Letters of Regret

Part 5

By Yuki Wildstar

8^th of August, 2225

EDF headquarters

Office of Admiral Derek Wildstar

“Sir, your wife is on the line.”

“Tell her I’ll call back in an hour.”

“Sir, she sounds really upset. I think something is wrong.”

He looked over to Sandor with a concerned look. “I should take this. We can continue this later.”  He picked up the phone and hit the line. “Nova is everything alright.”

“He’s trying to take her away from us. I want you home NOW!”

“Hold on, who is taking who away from us?”

“Michael, I just got custody papers from a lawyer. He’s suing us for custody of Miku.”

“WHAT!” he couldn’t believe what she was telling him. “Are you sure about this?”

“I know what legal papers look like. Yes I’m sure, come home and come home NOW!”

“I’m on my way. In the mean time call your father and see if he has someone to help sort this out.” He slammed down the phone and grabbed is jacket.

“Derek, what’s wrong?” Sandor asked.

“I have to go, family emergency.” He said walking out the door, “Seiji cancel all appointments till further notice I’m going home.” He raced out the building to his car. The drive home seemed to take forever to get to. He pushed hard on the gas pedal feeling like the car wasn’t going fast enough. The hour trip home took half the time but seem longer to him. He charged into the house calling her name. “NOVA!”

“Upstairs!” she called back. He ran up the stairs and saw her sitting in his chair crying while on the phone. “Yes he is here, I will. Thank you daddy I’ll wait for your call. I love you.”

He took her hand and pulled her up hugging her. “Tell me. What happened?”

She picked up the papers and handed them to him. “He wants to get another DNA test and if she is his then he is filing for custody of Miku. Why would he do this? How can he do this to me?”

Wildstar looked over the papers and reread everything on it. “It says that the test that were done the day of her birth were inconclusive that she is mine. They are claiming that the tests were tainted.” He crumbled the paper and threw it across the room. “DAMN HIM! What makes him think she is his after all this time? That son of a bitch.” He began to walk down the stair as Nova followed suit.

“Where are you going? Derek you’re not going to do what I think you are going to do. That’s not the answer. We have to do this the right way. Going over to his job and beating the crap out of him will not solve anything. My father is calling a good friend of his that deals with international custody he will call us in the morning. Please Derek don’t do anything.” Tears rolled down her face as she begged for him to stay. He turned to look at her. Her face showed the stress. She was a complete wreck and he grabbed hold of her hugging her. “This is all my fault. I’m so sorry.” She cried on his shoulder.

“Shhh, it’s alright we will get through this together.” He whispered into her ear. From the distance they could hear the kids coming into the house. Alex could be heard yelling at his younger brothers about throwing a ball in the house. Miku laughed out loud from someone tickling her. Derek held on to his wife tightly, “Nova, we have to pull ourselves together right now. The last thing we want is the kids knowing what is going on. Especially Miku, she won’t understand any of this. So we wait until your father calls in the morning. If it’s a fight he wants then a fight is what he is going to get. He is not taking my daughter away from us.”

“But Derek, all this time, what if she’s,”

“SHE’S MINE! The test proved she’s mine and this is another stunt to get back into your life.

Dinner was a little quieter than usual. Nova kept looking at the phone wondering when her father would call. Derek stayed as calm as he could. The last thing he wanted was to alarm his children of the fight they will have on their hands if Miku turned out to be Spada’s. All these years he raised her, loved her. As far as he was concern she was his and no one would ever take that from him. Not even HIM.

9^th of August, 2225

Wildstar Residences

Morning

The room was silent and the only sound that could be heard was the roar of the ocean waves hitting the shore line in the distance. They sat in his study waiting. Nova jumped at any noise waiting for the call to come in. Derek stared out to the sea in his own thoughts. Nova could feel her stomach tighten afraid of saying anything that would start a fight. He didn’t say much that night and left early in the morning running along the beach. It helped clear his head to what could happen next. The phone rang loud in the silent room making them both jump. They look at each other and then Derek picked up the phone. “Hello, Wildstar resident.” He said into the phone. “Yes this is he. Hello, Mr. Kacer. Yes we have been waiting for your call. Yes she is here with me. When? An hour? Where? Yes we know where it is. Yes see you then. Goodbye.”

