EDIT: I'm unfortunately on Hiatus. I'm unhappy with my writing and I just feel like its a first draft. So, I'm doing some edits and fix-ups and I'll be back in no time.

ALSO! LIONI WILLIAMS! I am so sorry for forgetting to give you a shout out for your art! I feel like a butt and I haven't gotten it up yet, but I will! Thank you for not hating me!

On another note, I'm going to be posting a one-shot about how Elaine and Eggsy met in the next few days, as well. I've really loved writing it and I hope I did justice to how everyone imagines they met. It's not so much a cute meet as it is a… concerning meet? Is that the right way to put it? I don't know. It'll make sense once you read it. I personally think it's the bee's knees, so I hope all you do, as well.

So, here is the 19th chapter.

Much to Eggsy's surprise, when Merlin's allotted two days were up, Elaine seemed to be entirely recovered. Besides the very blatant amnesia lingering in her eyes, she was no longer suffering from intense bouts of fatigue, save for a few minor waves here and there. She had also gotten into the unfortunate habit of refusing to stay in bed. Instead of staying put and listening to Eggsy when he said it was in her best interest, Elaine stubbornly started wandering around the halls.

Eggsy always tried to be the one to find her, knowing that Merlin was already not too keen on having her here and he didn't know how other agents would react to an aimless girl wandering the corridors of the headquarters. In fact, yesterday, Eggsy had caught up to Elaine just in time to stop one of the lower ranked Kingsmen from reaching for his gun.

After that precarious situation, he nearly begged Elaine to stay in her room. But like the headstrong, stubborn, beautiful girl she was, Elaine simply crossed her arms and stuck her freckled nose up at him. It was unfortunate and did no good for his nerves, but seeing the life grow stronger in her every day made all the trouble worth it.

But her stubbornness was becoming dangerous, no matter how beautiful and alive she looked with that emerald fire back in her eyes.

Because of that, he also employed Todd and Roxy in keeping an eye on Elaine since Eggsy couldn't be here 24/7. But, neither could they. Needless to say, Eggsy was actually relieved to see the end of the second day. Despite the fact that Elaine was going to be whisked away to a safe house, knowing that she was safe seemed better than this option.

He was a few doors away from the medical ward when his phone rang.

"Yeah," Eggsy answered.

"Lancelot just secured a safe house in Salzburg," Gawain said over the phone.

Eggsy hesitated a few feet away from the medical ward. Checking both the tone and volume of his voice, he took a step away from the door Elaine was behind.

"Austria?" Eggsy asked. "I would have thought we would keep her closer."

"In this case, Galahad, it seems better if we keep our distance. She'll be protected there," Gawain reprimanded in a way Eggsy could only describe as understanding.

"Yeah," Eggsy nodded, clutching his phone tighter. He looked back at the door closest to him. "Of course."

"I'll have Lancelot contact you with the details," Gawain said.

"Right, thank you."

Huffing, Eggsy ran his fingers through his hair and reluctantly turned back to the door behind him.

When he stepped into the medical ward, all he found was an empty room. Like the other times she had gone missing, the bed she had slept on was made and no one would think someone was missing if Eggsy wasn't expecting her to be there.

"Of course," Eggsy grumbled under his breath. He reminded himself that this was his last day and he could stop worrying about her running into trouble at HQ.

Bursting out of the ward in a hurry (which was the 6th time he had done so since Elaine started to feel better) he headed in the direction opposite of where he caught her last night. He figured she would probably hedge her bets and look places she hadn't looked previously.

Unfortunately, Eggsy was in such a hurry that he didn't notice another person enter the medical ward once he burst out of it.

"Eggsy?" Bedivere called at the other end of the hall.

Eggsy turned back to see Bedivere stepping out of the medical ward.

"Todd," Eggsy said, trying not to wince.

Todd closed the door to the medical ward and walked towards Eggsy with a frown.

"Elaine isn't here," he said with a grimace, having had chased Elaine this morning, as well. Eggsy was guessing that Todd; based on his annoyed expression, was just as eager to stop this chasing game just as much as Eggsy was.

