Chapter 67: Meanwhile...

I now have an editor, so you all shouldn’t need to put up with my typos and poor/dyslexic editing skills anymore.:)

13 Days ago

Selene didn’t feel like moving at all after what had happened yesterday. She still couldn’t believe that she’d gone through with it, that she’d broken her bond with Ethan. It didn’t seem real, but that ache in her heart was reminding her that it was very real. It had gotten stronger since yesterday, or maybe the drugs had just finished wearing off. It felt like someone had taken a meat tenderizer to her heart, and she was pretty sure it wasn’t because it had been stopped and restarted.

Beside her, Thor took a deep breath and repositioned himself so he was closer to her. That almost made her smile, but not quite.

She didn’t even open her eyes.

She could tell that it was well past sunrise by the light on her eyelids, and the couch in Jason, Hailey, and Melinda’s living room was pretty comfortable. Well, comfortable enough anyway. It wasn’t her hammock on the Argo, and it wasn’t remotely close to Ethan’s bed with his wives there, but it was comfortable enough.

She didn’t know how long she laid there.

At one point, she realized that a wet spot had developed under her eye and moved slightly. Thor responded by moving closer to her and then falling back to sleep. He was purring softly, but not nearly as loudly as he usually did on the Argo.

She swallowed.

“Selene?”

She grunted in response to Hailey, not having the emotional energy for anything else.

“I’m running out for some coffee, did you want something?” Hailey asked. “I think Ruth said that you like lattés?”

Selene nearly broke down crying right that moment. She didn’t and managed to hold it in, but it took most of her considerable self-control.

“Um, maybe just a black coffee, thank you.” She replied after a moment, her voice sounding a little hoarse.

“Okay, back in a few.” Hailey replied.

She wasn’t gone long, but Selene still hadn’t worked up the willpower to even open her eyes. She didn’t like black coffee. She wanted a latté, but that would remind her of Ethan and...

She swallowed hard.

“Here you go.” Hailey said, and the scent of coffee roused the Brazilian woman in a way that very few things could have.

Selene slowly blinked open her eyes as they adjusted to the bright, mid-morning sun. Hailey was standing over her looking at her intently with a piercing expression. There was a cup of coffee within easy reach on the coffee table in front of the couch.

“Thank you.” Selene said, then sat up, much to Thor’s displeasure. She grabbed the coffee and took a careful sip. It was good coffee, but it was indeed black. For some reason, she liked that today. She’d never before liked the bitter aftertaste of black coffee, but somehow, it seemed pretty appropriate right now.

Hailey tipped some scrambled eggs onto Selene’s plate and then sat down to eat the ones she’d served herself. She didn’t usually eat scrambled eggs for lunch, but it was about the only thing that Selene had shown even a modicum of interest in.

“Bon appetite.” Hailey said cheerfully.

“Thank you.” Selene replied in a dull, listless tone.

Their guest had spent almost the entire morning sleeping, and she had even fallen back asleep before finishing her coffee. It was currently about two in the afternoon, which was late for lunch, but Hailey wanted to make sure that Selene was eating. Hailey herself had nearly starved herself after being separated from Jason when she was kidnapped -- not even on purpose, just because she was so listless -- and Hailey wanted to make sure that Selene didn’t head that direction.

Hailey downed her food as she had to be at work in 30 minutes, but Selene merely poked at it. She took an occasional small bite and pushed the eggs around the plate, but little else.

About five minutes later, baby Ethan began crying.

Selene looked in the direction of the bedroom where the crib was set up, but it looked like her eyes were starting to droop a little.

“I got you.” Melinda said tenderly from the same room, and the crying stopped a moment later. She came out holding him, and Hailey thought she might never fully get used to that sight: Melinda with a baby, Jason’s baby. It didn’t bother her, but Melinda had just never been very maternal before, and certainly not baby crazy. She wasn’t exactly now either, but her world seemed to spin around little Ethan.

Hailey had just about finished getting ready for work when someone knocked on the door. She looked at Melinda, who shrugged.

Hailey also shrugged and then went to the door and opened it.

“Are you Hailey Oswald or Melinda Estello?” A delivery man asked. He was holding a good-sized box and one of those electronic signing devices.

“Yup, you need someone to sign for that?”

“Yes I do.” He offered her the pad and she signed it.

