Chapter 122

Valkyrie's first thoughts when she woke up was that she was far too hot and was also very thirsty. The second's ones were just a barrage of last night and all the crazy things she'd been told. Carefully, she extracted herself from under Nadia and took a drink from the plastic cup from the side – had she not been allowed glass? – kicked the covers off of them and lay back down to think.

She'd just been told so much. It was scary to think that so many big things had happened while she was… away? Gone? Sick? She wasn't sure about the words, but it was hard to believe so much had changed. Tanith and Ghastly, Solomon being rescued, Nadia saving him all alone, her family cutting Nadia off so rudely. Nadia had been able to tell her a lot of truth, but Valkyrie was a detective, and even if he was on her Shit List of people she wanted to scream at right about now, Skulduggery had taught her that there were two sides to every story.

Tanith must have been tired and certainly ill so there was a little bit of an alibi to leaving Nadia alone, and it did seem as if she put in some effort when Nadia was right in front of her, but her brothers didn't have that defence. She supposed they had been looking for Skulduggery but again, it was not a full-time thing that stopped them from checking in on Nadia. Single texts here and there would have sufficed.

Perhaps I'm prematurely overreacting, she thought to herself. She needed the full story, but she was also being protective of Nadia because she could see how badly this had affected her. And even with all that jumbling around in her head, she knew Nadia hadn't told her everything and she needed to get those details still.

She needed time. Time to think and plan and act. She had to prioritise. When she and Nadia had first broken up, she'd spent a lot of time with Corrival while she was getting over immediate emotions and they had mostly spoken about military tactics and the sort of priorities she had to hold during battle and even just in the Sanctuary doing paperwork.

Well, she knew she needed information. The first thing that came to mind, admittedly, was Skulduggery. She had to speak with him about a massive number of things, but with him being quiet, and her being so angry, she didn't particularly want to get involved with that at the moment. As well as that, there were the Spiders, and she bet he knew a bunch about that if she could put that anger to one side. So Skulduggery was a big one for a few things, but there were other things she could do the emotions were too raw to actually do it.

She needed to talk to Tanith. Honestly, she wasn't mad with Tanith. Her sister was in a really bad situation, even if she was being strong about it. She was having a baby, the father was being an idiot, and all the other things like Valkyrie being sick, Skulduggery and all of that couldn't be helping. Plus, she was already getting sick from the pregnancy, so Valkyrie doubted that was much better with stress added on top. The only thing she needed to do with Tanith was kindly ask what was happening and try to help her. Sure, she wanted to be mad that Tanith hadn't been there for Nadia, but even Nadia had said how worried Tanith had been, how much she had risked in her pregnancy and health to be at the hospital for Valkyrie. There was no point in making it worse.

As for Ghastly, he was also on the Shit List, but in a way that made her side firmly with Tanith and make her want to ignore him. She'd get around to the shouting later.

Now, her brothers? That was something else. They truly had ignored Nadia, even when they were at the hospital together when she'd been 'awake'. They hadn't been busy searching, they had unified in their want to help Valkyrie. And in their refusal to talk to Nadia. That was not okay and she would find out what was going on there.

Obviously, Nadia was on the list of priorities too, because there was a lot to talk about and help her with but getting everything around them calm would probably help the most. She also had to thank Fletcher, and probably Myra, for helping Nadia. In fact, she wouldn't mind thinking of something to thank Nadia with too, since she'd helped her so much.

She smiled to herself, stroking Nadia's hair as she thought. It was a lot to do, but she could handle it. First, she'd deal with her brothers, then talk to Tanith, then thank Fletcher and Myra if they were at home, spend the night talking with Nadia, then it was getting in touch with Meritorious and Corrival to take over the Skulduggery hunt investigation. She had said yesterday she'd continue to recover but now she was awake she'd rather be involved. She could start that off with going to visit China, who she hadn't seen since they'd killed Bliss and China saved her life.

