Dulce Jesus, yo tengo un problema con "El Pit." Bleck.

Okay, I'm sorry for the repost. Thanks to a minor problem with fact, I took this down and researched it more thoroughly. Now it is back up, without a change. I'm sorry for spamming your emails.

*For later in this chapter* However, allow me to say that electroshock therapy has never had a good name, and with the comprehensive studies coming out, I have firm belief in the good of the future of electroshock therapy. The term is used loosely, and I'm sorry if it appears to be offensive or disconcerting. It simply refers to the usage of electricity to reset the brain.

I wish to thank an anonymous reviewer, however, for pointing this out and making me research such unknown topics more thoroughly, and my friend, Dylan, for helping clarify a few details.

Desmond was already in the bed when Shaun came back in. He smiled at the British man and settled down as he crawled in. The prophet wrapped his arms around him and pulled him close, breathing deep.

"How are you handling all of this?"

"Pretty good. Aside from the trip-up with the kid, things haven't been too bad."

Shaun turned to face him. "Are you sure?"

He smiled. "Yeah. They're still nothing compared to when I haven't taken them."

He fell asleep shortly after.

The next morning had him stumbling out the door, clutching his nose as if it were broken. He was cursing as he turned and fled from the house and shouted at some person who he ran into before pushing them out of the way. He slashed at a Templar goon as he staggered around, making his way to the center, yelling back at his pursuer. He cried out in pain when a gunshot pierced his lung, and he fell to his knees, gripping at the hole in his chest as he fought to stay awake. He watched the blood drip from his nose, large, fat drops to feed the hungry earth, and he briefly thought that he wasn't going to make it. He heard a familiar voice call to him, and he reached out, grabbing the nearest shirt as he whispered, "Leonardo," and passed out.

When he woke next, Shaun was hovering over him, looking considerably concerned, and he blinked at the feeling of the water being spread over his face. He gripped his head and leaned back, complaining to Shaun about his head and chest hurting.

"I'm not surprised, Desmond, but can you speak English?"

He blinked and looked around at the mass of faces. So they weren't in Rome.

"No, we're not. I need you to try to remember English. Not Italian."

He squeezed his eyes shut. "Dove—W-Where we are?"

"Texas, Desmond. In the United States of America. Remember, Desmond?"

"D-Desm—She called me that in the room of the Apple."

"Yes, that's your name, Desmond Miles."

"Des-mond M-ile-s." The words were familiar, but they felt foreign, heavy and thick upon his tongue as if he were a child learning to read.

"Yes, that's your name."

He curled forward as things started to come back to him. "I feel like I've been shot."

"I do believe that's what you thought happened. I think you shouted that Cesare got you."

"I did?"

"Yes, now, take your medications. I've gotten permission to increase the distribution to three times every twenty-four hours."

He reached out and gripped onto Shaun's shirt lightly, still holding his head with one hand. "H-how… why?"

"I don't know, Desmond, but your medications aren't working as well."

He slowly remembered himself as he was forced to swallow the horse pills and rise. The small town was gathered, seemingly curious, as he looked around.

"He's not here."

"I told him to stay back in the house so it wouldn't make the Bleeding Effect worse."

Desmond leaned heavily on Shaun the entire way back to the house. When he staggered through the door, after Shaun had him lay on the couch, he could hear Shaun and Ezio talking in the kitchen as he closed his eyes.

"Is it okay to see him?"

"I would give him another ten minutes or so to let the medications begin working."

There was silence.

"I am sorry I did not step in sooner."

"I'm not the one you need to apologize too."

There was more silence—a longer silence.

"I know."

He heard Shaun come walking out.

"I've got you some breakfast. You need something in your belly, Desmond."

The only answer he dignified it with was a grunt. Shaun sighed, and he heard the plate get set lightly down on the table. Shortly after, he forced himself to sit up and eat. Following that, Ezio came out and sat down hesitantly across from him.

"Hey, don't be so hard on yourself. I'm cool now. I took my meds too early yesterday, and I didn't wake up to take more last night."

