A/N: This may be the last chapter uploaded for a couple of weeks, though this fic will definitely be continued. Just getting a bit tired and sore with Kiddo 3, so don't get as many opportunities to sit at the computer. But I'm hoping to have this story finished before bub arrives!

Many thanks to CPQ for beta-reading (you're doin' a great job, chica!); and to Dragonfly Rider and The Incredible Dancing Betty for the reviews!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own the TMNT, or any related characters (much to their relief, I'm sure!) If there is anything else in this story you recognise from somewhere else, then I don't own that either.

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Raph ducked back into Taus' room for a moment to fetch his sai before peering out the alcove entrance to check the coast was clear. From the devastation below it was obvious he didn't have to worry too much about being spotted. There were plastic cups and plates strewn everywhere, the floor was mottled with stains ranging from trampled food to goodness-knows-what. Copious amounts of 'silly string' and toilet paper were tangled about the bridge, all around the lounge area, and spread under the dining table.

Everyone he could see was still passed out. Leatherhead with his back legs in the pool, his tail idly moving back and forth in the water as he slept. Usagi was a curled ball of white fur in Splinters' armchair, his daisho laid neatly on the table before him. Mike was sat at the far end of the couch, feet on the coffee table, arms flung out along the top of the cushions with his head lolling back, snoring loudly; Renet lying curled on the sofa facing him with her head on his lap.

Heading down the stairs Raph couldn't help gaping in amused awe at the scene, wishing like heck he could remember more of what had happened; lots more, as he subconsciously touched his lips. Jerking his hand away as he realised what he was doing an odd notion popped into his mind,
'Who'd have thunk? Huns' daughter; she's pretty much the last person on Earth I should be hopin' to… remember.' Despite the thought he still couldn't resist glancing back up the stairs, a small rueful smile invading his face as he caught sight of her walking into the first passageway with an armful of clothes, on her way to the bathroom. Shaking his head to clear it he cracked a huge cheeky grin as another thought struck. He crept into Dons' lab, emerging a few minutes later with his prize; the camera.

To his amazement the flash, and his sniggers, failed to disturb anyone in the lounge.
"What was that light?" Leo croaking from the kitchen doorway almost made Raph drop the camera in surprise. After a brief juggling act he held up the device for his brother to see with an evil grin.
"A guarantee Mike will be cleanin' the kitchen this year!" he whispered triumphantly. Leos' reprimanding scowl quickly turned to a wry smile as he looked back at the mess behind him.
"Good." Leo agreed "Coffee?" With a nod Raph followed as Leo stepped back through the door.

The kettle was already close to boiling. Leo bent over to rest his elbows on the bench, hands clasped over ears, eyes closed tight, as the burbling grew louder. He waited till the appliance had finished its task and calmed again to cautiously release his head.
"You ok bro?" Raph asked in bemusement as he fetched out two mugs and dumped spoonfuls of coffee and sugar into both.
"Yeah." Leo sighed "No. I'm never mixing beer and saki again…" he promised with a groan, grasping his forehead again.
"Here, this'll help." assured Raph, shoving a steaming mug under Leos' beak. Watching his 'responsible' brother grimace at the strong scent, as if a bucket may be required in short order, was almost enough to make Raph laugh out loud. However, Leo managed to steel himself to take a sip of the brew.

Raph did laugh at the faces Leo gurned, running the gamut from revulsion to determination as he finally managed to swallow the drink.
"Ugh! How much coffee did you put in this?" gasped Leo.
"Lots." stated Raph, his own grin contorting to a grimace as he took a sip himself, ignoring Leos' dark look. After a quick internal debate, that involved many a dubious glance between the contents of his mug and his surrounds, Leo sighed resignedly. In a swift motion he up-ended the mug, downing its contents in a couple of gulps. Raph watched, eye ridge raised, as his brother went an odd shade of pale green; bracing a hand against the counter as his normal colour slowly returned.
"Augh, I think I needed that. You know we have to get this place cleaned up before Sensei returns." Leo rasped.