“That looks nothing like my signature.” Hailey chuckled.

“It never does.” The delivery man handed over the box. “Have a great day.”

“You too.” Hailey replied, then closed the door as the man walked away.

“What is it?” Melinda asked.

“It’s for Selene, care of you or me.” Hailey replied as she read the shipping label, then walked to the table and offered the box to their guest.

Selene took it without much enthusiasm. Hailey grabbed a kitchen knife and the Brazilian woman used it to open the box. The bottom of the box was filled with clothes, and above them were a variety of carefully wrapped items. The top one was labeled ‘cell phone’, and it had a note taped to it as well.

“It’s from Yvonne.” Selene said, the corners of her mouth lifting fractionally as she read the note, and she tilted it so Hailey could read as well. “She sent some of my personal effects that she thought I’d want, and enough clothes to wear if I do laundry regularly.”

“That was nice of her.” Hailey said as she skimmed the short note. At the end, Yvonne mentioned that Selene’s phone bill had been paid and suggested that Selene call her dad because: ‘I know you two are close and I’m sure it will help’.

Hailey looked at Selene. “You might want to take her advice.”

Selene nodded slowly. “Um, can I use the spare room?”

“It’s your room for as long as you want to stay.” Melinda said, beating Hailey to the punch.

“Thank you.” Selene hit the phone’s power button; it was fully charged.

“I need to get to work or I’ll be late.” Hailey said.

“Have fun.” Melinda said ironically.

“It’ll be the time of my life, I’m sure.” Hailey sighed, rolled her eyes, then left. Still, she was very happy to be back on Earth with Jason and Melinda. Since getting back, work just hadn’t seemed so bad compared to what she’d been through.

Thor looked up when Selene entered the second bedroom, yawned, then put his head back down and went back to sleep. Selene ignored the near-endless number of alerts on her phone and dialed her dad’s number.

“Selene!” His voice said, and he’d picked up before the second ring.

“Hi Daddy, I’m okay.” She said, feeling better at hearing his voice, or at least less miserable.

“You don’t sound okay.” He replied. “What happened?”

“It’s a long story, but I want to tell you if you have the time.”

“Hang on just a minute.” He replied.

She figured he was at the dojo, and guessed that he was turning the class over to someone else. Sure enough, about 30 seconds later...

“Okay, I’m free for the rest of the day.” He said, and she heard a car door closing in the background, so he’d probably gone out to the car. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“No.” She said, her voice cracking. “Physically I’m fine. But Daddy, I finally found a good guy, but now...” She swallowed, not able to finish the sentence.

“Tell me where you are and I’ll come get you.” He replied instantly.

“Not yet, let me...” She took a deep breath. “I need to tell you the story first. Please?”

There was a brief pause. “Okay, I’ll listen.”

She told him.

She told him everything.

The whole story.

She glossed over the bits where she’d held Ethan’s wing, but otherwise, she told him everything. All of the confusing parts, all the wonderful parts, all the joyous parts, all the sad parts, all the worst parts, all the best parts, and all the heartbreaking parts.

Everything.

He asked plenty of clarifying questions, but otherwise mostly let her talk. He listened for what felt like hours as she recounted everything that had happened in the two months since she’d first been picked up by Smithbond. Especially as she got near the end, she broke down crying more than once. When she finished, he didn’t speak for several long seconds.

“Wow.” He finally said. “My daughter is psychic, magic is real, dragons are real, you found a true friend for life, and somehow, a dragon stole your heart.” He paused. “Are you sure you aren’t my other daughter named Selene?”

She managed to chuckle, though it was also half a sob. “I know, it doesn’t seem real to me either. The past two months have just flown by.” She bit her lip. “Daddy, did I do the right thing?”

She could hear him take a deep breath and exhale before he replied. “I have no idea baby girl. You did what you thought was right, and I can’t fault you for that. And I know you, you never would’ve been able to live with yourself if you had stayed over there when there are people you thought you could help here.”

“Yeah.” She nodded, then wiped her face again. She had gone through rather a lot of Kleenex and was trying to be careful to make sure it ended up in the garbage just in case someone popped into the room.

“He really did steal your heart, didn’t he?”

“He did.” She replied, screwing her face up and trying not to dissolve into another fit of tears.

