******This story has a 'T' Rating but be warned there are references to prostitution, coercion and slavery. If these are triggers for you or disturb you then please do not read this story. Also there are some curse words but only like half a dozen spread through the story...if that. Also all medical stuff is sourced from google and/or made up thus unreliable. You have been warned.******
Now onto the story, we reunite with out heroes four months after Season 3 ends. This story is AU, the timeline will be a bit off and is inspired from tmtclbt's idea that Takehaya and Kyoko knowing their death is imminent want a good home and life for their son. They ask Mike whom they consider to be a good and honorable man to adopt Kaito and care for him as his own. Mike agrees and adopts Baby Kaito into his life.
On a side note: I highly recommend reading tmtclbt's story 'A Worthy Man'. The only similarity is that Mike adopted Kaito and being an awesome story :)
P.S. I own nothing except Beth as my brain gave birth to her not a bunch of writers in America who are paid to write the show. Unrelated to my other works! Enjoy!
Chapter One
"Don't pull it too tight because?" Beth asked her apprentice, she use that term loosely as no 14 yr old should ever be put to labour but this was the new world they lived in. One where they worked 16 hour a day, seven days a week for scraps and a blanket. There was no home for them, no beds, they slept on the floor by their stations. Kids didn't play, they were either put to work or they sat quietly on the floor being unobtrusive. It was that or they'd be disappeared to somewhere else. The rumours of where the kids went were scary enough that parents worked hard to keep their kids close to them. Children behaved as they preferred the hell they were in to the unknown or being taken away.
"It'll put wear onto the bolt and rub down the ribbons that hold it into place. That can lead to future mechanical malfunctions and possible injuries." Sienna answered as she pulled the wrench away from the machine they were working on. They were working on one of the power generators trying to get it operational but it was an old piece of machinery that hadn't been cared for in many years.
"Correct, good job." Beth told her, she turned her attention to Mia, the 8 year old sat on the floor trying to figure out the latest mathematical equations Beth had given her to keep her occupied and learning. "How we doing here?" Beth asked her.
"It's hard." Mia whisptered in a defunct manner, Beth knew it was grief more than a struggle with a lack of education as Mia and Sienna had lost their mother over 4 months ago. Christine who'd been Beth's co worker in maintaining the factory's systems and friend in this hell hole. She had died from an upper respiratory infection. Something she would have survived if the guards weren't assholes and had given her antibiotics in time. But medical care was non existent as the guards like to remind them that there was always someone to replace them. Christine's death had left an indelible mark on them all, Beth had promised Christine she'd look after the girls. Granting the woman some peace in her last moments. for what it was worth, Beth kept her promise and took care of the girls the best she could.
"Keep trying, persistence is the key to learning." Beth assured her, Christine had impressed upon the girls the importance of being able to take over her and Beth's jobs in case this situation lasted longer than either woman would live. So education was key.
"Food time." Brody called out, Sienna ushered Mia out of sight as Beth stepped up to meet the guard who brought them food. It was not out of the kindness of his heart but duty as her job didn't allow her or the girls the same time schedule as the other workers.
"What is this?" Beth asked as Brody gave her a small paper bag, she opened it to see one hard boiled egg, a piece of bread that was mouldy and a half eaten apple. No meds, Beth's insides ached at that knowledge, not from hunger but Crohn's disease gnawing at her insides.
"Your rations." Brody informed her.
"We were given twice this much last week. What gives?" Beth asked, last week the apple had been old and mouldy for most part, two slices of bread and three eggs. That was brunch, dinner they managed to get to the main hall for as it was required for all workers to shower and eat dinner while propaganda spouted over TV's informed them of their Regional leader's generosity. It was bullshit but they'd hadn't set one foot outside of the factory in months so how were they to know the state of the world.
"You haven't finished repairs, so energy production is down." Brody said with a shrug as if it was reason enough.
"I'm going as fast as I can with repairs with what little I have." Beth said darkly as she wanted to cry but refused to so in front of this asshole.
"Not fast enough." he remarked as his eyes slithered all over her frame, his interest clear even though they both knew the score.