"Yeah, yeah," Eggsy nodded, trying to be as casual as possible. When Todd started to question him, Eggsy tried waving off Todd's concern. "She couldn't have gone far. I'll find her in a snap."

He heard Todd sigh as he strode up to match Eggsy's hurried strides.

"You know, locking the door would have been the solution to this problem," Todd said, giving Eggsy a displeased look. Though, he knew there was also concern somewhere in the midst of Bedivere's annoyance, as well.

"And just make us the enemy?" Eggsy said, shaking his head. "She doesn't remember us! We need to build the trust back up."

Todd scoffed.

"Yes, and chasing her down every other second is the best way to do that," Todd said, giving him a skeptical look which Eggsy ignored.

"She never goes far," Eggsy reasoned.

"Except when she almost made it to the plane hangar," Todd deadpanned.

"Yeah, well," Eggsy began, grimacing at his fellow agent. "Just bugger off while I take care of this."

Todd rolled his eyes and turned on his heel before calling back.

"I'll search by the hangar again."

Eggsy rolled his shoulders and tried to ignore the creeping feeling in his spine.

Elaine was beginning to get a grasp on the layout of wherever she was. She knew that when exiting the room she was always herded back into if she turned left there was a short hallway with three doors on either side. All doors were locked. If she walked further (quite a bit further) she got to a set of doors that read 'AIRCRAFT HANGAR", granted she was able to slip past the mysterious men and women walking around in suits and umbrellas.

It was ridiculous, really… the number of people carrying around umbrellas.

But she decided that route was a dead end as both the dark haired man and Gary seemed to have caught her in that general area the last few times she searched for a way out of the mysterious, unnamed place.

So, she decided when she snuck out of her 'prison' for what seemed like the millionth time, venturing to the right was the best option. Having only explored it at a glance, Elaine thought her chances were better.

But after walking for who knew how long, there was still no sign of an exit and Elaine acutely felt the absence of a watch on her wrist.

"I mean, honestly! How can they not have an exit?" She mumbled to herself.

The blond man; Gary, had found her yesterday just when she thought she had found her escape, but he herded her back into the medical ward and told her to stay put. She had a hunch that he managed to convince the woman from before and a tall, lean, dark-haired guy to help keep her in, too.

"I'll show you," Elaine grumbled to herself. "Keeping me locked in here like a rat."

She was still in the itchy dressing gown she had woken up in with the slightly less itchy robe and she couldn't stop thinking about flowy dresses and old, soft jeans and knit sweaters. Honestly, the assigned attire was the worst part of this confusing ordeal and it was pushing her over the edge.

"Finally," Elaine said to herself once she reached a door she hadn't seen before.

She placed her hand on the handle and twisted.

When Eggsy finally found Elaine, she was standing in front of the door that led to the munitions storage. Still barefoot and wearing the hospital gown and robe from two days ago, he could hear her frustrated mutterings and quiet curses as she yanked on the handle with all her strength.

"Elaine," Eggsy said, catching up to her in a few long strides.

She jumped slightly and stepped away from the door she was at.

The bland, off-white gown made her red hair and freckles stand all the more out and even though she had returned from her coma with sallow and pale skin, the sudden strength and energy she was now gaining back made a soft rosy blush rise up into her neck and cheeks. Although, Eggsy guessed the blush was due to anger more than anything.

"Why are you always following me around?" She said, stepping away from him and walking away down the corridor to her left.

Eggsy wavered but continued walking by her side.

"Because you're supposed to be in the medical ward," he tried not to say it in a patronizing way, but based on how many times he'd had to track her down, he was sure she was getting tired of him stating the same thing over and over.

Elaine spun on her heel, her hair twisted around shoulders and her green eyes glaring at him.

"No," she said, her fists clenching. "I'm sick of the medical ward and I am not some prisoner."

She stepped closer as if to challenge him, crossing her arms and silently waiting for him to refute.

Eggsy scratched the back of his neck and tried to be patient.

"You need to-"

"Rest?" Elaine finished, her brow raising. "Except I don't."

She continued walking, turning away from him.

Eggsy tilted his head back and tried to be a calm and collected gentleman.

