~Fitz was in his room studying when he heard the leapmaster whir to life. Biana hadn't been home in a few hours, and she hadn't told anyone where she had gone. Immediately, he fell out of bed, stumbled through the door, and tore through the hall as fast as he could. Something must have happened, what could have happened? He couldn't think of what it could be, if it was good or bad, or why his dad had yelled. When he reached the leapmaster, where he thought his father had yelled from, he knew it was bad.

Dex and Biana were standing on the leapmaster platform, exhausted, Dex supporting Biana's weight. Della was the first one to reach them, with Alden close behind, red with anger. Fitz smiled with relief when he saw them, then frowned, because Biana wasn't wearing her school uniform, and Dex was supporting her weight. "Oh my gnome... did they have a run in with the Neverseen?" Fitz thought, a sudden fear sinking in his gut.

His mom cried tears of relief, and hugged them both in a bone crushing hug. Almost immediately, Biana screamed in agony, and Dex pushed Della off, wide-eyed, afraid. Fitz watched in horror with his parents as his sister started to crumple to the floor, as her eyes rolled back into her head. Swiftly, Dex scooped her up in his arms, apologizing to the Vackers over and over again for pushing Della, almost in tears.

Fitz could barely tear his eyes away from his sister when Alden quietly, but angrily demanded, "What happened? Who did this?" Alden had caught Della after she had stumbled away from her daughter, with little help from Dex. His poor mother looked as if she was about to faint.

Dex explained how he found her in the hall of the school, after she had accidentally ran into a Neverseen spy. He told them how he had taken her to the Black Swan instead of Elwin, so the school wouldn't be in an uproar. Fitz felt sick. He and Sophie should have told her. He should have told her. Now, it was his fault.

Della had fainted during the part of the story where Biana had gotten injured, and Alden had been holding her while he listened. Now that the story was finished, he was pale. "Thank you for taking care of her."

Dex nodded, "anytime."

"Fitz, go show Dex where her room is," Alden ordered, and picked up Della.  I'm going to go lay your mother down."

He could only nod in response, still in shock. He gestured for Dex to follow him, and they walked down the hall together, in silence. Fitz opened the door to Biana's room for Dex, and followed in afterwords. As Dex set his sister up in bed, primping her pillows and adjusting the covers for her, Fitz got two chairs, setting them by the bed. Dex raised his eyebrows slightly in surprise.
"Thank you."

Fitz nodded, and sat down, rubbing his face, stressed. "Did she tell you if she could recognize the spy?"

The boy didn't answer at first, and closed the door before sitting down, facing Fitz. "There are some details I didn't tell your parents," he whispered, "because we may need them to be kept in the dark about who the spy is."

"Why?" Fitz asked, confused. "Will you tell me?"

Dex nodded, "Yeah, but could we do it... uh..." he pointed to his temple, and it took Fitz a second to understand what he meant.

"Oh, of course," immediately after, he slipped into Dex's mind so they could talk. "Hey," he transmitted, "is this better?"

"Thanks. Now, tonight, you need to tell Sophie everything I've already told you, and everything I'm about to tell you. Got it?" Dex thought, and Fitz nodded. "Good. I should start with the fact that the Black Swan told Biana and I that you and Sophie knew there was a spy amoungst our friends."

More guilt fell onto his shoulders, "Dex, I'm so sorry, we never meant- we only did it to protect you guys-"

"Stop, it's okay. Biana and I agreed that you guys did the right thing. We would have done the same thing in you guys' shoes."

"But Biana got hurt-"

"It's not your fault. Biana didn't have to stay and listen, but it's more of the spy's fault."

"Who is?" Fitz drummed his fingers against his leg anxiously.

"Marella," Dex answered.

He wasn't surprised. He didn't know Marella as well as his other friends, and even Sophie wasn't that close with her either. Marella had been mad at her for years, but in the last year or so, she's wanted to be friends with Sophie again, to which Sophie excitedly agreed. Fitz was worried, he didn't know how his cognate would take the news. "So what else do we know?"

"We know that she was sent to spy on Sophie, probably to get to the Black Swan. She mentioned something about concealer, and that she still had it, which Biana says is a type of make-up used to cover up undesired marks on one's skin. In Marella's case, it's a sort of membership mark, to show she's in the Neverseen. It must be permeanent, because the members have to cover it up. We know that the Neverseen is giving her dresses, probably for the Winnowing Galas, so they may be planning things then. We also know that she saw Biana, and that she could be in danger," Dex explained calmly, though worry streamed into his voice.

"Do we have a plan?"

"Right now, we're suppose to act like everything is normal, and not investigate. They told us to sit tight and watch out for Biana."

"They know that Sophie will disregard that last part, right?"

Dex chuckled a little, "They think she'll listen. That's the problem. When you tell her, make sure you mention that I personally think that we should work to prevent anything from happening at the Winnowing Galas."

Smiling a little, he nodded, "Duly noted."

They were quiet for a while, until Dex asked, "Do you think it would be okay if I left? You know, while Biana's still asleep? I need to start building safety procautions. Little ray guns, silent help signalers, that sort of thing."

