Love Struck Eternal

Chapter 3 - Samantha Diskov.

Sam's POV.

By the time I got back up to my room I was ready to call it a night. Mom's cooking was too much for me tonight and I was still a little dizzy from the drink I had. When I opened my door I heard from inside.

"Braf! Braf!"

Upon entering I found my best friend sitting on my bed up by the pillows. Instantly jumping down to greet me, I got on my knees to reply.

"Hey baby! How are you?"

My best friend came in the form of a dog. More accurately an Arabian wolf. Not a common household pet according to most people, but both my mother and father were the furthest thing from common.

Her name was Mocha. She was only three years old. Her mother Molly passed away shortly after delivery and to be honest none of us have gotten over it. Molly was such a special dog. It was indescribable. Mocha was her only baby and we were so happy when she turned out to be an almost perfect copy of her mother.

Mocha had nothing but brown fur for a coat. She had a very nice dark blue colored eyes and thanks to my father and his line of work, she was also very well trained. She knew the basics every dog should, but Mocha was a trained war dog. She went out with my father when he suggested she become my personal hound. It felt weird being a dog myself. A dog owning another dog? I don't know.

Regardless, Mocha became more than just my dog over the course of her life. She's like my little sister. In fact I knew what my mother thought about it. She described what Mocha's relationship with me was in three words.

"A therapy animal." I couldn't disagree with her. I wasn't the best at getting outside and making a lot of friends. Hell I think that's also because mostly everyone in the middle east knows my mom's last name. The second they found out it was mine? Well most ran away. It's scary becoming friends with an ex-president's daughter. Mocha supplemented what I was missing. She's so good at listening and she's so smart. I've seen her do some crazy things. I could for instance ask her to bring me something. It didn't matter what. If it was in the house and she knew the word, she would go find that thing. No matter where it may be. It could be on the roof and I'd bet she could find a way to get to it. Even though she is fairly big now for being three. A solid forty five pounds of pure slim muscle. Nearly the size of my pillow in height and length. She was a big girl, but perfect for her job.

My mother made her a custom service harness. I had very little idea what it was made of to begin with, but thankfully I've had more than enough time to figure it out with a little research of my own. It came down to some level of advanced carbon fiber weave. It was a full body harness. Apart from her legs and head of course. The vest was there if she ever got shot at. Which I pray never happens, but I'm confident if she did that vest would save her.

On top of the material itself, the vest was a pure black color. It had a few different patches stitched around it's sides. One was her service dog patch. Another was her unit which was just a gold star with a circle around it. It just meant she was in charge of protecting a V.I.P. Another patch had her blood type which was A-positive. Same as mine. And believe it or not she had a rank of her own. Which was a Corporal. She was a higher rank than a lot of the grunts and it was funny when you saw a kid look at her and see his face instantly go to shit when he sees he's outranked by an animal.

"Braf! Braf! Braf!" She ended up replying as I stood up to jump onto my nearby bed.

Mocha followed and as I laid myself out, I asked her.

"What do you think I should do Mocha?"

"Braf!"

She found the folder in my hands and gave it a quick sniff as I sat up and laid myself against my pillow to reopen the contents inside. Lots of small letters congratulating me and to be honest my heart was kinda racing to the idea that this was all real. I mean I'm a hard worker and a quick learner and I guess I'm kinda smart, but I wasn't expecting to get a full ride to whatever school I wanted.

"Braf! Braf!"

Looking back at who Mocha sat down right across my chest, I let out a faint laugh and told her.

"God your getting heavy. What have we been feeding you?"

"Braf!" She replied with a lick to my nose.

Wiping my nose off and starting to pet her on the back of her head, I looked back at the letters to let out a sigh. I didn't know what to do. This was all so abrupt and to be honest I barely knew what I wanted to do with my life. I was just striving to finish my classes, let alone think about a career.

"Knock! Knock!"

My eyes widened and my head turned back to my door to see it start opening. In about a second my dad poked his head in to wonder.

"Can I come in hun?"

