A/N: *awkwardly clears throat* ... Okay, so... I know I originally said that this chapter was going to kickstart the ghosts' initial antics with Alison in the last author's notes... but I'm not gonna lie: what I originally planned to lead up to it ended up going into a full chapter after a surge of inspiration hit me. So... ya'll have gotten another filler chapter involving Cordelia's one-on-one interactions with a ghost, this time Robin if the chapter title hadn't already clued you in. XD Robin was a little difficult to write here, but I felt that it made sense that he spoke to Cordelia after the events of last chapter, which then should have included a short timeskip to the following morning and a cliffhanger. However, as you may be able to tell when reading this chapter... I had a little too much fun with Cordelia's and Robin's conversation, hence why it took up the whole damn word count. XD So, apologies to anyone hoping to see Cordelia witnessing the ghosts scaring Alison, but I swear the next chapter will go into that. No more stalling. ^^'

Either way, thank you to everybody who has been reading this fanfic. Will give you a heads up that the site is experiencing glitches right now, so things may go weird with this update. But just know it's the site and not me, if so. As usual, expect at least a month's delay before the next update. But until then, I hope you enjoy Robin's and Cordelia's little talk.

Chapter 10: A Wise Caveman Once Said

Against her better judgement and the tumultuous thoughts swirling round in her head, Cordelia didn't take the opportunity to leave the common room while the group were distracted by the Captain's relayed instructions about the upcoming 'operation'. She forced herself to stay put and endure the WW2 veteran's prattling for the sake of keeping up appearances and simultaneously taking mental notes to remain aware of what she was to expect the following day—they were to convene in the ballroom at eight o'clock tomorrow morning to iron out the details of Robin's and everyone else's role in making this operation successful (which Robin had proudly nicknamed 'Operation Boo!', much to Cordelia's amusement. So simplistic, yet perfectly concluded, she thought; such a shame the Captain didn't share in that same amusement). In the meantime, they were to spend the rest of today away from Alison to avoid any further complications, something Cordelia was more than happy to do given her current internal conflict.

After that, the ghosts were left to their own devices and wasted no time going off to do who knows what (barring Humphrey, who was once again abandoned by his body and requested Thomas' help in moving his head somewhere more discreet), with Cordelia retiring straight to her bed chambers. Outside of the fact she doubted Alison was going to happen upon the bedroom within the next 24 hours, Cordelia needed to be alone to process the revelations that had plagued her one after the other. From there, the Victorian ghost had proceeded to sprawl herself vertically and partially across her bed in front of her window, resting her folded arms atop her abdomen and keeping her feet over the bed's edge. She didn't move for the remainder of the day and chose to dwell within the raging sea of thoughts that threatened to pull her under the water's surface. Meanwhile, her blue eyes fixed themselves to the ceiling, watching the golden sunlight streaking into the room gradually move from the left side of the wall to the right as time went on.

The Victorian ghost had long since conceded that Humphrey had been right with his claims earlier. Try as she might to deny it, deep down, she'd never truly wanted Alison and Mike to leave, because from the glimpses she'd seen of the new lady of the house, she'd seen parts of Heather in Alison, the former of whom she'd unwittingly developed an attachment to despite claiming otherwise. The guilt she'd felt in connection to the events of her demise had never been relevant to the ghosts' current antics, but rather her absence at Heather's bedside the day she'd moved on and her inability (or lack thereof in cases where she could have, perhaps, done something with her ghostly powers) to aid the poor lady of the house while she had still been alive. Alison's near-death experience caused that guilt to resurface, and though it was a hard pill to swallow at first, using her time alone to unscramble her thoughts had since allowed her to come to peace with it. Of course, the same couldn't be said about Alison being able to see them now, nor where her loyalties lay regarding the living or the dead, which inevitably became the very thing that occupied her mind for the remaining daytime.

By the time dusk arrived and illuminated the plain walls of Cordelia's room in its fading orange, the blonde-haired ghost was still grappling with her dilemma while battling against the call of the unconscious void of sleep with each heavy flutter of her eyelids. She blamed the bed, for even though she no longer possessed a physical body, it didn't stop her spectre one from partially sinking into the comfy mattress beneath her (the physics of her ghostly self continued to befuddle her).