Rolling his eyes Raph grunted disparagingly, Leo ignoring him as he nursed his head again.
"Uh, now if only we could get Mike to stop that darn racket!" frowned Leo.
"I c'n fix that." Raph grinned evilly, turning to head out the door.
"Hey!" Leo called "Don't be too rough, ok?" Raph gave a resigned nod before quietly walking over to his sleeping brother. Moving around the couch he tugged lightly on the orange bandanna hanging down the back of it. No response.
"Mikey…, hey Mi-ike-e-y…" Raph crooned, patting him on the cheek. Mike reacted with a snuffle, quickly falling back into his regular snore, louder than before.

Glancing up to see Leo leaning in the kitchen doorway, looking disappointed the noise hadn't been stopped yet, Raph smiled sweetly before flicking Mike solidly between the eyes.
"Arrgh! What the…?" Mike jerked upright, rubbing his stinging face "Raph! You rotten… Eep!" he squeaked, flattening himself against the couch again as he realised who was on his lap.
"Hehe, grapes are fun an' hummishmmmmm…" mumbled Renet, quickly dozing off again.
"Cripes! She even talks in her sleep!" whispered Mike in astonishment.
"Heh! C'mon 'Romeo', time to clean up." Raph teased in Mikes' ear, grinning at the look of pure horror Mike gave him.
"You don't think I'd ask…? There's no way! 'Cos I wouldn't... kiss… there's just, NO WAY!" Mike desperately put his case, slamming his hand over his own mouth as Renet stirred slightly. Very carefully Mike edged his leg out from under Renets' head, quickly replacing it with a pillow so he could escape the couch. He shot Raph a dirty look before gripping his head and stomach with a long groan.

"Oh ma-a-an, I don't feel too good…" Mike looked to both his brothers with puppy dog eyes pleading for compassion "I think I should just go to bed an' rest for a while… you guys c'n get started without me, right? 'Sides, I did do most of the work yester… whaz'at?" Mike asked as Raph pulled the camera out from where he'd tucked it in his belt, to dangle it by its strap.
"Evidence."
"No."
"Yep. You still thinkin' of leavin' us to clean up this mess?"

Mike looked to Leo in desperation. Aside from a small, irregular tic at one corner of his mouth, Leos' deadpan expression didn't offer Mike any hope.
"Awwww, guys?" whined Mike, jumping back from the couch as Renet murmured something again. Beaming, Raph herded Mike towards the kitchen with an arm about his shoulders.
"C'mon, I'll make you a coffee to get ya started…"
"Ok. Hey, you don't really think I've asked Renet to be my… girlfriend, or anything? Do ya?" Mike asked in wide-eyed concern. Raph looked him straight in the eye.
"I wouldn't worry about it if I were you. She may be a ditz, but she's not desperate."

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"You are all insane. I told you yesterday that the best cure for a hangover is water and rest." Don admonished his siblings, handing out paracetamol and ant-acid to his brothers, Usagi and Leatherhead as they all sat around the partially cleared dining table.
"Which is why you're feelin' so good this mornin', huh?" Raph asked sarcastically as Don downed some of the tablets himself. Don eyed him in reproach, admitting quietly,
"Ok, so I might have forgotten to drink any water last night… I still can't believe the first thing you all do is drink coffee. All that's gonna do is make you feel worse!" Mike moaned feebly in agreement, not lifting his head from where he rested it on the table.

"Whoa, we did do well last night, hey?" joked Tau as she approached, greeted with weak smiles from most. Mike didn't move his head, giving a loud, melodramatic groan as Tau stood behind him, gratefully receiving tablets from Don.
"Mikey!" she exclaimed in concern, just stopping herself reaching for his shoulder "Are you alright?"
"Ooohh…, I hurt… everywhere." he managed to turn his head slightly to give her a feeble grin "But I'm sure I wouldn't feel so bad if you gave me a cuddle!" Tau treated him to a level stare before she leant over close to his face, Mikes' grin widening in anticipation.
"Suffer." she muttered cheekily, with an evil grin, before flouncing off towards the kitchen. Mike lifted his head to gape after her in dramatised disbelief, till he was distracted by the smug smirk Raph was failing to hide behind his glass of water.

