The Space Between

Chapter Thirty-Four: "Family & Future"

Following his mom into the house, Mark barely set his bags down in the living room before his mom was hugging him again. Hugging her close, he looked up at Sean and smirked. Sean returned the smile, taking Mark's bags to their bedroom. His mom pulled away, asking Sean curiously. "Where are you going? Don't you want to hear about Mark's trip?" Sean stopped half-way down the hall to tell her openly. "It's alright. I got to hear a lot about it on the way over. Enjoy him. I'm going to shower." Mark leaned his hips back against the couch, asking his mom sweetly. "So? Where do you want me to start?" His mom excitedly dashed to the kitchen to get dinner started as she told him happily. "Start from the beginning. How was the launch? Was it like the movies? Was it fun?" Mark chuckled, joining her in the kitchen to help out as he started from the beginning. He told her what he could about the trip, but left out the Reptilian bits. Instead, he kept the story pretty uneventful. He simply told her that a crew member lost their mind after being up there too long and had messed with the controls.

He told her that their medical officer took care of him and he tried to fix the station, but the damage was too severe in the end. She hung onto his every word. Then while he was setting the table, she suddenly asked him in a cool tone. "So... The unknown transmission wasn't an alien?" Mark kept calm as he finished setting the table and replied casually. "Nope. Just strange interference from the electrical waves in space." As Mark turned around, he saw his mom staring at him with a strange look. Giving her a shrug, he uneasily asked her. "Mom? Something wrong?" She huffed softly, her eyes looking him over before she said in a low voice. "You look so much like him. Some of it is me... but I see him in you." Mark smiled, moving to the cutting board to help dice some of the veggies as he told her sweetly. "I don't know what to say to that. I mean... I can hope that I got something from him." His mom touched his shoulder unexpectedly, causing him to jump and instinctively close his eyes for a few seconds before looking at her.

Staring into his eyes, she whispered to him lovingly. "What really happened up there, Mark?" Mark's heart began to race in his chest. Keeping his body calm though, he asked her nonchalantly. "What do you mean? I told you everything." His mom pointed a wooden spoon at him, stating out in a motherly tone. "Mark... Did you tell him?" Mark set down the knife to face her, mumbling out a little perplexed. "What are you talking about?" She lowered the spoon, sighing lightly. Looking at the cutting board, she gently informed him. "You think I didn't know? True... I didn't take it well at first... but did you really think that I didn't notice?" Mark gripped the counter, feeling the fear creep up on him. He was hoping she wasn't talking about what he thought she was. Her eyes slowly drifted up to meet his, continuing calmly. "I prayed every day that you wouldn't be born... deformed or unhealthy. Your father and I fought about it so much. He was scared to tell me. Jason was born human... but you were an accident and he just... had a feeling about you."

Mark licked his dry lips and forced himself to swallow. His mom raised a hand to touch his cheek, tears brimming her eyes as she told him. "I'm sorry...I wanted you to be normal so badly... because... When I held you for the first time, I wanted to keep you safe. I was terrified that if anyone knew that they'd take you from me." Mark leaned his cheek against her hand, his body tense but his heart was calming down. She stroked his cheek, moving closer to tell him in a warm motherly voice. "Your dad always wanted you to go to space... and part of my wondered if you'd come home after you saw it." Mark put a hand on her wrist, telling her comfortingly. "Of course, I'd come back. This is my home. Space is amazing... but it's just an empty void without you and Sean." Tears rolled down her cheeks as she embraced him in a tight hug. Mark returned the hug, asking over her shoulder curiously. "How did you know about me? I thought...?" He couldn't finish, prompting her to lean back and sarcastically blurt out. "Mark... I brought you into this world. Scales and all." Mark blushed, rubbing his arm nervously.