Blaine had been gone for almost a month. He was coming back, he’d promised her that he’d be back before the baby was born, but that didn’t make things any easier in the meantime. He was gone to keep her, Kevin, and the baby safe. If he had simply been worried about her, Lee would have gone with him, or made him stay and they’d face whatever was coming together. But there were the kids to think of, children who couldn’t protect themselves like she and Blaine could. That was the reason she had left New York in the first place years earlier.

Lee knew everything that had happened the day Blaine left, she had made him explain it to her, so she’d understand. And she did, Lee had seen the condition that Blaine had been in after that other time he’d met himself from the other side of the rip. She’d seen firsthand the insomnia and nightmares he’d suffered since then. They were the reason he had been staying at her place, something that hadn’t been normal before that because of Kevin. Blaine hadn’t wanted to tell her, probably worried about how she’d react, how she would look at him. But that didn’t change how Lee felt about the man; she’d done terrible things, necessary things, to protect herself and those she loved in the past. Worse things than what Blaine had done. But he didn’t know that part of her past; she hadn’t thought he would ever need to, and once he did, there hadn’t been time.

And now he was gone.

So Lee had fallen into routines to get by, filling her day with caring for Kevin, working at Haven, keeping track of the finances at Rachel’s boutique. She had even started volunteering more at Sanctuary and picking up more shifts at the bar to help fill the hours that had become time spent with Blaine. Keeping busy would help time pass, and hopefully lessen the worry as it did.

But there was only so much she could do to keep busy while Kevin was with his father, and the worst part of that time was while she was waiting for her son to come home. So in an attempt to keep both her hands and mind busy, Lee was sitting on the couch playing her guitar.

Walls in New York were never as thick as one could hope. The main benefit to Lee and Tarin choosing to live within walking distance of each other had been that it would be easy for them to share time with Kevin. Lawyers hadn’t needed to get involved, custody agreements hadn’t needed to be changed, and everyone had been happier for the fact.

A lot had happened recently, so much that Tarin was starting to feel like a bit of a spectator in certain aspects of his own life. Since the night they’d all ran into each other at the bar, Tarin had known Lee had a new boyfriend. He’d handled it with all the grace and aplomb that a bigger man should show, at least externally. Things with him and Lee hadn’t ended with a bang...they’d just sort of fizzled because of things like distance and stubbornness. That meant that feelings hadn’t really changed all that much...and they had a bad habit of resurfacing.

Especially when Tarin met Lee’s new boyfriend.

Especially when Tarin heard from his son that Kevin was going to be a big brother.

Especially when Tarin heard from his son that Lee’s boyfriend wasn’t around any more. Even if it was for, “a really good reason.”

Especially when Tarin could hear Lee playing the guitar from outside the apartment door.

Kevin was getting impatient to get inside, he didn’t understand that Lee would probably stop playing once they knocked and Tarin just wanted to listen a bit and pretend before coming back to the real world. It was nice to listen to something other than dead people every once and while.

Still. Life went on, with or without you. Tarin raised his hand and knocked. Him and Lee needed to have a talk. When she opened the door he smiled and watched Kevin rush inside, ”Mind if I come in for a minute? I’ve got a couple of questions.”

Lee didn’t know how long she had been sitting there playing guitar as she waited for Taring to bring Kevin home. She didn’t know because she purposely wasn’t looking at the clock. When she did, Lee tended to look every minute or two, and the time that she felt like she was waiting dragged on even longer.

And, though Lee was currently alone in the apartment, there were enough other apartments, with enough people nearby, that she didn’t notice when there was suddenly energy coming from the other side of the door. Which was probably a good thing for Tarin, because Lee likely wouldn’t have been very impressed to know how long he stood there listening to her play.

But when she finally heard a knock on the door, Lee opened her eyes as she stopped playing, Setting the guitar down, Lee stood, automatically straightening her black skirt and pulling her red tank top down over her stomach as she made her way to the door. Opening it to find Tarin and Kevin there.

Though Kevin wasn’t there long, almost the moment that the door opened, he was squeezing past her and into the apartment. ”Missed you too,” Lee called over her shoulder at her son as he made his way into the apartment.

