January 2nd 2025
8:00pm
They walked close behind Mako as they led her to where Raleigh's newly restored Jaeger was waiting. She could feel the pep in his step and it made her giggle. He gave her an odd look and she just shook her head. He smiled at her and slung an arm around her shoulder, pulling her close. His warmth washed over her and she reveled in the protected feeling he gave her. She was much shorter than he was and when he place his arm around her it gave her a sense of comfort like nothing else could.
The sound of machinery caught her attention and she looked up. There in front of her she could barely see the Jaeger her husband was to pilot and it took her breath away. She had always wanted to see a Jaeger up close and at one point she had aspired to be a pilot but circumstances had forced her to give up on that dream.
"There she is." Mako said as they reached open area. She looked up and whistled.
"Oh, my God. Look at her. Gipsy Danger. God, it's so beautiful. She looks like new." Raleigh breathed. She looked up at her husband and smiled fondly. He was finally in his element. She had never seen him this at home and it was a nice change.
"Better than new, she has a double core nuclear reactor. She's one of a kind now." Mako explained.
"She always was." Raleigh replied before turning to her. "What do you think of her?"
"She's beautiful." She replied, completely at a loss for words. She grinned at him as she shifted Ezra on to her other hip. He was a big two year old and his weight was starting to catch up to her. The hip he had been resting on popped in protest and she closed her eyes to let the pain pass.
"How do you like the ride, Becket boy? Solid iron hull, no alloys. Forty acres of blades muscle span and a new fluid synam system." They turned around to find a man with interesting taste approaching them. His black hair was slicked back and he was wearing a rather ostentatious bow tie.
"Tendo!"Raleigh exclaimed, striding forward to embrace his old friend. "Good to see you, buddy
"It's good to see you too, brother. It's just like old times." Tendo replied and she sees his eyes flick over Raleigh shoulder and then back. "Who is this beautiful young lady?"
"Tendo meet Analia." Raleigh introduced. She looked over at the man, and smiled.
"Pleasure to meet you miss." Tendo greeted, taking her hand in his and placing a kiss on her knuckles. She looked over at Raleigh with a look of disbelief that he simply shrugged off.
"Likewise." She replied, putting her hand back to where it had been cradling her baby boy.
"How did you two meet?" Tendo asked.
"She saved my life after the incident." Raleigh explained wrapping an arm around her shoulders and giving her a squeeze. "She's been following me around ever since."
"More like taking care of you. Someone had to make sure you were actually taking care of yourself." She quipps, jabbing him in the side with her index finger.
"Well I thank you for keeping him alive." Temdo said gratefully. She inclined her head in response, before turning to look at the boy in her arms as he shifted.
"She's done more than that." Raleigh said quietly, ruffling their boys hair, effectively waking him up.
"Well done love. Now he's going to be cranky." She chastised with a sigh before switching Ezra to her other hip again.
"Sorry." He apologized, placing a kiss on her forehead and taking the boy from her, seeing her struggle.
"This little guy here is Ezra. He can sleep positively anywhere." She told Tendo, looking at her boys fondly.
"This is a pleasant surprise Raleigh. You're married and already have a kid. Congrats." Tendo clapped Raleigh on the shoulder in congratulations and she had to chuckle.
"She's been my life since the crash. And he has only made it better." Raleigh explained.
"You're one of the lucky ones. I'll catch you later." Tendo said, walking away from them.
"This is your room. I apologize for not having a bigger one ready for your arrival. Pentecost did not mention Raleigh bringing family." Mako apologized as she opened the door for them. Raleigh walked into the room and placed Ezra on the bed, who was fully awake now and looking around curiously.
"That's alright. The three of us will manage." She told Mako, sitting down beside her son.
"So what's your story? Restoring old Jaegers, showing has-beens like me around, that can't be it. You a pilot?" Raleigh asked Mako, setting their bags on the bed. She opened it up and pulled out the first thing she saw. It was all of their pictures. She shuffled through them, listening to the two of them talk.
"No, not yet. But I want to be one, more than anything." Mako replied.
"What's your simulator score?" Raleigh asked.
"Fifty one drops, fifty-one kills." Mako said bashfully.
"Wow, that's amazing. But you're not one of the candidates tomorrow?" Raleigh asked, impressed. She didn't really understand what they were talking about but she could guess that whatever it was that the score was really good.
"I'm not, but Marshall has his reasons." Mako explained. Ana could tell from the look in her eyes and the way she slightly cringed away from the topic that Mako didn't really like talking about it.
"Yeah, he always does, doesn't he? But with fifty-one kills I can't imagine what they could be." Raleigh said, walking over to her and looking at the pictures in her hands.
"I hope you approve all my choices. I've studied your fighting techniques and strategy, even, Alaska." Mako told him.
"What do you think?" He asked, looking up at Mako.
"I think you're unpredictable. You have a habit of deviating from standard combat techniques, you take risks that injure yourself and your crew. I don't think you're the right man for this mission." Ana had to look up from the pictures in her hands to look between her husband and Mako. To her surprise there wasn't any anger in his eyes, just sadness. This had always been a touchy subject for him. He knew that he was reckless and for five long years he had beat himself up, thinking his recklessness had been what cause Yancy's death.
"Well, thank you for your honesty. You might be right. But one day when you're a pilot you're gonna see that in combat you'll make decisions, you have to live the consequences. That's what I'm trying to do." Mako nodded at his response and left them to get settled. Without closing the door Raleigh pulled his shirt off to get changed out of his old construction worker clothes and into something cleaner. Across the hall she caught a glimpse of Mako entering her own room. Mako turned to close her door and stopped in her tracks. Ana followed her gaze and saw that because her husband had no shirt on, his scars from the crash were in plain sight. She cleared her throat, catching Raleigh's attention. She gestured with her eyes and he turned around, catching Mako staring at him. Their brief eye contact was enough to make Mako quickly close the door to her room. Raleigh chuckles and closes the door to their own room.
"That was interesting." She said from beside their little boy, running her hands through his hair. She looked her husband over and could see the lag in the way he walked. He was exhausted, though he was trying his hardest not to show it. "You should get some rest."
"I'm not tired." He protested.
"I did say rest, not sleep." She quipped, earning a glare as he stuck his tongue out at her.
"Come here." She sat up and patted the bed. Reluctantly, he sat down and she moved so she could kneel behind him to massage his shoulders. The longer she massaged the further his head fell forward in relaxation. "Are you alright?"
"I will be. Being here brings back a lot of old memories." He replied softly.
"It reminds you of him." She stated, not really needing an answer from him. He nodded just the same, confirming her suspicions. "At least you have us."
"I don't know where I would be if it weren't for you." He sighed, reaching up to take her hand in his.
"Probably in a ditch somewhere." She teased, kissing his cheek.
"Oh really?" He turned on her suddenly with a devilish smile on his face.
"Don't you dare." She warned, but it was too late. He pounced on her, attacking her sides with his fingers. Her shrieks of laughter mixed with her sons as he joined in the attack on his mother echo through the small room and into the hallway. Outside of the small room people walked by looking at the door with a mixture of confusion and amusement.