Kalran soon returned and insisted on buying lunch for every one of them, waving away their protests. Even Elsa's, which was quite an impressive achievement. Once they'd eaten, they returned to Elsa's list of questions, but it mostly felt easier, this time, and certainly went quicker. They managed to avoid most of the sensitive areas from the war that could have come up. Carla felt more relaxed than she'd ever have expected to by the time they came to the question that she'd been worrying about for weeks.

"Okay… well, I left these two to the end for a reason," Elsa began. "One of them's for me. I hope it won't come up, with the groundwork we're doing with the reporters, but it's a remote possibility." She took a deep breath. "Someone, somewhere, might ask how I feel about you both being voluntary hosts in the war."

Carla felt the tension that had all but left her body return in full force, along with the burning, sickening feeling of guilt. Jasmine was probably feeling something similar: she hung her head.

"Don't look like that, please," Elsa said gently. "Now, there's a couple of options here. We can just go straight to agreeing how we answer it, or more likely deflect it, if it is asked, or… or I can give you an honest answer, now, between us all, and we can decide which bits of it we want to keep if I have to give an answer to a reporter."

There was a long silence. Eventually, Jasmine raised her head slightly, looking at Carla.

Carla couldn't meet Elsa's eyes as she said: "are you really gonna be honest, if we take the second option?"

"If I say an honest answer, I mean it," Elsa said, her voice gentle despite the firmness of her words. "But I'll only talk about it now if you both want me to."

"I… I'd like to know," Jasmine murmured eventually. "I'd like to know anything you want to tell me. If it's okay with you, Carla. Elsa and I can always talk later."

Carla shook her head. "I want to know, too."

"Okay," Elsa said slowly, taking a deep breath. "Well… when I was first," she swallowed nervously, "when I was first infested I… I didn't believe anyone could be voluntary, at first. Then… then I…" she looked down, "I was angry, for a while. I didn't understand. But soon I saw my Yeerks recruiting people, some of whom went voluntarily, and I began to understand a bit more. I was there, of course, all the time my Yeerks were talking to them, so I knew their backstories and their reasons. It was hard to be angry, after that. I started to feel guilty, I felt like I hadn't done anything to help people like them when I was free, that humanity in general hadn't done enough, otherwise why turn to the Yeerks? And of course I couldn't do anything for them once I'd been taken, I just had to sit there and watch and…" Elsa trailed off, her eyes brimming with tears. "Sorry. I promised myself I wouldn't cry."

There was a mixture of total shock and sympathy on Jasmine's face. "You felt guilty? Elsa, that's… that's just the wrong way round. How could our choices possibly be your fault?" She reached across to take Elsa's hand. "Don't be upset."

Carla was as utterly confused as Jasmine, unable for a moment to make sense of what Elsa had said. It was the last thing she'd expected to hear: why would Elsa feel guilty about Carla's problems, what she still thought of, despite all Alniss' and Silrin's arguments to the contrary, as her own bad decisions? After a few more minutes, the shock began to give way to a substantial draining of tension: what Elsa was saying was too crazy to be a lie and it gave a reason for Elsa's friendliness towards them, something Carla herself had been trying and failing to think of for weeks. Though this was welcome, the increased feeling of guilt about what she'd put Elsa through was certainly not.

"Thanks, Elsa," Carla said eventually. "Thanks for telling us."

Elsa gave her a hesitant smile. "Thanks for listening. It must have been hard for you to come today."

"You, too. I guess." Carla took a breath. "Are there any more questions?"

"We still need to decide how we answer that one," Jasmine pointed out. "Elsa, I… it's really up to you, you know."

"I can always play the involuntary host pity card," Elsa suggested. "Look all upset if they try and talk about the war and beg them to move away from it. It usually works, but they could probably twist it."

"Definitely," Carla muttered.

"Or I could say it's personal and I want to focus on now and the future, not the past. Or I could say I bear you guys no ill will, that we're friends and I don't want to say more about it than that. Both those options have the advantage of being true and not involving overexaggerated acting, but they do give them something they can quote."

