(A/N): We're back with Vi, Evie, Hettie, and Pip.

January 16th, 1966

Vi

Perhaps it wasn't entirely unfair to say that, as a whole, we had a tendency to be a bit nosy, but I certainly didn't like the way Evie was focusing on Hettie when it came to assigning blame. Hettie, however, didn't seem to mind- or at least, she was aptly pretending she didn't- and her only reaction was to snort in amusement and fold her arms over her chest. "Right, because you always mind your own business, eh Evie? You've never snuck us treats when you notice we haven't eaten, or dimmed the lights to get us to take a nap when we haven't slept, or anything." She flushed, clearly feeling more than a little called out.

"That's different!" She objected- somewhat weakly- and Hettie cocked an eyebrow at her. "That's- just- wanting to take care of you! I want what's best for you guys, and-"

"And we don't?" Evie blinked owlishly. "Maybe our methods are a bit more... invasive, but we just want you to be happy- and safe. We want the same things you want for us, for you."

Oddly enough, Evie narrowed her eyes at Hettie for saying this... for some reason. "What if I don't want to be safe?" Uh... what? "What if I don't want to always have to make the safe, sensible choice anymore?" Hettie's brow furrowed, even as she pulled on a small, almost carefree grin.

"Hey, I'm always up for being a little less sensible," She joked- I think- but Evie didn't soften any. "Look, Evie, as long as you're not running directly into a firefight- I mean, even if you are, that's kind of up to you-" Evie's eyebrows shot up while I cut Hettie off.

"No, no running into a firefight- God." I butted the side of my fist against my forehead in frustration and no small amount of fear. "I'm all for you making dumb decisions, Evie- Lord knows I've made plenty myself- but... try not to make any decisions that you won't be alive to regret, okay?"

Unfortunately, she frowned, evidently not pleased with these minimal constraints. "Define 'alive'..." My heart stuttered at those words- at the implication behind them, or at least, my interpretation of the implication behind them, anyway.

"Not dead," I said bluntly, not really thinking anything of my response- how else could I possibly answer that?- but Evie's frown only grew, as though she was disappointed. "Evie, I trust you- I do- but... As I said, I've made my fair share of utterly idiotic decisions, and I just... I don't want to see you make the same ones." She started to open her mouth to protest, but I cut her off before she could. "I know that's your right- I know that, but I can't help but want to... to help you. Guide you. If one of us had to make mistakes, then I'm glad it was me, so I could give you the opportunity to learn from them." Her brow creased, and she crossed her arms over her chest firmly.

"Maybe I want to learn for myself, did you ever think of that?" I sighed heavily, and brought my hand up to pinch the bridge of my nose. "I don't want to make your mistakes, I want to make my own- I want to feel like I can make mistakes, and not worry that everything's going to fall apart the second I take my eye off of things."

I softened slightly at that, I couldn't help it. "You can. Evie- Evie, you can. I can handle it now- I couldn't back then, but I can now. You can pass the ball, and trust that I won't drop it. I'm not- I'm not that girl, anymore; the one I was when mum and dad-" There was no finishing that sentence. "And I know you're not the same girl you were, either. No one expects you to stay the same forever, we just want you to... be true to yourself, whatever that may mean."

She hesitated briefly, then nodded. "I know you're not- We've both grown a lot- we've all grown-" Pip seemed to appreciate the inclusion, even as he and Hettie both tried to get the message across that they didn't particularly want to be part of this conversation- if only because they thought it would be more helpful for Evie if it was just me and her, right now. Hettie also couldn't seem to help but snort at the idea that she'd 'grown' any. "I know you can handle it, I just..." She trailed off, and I echoed her nod.

"I know I'm not exactly... I haven't always been the most reliable, but... I'm trying to be better about it. I can't... I know I can't wipe away years of flakiness and irresponsibility in an instant, but you have to know that I- I want what you want. I want what's best for you, and our friends, and I'll do anything to make sure that happens." She frowned slightly. "Let- let me take control, for once. I can do it. You can just- You can let go." Her frown didn't abate, but the crease between her brows got slightly shallower.

"I'm not sure I can." It hurt to hear her say it, but I couldn't blame her for not trusting me, given everything. Given every time I'd blown her off or disappointed her over the past few years. Maybe even longer than that, honestly. "I'm not sure I'm- capable, of letting go." Oh. Oh, that... that wasn't what I'd been expecting. "Whether I want to or not, I think I'm... a bit of a control freak."

Hettie snorted again. "You're just realising this now, are you?" Evie shot her a dry look. "Evie, I will say that you're a kind mistress-" A strange shadow passed across Evie's face. "-but you can still be a bit of a taskmaster, sometimes. Don't get me wrong, y'know you and I have that in common, so I respect it, but-"

"Hettie. Please stop trying to reassure me." Hettie cocked an eyebrow at her.

"Would you prefer I get Pip to do it?" Pip flushed even as he took half a step forward, as if having to hold himself back from eagerly rushing to comfort her. "You know he's by far the best at-"

"I'm trying to be better about it," She said firmly, which didn't make Pip retreat, exactly, but he did relax as though he wasn't preparing to go ahead and wrap her in his arms immediately. "I have to make an effort to be better, not just... say I'll try, and then- not." Well, she had a point, but... did that mean she didn't deserve some sort of reassurance? Did the fact that she was still trying, mean she couldn't indulge in a little comfort?

Hettie shrugged. "Anything we can do to help? I can make a mess of the kitchen, or dress in clothes you don't approve of, or something." There was quiet for a second where we all did our best not to think about why those particular things were what came to Hettie's mind to make Evie mad at her, even as Evie softened rapidly and almost entirely.

"You know I couldn't care less what you wear, Hettie, as long as you're safe. And the kitchen..." She sighed minutely. "Look, I'm not the biggest fan of mess and disorder, but if you had fun doing it, and it wasn't just like... done exclusively to annoy me, then-" She shrugged. "I'm okay with doing it to take care of you-"

"But that's the point, isn't it?" Hettie asked rhetorically. "You're supposed to be taking a break from all that- if I mess up the kitchen, it should be my mess to clean up, not yours... and maybe, when you're not spending all your time cleaning up after us, you'll have time to focus on what sort of messes you want to get yourself into."

(A/N): The 'strange shadow' passed across Evie's face when Hettie told her she was 'a kind mistress', because Evie was remembering the fact that Sidonie is Greygorry's 'mistress', and she doesn't want to be like what she's heard Sidonie is like.