November 27, 2016.

.

"Wake up!" Valerius pounded on the door.

Morginne had already been awake for a while and had in fact been in the shower.

Squire stood barking at the noise coming from the door. If Valerius didn't stop, the landlord would throw a fit over her companion. So, she wrapped a towel around herself and opened the door after ordering the dog to sit.

"I didn't realize it was a sin to take a shower in peace." She stated blandly.

Valerius dropped his eyes. "My apologies. But, I am making sure that you head out for patrol."

Morginne tilted her head. "Are you Acheron's watch dog now?"

His eyes narrowed. "No. But, we pushed too much the other night and you did not patrol last night. It made sense as you needed to regain your powers. However, Tabitha and I have been concerned."

"Two thousand years with nobody caring what I do. Now, I take one night off and I am being interrogated?"

"I have always cared Morginne." He looked at her levelly. "You were the one who walked away when I saw you in Londinium in the first century. I had always considered you an ally and looked upon you with respect."

She scoffed. "Respect? General, you found me in a mud pit."

"You fell in after killing six daimons in the middle of a rainstorm. The badass quotient out weighed the circumstance."

"At least we warmed up with some good wine afterward."

He chuckled. "Indeed." He paused. "I am sorry that I didn't push you then. Perhaps if I knew more, I could have…"

"Don't." She cut him off. "You couldn't fix anything. And, I would rather that what I said be forgotten. I don't want others to know or keep dealing with pity."

Valerius tilted his head. She was a proud woman. Damaged. Hurt. But, very proud. When he met her, she carried the weight of her people on her shoulders. That weight changed over time. Yet, she continued to choose to carry that burden silently.

"No pity, Morginne. Just someone to go patrol with for the night instead of being alone all the time."

She sighed. "Well, out the door then. Because I am not hunting in nothing but a towel."

December 12, 2016.

.

The following weeks were a challenge. Calix and Morginne couldn't simply go back to business as usual.

Morginne tried to forget that anything had happened. She avoided Calix and wouldn't talk about it with Valerius or Tabitha. Though Valerius or Tabitha offered to patrol with her several times. Morginne would only let them if they didn't dig.

Calix had a difficult time coming to terms with his guilt. And it hurt him that she avoided him. Not that he deserved her tenderness. He just didn't know how to make things right on his own.

Her response every time was to not worry about it. Nothing he did could change the past. But, anything he did weakened them both. Then she would walk off. She just couldn't deal with the look on his face.

The last thing she needed were the constant reminders. Reminders of her past. Reminders of how she gave in and told him the truth. Reminders of how hurt he was because she crumbled.

The frustrations had Calix's mood swings bouncing faster than a pregnant woman. He would be withdrawn and overwhelmed with his guilt and grief. Then he would remember what Shevon said, that Morginne needed him. So, then he would be desperate to help her. But, she would push him away. His anger would spike for a while only to remind himself that it was all his own fault and back into the darkness of guilt and self blame he would fall. A constant cycle on repeat.

That was how he found himself the center of Quadrel's latest rant.

"Calix." Q prodded. "Bro, I get that you are in some fucked up tailspin. But, you gotta get out and patrol at least. Don't leave Morginne out there to do it all alone."

"She's not alone. There are still the Dog's of War in town. Raden's on 'Special Duty' tonight, whatever in the hell that is all about. So, that still leaves the others to patrol or whatever." Calix was slouched in the couch. He didn't even look at Q. At least not until a pillow was thrown at his head.

The growl that Calix sent Quadrel should have scared the piss out of the man. Yet, after two and a half decades together, it didn't phase Q one bit. "I am telling you man. You need to work through this. You fucked up. You know it. I know it. Morginne knows it."

"I don't need you to remind me!" Calix yelled.

"Damn, get the hell over yourself!" Q screamed back. "You screwed up two thousand years ago. It was a series of miscommunications and lies that lead you to think something that wasn't true. You made choices thinking things would be a certain way and that didn't happen. Morginne knows that. She told you that. She gets that you never meant for her to suffer as badly as she did. She gets that you did it all out of pain, of feeling utterly betrayed. She gets that. I get that."

Quadrel took a deep breath. "Man, don't you see. She was able to move on from her anger. She doesn't blame you. Because she found a way to see past it. She is still scarred. And things are still complicated. But, she doesn't hate you. Because she knows what I know. That you are a good man that faced a really shitty betrayal and lashed out. I am sorry that you made mistakes. But, it doesn't change the man that you are. You are my friend. You are a man that has had honor and loyalty for centuries. Even the other Dark-Hunters think so. The only Roman they even tolerate."

