Thank you to everyone who has been very patient with me! I promise I'm not abandoning this story at anytime. Hopefully I can add another chapter before the summer hits. I've been taking classes up at a community college in my area, so working on this has actually given me a good stress break.
Thanks to everyone who has commented and added this story to their various alert/favorite lists. It means a lot.
I hope to see your reviews/opinions on this chapter soon.

Chapter Fourteen - Puzzle Solved

Desmond stared up at the ceiling that he didn't think he would ever see again. That he hadn't plan on seeing again. But that, that was barely a month ago when he had those thoughts. Back when he thought his parents were part of some strange crazy cult.

Now though, things were different. Now Desmond knew. Okay, so maybe he didn't know everything, but he understood. He understood a number of things. And he wasn't sure how he felt about it all. He barely registered the soft knock at his door.

"Desmond?" his mom's voice muffled slightly by the door. "I brought you some food."

Guilt gnawed viciously at him at her words. He know that he had made her worry immensely. If he had known...

Too late to take any of it back now. He was going to have to deal with the consequences of his actions soon. Afterall, his little runaway stunt had nearly caused a complete relocation of the Farm and probably, most likely, took a few years off of the lives of both of his parents. So he kept silent, not quiet ready to face either of his parents, especially his mother. Of course, his mom came in anyway (as most moms do).

"Desmond? Have you... have you eaten anything yet?" she asked.

He shook his head minutely.

"You should have a little something."

Awkward silence filled the small bedroom. Desmond wasn't sure what to say or if he should say, anything at all. He could only assume that the same could be said for her. The soft clink of a plate being set down on his dresser seemed to be louder than it actually was.

"Des," his mom paused for a long moment, "Des, I just want you to know... I just want you to know that I'm so happy you're okay."

Desmond heard the relief in her voice and the slight hitch in it. He was going to make her cry. Granted they were happy tears. But they were tears he caused. How many other times had he made her cry when he left?

He heard her move to leave.

"I'm sorry, Mom."

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her stop. The silence that filled the was more painful than awkward. Desmond really, really wanted her to say something.

"I know, Des. I know."

He saw her smile. He felt a little better.

Desmond really, really wanted to run away right now. Or at least find a good hiding spot. But Lucy had that determined look on her face, and she was already worried and suspicious about his very recent behavior. And if he had learned anything from the people around him (mainly bar patrons), generally running away from problems tended to make them worse. He gave Lucy a small smile, hoping that she wouldn't question him too much.

"Anything left?" Desmond asked as he headed to the small fridge.

She shrugged. "Some of last night's dinner, a few frozen dinners."

"Slim pickins', huh?" he mused as he opened the fridge door. "I really don't want to do a food run. Hey, there's some yogurt back here."

"Don't you dare touch that." Lucy said darkly.

Desmond turned his head to see that she was glaring daggers at him, her hand tightly gripping her fork. He was certain that if he was standing next to her, she wouldn't hesitate to stab that fork near his hand.

"Uh..."

"That is mine." Lucy continued, "And if you touch it, I will end you."

Desmond nodded and grabbed the tupperware of leftovers. "Protective much?" he teased.

She sighed. "Well half of my stash disappeared, and I'm still trying to figure out who ate them."

"And you haven't had a chance to replace it?" he finished.

"That and it's the good stuff."

"Ah."

'Well you know how to get into her good graces!' Ezio laughed.

Desmond frowned. I didn't ask for your commentary.

The Italian scoffed. 'Nonsense! You clearly need all the help you can get! By the time you make your move, the Mentor and I will be grey and unable to leave our chairs.'

Please, please. Shut. Up!

'Ah-ha! You don't deny it! You don't deny that you need help!'

Can't you just mumble or something like Altaїr?

'And miss out on an opportunity to help our glorious bloodline to continue? I-"

"DESMOND!" Lucy's shout made him jump and cut off Ezio. Desmond's eyes fell onto Lucy's face. Her eyes were wide and her face pale. And that's when he realized that he had been so focused on his conversation with his ancestor, he had tuned out Lucy completely.