Mike raised an eye ridge, but didn't get to question his brother as April and Casey arrived at the table, Gen trailing a short distance behind them.
"Good morning everyone!" sang April, wrapping her arms around Mikes' neck "And thankyou for letting us use your room again, Mikey." She gave him a quick, light kiss to the top of his head. Mike grinned blissfully, impervious to the dark looks from Casey, and Don.
"Hmph, you obviously got the better deal. That canvas thingy you boys have upstairs is comfortable enough to sleep in, getting out of it is a bit tricky though!" muttered Gen, nursing the back of his head.

Raph purposefully engrossed himself in taking a very long, slow drink of water, blatantly ignoring Leos' sudden intense scrutiny; the rest of the table continuing with morning banter around them. Finally emptying the glass Raph had no choice but to place it, with exaggerated care, back on the table.
"So where did you sleep last night?" Leo interrogated in a low voice. Raph shrugged, knowing no answer he could give would satisfy his brother; he opted for playing dumb. He felt a small sense of satisfaction as Leo scowled at him in annoyance.
"I'm in no mood for games this morning, Raph. Where did you sleep?" Leos' stern tone didn't leave much room for argument. Raph racked his unco-operative brain in a futile attempt to come up with a plausible, though obviously untruthful, answer; he tried to buy himself some time.
"Uh…, well…, it's kinda… embarrassing…"
"I'll say." Tau made them both start, neither had realised she had crouched behind them "I found him hoicking his guts up in my bathroom, loud enough to get me outta bed!" she rolled her eyes dramatically, taking a drink of water from the glass she held.

Leos' eyes flicked from one to the other, trying to figure the truth of the matter. Raph had coloured slightly, refusing to face him; but Tau met his eyes levelly, with no nervous tics or other tell-tale signs of deception. Leo let his serious expression dissolve into one of sympathetic disgust for his brother.
"Alright." he conceded hesitantly, treating them both to a final sceptical glance, before standing to gain the attention of the group "I hate to interrupt, but we have to get started on cleaning this place up…"

"Thanks…, I think." whispered Raph in an aside to Tau; sure Leo couldn't hear over the tasks he was issuing to his brothers. Tau gave him a silent 'phew' and relieved smile, before wiping the expression off her face as Leo turned to look down at them.
"Raph, you start with mopping the floors as they're cleared. If we get the dojo done first, hopefully Splinter won't think too badly of us when he first walks in. Come on guys! The sooner we start, the sooner we'll finish." Leo prompted, quickly turning on his heel to march into the kitchen for cleaning supplies. With many a dark muttering the other turtles slowly heaved themselves up from the table to trudge disconsolately after their brother; though Mike stepped a bit quicker to escape to the kitchen as Renet sat up groggily on the couch.

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Leo sat at his desk, trying to concentrate on the characters he was brushing onto the paper. He wasn't having much luck; he was still feeling seedy, his hand was stiff from grinding the scrubbing brush into the floor until Splinter had ordered him to stop, and his mind kept wandering. He was still trying to grasp why Splinter had suggested, in his inexorable way, that he retire to his room for a while.

He'd tried so hard to motivate his brothers into proving their ability to be responsible, and get the lair back to normal before their Sensei returned. He'd even been grateful for the help of their friends, and had told them so. But that hadn't mitigated the frustration he'd felt at their slow progress, or his disenchantment when Splinter arrived well before they'd accomplished their task. Splinter had seemed delighted that they had started on the cleaning, and had even suggested that they ease their already sluggish pace. Of course, his brothers had immediately taken that advice.

