God...this is by far the most depressing thing I've ever written, even more so than the one about Miles...it is a sequel to 'No use Crying Over Spilt Coffee' and 'Suspicions', but this one will have three or four chapters to it, and you don't need to really read the other two to get it, I think...

Anyway, enjoy.

Chapter 1: In Which You Can't Cry Yet.

"I'm coming with you."

"No, you aren't." He said it with such confidence, such authority, that Mia had to stop and rethink her line of attack. It didn't work.

"Yes, I am." She replied lamely.

Diego put down his mug and sighed. "Come on, Kitten. Weren't you supposed to be spending the day with Maya today? Before she goes back home?"

"I spent yesterday with her," Mia argued. "And I can spend time with her later as well. But I need to deal with this now."

"Wrong, Mia." Diego said sharply, resting his hands on her shoulders and staring directly into her face. "You don't have to deal with this. I do."

"No, you don't."

"Yes, I do. I'm not going to argue with you, Kitten, so…" Diego began, letting go and turning away.

"It was my case." Mia interrupted quietly. "My client, the one she killed – as good as killed, anyway."

Diego paused. "Yes. I know." He replied.

"Then why won't you let me…?"

"Mia. She hurt you." Diego was facing her again, a serious expression in his eyes. "She hurt you badly, and I'm not going to let her do it again."

"I can look after my-"

"I don't want her anywhere near you!" Diego continued, with the air of someone desperately trying to rally support for his argument. "Let me deal with her, please. It won't take long, and I'll come back, safe and sound, Kitten."

"No." Mia replied stubbornly. She held up her left hand, showing him the ring he'd given to her just two days previously. "Together, remember?"

"Mia…"

"Diego, I'm coming whether you like it or not."

"No, you aren't."

They glared into each other's faces for a minute, both trying to make the other understand their point of view. Finally, Mia sighed.

"So where does this leave us?" she asked.

"The word is 'impasse', Kitten." Diego informed her, picking up his mug again to take a drink. "Stalemate, deadlock, gridlock…"

"Alright, alright. I get it." Mia interrupted. "But we'll never get her like this again."

"Oh, I know."

"We need to meet her. Today."

"Yes. She needs to be dealt with today."

"You set up a meeting with her. Not me."

"That's right."

Mia frowned. "One of us has to back down."

"Yes."

Mia, ever logical, allowed her thoughts to continue to the inevitable conclusion. With some chagrin, she nodded once. "Alright. You win." She said, watching as Diego's face changed from smug to triumphant – an indistinct separation, but Mia noticed it nonetheless.

"As I knew I would, Kitten. Now, I'd better leave if I'm going to make it to the courthouse by half past, so…" He leaned forward to kiss her, but she turned her head to face the door to the main room of their apartment where Maya was still asleep on the sofa – having been up far too late last night - , leaving him to catch her cheek instead.

"Maya will be fine for a few hours by herself, won't she?" Mia continued.

Diego blinked. "What? You just said…"

"Yes, yes, I know. But what I meant was 'you win. I'll compromise'"

Diego raised an eyebrow, obviously preventing himself from smirking with great difficulty. "Compromise?"

"Cooperate, bargain, negotiate. A little give and take" Mia clarified, not bothering to hide her own grin. "Are you prepared to listen?"

"Go ahead, Kitten." Diego replied.

"I want to come to the courthouse with you." Mia said. Diego opened his mouth to protest, but Mia held up her hand to stop him. "I won't be anywhere near Dahlia Hawthorne, I swear. I'll stay out of the reading room if it makes you feel any better. I'm just not letting you go alone."

A scribbled note to Maya later, the two were in Diego's car. Uncharacteristically, Diego wasn't being irritating and Mia wasn't arguing with him over something stupid. Both could tell that the outcome of what happened today would affect the rest of their lives.

Positively, Mia reminded herself sharply. This was a good thing, and it would end well. Dahlia Hawthorne would be gone, and everything would be fine.

