''Interstellar Destiny''

How Can You Be Sure?

Lara doesn't know what is worst. Not knowing anything or waiting for news when you know there's a chance. She sits in her living room, Henry next to her on the couch, her phone on the coffee table, waiting to hear from Jack.

-"Can I ask you something?" - Henry breaks the silence, seeing her nod, her eyes not leaving her hands. -"Why did you tell Jack to let Evan know about the lead if you think Evan is somehow behind Ava's disappearance?"

-"I didn't mean what I said to Evan. I don't believe that he was behind Ava's disappearance, I just said that out of fear, nothing else. Besides, Evan is Ava's father, he has the right to know what's going on."

-"How sure are you that he isn't behind all of this?"

-"I am completely sure that Evan wouldn't do something like this, not to me nor to anyone else." - She looks back at him offended.

-"All I'm saying is that it's strange that this only happened after he became a part of Ava's life on a more daily basis."

-"Henry, Evan would never do this. He loves Ava too much to scare her like this, not to mention that he would never hurt me like this, not after all we went through together."

-"Evan is not the same man that he was when you were together, Lara. A lot of time has passed since then and, from what I read on POW's, people change a lot because of what they are put through while captive, sometimes for the worse. Is it really that inconceivable that Evan might not be the man you remember and want him to be?"

-"The only thing that kept Evan alive while he was a POW was the hope that he would see me again, and when he found out about Ava and that I had moved on, he focused on being the best dad he could be for Ava." - Lara stands up, shaking her head, trying to stay calm. -"There's no way, in all of the nine circles of hell, that he would do something like this, especially because he knows how much it would hurt me to lose Ava."

-"That might be precisely why he would do it." - Henry stands, coming eye to eye with her. -"He lost you the moment he found out about our relationship and he might have gotten angry about it. You said so yourself, getting back to you was what kept him alive. He comes back only to find that you have moved on. There's a high probability that he might be looking into getting back at you for breaking his heart, by taking the one person he knows will hurt you the most, Ava."

-"No, you're wrong." - Lara shakes her head frantically. -"He would never do something like that to me, no matter how hurt he might be feeling."

Lara walks away, effectively ending the conversation, and heads for the kitchen. She grips the counter harshly, taking deep breaths and trying to remain calm, while a thought snakes its way into her mind.

What if Henry's right and all of this is just an elaborate revenge on Evan's part against her?

"No, that can't be.", she thinks, knowing that Evan isn't that cruel, that he would never do something like that, not her Evan. But is he still her Evan, or is Henry right and Evan is no longer the kind, compassionate and caring man that she has fallen in love with all those years ago?

Lara wipes the tears from her eyes and knows that, deep down, Evan is still the same and what they had is still somehow there, making her wonder what that will mean for them when this nightmare is over.