"Forgiving isn't something you do for someone else. It's something you do for yourself. It's saying, … 'You don't get to trap me in the past. I am worthy of a future.'" - Jodi Picoult
Melinda hadn't been to her mother's house in years. However, as soon as she opened the front door, she could tell that nothing much had changed since she had been there last. There were a few new photographs on the mantle and a new lamp, but for the most part, it was just as she remembered.
Phil had offered to take the couch since the kids would be taking up both the guest rooms. Against her will, her mind pulled her back to all of their visits here as teenagers — staying up all night talking about nothing and everything, and always sharing a room despite there being two available. She let him be noble, but asked if he was certain a few times first. She didn't bring up their teenage escapades and neither did he. Besides, her mother was in Taiwan on business, so Melinda would be taking her room and she really wasn't sure if she was prepared to share her mother's bed with her parabatai.
Time differences had meant that they arrived just after dinner time in Idris, so they spent a good portion of the evening settling in before Phil made them a small dinner. He and Hunter went into town afterwards to take care of some business and FitzSimmons had decided to try and get some sleep. The past several days had been emotionally exhausting for the two of them, and the stress was beginning to take a physical toll as well.
Skye was the only one still up when she came downstairs for a cup of tea. "I can't believe how much hair Coulson used to have." She said, looking at the pictures above the fire. "This is where you grew up?"
Melinda shook her head. "No, my mother bought this house when she first became the consul. I don't think she really intended to stay here, but by the time her term was over, I was all grown up and she had taken a liking to the place."
"Where did you live?" Skye asked.
"Parabatai can't be separated, so I stayed in New York with Phil."
Skye turned away from the pictures, sitting down on the sofa. "That must have been hard, being away from your mom for so long. The Consul's term is ten years, right?"
Mel nodded, joining her. "It wasn't that bad. She wrote me a letter every week to ask how I was doing and tell me about what was happening here."
"That's sweet." Skye smiled.
"Sort of. She wrote them all in Chinese so I had no choice but to practice."
The admission earned her one of Skye's genuine laughs. "She's strict about keeping traditions?"
"I think she was just afraid that if I stopped speaking Chinese, she'd loose a connection to me."
It was silent for a moment before Skye asked another question. "Why didn't you and Coulson come with her instead of staying behind?"
"It's probably hard for you to imagine since D.C. is the only Institute you've seen, but the one in New York is huge. There was a real sense of community there, and we were afraid that leaving for Idris would mean missing out on that community. We just couldn't bear the thought of leaving. "
"Then why did you?"
Skye wasn't stupid. Melinda knew she had to have heard about 'the Cavalry' at some point. So few people knew what had really happened though, she was bound to be curious.
She took a deep breath, slowed her heart rate and cleared her mind. Maybe she needed to tear that part of herself open again before it could heal for good, like a broken bone that's grown back together the wrong way.
"Seven years ago, we were starting to make amends with the vampires. There had been a bloody dispute in Asia about eight years before, and relations were still a bit… rocky."
"Yeah, Ward was telling me about that a few weeks ago. He said Shadowhunters were messing with Angels' blood and experimenting on vampires."
Just one Shadowhunter. She mentally corrected the girl. "Right." She said aloud. "The Clave was keeping a close eye on them, but the New York clan had made an ally named Eva. She was a Shadowhunter who had been stripped of her marks and banished from St. Petersburg for falling in love with a mundane. Eva became obsessed with getting revenge on the Clave. The vampires realized they had a common interest and agreed to turn her. It wasn't enough for Eva though. She turned her daughter, Katja, and fed her demon's blood when she emerged from the ground. She thought it would make her stronger, superior."
"That's horrible. What happened to her?"
Melinda took another breath, letting the air fill her lungs before pushing it out her nose. "The pain of the transformation drove her insane, soon she was wreaking havoc on the city while her mother facilitated kills for her. Eventually a group from the Institute stumbled upon her — or maybe she wanted to be found— but they were completely in over their heads."
"Ward said there were over two dozen of them." Skye interjected.
Melinda shook her head. "That number gets bigger every time someone tells that story. There were seven of them — just a bunch of teenagers, kids really. Katja and Eva had them trapped, so I went in… and I did what had to be done. Coulson got the offer to come to D.C. a month later, and we left." She didn't mention the way the whole city seemed to be oozing blood from all its little cracks after that, how she couldn't bear to walk past central park and hear the playful screams of the children running around anymore. Sometimes she thought that was the worst part, that the things she had once found joy in were suddenly painful.
"I- I don't know what to say." Skye said, and Melinda realized she'd almost forgotten the girl's presence. "It wasn't your fault you know. Her mother's choice is what killed her, not you."
"Eva wasn't holding the one holding the blade."
Skye glanced down at her hands. "No, but what she did to Katja was worse than death." Then, just like in the office, Skye was wrapping her up in a hug without any sort of warning. "Katja can't forgive you." She whispered. "But you need to forgive yourself. You did the right thing."
It had been ages since Melinda had let herself be comforted like this, but somehow with Skye's arms around her shoulders, she felt as if a part of her was starting to stitch itself back together.
Fitz had slept poorly, but when Jemma greeted him in the kitchen with a hot cup of tea and a kiss, his whole morning seemed to brighten up.
"Good morning, lovebirds." Skye said, emerging from the hallway. "Don't let Hunter catch you canoodling, he'll give Fitz the whole 'if you hurt her I'll feed your kidneys to a demon' talk."
"Liver." Fitz corrected.
"Sorry?" Jemma asked scrunching her eyebrows together in that adorable way she did.
