man was headed in the right direction. He walked the rest of the short distance to get into the house and Killian grinned at Star. "Hey that's my woman." Pulling her into a hug he winked at her. "Where's Claire and Robert?" It sounded like the two of them had gone out to dinner just so they could have some time away. "Oh good I need time with just you sometimes anyway." Wandering into the kitchen he lifted the lid on the pot and breathed in deeply. 'Oh that smells good."

When they finished with dinner Killian sat down in his chair which was big enough to share and that was part of the point. Though it was big enough to share there wasn't enough room to get away either and Killian liked that. "Hey wanna come sit with me?"

Star smiled at him. "Of course." She settled next to him and lay against him. "Our empty nest isn't so empty anymore with Claire back." She noted. "I almost forgot how much I enjoyed the energy of all the children together."

Smirking a little Killian nodded. "Well you know I checked with Kato and he said its possible for you to still get pregnant if we take the aging test to see where our bodies are at. Could always have more."

Star laughed a little. "You know, I kinda like that idea. But, I also like thought of having a few quiet years with just you."

"It would only be another 20 years and we wouldn't even be 100." Chuckling a little he pulled her closer so he could kiss her. "But, if we take the test and then find out what kind of time we have we could plan both. Maybe 5-10 years of just us and then another baby." Killian wrapped one arm around her and winked. "What do you think of that?"

Star looked up at him. "I think I like that."

"You know what!" Killian almost jumped out of the chair and then he settled back in. "I forgot. Nevermind. Mum wanted to tell you something and I'm not supposed to ruin the surprise." Leaning the chair back he frowned when his back started to cramp again. "We should do something tonight. Maybe watch a movie, or play a game, just not too late. I got work in the morning."

Star was now curious though. "Wait. What about your mom!?

"No, I can't tell you." Killian started to laugh. "Dad forgot and he told me and then said I wasn't supposed to say anything."

Star raised an eyebrow at Killian curiously. "Hmm. Well, you only remembered when we were talking about me getting pregnant again." Her eyes widened. "Oh my gosh! Don't tell me Belen is pregnant! After all this time!"

Cringing a little he nodded. "Damn it. I'm as bad as my dad."

"Oh my gosh! That's so exciting!" Star nearly bounced off the chair. "Don't worry, I'll pretend to be surprised. Awww, so must be so pleased." She looked up at Killian. "How do you feel about having a little brother after all this time? Or sister."

"I don't see how it changes that much for me." Killian shrugged. "Mum and dad and are happy about it and that's good. I'll have to take a few days off work when its time for the baby so I can go see mum in in the hospital and meet the new baby."

Star smiled at him gently. "You're going to have a brother. One who will be looking up to you as our children have. Its amazing thing." Star laughed and shook her head. "Don't know why I keep saying brother. I guess I'm just assuming she'll have another boy."

Shaking his head he chuckled a little. "Well we'd better be prepared for a big party. Mum is going to be excited."
Star leaned back against him. "I'm already planning the details."

"Mmmhmm." Killian held onto Star for just a few more moments. Yawning again he glanced at her. "So tell me about these plans." Most of the night had turned out to be just chatting and that was nice. Claire and Robert were still out late, but that was expected. Killian wouldn't have been surprised if they decided to get a hotel room. After a while he woke to Star telling him it was time for bed. Apparently he fell asleep with her talking to him about the plans. It wasn't that they were so boring, it was just a long day and he was tired.

Heading up the stairs to their room he sat on the edge of the bed and took his boots off. Then Killian started to unbutton the top of his uniform jacket when he remembered in his foggy half sleeping brain that he had to take the belt of first. It was mostly decorative and it had to fit firmly so it looked nice. Unstrapping the belt he suddenly felt light headed and a gush of hot fluid ran from his back down his pant leg. Wasn't anything that felt normal. Sometimes the nerves did weird things. Killian didn't know all that much about bodies, but he had been told his nerves were healing and he was gaining some feeling back in some of those areas that had previously been numb and it could create odd sensations from time to time.

Slipping the jacket off he reached into the cupboard to find the nerve cream. If the belt irritated a nerve last thing he wanted was to be up all night with back spasms which had been somewhat frequent tonight. His sight was getting blurry and Killian shook his head a little. He started to get light headed again and he glanced in the mirror before he collapsed and hit the floor. A pool of blood rapidly began to form around him and it ran in thick rivers, stretching out in almost every direction.
 
