A/N: It's alive~!
Delphine opens her eyes when the sunlight finally reaches the windows, signaling another sundown.
Blinking rapidly to fight off the desire to sleep, she sits up slightly when she's greeted with the sight of Cosima still snuggled into her side and resting blissfully this time. Fighting a smile she leans forward and lightly bumps her nose against Cosima's cheek, using the brunette's unconscious state to show an inch of affection she wouldn't dare otherwise before suddenly becoming aware of Marion's presence from somewhere within the house; lingering, quiet, calm and steady. Delphine moves to rest her head on Cosima's chest, forgoing her own instincts and ability to hear her from afar over actually hearing and feeling the brunette's heartbeat against her ear.
Steady and calm, just as it should be.
Delphine allows herself a smile as she pulls her head back and reaches out to Cosima, lightly twirling a single dreadlock around one of her fingers.
Delphine's eyes trail down to her hand on the small of the brunette's waist, marveling at how easy Cosima takes in and lets out each breath in her sleep, completely relaxed and at peace with her surroundings, a stark contrast when compared to when she was at DYAD.
She is more beautiful than I anticipated..
Delphine traces her thumb over a small expanse of pale flesh that isn't sticky with their blood. Glancing up when she's rewarded with a small gasp, Delphine meets Cosima's fluttering eyes as the brunette pulls herself back to waking.
"Bonsoir" Delphine hums lightly as the brunette rubs the sleep out of her eyes, catching Delphine slightly off-guard by nestling closer without the nickel fogging her decision making.
"Ten more minutes.."
Delphine chuckles, moving to trace small patterns on the small of Cosima's waist and earning a shiver in the process, "I didn't know you were such a-"
"-cuddle monster." Cosima mumbles quickly as she settles back into her place before adding, "I'm sleepy as hell, too."
This is different then with Marion or Scott.. Delphine thinks as she separates the distance between them before giving up and tugging on a pouty bottom lip, sucking slightly. She moans the exact second Cosima does, hand lightly trailing up Cosima's frame before reaching her cheek, guiding the brunette's lips to meet her will. .. She is all consuming. She can feel everything, from the linen sheets against Cosima's back, the still present wariness and anxiety lingering in Cosima's gut (and slowly melting away) to the jumbled, tangled feelings of confusion racing throughout Cosima's body. Delphine can't help but wonder if Cosima can feel the adoration beginning to settle in her chest almost without her will or the feeling of her heart racing to match Cosima's at a human pace for the first time in almost two hundred years, spurred into beating at a more acceptable pace for Cosima's own wellbeing and comfort.
And almost no nickel is left.
This is way to soon for the two of them.
"Delphine?"
"Quoi?" Startling herself into waking up, Delphine looks up at Cosima's pale and bloodied frame as the clone smiles shyly down at her.
"Can I, like.. take a shower? This blood is super sticky."
"Oh.. Of course," Getting up, Delphine pulls the sheet that follows her away from her body and heads towards the stairs, "follow me."
Cosima nods and gets up, quickly following after her on unsteady legs.
"Paul Dierden." Chuckling in relief, Siobhan ends up laughing as she walks over to him and wraps an arm around his shoulders, "I shoulda' known you'd show up. Bloody hell, I haven't seen your arse since '72!"
"Good to see you, too, Daywalker."
Pulling away, Siobhan folds her arms and moves straight to business, "Why are you here?"
"I have news about your girls and.. this," Paul added, faltering as he holds up a familiar, worn-out black briefcase.
Siobhan is tempted to turn him away.
"How in the hell did you find that?" Walking up to him, she stops a foot away, too uncertain to come any closer, "Is that the real thing?"
"His research. Emily had it in her possession."
"How did you get it?"
"Marion wants to make a trade."
Siobhan scoffs and folds her arms as she takes what she considers to be an obligatory step backwards, "I'm sure she does, what is it this time?"
"She'll let you take the briefcase and your pups back; but, she wants you to take Miss Cormier."
Siobhan rolls her eyes, shaking her head as she turns around to still her annoyance, "And what does she expect me to do with the doctor?"
