p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin-top: 0px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" The venue Aderyn had chosen was posh, Gabriel had to give her that. It was also painful to step inside, too many old, happy memories-turned-sour resided in Pear Brasserie. This was where he had proposed to Morrigan, right in the private, arched room in which Aderyn now sat, daintily cutting into the bluefin tuna tartare, a glass of Medoc perched beside her already hosting a light lipstick stain. A pair of bulky guards clad in black stood behind her, hand clasped in front of them./p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" "Already started without me?" he asked, feigning mirth. He had no idea why she called this private meeting, it wouldn't be good for him to go in guns blazing, not yet. Not before he knew her angle, because with Aderyn, there was always an angle./p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" Bright amber eyes turned up from the tartare on her plate as he spoke, regarding him emotionlessly before a smile cracked her face. "Gabriel, darling, come sit! I'm sorry to start without you, but I'm afraid I miscalculated my schedule and haven't eaten in many hours, I meant no offense."/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" Gabriel shook his head, settling down in the seat across the table from her. "None taken." He glanced around for the waiter, and was surprised to find him nowhere within sight./p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" "I took the liberty of ordering ahead for you. I remember how much you like the duck foie gras," Aderyn supplied, gently patting her lips with a napkin. "And I have a bottle of Ribera del duero on its way as well. A beautiful vintage they have, I believe it's aged exactly four years, to the day."/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" Aderyn's smile was too wide, her eyes too calculating despite the friendly air she was putting on. This absolutely wasn't just a social call./p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" He nodded, taking a minute to discreetly analyse the doctor sat before him. The years had treated her well; only sixty three years old and yet she looked no older than forty despite her silver hair. She wore her hair up in the same messy ponytail he'd always remembered her wearing, but she was dressed better, more lavishly. She was gaining more power here, it seemed. That was not good./p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" She'd always looked too much like Morrigan to not be her mother; same defined cheekbones, same slightly upturned nose, same knowing amber gaze. But Aderyn was taller, more slender in an imposing way. She had more elegance about her than Morrigan had. It hurt to think about her./p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" Aderyn tilted her head, taking a small sip of her wine. Rolling her eyes, she set the glass down sharply. "Come now, Gabriel, what is with the look?"/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" Sighing, he leaned back in his seat. "What is this about, Aderyn?"/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" She feigned offense, placing a hand on her chest. "Can a woman just not enjoy a lunch with her son-in-law?"/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" "I've not been your son-in-law for years, and you know it. Morrigan and I never got the chance to get married. You saw to that," he snapped./p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" Aderyn's smile disappeared in the blink of an eye at his words, replaced with a frown. "You know I had nothing to do with that," she said sourly, taking another sip of her wine. "Morrigan was a grown woman, she had full reign of her own self."/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" Gabriel shook his head. "You and I both know that is untrue. You sent her off to kill those Overwatch agents and she never returned. She would not have abandoned me, no after what we'd been through together."/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" She scoffed and rolled her eyes again, interlocking her fingers as she leaned her elbows on the table. "Now, that's not-"/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" "Cut to the chase, Aderyn," he interrupted, leaning forward with a scowl. "You invite me to the place where I proposed to Morrigan, reserved the table in the very room where I did so, and order me exactly what I ate that night? This is not a social call."/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" Sighing, Aderyn waved her hand and a waiter quickly came over, taking her empty plate away. "I try so hard to be nice to you, Gabriel, I really do. For Morrigan's sake. I give you allies, I give you bodies, I give you numbers and information, and yet you are still compelled to bite the hand that feeds." She tutted softly, waggling a finger at him. "And now I hear you've been keeping secrets from me, secrets pertaining to my own offspring."/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" A chill went through Gabriel's veins. How did she find out about Briallen? He'd kept that information under lock-and-key. Had he a mole?/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" The old doctor held a hand out behind her and one of the goons standing there placed a manila folder into it. "How could you, Gabriel?" she asked, pulling out a wad of photos and tossing them onto the table. "I take such good care of you and your friends, and this is the thanks I get?"