Star chuckled as Killian fell asleep talking to her. She rolled her eyes at him and gave him a gentle push. "Hey, sleepyhead. Time for bed." She gave him a playful swat as he trudged upstairs. She turned back to the kitchen to clean up the mess before heading upstairs. She wasn't certain what Claire had taken away from their conversation. Whether she was more upset with them or more understanding of the situation. She hoped, more understanding. When the last bit of food had been put away and the last dish scrubbed, she trotted upstairs to join Killian in bed.

The light was still on, which was curious considering he was usually in bed by the time she came upstairs. She pushed open the door eyes widening in horror as she saw Killian on the ground covered in blood which had pooled out across the floor. "KILLIAN!" She raced to his side, stripping off his clothing to find the injury. There was puncture wound in his lower back. Small but it must have hit an artery for there to be so much blood, or maybe he'd been laying here too long. She sprinted into the bathroom for the medical kit while simultaneously grabbing her data pad and calling the emergency services. "My husband has been stabbed and lost a lot of blood!" She told the operator while pouring the coagulating agent on Killian's wound then grabbing a towel and pressing down hard on it to keep him from bleeding out. "Send a med-vac! Hurry!"
Star put a finger to Killian's neck praying for a pulse. "Hold on, Killian. You damn stubborn man. Don't you dare die on me."

*************************************************************************************************

Star sat in the hospital waiting room, covered in Killian's blood, eyes weary and swollen as she sat waiting for any news. She'd sent one mass message to the family. It hadn't been more than 15 minutes so no one had shown up yet. No doubt several of the kids as well as Belen and Morgan were on their way. "Ma'am." Star looked up at the chippequoti nurse, hoping there was news on Killian's condition. Instead the nurse handed her a pair of clean scrubs. "I thought you might like a change of clothes. There is a shower in the bathroom just around the corner. I'll let your family know where you are if they arrive before you come out."
Star stood and nodded, taking the clothes. Her throat was too tight to speak and say thankyou.

Once in the shower she wept anew, watching Killian's blood wash down the drain. He'd been so pale by the time the med-vac had arrived and his pulse so weak. Still, he'd been on death's door before and made a full recovery. The question was who had done it. And why? She finally dried off and pulled on the clean scrubs offered to her by the nurse, dumping the bloodied clothing in a bio-hazard bin before going out to the waiting room. Belen and Morgan had come while she'd been cleaning off. Her lips curled as she tried to hold back the sobs while she approached them. They would have questions that she had no answers too.

Belen watched Star as she approached. There was still no word and she wrung her hands. "Are you ok?" The woman was doing her best to keep from crying and she could see that Star wasn't too far off from crying either. Before Star could answer Morgan pulled her into a hug with himself and Belen. He had learned after many years that when there was nothing to do a hug was best.
Star took several shaky breaths before she could speak. "I...don't know what happened. Or how anyone got in to stab in. Doesn't make sense." She whispered, tears rolling down her cheek.
"What do you mean?" Belen hadn't been able to catch much of the story when she'd received the call. All she knew was that Killian was in an emergency surgery. "Stabbed?" The woman blinked a few times in disbelief. Her boy had been quiet and well liked at his job. Killian hadn't made any enemies that she was aware of.
Star pulled out of the hug and nodded, wiping her face. "He went up to bed and I stayed downstairs a few moments to clean up. When I went up to join him, he was on the floor in a pool of blood. But there was no window open...no one came in the house. Its...strange. I don't understand how. It wasn't a bullet either as far as I could tell."
Both Morgan and Belen's foreheads creased with worry. "Was there anything at all to give a clue?" They knew the police would be coming, and so far the story sounded so strange. It wasn't good either. Belen took Star's hand. "I believe you, but you had to have noticed something else." Surely when Killian woke up he could clear Star's name if the police suspected her.
Star shook her head. "I was too busy trying to save his life to look for clues."
"Don't worry about that now." Morgan guided the women over to the bench in the waiting room. "Police will be searching for clues of any kind."

Star leaned against Morgan as he put his arm around her. She was just beginning to realize how bad this was beginning to look. Not that it mattered at the moment. Only Killian mattered. She closed her eyes, stroking the wedding band tattoo on her ring finger. You can pull through anything, Killian. So pull through this.
 
Claire frowned a little when she saw the call from her mother. "Really?" She was barely done with the meal her and Robert had gone out to share. True, it was a late night, but it wasn't like they weren't coming home. "We're just gonna be a few minutes more." Mumbling under her breath she shoved the pad back into the slot at the car.

"You really should check that." Robert glanced at Claire. "C'mon your mom and dad love you. I know they do. Should have heard what your dad said to me. He pretty much said that unless I was ready to stick with you to get out. Your mom seems pretty cool to. She's easy going. Claire I know you've got something going on at home that you're not talking about. Just tell me."

