109- On the Way

When Quayleigh woke, she still felt heavy. The events from earlier in the day seemed like a distant memory, but the clock told her that only an hour has passed. She wanted to waste the rest of the day away, tucked under the fluff of Dylan's heavy duvet, but knew there was still a few things she had to do before she could relax.

With a huff, she sat up on the side of the bed and looked around. Even after everything, the luxury surrounding her still made her feel like a trespasser and made her look forward to going back to her tiny apartment, and the arrival of their new bed.

Awake and dressed, Quayleigh headed downstairs to find Tau digging through a box.

"You're awake. I'm sorry. I hope I didn't make too much noise," Tau remarked as she made her way over to him.

Kneeling down at his side, he dropped the paper he was holding as she kissed him.

"No worries, you were quiet," she replied. "But what is all of this?"

"It's the box of papers we found in the closet. I told Kyffin I would try to find out what happened to all of the photographs that used to cover these walls. I was hoping to discover something that would indicate what happened to them, but so far, this is all I could find," he said, handing a pamphlet for a long-term storage facility to her. "There's a rental agreement inside."

Opening the pamphlet, she read over the agreement.

"Chances are this is exactly what you were looking for. I wonder why he stored his photos though. Either way, you should tell Kyffin the next time you talk to him and maybe the three of us can go check it out together sometime soon."

"I was hoping to go later today," Tau said as she got up and went to the kitchen. "I'd like to know for certain before getting Kyffin's hopes up."

"Okay. I don't see why we can't swing by before we head over to Cole's. Why don't you order us a car while I make a few phone calls," she replied while retrieving a bottle of water from the fridge. "And then, if he's feeling generous, we can have him drop us at the MET to pick up the car."

"Didn't you want to check in on Phaedra?"

She turned away and headed towards the stairs, wracked by a sudden wave of guilt.

"I'm not certain I can handle seeing him just yet. I don't know how he's going to react to Inniken's death, and I still feel partially responsible for it."

"But you aren't responsible."

"If our paths had never crossed, he'd still be alive," she replied, looking back at him.

"Just because your paths crossed, it doesn't make you responsible for his actions. He made his decisions and died for them."

"You say that as if he had any idea that this was even a possibility."

Standing Tau approached her and set his hand over her normal eye forcing her to see him as his true self, more clearly.

"Perhaps it is your beautiful human mind or your unbelievably compassionate heart, but on my honor as a reaper and as the sen'awan'qachi that loves you, I could not allow another human to violate you and live. He dared to move against you and caused you pain. He touched you!"

"It was just my magic," she replied breathlessly, his anger visible in the eyes of the visage of his true self. 

"Even if you see it as only your magic, it is still apart of you, as precious to me as every beat of your heart. I have allowed others to live because I knew their intentions. I understood the pain they caused you wasn't out of malice, and each has suffered the repercussions of their actions regardless. You are not responsible for the actions of these fools. That filths death is as much on him as it is on me. If you need someone to blame, I stand before you. But I will always choose to protect you, as long as you are mine to protect. I will tell you this as many times as it takes for you to know it to be truth."

"It won't matter if you say it a thousand times. I know it's true and I believe it, but it doesn't alleviate the guilt I feel."

Tau's hand dropped away as he pressed his forehead to hers. "I cannot change what I have done."

"Nor would I want you to," she admitted and released a heavy sigh. "I was going to do the same thing, and that's what's eating at me. I can't help but think that if I hadn't wanted it so badly, if I hadn't been thinking… I'm afraid you're just trying to make me feel better, but I know what I said."

As she became encircled by Tau's arms, she closed her eyes and let him pull her closer to his chest.

"I know what you said also, but I swear, my orders would have been the same regardless. Uroxuz told me who was responsible, and I told him to make the man suffer before you even finished speaking the words, make it stop."

"You promise."

"I do."

She rubbed her cheek against him, her fingers gripping to the fabric of his shirt. "I'm sorry I'm having a hard time with this."

"I understand that your feelings aren't going to simply vanish because the truth is different than what you thought," he replied, kissing the top of her head. "But, if there is anything, I can do to make it easier on you, say something."

"Right now, I just need time. I'm going to go upstairs to make those calls. Come get me about five minutes or so before the car arrives?"

"Quayleigh," he whispered as he leaned back and set his hand to her cheek, "take all the time you need, but know, you are not alone."

"You're right, I'm not." She smiled softly to the warmth of his hand, knowing the feeling didn't match the appearance she saw. "I'll come down as soon as I'm done."

"I'll be waiting," he said as she slipped away and headed up the stairs to the bedroom.

Closing the door, she leaned back against it, her hand on her pounding heart. Despite her racing pulse, she did feel calmer having heard what Tauluthet had said, although she still didn't feel entirely exonerated either. Making her way to the bed, she pulled out her phone and called Garren.

She had wanted to check in with him, as well as tell him that she was doing better, and to confirm that dinner was still on for the following day.

Once she was finished talking with Garren, she sent a text to Shane, since he didn't answer when she called, to remind him to meet her at the apartment at four, and while she waited for his reply, she called Cole.

"Hello?" he answered, sounding slightly confused.

"Hi, Cole," she replied realizing this was the first time she'd called him from this number and managed to catch him off guard, which was a rare thing to do.

"Cher? Are you alright? Where are you calling from?"

"It's the cellphone the police gave me to use. I won't keep you long. I only called to asked if I could come over for a while in about an hour. Tau and I have to make a couple of stops first and I'm not entirely sure how long they are going to take."

"Cher, you are always welcome here. I'm waiting on a pickup, but soon as they show, I'll be closing for the evening. What you say to me making dinner for us?"

