PoV: Megan

I watched as Kaylee climbed over the wall. Come on, come on! We don't have time! I urged her on silently. I could hear the cops coming closer, much faster than I would have liked. Why'd it have to turn into a storming firefight? Of only we'd been able to resolve our problem without any police, this would have been so much easier! I continued to complain in my head. I heard Kaylee drop on to the other side, and I began to back up ready to do a running leap.

Don't mess this up, I imagined Tata saying, The stakes are too high for any slip-ups.

"Yes sir," I mumbled, crouching down for my sprint.

"Hey, who's that?" A male voice called, startling me into action.

I sprinted full speed at the wall, barely hearing the man calling after me. At the last moment, I jumped, grabbing the top of the wooden wall and hauling myself up and over. I landed in a roll instinctively, then came up, looking around quickly, checking for any other dangers.

"Clear," I murmured, then turned to look for Kaylee.

She had hidden somewhat successfully in some bushes, and was staring at me wide-eyed.

I crouched down facing her, "Hey, are you doing all right?"

"That depends on what you mean by all right. I'm physically fine, but I'm not sure about my mental state at the moment," she responded, speaking faster and with a slightly higher pitch than normal.

I nodded understandingly, "That's fair. Can you run?"

She frowned slightly, "Isn't the normal question "can you walk"?"

I smiled, "Yeah, it is stereotypically, but I don't need you to walk, I need you to run, or preferably, sprint all the way to the car."

"Um, why? I feel like I've been asking that a lot, and you've been as vague as humanly possible," she said, glaring.

I sighed, "I know, but I can't stop being vague yet. Come on, we need to go," I begged her.

"Fine, but if you don't want me to wind up in a mental institution, I will need some excellent answers," she said firmly.

"Of course," I said, but for the first time, I felt guilty lying to her. I swallowed, trying to focus.

"So... what's the plan?" Kaylee asked tentatively.

I closed my eyes, picturing the map of the area in my head, "We'll go straight, staying in the trees as much as possible. Then we'll need to turn towards the parking lot," I stood up, "Come on, follow my lead," I began to jog across the street, yet constantly turning my head back and forth slightly, trying to keep track of everything around me as much as possible. Kaylee stayed behind me slightly, remaining the same distance away the whole time.

You can't take her with you. I thought, though the thought was in Tata's voice, You need to get her out of the way, and get back to safety.

Fine, I thought back bitterly, But one trouble at a time.

We jogged at a steady pace along the dirt path until we got to a Y intersection. I paused, looking around to get my bearings.

Kaylee came up beside me, slightly out of breath, "If we are heading to the car, we should take the left fork. It'll take us past the rose hill, and then we can turn right, and follow the road to the car."

"No, we should give the rose hill a wide berth, after the scene I caused there," I breathed out slowly, calming my nerves. Wait, why would I need to relax? I hadn't needed to do that five months ago, I shook my head, clearing my thoughts, "We'll take the right fork, cut across the Formal Garden, and once we hit the road, we'll turn left, and follow that road to the car. The Formal Garden isn't as covered, so we need to act as normal as possible when we are passing through there," I said, forcing myself to focus.

Hopefully the police haven't evacuated the area yet. If they have, then we'll stick out no matter how we act, I thought, feeling slightly worried, Arg! Get a handle on yourself! Stop feeling, feelings slow you down. Start moving!

"Let's move," I said to Kaylee, a bit harsher than I'd meant to.

"I was waiting for you," she said, sounding slightly offended.

"Sorry," I said shortly as I began to jog across the street.

She followed me, and we continued moving along the grass next to the road. We came to the hedge arches that marked the path through the Formal Garden. I jogged up carefully, stopped, then looked into the garden slowly. A handful of people were wandering about, all of them looking a little nervous.

They must have heard the shots from earlier, but decided not to leave or investigate, I thought to myself, This is good.

"This way," I said to her, "It's time to act casual."

She nodded, "Okay, so act like I was before you shot someone? I can do that," she said sarcastically, then walked- no, strutted, under the arch.

