A/N: Well, it's official. I'm a terrible person. I just can't seem to consistently post chapters on Fridays. I blame my artistic temperament. So, I guess from now on I'll just say chapters will go up FridaySaturdayish. So, you know, kinda always late, so kinda always sorry... ;}

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I took extra care in centering myself in the morning, adding some grounding meditations after my asanas. I ate slowly, chewing each bite thoroughly and hydrating myself with a strengthening tea. I took several deep breaths.

Then I called Alison.

"Hello?" came a youthful voice from the phone.

"Lizzie? Hey, it's Cosima. How are you?"

"Hi, Auntie Cos. I'm about to leave for practice. I'll get Mom on the phone." There was some fumbling noise and the shout of "your phoooone," and a slightly breathless and, as usual, clipped tone from Alison took over.

"Alison Hendrix," she announced by way of greeting, and I almost chuckled, imagining her straightening her posture to answer the phone, even if the caller couldn't see her. Since the settlement and her move to the McMansion life, she'd relaxed in some ways, but was even more self-righteous about being proper than before.

"Allison, hey. It's Cosima."

"Cosima? Cheese and biscuits, I can't believe it's you! Hold on, let me get them out the door." There was a mumble of voices, and then she came back on the line with a settling sigh. "So, to what do I owe this honour? You know I haven't heard from you in…" (I could imagine her checking her calendar) "almost nine weeks. Don't forget you promised to come for Gemma's graduation party."

"Yeah, yeah, I wouldn't miss it. How's it going?"

"Oh, the usual. Elizabeth has decided she wants to move her riding practice to three times a week and, also as usual, Donnie can never say no to her. I'm proud of how well she's doing, but she seems to be developing a resistant attitude way before Gemma or Oscar did. I mean, we're not even at puberty, yet! Well, way before Gemma did, but Oscar did have Uncle Felix as a role model…"

I stifled a chuckle. Same old Alison. I mean, to be fair to Lizzie, she was a good kid, and she hadn't spoiled herself like crazy. But I guess that can happen when people finally get the birth baby they've been waiting for, like they did when the cure I gave Ali made her fertile so quickly. It was a surprise, but then she'd never gotten as advanced in the disease as I did — never even coughed. Who knew that a while later I'd also find myself having my period regularly, again? Come to think of it, I'd probably have spoiled Sevvy if I'd been around more, too.

"Yeah, he did. Anyway, I was away for awhile. I'm visiting Sevvy and the guys now," I told her.

"Oh, good. I really don't see how you can stand to spend that much time away from him. I mean, we could always get the lawyers—"

"Yeah, about that," I interrupted before she got into high gear, "I'm, uh, I'm thinking of being around more. Kinda setting up a home base, or something. So I can spend more time with them and sort of center myself, you know?"

"Oh, Cosima, that's wonderful. So what do you need? Do you need money again? More fake ID? I haven't talked to the law firm in a while, but hopefully, we could—"

"Um, yeah, great" I interrupted again, risking getting her annoyed, "but there's something else. Something more to it."

"Cosima, you know I never mind giving you money, but I really wish you would be more responsible with it—"

"It's Delphine," I blurted. The other end of the line went silent. "I'm seeing Delphine." There was a pause.

"What? Holy shiitake mushrooms, Cosima, what are you talking about? Are you all hopped up on psychedelics, or something?" I definitely chuckled at this one. Such huffiness from a former prescription drug dealer.

"No, no, no, see… okay, get this: I went to do the retreat, and, I couldn't believe it, but she was there! Delphine Cormier was at the resort. Her boss had sent her as a present—"

"What?!" This time I was sure she'd heard me. "Del… Delphine was there? Oh my— what did you do? She just showed up out of nowhere?"

"Listen, I'll tell you it all, just take a breath," I soothed her. There was a pause and I could tell she was holding her tongue for the moment.

"Okay, so she got sent on this trip by her boss, who's a dean of some kind, because Delphine is a professor. She's teaching and researching at Yale, now."

"Yale," Alison made it sound like a hmm, "well, that seems… respectable. But, wasn't she working for the government or some… military cabal, or something?"

