"Augh!" I woke up with a start. Someone threw cold water on my head. "What the hell?! Ow!" I double over in pain. My entire right side was throbbing in agony as I clutched it and moan.

"You've been asleep for too long," came the calm voice of Stein. I looked up from under my hair to find him standing there leaning against the medicine cabinet with a cigarette hanging from his mouth. I looked around to find that I'm in the medical room at the DWMA.

"How long is too long?" I ask.

"Three days," he blows out a drag. I sigh and lean back into the pillow then look out the window. "Lord Death wants to see you," he says before calling the Death Room for me. He didn't even stay, as soon as Shinigami-sama answers the call he walked out the door.

"Ramla," Shinigami-sama says.

"Shinigami-sama," I intone. We stare at each other for several minutes in silence. A bird passes the window and sings out his mating call and it broke the silence. "What happened?"

"The African Lion Witch Kaluwa is dead." His sentence hit me like a ton of bricks. It felt like a weight that has been pressing down on me was lifted and my heart clenched painfully in my chest. I didn't even know I was crying until the tears hit my hands. "You completed your mission Ramla. Minimum casualties thanks to your friends in the underbelly moving other citizens."

I bent forward and heaved a heavy sob as Shinigami-sama continued. "You are now able to move forward in your missions. And Ramla," I look up at the mirror. "You have decisions to make. No one can tell you what to do—well no one has been able to tell you what to do. But what happens next is all up to you," he waves before signing off. Even with tears streaking down my face I force myself to stand up. Everything hurts as joints pop and muscles stretch back into place.

I walk over to the cabinet and pull out some aspirin, I pop the pills dry. My magic was still low and too depleted to even think about fixing up my bruising and soreness. There was a sweater and a pair of leggings slung over the back of one of the chairs that I changed into. 'Must have been Alexandre,' I muse and I run my fingers through my hair. Some of my braids must have come out so someone undid all of them. I was back to a wild and untamable afro of curls. I don't bother with shoes as I slip out the door and down the hallway.

It must have been Wednesday yet there was no one around. Everything seemed too quiet as I crept along the halls. I made it to the front entrance without a single soul popping up. 'Strange…' I send my soul out to feel around me. Nothing, the closest soul was down on the street walking by.

"Ramla!" a small voice squeaked at me. I practically jumped out of my skin when I turned around and drew my bow.

"Clarabelle?!" I exclaim. "What are you doing sneaking up on people like that?!"

She giggled, "I snuck up on you? Whoa Ramla you must be really out of it then." I growl at her, but she waves me off. "What are you doing out of bed?"

I was about to tell her none of her damn business, but I pull up short. "I…I don't know actually. Stein was…he was there but he left as quickly as he came. Where is everyone?"

"In the lower city levels cleaning up after the fight." She picks at a piece of lint off her shirt. "You should probably get some more rest. Your body is still recovering from the massive amount of energy you spent."

"I don't want to sleep I want to help," I argue.

"You won't be of much use to anyone if you keel over," she shot back.

"Well I don't want to stay here," I huff. Without objection, because she hated this place, we both climbed on her broom and took to the sky. The rushing of the wind on my face took me back to that fight. I felt the tears start again as I thought of all that I've lost in that battle. The little witch flew us straight to Stein's lab. When she pushed open the door he was sitting there like always typing on his computer. Stein didn't even turn around, but Marie walked out of the kitchen.

"Oh Ramla!" she rushed over to us and wrapped her arms around me. "I'm so glad you're safe," her breath tickled my forehead as she leaned against me. I warp my arms around her and squeeze back because it has been a really long time since I let someone hold me. We both heard a mumbled grunt from behind us. "Oh um Clarabelle would you be a dear and help me in the kitchen!" Marie turned to the little witch.

Clarabelle was a sharp kid, she shifted her eyes between us and Stein. "Yeah sure Marie-san. I'll help you," Marie lets me go and they both walk back into the kitchen. I wait until I hear the oven being turned on and pots banging around before I moved forward. Stein doesn't turn around even as I walk up slowly behind him. He has another cigarette sitting in his ashtray next to a pile of paperwork.