“Well?” Nova asked.

“He wants to meet with us in his office in an hour. He’s already got the information from Spada’s lawyer. We should get going.” He told her. They drove there in silences both in their own thoughts. Nova thought of the day she woke up in the hospital not knowing about her child. Her hand quickly reached for her stomach to realize she was no longer pregnant. The last thing she remembered was fighting with her then soon to be ex husband. She felt flush the room spun fast around her. She could hear his pleas of not going then everything went black. She sat in that room crying wondering did the baby make it. Was Derek there or did they call Michael. Her mind raced as to who her child’s father was. She looked out the window crying when he walked into the room. The one she always loved and now was divorcing. She remembered his smile as he entered the room. The smile she always loved. Her hands shook wondering if he knew that this could be his child. But what if it was Michael, how hurt he would be that she had another man’s child. But he smiled at her and told her that she was his. She let out a huge sigh and was glad that she was his. Even with all that happened between them she couldn’t think of anyone else to be their daughter’s father. “What are you thinking of?” she heard him say.

“Huh, what?”

“You look so far away, what were you thinking of?” He glanced at her before turning his focus back at the road.

“The day I gave birth to her. So much was going through my mind that day. Did she make it was she yours, was she Michael’s. How could they do this to us and mess up the test? Then wait years to admit to it?”

He reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze. “We will take the test again and it will prove again that Miku is mine and no one else’s. Just hang in there.” They pulled up to the building and made their way to his office. Derek spoke to the receptionist and she nodded her head.

“He is waiting for you.” She told them and led them to his office.

“Admiral Wildstar, Mrs. Wildstar, hello please come in and have a sit. Paula, can you please get the Admiral and his wife something to drink.”

“No thank you we are good. We like to just get to the matter at hand.” Derek said.

“Yes, well looking over the paper work it seems like the hospital that you gave birth in, has been placed under scrutiny. A few couples that gave birth there found out recently that many of the fathers weren’t the fathers. The DNA’s that were done there when you gave birth were either mixed up or tainted. Not only the DNA test done there were done in a rush, tests like that usually take longer than a week. They cut corners to give parents false positives. Mrs. Wildstar as a nurse, it should have rung bells to have a test done in such a short period of time. But with technology now we all assume that it could be done in a few hours. We are not here to put blame on anyone yet. We are here to find out whether or not your daughter is your daughter. First thing we have to do is meet with both Doctor Spada and his lawyer to agree on a lab to conduct a new test. They will want their own labs and we will insist on ours. That will be the hard part. If we can agree on a neutral lab then it will take at least a week to get back the results.”

“Will we have to show up to court for that?” Wildstar asked.

“Not really I can do that with his lawyer. But I am sure that he will be there and it’s best that you two be present also.”

“And what will happen next once the results are in?” Wildstar asked with intrigued.

“Well if the test show Admiral Wildstar is Miku’s father then we all walk out of the court house and you all go on with your lives. If it comes back that Doctor Spada is the father then that’s when the custody battle begins. I’ve read the papers and he is seeking full guardianship with you getting visitations. As it stands here on Great Island the child goes with the father.”

“But she wasn’t born here. She was born in the states.” Nova said.

“Your place of residence is here. After one year here on Great Island she is now a legal resident. It will be hard to get the courts here to agree for us to take this back to the states. They will not allow it. Once she hits 21 it will be up to her whether or not she desires to maintain residency.” Nova’s eyes welled up thinking of the battle ahead if she is Michael’s child this is going to be a fight. Will Derek give up and walk away or will he fight with her to keep her daughter? “Mrs. Wildstar I wouldn’t worry just yet, let’s concentrate on the lab test and then we go from there. Now I have made our first court appearance for tomorrow morning. The sooner we start the sooner the test results come in. Until then try to relax. I know that’s a lot to ask but until we get the results there’s pretty nothing much we can do.” Their worried look made him smile. “Admiral I have done a lot of these and I am good at my job. Your father in law wouldn’t have called me if I wasn’t.”

Derek stuck out his hand and shook his. “Thank you Mr. Kacer. We will meet you at the courthouse in the morning. What time?”

“10 a.m. tomorrow. Now go home and try to relax.”

