Family Matters (Part II)

Posted on Sat Nov 6th, 2021 @ 12:38pm by Lieutenant Bobbie Sue "Bobcat" Hunter

2,467 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: Operation Romulus Return
Location: Rio de Jainero
Timeline: Before leaving Mars

[CONTINUED]

[PREVIOUSLY]

The lift stopped and the door opened. Bobbie squeezed Soren's hand. She was looking forward to breakfast, but she was also a little nervous. She wasn't sure why. Maybe it was because she was pretty sure everyone knew what she and Soren were doing the night before.

[CONTINUED]

Soren stepped out of the lift, holding Bobbie's hand, as they immediately could hear voices in the distance coming from a room at the far end. They would over to the room and came across Max sitting the table while Rafe cooked at the stove.

Max had a mug of coffee in front of him while Miguel and Isabel sat across from each other, engulfed in his story, waiting for their father to finish the food.

"Hi," Bobbie Sue said as they walked into the room. She smiled at everyone. "Alice has an...interesting way to wake people up in the morning."

Rafe chuckled slightly. "You can blame your Uncle for that." As he continued to cook at the stove, a towel over his shoulder. "He thought it would be funny to inform Alice that the alarm to wake people up would be the same we use for intruder alerts." He stopped for a moment, looking over to Max, before saying. "I thought he said he switched it back."

Max didn't reply. He only took a hold of his mug and took a sip, before clearing his throat.

"I'll make sure that's changed for next time." Rafe replied, chuckling slightly, before saying. "Have a seat. Coffee is on the table. If you want something else, check the fridge. Help yourselves."

"Thanks." Bobbie Sue turned to Soren. "Want anything else?" She was going to look in the fridge. She had enough stimulation for one morning.

Soren nodded his head slightly. "Coffee is fine. Light cream. Three sugars." He said as he walked over to the table to take a seat.

She got him a mug of coffee as he liked, making a mental note so she would remember next time and set it in front of him. Then she made herself a mug of herb tea, adding three sugars to it.

She'd just taken a seat next to Soren when a middle-aged woman walked in. She was dressed in a simple blue blouse and dark blue jeans. "Sorry I'm late," she said. She turned to Soren and Bobbie Sue. "Hello. I've heard a lot about you. I'm Kathryn Hunter."

Bobbie Sue recognized the woman. She'd seen her face several times. Her eyes widened and she looked at Max, then back at Kathryn. No wonder he kept this part of his life private.

"Yes," Kathryn said, a twinkle in her eye. She stopped behind Max and put her hands on his shoulders so she could lean forward and kiss his cheek.

"Nice to meet you," Bobbie Sue said, digesting this bit of information.

"A pleasure to meet you at last. Max speaks highly of you." Kathryn turned to look at Soren. "And you, too, Mr. Dillinger."

Soren sat there, staring wide eyed at Admiral Burke, completely confused of what was just happening. He looked over to Bobbie Sue, back to Burke, then back to Bobbie Sue before replying. "Is that who I think it is or is that another hologram? I've seen so many things in this place I give up."

"I think it's really her," Bobbie whispered to him. "It would fit."

"It would fit? It would fit?!?!" Soren replied, shocked, pointing over to Admiral Burke. "That's the head of the fleet." He looked over to her quickly saying. "You're the head of the fleet." He looked back to Bobbie again as he adding. "She's the head of the fleet... how... you know what? Never mind. Between the crazy AI and the Fortress of Solitude under the airport I am just going with it and pretend it makes sense."

"It makes sense why Max has kept it quiet," Bobbie replied.

"Yes, Mr. Dillinger. My job is Commander of Theta Fleet. I am also Max' wife." She smiled warmly at her husband. "We would appreciate it if you'd keep this information to yourself. Max can be most effective if his personal life is a mystery."

"Sure." Soren replied, nodding his head slightly, as a bit of a smile formed. "My lips are sealed, Ma'am. What's another world shattering secret on the already big pile from last night?"

"You get used to it, Meu Amigo (my friend)." Rafe said loudly as he walked over to an empty seat by Max as he placed a mug on the table in front of it. "Cinnamon Tea. Sweet. Just the way you like it, Admiral Burke."

