"Is this the place?"
John checked his phone for a second then nodded. "Yep, this is his last known place of work, he lives in the apartment above and manages the place."
"If even half the things you said are true I pity his staff," Scott sighed.
"What do you mean, if they're true?" John scowled, quick to leap to Selene's defence. "She wouldn't lie about anything, let alone this."
"No, I know, I never meant that," Scott quickly assured him. "It was just a figure of speech, I wasn't saying that she'd lied or even exaggerated, you know I wouldn't."
John didn't look like he fully believed his brother.
"Don't look at me like that," Scott snorted. "You know that I believe both of you. You're not angry at me, you're pissed off about the situation, which I understand. I'm here, aren't I?"
John's eyes mapped his brother's face for a second, then he relaxed, letting out a slow breath in an effort to calm down.
"I know, I'm sorry. I do appreciate you coming with me."
"You're my brother and she's my best friend, there was never a chance of me not coming."
Scott pulled into a space and cut the engine of the rental car. "The food had better be good."
That startled a laugh out of John. "I can't guarantee it."
"Well, we're here now," Scott shrugged, forcing out a casual tone although he felt anything but. "What's the plan?"
"I honestly don't know," John admitted, his head thumping back to connect with the headrest of his seat. "For once I haven't thought everything through. I've got no plan, all I know is that I had to find him. That's as far as I've gotten. I just need to get a look at the bastard that almost destroyed my wife."
"Well, acting without a concrete plan is what we do best and sitting here all day isn't going to do us any good, so I say that we get on with it."
"Yeah."
John followed his brother's lead, getting out of the car and slamming the door shut behind him. "Remember that we're just here to observe, to assess the situation and make sure that we've found the right person. Then we'll continue to monitor him."
"I know, I know, we promised Lady Penelope that we wouldn't engage, we're not vigilantes. Don't worry, I'll behave," Scott promised, and he had every intention of doing so. The last thing he wanted was to make things hard for his family.
"Good," John nodded, lapsing back into silence. The walk to the bistro's door seemed to take forever. He was eager to get in there but also dreading it, because he honestly didn't know what was going to happen, he just knew that they had to do something. He could never let anyone else get hurt the way his wife had, he'd never allow it.
Thinking of Selene made him think back to earlier in the day. He'd woken up naturally for once, without a blaring emergency alarm or the slowly increasing glow of his sunrise lamp and its backup of island sounds, recorded over a period of weeks by Gordon, that roused him with the sounds of home.
He moved slowly, carefully escaping the near strangling clutch of Selene's hair that had wormed its way across his face and around his neck during the night. Gathering it gently in one hand he moved the heavy mass aside so he could curl closer against her back, burrowing his face in her neck, unable to resist placing a soft kiss on his bite mark that marred the otherwise perfect canvas that was her skin.
It took a few more kisses to rouse her, and a gentle nip of her shoulder to keep her attention away from the seductive lure of sleep and on him.
Her soft moan was encouraging, accompanied by an enticing little accidental butt grind as she stretched. Since she was practically sitting on his lap, it made for interesting possibilities that he could definitely be tempted to explore.
"Morning, beautiful," he murmured, wrapping his arms tightly around her, nuzzling against her shoulder as he settled with a contented sigh.
"Morning, gorgeous," she answered sleepily, tipping her head back for a kiss, uncaring as to unbrushed teeth and morning breath. "What time is it?"
"No idea," he admitted, squeezing her a little tighter just because he could. Five weeks of marriage hadn't changed a thing, he still woke up every morning convinced it had all been some kind of elaborate dream and needing to do something to remind himself that it was true. If he woke alone he'd simply lift his hand, see the ring there and smile because it was enough. But, like today, if he awoke to a warm witch beside him he'd pull her into his arms and just breathe her in, letting her infuse his now supernaturally enhanced senses and simply enjoy.
"That means we probably don't have time for the things certain parts of you seem to be up for," she said innocently, provoking a surprised chuckle from him.
