The water ran gently along the Detroit River as the woman followed the current. Running barefoot alongside the river, alternating between rare patches of sand and the grassy parks, the woman's feet rose and fell in a steady beat. Kates ran every morning, assuming Marietta didn't have her out on a job, as she had learned to when she was growing up in Las Vegas. She used to try to follow PedroRourke, her father's old friend, on his daily run around the outskirts of the city. The first several times he'd had to carry her back, laughing all the way, but when she turned 16 a combination of her father's stubborn streak and her developing athleticism had allowed her to keep up. She'd been thinking more and more about old PedroRourke lately. Her father had trusted him as the head of security, and he'd taught his boss's daughter everything he knew. How to train. Hand to hand combat. How to shoot. Her father had wanted her to be able to protect herself, but forbade her from entering the "family business". Well he was gone now, leaving only his final instructions to go to Detroit and find Marietta.

Working for Marietta had certainly been interesting. The awkwardness that the Godmother had shown her at their first meeting was quickly buried when she went undercover at the strip club to take out those Irish bastards. The war that broke out after her return had precluded any conversation with the Godmother, so she'd just have to be patient and hope Marietta would eventually spit it out.

After the third mile, Kates began to slow down and walk. Her training outfit, consisting of a black tank top and tight black pants, was beginning to feel constrictive. But she fought the urge to take a swim in the river and, raising her tank top to wipe the sweat off her chest, walked slowly back towards the Riot headquarters. As she raised her shirt and exposed her flat stomach a man walking by stopped short and looked at her, before jogging over next to her. She ignored him and continued walking the short distance to the headquarters, hoping he'd go away. But the small, mustached man was resilient walking quickly to keep up with her as he spoke.

"Miss! Miss! My God! You're beautiful! Come work for me- I'm a photographer my name is Freddy Benson and I could make you a star! Classy stuff! Lingerie! Bikini! Nothing dirty- nothing dirty! Give me two weeks and I'll make you five hundred grand, with all the inflation that's going on..."

She tuned him out, but the money kept rattling around in her head. She'd built up a ton of debt when she was undercover, since every penny she made stripping went right back into bribing her way in to get a chance at her targets. And it's not like letting some pipsqueak take pictures of her in her underwear would kill her. Whereas the guys who she owed the money to might. But her thoughts evaporated at the sound at gunfire.

It was up near the Riot headquarters. Marietta's private car. Six men had surrounded it, raining pistol and tommy gun fire into it. The thing was a tank- the best armor money can buy, but even bulletproof glass can't hold forever. Kates took off sprinting her bare feet throbbed but she focused and ignored the pain. As she approached the intersection where the assassination attempt was taking place, she saw Marietta's pistol creep out one of the windows and hit an attacker between the eyes. One down, but they were coming from every angle. Even the Godmother couldn't get all of them. She saw the opposite door open and one of Marietta's rotating bodyguards stupidly combat rolled out into the open. He was gunned down before he could get a shot off.

One of the attackers in front of Kates had his back to her, and he was shielded by other abandoned cars. Kates ran, crouched, until she was right behind him. She didn't hear him until it was too late, at the words of PedroRourke echoed in her memory and a flurry of movements took the life from the man. She quickly picked up his pistol and peeked over the hood of the car in front of her. The other four men had no idea she was there. Quickly she raised her gun as she walked towards the car. One down- in the chest. On the left- in the head. Third- in the leg, then the chest to finish him. But as her bullets leaped out and knocked three of the attackers back, the fourth found cover behind a truck to reload his pistol. The Godmother.

Keeping her eyes trained around the spot where the man disappeared, Kates wrenched open the car door as pieces of glass hit the ground around her. Marietta gave Kates a brisk nod and a lingering look that Kates couldn't understand. Nevermind- she'd ask about it later. But as the Godmother was stepping out of the car door she tripped on something inside. Kates reached out with both arms, unthinking, to prevent the older woman from hitting the ground. It was at that moment, when Kate's gun was pointing harmlessly up into the air, that the final assassin stepped out from behind a car a dozen feet away. Kates quickly moved between the Godmother and the gun, but with her gun pointed upward, unable to do anything with the man's gun pointed right at her. She was fast, but not that fast. The man spoke to her in the cold voice of a trained killer.

