A/N: Kudos goes to Music4evah for being the first one to figure out the Irina/Ian relationship back in chapter 7. I mention this now because, well, you'll see...

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Chapter 10

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"So yes, I suppose we've come to the part that you know all about."

"The hotel?"

"The hotel. That was right after you picked us up a block away from the mansion. At least you had that part of the escape plan right…"

"I told you! It was necessary for the plan that—"

"Yes, yes, fine. By all means, cling to that excuse if you think it absolves you. We all climbed into the van and were heading for downtown London. You were in the front passenger seat, one of your thugs was driving and the three of us sat in the back. Amy wasn't speaking very much, still looking really pale and traumatized, but Dan was busy berating me about having ditched them back in Detroit, calling me an idiot, a traitor, a moron—actually, he sounded a lot like you right then."

"And yet you continue to do stupid things..."

"This from the hypocrite who wore cyanide-tipped nails her whole life and is now dying from cyanide poisoning. Now, is that an example of irony or karma?"

"It's an example of what's none of your business!"

"Still touchy... Not much to say about the trip there. I tried to catch Amy's eye once or twice to see how she was faring, but she was too lost in her own thoughts to notice. It worried me, nearly as much as that cut on her wrist which was still bleeding, though even that I didn't mention to her. You'd found us a hotel near the London Eye. Don't remember what it was, but that's not important. It was far enough away from my father to ensure that we wouldn't be tracked, which suited me well enough.

"Yes, the hotel. I remember too. Just tell me what happened!"

"Impatient, are we? Don't worry, I'm getting there. I suppose now would be a good time to mention that Amy had decided to play mad scientist with the clues before you came to rescue me. She adjusted the formula so that what she ended up throwing wasn't even close to the real Orion that we know today. If it were, Amy, Dan, me and anyone within a two mile radius would have been dead or left dying of radiation poisoning."

"Why are you telling me this? I know perfectly well what Amy took with her that night. It only contained a small amount of uranium 235."

"Actually, it didn't contain any. She didn't use what you'd given her."

"What?"

"Ask her. The real Orion doesn't burn out until the uranium at its core finishes its entire fission cycle and combines with the other metals in Orion, which takes weeks to do. What she created was a flash and a bang, which was by no means completely harmless, but had the slight benefit of not being radioactive.

"She didn't throw the real thing then? So why was she so upset?"

"I understand that it was the principle of the thing. Her invention was still a weapon that buggered with brain waves and retinas. And she was ashamed not only of having created it, but of having used it. It doesn't really matter that no one was seriously hurt, the potential for someone getting hurt had been there."

"Hnn…"

"…Yeah, I don't get it either. I think it's an 'Amy' thing."

"I hope this speculation is going somewhere..."

"Honestly, do you have somewhere to be? Am I keeping you from appointment with the story you asked to hear? No? Then shut it, would you?"

"So long as you get to it, fine!"

"... We arrived at the hotel, the four of us jumping out of the van as your crony parked it somewhere beneath the building. I still remember the mortified faces of the receptionists as we passed through the revolving doors of the lobby, all of us soaked to the bone, Amy bleeding and me barefoot. Anyone would have thought that we'd been pulled from a POW camp. The staff were gracious enough to outfit us in dry clothes free of charge, although the only ones that were readily available at 10PM were souvenir t-shirts and sweatpants."

"Ha! I still remember your face when you realized that you were going to have actually wear them! Priceless. Truly priceless..."

"Fine... It wasn't my style, no—"

"Not your st—? Ha! That's rich! You were whining so loudly--!"

"I was not! They were dry and relatively clean. I wasn't looking for anything beyond that; I'm not that much of a snob."

"I beg to differ."

"Don't you always... That was when each of us retired to our respective rooms to shower and change, under the condition that we would meet within the hour at your room to discuss our plan of action. You'd booked me my own room, separate from Amy and Dan's and yours—which I was thankful for. I took my time in the shower, scrubbing at my skin until it was red and raw and washing my hair numerous times until I was sure that none of the chemicals from Orion remained. Feeling human once more, I changed into the black shirt I'd received which was emblazoned with the London underground's logo. It wasn't until I had finished bandaging up my bloody foot that reality really started to sink in; I was free. I might be disowned tomorrow, but did that really matter? I wasn't going to die. I was going to live—with Amy no less! Sure, we'd be on the run, but at the very least, we'd be alive and we'd be together."

"...Oh. Well..."

