deserves (Thia)

After his outburst, Jay and the others went to the lounge but I hung back outside. Jay was still breathing pretty heavily.

"Feel better"? Noaba asked.

He heaved a deep sigh "A little."

"You, my boy" James pointed at him "Have a severe case of PDA."

But I was no longer paying attention. I was making my way to the training courtyard to try and think things through but I had to pass the lab to get there. I heard more voices coming from inside.

"…surprising as it might seem, I do appreciate what Annubus has built here."

Annubus? Since when were you two on first-name basis?

"I realise he wouldn't have been able to do any of that if you hadn't kept him alive…" I stopped in my tracks "…but he probably would've done just as well without you after that, miss Maggie."

So, it was Maggie that had saved him?

"You needn't have accompanied him here. We still had use of you at HQ. we may still have."

No. I begged in my mind he's already taken everything else away from my father, don't let him take her too. But I needn't have worried.

"Sir, with all due respect, I left that place because I wanted to. You'd been keeping me there far longer than I should've been, you must have realised that. I'd been wanting to leave for ages, waiting for an opportunity to do so…and he gave me one." There was a short pause. "I made my choice a long time ago, and I am never going back."

Hidden beyond the door, I started to smile. I never imagined Maggie being such a badass.

"Besides," She continued, "I think he needs me now more than you."

"You're probably right about that. Letting himself get captured."

The last part was a mutter but it was enough to make me feel guilty. Father had only been caught that one time because he'd been trying to help me. What confused me was how it seemed to make her laugh.

"They didn't catch him. He gave himself up…"

I had to put a hand over my mouth to stop them hearing my gasp. Why would he do that? But my question was answered when the falcon figured it out.

"So that he could find his daughter." That just made me feel even more guilty.

"He hoped they would bring him to the same place she was." Maggie confirmed. "Let me offer you some advice. He would go to hell in a ham basket for that girl. She is all he has left, so if I were you, I wouldn't try to take that from him."

Take me from…wait, did he not mean what he said back there? Does he actually want me to not choose to go with him?

It was shortly after that the falcon left the lab. A part of me was hoping he would come my way but he turned and went in the opposite direction.

"She's right, you know."

He stopped. "Now who's watching who?"

"I'm not gonna leave his side. And I don't think she is either.

He didn't turn to face me but I saw his head go down. "Such loyal supporters. He always seemed to have that way with people." Then he turned and looked at me. "He doesn't deserve you."

I backed away. "How can you say that? He is everything I could've ever hoped for. If anything, you're the one who doesn't deserve him!"

That seemed to get under his feathers a bit. "You don't know half the things I do about him…"

"I don't need to…I know that he loves me. Wants to protect me, wants to protect all of us here! Everything he's ever done was to try and keep us safe, and that is enough!"

He stared at me for a moment. "You're incredibly naïve."

"Well, I am still a child."

"No. you're more than that. You're his child."

I raised my head to look him in the eye. "Yes, I am."

With that I turned and walked away, once again making my way towards the courtyard.

It was raining again when I got there. I'd only started coming here after Jay had started training here but it had soon become my favourite place. This was the heart of the base, big enough to comfortably fit everyone in it and still have enough room for them to spar and run around. There were apparatus scattered all around, bars and beams and countless training equipment. There were no lights but the glass roof overhead let in the sunlight during the day and no one came here at night. I didn't just like to come here because of Jay. I also enjoyed watching others train here but right now it was mercifully empty. The clouds and rain outside made the light look more dull and grey. I sat on a low step, holding my knees up to me and staring at the ceiling. Something cold and hard brushed against my fingers and I heard a small, slightly metallic whining.

"I know, Ricky." I said, not having to look down to see that this was our robo dogo. "None of this is right."

Watching the raindrops patter and scatter was enough to make me feel almost at peace.

"Cynthia?" I heard my father call.

"I'm here, dad." I called back.

I continued looking at the rainy sky as he came and sat beside me and put an arm around my shoulder. "I won't let them take you from me. I will never let anyone take you from me again."

I looked at him with what I hoped was a reassuring smile. "I know…but where do we go from here?"

"We'll think of something. I swear." He looked up at the sky, just like I had been doing. "Everything's going to be ok."

For a moment I could even believe him. We sat there together for a while, watching the sky get slowly darker as night started to settle.

"I'm sorry." He said suddenly.

I looked at him "For what?"

He shook his head. "You don't get much of a childhood here…not like most children."

That almost made me laugh. "I'm not like most children. And it's not your fault…I wanted to be here."

He bowed his head and smiled slightly. "Sometimes I wonder…perhaps what Fauler said was true…I don't deserve you."

So, he'd found out about my talk with the falcon, or maybe he'd been listening.

I looked away. "Well, he certainly doesn't. in fact, I don't think anyone else does if you don't."

That made him chuckle "Maybe you're right. None of us deserve you. You're too good for any of us."

I started to giggle "It doesn't matter. I want to stay with you. Whether you deserve it or not."

I shuffled closer to him and he held me a little tighter and there we stayed. I wish we could've stayed there like that forever.