"Well, actually you do need rest. You also need more-"

"I need more what?" Elaine asked more harshly this time, pivoting to turn her annoyed eye at him. "Testing? Blood draws? Psych evals? What more could I possibly need, Gary?"

"Well-" He thought, but he couldn't really think of anything. But Elaine had already turned around and continued her exploration of the Kingsmen headquarters.

"What I need to do is figure out where I am," Elaine said. "And since you won't tell me, I'll figure it out myself."

"Elaine, I've already told you!" Eggsy groaned.

"No, you haven't! A physical therapy center? What kind of unbelievable nonsense is that?" She exclaimed, throwing her arms up and challenging him again to make up a more logical answer.

When he could only look at her in displeasure, she huffed and continued searching.

Taking a few long strides to catch up with her, Eggsy caught her shoulders and turned her to face him.

"Alright, I," Eggsy started, knowing that a lie that involved a portion of the truth would be better, and more believable than an outright lie. "You were in some danger and some people were after you," he explained, hoping the absolute bare minimum would be enough to satisfy her curiosity.

Elaine looked at him intently, waiting for him to elaborate. But he just stared back at her, hoping that would be enough to get her to trust him.

"You know that was super, super vague, right?" Elaine said, raising her eyebrows.

Eggsy searched for a better explanation but came up short. Elaine narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms as she waited for a reason to trust a man she had no memory of.

When his silence stretched on for too long for Elaine's comfort, she raised her leg and stomped on his foot with her heel. When she searched his face for any discomfort or pain, he just looked at her.

"That didn't hurt you?" Elaine asked, annoyed. "At all?"

"Well, I'm wearing shoes," Eggsy said sheepishly as he shrugged his shoulders. "And you're also barefoot."

Elaine huffed and walked away.

"I'm not going back until you tell me who is trying to hurt me and why and how I got here and what this flipping place even is and who you are and where my clothes are."

Eggsy mentally prepared himself for what he knew he had to do. He followed closely behind her.

"I just want you to know, I am really sorry about this," Eggsy said, matching her step.

Elaine turned her attention to him in worry, looking him up and down.

"Sorry about what?" She asked, speeding up only to find that Eggsy easily matched her faster pace.

Suddenly, his hands were around her waist and lifting her over his shoulder.

"What the hell?!" She yelled, his shoulder digging uncomfortably into her stomach.

"I told you I'm sorry, but this is for your own good," Eggsy said.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" Elaine tried kicking her legs, but he fastened his arms tightly around her knees. So she pounded her fists on his back but it didn't seem to be making any difference.

"I said I am sorry, but you're being a pain in the ass!" Eggsy said as he carried her back to the medical ward. The doctor had assured him that her abdominal wound had healed perfectly and shouldn't cause her more pain, but he was beginning to doubt how valid that assessment was as Elaine wriggled in his grasp and cried out for him to put her down. "I promise I'll explain everything soon."

Elaine sat on her designated prison bed.

She sat on her prison bed, in her prison clothes, and stared at her prison wall. Looking down at her hands, a dot of vibrant pink caught her eye. The paint was still clinging to the edge of the nail on her ring finger. She couldn't remember painting it, or why she did, but it made her think that at some point she was happy enough to paint her nails such a vibrant, lovely color.

"Ugh, can you just pull yourself together?" Elaine sniffled. She brought the sleeve of the itchy hospital robe up to her face. It no doubt made her cheeks even more red and puffy. In lieu of that, she decided to have tear stained cheeks were better than scratched and puffy ones.

Someone cleared their throat in the doorway.

Elaine rushed to wipe her tears away.

"Hey," Gary said, walking into the room. The bag he carried caught her eye. Floral and embroidered, the duffle he carried was the last thing she expected to see Gary lug around with him.

Elaine turned back to looking at her prison wall and sniffled.

"That bag doesn't go with your suit," she said. She hated how the crack in her voice gave away her emotions.

"Probably for the best," he said and Elaine carefully avoided his eyes even when he set the floral duffle on the bed next to her. "It's yours."

Elaine looked up at him again. Narrowing her eyes, Elaine grabbed the bag and pulled it towards her.

