Warning: Mentions of postpartum depression.

The park was deserted at this hour, save for a group of mothers on a playdate. Their children were running around in the playground while the mothers sat together and talked. Aranea deliberately took a seat near them, letting snippets of their conversation reach her as she observed the children.

"So now we're all on this gluten-free diet-"

"-we had this super intense spiritual experience. I mean, it was during our vacation near the Rock of Ravatogh, and there was this spa over at-"

"-wouldn't stop breastfeeding her even when she's already six. Seriously, that's gonna cause a lot of problems in the long run, mark my words…"

"I dozed off during sex last night. And the funny thing was, he didn't even notice…"

"Y'know what you should do? Set aside a specific time for it. Like what me and my husband did. Every Thursday, 9pm. Boom. Clothes off, ready to go."

Aranea snickered at this. All hail the tedium of scheduled sex. That was one thing she was glad she could do without. She leaned back, watching the blue sky through the canopy of trees. Her armpits were beginning to sweat beneath her suit jacket, and she made to take it off when she noticed a sharp decline of chatter from the ladies. She craned her neck to see what was going on, and then caught sight of the figure walking through the park's main gates.

Ignis.

Aranea's mouth twisted into an irritated moue. He strode through the pathway, looking for her...seemingly oblivious to the way the ladies were eyeing him like he was a tall glass of refreshing drink. By some grace of the Six, a shaft of sunlight had burst through the clouds and shone onto him, throwing his chiseled jawline and nose into sharp profile.

Of fucking course, Aranea bitterly thought. All he had to do was look like he'd stepped out of a goddamn GQ front cover. He didn't have to worry about Spanx underwear, or cellulite, or even varicose veins. She'd been dealing with those ever since she had Julian. Seems to her she had the bum end of the deal the moment she'd hopped onto the motherhood express train. Maybe she really should get him to take on most of the responsibility - since he did owe it to her in some way.

He finally spotted her, and made his way towards her. "You've chosen a rather peculiar place to meet," he remarked, one eyebrow cocked.

"Would you rather me pick some dodgy back alley?" she scoffed. "Guy like you'd be mugged within seconds. You've got yourself some groupies, by the way."

"What?"

She tilted her head towards the general direction of the mothers. "Fangirls. Or rather - fan ladies."

He spared them the barest of glances before making a dismissive motion with one hand. Wordlessly, he pointed towards the newspaper next to her. She shrugged, indifferent.

He sat down, taking the newspaper and unfolding it. It was one of those tabloid rags, obtained cheaply from a roadside vendor. Ardyn's picture was on the front page, head bowed down as if in remorse. The headline said, in big blocky letters: 'I STILL LOVE MY WIFE'.

"Can you believe that shit?" Aranea scoffed. "He's trying to undermine my work with you guys."

"I don't see how-"

"Check paragraph three. Right after that part where he says the divorce was regrettable. They're sayin' I'm responsible for promoting the royal wedding. Word like that gets out and people will begin to wonder what I'm doing here instead of running back to my loving husband's arms. This right here, is a PR smear tactic. A soft one, mind you. He's poking us, trying to see what we'll do."

"Oh, come now. Surely this trite nonsense can't possibly be taken seriously by anyone!"

"They'll spin this. The possible narratives they could think out of this is endless! They'll say shit like how Lucis has brainwashed Imperial citizens into joining their cause. They'll start to question Noct's leadership qualities. Soon they'll drag Lunafreya into this mess, and it's all Lucis vs. Niflheim all over again."

"Who is this 'they' you keep referring to?"

"Spin doctors. PR officers. Take your pick. Niflheim's got an army of social media stooges stirring up shit over the net. You tend to see them trolling message boards, causing fights, or just basically starting baseless rumours that gets passed along."

Ignis carefully folded back the paper and set it aside. "Aranea, I think you have been wearing the tinfoil hat for far too long. I would've expected Prompto to come up with this kind of thing, but not you."

"Oh, you think so, huh?" she said nastily. "Y'know, during my time at school, they'd distribute flyers every week, praising the greatness of the Empire and how she'll protect us. This right here works the same way. They never mention his work as Chancellor. Instead they show a guy who's lost a woman he loves and he wants her back. People resonate with that. They want to see a love story with a happy ending."