'Given the trials I have been forced to undergo this day, I am not in the least bit perturbed by my body's attempts to send me to the realm of slumber. If only it had come once I'd calmed the mental storm still brewing within.' With each blink that followed, the muffled ticking of the grandfather clock outside of her room grew fainter and fainter, putting her on the verge of completely blocking out the world. A small yawn, in turn, slipped past her lips, further indicating that no matter how hard she tried, she could not resist any further. 'Oh, well. Perhaps a brief respite will grant me a fresh perspective come the morn.'

Releasing a small and defeated sigh, Cordelia ceased her resistance and let her eyes stay closed after one more blink, preparing to embrace the darkness lurking underneath in favour of drifting off to the land of sleep and dreams.

But before she became entirely submerged… distant thumps echoed from outside of her door.

The Victorian ghost's eyes snapped open with alarm as the thumps drew closer and grew louder, bounding towards her bedroom like their life depended on it.

'Good heavens!'

Cordelia instinctively jolted upward to a sitting position at the rush of adrenaline suddenly pumping through her (non-existent) veins, her (non-existent) pulse pounding away in her ears as she whirled her body round to face the doorway. She half-expected whoever was rushing to her room to burst their way through the closed door with the intention of scaring her out of her invisible skin. Instead, she was left momentarily frowning in confusion when the sounds stopped rather abruptly before her door, a few seconds of silence following suit.

And then…

"Cordel!" the muffled and gruff voice of Robin shouting through the wood had the blonde-haired ghost involuntarily flinching. "You there?!"

'Oh, I despair!' Cordelia inwardly groaned upon realising she wasn't in danger. She ran her fingers down her forehead with drooped eyes, slightly stretching her skin in the process. 'Curse my impetuous ghostly body!'

Though she could not fault her involuntary reactions, she reassured herself. On the day of Heather's passing, she recalled Robin had reacted in a similar manner upon disturbing her slumber during the early morning, having come to her first due to her room being the closest to Heather's. She wouldn't have been surprised if her spectre body had been running through the motions of déjà vu while she'd been on the brink of falling into her momentary doze.

'Still, it is unusual for Robin to visit my bed chambers, especially at this hour.' Cordelia sucked in a deep breath through her nostrils and lowered her hands to her lap again, taking the opportunity to calm her incessant palpitations while briefly glancing at the fiery light cast against the sky from the setting sun. 'It would be unfair to cast him away without seeing what he wants.'

"Yes," Cordelia announced her presence to the caveman in a slightly raised voice, purposely avoiding saying anything regarding the 'nickname' he'd used to address her with.

Cordelia was aware and had borne witness to those such as the Captain and Fanny correcting Robin at hearing him address her in that way, naturally under the self-absorbed belief that he couldn't pronounce her name properly despite its pronunciation being simple enough. Of course, Cordelia knew better; he could pronounce 'Cordelia', he just simply chose not to. And why? It was because—as Cordelia had come to learn—it was the primitive man's endearing way of showing respect towards those who respected him in turn. Thus, Cordelia had never bothered to correct him.

"Me okay to come in?" Robin enquired upon receiving an answer.

"You may come in, Robin."

Seconds after giving the confirmation, Cordelia witnessed Robin phase through the closed door with a goofy-looking grin on his face, soon followed up with a small wave.

"Hey!" he greeted in a cheery tone, only for his grin to fade and his hand to fall to his side as curious eyes beheld the bedroom. "Ooooooh," he commented in awe, his gaze fixed upon the dim sunlight shining in through the window. "Nice room! First time seeing inside. Remind me of old cave." He cupped a hand round his chin and flitted his eyes to the ceiling with a squint. "Only not this small."

Cordelia's eyes drooped at the comments, her own gaze momentarily trailing towards the quilt of the bed underneath her. "I agree it is lacking in space, though it is not as if I am in dire need of it."

"Yeah, that why it suit you," Robin said in agreement, an amused smile appearing upon returning his attention to Cordelia. "Me get you no like fancy things." He thumped his knuckles lightly against his chest. "You like me! Just want simple and comfort."

The ghost of a smile slipped onto Cordelia's lips at this, her eyes raising from the bed and back to Robin with the squaring of her shoulders. "Quite right." She paused to clear her throat with a fist pressed to her mouth, regaining her usual composed outlook in the process. "Anyhow, to what do I owe the pleasure of your surprise visit to my bed chambers?"

Robin's brows raised suddenly with a wide blink at Cordelia's enquiry, seeming to have only just remembered the reason for why he'd come here. "Oh! That right!" he exclaimed with the raise of his index finger, only to bend it slightly with the furrow of his brows. "I came to check if Cordel was okay."

