“Mom!” Kennedy called, ignoring the concern she felt from Cait. The harried woman looked over her shoulder, concern and empathy written on her face, but she didn’t stop. Instead, she crooked a finger and indicated Kennedy should follow as she entered her office.

  Kennedy pushed open the doors after8 her to find her mother waiting for her with open arms. The pained look of concern on her face was all it took to break Kennedy, and she collapsed sobbing into her arms. She reached out to her mind, letting the maternal warmth of her mom warm her inside and out.

  It was tough to keep track of time during a breakdown like that. After a while, she found herself again, sat on her mother’s lap, her cheek pressed against a chest soaked with her tears. Elizabeth was stroking her hair, and Kennedy realized she was singing to her.

  It wasn’t a lullaby, it wasn’t even technically comforting. It was a horny ass pop song that had been popular 10 years ago, and for anyone else, it would have been entirely inappropriate. For them though, that karaoke night Elizabeth had dragged her to, months after she had saved her, was the first time in her life Kennedy remembered actually having fun. A little of the wild Black Swan had come out that night, and broken through the controlled woman Elizabeth presented to the world now.

  Her energy had been contagious, and she’d gotten Kennedy up on stage with her. The surly teen had sung along, though she didn’t know the words. It was funny, that the embarrassment from that had finally been what pressed her to link to her savior. She wanted her Competence, and she’d gotten it. Not a lot of Karaoke performances got standing ovations, but when you had two beautiful women who were, literally, as good as you could possibly be at it…. Well, that Friday night crowd had gotten a show that would put any headliner to shame.

  Along with the Competence, Kennedy had received the absolute certainty that the woman had saved her because it was the right thing to do. She’d kept her close because there was no-one else that could do it better. She’d cared for Kennedy for months, despite the hurting teen’s barbs and coldness, because she knew those things were part of the best possible state she could be in after what she had been through.

  That night had been the first time Kennedy had touched another person of her own free will since she was twelve. It had been exactly like this, as she’d fallen asleep weeping in the woman who had suddenly become her mother’s arms.

  Back in the present, she smiled through her tears, and started to sing along. She heard her mom’s voice break as Kennedy joined in, and her hand clenched tight in her hair, holding her close to her chest. They finished the song, and she looked up to meet her mother’s eyes, their red watery rims mirrors of her own.

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  “I watched you kill him, mom,” Kennedy whispered, searching her mother’s eyes for some kind of explanation.

  Elizabeth wiped her eyes and gave her tight smile, shaking her head.

  “I don’t know, honey,” she said softly, the shame Kennedy could feel blossoming in her mind audible in her voice. “We put them all in the ground. But those pages….”

  “It has to be him,” Kennedy agreed. She felt her mother fighting back the panic rising inside Kennedy’s mind, and pulled herself closer. Elizabeth, gently but firmly, pulled her gaze up to meet her own. Her eyes were focused and her jaw was set.

  “Remember, baby, I killed them all once. I’ll do it as many times as I need to. They cannot have you. They should never have had you.”

  Kennedy wanted to feel comforted by that, but couldn’t. She cuddled back into her mother’s chest, covering her mouth with her sleeve. “He couldn’t do that before. Any of that. He was just an old man with a stupid book.”

  “He still is, Kennedy. And maybe he couldn’t. But last time it was just me and the I-Cub. Now you have the full might of AEGIS, and despite losses, we are stronger than ever. Some of the Guardians we have now…. heh, one in particular, damn.” She let a little tease enter her voice there. “You’ve got an indestructible girlfriend who, I honestly believe would rather die than let anything happen to you. And she isn’t liable to die. Believe me, if AEGIS can’t even scratch her, that piece of shit that called himself your Grandfather can’t either.”

  Kennedy snorted out a half laugh, glaring up at her mother, who smirked down right back.

  “She’s not my girlfriend, mom,” she complained, although she wasn’t really sure that was true. Things could be one way without actually being said. Elizabeth gave a frustrated frown at that, immediately confusing Kennedy. “What?”

  “If she’s not your girlfriend now, why the fuck did she turn me down this afternoon?”

  The question was insane, and the fact that her mother seemed legitimately frustrated by it, was too much for Kennedy. She started with a giggle, and soon the mass of emotion roiling within her was leaving her through deep belly laughs. They felt a lot better than sobs.

  Her mom joined in, and after a few minutes of uncontrolled, manic laughter, they were both crying again, but now it felt good.

  “You fucking horndog!” Kennedy wheezed, slapping at Elizabeth’s chest.

  “Blame Lira!” Elizabeth answered, trying to catch her breath. “Mmm, and maybe that bimbo girlfriend of yours for being so fucking hot.”

  She put a lot more spice than necessary on those last few words, setting Kennedy off on another giggling fit.

  “Thanks, mom,” she said when she recovered, hugging the older woman tight. “Not for trying to fuck Cait, but for this. I feel a lot better.”

  Elizabeth kissed the top of Kennedy’s head and ruffled her hair.

  “You don’t have to be okay, you know. Please, if things get to be too much, talk to me. Talk to a friend. I know you’re tough, but this fucking sucks, Kennedy. Just know that this time, we will put it to bed for good.”

  Kennedy looked up at her, trying to borrow some of the steel her mother held for her own expression. “This time I’m gonna do it my goddamn self.”

  Her mother returned her look, but added a grin. “I know you will, baby. But you won’t do it alone.”