So... new story. Hope you enjoy it.

It's Not Your Fault

It hadn't taken Ashcombe that long to find him. Christopher, despite having a penchant for explosives and getting into trouble, was surprisingly predictable.

Christopher hadn't even attempted to hide his mount, just left her in front of the store for anyone to see.

After what had happened that afternoon it wasn't unexpected for the boy to seek out the old and familiar.

Some soldiers needed to process their grief alone. Needed to get away to handle their pain.

Christopher didn't strike him as the kind of person who did well 'alone'. He needed his friends, he needed someone there to keep him grounded. Now that his friends were dying; picked off one by one by a monster who hated being outsmarted. Christopher was pushing everyone away, terrified of who he'd lose next.

It was understandable.

It just wasn't healthy.

Ashcombe stared at the door. He'd been at Blackthorn's Shop once before. Investigating Benedict Blackthorn's murder. It was here that all his troubles began – and ended really. Despite Christopher's love of solving things with fire, knowing Christopher was probably one of the best things he'd ever done for England.

Ashcombe contemplated just breaking the door down, but that would be counterintuitive. Christopher was entitled to seek out his home when the palace became too much.

Ashcombe raised a fist and knocked softly on the door.

After a troubling long time, the door opened and Christopher stared up at him.

His eyes were bloodshot and tear marks streaked down his face though it was obvious that Christopher had attempted to wipe his tears away before he answered the door.

He looked so young. Ashcombe hadn't seen him look this young since his old Master had died.

Looking back on that day he wondered how he could ever have believed Christopher capable of such a horrendous act.

Had it really been barely a year? It felt as though years had gone by since he first met the young boy standing by his master's body.

"Lord Ashcombe," Christopher greeted. "Is there something I can do for you?"

"Can I come in?" Ashcombe asked.

Christopher hesitated. Ashcombe remembered seeing Christopher hesitate when he'd been told that the King wanted to apprentice him to Lord Walsingham. It hadn't taken a genius to figure out what had been going on in Christopher's head.

He had a feeling that just like then Christopher was wondering if he truly had a choice when it came to letting Ashcombe into his home.

Unlike back then. Ashcombe said nothing, he just waited silently, patiently, for Christopher to come to his own conclusion.

He didn't have to wait long because Christopher opened the door wider and stepped back allowing Ashcombe into the shop.

"I don't have much in the way of food," Christopher said. "I haven't been shopping since before France. Haven't had the chance."

Christopher was becoming defensive. Ashcombe had a feeling that talking to Christopher about what had happened was likely going to yield poor results.

So instead, he avoided it. Christopher would talk to him about it when he was good and ready.

He turned and noticed the bear. He'd noticed it before when investigating Blackthorn's murder but hadn't been able to give it more than a cursory glance. Now that there was no murder to solve he could pay more attention to it.

Ashcombe turned back to Christopher with a raised eyebrow, "What happened here?"

Christopher's gave flicked to the bear. He hesitated, unsure.

Ashcombe sighed. "You won't be punished, Christopher. You've done too much for the King and England to be punished for a mangled stuffed bear."

Christopher sighed. "I wasn't aiming for the bear," Christopher said. "Master called it 'The Stupidest Idea in the Universe.' Made me write down the 'recipe' for that accident 60 times. 30 times in English and 30 times in Latin."

Ashcombe raised an eyebrow. "You've done stupider since then." He thought of Christopher burning down the Carriage.

Christopher looked down. "Yeah."

"So…?"

Christopher sighed. "Wanted to build a canon. Rifled through my Master's notes. Found the recipe for gunpowder – encoded. And convince Tom to help me build one. It didn't end well."

"I can see that." Ashcombe said with a barely concealed grim.

"I wasn't aiming for the bear." Christopher defended. "Though according to Master Benedict, what I had originally been aiming for wouldn't have been much better."

"What were you originally aiming for?"

Hesitantly Christopher pointed at an iron Cauldron hanging up. Ashcombe stared at it and laughed.

"Blackthorn was surprised I missed the cauldron," Christopher said there was a bit of life back in his voice now. "He said "The Lord must love a fool" because he couldn't see how I missed it and if I had hit the cauldron it was likely he'd have been scraping pieces of me off the store till Christmas."

"Surprised your Master didn't hit you for it."

Christopher stilled and looked down his cheeks flushed. "He only did that once," Christopher said, "And it was to protect me."

Ashcombe paused and stared at him, but Christopher didn't seem keen to elaborate. "Master Benedict, made me clean the entire store top to bottom as punishment. Course it was also Ascension Day which really upset me. I'd been looking forward to the double holiday all year."

"Well, if you hadn't decided to illegally build a canon…" Ashcombe started.

Christopher rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I got what I deserved." His expression became a bit more melancholy. "He died two days later."

Before Ashcombe could say something to comfort him Christopher shook his head and continued talking. "He gave me my first ever birthday gift," Christopher told him. Ashcombe raised an eyebrow. "The day before he died. Oak Apple Day, which also happens to be my birthday, he gave me a gift."

It didn't take Ashcombe long to figure out the gift he was talking about. Christopher had made such a fuss about taking it with him to Sir Edward and Valentine. Now, he knew why. "The cube."

Christopher nodded. "Yeah. The cube opened up, but only if I found the right key. Which I eventually did and when it opened I got my hands on a bright and shiny shilling. It, uh… didn't survive the day."

Ashcombe barely suppressed a chuckle. "I can imagine."

Christopher shrugged. "For the best" He replied. "As an apprentice, I'm not allowed possessions. When Benedict died I would have been forced to leave it behind anyway." He scowled. "They wouldn't let me keep, my birthday present. Forget an entire shilling."

"They kicked me out of the house, with just the clothes on my back. If it hadn't been for Tom's mother I would likely have been on the street." Christopher's expression crumpled. "If it hadn't been for Tom, I would have been on the street."

Uh-oh. "Christopher-"

"He's saved my life so many times, Tom and Sally," Christopher said. "And all I can do is nearly get him killed. He sent his sisters to secure me a place at Doctor Parrett's, saved my life against Wat, saved my life in Paris, lost I don't know how many nights to look for me when I was thrown overboard, on the way back from Paris. Sally was thrown off a roof and suffered a head wound so bad that her hand was mangled, and she later saved me from a knife and got her hand injured again, even you got injured because of a trap I set and now there's this monster who's after everyone I care about, whose already gotten-"

Ashcombe pulled him close and held him tightly. "It's not your fault. It's the fault of those monsters. You were doing your duty." He didn't hug often, but with the way Christopher was spiraling words alone weren't going to be enough.

Christopher shook his head. "There must have been some way-"

"You can't think like that," Ashcombe said. "You can't, it will eat you up inside. And you will drown in your guilt. You saved Tom." Ashcombe said. "You got him to us in time and we were able to save him. He'll be fine."

"Yeah, now," Christopher said. "But what if-"

"You have to savor whatever small victories you can," Ashcombe said. "Tom is alive. Sally is alive. that is what matters."

"He's misdirected us so many times," Christopher said. "I don't know how-"

"You're not alone," Ashcombe said. "We will help you. I promise."

A/N Hope you enjoyed it! Please leave a review. Tell me what you liked. What you didn't and everything in between.

GSZMPH ULI LVZWRMT!