AN: This is a short and beyond overdue chapter. More or less to announce that I'm actually still here. Had to take a long time off due to health issues, but I'm back and here to stay!

... (Post-edit) Thanks for the reviews! This chapter has been updated with part of the next chapter to make up for the length. I hope you enjoy!


"A pendant?"

Cosima nods, biting on the inside of her cheek, already prepared for the sharp hit she's about to take.

"Where is it?"

She looks down at the floor, speechless, "I.."

"You didn't.."

Breathing in slowly, Cosima looks up at Siobhan, "I lost it on the island when he raped me."

Siobhan's eyes soften, catching Cosima off guard.

...

...

Silence growing, she looks away, on-edge and unsure of what Siobhan is about to do.

"I've been waiting for you to tell me that for over ten years.." Siobhan murmurs, wrapping her arms around Cosima while she does.


"So you are sure that is where it was left?"

Cosima nods, "I remember specifically when it was ripped off."

"It's quite possible it was picked up when they disbanded, but I'll send Cal and Beth to search for it. Sketch what you remember it looking like." Siobhan takes a drink of the whiskey she brought out, opening a drawer from her desk and providing Cosima paper and a pencil.

The chance of them tracking it down was slim, but they had to try.

Cosima works for a few minutes, sketching it out and then jotting down details before returning it to Siobhan.

"Good, chicken.. Let's see about getting this sorted.. feel free to return to Delphine, I'll inform the others."

Cosima nods and heads to the door, stopping when she reaches for the doorknob, "Keep him away from the children.."

"I intend to do my best, but I'm more concerned about having him around you."

Cosima hesitates, nodding unevenly before leaving the office.


Cosima sighs and lays back in her bed, watching as the plume of smoke floats through the air above her.

Delphine rolls onto her side, arm draping over Cosima's waist, "So?"

"..Hmm?" Cosima's glances over to her a moment later.

"Your talk with Siobhan.."

"Oh.." Cosima sits up, taking another long drag before laying back down. Clearing her throat as she exhales, she finds herself sighing heavily again, staring up at the stars painted onto the ceiling that she threatened to fight Felix over not repainting, "It didn't suck."

"It didn't suck?" Delphine parrots softly, trying not to pry too far into it.

Cosima nods, "Chances of her finding what she needs are.. not that great, but we're hopeful, so.. Yay."

Delphine chuckles softly, unable to help herself as her nails gently drag against the pale exposed skin on Cosima's stomach, "Anything else?"

"The rest of my pack is coming." Cosima murmurs, settling into her spot further before facing Delphine and gently bumping her nose against hers, "I'm going to need your help with a few precautions and moving a few things around."

"Then I am at your service.." Delphine murmurs back, the hand on Cosima's stomach moving to entangle their fingers, "For as long as you may need me."

Cosima smiles uneasily, looking down at their hands and falling silent.

For a while, she gets to enjoy it.

It's almost blissfully quiet. The children are outside playing, some of the others are in the kitchen.. the usual clatter is gone.

"Coh-see-muh.." Delphine's voice is soft, it doesn't gruff or croak like Sarah and Helena's.

Her nerves don't even flare up when she speaks, rather, Delphine's presence is welcomed.

"Hmm..?"

Delphine runs her thumb over Cosima's knuckles, "Who was that man?"

"His name is Arthur. He's been working with Beth since the beginning."

"Where is he from?"

"I don't know.. I think.. he had ties to Carlton's pack, but he's a human. His kid isn't, though."

"Lay curse on the mother, give pride to the father?" Delphine blurts out without a seconds thought before looking up at Cosima curiously.

Cosima hesitates, moving onto her side to look Delphine in the eyes, "Who are you?"

"You know who I am." Delphine hums softly, searching Cosima's eyes before she finds a familiar dark fleck in one of her irises, aided by the light behind her.

Cosima half-rolls her eyes, "You know what I mean."

"Well.." Delphine looks back down at Cosima's hand, "It's a little bit foggy now, but my mother was a human, and my father was a loup-garou.. and also a raging alcoholic. When the pack left to go find their island," Delphine's voice quiets, wary of any other possible ears despite them finally being alone, "My mother went with them. She tried to bring me, but she couldn't last minute. A few years later my father remarried, and my step-mother sold me off to Leekie several years after that."