Listen, hot stuff, I don't want to waste you, but I've killed pretty women before and you'll be next unless you drop the gun and step out of the way.

Kates glared defiantly at the man, trying to get his eyes to drop to her cleavage for the one second she needed. But he was a pro. There was no getting out of this one. She angrily shouted "Go fuck yourself!" as the man smiled and nodded slowly, with his gun trained on her heart. Kates clenched her eyes, willing them to stay open. If he hit her in the arm, or anywhere that didn't kill her in one shot, he was a dead man. If he did get her, well at least she'd stalled him enough that maybe someone would be there to rescue the Godmother.

Kates prepared herself for death as the man's eyes changed, signaling his pulling of the trigger. At that moment Marietta charged forward in front of Kates, covering the younger woman's body with her own. The surprise was evident in the shooter's face, as his gun wavered at the moment he pulled the trigger, and Marietta dropped to the ground with a stifled yell. Kates, in disbelief, raised her gun and fired three shots into the man's chest. Before he hit the ground she was next to the Godmother, cradling Marietta's head in her arms. There was blood on her left arm, but it didn't look life-threatening. Kates and the older woman locked eyes, with Kates mouth hanging agape as she questioned

"Godmother... why?"

"Jesus Christ. Oh Jesus," Marietta kept muttering to herself as she watched the blood blossom underneath and soak through her blouse, like a rose opening to invite in the summer sun. Her pristine, white pressed blouse. Now dripping blood all down her left arm. Now completely ruined. Damned be her summer wardrobe if she was going to keep getting randomly shot at like this.

Of course she would be superficial enough to think of her clothing at a time like this. Because if for one moment the Godmother of Detroit allowed herself even the slightest opening for fear or doubt to creep in she would be done for. The woman may have seemed like stone to many, which was the main cause of frustration in all of her relationships. Yet if one wanted to survive incidents such as getting shot in the shoulder this was how it had to be. Especially with her clutching at her head desperately, like she was on her deathbed.

If there was ever a time to be strong, it was now.

Struggling out of the younger woman's arms, she allowed Kates' question to go unanswered. Now was not the time. Not like this. Why did it have to be like this? Why did her instinct have to seize every fibre of her being and cause her to jump in front of that bullet? Her blonde hair brushed against her shoulders as she maneuvered towards her now torn and battered, faithful car; leaning against the hot, black panels of the driver's door she began to slowly unbutton her blouse with one hand and open it to reveal the wound. Superficial. She had only been grazed. Though the blood continued to pour forth from the quarter sized hole in her flesh, Marietta was relieved to know that at least she wouldn't be facing one of Willie's torture chamber bullet removal sessions. Letting out an inaudible sigh of relief she turned towards the young, dark haired woman before her and smiled.

"Breathe," she said with a small laugh, feeling suddenly deliriously happy. "I'm fine. I've suffered worse and I haven't dropped dead yet. I'd like to get this tended to, though. Immediately."

Turning her head from the girl she glanced up towards the RIOT! headquarters. The windows were darkened; there was no one rushing out of the front door to come see what had happened. Rourke, Matt, Davie, Naomi... not a single one of them in the offices today. It was almost as if those strange men had known she would be here alone.

"They knew," she said quietly as she studied the unmoving curtains and empty windows of the solid brick building. "Somehow they knew to find me here. Alone. Who the hell were they?"

Her questions, much like Kates' own, went unanswered. The whos and whats and whys would be discovered later, she was sure. It wasn't as if this was the first time something like had happened to her. Au contraire. Yet for a fleeting moment she allowed her imagination to wander. What if those unknown assailants had finished their job? How long would it have been until anyone realized that she was gone? That she had...?

