Author's Note: Hello all, and Merry Christmas in advance! Not that this particular chapter is very cheerful… At any rate, I'll just say that this chapter and the next one take place more or less at the same time, chronologically speaking. That aside, I haven't got much to say, so as always I do hope that you enjoy, and any feedback is appreciated.

Doctor Van Abraham's practice was clearly not a particularly successful one, if Blake was to judge based upon the dingy waiting room of the ramshackle tenement building in which she currently sat beside Mina. The chairs were visibly aged and there were cracks in the windows of the piteously small room, but perhaps the greatest indication was all the dust gathering on the table and the months' old magazines on the drab little coffee table. There was no secretary – not even a desk – and the place reeked of cigarettes. This was not a place that people came happily – it all felt like the place was under a pall of anxiety, though perhaps that was just Blake's own unease. Why are we here? Blake wondered again as she regarded the handful of other people in the otherwise sparse anteroom, Oh right…

Aside from the brief mention of him during Blake's first attempt to talk to her after her retrogression, Mina had not so much as thought of the person of Van Abraham in years, but at Dr. Edrych-Gwydr's mention of him yesterday, Mina had been instantly interested, which concerned Blake somewhat. Adding to the confusion and internal turmoil though was Edrych-Gwydr's suggestion that they needed to reevaluate their relationship… But what does that have to do with him?

Blake for one was quite certain that she had no desire whatsoever to have anything to do with the man. Maybe Mina's memory of the man was clouded by her childhood fondness for him, but Blake was not about to trust the man who took advantage of Mina' smother in their time of need.

Still, Blake had been wondering in the back of her mind how Mina and her Mother might have come to meet this man in the first place. That much at least had been cleared up, albeit in a manner that supported her suspicions about how Mina's mother had once supported her. "Van Abraham" read the shoddy sign hanging over the outside door, subsequently qualified by five little letters: OBGYN. It made sense of course; a single woman raising a daughter – especially a daughter with needs such as Mina's and her own – by inviting, as Mina had put it 'different friends' over for the night would naturally have need of such services, as the few other occupants of the room plainly did. The whole idea made her uncomfortable though – two of the other three young women in the office were Faunus, and none of them were particularly well dressed. Either Abraham charged a scant rate for his services, or there was something distasteful going on here. Whatever the case, Mina and herself were drawing occasional disinterested looks from the other women present – all young, but nonetheless older than themselves – the sort of looks that might have been curious about two girls entering such a place had they not had so much else to worry about.

Yet Mina had wanted to see the man to whom all of this belonged, and Blake had reluctantly conceded, thinking that perhaps that was what Edrych-Gwydr had meant. Maybe by doing this they could get to know each other better then… what, exactly? Still, Blake could hardly outright veto the idea; she herself was the one who had so frequently lectured Mina about having opinions and desires of her own rather than smiling and nodding to whatever Blake wanted. So when the first words to pass Mina's lips when next they'd been alone were "I want to meet him," what else was there to do? After arriving at this conclusion, it had only taken a brief search on her scroll for Dr. Van Abraham to turn up this place, and here they were.

"Have you thought about what you're going to say to him?" Blake asked furtively, to break the heavy silence.

Mina shook her head, "Hello, I suppose…"

"Are you…" Blake hesitated, speaking as softly as she could – hopefully such that the other two Faunus women wouldn't hear her, but Mina would, "Sure about this Mina…?"

Mina turned to look Blake's way appraisingly, "Dearest…?"

To this point, Blake had kept her reservations to herself, but there was no honest way to avoid the issue now, "Well… It's just… Mina…" Blake sighed, looking over to the other occupants of the room, "Would you just… come with me for a minute?"

Mina nodded perplexedly "Very well…" Without arousing much attention from the other women in the room, Blake and Mina thus stood and made their way back out the door, and Blake led Mina into the alley beside the building and out of anybody's ready line of sight or earshot. She waited until Mina was halted and then looked at her expectantly, "Dearest, what is this?"

"Mina… you know I love you, no matter what, right?" Blake asked imploringly.

"Yes…" Mina's face belied some concern now, "But what does-?"

"Mina… How did your Mother take care of you?"

Mina blinked with a start, "Dearest… I…" Mina looked away, "Must we discuss this…?"

