when he kisses her cheek, it’s so easy for lorna to pretend that nothing’s happened. her heart still skips a beat whenever his lips are near her skin, and her fingers still tremble when he’s near. for so long she had worried that what they had was fading away, that it wasn’t just different views and the war before them. but right now, standing with him and watching him smile and easily interact with dawn? she feels her heart race and for a moment she wants to cry; it’s overwhelming in the least, and she lets out a slow breath, focuses on the way it rattles in her chest.
“ i think she’d like it. by the time she can walk and talk, she’s going to be speaking english and spanish like nobody’s business. ” a light chuckle leaves her lips, and she reaches forward into the crib, gingerly running her fingers along her forehead, pushing away a wisp of hair. dawn is all wide eyes and smiles, something that she hasn’t seen on her baby in a while. whether it’s because her father is near or because she’s finally feeling better, she’s not sure. she’ll take the small victory, though.
her heart saddens at his words; she misses the underground more than she’ll admit. but would she even be welcomed back there after what she had done? they had seen her take the plane down, and she hadn’t regretted it no matter how painful it had been. she had to do what had to be done, had to create a better world for her child, for all of them. but marcos has always been about loyalty, about his family: and if he chooses them and leaves the mutant underground behind, then he’s just losing another part of himself.
“ what if…you didn’t have to worry about that? ” her fingers reach out, gingerly touching her arm. part of her wants to go home, wants to get away from the craziness that the inner circle is becoming. letting out a slow breath, she gives him a weak smile, fear in her eyes for a change. “ they wouldn’t accept me back, marcos. not after what i’ve done. ” and then she breathes out, notices that she’s shaking, and closes her eyes. “ but…maybe we could try. they can’t be too mad at me if i come bringing a cute, gurgly baby, right? ”
she wants to meet him with a compromise — he doesn’t need to be the only one making sacrifices for his family.
marcos is still gazing down at dawn when lorna proposes another compromise. eyes lifting to meet hers, he searches her face for a moment. it wasn’t like her to joke about something so serious, so he knew just by looking at her that this was no joke. yet, he can hardly believe what she’s saying.
for months, he’d dreamed of something like this. he’d dreamed that lorna & the baby would come home to the underground. he’d dreamed that they could be the family that their daughter deserved. & now, lorna is offering just that.
it’s surreal, it’s unbelievable --- but he knows she means it.
smiling a little, his gaze moves back to the infant. he doesn’t know what to say. all he knows is that he wants what is best for dawn, & to be honest, he’s not sure that either of the options proposed today are what’s best for her. but what else can they do?
“ i’d like that, ” he says softly. “ it’s what i’ve wanted ever since you left with the inner circle. ” he gives a chuckle before shutting his eyes for a moment. “ but i don’t know what to do, lorna. we’re . . . safer in some ways with the circle, but we’re safer in others with the underground. unless there’s some secret THIRD option that’ll let us move between the two, i just --- i don’t know. none of it seems fair to DAWN. ”