"Y'know, it's nice to have my best mechanic back" I say to my son as he works on my bike. He looks back at me with those piercing green eyes. Just like his mother, I swear. Those eyes could cut diamonds and melt hearts. He's got fire and passion behind those emeralds. Always striving. I smile at him. He's everything dad wanted to be. He's everything dad wanted from me. He's what dad would have wanted to see out of him.

"Hell man, you know I ain't gonna turn down a chance for this. This team is a family business, and last time I checked, I am your son" He says to me in that cocky voice I came to remember him by. It used to drive me crazy some days, but these past few weeks...I've been so happy to see him. He nods, takes a sip of the beer sitting next to him and gets back to work on the bike.

Gone without a trace for almost six years. Not even so much as a full note. Just "Gone with the Band" and a scrawl of a signature. God damn-it I was mad. I mean, how else do you feel when your kid runs off with some crazy fools that are so hopped up on drugs, they're just beating a dead-horse. I gotta say, I thought this whole "American Revival" thing was fairly stupid, but hey, my kid wasn't doped up so I really couldn't complain.

The main thing is, he's back. He's back with me. The Hawks are a family again....Well....Save for dad. I think running off without a trace runs in our genes. He might've gone looking for mom again. He's been gone for a few weeks now. I don't know how long he'll be gone, but when he gets back, he'll be happy. We'll be one big family again, just like he wanted. Him, me and Emile. Three generations of beer-guzzling, ass-whooping good ol' boys. That's the way it was meant to be. My dad at one side, my son at the other. Hell, I'll have to get a picture taken. Just me, dad and him, holding beers in the garage.

"Dammit.... Who'd you have workin' on this thing? He had no fuckin' clue about what he was doin'" Emile says idly staring at the trial-bike engine. He wasn't wrong.

"Some kid who took a shop class and thought he could make money with the teams" I replied

"Ah. No wonder. Everything is just... Off" He tells me, taking an impact to the offending parts

"Well, I trust you to get it back to where it was...There's another beer in it for you" I tell him

"If it's free, it's for me" He laughs, and I join him. This is what I miss. Then it hits me. That feeling. The feeling of impending doom. Suddenly I know it. I don't know what it is but I know it. Suddenly everything looks.... Oddly strange. As if I've never seen the world before me. Shaking the worst from my head, I pat Emile on the back as he sets to work. What am I worried about? I'm fine. Well....Fine-ish. Close enough.

"You sure you don't want me to ride? You look like you've seen a fucking ghost, and you're pretty damn pasty to start with" My son asks me. He's not far off. I'm shaking, why, I don't know. I've done this millions of times. Nothing to it.

"Bullshit, I'm fine" I tell him back

He grins at me and nods

"Meter reading out good?" He asks of the glucose meter attached to my bike

"You know I never payed attention to that stuff, I'm as healthy I can be!" I say, then throwing in a few coughs to mess with him. He only shakes his head and whacks me on the back.

"Hey. Kick some ass for me, I didn't rebuild that motor for nothin'" He tells me.

I nod and then reach out for a hug. We embrace.

"I love you kid. Don't forget that" I tell him, not knowing why

"Oh hell old man. Don't you get soft on me now. Go out and show people who you are" He smiles at me.

Hearing him say "Love you too, dad" really firmed me up. I pulled on my helmet and pulled up to the starting gates. I was ready for faith. I believe in no god, but this was out of my hands now.

"And on the number sixty-four Remotachi, our home-town hero, the fastest ginger alive, Seamus Hawk!" The announcer blared

Right about now, my adrenaline would be giving me a hollow-feeling...But now....Now it was gone. Everything was gone. Out of the fuzz of the universe, I hardly heard the command to fire the engines. The beast between my legs awoke with a start, the vibrations all too familiar. All lights green. I had to focus the world together again a few times. I pulled on my helmet and dropped the visor. The dirt course awaited me.

Have I done well in my life? Have I done all I can? Was I a good son? Was I a good dad? Is it bad that I've outlived one of my children? Was I meant to outlive my wife? Am I the reason mom left? Have I ever earned dad's respect? What have I really done? Am I a good person? Am I all that I could have been?

Drop into first. Rev. Gate drop. Go.

I shoot out onto the course, ahead of my competitors. If I'm to go, I'm to go with flair. Yes. All is clear now. The universe seems to be opening up. I can see this with such clarity. First jump. Easy. Getting speed, holding position. Second jump. Whee. Doing good. Third jump. Ah... That's where it is... I can hear the engine block collapsing. These Remotachi bikes were reliable, but there were rumors of the engines having fatal breakdowns. Yes. Nothing that could've been prevented

And suddenly, I am no longer me. I am no longer Seamus Hawk. No. Seamus hawk is the man before me. His body flies into the air, ablaze with the fuel of his vehicle. Charred. Mutilated. Lifeless. His son, I can see, hopping down from his vantage point. He recklessly throws caution to the wind, running onto the track. He runs part of the way before he's swept off his feet by a rider. Emile gets back up and runs again before being blindsided by another competitor. He still gets back up and limps to the body, determined to save the lifeless.

Poor boy. Poor poor boy. He's on his own....and yet I feel he's just beginning. A journey. One he won't stop. One he can't stop. One he's destined to see-through. Yes. Emile Hawk is just beginning. He's going to do wonderful things. I am nothing, yet I still feel lingering pride. It dissipates quickly. And just as he blacks out with what was once his father, I slip away, ready to become what awaits me next.

Author's Note

It's 4:22 AM. This thought has been busting in my head all week and my insomnia is hitting me pretty bad tonight, so I pushed to make up for the update schedule, which has promptly gone bye-bye. These kinds of chapters may come erratically so, yeah. Enjoy I suppose.