- Chapter One Hundred-

A New Reality Begins To Form

Portrait and plaque nothing in comparison to the myth, Victor Sullivan was the most dashing figure in the room. In his heyday, Victor had been one to keep an eye on. Charming his way into the most exclusive of circles where money and pedigree had been the only prerequisites for entry, he had a certain knack for becoming virtually invisible on a whim. Mustache and wit a perfect pair, he had been dressed to the tens and elevens for this last outing; hands-down his best accessory was an old photograph of three people on a dock, surrounded by pirate treasure and automatics. Or maybe it was the matching bouquets that had been set below the pedestal as to not steal attention.

Of all the disreputable scumbags in that room, there wasn't a single one of them that could deny that the criminal underworld was burying one of their very best. For most of them, it was a personal loss.

Attended by his family, the Drake brothers stood shoulder-to-shoulder in their Sunday finest as they paid their final respects to a truly amazing man. A man that, though crooked as they came, saw something in a kid he met off the street. A man that, despite openly denouncing a desire for a kid of his own, had become something like a father to two lost kids. A man that would have moved heaven and earth for his friends. For his boys.

Mere decades hardly worth what a pig could spit when pitted against the better part of a lifetime, Elena and Cassie stood behind Nathan as he said goodbye to his best friend. To his father. While some of the years between hadn't always been the best, in every way that mattered Sully was better than blood, was as good as Cassie's grandfather. Dutiful in the task they themselves had volunteered for, the pair of blondes were at the forefront of a wall that didn't exist (rather, the obsidian assembly was more of a clump that was thinning out as the day turned to night).

Distantly aware of the crowd shrinking away behind them, Elena kept her attention on the men that had just lost more than almost anyone else, watching as an entire saga was laid to rest. Sully had touched so many people with his infectious appeal - his very own brand of magic - that might have been an unfair judgement call to make, yet outside of a single exception, she couldn't find the lie.

Jada stood beside Nathan, mourning just as deeply as the retired explorers. Better equipped to go through this ordeal when she had already heroed through it before, the woman was still as shell-shocked as her brothers. A sister in everyway but blood, Victor's goddaughter reached for the corner of the pedestal, her fingers catching air. Why was goodbye so final?

Arms clasped loosely around their daughter's neck, Elena spied the subtle slump of her husband's shoulders, the tension knotting him tighter than Avery's mummy bomb traps. Nate never wanted this day to come either, and now that it had, he wasn't prepared for what came next. Course-correcting into a life he thought would be normal, Nathan had spent two years avoiding every possible lead to adventure, including Sully; that had almost ruined Nate, cutting his best friend out of his life, so what was this going to do?

Devising ways to cheer him up when this was over, the woman perused the mental records for anything that might help. Memories coming back in spades, 'the girl' remembered their very first meeting. The charming liar that had called the station with some story about Sir Francis Drake's remains clearly had a lot of faith in the even more charming (albeit it was a totally different kind of charisma) pilot. Even when the evidence had pointed at a double-cross, he believed in Victor. He always had faith.

For everything that Nathan had told her, she could only imagine how much more had gone unsaid.

Hair getting tousled beneath her mother's chin, Cassie was more concerned about the wellbeing of her two favorite lug heads. A goofball at the best of times, her father was almost too easy to read; intentionally distant and therefore a much bigger challenge, to see how hard this was for her uncle... She hated it. Experience teaching her that her mother would be there to do everything in her power to help her father get through this (because that wasn't a mouthful), the smaller of the two blondes only had to turn her head to see her there amongst the crowd.

Dark clouds ominously low without the wicked witch of the west waiting in the wings to exacerbate the problem, she scowled at the living vampiress. Lenses catching only a trifling amount of the stuffy golden light baking the room to a crisp, the bespectacled blonde was all the more annoyed to see that the troublesome trollop was still sniffing around.

Wasn't the heartless bat supposed to flitter back to her cave after all of this?

Flexing her kick-ass notetaking abilities to no one in particular, Cassie had learned from various records, files, and copies of legal documents that had passed through her mother's office that the leech had wormed her way onto the leases of a number of key properties. Seemingly mundane conversations a time-consuming goldmine if carefully cultivated, the young adult had gathered a good deal of information. Joey a valuable source, he had said that his dad had recently stayed at the villa in Italy, where he had run into both the viper and would-be snake charmer.

Logic following that the pair had since arrived back home together and were most probably staying at the same hotel (on her dime, no doubt), the one thing she hadn't necessarily considered was if they were booked in the same room or not. Dinner last night had made it pretty clear that the loaded lamia was going to continue to be around in some capacity, though it remained to be seen what that would entail exactly.