The woman stared at him. "You know what? I don't have to tell you." Turning toward the counter they were standing near she just about ordered another drink when she felt Robert pull on her arm. "Hey!"

Robert glowered at her. "Claire you don't need anything more to drink and we should get back."

"One more drink alright?" Claire pulled her arm away and turned back toward the counter. "I'll tell you what's going on when we head home." Shrugging a little she ordered the next drink and took her time while glancing at Robert. He was looking especially anxious and she loved to watch him squirm sometimes. For being a Chippeqouti he was certainly a jumpy fellow. Chuckling a little she gulped the last bit and then snuck an arm around one of his. "You gonna take me home now? Maybe we'll get there before curfew."

Rolling his eyes he got into the shuttle and then turned the autopilot on to take them back to her parents house. "So what's going on?"

"My mom and dad are so messed up." Claire sighed. "I mean they love each other like crazy and they worked so hard to make sure we grew up good, but my dad was like a psychopath killer and my mom was super abused and stuff. Not by him, but yeah. Anyway that's what is going on and I don't know what to think anymore. Obviously my dad isn't that psycho anymore, but there was this rumor that my mom is the only reason he even tries to behave. Mom is kinda...well she's a lot more than I thought. What kind of lady lives through torture and other stuff without coming out crazy? I just never thought she would be like that cause my mom seemed normal and she loved us so much. So did dad. Who would ever think they would find that stuff out? You know war is one thing. That other stuff is something else."

"Hmm." Robert thought for a moment longer. "You know it is kinda crazy thinking that. Maybe the queen pardoned them and all for good reason. Obviously they don't want to be those people and you said yourself that you never saw that kind of person in private either with your parents. Just put it this way. They went through some crazy stuff and because of it they worked extra hard to make sure you didn't go through that stuff to. I mean that's what I would do." Shrugging some he looked at her and grinned.

With a playful slap she hit his shoulder. "Somehow that sounds so simple. Why did it have to be that easy for you to figure out."

"Cause I'm not the genius." Chuckling a little with her he leaned over to kiss her. When they landed at the pad he stepped out of the shuttle and then frowned. "Your parents aren't usually up this late are they?" In the distance he could see all the lights that were on in the house.

Claire pushed her door open and she was about to respond when a hand covered her mouth and then a needle stabbed into the side of her neck. "Claire!" Charging into the brush after the quickly disappearing figure Robert was stopped short. The blast from the gun made him freeze and he blinked a few times. His chest felt like it was crushing into itself and he staggered back, slamming into the shuttle and then collapsing.

*******************************************************************************************

One of the police officers arrived a few minutes later at the hospital. There was another emergency and it was focused right around the house in general. The man marched down the halls with some back up and he arrived in the waiting room. "Mrs. Laulorin? We need you to come down to the station with us."

Star almost glared at the police. "My husband is in surgery. I'm not going anywhere until I know he's stable. If you need to question me, please do it here."

The man glanced at the female officer behind him before continuing. "Ma'am we will need to clear the room then."

Star nodded to family and gave them quick hugs and kisses before shooing them away. Once it was just her and the officers she turned towards them. "I assume you want my statement."

"We do Ma'am. I will have you write down your statement on this piece of paper and then I will ask you a few questions." Sliding a piece of paper toward Star he then handed her a pen.

Star sighed, rubbing her eyes which were red from crying before writing down everything she knew about the scenario, which wasn't much. She passed it back to him and glanced at the female officer. "I know the entire situation makes me look like the prime suspect. But if I did it, I wouldn't have saved his life. When Killian comes out of surgery and wakes up, he can tell you as much."

Both officers nodded and took the statement. "We understand this is part of the process. We also understand there have been some more recent changes in the family and possibly some stress involved in it. How did you feel about your oldest daughter and her boyfriend?"

Star shrugged. "We just met the boy last week. He seems nice but of course we're still wary about him, being that he's new. He just moved in with us today, but both my daughter and him were away when this happened." Star took a breath. "However, recently there has been some...interest in our past by a mysterious 3rd party who approached my daughter. We moved her home for fear that he or she had dangerous intentions."

"Do you have any information on this third party? Have you had any other suspicions about her boyfriend?"

Star shook her head. "No suspicions about Robert. Thus far he's seemed like a normal guy. As for the third party, not really. Even my daughter never met him in person. I'm sorry. I know its not much." She rubbed her tired eyes again.

"Ma'am how long have you planned for the two of them to move into the house? When were you made aware that they planned to be out for the evening?"