"Desmond, I am sorry you have to deal with this."

He smiled warmly at his father. "Neh, it's okay. I've gotten use to it. It's not that bad."

"You thought that Cesare had broken into a brothel and beat you up. You ran into the streets of 'Rome,' were shot by Borgia, and thought that Shaun was Leonardo. That is not bad?"

Desmond shrugged. "It's all how you look at it. I'd say I'm lucky. I recovered swiftly."

Ezio leaned forward. "But if I had stepped in and helped, you woul—"

"It's not your fault, Giova—" He stopped short, looking wide-eyed. "Shit. I'm so sorr—"

"It is not your fault. If I had done more…"

The silence that followed was pregnant and sad until Shaun came in and sat across from them.

"The assassins need me back tomorrow."

"Seriously? That's ridiculous!"

Shaun shrugged, and he could almost see the hurt in Ezio's eyes.

"They said they want to try electroshock therapy with you."

Desmond rose, furious. "No fucking way! I'm not gonna let them do that! I don't want to forget everything!"

"We're running out of options if you're going to be cured of the Bleeding Effect."

"I don't want to!"

"Desmond," Ezio whispered, the guilt apparent in his voice, "perhaps it is for the best."

"But!"

"Think of it this way, Desmond," Shaun began, "if you undergo treatment, you can rebuild a relationship with your father brand new."

He was floored. He had all ready rejected electroshock therapy. He still didn't want it. "Isn't there something else? What about the talk shows and crap where they want to know about it?"

Shaun raised an eyebrow. "I know that others are fascinated by it, but I don't give a flying rat's arse about what they want, and I know you don't enjoy suffering."

Desmond fell silent, opening his mouth to speak before closing it again and plopping down on the couch, covering his face with his hands.

"No, I just want them all to go away."

"And I know it will be hard, Desmond, starting over, but I have recordings and videos from after the ordeal. We'll set you up right."

The prophet was silent for several minutes.

"No more medications?"

"If it works, you're correct."

"No more hallucinations?"

"Correct."

"No more nightmares?"

"Correct."

He fell silent for a few more minutes. "I guess I can try."

Shaun nodded once. "I know it will be hard, but I think that it will pay off."

"Are you sure—"

"Technology has advanced a long way."

Desmond nodded once before rising. "I feel kinda sick. I think I'm gonna use the bathroom."

"Desmond…"

He turned and looked at his lover, who looked dually pained. Desmond offered a weak smile and even weaker laugh as he walked out of the room. When he was gone, Shaun hung his head.

"Does he really have to go through with this?" Ezio murmured.

There was the sound of someone retching in the hall bathroom, and Shaun let out a shaky breath. He jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Ezio. A few second later, he was crying into Ezio's shirt.

"I don't want him to do this, Ezio," he whispered. "He won't remember anything about us. Nothing. All our fond memories will just… disappear. Everything. He'll remember nothing about us."

Ezio drew him into a tight hug, trying to stop the tears that threatened to spill. "If only I had stepped in—"

Shaun shoved him back, hands clenched tightly, ignoring the tears.

"Stepped in?" he screeched. "Stepped in? You useless bag of flesh! You had the Goddamn location of the Apple the entire time! You could've avoided all of this if you had just fucking told them! They wouldn't have been able to get in any way without his DNA! You bloody asshole! You didn't even consider him, did you?"

Ezio was in a defensive position, and his voice had a warning edge. "I didn't know what the Animus did!"

"Bollocks! You could've accessed that! I know you could have! If you had just reached out—"

"They barred me from everything that had to do with him!"

"Bullshit! You knew they found him, so why didn't you raise Hell? A real parent would have!"

"How dare you say that I'm not a real—"

"Even my mother searched for me for years after I was kidnapped! You just took it like a dog—"

He was cut off as Ezio's fist connected with his cheek. Shaun snarled and retaliated, and soon, the two were locked in a fistfight.

"I didn't know what to do!"