"Should I be worried you have my bag?" Elaine asked, wiping the last few streaks of tears that were now drying uncomfortably on her cheek.

Eggsy shrugged his shoulders and sat down in the chair across the room from her.

"If you want," he said. He hesitated before sitting down in the chair by her prison bed. "You might not believe it, but we were friends before the accident."

Elaine pondered him.

"What changed?"

He let out a humorless laugh.

"Amnesia?" He said, but sobered once he met Elaine's confused eyes. "I never want you to be scared of me, or think I'll hurt you."

"I've never thought that," Elaine whispered, avoiding his eyes. "But I will stomp on your foot a second time if you ever throw me over your shoulder again," Elaine said, bringing her eyes up and tried to glare at him. But she ended up giving a reluctant smile.

He agreed to that.

Eggsy thought about what Roxy said. What Elaine needed was a stable life with stable people in it, and Eggsy's life was anything but stable. He needed to distance himself, but not when Elaine needed him most. He would help her through this time and when she was healed, things would be over. And this was the perfect opportunity to distance himself.

"I'm sorry if this has ruined a friendship," Elaine said.

"Yeah… well. We're acquaintances, really." He shrugged, pretending he didn't feel the gaping chasm opening up between them.

"Acquaintances," Elaine repeated, studying him.

"Nothing more," he assured and she seemed to buy it. He felt his heart constricting. They were never going to happen.

"Well," Elaine started, biting her bottom lip. "Thank you for my bag."

Eggsy thought she would never take her studious eyes off him; those big emerald eyes above freckled cheeks making his knees weak. But finally, she turned her eyes to the duffle he brought her.

And he was glad he was there to see her because as soon as she opened the duffle, her face lit up.

"You brought me clothes!" She laughed as she pulled out the items he had packed. She hugged a pair of jeans and a knit pastel sweater close to her heart. "You were listening to me," she said with sincerity.

"It's not hard to listen when you're being yelled at," Eggsy said.

Elaine nervously twisted a lock of her hair around her index finger.

"Sorry about that," Elaine said, looking at him with kinder eyes than before. "Though I'm not going to totally apologize because I still need to know things. And, again, you threw me over your shoulder. But… Thank you."

Eggsy just waved his hand.

"Yeah. I figured you might want out of those itchy dressing gowns." Eggsy said. "I thought the staff was having a laugh when they said it was the best, but they're better for mopping the floor."

Elaine laughed the way he remembered her laughing, the type of carefree one he always tried to elicit out of her the days he went to Columbia street. Those days seemed like decades ago.

"I'm not going to disagree with that. These robes are sucking the life out of me," Elaine said, digging through the bag to the very bottom, taking out a pair of flats. She looked back at her clothes, then at him, and a deeper blush grew on her cheeks. "Do you think you could…?" Elaine said shyly.

"What?" Eggsy said, confused as to why Elaine was suddenly so bashful. Seeing his confused response, Elaine gestured towards the clothes he brought her. "Oh! Of course, yeah. Sorry," Eggsy said, jumping up and leaving.

Eggsy was waiting outside of the medical ward when Todd came to stand by him. They both leaned against the wall and stood in silence.

"What does she know?" Todd asked.

Eggsy sighed and looked at the door. He had given her enough time to change, but he didn't know how to breach the subject that she was going to be leaving.

"Nothin' much. I told her this place was a therapy center. Didn't buy it for a second."

"And what about where she'll be going?" Todd asked.

"Haven't told her anything," Eggsy said, kicking his heel against the wall behind him. "I don't know how to do this."

"Shouldn't be that hard," Todd reasoned. "She has amnesia. I don't think she would feel completely misplaced. And Salzburg is a lovely city."

"And what about when she remembers?" Eggsy protested, pushing himself away from the wall. "We've completely upended her life, not to mention that we've added in bullets and safehouses."

"Well, she was already in danger before you came in her life," Bedivere pointed out. "Her sister made her a target the moment she joined that group."

Todd did a poor job of hiding the bitter tone to his voice; probably wasn't even trying to hide it. Eggsy shifted and realized he hadn't given a thought to how Todd might be feeling.