Max looked over to Rafe, a slight smirk on his face. "I knew it. You're not completely retired, are you Rafe?"

"I have no idea what you are talking about, Maxie." Rafe replied, patting him on the shoulder, as he walked back to the stove before a slight chuckle escaped his lips.

"Just Kathryn," she said, chuckling at the back-and-forth as she sat down. She took a sip of her tea. "Thank you for the tea. It's perfect."

Bobbie Sue put a hand on Soren's leg, not sure if he'd feel it or not. This was all quite interesting, and let her see another side of her uncle.

"Kathryn... Of course." Rafe replied from his position by the stove. He kept his hands busy, on the cooking of the food, as he spoke as if he couldn't stop smiling. "Well, Kathryn, you can consider this place a home. No ranks. No secrets. No business..." He seemed to paused before adding. "Unless it’s on the bottom levels, of course. Solte a máscara. Let go of the mask and be yourself."

"Thank you. I hope we can come here more often," Kathryn said. This was another part of Max, and she liked seeing this side of him.

Bobbie Sue looked at Max again. First, he helped her come here with Soren so they could both learn about this place and Soren's past, now she met his wife. It looked like Max felt it was time he stopped keeping some of his own secrets, too.

"Workable. Matters permitting." Max replied as he took a hold of his mug and took a sip.

"It doesn't matter when." Rafe replied as he tossed the towel over his shoulder. "The doors will always be opened." He gave a smile as he began to make the plates.

"Can I help?" Bobbie Sue asked, standing to help Rafe.

"No." Rafe immediately replied. "Sit. Talk. Enjoy the morning and the company. I will take care of everything. You are a guest in my home."

She sank back down onto her seat. "Okay." She turned back to Kathryn. "So, how did you and Max meet?"

The dark-haired woman smiled. "Work. Max would occasionally surprise me by having a meal ready when I walked into my quarters. It was usually after an especially long or difficult day." She looked at Max again, the expression in her eyes reflecting how much she cared about him. "He still does."

"Let me guess." Rafe smiled as he continued. "Did he normally show up with warning? No alarm. As if by thin air?" He chuckled slightly as he turned his head slightly to look at Max from the corner of his eye. "You still love using the same old tricks, Eh Merlin?"

Max looked over to Kathryn and winked before replying. "If it isn't broken, Rafe. No need to fix it."

"He's got it down to an art form." Kathryn chuckled and kissed Max on the cheek again. "After dinner, he'd disappear just as mysteriously."

Bobbie Sue grinned. "He's quite proud of that trick." She gave Soren an impish grin. "He walked out of my quarters last night just so Soren would see him."

Burke grinned back. "So, I heard."

"He is after I helped him perfect it." Rafe chuckled slightly. "Of course, Max put his own spin on it, so now it’s all his." He turned around slightly, looking to Max, a smirk on his face. "But you haven't let it go to waste, eh irmão? (brother)."

Max looked back to Rafe, a smile on his face, before his hid it behind his coffee mug. This only made Rafe throw his head back in a loud chuckle as Max placed his mug down and looked over to Kathryn, winking slightly.

That made Burke start to laugh, too.

Bobbie Sue looked at Soren and grinned. "Max likes to appear in the room, or be waiting for you in the dark. Then he disappears when he's done. That's why I knew he wanted you to see him. He walked out the door."

"Really?" Soren replied, looking over to Bobbie Sue, before switching over to Max. "What's your secret? Shuttle? Personal transporter?"

"No, no, no." Rafe commented, raising his hand slightly, as he waved his finger a bit. "You never ask Max to reveal all he secrets. Like his sobrinha (niece) said. If he wants you to know, he'll tell you."

"That's classified information, Soren." Max replied, leaning back in his chair, smirking slightly. "You can ask again when you've reached the proper level of clearance."

"And what level is that?" Soren asked curiously.

Max looked over to Burke and asked. "What level are you again, sweetie?"

"High," she replied with a grin. But she knew that Max was far higher because of his job.

He looked back to Soren and answered. "Much higher than that." Max kept his smirk before letting out a short laugh.

