TITLE: Mistakes

AUTHOR: deMona

RATING: R for violence and rape.

SPOILERS: bunker hill

DISCLAIMER: i own nothing, i make nothing, this is just for fun, blah, blah, blah.

ARCHIVE: yeah, sure, just let me know

SUMMARY: Harper's parents' sacrifice

Chapter 1

They could hear the pounding on their neighbor's door, the shouting as the Nietzschean slavers forcefully demanded the location of their prey.

'Seamus, you have to hide. We'll stop them. But you have to hide now.' His father whispered hurriedly.

'But dad, w-what are you going to do? How are we going to…?' He struggled against his parents as he was being shoved toward a crawlspace they had. They stopped.

His mother took his face tenderly in her hands. 'We love you, whatever happens.' She pulled him into her arms, and he buried his face in her shoulder. Whispering into his ear, she said, 'You've always made me very happy.' She kissed the top of his head. 'My baby boy.' Her voice cracked.

At that moment there was a pounding at the door. His father touched his mother's elbow gently and whispered, 'We have to do this now.'

She gave him one last squeeze and let go of him. He allowed himself to be pushed to the entrance of the crawlspace.

'Whatever you hear, stays where you are. Do not move. Make no sound.' His father instructed. 'Understand?'

Seamus absently shook his head up and down. Everything was just happening too fast. He couldn't wrap his mind around it.

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It had begun earlier that same day. He and his older cousin Brendan had broken into a slaver's ship to steal food and whatever supplies or pieces of tech they could get their hands on. They had been staking it out for days previous, so that they knew the habits of its inhabitants, knew when they would be away from the vessel. It had been absurdly easy to get in. Heck, the portals weren't even locked. And once in, they expertly grabbed as much as they could as fast as they could and were out within minutes, blessing their good fortune.

Once they had gotten a safe distance away, the two boys divided their loot between each other and separated. Taking the long way so as not to attract the wrong sort of attention, Seamus practically skipped home with his bounty. He was particularly excited about a holo-projector he had swiped and couldn't wait to examine and play with it.

But when he arrived home near sunset he found his parents waiting for him with grave expressions on their faces. His grin faded and he let go his parcel.

'Honest, Ma. I found this stuff in the trash, I got it legit. You don't have to worry about…' he quickly began to explain.

His father put his hand up, 'Son,' he said, and Seamus halted his stammering. 'They saw you. And they've been looking for you.' His father's strong voice was sadder than Seamus had ever heard before. It was disorienting.

'Dad, w-what are you talking about? Who's looking for me?'

His mother stepped forward. 'They've been going door to door all afternoon with a picture of you. There was a camera aboard that ship you broke into today…. and yes, my sister told me what you and her son have been up to.' She added when he started to argue. His parents were always rebuking him for messing with the Neits.

He expected them to really chew him out this time. He cursed his aunt for having ratted them out.

The rest didn't really mean anything to him. He was almost 16, had been robbing the Ubers for years. He never got caught. Others got caught all the time, sure, but that's because they made mistakes, stupid mistakes like missing security cams. And he was a genius, way too smart to do something like that…

But that's when he heard the pounding on his neighbor's door and the reality of it hit him like a bag of bricks.

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Next thing he knew he was being shoved into the crawlspace, but not before his father gave him a rough kiss on the forehead and, looking him straight in the eyes, whispered, 'You are my son. I'm proud of you.' He glanced at the door the slavers were pounding on; it would give in any moment. He turned back to his child and, with his thumb, wiped a single tear from the boy's cheek. He leaned his face close to Seamus' and whispered, 'I have no regrets.'

And then there was darkness as Seamus was sealed into the crawlspace.

TBC

and yes, i am working on I Knew You. a brand spankin' new chapter will be posted within a week. hopefully. but only if you show the love!