Entirely wicked enough to go from snake in the grass to a spider that took lessons from the praying mantis, Cassie pegged the heiress as having ulterior motives. Especially when it came to her uncle.

Barely able to remember that far back on her own, she had heard that Sam used to have a different date at every family function... until he met that dark-haired waif. At first it had been just a hunch (and bad timing), but there came a day when Cassie was proven right: of course, that was the one time she absolutely didn't want the pleasure.

Already missing Sully like crazy, the wake made her appreciate how lucky she was to still have both her parents alive and well (which was more than the harpy could say). Heartbroken to see the way this had hit her father, she could only imagine what it must have been like to be in that place, alone without someone there to tether her down to the earth when gravity decided to stop working and everything suddenly got hella vindictive. Her mom really was a rock.

Poor Sam didn't have that.

Except, for whatever it was worth, he did have her. Daniella. Name tasting like a swear that only sounded like a bad thing if you were twelve, the girl was actually glad that the woman was there for her uncle. He needed someone in his corner for this fight, even if that someone was a tart.

Fuck. My. Life.

Urged into action by some dumb feeling in her gut, Cass jerked her head just enough to get her mother's attention without disturbing anyone else. Message received loud and clear, the now-teenaged spawn of two adventuring greats only had to nod in the older girl's direction for her mom to get the memo. Instantly overwhelmed by a flood of pride, Elena planted a sloppy wet one on the top of her daughter's crown; seeing as this was the time for family, it felt wrong to leave one of their own out in the cold.

"Hey, Dani." Old habits hard to kick, the one-time tv personality threaded her arm through the crook of Daniella's elbow as she took the available seat at her side. Leaning ever so slightly into the younger woman, Elena chose not to dwell on the way the heiress was trembling. If she minded it at all, Elena told herself that it was probably only hunger at work. Quite possibly stress.

Doing it solely for the fact that she was following a professional's lead, Cassie took the other side of the heiress and matched the link that her mother had started. Not bitter at all over past events, the teen showed the bloodsucker all the respect she deserved as she allowed their arms to intertwine. "We need to stick together. For them." Needless as the motion was, her glasses bobbed in the direction of the two men going over what they would say before it was time to give someone else their turn (also Jada was there). "You do care about my uncle this week, don't you?"

Ignoring the biting barb that might have otherwise got the better of her, Daniella was more focused on pretending that the world didn't feel like it was spinning uncontrollably under her feet.

[One Sweet Ride]

Startled from a troubled reverie by a pot hole of all things, the retiring adventurer glanced down from the corner of his eye. Hard island on the rocks spying a flutter of blue in the low-case winter storm, his companion's lashes shuttered off the seaside view. Expecting nothing less, Sam watched the heiress murmur something under her breath as she snuggled closer into her commandeered pillow. Once he was fairly certain that she was out, his gaze momentarily lifted back to the endless loop of rough asphalt.

Covered in a matte swathe of bruised blueberries and the like, the few plants dotting the horizon were largely concrete in nature, the greenery too sparse to discern from the backseat of a speeding cab. A relatively straight shot to the heart of more rustic downtown, there was no guarantee that there wouldn't be any more bumps in the road. For what it was worth, he couldn't say that he particularly minded.

Despite the fact that they were returning from Sully's wake, he was actually in a fairly decent mood, all things considered. Sam couldn't quite find a good way to describe it, but there was something different about the way the night air hit a moving vehicle. Cruising down a serpentine curve at ludicrous speeds was a thrilling experience at any time of day, especially on a motorcycle, but traveling at night could be almost as exhilarating under the right circumstances.

Metal frame rattling through the futile gusts pushing a storm into town, there wasn't much leg room to speak of, although it made sense that the cabbie wouldn't want to encourage any unseemly acts. Speaking of the driver, the guy seemed more interested in jamming out to the classic 60s-era tunes blaring out of the radio. A water-logged box of actual cassette tapes taking up the front passenger seat, it was probably a lucky break that he had taken that extra twenty to turn the volume down a couple of notches. Still mixed on whether or not that was alright, on one hand the former explorer appreciated the dampening of the racket for his partner's sake, but on the other, it had been a good song.

Mom used to play this record all the time.

