Tara Byrne was a hard-nosed, relentless businesswoman. She'd helped JackMezzo build an empire. For the last decade, she'd fallen asleep at her office more often than her home. Finally, she'd relented and just installed a small bedroom behind her office. Her business acumen had handled hundreds of millions of dollars and helped build a business district.

It was a far cry from her brother's usual attitude, which had led him on countless drunken revelries through the seven cities before largely settling down- but Tara still had that wild streak, although it was usually suppressed. Tonight, it was not.

She had already polished off most of a bottle of wine by the time she called Madeline. 

"MadelineitsTaraI'mreadyto-"

Tara paused, composing a deep breath.

"Need your help with something. With Greeks. Recruiting. Yes?"

Madeline was sitting in her family's headquarters when the call came in; she hadn't spoken to Tara in so long she almost didn't recognize the woman's voice. It wasn't helped by the fact that Tara was talking so fast her words were slurring together. Wait, was Tara drunk? Tara Bryne?! That was almost hard to believe, but then again, people were known to change, and she was Gavin's sister after all. 

"Uh.....Hi Tara. I can certainly help you with...whatever it is you're referring too. Where are you? I can meet you."

She had piles of paperwork that needed to be finished, but she'd been sitting in this office for hours so having an excuse to leave was appealing to the blonde woman. She started to pack up, shoving papers into desk drawers and looking for her keys while she waited for Tara to respond. Madeline had always known that being a crew leader was a lot of work, but when you added in Southern Charm, her businesses in Philly and the city events she was still working on for Jemaine, she couldn't believe how much work had piled up so quickly. She made a mental note to delegate more to Jadus and Rob; those two needed to get busy. 

"Good. I am at..."

Cars honking are heard and a woman's voice shouting in the background.

"HEY YOU! WHERE IS THIS?!"

Tara returned, much more composed, immediately after.

"I am in New York."

There was a long pause.

"Near the bottom of the Empire State Building. The pretty side. I'll save you a bottle of something..."

The line abruptly clicked off.

Near the bottom of the pretty side of the Empire State Building. Madeline shook her head, chuckling softly at Tara's words. The girl was really and truly trashed, the thought of which was hilarious. She took a few more minutes to finish straightening up her desk before she called for Stephen, who quickly appeared. 

"Can you bring the car around, please? We have to head into Manhattan, to the Empire State Building."  Stephen raised a curious eyebrow, and Madeline shrugged. "We need to find Tara Bryne. She couldn't be more specific about her location. I'll meet you outside in a moment."

Stephen nodded and disappeared while Madeline found her coat and scarf, bundling up against the ever colder weather outside. She wondered for a moment if they would have a white Christmas this year; she did love to see the streets sparking under the fresh white powder. But there was time to worry about that later - for now she needed to find Tara. 

Heading outside she jumped into the waiting car. Stephen had them downtown in less than a half hour, driving a bit like a maniac but getting them there safely either way. He slowed the car to a crawl and circled the building while Madeline kept her eyes open for where Tara might be. She finally spotted a rather lovely looking bar on what she supposed could be called the "pretty side" of the building. She had Stephen stop, and she went inside to investigate. 

Spotting Tara sitting at the bar, Madeline couldn't help but laugh once more. The other woman was very intoxicated. 

"This is a sight I never thought I would see. Tara Bryne - drunk. Come on; we'll go somewhere a little...safer." 

Tara was wearing a long black coat and her hair had been slightly mussed up by the wind, despite the fact that she was inside.

"Hey. I know how to have fun. Although this is more exuberance than pure intoxication. Figured I'd celebrate some good news... finally ready to launch that club we've been talking about. Building plans are all done and ready to roll. As soon as you can make the construction happen, we're in business. So I figured I'd celebrate some good news."

She paused. Did she say that already?

"And besides, you've got some celebrating of your own to do, no? Figured we could have a fun night, for once. Join me?"

Her eyes narrowed, her brain unable to place a stray bit of information.

"It's alright if you'd prefer not to, of course. Either way, lead on. It's your city, of course."

Madeline thought about Tara's offer to join her for a night of fun. It was interesting that she was the one hesitating - this situation felt very backward give the two women present. A few years ago it was Madeline encouraging Tara to have a night out, to take it easy from work, to loosen up. It seemed that much had changed since she'd first met the young woman that now sat at the bar, slightly disheveled and completely intoxicated. 

