Space & Secrets (Chris Beck x Reader)

Chapter 9

~2 Years Later~

"The Ares III crew is ready to enter Earth tomorrow after 4 years in space. The extra 2 years were because of the rescue mission to get Mark Watney back from Mars. After succeeding on the rescue almost 2 years ago, the crew is excited to get back to Earth," the news anchor said.

I sighed and turned the TV off. I haven't talked to Chris in almost 2 years. Pete is now 3 years old, Chris's mother has been helping me a lot, as well as my mom and Maggie. His mom also told me that Chris didn't want to see me when he gets back tomorrow, it hurt to hear that but she said that she would try to convince him to come see me.

"(Y/N)," Maggie called out to me.

I took Pete's hand and we walked to the living room where Maggie was.

"Yeah?" I asked and turned on the TV for Pete.

"Are you going to go see Chris with his mom?" she asked.

I shook my head, "he doesn't want to see me."

"Oh come one (Y/N), you know he doesn't mean that," she said.

"Maggie, he told his mom, you know he means it when he tells his mom," I said.

"What are you going to do about Pete?" She asked.

"Nothing. As far as I know, for the last 3 years I've been able to care for him by myself," I said and put my face in my hands.

"Momma? Can I get some juice," I heard Pete's tiny voice say.

I smiled and nodded while heading to the kitchen, Maggie followed me.

"(Y/N), you know that Chris doesn't know about Pete, you can't blame it on him for not being here," Maggie said and leaned up against the wall while crossing her arms.

I grabbed a juice box from the pantry and turned to her, "So I should take the blame?" I snapped.

"No, you shouldn't take all the blame. You've done a great job with Pete, I'm just saying that Chris doesn't have the blame. No one does," she said.

"Whatever, it's not like it even matters," I said walking back to the living room and handing the juice box to Pete.

My phone rang from my room as I got comfortable on the couch, "Watch Pete, please," I said to Maggie and stood up heading to my bedroom.

"Hello?" I said when I picked up my phone.

"(Y/N), hi," Chris's mom said.

"Hi, how are you?" I asked politely.

"I'm fine, sweetheart, just calling to ask if you wanted to come with me to pick up Chris tomorrow," she said quickly.

I sighed, "I really don't want to ruin his day by making it awkward."

"Are you sure, I can always give him the usual slap on the back of the head," she said.

I laughed, "I'll be fine, thank you for caring,"

"You're welcome, sweetheart, I'll talk to you later," she said.

"Bye," I said and hung up.

~The Next Day~

"Come on, Pete, let me help you with your shoes. We're going to the playground, buddy," I said and put on Pete's shoes.

The TV was playing quietly in the background, I went to the kitchen and grabbed a couple juice boxes and snacks to put in my bag for Pete.

"The Ares III Crew got back early this morning and have been back on Earth for at least 5 hours, everyone is safe and back to their families," the news anchor said, I turned the TV off and heard a knock on the door.

"Just a second," I called out and grabbed my bag and Pete.

I walked to the door and opened it while looking down at Pete and smiled.

"Hey," I heard quietly.

I froze and looked up slowly, "Chris?"

A/N: If anyone is interested, I also have a Sebastian Stan story up :)