darcypalmer - Tumblr blog

darcypalmer · 5 years ago

Photo

Rita reveals some truths that lead to a much awaited love confessions from @diegojaimechavez and Gen which leads them to a new kind of intimacy, Vex hogs the bed

After the first day of questioning, things have slowed down in the next few days. The FBI still asked to see Gen a few times for questions that came up during the questioning of Vivien and Bex, and then Al and the other US Marshalls also had their own questions and paperwork to get through, so she spent most of the time either at the US Marshall offices or in the motel room, waiting around and passing the time.

Diego was there through it all. He had his own paperwork to do and questions to answer, but as much as he could, he tried to stay close, and once they were both done for the day, he took her back to the motel and they passed the time together, and she couldn't have been more grateful for him.

Today was the first day when Diego wasn't actually around. He decided to go back to Sunnymead and pack up both his and her apartment. She told him the only two things she really cared about were Vex and her glasses, and maybe some clothes so she would have some change of clothes around, but even though her apartment wasn't empty, it also wasn't full of personal belongings that she really grew attached to. She organized the place in case somebody would need to come upstairs, so they wouldn't see it empty and unfinished at first glance, but none of it really mattered.

He dropped her off at the offices in case they needed her for anything and then he took off, so Gen has been hanging around the offices, quietly trying to stay out of everyone's way when she noticed Rita coming in and maybe it was childish, but she immediately ducked down, hoping Rita wouldn't notice her. It was probably a miscommunication on Diego and Rita's part that she showed up on the day he wasn't around - that, or she was planning on sticking around anyway and Gen would be spending her night alone from this point forward. Something she expected to happen sooner or later, of course she did, but still she just not wanted to talk to Rita in that moment and have to face just how amazing the woman was once again.

_______________________

Rita came in to see Al, with news on Tyler Ellis. After Diego and Al had a thorough discussion of Rita's involvement, and Al made sure to lightly chastise Diego for calling in an external consultant rather than working within the unit, Al relented and made an appointment to see Rita. She hoped she didn't look as nervous as she felt, going into the offices. Usually she was hired off the record and off the books to consult for government agencies - she justified it as being shady 'for the greater good', but somehow she felt like she wasn't just going to give her report, but she was being called into the principal's office in elementary school.

She arrived early, so Rita stopped at the coffee kiosk located in the office building, to pick up a tea and a muffin. As she waited for the tea and looked around, that was when Rita saw the other woman - Darcy Palmer. Or...her real name, but Rita knew her better as Darcy Palmer. Darcy seemed hassled and she looked exhausted; Rita got a smoothie bottle as well, then came over to her.

"Hey there," Rita said, sitting beside her. She handed Darcy the smoothie. "It's the green one, full of vitamins. You look like you haven't seen a decent meal in days. If Diego's catering food, then you definitely have not. I don't know how he manages to look like that, eating the way he does." She broke the muffin in half. "How are you holding up?"

_______________________

She tried. Maybe not as well as she could, but Gen really tried to be as noticeable as possible, but of course Rita noticed her and came over to talk to her - and even brought a smoothie for her! She didn't wanna know just how shitty and tired and drawn-out she must have looked if Rita would look at her and think "yeah, she needs some vitamins in her system". She didn't take it as an offense, even though she knew some people probably would, she just found it such a genuine and kind gesture.

If things were different, she would probably love to hang out with this woman. Now it just kind of felt awkward. She gave Rita an appreciate smile, though, as she took the offered smoothie. "Hey, thanks. To be fair, Diego ate at my place for almost a year, so it's partially my fault how he ate. And by my place I meant my diner, not my place, you know?" she added quickly when she realized how she might have sounded. There was a short time period when he was eating at her place, but it was better if even Rita didn't know about that.

"And if you think he has bad eating habits, you'd be horrified if you knew mine," she joked. "But thank you for this, it's really nice of you," she raised the cup at Rita before she took a sip of it. It was surprisingly good. There was a period of her life when she lived on these and drank them on a daily basis, but it felt like by this time she forgot how they even tasted, and it was nice.

"I am doing okay, I guess. As much as I can in all of this... well, it's kind of quiet in a weird way, mostly just endless questioning and then downtime. Are you here on official business?" she couldn't help but ask. Maybe she wouldn't like the answer, but it would make more sense if she came to report something or for an assignment.

_______________________

"Hmmm," Rita said, with an amused laugh as Darcy mentioned that diner of hers. She'd misinterpreted Darcy's words, thinking that Darcy was making an innuendo-joke about Diego 'eating' at her 'diner'. Rita knew he was sleeping with the woman, and she knew what a disaster that could turn out to be - not just for Darcy, but also for Diego. Now that Vivien Salazar was arrested though, Rita couldn't help but wonder if there was a chance for them. Some impossible, tiny, thin sliver of a chance. Rita didn't know Darcy well at all, but Rita felt Diego at least deserved something of a break. He was one of those fools who kept trying to do right, no matter how much he fucked up. He never gave up; and even now, Rita knew he wouldn't give up on Darcy Palmer. Did Darcy feel the same?

"I'm sure you fed him well. And I hope he returned the same. Men can be so greedy sometimes..." she said with a smile. Rita didn't know if that came off too chummy, so she was glad when Darcy asked a question.

"I am, I'm meeting with Al Karga - I'm sure you've already met him by now. My final report to hand in about one Mr Ellis. Then I'm headed back to New York. That's where you're from, right? I'll be glad to get back home, honestly. I've been on the road too long, and I miss my dogs." Rita realized that talking about her home to a woman who was currently so massively displaced was probably rubbing salt in an open wound.

"Oh - I'm sorry. I just mean - well. I hope things work out for you, really I do. Unfortunately without any further, er, monetary provisions from the FBI or US Marshal's office, I'm out of your business for good once I return home. In fact, Diego still owes me for what I've done already; and I'm guessing that fool's planning to pay me out of pocket, too. That invoice'll be unpaid for a while, probably." She smirked. "But I don't mind. At least my ex-husband's a stockbroker, and I get a huge alimony."

_______________________

"Okay..." Gen frowned. What Rita said sounded extremely strange, but she figured she'd just roll with it. And Rita kept talking, too, and once she brought up Tyler Ellis, she forgot about the weirdness completely.

"Was he involved with Vivien?" she couldn't help asking. It was one of the things that she kept running over and over again in her head. How if she would have listened to him, if she actually believed him, maybe they could have been more prepared and maybe none of the shit that happened would have actually happened. Maybe the FBI would have actually found Vivien before she could have kidnapped Juliana. "Sorry, you don't have to tell me if it's classified or anything, but if it's possible, I'd like to know."

Hearing Rita talk about New York and mention having dogs caused such mixed feelings inside of her. Part of her still desired to get back to New York, but she wasn't sure anymore if it was the city itself or the life where she was happy and didn't know all the horrors that she went through even if she could never actually get that back, while other part of her just wished she could have gone back to Sunnymead, back to the life she built up over the last couple of years. "Yeah, New York born and raised. Really loved it there, too, so I get wanting to go back there. Especially if you have dogs waiting for you. What kind of dogs do you have?"

She wondered if Diego knew about the going back to New York thing. They probably already talked about it and agreed on long distance or something. She couldn't exactly imagine Diego going after Rita and settling down in New York. Not because of Rita, she just couldn't really imagine him going so far from Texas for good. In her mind Diego sooner or later would always end up back here, he loved this place way too much for it.

And apparently Rita wasn't only going back to New York, she was also handing in invoices to Diego, which just made no sense. "Wait, Diego was paying you for everything? I thought he called in a favor, and then especially after you two are... you know, together and all, it was you helping out and the US Marshall's office paying if anyone." MIght have been a really stupid though, she knew that, their relationship was not too long yet, but it somehow made sense in her head. Well, until now. It felt like she was missing something.

And that's when it really clicked for her what Rita was talking about when she said they would feed each other and what she was trying to insinuate and was her smile really teasing or did she misread annoyance completely? Gen's eyes grew twice their size and she practically choked on thin air as she vigorously started shaking her head. "Wait when you said I fed him and he gave it back, you meant that the two of us... No, no, I actually meant he ate at the diner that I was running. Real food, actual real food. He even worked at the kitchen for a hot second, we just argued too much and I kicked him out of there, so he just kept coming back to eat there so he can do his job and keep an eye at me."

She looked around to make sure nobody was around them and actually heard this conversation. She didn't only want to make sure RIta didn't think there was anything between them, not anymore at least, she also didn't want to get Diego in trouble because somebody overheard them. Thankfully nobody was around to hear them but she still leaned forward and lowered her voice as she said, "It's not like that between us, I swear. You don't have to worry, it's-- we're close but it's more because we were thrown into these shitty situations together, mainly because of me, but that's beside the point. What I'm trying to say is that he doesn't-- you know, feed me. Not in that regard. I'm not... no."

_______________________

“He wasn't," Rita replied, about Tyler Ellis. She said that without any hesitation. "Not directly, anyway. He had his fingers in a lot of pies and..." Rita looked around the office foyer before leaning closer. "The government's done its share of shady backdoor deals with...a lot of different types of people, but Ellis took that unspoken tactic a little too wholeheartedly. As in, he chose to profit for himself, rather than for his country. And that meant he did a lot of glad-handing and deal-making with all sorts, some of them affiliated to Salazar's syndicate. But I don't think Ellis and Salazar ever actually know each other. Not directly. Sorry, Ms Palm- I mean, Ms Soto, that's the most I can say."

She happily went into talking about her dogs afterwards. Like most dog-owners, she knew the breeds and showed photos to Gen on her phone. Rita clearly loved the two animals dearly.

But when they got back to the subject of Diego, once again Rita misunderstood what Gen was saying about him, because Rita was going off her own understanding of the situation between Diego and Gen. "Of course he's paying me for my services, it's how I make a living. The US Marshal office didn't technically authorize Diego calling me to work Ellis, sooo, yeah. It's just a lot of red tape. Don't worry, I don't charge interest for friends," she said with a smile.

And when Gen mentioned Rita and Diego 'together', Rita flushed, realizing that Diego told Gen about their night. "Listen, Gen. I don't want to assume anything, but it was just that one night, I promise. I didn't know how he felt about you until afterwards. He's a man, you know how it is. Once the blood reaches their privates their brains switch right off. I hope I didn't...make things weird between you two."

But then when Gen rushed to assure Rita that Gen and Diego didn't have any sort of relationship - sexual or romantic - going on, then Rita looked even more abashed. Clearly, from what Gen was saying, it turned out that Rita misread the entire situation. She'd thought their feelings towards each other were mutual. But apparently it turned out the feelings that Diego had for Gen Soto were completely one-sided and very much unrequited by Gen.

"Oh, I see," Rita said, feeling a bit sorry for Diego for getting himself embroiled in yet another doomed situation. It wasn't Gen's fault of course - if she didn't have feelings for Diego, that was her right - but Rita knew Diego would just end up with his heart-broken, completely his own doing. She decided she needed to enlighten Gen, warn her at least so that Gen could hopefully clarify things for Diego.

"And...look I'm sorry for getting so personal, but he's my friend and I do care about him. But I just want to make sure - so Di knows you don't have any, you know, feelings for him, right? And...you know he's got it bad for you? As long as he knows there's no hope in hell of you two happening, then that's fine. It's just. He got fucked-up over a woman before you, and she claimed to love him, even if I'm not sure she did. Since you don't feel anything for him, maybe just, I don't know. Tell him plainly? So the poor lovestruck fool doesn't think he's got any chance."

Rita patted her hand and smiled. "And I'm not judging you for not being attracted to him, or anything like that. If you don't have any feelings for him, that's totally understandable. He's just my friend and he's ridiculously in love with you, so I want to make sure he'll be okay once you've moved forward in your life, y'know? And I really, truly hope you're able to move forward in your life, after all this nightmare with Salazar is over."

She glanced at her phone. "Oh shoot - I should head up to Al's office, I'm gonna be late. Listen - Dar - Gen - it's been good to see you. Sorry for all my assumptions about you two! I honestly thought you two were a thing, that's totally on me," Rita said, rushing to gather her things as she stood up and backed away from Gen. "Good luck on everything, I mean it. Take care, okay? Maybe one day we can meet up again and laugh over this, who knows."

And with that, Rita hurried off to the elevator up to Al's maekshift office.

_______________________

It was a relief to hear that Ellis at least wasn't involved with Vivien directly. He was still a shady person and Gen hoped he would finally get what he deserved without being able to turn it around and slip away from the consequences, but it weirdly made her feel better to know Tyler at least wasn't on the same level as Vivien. He wasn't too much higher, but he was at least higher. "Thank you for telling me this much. And please, no Ms, just call me Gen. Or Darcy. Either works, really, I know it's kind of confusing right now."

She happily looked at the pictures Rita was showing her of the dogs and listened to the woman talk about them. She's wanted one her entire life, but at this point she made peace with probably never having one, so now she was just happy when she could hear about other people's dogs. And it was a nice, small break from the heavy and more serious topics, since right after they went back to Diego and him being charged for everything, and Gen made a mental note to herself that she would have to talk about this with Diego. There was no way she would let him pay for all of this when she was just as involved and part of the reason Rita was asked to dig into that asshole in the first place.

And then things took a surprising turn and suddenly Gen felt like she got up onto the rollercoaster that just kept going on higher and higher without an end, because the things Rita was telling her... well, they just made no sense. Or more like they made no sense in her head cause she was so sure she knew and understood the situation that Diego and Rita and she herself were in, and Rita was contradiction everything she thought she knew and was so sure of, and it was just a lot to take in and process and the fact that Rita just kept talking didn't help in the moment.

She had to admit, it crossed Gen's mind for a moment that Rita might just be fucking with her and telling her some fake story and in the end she would just laugh in her face with a "ha ha, you though, huh?" or something. She didn't seem like that kind of person, but how could she have gotten everything so wrong if everything Rita was saying was true? Even if it couldn't be, because DIego made sure to let her know that he didn't want her or thought they should really happen or that he even wanted anything to do with her sexually, the last of it only a few days ago. So what was Rita even talking about?

Okay, maybe they really just slept together once, maybe she misunderstood that part, but Diego couldn't possibly be in love with her, could he? He made it so clear he didn't want anything from her, what could she possibly have misinterpreted as him being in love with her? Was Rita just a really bad judge of character? Really bad at noticing love and the absence of it?

But she couldn't help her heart from fluttering into life and the butterflies in her stomach awakening and memories flashing into her mind. Him calling her honey repeatedly. The way he kept holding her hand during the drive here. How he was trying to take care of her the entire time they were here, putting in more effort than anyone else would have expected of him or would have done in his place. How he repeatedly told her that he wanted to stay by her side through all of this. How he was constantly trying to make sure she ate and got enough rest because he knew just how shitty she was at taking care of herself. How he kept sleeping in a shitty motel room next to her on the same bed when probably nobody else would have done that, normally they would have just let somebody take a night shift and let Diego rest on his own, let him have some time alone to himself at least. How he was currently somewhere between Sunnymead and here because he not only wanted to pack up his apartment and his stuff, but her as well, without her ever having to ask him of any sort. How he wanted her to take the bed and they had the same argument over it every single night since the first. How he arranged a call to her brother because he knew just how much it would mean to her and how much it would fuel her no matter how everything else was shitty around her. The way he pulled her close against him when they were sitting next to each other on the bed. Just how comfortable he seemed around her, whether it be in the car or in the motel room. How he didn't let her drive because he wanted to give her a chance to some calmness if she could find it. And all of this just in the last couple of days.

Suddenly she felt overwhelmed because if Rita is right, how could she have been so blind and so dumb? How could she have missed all the sighs? Just in the last couple of days alone everything he's done showed loving her, or at least having strong feelings for her, and all of that after he caught her right after she slept with Vivien.

Fuck. Vivien. Fuck. She already felt bad that DIego had to see the aftermath of that, had to know what went down between them, but if he really loved her and he had to see that--- fuck, it was an even bigger fuck up than she originally thought.

Fuck, how could she have missed all of this? DId she really miss all of this? She had so many question and she wanted to fire all of them at Rita, but once Rita finished... well, she wasn't sure what she was talking about, she kind of zoned out once she said that DIego was stupidly in love with her, but she assumed RIta was just trying to be a good friend or something, but once she was done with whatever she was telling her, she suddenly got up, excused herself and left and then Gen was just sitting there, half of the smoothie in her hand, staring ahead of herself and trying to wrap her head and heart around everything.

Could it really be true? All of it? Could she really hope that they could be more? That he could reciprocate her feelings?

And as if on cue, suddenly a family figure appeared in her eyesight and in a couple of seconds Rita's place was taken by Diego who looked hassled with a knapsack in one hand and some kind of food box in another and she didn't have a clue what to say or how to react, her heart was beating out of her chest and she was still in the middle of processing everything as she sputtered, "What-- what are you doing here?" She quickly shook her head and added to make sure he didn't misunderstand her, "I mean, I thought the trip would take you longer, you know. Did everything go okay? Did you manage to get everything? Is Vex okay?" Because focusing on her hedgehog and the trip seemed like a safer topic and it at least prevented Gen from asking him outright if everything Rita told her was true or not.

_______________________

Diego put the knapsack on one of the chairs, giving Gen a look before she adjusted her questions to be more specific. "I didn't want the trip to take longer, I wanted to get out of there as fast as I could," he groused, opening up the knapsack carefully. "People know. Obviously Vincent and the rest of the copshop, and the diner - although Flo seemed to be convinced by your vacation story and refuses to believe what people are saying. Everyone was a combination of not wanting to talk to me, and wanted to ask me everything, just like the kids were. I said my apologies and left as soon as I could."

Opening the knapsack up, he revealed that Vex was right inside the bag, which was lined with hastily torn-up newspaper. It looked like Diego had also placed cabbage leaves and some carrot pieces in there too. "I don't know what hedgehogs eat," he said, as they stared at the little creature snuffling around. "Maybe I should've left it with Jose, he seemed to have taken a shine to feeding it. They were all going up into your apartment now - Jose, Flo, a couple of the other servers. But I guess it don't matter now anyway. The rest of the stuff's still in the car, I just came here straight from Sunnymead. I brought the hedgehog's crate too, but I didn't wanna leave the critter in the car. I heard dogs die in cars, figured hedgehogs would too."

Standing straight, Diego slipped his hands into his back pockets. "But there you go. I hope I got everything you wanted, but I could always go back." Checking his watch, he glanced around. "They kept you waiting long? I thought Rita was supposed to come by...."

_______________________

Listening to Diego, having him sitting next to her, watching him reveal Vex in the bag, all of it felt so overwhelming and strange and too much and not enough at the same time while Gen was still processing everything. Her mind was still running a mile a minute, and then there was Diego talking about something so mundane and so... well, not to say Vex and what happened in Sunnymead was meaningless and nothing, but all of it for a moment felt so much like that compared to the realization she just had a moment ago. Compared to how dumb she felt in that moment for not seeing it sooner. Cause she really should have seen it sooner. It was right there, so obviously in front of her and she was too wrapped up in her own version of the story that she created for herself that she just couldn't see through it and see the reality.

She wasn't sure how she must have looked from the outside, but she must have had the most dazed expression. She felt completely out of it because he loved her. Even now, offering to go back if he missed something, he was offering to go back even though the drive was long and he probably didn't enjoy being in a situation where the entire town was attacking him on what happened, bugging him with questions and demanding explanations. And still, he was offering to make the trip if she wanted him to.

She loved him so much, so incredibly much.

But it's not like she could just keep staring at him and not say a thing, she needed to snap out of all of this and say something, preferably something coherent and something that wasn't bringing up everything Rita just told me. Because she wanted to talk to him about it so badly, but she also didn't know how to bring it up without it just bursting out of her cause ift hat happened in the middle of the office where anyone could overhear them, it would not end well. For either of them.

She tried shifting her focus towards Vex instead, carefully picking her out of the bag, "Hey little star, did you have a good journey?" she asked of her as if she could actually answer back, still being way too aware of Diego and his closeness and his feelings and not looking at him was so damn hard. "She mainly eats cat food but she will eat anything you give him, so the veggies were perfect, thank you for thinking of it. And thank you for bringing her here. Did you talk to anyone other than Flo from the diner? Did you tell her what happened or do you think I should call and tell her that she should believe everyone else? Did everything seemed to be running smoothly?" She was still working out in her head how she could make sure the Grub would stay open, but she trusted Flo in running everything.

She shook her head. "The waiting wasn't bad, just the usual and Rita is actually here already, we talked and she just went to talk to Al right before you arrived. Speaking of Rita," she realized there was one aspect of their conversation she could at least talk to Diego about, "why didn't you tell me you were paying for her work out of your own pocket? You shouldn't have done that. Or at least you should let me help you out there and pay half of it."

_______________________

"Are you alright?" Diego asked Gen, because she was looking somewhat stunned. "Came out of a bad meeting?" he guessed, since this wouldn't be the first time that all the questioning and debriefing with the FBI and the US Marshal office and even with the on-call therapist had completely melted Gen's brain. Some of the evenings when he and Gen returned to their hotel room, she'd just function enough to eat whatever he gave her, take a shower, and then watch TV until she passed out. He knew this would all just be another blur to her, just like it was the first time. With no routine and no set schedule other than getting to the office to sit around and wait, there was a sense of loss and fogginess. There was hardly anything Diego could do about it, but just abide by whatever the system needed from Gen, and making sure she at least didn't pass out from dehydration.

He was hoping that today at least, might give her some activity to focus on. First with looking after the hedgehog, and then sorting through all the things that Diego had brought from Sunnymead. When she finally seemed to click to life she picked up the hedgehog and Diego breathed an internal sigh of relief. At least the helpless living creature was triggering some sort of effect on Gen, and a good effect.

She spoke to it and Diego smiled to himself, but he didn't make fun of her. Because on the long drive back from Sunnymead, he'd had a few conversations with the hedgehog himself. It understood nothing, but it just felt weirdly good to vent to something living. "Oh good. You can thank Carl, he gave me the vegetables. And this sub sandwich for you too. He said apparently it's your favourite sandwich..." Diego shrugged, not sure if this was true or just Carl being Carl. He put the cellophane wrapped submarine sandwich on the knapsack.

"No, I don't think you should talk to anyone directly from Sunnymead any longer. I'm sorry. I told Flo and Jose that the restaurant owner's been informed and the FBI will handle things from there in terms or new arrangements. And yeah - I did talk to Al to find out if there was anything to be done for keeping the diner open. The owner just needs to find a new person to lease it out to, hm? So even if it just shuts down for a while in the interim, chances are someone smart in that town will realize the Grub's a cash-cow and snap it up. Don't worry, you don't...you can't worry about that sort of thing anymore." It was no longer Gen's to worry about. It was a Darcy-thing, and now it was over. He reached out and rubbed her shoulder in commiseration.

"I'll miss that place," he said. Whether he meant the Grub specifically or Sunnymead overall, Diego wasn't specific. But there was a truth to what he said. He released Gen and nodded about Rita, about to get himself a coffee from the kiosk. But then Gen started talking about Rita's work and Diego paused and frowned.

"She told you?" Diego said, and then rolled his eyes. "Dammit Rita..." But it wasn't entirely Rita's fault. She didn't know about Gen Soto's honourable heart that refused favours or good deeds from anyone without some sort of recompense. Gen hated owing anyone anything, even if it was something she didn't specifically ask for. She was stubborn in her desire to pay everyone back, no matter what. It drove Diego nuts, but it wasn't exactly something he could say to Gen. Mostly because her need to even the playing field came from such a good place. Maybe she didn't like being in anyone's debt, but at the same time Gen also did so much good in return.

"Look we'll sort it all out later, okay?" Diego said, with a wave of his hand. "Not like you got money to speak of - your savings and credit card are Darcy's money, not yours."

But he also had a wildcard up his sleeve to distract her from this argument, and this was the perfect opportunity for a distraction. He pulled two photos out of his pocket. "Here you go - I didn't forget these either." Gen's two photos - of Vivien, and of her family.

_______________________

Gen only realized both of her hands were taken when the sandwich was planed onto the bag. One of her hands had Vex, the other was still holding onto the half drank smoothie that Rita got her. Vex immediately started smelling, her little nose moving towards the sandwich and Gen smiled. "Thanks. Both to you and Karl, I guess. I'll eat it later, for now this smoothie will be enough." She took another sip of it.

She knew it was coming, that there would be a point when she wouldn't be allowed any more contact with anyone in that town. Technically she already wasn't allowed, but it wasn't spoken specifically out loud to her yet, so she was still holding onto hope. Just like she was holding onto hope that she would be able to somehow keep the Grub. She wasn't sure how that would be possibly, especially if she was relocated, but she was still holding on as the last lifeline to the life she had in Sunnymead, the life she built for herself and came to love. So when Diego told her it was done, there was nothing she could be done, it felt like a whole new kind of loss washing over her. Something similar she felt when she was relocated from New York. As if losing the Grub was making all of it real and final.

The Grub was her baby. It was her project that in a way saved her sanity back when she got to New York. It helped her in so many ways she wouldn't have been able to count them all, it gave her the opportunity to blend into the community with ease and as much as she started working on it with resentment and anger and annoyance towards the business, she came to love it so dearly. And all of it snatched away from her without the FBI thinking twice about it. (Not that she didn't realize that this was the logical and the right move in her position, but she couldn't think about it rationally, all she could feel in that moment was the loss.)

She closed her eyes and willed herself not to let the tears go. She was doing so good in the last couple of days not letting the emotions get the best of her, only allowed herself to cry when the two of them got back to the motel room and her sobs were muffled out by the running shower, and she was not about to break that routine. She knew nobody really would have cared, aside from Diego, but she still didn't want to allow anyone to see that. She took a couple of deep breaths before she opened her eyes again and gave Diego a bitter smile. "Hopefully somebody will open it soon and it will continue to be a staple in the community of the town." Just not with her running it. Or serving people, or doing the books, or even being able to ever step foot in that place. "And yeah, I'll miss it too. Everything, really."

He clearly didn't want her to know about him paying which was... well, it was stupid, really, but if he didn't want her to insist on helping out, it made sense that he didn't want her to know. Rita spoke about it so casually, though, that Gen was sure none of that was ever discussed between her and Diego. She was about to point this out when Diego made a point that she didn't even realize. Darcy's money wasn't hers. "What the fuck?!" she exclaimed, sudden and shocked. "So basically I have even less than I thought I did and basically at this point me getting relocated would be the best case scenario for me because then at least I would get some kind of help. Fuck. Cool. Awesome. We're still talking about the invoices, though," she added a moment later, cause it still didn't feel right to let him pay the full amount all on his own.

But if he wanted to avoid the conversation, he knew just how to distract her. The moment those pictures appeared in her eyesight, she froze once again, her eyes locked onto the pictures. She honestly thought Diego would only bring the one with her family. She did not want to see or have anything to do with the one where Vivien and her were together. She just... well, she wished she could just fucking burn it, really. She wanted to get rid of it in the most drastic and final way possible. Not that she could actually burn it up now, in the middle of the offices. They shut her down before even the photo could catch on fire. But it did give her an idea, and after finishing up the smoothie in her hand and putting its cup down next to her, she carefully took the two pictures, making sure that vivien's was on the bottom, covered by her family's picture so she would not see Vivien's face and placed it in her lap. "Thank you. For bringing these, too," she gave him a smile and reached over squeezing his hand.

_______________________

"Yeah," was the most that Diego could say about the fate of the Grub. Gen tried to make it sound very straight-forward and diplomatic, but Diego figured it was just one more private matter for her to have a breakdown over when she was alone. There was nothing for Diego to do about it, except be there whenever it happened. Gen had so much to mourn and grieve over - her family, her friends in Sunnymead, her two separate lives - she probably hardly ever knew where to start. One sadness probably melded into the other, and back again. She was a walking ball of nerves, on the verge of collapse.

So when she had her angry outburst about her money, and insisted on tabling the talk of the invoices for another day, Diego just nodded. "Alright, fine." And then he added, "Payment installments, once you start making money again. With interest, if you prefer." It was a compromise he was willing to make right now, because it banked on the idea of Gen once more getting back out there, finding a way to work again (and Diego knew she had an incredible work ethic, it was one of the things he immediately had liked about her) so she could pay him back. He didn't want the money from her, but if it was something she felt she had to do, then why not just let her do it? She needed a win of her own making.

"Of course," Diego said, when she thanked him for the photos. "I couldn't--"

But he was cut off by a couple of the FBI agents pulling Gen back into one of their offices. They got Diego to come too, and the FBI agent informed Gen that they'd done as much investigation with her as they could for the moment, and in a couple of months, they'd be flying her to New York to provide depositions and possibly testimony with the State Attorney.

Al was there as well, and he added, "The US Marshal office will arrange your lodgings in the time being. You will be moving states, California's been too compromised. It won't be temporary, but..." Al looked at Diego, who nodded. "We've made arrangements that you can keep the same handler, so. Chavez here will be going with you."

The FBI agent nodded. "And then once the trial is over - which could take months - then...we'll see what happens. That's the best answer we can give you, Ms Soto. Unless you have any other questions?"

_______________________

Gen nodded, happy that Diego didn't just simply try to fight her on her wanting to help with the money. "That sounds perfect, thank you." Maybe it was a small victory, maybe she wouldn't even be able to fulfill it for a long time still, but it was still something she could plan for, look forward to.

The FBI agent walked up to them without Gen ever noticing and she quickly (but hopefully not so obviously, at least she tried not to make it to be) pulled her hand back from Diego's and the two of them followed the agent into the office and listened to all the information given to them. It was a relief to know that the questioning was finally over, she wouldn't have to spend any more time in this place, but when the agent told her that she would be moved until the trial, for a moment she got scared, because it sounded like it would just be her and not Diego, too. It would have been a cruel twist of fate if after what she realized thanks to Rita, suddenly they were forced apart from each other. But as if Al felt all of that, he reassured her that Diego would be coming and she couldn't help the genuine, happy smile that spread over her face.

"I don't have question. I'm assuming the details will be provided before we are actually there... wherever the new place is."

"Of course. My coworkers are already working on the details of the location with the help of the local US Marshall department. You will be provided with all the information required tomorrow and then moved either the tomorrow evening or the night after that, based on how we can arrange everything. Until then you are required to remain in the room you're already in."

After this, the two of them were ushered out and they headed back to mentioned hotel. They picked up some food for Diego on the way, while she spent most of the ride sunk into the seat, her eyes closed, Rita's words going over and over in her head, Vex enjoying the ride in her lap.

Once they made it to the motel room, they moved everything inside the room, set it to the side of the room so they wouldn't be in the way - she would sort through them later, first she wanted to get Vex comfortable. And talk to Diego about everything. That was the main thing she wanted to focus on. She set up Vex on the bed and arranged the pillows to make sure she wouldn't fall off and then she looked for the trash can of the room - which was empty, just like she thought it would be. Perfect for what she wanted to do. "Do you have your lighter on you by any chance? Could I get it for a moment?"

_______________________

"Looks like we'll be dining on pizza for the next couple of days," Diego joked as they drove back to the motel. He motioned to their current takeout sitting in the back of the car. "So enjoy these burgers for now." Even as dire as that sounded though, Diego felt strangely...uplifted. He didn't want to think about his own personal reason for being happy about all these changes, so instead Diego just decided that he felt happy, becaue Gen sounded so happy when they were talking to the FBI.

For once, Gen didn't have any questions for the FBI or for Al. She was compliant and understood the procedure and Diego was surprised. Usually Gen was full of all types of questions, but this time she just accepted her new fate without complaint.

But it wasn't technically Gen's complacency that made Diego happy, but just that smile. That beautiful brilliant smile that Diego hadn't seen on Gen's face for such a long time. It was like sunshine after weeks of rain.

They got back, and Diego tried to sort through the piles of stuff to find the cage he'd brought for Vex. "I know it's here somewhere...oh maybe I left it in the trunk of the car," he said - but it seemed like Gen had the hedgehog sorted with a pillo enclosure, so Diego decided he'd go downstairs and fetch the cage after dinner.

And then Gen was asking for his lighter and he pat his pockets. He handed the zippo to her curiously. "Another smoke?" he asked. "We should conserve them if we're here for a couple more nights and can't go out. It's our last pack."

_______________________

Gen took the lighter with the shake of her head. "Nope, for once this isn't for a smoke." She grabbed the trashcan and moved it out of the room - she didn't think the room actually had a fire alarm, but just in case, she didn't want to trigger anything, plus she didn't want anything to get stuck with the smell of smoke, and then she fished out the now very crumbly and bad looking picture she had with her and Vivien on it.

She made sure the other picture was tucked away safe and sound in a place where it wouldn't get hurt or damaged, but she did not give any care about this picture anymore aside from the fact that it got destroyed.

She looked at the picture for a few moments, but at this point even looking at her own happy smile felt different. All of it, the entire picture felt fake and made up and built up on lies and deceit and she just wanted Vivien out other life completely. Which was going to happen, one way or another, but it felt like it started with this picture. This picture which for four years gave her so much strength and emotional support along with the picture of her family. And now it just made her angry for all kinds of different reasons. It was definitely time to get rid of it.

She held the little picture up so Diego could see what she was holding in her hand clearly, too - it felt so important to make sure that Diego saw what she was doing, that he understood that Vivien was her past and she didn't want anything to do with her. Especially after that colossal fuck up, she wanted him to see and know what she was doing.

"You know, for the longest time I never thought I'd actually want to get rid of this picture. I was living in this fucking fantasy and holding onto something that was never real, not for a moment, because I so desperately wanted to believe that it was working and that the fact that I was living in a happiness that was based on ignorance was good for me. Not anymore." And with that, she lit the picture, waited a few moment to make sure it caught on fire, and then dropped it into the trashcan so it could burn through the entire picture without any disruptions.

_______________________

"What're you..." Diego started to say, but when she took the trashcan out to the balcony, to the little private corner (they had an end suite) and pulled out the photo, he understood. He rocked back on his heels, folding one arm while he chewed the nails on his other hand. He watched Gen silently then. He didn't try to stop her - mostly because it wasn't his place to stop this. It was part of the process, and really Diego had to admit he admired Gen for being so decisive about this decision. She'd only received the photos today, and already she knew what she wanted to do with Vivien's photo. What it would mean to do this.

He watched as she gave it a goodbye speech, and watched as she lit the photo and then threw it in the metal trashbin. Diego only stepped forward then, and he put his arm around Gen's shoulders. "You okay?" he asked her quietly, after the fire ate the photo up completely, then simmered down into a few burning embers.

_______________________

Gen watched the picture curl up and burn and she kept thinking about that night when Diego found her pictures, how much she was desperately trying to hold onto it. How after she even tried to fucking steal it back, for fuck's sake. All of it for a picture of a person she was lying to her the entire time during their relationship.

Compared to that panic she felt during that night, she felt nothing in that moment. No, that wasn't right, there was an incredible rage towards Vivien inside of her for everything the woman put her family and herself through, and then for everything she put Juliana, and Diego and Phoenix and her through now and never for one moment it crossing her mind to apologize, not for a single moment. And then slowly, as the picture got smaller and smaller, there was this weird relief washing over her stronger and stronger, something she did not expect at all, but was very much welcomed.

She watched it for a few moments longer once the picture was gone completely and then Diego was there, his hand wrapping around her shoulder, asking her if she was okay and she just nodded and leaned against him for a few moments. "Yeah, I'm good. This felt oddly freeing," she admitted.

She didn't want to talk about any of it, though. She wanted to talk about anything but Vivien. More specifically, she wanted to talk to Diego about everything Rita told her, she just didn't have a clue where to even start with it. She just knew that she couldn't hold it in for too much longer, especially not if he kept being this nice and supportive to her. She just wanted to blurt out that she loved him, and that probably wouldn't have been the smartest way to start a conversation. Or maybe that is exactly what it would have needed.

But she kept quiet, and she pulled back and gave him a small smile before gently pushing him inside. "Go in, eat, while the burgers and fries are still warm." She followed him, and the two of them settled on the bed like they did the previous nights, except they were situated on the bottom side of the bed since Vex was still very happily enjoying her side of the bed.

Gen pulled a few salad leaves out of the sandwich Carl sent to her and gave it to Vex and then she started munching on her fries. "Did you know that up until like, an hour ago, I thought you and Rita were together? As in, together together, and not just, you know, one night, having a little fun together." She kind of rushed through the sentence to make sure she wouldn't chicken out, her heart beating out of her chest. Here it came, now she would know 100% sure whether Rita was right or not. Not that she now felt like she could have been wrong.

_______________________

"I figured that was the point of burning it. Freeing yourself...some kind of personal closure." But Diego felt he was just rambling now about nonsense that he had no real business talking about. Even after that harrowing kidnapping and seeing Vivien Salazar in person, Diego still believed that Gen's dealing emotionally and mentally was something deeply intimate and personal. There was nothing he could do to change what happened, except be whereever Gen needed him.

Once it was over, they left the can outside and headed back into the room. Diego lounged on the bed to eat, comfortable now in such close proximity with Gen. They'd been cooped up between here and the office building for a few days now. One would think Diego would get antsy about it, but he didn't really mind. At the moment, he felt content as he ate dinner in close quarters with Gen.

He wanted to make a comment about the dinner not being as good as the Grub, but decided against it. Gen had only just gotten past one painful memory in her life, he didn't want to remind her of another.

Fortunately, Gen started speaking instead - and what she said genuinely surprised Diego, and made his skin turn flush. "Me and Rita? Because of - listen, Gen. That night was...it wasn't meant to happen." He sounded like he was making excuses for cheating on Gen though, and Diego tried to stop himself from digging that hole any deeper. Not only because he didn't want to make excuses, but also because he wasn't even sure if it was cheating. Did Gen consider it cheating?

"Not that I don't care about her," he added lamely, thinking maybe Gen would get angry at him for disrespecting Rita. "She's a friend, and we've had some benefits every now and again yeah. But it was just that one time and...it was just the heat of the moment." He thought about Gen and Vivien but he didn't mention that. It wasn't cheating, not for him, anyway. Finding out that Gen had slept with Vivien, it didn't feel like cheating to him. But he had no idea how Gen felt. "I hope you understand. I am sorry it happened, if...if it...I mean. Are you...angry?"

_______________________

Gen tilted her head as she watched Diego suddenly get awkward and flushed (did she ever actually see him blush, ever? she couldn't remember) and started babbling and he actually apologized. As if he did anything wrong. As if she didn't do the same thing, only worse. And still he was apologizing and thinking that she was mad and Jesus, she loved him so much. How did it take her so long to see all of it? Both her own feelings and his as well. How could she have missed any of it?

She let out a soft chuckle as she shook her head. "Jesus, this is why I love you," she said without it ever even registering what she was saying in the moment as she ran her fingers through her hair. "You sleep with Rita, and then I go and... well, I go and sleep with Vivien, which is like a 100 times worse, and somehow you're the one apologizing and asking me if i'm angry. I really need to get my anger in check if you think I could ever be mad about something like this. Not to mention I'd be the biggest hypocrite on the entire planet." She was hurt, yes, but now she realized that a lot of that pain was her own fault, creating a story in her head about something she saw even though she shouldn't have jumped to conclusions so quickly or used her imagination so widely in the first place.

"No, the reason I-- well, the reason I am bringing it up because I talked to Rita about it. Well, no, I think it was more like we talked over each other and we kept misunderstanding each other and thus revealing things that-- what I'm trying to say is that I thought you two were together, so when you came up, I tried to reassure Rita that nothing was going on between us because I didn't want her to think I'd screw things up for you guys, which was true, I want you to be happy and if that was with Rita, then I'd want that for you. And she believed me so much that... she said some things. About your feelings."

She was talking faster and faster and she could feel her heart beat picking up more and more, and by the time she got to the end of her words, she already half forgot what she already said. She was just rambling, trying to get to her point as coherent as she possibly could, but also in the end not really daring to say the things Rita actually said to her. She felt like a chickenshit, but she also didn't want to say it for him, partly because she didn't want it to turn out to be untrue, and a tiny part of her was afraid that DIego would tell her that just because he wasn't with Rita, it didn't mean he had feelings for her either (and it felt way too good to be true and too many shitty things happened to her in the last few years to believe anything good like this could ever happen to her again), and partly because she wanted him to say it so badly.

_______________________

Diego blinked, then paused, then stared at Gen as she kept talking, wondering if he'd just heard what he thought he'd heard. 'This is why I love you' - that was what she said, wasn't it? He looked around, as if there was anyone else in the room who could confirm this. Vex provided no assistance. He turned back to look at her, trying to play catch up to everything else she was saying - and it suddenly felt like a lot.

Was she being sarcastic? As in 'jesus christ, this is why I love you, you're just so aggravating' in a dry, friendly bantering way? He didn't want to make a big deal out of it, only his heart felt like it was beating out of his chest. So clearly there was some part of him internally that was making a big, huge deal out of it.

"Well the circumstances were different," Diego pointed out, although his words came out faint and mumbly. He didn't know why he felt the need to defend Gen sleeping with Vivien, apart from the fact that it completely destroyed her life. Again. She didn't need anyone else to beat her up about it when Diego knew she'd be doing a good job of that herself.

Then it connected, when she said she spoke to Rita - she spoke to Rita, apparently, about him. One of those mysterious 'girl-talks' happened between Rita and Gen, where things were discussed and learned. Diego never understood how women could just be almost complete strangers yet manage to accomplish deep heart-to-hearts, only to drift away once more. It fascinated him, and this time it seemed to possibly benefit him as well. At least, he seemed to come out of their girl-talk without either woman being angry at him.

It seemed, possibly, maybe, that it was quite the opposite, in fact.

"My feelings. My feelings?" he repeated, finally with some clarity. He was about to challenge her to detail what 'his feelings' were, according to Rita. Put Gen on the spot and make her confess everything that happened in this girl-talk. But she'd said so much already, and she was looking at him with those huge eyes full of vulnerability and a certain fond softness that went straight to Diego's heart. There was no need to get defensive or challenge her, because she'd said so much already.

Right from the start. It wasn't sarcasm in Gen's tone. And so it would be cruel to make her doubt herself now, at this point, when everything apparently seemed to be revealing itself before them, somewhat out of their control. But there it was.

Thanks to Rita and Gen, and their girl-talk, apparently. He made a mental note to send Rita a gift basket, one day.

But he stayed where he was, watching her intently now. He said the first thing that came to his mind. "It's not wrong. My feelings. They're...they're not wrong. They're not ideal, but that's sometimes just how it works out, and if it's worth it, then it can be sorted, hopefully. And Gen, I'm...I shouldn't have made you feel that way, that you were...wrong. You might be the job for me but - you're much more than just a job for me." Diego paused then, his face crumpling as he tilted his head at Gen. He motioned with his hand.

"And honey - you...do realize what you said to me, just now? Right at the start, before - ah - before you started talking about you and Rita, and all that. You said you...." He prompted her to recall, in case she didn't.

_______________________

Gen's stomach dropped at the way Diego repeated her last words, and for a moment she was terrified that Rita was, in fact, wrong and he didn't have any feelings for her. (Did she really believe everything Rita was telling her without being able to properly even ask back? Did she really wish Diego to have feeling for her so desperately that one short conversation made her believe anything?) That whatever Rita thought she saw was a huge mistake and she was nothing but the job and that Gen was right in thinking that everything he was doing lately was out of nothing but kindness. That opening her mouth was a huge mistake and she would be wishing she never brought the conversation up at all.

But then Diego was talking again, or more like stumbling over his words as if he wasn't completely sure what he wanted to say either, just said the first thing that crossed his mind, and Gen's heart was fluttering and waking up, quickly beating out of her chest in excitement and hope. He didn't think they were wrong, he didn't think his feelings were wrong. She tilted her head, her expression softening and a smile spreading across her face that she was sure nobody in that moment would be able to wipe off of her face. "Thank God, cause it always felt right between us and I couldn't imagine how you could... how it could feel anything but that for you," she said, her voice barely above whisper. It somehow didn't feel right to talk normally, as if it would ruin the magic.

She frowned for a moment, trying to figure out what he meant (while finally, for the first time, not freaking out over him calling her honey, cause it was in fact not just a general endearmeant, he said it specifically to her, because he had feelings for her and he wanted to call her something sweet and loving and damn it, she could feel her entire body tingle with excitement over something so small).

"What do you mean? I just said that--" And then it hit her.

This is why I love you.

That is what she led with. That she loved him. Which was 110% true, yes, but that wasn't supposed to be what she led with.

"Fuck," she couldn't help the curse word slipping out of her. "Fuck, I wasn't supposed to tell you like that. Just blurting it out and dumping it on you out of the blue and moving on without even realizing I said it and--" And she stopped herself because she was doing it all over again. Just talking and talking. Her expression softened and she couldn't take her eyes off of him. "But it's true. I do love you. And I want you to know it has nothing to do with gratitude for everything that you did, it's just-- you're an amazing person and I'm so lucky to have met you and looking back it feels kind of ridiculous how long it took me to realize, but I am in love with you."

_______________________

It felt hard to speak, and it seemed Gen felt the same way, her words barely above a whisper. Still, Diego didn't come closer to her out of some absurd fear that if he moved now, then this would all suddenly dissipate. Like Gen would bolt like a deer or change her mind or even more cheesily, that this was all just a dream.

But she said it again - I love you - and he didn't even consider that maybe she loved him out of some sense of obligation or like she owed him for something. That thought, more than anything, finally clicked home for Diego. This was actually happening. He could unearth those feelings that he'd tamped down and buried, and actually explore them - with Gen. She said it so plainly, he still couldn't quite believe this was happening, but he did believe it was true.

Dinner forgotten, Diego got off the bed and finally closed the distance between them, picking Gen up in his arms. He kissed her first, fervent insistent kisses, each one longer than the previous. "Are you sure?" he asked her finally, but then quickly said, "No, you don't need to answer that. I believe you." Diego put her down and cupped her face then, searching her eyes for what he finally knew was already there.

"I love you too, Gen..." Diego breathed the words out, and it felt so comfortable being spoken like that. So natural, like it was obvious. He had Gen to thank for that. Gen and her outspoken ways. He smiled, wryly. "So was that what Rita told you? That I was in love with you? She tried to talk to be about it but I ignored her because - well - you and I, we were fighting...damned if I can even remember what about." Something about Tyler, and Darcy - Gen - doing her own thing. Whatever. It hardly mattered anymore. Not when he got to slid his arms around her, and feel Gen holding onto him.

Diego walked them back to the bed, kissing Gen as they sat on the edge. Diego kept kissing her then, so she lay back on the pillows, his arms braced on either side of her head. "So. What do we do now?" He pushed some of her auburn curls off her face. "I don't have any plan for any of this, Gen. And I doubt you do either. You think...you think we can make this work?"

Dropping his head, Diego then rested his forehead against Gen's, a strange sort of relief washing over him. "Damn, this feels surreal. It feel that way for you? This - none of this could've ever happened if...all the circumstances didn't line up. Not all those circumstances were good, either." Gen's cover being blown, Juliana getting kidnapped, the anger and betrayal from Sunnymead. Her life over in the space of a few days. "Is this a good thing? I don't - with everything happening, Gen, I don't want to ruin it just because...we don't know how to control it."

_______________________

There was a moment of quiet and stillness between the two of them, when they just looked at each other and neither of them dared to move, almost as if neither of them wanted to ruin the moment, as if the smallest movement on either of their part could make all of this disappear. And then Diego was moving, towards her, for her, and Gen couldn't help the genuine, happy laugh that break out of her as he swoop her up into his arms. And then his lips were pressed against hers, Diego kissing him with passion and Gen's laugh died, matching his passion and fervency with hers, not wanting to let him pull away even just for a moment, let alone him speaking stupid things and asking her if she was sure just to then reassure her that he believed her. She didn't think she would ever be allowed to kiss him again, and now she didn't want to stop.

Okay, maybe she was okay with stopping the kissing for Diego cupping her face and telling her that he loved her, too. She was more than okay with that interruption. Her arms were around his torso and it felt like she melted into his arms hearing those few simple words. If somebody told her they would be here after she first met Diego... hell, if somebody told her at the beginning of the day, she wouldn't have believed any of it. It just felt too good, too surreal, too much out of a book or a movie. Too much like a happy ending when she for the longest time didn't believe she would ever get one.

"Yeah, that's what she told me," she said, her lips curling up in a grin which she doubted would disappear from her face anytime soon. She reached up, one of her hands wrapping around Diego's neck and holding onto him tight and strong, pulling him close, while she cupped his face with her other hand, her fingers caressing his face. "After I told her that there was nothing between us cause I didn't want her to worry while you two were together - there was a lot of miscommunication in the conversation -, she told me that I needed to talk to you and let you down easily because you're ridiculously in love with me and you need to know you don't have a chance with me. And then she just walked away." She felt so overwhelmed in that moment and had so many questions she wished she could have asked from Rita, but it was better like this. She didn't want to talk about Diego's feelings with Rita, she wanted to talk about them with Diego. His feelings and hers and how they could figure out all of this.

"Careful, careful, we don't wanna crush Vex," she chuckled as they laid on the bed, Gen making sure they landed on the other side of the bed to where the little hedgehog was. Maybe she should have gotten her out of there, but in that moment all she could do was keep holding onto Diego and keep looking at him. A part of her was still scared that if she just looked away, all of this would be gone, while the other part of her simply couldn't get enough of him, his touch, the way he so openly looked at her with adoration and love now.

They could do that now. They could finally be open about their feelings, neither of them had to keep it in anymore, neither of them had to wonder how the other felt. It was like such relief, like an amazing dream she never wanted to wake up from. Except it was reality, which made it all even better.

At his question, she leaned up and kissed him, this time slowly. "I'm not sure what we're going to do now, but we'll figure it out. We'll make it work. I refuse to accept anything else. We have some time here in this room, and then we'll be somewhere else for a couple of months at least. We can just figure it all out one step at a time." New life, new identity, new people. Everything was new, but knowing he would be there, that they would be there for each other from the beginning - it felt a lot less daunting this time. At least they could rely on each other through all of it.

She gently started running her finger along his arm as he was propping himself up above her while she nodded. "Yeah, it feels surreal. Or more like a dream. I never though... fuck, Diego, I was so convinced you didn't want anything to do with me, not anymore, all of this doesn't feel real yet." She leaned up and kissed him, originally wanting to only give him a small kiss in between their conversation, but she just couldn't get enough, couldn't pull away. He felt intoxication, addictive, and she wanted to keep kissing him, keep him close.

"Our timing might not be the best, but if both of us want this, I can't see this as anything other than good." The timing really was not the best, especially not considering how they were still very much surrounded by Marshalls and the FBI, and she still didn't want to get him in trouble for any of this. Hearing him say that he didn't want to ruin this, though, it made her heart warm and jittery. "I don't want to ruin this either. Maybe if we take it slow, we can keep it in control. And Diego, I--" she pushed herself up a bit onto one of her elbows, and cupped his face, looking into his eyes. "I'm still very much a mess, that's not going to change, and I don't-- I don't want to screw this up with where I am right now. I don't want to just be the sad girl you gotta comfort and cheer up at all times, you deserve better than that." A moment of quiet before she whispered, "I want to love you right. The way you deserve it." It felt important to make that clear.

_______________________

"Well I wouldn't say it was ridiculously in love..." Diego grumbled in protest as Gen described what her and Rita talked about. But he mostly just protested in jest, because the conversation sounded so very Rita. And so very Gen, for that matter. Of course she'd convinced herself somehow that he had no feelings for her. Because, he supposed, he'd dine such a good job trying not to acknowledge his feelings.

Diego had, for a brief, weird, blissful bubble of time over the holidays. When he and Gen started sleeping together more regularly, when things felt and seemed happy and peaceful between them. Those moments of tenderness and togetherness where they actually talked about things as a couple would. Except they never talked about deeper things - like feelings for each other, or plans for the future. It was safer that way of course, especially because it couldn't last forever. And it hadn't. The bubble burst, and life returned, and then madness happened.

And now here they were again. "I never thought we'd get this chance, so I just didn't want to give either of us hope," Diego explained, to try and assuage Gen's convictions that he hadn't felt anything for her. So she didn't think she was just being stupid or blind. "We were going along so well for a while, but too much of a good thing...can just be a fantasy when the world around you is terrible. I learned that lesson already. And so did you, in a way..." Diego glanced over at Vex for a moment (safe between her pillows) and then kissed Gen again.