It wasn’t easy.

“I need to hit something.” Selene finally said, wishing that she could spar with Kendra or Ethan. Hell, she’d even take Racklan; at least she wouldn’t feel bad about whaling on the perv.

“Is there a dojo nearby?” He asked.

“No, not a good one.” She replied, having looked out of curiosity when she’d been assigned the case, way back when she was still an FBI agent.

Just then, there was a knock on the door. “Selene?” Hailey’s voice said.

“Hang on Dad.” She lowered the phone and wiped her face to try and hide the fact that she’d been crying. “Come in.”

Hailey opened the door as Selene looked at the clock; it was after nine in the evening.

“There’s some dinner in the fridge, and we’re all heading to bed.”

“Okay, thanks.” Selene replied, not having realized it was so late.

Hailey gave her an encouraging smile, then closed the door.

“I’m back, and I’m sorry for keeping you up so long.” She said to her dad.

“Selene, you’re my daughter, you’ve been gone for two months, and just went through a terrible heartbreak; I don’t mind.”

“Thanks Daddy.” She smiled.

“You know you’re welcome to come home, right?” He asked.

“Yeah, but I would need to deal with Mom 24/7 and I’m not ready for that.”

“Okay, but remember that I’m only a phone call away.” He replied. “Oh, and speaking of your mother, I need to figure out what to tell her.”

Selene sighed. “Not the whole truth; I don’t want to be regaled with the miraculous curative powers of the local psych ward when I tell her I’ve been doing magic.”

“I’ll just tell her that you were undercover and went through a lot, but can’t talk about it.” He said a moment later. “It’s even mostly true.”

“Okay.” She nodded.

“You know she’ll call the moment I tell her.”

“Fortunately, my phone has a do-not-disturb mode and I’m willing to use it.” She replied, mostly joking. “I should call her.”

“Yeah, you probably should.” He replied. “Good night baby girl, I’ll be in touch.” He said, and she knew he meant it.

“Night.” She hung up and flopped down on the bed.

She didn’t feel like moving.

She laid there for some time, wondering what Ethan and Kendra were up to until she drifted off to sleep, Thor sleeping on the bed snuggled up to her.

12 Days ago

“This is wallowing, isn’t it?” Selene asked around dinnertime after realizing that she’d binged the entire series of Firefly and polished off both pints of ice cream in the freezer since waking up that morning. Thor had shown some interest in the ice cream, but lost it when he got a good sniff and realized that there wasn’t any meat. He wasn’t really a fan of Earth’s cat food either.

Hailey looked at her, nodded, and chuckled. “Yes, it’s wallowing.”

“Actually, not quite.” Jason spoke up. “If you look at the dictionary, the picture of you actually has you in sweats, so it’s not wallowing yet.” He winked.

Everyone chuckled, even Selene.

“It’s almost criminal that this didn’t get a full run as a series.” She said a moment later, indicating the TV where the credits to the final episode were playing.

“Perhaps you know someone in the FBI who can bring those responsible to justice?” Jason quipped.

Again, everyone chuckled.

“I can’t do this.” Selene said after a moment. “I probably needed to today because I was tired most of the day, but I can’t do this; I can’t sit and wallow.”

“Wallowing helps sometimes.” Melinda said as she absent-mindedly rocked little Ethan in a baby rocker. “I realize that you and Ethan were close--” She shot Jason a look, clearly forestalling something she somehow knew he was about to say. “--don’t.”

“I wasn’t going to say anything.” He replied with a mock-angelic expression.

“Anyway.” Melinda shook her head and turned to Selene. “Sometimes a gal needs to wallow to get over a guy.”

“I wouldn’t know.” Selene replied. “Ethan was the closest to a relationship that I’ve ever had, and I don’t think we were quite ... well, anything.”

“Based on what Kendra and Ruth said, I’m pretty sure he’d marry you in a heartbeat.” Jason said.

“And that’s why I can’t wallow.” Selene replied. “I’ll think about it, and that leads to more ... this.” She pointed to the TV, which had gone back to the home page for Firefly.

“More episodes of Firefly?” Jason asked, then added in a mock-serious tone. “I’m afraid that you must wallow until the series reaches its original intended conclusion.”

Selene chuckled.

