Zach's POV

"You really had no idea that I existed? That you had a son?" I ask for the hundredth time in the last few hours. I hate this, I hate that I need validation from a man I hardly know… my father. I never expected to meet my father, and I will gladly admit that I was right for wishing that some unfortunate event took him off this planet. I hate him, I absolutely hate him.

"No, Zach, I had no idea. I swear that if I did then I never would have left you with her. I may not be the best human being, but I'm not the devil either. I know what she's like and I wish that I could turn back time and rescue you from her, I really do." I look at Townsend to see if he was lying. His pupils weren't dilated, his breathing didn't quicken and he didn't squirm around. Of course he is a trained liar, so none of that really means anything. For some insane reason though, I felt like he was being honest with me. Maybe it was the desperation in his voice.

"Why didn't you… just check?" I blush slightly at the stupidity of the question. I could see him trying not to laugh at the question. "I'm serious. If you are willing to do 'it' with a woman then you should be willing to make sure you didn't get her pregnant," I say defensively. He is now laughing openly at me and really starting to tick me off. I quickly turn and glare out the window so he wouldn't notice me getting upset. I'm seriously considering kicking him out of the vehicle when he finally stops laughing.

"Zach, I'm sorry I laughed. You obviously don't have a lot of relationship experience. Besides the fact that Catherine honey-potted me, you don't call a woman back if you're not interested in going out again. I think we can call that the first father-son lesson, so-"

"No, you don't get to do that," Zach interrupts. "You don't get to show up after eighteen years and pretend that this is a normal relationship between a dad and son. You may be my father, but you'll never be my dad. That position will always belong to Joe, the real reason I am the person that I am. He's the one who always made sure I had a safe place to sleep and a meal to eat. He is the one who saved me from my mother and from the Circle. Let's not try to fool anybody, especially ourselves that this is going to reshape our lives. You're just the man who had sex with my mother and I am just the end result of the night. You admitted it yourself that you were honey-potted. You never loved her, you were probably drunk, and it was a mistake. Just forget it! Let's not talk anymore, okay, can we do that? I think you owe me at least that." If he ever responded, I didn't hear him, I was already zoned out.

About an hour later Townsend started talking again. "I wouldn't have chosen to have a kid, you know. But I do, and I'm glad it's you. You're a good person and a very promising spy. And as much as I hate to say this, I'm glad you had Joe. I'm happy that you had someone other than Catherine taking care of you," he sighs. The middle part made my chest feel warm and like I had butterflies in my stomach.

"Well, I wouldn't have chosen to have a father who was absent for the first eighteen years of my life, but I do, and I guess I'm glad it's you. Because you are a great spy, not because you're a good person," I mumble the part, hoping he doesn't hear it, but of course he does.

"So you hate me. I guess if I was in your shoes, I would too. You do have plenty of reasons to. Its okay, I don't mind, I just hope it doesn't last forever. I want to make this up to you, and I'm maybe looking forward to a couple of grandchildren," Townsend expresses, speaking his mind completely.

"I'm not having children. I couldn't do that to a child"

"You couldn't do what? Leave before you met them?" Townsend guesses.

"No, go off on a mission and never return," I lie.

"It doesn't always happen, you know. And I don't think you'd ever abandon a child, not when you've been on the receiving end of it. I think you'd be a good dad as well, for whatever it's worth."

"I'm not going to call you 'dad', you know," I tell him flatly.

"That's okay, I don't expect you to. But if you change your mind, well, that's okay too," he finishes with a smirk. I return my sight to the scenery we're passing by and can't help give a small smirk as well. Maybe knowing my father won't be so bad.