Reconstructing Rome
By Indygodusk
Chapter 31
"Rome is a city where in every corner you have a reminder of the sacred world. That's why I have sacred music, minimalist sacred music, which is also music I like, because at the end of the day, that's what I want to do."
PAOLO SORRENTINO
"You are lucky I love you, JJ, because changing poopy diapers is definitely one of the grossest parts of motherhood." Meredith made a face at her daughter and JJ responded by blinking her big blue eyes and a blowing spit bubble. "I see. That's the thanks I get. You're incorrigible. The lack of sleep and surge of hormones in my body is the only logical reason for why I find any of this cute. Remind me to ask Ava when we can start potty training."
Unconcerned, JJ gave a big gummy smile and tried to grab Meredith's nose. Meredith tried not to dwell on the fact that if she didn't fix the shield in the next three weeks, JJ probably wouldn't survive long enough to need potty training because they'd both starve to death first.
But no pressure, right?
After washing her hands at the sink, Meredith slid JJ into the baby sling and left the bathroom to return to the lab at the AEC.
Busy with her thoughts, she was surprised to see Ava and Lucas down the hall. Ava's brown eyes were narrowed with flinty purpose and her skin looked pale except for spots of bright red on each cheek. She was breathing harder than normal. Sweat beaded on her brow as she dragged Lucas down the hall, his feet leaving the floor every third step.
"Hi Mewith, hi JJ," Lucas waved wildly and then jumped, using his mother's arm to swing back and forth like Tarzan on a jungle vine. Ava didn't slow her walk or tip sideways when his feet left the ground, revealing impressive core and arm strength in Meredith's opinion.
Meredith really hoped JJ wasn't that crazy as a toddler. Meredith's superior genes would hopefully win out but with Troy in the mix, there was no way to really tell. At least he made up slightly less than fifty percent of JJ's genome (thank you, mitochondria). That statistic always comforted her. Troy would forever be less than Meredith in intelligence, prestige, and his daughter's genetics, and thus always a big loser.
"What're you doing here?" Meredith called, making sure to keep her distance from Lucas's swinging so she didn't get accidentally kicked. "Is everything okay? I thought you were supposed to keep Lucas as far from the God machine as possible since he can't control what programs he turns on or off." JJ tangled one hand in her mother's hair and gurgled as Meredith fell in behind Ava, who'd barely slowed. Wincing, Meredith worked her hair free of JJ's little fingers.
"I came to test a hypothesis, but we don't have a lot of time." Ava dragged Lucas over to the guarded doors for the lab holding the Ancient machine.
"What hypothesis? Shouldn't you have cleared that first with me? And Julian too, I suppose?"
Jerking to a stop outside the doors, Ava ignored the guards (who were just standing there like useless lumps and giving everyone dirty looks as usual) and lifted Lucas up onto her hip, focusing on him instead of answering Meredith's question. "Can you hear it here too, my little songbird? The music?"
Leaning back in his mother's arms, Lucas looked at the ceiling and lifted his hands over his head, wiggling his fingers. "Yep, tickwy in my head. I wanna scratch but my fingers don weach." He stuck a finger in his ear and wiggled it. Flopping back against his mother's chest, he put his head on her shoulder. "More'n the temple but same tune." He waved at the guards with a grin, but they looked at him like mud on their shoes. Pouting, he lowered his hand. Meredith hated those guys, as if she needed any more reasons.
Julian came striding out from behind the curtain, pace faltering as he saw Ava and Lucas. His eyes darted between the two of them and then over to Meredith, a frown creasing his brow. "I came to get Meredith because the God Machine is acting strange, but I guess I know why now. Lucas is probably interacting with it. This isn't safe. He doesn't know what he's doing. Even out in the hall is too close." He made to push Ava back but she avoided his touch and stepped farther away from the lab doors on her own. Julian wasn't appeased. "You need to take Lucas away. You shouldn't have brought him here, Ava. What were you thinking?" he scolded.
Straightening her spine, Ava set her chin. "Don't take that tone with me, Julian, I was thinking of a way to save us. Come along now and I'll explain on the way. There's no time." She turned on her heel and left. "Hurry!"
Meredith followed. "Where? And what does Lucas feeling ticklish have to do with anything?"
"I wan down!" Lucas wiggled from his mother's arms to slither to the floor. She grabbed his arm and wouldn't let him loose despite his jerking. Pouting, he finally put his head down and trotted by her side as she strode toward the exit.
Julian followed, though not without a huff at his sister. "Well, Ava? What's this about?"