"Never hurts to try," he weedled, kissing a path from her shoulder up her neck.
"I'm pretty sure we have to get up."
"I already am."
"Not like that," she giggled, feeling the evidence that backed up his claim. "We have to get out of bed."
"No," he grumbled. "I refuse."
He moved quickly and, before she even realised he was doing anything, he had rolled out of the way, letting her back drop to the mattress. He was on her in seconds, laying his entire body across her as she so often did to him.
"Baby, we can't stay here all day," she laughed, the fingers of one hand idly tracing little patterns on his shoulder.
"I beg to differ," he argued, getting comfortable.
"What about breakfast?"
"I can eat here," his fingers slid up her thigh in a soft glide, pausing to brush against territory that they definitely didn't have time for him to fully explore.
"That's…that's not what I had in mind," she gasped, tensing in anticipation but relaxing again as his hand continued its journey upwards, coming to rest on her stomach.
"I can sleep right here," he continued. "On these perfect pillows," he nuzzled one stubbly cheek against her breast, making her jump as it rasped against her skin.
"Really, that's your plan?" she asked casually, doodling another sigil on his skin.
"Logically, it makes perfect sense." And it did, he could see absolutely no reason at all why they shouldn't stay indefinitely. He dropped a little kiss on the full mound of her breast, just because he could.
"Fine, I'll accept your logic," she huffed as if it was a real inconvenience, but he could hear the smile in her voice.
"First time for everything."
Selene smacked him lightly on the shoulder but wrapped her arms around him anyway, her hand trailing a path up his spine. She felt him relax against her, going boneless under her touch and smiled to herself.
"OK, we can stay here forever, since you say it makes perfect sense." It did sound like the most perfect plan, she had to admit. The thought of spending eternity in bed with her love, talking, holding him, having him relaxed and content with her, that was all she could ever want in life.
"I knew you'd see things my way one day."
A knock on the door disturbed their peace not long after. It was a shame that forever just wasn't meant to be. John groaned, refusing to open his eyes which had drifted shut as he relaxed in her embrace.
"John?" Scott's voice floated through the door.
"He's not moving today," Selene called out. "He's decided that he has everything he needs right here."
"He's…what?"
John chuckled, muffling his laughter against her chest.
"He's been trapped by my boobs and can't move."
Scott obviously wasn't expecting that answer and decided to ignore it, gamely plowing on.
"John, Penny found that misplaced file you needed, the one in the archive that had to be applied to."
"She did?" John was instantly on alert, levering himself upright and out of her arms. "I'm just gonna take a quick shower, I'll meet you in the hangars."
"FAB," Scott replied. "Sel, don't you dare hold him up."
"As if I would," she huffed. "What do you take me for?"
Scott declined to comment, the sound of his retreating footsteps the only answer.
"Sorry," John winced apologetically, leaning over to give her a kiss. He'd had no intention of waking her up just so he could run out on her ten minutes later. "I really wanted to spend the day in bed with you."
"Duty calls," she smiled, not taking it personally.
"Rain check?"
"Obviously. Now, hurry up and get ready or I'll be in serious danger of proving Scott right and I'd never hear the end of it."
"Wouldn't want to give him any more ammunition," John agreed, dragging some clothes out of his wardrobe and heading for the bathroom.
He couldn't place the burning need to track down and find the man that had caused so much damage to her. He suspected that it might be down to the fact that they were bonded now, the protective streak that all shifters had for their mates rearing its head, but in truth he'd felt the same way from the moment he'd heard the details. He couldn't blame it on his ability to 'go kitty'.
He felt bad about not telling her where they were going. Even though he hadn't technically lied to her he was definitely guilty of the sin of omission. He didn't know why he hadn't told her, he couldn't put it into words, not ones that she would understand because he didn't understand it himself.
He didn't want to cause her any more pain or upset, he knew that much and, when it came to Nathaniel, that's all he seemed to bring her. Her not knowing where he was was a good thing, but so was John having a clear lock on the bastard, she just didn't need to know the details. He knew she probably thought that it was something to do with work that couldn't be ignored and he was prepared to let her believe that conclusion.