With any luck, she'd have the time to actually do all that!

Nadia moaned. Grinning, Valkyrie kissed her neck softly, and when Nadia smiled, Valkyrie trained her fingers over Nadia's soft midriff where her top had risen and begin to lightly tickle her. It took a moment, but soon she was awake and giggling.

"Stop it," Nadia groaned, pretending she didn't like it.

"You're cute," Valkyrie whispered, kissing her again. "It's really early."

"We went to bed at nine or something," Nadia yawned. "Does this make us really responsible?"

"Sounds like it. Come on, let's get something to eat," Valkyrie grinned, pulled Nadia up.

"I'm not hungry yet," Nadia complained. "Anyway, I need a shower."

Valkyrie let her go and stood up. "Alright, well, you do that. I need to talk with my brothers."

Nadia looked concerned and a bit guilty again. "They'll know I told."

"So? I saw Saracen give you that look last night. I'm going to ask him to tell me the truth, and if he does, I might not outright kill him," Valkyrie joked, knowing full well she badly wanted to hit him anyway. Nadia smiled. "Don't worry. I'll make sure everything is better soon, but if they think they can hide from me, they can think again. Alright?"

"I know," Nadia sighed, getting out of bed. She was still in jeans and shirt. She crossed her arms. "You're thinking of going to find Skulduggery, aren't you?"

"You could be a detective," Valkyrie smiled softly, and kissed her forehead. "Don't worry about me anymore, okay? I'm not doing anything immediately."

Nadia just nodded to that but did have her a kiss on the lips before leaving the bedroom. Valkyrie watched her go, knowing she needed to reassure Nadia later on, but for now, she got herself dressed. She just chose some tight jeans and a green vest top she'd had for a long time but had never gotten too small because it was stretchy and her chest had never really grown. She may have tiny little breasts, but she had legs. Well, maybe they weren't tiny, necessarily, because Valkyrie had seen women with flatter chests. But Valkyrie would have chosen something else if she had gotten the choice. Then she grinned, because she had chosen bigger when she started dating Nadia. She was still giggling when she went down the stairs and had to take a moment to remind herself of what she had to talk about before she could continue.

Dexter, Saracen, Anton, Erskine and Tanith were sitting in the parlour cross living room already, all holding cups of tea or coffee and looking incredibly tired. She wasn't sure they had slept at all last night.

"Good morning," Valkyrie said chirpily, taking her usual seat. The others smiled tightly. "What's happened?"

"Nothing to worry about," Dexter said after a moment of hesitation. He sat up and acted casual. "So, you and Nadia shared a room last night."

"Yes," Valkyrie said easily. "You can't deflect my question, Dexter. What happened?"

He sighed. "Cub, I know you like being involved, but we just got you back. Can we leave the explanation for a few days?"

"No, we can't," Valkyrie said immediately, knowing she needed to get in control of her family before things got even worse. "Nadia told me some interesting things last night."

Dexter tried a smirk, but seeing Valkyrie serious face, it didn't look convincing. "Do I want to know?"

She looked over at Saracen, who was looking at her almost pleadingly. "Last night. You were talking about how Skulduggery convinced Fletcher to go into the Spiders den but refused to look at Nadia when you said it. Why?"

He tried to speak but just a croak came out. He cleared his throat. "It was nothing Val," he tried, and his smile faded when he saw the look she was giving him. "Really. Nothing's happened."

"I didn't say it did."

"I know, but you think it did."

"I know it did Saracen," Valkyrie snapped, watching his face fall when she used his real name. They could always tell she was genuinely upset with them when she used their real names in private. Her family all lowered their faces and Valkyrie was almost glad for it. "Come on, guys. Did you really think that I was stupid enough not to see you hiding things? Nadia was practically in hysterics. She's not used to this type of stuff. She's a normal, average schoolgirl, she doesn't do anything big or stressful like this. She needed support and a friend, and you all just buggered off and left her at the hospital. You buggered off before that, for god's sake. What were you thinking?"