"Come on, I got two kids and where are my meds?" she asked hating how there was a hint of desperation in her voice but she needed more food and her meds.
"Out of meds but I got something else that will help but it comes at a price." He drawled, he looked her over again making her skin crawl. She'd lost her dignity a long time ago as she learnt that she preferred a semi pain free existence even if the cost disgusted and demoralised her. If she was in exceptional health then she'd have held onto the moral high ground like her life depended on it. But she wasn't and she had the girls, so she made her peace with her life and hoped that some kind of social change would happen before Sienna or Mia were ever put in the same position.
"I want food as well. Enough to feed my girls for at least three days." She told him as she thought of the girls. She promised Christine she would look after the girls which meant sacrificing her needs to make sure they survived. The only thing that kept her going forward was that things would change, maybe with enough meds and food they could all escape this hell but for now she traded herself for the basics.
Brody stepped closer and looked her over again as if assessing whether she was worth it. He liked strong defiant women, so Beth stared him down even though she just wanted to shrivel up and hide. Sex was a commodity, not the luxury it had once been.
"Of course, and here's just a small taster of what I'll give you when you come to me tonight." he said as he pulled out a power bar and a small bag that contained just a small dose of weed in it. It wasn't panadiene forte or antidepressants but pot did well in a pinch. She knew it wasn't enough to get high but hopefully it was enough to take the edge off her pain. But taking it made a little part of her die as she snatched the food and small bag of pot from him.
"Thank you." Beth said, trying to sound grateful even though she was choking on her anger and disgust. Brody just smiled and walked away leaving her to think on his words.
Once he disappeared, Beth headed in the direction of where the girls had gone to hide. "He's gone," she called out, Sienna and Mia reappeared from wherever they were hiding. Beth tried not to know where as it was safer not to know for her own piece of mind. They all sat on the floor together and proceeded to share the meagre amount of food in the bag.
In St. Louis,
"Don't you have a Nanny?" Tom asked as he, Sasha and Mike were waiting in the President's office. Mike wasn't the kind of man to mix family and work but today seemed to be an exception as he was in uniform and carrying Kaito in his arms. The 4 month old was quiet and content, dressed in navy blue onesie covered with small white fishes swimming in horizontal lines and a pale yellow bib with white anchors on it around his neck to help wipe away any spit up. Mike even managed to smooth the baby's hair so he was presentable for the office. But even so it was an unusual look for Mike to mix his professional and personal life.
"I had one, she quit because I made her work too much." Mike said as he'd tried to palm Kaito off to his admin support but Kaito was not having a bar of it. He just cried miserably until Mike took him back into his arms. He preferred his staff be able to function without complaint and Kaito screaming definitely reduced the quality of their work environment.
"Fair call." Tom remarked as they'd all been working long hours. Luckily he had Sasha between the two of them they managed to wrangle his kids. Even if they weren't exactly on board with Sasha being in their lives, they'd accepted her help. Tom just hoped in time they'd come around as he wanted Sasha in their lives for a long time to come. But in the meantime they were taking it slow. It also probably helped that Tom was in a civilian role these days since his retirement from the Navy. It was unusual to see Tom in a suit than in uniform but times had changed.
"But inconvenient and I was paying her well enough to make up for it. Can we just get down to business? Where's the President?" Mike asked as he adjusted his hold on Kaito. Oliver was supposed be in the office before them and Mike was getting impatient as he knew Kaito was a ticking time bomb in the diaper department. They were currently on a formula that made Kaito's number twos diabolical for olfactory senses.
"It's so hard to be serious with this cutie smiling at me." Sasha cooed as she took Kaito out of Mike's arms and smiled at Kaito. "Ohayoo Kaito-kun." she said to Kaito, she continued to talk in Japanese at the baby which resulted in Kaito cooing random noises at Sasha. The woman was a godsend for Mike as he didn't speak a second language but he knew if Sasha stuck around at least Kaito would speak his parents' mother tongue.
