A/N: I made a playlist for this story! Please go check out my writing blog on tumblr to see it! (purplefangirl42). There is also a song specifically for this chapter called I Want You Here by Plumb. It mainly applies to the flashback portion of this chapter.

Content Warning: Blood, Injury, Limb Loss, Grief

The noise of construction was one that quickly got annoying. Sevika scowled as she entered the work zone that The Last Drop had become. The constant banging and crashing that filled the space didn't do her raging headache any favors. Her latest micro-dose of shimmer was starting to wear off, soreness creeping into her muscles. Sevika rolled her good shoulder and tilted her head to crack her neck before walking across the room to the foot of the stairs and trudging up them to the upper level.

Sevika hoped Silco was in a better mood than he had been the past few days. Whenever she checked in during her recovery, he was snappy and quick to dismiss her. She would have thought that his success would have put him in a better mood, but something seemed to be interfering with the sense of victory. She had an inkling that Lil's continued absence had something to do with it.

When she reached the door to Silco's new office, Sevika raised her hand and rapped her knuckles on the frame. The low 'come in' from the other side encouraged her to enter. She shut the door behind her and moved to stand before the desk sitting in front of the window. The high-backed chair on the other side spun around to face her, revealing Silco.

"Sevika. How is your healing going?"

She gave him a one-shouldered shrug and gestured to her left shoulder. The implant site was still healing and hurt more than she could put into words.

"I still have some healing to do before anything else can be added. The biggest issue is getting used to only having one hand for the time being."

Silco hummed before leaning forward to grab the cigar from the gray ashtray on his desk. He brought it to his mouth and lit it before turning his attention back to her again.

"The doctor has shown great progress in his healing, so hopefully, he should be able to help you soon and expedite the process."

Silco turned his chair away from her and focused his gaze on the ceiling. Sevika followed his gaze and found nothing. He must be in a melancholic mood rather than the snappy one of the past few days. The longer he was forced to wait for Lil to return, the stranger his attitude became.

"Sir?"

Silco only hummed again, indicating that he heard her.

"Is there something you need?"

Silco blew his cigar smoke upwards toward the rafters before turning his gaze toward her.

"Answers would be nice. It's been nearly a week, and I haven't heard anything from Ollilia, either positive or negative."

"What kind of answer are you expecting?" Sevika asked. "Do you want her to come running in here and lay herself at your feet? Because she's not going to."

Silco scowled at her and snubbed out his cigar. He leaned forward across his desk and pinned her with a glare.

"You led me to believe that she would. Instead, I found her gathering a group to come after me in Vander's defense. When I went to her apartment to talk to her alone, she attacked me with a staff and shoved me into a wall."

"You tried to touch her, didn't you?"

"I grabbed her arm. She had never been aggressive like that before. Where did that come from?"

Sevika's eyes flicked away from him, avoiding his gaze.

"I'm assuming you had something to do with that?"

"A pretty waitress at the busiest bar in the lanes, she was often the center of many people's attention. Especially after you disappeared."

"Me? What difference would my presence make?"

Sevika looked back at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Are you seriously asking that? She may as well have been wearing a sign that said 'Property of Silco: Do Not Touch' when you were around. No one dared come near her. But, once you were gone, they flocked towards her like vultures."

"I can say that it wasn't intentional."

Sevika didn't believe it for a second. If his current behavior was any indication, he definitely felt he deserved Lil's attention. She knew that wasn't a new phenomenon and that he wouldn't have tolerated having competition. She hadn't personally experienced the ire from encroaching on what Silco viewed as his territory, as she hadn't made her move until after he was long gone. She had seen a few gutsy idiots scurry away from The Drop when they had built up the courage to approach Lil, only to be chased off by Silco's piercing gaze and intimidating nature.

"Whether it was or not, your influence didn't last long once she returned. She needed a way to make them back off. So I worked with her until she felt confident she could take care of herself."

"Wait…once she returned?"

Sevika stared blankly at Silco. As intelligent as he was, he sure missed a lot.

"She didn't stick around after your 'death.' When Vander returned and said what happened, she took off. Nearly did your job for you before she did too."

Sevika saw Silco's head tilt in confusion before his eye widened as he realized the meaning behind her words. He truly didn't seem to know how much he meant to Lil. She hoped this information would get it into his head.

"I found her by the river and brought her home. After that, she was awol. I didn't see her for at least a year after that, and it was another two before she set foot in the Last Drop again. Don't be surprised if it takes her time to warm up to you again."

