April 8, 2019

I'm super sorry this took so long. I had a hard time writing this one, thinking I couldn't get it to work right, but hey - it's a longer chapter! Hopefully y'all like it.

Re the last chapter: I have never received feedback so quickly on anything, haha! You readers are so lovely!

Just in case I didn't say so, because I honestly don't recall if I announced it officially, I've got a second AU going now, though it's going to go a bit slower since I don't have it as planned out as this one :)

The next morning, Sam waited until Adam came down to breakfast before turning to address Blake, who sat at the head of the table as usual. "So, how are things going with Atlantix, now?" He asked, working off the assumption that things would be up in the air after losing both Culhane and Fallon.

"Actually," Blake replied with a confident smile, "things are looking up. Don't you think?" He shifted his gaze to Adam as he voiced the question.

"Absolutely," Adam agreed. He shifted in his seat, explaining to Sam between bites of their meal. "Dad has asked me to come on board, so hopefully we can make up some of the ground we've lost, and I can be of use to the team."

Sam nodded, putting on an impressed expression. "That's great. First day jitters, Adam?"

Adam shrugged, either playing it cool or genuinely not caring about the stress of a position within the family business. Sam felt certain the guy was no Fallon, but at least he was confident, he supposed.

"Well," Sam continued, clearing off his plate and taking a last drink. "Have a good first day." Then he wandered off towards the staircase, heading up to his and Steven's room to wait it out.

Kirby got a text a little over an hour later, after Fallon had left for work as well, telling her that it was ready. It, of course, being the bug. But Adam wasn't going to be home until after work, presumably, so she spent the day doing what she normally would have, and awaited a follow-up text to tell her Adam had returned.

Work dragged on over the next two days for Fallon, but she was careful not to distract herself too much with thoughts of Liam – or of texting Liam. He was certainly busy with rescheduling things, right? For all she knew, he was in a Skype call that very morning to change his plans. It was still crazy to her that he wasn't going in for his meetings, and though she was still looking for a way to talk him out of it, it seemed like he'd made up his mind. And she didn't want to add any further tension to this new journey of sorts that they were on.

By lunchtime on the second day, she had made several business calls and, really, had accomplished a great deal. But she was growing impatient nonetheless in her wait for news of any kind from her three allies in this budding war against Ada. So she slipped her phone into her pocket before heading downstairs to pick up a meal and bring it back to her office.

In the lobby, Liam was talking on his phone, a wide smile on his face. When he turned and saw her, he glanced around a little to check that nobody was watching them, then winked conspiratorially. Fallon smirked in return, but kept walking through the rotating front entrance. She made it three or four businesses down before she felt the presence of someone coming up alongside her.

Liam played it casual as he offered a simple, "Hey. Busy morning?"

Fallon kept her eye on where she was going as they stepped between people, but smiled. "Very. But I needed a break. Waiting for news is the worst."

He agreed, of course, because he'd been distracted all morning, himself. "Yeah, Sam said it would be a while, in theory. He's working for the soccer team, now... Where are we going?"

The we had her lifting an eyebrow, though a smirk nearly pulled at her lips. "Lunch."

She led him down to her long-time lunch spot of choice, and they spent the better part of the next hour sitting at a back table so passersby wouldn't be able to see them, incase those passersby included Culhane or Ada. He had spent the morning trying to convince his editor and the publisher's marketing team to rearrange things, and though he tried to hide how badly it had gone, Fallon's gaze was obviously seeing right through him.

"Liam."

He sighed heavily, but nodded in admission. "After what happened last time, with me backing out after the advance... they're not really letting me push around my deadlines, or what they expect from me."

"Then you have to go," she told him firmly. "If it's money troubles they fear, then give them no reason to doubt you. I'm sure I'll be fine for a couple of days."

"Well, a week," he corrected lightly.

She frowned at him. "You have to go. Your career cannot be put on hold like this, Liam. Regardless of if you need the money, you don't like working at CA. What's the point in spending more time there than you have to?"

"I don't know. For my family?"

Fallon dropped her gaze to the way her fingers were toying with the rim of her glass absentmindedly. "I get that."

He reached over, taking her hand in his to stop the fidgeting. She let him bring their hands to rest at the center of the table, and just watched as he ran his thumb over the back of her hand. "I really need you to promise me something," he told her.

Fallon's eyes snapped back to his, worry shining through. "What?"

"While I'm gone... you cannot keep anything from me. Okay? You can't. I'm not going to keep secrets from you, Fal, and I need the same in return."

She was quiet for a moment, but not because she disagreed or wanted to mislead him. Instead, she was stuck on how determined he was to be open with her, when so few ever were. "I know," she agreed a few moments later. "I know. I promise, if anything comes up, I'll call you."

