A/N: Big thank you to my beta and Spooky CJ for their invaluable help.
Cosima continues to hear voices, muffled and distant, but she's able to identify whom they belong to. The two women speak softly but tensely for a moment, with Sarah occasionally raising her voice, but she's unable to discern any words. She tries to open her eyes, to force her body to move, but her limbs seem beyond heavy, and her sight is still too fuzzy. She sees only a dim silhouette that paces back and forth, while another form has taken a seat by her bed. A halo of blonde curls leans closer as Delphine speaks softly, placing one hand on her forehead, and another on her shoulder in a completely unnecessary move to to keep her from getting up.
The vampire forces her body to relax, trying desperately to ease the pain, focusing her attention on the soothing touch moving along her jawline. It works for a moment, delicate fingers feel pleasantly warm smoothing along her face, and Cosima sighs at the temporary comfort it gives her.
In the distance she hears voices talking quickly, but the doctor remains by her side, her touch tender, undisturbed by the noise coming from the other room. Cosima knows that she should try to pay attention to what's going on around her, try to decipher what's being said, but she feels too weak. Eventually the vampire starts to drift away, not completely unconscious, but her mind loses focus, her eyelids unbearably heavy.
In the small living room, Sarah's attention is divided between the two people standing before her, and the two behind her. Delphine hasn't moved from Cosima's side, and continues to tend to the vampire's declining health. Something tells her that it's more than a doctor's concern gripping the human's actions, but she doesn't have time to worry about that now.
"What the hell is she doing here?" Sarah whispers angrily, pointing an accusing finger at the nervous woman at Felix's side. "This was not an invitation to a blood drinking feast, you know?"
"She was with me when you called, and you said it couldn't wait," Felix explains. "I couldn't very well leave her and come running."
"What's going on?" Alison asks, trying to see pass the werewolf's body that's obstructing her view. "Is Cosima okay?"
"No, she's not okay!" Sarah answers dismissively, only briefly looking at her before addressing Felix. "What were you doing with her? As far as I'm aware, Alison was never part of your coven."
"We're working on something together…with Cosima." Felix says. "But she hasn't really been available and this time it couldn't wait."
"She hasn't been available and you didn't think of checking on her?!" Sarah vents incredulous, her frustration finally finding a target.
"We tried, but Cosima can be very persuasive…you know how stubborn she gets," Felix says with a shrug, but he's growing more worried, his eyes, a weak blue from an early meal, landing on the open door that leads to his former mentor's bedroom. "What the hell is going on? Is that the DYAD doctor? What is she doing here?"
Sarah looks over her shoulder again, observing Delphine gingerly tucking the covers around Cosima and, probably after hearing the man mention her, getting up and exiting the bedroom, closing the door until only a small gap remains.
"Are you sure she should be sleeping?" Sarah asks in a low voice when the blonde is close enough.
"I don't think she's asleep," Delphine answers, her eyes quickly darting to the door she just walked out of and lingering. "But she needs to rest. It's the best way for her to get some of her strength back…at least until we give her some blood."
"What's wrong with her?" Alison asks, her concern peaking after noticing the doctor's presence.
Delphine looks at Alison with a raised brow, unsure of what to say and, in a way, waiting for some help from the werewolf. She's not sure if it's in Alison's best interest to know the truth. Not because she's afraid the young vampire is going to reveal the secret of the treatment to the world, but because the human fears her reaction. Alison strikes her as a less cerebral person than Cosima, and she's uncertain how well she's going to take the news. Besides, if Alison decides to take a similar path and stop going to DYAD to get her regular shots, she'll start showing the same symptoms as Cosima, and the sickness is likely to advance more rapidly due to her young age and less resistant immune system.
"Cosima has developed an allergic reaction to the treatment," Delphine improvises when Sarah offers no help. "We need to take her off the program."
"You can say that again…" Sarah mumbles next to her, at which the human glares at her but says nothing.
"Is she going to be okay?" Alison asks in a small voice, a glimpse of suspicion in her stare.