"A bloke can dream... I ventured out of my room about fifteen minutes before we were scheduled to meet. I initially wanted to hunt for some footwear, since it still hurt to walk around without shoes, but plans changed. As I was making my way down the hall towards the elevators, I caught sight of Amy sitting outside of your room, legs curled up beneath her. She looked utterly lost, her long hair, still wet from the shower, hung about her face as her fingers tugged absently at the hem of her child-sized 'I heart London' t-shirt. Her pale face tilted up to me in greeting as I approached..."

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"Nice shirt," she offered tonelessly.

I nodded, scrutinizing her, "Same to you. Are you feeling all right?"

She bit her lip and dropped her gaze away from me, seeming to tense up and close in on herself at the very mention of her sombre mood. I sighed and sank down beside her leaning my back against the wall, legs splayed out. Amy refused to look at me and I was absolutely terrified of opening my mouth and ruining things to the point where we couldn't work together. As I saw it, I'd pushed her too far already. And so we sat for a while in a comforting silence, listening to the soft pings of the elevator as it passed our floor.

"I don't know why I did it." She blurted out suddenly, her voice choked with tears, "I just... I-I don't know. A-And I don't understand."

"Would you rather have been shot?" I asked her logically and received a dirty look from her that seemed to say how-can-you-be-so-insensitive?

"No..." But then her brow furrowed and she glanced away again, "I don't know...maybe it would have been better... t-to die with some kind of moral integrity—"

"Right, yeah." I agreed, "Die with integrity, sure. And while you're busy doing that, what happens to us? Irina abandons the agreement because she's not going to remain in a partnership with a twelve-year-old, Dan goes to the foster care system if he's not tortured and killed first, I wind up prisoner once more and Vikram eventually rules the world. Tell me, where is the integrity in that?"

Amy's mouth fell open in shock that I would be so callous and rude. She tried to defend her position, "I-It's not that simple! I could have bargained with him. I could have tried that!"

I raised an eyebrow at her, "You really don't know much about my father, do you? Even if, by some miracle, you'd managed to come to an agreement, there is no way he would have let you live once he had what he wanted. In the end, it amounts to the same thing."

"You don't know that."

"I'm sure enough of it that I can live with not giving him the chance."

She stared at me, looking exasperated that I wasn't giving her any quarter, "Really? You're fine then? For all we know, I killed them! I killed your father, three other people, and I could have killed you as well! And you're completely okay with that?"

"Well... not completely," I confessed, watching as a look of validation flitted briefly over her face, "If you'd killed yourself in that blast, now that I really wouldn't have been okay with."

"I-I don't... No! Ian, you-you can't just forgive me like that." She stammered, the first hint of a blush appearing on her cheeks.

"I can't forgive you for saving my life?"

"No! For putting you in danger. F-For trying to kill your father—"

"I put myself in danger, remember? I went to him because I thought it would buy you time to save the world. I didn't think he'd actually try to kill me. That was my mistake for underestimating him and I can own to it. As for trying to kill him, I see it as self defence."

"Self defence?" she repeated disbelievingly, "Using untested chemical weapons is self defence?"

"Would he be any less dead if you'd had a gun?" I pointed out, watching her eyes widen in horror at the thought of actually using one. I shook my head knowing that if she could see what I saw, she'd never be painting herself to be as guilty as she thought she was. Trying to make her feel better, I placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, "Don't tear yourself up over this. If it helps, I forgive you."

She shook her head and shied away from me, "I-I don't want you to forgive me. I j-just... I want to take it back. All of it! Everything that's happened over the last eight months!"

I drew my hand away, feeling my heart sink a little, "Our scheme, you mean?"

Amy nodded, sniffing miserably, "I should have just destroyed our clues. Th-That would have saved everyone from what I did. I never should have met with Irina when I found out about what they did. I-I was an idiot to think we could ever use them f-for good!"

I was silent, watching as she reached up and brushed the hair from her face with her injured hand. It felt miserable to hear her say that. Seeing someone I had looked up to and loved so much racked with guilt and doubting everything she had taught me to believe in. I wanted to say something—anything— to take away the pain and guilt, but I was at a loss for words. Instead, I caught her injured hand in mine, drawing her attention back to me.

"Who tied this?" I asked her gently, encouraged by the fact that she didn't immediately pull away.

"Dan."

"He did a rotten job," I remarked unclipping the end and beginning to unravel it. It was excessively tight and I could see it cutting off the circulation in her wrist. Not that I had any experience in first aid; just more common sense than Dan.

I saw her bottom lip quiver and felt her arm tense under my attentions. The blush on her cheeks deepened and she looked away. Apparently she was still impossibly shy about being touched by me. Sensing that, I let go of her hand, the bandage partially unravelled and was prepared to accept the fact that I'd lost my chance with her. But she spoke up;

"No, umm... It's okay," she said, still avoiding my eyes, "Y-You can, i-if you want to."

