“I wasn’t thinking anyone in particular, to be honest. Family, preferably. Elle? Alex? Ask Leo, he may have someone. I don’t care. I just do not want you there alone,” Ty said, seriously. “If I’m honest, Megan. Something about all of this doesn’t sit right with me, no matter how much I detest the man. Go, get your answers. Just be safe doing it.”
“I’ll have a think and see who might be available,” Megan agreed. “I might just ask Leo if there is someone who could accompany me though.” She didn’t want to start an argument if she asked the wrong person and while she would have normally asked one of her brothers she knew neither of them would approve of her going, even if she did have Tybalt’s permission. Her nose crinkled as he admitted even he thought there was something wrong with the conviction and she nodded, “Oz swore to me he was innocent and for all that we went through he wouldn’t lie to me about this, I know he wouldn’t. He didn’t hurt her....well not that way.” Her lips curled into a small smirk though Tybalt knew her own kinks equally well so it wouldn’t have been a surprise. “I doubt he’ll tell me much, if anything but I need to ask anyway.”
“That’s a good girl,” Drew said, patting his friend’s hand between his own as he gave her a small smirk of his own. “The bridge was just a suggestion, but truly, like I said, Dom will just be touched that you thought of him at all while you were traveling.” He patted her hand again. “You should get some sleep.”
“I’ll find something, it’s London so I am sure there will be no shortage of things to buy. I’m quite sure Thomas will be fed up with all the shopping I plan to do.” She nodded slowly as her eyes began to flicker, fighting to keep them open. “Thanks for coming, I’ll see you soon.”
The fact that Meg thought so highly of him was slightly disconcerting. Finding her and ensuring that she was taken to the hospital was nothing special. Sure he helped her when she couldn’t help herself, but that was something that anyone would have done.
While on the other side of the continent, Freddie heard of the infamous decree. Thankfully he had been far away from the mess, but his heart went out to his family. Between the time limit and the participants, Freddie found it difficult to believe that anyone could find their true match. Everything had to have been so rushed. “Then you didn’t do anything wrong. You loved him. It was the wrong time and wrong circumstances. You deserve to be wooed by someone and taken on romantic dates.” He shook his head. Everyone deserved to find love, it was just so damned hard to find it. “Did he love you?” He was curious to know. Freddie smiled at the mention of the vacation. “It will be. Do me a favor. Take Thomas to one of those fancy tea parlors. I want a photo of him with the dainty cups too look at on bad days.”
Megan made a strange noise, somewhere between a sigh and a groan. “People keep telling me that I deserve that but then I had someone who did all that. I met a wonderful Dominant who was sweet and kind and caring and I was still so stuck on Oz that I couldn’t get past him. Everytime Carlo and I tried to take things to the next point something got in the way there too. Oz was arrested and then the trial and ....well by that point Carlo and I had realised we were just never going to work.” Did Oz love her? She had been repeatedly asked that as well. “Yes I believe he did. He never said it and he drove me mad plenty of times but there were plenty of things that he did which said he cared about me without actually saying the words.” A smile settled on her lips as she could see him in her mind and that smirk that she had always enjoyed. After a moment she was pulled from those thoughts by talk of her vacation. “I’ll do my best, do you want him with dainty cucumber sandwiches minus the crusts as well?”
Notes: Megan visits Oz to try and get some answers (unfinished).
Megan had hoped after the last visit to the jail she was prepared for what was to come. If anything she was relieved that Oz had agreed to see her and that Tybalt hadn’t forbidden her from attending because regardless of what bravado she pretended to have if he had refused to allow her then she would have been forced to cancel. While she felt the security he insisted on sending with her was unnecessary her thoughts changed when she arrived at the prison, a far more intimidating place than the jail had been.
The building was bigger, the guards all appeared massive and the security checks that she had to go through to get into the visiting area were far more thorough but she tried not to let it bother her. It wasn’t until she was led into the room where she was finally going to see Oz that the full reality of the situation hit her. She was told to take a seat and the glass partition in front of her made her want to scream. Taking in the rest of the room she knew she needed to calm herself down so she focused on her breathing, praying silently that she could hold it together.