The ride back was just as deafening. Nova looked away and out the window watching as the city turned to country then mountains. Her tears ran down her face as she watched the car drive towards their house. He looked straight ahead as he drove back to their house not hearing her sniffles. They watched as he made the turn and their house come into view. He pulled into their drive way and he stepped out without helping her out of the car. He walked into the house and look around. Walking into the kitchen Misha stood in the kitchen preparing something for kids to eat. “Where is Miku?”

“She in back,” Misha said.

Wildstar walked out the door and looked around. He found her playing with Alex near the guest house with Annie. He walked over to them and took hold of Miku picking her up and hugging her tight. “What’s wrong daddy?”

“I just missed you today that’s all.” He told her. “Miku I want you to know that no matter what I love you. You will always be my little girl.” Alex sat on the lawn chair and looked up to his father wondering what was going on. He could see a tear roll down his face and the sadness in his eyes. His mother stood in the kitchen door way and he could see the trouble expression on her face. He watched as she turned and went back into the house. Wildstar stayed with his daughter the rest of the day playing with her and making her laugh as Alex watched on.  It reminded him of when he was going away on missions and he made every second count with them. Was he going away again? If he was why didn’t they tell him or did he just get orders?  But he would have said something about what they were going to do. He knew about their rough spot when they got back from Gardiana but he knew that they work through that time. For him to go now could mean the stress in his mother face.

“Hey Annie, I have to go ask my mom something. Do you mind if I go talk with her?”

“Why no Alex, is everything alright?”

“Yeah, just have to ask if she expects us for dinner. Be right back.” He said giving her a peck on the cheek. He walked into the house and saw Misha finishing her work before heading back to her house. “Hey Misha where’s my mom?”

“She in office.” She said in her broken English. “She no come down since coming home. She look sad.”

“Oh, hmm, well I should go see if everything is alright.”

“Mr. Alex I hear her cry in bathroom before.” She told him.

Alex smiled at her and knew she was concern about his mother and father. She had been with the family since Miku was born and she was part of the family. She seemed to protect his younger siblings when things were not going well with his parents and always kept them out of the press. One time he remember back in New York when she was walking them to school a photographer jump out in front of them and began to take pictures of them. She grabbed the guy by the collar and started hitting him with her purse cursing at him in Russian. The guy dropped his camera and ran off in the other direction. She picked up the camera and smashed it on the side of the building. He found it funny after the fact but at the time the guy scared him and his brothers. Alex walked over to her and gave her a hug and kissed her cheek. “Thank you,  Misha.”

“I no understand, thank you?”

“For being you and loving us like we were your own family, we all love you Misha.” He said then went up to the study to see about his mother. He gently knocked on the door and peek in. She sat behind their father’s desk looking over papers. “Mom, are you alright?”

“I’m fine Alex, why would you ask that?”

“Oh just asking, I really haven’t seen you all day and Dad is out back playing with Miku like he was leaving for another mission.” He waited for her to say something and then said. “Well Mom what’s going on? Is Dad going away again?”

“No Alex he’s not. He’s just, well he’s been working so much lately and he hasn’t spent time with Miku and you guys. He’s making up for that time that’s all.” She explained to him.

“Yeah and pigs fly. Really Mom I wish you would stop treating me like I’m 10 years old. If you haven’t noticed I’m a man now.”

Nova smiled at him got up and walked towards him. “You’re right Alex, you’re not a little boy anymore. I guess we should tell you anyway. You will probably hear it from the press sooner or later. I’m sure it will get leaked out somehow. Come here and sit down next to me,” she told him as she sat down on the couch in the office. “Well, I guess the best way to say it is just to come out and tell you. Your Uncle Michael is trying to take Miku away from us.”

“What, but why? I don’t understand, why is he trying to do that?”

“Well you see the hospital that Miku was born in has come under fire about hurrying DNA testing. Miku was one of those cases. And because we weren’t sure about who Miku’s dad was he is seeking custody of her claiming she is his. Your father will have to take the test again to prove she is his. This may take a while to get straightened out so please understand if things here get a little crazy. This is tearing your father apart. He loves your sister and if it turns out that Uncle Michael is her father it will destroy him. I don’t know how to even talk to him about this. He really hasn’t said much to me since we got the papers and I don’t blame him.”

