I swear, this one was the hardest to write for me. This is the chapter where Sam finds out Quorra's pregnant with Raf and also the one where Raf is given up.
Chapter 3
Son of Flynn
Quorra looked up from her book as the sound of Sam's Ducati rumbled just outside their apartment. She got off the couch, making sure that the bookmark was in the right place, and started towards the door as it opened, Sam walking the bike inside. He was home! Finally!
She smiled inwardly…there was something she had to tell him! But…it might be better as surprise…well, maybe she'd just wait until after he got relaxed.
"How was work?" Quorra asked as Sam tossed his helmet on the couch and flopped down on the couch, "Not good then?"
Sam's blue gaze looked at her wearily as he lay down on the couch, his long, lean frame flopping over the edges. Marvin barked, the dog trotting up to his master and licking his hand. Sam rubbed the dog's ears and sat up.
"What did they do?" Quorra asked, sitting down next to her husband.
"Well, even though the stocks are up just because a Flynn is in the seat," Sam started, standing up, "The Board is jumping down my throat trying to get me to charge for the Operating Systems…which I won't do. Dad intended them to be free and that's what I'm going to do,"
"Sam…" Quorra started.
"Mackey is…upset would be putting it lightly now that I've fired him and he's threatening to sue," Sam continued, pacing up and down, ignoring Quorra.
"Sam!"
"And Dillinger…don't get me started on Jr.,"
He ran his hands through his hair.
"I sympathize with Dad about Dillingers," Sam growled, "Jr. is grinding on my last nerve! I'm lucky that Alan is still on my side…I don't know how Dad did it, Quorra!"
"SAM FLYNN!" Quorra finally shouted.
"WHAT!?" Sam snapped and then covered his face at the ISO's wide, shocked eyes, "Quorra…I'm sorry. It's been a long day,"
"I can see that," Quorra said dryly.
"What is it?" Sam asked, sitting down next to his wife and rubbing her back as she put her hands on her knees, "You still feeling sick?"
"Well…sorta…but I know why now," Quorra murmured, "Sam…did you ever hold a…"
She searched for the word but couldn't find the User term for it.
"Newly rezzed User?" she asked sheepishly.
"A baby?"
"Yes!" Quorra beamed, "A baby,"
"Well…yeah," Sam said, scratching the back of his head, "Lots of times. I…I like kids, well, younger ones. Gram always said I drew them to me, just like Dad did…"
"Sam," Quorra started, taking her husband's hands, "In about nine months, you'll be holding another one,"
Sam's eyes widened and he got on the floor, touching Quorra's midsection.
"You mean…" he started and Quorra nodded, smiling.
Sam got up and kissed her, laughing and nearly dancing around the apartment.
"I'm going to be a dad!" he crowed, "Oh, Dad…"
He stopped, his face falling.
"Dad would have loved being a grandpa," he sighed, "He would have spoiled the kid rotten and probably taught it some bad habits but…"
"He would have enjoyed it," Quorra agreed, "But as for bad habits…they've got their father to make up for it,"
"Yea…wait…hey!"
Quorra smirked as Sam came over and started tickling her, making her laugh uncontrollably.
"S-Sam! S-Stop!" Quorra gasped, "Haha! Users, Sam Flynn! Stop it!"
"We need to think of names," Sam said finally as Quorra's laughter died down, "A boy's and a girl's,"
Quorra nodded.
"You have any suggestions?" she asked.
Sam kind of shrugged.
"Jordan…for the girl's," he admitted, "It was Mom's name,"
Quorra smiled, "You miss her, that's why,"
Sam gave a nod.
"So the girl it'd be Jordan Yori Flynn," he explained, then noticed the face Quorra gave, "Something wrong?"
"Where did you hear that name?" Quorra asked, "Yori,"
"Lora's Program…Dad's stories," Sam shrugged, "Why…you didn't happen to…"
"Know her? Yes," Quorra sighed, "We were good friends. She led a resistance in Gallium City after CLU took over and your father fled to the Outlands,"
"How'd you meet her?"
"Actually, I met her when I walked onto the Grid, she showed me around Tron City," Quorra explained, "I didn't always live in the ISO Towers outside of Tron City. I've lived in the city itself, Arjia, Argon, Bismuth, Gallium, Purgos, and then of course the Outlands just to hide from CLU,"
"So what happened to her?" Sam asked.
Quorra's face grew sad.
"She derezzed,"
Sam put a hand on Quorra's shoulder.
"I'm so sorry," he murmured, "Hey…how about we get off that subject huh? I have an idea for the boy's name,"
Quorra's face lit up in a sad smile as she nodded for him to continue.
