Three weeks had passed since Bastila and Daphne's rescue of Astoria.
Three weeks since they had killed Daphne's parents. The two girls had thrown themselves back int their day to day lives, keeping up with their schoolwork, spending time having fun together, as well as spending some time with Severus and Sarah, whom the two girls had managed to lure into spending time alone with each other on several occasions. Purely by coincidence, of course. To Bastila and Daphne's relief, their matchmaking efforts seemed to be paying off. Sarah had been broken down so that she finally started to show a clear romantic interest in Severus, and Severus had finally begun to speak to Bastila about his liking Sarah.
Although Severus hadn't actually admitted to Sarah herself yet that he fancied her, or that he could see that she fancied him in return.
It was a work in progress. Bastila and Daphne were confident that Severus and Sarah expressing their romantic feelings for one another was just around the corner.
Though Bastila and Daphne were busy with their lives in these rapidly passing weeks, they managed to sneak out of Hogwarts with Nyssa and kill off, and interrogate, four confirmed Death Eaters. Of course, Bastila and Daphne always were under their cloaks, masks, and polyjuice potions that ensured they would be random adult women every time they went out. Bastila was personally happy about the potions, since she finally had a use for the walk in closet compartments of her custom trunk.
Bastila had also taken several trips to Gringotts, taking out jewelry, cursed blades, and a few thousand pieces of gold, which she had stored in another one of her trunks compartments. And beyond that, Bastila had nearly bought out every book in the finest bookshop in Diagon Alley, so that she could also, finally, fill up the bookshelf inside the apartment in her trunk.
Finally, it was the last week of May. The third task was looming for Bastila. In just a few short days, she would be inside the maze, ready to compete against her fellow Champions and be the first to touch the Tri-Wizard Cup that would be at the center of the maze. And after that, she'd get the thousand galleon prize money, as well as fame and admiration, which she already had too much of that to know what to do with, on account of having captured Voldemort and everything.
And then, it would be summer. Bastila would get to go home with Severus and live in his Manor, which he had finally told her was prepared for her arrival. And Daphne...Daphne would be staying with a relative that didn't want to kill or abuse her. A young woman of twenty-seven had won the court case over Daphne's guardianship. One of Daphne's cousins, a woman named Elsa, whom Daphne had described as "The black sheep of the family tree".
And, after having met Elsa personally, Bastila found that to be an accurate description. Daphne's cousin was extremely...Soft. She was kind, nice, and acted more like a big sister to Daphne than a mother figure. Bastila knew that Daphne would be in good hands, come summer.
As for Astoria...That was another matter entirely. Which was why Bastila and Daphne were at St. Mungos on Monday evening, courtesy of Sarah, who had managed to get both Hogwarts staff and St. Mungos to let Daphne and Bastila in to visit. Of course, Albus Dumbledore's personal assistance in that little matter had to have helped persuade St. Mungos as well.
Bastila and Daphne were in the lobby, waiting in line for their turn to talk to the witch at the front desk labelled "Inquiries". Thankfully, the line was short, so they didn't have to wait long. Besides, Bastila found no interest in all the posters with helpful little phrases or words of encouragement, or in the portraits of famous Healers.
"Hello. We're here to see Astoria Greengrass. She's my little sister." Daphne told the lady at the front desk when it was their turn.
The lady gave her a long stare, then she shook her head and flipped through a portfolio in front of her on the desk. "Astoria Greengrass...Here she is. Fourth floor, last door on the right. Be sure to keep a St. Mungos security guard with you at all times. This one's been a handful."
"She's my sister." Daphne said firmly. "She wouldn't hurt me."
The lady gave Daphne a sympathetic look. "The girl is too addled. She's barely aware of where she is most of the time, I'm afraid, and she's constantly kept dosed up to her eyeballs. Take security with you. She's already attacked several members of the staff, and keeps barricading herself inside the room."
"Whatever." Daphne growled out. Bastila squeezed Daphne's hand, and Daphne let out a breath of air and gave a short, "Thanks" to the lady at the desk.
Daphne and Bastila proceeded through the double doors into a narrow corridor beyond. They walked to the other end of it and entered the stairwell, then climbed up several flights of stairs until they reached the fourth floor. When they stepped out into the hall, it was remarkably different from the rest of St. Mungos. It was dark and quiet, and the ceiling lights weren't giving off very much lighting at all, and occasionally they would flicker off. The hallway looked worn down and old, as if no one really made sure to maintain this part of the Hospital. They couldn't see into the rooms as they passed them, and given the nature of the ward, Bastila was sure that was a good thing.