He cracked a pleased smile. "Or even if anything doesn't," Liam suggested.

Fallon let out a quiet laugh, turning her chin away as if to say she would consider it, but maybe he ought to keep nudging her for it. When she brought her attention back to him, though, she just looked happy, and even relaxed. So for that, if nothing else, Liam found himself feeling rather proud. But he was utterly shocked when she spoke again.

"... I love you."

Not shocked that she'd said it. He knew it was true, and that was a feeling too fantastic for him to ever brush off or want to doubt. No, he was shocked that she'd said it first, and seemingly out of nowhere. That decision, for Liam, spoke volumes.

He stood up from the chair, both wanting to lean in for the soft kiss he gave her, but also because he knew they were running out of time. They both had to be back in the office, soon. Still, Fallon stood after he pulled away, only to steal another, more chaste, kiss.

"Who's going first?" She asked, not even giving him the chance to say it back. She didn't need him to, really, and it warmed him to realize it.

"I don't have any meetings like you probably do. Why don't you go ahead?"

Fallon nodded, taking one last sip of her water before turning away from the table. But he drew her back when she got a step too far, making sure she heard him offer an, "I love you, too." And once she smiled in return, he let go, watching her leave before eventually following her at distance, back to the CA building.

Before he made it back, however, his phone rang. He pulled it from his pocket, unsurprised by the name he saw there, but instead anxious because of it. "Hey, what's-?" He began, only to be cut off with a rushed question:

"Are you with Fallon?"

He frowned, offering a wary, "No...?"

"Good."

Liam stopped short in the middle of the street, and after that phone call ended, he didn't return to work for the day.

When Fallon came home that night, Kirby was nowhere to be found. Assuming that the redhead was down in the bar, or perhaps having an early meal on her own, Fallon thought nothing of it. She also hadn't heard from Liam since lunch, but she hadn't contacted him, either. She wasn't one of those women who was constantly bothering and waiting on a man. Obviously not.

So she settled in to answer an email from Steven, who could very well have called her, were it not for him thinking she was in Australia, in a different time zone, and up to who knows what. Fallon didn't want to add onto the lie since Sam knew the truth – Sam had never been great at keeping anything from Steven, so they were already risking a lot, frankly. So she just told him the weather was nice, which was true, and that she was doing well, which was mostly true (and would've been very true if the only factor had been Liam). But she kept it short for fear that she would overdo it.

She hit send and found herself unusually lost for what to do. Typically, she came home and had drama to take care of. She very rarely had to wait on others, and because of her stress, she'd overworked herself at the office in place of a distraction. After setting her laptop down, Fallon started flipping through the book of the hotel's in-house accommodations. If she couldn't get anything done, she figured she may as well do something for herself.

Fallon was in the middle of making an inquiry about an appointment in the spa when the door opened – revealing both Kirby and Liam. She was on edge immediately, not even apologizing before slapping the phone down before she could give her name.

"...What's going on?" She asked, suspicious straight away that they were up to something.

The phone rang as the person downstairs called back, but Fallon just picked it up and slammed it back down.

"Fallon, you need to sit down," Liam said, deeply serious.

She didn't, of course, even when the other two did, leaving a spot for her next to Liam on the couch. "Fallon," Kirby urged, pointing at the open cushion. "Please."

Liam held a hand out to her, and as concerned as she was, Fallon reluctantly took it and sank down next to him. He immediately drew her against his side, making Fallon's chin lift sharply in question. What were they so worried about?

"I need you to listen to something," Kirby explained. "Well, Liam wants you to."

"No secrets," he murmured in agreement. Fallon was grateful, she thought, for him keeping his promises. But at the same time, what could be so bad that Kirby wanted to hide it from her?

Fallon frowned, and though she nodded her willingness, she still had to know. "How bad is it?"

"Bad enough," Liam replied, his jaw clenching.

Kirby pulled her laptop out of her bag, setting it on the coffee table and turning it towards Fallon. After making sure the speakers were up enough, she pressed play.

Adam was clearly walking around in his room, as the audio raised and lowered as he moved away or towards the hidden bug. And he clearly hadn't found it, because he greeted Ada by name. Fallon sat forward, her hands settling atop her knees and squeezing instinctively. Adam was quiet for a moment, but then he spoke quickly, as if he were talking over someone.

"Yes, I'm completely aware," he said with a level of snark that Fallon didn't expect where Ada was concerned. "I followed her the day after she left with Anders' kid. Not Steven. The other one."

Kirby rolled her eyes, but Liam was still entirely tense, knowing Adam was talking about Fallon. He also knew that it was going to become much worse.