"But this is different. Everything's different now, including this. You're right. This is good. We'll take it slow so we can figure it out. We don't have to rush things and we're both adults with...lots of fucked-up experience, so."

He was glad to hear Gen being reasonable like that, it soothed his own fears. She always had a very sensible way of looking a things, often from angles that Diego's own mind couldn't see. He could rely on that, like he had in the past. And for the first time, Diego realized he could see a future for them. Nothing substantial, just a pinpoint of light, and hope. And possibility. He felt something else too, like the inklings of a chapter coming to a close, to start a new chapter soon; but he didn't know quite what to make of that so he tabled it for now and focused on Gen and Gen alone.

"No, none of this feels real yet," he agreed, looking around them. "It's the ambiance, and the state of displacement - I don't think either of us function well when our lives are in limbo, hm? Your life more than mine, but where ever you go, honey, you know I'm gonna follow. I'm glad I convinced Al and he worked that bossman magic. Maybe once we're in the new interim town before the trial, we can...know what to do. I trust my instincts with you by now, hm?" He ran a curled finger along her soft cheek. Diego smiled and slowly lowered himself down, beside Gen so that they could just lay together looking at each other. Vex, in truth, took up the majority of the space while Gen and Diego shared a smaller space on the bed. Not that Diego minded in the least.

"And I know things aren't gonna transform overnight, Gen. This ain't no Cinderella story. Besides, I like comforting and cheering up my sad girl, when she's sad. You better not try'n pretend shit's okay and that you're fine just to delude me, Gen. I'll know. I know all your signals, even when you try to hide them." But even still, he couldn't help but feel a surge of warmth and fluttering inside of him, when Gen said she wanted to love him right...because he deserved it. "I think you're the first person who's told me I deserve something so good, Gen. Other than my mother, I guess, but that's much different."

He still touched her, hand rubbing along her arm and hip in stroking motions. "I'm in no rush, as long as I still got you. And whenever you're ready - whenever we're ready to do it right, then we will. For now, we'll take it slow. And if I'm being honest with you darling, I don't think we should sleep together right now, even if it would help with some of the tension. It'd be too superficial...I can't believe I'm suggesting this," Diego guffawed and looked up at the ceiling as if to confirm his own words with God.

Then, decision made, he looked back at Gen. "We should wait till we're settled and not so...waiting for someone else to make plans for the next step in our lives. Right now if I was gonna have sex, it'd just be mindless sex purely for physical pleasure. And I don't want that with you. And I don't want anyone else but you, even for mindless sex, so. We can just stay here like this, hm? For now, until we...until things are right."

He chuckled then. "Why do I suddenly feel like a teenager trying to do the good Catholic thing about my first time?"

_______________________

Gen shook her head quickly as Diego tried to explain. "Hey, no, no, darling, I didn't think it could go last, either, you didn't do anything wrong. And I misinterpreted a lot, I came to my own conclusions. Which already proved to be way off from time to time," she joked. "So you didn't do anything wrong."

She shifted just a little so Diego would have the space to lower himself next to her. Not too much, though, she very much enjoyed the close proximity and all she wanted to do was stay close to him, stay touching, but just enough so he wasn't in danger of falling off the bed. She rested her hand over her side, her fingers slowly drawing circles on his back. "I like it when you say that, that you're coming wherever I am going. I know it's true, I know you said it before, but I still like hearing it. And I like it when you call me honey." If nothing else, that should have been a dead giveaway. There was something in Diego's voice, a softness that wasn't usually there that was only there for her, that was filled with adoration and love. Of course it wasn't just a casual honey.

Gen's heart filled up with warmth and love as Diego said he knew nothing would change overnight but that he wanted to be there through the bad parts. She knew that already, he made it very clear, but still it was nice to hear. "I wasn't planning on that... okay, no, that's not fully true, I would probably try and hide some of it, but I know that you can tell. And I really appreciate you being there for me, and I will try not hiding it. And just to be very clear, there's no hiding anything now," she added and kissed him. "Just happiness."

It felt strange in a way, to feel this happy in the mids of everything else, but it also felt like it was something that was well deserved, something that was right and almost needed after all the shit that happened.

Him saying she was the first person to say something so nice to him felt so sad, if she really thought about it, but it also didn't surprise her. Other people were definitely idiots, not to notice just how amazing he was, but she also knew that she was one of those idiots only a couple of months ago. He barely let anyone close enough to see through his hard exterior, and she was lucky to have been able to let in like that. "Well, you do deserve it, even if other people are too dumb to see. I'll just try to make it worth the wait, I guess."

She watched him with an amusing smile on her face as he struggled to believe what he was about to suggest. "Diego Chavez himself suggesting to table sex for a while? Who would have thought we'd see the day," she teased him, chuckling before giving him a small kiss and reaching up to caress his cheeks. "I agree, by the way. I think we should wait, too. It just... it wouldn't feel right here." This, what they had here now, the way they were lying so close to each other, felt more intimate and more important than any sex they could have in that moment.

"And maybe you feel like a teenager trying to get your first time right because in a way this is gonna be the first?" she suggested. "Obviously not in the same sense, but this feels like a start, a new beginning. And it's nice, that you wanna start it off right. Make sure we don't screw things off or rush into anything." A new beginning just for the two of them. And damn it, they deserved it, after all of the horrible shit they had to go through and all the ups and downs they went through.

_______________________

Gen called him 'darling' and it had been so long since she'd used any term of endearment on him, that Diego was struck by hearing it fall from her lips. He absorbed it, impressed his moment into his memory even though the possibilities were high that she'd call him something sweet again. More and more, even. The idea was exciting, even one as simple as that.

The revelation had been so huge, but Diego felt so calm about it. He wasn't afraid, and he didn't feel the need to mask any anxiety with intensity. This was just them - bare, open, and raw. Not because they were pulling off each other's clothes, but because they lay together, just looking at each other and talking. That was more raw than anything else.

"You didn't do anything wrong either. I think we just have a knack for poor timing, hm," he said, holding her chin gently to give her another kiss. "But that's fine. Even with...everything going on right now, we're still gonna do out best to make it work." Diego said it like an statement for the both of them - and maybe that was a little presumptuous to speak for Gen as well, but he liked to think she agreed with him on this. When gen threw herself into something, she did it whole-heartedly, accepting the wins as much as the loses. And now, with everything said, perhaps she might even be able to gain more wins than loses.

"The Grub was your biggest win, after losing your first life," he observed, realized. "It was successful and brought people together, and it kept you busy and happy. No wonder you love that place so much. I'm so sorry you had to leave it, Gen. I'm sorry about you leaving all that you accomplished and everything you loved in your first life two, but I didn't know you then. I know you were in your element, at the Grub. You're gonna do it again. You've gotten knocked off your feet before, but you'll get back up and do good things again."

He chuckled when Gen teased him, and leaned into her touch against his face. "I know, I know. But I guess you put the pious back in this old choir boy." This was all so tender and intimate. It was also rather sudden and yet it felt so natural. Maybe because they'd kind of been down this road before, but never had a chance or the freedom to explore this far. So it was retreading familiar territory but just...more of it. Without trepidation.

Even if there was the possibility of this ending badly, those chances felt slimmer now. At least, it did for Diego.

And the more Gen spoke, the more he believed she felt the same way. "Aren't you poetic. I like that though, yeah. A new beginning. It could...it could be. I'm no spring chicken, Gen. The older you get, the harder it gets to see a - a future with just anyone." He looked her in the eye, his expression tentative, if earnest. "It has to be someone...who actually clicks."

_______________________

"Maybe..." Gen started, "maybe all that poor timing is what we needed." She didn't really believe in a lot of things, fate sometimes seemed to be more like something that people who didn't have anything else to grasp onto believed in (and sometimes she did feel like one of those people, but only sometimes), but if this is how it was meant to be, she could live with that. "All the fighting and all the miscommunication and time spent together and apart, maybe that's what we needed to make sure that when we got here, we could make it work."

Diego put the gist of what Gen was feeling about the Grub and why she was feeling it so well and so perfectly, she probably wouldn't have been able to put it this well, not right now at least. Mainly because the moment she thought about the Grub and how she didn't have it anymore, couldn't see it anymore, couldn't even go near it anymore, let alone talk to the people who worked for her, who came in every day, who brightened up her day and made her feel like she belonged in that diner, in that town - the undescribable grieve hit her all over again. For the diner, the people, the town, and everything else she's lost.

And while she appreciated Diego's trust and faith in her that she could do it all over again, she wasn't so sure of that anymore. She had built something up twice at this point - both so different, her business and career in New York being something she mostly did on her own and it was focused on her push and drive and need to be the best and get better and better while make a name for herself in her own field, while the Grub might have technically been something she did alone, too, but it was a community effort, she wouldn't have gotten anywhere without her employees and the people who came in. Two very different things and both of them snatched out of her hands along with her entire life. She wasn't sure she would be able to build anything like this ever again in fear of losing it all over again. And she was definitely certain she wouldn't be able to watch something else being taken away from her in the same fashion.

She knew the loss of the Grub and Sunnymead and everything and everyone else would at some point turn to nostalgia and to a loss that felt bearable, something that didn't feel like it could tear her apart at any moment, but the wound was still too fresh and she couldn't help the wave of sadness hitting her. Gen hated it. On any other day she would have dealt with it. Maybe not gracefully, but she would have, but she didn't want today to be about sadness. Not today. She just wanted to be happy and enjoy their little bubble just a little bit.

"Can we not--" She stopped for a moment, ducked her head to gather her thought before she looked back at him, a bittersweet smile on her face as she said. "I really appreciate everything you just said, I truly do, but can we not talk about it, just for now, please? I-- I don't want to be sad tonight. I just want to enjoy this and not think about anything else outside of this room." At least not anything that led to thinking about everything that was just left behind. "Maybe except for where do you think we would be going? And how it will all work? I did this once myself, but I assume it will be different going in with you."

There was an openness, a certain kind of truthfulness and tenderness in Diego's eyes, every look of his, every touch, every movement, that Gen hasn't seen before. She's seen fragments of it, she was sure of that, but never this openly and easily, and it brought a smile to her lips.

Him teasing and Gen let out a small chuckle at his choice of words. "Sure, you're not 20 anymore, but you're not that old either. Just... mature. And I happen to like mature," she leaned in to kiss him. His words stuck in her heart, though. It can only work with somebody who clicks with him. She clicked with him. Gen knew he was talking about her, obviously, he was talking about her, otherwise this would turn into a very awkward conversation, and even though he didn't specifically say it out loud, but her heart was melting. He saw a future with her. It really felt too good, too much like a dream. As if finally the universe realized just how much she went through and allowed her some happiness, too. Both of them.

It still felt too good to be true, though, and she couldn't help but ask, "This is real, right? I'm not going to wake up soon and realize all of this was just a really vivid, really well crafted dream my mind decided to tease and torture me with?"

_______________________

"Mm," Diego hummed, as Gen pointed out her own opinion, and he liked what he was hearing. It wasn't exactly fate or destiny between them, but it was just something that happened because of everything they'd gone through. They deserved this, didn't they? Was it even a matter of deserving? These were questions Diego couldn't answer, at least not right now.

And when Gen asked not to talk about things like the Grub, or memores of Sunnymead, Diego pulled her a little closer and kissed her brow. "Of course, of course," he said, because she was right. Despite this revelation coming to light, it hadn't meant anything really had changed around them. Gen was still at risk, she was still transient and still playing the waiting game right now. Small graces under so much bigger pressure and stress. This wasn't the time to debrief about things she couldn't control, and didn't know how to process. She had no security or stability right now, no foundation to rest on so that she could process. So Diego just stroked her hair and arm, just letting the feeling of close intimacy wash over them like warm waves.

Eventually though, Gen had to ask questions, and Diego looked into her eyes again. "No, I don't know. Somewhere on the mainland of the United States. Probably not New York, or Texas," he said with a slight smile. "Too obvious. And we're likely not staying in California...I think the FBI Agent Karmeni said as much there. But that leaves the rest of the states wide open. I believe this time it will be more explicit though. If we're going together, it's unlikely that we'll have to pretend to be strangers. It would be too obvious. But whatever they decide, it'll be fine, alright? There's protocol for all of this, and we've been through it before. It'll be fine."

Of course Diego wasn't sure of that, but he was reassuring himself as much as Gen. Despite how out of control things got with Vivien Salazar showing up, he hoped they could regain some semblance of control now. He couldn't help but add, "Just please, for the love of god, listen to me when I ask you to do certain things. You can argue all you want, but don't--" He didn't want to bring up Gen driving to LA on her own steam, and not telling him. But he had put the past in the past, and he wasn't going to dredge it back up. "- don't do anything hasty. Trust in me."

Diego shook his head and muttered 'unbelievable' in grumpy amusement when Gen said she liked mature. It sounded so ridiculous, but in an entirely endearing way. He leaned in and kissed her, long and soft, almost luxurious. As if they were perfectly fine, and this was just a lazy Sunday together with no cares in the world. "No torture. No dream. For better or for worse, this is real, Genevieve Soto."

_______________________

Gen closed her eyes and leaned closer, burying her face into his shoulder and neck, focusing on his fingers on her hair and arms while she held onto him and got lost in the sensation. He couldn't just erase the pain she felt, nobody could do that, but damn it, this quiet and intimacy between them helped in such ways she never thought could be possible and she let it settle between them for a while before she spoke again.

She listened to his thoughts about where they would end up, and how the two of them would be didn't even cross her mind, and now she was wondering about that. They'd probably get assigned to be friends or something, though. Maybe they get a place together and then they would be roommates - that sounded like something the FBI would do. And then leave it to them to explain why they moved together as friends or something. Not that they couldn't handle it, lying was still something she was way too good at. And at least they'd be close to each other.

"Is it weird if I say that I hope we are not going into one of the big cities?" She never really thought she'd say this or even feel this. For so long all she wanted was to get back to New York, but now it somehow felt too big, too unfamiliar, too unknown. Small towns had communities that never really happened in big cities, not in the same way. And even if it was just for a small period of time, she wanted to go somewhere where she could feel okay. "I know it's gonna be fine, I am weirdly not that scared of that aspect of it. I mean, I'm scared shitless, but that's more a general feeling about, well, everything. God, I'm not even sure if I make sense at this point. But my point is that you being there, knowing that definitely helps. A lot."

She could feel guilt rising in her at Diego's request. She kept promising him to do better, to communicate better and be a better team player, and she kept screwing up and doing stupid things and leaving out Diego in one way or another, endangering not only herself but him too (and even other people too, with her latest stupidity). And he was even trying to be nice about it, playing it down and calling it hasty instead of reckless and stupid.

"I close my eyes and I keep seeing Juliana tied to that chair, the way her wrists looked after I untied them and all the shit she said she had to go through while we got there. The way Vivien held the gun to your head. I was terrified and I-- all of that could have been avoided if I wasn't reckless and didn't go to LA. So I think it's safe to say that my reckless days are over. I can't-- I'm sorry it took me this long to understand just how big of an impact me not following the rules could get, but I'm done, I'm not going to object to what you tell me to do. I might argue about certain things, I can't promise you that I won't, but I promise I am done being hasty, as you put that so nicely."

Gen melted into the kiss and held onto Diego strongly, but gently at the same time. It was the kind of kiss that felt like as if they had all the time in the world to them - and now they had. Even when they started dating, it never felt like it would be something that could last, as good as it was it always felt like there was a ticking timebomb on the two of them, so even their quiet moments didn't feel like this, not quite, and to know that they really did have all the time in the world now - it was indescribable and it caused such a warm feeling in her entire body. They could and would be happy together.

"This is real," she echoed his words. "I hope you know I'm going to kill you if you turn out to be wrong," she added against his lips, her voice teasing. "I might ask you this same question a couple of more times, just a heads up." Probably especially during her low moments when her mind would spiral. After all this time, she knew how her brained worked and she was in a good place right now, but she knew it wouldn't last forever, not until she got some help at least, and she would feel like this was too good to be true or too good for her to deserve it. Well, she felt it now too, but in a good way.

#——it's real #——diego chavez (025)

1 note · View note

darcypalmer · 5 years ago

Photo

After a long day od questioning and interrogation, @diegojaimechavez surprises Gen with a phone call and spend the night chatting

It was a long, never-ending day. Gen was ushered into an interrogation room the moment they stepped into the building and not so long after the FBI showed up too, and it had begun. She thought she was tired before, but dealing with the FBI sucked every bit of remaining energy out of her. It wasn't the same as the interrogation all those years ago, but the feelings were the same - the extreme tiredness, both emotionally and physically, feeling like she was the shittiest person, the confusion and the knowledge that she was missing so much, even now she was missing so much information, the emptiness and weirdly feeling dirty to her core. She was sure there were moments when the FBI looked at her as a potential ally to Vivien and the syndicate, that was inevitable, but she wasn't sure what made them realize that wasn't the case, or even if they realized it or if they still considered her another suspect.

They barely took breaks, but during one of them Al brought her a cup of coffee, which she was more than grateful for (though she really wished it could have been Diego who brought it, just seeing him for a few moments would have been nice, but she assumed that he wasn't allowed anywhere near her during the interrogation, not that it would have made any difference). While Al brought the coffee to her, she quietly ask him to make sure some kind of medical professional would check out Diego and his injuries, and he promised her with a look that Diego most likely would have recognized, but to Gen it was just a kind face agreeing to what she asked.

She lost her sense of time completely by the time the FBI released her that night with the promise that they'd be contacting her about any questions they had so far and that in the next couple of days she would be informed about the next steps and what would happen to her from here on out. She felt like a washed rag as she finally headed out of the interrogation room, and to her surprised her eyes immediately found Diego. She expected him to be home, or at least out of here already. "Hey, what are you still doing here?" she asked him once she headed over to him. "You're not in any trouble, right?"

_______________________

Diego expected Gen to be whisked away for processing, and then questioning once the FBI arrived, he recognized a couple of the agents, but merely nodded at them. He knew he had to let them conduct their work, just as much as he had to conduct his. But Gen was his work, and so once Gen was taken away, Diego went to locate Al. He spoke extensively with his boss and with the North California Director as well, about Gen's well-being, her state of mind, her situation. About Vivien showing up without anyone expecting it. And reluctantly he even brought up Tyler Ellis, knowing Al was already familiar with the trouble-maker from their past. He told them Rita should be coming soon, to share what she knew as well.

Everything seemed to be going well - although there was only so much that Diego could do about how the FBI spoke with Gen, at least Al offered to take her in some coffee at one point.

"And about those kids from Sunnymead-" Diego started in immediately after Al returned. His boss held up a hand.

"In due time, Di, you're going a mile a minute. And you look like shit. You sure you don't need anyone to take a look at that mug of yours? It's even uglier than usual, no wonder you scared those kids."

Diego gave his boss a wry look and waved off the concern. Al opened his mouth, looking like it was going to say something - but instead, he changed his mind and said something else. "I talked with Agent Karmeni. She said your girl's gonna be staying here in the city for a couple of days, while they get things sorted. And yeah - don't worry, you'll be staying with her."

On the brink of insisting he should, Diego relaxed when Al assured him that he'd be there. "I want to stick by her to the end. After all this shit that's happened, she needs someone around who she can trust. Or she'll go rabbity, Al. She can't just get shunted around again like a pawn on a chessboard. Not after all this."

Al looked at Diego carefully, and Diego avoided his boss' eyes, knowing that look. He knew if he made eye contact, then Al might feel responsible for saying something that Diego didn't want to hear, not right now. So he kept his eyes steadfastly focused on middle-ground, not filling up the silence but also not allowing Al to see any vulnerability in his eyes, no softness. He knew Al could read him too well. And he also knew this wasn't the first time Al had seen him like this, about a woman he was assigned to protect.

Finally with a sigh, Al spoke, raising his hands to his eyes like horse blinders. "Without addressing the elephant in the room - yet - we'll see what we can work out, Diego. Based on what the FBI need from her - and she's gonna have to go through another psych eval as well. So we'll consult with the experts and then go from there. But if you want me to support you in staying on as her handler then....I'll do that. But that elephant's gonna come charging over sooner or later, and when it does, Di, we're gonna have to talk about it. You hear me?"

Diego finally looked up at his boss, giving Al a squinting but appreciative smile. It was small and tentative, but Al knew Diego well. "Crystal clear. Al - thanks."

Al pointed a finger at him. "To be continued, son. Now it looks like they're releasing your girl. Go on."

Diego didn't hesitate, because he saw the door opening too through the glass walls of the office building. He nodded at Al once more then crossed the halls until he got to Gen and the FBI agents. Diego restrained himself long enough for the FBI agents to get out of earshot, but Gen apparently didn't bother with restraint as she floated right over to him, surprise in her exhausted eyes.

"I'm fine, just went through a lot of paperwork while you were in there." He gave Gen a huffy look. "Where else would I be? C'mon. You're done for the day, and you gotta be back here bright any early tomorrow. We're going. You need food and a shower. And maybe some ambien."

_______________________

Diego reassured her that he was doing just fine, just working on paperwork and a huge relief flooeded through Gen's body. For a moment she was worried that the FBI took him, too, and tried to twist the narrative in a way that was more than negative towards Diego. That was the last thing she would have wanted, but thankfully it was just some paperwork. Well, probably an extreme amount of paperwork, if he was still here, so long after they've arrived to the offices.

But then Diego asked where else he would be as if it was stupid of her to even assume he would be anywhere else, and it staggered Gen for a moment because... well, she knew he said he would want to stick around for all of this, but she also assumed that meant he would come to New York, make sure everything went down smoothly. Not, say, wait for her for hours without end while she was sitting in an interrogation room, the FBI drilling her. She figured he'd get some rest, she was certain he needed it, she would get escorted to some motel or something and then they'd meet and talk the next day - if she would be allowed.

So she just stood there, kind of confused for a few moments while Diego was already moving towards the exit and she had to shake herself out of her surprise and rush to catch up with him. "Yeah, sure, all of that sounds really good." She would have killed for a shower, anything to wash off all the dirt she felt on herself, and now that Diego mentioned food, she felt like she could actually properly eat, as for the sleep... god, a full night's rest possibly without nightmares was a dream.

"Actually, do you think we could get some burgers on the way to-- where are we going exactly?" she asked, frowning as they exited the building and headed for Diego's car, which felt like the most welcoming sights she's seen in hours, for sure.

She looked at him for a few moments after they settled in before she said, "Thank you. For helping me and sticking around. Really can't thank you enough."

_______________________

"We can get whatever you want," Diego said, although the generousity was mostly in sentiment than action. If she wanted to go back to Sunnymead, for example, he would've refused. They had to stay in the city, close to the offices. But really he could tell that Gen just seemed too exhausted to do much but follow his lead. Ironic, considering how she'd pushed and resisted and challenged him constantly, for nearly a year now. He almost wished for those old days of arguing, if only because she was safe and comfortable in Sunnymead.

But Diego also had to remind himself that progress and change was uncomfortable and disturbing, but that didn't mean it was bad. Vivien Salazar was arrested, Darcy Palmer was no more. Wasn't that a good thing? Or wouldn't it eventually be a good thing for Gen? If, by some miracle, it was determined that she wouldn't need to stay in witness protection, then she'd be free. Wasn't that what she wanted? Even more importantly, wasn't it what she deserved?

He stopped at her franchise restaurant of choice, parking so she could go inside and order whatever she wanted. Diego gave her $20 and told her to get him something too. By now, after months of serving him, Gen knew what sorts of things he liked to eat. As he waited, watching her closely, he made one more phone call to Al. This would be a huge favour, but surprisingly it took little convincing of Al for his boss to say he'd see what he could do.

After Gen gathered her feast, Diego took her to a drugstore to pick up some toiletries, and some fresh clothes. After that it was checking into the designated motel. It wasn't anything fancy or special, but it was spartan and clean. The clean was the most important part. It was a motel used by the authorities enough to know that it was secure, and had good vantage points and escape routes. Diego cased the room first before he let Gen settle in.

"Go take a shower, then you can eat afterwards, hm?" he suggested, because he believed food always tasted better when one didn't feel dirty and grungy. "I can take a shower afterwards, don't worry." Once Gen agreed, Diego sighed and inspected his face in the motel mirror, then gently pressed his fingers between his legs. Jesus, that still hurt. Vivien had quite the high kick, and he'd probably be feeling it right into tomorrow morning. But he didn't linger on his injuries when All called him again, and gave him the information he wanted to get.

It was maybe just a minor thing, but Diego was elated that it could happen, and so fast. Al could sometimes work miracles, and Diego always appreciated it. "Damn, thanks," he exhorted, hanging up just as Gen came out of the bathroom. She still looked exhausted, but at least she looked clean.

"Hey, come over here for a second." Diego sat on the edge of the bed, letting her sit next to him. He showed her his phone. "In a few minutes, I'm going to get a call. That's it, just a call, no video - er, facetime - or anything. But the call's going to come in from your brother, Benji. Just so you guys can finally talk, hm? I thought - I figured maybe you'd want to hear a familiar voice right now and...ah..." Diego scratched the back of his neck.

"If you don't got it in you to talk to Benjamin right now that's fine. Totally fine I understand maybe I was just getting a little ahead of myself with setting this up, hm? It's fine, just lemme know now, because I can tell his handler not to call. Just - I thought it might help if - if you heard...if you got to talk to...ah...."

_______________________

Gen just sank into the car seat and spent most of the car ride in a comfortable quiet with Diego as she was looking out the window and barely taking in anything she saw. The city was dark, the lights periodically lighting up parts of the streets and it probably looked beautiful and interesting, but Gen barely saw any of it. Her brain was running the events of the last day of loop, hyperanalyzing everything Juliana and Phoenix told her, and all the different questions the FBI asked and how her answer must have come across, if she could have given a better answer to any of them.

She quickly got them some food, not needing any sort of direction from Diego about his order either - she saw what kind of food he prefered and kept going back to in the Grub, it wasn't hard to figure out what he would like the most, and then they hit up a drug store and got some basic supplies and she really hoped she could just burn everything she was wearing in that moment. She never wanted to lay eyes on those clothes ever again, let alone wear them.

She was mostly operating on instinct and her body automatically taking her where she needed to go. She felt the exhaustion in her bones. She was sure once she hit the bed, though, she wouldn't really be able to fall asleep, not without at least some sleeping pills, and for once she was going to take them happily because she needed that release that a hopefully dreamless, full night's rest could offer for her. She honestly couldn't remember the last time she had that. Probably before everything turned to shit all those years ago.

After they got everything, they finally headed to the hotel, and she just nodded along to everything Diego was saying as she set the food on the small table and headed right into the bathroom to take a shower. The hot water pouring onto her skin offered such relief she didn't even realize she needed and for the first few minutes she just stood in the shower cabin, letting the water run on her without her doing anything. And once she managed to get herself to move, she spent at least fifteen, maybe even twenty minutes just scrubbing at her body because no matter how many times she washed herself, she just didn't feel clean. It didn't feel like she got all of Vivien off of her and she compulsively wanted to get rid of every bit of that woman from her skin, from her memory and her past and present. But since that wasn't possible, she would have been happy with just washing away everything that happened.

Even though it never felt enough, eventually she stopped and got out of the shower and got into the pajama (one that included a plaid short and a loose tank top with some kind of drawn figure, it was the first thing she could grab at the drugstore when they were there) and with her wet hair falling all over her shoulder, she headed back out. "Sorry, I kind of took my time, but you should still have some hot water."

Instead of taking a shower himself (it didn't even fully register for her at that point that he would be taking a shower in the same place, which meant he didn't have his own room and they would have to share that single bed he was sitting on at the moment), he called her over to sit down next to him, and her mind immediately jumped into alert mode. "What happened? Is everything okay?" She was already imagining the worst possible scenarios - Vivien escaped, Phoenix and Juliana in danger again.

He quickly started explaining to her what was going to happen in a few minutes, though, and Gen went quiet in just a few moments, her hearts beating faster and faster, running her fingers through her hair to at least do something with her hands suddenly this felt like a dream all over again. Did she pass out in the car and now she was just dreaming about what she wanted so desperately to happen? She reached over and pinched her own wrist - but no, it hurt, this couldn't be a dream. Diego was telling her that she could talk to her brother.

She could talk to Benji.

Gen could feel her hands starting to shake and tears brimming in her eyes for the first time in a really long time not because she was scared or stressed or on the verge of a break down, but because she was elated. She couldn't put it into words even if she tried to, but if she wasn't in love with Diego already, she would have fallen in love with him for this. She couldn't imagine just how much pull he had to make to make this happen and she could never thank him enough for this.

And somehow he managed to read her quietness as something that she might not like his gesture and he turned sheepish and started reassuring her that it wasn't required, she could postpone it for later too and fuck, she loved this man so much it felt like she might just burst and she kept meaning to say something because really, she can't stay silent forever and she needed to convey just how grateful and happy and joyful she felt in that moment for this but no words seemed to be enough, no words could ever be enough for this, and she just wanted to lean closer and kiss him, but that was not possible, she couldn't screw things up for him in the same moment when he's doing something so important for her, so instead she ended up just leaning in and throwing her hands around him, hugging him close and hard and tight, burying her face into his neck for a few moments and hoping that he understood everything she couldn't find the words for.

"Thank you," she whispered. "Thank you so much. I just-- thank you," she kept saying over and over again because what else could she do than hold onto him and thank him for all of this.

_______________________

Gen was so completely still and quiet, Diego was fairly sure he'd done it this time. He'd sent Gen spiralling into some sort of catatonic state of shock. He really should have known better - after everything she'd just been through in the space of 12 hours, after losing two people she cared about, and finding her ex-girlfriend alive only to realize Vivien was a bad person, and destroying an identity she'd cultivated for four years...now this? Spring a phone call to her brother, after she'd been beaten up so thoroughly both emotionally and mentally? He realized then that he was a fool to think it could help her. All this offer did was probably terrify the poor thing that she'd fuck this up as well and ruin her relation with her brother now too.

"Dar - Gen, I'm -" Diego started to say, wanting to shove the phone into his pocket so Gen wouldn't have to look at the accusing object. But then suddenly her arms were around him, and her face buried against the crook of his neck. For a moment Diego braced himself, thinking she had turned to slap and smack at him in frustration and hurt. He was expecting her to yell at him for putting her through this new fresh torture - but she wasn't slapping him. Or yelling. Instead, she just held him close.

And eventually Diego relaxed, and slid his own hand across her back. She was hugging him. God Jesus above, she was happy. He could've kissed her then if it wasn't for the fact that his face hurt, and he had stale cigarettes-and-coffee breath while she was clean and minty. But he held her tightly, and gingerly pat her back.

"Of course, of course..." he muttered, feeling suddenly awkward. She was so happy, and it made Diego's heart ache for so many different reasons. Fortunately, his phone rang then, and Diego had to let her go to answer it.

"Yeah. Okay, sure," Diego said over the phone. "Alright, put him on." Diego held the phone out to Gen then, and he spoke gently to her. "He'll be on soon. I'm going to take a shower, give you two a bit of privacy, hm? Take your time, his handler will keep a track of the phone call for us. You'll be alright?"

_______________________

At first it was like hugging a dead piece of wood, Diego was just sitting there, unmoving and Gen was about to move back, not wanting to force her touch and embrace on him when he finally wrapped his hands around her and give her a sheepish pat on her back. In any other situation she would have probably over analyzed that pat and came to the conclusion that it was even further proof that he didn't want anything from her, they've been in each others arms plenty of time before after all, and now he could barely hug her back along with that pat? It surely would have been clear signs in her mind. But now aside from the sheer gratitude she felt towards Diego, her mind was hyper focusing on Benji and the fact that just in a couple of moments she could finally talk to him, hear his voice, make sure he's okay. Diego couldn't have given her a better surprise for the end of the day. Or for any other time, really.

She pulled back when the phone rang, pulling her legs under her, her eyes immediately focusing on the phone and Diego, her hands shaking a little bit from excitement. It felt like it took forever for Diego to hand the phone over to her and it felt like no time has passed at all, and she kept nodding to everything Diego was saying. "Yeah, I'll be fine, I promise. Thank you so much," she said again with a smile and waited for Diego go into the bathroom before she scooted up to the end of the bed and leaned against the header.

Suddenly she was nervous, not really sure what she would even say. If Benji would even talk to her. Maybe she'd pick the phone up and his handler would be waiting for her, telling her that he didn't want to talk and she couldn't do a single thing about it or even blame him for it. All kinds of different scenarios flooded through her head and overwhelmed her and she had to force herself to push all of them out of her brain because anything, even if it was just a simple hello from Benji, would be amazing at this point and she knew she could be happy. She just wanted to hear his voice.

She took a deep breath and put the phone to her ear, listening for a few moments before carefully speaking, "Hello?"

_______________________

It hadn’t been long since Benji had fallen asleep when he heard a knock at the door. He decided to ignore it. The few people he was close to - which he thought was a relative term - knew that he wasn’t ever up late. What was the point in it? It wasn’t like there was much that he liked to do outside of the house. Staying in with Finley was ideal to him. He pressed his face against the pillow again. They’d leave eventually.

... except, they didn’t. Each time there was another knock at the door, he swore his pulse kicked up a beat. Was he going to die? Was he seriously going to die as a math teacher in Texas? He moved to grab his phone so that he could call someone in case of an emergency when he realized how many missed calls and unread messages he had from the agent working his case. The last message said that he needed to open the door immediately. Throwing a pillow across the bed at his sleeping husband, Benji sighed. “Why does my ringtone wake you up every time except for the time it needs to?!” Finley mumbled something which Benji wasn’t sure was in English. He climbed out of the bed, looking back to make sure that he was being followed and walked over to the door.

Pressing his palms flat on the door, Benji decided to look through the peephole. There were so many things which could go wrong and... nope. That was definitely Abigail. Opening the door slowly, Benji didn’t bother trying to make eye contact with her as she stepped inside. “In... uh, in my defense, this usually doesn’t happen. I’ve - we’ve - answered your calls later than this. What’s - what’s so important though?”

Once his sister’s name came from Abigail’s lips, Benji wasn’t sure what was happening. He was hearing bits and pieces, words like Gen and Vivien, but didn’t hear the rest of it. He couldn’t even say how he’d ended up seated on the couch with Finley’s hand on his knee. For a moment, he thought that she had to be dying for any of this to be happening. She couldn’t be, right? There was only one way to find out. Truthfully, he hadn’t felt present in his body until he noticed Abigail thrusting the phone his way.

Fumbling with the phone, Benji held it up - mindful of the fact that it was on speaker so that the handler would be able to hear what was happening in the conversation. The moment Gen’s voice came through the speaker, he started crying. “Genevieve... Gen... what the fuck is going on?!”

_______________________

The moment Gen heard Benji's sporadic, worried voice, she burst into silent tears while a grin spread across her face. It really was Benji and he sounded distant but so close at the same time, and worried about her and it didn't really hit her until that moment that he must have been scared shitless if his handler just burst in through the door and gave him the phone with little to no explanation, but that was okay because he was on the other end of the phone and they were talking and she could reassure him all by herself.

"Benji, hi. On my god, it's so good to hear your voice. I-- I'm okay now," and for that moment she was and felt like she could take on the world all by herself even if the next day all of that might be gone. "A lot of, well a lot of things are happening, but I'm okay, you don't have to worry about me. I'm safe and I'm good and-- are you okay? How are you doing?"

"Gen, we got the gist of what happened, but I doubt your brother heard any of it past your name, so could you maybe...?" A different, familiar voice came through the phone, and Gen breathed a sigh of relief. Finley was there with Benji, that was good, that meant he was not alone completely. When the FBI placed her in Sunnymead she tried to figure out if Finley was allowed to go with Benji or not, but everyone refused to tell her anything. "Really glad to hear you are doing okay, though."

"Finley, really glad to hear you too. But okay, Benji, I swear I'm okay. It's just-- don't freak out but turns out Vivien is alive and she found me, but she's arrested now and I'm okay. I spent the day talking to the FBI and they're gonna figure out what's next in the next few days." She tried to keep it as short and to the point as possible both because she didn't want to worry Benji more than necessary and because she didn't want to sound her time talking about Vivien and what happened, she wanted to hear from Benji.

"But none of that matters, are you okay, are you guys are okay? Happy? How's your life? Tell me something, tell me anything."

_______________________

To hear that she was safe sent a wave of relief over Benji. Still, he began to bite at the bandages wrapped around his fingers - an attempt to keep him from biting his nails. It was attempt number 500. It might as well be anyway. “I’m fine,” he mumbled. There would be more details because he didn’t know how long he had to talk to her. Whatever stubbornness he was trying to hold on to could only go for so long before he spent the whole call being angry with her.

He had lost so much. He might have Finley, but he also needed Gen and Olivia... Olivia who had passed away as a result of this whole mess. His parents had never been people he was close to and he doubted he would talk to them much if they were around. How many nights had he cried and wished he could talk to his sister. Bitterness wasn’t going to ruin this chance.

“She’s alive?! And don’t tell me not to freak out because you know me! I’m not going to keep calm about this!” He glances up and saw Abigail staring at him. She certainly wasn’t one of the people with whom Benji was totally comfortable with. She’d never seen him like this. “So you’re... what now? Did you talk to her? Where are you? What have you been doing?!”

And Gen had questions of her own. Benji sighed softly. “I — yes. We’re happy. As happy as can be expected. Um, married? Also they made me be a math teacher! Someone asked me what 12 times 12 was the other day and it took me a good thirty seconds to figure it out!”

_______________________

Benji's reassurance came quietly and not with the most positive tone of Benji's voice, but Gen didn't care in that moment, she was just happy to hear her brother confirm he was okay. Or, well, as okay as he can be. She doubted either of them would fully be okay like they used to be after all of this.

Gen couldn't help it, she let out a small, quiet chuckle at Benji's frustration about her trying to calm him down. She could tell that Benji was angry, probably holding back all the hate he had in him for her over everything that happened, but even that anger was welcomed because at least they were talking. At least she could hear him being angry. And really, it was kind of stupid of her to tell him not to freak out, he was already in the middle of freaking out.

"Yeah, okay, that's fair. Just-- don't stress over it too much, please? Finley, please make sure he isn't losing sleep over this."

"I'll do my best," he interjected.

"But yeah, apparently somehow she survived, I'm not exactly clear on that front. She showed up at my apartment and we talked a bit, yeah." Could have spent more time talking, but she did some stupid things instead, not that she was going to get into that. "Not a lot, she wanted me to go with her, thought we could go back to how things were. I told her no. And I'm in a motel right now, I don't think I'm allowed to say more on the where."

"I'd prefer it if you kept quiet on that one, Genevieve, the least all of you know about each other's locations, the better, at least until further notice," a woman confirmed in a stern, matter of fact voice - probably their handler.

"Alright, so yeah, just a motel. Far away from where I was originally placed. And uh... fuck, suddenly I can't think of anything I did. I have a diner! Well, more like ran a diner, still not sure how that will go now. Honestly, I had a really boring life until now." She stayed quiet for a moment before she added. "I really missed you."

Happy and married. That was the best news Benji could have possibly given him. It calmed and relaxed her, and made her happier than she thought could be possible a couple of hours ago. There was an underlying sadness added to it, though - she wished she could have been there, wished she could have seen Benji and Finley get married, and more than anything wished Olivia could have been there too.

"Married? Congratulation, guys, that's so great! When did it happen? How did it happen? I'm so sorry I missed it. Did you guys manage to have a good celebration at least?" She frowned when he mentioned being a math teacher. "Why would anyone make you a math teacher? Did they know you have no clue about numbers? How are you even doing it properly? Do they give you an earpiece and whisper help you through it?"

_______________________

Benji would stress over it. He knew Gen was safe now, but he also knew it wouldn’t be the case forever. He could fixate on the good, but Vivien’s arrest wouldn’t make everything go back to normal. Things were never going to be normal again. This was their new normal.

“Finley isn’t going to know if I’m losing sleep! He sleeps like a rock!” Benji insisted. It wasn’t a lie either. They would end up in bed and, the first moment they laid in silence, Finley would be out like a light. Benji was bad about sleep though. He’d lie there and looked up at the ceiling.

He shook his head. “At least you told her no. You’ve never made the best choices with her. You know she made me uncomfortable!” It had been easy for Gen to write that off, however, because a lot of people made him feel that way. “Are you sure that’s all you did? Because if you - if you did something which might put me or god forbid Finley in danger, that’s on you. Just like with Liv.” He said it harshly bur the look on his face was more sad than it was angry. The thought had been running through his mind over the past few weeks and he wasn’t able to let go of it. He knew, logically, that she wouldn’t have done anything to hurt the people she cared about. There was no way she could have known what Vivien was up to... but someone had to be blamed and she was on the receiving end.

“A motel? Are they - do you think they’re moving you? Or is it... over now?” His brows were furrowed. That certainly couldn’t be the case. Didn’t she have associates involved? Logic wasn’t always his strong suit though. Benji led with his heart.

He shot the agent a dirty look, but knew she could end the call the instant he stepped out of line. “A diner? You weren’t... you weren’t by yourself, right? You have people? God, I hope you have people.” If Benji couldn’t be there, someone had to be for her. The level of closeness that he had with her was irreplaceable, but there were women in his life who he was... relatively close to. (For Benji, that was good.)

A soft laugh left him. The whole thing had been an ordeal and involved a lot of arguing with people they shouldn’t have in a million years. It worked out for the best. “They said they were going to split us up because we weren’t married so... I said we were engaged.” He had blurted it it out without any plan whatsoever. It wasn’t a romantic, yet it wasn’t something that he regretted at all. “Um, not really. We kind of got married legally then we kind of... celebrated privately?” It could have come out wrong, but it also seemed like exactly the right way to describe things. And he was happy about that. A large party would have only bothered him and raised his anxiety.

It was difficult not to grin at this point. “There are a bunch of little booklets that I have filled with notes and equations and formulas. It’s all Greek to me. I don’t... I’ve been trying with this for years and I’m still just as lost!” The students learned things though. He’d had some of them say that he was their favorite teacher. He figured it was the confused looks on his face. “I mean, kids finish it and do well the next year. I’m pretending pretty well! You’d think I would have learned, but...”

_______________________

"I can stay up long enough to try and see if you can sleep, come on!" Finley grumbled in the background, and Gen smiled a little. They were doing okay. They set up a certain kind of life, they adjusted and they stayed strong together. She assumed there were bumps on the road, but she hoped it only made them stronger, and that Finley was there to help Benji through it all. He's always brought the best out of Benji and she couldn't even imagine how Benji would have been like if Finley couldn't went with him.

"Come on, you've always had difficult time getting used to new people," she couldn't help but counter, even though looking back now she wished she would have listened to him. She wished she would have been less blind, maybe all of this could have been avoided.

She dropped her head, running her fingers through her hair as Benji asked if she really only just talked to her or did something else, memories of Vivien and her entangled in her bed flashing in front of her eyes. Fuck, she hated so much that she's done that, that that was her first reaction. It probably only made things worse. maybe if she could have just used her brain and turned Vivien away, just sent a 911 text to Diego and they caught Vivien by surprise, Juliana wouldn't have been taken, they could have avoided everything that happened. Maybe Diego's face wouldn't have looked the way it did. So many what ifs that would keep running through her head and fill her up with guilt for endless nights, she was sure of it.

"Yeah, Benji, we only talked. I was in shock, I couldn't really do anything else." Well, at least she was good at lying and Benji couldn't see her face. She was sure if he could, he'd know she was lying, but through the phone, she could pull it off. "And I swear you guys are okay. It's not gonna be--- nothing's gonna happen to you, okay? She's in custody along with one of her friends and everyone's at the FBI and the US Marshall's are working on this. You're going to be fine. You're going to be fine." They had to be, she could not survive losing Benji too.

She shook her head at his question and it took her a few moments to realize that he couldn't see. "I don't know. I'm not sure if even the FBI knows so far. Or maybe they do, they're just not telling me. But I'm guessing it depends on what kind of information they can get out of Vivien and her friend and what they can do in the next couple of days. But honestly, I have no idea how all of this works."

At the question of whether or not she had people, she rubbed her face, remembering Phoenix and Juliana. She had people, and then she screwed it up. Really, she could only blame herself for that. She looked over towards the bathroom door. She did have one person left, though. She was still baffled by it, especially after everything that happened recently, but somehow Diego was still on her side and there for her, and she couldn't help the small, soft smile that crept up her lips. "Yeah, I-- it's a bit complicated right now, but I have somebody. Not like that, it's not like that," she quickly added before Benji misunderstood, "but I have somebody I can count on. And I had people. I'm nowhere near where I was now, though, so who knows what's going to happen there."

She let out a chuckle when Benji told her how the proposal happened. "And all of this while I had a ring hidden in our bedroom! You know that, Gen, you helped pick it out, and he still beat me to it!" Finley fake complained and it almost felt like she was in the room with them in that moment, just telling stories and reminiscing about the past. "Can you believe it?"

"At least you guys didn't have to worry about things like rings or tradition or planning," Gen chuckled, shaking her head. "And either way, big or small wedding and celebration, I'm just really glad you guys are okay. That you guys are happy and safe and together. You guys deserved to have your happily ever after, even if it didn't exactly go as you guys planned."

"At least they helped you out with those booklets." Seemed toe FBI gave both of them the starting help. They gave her some money so she could start renting the Grub, and they helped Benji out to make sure he didn't fail during his very first class. They did help at least a little bit, even if mostly they probably ignored Benji and only cared about Gen long enough so that she would one day testify in their case. "And I'm not surprised you didn't pick up anything, but I'm proud of you for pulling it all off."

_______________________

Diego took a long shower, even if the hot water did taper out towards the end. But it still felt good, and Diego found himself wishing he could hit a pool and just swim until his limbs gave out. Typically when he had this much exhausted energy, he'd either swim until his brain shut off, off fuck someone nameless for the same goal. But both were out of the question. And the latter not just because he didn't want nameless sex anymore - not with that woman out there, who he loved so much - but also because his junk was still a little too tender for anything strenuous like that. Dammit Vivien Salazar.

Eventually he couldn't dawdle any longer, so he rinsed off and washed his mouth as well, before putting on some clean clothes as well. Drugstore underwear and cheesy-logo t-shirt and jogging shorts. He looked a mess, but he'd also looked worse. Toweling his hair, Diego emerged, knowing Gen was still on the phone. He gave her a half-wave, motioning for her to talk as long as she wanted. He knew Abigail was keeping track of everything, and Abigail got a little testy whenever Diego questioned her. They didn't really get along, even though Diego did highly respect Abigail's work ethic.

He sat at the front of the bed, opening the food bag up and pulling out his own burger and fries. They were still a little warm, which was nice. He settled back against the bedhead, flicking through his phone and chewing his dinner like a cow chewed cud.

Eventually though, he couldn't help listening to what Gen was saying. His gaze was drawn to her like a magnet, watching the defeated slope of her back, her stubborn shoulders still straight. As if she was trying to still hold it all together, for the sake of a brother who couldn't even see her. Her dark golden hair fell over her face, in that way where Diego wanted to tuck it behind her ear. He wanted her to feel good, just for a moment. Hopefully, she did. God, he hoped.

_______________________

Benji rolled his eyes. “You’ll never be able to stay awake that long,” he said before laughing a little bit. “No, but we’re good, Genny. Like... I’ll stress, but I’m not alone.” If he could have her as well, things would have been so much better. There had to be a loss though. He wasn’t going to get everything which made him happy. Honestly, he was lucky his life was at least the way which it was.

“Yeah, I know. I’m just saying. I was right about this one!” It had to happen some time. He hate that he was this time. It was easier when people would tell him that none of his anxieties were going to come true. It certainly wasn’t any help when the time it was had ended up with their family torn apart.

That was a relief. He knew how much his sister had loved Vivien. “I don’t know if I would be able to do that if it was me,” Benji admitted. Gen was stronger than he was, that much was clear. He thought he’d have done anything to get Finley back if he lost him. Letting Vivien go must have been hellish for her. “I’m proud of you,” he said softly then left it at that.

“You can’t promise that though. You can’t. Try - trying to promise that is going to won’t make things any easier for either of us.” He didn’t want to say it meant things would hurt more for both of them if something happened to the other with that reassurance.

He nodded. Things wouldn’t go instantly back to normal on the very off chance that they might. There was a lot of work which needed to be done on the side of FBI and the associated agents. “I want to see you,” he said softly. It didn’t seem like it was ever going to happen. He would give anything to hug his sister again though. “It’s not really fair. I don’t... if I don’t see mom and dad, I don’t mind, but you telling me that you’re fine doesn’t make me feel much better.”

It hadn’t struck him that it may have been like that until his sister was denying it. If she could see his face, she would have known how little he believed that. “Are you going to tell me the truth or are we going to have to pretend that I believe you? I’m hoping for the former.” Though he was counting on the latter to be true. There was a reason she was lying about this. It was difficult for him to figure out what it was.

There was a story there. He knew there was one. He attempted to think of the reasons which would cause her to lose people who cared about her. It wasn’t as if people grew tired of Gen. That made it clear there was, yet again, more than she wanted to let on.

Smiling at Finley, Benji shook his head. “Do you know how many times he’s complained about that? A ridiculous amount of times! I don’t think he’s going to let it go!” He didn’t mind if Finley did though. It made Benji feel special and everyone deserved to feel a little special sometimes. She was correct about that though. They hadn’t had to worry. “We got rings! I was okay skipping parties and ceremonies, but I had to have a ring.” It might be a simple band, but he wasn’t going to trade it for anything. He sighed. “Yeah. It would’ve been nice if you were there though. I didn’t think I would ever get to even tell you.”

It was true. He wouldn’t be able to do this without the help. “At least you can cook though. Diners.... you’ve always liked diners.” When they were younger, the three of them - including Olivia, of course - would go off to diners whenever they had the chance to. Was that gone now? Shit. Change the subject, Benji! He cleared his throat. “I’m not a good teacher, but I could be worse. That’s what I tell myself.”

_______________________

Hearing Benji say that he was proud of her because Gen didn't do anything other than talk to Vivien felt like a punch to the gut, but she didn't want to go back and explain herself, not now, not after this. Even if he said he might have not been able to do that, she felt like he would have been disappointed and angry at him if she actually told the truth and really, she didn't want the rest of their conversation to be about her mistake. So she just buried her face into her palm and tried desperately to not make a sound that suggested anything was up or that she was feeling extremely guilty on that moment.

She instead focused on what she said next. "Okay, that's fair, I can't promise you that, but I can promise you that I would try my best. How's that sound, hmm? I will try to do my best to make sure I don't do anything to get you or me in any kind of trouble or hurt. And in return, you do the same?" She doubted he could ever actually do anything to get himself in trouble, though. It was her who kept finding trouble wherever she went.

I want to see you. Her heart skipped a beat at the sound of that. "Yeah, I want to see you too." She wasn't sure if it could ever be possible, but she also wasn't sure if talking to Benji could ever be possible, so maybe with time it could happen as well. "I am not sure how all of this is gonna go, what's going to happen, but maybe if everything goes okay, I could go visit you guys? Or you could come to me wherever I will end up being? If the people who decide what happens to us deem it safe to do it, of course."

God, he saw right through her. They haven't spoken in years and they were who even knows how many hundred miles apart, and yet he still knew her, he still saw right through her and it warmed her heart to know that it wasn't something that could be lost. Sometimes she wondered if it was possible, if you could unknow a person if you don't see them long enough, but it felt like Benji just proved that theory wrong in a way.

If she would have been fully alone and knew Benji was alone as well, she would have probably talked to Benji about Diego, too, but with Diego coming out of the bathroom this very moment (how did he have such impeccable timing?) and knowing that the other agent hearing things could get Diego in trouble, she opted to say, "can we go with the second one?" And because she didn't want him to feel like she was trying to keep something from him, she quickly added, "it's a bit complicated and a really long story, so I don't wanna get into it over the phone. Maybe next time?"

She knew offering this was wishful thinking, more of a hope than a sure thing, but she also felt like treating their conversation as a once in a lifetime opportunity would have only turned this entire conversation into something even sadder and more tragic than it was, and neither of them needed that for a moment.