It was Cordelia's turn to frown at Robin's answer, forcing three blinks as she took several seconds to ensure she had heard the caveman correctly. But once those seconds passed and she was certain her hearing was intact, she ended up tilting her head to the side with narrowed eyes.

"You came to see if I'm okay?" she questioned slowly. Robin gave an affirming nod and grunt, which only prompted Cordelia's eyes to narrow further with increased confusion. Not because he hadn't phrased his reply well enough. His intentions were spoken as clear as day. Cordelia just couldn't pinpoint the situation that had prompted Robin to become concerned and seek her out. "I do not understand."

"During talk 'bout Kim Wilde, you no look well," he explained, causing Cordelia to straighten up with a quiet 'Oh…' upon catching on; though she mentally noted Robin was still referring to Alison by that name on purpose this time.

'Ah. My prolonged hesitation to respond to Patrick. Of course it did not go unnoticed…'

Especially by Robin, she internally remarked. After all, Fanny wasn't the only one with skilled perception amongst the ghosts gathered upon these grounds. Robin's eyesight was impeccable, if the amount of times Cordelia had witnessed him pursuing random animals across the fields while screeching their names as battle cries was anything to go off. She shouldn't have been surprised that Robin would have taken notice of her actions and read more into them.

'Wait.' She felt a lump lurch into existence within the confines of her throat at the sudden thought that dawned upon her. 'Does that mean Robin saw through my bluff and has realised I was hiding my true intentions?'

Luckily for the Victorian ghost, Robin was about to unintentionally answer her internal rhetorical question.

"Think it 'cause you in pain like before, so…" the caveman briefly continued before trailing off, his gaze flittering to his furs on his front while his fingers subconsciously fiddled with the strands. "Want to make sure you all right."

That had been enough to dispel the discomfort in her throat, only to leave her raising a confused brow in turn. "Like before? What do you mean?"

"When Captain make you come to common room day before Kim Wilde show up," he clarified, refusing to lift his gaze for the time being as he stated the next part quietly but still loud enough for Cordelia to hear. "Cordel can't stay in there 'cause that where you die, right?"

Cordelia's shoulders tensed with the bulging of her eyes the moment the words left Robin's mouth, her invisible joints freezing over as if a cruel wizard had cast her with a magic spell meant to turn her to stone. Her shock, however, had nothing to do with the revelation that Robin had made, but rather the misinterpretation of her nervous state during that meeting.

'Robin thought I was acting strangely because it was related to my demise? Is that why no one drew attention to my hesitancy?'

The thought had never occurred to her until now. After all, unlike the last time she'd been present in the common room, Cordelia had purposely isolated herself close to the stairs to avoid a repeat of the exact same scenario. But the more she pondered on it, the more she came to realise that it made sense with what the ghosts had witnessed with her prior. They all knew she didn't like lingering in the common room, with only certain ghosts being privy to the reason why. Of course they wouldn't have questioned her nervous actions!

'Damn your eyes, Cordelia! The hole you thought you were entrapped in already had an exit! You were just too much of a half-wit to notice it!'

Oh, the urge to smack her head against the wall was strong for Cordelia right now, even if she knew she'd just fall through to the other side if she dared to try.

Still… Robin had been so worried that he'd come to make sure she was okay? That fact was more than enough to pull Cordelia away from her self-admonishment, especially when she felt her eyes beginning to sting, a shaky hand clutching at her chest as that familiar ache bloomed once more and made her wince.

'Ah, Guilt—my other unrivalled foe. You have made another unexpected return to mock me for my earlier floundering, I see.'

Now she felt even worse about unintentionally using Robin to keep the other ghosts occupied.

"Thank you for your show of concern, Robin," Cordelia eventually said upon finding the courage to speak, immediately closing her eyes and pausing to swallow to prevent any potential tears from falling, which seemed to do the trick. "I can assure you, however, that I am perfectly fine. It was merely a bout of nerves unrelated to my usual plight."

Robin's relieved laugh had the Victorian ghost prying open her eyes to see the caveman smiling widely, an arm wrapped around his middle. "Oh, good! That's good!" Once Cordelia's response had properly processed, though, Robin pressed his lips into a thin line and frowned, his former mirth vanishing along with it. "Hang on." He tilted his head to the side and gave Cordelia a quick look up and down. "Why was you nervous then?"