I smiled to myself and nodded, taking her hand once more and unravelling it further. She still refused to look at me, but at least I knew that she was letting me make her uncomfortable. A small victory. As I pulled it off and then began to retie it properly, I spoke to her, letting the words just flow.

"You can regret throwing that vial or making Orion or even striking a deal with us. That's fine, but I want you to know that I don't and never will." I told her honestly.

She was too embarrassed to look at me, "I-Ian... I... I-I mean, w-we..."

"It's not about that," I assured her, sensing that she probably thought I was inferring something romantic, "Forget all that. I was... being stupid, I guess."

Amy was silent in reply and let me continue. Perhaps it was my imagination, but I thought I saw something sad flicker across her face as I said that.

"What I mean is that without this scheme, without our plotting, we would never have been friends. And I can't say I regret that." I said.

She made a face like she didn't believe me and lifted her head, "If we'd never done any of this, you'd still have a home, a family. You'd have your life back! I-I took that from you! I'm the reason that—"

"—that my life changed. You didn't wreck or take anything from me. Actually, you gave me something that I'm pretty sure I'd never have found on my own: a soul."

That drew a chuckle from her. Fighting to keep the smile off her face at the absurdity of it, she asked me: "A soul? How could I have given you a soul?"

I snorted too as I wrapped the bandage around her hand one last time and pinned it in place, but didn't let go, "Not in a cheesy, spiritual sense; that's all rubbish. But maybe in a... a moral sense. It's just that when I think about where my life was headed before we made our deal... I saw myself becoming like my father. Cold, merciless, evil—"

"—Soulless?"

"Right. I didn't question what was right; just what was convenient and useful to me. But now ... I'm different. Better. And if you're asking me to regret that too, I can't."

She was staring at me, her lovely green eyes filled with the tiniest spark of the happiness I adored seeing in her. Her mouth twisted into a shy smile and she looked away modestly.

"I...umm...y-you really think...?"

"That that's your doing?" I supplied, catching her eye as she nodded, "If you think I would have changed on my own, you're mad."

I squeezed her hand lightly, running my thumb over her knuckles. I was surprised when Amy squeezed back, tentatively of course, and still more surprised when she didn't let go. It wasn't until then that I really noticed just how red her cheeks had gone, or the nervous look on her face. She snuck a shy smile at me as though to assess whether or not I was okay with that. It left me confused as to whether or not this was platonic.

"Y-You really think we'll pull this off?" she asked me.

I sighed heavily, "I wish I knew. For now, I'm just glad to be back with the group. Although, I have to admit, I almost missed Detroit."

"Almost?" she teased.

I offered up a weak grin, "Some things are hard to miss; and that awful condo is one of them. But I'll admit, I did miss you and Dan."

Amy smiled warmly as I said that, "Yeah, I-I... did too."

"At any rate, the company here is infinitely better. What with my mother crying and my father threatening to kill me. And Natalie was just... well, you heard her. She's gone mental."

No answer came. When I looked over at her, her face was so flushed that I was actually concerned for a moment that she might pass out. Instead, she raised her eyes shyly to meet my gaze.

"A...About that..."

"About what?" I asked absently. She was behaving kind of strangely, almost like she was embarrassed or something, but I hadn't the faintest idea why. She seemed to falter eventually, losing the nerve to say whatever it was she wanted to and looked away again.

"Umm...—"

"Hey! There you are!" Dan's voice echoed from down the hall, cutting off whatever she was about to say. He was sporting his own crisp, new t-shirt with the logo for Manchester United imprinted on it. I grimaced. Chelsea is by far the better team, so I didn't fight him for it.

Instantly, Amy tensed, retracting her injured palm from mine, turning an interesting shade of red and inching guiltily away from me as though she'd been caught doing something wrong. She refused to look at me, instead focusing her attention on Dan. I tried not to take that to heart, but it hurt anyway.

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"And that was that. I don't suppose I have to go into what happened during our meeting, do I? You were there for that; nothing happened between Amy and me there. Your memory's not slipping that much, is it?"

"Yes, I remember! Enough with your snark."

"Good, I'll skip it then—"

"You will do no such thing!"

"Oh, for the love of...! Why? Why do we need to hear this again?"

"Because I want to hear the full story, boy. Not just your favourite memories. So go over it again."

"Come off it! This is ridiculous—!"

"—So is the amount of money I'm considering leaving to you!"

"...Fine then. You win, I'll tell you about the meeting, even though you already know bloody-well what happened and recounting it is absolutely pointless. I mean, it's not like we have better things to do, right? Well... you certainly don't."