Distinctly remembering the dust making them sneeze all the way back from the corner store, he recalled being in the backseat with his little brother, squished between the groceries and a box full of old records that their mom had picked up from the library. In another one of his moods, the asshole had been so mad having to hear the same track again that he had scratched up the dash to rip the eight-track out. Frightening a teething Nathan (Sam could have sworn the punk had been chewing on a plastic toy ring at the time), their father tossed the tape out of the window and drove over it until he was certain that it was beyond repair. Their mother watched in horror from the front of the parking lot, mortified that all the on-lookers in the parking lot were judging her.

Glancing back down at his Sleeping Beauty, he wondered how many times she had experienced similar things. How could she not have, given who her parents were?

Nuzzled against her prize and wiggling closer for good measure, Dells seemed to be out of it still. Legs tucked neatly underneath that net-like skirt of hers (if the silhouette of her thigh was anything to go by), the position had caused her body to press that much closer to his. Fingers not quite as warm as they could have been after the sweltering heatwave that had struck the grand event with a bloody vengeance, the thing that really caught his attention was the way they were curled around his own. A small smile tugging on her unconscious repose, the thief had to agree that this wasn't so terrible.

If I had to be stuck with anyone right now... I'm glad it's you.

Mind put at ease by the fact that she would have shared in that sentiment if it had been voiced, his thoughts returned to an exchange between two of his favorite girls. Setting aside for a moment that he had entirely too many of those, the words echoed on repeat, naked and stripped of meaning the more times they were replayed.

"You sent Sam after me. Thank you." Daniella and Cassie were never going to be best friends, although they didn't have to be in order for the wayward princess to sound so legitimately grateful. Practically oozing appreciation from every pore, Dells briefly considered embracing the blonde before chickening out at the last moment.

Facts becoming laws when the theory had been proven time and again, there was no playing coy and pretending as if Cassie wasn't one of the very few people that he listened to with any regularity. In a twist about as tangled as a ruler, pretty much anyone that could get through to the ex-con was at the celebration of Victor Sullivan's life and achievements. Ergo, it could have been any of them that guided him back to the heiress. But it wasn't.

Raised better than to be so petty at a funeral, the younger of the two women was probably as done with the perpetual lack of progress as the rest of their family and friends. She might not have approved, but she must have made peace with the fact that Dells was always going to be in the picture. For now.

"I did it for him." Washing her hands of the bad blood for the rest of the day at the very least, the blonde looked to her uncle, silently asking him if he was really truly completely sure that this was who he wanted in his life. Pleading with him to have better standards. Getting an answer that he himself wasn't even sure he gave, the brilliant young woman put everything in perspective in a few short words. "You make my uncle happy, for whatever reason."

You make my uncle happy.

So much more than mere lip service, after working the room, the brothers Drake had found themselves at an invisible crossroads. Faced with so much worse, they were prepared to move on... yet somehow neither was ready to walk out the door. Surrounded by three lovely ladies that would give them all the time they needed, the brothers assured one another that they were going to be alright. That Victor would be proud of Nathan for finding Elena and having Cassie; used to being more of a lone wolf that had been turned away from the pack, it was the thought that he finally had someone there for him that hit Sam as strange. Holy shit.

Testing the notion one too many times until the words sounded funny, the concept of the eldest Drake brother being 'happy' sounded... impossible? He had done a lot of fucked up shit in his life, a LOT, and for the most part they had been mistakes he could live with. But happiness? Honestly, Sam always thought that would come in the shape of discovering something that matched (if not eclipsed) everything Nathan had discovered.

Had that been what his brother was trying to tell him all those years ago in Libertalia?

Are you my Atlantis? Studying the slumbering figure that had become something of a second shadow, his eyes followed the shape of her nose, the sharp jut of her cheekbones that softened beneath the chocolatey curls falling in her face. Unwinding from a combination of heat and long hours away from the mirror, he toyed with a wavy strand, rolling it between his thumb and index finger before brushing it back behind her ear.

[Everything Looks So Different In The Morning]

Lace cuff dangling over the side of the mass produced loveseat, the velvet garment was sitting far prettier on the hotel furniture than it had on the heiress. Skirt fuller on the cushion than it had seemed on the wasting model, perhaps the only bright side of being careful with the dress was that it would be ready for the next time it was needed. Grim as that sounded, the heiress could envision herself being buried in the gown, her hair done up in come-hither curls and make-up more convincing in death than it had been last night.

Last night... Closing her eyes against the persistent glow of morning, she screwed up her face in a concentrated effort to recreate what had happened after being dragged from the cab and into the spacious third-story hall. Where they should have parted into their adjoining rooms?