"Mina…" Blake hesitated, seeing that she was making Mina uncomfortable, but this needed to be out in the open between them before Blake let Mina expose herself to an exploitive reprobate for nostalgia's sake, "When you were… when your memories were suppressed… you mentioned how your mother would… have friends over… and my impression was that your mother was usually home so…"

Mina's eyes widened a bit and then her face fell, "I… I see…"

"I'm just concerned that-,"

"I'm sorry..." Mina apologized, much to Blake's surprise, and Mina seemed to shrink, "She loved me…"

"Mina, I-,"

"I know that it isn't necessarily proper – and most of the grown-ups who didn't stay over called her awful names but-,"

"Mina!" Blake pulled her close, "Mina, Mina, calm down… I'm not judging you-,"

"No, but you're judging one of the few people who ever showed me kindness…"

The words pierced Blake like a knife, No… that's… That isn't what I… Blake's eyes went wide, but it is what you said… Blake sighed, "Mina… I'm just concerned that… well, I know it wasn't much, but from what you told me…" Blake hesitated, "It seemed like 'Dr. Abraham' was…"

"Exploiting my mother for sex in exchange for blood packs," Mina filled in the words which Blake hadn't wanted to say matter-of-factly, "Yes, I am quite aware what you think, Dearest,"

Blake wasn't quite sure how to take that. In eleven years, Blake had never had Mina reproach her like this. The words in themselves were reprimand enough, but what it was that had made her heart stop was the way that Mina had spoken the words. At no point had Mina ever – throughout their entire relationship – spoken to her with such audible disapproval, and… it hurt…

"Mina…"

Mina shook her head with a sigh, "I suppose that I hadn't much cared to dwell upon it… I loved my mother, Dearest… but in retrospect…" She looked away, "I suppose that you are right about her…"Mina shook her head, "But what of it?" She accused, "I remember Dr. Abraham bringing me a can of tomato juice every time he came over – and Mother was never upset to see him, and…"

Blake pulled Mina into a hug, "Mina, I am so sorry – please believe me when I say I'm not judging you – I'm not ashamed of you – I just…" Just what? "I just don't… I don't want him to hurt you…"

"Hurt me?" Mina demanded incredulously, but her voice softened quickly, "Dearest..."

"I'm sorry I upset you," Blake promised, burying her face in Mina's shoulder, "I just… the last few weeks have been hard, and I want you back, and I'm afraid that-," Blake caught herself midsentence. Objectively good as it was that Mina had started developing other friendships and actually caring about other people, after the way that Mina had been so dependent upon Weiss lately, rather than Blake herself, she couldn't help feeling… envious… Wholly irrational as it was, Blake was also afraid that this Dr. Abraham would pull Mina just that much further away, even disregarding the man's character, of which Blake was still very much suspicious, but then, that was no excuse; Jealousy is… ugly…

Squeezing her eyes shut, Blake relaxed her grip on Mina's shoulders and stepped back, "I suppose this was what Dr. Edrych-Gwydr was talking about…"

Mina blinked a few times, perplexed, "Hmmm…?"

"If we're going to… reground our relationship, like she said, then I can't… I have to let you make your own decisions … even if I'm not necessarily fond of them..."

"You would have the humans give Faunus the benefit of the doubt Dearest," Mina pulled Blake back into a hug, "I should not think it so great a feat to ask that you allow the same to Dr. Abraham… For me?"

Blake returned the embrace with a reluctant sigh, "Alright…"

After taking a long time to calm down, Blake and Mina had returned to the dingy waiting room to find the space vacant, though the door on the far wall was shut, which in her brief observation Mina had interpreted to mean that the doctor was busy with a patient. All that was left for them to do then, was wait. Wait and think. It had been eleven years since she'd last met the man, but Mina remembered him well – or at the very least, she thought that she did. Now though… she was not so sure… She remembered looking forward to that can of tomato juice every few days – of that much, she was certain – but perhaps the smile and the affectionate pat on the head which she'd received along with it were a fabrication… could have been, but she was not sure of that either; she just didn't know anymore. Maybe Dr. Abraham had been genuine, or maybe he had been patronizing her; how was a seven year old to know?

She couldn't help feeling upset though; the suggestion that someone she'd once trusted eagerly might have actually been a contemptible scoundrel did not sit well, needless to say. More upsetting though was the fact that it had been Blake to accuse him. Mina frankly did not want to believe it, and the suggestion would have made her angry enough even had it not been conjecture; Blake was better than that – not that it would have mattered if she wasn't, but…

She sighed, "Dearest-,"

Mina did not get the chance to field her question though, as the door to the office creaked open, and out came the last young woman that they'd previously shared the cramped waiting area with as she promptly made for the door. Mina hadn't bothered to use her Semblance; she did not need to for that much - and in any event, what mattered was what came after…

"Next…?" A hoarse, not particularly inviting voice called out the now open door from the waiting room.