Leo didn't quite understand it himself, but that had just urged him onto working even harder; feeling he had to pick up the slack. Again. He paused in what he was doing to stretch his neck and shoulders for a moment, though it did little to alleviate the oppressive disappointment he felt.

Some of it was for his brothers. Why couldn't they find the strength of will to fight their puerile whims? True, they had all shown they could act maturely on occasion; some more than others. But none of them could deny that they were practically adults. Surely by now they should always be thinking of the consequences of their actions, concerned about their reputation, and willing to work through any discomfort to get the job done, preferably without complaint.

However, he couldn't quiet the nagging thought that he was being a little too harsh in his assessment of his kin. After all most of his dissatisfaction was due to the fact he'd let himself fall prey to his own temptation to let his guard down. He hadn't intended to get drunk, but he'd underestimated the effects of the mix of alcohol. Remembering what he could of the previous night it had taken surprisingly few drinks, in his opinion, for him to get to the point where he didn't bother keeping count anymore. And if he was that intoxicated, it was a fair bet that everyone else had been worse.

What if there had been an attack, or an accident? It was his foremost responsibility to ensure the safety of his family and friends, and he hadn't even realised till this morning that Angel had left during the night. Luckily Casey had managed to get in touch with her Grandmother over the phone, and confirmed she'd gotten home safely. Still, Leo took it as proof of his short-fall.

Hadn't he already learnt this lesson? That letting ones own desires and weaknesses dictate ones actions was a sure path to failure, and hurt. If he hadn't ignored his better judgement (or, he grudgingly had to admit, that of his brothers) he wouldn't have misplaced his trust in such a way that had almost led to his family to being annihilated. Yet here he was, making the same mistake once more…

The sound of his door opening jerked Leo out of his reverie.
"Hi." smiled Tau, as she stood in the doorway with a couple of mugs "Splinter's made one of his medicinal teas, and this time it doesn't taste too bad! He thought you might like a cup?" She entered at Leos' nod, handing him his drink. Leo gave her a curt smile in thanks before turning back to his work, 'tsking' as he noticed droplets of ink across the bottom of the page over which he'd unwittingly held his brush.

"That's a shame." murmured Tau, peering over his shoulder "What are you writing?" Leo huffed, mainly at his own stupidity for wasting ink and paper.
"It's a passage from Sun Tzu's 'Art of War', one of my favourites." he explained, a little tersely.
"Oh." Despite being curious about what the lettering actually meant, Tau decided not to press for the translation. Instead she took the opportunity, whilst he was distracted with a futile attempt to wipe the ink splatters off the page, to have a quick glance around. She hadn't been in Leos' room before; it was the only room in the lair she hadn't entered, except for the armoury.

It was pretty much what she'd expected. For the most part it was meticulously neat; to the point it felt almost barren, despite the bookcases and art that lined the walls. There was nothing she'd call a knick-knack; everything had a set purpose and place. Though she couldn't read the Japanese scripts mounted on the walls, she had no doubt they were all sage advice or proverbs. The only exception was a small picture of a landscape featuring a Torii gate; depicted in simple, flowing lines and mounted over the head of the narrow bed. The only other furniture in the room was the small writing desk, study lamp and wooden chair.

There were two items that weren't strictly tidy. One was a thick candle that sat, unlit, on the desk. From the runnels of wax down its side, and gathered to almost overflowing on the plate, Tau guessed it had once been twice as tall as it was now. The other was a large, battered folder lying on the bed; the corners of a few sheets of paper jutting from it. She glanced nervously at Leos' back, sure he was too distracted to notice her as he screwed up the paper he'd been working on and fetched a new sheet from the draw below the desk.

Curiosity getting the better of her Tau edged one of the sheets out of the folder, surprised as her espionage revealed a stunning image of a farmhouse. It was drawn in the same simple, monochromatic style as the picture on the wall, but still readily conveyed the detail of the place, down to the ruts in the track between the avenues of trees leading to it.

