The Navigator

1. Back From Space

Of course Jax saw her, he had been watching her ever since he had come back, back from a place he could never tell her about which complicated things. It also didn't help that she was living with Darren, but that didn't really surprise him. Darren had always been enamored by Addy, telling her that she deserved better than Jax, while making himself as appealing as possible.

Jax felt the worst for him, loving a woman who was destined to always love another and raising a child who looked nothing like him. A child Jax could see sitting in her stroller with eyes so blue they were nearly purple. Just like Jax's. The little tuft of hair on her head was a brilliant white that was very rare on this planet. A feature that made Jax a stand out himself. Her skin was pale though while his was a dusky olive. He wondered if she was often defiant as he was and if she was strong willed like her mother.

Jax shook his head, he didn't know if he was the girl's father. Addy hadn't told him about a baby, but he hadn't given her much of an opportunity.

She was about to turn the corner and it would be cruel to let her think she had evaded him just to surprise her later, and maybe she wouldn't run away with these people all around. And there were a lot of people around.

The place had grown in the time he had been away. He didn't recognize half of the hotels and restaurants on the crowded oceanfront street. In fact the only thing he recognized was a little Bar and Grill squeezed between a giftshoppe and seafood market.

Cal's Port, named after the owner's son who had been lost in space. It was frequented by space sailors and their families. Pictures covered the walls of men and women that had been either killed or gone missing in the vast expanse of the universe. A special corner was just for images of people who had volunteered for assignments that would be going so far out into the unknown that they could never return. It was in this corner that his picture hung.

Cal's had been their place, where they spent most evenings when he was in port. This was the place Addy had just left, and as far as he could discover she had eaten lunch there every Friday for the last two years.

He felt a pang of conscience. He had promised after all. Promised to never return, even if the mission was aborted and forced to turn back. Yet return he had, but to be fair he had not really meant to. When a force like the one he encountered said "Go" you went.

He loitered for another moment, weighing his options. He could chase her down now, the kind thing to do, and confront her in the street. Yeah she would just love that, he thought to himself sarcastically, confident that the two or so years apart hadn't changed her that much. Or her could give her a minute to process, let her get herself all worked up and then confront her. This also did not sound appealing.

Ultimately the choice was made for him when a light started to blink in his HUD, he leaned against the wall and tapped his left temple accepting the call.

He loved his bionic communicator, most people had them installed when they were pretty young but Jax had spent much of his youth bouncing from spaceport to spaceport. So had been well into his late teens when he finally got one and he never took it for granted.

A video popped up over his vision of his oldest friend, Bad Billy Brunswick.

"Billy! Apt timing as usual." Jax said with a quiet rumble of sarcasm.

Billy was obviously sitting at his computer as his image kept rotating as he spun nervously in his chair. If Jax hadn't spent most of his life in and out of Zero G it might have made him feel sick.

"Why, did you see her? Did she have the kid with her this time?" Billy asked, continuing to fidget in his chair.

"I did and she did, but Billy she saw me too."

This was met with a moment of silence while Billy sucked in a cheek, considering.

"Well, that was bound to happen right? We can work with this." Billy was nodding, just like a seasoned sailor should-rolling with the punches.

"What are you going to do?" Billy asked, reversing his rotation.

"Well I was going to chase her down but then you called and now I'm talking to you."

Jax had learned long ago that if the Universe sent you a sign, you better shut up and listen. Billy's timing was way too convenient to be coincidence and if he had ignored the call and ran for Addy who knew what terrible thing would have happened.

"Wasn't the right plan apparently." Billy said, sharing in Jax's superstition.

"So the kid, did you get a good look?"

Jax swallowed compulsively before he answered.

"She's mine Billy. She has to be. What did you find on your end?"

The chair finally stopped spinning as Billy reversed his input so that Jax could see through his eyes as he looked at his monitor. He had pulled up Addy's social media page, that had been set to private but that hadn't proven to be much of a barrier for Billy apparently. He was looking at photo after photo of the little girl, a slide show of her entire life captured in a handful of images.

"Her name is Gemma Rain Murphy, so she has Addy's last name, interesting. Ok here."

Billy clicked on an image that made Jax's blood boil for a second before more rational thoughts could return. It was a photo of Addy holding baby Gemma and Darren with an arm around her shoulders looking down lovingly at the infant. Fucking Darren. Jax knew he should feel something different besides jealousy and anger. He should feel grateful that someone had stepped in and made Addy happy or at the very least he should feel sympathy for the man, because Jax was home, and he was coming for his girls.

"Also, I think I got you a way to see her. Tonight, if your game." Billy added, a little smirk on his face, always ready for a mission.

Jax didn't even hesitate. The time for observation was over. It was time for action.

"What do I have to do?"

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Authors Note

Hope you enjoyed! Please feel free to comment, rate and vote!

Also I'm going to try and always post a song from my 'Navigator' playlist that I listen to while I write this story, bring yah behind the curtain a bit!

Thanks all-Ginger