"Hey, Kitten? Are you okay?"

"No."

Diego sighed. "I knew I should have made you stay at home. If this is too much for you…"

"Too much for me?" Mia interrupted. "Don't be ridiculous. I'm not going to be in any danger. It's you I'm worried about. You know what she did to Mr Fawles, and to Valerie…Diego, her own sister. What makes you think-"

"Mia, Mia, stop." Diego said firmly as he pulled up next to the court building. "We've been through this."

"I know we have, but…"

"Look, Kitten," Diego pulled on the brakes then reached over to take her face in his hands, forcing her to look at him. "I promise you. I won't die due to someone like Dahlia Hawthorne. It'll be a caffeine overdose that finishes me, if anything. Isn't that what you keep telling me?"

Mia let out a small laugh, although she couldn't really feel any humour whatsoever in the situation.

"Mia, is that tears I see?" Diego's voice was mock-disapproving as he let go of her face and folded his arms across his chest.

"No." Mia replied, wiping at her eyes.

"It'd better not be. You know what I always say, Kitten; a lawyer is some one who can't cry-"

"Oh shut up." Mia couldn't help but laugh again as she got out of the car.

Mia stayed out of the reading room, as promised, but that didn't mean she wasn't watching, through the small window into the room. Dahlia was already there when they arrived, simpering sweet, looking exactly as she had back then. The fact that she looked completely comfortable in this situation was enough to make Mia feel sick.

She'd never believed that people could truly be evil. Not until about six months ago.

Diego sat across from her, talking away, not that Mia could hear a word that he said. Dahlia was responding in what seems to be monosyllables – apparently, she was giving them nothing to work with. The expression on Diego's face made this much clear.

Mia should have foreseen this. How could she have thought it would be easy? That witch wasn't just malevolent, she was intelligent. This would be a battle. And all Mia could do was stand on the sidelines. She was beginning to regret her promise.

A boy with spiky hair was staring wistfully at the table the two sat at. Once or twice, he approached the two. Diego answered whatever his questions were, although from where Mia was standing it looked like Diego wasn't who the boy was speaking to. Whoever he was, Dahlia completely ignored him apart from a hint of irritation on her sickeningly sweet features. She wondered if this boy somehow fitted in to this story, and, if so, how.

Suddenly, Diego stood up, heading towards the reading room door. Mia hastily stepped back, but she wasn't quick enough. Diego opened the door and grinned at her. "Were you spying on me, Kitten?" he asked.

"No." Mia lied virtuously. "But what are you doing? You've not cracked already, have you?"

Diego laughed. "Oh, please, Mia. Have some faith in me. I'm simply coming to get a coffee."

Mia stared at him for a full three seconds before she could answer. "A…coffee? What's wrong with you?! You've had sixteen this morning! Isn't this more important than getting another one?!"

"Stop shouting, Kitten." Diego said calmly. "I'm getting one for the foul little kitten in there too, of course."

"You're buying her coffee?!"

"It was your idea." Diego said, heading over to the small tea shop at the other side of the hallway.

"It was not. Like I would buy anything for her!" Mia replied, trying to keep her voice level.

"We made a deal. Some more give and take" Diego said, paying for two coffees-to-go and flashing a grin at her. "I buy her a drink, she gives me information."

"It was that easy?" Mia asked sceptically.

Diego shrugged, picking up the polystyrene cups and headed back across to the reading room. "It was her idea." He replied, much to Mia's surprise. "Besides…" he paused as Mia opened the door for him. "Coffee is the only thing anywhere near as dark and bitter as she is."

"Wait, Diego, one more thing." Mia said quickly as she glanced around the reading room again. "What's with the kid?"

"Kid? Oh, right, you mean Spikes over there." Diego snorted. "I don't know. I think he's got his eye on our little demoness. Keeps coming over to ask about books. He's got a really weird name, too…"

"Weird how?" Mia asked, knowing full well she was simply stalling.