Diego got his foot and sat down next to her against the headboard and Gen scooted over a little bit to give him more space, crossing her legs under herself as she shifted position and got herself more comfortable. She shot a warm, happy smile towards him while she was listening to Benji talk about their wedding, and then she couldn't help but reach over and steal a few fries from him and pop it into her mouth after mouthing an apology and a thank to him.

"Yeah, I wish I could have been there, but I'm just glad to hear about it too. Nobody told me whether Finley was with you or not, so it's just nice to hear and know that you haven't been alone all this time. And-- well, I don't know, maybe one day you can show me some pictures. Or just show me those rings yourself. Maybe." It felt so surreal to sound so optimistic or hopeful, but if a call could happen, why couldn't anything else, right?

She chuckled slightly. "Yeah, sure, I can cook, but I got a cook who was 10 times better than I was, people loved his food. Well, they still love it, that just sounded like he died when really he didn't, nothing like that happened, just bad word choices. And now i'm rambling, sorry. Anyway, do you guys have any pets? Did you ever get a dog?" They spent their entire childhood wanting a dog but being told they can't by their parents, and she knew Finley and Benji were thinking about adopting one before everything turned to shit. It would have felt natural for her that after a while they went back to that route and found a sweet puppy for themselves.

_______________________

Their best was the only thing they could offer one another. It was fucked up. Benji hated this situation. He had settled into a sort of compliance. He hadn’t liked it, but he’d grown used to it. Now, there was this. He was actually able to communicate with one of the people who mattered most to him in the world. He had Finley, of course, and he loved him with his whole heart. But it wasn’t the same. His family was gone and... then the one person that he still held in that regard was on the other end of the line for however short of a time period this would be. He wished there was a way to prolong it.

“Of course I’m not going to get either of us in trouble. Well, the three of us.” He shot Finley a gentle smile. “If you thought that I was cautious before, you should see me now.” It wasn’t always a good thing. It was probably helpful for Abigail though. He figured working with himself and Finely was an easy job.

Benji bit his lower lip. For a moment, he considered breaking the rules. He could find a way to contact her outside of this... there had to be a way. Perhaps he could convince Abigail to - no. She was more staunch on the rules than he was. Before meeting her, he hadn’t thought it possible. “I don’t know. I just - I know that you’re safe. All I want to do is see you. I just have to see you. Hug you.” That way, he could make sure that she was really there. It might not make sense to a lot of people, but it made sense to him.

Complicated? Most things with Gen were complicated. She was a bit odd in a lot of ways, but so was he. They had that in common. He wanted to point out that there was no guarantee for there to be a next time. He almost did. Instead, he simply sighed. “Fine, but next time, I’m going to lead with that. I’m just gonna ask you to promise that you didn’t fuck someone you shouldn’t have again. I had build my life up twice. I’m not going it a third.” The subject could be dropped there. Benji held up his hand. “But it’s done. It’s over. There’s no going back.”

He smiled, knowing that she wanted him to be truly happy more than anyone else would. “Yeah. It would have been much better if I threw up on your shoes rather than a member of the FBI, but...” he trailed off and laughed. “Maybe. And you know what I’m going to want you to do if we’re ever able to see each other again -“ It sounded a lot more realistic when she said it, “- which is that you make a grilled cheese because nobody can master it the same way you do.” He paused. “I also want to see you smile.” For as much as Genevieve wanted him to be happy, he wanted it for on the very same level.

“Your diner, what’d it called. Tell me all about it. Don’t spare any of the details.” There was no way he was going to hear everything about the past few years. If they focused on one thing, however, they would never make any progress. “Any - anything that’s good. Tell me about the good things.”

The mention of a dog had Benji looking over to the one curled up in his husband’s lap. “Her name is Missy. I don’t know what her breed is... other than small. What about you? Are you a parent?” He paused. “To a small furry animal because if there’s a human child in your life and you didn’t choose to lead with that, I might have to kill you.”

_______________________

Diego tried not to listen too hard in on the conversation. It was technically his right as Gen's handler, but he didn't want to make it seem like he was eavesdropping, after he told Gen he'd give her privacy. When she scooted next to him though, he figured she didn't mind him picking up the conversation here and there if it happened. It struck him, suddenly, how...domestic this was. Both of them relaxed back on the same bed, having dinner, Gen chatting on the phone with her brother while he checked his own phone. It would've been almost normal, if it wasn't for the fact that they were hiding out in a motel to protect Gen from possible attacks, and her brother was in a secret location, hidden for the same reason.

Diego took out Gen's food for her, and laid it out on the paper bag. She could take as many fries from her own pack as she wanted, but she wasn't getting any more of his.

When she asked about her brother's pets, it reminded Diego again - damn. That hedgehog. He knew Gen asked Flo to look after it but he really should drive into town tomorrow and pick the thing up, as well as his remaining belongings and some of Gen's - Darcy's things. First he'd talk to Al to inquire about the fate of the diner and if there was anything to be done about it.

_______________________

"Good. All three of us should be good then." Gen didn't doubt that Benji was sticking to all the rules and keeping everything in order. In that regard, Diego might have been luckier if he was assigned to her brother instead of her. He wouldn't have had to deal with things like her running off to LA without a word or warning. A lot less headache and a guns pointing at his face. Would have been a real treat.

"If it's ever going to be possible, we'll make it work however we can and then I'm going to hug the shit out of you. You'll be complaining and asking me to let you go," she joked. "But until then, Finley, would you give him a hug for me?" She could hear some rustling of clothes and moving on the other side of the phone and she smiled to herself for a moment. "Done." "Thanks."

Promise that you didn't fuck someone you shouldn't have. Right in the middle of it. It was like Benji just knew what went down for a few months between Diego and her. And then it hit her. Again. She did it again, she fell in love with somebody she shouldn't have. Did she have a type? Did she somehow draw in people that she shouldn't have and get attached? Granted, she couldn't have possibly known that Vivien would bring such horrors into her and her family's life, but she did in fact know Diego and her probably shouldn't have done what they did, she just didn't care, because no matter what Diego says about it being wrong, it wasn't. It couldn't have. Not after everything that happened and everything she felt.

(It was interesting how out of the two of these relationship, one of them looked so perfect, so right in the beginning only for the holes to show up and reveal just how wrong it was, while in the beginning it felt like there was nothing but holes between Diego and her that they needed to patch up and work through, but in the end it turned out to be so good and so important. For her at least. And even if it was only important for her, she still cherrished every memory, every moment.)

Through all of this she was watching Diego move back over to the food bag and take out her dinner too, probably glad to see her trying to actually eat without nudging after she stole some of his fries and wanting to make sure it wouldn't disappear or she wouldn't end up eating his food instead (she mouthed a quick thank you to him once he settled back onto the bed), and really, maybe according to the rules of his job, what they did was wrong, but she didn't regret any of it. She just regretted that if any of it got out, she could get him in trouble with it.

She was definitely not going to say any of that to Benji, though, not with Diego hearing it and definitely not with Benji and Finley's agent hearing it. She just replied in a cheerful tone, "I promise, I promise. You won't have to rebuild your life again, I didn't do anything stupid." Partial truths, they could work wonders.

She let out a small chuckle. "I would normally not approve of you throwing up on my shoes, but yeah, I would have preferred that scenario over anything else. And of course I'll make you all the grilled cheese you want, but only if you won't leave my side cause I won't be willing to stay too far from you." Maybe it was just wishful thinking, but even if it was just a small dream that wouldn't happen, it was nice to be able to talk about it with Benji.

"Hey, I smile!" Gen objected and purposefully did not look at Diego because she didn't want to see him look at her skeptically. Sunnymead and the townsfolk had that effect. When she first arrived, she didn't think she would ever smile again, but they worked their magic and changed that. They helped her a lot, without even realizing it. "Not all the time, sure, but there are moments. You can't see it, but I am smiling right now. Your voice kind of has that effect." In that moment it felt like if she could only keep talking to him, she could smile forever.

"No diner names, or any other location names that could be followed up," Gen heard the woman interject sternly when Benji asked about the Grub and she cleared her tone. "Okay, okay, no names, I promise. Good things - I got it on a lease, I fixed it up when I got there originally and somehow it became the town's staple. I heard so many rumors and gossips there, you have no idea. Got some really good people working for me. I also live above it. Well, lived. I keep forgetting to use the past term."

She was glad at least one of them could finally get the dog they've always wanted. "I'm sure she's the cutest of the cutest. And no, I don't have a kid, don't worry, I'm not holding out on you," she couldn't help but laugh at his suggestion of having a kid, even though a part of her heart was bleeding over it, knowing that for such a long time that hasn't been an option for her. "But I do have a little animal, though she's not so furry. It's a hedgehog and her name is Vex."

_______________________

As far as Benji was concerned, he wasn’t going to complain about her hugging him when (if) they saw each other again. He’d done so in the past, but this was different. There hasn’t been the constant contact which had been present in the past. Even then, he hadn’t done more than dramatically sigh and make a bigger deal of it than it truly was. He’d be far too busy taking her in were they to get that opportunity.

Leaning into Finley, Benji shook his head. “Oh, come on. I’m not going to complain. I know I... kind of complain a lot, but I’m going to probably cry if I ever get to see you again...” He wasn’t counting on it, but Abigail wasn’t objecting so it might be possible.

There was a pause before she answered and Benji could feel his anxiety rising. He knew his sister well. This seemed to mean that she was hiding something. Interrogation wasn’t the move though. They had limited to communicate. If all of Benji’s time was spent doing that, he would kick himself.

He hummed nonetheless, an even tone which made it perfectly clear that he didn’t believe her. There was no pushing though. He didn’t want to stress her. “Alright. Consider the subject dropped. No more discussions of your sex life in front of all of these people.” Which didn’t mean it was truly dropped, simply (hopefully) pushed off to a later date.

“Trust me. Do you honestly think that I’m going to go anywhere but where you are? No. I’d hole up wherever we were and here every detail about your life while I gave you every detail of mine.”

Benji laughed. “Remember how Mom used to joke that me and Liv were the only ones who could get you to smile?” It was an exaggeration, sure, but it was fun to joke about... even if the mention of their sister made him feel like there was a hold in his heart which would never be filled. “I’m smiling like an idiot. I’d say Finley could confirm, but he’d argue that I wasn’t an idiot like he always does.”

Furrowing his brows, Benji stared at Abigail. He had never argued with her in the past. It wasn’t in him. However, this? This was grinding on his last nerve. He couldn’t hear most of the things about his sister’s life and he hadn’t asked to. He just wanted to know the name, so that he could picture in his mind. There were so many gaps which he wanted filled. It was a small one, but it seemed there was a problem with that.

“Yeah, Abigail. I know. It’s the one diner in the whole country which has that name. Hearing the name of a diner, would put us both in imminent danger! I forgot that I didn’t have any control over my life!”

The outburst was uncharacteristic of him, but he was realizing now how over this he was. He missed his sister. Was the conversation allowed any depth? He sighed. Perhaps he should apologize to Abigail. He didn’t.

He nodded. “So was it like an HGTV show? The ones we used to get wine drunk and say we were going to do? You did that!” Benji frowned. Though he didn’t have to rebuild his life again, Gen did and he hated the concept of it. She’d had a good life then... it got fucked up. This time, he couldn’t even rationalize it in his brain as something that she had done. It was all one big mess. He could hardly understand that. “Are you at least allowed to tell me about the gossip?” A hedgehog? “Like the tiny porcupines?” he asked.

_______________________

Gen let out a small chuckle. "Alright, we'll be attached at the hip and just talk through every little detail we missed. I like the sound of that."

Her smile softened at the mention of Liv and her heart ached a bit at the thought that she couldn't be in this call, that they could never see her again. "Yeah, and Liv made those badges for it after and you guys wore it everywhere for like a week." They would have to talk about Olivia at some point. They probably should be talking about her and what happened now, if she was being honest, but this felt too good, too nice to go down that path. Maybe if they could ever meet and get drunk together. That was the kind of conversation that would require a lot of alcohol.

"He really isn't an idiot, but he is smiling like one," came the confirmation from Finley and Gen smiled. They were both smiling and happy to enjoy a simple phone call, even just a couple of hours ago it didn't feel like it could be possible, so it was great to know that there could still be happy moments amidst all of this. Well, thank to Diego. All of this could only happen because of Diego and she wasn't sure how she could ever thank him for this. She'd need to figure something out.

Gen winced at the sound of Benji snapping at the handler, but even more so when he said he didn't have any control over his life. It wasn't life him, to snap at people like this, but it also hit her that it has been years since she's seen or talked to Benji and she couldn't possibly know what kind of changes he went through. And being forced into a situation like this... it would have made sense, if Benji snapped at people more. But even if this was just a one time thing coming out of frustration of how the two of them couldn't even have a simple conversation without somebody else butting in and telling them what they can and can't talk about... she did this to him. She caused him to lose complete control over his life and it was sheer luck and persistence that they allowed Finley to be there with him instead of dropping him off somewhere else and leaving her brother completely alone.

Fuck, she hated how much pain she caused him, how much she ruined his life.

She rubbed her face, feeling the tiredness and the guilt creep in, even though she was trying to not think about it. At least until they had to hang up, she wanted to enjoy just talking to Benji without feeling horrible, she could do that later.

Unfortunately, it came earlier, way too early than how she would have liked, because when Benji brought up the gossips, she could hear some movement from the other side of the phone and then the handler's voice came, "Alright, if you want to hear about gossip, I think it's time you two wrap it up. The call already went longer than you two were originally allowed, so say your goodbyes. We don't want anyone accidentally tapping into these phones and track either of you."

"Fuck," she muttered and she could feel a panic rising inside of her because she didn't want to hang up, she wanted to keep talking to Benji and with not knowing when or if she could ever talk to him again or see him again, this felt a little bit like losing him all over again. But she also didn't want to push the boundaries because this has already been more than she could ever imagine and now she knew that he was okay. She knew he was good and happy and safe and this was not enough and more than enough at the same time.

"Fuck, okay, Benji, I love you. I can't believe I didn't start with this, but I love you so much and I'm really sorry for all of this and I am so happy you're doing okay and just-- fuck, I miss you and I love you. I don't know what else I could say."

_______________________

It was likely exactly what Benji should have expected given his reaction earlier, but it didn't make hearing that their conversation was over now. He clenched his jaw and was refusing to make eye contact with Abigail. He felt like he was going to cry and he would be damned if he did it in front of her. It wasn't her fault, not really, but he needed someone to blame she could take the heat of that.

He felt like he was going to vomit. Running his fingers through his hair, he let out a shaky breath. "I love you too. More than fucking..." he paused, to try and get as much control over his voice as possible. Though, Benji knew he hardly had any time to do. "More than anything. I miss you and I don't know if it's better or worse now," he had to admit. "But I wouldn't trade this for anything. I love you, Gen. This is so fucking unfair."

With that, he got up and left the room, knowing that Abigail would hang up the phone and Finley would see her out. He didn't want to deal with a second more of this.

_______________________

Gen could hear Benji's voice shaking and fuck, she wished she could be there to comfort him and hug him and make sure he was okay, but then if she was there, they wouldn't be in this predicament either. And it hurt, having to say goodbye because she wanted to keep talking, but at the same time it felt like the entire conversation filled her up with a new kind of energy she didn't think she could have. So she listened to Benji and nodded and she could feel the tears brimming in her eyes, but at the same time she was smiling.

And then the call was over and she just sat there for a few moments, staring at the now dark phone in her hand and didn't have the faintest clue what to do or say after this. The conversation kept replaying in her mind and she hoped Finley was already there for Benji and helping him and more than anything she hoped this wasn't the last time. Vivien was arrested, they had to be slowly getting out of this, right? There had to be an end to this somehow.

Then again, maybe in two days she would be told that she would need to get relocated once again and she would become Jenna Sills or some other random person next. She wished she would have even the slightest bit of control over her life and she wouldn't be in the dark constantly.

She took a deep breath and shook herself out of these thoughts, even if just for a few moments, and finally turned to Diego with a small smile and handed the phone back to him. "Thank you, seriously. This... I don't think thank you si really expressive enough to emphasize how much this meant to me, but nothing else really comes to my mind, so just thank you."

_______________________

One thing Diego didn't take into consideration was the possibility that allowing Gen a phone call meant that it could end up making her even more unhappy, after the initial elation of speaking with her brother. He watched her carefully, gauging her quiet devastation that she was so good at repressing. She'd been practicing it for four years now, of course it was like second nature to her. He said nothing until she spoke first, and then he just listened.

Granted, she didn't talk about herself, but then that was so like Gen, wasn't it. Both Gen and Darcy - they both put people before themselves, thought about other people first. Not in any sort of self-sacrificial way, but in a way that just meant her heart was full of others. She was used to thinking about other people, being empathetic, taking care of them. It fulfilled her to help, as much as it helped others. Even her thank yous to him were kind and considerate. When she wasn't yelling at him for some indignity or the other, she could actually be quite generous with her kindness.

As if he didn't know that already.

A smile tugged his lips, and Diego moved the food between them to reach and arm around her shoulders. He tugged her to lean against him, and he pressed his mouth against her damp hair on the crown of her head. She felt fragile and birdlike right now, so small and broken.

"So...he's got a - a - a husband? Is that what they call 'em? Husband and...what, husband?" He asked, awkward, ignorant, and curious. "I didn't really realize that the both of you were like, y'know. I didn't realize more than one sibling could be, uh..." But even as he said it, he was pretty sure it was a stupid thing to say.

_______________________

It was a new kind of torture to have Diego pull Gen close against him, knowing it was just to comfort her after the emotional rollercoaster that was the last 24 hours and especially after the call just ended. She knew she was a mess and she knew that Diego could see it all over her face. She didn't even try to hide things from him anymore, there didn't seem to be any point. He seemed to have learned how to read her like an open book. So even if the memories of the times they've spent in each other's arms flashed back in front of her eyes, she knew this was different. She also knew she should pull back and not let herself enjoy it, it wouldn't end well for her emotionally, but she also couldn't just entangle herself from Diego somehow, so she just closed her eyes and try to forget about everything around them.

It didn't last too long, however, because then Diego started talking awkwardly, and Gen's eyes grew wider and wider at what he was saying. She pulled away and fully turned towards him, frowning in confusion and surprise. "Jesus Christ, Diego, you are so painfully straight," she couldn't help saying, her face still full of disbelief. He didn't say any of it with malice, he didn't intend to hurt anyone, and it wasn't about him being against it either, he just asked something he didn't know about because he never needed a reason to learn and get to know more, and it showed in his question. A lot.

"I don't even know where to start." She picked up her burger - it was cold at this point, but she didn't really care, she was just glad she could eat something. She took a bite to have at least something in her stomach and then started munching on her fries while she started talking. "Yes, they are husband and husband, unless they prefer something else, I'm not sure, I didn't ask them. All of the marriage and proposal happened after... well, sort of during the beginning of the relocation process, so I wasn't there for any of it. Not that any of that part really matters in the whole family question that you just..." She let out a sigh, she was rambling and she didn't even know where to even begin, it was such a surprising thing in that moment. Then again, maybe that was his goal with this, to get her out of the stupor and get her to think about something else, even if that something else was explaining to Diego that more than one person in the family could be part of the LGBTQ+ community.

"Okay, so there aren't any genes or rules or laws of the universe that say that only one person in the family can be non-straight. It just... happens. Sort of like how sometimes a family has three boys and no girls, and then another family has one girl and a boy and the mix could go on and on. It depends on the person and not the family."

"Also, you can say the word gay, it's not an insult. You can also say queer, to me at least, it generally stands on shaky legs, some people love it and embrace it, some people take it as an insult, so don't throw that word around before making sure the person you're talking to is okay with it. But it's okay with me."

_______________________

Diego held Gen and what was more important, Gen didn't resist him. It seemed like all the animosity and frustration that had built up between them over the last few weeks had dissipated completely. It made sense in a way - after dealing with the insanity that was Vivien Salazar showing up out of nowhere and kidnapping poor Juliana, a spat over something that was no longer relevant seemed...well. No longer relevant.

And then there was the matter of Gen sleeping with Vivien. Given that Diego was a king of making poor sexual choices throughout his entire adult life, he'd be a hypocrite to feel angry about that. Plus, while he and Darcy had been cooling their heels, he'd slept with Rita. Maybe in some weird, twisted way, Darcy sleeping with Vivien was just tit for tat. Granted, sleeping with Vivien was a disastrous choice, but not something that Diego had to deal with. That was something Gen herself would have to deal with - emotionally and mentally.

So it felt calmer, watching Gen eat the cold burger, and then sit up to give him one of her patented annoyed and slightly pitying looks. He blinked back at her, stealing some of her fries now, and eating them. "What? You say 'straight' like it's an insult," he said, using the most stereotypical hurt-feelings comeback that straight people used, when queer people called them straight.

But he did listen attentively when Gen explained, with the patience of a saint, about how it all worked. There was very little he knew about Benjamin Soto's casefile, other than the basics. It was all in the name of protecting, and keeping the Sotos safe. So he didn't realize Benjamin swung that way, and he really didn't realize that the 'husband' had been put under witness relocation as well. Truth was, Diego had completely forgotten that gay marriage was even legal, and he had to remind himself at this point. He could only imagine how loud his nieces would be berating him right now for being so clueless. They'd be saying similar things to him as Darcy, only with more 'oh my god, Tio, you're so dumb' thrown in for good measure.

"Hunh," he grunted, but squinted in amusement when Gen gave him permission to use such verboten (in his mind) words. "I dunno, honey. In Texas, 'queer' is still used like an insult. But...I guess that's mostly just among us straight people, huh." He didn't sound angry or anything, just wry. As if he was making some sort of point (he wasn't; or rather, his point wasn't interesting). "I guess...well I guess it'd be like having three kids, and all of 'em are straight, huh? No one ever points out how weird that is, do they."

_______________________

Gen let out a long sigh and tilted her head at Diego as she gave him a look. This wasn't the first time she's heard this response, though given how the last couple of years have been going, she hasn't heard it in a while. "I don't say straight as an insult, Diego, I say it as a fact. Cause you are one. Which is showing a whole lot right now."

He listened to her, though. It was one thing she could never say about him is that he wouldn't listen. He was ignorant and he happily lived in his own heterosexual bubble because it was easy, but when the topic came up and she tried explaining something to him, he always listened. Back when she told him she was pansexual, and now too. He was trying to understand, he just didn't really go out of his way to do so when he didn't have to or it didn't come up.

"Yeah, well, straight people like using these words as insults way too often, if you ask me. So if it's an insult in your mind, then definitely don't use it, everyone will be able to tell you're using it as such. But at the same time you should just accept them and think of them as not insults. They are just the people's sexualities, nothing else."

"You said one of your nieces was on the spectrum, right?" she asked. She thought she remembered Diego mention it to her during their last similar conversation, but she wasn't sure if she remembered wrong. "Do you talk about these things with her?"

She ate some fries as she thought of Benji and Finley. They are what started this whole conversation. "I didn't know they got married, by the way. My brother and his boyfriend. Well, husband now. Finley - that's his husband's name -, asked me to help look for rings not too long before everything happened, but I wasn't sure if he got put in the witness protection, too, and if they got to stay together or not. But this was the best-case scenario. At least they were together and they could help each other through it."

_______________________

Diego grinned then and shrugged. "I gotta be me...which I suddenly get now. The ga- the people who aren't straight gotta be them too. My nieces would be so proud of me now." He seemed contented at Darcy's advice to not try and use the words she used so freely. From her, 'gay' and 'queer' sounded free-flowing, comfortable. Coming out of his mouth, he knew it would just sound unnatural, borderline insulting. He laughed lowly when she asked about his nieces.

"On the spectrum..." he said, once more a term that was very novel to him. Sex was a big part of his life, and the idea that there was a spectrum applied to it? His poor straight mind boggled at the concept. "Jesus christ, are you kidding me? I'm their Uncle, Gen. Kids don't want to talk to their uncles about that sort of shit. And frankly I don't want to hear about it." Before Gen got that tight disappointed look on her face, he raised his hand to add, "What I mean is, I stay clear out of their entire dating and love lives and all that...grown-up stuff, as much as I can. They might technically be adults now but they're still little girls to me. They got their own friends to talk like that." He huffed.

"The only time they bring it up is just to make me and their mother all huffy. For their own entertainment." He didn't seem particularly bothered about this, though. That was what nieces did - they poked fun of older family members for, well, being older. Curiously, he asked, "Do your folks know? About you, or your brother? Did you have to..." Diego searched for the term. "Come...out?"

He supposed there was no harm now in Gen knowing that the brother and his...fella were married, or whatever. Everything had to be so hush-hush for so long, it was good she got a few factoids to feed off of for the next few months of hell. And Diego realized then, how much it sucked that she missed the wedding. If there even was a wedding.

"That's true," he conceded, finishing up his food and then exhaling slowly. "C'mon, let's go have a smoke out on the balcony." He stood up, grabbing his pack of smokes from the desk. "Also I just realized there's only one bed. And I didn't ask if you'd be okay with that."

_______________________

The big grin plastered on Diego's face as it all seemed to click for him was cute, even if all of this was a ridiculous conversation that Gen did not think they would be having this night out of all of it. But he was trying and he seemed to be taking small steps towards the right direction, which was definitely a good start. Gen let out a small chuckle at his indignation that he would be talking about his nieces sex lives with them. "I didn't mean about their sex lives, Diego, obviously you wouldn't wanna hear about that, I meant..." But she shook her head with a small smile. "Nevermind." She meant more about what it meant not being straight, but this was probably best to just let it go.

"Yeah, they know," she nodded as she ate the last of her fries. "I didn't really have a typical coming out experience, though. Benji had it all figured out a lot faster and a lot younger, I needed more time figure all of it, all of me, out, and by the time I got there I also realized just how little my parents were present in our lives. And to be fair to them, they did what they thought were best for us, which was work their butts off and provide us with financial security, but it meant they weren't really around, so I didn't really feel like I was required to have that proper sit down where I told them I was pansexual. I didn't lie to them, I just didn't openly tell them. They figured it out when I brought Vivien home for introductions."

It was more like when she announced she was bringing her home, which was probably for the best because a huge fight broke out after it that came down to 'why did you lie to us for years and years about this?' as if they were entitled to something so personal. She didn't really care about their reactions, but she remembered that she was glad Vivien didn't walk into that fight when they went over for a family dinner and she did question back then if not openly telling her parents before that was a mistake or not. And then she didn't see her parents for months after that dinner like it usually went, and she decided she probably did the right thing.

"Oh, god, yes, I'm in," Gen said as she pushed herself up from the bed at the thought of a smoke. "I'm guessing asking for some whiskey along with it would be impossible, right?" she joked, but that would have probably helped a lot with her mind in that moment, even if she knew unless Diego snuck in something under his coat, they wouldn't be drinking tonight.

And then he pointed out that there was only one bed for the two of them, which really should have registered for her sooner - he was spending his time here with her, he was taking a shower in this room's bathroom, of course this was both of their rooms and they would have to share it, what was she even thinking? But somehow she was way too occupied to notice and process any of this information, and she stopped for a moment as she heard those words because really?

Really?

It already felt like some kind of torture, the way he was being so nice and he was trying to comfort her through all of this, and now sleeping in the same bed together? The last time they were in a bed together, they fell asleep in each other's arms after spending a really long time ravishing each other and chasing the same pleasures, and now... fuck. She was fucked.

And she couldn't show any of this because he would offer to just sleep on the damn floor and then she couldn't ever convince him to come sleep on the bed cause he was stubborn like that.

So after the momentary freezing she quickly pulled herself together. "We're adults, right? And it's a big enough bed, anyway, there's enough room for both of us." They headed outside and Gen leaned against the railing and while Diego lit both of their cigarettes, she took the sight in - which was mostly the motel's weirdly lit pool and the buildings around them -, and then pushed herself up onto the railing. They were on the first floor and the railing was wide enough, she was good.

"Unless you would feel uncomfortable, in which case you are taking the bed and I'm taking the floor. And before you object, your face has a whole different color now and I'm pretty sure your dick suffered even more so, while the worst thing that happened to me is that I got a little scared. You don't need back pain added to the list of shit that happened to your body."

She was quiet for a few moments, taking a couple of drags from the cigarette and listening to the sounds of the city around them before she asked, "Do you ever think about what's the whole point of all of this? Everyone suffers through so much bullshit in their lives just for a few fleeting moments of happiness, and then all of it becomes pointless because you become nothing in the end anyway."

_______________________

Diego was about to ask how Gen's parents took it, when she brought a woman home for them to meet. But although it seemed like Gen was able to bring up the mention of the memory with not too much issues, this was definitely not a good time to make Gen think even more about her past with Vivien Salazar. It could too easily spiral into Gen feeling guilty and stupid for being duped by Vivien for all that time, blaming herself for everything that happened to her family.

So instead, he just nodded in understanding. "Parents can be tricky," he said vaguely. A moment of silence and then he added, "I suppose we have that in common, sort of. I'm closer to my sister than I am to my mother. Or father, when he was alive." It wasn't always the case, but Diego always considered his childhood to be complicated but completely normal at the same time. He said he loved his family - he was Latino, of course he loved his family - but it hadn't been difficult to move into law enforcement and travel for work.

Getting up (and minutely thrilled that Gen was going to join him for a smoke), Diego chuckled as Gen asked about whiskey. "I don't think the motel stocks a minibar, no. We'll have to make do with sobriety." In the dimness of the room, he didn't notice Gen's apprehension about the one bed, or he didn't read into it too deeply. Perhaps because he also felt someone antsy about it, if only because they'd been fighting before Vivien showed up, and technically had called their whole...sleeping-together thing off.

Hadn't they? Everything had changed, when Vivien showed up. The reasons for Diego's anger no longer mattered. Did the reasons still matter to Gen? He wasn't sure how long she could hold on to old fights, but he supposed he'd know by tonight.

Fortunately it seemed like Gen chose to take the high road, and Diego was more than fine with that. He handed her one lit cigarette and leaned against the corridor railing,. "Okay. That sounds fine," he said, when Gen laid it out so reasonably. He puffed, wondering if he should mention assurances that he wouldn't touch her or try to make any moves on her while they were in bed - god, he felt so confused about where they stood on their...thing together. But it was hardly the most important problem that either he or Gen had right now - but then Gen kept talking. Or rather, in her trademark way, she started overthinking it.

He choked on his cigarette when she casually mentioned his dick, and Diego coughed indignantly. "My bit and tackle are in fine working order, thank you very much, madam," he said huffily, his manhood clearly feeling threatened (albeit in a comical way). "It just ain't gonna be directed at you, is all." He winced when he said that last bit. He'd meant it to mean he wasn't going to try and get frisky, put Gen in a position where she felt she had to reject intimacy. Which would be understandable and her right. But it just came out weird and petty.

He leaned his back against the railing to face her. "What I mean is, I'm fine. I can sleep on the floor if that's what you prefer. No way in hell I'm letting you sleep on any fucking floor, and don't argue with me about women doing what men can do or whatever. This is simply because - because maybe I got beat up on the face...and other parts of me. But you got beat up inside, and in your head. And you know what doctors always say - internal injuries are worse than external ones."

Of course, Diego took that out of context, since he didn't mean Gen's internal organs, but rather her emotional and mental beatdown. "So that hurt head of yours deserves a nice...creaky, springy, misshapen bed more'n I do. No argument, Gen, I mean it."

Gen's questions turned philosophical then, and Diego welcomed the change of pace. He smoked slowly then. "This is a conversation best had over a bottle of whiskey," he said. "But since we don't have a whiskey, then...I think what you've gone through is extraordinary, Gen. As in, I don't think it's what most people have to deal with. Not to downplay other people's shit - I know you wouldn't like me doing that - but I'm just saying more people's ups and downs at least have context and they can reference the same shit around them to know how to deal with their own shit. You? What on god's green earth would ever prepare you for your girlfriend turning out to be a crime boss? That's not normal shit. That's one in a million. That's extraordinary."

He stubbed his cigarette out. "Guess you're just special that way, honey."

_______________________

Gen watched Diego with careful consideration as he mentioned that parents could be difficult, and then mentioned his dad. She could only remember him mentioning him once before, and it was in not so positive light, and she wanted to ask about him, see if she could get Diego to talk about his family and his parents a little more, understand where he was coming from better, but then decided to go into a completely different route. "You don't really talk about them," she said. "Your parents, mainly, but your family in general either. Is that because this is a job and you don't want to let too much information slip out, or you just don't like talking about them in general?"

She was expecting Diego's reply about the whiskey, but she was still disappointed he wasn't hiding even just a little bit of alcohol somewhere hidden on him. If there was a night to get drunk and try to forget everything, it was this night for sure. "The motel should definitely think about it. The minibar is one of the easiest way to overcharge the customers, and I assume a lot of their customers would be delighted to splurge on the cheapest thing they could possibly find." It's probably for the better, though. She wouldn't need a headache the next morning - either the FBI would have more questions and dealing with them with a hangover would be a bitch, or some other official business that she'd need to do that she would be better for sober.

She chuckled at his indignation and him calling her madam, but her smile didn't last long. It just ain't gonna be directed at you, is all. He needed to make sure she knew just because they were sleeping in the same bed potentially, nothing changed between them. And in general, she respected him for it, not wanting to betray Rita like that. But on the other hand, the reminder was like a cold bucket of water being suddenly poured all over her body. For a few moments she could just forget about it, but now she was painfully brought back down to reality and she didn't know how to react. Except for the annoyed, quiet muttering that she couldn't help letting slip out from under her nose, "Don't worry, I wasn't planning on jumping you or anything," and then took a long, hard drag of the cigarette.

Thankfully he kept talking, though, and so she focused on that instead of the stupid way her heart panged and how for the first time she wondered if maybe Diego not sticking around and not being there for her through all of this would be better. She would miss him, Jesus fuck she would miss him, but at least she wouldn't be reminded constantly of what she fucked up and could never have.

She tilted her head, giving Diego a look. "You know that's about internal bleeding and my organs, not my mental state, right?" Her voice was just a touch bit sharp and annoyed. She didn't mean to carry over the annoyance that she felt after his comment, but she couldn't help it, it just came out. She cleared her throat, forcing herself to get her shit together. "And when have I ever not argued with you? Really, Diego, you are not sleeping on the floor, I'm not going to let that happen. I will kick you up onto the damn bed if I have to," she said, the last of her words more teasing than anything else.

"So you won't let me sleep on the floor, I won't let you sleep on the floor, we're back to being adults and sleeping in the same bed, huh?" It was going to be a torture and she felt even more grateful for the possibility of a sleeping pill. She could just take it and push through the time while it hits and then she wouldn't spend the entire night not only reliving everything that happened in the past 24 hours, but also over-analyzing Diego sleeping a few inches from her.

"See? I told you we would need whiskey," she joked but she listened to Diego quietly while smoking, purposefully ignoring him calling her honey again. She was wondering how long she could take it. She already just wanted to snap at him and tell him to stop calling her that because it was messing with her head. "I don't wanna be special like this. But I guess nobody would. It's funny, though. I used to want to be special. And I don't mean that I wanted to be a princess when I was four, even though I did, but I-- I wanted to be that one in a million. I wanted to prove to everyone around me that I could be that one person who just rises and rises and rises to the top and becomes outstanding." She let out a bitter chuckle. "I guess I became outstanding in a very different meaning of the word. And now all I wanna be is normal, and that's the one thing that isn't in the cards."

She shook her head. "Fuck, my head is full of... all of this bullshit. I can't-- I just can't. Tell me something fun. Something good that made you happy or made you laugh or something. Anything that isn't related to... all of this. Please."

_______________________

"A little of both, I suppose," Diego replied with a half-shrug. He'd never really had friends, ergo he never really talked about his family. Even when it came to falling in love - with Helena - she'd known him growing up, and when they met as adults, they were in a situation far too dire to reminisce about their pasts. "You're the first person who's asked so many dang questions." He said it gruffly, but not meanly. He gave a low laugh when she tried to lighten the mood, talk about profit for the motel via minibars.

"Maybe the rooms usually do have minibars. But this motel's used a lot for federal business, so I'll bet you they remove the minibar whenever they know a fed's taking up the room. Too many of us are alcoholics and your tax money shouldn't go to pay for our drinking problems." He was teasing lightly of course, just going off of Gen's own riffing.

Because what she said next (completely due to his own faux pas) made everything feel tense again. "That's not what I --oh forget it. We should just - right. Yea. Let's just be adults and sleep in one bed. Jesus, it's no big deal." Cigarette break over, Diego headed back inside, to brush his teeth one more time.

He started to brush, then came out of the bathroom to talk to her more. Granted he was talking around his toothbrush, but he didn't seem to notice. "You always argue with me, but I keep hoping in vain that this ONE time you'll actually listen to me. That's what crazy people do right? Repeat the same thing and hope for different results? You drive me crazy." In more ways than one, but regardless, Diego pointed at the side of the bed that was closer to the exit door. "That's my side." he told her, before going back into the bathroom to spit and rinse.

She was right - no one who didn't ask for that life, should be considered the type of special that Gen currently was. But Diego returned, wiping his face with a face towel as he listened to Gen talking. Revealing something about herself that to Diego sounded so profound and deep. He was struck by how vulnerable it seemed. And she was sharing this with him, out of the blue.

"It's not bullshit," Diego was quick to respond. "It's not bullshit at all. It's...it's fine. I can't say I understand, but at the same time...I dunno. It's fine, Gen, you're..." He wanted to reach out to her and hold her then, but something made him resist. Everything just felt too prickly then; and an embrace might be taken the wrong way. So instead he maneuvered past her, to get to his side of the bed.

"Me? You want me to tell you something fun? You do know who you're talking to right?" Diego joked, sitting on the edge of the bed, but turning to look at her. "Mr NoFun Guy here. But listen - just, go brush your teeth and...whatever else girls do in the bathroom before bed. I'll find us some nice movie or fun tv-show to watch before we pass out, hm? That's as much fun as I can do. Oh - and I got a bottle of painkillers, they're on the sink. Feel free to help yourself. Might help you get to sleep."

_______________________

Gen quickly finished up the last of the cigarette and then headed back inside after Diego, settling down onto the bed while she waited for Diego to finish and suddenly feeling a whole new kind of awkward and unsure of what to do with herself. She agreed with what she said, they were adults and the bed was big, they could spend the entire night never touching, but it still felt... well, it felt like too much. Maybe because of her newfound realization (it felt kind of insane that she barely realized her feelings for Diego less than 24 hours ago, the last 24 hours felt like a week, maybe even a whole month instead of just a single day), maybe because so many things happened she just felt emotionally drained and this was just the cherry on top, maybe because the last time they were in the same bed, things between them were a whole different situation, but it just felt a lot and she didn't know how to really handle it.

Thankfully Diego was here, though, acting like it was the most normal thing on the world and making it seem like they did this every single night. (Which was a whole kind of weird in her mind, but at least it was something she could roll with.)

When Diego came out of the bathroom, toothbrush in his mouth while he was talking around it, she couldn't help a half snort, half chuckle that escaped her. It was cute. And amusing. And more domestic than she'd like to think, so she pushed that part to the side. "Isn't there like a rule that you can't be crazy if you are aware that you're crazy?" she mused aloud, teasing. "Or that might be just Catch 22. Not sure."

She nodded to the declaration of the side and when he came out and babbled a bit, trying to comfort her. He was trying, she could tell, and she appreciated it, but he wasn't really able to say anything helpful either, not that she expected him, and she gave him a small, appreciative smile before heading into the bathroom herself while he was talking about just how unfun he was and the plan for the rest of the night.

She quickly brushed her teeth and washed her face again and took a painkiller, hoping it would actually go to sleep. By the time she got back to the room, Diego found something on the tv and she climbed into bed next to him, making sure to keep the distance. The moment her head hit the pillow, it was like her body finally caught up to everything that happened and she felt nothing but sheer exhaustion. And even though her brain started running like it always did, maybe the painkillers were working, maybe everything that happened was too much even for her, but she fell asleep relatively quickly compared to how long it usually took her.

#——diego chavez (024)#——phone call in a quiet night in

1 note · View note

darcypalmer · 5 years ago

Photo

@diegojaimechavez and Gen take a four hour drive to US Marshall offices right after Vivien Salazar got captured, emotions overflow

Despite how fruitless it was, there was something reassuring in seeing Darcy wanting to reply and talk back with Juliana. After everything that happened, she still had that spark in her that was argumentative. This was quite possibly one of the worst times to be argumentative, but that wasn't the point. At least she still felt it, as opposed to feeling nothing at all.

He knew numbness would settle into Gen, eventually. More than ever, Diego felt an urge of his own, to watch her carefully, even more obsessively than he had in the past.

The funny thing was, after getting closer to Darcy - Gen, dammit. Darcy was long gone now - he'd stopped watching her as closely, under some foolish believe that giving her some space and loosening the leash would make things easier for her. He wasn't sure what contributed more to leading them here, but it was hard to discern victory and failure right now. Victory because Vivien Salazar was alive and arrested. Failure because...of everything else.

The truth was, Phoenix' last words had stung. Everything else he'd accused Diego of could roll off him like water off a duck's back, because Diego knew Pheonix' accusations were a product of rage and ignorance. It was just the rantings of a kid who needed someone to blame, and had always wanted a reason to hate Diego. And even if Phoenix wasn't accurate about Vivien either, the kid's vitriol did make Diego evaluate his own worth and merit, and find himself severely lacking.

But he could wallow later, once Gen was safe once more. And hopefully, once she was free.

Gen finally detached herself from wading too deep into the ugly morass of Juliana and Phoenix's animosity. Diego couldn't blame Gen for wanting to stand there and take it, like a penitent getting flagellated. Gen's guilt had steeped inside her for four years. And as damning as it was, hearing those accusations out loud probably felt like vindication for all that guilt and self-hatred that tore Gen up at night. She hated herself and lo: she was right to do so. Because Juliana and Phoenix - these kids she adored, and held up to levels of near-purity in their love - hated her too. If people so impeccably wonderful could hate her, then her own worst fears were true: she was blighted and cursed, and too damaged for love.

Diego saw all of this, as he led Gen to the car. He spoke with Al, or rather did some convincing first before Al reluctantly agreed. What Diego didn't realize was that as he observed so much in Gen, his boss observed Diego, and Al worried but said nothing just yet.

Opening the car, Diego beckoned Gen inside. "I'm taking you to the office, it's going to be a few hours drive. You want anything first? A cup of coffee or something?" Diego motioned over to the Evanstead cops. "Where there's cops, there's always doughnuts and coffee."

_______________________

As they walked out the building, Gen was suddenly it by an overwhelming and overtaking numbness and tiredness and all she wanted to do was curl up somewhere quiet where she can be alone and possibly sleep. Sleep sounded so good, and then she remembered that she hasn't properly slept in years and her dreams were probably now waiting for her with all new kinds of hells, so she quickly decided against it. As if she actually had a decision in this matter...

She leaned against Diego's car as she watched Diego spoke with somebody for a few moments - was this Al, his boss, or was it somebody else? Would Al even come down here from Texas for all of this? Either way, Diego looked tired, bruised and hurt, but he also looked focused and determined to convince the guy of something. She wondered what it could be about, she wondered just how pissed he was at her about everything under the calm exterior of his, she wondered just how she could convey him just how grateful she felt for everything he's done - both today and through all of this. How she could convince him that just because Juliana and Phoenix were angry and said some things, none of this was his fault, none of it was his incompetence or being bad at his job. He did the best he could with the cards he was dealt with - in this case her and her stupid recklessness.

It took her a few moments to realize that DIego finished his conversation and he was coming over to her, talking to her now. "What? Oh, I could use some coffee, that could go a long wa--" She gave him a look, finally realizing just what he told her before he asked about the coffee. "What do you mean you're taking me? You're not thinking about driving, right? Because you got beat up pretty badly and again, you could have a consussion, there's no way I'm letting you drive like that, Diego. You can just tell me where we're going and I can drive us there." And to emphasize her point, she held out her palm, demanding the car keys.

_______________________

With a motion of his hand towards one of the cops, they reluctantly brought over a single cup of black coffee. Diego took it with a wry thanks, taking a gulp first before handing the styrofoam cup to Gen. "I'm fine," he said stubbornly, getting in quickly because he had the keys and he knew Gen might try to demand them . Somehow, sitting inside the car meant she couldn't take the keys. Somehow...well, it made sense in his mind.

"Just get in, will you? You're not driving anywhere, you've been through some shit, in case you don't remember. Stare out the window and zone out for a bit. But drink your coffee first. We'll get some food when we get to the county office." A pause, and then he beckoned, "C'mon Gen."

It felt weird, saying her actual name out lout, outside. It didn't feel natural, which was a disturbing thought that Diego didn't want to think about right now. "Besides, I know the way to get there, and you don't. I'll be fine. Driving helps me concentrate, hm? If I'm not driving, I'll just get carsick."

_______________________

Gen gave him an appreciative smile as she took the coffee from him which quickly turned into an annoyed expression when she realized that Diego practically ran away from her and quickly jumped into the driver's seat just so she wouldn't argue with him. Even though she had a point, a really good point, she knew.

She opened the car door to the passanger side and without sitting in first she just said, "You know, you're a piece of work, Diego Chavez." But he was already sitting in the driving seat and it's not like she could drag him out of there and take the car key away from him, so she got in with a small huff. "But only because you say it helps you concentrate. And I'm still on the opinion that you should get yourself checked by a doctor first, just to make sure you're okay."

She settled into the seat and started sipping the coffee while the warehouse slowly got smaller and smaller behind them and the numbness slowly crept back. Their bickering managed to make her forget about everything for a few moments and felt like things were... somewhat normal, but the reality of what just transpired hit her like a rock once again. She really wished she could just forget about it all instead of replaying the way Juliana said she hated her, how Vivien held the gun at Diego determined to kill him, how much hate there was in Phoenix's voice when he made her promise never to speak to them again, how all of this could have been prevented if she just stayed on her ass and didn't go to LA, how---

"Who did you talk to? Back at the warehouse?" she asked Diego curiously, hoping that any kind of conversation would distract her and make her forget, even if just for a few moments. "Was that your boss, Al, or somebody else?"

_______________________

"The paramedic checked me out," Diego lightly protested, pulling down the car mirror and giving his face a tentative pat before they drove off. "Paramedics are like mini-doctors, aren't they? Close enough..." Gen sat there with her hand loosely resting on her thigh, and Diego glanced over at it, gathering the gumption to reach out and take her hand. Just to hold it, just for that physical connection to ground her. As if she was like a kite, about to float off into the atmosphere.

But then her hand balled up into a fist, and Diego knew her mind had shifted back to the reality that neither of them could avoid. He exhaled, and focused on the road ahead, reaching the exit for the highway. "That was Al Karga, my boss," Diego said with a nod. "I'm sorry I didn't make introductions then, but you'll see him when we reach county. He's meeting us there. I just wanted to get some time to...to talk with you and..."

Diego glanced over at Gen. "I know what was going on, last night...er. I mean this morning. I was supposed to come over for some training, but she was there instead and you - the two of you...." Diego reached over to Gen, pulling out a pack of cigarettes from the glove compartment. He put the cigarettes on her lap, motioning for her to light one up for each of them.

"Gen, you have to tell me how Vivien Salazar showed up in your apartment at 4 in the morning. I'm not accusing you of anything - I know it wasn't planned or anything, or you wouldn't have agreed to meet me at 4am this morning. I just want to know what happened."

_______________________

And there it was. The topic they probably would have discussed earlier already if Juliana wasn't kidnapped and the one topic Gen wished she didn't have to talk about. Partly because she didn't really have answers to Diego and partly because she was more than not happy with herself about how she reacted to certain things.

She slowly sank into the seat and looked at the coffee cup in her lap, unpopping and popping the lid of the cap off and back on just so she could do something with her hands. "I don't know, Diego. I know... I know this sounds stupid and technically speaking I can remember the steps that lead me to everything, but I also don't really know what happened. Which I know makes no sense whatsoever, but I don't really know how else to explain."

She took a quick glance at Diego before she looked away again. She didn't want to see the anger and the disgust he must have felt over her choices, that would have been too much at this point. "I-- She showed up before you and I thought you came early knowing I would probably be awake anyway or something, so I went to open the door and there she was. I thought I was dreaming. I thought I passed out somewhere in the apartment and I was living in some sick dream or my mind reached its capacity and it broke and now I was seeing things. And Then somewhere in the mids of it I realized that she was real but it still felt just a fucking dream and I just... I don't know, Diego, it just happened. I don't have a logical explanation for why I did it except maybe for a little bit my brain thought that if she was alive, all of the pain and the suffering could be erased and things could go back to the way things were before everything." Saying it out loud felt so ridiculous, so fucked up and untrue, she didn't have any idea how she could think that even just for a single moment, but that was the best explanation she could give.

"And then you showed up and reality hit and then... well, here we are, I guess." The lid of the cup broke as she kept popping and unpopping it and she just stared at it for a little bit before she spoke again. "I'm not proud of it. I know-- I know I fucked up, I know I never should have done it, I am kind of disgusted of myself that I could ever... I keep wrecking my brain how I could ever love her." SHe shook her head, her voice breaking a little bit. "How could I not see just how horrible of a person she is. But she wasn't like this when we were together. And I think up until today I somehow convinced myself that all of it, all the gang involvement must have been something that was forced upon her, that she couldn't get out of it for some reason or another but deep down she is actually a good person. What other explanation would be for how I never saw any of it, you know? But no, she showed her teeth today and I just-- she wanted to fucking kill you," se exclaimed. "She kidnapped Juliana and who the fuck knows what she's done to her while we didn't get here. She would have gone through anyone and anything without any remorse just to get to me and I--"

Her voice choked as she shook her head, burying her face into her free hand. SHe wanted to scream, she wanted to cry, she wanted to punch something, she wanted to get punched, she wanted to throw up, she wanted all of this to just go away. She wanted a break. Just five minutes she wanted to forget everything so she didn't have to feel everything that was swirling around inside of her.

_______________________

There was something intrinsic in Gen Soto that Diego understood well, because he could recognize it in himself - at least he was able to recognize it, after El Paso resulted in eight months of fighting with a trauma therapist. He thought he'd recognized it in Phoenix too, once upon a time. But now Diego figured the kid was simply had a purer, better, more righteous soul than Diego's, and perhaps even more than Gen's. Phoenix, for all his chaotic violence, wasn't dark inside. He was a good boy, candy-coated in a rough exterior.

And maybe Gen wasn't like this all her life either. Maybe her darkness, that curling, aching self-hatred that sabotaged herself and felt a bitter, repressed glory in being yelled at and punished, grew after her life all went to hell. After her innocent sister who Gen loved fiercely, was murdered in cold blood. After she was forced to relinquish her entire life for 'the greater good'. And what did that get her in the end? It left her with nothing. The FBI treated her like a witness, not a person. Any connections she'd desperately tried to make, were burned and salted now. Her only value lay in her testimony and now even that was in shambles, given that Vivien Salazar was alive.

And when a person was shown over and over that they were worthless, that they were bad, that they could only do wrong despite trying to damn hard to do right, eventually they began to believe it.

This, Diego understood.

He reached out and took her hand now, prying it away from the coffee cup. Diego drove silently, glad for the uncomplicated long stretch of relatively quiet highway as he laced his fingers with Gen's. "Hold on, alright? Just hold on," Diego told her. Whether he was referring to Gen holding onto his hand or holding on to a thread of sanity, remained unclear.

He remained quiet for a long while, processing all of this. "She might tell the FBI what happened," Diego gandered, finally. "She might say that you and her slept together. She might do whatever she can to throw you under the bus, if she's bent on taking you down with her. On the other hand, she might not say anything, if she feels she wants to keep that one...memorable memory between the two of you to herself. I don't know what she'll do, but if we - if you say one thing and she says another, it won't look good on you. Not to the FBI."

Diego glanced at her, and he kept talking, trying to engage her before she completely slipped away. "But Al will know better how to handle the Feds. I'll talk to him and - and I'll tell him what happened, all of it. Karga doesn't judge people. Or...well he does, but it doesn't influence his job. He's a good person, Gen, you can trust him to work in your best interests. And you know that I'm working in your best interests too, hm." He gave her hand a squeeze. "You know that, right. I can't promise anything, but I'm not letting you go without a fight. Or unless you want me to."