Oz:
Oz felt despair like he had experienced at no time before in his life. As a child, life had been difficult and occasionally brutal. But he had his sister, Nox and even the occasional adult who took an interest. As an adult, he had experienced many challenges but he always had the net that was the Montague family. Leading them had honed his purpose and provided him a reason to work through his darkest moments, such as when his one and only attempt at a claim had failed so dramatically and painfully. Now, to know that people thought him capable of this … the murder of an innocent submissive … it broke something in him.
As he was escorted into the visitor’s room, he slid into the stool and looked through the glass at Megan but it was a hollow version of the man he used to be. Taking a breath, he picked up the receiver and waited until she did the same. “Hello Megan.”
Megan:
There was something so different about the man who vwalked towards her. She could tell herself that it was the situation, the totally unnecessary glass separating them or the clothes he was wearing but she knew that wasn’t it. There was a change in the way he presented himself, not the confident and assured figure she knew so well. He looked smaller somehow and the anger that she had felt, the things she wanted to say to him melted away and she desperately just wanted to hold him though she knew that there was no possibility of that.
“Hello Sir,” she replied. Not Master, that was no longer appropriate but the fact she chose not to use his name surprised her. Maybe in some small way she wanted to emphasise that he was still a Dominant, however changed he appeared. “Thank you for seeing me. I really appreciate it.”
Oz:
The title surprised him but Megan had always possessed an elegant manner. It was one of the reasons he had been drawn to her. One of many. His lips curved into a small smile although there was a lack of warmth or light in his typically bright gaze. “I have to admit that I was surprised to get your letter. I am …” He choked on the word slightly, clearing his throat, “so sorry for the pain you must be enduring. Are you well? Have you been taking your medication?” He couldn’t stop himself from asking. He could never stop worrying about her.
Megan:
Her face must have shown the confusion she felt as he immediately apologised to her. That had not been what she expected. Before she could respond though he asked after her health and her body tensed. Taking a second she smiled weakly, “I’ve erm...I had a bit of a set back. I was back in hospital for a few days but I’m fine now. They just changed my medication again.” She looked over at him as she said the words, knowing she could never lie to him and that to sit here and say anything else, for him to know she was lying would be worse than just admitting the truth.
Oz:
Oz sighed, “I was worried about that. I am glad they are monitoring it well. I hope you are remembering to take the recovery time you need.” He offered up quietly, knowing damn well she didn’t listen to him about that when they were together so he had even less expectation now that she would do as he asked. He loathed the partition. He missed the very scent of her and in this place, he couldn’t see that silken skin so close to his own. Or smell her subtle perfume. Sighing again, he continued, “You asked to see me so I am assuming it has something to do with you entering a new claim. I hope you know I only want you to be happy Megan. You don’t need anything from me to have that …” He smiled, this time more genuinely, “You never really did need much from me. Good thing too because I don’t have anything left.”
Megan:
“I have several people forcing me to do as my doctor orders,” she sighed though there was a slight lilt of laughter behind it. “Disadvantage of living at the Estate is there is always someone there.” He had already surprised her with his earlier questions but nothing shocked her as much as the assumption he had reached and she quickly shook her head. “I’m not entering a claim. My relationship ended several months ago.” She bit down on her lip as she considered how much to say but in the end chose not to elaborate further. “I was given back the deeds to the lodge and the villa,” she said instead after a moment. “You kept them in my name?”
Oz:
Oz’s smile warmed as he nodded, “Sounds like what you need.” He murmured, shaking his head. “Disadvantage? More like where you should be right now. With family.” That fundamental division had never been sorted in their claim. His family was never her family. “Oh… I apologize. I have to admit I am surprised.” He nodded, “I bought them for you. I was advised by the real property lawyers that I would need a signed power of attorney from you to sell them but I just … couldn’t do it.” He swallowed hard, “Of course, now you can do as you wish with them. Sell them, burn them down, whatever you wish. They were always yours.” he acknowledged with a nod. He had never been able to sell those properties, particularly the lodge as it brought back so many memories. The summer house was purchased with some hope for their future and when it all came crashing down, it had hurt to even look at that particular sheif of documentation. All that optimism crushed under the weight of the realization that he had not and would never be enough for her.