"She wants to make sure Cosima won't reject the blood she was given and to study your pack-Hey! Hear me out!" Paul follows after her quickly when she starts to step away and further into the pack property, "Miss Cormier only wants a few weeks to study the interactions inside your family. You'll only have to put up with her for a month before she's gone. It'll feel like she's not even there."
Siobhan turns around, nothing like the caged animal he found nearly half a century ago, "She'll release my girls and give me the briefcase?"
"And you'll only have to put up with her daughter for a month."
"Give me the damn briefcase, Dierden."
...
"Who was that?" Sarah follows her mother back through the underground part of the estate.
"Paul Dierden. He helped me get away from the vampires before you were born."
Sarah stops in her tracks, looking at her in awe, "You escaped the vampires?"
"I made a lot of sacrifices to get us here, you know that." Siobhan rubs her neck through her scarf unconsciously as she walks towards the entrance to the house.
"I do." Sarah hesitates as she watches Siobhan move down the long tunnel, "So.. what are we going to do to this Emi bitch when we get our hands on her?" Sarah asks as she shoves the cart she was pushing into a corner, "We can't exactly let her walk after she almost killed Cosima.."
"We're going to pull out all her teeth," Siobhan states calmly.
"Shite, S, she really pissed you off..."
"I'd do a lot more if I didn't have Cosima to answer to. As long as I'm the Alpha, no one hurts our pack and goes unpunished." Siobhan turns to Sarah after pulling out a box of Cosima's things from storage, "It doesn't matter who threatens who, the law won't help so we have to stick up for ourselves. A life for a life, remember?"
Sarah nods without hesitation, "An eye for an eye.."
"And fangs."
Beth puts her weight against the back of the door as she watches the setting sun in annoyance.
She should be with her sisters; however, she was still on call and had a meeting to attend with a certain German before she could get back to the pack property. Walking further away from the door and towards the edge of the building, Beth folds her arms and looks out over the city.
"You're late." It takes a moment, two, before for the German-in-question jumps down from the roof of the staircase gracefully and walks towards her a few steps.
Beth rolls her eyes, "It's rush hour, I hurried over as soon as I could."
The German clucks her tongue before her defensive voice sounds directly behind her, "Where is she, this scientist you mentioned?"
"Occupied." Turning around, she folds her arms and allows a moment for both of them to take in the other, "She got into trouble, she'll be back soon."
"She better. We need her."
"Who's this bloody 'we' I keep hearing about?" Beth quirks a brow as she watches Katja huff.
Turning around, Katja lets out a low whistle before another wolf comes out behind the stairway. Beth's hand flies to her gun and pulls it out in alarm as both of them hold their hands up.
"This is my sister, Janika Zingler.. she's sick, too."
"Prove it." Beth points her gun to the ground as 'Janika' walks up to her, unzipping her jacket and pointing to her ribs. Putting her hand against them, she waits for her to breathe in before she feels a familiar, alarming rattle. Pulling her hand away she nods towards Katja as she puts her gun back into it's holster, "You promised no strangers."
"Plans changed. There are hunters everywhere these days."
Beth nods in agreement.
"Can your scientist help us?" Janika speaks beside her sister, voice noticeably gravelly. Her accent is thicker.
Amusing.
"She can try her best.. She has whatever is making you both sick."
"Then she has a reason to work other than us." Katja unfolds her arms long enough to light a cigarette.
"She does." Beth agrees as she watches Katja take in a greedy breath of smoke, "Where are you two staying?"
"Out of sight." Janika supplies, notably warm and more patient than Katja, "We should be safe for a week or two before we have to move again."
Beth nods before pulling out her phone. Seconds later she receives a text from HQ, "I gotta go, I'm on call. I'll contact you two later and give you our Alpha's information before we end up in a pissing contest over territory." Heading for the door, she opens the message only to roll her eyes.
Another dead body.
Fucking Helena and her inability not to bring hunters in for questioning. One of these days she was going to get hurt.
"So what are you going to do?"
Siobhan closes her eyes in annoyance. Why she thought calling Shay would be a good idea escapes her.
"I have no choice to cooperate. She has a cactus-"
"-I get the picture."