"Noct's love story has a happy ending! He's devoted to Lady Lunafreya. And she to him. You can't possibly ask for a more solid union between the Oracle and the King. You assume that I don't know how this works, but you couldn't be more wrong. The zeitgeist of our generation is of uncertainty and antagony, yes. But it is also of hope, and a promise of a better future. Are you really that much of a pessimist to not want that for Julian?"

She sighed. He's right, dammit. He always was. "If there's anything that I've learned from Ardyn, is that he'll always have a hidden ace up his sleeve."

"And what makes you think that I don't have one?"

"You're not a bastard, that's what."

He shook his head, tired of this debate. It was foolish to ignore the writings on the wall, he knew that. But there were other things that demanded their more immediate attention, and Aranea seemed to have lost sight of that. He looked around, taking a moment to soak in his surroundings. "Why are you here?"

"You mean, existentially? If I'm here to answer a higher calling, then I must've missed the cue."

"No. I mean, why are you here...in this place?"

"Trying to blend in, I guess? Pretending."

He eyed the children, the group of mothers, and then back at her. "You're pretending to be a suburban housewife?"

"Must be nice, to be bored of their lives," she said. "All they need to worry about is snacks for the kids, when's the next soap opera coming up, and then wait for their husbands to come home for some nice scheduled sex. Ugh, if it were me, I'd take a shotgun and blow my own head to bits. Or swallow Prozac. Same thing."

"How morbid," he murmured. "You're not cut out for an ordinary life, Aranea. You're too much of an unpredictable algorithm. Being one of them-" he motioned towards the group of mothers, "would chafe you to the very core."

"Know what I feel like sometimes?"

"Schizophrenic?"

"Oh, you're so funny. No. I feel like I'm one of those RPG characters where you have to do a special glitch just to get me as your party member."

He wrinkled his brow. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying-" she made a frustrated noise, seemingly at a loss to explain herself. "I don't really fit anywhere. I'm not part of anything. It makes no difference whether I'm there or not."

He had no response to this. If he was indeed mulling over one, he'd swallowed it and stored it somewhere under the category of 'Unimportant'. "I could've drove us here."

"I wanted to take the monorail. They're issuing this limited edition Pasmo cards...the one with the Noctis and Luna's wedding design. Besides, the office is right there, right?" she asked, motioning towards the building nearby.

"Oh, please. Of all the flimflam excuses you could possibly give me, a Pasmo card cannot be one of it."

"Look, I needed the space...ok? And I think you need it as much as I do. What we're about to do...what you're getting yourself into-"

"Is something that I consciously and willingly choose to do. You cannot say that I'm doing this out of duress. So please...let me hear none of this. Enough of you questioning my choices."

He never rose his voice. He didn't have to. He spoke with such firmness and conviction that it surprised even her.

"You're gonna be hearing a lot of ugly shit, that's all I'm sayin'," she said. "Last chance to bail. I won't hold it against you."

He fixed her with a rather pointed look, as if nailing his answer straight to her head. She raised her hands in mock defeat. "Alright, alright. Case closed. We won't mention this anymore."

"Aranea…"

"What?" She'd heard him say her name in varying shades of emotion: anger, disappointment, humour. This time she was hearing hesitation.

"For what it's worth...your presence does matter to me."

He'd said it in such quiet tones that she almost missed it. When he finally plucked up enough courage to look up from the ground, he found that she was staring at him. He squared his jaw and met her gaze. There's no backing down from this now.

"Is it not enough for you?" he asked.

She seemed to have suddenly remembered to speak. "Well, I-um," she burbled. "Hm…" Fight or flight, Aranea. You run away now, he wins. And he'll get to be such a smug jerk about it afterwards.

So she chose the best course of action.

She got up and left.

Aranea studied the namecard she'd been given. Ludo Vedrix of Vedrix and Associates. The lawyer's hand was smooth and warm as she shook it. He must've invested on a very good skin lotion to take care of it, much like the rest of his polished appearance. The skull motif lapel pin on his coat indicated that he's the officially-appointed royal legal counsel. He seemed a decade older than her at least, if the white hair near his temples were of any indication.

They were seated at the coffee table, Aranea finding herself once again fidgeting uncomfortably on the sofa. The framed university certificates adorning the wall did nothing to assure her that she was in good hands. There was even an enlarged photograph of Ludo posing and smiling with the late King Regis. They seemed to be chummy, but then again a 10,000 gil hourly rate would make anyone BFFs with their employer.