So I suppose that now we find out whether or not Blake was right… Mina thought without enthusiasm as she stood, and only now activating her Semblance - mostly to navigate to the door, but at least partly so that she could make certain that Blake was standing right behind her as she stepped closer to the door that was the source of the vaguely familiar voice.

"H-hello…"

"So there is another one…" the voice responded gruffly, "Well, what are you waiting for? If you've been before, you know the rules – if you're new, then let me be perfectly clear…" The rough and slightly haggard voice of Van Abraham continued as Mina reached the threshold; he was a thin figure in a swiveling chair, hunched over a desk up against a wall to the right, situated opposite a door which hung ajar, presumably to the room that played home to his instruments, "Firstly," He enumerated without turning to so much as glance her way, "I don't want to hear about how your boyfriend doesn't care about you, and I don't give a damn if you 'really love your boyfriend' but can't afford a kid – we've both got better things to do, I'm-," Suddenly though the doctor dropped his pen as he turned around to finally face Mina, "I-I… Lucy…?"

Mina mustered a faint little smile, not entirely sure how to proceed, "Hello Doctor…"

"But I-, no, it… how-?"

It was Blake who spoke now, as both Mina and the doctor were seemingly without words, "Dr. Van Abraham?"

The doctor looked Blake's way jerkily, but it did not take long for his gaze to make its way back to Mina, "Yes… but she's…"

"Mina Carfax," Blake clarified, somewhat brusque tone not having softened.

The doctor's eye's widened, "Little. Mina…?"

Mina's smile broadened just a bit wider as she nodded, ""I take it then that I take after my mother…?"

"Th-the resemblance is… uncanny…" He affirmed, finally rising from his chair, "But please, don't tell me you're here for-,"

At that moment, Blake stepped between Mina and Dr. Abraham, a stern expression on her face, "No, she isn't,"

Abraham recoiled slightly at the sudden rebuff, but when he spoke again, his voice bespoke more a mix of relief and confusion than anger, "Ah… thank God…"

Mina giggled a little bit at his relieved response, "No doctor… it would be a touch… odd for me to become pregnant, so I'm told…"

Blake couldn't help a blush as Dr. Abraham momentarily puzzled over the comment, until he cast Blake a second look and the penny dropped, "Ah…well then…"

"Sorry to disappoint you…" Blake muttered bitterly.

The doctor shot Blake an askance look, and Mina's face fell a bit, "And now we come to it, I suppose…"

"Come to what?"

Blake's resolve seemed to falter at Mina's sad tone of voice, but she pressed on regardless, "Dr. Abraham, what was your relationship with Lucy Carfax?"

Abraham slumped back into his chair, "I... I beg your pardon…?"

"We…" Mina hesitated, trying to come up with a diplomatic answer, not wanting to offend either Blake or the doctor, "I know that my mother was…"

"I see…" The man sighed, "And I see what this is…"

Mina could sense Blake tense as the doctor's head craned back against the headrest of his office chair, "Well, I don't know who you are, young lady, but if Mina trusts you…"

"The issue here is whether or not she should have trusted you," Blake asserted, "We recently… heard about your practice, and Mina wanted to see you again…"

"I'm afraid I don't have any tomato juice at the moment," Mina could trace the faintest outline of a smile on the man's lips despite it Blake's accusation, "Is that still your favorite?"

Mina nodded, "It always has been…"

Blake looked back to Mina, reservations plain on her features, but she let out a little sigh, "Mina…"

But it was the doctor who answered, getting up from his chair again for only as long as it took to shut the door to his office and gesture to two other chairs up against the wall, "You don't like me much do you?" it was a rhetorical question, "Have a seat; we'll probably be here a while,"

"You haven't answered the question,"

"Fine," some of the previous gruffness crept back into the man's tone of voice, " You want the short version? Lucy Carfax and I were frequent… mutual patrons…" He took a long pause, "A woman in her position had an obvious need of my services, and as for me…" a deep breath now, "when you're in my position… well, it's cheaper than drinking…"

"I knew it…" Blake muttered, standing to leave, "You-,"

"Disgust you?" The doctor supplied, much to Blake's surprise, "Me too; It's a weird thing that happens to you when you set out on your career to be a humanitarian, but then, I suppose even you know what they say about the road to Hell, don't you, kid?" Blake fell silent, "Funny how quick honest goodwill turns to anger, and then depression…" he gestured broadly, indicating his whole space, "and how easy all that takes you here…"

"So you decided to take advantage of patients who-,"

But Mina caught Blake by the wrist, wordlessly calling for her silence once more, "How did you meet my mother…?"