Star sighed again. "Uh, we've had it planned for about two days. They told me they were leaving as they walked out the door, an hour or so before Killian got home from work."

The officers looked at each other and then back to her. "Ma'am we'll have to take you into custody. Please cooperate and we'll give you word as soon as we hear about your husbands condition."

She managed a weary smile at them. "Belen, Morgan...they have to bring me in until Killian can give a testimony. Watch the kids for me. And you guys..." She looked at the children. "Don't be stupid and listen to your grandparents alright? And, find Claire...keep a close eye on her."

Belen and Morgan nodded. Nobody had heard from Claire, but it seemed that the girl got into about as much trouble as anyone else if not more. That eldest daughter of theirs was certainly moody lately and there was no telling what in the world she was up to. Morgan nodded to her. "It will be just fine Star. Your mother and I are going to be here for you."

*********************************************************

The paramedics arrived with Robert at the hospital and his shirt tore open to reveal a bloody gaping hole in his chest. "On 3 we'll lift and move him to the bed." One of he men started to count and then the team moved the young Chippeqouti to the emergency room surgery. "Second one tonight from that house. Police found him after a gunshot sounded out by the landing pad. He kept muttering something about a kidnapping on his way here. Said they took his girlfriend."

Nodding the doctor continued with the quick scan before having the young male prepped for surgery. "Anything else we should have on file? Do you have his name or any other statement?" Usually the doctors and police would cooperate on these sorts of issues, but it seemed for now they would just have to make a request down at the station for identification. Their medics hadn't gathered the identification in their rush to get the man here.

*************************************************************

An officer stepped into the small holding cell. "Mrs. Laulorin we got news that your husband is out of surgery and recovering. He gave testimony which clears you of any and all charges. It seems that the mysterious third party made 2 visits this evening. Your daughter's boyfriend was shot only a few hours ago and your oldest daughter was reported missing."

Stepping into the room the female officer offered a hand to Star. "I'm sorry. Would you let me escort you back to the hospital to see you husband?"

**********************************************************************

Killian moaned a little when he felt the hand brush through his hair. Mostly his breathing was shallow and he winced as he turned his head. Slowly opening his eyes he saw his mother standing in the room and she combed her fingers through his hair again. "Honey she'll be here in just a little bit." Belen had heard him mumble in his sleep over and over for Star. "You gave the testimony about half an hour ago. She should be here anytime."

Reaching up with one hand Killian waited for his mother to take it and then he squeezed her hand gently. "Are the kids ok?"

"They're all here except for Claire. Nobody has heard from her." Belen didn't know to be worried about the girl yet. Police had been very careful since the entire house was rather suspicious of late. "Right now Morgan is with the kids. Doctors don't want too much excitement for you." The woman carefully rubbed her hands over the back of his. "Just rest a little. Star will be here soon."
 
Star stood with a start at the mention of Claire missing. "Do you have any leads!?" She demanded. It didn't sound like they did. Her memory couldn't help but flash back to the time when Claire had been ripped out her arms on that one planet to be sold to on the black market. Her and Killian had stopped at nothing to rescue her. Now, Killian was recovering from a stab wound in the hospital, Robert had been shot and she could do nothing to help her child.
"If you can get me there quicker then yes." Star nodded sullenly in reply to the officer's offer. In the back of the squad car she cried again, this time for Claire. Was her baby alive? Who were these people who were attacking her family!? And why? Then she remembered that Anna had been looking into the person for a while now trying to figure out who was behind this. She sent a quick message to her spy friend, telling her what had happened and pleading for her to find Claire. If anyone could find leads, Anna could.

Twenty minutes later she met Morgan and the kids in the hall who all hugged her tightly. Finally took a breath and took a step back. "Claire might have been kidnapped." She said to them. "Her boyfriend was just shot and is here in the hospital too. They...don't have any yet leads but Anna is looking. I'm sure she'll find...something." Star swallowed, trying to be brave and hold herself together. After answering what questions she could she finally went to Killian's room.

