A/N: Hey folks! Look! It's chapter 5!
. . .
Yeah . . . stuff . . .
Just read the stupid chapter.
In the days following the event at Police Plaza the press swarmed the area, taking pictures and trying to corner any high ranking officer leaving the area. After a few days, however, it became apparent that no one knew who was behind what had happened, and those who knew how it had happened had a tendency of being either very aggressive or evasive in their refusal of interviews, very well guarded, or strangely possessed of an ability to deactivate all of the cameras and recording equipment before a statement could be obtained. Foaly and Artemis had taken to recording the reactions of the various reporters when they did that, for later enjoyment.
It was while Artemis was reviewing a particularly distraught young sprite throwing a tantrum over the loss of footage when he heard his door slam shut, followed by heavy footfalls as a very disgruntled Holly trudged into the ground floor lounge, throwing herself into the couch next to Artemis with a groan.
"Having trouble with the press, Major?" he said, casually halting the playback, and turning to face the elf. Holly, sinking into the cushions, merely closed her eyes and groaned again, leaning farther into the couch.
"Perhaps Foaly or I could give you one of our anti-surveillance devices, they perform quite well, as we have had plenty of opportunity to test them." He gestured to the screen, "We can now precisely control exactly what they cannot film, or how much of their recordings get wiped." He continued playback, and the sounds of the reporter screaming at her camera crew once again filled the room.
Holly, once again, merely groaned. A moment later she swiped the remote Artemis was holding, once again stopping the playback.
"Ugh, that voice!" She cried, tossing the remote to a chair on the far side of the room, out of reach, "She followed me all the way to the parking area today! I nearly had to run her over with my scooter!"
The look of contemplation of Artemis' face earned him a smack on the arm, as was often the case when he debated causing serious harm to the most determined of the press. Neither of them new her name, but she went out of her way to get an interview. Only a warning to her superiors from the council had dissuaded her from coming to Artemis and Holly's home. The one benefit of the harassment was that Artemis now knew exactly how much casual lawbreaking he was allowed when she was present. She had nearly arrested him when he decided to hack her workplace and snoop about.
Artemis looked at the discarded remote and only smiled. He had good news, and had scarcely been able to wait for her to get home to share it.
"Well," he said, standing and striding to the edge of the lounge, near the stairs to the lower level, where their bedroom was located, "Whenever you feel up to it, we need to pack."
At this, Holly's head popped over the back of the couch and cocked to the side out of confusion. "Pack?" she repeated, eyes narrowing at Artemis' descending back. "Why are we packing?"
Her curiosity outweighed her exhaustion, and she vaulted over the back of the couch, running after the mud man. Using her standard Artemis-Interrogation-Technique, she jumped onto his back, face coming to rest beside his ear. "Why are we packing?" she repeated.
"Because it has been four weeks since I entered Haven and made a deal with the Council," He said after adjusting to her weight, "And that means that we now have a weekend visa to visit the surface, specifically my family."
Holly froze at this. She had met his family many times, but never as his lover. She dropped from her spot on his back and stopped, staring into space in contemplation. Realizing she was no longer with him, Artemis turned. "Is something the matter?" he asked, hand coming to rest on the doorknob to the master bedroom.
"What if they don't approve?" She said, twisting her hands within each other and looking at the floor. "What if they don't like me?"
Artemis returned to her, kneeling before her and putting his hands on her arms, just below her shoulders. "You brought their son back to them," He said, catching her eye, "They adore you."
"I brought their son back, then took him underground to be kidnapped." She said, eyes once again falling. "Butler will kill me for that alone."
This time, Artemis put a finger under her chin and raised it, kissing her once her gaze was leveled with his. "You then risked your life in a brilliant plan to bring me back, again. Butler would be proud." He then stood, opening the bedroom door and entering. "Besides," he said over his shoulder, "I haven't necessarily told them about that yet."
Before Holly could respond, he had begun sorting several suits into garment bags and suitcases, leaving a suitcase open on the bed for her.
"You WHAT?" she yelled, slamming the door.
For the next several minutes, Artemis learned exactly how terrifying a 100 centimeter elf could be. For the entirety of the packing session, she regularly burst out in a new tirade of how irresponsible he had been, and how this would reflect badly on both of them in the eyes of his parents. By the end, Artemis had largely gotten used to it, merely stopping what he was doing to listen to her each time. This complacency led Holly to eventually give up and stop speaking to him, this lasted the entirety of the ride to the shuttleport, as well most of the ride to the surface. Eventually, however, she began to plan out how they would tell a group of recently reformed criminals, world-class soldiers, and the woman who could control both of them that her son had been kidnapped, tortured, and nearly killed. This occupied her during the flight from the McGrady farm to the manor, so much so that she barely registered Artemis showing off his modified wing set, but not so much that she missed the terrified look he displayed during flight despite the miracle of his technology. Finally, they arrived at the large manor doors, the stairs seeming taller than ever as all of her doubts and fears came back to the front of her mind.
"Holly," Artemis said, once again kneeling, "It'll all be okay, I'll take care of everything."
He took her hand and stood, turning to face the doors. "After all," He added, "I doubt they'll kill me again."
Inside, Butler grinned as he heard the sound of a fist hitting the side of an Armani suit.
A/N: Sorry for the long wait, I had to decide how far to take this chapter and exactly how to put it all down. I had many requests to get this chapter put up, and I'm sorry to all of you who I made wait.