Story arcs! You know I love them!

Also, a brief apology to my readers.

The last Chapter (Chapter 29) Was titled incorrectly. It happens.

The title of that chapter, as you may have noticed when you opened it, was AND HOPE CAME SHINING THROUGH.

I will strive to be more careful in the future.

Chapter 30 - Facing Down What Divides Us Part I

Less than thirty minutes later Dr. Castillio was in their cabin, practically dragged there by Layton. Barely having had time to grab his medical bag as he was rushed out of his own cabin, Dr. Castillio now sat in front of Melanie, carefully examining her eyes as an anxious Layton looked on.

Finally, after what seemed to the train's Chancellor to be an eternity, the doctor sat back in the chair with a sigh as he looked at his patient.

"Well?" Melanie asked in a voice that half suggested she didn't want to hear the answer.

Castillio sighed again. "When your eyes were injured," he explained, "the corneas are what took most of the brunt of the explosion. I explained this to you before."

Melanie quickly nodded.

"While there is no doubt the corneas are healing themselves, Ms. Cavill," he went on carefully, "without the proper instruments, I still can not say for sure what damage there may be to the inner eye itself or if that is also healing. I'm sorry." He added in a quieter tone.

Melanie sat staring ahead in silence for several moments. But just from her stature Layton could tell she was fighting with everything in her to hold her composure.

"Thank you, Dr. Castillio." She finally said in a nearly flat, emotionless tone. "I'm sorry Layton dragged you down here at this hour for nothing."

Castillio remained where he was. "I didn't say it was for nothing." He answered her. "I always told you I would never give you false hope. But I also told you from what I COULD see there was no direct damage to the inner eye or to the retina. Now, I may be right. I may be wrong. But the fact that the corneas are repairing themselves shows your eyes ARE healing. Maybe not in the way you would want right now. But they ARE healing. Take that as a positive sign."

Melanie simply nodded in response as her gaze settled on the floor in front of her.

A hand rested on her shoulder, causing her to look up again.

"They are healing." The man's calm, reassuring voice reached out to her. "And I know you don't want to hear this said to you one more time, but we simply have to wait and see. Follow your treatment and I will check on you again in a few days."

"She wants to leave the bandages off at night." Layton quickly put in.

Castillio considered the request, then nodded. "I think that may actually be good for the eyes. It gives them a rest from the pressure of the bandages while not subjecting them to the light. But they need to be left on during the day. Light is your enemy here, Ms. Cavill, even if you can not currently see it." He stated, turning back to her. "As long as its dark, you can have the bandages off. Get your eyes used to light again, but at the lowest levels possible. Never expose them to direct sunlight. That will simply re-injure the corneas. All right?"

Melanie gave another small nod, then listened as Layton escorted the doctor to the door, thanking him for coming and apologizing for nearly dragging him to the subtrain to get him to their cabin as fast as possible.

The doctor gave a soft laugh. "I do not think I would have done any differently for someone I cared about, Mr. Layton." He replied. "Just make sure she follows the treatment plan. It is very important, and I know how stubborn some people can be."

Layton directed the doctor to the nearest subtrain access, then, with a final parting thank you, returned to the cabin to see how Melanie was holding up.

"So, it wasn't all bad." He said, trying to sound as cheerful as he could as he came back into the cabin.

"Wasn't all good either." Came the emotionless reply.

"They're healing, Melanie. Did you miss that part?"

"And it could mean nothing. Did you miss THAT part?"

Layton gave a small laugh as he shook his head. "You really are a 'glass half empty' sort of person, you know that?"

"I prefer a 'realist'. I face things. I don't hide from them."

"Well, face this." Layton said. "Time for bed."

Melanie didn't give him much resistance past a loud sigh as he took her hand and helped her to her feet.

But as soon as she was on her feet, Layton found himself the recipient of a heartfelt hug as Melanie wrapped her arms about his neck.

"Thank you." She said softly.

Layton returned the hug, relishing the contact, but careful not to squeeze her too tightly. He knew from experience she wasn't much of a personal contact person. Something he attributed to her attitude of never letting anyone too close. But he was a very physical person. His parents and grandparents showered he and his siblings with affection. And as such, he could have given her hugs all day long just to show her how much he appreciated having her with him to help him through each day, good or bad.

But she was who she was and he knew he wasn't going to change her, nor did he really want to. So he simple cherished whatever affection she ever did show him, even though he suspected it was always there in some form or other.