He was still pale but Belen was beside him. She came up behind Belen and put a hand on her shoulder. "How is he? What did the doctor's say? Did any nerves get damaged?"
Belen looked up at Star when she felt her hand on her shoulder. "He was asking for you since he woke up. Doctor said there was some damage, mostly internal bleeding and some repair to a few organs."
She took a breath. "Any permanent damage?"
The woman shrugged. "Doctor didn't say." A tear started to shine in the corner of her eye. "I'm sorry. I've never been much good at these things in life."
"Me either. Kinda thought we were done with all this crap finally." Star hung her head, too exhausted to cry. "Belen, Claire's gone missing. Possibly kidnapped."
Belen froze in place and her heart almost skipped a beat. "I'll tell Morgan. He'll get private investigators hired."
"Morgan knows. The family too. And a friend of mine, Anna. She has experience in espionage, she's looking for leads too." Star sat next to Belen and took Killian's hand. "I hate feeling so helpless."
The woman moved to the side and she watched as Star took Killian's hand. "You're far from helpless. Because you love him you have accomplished far more than most. Love is strong. I want you to remember that right now loving him and the family is going to be the only thing that might hold you all together."
Star nodded and Belen left her to sit with Killian. She was exhausted from almost 20 hours of being awake, crying and worrying for Killian then crying and worrying for Claire. As much as she wanted to stay awake and wait for news, she couldn't help falling asleep as she lay her head on Killian's bed next to his arm, praying for a miracle and for her first-born baby to come home safely.

She woke an hour later to Killian touching her hair. "Killian!" She took his hand, pressing it to her face as she studied him. She managed a weak smile. "How are you feeling?"
Killian's voice was still a little extra scratchy. Having the tubes run down his throat earlier had left his throat raw. "Hungry."
Star chuckled lightly. "I'll have the nurse bring you some food." She kissed his hand. "You gave me a hell of a scare."
"My face isn't broken you know." Killian smirked a little and he tried to sit up so he could kiss her. Star obliged. "How about you be ornery and tell the nurse what I want to eat. Those nurses always seem to think I've got a bird stomach."
"Well, considering you just came out of a surgery from internal bleeding....you might want to eat like a bird for a bit. But, I'll do what I can." Star held his hand a little tighter. "Killian, um...Claire...she's...she's missing. Maybe kidnapped. Everyone I know is looking for her, so there isn't anything we can do at the moment, but I knew you'd want to know."
Frowning a little he let out a long breath. As long of a breath as he could get anyway. Almost instantly his eyes flashed when she mentioned Claire missing. "No!" Pulling his hand out of Star's Killian pushed on the button to sit up. "We need to get me out of here. I'll find that bastard that took her."
"Don't you dare move!" Star ordered him sternly, pushing his hand off the button. "You're no good to her dead. And Like I said before, there are no leads. We have no where to start looking. Robert's in surgery...when he comes out, maybe we'll learn more."
"What!" Killian was starting to get more upset as she told him about the situation and he stubbornly pushed on the button again so he could inch his way up a little more. "Who shot him?"
"I...don't...know! Probably the same person who took Claire. Killian, please, stop." She gripped his hand tightly. "I've running on fumes as it is. Stop making things harder, please. I need my husband to get better, not start bleeding internally again."
Meeting her gaze he relented for the time. "I'm not bleeding I'm just fine." About that time the nurse came in and she set the tray on Killians bed. Walking around to where Star was she gently pushed the button to have him sit up a little more. "Don't want you to strain yourself trying to sit up. Just use the bed if you need." Killian looked at the very little bowl of pudding. "I'm gonna be hungry in 15 minutes. You might want to bring more than that."
Star looked up at the nurse. "I can attest to that. He eats like a bear."
 
"Now." The man stared at Claire for a long moment. "I don't have much time for you and neither do I care who you think is looking for you." Staring at her for a long moment he reached out and put a hand in her curly hair. "You have no idea how long I've waited for you to grow up. How long it has been for me to watch you to watch your family. Even if you survive this there won't be anyone for you to go back home to."

Claire turned her head toward the man though she couldn't see because of the blindfold. She was almost trembling and when he took hold of her hair her mind went wild. What was he going to do to her? She was almost sick with worry for Robert. Last she'd seen he was shot in the chest and if he survived she knew it wouldn't be an easy recovery. As hard as she tried it was impossible to feel calm. What she really wanted right now was her mom and dad. They were strong and she knew that they could protect her. A few months ago and she might not have been so sure. Now she knew and she was wanting so badly for them to come for her. "My dad will kill you." With a little venom in her voice she hissed at the man.

"Oh I was counting on that." Chuckling the man moved closer. "He got a knife to the guts to be sure he wouldn't kill me. It was so easy. No one would be dumb enough to pretend to be his enemy." Releasing his grip on her hair the man smiled at her though she couldn't see it he knew she could sense the smile in his voice. "I have plans much bigger than just your father. My employer wants the family. All of them."

His breath was hot and she could feel it on her neck. Claire recoiled as the man spoke to her. Whatever the employer wanted with the entire family she didn't know, but she was determined to get out of this.

********************************************************

The next morning when the doctor came in to see Killian and Star he checked the charts from the nurses rounds during the night. "How are you feeling?"