"We don't know yet," Delphine responds as honestly as she can, in a softly manner so not to alarm the other vampire. "We're going to try our best. But, for now, it's best if you go home. We'll call you if we need you."
Saying this, Delphine gently takes Alison's arm in her hand and starts to guide her to the front door. Alison doesn't really fight it but she walks slowly, looking back at Cosima's bedroom with a tear rolling down her cheek.
"You'll call me, right?" It sounds like a pleading. "Anything you need, you call me."
"We will," Delphine assures her gently.
The human closes the door and sighs deeply, worry weighing heavily on her chest.
"An allergic reaction?" Sarah scoffs behind her back.
"I couldn't tell her the truth, could I?" Delphine answers, turning around and gesturing vividly with her hands. "What if Alison decides to do the same?"
"She should know the truth!" Sarah counters. "She has the right to know what your people are doing to her body!"
"Yes, but we should find a way to fix it first," the doctor says, fighting the impulse to raise her voice, mindful of Cosima's condition.
Felix, who until now has been listening quietly, clears his throat, drawing the attention of both women to him. There's a moment of silence while he looks first at the werewolf and then at the human, next he stares at the bag with the two bottles that he has brought at Sarah's request.
"Cosima has stopped the treatment," he says as if he has just realized it. "There isn't any allergic reaction, is there? She did it voluntarily," he continues and his eyes flow again between the two women, who remain quiet. "She's going through the withdrawal symptoms. She's slowly dying."
Delphine and Sarah look at him with some astonishment, but it's the werewolf who gives one step in his direction.
"What do you know about it?" She asks in a tone that means business.
"She's not the first to…have second thoughts about the wonders of DYAD's program," Felix says, walking away from Sarah, scrunching his nose at the unpleasant scent of a werewolf in stress. Still, he tries not to offend her, it's not Sarah's fault that their species are repulsed by one another. "I've seen it before," he says as he sets the bag on top of the coffee table in the middle of the room. "They change their minds, life as an half-human is not all that is cracked up to be, and they want to return, vampires who have left the program and want to get back into the good graces of our community. The problem is that DYAD has a different plan.
"If they aren't tracked down and captured by DYAD then the alternative is much worse…" his voice trails off as he realizes just how bad the situation is for Cosima. "How come they haven't come for her?" He then asks, looking at Delphine. "She still has the chip, right?"
Sarah eyes Delphine with a dangerous glare, the doctor knows that if the werewolf didn't think she needed Delphine, she would no longer be safe under the same roof.
"I didn't want to remove it while she's in such weak condition," Delphine answers the vampire, but her attention is on the werewolf's every movement. "I didn't want to risk her losing any blood, no matter how small a quantity."
"It's good that you didn't," Felix nods. "The chip is designed to release a deadly toxin if not previously deactivated."
"Ain't that fucking great? This just keeps getting better and better!" Sarah's voice rises and she throws her arms up, exasperated. "Could you give us some fucking good news, please!"
Felix takes a seat on the couch, suddenly feeling extremely tired. "Blood isn't going to help either," he then says in a defeated tone, blankly staring at the bag in front of him.
"What does that mean?" This time not even Delphine can keep her voice down.
"I can't really explain it…scientifically, that is…" the vampire answers. "That was the first thing we tried when people came to us asking for help after leaving the program. They couldn't…the body would reject any type of blood. If they tried to drink it, the old fashion way, barely two swallows in and it's coming up, and when we tried blood transfusion they'd bleed to death…" his eyes lose focus, his voice breaks at the memory and he swallows thickly. "Out of the nose, the ears, the eyes…as they kept screaming in agony… gruesome stuff, right out of an horror movie."
Hearing this, Delphine feels her knees go weak, the nausea growing in the pit of her stomach brings bile to her throat. It couldn't happen. Cosima couldn't be wasting away because of something she'd done, even unknowingly. She knew DYAD was nefarious, but this… DYAD's atrocities were always something abstract to her, something she knew existed, but so far in the back of her mind that she could ignore. She was complacent with their methods because she never thought it would affect her personally, she was not one of them, she was safe. And now, it was affecting someone she cares for, for reasons she can't explain; now that'll cause Cosima's death; now that is too late… now she wishes she had acted differently, that she hadn't let her personal quest overcome her basic human decency.