Vaguely remembering an off the cuff joke about handcuffs and not having the strength at the door, Daniella cracked one eye open and peeked over the incline of Mt. Knee. Waking up in the vice-like embrace of a sleeping giant, as she examined aforementioned tall person, she also had a flash of how she got out of the dress. Positive that it had been the most risqué thing that happened, even in the most pg-rated moments it seemed only natural that the thief helping his lady with her zipper ended with them in bed together.

Which was so totally fine, no big deal.

Only... Steely blues taking a prolonged gander at the favorite of her companions, she couldn't help but to admire how good he looked for his age. T-shirt offering a glimpse of the toned muscle his four guardians protected, it wasn't too hard to imagine that the other end had been tugged up to show the trio bullet holes telling a story on his torso.

Beyond incapable of counting the times she had traced patterns between each reminder of mortality, the heiress figured it was as least as many times as he returned the favor, her shoulder flaring up as if he had been about to touch the scars. Swallowing the urge to rake her nails through that untamed mess of snow-capped cinnamon brambles, the woman also had to suppress his phantom touch. Puckered and deformed, only the brave paid the misshapen screw holes any attention; Sam was the rare exception that started and finished with the marks, ink or no ink to hide them.

Angel and Ashley did her one favor at least, obeying their orders to keep from doing permanent damage to anything vital for a young bride-to-be. Core reacting to the thought with something akin to anger, the pseudo-cramp was just the kick Dells needed to clue in why they were in town. Not that it made it any easier to impress how inappropriate it was to be getting lust-drunk first thing in the morning, right after burying Sully. Right after sharing that moment on the balcony. Sam...

Reaction innate and full of an insatiable hunger, it was safe to say that she really wasn't thinking just yet. Tempting as the idea of testing the durability of the headboard sounded, somehow banging each other's brains out didn't seem like the correct answer. Rolling to her side in a bid to limit the sheer magnetism he exuded even when unconscious, the first thing she did was take a deep breath to collect her thoughts.

Events fully dawning on her after a protracted pause, Daniella was brought back to her father's funeral so many long years ago. Merely a little girl at the time, it was difficult to remember every tiny thought that had flittered through her mind, however there was still the echo of the emotion that remained behind. Fairly certain that she had only wanted the company of her father at the time, the woman wondered if Sam would feel the same.

What if he asks me to leave? Scared of the scenario where she was dismissed, the alternative was somehow even more frightening. What if he asks me to stay again?

Dwelling on the darker side of things left unsaid, a bevy of questions hit her like the spray from a shot gun: Does she approach him as a friend? Can she even make that effort, knowing full well that she might have to leave him so soon? Were they now more than what they had been before? It was one thing to navigate the choppy waters of what they were (or weren't), but last night had seemed so different... Had that only been because of the situation?

Uncertainty enough to make her head spin, Dells had danced around the major question for as long as she possibly could, but sooner or later it had to be asked. It did have to be asked, right?

Where do we go from here?

Bearing the weight of looming possibility, the first thought on her mind was Sam. No doubt still reeling from saying goodbye to his father-figure and therefore far more vulnerable than she'd ever seen him, the woman wanted to be there for him. As a friend if need be, sticking by his side as he found new footing. As... Well, that could be sorted when (and if) it even came up.

Path decided with some level of conviction, Daniella spun herself around; aiming for the stars, she surpassed her initial starting position to wind up looking fully at Sam. Chest rising and falling with the telling signs of deep sleep, the heiress watched in quiet fascination. Tender joy an undiscovered shade of blue, there wasn't long to wait before he began to stir. Matching her unwitting grin in earnest, the first thing the troublemaker did was pull his princess deeper into his arms.

Author's Note:

I realize that this is technically the 108th chapter, but typing out 'Chapter One Hundred' really hit me way harder than I thought it would. Like, damn. This is one of the most consistent things I've done in a really long time (despite the year long gap between chapters).

Concerning the actual content of this chapter, I confess I hit something of a wall straight out the gate. On one hand, it made a lot of sense to continue from the events of the (future) wake. On the other, the end very well looks to be in sight. Pacing very much a worry in my head, do I just jump into the arrival/reunion? I can't really think of what could happen between that needs to be elaborated upon further, not at this moment. However, it feels like a really big, really abrupt leap. Probably just me being a twit again lol.

There was a lot of editing that went into this chapter, from writing segments out of order, to cutting them short, to extending what was there and pushing everything I already wrote for the third segment into the next chapter. One point that I want draw attention to is the Elena/Cassie section, as it's a little more subtle, I think. As someone that feels like they've been writing with a mallet, it's nice to feel like I was a hair more delicate.