Wiping down the marble counter of the kitchen island, Siobhan huffs. She has to give it to Shay, the lone wolf has been helpful ever since she started staying with Carlton's pack, she was a great buffer and kept business from pleasure.
"-Carlton wants to see you."
"Does he?" Siobhan smiles in amusement as she tosses the rag into the sink, "His pack-and you-are always welcomed company."
"That's good, we're already in Chile."
Siobhan chuckles and moves to pour herself a glass of bourbon, "Good. Give him my welcome."
"I will-I have to go..."
"Take care." Hanging up, she takes a drink of the alcohol and wanders over to the door that leads to the laundry room and the basement.
She'll have to keep Delphine in the second cell of the basement.
It's one of the few places where she can keep a close eye on her without exposing her to horrendous amounts of sunlight.
324B21 is showing steady signs of improvement- Delphine thinks aloud as she bites down on the tip of her pen when a timid knock sounded at the door. Closing the log book, she puts it in her nightstand and pulls her laptop on top of her thighs, "Oui?"
Opening the door, Cosima pokes her head through the small gap, signs of trepidation creeping onto her features without the wolf knowing, "Hey.."
"Bonsoir, Cosima!" Delphine offers her a bright smile, "can I help you with anything?"
"I ... can't sleep. Would it be okay if I kind of, like, hang out with you until I can?" Peaking further into the room, Cosima still leaves the door open a crack in case she's told to retreat to her room.
"Of course! Please." Delphine's smile widens as she pats the mattress. She pulls back the covers to her bed and begins to type up an e-mail to Marion.
"A-Are you sure? I don't want to, like, intrude if you're working on something important." Cosima falters, over gesticulating to make up for her sudden anxiety.
"Non, Never! It would be a pleasure if you would keep me company while I worked."
Cosima nods and walks over to the bed, still half wrapped up in one of the throw blankets that used to be in the study. Climbing up onto the bed, Cosima crawls across the mattress towards Delphine and gracefully (or at least with more grace than Delphine has seen so far) settles down next to Delphine's hip, laying on her side and pulling herself up into a familiar ball.
Petite Chiot.. Delphine smiles at her, reaching out to gently stroke her arm.
Delphine wiggles her lips after a peaceful moment and gets back to writing her e-mail when Cosima speaks up, "so.. what do you do..there?"
"At DYAD?" Cosima nods, snuggling into her side. Delphine smiles and pulls the covers over Cosima, tucking them under the small of her back into a makeshift burrito, "as I mentioned, my.." Delphine is too used to calling Marion her mother, "-maker is in a very high position. I usually have free-reign to do whatever I desire. For the past decade or so, I've been focused solely on immunology."
"Wow, that's.. actually really awesome." How in the fuck did I find you exactly when I needed you?
"How is your cold?" Delphine breaks the silence after a minute, looking down to see an almost sleeping Cosima curled up into a ball.
"Getting there.." Cosima mumbles as she settles closer into Delphine.
Delphine fights a small chuckle and croon as she leans down suddenly, pressing a gentle kiss to Cosima's forehead.
When she pulls back, Cosima's lips are half-cracked and she's staring at her in a way that almost mesmerizes the blonde.
Even with her sense of grace, Cosima is still transparent.
'Don't wanna leave..
Delphine is about to apologize for the act when Cosima sits up, putting most of her weight on a shaky arm. Reaching out, Cosima's uses her hand to guide Delphine towards her and presses a kiss to the corner of her lips.
Delphine is about to reciprocate when the sound of the front door slamming open assaults their ears. In less than a second Cosima pulls away and is looking towards the door wide-eyed and nearly scared to death.
"Wait here, Cosima. I will go see who is here, D'accord?"
Cosima nods slightly and waits for her to leave before looking for somewhere to hide.
Hunters, Hunters, Hunters..
Walking over to the door, Cosima stops next to it when a familiar voice causes her sudden spike in epinephrine to drop.
"Where the fuck is she?" Siobhan growls at Marion wildly, undeterred by the sight of Delphine strutting down the stairs.
"Upstairs." Delphine replies for her mother, "She's in my bedroom."
"Mum, can I kill her? Sarah growls beside Helena and Siobhan, readily jumping to conclusions.
