Seeing her baby laugh and banter with his friends after his injuries made Gabrielle incredibly happy. He was surrounded by love and that is all she wanted for him. ’I just wish I was one of the ones he loved...’ She thought, longingly while also ignoring the jealousy of Valerica holding tight to one of his arms...

The large group of individuals were heading back to Apollo’s home to celebrate his success in the trial and more importantly, his swift and healthy recovery. Gabrielle was happy with this, she needed a break from her reconnaissance of the woman called Millie. No matter what the woman was, her son came first. Other potential ’family’ she had were inconsequential. Insignificant. Like a bug under her heel.

On the way over to his house, the group walked past the front of Mary’s bar. As she passed by the doors, Gabrielle took a glance inside and continued to walk on for a single moment before stopping dead in her tracks at who she just saw.

The others continued to walk ahead while she stayed behind, she didn’t blame them, there was a good amount of people present. Her baby made friends like a virus after all. Her slipping away for a few moments wouldn’t go noticed. She would catch up and slide into the house later, for now she would deal with the man in the bar, he had come all the way here after all.

...

Hugo sat at the bar and tapped with his fingers towards the bartender for another. The man behind the bar repoured the drink immediately, not daring to look at the giant man for longer than needed.

Hugo nodded at the man and then sighed as he drank his shot. He didn’t blame the man for being nervous. Hugo was just in a war meeting down on Leondis, he was still in his military uniform. His high rank, even on this moon, was not something to be taken lightly.

Add that onto the fact he was missing an eye and was over eight feet tall and take into account that most powerful humans you see tend to top out in the middle ranges of seven feet, he most definitely made an imposing figure.

Just as he was about to ask for another drink, a bar stool pulled up next to him, forcing him to sigh at who it was.

"Gabrielle."

"Hugo."

The two sat in agonising silence for a few moments before Gabrielle spoke. "I haven’t told him yet. And before you ask. No, I haven’t touched him either, well kind of, I accidentally copped a feel earlier during a hug, but it was totally innocent. You got in my head about my actions and I thought I should at least wait for you to come say your piece before I pursue my goals further."

"Nnnnnghh." Hugo moaned in displeasure before tapping on the bar again as the bartender walked past.

Gabrielle watched this and her eyes went wide in surprise, taking the shot glass from the man’s mouth. "What are you doing! You aren’t supposed to drink until your head fully heals. Your own orders!"

Hugo frowned at his drink being taken and snapped back. "Hey! Who is the doctor here? Hmm? I am. Now give me my drink. I need it... The milkshakes aren’t going to cut it right now." Hugo then snatched the drink back from Gabrielle and gulped it down hastily, shocking the woman.

Gabrielle had never seen Hugo like this before. She was worried. Deciding the shelf her problems for a moment, which was just deciding if she should go forward with trying to get Apollo to enter his old room or not. Which to her most outcomes aside from Apollo shunning her were perfectly fine.

Placing a hand on her friend’s back, she asked, concerned. "Hugo, what is wrong?"

The sudden intimate contact broke Hugo and his eye began to tear up. "I-" He tried to start but needed a few more moments to compose himself, his emotions were like a slurry. He then tried again shortly after.

"I just found out my best friend is alive."

"Oh." Gabrielle said understandingly. She didn’t show it, but when her instincts told her Apollo was alive, she almost completely broke down as her myriad of emotions attempted to get the better of her...

...

"That is a good thing though, right? You shouldn’t be smothering your relief of grief with alcohol Hugo."

Hugo said nothing, simply reached into his pocket and pulled out his communicator and slid it over to Gabrielle. " Have you noticed that kid around at all?"

Gabrielle activated the communicator and an image of someone she recognised popped up. "Sigfried Pallasus?"

Hugo raised the eyebrow over his one eye. "You actually know him?"

Gabrielle shrugged her shoulders. "Not personally, but I deeply investigate every single person my Apollo comes into contact with. The man is in his early twenties, how can he be your best friend? I assume that is what you are getting at, feel free to correct me."

Hugo picked the communicator up and looked at the picture. "You are right, he is in his twenties, but he was also nineteen forty years ago. The last time I saw him..."

Gabrielle frowned hearing this before reaching into her combat suite and pulling out a compact data pad from betwixt her breasts. She then enlarged the thing and began going through her notes. "No- Hugo that can’t be right. He doesn’t look like he is in his twenties like most Psionic individuals in their forties look, he actually is that young. See, look! I got his blood test results and everything.

Hugo took the data pad and began scrolling through the information Gabrielle had gathered. Not just on Sigfried, but on the other neatly labelled tabs on the side. Every single individual it looked like. From a random ’hello’, to an ’excuse me’. She recorded everything she had observed.

This sobered Hugo up a bit as he muttered. "Ok, when I am done with my shit, we are having a serious discussion about this mental illness."

Gabrielle then snatched back her data pad and compacted it again before putting it in its safe space, close to her heart. "Its not an illness of anykind. Ass. I am taking an interest in my son’s life. I cannot be by his side all hours of the day as I am still just a new friend to him. So I have to watch from afar with my gear and record what I need to know."

"Which is everything from what I just saw..." Hugo muttered before getting side-tracked again. "Wait, what gear?"

...

...

...

"So your friend is back from the dead? Are you going to say hello? I assume so. Do you want me to come with you as emotional support?" Gabrielle offered and Hugo declined hastily.

"No, that is ok. I was going to ask the deputy head for their location, but thanks to you, I don’t need to find them. I know exactly where they live. I should go on my own. They don’t know what Olympus is and they will be curious about your connection to me. You go and do what you were doing and I will find you later on to discuss the other reason I came here. I just need to... Build up my nerve a little longer."

Gabrielle frowned. "Ok, I will let you do that, but please. Don’t drink too much. I don’t want you to exacerbate your injury. I still want to be able to fight on the field of battle with you again one day. Preferably with my son also by my side."

Gabrielle then stood up and patted her large mentor/ doctor/ therapist/father figure/ pain in her ass on the back and said. "Now with that being said, my son is having a party and I am going to get ’drunk’ and use that as an excuse to give him some hugs. Take care!"

Hugo watched as Gabrielle literally skipped away with a smile on her face, the action left a conflicted smile on his own. As her therapist, he should have focused on her, but this news was a serious blow to his psyche.

Still though, the woman had a way of getting his brain active, usually from stress, almost always from stress. Giving her therapy was actually considered a valid medical diagnoses to deal with his cogitative strength training when his brain was first put back together. But today was different. Today it was-nah it was still stress. The woman was still thinking about grooming her kid, that was just mental, even for some of the stuff some noble families do with ’keeping their bloodline pure.’

’That woman was something else.’ He couldn’t help think. But with that said, his mind fog had lifted and the ache behind his eye socket was gone.

Turning to the bartender, he waved the man over, prompting the man to ask. "Another sir?" Hugo shook his head.

"Nah, I am good. But do you sell Milkshakes?"