Even Mina could tell that the doctor winced at the question, but he answered nonetheless "A few years before you were born… Lucy – your mother… she came to my office and confided to me her… unique needs and that she'd decided… selling herself was better than preying on homeless folks in the park – lesser of two evils, I guess…"

Mina's face fell as Blake's arm went slack in her hand, at a loss, "So it is true…"

Abraham nodded, "She was three weeks pregnant when I first met her and…"

Mina's eyes widened, "I… never had any siblings…"

Blake pulled her close, refusing to look Abraham's way as she consoled Mina, "Mina, it's okay-,"

"I suppose you wouldn't believe me if I told you that I fell in love at first sight…" The man continued somewhat bitterly, "and before you say it, no, that isn't 'ethical' – whatever the hell that even means – I stopped caring when I lost my license. Anyway, she came to me twice for… for that before you were born Mina, but the third time she turned up here… she didn't want to do it anymore, and she burst into tears…" the man's eyes squeezed shut, "Which was just as well, 'cause it was killing me to see the look on her face each time she walked out…"

"I…" But Mina was without words to continue.

"That was when your mother decided to have you," Abraham affirmed… and the first time I refused to take her money…"

Blake looked up, surprised, "What?"

"Surprised?" Dr. Abraham relapsed into bitterness, "Or were you just looking forward to treating me like a monster that much?"

Blake opened her mouth to deny it, but no words came out. Instead Mina spoke up in a heartbreakingly small voice, "Thank you…" Both Blake and the doctor set aside their adversarial bearings and looked to Mina, shocked, as she stood, "I think… I think that I have heard enough… I… It has been good to meet you again, Doctor… May I visit you again?"

Mina paid special attention to the silhouette of a sad smile perceptible to her on the doctor's face as it formed, "Any time, just give me a call first – and don't you dare let me ever catch you in my waiting room, understand?"

Mina smiled, "It's a promise,"

Blake looked to Mina with concern, "Are you-?"

"Dearest…" Mina cut her off, "I have heard all I need to; have you not?"

Blake's lips set in a line as she cast one more suspicious glance Dr. Abraham's way, "I have one more question…"

The warmly nostalgic air about the man seated in the creaky old office chair evaporated at Blake's statement, "Not gonna be satisfied tell I beg forgiveness, are you?"

Blake ignored the remark, "Did she love you?"

"I…"

"Yes," Mina asserted, much to the surprise of Blake and the doctor both, "of that much, I've always been certain…" She nodded her goodbyes to Dr. Abraham with a grateful smile and then started for the door, "Dearest?"

Blake looked away shamefacedly as she stood in her turn, "I'm coming…"

They spent the entire walk back to the airship station – and indeed the ride itself – in complete silence. Mina's was of the contemplative sort, whereas Blake's quiet reflection only brought her anxiety. She'd walked into that office so prepared to condemn Van Abraham on Mina's behalf, yet now that Mina knew for sure that she had no desire for it, Blake didn't know what to do. She herself still had her doubts about the man, even if his words – if not his attitude – had undermined her assumptions. Yet it was Blake herself whom Mina had brushed off as they'd concluded, and now Blake didn't know where she stood, even as they disembarked from the airship alone.

"Mina, I…"

"You were worried about me, yes?" Mina offered, not stopping in her progress towards the dorm.

Blake nodded, knowing that Mina would notice the gesture, even as she lagged behind her, "And... I'm sorry…"

This at last gave Mina pause and she turned, a sympathetic look on her face as she shook her head, "There is nothing to forgive," she assured, "But I do think that I understand why Dr. Edrych-Gwydr sent us to see him now as well…"

Blake had completely forgotten the Atlesian specialist in the course of the day's events, but now that Mina had reminded her, Blake still didn't have particular clarity on that point, "What? Y-you do?"

Mina nodded, "She said that we needed to be equals… so she presented us with a problem on which we would not agree… And one on which I will not compromise…"

Blake stopped in her tracks, "What do you mean, 'you won't compromise?"

Mina closed her eyes a moment, looking away, "In all else I am yours, Dearest… but in this…" She shook her head, "I choose to have faith in him…"

Blake closed the distance between them in a few short steps, embracing her in relief, "That's just fine Mina…" Blake breathed, "I… I think that maybe I'm the one who needs to compromise this time…"