January 2020- Seven and a Half Years After the Blackout

Nora was hesitant as she stood outside Mia's door. She knew they were both angry- and had good reasons to be- but she hated their relationship to be like this. She also knew how stubborn her sister could be and that if she didn't make the first move, Mia would live the rest of her life in spiteful silence. Deciding there was no point in letting things fester any further, Nora took a deep breath, and quietly entered the room.

Mia was sitting on her bed, a few candles lit on her night stand. A stack of school books were opened at her feet but she paid them no attention. Instead, she sat against the headboard, arms wrapped around her legs, and stared out the window. She gave no sign that she even realized her sister had entered the room.

"I made you something to eat." Nora gestured lamely with the plate in her hands. "Figured you had to be hungry after riding all that way."

She received no response but saw Mia's shoulder move in what could have been a shrug. She might have been wrong though. After a moment, she set the plate down on top of the desk and leaned a hip against the worn wood.

"I'm not going to apologize. I don't feel that I have anything to apologize. So, if that's what you're waiting for, I suggest you get past it."

"I'm not apologizing either."

"I won't ask you to. You're not right but you're not wrong either." She waited a moment, then said, "I know it's hard- with Dad, I mean. I understand the rollercoaster relationship that you have with him. There were plenty of times I swore I wouldn't get involved anymore but as soon as I was given the slightest shred of hope, I jumped on it. I'm not mad because of that. I'm mad because of the way you went about it."

"You wouldn't have let me go."

"I could have saved you a lot of time and energy." Nora walked over and sat on the edge of the bed. Mia curled further inward, as though the length of the bed was not enough distance between them. "I will say I'm sorry that you had to find things out this way. I know you always felt like you could count on Bass for things. I… I get that too. Just… can you do me a favor? I'm serious about this."

Mia shrugged, not looking as though she was sure she'd agree to anything Nora would say.

"Stay away from him. It's only going to cause problems. I don't want you dealing with him. He's… he's not-"

"What?"

"He's attempting to be manipulative and he used you as a pawn. You're not stupid Mia. I know you've seen what's been happening in the Republic."

"But that's not Bass."

"Trust me, it is."

"And what about Miles?" Mia sounded harsh, sitting a little straighter. "You can't dump all the blame on Bass. I've seen what Miles can do."

"I'm not excusing anything he's done but don't think Bass is innocent. Mia, I don't know how many times I have to say it but I don't want you to get hurt. Miles told you he had that letter forged. Why are you so insistent on trusting him?"

"Maybe someone else forged it and gave it to him."

"He's been harassing me. I don't want to use that word but that's what it is. He's admitted to me that he will use you to get to me, in an attempt to bribe me. Whatever he did, whatever he told you meant nothing." Nora gazed sadly at her sister, now picking at a hole on her blanket. "When did you talk to him?"

"Two days ago. He asked me to go to Independence Hall for dinner."

"Did he do anything to you?"

"No. I thought- I thought maybe but I told myself it was just me reading too much into things." She paused then said, "He didn't talk nicely about you or Miles."

"He was saying what you wanted to hear. He's skilled like that. It's how he gets his way."

"What did you mean he's been harassing you?" Mia asked after a moment. Nora sighed a little, then slowly began to tell what had been happening the past few months. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"I thought it would stop. I didn't want you involved. I didn't even want Miles involved."

"Does he know?"

"Yeah."

"And he's hasn't done anything?"

"I asked him not to. Bass apologized, said he was going to try hard to make up for what he had done. I almost believed him until you disappeared. I knew he had something to do with it."

"I can't believe this."

"You and me both."

"I feel so stupid."

"Don't."

"No. He's," Mia blushed a little, "I don't know. I guess I thought I could convince myself that he was interested and cared. He didn't. He probably was laughing when I left."

"He does this to everyone. He knows how to get to people and weed out what they want most. He's conniving but he looks good doing it. It's one of the reasons why he's been so successful. I wouldn't be surprised if he wound up to be a politician if the lights never went out." Nora smiled slightly, "I know you like him. You always adored him. I never wanted you to have to deal with this, not with Bass, not with Dad. Not with anyone."

Mia simply dropped her head, a sign that their conversation was coming to a close. Nora sighed, then leaned in, reaching for her sister.

