AN: I've recently re-read the series and I'm trying to write more for it. At first, this was just Zach walking around for no reason and I didn't know what I was even trying to do. But the Abby decided to show up and I kept it like that because Abby's awesome. Also, I don't know why Onyx is mentioned in this, but oh well. And I also don't know where the title came from either…
This can probably fit in around the time between when they bring Catherine to Gallagher and Cammie gets out of the hospital.
Disclaimer: I am obviously not Ally Carter, I am just simply borrowing these characters for a while.
Midnight Conversation
Walking the halls of the Gallagher Academy had slowly become one of his favorite past times. Gallagher was familiar and welcoming – unlike Blackthorne. Blackthorne was a prison, but Gallagher had slowly become a home to him.
Late night strolls through the mansion's hallways always reminded him of his Gallagher Girl, and usually brought a smile to his face.
In that moment though, he didn't feel like smiling. Not with that woman he called his mother being held just under his feet in Sub-Level Two. He didn't feel comfortable being in the same building as her, even if she was deep in the subs behind a glass wall in a cell, where she belonged.
He had made the mistake of going to see his mother and instantly regretted it. The visit didn't change anything except bring memories to the front of his mind that he was trying to repress.
He took a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair, a nervous habit of his, which he sometimes hated.
What was he supposed to do?
He gripped the mahogany banister with his hands as he looked down at the foyer. His gaze fell on Onyx crossing the middle of the floor, without a care in the world.
In that moment, he wished he could trade places with that cat. To not have to deal with these pressing matters or to be able to act like they didn't exist. Of course, he couldn't do that. He was a spy after all, and forgetting things weren't easily accomplished. And denial would only make matters worse, but he didn't know how to deal with them. Which was just as bad.
"Contrary to popular belief, he really didn't know," a familiar female voice said, pulling him from his thoughts.
He heard the footsteps as his visitor walked up to lean against the banister beside him. He didn't have to turn to know who it was.
"I take it you haven't killed him yet?" he asked, ignoring her statement and repeating the same words he had said to Cammie.
"Not yet," Abby replied. "I came close, though."
Zach pulled his gaze from the cat who had decided to just lie in the middle of the foyer and turned to look at Abby. He figured if there was one person who had even the slightest clue what he was going through, maybe it was her. She did sound pretty pissed when they first heard the news at his mother's old home. They were both affected by this – though in different ways of course.
"How are you dealing with this?" he found himself asking.
"Its weird wrapping my head around all of it," she said, truthfully. "After I took my anger and disbelief out on Townsend, I actually let him talk and I actually listened to him."
Zach raised an eyebrow. Abby just letting Townsend talk didn't really seem too characteristic of her. For the amount of time he'd know her, she never just let people do anything. He'd learned that she was far too stubborn for that. And he'd learned that she was especially stubborn in anything that concerned Edward Townsend.
"Well, I was still yelling at him and then he called me Abby which caused me to stop mid-sentence," she continued. "He never calls me Abby. It's always Abigail because he knows it annoys me…So I guess I was just too shocked to say anything and just let him talk."
Zach looked down at his hand, which had started gripping the banister so tightly his knuckles were slowly turning white. He quickly loosened his grip. "You believe him?"
Abby took a breath. "Eventually I realized that he was telling the truth when he said he didn't know. I've known him for years. We've been partnered on countless missions; I've learned to know when he's lying and when he's telling the truth. Trust me when I say, he didn't know."
"He's a spy, isn't it his job to know?" he found himself snapping.
If Abby was affected by his change of tone, she didn't show it. "Edward Townsend is a lot of things and an asshole is one of them. But he's not so much of an asshole to just leave you with the likes of C—that woman."
So she feels the same way about my mother that I do.
"Part of me wants to believe that, but—"he trailed off, not sure how to finish that sentence.
"Just give it some time," Abby replied. "That's really all I can tell you."
Zach nodded. He knew that much was true. The only thing that would make this situation better was time and time alone. But that didn't necessarily mean that he had to like it.
"I just don't know why I didn't see it before," Abby said, quietly, but he still heard her.
Zach glanced over at her again to find her staring at him. "Didn't see what before?" he asked her, even know he was pretty sure he knew the answer.
"The similarities between the two of you," Abby stated, not showing surprise that he'd heard her earlier comment. "I should have seen it earlier; especially in Rome...You both have the same posture, the same grin – especially that signature smirk and the same earnest, serious nature. Not to mention, the both of you are stubborn in most cases."
Zach took a moment to process everything she'd said. In a way, he could see that they shared some similarities if he thought about it enough. But he normally would have just shrugged it away, he wouldn't have thought twice about it – but that was before he knew Townsend was his father.
"You see him in me?" he asked, a bit more hopeful than he intended to sound. "I guess that's a good thing, then…I'm not completely like my mother after all."
Abby nodded. "I do...and your mother is determined and cunning, I'll give her that. And you do have that…But for you, I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing."
"I always thought you didn't like me," Zach said, suddenly.
Abby took a breath. "At first, when we learned who the Circle was really after, I didn't like you or trust you…But you have proven yourself over the past year and I've grown to like you. You did risk your life to save my niece at Blackthorne."
"I would do anything for Cammie," he said, and that was true. He caused that explosion at Blackthorne just so Cammie had a chance to get away to safety. He'd do it again if he had to, he'd do anything to make sure she was alright. That was something he definitely didn't get from his mother.
"And that's another reason why I grew to like you," Abby said, stepping away from the banister. "And if you ever feel like you need to talk again, I'll be around."
Zach took her words into account. He actually did feel a bit better after talking to someone who actually knew Townsend more than he did. Maybe he could actually have a real conversation with him now.
It couldn't hurt anything.
He stepped away from the banister and turned in time to see Abby retreating down the hallway towards the Hall of History.
"Abby!" he called, as he quickly walked after her. "Do you…have you seen Townsend anywhere?"
"I think he's doing the same thing you did recently," Abby called over her shoulder before she disappeared around the corner.
Zach took another breath to brace himself before setting off down the opposite hallway that would lead him to the sub-level elevator.