Cordelia's brows raised at the caveman's aroused suspicion, yet she was quick to play it off with a forced blink and the mirroring of Robin's head tilt. "Is it really that surprising for even I to occasionally be apprehensive of situations unrelated to my passing?"

"Well…" Robin started with a brief glance to the ceiling, briefly pondering on an appropriate way to respond, Cordelia guessed. Eventually he did continue with an open-armed shrug. "You always have stone face." He waved a palm up and down in front of his own face a couple of times to emphasise his point. "And you not scared to speak up. So…"

Cordelia pressed her lips into a thin line at Robin's comments, resisting the urge to say anything to refute them. She couldn't deny it; she usually had a stoic appearance in the presence of the other ghosts and often remained unfazed by their antics and behaviour. It was one of the main reasons behind their gossip, after all.

"As true as that may be, you cannot deny that what has happened with Alison would leave even myself a little shaken," Cordelia argued calmly, causing Robin to gasp a bit out of realisation.

"Oh! I see! This 'bout Kim Wilde!"

"Mhm," Cordelia hummed in confirmation, her eyes absentmindedly trailing to the window to observe the setting sun outside. "Although it sounds preposterous and lacks an explanation, I do not doubt that Alison's accident is the cause behind her ability to perceive us." The vivid recollection of Alison lying sprawled on her back upon the grass underneath the second-floor bedroom window returned to the forefront of Cordelia's mind, causing the blonde ghost to involuntarily shudder and rub at her upper arms with both palms. "And frankly, I am uncertain as to how to feel about it."

"Makes sense," Robin agreed with a nod, scratching at the back of his wild mane of hair with a hand as a faint smile appeared. "You didn't take Kim Wilde being pushed out of window well." The caveman visibly shuddered at the brief recollection he was likely getting. "You almost have me bricking it!"

Cordelia huffed exasperatedly and returned her attention to Robin with the roll of her eyes, having sussed out his last remark's meaning and the implication easily. "Oh, come now, Robin! Cease your fibbing!"

"It true!" he protested with the widening of his smile. "You remind me of ferocious wolf!" And, as if to illustrate his point, Robin spread his legs apart in a wide stance and held his hands up on either side of his face with his fingers bent like claws. "You were like 'Grrrr!'"

Robin bared his teeth and tried to mimic a low and deep growl, an action that finally prompted Cordelia's stoic mask to slip. Her lips curled into a smile as she failed to suppress a snort of amusement, her palm covering her mouth a few seconds too late.

"Surely, that is an exaggeration, good sir!" she remarked in jest. "I was not that terrible, was I?"

"Were too!" Robin retorted jokingly. He placed his hands to his hips then, his smile morphing into a grin at the muffled chuckles that followed from behind the biologically younger ghost's palm. "You should see everyone's faces when you get mad, especially Julian! They all look like they die again!"

Usually, Cordelia had no problem hiding her amusement, yet as of right now she couldn't help it. Robin had painted quite the picture in her head. What was that saying she once heard Heather use? A picture's worth a thousand words, wasn't it?

'Certainly applicable to Robin, I must say. His enthusiastic body language alone could spin more enthralling and convincing tales than the exaggerated and fancy prose constantly spilling from Thomas' tongue.'

It felt like a solid minute before Cordelia quietened down with a small intake of breath through her nostrils, prompting Robin to roll his shoulders and hold his palms up on either side of him.

"But yeah, no, I get where you coming from," he continued. "Not first time I've seen it, but still crazy to see it with Kim Wilde."

Cordelia blinked once, then twice, and then thrice, the blonde-haired ghost almost convinced that she'd misheard the primitive man, or that perhaps he was still attempting to joke. But after several more seconds passed and Robin didn't follow up with anything (especially with his usual forced laugh and sarcastic accompaniment of 'Joking!', as Cordelia had sometimes heard him use with the Captain or Fanny whenever they berated him for any comments they didn't like), Cordelia soon found her voice again.

"I beg your pardon?" she questioned incredulously, leaning forward with the crinkling of her nose and partial tilt of her head to point one of her ears in Robin's general direction. "You have beheld a living person who can perceive ghosts?"

Robin immediately shook his head, completely unfazed by Cordelia's display of disbelief. "Not person. With bear," he clarified, causing Cordelia's eyes to narrow a little bit.

"… A bear," she repeated with forced emphasis after a few seconds of delay.