When Delphine dares look up at Cosima, the brunette is still watching her closely. Cosima leans forward, bumping her nose gently against Delphine's, falling mute. The look in her eyes seems to spur her on. "Living with him was.. harsh. Initially, he kept me around only to please his passing allies and men who worked for him. Later on, when I was earning his favor for actual sleeping arrangements, he made me lie with another halfbreed."

Cosima squeezes her hand, letting go to allow Delphine a chance to reign herself back in.

Less than a second later, their hands are entangled again and Delphine continues, "James was.. everything every other man in my life had not been. He was rough around the edges at first.. but after a while, he became kind.. loving even. He was born into a class higher than my own, his father was a very successful merchant." Delphine smiles, "We never stopped to look back when I became pregnant. We left during daylight through the servants quarters. At first, we thought we were successful, but less than two months later and they found us."

"They?"

It's the first time Cosima has spoken up since asking. Her voice is more delicate than Delphine could have possibly predicted.

"Leekie and his men. I remember seeing him at our front gate and then.. nothing. Around dawn, supposedly, Marion found me, turned me, and took me under her wing without little more than asking if I'd wanted to live."

"I'm so sorry.." Cosima murmurs, her hand gently squeezing Delphine's.

"It's.. fine now. He just looked so real." Delphine lets go of Cosima's hand, lying back in bed fully before staring up at the ceiling that earlier occupied the clone's attention, "I don't know what I'm to do about this baby, though."

Cosima offers her a solemn smile, bumping her nose against Delphine's cheek, "You should do whatever you think is necessary."


Cosima sighs and huffs, scratching her finger momentarily before continuing to repair the hole in Tony's shirt.

This is beyond boring; but, it's still a very welcomed break from the landslide she'd experienced since breaking up with Emi.

All she had to do for the next hour was finish fixing Tony's favorite shirt and chill.

The house is ready.

They'll be arriving soon.

There's nothing else Cosima can do but accept the inevitable... And fix Tony's shirt for what feels like the eighteenth fucking time.

Feeling a phantom-ear twitch when she hears Delphine begin to wake up, she continues to finish up the last few stitches, "... 'Finally waking up, sleepy-head?"

Delphine groans inaudibly, sitting up and raking a hand through her hair in confusion, "How long have I been asleep?"

Cosima smiles, unable to help herself, "Just a few hours. We were done with the house-work waaay sooner than we thought we'd be, so no big."

"No big?" Delphine climbs off the bed, walking over to the desk Cosima is working at. When she hears a distracted hum of an agreement, Delphine can't help but smile and tilt Cosima's chin up for a slow kiss, "You're so cute.."

Cosima draws her in, forgetting her project and taking to kissing her back only for the peace to be shattered by the familiar honk of a certain bug, "Ugh, no.."

Delphine chuckles, extending a hand to help her up, "Come along, ma chatte. Let's see what the commotion is."


Cosima walks outside, staying behind Tony and Delphine as she finishes pushing her arm through her coat. Spotting Shay's bug, she smiles slightly and slowly walks up to it, taking her time to get there so the others can get out.

"Cosima!" Delphine furrows her brows as a young teen with dirty blonde hair bolts out of the car, rounding it to get to the clone before hugging her.

"Hey, dude," Cosima laughs breathlessly, "long time no see."

Tony folds his arms and walks up to them, mirroring Cosima from earlier.

Cosima bites down on the inside of her lip, silently beckoning Delphine over with her free hand, "Hey, Carter, why don't you go get your sis' out of the barn? She has a pretty wicked present waiting for you."

Carter nods, bolting off without a seconds hesitation.

Cosima smiles over at Delphine, eagerly taking her hand when she's close, relieved to see only Shay's car.

"Is this it?" Delphine asks in confusion.

"God, no!" Tony chuckles, "Only we would be that unlucky."

Cosima smiles slightly, fighting a grin as she turns around when she feels a familiar presence behind her, "Hey, you."

"Hey there.." Shay smiles, kissing her quickly before heading towards the trunk, "Siobhan told me about Emi. Need to talk?"

