AN: Anyone ever wonder why Beth and MK weren't there to greet the others when they arrived in Pt. 1? The old guy (George) never mentioned them...
"Morning, Mum." Sarah rakes her hand through her hair, making sure what's loose is off to one side and not covering up the braids running past the side of her head. Stopping when she spots the black, knee-length leather skirt and red top, she cocks her head to the side slightly, "Damn, S, are you goin' off to make another litter of your own?"
"Easy, Mutt." Siobhan rolls her eyes, handing her a cup of coffee, "Carlton's in town. We need to make a few arrangements before I go."
It's a lie; she's not ready to let Sarah know that she's going off for a date with Marion.
"Go?" Sarah furrows her brow in alarm, "Go where? We just got all of the shite we needed, Mum."
Siobhan returns to filling a thermos with tea, "We have a lead on someone that knows too much and we need to get rid of Lisa. You lot are staying here until Yule is over with."
"But mum-"
"No buts." Siobhan speaks cooly as she gives her pup a pointed look, "I'll be back by tonight. I need you to check up on your sisters."
"Yeah, I was already bloody planning on it. I think Beth might be planning a coup on Cosima's pack and Tony's thinking Cos' mighta' softened too much on the vampire."
Siobhan stops as she pulls on her coat, turning to face Sarah, "Cosima's never killed anyone. If she has to fight, she'll let them get the upper hand out of principle. If you think she's melted, you bloody well better make her pack integrate fully with ours."
Sarah nods uneasily, taking a sip of coffee before looking behind her to search for any intruders, "There's something she didn't want me telling you that I walked in on... Delphine might have been taunting her into letting her bury her bones, I'm not sure but.."
"She was on top of her." Siobhan supplies, buttoning up her black coat before pulling her hair out from under, "Marion told me. She was all too proud."
"Do we need to kick them out?"
"No. We're not losing your brothers again." Siobhan winds a scarf around her neck, not in any mood to get cold, "If you need to go for Delphine, don't hesitate, but make sure you don't let her get under your skin."
"And if I have to challenge Cos'?" Sarah sets her cup down, watching as Siobhan ponders the idea.
"IF you need to, make sure Helena's there. You've never been the best of snapping out of things once you've got yourself going." Siobhan sits down on a bench, zipping up heeled boots, "Don't go for her legs, focus on her head."
Cosima ties the sash of her robe closer around her, slipping out of the bedroom and into the makeshift office with practiced ease.
"The geek monkey returns." Sarah looks up at her, smug smile as she offers her a mock-salute, "Ready to actually do something other than hump the vampire bunny?"
"Mmm... for now." Cosima pokes her tongue at her, sitting down in the desk chair, "Any progress on Aldous?"
"No, we're pretty much waiting for the right time."
"I think we should off him sooner rather than later."
"There she is," Sarah chuckles, "at least Delphine hasn't shagged your brains out."
"No, but she's close to it." Cosima teases, ignoring the feeling of papers smacking back.
Sarah bites on her lip, looking towards the door before getting an idea, "When she's gonna be back?"
"Probably'll be back pretty soon. I just wanted to check up on shit."
Sarah nods, getting up and tugging on the base of Cosima's ponytail, "Y'know, I can see what Delphine's been thinking."
Cosima looks up at her calmly, not letting a single emotion slip through her features, "Care to let go?"
"Not quite yet." Sarah chuckles, pulling on it and ignoring the groan of annoyance that's slipping through Cosima's mouth, "What? Don't you like this shite? Being on the bottom?"
Cosima can tell Delphine's already back in the house from getting fresh blood.
She knows exactly what Sarah's doing.
"Depends on who I'm with. You know, I'm a beta, after all."
"Riiight~" Sarah rolls her eyes, tugging Cosima's head back slightly, "With the way you've been acting, I'm almost tempted to think she's made you go Omega."
Omega and Alpha both still sound better than Beta on Cosima's ears, at least they don't make her think of fish...
"Focus, Cos. If I didn't know any better, you might be drooling over the idea."
Cosima rolls her eyes, grabbing onto Sarah's wrist roughly, "Now that's two steps too far."
"Could've fooled me." Sarah lets go, having already planted the seeds by the look in Delphine and Cosima's eyes.
She can't lose her sis like this.
It's demeaning.
...
Siobhan checks her phone in annoyance, feeling worry spike in the pit of her stomach for the eighth time that morning as she looks over her shoulder from her spot in the empty restaurant.