"Ahem." Leos' interruption almost made Tau jump out of her skin. Luckily she managed not to spill the remnants of her tea.
"S… sorry! I didn't mean to pry." she flustered "Well…, maybe a little. I was just curious an'… you know this is really good!" she assured, pointing to the illustration with an ingratiating smile, hoping she wasn't about to receive a lecture, or worse. She was sure her fears were about to be realised as he scowled, though he looked to the drawing rather than at her.
"You think so?" he asked. Tau managed to stifle her sigh of relief.
"Yeah." Brashly she decided to push her luck. "Do you… mind if I have a bit of a look?"

Leos' frown didn't waver, though he shuffled nervously where he sat for a moment.
"Uh…, yeah, go ahead." he finally permitted; quickly turning back to smooth the new sheet of paper on his desk and set back to work. Cautiously Tau sat next to the folder, slowly opening it to look through the pages within. Since Leo seemed intent on ignoring her now she took her time to admire each image.

Most were rough depictions of the steps for kata. Tau had seen similar representations before, though she found these intriguing since the sketches contained mutant turtles as opposed to the humans she was used to. Interspersed with these was the occasional picture of a landscape, and more rarely a portrait. There was one page dedicated to various rough sketches of Splinter, another detailed the face of a Japanese man she didn't recognise.

The last item in the folder was a large envelope; 'Bayview, Room 179' neatly written on it near one corner. It wasn't sealed shut, though it had seen better days; it looked as though it had been badly crumpled at some point. Despite having Leos' permission to look, she still felt nervous about opening it; glancing at him again to make sure he was engrossed in his lettering before she did so.

There were two sheets within that had obviously shared the envelopes misfortune; the first was similar to the rough kata sketches, though the images didn't run in sequence. It was more a collection of stances. Tau frowned slightly in confusion, wondering why this set featured a human figure, dressed in fitting black, with a lone katana. She figured it must have been an early attempt, since the face of the figure invariably consisted of mere simple lines where the main features should be, in contrast to the detail of the slim body.

The second sheet was similar to the first, in that it displayed a human in a variety of poses; though none of them were martial. One showed the person stood, looking back over their shoulder, past their katana hilt. Another of them in a simple, elegant dress, hands on hips. And a few sketches, face and shoulders only, of various expressions.

However, the one that really caught Taus' attention filled one quarter of the sheet. It was unusual in that none of the lines were sharp; the whole picture had been created with the flat of the pencil making it seem alive with shadows. Even so, the detail was immaculate, down to the hint of a smile playing on the lips. Despite some smudging from the rough treatment the page had received, Tau had no trouble recognising who it was.

"Damn! I'd forgotten those were in there!" Tau gasped in surprise as Leo wrenched the sheets from her hands, quickly turning away to shove them violently back into the envelope.
"Leo! Be careful, you're gonna wreck 'em!"
"So? I never should have dragged this out of the bin in the first place!" Leo shot back, starting to scrunch one end of the stuffed envelope in his fist.
"Leo, don't!" beseeched Tau, the note of desperation in her voice enough to make him pause in his destruction to glare at her over his shoulder.
"Why not?" he demanded brusquely.
"Because you'll regret it." she explained in earnest.

Leo stared at his clenched fist for a moment, refusing to relax it as he muttered,
"How the heck would you know how I feel?"
"I… don't, I guess. But Raph told me you were… friends with her." Taus' admission rankling him, Leo scowled darkly back at her.
"You can forget everything that Raph's told you about it, 'cos it wasn't like that at all!" he growled. Tau chewed her lip for a moment, trying to think of response that wouldn't rile him further.
"So, what was it like?" she asked softly. Leo grimaced before he turned back to his desk. Part of Tau wanted to escape the odd tension in the room, but something in the rigid set of his shoulders made her stay. After what seemed an age Leo sighed, his whole posture slumping as he finally let go of the envelope to let it drop on the desk.