Now here they were, leaving the island at 10pm after a day of research and fact checking, and entering a small but expensive bistro in the center of Valletta, Malta, at 2pm local time. It was a far cry from the English town he had been expecting to journey to. It seemed that, not only had the man, for some as yet unknown reason, changed his name, but also his location.
He followed Scott as they wound their way through the tables to find one closest to a wall, away from the windows and with the best view of the door. Kayo had taught them well.
They picked up a menu, studying it, deciding what to order. Well, Scott was, John barely spared it a glance, not caring a jot what he ate, if he even bothered eating at all. All he cared about was the mission.
A pretty waitress who looked to be in her early twenties soon came over to take their order. She spoke in accented English but was fluent enough that they understood her perfectly. John was at least conversational, if not fully fluent, in a large number of languages, something that he knew boggled Selene's brain and that he used to his full advantage, but even he would have been at a loss if he'd been presented with Maltese. It was a relatively small country and they had only been called out to a rescue there once if he recalled correctly, so he'd had no real need to learn anything.
Unsure of most of the things on the menu the waitress had helpfully suggested a house platter full of a variety of their most popular lunchtime dishes, to which they had readily agreed. Getting the staff on side would be half the battle, once you got someone chatting it was surprising how much information they would volunteer without you even having to ask.
They were soon presented with a large tray that practically groaned with goodness, containing a round loaf of bread, a bowl of olives, a variety of pastries, two pasta dishes, a bowl of what looked to be stew, lumps of cheese and an oil drenched salad.
"This actually looks really good," Scott admitted, using his fork to pick up a little of this and a bite of that, putting them on his plate. John grunted something that might have been positive if you didn't know him, his eyes restlessly tracking the inside of the restaurant.
"John," Scott hissed under his breath, dragging his brother's attention back to him. "Do you think you can tone down the menacing aura a bit? You look like you're searching for your next murder victim."
John wanted to argue, but he knew there was very little to work with. Scott was right, he wasn't exactly projecting a calm and pleasant persona. He sucked in a breath and let it out slowly, trying to calm the unexpected urges inside him. His inner shifter was hissing like a pissed off Armstrong, wanting to flex its claws and attack in defence of its mate and he was having a difficult time keeping it caged.
Ever since Selene had told him of the things Nathaniel had done to her, of what he had put her through, John had been unable to forget it. He'd managed to push the urge to kill down enough to not let the spectre of her ex ruin their wedding day or their honeymoon after but, now that they were home, it was back to business.
It had been hard to find him, that had been the first thing to surprise him. No one should be impossible for him to find but it was like the man had vanished off the face of the earth.
He'd left EOS digging up every scrap of information she could while he'd been on vacation with Selene but, while she'd managed to find rather a lot on him historically, there was nothing for his present. Absolutely nothing. It was like the man had just ceased to exist.
His history, what they could find of it, made for nasty reading. While there was no mention of Selene by name there were a few other women who had run afoul of him and reported him to the police. He'd been arrested a number of times and gone to court twice but had not been charged, although it seemed that his name and pictures had cropped up all over social media, specifically in local groups, all warning other women about him.
He'd gone quiet for a year or so but then his name had appeared again when he had gotten into a fight and attacked a man outside a bar. The man had claimed that Nathaniel had been rude and inappropriate with his girlfriend. The man had followed Nathaniel outside and confronted him. Nathaniel was claiming it was self defence and the case had to be dismissed due to lack of evidence.
Less than four months later he'd been arrested for his part in a robbery that had gone wrong where a security guard had been badly hurt and ended up in hospital.
All of Nathaniel's past deeds had been brought up by the prosecution but somehow his lawyer had managed to get his sentence reduced to community service and a two year suspended sentence. Nathaniel had walked out of court a free man and almost as soon as his community service had been completed he had done his disappearing act.
John had told all of this new information to Scott the moment Selene had gone back to their apartment for a job and he had been able to talk to his brother alone.
