A/N: Some of the phone calls between Ash and Stacie during their time apart. Lots of references to events from seasons 5-8.


Part Three.

2009.

Ash knew June was having one of her more lucid days when she fixed him with an unnervingly knowing look as soon as he entered her room.

"If you're gonna lecture me, please don't," he said, dropping heavily into the chair by the side of her bed.

"Oi," she protested, peering at him over the top of her neck brace. "Who's the one with the brain damage?"

Her tone drew a smile to his face, despite everything. "You are," he humoured her.

"Exactly. So don't tell me what to do."

He chuckled, then let out a sigh. "All right, then. Hit me with it."

"You sent her away, didn't you?"

Ash sighed again, a softer, less theatrical sigh. "It's for the best."

"Ash Morgan," June scolded him. "How long ago was it that I took one look at you and said you were in love with that girl?"

He smiled at her frankness, one of the things he'd always liked most about her.

"It was your second visit here," she answered for him. "Two weeks after the accident."

"Six years ago," he added.

"Right. I may not remember what I did yesterday, but I do remember that. And how long since I told you she had feelings for you?"

"About four years ago?" he said nonchalantly, remembering the conversation well. It had taken place after Stacie had joined him on a visit. "You do remember that I didn't believe you?"

June stared at him from her position of authority, propped up against her pillows. "Ah, details. I knew you would eventually, when Stacie persuaded you. Ever since then, I've seen you smile more than you have in years," she told him, an edge of wistfulness in her voice. "It was nice to see. I wanted that for you after everything you've done for me."

"June…"

"Let me finish. I want to get this out before I get hazy again. It's important."

Chastened, he nodded, letting her continue.

"Now…you're smiling still, but…it's not the same. You sent her away because you're scared."

Ash shifted in his seat, finding June's forthrightness less endearing when it put him under the spotlight.

"It's not that," he argued. "You and I…we got lucky. Yes, our marriage didn't work out, but our friendship did. Look at the others. Albert lost the love of his life years ago. Mickey and Rachel…you know how that ended. Stacie and Jake, don't even get me started."

"You're not like Jake," June stated. "You'd never treat her how that little toe-rag did."

"No, of course not, but that's not the point."

"So what is the point, Ash? What are you trying to prove?"

He hadn't intended to be honest. Not because of the habits of his profession, but because it made him feel exposed. Under her clear gaze, however, the truth spilled out.

"I need to know she means it," he said quickly, feeling guilty at doubting Stacie when the obstacles were probably of his own making. "You said it yourself, six years. Six years, June, and I've not been able to get her out of my head."

"You're feeling vulnerable," June said, hitting the nail on the head as usual. "That's normal, Ash. Especially in our line of work. Stacie wouldn't mess with you."

"Not on purpose, no. But what if she thinks she feels more than she really does?"

"I see," she mused, sounding as if she really did. "Time apart will prove it's real."

"Exactly."

A little smile graced her face. "Which would be scarier? If she really loves you or if she doesn't?"

Ash exhaled, sitting straighter in his seat. "Blimey, don't sugar coat it, will you?"

June grinned. "I don't have time for that. Just answer the question."

"I don't know," he replied truthfully. "It's felt like a one-sided thing for so long…"

"It's not," she declared with confidence. "She'll be back, Ash. I promise you."

He smiled at her, although he knew she'd see through it. "We'll see, eh?"

"We'll see that I'm right."

Ash felt his smile grow a touch more genuine. He clasped her hand in both of his and planted a kiss on the back of it. "Well, you've been right about a lot of things. Who am I to doubt you?"

"Good. Now go and call her."

He shook his head at once. "No. She only left last week. If we're going to have time apart, we need to…y'know…have time apart."

"Not too much, though," June said, a note of warning beneath her words. "I don't have to spout a cautionary tale about wasting time, do I?"

They both knew that, for him, she was already a cautionary tale. She was the reason why he rarely chanced the Flop anymore, a potential glimpse into his future if he damaged his fractured skull further. He knew her intention hadn't been to raise that melancholy topic, though.

He chuckled, releasing her hand. "Not today."


2009.

"Hello?" Stacie's voice was hesitant, cautious.