_______________________

Gen was lost in her bitter, boiling self-hatred that got ten times worse in the last 12 hours, all of it pouring out of her after repressing it to make sure Juliana was safe and okay and Vivien couldn't hurt her anymore. Her or anyone she cared about. So Diego's fingers prying her hand off of the coffee cup and taking her hand caused shock in her entire body. He was asking her to hold on, he was trying to help her, after everything she's done and fucked up, he was still trying to help her and she didn't understand how he could have it in him to not just tell her that she fucked up and she deserved all of this was beyond her. She didn't deserve this, not the smallest bit of kindness from him and still he was offering it and fuck it she was selfish and she was taking it. She also didn't feel like she had it in her to push his hand away.

She didn't say anything, she just squeezed his hand in what hopefully Diego understood was a grateful and thankful movement and while he talked, she kept her eyes on their hands. Interviened together, wondering what she did to deserve him. She treated him so horrible over and over again, and somehow he still reached out to her, tried to help her. He was probably only doing it from a sense of duty, but it still didn't deminish any of it in Gen's eyes.

She shook her head. "She's going to tell them," she said quietly. "When everyone burst in and she realized that I wasn't actually alone, that I didn't want to go with her and brought the cops on her, she-- she tried shooting me." She could still hear the clicks of the gun as Vivien fired, the dread she felt in that moment, and how the expected pain just didn't come. "The gun was empty. I'm not sure how she didn't know, but she tried. And I could see the betrayal and hatred and desperation in her eyes. She's gonna tell the FBI everything. Probably make it seem like I was involved all along, I just lied very well."

And you know that I'm working in your best interests too, hm.

She didn't get it. She simply didn't get why and for the first time since this conversation started, she looked over at him to try to read his expression, try to get an insight into his thoughts and his brain and figure out why he was still being so nice. Aside from being a good person, which he was, one of the best she knew and she beat herself up over just how long it took her to realize it. How much time she wasted on stupid arguments with him instead of seeing through it all, instead of recognizing how lucky she was that Diego Chavez walked into her life. And even on the edge of him walking out of her life all over again he was doing everything in him to help her.

She really, really fucked things up with him.

"Why?" she couldn't help herself and asked. "Why would Al want to have my best interest in mind? He doesn't know me, all he could see was all of my fuck ups and how much shit I brought on you." She stayed silent for a moment, her hands never letting go of him during all of this before she added, her voice even quieter than before. "And why are you still helping me? Why are you still being so kind?"

_______________________

Diego would have believed Gen's assessment of what Vivien would do, but the added surprise when Gen revealed that Vivien had tried to shoot her dead...."Jesus," Diego breathed, as he thought about that high-intensity situation, how any small mistake could have cost Gen or Juliana or Phoenix their life. It was sickening, and Diego swallowed hard, pushing that thought down. Vivien Salazar knew she had a sniper pointed at her head, yet she still tried to kill Gen anyway. He'd thought Gen was safe, but even while he was taking down Vivien's associate, she still could've gotten shot.

Diego closed his eyes for a couple seconds, unwilling to let himself go down that path.

"Alright, then the best thing to do is tell them the truth, but from your side of it. I'll back you up, I can confirm your story since we were going to train this morning." He glanced at Gen for a moment, trying to think about how to bring up the other elephant in the car.

"And...about us. What we...er. What we'd been doing from the past couple of months. We don't have to say anything to Al or anyone, about that."

When Gen asked 'why' though, Diego was at first surprised to hear the question. "Why wouldn't he?" Diego asked, somewhat mystified. "This is his job. You have to be protected, no matter what. Even if that means..." Diego pressed his lips together here, knowing this would be difficult to say. But it had to be said. "Even if it means hurting some people's feelings. No one's feelings matter when it comes to something like this, Gen. Not yours, or mine, or - or anyone else's. I'm sorry but that's how it has to be in order to take down a criminal like Salazar. Her entire operation is hurting hundreds of people - physically harming and destroying lives, doing bad things. It needs to be stopped and you're one of those keys. If some people feel sad about you needing to do what's right, then there's nothing you or I can do. Because this is bigger than any of us."

He said all this, but Diego knew that wasn't the answer Gen wanted to hear. Maybe she could handle such a wide-scale response about Al's motivations towards helping her, but for Diego's motivations, it felt a little too broad. It was true, this was his job. And although 'duty' seemed to be a dirty word for other people, it was a badge of pride for Diego. But in Gen's case, it was somewhat different, and Diego knew it.

"I don't like seeing good people go down," he said first. "You don't deserve to be treated badly, you were a victim in all of this. I want to do what's right. And Gen," Diego did his spiel and it was all true; so he allowed himself to tell her a deeper truth. "If I can help in anyway to make sure that one day you can be happy again, then I'd be happy too."

_______________________

Gen nodded in understanding and agreement. It was going to be a shitshow, she already knew it, but it would be an even bigger shitshow if she tried to hide it from the FBI. And hopefully Diego's word would have a weight in the matter. They could judge her all they want, she would understand all of it, as long as they didn't think she was in on anything Vivien was doing. "Thank you."

When he brought up the two of them, she frowned, not understanding why he even thought anything else would be an option in her head. "Of course not. I wasn't going to-- I was never going to say anything. I wouldn't get you in trouble like that." She let out a small sigh and shifted in her seat so her body was more angled towards him and she could look at him properly. "Listen, we didn't do anything that resulted in anything bad. I know, I know you consider it wrong. I heard you loud and clear when we talked about it and I get it, we weren't supposed to do anything. But we were two consenting adults having a bit of fun together and then we decided to stop and none of it affected anything you did. Nobody aside from Ellis knows and nobody would actually believe him. I'm never going to say anything, I promise. I'm not going to-- fuck, it would be the biggest fuck you to you, Diego, if after all the help and kindness you shown me, I repay it by fucking your entire career up."

She listened to his words, and the way Diego put it so professionally made her feel a little bit better. This wasn't about her and how she fucked up, it was about making sure that nothing took the focus off of Vivien and locking her up and making sure that she wouldn't hurt anyone ever again.

But when Diego said that she didn't deserve any of it, her insides were rising up to defy him, to argue with him. It felt nice, to think that after everything he still didn't think so badly of her, but it also didn't feel right. "Diego, I fucked up. I wasn't a victim, I could have easily not gone to LA but I was so hell bent sure I was doing the right thing that I acted without thinking. And then I was the one who sle... who slept with Vivien. Nobody made me do it, she didn't force me, I just fucked up. I wasn't the victim, I consistently made bad decisions over and over again."

But he kept talking, and her heart skipped a beat when she heard his last words. If I can help in anyway to make sure that one day you can be happy again, then I'd be happy too. It sounded almost as if he cared. As if he actually cared about her more than just her being his job, more than just her being somebody he had a fling with. It sounded like he was trying to tell her...

Gen shut herself down immediately before she managed to finish that thought. He was definitely not saying anything like that to her. If anything, he was trying to say that he wanted to make sure she got out of all of this happily and in one piece so that once his assignment is over, he can know for sure that he did everything he could and he helped. Nothing else. There couldn't be anything else behind his words because it would make no sense. He'd truly have to be concussed if he was trying to tell her anything else than that.

But even just him trying to be a good person and trying to leave this better than when he arrived, she still felt like she didn't deserve any of it and felt overwhelmed by everything Diego was saying and doing for her in that moment. "You know, I really don't deserve any of it," she said and maybe she should have let go of his hand. She tried, she really did, but this was one comfort in that moment that she couldn't give up. "I never deserved you as a handler, especially not after the way I treated you, and certainly don't deserve any of this now, but thank you. For all your help and support. And I'm sorry, for everything. And I don't just mean the last 12 hours, I mean everything."

_______________________

"Darc- Gen, sorry," Diego shook his head roughly, as if trying to shake the name 'Darcy' from his mind. "Gen, people fuck up. You've had four years where you didn't fuck up, and no one could've predicted that Vivien Salazar was actually alive. We all thought she was dead. Maybe someone in the FBI knew the truth...I don't know. Government conspiracies are for Phoenix, not for me." It was a grim joke, but not yet bitter.

"So yeah - you fucked up, but the consequences were something that no one could have predicted, at all. I was mad at you for running off to LA like that, you know that. But even in my worst case scenario of that blowing up and making trouble, I didn't even consider that Salazar would return from the dead and show up in fucking Sunnymead. I mean...goddamn, the woman's been alive all this time? How the fuck did she manage to get shot and convince everyone she was dead, but she was just disappeared? I saw the photos of her dead on the apartment floor..." Diego knew Gen did as well, photos that the FBI probably showed her while they'd interrogated her, before she was put in witness protection.

"So what the fuck even happened, between the medical examiner proclaiming she was dead, and her managing to somehow get out of there alive? Whatever happened all those years back..." Dieog shook his head. "Okay, maybe Phoenix might have good reason to build those crazy conspiracies of his, because damn knows I can't fathom how we got from there to here."

He'd gone off on a tangent, but at least he could afford to with Gen. Because these were probably questions that she'd have too, eventually.

"Anyway. Point is, Gen, that despite what those kids say about 'you should have known better', they don't know the full story. You couldn't have known better than Vivien Salazar being fucking alive when she'd been dead right up until 13 hours ago."

He took a breath, then got off on an exit and pulled in to a McDonald's drive-thru, suddenly ravenous. They could afford the stop, it would only take a few minutes. "So yeah, you fucked up. But you fucked up at a hundred, and this blew up to a million. That's what I mean, by you don't deserve this. You don't deserve to find out that the woman you thought was dead, was actually alive all this time, and hunting you down like a dog out of some crazy fucking idea of love. You don't deserve to find out this same fucking woman killed your sister. You don't deserve - hold on - yeah, can I get two bacon muffin meals? Extra large coffees." Diego hollered out of his open window to the drive-thru speaker, before driving forward. He pulled out his wallet, to get his credit card.

"And don't give me that crap," he said, giving her a small, if somewhat sad smile. "You didn't treat me any worse than I treated you, and we both know that's true. You're just carrying on that curb-stomping that Phoenix and Juliana gave you over them getting swept up in this shit. Funny things about those kids is, I get the feeling they're more angry about being kept in the dark, than the actual kidnapping. It's like they think if they somehow knew you were in hiding and being hunted down, the kidnapping would be more bearable. Kids..."

Diego took the bags of food and coffee, handing it to Gen to give her something to do before driving off again. "Eat," he instructed her. "It's gonna be a couple more hours drive."

_______________________

"You don't have to call me-- you can call me Darcy, you know," she told him. "I know it must be weird to suddenly switch over, so you don't have to worry about that, you know." And Gen had a whole different meaning not so long ago. It was just between them, for their intimate and private moments only and hearing the name in such different context was already weird for her. Not to mention that the slip up... that is how she felt about herself in general.

"It's gonna sound weird cause I spent so much time wanting to get rid of Darcy and being able to just be me, but now that the possibility of being Genevieve Soto again, even if just for a little while, letting go of Darcy feels... strange. Hard. Not really sure how can I ever do it." She shook her head. "And yes, I do realize that I'm talking about two names as if it belongs to two different people it's just... weird in my head right now." More like fucked up in her head, but she probably didn't need to specify that. She was positive DIego was well aware of that at this point.

Diego sounded so... reasonable as he explained everything and took most of the blame off of Gen's shoulders. She was glad he didn't deny that she fucked up, she would have jumped in and argued with him about it until they reached their destination if she needed, but now she just listened and took it all in. Logically, she knew he had a point. But her mind and her heart was in such a bad place in that moment that she couldn't fully believe it, she was trying to find inconsistencies in everything he was telling her. Later she would realize that he was right, but in that moment she quietly disagreed with him while appreciating the sentiment that he was trying to do.

There was one thing that she remembered, though, prompted by his words. "Do you think Tyler Ellis is involved with them?" she asked, not really sure what to believe about the guy anymore. "He knew, Diego. I didn't believe him then, but he clearly knew Vivien was alive and looking for me. Do you think he could have had anything to do with her? Maybe not now, not about me, but Vivien said her people were tailing him, remember? Could it be that they had dealings in the past and Tyler fucked her over too? Or tried to at least?"

She was so wrapped up in their conversation, in Diego's words, she didn't even realize they got off the highland until Diego turned to give his order, making Gen look around in confusion only to realize they were in a McDonalds drive through. She wasn't going to say no to the coffee, though. That sounded like a great idea.

"I know we were shit to each other in the beginning, but I'm still sorry. And I'm especially sorry for the later bits. I feel like I promised you things and then went and did the opposite while I convinced myself that I was keeping my word. And it wasn't okay. And as for Phoenix and Juliana... they just thought they could trust me. And I lied to them from the first moment I met them. I know I didn't have a choice, but that doesn't mean they aren't right to be angry with me. I was supposed to be their friend and I spent all my time lying to them. I just wish... You know, it's really fucked up to say this, but I just wish if I had to leave, I could have left without them finding out like this. Without seeing the hurt in them." It would be something she'd carry with herself for the rest of her life for sure.

They got the food and the coffee, and when Diego told her to eat, she couldn't help the roll of her eyes. "You still just like bossing me around, don't you?" She put the food down to her legs, though, instead of actually eating, and took a sip of her coffee. "Maybe later, though. I doubt I could keep anything solid down right now and I'm assuming you don't want me throwing up in the car right now."

She looked out the window for a little while before she spoke again. "Do you think they'll drag Juliana into all of this, too? Make her testify about the kidnapping to make their case against Vivien one more layer stronger?"

_______________________

"Okay. Well..." Diego started to say about calling Gen by Darcy or her real name, but it seemed like she had a lot more to say on the subject. So Diego quieted and listened, intrigued by this glimpse into Gen's mind. It was an important topic albeit a harmless one, and Diego was glad for it. "Well, you are a very weird person," he said, gently teasing her. "But I don't really know how it feels, to be both people yet neither at the same time. You really did do your best to become Darcy Palmer, just like the FBI wanted you to be. Not everyone who gets put in witness protection has had that ability."

He figured from her silence that Gen didn't quite agree on his exhortations of her culpability (or lack thereof), but he didnt pursue it. It would be a conversation that would come up many times over, from different angles. All Diego could do was be present whenever Gen needed to bring it up. He just wanted to be that counterpoint to the doom and gloom that threatened to take over her psyche.

But at her question about Tyler Ellis, and the more Gen pointed out the man's possible involvement, the angrier Diego got. He reached out. "Gimme one a' them McMuffins," he said, his Texan accent sprawling out, before he took a bite of the sandwich. He ate for a moment, keeping the muffin in his lap while he carefully gulped down coffee. "Y'know what, I'll call Rita, get her on it," he decided. "And I'll mention it to Al as well. You make some good points, and if he had fucking anything to do with this then..." Diego shook his head. "Well, if I ever see him again, I'd like to rearrange his face. Worse than how Vivien rearranged mine."

His head was aching - his jaw getting stiff, one eye getting increasingly puffy, and his headache pounding. The coffee and food helped a bit, but Diego stubbornly kept driving. He didn't push Gen to eat, although he would again after about an hour or so, just so she could get something in her belly. Either that, or maybe she'd pass out from exhaustion, hopefully get an hour of dreamless sleep before waking up to the nightmare that was her life.

When Gen mentioned that she'd lied to the kids, Diego nodded. "You lied to them, sure. Because that was what you were told to do. And as far as you understood, it was the best way to keep them - and everyone in that town - safe. You were good at suppressing everything and keeping your mouth shut. You should be applauded for the willpower it took, not vilified. You were told to lie and you did, for survival. I'm not saying they shouldn't be sore about it, but they also aren't interested in understanding your situation either. Maybe in time, but I wouldn't hold your breath. Nothing you can do about it but move on, Gen. Some people can't understand, and some people will just refuse to understand. You can't please everyone, I'm sorry. There's nothing you can do to fix it for them." But he felt it was cruel to sound so absolute about it. And even if the hope was in vain (because Diego was 100% sure those kids had effectively cut Gen off permanently), he added, "Not right now, anyway. It's too raw."

But when she asked about Juliana testifying, Diego swore under his breath. "Shit...maybe. But maybe Al can pull some strings with the New York state attorney. Once Vivien's extradited back to New York, they might have enough of a case that they won't need any more testimony from some girl from California. I'll find out if maybe they can just take a deposition from her. I doubt they'll be flying her to New York or anything. And I doubt she'd agree to go anyway, even if she got subpoena'd." Although it was literally against the law to refuse, well, the law, Diego could honestly envision Juliana serving jailtime for contempt in court rather than volunteering testimony. "I'd rather not give anyone in that town a reason to resist a summons."

_______________________

"Everyone has weird, hidden talents, right?" Gen tried joking. "I guess mine was pretending to be somebody else. Maybe I chose myself the wrong profession and should have become an actor." Except she could never see herself in front of the camera, not really. Part of the reason she loved interpreting so much was that she wasn't in the front, she was usually just a shadow in the corner, sometimes just a voice in an earpiece. "But really, all of it just feels incredibly weird and confusing. Way too confusing. Mostly just confusing."

If it was any other situation, it would have been kind of amusing to watch Diego get angrier and angrier as she spoke and then his resolution to it being eating a McDonalds muffin - she probably would have teased him about it, instead now she just gave him the muffin when he asked. And then he brought up Rita and her heart clenched. Yes, right, Rita. She was still in the picture and she was already looking into Ellis, why wouldn't he call her up and ask for some additional digging. He probably didn't even need calling her up, they would meet up sooner or later anyway.

Not that it concerned her in any way, shape or form. It was Diego's decision and she wanted him to be happy. It just... well, it sucked to know he already moved on when she just realized that she was in love with him. Fuck, she was in love with him. In all of this she didn't even have time to process that information. She stole a small glance at him and her heart started beating faster. So many things suddenly made so much sense from the last couple of months. But it didn't matter. It didn't matter and she shouldn't be thinking about this anyway because it was never going to work, and he deserved better than her anyway. This was the best possible way everything between them could have gone.

"Yeah. Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. The more people look into it, the bigger the chance that if he had anything to do with Vivien, it comes to light. That's smart," she agreed, keeping her voice lighter, not wanting to show anything that was going down in her head to Diego. He was already dealing with a mess of a person in her, he didn't need her hurt feelings in the mix as well.

She thought about asking Diego how Rita was doing, just out of politeness, but she quickly realized that that would be too much. She wanted Diego to be happy, yes, and if that meant being with Rita, so be it, she seemed like an amazing woman when Darcy met her. But that didn't mean that she wanted to hear him talk about it.

She knew that technically speaking, Diego was speaking the truth. Well, mostly. But even if it was true, that didn't mean she didn't feel shitty about all of it. It was her problem about the lying this entire time - she felt guilty about it through it all. The ironic thing about it all was that the one thing she felt guilty over was also the one thing she excelled at. Somehow it was easy to play Darcy, easy to get lost in her and become her. Maybe because while she was Darcy, she could ignore her pain and her past and all the shit that was in her head.

Gen shook her head. "No, never. They will never be able to forgive me for this. Maybe if all of it came out sooner, a lot sooner, or maybe if I told them the truth in a completely different situation where neither of their lives were in danger, then maybe with time they could have forgiven me. But not like this. Not after everything Juliana was put through. And definitely not with me leaving Sunnymead. They get through this, move on, and I'll always be that horrible person in their lives who lied to them and got Juliana hurt. And yes, I know, I can't really do anything about it," she added before Diego would have said anything, "it just hurts. To leave like this. And not really be able to do anything at all to make things even a little bit better."

She nodded. "It'd be nice. I'm pretty sure she's just going to want to forget about all of it, dragging her up to New York wouldn't be good for her." She rubbed her forehead and took another sip of the coffee. "She said... she said Vivien was asking her if she wanted to be hanged or shot. While she was holding a gun to her head. I-- yeah, it's gonna be hard enough for her to get through that, the last thing she needs is all the different parties to force her to retell everything over and over again just so they can direct it and try to poke holes into her story." Just thinking about it sent shivers down her spine. Juliana didn't deserve any of it. And she brought all of this on her.

_______________________

"Time to work through that confusing all over again," Diego said gently, and he really did mean that Gen had time. Because with Vivien Salazar arrested, one could only hope that crime syndicate wasn't a hydra beast with multiple heads. Diego didn't really know the details of the FBI's case, since he was on a need-to-know basis. And his assignment was Darcy Palmer, not an international gang. Ultimately, and unfortunately, it would be up to the FBI once more to decide Gen's fate.

He ate slower now, contemplating the future ahead of Gen, and his own future. That might be something worth bringing up. "I do mean it, y'know. I talked to Al, said I still wanted to deal with this case in my capacity, to the end. Escorting you and all that. He said he'd see what he could do." He grunted. "Sometimes it's like asking your parents if you can go to the county fair. That none-committal 'we'll see' response. But I think it's only right and we don't know yet what risk you're facing now. So...even if they have to send you back to New York, I'll do my damndest to come with you."

He made the statement in such an abrupt way, that the immediate silence afterwards before Gen responded felt gargantuan to Diego. He covered it up by finishing up his food, and then flicking on the car radio to some hazy country channel.

In a masochistic way, it was easier to talk about Juliana and Phoenix, than about his own loyalty to Gen. And Diego just nodded as Gen came to realize that her time in Sunnymead was officially over. "The news'll get around to the rest of the town, everyone will eventually know and they'll all react however they're gonna react. That's just the way it is. You'll never be able to make amends for what happened. I know you've learned how to live with that sort of inability." After all, Gen had to quietly mourn the murder of her own sister, with no one to comfort her, no funeral she was allowed to attend, no memory of her sister beyond a hidden photo. She just had to bury that trauma and horror away, and pour coffee and serve pancakes for a town who was blissfully unaware of her grief and trauma.

And there was nothing Gen had been able to do about it, at the time. She couldn't bring her sister back. She just had to live with knowing that innocently falling in love with someone - doing something good and generally applauded as a virtuous emotion - had destroyed her sister. In comparison to Olivia's brutal murder, lying to a town under federal orders in the hopes of keeping the town and herself safe, seemed (in Diego's mind) to be considerably less of a travesty.

These were things he'd tried to impress on Phoenix when they'd driven to Evanstead, but he doubted the kid would recall any of their conversation now, or ever.

"It'll hurt for a long time, Darcy," Diego said. "But you can't make it better, no. It seems at least they understand that, so you have to accept it too. I'm sorry. I know their opinions and feelings meant a lot to you. But they're good kids, at the end of the day, and they got a support system. Phoenix has got that whole family to circle him like a protective wall, and Juliana has her dad. They're gonna eventually recover and they're strong enough to move on, and you need to do the same."

He agreed wholeheartedly about the idea of Juliana giving testimony. "She's been through enough," he said with a sigh, balling up the muffin wrapper and lobbing it into the backseat for now. "Hopefully she'll never have to experience anything like that again, for the rest of her life. Those poor kids..." Diego reached over and held Gen's hand again. "I know it's not gonna be easy to let them go, honey. They were the closest thing you had to family in that town, weren't they."

_______________________

"Yeah, I feel like I gotta work through a lot of shit now," she agreed. If the FBI decided to relocate her, she would have to figure out a whole new person and if now that Vivien was captured, she would be able to live her own life without their input in it, then... well, then she would have to figure everything out. Both options felt daunting and terrifying.

Gen didn't really understand Diego and definitely didn't understand why he wanted to stay on her case, even come to New York with her if that is where she would be sent there for everything that was about to come. She figured he couldn't get away from her fast enough, but he probably just wanted to see all of this through. He put a lot of work into making sure she was okay and alive and safe, he was probably just wanted to make sure she got out of this okay in the end. "You know, I don't think I've ever heard anyone use the county fair as an example that their parents gave the 'we'll see' answer to," she teased him. "What about your probation? The end of it is coming up, right? What would all of this mean for that?"

She gave a small shrug. "I don't think I really learned how to cope with it, I just didn't have any other choice, you know." It was probably the darkest time of her life, not knowing anything aside from the barest of facts while not being able to even talk to anyone about it or grieve properly.

"But hey, at least I gave the town months worth of gossip and speculation, right?" she tried to make a light of the situation. "All the wild theories they will come up with and hopefully at least some of them will make out of to be some badass evil genius who hid away in Sunnymead until my associate arrived to we can reunite and take over the world or something." Fuck, she was going to miss those gossips. They were stupid and farfetched and she knew most of it was probably incorrect, but it was something she came to love and appreciate for what they were and it was an amusement to listen to the people come into the Grub and tell them to her.

And the Grub. Fuck. She built that place from the ground up, it was her baby and she was never going to see it again either. Never going to hear Jose not so subtly tell her to eat the food he made for her or Flo charming the customers into buying extra for their loved ones and taking it to go, or Big Frank's big drunk speeches, half of which were not even understandable. The best she could do is figure out a way to make sure the place could run, but she was out of there at this point. And once the news of what happened would spread, the people would probably be happy she was out of there, too.

She pushed those thoughts aside and wiped the small tear from her eyes. She didn't want to cry, not again. While she was growing up, she always assumed there was a certain amount of crying that a person can do, that there was a maximum limit, and now she wished more than anything that could be the case because she was so tired of crying. And she was definitely tired of crying in front of Diego.

So she focused on Diego's words instead. "Yeah, that at least makes things better. And they have each other too, which is nice. I'm glad they realized they were perfect for each other. They were so ridiculous when I first met them, you know. Just so oblivious about their own and the other's feelings."

When he reached over to hold her hand again, Gen froze for a moment in surprise. She understood the first time he did it, she milked it as much as she possibly could, too, not letting it go until it was absolutely necessary, but it made no sense why he would reach out again. And then he called her honey and it was like all of her systems shut down in her brain for a moment as she tried to wreck her brain to remember if she heard him call anyone else honey. It was one thing he didn't call her that for most of the time they've known each other, they were giving each other so much shit for most of it, it would make sense why he didn't use it, but he must have used it for others in town, right? This was just a general endearment from him that he used for anyone he remotely cared about. Because the alternative was that... but no. He made it clear he moved on, that he thought the two of them were wrong and that he didn't want it. It was just a term of endearment, nothing else.

"They were, yeah," she said, maybe a bit too slow, the pause definitely noticable. She hoped he didn't actually put it together what was the reason and just assumed it was hard for her to talk about it. "It's weird, I was so sure I could just do it without making connections, without getting close to anyone. And I didn't want to, you know. I think I was so deep in the grief I wanted to reject anything genuine and real. And then they happened. Well, really, the entire town happened. It was such a huge change from New York and I was determined to hate everything and then I fell in love with the people and the town and yeah, Phoenix and Juliana were my family there."

"I mean... I never told you this because I knew you would freak out, but Phoenix and I did this tattoo exchange." She raised her hand a bit to point at the little phoenix that Phoenix did a bit below her wrist (never letting Diego's hand go in the process, she might have not understood why he was doing it, but it didn't mean she was going to stop it). "He made this with his DIY tatttoo set which I didn't even realize was a thing until he point out that a bunch of his tattoos were done on himself by himself. Anyway, it was this cool bonding friendship thing and in return I made him one too, and on a whim I decided to give him a little G cause I wanted it to be real and genuine and not based on a lie. I told him this bullshit about how there's a word for friendship in German that starts with a G and that is why I wanted to do that. I guess he's never going to look at that thing the same way either."

_______________________

"Well, I was only eight at the time, and the county fair was a few towns over," Diego said with a smile, but didn't bother getting into it too much. Talking about his own family - particularly his childhood - had never come naturally to him. Not that there was anything bad in his past (not from his point of view, anyway) but simply because it was over, and he was in his forties, and he'd had enough of poring over his childhood during therapy. He nodded when Gen brought up the probation though, figuring that was what she'd think about next. "Al said later this week, I'll be evaluated once and for all about my return to work. My record ain't exactly been sparkling, so frankly I'm not sure what'll happen to me. But all I want is to make sure I don't get reassigned. Given Vivien's arrest, I'm hoping they'll handwave my request and let me continue on with you."

Diego drained the rest of his coffee. "Al's got my back," he said, as if trying to convince himself as well. Not that he didn't trust Al, but more he was worried that he'd fucked things up beyond any right to make any requests, and not even Al could pull him out of the grave that Diego had dug for himself. But that was a problem for another day.

He smiled as Gen tried to make light jokes about the gossip mill of the town, but he held her hand a bit tighter as she joked. He knew the jokes would soon turn into affection and nostalgia, and then soon after, the pain and agony of realizing how much she was going to lose now. She'd lost so much before, four years ago, and now she was going to lose again.

"Enough to make you never want to get close to anyone ever again, huh," Diego said quietly, completing his internal thought out loud. He glanced over at Gen. "What I mean is, twice now everything you've tried to build has been torn away from you. Careful lady - you're gonna get yourself some sorta psychological complex from all of this. Your new life's gonna be all about isolation and lone-wolfing it to protect other people around you, or something like that, hm?" Diego smiled wryly. "Good heart like yours, that sort of life isn't sustainable, not without a part of you dying inside."

He didn't know why he was saying this to Gen. Or Darcy. Or whomever this woman might be, after the FBI were done with her. He just wanted to let her know that despite being so identity-less, she still wasn't completely alone.

Of course Darcy had fallen in love with Sunnymead. They town had been kind and accepting, and her lost, kind-hearted soul craved that sort of comfort given how broken and damaged it had been when she'd first been placed in the town. Of course these rambunctious kids charmed her, likely reminded her of her own siblings. (Not the romance part of it, of course).

But when Gen confessed that the tattoo she had on her wrist was a recent thing meant to symbolize Phoenix, Diego was taken by surprise. "A...DIY...tattoo kit?" Diego repeated, aghast at the thought. "Please tell me it came with explicit instructions on sterilization." Obviously it ended up fine since Gen wasn't sitting here stricken with tetanus or blood poisoning or anything; but Diego, being prissy about cleanliness, was still horrified at the thought. Then again, he was the type of guy who'd never dream of getting a tattoo or piercing. He was far too straight-edged (and square) for that.

"He got a 'G' for you...jesus, Gen," Diego sighed, and motioned for another cigarette. He screwed it into his mouth once she lit it, winding the window down a bit and turning up the fan. "Jesus christ. Unbelievable."

_______________________

Gen smiled softly. He barely talked about his past, especially his childhood, so any tidbit was happily welcomed on her part. She usually didn't ask because she didn't want to push, he would talk about it if he wanted to, but it was him wo brought it up in the first place, so she didn't feel bad asking about it a bit more. He could always just say he didn't want to talk about it. "Did you get to go to a lot of them when you were a kid? Or was going to the county fair was considered a big thing?"

Gen frowned as Diego talked about what would happen next for him. "Wait, so it's not Al who's doing your evaluation? I thought it would be him since he's your boss. Technically they never talked about the details, though, so she wasn't sure why she even thought it would be Al who does it. Maybe because he was his immediate boss. "They have to take it into account that it's not like you could possibly predict Vivien returning. Either they didn't know as well or they did know and forgot to tell you about it and holding it against you either way wouldn't be fair. And anyway, your job was to keep me safe and alive, and here I am, safe and alive, right?"

God, she really hoped he wouldn't be reassigned. That would not only mean probably never seeing Diego again and one more loss on a long list now, but a completely new person who would try to micromanage her in a completely new way which she wasn't sure she could handle right now, not amongs all of this shit.

"What makes you thing someting inside of me isn't already dead?" The question came quietly, but it was out of her mouth before Gen could even realize what she was saying. She vinced right after it. That really wasn't the kind of thought she would have wanted to say out loud, not even in front of Diego. There was a certain kind of darkness that she prefered to keep inside and not show.

She shook her head. "I didn't mean-- What I meant was, everything that happened isn't really a ringing endoresement towards trying to make new connections, you know? I know I did it once when I didn't intend to, but... I can't really see myself going through the same process again. Even if it'll be incredibly lonely. Who am I to drag other unknowing, innocent people into all of my shit all over again." She shouldn't have done it in Sunnymead either, and see how that turned out.

It was amusing, the way Diego visibly freaked out over the DIY tattoo even though it has been months since it happened and clearly nothing bad came out of it. "I didn't realize there were those kinds of kits either until Phoenix told me about them, but the ones we used were just fine. Nice sterilization and I think we used some alcohol, too. It wasn't so bad, I swear. And in my defense," she added as she got herself a cigarette too (she needed one so badly for a while now, her fingers were practically itching for the familiar motions), "all of this happened when we were still at each others' throats. And he believed me about the German word thing, too. I was kind of terrified at first that he'd look it up and realize it was all a lie, but it never happened and I know it's bad, but it felt good to do something that was me, the real me, even if he didn't realize it then."

She rolled the window down at her side just enough so the smoke could go out (though the way the incoming wind blew her hair felt nice, made her feel alive for a few moments, which was a welcome change), and she closed her eyes and sunk into her seat. "I keep saying I'm going to quit, and then shit happens and fuck, I needed a smoke so badly."

_______________________

"Went to a few of 'em," Diego replied evenly. "In Texas we take our fairs very seriously." And by that of course, Diego meant that like everything in Texas, county and state fairs had to be bigger, louder, and more everything than any other fair in any other state. His tone was mild but fond, even a little wistful.

He shook his head about Al doing his evaluation. "No, the California state office would do the evaluation, since I'm jurisdicted in their state and they're considered impartial on the matter. Basically, they don't know me from diddly squat. Which is both good and bad, depending on how they read my reports. " He knew how weirdly invested Gen was in his succeeding at his job. In a way, it was rather touching, that she was so invested. It was like just as he was obsessed with making sure she was kept safe and alive, she had somehow become occupied with making sure he kept his job. So he went into some detail.

"Tyler Ellis was relocated to LA, so one thing going for me, is that Rita can submit her own findings to the California state office, and her report will be taken into consideration with my case. It's all...very bureaucratic, but that's just the way the system works. I just try and play by the rules." He gave Gen a quirked eyebrow. "When you're not running around making me bend those rules, of course."

He didn't say it with any vehemence or vitriol. If anything, it was just one more tease.

But the joking faded, when Gen questioned herself. Her voice was so quiet, Diego only barely made her out. "Listen, the older we get, the more shit we have to go through, parts of you are already dead, or dying. Can't help it, Gen, none of us can. But so long as you're still here with me, still being your curious self and thinking about the future, then I think you're managing it well enough." He tugged her hand to make her look at him. "So stay with me, hm?"

Diego wasn't afraid of Gen's darkness. If anything, he tried to understand it, wanted to include it as a part of Gen that existed within her. That darkness could never be eradicated, not after what she'd been through. But that didn't mean it should be shunned or ignored, and Diego wanted to make sure Gen had someone around, who could reassure her that it was okay sometimes to sink into those dark, morose thoughts. Someone who could pull her out of them, whenever it got too deep.

God, he really did love her.

"I don't have an answer for you," he said honestly, when she spoke about her folly in trying to make connections. "But blaming yourself for a situation you could've never prepared yourself for isn't going to help either. Maybe one day you'll see that too, Gen."

He snorted then, when she tried to assure him this DIY tattooing was safe. "Well, now you're left with a memory on your wrist, and he's left with searching for a DIY tattoo-removal kit on amazon.com."

Puffing on his own cigarette, he shrugged. "One bad habit at a time, Gen. One at a time. Right now, a smoke and a drink are all I can think about. And in this case, I believe it's warranted..." He looked over at her again, dropping his cigarette into the coffee cup. "Why don't you get a bit of rest, hm? Just close your eyes, even if you can't go to sleep."

_______________________

"I'm sure you do." Diego might have not said a lot, but even with the few words Gen could easily tell that he was thinking back to those events with fondness and that he loved Texas in general. She figured he missed it, a lot, all this time he was away, which only really made him wanting to stay with her 'till the end of it even more baffling to her. In her mind, though, eventually, whether it be right after his probation ended or after she was reassigned to somebody else or free to do whatever she wanted, or maybe years and years from now in a completely different situation, but in her mind he always went back to Texas. You can't really love a place that much and not wish to get back to it sooner or later.

She wished she could experience it with him, though. She was never really interested in Texas, she's never been there and it wouldn't have been her first destination if she could have gone anywhere, but hearing Diego talk about it, she would have loved to see it with him, where he showed her all the thing he loved and she could see the place through his eyes. Not that it would actually happen, but it was a nice thought at least.

She didn't know anything about how these processes worked, so she listened to Diego intently, nodding here and there to show she was listening and understood. "That sounds like a really paper-pushing process to me, but I guess as long as you pass, that's what counts, right? And if Rita can submit her evaluation, can Al write a recommendation, too, about his assessment? Or is that not how this works?" She managed to hear Rita's name from him and say it herself without showing any signs of pain, small victories. "And sorry about the rule-bending, but I'm pretty sure most of those didn't make it into the reports, right? You should be good." She really hoped he wasn't going to fail his assessment because she did something stupid and reckless and people end up blaming it on him.

A beat of silence while she put the cigarette between her lips before she added. "Speaking of rule-bending, by the way... do you think there's any chance of you getting back those pictures that are somewhere in your apartment?" she asked carefully, her eyes wandering out the window instead of looking at him. "I know it's not-- it might not matter, depending on how everything goes, but if there's any chance for me to have the one with my family on it, I... even if it's just with you and not with me, you know, I'd like that." She didn't even want to see the one where she was so happy with Vivien on it, even thinking about it twisted her stomach, but just knowing she had it somewhere close would have meant the world to her.

Ever since they got into the car, Diego did everything in his power to make sure she didn't fall apart. No, really, he's been doing that for a lot longer. And she wasn't completely sure what she's done to deserve it or how she got so lucky, but she was so grateful for him. Somehow each time she felt like she was drowning and sinking to the bottom of the ocean, he was there pulling her up to the surface, making sure she could breathe and didn't sink in her own darkness any further. And she wasn't sure how long he would be able to do that, how long she could actually grab onto his hand and follow him to a place in her head where it maybe wasn't that fucked up, but as long as he would be try, she would do the same.

She squeezed his hand back and kept squeezing it, closing her eyes and just trying to breathe for a few moment before she actually looked at him. "I can't promise you that I-- I am not sure what's going to happen and what my-- I can't promise that, but I will try, okay? I will try my hardest." It was the best she could manage in that moment, but maybe that would be enough.

She tilted her head to look at him, pondering over his words before she quietly said, "That goes both ways, Diego. I hope you know that." She saw him blame himself for so many things that weren't anywhere near his fault. Way too many times.

She gave a little shrug and took a drag from the cigarette. "At least I still have something that reminds me of the good, you know. Except this time it's on my wrist and not a picture." Even if looking at it now meant only pain and remembering everything from the past 12 hours, but it had to change at some point, right? "As for Phoenix... I'm pretty sure he'll just turn it into something that has nothing to do with me and hopefully with time he won't completely hate it. But either way, I won't know." Which was probably for the best, for her sanity's sake.

He was probably right, she needed some rest. But the idea of falling asleep into her a new set of nightmares was terrifying, and she was still worried about Diego. His face was getting worse and deeper color and maybe he was okay now, but what if something happened while she was out? "Are you okay, though? Are you sure you're good to drive?" she asked, ignoring his suggestion. "I know you're big, tough guy who can conquer everything and all of that, but if you need a little break, I can drive too. It's still a long drive."

_______________________

"More or less how it works," Diego replied easily, about his job evaluation. The details weren't interesting enough for him to delve into with a civilian, but he knew this was also just one of Gen's coping mechanisms. To make decisions and plans and envision how things were supposed to go. He wondered if she had always been a planner, or if that need to make sense of things out loud developed when she'd lost control of her entire life. Either would make sense, for different reasons. The Gen Soto who Diego didn't know was a world-traveler, who worked a job he considered quite cosmopolitan and modern. She spoke for important people around the world: business executives, politicians, medical professionals; and she spoke to the listening public. He imagined she would've had to have been a person who had to always be thinking ahead, always professionally be on her toes.

And then, for four years, she had to make a complete turnaround as her entire life was forcibly replaced by a totally new life. And she'd done it so well, too. That frustrated Diego more than anything else. That the thing she'd been so good at doing for four years, that the FBI exemplified her as an ideal witness placement program candidate, was what she'd be vilified for by the people she actually loved.

Gen didn't give a damn about FBI approval, after all. But she hid the truth out of responsibility and duty, because she had to. Not because she wanted to. He fwapped the steering wheel to release some of his mounting aggravation.

"Goddammit," he swore. "They just couldn't see that you didn't have a choice. You didn't have a choice, Gen. You shouldn't be persecuted for something that you weren't allowed to control. They're blaming the victim, and that's just...fucking..." He grabbed the pack of cigarettes from her lap and lit another one for himself. "...myopic. But anyway. It's over now."

He'd already thought about those secret photos of hers, before Gen brought them up. So he readily nodded when she asked about retrieving them. "When this part of it is over, hopefully later this week I'll be able to head back into Sunnymead and get some things. I'll clear out my apartment-" Which would be easy, the apartment had come furnished and he hadn't brought much- "And I'll get some things from yours. The hedgehog, and whatever else you want me to take? Let me know and I'll grab it for you."

He was still so steamed that he was hyper-focused on driving and smoking. He didn't notice that Gen was looking at him; it also didn't help that his right eye was swollen enough that his periphery on that side was diminished. Besides, if he did look over enough to catch the look on her face, in her large dark eyes, Diego probably wouldn't have known what to do or say. As it was, he just assumed that she was staring in a daze out the window. But at least she still held onto his hand, like the lifeline that she promised she'd try to hold onto.

"I'm good, I'm good," Diego assured her, pressing the gas pedal a bit harder. "Gonna speed up a bit though. If state patrol stops us then I'll just flash the badge. But truth is my back teeth are floating." Meaning, in macho-dude speak, that his bladder was full. All that coffee ran straight through him. "We're about forty-five minutes away now. Thirty if I push it."

He looked over at Gen then, but by then she wasn't looking at him. "God, I'm getting too old for all this wild shit. Maybe a boring old desk job'll suit me fine."

_______________________

Diego getting visibly angry at Phoenix and Juliana kind of broke Gen's heart. She remembered Diego saying about about Phoenix and him having a talk during the drive to Evanstead and she wasn't completely sure how it went, but now she was half convinced that he spent most of it trying to convince Phoenix not to be angry at her and didn't really succeed. Which, she could understand, Phoenix put all his trust in her and she lied and lied and lied, it made sense that Phoenix wasn't going to forgive her so easily. But seeing just how deeply it frustrated Diego that they couldn't forgive her made her heart ache. "Hey, don't be angry at them, okay? They were in a shock and they barely had time for anything. Please, don't be angry at them."

Relief washed over Gen when Diego reassured her that he would be coming back to Sunnymead and packing things up, including her picture was in his plans. It might have been stupid, she hasn't seen those pictures in months at this point, not since Diego took them and hid them in his apartment somewhere, but over the years she created such connection to them, they were what kept her memories alive in certain moments. "Thank you."

And then Diego mentioned her hedgehog and she cursed under her breath. "Fuck, Vex, I totally forgot about her. She's a living creature and I thought about a fucking picture sooner than my hedgehog. I should call somebody to make sure she is fed until you can go back. And I should probably call everyone who works at the Grub, too. I told them the place is closed for the day but that's just temporary solution, can't exactly just disappear on them."

She pulled the phone out of her pocket and just stared at it. Nobody knew what happened yet. If she called anyone, she would have to explain everything to them because they sure as hell would have questions. And some would understand, probably, but having to tell everything over and over again and hear the silence on the end of the phone and the more than probably negative reactions... She pulled up a text chain and quickly (as quick as her texting abilities allowed it) sent a few messages to Flo asking her to check on Vex and feed her once a day and telling her that because of an emergency she had to leave town for a few days and asking her to run the Grub while she was gone. She could deal with everything else later.

"Okay, Flo can take over for a couple of days and then... I don't know, I'll try to figure out how I don't have to let everyone go. And I'll figure out what I'd need from the apartment, too," she added, going back to Diego's original point. "Though I doubt it'd be too much. Maybe some clothes and my laptop." But even her clothes... did she even want them? She bought them specifically for Darcy. Her fashion choices were so different before she arrived to Sunnymead and now she could possibly have a chance to go back to that.

She watched him as he grabbed the streering wheel, determined to finish up the drive and a part of her just wanted to tell him he was being a stubborn idiot and he should accept the help she was offering. But he was determined and they were in the middle of the highway and they were done with most of the way anyway, so she just nodded. "Sure, okay. Go wild."

While he sped up, she reached down to the bag by her leg and took out the muffin he got for her that she didn't have an apetite for before. She started breaking off small pieces and slowly eat. "You? Behind a desk?" Gen asked back, her eyesbrows raised. "Diego, you regularly complained about the paperwork in the grocery shop and traded tasks with Carl so you don't have to do it. You wouldn't last behind a desk for a month. And I can't really imagine that for you either. That being said, what do the US Marshalls usually do?" she asked, realizing it wasn't something she was really clear about. "I'm assuming it's not just protecting people in witness protection, but normally it isn't just simple cop duty either, right?"

_______________________

"Jesus, you don't need to beg, not like i'm gonna turn around and go yell at them or something ridiculous," Diego said, shifting uncomfortably. "They're the ones who're angry enough to punch me, and they absolutely hate you. And me for good measure. Remember? I don't hate children, and I'm hardly angry at them. And I know you still love them. I doubt time'll help them see anything more. They'll never understand that it was unfair to you as well, never. They'll never see how the world isn't as black and white as they want it to be. That's what I'm angry about." In truth, it was something Diego had always been frustrated about, with Juliana and Phoenix, albeit in a different way before. Out of everyone else in that town, he'd seen them as two young, bright people with so much potential that was going to be wasted in a limited place like Sunnymead. He saw success for them, in the only way that Diego knew how to measure success: in wordly careers that could uplift them - and even Phoenix' siblings - from their current path to nothing. Seeing their narrow-mindedness - something the kids could develop out of, if given the right exposure and learning - expressed from a different angle now, only made Diego feel that disappointment once more. He sighed.

"It's a useless anger, I know. It's the sort of anger that leads a guy - a person - into a bottle of booze for the night." Diego glanced over at her.

"That, you know as well, Darce. Because you've had those nights before too. When everything was unfair, where no one was technically at fault, but there ain't shit you can do about rectifying it." He paused then, and amended. "No - one person is at fault: Vivien Salazar. Honestly I'm glad she's alive, so that I can place all the fucking blame that's being hurled onto you, onto her. Fuck her. Fuck the FBI for doing this to you, but it's better than being fucking dead."

He wanted to tell Gen that he'd handle the open ends in Sunnymead. Really, it was better to let the officials step in and smooth things over in the town, make some adjustments to the negative space that Darcy Palmer had left, before whisking out of that town for good. But she was so intent on having some say in something, some control over some part of her life, that Diego didn't try to stop her from connecting with the Grub employees. He asked her to read out what she wrote to Flo, and grunted in assent.

When Gen started to pick at the McMuffin, Diego didn't say anything either. Even if she was just eating absent-mindedly, at least it was better than her operating on nothing. Because it was going to be a long day ahead of her. And ther wold be no one else to make sure that Gen kept fed and hydrated. Not even Gen herself.

He smiled when she brought up his aversion to paperwork. "That's - that was stock inventory and shift schedules for apathetic teenagers! US Marshal paperwork's a bit different from Grapefruit Grocery, Gen." In that it was full of even more bureaucracy and forms and stuff that did make Diego balk. When Gen asked what his job entailed, though, he was happy to tell her. If only to keep her distracted before the inevitable nightmare of her life started up again.

"We do the things that the federal Justice Department requires. We enforce federal law. States don't like federal involvement, and they'll try'n keep the feds out for as long as they can, on any given case. But the US Marshal's office is different from the regular cops and not quite as take-over as the FBI, so there's a degree of tolerance for what we do statewide. Drug cartels, sex trafficking rings, witness relocation, hell, even fugitives - we handle that sort of shit."

_______________________

Gen quickly shook her head when she realized she must have misspoke, that what she made him uncomfortable because that was the last thing she meant to do. "No, please, I didn't mean-- I know you're just trying to take my side and protect me, okay? I swear I know that and I can't tell you how much I appreciate it. And I know you wouldn't turn around and yell at them, ever. And you're not the bad guy, okay? I didn't try to insinuate any of that, and I'm sorry if I did. I just..." she took a breath to try to gather her thoughts to maybe explain it better. "I love them and I don't want you to blame them for reacting the way they did. And I also don't want them reacting the way they did and blaming you for all of this, either, and I would tell them the same thing about you because I hated how they jumped on you and tried to put the blame on you, too. The only difference is that you are here and they are not and you gotta listen to me ramble."

When he continued and talked about that anger that she could never really explain to anyone before, that she felt in the dead of the night that led her to drink all that alcohol until she just felt numb, she could relate to that. ANd it made her want to have a drink, desperately, and she wondered when she would be able to lose herself in alcohol again. Probably not anytime soon, considering what awaited her at the end of this drive. "Yeah, that feeling I know," she agreed.

And when he brought up Vivien, she could feel that anger inside of her rising. It was strange - for the longest time logically she knew that Vivien had to be at blame, but in her mind she was her girlfriend who got killed and all she could do was miss her and grieve for her in what she new realized was a very fucked up way. But after everything she saw of her, she just wished she could have said more to her, gotten more of her anger out on her because Vivien definitely deserved all of it. Even if she was to blame too for not realizing sooner what kind of person she was, Vivien was still a horrible person, bringing death, destruction and despair into her and her family's lives - and now into Phoenix and Juliana's lives as well.

"Is it bad that a part of me wishes that she would have gotten shot in that warehouse?" she asked, quietly. "And then wake up in the hospital and have the FBI tell her that she lost the person who meant so much to her so she could feel even some of the inkling of the pain that I felt? So she'd know what she put me through?"

She let out a small chuckle. "Paperwork is still paperwork, Diego. And even if the paperwork in a US Marshall's office is still more interesting, I'm assuming you'd still not like it bc it's paperwork about all the things you couldn't do. All the action and field stuff I'm assuming you love and thrive at." Then again, she could be wrong. But she still couldn't imagine Diego stuck behind a desk for the rest of his career.

And the way he explained the kind of cases they were doing, there was something in his voice that felt like it was proof of just how much he loved it out there. "So basically everything and anything, but also the worst of the worst." She couldn't even imagine the kind of horrors he must have seen and the stomach he must have had for this kind of job. And part of her wanted to ask what was the most fucked up, horrible case he ever had to do, but she also didn't want to take the conversation down a dark path again. So instead she asked, "What was the most ridiculous case you ever had? Either because it just made no sense or was just so funny or the criminal was incompetent, or whatever other reason, just-- the most ridiculous case ever?"

_______________________

Diego didn't like the idea of 'protecting' Gen from a couple of upset kids; his job was to protect her from people who could actually hurt her. But then, Juliana screaming 'I hate you' must have hurt Gen, albeit in a way that Diego couldn't protect Gen from. His right to protect her didn't include from her own hurt feelings. Unfortunately she'd never be able to rectify things with Juliana or Phoenix. Those hurt feelings could either fester or be managed.

"I'm sorry, no, you're right," he conceded, his tone less prickly. "I'm not angry at them, I promise. There's...nothing to be angry at them for. Not even the punch," he said, rubbing at his jaw as he grimly squinted at the road. "They were scared and hurt and confused, all of this just happened and they're completely in the dark about who you are, or Vivien or...any of this. Of course their only recourse was lashing out. I just..." What? He wished things could be better, or different? Wishes were for children who still thought the world was a good place and good people were entitled to good things. Still, being Diego, he still thought in solutions.

"Maybe one day you might be able to email them?" he suggested. "One day. Like...in a year from now, or something. Maybe." Diego didn't like planning ahead for Gen though, knowing that her life could change in an instant. She had no life of her own; it was forfeited the moment she'd gotten shot four years ago.

"They shouldn't blame me, and I shouldn't blame them. So we should all blame you, hm?" He gave her hand a squeeze then though, and smiled at her. "Sure. You can handle it huh? Sure you can. You can handle anything."

