Author's Note: So, this is my post ep for Requiem. It's one of my favourite episodes and was one of the first ones I ever watched. I thought the dynamic between Will and Magnus was very interesting and I have to see, a psychotic Magnus is a very terrifying thing to see. Anyway, I watched Requiem and then went on to Warriors, which is the one that follows on. In Requiem, Magnus expresses a concern over Ashley's reaction to the news about John being her father but in Warriors, they seem fine. So I figured there needed to be a missing scene to smooth that over. So please review and tell me what you think. Also, for any of you who watch Doctor Who, I've put up a Sanctuary/Doctor Who crossover fic. So please check that out!

Elegy

Magnus was sitting at her desk, leaning back and staring vacantly into space when Ashley burst in without knocking. Strands of hair were falling out of her ponytail and she looked worried, almost angry.

"What the hell happened?" She demanded. "Will said you guys had a traumatic time on the sub. What does that mean!"

Magnus was taken aback for a moment, surprised that Ashley was directly talking to her again. Since they'd arrived back from Rome, Ashley had spoken as little to her as was physically possible. She knew it wasn't meant to be malicious; it was just Ashley's way of dealing with something huge. Finding out her father was Jack the Ripper and that her mother had been hiding that from her since she was born definitely qualified. Although Magnus stood by her decision, she still felt guilty about how it had all turned out.

"Mom, tell me." Ashley sounded desperate as she sat down across the desk from Magnus, leaning forward to rest her elbows on the surface. "Please. What happened?"

Magnus closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She was surprised how hard it was to tell her daughter that she'd died. "It was a parasite. It caused the merfolk to tear each other apart. There were tiny perforations in my gloves when I did the autopsy so I was infected. I suffered severe pain and extra cranial bleeding whenever we tried to rise. Long story short, Will killed me to eradicate the parasite and then resuscitated me."

Ashley's eyes were wide and pained.

"I'm fine, Ashley. Thanks to Will."

Ashley was clearly struggling. "There must've been another way. He didn't have to kill you."

"Yes, he did." Magnus was resigned to the fact. "I... I tried to kill him... while I was infected. I looked him in the face and tried to shoot him..." She shook her head and rested her head in her hands. "Thank God he'd taken out the clip."

Ashley remained silent, watching her mother carefully.

"I told him. I ordered him to kill me, before it took hold." Magnus was thoughtful, choosing not to tell her daughter the finer details of her death. Ashley didn't need to know that and she, herself, did not feel the need to revisit that. All she could remember was a severe pain in her chest and then similar searing pain, presumably, where Will had used the defibrillator. Then there was a light-headedness that didn't leave for several hours. It made her shudder.

"I'm sorry, Mom." Ashley stood up again and circled the desk.

Magnus stood up to meet her and was wrapped up in her daughter's arms. She was surprised by how relieved she felt. There had been more than one moment on the submarine where she'd been convinced that she'd never see her daughter again. And that hurt so much more than the idea of dying. It may have been an age-old cliché but it was true.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you about your father," she whispered in Ashley's shoulder.

Ashley herself had her face buried in her mother's hair. She was so pleased to see her again, so afraid by the possibility of not being able to make things right with her mother.

"I know." She murmured. "I know you're sorry."

Magnus gripped Ashley tighter. The grief of the day was coming back to her and all she wanted was to hold on to Ashley forever. "Are we okay?" She wanted everything to go back to normal. She didn't want Ashley to be angry with her anymore. But she knew you couldn't always get what you wanted.

"No," Ashley sighed. "But we will be." She pressed a kiss to her mother's temple and squeezed her tighter. Just because she had been and still was angry and hurting, it didn't mean that she didn't love her Mom more than she could possibly articulate. And that was why she was there at that moment, holding her and listening to the pain of her day.