Marion should be here already, there wasn't a trace of sunlight outside due to the cloudy weather and it wasn't like her to bail.
Checking her phone again after taking a sip of the tea she brought with her, she chews on the inside of her cheek and double checks to make sure Sarah didn't send her anything that she missed.
Something was wrong.
What was she thinking, letting Marion inveigle her into leaving her pups like this?
Especially after Cosima had such a violent abortion...
Pulling up Shay's phone number, her finger hesitates over the call button before turning off the screen of the damned thing.
She'll wait five more minutes.
If she's not there by then, she's going home.
...
Cosima rubs her neck roughly, trying to get a knot out of her neck.
She can't shake the strange sense of foreboding from her bones, even when Delphine's resting contently in her bed and the pups are off in the dining hall, decorating and moving around furniture for the feast that'll be held in a few weeks.
She should be happy right now. Delighted, even.
Their entire family, distant relatives included, are all together for one last Yule before they're free.
Her bed is warm, her family is safe for now... what more could she want?
Other than to be, like, not dying, obvs.
"Stop that."
Cosima jumps slightly in her spot, turning around to face Delphine, "Stop what?"
"Worrying." Delphine murmurs, wrapping her arms around her waist, "Or else, I might just have to insist you join me at Marion's."
Cosima shuts her eyes, resting her forehead against Delphine's without a rebuttal.
"Cosima.." Delphine bumps her nose against Cosima's gently, "I can feel it."
"I'm sorry.."
Delphine pulls away when she hears Cosima's voice crack, "For what, ma cherie?"
She has no reason to be, unless...
Cosima shrugs mutely, resting her cheek against Delphine's shoulder.
"Mon coeur.." Delphine soothes sweetly, trying to pry the answer out of her without pulling too hard, "What's bothering you?"
Cosima pulls away almost immediately, turning around to continue looking through the armoire for a certain dress, "Worrying you. I'm sorry for worrying you yesterday..."
Delphine feels her shoulders fall in relief slightly, reaching out and winding her arms around Cosima's waist as she watches the clone silently going through her clothing, "You can make it up to me by staying at Marion's house with me.."
"It's not Marion's house." Cosima chews on her lip, grabbing a bordeaux bodycon dress before pulling away and heading into the bathroom.
Delphine furrows her brows, watching as the door shuts and locks.
Helena watches as Jennifer hangs up a garland of pine and holly over the fireplace in the dining hall.
She couldn't explain what she was feeling.
It wasn't nostalgia...
She felt... whole.
"Hey, 'Lena, what do you think about a Christmas tree?"
"You do not have any small ones outside to decorate." Helena fiddles with an old handmade ornament curiously.
This celebration made sense to her, but it still seemed strange and silly to watch Jennifer fretting over how the fireplace looks.
At least they were all together.
Feeling a foreign movement near her stomach, she raises her hand, silently soothing what would soon be her own litter.
Jennifer turns around to face her with a roll of her eyes, shaking her head as she adjusts the bandana around her head that's hiding thinning hair, "I meant, how would you feel about going outside and cutting one that we could set-up... over there?"
Helena looks over to the empty corner she's pointing at, "You want my help?"
"Mhmm. Everyone has to pitch in at some point."
Helena gets up, pulling her coat back on, "I would like to. Very much."
...
Cosima pulls her coat closer around her, tying the sash and snapping the last of the buttons in place as she makes her way towards the dining hall.
She was freaking' starving.
Maybe that's what's up with her.
Cosima stops when she reaches the small house halfway between the main house and the dining hall, hesitating when she finally sees movement inside for the first time in weeks.
If something really is wrong with Beth... She wouldn't hurt her if she just, like, stopped in to say hi, right?
Turning towards the small cabin, she shoves one of her hands into her coat's pocket and knocks on the door with the other, waiting for an answer.
Getting none, she furrows her brows and knocks again, "Beth, you in?"
Cosima jumps back slightly when the door opens, staring at the wolf in confusion.
Beth was known for dressing fancier than Sarah and most of her sisters, but this was.. overkill.
Or at least overkill for being home.
"Hey, uhh.. you going somewhere?"
"No. Do you want some tea? Come in.."
Cosima nods slightly, following her inside, "Your partner's a little worried about you." Cosima looks around the cottage curiously.
It was practically untouched, save for a file on the living room table and a kettle on the stove.