"I like the last one," Jasmine said quietly. "I… you're incredible, Elsa, to forgive us like this."

"There's nothing to forgive, Jaz, I've already told you that. Carla? What do you think?"

Carla hesitated. "They might follow it up, you know. Especially that last one. Like, they might ask about other involuntaries, how they feel about us. I think you're the only one mad enough to feel like that."

"Alma's on something approaching the same page," Elsa countered. "Though I don't know if it's for exactly the same reasons. But yeah, I know there are other opinions involuntaries hold about you guys. I hadn't thought of that question." Elsa's expression became anxious, even upset. "I – I don't want to hurt any of them, either. It isn't that I think they're wrong… well, I think they're wrong if they hurt people or whatever, but it's not wrong to feel different to how I do… I just feel the way I do. I care about the involuntaries, too, all of them, we went through a pretty horrible experience together, and some of them are my friends."

"You feel torn," Kalran said quietly.

"Yeah," Elsa said, sounding surprised. "I…yeah, a bit." She shook her head. "Sorry, this is turning into my own personal counselling session, which is not what it's supposed to be. I'll just say I can only talk about how I feel, people's opinions will differ and that's okay as long as they're not hurting anyone. And say it isn't really relevant to what we're there to talk about."

Carla nodded. "That's a fair answer."

"I had one more question down," Elsa said slowly. "Again, I've left it to the end for a reason. I- I thought they maybe might ask about background, how we got involved with the Sharing and the war. I mean, I'm happy to answer it for me, my story is pretty uncomplicated, but I imagine you might not want to."

Jasmine paled suddenly, her face terrified. "No."

"Agreed," Carla said firmly. "No way am I going into that, they'd only use it against me."

"Fair enough," Elsa said hastily. "I wasn't saying you had to, I just wondered if we could agree a way to… Jasmine, are you okay?"

Jasmine certainly didn't look it: she was still drained of colour, and even looked as though she was trembling slightly.

"Hey," Elsa said softly, reaching to touch her. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you."

"I know," Jasmine managed in a tiny voice. Suddenly, she pushed herself to her feet. "I- I need to go out, for a bit. I… I need to see…" she trailed off, perhaps realising who she was speaking to.

"Okay, of course," Elsa said hurriedly. "Look, Jaz… if it helps, if you want to come back, because I- I'd rather you didn't go home on this note… bring her back in with you. I promise to be a hundred percent nice, no matter what she does."

Jasmine nodded, distractedly, already moving quickly towards the door.

"Jesus," Carla muttered, looking after her. "That was a bit of an overreaction."

"Carla." Kalran's voice was disapproving. "You can't know that. You don't know what she was reacting to, do you?"

Carla shook her head. Kalran was right, although the question hadn't been an easy one for her, either, and it wasn't like she could run to Silrin for comfort. Hoping to distract herself from that thought, she hurried to think of an appropriate response to the question. "Can we just say it's personal and we don't want to answer? And stick to that like a broken record?"

"That's a great strategy," Elsa nodded. "Though, in view of what's just happened, I think I'm just going to call them and tell them on no account to go anywhere near that question."

"That works for me, too," Carla muttered. She jerked her head towards the door. "If they ignore you, how are we going to deal with her? That isn't going to look good, is it?"

"Her happens to be my friend, Carla." It was the first time Elsa had sounded angry. "Leave Jasmine alone. If she needs to go out, she needs to go out, though now she's thought of them asking it she might manage to stay in the room."

Carla nodded, though she still felt Jasmine's reaction had been too much. "Yeah, okay. I guess we should wait around here for a bit in case she comes back."

Elsa nodded. "I hope she feels she can. I want to know she's okay."

There was an uncomfortable silence for a few moments, then Elsa suddenly got to her feet. "I'm gonna get her another drink, and something to eat. Might help."

"She might not come back in," Carla pointed out.

"I'll get it in a take-out cup, you can give it to her. I hope she does come back, though. You guys want anything? My treat."

Kalran accepted Elsa's offer quickly, but Carla shook her head. "You can get me another black coffee, but I'm buying it." She took a wad of dollars out of her pocket. "Here."