Shaun swung, but Ezio blocked him. He narrowly avoided the counterattack as he spat, "Neither did my mother, but she had the entire international police force out looking for me!"

He made a cheap shot at Ezio's knees and connected. The man fell heavily, and Shaun was on him like a pack of wolves.

"I don't have that luxury as an assassin, if you've forgotten!" He slugged the older man in the face.

"You've got an entire organization behind you!" Ezio kneed him in the gut.

"I don't have access—"

"Bloody tit! You could have gained access!" They ran into the coffee table and knocked off Desmond's dirtied breakfast plate. Shaun grunted when his spine hit the edge of the table, and he lashed out, biting the man's jaw, desperate to create some sort of pain. Ezio hissed and tried to shove him back, but Shaun blocked his hands.

"You could've just given us the Goddamn location!" Shaun shouted before trying to bite him again, but Ezio was prepared and slammed a hand into his face, slamming his head into the ground.

"I know!" A solid punch connected with Shaun's nose, and he landed a good blow to the ribs. "I fucking know, you insolent little brat!" Ezio's had his shirt in his fist and was using him as a punching bag. "You think I don't have nightmares now that I've know what I've done to my own son! You think I won't suffer worse than when I watched my family die? I inflicted all of this upon my own son!"

Shaun took a cheap shot and lunged for his eyes. He connected with one, and Ezio reeled back, giving him just enough time to throw the man off. The two were on their feet in an instant. Ezio was holding the eye that Shaun had gotten, and Shaun was popping his nose back into place. Both looked feral, snarling and growling at each other.

"Uh… guys?"

They turned to see Desmond wiping his mouth off, upset and a little queasy.

"I don't see why you two are fighting. What's done is done. Learn and move on." Desmond eyed them both closely. "And go clean up. You both look stupid."

"Move on?" Shaun seethed, his fists clenching. "That man," he pointed at Ezio, "has ruined your life, and you say just 'move on'?"

Desmond gave him a serious stare. "Yeah, if I held a grudge for every little thing that happened in my life, I'd never be able to move on."

Shaun looked furious.

"Yeah, sure, it sucks that I'm going crazy, and it sucks that I have to undergo electroshock therapy, but the way I see it is that I could have ended up like Subject Sixteen. I could have not been able to save the world. And you know what else? I still have my father. I still have my faith that you won't just give up on me when my memory is wiped. I still have a roof over my head and warm food on the table. And the best part, Shaun? I still have you. And I'll always have you. I'm sure of that. And that's why I know I can do the electroshock therapy. I don't want to, but I know you'll be there to help me through the entire thing."

Shaun looked floored. Desmond stood there, watching him. After a few seconds, he crossed the room and hugged his lover tightly.

"Thank you, Shaun."

It took him a while to recover and hug Desmond back, but when he did, the hug was tight and crushing. He swore he could hear Shaun's breath hitch. They cleaned up shortly after, and Desmond made sure the rest of the day was spent just recording. He used Shaun's laptop to video record him helping Ezio make lunch, he and Shaun cuddling on the couch, went and bought a small disposable camera and took pictures of everything. He did have one bad hallucination, where he thought Shaun was Leonardo, and Cesare had beaten him up, but it didn't last too long, and he was back to normal in under ten minutes.

Before evening came rolling in, he walked across the street and knocked on the door of the young boy. Shaun stood behind him protectively. The young woman answered the door, and he smiled.

"Is he here?"

"Kyle? I'm afraid not. School here lasts until dinner time."

Desmond frowned and scratched his head. "Oh."

She smiled warmly and placed a hand on his shoulder. "He was so excited about that picture."

"Um… About that picture…"

She blinked. "Is there something wrong?"

Desmond briefly explained to her what he was going to do, and she looked worried. She pursed her lips once he was done. He was staring at the ground, holding Shaun's hand tightly. Shaun had moved beside him and had taken his hand when he had started trembling, his voice wavering. She nodded.

"Why don't you go pick him up at school? I'm sure the other kids would love to take pictures with you. That is, if you want to. I'll send you a copy of mine. How does that sound?"