"I know that's what you want," Adam went on. Something about the way he said it distinctly reminded Fallon of the tone she had when she rolled her eyes way too hard. "But if it happens in a hotel, infinite questions will be raised. It has to be once she comes back. If it's inside this house, Blake will never let the truth out. Remember what happened with Mark Jennings?"

Fallon's eyes went wide, mistakenly attributing what happened to Cristal and Mark as having something to do with Ada. But Kirby held a hand up when Fallon opened her mouth to speak.

Adam's voice sounded again: "We need her out of the way, don't we? I can make it look like an accident. And even if they don't believe it, Steven and Sam are moving soon. Blake wouldn't allow much of an inquiry, from what I've seen."

By the time Kirby reached over and pressed pause on the recording, Fallon had torn herself away from Liam and was standing several feet away, her mind almost visibly working. "Fallon-"

"Don't," the brunette held a hand up, sharp and aggressive. Liam, who'd started getting up, sat back down. "So they're going to try and make me come home for something. I just... can't. No matter what it is."

"Your father will be furious," Kirby pointed out.

But Fallon wasn't entirely sure. "Will he? He's kicked me out before, and this time, I'm already gone. If anything, this should be easier."

"Fal..." Liam frowned, sympathizing despite the fact that he wasn't there for the Thanksgiving she was referring to.

"It's fine! I'm- I'm fine, really."

Neither of them seemed to be buying it, but Liam shot Kirby a look when Fallon turned away. Taking the hint, Kirby packed up her laptop and went into her room, shutting the door to give them a moment. He waited a few seconds before finally standing up and walking over to her. She'd crossed her arms and was staring out the window at downtown Atlanta, but when he reached an arm around her waist, Fallon turned towards him.

"We're not going to let anything happen, Fallon. You know that."

"We don't even know what he means," she pointed out, though she didn't look convinced that he meant something less-than-terrible.

He sighed, but drew her further in against his chest. Fallon dropped her chin on his shoulder. "I think it's clear they don't have anything good in mind. But there was no mention of Michael, even after what you heard. He probably doesn't know, Fal."

"But he's still working with someone like her. It's unbelievable. He knows what she's done. Is this really a stretch?"

Liam shook his head a little. "But what's the point in trying something like that? Does he really think Blake wouldn't say anything?"

"I don't know... Maybe Sam was right, and he just wants the Carrington lifestyle to himself. Steven wouldn't care about giving it up, that's obvious. So I guess I'm the one that's a problem."

He stepped back, lifting his hands to her cheeks. "You're not going back there until we find a way to get Adam out. Why don't we just show the audio the your father? Or to Cristal?"

"We can, but what are they going to do? And what if Ada has him do something to Cristal? Or Steven? Or Anders? What if she finds some way to get Blake to alter his will, and then Adam does... something, so Adam can make sure he gets all of the inheritance? I don't need the money or anything, but as soon as Adam gets that, what's the point in keeping any of us around?"

"... Who can we go to with this, then?"

Fallon shook her head out of Liam's gentle hold, starting to pace. "Anders, maybe? Not Sam. He'd be terrified, and rightly so. Cristal can keep a secret, but she'd be worried for Blake and the rest of us. Michael... I don't know what he'd think. But he's the only one who knows her, isn't he? Besides Adam?"

"If you trust him, then I think you ought to take your best shot." Liam looked at her with a truly open expression that she hadn't expected when it came to Culhane. And that clearly showed in her reaction. "Fallon, you don't just stop loving someone completely. There may be bad blood there, but do you really think he would just let Adam hurt you? Much less- … what that sounded like he meant?"

"No, I don't. But do we go to him straight away? Or let them think we don't know? He said he wasn't going to do it while I'm staying here, but... I hate that he knows where we are. Especially Kirby. He's right, if something happened to someone in a hotel like this, everyone would know. But Kirby's at risk as long as she's with me."

Liam leaned back against the table by the phone, watching as she finally gave up her pacing and came to a stop in front of him. His hands reached for hers, and she took hold without hesitation.

"She can stay with Jeff," Fallon mused. "And then I'm going to find a new place to stay, but pretend I'm still here... somehow."

"You're not going to keep going to the office, are you?"

"Not after we talk to Michael tomorrow, no."

He nodded slowly, taking in the anxiety that Fallon was allowing to cover up her deep fear. She was stronger than anybody he'd ever known, and that was only one of the many reasons why he loved her as much as he did. "Come to New York with me."

Fallon blinked, her mouth opening a little. "What if something happens while we're gone?"

"It's a short flight. But it was just an idea," he backtracked. "You know better than I do what your family would need."

"I'll think about it," she promised quietly.