Then they reached the final door on the right side, at the very end of the hall. It was a dead end. A dark, depressing dead end. The door to Astoria's room had a little window in it, so Bastila and Daphne were able to see inside. The room was small, dark, and windowless. Astoria was wearing a hospital gown, sitting curled up in the corner of the room between the wall and her bed. She was staring straight ahead, unblinking, with her hands hugging her knees.
Bastila recalled the desk lady's words then. 'The girl is too addled...She's kept dosed up to her eyeballs...' She wondered if it would be such a good idea to enter the room after all. Unconsciously, Bastila's hand went to her wrist holster.
Daphne's eyes followed the movement, and she shook her head. "I don't care what my sister does, you're not going to stun her or anything, alright? That'd just make her afraid of you, and probably me too. Who knows what the idiotic Healers here have been doing to her. They probably don't even care about her feelings, or her reactions to anything."
Bastila gave Daphne a reassuring smile. "I know. And I'm sorry...It's just a nervous habit. I don't have any intention of hurting her or anything like that."
Daphne gave Bastila a look, then she said, "Can you wait out here for a few minutes? Please? I..."
"I get it. You want to be alone with your sister." Bastila said gently. "Go on in. Be with her. I'll wait."
Daphne nodded shakily, kissed Bastila on the lips, then pushed open the door and stepped into Astoria's room. Daphne shut the door behind her. It gave an audible click that echoed through the small room.
The prison. The cage.
As Daphne crossed the room and stood at the foot of the bed, she felt anger growing within herself. How could St. Mungos treat her sister this way? Astoria had lived her entire life locked up, only seeing three places. A dark, tiny bedroom, a series of dark hallways, and then a dark torture room.
And St. Mungos had put Astoria in a dark, tiny hospital room at the very end of the hall, in one of the crappiest wards they had. THEN, they had numbed her to death with medication and had strangers with wands examine her. How could they not spare a thought for how all of this would affect her? How it would bring up memories of her torture and anguish?
"Astoria?" Daphne stepped around the bed and walked the small space between wall and bed, getting closer to her sister until she was right in front of her. "Sis?"
Astoria didn't respond. She didn't move. Didn't even blink. It was as if she was somewhere else entirely, or, just sitting there, dead on the floor. Daphne got down on her knees in front of Astoria, and she almost flinched at how deathly cold the floor felt to her legs, even through her jeans. Then Daphne wondered just how long Astoria had been sitting like this. Astoria had to be suffering from the cold. Maybe Astoria even had frostbite, something that Bastila had once told Daphne happened to people who were exposed to the cold for too long.
Daphne was staring into Astoria's eyes now. Her vacant, expressionless eyes.
"Sis?" Daphne whispered softly. "It's...It's me. Daphne." She couldn't stop her voice from cracking, or stop the lump that was forming in her throat. Nor could she stop the tears that were threatening to well up in her eyes. "Come on sis...You're...You're okay now. I'm okay. We're both okay...We're finally free, we can..We can live and...And..."
Daphne reached out slowly with a trembling hand and just got a fingertip touching Astoria's knee when she suddenly came to life. She wrenched herself back, pressing herself against the wall, her eyes wide and full of terror. Then she scrambled over the bed, practically throwing herself into another corner of the room, where she curled up again and resumed staring out at nothing at all.
Daphne's heart was beating furiously, and it had been all she could do not to jump back in surprise at Astoria's rapid flurry of movement. Her desperate, terrified, wounded movements. Daphne was still sitting on her knees, frozen to the spot, her hand still outstretched. Then the tears started running down her face, and she let her hand drop to the cold stone floor.
Daphne stepped out into the hall, closing the door behind her. She didn't try to hide the fact that she had been crying from Bastila.
Bastila peered into the room through the little window, then she looked at Daphne. "Oh, damnit...I'm sorry Daphne..." She whispered, pulling Daphne into a bone-breaking hug. Daphne returned the hug, clinging to Bastila long after she had let go of Daphne.
"We'll visit her again next week. First week of Summer. She might be...In a different state of mind then." Bastila said comfortingly into Daphne's ear, not knowing if Daphne was listening or if she was deep in her own thoughts.
