Chapter 13

The next few days Jinpei and Ryu ducked in and out of the Snack J- Sometimes he even stayed to help.

Ken showed up at lunchtime to man the kitchen, he was friendly towards her, but she noticed he kept a certain amount of distance especially when Joe walked into the Snack J.

Ken hid himself in the kitchen during Joe's visits.

And Friday finally came after what seemed like an eternity.

"I hear Joes cooking you dinner tonight." Ken said when she walked into the kitchen to give him the last order for the lunch rush.

"Yes, that's why I'm closing early today." Jun looking into his face, she saw a haunted look creep across his face before he turned away to get a pot he needed from the rack to complete the new order.

"I should…Jun I'll finish up here if you want to go and get ready…" Ken offered.

"Ken you don't have to do that." She put a hand on his shoulder.

"No, really it's alright…I have to go back to the base to catch up with Dr.Nambu later, he said he has a few things he needs to go over. I'll kill some time here." He didn't turn around to look at her.

So she decided to go back out and finish up with the last of the customers, Ken offer made it easier for her leave and get into town in time for her meeting with Matt and Natasha.

Walking out of the Snack J a short time later with Ken still clattering around the kitchen felt strange to Jun, he walked to the sink as she left to get a cloth.

"Thanks Ken, for doing this." Jun waved, he smiled a little and then turned away to keep going with his work.

An hour's ride into the city didn't do much to calm the nerves that suddenly hit her during the ride in.

What would they think of her? She thought pulling up at building and parking just out the front.

Taking a moment to calm the butterflies lose in her stomach Jun closed her eyes. She decided unless she got a call to return to G-Town then she had no reason to cancel the appointment out of fear.

Arriving at the office she discovered they had been there for about ten minutes when Val walked out to greet her.

"Val…" Jun said feeling more anxious now that they sat in a room close by.

"Jun, don't worry, they are just as nervous as you are…and they really want to meet you." Val reassured her.

"Okay," Jun followed her down the hall.

Val showed her into the room. The first thing she saw was Dyami cradled in his mothers arms drinking a bottle of milk formula.

"Hi," Matt greeted her with a small smile. Jun extended her hand to him.

"Hi," She said while shaking his hand, she looked back at Natasha and Dyami. Natasha's long wavy strawberry blond hair got a few tugs from his little fingers, making her pull them away.

Val invited Jun to sit down. An awkward silence fell between the three of them.

"How…how's he going." She asked Natasha.

"We…ahhh had a night of teeth pains this week, he's got one tooth…" Natasha smiled nervously as she sat Dyami up to burp him. "He's seven months old and with one tooth."

Another awkward silence fell between them. Dyami burped and smiled happily at Jun.

Looking at his eyes she saw how much they matched Matt's, she commented on this bringing a smile to Matts face.

"People say that he looks like me when we are out shopping…because I've got dark hair too…" Matt scooped him up out of Natasha arms. Jun observed Matts dark hair to be much neater than Kens messy mop.

Dyami giggled as his dad played with him making him laugh harder.

"Be careful Matt, he'll throw up all over you if you keep throwing him around like that…" Natasha warned her husband, Jun could see how much they loved their son.

Jun rubbed her hands down her jeans to dry off her sweaty palms- she stood up and walked over to them. "He looks healthy."

Natasha stood up and extended her hand to Jun. "I've been looking forward to meeting you Jun."

She took her hand and returned her kind gesture." Me too…"

"We'll take good care of him." Matt said sincerely. Natasha glanced at Val. Jun knew in a way how she felt, someone listening to every word they said, Jun felt uncomfortable too in that sterile room. Not knowing what to expect from this meeting made it harder.

"We're going to visit some relatives soon that haven't met him yet…he's the apple of his Grandfathers eyes already." Natasha couldn't hide her joy in that. "Matts father anyway…mine lives in another city, they haven't met him yet, and we'll be visiting them soon."

Jun didn't know what to say, she's never had grandparents.

Matt and Natasha exchanged glances. "Would you like to hold him." Natasha offered.

Jun hesitated feeling like an intruder in their family if she did that.

"I'm sure she would." Val said leaving Jun in a more awkward position. Since she couldn't say no now like she wanted to.

Matt handed him over to her, Val took some photos of the three of them. It felt odd to be smiling, fake in a way since until a few moments ago all three of them were strangers to each other, connected through a little baby boy cradled in her arms. As soon as Jun could she handed him back to Natasha.

"Its time to go." Val indicated, ending the hour long appointment.

This will take some time to get used too. Jun figured. At least they had agreed to meet her again in six months time.

"We'll meet you again if you like Jun…as part of the adoption plan." Matt said.

"When things settle down…" Natasha backed him up. Jun liked her, she had genuine warmth, and Matt adores him. Deep in her heart she knew she had picked the right couple to raise him.

