Italics indicates thoughts/telepathy

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Epilogue: In Memoriam

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She watched, silent and unseen through Jhonen's eyes as they drove away, aware of Hal and Zahra near her, of the desert heat, the dust, the short, sharp sounds of rocks striking against the underside of the jeep.

A thoughtful tilt of her head, a hint of femininity in the gesture as she let her mind spread out, touching the landscape, using her newly acquired powers as a spirit to check for dangers. Her teammates could handle themselves, she was certain of that, but still she wasn't about to leave anything to chance. Too much rested on Jhonen to let him die now in the hands of the humans, and Laetitia was not without resources, not even now.

Satisfied with the lack of people around them, she slowly retreated and allowed Jhonen to take over once more.

Are you okay? The question was slow, hesitant, as Jhonen took a moment to get used to the switch, his attention never leaving Laetitia.

Yes...I am, she murmured, the words soothing, meant more for his sake than for hers. Death is not unpleasant, Jhonen...not when you can spend eternity with the one you love.

Soothing, calming, and Laetitia smiled faintly as Jhonen nodded in agreement with her words.

So easy...so very easy. He was still innocent, still a romantic by heart, and she knew exactly how to play her role as devoted lover, adding the hint of sadness to her presence that she knew he would expect her to feel. He wanted to know that she loved him, and her answer had reassured him of that, even if she hadn't mentioned his name.

A part of her was almost disgusted at his hopefulness, but she also knew that it was part of what had made it possible to get him so completely under her control. Like the romantic he was, he longed for a happy end, for some light in the sadness, and believing that his two lost teammates would spend eternity together in their own spirit realm, in a paradise like Laetitia's, was just what he needed to hear.

Innocence was so easily controlled.

Are they...happy? Another soft, hesitant question, and Laetitia reached out to caress his cheek lightly.

Yes, she whispered, and he could almost feel the brush of her lips against his ear, almost believe that she was there, sitting next to him.

He nodded slowly and Laetitia smiled faintly again. He hadn't felt them, hadn't seen them, had no proof at all that Blade and Jordane really were dead, but still he had accepted her words, her claim that she'd seen them, and that he owed it to them to let them be and allow them to enjoy the afterlife without his interference.

Love was far more powerful than logic, and Jhonen loved her. And maybe she should have felt guilty for using him, for deceiving him, but she didn't. Because just as love was more powerful than logic, trust was far more powerful than love.

Love had no reason, no common sense - falling in love was easy, and declaring it even easier. Survival, betrayal, danger...it didn't mean anything to someone in love. Laetitia had seen love become the downfall of more than a few people, and knew better than to put love above all. Love came easy...trust did not.

And it all came down to trust, didn't it?

Trust had always meant a lot to her - if you trusted someone, you quite literally put your life in their hands, and Laetitia herself had never had an easy time trusting people. There was always the risk that her trust would be misplaced, that she would give it to someone who would sell her out the moment she turned her back to them. Love was easy to declare without risk, but trust was never to be taken lightly, especially not in her line of work.

It all came down trust, and Blade had trusted her. Not just with his own life, but with Jordane's and their unborn child's as well. He had known that she could easily find out what had happened, and he had known that she could just as easily have told Jhonen.

There had been no way for him to tell her to keep it a secret, no way to get in contact with her without going through Jhonen, and that would have given his intentions away and made the boy aware that something was wrong. Instead he had chosen to trust her, trust that old partnership and loyalties would mean more to her than the boy she had currently wrapped around her finger.

He trusted her to keep their secret, and for his trust alone, she would do it. If nothing else, she owed them that.

The welcoming warmth from the sun above her beach mixed with the desert heat, and she felt Jhonen reach out towards her, almost hesitant. Laetitia?

She brushed his cheek with a finger again, gently, calming, her voice caressing his ears as she spoke. I'm not leaving, Jhonen. I'll be here for as long as you want me to.

He smiled, relieved at her words, and she kissed him lightly with invisible ghost lips. Keep an eye out for dangers, Jhonen. You're not safe yet.

He nodded, accepting the logic of her statement and reluctantly turned his attention from her and back to the real world and the dry, rocky landscape that surrounded them. She watched for a moment to make sure that he really did as he was told, then allowed herself to relax once more and return to the harbor of her spirit world. The sand appeared beneath her bare feet, warm and soft and inviting as always and she lay down in the shadow of a palm tree, streaks of sunlight seeping through the leaves, caressing golden skin and raven curls.

It wasn't quite the same as being alive, but it wasn't a bad way to spend eternity. She could certainly think of far worse places than this.

She reached out, stretching her mind, shifting through lives and hopes and dreams, interweaving threads that all created the present, searching for two particular ones. A light brush against their presence, and she smiled faintly and watched as they left. She couldn't do anything to influence their reality, but still she'd watch, still be there somewhere at the edge of their awareness.

Because at the end, it was all about trust.

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The faint vibrations below her feet mixed with the low rumble from the engine, creating a monotonous hum in cabin. She ignored it, used to the sound as she was, and focused on the drinks in front of her instead, quickly sorting through the bottles, then checked that the glasses were clean. Plastic cups were fine for economy class, but first class paid for the best, and expected to get just that.

One final check, and she pushed the curtain aside and headed into the cabin itself, smiling at the passengers, just like always. Most of them were businessmen, jackets packed away and ties loosened to let them relax during the long flight. They usually asked for coffee, and then bourbon or scotch later on, she knew. A couple of pre-school kids as well, probably on a trip with their parents, and she made a mental note to have a coloring book sent out to them to keep them from getting bored. A young couple, and a few casually dressed people...all in all, the usual types.

She made her way through the cabin, stopping at each row and smiled as she offered them a glass of champagne, her mind quickly pinning faces to the names she'd checked beforehand. For the price they paid, they expected the cabin crew to recognize them and treat them with a bit more respect than the people who only paid for economy class, and calling them by their names was a big part of that.

She reached the young couple, quickly taking in their appearance, their looks, and smiled at the younger of the two, the girl who was idly flipping through a magazine.

"Miss Kelly...would you like a glass of champagne?" she asked. The girl didn't look old enough to drink, but according to the flight information she was an adult, and so be it. No reason to argue about something like that.

The girl looked up from the magazine in her lap, looking almost surprised at the question, but before she could answer, her companion reached out and placed his hand lightly on hers. "No. No alcohol for her."

The girl looked down for a moment. "Sorry. I forgot," she mumbled, and her free hand lingering for a moment on her abdomen before she looked up. "Could I....?"

Ah.

"Juice? Soda? Water?" the stewardess offered with a smile, and the girl nodded slowly.

"Soda. Soda sounds good."

She smiled and found a soda for the girl, then turned to her companion. "Champagne, sir?" she asked, and the man shook his head.

"Scotch," he replied, pale eyes resting on the stewardess for a moment, and she smiled, quickly finding the bottle in question, only vaguely amused that she knew these types of passengers so well.

"Here you go, sir," she said and handed him the glass, then continued to the next row, her mind having already moved on to the next passengers. A quick look across the cabin, and she noticed with a soft sigh that the two young children were already starting to get restless. When she got back to the galley she'd have to find some candy for them, and a couple of the coloring book they had for cases like this.

A quick check on her watch told her that it was just short of 1 p.m., Tokyo-time, and that they would land in another eight hours or so.

Another quick look at the two children. Would candy and crayons be enough to keep them from getting bored? A faint, wry smile, gone before any of the passengers could notice.

Well, I certainly hope so.

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