"I was confirming that Lucas feels the call of the God Machine as a tickling sensation in his head. Since he's been feeling it in the temple, especially when we go to the lowest public level, I think that's proof that the second God Machine is located there after all, probably in one of the underground levels." Ava checked the time on her watch and gestured for everyone to hurry. She picked up Lucas in her arms despite his resistance.
"Great, but why are we rushing? I thought they wouldn't let us search the temple?" Meredith hated walking fast while carrying JJ. It felt so awkward.
"They changed their minds?" Julian's step quickened until he caught up to Ava, forcing Meredith to speed up or be left behind. "I've argued until blue in the face but the temple refuses to budge on their stance, especially now that The Most Holy One has forbidden it. Solutus Cantus refuses to even meet with me anymore."
Tilting her head from side to side ambivalently, Ava pushed through the exit. Everyone dropped their eyes in what had become a habit. By not looking at the (almost) never-changing sky and shield, you could sometimes forget for a while that you were trapped like a bug in a bottle.
"Not exactly. The Most Holy One said no searching by guards and we have to respect his word," Ava told them.
"Then what?" Meredith had to stretch her legs to keep up with Ava's pace. Her calves started to burn. She better not hyperextend a knee. She should start exercising more at some point. Later.
Ava swung Lucas onto her hip to keep up her fast pace. "I've discussed my thoughts with Solutus Cantus—"
Julian twitched. "He met with you? Why you and not me?"
"Because praying works and I regularly see him at the Temple. Now stop interrupting so I can explain!"
Teeth snapping shut, Julian gave a curt nod as they marched across the street.
"While commiserating with Solutus Cantus about the current problems facing our people and discussing the majestic history of the faithful, I asked and Solutus Cantus agreed to revive the old tradition of a patron pilgrimage for our small family."
"What now?" Meredith asked, breathless from the fast pace and carrying a baby on her chest. It threw her stride off, even if JJ weighed less than fifteen pounds. Maybe she wasn't fully recovered from the birth yet. It had been less than a month after all.
Ignoring her, Ava raised her voice. "However, Solutus Cantus only agreed to the pilgrimage if we followed the original tradition exactly. It must be started at the front door at high noon on the first day of the month. If we aren't there on time, we'll have to wait until next month to try again, so hurry!"
"You got him to agree to let us search? You're amazing!" Julian laughed with genuine delight.
Ava sent her brother a crooked smile. "No no, he agreed to take us on a religious pilgrimage," she stressed. "And if Lucas's head gets too ticklish in the lower levels, we'll stop for a moment to pray and meditate on the area and our family's tradition of serving the Gods by preserving our people through the use of the God Machine, and maybe the Gods will answer our prayers and bless us by revealing a second God Machine to once more preserve our people in their time of greatest need. Such an obvious blessing by the Gods must, of course, be accepted by the priests as a sign that the Aquila family should have full access to the new machine to continue our family's tradition of service."
"Wow, that's so twisty." Eyebrows raised as high as they could go, Meredith nodded at Ava. "I'm impressed."
As they reached the sidewalk across the street and started dodging around other pedestrians, Julian ducked his head close to his sister. "But what about Meredith? She's not a member of the family," his eyes cut over to meet Meredith's, "not yet."
Meredith groaned and looked skyward. "Not ever. I'm tired of this topic, Julian. You're attractive and I like you tolerably well and try to respect your ideas considering your background, but you kidnapped me. You're not a sheik in a category romance and I'm not a dimwitted bimbo. There's no happily ever after for us. You wouldn't even protect me from Santoro's bullying. I can't forgive you for trapping me and JJ here and for valuing everyone else's lives and choices above my own. I understand why—the good of the many versus the few, etcetera—but I won't forgive you for it. We're never getting together. Let it go."
"I love you and want to make a family with you. I can't just turn that off, no matter how irritating you are. Believe me, I would if I could." Swallowing hard, Julian looked away and ran a hand over his head, grabbing his hair in a white-knuckled fist.
"Gee thanks," Meredith said, feeling stung.
Eyes focused firmly on the temple steps, Ava dipped her chin. "I'm not taking sides. However, I told Solutus Cantus that I wanted to adopt Meredith and JJ into the family as cousins, with all the rights and privileges. He helped me file the paperwork and—by making us cousins—that both protects Meredith and JJ from the council and leaves the door open for marriage if Julian ever manages to win Meredith's heart and forgiveness." Meredith snorted disdainfully. "I also told him I hoped to have JJ temple blessed when she's old enough, which is the truth—" Meredith drew in a hard breath to object, but Ava touched her hand to lips and brow and flicked her fingers without pausing "—but obviously all of that's subject to her mother's approval and a decision for the future."