When Gen asked about feeling bad for wishing ill on Vivien, Diego's answer was immediate, low, and vehement. "Don't feel bad at all. You believing the best about someone isn't stupid. That's something you and Juliana have in common, you know. Hopefully one day Vivien will understand what she put you through but again, honey - I wouldn't hold my breath." In Diego's experience, hoping someone would understand was a futile hope.

Carefully he nodded at her conclusion of his job description. There was a stereotype that civilians couldn't understand what it was like; but if anyone could, Diego imagined Gen might after what her life was like. However, now was not the time to delve into grim details. It seemed Gen had the same idea though, from her question.

"Ridiculous, huh? Ahhh...ridiculous, lesse. There was this fugitive in Texas. Fella gave us a chase and we lost him just outside of Pasadena. This genius thought he could hide out in one of them shipping containers in a warehouse district. I got a call from him the next day begging me for help - turns out he passed out drunk in his shipping container. When he woke up, the container was locked tight from the outside. I traced him to Galveston - buddy was about two hours away from being loaded onto a ship headed for to Tianjin, in China. It took two hours to find him - not like he could really describe his location from inside the container. Fortunately the poor fucker found an identification number, and the dockmaster traced his container. And it was about eight containers up, all piled and ready to be loaded. When we got him out, he was red as a tomato." Granted, Diego said 'tomato' like 'termater'.

_______________________

"Hey, that punch was definitely uncalled for," Gen couldn't help but interject. "No matter how angry Phoenix was, that wasn't okay and you didn't deserve that." It really was just the cherry on top for him, probably, with everything Vivien already did not so long before that. She watched him as he rubbed his jaw and wondered just how much pain he must have been in. It wasn't enough that his face was all kinds of color at this point, he was also hit pretty hard in the groin and he still insisted on taking care of her and driving. Stubborn, idiot man. "Speaking of the punch... I know you keep saying you're okay, but you'll get checked once we arrive, right?"

She nodded, looking out the window. "Maybe that could work, yes. Give them enough time to work through everything and then maybe they will be open to something." Or maybe they wouldn't. Looking at their reactions now, Gen doubted it. Not to mention that it was still unclear what would be happening with her. For all she knew, she could be sent to a whole new location as a whole new person all over again and then she wouldn't be allowed to even think about contacting them, let alone actually doing it after a while.

She shook her head, not wanting to think about it or let the panic rise inside of her at the thought of becoming a whole different person all over again. Instead, she focused on Diego and she couldn't help but let out a small chuckle. "Maybe not everything, but yeah, that would be preferable to the alternatives," she said softly with a shrug.

It felt strange that in a situation like this she could actually do anything but cry or feel never-ending doom and grief, but his gentle teasing voice and the squeeze of his hand made her feel warm inside. And even though he was teasing and joking, she knew that the last bit, the part about how she could handle anything, that one he meant. She wasn't so sure about it, she felt like she was constantly on the brink of breaking down and losing it lately and especially now, but he believed it for some reason. Maybe what he saw in her really was there, maybe it wasn't, but either way, his belief in her meant more to her than she could ever put it into words.

There it was again, that word. Honey. Rolling off of Diego's tongue so effortlessly he probably didn't even notice he was doing it. And it was probably nothing, too. She heard him call other people nicknames, too, she wasn't any different. So she tried not focusing on that single word, instead on everything else he said. Even if it wasn't easy. "Yeah, I doubt she'll ever realize it. She thought we could just go back to how things were, Diego! She actually thought all she had to do was show up, smile at me and then we would be back to being in love and happy and we can just forget everything ever happened. If she was this delusional, I doubt she could ever truly realize what she's done."

Diego happily jumped into telling a story and Gen's eyebrows rose higher and higher as it progressed. It was nice to just listen to something that had nothing to do with what happened and just munch on the last bit of the muffin. (She got to the end of it without really realizing it.) "Oh my god, that sounds insane. Poor guy," she chuckled with the shake of her head. "What would have happened to him if you guys didn't find him on time? Could you have turned ships back or something?" She threw the wrapping paper of the muffin into the bag. "How much did you guys laugh at him?"

_______________________

"Eh," Diego shrugged. "Phoenix has trouble putting his feelings into words, so he puts them into his fists." If anything, Diego understood that violent need for release. He looked over at Gen. "If you were a man, he'd probably punch you, too."

She was right that he was hurting all over. But like Darcy decided that she deserved to boil in the agony within her, Diego felt the same way about his physical pain. Although he couldn't consciously recognize it, Vivien beating the shit out of him felt like some sort of sick recompense. He knew no one could've predicted Vivien Salazar showing up in Sunnymead, but the bottom line was that he failed to keep Darcy protected, and by extension he'd failed to keep Juliana and Phoenix protected. The aches and bruises reminded him that he was still not good enough at the one thing he'd dedicated his life to.

He was pulled out of those thoughts by talking with Gen. Whenever he heard her soft voice, he mind returned to the present, away from his own internal negativity. And hearing her ranting about Vivien's ill logic was weirdly gratifying for reasons Diego couldn't explain.

"Maybe she thought you were relocated against your will. But then going as far as to murder your sister - and still thinking that you could still have feelings for her after that?" Diego shook his head. "It doesn't make sense, but then it's murder we're talking about. After money, love is usually the next motive. She's lived in her world for so long, she doesn't realize you've had a life completely outside of her."

He snorted when Gen expressed sympathy for the fugitive. Diego had none, but then he didn't tell Gen what crimes the man had committed. He just racked it up to Gen being a bleeding heart liberal-type, who felt sorry for prisoners and thought something like 'rehabilitation' would work better.

For now, he was just proud of her for finishing up the bacon mcmuffin. Particularly because they'd gotten into the city now, and headed to the department. "He probably would've expired in that container. They can get pretty damn heated in those things, like an oven. And with no food or water and a few weeks trip over the Pacific, I'd say the dude was fucked."

As for turning the ships back, he shook his head. "Business has to carry on, we can't just put everything on hold. The Target distributor in Tianjin would've just been in for a nasty surprise when they opened up that container." He was half-joking, of course. It was the ideal to actually find the fugitive, but trying to interrupt international shipping for one criminal wouldn't have been fun for anyone.

"We laughed something good, yeah. Told him he was in luck: he'd get to hang out in a similar container for the rest of his life. Granted, a sea container's much bigger'n a prison cell. Anyway..." Diego headed down the street, then turned into a parking lot. He parked, and looked at Gen.

"We're here now." He looked at her - unkempt, exhausted, likely in need of a shower, no make-up, teeth unbrushed. And she'd likely be spending the next 10 or so hours here, unless the FBI demanded she be moved somewhere else. He exhaled, trying not to make it too heavy a sigh. "You ready?

_______________________

"I would have been more than okay with than," Gen couldn't help saying at Diego's comment about how if she was a man, Phoenix would have punched her too. And then realized how it must have sounded and quickly added, "And before you say anything, you getting punched and me hypothetically getting punched are two completely different things, okay." Though she was sure Diego would disagree with her on this one, but it made sense in her head. He was doing his job, he was there helping them, while she was the reason for all of this shit that have gone down. She deserved that punch a lot better than Diego did.

He was probably right, though. The only way Vivien thinking she would go along with her and they could be happy is that if she believed, truly believed that she was forced to relocate and assume a new identity. So many things still didn't make sense, but after seeing this side of Vivien, so many other questions were in her head that didn't make sense, so it was maybe just the missing information and the complete contradiction of Vivien as a person as she knew her and as she showed herself now. "Maybe. But either way I'll be happy never to see her ever again." It wasn't possible, she assumed she'd see her during the trials at least, but she hoped nothing more was required of her.

(Even though part of her wanted to have a go at her, to ask, no demand answers to all the things that didn't make sense in her mind, but she was afraid she'd end up just screaming at her uncontrollably, so that was probably not the best idea at this point.)

She listened to Diego talk about the poor guy who got stuck in the container while they drove through the city and she watched while she tried to ignore the fact that they were getting closer and closer to their destination. She started zoning out on Diego's words, though, just letting his voice sooth her in the background while her brain started running different scenarios, each is worst than the last.

And then Diego stopped in front of the US Marshall's office building and Gen wanted to sink into the car seat and possibly disappear into it. The drive went by way too fast and she wished they could turn around and do the same distance a couple of more times. Possibly just run off, change their names and hide away from te FBI. People did it, right? Why couldn't they. Except those people were criminals and she was trying not to get herself into even more trouble, not to mention she would have loved to avoid yet another personality added to the mix.

"Ready for the FBI to dissect and misunderstand every word I say to fit their narrative and talk to them in detail over and over again for hours about all the stupid mistakes I've made over the last couple of hours and things I'd rather forget? Nope, I'm anything but ready. But I don't really have a choice, so let's go." She stayed there for a little bit longer, holding onto his hands for a few more moments before she finally got herself to let go and get out of the car, following Diego into the offices with her heart beating hard out of her chest.

_______________________

"Whatever you say, Gen," Diego said, grimly amused at the way Gen tried to differentiate between Phoenix taking his anger out on him versus her. It was so Gen...or Darcy...or, well. Both of them, Diego supposed. Regardless, what was done was done, and there was no going back. All Diego cold do was wish the best for those kids, and he knew Gen felt the same way. Hopefully one day she'd find a way to forgive herself for needing to keep herself secret from them.

The more anger Gen felt towards Vivien, the more pleased Diego was. It was a selfish feeling, maybe even a slightly jealous one. He hadn't actually given much thought to Gen impulsively (compulsively?) sleeping with Vivien last night. Her emotions overcoming her to the point that Gen had clearly forgotten everything else - including Diego - and thrown herself into Vivien's arms. Then again, it wasn't as if he and Gen were particularly close or even getting along recently. It seemed all that animosity was gone now, and Diego didn't have the energy to have it resurface. Despite Gen running off to LA, and sleeping with Vivien, he just...liked what they had going on now too much to go back to arguing. Even though 'this' had led to Gen forfeiting the life of Darcy Palmer and Sunnymead permanently.

Yep. Definitely a selfish pleased.

He opened his mouth, wanting to assure Darcy that the FBI were on her side, but that wasn't entirely true, was it. The FBI just wanted to use her, a means to a greater end and she was just one of many victims and casualties of their war against the crime syndicate. She was right that they'd interrogate her, treat her no better than they wold as suspect, just to get what they wanted. It wasn't her fault, and yet she'd be put through an unfair game of waiting and questioning.

But they were in a US Marshal office right now, not any FBI hideout. Diego was determined to make sure that in his house, the FBI abided by his rules. And that meant treating Gen with a modicum of humanity and respect.

"Let's go," he said, and exited the car with her. They couldn't hold hands, but Diego did bump gently against Gen in a companionable way as they made their way inside. Just a silent reminder to her, that he was there and he wasn't going anywhere else.

#——diego chavez (023)#——aftermath

1 note · View note

darcypalmer · 5 years ago

Photo

Vivien Salazar shows up after years of thought to be dead, a showdown happens and in desperation on her way out, she takes @j-carvalhoe, so @diegojaimechavez, @secondhvnd and Darcy/Gen goes to rescue her. All bunch of shit happens and the truth comes out.

Nothing. Since that night that Rita told Darcy and Diego everything would be alright, he'd received nothing from Darcy, other than the most base, distant politeness whenever he came over to the Grub. Occasionally, when the diner was quiet, he would quickly give Darcy some update on Ellis, and the progress that Rita had made with taking Tyler down for good. She listened attentively, clearly interested in the news, and sometimes he even asked questions about it, but it never went much further than that. Once the relevant information was shared, she'd move on, back to serving or doing management duties for the diner.

It was frustrating, because Diego wanted something from her, anything even if it was just her to show up at his apartment one night to yell at him. But he realized, after a couple days, why she wouldn't dare do that again. Because the last time she did...there was Rita. With her lipstick on his skin, everything so clear that it was stupid for Diego to even hope that Darcy hadn't really noticed.

Oh, yeah. She'd noticed. But was she refusing to engage with him because of how mad he'd gotten when she'd run off to LA to meet Tyler? Or was she mad at him about Rita? Or was it some other reason that he couldn't even fathom? Benjamin was alright - but of course being reminded about her brother's safety and the fact that she couldn't be with him, that had to take a toll on her. A miserable reminder than she wasn't in control of her life, not in the least.

He had control over her life. He did, Tyler did, Rita did - everyone but her. Okay, well. No wonder she was pissed off at him.

So Diego made up his mind, one night when it was very quiet, to try and implore Darcy to talk to him, whether she wanted to or not. The moment she passed by his table, he reached out, and actually caught her wrist. Not hard, she could pull away of she wanted. But the skin-to-skin contact, he hoped, would be enough to make her stop. It was certainly enough to make his heart stop, for a beat or two.

"Darcy, can I come upstairs tonight? After you close up. I'll come up from the back," he asked, that same pleading look in his expression like he had that last night in his own apartment. "We have to talk. Actually talk."

_______________________

At first, Darcy would describe the new status quo as going back to normal, back to how things were before anything happened between Diego and her. But she quickly realized it wasn't like anything they've experienced before. Even in the beginning they talked more - maybe it was arguing and fighting and not agreeing with each other, but it was still some kind of communication that wasn't the biggest bullshit politeness that she's done in a very long time. And it was its own kind of hell, even if Darcy knew this is what she needed to do to get through the times when she saw Diego, when the two of them talked.

As for Diego, he kept things as professional as it could get. He never talked about anything deeper than what he wanted for his order, and only ever talked her about something else when he whispered updates to her about Rita's progress of getting rid of Tyler. There was nothing else coming from his end, and it only reaffirmed Darcy in Diego moving on. If it could even be called moving on when there was nothing ever serious between them and probably required not too much effort on his part to find other companions.

And that was okay. She could do this. This was for the best. And then before she knew it, he would be gone and she could breathe and maybe have a handler who could be like Johnathan was - quiet and barely even noticeable.

When Diego grabbed her hand one night, it came like a bucket of ice-cold water and made Darcy stop dead in her tracks. He hasn't touched her in... fuck, in what felt like forever, and she both wanted to yank her arm out of his hold and get away from him as far and fast as possible, while also wanted to freeze time and stay in that moment for as long as she could without making it weird, without letting too many things show.

After the first moment of shock, she snapped her hand out of his fingers and reached up to rub her wrist with her other hand. It didn't hurt, he wasn't squeezing her wrist to make sure she couldn't get out, but her skin was still burning from the touch itself and she had to do something with her hands.

And just something she could focus on in general, and wouldn't have to look at Diego, cause oh boy, the words coming out of his mouth... fuck they were confusing and unexpected and both wanted and unwanted at the same time. Her heart skipped a beat for a moment - he wanted to come upstairs, he wanted to be alone with her, he wanted something from her. Apparently the past couple of days of forcefully trying to get over him didn't do much yet. But then it hit her that this was just another professional meeting. He had something to tell her that couldn't be said in 25 words or less through whispers in the Grub. And this time, he was smarter and suggested her place to avoid another incident like what happened with Rita.

It made sense.

And then her brain started wondering what this talk could possibly be about, and suddenly dread ran through her entirely. Because other than something horrible, potentially fatal happening, what else could he possibly want to inform her about?

Her face dropped and she finally looked at Diego, really looked at him instead of just looking at his jacket behind her hands. "Fuck, what happened? Is B--" she quickly looked around to make sure there was nobody near, nobody listening. "Is my brother okay?" she asked, her voice in a whisper. "And my parents? Are they okay? What happened?"

_______________________

"Everyone is okay," Diego said, feeling a wash of guilt at the look of panic and fear in Darcy's big dark eyes. Her whisper sounded like it trembled slightly, betraying just how taut Darcy was. Like a strung bow, ready to snap. He suddenly felt like a lovesick fool. Here she was, hyper-focused so hard on the safety of her family, and with good reason. After the stunt that Tyler Ellis played her in LA, it was no wonder she was so tense and stressed. He wished he could've helped her out and reassured her, or at least he wished he could be there for her - but now that he tried to broach the idea, it felt trite insignificant. Inconsequential, considering all the shit Darcy had to deal with these days.

Granted, a stern voice whispered in the back of his mind, that was partially her fault for running off half-cocked to LA.

But he shook the thought away. It was petty and bitter, and Diego liked to believe he could be more professional than that. What was done was done and there was no changing it now, no matter how much he wished she had told him first, how much it annoyed him that Tyler managed to dismantle their trust with what seemed like a snap of his fingers. If he had to blame anyone, he blamed Ellis.

"I just - I wanted to see you, To talk," he stated awkwardly, almost apologetically. Like he was suggesting something silly and impossible, like a trip to Disneyland. He wanted to look at her, but Diego was positive he'd just see disdain and disgust in her face, and he'd rather not. She probably thought he was just horny or weak, or a combination of both. So he glared down at the table instead. "We haven't spoken in a while."

_______________________

The relief flooded through Darcy’s hard and fast and her body lost all the tension that hit her only moments ago. Everyone was okay, nothing was wrong, this wasn't the next chapter in "How to avoid the next disaster as soon and fast as possible". Which was good, cause she wasn't sure if she could handle one more disaster so close to one another. She already felt like she was breaking into millions of pieces and things were too much, she didn't need more on her place.

Diego spoke again, to explain himself and butterflies, those damn butterflies, suddenly woke up in her stomach cause he just wanted to see her. He seemed shy, so careful, the way he said it and the way he couldn't seem to be able to look at her, and this has been what she wanted ever since things went downhill. This, him to show that he cared instead of making it clear that they were wrong or that he was already happily moving on and...

And since this is what she wanted, of course her brain had to go and interpret it. Because suddenly her brain remembered the way he kept saying how wrong what they were doing was, Rita's fingers hastily wiping the lipstick off of his skin or how both of them tried to make sure Darcy understood just how close they were to each other and how much they trusted each other. After all of that, what could he possibly want with her? Did he have a free night and figured he'd try to pass the time and avoid boredom with hanging out with her? Or did things go south and figured he'd try to have some fun with her again?

Suddenly the way he couldn't seem to look at her looked more like an awkward try to see if she would be up for things rather than shyness and him genuinely just missing her and wanting to spend some time with her.

"And what would you like to talk about?" she asked in a quiet, but sharp voice. "The weather? Some recipes? How things go at the grocery store? All of those things we can talk about here, too. So what could you possibly want to talk about with me that requires you to come over tonight?"

_______________________

For a moment it seemed like Darcy was on the brink of relenting. There was some change in her that Diego perhaps didn't actually know, but could just feel. A change in the electric energy that seemed to surround her like a shield these past few days, becoming less crackly and more soft.

But when that barrier snapped back into place again, Diego sighed internally. He should have known. He was a thinker as well, so he knew what happened: she started to overthink. Something instinctive happened, and it was shut down by that brain of hers, the one that was wounded and scared and traumatized. And, he wondered, maybe even betrayed.

He loved her, after all. Diego knew this now, and almost accepted it because it all just made so much sense why he acted so crazy around her. But did she - could she - love him back? Not that he thought Darcy Palmer couldn't love, except...maybe she couldn't. Who was 'Darcy Palmer' to love, after all? It was meaningless. The last person in her body who loved someone, was Genevieve Soto. And look how that turned out.

He had felt guilty about Rita, or at least what Darcy saw of him and Rita when he'd invited her to his apartment. Love or not, it was in bad form, considering despite their fighting, he and Darcy had a thing going. (It was so much deeper than just 'a thing', but Diego didn't know what else to call it). Darcy didn't have to feel a sting from that because of love. Maybe she just felt foolish, commonplace. Diego had never lied about his sleeping around, but once he and Darcy started their thing, he'd stopped. Completely. He never told her that, she never asked.

He needed to get this all sorted, but his own overthinking led him to wonder if he wanted to talk and sort it out with her for his own selfish reasons, or for any benefit to her. After all, this polite, stiff arrangement they had now was ideal, wasn't it? Between a person in witness protection, and their handler, this was how it should be: they were distant, he was still attentive to her safety and protection. What they'd been doing before was dangerous, doomed, potentially devastating.

Was it really wise to drag it all out of the dark? For the both of them?

When Darcy finally replied though, all Diego could do was growl lowly and stare up at her from under his furrowed eyebrows. "Do you want to talk or not?" he asked pointedly, cutting through her snide questions. "Tell me what you want tonight, and I'll do it."

_______________________

Diego, annoyed and grumbling. That was normal. Whether it was actual annoyance like in the beginning of his time here, or more for show after they started sleeping together, it was normal, something Darcy was used to, something she could handle. Something she was happy to welcome. It really felt like old times for a moment, and she relished that. A tiny bit of normality, but she'd take what she could get.

She didn't know what kind of reply to give to him, though. Cause she wanted him to come over. She wanted him to come over desperately. She missed spending time with him, even if it just meant hanging out on the couch and watching the first thing they could find on Netflix or laughing at something the townsfolk did, or just chatting about their days. She missed his company. But she also didn't want to be the leftover, the person he settled for when there was nobody else, and she certainly didn't want to be the woman he would hit up when nobody else better was around to have some fun with.

For a moment she considered just telling him that. Putting it all out on the table and admitting at least some of what she was feeling, just enough to get her point across. But that idea was quickly pushed aside at the possibility, the very high possibility of rejection. She knew herself enough to know that it would be too much in that moment.

But she didn't want to straight-up deny him and tell him not to come over either. (Even though she knew that was probably the best and smartest decision she could have made. She wanted to get over him fully, that meant not letting him come over, even if it was just purely to talk.)

"Training," the word slipped out of her lips before she could fully wrap her head around the idea even. But she already said it, and she wasn't backing down. And it could even work. They wouldn't have to talk if it got awkward, they could just focus on exercising. "I want to train. Can you come over for that? Sometime in the middle of the night like we used to do."

_______________________

When Darcy finally spoke, it was like she was throwing Diego a lifeline. Training. Of course. It was an excellent suggestion, a perfect suggestion really. Diego was aching for something physical - and since sex was definitely off the table, building up a sweat through some fight moves seemed ideal.

Particularly because it seemed the both needed to let off a little bit of steam right now.

"Alright," Diego said, trying not to smile. He kept his composure, hopefully as well as Darcy seemed to be keeping hers. He couldn't read anything in her large, intense eyes other than commitment to her suggestion. At least there didn't seem to be any regret over an impulsive suggestion. "I'll come by in the morning, before you usually go on your run. Four am? We can...train for an hour."

It occurred to him then that they probably wouldn't get any talking done when they met up again. But that was fine. If he could just see Darcy alone again, away from the bored or curious eyes of the townsfolk. If they could just start something again together and alone, that could lead to something else, and something else. If this training went well, then maybe Darcy would be amenable to a second and third time. And eventually, hopefully, they'd start to loosen up just enough to talk.

It wasn't as if Diego even knew what he wanted to say to Darcy, so. Her suggestion brought more relief within him, and he stood up, putting some money on the table for his meal. "I'll see you later," he said neutrally, checking the time. He doubted he'd get any rest tonight; instead, he'd probably be up trying to figure out what, if anything, he wanted to say to Darcy once they were alone.

_______________________

ghost from the past - vivien shows up

_______________________

Three-thirty am arrived and Diego got himself up, taking a shower and brushing his teeth as if this was a regular morning waking up. It was in a way, once upon a time. Those months when he and Darcy used to train in his apartment. Had that just been a ruse of denial for him? An excuse to be close to her and touch her, even if he consciously didn't realize (or perhaps refused to acknowledge) his feelings for her?

He'd spent much of the night either dreaming about Darcy, or thinking about her. When he fell in love with her (he came to the conclusion that there was no 'one' time. It was a slow, gradual thing that happened cumulatively) and wondering what she felt as well. He knew it had to be something. Darcy wasn't the type of gal who did the whole 'friends with benefits' thing.

And in truth, Diego didn't even feel like Darcy was his 'friend'. They were close, they were intimate, they'd developed a very strong bond with each other, despite the arguments and difference in opinions. They were something special and unique and 'friend' didn't really cover it. In truth though, Diego also knew that he wasn't really the type to have 'friends' either, overall.

Despite his inner turmoil, he was looking forward to seeing Darcy tonight, Whatever my come of it, at least it would be something. He knew he could be something of a masochist, and he was prepared for Darcy's anger and vitriol and quite possibly her yelling. Very possible, if her temper flared. He'd deal with it, because at least they'd be talking.

He headed to her place at 4am sharp, jogging across the road like he was just going for a very early morning run, but the ruse wasn't necessary. The streets were quiet, no one was around. He did pause when he noted a car parked on the curb by the diner, that he didn't recognize. It was normal to see various cars during the day, when shops were open and people were about. But this one? He figured perhaps someone living nearby had a friend from out-of-town perhaps.

He gave one last lookaround and jogged up the stairs. Darcy knew he was coming, and he knew of all people, she was unlikely to be asleep. More like wired, which seemed to be Darcy's current state of being. Diego couldn't blame her. One thing after the next happened in such quick succession, only for it to all be suddenly over, everything actually okay. Diego understood that sometimes things did just happen that way - not everything had to be a huge ceremony of agonizing activity and action. Sometimes, things just worked out, like with Benji. What was important - as he'd been trained - was keeping a level head and not flying off into a panic. But he didn't blame Darcy for her fears. She'd been living with them, murky and lurking, for four years.

The door was open when he tested it, so Diego gave it a gentle tap of his knuckles to give Darcy a head's up (he honestly just imagined she was there in her living room, in her t-shirt and shorts, hair in a high ponytail, pacing back and forth waiting for him) and then pushed the door open, closing it behind him.

"Darce," he called out, reaching to the light switch to turn it on. Of course she'd be pacing in the dark. Because, Darcy. He winced though, when he accidentally called her the petname she'd told him not to use. Something seemed off though - call it instinct, but Diego paused, frowning and looking around. His hand hovered over his gun, holstered under his arm.

_______________________

Gen lost all sense of time the moment she kissed Vivien. It was like she was transported back in time and all she could focus on was the woman with her, and it seemed like Vivien felt the same. They didn't talk, but they didn't have to, their bodies did the talking for them, and once they were done, the two of them were lying in her bed, both of them trying to catch their breaths, Gen trying to wrap her head around everything that just happened.

There was a sense un unease inside of her, but she ignored it.

Vivien excused herself and she was left lying on her back, quietly waiting for Vivien to get back from the bathroom. This was when she heard the knock on the door. Normally she might have missed it, but now it felt like the small sound practically pierced through the silence of the apartment, and suddenly she remembered that she had plans.

Out of all nights when Diego planned to come over for training, it had to be this one. So fucking typical.

Surprisingly, though, the first thought was that Diego would see that she slept with somebody, and only then did it hit her that it was Vivien she slept with and that Diego moved on, he wasn't going to give two fucks about the sex part, the Vivien part, however, was going to... well, the very least it's going to freak him the fuck out and will send him into protecting mode. And the worst, he would get her out of the apartment and in less than a few hours, she would already be in a random car, taking her to a new location and to a new life where Vivien and the rest of the people wouldn't be able to follow her, and probably without Diego this time, too.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck," she kept chanting as she jumped out of the bed and rushed to her closet, taking out the first shirt she could grab (which, without realizing it, was ironically a shirt she stole from Diego one night while they were still sleeping together cause it felt more comfortable for sneaking back into her apartment than what she was in originally) and some panties.

She figured she could... well, she could at least get Diego to come back later and then talk to him about it when it wasn't the middle of the night and he wasn't about to walk in on a similar situation she walked into not so long ago. She could figure out how to tell him this other than him finding it out for himself. She needed to buy herself some time, first, though, and that started with making sure Diego didn't come inside.

The plan fell apart in 0.4 seconds, however, when she barely slipped into the shirt she grabbed and she could hear the door open and then Diego calling out for her - for Darce, no less, and she wanted to curse, yell, groan, kick or hit something, anything. Vivien must have heard it, too, and even if she didn't, she'd be getting out of the bathroom any minute now, and the moment the door opens, Diego would be able to see her.

Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck.

Why did she have to be so stupid? Why didn't she have to just act and not think? Why did she have to open that fucking door to Vivien? What was she thinking when she fucking jumped her? She should have used her brain. Fuck, she really should have used her brain.

"One moment, Diego!" she called out as she was already heading out to the living room. Maybe if she got there fast enough, she could prevent Vivien from coming out and things wouldn't go completely downhill. "It's not-- it's not the best moment for me right now," she rambled as she was heading both towards him and towards the door of the bathroom so she could stand in front of it and make sure Vivien could hear her and get the message that she wasn't supposed to come outside.

She noticed the way Diego's hand hovered over his gun, the gun that was always with him even when there was no danger whatsoever, and the gun that she teased him so much about, and she didn't like the stupid gun in general, but now it sent even more panic through her. And despite all the stress and anxiety and panic she felt in that moment, despite the darkness, even barely being able to see him, her heart was beating fast just at the sight of him. (She filed it away as the anxiety of the situation.)

"Is there any way you could come ba--"

But she couldn't finish the sentence because apparently Vivien either didn't hear them, or didn't give a fuck about somebody seeing her (and why would she, how could she possibly know that Diego was a US Marshall and knew exactly who she was, or that he had a gun on him in that moment). The door to her bathroom opened, and out walked Vivien and she couldn't do anything in that moment just freeze and watch with dread.

_______________________

Something was going on. When Diego heard Darcy call back to him he relaxed, figuring at first that perhaps she actually did manage to fall asleep. And now she was rushing to get her workout clothes on. He felt a little bad, waking her up - god knew Darcy needed all the sleep she could get.

But then when she stammered, saying it wasn't the best moment for her right now, Diego's hackles raised back up again immediately. They had planned this after all. And over the past months, Diego had come to appreciate Darcy's adherence to punctuality and being ready, particularly when it was a training session. In all the times he'd trained her, she'd never been late, not once. In truth, when he'd come up, he had expected that she'd already be up, doing stretches and giving Diego her best grimace as well.

'It's not the best moment' for her right now? A statement like that could only mean one thing to a US Marshal - Darcy was not alone. He remained in the kitchen, finally seeing her coming out of the bedroom but pausing awkwardly at the door of the bathroom, like someone was placing her there. Strategically putting her between Diego and whoever else was there.

At least, he told himself, Darcy was giving him all the signals that she was being held against her will. He flicked on the kitchen light, trying to be casual but he just wanted to see Darcy's face better, gauge how dangerous the situation was. How much Darcy's life was at peril. He could see her gaze flicking to his gun holster; he hadn't drawn it yet, because he didn't want to give away too much until he knew the stakes.

"Come back?" he said, in disbelief. "You're the one who invited me to come over tonight. It's four am, Darcy and you're-" But he didn't need to say any more, because the bathroom door opened (he wasn't expecting that) and a woman emerged behind Darcy.

And Diego recognized that woman, from the countless photos he'd studied, in Darcy's file. Yet he wasn't sure he knew if he could believe it.

Still, a stranger in Darcy's house was more than enough reason to warrant him pulling out his gun, and aiming it towards the woman - this...Vivien lookalike. "Stop where you are," he barked. "Get down on the floor, now! Hands behind your head. Darcy - " Or was she Genevieve at this moment? Jesus, that woman looked exactly like Vivien. A sister perhaps? A cousin? - "Darcy, get out of the way, move!"

_______________________

Technically speaking, Gen knew that this was coming the moment she heard the bathroom door open and Vivien stepping out of it, but still it felt like she was watching Diego in slow motion as he reached for his gun and aiming it towards Vivien, what felt like towards her considering Vivien being mostly behind her at this point. Her heart was beating fast, too fucking fast out of her chest and her hands snapped up in front of her, trying to reach for Diego (as if she was close enough for that), to maybe reason with him, calm him down, get him to drop that gun or at least point it somewhere else, anywhere.

"Pl-- please, Diego, don-- don't," she said, her voice hoarse and low, happy to have even been able to get the words out. She hasn't felt good about the damn gun whenever he brought it over, but she understood why he had to do that and she made him put it away almost immediately, and that way she could deal with it. Now the gun being pointed, it just made her stomach churn, the memories of walking into Vivien's apartment and watching her get shot and then getting shot herself only moments after flashing in front of her eyes. As if she wasn't panicking enough, the fear rose to even higher levels inside of her.

From the corner of her eyes she could see Vivien putting her hands up. "Genny, why is there a guy with a gun in your apartment?" she asked careful, but she didn't get on the ground like Diego told her to.

"Cause he's a US Marshall and up until about 30 seconds ago he thought you were fucking dead! And now he thinks you're here to kill me and he's trying to protect me. But she's not," she added, the last words directed at Diego, pleading in her eyes. "She's not here to hurt me, she's not here to kill me, I swear, okay? Please, Diego, I swear nobody is here to hurt anyone-- Well, okay, that might not be true right now given the gun and how you're looking at her, but nobody is here to hurt me. Please believe me."

"Yeah, buddy, believe her and put the gun away before you get hurt."

Gen let out a groan. "Maybe threatening him when he's holding a gun at you and you're unarmed isn't the best idea, you know," she pointed out, her annoyance coming out. Especially when it was deserved, too, she almost added, but decided against it. This was really not the situation when she should be getting into the nitty-gritty of everything that happened.

The weird thing was, it felt as if Vivien was shifting, slowly moving behind her, away from the bathroom. Not much, just small steps each time, but she could sense it. Gen figured it must be to make sure she was situated right behind her so Diego wouldn't even think about shooting at her. What other reason could there be for her? Trying to get to a window to jump out of? What good that even be - she might not break any bones, but Diego would probably not think twice about shooting.

"What's your plan anyway, buddy? Take me in alive or just shoot me here and now?" Vivien was stalling, Gen wasn't an idiot, but at the same time, she couldn't help but notice how different Vivien sounded from the woman she once knew. Or thought she knew. Fuck. She would have liked to believe that what she was hearing was Vivien hardening because of everything that happened, but she couldn't be that naive, she couldn't ignore the fact that even before she got shot, she was part of the crime syndicate.

She was finally, after all these years, seeing the side of Vivien she never got to, and she had no idea how the fuck she felt about any of this.

_______________________

Vivien certainly had an advantage here, as Diego did falter slightly. He was distracted by what Darcy - what Gen was saying, and putting the pieces together for a puzzle he'd gotten all wrong. His instincts had been right in that something strange was going on - but his instincts had also been completely off about what.

No marshal training and no amount of experience, after all, had trained him to anticipate the dead gang boss girlfriend of his protection witness-slash-complicated-lover, showing up in the middle of the night and buck naked, with her and Gen having a conversation in front of him and then Gen begging him to understand and lower his gun.

"What the fuck is going on," Diego said angrily in response to...everything. Some coplike part of him reminded him to keep his eyes on Vivien, but she was completely naked. She was completely naked and Gen was wearing one of his shirts, and he could recognize the wildness of her hair, the shiny swell of her lips. And a mark, gentle and pink, forming on her neck. He should be coming forward to grab Vivien; after all, she was unarmed because she was completely naked (oh, and her hair was wild too, her body still slick with the telltale signs of sex, there was no denying it) but all Diego could focus on was Darcy.

"What the fuck is going on??" he said again. By the time Vivien spoke again, Diego realized his mistake - she had found her way back into the bedroom while he'd been staring - confused and hurt and horrified - at Gen. The bedroom was still dark and Diego surged forward, expecting Darcy to move immediately to give him access. But she seemed slow, in shock.

"Dar - Gen," Diego lowered his gun then, just enough to nudge her to one side. "I - " he didn't know what he was supposed to say here. He had a job to do? And that job took priority over everything else, including himself.

Diego tore his gaze away from Gen once more. He could smell the perfume now - a scent that didn't belong to Darcy, but now stained her skin. And underneath, that heady musk of sex that would've made his mouth water, if his throat wasn't so dry. Moving past her, he raised his gun again, entering the dark bedroom. His eyes searched for any sign of movement; he knew this bedroom well after all, and he was counting on that.

"Vivien, I'm telling you one more time - " Diego demanded, as he reached towards the light switch on the wall. "Get the fuck down on the ground, no--!"

The word was whipped out of his mouth, as gun metal connected with the side of his face. Diego, fortunately, did not have a trigger-finger. His gun did not discharge despite the strength of Vivien's suckerpunch with a gun of her own. Of course - Diego should have known she was carrying too. And there was a part of Diego that pointed out that Gen let Vivien keep her gun in the bedroom. It was a silly, childish, petty part of his brain, that was quickly dispelled as the pain shot through his jaw. He staggered back, and he could have recouped but Vivien was faster. Using the butt of her gun she brought it down on the back of his head, sending Diego to his knees.

From there, she was able to disarm him. Diego gave a bark of protest, reaching up to keep a hold of his weapon, but Vivien shoved him back with his hip, then hopped backwards to join Darcy. With two guns now pointed at Diego. It all happened so quickly, in the space of a few seconds even if it seemed like minutes.

Vivien tossed her hair, giving Diego a disdainful look. There was a smile on her mouth though. "So he's the US Marshal, huh. To protect you. From me...?" she kept one gun trained on Diego, looking over at Darcy. "Stupid FBI should know they don't need to protect you from me. Here, take this," Vivien offered Darcy her own small pistol. She didn't know Darcy's fear of guns, why would she? It had bloomed after Vivien had 'died'. "Pack what you can and let's get out of here, now. I'll keep an eye on this Marshal. Why was he coming over at 4am anyway? He's dressed like he's on his way to the gym..."

She looked down at herself, giving a careless laugh. "Speaking of dressed, I suppose I should put something on, huh."

_______________________

It was such a strange feeling. Everything felt like it was happening extremely fast and Gen was trying to catch up, trying to hold on and somehow stop the disaster that was already happening, while at the same time it was like she was watching it all from an outside perspective, kind of like a showdown in some kind of movie. Crime, maybe? Or some kind of thriller. And during all of it she was trying to figure out how she could prevent Vivien from getting shot and her having to watch her bleed out again (or, well, apparently not again, cause Vivien never truly bled out, it was still so hard to wrap her head around it) and how she could explain all of this to Diego without that damn gun being involved that would get the anger and the... was it hurt she saw there? Or is that something she wanted to see, so she was projecting it into his expression? EIther way, weirdly all she wanted to do was to explain everything to Diego, to make him understand that she realized that she fucked up and she didn't mean it, not really.

How could she when Vivien was a fucking criminal and part of the reason her sister was dead. Or was she? Suddenly the thought of Olivia possibly being alive struck her and she couldn't see or hear anything for a moment, just her sister's face in her mind, stronger than it's been in years at this point. She thought Vivien was dead, too, what if she was told Olivia was dead but she isn't really? What if the FBI wanted to make sure nobody even tried looking for Olivia, so they told even her family that she died while she was also placed into witness protection just like the rest of the Soto family?

It was Diego who brought her out of her own thoughts when suddenly he was standing on front of her, looking at her, his dark brown eyes practically piercing into her. She was about to open her mouth and say... sorry, mostly. She didn't really know what he wanted, but she just wanted to apologize to him, which was insane cause they weren't together and it's not like she took off with Vivien, she just slept with her. Fuck. It was still really fucking bad and she just wanted to apologize.

But she didn't get the chance because he pushed past her and then she could barely register what was happening and Diego's grunts came form her bedroom and she let out a loud curse, completely getting out of her daze as she was trying to rush over to Diego and Vivien and hopefully stop whatever was happening.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck." She didn't even have the chance to stop anything, by the time she got there, Diego was on the ground without his gun and Vivien was had two in her hands (how did she even have two guns?), looking all smug and her heart was beating even faster now. "Fuck, what the fuck are you doing?" she snapped at Vivien, though she wasn't sure if the other two people could tell who it was even directed to. "Put that fucking gun down before it accidentally fires and Diego gets hurt." Suddenly flashes of Diego lying close to death on her living room flood flashed in front of her eyes and fuck, she could not handle Diego in the hospital because of her again. She could not handle Diego in the hospital or hurt in any way in general.

Not that Vivien heard any of what Gen was saying, instead she thought offering her one of the gun was a good idea and fuck, Gen really wanted to throw up. Or hit something. Or cry. Maybe all three. "Get that shit away from me," she snapped. Maybe if she could think straight, she would have at least tried taking the gun just to get it for Diego, so Diego wouldn't be so defenseless, but she wanted to get away from the guns.

And then Vivien started talking about packing and first came the shock because... packing? Getting away from Sunnymead? Going away with Vivien? How could Vivien ever think she'd do that? How did she think she could ever get into a mindset where she would consider such an offer.

"No, I'm not packing, and stop pointing the gun at Diego, for fuck's sake."

Vivien let out a sigh as if she was being difficult. "Fine, I'll pack then, just keep the gun pointed at him so he doesn't get any funny ideas."

"No. No, no, no, no, no. Fuck no!" Gen couldn't help but snap at Vivien, finally actually moving closer to Vivien to stand between her and Diego. She hated the gun, her entire body was screaming against it, but she couldn't let Diego get hurt, not again. "Did you even hear what I said? Stop pointing that shit at him, for fuck's sake. And I'm not going with you."

Now she was standing between Diego and Vivien and she really hoped Diego could figure something out while he was shielded because Vivien still held two guns and while she was sure she didn't intend to hurt her, she wasn't sure if the woman would change her mind once it fully hit her that she wasn't going to just blindly run away with her. And it seemed to be finally hitting her, because for the first time it looked like Vivien was taken aback.

"What do you mean you're not coming with me? Of course you are, don't play games with me."

"No, I'm not I'm not playing games and I'm not fucking going with you. Did you really think I would? You fucking-- you fucking ruined my life and my family's life! You lied to me for years! For years, Vivien!"

Vivien was staring at her for what felt like forever before she pushed her aside and backhanded Diego with the back of the gun again. Gen let out a small shriek, "STOP, what are you doing?!" while Vivien seemed to barely hear her. "You and your FBI buddies talked in her ear until you turned her against me, huh? Happy now?"

_______________________

The voices around him were muted, slightly garbled as Diego tried to come to his senses, fight through the dull pain and slight nausea so he could jump into action. Darcy - Gen - was in deep trouble here....or so he kept trying to tell himself. After realizing what had happened (or what he thought happened, but perhaps he was just a dirty old man who's mind immediately went to sexual assumptions. Maybe the women were actually doing something else together? Did it really matter? The point was, they were doing something together. Whether it was sex or baking a cake, it still meant that Gen was interacting cooperatively and in tandem with Vivien.

Had this been going on under his nose for a while? Just like with LA, had Diego become too soft and indulgent, loosened the rules because he thought he could trust Darcy - and she somehow finangled some situation with Vivien?

But he was thinking too far ahead, his mind was swimming all over the place, fractured and weighted like cement. He listened, using their voices to focus himself. Gen seemed half-mad, unable to articulate much other than mewling objections to whatever Vivien was saying, having spurts of angry lashing out, and then finally being able to say something justified. For a moment Diego wondered what sort of hold Vivien had on Gen, in their relationship. When Gen thought it was a healthy, happy relationship. Because right now, it just seemed like Vivien was at the wheel of their car, and Gen was stuffed in the back trunk. Vivien called the shots, expected Gen to do what she wanted, and Gen's protests fell on completely deaf ears.

He tried to get up - he thought he was being subtle about it too - but apparently not as Vivien whipped around and connected the butt of her gun to Diego's face. He felt the blood burst in his mouth as he fell back again, but for some reason that smack managed to bring some sort of adrenaline-fueled clarity to his brain.

"What the hell do you want. How did you find her," Diego growled, voice thick and gravelly.

Vivien scoffed, tossing her hair as she looked over at Gen. "That other idiot US Marshal, Ellis. He didn't know he was being tracked, and funny enough, my people were tracking him for something completely different. But then you showed up in LA one night to meet him, baby," Vivien smiled at Gen. "It was like you wanted me to find you, some kind of fate. My guy followed you back to this shithole town, and...." She shook her head. "God, after all these years of looking, I've finally found you. I have to say they hid you well, I'll give them that. But Gen, you were never going to testify against my gang, were you? Even if you told the FBI that you would....you were probably just scared, you poor baby." Vivien smiled at Gen, and if she wasn't still holding two guns she would've reached up to caress Gen's face. "And now you know I'm a alive, so I know you definitely won't say anything now. Besides,"

Vivien turned to look at Diego. "It's not like she knows anything anyway. She's my girl, and I want her back. And we're leaving. And Gen, don't worry about your family. Once you're with me, I'll just tell my guys to stop looking for your family, they'll be fine. You're the one I wanted, not them." She looked annoyed though that Gen seemed rooted to the ground, so she moved instead, keeping one weapon trained on Diego as she got herself into her clothes. "Gen, if you won't help me with him, then help me with my clothes? We gotta get out of here. Don't worry, I'll take care of him when you're out. I'm going to keep you safe now."

_______________________

Her heart jumped up into her throat when she heard that the reason Vivien was now standing in her apartment was because Darcy was reckless enough to go meet Tyler when he sent her that picture. It was her fault. All of this was her freaking fault. If just once she didn't act immediately, none of this now would be happening...

And Vivien just kept talking. She was finally here, she finally found Gen, and now she could get it all out of her. Darcy figured Diego was trying to keep her talking to stall on time, not that he really needed to prompt her too much - it was like words were flying out of the woman and fuck, with every word, it felt even more and more overwhelming (which really, she couldn't understand how it was even possible at this point, but while in some regards she felt like her head was clearing out and she could finally think straight, on the other hand, she felt like she was more and more underwater with every passing second.

And Vivien still kept going, calling Sunnymead a shitshow (Darcy felt incredibly offended on this part, this place was her home, how dare she talk about the town like this?), talking about how Gen would never testify to the FBI as if she wanted to reassure herself (oh hell she was going to testify, not that they could do much with her testimony, but she would gladly testify), how she was Vivien's girl (funny how just before that she said she didn't know shit and somehow Vivien still found it believable to call Gen her girl), and then had the audacity to drag her family into it too (though, technically they got dragged into it right from the beginning). It was so much, too much, she didn't even know what to say, what to do. Which thing should she pinpoint and deny first. She felt like every addition detail Vivien mentioned would deserve its own objection, its own fucking fight, but was it even wise at this point to pick a fight with Vivien? She couldn't not stare at those damn guns still, and it seemed more and more like Vivien wasn't at all the woman she thought she was and Gen wasn't sure what she was capable of, what she was willing to do to get her way.

And then Vivien mentioned taking care of Diego and really, Darcy should have known. She should have known that was the plan cause from Vivien's standpoint, that would be the logical course of action. But still, it shocked her even more, took her completely by surprise and momentarily made her forget everything else Vivien said.

"No! What the fu-- NO! You're not gonna fucking take care of Diego," she said with such vehemence and strength behind her voice that felt like she hasn't had ever since Vivien knocked on her door.

Vivien let out an exasperated sigh. "Babe, of course I have to take care of him. What did you expect? We can't let him run to the US Marshalls and the FBI the moment we get out of this hellhole. I could tie him up and it could win us some time - I doubt he'd be resourceful enough to even be able to get out of the binds, he doesn't seem like the fastest thinking," she said looking down at Diego for a moment and Darcy almost corrected her, almost spoke up, but the last second thought otherwise cause Vivien underestimating Diego might be the best chance they had. "But even those odds I am not happy with. If he dies, we win a couple of days. By the time they find him and realize what happened, we'll be gone and nobody will find us."

Vivien really didn't hear anything she was saying and Darcy felt less and less certain there was even any kind of out of this situation. "Fuck, okay, let's get a few things clear. One, stop calling me babe, I'm not your babe or baby or anything. Ever again. Two, I'm not fucking going with you. I have a life here, yes, here in this shithole of a town, as you put it. I have a business, I have people I care about, I have a routine and I have--" Fuck, she almost actually said she had Diego. Both not true, and probably the worst thing she could have said in this situation. "I have things I don't want to just get away from, okay? And even if this was the worst place ever, I'd still not want to go with you. And three, don't you fucking dare hurt Diego, you hear me?"

"Why are you being so difficult about this, Genny? We were so happy together and we will be again!"

"We were so happy cause we were living a fucking lie!" Gen couldn't help snapping at Vivien at this point, not being able to hold it inside anymore. "Do you think for a second that we would have had the relationship that we had if I had any sort of knowledge about everything you were hiding from me? Did you ever even wanted to tell me about it? Or were you planning on keeping me in the dark for the rest of our lives?"

Vivien shrugged as if it wasn't a big deal. "No, I didn't want to tell you because I knew you'd freak out. But if you just come with me, you'll see that it's not as big of a deal as you think."

"So what's your plan exactly? I go with you and turn into a criminal? Or I'm just kept on the side again like before, except now I'd be in hiding and couldn't even live a life? Is that your big plan?"

"We'd be together, that's my plan. The rest we can figure out together."

"But can't you understand, I don't want to fucking figure it out together. I don't want to do anything together with you. Fuck, Vivien! Because of you, Olivia is dead! Do you get that? Unless somehow miraculously she survived to and I was lied about her death too, she is dead because of fucking you! And you just expect me to play nicey nice with you?"

"You did, not so long ago." Well, Gen didn't have anything to say to that. But there was a shift in Vivien. She looked at Gen with careful consideration, those two fucking guns still in her hands, twirling the one that wasn't still pointing towards Diego in her fingers as if it wasn't a small death machine. "You know," she started, her voice sharper now, "I really thought we could do this the easy way. Here's what's going to happy. You are coming with me, Genny, whether you like it or not. You can come willingly, or I will drag you, your choice, but it's happening. And as for that poor fellow who had the misfortune to come over while I was here, he is dying tonight. You'll understand everything later, you'll see that it had to be like this."

Darcy swallowed hard and glanced over at Diego and fuck, his face looked bad. She knew that most of this was just superficial stuff and he was okay, nothing too serious happened yet, but even just looking at the blood seeping out of his mouth or the swelling where Vivien probably hit him first, it was hard. She didn't want to see him like this, and she definitely didn't want to see him in even worse state. She wanted to talk to him, ask him if he was okay, see what he was thinking so that they could somehow get out of this. Or at least she could make sure Diego was walking out of this apartment alive and not carried out in a bodybag.

Fuck, she needed to make sure Diego survived this.

"Okay," she said quietly. "Okay, I'll go. I'll go with you and I will keep my mouth shut and we can... we can see how things will go. You know, once things get a bit better. But with one condition. Diego lives. You're not hurting him, you're not sending anyone after him. He gets out of this unscattered."

_______________________

Gen was right - Diego had wanted to stall Vivien by getting her to talk, but later he'd admit to himself that he was stalling, because there was a small, twisted part of him that believed Gen would go along with Vivien, and do whatever Vivien said. Maybe not because she actually even wanted to but just because she still seemed in such complete shock, and people in shock tended to be easy to direct and herd, under authority.

Granted he should have remembered that Gen-in-shock never got passive. If anything, she got more angry, more stubborn, more vehement.

And she did exactly that, finally exploding at Vivien as the two women diverged into a full-blown argument. It seemed like G.en didn't know where to start first, with everything she wanted to say to Vivien. And the other woman took it all in stride, giving Gen empty reassurances that only made Gen angrier. Diego huffed slightly in a brief moment of grim amusement. Didn't Vivien know that reassuring Gen Soto of anything only made her more enraged? But then, did Vivien ever know Gen at this level of angry? Before this all went down, before Gen found Vivien shot and then got shot herself, perhaps Gen had no reason to get this angry. Maybe the Gen that Vivien knew was not the Gen screaming at her now.

But regardless, their arguing gave Diego enough time to finally get himself together. He stared at Vivien, who'd managed to get some clothes on now and had both guns in her hands again. That was fine. His safety was still on, and he hoped she hadn't changed that. Her gun, he couldn't be sure of. Ultimately, she had to be disarmed of both. And most importantly, Diego had to make sure that Gen didn't get hurt in any way.

Vivien was completely distracted by Gen now; and so the moment that Gen agreed to go with Vivien, Diego took his chance. He pushed himself up and charged, hoping to god he was as fast as he thought he was. He did manage to smack his own weapon out of Vivien's hand, and he grabbed her other wrist, twisting it up and slamming her against one of the walls with his own bodyweight.

"Let go, let go before I--" He moved back just enough with the intent to shove her face front against the wall, twist her arm back enough to make her drop the gun - but moving back also gave her an advantage too. With a scream, she kneed him hard in the groin, and that definitely made Diego fall back, but he still kept a tight grip on her wrist. Vivien tried to wriggle away, but it was clear she only could, if she dropped her gun.