"Not urgently." Cosima squeezes Delphine's hand gently before meandering over to the trunk with Tony curiously, "And what do you have for us this time?"

"Rye, whole-wheat, rice, and all-purpose flour." Shay states aloud, pointing to each bag before taking the 20 lb bags out of the trunk, loading them into Tony's arms, "And it'll be," Looking at the sheet in the trunk, Shay smiles, "one-hundred USD."

"Mon Dieu, you must be joking-" Delphine blinks, cut-off by the hand Cosima raises.

"Are you sure?" Cosima looks over to an exhausted Micheal as her older cousin all-but drags himself out of the passenger seat.

"Ehh, you know what I'd go through for you guys." He offers a familiar lop-sided smile.

Delphine can almost see the resemblance.

"I don't mind paying more.." Cosima glances up at him as she pulls her phone out of her coat.

"We had a shit-ton of luck this year so we're spreading the wealth." Micheal glances over at Delphine curiously, "Who's this?"

"A-uhm.." Cosima stops for a moment, catching herself before she makes a complete fool of herself, "Her names Delphine, she's staying with me to conduct some research."

"Research, huh?" Shay looks back at her, unable to keep her smile off her face.

"You two are impossible." Jennifer says as she finally joins, walking up to the car with her arm over Carter's shoulder.

"Sis.." Micheal stops in his tracks.

Cosima squeezes Delphine's hand gently before sending the money, looking back over at her with a soft smile.

"Oh my god, sis.." Micheal leaves his spot, tired bones forgotten and nearing tears as he races up to her, quick to hug her, "It's really you.."

"Look at you," Wiping the tears away from her eyes, she laughs sadly and hugs him back, rubbing her cheek against his when he gets on his knees to be near-equal to her in height, "God, I thought I'd never see you again."

"I'm here now.. come on, there's someone I want you to meet."

Cosima smiles and leans against Delphine's side slightly, ignoring the pain beginning to grow in her lungs as she watches Micheal climb into the buggy momentarily. When she sees him come out holding a small infant, she can't help her curiosity as she makes her way over to the other side of the car, Jennifer following.

"We're going to need the blessings of a certain someone," Micheal says as he looks at Cosima before returning his attention to the baby boy in his arms and his little sister, "But we wanted you to meet him first."

"Oh my god.." Jennifer's voiced is hushed as she takes him into his arms, "So this is baby Leo?"

Cosima smiles, looking over at Micheal, "Congratulations, Mike."

Micheal grins, running his hand over his freshly shaven head, "Thanks.."


Cosima stands against the doorway with Siobhan, smiling as she watches Jennifer offer Delphine a chance to examine the small baby. The others are gathered around, happy to give attention to one of the newest members of the American pack.

It's rare for there to be more than two or three children in a pack these days, sadly.

"The DYAD pack will be joining us tomorrow evening." Siobhan speaks up under her breath, "Jennifer extended the invitation. We'll be dining with them here, but I doubt they'll have any valuable information for us."

"Good." Cosima offers quietly, "They shouldn't be left out just because of their affiliations.."

"You've been thinking about this, I take it?"

"I've been thinking about trying to start negotiations with the President again."

Siobhan raises her brows, voice remaining low, "Do you think that would be a good idea, chicken? You'll probably have to start from the beginning now that there's another party in office."

Cosima shrugs casually, "I'm sure we can find common ground..."

"Tony's running security right now. Mind showing me around?" Micheal finally gets up, walking over to her.

"Sure, dude, just give me a minute." Cosima smiles over at him.

Having parts of the old pack returned to her feels.. natural.

Not like she'd expected.


"I'm sure you'll be a great father." Cosima smiles at him, taking the joint from his hands once it's offered to her.

"I'm not too worried about that."

...

...

Cosima breathes out through her nose, briefly amused by the plume of smoke being quickly blown away.

"So.."

"So?" Cosima glances over to him, handing the joint back and putting her freezing hands back into her coat's pockets before continuing on down the winding path outside of the gate.

"Andrew is coming.."

Cosima glances at him once, twice before cursing under her breath, "Holy-fucking-shit, not you, too."