"Rafael," Sam announced, "It was one of my great grandpa's names, we can call him Raf for short. And it kinda plays homage to another one of Dad's friends on the old server,"
"Who?"
"A Program by the name of Ram," Sam explained, "We just changed the 'M' to an 'F',"
"You're a regular old genius, aren't you, Sam?"
"Roy's sarcasm has rubbed off on you…hasn't it?"
"A bit," Quorra smirked, "And I suppose you have a middle name picked out?"
"Two," Sam smirked, "Both to people we knew. I guess its two people the both of us knew,"
"What are you forcing on our poor child now?" Quorra teased.
"Rafael Kevin Tron Flynn,"
Quorra's hands shot to her mouth as tears streamed down her pale cheeks.
"Sam…" she breathed, "Tron,"
"I know…I didn't know Tron as well as you did, and the fact he nearly killed us and Dad later…but it just felt, right,"
"No, Sam…don't you realize what you did?"
"No…what?"
"You picked, out of all the names in your father's stories, Yori and Tron,"
"Yeah, so?
"So, didn't your father tell you that Yori and Tron were…how can I say this…married to each other? Just like Alan and Lora are?"
"And she died?" Sam demanded, "No wonder Tron snapped. If Lora died I wouldn't be surprised if Alan went crazy!"
"No…Sam, you don't understand…" Quorra said quietly, "I watched a lot of things on the Grid, the Coup for one…the Purge for another…but the saddest I've ever seen…"
She looked up.
"Was Yori's derezzing,"
"How'd it happen?" Sam asked, "How'd she die?"
"CLU heard that Yori was hiding out in Gallium and she was leading an Uprising…just like the one in Argon lead by the fake Tron I told you about," Quorra explained, swallowing her tears, "He sent his Shadow as his test of loyalty to CLU,"
Sam frowned. His Shadow…but that meant…
"He didn't!" Sam protested.
"He did," Quorra said bitterly, "CLU sent Rinzler and Rinzler derezzed Yori,"
"Tron killed the love of his life…" Sam said, stupefied, "Didn't he try to stop himself?"
"He was too far gone, Sam," Quorra explained, "CLU had him under a tight leash…but…I did see him hesitate when Yori said his name. She recognized him, Sam,"
"If you heard her say his name…why didn't you tell Dad Tron was alive?"
"I didn't believe it was him. I just thought CLU changed Rinzler's armor to look like Tron's just to scare Yori," Quorra muttered, "And it worked,"
"Quorra, he can't hurt us. Rinzler can't, CLU can't, we're safe here. Our child is safe,"
"True that," Quorra nodded, "True that,"
Marvin yipped, his tail wagging as he put his front paws on Quorra's lap.
9 months later
"Push, Quorra, push!" Lora ordered.
Quorra gave a scream, crying from the pain while Sam jumped up, meaning to go through the doors but Alan caught him.
"She's fine, Sam," he reassured him, "Jordan was fine when you were born, Lora was fine when Jet was born…Quorra's going to be just fine,"
Sam's pleading blue gaze turned to Alan and Alan chuckled, patting the young man's shoulder.
"Just like your father," he chuckled, "Flynn about broke the doors down every time he heard Jordan yell,"
Suddenly Quorra shrieked and Sam lunged, Alan only just catching him as Sam's head hit the door.
"Alan! LET GO!" Sam yelled, "She needs me! LET G…!"
A high pitched wail pierced the air followed by Quorra's tearful laughter.
Alan let go of Sam's jacket.
"You can go in now," he told him and Sam bolted into the room…
Just to see Quorra cradling a tiny baby.
"Look who's here!" Quorra cooed to the baby and then turned up to Sam, "Say hello to the second Son of Flynn, Sam. Rafael Kevin Tron Flynn,"
Sam's knees buckled and he stumbled over to his wife, cautiously reaching out to touch the baby's tiny arm…noticing the faint silvery-white lines that ran along the boy's arms, chest, back and legs, noticing the tiny ISO glyph on his arms.
"Quorra…" Sam breathed, "He's…he's perfect…"
"Do you want to hold him?" she asked.
Sam gave a mute nod, blinking rapidly as tears of joy pricked at his eyes. Quorra gently handed the tiny child to his father and Sam cradled him gently.
"Hey there, kiddo," he whispered, "Glad to finally meet you,"
The baby's eyes fluttered open, a brilliant icy blue that matched Quorra's.
"He's got your eyes," Sam said, looking at Quorra.
"But he looks a lot like you too," Quorra replied, watching as Sam gently kissed the dark, curly head and gave him back to her.
"Alan," Sam started, "I've got to let the employees know I'm not going to be at work for a few days…or more. I'll be right back,"
Well, Sam wasn't exactly lying.