"Stop whining. I've heard far too much of that already..."

"...The meeting then. We all crowded around a secluded coffee table in the lobby to devise strategies and whatnot. I was in the dark for the first bit because there seemed to be a lot of arguing going on between you and Amy about some plan that had already been discussed before rescuing me. The desperate looks that Amy kept sending me were a little disquieting and I had a sinking suspicion that there was something I ought to be very nervous about here. The bickering went on for a while before I finally piped up and demanded to know just what the sodding plan was!"

"Heh. I remember that."

"You should, you were there. But I digress... Dan was the level-headed one who decided that it might be a wise idea to fill me in. Apparently, once Amy and Dan had contacted you in Denver, you had received a summons to the Lucian council where you were going to be expected to vote on whether or not to dissolve the branch status of a Lucian traitor. It didn't mention my name, but that wasn't a difficult assumption to make."

"It was good news; it meant he hadn't killed you."

"Yes, but it still would have completely ruined our contract if I couldn't become the Lucian branch leader—that is, if Amy hadn't found a clever way around it."

"Brilliant girl. I've always said."

"It was a good plan. She reasoned that we should allow Vikram to disown me as a Lucian; not only was it an inevitability at this point, but it would trick him into thinking he'd won. And lulling him into that false sense of security was key to our survival; it would hopefully buy us time until we could find a way to manufacture Orion and amass enough money to buy off the council's loyalty."

"And then..."

"....And then you would adopt me."

"That part was less brilliant..."

"No kidding. Once you claimed the title of branch leader, I would be able to have my Lucian status reinstated and could be named your heir. And everything would be on track again."

"Except for me being stuck with such an ungrateful son—"

"Oh and you've just been a maternal wonder..."

"—who never visits, I might add! What has it been? Seven months?"

"Six and a half. And if I'm so ungrateful, why do you want to see me?"

"Because, insufferable brat that you are, you're still family—"

"Oh don't start with that!"

"—And family ought to visit; particularly when members of that family are dying."

"Stop with the guilt trip! I signed a piece of paper, Irina. I don't care what it legally says, you're not my mother. Not in any way that matters."

"No, just the way that's saving you from being lynched by the council."

"Why do I bother...? All of that would have been a work of simplistic beauty. But there was one small detail that could have blown the entire thing: my mother. She was also a Lucian by birth. Even if Father did convince the council to dissolve my status, if my mother didn't disown me, you wouldn't be able to adopt me. It was a complicated mess, and all because we were unsure of how much control my Father really exerted over her."

"It's a pity. Isabel could have made things so much simpler."

"But knowing that she could dissolve my status at a moment's notice really worked against us. If she waited until I was instated as your heir, Father's supporters would have me killed before the adoption could be finalized and our plans would be ruined. Because, once you bit the dust, the rest of the Lucians—ie. my father—could use Orion however they pleased. We needed a concrete plan; and that involved sending me to trial to provoke my own mother into disowning me as well. At least, this was your twisted, bastardized adaptation to Amy's original plan."

"Yes, she was dead-set against it."

"Vehemently so. I still remember her standing up from her seat, leaning over the table and shouting at you that she wasn't going to put me at risk like that. Because she was convinced that if they succeeded in revoking my Lucian protection, there was no way I'd make it out of that trial alive. She didn't care what the contract stated, we would have to find another way. Even if it meant tearing it up and writing a new one right then, we would find another way! Her face was flushed by the time she sank back down, looking as determined and unmovable as ever. She didn't dare glance at me, but I imagine she knew I was staring at her in astonishment."

"It was quite the speech."

"It was. Silence rang after she spoke her peace. I know you weren't pleased with her and I was too busy processing all of this to react, but after a long, tense moment, Dan broke the tension:

"'It's not our choice. It's Ian's.' he reasoned, which drew all eyes to me.

"The idiot wasn't right. I was bound by a contract, so technically I was obligated to go through with it—even if it meant risking death. If I broke it, you would have license to use the clues in any damn manner you pleased, so there was much more at stake there than Dan's oversimplification supposed. Amy stared at me pleadingly, as though asking me not to do it; you were impassive—or giving me that disapproving stare, I can't remember which—; Dan was looking at me piteously, clearly not envious of my situation.

"And I had no idea what to do."

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A/N: Ack! Ok, I'll be honest, this chapter didn't go at all as planned. Initially, there was a whole other part I wanted to incorporate, but the Ian/Amy scene ran a little long and I had too much fun with the Irina/Ian interaction, so it looks like that will need to wait until the next chapter. And if you were a little disappointed by the watery Ian/Amy hurt/comfort stuff, don't worry. More is coming! Just please remember to review.