"Promise me you'll stay here for the time being. If- if you're serious about wanting to be more involved with bounty hunting or with the Militia, I will help you. Just stop trying to run."

"Nowhere else to go."

"Alright. Eat your dinner."

"Not hungry."

"Well, it'll be there if you want it." She stood up and walked towards the door. She stopped in the doorway to look back at Mia. Her heart ached at the desolate expression on the teen's face and she suddenly yearned for previous years when Mia had been so much simpler and happier. "I love you."

She didn't expect the sentiment to be returned and it wasn't. She closed the door quietly as she exited, then made her way towards her bedroom. The thought of entering the room troubled her. She hadn't gone in since they had gotten home. All she could think about was Bass sneaking through her home, tainting everything she and Miles had worked to create. Who was to say he hadn't gone in their room or had someone do it? Her eyes closed with disgust.

Miles was already inside and she leaned against the door once she closed it. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye but kept quiet as he rifled through the drawer for a change of clothes. She watched silently, almost forcing herself to keep her eyes on him. She couldn't look anywhere else. She didn't want to look anywhere else.

"Did you grab something to eat?" she asked quietly. He tugged his shirt over his head, tousling his hair, and he gave a nod as he tossed the garment towards their closet.

"Yeah, I saw you left some out. Thanks." He paused momentarily, examining her and trying to gauge her mood. "Did you talk to Mia?"

"I would say yes but she always seems to take it two steps back. So I talked. I don't know if it made an impact." She rubbed a hand over her eyes as she slouched further down against the door. "Why do I even bother?"

"Because you care about her. As much as you say you're done, you're never going to be. There's never going to be a last straw with her."

The comment made her open her eyes and they locked on each other. Nothing was said but she wondered- no, she didn't wonder, she knew- if that was how he felt about Bass. The thought caused the pit in her stomach to grow. Am I ever going to be enough for him? At what point does he turn his back on him in favor of me?

Something flickered in his gaze- hurt, maybe, which confused her- and he took a few steps towards her.

"At least that's the way it seems. Eventually, there is going to be something that you cannot get past. You need to make the decision that benefits everyone involved." He finished quietly. She glanced away, knowing he knew exactly what she was thinking. It had been hurt that had been in his eyes- he knew she doubted him.

"I don't want to talk about this."

"Fine." He finished undressing so he was stripped down to his boxers, then pulled a new t-shirt on. "You gonna stand there all night?"

She shook her head in response but made no effort to move. Her eyes wandered around their bedroom, taking in all the places Bass could have been. Finally, she stared at their bed. She couldn't shake the feeling that he had been in here. He didn't even have to trespass. It could have been during dinner or just hanging out.

Wordlessly, she walked towards their bed and began to strip the sheets off the mattress. He raised an eyebrow but didn't argue or try and stop her. She barely acknowledged that he had left the room until he was standing next to her with a pile of clean sheets in his hands.

"Thanks." Her voice was barely above a whisper and he gave a nod while replacing the pillowcases. "You don't-"

"I'd like to get to bed sometime this decade so, yeah, I'll help." He retorted. She smiled faintly, knowing that he was trying to lighten the mood. The smile turned to a wince as she stretched towards the corner of the mattress and felt a tug in her back. This did not unnoticed by Miles, who frowned and asked, "What?"

"I think I'm just sore from riding all day."

"I'll finish this. Go change." When she gave him a look, he responded with a glare of his own and pointed towards the dresser. "Go."

She flung the pillow at him, which he caught instinctively, and walked to the dresser for clean pajamas. When she had changed, she turned back and found him standing by their bed, which was finished by then. He gestured silently to the mattress, insinuating for her to lie down. She knew what he meant and flopped down onto her stomach, pillowed her head in her arms. The mattress squeaked as he sat down by her side and slid her t-shirt up. She exhaled loudly as he put his hands on her and began to rub her lower back gently.

"Mm, why'd you stop?" she mumbled drowsily a while later, making him smile slightly.

"'Cause you were falling asleep." He replied as he stretched out next to her. She hummed quietly as she rolled to press against him. He reached towards the bottom of the bed to grab the blanket and pulled it over them.

"I wish you could come with me."

"You're not going anywhere." He sighed quietly against her hair, felt his aggravation growing at the topic. The ride back from Baltimore had either been silent or he had tried to convince her to remain in Philadelphia.