"How are you doing with that?" he asked, feeling as if he were walking on eggshells.

Todd shrugged, avoiding Eggsy's eyes.

"I guess it was good to see her again. To know she's safe," Todd mumbled, grimacing. "Would have preferred it if she'd actually listened to me, but," He was going to continue, but he closed his mouth and shrugged, digging his hands in his pockets. After a moment of silence, Todd cleared his throat.

"I came here to tell you that Elaine's flight leaves in 3 hours. We should start moving." Any semblance of regret or anger towards the mention of Evie dissipated.

Eggsy nodded, more to himself than to Todd. He waited until Todd disappeared around the corner before walking towards the medical ward. Shaking off the way his hands shook, he straightened and began to brace himself.

Elaine was sitting cross-legged on the bed and playing solitaire with a deck of cards Eggsy hadn't realized were in the bag. She looked up when he knocked on the side of the door frame and gave him a small smile. And when she did, Eggsy noticed she looked so much happier wearing her own clothes. And she must have felt happier because she certainly was more willing to listen to him.

"Haven't run away yet," Elaine said with a small smile that was stained with the slightest embarrassment. "But thank you for checking up on me."

"I'm glad I was able to appease you with clothes," Eggsy joked as he stepped farther into the room. "But if I had known that would do it, I would have given you those the moment you woke up."

Elaine rolled her eyes before looking back down at the solitaire game she was in the midst of.

"Don't forget the entertainment, too," she added, holding up the cards in her hands.

"Who's winning?" Eggsy asked, standing at the foot of her bed.

"So far?" Elaine sighed, still looking at the cards sprawled out in front of her in frustration. "Not me."

Eggsy just smiled. Her hair was now tied up in a bun with little strands falling out of it. In her faded blue jeans and daisy t-shirt, she looked like the carefree Elaine he had fallen in love with. She looked up and mirrored his smile.

Eggsy cleared his throat and sat down in the chair to the side of her bed.

"So, now that you're doing better,"

"Much better," Elaine interrupted, no doubt thinking back to the relentless bouts of fatigue and nausea that had plagued her not three days ago.

"Well, now that you are better, we feel that you are good enough to leave."

"Really?" Elaine said, her smile widened and her eyes showed her surprise. Without hesitation, she swiped her palms over her game and put them back in her duffle. Jumping off the bed, she slung her bag over her shoulder and took a step towards the door. "Am I allowed leave right now?"

Eggsy couldn't help but laugh at her eagerness.

When Eggsy and Todd led Elaine into the tailor shop, they didn't think anything of letting her wander. The driver wasn't here yet, and there was nothing incriminating or suspicious in the shop. But as Eggsy leaned against the front desk and picked at the chipping wood at the corners, he couldn't understand why he couldn't take her to the airport himself.

And also protect her himself.

Eggsy was brought out of his sullen thoughts when Elaine spoke from the other room.

"Something about this seems familiar," Elaine said as she turned about a pin cushion in her hands.

Eggsy peeked his head in the doorway and looked at her oddly; which she didn't see as she was still turning the pin cushion in her hands. Glancing up at the wall in front of her, she walked past Eggsy to the bolts of expensive fabric and ran her hands over that, too.

"Do I work here?" She asked, turning expectantly to Eggsy.

"Yes," Eggsy said suddenly.

Bedivere walking into the room and gave him a sharp, side-eye look.

"You are an intern… for…." His sudden improvisation was lacking the proper knowledge of tailoring jobs.

"Fabric purchasing," Bedivere finished.

"Yes. fabric purchasing."

When Elaine turned back around to inspect the bolts of fabric once more, Eggsy gave Bedivere a grateful look.

"I do remember spending a lot of time with fabric," Elaine said absentmindedly.

"And," Eggsy said, making up shit as he went, "You are the best bloody fabric purchaser we have here!"

"Oh?" Elaine said, giving Eggsy a fleeting look before venturing into the next room. Bedivere stifled a laugh.

"Too enthusiastic?" Eggsy asked below his breath to Bedivere.

"Yeah, a bit," he confessed.