"Phoenix or something. Kid's parents should be shot." Diego laughed. "Now are you going to let me go back in there or are you going to think up some new ways to postpone it?"

Mia rolled her eyes, in a failed attempt to make it seem like he was being ridiculous. The door swung shut behind him and she immediately took her position by the window again.

It was so infuriating not to know what they were saying. Dahlia sipped at the coffee, seemingly answering all the questions she was being asked now. Was it possible that it had been so simple?

The noise of someone shouting upstairs distracted Mia, and she looked away for just a second reflexively. It was obviously just some lawyer with an overexcited client. Stupid of her to lose concentration like this.

Mia looked back at the window to see Diego staring right back at her. He was grinning, obviously relaxed. She couldn't help but grin back, but wished he'd look back at Dahlia. Who knew what that woman could do when she wasn't being watched?

As if hearing Mia's thoughts, Diego looked back and reached for his coffee cup. The sound of footsteps on the stairs caused Mia to turn away again, and this time she was glad she did.

"Maya! What ware you doing here?" she demanded.

Maya shrugged, grinning. "I was lonely." She replied.

"Maya, you need to go-" Mia cut off suddenly as the door to the reading room opened. Instinctively, Mia grabbed her little sister's wrist and pulled her off behind the partition between here and the downstairs bathrooms. For no logical reason, Mia was suddenly desperate not to be seen.

"Sis, what…?" Maya started, but Mia hushed her, peeking around the divider. There was the boy from earlier – the one named after a bird, something to do with Arizona – and he was laughing. Behind him followed…

Mia felt a cold chill shudder through her. She knew; almost instantly, she knew what was happening. That there was nothing she could do.

The boy and the devil headed to the stairs, her simpering, him laughing.

"Maya," Mia said urgently, whirling her sister around until they were face to face. "Maya, listen to me. You need to get upstairs, okay? Get upstairs and wait for me."

Mia's sudden urgency had scared the thirteen year old. "Sis, what's going on?" she demanded, staring with terrified eyes.

"Maya, just…!"

A sound interrupted what she was saying. A terrible, heart wrenching sound, a sound neither of the Fey sisters would ever forget. A sound which made Mia suddenly feel dizzy and weak, because it was too late.

A man's scream.

"Maya, get out of here!" she demanded, before sprinting past the separator and into the reading room. There were more screams, higher-pitched and terrified now. One woman had her cellphone out and was shrieking that they needed an ambulance now, another appeared to have fainted clean away.

Diego was slumped over his table, coughing. His head was resting in a mixture of spilled coffee and blood. He coughed again, blood flecking out of his mouth, joining the pool surrounding him, the red mixing with the brown of the coffee, swirling them together until it was hard to tell the difference.

It wasn't just the horrific jumble on the table that was spinning. The whole room was, turning and twisting and dilating and shrinking.

Mia felt like she was going to vomit. She staggered towards the table, ignoring the strong flight impulse filling her, ignoring the bile rising in her throat…

"K...Kitten…? Is…that you?" Diego was speaking, struggling to raise his head, turning sideways to see her. "Wh…why…are…you still…here?"

With every pause, he coughed again, and with every cough, more blood joined the puddle on the table. "What do you mean?" Mia demanded, her voice high pitched with fear and queasiness. "What did she do? How…what…?"

It wasn't like Mia was stupid. She knew the answers to her own questions. Dahlia Hawthorne had done it again. Again. Mia had let her get away with it again.

"Hey…Kitten…" Diego's voice was quieter now. He was almost done, Mia realised, and there was nothing she could do. He was coughing between each word, and each time it was more of a struggle. "Don't…cry. You…can't…cry…yet…"

"You promised." Mia whispered quietly.

And then his eyes closed and Mia was alone.

Reviews are loved. Next chapter up soon.