"You'll start a fire that way," I mumble as I move to grab it. Stein snatches my wrist and pulls me down into his lap. It was an awkward position with him holding my arm above my head and my legs thrown over the armrest. He stared at me intensely as the smoke curled around us and the dim light from the monitor illuminated his face. He looked so tired and far older than he actually was. I bring my other hand up and gently stroke his cheek running my fingers over the scar I gave him. "We have such a terrible relationship don't we?" my voice was barely a whisper.

He finally releases my other arm and it falls limply around his neck as he leans into my touch. "You really are bad for my health," he breathe across my palm. I laugh lightly and he does the same as the cigarette finally goes out. I warp my arms around his neck and cradle my head in the crook of his neck. He wraps his arms around my waist and rests his head on top of mine. "Even after all these years…" he trails off. I nod my head in understanding.

"I know," I answer. "Did you know that I always loved being your little girl?" I ask quietly. His arms tightened around my middle and he buried his face in my hair. "When you found me…all those years ago and you saw the monster I was and-and you loved me anyways," I was crying again. I just felt so broken and being here in his arms again reminded me of better times. "You loved me anyways so why'd you up and leave me like that? Did I not love you enough? Was I not enough?" my voice wobbles over the questions I've always wanted answers to.

He pulled me closer and I felt his glasses bump against my skull in his need to be close. I wonder how many people are allowed to know this part of him. His unrelenting need to be touched and loved. This man, this incredibly smart, kind, needy man who picked up a broken child and pieced her back together. Who showed that fragile girl how to be strong and how to control her emotions better. "Please tell me," I whisper.

"I loved you so much," his voice was broken. It was too much, this pain that radiated from him. I pulled myself closer even though I was still mad at him. "I still love you so much. My little girl who was so brave and strong and beautiful. I don't even have an excuse for what I did to you." I placed my hand against his chest and felt his erratic heartbeat.

"So what happened?" there was the question that has haunted me for so long. It is the question that applies to several different messed up situations and most of them I'll never hear an answer.

"I was called back," he said simply.

"Maka Albarn, Black*star, Death the Kid were suddenly drawing a lot of attention. Suddenly I was needed back at the DWMA to watch over them. But you didn't want to come Miss Fallon had told you such horrible stories and you were scared. You didn't trust me," he's breathing hitched. "You didn't trust me and before I could explain it to you—before you gave me a chance to explain Sid and Mira and Spirit-sempai pulled me back." It was too much. "And when they finally listened to me about you it was too late. Lord Death had found you and there you were working for the DWMA in Africa.

"You were so angry and I thought you never wanted to see me again." His grip on my waist was starting to hurt and the bruises on my right side screamed in protest. I did not push away this time. "I admit I leapt at the chance to bring you back. When Lord Death mentioned you for the first time in years I didn't even hear why he wanted you in Death City."

"Mhm was I really becoming a kishin when you found me?" I ask. He huffs out a dry laugh, "yeah I thought I could pretend I wasn't that broken." Gentle circles are drawn on my hips by his nimble fingers. Growing up I never realized that people might think the wrong thing about our relationship, but now I can see why people would worry. Thank Death that Marie understands us. "At least for a little while I still had him," I add. This time when the silence fell nothing broke it.


"Oh, my god! I'm so glad you're okay Ramla-chan!" Tsubaki says as she wraps me up in her arms.

"Yeah thought for sure you cracked your head open on that pavement," Soul drawls.

"As a God I'm impressed with your ability!" Black*star shouts. Maka smacks him in the back of head with a scowl. Liz and Patty give me quick hugs before giving Kid space to talk to me.

"Hey," he says coolly.

"Hey," I mutter back. "I'm glad you guys all made it out okay. Minor cuts and bruises and all that…" I say lamely. We all head inside the DWMA were Helena has been moved from the ICU. Kid walks next to me quietly while everyone behind us talk softly to each other.

"How are you feeling?" Kid asks suddenly. I sigh and run my fingers through my hair for a moment. I peek at him out of the side of my eye and he is staring forward.