Only for Tarin to ask if he could come in for a minute because he had questions. Normally, if there were questions, or things to be passed along to the other parent, Tarin and Lee did so by text or email to avoid the awkward uncomfortableness that came with these kind of face to face talks. A feeling that he never been there between them until after she had left New York and he hadn’t come with her.

But Lee still opened the door wider to let him in. Despite everything that had happened, it was still hard for her to actually say no to the man about most things. ”Sure, about what?” she asked.

Kevin scampered away and Tarin couldn’t help but smile a bit at Lee and her comment.

”He does nothing but talk about you when he’s with me.” he said with a slight shake of his head, ”Not that he’d ever admit it. The kid has a fierce independent streak...no clue where he gets that from.”

For a brief moment, Tarin wondered if Lee was going to acquiesce to his request. Since she’d come back to New York their boundaries had been pretty well defined. With the exception of when she’d first signed the lease, Tarin couldn’t remember a time when he’d been in Lee’s place. Eventually, thought, she relented and he made his way inside.

It was almost incredible how awkward it was to stand in this room. Again, Tarin had the surreal feeling of an outsider, watching his own life. Where had the last few years gone?

Lee was waiting though, and there wasn’t time to wax philosophical. It was time to get more awkward. Shoving hands into the pockets of his shorts, Tarin shrugged a bit and avoided eye contact.

”Kevin talks...like all seven-year-olds do…” he started, then shrugged and looked up. ”I know it isn’t any of my business, and I’ve tried really hard to stay out of your life...but I have to ask, Is everything okay?”

Lee couldn’t help the small smile when she heard Tarin’s comment. Their son was rather independant, and the bit of training that he had been getting with Blaine had only added to the boy’s confidence. Even more so because none of his friends got to learn how to fight like that, he had been sure to tell her. Numerous times. ”He talks about you a lot, too,” Lee admitted. ”You have no idea how many times I’ve overheard him bragging to Blaine about you.” Lee’s smile only faltered slightly at that comment.

As she expected, it was incredibly awkward with Tarin in the apartment. It normally felt awkward when they dropped Kevin off to each other, it was bound to with how things had ended. Never mind that Lee still did love Tarin and was pretty sure that he was still just as in love with her as he had been the day Kevin was born. But that was always just in the doorway, or at a neutral location like a park. So the awkwardness level was so much higher as he came into the apartment and Lee closed the door.

And the awkwardness felt like it increased with each second that passed in silence as Tarin stood there, sticking his hands in his pockets. Avoiding her eyes. Lee knew he felt just as awkward and strange standing there as she did; they may not be together anymore, but she still knew the man.

Finally, Tarin started to speak, and it was about Kevin. So why all the awkwardness, Lee wondered. Except, she realized a moment later, it really wasn’t about Kevin, simply because of things that he’d said to his father. Things about her.

Lee frowned slightly as she looked at the man she once thought she’d spend the rest of her life with, standing there across the room uncomfortably asking if she was alright. Lee nodded, a little confused about why he was asking. ”Yeah, of course everything’s ok,” Lee replied after a moment, a slight frown of confusion on her face. ”Well, I mean I still can’t smell Chinese food without heaving, but that seems to be normal when I’m pregnant, but otherwise I’m fine.”

Sigh. Of course this wasn’t going to be easy. Things like this were never easy.

”You should have known better than to try the Chinese.” he said, still trying to ignore the fact that his ex-wife was pregnant with another man’s child. He could do that until the baby was born, maybe a little longer.

Yeesh, these awkward pauses were getting excessive. Tarin nodded for a second, then took a deep breath and dove in. ”But that’s not what I meant. Kevin talks about Blaine to me a lot too...I think he wants me to like him.” Tarin had to chuckle a bit at that, but that was beside the point. ”Anyway...he told me that Blaine is gone…” More awkward pauses, and Tarin shrugged, ”Again...none of my business...but I just wanted to make sure everything was okay.”

Tarin did have a bit of a point about the Chinese, but then again he didn't. With Kevin, it had been Mexican food that had sent her running to the bathroom whenever she smelled it, which had really been a shame because Tarin didn't seem capable of cooking Mexican without his accent slipping through. Chinese food had been safe, then.

