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The Life of Valor (Grave x Kat)

Scott nodded with a smile as she asked if they could visit her father.
"Of course. I'm sure he'd be delighted to see you."
After he had responded, he realized that she had said 'father' and not 'parents'. Before he could ask, she had turned on a song she liked on the radio and he felt her soft lips on her hand. He nodded slowly as she said she would be careful.

He saw her beautiful face out of the corner of his eye and felt steel bands wrapping around his heart and squeezing. He could not allow anything to happen to her. To keep his mind off of the fear, he decided to voice his earlier question.
"So, you said your father lives in Maine, but said nothing about your mother. Is she...?"
He was hoping she would say that she was divorced from her father, but something told him it was worse than that.
 
Jessica was humming along to the song before he asked the question and she looked down a little falling silent as images from her nightmare last night flashed through her mind again. "She died in a 'hit and run' when I was seven..." She murmured, though her voice was quiet, the quotations around hit and run were clear in her voice.
 
Scott nodded, not surprised by the answer. He had suspected that she would say her mother had passed away. What did surprise him was the cause of her death, although from Jessica's tone, perhaps there was more to the story.
"So, hit and run is the official cause of death, but you doubt that's what actually happened?"
He could tell that her mother's death had hit her hard and she did not like to talk about it, but he thought that perhaps by knowing the facts he could help her out. He took a turn as the exit ramp to go into Maine came into view, mulling over what she had told him.
 
Jessica shrugged softly. "If it was a hit and run, it was intentional and brutal... no accidental hit and run could cause that much... damage..." She took a breath and grabbed a water to try and cool her brain with a drink.
 
Scott nodded. He was not going to make her relive the agony by asking her to describe the damage to her mother's body. Perhaps he could investigate that case by looking through the files of the local police department. They were now within Maine and Scott slowed his speed on the city streets.
"So, where does your father live? I'll need some directions."
 
Jessica nodded as he asked for directions, looking around to find where they were and directing him from there, it was about an hour's drive from the interstate to her dad's farm. They pulled up the dirt driveway and parked. Jessica climbed out of the car with her hand bag and went up to the door, knocking loudly as it was a big old farm house, but it was almost the end of the day so supposedly her dad would be inside having dinner. "Dad! You there?" She called and there was a loud thud from inside which made her flinch and then some scrambling before the door flew open and an older, muscular man, probably in his early fifties, with black hair beginning to grey around the sides and many wrinkles across his forehead and typical farmer flannel and overalls on stood in the doorway. "Jessica?" He asked in surprise before he flung his arms around her in a suffocating hug. "I didn't know you were coming! Welcome home trouble." He said happily as he called her by her childhood nickname he'd always call her. Jessica chuckled a little and hugged her dad back just as tightly. "Thanks dad." After another minute of hugging she managed to pull away and said. "I'm sorry I didn't call, it was kind of a last minute decision to come here." She gestured back at Scott. "This is Scott. We work in the same building and he was coming up here for work so I decided to tag along." Her father looked up at Scott and smiled warmly, taking Scott's hand in his rough, calloused one. "Well Scott, I owe you one, I've been trying to get my little trouble to come visit for months." He looked down as he felt Scott's strong, rough hand in his and smiled. "A working man I see. None of that sissy city boy softness in these hands." He said with a chuckle. "Come in, come in, grab your stuff too." He led them into the rickety old house.
 
Scott followed Jessica's directions and eventually ended up at a large farm house. Almost before he had the car in park, Jessica was out and running toward the door before beating on it loudly enough to wake the dead. Scott got out of the car and slipped the keys into his pocket as he calmly walked toward the door. By the time he got there, her father had arrived at the door. If there was a magazine called Farmer's Monthly, this man would definitely be on the cover.

He definitely had the weathered skin and muscular build that came from a life of farming, but the look in his eyes and the tone of his voice made it clear that he was pure teddy bear when it came to his beloved daughter. He smiled as Jessica's father wrapped her in a bear hug, and chuckled softly as he referred to her by her childhood nickname, Trouble. Having gotten to know Jessica very well, he had to say that it fit. After Jessica introduced him, he stepped forward to extend his hand and shake her father's. They were the same height, so Scott was able to look into his eyes as they shared an acceptable man's handshake, not too loose but not too firm.
"It was my pleasure, Mr. Allan."

Scott smiled as Jessica's father complimented his strong and calloused hands.
"You caught me, sir," he replied with a chuckle.
After letting go of his hand, he got the bags and headed into the house, thinking that it had a worn but homey feeling to it. As he entered the living room, he definitely thought it was a large house that would take time for him to get to know. The feeling was similar to his first day at Shadowgreen years ago.
"I'd like to go ahead and put these bags up in the room we'll be staying in," he said to Jessica.
 