But instead of sitting at his desk at ENCOM, Sam went to the Arcade, sitting down at his father's old desk.
He pulled up an empty file and started writing, hoping to send the message to everyone…
Sam frowned and erased all the contacts, leaving the box blank and he started to type again.
Hey Dad,
I know that you're not around anymore, but this feels right in any case. Quorra has been adapting well to our world, in fact, we got married about a year ago. ENCOM's stock is skyrocketing, guess that's because they've got a Flynn in charge, huh? But something happened tonight…a miracle I'd say. Tonight, July 9, 2012…twenty three years after you disappeared into the Grid…the Flynn family grew just a bit. You're a grandpa, Dad and I'm a Dad! His name is Rafael Kevin Tron Flynn. Rafael after great grandpa, Kevin after you, and Tron for well, Quorra and I thought that it'd be best to honor the memory of the Program who allowed us to leave the Grid…even if he didn't stop CLU from reaching us. We've decided on calling him Raf for short…kinda a play on the name Ram from your old stories. Guess they weren't stories, huh? Raf…Dad, he's got Quorra's markings. He's the first of his kind, an ISO/Human hybrid. God knows what trouble he's going to get himself into. I mean, he's a Flynn, we can't stay out of trouble can we? I guess that's it…I miss you Dad, I wish you were still alive.
-Sam
He hit save, maybe one day he'd show Raf this place? Who knew?
Sam brought up a new message to send to the employees and started to work on that.
"Flynn…what's that?" Beck asked, pointing at the datapad on the table, "I mean, I know what it is…but its flashing and who's EightyNine4ever?"
Flynn's head shot up and he sprinted over to the table, snatching up the datapad and looking over the words. He let out a laugh of disbelief and ran his hand through his hair.
"I don't believe it," he said.
"What?" Tron asked, walking up from his patrol, "What is it, Flynn?"
Flynn turned towards the Monitor with a big smile on his face.
"I have a grandson," he beamed, "He's half User half ISO…and Sam named him after you and me!"
Tron frowned and Flynn showed him the datapad…the Program's frown melted into a soft smile as he read and he looked up at Flynn.
"Your son is right about one thing," Tron started.
"What?" Flynn asked.
"The child is going to get himself into so much trouble. He is a Flynn after all,"
"I don't know whether to be flattered or insulted,"
"Both,"
1 year later
"Daaaadaaa!"
Sam smiled as he walked into the office, watching as Raf's beautiful blue eyes lit up happily. The one year old was currently gumming a Frisbee that Sam had gotten sometime before his birth…he had no idea Raf had found it.
"Rafael!" Quorra groaned, setting down and trying to take the Frisbee away from her son, "Let go,"
"NO!" the one year old cried, snatching the disk back and making Sam snicker.
Quorra glared at him.
"Sam…he could choke,"
"Not on something that big," Sam replied…but he quailed under the icy glare Quorra gave him, "Raf…let go of the Frisbee,"
"No!" Raf cried, taking the disk and throwing it…
It nearly hit Sam, who yelped and hit the floor to avoid getting hit. Quorra snickered as Sam propped himself up on his elbows and glared at her.
"We need to get that one in the Disk Wars," he finally growled, "He's good with a Disk,"
"Over my derezzed body," Quorra growled.
Sam held up his hands in surrender.
"So, mind telling me why you brought him here?" Sam asked, "I thought you left him with the day care below?"
"He wanted his 'Dada' and his 'Mama'," Quorra shrugged, getting on the floor and playing with her son's tiny fingers, "He wouldn't stop crying,"
"He's getting stronger," Sam noted as he knelt down next to them and Raf yanked on Sam's hair.
"He's a User," Quorra replied, "Of course he is, just like his father…and his grandfather,"
"Half User, remember?"
Right at that moment, Jr. walked in.
"Sorry to bother you, Mr. Flynn," Jr. said, pushing up his glasses nervously as Quorra sent a venomous glare his way.
Sam smiled inwardly, remembering when Quorra put the man on his back just because Jr. started yelling at him.
"This just came in the mail for you. They put it on my desk of all things,"
"I'll have to talk to the new intern…" Sam nodded as he took the note, "sorry about that Ed,"
Jr. and left while Sam read the note
I know where you are, Son of Flynn, I know you're harboring the ISO, I know you had a son with her. I have my ways of bringing you down. Your son will be first, User.
If the note didn't scare him…the signature did. Who knew three letters could inspire so much fear?
-CLU
"Sam?" Quorra asked, picking Raf up from the floor, "What is it?"
Sam closed his eyes and showed Quorra the note, her eyes went huge.
"That's not possible! He…he's dead! Your father…"
"I know…but we can't take any chances," Sam sighed, looking at Raf, "Not while our son's life is in the balance,"
He turned his gaze back up to Quorra.