Eggsy nodded and wondered how he was going to pass this off as a believable scheme.

"Mr. Brown," Eggsy realized they hadn't filled Elaine's 'supervisor' in on the spontaneous role.

"Merlin is going to have fit," Todd whispered back.

"I'll deal with that later," Eggsy said, not entirely convinced he was capable of dealing with it. Hell, he was just one mistake away from being cut, but Merlin had a habit of threatening Eggsy with termination and he figured if he hadn't been cut by now, he might be able to pass this off.

Both of their attention fell on Elaine as she ran her fingers over various tools and fabric, completely oblivious to the debate behind her. Todd huffed but turned back to Eggsy.

"You distract Elaine and I will catch Mr. Brown up on the situation."

Eggsy walked into the next room and watched Elaine admire the machine.

"You only have one machine," Elaine said, running her hand over the Singer machine.

Eggsy scratched his neck and nodded.

"We make small alterations here in the shop, but the more serious and detailed alterations we send to our bigger atelier in central London."

Elaine nodded.

"That makes sense," Elaine said as she turned around to look at the place she supposedly worked at. "Gary?"

Eggsy turned around to see Elaine looking sheepish. She was nervously pulling at her sleeves and avoiding his eyes.

"Yeah?" Eggsy prodded.

"Well," She started. "About before. I'm sorry for the way I acted."

Eggsy smiled to himself. Several memories of Elaine's stubbornness stood out to him. Seeing her like that again, defiant and fighting common sense, released the stress of the world he didn't know he was carrying.

"I think you already apologized for that. And even if you didn't I think you had the right to be upset."

"Well, I still feel bad, so," she hesitated, concentrating on drawing a pattern on the table she was at. "Yeah, I just wanted to say that again."

Eggsy smiled and was about to reassure her when he was interrupted.

Bedivere walked into the room with Mr. Brown by his side and coughed to get Eggsy's attention.

"Hey!" Eggsy said too enthusiastically. Bedivere raised an eyebrow and Eggsy reeled it back. "Hello. Mr. Brown, Elaine is coming back to work with us again."

Mr. Brown, the fantastic retired Kingsmen that he was, took the unexpected situation with exemplary confidence.

"I was beginning to worry," he said kindly as he walked up to Elaine and reached out to hold her hand.

"Oh," Elaine said, her cheeks burning. "I- I'm sorry I worried you. But I'm better and I'm ready to get back to work."

Mr. Brown simply smiled at her with warmth.

"Now, gentlemen," Mr. Brown said, turning to Eggsy and Todd. "Elaine and I have much to catch up on, so kindly leave us to our work."

Elaine looked nervously at Mr. Brown.

"Are you sure?" Eggsy said quickly, stepping to stand closer to Elaine, his hand reaching out for the small of her back. "'Cause I can stay if you want, I really don't have any-"

"That's alright," Todd jumped in, pushing Eggsy towards the door. "Me and Eggs-"

"Gary," Eggsy interrupted.

"Gary," he corrected quickly. "Gary and I will be going," Bedivere said, looking every bit skeptical as Eggsy felt.

Once the two men were gone, Mr. Brown led Elaine to the back room and assured her everything was going to be alright.

"Now, tell me everything you remember," Mr. Brown said once he and Elaine were seated at the back desk.

A heavy feeling of guilt settled in Elaine's stomach. What kind of person forgot those around them? But then she remembered that it wasn't actually her fault. Taking a deep breath, she settled into the truth.

"Not much," Elaine said, biting her lip, she nervously shifted in her seat. "I… I'm sorry I don't remember you."

"Oh, hush, hush," Mr. Brown chastised, patting her hand that sat beneath his own wrinkled ones. "I know that automobile accident did a number on you. You needn't worry about forgetting little old me."

Elaine smiled and nodded. Giving a rueful laugh, Elaine shook her head and looked down at her hands

"I guess the only thing I remember is that car crash," Elaine admitted. She hadn't actually realized it was the only thing that stuck out in her mind before Mr. Brown asked her what she remembered.

"How terrible," Mr. Brown said, his old eyes pulled into worry.