And of course that's not what Tarin had meant. If it had been just that, he wouldn't have felt the need to come in to talk. Lee had known that, she was just trying to avoid the actual question. Something that was obviously not going to happen since a moment later Tarin came out and actually said it.

Lee honestly wasn't sure what to say, though. At one point, she would have had zero problem confiding the entire story to Tarin. But if that were still the case, Lee wouldn't be with Blaine.

”Yeah everything'll be ok,” Lee finally replied. ”I mean I miss him, of course, Kevin does too. But he needed to deal with this before the baby is born.” Lee finished with a shrug.

Everything would be okay. This was something that had needed to be taken care of before the baby was born.

Tarin nodded his head. He’d asked a question and Lee had provided an answer. That’s how conversations between old friends tended to go. Not too personal, not too messy, not too involved.

Dammit.

”So he’s coming back?”

The question had to be asked, ”Again, none of my business...but I just want to know what to say when Kevin talks.”

Yep. Blame your kid for your nosey questions, Tarin... Way to go.

”Everyone is safe?”

Lee actually frowned at Tarin a bit when he asked if Blaine was coming back. How could he even ask that? So bluntly. As though he thought Blaine wouldn’t be coming back?

Except he said he wanted to know what to say to Kevin. Which...made sense. Lee knew how much her son had talked to Blaine about Tarin, she could only imagine the opposite situation in Tarin’s apartment. ”Of course he’s coming back,” Lee replied simply. Not even thinking of the fact that some men would run if their girlfriend got pregnant after only being together a couple of months. ”I don’t know the exact date, unfortunately, but he’ll be back before the baby’s born.” That Blaine had promised. Lee only hoped that he would be able to keep to it; he was already missing so much being gone during the pregnancy, Lee didn’t want him to miss that, too.

Then Tarin went on to ask if everyone was safe. Well, right then, yes they were, but that’s why Blaine had left. To make sure that if there were any ramifications from what had happened in his apartment, that they would happen away from her, Kevin, and the baby. And thus keep them safe. At least that was the hope. They still weren’t entirely sure who the other Blaine was or why he did what he did.

But was everyone safe? Blaine had almost been killed, hers and Skye’s lives had been threatened, but as far as she knew everyone was safe right now. So Lee nodded, not sure how to actually answer that question in words.

...and there was the frown. Even after all this time...even after everything that had happened...it still made Tarin uncomfortable to see that look on his wi…ex-wife’s face.

Blaine was coming back. Tarin had to contain his excitement lest it shock Lee in its bounty. In reality though, what would he have done if the answer had been no? Sure, his feelings for Lee were still there, just beneath the surface, but that ship had sailed quite some time ago.

Lee nodded, indicating that they were all safe and it was Tarin’s turn to frown.

”Your confidence is reassuring.” he said dryly, removing his hands from his pockets so he could cross his arms.

”I know you’d tell me if things were hairy enough that Kevin needed to be somewhere safe.” he said, ”But I can still keep you safe too...don’t be stubborn if things go south. I'm literally just down the street”

Of course Lee could take care of herself...but there was the baby to think about, and Kevin...three people were much harder to protect than one.

As Lee listened to Tarin, she nodded. Other than his barb about her confidence, this was probably the closest to ‘normal’ things had been between them in years. But in a way, that made it feel weird.

Lee couldn't help raising an eyebrow at him, though. ”I thought you knew me well enough to know that I've stayed awake worrying about ‘what-ifs’ and thinking of ways to deal with them,” Lee said. The man in front of her had complained about her worrying often enough that she had thought he would know that.

”You want something to drink?” Lee asked, turning toward the fridge. Hearing Tarin's answer, she grabbed him a beer along with her pop. ”You don't know how many times I've wished I could have something stronger,” Lee said as she held the bottle out towards Tarin.