Jessica smiled a little at their interaction then nodded. "Sure. I'll show you the guest room and I'll take my bags to my room." She said and grabbed her bags from him before hurrying up the stairs.
 
Scott watched as she took her bags and headed up to her room. Not knowing where to go, he stayed at the bottom of the stairs and was going to wait for her. As he was looking around the house, he noticed an old family photo standing prominently on the table. It was a picture of Jessica's dad when he was younger, Jessica's mom, and a very young Jessica, probably age 5 or 6. Looking closely at it, he saw that Jessica's mom was very beautiful with kind and delicate features. Jessica had grown up to look a lot like her, and a sad look crossed his face as he realized that this picture was taken shortly before her mother was ripped away from her forever.

Seeing Jessica's family made him think about his own. Like her, he was an only child of working-class parents in Detroit, a city that had definitely seen better days in his time. After he received Valor, there was a lot of distance between him and his parents as they tried to come to terms with his new status as a metahuman. This led to very few home visits while he was attending Shadowgreen, and he had visited with them once after graduation and before getting his P.I. license. Years at Shadowgreen had taught him how to thrive being alone, and he was just now beginning to open his heart to Jessica. Perhaps given time, he would rediscover the closeness he had with his family prior to Valor.
 
Jessica dropped her stuff in her room and popped her head down from the top of the stairs. "What are you doing down there? I thought you were following me. Come on, I'll show you the guest room." She noticed the picture he was looking at and smiled at him gently as her eyes also saddened a little before she disappeared back up the stairs.
 
Scott turned his head as Jessica called down to him. He shrugged and chuckled at the same time.
"You didn't tell me the guest room was up there."
He ascended the stairs and then followed Jessica to the room he would be staying in for the duration of their time in Maine. He set his bags down and then leaned against the wall while looking at Jessica with a playful smirk.
"So, how come you didn't introduce me to your father as your boyfriend?"
 
Jessica looked over and blushed a little as she chuckled softly. "Because my dad likes you, and he'd probably have an instant hate towards you if I immediately introduced you as my boyfriend."
 
Scott had a thoughtful expression on his face, thinking over her answer. He walked over to the bed and sat down on it, inviting her to sit down next to him.
"You and your dad seem very close. I guess his natural instincts as a father coupled with what happened with your mother would make him wary of strange men dating his daughter."
Scott could not help but think he might really be nervous if he knew that Scott was the superhero Crusader.
"I just hope that when we tell him the truth later that he doesn't get upset that we lied to him."
 
Jessica sat beside him and nodded, thinking for a moment. "I guess you're right... I've never been good at lying to my dad anyway. I should probably tell him instead of waiting..."
 
Scott put an arm around Jessica's waist and gently pulled her close to him.
"We will tell him, but the more I think about it, the more your way was partially the right thing to do. Let's let your father get to know me better and see what kind of man I am. Once he sees how great our relationship is, he'll feel much more secure about us being a couple. Showing up out of the blue dating a man he does not know would probably not have gotten us off to a good start. So, we'll just delay telling him the truth until the right time presents itself."

Scott gently leaned in and kissed Jessica on the lips. His hand reached up and stroked her cheek as he deepened the kiss before pulling away and leaning his forehead against hers.
"You really are Trouble," he said with a playful smile, "You've even got the Knight of Valor keeping secrets."
He chuckled and took her hand in his.
"I love you so much, Jessica. I'm sure that things between me and your father will be just fine."
 
Jessica blushed a little as she was held close then nodded as he said it would be better this way. She then blinked in surprise and blushed more in the kiss, closing her eyes a moment before smiling shyly and nodded. "I know... thank you..." She murmured.
 
Scott noticed that she was still very shy when they shared romance. She was not yet ready to tell him she loved him, for instance. But that was okay. Her actions up to this point had shown her love, and as time went on, she would get better about it, he knew. To be honest, he thought her shyness was attractive, especially after his first encounter with a woman had damn near been her raping him. He smiled as he thought back to that time and hoped that she was doing well at her banking job in England.

"I guess I had better get to work. I'm going to check at the Hall of Records and the Police Department for leads on the werewolves."
He didn't say it, but he was also going to look into her mother's case. He could tell that the loss of her mother had been torture for years, a pain that had never gone away. He wanted to do all that he could to bring closure to this tragedy.
"Do you want to come with me?"
 