/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" He leaned forward, parsing through the print outs. Each one was a still shot of Monarch on various missions, in different states of array, sometimes bloodied and bruised, but almost always smiling, helping someone. It seemed it was something she was doing lately; helping people. The old Morrigan, while she wasn't entirely cruel, wouldn't go so far out of her way, not to help people she didn't know. This version of her, though… How selfless could she be?/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" "I don't… I don't see how I have anything to do with this," he said slowly, glancing up at Aderyn as he pushed the photos back towards her. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" She cocked an eyebrow. "Oh, really? Take a closer look," she insisted, pushing the photos back./p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" Skeptical, he did so with a grunt, analysing the images until- there it was. Dangling from her utility belt, almost tucked entirely out of sight, was his raven talisman. She hadn't tossed it?/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" Aderyn leaned back in her seat, fixing him with a cold glare. "When were you going to tell me my daughter was alive?"/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; clear: none !important;" /p
hr style="border-style: solid; border-color: #dddddd; border-image: initial; outline: 0px; line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; clear: none !important;" /
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; clear: none !important;" /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" Her fingers tightening a little too much in his hair told Jesse it was time to finally pull away, but not without one last kiss. With a chuckle, he planted soft kisses down the inside of her thigh down to her knee, gently massaging the quivering muscles as he sat up. "Someone's been eating well," he murmured, meeting her amber gaze and wiping the moisture away from his lips./p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" Briallen laughed softly, letting her head fall back onto the pillow as she gathered her breath. "I will not lie, I do have a soft spot for cinnamon and pineapple." Once she'd had enough of his fingers kneading the flesh of her calves, she nudged him with her foot, smiling when he took the hint and leaned in for a kiss. "I cannot think of a better way to wake up in the morning."/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" He hummed in approval, brushing her hair away from her face. It had been a few days since they landed in Gibraltar and got settled in on base. Well, since the others got settled in on base. As a little anniversary surprise, Jesse had rented out a houseboat, more of a yacht, really, for the two to stay in, just close enough to the base for it to be acceptable regulation-wise, but far enough away to give her a place where she didn't need to keep up her work persona, where she could take a break from everything. The added privacy they had wasn't bad either./p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" "What do you have planned today, princess?" he asked, shifting to lay down next to her and propping his elbow up on the pillow. His fingers skimmed her arm down to her waist where he pulled her closer, pressing a kiss to her forehead. He enjoyed these soft moments with her; these early hours when the sun is just beginning to rise, the tender light of daybreak warming the amber in her eyes, making them glow as they looked up and raked their gaze over him; when the air around them is warmed from just the heat of their bodies together; nothing but the mellifluous sound of the gentle waves outside and their own breath; the world narrowed down to only include them, floating languidly in the ocean, not a care in either of their minds./p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" But, like every good thing, these moments didn't last forever./p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" She hummed, reaching up to brush her fingers against his beard, smoothing it down. "Well, I still have a good portion of Winston's old files to sort through. He really loved having tangible copies of everything… And then I have to finish up with the personnel medical files. And you," she said, pushing his shoulder so that he rolled onto his back and she could lay over him. "Have plenty of work to do yourself, you know."/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" He groaned, squeezing his eyes shut, as if he could block out the rest of the world that threatened to spill into the room and break the serene atmosphere that currently engulfed them. "Don't remind me." He rubbed at his face with a hand, tucking the metal one beneath his head. "Jack's got plenty of things he wants me to oversee."/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" Briallen hummed, smiling contentedly as she swept his bangs away from his face. Her smile dimmed as she caught sight of a fresh wound on his temple, roughly the size of her pinky. "Jesse, what happened?" she asked, experimentally placing the tip of her finger near it./p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" He hissed lightly and grabbed her wrist, pulling her hand away. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" She frowned. "When did this happen? I didn't do that this morning, did I?"/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" Jesse shook his head, placing her hand on his chest. "No, don't worry about it, doll," he murmured, laying his hand over hers. "I'm fine. It doesn't hurt that bad. It's just a scratch."