There they were. The fear and the doubt were trying their best to dig a foxhole in her mind, and burrow deep for a small nap. Feeling a sense of panic rise in her chest she struggled to stand up. Using the car as leverage she managed to pull herself to a standing position, letting go of the car and staggering as she did so. Marietta chanced a glance up into the smooth, fresh face of Kates and smiled inwardly. Thank God Kates had shown up when she had; the sweet natured girl who was deadly and skilled with a gun for someone so young. She was a natural for This Thing, that was obvious in the way she moved and the way she kept her sense of cool in the face of crisis. And yet, the Godmother noted with a hint of amusement, this was the very girl she had wished to keep out of this life of crime from the very beginning.

Maybe she should say something. This was like a bonding moment, was it not? Hesitating for a moment Marietta opened her mouth and made a small squeaking sound. Feeling stupid she cleared her throat and tried to speak again.

"You know Kates, I think we should... you... we... well I'm... see here's the thing..."

She stopped, closing her mouth and swallowing back the words. Now wasn't the time; not when she couldn't string two words together for all the blood she was losing. Especially since they were still wide out in the open like this, targets for anyone who may decide to come along and finish the job. Taking a deep breath she gestured with her uninjured arm towards the building she had long ago affectionately nicknamed 'the castle'.

"Lets get inside. I don't want to go through an act two if they have it in store. You can help me get cleaned up."

Marietta began to slowly make her way to the stairs in front of the building, taking each step carefully. She allowed Kates to open the door and guide her across the threshold. Once the door closed behind the pair the older woman began to breathe easier. The hallway was massive and gorgeously decorated, with stairs leading upwards towards the offices and a small hallway leading towards the sitting room and formal dining room used for 'company meetings'. Shrugging her head towards one of the doorways leading off the hallway, indicating Kates should follow her, Marietta pushed her way into the modest powder room.

"Here, help me get this off," Marietta said as she struggled to shrug out of her blouse. Still unsteady on her feet, she plopped down upon the toilet so that she was stable and relaxed. "You'll have to help me clean this."

Grabbing a towel from a nearby rack, Kates pressed it up against the arm of the Godmother, totally focused on the older woman. The Godmother had been through things like this before, but Kates nevertheless continuously checked her eyes and breathing. She'd just recently been made, and letting the Boss pass out due to blood loss wouldn't be a great start. As she applied pressure she flashed back to the memories of her father, as she often did. He'd taught her one afternoon how to deal with gunshot wounds- though he'd been a joyous man, that was the most depressed she'd ever seen him. At the time, she'd assumed he was counting on her to stay out of the "family business" and regretted the necessity of that afternoon. But MacLeod had been a wise man, at times, and maybe he had known all along that she was destined for this life.

After a few moments, Kates lifted the towel. Bleeding had almost stopped- time to clean it out. But first, the most unpleasant part. Grabbing a bottle of Rourke's gin, which he had stashed in each room of the castle, Kates looked around for a cloth. Not seeing anything and lacking the time for a more elegant solution, she ripped a small section of her shirt off near her stomach and doused it with gin.

"Now... uh, Godmother... you know how unpleasant this is going to feel, but you also know I have to..."

Wincing in empathy for Marietta, Kates proceeded to sterilize the wound with the gin.

Her shriek only lasted three seconds, but what an unholy three seconds it was. Biting down on her bottom lip fairy hard she tried to take her mind off of the gin that was stinging her left shoulder. Marietta allowed her eyes to wander around the bathroom; the rose colored walls with ornate dark red wall paper. The two sconces hanging over the mirror. The black toilet she had sat upon. Anything and everything that would take her mind off of the cleaning process.

"Yankee doodle went to town..." she began to sing to herself, catching Kates' eyes as she heard the young woman give a small giggle of laughter, so similar to her own that she did from time to time. Marietta smiled and casually shrugged her free arm as her green eyes sparkled in amusement.

"What? It's either sing or bite my bottom lip so hard that I draw blood there too."