Elsa accepted the money without a fuss, thankfully. Carla breathed a sigh of relief when she went up to the counter: the space was very welcome.

"Are you OK, Carla? That question can't have brought back great memories for you, either," Kalran asked, reaching over to touch her shoulder.

"I'm fine. Thanks, though."

There was a long silence, while they waited for Elsa to come back with the drinks. Eventually, Kalran broke into it, nudging Carla. "Here they are, look."

Carla turned to see Jasmine and Akhir come through the doorway. Good: while she was feeling a lot more relaxed than she'd expected, she didn't want to hang around here any longer than necessary, and it seemed like Elsa wouldn't want them to leave until she knew Jasmine was okay

"Are you okay?" she asked Jasmine, once the two women had reached them.

Jasmine nodded. "I'm so sorry, Carla, I shouldn't have-"

"Just as long as you're okay," Kalran said gently, turning a chair from a nearby table around for Akhir.

"Where's Elsa?" Jasmine asked anxiously. "Oh, she must think I'm pathetic."

"No," Kalran said softly. "She's worried about you, she wants to help. She's only gone to get you a coffee, honey."

"See?" Akhir smiled gently at her host. "No-one's judging you. You're okay. Can you sit down, tamli?"

Jasmine nodded, sinking into a seat. "I'm sorry, Kalran."

"You don't need to apologise to anyone. Is there anything I could have done to make things easier for you?"

"No, not at all," Jasmine said quickly. "It wasn't your fault… oh, no, I'll have made Elsa feel guilty, too." Jasmine glanced at Carla. "Especially after what she said before… oh, I've been selfish."

"Stop this," Akhir murmured softly. "Stop beating yourself up about it. I don't think anyone else is blaming you."

Jasmine opened her mouth but was interrupted by Elsa appearing with the drinks.

"Jasmine!" Elsa exclaimed, looking overjoyed at her friend's return for a moment before her forehead wrinkled again with concern. "How are you feeling?" She set a large tray down on the table.

"Better," Jasmine said in a small voice. "Elsa, I'm so sorry. I… you must think I'm…"

"Upset? Scared?" Elsa supplied.

"I didn't mean that, I meant-"

"I know," Elsa cut in. "I know you're about to start beating yourself up about it. I do know you a little bit by now. It's okay, it's always okay if you need space. You don't need to apologise." Elsa paused, looking at Jasmine with a mix of concern and affection. "Can I give you a hug?"

At Jasmine's nod, Elsa practically leapt around the table to pull her into a tight hug. Carla was surprised by the strength of their friendship. Elsa had surprised her with a lot of things, today.

"I got you chocolate cake," Elsa said, passing Jasmine a mug and a plate. "Mainly because it's my coping mechanism. You don't have to eat it."

Carla had thought she was surprised before, but she was utterly floored when Elsa turned to Akhir and passed her coffee and cake, too.

Akhir seemed equally confused. "I- what- is this for me?"

"No, it's Kalran's, that's why I'm passing it to you," Elsa said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "Couldn't leave you out, could I?"

Jasmine was looking shocked, too. "Thank you," she managed. "That's very kind of you, Elsa."

"No problem. As long as you know the kindness is mainly directed at you and only about a millionth of a percent directed at her, then we're good."

"Thank you," Akhir managed to murmur eventually.

"And I wasn't going to buy slimeball here cake and not you, Carla," Elsa said quietly. She passed Carla her coffee, another slice of cake and the untouched wad of dollars Carla had given her. "Sorry."

Carla wasn't sure what to say: she didn't like being in Elsa's debt, but the knowledge it was motivated by kindness and the guilt that was still bubbling in her belly stopped her saying anything. "Thanks."

"You did say you'd be nice," Jasmine said hesitantly to Elsa. "Please don't call her that."

"I guess I can temporarily suspend it for today. Just today, though."

There was a silence as they all started to eat their cake. Even Jasmine managed to take a few small bites, though perhaps more to please Elsa than anything else. Elsa cleared her plate quicker than anyone: Carla'd noticed this at lunchtime, too, and was beginning to realise why Silrin had scarfed a pizza at approximately twice the normal human speed on their first evening together. Once the rest of them had mostly caught up, Jasmine spoke again.