Finally, Daphne drew in a shuddering breath and let go of Bastila, stepping back to look her in the eyes. "Okay." Daphne said. Her voice held so much sadness in that one word that it broke Bastila's heart just to hear it.
Tuesday morning came, and Daphne seemed to be back to her usual self. Of course, she only SEEMED to be, and that was only when Bastila was around. When Bastila would look at Daphne when Daphne thought she wasn't looking, Bastila would catch glimpses of Daphne's face, twisted into an expression of great sorrow, with a look in her eyes that made Bastila think she was somewhere else entirely.
And Bastila suspected she knew exactly where Daphne would go in those moments. She would go back into that hospital room with Astoria.
*Daphne doesn't seem well. What has happened?* Nyssa asked Bastila, having slithered into the Great Hall at breakfast. She wasn't even invisible.
*We went to visit her sister yesterday evening. Astoria...Wasn't good.* Bastila hissed back at the massive winged serpent.
*Is there any hope for her?* Nyssa said gently.
Bastila sighed. *I don't know. But I'm hoping there's hope. It was only one visit, and for all we know that was an off day for her.* Bastila really DIDN'T know.
Trauma did different things to different people. Bastila had been pushed to survive and rise above it, Daphne had learned to shut down and cut herself off from it all, and Astoria...Astoria simply couldn't handle it.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Daphne asked.
"You faced your troubles with your sister yesterday, so I'm going to face my troubles with my mother today." Bastila said in answer.
It was evening now. Bastila and Daphne were standing in the streets of suburban Las Vegas, after having been apparated there by Eve. Bastila had finally given in to her own feelings. She needed to have what Daphne had gotten the day before: Clarity.
Bastila needed to find out more about her mother's death. She needed to see the tombstone and grave for herself. She needed to know what had become of her home, and all of her and her mother's possessions, in the past four years.
And she needed to discover more about the nightmare man from her repressed childhood memories.
Bastila located her old house, and she took Daphne's hand without even thinking. "This is it." Bastila breathed.
"Yeah, it is." Daphne replied, giving Bastila's hand a squeeze. "But it's not some abandoned place. See?" Daphne pointed out the red car parked in the driveway, and the lights that were on in the house behind the curtains.
"I wasn't going to just barge in." Bastila said, laughing shakily. The truth was, some part of her HAD been thinking that. Some part of Bastila had thought that she would get here, and her home would be abandoned, untouched, and exactly the way it had been before she had fallen into her coma.
Seeing it now, clearly changed and inhabited by a stranger, Bastila felt her heart twist.
"We don't have to check out the house first, Bas." Daphne said gently. "We could go see your mom first, then come back."
"No!" Bastila shook her head furiously. "We...We do the house first. I'm not ready to see mom just yet." She continued, taking calming breathes.
"Okay." Daphne agreed. She gave Bastila a reassuring smile. "Whenever you're ready. But don't take TOO long. We shouldn't stand in the street all night. Just saying."
Bastila laughed again, feeling her anxiety slightly subside. Bastila took a few more breathes, then, making sure not to let go of Daphne's hand, she started off across the street and onto the sidewalk.
Bastila could feel her heart pounding in her chest with each step she took on the pathway up to the front door. Every few steps, she thought about just turning back and leaving, but she forced those thoughts down every time they surfaced. She had to do this. Bastila needed to KNOW. Having spent the entire year NOT KNOWING, Bastila thought that KNOWING couldn't possibly be any worse.
Bastila's eyes focused on the little lights along the pathway that lit up the night. Those lights hadn't been there before, only a year ago. For everyone else, four years ago. It didn't matter. Bastila's eyes raised to the door as she stepped up to it, with Daphne at her side.
Bastila raised a shaking fist, poised to knock. She looked at Daphne, who gave Bastila another soft smile and a nod of encouragement.
Bastila knocked, wrapping her knuckles feebly on the door three times. As her and Daphne stood waiting, Bastila was sure the sound hadn't carried. It hadn't been enough to alert anyone inside. She wouldn't have to go through with this, after all. Bastila wouldn't be able to go through with it-
There was the sound of a dog barking, muffled calls of "Back!" from a male voice, and then the door opened.
A young woman stood in the doorway. She looked to be around twenty-five years old, and her hair was a shining golden-red. She looked at Bastila and Daphne in confusion, then looked back into the house.
"Can we help you?" A young man asked, appearing beside the red haired woman.