Killian stared at the doctor for a few minutes. "Well if you couldn't tell it hurts. Other than that I think your nursing staff believes in torture. They wake me up every damn hour and then they feel the need to starve their patients. A man needs more than a pathetic scoop of pudding to survive. Ate a ridiculous amount of those little bowls last night and I'm still hungry."

Holding back some laughter the doctor marked a few things on the charts. "How much do you normally eat?"

"I'll tell you what I would eat at dinner if I was going to be satisfied. Only my wife knows how to cook for me, but...." Killian sighed. "A large chunk of meat, at least 3/4 pound and then I need a pile of veggies at least as large as the meat, two pieces of bread, and two potatoes, then a large glass of water or beer. I'd take the beer."

The doctor grinned about the beer and nodded. "That's it?"

"No." Killian took another breath. "Then I eat dessert. Usually around three slices of pie or a quart of ice cream and a slice of pie. That's what I eat when I'm hungry."

The doctor looked at Star not sure if he should believe Killian or not. "Is that accurate?"

Star nodded. "Then multiply that by five children who eat almost as much. Good thing I like cooking. Its always for an army."

"Oh good lord. Pudding wouldn't be nearly enough." Chuckling the doctor wrote out a prescription for the nurses. "I'll even arrange for a small beer with your meal."

"Uh huh." Killian looked at the doctor and nodded. "Thanks."

Shoving the chart back into the end of the tray on the bed he chuckled again. "They'll give you anything you want for food, my only request is that you don't make yourself sick. That beer is only once a day so you'd better enjoy it when you get it and I'll be back in to check on you later."

"Thank you, Doctor. We appreciate it." She nodded to him.

The doctor nodded to them and headed for the door with a grin on his face. He'd never had a patient come out of a surgery like this and want to eat like a horse. If the man wanted all that food he could have it. In fact it was a good sign that he wanted to eat so much food. He would just have to trust that the patient wouldn't overdue it.

When the nurse finally came in Killian pointed to the chart. "I got a prescription for all the food I can eat and a beer."

Busting out laughing the nurse nodded. "Yeah I see that. So what do you want?"

************************************************************************************

Morgan stared at the charts that were put in front of him. He had hired all the private investigators that he could to get onto the case and he had tried to get what information he could from Anna. The woman had been a little under the weather, but she had still found a few traces on electronics showing where Claire's pad had been. While it was doubtful that the pad was still with Claire she was pretty sure that it could give a pattern or at least an idea of where this kidnapper was staying.

Since Star was in the hospital with Killian the little woman kept most of the findings to herself. If they had found the right ID for the man that was causing all this trouble he didn't usually leave his victims alive.
 
It had been two days and there was still no word about Claire's whereabouts. She knew that the odds of finding her daughter alive dropped dramatically after 24 hours. Killian was just as anxious though he was far more verbal about it. It was a battle to keep in him in bed and resting with their daughter missing. Star hung onto her datapad as if it were her lifeline, hoping desperately that she'd get the call about Claire. Anna was working with Morgan, she knew. Hopefully someone would be able to find something. For now, she had to be patient and make sure Killian rested and didn't eat too much.

She looked up at the kids came in the room. They'd all pitched in and gotten flowers, balloons, treats and other gifts for her and Killian. "We brought lunch too. Chinese." Zach announced, setting the bag on the bed.

"Thank you, Zach. And all you too." Star looked around at her family. She was so blessed to have a family such as this, but it was so empty without Claire. Her first born. How she missed her. Tears sprang to her eyes.
"Mom?" Donica put a hand on Star's shoulder.
"I'm ok. Look out for dad for me. I'm going to get some air in the gardens." Star hurried out, taking the elevator to the top floor to the gardens. She got to the roof, taking a deep breath. It was so hard. So hard to remain calm, cool and collected while her baby was missing. Now alone the dam broke and she held onto the wall for support as she sobbed, pleading with any divine entity that might be listening to bring her daughter home.

***

Kato came up behind Anna as she worked tirelessly to track down Killian's and Star's daughter. He couldn't imagine how hard it must be for them; waiting desperately for any news on their missing daughter while remaining helpless in a hospital. Especially Killian. That man would've have been making heads roll to find her if he wasn't recovering from another brush with death. Clearly the grim reaper was terrified of killing Killian.