Scott, predictably, had been fuming and wanted nothing more than to track the man down and make sure he never hurt anyone else again. But they had hit dead end after dead end for more than a week and that had cooled Scott's ire somewhat.
Penelope had had to be told, there were palms to be greased and favours to be called in that would yield more results than any amount of technical knowledge or hacking skills ever could. She had finally come through, her contact discovering a small note tucked away in a file in the back of an office somewhere that by rights should have been burnt. There they had learned that, purely off the records, a very expensive under the table deal had been made to secure a new identity, passport and job in the name of a baby that had died thirty five years before at a day old. It was dastardly and slightly disturbing, but John was in no way surprised.
But it did beg the question of who exactly had funded this little vanishing act and why? It had to be someone with friends in very high places and enough funds to accomplish such a feat. As a consequence of fingerprints being on record as standard for all manner of everyday things that required bank account access such as shopping or anything that required proof of identity, it had become near impossible to fake an identity or create a new one. Fraud had been an increasing problem from the 1990's up until the 2040's when fingerprint scanning, facial recognition and the like had become so common that identity fraudsters had all but given up, turning their hands to other crimes. To hack into government files and change fingerprint records without leaving a trace should have been impossible, yet it had happened.
It had taken John and EOS another four hours after he had left Selene that morning to find Nathaniel's location. They had searched out the new name, had engaged in some highly illegal hacking of certain companies and a government database or two but they had eventually found a plane ticket booked four years previous, flying out of Glasgow Airport bound for Tunisia. He had stayed there for seven months before continuing on to Malta where he had seemingly settled.
Once in Malta he had apparently walked straight into the job of managing the chic little bistro they were currently sitting in. He'd had no previous experience, no qualifications and no real reason to be there, yet there he was, and John was extremely suspicious of it.
It wasn't exactly in John's job description to be suspicious of people or to be the one seeking out and tracking down wrongdoers, that was more Kayo and Penelope's line of work, but in this he had a personal stake and he wasn't about to stop until he knew everything about the scum bag that had hurt his wife. Then, he would judge if his instincts had been right.
-x-
Scott and John worked their way through the platters of food they had been delivered, trying to keep up a natural flow of conversation, although it wasn't easy. John was barely managing to hold up his end of the deal, saying the bare minimum he could get away with and forcing down only a few bites. Scott could understand it, in fact he was surprised that his brother was even doing that much.
When John had called him up to the room he shared with Selene an hour before their wedding Scott hadn't known what to think. He'd be lying if he didn't say that, for the briefest second, he had wondered if his socially avoidant middle brother hadn't called him in to announce that they had changed their minds yet again, they were going to Vegas on their own and there would be no wedding. What John actually had to say was something he could never have imagined.
Scott liked to think that he knew his best friend and sister-in-law almost as well as he knew his blood siblings. He knew when he could push her, when to back off, when she was feeling delicate and when she was in a stubborn mood. If anyone had asked him to describe her he'd immediately say that she was one of the strongest people he knew.
She loved with her whole heart, nothing was ever too much trouble for her, she would go out of her way to make sure that everyone in the family was looked after. She had done more for his brother in the three years they had been together than anyone else had, she'd brought him out of his shell because she'd given him the space and love he needed to grow more comfortable in her company while still being true to himself. John was happy, and that meant the world to Scott
She would fight for anyone and everyone, she was determination and resilience all wrapped up in a badass package. She was someone that they were all a tiny bit afraid of in the best possible way, someone that was always true to herself and unashamed in her beliefs. She didn't compromise, she never backed down and she never let anyone tell her what to do.
When Scott had walked in the bedroom that had previously been very much John's, he had once again noticed the subtle changes that had taken place. The room was still John's, Selene hadn't taken over that much, only adding a few of her personal items and a couple of things for comfort, but the overall feel of the room was so much more relaxed and comfortable.
