Epilogue
It had been a long week. Dominique was trying to adjust to her new job and new responsibilities and dodging Darien's questions. 'Thank God for Fridays,' she thought, shutting down her computer. She'd bargained to have this weekend off so she wouldn't burn out too quickly at the Agency. The Official grudgingly granted her request, sighting that the new counteragent was still effective therefore earning her the weekend off.
"Hey." Darien's voice right above her head almost made her jump out of her chair. She took her glasses off and rubbed the bridge of her nose gently.
"Hey yourself. What's wrong?" She barely glanced at him.
"That was gonna be my line. Why have you been avoiding me?" He turned her chair around to face him. She folded her hands together and shoved them between her knees. She didn't know if she was ready for this.
"I haven't…"
"Yes you have. You duck out of the Keep if someone even mentions my name. She run into broom closets if you see me coming down the hall. What's goin' on?" Darien knelt down in front her and looked up at her. Short of completely blowing him off, Dominique realized there was no getting out of this one.
"Fine. What do you want to know?" She whispered.
"Everything. Why did Arnaud have you kidnapped? What did he want? Why did you kick me out the day you woke up and then turn around, come work for the same Agency I do and act like nothing was wrong your first day here?" Darien got up and paced around the somewhat confining lab. Dominique sighed. 'I knew this wasn't going to be easy.'
"Okay, enough with the Inquisition." Dominique sat back in her chair and took a deep breath. "The morning I kicked you out, I went to the door but stopped myself short of opening and calling your name. The next thing I knew, someone had kicked in the door and knocked me flat on my back. After that, nothing. When I finally woke up, I heard Arnaud talking to someone, another man he called Stark I believe. They were arguing about why Arnaud had wanted me brought there, wherever there was. I never knew where they had me. That's when I started telling myself that you'd save me any minute but you didn't. It never occurred to me that you didn't know where I was. I kept my eyes closed and kept quiet so they'd think I was still unconscious but Arnaud knows me better than that. That's when the questions and beating started. Arnaud told Stark that I knew easily as much about the gland as he did and I'd be a valuable asset and ally in removing it. Stark wanted to know what exactly I knew about removing the gland. I told him I didn't know anything, which is the truth. I've never run the scenario of removing the gland. I doubted it could be done, but it was." Dominique stopped at looked at Darien who had situated himself on the edge of her desk. She couldn't read his emotions at all so she continued.
"It was like that most of the time I was there. For every answer they didn't like, I got hit. After a while, I didn't feel any pain. That's when they stopped. Stark was furious that Arnaud had lied to him and wasted his time. I was to be eliminated, Stark declared but Arnaud bargained for my life. If anything went wrong with their retrieval operation and Arnaud wasn't himself, they'd need someone to repair the damage. Stark left me in the room with Arnaud. I couldn't see him because I kept my eyes closed but I could hear him clearly. 'You're waiting on Fawkes to rescue you but he won't. He doesn't even know where you are,' he whispered. I asked what he was going to do to you. That's when he told me about the suicide gene therapy. 'Give him hope and then take it away' was his exact response. I can still feel his breath on my neck but I never opened my eyes. 'Why are you telling me this? Aren't you afraid I'll tell Darien?' It took every bit of energy I had to keep my voice from cracking. I was certain he would kill me or atleast have me killed. He never answered me. He just laughed demonically and that's the last thing I remember before waking up in my apartment." Dominique fell silent and hugged herself as cold chilled racked her body. Darien knew better than to try and put his arms around her. She wasn't through yet.
"What I told you about your number being the only one I could remember and could dial was the truth. I think I passed out on the phone and when I came to and you still weren't there I tried to leave you a message about what had happened but I could barely hold the pen." Darien nodded when she looked at him as if to ask if he'd found it. "I don't remember anything concrete until I woke up and Beth was there. I remember visions of you and Claire, but I didn't know who she was at the time. I was furious because you weren't there." She put her hand up when Darien made a noise to interrupt her. "I know, I know. You were busy. After I kicked you out again, I cried. I cried so hard that every muscle in my body ached. I cried until I thought I was going to suffocate because I could catch my breath in between the sobs. Beth got back and when she couldn't calm me down, she called Joyce. By the time Joyce got there, I'd calmed down but didn't say a word. That's when I found out the truth. Joyce gave me a verbal butt kicking when I finally told her that I'd kicked you out. She told me that you'd been the one who'd found out I was gone. You'd stayed in my apartment. You were the one who'd cleaned it up and you were the one who arranged for people to be with me until I woke up. Joyce told me you looked like death warmed over and she didn't think you'd slept at all in the two days I was gone. I just lay there, not knowing what to say or think. She told me I was a fool for throwing you out and I realized she was right. She was the one who'd told me not to trust Arnaud in the first place when I first met him and she was the one who helped me pick up the pieces of my life when I left him. I knew she was right again. I called Claire the next day and told her to give her boss a message for me. I'd keep working on a successful counteragent if he'd give me the lab space to do it in. Joyce also happens to be my boss and fired me right before she left my apartment. 'You can't do what you need to at BioTech so I suggest you find another job.' I didn't sleep at all the night before I came to work here. I didn't know how you'd react to seeing me but when I came in and you weren't around, I was scared. Claire told me that you'd been granted a vacation and I was relieved. That day in my apartment you still looked like death warmed over. My little display in the hallway the day you came back was my warped way of finding out if you hated me. Silly I know…" Dominique fell silent and looked at Darien. His hands were folded in his lap and he was just looking at her.
"I couldn't hate you. I blamed myself for you being kidnapped. I thought you hated me when you kicked me out the day you woke up." His voice was so low that Dominique had to strain to hear him.
"I thought I hated you but I didn't and I don't. I was confused and hurt and still very scared. Truth be told I'm still scared. Not of you but that Arnaud will come back and kill me." She shuddered again at the mention of Arnaud's name.
"He'll never hurt you again. I'll see to that as soon as I find him." Venom dripped from Darien's words.
"I know. But until then let me help you. I'm responsible for that gland being in your head. If I hadn't written the basic code structure I doubt if Arnaud ever would've gotten it built. Plus, I owe you my life."
"But I didn't save you like you thought I would…"
"No but the time we spent together did. If we'd never met and I'd been kidnapped I wouldn't have had anything to keep me from giving up and letting them kill me. As it was, I thought about you and the wonderful times we spent together and part of me fought to stay alive. Otherwise, they would've broken me that first day and I wouldn't be here now. Let me help you now." It was Dominique's turn to get up and walk to Darien. She stopped in front of him and tentatively reached her hand out to caress the side of his face. "You asked me once what didn't I do. I don't watch people I care about…people I love…hurt when I can help them. I couldn't stand the thought of you slowly going insane and me with the potential to be able to help you. That's why I came to work here. I don't want to watch you lose what little bit of a mind you have left after all of this. Can you forgive me enough to let me help?" Darien grabbed her hand and held it away from his face. A single tear slid down Dominique's face and she tried to turn away. He wouldn't forgive her.
"I love you, too," he whispered and kissed the palm of her hand. Dominique slowly turned back around and saw a single tear sliding down his cheek to. Maybe they'd both be okay after all.