"I-..." he was at a loss for words.

"Are you... are you with me?" Lucy asked softly.

Desmond nodded. "Yeah... Jesus. I... Sorry about... that." was all he could stammer out, embarrassment and horror washing through him. Could things get any worse?

"What happened, Desmond? One minute you were with me and then the next..." Lucy let her words trail off. Guilt began to filter in with his other emotions and Desmond was at a loss for words again.

'Tell her what you can. It will help put her at ease.' Altaїr suggested calmly.

"Desmond?"

"I-I'm sorry. Ezio started... uh... Ezio started talking. And he just wouldn't shut up." Desmond gritted out the last bit. If he could, he would strangle Ezio in a heartbeat.

Lucy moved to the chair next to him. "Talking about what exactly?"

Shit. "Just attempting to give advice. Or wanting to complain in general." He hoped that she wouldn't press for any details. He doubted he could come up with something moderately believable on the spot.

She was silent for a moment before speaking again. "Was it just Ezio?"

"Yeah.. for that.." he replied softly, letting himself rub his temples. His headache was starting to build up again. "Altaїr has been grumbling and muttering all day. Been giving me a headache."

Among other things.

"And this started today?" she asked gently. His heart constricted slightly at the worry in her eyes, knowing he was the cause of it.

Desmond shook his head. "They've been like this since yesterday." he explained. "I'm wondering if part of it is my own restlessness."

"What do you mean?"

A long sigh left him. "We're getting to finding out whatever Ezio discovered, I know it. And we've got one more of Clay's puzzles to solve. Once we get that done, we'll know what the Templars are really after and then we can figure out what to do next." It was the truth, the main reason he had been pushing himself lately.

'That, and it keeps you from directly spending time with your Lady Love.' Ezio added.

Shut up. Desmond and Altaїr snapped.

"Desmond... I know you probably don't want to hear this," Lucy began, "but I think you need to stay out of the Animus. At least for the rest of the day."

They lapsed into silence. He knew that she was right. Nearly a day and an half in the Animus and the effects were clearly beginning to show. Ezio was getting louder (and more obnoxious) and Altaїr wasn't hesitating in giving his opinion anymore. And while the ghost-like figures weren't increasing in staying time, they were becoming more defined. But they were still in a Templar controlled city. It would only be a matter of time until the hideout was located. Whenever that occurred, there would be no telling of how much time they would actually have to discover what Abstergo wanted from Ezio's memories. Or to even escape.

'You'll have to strike a bargain with her,' Altaїr sighed, 'and hope that she will accept it.'

And if she doesn't?

'If not, put yourself at her mercy. It's easier than fighting.'

Ezio scoffed. 'That's your only advice? Hope for the best and roll over like dog?'

'In my personal experience, yes. Yes it is.'

Desmond didn't dare add any of his own commentary. The last thing he needed was an argument and having to pick sides. And he didn't dare let himself be pulled into another conversation. Not after what just happened. He could still see the anxiety in Lucy's eyes. Guilt settled low in the pit of his stomach. He was the cause of her worry. And he knew that he would continue to be until he no longer needed to go into the Animus.

"I can't stay out of the Animus all day, Lucy. Not when we're so close."

Her brow furrowed at his words. "The bleeding effect is only going to get worse the more time you spend in there. You really need at least a day out of it." she explained.

"Then... how about just long enough to solve Clay's last puzzle?"

"You mean Shaun?"

"Well, that goes without saying." He replied with a wry grin.

A small chuckle slipped past her lips before she began debating with herself. Every so often she would gently worry her bottom lip, her eyes focused on an unseen spot on the table... Desmond braced himself. Any minute she was going to reject his plan. Tell him that it was too risky.

"Shaun will have one hour. One hour, not minute longer. Got it?"

He stared at her blankly for what felt like several minutes, surprised. He nodded quickly, knowing better than to push for more time. She was the Animus expert afterall.