"That's sort of what I'm here to find out." Bastila said, forcing her voice to stay calm and casual, despite the torrent of emotions going through her at the sight of these people inside what was once her home. "See I...My name is Bastila Phoenix. I used to live here in this house almost four years ago. But I was in an accident, and I fell into a coma. I woke up about a year ago. And a little over TWO years ago...My mom passed away." Bastila took a deep breath, clutching Daphne's hand very tightly now. "I haven't felt ready to come back here yet. Until now, that is. So here I am." She finished quietly.
The man and woman didn't say a word. They still seemed to be digesting Bastila's words.
Daphne gave Bastila a light jab in the side with two fingers.
"Oh, and this is my girlfriend, Daphne Greengrass." Bastila added in the silence at Daphne's prompting.
The woman looked at the man, then she started making quick, intricate movements with her fingers, a questioning look on her face. After a few moments, the man started doing the same thing back to the woman.
Bastila was surprised at the display. 'ASL. American Sign Language.' She thought. 'The woman must be deaf. That's why she hasn't spoken a word so far.' Though Bastila recognized Sign Language, she had no understanding of the language itself, so she was completely in the dark on whatever the man and woman were saying to one another. 'Now I know what it must feel like for people when I speak in Parseltongue with Nyssa.'
Bastila cast a glance at Daphne, who was looking utterly baffled at the Sign Language. Then another thought struck Bastila. Did the Wizarding world even HAVE any form of Sign Language? 'Daphne must think they've gone crazy or something.' Bastila thought in amusement.
The man and the woman stopped signing to one another, and the man gave Bastila and Daphne a smile. "My name is William Dekker, and this is my wife, Hannah." Said the man. "Now, Hannah here was just wondering if you'd like to come inside and have a look around. It could help you get some...Closure. I know this has to be a jarring experience for you, to come back and find everything has gone and changed on you."
Bastila hesitated. She looked at Daphne again, uncertain. "We don't want to be a bother to you. It must be weird having random strangers come up to you like this late in the evening..."
The man laughed heartily at that. "No stranger than those door to door salesmen we get every other day. We're used to it. Trust me, you won't be a bother."
"Okay. Thank you." Bastila said finally. "This means a lot to me. Like you said, I'm looking for closure."
Bastila and Daphne were led into the house, and Mr. Dekker offered them refreshments, which they both accepted only out of politeness.
"I'm sorry, but I have to ask...Do you know anything about my mom's death?" Bastila asked once they were all seated in the living room. "Don't the home-owners have to be notified about that sort of thing in the history of the house or something like that?"
Mr. Dekker shook his head. "Sorry. We only moved in a couple of months ago."
Bastila stood. "I guess that's it then. Thanks for the water. I'll have to see if any of my old neighbors are still around and ask them about it." She said, her voice full of false cheer. The truth was, Bastila had felt cornered and panicked ever since she had entered the house. Everywhere she looked, memories would flood in. She was on the verge of tears.
Hannah's face adopted a deep frown. She signed something to William.
"You don't want to look around?" He translated.
Bastila motioned for Daphne to stand as well, then shook her head. "I'm sorry. I can't. I can't do this. I can't be here. I thought I could handle it, I thought I'd be okay with it but I'm not." Her voice was choked with emotion. She felt the beginnings of tears forming in her eyes. She had to get out. Fast.
Bastila almost ran for the front door, but she forced herself to walk.
"You can come back any time. We'd welcome you here." Said William.
"I'll think about it." Bastila said almost instantly. She just wanted to get out!
No further words came from William.
Bastila opened the door, felt the cool blast of evening air hit her, and stepped outside. She almost hit Daphne in the face when she went to close the door behind her.
Now Bastila ran. She bolted down the path. She reached the sidewalk, and she didn't stop. She kept going, crossing the street and heading into an all too familiar park. She raced over the slick grass, oblivious to Daphne chasing after her and shouting for her to stop, shouting at her, asking her just WHERE she thought she was going.
When she had crossed over to the other side of the park, Bastila finally stopped. She stopped under a massively tall tree with thick branches. She fell to her knees in the grass. She was breathing hard, but it wasn't from the run. There was too much, now. Too much in her head. Too many memories, feelings...Pain. Too much pain.
"You...Run way too fast." Daphne panted, collapsing into the grass next to Bastila. "Ice skating, snow ball fighting, swimming, gymnastics...Now running. Is there anything you CAN'T do?"
