A/N: I've stayed so long away from this story... it's inexcusable... but.. like I have a justification... I got tangled in writing the chapter after this one, you see...
Anyway... Thanks to Cophine for cleaning this chapter (which I know is a bit slow, but the pay off will come for it)
When I finally return to the small cottage, I take a deep breath, the tension settling heavily on my shoulders. Sarah and Felix are relaxing, each having claimed a sofa, focused on their laptops while the news broadcast from the tv serves as background noise. They lift their eyes when they hear me come in, but say nothing and return to their work. This type of atmosphere is far from my favorite, creating an ache that surrounds my heart, forcing me to build walls for my own protection.
Without a word I go to the kitchen, phone in hand, to take note of anything that might be needed for the next week. In the process of going over things, I remove the meat that I leave out to prepare for dinner.
"I'm sorry about earlier," Felix's voice comes from the door and I turn to find him, examining the floor and a bit flustered, making me suspect that the apology is not his idea. "I didn't mean to... I might have been a bit too..." he stammers.
"Forget about it Fe," I spare him the effort of faking an apology and turn back around. "I'm going into town tomorrow morning, if there's anything you need me to get..."
"Would it be too much to ask you to bring something a little stronger than ice tea?" He says with an awkward laugh.
"Yes, it would be too much," I answer without stopping what I'm doing, but feeling a small smile growing on my lips. "Ask Sarah if she needs anything," I say right before I hear the door close quietly.
I take what's left of the afternoon to unpack the rest of my things and when I return to the living room Sarah's still there, sounds coming from the kitchen indicate that Felix is taking care of our meal.
"What did you tell him?" I inquire with a raised brow.
She grins mischievously. "You don't need to worry about that," she says, getting up and stretching her back with a groan. "But I put my ass on the line for you," she stares at me pointedly, "so don't fuck up!" She warns.
I duck my head and nervously bite my lower lip. For a moment it crosses my mind to tell Sarah what happened but I quickly dismiss that idea. Not only will it cause another discussion between the three of us, but I also don't really know how to explain exactly what happened. I don't truly understand what Delphine meant or wanted with her actions. All I know is that there's something not quite transparent in her. Delphine's intentions are an absolute mystery to me and if there's anything I've learned in the past is that nothing is what it seems with her. If I thought that it may have changed with time, that she'd become simpler, those considerations have long left my mind. In fact, our brief interaction has proven the exact opposite; that the intervening years have only served to accentuate this characteristic.
Delphine caught me off guard, her actions surprised me because, even though I didn't know what to expect, it certainly wasn't that. Not in my wildest dreams would I have thought she would pull those moves against me. Of course I knew she was capable, she had done so before and had obviously perfected them, but for all the time we've spent together, I was never on the receiving end of her bite. I was, on occasion a spectator however, she had always spared me; as if she had decided that either I wasn't fair game or wasn't worth it. I never figured out which. Obviously that time has passed and now she's on the offensive, I'll no longer be spared from her vicious attacks.
At least next time I'll be prepared, knowing the rules that once applied to us no longer do. If Delphine has decided to go down that road, I certainly am not gonna be on the sidelines while she does all the damage.
"Don't you worry," I say with a smirk dancing on my lips, "I know exactly how to deal with Delphine."
Sarah breaths in deeply. "Why doesn't that sound good to me?" She says, twisting her mouth.
I shrug. "You're just gonna have to trust me on this."
"Right..." she comments in a low voice, "ain't that just perfect..."
The three of us go to bed early after an uneventful dinner, where Felix continued to show signs of getting back to his normal self and where more than once, I caught Sarah giving me a glance. Even as the time zone change helps with an early bedtime, and despite feeling exhausted, I lay in bed, my mind refusing to stop its meanderings. Every muscle is tense and try as I might, I can't relax. In my stupor I hear a loud motor start and slowly drive away. Lazily I reach for my phone on the bedside table and check the time; 10:43 pm. Most likely, it's Delphine leaving and I breathe deeply and expel a sigh of relief, ridiculously feeling satisfied to know that she won't share her bed with anyone tonight.
The entire situation continues to feel unreal to me, as if I'm stuck in a dream that my recently acquired conscience is refusing to leave. I've lost count of the number of times that has happened: woken up in the middle of a dream where the last thing I remember is Delphine's smile. Always smiling. Delphine had the most gorgeous smile. Perhaps it was the fact she was not the type to smile easily - it was something she reserved for the appropriate occasion, always perfectly placed - but it was something that fascinated me beyond reason: Delphine's smile. Ironically, that's exactly how I knew it was a dream. In the off chance that we ever met again, there was no reason for me to see that smile again; not after how we left things. Even so, having Delphine act the way she did seemed equally unlikely. Having her manipulate me the way she did, in my mind, was as improbable as having her whispering sweet nothings in my ear while my hands roam her body.