"Just listen, please." Micheal stands in his spot, watching as Cosima paces for a second, she's torn between staying and retreating back into the warmth of the Saddler Estate, "I don't care what you do to him, just please don't do it near mother or the pups."

"You have got to be freaking kidding me right now," Cosima whips around to face him, "Do you really think I'd do something to him?!"

"Look, Cosima... I know you're a good person, you don't have to try and front as some angel. I want to kill him too after what he did to you."

Cosima's hand flies out-stopping less than an inch from his face before she clenches her fists and turns around, "You fucking idiots... I don't want him dead, I just want him gone and unable to harm anyone."


Cosima groans and lies down on her bed, burying herself under the covers.

Delphine watches and gets up from Cosima's desk, needing a break from writing a report to Marion, "What is the matter?"

"I need out for a while."

Delphine walks over to her, sitting down on the mattress, "Where do you want to go?"

Cosima bites down on her lip, rolling over to look up at her. Looping a finger around a curly lock of Delphine's hair, she offers Delphine a small smile, "God, you have to be one of the best people I know.."

"That's not very promising." Delphine chuckles, "Will you go somewhere with me?"

"Yeah, obvs."

Delphine smiles and holds out her hand, helping Cosima sit up, "Good."

"Just let me tell Tony to open the gates for fifteen minutes so we have time to get out."


"Can I have my glasses back now?" Cosima grumbles as Delphine offers a hand to help her leap off of the stone fencing. She's annoyed... but part of her can't help but find Delphine's way of getting to her amusing.

"Just a few more minutes." Delphine's voice is quiet and soft as she leads her through a set of doors, down a vaguely familiar hallway, towards an arched staircase..

Cosima stops at the beginning of the staircase that leads to the main floor, "Wait.. are we back at your house?"

Delphine's smile makes it worth the secrecy, "Oui, there is something I want to show you."

Cosima can't help but smile back, not letting go of Delphine's hand when she leads her out into the gardens. Distracted only momentarily by a few of the bio-luminescent flowers scattered along her blurry peripheral, she follows Delphine up to a large, nearly barren tree. When Delphine stops, Cosima looks back at her in confusion, "You wanted to show me an old tree?"

Delphine hands back Cosima's glasses nervously along with a flashlight, "I was turned underneath it. What I want you to do is look on the other side."

Cosima walks towards the back of the tree, flashlight first going to the branches to search for a possible intruder despite Delphine's reassurance. Lowering the light slowly until it's level with her face, she furrows her brow and reaches out hesitantly when she spots the familiar script carved into the tree, a carving of her long-lost pendant being just below it, "How in the hell..?"

Delphine walks over to her slowly, wrapping her arms around Cosima's waist from behind, "When love beckons.."

There was no doubt about it.

This was her Grandpa's work.. loopy cursive that's easily legible and efficient.

How did he know?

How did she know?

There's so much to process, yet so little time... This has to be a lead on grandfather's part of the map.

Finger grazing where the amethyst would be, Cosima murmurs the last word of the line under her breath just as Delphine begins to finish.

"-Follow."

Cosima and Delphine fall silent for a short moment, Delphine taking her time to drink in Cosima's presence and Cosima trying to sort through the stimuli around her that's hitting her like a freight train.

She can feel it.

She can feel all of them.

On one end, Delphine's breath is warm against the skin of her neck. Crickets are chirping and the slight breeze is frigid against her cheeks.

Yet on some sort of bizarre, metaphysical field, she can finally feel them all for the first time since freeing Helena.

Her family.

Every single one of them. Heartbeats and voices blending into a bizarre orchestra that puts her mind at ease.

There are two new beats present from the last time she felt it.

One of them is significantly younger than her, yet she can tell it belongs to one of her sisters.

..She doesn't have to try very hard to figure out the second. It's the only other 'outsider' within the group.

Delphine.

Cosima turns around, paying no mind to the confused look on the vampire's face. It's not fair on either of them for her to be avoiding it like this only to appease the pack she belonged to. Leaning forward, she captures Delphine's lip in another kiss, this one more confident than the last.

Seeing the words carved into the dying apple tree seems to have given her the only push she needed.

She still has questions.. many of them.. but right now there's only one thing that seems to be taking charge of her decisions.

She won't apologize for her heart.