She could see the disappointment in Silco's face. She could tell that he thought getting himself into Lil's good graces would be easy.

"If she was so bothered by what happened, why was she gathering forces against me? Why would she go save Vander?"

"I honestly don't think she was doing it for Vander," Sevika said. "When I left the bar, I could tell she was itching to follow me out."

"Why didn't she?"

"Because just like Vander, the kids were holding her back. They were the only reason she came back in the first place. She cared about them, including the brat you brought back."

"Yet she said she has no claim over her as a mother."

"It's complicated."

"Complicated?" Silco scoffed. "Everything is complicated with her."

With her?

Sevika rolled her eyes. If he continued with that attitude, he wouldn't get very far with Lil if he tried to talk to her again.

"If she does decide to come back, keep in mind that she tried to attack a man twice her size while she had an injured shoulder for you."

Lil hissed in pain as she plopped down on the booth Sevika had led her to. After Silco's departure, Sevika had appeared to finish tending to the wound on Lil's shoulder. Agreeing that the warehouse was much too crowded, the pair of them had made their way back to the Last Drop in a torrential downpour.

"Your bandage got all wet," Sevika said, pulling away what remained of the part of Lil's shirt covering her shoulder.

"I'll fix it later. Leave it alone for now," Lil said, waving Sevika's hands away. "Get me something to drink."

Sevika stood from her crouch at Lil's side and made her way over to the bar. Lil leaned her head back against the booth, closed her eyes, and took a few deep breaths. She tried to think about anything but the searing pain in her shoulder. She hadn't taken anything to help lessen it, leaving the available meds for people that needed them more than she did. What she needed most was rest, but she wanted to see Silco again before that happened.

Lil's eyes snapped open at the sound of the front door of the bar slamming open. Vander stood in the doorway, absolutely drenched. He was breathing heavily and clutching his right forearm. Sevika abandoned her mission behind the bar and rushed to his side.

"He's bleeding a lot," she said. "Lil, I need your help!"

Lil stood stiffly from her seat in the booth and moved as fast as she could across the bar to grab the emergency med kit from behind it as Sevika guided Vander into a chair. She tossed a towel across the room into Sevika's waiting hands, which was pressed on Vander's forearm to slow his bleeding. Lil crossed the room again, pulling over another chair with her uninjured arm. She sat in front of Vander and opened the kit on the table.

"What happened?" she asked. "Have you been bleeding like this since the bridge?"

Vander wouldn't look at her, only shaking his head in answer to her question. Lil pursed her lips and got to work on tending his wound. When Sevika removed the towel, Lil could see that it was a long clean slice. Not jagged or surrounded by other injuries that would signify where he got it. If she had to guess, it was likely a slash from a knife.

After cleaning it, Lil threaded the needle and moved to stitch the sides together. Having just gone through this herself, she should have been prepared for Vander's violent recoil to the pain of the needle piercing his skin. He nearly pulled his arm out of her grip, its retreat only stopped by Sevika intervening and holding it still.

"I'm sorry. I don't have anything to numb it. Most of the supplies are at the warehouse."

Vander nodded for her to continue, so Lil started her stitching job again. When she was satisfied, she tied it off and covered it with a bandage to keep it clean. Her eyes roved over Vander's form, searching him for more injuries. His soaked clothing didn't give her any indication he was bleeding anywhere else on his body. As her gaze skimmed over his midsection, she saw a hole on the side of his shirt. She reached out and touched the spot, causing Vander to recoil again.

"He's got another wound," she said to Sevika. "Help me get his shirt off so I can look at it."

Sevika moved to do as Lil asked, but Vander placed his large hand on her shoulder, stopping her movement.

"Leave it."

"Vander…" Lil started.

"I said leave it," he snapped at her.

Lil flinched at his tone. Vander had never treated her with anything but kindness, never raised his voice at her. He looked at her for the first time since he entered the bar, likely having seen her flinch. His gaze softened, and as Lil looked into his eyes, she could see something dark lingering in them.

Pain. Regret.

At that moment, it struck her that someone was missing. Silco had left her at the warehouse to presumably talk to Vander. Here was Vander. With no Silco.

"Vander…" she said. "Where is Silco?"

Lil could see the dark shadows on his face increase in intensity as he averted his gaze again. Vander stood from his chair, stumbling away from where she and Sevika were still sitting. Lil imitated his actions and stood from her chair, but her feet remained glued to the floor.

"Where is he?" she asked, her voice breaking slightly as her mind raced through every horrible scenario she could think of.