"You doing okay? Is there something we need to know about?"
"I'm fine." Cosima watches as Beth walks into the kitchen and pulls two mugs down from the cupboard, gingerly placing a pitiful little tea-bag in each of the mugs, "Sugar or milk?"
Cosima furrows her brows again, "Honey... it should be above the stove." Sitting down on the couch, she uneasily folds her legs and watches Beth silently, "Am I missing something?"
"I saw what happened on that little island."
Cosima feels her stomach knot up in anxiety when she hears an unfamiliar acid dripping in Beth's voice.
Turning around, Beth walks back to her and hands her the cup, sitting down primly.
Cosima takes the opportunity, nostrils widening just slightly as she pretends to sip on the tea.
She can smell the difference immediately.
She's not Beth.
Delphine folds her arms, fighting the familiar sense of unease when she enters the dining hall. Eyes scanning the wolves moving three tables into place first, her eyes eventually drift over to the makeshift buffet table only to feel her stomach sink slightly.
Cosima promised they'd meet up here... Sighing softly, she walks over to one of the tables, determined to be able to help. Cosima must have taken a detour. Delphine shouldn't be drowning her, she's probably fine.
"Sestra-kisser," Helena walks up to her, "Have you seen Jennifer around? She wanted to help show me how to set up a tree."
"N-n-non." Delphine shakes her head, pushing the table again only for her to overestimate and almost force it against the wall, rather than the 'U' shape everyone was setting it up into.
The wolves she usually sees gaming with Scott shoot her annoyed scowls as they pull it back towards where they'd been pushing it originally.
"Are you not well?"
"I'm fine, I just..-"
"Auntie Helena!" Kira runs inside, hiccuping and in tears with Charlotte struggling to keep up with her, "Auntie Helena!"
"What is the matter, little monkey?" Helena forgets Delphine, turning to face Kira and kneeling down to hug her, "Why are you crying?"
"We were playing by the barn and-" Charlotte struggles, almost gasping for air by the time she makes it towards the three, "I know you said we shouldn't-"
"-The bad doctor got out!"
Delphine panics, looking to Helena before looking towards the door, "Where is Cosima?"
...
"No, no, no!" Carter panics, unplugging any computer and piece of tech he can get his hands on the second he has OCTA unplugged. Abandoning his newest side-project, he works around Scott quickly.
Scott grabs his cell phone, quickly dialing Delphine's number as he walks over to the old power switch box, yanking it open and chucking the metal door aside when it breaks off. He turns around, waiting for a nod from the tech-guru before he's switching off every single switch, opening the other boxes right next to it and continuing the process.
"What is it, Scott?"
"There's some sort of trojan in their system. It's wiping everything."
"What? How's that even possible? Their system is entirely off the grid, they don't even have ethernet."
"Someone had to have introduced it manually." Scott finishes the last power switch, thrusting the entire compound into darkness as he turns around to spot Carter activating a flashlight on his pet spider, checking the robot for any loss of information or damage desperately, "Delphine, everything they had is gone. Their research into a cure for the clones, their history, security, information on how to take down DYAD... it's all gone."
"... ... ... Get whoever you can and bring them to the dining hall. Drag them, if you have to, just make sure everyone gets here safely."
"On it." Scott turns around, gesturing to Carter until he has the new werewolf's attention, "Get your coat, kid."
"And Scott.." He can hear her hesitation over the phone, "Turn the power back on."
...
"What is the matter?" Helena's holding Kira in her arms by the time Delphine turns back around after her phone call with Scott.
"I... I need to find Cosima and Sarah. Where is your sister?"
"In the cabin." On the other side of the compound.
"Merde!-Okay, ehmm... J-J'ai.. I.. I need someone to get the kids somewhere safe. Do you know what a lock-down is?"
"Yes, we practiced this at our old home many times." Helena puts up no fight to hugging Charlotte, keeping the two girls safe in her arms, "Why?"
"Someone has hacked the system here. Everything's been erased." Delphine doesn't even notice that her breath is wheezing as she turns towards the door, "Everyone is going to show up here, I need you to make sure they're hidden."
"I must go find my twin-sestra," Helena's begins to get up, only to stop at the look Delphine shoots her.
She's only seen it on Sarah and Siobhan's faces before.