Silence fell over them for a touch too long, so Liam started to think that maybe she just needed time to process. "... Maybe I should go," he offered reluctantly. "You should get some rest if we're going to talk to Culhane tomorrow."

Fallon tilted her head to the side, but let go with one hand to reach up and brush her fingers through his hair. "Stay with me?"

"...Fal, I meant what I said before. I don't want to push things with you."

"I know," she confirmed, even as he stepped around her with the intention of heading for the door. "But I don't want you to go."

Liam of course had to admit that he wished he didn't feel so conflicted. He wanted to do it right this time, so it would feel as real as they said it was. He did. But she was looking at him with those beautiful eyes of hers, and they were so deeply sad. He hated seeing her that way.

"I shouldn't," Liam decided, offering a hand that she refused to take now that he'd released her. He could practically see the way she started to build her defenses back up, preparing to block him out again. "Fallon. Seriously, I don't think it's right for me to- I mean, you're hurting. I won't take advantage of you after we nearly went through with that at the divorce party. You clearly would've regretted it."

"Liam, just stop talking," she snapped, her eyes narrowing. "You aren't listening to me, you're just assuming things. If you're going to keep doing that, then you should go. I get this protective thing from every other man who thinks they know what I want, and I never saw you that way. I don't need that right now. Especially not from you."

He faltered, surprised but trying to figure out how things had gotten mixed up. He'd never intended to be that kind of guy, yet apparently he had? "I want to listen, Fal. Tell me what you meant."

She hesitated, fidgeting and twisting her hands in front of her, before she finally just looked away. Liam determined that she didn't really want him to go, obviously, so he took another step towards her, waiting patiently. Eventually, she seemed to find her voice again, but it was quiet – almost frail.

"...I'm scared. I know Kirby's here, but... I don't know."

Liam had always been aware of this part of her, and he couldn't even begin to blame her for it. She'd been kidnapped and had literally stepped in front of her father when a gun was pointed at him – not that Blake had evidently acknowledged that, according to how he'd heard the story from Sam. At some point, Fallon was bound to reach her limit, wasn't she? Evidently, being threatened by a brother she never believed was even still around – that did it.

And she just wanted him there for the comfort of having him nearby, even if he would never need to intervene between her and Adam or Ada. Liam had no idea what he would actually do if it came to that, but he'd almost gotten into a full-on fight with Jeff once, despite trying to keep his identity secret. So it would inevitably come to him in the moment if he needed it.

"Okay," he said quietly, reaching out to try and coax her back into his arms. She came willingly that time, leaning into him and curling both of her arms around one of his. He sort of cocooned her as best as he could, appreciating the way she tucked her head under his chin while still keeping a tight hold on his arm as if to say she wouldn't let him come into harm's way, either. Or perhaps to maintain some sort of control? Liam didn't care which. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. I can stay."

She nodded against his chest, her cheek squished against him. And though it took some time before either of them were ready to move, he eventually ended up sitting in bed while she went through her bathroom routine, wondering if there was anything else he could or should say to fend off her fears, at least for the moment. But how could he really do that? It sounded quite plainly like Adam was out to get Fallon, and while Liam couldn't work out that thought process for himself, he didn't want to wait for the guy to decide it was time to go through with it.

When Fallon climbed into bed next to him and pulled the sheets up around them, she rolled onto her side and dropped her head against his upper arm. Her fingers slid between his to hold his hand tightly, and he reached across himself to comb through her hair with his fingers.

"You're gonna be just fine, Fallon. I promise."

"But you can't," she argued, tilting her head back to look up at him. Liam was instantly aware of the concern behind her gaze, which was momentarily overpowering her fear. "Nobody can promise that."

He frowned slightly. She was right, as usual. "No, that's fair. But I can promise you that if it comes down to it, I'll do what I have to in order to keep you safe."

She considered that for a moment before tilting her chin back down and shifting a little against his arm to get comfortable. "Yeah, me too."

All at once, he both hated hearing that, but also loved it. Loved her. And he didn't hesitate to tell her so. He wouldn't, anymore.

"I love you, too," she replied easily, bringing a smile to his face that belied the tone of their conversation. He started to close his eyes, and tried to pretend that sleep would come easy. That is, until she blurted something out that Liam wasn't actually convinced she meant to say aloud. "Please don't give up on me again. Don't leave."

"I won't." He squeezed her hand, waiting for her to return the gesture before continuing. "...I must be the luckiest divorcé in the world," he added, hoping to lighten her mood.

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Most people hate their former spouses, don't they? While I'm falling more in love with mine every day. And sometimes, when I'm not being more stubborn than her, she even loves me back."

Fallon swatted at him lightly. "There's no sometimes about it, Liam, and you know it."

"I do," he agreed.