This is it, my friends, the last chapter and the epilogue. Many thanks to everyone who read this and joined me on the journey, and heartfelt appreciation to anyone who reblogged, linked, kudo'ed, commented or sent asks or messages — you are the writer's lifeblood. I hope you enjoyed it, and will consider reading my other stories.
Delphine awoke to a satisfied ache in her core, a buzzing under her skin. There was a soft breeze sighing through the window, rippling the curtains lightly, and ghosting over the sheets. She stretched her long body, torso, neck and limbs, all the way down to her fingers and toes. They felt a little heavy, but sensitive, fully inhabited, compared to how they had been barely noticed, willfully ignored, before.
It took her a moment to realize Cosima wasn't there, in the bed with her, but when she rolled on her side, the sheets were just slightly damp, and the unmistakable smell of her lover's skin lingered on the pillow.
It was morning, traffic moving outside, birds singing. She rose and pulled on her silk robe, then padded out of the room.
There was the sound of a low voice from down the hall, Cosima's quirky rhythm of English, the sweet depth of the placement of her tones in her throat and chest. Delphine followed it to her father's den.
"Alright, thank you, sir," she heard, and she peeped around the doorframe to see Cosima, also in a robe, headset on, speaking into the wireless. The brunette turned the machine off and, looking thoughtful, leaned back in her chair.
"You set it up," Delphine said, and Cosima's head turned to see her.
"Oh, hi. Hi, gorgeous." They exchanged true smiles. "I didn't know you were up."
"I am, just now. You put it all together." She nodded to indicate the wireless. "I hope you didn't hurt yourself."
"Nah, I was careful. Maybe wasn't the smartest thing to do, but… let's say I had a surge of energy that really got me going this morning." Her grin widened, and Delphine entered the room, taking the few steps to approach her, leaning down.
"Is that so," she asked, and brushed her lips against Cosima's. They slid into a long, sensual kiss, glorying in each other's touch. Cosima hummed and Delphine pulled back a few inches, sitting on the arm of her chair.
"Are you going to tell me whom you were talking to," she questioned, running one hand through Cosima's dark hair, and then down her cheek to her chin.
"I was talking to the Prof., himself, one of my bosses, Alan Turing." Cosima registered Delphine's questioning look. "Of course, you wouldn't have heard of him, but he's brilliant, absolutely genius. I can't even begin to comprehend the way his mind approaches and solves mathematics. I mean, I've been following his work in a basic way to help with wireless transmission and decoding, but he's pushed whole teams of people who have been cracking codes, translating secret messages at the highest level from the Germans, the Russians… It's not my forté, exactly… I've always been more of a biology girl, fascinated with natural development and patterns, but he's opened up a whole new world for me. I mean, he thinks we can build machines that handle the translation and generation of complex symbols nearly autonomously at great volume, someday… not just the breaking down of codes, but an actual sort of computing intelligence, as if the machine was thinking, itself." Her hands had begun arcing, twisting, punctuating her excitement and wonder at what she was saying.
"You know, we even talked about decoding and calculating morphogenesis. Like, holy cow, there could be equations, and a machine that computes them to figure out how organisms change and grow… how they differentiate cells and form changes, first simple, then radiating in complexity, to create shapes and patterns, from the spots on horse's hide to, to… well everything, pretty much."
"Merde…" Delphine gasped, brain racing. "Can you imagine the medical implications for that? The, the practical translation of cellular actions and development… the ability to decode how illnesses work, viruses and host-parasite relationships…"
They both trailed off, staring at each other in wonder. Then Delphine broke a smile.
"So, you set up my wireless you gave me to talk to this Professor about theoretical mathematics?"
Cosima chuckled, and ran her hand up Delphine's back.
"No. Uh, like I said, he's one of my bosses, and we just hit it off, for several reasons…" she briefly nuzzled Delphine's neck. "You know, we're not the only scientists who enjoy a little 'inversion' now and then…"
Delphine's mouth formed an O, her eyebrows raised.
"Yeah, I'm good at getting to know folks," Cosima grinned, a little proud. Delphine was proud of her also, for so many reasons.
"You are quite the charmer," she acknowledged, kissing her nose, and feeling a delightful wash of satisfaction as Cosima's cheeks pinked and glowed.
"Anyway, so, I realized I was being stupid, just waiting for a call from who knows whom, and that I could set this up and talk directly to the higher-ups at Bletchley, myself."
"I see." Delphine looked at her expectantly. "And what did he say?"
"Hanslope, Buckinghamshire. About sixty miles out of London. He's going to be working further on these calculating, code-breaking machines, but I'm to help on a project looking into the guidance system of a new kind of German missile. It seems the Nazis aren't done, yet… they've been testing these rockets that, that could fly further than any launched from land before, so they won't even need airplanes to bomb…"
They exchanged sober looks, smiles fading. After a moment, Cosima cleared her throat.
"You know… it's not New Guinea. England isn't that far."
Delphine met her gaze, and ran her fingers down the collar of Cosima's robe.
"I know," her teeth caught her bottom lip. "Especially… especially if I go there, too?"
Cosima blinked, the words sinking in, then she pulled at Delphine's waist so hard that the blonde fell into her lap.
"Yes," Cosima breathed, showering kisses on her face and neck. "Oh God, yes, come with me…"
Their mouths met in a forceful kiss, clinging to one another in affirmation, need, commitment.
Danielle will look after Paris, Delphine's mind briefly decided. They can have my apartment. I don't want to be anywhere but with Cosima, my love…
Yes, Cosima's consciousness chanted, yes yes yes, her genius, hyperactive brain overwhelmed by pure feeling, emotion.
They would have to make plans, work things out. They didn't know what Cosima's employers and the Allied military branches would allow. There would be paperwork, and arrangements, friends to embrace, to wish goodbyes to, even if they hoped it was not forever. They didn't know what this would mean for Danielle and Scott, for their careers or studies or any other part of their futures. They only knew that they would face it all, together.