Lee returned and sat down in the chair that she’d left when she’d gone to get her coffee and Tarin shot her a quick smile before switching his attention back to Robert.

”Are you alright Em?” Robert asked and Tarin almost breathed a sigh of relief because it appeared that Robert wasn’t going to talk about the near-merge or whatever it was they wanted to call it.

”Is what he said true?” Robert asked, and Tarin held off that sigh of relief because God dammit Robert he couldn’t just take something at face value.

”I told him what you told Rachel.” Tarin said with a sigh, ”Nothing more, nothing less.”

”I believe her.” Robert added, and Tarin rolled his eyes.

”He seemed receptive.”

As she sat down, Lee returned Tarin's small smile then took a sip of her coffee as she waited for Robert to speak.

Rather than asking her about what they had been talking about, Robert actually asked if she was ok. Lee was honestly a little surprised. ”I am,” she said with a nod. ”The walk helped, too.”

Or, she had been ok. Hearing Robert's next question, followed by Tarin's explanation of what he'd said, Lee tensed up again. ”Of course it is, Robert,” she replied, her tone harder than it had been. She had gone for the walk so she didn't have to talk about this.

Robert gave a quick nod when Lee confirmed that all of it was true.

”It’s…a lot to take in Em.” Robert said, thankfully not asking any more questions. Tarin didn’t know what he’d have done otherwise and he’d seen Lee tense up when Robert had asked a moment ago. ”And I still can’t believe you didn’t tell us any of this…”

Of course that was what Robert was concerned with.

”But I am sorry that happened and you didn’t think you could tell your family.”

Robert cast a look at Tarin then and Tarin just shook his head.

Robert didn’t take the hint.

”And you didn’t think at the build site it might have been a good idea to warn people that they were seconds from disaster?”

Tarin actually slapped his hand over his eyes when Robert said it, ”This is why nobody tells you anything, Robert.”

At least they weren’t talking about Lee’s story anymore.

Lee nodded in agreement when Robert said that it was a lot to take in. It really was a lot to take in, especially all at once. ”Maybe part of why I didn’t is I couldn't deal with all of this as well at the time.”

That wasn't all that Robert had to go and continue. Asking about her not giving a warning at the building site about the ‘danger’.

Lee took a deep breath, her eyes narrowing slightly. ”I didn’t warn anyone about being ‘seconds from disaster’ because as long as no one touched Tarin, there was no danger,” Lee told him in no uncertain terms. ”Whether you’re able to believe it or not, I knew exactly what I was doing that day.”

Robert looked at Tarin then, eyes narrowed like Lee’s response was somehow his fault.

This whole conversation was about Lee, but Tarin couldn’t help but think that he was never going to be able to convince Robert that he was anything but bad.

Lee immediately and confidently spoke though, completely sure that she had the situation under control.

Robert found himself in a difficult situation, in order to continue his point about Tarin he’d have to fully admit that he didn’t think Lee knew what she was doing. After everything they’d discussed in the preceding minutes.

”If you say so Em. But I still don’t like it.” Robert said with another look at Tarin.

”You don't have to like it, Robert,” Lee informed him. ”Whether you like it or not does not change the facts. Those being that the other people were found faster because I went in to find Tarin, and I was able to help keep people from touching him, whereas if I had stayed outside like you wanted me to, it would have taken longer to find everyone and I wouldn’t have even known that a ‘warning about disaster’ would be needed.”

Lee leaned back in her chair, taking a sip of her coffee before shaking her head. ”And you wonder why I never told you any of this stuff…”

”I said I believed you Em, I’m allowed to have opinions.” Robert said, more than a little peevishly when Lee finished speaking.

Robert sat there for a moment thinking then and he shook his head, ”What you did, with the finding people, was impressive.”

Tarin looked over at Lee when Robert said that, he’d been so wrapped up in himself that he hadn’t even realized that Lee had found others in the collapse.

Something occurred to Tarin then and he frowned slightly.

”How did you find me so fast?”