I followed her, wanting to go up and apologise to her, explain everything, tell her everything I'd lied to her about from our first meeting, but my training held strong. It was if the person I'd become over the past few months, was fighting the tool I'd been trained to be from my youth.

Focus! Stop pondering and focus! You are in deep trouble, and you have a civilian to keep in one piece. Your mission is to get to the car while protecting Kaylee Boardman, I mentally kicked myself, Why didn't you determine your mission earlier? You know that helps you.

"Catch up, Megan!" Kaylee said, turning back and smiling at me, "I don't want to get in trouble with Mom again."

"Coming!" I called and run to catch up. Then I had an idea. I ran past Kaylee, saying, "Ha! It's your turn to catch up."

"Oh Storm you!" she said, and ran after me. I grinned, and sprinted forwards, passing through the rest of the garden quickly. When I'd cleared the area, I still didn't stop. If anything, I ran faster, as we had come to a very open area. As I ran, I imagined I was in a downtown area, with a sniper on me. Running isn't the actual best option for that situation, finding cover is. But imagining that situation tricked my body into releasing some more adrenaline. I felt the rush of energy, and grinned. I'd missed that feeling a lot during the last few months.

I got to the cover of the trees, and slowed back down to a walk. Kaylee caught up a couple seconds later, breathing hard.

"What...what was with the insane... sprint there?" she asked, trying to catch her breath a bit.

"We were out in the open. I wanted to get back to cover as fast as possible," I explained shortly, working on planning my next move, "We should cross the street, and walk the rest of the way, unless we are approached by police or agents."

"Agents?"

Stormwinds! Are you really losing your touch that much? You let slip something that vital? Calamity!  I chastised myself, "Forget it," I said to Kaylee.

"What? No, I'm not forgetting it. I need answers, and you said you would give them to me," she said firmly.

"I said that I would explain later," I retorted, "I can't tell you anything yet." Or ever. I added in my head.

"I...gah!" she threw her hands up in frustration, "Megan, I'm scared for you. I don't know what's going on, why it involves you, or how come you are dealing with it so calmly and casually. It doesn't make sense!"

I sighed, disguising my relief as sympathy, "I know, I know. Let's just get to the car," I said, pointing up ahead at the parking lot, which was thankfully empty of police cars. It almost seems like they are short staffed, I thought, I'll have to check the news as soon as I can. I sighed again, this time disappointed.

"What?" Kaylee asked kindly.

She forgives too quickly, I thought before I answered, "I just realized this will encounter will be the headliner for Spokane at least, and might even be reported about in other countries. Which is very inconvenient for me."

"Why?"

"It..." I stopped, realizing she was hiding a smile. Calamity! She was getting her answers by being nice! I glared at her, "Stop it. I'm not saying anything more."

"Fine, but get in the car," she said as she crossed the street to get to her car. I followed dutifully.

I got in next to Kaylee, who started the car.

"Home?" I asked her.

"Definitely. We need to have a serious chat with Mom."

"Agreed," I muttered under my breath.

"What was that?" Kaylee asked.

"What?" I asked innocently.

"You muttered something," she explained, "Eh, nevermind. So," she she said as she out of the parking lot, "What in the... gah! For lack of a better way to express myself, what in the Lord Ruler's storming name is going on?"

It was at that moment I realized how awkward this drive was going to be, "Um... a lot."

"Yes, I've gathered that. I'd like details, now," she said, turning a corner a bit sharper than necessary.

Uh oh, angry Kaylee. You need a plan, now! I looked out the window awkwardly, then said, "Look, I don't want to tell you, then-"

Kaylee interrupted me, "Yes, I know you don't want to tell me, but I'm not giving you a choice!"

"Excuse me! I wasn't done talking yet!" I shouted back, turning back to face her, "As I was saying, I don't want to tell you, because then I'll have to explain it all again for Mom! I've got nothing against you!"

"Then why are you acting like I'm a problem?" she continued to yell, "And you aren't even acting like yourself! Where did this confidence and... swagger come from?"