Wincing once more she pulled her arm away and frowned, squirming impatiently.

"I think we're good. It feels very clean. And burny. Do we have anything we can cover this with?" she asked, glancing at the black, ornate cabinet that sat below the sink. "I know everyone hides stuff around the castle like kids hiding Halloween sweets, maybe we have something in here."

Slowly she tried to move her shoulder, feeling nothing but a pure jolt of pain echo throughout her arm. Great. It really was worse than she thought.

"This better not take forever to heal. It's going to make standing at the printing presses a bitch and a half," she said, balling up her bloody shirt and tossing it into the far corner of the bathroom. Catching sight of the expression on Kates' face she immediately knew she said the wrong thing. Gulping she shook her head.

"Don't look like that. I don't regret jumping in front of you. It was worth it. Trust me."

Offering a soft smile, Kates pulls some bandages from the counter and kneels next to Marietta. She expertly wraps the wound and, when she finishes, takes a couple seconds to admire her handiwork. Maybe a few too many, but the bandages running from her shoulder to elbow should at least take good care of Marietta until Dr. Rourke can get a look at her. Kates helped Marietta into the large white robe hanging from the door. She hadn't lost that much blood, but better safe than sorry.

Sinking into a crouch against the wall opposite Marietta, Kates let her hands rest on her knees. She didn't want to push the issue, but her mind compelled her.

I don't understand why you jumped in front of me, Godmother. You know I was ready to take the bullet for you. I just...

Kates let the words float up against the white walls, unable to finish her thought.

Marietta shook her head at the silence and sat back down upon the toilet lid. The robe was thick and warm, yet she felt a chill crawl up her spine as she sat- staring wordlessly at the beautiful girl who was crouched against the wall.

"I honestly hope you aren't doubting yourself or your job skills at the moment. This had nothing to do with you being unable to perform under pressure. This was just... it's hard to explain. Call it instinct. I want to protect you. I have to protect you."

Yes, she knew that she was being extremely vague, yet she couldn't bring herself to just tell Kates everything she wanted and needed to say. She watched the girl for a moment, the pair staring at each other as if the first person to look away would be damned to lose some sort of contest. Mari smiled to herself as she took in the shape of her delicate featured face. Her eyes, that same emerald shade as MacLeod's were; unforgettable. She looked almost exactly like Mac himself, yet her slender frame and obvious feminine features had, the woman recognized, come from her mother's family line. Without realizing it the woman began to laugh. Kates tilted her head in confusion and surveyed her for a moment.

"Sorry," Marietta said, not feeling apologetic for her laughter at all. "It just amazes me how much you look like your Father... and only slightly resemble m- your mother in the tiniest of features."

The smile that broke out on her face when Marietta reassured her about her skills quickly faded as she tried to process this most confusing situation. Maybe Marietta had lost more blood than she thought. Kates met the Godmother's stare with a smile and was surprised at her laughter.

"Well I understand how loyal you are, and I saw how tough this last war was for you. I know you always try to protect your Family... it just seems like this was a bit extreme."

Kates smirks at the mention of MacLeod. The former Don of Las Vegas had sent her to Detroit, and to Marietta, for her safety prior to his death at the hands of JimmyTheLionheart. He'd been adamant that she seek out Marietta and had mentioned her in the past at times, but hadn't the time to explain prior to her flight. Kates had gone undercover at the strip club soon after becoming part of the Riot and, between that and the war, hadn't yet had a good opportunity to discuss the situation with Marietta. Until now.

"Well, I know he'd worked with you before, but it's not like he talked about you often... which is why I was a bit surprised when he sent me here. Although I've certainly figured it out now."

Marietta's eyes open a bit wider as Kates continues.

"Well, after seeing what kind of person you are, it's obvious that he wanted the best for me, even if he hadn't been to Detroit in years. Did you know him well? I've found myself thinking about him a lot, lately."

Kates, not wanting to ramble, abruptly lets her voice trail off.