Fitz stirred his tea, trying to look casual. "He said he'd feed my liver to a demon, not my kidneys. Although, really there's nothing stopping them from getting all of my internal organs if Hunter incapacitates me and offers me up to the nearest hellhound."
"And when exactly did he say this?"
"Last night, just after he got back from wherever he went with Coulson." He told her. "You know how he is, he didn't mean anything by it."
"Like hell I didn't." The man himself said, swaggering into the kitchen and pouring himself a cup of tea as well. "You hurt my baby sister and you'll be buried so deep, your ghost won't be able to find your body."
Jemma made a little disgusted noise and rolled her eyes. "Honestly Lance, I can take care of myself. I don't need you doing this ridiculous alpha-male routine with someone who has literally been willing to die for me."
"She's got a point." Skye piped up.
Lance let it go after one last pointed look at Fitz. "So, who's ready for a super fun day of stupid questions?"
"I don't think it'll be that bad." Jemma said. "The Council just wants to get a good understanding of what happened, know all the facts."
"You'd better go get ready." May warned as she came down the hall. She was already dressed and ready for the day, but reached for some tea. "We're leaving soon."
With that information, the four of them scrambled to get ready for the day.
The Council met in a large, circular chamber that sort of reminded Fitz of Parliament, or a courtroom on television. He sat with the others on a set of benches off to the side, while a gathering of Shadowhunters from around the world sat on tiered seats overlooking the center of the room. Coulson had been called to take the floor first after the Consul had called the meeting into order. "That's the Consul?" Skye whispered while everyone else was paying attention to Coulson's testimony. She glanced pointedly at the harsh looking man sitting front and center among the crowd of representatives.
"Fury." He confirmed. "He was the head of the New York Institute before he got offered the job. Now Maria Hill's in charge, she's the woman just to his right."
May nudged them and motioned for them to be quiet, so he spent the rest of Coulson's speech running his thumb in slow circles over the back of Jemma's hand. She could try to hide it all she wanted, but he knew she was nervous. The suspicion was confirmed when Coulson sat back down and her gentle hold on his hand turned to a death grip as they waited to see who would be called up next. It turned out to be Skye, which seemed to put Jemma in just as much distress as taking the floor herself would have.
A heavily accented man in the back spoke up. "You're… Skye?"
"Yes." She said, shifting from foot to foot.
"Tell us what happened the night you were kidnapped." The Consul said.
"I was walking to church with FitzSimmons, they said they needed to get some holy water…" Se started.
As Skye's story went on, Fitz's eyes roved over the assembled Shadowhunters. When they fell on a woman with dark hair streaked with crimson, he nudged Jemma's side and nodded towards her.
"Is that ..?"
"Victoria Hand?" He finished. "It is."
Jemma looked as if he'd just told her the Queen was present. "I can't believe the Inquisitor is here."
The room fell silent as Skye finished recounting her tale, and Fitz returned his attention to what was being said.
"How is it you ended up at the D.C. Institute?" A young man with dark hair spoke up. "Did you go there to train?"
Skye swallowed visibly. "No, Coulson found me fighting a demon in an alley near the Institute. My whole life I've been able to see things others couldn't, but he explained to me what I am and offered to teach me how to fight."
"And before that?" The man asked.
"I was in foster care."
He raised an eyebrow at that. "Oh? Your parents, are they dead?"
Jemma tensed at the question. Fitz was about ready to stand up and say something when Coulson coolly intervened. "If I'm not mistaken, , we're here to discuss an issue with the vampires of D.C., not to ask about the family life of a fifteen year-old girl."
"Ward? That must be Grant's older brother." Jemma whispered. It didn't take a genius to figure out that Grant had some serious bad blood with his family. Fitz had never actually asked him about it, but he knew Ward and his brother hadn't spoken in years. He didn't know what this man had done to his friend, but Fitz instantly hated him for it.
"He's right." Fury agreed. "Does anyone have any relevant questions?"
"I'd like to know more about this Ian Quinn." Hand said. "You said he mentioned an employer?"
"I don't know who he meant by that, all I know is that it's someone who knows Coulson. Quinn said his employer wanted him to destroy Coulson's life."
"Do you know who would want to do that?" Hill asked, looking over to Coulson.
He shook his head. "If I've stirred up contempt with anyone, they haven't mentioned it to me."
Fury shrugged. "I'd say the point's been made quite eloquently."
When they finally let Skye sit back down it was Jemma's turn to take the floor. She gave his hand a firm squeeze as she rose from the bench, then faced the Council alone. Her story started out the same as Skye's had, but branched off after they were knocked out. When she said she didn't know what happened after that, Fitz was called up to help fill in some of the blanks.
"Do you two always finish each other's sentences?" Asked the representative from Sofia. "It's very cute." Beside him Jemma started blushing as Fury shushed the chuckling Shadowhunters around him. "If nobody has any more questions, let's all take an hour for lunch then reconvene here to decide a course of action."
Now that was the best idea Fitz had heard all day — he was starving, and from the general murmur of agreement in the rom he could tell the sentiment was a shared one.
"I'm so glad that's over." Jemma admitted as they walked out of the building, trailing behind the rest of the group. "I was so nervous."
He pulled their intertwined fingers up to his lips and kissed the soft skin on the back of her hand. "You did great Jemma, just like you always do."
"Have I told you I love you today?" She grinned.
Fitz hummed dramatically as he pretended to think about it. "You know, I think it may have slipped your mind."
"It did? Well, why don't I make it up to you with a sandwich?"
He was about to suggest she make up for it with kiss instead when his stomach let out a loud gurgle. "I think I would like that very much." He laughed.
A/N: Let me know what you thought!