With another scream she did, then shoved Diego away and raced out of the bedroom, towards the kitchen. "Gen!" she called out, trying to grab at Gen along the way, but met with resistance and with the US Marshal recovering enough to give her chase, Vivien knew she had to get out of there now. "Goddammit, Gen!! I came back for you! All these fucking years, I just wanted to find you!"

Diego managed to find his own weapon, and with a glance at Gen, he whispered. "Stay here," and he followed Vivien into the kitchen. But when he got there, the back door was open, and Vivien was gone. Diego rushed to the steps, but he couldn't see her. The car! Parked out on the street, that had to be Vivien's. It looked expensive enough. He rushed back inside to the windows, but the car was already gone.

"Dammit!" Diego pounded the windowsill in frustration, but that sudden action was enough to send shooting pain all through his body, and he stumbled back, falling heavily onto the couch. "Dar...Gen," he panted, dizzy and exhausted. "She's...she's gone. I need to make...a phone...call."

_______________________

Suddenly there was so many things happening at once. She should have, but she didn't anticipate Diego charging forwards, and Darcy let out a small cry of surprise as she jumped back, watching both in horror as the two of them wrestled, terrified either of the guns would go off and leave Diego hurt and bleeding out once again, and in awe at how efficiently Diego managed to disarm Vivien.

Vivien did get away in the process, though, and somehow still either being delusional, or hoping that the shock of the situation would make Gen move without even thinking, she reached for her hand and tried to drag her along, but she tore her arm out of her hold while she punched towards Vivien with her free arm. She was aiming towards Vivien's face, but only managed to hit the woman's shoulders as she was moving swiftly, "I never asked for you to come find me."

And then Diego was rushing past her, telling her to stay in the apartment and maybe in another situation she would have liked to think she ignored that, went after Vivien and actually helped Diego in catching her, but in that moment she couldn't even imagine going anywhere that would get her closer to Vivien. She never wanted to see that woman again if she could help it.

So for a few moments, she just stood there, shaken and frozen, and then without even realizing what she was doing, she moved towards the bathroom and threw up the content of her entire stomach (not that there was too much in it, really, she was pretty sure she skipped dinner the previous night).

She wasn't sure how much time passed, though it couldn't have been too much, because when she heard movement and Diego's voice from the other room, she was still leaning over the toilet, trying to catch her breath, trying to get her own shit together. And if she was being honest, she wished Diego could have stayed away longer, or she could just shut the bathroom door and not interact with Diego because she fucked up real bad this time and she wasn't sure what would happen next. Not Diego forgiving her and the two of them working things out, that was for sure. What was she supposed to even do or say now? She wanted to apologize but no apology felt like it would be enough, nothing really felt like it could be enough.

And then she heard a thud coming somewhere from the living room and her heart stopped for a moment. Diego didn't seem that badly hurt, but could she have missed something? She didn't see everything that Vivien did to him and her brain immediately jumped to the worst-case scenario. When she rushed out of the bathroom, though, she found Diego sitting exhausted and probably hurt on the couch, but conscious, definitely conscious.

"Fuck, are you-- are you okay?" she asked, even though it was probably pointless, she could see that Diego was definitely not okay. Neither of them were, really, but she didn't really care about herself in the moment. "Stay here, don't move." As if he was just gonna spring up and just run off...

She rushed over to the kitchen and hoped that she'd find something in her freezer that could help with the swelling - she did cook for them a couple of weeks ago, there had to be some leftover frozen vegetables in there. And thankfully half a bag of frozen peas was sitting in her freezer. She leet a sudden, long sigh of relief. At least she could do that. She was practically useless since the moment Diego showed up (since Vivien showed up, really), but at least she could hold a half a bag of frozen peas on the man's face she was in love with to help the swelling. Good stuff, definitely good stuff.

She quickly grabbed a dish cloth from one of the drawers, watered it and headed back to Diego.

She sat down next to him and after inspecting his face for a few moments, she placed the bag gently against his face. "Hold this there, it's gonna help," she told him and started carefully cleaning up the blood on his face. "Where else did she get you?"

And that was the moment it really hit her. The man she was in love with. She loved Diego. She loved him and she fucked it up and... well, she was pretty sure even without this fuck up she wouldn't have had a chance, not after Rita and Diego making sure she knew he moved on. Fuck. Fuck, she loved him. And it didn't matter one bit.

She felt a new kinds of daze hitting her and she had to bit the inside of her lip to get herself out of it, to make herself focus. He didn't care. He wouldn't care. He was just doing his job and now that job included calling in about Vivien showing up. And her best case scenario was being able to convince him not do to that and at least be able to stay here without him once his probation ended instead of being relocated to a whole new life and still not have him in her life. Fuck.

"Look, I know you-- fuck, I know I can't ask you this, okay? I know that. But... I wasn't lying when I said that this is my home and I don't want to go anywhere." She was speaking quietly, carefully, while focusing on his wounds instead of his face. "If you make the call, I'm going to be out of here in the matter of hours. And I-- I can't start over. Not again. Please."

_______________________

"I've never heard you cuss more in all the time I've known you, woman," Diego mumbled, not really sure how he was able to find any sort of amusement out of this situation, but maybe that was just what his mind did. It was habitual of the office he worked in, to find grim, often dark humour in their line of work. It helped alleviate tension and stress...and god did Darcy look stressed. God did he feel that same stress himself.

Everything was sideways. Everything.

"Thanks..." he said, taking the frozen peas. Experimentally and hesitantly, he slowly placed the peas on his groin, but that was almost too sensitive even to handle the cold. He winced and returned the pack to his face, as Darcy cleaned up some of the blood. "She got me real good here," he said, pointing at his crotch. "No offense when I say this, but lesbians always know exactly how to kick a man in the nuts. Guess when they got no use for it, they might as well learn how to defeat it, huh."

He was making jokes, but with Darcy so close to him, all he wanted to do was kiss her. But he didn't, because all he could smell off of her was that perfume that wasn't her's, and that musk of sex. Also the acrid scent of bile. The poor thing probably threw up at some point while he tried to pursue Vivien.

"She's alive," he croaked. And then carefully, trying not to put any anger or judgement into his voice, he asked, "How long have you known she's alive?"

And when Darcy asked him not to make any calls, he sighed, almost knowing she was going to plead him not to. "Darcy, you really should understand by now. I think you do understand, and yet there's some part of you that still want to be in denial." He took a breath, and then spoke outloud what he was sure Darcy already knew. Maybe she had to hear it outloud as well. "Vivien knows where you are. And she might claim she wants to take you away, but she might also want to kill you on her own terms, in her own time. She's alive, godammit. This changes everything..." He frowned, and growled something about whether the FBI knew this all along, and just kept that information from the US Marshal office. Damn feebs.

"If you stay here, then you're putting the people here in danger. All of these townsfolk have now becom moving targets, caught in a crossfire. And I can't protect you on my own, not against a crime syndicate that wants you, dead or alive. I'm afraid the cat's outta the bag, sweetheart. When Vivien showed up here alive and when you..." Diego looked down Darcy's body, down the shirt - his shirt, in fact - that was open enough at the collar for him to catch a glimpse of her nakedness underneath, and he pressed his mouth together, amending his words. "...when you let her in, it was game over. Your protection is paramount, but the protection of the innocent civilians who live here is a risk no one can take. I need to inform my boss."

Little did Diego know that the little sleepy town was already being affected by Vivien's vengeful ways, one floor below them.

_______________________

To most of the employees, opening the diner was always the worst hours to work because of how early Darcy liked The Grub to be open. Normally by 6am they were already open for a slow business for those who might want to grab coffee or a full breakfast before their own early shifts at work, or even for tourists who were driving through. Juliana didn’t mind it though, she appreciated being given and trusted with the responsibility to take care of things before the day started.

It had been way too early for Phoenix’s alarm to go off so she didn’t even bother trying to wake him up. She slipped out of bed to get ready while half asleep, giving him a kiss on the head before heading out, deciding that she would probably just make herself some coffee when she arrived at the diner to wake herself up.

Everything felt the same as always, nothing about the drive to work could have possibly notified her of anything different going on. The only odd thing she noticed was the really nice and expensive car that drove by as she was unlocking the front door to the diner. Nobody around here drove anything that nice but it was just something she shrugged off as she went inside, turned on the lights and slowly began her set up.

_______________________

The night didn’t go as Vivien planned one bit. Most people would have called her delusional, while Bex would have called her hopeful just to soften the blow a bit. But she still thought things would go differently, she still thought Genevieve would come with her. They were happy together and she spent her time looking for her all this time, that had to mean something, right? Apparently not, and now she was riding out of this shithole of a town shaking from anger and disappointment and pain.

She couldn’t spend her time licking her wounds, though, despite how much she wanted to do that. Genevieve out there was still a problem. Now even more so than ever. - Her people always looked at Genny as a problem, but Vivien was so sure, she looked at Gen as somebody she lost and not a problem she had to deal with. That had to change now.

She needed to figure out how to get Genevieve out of the clutches of that US Marshall, who now must be not even moving an inch from Genevieve, not to mention soon the FBI would be coming in, too. Both to move Genny and try to catch her. She had to move quickly.

And then it hit her. That woman. The one she saw Genevieve working with in her diner. The one whom she must be sleeping with. That woman was the key to get Gen.

She was around the town border when she hit the brake and turned around. It was a risk to go back to the diner, but she assumed the Marshall and Genevieve would be recuperating and she could try to see if the woman has an early shift.

Which she was, to Vivien’s luck, she could see the woman moving around the diner through the windows. She left the car in the side street so she was still close but her car wouldn’t be visible from Genevieve’s windows and she headed into the diner with a smile on her face. “Hello? Anyone here?”

_______________________

Being all alone in the diner was a weird sensation almost like being at a park on a rainy day or a grocery store late at night. In a way it felt like being in a completely different dimension from when the place was open and filled with people. It was weirder when, as she began making herself some coffee, she realized that Darcy hadn’t come down yet. Usually Darcy was around, or came down not too long after Juliana arrived to help with the set up and make things go a little faster.

Juliana didn’t question it, Darcy worked hard and deserved some extra rest. Though her absence did make Juliana’s mind wander, made her question if Darcy was resting or if there might have been something else going on. Not that she would open up if she questioned her. It was happening a lot more lately and sure, she could be rather nosey, but it sort of made Juliana pick up on the trend that she didn’t actually recall Darcy ever really opening up or sharing personal stuff about herself the way Juliana would open up to her. She had been questioning since Christmas if this relationship they was strictly business and this wasn’t the friendly/sisterly relationship she thought it was for the past four years.

She continued her work and decided that when Darcy finally came down she’d talk to her about it, just rip the bandaid off even if it would hurt to find out Darcy didn’t think of them the same way Juliana did. The concern she felt had dissipated for a moment at the sound of the bell at the entrance ringing. Assuming it was Jose coming in for his shift there was a split second of relief until she heard an unfamiliar voice call out. She felt embarrassed, leaving the door unlocked for just anyone to walk in, they didn’t even have their cook in yet!

Popping out from the back room, Juliana gave the woman an apologetic smile as she walked over to her. “Hi! Good morning, I’m sorry we’re actually not quite open yet. Our cook should be here shortly but I can get you a coffee if you’re willing to wait a bit.”

_______________________

“Yeah, of course! Come, have a seat.” Juliana replied, nodding her head as she gave the woman a pleasant smile and gestured over towards the counter where there were some stools for her to sit on. Juliana hoped that she was making the proper decision, it didn’t seem fair to simply kick out a customer just because there was still a little bit of cleaning to do. It was mostly just wiping down tables and placing down cutlery after all, so it wasn’t too big a deal to have her sit at the counter drinking her coffee. Juliana could easily have a chat with her to keep her occupied until Jose showed up as well so she stuck by her decision and walked with the customer over to the counters.

As the woman apologized, Juliana simply waved it off and shook her head. “Don’t worry about it. I don’t mind at all, at least now I’ve got some company!” she grinned, a sweet and precious grin as though she had just made a new friend, having absolutely no idea who this woman was and what she was capable of.

She planned on asking about Napa Valley, never having been there herself, but with the mention of the bathroom Juliana decided she would wait until after she came back to discuss the topic with her. “Oh yeah, the bathroom is just right over there-“ she began, turning around to point out the door only to feel herself being grabbed the moment her back was turned. Her eyes widened in fear and shock, muffled sounds of distress that couldn’t quite be loud enough to alert anyone of anything with the womans hand pressed hard against her mouth.

Her father had taught her some form of self defence but god knows she was out of practice. When would she have ever needed to use self defence here in Sunnymead? She attempted to grab onto the woman’s arm that was secured around her neck, trying to pull herself free but to no avail. Her whimpering became more frantic and only louder by a fraction for a few moments but quickly, she could feel herself losing consciousness from the hold Vivien had on her. All together the flailing stopped, her body gave up on the struggle and went limp in Vivien’s arms, just hearing the whispering before blacking out.

_______________________

The woman struggled, she tried, but Vivien wasn’t surprised that she couldn’t break out of her hold. She knew exactly how to do this without a weak woman like this one could get out of it, plus surprise was on Vivien’s side as well, so she went down easily.

The moment when she went limp in Vivien’s arms, Vivien quickly patted her down to make sure she had her phone on her (she needed some way to communicate with Genevieve once she got the girl to a save and secure location) and then she dragged the body out of the diner, not even caring long enough to close the door behind herself, and deposited her in her trunk. She did not want her to try anything in case she woke up during the drive to Evanstead.

The phone started ringing not long after, and she breathed a sigh of relief that nobody was on the streets and she could move quickly and that she avoided any other employee in the process too. She figured another waitress or maybe a cook showed up for their shift, found the door empty and nobody inside and alerted Genevieve upstairs and that is why the damn phone was ringing several times after each other.

She made the drive to the other town quickly and pulled into the empty warehouse Bex and her agreed to meet, with the woman already waiting by the door.

“No Genevieve?” she asked tentatively.

“Change of plans,” Vivien grunted as she got out of the car.

“Sorry.”

“Don’t need your fake apologies, Bex, I know you just want to say ‘I told you so’.”

“That, too, sure, but I really am sorry it didn’t go as planned.”

“Sure,” Vivien said, voice irritated as she opened the trunk. She knew she sounded like she didn’t appreciate Bex or even believed her, but she was glad it was her friend who was here to help her with all of this and not anyone else. “Now come help me get the girl out of here. We need to tie her up and make sure Genny knows we have her precious little girl.”

_______________________

Darcy let out a small scoff. "I think of there's ever a time when every other word of mine is cursing, it's this one. But I can stop if it's bothering you. I just-- yeah, I can stop."

She winced when he pointed towards his crotch - she couldn't even imagine what kind of pain he was in right now, and that was a place where she didn't even know what could help. "Do you want some pain killers? Would that help?" she asked, ignoring everything else he said because really, getting into that kind of discussion... this was not the time. Not the time at all.

Instead she quietly said, "I'm sorry. I'm really really really sorry. For all of this. If I didn't... if I didn't go to LA, none of this would have happened." He would be okay, he wouldn't be hurt, and he wouldn't have to deal with all of this shitshow. This was definitely not what he signed up for, even if it was sort of a mandatory thing for him. If he would have just gotten his probation somewhere else, he really wouldn't have had to deal with any shit that went down in the last ten months or so.

"I'm not-- I'm not really sure when she showed up. I was kind of out of it," she admitted, not that it was making anything better on her part, but she still wanted Diego to knew. She knew it didn't make a difference, but still. "But maybe a few hours before you showed up. I-- I thought it was just a nightmare, it didn't feel real. It still doesn't feel fucking real, to be honest. That she's-- how did she even survive?" After a moment she added even quieter, barely above whisper now, "Do you think there's any sort of chance that if she's alive, Olivia might be alive too?"

She knew Diego was speaking the truth, of course she did. She knew it would be idiotic of her to even try to stay in Sunnymead, but still she had to try. She had to try to convince Diego because the possibility of a relocation, of having to start all over again terrified her more than almost anything else. She had no idea how her brother did it, how he managed to push through and not go completely crazy. She already felt like Darcy and Genevieve were trying to take her apart in her head, she couldn't even imagine adding one more person in there. Not to mention the fact that she loved the people here, she had connections, friends, people she cared about. And leaving meant leaving all of them behind without so much as a goodbye. Nobody would ever know where she went, they'd just think she abandoned everything and snuck out the middle of the night.

But when Diego brought up the exact people she didn't want to say goodbye to, pointed out that she would not only danger herself but everyone in town, too, all of her arguments fell apart. She would have been willing to put herself in danger for the possibility of a life in Sunnymead, but she would have had to be the most heartless and selfish person on the entire world to say "fuck them" about an entire town of people.

She almost dropped her head onto his shoulder to seek just the tiniest bit of comfort from him, but thankfully the last minute she caught herself and dropped her head onto the back of the couch instead. Just because he was being calm and nice, it didn't mean she could do that. She honestly didn't even feel like she deserved the niceness. She wished he would be yelling at her, trying to lecture or chastize her. She would deserve all of it and so much more.

"So what now? I just-- I start packing and we leave in an hour or something? No goodbyes, no closure, nothing? Nobody will ever know or understand what happened? That's what happened in New York, so I'm guessing this is how it will happen now, too, right?" She couldn't really imagine how she could just disappear during the day when people are out and about, but she was sure everyone at the FBI would be more than happy to make that happen.

"What happens to-- what happens to everyone who works for me? Are they just going to lose their jobs? I mean, Jose has three kids, he needs the money. And Flo started taking extra shifts so she could take her grandkids to Disneyland over the summer. And Juliana... fuck, Juliana is downstairs opening the Grub right now and nobody is even going to tell her or any of them that the shop is closed."

She pulled back, looking at him carefully. "What does this mean for you?" She was almost too afraid to ask, but she had to know. "Are you-- are you coming with me or is this it? I get somebody else?"

_______________________

"Pain killers will help, yeah," he said, and then added, "With some whiskey if you have any." He had no doubt that she did. He stayed there quietly, phone balanced on his knee as she got his advil and cleaned up his face. It felt good, soothing. Even if it was such a small bit of pleasure in such a rough time, Diego did try to take the time to enjoy it. Everything seemed to be coming to an end, and Diego was determined to take whatever minute pleasure he could get from being close with Darcy as he could get.

But when Darcy apologized, he looked up at her, his stare grim and flat. "You know what's funny about you, Genevieve Soto. Is that when I got this assignment, and hell - even from Johnathan himself - everything in the notes and your file stated that you had demonstrated that you were the ideal witness in the protection program. That you just completely jumped straight into the life of Darcy Palmer, started up a goddamn diner of all things, and fit right into the town. No one suspected a thing about you here. Johnathan said he barely had to do much at all. You were supposed to be a cake-walk. I was on probation, but Al wanted to give me an easy job of it." Diego blinked, although it hurt even to do that, as the bruises started to bloom.

"Hunh. Easy. Not for Diego Chavez, oh no. The moment I took over, it was like I opened up some sort of pandora's box for your life and upended it completely. And now suddenly Vivien is fucking alive and she found you?? I don't...even know what to think anymore."

He looked at her from under his brow though, sympathy in his eyes when he said, "No. Olivia is dead. I know you weren't able to attend her funeral, but I saw her autopsy report. Vivien didn't have one, but she did. I'm sorry, Gen."

When Gen started with her barrage of questions, he shook his head. "I don't know the answers to any of that. This is out of my hands now, when I make the call then the FBI will take over and handle things from there. You'll probably be relocated, yeah. But before that you might be taken to a holding facility while the FBI sets up a new location for you to settle. Then a new handler will be assigned to you from the US Mashal office in whatever state you'll be in."

He gave another shrug about the people who worked at the Grub. "I believe the FBI will confiscate the paperwork and possibly the building and property will be foreclosed to the government, and resold eventually. But until them it'll just be caught in red tape and closed indefinitely until it gets viable once more to be resold as a commercial property. I believe it's easier to turnaround commercial property than residential because you don't technically own the building..." But Diego knew she wasn't really interested in the ins and outs of real estate. Frankly, neither was he. Dully, he said, "People lose their jobs all the time. That's just life."

There was a moment of silence between them, and Diego wasn't too lost in his own thoughts to hear something odd. He frowned, and looked at Darcy. "I know you keep a clean establishment, so don't get insulted, but. D'you hear that? Is that a mouse in your wall or floorboards or something? Or is that a noise your hedgehog makes?"

_______________________

Gen nodded and went to get an advil and pour a big glass of whiskey for Diego, and she took several big gulps of the alcohol straight from the bottle herself. She desperately wanted a cigarette as well, but she could smoke one later. Now she just wanted to finish cleaning Diego up and not think about the fact that this is probably the last time they would be this close together.

She brought the painkiller and the alcohol back to Diego and went back to finishing cleaning him up. When he started talking, she looked down, finding it hard to really look at him. She couldn't really explain it. She couldn't pinpoint what happened that made everything turn to shit so often and so many times since Diego showed up, but she felt guilty beyond anything for that, and for endangering him so many times. "You know, you make it sound like it's your fault. Like you brought all of this on yourself and me and that's just-- I really hope you don't actually think that, because none of this was your fault. *None.*"

She cleared her throat and shook her head. "Can't really explain what happened, either, aside from me making a shitton of horrible and reckless decisions, but I really am sorry. For bringing all of it onto you and making your year such a terrible and horrible ordeal. But hey, if it's worth anything, after all of it you still kept me safe, so if that doesn't make you pass your probation with flying colors, nothing will, right?" she added, trying to make her tone lighter, trying to make at least something positive out of everything.

She knew his answer was coming, and it's not like she didn't live her past few years knowing that her sister was dead, but at the same time hearing her smallest bit of hope getting crushed brought up the original surge of grief she felt when she was told what happened to Olivia. It wasn't fair. Vivien survived and Olivia who has done nothing wrong didn't make it. It wasn't fucking fair. Gen leaned forward and buried her face into her palms for a moment to gather herself before she looked back up at Diego and nodded. "Yeah, figured you'd say that. I just-- you know, had to check."

New location, new identity, completely new handler. Not that Diego would have stayed much longer in Sunnymead, but the fact that they'd be departing after all of this... Though she wasn't sure it would have been much easier to know she'd never be able to see him again if it would have been in a more peaceful environtment. The only reason it would have been easier was because then at least she could spend her time with people she cared about. Now she'd have to deal with relocation, too, and knowing that she fucked over all of her employees and lost them their jobs. In that moment she decided that even though she couldn't do much, she'd at least try to do something for everyone who worked at the Grub. Try to convince the FBI to either keep the place going - it could work without her at this point, after all, and it was making a nice profit that the FBI could take for itself, or to let one of the employees be the new owner of the place. It would be the least she could do for them, really.

She was too lost in her own thoughts and she didn't quite catch what kind of noise Diego was talking about, but she looked around and listened - Vex was quietly running in her spinning toy from the sound of it, but that was a constant sound, so it couldn't have been what Diego heard. "We don't have mouses, and before you ask, we don't have rats either, and I doubt it was Vex. Juliana is supposed to be downstairs opening the place and Jose is supposed to be arriving soon, so maybe it's either of them. But we could head down, see what it is. Even if this place will shut down, I still don't want any animals in here while it's still running." And at least while they were focusing on finding the possible rats or mouses, that phonecall was getting postponed and she could put her energy into something other that everything that happened and everything that was awaiting her. She'd had enough time to dwell on everything later anyway.

She quickly and sheepishly went and put on some yoga pants and then the two of them headed downstairs. She didn't even care that Juliana might get ideas, none of it meant anything anymore. She'd probably be out of here by the end of the day, so who cared if they were seen coming down from her apartment together (at least that would give the town some gossip about her disappearance and maybe they'd think they ran away together, turn it into some ridiculous story like they always did.)

To her surprise, though, nobody was downstairs. She checked the time and no, it's wasn't too early, Juliana was already supposed to be here at this point. "This is weird, where is she?" she pondered. The thing is, it didn't look like Juliana didn't show up. It looked like she got through half of the pre-opening routine with the chairs down from the tables and maybe two tables having salt and pepper and the menus already on them, but nothing else, and then decided to leave. And fucking leave the front door open. Well, make a coffee first and then leave.

"What the hell is going on here?" she asked, a surge of bad feeling rising inside of her but she pushed it down. She was just seeing nightmares everywhere because of what happened not so long ago, not everything is connected to gang lords and people coming back from the dead. "She's probably in the bathroom, I'll check on her to make sure she's okay, can you check the back to make sure it's not any animals? Maybe something really did come in."

But Juliana was not in the bathrooms and when she went to check the kitchens, nobody was there either and the panic inside of her started to rise again.

She fished her phone out and dialed Juliana, but even though she kept whispering "Pick up, pick up, pick up, please pick up," nothing happened, and the call automatically ended after a while. She sent a worried look towards Diego who came back in the meantime and called again and again. "Why is she not picking up?" she groaned. "You don't think... this couldn't have been... right?" she asked, hoping that somehow Diego for sure could reassure her that Vivien couldn't have had anything to do with this.

"I'm going to call Phoenix, he will probably be able to reach her," she said, more to reassure herself than anything. "Phoenix, hey, listen, is Juliana around? Or, I don't know, can you call her? See if she's okay? She's supposed to be here opening but she's not and she's not picking up the phone and... it's probably nothing, but it's kind of weird and just want to make sure she's okay, you know?"

_______________________

"Well, I..." Diego wasn't going to acknowledge that whole issue of who was to blame. He knew what Al would say: no one was to blame, but the crime syndicate who put everyone in this situation. But Diego realized that if he blamed himself, then the only way Darcy knew how to try and help him, was to blame herself even more. As if that would help; it didn't. But she didn't have an Al telling her that no one was to blame for this, but Vivien.

Well, Gen did have Diego. He made a mental note to say this to her, when he got the chance.

In the meantime, he dithered between letting Gen (Darcy? He might as well start calling her Gen now. Darcy Palmer was officially dead at this point) go down to check the diner herself while he made the phone call, or accompanying her. She seemed to think this was a task they both had to do together. And Diego couldn't even blame her - she was probably still jittery after what just happened, and she had every right to be. No, it was better to hold off on the call just yet, so he could stick to his direct assignment: keeping Gen Soto safe. Besides, Diego had a strange feeling about Vivien, that she wasn't intending to flee the country anytime soon, not without Gen. So long as the FBI knew that she was alive all this time, then they could get on the manhunt to catch her.

So he slowly eased himself up and fetched his gun from Gen's bedroom, slipping his phone in one back pocket and holding the gun in his hand. He gave Gen a look: 'don't argue with me on this' was what the look said, about his firearm.

When they went downstairs though, the diner was empty. Diego checked where Gen asked him, and returned to the main room shaking his head. "No one," he said, noticing the telltale signs as well, that someone had just been here.

As Darcy tried to make phone calls, Diego holstered his weapon and went outside, squinting at the tire marks on the dusty street. Someone seemed to have drove up recently, then pulled a U and drove headed out of town, southwards. Recently enough that the breeze had yet to disturb the dust marks on the street. He headed back inside, as Gen said she was going to call Phoenix.

"Shit..." he pulled his own phone out as well, heartbeat accelerating. Still, he didn't make any call just yet, not until him and Gen heard back from Phoenix. "Ask him if he has Juliana's phone tracked." Maybe that was a creepy thing to assume that a boyfriend might have for his girlfriend, but Diego figured those two were so tight, they probably both used the phone tracking app for each other, just to be cute or whatever kids thought was romantic these days.

_______________________

Phoenix slept with the ringer on his phone turned up for a few reasons, namely his family and Juliana. Had there been an emergency with his siblings or parents, he wanted to be there in a flash. His family meant more to him than anything else in this world. The ringer breaking through his dream — a strange one featuring a lot of snakes combined with him drowning — made Phoenix want to throw it across the room, regardless of any reasons he kept it on in the first place. Maybe he should go back to sleep. Whoever it was would have called back if they needed to.

Of course, a picture of Darcy popped up on the screen. He groaned. What did she need this early? He squinted at the clock on the bedside table. If she needed him for something, she could have asked Juliana! It wasn’t like she didn’t know everything about Phoenix’s life. In a lot of ways, she knew things better than he did. He groaned as he tapped the screen to answer the call.

“‘lo?” he mumbled. Phoenix’s voice was gruff from sleep. He blinked a couple of times as Darcy spoke. She seemed to be rambling on about something and... maybe she was concerned about something. Her words continued on and he furrowed his brows. Maybe he was too tired for this but her words weren’t making any sense to him. He sat up, running a through his messy hair. He yawned. “Um, she’s at work? She woke me up to kiss me goodbye like she does every morning then we discussed that I’m coming over to the diner around 10 for her lunch before I have to be in at work at noon.”

It was their usual schedule. If he had time to visit her at work, he would. There was also a good chance that she’d show up for his lunch break in Evanstead as well. Rubbing the back of his neck, he let her words sink in. Juliana had left for work, but it was starting to sound like she hadn’t made it.

With anxiety rising in his chest, Phoenix was already out of bed and starting to pull on the clothes that he’d worn the day before. “I’m coming down to the diner,” he said without asking if she’d be alright with that. “Is her car there? Did you check if her car’s there? I — fuck. I should call into work. It’s probably nothing but... what if she got hurt on her way in?” he asked, voice unsure. If it turned out to be nothing, great. If it didn’t, he’d need to be home with her. It seemed like the best course of action.

He didn’t, however, consider her vanishing off of the face of the Earth because that didn’t make sense whatsoever. Where would she have gone?

_______________________

Phoenix sounded hazy and disoriented at the beginning of the call and Gen was almost certain she just woke him up. Normally she would have felt guilty, but if her fear was right... no, better safe than sorry. But even though she was hoping Phoenix would be the one who would calm her down and reassure her that yes, she had to run home for something and everything was okay, Phoenix just told her something she already knew. That Juliana left for work.

His idea about Juliana's car was a good one and Darcy was already heading to the back where she could check in the window if Juliana's car was parked there - which it was and she let out a silent curse. She figured it might not be the best idea to let Phoenix know that it was here and that she couldn't see anyone near the car either, he was already telling her he wanted to come down to the diner.

"No, no, don't come here, it's probably-- you know, it's probably nothing, I must be just overreacting," she tried even though she knew it wouldn't work. She freaked out Phoenix and in a few minutes he would be walking into the diner asking his own questions. "He wants to come here," she mouthed to Diego as an explanation before continuing. "Seriously, Phoenix, I'm sure she just run over to the grocery store and left her phone on silence or something."

"One moment," she said and quickly muted the phone on her end. "How am I supposed to ask him if they have trackers on their phones, he's already worried, if something's up... he's going to want to get involved." She didn't really expect a reply from Diego, though. And she knew he was right, if there was a tracker on Juliana's phone, it could help them immensely - either to ease their minds or to help find her.

"Okay, looks, this is going to... well, this is going to sound like a really paranoid question," she said to Phoenix after unmuting herself, "but is there any way you can track Juliana's phone from your phone?"

_______________________

"This is true," Diego replied slowly, sitting on one of the stools. Even with painkillers, the beatdown that Vivien had given him was catching up to him. He shouldn't have downed all that whiskey in one go, either. He went to the coffee mug, sniffing it first before drinking some. "But you should ask anyway. If you want me to ask, I will. My cover's blown here, Gen. I might as well come clean with the kid, give him something to add to his conspiracy theory binder when I'm gone."

As he finished the coffee, Gen did ask, and all Diego could do was wait for the answer. Although he was beginning to already suspect he knew it, given the look on Gen's face when she'd gone to see if Juliana's car was parked out back, and it was. Jesus, if something happened to that poor girl...

_______________________

Her telling him that he didn’t need to come over wasn’t a good enough way to stop him. Once an idea had gotten into his head, nobody would be able to change his mind. Shoving bare feet into his tennis shoes, he balanced his phone between his shoulder and his ear. “Fuck that. If it’s nothing, I can yell at her about the fact I got woken up like... three and half hours before I planned to.” It was meant as a joke but Phoenix’s voice had proven itself to be nowhere close to achieving said tone. He grabbed his keys from where he’d thrown them and climbed into his car to start it up.

He began the drive over, unsure of what she could be doing. Maybe she was checking the back of the diner for Juliana, though he kind of hoped that she had already done that. How fucked up would it be to discover that Juliana had been getting something from the freezer and Darcy hadn’t thought to check back there? The woman was smarter than that! (Though, for a brief moment, Phoenix found himself wishing that she wasn’t. It might even be a bit funny for all of this to blow over.)

The drive to the diner was a short one, short enough that it simply took him the time that Darcy was doing whatever she’d stepped away to do to pull up out front. “What? I mean, yeah, of course I do,” he said as he parked right behind her. He shut the door and stopped to look at her car for a moment. It looked, totally normal. He hung up the phone without another word when he saw the doors wide open.

“Please tell me this is a normal step in opening the diner,” he said as he walked in.

_______________________

"It's not exactly your cover I'm worried about right now, more... what if he gets involved and something happens to him?" she whispers the second half of her sentence, terrified to even think it. Saying out loud felt like making it even more real. Not that not speaking it would make it any less real. "Fuck. What if something... If something happens to Juliana..."

They didn't really have a lot of time to discuss the possibilities for disaster, however, because Phoenix walked in soon. The curse and blessing of the small town as well. When Darcy heard the car stop outside, she tried to gather herself to not show the full extent of her panic the moment Phoenix walked in. He was already freaking out and even though it felt practically impossible, Darcy still hoped more than anything that this would be just a ridiculous misunderstanding and Juliana would walk in any second and not understand the panic they are all experiencing.

"Nope, nothing is normal about this morning," she shook her head. She wondered for a moment how Diego and Darcy must have looked the moment Phoenix walked in - Diego with bruises and a black eye already forming on his face while still feeling the pain of Vivien's other hit, while Darcy standing there in one of Diego's shirts and a yoga pants, looking like she just walked downstair in her pajamas or something. Not that it mattered, not that any of it aside from where Juliana was mattered.

At least Phoenix said he had a tracker on his phone for Juliana's cell, so that was good, that would be helpful. "Can you check that tracker thing on your phone? See where she is currently?"

_______________________

Diego glanced at Phoenix, who seemed fine if very worried. And seeing Darcy's own look of utter worry, the blood drained from her face, likely wasn't helping. Darcy was right after all - it was unfortunate that Phoenix showed up at the diner, Diego didn't expect that...only maybe he should. This was a small town and Phoenix was Phoenix.

Regardless, Diego went to the doors and closed and locked them all. He put flipped the closed sign and pulled down all the blinds as well. No way was anyone else randomly meandering in here hoping for a shortstack and coffee or something.

"If you could do what she says with no questions yet, Phoenix," Diego requested his tone stern and authoritative. "We'll answer what we can, once we locate where Juliana is. She hasn't been answering Darcy's calls this morning." But maybe the girl just ran out to help a dog that got hit on the street, and had to rush it to the 24-her vet in Evanstead with the driver. Or maybe Old Mrs Fiegel fell down on her daily walk and Juliana had to help her home. Or maybe a thousand of good samaritan emergencies that might've prompted Juliana to leave so quickly, without her car and unable to take calls just yet.

He couldn't jump to any conclusions. He wasn't going to make a call of his own just yet, not about the wrong thing, anyway.

Except then, Darcy's phone started to ring.

Diego half-limped over, and he exhaled sharply. The call was coming from Juliana's phone. He looked at Darcy. "Answer it."

_______________________

The voice that came from behind her made her jump, gasping softly now that she knew she wasn’t alone. Juliana didn’t dare turn around to get a look at them, out of sight out of mind, right? That probably didn’t apply to her right now. Besides, her mind was racing so quickly from the fear, repeating the words oh my god over and over again there was no way she could focus on anything or anyone right now even if she wanted to.

She squeezed her eyes shut and the sound of the high heels against the ground didn’t really make her want to open them. Juliana just wanted to be in the dark, stay quiet and just hope that this was some kind of terrible nightmare that she would just wake up from. Taking a few deep breaths she thought about how nice it would have been if she just opened her eyes right now to see Phoenix and Eugene and Percy in bed next to her. Instead, the moment she opened them, the woman from the diner was right in front of her, a grin on her face that looked so much more sinister now.

Juliana’s whole body was trembling, her heart was racing, breathing shaky, and her doe eyes were open wide with terror. It took her a minute to understand what the woman was saying to her, it all felt like too much to process right now. “Please I don’t…I don’t know anyone named Gen, I don’t know what you want, I–” she cut herself off, her voice getting caught in her throat, barely even realizing she just ignored the woman’s question in order to plead even though there was no way it would have any effect.

She looked down at the floor, shaking her head and sniffling. “No, I don’t! I promise I haven’t done anything, I don’t owe anyone anything…please I-I don’t know what you want or-or who you’re looking for but it’s not me!” There was no way someone could be out to get her like this. Juliana was a kind person! She helped others, she didn’t get involved with shady activities, she was an upstanding person and whatever they think she did to take her hostage had to be some kind of mistake.

_______________________

Vivien asked one quiestion that she actually wanted the answer to, the rest was really just to watch the girl in front of her squirm, and she managed to not reply to that single one, instead babbling about how good of a person she was and how she hasn’t done anything and so on. It was fun, obviously, the confusion and the panic was exciting to watch, but she needed information first and only then did she want to have a little fun while they waited for Genevieve to arrive.

“Alright, listen. You don’t know who I am, so I’m going to let your first mistake slide,” she said, walking closer and leaning down so she could properly look the girl in the eye, her expression hard and threatening. “Here are the rules - I ask the questions and you answer them. No whining, no running your mouth in circles about nothing, just answer the question. Even if it’s something so simple as asking for your name. Again, I let this one slide, but the next time you don’t answer a question of mine, it’s going to be painful for you.”

Vivien could see Bex from behind the girl with an amused smile on her face. Of course she was enjoying the show. She was always enjoying this game, whenever they had to go through it. “And be happy while you’re dealing with me. If I lose my patience or get too annoyed with your answers, I might just hand you over to my friend behind you, and you won’t have a worse day in your life then.”

She stepped back now, her tone turning back to casual and light. “And if you answer my questions, you might even get some answers form us, too. How’s that sounds? Because, little girl, you do know Gen. She just goes by a different name now. So let’s try again - what’s your name again?”

She reached over to the table they set up and picked up the girl’s phone from it. “You got one of the most annoying ring tones, did you know that? Anyway, tell me your lock code and make things easier for us.”

_______________________

Juliana let the woman speak (as if there was anything else she could do without getting hurt in the process). It gave her some time to breathe and compose herself as best she could in a situation like this. All she wanted right now was her dad to bust in and save the day. Someone must have seen them and reported it to the police, right? God, she really hope that somebody saw her.

She nodded her head a little to show that she understood what was being said to her and the consequences if she didn’t comply. She still had no idea who this woman thought this Gen person was and how Juliana knew hew but her main priority right now was cooperating and staying alive. “Juliana…” she answered softly, too scared to make eye contact but looking just behind her at eye level so that she didn’t look like she was being disrespectful by averting her gaze.

Seeing her phone in the woman’s hands, Juliana instinctively squirmed as though she were going to feel around in her pockets to prove that was hers. She wasn’t able to do much while tied up but it was pretty easy to tell that was hers since she didn’t expect this woman to have a pink glittery phone case. “It’s…zero five one zero.” she answered, feeling sick to her stomach with the connotation of the number reminding her of Phoenix. Juliana wanted to start crying just thinking about him. He had no idea that she wasn’t going to be at work to spend time with him before his shift, or had that time already passed? All she could do right now was pray that someone had realized by now that she wasn’t where she was supposed to be.

_______________________

“Juliana, Juliana, Juliana…” Vivien murmured Juliana’s name like she was testing it out, like Juliana was nothing more than an incidental occurrence. She was only a means to an end, after all. She used the passcode on the phone and it unlocked.

“Thank god, it looks like she’s got a brain after all!” Vivien exclaimed sardonically towards Bex, who just blinked impassively a she watched. "Thank you, sweetheart, I - who’s this?“ She turned the phone towards Juliana angrily then, which displayed one of the most cutest photos of Juliana, arms around Phoenix, smooching him. There was no mistaking Phoenix for a brother or friend, not with the affection in his own expression. "Who the fuck–?” Vivien looked at the photo again, and then sighed and closed her eyes. "Goddammit. You’re not with Gen, are you. FUCK.“

Vivien kicked at Juliana’s chair, not caring if her heel connected against Juliana’s shin (it did).

"Listen, she still matters to Gen,” Bex’ voice reasoned from behind Juliana. "Make the call.“

"Now you’re even more useless to me, you realize that?” Vivien chastised Juliana as if Juliana was at fault for not being romantically involved with Gen. She searched for Gen’s number in her contacts, calling out to Bex. "What’s the name she’s using now?“

"Darcy.”

“Oh there it is…” She gave Juliana a look of disgust. As Juliana’s phone started to ring, Vivien came closed and oh-so idly gripped Juliana’s shoulder. She had a strong grip and seemed to know exactly where to hold onto to start digging her fingers under the collarbone and into Juliana’s deltoid from behind, making Juliana’s shoulder ache.

“She better pick up…” she grumbled, and then suddenly looked over at Bex again. "Fuck. When that US Marshal busted in on us, Gen put on a man’s shirt. A man’s shirt.“

_______________________

Her eyes stayed glued to her kidnapper, watching her every move. It wasn’t like she would be able to preemptively detect her next move but maybe she could at least figure out what she might want. She could feel her heart drop in her chest at the question, and the sudden flash of her phone background of her and Phoenix. "That’s…that’s uh-” she sputtered out unable to say anything from worry that something would happen to him if she did.

The woman’s cursing had interrupted her moment of babbling as she seemed to realize their connection but what Juliana didn’t understand was why she thought she was involved with someone else. Clearly she hadn’t been in town long enough to see her and her boyfriend together or else she wouldn’t have made this mistake. The heel to her shin was unexpected and she grunted in pain before trying once more to plead her case. “This is just a big mistake! I’m not with anyone called Gen, you have the wrong person!” She proclaimed as if that were enough to make these people decide to simply let her go.

They still seemed positive that Juliana was someone they could use so again Juliana watched her phone being used and when the question of what name is she using again? was answered, Juliana could have sworn she was hearing things. “Wait, Darcy?!” She couldn’t help exclaiming, turning her head to try and look at the woman behind her as if this were some kind of joke. She was here because of Darcy? That didn’t make any sense! “What could you possibly want with Darcy?” She asked, not even knowing where the courage to speak up was coming from. She was scared but she wanted answers. If this was some kind of trade off, she couldn’t possibly kill her, she needed her alive or she’d be even more useless than she apparently already was. At least that’s what movies and tv shows taught her.

The feeling of this womans fingers digging into her skin made her wince, squeezing her eyes shut to try and withstand the pain. This woman obviously sounded jealous, first thinking Juliana was with Darcy and now commenting on her wearing some man’s shirt? All this just because she wanted Darcy? “This is crazy…” Juliana whined, shaking her head as she too waited to see if Darcy would pick up the phone. She had to have been looking for by now there was no way she wouldn’t answer to at the very least ask why she didn’t show up for her shift.

_______________________

His eyes darted between Darcy and Diego. The tension in the air was palpable. He wanted to be able to tear it down from the atmosphere around then. Instead, Phoenix had to simply deal with it. It felt like torture. It was as if he’d forgotten to track her phone. His own phone was still held firmly in his hand.

“Right... her location...” He opened the app, impatiently shifting on his feet as he waited for it to load. Suddenly, his phone felt like it was moving as slowly as it possibly could. He considered tossing it across the room. It wouldn’t be able to help them at all.

He was squinting at his phone, trying to figure out where this address was. It was unfamiliar.

Before he could mention that, Darcy’s phone went off. He waited for her to answer, looking over to Diego. “Who the fuck punched you? You’re allowed to fight but I’m not? Not cool, bro.” The usual playfulness in his voice wasn’t there, but it seemed like the right thing to do - pretend like nothing was happening so he didn’t break down. Over the years, he liked to think he had gotten good at it.

_______________________

"Thanks," Darcy gave a small, appreciating smile to Phoenix and hoped the location would load fast and would reveal a location two streets away. Maybe three.

But before it happened, her phone started to ring and Darcy flinched in surprise from the sound. It was Juliana calling and she both desperately wanted to answer the phone and painfully wanted to ignore it at the same time.

She still hoped it was just a huge misunderstanding, but she also couldn't ignore the possibility that on the other end of the call it could be Vivien. She considered stepping away and taking the call alone, but she was pretty sure Phoenix wouldn't have been having any of it and they'd have to explain a couple of things either way, so she remained where she was, giving Diego a look before she picked up a phone.

"Juliana? Are you okay?"

"Try again," came the very familiar, very wrong voice from the other side of the call and Gen cursed silently and tightened her grip on her phone. She shook her head and mouthed "Vivien" at Diego before she spoke.

"Why do you have this phone?"

"Oh, come on, honey, you're not that slow. Are you alone?"

"Yes," she said without thinking about it. Whatever this game was that Vivien was trying to play now, it had to be intended just for her, and she would lose all the small leverage she could get if she'd be like 'oh no other people are totally here and going to want to murder you the moment I tell them what you're doing'. "Diego left not so long ago to make some calls to his higher up. What have you done to Juliana? I swear, Vivien, if you hurt her..."

"She's okay, for now. Little bit confused and frightened, maybe a tad bit of pain, but for now she's in one piece."

"What kind of sick joke is this for you? I didn't go with you so now you're going to... what? What are you going to do with her?"

"It's all up to you. Here's what's going to happen. You're going to get in a car and drive here. I'll text you the location once the call is over. You're going to come alone and completely alone. When you arrive, we're going to head out like we were supposed to before you rudely decided against it. Once we have several hours of head start, we'll make a pit stop and call somebody to let them know where this pathetic creature is. And nobody has to get hurt. If you don't show up within and hour, I'm going to kill her. If you show up with the FBI and your Marshall buddy, I'm going to kill her. Slowly and painfully, and then I'll head back to town and take somebody else and we'll repeat the process until you do show up. And let me make things incredibly clear - if you don't show up because the FBI takes you away, I am going to kill everyone in that town. I'm not going to accept that as an excuse. Do we understand each other?"

Darcy swallowed hard, staying quiet for a moment before she hoarsely said, "Y-- yes."

"Good. See you in a bit." And the call ended.

Darcy just stared at her phone for what felt like forever. She wanted to break the phone if nothing else, but that would get them nowhere aside from no communication with Vivien from that point on, which they might need, so she just ended up sitting down onto one of the stools by the counter. Or more like falling onto it.

"She wants me there in an hour. Alone," she said to Diego eventually, trying to get the main thing through without saying too much. This would already be too much to Phoenix, she didn't want the first thing he heard was how Vivien threatened to kill the entire town just to get to her. And just on cue, her phone pinged with her alert for a text. She quickly checked and it was Vivien sending over the location where she was supposed to go. Without saying a word she just turned it over to show it to Diego.

_______________________

Fortunately, Diego was close by to Darcy enough and Darcy had her phone volume on high enough that he could pretty clearly hear what Vivien told her. He was about to rub his face in distress, but his eye and jaw were still spongy-feeling from when he'd gotten pistol-whipped, twice. This wasn't the first tine he'd tried to function with a potential concussion, but that didn't mean Diego liked it or was used to it. Everything still slightly spun and had little stars bursting from the corners of his eyes.

"Phoenix, show me your..." Once Vivien hung up, Diego pulled Phoenix over and looked at the kid's phone, the little pin indicating where Juliana's phone was. He nodded. "Thank god for technology. Vivien made the call where she claims to be keeping Juliana, and it doesn't look like the phone's moving anywhere. It's a warehouse in the industrial park by the lakeside."

He glanced at Phoenix grimly, and said, "The difference is, you think fighting is fun, son. Now lemme...shit." He looked at his own phone finally, only to realize the screen was cracked so badly, that the phone wouldn't even turn on. "Fuck me...." Diego went around the counter to use the diner phone, calling 911 and identifying himself as US Marshal Diego Chavez, issuing his badge number and then asking to be connected with the specific US Marshal Office to speak to Director Al Karga.

He gave Darcy a look, and held up a finger to allay and protests from her. "No one is going to get Juliana killed, Darcy. No one wants her dead. You understand me? You really have to trust me here. Please."

Once he was connected, he spoke at length with Al, first the shock of Vivien being alive, then everything else. He checked the time, cussed, then asked Al what needed to be done. After more back and forth, Diego finally hung up.

"FBI won't reach Evanstead for another 60 minutes, and we're already ten minutes into Vivien's hour," he said, checking his watch again. "Darcy, get changed, and I'll get changed too. Do it, you can't go like this..." He was glad his face was already mottled in bruises, because realizing Darcy was wearing his shirt suddenly made Diego flushed. "We'll meet back here in five minutes. It takes forty minutes to get to Evanstead from here. Darcy, you take Juliana's car."

He looked at Phoenix and sighed. "And you. You'd find a way to get to Juliana even if I ordered you not to go, right? Even if I begged you?" Diego looked hopefully at Phoenix, then shook his head. "Never mind. God help me, don't let this get back to my boss, but I'm going to let you come with me. If - and I really mean ONLY if - you do exactly has I ask and don't do anything reckless. Which I know, 'reckless' is your middle name, but this isn't having fun at my expense, Phoenix. This woman is a killer, and she might kill Juliana. And I'm sorry kid - but in this hostage situation, you do not know better than me. Do you understand? I can explain more to you on the way, if you agree to listen to me and only me."

_______________________

Diego knew perfectly that she would freak out the moment he started calling all of this in, Darcy didn't even have a chance to react, he was already holding up his hand, reassuring her that Juliana would be fine. Asking her to trust him. She ran her fingers through her mess of a hair, but nodded and quietly said, "Okay, I trust you."

When Phoenix asked what the fuck was all of this, Darcy's heart was slowly breaking. She couldn't imagine how it must have been like for him in that moment, only hearing snipets of their conversations and not understanding a thing from it, only that shit was really, really, *really* bad. And she both wanted to explain it all and was terrified to do so at the same time. The one thing, the only good thing about relocation would have been that she wouldn't have had to have this conversation. She would have felt extremely shitty leaving without any warning or explanation, but she was also terrified of seeing the disappointment and the hurt and the disdain in his eyes over everything. "I know, I know, this is... just give us a few moments, okay? Let Diego finish the call and then we'll explain things. But he-- he's really good at his job, okay? He's not going to let anything to happen to Juliana, I swear."

Technically it wasn't fully up to Diego, it was up to Vivien, but Gen trusted Diego and his capabilities. He'd have something up his sleeve to get Juliana out of this. And worst case scenario, she could just... go with Gen. That was an option too.

While Diego was on the phone, Darcy sent out a few texts to everyone who had a shift that day to take a day off because the Grub would be closed today, and then she was hovering, walking up and down, trying not to pay attention to Diego's side of the conversation instead of thinking about the worst case scenarios and what must have Vivien been doing to Juliana in that moment.

She nodded to everything Diego told her once the call ended and even though she wished Phoenix wouldn't be coming along, Diego had a point - Phoenix would have tried getting to Juliana either way, this way at least the chances of him getting hurt was smaller.

"Go, chance, do your thing, I'll explain things to him before you get back," she told Diego. Phoenix insisted on an explanation before anything could happen, and she didn't want to waste time. It was easier like this.

She didn't realize how she would suddenly feel her own body parts when Diego left and it was just Phoenix and her in the diner, or that suddenly she'd feel like her throat has never been drier or that she just wanted to run off and that this has been a bad idea after all.

She felt like she was in a haze as she slid into the booth across Phoenix, her heart beating out of her chest. She never expected to have to actually tell about this, about all the lies to anyone, to Phoenix. "Okay, so, this is... fuck, this is harder than I thought it would be. I'm not... my name isn't Darcy Palmer. It's Genevieve Soto. Over seven years ago I met this woman called Vivien Salazar. We--- we got together pretty quickly and things were going great. About five years ago, before I came here, I accidentally walked in on Vivien getting shot and what I thought was her bleeding out and dying. I got shot myself." Her hand hovered over one of the scars on her side without even realizing it. She was also not looking at Phoenix while she was talking. She didn't want to see the disappointment and the pain in his eyes and on his face when he realized just how much she lied to him over the years.