Robin grunted affirmatively and nodded twice, once again holding up his hands on either side of his head with bent fingers to imitate claws. "Bear saw me and was like, 'Raargh!'—" He lurched forward with the swipe of his hands, only to widen his eyes and then pull his hands back towards his chest palms-raised. "—and I'm like, 'Argh!' 'til claws go through me. And then he be like 'Ooh, hurr, hurr!'—"

From that point onward, Cordelia struggled to follow the rest of Robin's excited and animated rambling, instead bearing witness to the ghost who was supposed to be around at least ten years her senior devolving into a mixture of wild hand gestures and a cacophony of random noises and laughter minced between the occasional coherent word. Couple that with his unruly appearance and Cordelia found her mind experiencing a moment of déjà vu, propelling her back to when she'd first encountered the caveman she'd initially mistaken for an escaped mental asylum patient.

Though there was something else very familiar about the sounds and gestures Robin was making, she thought, to the point where she swore it reminded her of another familiar time related to the topic that Robin was currently indulging in…

'Ah!' The Victorian ghost suddenly perked up with a slight gape, the imaginary lightbulb flicking on above her head. 'Now that I ponder upon it some more… I have beheld animals who have interacted with us as though we were alive prior to now, have I not?'

As the majority of the ghosts of the Button Estate very rarely left the manor house enough to have wound up in an encounter with an animal of nature (and if they ever did, it was only to retreat to the garden should they fancy a change of scenery and some fresh air), Cordelia wasn't surprised that it had slipped her mind. Yet as she and Robin were the ones who tended to wander the fields out front more so than the rest, it was no wonder the biologically younger blonde had instinctively chosen the caveman to confront Alison in her moment of panic. She recalled that she had witnessed Robin interacting with other animals in the past, namely the dogs who belonged to the wealthy and egocentric neighbour that lived about a mile away from Button House. They often wandered over to the grounds due to their owner's negligent supervision, which frequently resulted in showdowns between them and Robin whenever she'd observed them crossing paths that broke out into aggressive barking and growling (both from the dogs and Robin himself).

'Perhaps it wasn't an accidental proposal on my part, then. Nor was the situation with Alison as much of a shocking spectacle as initially assumed…'

Cordelia tuned back into the conversation once Robin released a hearty laugh at whatever he'd just finished saying, his arms wrapped around his abdomen and his head flung back. The blonde ghost assumed around thirty seconds passed by before the caveman's laughter drifted out and he righted himself, a finger gently wiping across the bottom lid of one of his eyes to remove the lingering tears. As he took deep breaths, his gaze locked with the blank look Cordelia was giving him, causing his merriment to evaporate in an instant upon seeing that the biologically younger ghost did not share his sense of humour on the subject.

Several more seconds of awkward staring went by, only ended by Robin loudly clearing his throat and averting his eyes to the nearby wall. "… You had to be there to get it," he stated with a dismissive wave, causing Cordelia to clear her throat with a gentle pat on her sternum.

"It would appear so, yes," she commented lowly, her voice returning to normal volume with a stiff nod. "Though I had forgotten I'd witnessed the animals on the estate possessing similar capabilities to Alison." Cordelia twirled a strand of dirty blonde hair round an index finger with a faint hum. "Thinking about it has eased my discomfort somewhat, actually."

Robin gave a wide blink. "It has?"

"Indeed. A living person having the ability to see mere apparitions like us no longer seems as daunting considering what the animals are capable of. Really puts a lot into perspective." The blonde-haired ghost paused in her finger twirling to shoot the caveman a ghost of a smile. "So, thank you for that, Robin."

Cordelia saw Robin tilt his head to the side and narrow his eyes a bit at her show of gratitude, apparently not understanding what his bear encounter story had done regarding her other internal dilemma. Or perhaps it was more to do with the fact she was displaying positive emotions for once, which wasn't very common with her. After a few seconds, however, Robin shook his head to bring himself back to his senses, a proud smile of his own appearing with the scratch of his fingernail against his cheek.

"Uh… Don't know what I did, but yous welcome, I guess!" He jabbed his finger towards the Victorian ghost. "And thank you for shutting up Thomas and believing in me! He only wanna talk 'cause he in big love with Kim Wilde!" Robin rolled his eyes and placed a hand to his hip. "Me speak just fine! No need big words!"

Cordelia bowed her head and pressed her fingertips to her lips to suppress the snort that threatened to bypass her defences at the comments about Thomas. But that mirth soon faded upon realising the other thing that Robin was thanking her for, forcing her to suck in a sharp breath through her nostrils to prevent her body from visibly reacting to the aching twinge in her gut.