He put a cup of coffee and plate of food before her on the desk then sat beside her. "Any leads on Claire yet?"The little woman glanced up at Kato. Her hair hadn't been made in 2 days and her eyes were bloodshot from all the time spent staring at the screens. "Not yet."
Kato put a hand on her shoulder. "You need to eat and rest. You won't find anything new if you pass out from exhaustion.""Just give me coffee." Glancing over at the cup and plate of food she grinned. "Oh you know how to take care of a girl. Already got the coffee."
Kato knelt next to her and put a hand on her arm. "Please, Anna. A twenty minute nap. For me."
Blinking a few times she set aside the pad. "Its not like I haven't slept in the past 2 days. I'm pretty sure I slept a little bit. Don't get so worried." Smirking she leaned over and kissed him. "You just always have that doctor mentality."
"I'm just trying to look out for my wife." He stroked her hair, then pulled away with a slight look of disgust. "Maybe take 20 minutes for a shower?"
She was about to succumb to the sweet little stroke of his hand in her hair and then he pulled away. "You were almost charming and then..." With a little grunt she pushed out of the bed. "A shower? Who cares what I look like? I'm trying to find a missing woman and a shower is the last thing I need."

Kato chuckled and shook his head as she went and took the shower anyway. By the time she came back out he'd have flowers waiting by her bed table, with a loving note, and fresh sheets as well as a change of clothes on the bed. He loved his fiery, flirty wife. She was his world. Still, he couldn't help but worry about her health and do everything in his power to see that she remained healthy and pain-free for as long as possible. Sometimes that meant forcing her to take care of herself.
 
Waiting in the hospital was the worst thing possible. Killian did his best to sleep, but he was almost sick about Claire. What if they didn't find her in time? When she was a baby they barely found her and now she was grown up and Claire had always been his baby girl. He loved all his children and in different ways. Still, there was something special about Claire. She was the first and no matter how hard things got that little kid had pulled through and she was still just as fiery as ever.

Every now and then Killian would try to convince the doctor that he was in good enough condition to go home. He needed to get there and help look for Claire. He'd tried not to say much about Claire though he knew that Star understood why he wanted to get home. They were both anxious and having nothing to do for the situation was even worse. Talking about it would only make things worse, so even when he didn't feel like eating Killian did. Needed to eat to get healthy. Worry for Claire was so overwhelming that he sometimes forgot he had other kids too.

When they came into the room with more balloons and food Killian managed a weak smile. Since he got here there wasn't a minute to himself and Killian knew his family needed him to hold it all together. Star left and he couldn't help feeling guilty. If he hadn't got hurt he could be out there looking for her. Maybe he would have found Claire already and Star wouldn't be so uptight. She'd been barely hanging on and he knew every time he got hurt it took a toll on her. Through the years she'd watched him come close to dying several times and somehow they made it through. This time it wasn't him. It was Claire and that made it different. Glancing at the kids in the room he pushed the button to sit up. "Well, tell me what you all plan to do today. Maybe I can sneak out of here with you? I am allowed to get up and walk a little bit, eh." Peering into the bag he winked at them. "Might be enough to share with everyone. Lets go outside and have a picnic."

The nurse came in a few minutes later to see her most ambitious patient had already got himself seated in the wheelchair as if he thought he was going somewhere. "And what are you doing?"

Killian rolled his eyes. "I'm going for a picnic with the kids out to the garden. I need you to sign me out of my room for the afternoon and log me back in when we're done." Sometimes the only way to get things done was to just tell people what they were going to do rather than ask.

"Really?" The woman smirked. "Well then I suppose we ought to get started. I'm going to sign you out for 2 hours starting now." She knew he liked to dictate to people and some of it was probably related to the job, that and he had the personality to be that kind of person. However, there were limits and restrictions she could put on the man and it was best if she did.

"Thank you." Killian stated it as if this was simply a matter of fact. After a moment he glanced at the kids who were all still half way in shock that he had simply got out of bed and put on a pair of pants and sat in the wheelchair. "I'm not allowed to push myself around in this thing right now. One of you do the driving and we'll get this all set up for when your mom comes down."

********************************************************************

When she was done with the shower Anna came waltzing back out of the bathroom. "Ooh you're brilliant." Practically attacking Kato with hugs and kisses she dashed away almost nearly as fast despite her back and leg pain. "I've got him now. Give me about a day and I'll have this bastard pegged."
 
Star finished wiping the last of her tears by the time Killian and the children arrived in the gardens and began setting out a picnic. Zach came over and hugged her, not bothering to mention her red eyes or nose. He knew how painful this was on his parents. He worried for Claire as well. They all did. The twins served out the food, doing what they could to joke around in their normal jovial fashion, but it was clear their hearts really weren't in it. None of them were in the mood to play around while their sister was missing. Star sat on the ground next to Killian's wheelchair, the plate of food on her lap still untouched. She hadn't eaten much since this whole thing started. It was hard to have an appetite when she was sick from worry.