"There's got to be a way…" Delphine mumbles to herself. "Cosima can't die."
"Shay," Felix cuts through the eerie silence that's has settled.
"What about that bitch?" Sarah says, but even she has lost her edge, her harsh words come out faint.
"She has a guy… someone who knows how to treat Cosima," Felix answers with his eyes on the floor. "We have had a couple of runways joining us, health fully restored after only a couple weeks."
"Can you get this person?" Delphine asks, allowing an hint of hope to rise in her chest.
But Felix shakes his head, still not looking up. "No…" he whispers. "He's too valuable for her to share him with anyone."
"I doubt Shay'll help Cosima after she left her," Sarah says.
Only then does Delphine connects the dots. She remembers the attack and, yes, Cosima did call her by that name, the woman Cosima left, the woman who created her. Delphine still remembers how much hate she saw in an impossible cold stare, the icy blue eyes still hunt her dreams. Delphine would give anything not to see that vile creature again… anything but Cosima's life.
"We have to try!" She doesn't hesitate.
"She's going to want something in return," Felix says, finally raising his head to meet Delphine's eyes. "Shay's not exactly known to be a generous soul."
"It doesn't matter," Delphine's resolve doesn't move an inch. "Just get her here."
Felix chuckles humorlessly. "She won't come here," he says. "We need to get to her."
"Not in Cosima's condition, we don't!" The werewolf intervenes, stepping again closer to the vampire, her eyes shine brightly, gaining a deep amber colour.
"You think threatening me is going to help you?" Felix keeps his calm, crossing his legs but leaning back, putting as much distance between the two of them as possible.
Delphine watches with annoyance the two supernatural creatures sizing each other up. They don't have time for this, not while Cosima is running out of time in the next room.
"None of this is helpful!" The human raises her voice and both of them look at her. "If this Shay is our only option, then we need her, we are in her hands," she continues in a calmer way. "But Sarah's right: Cosima isn't going anywhere until we stabilizer her." She pauses for a moment to think and then stares in the male vampire's eyes. "Call her, tell her what's going on. If Shay cares enough about Cosima to track me down and attack me to get her attention, then she shouldn't have a problem coming over when Cosima is dying."
"Caring is not exactly the way I would describe it," Felix comments, but at least he's reaching for his phone in his back pocket. "Obsessed is more accurate."
"Regardless," Delphine says dismissively, "the result is the same."
"You may be opening a door you can't close, dear doctor," the vampire gives her one last chance to change her mind.
Delphine glares coldly at him and motions with her chin for him to make the call without saying another word.
"Very well," Felix breathes out and presses his thumb on the phone's screen.
He then gets up from the couch and opens the sliding door that leads to a small balcony, closing it. He speaks in low tones to whomever picks up the call and the two women can do nothing but wait.
Delphine takes the opportunity to check on Cosima. The vampire appears to be sleeping, but when the doctor brings a hand to her forehead Cosima mumbles something and stirs at the touch. Delphine frowns. Cosima feels too cold, her small body is shivering uncontrollably under the covers, but beads of sweat have broken out across her face and hairline.
"How is she?" Sarah asks in a small voice, leaning against the doorframe and crossing her arms over her chest.
Delphine only looks at her and shakes her head, lips pressed together in a thin line, a deep frown creasing her eyebrows.
"I didn't know werewolves could control their shifts like that," the human comments, more to keep her mind occupied than out of curiosity.
"No?" Sarah asks in a sarcastic voice. "I thought DYAD knew everything there is to know about us."
Delphine shakes her head again. "Two entirely different departments, completely independent from each other," she explains, not taking Sarah's accusation personally. "Those who work with vampires, like myself, don't have access to any information relating to your kind."