"Stay here. Hide the children. I'll have Felix on it in a minute." Delphine bolts out of the door, gasping for air the second she's outside. Dialing the new number on her phone with shaking fingers, she holds it up to her ear as she takes a path through the trees to the main house, "Siobhan, you need to come home. It's an emergency."
"I thought you said it would be safe?" Alison shuffles down the stairs to the basement, following Felix closely.
"It was!" Felix hisses quietly, "It probably still bloody is. This is just a precaution. Now smile and pretend everything's normal like you always do."
Alison looks around as she takes in the area, spotting Charlotte watching Gemma and Oscar quietly play on a climbing wall. Eyes drifting up to the huddled up form in the corner near a pool, she feels her stomach twist with worry when she realizes Kira is crying. Someone from behind surges forward, running up to the girl quickly and wrapping his arms around her.
Whatever this was, it definitely isn't routine.
"Monkey?!"
Alison jumps, looking behind her as another clone rushes downstairs, looking around quickly before running over to the little girl. Holding onto the grocery bags of food she packed in a hurry, she spots her husband talking in a hushed voice to Scott and feels a rush of relief.
"Who are we missing?" Sarah's looking around, panic and wild-eyed after getting up from comforting her daughter, "Who are we bloody missing?!"
The Alpha looks insane; the exact opposite of the cold and unreadable nature of Alison's last Alpha.
"Beth, the doctor, Cosima, Jennifer, Luka, Tony... Christ. Where's Helena..?" Sarah's hands are flying up to her head, pacing until she runs to the door, held back only by Felix (and Cal when he catches up to her), "No, no! Let me go!"
"We can't leave the basement, you heard Delphine... Helena's with her looking for them."
Alison watches in confusion from behind Felix as the Alpha nearly breaks down into tears, clawing for the door in a desperate bid to get her four closest siblings.
She's supposed to have their six. How could she fuck up like this?
Outside of Germany, Spring of 1943
"Come on." John's voice is low as he pulls Siobhan from their makeshift bed where they, Felix, and Scott had been sleeping.
It's tiny and damp.
He leads her over to a small corner where the other men and Felix sit huddled quietly. Looking back to the door in the strange train they'd found themselves in, Siobhan hugs the newborn closer to keep him warm.
They'd yet to figure out where they're being sent to, having been taken in the dead of night. They all had no idea that they'd be processed in the morning, hair sheered like sheep and tattoos made with new chemicals to stop their transformations and nickel forced into their arms mercilessly.
"Siobhan will sing for us." John speaks up, needing to calm down their new friends before they got them all killed, "Siobhan will sing of the home we will all return to."
"No, John-"
"Sing!" Felix's voice is small, barely audible from where he's curled up in the lap of the only other woman there.
They're all afraid.
Siobhan shuts her eyes, scoffing under her breath. She's able to sense but unable to predict the aging from stress, the torture, and the loss they'd all soon face. Holding the newborn close, she gently rocks the child in her arms to soothe him. She sighs in annoyance, hearing their band of wolves all-but howling at her to sing. She wants nothing more than to sing about the home she grew up in, but looking at the sorry lot of Scottsman, she finds herself singing of theirs.
Her last 'mission' as an Alpha-in-training wasn't supposed to go like this.
Reaching out her hand, she gently grabs John's before offering him a weak smile, "Oh, you take the high road and I'll take the low road, and I'll be in Scotland before you... But me and my true love will never meet again, on the bonnie, bonnie banks of Loch Lomond~"
Outside of Toronto - Summer of 2013 (again)
"Where is your sister?" Siobhan looks at Tony once she's back from shopping, having expected her help in carrying the groceries inside. Beth and Jennifer were being watched by Helena and Krystal, but neither Cosima nor Sarah were anywhere to be seen; it put Siobhan on edge almost immediately.
Even if Sarah's morals were more than flexible while she was in heat, she was certain they wouldn't be fighting one another until they were left in bloodied bits and pieces.
Plus... ever since Cosima finally dropped the clone bomb on her sisters', they'd become close.
Although, it all seemed to also line up with the new boy Sarah took in. Whatever happened when she was gone for a week earlier that year, they at least finally sorted out their shite. The house had been significantly more peaceful now that the two warring sisters weren't constantly at each other's throats with Helena in between them. If it wasn't, she's pretty sure their home would be nothing but ash by now.
Tony shrugs, stirring the soup he was making for his Luka, "Cos' is in the cabin playing Halo.. Sarah's also in the cabin with Cal, getting laid."
