Epilogue

Months had passed since, things were changing both at home and throughout the sector. Valerian had shown an expression of interest once again in Nova over the last few months, meaning that Nova on a few occasions needed to leave the house and conduct missions once again for the Dominion. Luckily for Delta, Nova had convinced high command to allow her to at least finish school before being allowed to go on any more ops. Meanwhile, today Nova has decided to continue a push and concerted effort between both Delta and herself to try and expand on your own psionic talents, as it has become apparent to her that you are now at the very least able to sense the presence of the girls without normal senses which indicate that you have above average psionic abilities.

The story ensues

"What do you mean you don't know?!" Nova exclaimed as she glared at you in both disappointment and anger. "Nova, you can't just, I-I'm just a PI 4, you can't expect me to just pick it up like tha-", Nova cuts you off "What do you mean I can't, we've been at this for so long, statistically you should have been able to blindly guess what I'm thinking by now!". You fell silent, not knowing what to say in rebuttal, with a disappointed look on your face you bob your head down in shame in front of her and Delta standing idly behind her. Delta equally looked just as disappointed, unusual considering her often cheery and outgoing personality, you could tell even she was expecting you to make some form of progress with all these intensive training sessions you've been having.

Silence fell across the room, as did the air of disappointment fill the room and affecting everyone in it, you could feel that Nova and Delta both wanted you to at least show some sign of improvement, some sort of inkling that you had gained some form of ability to mind read, even in the slightest. Nova had been pushing you so hard these last few days, hoping for some sort of sign but obviously to no avail. You slowly look up and manage to form the words "I'm sorry Nova, I", "No, Will, I'm sorry, I've been pushing you really hard these last few days, I think we need some well-earned rest" she said with a smile across her face, her lips adorned with a light pink lipstick. Nova closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around your neck and going in for a kiss, to which you oblige. Upon releasing you both softly say "Apology accepted" followed by a brief nuzzle and laughs and smiling ensuing.

"I'll go prepare dinner" you say with a smile, staring into her deep green eyes to which she replies "Can I help?" enthusiastically with a smile on her face. You break a sweat, smiling nervously jittering out "Uhh, No dear, its fine I've got it, come on Delta"; Nova wasn't amused with her smile and enthusiasm quickly fading to a blank expression on her face followed up with a trademark leer. "Daddy why won't you let Mommy help out in making Dinner?" Delta asked as you two began walking down stairs, you make eye contact with her and quietly think to yourself "Do you remember what happened last time?!" to which caused Nova to jump up and infuriatingly lean over the staircase from the top floor above you snarled "I heard that!", her leer and blank facial expression had turned into one of rage, with her cheeks flushing a bright red on her pale face, feeling both embarrassed and angered at the same time. Upon hearing her rage you and Delta bolt down the staircase and hurriedly ran towards the safety of the kitchen, Delta shouting in fear the whole way down.

The reality was, Nova wasn't exactly any good at cooking by any stretch of the imagination, she knew it, you knew it and now Delta definitely knew it. But that didn't mean that she was all too happy about admitting that she wasn't a very good cook. A task as simple as frying an egg sunny side up had become so difficult for Nova that often times you would end up getting an unforseen serving of scrambled eggs instead of a fried one. Which is why you feel that it is necessary to do everything in your power to make sure Delta manages to at the very least have some basic understanding of how to make and prepare not only her own food, but also Nova's as well. You always thought baking was a good place to start off, a lot of your school friends growing up used to love baking and it was the perfect practice for Delta to learn as it was familiar to her, using the alliteration of fire and forget Nukes to baking which seemed to cause more confusion than clarity for Delta. Nevertheless she caught on quickly and was soon enough making all sorts of different things, from Bread loafs to sweet cakes and savoury pies. You were trying to be the best dad in the world which Delta constantly reminded you after each successful attempt at making something new and exciting, much to Nova's dismay as she not only didn't share the same amount of passion Delta had towards baking but despised it, citing "Why can't I just turn the oven to max heat and cook the damn thing faster instead of waiting here for half an hour just to get a single loaf of bread!" to which you and Delta slowly backed away from the kitchen whenever Nova was this frustrated, clutching each other in fear.