"As it turned out, she was the head of some kind of huge crime syndicate, I was just never aware of it." Her voice was quiet, shaking a bit while she played with the bottom of Diego's shirt under the table just to do something with her hands and so maybe they wouldn't be shaking so hard. "My family and I were placed into witness protection - the FBI spread us out, I have no idea where my family is, but I was sent here and given a new identity, and things were... mostly going okay. Diego is a US Marshall placed here to keep an eye on me and protect me if needed. And then last night Vivien showed up out of the blue and... well, a lot of shit happened," most of which she wasn't really proud of, but there was no need to make things even worse by actually saying them out loud, "but the long story short is that she wanted me to go with her and I said no. So now apparently she thinks that by taking Juliana, she can convince me to go with her. And as you could hear, she wants me there in less than an hour." She didn't add that otherwise Vivien threatened to kill Juliana, but she was certain Phoenix put the picture together.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean..." She paused for a moment, finally looking up at Phoenix. "I never meant to drag her or you into any of this."

_______________________

Diego didn't want to leave Darcy and Phoenix alone, but he knew he had to get better equipped and they were very short on time. "Be quick," Diego instructed Darcy. "And don't forget to change as well." He was halfway out the door before he added a belated, "Please." on his way out.

Once in his apartment, Diego didn't waste time. He changed, got his badge and two other weapons, as well as a spare phone that he'd been holding onto solely because he was a paranoid person. He texted Al on it, to let his boss know that Diego could now be reachable on the old phone.

When he got back to the diner, he glanced at the two, and nodded his chin. "C'mon, we have to get there before the hour's up."

_______________________

It was strange to be sitting at his regular table without Juliana around. When she wasn’t working at the diner, she would be in there with them. Suddenly, it was hitting him just how much time they spent together. What was he supposed to do if something happened to her? No. His mind wouldn’t - couldn’t - go there. His fingers idly traced one of the ducks in diner uniforms that Dany had drawn on the table which hadn’t been cleaned up yet. Sharpie. He wonder if Darcy would make him clean it up, if any of it mattered.

As if he were in search of some sense of normalcy, Phoenix turned to glare at Diego. "Don't tell us what to do," he said softly. The usual argumentative tone of his voice when he was talking with the older man wasn't present. He couldn't bring himself to do it, instead coming out almost shaky.

Looking up to watch Darcy as she began to talk, he thought maybe he had heard her wrong. Then, his mind went to the most logical place - she had changed her name. He understood it. Hell, his mom hadn't been born Skylar Mae. His parents had even offered to change his first name when he was adopted if he wanted to. (After 17 years, he couldn't think of a name which would suit him more. Plus, he was used to it.)

He couldn't turn away from her story. A part of him thought that she was joking with him, but there was nothing on her face to illustrate that this was a tasteless prank. It had... to be true, didn't it? He held up his hand for her to stop speaking so that he would be able to interject his though. "Wait, someone fucking shot you? Where is he?" he asked, feeling defensive of the woman despite the fact that Darcy had come here under completely different circumstances than he had thought that she had.

Until she got to the last bit. Witness protection? Running away on her own was one thing. At least the rest of what she said could have been true. This... this meant that there was a lot more to her life than he would have thought. “So.. you were attacked than you came here. And, you know, we were close. You knew I wouldn’t hurt you, but you kept lying...” He already had trust issues and, while there were much more intense things to worry about, he couldn’t help the betrayal which was coursing throughout him.

The comment about Diego didn’t throw him quite as much off guard. Finally tearing his eyes from Darcy - Gen? - because he didn’t think that he could look at her. “Fucking knew it,” he mumbled as he fixated on the duck again. He couldn’t celebrate that fact though. Maybe when they got Juliana back. They... No. He was a liar too, wasn’t he?

“It’s your fuckin’ fault that Juliana is gone?” he asked, voice harsh. Looking back up, he narrowed his eyes. “Fine. You know what? Fine. We’re gonna do this and we’re getting my girl back, and then you never speak to us again. You don’t - you can’t even look at us! Promise you’ll stay away.” He slammed hi palm hard against the table. “Promise me, Genevieve!”

_______________________

The weird thing was, at the beginning Phoenix's reaction was a lot better than Darcy anticipated. She knew Phoenix and she knew he had problems with trust, for good reason, and even without it, it would be hard for anyone to swallow that somebody you're so close to has lied to you from the very first moment you've met, so adding Phoenix's problems with truth... she expected a lot worse. Phoenix even got offended was seemed like he was ready to fight the guy who shot Vivien and her all those years ago.

"I-- I'm not sure, but it's okay, it was a long time ago," she tried to reassure him while the hope that this could go better rose inside of her. Maybe she spent all this time worrying for nothing. Maybe Phoenix would be understanding and...

You knew I wouldn’t hurt you, but you kept lying...

A few sentences, and it was like a bucket of ice water was poured all over her once again. For a moment she really thought he would be okay with all of this. She should have known better not to get her hopes up. Of course he would see the lying and be hurt by it. She spent years and years pretending to be somebody else completely, nobody could ever forgive something like this.

Part of her wanted to tell him that she had no choice, that she wasn't allowed to tell anyone, that she had to keep her true identity a secret, but did she really? Sure, there were rules, but she had a choice the entire time. She could have told him the bare minimum, he was right, he would have never hurt her. But after a point, lying was easier. It fed her guilt, but the guilt was still better than facing the truth in front of the people she cared about, yet spent so much time lying to.

She ducked her head again, looking at her fingers while she bit the inside of her lips not to start crying in front of Phoenix. He was telling her how after all of this she needed not speaking to them ever again, and he had no idea just how right he was, but still, leaving like this would be different. Not knowing his reaction at least would have left a small what if window open in her mind where she could imagine that if the situation was any different, maybe they could speak. Instead now she knew that even if she could stay, there was no repairing any of this.

"Yeah, sure," she muttered, barely above whisper, still fighting her tears. "You don't have to worry about talking to me. Vivien found me, which means in a couple of hours I'll be leaving the town anyway and will be relocated to a new place. So you won't even have to see me around town."

This was the moment Diego walked back in and Darcy practically jumped up from her seat. "Yeah, sure, just... gimme a second, I didn't have a chance to change yet." And she rushed upstairs, not looking at Diego either in hopes that he wouldn't see and recognize the pain on her expression.

She spent exactly one minute leaning against her front door, crying, before she wiped her tears away and forced herself to stop crying. Juliana was more important than her tears. She quickly washed her face to make things less obvious, changed and and headed back downstairs.

"Okay, so I'm going in Juliana's car, you guys go together. Any other details to the plan, Diego? Please tell us that you have some brilliant plan already in your head."

_______________________

"I don't know about brilliant..." Diego said, and it was difficult not to see that Darcy's face was flushed, her eyes red-rimmed from crying. He'd seen her crying enough times to know what it looked like. Diego shot a look at Phoenix, but none of this mattered at this moment. Diego figured Darcy probably just revealed the truth, and Phoenix sported attitude at her for it, a typical response. But all that mattered now, was making sure that Juliana got out of this alive, that Vivien Salazar was arrested, and that Gen Soto was free once more (to a certain extent...Diego knew she could never be truly free again).

"You drive ahead and we'll follow. Park at the warehouse and keep your phone on. I hope it's charged..." He gave them both his own new phone number, making sure they got it right. He made sure that Darcy put his contact name as something innocuous, like 'Grub'. So just in case anything happened, Vivien wouldn't see any texts coming from the phone coming in from a US Marshal. "Stay in the car and I'll drive around to check the warehouse out. Once I text you to go inside, do it. I'll follow - and I'll be careful."

He looked at the two of them. "I have no interest in getting Juliana harmed." To Diego this was obvious, but he figured it was a good idea to reiterate that as much as possible, as many times as he could. "We know Vivien doesn't intend to kill you, but I know she is dangerous and she is a killer. So we do what is most sensible: we wait for the FBI to arrive. Darcy - Gen - I know this is putting...so much on your shoulders, but I need you to stall her. As much as you can. You buying time is all we have going for us."

He looked at Phoenix. "This is something too big for the Sunnymead Sheriff to handle, he simply doesn't have the resources. If he gets pissed off that's fine, he can file a civil lawsuit against the US Marshal Office and the FBI - after we get his daughter safely back to him."

Checking his gun, Diego, nodded at Phoenix. "And you stay put in the car, when we get there. I'm bringing you along, but like hell I'm putting you in the middle of anything where you can get hurt. If you're harmed, it's no different from Juliana getting harmed. Do not do anything brash or stupid and hurt yourself because you think you think hurting yourself will save Juliana. It won't. You getting hurt will only make things worse."

Motioning for Phoenix to head outside to Diego's car, Diego first paused in front of Darcy, hands on her shoulders as he asked quietly. "Are you okay? Can you do this? You're going to do this, Gen, and it's going to be okay, alright? I won't let her take you away. The kids aren't going to get hurt. This isn't your fault."

_______________________

When Diego came back down, Phoenix didn't bother looking at him. Was his name even Diego? Like Darcy, it was likely that it could have been a pseudonym. He didn't know anything. Fuck, he hated being so clueless. It was why he dove so deep into things. This made him overly nervous.

The plan wasn't something which made sense to him. It sounded like it was straight out of a movie. He wasn't an expert though. Maybe those filmmakers did their research. Truthfully, he didn't even know what a US marshal did. To him, it meant that he was close to right when he said that Diego seemed like an overly glorified security guard... switch the word with cop and he was right. His teeth dug into his lower lip enough that he new that it would draw blood. The nerves he was feeling were so different than any of the other times that he was filled with anxiety. Hell, he was more scared than when he first entered into juvenile hall years back and he hadn't thought that possible.

A killer. They'd gotten Juliana kidnapped by a literal murderer. Though he'd heard it before, hearing it again made him feel like throwing up. He glanced around, looking for a trash can he could vomit into just in case.

His eyes darted to Diego at the comment about Vincent. Fuck. Fuck. Phoenix shook his head. "Are you fucking kidding me? We're not going to call Vincent? He's her dad and - and he's good at his job. What about you, Diego? You failed Juliana and you failed whoever the hell she is over there!" he said as he pointed towards Darcy also known as Genevieve and any of the other names that she went by which hadn't been revealed to him. "Vincent might not have dealt with kidnapping, but at least he keeps Juliana safe! You don't keep anyone safe! You brought all of this bullshit to Sunnymead! Things were totally fine before you guys got here. The only problem here was me!”

Phoenix shook his head, turning to stare at Diego like he had grown an extra head. He didn’t think that the agent would be that stupid. Of course Phoenix was going to get involved He wasn’t going to stay out of the way. At all. “You can either work your plan around me heading in there or we’ll wing it. I’m coming and there’s not a damn thing you can do about it. Arrest... can you arrest me? What the fuck can you do with your job?”

Leaning against the door, he watched Darcy and Diego interact. This was ridiculous to him, how they still continued to whisper to each other. More secrets, no doubt. He couldn’t bring himself to tear his eyes away. He checked his phone for a moment, as if he was looking for there to be a message from Juliana as there usually was. He knew better; he swore he did.

“Can you two stop flirting and help me go and get my girlfriend? Because I have a car. I have my own car and I have her location! I can go on my own. And you both know that I will!”

_______________________

Gen listened to Diego's plan with worry, her mind already going a mile a minute about how she could actually pull this off, how she could stall Vivien long enough for the FBI to arrive. She will want to leave right away exactly for the same reasons - not to get found. One wrong step from her and it could result in Juliana getting hurt and that was the last thing she wanted. She still nodded, though, once Diego was done. "Okay, alright."

When Phoenix interjected, she winced. She understood where he was coming from, she really did, but she also didn't like him blaming all of it on Diego. It was her fault, more so than even Phoenix could realize, not Diego's. "Phoenix, please, it wasn't his fault, okay? He didn't bring... he's just doing his job, it was me who brought all of this here, so please don't take it out on him. Just-- it's gonna be okay, alright?We're going to get her back and it'll be fine." Maybe she was saying that last part both to convince herself and not just Phoenix. But Vivien wouldn't be that dumb to do any permanent hard. She had to know that if anything happened to Juliana, she wouldn't even consider going along with her. (She still didn't want to, but she also knew in the back of her mind that it was a possibility. If she couldn't stall long enough, she'd have to go along with Vivien to make sure Juliana was safe and as far away from her woman as possible.)

She couldn't help a small smile when Phoenix insisted that he would be coming along and not staying in the car and then jump into questions about what kind of stuff was Diego allowed to do. If the situation was any different, she probably would have laughed at the entire situation and would have wanted to watch Phoenix bombarding Diego with all different questions. Instead she just said to Phoenix, "Please just be careful, okay? Vivien-- she's not fucking around."

She didn't expect the touch on her shoulder and the gentleness of his voice, and she wished just for a moment she could lean against him and take some solace from it. But while he was being nice, she knew it was to make sure she was keeping it together. He saw her lose it before, hell he saw just how useless she was not so long ago when Vivien was upstairs with the two of them, he was just trying to make sure she got herself together enough to not screw things up. And even though it was just work, she still appreciated that he took the time to do it.

She gave a small nod and looked up at him with tired eyes. She didn't agree that it wasn't her fault, but that wasn't important in the moment either. "Yeah, I'll be... I'll be good, I can do this. I have to do this, we don't really have a choice. I can't let Juliana get hurt."

Phoenix's voice came from the door and she motioned for Diego towards him. "Go, because he really will just leave without us. Please keep him save. Both of them."

They headed out after that, Diego and Phoenix towards Diego's car, and Darcy headed for Juliana's car, only to realize the car was locked when she wanted to get inside of it. Which, of course it was locked, she wasn't sure why she thought it wouldn't be, but for a moment it made her panic rise once again - how was she supposed to get to the warehouse if she couldn't even get into Juliana's car?

She looked around as if the solution was somewhere around her, as if Juliana dropped the car keys somewhere near just so she could find them and use them now. It wasn't there, obviously. But her eyes did land on a bigger rock and she found herself picking it up and hurling it at the window at the driver's seat, shattering the window and making it possible for Gen to get inside the car. Now came the next problem, actually starting the car. And this was the moment when it hit her that Juliana probably had her keys somewhere in the back room of the diner in her bag and she just smashed the car window completely pointlessly.

She rushed back inside and found the keys in no time and a minute later she was already driving out of Sunnymead, not caring about the speed limit, just wanting to get there as fast as possible.

_______________________

With Gen reassuring him that she would be able to do this, all Diego could do was believe that she was right. She had to believe she'd do this after all. It wasn't just her life on the line - not that it had ever been before. After Olivia's death, Diego knew Gen was more than completely aware that she was to blame if anyone else innocent got hurt. Diego couldn't imagine what Gen would do, if Juliana was harmed by the woman who'd murdered her sister. Go catatonic or worse, probably.

So yeah. He trusted that Gen would do everything she could, to keep Juliana safe.

Not that they weren't already to blame for Juliana being in trouble in the first place. As Diego got in the car (opening it so that Phoenix could jump in the passenger seat), all he could hear was Phoenix' own words in his head: Things were totally fine before you guys got here.

He watched as Darcy pulled out in Juliana's car, and quickly followed. Phone in its holder, Diego glanced at the occasional texts that came through from his boss, keeping track of the updates from his office and the FBI. He stayed silent for about five minutes, before glancing over at Phoenix, to gauge the kid. Currently, Phoenix looked like he was perched on the edge of his seat; or if the seat was pulled out from under him, his muscles were being held with such a tense tightness, that he wouldn't fall over. Everything about the younger man was taut.

"You're right," he finally said. "Sunnymead didn't deserve...everything that's happened, since Darc - since Gen was relocated into this town." And Phoenix didn't even know the half of all the shit that went down. Between the bounty hunter that had shot Diego, and the crooked US Marshal that tried to blackmail her with her brother, Diego himself considered his handling of Gen this past year to be a total bust.

"But you can't blame her. She didn't choose Sunnymead. Her living here - her entire life here - was fabricated by federal agents to hide her. She told you, right? That she's in witness protection. And after today, she'll be forced to leave here once again, and instructed once more to blend and fit into some new no-name town in some middle state." Like that would be so easy to do - both the first time Gen had to do it, or the second time. "She hasn't been allowed to make a single choice in her life for four years. Not just for her safety but the safety of her surviving family, who were also being hunted down by Vivien Salazar's syndicate."

He looked at Phoenix. "She's been traumatized and she's lost people she's loved, and she's just trying to do what's right, and what she's been told to do by the Federal Bureau. She's terrified of losing anyone else, and it's been hammered into her head that spilling the truth puts innocents in danger. So catch her a break, hm?"

As for himself, well. If Phoenix wanted to rail against him for the past year of cover-up and lying to protect Gen, and theoretically to protect the civilians of Sunnymead. And although Salazar showing up was not something anyone could've predicted, somehow Diego considered himself at fault for that. Therefore absorbing Phoenix's vitriol would be welcome. So he said, "And yes - of course I could arrest you, if I needed to. I'd just really rather you didn't give me a reason to."

_______________________

Climbing into the car, Phoenix could feel his anxiety amplifying. This wasn't something that he wouldn't have expected to happen in his wildest dreams. He and Juliana were supposed to continue on with their relationship as it went until he could afford an engagement ring, but now there was the very real possibility of him losing her. It had nothing to do with a mistake he had made. These were outside factors that none of them should have to deal with. Well, Diego had signed up for this and Darcy-slash-Genevieve-slash-the woman who owned the diner had caused this situation more than anyone else had.

He and Juliana didn't deserve this. The worst thing that they'd done in the situation had been to work at the diner, to care about someone. He glanced down at the tattoo on his outer forearm. He scratched at it idly, wishing that he could take it off. The permanence of tattoos had never been lost on him. He had thought the relationship he’d had with Genevieve was clearly more important than she had felt that it was. The hurt that he was feeling could only be overruled by his worry for Juliana.

Because he was zoning out, he about jumped out of his skin when Diego began to speak. He pulled his knees to his chest - likely unsafe when he was riding in the car - he shook his head. The dirty bottoms of his shoes might scuff up Diego’s nice seats. Good. He deserved it. If that was the only thing that Phoenix would be able to make Diego feel even a fraction of what he was feeling, then he could take it.

“I’m glad she’s fucking leaving!” he said harshly. Maybe there would be a point at which he would regret his words, but it wasn’t in sight for him. “She could have told me. She - I told her things that so few people know about me. I would never have hurt her. I would have died for her. Do you know that that’s like? To care about someone so much and have that ripped away from you?” he asked. Of course Diego didn’t. In fact, he had his doubts that the man cared about anyone other than the woman who he had been tasked with protecting. Diego probably could have gotten into a lot of trouble with how intimate the relationship that they had was, but Phoenix couldn’t bring himself to care about that. He wanted to get this over with and for things to go back to normal... for whatever sense of normalcy they were able to get back.

Phoenix glared at Diego. “Right because she’s the only one who has trauma! I don’t - I don’t have shit! Everything that I went through as a kid that fucked up my ability to trust people and gave me trust issues doesn’t count because I don’t get your dick wet.”

Going into the building wasn’t against the law. Maybe it was trespassing but Diego would have to take Genevieve in as well. He knew that much wasn’t going to happen. If he got himself into a dangerous situation, it was his right. He wasn’t a child. He was a grown man who didn’t have to answer to anyone, even a US Marshal.

“I get it. I fucking get it. You’re an overblown cop with a hero complex. Hooray. I’m a guy who cares a lot about certain people. Even G-Genevieve! I can’t turn it off! I care about her, but I want you to know damn sure that I would throw anyone under the bus if it meant keeping Juliana safe. That doesn’t stop at me. I wanna make that clear,” he said, eyes boring into Diego. He didn’t want there to be any confusion that he was going to get involved, to do anything to keep out of it. He couldn’t help it. He’d do whatever he felt necessary.

_______________________

"She could not have told you," Diego reiterated patiently. "Even if she ended up marrying, having kids in Sunnymead - she wouldn't have been able to tell them, either. Do you understand? What she unintentionally ended up in, it's bigger than she is. And the reason she was relocated was to keep her past and her real self completely secret. Even from the people she loved. That's the only way the program can work...and even then it doesn't always work." Diego murmured to himself. Phoenix wouldn't know the statistics of success rate for the witness protection program, of course. It was extremely bleak. The irony was that Genevive's survival in Sunnymead had been a success story as far as the FBI was concerned. Four years she'd kept herself safe, she'd become Darcy Palmer.

Then, of course, Diego got assigned to her. He exhaled, hands gripping the wheel a bit tighter as he stared at Juliana's car driving ahead of them. Juliana, that poor girl.

He said nothing when Phoenix, naturally, believed that he was the only one who understood hurt and caring about people. Let the kid think whatever he wanted, it didn't really matter in the end. Diego didn't need to prove his own heart and feelings to an angry, worried, fretful guy who shouldn't be going through this high-stakes and terrifying situation.

"Right - so if you understand trauma, then exercise some compassion and empathy for others who also have it, Phoenix," Diego replied grimly. He spared a glance at Phoenix. "Gen couldn't tell you her own trauma, but she could express her own empathy towards your trauma. That was genuine. A person can't fake compassion like that, especially when that person's been through trauma of their own, hm? So if you understand what it's like, that...terrible pain inside you, maybe one day you'll get that Gen's been dragged through shit too, and it wasn't her fault."

Another glance. "And for what it's worth, everything you went through as a kid - it is terrible and traumatic. And it's unfair, and you didn't deserve any of it. You and Juliana don't deserve any of this. Trust issues is one thing, but this is something different. I know you've faced a lot of monsters, Phoenix, but this isn't a monster you're prepared to face. Please, let this overblown cop with a hero complex make sure you and Juliana don't get killed. " Diego truly was worried that, like a child, Phoenix would eschew any warning, bust into the warehouse and get shot right in front of Juliana's eyes trying to be his own sort of hero.

"No one doubts the lengths you'd go through to help the people you love. I know you'd die for them. I believe that. But I'd rather you didn't die, and I'd rather if Juliana didn't have to see you die for her. I signed up for this kind of shit, you didn't. You and Juliana are completely innocent. Gen's an innocent too. It's my duty to make sure the innocent are protected."

Holding up a hand, before Phoenix could go circling back, Diego added, "Which I've completely failed to do, and this is all my fault. Fine - yes. We both agree on something. But let me make it right. I've been in gunfights before, I've faced people like Salazar before and gotten hostages out safely. I've made mistakes, but I also know what I'm doing. And I'm not letting anyone get killed here."

_______________________

Logically, it made sense that she hadn’t told him a single thing about her past. But Phoenix refused to accept it. He had spilled his heart out to her on multiple occasions. Even simply telling him that she couldn’t tell him would have been better than him being shoved into this situation completely blind. There hadn’t been any sort of warning. Maybe he wouldn’t have been so angry. Instead, he simply had the unshakable feeling that had lost a friend and was extremely close to losing his girlfriend as well. It wasn’t a feeling he’d wish on anyone.

“I understand, but she needed to fucking understand that - when she realized that I needed the honesty - she should have cut it off then. She knew it was going to hurt me! That’s what I’m mad about. She could have stopped it, but she didn’t!” Phoenix would have been understandably upset, but it wouldn’t have been anywhere close to what he was feeling now. Or she could have kept herself from getting close to anyone like she did with me and Juliana!” It wasn’t fair, he knew, to insist that Darcy kept from being friends with anyone. It also wasn’t fair that her friendship had gotten them in this situation.

His fists were balled at his sides and he shook his head. “I get that she’s been through some awful shit. I wouldn’t wish it on anyone, but especially not her. She didn’t deserve any of this... but Gen knew it was a possibility that they would find her. You guys told her that, right?” He didn’t know anything about witness protection, save the things that he had seen from movies. Though, it made more sense that they would tell her rather than keep it from her. “So why did she get us tangled up in this? I hope that she’s more careful in the next town she’s in... and that whatever federal agent they stick her with is more competent than you are.”

He paused to even out his breathing. Phoenix was to close to crying. He wasn’t about to do that in front of Diego. He had more pride than that. “If anything happens to her, then her blood is on your hands. And so is mine because I refuse to live without her. Remember that.”

_______________________

As if Diego didn't know that. As if he needed to be told by this kid, that every person who got hurt on whatever case Diego was working on, didn't hang in his conscience and haunt him. As if he was just living his life so completely free of stress and agony, happy to just let people die. He grunted, shaking his head because he'd heard all of this before, countless times in countless ways. From people he cared about deeply, from people he respected, and from strangers. But it was always the same: you're responsible, you fucked it up, this is your fault. And they were right, and Diego never argued back. He took on the blame, accepted it, and kept trying to make things right.

"I know," he said quietly. Diego paused for a moment, and then returned to the topic of Darcy.

"She didn't know it was going to hurt you. Hindsight is 20/20, Phoenix. She's a caring person with a huge heart, who had nothing. Her entire life, stripped from her. What would you have rather she did? Remained depressed and unengaged with anyone? The FBI instructed her to keep her secret close, but also to blend in. She couldn't remain a cold unfeeling nothing in this town. No one should be expected to reduce themselves to a shadow and survive like that, especially after what Gen had been through. It would have killed her. It would have killed her," Diego reiterated.

"She reached out because she was desperate and sad and lonely. She didn't show up in this town with a sound mind and a strong emotional or mental state. She falls apart literally every single fucking night and she can't even tell anyone, she can't reach out for help, she can't lean on anyone for support. You don't understand, even if you claim to . And that's fine, Phoenix - no one expects you to understand, and this is a fucked-up way to learn now. All I'm saying is, when this is over - when Juliana is safe - to think about what I said about her."

_______________________

“I - I - I don’t know!” Phoenix shouted. It wasn’t fair to ask him that. He loved Darcy. She was his sister. Then there was Gen who he didn’t know at all. They were the same person but that was difficult to reconcile. Maybe it would be easier in any other situation. This one was too goddamn wild. He shook his head. “Part of caring about people is keeping them safe. I do whatever I can to do that for people I care about. If it meant not talking to anyone I wouldn’t!”

It would have been self destructive and he was extremely so. It didn’t mean that Darcy ought to have done it. “She could have said she was introverted. She could have rejected mine and Juliana’s friendship. The fact that she was more than willing, that she gave me a tattoo, to be in our lives in the capacity that she was, was incredibly selfish!” He couldn’t think of a situation in which she could justify it.

With the anger coursing through him and no proper way to reconcile it, Phoenix stomped his foot against the dashboard roughly. It hurt his knee, but he didn’t care much about it. He’d likely be walking with a limp later. He would deal with that later.

“I’m not thinking about it when this over. I’m not thinking about her or you or any of this bullshit. I’m repressing it! I know how to repress shit! I’m fucking great at it!”

_______________________

It was so easy for Phoenix to judge Darcy, saying he'd do the 'right' thing, whatever he considered was the right thing. But Diego wasn't angry at the kid for saying 'if she'd just did this' and 'she shouldn't have done that' because Phoenix was sitting here right now, on his way to Evanstead where his poor innocent girlfriend was currently being held hostage by a killer. So really, in Diego's opinion, Phoenix could run his mouth and say whatever he damn well wanted to about how everyone was wrong and did everything wrong, except him. Because in this moment, he was technically correct.

Everyone else was wrong, and Phoenix was right. Ironically, would likely be one of the few times in his life this would ever be the case, probably.

So Diego just said, "Okay. Okay, alright." His tone was quiet - not placating, but just not intending to devolve into argument. Ever since Phoenix butted into his world in Sunnymead, Diego never had much interest in arguing with the kid. The power imbalance just made it wrong, and weird. Phoenix could poke and prod and jab all he wanted and people would say 'yeah that's just Phoenix'. He was young enough to get away with it, but Diego was old enough to know better.

When Phoenix stomped, Diego didn't react (this wasn't his car). If Phoenix wanted to punch the dashboard until his knuckles bled and the plastic cracked, Diego understood that self-destructive urge. That need to put his fear and frustration somewhere.

"Repress it then," Diego agreed, easily repressing as well. He inhaled slowly, as they got to the industrial park, towards the warehouse. "That's a good idea. We have more important things to deal with." He called Darcy then, waiting for her to pick up.

"Drive and park in the front, by the big bay door," he instructed Darcy. He lagged behind, his sharp eyes scanning the area. "I'll drive around first. Don't get out until I tell you to, alright?"

_______________________

The rest of the ride was spent staring out the window. He didn’t want to speak to Diego anymore. The man refused to acknowledge that Phoenix didn’t understand how he was supposed to forgive her. It was difficult to justify anything that she’d done. She was a victim, but he didn’t understand how he was going to forgive her. It would have been difficult for him to do it regardless, but after being put in this situation? There was no way.

They would be pulling up to the warehouse soon and he got more restless as they crept closer to the building. His fingers dug into the palms of his hands. This was absolutely terrifying. A part of him thought perhaps Diego was right about him not needing to go into the building. It wasn’t going to change his mind though. He would refuse to believe Juliana was safe until he laid eyes on her, held her in his arms.

He halfway listened to the conversation when Diego spoke to Darcy. He couldn’t pay enough attention to it. It was impossible to focus; he hadn’t remembered to take his ADHD medication this morning since he’d been in such a rush and the anxiety wasn’t helping him in the least bit.

“Can’t you drive any faster?” Phoenix asked harshly. The sooner Darcy went in there, the sooner they’d give up Juliana.

_______________________

Darcy spent at least half of the drive to Evanstead cursing. Loudly and aggressively, partly at Vivien, but mostly at herself. She also worried herself shitless about Juliana, her mind playing all the different, horrible scenarios about how Juliana could get hurt, and how Phoenix could get involved and also get hurt (with some nice addition of Phoenix's word echoing in the background of those imagines), while trying to figure out just how she could stall Vivien. She figured she'd have to lie and pretend that she realized that she made a mistake when she didn't go with Vivien, but she'd somehow have to do it in a way that doesn't scream that she's only doing it to make VIvien happy, while also making sure that it buys her enough time for the FBI and everyone else to arrive instead of Vivien hearing what she said and immediately ushering her to a car and driving the two of them off into her imaginary sunset.

Felt like she knew what she should do in theory, but had no idea how to actually pull it off.

And the drive didn't feel long enough to figure it out at all. On one hand, it felt like she could never go fast enough, that every single minute was like an hour, while also feeling like the time flew by and she didn't manage to really put herself back together, she didn't manage to come up with a good strategy, she didn't manage to truly convince herself that she could do it and her shaking didn't stop either. It felt like the only thing she did was drive, and that didn't feel at all enough.

She was almost at the warehouse when her phone rang and she was relieved to see that Diego was calling her. "Not getting out until you tell me to, sounds doable, okay," she said and did exactly as he told her. She wanted to look around just to see if she could spot him, but she also didn't want to see suspicious. "Okay, I parked, I'm looking at the door, what now? Where are you guys anyway?"

She almost told Diego that she felt terrified just looking at the huge bay door, but she could tell that Diego put her on on speaker phone and she didn't want to freak Phoenix out more, and it didn't feel fair to be this afraid when Juliana was somewhere inside with Vivien and who knows what that woman did to Juliana, what kind of sick tortures she had to endure.

Fuck, she really hoped Juliana was okay.

She only noticed the movement when the door was already open and she saw somebody who was definitely not Vivien coming out of the building. "Shit, fuck," she cursed, scrambling to put her phone on speaker phone and making it disappear in her lap so the woman, who seemed familiar - was it one of Vivien's friends she met? was everyone in Vivien's life she met involved in some capacity in the gang or was this just a coincidence? -, wouldn't notice the phone in her hand and realize that she was not here alone. "There's somebody else here and she is coming towards me."

_______________________

The little girl really just couldn’t keep her mouth shut and kept babbling on about how they got the wrong person, and Vivien was getting more and more annoyed with the little girl. At least she wasn’t sleeping with Genevieve, that was a plus, apparently she didn’t get her point across enough about how she wasn’t allowed to talk unless she was told to and she backhanded her on the face without even thinking about it. “Do you really think we make mistakes? That when I take somebody, I don’t know precicely who I’m taking? We’re not amatures, so keep your mouth shut. I’m running out of my patience.” Technically she made a tiny bit of mistake, but she was still important to Genevieve, that was obvious.

When the light turned on for the girl about Genevieve, there was even more confusion on her face and Vivien felt a sick sense of satisfaction. She wished things would have gone down differently, of course, but that wasn’t a reason why she couldn’t possibly enjoy what life - or in this case Gen -, threw at her.

When she started moving around, trying to get a better look at Bex as if she would actually give her more answers than Vivien was willing, Vivien just watched as Bex stepped closer and yanked the little girl by her hair to keep facing ahead. “Stop moving already. And stop asking questions that aren’t your concern for the moment.”

Only half of her attention was on what was happening, however, because she started focusing on her phone and whether or not Genevieve would pick up. Which she did, and despite what happened, despite Gen repeatedly telling her that she didn’t want to be with her, just hearing her voice woke up the butterflies in her stomach. For a long time she tried denying that she was trying to find her because she missed her, but that was a whole lot of bullshit, and she didn’t want to lose her all over again. Even if Gen apparently found some guy while they were apart or even if she had to use a bit more force in her methods to get them to start again.

Which she did - mapping out exactly what she expected Gen to do and what the consequences of her not showing up or breaking the rules would mean, looking directly in the eyes of Juliana for the last of it to make sure the annoyance knew just what was awaiting her. “If you don’t show up within and hour, I’m going to kill her. If you show up with the FBI and your Marshall buddy, I’m going to kill her. Slowly and painfully, and then I’ll head back to town and take somebody else and we’ll repeat the process until you do show up. And let me make things incredibly clear - if you don’t show up because the FBI takes you away, I am going to kill everyone in that town. I’m not going to accept that as an excuse. Do we understand each other?”

Gen’s only reply was a yes, and Vivien hung up soon with a satisfied grin on her face. “I think you’ve heard everything, right? No need to explain what’s happening here. Instead for the fun part - I’m pretty sure she’ll be showing up. We’re all hoping she’ll be showing up here, but we have to prepare for the worst, so how about we play a game and it will tell us just how you will have to die if our mutual friend isn’t here in an hour, hmm?”

_______________________

The hand across her face was swift and a lot more painful than Juliana anticipated. It didn’t help that she had a few rings on her fingers which just added to the pain and cut into her skin just enough that she could feel the blood gently well up in the wound before slowly trickling down her cheek. Speaking up probably wasn’t the best idea but being so in the dark about why she was here was stressful. Was she going to die for no reason? Because this woman thought that Juliana was with someone that she clearly had an interest in.

Juliana tried not to make any noise when feeling the tight grip on her hair. She was getting on their nerves and t clearly wasn’t a good thing to try pushing her luck. She pursed her lips together and watched the woman on the phone, keeping eye contact with her as (to her surprise) it sounded as though she had actually gotten ahold of Darcy. So this wasn’t some mistake or some sick joke, Darcy really wasn’t who she said she was and now she had this crazy woman that was completely obsessed with her and out to get her.

She tried her best to look unaffected by the threats she was making even though her heart was beating rapidly and she was terrified. If Darcy…or Gen as she was apparently known as didn’t show up then Juliana was in trouble and not just her, everyone in this town. Phoenix, her dad, Diego and everyone else she loved and cared about. But she would show up wouldn’t she? Juliana thought she knew Darcy but who was this Gen person underneath? Would she leave Juliana to die simply because she didn’t want to be with this person? “What do you mean by game?” she asked cautiously, having a good feeling this wasn’t going to be a very fun game for her.

_______________________

“Don’t worry sweetheart, it’s a fun game. Like a drinking game - you ever play drinking games with your little friends? That boy on your phone, maybe?” To add humiliation to her spite, Vivien casually opened Juliaan’s phone again, going straight to her text messages. “….Phoenix is his name?” She laughed. “Like the mythological bird. How cute and hopeful of his parents. Juliana and Phoenix.”

She went as far as to actually read out some of the texts between Juliana and Phoenix outloud, to which Bex yawned loudly and protested, "Stop, it’s boring, you’re boring me.“

Vivien nodded. "Right? So pedestrian. Let’s get back to my game.” She fetched another weapon from Bex’ car - a revolver this time, and one bullet, which she made a show of loading it into the barrel, so Juliana could see her do it. "This game’s called Russian roulette. It’s a bit of a stereotype, I’ll admit. Something you probably saw in bad cop shows about bad people.“ She clicked the barrel in place, and spun it. "But since you’re a living small-town stereotype yourself, I figure you’d be into this shit. My friend! Gimme one way for teendream Phoenix to find sweetheart Juliana dead.”

“Um…hanged? These rafters look pretty secure.”

The barrel stopped, and Vivien pointed the gun at Juliana. "You wanna be hanged? Or shot? ANSWER ME, BITCH! NOW!!!“

_______________________

The little weakling didn’t last long until her entire face turned was taken over by fear and the tears started. She was practically shaking in her entire body, saying how she didn’t want to die - exactly the kind of reaction Vivien was expecting, and she caught Bex snickering in amusement from behind the girl. It hit her in that moment just how long ago the two of them have done this. They usually leave the dirty work to much lower level members and it was nice to finally get something done themselves. Together.

"Wrong answer, honey,” Vivien said, suddenly her voice turning sweet dripping with fakeness before she pulled the trigger. There was only a quiet click and Vivien let out a laugh. “Looks like you got lucky this time. Let’s see if you can get lucky the second time.”

She opened the gun again and made a show of spinning the barrel - that didn’t contain any bullets. She put the show on just for Juliana, and now the girl too preoccupied with terror that there was no way she’d even think to check if there really was a bullet in the gun. (She still made sure to hold the gun in a way that she couldn’t see if she did try, though.)

She put the gun back together and this time stepped closer to Juliana, forcefully grabbed her hair and pulled her entire head back, putting the tip of the gun right under the girl’s chin. “Let’s try again. Hanged or shot! And I want A FUCKING ANSWER THIS TIME, not just your stupid little whining!”

_______________________

She braced herself, holding her breath while her nails dug into the skin of her palm as she clenched her hand into a fist. When all she heard was a click with no follow through Juliana exhaled in relief even though that feeling would be very short lived. She didn’t want to open her eyes again, all she wanted to do was keep them shut and not face the grim reality of where she was or what was happening. The sound of the barrel spinning and the slight laughter all seemed to echo loudly in the room, reminding her that there was no escaping it even if she wanted to.

This was absolute torture but of course, that was the point. These two were getting a kick out of watching her squirm and cry, it was a funny little show for them to watch the poor small town girl go through her first ever horrific event and there was nothing Juliana could do but simply give them what they wanted. Her entire mind was in panic mode at this point, she was given the slight hope of staying alive if Darcy showed up but now she wasn’t even guaranteed survival if this game continued.

The muzzle of the gun under her chin was an even worse feeling than having it simply be pointed at her. Her heart was racing and the shouting didn’t help at all. “It doesn’t fucking matter does it!” She ended up shouting back. “You’re either gonna kill me now or later so just take your pick of how!” Her eyes still shut tight as she braced herself for the next shot. It didn’t matter what she chose, it wasn’t going to change anything for the better, set her free, they would simply just have more fun torturing her.

_______________________

The woman behind Juliana gave a low whistle at Juliana’s shouted response. Vivien huffed and said, “I know right? Smarter than she looks. Maybe she’s going places after all…” Both women laughed at that, and Vivien roughly shoved the gun against the side of Juliana’s head, and squeezed the trigger. Click Nothing happened, other than Vivien laughing even louder as she pulled the gun away.

“Is this your father?” she asked suddenly, pointing Juliana’s phone at her, to show a photo from the Winter Holiday Festival last year. Juliana, posing with her dad, and he was in his Sheriff winter coat and smiling benignly at the camera. "You look like him. He’s the sheriff of your stupid little town, huh. No wonder you put on all sorts of airs and graces. Think you’re better than the rest of those idiots you live with….“ Vivien didn’t really know why she was saying all this, but as she scrolled through the happy photos of what was clearly just Juliana living her life - with Phoenix and his family, with her father, with pets, and with her co-workers at the diner during special events - it all just enraged Vivien more and more. Especially the photos from American Grub events that showed Gen and Juliana, both of them looking exhilarated and happy together.

Gen looked so beautiful, Vivien couldn’t notice the stress creasing her eyes, or the tightness of her smiles. All she saw was Gen, looking happy and content in this ridiculous life in this stupid little town with these stupid little people.

"Does Gen like you?” she asked quietly.

“Boss…” Bex warned, knowing Vivien was sliding into a bout of moroseness.

But Vivien waved Bex’ warning aside, and spun the barrel of the gun again, pointing it at Juliana’s chest. "Answer me! Does she care about you? You and your little boyfriend? Is she…happy in your shit town?“

_______________________

Another sigh of relief at the sound of the empty barrel clicked right by her ear. Juliana didn’t know how many times she’d get lucky. At least now she had a moment to breathe, opening her eyes when she was asked about her dad. She smiled fondly yet sadly at the picture, her dad not being one to take many photos but he still allowed her to snap this shot of them. She didn’t want to think about what would happen to her dad if she was gone but that was where her mind was going.

Vivien’s words weren’t registering as she thought about how she was the last person her dad had left. Her moving in with Phoenix was already tough for him but this would absolutely destroy him. It couldn’t have been too long since she last spoke to him, a couple days ago maybe…she told him she loved him like she always did which was good at least.

Her accusation was what made Juliana snap out of her own thoughts. “What? No! Of course not!” She protested, truly offended that it was even suggested she thought of herself in a superior way. She considered herself to be a good person, yeah but there were definitely a lot of people in town who were better than her in a lot of different things. Her skill was waitressing, that was about it.

Juliana (figuratively) sat at the edge of her seat watching her scroll through her camera roll, tilting her head to the side as she took notice of the look on the other womans face. She had easily noticed her jealousy and how crazy she was but maybe there were real feelings deep down in there. The gun being pointed at her again just returned the stress and made it difficult for Juliana to find the words she was looking for.

“I-I don’t know! Maybe!” she stuttered, shrugging her shoulders, trying to look Vivien in the eyes rather than at the gun she had on her. “I thought Darcy did–I thought she was happy but I don’t know anything about Gen…if she actually likes us or hates us. She’s been lying to me for four years I can’t tell how she feels!”

_______________________

"Of course you can’t see through the facade, what was I even expecting asking you such complex question…” Vivien snorted with a roll of her eyes. Why did she even think she could ask anything of substance or anything she could actually use.

“You know, unlike you, I do know Gen,” she couldn’t help pointing out, now casually holding the gun at Juliana’s head. “I know that those clothes she wear? Probably something she was forced into to keep her new persona and her true self seperate. Probably some FBI bullshit to help her get into character or something. I know that she must be going crazy in this small town, especially after the lives we had before. She traveled all over the world, did she tell you that? Probably not. What lie did she give you? That she ran away from home? That she needed a new start? Whatever it was, it was all fake. Don’t even know how she ended up with a diner, somebody like her should be out there using her talents, not stuck in a hellhole like that place.”

There was a weird flick of emotion on Bex’s face, but it was so short, Vivien couldn’t decipher it and she was too in the moment to think about it too much. If something was wrong, Bex would let her know, and if it was anything else, it could wait. SHe probably just had a good idea for another part of their business anyway.

“You know what’s interesting, though? Nobody, not even the strongest, most amazing person like Gen, can pretendto be somebody completely different for years and years without telling at least one person the truth, whether it be conscious or not. Since you clearly don’t have a clue about anything, there must be somebody else in that small shithole of yours who knows all about her actual life. So maybe I did take the wrong girl after all? She definitely doesn’t seem to care about you too much, she didn’t even confide in you after all.” Vivien believed about 50% of what she was saying in that moment, but that wasn’t the point. The point was getting into this little bitch’s head, making sure her face fell even more and more with every passing second.

“Does she even care enough about you to show up? Or will she just leave you to me to take care of?”

_______________________

Everything being said easily painted a different picture of Darcy than Juliana had already formed after knowing her for four years. This wasn’t a real person that she knew though. This person that she worked for, bonded with, considered to be such a close friend that she was practically family…she was completely fabricated. The real person behind Darcy sounded like the opposite of what she was showing off to everyone in town.

Juliana sat there with a frown on her face, looking disappointed as the realization that everything she knew was a lie. Even the story about how Darcy ended up here, not a single thing about her was true and she felt so betrayed. In that moment, she didn’t even seem to care about the gun that was pointed at her head, all she could focus on was the hurt and the embarrassment for being so stupid and trusting.

The mention of having someone to talk to made her think for a moment. Who could possibly be someone she confided in? If it wasn’t her or Phoenix, who else was she close enough to that she would let them know she was living a lie? Now it felt like it could be anyone. Jose, maybe Flo, hell it could even be Diego or Carl for all she knew! But the thing that stung was that it wasn’t her, but she should have known that already because even as Darcy she kept secrets from her, why would she tell her anything about Gen?

“No idea…” she responded softly, shaking her head at how sad the truth sounded to her. “Like you said, you know her, I don’t.” That statement put an idea in head as soon as she said it however, reminding her of the phone call that was made on her phone, between the death threats. “But if you know her so well why did you need me to get her to go with you?” she asked slowly, the question being mostly for curiosities sake rather than intending to rile her up. “When you called her you said the plan was to leave together, why did she refuse if you guys are so close?”

_______________________

That question definitely set Vivien off. She vaguely heard Bex behind her slowly say “Boss…” but Bex was drowned out by white noise that filled Vivien’s head. Four years. Four years without Genny, and before that their time together had transformed Vivien so entirely, it was mind-blowing. It was an experience this stupid little girl could never understand. Their love was something this girl with her boyfriend would never know - not how difficult it was, how hard Vivien fought for it, how she’d overcome so much just to be with Gen, to fall in love with her by accident when she hadn’t even intended to, and the pain and agony that had caused her. The trouble it brought her with her Uncle, the Salazar boss who ran most of East Europe. The risk she’d taken, to be with Gen. The memory of Gen’s younger sister, pleading for her life before Vivien shot her dead.

Vivien sneered coldly, and then shot the revolver rapidly, one shot after another, not even bothering to spin the barrel for effect. She just shot over and over at Juliana’s head, but no bullet came. Silence for a long time, followed eventually by Vivien’s cold, ugly laugh. There was nothing humourous in that laugh.

“You remind me of her,” Vivien said, opening the revolver up. She turned it, showing Juliana the empty barrel. She’d never loaded a bullet in there, hand had only made Juliana think she had, out of a cruel trick. But now, she produced the bullet that she’d pretended to load, and she let Juliana watch her load it now. "You remind me of Genny’s little sister. Pretty thing, just like Gen. She was put in witness protection too, before I found her and shot her brains out.“

Vivien slowly walked backwards, aiming the revolver at Juliana once more. Her hand was steady again, no more trembling. "A shame I could never find and kill her stupid little brother. But Gen was close to you, yeah she was. I guess you’re just as good a substitute.”

_______________________

It didn’t take long for Juliana to feel like she had made a huge mistake. The regret she felt was instant as it felt as though her heart just sunk. Why would she think that pointing out this womans contradictions would result in anything positive? The tone of the woman behind her sounded somewhat concerned and if the one who was involved in the kidnapping was worried, then the one who had been kidnapped better say her prayers.

Juliana almost screamed when Vivien began to rapidly pull the trigger. She inhaled sharply once all she heard was a series of clicks, one right after the other and her voice got stuck in her throat. Her eyes opened wide at the realization of what had just happened. There hadn’t been a single bullet in that gun she was being tortured with. She exhaled now, a big sigh of relief that had washed over her for only a fraction of a second.

The gun now being loaded in front of her eyes made it clear to her that she was going to die here. God, this was going to be the last thing she would ever see wasn’t it? Not her boyfriend or her dogs or even her parents, but a crazy woman she never even learned the name of, pointing a loaded gun at her for running her mouth.

Once again (and for what she assumed was the final time) she squeezed her eyes shut, preparing for luck to run out. The sounds of cars driving by could be heard in the distance and it made Juliana wonder if her hour was already up or if this woman was just sick of her and didn’t care anymore about the deal she had made with Darc–Gen.

_______________________

Juliana was the luckiest bitch on the entire planet in that moment, Vivien thought when she heard the sound of a car engine coming closer and then stopping somewhere outside of the warehouse they were in. Her eyes flickered over to Bex, her hands still raised, not moving even an inch from holding the gun at Juliana’s head.

Bex looked at the watch on her arm and then gave a shrug. “Your lady seems to be on time. Arrived at the last minute, but she’s on time. If it really is her,” she added skeptically.

“Saved by Gen it seems, hmm?” Vivien said and finally lowered the gun, but didn’t put it away. They didn’t know for sure if it really was Genevieve outside, or if she truly came alone, and she wasn’t willing to take chances. She wasn’t going to die or get caught because she was dumb enough to leave her gun somewhere due to her trust in Gen. “But don’t get too happy, you’re not out of the woods yet. If she brought anyone with her, we’re going to be coming back to you soon.”

Vivien started making her ways towards the door, but Bex moved faster, intercepting her and stopping her in her movement. “Viv, no,” she said, her voice lowered so that Juliana couldn’t hear them, even if they were a bit further away from the girl at this point. “You know you can’t go out there. If there’s anyone aside from her outside…”

“She’s not dumb enough to do that,” Vivien found herself saying even though after what happened in Gen’s apartment, she wasn’t so sure anymore,

“You put too much faith in her.”

“Maybe, but one could argue that you never put any faith in her to begin with.”

“I feel like this entire situation is retrospectively proving all my distrust, but it doesn’t matter now, we can talk about that later. Just let me go out there first. I’ll check out what’s going on, see if she’s alone or brought someone and then we can go from there.” Bex paused for a moment before added, “I don’t want to see you shot again, Viv. You scared the shit out of me then, I don’t want to see that happen again.”

The two of them looked at each other, not taking their eyes off of the other for a few moments before Vivien nodded. “Fine. Go, do your thing. But you have to follow the "don’t get shot” rule too, it’s not just there for me.“

Bex let out a small chuckle, "sure, boss,” before she turned around and headed outside, leaving Vivien and Juliana alone for the timebeing.

_______________________

Diego ignored Phoenix' demand, letting Darcy drive on ahead as he then turned and diverted down a smaller road, taking the perimeter of the old warehouse. It looked like a lot of buildings here were closed, unleased, or abandoned. The American economy at its best, in these small towns in the middle of nowhere. Diego scanned the lay of the land - he spotted two cars - one was the sports car that belonged to Vivien, the other a black sedan rental.

"We're here," Diego reassured Darcy. "We're just looking around. This warehouse is pretty big, but no signs of break-in. Must be one of the places the syndicate owed. Alright Darce, once you're ready..." He glanced at his watch. "Just get out and head inside. Sooner rather than--"

But he was cut off by Darcy cussing and Diego slowed to a stop. It looked like a good place to park anyway, he saw a fire escape around the back of the warehouse. "Just one person? Don't hang up on me, put your phone in your pocket and if she wants you to follow her, then follow her. Just don't hang up, alright?"

He pocketed the car keys and took his own phone, giving Phoenix a look before he exited the car. He knew Phoenix wouldn't stay put, the kid had said as much, multiple times.

"Follow me, stay with me at all times." Diego kept his voice low, so it wouldn't be picked up on Darcy's phone. "We don't know how many people are in there. If you're spotted, you're dead, or Juliana's dead. So stick close, alright? Come on."

_______________________

Craning his neck to try and look around to see something, Phoenix listened to the call. If he could just see Juliana then fuck the plan. Being reckless was in Phoenix's blood and a stern look from Diego wasn't going to stop him. So Diego worked for the federal government. He could be crowned king of the world and Phoenix wouldn't listen to him. And, really, that didn't have much to do with the situation at all. He had never listened to Diego. It was the dynamic of the friendship (though, he wouldn’t have used that word to describe it). It was a bridge that he would be glad to burn.

He was half-listening, only paying attention in case anything happened rather than the sort of conversation which reminded him of an episode of Criminal Minds. A part of him wanted to tell Darcy to hurry up this time, but she was speaking softly enough that he knew better than that. The tone of her voice changed up and she cursed which caused him to scramble into a better position to jump out of the car. His hand was on the door handle. One could commend Phoenix for the best display of self control that he’d exhibited in his life. The handle felt cool, the metal chilling his sweaty palms. He almost wondered if it would slide off.