The crowd shifted and Meredith got her closest look at the Temple yet. She still thought it looked like it belonged in Thailand with its overlapping golden roofs trimmed in scarlet and the tall golden spire with irregular bumps down its length. The staircase rising from the street to the front gate was made of the same rare stone as the temple, a pale gray veined with white. The stone wasn't granite or marble and that was the extent of her geology knowledge.
As they reached the first step, Meredith saw Councilor Santoro and his two assistants appear through a gap in the crowd down the street. Eyes narrowing at seeing them outside, Santoro gestured imperiously, an order to stop.
Grabbing Julian's arm, Meredith yanked him around so he faced away. "Don't look, but Councilor Santoro is coming this way and waving at us to stop."
Ava looked panicked. "Solutus Cantus won't let Councilor Santoro come on our family pilgrimage and Councilor Santoro won't let us go without him."
Julian looked back through his lashes and swore. "He's too close. I'll stall him. You ladies get in there and find that machine."
Lifting Meredith's hand from his arm, Julian surprised her by pressing a kiss to her fingertips, his expression tortured. "If only we had met in better times." Before she could respond, he spun on his heel and peeled off to intercept Councilor Santoro.
"Julian, be careful," Meredith blurted, not in control of her tongue. She might have no interest in playing family with Julian or forgiving him, but that didn't mean she wanted to see him hurt either. In another life with a better start, she might've found a way to love him. Maybe.
Stumbling, Julian's head jerked over his shoulder to meet her eyes for one stretched-out second—the air feeling heavier than a thunderstorm before the rain—and then the crowd moved between them, breaking the connection and putting time to rights.
"We need to run," Ava cried as the clock tower began chiming the noon hour. Racing up the temple steps, two women clutching their children, they reached the threshold of the temple just as the clock chimed for the last time.
Lungs burning, Meredith planted herself in the middle of the doorway and glanced around as she panted for breath. Through the elaborately carved doors, she saw temple walls covered in paintings, pedestals holding sculptures, and people both standing and kneeling in worship. There was no sign of a man with a birdcage on his head. She spun in a circle. "Are we too late?"
Ava bowed her head and started praying desperately. Lucas sat small and quiet in her arms, obviously feeling the gravity of the situation. Worshipers streamed around Ava and Meredith on either side, jostling them as they entered and left the temple.
The sound of Councilor Santoro's unhappy voice rose from the steps below and a jolt of panic went through Meredith. What if he was coming to make good on his threat of making sure she was properly motivated to work? What if he took JJ away?
"Wait," Ava ordered when Meredith ducked forward to hide inside the building. "Stay with me in the doorway and have faith."
"I don't have much faith in anything but myself," Meredith told her, trying to sound confident instead of scared. Adjusting her arms protectively around JJ, she cast a glance over her shoulder towards where she'd last seen Santoro.
"Then I will share my faith with you." Ava began crooning a wordless melody over and over. After the first two repetitions, Lucas joined in with his high pitched voice.
Suddenly Solutus Cantus appeared in front of them as if by magic (or as if summoned by the song). Meredith jumped, not knowing whether to kiss the man or wring his neck. "Honorable pilgrims," he bowed, making the birdcage on top of his head tip dangerously towards the ground. "May each step on the path sweep back entangling branches and clear the way for your flight towards enlightenment."
He flashed a look past them to where Julian stood on the steps keeping back Councilor Santoro and his expression hardened. "Come and hear our creator's song," he said decisively, ushering them into the chapel and off to a small side door hidden behind a statue.
Inside the door was a dark staircase lit by lanterns with ornate metal screens. Extra lanterns sat on a hexagonal table on the landing. Solutus Cantus picked up a lantern and gestured. "We welcome the Aquila family into our most holy Temple of Enlightenment. May your pilgrimage send your spirits flying with most holy song."
Despite this whole pilgrimage being a trick to give them an excuse to search the lower levels of the temple to find the second machine, Meredith quickly realized that Solutus Cantus and Ava were taking it seriously. They insisted on stopping to discuss the religious significance of every painting and statue they passed—and they passed a lot. JJ was just as bored and started to fuss, though that could've been her picking up on her mother's bad mood. Whatever the case, it took way too long to traverse the first two maze-like lower levels.