"You do know that Clay's file would be a little easier to decipher without the time constraint, right?" Shaun asked testily.

"Fourty-five minutes left." Lucy replied calmly; she resisted the urge to add in her own ideas of how to solve Clay's puzzle. Desmond already had enough trouble with the previous ones, the last thing he needed was potentially conflicting solutions. Her gaze stayed firmly on the progress monitor. So far, everything was going smoothly. But Lucy knew she would feel better if Desmond didn't have to go back into the machine at all, even with their bargain.

His earlier distraction only confirmed her fears. The Bleeding Effect was starting to make itself known. From now on they had to be incredibly careful of how long he stayed in the Animus. If he wanted to keep it at bay, he would either stay out of the Animus from now on or keep the time of his sessions as short as possible. But Desmond could be stubborn at times. And Lucy wondered if he would try and find ways to stay in the Animus longer to finish Ezio's history. She tried not to show how terrified she was. She had never seen someone exhibit Desmond's most common symptom; holding full conversations with his ancestors. She was used to seeing people starting to believe that they were their ancestors, getting realities confused because of it. Conversations was a whole new territory. Altaїr's or Ezio's personality hadn't bleed into Desmond's like it was for most people. Was it because had more general knowledge of the Animus and the Bleeding Effect? Or maybe he had found a way to keep his personality separated from his ancestors? Either way, Lucy was going to have to investigate this. She would need Rebecca to try and access any files from Abstergo's Animus Project. And she was going to have to question Desmond. She just hoped that his symptoms weren't server.

Just... Just try and stay calm. Nothing is going to get solved if you panic. she told herself. Desmond will be fine. You can do research later.

Her gaze focused on Desmond once more. How much longer would he need to even use the Animus? He believed that they were close to discovering what the Templars were after in Ezio's past ("It has to be something other than the Apple!" Desmond had muttered to himself one night). If he was right, what would be next? Besides the obvious retrieval of the Apple, what would be next for them? Would they be needed elsewhere? Would they be separated, called away to different places in need of certain expertise? Would...

Would Desmond and her be separated? Be given different assignments? The thought made Lucy freeze. She was so used to his presence; the thought had never truly accrued to her until now. Had he considered such a thing?

For five years they had been constant in each other's lives. Desmond had become her closest friend and confident. Could she go back to keeping minimal contact with those she cared about? She wasn't so sure. There was doubt in her mind that there was a high chance she would be reassigned with a new partner. Or be take out of the field, training others to do undercover assignments. Before she started her infiltration if Abstergo, Lucy would have been thrilled at the prospect of training others or another assignment. Now, she wondered if she could even handle the idea of the next generation following her footsteps. She had thought herself strong enough, Desmond father's had believed that she was strong enough, as had her instructors; but she had nearly given in. Only two years in and she had nearly become a Templar. She shuddered to think of what would have happened if Desmond hadn't shown up.

"Finally! 'bout bloody time." Shaun cried, breaking her train of thought.

It took her a moment to regain her composure. "Are you sure?"

He nodded. "Positive. All we have to do is wait for Rebecca to - " Suddenly his eyes widen and the clacking of Rebecca's keyboard stopped. Before Lucy could even ask what was wrong, she saw what caused them to stop. The small recordings that Clay had saved just pieced themselves back together.

And then it played.

They watched as the man and woman ran, only getting the briefest glimpse of their faces. The only feature that was truly clear was the glowing glyph-like marks on their skin as they ran through an impossible structure, a building. Lucy's eyes widened when she saw the factory like room inside the building the pair was climbing up, and at the sight of the Apple in someone's hand. All too quickly the pair in the video climbed to the top of the building.

"Adam! I have it!" the woman cried, holding up another Apple of Eden.

Lucy's mind froze, barely comprehending the last few seconds of the video. There... There's another Apple?

"Wow." was all Rebecca managed to get out.

"What that what I think it was?" Shaun asked the others.

Lucy wasn't sure if she wanted an answer.