Alex wondered what his father could be thinking. This is something that came out of left field for them and his sister will be devastated to know the man she always thought as her father wasn’t her father. He put his arm around her and gave her a hug. “Miku is our full sister. She is a Wildstar and Spada is just setting himself up for a big fall.” He said. He had never called Michael by his last name before but what he was putting his parents through he didn’t deserve to be called Uncle. “Cheer up Mom, everything will work out. When does Dad go for the test?”

“That is up to the lawyers to decide. They will argue as to where it will take place. Of course we will want someplace neutral that way he can’t fight in court that they were biases toward your father. Which will be hard to do, considering your father is well known.”

“Have you thought of places yet?”

“I have a few in mind and I will let the lawyers know in the morning. I want to see which ones they will want to use. I just hate putting Miku through all this. She will have to get her blood drawn in front of strangers and I don’t know if it will bring her nightmares from this.”

“Will you and Dad be there?”

“Oh your father will make it known to be there. I don’t think he will let her out of his site.”

“I love you Mom, I’m here for you and Dad if you need me.”

“Thank you Alex.” He gently kissed her forehead and left to see his father. He was still outside with his sister playing with dolls and making her laugh. Alex smiled watching him with her remembering of the times when he spent with him days before he left for a mission. Annie waved him over and patted to sit next to her. “Is everything alright?”

“Yeah, I’ll explain everything later.”

“He’s been playing with her all this time. It’s so nice to see him with her. Was he always like that with you guys?”

“Besides the dolls, yeah he was always like that with us. He always made time for us. I don’t think I can ever remember him telling us that he didn’t have time for us. Hey Annie, would you play with Miku while I talk with him?”

“Sure I can. I haven’t played with dolls in a long time I kind of miss it.” She smiled at him.

Wildstar poured some more tea into his daughter’s teacup. This was different from having boys. “Would you like two sugars or one?” he asked his daughter.

“One please, Daddy.” She said holding up one finger. He pretended to put one sugar in her cup and handed her the cup. “Don’t forget to pour some for Ms. Daisy.” She told him.

“Oh I’m sorry, Ms. Daisy would like one or two sugars?” he asked the doll next to him. Miku dressed the doll earlier in a yellow sun dress and put her golden locks in pick tails. The tea set was white with flowers and gold trimming. He pretended to drop two sugars into the cup and stirred it for her. “I have to say this is mighty good tea you made Ms. Miku. You must give me your recipe.”

“Hey Dad, I need to ask you something about the new Cosmo Fighters. Do you mind Miku if I take dad for a minute. Annie would like to play with you if you would like her to.”

Annie stood over his father and smiled, “Looks yummy can I join?” she asked.

“You can take daddy’s chair.” Miku looked up and smiled at the pretty girl. She like Annie a lot it was like having a big sister in a house full of boys.

“So what do you want to know about the New Cosmo?” Wildstar asked his son.

“Can we go for a walk?”

“I am assuming that this has nothing to do with a fighter?” Wildstar asked.

“No, I spoke with Mom. She told me everything. How are you, Dad?”

“I wish your mother would stop telling you everything.” He said annoyed. “But eventually it will come out. I guess she wants to prepare you for the fallout of everything.”

“How are you Dad?”

He looked out into the ocean and tried holding his tears back. “I’ll be alright, just a lot of things racing through my head about all this. We have to protect Miku. If this drags on there will be paparazzi trying to take pictures of her and I know it will scare her. I don’t know how we are going to keep this out of the press so we all have to make sure that we are careful about your sister. I truly think Spada will honor your mother and keep this out of the papers. Not to mention Miku, he wouldn’t want her traumatized over this. If she is his then he will want her to have a smooth transition.”

“Come on dad do you really think there is a possibility that Miku is Spada’s. She is a Wildstar and no one can ever tell me she isn’t.”

He smiled at his oldest son, “I’m glad that you think that way. We will prove that she is just that A Wildstar.”

Alex scratched his head like his father wondering, “Why is he doing this to us now?” he asked with anger in his voice.

“Alex, it’s not a blaming game remember that. If it was me I would fight with every ounce in my being to find out if she was mine. It was an iffy situation. We all weren’t sure who Miku’s father was. But we are going to straighten all this out once and for all.”

“I’m here for you and Mom.”