"He's a charmer." Mike remarked, the whole biology of making babies adorable so one didn't smother them worked favourably well for Kaito. Though Mike did wonder if he could have Sasha look after Kaito just for an hour so he could make a dent in his paperwork without disruption.
"Ok, I'm here. What's the update status on shutting down the work factories." Oliver asked as he rushed into the room knowing he was behind schedule as he spoke in a rushed manner. He'd only been president for a short few months but was bearing the stresses and challenges well.
"We've been shutting down the work factories and reorganising the families into homes and jobs. We've made a dent but there are still at least half a dozen more that haven't acknowledged the coup and are operating as 'normal'." Tom said to Oliver.
"I want them all shut down as soon as possible." Oliver said, Mike liked the man. He was decisive and believed in making hard decisions that in the long run would help their people even if there was a short term issues
"One of them is in our own backyard, to shut it down would mean cutting power to half of this state and surrounding areas." Mike informed him.
"Do it, we've survived a lot of things over the months. A small blackout is nothing compared to the poor conditions our people have been working to survive." Oliver said with no hesitation and a quiet strength that imbued the room with a sense of confidence in their leader as he truly wanted to fix their country and help their people become great again.
"Yes, Sir." Mike told him,
"Commander Cooper, there a reason you're holding a baby?" Oliver asked her, an amused smile playing on his lips as it was very rare for anyone to be younger than the drinking age and be in the President's office.
"It's purely by accident Sir," Sasha said with a smile not looking apologetic at all at how unprofessional it was to be bringing a baby in on classified meeting they were in. "If it helps, he can't speak English or any language yet. The perfect confidant." she offered, Oliver and the others smiled at humour as it was needed in these dark days.
"What do you have for me on the European situation?" Oliver asked.
"Lot of chatter but nothing has been substantiated yet. I'll let you know when I have something solid." Sasha assured him.
"Ok, well let's prioritise our citizens first before we go messing around in someone else's backyard." he said sagely but there would come a time when they'd have to play a political role in the international theatre again.
Later that day, Night had fallen or so they were told as the lights were turned off in the factory. There were windows but they had been bordered up months ago and no one was allowed outside. But she had a good internal clock that told her enough time had passed that she had to get moving.
Beth pushed up from the floor, her body sore as the cold concrete was not made for her body. It was also time to go, she'd ate the marijuana with their rations. Not that she'd ate that much food; just a slice off the apple leaving the rest to the girls. They'd have more food after tonight, the girls would eat and that was a small consolation. She however was too nauseated to think about food for herself and her stomach was twisted in dull but still painful cramps. She longed for the days when she had more control over her life and body but thanks to the pandemic that was gone. It was all about survival, luxury was for the birds.
"Don't go." Sienna said, Beth looked to her pained by the young girls expression as she was much older than she appeared. Though they never spoke of it, Sienna seemed fully aware of what was happening no matter how hard Beth tried to protect her.
"We need energy to work which means food. Proper food and I need my meds. This is how I will get them for us, so I'm going to do what I have to to get them. No arguments." Beth told her, even though they did this every time.
"I hate it. He's such a creep." Sienna told her.
"I know but this won't be forever." Beth told her, words Christine used to say as she promised the girls that this was not forever. That their father would find them, they just had to keep their heads down and work.
"It feels like it will." Sienna replied, Beth didn't have any words of comfort.
"Look after your sister while I'm gone. I should be back in an hour." Beth told her, she turned to leave but stopped as the machines that churned 24/7 turned off. The room was pitched into black, not even the red lights shone. Beth waited for the back up generators to kick in but nothing happened. She wasn't the only one who'd noticed as she heard guards shouting and footfalls.
"What's happening?" Sienna hissed, she was scared as was Beth felt and before she could answer a body dropped from the level above them. It hit the concrete floor with a sickening thud a few feet away and that was when they heard the gunfire.
"I don't know be we need to go." Beth said as she rushed to Sienna and Mia, she gently shook the younger girl. "Mia, wake up kiddo." she said gently.
"What's going on?" Mia asked, awake and scared.
"Don't know but we need to get out of here. Come on." Beth said to her and Sienna.