"Yeah." I replied as Mocha remained on my chest. She didn't even want to look at him because of how good I was scratching her. Shutting my door and looking back at me, my father let out a small sigh and asked me with a smile.

"So what do you think?"

"I don't know to be honest. It's kinda scary to think about."

My father was this very well built black hedgehog with the only set of purple eyes I've ever seen in my life. What made things more weird about him though was the fact that my mother claims I got my gray color from him. Apparently back when he was younger he had a different coat of quills and fur. I saw a picture of him that he had hung up in the hallway. He used to be gray with some green streaks draped down his arms and legs. Now he was this. I was told it was because of a medical condition he developed just before I was born. I don't know how true that was, because much like his eyes, there weren't a lot of recorded cases. Regardless I loved him and it didn't matter too much to think about. Sitting down next to me, he asked with a sense of concern to his voice.

"What's scary about it?"

Now I know some things about my father. I knew he was the first president of the middle east. I knew he served for over twenty years in the military. I knew he was supposedly a great leader and a good soldier. But there were still so many questions I had about his life and I was still scared to ask. Mom told me to avoid those kinds of questions just out of respect for him. Which I understood, but still…..I was curious. So instead of answering his question I went off subject and asked him one of my own. One I knew he wasn't ready for or even expecting.

"Would you and mom be mad at me if I wanted to join the army?"

My father's eyes widened to a point it was almost comical. His voice had been rendered pointless and he asked me back in complete loss for what he just thought he heard.

"What? Sam…..?"

Cutting him off I went on to state.

"I mean when I think about you and what you did and what mom did when she was younger, I have to ask myself dad if I'd be a disappointment going anywhere else."

Looking me directly in the eyes, he replied bluntly and seriously.

"Sam you need to understand what I'm about to say to you."

I nodded as he went on to say.

"You have no idea what you mean to your mother and I. We fought to have you raised right. We fought to have you kept away from the violence as best as we could. We kept the military stuff to a minimal and the pressure of it away from you growing up. We didn't want you influenced or being pushed into that world. That life isn't for everyone. Not here in Iraq. It's different here then it is overseas."

My eyes went down towards Mocha who was attempting to rest her head on my stomach. My father reached out to touch my arm and when I looked back into his eyes he told me.

"I didn't go through my life to see you make the same mistakes I made. I didn't go through all of this to force my only kid into doing what I thought was best. This is your life. This is your choice to make. Sam?"

With my mouth shut he whispered softly.

"You will never be a disappointment. Not to me. Not to your mother. You hear?"

I nodded and replied.

"Okay."

My dad released my arm and once he did he picked up on my silence. So he went forward to ask.

"Why did you ask? Is this something you've thought about before?"

Shaking my head I replied.

"To be honest, no. I don't believe in myself enough to be able to handle that kind of pressure. I barely know how to defend myself let alone call myself capable of being a soldier."

The look in my dad's eyes changed as he heard that. Yet still I went on to tell him.

"I'm just thinking about all my options and I was curious."

"Curious?" He questioned as I looked back down at Mocha to reply.

"Yeah curious. We never talked about what you used to do back then. You were a soldier right?"

My father nodded and went on to state.

"Yeah I was a soldier. I joined the rebellion when I was eighteen. Been with them since the beginning. My father was the man who founded it. I'm the man who changed it. Well…..Shadow Robotnik and I."

Giving him a small smile I asked.

"What was Shadow like? Were you friends?"

Now giving me a small laugh of his own he replied.

"Yeah we were friends. Back then I was in charge of his protection detail and the men in his special forces unit."

"So you were a pretty good soldier then I guess." I went on to say as he gave it no real attention. He just went on to state.

"Back then I only aimed to be the best at my job. And back then Sam that job was spilling blood. I was good and that's the only reason I'm here now, but make no mistake. I didn't enjoy any of it."

"How'd you do mentally though? Do you have a lot of bad memories?"

Nodding he replied.

"A million. When you go through that kind of stuff you don't just forget. I wish that's how it worked but it's just not. Killing for your country is far harder than running the country, you have my word on that."