Desmond looked at her with a weak smile. "Thank you, ma'am."

She hugged him once. "Right, school should let out soon."

Desmond nodded and turned to Shaun. "Let's go get him."

He held Shaun's hand the entire way there, looking around at everything. Shaun looked grave as they walked along the dusty street. The general store owner asked him how he was doing, and he responded with a smile and a nod. They neared the tiny school, a simple wooden building, with maybe two or three rooms. With only a few kids, however, a big one wasn't necessary. He knocked on the door of the tiny place and pushed open the door a crack.

Inside there were maybe ten desks, with three of them empty. The kids in their seats looked bored. The teacher had stopped helping one of the older kids and looked the door. Desmond smiled weakly.

"Is Kyle here?"

Immediately, a small voice piped, "I'm here!"

He opened the door all the way and looked for him. When he saw the boy, he was all ready out of his seat and barreling toward him, and Desmond scooped him up and threw him in the air. The boy shrieked in glee as he was caught.

"Hey kiddo. Thought I'd drop by."

"I told you I met him!" he shouted at one of the older boys, who looked shocked.

"Your mom said I could come pick you up."

The little boy giggled. "We're not done with school yet."

Desmond looked at the teacher. "Sorry…"

She rose. "I… It's okay, Mr. Miles—"

"Please, just call me Desmond."

She nodded. "I suppose we can end for today. It is close to the end of the day."

He smiled warmly. "Thanks, I'm sorry for any inconvenience."

She smiled back. "There are none. All right, you're dismissed."

He spent the next hour bombarded by the small group of kids and answering questions. When he was finally done, he had Kyle in his arms and Shaun at his side.

"I'm so excited!"

"Well, I had to say good bye to my best friend."

"Goodbye?" Kyle looked horrified.

"I'm leaving tomorrow."

"Why?"

"Because I need to go see my doctor, who lives a long ways away."

"Why?"

"Because I'm not feeling too good, and he's in charge of my medicines."

"Why?"

"Because, uh…"

The boy looked expectant as they reached his house. His mother was on the porch, smiling.

"Did you have fun today?"

"Yeah!"

Desmond set the boy down.

"Will you come back?" he asked, looking at him.

Desmond offered a weak smile. "Yes, but I might not remember you, so I need you to make sure you remind me, okay?"

"Why won't you remember me? Do you have problems remembering things?"

The assassin ruffled the boy's hair. "I'll explain it when you're older."

The boy pouted. After one more giant hug, he snapped a shot of them together and walked back across the street, where Ezio had dinner waiting. The dinner was silent and unsettling as they thought about the future, and Desmond wasted the entire roll of film that night. When he retired, he pulled Shaun's laptop out and turned on the video camera. Shaun appeared by his side as he adjusted the screen.

"What are you doing?" Shaun whispered as if anything louder would cause reality to shatter into something worse.

"I'm leaving myself a note so I'll remember the important things."

"Like what?"

"Like this," he said, and he drew Shaun into the most passionate kiss he could muster, eventually pushing him down onto the bed.

Shaun laughed breathlessly and said, humored, "Like porn?"

"No," Desmond whispered as he pressed soft kisses along his jaw line. "Like the map of my lover's body."

He took his time, drawing every gasp and moan he could from Shaun, playing him like an instrument as he made love to him. His touches were gentle and his caresses light. And when they finished and Shaun was asleep, Desmond sat up in front of the video camera again. He stared into the camera before looking back at Shaun. After several moments, he looked down at his hands, which were clasped tightly together.

"Don't give up, all right? Trust me: even though you won't remember this, it's better than the way you had to live before. He promised he'd look after us, so, don't give up. Okay? For him. I think it's harder on him than it is on us. You love him. I know that you don't remember it, but you love him. I love him."

He stared at the camera again, sad. He wiped furiously at a tear that trickled down his cheek as he shut off the camera and turned off the computer. He nestled in beside Shaun and held him tightly, trembling. He didn't sleep well that night.