"You ever lost a case?" she asked.

"Losing is a precursor to winning, Ms. Highwind. And I fully intend to win. Now - I've been brought up to speed with your case, but there's still some pertinent details that we need to go through. Before we begin, however...are you comfortable with Mr. Scientia being privy to our discussion?"

"What?"

"Do you require his presence?" He nodded towards Ignis, who was seated next to her.

"Oh. Yes. He's very much involved in this."

"And how so?"

"He's -uh- he's the father of my son." She cleared her throat. "The real one."

Ludo's eyebrow twitched. "I see," he said emphatically, opening his briefcase with two smart clicks. "Well, congratulations to you. Most people lack that kind of information, making the issue of paternity a rather...sticky subject."

"Well, you're good at getting people unstuck, right?"

"I do try." He produced a tablet and a pen, ready to jot down information. "Now, as I understand it, you wish to contend the custodial right over your son, correct?"

"Yes."

"Mothers usually lose that right when there's evidence that they're a danger to the safety and wellbeing of their child. Has there ever been such evidence brought against you?"

"Yes. I -uh-" Aranea shut her eyes and sighed, dreading this very moment. She knew meeting a lawyer was a bad move, because then all the ugliness and shit would be dragged out into the light. But the alternative was much, much worse, and that prompted her to reply: "I tried to kill my son once."

She didn't bother to look when she heard the shuffling next to her. Ignis was clearly troubled by this revelation. Yet another thing you didn't know about me. She was a stack of cards with plenty of blank faces.

Ludo's pen got busy, scribbling something over the tablet. "Would you care to elaborate?"

"When he was a baby, I had trouble coping with him, and the...changes that came with it. Doubled by his constant health problems, and me not being able to work because of his health problems...well, things just got worse. My career was on a standstill, and with Ardyn's repeated absence, I was pretty much on my own. I was frazzled, frustrated, and very much alone. So one day...I just snapped. I-I thought that it'd be easier if Julian was dead."

That admission, once it was said out loud, felt shameful and jarring. She went silent for a long moment. Only the sounds of the secretary working outside filtering in through the door served to break that silence.

"I understand that talking about this is very difficult," Ludo eventually said. "But in order for me to be of any help, I'm going to need you to be as thorough with the facts as possible. Abstracts and hearsay do not hold weight in any court. So...whenever you're ready...please continue."

Aranea's fingers twitched. Ignis had recognized that poker tell of hers. She was nervous and uncomfortable, a rare set of emotion for her.

Her voice turned hollow as she began to recount the lowest point of her life. "I was driving down the freeway with him in the car. We'd just got back from yet another hospital visit. He had his inoculation jab, and he's running a fever. Wouldn't stop crying, just wailing away like some stupid noise machine. I started driving real fast. I really wanted to smash us against a wall or jump over the railing right into the ocean. Anything, really. Anything to make him shut the hell up."

Ludo never stopped writing. "And then?" he prompted.

"And then nothing. He burbled something that sounded like 'mama', which was goddamn stupid because 3 month babies can't say shit. But it made me slam the brakes and I just fishtailed in the middle of the road, almost got run over by an SUV in the process. I just stalled, right there in the highway, causing a massive traffic jam. By the time a patrol car found me, I was bawling over the steering wheel with Julian still screaming at the back."

"What happened afterwards?"

"I called up Ardyn...practically begging him to help. Told him I was going crazy. But he said, and I quote: 'Don't go crazy. No one will feel sorry for you if you do.' The damn weasel. He'd used my little 'episode' to contend the fact that I'm an unfit mother and the judge ruled in his favour."

"But that was just one instance, and your son wasn't injured-"

"Well, the prenup just sealed the case against me."

"There's a prenuptial agreement?"

"Of course there is. Smug rich assholes like him? He's gotta protect his assets, right? I was stupid enough to not read through the whole damn thing, but there's a clause that says 'in the event that physical evidence of infidelity has been presented' and Ardyn just waved the paternity test result in court, claiming that I've 'breached contract' and that's the final nail to the coffin. I lost my son, lost my business, lost a crapload of money trying to win both back."

"This prenuptial agreement of yours. I'm going to need a copy, just to go through the details. Who was the attorney present when you signed it?"

