𝓝𝓸𝓽 𝓢𝓸 𝓔𝓿𝓲𝓵 [√]

Part Seven

It had been a week since Junior found out Chris was his father, and Zach could tell he was ecstatic. He spent most of his time outside with the others and came to the jet for lunch and dinner.

Zach would collect him an hour before bedtime and bring him to the jet to let him bathe and get ready for bed, which is what Zach was doing now.

Zach entered the Tortuga and heard the others talking; he listened to them and grew angry at what he heard. "Zach and Junior leave in two days," Chris said.

"Oh, what are you going to do?" Koki asked, and Zach frowned.

"I don't know," Chris said, sighing.

"You can always just go to the courts," Aviva said, and Zach almost gasped.

"Courts?" Chris asked.

"Yea, It's Zach. Everyone hates him. If you take him to court, they'll give you Junior," Aviva said, and Zach winced at the truth in her words.

"Why would I do that?" Chris asked, sounding confused.

"You don't know how he raised Junior; he could be a terrible parent."

"You're right, Aviva. I don't know how he raises him," Chris said, and this time, Zach didn't bother trying to stay hidden.

"I thought you were different," Zach said, his face showing obvious hurt.

The group turned around and looked at him.

"Zach," Chris said, looking at him in surprise.

"You know I was never going to let Junior meet you, but he wanted to meet his papa," Zach said, going over to where Junior was sleeping in the hammock.

He picked his son up and cuddled him in his arms. "You don't know all I had to go through to keep him, yet you want to take him. Let me give you a little insight into what I have to go through. When I found out I was pregnant, I waited for a week to go to the clinic for a check-up. No one would let me in, not even the hospitals.

I had to study everything I knew and build my medical robot to help me. I gave birth alone in my home, and I had to do everything by myself after the birth. You don't know how much pain I was in, but I couldn't even concentrate on that. I had to make sure he was healthy and had everything he should.

When I wanted to name him Christopher Varmitech Kratt, I had a mountain of trouble. After I registered him, cops turned up at my door, trying to take him from me because they thought I had kidnapped him.

After I convinced them, he was mine. They tried to make me give him up for adoption, telling me I wouldn't be a good parent and that no store in the area would sell me anything that would make me give him up. I had to start ordering from far places and use a fake name and a mailbox to get things for him.

They kept coming until he was two, and I turned one of them into an amputee. After that, they didn't come anymore. One day, I left his home with the Zach bots when he was four and went to collect something for the mailbox. I came back to see them trying to leave with him. I stopped them.

After that, I moved to a different town, and we were okay. I'm not going to let you take him from me. Try it, and you won't just be an amputee." Zach said, glaring at them before exiting the Tortuga.

He entered his ship, laid Junior in bed, and went to the dash. He typed in a location and set it to autopilot before returning to Junior's room.

He removed his shoes and usual V-neck sweater, climbed into the bed, and pulled Junior close, curling around him.

"I won't let them get you." He whispered before dozing off. 

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Word count: 632

Re-published: April 26, 2024, 9:30 am

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