"We were thinking of the Sanctuary and the Spiders," Dexter snapped. His exterior of calm was slipping. "She almost ruined everything."

"No, Skulduggery ruined everything," she told him outright. "He's the one that did all this. He went off alone, he thought he didn't need family. He agreed to help blow up the Sanctuary. He manipulated Nadia into thinking her only option was to go to the Spiders because she thought you would be killed, and you ignored her and made her feel like she was worthless for it. She isn't like us. This is still eating her up inside because, since the start, you've all just cut her off. Do you have any idea what this is doing to her? And, I'd like to point out, she actually fucking managed it! She deserves some sort of medal for that shit. I don't think I could have gotten in and out of there like she did!"

"Val, there's been a lot going on," Tanith said quietly. The sun was shining through the window and making her bed hair look like a glowing golden halo.

"I know there has, but there was enough time to call her or send a text, or, I don't know, talk to her when you were actually in the hospital," Valkyrie glared, letting them all feel her anger. "Nadia is already suffering mentally from being abandoned at that school and by her parents, and all this hasn't helped in the slightest. And the worst part is that she was trying to defend you when she said what happened and was scared when I said I was going to talk to you about it. How could you do that?"

Saracen, Dexter and Erskine, the ones she was most angry with, didn't look up from the floor and didn't answer her.

"Nothing? No excuse? Really? You're my brothers. You should have spoken to her and made this easier for her, not – not this," Valkyrie choked, her emotions getting too strong. "I've honestly never been so angry. You've all just let this family fall apart, and that's before Skulduggery and Ghastly fucked up. The way you've dealt with all this is disgusting. And you know what, when's the last time you spoke to Fletcher? When he took the blame for Nadia? He was being the only fucking friend she had, and I doubt you looked at him twice. You didn't give a shit, did you? Huh? Say something!"

"There isn't anything to say," Erskine said quietly.

"Really?" Valkyrie said sarcastically. "Is that what you think?"

He looked up at her with tears in his eyes. "He's been our friend for centuries, Valkyrie, and he tried to kill us all just to save some man he hasn't had one nice thought about in three hundred years. It's killing us, Cub."

Valkyrie could see pain in Snake's eyes, pain and guilt. A tear fell from Dexter's downcast face, and Saracen put an arm around him, but they didn't let her see their faces.

She sighed and felt her anger leave her, letting the sadness and her own pain and confusion fill her back up. "How close are you to finding Skulduggery?"

"He's disappeared," Anton said in his deep voice.

Valkyrie nodded. "I want you to all take some time off. Three days at least. More would be better," Valkyrie told them, standing up. They all looked up at her. "I'm taking over this case. You're all too close."

"Cub–"

"Don't," she told Dexter, and strode out of the parlour, spotting Nadia peeking her head around the corner. Out of view of her family, she gave her girlfriend a soft, sad smile and waited for her to quietly jump over the bannister and float down to stand next to Valkyrie. With a hand on Nadia's back, they went to the kitchen and Valkyrie carefully took a breath and let the emotions go, like she'd been trained. She would get through this, and even if it was different later, she'd fix her family. With the little smile Nadia was looking up at her with, she knew it was the right thing to do.

She fixed them up a breakfast of fruits and oatmeal, Nadia staring at the wall with vacant eyes. "You okay?" Valkyrie asked, setting a bowl in front of her at the breakfast bar her family had never really used.

Nadia nodded and smiled at her gratefully. "Yeah. I was just thinking."

"What about?"

"Just everything," she said quietly, taking a spoonful of the fruit porridge. "I think I'm still just shocked you're back to yourself."

"It's weird for me too," Valkyrie admitted, smothering her breakfast in syrup. "So much changed. But I'll fix what I can, alright? I'm going to fix all this."