Maybe it was because of the extended periods of time John had spent in space before she had come rampaging into his life, but the room had felt more like a sanctuary or some secret place that should never be entered without permission. It hadn't been anyone's choice as a hang out spot, something that John had done little to discourage, preferring his own space and quiet, but now the door was always open, they were welcome to wander in whenever they wanted and Selene was almost always there with the offer of a hug or a listening ear.
He expected John to give him a list of demands from Selene that needed to be carried out immediately or to tell him that he needed to go and do his best man duty in calming her down, all said in his patented tone of 'this is ridiculous but I'm humouring her'.
Instead he found John radiating what could only be described as pure fury. John hardly ever got angry, the last time Scott had seen his brother so furious had been his fault. He still felt bad for allowing himself to get so worked up that he had accidentally shoved Selene hard enough to send her flying and he didn't blame his brother for reacting as he had. If anyone had shoved Cat that way Scott wasn't sure that he'd have been able to let them walk away. Yet John had forgiven him, accepted his apology and they had moved on.
"What's wrong?" Scott asked, knowing that it had to be something bad to have affected him this way. "Has the press been causing trouble again?"
John shook his head, not looking up at his brother as he continued to tap on his phone, pacing back and forth in nothing but his dress shirt, underpants and socks. Scott waited, knowing that distracting John while he was like this would only make things worse, he'd come out of it in his own time. He took a seat in the squishy armchair Selene had installed for reading and meditation purposes, keeping an eye on the time, they did have a wedding to get to after all.
"Did Selene ever tell you?"
That was the first words his brother spoke to him, still not looking up from his phone.
"Tell me what?" Scott was genuinely confused and that didn't happen that often.
"Tell you that she was in an abusive relationship before we met."
Whatever he had expected to hear, it definitely wasn't that. Scott frowned, more confused than he had been before. Selene, their Selene, in an abusive relationship that none of them knew about, not even John? It just didn't compute.
"I'll take your silence as a sign that it's as much a shock to you as it was to me," John sighed, finally stopping his pacing to look at his brother.
"Why would you think I'd know if you didn't?"
"Because she's your best friend, you two are really close and I assume that there will be things that she wouldn't talk to me about that she might you. I can't say I like that idea but I respect it."
"No," Scott confirmed, shaking his head firmly. "She's never said a word to me about it. God," he swiped his fingers through his hair, messing up the carefully styled strands and getting a handful of gel for his trouble. "The thought of anyone being able to do anything like that, let alone to her…" He didn't want to ask but felt like he had to, "Was it physical or…" he let his sentence trail off, not wanting to voice the thoughts and images in his head.
He remembered how she had reacted when he had shoved her, instead of calling him on his shit as he had expected, she had made excuses for him, she had forgiven him instantly, she had blamed herself for getting too close and being in his way, like she had deserved it. He hadn't even thought about it at the time, too much other stuff in his head, but now it came back clearly to him, that was how abused people reacted. They got used to it, they were told so often that they were at fault that they believed it in all things. She had shaken it off, promised she was fine and acted like nothing had happened, her main concern for him rather than herself. She had defended him to John, fought his corner and accepted his apology. At the time he had put it down to her knowing that he would never have hurt her on purpose, that he loved her and he still knew that to be true but now he wondered if there wasn't another reason for it.
"Not much that she told me, it seemed to be more mental, but I know he hit her at least once."
John proceeded to recount the story that Selene had told him, managing to keep a lot calmer than Scott would ever have. Just a few minutes in and Scott's blood was boiling, his hands clenched into fists that wanted desperately to connect with the unknown man's face.
It all made sense now, the way she was, the way she could react in certain situations. She always came across as so self confident and assured, so in control, but he realised now that that was only in things that she already felt in control of, things that she had prior knowledge of. When he compared how she had been so calm while helping a woman give birth in the middle of an avalanche, with how she had screamed, absolutely terrified when doing her Zero-G training, he could see the pattern. When he looked at her dealing with situations where her natural instincts could be used versus times when she was going in blind he now noticed the difference. He had assumed that it had simply been a lack of knowledge on her part, but now he realised that it wasn't just an unwillingness to try, but her not wanting to fail or get blamed for anything.