"For what?" He asked her in the same soft tone.

"For everything." She answered after a short pause. "For being here with me through all of this. I don't think I could have faced this without you, Layton."

Carefully he pulled her back so he was staring back at her face. "Hey, that's just crazy and you know it." He stated. "Melanie, you are one of the most capable, intelligent, strong, courageous women I have ever known. And you're darned cute to boot. So, lady, you've covered all the basis. I wouldn't doubt there was one thing this world could throw at you you wouldn't stare down and win."

Melanie answered him with a small smile. "You think I'm cute?"

Layton sighed with a smile of his own. "Out of all of that, that was the only thing you got?" He asked.

The smile slowly faded a little as she shook her head. "No. I got the rest of it." She replied softly, hugging him again. "But thank you still for being here."

Again he wrapped his arms around her smaller frame, holding her close as he committed the feeling to memory.

"And you know I always will be." He told her. "No matter how this turns out, I still be here. Right beside you."

"I know." A barely audible answer whispered in his ear as she laid her head on his shoulder.

For what seemed like hours to him they simply stood there wrapped in that embrace. Again, he knew she wasn't a physical person, but when she needed a hug, he knew she simply craved that contact with someone. And he was going to let her stay wrapped in his arms as long as she wanted or needed to. But after a bit he felt her arms release their pressure from around his neck and he slowly let her pull back from him.

Leaning down, he gently placed a kiss on her forehead. "Now lets go to bed before my brain gets there without me."

Melanie managed a small laugh for him as she followed him to the bedroom.

For the next several days Melanie would have had to say Layton truly impressed her with his propensity for learning. And the faster he learned, the more she gave him, escalating the lessons and pace at which she taught them. But with each concept and each new piece of information he was able to build on, the quicker the lessons seemed to come together for him.

But despite how well the lessons seemed to go, to Layton there was always an uncomfortable tension just below the surface between them. The proverbial 'white elephant in the room'.

He had tried to speak to her about it a few times, testing the waters as it were. But Melanie had shut him down each time, quickly redirecting him back to whatever the lesson was for the day.

For her, the lessons were her barrier. Her safe guard from having to deal with the problem. While to others it may have seemed to have been forgotten, for her it was still lurking in the shadows, just as it always was.

She simply did not trust him.

And in truth, Layton was none too eager to pursue the matter any more than she was. Although they were talking again and appearing to function once more as a united front, he always knew it was a tenuous relationship at best. Yes, they were close. But he had said it himself to her; without trust, they were forever divided.

But for now he was taking Ms. Audrey's advice. Treating Melanie like something just short of an emotionless machine. He was there to support her in what she was going through, but he wasn't going to push for anything more at the moment. He just didn't think she could handle it right now.

For her part Melanie seemed to be purposefully keeping him at arms length. While no one on the outside would have immediately noticed it, it was far too obvious to Layton that she was back to her 'cordial but distant' self.

But finally, one day, it seemed the train took it upon itself once again to bring it's two leaders back together despite how they may feel about the plan.

For the past two weeks Layton had worked with Melanie in the engine. But it wasn't always lessons. When she wasn't directly teaching him, he was her eyes for her own work in keeping the engine running smoothly and performing the tests that needed to be done. But to Layton, everything he did there was a learning experience, so he enjoyed helping her with her own work as well as when she was teaching him. At times Javi would join them since Melanie was also teaching him, and running diagnostics was his current path of study.

But on that particular day, early in the afternoon, it was just the two of them. Melanie had just finished running a diagnostic on the train's core fuel cells. She had told Layton several times before this was likely the most dangerous part of the train and was where she had sustained her own injury. And so every step they took in running the tests was at a pace that drove Layton up the proverbial wall. He understood the need for caution, but he felt Melanie was taking it a step too far. Treating the whole episode with more tension than was warranted simply because he was there.

Knowing she couldn't see what he was doing, Layton decided to take the initiative to move forward in the testing sequence without her go ahead. They had run this test before several times and he felt he knew the sequence well enough. And when he ran it right, he could get a few bragging points with her about it.

Reaching up, Layton made a grab for a small switch that needed to be pulled down when the timer reached '0' to start the rest of the sequence. But as he reached for it, a sudden flash of electricity shot out from the panel, connecting directly with his hand and throwing him across the room.