"He said he lied."

Dirk turned to Amanda from his view out the window. They had been driving for a while, Farah had said it would take about six hours to get to their destination, a cabin hidden in the woods that Patrick Spring used to own. Amanda had mostly stayed silent so far, seated at the back of the van with Dirk, Todd's unconscious form sandwiched between them.

"Lied?" asked Dirk now, shaking his head to bring his thoughts back to the present.

"About his pararibulitis… he said… he said he lied about having it," Amanda clarified. Dirk gulped down the lump in his throat, unconsciously squeezing Todd's hand tighter in his. He hadn't let it go since they first filed into the van and Gripps had unceremoniously dumped Todd beside him.

"He did. I mean, lie about having it before when… He got the disease later."

"Did… did they give it to him?" she whispered, tears forming at the corners of her eyes. Dirk gulped, slowly shaking his head.

"He already had it when you came to rescue us, the first time… it was the reason they… they didn't… it was the reason they kept him."

"So he had it when we went into Blackwing the first time... he lied again?"

Dirk could only shrug. "He didn't lie exactly… he just didn't… tell you?"

Amanda took an audible breath, eyebrows creasing as she cast her eyes upon Todd lying silent and still between them.

"Ugh, I'm so mad at him," she growled softly, though she still reached for him, taking his other hand, the one that wasn't occupied by Dirk, into her own.


It was nearly dawn by the time they reached the cabin, a small but well furnished den hidden among the woods. Bart and Ken had bid them farewell somewhere along the way, Bart feeling the urge to go in a different direction, the universe beckoning her to her next target. Somehow Dirk knew this wasn't going to be the last they saw of each other, and he was certainly glad she no longer wanted to kill him. Once the van was parked, everyone filed in wearily, even the Rowdies too tired to destroy anything within the richly furnished cabin, much to Farah's relief. Gripps seemed to have decided that toting Todd around was his assigned job, so had simply snatched up the still unconscious man from beside Dirk and took him in, depositing him onto a king-sized bed in one of the bedrooms.

"We'll be in the other room," Martin grunted out before leading the Rowdies away, Dirk presumed to catch up on the sleep they missed while they took care of the driving through the night.

"Here, thought you might want to clean up a bit and get out of those," Farah offered, handing a bundle of clothes to Dirk. "These belonged to Patrick so they might be a bit big for you… and probably won't even fit him at all," she added, waving her hand towards Todd, still in the gown from Blackwing. "We'll get the Rowdies to head to the nearby town for some supplies and clothes when they're rested."

"Thanks Farah." Dirk took the clothes with a slight shake of his head, though he continued to sit by the bed, not wanting to leave Todd's side.

"And uh, here, thought you might need this," Farah continued, handing a first aid kit to them as well. "We're pretty far from decent medical assistance, not that we can even use insurance or anything since we're hiding from the CIA… anyway, it might help." She quickly glanced at the dark bruise on Todd's forehead from Martin's bat, the various cuts, bruises, blisters and other marks still covering him, not to mention the marks and bruises on Dirk's exposed arms. Gulping, she closed her eyes, trying hard not to think of what the two men had gone through at the facility.

"I'm just... going to go and keep watch," she finished, turning to head out to the den with a nod of her head.

"Thanks Farah," Dirk repeated as she disappeared out the door.


At almost midday, Todd finally woke, Amanda and Dirk having dozed off on either side of him. He blinked wearily for a few moments, grimacing at the pounding headache, and wondering at the softness of the bed. Glancing down to his right, he was surprised to find fresh bandages on his arm, and Amanda fast asleep beside him.

"Amanda… no… you… you can't be here, they'll… you have to get out!"

He sat up in a hurry, ignoring the dizziness he felt at the movement as he shook her awake.

"Todd?" she muttered in confusion, "what-"

"Todd, it's okay, it's okay," chimed in Dirk from the other side, having woken also from the commotion.

