Rating; PG-13

Summary: Beka left them five years before and now she's back, but why?

Returning

Rhade stood at the pilot's station studying Beka's message as it played on the forward screen for the hundred and twenty second time. He knew it by heart but couldn't help trying to find some hint of where she was, or when she was coming back.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine," she paused looking away from the screen. "Pass this one on and tell everyone that, maybe, someday, I'll drop by. I have a lot of things to do now. Tell Rh-," another pause as she looked down and then back up. "Nothing I'll talk to you later." It was another few seconds of her staring out of the screen before it was over frozen at the last image at her face.

He leaned forward resting his elbows on the station and his face on the heels of his hands. "Someday will be too late," he whispered, "we, I, need you."

"If you turn around you might learn something."

Rhade's breath caught as he froze. He couldn't believe it was her voice. Then again he'd wanted, no need, to hear that voice for so long that he could have imagined it easily. Almost unwillingly he slowly turned around; what he found was Beka standing there with a half blood nietzchean boy on her hip. Sure she was tired but she was still the most beautiful sight he'd seen in a long time.

"Beka," his voice was barely a whisper as he found it hard to believe that she was finally here.

"I wouldn't be anyone else," she gave him a small tired smile as she took a few steps forward so that she was standing directly in front of Rhade. "Don't tell me you were expecting someone else."

"No, I wasn't … I'm just … I never expected you to show up again."

"I love surprising people. Though I never thought you could be surprised."

Rhade reached out touching her cheek. "Anything's possible. I-we've all missed you."

"Did you?"

Rhade hesitated, "more than you can imagine."

"Momma I'm hungry," the boy on Beka's hip broke in. "I been good mommy."

"I know Tim," Beka shifted the boy to her other hip brushing some of his hair out of his eyes. "We'll get something in a few minutes, okay."

Rhade met the boys eyes for a minute and saw something he'd seen in only one boy before, and the boy had been his son. He blinked unsure about what to say now.

"Rhade this is Tim, my son."

Rhade blinked again banishing the idea from his head as he saw how tired Beka was. "I can see the resemblance. Want me to hold him for a while?"

"Sure," Beka let Rhade take Tim from her. "He does get a little heavy at times."

"He's a growing boy."

"I'm hungry," Tim reminded them tiredly as he slid his arms around Rhade's neck.

"The Maru's out of food." Beka gave him a sheepish grin.

"Come on you can eat in my quarters."

"Thanks."

They started down the corridor. "We put your things in there after you'd been gone a while."

"I know, Harper told me."

Rhade watched Beka as they made it toward his quarters. She was tired, and way to thin. Then there was Tim. He couldn't be more than four or five, and it was five years ago that Beka had left. He hadn't been all that surprised to wake up and find that Beka was gone. He would have been more surprised if she had stayed. Now she was back with a half-blood boy who bore a remarkable resemblance to Rhade's first son. In the back of his mind Rhade dared to entertain the hope that Tim was his son. He opened the door to his quarters for Beka and followed her in. Noticing for the first time how messy his quarters were. Before she'd left they'd been spotless and now they looked worse than Harper's on a good day. He set Tim down on the floor, "don't break anything," he turned to Beka. "Just shove something on the floor. It'll be fine."

Beka gave a weak chuckle while collapsing in the last empty chair Rhade had next to his table.

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So what do you think? Also I'll update my other stories when I get a review (Harry Potter fans...)