"That... that question," she said quietly. "Did you agree on an answer, while I was-"

"I'm gonna call them, tell them they don't ask that under any circumstances," Elsa said firmly. "If they bring it up anyway, Carla had the excellent idea of just telling them it's personal and we won't answer on repeat until they get the message. How's that sound?"

Jasmine looked uncertain. "Don't call them, please. I- I don't know what they'd think of me."

"I wasn't planning to say anything about you," Elsa replied gently. "If they absolutely insist on an explanation, I'll say it's because of me."

"That's not fair on you, and I don't want to damage the campaign," Jasmine countered. "They might not like it if we try and tell them what they can ask in advance."

"It might not help the campaign if you walk out, either," Carla pointed out. "Probably better we try and make sure it doesn't come up, if it upsets you this badly."

Akhir gave her a sharp look but seemed to decide there was no malice in her words. Carla hadn't intended them to hurt, but the point needed to be made.

"I'm sorry," Jasmine said again. "I'm sure it wasn't an easy question for you either. I was s-"

"You weren't," Akhir said softly. "Don't start that again."

"Sor-"

"One of these days I'm going to get you a swear jar and write the word sorry on it instead." Akhir pretended to look thoughtful, frequently flicking her eyes to Jasmine to see how she was taking it. "I could spend the money on tops for Maya in that bright pink colour you think looks awful."

"It does look awful." Jasmine smiled. "I can evaluate colours, you can't. You lost that right when you bought that horrific green dress."

"Maybe she was trying to match her own natural colour," Elsa quipped. "She just needs to wash it enough that it goes a funny greeny-grey."

"Don't give her ideas," Jasmine murmured.

She was looking more cheerful, though, after Akhir and Elsa's teasing, and Carla saw Akhir sit back a little, smiling with satisfaction.

"Replicating the slimy texture would be more challenging," Elsa said with a smile.

Carla snorted. Across the table, she saw Akhir raise her eyebrows and glance at Kalran. Again, the two of them looked pleased about something, though Carla had no idea what it was.

"Are we about done?" Carla asked after a moment, looking to Elsa. "When is the interview?"

"Couple of weeks," Elsa replied, following it up with the date. "And yeah, I'm done, unless you guys want to discuss anything else. You can always get in touch with me, anyway, if you think of anything."

Carla nodded. "Sure. Thanks. It was useful to meet today."

"Thank you," Elsa said with emphasis. "I don't imagine it was easy for you to come today. I'm glad it helped."

"It really did," Jasmine jumped in. "I feel so much better prepared this time. I… I'm glad you'll be there."

Elsa gave her a soft smile. "I'm glad, too. We're still on for the movies next week, right?"

Jasmine nodded.

"You want to come, Carla?" Elsa asked lightly.

Carla tensed. "No. I thought I told you…"

"Just the campaign, yeah, I get it," Elsa said, her voice flattening slightly. "Okay. I guess I'll see you at the interview then." She pushed herself to her feet. "Get in touch before then if you want to ask anything, or… well, you've got my number." She reached down to lift her satchel onto her back. "You're sure you're alright, Jaz, aren't you?"

"I'm fine now," Jasmine said gently. "I just… I should have been expecting it, really, but I hadn't thought… anyway, I'm okay."

"Well, good. You had me worried, for a second there," Elsa admitted, slipping around the table to give her friend another hug.

She soon turned to Carla with another expansive smile, her arms half-raised in invitation. Shocked, Carla pushed her chair back, away from Elsa. "You don't need to hug me," Carla muttered, hardly believing she was having to say this. "You can just go."

Elsa raised her eyebrows. "Well, goodbye to you too," she said with a smile. Seeming, thankfully, to abandon the idea of hugging, she raised one hand to wave instead. "See you in a couple weeks."

"Yeah, see you," Carla murmured, dropping her eyes. "And thanks for today. It helped."

"I'm glad," Elsa said softly, before turning to leave.