The thought of someone systematically knocking every little bit of confidence out of her, to the point that she hadn't argued back, hadn't defended herself, hadn't thought she was worthy of anything, it didn't bear thinking about. He thought of his bubbly, confident and argumentative best friend as he had seen her just last night, teasing John, standing up to her mother and their Grandma when she and John had announced the change of wedding plans, how she hadn't allowed them to change their minds... it just didn't compute.
How had she found the strength to fight back? How had she managed to drag herself back up so much? Enough to put herself out there again, to chase after his brother and convince him to give her a chance? She had put so much effort into John, effort that he'd never thought anyone would. He loved his brother but had always known that he wouldn't be the easiest person to date, let alone fall in love with and marry. Yet she had done it easily, as if it were the most natural thing in the world to her. She had respected his boundaries, celebrated his differences and accepted him for who he was as if he were already perfect. And now they knew why, because she'd been there, she'd had someone try to change her, try to knock her into shape and squash her into a mold of what they saw as perfect rather than seeing how perfect she already was.
He recalled how scared she had been when admitting to seeing ghosts and her other powers, how she had expected them all to turn on her and cast her out as if she were nothing. He'd thought she was being over dramatic at the time, but now he realised that it had been a very real fear for her. She still, after three years in their family, never showed off her gifts if she could help it. They all got the benefit of them, in all the little ways that she used them to help them, but she never spoke about it unless someone asked her a direct question. She had been so used to hiding that part of herself, denying who she was and what she could do, for him. For the asshole that had taken her pure, selfless, accepting love and abused it, turning it against her. Someone that should have protected her had broken her trust and, by the sound of it, very nearly broken her spirit too.
"We can't let him get away with this," Scott had growled, unable to comprehend just what their witch had been through.
"There's very little we can do about it," John sighed. 'It was seven years ago now and Selene never reported it."
"We can't just do nothing," Scott argued. "People like him don't just stop, they move on to the next victim."
"I know that."
"So we track him down and we stop him ever treating someone like that again."
"Easier said than done," John growled, tossing his phone down on the bed with a frustrated huff. "I can't find him."
"Excuse me, what? You, you who has your eye on everything, can't find one person?"
"Yes, me. He doesn't appear to exist anymore. EOS found records from four years ago and a full life before that, but anything after that is a complete blank. I've got her digging up eveeything she can, hopefully we'll find some kind of clue."
"So, what do we do now?"
"Now I go and get married. That bastard has ruined enough for her, he's not going to wreck our day too. So I'm going to push this as far out of my mind as I can and finish getting dressed, then I'm going to go down to the beach and wait for you to bring me my wife. We're going to get married, hopefully have a nice, drama free reception before I whisk her away on the honeymoon she still doesn't know we planned."
"You're a better man than I am," Scott admitted, knowing that if it had been Cat he'd have never been able to stop himself, let alone force himself to forget it.
"You didn't see her just now. She was terrified, Scott, she was terrified that I was going to hate her, that I wouldn't want to marry her. That man damaged her so much that the second she thought she'd wronged me and taken away my right to choose, even in the smallest of ways, she panicked so badly that she almost called off our wedding. Seeing the person I love crying because she thought I would hate her is something I don't ever want to see again. So, for now, I'm putting my own feelings aside to focus on her, just as he should have done and just as you will. Don't say a word to her, don't tell her you know, just treat her as you always do, because that's what she needs right now. She needs us."
Scott nodded, knowing John was right. It would be hard, his every instinct was screaming at him to protect his friend and teach that bastard a lesson he'd never forget. But they were International Rescue, they didn't take matters into their own hands, they didn't punish or dispense justice, that wasn't their job. Their job was to help people. So they would find him, then they would keep the closest eye on him, they wouldn't allow him to hurt another woman ever again.