Maybe June was wrong and he shouldn't be calling. Maybe it went against the point of their separation, but he'd never really been one for rules. And it had been a bloody long three months. "Hello, it's me."

"Ash!" Her tone changed immediately to one of brightness and warmth, and he smiled widely. God, he'd missed her.

"How are you, darling?"

"Still prison-free," she replied lightly. "You?"

"Not bad," he answered casually, gazing out of his bedroom window at London spread out beneath his feet. "I'm in the penthouse of a five-star hotel."

"Oh, very nice. I'm hiding in the back seat of a car. Can't let the mark see me yet."

He chuckled. "Danny working his magic?"

"Actually he's let Billy take the lead on this one."

"How's that working out?"

"Really well. He's learned a lot. What are you working on?"

Ash smiled to hear her. It was nice, just chatting. He'd missed it. "Well, actually I'm working with Mickey."

Stacie's voice lit up. "He's back? He never said! Honestly, the man could call once in a while, we're supposed to be friends."

"Want me to remind him?"

"No," she said, surprising him. "I'd rather just talk to you for now. Besides, if he doesn't think to call me of his own volition, he obviously doesn't want to talk."

There was only amusement in her voice, no bitterness. He was glad to hear it. She and Mickey were close. If they'd been teenagers, he'd be tempted to call them best friends. Best friends could go years between speaking to each other and just pick up where they left off.

"Well, to be fair he is a bit…distracted," Ash said.

"Tough mark?"

"New team."

"Oh." She sounded intrigued. "Girl?"

He laughed. She always jumped to the right conclusion. "How did you guess?"

"Don't tell me Mickey's met his match!"

"You know what? I think he might 'ave."


2010.

"You'll never guess who we just helped out."

Stacie grinned, tucking her hair behind her ear with her free hand. "Who?"

"Liability Finch."

"No! Is he still working?"

"Unfortunately. Bellowed out my nickname across a busy airport."

She smothered a laugh, trying to picture his disgruntled expression. "Oh dear. Did he get himself into a situation?"

"You could say that, yeah," Ash said with a sigh. "It's sorted now, though. How's your crew doing?"

"Well, Danny decided to recruit some new people after we lost our fixer to a family crisis. The new one's pretty good. Not the best I've ever seen, but good."

"And do they have a name, this not-quite-the-best fixer?"

She grinned, wishing she could see his face. "They do, and you'll never guess what it is."

"What?"

"Ashley."

"You're joking." The smile was evident in his voice. "So he's well and truly replaced me. Flamin' cheek."

"Well, this Ashley is a girl, so I wouldn't worry too much."

"Of course she's a girl," Ash said wearily, sounding thoroughly unsurprised. "And the other one?"

"Also a girl," Stacy reported, prompting a chuckle. "Danny hired them in the hope that there'd be some hooking up."

"And was there?"

"There was. They hooked up with each other."

Ash laughed, and she smiled to hear it. "Poor Danny, never quite goes as he 'opes, does it?"

"No, but he'll bounce back. He's already got a date with our hotel receptionist." They both laughed again, and Stacie changed the subject. "Speaking of hooking up, how are Mickey and Emma?"

"Well, they established some ground rules pretty early on, deciding they weren't going to get involved while they were working together."

"Sounds familiar," Stacie couldn't help commenting.

"Yeah, well, they've spent most of the time since then regretting it."

She smiled to herself, even as she felt a pang of sympathy for Mickey. She knew exactly how he felt, after all. "What does she look like? I can't believe I've never thought to ask."

Ash was smiling again, she could hear it in his voice. "Funny you should mention it. We just pulled off a con selling a fake Kylie Minogue gig. Ems played a blinder."

Stacie laughed, shaking her head. "Mickey did always have a thing for Kylie. I hope that's not the only reason he likes her."

"Nah, it's not. They're well-suited, both sharp as tacks. And she doesn't put up with any of his crap."

"That's encouraging. He needs that."

"Yeah, don't he just? Now if only Danny could find the same."

She grinned, wondering if such a woman existed. "I'd pay good money to see that."


2010.

"Is this a bad time?"

"No, no," he assured her, and she could tell he was in the middle of developing something. No doubt some smart gadget or other. "Just figuring out how to make an electromagnet capable of holding a young woman's weight."

"Oh, is that all?"