I gritted my teeth, looking out the window again, struggling not to answer her.

"Well? What happened to Megan?" she pressed on.

I turned back at her, feeling sad, yet a smile was trying to break onto my face, "I'm sorry, the old Megan can't come to the phone right now," I told her.

A look of horror crossed over her face, "Megan, I know what the next line of that song is, because of all the times you listened to it. What are you saying? "

I slouched in my seat and rolled my head to look up at the roof, "It's... arg, it's complicated"

"Well, you told me once that you like that song because you relate to it. Now I remember you saying this because it made no sense. So, do you relate to any of the other Lyrics?" she asked me.

Yes, something I can talk to her about, tell her little things to satisfy her curiosity, and kill time as we drive home, I thought, then replied hesitantly, "Yes... there are other lyrics in that song I can relate to."

"Such as..." she encouraged me to continue, less than subtle.

I sighed, "The line 'I don't trust nobody, and nobody trusts me, I'll be the actress starring in your bad dreams,' I can relate to. And the lines, 'But I got harder, I got smarter in the nick of time,' as well," I had swapped to a casual tone about partway through my sentence, acting as if it was completely normal to resonate with these lines of music.

"Okay..." she said slowly, "And what about Confident, the Demi Lovato one? Are there lines in that one you relate to?"

She not bad for an interrogator. I mused internally, and externally rolled my eyes, "Kaylee, that song may as well be my Theme song. It would make more sense for me to list the lines I don't relate to in that one."

"Good, now tell me the ones you do relate to," she continued.

That's a Bad idea, my brain warned me, you need to stop this interrogation now! Reluctantly, I let my training take over.

My posture straightened, my face went emotionless, and my hands became clasped together in my lap.

Kaylee glanced quizzically at me, "Megan, are you okay?"

I didn't answer.

"Megan?" she asked again, sounding nervous.

"How far are we from home?" I asked in a professional tone. Yet hearing myself, I didn't sound like me. I sounded robotic and boring.

That's what you may as well be, a robot. A tool for Castle. Another asset for them to use, then discard when it's useful.

No! I argued back at myself, They won't get rid of me, I'm too good, too valuable.

"Um...look around, we are on our street," Kaylee answered, confused.

"Right, sorry," I said, trying to cover my mistake, Okay, it's time. I need to take her out after she parks the car. Arg! Why did I give her the gum? That will mean she will wake up a lot quicker, Storm it!

Kaylee pulled up in front of the house, and turned off the engine, "Okay, Megan, we are going to go inside, together, find mom, then we will listen to your explanation," she said firmly.

I could wait till we get inside. That will work way better! I thought, then sighed, saying, "Fine, let's go," then murmured just loud enough so that she could hear me, "Let's just get this over with," after I said that, I wondered if I'd laid the reluctance on too thick.

Kaylee turned and looked at me, with a look that said, I am not amused, said crisply, "Yes, let's."

I rolled my eyes, unbuckled, and walked into the house, Kaylee beside me.

When we entered the house, Kaylee hollered, "Mom! We need to talk to you!"

Mom called back, "I'm in the living room!"

Kaylee and I glanced at each other, as she had used the yes, come, you are in so much trouble, voice, and neither one of us looked entusicatic to go talk to her.

Then Kaylee narrowed her eyes at me, grabbed my arm, and hauled me into the living room.

Mom was sitting on the couch, and turned off the TV as we walked in.

Uh oh, that was the news,  I noted, then turned to face her.

"Yes Kaylee?" she asked kindly.

Ooh, you're just holding it back till we have some privacy, aren't you? I thought, eyeing her, trying to decipher her body language.

Kaylee pushed me gently into  a seat across from mom, then plopped herself down in one beside me, "You know how I've talked to you about Megan having strange skills?" she started.

Mom frowned, a hint of concern on her face, "Yes?" she answered slowly.  

"Well, It's much crazier than I'd thought," Kaylee said, and reached down to roll up her leggings, and when she spoke her voice was a bit muffled, "While we were at the Gardens, she attacked and shot a man, then was followed by a group of people with guns, and she kind of shot and killed most of them and-"

"What happened to your leg?" Mom cut her off suddenly, "Those scratches look bad!"