Madeline had stopped drinking a long time ago, for the most part at least. She couldn't even remember the last time she had been as drunk as Tara was tonight. A part of her missed it; things were so much easier when you could have a drink or two to calm your nerves or help relieve the tension. But she had been verging on becoming a full-blown alcoholic when Alex had saved her and slowly but surely, over her time with him, she'd done away with the alcohol. 

Thoughts of Alex were enough to sour her mood. She looked from Tara to the bar and back to Tara, a smile gracing her lips as she slid into the empty bar stool next to the other woman. 

"What the hell, a few drinks couldn't hurt, right? After all, we've been waiting for this club of yours for how many years? I can get construction started tomorrow, just get me the plans." 

Motioning to the bartender, Madeline ordered them another bottle of wine. After he poured them both a glass, Madeline took a long sip, savoring the flavor, before turning back to Tara. 

"So....who are you? And what did you do with the other Tara?" 

"Feels like a decade, honestly. Shit, I started planning it for New York because Star had a club in Philly, and now she's been gone for a while. Hey I should put it in Phil- kidding. Kidding."

She smirked as she sipped from her wine glass and considered Madeline's other question.

"I don't know... I've been trying to take it easier, lately. If my life is only business... that was enough for me for a long time. I'm not sure it's enough for me now. You must understand, with all the work of running a crew. If work is all there is..."

Tara shrugged.

Madeline frowned softly at the mention of Star; she'd known the woman well at one point, and she missed her dearly. Death was so much a part of life in this thing of theirs; Star, Shelley, Lucious, even Alex...Madeline took a sip of her wine and nodded slightly at her comments. 

"I do understand. I have to say I've become quite a workaholic myself lately, something I never thought I'd admit too. I rarely get out these days; I practically live in my office. I still do a lot at the city level, helping Jemaine, so between that and now the responsibility of running a crew, the work has just seemed endless. Add in the Southern Charm restructuring and my new charity, and it's been chaos. Still, it keeps me occupied and sometimes that's better than when I have too much free time."

She took another sip and shrugged her shoulder. Her past self would likely be disappointed in what she was evolving into, but she was older now and wiser. Well, she thought so at least. Maybe. 

Tara picked up her wine glass and clinked it against Madeline's.

"I'm one of the few people who might be able to understand how you feel. I had a bed in my office for the last decade. As soon as I get back to Philly, I'm going to light it on fire. Or at least move it out of the office."

She shrugged.

"It's not a bad thing, responsibility. You get a chance to really impact the world. It just asks a lot from you. What's this new charity you mentioned?"

Madeline smiled when Tara asked about her new charity. She watched the red liquid of the wine swirl in her glass for a few moments before she responded.

“I know you were close to Alex. I don’t know if you know anything about his history, but he was raised in an orphanage in Arizona. I visited it once when I was doing him a…favor. Since then I’ve been sending them funding monthly to help improve their situation.”

She had never told Alex about the monthly amount she was sending to the Sister at the orphanage; she wasn’t entirely sure he would have approved. His past was always a sore spot for him, something she could respect and had chosen never to push him on.

“I decided to open one here in New York, in his honor. Two actually, one for boys and one for girls, since apparently co-ed facilities are frowned upon, which I find ludicrous. I got around that by finding two homes right next to each other – I’m building a passage between the two, so the staff can easily move about. The buildings are undergoing renovation, and I’ve been pouring through transcripts to find the right staff. On the one hand, I want the kids to receive an education and be prepared for life. But I also want them to have a chance of being adopted, so it’s a two-sided process. I don’t want the kids shipped around the country to just anyone. I’ve had contact with some social service agencies in the city and well….there’s such a need….”

Madeline was almost embarrassed, oddly enough. After all, they were mobsters, and charity wasn’t exactly what they were best known for in this world. This particular idea had such a special place in her heart that she hadn’t shared it with anyone else yet, until now.

“I won't lie. I've resigned myself to the fact that I’m not going to have children of my own. So maybe this is my answer to that. Two whole houses full of kids.”

She smiled softly before taking a long sip of her wine. She was going to need more of this soon.

Tara blinked. Carousing made it easier to forget a few things... and the reminder of Alex was like getting splashed with cold water. She raised his glass silently to her lips.

"I'm glad you're doing that. Really glad. I know you don't need money, but I'd still be happy to contribute."

She paused.

"How are you holding up?"

Then, content if Madeline wanted to ignore the question, adding something more.

"As for 'not having children of my own'... well, I'll drink to that. At point, I thought I could have a Family and a family. Now... I'm thinking it's not really possible."