'Good grief. I oft-forget that unlike Karma, Guilt is a much more physically violent adversary.'

"I quite agree," Cordelia eventually said after a quick intake and release of breath to steady herself, managing to cover any sign of her apparent discomfort behind her usual mask. "What Thomas said was out of order, regardless. Still, you are very welcome."

Robin nodded in acknowledgement and briefly wriggled and twirled his fingers round each other before gesturing them behind him at the bedroom door. "Anyways… if Cordel okay now, I go." He scowled and waved his palms from side-to-side, his next words spoken sarcastically. "Captain want us in ballroom bright and early." He dropped his hands to his sides with an annoyed huff and slight shake of the head. "That guy, huh."

Cordelia faintly smirked at Robin's jab towards the Captain, though it was very brief. It disappeared once she allowed her eyes to flit to the window, focusing specifically on the spot outside where Fanny usually landed during the early morning when experiencing her 'sleepwalking' (she still felt weird acknowledging that fact now).

"He would say that now that you have Lady Button's traumatised screaming to disturb your slumber."

Robin chuckled a bit and brushed a hand through his shaggy brown locks. "Yeah! Not that it ever problem for you!"

"Hm?" Cordelia hummed in confusion and forced a blink, prompting Robin to explain himself under the assumption she hadn't understood him.

"You know, 'cause you wake up at eight dongs! You'll be at ballroom 'fore me!"

But that did not clear up Cordelia's confusion in the slightest, resulting in the blonde ghost squinting and leaning back a little on the bed. "You assume that I will be in attendance for the Captain's enactment of my proposal?"

"Why not?" Robin questioned with an open-armed shrug. "Me get you no like being with ghosts, but you like Kim Wilde, right?" He stretched his hands out palm-up on either side of himself and raised one while lowering the other, as if to mimic the movement of a set of scales weighing items. "Wherever livings are, you are. It in your nature." Cordelia's eyes almost bulged from their (non-existent) sockets upon hearing this, yet her expression quickly relaxed at Robin stretching his arms above his head with a small grunt, having seemingly missed her shock. "Well, I see myself out." He puffed his chest out and squared his shoulders with a smug grin. "Got to practice for 'Operation Boo' tomorrow! I'll get Kim Wilde good! Heh heh!"

Cordelia pressed her lips together to stop a smile from slipping at hearing Robin's name for the 'operation' again; looks like the Captain's admonishment hadn't deterred the caveman from speaking how he chose, she thought.

"I'm sure you will," Cordelia replied calmly, prompting Robin to wink as he backed up towards the door.

"Sure I will! You just watch!" he confidently declared, allowing his body to phase through the closed door after a brief wave and shout of farewell. "See you, Cordel!"

"Goodnight, Robin!" Cordelia called out after the primitive man, yet the Victorian ghost did nothing after that. She remained where she was and listened to the echo of Robin's thumping footsteps bound up the corridor, a quivering smile making itself known at the happy spring they seemed to have as they retreated.

That annoying ache still lingered within her gut from where Guilt had decided to punch her, but unlike earlier, the pain wasn't as intense, having dimmed to a point where she could only just feel it. Subconsciously, Cordelia placed a hand to her stomach, her eyes closing as the voices of Fanny and Mary dared to ripple the pools within her mind.

"… maybe you should cease feeling sorry for yourself and focus on the good you did."

"Beings honest, I believes yous be better than most here. You acts to help others."

'The regrets I held surrounding my unintentional manipulation of Robin as a convenient distraction for our ghostly company was an afterthought upon entering this room. They were with me when I left the common room, of course, though the other thoughts that plagued me at the time helped to drown them out until Robin arrived.' With her smile remaining intact and falling still, Cordelia opened her eyes and swivelled her body round to face the window once more, beholding the light of the setting sun almost becoming engulfed in the darkness that had since spread. 'But now I realise those regrets were meaningless, in the end. It was mostly subconscious, yet my decision to choose Robin was due to my belief in his capabilities, thus supplying him with a renowned sense of confidence against the judgemental complaints of the rest.'

Cordelia knew that there was no turning back from this point onward. Once tomorrow arrived, she was going to have to face the consequences of her stalling and witness the chaos that was to erupt from the meaningless cause. However, at least she could take comfort in the knowledge that her belief in Robin was real, and that her actions had made Robin happy.