"Oh. Oh!" Marietta laughed and breathed a sigh of relief. For a moment her heart had frozen to ice and then had began rapidly racing faster than the speed of light. She was glad that she would get to be the one to tell her, though in hindsight wished the woman had already known so that this could go a little easier. At least then she wouldn't be stuck in this awkward place they were at.

"Did I know your dad?" she repeated vaguely. Clearing her throat Marietta slid off the toilet and joined Kates on the floor. Pulling her knees to her chest she wrapped her good arm around them and faintly smiled, caught in a reverie of yesteryear.

***

"Where are you going? Don't you realize how foolish you're being?" a dashing, dark haired man said quickly, grabbing a younger Marietta's wrist and whirling her around. She huffed angrily and jerked her arm away from her friend and associate who was, at that moment in time, acting as her bodyguard. Her sound echoed off of the brick buildings on either side of them, framed against the darkening blue evening sky behind them.

"Look, I know the guys told you to follow me around for the evening, but I'm more than capable of looking after myself. I'm a Consigliere for fuck's sake," Marietta hissed towards the man. "I know a thing or two about this business, MacLeod."

"Godfather Squish-"

"I don't give a rat's ass what the Godfather has said about me. We're fine, alright?" Marietta turned on her heel and began stalking down the darkened street, shaking her head back and forth as she headed towards the cheap motel on the corner.

The screeching tires of the car careening towards them made both the young man and woman look up. Even scarier were the two men leaning out of the windows with guns trained directly on the pair of them. Marietta's urge to scream was immediately stifled as MacLeod was suddenly at her side; she was lifted into the air and thrown over his shoulder as he ran towards room fourteen- the room they were staying in.

Kicking the door open MacLeod roughly dropped Marietta unsteadily to her feet.

"Get behind the bed," he said, seriousness etched into his face, his gun already in his hand locked and ready to go. Shaking her head she opened her mouth to protest and he growled. "Goddammit Marietta, stay hidden."

Without another backwards glance he rushed out the door where the sound of rapid gunfire was already echoing- a rain storm of bullets pelting the various doors and windows of the motel outside. Fearful and worried Mari crouched behind the bed, her eyebrows knitted together in concern as she watched the empty doorframe.

Minutes passed slowly, dragging as the second hand on the clock nearby ticked mockingly. At last the loud noise halted completely. Her chest stirring from a rapid heartbeat she bit her bottom lip as a loud footfall approached the room.

She felt like singing when she saw MacLeod; untouched but a little ruffled looking.

"I told you. I told you Squishy had his guys out looking for you," MacLeod said furiously. "We can't stay here now. We've gotta get going."

"Squishy's... all of them dead?" she said weakly, standing up slowly.

"Yes, they're dead. We cannot stay here though. Lets move, and fast," he responded, staring at her intently.

Her heart leaped as she began to cross the brown carpet towards him.

"Are you okay?" she whispered.

"I'm fine. Marietta I'm serious..."

"You saved me," were the last words out of her mouth as she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him deeply. The gun fell out of his hand in shock, but it only lasted momentarily before his hands were on the small of her back, in her hair, everywhere...
***

"He's not coming home," she said as she placed the phone back in it's cradle. A smile played at her lips as the rough hands encircled her waist and he pulled her close to his chest, nuzzling his face into her neck.

"Then it looks like this weekend is all ours," his low, purr worthy voice echoed in her ear as she sighed happily.
***

"I don't know how it happened," Marietta said, her tone flat in shock. "I really just don't know."

"Who else knows?" he asked, running his hands through his hair in frustration.

"Aurora and Pedro. That's all. I swear." She bit her lower lip as she watched him pace around. The action was enough to break her heart, but she needed to be strong, she knew. Covering up the sniffle that escaped her lips she was surprised when he was suddenly in front of her, on his knees and was stroking her cheek lovingly.

"Hey, none of that," MacLeod said. "We'll figure this out, alright? No one can know, though. No one beyond Aurora and Pedro."

"Especially not *him*," Marietta said, a small laugh escaping her lips as she used the nickname reserved for her husband.