"I'm not staying here." Despite her being half awake, he could still hear the adamant tone in her voice. "Especially now. All night, I've felt like I can't get comfortable because I know he was in here. He purposely plotted against me, went through my things. He had to have in order to find something with my father's writing on it. All I keep thinking is what else did he do? What else is missing? What did he take? Where was he? If he's doing this to us, the people he cares most about, then what is he doing to people he hates? I don't- I don't feel safe."

"Nora, I would never let something happen to you."

"I know that. I just- I can't do it anymore. He's wearing me out. I meant what I said yesterday. I don't want to leave you but I don't want to be here."

He knew she was not going to back down and even if she did, it would be only to falsely placate him and he'd wake up one morning to find her gone.

"How long?"

"I don't know."

"If you give me an estimate, I can work something out. I can go, at least for some time."

"You can't. You need to be here."

"I leave for two weeks every year."

"This won't be for two weeks. I'm sorry. I can't be that selfish."

"This is us we're talking about."

"I know. Miles, this isn't a separation."

"It kind of is." He muttered, rolling onto his back. He huffed towards the ceiling and tucked his arms behind his head.

"It's not us. It's not about us. It's about him. I'm tired of having a third person in our marriage. He's always been on the outskirts of it and now he's purposely wedging himself in. He's not going to stop. He's not going to leave. For my peace and sanity, I'm going to have to." She propped herself up onto her elbow and hovered over him.

"So you're giving up. You."

"I'm not giving up."

"Sounds like it to me."

"Rejuvenation is a better word. I'm not going forever." She paused for a moment, then laid her hand against his cheek, "You built all of this."

"We built it."

"You and Bass built it. I came along for the ride. I can't ask you to desert it. Because that's what would happen. If we left together, I wouldn't want to come back. You have an obligation to the Militia and to the people of the Republic."

"I have an obligation to you."

"I won't hold you to it."

"What the fuck are you talking about?"

"You would never forgive yourself if you just got up and left."

"And what if I wanted to? You're sitting there talking about how tired you are. I'm tired. I'm exhausted. I don't know what to do anymore."

"You would just pack up and leave?" She asked quietly. His hesitation was all the answer she needed, which made her smile slightly. "That's not who you are. Even as it's gotten worse, you still haven't left. That's okay."

"It's falling apart in my hands."

"You can change that."

"I can still come with you. Get you settled in."

"I'll be fine."

"It's a six hour ride."

"I have Mia. We'll be okay."

"You'll send word when you get there?"

"Yeah." Nora nodded and turned away from Lady to face Miles. She smiled faintly at his slouched form as he stared off to the side, a deep scowl set in his face. "Hey,"

She moved forward and wrapped her arms around his waist, tilted her head up to look at him. He still wouldn't look at her and left his hands shoved in his pockets.

"This is not about you. This isn't some passive aggressive thing. I'm not mad. I'm not punishing you. I hate that I am leaving you here but you've got a job to do and my problems can't take you away from that."

"Yeah, well, you're kind of my problem, so your problems then turn into mine."

"You say the sweetest things."

"Be careful."

"I'll be fine. I'm a big girl." Her smile widened a little and she poked him in the side, saying, "Seven years ago, I definitely wouldn't have been able to handle myself. You did a good job General."

He rolled his eyes but brought his hands up to her face and gave her a hard kiss. She sighed into him, tightened her grasp on his hips, and allowed him to take whatever it was he needed. He relaxed as his hands shifted to pull her closer against him. Finally, they wound up hugging and she pressed her face against his shoulder, knowing this was the last chance she had for a while.

"Can we go now?" Mia muttered as she walked by them. She climbed up onto her horse and looked out towards the end of the property. She hadn't been thrilled when her sister woke her up that morning but when her options were to go with Nora or stay with Miles, her choice was quite clear. Nora pulled away slightly but pulled Miles down for one more kiss.

"I'll be out in a few weeks to see you." He told her quietly.

"Okay."

"I'm going to take care of things here. I don't want you to feel like you can't be here. I'm doing this for you."

"I don't want you doing something you're going to regret."

"No, you're the kick in the ass I needed." He leaned in and brushed his lips against hers. "I love you."