When they reached the lowest basement level, three levels down from the main chapel, Meredith's stomach growled audibly with hunger. For the hundredth time, she wished for Earth technology like her laptop and some sort of sensor to detect hidden Ancient machinery. As it was, she was useless. Instead, their lives depended on a three-year-old noticing his head tickling and having the attention span to tell them about it. This was torturous. They were doomed.
Although the priests supposedly cleaned down here regularly, the air felt unpleasantly musty in her mouth. The grout on the walls was greyish-brown and crumbling in places and the stone walls stained with centuries of soot and condensation that no amount of scrubbing would remove. Meredith sneezed and wiped her nose on her hand. She wished she had a tissue.
JJ's nose was running too and her breathing had become slightly wheezy. Meredith didn't like it. All this dust couldn't be good for baby lungs or genius mommy lungs. If they didn't find the machine soon, Meredith was going to have to leave and come back later without JJ, no matter how important the search. JJ's well-being was more important. Besides, JJ had to be getting hungry too. Her mother certainly was ready for a snack break.
Ignoring the loud noise of Meredith's stomach growling, Solutus Cantus continued his tour. "This is one of the original temple levels but we don't use it much anymore because it isn't wired with electricity or modern ventilation. We haven't had the time or budget to update it. The artwork down here is some of the oldest and the style has fallen out of fashion."
"That's so unfortunate," Ava said, pausing to admire a painting.
It was ugly.
"I couldn't agree more." Solutus Cantus smiled at Ava warmly and stepped close to point over her shoulder at something in the painting that made her hum in appreciation.
Looking at the way the two were standing so close, Meredith suddenly remembered Ava telling her that The Most Holy One was a widower, meaning priests here could get married. Meredith wondered if Solutus Cantus had agreed to all those private meetings with Ava and her pilgrimage out of admiration for more than just Ava's piety. She was a beautiful widow herself, after all.
Solutus Cantus stepped back and they continued down the hall. "As you may know, my father is an artist and taught me much of his craft, but the song of the temple proved more alluring than that of chisel and brush."
"For which we are all very grateful, as I would personally find myself much less enlightened if I had never heard your songs," Ava bit her lip and looked down. "Indeed, having you in my life has made it much more fulfilling. I would miss you were you gone." Ava shyly peeked up at him through her lashes. He caught her gaze, arrested, and both their cheeks went pink.
"As I would miss you, my Lady."
Go Ava, Meredith thought, hiding her grin with one hand.
Lucas crawled between his mother's legs and began making trolley sounds, breaking the moment. Smiling down at Lucas, Solutus Cantus cleared his throat. "Luckily my father has found another apprentice to replace me, a skilled young woman to take over the art when he is ready to retire."
"I'm glad to hear that. Doesn't he do restoration as well? You should have the temple hire him to restore the older art down here."
"Great minds think alike, for I've just secured his services for that very purpose."
Meredith yawned as they resumed their walk down the hall. She was glad for Ava and all, but she didn't care about old art or Solutus Cantus's dad, she cared about finding the second machine.
"Mommy! Mommy, mommy, mommy!" Lucas tugged on his mother's fingers.
"What is it, my songbird?" Ava crouched down to put her face at his level.
"Mommy mommy mommy! Mommy mommy!"
"Yes?" Ava asked again, way more patiently than Meredith would've.
"Mommy, the tickwy's there!" Lucas pointed to an alcove holding a painted statue of a tree with wings being hugged by what looked like a snake-headed ladybug and a flower with boobs and duck feet. Or something. The statue's paint was flaking and its wood splitting with age. There was nothing Ancient or advanced about it. Meredith looked around for clues but the rest of the alcove was otherwise empty.
Ava put her hand on Lucas's back. "Can you focus on that tickly feeling for a moment and tell it to open a door for us?"
Lucas nodded, tongue poking out in concentration. His brow furrowed and he lifted his hands and pushed them through the air as if pushing open an invisible door.
The shadows in the alcove behind the statue flickered. A low rumble built. The stone wall of the alcove groaned and shivered. Individual stones began fracturing, making it sound like they were corn being heated inside a popcorn popper.
"Maybe we should—" That's as far as Meredith got before the wall started collapsing towards them.
AN: Thanks for reading! Here's a reminder of my cast:
Dr. Rodney Meredith Mckay / Rome (Kate Winslet)
Dr. Julian Aquila (Marius Hordijk)
Ava Aquila (Rachel Weisz)
Councilor Santoro (Antonio Banderas)
Solutus Cantus / Birdcage man (Adrien Brody)