Patting his son on his back he was always amazed at how grown up he was. “Thanks, come on let’s get back. I want to spend as much time with her, just in case.”

“Just in case what?”

“Nothing, let’s just get back and get ready for dinner. I’m sure DJ is going to come home from camp trying to explain why they wrote him up again.”

“Well I didn’t see any smoke coming from the camp site and there were no calls so I think we are safe from any law suit.”

10^th of August, 2225

Court house

0830 hours

They walked in the swarm of photographers and news casters. As soon as it hit the court docket the press were on the scene ready for anything. Derek pushed past them holding on to Nova tight. Microphones were thrown in front of them as people shouted out questions. Nova bowed her head letting him guide her into the building. Once at the courthouse door the guards pushed back the press and closed the heavy mahogany doors. Their lawyer greeted them and escorted them to a quiet room. “I got the list of labs that you think would be neutral. His lawyer also sent their list to me, we should go over them with a fine tooth comb before we agree. Here is the list.” He pulled out a list from his briefcase and handed them to Nova.

Looking through it she notice most of them were in the states. She saw one or two that were in third world countries. “I can’t agree on any of these. I don’t even know any of them for the exception of the one in California. But even that one isn’t the best. I was hoping that they would at least consider the one in Switzerland or the one in France. The technology is one of the top best. If they were putting these in I should have entered Sandor’s Company. Part of his company deal with DNA testing. Even Michael knows that. I would think he would try to make things easy for all of us. The sooner we do this the sooner we all know. It’s like they are stalling.”

“Well we will know what their up to now. They just waved us in. Okay put your best poker face on and whatever happens, keep calm.” He said.

Nova heart raced as they walked into the courtroom. She looked over and saw him standing next to his lawyer talking. Derek looked over to him too and felt his anger grow. Next to them sat his fiancé watching as they all enter the room. Wildstar stared at her and saw her resemblance of his wife. They took their seat and waited until the judge walked in. Within minutes court was in session. They heard as the judge hit his gavel down and called the session into order. “Mr. Weskosive, Mr. Kacer I have read both list and I see that you are both not in agreement as to which lab to use. Also I have a petition from Mr. Spada for visitation with the child until all this is resolve. He wants to establish a connection with the child just in case the test results come back that he is the father.”

“OVER my dead body!” Wildstar slammed his hand on the table. Their lawyer grabbed hold of him and whispered into his ear to calm down.

“Mr. Kacer please control your client.”

“Your honor,” Mr. Kacer began. “My clients believe it would confuse their daughter causing an emotional stress on them and the child. We think it’s best to wait until the test is taken before we make arrangements for visitation.”

“Your Honor!” Spada lawyer stood up. “My client feels he has wasted too much time apart from his child and would like to at least get visitation so he can ease her into the fact that he could be her father.”

“Objection your honor, what happens when the test come back that he isn’t her father? She is only 5 years old. She is too young to understand that the father she has grown to know might not be her father. We strongly object to this.”

“I agree,” the judge said. “I want you all to sit down in arbitration and pick a lab that both parties can agree on. You have one week. Make it happen do I make myself clear.”

“Yes your honor.” They both said.

“This case is adjourned one week from today.” He slammed his gavel down and left the room.

They made their way out of the courtroom and stood to one side of the building. Wildstar looked over to where Spada stood and glared with hatred in his eyes. Taking hold of his hand Nova brought his attention to her.  “Derek don’t, he’s not worth it and we don’t need this in the papers. Not to mention you getting arrested.”

“What’s Kaser talking to him about?” Wildstar asked Nova as he watched Kaser and Weskovise talk to one another.

“He’s working out a day and time for arbitration. Derek, it’s important to not get mad. We aren’t going to agree on a lab first time around. We have to be patient.”

“Easy for you to say Nova, you’re always going to be her mother.” He said with sarcasm. She swallowed back her tears and knew that he was angry at Michael and not her. She only hope that the old wounds of the past would not come back to haunt her with him. This would be what she feared most back when she first found out she was pregnant. She knew by telling them that this would happen. The fight of Miku’s father is now in full swing and they weren’t holding back. Derek’s anger was coming out at her and she could feel the coldness already. Their lawyer finished talking and made his way back to them. “What’s going on?” Wildstar asked.