That night she lay on the cot, still tossing and turning. Three days. Three days and there still was no word. Claire, my baby. What will I do if she...? No...can't think like that. Star sat up, head in her hands. It was impossible not to assume the worst after all this time. Her gut twisted painfully. Claire. Those beautiful black curls, bright green eyes, soft tan skin. She was so beautiful, her first born. She would never forgive herself if something happened to her. She knew Killian wouldn't either. Finally she couldn't stand sitting there any longer and began to pace the halls, hoping to burn off her anxiousness with some exercise.

Around 10pm that night Star called up Anna. "Anna, please. Tell me you have something on Claire. Anything!?" She pleaded, voice breaking with emotion.
Anna answered the line after it rang 4 times. "Yeah I got something. Working on it."
"What!? What is it? Is there anything I can do!?" Star demands.
"There will be in the morning." Anna said as she stuffed another bite of food from Kato into her mouth. "There's a place where I think he's holding her.""Why does it have to wait till morning!? Why can't we go now!?" Star exclaimed, leaping to her feet.
Anna quickly swallowed the bite in her mouth. "Because I haven't confirmed that he's there and that he has Claire."
"Give me the address. I'll find out now." Star ordered, already grabbing her purse and keys.
"No." Anna blinked a few times and continued to scroll through the feeds she was getting while Star was trying to get the location. "Because if you make a stupid move I'm sure he'll kill her."
"Anna! Its been three days! If she's not dead yet she will be soon. We can't afford to wait!"
"And you can't afford a mistake!"

Star dropped to her seat, her face dropping in her free hand as she began to weep again. "Why would anyone do this? Why would they take her and not make any demands!?"
The little woman set aside her food and she stared at her friend through the screen. "That's what I'm trying to find out too. Once I have the guy pegged I can find out what his motivations are or who he is working for. Then I know what to prepare you for."
Star nodded. "Please, hurry. And...thankyou for working so hard to find her."
"I'm hurrying and it would be faster if we weren't talking. I'll call you when I got something more." Anna hung up and she let out a long sigh. Kato was near by and he looked almost as worried as Star. "If its who I'm thinking it is they don't usually return folks alive."

Kato's eyes narrowed. "Who?"
"This guy." Anna turned her computer toward him. "Spy that ran both sides of the war. Double agent and his alias is the only thing I've got. Thyde Reese."
"Why would he be interested in killing Killian and taking his daughter? It doesn't make much sense. The war was 20 years ago."
"Who still has a grudge?" Anna looked at Kato as if he wasn't getting it, because he wasn't.
"A grudge?" Kato tilted his head. "About what? Did Killian kill his former employeer or something?"
Taking a deep breath she tried to relax herself. "Think of the people that Killian killed. How many of them were human, bippen, chippeqouti, or gillick. Who did he kill the most of and who lost the war?"
"The Gillicks? So...all this is about a 20 year old grudge?"
"Well we know that the chippeqouti live to be 200 or more. Gillick's likely have a similar lifespan. 20 years isn't all that long. Besides if it was a dead employer it wouldn't have made sense at all. Kato you have to think like you hate him. I'm thinking of all the ways they would try to hurt Killian most and I don't think they actually meant to kill him. It was meant to put him out of commission so he could witness his family being torn apart." Anna looked at her husband.
"That's horrific." Kato's face twisted in disgust.
"Honey that's why you're a doctor. Your mind doesn't work like mine."

Kato looked down at his hands. "You don't think she's still alive, do you?"
"I think if she's still alive they're counting on Star going to her rescue and then they will videotape killing both Claire and Star." Anna glanced at Kato. "This is why we're going to get Claire."
"We!?" Kato gawked. "Anna, we're too old for this sort of thing. This is the sort of thing for police."
"Yeah the idiots that had her kidnapped just at the landing pad a few hundred yards from a house where a crime happened."
"Yeah the idiots that were at the house and the crime scene. They failed to watch the landing pad and she was kidnapped right under their noses. Those are the guys I want to send in on a sensitive mission?"
"Not all police are incompetent. Anna, this is dangerous. You know I'm not a fighter and your body isn't what it used to be. We have to trust the authorities."
Anna sighed. "No we don't have to trust them. This isn't about fighting. I'll get the task force in on it, but I'm going to head the operation or at least tell the private investigators what needs to happen. You need to be there cause I'm sure at the last minute he'll try to kill her."

Kato groaned, bemoaning the situation. "Why'd I have to marry a spy??"
 
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