"Just Ardyn's usual lawyer."

"You weren't represented by anyone?"

"No. We did it at the kitchen. His lawyer came over and explained everything to me, summarizing the prenup's key points, and that's it."

"And throughout that meeting, neither one of them advised you to seek legal counsel prior to signing?"

"No. Why? You think they should've?"

"Hm, interesting. I really need to look further into this before I could suggest a plan of action."

They sat together for a moment, Aranea filling in details at Ludo's prompting. Eventually the meeting ended with them shaking hands and Ludo assuring her that he'll remain in contact. She'd already left his office with Ignis when she suddenly excused herself and went back in again. Ludo was in the middle of making a phone call when he looked up and saw her.

"Ms. Highwind. Did you forget something?" he asked.

"Yeah. Your price," she said. "You never told me how much this is gonna cost. Superstar lawyer like you...can't possibly forget about that one important thing, right?"

"Ah, yes. Forgive me. I'd presumed that you've already been informed beforehand."

"Informed about what?"

In response, he took a notepad and pen, and began writing on it. "I charge hourly rates, along with a retainer fee. There's also a contingency fee, but in your case, it isn't applicable. I charge for administration too - fact checks, filings, bookkeeping and the such - and also any case-related travel and lodging should the need for one arises. In short, Ms. Highwind, this is what you owe me-"

Aranea's dread was already mounting the moment he said 'hourly rates'. She forced herself to look at the notepad he'd turned towards her.

After a beat, she gave him a confused look. "This is a freaking joke...right?"

It said: '0 gil'.

"No. I am completely serious. You have Mr. Scientia to thank for that. He'd taken it upon himself to foot the bill. Again, I apologize. I thought that he'd already discussed the matter with you."

There's something inherently sad about train stations. A romantic kind of sad. Aranea recalled that she'd said far more goodbyes there than hellos.

Today was no different.

Ignis had insisted on seeing her off at the platform. She stood awkwardly with him, ignoring the stares and sniggers Biggs and Wedge had been giving them from a distance. The LED board announcing the train's schedule was flashing. Tenebrae: Boarding in 10 minutes.

Eventually, she couldn't keep it in any longer. "Alright. What do you want?"

Ignis was still staring at the crowd milling about on the platform, although his eyebrow was cocked at her question. "Do you expect a general answer, or…"

"Quit playin' dumb. You suck at it."

"I really don't know what kind of response you're expecting here."

"The lawyer told me you're taking care of the bill. Why?"

"I should think the reason's pretty clear to you by now."

"I'll pay you back. Okay? Just tell me how much, and-"

"No," he said emphatically. This time he was looking at her. "I simply will not accept that."

"Look, everyone's got a price. Even you."

"Have you completely lost your faith in the spirit of altruism? People do that sometimes, you know. People who care enough."

"Yeah, but-"

"I will only take what you're willing to give."

"Wha-? That's my line!"

"No. You said you won't ask for what I'm not willing to give. Mine is completely different."

"Yeah, well...semantics! They're both the same!" said Aranea, waving a hand dismissively.

"Good. Then it's nice to know that we're both on the same page about this."

"That's not-"

"Aranea, don't you think that it's far more prudent to set aside your money for Julian's future? His education, for example. His daily needs. His comfort. Have you not invested a single thought about that? Or are you that secure of his wellbeing? Have you ever thought about what you're going to do once you've got him back? Where are you going to stay once this job with Noct is over?"

"I'll think of something!" Aranea said, a tad defensively. "I always do!"

"Quite. A bohemian lifestyle may suit you, but not necessarily him. A child his age needs structure. A routine. You can't have that when you're moving around a lot."

"Yeah? And what made you such an expert all of a sudden? Mr. Google?"

"I've been raising the Crown Prince since he was a child. You need my résumé as caregiver? That is one."

He took note of her silence, and knew that he'd nailed his point home.

"I am taking responsibility," he said, softening his tone. "It is what I do. It is what I've always have been. You cannot tell me to be anything else, just as much as I cannot tell you to be anyone else. Don't you think there'd be a far better outcome for both of us if we'd reached a compromise instead of an impasse?"

A man bearing a luggage trolley rattled past, trailing six noisy children behind him. Their caterwauling wails interrupted whatever contemplative moment they have between them.