"I thought she understood honour." he broke the silence with a whisper "That there was a chance she could be saved. But I was wrong. She refused to renounce her father. Despite her promises, she betrayed… us…, I should have known better…" he trailed off, dropping his head in shame. Quiet descended again as Tau digested his answer, her brow starting to furrow slightly in confusion. Finally she asked in a murmur,
"Saved from what?" Leos' head jerked slightly before he shot her a look that clearly questioned her grip on reality.
"The Shredder, of course." he stated emphatically.
"Oh…, it's just I don't really see why she needed rescuing from him." Tau replied quietly "I know he could be demanding of her at times, but I always thought they had a pretty good relationship. At least they respected each other…"

Leo gaped in disbelief.
"He was evil, dishonourable, and he corrupted her with that! If it wasn't for him she'd of had a chance to be good!" he argued. Tau tilted her head in consideration.
"Maybe…, but I doubt she saw it that way." she answered with a shrug.
"What do you mean?" Leo asked.
"Well, I kinda like to consider myself to be 'good', though I'm the first to admit that my Dad isn't a saint." she explained. Leo dismissed her point with a shake of his head.
"You're different. You were lucky that you weren't raised by your father, and you've forsaken him now anyway."

It was Leos' turn to look confused as Tausha shifted her gaze to the wall, raising her chin despite a slight tremble in her lips.
"I may not have lived with him my whole life, but I wouldn't be who I am now without him." she said resolutely "He named me, insisted I learn to defend myself; heck I wouldn't even be here if it weren't for him. I may not agree with everything that he does, or want to live with him. But that doesn't mean I don't… love him." Leo was taken aback by the steel in her eyes as she met his again, before she continued.
"He's still my Father, Leo. Nothing can change that. I would never betray you, or your family to him. But, I won't betray him to you either. Does that make me dishonourable?" she asked sincerely.

Leos' brow furrowed deeper as he pondered.
"I… No, I guess not. But you were never involved with Huns' crimes, so you've never really lost your honour anyway…" Tau quirked an eyebrow in bemusement before she answered,
"I'm afraid that's not quite right either… Heh, you know the first time I ran into Raph he beat the crud outta me and a heap of Dragons 'cos we were knocking over a discount store. It's true, I didn't have a lot of choice in being there… but it wasn't the first time. And I'm sure I could've gotten out of it if I'd kicked up enough of a fuss. To be honest, it was better than being cooped up in the apartment 24-7! I guess what I'm trying to say is that my hands aren't that clean. And while I know a lot of what my Dad gets up to isn't… right, I've never considered him to be really evil. As far as he's concerned he's just doing what he needs to, to get somewhere in this world."

They sat, both lost in thought for a moment, until Tau sighed.
"It's kinda ironic really. Mum never kept what Dad did for a living from me, and ever since I understood what it meant I've dreaded hearing news about gang wars and stuff. I've always been afraid I'd see footage of him being carted off in a body-bag, or something. And now, here I am, friends with the guys that'll probably end up doing him in!" she shook her head sadly, continuing,
"Life's nuts; and sometimes thinking about things too much… doesn't make it easier. Besides, I don't think you were that wrong about her in the first place. I didn't get to know her that well, but she was always nice to me, even stood up for me once. And I gotta admit I have a fair bit of respect for her; she's the only woman I've ever seen make my Dad back down from a fight! I know I wasn't there, so I don't know the full story; but I do feel she's been dealt the rough end of the stick a bit. Locked up for crimes that weren't really her fault, losing her father, being shunned by the Foot for failing to save him; and then my Dad enjoyed visiting her just to rub all that, and the fact he's got her job now, in her face. Gees, he can be an insensitive jerk at times." Tau gave a humourless laugh, before falling silent again, studying her lap.