"Tired," I reply honestly. "It's been…a crazy few days." I rub at the scar on my right side and the new bruises that mar my skin. Kid grunts something like agreement, but doesn't say anything else. By this point we had made it to the nurse's office, the door was slightly ajar. I could hear Mira-san and Sid inside talking. Spirit-san laughed softly from inside and this caused Maka to head in first.

"Helena?" she called out. Kid and I follow her as does everyone else. Helena was warped up like Mira-san. She was holding a white board and a marker because her mouth was bandaged shut. "Oh my gosh! What happened?"

"Helena just has a bruised jaw and shouldn't move it for another couple of days. She got a few scratches along her hairline from the plunge her and Stein took and the rest…well you know," Mira-san explains. I walk over to her side and smile weakly before moving past her to sit on Helena's bed.

Helena looks at me and then starts scribbling furiously on her board. 'How are you doing?' she wrote.

"I'm tired and a little sore. How are you?" I ask back. She erases her words and writes out her response.

'Like I was thrown off a roof after being stabbed in the gut.' Came her sarcastic response. Soul laughed at her answer and even Tsubaki and Liz giggled. I was irritated that she wasn't taking her condition seriously, but I only sigh. 'Come on Ram it was kind of funny,' she looks at me with puppy eyes. This time I laugh.

"Well as soon as my magic is fully restored I'll spring ya from here," I promise. Her eyes go wide for a second before she scribbles something out.

'How are Candi and Sissy and everyone?'

"Oh," I say in thought. "Fine a couple of the johns are angry they were interrupted—" she snorts at this. "But everyone is fine." I finish with a smile. A sharp pain flashes through my side and I wince.

'What's wrong?'

'It's nothing,' I send her over our bond. I don't think anyone else saw me wince and I want to keep it that way.

'Ramla,' her voice echoed in my head. I smiled at her, she really was a clever girl. Speaking over a shared bond is a hard thing to do, especially for such a new bond like ours. 'I'm kind of tired,' her voice says through my head.

"Oh," I say aloud. "Well get some rest Helena," I smile down at her. "We'll be back tomorrow." I stand up and head towards the door. I hear her uncap her marker again before writing something else out.

'Thanks for coming to see me everyone,' her eyes scrunched up in delight.

"Any time Helena-chan!" Tsubaki said brightly. "As soon as you can use your jaw again we will have a party at our place!" she grabs Black*star's hand. Star only blushes and mumbles an agreement.

"We'll see you tomorrow. Get some sleep!" Maka smiles at Helena before grabbing Soul and heading for the door. Spirit-san merely watches as they head out the door with Tsubaki and Black*star following them.

"Get better soon," Liz offers before saluting and walking out with Patty.

"We'll come after we finish cleaning up tomorrow," Kid smiles warmly at our friend before turning to me. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah. Mira-san, Sid-san?" I turn to my seniors. "Thanks for everything," I offer before waving at Spirit-san and following Kid out the door.


2 Weeks Later

"That's the last of it!" Sid-san calls out. After weeks of cleanup the underbelly was finally livable again. All traces of that terrible drug have been eradicated, the desecrated building was cleared away, and any debris that was left after our fight was removed. I checked in on Candi and Sissy before meeting back up with Kid and the others. We all head back to the DWMA to do the final debriefing.

"Ramla!" Helena pounces on me with a giggle. She wraps her arms and legs around me and I huff at her childishness. "My feet huuuuurt," she whines.

"So?" I say gruffly as I shoulder her whole weight. "You can walk yourself," I mutter as I hike her up higher on my back and warp my arms around her legs. "Big baby," she laughs at my tone.

"No one upstages a god like me!" Black*star suddenly bellows from behind us. "Tsubaki come here! I will carry you back with one hand!" he laughs.

"B-B-Black*star!" Tsubaki squeaks as she is hoisted into the air. "I am perfectly capable of walking myself!"

"What are you doing Maka?!" we all hear Soul screech. When we turn to look Maka had picked him up bridal style. Soul's cheeks were as red as his eyes! "Put me down woman! So not cool!" he groans. We all burst out laughing and I turn to look at Kid.

"Well don't look at me I have two weapons," he states. "And they are both fine walking," we turn to look at his weapons. Liz was practically on top of Patty as they walked. "Well…for the most part." Before I could laugh at him Helena rocks back and forth on my back causing me to spin.