“They are willing to sit down and go over both lists. Doctor Spada would like to talk with Mrs. Wildstar before we sit down. That is up to you, Nova.”

“No she is not talking with him. I won’t allow it.” Wildstar snapped.

“Derek, it’s alright. I’ll talk with him.” She said.

“I forbid it! Anything he has to say to her he can say in front of us.”

“DEREK!” Nova snapped back. “It’s not like it’s going to hurt anything. Anyway I’m not a child or your property I can speak for myself.” She walked away from them and Michael met her half way. “Hello Michael.”

“Nova, I’m sorry about all this. But I really need to know if she is mine. When they sent me that letter from the hospital about what happen I couldn’t stop thinking about what if she is mine.”

“Do you know what havoc you’ve created for me and my family over this? You could have done this on a lower scale and we could’ve done this without bringing in the courts or even the press. Our lives have been turned upside down because of this. I have no doubt she is Derek’s so stop dragging this out and pick a lab that we both can agree on.”

“I have given you the labs and you turned them down.”

“Come on Michael, you know as well as I do that those labs aren’t even the top best. I may give you the one in Cali, but those others aren’t even on the radar. I thought you would at least agree with the one in Switzerland or France considering that we use to use them when we worked together. And for you to come here and give us these useless labs is telling me that you want to drag this out as long as possible. If you really want to get to the bottom of this then agree to use one that is reputable.”

“Your right I might want to drag it out. But I feel she is my daughter. She does things only I would do.”

“She also looks like Derek, not you.”

“She looks like me also. Or have you not noticed that?  Remember I slept with you first. She was conceived on that night. You weren’t even sure who her father was. You just wished that he is her father to make life easier.”

“Easier? Are you kidding me? Do you think that if I didn’t go into labor early that you or he would have known if either of you were the father? I was never gonna allow either of you into my life once she was born. But life gave me another chance with him.”

“And look where that got you. He had a child with someone else. She tried to take my daughter away and you almost lost both your sons.” He said through gritted teeth. “I was nothing more than faithful to you, much more than he has ever been. I love you and still love you.”

“Is this what’s it’s all about? You feel jilted that I went back to him?”

“No this has nothing to do with that. The bottom line is they screwed up at the hospital and I want to know if she is my daughter and not his. He would do the same if the shoe was on the other foot. I never wanted to hurt you in this but I have to know if they screwed up. If she is his then I will walk away from your life like I did the last time.” Spada said.

“Then work with us to settle this. Which lab is best for you?” Nova stood her ground holding back her tears. It broke her heart to see him desperate. She looked into his eyes and could see the pain and love he had for her. If it wasn’t that she loved Derek she would have picked him to spend her life with. Her second chance with Derek wasn’t what she expected. And she did care for him as much as she cared for her husband. But she knew that she would never be happy with him. Even with all his screw ups she loved her husband. It would take a lot for her to leave him again. She wasn’t sure if this would be one of those screw ups.

“Fine, I’m willing to use the one in Switzerland. We’ve used them in the past and we never had a problem with them. I guess we are in agreement with that.” Spada sighed and ran his hand through his hair.

Nova waved her lawyer over and he waved his over. “We agreed to Hansen Laboratories. But we want to keep this an anonymous test. Only the courts will know who is who. We will only be known as numbers that way no one can be swayed.” Nova told them. “Michael are you alright with this?” He nodded his head in agreement. “We can meet up at the hospital tomorrow morning with Miku.”

“I want to see her prior to that.”

“NO!” Wildstar snapped.

Nova held his arm and said. “You can see her today at the house.”

“Are you out of your mind?” Derek yelled. “I don’t want him near her. I won’t allow it!”

She turned to Michael and said. “3 p.m. today. Not a minute later or sooner, for only an hour. And we agree now that after that you will not see her again until after the results are in and proves she is yours. If she isn’t then we all move on. Agree?”

“Agreed, I will be there at 3.” He stuck out his hand and they shook hands as their lawyer witness the whole agreement.

Mr. Kaser put his hand on Wildstar shoulder’s and said. “I will draw up the papers just in case. I will have them sent to you within the hour.”

Driving back to their house Wildstar drove in silence brewing at what his wife did. Nova looked out the window. “I can’t believe you did that without talking to me first!” he told her.