"Look, I was worried about that, too, but here's what happened…"

I gave her the rundown. She was surprisingly quiet during the story. I even heard her gasp a few times when I talked about my emotions, about the romantic parts. I mean, I couldn't go into some of the details, obvs, but I tried to convey to her how we'd really talked and shared our feelings, how I understood now why Delphine had done what she did, and how she had suffered for working to help me and my sisters, even when we didn't trust her, worked against her. When I had reached the present, she let out a long breath.

"Cosima," she said, clearly trying to remain calm, "are you sure? I mean, you know I want to be happy for you, and that you're finally considering settling down, like the rest of us. Well, as much as, say, Sarah or Helena can settle down. But you were certain for a long time that you couldn't trust her, that it wasn't safe for you. Are you really sure you can just… patch things up?"

"Uh, it's more than patching, Alison. It's like… you know when they say that if something breaks you can fix it and make it even stronger? I mean, not bones, 'cause that's a myth, but… That's what I feel is going on here. We were younger and we had so much going on then… and I didn't even know how to handle my feelings, really, to understand my own emotions. She really suffered, you know? Just getting free of DYAD and Topside only to be trapped into working for the government, barely even having a life of her own at all. And the whole time, she stayed true to us. She never gave them any information that might have been bad for us, she never tried to hunt me down with them. She just did the science until they didn't need her anymore, and then they let her go. And now, just… we can both be freer, now. I…" I found myself swallowing back tears, here, talking about her, about us. "I always knew, somehow, that she was the one, my soulmate, you know? But I tried to deny it or imagine that it didn't matter, I could get along in life fine without her. And I did, mostly, but… goddamn if it isn't like when I wake up and put my glasses on again. I was seeing things before, making my way through, seeing lights and colours, even… but when we worked it out, I just… everything became clear, and sharp, and real."

I had to stop for a moment, sniffling, and I could hear her making little sounds that made me realize she was affected by my story, too. I felt a warmth and a squeeze around my heart saying all this again, repeating it and affirming it was real.

"And you should see her with Sevvy, Ali," I let out, feeling the tears start tracing my face. On the other end of the line I could hear Alison choke out a tender sob, too. She knew what it was like to be a mother in a way you never expected, to love someone so dearly, and to grow in your relationship with your partner as you saw the way these two precious people treated each other with kindness, care and love. The way my son smiled at Delphine when she played with him, his eyes dancing when he looked up at her, as charmed and delighted by her as I was, and the way she treated him with such tenderness and respect, smiling as she watched him doing his normal stuff, Sevvy being Sevvy, when she thought no-one was looking, made me see how we could all grow together, become solid in our relationships, be a family like I had never had before. I saw all the good in each of them, and all the good they saw in each other, and it filled me with a hope and satisfaction I never even knew was missing. I felt a certain gravity that all those years of centering meditations could never quite reach, while I had believed I had to limit my relationships, to keep moving and remembering in the back of my mind that I was a fugitive, of sorts. Somehow I felt, that even with all her stiff, sharp and stressful quirks and her ways so different from mine, that Ali really understood it, just from my voice, just from being my sister, no matter how strangely we had become siblings.

"Oh, Cosima," she said quietly, with emotion, and slightly muffled in a way I could tell she had put her hand over her mouth.

We were both quiet for a few moments, gathering ourselves. She cleared her throat.

"Well, if that is how you feel, I support you, and you let me know anything I can do to help. You haven't told Sarah, yet, have you?" I let myself chuckle.

"Nope, but I'm planning on calling her after this. Wish me luck."

"Mmhm, well, we both know she's… mellowed a lot, over the years. Hopefully she'll take it with no more than an 'oi, wot?' or something." We both had a rueful giggle over this, me mostly because Alison imitating Sarah was never not funny. "Can I tell Donnie? Have you told anyone else?"

"Mm, no, not yet, but I'm making some calls today," I answered. There were a few people I'd start with, then I'd let that mellow and move on to other folks. I could take my time, because this time I planned on staying around. This time, I felt a future stretching out before me, and, although I couldn't know how things might evolve or what shit we might go through, I could see the woman I loved in it.