Warning: adult themes, hints to sexual activity

Maeve sat opposite Henry, deep in thought as she contemplated her next move on the chess board. Henry watched her silently, a smile playing on his lips. She had proven to be a quick learner. He had calculated that he had her beat, no matter which move she chose. She finally made her choice, then looked at him expectantly.

"Check mate." Henry announced as he made his move, smirking all along.

"Fair." Maeve nodded after a moment of inspecting the board. She'd learn from her mistakes.

"Maeve." Dr Brenner said as he walked through the door, his eyes looking upon the both of them. "I heard you've been asking for me."

"Yes" Maeve agreed as she stood from her chair, hastily making her way over to the doctor. "I'd like to speak in private, please."

"Of course. Follow me." Brenner nodded quickly as he opened the door and walked through.

Henry watched on as Maeve followed behind him without another word, finding her behaviour rather odd. She usually made sure she said goodbye, rather than rushing off. Besides, she had started opening up to Henry, but she had not told him what she wanted to talk to Brenner about. In all honesty, he was a bit bothered about the fact she was still keeping things from him. He wanted to know everything. He decided to let it slide and reset the chess board, ready for another game.

Meanwhile Maeve and Dr Brenner arrived in his office and she sat in one of the chairs as he walked around his desk to sit opposite her.

"What can I do for you?" Brenner asked as he clasped his hands together on top of his desk.

"Well, I have read many of Henry's files, so I know it's Henry's birthday tomorrow." Maeve started and Brenner became a bit wary. "I'd like to do something special for him."

"Such as?" Brenner asked, encouraging her to go on.

"Well, I have noticed that going out seems to be a sensitive subject so I would like to do that. If I am correct, he hasn't been outside in quite some time." Maeve was nervous, but she hid it well. She thought it best to come across as confident as possible to get the doctor to agree.

"I am afraid that is true, he hasn't been able to leave. However, I can assure you this is for good reason." Dr Brenner responded, not giving much away. He didn't want to ruin the chances of Maeve and Henry possibly bringing him another miracle.

"So it's true, this has been a prison for him." Maeve said in a calculating manner as she narrowed her eyes at him accusingly.

"He has been here for his own good. I am trying to help him." Dr Brenner tried to reason with her. "I can see you care for him, as do I. I can assure you of that."

"If you cared, you'd let him leave." Maeve tried her best getting into his head. He was too mentally strong for her to change his mind with her abilities.

"It's not a risk I can take." Brenner pursed his lips together in thought. The risk was too great. It wasn't just Henry he had to protect, it was society and most importantly – his program. He knew Henry would never come back if he was allowed to leave. Yes, Henry had the Soteria implant, but it would be so much work containing him again. He imagined Henry would never stop running.

"He may be your patient, but he is also a man. You should allow him to be." Maeve glared at the doctor. She could see he was selfish.

"You are right." Dr Brenner leant back in his chair, looking at her guiltily. "How about a compromise?" Maeve raised her eyebrows expectantly, silently asking the doctor to carry on.

"I could give you access to the roof for a couple of hours. He'd still be outside, with fresh air. We could set something up." Brenner suggested, knowing he'd still at least have cameras on them. He was still very uncomfortable about it, yet found himself wanting to give Henry a chance at humanity. It would certainly make any work with him or on him easier.

Maeve pondered for a moment. It wasn't at all what she had imagined, but it was something to work with at least. "Fine. I will need a table, table cloth, chairs, candles. Maybe a cassette player." Pursing her lips, she tried picturing the scene. "Oh, and also I'd like him to be able to wear normal clothes. A smart shirt and trousers or jeans will do. I am sure you can do something about that."

"You're putting a lot of effort into this." Dr Brenner noted, partly amused. He wasn't used to being bossed around but didn't entirely mind it.

"Everyone deserves to feel human. He's been so kind to me. He deserves it." Maeve shrugged her shoulders. It was true. Henry did deserve it. He had been imprisoned for so long, she was surprised he hadn't gone completely insane.

"Well," Brenner stood up from his chair, walking over to what appeared to be closet and rummaged around it. "I have these spare, I am sure some will fit him." He offered Maeve a pile of clean clothes that had been in there for years. "Some vary in size."

"Thank you." Maeve took them off him, smiling at him with gratitude. "This will mean a lot to him."