“It was give a little or he would have made our lives harder. He would have fought with every suggestion we come up with on the labs.”

“Still you could’ve told me and talk to me about it. She’s my child until those tests are taken and come back.”

She reached over to his arm, “Derek if I thought that he would twist things around for us I would never had suggested he see her.”

“I still don’t want him near her. For god sakes you know how I feel about him and you still encourage him on. No wonder he is doing this he wants you back and you’re just loving it. Why don’t you just go and live happily with him.”

“DEREK! You don’t mean that.”

They pulled up to the house and he jumped out the car before her. He slammed the car door hard enough to shake it. Nova sat in the car fuming that he was acting like a spoiled brat. She watched as he walked into the house and could hear it slam harder than the car. Taking a deep breath she decided to get out of the car and made her way to the house. She found him sitting outside watching their daughter play with her dolls while their twin sons ran down to the shore line laughing. She said nothing to them and went into the house straight to her room. She lay down on the bed and looked out the window watching the dark clouds roll in. She wasn’t sure how long she laid there when Derek walked into the room and said, “He’s here.” And shut the door loudly. Nova sat up on the bed and wiped her face with her hands. She got up and walked out to their living room to see him standing in there.

“Hello Michael she’s outside playing. Please don’t say anything about you being her father. I don’t want too upset her just yet. Please promise me that you will wait until the DNA test results come in before we tell her.”

“I promise,” he told her. They walked out on the porch and he smiled to see her playing on a blanket with her dolls. Derek stood near her and watched as they walked closer to him and his daughter. “Hello Miku.” He sat down next to her and took hold of one of her dolls. “Would you mind if I play with you for while.”

“Sure you can, Uncle Michael.” She said and handed him a doll.

“Why thank you Ms. Miku. And who is this pretty doll?”

“That is Ms. Daisy, she likes to have tea in the afternoon.”

“Well I love to have tea.” He smiled at her.

“It’s almost tea time would you like to stay for tea?”

“I sure would thank you very much.” He told her.

“Daddy can you have tea with us too.” She asked her father.

“I’m sorry sweetheart but daddy has worked to do in his office upstairs. But I will play with you later I promise.” He told her and then went into the house.

Michael stayed with Miku at the little table that her mother bought her a year ago and play tea with her. He talked with her about school and she told him stories of her brothers and her. Wildstar looked out the window and watched as he made his daughter laughed and tickled her as she pour tea into his cup. He stayed an hour playing with her and then told her he had to go. “Uncle Michael will you come back and see me again?” she asked.

“I hope so sweetie,” he gave her a kiss on the cheek and walked back to where Nova sat as she watched them play. “Thank you Nova for letting me see her. You did a great job with her. She’s a good kid.”

“Sure Michael. I guess we will see you tomorrow at the hospital. I’ll see you out.” She told him. They walked into the house and Derek stood at the bottom of the stairs to see her walk him out. “Good bye Michael.”

“Thank you Nova.” He lean in and kissed her cheek. She closed the door and looked back at Derek. He stared away from her and began to walk out to be with his daughter.

“Derek,” she called out to him.

“Not now Nov, I just want to be with her right now.” He said over his shoulder.

“Derek please I know you’re upset but taking it out on me,”

“Isn’t what? Solving anything? No it’s not but for now blaming you is all I can do.” He said then walked out to be with his daughter. Without another word she went straight up to the office and sat behind his desk. His words struck her to her core and he said what she thought all along. She looked out into the view of the mountains. She watched as the trees swayed in the wind. She could hear the ocean behind her and she closed her eyes as tears ran down her face. The sun rolled over head and began to set over the mountains as the clouds became thicker than earlier. She thought of the good times they had before all the drama. How they walked on the beach laughing and remembering their time on the Argo. She smiled of the times with their kids when they were younger. From the distance she heard someone calling out to her. Turning the chair around she saw him standing there in the door way. “Nova you were a million miles away. I called you a least 4 times.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you. I was just thinking that’s all.” She wiped the tears from her face and tried to smile. “Is something wrong?”

“No everything is alright. Misha cooked dinner, are you coming down to eat?” he asked.

“No, I’m really not hungry.”

“Nov, the kids have never had dinner without you. Come down and have something.”