Bastila was silent as she moved so that she was sitting with her back up against the tree, her hands resting on her outstretched legs. A few moments later, Daphne came over and sat next to her.
"I can't go into a stupid house without nearly breaking down." Bastila said. "I can't deal with a fucking house, I can't deal with my memories of what happened there, and YOU can face your abusive father head on AND your messed up sister." Bastila let out a bitter laugh. "Tell me who's really the stronger girl in this relationship. I used to think it was me, but lately I'm not so sure that it isn't you."
Daphne winced and shook her head. "It doesn't have anything to do with strength, Bas. Come on. Different stuff gets to different people. Like me, for example. I can't handle my memories either. I'm terrified of them, and I break down whenever they come back to me. But like you said, I could face my father without even flinching."
Daphne's hand found Bastila's. "Pretty weird, isn't it? I could face him, but not the memories of him."
In the silence, the wind brought a stray leaf down on Bastila's head. She reached up and pulled it out of her hair. She brought it to eye level and looked at it, turning the leaf over in her fingers. Bastila sighed and let it go. The wind swept the leaf up again, carrying it haphazardly on its waves until the leaf landed a few feet away in the grass.
Bastila tilted her head, looking up at the incredibly tall tree. She remembered coming here, every summer, to try and climb this tree. And every summer, she would make it up just a little bit farther, a little bit closer to the top. But that was four years ago.
She hadn't tried to climb this tree in four years.
Bastila lowered her head and looked at Daphne, a smile growing on her face. She stood up and helped Daphne to her feet. "Have you ever climbed a tree?"
"Prim and proper pureblood." Daphne reminded, laughing. "It was all formal dancing events and torture for me."
Bastila's smile turned into a playful smirk. "Well, let's see how high up you can get on this tree, miss pureblood."
Daphne wrinkled her nose at the tree. "You're serious?"
"Completely." Bastila darted forward, kissed Daphne on the lips, then turned back toward the tree and jumped high into the air. Her hand easily latched onto the third branch, skipping the closer first two branches. Bastila smiled to herself. Four years of aging had its advantages. She climbed higher still, methodically, carefully, until she was half-way up the tree. Already farther than she had ever gotten in her life. She sat on a branch and looked down.
Daphne was still standing in the grass. "You're going to get killed up there! I can't believe you! Why do Muggles do this dangerous crap for fun?!" She shouted up to Bastila, her voice filled with bemusement.
"Try it, Daph!" Bastila called back down. "It's really, really fun! I promise!" She paused. "Oh, and you get to kiss me again if you can meet me at the top!"
"Sorry, but no! You have amazing lips, but they're not THAT amazing! How about just where you are now? The half-way point?" Daphne countered, reaching for the first two branches.
Bastila giggled. "Alright! Half-way. I'll be waiting!"
A few minutes passed, and Daphne paused on her way up the tree. She was now several feet above ground. She pulled out her wand. She muttered a spell and conjured up a snowball. Then she sent it soaring up at Bastila like a rocket.
The snowball missed, but hit a tree branch above Bastila and fell apart, showering her with snow.
"WHY?!" Bastila complained, shaking her body to get the snow off.
"Hey, if I have to suffer climbing a giant tree, then YOU have to suffer the wrath of my snowballs!"
"I'm going to spit on you Daphne!"
"I believe you! That's totally your style! And it's not like you haven't done it before!" A pause. "Which is why I, fearless and awesome pureblood, lover, fighter, wearer of sexy dresses, welcomes any spit you have to offer- What the hell?!" Daphne shrieked.
"I knew you were bluffing." Bastila said, shaking with laughter. "Even if I HAVE spit on you before." She added with a grin.
Daphne's answer came in the form of three more snowballs. All of them missed.
"You're really trying your best to break the Statute of Secrecy." Daphne murmured as, an hour later, Bastila had conjured up a blanket for them to lay on in the grass.
"Says the girl who just spent the last hour tossing snowballs up a tree a few days before summer." Bastila retorted, laying down on the blanket. Daphne lay next to her. Bastila scooted over and wrapped her arms around Daphne, as if it was the most natural thing in the world. "Besides, it's too dark now for anyone passing by to see anything." Bastila added.
