The journey from Glory to Calexico took a week, with mid-morning starts and mid-afternoon finishes. Blaine had already secured his new employment prior to leaving Glory, and all he had to worry about was transporting himself and his young son across the United States. He'd filed with the courts to inform them of the move, and they informed him, two days before leaving, that he was clear to take his son out of Georgia, since there was no court order barring him from doing so. Rosa had never met her now three-year-old grandson, meaning she had no legal right to try and stop the move, and Blaine was very careful to lay a few false trails for his son's grandmother, to ensure she was thrown way off the scent. She would eventually work out where he'd moved, but since Blaine had told only those people he knew he could trust where he was going, he was confident it would take her quite some time before she worked out where he'd gone. By then, he'd have a few things in place to further ensure Rosa never got her hands on her grandson until he was old enough to tell her to piss off himself.
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The journey took Blaine and Blaze through some spectacular scenery, and every afternoon, Blaine would take his camera to the nearest drugstore to get the photos developed. Since he'd taken hundreds of photos during each rest stop, there were a few duds mixed in. He tossed out the duds and put the good photos away, his plan to make a scrapbook for Blaze to look at when he was older. Once the photos had been sorted, Blaine then took himself and his son out to the pool so they could relax for a little while before dinner. Blaze was a very good swimmer, and he was already able to hold his breath for longer than his father, who was no slouch himself. But Blaine dind't mind; he could think of no better way to spend the afternoon than to watch his son swim, dive and play, and he admitted, as he sat on the deck, his feet dangling in the water, that this was one way to make the long cross-country trip much more bearable.
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Blaze wasn't stupid. Despite being only three, he knew something was up. He'd always known, ever since he could remember, that he was different to other kids his age, and as he swam and dived in the pool each afternoon, his mind ticked over a mile a minute, processing all the things that had been going on. He knew his father really wasn't his father, but was calling himself that to keep him safe. Blaze didn't mind; he liked the security, and he was glad his father was his father, else the two of them would be in a lot more trouble. 155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLy6RQhYSxJ
Blaze also knew, as his powerful little legs propelled him deep underwater, his strong little arms pulling him along as he dived down almost to the bottom, that there was going to be trouble later on. Just what that trouble was he had no idea, but he knew it had something to do with him and his father's genetic makeup. Blaze knew, as his father did not, that their DNA was different to anyone else's, and that one day, his DNA would be needed for something important. Again, Blaze didn't know, but as he swam for the surface, the late afternoon sunlight greeting him as his head popped above water, he knew that the fate of the world rested on his shoulders, or on the shoulders of his progency, should that time ever come.
But for now, he could relax and be a little boy, and when his father met his eyes, he smiled. "Okay, Daddy?" he asked.
Blaine smiled back, though his heart ached inside for the innocence in his son's big grin. One day, that innocence would be tested. "I'm okay," he assured Blaze, having learned very early on never to use baby talk. Blaze already had a good vocabulary, and anyone who tried to talk baby talk to him got given a scathing glare, followed by a stern little lecture about how he wasn't a baby, and an equally stern request for the grown-ups to talk to him a little more intelligently. "I just have a lot of things on my mind, that's all," he added.
"Well, don't," Blaze advised very seriously. "You might squash your brain if you think too hard." With that sage bit of wisdom dispensed, and with his father's laughter ringing in his ears, Blaze took a deep breath and went underwater again. 155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMldPjQz9Xo
Sometimes, when the world was a little bit too crazy, it was fun to pretend to be a merman.
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