Nadia smiled, and they ate in compatible silence, both thinking of their troubles. Nadia offered to do the dishes, and while she did that, Valkyrie stepped out the backdoor and called Corrival on her mobile.

It took a few moments, but then he picked up. "Valkyrie?"

"Hi, Pa," Valkyrie said, somehow relieved to hear his voice. "So, what's the news?"

"The news?" He spluttered for a moment, before laughing a little and warmly saying, "Goodness, already back to normal. Welcome back, Valkyrie."

"Thank you," Valkyrie said. "Everything's kind of falling apart isn't it?"

He grunted. "You don't need to worry–"

"Yeah, I've just left my brothers crying in the other room because of how they've handled all this, so I kind of don't care if you think I shouldn't be involved," Valkyrie said firmly before he could even finish. He didn't say anything back. "I want to take over the case. The others are too involved. They haven't acted like themselves."

"Honey," he said quietly. "The Dead Men know what they're doing. You should be recovering."

"They're too involved to find Skulduggery and get the answers we need and you know it. They wouldn't be able to cope even if they did, and we both know they don't have the detective skills to get anywhere close to him," Valkyrie reasoned. "I can track him down. Give me a month to sort all this shit out. I want full powers over the search, and I'll be able to find him and finish this case. I can get answers for what happened at the Spiders den, and what he made Nadia do."

"Valkyrie–"

"Yes or no, Elder Deuce," she said harshly. "Full control or I'll go alone off the books."

He sighed and after perhaps a full minute in which Valkyrie knew he was stewing over what he wanted to do, he answered. "Alright, Detective Cain. Do what you need to do."

Valkyrie thanked him and hung up the phone, glad to have that off her mental checklist. She was in control of the investigation, had beaten her brothers around the head enough for them to understand how they had fucked up. Now came actually getting them to back off the search since she didn't think her telling them off would make them stay back for too long. Knowing she had some time now she was in control and not wanting to make the mistake of acting with her emotions rolling – she'd learnt something important from her family's mistakes at the least – she went back into the house.

Sitting at the breakfast bar was Tanith and Nadia.

"Hi," Valkyrie said, giving Tanith a small smile. She'd said what she wanted, Valkyrie told herself firmly. Now was the forgiving part. That would bring them closer as a family. "How are you feeling?"

"Oh, fine, fine," Tanith said, wrapping her hand around the mug of steaming hot blackcurrant in front of her. "Was that Corrival?"

"Yeah, he gave me full power over the search. I'll have Skulduggery back within the month, or that's what I told him anyway."

"You're not calling anyone by their nicknames," Tanith observed.

"I think I'm growing out of it," Valkyrie said lightly, pulling one of the barstools around so she could face Tanith.

"You're only sixteen," Tanith said quietly, her eyes sad. "You don't need to force out your childhood yet."

"They were only meant to be code names at the beginning," Valkyrie said, looking into her own mug of coffee Nadia had made her. "I think I might start using them like that."

"Your brothers would be upset if you did that."

"Maybe it's for the best," Valkyrie said, smiling to herself. "A change. A new beginning. We need to spend time together, rebuild our bonds. Even without Skulduggery and Ghastly, it's important for us to stand together. We're still family."

Tanith smiled and held her hand out. Valkyrie didn't hesitate to take it in her own. "You're a good person, Valkyrie," Tanith said softly. "I'm glad I've been here to watch you grow up."

Valkyrie smiled and the two of them looked at Nadia when she started crying.

"Nadia?" Valkyrie asked, a little panicked.

"I'm fine!" She said quickly, covering her face. "It's just nice to see you two happy!"

Valkyrie laughed and Tanith pulled Nadia into her arms and the three girls grinned at each other. There was a lot more to go… but this was a start. A happy start.

Eeeee I love happy endings! I can't stay mad at them, even from the outside. They still might have to go through some punishment though, some manual labour of some time I think ;)

Have a good morning/evening/whatever :)