My father took a moment to rest himself off of the subject. Once he was where he wanted to be, he told me calmly.

"I want you to do what's best for you. What's best for you Sam. Not your mother or I. You wanna become a doctor? Go do it happily. You want to manage a store? I could care less and we'll both help you stock the shelves. But if you want to go to the military? I can only help you with so much. Now I pray there will never be another war in our homelands, but if one did come and you were out in front? Sam I'd be more worried about you then you'd be. Your mother can attest to that and I know for a fact she would tell you the same thing in her own manner. But just like everything else…..we'll support you till the end."

I felt almost speechless. I didn't really have any words to fire back at him. Instead he just made the next move himself by leaning over to pull me into a hug. Mocha stayed where she was as he held me close. With his grip tight he whispered.

"You should get some sleep. We can talk more about this tomorrow if you want."

"Would you be willing to share some stories with me if I do?"

Smiling he replied softly.

"Maybe. But hey Sam?"

"Hmm?" I mumbled as I looked back into his eyes to hear him whisper.

"I love you. I always will."

Smiling, I replied.

"I love you too dad."

Kissing me on the cheek and giving Mocha one too, my father stood back up and slowly exited the room. Now left to myself, I thought about the military. I mean when I was younger I was into the idea of it, but as I got more invested in school that kinda went away. I'm sure I had the ability to do it or to at the very least survive boot camp, but I wasn't sold on the idea of being at the front lines. I don't think I could mentally handle taking a life. Just the thought of it kinda made me scared. But deep down I still felt like both him and my mother would love to see me join up. To follow in their footsteps. Regardless of what he just said to me.

Looking up at my ceiling, I tried to turn off my mind. Unfortunately that wouldn't work so reaching down into my leggings, I pulled out my vape pen. It was just this small little chrome battery. Looked like a normal pen but thanks to my friends it wasn't filled with ink. Taking a small five second hit, I held it in and after; released it to feel my head ease up from the pressure of emotions I was feeling. Letting out a small sigh, I took another hit and proceeded to shut my eyes. My intent wasn't to fall asleep, but thanks to my pen and that drink I had; it was unavoidable, but right now I didn't care.

Raptor's POV, the next morning.

It's been a while since I just enjoyed the morning to myself. Zeta had no idea I left the house and hopefully I could get this done before she found out. Walking my way through the airport, I stopped near terminal seven and just grabbed a seat by the exit tunnel. Looking at my watch to see that I was on time, I let out a small sigh and waited as people began to exit from the plane that just touched down.

After about a minute or so I spotted a familiar face. I stood up from my seat shortly after and made my way towards him. In seconds our eyes locked and with two smiles I took his hand stating in happiness.

"It's good to see you again Peek."

Peek was a good friend of mine thanks to Cody and without a doubt one of the better people I could trust with this. He was hands down still the only bird in the fighting business that I knew of and without a doubt the only bird in the middle east. However he was older now, but not to the point where he was worried about losing his touch.

A tall gray pigeon with black and orange feathers and two gold eyes. He was a user and from what I've been told over the years he's one of the best. Even though he had mark two venom in his veins he was an amazing soldier regardless of the added boost and one of my better friends. I've done him some favors and thanks to that he owed me and he was thankfully more than ready to repay back some of what he owed me.

"You too Raptor. You ahh…..you look the same. You still….?"

I just nodded and that got him to reply back.

"Okay I figured. Well Zeta must be happy. So what's been going on since I last saw you?"

Offering him to walk with me, we got moving back towards the exit of the airport. Along the way I told him about my daughter and her scholarship. By the time we were back at my car he asked me.

"So has she made up her mind?"

"Nah. We talked a little last night about it, but we both want her to really give it some thought."

"What about the military? I can see since you're her father you can probably set her up nice if you wanted."

Starting the engine I replied.

"I'm not holding her hand if she goes down that route. I told her I can only do so much. So much has changed since I was in and she's not even sure if she wants to take that road. She doesn't feel confident in herself."