Jason really was funny. He was probably even funnier than Ethan, but for some reason, Selene liked Ethan’s sense of humor better.

“We were actually just talking about that last night.” Hailey said. “That is, about something you could do to take your mind off of ‘him’.”

“Oh, we’ve reached the ‘we don’t use his name’ stage of breakup support?” Melinda asked.

“We weren’t dating, engaged, or married; there was no breakup.”

“Selene, look me in the eye and say that again honestly.” Jason said seriously.

Selene looked at him and opened her mouth, but wasn’t able to say it again.

“There isn’t a lot to do in this town, but the diner we work at--” Hailey waggled her finger between herself and Melinda. “--will hire just about anyone, and the owner will be salivating to get you hired.”

“He leers occasionally, but he’s never tried anything.” Melinda added.

“He won’t be tempted to leer if I keep eating this much ice cream.” Selene sighed. “I’ll do it; I need something.”

They chatted for a little longer, mostly about the job and what it entailed. Honestly, it sounded a lot like the other waitressing jobs she’d had while in college. She always made sure to be friendly, and that combined with her looks had earned her some pretty good tips.

As she laid down in her borrowed bed in the guest room, her mind turned to the Ten Kingdoms, Ethan, and Kendra. She had found herself doing that a lot and hoped that things were going well with them. She wondered what Sarah had made for the meals, how they had spent their days, and generally everything about their lives there.

Thor jumped up onto the bed and snuggled up close to her.

“Hey little kitty.” She said as she petted him. He’d been very snuggly all day long, and the previous day too. He probably thought she was finally getting enough sleep since she’d slept almost as much as him while recovering.

Thor looked at her and let out a slightly squeaky meow, then looked around.

“They’re not here, sorry.” Selene said.

Thor looked down and got very sad eyes.

“I know, me too.” Selene swallowed.

She laid down and Thor snuggled up to her as usual, but he didn’t seem all that happy. Selene turned her mind to Ethan and focused on the mental tunnel that still connected them. She was glad that was still there at least. It was hard to hear unless she was paying attention, but at least she could still hear him if she concentrated.

Having nothing better to do, she did. She listened, she focused, and--

Her eyes snapped open.

She heard something.

It must’ve been Ethan. She couldn’t hear what was said, not exactly, but it was definitely Ethan. He had thought something to her. She summoned all her mental fortitude and willpower and shouted back mentally as loud as she could so he might be able to hear her. “ETHAAAAAN!”

She didn’t get a response, but then, he might not have heard her. But that didn’t matter to her; Ethan had contacted her.

She smiled, her first real smile since she had broken her bond with Ethan.

Thor started purring.

Selene’s smile faltered for a moment as she remembered that she didn’t live with him and wasn’t bonded to him. She couldn’t help that, not if she wanted to help people on Earth with her telepathy, but she could help their communication troubles. It was her only way to contact him, so she wanted to make damn sure she treasured that connection. She knew the problem was on her end, and that with time and work, she could improve her telepathic communication.

Suddenly, she had a new top priority.

11 Days ago

Selene smiled back at Hailey and Melinda’s boss, thinking he looked like a slightly more overweight version of Dwight Schrute from The Office. He wasn’t exactly less disturbing either. He had eyed the scar on her cheek, but apparently, the rest of her completely outweighed that because the moment Hailey had mentioned that Selene might want a job, the man had looked her up and down, grinned, and then spoke. “You’re hired; when can you start?”

“Um.” Selene looked down at her clothes. She wasn’t dressed for waitressing because she was wearing short heels. “I need to change, but after that I can--”

“Great.” He grinned, and the grin had a bit of a leer in it.

That was one of the things that Selene had always appreciated about Ethan; she had never felt insulted or disgusted when he looked at her. Never.

“I’ll show you around the place, then take you home so you can change.” Hailey offered.

Selene nodded.

The place was set up like an old-time 60s diner and did a reasonable job at that. The decor, tables, and chairs fit reasonably well, and the size and shape of the building supported that feel as well. It wasn’t a bad place, but Selene wouldn’t exactly have had a strong urge to stop in if she had been driving past. The cook was apparently a genius with a skillet though, so she guessed that was the main draw to the place.

An hour later, she’d gotten the tour, gone back to the apartment, changed, come back, and started working. It was just like riding a bike in that she’d done it before and other than learning the menu, it was basically the same.