"No," Todd continued to panic, desperate tears already filling his eyes. "They can't get her, Dirk! I can't let them get Amanda, I-"

"Todd, Todd, it's okay, we're safe, we're… we're safe," reassured Dirk, gently grasping the man's shoulders so he could see him face to face. "Amanda, Farah… the Rowdies, everyone, they came for us. We're safe now," he continued, feeling a lump filling his throat and his own tears stinging at the corner of his eyes as he himself took it all in. "We're free."

Todd's breathing slowly calmed down, bright blue eyes carefully scanning their surroundings.

"We… we got out?"

Dirk nodded in response.

"Amanda? Amanda," exclaimed Todd, turning back to his sister and pulling her into a tight hug. This time he couldn't hold back the tears from falling, creating wet tracks down his cheeks. Amanda kept silent, her eyes downcast as she allowed herself to be held in his arms. Dirk watched from the other side of the bed, part moved by the moment, and part envious he couldn't join in. Amanda waited until her brother had calmed down somewhat before pulling away so she could face him.

"Sorry, I…" he began, blushing and hurriedly wiping his tears away. "I'm glad you're okay."

Amanda nodded, her eyes still downcast as she faced her brother.

"So when were you going to tell me?" she finally asked, her expression unreadable.

"Tell you what?"

"About why it took you so long to come through the vents when we went to rescue Dirk the first time? And why you were both captured when Ken had already worked out a way to distract everyone for long enough?"

Todd swallowed hard, eyes shifting away.

"We were delayed… it… took longer than we thought it would to get out…"

"What happened?"

"Just… some stuff…"

"Stuff? Stuff like maybe… a pararibulitis attack?"

Todd looked up in alarm at her words.

"Is that it Todd? You had an attack and that's why you couldn't get out in time?"

"I… We… How did you find out… did Dirk tell you?" Todd suddenly asked, frowning as he glanced at Dirk. Dirk opened his mouth in protest at the accusation.

"Don't you dare blame Dirk. This isn't about Dirk. It's about you, Todd. Hiding things from me, lying to me. Again. I just… I just can't trust you." She sighed, getting up off the bed.

"Amanda..."

"Farah's probably tired, I'm going to keep watch so she can rest a bit," she interrupted. She paused, glancing at her brother again. "There's aspirin in my bag if you need it," she finished, pointing to her backpack strewn in the corner before stalking out and shutting the door behind her. Todd glanced at Dirk, the other man shrugging helplessly.

"The doctor… Dr Schultz told her about your… pararibulitis."

Todd shivered slightly at the mention of the doctor.

"Sorry Dirk... I… I didn't mean to accuse you, I just..." he started apologising, breaking off in confusion at the mirade of emotions that threatened to overwhelm him. "Please don't… don't go…" he finally whispered, hugging his knees to his chest and burying his face into his arms. Dirk could only lay his hand onto his friend's shoulder in comfort.


"So, you're still mad at Todd huh?" asked Farah, plopping herself down on the couch beside Amanda in the den. She had just taken some canned soup to Dirk and Todd in the master bedroom for lunch where Dirk had tiredly filled her in. Todd had fallen asleep again, though restless.

Amanda glanced at her now, shrugging as she spooned another mouthful of her own soup.

"He lied to me for six years, Farah. That is messed up. And even now, he can't bring himself to tell us the truth. How could he keep something like having pararibulitis from us? He jeopardised everything, and got both himself and Dirk in trouble." She gulped, remembering back to when they had waited and waited at the van the first time they had gone to rescue Dirk, the blind worry she had felt when they were late, the overwhelming panic that then took over when they realised that Dirk and Todd weren't coming at all, that they had been caught.

Farah's sigh broke her thoughts.

"You're right. Not telling us about his condition was... dumb. But is now the best time to be mad at him… after… after everything?"

"I don't know, Farah. Part of me just wants my brother back, wants things back to how they were, when he... well… he was my hero, and also my only hope that everything could be alright one day for me too, that I too could get better. But then I found out that was all a lie, and everything I thought I knew about him was also a lie…" She closed her eyes, sighing. "And it just makes me so mad. It's like I knew him all these years, but I wonder whether I even really knew him?"

"You still care about him though. And… he obviously cares a lot about you."

"Well unfortunately he's still my brother… even if he's an asshole."