/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" She searched his gaze a little bit, her brows furrowing. "I did that, didn't I? Jesse, don't lie to me."/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" He sighed, trying to think of how he could phrase what happened that night. "You… You had an episode in your sleep," he said quietly, looking down at their hands. "I guess you had a nightmare 'n, you kinda freaked out on me. Your eyes were wild and everything, and you kept speaking in Gaelic, I couldn't understand a word you were sayin'."/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" She went quiet, leaning back onto her haunches as she met his gaze. "Could you repeat it? What I said?"/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" His face scrunched up in thought. "Uh…em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;" Ná… muinín inti/em? And then Fe-.. em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;"Fealltóir/em, and em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;"Bréaga/em- em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;"Bréagadóir/em? Sorry, my Gaelic isn't that great. You just kept repeating those phrases, and you lashed out for a sec, but you stopped flailing pretty quickly. Really, darlin', it's just a scratch, I'm fine."/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" She hummed in response, pulling her hand out from underneath his, not meeting his gaze. "I remember those words," she murmured, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as she turned to look at the glasses of champagne they'd left out the night before. "I remember saying those words, not last night, but…"/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" Jesse sat up, sliding his hands down her arms until he could take her hands in his, refusing to let her shut him out. "Darlin', are you getting your memories back?" /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" She shook her head, her hair coming free again. "No, not really. There's still a lot blocked. When… When I was in the care of Talon, Doctor O'Deorain said something about a memory chip that had been knocked loose, I think that's where most of them are, but I still have a few. Those words… I said them to… a little girl who looked like me," her hands tightened around his, a few tears pricking her eyes. "I was so angry, and the little girl was crying… And then it all goes black, I can't remember anything after that."/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" "Sweetpea," he murmured, reaching up to cup her cheek, "don't think too hard about it, I don't want you to give yourself a headache so early in the morning." He pursed his lips, his brows furrowed as he met her gaze. "Have you talked to Angela about getting that chip put back in place?"/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" She shook her head again, leaning into his touch./p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" "I think… I think it's time we did that."/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" "Already started without me?" he asked, feigning mirth. He had no idea why she called this private meeting, it wouldn't be good for him to go in guns blazing, not yet. Not before he knew her angle, because with Aderyn, there was always an angle./p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" Bright amber eyes turned up from the tartare on her plate as he spoke, regarding him emotionlessly before a smile cracked her face. "Gabriel, darling, come sit! I'm sorry to start without you, but I'm afraid I miscalculated my schedule and haven't eaten in many hours, I meant no offense."/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" Gabriel shook his head, settling down in the seat across the table from her. "None taken." He glanced around for the waiter, and was surprised to find him nowhere within sight./p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" "I took the liberty of ordering ahead for you. I remember how much you like the duck foie gras," Aderyn supplied, gently patting her lips with a napkin. "And I have a bottle of Ribera del duero on its way as well. A beautiful vintage they have, I believe it's aged exactly four years, to the day."/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" Aderyn's smile was too wide, her eyes too calculating despite the friendly air she was putting on. This absolutely wasn't just a social call./p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" He nodded, taking a minute to discreetly analyse the doctor sat before him. The years had treated her well; only sixty three years old and yet she looked no older than forty despite her silver hair. She wore her hair up in the same messy ponytail he'd always remembered her wearing, but she was dressed better, more lavishly. She was gaining more power here, it seemed. That was not good./p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" She'd always looked too much like Morrigan to not be her mother; same defined cheekbones, same slightly upturned nose, same knowing amber gaze. But Aderyn was taller, more slender in an imposing way. She had more elegance about her than Morrigan had. It hurt to think about her./p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" Aderyn tilted her head, taking a small sip of her wine. Rolling her eyes, she set the glass down sharply. "Come now, Gabriel, what is with the look?"/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" Sighing, he leaned back in his seat. "What is this about, Aderyn?"