Ignis recalled the things Aranea had said at Ludo's office. A terrible weight suddenly descended upon him, bitter and vitriolic in taste. "What happened to you...what was done to you...was despicable. Had I known sooner, I'd have-"

There was a cheerful ding from the intercom, followed by a woman announcing that the train to Tenebrae was ready for boarding.

Aranea shouldered her bag. She was still trying to think of what to say.

"Things are a bit better now. That's all that matters," she said, sounding nonchalant. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, added: "Thanks for the ride. If I haven't thanked you for everything else, then thanks for that too."

"I've already said that I would help. I meant every single word."

They stared at each other for a moment. The air between them once again crackled with things that they'd wanted to say to each other but couldn't quite bring themselves to do it.

"Safe travels, Aranea. Please let me know once you've arrived."

"It's gonna be a boring six hours."

"Yes, well...I'm sure you'll find a way to occupy yourself."

"Too bad you're not comin'." She raised an index finger and lightly prodded him in the chest.

And then she was gone. She boarded the train steps, and with one final wave, disappeared into the carriage.

Biggs and Wedge eventually trotted past, the former tipping his hat at Ignis, while the latter said: "Put it righ' 'ere, mate."

He had his fist raised.

After the briefest of hesitation, Ignis took his hand out of his pocket and fistbumped Wedge.

"She takes care o' herself. But we'll keep an eye out too," said Wedge with a wink.

Whatever meaningful moment Ignis had with Aranea, it was gone the moment he reached the Citadel. The men's restroom up at the 10th floor suffered a leakage and now the entire Department of Education and Training smelt like a septic tank. He stood in the midst of the pandemonium as crewmen with facial masks came and went, trying their best to fix the problem while orderlies armed with air fresheners walked around the hallways, spraying as they went, trying to mask the foul odour.

The stench even followed him inside the elevator, and he fervently hoped that it didn't stick to his clothes. The moment he reached his office, he was summoned by Noctis for a meeting. He'd sighed, thinking that there was indeed no rest for the wicked. By the time 6pm rolled by, he decided to clock out. It had been a particularly draining day, and all he wanted was to just go home and sleep.

Which was why when the phone call with the strange number came in, he almost didn't pick up.

And he was really glad that he eventually did in the end.

He'd made it a policy to not entertain work-related calls and emails after hours just for the sake of his own sanity, and he'd even distributed a memo to all the other departments to do the same. This came in light of an employee who had a nervous breakdown, and now there's bi-annual talks about mental health and depression which was compulsory for every staff to attend.

He stared at the flashing number on the screen, not recognizing the dialling code. He really was looking forward to sleep. He'd already taken off his glasses and turned down the bed.

His thumb hovered over the red button to reject the call, but somehow at the last minute it swiped right and hit the green button instead.

"Scientia speaking." He'd kept his tone brusque to make it clear that he wasn't in a chatty mood.

He heard nervous breathing on the other end. This is no time to play the stupid waiting game. "Please state your business, or I will hang up," he said.

A child's voice eventually spoke up, clear as bell: "Mister Scientia?"

There's a distinct difference between Mr and Mister. Mr was something you'd normally hear within polite society, an honourific of sorts; while Mister was something you'd get out of a seedy dark alley, where the speaker would say 'Whatcha lookin' at, mister?', and you know you'll get a faceful of knuckle duster afterwards, followed by you waking up in a bathtub full of ice with a kidney missing.

This Mister, however, was different. It spoke of uncertainty, and fear.

"Yes, speaking. Who is this?"

"Um, hi. I-I'm Julian. My mom gave me your number in case I couldn't reach her. She's Aranea...by the way…? She said that you're her good friend, and I should call you if I'm ever in any trouble."

Ignis's eyes widened. Stars above, it can't be. It can't possibly be him right now! Ignis glanced at the bedside clock as if it was a point of solace, a tangible anchor to reality. The digital display showed that it was already 9pm.

"Are you in trouble, Julian?" he said levelly.

"No. It's just that I tried calling her, and I kept getting the voicemail. I got worried, so that's when I decided to call you. I hope you're not angry…?"

"What? No! I'm absolutely not angry. In fact, I'm very glad that I finally get to talk to you. Your mother has spoken so much about you."

"She did? What did she say?"

"She said that you're very smart and you enjoy reading about monsters."

