Chapter 16.1

 Elizabeth rushed out of the hospital, ignoring the light drizzle that seeped into her lightly soaked clothes as she escaped her friend, Tamara, who wasn't finished interrogating her. Turning a corner, she leaned back on a wall and sighed; she would rather fight a group of ninjas than go through that exhausting conversation with Tamara again.

The doctor, full of mirth and gossip, demanded Elizabeth to tell her the full story of how she and Jason met. At first, she admonished her for being a cougar and devouring a teen, but she later lost herself in giggles when she heard about how they were both strong-armed into marrying each other by the crowd when their little 'game' to up one another became too realistic, due to their stupendous acting. But what sent Elizabeth reeling was the fact that Tamara even informed their girls group, old subordinates and friends of theirs, of her marriage and this resulted in Elizabeth's comm device nearly crashing with a mountain of calls and messages.

"Damn it, Tam, I'm gonna make you pay," Elizabeth muttered under her breath. "No, I'll make your husband pay. I'll knock him out and place him in a stripper club ..."

As Elizabeth continued muttering on how to achieve her revenge, a holo-document was forwarded to her. Pulling out a tab from her purse, she placed the information onto the tab and the screen became uneven as the document was translated into braille.

She traced her fingers over it and froze once she read enough to understand it. The message was a legal document, a marriage certificate, that needed her approval to be notarized. Elizabeth sighed as she ran her fingers through her hair, her thoughts entangled like a knot.

He actually went through with it, Elizabeth thought as she rested her entire weight on the wall and looked up.

Despite not being able to see the sky, she tried to imagine how it would look like based on her memories. When she was younger and still had her vision, she would love walking in the rain with an umbrella. She felt a certain calmness when she did so, feeling the earth cleanse and refresh itself.

Using that feeling, she relaxed her tense body and sighed again.

Why does he have to make this so … complicated? Couldn't we go back to the way things were? Just smash every now and then, and ... be done with it? … Why give me hope for something more?

Reaching the end of the document, Elizabeth rejected it, refusing to add her signature to the document, and closed her tab. She pushed the corners together as the screen softened into a film and closed in on itself, turning into a thin rectangular stick. Elizabeth walked out into the rain and let the droplets of water wash away her negative emotions as it soaked her clothes.

It's not like he really wants this, She thought with a forlorn smile.

I don't think he knows what he really wants.

***

"Why didn't you come to see me sooner, mama?" Michelle asked while nodding her head at a waiter who placed a plate of cake in front of her.

"I wanted to see you, sweetie, I did," Michelle's mother, Colonel Samantha Watson, sighed as she looked at her daughter. "But I … was busy."

"Tu mens, mama," Michelle said without thinking. "It was because of her, n'est-ce pas."

"Don't blame your stepmother," Watson said disapprovingly. "She might not like me and for good reason, might I add, but she adores you. You should treat her well."

"Pourquoi? Why? Because of her, I don't even know you," Michelle stated bitterly. "I grew up in France, away from you, mama. Was that good traitement?"

"It was better than the alternative," Watson answered hesitantly in a low voice. It was like she was trying to convince herself and not Michelle. "Europe was devastated by the War and it's still being rebuilt. There's was no way I could leave you alone while I was stationed elsewhere. You were better off with your father and stepmother."

Michelle didn't answer and merely played with her cake, using a fork to prod it back and forth. Watson, who lowered her head with guilt, smiled as she looked back up.

"But that's changing," she said to Michelle. "I'll be stationed here so we could catch up if you want."

"Vraiment? How look will you stay?" Michelle asked excitedly with hopeful eyes.

"For the time being? Indefinitely," Watson answered with a grin.

"Thank you, mama!" Michelle smiled cheerfully at Watson who smiled back.

"Now, onto a more serious discussion," Watson suddenly turned serious, worrying Michelle. "Do you have a crush on Jason?"

"Moi? Jason? Rien!" Michelle hairy hastily answered while dropping her fork from nervousness tinged with surprise. Her cheeks turned bright red as Watson stared at her suspiciously. "He is my teacher, nothing more."

"Good," Watson replied with relief, though a hint of doubt was mired within her voice. "It's better for you not to be involved with him. You'll only get hurt. But keep a good relationship with Alina, she's a good girl."

And not to mention it'll be good for you to have connections with the Rogues, Watson added in her mind.

With her connections and her sharp mind, she was able to figure Alina's true lineage.

Michelle didn't answer, she lowered her head and contemplated for a moment before raising her head, determination sparkling within her eyes.

"Mama, I want to complete my training," she said firmly. Watson looked at her in surprise then her face was filled with disappointment as she frowned at Michelle.

"You want to help him that much?" she asked her grimly. She was now certain that Michelle had a crush on Jason and Watson was intent on ending it before it developed further.

"I - Non, mama. I … I was weak," Michelle shook her head as she replied. "I couldn't stop those épéistes, and my friends were hurt. I don't want to feel like that, de nouveau. I don't want to be weak like that."

Michelle looked up and her eyes were blazing with fighting spirit.

"I want to be stronger, mama," she said to Watson, who looked at her with stunned satisfaction. Despite her disapproval, she found Michelle's determination to be adequate.

"Very well," Watson finally said with a helpless smile. "I'll have Raphael train you to use your AKEERA. But remember, don't use it after training. These exo-mechs are deterrents in every country and organization. Using one recklessly will give the BIO a reason to place sanctions on Atlantis and trust me, you'll be court-martialed if it comes to that." [1]

"Yes, mama, Merci!" Michelle replied with a military salute which amused Watson.

"Alright sweetie, let's finish eating and plan your schedule," Watson said. "You're going to be quite busy from now on."

[1] The Bureau of International Oversight, an agency that is similar in nature to the IAEA, but they are watchdogs for WSD (Weapons of Significant Destruction) such as AKEERAs. (AKEERAs are not classified as WMD, so a new term emerged to con them and any weapon that can cause a country significant damage but not at a scale like nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons and that was WSD).