"I'd think a love child between you and Zeta would have resulted in quite the opposite." Peek informed me as I nodded and chuckled.

"You should be right, but Sam was lucky to not grow up in the conditions I was exposed to. She's lucky to not have any issues like me or her mother have. She's in a place where she can be her own person. We didn't raise her to live in our shadow. We want to live in hers and support her in anything she wants to do with her life. It's who we are as her parents and even if she was confident like her mother or I? I wouldn't dare force her to follow in my footsteps just to make me happy."

Peek just nodded his head as I shifted our conversation by asking the bird.

"How's life been for you since you left Shader Industries?"

"To be honest with you it's been kinda rough. I'm struggling at the moment with finding a new passion."

"How's Cody?"

Now the bird laughed and bit before replying.

"The little man? You know how he is. He's living the dream and from what I've heard Pepper has been keeping him in line."

"Crazy to think they're getting married in a few months."

Peek agreed and as we turned onto my street he told me bluntly.

"Crazy to think he's even getting married at all and I'm still bouncing around from place to place. My girl barely wants to talk to me anyway right now."

"Well you know Peek you always have a place here if you want to stay. A man with your talents I could always use."

"I'm still thinking about it Raptor. I know Zandro has been on the up and up, but I don't know how I feel about working for him."

I nodded and in time had us stopped outside my house. As I shut down the engine, I informed him back.

"I wouldn't want you too. Zandro has plenty of people right now and the business has been steady since he's gotten a solid setup."

The bird looked back over to me as I went on to state.

"Like I just said Peek, I need a man with your talent and that's why I asked you to come out here to see me."

Peek knew I had something on my mind after hearing that and rightly wondered.

"But for what reason?"

Looking out my window to check my front door, I looked back at him to reply.

"Let's go inside and we can discuss it. Okay?"

"Okay." He replied back as we got out of the car.

Peek wasn't ready for combat by any means. He had his gear in a duffel that was being carried behind his back and currently was just wearing a nice looking pair of blue jeans and a white tee shirt that was underneath a very slim leather coat he was dawning. By the time we reached the door and I had my keys unlocking it, I urged him.

"Just try to relax."

"I am relaxed. You relax. Hahah." He laughed as we entered the house to find Zeta sitting on the couch. Her head snapped back as soon as she heard me open the door and in confusion she questioned as she saw Peek a moment later coming in.

"You left? When?"

"Twenty minutes ago or so. Say hi."

Standing up to greet the bird, she replied while offering her hand.

"Hi Peek. Nice to see you. I didn't know you were coming. I would have made you something to eat if I'd have known."

"This was kinda rushed Zeta." I admitted as she then questioned.

"Why? What's going on?"

"Is Sam awake?" I asked her as she quickly replied back.

"No? She's still asleep up in her room. Why's Peek here?"

With the bird taking a seat down at the couch, I replied with a smile.

"Because I asked him to come here. Everything is fine. Don't worry. Just rest assured."

Zeta never believed me. Even for the last seventeen years she knew better than to take me for my word. So instead of trusting me; she quickly made her way over to the couch to ask Peek for herself

"Who are you here to kill?"

The bird widened his eyes and questioned in confusion.

"What? I'm not here to kill anyone. I haven't laid my hands on another person for nearly two years. You know I'm retired. Cody and I both are."

I sensed Zeta was on the hunt for an answer and I already knew Peek had no idea what I even wanted. So without missing my chance; I came to her side to gently place a hand over her shoulder. Pulling her an inch back, I urged her with a soft smile.

"Chill. He doesn't even know why he's here. Just let me talk for a minute before you get all defensive."

The wolf huffed and puffed but regardless allowed me to have the floor. So with my focus going back onto the pigeon, I sat down alongside him to explain the situation.

"I told you about Sam earlier. You know she's my baby girl. She means the world to both her mother and I. We'd do anything for her and now she's facing the biggest choice of her life. She has the opportunity to go anywhere. To learn anything. To do anything. The military included."