Daphne snorted. "That's what you said when we were kissing up in the tree! Then one of those Muggle cars went by and I thought we were-"
"Nobody cares here." Bastila said, smiling. "You're not a pureblood and I'm not a Muggle-Born. Well, Muggle-Raised, anyway. Same thing."
"It IS nice." Daphne whispered. "Those Muggles back in your old house didn't look at me like I was dirt for being with you. Like I was personally insulting them, or...Anything. They just saw me, Daphne Greengrass, a girl, with you, Bastila Phoenix, another girl. They were happy for us just for being us, and for being together."
"I'd like to live here when we're grown up and out of Hogwarts." Bastila said, hoping to sound casual.
"You mean...When we're married?" Daphne said cautiously. "We're still on for that, right? You haven't, I don't know, changed your mind about it?"
Bastila turned her head and looked right into Daphne's eyes. "Daphne, there's nothing, no person, no force, no power or magic in this world that could EVER make me change how I feel about marrying you."
Daphne looked thoughtful. "Actually, there IS the Imperius Curse, or a love potion, or spells like the one Sev used to modify our memories at the start of the year-"
"No." Bastila interrupted, laying a kiss on Daphne's cheek. "NOTHING, Daphne. You hear me? There's nothing. All of those things might change how I behave, but they can't change my heart."
"And your heart...Belongs to me?" Daphne murmured, turning her head so that her lips caught Bastila's.
"You're damn right." Bastila breathed, breaking the kiss for only a moment before Daphne recaptured her lips and took her breath away all over again.
"You always told me to do what's right. Even if everyone else is running the other way, or staying quiet out of fear. You taught me, that if I was afraid...I should find the courage to stand up and DO something. To at least do SOMETHING. Well that's what I'm doing now, mom." Bastila sat cross-legged on the grass, in front of her mother's gravestone. Daphne was standing behind her, silent and supportive.
"I'm doing SOMETHING. I'm doing what I feel is right. No...What I KNOW is right. Everyone else is too afraid to go after the Death Eaters. Everyone knows who they are, since they bribed or lied their way out of prison. But no one wants to do the hard thing, the right thing, and go after them and put them down so they can't keep murdering and torturing people. Except for me and Daphne, and Nyssa." Bastila paused, playing with the rose flower in her hands. "I don't know where you are now, mom. But wherever you are, you're probably watching me. And I know that if you could talk back to me, or if you were still alive right now, you'd tell me that what I'm doing is right. You'd tell me you're proud of me."
Bastila laughed softly and set the rose at the foot of the gravestone. "I think the only thing you'd have a problem with is me, Daphne and Nyssa risking our own safety to do this. It was the same with those bullies, those kids who used to always say the cruelest things to me. The ones who used to push me around and throw rocks at me. I wouldn't stay quiet. I'd look them in the eye and ask them how they could be so cruel, so mean. I would ask them, every time, why they were doing this. And sometimes I'd even push back. You were always pissed about that. Not because I defended myself, not even because I was an idiot to be one girl against ten, but because I got beat up trying."
Bastila stood. She glanced at Daphne, then back at the grave. "You were pissed off about it because you loved me. And with this, hunting down Death Eaters, I'm going to get beat the hell up more than ever before in my life. I'm going to get hurt and probably killed trying to take them all down. But I'm going to keep on trying, I'm going to keep at it until I DO die, because that's the right thing to do."
Bastila took a deep breath, then let it out again. "Alright mom, I gotta go. Daphne and I have to be back at Hogwarts before anyone realizes we're missing and not just wandering around the castle grounds. But I'll be back again, soon. I'll probably bring Sev and Sarah, too. I know you'd like them. You'd approve of them. I'm in good hands, and I'm happy, and I'm LOVED. And that's all you've ever wanted for me."
Bastila walked over to Daphne. Smiling, she held out her hand.
Daphne took it.
"You feel any better?" She asked.
Bastila shook her head. "Not really. But I have a clearer head now about everything in my life. No more wallowing or worrying or grieving. So at least there's that."
"What about the man from your nightmares? Are you still going to try to find out who he is and what else he might have done to you? Who he was to you and your mom?"
Bastila smiled again. "No."
"No?" Daphne echoed.
"Case closed, Daph."
"But we didn't even start the investigation yet. There's no case TO close." Daphne said pointedly.
"That's the point."
Daphne was quiet for a moment. "Are you sure about this?"
Bastila leaned in and kissed Daphne's lips. "I know who I am."