"Yeah. You?"

"Danny's out collecting five-hundred thousand dollars from the mark as we speak," she reported, kicking off her shoes and falling back on her bed.

"Very nice. Bugger."

She heard something clatter.

"You okay?"

"Yep, just dropped me screwdriver."

"I should leave you to it," she said, although she was hesitant to hang up. They didn't speak all that often, and she missed him.

"No, no, don't go. I'm good. I don't wanna think too 'ard about what I'm trying to achieve anyway."

Something in his voice made her frown. "Why, what's happened?"

"Oh nothing. Just some minor trouble from MI-6, that's all."

Stacie sat upright in alarm. "MI-6? Tell me you're joking."

"Wish I was. Don't worry, though. Mickey's got a plan."

She spoke the last four words along with him, and they both laughed. Stacie picked at a loose thread on her trousers, suddenly desperately homesick.

"I miss you," she said.

"Miss you too, darling," he replied at once, and she smiled. She knew the endearment was casual. He'd called her that for years. But that didn't mean it didn't warm her heart to hear it.

"This was your idea," she reminded him.

"I know."

Annoyingly, he didn't elaborate, and she couldn't tell from voice alone whether he was regretting it or not. Until she picked up clearer signs, she wasn't returning to London. She needed to be sure before she put her heart before him again.

"I'll let you get back to work," she spoke up. "You need to focus if you've got MI-6 on your tail. Just…message me when you're all clear, okay?"

"Yeah, course."


2011.

"What's the matter? You don't sound…quite yourself, somehow."

Ash sighed, leaning against the window as he peered out over London's night lights. His favourite place to be to talk to Stacie.

"I'm fine," he assured her. It was true and it wasn't.

"Maybe, but there's definitely something bothering you."

He smiled. She sounded so sure, and of course she was right.

"I'm worried about Albert," he confessed. "He's…slowing down. He'd hate it if he 'eard me say that, but…I see it."

"Well, he is…actually, I'm not sure how old he is," Stacie admitted, and he chuckled. "But anyway, he's not getting any younger. Maybe he's just being sensible."

"Maybe, but I don't just mean physically. His heart's not in the job in the way it used to be. I've felt that for a while, but I only got the story out of him the other day."

"What story?"

"A few weeks ago his daughter came to see him."

"Albie has a daughter?" Stacie said incredulously. "He never said."

"He didn't know," Ash told her, watching a flickering blue police light chase some poor sod along a road below. "She turned up out of the blue with her mother, wanting to meet him. They got along really well, he took her to one of the casinos and showed her a slice of our world. He was supposed to see her before she got a flight back to the states, only we were all playing poker at Eddie's and he lost track of the time. He missed seeing her, and she never left contact details. He blames himself for being the disappointment her mother warned her he would be."

"Poor Albie, that's awful. Surely we can track her down. I know you could do it, Ash. You could find anyone."

He managed a little smile at her praise. "Maybe, but I don't know if he'd want me to. I tracked someone down for him before and I never really knew if he was grateful. Could be he thinks she's better off without him."

"Yeah, but he'd be wrong. I think we should do it," she declared, taking on the determined tone of voice that he was so familiar with. "See if you can track her. I'm on the right side of the pond, I can go and see her."

"Stace, I don't know. It's really hit him 'ard, although he's going through the motions like a pro."

"We should at least give him the choice."

He sighed, debating the matter. "Maybe."

Truth be told, it wasn't just Albert who was going through the motions. Mickey seemed…tired. Ash wouldn't be surprised if he called for a break soon. And as for Ash himself…somehow he hadn't expected to feel Stacie's absence quite so much. The crew he was in was great. He loved them all like family, and Sean and Emma had fitted into the group perfectly. He liked working with them all, and was, on the surface, happy. But despite all that, nothing had felt quite right since Stacie had left. He missed Danny and Billy too, of course, but Stacie was something else. Stacie had always been something else.

Are you coming home yet? he wanted to ask, but what he said was, "I'll let you know if I find anything."

"Okay."

Coward.


2012.