Eventually my mind gives way and I fall asleep, or at least I assume, I did, because the next thing I know I'm waking up to the sound of my phone's alarm. I groan, but force myself up and go straight to the shower before any of my housemates wake up. I'm already collecting the fresh bread left on the outside of the door when Sarah emerges from her bedroom, rubbing her eyes and mumbling a good morning as she disappears into the bathroom. A quick breakfast later and I'm leaving the house, heading to the front drive, where someone from the guard post informed me the taxi would be waiting for me.
The ride into town doesn't take long, and I ask the driver to leave me at the largest commercial center he knows and pay for the fare. The big shopping mall has several electronic stores and it takes some time for me to scout the right purchase. When I hand her the company's credit card to pay, the young clerk gives me a suspicious look, but makes the transaction either way. Next I go to the lower level where I imagine I'd find a large supermarket. Leaving my box with the computer at the reception, I work my way around the aisles, shopping list in hand. I find the few toiletries Sarah asked for, as well as what I need for myself. In a last minute decision, I go for the beverage aisle and find a bottle of the scotch Felix drinks - let's call it a peace offering.
With the bags of groceries in one hand and the computer box under the other arm, I walk slowly to the taxi line and return to the estate just in time for lunch. I leave the laptop on the couch as well as the rest of the bags and move to the kitchen, where the two siblings are already preparing the meal. Setting the liquor bottle on top of the counter without another word, I'm immediately wrapped up from behind in Felix's lean arms.
"You're an angel," he shrieks excitedly next to my ear.
"And don't you forget it," I reply in a light tone, turning around and wiggling out of his hug but giving a big grin at the same time.
His smile lets me know that, at least for now, peace was restored. Felix is the type of person who burns out fast: the intensity of his anger is a very big contrast with its length. So, for now, we're good and we can focus on the work we came here to do: get comfortable with our assigned roles and wait further instructions.
With that in mind, after lunch I grab the laptop still in its box and meet Daniel back at the library where I know he's expecting me as we'd agreed yesterday. It's a slow process: getting the machine to run for the first time and after that remove all the software and firewalls from the manufacturer and replace it with the ones we'll use. Furthermore, it doesn't help that while the man was never a bundle of joy, today he seems to be even more reserved. There are no side notes during our work; Daniel's determined to keep this strictly professional, even the small part of his personal side I was allowed to see the day before is absent.
It's late when we finally have everything set up so that I can get to what my responsibilities should be and we agree to meet the next morning and go over the company's traffic together.
"It will be better that way," Daniel explains from the chair next to mine, where he sat when we began working. "We can train with the real deal."
"Yes, I agree," I nod and watch him put the computer in hibernation mode. "Does it stay here or do I take it with me?" I ask, pointing at the machine.
"You can leave it here tonight," he says, closing the top and moving to his desk chair. "But after that you should take it with you. You'll be working out of your quarters. I believe there's an extra room where you can set an office if you'd like. Inform Alfred of what you need and we'll acquire it for you."
"Sure, that'll work for me," I comment as if I have a say on things, trying to find enthusiasm in the idea that I'll be locked in an office for, the very least, every morning.
"Good!" He clasps his hands and sets them on top of the desk. "We'll meet here first thing in the morning... say nine?"
I nod again and stand up. "Alright," I answer, pushing the chair in, but my stare moves discreetly to his sober expression, he seems to have something else on his mind. "Good night," I say when he remains quiet and turn to leave.
"Cosima," he calls quietly just as I reach the closed door. I pause, surprised to hear him call me by my first name; so far it has been "Ms. Niehaus this, Ms. Niehaus that". I turn back around and raise my brows, but don't say anything. A million thoughts cross my head: I know that Delphine didn't persuade him to get me fired, otherwise Daniel wouldn't have bothered to guide me through what I should be doing. Nonetheless, she could make my stay here very uncomfortable. Maybe she decided to be honest with her fiancée and disclose our past, although I don't see how she could possibly benefit from that, other than straining my relationship with my new boss. If she feels like she's walking on solid ground and her engagement secure, she could do it just out of spite. I know she has it in her, the question is whether she'd actually do it - or better yet, if she wants to.
