At Aiden's house; New London, Britannia:
Mrs. Esterly (to Nathaniel & Poppy): Hee hee! Oh, that's us home, isn't it? Good heavens, that is a VERY handy trick Mrs. Potter. Wasn't that fun?
Nathaniel (to Mrs. Esterly & Poppy): I don't know that fun is the word I'd fucking use.
Mrs. Esterly (to Nathaniel): Stop pouting, dear. Aiden is fine. (to Aiden) I know you're awake, young man! You're worrying Nathaniel.
Poppy (to Mrs. Esterly & Nathaniel): Well, I don't know about all of you, sweeties, but I could use a stiff drink.
Aiden (to Mrs. Esterly, Poppy & Nathaniel): I was just building up my strength… And, staying out of the way.
Mrs. Esterly (to Aiden): Hee hee. I can't fault you for that, dear. (to Nathaniel) Why don't you help him lay down? I'll bring something up later. (to Poppy) I have just the thing. I believe there should be some fresh scones in the bread box if you're hungry.
Poppy (to Mrs. Esterly): Oh yes, that would be lovely. I'm always famished after a mission. Not to mention, I'm still a bit out of shape from the baby.
Mrs. Esterly (to Poppy): I would have never known it, dear. Ooo, running around with those two boys hammers home how old these bones are getting. I'll just get us some cold chicken and cheese as well, shall I? Here we are. Fiona brought me this nice scotch a while ago.
Poppy (to Mrs. Esterly): Heehee. So, are we going to keep up the good manners for days or address the elephant in the room, Mrs. Esterly?
Mrs. Esterly (to Poppy): Agatha is just fine, and we're British, dear; we could keep up the good manners for a lifetime if we needed. But, I'd really rather not... Do you remember a young man named Rowan Sinclair? I shouldn't be shocked if you don't.
Poppy (to Mrs. Esterly): No, I'm sorry he doesn't… Who was he, honey?
Mrs. Esterly (to Poppy): I think another shot of scotch is in order for me, dear. Let me know if you'd like more. Rowan was my son. Not biologically, of course. I never did have any of my own. Hee hee, not for a lack of trying as Mr. Esterly used to say. I pinched Rowan trying to pick my pocket, oh... too many years to recall exactly how many now. I was still on active duty, and it's when the Mister had his little shop over on Riverside, I think... Well, Rowan had just finished up five months hard labor for the same offense, so of course you understand he was in a tight spot getting caught again & getting caught by me. I took him home instead. I still don't know what possessed me, but... Well, I don't have to explain it to you, do I, de
Poppy (to Mrs. Esterly): No, not at all, honey. We've all had a weakness for strays.
Mrs. Esterly (to Poppy): Hee hee. Don't we just? He was never quite right, poor lad, and I'm sure me, in my line of work, was the wrong sort of mother for a boy as damaged as Rowan. It didn't keep me from loving him like my own while I had him, but I fear I wasn't able to give him whatever it was that he needed. He stayed with us for a good while, but the old demons proved too hard for him to ever truly shake. He disappeared back into the streets. It was about two years later that I learned he'd taken up with the NASTIEST sort of street gang.
Poppy (to Mrs. Esterly): … Oh.
Mrs. Esterly (to Poppy): I'm not saying he didn't deserve the end he got, dear, or that he was innocent of the deeds that got him there. Honestly, I'm rather afraid he did. But, he was still my boy... Would you like another nip of scotch?
Poppy (to Mrs. Esterly): Yes, please… You said Sinclair? I recall a boy called Two Bits Sinclair. He was a good deal older than me when I was working for Achilles. He mostly did a bit of stealing, though he graduated to a rougher sort of crime. I'm not sure I ever heard what happened to him. I left the gang when I was fourteen & the Colonel took me in.
Mrs. Esterly (to Poppy): ... Well, dear, from what I know, he and the boys he was running with started roughing up working girls over in Seven Dials. They killed a few of them, I'm afraid. Including a young lady by the name of Constance… I believe you knew her.