Now Zeta already knew about last night. I told her everything our daughter told me. So without holding back I admitted to them both.

"My fear as her father is sending her away unprepared. She could get hurt. Killed even."

Widening his eyes, Peek questioned politely.

"That's a little extreme Raptor, don't you think?"

"It is. What are you talking about? Do you even hear yourself?" Zeta asked me in confusion as I quickly defended my intentions by stating.

"I do hear myself hun, but you need to understand where I'm coming from here. I'm not asking for a lot."

"What are you asking for then Raptor?" Peek asked me as I refocused on him to reply.

"I just want some peace of mind if she decides to go halfway across the world. She's never been taught anything. Both of us have made sure to keep her away from that life, but this isn't about war or killing people. This is just self defense Peek and I want someone I trust to help her learn at a reasonable pace before her choice is made. And I'd like that person to be you."

Peek was showing a mix of shock and concern for the topic. Zeta was stunned for how to proceed, so I went on to suggest.

"Just the basics. Nothing that's gonna break her in two. Just spend a few days with her and see what you can do to ease my worries Peek. Please? I wouldn't have asked you to come out here if I wasn't serious. Consider this more than enough to pay me back what you owe."

The bird just nodded as Zeta finally jumped in to say.

"She's going to be fine, Raptor. Who would dare try to hurt her? She's innocent and has never hurt a soul. This isn't necessary."

"Peek?" I called his name to get his attention as his focus was on the ground below my feet. Once our eyes met I begged.

"Please."

It took a few seconds to get an answer, but I was happy to know he was on my side ahead of time. Without another wasted second he asked me.

"What should I do if she wants to go to the army?"

"Just show her a few things regardless. If she does she'll have basic training, but she'll be a step ahead with someone like you teaching her early."

"And if she goes somewhere other than the middle east?"

Peek's question came smooth and so did my answer.

"I would ask you to go with her. As her friend, but more importantly, her protector. I'd pay you well and I'd consider this a personal favor."

"You don't have anyone else?" He questioned as I calmly replied.

"I have a few backup plans, but I wouldn't have the same level of trust with anyone else other than you if I had to put something else together."

With Zeta accepting the situation, she just added on admittedly.

"I agree. It wouldn't be the same if it was someone else. Only other person who could come close is Char, but he's clearly not an option."

The pigeon was relaxed at this point now that he had an idea that Zeta was approving this. Even if it was just slightly. With a smile on my face, I felt a rush of relief wash over me when he looked back at me to reply.

"I'm sure I can get her started on the right foot. But it's been years since we've talked. Would she be comfortable with me?"

"She's like her mother. A straight shooter with a heavy hand, but she's smart and a quick learner. She'll understand why soon enough once we've had a chance to talk. I promise you Peek you'll get along. Only other thing I ask from you, is if you do this for me; you keep in touch if she leaves the middle east to pursue a dream. Just a checkup call so you can tell us how things are going. Does that sound fair?"

Giving me a steady nod he replied.

"I can do that for you guys. Should we go tell her?"

Shaking her head Zeta replied back.

"No, let's let her sleep in. She doesn't have school till tomorrow and it's not like she's failing so she should be fine taking a day off."

"She doesn't sleep long either way Peek. I'm sure in another hour or two she'll be coming down with Mocha."

With his eyes widening he asked with some confusion to his voice.

"Who's Mocha?"

Losing my smile I replied.

"She's Molly's daughter. She had her before she passed."

"Jesus…..I'm so sorry. I didn't know. How long ago?"

"A few years." Zeta replied as I nodded and asked him one final time.

"Can you help us?"

Looking back at me the pigeon sat back and replied.

"Yeah of course. I'll help her out for you Raptor."

"Thank you Peek. I knew I could count on you for this." I told him as I came in for a small hug. After which we pulled apart and I looked back at Zeta to see she was giving me a small glare. She was worried regardless of the answer now, but she was a mother so I couldn't blame her for feeling that way. My only concern was Sam. She was capable of changing the world and I wanted to make sure she had every chance to see it happen.

mT Shadow.