/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" She feigned offense, placing a hand on her chest. "Can a woman just not enjoy a lunch with her son-in-law?"/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" "I've not been your son-in-law for years, and you know it. Morrigan and I never got the chance to get married. You saw to that," he snapped./p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" Aderyn's smile disappeared in the blink of an eye at his words, replaced with a frown. "You know I had nothing to do with that," she said sourly, taking another sip of her wine. "Morrigan was a grown woman, she had full reign of her own self."/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" Gabriel shook his head. "You and I both know that is untrue. You sent her off to kill those Overwatch agents and she never returned. She would not have abandoned me, no after what we'd been through together."/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" She scoffed and rolled her eyes again, interlocking her fingers as she leaned her elbows on the table. "Now, that's not-"/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" "Cut to the chase, Aderyn," he interrupted, leaning forward with a scowl. "You invite me to the place where I proposed to Morrigan, reserved the table in the very room where I did so, and order me exactly what I ate that night? This is not a social call."/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" Sighing, Aderyn waved her hand and a waiter quickly came over, taking her empty plate away. "I try so hard to be nice to you, Gabriel, I really do. For Morrigan's sake. I give you allies, I give you bodies, I give you numbers and information, and yet you are still compelled to bite the hand that feeds." She tutted softly, waggling a finger at him. "And now I hear you've been keeping secrets from me, secrets pertaining to my own offspring."/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" A chill went through Gabriel's veins. How did she find out about Briallen? He'd kept that information under lock-and-key. Had he a mole?/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" The old doctor held a hand out behind her and one of the goons standing there placed a manila folder into it. "How could you, Gabriel?" she asked, pulling out a wad of photos and tossing them onto the table. "I take such good care of you and your friends, and this is the thanks I get?"/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" He leaned forward, parsing through the print outs. Each one was a still shot of Monarch on various missions, in different states of array, sometimes bloodied and bruised, but almost always smiling, helping someone. It seemed it was something she was doing lately; helping people. The old Morrigan, while she wasn't entirely cruel, wouldn't go so far out of her way, not to help people she didn't know. This version of her, though… How selfless could she be?/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" "I don't… I don't see how I have anything to do with this," he said slowly, glancing up at Aderyn as he pushed the photos back towards her. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" She cocked an eyebrow. "Oh, really? Take a closer look," she insisted, pushing the photos back./p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" Skeptical, he did so with a grunt, analysing the images until- there it was. Dangling from her utility belt, almost tucked entirely out of sight, was his raven talisman. She hadn't tossed it?/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" Aderyn leaned back in her seat, fixing him with a cold glare. "When were you going to tell me my daughter was alive?"/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; clear: none !important;" /p
hr style="border-style: solid; border-color: #dddddd; border-image: initial; outline: 0px; line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; clear: none !important;" /
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; clear: none !important;" /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" Her fingers tightening a little too much in his hair told Jesse it was time to finally pull away, but not without one last kiss. With a chuckle, he planted soft kisses down the inside of her thigh down to her knee, gently massaging the quivering muscles as he sat up. "Someone's been eating well," he murmured, meeting her amber gaze and wiping the moisture away from his lips./p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" Briallen laughed softly, letting her head fall back onto the pillow as she gathered her breath. "I will not lie, I do have a soft spot for cinnamon and pineapple." Once she'd had enough of his fingers kneading the flesh of her calves, she nudged him with her foot, smiling when he took the hint and leaned in for a kiss. "I cannot think of a better way to wake up in the morning."