Sarah hums and eases up a little bit. "Yeah, sure, it's possible," she says, responding to Delphine's original question. "Not when we're young… that's a fucking mess, but you can train yourself to show a little fang now and then, much like our friends there," she finishes aiming a hand at the vampire laid on the bed.
"Were you… born that way?" Delphine asks, sensing the other woman more open.
"No, I was turned when I was sixteen," Sarah answers, her back relaxing against the wooden door frame, sliding down a little bit. "Siobhan took me in and helped me even when I didn't want, or think I needed it." The werewolf releases a throaty chuckle. "Now… she was born a werewolf."
"As was your child…" Delphine says distractedly, adjusting the covers around Cosima, who seems to have calmed down again.
On the other hand, the werewolf's body tenses immediately, she straightens her back, curls her fists tightly and emits a low snarl. "You leave my kid out of this!" The voice is low, but the threat is glaring.
Realizing her indiscretion, Delphine hurries to fix it. "I didn't mean anything by it, it was just an observation… I noticed the toys back in your place."
"Yeah? Well, you keep your observations to yourself if you don't want them to be the last!" Saying this, the werewolf leaves quickly.
"Merde…" Delphine whispers, threading her fingers through her hair and making a mental note to mind her words next time.
She doesn't dwell on her misstep, but resolves to approach the werewolf later...when things have slowed down. Still, she takes a little longer before leaving the bedroom, giving time for the werewolf to lose some steam.
When she returns to the living room, she notices Felix storing the blood in the fridge and Sarah's on the balcony, looking out the street.
"She'll come," Felix informs her.
Delphine takes her eyes off the werewolf and looks at him. "Good…" she says in a low voice.
"I think you'd better leave," he then says, returning his position on the couch. "I don't think Shay's gonna be happy to see you here."
"I don't care about her happiness," Delphine answers with a shrug of her shoulders. "Besides, she'll know I was here, she'll be able to smell me, right?"
Felix returns the shrug. "It's your life…"
There's nothing left to do but wait. Delphine contemplates the possibility of returning to Cosima's side, but the vampire appeared to be more restless in her presence, attempting to move or speak. Thinking it's best to leave Cosima to save her strengths, the doctor decides to stay put. She's fidgeting with her hands, impatiently pacing around the carpeted floor, threading her fingers through her curls before she catches herself and brings her hands down, cracking her knuckles. Eventually she takes a seat on the couch, as far away as she can from the vampire whose eyes keep following her.
"Thank God, woman…" Felix breaths out, maintaining his position.
There's a thick, awkward silence. Delphine distracts herself by listening for any sort of sound coming from Cosima's bedroom, but all is quiet. Sarah remains on the balcony, but the doctor is certain she's aware of everything happening inside the house. Minutes stretch for far too long, Delphine's counting them in her head when she's not staring at her wristwatch.
Finally Sarah comes back inside, the door sliding open allowing cold air to enter before it's shut. In a instant, Delphine is on her feet, reading the other woman's angry expression, she knows what's coming.
"They're here," the werewolf announces, getting to the door and buzzing them inside before they ring the bell.
Shay's the first to step into the house, entering with her head held high, her spine straight, her shoulders squared, giving the illusion that she's taller than her short stature. Only when a lanky young man follows her inside and stands behind her does her real height comes into perspective. But it doesn't make her appear any less threatening, with her bright eyes disdainfully scanning the small room, landing on each occupant for a few seconds before it's moving on.
Shay's straight blonde hair is pushed back in a high braid, unblocking her pale, marble smooth complexion and revealing a self-satisfied smirk that exposes her pointy canines.
"I didn't know Cosima had gotten a pet dog," Shay comments in a cold voice as her eyes return to Sarah and then slowly, deliberately move to Delphine. "Then again… she's not exactly keeping the best company of late."
The idea of answering to the provocation doesn't even cross Delphine's mind. As much as she wants to, the notion that Cosima's life depends solely on Shay's inclination holds her tongue. And it appears the same thing is on Sarah's mind, who, despite a low growl as a small display of her instinctive aggressiveness, is on her best behavior.