“What are you - what is she doing?” he asked as he undid his seat belt. It clattered against the side of the car which was in a fantastic action giving that Diego seemed to not want to make a lot of noise.

He climbed out of the car and met Diego’s eyes before rolling his own. The man knew exactly how to play him. Phoenix wouldn’t care if he was the only person who would get hurt. He’d let himself get hurt if it meant protecting Juliana... and maybe Darcy still. He didn’t have the same feeling about Diego, figuring the older man had some sort of bulletproof vest. Everyone else was going in completely unprotected. It was his own choice, he knew.

Blinking a couple of times, he leaned to whisper in Diego’s ear. “I’m not fucking around. If you need someone to throw to the wolves so you can get the girls out, I’m willing.” Juliana was his life. There was nothing if he couldn’t have her. The same outcome would occur for him if he lost her or if he defended her. For her, the risk was more than worth it. He didn’t know Gen, but he couldn’t help remembering Darcy - who’d taken a chance on him and given him a job when most others in the town wouldn’t dare, talked him through a few breakdowns, been one of his biggest cheerleaders and a member of the little family he’d built. “Promise me you won’t forget.”

_______________________

"Phone in the pocket, okay, I can do that. Please be careful, both of you," Darcy added before she quickly slipped the phone into her back pocket and got out of the car. By that time the woman got closer, she recognized her as one of Vivien's closest friends. Well, to her, who knew what their relationship actually was now that she thought of it. Maybe she was some kind of bodyguard and that is why she hung around Vivien so often. And why she got some weird, dagger glaring stares from her sometimes... Suddenly there were so many red flags that she could think of that she missed and ignored over the years while Vivien and her were together.

"Long time no see, Genevieve," Bex said - was that her real name? was it fake? why did she never question the fact that she never got a last name from her? - in a cold, vary tone.

"Yeah... I guess you could say that." Stall, Gen, stall as much as you could. "What are you doing here? I thought..."

"You thought Vivien was dumb enough to come here all alone and you wouldn't have to deal with anyone else? You could just take care of her all by yourself and then go back to that little shithole of a town?" Apparently the dislike stuck around even through the years.

"No, I didn't think I'd come here and take care of her all on my own, what are you even... do I really look like I came here to kill her? Do I look like a murderer?" she asked, opening her hands in a defensive motion. "Do I look like a murderer to you?"

"You look like shit."

"No argument there."

One, two, three moment of awkward silence.

"Did you come alone?"

Gen gave Bex an 'are you kidding me?' look before she pointed back towards Juliana's car. "If it's not obvious that I am here alone, you can check the car. Nobody knows I'm here, I'm not an idiot." Bex muttered something under her breath that Darcy couldn't understand. "Is Vivien around? Do I get to see her or am I only allowed to talk to you?" It was killing her, not to ask about Juliana, but she figured it wouldn't be the best idea to start with that.

"She's inside waiting for you. Her and your little friend, too," Bex added and after a few more pointed looks both at the car and at her, she motioned towards the entrance to the warehouse. "You walk ahead of me, slowly. No sudden movements, or your little friend won't survive until noon." Okay, so Juliana was alive, she was still alive. That was good, that was good, though Darcy didn't dare let out a sigh of relief. She just nodded and did as she was told, her heart beating out of her chest, her hands shaking. She could do it. She needed to do it. There was no other option.

In the meantime, Vivien was tapping her fingers on the gun, anxiously waiting for Bex to return, hopefully with Genevieve and a satisfied smile on her face that suggested that everything went down as it should have and Gen didn't do anything stupid or reckless like bring that idiot US Marshall along with her. "This is the deciding moment, you know," she told Juliana absent mindedly. "Whether you die or possibly live is all dependent on whether my friend walks back in with Genevieve and we can all leave without any kind of trouble. What do you think? Did she stick to the rules or did she not care about you enough to do so?"

_______________________

She had been so scared that the sound of the car driving by didn't even register as Darcy-Not Darcy's arrival. There was no way she was this lucky it was an incredible feeling even though she still wasn't in the clear yet. Tilting her head back to look up at the ceiling as if thanking a higher power for keeping her alive for this long.

Now that the gun was no longer pointed at her head and the two women were quietly speaking to one another, Juliana felt like she finally had time to breathe. She didn't want to make any sudden movements, simply look around where she was being held, get a good look at both of the women's faces. If they set her free and all went on the run maybe she could out them to the police, get a hunt going for them to put them behind bars and they would no longer be a threat. It was the only idea she could think of but it scared her to think that they could always come back and try to finish the job.

The other woman left and all Juliana could bring herself to do was look at the door with pleading eyes. The time ticked by so slowly as she waited, just hoping for the moment this woman would get what she wanted and Juliana could go free. Her fingernails dug into the palm of her hand as her anticipation started rising as every second felt like hours when suddenly she was being addressed. She whipped her head to look at Vivien taunted her, glaring at her for these rhetorical questions she could never have the answers to.

What was going through this Gen persons mind? Did she have some sort of plan to save Juliana or did she simply change her mind about wanting to leave? Maybe she wanted to go all along and this was all part of some elaborate scheme. Her reasoning didn't make sense but did it have to? She was tied up in an abandoned warehouse who knows where and has had a gun pointed at her head more times than she'd like!

"I think she can't wait to get out of here with you." Juliana told her blandly, of course not truly knowing what Genevieve wanted but if she was here, she would be leaving and be out of their lives regardless.

_______________________

Vivien blinked at Juliana, as if for a beat or two she believed Juliana's words. The truth was, Vivien wanted to believe Juliana's words. The idea of Gen actually arriving so that they could finally live their life together, was everything Vivien wanted at this particular moment.

But then she heard footsteps, and turned to see Bex not hiding the aggravated look on her face. And Gen behind her looking...utterly disheveled and close to a nervous breakdown. At least, that was what Vivien convinced herself she saw, trying to reclaim that belief that she knew Gen better than anyone else. Seeing Gen again both thrilled Vivien and broke her heart at the same time...and she took all that frustration and confusion, and distilled it into blame and hatred of Juliana. She needed to hurt something, in order to feel something again.

"Hello gorgeous," Vivien said, pointedly reminding Genevieve that only last night, they'd held each other in their arms, as Vivien whispered 'gorgeous' over and over against Gen's wanting lips.

A toss of her hair, and she looked back at Juliana. "Time to see if you're right," she said to the girl, before reaching out for Gen to take her hand. Bex silently moved back, stationed behind Juliana once more, watching warily.

"She's alone," Bex figured she'd tell Vivien. "But maybe I should just case the back and make sure--"

"Of course she came alone," Vivien smiled, eyes only for Gen has she cut Bex off. "She's not stupid. Hello Gen. I'm glad you came. I'm...sorry I made all of this mess, I thought that this girl here was..." Vivien laughed as if they were just having a conversation over morning coffee. "Well, I guess I had a little misplaced jealousy, baby. But it's fine now. You're here and we can get out of this shit place once and for all."

With Phoenix whispering death wishes in Diego's ear, the older man tried to stay calm. For the kid's sake, if nothing else. He looked Phoenix in the eyes and even went as far as to briefly grip Phoenix' forearm with his free hand (his other hand held his gun). "I know you are, Phoenix. I know," he said quietly. Now, on top of making sure to keep Juliana alive, and Darcy safe, now Diego realized that he couldn't depend on Phoenix to keep himself safe. The kid was eager to rush out and get himself killed at even the slightest provocation, and said just as much.

Which meant now, Diego would have to split his attention three-ways because he had to look after Phoenix as well. It wasn't ideal but...none of this was ideal, and Diego had brought this all on himself.

At least the painkillers were kicking in.

"Follow me," he said, tucking close against Phoenix, making sure they walked so tightly together that they'd occasionally bump elbows or shoulders. It would be almost friendly and companionable, if the stakes weren't so insanely high. They got up the fire escape and Diego breathed a sigh of relief that the door lock was broken. He opened it just enough to slip in, keeping it open for Phoenix and corralling the kid against him as he eased the door back shut.

They were on the office catwalk, 15 ft above the warehouse floor, looking down at the scene before them. It was a good vantage point - because there was Juliana, tied to a chair. There was Vivien Salazar's assistant. And there was Vivien, and Darcy. Diego brushed his fingers against Phoenix' arm again, motioning to crouch low and keep an eye out. He hung up his phone then, because they could hear the conversation from up here.

Diego checked the messages from his boss, coming in on his phone. Darcy just had to stall long enough. Just long enough...Diego held up his hand at Phoenix, splaying his five fingers. He mouthed the words, "Wait...five minutes." The please was in his eyes.

Not wanting Phoenix to kick up a fuss and blow their cover, he whispered closer to Phoenix, "You know this: you getting yourself killed will hurt Juliana far more than anything that's happened so far. Remember that."

_______________________

Phoenix followed Diego like a duckling would follow its mother. There was a tension hanging in the air, weighing him down. He could hardly breathe. It was a struggle to even do. He had never been afraid of heights, so the extra burst of fear caught him off guard. It was likely because the situation. The only way that he would be able to experience any relief would be for all of this to be over. For now, he would have simply deal with it.

He turned his head to try better listening to the conversation going on below them. She had thought that Juliana... no. It should have been Diego in this situation then. The knowledge didn’t make the situation better, made it perhaps worse, but that was beside the point.

Five minutes. He could do five minutes, though he wasn’t going to do it for the older man. He wanted to make that clear. “Not for you. Her. For Juliana,” he reminded the older man before grabbing his wrist so that he couldn’t immediately go down. “Five minutes. But if anything goes wrong, I’m not waiting. If she... if either of them are in any danger that you’re not immediately on top of, I will be down there and I will be taking care of it.”

_______________________

Walking into the warehouse Darcy's eyes were immediately scanning the place, desperately looking for Juliana. She wasn't too hard to spot, thankfully they didn't hide her away somewhere, and just seeing Juliana's body moving in a breathing motion calmed her down a lot. Vivien at least kept herself to the promise of not doing anything fatal to her. Yet. They weren't out of the woods yet, but this was a good sign. As she got ven closer, she only tried sneaking small glances at Juliana because she didn't want Vivien to think all she cared about was Juliana - it was a hard sell, especially after all the things she yelled at her in her apartment, but she had to at least try. But from those small glances she could see that Juliana physically seemed okay. Red, puffy eyes, some pink to her cheek, her hair a bit ruffled, but no blood, no visible bruises, and she breathes a small sigh of relief. The mental trauma was still there, it wouldn't go away, but at least physically Juliana seemed to be doing okay.

On the other hand, Vivien seemed... fuck, she looked exactly like she remembered her, but somehow the moment she spoke to remind her what happened between them not so long ago, the moment she reached her hand out for her to touch, she looked so incredibly ugly to Darcy. She wanted to throw up again, to push her hand away, to scream and yell at her, to scratch her eyes out, but she knew anything that wouldn't please Vivien in that moment would result in Juliana getting hurt, and she could not take that chance.

So without saying a word, she reached out and took Vivien's hand and let the woman pull her closer while she shut Bex down who wanted to check if other people were around. Apparently Vivien was so blinded when it came to her even after everything that she trusted her, without question. Which was huge luck on their part, but also something she could use maybe.

"Of course I came, Viv," she said, trying to make her voice sound as soft as she possibly could and hoping there wasn't any shake to it. She was trying to wreck her brain how to bring up Juliana, how she could ask about her, but she didn't have to think too much because Vivien brought her up herself. She gave Vivien a surprised look - where did she even get the idea of Juliana and her? - and then let out a small chuckle. "No, Viv, you have nothing to worry about. Juliana and I never..." she looked over at Juliana, wanting to mouth some reassuring words to her but noticing Bex behind her watching the two of them with wary eyes and quickly deciding against it. "She's just one of my employees I get along with. Nothing else. And she seem... okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, we just had a little fun with the girl, nothing too serious don't you worry," Vivien said, waving the question away as if it was pointless to even ask. "You did find somebody, though, didn't you? A man, from the shirt you put on."

Darcy wondered what Vivien would have done to Diego if she knew it was his shirt, even if they weren't together anymore. If their night back in her apartment would have ended differently. "Oh, that? That was nothing, I just bought a couple of those for whenever I'm in the apartment. They're comfortable." She really, really hoped she was selling this well. She could hear Bex give a scoff, but a small smile curled onto Vivien's lips. "You don't need to be jealous, I never..." Here comes nothing. She ducked her head, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear and forcing her face to look embarrassed and flushed. "Look, I know it doesn't seem like it from everything that went down, but I was kind of in shock, okay? I can't remember half of what happened, everything went down so fast, and there were those guns... ever since you and I got shot, I get all freaked out and weird whenever guns are around me and I do stupid things. I'm really sorry, okay? I realized I made a mistake the moment you left. I even tried going after you but he-- he wouldn't let me. I'm sorry."

_______________________

Had it not been for the fact that this woman had knocked her out, kidnapped her, tortured her, and threatened to kill her and her entire town, Juliana probably would have thought seeing the way these two interacted was pretty cute. Unfortunately, this was the completely wrong circumstance for her to feel all warm and fuzzy when it came to romance and instead she just felt anxious.

Staring at…Genevieve, there was disappointment in Juliana’s eyes rather than relief to see her. As they talked about her and the two of them made eye contact, she couldn’t help but look down at her feet instead, not wanting to accept that any of this was true. She hated looking at her, even listening to her and no longer seeing Darcy, but now a complete stranger in her place. It all felt wrong. The person she thought she knew these past four years was suddenly gone and replaced by this imposter who put her into danger.

What was worse was how it sounded as though this could have all been avoided. It sounded like she wanted to run away with this psycho, and yet Juliana still had to suffer through this pain? It wasn’t fair, it wasn’t fucking fair. She started squirming around in her seat from the frustration, she knew she wouldn’t be able to get herself free nor was she attempting to, she just need some kind of outlet to release the anger she was feeling.

Rather than interrupt the love birds little moment with each other, Juliana turned her head to look over at the one standing by her. “You guys got the one you want, can you please let me go now?” she pleaded softly, hoping that maybe this newfound happiness of finally getting to be with Genevieve again meant they would be a little more merciful now.

_______________________

Diego gave Phoenix a brief if incredulous look like 'of course' (but maybe more aligned with 'a-duh') when Phoenix said he'd cooperate for Juliana. That much was patently established. Diego wondered how many times Phoenix would feel he needed to remind Diego of a truth that was obvious many months ago, and applied to pretty much 99% of Phoenix' life? Who did the kid think he kept trying to convince?

Regardless, Diego was glad Phoenix conceded to the five minutes. It also gave Diego time to look around, and realize that Vivien hadn't called anyone else in. This was just her, and her associate. Despite all the havoc that Salazar had created internationally since her faked death, Diego began to realize that when it came to Genevieve Soto, it was a private matter. No other guards, no one else. And Vivien even cut her associate off, which was a relief because if the other woman cased the warehouse she would have found him and Phoenix.

The idea of Phoenix guaranteeing he'd 'take care of it' only translated to one thing to Diego: that Phoenix would run down there to create some diversion, get himself shot, and that would be that. Diego looked at his phone again, hoping that the five minutes Al promised him would deliver. Because seeing Phoenix bleeding out on the floor and being happy about it would be the stuff of nightmares.

Vivien was caught up in Gen, everything Gen as the other woman talked, convincing her of truths that Bex considered lies. But it would be hard to convince Vivien of that, especially now, while Gen and Vivien were talking together, holding each other's hands. Bex was feeling restless, but she stayed put, her attention honing in on Vivien and only Vivien.

Then Juliana spoke up, and took Vivien's attention. She looked annoyed, but realized, after Gen's explanation, that killing Juliana would probably not help the situation. At least...her killing Juliana wouldn't But if she just took Gen out of here, then Bex would happily do the honours, Vivien was sure of it. All she needed to do was ease Gen into reassurance that the girl would be fine.

"I suppose we'll let her go now...do you think she'll say anything about us?" Vivien asked Gen, and Bex tried hard not to roll her eyes. "Her father is the Police Chief after all. It's in her nature to rat people out, I'm assuming and I don't want--"

"Boss - BOSS!" Bex said, cutting Vivien off as she took a step closer. Her eyes were wide, and she held her gun up. "Boss, there's a laser - a red fucking dot on your forehead. Gen fucking lied!! She brought the fucking cops!"

"Now's our cue. Stay close to be and behind me!" Diego hissed at Phoenix, but stood up then (relief and adrenaline coursing through him as he aimed his gun at Bex. "This is the US Marshal talking, drop your weapon now - drop it NOW!" Diego yelled, coming down the stairs and hustling forward towards the trio. "On the ground, lady - " He barked at Bex, just as the warehouse doors burst open as well, and more cops ran inside.

Diego figured Phoenix would beeline straight for Juliana - which was fine, Diego wouldn't stop the kid. He had to take care of Vivien's associate, but Vivien couldn't seem to believe it was over. That Gen had betrayed her, like this. By pretense and lies.

Not wanting Vivien to get shot, as the cops burst in, Bex carefully lowered her own weapon to the ground as the US Marshall knocked her to the floor. But not Vivien. With a scream of frustration, Vivien aimed her own revolver at Gen - the revolver that only had one bullet - and tried to shoot the woman she loved more than anything. Click - Click - Click

_______________________

He was able to keep quiet. This was a situation in which Phoenix was actually afraid. It wasn’t for himself, but it was because it would put Juliana in danger. He nodded, tucked close to Diego until he heard the loud bang of the doors being broken open. He saw the crush of officers closing in and focusing on Vivien and whoever she was working with.

Ducking away from Diego, he ran down the steps. This might be a risk, but he thought that it could be worth it. The recklessness was back quite easily. He ran up to Juliana, taking her face in her hands.

“Juliana. Hey, hey. Are you okay? Are you... did they do anything to you?” Likely, he could have tried to untie her, but maybe it was safer to stay in one place. That and he was fumbling with the ropes that were holding her to the chair. “I’m... here. I’m here.”

He let out a soft breath, trying to keep her from looking at any of the strange things that were happening around them. “When this... after this, we’ll call your dad! Okay? Diego didn’t want me to call him so I don’t know if we can tell him everything, but we can tell him something. These fancy cops are going to tell us what to do and I’ll actually listen to them.”

_______________________

Suddenly everything seemed to be happening all at once. One moment Juliana was pleading to be let go and all Gen wanted to do was jump there, untie her and run along with her, the next there was a red dot in the middle of Vivien's forehead. She didn't even have time to move so Bex wouldn't notice, however, because the woman was already yelling to Vivien about it and then Diego voice came somewhere from above and it was just a mess.

Such a mess for a moment she didn't even know what to do, which gave Vivien just enough time to raise her hand that had the gun in it, aim it at her and fire - and Darcy was prepared for the familiar shot of pain, hitting the ground and everything going black, but instead of the deafening sound of a bullet getting fired, there was just the small click of the gun that didn't have a bullet in it. Vivien was shooting her with a gun that didn't have bullets in it.

With memories swirling around in her head she moved, not caring anymore that Vivien kept shooting - really, what was she thinking, a bullet would suddenly materialize in there? -, and she punched Vivien in the solar plexus. It wasn't the best punch, she could have hit harder and in a better angle, but it did the trick just enough that Vivien bent down to catch her breath from the hit and Darcy immediately moved to Juliana. Phoenix was already there, trying to calm Juliana down, so Darcy moved behind her and started untying the ropes as fast as possible while also trying to make sure that she doesn't hurt Juliana even more. "It's okay, it's gonna be okay, you're gonna be out of here in no time, I promise."

Vivien wasn't giving up that easily, though, and after a few seconds she forced herself to ignore the pain and stand up properly, just in time when one of the cops arrived to her to arrest her. Instead of doing as she was told, though, she backhanded the guy with the gun in her hand, and in the shock of the hit wrestled the gun out of the guy's hand and in just a few moments she was already using the guy as a shield, gun pointed under his chin, a maniac grin on her face. "Anyone takes one step closer to me and he's dead. Now, kindly let my associate go and let us leave here and nobody has to get harmed."

_______________________

When the woman behind her started shouting followed by the sudden crashing sound of the doors being forced open, Juliana screamed and ducked her head as far as she could with her limited mobility. There was an influx of noise that was just too overwhelming for her to process. She heard the word cops and then a familiar voice say US Marshal and now all she had to hope was that she didn't suddenly get caught in the crossfires while stuck where she was.

Her eyes widened in shock the moment she saw Phoenix standing there in front of her, cradling her face in his hands. She blinked a few times as though she believed she was seeing things. Once he started talking she knew she wasn't imagining it and knowing he was actually there basically opened up the flood gates as the tears started to build up. "Phoenix, you're here...I'm so happy to see you. What are you–how did you...? Are you ok?" Despite the fact that she was the one tied up, with a cut and a possible bruise forming on her face, she still checked to see if there was anything wrong with him.

There was still a lot of movement and a lot of shouting going on around them. As much as Juliana wanted to stay there and escape reality for a moment just by looking at Phoenix, she was scared about what easy targets they were. "Wait, Diego? Diego is part of this?" She asked, knowing that wasn't his main point but it was the one that caught her attention. Had it not, she probably would have given a soft (still somewhat nervous) chuckle at the idea of Phoenix actually listening to cops for once, but instead she started trying to turn her head to try and actually see Diego. Her brain had now registered it had been his familiar voice and she didn't know what to do with this information.

That was when Not Darcy rushed over to her suddenly and started untying her. Was there some kind of ulterior motive here or was she really just trying to help? Juliana kept second guessing everything about this person now that she knew the truth. She turned back to look at Phoenix with pleading eyes, really hoping that what was being said was true and they could get out of here. As soon as she felt the rope around her body loosen and she could finally move her arms, she immediately wrapped them around Phoenix, burying her face into his neck.

Juliana felt safer already even if the environment around them still wasn't very safe. All of a sudden things seemed to have quieted down and Vivien's voice was the only thing echoing in the room. She looked up to see her with one of the cops as a human shield and since Juliana wasn't one of the people with any power to try and stop her, she held on tighter to Phoenix and watched the reactions of the cops as well as "Genevieve" to see how this would get handled.

_______________________

Things were racing at a high clip, but this sort of high-action organized chaos was the sort of thing Diego was trained for, and didn't freak out over. He managed to get handcuffs on Bex when he pushed her to the floor, and out of the corner of his eye he knew Phoenix was with Juliana, and Gen had run over to get Juliana untied. He thought he'd heard shots fired...or attempted to be fired anyway, and he just managed to haul Bex to her feet again when there was another yelp. Not from the trio of civilians huddled together, but from one of the cops.

Diego looked up and cursed under his breath, when he saw that one of the Evanstead policemen (used as a last-minute resort back-up by the FBI, Diego assumed, since they had no time to call in the SWAT) thought he could get cocky. And it landed the young buck now as Vivien Salazar's hostage as she still tried to make demands.

With a glance over at the Gen, Juliana, and Phoenix, Diego gave a little chin-toss towards two other cops, who scurried over to the civilians to shield them. Diego didn't let go of Bex, but walked her slowly towards Vivien, as Vivien walked backwards, towards the open bay doors.

"It's over, Salazar. You got a choice here - you can get taken in by the FBI and you can get held up in court with your legion of lawyers that you no doubt have on speed dial. Or you can shoot this cop here in front of millions of witnesses, and proceed straight to federal with that speedy trial that's promised to you. "

"Vivien," Bex tried to warn, but it sounded more like she was pleading with Vivien to make the choice. She wasn't. In truth, she was warning Vivien to stop walking backwards,stop taking the US Marshal's bait as she walked right into the barrel of the Sunnymead Chief of Police's gun.

Diego had seen Vincent arrive, thanks to Al - and Vincent seemed to have caught what was happening right when Vivien took the young cop hostage. Diego and Vincent's eyes met -briefly, just once - and a silent communication was exchanged, which led Diego to distract Vivien while gently ootching Vivien back until her shoulderblades suddenly met Vincent's gun. He muttered something to Vivien - so quiet and just for her, that no one else heard it. But then with a sigh of final defeat, Vivien chuckled bitterly under her breath. She dropped the cops gun, and smiled humourlessly at Bex, as she was roughly manhandled and handcuffed by the embarrassed Evanstead cop.

"Maybe you were right," she said to Bex, as Vincent efficiently cuffed her, and handed her (pretty roughly) to one of the FBI agents.

"Yeah. Maybe," Bex replied wryly, as Diego handed her off to the other FBI agent. Diego gave Vincent a curt nod, and the Chief of Police jogged over to his daughter.

Diego followed behind, and reached out for his own main priority - Darcy. Or...well, Gen. "Hey," he said to her gently. "It's over."

_______________________

At Juliana’s questioning, Phoenix nodded. “Yeah, he... yeah.” The whole story was too much of a mess and there were too many things going on around them for him to explain any of it right now.

Mirroring her actions, he squeezed Juliana. “I love you. I love you to fucking much,” he mumbled. He kissed her cheek then looked over at Darcy. A part of him thought that he should thank her for untying Juliana but he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

Everything happened so fast. And thank god nobody died. There was an attempt on Vivien’s end to shoot Diego, but - however little he wanted to admit to it - thankfully, nothing had happened. The cuffs were on Vivien and whoever it was that had been working with her.

He didn’t want to let go of Juliana, but Vincent came over and he knew that he had to. He moved off to the side, watching Darcy and Diego. He stepped over slightly and cleared his throat. “Uh, thanks. You know, for everything.”

_______________________

It was such a relief to see Juliana slip out of the ropes and surge forward to embrace Phoenix. She automatically reached forwards to rub Juliana's back, but stopped herself the last moment before she would have actually touched Juliana. She lingered there for a moment, remembering everything Phoenix told her, how Juliana dropped her gaze when she looked at her previously and how Juliana must have been just as confused and angry as Phoeniy was at them, and then dropped her hand and took a couple of steps back instead.

She didn't want to impose her presence on them when they probably didn't want to do anything with her. Phoenix made it clear that he didn't want to talk to her or even see her once Juliana was saved and well... Juliana was saved and okay. Well, as okay as she possibly could be. Darcy imagined there would be some trauma she'd have to process and deal with after this. But at least was alive, that is what counted in that moment.

She gave a weak, tired smile to Diego when he appeared at her side. "Is it? It weirdly doesn't feel like it. It just... well, it just feels like a really, extremely long, extremely shitty day."

She looked over to where Vivien and Bex were at this point led away in cuffs, and she watched them for a few moments before she asked. "What's gonna happen to them now?" What's gonna happen to me now? she wanted to ask, but she just couldn't bring herself to voice it. Because there was a whole syndicate out there, she would still be relocated, or did this mean she was okay, free to do whatever she wanted? What would she even want to do if she could? She couldn't really make decisions about her life in such a long time, even the thought felt completely foreign to her.

Phoenix wandered over and Gen took a quick glance towards Juliana to see her now embraced by her father. She shook her head at Phoenix's words. "It was nothing, it was the least we-- the least I could do. I know you probably don't care to hear it, but I really am sorry for bringing you into all of this. I never meant to hurt Juliana or you or anyone."

_______________________

She knew she was the one bombarding Phoenix with half finished questions but right now the answers weren't what was important to her. All Juliana wanted was to tightly hold onto Phoenix and never let go even if it made her wince in pain a little because he was really the only person she was sure of in this situation. "I love you too. I was so scared I wouldn't see you again..." She told him, the words muffled against his skin.

Watching everything go down, Juliana was trying her best to process it all. It was a moment before she was able to stop holding her breath, exhale and feel relaxed. Maybe she didn't fully trust this crazy woman (who she now finally learned the name of) would actually go quietly, but her worried gaze as they put both women in handcuffs was suddenly blocked at the sight of her father making his way over to her.

Phoenix's arms were no longer wrapped around her now so she could have a few moments with her dad. Before she let go of him she placed both hands on his cheeks and looked into his eyes. "You were so brave, I love you so much." She said quietly before pulling him in for a quick kiss. When she pulled away she paused for a beat before letting her hands slip from his face so she could reunite with her dad.

Vincent pulled her into a hug almost instantly, his arms around her shoulders and his hand placed on the back of her head as if trying to hold her as close to him as he possibly could. She hugged him tightly with her face pressed against his chest, feeling the way his body trembled as he held her and the way his heart was beating faster. He closed his eyes and pressed his lips to the top of her head feeling relieved to have his baby girl in his arms. "Thank god you're safe." He muttered into her hair while she held onto him tighter as she started crying again into his uniform shirt. "Shh, you're okay sweetheart, it's okay, I got you."

Juliana managed to pull herself together after gently sobbing into her fathers chest, sniffling as she took a step back to look up at him. She paused for a moment before asking how he knew they were here and what was going on before he explained the call he got. The mention of this phone call from the US Marshal reminded her that there was still the unanswered question of Darcy and Diego. She turned her head over to look at them as well as Phoenix who was standing pretty close to them. "Phoenix..." she called over to him, reaching out her hand, gesturing for him to come closer to her as she gave Diego and Darcy a wary look, making sure they could read the distrust on her face.

_______________________

"I don't know," Diego said honestly to Darcy's reply. "But we - I still have a lot of work ahead of me. I suppose when I said 'it's over' I just meant, er, today." He looked slightly abashed, thinking perhaps he'd injected some sort of hope and relief into Gen. She could feel some hope and relief that no one was dead and Juliana was okay, but other than that... "This part is over. But there's still a lot more that has to be done. That much I do know."

He didn't want to go into specifics. Partly because it wasn't his decision to make - the Salazar case belonged to the FBI, and the US Marshal's office would confer with them to see how to proceed. And partly because he was thinking the same thing Gen was: he didn't want to tell her what was going to happen to her now. Because all Diego could envision, was the worst case scenario.

He was distracted when Phoenix suddenly popped up in his periphery (how did he always do that?) and thanked Gen. Diego looked down, as Gen replied to the boy, glancing over at Juliana and her father. It was so gratifying to see the girl alive. Shaken, traumatized, beaten up, but still alive. The ambulance arrived then as well, one paramedic heading over to Juliana to check her for injuries, the other approaching Gen.

Diego cleared his throat. "You did well, Phoenix. Looks like they're going to take Juliana to the hospital," he prompted, figuring the kid would want to go with her. If Phoenix was allowed; Diego didn't know what Vincent thought of Phoenix at this point. He figured Vincent was pissed off at Diego - for a myriad of reasons, like allowing Phoenix to come here at all. Diego knew Vincent would be right to be concerned about Diego bringing a civilian into this dangerous situation. But Vincent also probably knew Phoenix Mae, and what the kid was like about his daughter.

When it seemed like Juliana had the same idea as she beckoned Phoenix back, Diego turned to look at Gen. "You and I are gonna have to go in for questioning," Diego informed her, as the paramedic checked her over. He said 'you and I' because it was true. At this point Diego would be interviewed by the FBI as well, and suddenly Diego was worried about the story he and Gen would have to tell them. Because if there was one thing he inherently suspected, it was that Gen shouldn't tell the FBI agents - the people who set all of this up to protect her from Vivien Salazar - that the first thing Gen did when she saw Vivien was sleep with the woman.

The feebs would only conclude one thing there, and that would set a very bad precedent for Gen. And as much as the sleeping-together part was accurate, Diego didn't want her to dig her own grave for the FBI. To beat that metaphor some more, she'd done enough digging, and Diego had helped her dig as well, with the people Gen loved in Sunnymead. The least Gen could do at this point was practice a little bit of self-preservation, and Diego believed he was the only person who had her back, and could keep her from spiraling into a breakdown.

_______________________

Phoenix shifted on his feet, knowing that his listening to Diego had helped while also knowing that he’d never do it again. His interactions with Diego would come to a halt after this. He assumed that the man would be leaving Sunnymead. His job would be done here. Whether it was successful or not was up to interpretation. Phoenix would say no, but he didn’t have a say in this. It was up to those who actually had experience in these situations and didn’t retain a bias over any of this.

When Juliana softly called out with him, Phoenix nodded. “Just a sec, babe. I got a few more things to say to Diego,” he replied. He turned back to the older man. “Yeah, I’m gonna go with her to the hospital. Don’t worry about it.”

Then he made what probably was a poor decision and took a swing for Diego. It connected with the side of his face. It was a hard swing, leaving his knuckles a bit sore.

Moments later, he was pulled away. He jerked a little in the hold until he heard Vincent’s harsh voice in his ear.

“You do not punch federal agents. I may be able to get you out of trouble back home, but I cannot do anything if the feds decide to do anything. Do you understand that?” he asked, releasing Phoenix who simply walked over to Juliana.

“Sorry, chief,” he said softly. “But he fucking deserved it. Don’t act like you didn’t want to do it.” He turned to look at Diego before looking back to Vincent. “He got your daughter wrapped up in this shit. He and Genevieve.” It wasn’t the time to dump all of these things on Vincent. He would, later. The man deserved all of the gory details. He didn’t plan for there to be any secrets... about this at least.

Phoenix sighed. “I’m going with her. You do... I don’t know. Cop shit. I’ll tell you when we know anything if we know anything before you finding up.” The older man gave his shoulder a squeeze and Phoenix walked over to Juliana.

He immediately took her hand. “Don’t be mad at me for that,” he mumbled. He had gotten quite good at not getting into fights. His temper was something that he still had to work on. Phoenix shot a look back to the couple before looking at Juliana. “I can’t punch Genevieve, but ...” he trailed off and shrugged.

Running his fingers through her hair, messier than it had ever been, Phoenix let out a soft sigh. “Everything’s gonna be okay. I already made them promise not to come near us. And - and Diego will probably be reassigned somewhere and she’ll have to leave town too... we won’t have to deal with this. I’m positive.”

_______________________

Questioning. They had go in for questioning. Totally and absolutely understandable next step after everything that happened, but suddenly Darcy remembered all the endless hours she spent in interrogation rooms and it happened when she didn't have any sort of information about Vivien or took part in anything bad, not intentionally anyway. Not that she knew too much more now, except for sure that Bex was part of all of it, but she did sleep with Vivien after she showed up and she wasn't sure... how exactly that would go about for the FBI and what wrong conclusions they would take from it.

Since Juliana called Phoenix over, she wanted to pull Diego aside to possibly talk about it (as awkward as that conversation would go), when Phoenix suddenly, out of nowhere (for her at least for sure, did this have a lead up that she missed? did something happen in the car while they were driving there?), landed a hard punch on Diego's face. She jumped back from the shock of it and the next moment Phoenix was already pulled away by Vincent.

"What the fuck, Phoenix?!" seh exclaimed, instinctively stepping between Phoenix and Diego even though with Vincent pulling Phoenix back, it was clear there would be no more punches thrown around. "Diego didn't do anything, he was just doing his job. If you want to blame somebody and go around punching them, do it to me, I'm the one who fucked up, who brought Vivien in town and I'm the one to blame, okay, not him!" She definitely would have deserved that punch more than Diego did, that's for sure.

She watched Phoenix as he went over to Juliana and her eyes locked with Vincent for a few moments before the sheriff turned around, grumbled something and headed towards Juliana, too. Gen turned around then to inspect Diego's face and the new addition to his already colorful bruises. "Are you okay? It seemed like a hard punch from where I was standing."

A paramedic passed by then and she quickly stopped them and asked if they could bring Diego some ice, which they did. "Here, ice it. Again. You became quite the punching bag today," she noted quietly. "Are you sure... don't you think you should go to the hospital, too? Get checked out, just to make sure you don't have a concussion or something."

_______________________

Normally, the sight of Phoenix swinging his fist at someone would cause her to run to his side to stop it, but she felt disconnected and rather unfazed. She jumped a little from surprise but it ended up having to be her dad who went to stop him as opposed to her. Juliana watched the commotion from a safe distance just trying to keep her breathing steady, barely paying attention whenever the paramedic asked her questions. All she seemed to be focused on was Genevieve jumping to Diego’s rescue.

Had this been completely different circumstances, this closeness between “Darcy” and Diego would have made her giddy, made her feel excited to know that she was right and there was something between them that they couldn’t deny now. But instead, that was the last thing on her mind, now all she cared about was how Genevieve was confirming that what happened to Juliana was her fault.

When Phoenix came over to her, the paramedic looking after her went over to check on Diego. Vincent looked a bit defeated as he made his decision on whether he should come along to the hospital as well or not but knew that Juliana would be in good hands with both Phoenix and the paramedics. He gave Juliana one last hug and kiss, telling her to make sure he got called if anything happened and that he would be right over before he stepped out of the warehouse.

Juliana held Phoenix’s hand in both of hers, looking a lot calmer than she normally did when she’d seen him lose his cool like that, and brought his hand up to her lips to gently kiss his knuckles. “It’s okay…” she told him quietly, “this one time I’ll say the person you hit deserved it.” Even if the other two didn’t seem to think so, she couldn’t deny some sort of consequence was in order. She didn’t fully understand what he meant about being reassigned but she understood that they were leaving town, and she looked over at the two of them, her eyes narrowed as she replied, “Good.”

The paramedic glanced over and upon noticing Juliana staring, he looked between the four of them as he suggested that all of them come down to the hospital together just so they could make sure that the two who had the most injuries didn’t have anything more serious going on. Juliana started shaking her head immediately, feeling her chest tighten a little. “No…no, no I’m not going anywhere with them, I don’t even know who the fuck you people are!” she raised her voice during the last part, now addressing Genevieve and Diego.

“I still don’t even know what the hell is going on! Nobody has told me a god damn thing! I’ve been sitting here completely in the dark, tied up for I don’t even know how long, with a crazy woman pointing a fucking gun to my head because you got her hopes up and then rejected her!” She was livid right now, feeling all of her anger bubbling to the surface, tears in her eyes once more but this time from rage rather than from happiness or sadness. “These feelings I’ve been having, feeling like we’ve been drifting apart make perfect sense now. You’ve been lying to us for four fucking years! We’ve told you some really personal and important stuff and you never opened up about anything, you told us nothing. I looked up to Darcy and now I find out everything I thought I knew about her isn’t even real!”

“And you!” She turned her head to look at Diego because he wasn’t off the hook either. “Is Diego even your real name? What about all those stories, things you’ve told me about your family, your nieces, was that all fake too? Cause I don’t know what to fucking believe anymore with you people!” For all she knew their entire life stories that they shared were fabricated. “You probably don’t even care! You’re just doing your job and we’re just a couple of idiot kids who kept bugging you and getting in the way.”

Juliana took a deep breath and rubbed any excess tears from her face, her voice lowered now but still harsh. “I know I trust easily, and I let you both into my life because that’s who I am but neither of you are even who you said you were and…I could have died because of you. Both of you.” she paused for a moment, looking between them and shaking her head. “I hate you and I can’t wait until you’re out of this town and out of our lives for good.”

_______________________

It wasn't that Diego was expecting the punch from Phoenix, but more that when the kid prepared his swing, Diego knew what was coming. He didn't bother to dodge, taking it in the jaw and falling a step back as the pain sunburst across his face. It exacerbated the lacerations and bruises on the other side of his face that were inflicted by Vivien, and Diego just internalized all of it, straightening himself just in time to reach out to Darcy - Gen - as she chided Phoenix. She didn't have to, of course. Everything Phoenix was doing now was a reaction of frustration and fear, and so entirely justified.

"It's fine," Diego said to Vincent, knowing the man was just trying to make it sound as if Diego was a power-hungry cop, eager to throw Phoenix in jail. Diego wasn't. Everything was contextual, and a punch thrown in this situation was, in Diego's opinion, reasonable.

"It's alright," he said again, his voice softer to Darcy as he tried to coax her back. He didn't glare at Phoenix, because he wasn't angry. He was mostly just tired, but knew there was still a lot more to be done.

He wanted to remove Gen from the situation as quickly as possible, give the civilians a chance to get to the hospital while the FBI took Vivien and her associate into custody. It looked like they were finishing up talking to Al and the Evanstead Chief of Police, which meant that Diego would then be able to escort Gen to the nearest US Marshal office. He wasn't going to let her sit in some Evanstead copshop. He wanted her somewhere quiet, without all the ruckus and shouting. A slim, brief moment to decompress before she was pulled back into the system to be interviewed (and hopefully not interrogated). He needed a moment to just talk to her as well, about what happened with Vivien.

Diego didn't want to lie to the authorities, but he also didn't want Gen to be in more trouble than she already was. This was going to be tricky; unfortunately the painkillers were defunct after Phoenix' punch (not as bad as being pistol-whipped by Vivien, but still a reminder that his face wasn't as young as it used to be). When the paramedic pressed a cold pack against his face, Diego winced, suddenly embarrassed by what he considered unnecessary assistance. There were people here suffering far deeper than he was; and their needs, as always, mattered more than his. He removed it and handed it back.

He vaguely registered Juliana yelling then, an outburst that was, again, entirely reasonable considering what she'd just been through. None of this was fair or right, not to her or Phoenix, but in Diego's opinion not to Gen either. As Juliana lambasted Gen, Diego watched Gen, knowing she'd just take it all on completely and then quietly destroy herself with her guilt. It made him angry, but not at Juliana. Juliana wasn't to blame either. She and Phoenix were just innocent children who did nothing wrong.

He was angry because it was all so massively fucked up. But at least everyone's alive, Diego reassured himself quietly. Then he sighed at how depressing it that his standard for relief at this point was as low as 'no one died'. As much as it hall hurt, Diego couldn't afford to feel much else.

"Okay," Diego accepted Juliana's wrath, addressing both Juliana and Phoenix (because he was sure she spoke for Phoenix as well). "I know it's irrelevant now, but my name is Diego Chavez, and what I told you about my family is true. Thisshould never have happened to you, and I apologize for all of it, Juliana. I'm sorry, Gen," he said to her as well.

Because as much as everything had collapsed around Gen's head - the fact that Vivien was actually alive, the near-death experience - he also knew how much Juliana's friendship meant to Gen. Only a few hours ago, she was begging to remain in Sunnymead, in the only life she'd known for four years, with the only people she'd been allowed to love for four years.

Now that was all being taken away, again. And even worse, it left a legacy of hatred and resentment in the people Gen had to be torn away from. He always believed that Gen worried about how much her brother hated her for ruining his life as well. Now, hearing the hatred spouting from Juliana's mouth, he knew that Gen would be doubly devastated - for ruining so many people's lives, and being unable to comfort them or change things or make it better.

"We have to go," he said to her.

_______________________

Diego was just doing his job? It was ridiculous to Phoenix, that she thought that saying he was doing his job was something was a proper excuse. If he had been doing it right, none of this would have happened. The ignorance which had fallen over them - and the other town members - since Darcy and Diego arrived could have remained. Everything could have been left with its false sense of normalcy. A part of him thought it was better. She might be living a lie, but things were good then. She seemed happy and he and Juliana both were happy.

“I don’t want to hear it, Genevieve. I told Diego the same basic thing, but just because he gets you off doesn’t mean he’s worth a damn.”

He knew it wasn’t going to happen again. He also didn’t have it in him to be glad got a get out of jail free card. Then, she started yelling at the couple.

He watched the scene unfold in front of him, eyes darting back and forth as if he was watching a tennis match. Of course, Juliana seemed to be doing all of the talking. He continued to hold onto her hand, tightening his grasp on it as she spoke. It was true. She could have died. There were plenty of parallels between this and the conversations that he’d had with Darcy in the diner along with the one he’d had in the car with Diego.

He had no idea if Diego was being honest about the fact that most of what he’d said wasn’t a lie. As if he were willing to trust anything the older man said at this point. It was all to cover his own ass. If Phoenix cared more, he was pretty sure he could say some less than admirable things about Diego to get him into some sort of trouble with his boss, but he wanted out of here. He’d cut them off like he would a dying limb.

“Get the fuck out of here,” Phoenix mumbled, no actual venom behind his voice. He didn’t think that it would do any good. He just let her get her rage out. She had far more right to anger than he did.

_______________________

If Gen was being honest, she did not at all expect Juliana blowing up like this. It was entirely reasonable and understandable, but she still didn't expect any of it. Everything was deserved and Juliana was right, and Gen took it all quietly, her eyes never leaving Juliana's angry face because some part of her felt like she didn't deserve to look down, to look away and feel just a tiny bit better about everything, to make this a bit easier.

Some people stopped to stare while others were quietly continuing doing their job, trying to attempt to give them their privacy, but Gen only saw Juliana. Her last words probably hurt the most even if she already knew, everything else Juliana was shouting was proof of that, but still to hear this from her own mouth, just like Phoenix making her promise never to talk to him again, cut deep and painful. And to think this was going to be her last memory of both of them. All the good times they had together and this is what both of them would remember her - the woman who lied her way into their lives and then fucked them up real good before she left, only to leave havoc and pain and trauma in her footsteps.

Could she ever not hurt the people she cared about? First her family torn apart, her sister dead, now Juliana kidnapped and both of them hurting and feeling betrayed. Maybe she really should just stay away from people and not make connections. That might be better for everyone around her.

Diego was probably lucky to get away from her and getting another assignment too. He might have not cared for her as much as she did for him, but it probably would have only been time before she hurt him, too. Well, technically she already did, several times.

She watched Diego while he talked and when he turned to her to apologize too, she couldn't help the bitter chuckle that left her as she shook her head. "Don't apologize to me, Diego, I don't deserve it. Why would I even need an apology for?" Not that she really expected a reply.

"I'm sorry, I really am," she said to Juliana as she turned back to her. "I know it doesn't matter now, I know you don't care, but I didn't want to lie and I didn't like any of it. Our friendship - everything was genuine about that. Not my past or my name, but the emotions and the sentiment behind it was. And I truly didn't want any of this for you and I wish it could have been prevented."

She nodded at Phoenix's dismissal and Diego saying that they needed to go and started making her way out of the warehouse, hoping she could at least get a few moments to herself where she could let some of the tears she was forcing back all this time, only to realize halfway out that she still had Juliana's car keys in her pocket. She could have technically just found Vincent and gave it to him, but as she turned around, Juliana was still there with Phoenix, and even thoug she couldn't explain why, she found herself going back to her once again. Maybe she just liked torturing herself.

"I just came to give you this and then I'll be out of your hair for good, I swear," she said when she saw the two of them noticing her approach, handing the car keys to Juliana. "This is probably the smallest cherry on top of all of it, but I broke the window on the driver's side. I was-- I was panicking and I forgot that you probably had your keys in your bag in the back. I am sorry, I will pay for it. Just-- I don't know, I don't know what's going to happen to me from here, to be quiet honest, but if you send the bill to the US Marshall's office, I'm sure they will get it to me and I can pay it back to you." Diego would probably make sure it would get to her, if nobody else. At least she hoped he would do that at least for her after their paths seperated. "I am really sorry again. Both for the window and everything else."

_______________________

It was nice having Phoenix there holding her hand as she went on her rant and let out everything she was feeling. It was a means of support that she needed right now more than ever. She hated that this was going on, she hated that people she respected and trusted were suddenly strangers standing in front of her. There was no way of telling if Diego was being truthful and Juliana turned her head to look over at Phoenix as if to gauge his reaction as well. She wanted answers and yet, she had no reason to believe anything they said now.

“No, it shouldn’t have. You people knew she was here! How long was she here for nobody to think about detaining her?” she asked, looking between the both of them pausing only for a moment before continuing. “From what I heard it was long enough for her to suggest her and Genevieve run away together and it was long enough for her to recognize me and get some fucked up idea in her mind that we were hooking up! You knew she was looking for you and you knew she found you and I still had to sit here with a gun to my face as she asked me if I’d rather be shot or hung when you didn’t show up!”

She squeezed Phoenix’s hand a little tighter, feeling sick having to say that out loud and having to think about what would have happened if they didn’t just narrowly make it. “At least we agree on something.” she commented coldly as Genevieve said that she didn’t deserve an apology. This was her fault, you don’t apologize for being hurt to the person who hurt you. At this point the damage had been done and Juliana didn’t want to hear Genevieve’s apology or excuses she simply wanted her and Diego gone. “Well, whether it was genuine or not you were starting to become a pretty shitty friend by the end of it so it doesn’t even really matter.” she explained, looking down at the floor for a moment and turning back to Phoenix as he told them to leave. She nodded her head to show she agreed and she was done with them.

“I didn’t hurt your hand by squeezing it too hard did I?” she asked Phoenix softly, keeping her gaze pointed downwards on their hands as her fingertips played against his. Juliana only looked up as Genevieve walked over again with her car keys in her hand. She took them and sighed at the mention of her car window being broken, wrapping her arms around Phoenix just so she didn’t start losing her cool again. As much as she would love to send her the bill for the damages she caused, it was a lot more than just a broken window. She was sure she could get a deal, someone in town who owes her dad a favour, hell she’d figure out a way to fix it herself if it meant she didn’t have to try and get in contact with the woman ever again. “Whatever. I don’t care, just go.”

_______________________

Juliana and Phoenix were caught in this circle of demanding answers, then accusing the answers of being lies anyway so it didn't matter, then telling them to fuck off. They had questions, but no trust. Diego could see that now wasn't the right time to discuss anything anyway, not while everyone was still so keyed up. Whatever was said right now, it would only engender further animosity. Everyone's feelings were so raw that the only emotion that could be expressed was anger. That wasn't productive and really just more damaging to everyone involved.

"Any questions you have that're in my power to answer, I'll answer," Diego told Juliana, when she wanted to know how long Vivien had been in Sunnymead. Clearly the girl thought Vivien had been squatting there for days or perhaps weeks, not less than 12 hours. But Juliana could believe what she wanted, because no answer would be sufficient. Not at this moment anyway. Not that Diego sought forgiveness or even understanding, he just wanted to give them an explanation. If that was what they wanted.

"After you get back home and things are a bit more settled, if you still want answers, then I can provide them," Diego told them. "Gen isn't allowed to talk about any of this, because she can still be held liable and arrested for trying to explain anything." He glanced, somewhat nervously, at the FBI agent who was now eyeing them suspiciously. Before the FBI agent came over to take Darcy away, Diego motioned for Darcy - Gen, dammit - to follow him towards his own car.

"Let's go. We'll get back to Sunnymead in due time..." Diego told Gen. Truth was, even he wasn't sure what would happen at this point. The US Marshal office was mandated to follow the orders of the FBI on this particular case, since it was a federal case and not state. So all Diego could do was make some hopeful promise to Gen, before getting her to (relative) quiet.

_______________________

“Wait. They knew she was here?” Phoenix asked Juliana. Nobody had told him that, that they were well aware of the situation. He thought that she had simply shown up to grab Juliana. He felt himself getting angry again, but he held back for Juliana.

He tore his eyes away from her to look over at Diego. “Goddamn. I thought I might be overreacting but you really do suck at your job! Just let her fucking go! How - how do you lose your job? Because fuck, it seems like you’re making a lot of mistakes but there are no real repercussions because no one died!” Yes, shouting after telling them to simply leave was counterproductive, but he felt like he was receiving new information.

Turning back to Juliana, Phoenix shook his head. “Are you kidding? I’m tough!” It had hurt a little. It was the hand he’d used to punch Diego, likely a bad choice on his part. There was no changing it now. It didn’t hurt that badly.

Oh yeah. Phoenix had forgotten about the window being broken. He rolled his eyes and leaned in to whisper in Juliana’s ear. “You know what though? She didn’t even ask me to hotwire the car like Raven taught me. She broke the window then got your keys. It was totally unnecessary.”

_______________________

Darcy was ready to open her mouth again and defend Diego, try ti specify things to maybe lessen Phoenix's anger, but thought against it the last second. There was no lessening the anger, she couldn't explain or reason the pain or the anger away and she didn't have a right to even wantto. Plus, anything she and Diego said before seemed to make things worse and that was the last thing she wanted. To make things even worse than they already were.

She didn't say anything, just nodded to Juliana's reply and quietly and kind of awkwardly said, "Sure. Really am sorry, for all of it. --Bye." She sheepishly turned around and nodded to Diego and the two of them headed outside to head to the US Marshall's offices for probably what should be endless hours of questioning.

As they stepped outside the building Gen looked back one more time only to see Juliana finally pushed into the ambulance, Phoenix followibg suit., never letting Juliana's hand go in the process and the car rolling out of the building, taking their lives in two completely different directions.

FINISH.

#to be tagged later bc i am lazy #——diego chavez (022)#——lost & found

1 note · View note