"What? No, it's nothing," Kaylee replied, "It's just scratches from the conifer bush I hid in."

"Um... Kaylee, we should take care of those," I chimed in, "Some of those look like they drew blood, and it would be really bad if they got infected." I was totally exaggerating how bad it was. But I needed to get up stairs, and Mom appeared to be trying to give me an opportunity.

"Megan, go get the first aid kit. Kaylee, keep talking, what happened while you were there, I want to know everything," Mom said, sounding very no nonsense.

"But-" Kaylee started to protest, but I'd already stood up and began to leave the room.

She threw her hands up in frustration, "Ugh! Fine! But she'll probably jump out the window and run away."

"No, I'm coming right back!" I called back into the living room as I ran up the stairs. Instead of going to the closet where we kept the first aid kit though, I ran into my room, and opened up my bedside table, removed the false bottom I'd installed shortly after I'd arrived those four months ago, and pulled a small bottle of liquid out. I shook it, checking how much was in it, pocketed it quickly, then ran out of my room again. I stopped by the closet this time, grabbing the first aid kit,and finally ran down stairs, and back to the living room.

Kaylee had moved to the couch and was getting a hug from Mom- no, I had to disconnect myself. She was getting a hug from Cassidy.

"... don't understand. It makes no sense that she should have these skills, and I thought she trusted me!" I heard as I entered.

"I do trust you," I said quietly, "And I care, which is why I lie."

Kaylee looked up, her eyes watery, "What? I didn't catch that."

I swallowed, "Nothing. Here is the first aid kit. Mom,do you want to patch her up? I was thinking to grab a glass of water for the two of us. We've had a crazy last forty five minutes."

Cassidy nodded, shooting me a suspicious glance, but quick enough Kaylee missed it, "Sure, just get back here quickly. I think we need to have a serious talk."

Kaylee shot me the glance that all siblings know. The one that says Ha, you're in trouble!

I ignored it, and went into the kitchen to grab the waters. I pulled two glasses down, and filled them both with water, filling one a little less. I then pulled the bottle out of my pocket, making sure my back was to the living room, and careful poured in about a tablespoon of the liquid. I tucked the bottle back in my pocket, and walked back into the living room with the glasses, handing the one I'd put the liquid into to Kaylee.

She took it, and had a sip, "That...tastes a bit funny. Megan? What did-" she collapsed before she finished speaking, and Cassidy barely caught her glass.

She glared at me, "Was the really necessary, Megan? I'm sure I could have just distracted her long enough for us to chat. I'm assuming you have to leave now?"

I nodded, "Yeah, I've been found. And," I sighed, bracing for her reaction, "Kaylee intervened, so you guys have to run as well. I ... I'm sorry," my voice choked up at the end, and I scolded myself for it, Come on! Stop being emotional! You are better than this! Why are you finding it so Storming hard to reset?

"Kaylee... Intervened?" she clarified, her voice way too controlled for comfort.

"Yes, she was concerned for my safety, and tried to help," I found myself smiling at the memory.

Cassidy raised an eyebrow, "Do I want to know why you are smiling? In my experience, as limited as it is, if someone in your line of work is smiling, that's generally a bad sign."

"It's nothing. I was just remembering how persistent she was. I'm gonna miss-" I choked up again, "I'm gonna miss you guys. I'm going to miss you so much." Tears began to form by my eyes, and I tried to hold them back.

"Hey," Cassidy said in a kind tone, opening her arms for a hug, "Come here Sweetie, you aren't back on duty quite yet."

I smiled through my tears, and let her hold me. And I let myself feel, for what I expected to be the last time I'd be able feel freely for a long time.

A/N Wow, that was emotional, even for me! I made myself want to cry!
Ahem, anyways... Two updates in one week! Yay! As usual, please vote, comment, or even pm me. I'd love to hear your thoughts on what has happened, or even what you think will happen. Thanks for reading, and I'll update again soon!