"Son of The Cape"

By wtchcool

Disclaimer: If I owned "The Cape," there'd be no danger of it ending after only ten episodes.

This Is How It Starts

Dana Faraday moaned softly against his lips. She pulled back just far enough to gaze into those blue eyes visible behind the mask. It had taken them so long to get here. For ages, The Cape would keep his back to her when in her presence, keep his hood up, and refuse to look at her. It bothered her to no end, especially since she didn't know why he acted that way. Eventually, he had told her it was because he didn't trust himself around her. He had fallen for her at first sight, which was a problem because Vince Faraday had considered him a good friend—and what sort of friend would he be if he made a move on Vince's wife? Dana supposed that The Cape had finally decided he had waited a respectable amount of time—or else, his self-control had simply given way.

She didn't know that the real reason The Cape had hidden his face (more than usual) was that he had been convinced that as soon as Dana looked into it, she would recognize him as her husband, Vince. She didn't know that he worried that even his voice might give him away—or that he now marveled at the fact that she didn't associate his kisses with her husband's. Each time he met her gaze, he half-feared, half-hoped, that she would figure out his identity.

But so far she hadn't. Maybe it had something to do with her training as a lawyer; Dana had been taught to compartmentalize data, and to work logically from a set of facts. The "facts" she had been given, here, included her husband being dead, so logically, the masked man who was holding her in his arms couldn't be Vince.

A fake cough interrupted the two. The Cape's arms dropped to his sides, and Dana's face flushed as she turned around.

"Hi, Trip," she said. It wasn't the first time her son had caught her with the mysterious crime-fighter, but it felt just as awkward as the first time. She could feel the same disapproval coming off of him in waves. She bid The Cape goodnight, and then turned to go inside, saddened that her son was no longer on very good terms with his childhood hero, and feeling guilty, because she was sure she had something to do with that.

But, surely her relationship with The Cape wasn't entirely to blame. Trip had grown up; he was a teenager, now, and must be about as tall as his father had been, if not somewhat taller. It seemed that along with his old clothes, he had outgrown the phase where he read comic books and worshipped superheroes…which wouldn't be so bad, she supposed, except that he always seemed to be so moody all of the time. She had no idea that there was more to it than that.

Trip waited until his mother was inside and out of earshot before speaking.

"Hello, Dad."

"Hello, Trip. You know, most teenagers don't get this upset when they catch their parents kissing."

"You can't keep doing this, you know. It's not fair to her. Mom deserves the truth."

"Don't you think this is hard on me? Don't you think that I want her to know who I am?"

"Then tell her," he said, crossing his arms.

"It's not that simple," Vince insisted.

"Because you make it complicated!" the teen exclaimed.

"You know that until I can bring down Chess, until I can clear my name—"

"'INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY' RING ANY BELLS? DAMN IT! YOU SHOULD HAVE STAYED! Mom would've defended you!" Trip yelled.

"Like she defended Marty?" Vince blurted out. Instantly, he wished he hadn't. It wasn't Dana's fault that Marty had taken those bullets for him. He sighed, and tried to change gears. "You shouldn't take that tone of voice with me. I'm still your father."

"Could've fooled me," Trip spat. "You've convinced the world that you're dead. You only ever come here wearing that ridiculous get-up."

"You didn't always think it was so ridiculous," Vince interjected. How ironic, he thought. He had put on the costume because of Trip, and his son had come to hate it.

"You're always pretending to be someone you're not."

"Trip—"

"Why don't you just do your disappearing act, Dad? That's what you're good at." And with that parting shot, Trip turned his back on his father and headed back inside. Not content to let his son have the last word, Vince called after him.

"I'll be back, Trip," Vince vowed, before he disappeared into the night.

Updated Author's Note: This isn't the sequel to "Chuck v. Project Quantum Leap," in case anyone was wondering. My "Quantum Leap"/ "The Cape" cross-over is entitled "Leap for the Cape." I have no idea if it will ever be finished, considering the sad lack of interest in it.

As for this… seems there was no shortage of fics shipping Orwell/Vince, but where were the ones shipping Vince/Dana?

Hope you enjoyed. This is my idea of one direction the show would go in.