Dr Brenner couldn't help but smile a small smile in return, though he remained sceptical. He wasn't someone who could admit his faults, but perhaps he shouldn't have been so hard on Henry. Maybe there was another way to teach. Although he'd never admit it out loud, he often questioned his methods. In a way she admired Dr Maxwell for what she had achieved with Maeve. They had boundaries, but they had mutual respect and a common goal. Maeve remained here willingly and had some control. However, Brenner was also afraid of giving Henry any control whatsoever. He was aware how quickly he could turn.

"Let's hope it does." Brenner replied, returning to his chair behind his desk.

"Well, if you get what I need up there, I don't mind setting everything up."

"Very well." Brenner mused as he nodded in agreement. "I will make sure to enable Henry's key card to give him access for tomorrow night." As well as having more security on the ground in case he thinks of getting away. He kept those thoughts to himself. Maeve was blissfully unaware of Henry's past and he didn't want to change that. Maeve was his one shot at redemption.

x-x

The next day Henry made his way back to his room. It had been another long day with Two and he felt as though he might just explode from frustration. Getting to his door, his brows furrowed in confusion at the pile of clothes in front of it. He picked up the pile, a handwritten note attached to it.

'Meet me in the canteen at 6PM for a special dinner. Happy Birthday x' it read and he immediately knew it was from Maeve. He hadn't heard the words 'Happy Birthday' in years and he had even forgotten it was his birthday. Still puzzled by the pile of clothes, he stepped inside the room to try them on. He opted for a smart, button-up white shirt alongside some jeans. It felt weird seeing himself in anything other than his usual uniform, but it was a good weird. Checking the clock, he realised he was running late and promptly made his way to the canteen. He cursed the time keeping humans had invented on his way.

"Ah, there you are!" Maeve spun around, wearing a beautiful pine coloured dress. Her auburn hair was in a chic bun and she smiled happily at him. "You look nice."

"So do you." He complimented her back, giving her a once over. "What is all this about?"

"It's your birthday. Come." She gestured him to follow before offering him a plate of pasta, which smelt delicious. "I cooked for you." He smiled at her efforts. It's the most effort anyone had ever made for his birthday.

"Thank you." He took the plate gratefully as he started to walk towards a table.

"Oh, no. We're not eating here." Maeve smiled brightly at him as she beckoned him to follow her.

They walked through the hallway, straight towards the ward door and he looked at her with embarrassed eyes.

"Maeve… I can't leave." He shifted uncomfortably as he looked around.

"You can tonight. Brenner has enabled you to use your card to leave once and to come back. It was a bit complicated when he explained it to me." She rambled, thinking of all the precautions Brenner had explained to her.

Henry got out his key card and swiped it, surprised to hear the door unlocking. He was speechless. He hadn't been allowed to step outside of the ward in nine, long years.

"Come on!" Maeve grabbed his free hand with hers as she ushered him out of the ward and up the stairs. They mounted a few flights of stairs before they reached an open door, leading to the roof of the building. The floor was covered in gravel and pebbles and in the middle stood a table, beautifully decorated with a cloth and a singular candle in the middle. Maeve led him to the table and sat down in one of the chairs, setting her plate of food on the table.

"You did all this?" Henry stood, taking in the scenery. They had a great view over the forest from the top of the building and the air – he had forgotten how fresh air could be. He slowly sat down in his chair, still looking around.

"Well, Brenner provided the things I asked –"

"I know this wasn't Brenner's idea." Henry quickly interjected. That doctor hadn't given a damn about his birthday for the last nine years.

"I wanted to do something for you to celebrate your birthday. I thought watching the sunset was a good idea." Maeve explained as she gestured towards the sun, low in the distance. "Oh." She nearly stumbled as she got off her chair, making her way to the cassette player that was near the door and turned it on.

Henry was too stunned for words. His eyes were fixated on the sun in the distance. He knew they still had a few hours before it was completely gone, but the sky was slowly fading from a light blue to orange hues.

x-x

After dinner the pair of them had opted to sit on the floor, near the edge of the building. Henry had grown unusually quiet, but Maeve assumed he was simply overwhelmed. She couldn't imagine how she would have coped, never even getting a chance of breathing fresh air.