That was good, because working here would give her a chance to work on something that was important to her: building up her telepathic skill. Well, at least for listening to other people’s thoughts. For sending thoughts, she’d need to try something else. She had an idea, but would need help for it. Thankfully, she found that since telepathy used barely any mana, it wasn’t a problem to keep her mana from draining too quickly, even on Earth where it was much harder to collect it.

With the knowledge that she was working toward being able to talk to the Argo again, and especially Ethan and Kendra, she was the most cheerful she’d been since leaving the Argo.

Hailey dropped her keys on the end table next to the door and closed it behind her after Selene followed her in. What a day.

“Is it usually that busy?” Selene asked, then yawned.

“No, that was nuts.” Hailey replied, then mirrored her guest’s yawn. “Usually it’s pretty slow between lunch and dinner.”

Selene nodded, then took a deep breath. “I hate to do this, but can I ask you a favor?”

“Sure.” Hailey replied with a smile, not having forgotten how the other woman had stuck up for her while they were all captured by Smithbond’s nameless agency.

“I told you about my issues with contacting Ethan, right?”

“Yup.” Hailey nodded, then waved her into the kitchen where Melinda was cooking some grub while Jason was reading something from his work at the table.

“Well, I need to practice sending telepathic messages so I can communicate with the Argo, but that means I need someone to send them to.”

“Go ahead, I’d be happy to help.” Hailey agreed as she scooped a fingerful of mashed potatoes out of a pot Melinda had left unattended. “Wait, you can’t read my mind, can you?”

“Um, I could but I don’t.” Selene replied. “And thank you.”

“So, you can read anyone’s mind?” Melinda asked.

“Anyone without mental defenses, so basically anyone on Earth.” Selene replied.

Hailey chuckled. “I bet the other waitresses would pay good money to know what Detective McDreamy is thinking.”

Selene looked at her. “Who?”

“There’s a detective for the local PD that stops in for breakfast almost every day.” Melinda replied. “I think his name is McDonald, or McDawson, or something like that, but the other waitresses all call him McDreamy; you’ll understand when you meet him.”

“Uh, okay.” Selene looked back and forth between the two ladies. “I’m working in the morning so I guess I’ll meet him then?”

“Probably.” Hailey replied, then looked at Melinda. “I’m pretty sure the boss just slotted Selene into all your hours.”

“Works for me; I still have a while yet until my maternity leave is up.” Melinda shrugged.

“I’m going to crash.” Selene said. “The cook apparently decided I need to double my weight because he offered me half the food in the kitchen.”

Hailey laughed.

There was a loud meow and Thor came tearing out of the bedroom to see Selene. Their guest knelt down, scooped him up, and started petting him, then carried him into the guest room where she was staying.

Hailey walked closer to Melinda. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

Melinda gave her a sly smile. “That McDreamy and McBeauty--” She nodded her head toward Selene. “--would get along very well.”

“She just got back and likely isn’t over Ethan yet.” Jason said from the table, though quietly enough that his voice wouldn’t carry. “It’s too soon.”

“You didn’t see her today.” Hailey replied. “She seemed fine, or at least mostly fine.”

“Yeah, remember that guy I dated for like, a month, not long after you and Hailey started dating?” Melinda added. “I was devastated when we broke up, but I bounced back a couple days later. She wasn’t even dating him and she wasn’t gone that long.”

“The star that burns the brightest burns the shortest.” Hailey agreed.

Jason frowned. “I suppose that’s possible.”

“You aren’t convinced?” Melinda asked as she added some more seasoning to the dish.

“Nope.” He shook his head.

“Look, it’s a miracle that McDreamy isn’t already married, or at least dating someone.” Melinda pointed out. “Even if the timing isn’t ideal -- and I think it’s fine -- Selene might not even get a chance with him if she waits.”

“Okay.” Jason said, but his tone indicated that he wasn’t convinced.

Melinda looked at Hailey. “Can you set something up?

Hailey smiled. “His table will be in my section tomorrow morning ... and the new girl might need to trade with me.”

“Perfect.” Melinda got a twinkle in her eye.