Calix finally looked at him. "But, they don't know the truth that I do now. I betrayed her. Horrifically. Because of my actions, my child was killed. My wife was hurt more than I could ever imagine. In ways that make me sick. Hurt so badly, that she sought a way to die. What is worse, is that I continued to hate her for all of it for two thousand years. Blind in my ignorance." Tears tracked down his cheeks.

"That is all on me. There are no excuses. There is no forgiveness from that."

Quadrel dropped his head. "No. There are no excuses. But, there can still be forgiveness. I believe Shevon. Morginne needs you. But, it will take time. You can't be your stubborn, bull-headed, charge in and make things happen self. You have to start slow."

"What are you talking about?"

"Man, this whole Dark-Hunter rule of one night stands only, seriously screwed up your understanding of women. Calix, from everything you told me about her, from everything she said, Morginne is a very independant woman. One who has been alone for a very long time. You can't just barge in and demand to fix things. It only makes her defensive."

Calix grunted. He really didn't like condescending tone that was being thrown his way. Yet, he realized he was out of his depth.

"Start with just being there for her. Patrol. Watch her back. Help her stay safe. Then, slowly, maybe the two of you could built toward meeting for coffee or something at the beginning of the night. Just a chance to get to know one another now. Not talk about the past. Not getting all depressed. But, a new start."

"Do you really think that will work?"

Q nodded. "Yeah. Right now, you need to start from scratch. Start a whole new relationship. Start with simple friendship and work on building current trust."

"You have never been in a serious relationship for long." Calix accused.

His Squire shrugged. "Because I don't like lying to women. Hard to keep the Squire thing from them for long without lying. And I can't tell them. Sucks to be your friend sometimes. Even when I find a good woman, I still end up choosing your ancient ass."

"Gloria knows about us already." Calix offered.

That pulled a small smile from Q's lips. "That she does. I really like her. And I am pissed that I can't be there for her right now. So, don't make another mistake and ignore your chance to be there for Morginne."

Words floated through Calix's mind as he patrolled. Q was right. The Roman couldn't be there for Morginne if he only focused on the past. It still hurt him. Hell, it was devastating. But, he needed to be there for her now. That meant forcing himself to move past his pain, at least enough to get out and be there.

So, there he was. Roaming the streets of New Orleans. Looking for daimons to kill. Keeping an eye out for the woman who had such a deep hold on him.

It didn't take long before he found her, that chocolate lab still at her heels. She tried to turn and head the other way, but he caught up.

"Listen, please. I know I can't fix the past. But, can we try to start over? You agreed to be friends."

"But, your guilt made it impossible." She snapped.

He shook his head. "I was lost in my own pain. I am sorry. I don't know how to process all of this. But, I do want to be here for you. As a friend."

Onyx eyes stared at midnight eyes. Hers cold and distant. His full of regret and desperation.

She tilted her head. "We still drain each other's powers."

"Q made a really good point earlier. You and I have both changed. Our past changed us. I know you are still the woman that I fell in love with, but your innocence is gone and you face new hardships. I want us to get to know each other again. Start from scratch. Wipe the slate clean and build something new."

Morginne didn't know what to say. It was difficult for her to open up to anyone. Tabitha practically had to pull out teeth to get much from Morinne. Even after the public confessions. Yet, in the quiet darkness of that night, Morginne had opened up to him. She had admitted to things that she never thought she would tell anyone.

"Phone calls."

"What?" Calix asked. Unsure if he heard her whispered words correctly.

"Phone calls." She repeated. "You can call me after you finish patrolling. Or whenever. Start with phone calls." They wouldn't weaken each other and she wouldn't see the pain and pity in his eyes.

A slow smile crept up in the corner of Calix's lips. She was giving him a chance. He nodded. "I would be honored. And you can call me any time if you need something."

"Any time?" She quirked a brow. "I can call you at noon and ask you to get me a pizza?"

Calix laughed. "If you want me to kill myself, you just have to ask. I nearly did it for you that first day." His voice trailed off. He knew she meant it as a joke, but still.

Morginne sighed. "Alright, no daytime errands. Just phone calls. Now, I need to continue patrolling before you weaken me too much."

"Stay safe Morginne."

"You too."