Hey you guys…I am so sorry it took forever for me to update. I was going to abadon this tory, but after a comment from Azna's girl had me going back to it, and upon rereading some of it I rediscovered my love of it, soo here's the next chapter, and there will be more to come. Thanks for all of you that reviewed…I love reading what you guys think.
Azna's girl: You inspired me to start writing this again. Thanks for the interest! I went back and reread the last chapter and realized why I wanted to write this in the first place. So thank you again, and thanks for the review.
LittleRedHead: I think you're confused, Dylan and Beka aren't married...Beka and Rhade are married. Oh, and I promise more Trance coming immediately…but not unitl the next chapter. Thanks for the review!
Reading Redhead: Hey Candace, I know you aren't an Andromeda fan, and I know I totally abandoned this story so I'll understand if you don't read my updates, but I hope you will if you get the chance. Thanks for the review.
Harper's Pixie: Thanks for the enthusiasm. I too love anything Harper/Trance, sadly this chapter won't focus on them, but I promise more interaction between them in the next chapter. Thanks for the review.
Aurora Leigh: Thanks for saying this has potential, that means a lot to me. And I too am excited to see where I take this…I tend to write without a plan, and while I have ideas in my head, things could come up at any minute! Thanks for the review.
sticks-and-stones123: I'm sorry about the confusion, Jacob is Harper's son. The story of his mother will be told in this chapter. Thanks for the review.
Squid109: I am honored to be on your favorite stories list! And thanks for saying that I am getting into the heads of the characters, that is a wonderful compliment. Thanks for the review.
A/N: The Peace Lancers are basically the Peace Corp…only associated with the Commonwealth, and of course throughout the universe, not just Earth.
This isn't my favorite chapter, writing wise…but I really wanted to get it out there to you guys, and see what you guys think…so let me know…please!
And now without further ado…
Chapter Four: I Miss My Mom
The tension in the room was apparent to everyone. Harper knew he should say something… something charming, or disarming…something to make Trance stop staring directly into his eyes. Wait…did he want her to stop staring into his eyes? She sure was beautiful. Despite her now deep blue hair and a more conservative outfit, she hardly looked like she had aged at all. Just another mystery of Trance he thought to himself. Though there was more wisdom in her eyes then the last time he saw her, more wisdom and… more pain.
However, Harper was relieved of the duty of thinking up a witty comment because just at that moment a huge laugh was heard throughout the room and all eyes were diverted to Tearna, who stood at the entrance of the room, laughing into a plexi gripped in her hand. Most of the people in the room looked at her knowingly, smiling at the girl's well known high spirit and good sense of humor. Harper stared curiously, quickly noticing the great resemblance between father and daughter. One pair of eyes though widened a little more than the rest.
Jacob felt his breath catch a little in his chest. Who was this strange girl who wasn't afraid to laugh with such abandon in a room full of people? He quickly took in the creature that so suddenly had his attention. Her hair was a light brown, full of soft waves that framed her face and hung down around her shoulders. Her brown eyes carried a sweet humor.
Harper, like his son, was glad to see this foreign girl, but for a different reason. Her sudden appearance had immediately relieved the tension housed in the room. Harper silently thanked the girl.
"Something funny, Tearna?" Dylan asked his daughter, trying to be serious. As the daughter of the President of the Commonwealth she should not make such scenes, at the same time however, he loved watching her laugh. When she laughed she looked just like her mother.
"Just a picture Elizabeth sent me," Tearna answered through her lingering laughs still not looking up from the photograph. When she did she was quickly caught off guard by the two pairs of foreign eyes in the room.
"Ohh. I didn't realize we had visitors," she said, now embarrassed at her entrance to the room.
"Tearna, this is General Seamus Harper. Harper is Beka, Rhade, Trance, and my, old crewmate. Harper this is my daughter, Tearna."
"It's a pleasure to meet you Tearna," Harper said to the young girl, "And may I introduce to you my son, Jacob Harper."
Jacob extended his hand out to Tearna and she strongly took hold of it. Jacob laughed quietly at the strength of her grip. 'This girl was something special,' Jacob thought. Tearna though, wouldn't have believed that anybody at this moment thought her strong, because she felt like she might fall over at any moment. This boy…this boy she had just met, he was so intriguing…so foreign. And his blue eyes, they were intoxicating.