Soren just nodded his head, smiling a bit, expecting that to be the answer.

"It's okay. I don't know, either," Bobbie assured him. "So, why are you both here?" she asked Max.

"We were in the neighborhood." Max replied.

"And I've never been here before," Kathryn added, smiling at Rafe. "Hopefully we'll have more opportunities to return."

"It's our first time, too," Bobbie Sue said. "Soren and I both hope to come back here whenever we're in the area."

When breakfast was over, Kathryn whispered something to Max and stood, collecting the dishes. "Bobbie Sue, could you help me?"

Bobbie wasn't sure why the admiral wanted to talk to her, but she wasn't going to refuse. "Yes, ma'am." She stood and began collecting dishes from her side of the table. When she had a stack, she followed the other woman.

Burke set her stack in a sink and began to fill it with water and soap. "Sometimes it's nice to do things the old-fashioned way." She smiled at the pilot. "But first, when we're together like this, please call me Kathryn." She glanced at the door. "Very few people know Max and I are married."

Bobbie Sue nodded. "I can see why." She set the dishes in the sink to wash and began looking for a towel to dry them. She found one in a drawer and went over to the rinse water. "At first I was surprised to see you, but you and Max fit."

Kathryn smiled. "I think so, although it took me a while to recognize it. Max used to surprise me with dinner when he was in the area. I wasn't ready for romance at first. I'd been happily married for many years and had three grown daughters. But Max is hard to resist. I think it took an hour between his proposal and a wedding in the captain's ready room. Maybe two." She chuckled. "I've never regretted it. Sorry we didn't invite you. Max wanted to, but you were unavailable." She smiled at Bobbie Sue. "I'm glad we were finally able to meet."

"Me, too," Bobbie said, drying a dish and stacking it on the counter. "I never liked the idea of Max being alone, but I always figured his job kept him too busy."

"It did. It does. But with both of us traveling so much, we make time to be together. And we're both officially based at Athena Shipyards, which helps."

"Does he ever use his office?" Bobbie Sue asked, grinning at Kathryn.

She chuckled. His office was more often on his ship than at the shipyards. "More than he used to. He says he's slowing down to give others a chance to show what they can do, but I think it's so we can see each other more. Whatever the reason, I'm grateful for the time we do have."

Bobbie Sue nodded and they both fell silent for several minutes.

"I should confess that your uncle and I had a hand in getting you on the Tokyo." Burke said quietly.

"You did?" Bobbie Sue stopped wiping down the dish and looked at Kathryn. "Why?"

"You wrote Max about this pilot you'd met on the Pathfinder. You hadn't done that since you were in college, and Max was curious. He'd helped Soren after his accident and when he saw that, he thought the two of you would make a good couple—whether in the same way Max and I are a couple, or just working together--if you could ever be in the same place long enough. I do have a little pull as to who goes where, but it still takes time."

"What if it hadn't worked out?" Part of her wanted to say it was none of their business, but she couldn't. Not when she and Soren had finally worked things out. She was far too happy right now. A part of her hoped they could become a couple like Max and Kathryn were, but only time would tell.

"I know. I don't like to feel manipulated, either," Kathryn said, reading Bobbie Sue's mood. "We couldn't do anything about your feelings for him, but we hoped that working together would be enough." She smiled again. "I'm happy for both of you."

Bobbie Sue smiled. "Thank you., We almost didn't get here. Too many misunderstandings."

Burke nodded. "That seems to happen far more than we'd like. But the important thing is you both know about this place, and you both have Max and me if you need us."

Kathryn put the last dish in the rinse water and cleaned out the sink. "Now, I would like to go for a race, if you and Soren are interested. I've never been in a car before."

Bobbie Sue grinned. "It's amazing. You'll love it."

It was Kathryn's turn to smile as the two went to join the others.

____
OFF

Rafe
Raceway Owner

Admiral Max Hunter
Covert Intelligence
Theta Fleet

Lieutenant Soren Dillinger 'Speedy'
Squadron Leader
USS Tokyo

Admiral Kathryn Burke
Commander
Theta Fleet

Lieutenant Bobbie Sue Hunter
Squadron Leader
USS Tokyo

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