Nova stayed upstairs in the bedroom while dinner was being prepared downstairs, fondling with her hair and cutting off split ends of her long pony tail. The smell of Dinner was wafting through the house and had reached upstairs, igniting her Olfactory nerve and causing her to dart her head up and look in the direction of the door, she was hungry, but very stubborn and remained defiant. Nova slammed the door loudly enough that you were able to hear the door slam from downstairs, causing you and Delta to jump slightly out of shock. Delta darted her head at you and quickly said "Dibs not bringing dinner up" just as you began saying the exact same thing, you both knew what that meant, and you weren't particularly pleased while Delta stood there with the biggest, cheeky grin on her face and eyes lighting up in the process. You sighed, rolled your eyes and in one short breath let out "Fine, I'll do it". To which Delta gleefully giggled and teetered side to side in joy continuing to slice the garnishes for the final touches to dinner.

Delta was particularly happy tonight, you had prepared Tirian Beef roast with a side of mashed potato and gravy roasted vegetables and a briefly tossed together Mc Calister lettuce salad dressed with an oil and vinegar dressing. You had specifically prepared a cup of Framberry juice for Nova to which had caught the attention of Delta as well "Can I have a cup of Framberry juice too Daddy!" you were thinking of saying no which Delta had easily read the thought, but upon reaching the staircase said "I know you'll probably have some anyway, and I'd rather not have you drink it straight from the bottle, so fine, one cup, BUT ONE CUP only" with particular emphasis on the end of the sentence as you began to slowly creep up the stairs towards Nova's lair and dwelling with Dinner and a cup of Framberry juice poured into her mug.

Upon reaching the door, you had tactfully placed dinner away from the door and off your body, not knowing how much calmer Nova had become since slamming the door. Cautiously you place your hand on the door handle and twisting it slowly and gently so as to make as little noise as possible, creating just enough space to view directly into the room, particularly enough to come into view of your bed. Nova was clearly still peeved off, with her arms cross across her chest and head pointed out towards the window, away from the door and sat perfectly still on the edge of the bed. Before you could say anything she began teeking away at the door, placing enough psionic force upon the door to close it but not enough that it would cause you to fall backwards. "N-Nova, I uhh, I mean, we, uhh, we made you some dinner, Delta and I, that is" you muttered out in a semi convincing tone. Nova remaining perfectly still and in a monotone voice said "Go away", exerting even more psionic force on the door, but still not enough to loosen your grip to the ground. "Shall I just uhh, leave it at the door then Nova?" to which then all force placed upon the door suddenly halted, pushing you forward into the room, you knew this was your queue to bring her the food.

"Y, Y'know, it'd be a lot nicer and I think Delta would appreciate it if we could sit down at the dinner table and enjoy dinner as a family" you said as you brought in her plate of food and cup of juice. A brief moment of silence was had in the room with Nova seemingly still peeved off as she was moments ago as you were standing outside. Instead, you decided to take the more spiritual approach and slowly approach her without the food, placing it down on the drawer. Not sure whether or not now was the right time to wrap your arms around her or not, but you decided to do so anyway, dipping your nose into the back of her neck coming up from behind her, you thought the thoughts "I'm sorry Nova, you can come and make dinner with us tomorrow night if you want to" to which she replied verbally "Yeah, I'd like that", turning her head away from the window and nuzzling you, she smiled and gleefully said "Apology accepted" and stood up. On your way out of the bedroom with Nova in tow, hands held firmly together "and for the record, last time it was totally not my fault okay, the knife wasn't sharp enough so I had to improvise!" she exclaimed, "Nova, you cut the cutting board in two and cut an inch deep into the solid marble kitchen top" you replied, Nova snarled back "Still worked didn't it" it was a useless argument and you knew it wouldn't get anywhere so you gave in "Fine, your right".

By the time you and Nova had come downstairs Delta had already finished her meal, greeting the two of you with a Framberry juice induced burp that seemed to create shock waves in the air, quickly followed by a scent faintly resembling everything on her now clean plate mixed with Framberry. Delta in particular was excited as it meant that she would be having her favourite Tirian beef, Mc Callister lettuce and mustard sandwich tomorrow for lunch at school as you were always meticulously planning portion sizing ahead making sure to have enough leftovers. Delta ran past you two and into the living room turning on the holo projector as you two began to sit down for dinner at the dining table.