"I would love that. Thanks Cole."

"Hmm, you sound upset. I have a couple minutes if you want them?"

"No, it's okay, just a rough day. I'll tell you all about it when we get there. See you soon."

"Okay, Cher. See you soon."

Hanging up the phone she felt a sense of comfort knowing that Cole was going to make time for her, because if anyone could help her figure out what Gerotherine was trying to do, it was going to be him.

As she headed out of the bedroom, Shane texted back saying he hadn't forgotten and wouldn't be late, and this lifted her spirits even more. Everything was coming together despite the shitstorm that constantly seemed to move around her, and for a brief moment, she was positive that tomorrow she could pretend that life was back to normal. Sadly, that changed when she saw Tau put his phone on the coffee table, a bitter look on his face.

"What's wrong?" she asked as she made her way over to him.

"That was Kyffin. The MET's on lockdown and he can't leave. Strangely enough, he was with Phaedra, and wanted me to pass along a message; Do not come to the MET. He said they were both safe and there was nothing to worry about, but Phaedra was concerned that if you showed up, you would get dragged into what was happening."

"Thoughtful. I guess the car's going to have to stay there until tomorrow. At least we know it's going to be safe. I am confused as to how the two of them ended up together though."

"He didn't say, but he didn't sound like himself either. I'm concerned that his time with Anquiliria may have affected him."

"I wouldn't be surprised. He's lived his entire life under her thumb, behaving how he was expected to. A couple of days with us isn't going to undue that type of lifelong abuse. He may have seen a spark of freedom, but it's still new, and maybe even scary. Despite how easy it is for us to see the way he was living and recognize how oppressive it is, to him, it's completely normal, and there is security in the familiar. Old habits are easy to fall into, especially when you have someone in a position of authority reminding you that the way things are, is what's best for you."

"Speaking from experience?" he asked as she sat down beside him, cracking open the bottle of water she had been carrying around.

"Yeah. My situation may have been a bit different, but I can recognize the cycle. I see it in Phaedra too. They've lived their lives being told what to do and how to do it. There was never a choice for them outside of the MET. Truthfully, I got lucky. Circumstances forced me to escape my abusers, but it still took years before I was able to live a 'normal' life. Even still, there are somethings that are so intrenched into who I am, that I will never truly be free from what happened. I think you're going to find it's the same for your brother."

"And yours?"

"And mine," she replied taking a hold of his hand. "When's the car going to be here?"

"Ten minutes," he said after checking his phone.

"Good. Let's get ready and head downstairs," she replied before downing the bottle of water.

*************

Their trip to the storage unit went faster than either had expected, and after confirming the contents, which was a large collection of gallery-framed photographs, more camera equipment, boxes of Francesca's things, and some 'his and her's' sporting equipment, they took another car to the downtown, getting out in front of a liquor store a few blocks from Cole's shop.

"I'm glad we found those photos, but you never said why Kyffin wanted them. I'm surprised he would want anything of yours," she remarked as they continued the conversation from the car, walking hand in hand, towards the door.

"He said he wanted them for his sons. It is strange of me to hope that they like them?"

"No. I don't think so," she replied, although she hadn't given it much thought as she opened the door and motioned for him to go in.

Following Tau inside, she grabbed his hand again and led him down the aisle full of bottles until she came to the wine section. It didn't take her long to find the bottle she wanted, and once they had paid, they headed back out onto the street, making their way to Cole's shop.

"Evening Cher, Tau," Cole greeted them as soon as they entered.

"Evening Cole," she replied while heading towards the counter, setting the bottle down before him. "Brought you a little something."

"Now I know you come here for something other than the pleasure of my company," he remarked as he picked up the bottle, grinning as he looked at the label. "I'm surprised you remember."

"I remember more than you think," she replied with a smirk.

"We shall see. And what of you, how you be this evening?" he asked Tau.

"I'm quite well. Thank you for allowing us to come and visit. I would like to apologize for Uroxuz's intrusion last night. I will keep a closer eye of him going forward."

"No, no, it be no bother. He's not bad company to have. That's not to say you shouldn't keep an eye on him though. You can't be letting him just do as he pleases. Doing his job be one thing, injuring that detective be another."

"I agree, and that situation has been addressed," Tau replied.

"I know it's upsetting, but there are extenuating circumstances that won't be repeated." She couldn't help but blush as she bit at her lower lip.

Cole quirked his brow as she tried to avoid his judgmental glare.

"Don't look at me like that…"

He continued to stare as he crossed his arms.

"Fine, just stop with the eyes! He was defending my honor and as disturbing as I should find it, I actually think it's pretty sweet of him. But we explained to him that he needed to talk to us before acting on his own again. He said he understood and until he proves otherwise, I'm going to believe him."

"Well, that be good to hear," Cole replied, relaxing his posture with a smirk playing on his lips. "So, where he be at?"

"He's watching over Kyffin and Phaedra for the time being. There's a situation at the MET," Tau said as the door opened, another customer entering into the shop.

"Why don't you head on up, and pour us each a glass," he said, handing the bottle to Tau, "while I attend to the lovely lady behind you."

"Always the charmer, Cole," the tall, older woman with long mauve hair, said from behind them.

"It be the reason you keep coming back, Lady Catharine," Cole replied as he pulled back the curtain on the wall, motioning towards Tau and Quayleigh. "Go on then, you know the way."

Quayleigh shook her head as Tau lead the way passed the curtain.

"Scoundrel," she jested, playfully punching at his gut as she walked by.

"And that be why you keep coming back." She heard him say as the curtain closed behind her.