Siobhan nods before stopping in her tracks, feeling her stomach clench.
They wouldn't...
"What's the moon tonight, Tony?"
"Full."
Siobhan groans, taking off her coat, "You watch your sisters, bring them out to the living room."
She's gonna shake the lot of them if her instincts are right.
Sarah's always been a moronically restless, feral little mutt.
...
"What do you think you're bloody doing, huh!?" Siobhan pulls Sarah off of Cosima, cursing under her breath at the sight of her.
She almost managed to completely bury her bones in the clone, leaving her covered in dark bruises, legs trembling and the scent of her blood tearing through the air.
She's not just a clone.
She has to stop thinking of her as one.
"You're sisters!" Siobhan doesn't go for Sarah, she knows she'll fight back.
Instead, the slap lands on Cosima's cheek, forcing her snap out of the trance she was in.
"No, we're not!" Sarah growls, pushing her away, "We're not even from the same pack or even bloody people!"
"And do you think that, too, Cosima?" Siobhan folds her arms, regarding the two.
Cosima shifts in her spot uneasily, looking away at the corner of the wall until she hears Siobhan snapping her name again, "I.. I-don't-know!"
Siobhan shuts her eyes, breathing through her nose.
She's not going to be able to force the sense into them unless she gets Cosima separately first.
She's supposed to be the voice of reason for the others.
"Cal, get Sarah cleaned up. We're all going to meet back at the house." S opens her eyes, nearly boring holes into the back of Sarah's head when the clone is practically dragged out by the bear.
This is an utter mess.
Cosima shifts uneasily, closing her legs despite the notable pain and pulling a sheet over them.
"I'm sorry-"
"-Don't even start." Siobhan turns around to face her. She knows exactly how to get through to her, even after all these years it's still the same, "I'm so disappointed in you I can hardly look at you right now! You're supposed to be setting an example for your siblings!"
Cosima flinches, pulling back against the headboard as if she'd been burned.
She might as well have been; she probably deserved it after following Sarah's every whim.
"I..." Cosima panics when the older wolf looks away, unable to help the almost guttural whimper that comes out of her mouth as her bottom lip begins to wobble, "I just...-we needed to feel like we were still..."
Siobhan sighs, turning back to face her and sitting down on the bed, "You know you're all still people, chicken. No one can change that. You're one of us-" Siobhan has to blink, arms wrapping around the wolf the second Cosima launches herself at her, desperate for a hug and already in tears after little more than a few sharp words, "Hey.." She rubs her back gently, barely able to hear the muffled sniffles that inevitably follow when S rocks her in place, mimicking the hammock the pup used when she stayed in America.
She's only heard Cosima have a proper cry once or twice, and it was always when the little pup' thought she was completely alone. Even as a kid, Cosima would rather grit her way through it and muffle her own tears rather than have people ever know when she was sobbing.
She initially thought it was from the way she was raised in America. She knew how George was, he was a good, kind man under a stern exterior.. but his wife, Cosima's Grandmother, was always the type of woman to believe in 'seen, not heard'. Of course, after so many years she'd finally cracked the puzzle. Cosima didn't want people comforting her.
Or that is to say, she did; but, she didn't want them doing it out of obligation.
She wouldn't admit that it made her infinitely more able to relate to the small wolf.
"It'll be okay, chicken." Siobhan peppers the top of her head with kisses, having learned over the past several years how to quickly pacify the three Americans. Still rubbing her back, she pulls away slightly to get a look at her face, neverminding the fact that Cosima isn't meeting her eyes, "We'll get through this as a family like we always have... and always will. Clear?"
Cosima nods, wiping away the salt from her eyes as she sits up, "Can you get me some clothes? I don't want the others.."
"Of course." Siobhan gets up, more than eager to help on that front, "So what's this I hear about you going back to college now that you're crowned?"
Easy distraction.
Siobhan has a miniscule smile already playing across the younger wolf's features in a matter of seconds. With Cosima's tears finally released and her worries momentarily subsided, Siobhan fights a genuine smile for the first time in well over several weeks when she hears a slightly tear-stained laugh, shy and nervous.
"I think it's a great idea." Siobhan returns with one of the few pairs of jeans the wolf owns and a top that'll cover the bruises, "And I know Caitlin is bloody-well proud of you for it."
She doesn't have to look to know that the pup's eyes are alight at the mere mention of having both moms' approvals.