Yeah, I know I said you might not see this chapter any time soon, but then the weekend came, and now I have much more time to write! Yay! But still, no promises for the next few, either.

So where *is* K'Ela?

Chapter 8

Untold Truth

The world seemed to either stop, or go on without us as I stared into the eyes of my father. He was young... so much younger than the man I knew. It was the man I saw from the picture in the attic, and I wanted to believe that his spirit was the same, but I couldn't delude myself. He was tired. Weak. Hurt. The old Trip was gone.

But not entirely. This man wasn't meek like the man I knew. There was a strength and a determination about him, one that gave him some courage to speak loudly, voice his opinions, tell people what he thinks. A courage I could feel him losing quickly as I watched him.

He sighed, and ran his hands back through his hair. "Ah, hell... I dunno how I'm gonna tell 'em..."

"Tell who what?" I asked quietly, more to myself than actually believing he would answer me.

He waited a moment, then cleared his throat, and walked into the hallway.

I followed, looking around. The place was strangely familiar, though I know I had never been here before. I looked more closely, and finally saw why. To my right was a dimly lit living room, solemn but warm and comfortable; to my left was a carpeted stairway- burgundy; behind was a white door, the glass pane tinted with a frosty floral pattern; and just ahead was the kitchen, and whatever lay beyond it. This was the house I saw when I touched the key, and this was a continuation of that memory.

Then I realized: I would see my grandmother and grandfather. I always wanted to know who they were, but they were never a part of my life.

And there in front of me as we entered the kitchen area, sitting at a table, was an older woman. She had brown hair with gray strewn in, and deep blue eyes like my dad. She had a soft and gentle air to her, however, that was not the look on her face when we entered. Everyone seemed to be so tense about something, and I was about to find out what.

She had just turned off the television when we neared her.

"I jus' saw you on the news, Charlie," she told him, her eyes sad, and a little disappointment shone through as well.

"I was kinda hopin' t' be the one t' tell you." He still stood, shifting nervously from one foot to the other, then realized he probably wanted to sit before he had to give the big explanation, so he sat in the chair adjacent to hers.

She shook her head, and said quietly, "Why'd you quit Starfleet? It was all over the news that you quit, but not even the media could get hold a' the whole story."

"Oh no..." I whispered out loud.

"Uhh... well..." I could see his hands shaking a bit as he turned his gaze on the table cloth, and started pulling at the loose strings. "That's... what I wanted t' tell you." He sighed shakily, then told her, "I... I have a daughter now."

She was in shock, and was silent for a few seconds before speaking again, this time in anger. "Charlie, I thought better of you. Natalie's been waitin' for you, supportin' you in goin' for yer dream... and you don' even *care* that the woman that loves you is willin' t' stay with you even though you've been away all this time?"

He was hurt, but he managed to continue. "Ma, I didn't do what'cha think I did."

"Oh, that's funny, 'cause I thought you just said you had a daughter!" she said sarcastically.

He blushed a bright red, embarrassed.

I didn't want to be there. I was really ashamed of myself. Here I was, the cause of all the fighting, and I couldn't even help. I was the reason that my grandmother was angry, thinking my dad cheated on his girlfriend, and the reason my dad wanted to just sink into the shadows.

"He didn't do anything!" I heard myself cry out.

My grandmother looked at him sadly. He looked like he wanted to cry. She didn't really know what to make of that. She took a minute to calm down, but still had a cool tone to her voice. "So why hasn't the *mother* taken any responsibility?"

In my mind, I saw pieces of a ship, flying past me in an explosion, charred metal and burning plasma the only remains of the obliterated Xyrillian ship.

I backed up against the wall. So that was what it looked like. That was what haunted my father every time he thought of the Xyrillians. It was one of the most terrible things I'd ever seen.

"She's dead," my dad told her, maybe a bit too bluntly, especially after what I had just seen go through his mind.

"Come on, Dad!" I told him. "Why are you just answerin' 'er instead a' tellin' 'er what really happened?"

Apparently I wasn't the only one ashamed of myself.

But he said something then I didn't think he was going to reveal.

"She died a while before K'Ela was born," he said quietly, still avoiding her gaze.

Finally. He was finally able to tell her. I was beginning to be very proud of him.

My grandmother looked like she was going to pass out. "What?" she asked, her voice wavering.

"She... she died a while before K'Ela was born," he repeated.

"K'Ela... is your daughter's name?" she asked timidly.

He nodded, finally looking up at her.

"She isn't human then?"

He shook his head. "Not at all."

"Oh..." She sat forward, leaning with her elbow on the table, and her face in her hand. "I..."

"Yeah."

He let her dwell on that for a minute, before moving on to the next part of the explanation. "And I don' want you t' think I cheated on Natalie. I didn't."

She just made a noise of attempted speech and shrugged.

I couldn't help smiling. I think my father had just traumatized my grandmother.

He explained the "birds and the bees" in Xyrillian terms to his poor mother, and waited to hear her response.

She sat dumbfounded for a second before saying, "I'm really sorry fer yellin' at you, Charlie. It's just... that was *not* the first explanation that came to mind when you told me you have a daughter..."

He smiled weakly, and agreed.

That's when things changed for the worse.

"Charlie... there's somethin' that really bothers me about this, though, and I know it's not what you wanna hear, but... just listen, alright?"

He sighed, accepting he would have to.

Her eyes filled with tears. "You were raped."

That hit both my father and me like being hit by a car. I felt my legs go weak, and I almost collapsed.

"Don't say that," he told her.

"I have to. You know it's the truth. She told you it was a *game* you were playing. That was *anythin'* but a game."

"Stop!" he yelled, standing up. "Why are you tellin' me this?! How is that helpin' me?!"

She stood up and put her arms around him, trying to comfort him from the hard truth she had just told him, the tears falling from both their eyes. "Because you won't even admit it t' *yourself*. You need t' hear the truth."

"No..." I said quietly, shaking my head, trying to make myself believe it was a lie. "No... It's not the truth... It's not the truth!" I shouted through tears.

He knew he didn't want to admit it to himself, and *I* knew I didn't either, but it was real. And maybe he *had* needed to hear that. Maybe hearing that lifted a burden from him, and he could feel that the painful truth that he knew had cleared his name of cheating on Natalie, which he had not done.

Only, *I* did not want to hear it. I didn't want to know that I came to be through rape, and that, yes, I *had* been the destruction of my father's entire life.

I wanted everything to go back to the way it was before I decided to research his past, so I wouldn't have to know these things. I felt awful, and I thought things couldn't get any worse. But they did.
Poor guys... Wonder how Trip's *dad* is going to react? Hmmm... Let's just say... not good.

Be nice and review please! ^ - ^