(Nine)
Maylee sat with Fallen in her lav. Fallen was in the bath, sitting still in the warm water and staring off into space. She sipped the Rishna only as it was offered, making a face.
"You okay, Momma?" Maylee asked, concerned.
"Yes, I think so. I'm just really tired," she replied softly.
"I don't think Kimble should have given you the Lightning," Maylee said, unable to get it off of her mind. "I tried to stop him, but he used a security screen to keep me out."
"He was protecting Fallen," Seth said, excusing his brother. Like all the rooms on the Dragon, there was a viewing screen in here, allowing him to interact with Fallen. "It's what he does. It could have gotten bad out there. Look at Logan, he got stabbed." Seth was in his control room, watching over Fallen. Remaining inside the computer system didn't make Seth any less sentient or emotional than his brother, he was worried terribly for Fallen and wished he could be there by her side. It was killing him to be so trapped and useless.
"No, he did it to keep me out," Maylee insisted. "He knew I would try to stop him. Now Momma's got that poison inside her again. What're we gonna do now?"
Fallen raised a heavy hand and brushed the soft brown fur of Maylee's cheek. "It's all right, May. I beat the Lightning before, I can do it again. It serves me right for being so stupid in the first place."
"Why did you do it, Momma?"
"Because I just couldn't take Valentin anymore," Fallen sighed. "I know he's a monster of my own creating, but I just can't take him in my life any more. Not when I've found something so much better." She looked up at Seth, who had started to cry silently. "I'm so sorry. I never dreamed Cerebus would force Valentin on me like that." She covered her face and sobbed, "What am I gonna do now? I can't be his wife! I just can't!"
Maylee pulled Fallen into her arms, unmindful of the water splashing everywhere. "It'll be okay, Momma. Please don't cry."
"Fallen, don't you worry," Seth said, wiping his own cheeks and trying to sound very brave, which he wasn't. "We'll stick to the plan, just like Kimble said."
"Valentin won't go quietly, Seth. I won't be responsible for setting him loose on Earth. Who knows what he'll do there?"
"We'll work it out. Kimble will come up with something, he always does," Seth offered. He had to believe in his brother, it was the only thing that gave him any hope. Kimble had bailed them out of trouble before, surely he could do it again.
"It's Kimble that frightens me," Maylee said quietly. She didn't want Seth to be offended, but she couldn't help the way she felt.
Fallen looked at her, startled by what she had said. "Why?"
"It's the way he's taking charge and using the security screens. It's like he's hiding something. I don't trust him."
"I know Kimble better than anyone, May," Seth said. "You don't have to be afraid. He saved Fallen. He saved all of us. Does that sound like something a bad person would do? Besides, he's better in the hologram than I am. You know I suck at it. I wouldn't have been able to help Fallen like he did."
"Then why doesn't he go back? We don't need him to be out anymore. He acts like he's going to stay out all the time now."
Seth looked down at her, thoughtful and sad. "I'm not sure he can go back. Something happened in the power surge. I heard him screaming. It was awful. I asked him if he was all right. He said he was, but I still want to run a diagnostic on the hologram components when we get the chance. We'll decide what to do next after that. The most important thing is for Fallen to get some rest. The sooner we get out of here, the better off we'll be. I won't be happy until Valentin is gone."