"Not him, no," he responded, looking at her. "You know I love you, yes?"

"I love you too. We'll get through this," she said, her eyes staring unfocused at the blank pink wall of her office before her.
***

"Leaving tomorrow, you know that?" he said as he haphazardly threw a few pairs of socks into his suitcase.

"I'm not completely out of touch with what your family is doing, you know. What am I supposed to do with her while you're gone, though?" she said back, hushing her voice so that she was not overheard.

"What do you mean 'do with her'? Raise her. She's our daughter."

"I can't raise her, MacLeod. I just became Godmother. Do you know how much public scrutiny I'm under on a daily basis? I can't have a toddler in tow. It's too dangerous."

He sighed and looked at her, his emerald eyes sad as they locked gazes. "Then I'll take her," he said, walking over to his closet and grabbing a handful of ties and tossing them onto his bed.

She was silent for a moment. "You can't just stay?"

"You know I can't."

Glancing out the window Marietta smiled wryly and sighed to herself. "Viva Las Vegas it is, then. Sin City is going to be the end of us. I'll have Pedro drive her out to Nevada a day after you leave, so we don't cause any suspicion."

"What am I supposed to tell her, Mari? About you?" Mac asked wearily, pausing his packing.

"Whatever you want, I guess. Just keep things discreet. He can't know."
***

"Mac," she whispered into the phone, clutching it desperately and pressing it closer to her ear. "You're alive."

"For now," he said back, all trace of his usual good humor gone.

Marietta turned her chair away from Aurora and Rourkey and breathed heavily into the phone.

"I'm going to bring Detroit in."

"No you are not. You are not getting involved. This war was started over pure bullshit. Your men and women are not dying over bullshit," his voice barked back.

"You're going to die over bullshit!" she hissed back. "They're too strong for you."

"Mari, you are a woman who has always known what is best for her city and family. This isn't best. Don't do it. I'm begging you," he replied quickly.

"Mac..." she said, trying to cover up the emotion raining down the phone. "But Godfather Jimmy..."

"Philadelphia too?" he asked quickly and briskly.

"They're entering, yes," she replied.

He went quiet for a few moments, and the sound of something on the other end of the line distracted him. When MacLeod turned back to her he whispered hurriedly.

"Kates. She's coming to you. I love you, Marietta."

The dial tone buzzed in her ears and she felt emptier than she had in ages.
**

"Did I know your father?" Marietta repeated, looking at Kates. Her chest felt strangely tight as she glanced at the young woman before her.

"Yes, I knew him very well. He was a great man. A great associate. A better friend. Kates..." she choked out in a strange voice. She knew she had to do it now or never. "Kates, what do you know about your mother?"

Kates locked her emerald eyes on Marietta's and saw the Godmother's mind swirling furiously behind them. And then that last question, out of nowhere. Her mother. For a moment, Kates was adrift in a sea of memory.

She remembered bits and pieces. Her father had never spoken much about her mother. It was like he'd built a wall around her, but every so often a brick would come loose- she cherished those moments.

Her first direct confrontation on the subject when she was seven, crying when MacLeod told her that she couldn't be with her mother, but listening raptly as he described a woman of beauty and goodness who loved her very much, but who couldn't be with them.

Thirteen, furious that her mother couldn't be with her, and accusing her father of having chased her away. One of the few times in life she'd seen her father's anger turned on her, and the last time she brought up the subject of her mother with anything negative in her heart.

Sixteen, going to a commencement dance with her friend, and hearing her father compare her beauty to that of her mother's. Her date was a brute, but she'd never smiled so much in her life.

And all the little times. Asking MacLeod what she thought about dresses, and what her favorite kind of ice cream was. And compiling these tiny pieces of information into a woman.

He said that, someday, he'd tell her. But that day never came- interrupted by a war. Kates assumed she'd never know, now. But here she was, talking about it with Marietta. Could she-

"My father never told me much. She was, apparently, a beautiful and talented woman who couldn't be with us, and I couldn't talk to. He said it had to be that way."