"That sounds great, Dex. Thank you for doing all this. Make sure you go get some rest." He smiled as they stood, and they shook hands.

"Thanks. I should have some done by tomorrow. Let me know what plans you and Sophie come up with, and how I can help."

"Oh, before you go," Fitz said as Dex was walking out the door after having an idea, "what classes do you have? I want to make a list of all the possible classes you, Sophie and I have to see which of us are closer to her at the time so at least one of us can walk her to class."

"Don't worry about it," Dex smiled, looking back at him from over his shoulder, "I'll walk her to class every day."

"Oh you don't have to," he started, but Dex was already gone. He couldn't do anything else but watch over Biana. Soon, their dad came in and sat next to Fitz. They didn't speak, they didn't say anything, they just sat and waited for her to wake up. When she did, He and his father waited impatiently to see what would happen. Fitz glanced over at his father to see him staring at Biana in awe, tears rolling down his cheeks like in the movies.

Biana looked around, confused. The first thing she said was, "Where's Dex?"

"He went to go build some tiny defenses to take to school," he explained awkwardly. "He told me to tell you that he'll walk you to your classes from now on."

"Is he coming back?"

"Not tonight, but when you're feeling better, you'll see him at school."

"I have to go to school tomorrow!" Biana exclaimed, eyes wide.

"Absolutely not-" Fitz started, but his sister cut him off, their father still in shock.

"I have to go to school tomorrow, Fitz. The spy can't know that I was hit."

"What? Why? The spy already knows."

"Yeah, but they can't think I was hit so hard. It's a psycological thing. It makes us as a whole look stronger," She reasoned, and he had to admit that it did make sense.

"How could you do it, you can barely sit up!"

"That's because I've only applied the salve from the Black Swan once."

Fitz rubbed his temples, trying to think this through. His dad was still in shock, his mom was passed out, and he loved his little sister a lot, so he had to play the parent role. However... as a strategist trying to keep everyone safe from the Neverseen, he agreed with her. He decided that a compromise was best. "How about this: if you can sit up, and walk around by yourself in the morning, you can go to school."

She thought for a second, before nodding, "That's fair."

Blinking slowly, Alden asked, "how do you feel?"

"I'm fine, really," she promised, "I just need some rest, that's all."

Alden nodded numbly, still in shock, "Would you like us to leave you alone so you can sleep?"

Yawning, Biana nodded, "Yes please. Tell mom I'm okay for me, okay?"

"When she wakes up," their father nodded.

"I figured." With that, Fitz stood up, and herded his father out of the room. He looked back at his sister, who was already laying back against the covers, eyes closed, before shutting the door behind him.

As he made his way down to the Leapmaster, he told Sophie over their bond that he was coming over with important news. She didn't respond, but before he light leaped away, he closed his eyes and focused on her. It took a second, but soon, he saw things through her eyes. Her inflicting homework. Since he saw through her eyes, that meant she was awake, and he could go see her. The whole seeing-through-her eyes-thing was a skill they had learned in their last lesson called Sight Borrowing. If you saw something, that meant they were awake, and you were seeing what they were seeing, but if you saw black, that meant that they were asleep. It was a special skill that only cognates could do, and oddly, it may come in handy, especially since the Neverseen is starting to cause problems again.

When he arrived in Havenfield, Fitz immediately went up the stairs to Sophie's room. Edaline and Grady weren't downstairs to greet him, but he didn't think that they'd mind him barging in. They honestly treated him like their own son. He guessed it was because they were cognates, as well as close family friends.

He knocked on the door, his fist so tight, he knuckles were white. Sophie opened the door seconds later, in her pajamas. When she saw his face, she frowned, "Hey, what happened?"

He swallowed, "Can I come in, first?"

Fitz knew that when her frowned deepened, she knew something was really wrong. She let him in, and closed the door. He could feel her eyes follow him as he made his way over to her bed, and sat on the edge. He slid his face into his hands, and moments later, felt her slide next to him, her arms around his waist, her head on his shoulder. A few heartbeats passed before he told her.

"Biana found out who the spy is."

"Really?" Sophie asked excitedly, "Who?"

"Marella, but that's not the point."

Sophie's excitement vanquished as soon as he said her name, " I should have guessed... she hated me a lot, then she just suddenly wanted to be friends again?" She sighed, "What did she do?"

He could feel tears stream between his fingers. He buried his face into his hands more. He didn't want her to see him cry, but deep down, he knew that she knew him too well for that. Gently, she eased his hands away from his face, and folded them in his lap. She then tenderly took his face in her callused hands, and wiped his tears away with her thumbs. He relished in her touch, even though he knew they were rough and worn from all the fighting with the Neverseen, alchemy, and helping her parents maintain animals. Closing his eyes, he could feel the lump in his throat was too hard to swallow. The tears came faster, and although Fitz wasn't an empath, he could almost feel her worry grow as well.