"Sarah, get in the bloody car if you can't control yourself."
Delphine watches as Sarah growls lowly and retreats through the large double doors to the car, following the plan.
No one notices Helena slinking up the stairs when Sarah leaves.
At the door second-closest to the winding staircase, Cosima worries her bottom lip between her teeth before walking towards the stairs.
"Sestra.." Helena starts quietly before spotting her bruised and scabbed neck, "did she hurt you?"
"It only hurt a little, she helped me."
"It is much bigger than I thought it would be.." Helena wanders over to her, ignoring the bickering downstairs as she runs her jaw along Cosima's before lightly poking at the wounds, "You smell strange."
"Is it bad?" Cosima questions curiously, ignoring Helena as she fixes the sleeve of the oversized grey t-shirt she's been given.
"You smell like honeysuckle and strange.."
Cosima smiles slightly before feeling her confidence break, "How mad is she?"
"Very."
"Very scary?" Cosima's brows threaten to raise to her hairline.
Helena nods and then shakes her head, "Much worse. She's had little sleep."
Cosima cringes. This wasn't going to be easy.. "Okay.. can you give me a moment?"
Helena nods and slips down the stairs again, unnoticed by the three others.
Turning around, Cosima presses open palms against her forehead. Don't freak out, you've been through way worse.. Biting on her lip, she drops her hands and looks towards the stairs. The worst she'll probably do to Cosima is jostle her. Folding her arms, Cosima quietly follows Helena's previous footsteps and walks over to Delphine, managing to avoid Siobhan's huffing and puffing.
"-Yeah, I'm sure you-you," Cosima suddenly waivers when Siobhan directs her attention towards the brunette. Choosing to move closer to Delphine, she nearly takes a step behind her as Siobhan stomps up to them, rips Cosima away from Delphine's side by the back of the neck and growls out a hoarse, "What in the bloody fuck were you thinking?!"
Delphine almost doesn't move to stop the hand that raises to smack Cosima.
Almost.
Digging her nails into Siobhan's wrist, the blonde's eyes almost challenge her to dare hit the smallest of the group while she's still recovering.
Eventually both women reach a stalemate and lower their hands.
Marion, standing in between the halfbreed and her child, spares both Delphine and Cosima a fleeting glance before her attention is once again on Siobhan, silent and observing.
Siobhan yanks her wrist away from Delphine and glares down her niece, willing to shake the nonsense out of her if she has to, "and where the hell is your cousin?"
"..She said she wanted to be with the new wolf." Cosima all but cowers, constantly shifting from next to Delphine to away from both of them.
"Oh-ho, Did she now?" Siobhan folds her arms, she'll have to discuss this new wolf with Tony later (Alison, if she recalls correctly).
"Shetoldme." Cosima squeaks out as she looks to the ground uncomfortably.
Siobhan glances at Delphine then back to Cosima, "...get your bloody arse in the back of the car before I wring your scrawny neck."
Cosima nods and quickly scurries off to the impala, only sparing Delphine a glance when walks through the front door Sarah passed moments later.
Sarah glances back at her, leaning against the hood of the car as Cosima slips into the back.
"I don't know what the hell you think you're doing after all this time," Siobhan closes in on Delphine, "but if you go fillin' her silly little head with ideas of coexistence, I swear to god I will make both of your lives a living hell for as long as she breathes. She's not yours. You lost that right when they turned up at my home without a family to look after them."
Turning towards the door, she throws over her shoulder as she holds the door open for Helena, "You have seven minutes to pack, don't think we won't leave without you."
Marion waits for Siobhan to be out of their direct earshot before following Delphine up the stairs, "I'll get you the blood."
Delphine nods slightly as she heads towards her room, only to be stopped by Marion's hand wrapping around her arm.
"In light of recent events, I think it will be best you carry silver and nickel on your person at all times from here on out."
Delphine nods, "Can I get access to the information gathered from the attack?"
"I'll have it ready for you by tomorrow evening. Get as close to their Alphas as you can, it's pertinent we do not allow packs to go uncontrolled. The fact that they've flown under the radar for so long means they must have help."