While all these thoughts ramble in my brain, I'm left staring blankly at the young man, who seems to be struggling to find his footing on whatever he wants to say and that only makes me fear even more what's coming next.
"Delphine..." he starts, but then takes a little pause to clear his throat. "She... uhh... she gets bored," he finally speaks a bit louder. "It's not like she complains, but I can see it."
"Okay..." I say with caution when he stops again.
"I've been thinking..." Daniel tries once more. "You'll be busy much of the time, but some afternoons, I figure you'll be free to do whatever you want, and I think that's fair given the fact that you'll be working six out of seven days," he adds quickly, his hands raised in a sign of agreement. "But if you don't mind, maybe you could spend some of that time with her," he says calmly, "since you're old friends."
I take a deep breath and walk a few steps back inside the room. "Mr. Webster, as I said before, Delphine and I barely knew each other, we hardly exchanged two words... we were never friends," only the last statement comes out with conviction. "I really doubt she'd want to spend time with me."
He nods slowly and that tells me that my story matches Delphine's, if she told him anything at all, that is. However, he seems to be determined. "Even so," he insists, "maybe the two of you can become friends now..."
"Mr. Webster," I raise my hand to stop him, "as far as I can remember, I have very little in common with your fiancée," I say, barely able to keep my voice steady with the last two words. "I don't see any reason why she wouldn't continue to be bored in my company."
"All I'm asking is that you, at the very least, try," this he says more firmly, letting me guess that there's no real choice in this. "Delphine's spending too much time with my brother and I can't be... available to look after her all the time."
"What are you saying?" I ask, unable to determine the reason for my growing unease; whether it's because of the way he's talking about Delphine, as if she's something that should be looked after; or if it's because of the implied accusation in his words.
"I'm saying that my brother is not a good company," he clarifies coolly. "And I don't want my fiancée to keeping bad company. Also, I don't think is much to ask for you to perhaps go shopping with her some day or do whatever you girls do."
I swallow dryly and nod slowly. "Maybe some day," I reluctantly say in the most noncommittal way I can.
Truth is, I'm not terribly worried about it. As I take my leave and walk back to our cottage, I'm thoroughly convinced that it's not going to happen. It's not like I'm going to invite Delphine for a shopping spree, nor will she propose an outing. If Daniel broaches the subject again, I'll simply say that the opportunity has never arrived and assure him if it ever does - it won't - I'll go. There. No harm, no foul.
In lieu of full disclosure, when I find Sarah and Felix laid on the couch upon my arrival, I tell them about my conversation with Daniel.
"Those were his words? Look after her?!" Sarah asks, sitting on the couch and looking straight at me.
"Exactly like that," I answer, surprised by her reaction.
"Geez, what a twat!" She expels loudly.
"You think he's worried that his fiancée is getting too cosy with his little brother?" Felix asks with an impish grin.
"Sounded like it," I say, sitting heavily on one of the long chairs. "but I don't think she is," I think aloud. "She acts like Will is her little brother. They're like... I don't know... they're friendly, that's it!"
"And how would you know that?" Felix asks suspiciously.
I sigh heavily and twist my lips. "I... I ran into them yesterday," I admit.
"And you don't think that was something you should've mentioned before?" He says in an accusatory tone.
"Why would I?" I try to keep my voice calm, so not to make a big deal out of it. "Delphine and I are bound to run into each other, deal with it! But that doesn't mean I want to be her bestie."
"No, you want to be in her pants," Sarah shoots in her characteristic practicality. However, she doesn't sound particularly angry, in fact, I can detect a hint of humor in her words.
I narrow my eyes at her. "It doesn't mean I will," I deadpan.
"But you want to!" Felix reiterates.
"Of course I do!" I retort, reach my breaking point and stand up. "But I'm not stupid, okay!"
"Oh Cosima, you can be plenty of stupid sometimes," Sarah says with a chuckle. "But I don't think we need to worry about something happening," she says, looking at her displeased brother. "Is not like the French baguette will give her the time of the day."
"Thanks!" I say annoyed, swatting the hand she has aimed my way.
I go to my room to change into something more comfortable. I close the door and start to breathe easier, thinking to myself that Sarah's right. There's no need to worry about that, Delphine was always very determined to make herself abundantly clear. So what if she, at times, changed her mind? Everyone does and it's not like Sarah or Felix need to know that. Nor do they need to know how the blonde, still today, knows exactly how to play me like a violin.
A/N: Also... as a footnote and SPOILER for 4.09 and 4.10
YES! SHE'S ALIVE! MUAHHAHHAAHHAHAH!