"That and my sister," Elaine said, venturing to gaze up at him to see that Mr. Brown didn't wear the pity she had expected, but the look of someone who had gone through pain, as well. Tightening his hand on her's Mr. Brown kept questioning her.

"Your sister? She was in the accident with you?"

"No, I don't think so," Elaine said. She actually didn't know for sure if Evie was or wasn't in that car with her, but she felt like she was close as a result of the crash. "But, a lot of things are still hazy."

There was a silence as both Mr. Brown and Elaine took in what she had said. After the moment was up, he straightened and gave her a sympathetic smile.

"Then move your thoughts to more pleasant things," Mr. Brown said, patting her hand again. "How would you feel about examining some fabric with me?"

"I would love to," Elaine smiled. She may not remember much, but she did know fabric brought a smile that she couldn't fight.

"I didn't realize, Mr. Unwin," Merlin said in the doorway behind him. "That we were accepting another employee under our management."

Eggsy had thought he could avoid this argument for a day longer, but he should have known going back to headquarters would make him a sitting duck.

"It makes the most sense, Merlin," Eggsy said, turning to face him.

"Does it?" the director challenged with a raise of his eyebrow.

"Yeah, it does," Eggsy challenged back, crossing his arms.

Merlin waited.

"If Elaine works for the Kingsmen, then we have a surefire way of keeping an eye on her and Mr. Brown can make sure no funny business is goin' on, plus, keeping her around London might help her memory. Everybody wins."

"You mean you win?" Merlin snapped.

"No! Of course not!" Eggsy fought angrily. "I'm trying to do what's best for Elaine and locking her away in Austria isn't gonna do any good for her! She's a person, Merlin, and she doesn't deserve to be uprooted like this for things out of her control."

Merlin pinned him down with a glare but thought silently; which Eggsy saw as a good sign.

"I suppose we could use her to lure Callisto out of the shadows," Merlin said, his eyes narrow and full of strategy.

"What?" Eggsy balked. "No, no, no, no, that is not what I meant by keeping her around."

Merlin picked up a tablet and started typing.

"Well, you are not the director of this operation and it is my decision that we will keep employing her and use her presence to lure out the terrorists. They are bound to be getting desperate. But by the sound of how Evie escaped, she has help in her crusade. Getting through to her may be more difficult than I had anticipated." Merlin said, looking up from his tablet. "Anyhow, Bedivere confirmed that Evie said she would return for her sister, so we may just capture one bird and kill the other."

"Are you sure that's the bes-"

"Yes I am, Galahad," Merlin snapped. "I bloody swear you are the most contradictory person I've ever met. First, you want Elaine here, then you think its a bad idea, and you keep contradicting yourself over and over. Honestly Eggsy, pick one."

"I want her to be safe," Eggsy said, gritting her teeth. "I don't want her to be locked away and I don't want her to be treated like bait."

After a moment, Merlin softened and walked up to Eggsy. "If it's any consolation, Elaine will be under near constant observation by our agents and- even if it may prove to be a detriment- I will allow you to be the Kingsmen that accompanies her out."

Eggsy scowled.
"Accompanies? You make it sound like she's gonna be under house arrest, or something." Eggsy said, concerned that all this just might push Elaine even farther away than she already was. But then Eggsy remembered he needed to push her away.

That plan away always being pushed out of his mind. Maybe it would have been better to send her away, Eggsy thought glumly.

"Since we are not sending her to a safe house, we are bringing the safe house to her," Merlin said. "Elaine is the closest extension we have to Callisto, and seeing as how we have got virtually nothing on Callisto, we need someone to bring them out of the shadows and Elaine is now our only option."

Once Merlin walked out of the room, Eggsy unceremoniously unbuttoned his jacket and slumped down in the nearest chair.

"I just keep fucking everything up, don't I?" He said to no one in particular, not that there was anyone in the room to hear him grumble.

Review Responses:

To MoonStars and Gossamermouse101: I'm sorry about the memory loss! I personally (don't hate me) feel that amnesia is a great trope when done well, which hopefully I manage. I have plans for when she remembers and I am SO excited to post it! Thanks for your review!