"Why are you so nice to me?" Henry asked out of the blue. His eyes were still on the horizon, watching as clouds claimed the sky above them.

"You are nice to me, as well." Maeve reasoned, shifting her body to sit closer to him. She leant her head on his shoulders, wanting to be closer to him.

"I don't deserve it. I've done things. Bad things." Henry sighed, but he did not move away from her.

"So have I…" she admitted softly. "Do you remember when I said I feel energy all around me?"

"Yes." Henry replied softly, a bit surprised. He could have never seen Maeve doing anyone harm.

"I can feel it in people, as well. I can… absorb it. I fell ill once, very ill. A doctor tried to help me and I remember grabbing his arm and something in me just clicked. I took his energy to heal me. Despite seeing it hurt him, I carried on because it made me feel better. I didn't realise exactly what was happening, but I could have stopped. He died." As she told her story her eyes welled up with unshed tears. She had killed a man for selfish reasons. Sighing deeply, she felt Henry's arm curl around her. It brought her comfort.

"I am worse." He said, trying to comfort her.

"It doesn't matter. My point is, we can't and shouldn't be defined by our past. So no matter what you did, that's not you now." She shook off her thoughts of that poor man, focusing on what was in front of her. She extended her arm to hold his hand as the first drops of rain hit them.

"Oh crap!" Maeve exclaimed as the music in the background became distorted. The cassette player was definitely not waterproof. She rushed to grab it and set it down inside the doorway. "Brenner's never going to lend me anything again." She somewhat scolded herself for not realising before.

Henry had stood up as well, watching her in amusement. Thunder sounded from above as Maeve scrambled to pick something up from underneath the table. She unveiled a canvas and huffed once she realised it had gotten wet as well.

Henry watched with intrigue as she showed it to him, a painting of a sunset.

"This was meant to be your birthday present. I might be able to fix it." She said rather loudly, the rain growing in intensity.

"No, leave it as it is, so I can always remember this day." Henry shouted, his voice nearly drowned out by the heavy rain. Maeve made her way back to the door and put the painting inside, waving Henry over.

"Come on, we'll get soaked!" she called over, but Henry didn't comply. Instead, he extended his arms outwards and leant his head back, enjoying the feel of the rain against his skin. It was different from a shower. It was bliss. He started laughing whole-heartedly and Maeve's heart skipped a beat. He looked so happy.

She made her way back over to him, not caring about the rain. The drops were heavy, but refreshing. They laughed together as they danced and acted like fools in the rain. It wasn't until they made eye contact, that they stopped.

Maeve's breath hitched in her throat as Henry leant in close, his lips engulfing her in a swift, soft kiss. It was almost innocent, the way his lips brushed against hers before he pulled away, his lips lingering only inches away from hers. He looked into her eyes, almost as if asking for reassurance before grabbing her face between his hands and pulling her in for a more passionate kiss. Her hands equally grabbed at his face, passion like she had never known it surging through her entire body. She hadn't realised how much she wanted to kiss him. And it felt so good. They pulled away from each other briefly to take a breath before their lips made contact again, this one even hungrier than the previous. Her hands came to a halt on his chest and she could feel his heart beating hard and fast beneath her palm and it excited her, knowing he felt the same as her. Henry effortlessly picked her up with one arm as she wrapped her arms around his neck. He carried them to the door, escaping the rain and pushed her against the cool wall. His foot accidentally kicked the cassette recorder and it fell down a few steps, causing them both to laugh in between kisses. His free hand roamed her body, wanting to feel all of her. He ran it up her thigh hungrily as a moan slipped her mouth, her hands moving eagerly to unbutton his shirt. She could feel him between her legs, all of him and she bit her lip in anticipation.

"Henry…" she breathed, trying to regain some composure. "They will be wondering where we are."

"I don't care." He almost growled as he pulled the skirt of her dress up further. Maeve couldn't deny that she found his response incredibly sexy. "I want you so bad. I don't think I have ever wanted anything more in my life." He continued, holding her close to his body. He had been imagining this moment for days, but never like this, never here. He had never even imagined something would happen. There were cameras all over the ward. Passion cursed through him and it almost hurt. He wanted to feel her, right then and there. He used both his arms to wrap her legs around his waist, wanting to feel in control of every movement.

"Then take me."