And Tarin said that he was still able to keep her safe. All Lee was able to do for a few moments was state at him. State at the man that used to be her husband, her safe haven. The man she had thought she would spend the rest of her life with. When she did try to speak, Lee found that she needed to swallow before being able to get the words out. ”Kevin knows how to get to your place on his own,” she informed Tarin. ”Just in case. From here, school, and the park. He thinks it’s a part of growing up, finally being old enough to go to his dad’s by himself, if I ever needed to tell him to go there suddenly.”

Lee offered a beer and who was Tarin to say no? When a person started saying no to free beer, there was something seriously wrong with the world.

Lee had pointed out that he knew her better than to think she hadn’t already gone through all the “what-ifs” in her head. What she said made sense, Lee worried about everything. Lee’s anxiety over her powers had basically been a third wheel in their relationship for years. Every major step they’d made had been over the hurdle of her worries. It was ridiculous to think that she hadn’t already thought of every possibility.

Back she came, drinking a soda and getting pretty darn serious all of a sudden.

There was a contingency plan. Tarin should have known that there would be. Kevin knew how to get to Tarin’s place from basically anywhere he was likely to be in the city. That should have been reassuring, and it was on some level, but…

”What about you?” He said, raising the beer to his lips and taking a swig.

Three simple words, that’s all Tarin said in response to her telling him that Kevin knew how to get to his place in case of an emergency. Three little words, one simple question. But they had nothing to do with Kevin, at least not directly.

’What about you?’

Instead of answering right away, Lee walked the short distance to lean against the counter. Taking a sip of her pop as she tried to form words that would answer the question without going into too much detail about everything that had happened. Everything that had been done to Blaine, and that he’d been pushed to do. ”Well, I’m pretty sure I can manage to find my way to your place from anywhere in the city,” she finally said, glancing over at Tarin, one side of her mouth curved up slightly. Attempting to joke. But even that attempt felt a little awkward.

”But honestly,” she continued, her eyes dropping to look at the can in her hand, a slight crease between her brows. ”It would depend on the situation, and even I’m not sure what might happen. Maybe nothing. Hopefully nothing.”

Lee pointed out that she was pretty sure she could make it to Tarin’s place from anywhere in the city and he tipped the neck of his beer toward her in a silent salute. Touche.

Maybe he was overreacting considering the fact that this was probably the longest conversation he and Lee’d had since the day he’d been served divorce papers. That phone call had been plenty long, plenty loud, and had ended rather abruptly when it came down to it.

THings were different now though, Lee had come back to New York, Kevin was there, and they were working on co-parenting the best way they knew how. It was common courtesy for him to make sure that Lee was okay. Whatever else had happened, Lee was the Mother of his son and that would always be important.

She was also doing her damndest to avoid giving him any details about the situation she was in.

Tarin took another drink. He was going to have to speed up his drinking, because this conversation was starting to go nowhere fast and the last time he’d checked it was still illegal to carry a beer down the street in New York.

”How many more details can I ask for before you get pissed and throw me out?” he said, lips drawing to a thin line. ”I just want to know what we’re potentially up against.”

Lee didn’t see Tarin’s mouth drawing into a thin line because her eyes which had been lowered to the pop can in her hand had slipped closed as he started to speak. But she could hear it in his voice, he was getting frustrated by her lack of detail, her lack of trust in him about this. Though Lee really couldn’t blame him, thinking about it. If the situation had been reversed, she would have been pissed at him already for not giving her the information she may need to protect their son. Plus, considering all the times he had come to drop Kevin off, this was the first he’d actually stepped through the door…

When Tarin continued, however, Lee’s eyes not only snapped open, but she looked up at him. What we are up against? There was no ‘we’ anymore when it came to her and Tarin, not since he refused to leave the city with her.

But, Lee realized a moment later, and that thought tempered her raising anger, if Tarin knew more, maybe he would be able to protect Kevin better should the need arise.

Glancing down at her can again, Lee took a deep breath before returning her eyes to Tarin. ”Honestly, that’s part of the problem. We really don’t know,” she told him. ”It could have been anything from a lone psychopath to an entire shady, mutant hating government agency from the other side of that rift in the park. Or anything in between. All I know is that Blaine’s doppelganger, or whatever you want to call it, nearly beat him to death twice.”