"Yeah! She gave me a book and it's my favourite! But-" at this point his voice fell. "I've torn it all up."

"Why did you do that?"

"'Cuz I was angry. I thought she'd already forgotten about me. My dad told me that she has."

"Your father? Ardyn?"

"Yeah."

"Julian, your mother would never forget you. In fact, you're all she thinks about. She couldn't wait to see you again, and she's trying her very best to make that happen. She's on her way to Tenebrae right now. That's probably why you couldn't reach her." By his own estimation, she'd be arriving within two hours...but due to timezone differences, he's guessing that he wouldn't be hearing from her until the next morning.

"What's she doing in Tenebrae?"

"She's got some work to take care of. If you leave a message on her phone, I'm sure she will call you back."

"Thanks. I'll do just that. Hey, can I ask you something?"

"You can ask me anything."

"What's a half-breed? Is it a bad thing?"

He frowned. "Where is this coming from?"

"It's just that people keep calling me that, and they're always angry whenever they see me. Is it because I'm a bastard? People call me that too, whenever they think I'm not listening. Is there something wrong with me? Am I gonna die?" Julian's voice quavered towards the end, very close to tears.

Ignis closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose hard. Oh, dear God. To hear all that filth uttered in the innocent voice of a child was just too much. He could only imagine the amount of abject cruelty Julian was subjected to during his time with Ardyn. If only he'd known sooner. If only Aranea had approached him. A dozen if only's running through his head at supersonic speed, and he knew none of them mattered at this point.

"No, there's absolutely nothing wrong with you," he finally managed. "It's just that...people don't understand you as well as they should." How the hell was he supposed to rationalize this to a child?

"Mister Scientia?"

"Yes?"

"Can you keep a secret?"

"I'm extremely good at keeping secrets. Is it something you don't want your mother to find out?"

Julian spoke in hushed tones, as if he was whispering right into the mouthpiece: "I've a real dad, you know."

Ignis felt himself clutching the phone tighter. "Do you now?"

"I don't really know what that means. I think he's out there, but I hafta go on this quest first - like King's Knight - to find him. I gotta travel to some faraway place, maybe fight some dragons and some epic bosses. Then when I finally meet him, he's gonna say: 'Yo, you rad for being my son.'"

Ignis let out a long, drawn-out chuckle. The boy's got imagination, he could grant him that. "What do you think he's going to do once you meet him?"

"I dunno. I guess he'd probably give me some ultra rare items - y'know the purple-coloured ones? Yeah, like Superior Amulet of Power or something like that. Do you play King's Knight?"

"I did, yes. Many years ago." He didn't even realize how long ago that was. His character was probably still stored in a server somewhere.

"I like playing the warrior. Wizards are so weak. I hate them."

"Actually, I'm a wizard. And a very good one too. I bet I can give you a run for your money."

"You're gonna play with me?"

"Why not? It'd be a good way for us to know each other." Damn, he'd have to start recalling all the command keys again. They'd probably revamped all of that when they rolled out the latest version. Was it King's Knight 6, or 7 now...?

"Do you think he's going to like me? My real dad, I mean."

"I don't see any reason why not. I already like you, and I can say with the utmost authority that he's going to like you too."

"Why is he so far away, then?"

And that was that. Ignis was stumped. A seasoned royal advisor, well-versed in the subtle art of diplomacy and courtly intrigue; the master orator himself...stunned into silence by a six-year-old.

He felt a lump in his throat. He swallowed hard and coughed before saying: "I wish I could answer that. I really do."

"Being an adult is super complicated, isn't it?"

"I'm afraid it is."

"I don't ever want to be one."

"That is something entirely unavoidable. However, being an adult means you can do more fun things."

"Such as?"

"Staying up as late as possible. Eating as much ice cream as you like." He'd thought of Noctis as he said that. Noctis the perpetual man-child.

"Awesome!" Julian audibly yawned. "Thanks for letting me talk to you, Mister Scientia. I gotta go now."

"You can call me Ignis. All of my friends call me that."

"Ignis," said Julian, testing the name out. "Okay."

"Goodnight, Julian. Dream of dragons for me."

"G'night."

The boy hung up. Ignis listened to the dial tone for a while, before putting down the phone. He stared into space, lost in a maelstrom of thoughts and emotions.

"Bloody hell."

Next episode: Cid gives advice about wimmin'.