Scott had done as John asked, he'd pushed his feelings on the matter down and buried them deep, he'd gone to fetch his best friend and he'd delivered her into the waiting arms of his brother. It had actually been hard to hand her over. Rationally he knew that she was far more John's than his and that his brother was nothing like Nathaniel, that he would never treat her in such a way but, hearing her story, even if it was second hand, had made him appreciate her even more. He knew now why she had always insisted she didn't want to get married and knew just how much trust she was placing in John, just how much she loved him. And he'd help to make sure she'd never regret it.
By the time John and Selene had returned from their honeymoon in Greece, EOS still hadn't found anything more recent than four years ago, although what she had found from before that was numerous and didn't make for pleasant reading. It was then that they had realised that, much as they didn't want to, they would have to call in reinforcements.
-x-
Their meal was almost finished when the waitress bustled back over, enquiring as to whether they had enjoyed their food and if they would like to see the dessert menu. As they had been eating the bistro had filled up, the afternoon crowd giving way for the start of the evening trade. They wouldn't be able to hang around much longer without someone getting suspicious.
"Sure, desserts would be great," Scott said, bestowing upon her his most charming of smiles, partly flirtatious with a hint of deepening dimples that most people couldn't resist. He just hoped she wasn't one of the few that were immune to his powers.
"I'll just go and get them for you," she said, returning the smile. She gathered up their used plates but left the platter for now, it still contained some scraps of food that they might want. She returned a minute later to deliver their menus.
"Thanks," John forced out, trying to sound as polite as possible, he didn't want her to think she was the cause of his bad mood.
"So, does it get busy around here?" Scott asked, perusing the menu but not really seeing it.
"It can, tonight might be, it being a weekend."
"And you're on your own? Will you have anyone coming in later to help?" Scott continued, keeping his tone casual and friendly, as if he were interested but not too interested as to be creepy.
"Just for now, other members of staff are due in for the evening shift."
The waitress didn't seem to notice the way John stiffened at that information, but Scott did, although John managed to hold it together well enough. Once again Scott was amazed at his brother's ability to keep his cool in almost any situation, even ones where someone he loved was directly involved. It was that cool logic of his that made him the perfect space monitor for International Rescue, giving him the ability to assess a situation without letting his emotions get the best of him. But even John had his limits and Scott was worried that he was very close to reaching it. He'd gotten through the wedding, spent two weeks away with his new wife and another three getting back into the swing of taking calls and helping organise the rescues, all while having Nathaniel weighing on his mind.
Once again they couldn't decide what to order so the waitress offered to have the chef put together a little of everything for them to try. They ate slowly, trying to stay as long as possible without seeming weird, knowing that there was no reasonable excuse they could use to ask for the manager. The waitress had been lovely and, knowing how Nathaniel had been with Selene, they didn't want to give him any reason to be upset with the staff through no fault of their own.
"Much as I hate to say it," Scott started, pushing away his dessert bowl, "I think we'll have to give up. He's obviously not going to show his face and there's no guarantee that it's actually him."
"I know," John sighed. He hadn't wanted to think about the possibility of their journey being wasted and them having to try to engineer another reason to get away from the Island for a day, as it was they had One on standby at the nearby airfield in case they had to leave in a hurry.
"We could order coffee?" Scott suggested, "that's reasonable."
"Yeah, maybe."
Scott lifted his hand and the waitress hurried over.
"All good? You enjoyed it?"
"Very much so," Scott assured her. "But we were wondering if there was any coffee on offer to finish off with?"
"Of course, do you have any preference?" She cleared away their plates with quick efficiency.
"Well, you've not steered us wrong so far, so we'll take two of whatever you'd recommend," Scott smiled, still laying on the charm and this time adding a little flattery. The waitress ducked her head, blushing lightly, but she still smiled.
"Of course."
"I don't know how you do that," John mused.
"Do what?"
"Just be so effortlessly casual with everyone, Selene made me promise to attend some kind of festival with her and I'm dreading it."
"You? At a festival?" Scott spluttered, letting out his first real laugh of the day.