Natasha and Matt left first, Jun frowned when she looked at Val and asked. "Why did you do that…make me hold him."

"I thought you might have found it hard to say yes…" Val said.

"Don't do that again, if I wanted I hold him then I would have said so." Jun said Val looked surprised at Jun's reaction.

"I'm sorry Jun… next time I'll let you decide." Val showed her out of her office.

Feeling emotionally drained Jun walked out of the building she stopped to breathe a sigh of relief that the first meeting had finally happened, and he looked content with his parents.

Someone familiar caught her eye. Turning she saw Joe leaning against the wall of the building staring at her with a stern expression.

"Wanna talk about it?" He asked not moving.

Ah…what are you doing here Joe." Jun stammered, shocked to see him standing there.

"Talk about what?" Jun tried to think up a quick excuse for being in the offices of permanent care and adoption for children.

"Following you, what does it look like?" Joe stated the obvious and he moved away from the wall to walk over to her. "It looks like our date start now."

She felt the heat rise to her face, Joe didn't say anymore he just walked over to his car and opened the passenger side door indicating for her to get in without an argument. Wide eyed and shaking she did as he asked.

Ken put the last clean pot back on the rack and he finished wiping around the sink.

Stopping to look at his handy work Ken decided to give the floor one last sweep before he locked up the Snack J. He even entertained the idea of visiting Ryu and Jinpei at the Mariner. After careful thought he decided against it, he did have a meeting to attend with Dr.Nambu today, so he figured the best idea would to be to go back to the base.

Picking up the broom he began to sweep the floor. He did feel jealous that Joe had asked Jun out on a date the first chance he got after he told him eventually he couldn't stop him asking her out if he wanted too.

Ken had to try and let go of her, it just seemed too hard to do, even if deep down he knew he couldn't stop her from living the life she wanted with the person she loves. After all it wasn't like he went out dating girls like Joe had before he 'died'. Ken considered himself a one girl guy.

Jun is the girl wanted- now she didn't want him.

Ken walked out of the kitchen and flicked off the lights, then he walked over to the main switch and turned of the main lights of bar and grill. Looking around the peaceful darkened room Ken felt some peace enter his heart. He imagined the comfortable sounds of coffee brewing and dishes clanging, Jun scolding Jinpei, customers asking what happened to their orders. The warm sounds of home. Had his search for the life he wanted always end here? Ken pondered. In the simplicity of a bar and grill and the sweet natured young woman that ran the place.

This place always made him feel like that. Normal, when he sat at the bar or helped Jun like he had over the past few days he felt like he had some sense of what was like to lead a normal life full of love and laughter, without fear of being killed, losing your friends and family…

Walking to the bus station to get a transport out of town he tried to find something else to think about. But the feel of her in his arms while she was injured still haunted him. And the name she muttered. 'Dyami.' Whose Dyami, Ken wandered? He so much wanted to ask her about it. Joe heard her say it too when he came back into the medical room. Joe shrugged his shoulders- he figured Dyami must have be someone from her past.

A first Ken thought he could have been someone she began seeing else after they broke up. And then he really could face the thought of it so he shut it out. No, Jun wouldn't do that he decided after sometime and deep thought. She had always been honest with him. He trusted her explicitly when it came to the truth in anything.

Getting onto the empty bus he stared out the window trying not to let his thoughts turn to the current war with Galactor. He had to find a way to defeat Gel Sadra, another strange creation of Sosai X.

Dr.Nambu had been swamped since the war had begun again in earnest, to the point that he handed Ken a stack of paperwork to go through and sort out if its relevant information or not. Ken never did paperwork in the past.

Gatchaman had become an assistant. Ken knew he wouldn't make a good Personal assistant, he hated sitting in an office all day, or talking to people who just didn't follow through.

Walking into the submarine base he showed his pass to the guard and headed for the nearest transport to G-Town.

Another meeting, another pile of paperwork awaited him down in the underwater base of G-Town.

He greeted to the sub driver while he boarded, and looked for a seat among the personnel already on board waiting to go. As usual Ken kept to himself, listening to the conversations going on around him during the trip to the base.

He looked out the small portal window at the fish swimming past the metal structure located on the bottom of the ocean. The sub and even the large white shark that swam close to the sub felt like a tiny dot against the size of this new base. Ken smiled to himself- he had a purpose in life. It is to keep other people safe, and enable them to have the normal kind of life he craved.

The sub jolted as it came into the bases sub station, eventually he got out of the sub after most of the people had departed. He walked over to a transport tube to go and meet with the good doctor. He hoped it would be to tell him he no longer needed him to do paperwork so he could go and workout at the Gym, do some laps in the pool and then retire to his personal quarters for a long earned rest.