"It had to be that way, yes," she repeated, faintly blushing at the description MacLeod had recounted to his daughter. Licking her lips in thought she took a deep breath. Moment of truth. This was now or never. All of those years that had passed between them and now here the girl was; grown up and tending to her bullet wounds. Reaching out she took one of Kates' hands in her own and stared at the young woman.

"Beautiful and talented might be a stretch. She's just... who she is. Nothing more, nothing less. But I do know that she has thought the world of you since the day you were born. She wanted to be with you and your dad every moment of every day, but unfortunately she was married to a very strong Don from another city. Things were... very complicated. It was safer for everyone if she handed you over to your dad and no one spoke about it ever again. You were always on her mind, though. And your dad would often send little things you had done in school, or a picture of you here and there throughout the years."

Marietta paused, sighing as she got to the hardest part of the entire speech.

"Even though she wasn't there for you, she has always loved you. I... I have always loved you."

"You... what..."

Kates stared at Marietta, her mouth open in shock. The face of the Godmother, which so closely mirrored her own, stared back at her with a desperate smile. A million thoughts raise through her head, as a thousand frayed threads came together in her mind.

"I..."

Marietta, looked on, concerned as Kates continued to stare. Abruptly, the younger woman threw herself across the room. She placed her head on Marietta's uninjured shoulder, feeling her heart twist and her normally calm veneer fall away from her. Sobbing beyond words, she clung to the older woman. Her Mother. A new anchor given to her in a most chaotic world.

Marietta pulled Kates closer to her, breathing a sigh of relief. This had gone too well. Crying wasn't a great sign, but it was better than the various scenarios the Godmother had pictured over the years, with throwing of furniture and swearing and 'how dare you's and 'where you do come off's. Wrapping her good arm around the girl's frame she tried her best to make calming noises.

"Shhh, it's okay. It's okay."

She pushed back the dark hair off of her daughter's forehead and smiled weakly.

"I know this is a lot for you. And I don't expect you to say anything or do anything. Just know that... I'm here. And that I love you and I want to protect you to the point where I would throw myself in front of bullets for you."

Pausing for a comical head gesture towards her injured shoulder she smiled a bit wider at the young woman.

"If you don't want me to, I don't have to be your Mother. I can just as easily be your friend. My Kates. Did you know that we named you after one of my great great Grandmothers? Bah, sorry. I'm babbling."

She fell silent at the sudden opening and closing of the front door to the RIOT! building. "Hello? Honey, I'm home! What happened to your car?" The ever strange Rourke was back at the offices. Glancing at Kates' tear stained face she quickly moved and stood to her feet, pulling the girl up with her.

"Lets get you cleaned up so we can go have the Doctor look at my shoulder. And we can talk about this when you're ready, alright? We have all the time in the world together."

It had been one of the most exhausting days of her life, but one that had given her such clarity and joy she could have lived it a thousand times. Kates walked slowly with Marietta to her office in the HQ, where the words ran out of them like a monsoon. It was impossible for them to fill 23 years of absence in one day, but both women were so thrilled they couldn't help but try. Finally, as the sun slipped down behind the horizon, there was one last thing to be done.

The women boarded the plane at midnight and, while the other guests snored around them, continued their whispering and laughing conservation into the morning. They landed in a few hours and disembarked into a waiting car, which took them a dozen miles to a private cemetery overlooking a lake. An oak tree stood solidly beside one of the gravestones, offset from the masses. The two women looked down as the wind traced the letters M-a-c-L-e-o-d, and Kates reached out for Marietta's hand. They dried their tears as a new day rose behind them, and walked close together as their feet left impressions in the dew of the morning.

The End

That was great, been reading the whole thing, it was great.

Claps and smiles.

Very nice Marietta and Kates. I enjoyed reading every bit of it :)

I just re-read this and it brought tears to my eyes yet again.  Excellent story ladies.  Very touching!

excellent story