How was she holding up? Madeline didn't quite know how to answer that question. Alex had meant more to her than she'd ever really let him know; he had helped her to learn who she was, he had helped her to get clean and put her life together again. They'd never really discussed war or possible death, but she'd always assumed if something were ever to go down she would be the real target, the one to die first. 

She swirled the wine in her glass once more, sighing softly. 

"I always thought I would be the first to go, between Alex and I, especially when it came to that kind of a situation. I survived two direct attacks on my life that night Tara. I lost Nikolas to one, and I have a scar on my leg from the second. But nothing hurts more than knowing that I couldn't save him. I knew that he and I being in separate cities would be hard, but we were making it work. I never thought about what would happen if chaos erupted as it did."

Taking a long sip from her glass, Madeline thought to the last time she saw Alex. She'd surprised him with a trip to Cuba, a weekend away for just the two of them. They'd gotten into a bit of unexpected trouble, but overall the trip had been excellent. He'd returned to Philadelphia and her to New York, and that had been it. 

"I don't think it's possible to have it all, not anymore. Well, not for me at least. I gave it a try Tara. After my marriage, I didn't think I'd want a relationship again. Vernon had made me think that there was no such thing as happily ever after. But then I met your brother, and things changed. And then that was an epic failure, to say the least. And then Alex came along and...I was happy."

Madeline finished off the wine in her glass, sighing.

"Look at me, ruining the night with all this chatter. Let's turn back to your club; you've been waiting for ages for this, we can get it up and running in no time I'm sure. I'll get my best people on it."

Tara nodded subconsciously as Madeline spoke. 

"I'm glad you made it through that weekend, for what it's worth. I've always considered you a friend, and I was happy not to bury another one. But yea... Alex was just always so intent on staying on the outside. Staying as clean as possible. I was happy when the two of you became a thing. After you husband, after Gavin. I was hoping you and Alex..."

Tara sipped her wine and shook her head.

"But you're right. I suppose we should focus on the present as best we can. Speaking of... something I wanted to run by you. This club... well, it's something that you and I have been working on for a long time. You're a partner, and you've been very patient. Wouldn't want to do anything without speaking to you about it. How would you feel about two locations? One in Philly, one in New York. I could do some subtle differences between the two, but they'd mostly be... sister-businesses, just as we're sister cities."

She smirked.

"I mean, I initially conceived of this club as something to add to Southern Charm to help get people into the business district. But New York is doing so well lately... I don't think that reason holds up anymore. So what would you say to the two locations?"

"The same goes for you of course. That war was...intense. I lost enough people that night; I was relieved when I heard that you and your brother had both made it through unharmed."

Madeline listened as Tara explained that she now wanted to open two clubs, one in each of their cities. It was true that the New York Business District was booming these days, more so than before the war. New York overall had doubled in size, and amazing things were happening within the city. There were some hiccups of course, as usual, but overall things were going excellent. 

"It's your vision Tara; I'm simply here to help you make it a reality. If you'd prefer to open it in Philly, then that's fine with me. If you want one in each city, that's fine with me too. You've wanted to do this for so long, and there have been so many barriers that have kept popping up over the years. I want you to make it happen, no matter where it ends up being." 

Tara smirked.

"Madeline, we've been planning this club for a decade. I'm not going to just leave you high and dry here in New York. I don't know what the financial equivalent is for blue balls..."

She paused, furrowing her brow and laughing.

"Blue bills? But I wouldn't do that to you. We'll do our grand opening here in New York; later on, I'll expand to Philadelphia."

Her eyes gleamed.

"I might even need to borrow you. How do you feel about togas?"

Madeline laughed softly at Tara's analogy, envisioning hundreds of blue colored bills floating through her hands instead of green ones. 

"Then it sounds like a plan. We'll avoid any blue bills and move forward as we intended. The warehouse I showed you before is still ready and waiting for renovations, just get me the blueprints and construction can get started right away."

She glanced at her wine glass after realizing that she'd said the word a few times in short time frame. She seemed to be a lightweight these days, the wine going to her head much faster than it used too. 

"Come on; we'll go back to my headquarters. You haven't been there yet, right? I'll give you the grand tour. We can break into my wine cabinet and talk about what the advertising should look like. I have no qualms about wearing a toga around for a bit, although I'd expect to see you in one too."

Madeline laughed once more as she stood from the bar stool. She was definitely tipsy and extra glad she'd made Stephen drive. He'd be waiting for them outside to ensure they made it safely back to the Rejected Misfits headquarters, where the two women could drink the night away in safety and make arrangements for the opening of Tara's club.