Author's Note: The last chapter of Curveball has not been beta'd. I will edit this once it has been to correct for any changes necessary. I hope you've enjoyed this series thus far. There are more sequels in the works as well as a prequel. I've simply found that I enjoy writing these characters too much to leave them in peace.
Later that evening, at home Dubenko came down stairs to see Sophie curled up on the sofa with a picture of them in her hands. It was a shot of Dubenko and Sophie together laughing at whoever was taking the picture. She was sixteen and they were sitting on the hood of a car.
Dubenko addressed her, his voice soft, "What are you looking at Sophie Monster?" He had in his hand a manila file folder filled with papers and photographs.
"Don't call me that, Papa," she groused at him with a smile. "Just us. Remember when this was taken?" She turned the frame towards her father.
"Your sixteenth birthday." He sat down next to her. "Soph, I know I'm never going to be up for any father of the year awards, sweet sixteen presents aside," He jerked his head at the picture indicating the sports car that he had bought for her, "But I did try even if I fell short of the mark in your eyes, I did try--"
"Papa, I'm sorry I called you an ass—"
"Shhh baby, I know. But to a certain extent you're right. I was selfish; just not the way you might think. There's a lot that went on back then that I didn't tell you. I didn't ever intend to tell you. What you went through was bad enough and I wanted to spare you the rest." Dubenko sat the file folder on the coffee table in front of them and looked at his hands. You can't protect her forever Lee. Maybe this is the closure she needs. Is it really worth driving a wedge between the two of you, what's in that file? Not really. I just don't want to see my baby hurting again.
"I told you I wasn't going to contact the Commonwealth's medical examiner for a copy of your mother's files. What I didn't tell you is that I've always had them. Sophie, I honestly don't think you need to read this. There are things you don't need to know. However, you have a stubborn streak a mile wide. I know you. You won't let it drop until you get your way." She comes by it honestly; her mother was tenacious when warranted.
Sophie looked at her father, confusion clouding her normally bright hazel eyes. "You've had this all along? Then why didn't you just let me…Papa, how can it be any worse than what I remember?" She looked at the folder with apprehension, "What don't you want me to know?"
Dubenko kissed his daughter's cheek and ruffled her hair, "I'd just rather you remember your mother for the way she lived Sophia, not the way that she died."
He sat beside his daughter as she read through the file; Lee Dubenko had already committed the contents to memory years ago.
Marti had been in the bathroom taking a bath he'd assumed since he had heard the water running. However, she came out of the tiled room wrapped in a terrycloth robe looking rather flummoxed. "Lee? Can you put that down for a minute? We need to talk."
He had been lying on the bed reading one medical journal or another that he'd recently been published in; he always got a childish thrill at seeing his name in print on those glossy pages. "Marti? Are you all right?"
She smiled and joined him on the bed, wrapping her arms around his waist and resting her head on his shoulder. "You aren't going to believe this…you really aren't." She laughed as she stared up at him, mischief flashing in her eyes. "I'm pregnant."
Had she announced that evolution had been completely disproved he'd have been less surprised. "Wha…what? Are are you sure? How?" He babbled at her, stuttering.
"Well you see, Lee when an ovum, an egg if you will, and a sperm meet to create a zygote…"
"Marti! I don't need a biology lesson!"
"Lee, are you unhappy about this?" She searched his face, her own a picture of worry and hurt.
After Sophie had been born they'd made the decision to not have any more children. Marti had a tubal ligation and they never really thought anything more about it. It figured that 14 years later, they'd be one of those few couples that proved that a sure thing wasn't.
"I'm just…surprised, Marti. The odds—"
"Don't, Lee, don't quote statistics at me now." Marti's eyes shone with unshed tears. "Not now. I've been thinking about them for days now. The risks, the disadvantages, the increased chance of defects. I don't need to hear any more numbers right now."
"I love you, Beautiful. And the only statistic I want to share with you right now is that I am one hundred percent happy about this."