"I'm sorry I lost it at you earlier, Will" as she placed her knife and fork down gently onto the plate and made eye contact with you. "It's okay Nova, I understand what you meant, and it was all in good intent" you said reassuringly followed by a genuine smile. "I don't want you to remain a PI 4, if Valerian finds out you could be assigned as a Wrangler, and you know the life those guys live" Nova said in a concerning tone. "Yeah, but what difference would it make, if I made it to a PI 5 and were able to read minds, then wouldn't they just throw me into ghost academy?" you pressed to which she suddenly seemed substantially more relaxed and carefree replying with "I have enough influence over the academy to ensure that doesn't happen, any wrangler who does come in search of you, I'll just tell them that they're senses are fooling them as they are in the presence of not just one ghost but two, and one of them just so happens to be the most powerful one in existence" with a hint of arrogance towards the end of her bold statement. You decided to take what she said for what it was, you had no doubt in what she could get done, you had no reason not to believe what she said.

You had finished dinner first, but decided to wait for her to finish hers before leaving the table, just in case she had anything else she wanted to talk about, as usually most things were discussed nowadays at the dinner table, especially while Delta's attention was directed away from you and Nova. As Nova was drawing close to finishing her meal, concerned by today's events, even though they had been discussed already, you decided to ask anyway "Was there anything else you wanted to talk about Nova?" to which Nova looked up at you, smiled in an assuring manner and replied no. With that in mind you piled your plates up on top of one another, meticulously stacking the knives and forks on the top plate to the kitchen sink and proceeded to clean them then and there by hand.

"Y'know, I never quite understood why you never wanted to get a dish washer, my late father owned numerous factories which made all types of different machines to make life easie-" you cut her off and firmly say "Nova, I've told you once before and the reason still stands today, I grew up doing it exactly like this, and I know, it makes life easier and what not but I just feel particularly old fashioned about doing it this way, my parents taught me this method and I still do it till this day". Nova could tell that it meant deeply to you that you did this particular chore your way, and that you weren't particular ready for change to this tradition "Okay, I'm sorry, I was just thought that –"Nova knew she shouldn't finish that sentence and left you alone to tend to the dishes and joined a much more cheerful and happy Delta in the living room.

As you are cleaning the dishes, on the final rinse of each plate before they go on the drying rack you notice a highly encrypted line of communication was pinging the residence over the intercom, with it being strictly intended for Nova under the caller ID. You call out to Nova who initially takes the call in the room, Authenticating with "X-ray Foxtrot Oscar Echo Tango Tango November" in a very monotone voice, soon after picking up the call she makes eye contact briefly before spinning away down the corridor at a fairly brisk pace and going upstairs, closing the bedroom door behind her. As you finish up with the last plate you call out to Delta to turn off the holo projector and prepare for a shower followed up with bed soon after. Delta let out a grumbled "Fine" as she jumped off the couch and turned off the projector. Noticing that Delta wasn't in a particular cheery mood you decided to pick her up and carry her up the stairs, to which she let out a cry and playful yelp, approaching the top of the stairs you usher her in the direction of the bathroom and quietly tell her that you'll go get her pyjamas. With Delta in the bathroom you firmly knock on the door to the bedroom, to which Nova abruptly opens holding both your own and Delta's pyjamas before quickly closing the door, you didn't think twice about it but knew whatever she was talking about or whoever she was talking to was secret.

As Nova finished her shower, closing the bedroom door behind her and gently slips into bed, she already knew what was in your mind, but wanted you to ask it anyway. So? You ask Hmm? Nova responded wanting a more clearly defined question, "You know what I'm dying to know Nova, how important is it?" she smiles reassuringly "Nothing serious enough that it can't wait till tomorrow morning" she responded with confidence so as to allow you a good night's sleep without worrying you too much, and with that she dug her head under yours and wrapped her arms around you, dipping her nose and cheek into your chest. You lean your head back and kiss her forehead and wish her sweet dreams before resting your head on top of hers.