Leo disturbed the long quiet.
"But you love him, regardless?" he asked quietly. Tau nodded resignedly, giving a wry smile.
"Yep, 'fraid so." she admitted.
"Does Raph know?" a hint of concern in his voice.
"Yeah, 'course. I couldn't keep something like that from him, anymore anyway. Heh, doesn't mean he likes it!" she assured as Leo eyed her dubiously "But I guess we've kinda agreed to disagree on that front. Raph has his point of view, I have mine; and we both respect that. We've talked about it, so I can understand why he hates my Dad. And I can understand why my Dad hates him! I also know that the chances of me changing either of their minds are practically nil; though I don't really feel it's my place to. That's between them, all I can really do is hope that neither of 'em… win."

"Would you hate him, if he did kill Hun?" probed Leo. Tau took a moment to meet his gaze with sad eyes.
"I don't think so, but I honestly don't know… I hope not, either way it works out. Just have to keep hoping I never find out…" she smiled weakly. Leo shook his head slightly in scepticism.
"It's odd, that you and Raph seem to talk about… so much. He's never really been into sharing his feelings with anyone." Tausha shrugged.
"It's not always easy, you know; for either of us. But anything worth having is worth working for. That's what friendship is all about, isn't it? Being there for each other, even when you don't agree? Maybe, if you'd taken her side into account a little more, you wouldn't be beating yourself up so much over losing her friendship now." Tau appealed gently.

Leo scowled after a moment of thought.
"It wouldn't have mattered. Even if we'd had a chance to really talk about it, she would never have turned from her Father, anyway." he determined.
"Would you have turned away from Splinter, if she'd asked that of you?" Tau asked softly. Leo glared at her in disgusted shock.
"Of course not, I'd never be that dishonourable!" he answered vehemently.
"So, why do you consider her dishonourable for not deserting her father?" her tone calm and level.
"I, ah…, because it's…" Leo flustered in confusion, before he conceded in a whisper "I don't know."

Tau stood, laying a sympathetic hand on his shoulder.
"Maybe you should take the time to really listen to her side of the story then." she suggested. Leo looked up at her, something akin to defeat in his gaze.
"It's too late. There's no way I could get to talk to her now. Besides, she hates me." he murmured.
"Then, you should hold onto them." Tau pointed to the envelope on his desk "At least then you can remember what you had, a good friend in bad circumstance." she gave his shoulder a light squeeze in consolation before turning to leave the room.

"Tau?" he called after her before she disappeared out the door. She turned back to see him shuffling nervously, his mouth working slightly as he struggled for something to say.
"It's alright; I won't tell anyone you have 'em. Ok?" she promised. Leo smiled in relief, nodding his acceptance.

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A/N: Just a quick point of explanation, and some useless background info, lol! This will be revealed later in this series, but not in this fic, so to avoid any confusion; 'Bayview' is a prison in reality, located in downtown Manhattan. It is a medium security institution, for female inmates only. Here's a bit of info about it I trawled off the net, for those that are interested;

Most prisons are flat affairs. They take what space they need by reaching out horizontally, typically occupying 40 to 50 acres of rural land. Not Bayview. This combination general confinement and work release facility for women achieves its space by stretching skyward: its "acreage" is vertical. It is an urban institution, contained entirely within the walls of an eight-story building at the corner of West 20th Street and 11th Avenue in downtown Manhattan's West Chelsea district.

Traditional prisons have grounds and yards outside their buildings; Bayview has city sidewalks. The sidewalks are of course out-of-bounds to the inmates, for whom the only "outside" is the roof. One side is equipped with a wrap-around, chain-link enclosure, like a bird cage, to prevent volleyballs from disappearing over the side, while the other side is used by inmates who just want to enjoy the flower garden, fresh air and exhilarating sights.

It's not called "Bayview" for nothing. The Hudson River is just across 11th Avenue. On a clear day, you can see the Statue of Liberty down river. Opposite the facility are the Chelsea piers, where a rescue ship carrying the survivors of the Titanic docked 89 years ago.