10 Days ago

Selene remembered waitressing being hard on her feet, but apparently, spending hours a day sparring toughened one’s feet because they weren’t bothering her at all. The diner was slow-ish this morning, with only two occupied tables in her section. One was an elderly couple who were very sweet, and the other was a college kid who had ordered an omelet and was sitting there on his computer drinking his weight in coffee. She didn’t miss those days.

It was a little odd seeing people react to her this time though. Whereas before, everyone had mostly checked her out subtly -- and sometimes not so subtly -- the scar on her face from the battle with Lord Delmar seemed to be drawing more attention than her body. Not that her body didn’t draw a lot of attention -- it did -- but her scar seemed to hold it for longer.

Curiously, about five minutes ago, Hailey had started glancing at the door regularly. Selene let it pass without comment, but it was partially explained when someone she assumed was Detective McDreamy walked in carrying a manilla folder.

He wasn’t Ethan, but objectively speaking, he was one of the most handsome men Selene had ever seen. He was a pretty classic ‘tall, dark, and handsome’; and well-dressed too. He was wearing a suit that despite fitting him perfectly and looking good, obviously wasn’t expensive. He carried himself well and had bright and intelligent eyes, though he looked a bit tired at the moment.

He waved at one of the other waitresses like he’d known her forever, and she waved back enthusiastically. He then walked to a table and slid onto the seat, looking like he’d performed that exact move at that exact table a thousand times. His table was in Selene’s section, so she walked over to him.

“Good morning, what can I get you to drink?”

“Something with espresso; lots of espresso.” He replied, then yawned.

“Burning the midnight oil?” She asked as she tried to remember what they had on the menu that was stronger than coffee.

“Last night, midnight would’ve been knocking off early.” He looked at her for a moment. “New here?”

“Yup, started yesterday.”

“Ah, then I’ll have the heart-healthy omelet with a side of bacon.”

“Heart-healthy omelet and a side of bacon?” Selene asked, finding the combination a bit odd.

“Yup, I try to eat healthy all the time and occasionally have a treat; this morning, the omelet is my treat.” He said in an entirely serious tone, but the twinkle in his eyes told her that he was joking.

“Coming right up.” She chuckled. “And to drink?”

“Just tell the kitchen that I had a long night and they’ll know.” He replied.

“Okay, coming right up.”

“Thank you ma’am.” He replied with a smile, and his tone conveyed genuine gratitude. Almost strangely, he hadn’t ‘checked her out’ even once.

She went back to the kitchen to give his order to the chef and was greeted by Hailey holding the entire order. Selene eyed it and then looked at Hailey.

“He comes in here a lot.” Hailey explained.

Selene shrugged, grabbed the order, and took it out to him.

“Perfect, thank you.” He said when she set it down. On the table, he had the manilla folder laying open and there were pictures of what looked like a crime scene and some witness statements.

“You’re welcome.” She smiled at him; she always got better tips when she smiled.

“So, what did you think of McDreamy?” Hailey asked when Selene had checked on her other patrons and returned to the kitchen.

“He’s nice.” She shrugged. He was indeed nice, but he wasn’t Ethan.

Hailey shook her head and then walked out of the kitchen with someone’s order.

About ten minutes later, Selene went to check on McDreamy. “Anything I can get you?”

He gave her an amused look. “Well, my favorite not-missing person--” He gestured towards Hailey. “--tells me that you are on a brief leave from the FBI, and she made me promise to ask you about it.”

Selene sighed. “Yeah, my first assignment got ... complicated.”

“Law enforcement certainly can be that way.” He nodded. “Well, I’ve kept my word to Hailey and asked; I won’t pry.”

“Thank you.” Selene smiled. “Can I get you anything?”

“Not at the moment, thank you.”

She smiled again -- tips really were so much better with a smile and pleasant demeanor -- and then went back to the kitchen.

“And?” Hailey asked. “That was a pretty short conversation.”

“Yup.” Selene resisted the urge to sigh; was Hailey trying to set her up?

“He looked intrigued when I mentioned that you were an FBI agent; I’ve never seen him look intrigued by a woman before.”

“Hailey, I don’t need help in the ‘man department’.” Technically that wasn’t true, but the man she wanted help with was literally worlds away.

Hailey looked at her for a moment. “Kendra told me that you promised Ethan that you would find someone to take care of you. Jason, Melinda, and I are happy to help for the moment, but you need something long-term. If not a guy, then who?”