Deciding that he couldn't speak, he said to her telepathically, "Marella shot bolts of electricity at Biana, she knows she saw. She only grazed her arm, but hit her square in the side."
"She saw Elwin, right?" Sophie's voice shook as she spoke.

"No," he transmitted, opening his eyes, only for more tears to spill out from them. "She went to the Black Swan, and they treated her there."

"How'd they find her? Magnate Leto?"

"Dex brought her to Magnate Leto," he nodded, still talking through their cognate bond.

"Oh... she's going to be okay, right? Can I see her?"

For the first time in a while, he spoke aloud, but his voice was cracked and flickered like a candle. "She's asleep, Dex brought her home, and he said he wants to walk her to her classes, and he's making little weapons to protect her, and I just feel so... so..." He couldn't look at his cognate.

"So?" The words soared off her lips and struck him in the heart like an arrow.

"Useless. I'm her big brother, the only big brother she has since- you know. I just feel like such a failure. I'm suppose to protect her, and keep her safe. I'm suppose to be the one she looks up to, even just a little bit, but she still acts like Alvar is coming back, she still thinks he's coming back. I think I failed Sophie, I think I failed really badly."

Quietly, she shushed him, taking one of her hands, running it up his face, smoothing his fair back, and trailing it down to his back, when she softly rubbed tiny circles, "You didn't fail, you couldn't have known this would happen, and it hasn't been that long."

He held her hand against his cheek, and looked at her miserably, "It's been two years."

"Sometimes these things take a while, that's all," she soothed, and he nodded, closing his eyes again. He sighed a little, and for a while, they were quiet.

As soon as they heard Grady and Edaline begin to climb up the stairs minutes later, they sprang apart. Quickly, Fitz walked in to her bathroom, and scrubbed his face with water. Yes, they were like a second set of parents, but he didn't like for people to see him cry, even Sophie.

He sat back down next to her moments before they opened the door. They were both smiling, sweaty, filthy, and cheerful. "Fitz! What a nice surprise to see you!" Edaline smiled, but when she and Grady saw the looks on their faces, their mood dampened.

"What happened?" Grady asked worriedly.

Fitz took a deep breath before explaining what happened, leaving the Marella part out like Dex had with his parents. Sophie gently leaned so that their shoulders were touching, a dicrete, yet comforting gesture. Grady and Edaline were horrified that Biana had gotten hurt. Edaline immediately responded with: "Oh my gnome! Is she okay?"

On the other hand, Grady asked, "What's the plan?"

Knowing what he meant, Sophie answered, "Dex wanted to walk her to her classes. We can't leave her alone now that the Neverseen have attacked her."

"What about you?"

"What about me?"

"Is Fitz going to stick closer to you for a while?"

"We're cognates," Sophie frowned, "we always stick closer together."

"I mean like, to protect you."

"I can protect myself," she snapped at her father. "Bronte and I have been working on inflicting, I'm doing better in gym every year, Tiergan has taught me defensive and offensive telepathy-"

Grady cut her off, "I know but-"

Fitz then cut him off, "It's a good idea, Sophie. I need to be protected too, they just went after Biana, and they've been after you for years. Sooner or later, I'll be a target, so it's probably a good idea that we stick together, to protect eachother. We are a team." Delegating the situation wasn't the perfect solution for this, but it was a good enough compromise that both Sophie and her dad agreed to it.

"Are you staying for dinner?" Edaline asked nervously. She, like everyone else in the room, was aware of the tension still floating between Sophie and Grady.

"No, but thank you. I need to go home and take care of my family. Biana's asleep, and mom passed out, so you know dad's a wreck."

Grady nodded understandingly, "Give them our best wishes, okay?"

"I will," Fitz promised.

Walking over, Grady patted his shoulder, "You're a good kid, Fitz." He smiled, but Fitz could've sworn that he said under his breath, "Unlike that Secen boy."

Grady and Edaline then left the room, leaving for Sophie and Fitz to say goodbye.

As soon as they left, Sophie wrapped her arms around him tightly, her face pressed into his neck, from where he could feel a blush creep up to his face. "Don't let the guilt get to you," she murmured, and his face heated more at the feeling of her lips brushing against his skin, "okay?"

Resting his head against hers, he whispered back, "okay."

"You know, we need to do something fun soon, just the two of us," she suggested, her words totally contrasting against the mood.

"Sounds good, but why so sudden?"

"Lately it feels like all we do is cry and hug eachother. I don't want our memories of just before becomming cognates to be just crying."

Fitz chuckled a little, but they both knew it was only halfheartedly, "I guess you're right. How about this: while I go take care of my family, you think of ideas on what we should do."

"How about this," she countered, moving to look up at him, his neck suddenly cold from her absence, "I come with you to help take care of them, and I'll think of ideas on what we should do later."

"Sounds good, but you should probably check with your parents first."

She nodded, and they broke apart before walking down together, hand in hand. He smiled a little, feeling better. "Everything's going to be okay," he thought, "I have Sophie."

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Sorry it's been so long ;-; I was driving for drivers ed for half the week.