"Well… where is she?" Shay asks, clasping her hands and looking slightly disappointed by the other people's silence.
"Inside," Felix answers, pointing towards Cosima's bedroom. "Is he the one who's going to fix her?" He asks, looking dubiously to the young man.
"Mr. Scott Smith is here just to make sure Cosima's stable enough to come home with us," Shay says, a delicate hand landing on the man's biceps. "He'll also be removing Cosima's chip so those friends of yours, waiting outside, won't follow us." She says this turning her head to Delphine.
The doctor tilts her head, confused by what she's hearing. A side glance in Sarah's direction shows the same confusion. Delphine continues without saying anything, but walks calmly to the small area that serves as a kitchen, Sarah right behind her, and both of them peer outside when the doctor moves the curtain just enough so they can see the street bellow.
"They're in the back!" Shay informs them from the other room. "And don't worry, my people will take care of them," there's a small laugh. "They still haven't eaten anything today anyway, so this is extremely convenient."
Werewolf and human look at each other, with matching puzzled expressions.
"They must've followed Alison from the bar," Delphine reasons in a low voice as Sarah nods. "If she was with Felix when he went there, DYAD would've gotten an alert from her change of routines."
"It's interesting that they always knew where Cosima was and never bothered to pick her up," Shay continues as the two women return to the living room. "Makes you wonder what were they waiting for…" she says as she smiles at Delphine with piercing eyes.
Delphine clenches her jaw and takes a deep breath, holding the vampire's gaze just long enough to show she's not feeling intimidated. Instead of responding to Shay, the human turns her attention to the young man, who hovers close to the small blonde. He nervously looks everywhere without making eye contact with anyone, his broad shoulders slumped, and his head down, trying to attract as little attention as possible. The small brown leather bag he carries shifts from one hand to the other as he balances the weight of his body, clearly feeling uncomfortable in the midst of all these creatures. He's human, Delphine notices and wonders how he's come to be here, working for someone like Shay.
"She's very weak," Delphine states, getting closer to him, trying to somehow gain his trust, show him that she not the enemy. "Are you sure it's safe to remove the chip?"
He looks a little surprised that someone has bother to talk to him, let alone ask his opinion, and still he looks at Shay, seeking her approval. "We'll give her the first dose of the antidote before we conduct the procedure. She'll be able to feed then," Scott only answers after the vampire gives him an eye roll and a twist of her right wrist, as if she getting bored of this. "That should be enough not only to safely remove the chip, but also to make the journey back to the mansion comfortable."
"Then you don't need to take Cosima with you to administer the cure," Delphine's voice gains force, determination makes her brazen enough to give Shay an hard look. "She'll stay here!"
Shay seems amused by Delphine's small display of strength and approaches the human with a few slow steps. The vampire looks up but she's no less dominant despite the height difference between the two women, the cruel smile on her lips, the fangs growing in length leaving no illusion as to who is in command of the situation. Her smirk causes a freezing chill to roll down Delphine's spine, the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. The fear she feels takes corporeal form, seizing her arms and legs, keeping her from answering the instinctual call to step back. Her heart beats erratically, and the air that fills her lung is heavy and viscous.
"Not only will she come with me, good doctor, Cosima's also staying there," Shay asserts in a cold voice. "I won't have a member of my family living in a rathole."
"Oi… Didn't Cosima dump your ass?" Either Sarah's not fully aware of the danger of the situation or she has the privilege not to care. "She got tired of your shit and told you to go nibble on someone else."
The vampire hisses as the glint of amusement melts away and hardens; just a small demonstration of the viciousness she's capable of seems to reflect on the deep blue of her eyes. And then, as if it was just a dark shadow that crossed her soul, the smile is back on her lips.
"Then I guess Cosima has a choice to make," Shay says, the satisfied smirk growing, her eyes pinned on the human. "She can either rejoin our family and live, or she can stay here, with you, and die."