“Just tell them I’m not feeling well. I can’t deal with it right now. I need to be alone.” Her voice quivered and she coughed to clear her throat. “Just tell them, please Derek.”

He walked over to her and knelt down in front of her. “Nov, I know this isn’t easy but the kids,”

“I said to tell them that I’m not feeling well! You have dinner with them, I can’t right now. I just want to be left alone. GO AWAY!” she yelled and pushed him away making him fall to the floor. “I need to think.” She told him and ran out the room and down the stairs.

Miku ran to her and hugged her tight. “Mommy come on dinner’s ready.”

“Oh Miku I have to go. Mommy has to get to work. But I’ll be back to tuck you in. Now listen to Misha and Daddy, be a good girl.” She bent down and kissed her on the cheek. “I love you sweet heart,” and ran out of the house to her car. She drove and drove not knowing where she was going. She needed to get away and clear her head.

Derek ran down the stairs and watched as the door closed shut. “Daddy, Mommy had to go to work.”

“Yeah I know sweetheart. Come on let’s have dinner.” He picked up his daughter and sat her down in her seat next to him. “Sorry mom had to go in to work. It’s just us tonight.”

“How come she didn’t have her uniform on?” Mark Wildstar asked.

“Well, she has a spare at work. Let’s eat.” Wildstar announced. Dinner was quiet and it seemed like forever before the kids went to bed. He tried calling her several times with no answer. All he could do was wait and see if she would be home soon. He sat outside on the patio that connected to their room and looked out into the dark night. Their children have been sleeping for hours and still he heard nothing from his wife. How stupid of him accusing her of taking his side. Of making her feel as if she liked being the center of attention. Blaming her isn’t solving anything. She’s right if it was me I would fight for her too. I would do anything to get her back. But he’s here trying to take my daughter from me. He’s still trying to weasel his way back into her life. Why now? He must have heard about what happened in space and figured she would run back into his arms. It doesn’t help that that damn hospital screwed up. It seems every time our lives finally start getting on track he comes back in to create havoc. Of course he is going to hear about what happened in space and now he is doing what he does best. Confusing my wife and she is just getting sucked into it. He looked up to the sky and thought about where she could have gone. She had to go somewhere but where? He picked up the phone one more time and dialed the number again, no answer again. He walked outside to the side of the house and decided to go look for her. He grabbed his keys and headed outside to his car. Looking in the direction of their hill he noticed a car at the top. Walking closer he recognized it was her car sitting there. He looked in to find her sleeping behind the wheel. Gently he tapped on the window and then opened her door. “Nova, baby wake up.” He shook her gently.

“Hmm, what, Derek?”

“Hey, I’ve been worried sick about you. Have you been here all this time?”

“No, I’ve been driving around most of the night. I just parked here for a few minutes before coming home. Are the kids alright?”

“They’re all sleeping now. Move over I’ll drive the car back to the house.” She slid into the passenger side and he got in. He reached over to her and pulled her closer to him. “I’m sorry, I should have never snapped at you.”

“I know you hate me. Had I not slept with him we wouldn’t be in this situation.”

“Come on Nov, we promised we wouldn’t go down this road ever again. Right now we have to think about getting this over with and proving Miku is my child and not his.”

“I’m sorry that I talked with him. I thought that…”

“It’s alright baby, you did a good job. If you didn’t talk with him he would have dragged this on forever. Come on let’s go inside its getting pretty chilly.” He guided her into the house and into their room. She sat on the bed feeling drained and all she wanted to do was sleep. “We have a long day tomorrow. We should get some sleep.” Nodding her head she began to take off her clothes. Derek slowly helped her undress and then helped her get ready for bed. “Baby,” he said as he held her in his arms.

“Yeah?”

“How long will it take for the results to come back?”

“I don’t know. A week, maybe two. We don’t want to rush them. I don’t want to go through this again.” She whispered. “Derek do you hate me?”

“No baby, I love you. We will get through somehow together. I’m here for the long run.” He kissed the top of her head and said. “Get some sleep.”

To Be Continued . . . .

The pressure is on to see who is Miku father. As time goes on the wait is tiring and the tension heats up in the Wildstar residences. Will this tear the Wildstars apart as accusations fly back and forth? Read on to see what happens next.