Stacie glanced at her watch, wondering when the best time to call would be. For the best part of three years, they'd managed several precious conversations that had made staying apart feel somewhat bearable. It wasn't that she didn't like working in Danny's crew. He'd been distracted lately with Cheryl, a cocktail waitress he'd seemingly fallen head over heels for, but he'd shaped up to be a fine leader, and Billy, Ashley and Sarah were all brilliant grifters. They'd built something great, it couldn't be denied. Yet her heart ached for London.

"Why don't you go back?"

She blinked out of her deep thoughts, focusing on Billy, who had appeared on the sofa nearby with a bowl of cereal.

"What?"

"You miss him, yeah?" he clarified. "Why don't you go back? It's been, like, three years. You must have figured out what you needed to figure out by now."

Stacie quirked a tiny smile, proud of how perceptive he'd become. He'd known her secret a long time, and had kept it faithfully with no questions asked.

"I will," she told him. "It's almost time. I just…I need to be sure of something first."

"I fink you're afraid," he stated matter-of-factly, mouth full. "Pretty sure you don't need to be."

"Thanks, Billy. I hope you're right."

"Why don't you call him and find out?" he shot her a cheeky grin.

She smiled at his infectious expression, getting to her feet. "You know what? I think I will."

He reached for the TV remote, waving her away, and she retreated to her bedroom. Door firmly closed on the rest of the suite, she pressed her phone to her ear and listened to the familiar English dial tone.

"Hello," he answered warmly.

An immediate grin spread across her face. "Hi. How are things?"

"It's, uh, been interesting, yeah."

"Interesting?" she repeated. "How so?"

He gave her a rundown of their latest cons, and she quickly latched on to the one that sounded the craziest: the one that had, at a crucial point, involved him being hung upside-down from a warehouse ceiling until Emma and Sean had arrived to rescue him.

"Wait, you did what?" Stacie asked, needing further clarification as he wrapped up the story.

"Ended up shouting at 'em," Ash said modestly.

"You shouted at two gangs of mobsters? Do you have a death wish?"

"Oh, it was impressive, Stace. You should have heard my speech. It was my finest piece of waffle."

She sat down on her bed, shaking her head incredulously. "You're bloody brilliant, Ash Morgan. Getting Mickey back in one piece when you didn't even have the real painting. Amazing."

"Yeah, well, I didn't 'ave much choice, did I? Wish you could've seen it, though. Ems said it was a good speech."

Stacie was biased, but she'd always thought he could pull a good speech out of thin air. "I have no doubts. Was she okay? It can't have been easy, knowing Mickey was in danger like that."

"She was fine, but that's why I kept her with me. She's smart back-up, and I didn't want her off on her own, worrying about Mickey."

She smiled. "You're a softie."

"Don't tell anyone," he said, and she laughed.

"Promise. So what else is new?"

He was quiet for a moment, probably thinking. "I, uh, was thinking of going on a diet."

Somehow, that hadn't been what she was expecting to hear. "Oh. What's brought that on?"

"Well, for this con we're in the middle of…"

"Getting back at the people that made Carol ill," she filled in, recalling his brief update.

"Right, well for that I'm part of the convincer. The Devilles have to see me lose a lot of weight in a short amount of time, so I've been wearing these fat suits. And, uh…well…Emma may have commented on how…well, how convincing it was. On me."

Stacie shook her head fondly. "Ash, you're not a heavy man," she said reassuringly.

"I'm carrying a little more weight than I used to," he told her. "I feel…I dunno. Older, I suppose. Saggier."

"Saggier? Ash…I don't believe you've changed that much since I last saw you, and even if you had, it wouldn't change who you are. I happen to be very fond of who you are. In case I hadn't made myself clear."

"Yeah, but…"

"No buts. If going on a diet would make you feel better in yourself, then go for it. Don't do it because you think I won't want you." She came to a halt, gathering her courage and determination. "I'm coming back soon," she announced. "I don't know when exactly. When I feel brave enough, I suppose. But when I do – when you see me again – know that I'm coming back for you." He was silent on the other end of the line, and she found herself faltering. "So, uh, if you could tell me in advance if you plan to reject me again, that would be…handy."

"I never rejected you, Stace," he assured her. "I just…figured we had to be sure."

"And…are you sure now?"

The question had to be asked, even if she was strangely afraid of the answer.

"Ask me when you get 'ere," he said after a moment, voice warm, and she closed her eyes in gratitude.

"I will."