Disclaimer: All stories are individuals of themselves and are unrelated to each other.
He watched her out of the corner of his eye, it was like seeing a ghost. Long blonde hair trailing down her back, a tiny button nose, the girl was the replica of Madge Undersee. Why she was here in 2, Gale couldn't figure out. He was sure there was no relation to the woman from his past, but he still kept his eye on her. She darted in and out of groups and kept asking them the same question. He could never hear what, but she always got frustrated and moved on. Finally, the girl made her way to his small group of acquaintances. He didn't look up from the drink in his hand.
"Gale Hawthorne?" the girl asked quietly. "Do any of you know him?" his friends eyes all darted in his direction and Gale finally lifted his gaze, meeting the eyes of the stranger. Of course this girl couldn't be related to someone he used to know, her eyes were a deep gray.
"Yeah, that's me," he locked eyes with her and her cheeks flushed. "Can I help you?"
She looked around at the other men who stood with him and started to get nervous. "I-I, do you…" Gale groaned and walked away, pulling the girl with him considering he knew she was uncomfortable. Once alone her cheeks gained some color again, but the shaking to her voice wasn't gone. "Do you know someone named Madge Undersee?"
Again, Gale studied the girl. Maybe he had been wrong. "No," he answered quickly. The girl's eyes narrowed and he corrected himself. "I mean, I did. Not anymore, though. Haven't talked to her in awhile." Of course he hadn't talked to her, he was the one that ended all communication. "Why?"
"She," again the girl fidgeted. She did what Madge had so often done, pulled on the tips of her hair. "She's my mom." Gale locked his jaw, he could've figured that out. "And you're my dad."
A laugh escaped Gale's throat before he could stop it, "No I'm not. I don't have a kid."
"Yes you do," the girl nearly rolled her eyes. "It's me, I'm… I'm Jeneva, Madge is my mom, she…" Gale shook his head.
"Stop, stop it," he took a step back. "I think I'd know if I had a daughter. I think I'd knowif…"
"I'm seventeen," the girl continued despite his protests. "My mom… Madge, she, she died a few weeks ago. I found this letter," she digs in her back pocket and pulls out a thin sheet of paper. "It was to you but she never sent it." Instead of handing over the paper like Gale thought she would she just studies it. "It says how she tried calling you but you'd never answer, says she tried to tell you but you wouldn't talk to her…"
"I…" Gale trails off and studies the girl in front of him. Impossible, he couldn't have a daughter. He couldn't be a father. "We only… it was one time, it was…"
"Don't you dare say a mistake," Jeneva jabbed a finger at his chest. "My mother had so much respect for you, oh God, I don't even know why. You wouldn't even answer her calls!" Gale swallowed and took a step back. So she looked like Madge, despite the eyes, and acted like… like him. "She saw you as a war hero, she didn't want to burden you," the blonde rolled her Seam gray eyes. "I don't even know why I came here."
"I'm not," he reached forward and grabs her wrist. "I didn't know, she never…" he shook his head. The girl crossed her arms and met his eyes. "She's… she's dead?"
"Yeah," Jeneva said sharply. "Three weeks ago." A knot tightened in his stomach and he dropped her gaze. "Why wouldn't you answer her?"
"She deserved better than me," Gale choked out, shaking his head. "I wanted her to…" he couldn't finish the rest of his sentence, instead he rubbed at his face and dropped his gaze. Gale was nothing more than a Seam boy who got lucky. She deserved mansions and a man who had time for her, a man who wouldn't be risking his life every day in war.
"So you did love her," Jeneva noted, taking a step closer to him. "Didn't you?" Gale jerked his head into some sort of yes. "Even now?" Again, his head bobbed awkwardly. "I'm sorry I yelled at you," she said quietly. Her eyes traced her father, the man she hadn't been expecting to find.
Instead of accepting the apology Gale said, "You look just like her."
"So I'm told," she smiles weakly. "Except for,"
"The eyes," Gale locked eyes with her again.
"Yeah. I got them from you." He smiled, deciding not to mention the attitude.