/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" He hummed in approval, brushing her hair away from her face. It had been a few days since they landed in Gibraltar and got settled in on base. Well, since the others got settled in on base. As a little anniversary surprise, Jesse had rented out a houseboat, more of a yacht, really, for the two to stay in, just close enough to the base for it to be acceptable regulation-wise, but far enough away to give her a place where she didn't need to keep up her work persona, where she could take a break from everything. The added privacy they had wasn't bad either./p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" "What do you have planned today, princess?" he asked, shifting to lay down next to her and propping his elbow up on the pillow. His fingers skimmed her arm down to her waist where he pulled her closer, pressing a kiss to her forehead. He enjoyed these soft moments with her; these early hours when the sun is just beginning to rise, the tender light of daybreak warming the amber in her eyes, making them glow as they looked up and raked their gaze over him; when the air around them is warmed from just the heat of their bodies together; nothing but the mellifluous sound of the gentle waves outside and their own breath; the world narrowed down to only include them, floating languidly in the ocean, not a care in either of their minds./p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" But, like every good thing, these moments didn't last forever./p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" She hummed, reaching up to brush her fingers against his beard, smoothing it down. "Well, I still have a good portion of Winston's old files to sort through. He really loved having tangible copies of everything… And then I have to finish up with the personnel medical files. And you," she said, pushing his shoulder so that he rolled onto his back and she could lay over him. "Have plenty of work to do yourself, you know."/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" He groaned, squeezing his eyes shut, as if he could block out the rest of the world that threatened to spill into the room and break the serene atmosphere that currently engulfed them. "Don't remind me." He rubbed at his face with a hand, tucking the metal one beneath his head. "Jack's got plenty of things he wants me to oversee."/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" Briallen hummed, smiling contentedly as she swept his bangs away from his face. Her smile dimmed as she caught sight of a fresh wound on his temple, roughly the size of her pinky. "Jesse, what happened?" she asked, experimentally placing the tip of her finger near it./p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" He hissed lightly and grabbed her wrist, pulling her hand away. /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" She frowned. "When did this happen? I didn't do that this morning, did I?"/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" Jesse shook his head, placing her hand on his chest. "No, don't worry about it, doll," he murmured, laying his hand over hers. "I'm fine. It doesn't hurt that bad. It's just a scratch."/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" She searched his gaze a little bit, her brows furrowing. "I did that, didn't I? Jesse, don't lie to me."/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" He sighed, trying to think of how he could phrase what happened that night. "You… You had an episode in your sleep," he said quietly, looking down at their hands. "I guess you had a nightmare 'n, you kinda freaked out on me. Your eyes were wild and everything, and you kept speaking in Gaelic, I couldn't understand a word you were sayin'."/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" She went quiet, leaning back onto her haunches as she met his gaze. "Could you repeat it? What I said?"/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" His face scrunched up in thought. "Uh…em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;" Ná… muinín inti/em? And then Fe-.. em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;"Fealltóir/em, and em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;"Bréaga/em- em style="line-height: 1.7em; white-space: inherit; clear: none !important; color: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important;"Bréagadóir/em? Sorry, my Gaelic isn't that great. You just kept repeating those phrases, and you lashed out for a sec, but you stopped flailing pretty quickly. Really, darlin', it's just a scratch, I'm fine."/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" She hummed in response, pulling her hand out from underneath his, not meeting his gaze. "I remember those words," she murmured, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as she turned to look at the glasses of champagne they'd left out the night before. "I remember saying those words, not last night, but…"/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" Jesse sat up, sliding his hands down her arms until he could take her hands in his, refusing to let her shut him out. "Darlin', are you getting your memories back?" /p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" She shook her head, her hair coming free again. "No, not really. There's still a lot blocked. When… When I was in the care of Talon, Doctor O'Deorain said something about a memory chip that had been knocked loose, I think that's where most of them are, but I still have a few. Those words… I said them to… a little girl who looked like me," her hands tightened around his, a few tears pricking her eyes. "I was so angry, and the little girl was crying… And then it all goes black, I can't remember anything after that."/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" "Sweetpea," he murmured, reaching up to cup her cheek, "don't think too hard about it, I don't want you to give yourself a headache so early in the morning." He pursed his lips, his brows furrowed as he met her gaze. "Have you talked to Angela about getting that chip put back in place?"/p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" She shook her head again, leaning into his touch./p
p style="line-height: 1.7em; color: #222222; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #fefefe; margin-left: 6px; clear: none !important;" "I think… I think it's time we did that."/p