"So you're from Earth then…right?" Tearna asked, truly interested.
"Yeah."
"I am so intrigued by the problems going on there right now. When I am of age I plan to join the Peace Lancers and go there to help the relief. It makes me so mad that more members of the Commonwealth don't care about it," Tearna spewed out in one long line, her eyes beaming with excitement and compassion.
Harper took his second look at this girl, but his first real look. He now housed respect for this stranger, and easily saw the kindness in her that he saw in her father eighteen years ago.
"You are defiantly your father's daughter," Harper told Tearna.
Beka laughed, "Yes, she is certainly a chip off the 'ole do good block."
The group all laughed together. Harper couldn't help but admit to himself that it felt good to laugh like they used to. Part of him constantly missed the old times.
Their laughter was interrupted by Dylan's com-link, which started beeping, followed in chorus by Beka, Trance, and Rhade's.
"Oh, I'm sorry Harper, it looks like we will have to finish catching up later, a surprise meeting in Parliament has been called. We have to go. You're welcome to come watch though. Tearna, why don't you show Jacob around, I'm sure he would rather see some more of the planet than sit through Parliament," Dylan said.
"That's for sure, I can barely make it through most of them," Beka said, only half joking.
Dylan gave Beka a very…diplomatic look.
"Just kidding boss," she said laughing.
"Umm, sure that sounds good Dylan," Harper responded, "Are you okay hanging out with Tearna. Jake?"
"Oh, um…yeah that's fine dad," Jacob managed to get out, trying to hide the huge smile threatening to spread across his face.
With that all of the adults left the room. Tearna turned to face this boy who had so recently entered her life. However, now that she got what she had wanted, some time alone with him, she had no idea what to say. Luckily, he saved her.
"It's always nice to know that someone cares about Earth. Sometimes, when we lose some ground to the Dragons, and we are running low on food and ammo. Or we lose a good friend…sometimes it seems like no one in the Commonwealth really cares."
"There are some of us who care…really," she said a little too excitedly, and in her passion took his hand for emphasis. Embarrassed she let go quickly and looked down at her hands. "Umm, it can be a struggle to get people interested in the Earth cause, but you guys are not forgotten about."
"Thanks," Jacob said simply.
Tearna was tempted to ask exactly what she had done but bit her tongue instead. She wondered what it must have been like for him, so young, living his life in a constant fight on a planet like Earth. She was so caught up in her thoughts that she was completely taken off guard by his next question.
"So, when will I be meeting your mother?"
"Huh?" she asked.
"Umm, your mom, when will I meet her? I mean, I met your dad, and your dad's friends, but...no mom.
"Oh, I don't have one," she said, pain tracing her words.
He didn't ask, but she could see the question in his eyes so she continued.
"She and my father met right after the Commonwealth was reestablished. She was with the Peace Lancers, a teacher who went into the poorer planets, taking care of orphaned children. She had such a big heart, and was so strong," she paused trying to draw strength to say what she was about to say, "She was found murdered when I was five. No one knows who did it…or why," she took a deep breath as she finished the story.
"I'm sorry," he said simply, but for some reason she could tell she meant it. "My mom is dead too," she just barely heard him say. "She was a rebel fighter on Earth; my dad met her soon after he got there and quickly fell in love. She had grown up on Earth and never stepped off of it a day in her life. She used to give my dad a hard time about the time he spent on Andromeda," he said laughing at the fond memory, "She was killed by Dragons…when I was about five," he finished abruptly.
"You didn't have to tell me that," she said seeing the pain telling his story had caused him.
"Yeah, but I made you tell me first."
"You didn't make me do anything."
"I miss my mom," Jacob admitted, sounding more like a little boy, than a man almost of age.
"Me too," Tearna turned to him and said.
The two then seemed to have a lack of words after so much had been said in such a short amount of time... Instead they simply stared at one another, and then started to laugh at their own seriousness.
"Well, we met what?... ten minutes ago, and we have already spilled out our dual sob stories, and managed to bring the mood way down," Jacob spit out, much in the same way his father would often use a sarcastic comment to diffuse a tense situation.
Tearna laughed with the loud booming laugh Jacob had first heard let out as she had entered the room. She smiled into his beautiful face and the two left the room together.
Okay…so now go…hit that button…review! I really appreciate the reviews!