"Yeah, I have to admit, it's not my first choice of places to go," John said, although he too laughed, just a little one but enough to let Scott relax back in his chair. He'd been just as on edge as John had, but for different reasons.
"Did she tell you what'll be happening there?"
"Not really, she said it's a pagan festival, she's been asked to speak there and conduct a workshop, it's a three day event but we'll only be staying one night."
"Huh, sounds interesting."
"She's spent enough time coming to events with me that were far out of her comfort zone or because of the family, I couldn't really say no. Besides, I can't help feeling a little guilty, she used to attend rituals every full moon and every holiday as well as monthly gatherings just for social purposes and festivals during the summer months and she's given almost all of them up to spend time with us. I know she's still practicing on her own but I don't think it's the same for her."
"You're nothing like him," Scott told him firmly, knowing exactly where his brother's mind had gone. "You've never stopped her doing anything, nor have you asked her to change anything she does or wants to do. It's been her choice every time."
"I know," John sighed. "But I can't help worrying. I never thought about it before, but now, knowing everything she'd been through, it makes me paranoid that I've done something or that I'm going to without meaning to."
"It's Sel, I'm sure she'd make it very clear if you ever did."
"Would she though?"
"Sure she would."
"She didn't with him."
"You're not him. You don't see her as your property, you don't see her as something to control and do as she's told. You respect her and her beliefs, you've never looked down on them. You just had a pagan wedding-"
"Two weddings."
"You've had two pagan weddings because you support her. You accept her and love her just the way she is, you have nothing to worry about."
John nodded, falling silent for a moment, letting Scott's words sink in before speaking. "Maybe we should just cancel the coffees and go. I don't know if seeing him is actually going to help at all. I think I'd rather not know. She's put it behind her and it's not my trauma to be dealing with, it's hers and she's doing it her way." He'd been thinking about it a lot over the course of their honeymoon and in the weeks that had followed. Truth be told he'd almost given up on finding Nathaniel, the trail had been so cold that he'd wondered if maybe it was better that way. The only reason they were there now was because Lady Penelope had done her job well and finally found something but now that he was here, and the triumph of locating him had worn off, he wasn't so sure. His shifter instincts were warring with the human part of his
brain which was firmly telling him to let it go. He'd been working so hard to learn to control the new instincts that kept trying to surface and take over, just as Virgil did, that he didn't want to let them dictate to him now.
"If that's what you want to do," Scott agreed easily. It wasn't his fight as much as it was John's. "I'm just going to visit the bathroom before we leave, I'll cancel the coffees on the way."
"Sure," John agreed easily, pulling out his phone, he had the sudden urge to message Selene and let her know he was thinking of her. Now that he'd made his peace with the situation as best he could he felt more at ease, relaxing back in his chair rather than sitting hunched forward as he had been doing.
"I'll just be a minute," Scott assured him, heading to the counter.
"One moment, sir," their waitress promised him, sounding a little more frazzled than she had before. "I'm working on your order now."
Scott paused, seeing that she had already set out two cups on the coffee machine and was clearly in the process of making them. He couldn't very well cancel them now, but once they were made he could claim an emergency and take them to go.
"No rush, but could you point me in the direction of the bathroom?"
"Of course," she said, forcing a smile as she pushed her hair back behind her ear. "It's just through that door and to the left, follow the corridor to the end, past the stairs and you'll find the mens bathroom, ladies is to the right."
"Thank you."
Scott located the bathroom easily and made quick use of the facilities all the while thinking over the day. He wasn't sure if it was a good thing or not that they hadn't found their mark. Part of him wanted to, because he wanted to stand up for his friend and help keep others safe, but he could see John's point. Selene had obviously fought hard for her freedom and her strength, the last thing they wanted to do was undermine that by getting involved. Their instincts to protect, to rush in and save the day, to rescue people, were so strong that they often forgot that it wasn't always wanted or needed.
Washing his hands, he made his way back to the dining area, meaning to join John, but his attention was caught by the sound of a harsh whisper that could just be heard over the hiss of the coffee machine.