He had meant it; the idea of having another child actually appealed to him more than he ever thought it would. The fact that any hopes for a new child had been cut short two months later nearly devastated him as much as the loss of his wife. They never had told Sophie.
"Oh my god, Papa…oh god." Tears were running down Sophie's face as she sat with papers strewn across her lap. "Mom was pregnant. Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you guys tell me? Did you know?"
"Yes, I knew. Of course I knew. We didn't want to tell you until your mother had had some initial tests done. She had decided that she wouldn't continue the pregnancy if there were any serious birth defects and we weren't going to tell you until we knew for sure." He pulled Sophie into a tight embrace. "Baby don't do this to yourself. Put it away."
"You must think I'm the worst daughter on the planet. I'm sorry, Papa."
"Yes, you awful, willful terrible child. I'm planning to sell you off for medical research in the morning." Dubenko teased, trying his best to lighten the mood.
"You'll do anything for grant money, won't you?" Sophie smiled through her tears. "Papa, is there anything else in here that I don't know about?"
A pained expression crossed Dubenko's face briefly, but he knew his daughter had caught it. "Sophie, why are you so insistent on reliving all of this?"
"I want to know what happened. I need to know. I need to reconcile what's in my head and what's in this file. I need to know that they did everything they could to catch the evil monster that hurt her."
"My word isn't good enough?"
"I just need to, okay?" She insisted as she picked up the file again to continue reading.
Knowing what she would find amongst the details she was already familiar with Dubenko steeled himself for her reaction. When none came, he looked at Sophie curiously. "Soph?"
She closed the file and placed it back on the coffee table before turning to her father, "I love you Papa, and you are definitely up for the father of the year award in my book…so long as you aren't really going to sell me off for research."
Deciding to leave well enough alone for time being, Dubenko humored her. "I'm thinking about it."
"It's because I broke that rooster in your office, isn't it?"
Lee Dubenko laughed as he hugged his daughter. "Absolutely not! You did me a favor getting rid of that hideous avian…thing."
"Papa, where did you get Chicken Little anyway?"
"Sophie, some of the staff members at County General have very odd ideas about what constitutes a Secret Santa gift."
Lee Dubenko hugged his daughter one last time at the airport security checkpoint. "Call me when you get home, Soph."
"I will, Papa." She stood on tiptoe and kissed his cheek. "I'll see you soon, I promise I'll be here for winter break this year. No excuses, okay?"
He gave her a lopsided smile and nodded. Dubenko watched Sophie make her way through security before turning to leave. The rest of her visit had been uneventful and quiet. They had spent some time at the lakefront and Sophie, intentionally mimicking her mother's behavior or not, had spent several afternoons happily cooking and filling his freezer with homemade meals. He couldn't help but smile to himself as he recalled part of the conversation from the prior evening.
"Remind me again why I am cleaning up your mess?" He teased his daughter while washing a sink full of dishes.
"In appreciation for my demonstration of amazing culinary skills, of course." Sophie grinned from her perch on top of the kitchen counter.
"Would you please get down from there? And just what kind of skill does it take to burn French toast to the bottom of a Teflon coated pan, anyway?" He flicked a wet hand in her direction, spraying her with droplets of soapy water.
"I like it up here, makes me feel tall. As for the French toast…it was uh, unintentional. Cut me some slack, it's the only thing I ruined all week."
"Mmm. Well at least when you do something, you don't do it in half measures. This is not coming off. What do you say we call it? Time of death 18:45." Dubenko looked at the kitchen clock as he dropped the ruined pan into the garbage as his daughter laughed.
"Mom would have kicked your butt for doing that." Sophie's expression was somber as she looked across the room at her father.
"She'd also kick my but for doing this," he went to the freezer, pulled out a carton of ice cream and hopped up on the counter next to Sophie. Dubenko plucked two spoons out of the dish drainer and handed one to her. "You're right, I do feel tall sitting up here."
It was nice to finally be able to talk about Marti and laugh, Dubenko mused as he pulled into the staff parking lot. It was even better to be able to do so with his daughter.