Poppy (to Mrs. Esterly): Yes… She was like a big sister to me. She found me on the streets when I was first on my own. She couldn't let me stay with her since she lived and worked in one of the brothels. Tthey don't like to have little ones about, it discourages the customers… I still remember the day I heard… I had only seen her a few days before. She was so happy that she had finally paid off her debt & that she was going to go find an honest living, like in a flower shop. She said that I could come live with her & we'd be a family. The Colonel came and told me…She had been brutalized. I went a bit crazy, but then I'm guessing you already knew that.
Mrs. Esterly (to Poppy): Yes, I did, dear. When Margaux tapped you for the ISS, they wanted me to be your handler. I'm afraid I threw more than a bit of a fit. It's what caused me to resign. Hee hee. Well, the first time that is. I did a fair few times in my career.
Poppy (to Mrs. Esterly): Heh. I had heard that they were having trouble finding me a handler. I know Margaux wasn't too happy about being saddled with me. She said her job was usually done when she delivered her charges & she preferred to work alone.
Mrs. Esterly (to Poppy): Hee hee. That sounds like her. She is a suspicious old bird, isn't she? I'm glad things improved for you, dear. I truly am. And call me a selfish old biddy, but it helps to see how good a life you've made for yourself. It took me a long time to come to terms with what Rowan was. It's comforting to think that it wasn't all due to maternal failure on my part.
Poppy (to Mrs. Esterly): I'm very sorry for the loss of the boy you loved & my part in it, honey. No matter what he became, it's still never easy.
Mrs. Esterly (to Poppy): No, it isn't. I'm sorry for his part in the death of your friend. ...Did anyone ever tell you she has a tombstone, dear?
Poppy (to Mrs. Esterly): Oh, no. I just always assumed she had a pauper's burial.
Mrs. Esterly (to Poppy): Well, it's not much better than that, I'm afraid. Mr. Esterly and I sold his tailor shop, and gave the girls Rowan and his gang murdered as nice a funeral as we could afford. It's not much but there's a little memorial at a church not far from here. I can take you some other day, if you'd like. Not today, of course. Between blowing up laboratories and airing out old ghosts I rather think I've had enough excitement for one day.
Poppy (to Mrs. Esterly): That was very sweet of you. Excuse me, for a moment…. (to Nathaniel) Nathaniel Zachariah Jones! How long have you been there?
Nathaniel (to Poppy & Mrs. Esterly): Not long. I figured you two saw me come in. I was looking for something to eat.
Poppy (to Nathaniel & Mrs. Esterly): I'm sure Mrs. Esterly can fix you right up with something. I should head to the Falcon. The family will be arriving shortly. I should get things tidied up. (to Mrs. Esterly) I'd love to come by later this week and see that thing we were discussing.
Mrs. Esterly (to Poppy): I'd like that very much, Poppy dear. Give your love to the clan for me.
Nathaniel (to Poppy): Oh. Yeah. Course. Say hi to everyone for me. And, um, thanks for, you know... Not lettin' me get carried away back there.
Poppy (to Nathaniel): It's alright, honey, your uncle gets that way, too, on occasion. (to Mrs. Esterly) I shall. Thank you.
A short time later:
Nathaniel (to Aiden): Hey. You awake? How're you feeling. Mrs. Esterly sent me up with food it you want some.
Aiden (to Nathaniel): Heh. She always seems to know just the right thing to send up. I'm starving. How you feeling?
Nathaniel (to Aiden): I'm alright. Glad to see you up and moving. Heh... Don't fucking scare me like that, you dick!
Aiden (to Nathaniel): I'm sorry. The next time a guard is going to shoot you with a Teslaracht, I'll just step aside and let him do it, alright?
Nathaniel (to Aiden): Yeah, well... It'd serve me right, wouldn't it? I'm just kidding. Thank you for saving my ass.
Aiden (to Nathaniel): Well, it's such a nice ass. I thought it'd be a shame to let it get shot. ;-p
Nathaniel (to Aiden): ...Heh. I got no clever response for that. Heh. You're fucking BEAT, aren't you? Get some more rest. I'm gonna go grab a cigarette.