"He's gone," was Vander's only reply as he grabbed a bottle from behind the counter and took a large swig of it.

"Gone? Gone where?"

The bottle shattered as Vander slammed it down on the countertop. He braced his hands against the surface, his large shoulders heaving as he took a deep breath before speaking again.

"He's dead, Lil."

Lil felt her heart stop at his words. Her breath caught in her throat, and she began to sway where she stood. She felt Sevika's steadying hand on her lower back, preventing her from falling over.

Dead? How could he be dead? She had just seen him. He was alive. She felt his heartbeat as he carried her to safety. Felt the warmth of his hands as he held her face before he left.

"What…what happened?"

"I wanted to touch base and see where we should go from here. Things went horribly wrong tonight. Things need to change. I only wanted to talk."

Vander turned towards her, his weight sagging to lean against the bar.

"He came at me. You know how his temper is. He stabbed me and slashed at me with his dagger. I tried retreating into the river to escape him, but he followed me. I was just going to hold him under long enough to slow him down so that I could get away."

Lil heard more than felt the sob escape her chest. Silco was dead. And Vander had killed him.

"How could you?" she asked, taking a step towards him. "He's half your size. There's no way he could fight you off!"

"I didn't have a choice, Lil! He was trying to kill me!"

Lil tore her gaze away from him. Her fists clenched at her sides, nails digging into her palms.

"I was only trying to slow him down, but he was under for too long. He was gone before I knew what had happened."

With an angry yell, Lil grabbed the knife at her hip and launched herself in Vander's direction. Despite his injuries, he reacted quickly, grabbing her wrist to stop her attack. Lil lashed out with her other hand, violently smacking his face and dragging her nails across it. She felt an arm wrap around her midsection, pulling her away from the man before her.

"Lil, stop!" Sevika shouted. "You'll pull your stitches!"

"Let me go!" Lil screamed, trying to pull herself out of Sevika's grasp.

"Lil, please…" Vander said, taking a step towards her. "Please understand."

"Understand?! You killed the man I love, your brother, and you want me to understand?!"

"It was an accident! I was only defending myself!"

Lil felt another sob escape her lungs as she collapsed against Sevika's grip. The other woman pulled the knife from her hand and threw it away from her. Vander took another step towards them, holding his hands up defensively.

"If I could undo it, I would. I would give anything to bring him back."

Lil stiffened in Sevika's arms and turned her face towards Vander again. Her mouth twisted in a snarl, and she spat a retort at him.

"It should have been you. This whole thing was your fault! The demonstration went wrong because of you!"

Sensing Sevika's grip weakening, Lil pulled out of it, freeing herself. Rather than attacking Vander again like she desperately wanted to, she ran from the bar out into the downpour. She could hear Vander calling after her, but she didn't stop. Ignoring the stabbing pain in her shoulder, Lil continued running through the streets of the Undercity.

Lil knew they wouldn't be able to catch her even if they tried, but she couldn't stop. She eventually found herself at the edge of the polluted water of the River Pilt. She couldn't see much of anything in the darkness of the stormy night, but she tried in vain to search the surface for any sign of life.

"Silco!" she screamed as loud as her lungs would allow. "Silco! Answer me, please!"

She continued screaming his name, her cries quickly covered by the deafening thunder. Lil sank to her knees on the riverbed, streams of tears mingling with the rain running down her cheeks. Her throat ached from screaming, but choked sobs still rose to the surface.

Lil's eyelids shot open as she awoke from her nightmare. The same one she'd been having all week. The first night, Mai had woken her up. She had told her she was screaming in her sleep. Now that she was back at her place, she wondered if the screaming had continued. She'd have to apologize to her neighbors.

Pulling the covers from her body, Lil climbed out of bed and went to the bathroom. She turned on the sink and splashed cold water onto her face. When she looked at herself in the mirror above the basin, all she could see was exhaustion. Her eyes were red and wrinkled lines were forming in various places. The haunting memories were keeping her from getting the rest she needed. The conclusion she had reached was that staying away from Silco didn't alleviate the problem as she thought it would.

Perhaps the solution was constant exposure to his presence. Maybe that would soothe the aching spot in her heart. To see that he was alive. Vander had lied. He was still here. Things would never be the same, but knowing this was the truth and seeing it daily could help heal the tear that had reopened by seeing him again for the first time.

Lil highly doubted he was waiting on pins and needles for her response. If she waited long enough, he would find someone else. She had simply been the easier choice and available.

Hopefully, it wasn't too late.

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