”I also don’t have to like your opinion,” Lee pointed out quietly, shaking her head again. Especially since his opinion always seemed to be disliking Tarin.

But then Robert was actually in a way complimenting her on how she had been able to help find people so quickly in the collapse. Which led to Tarin asking about how she’d managed to find him so quickly with how he was buried.

”I couldn’t just stand around and do nothing before I could get back in there,” she told Tarin, her tone sounding like that should have been obvious. ”I I walked around the building trying to see if I could feel where people were inside. So I had a basic idea of where people were. Plus I knew you were in the kitchen, so once I got there, I just followed where I was feeling the energy from.” Lee finished with a shrug.

At least Lee and Robert were having the sort of fight that seemed normal for siblings. Tarin obviously wished the opinion they were arguing about wasn’t, ‘Your boyfriend is a trash human.’ But this was progress, he supposed.

Lee pointed out that she couldn’t have just done nothing and Tarin gave her what could definitely be considered a withering look. ”You could have waited to be sure it was safe. Even the outside could have fallen.”

He paused for a moment and thought, “I’m glad you did though.” he said with a little shudder.

Now it was Robert’s turn to shake his head, ”You really shouldn’t have spoke that way to the police though.”

Lee just stared evenly back at Tarin when he gave her that look. ”I could have…?” Lee questioned. ”Do we really need to get into that argument again about what we feel the other shouldn’t have done that day?” Lee asked, an eyebrow raising.

Then Robert had to go and point out what she’d said to the police when they were trying to refuse her going back into the building.

”What?” she asked as she turned to look at Robert. ”It’s not like they would have actually shot me, and I needed them to understand how serious I was that I was going in there to find Tarin.”

Tarin winced when Lee asked if they needed to argue again about who should have done what that day and held his hands up defensively. No. They did not need to rehash that any time soon.

”I think we covered that well enough.” he said, subconsciously rubbing his shoulder where Lee had emphasized her point.

But then Robert spoke and Lee responded and Tarin gaped at her a little bit. ” You didn’t tell me that.” Tarin said, ”Wouldn't have been much help at all if you’d gotten arrested, God only knows what would have happened.”

Good, they didn’t have to have that argument about Tarin not sacrificing himself in order to save her again. Very good, because now that she thought about it, Robert would probably agree with Tarin.

Lee did look a little sheepish when Tarin pointed out that she hadn’t told him that part about what she’d said to the cops. ”Well, there were kinda other things we were dealing with once I got to you,” she said softly. ”And with all the times that Rupert threatened to but didn’t shoot me, and didn’t, I knew those cops weren’t going to…But really, do you think them arresting me would keep me out of that building while you were still inside?”

Tarin glanced over at Robert for a moment before he nodded at Lee, ”I know…” he said, there hadn’t really been an opportunity to talk about any of that since the aftermath had occupied all of their conversations.

Lee kept talking though and Tarin shook his head slowly, it really had been wild for Lee to have done what she’d done. It made him smile though, and made him feel all warm and fuzzy inside that she’d fought for him like that.

But before he could say anything, Robert chimed in, ”That is part of the problem with this whole thing, Em. Think about what you just said.” he shook his head, ” It’s reckless.”

Lee turned and blinked at Robert for a couple moments. ”Reckless? Are you talking about the multiple times that Rupert - you know, that cop who called you looking for me when I was living in Toronto - threatened to kill us, the multiple times he drew his loaded gun on me? Half of those times in my own home.

“Is that what you’re referring to as ‘reckless’?”

Lee knew damn well it wasn’t. But Robert was really starting to annoy her now.

Robert was giving his opinion again, Tarin noted. Lee was doing her best to turn the conversation away from things that were none of Robert’s business and giving him a warning.

That was kind of bullshit though and Tarin frowned at Lee for a second before he spoke.

”You forget,” Tarin said softly, turning back to Robert, ”That same ‘recklessness’ kept you out from under that building.

Tarin didn’t say anything else, but just let the words hang.