Aiden (to Nathaniel): Sorry... I'll be right here. zzzZZZzzz
Nathaniel (to Aiden): Heh. No shit. Love you.
A little while later:
Mrs. Esterly (to Nathaniel): Good heavens, dear. If that cloud of tobacco smoke doesn't peel the paint, the gloom hanging over your head will. Are you alright, Nathaniel?
Nathaniel (to Mrs. Esterly): Yeah. Fine. Why the hell does everyone keep asking me that?
Mrs. Esterly (to Nathaniel): Well, dear, because you haven't had a bite to eat since we've returned, and you do tend to skip meals when you're upset. There's also the fact that you looked like you were about to beat that guard that shot Aiden to death.
Nathaniel (to Mrs. Esterly): ... I was gonna.
Mrs. Esterly (to Nathaniel): I know, dear, but you didn't. Come inside. According to my knee, it's about to rain, and you're putting a cuppa in your stomach at the very least. Move along, dear. Hee hee. I can't afford to get much older waiting for you. Sit. Now, I know you are *awfully* fond of tormenting yourself, but there's really no need. Aiden is fine. And, after a few weeks in the hospital, I'm sure that guard will be fine as well. Most importantly, we did what we set out to do. Franklin is YEARS away from rebuilding his contraption, and Georgette should be, more or less, safe from him until then.
Nathaniel (to Mrs. Esterly): Yeah...
Mrs. Esterly (to Nathaniel): I've had enough of that dour face, young man. There was not an individual in this house last night who didn't have someone's blood on his or her hands. I know you have memories of doing some dreadful things in that past timeline of yours, but from what you and Master Aiden have said, it doesn't sound like you were there by choice. I hate to be the one to break it to you, but there is not an ounce of difference between the people who kill for Queen and Country, and those who kill for for a foreign nation, or because life has forced them into some kind of criminal organization, you know.
Nathaniel (to Mrs. Esterly): What!?! What the fuck are you talking about?
Mrs. Esterly (to Nathaniel): Hee hee. Trust me, Nathaniel, the longer you live, and the longer you stay in this game, the more people start to seem the same. Don't think for a moment that the Empire, or your government back home, wouldn't try to break and reform you just like Hiiri did if they thought it would suit their needs. You stopped when your aunt told you to stop. You're trying to be a good person, dear. It counts for more than you think it does.
Nathaniel (to Mrs. Esterly): Oh. Um... Yeah. Maybe. Thanks.
Mrs. Esterly (to Nathaniel): Now, I'm sure you're sick to death of hearing me prattle on. Hee hee. Honestly, I'm sick to death of talking. I'm going to take a bath, do a bit of knitting, and curl up in bed. You and Master Aiden are on your own for dinner tonight.
Nathaniel (to Mrs. Esterly): Heh. Yeah. Fair enough. See you later. Uh, thanks, Mrs. Esterly.
Several hours later, at the Longfellow Inn; New London, Britannia:
Zoe (to George): Oh... Sorry. I didn't realize anyone was out here.
George (to Zoe): It's alright, Miss. I was just skipping stones. Plenty of room for the both of us... I'm George.
Zoe (to George): Zoe. It's nice to meet you. I was just going to sit here and pretend to be mud, if that's okay with you.
George (to Zoe): Pretend to be mud? That doesn't sound like much fun.
Zoe (to George): It's not, that's the point.
George (to Zoe): Well, I'll leave you to it, then. Enjoy your mud!
A short time later:
Vincent (to Zoe): Zoe? How are you holding up, sweetie?
Zoe (to Vincent): Fine, I guess... I kinda miss him but I'm trying to deal with it without doing anything stupid.
Vincent (to Zoe): Heh. Well, you're smarter than your old man, then. Come on, Monster. Let's head in.
Zoe (to Vincent): Okay... I think this is one of those weird moments when I'm glad to have Emma's memories.