"Get Alan, I need to talk to him,"
Months Later
"This way," Alan said, showing the young couple into Sam's office, "Sam…they're here,"
Sam looked up from his desk at the visitors, nodding sadly.
"Come on in," he said, "Alan…can you give us some privacy?"
Alan nodded, biting his lip. He couldn't even imagine what Sam, or Quorra for that matter, were feeling at that moment. He closed the door and the couple sat down.
"I suppose you know why you're here?" Sam asked, they nodded, "Good, I…"
"We just don't understand why," the young woman interrupted, "Sorry, but I had to know,"
"Seeing as you both were the best candidates that Alan could find, coupled with the fact that you live pretty much in the middle of nowhere…you do have a right to know," Sam sighed, leaning forwards, "A few months ago, a threat was made on mine and my wife's son's life. We don't know when the threat will be made true and we don't want to know. The best thing that we could come up with was to let our son go. He'd be so far from anything ENCOM related that the enemy wouldn't be able to find him and hurt him. We found you both,"
He turned towards the door.
"Quorra?" he called.
Silence.
"Quorra," Sam started, getting up and walking over to the door, opening it to see Quorra holding their sleeping son.
Her pale face was red and her eyes were bloodshot from the tears that were still streaming down her face.
"Sam…I can't do this," she choked, "I can't…my son, our son…"
Sam put a hand on her shoulder.
"We have no choice," he reminded her, voice raspy from tears, "C'mon…let's let these two meet ou…their son,"
Quorra grudgingly took the steps into the room, a death-grip on her son as she nuzzled his tiny head, tears streaming.
"He's beautiful!" the young woman breathed, reaching out and touching the boy's arm.
Quorra pulled away but ran into Sam's arm. She reluctantly let the young woman hold Raf, turning her head to Sam's shoulder and she heaved silent sobs.
"What are these?" the man asked, looking at the faint silver-white lines that sketched lightly across the boy's skin.
His 'circuits'.
"Birthmarks," Sam replied, "Doctor says its nothing to worry about, he gets it from his mother,"
He gently pulled the collar of Quorra's shirt down to expose her collarbone and the white marks there.
"We do have an agreement…that he keeps his name?" Sam asked softly.
"Rafael is a good name," the man nodded, "We would be honored to be allowed to let him keep it,"
Sam nodded his thanks and he shook the man's hand as he stood.
"One more thing…he can't know about us…as much as we wish he could," Sam said, "When he's of age…and if he finds out he's not your son…you can tell him. But…it's best if he never knows he's adopted,"
The couple nodded as the woman stroked Raf's downy, wild, brunette curls.
"Can…can I hold him? One last time?" Quorra breathed, "Please?"
The woman gave a sad smile and handed the one year old to his mother. Raf's sleepy blue eyes blinked open as Quorra held him close, sobbing in his hair.
"Mama?" he cooed, reaching up to pat her nose and Quorra lost it.
Sam gently pried his son from his distraught wife's arms, touching his head to Raf's.
"You be a good boy," he told his son, voice gruff from unshed tears, "You do everything the Esquivels tell you, ok kiddo? I…"
Tears started rolling down his cheeks as he looked into the icy blue eyes…that were starting to thread with brown. Like tiny, spider web diamonds.
"Dada?"
Sam bit the inside of his cheek so hard he tasted blood, but he handed his son back to Mrs. Esquivel.
"Dada?!" Raf cried, but Sam bowed his head.
"We will keep him safe," Mr. Esquivel promised and Sam grunted in acknowledgement as the couple walked out the door.
Raf gave a heartbreaking cry as the door closed and Sam had to restrain Quorra as she leaped forwards.
"He's safer this way…" he choked and Quorra started sobbing hard, turning to her husband and sobbing into his chest.
Sam held her close and he figured that everything he'd been through: his mother dying, his father's disappearance, the first breakup he ever had, all the bones he ever broke, the Disk wound on his right arm, his father dying…
Out of all that…losing his son was the thing that almost killed him.
So a little explanation on Raf's eyes. ISOs adapt to their surroundings, since Raf's new family has brown eyes and such, he'll start to take on those characteristics as he ages. In Gridlock, his eyes start turning back to blue, but it'll take a long, long time before they return to the same color they were when he was born, seeing as he's not a baby anymore. Up next...what do you guys want to see? A throwback chapter where we see some Pre-Legacy stuff? Or go on to the future?
Anyway, hope you liked it. If you did, please R&R! :)
Qui vállë tóquetë, ván tecë (If no review comes from y'all; no story comes from me)
Máriessë ar mára tecië
Fair well and fair writing
Elhini Prime signing off.