Jessica looked up at him and nodded as he explained what he was going to do. "Sure, but why don't we wait till tomorrow? Look, the sun's already starting to set. And the police department is about a 45 minute drive away from here. Let's stay in tonight. I can visit with my father and we could all play some games or something. If that's ok..." She said, looking down in embarrassment, hoping she wasn't sounding demanding.
 
Scott listened as she told him that she wanted them to stay in tonight. He looked out the window, and the sun was indeed setting over the horizon. He could tell that she really wanted to do that, so he smiled and nodded.
"All right. We'll start on the case first thing tomorrow."
He gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"It's probably a good thing that we stay in tonight. I could get to know your father better and we could play some fun games. Aside from that, I heard that there was going to be a full moon tonight."
He stood up and turned to her.
"Let's go ahead and head down. You should probably go first."
 
Jessica blushed a little at the kiss to her cheek and smiled, nodding. "Alright. Thank you." She said as she stood up and headed downstairs. "Hey dad! Can I make some popcorn?"
 
Jessica's father came walking out of the kitchen as Jessica called to him as she was coming down the stairs. When she asked if she could make popcorn, he nodded.
"Of course, darlin'. There's plenty in the back pantry."
As Scott came down the stairs and Jessica went into the kitchen, her father gave him a happy smile.
"So, how do you like the place?"

Scott looked around and nodded.
"It's very homey. I like it."
"Yeah, it's a nice place. It's seen better days, especially when Jessica's mother was still alive, but I love it just the same. It can get kind of lonely sometimes, though, and every home is warmer with a good woman by your side."

Scott smiled and nodded.
"I live alone myself, so I know exactly what you're talking about."
"Really? I figured that a young fella like yourself would be spoken for. Haven't met the one yet?"
It was difficult for Scott not to tell Mr. Allan the truth about that, but he did his best to conceal his discomfort.

"I guess you could say I've been married to my job."
"And what is it you do, Scott?"
"I'm a private investigator based out of New York City. My business is called Valor Investigations, and I pride myself on being able to help people and give back to the community."
"You're a kind man to feel that way. How did you come up for the name for your company?"

Scott chuckled a bit as an image of Valor flashed across in his mind.
"The name was inspired by a close friend of mine."
Mr. Allan sat down in a chair and Scott took a seat on the couch.
"I can't say that I was very comfortable with my daughter leaving home and going to the big city, but she has always been an independent spirit and I knew I wouldn't be able to talk her out of it. I'm glad that she works with someone like you, who cares about people and would look after her."

Scott nodded, appreciating her father's kind words. He could hear the sound of the microwave as Jessica began making the popcorn.
"Were you ever in the military, son?"
Caught completely off-guard by the question, it took a moment for him to answer.
"No, sir. Why do you ask?"

"Your eyes."
"Huh?"
"I was a Marine during the Vietnam War and saw things no decent man should ever have to see. People who see things like this always have a certain look in their eyes. I can always recognize that look in others because of my own experiences. Son, you've got the look of a man who has seen real life-and-death combat."
Scott did his best not to look uncomfortable, but he also did not really want to tell Mr. Allan about his dangerous life as a superhero. Thankfully, the microwave went off at that moment to let them know the popcorn was done, and he excused himself to help Jessica with it in the kitchen.
 
Jessica hummed, seeming to be in a good mood as she didn't hear their conversation from the kitchen over the sound of the popping corn in the microwave. When it beeped she pulled it out, careful not to burn herself as she opened it and smiled at Scott. "Hope you don't mind extra butter." She said with a chuckle as she showed him the package and reached to grab a bowl for it.
 
As Scott entered the kitchen, he saw Jessica getting the popcorn together.
"No, I don't mind. The more buttery the better."
He helped her get bowls of popcorn ready and carried one back into the living room. He took a bite of some and thought that it was very good. After Jessica had joined them, he put his hands together.

"So, Jessica, what did you have in mind for us?"
Mr. Allan smiled at his daughter, happy to see her after all the time had passed. She looked just like her mother, and he saw several of his beloved wife's mannerisms being repeated by Jessica. Scott looked out and saw the full moon rising high in the sky, and that brought unease to him. He did not know if the strain of werewolves running the countryside was affected by lunar activity, but it made him nervous nonetheless. He tried to put aside his misgivings and focus on having fun with Jessica and her father.
 
Scott thought over the choices Jessica laid out.
"I think Uno sounds good. What about you, Mr. Allan?"
Jessica's father nodded.
"I'm good with whatever you kids want."
Scott turned back to Jessica and nodded to let her know that they would play Uno.
 
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