"What are you flailing about up there?!" I shout at her.

"It's Stein-sensei!" she launches herself off my back. When I manage to straighten out my walk I saw that it was in fact Stein and Spirit-san up ahead. Helena ran up to them and was talking too quietly with Stein for me to hear. I zap her soul with mine and she merely sticks her tongue out at me before returning to her conversation.

"Wonder what that's all about," I say to Kid as he walks up next to me.

"Don't know," he intones as he watches Black*star laugh at Soul. The other students are all in various stages of tired and hungry and annoyed that someone threw a brick at Star's head. I tilt my head to look at Kid sideways.

"You seem more fascinated with that fight than usual," I observe casually.

Just as casually Kid laughs before pulling at his cuffs. "Somedays it's more amusing than others," he answers. Maka and Soul come up next to me as we catch up to Helena.

"Yo," Stein waves lazily at me. I walk up to him and allow him to drape his arm across my shoulders as I lean into him. He smells like smoke and his lab.

"Where have you been?" I ask.

"Working," came his short response. I saw Helena turn a little pink before looking away.

"On what?" I ask again slightly more agitated. I narrowed my eyes at Helena, but spoke to Stien. "You know we could have used your help down here."

"Order's from the big guy," he says coolly. I grab the cigarette from between his fingers and throw it in the gutter. He looks down at me with a snarl and I bare my teeth at him.

"If I'm stopping so are you," I hiss. He pinches my shoulder and I pinch his hip. "It's only because I love you," I murmur softly enough for the others to miss. Spirit-san coughs next to Stein before slowing down and walking next to his daughter. I watch out of the corner of my eye as Maka allows him to hold her hand. I smile a little before leaning back closer to Stein.

"You okay?" Stein asks as we round the last corner to the DWMA. I look up at him and find his face unreadable, as always.

"Tired," I admit. 'Maybe a little sad,' I think to myself.

"Ramla-chan!" Tsubaki calls from behind us. "Let's have our party tonight 'kay?" she beams up at me.

"O-Oh okay," I agree. Stein gives me an affectionate squeeze before removing his arm from around me. We all walk up the stairs and head for the Death Room.

The meeting itself was quick and once it was over I told Marie that I wouldn't be back at the lab for dinner. Sid-san and Mira-san both gave me a hug which was kind of weird before they headed home. Once back in the hallway Spirit-san grabs my attention.

"Come here for a minute," he says.

"Papa," Maka warns.

"It's okay," I laugh hesitantly. "You guys go on and I'll be right behind you," I wave them off. I walk over to Spirit-san and lean against the wall.

"Are you going to tell them everything tonight?" he asks out of the blue. Of all the things I thought he wanted to say that was not one of them. I roll my stiff shoulders and let out a sigh.

"I don't know maybe. Why do you care what I do?" I ask.

He shrugs and slouches next to me, "I wouldn't blame you if you painted me in a bad light."

"Oh," I let out a breath I didn't realize I held. "Spirit-san…"

"Mhm?"

"I'm not—I'm not mad at you. Or Sid-san or Mira-san or anyone anymore. What happened, happened and there isn't anything we can do to change it. Might as well accept it and move on." I felt him stare at me, but I didn't meet his gaze. "Marco was…he was everything to me and to come face to face with the failure like that," I pause to swallow the lump in my throat. "It was eye opening. There wasn't anything any of you could have done anyways. It was always my burden alone and I shouldn't have taken my anger out on any of you. I'm sorry," I finish.

"You sure you're Stein's kid?" he chuckles before sighing. "I don't think that man has ever admitted to a mistake in his life."

I only smile weakly before pushing off the wall, "I shouldn't keep them waiting."

"Yeah," he runs his hand through his hair. "Yeah." We don't say goodbye as we walk away from each other, but a tension that has hung over us for a long time now felt swept away.

Once I'm out in the sunshine again I breathe deeply. I grab my bike and head off for Star and Tsubaki's house and prepare myself for what I'm about to do.


I don't even know how many different ways to say sorry for taking 500 years to update...it's been a really rough year.

Keep it sparkly!

xoxo

Sparkles