Megan:
“We discovered that we were fundamentally incompatible, it was better to end as friends than……” She didn’t finish the sentence, the words were too painful. His practical explanation over the properties was understandable but stung. In her head he had kept them because of the sentiment but she had been fooling herself again. Of course they had been retained for legal reasons, though she scoffed laughingly at his suggestions. She knew she could never visit the villa, she had planned a trip there for them together but it never happened and the mere thought of the place was tainted. Megan had already decided that she would sell it as soon as she could but the lodge presented more of an emotional connection that she still hadn’t dealt with or decided on.
His somewhat clinical reply reminded her of something else she needed to understand and she paused for a moment before she spoke. “I need to know, to understand why you didn’t testify at your trial. You watched me be grilled on our relationship, details of how I feel about you displayed for everyone. All those others who spoke in your defence. I don’t understand why you didn’t speak up. Why wouldn’t you tell them your side? That you never did her any harm?” Her gaze sought out his steel eyes, “Please, I need to understand.”
Oz:
“I’m sorry to hear that Megan. Truly. I thought you were in a good place.” He murmured quietly, frankly a bit surprised that it had not worked out better for the submissive. “But then again, you were always fine on your own and I’m sure you are doing well now. As soon as all this dies down, you can go back to your regular life.” Oz assured. That was what he needed to believe. That Megan wouldn’t be embroiled in this nightmare any longer than she needed to be.
The question surprised him, “I appreciate your testimony. Everyone was so …” His mind flashed to Posey Capulet’s hysterics on the stand and a piece of him wondered if he was more the monster the Prosecutor claimed him to be. “There were two reasons …. I was advised by several competent lawyers that doing so would not improve my case or its outcome. Also … and most pressingly, I could not subject myself to cross-examination on Montague affairs. I quite simply had a great deal of information that revealing would hurt the family.” He met her eyes and a glimmer of the man he used to be resurfaced for a moment, “The family comes before everything, even me.” He broke the eye contact and looked down again, “I am sorry if you felt humiliated by revealing so much personal information with no reciprocal moment from me. Is there something you wanted to know?”
Megan:
“Yes, things will settle soon and I will be able to return to my apartment,” she agreed. There was no point arguing the rest. He had told her the last time he wanted to imagine her happy and settled so she was content to let him. She could cope on her own but it didn’t make her happy. However with each failed relationship she was beginning to think that there was something wrong with her and that she would be better just staying alone. However she did not share any of that with Oz. The news of her relapse had been enough negative news for the one visit.
Her gaze met his as he explained the reasoning and she had to confess she had never anticipated the Montague family to be the reason he didn’t speak. The annoyance that she had felt over him not defending himself ebbed away a bit more as she knew what he said was true, family came before everything. “I’m sorry, I didn’t think about that,” she confessed quietly, appreciating again the massive role he had held.
Megan watched him for a moment as she considered what she did want to know. “You don’t have to apologise to me. I should be apologising to you. As I said in my letter I’m sorry my words were not enough to convince them. There is no way you would have harmed her.” Brushing her hair back from her face she could feel her nerves gripping her but she wanted to say it, “I can’t begin to imagine how you felt about the whole pregnancy thing either. You didn’t deserve any of that. It was such a cruel ….trick isn’t even the right word, I don’t know what is.”
“I don’t worry about you corrupting my brother’s morals,” Arden replied cooly. “I just worry about you distracting him with your baggage. Carlo needs someone focused and dependable.” Preferably a submissive who’d not been previously claimed by a criminal and had fewer health concerns. “I don’t mean to be cruel. I want what’s best for my family. That’s all.”
Megan’s eyes narrowed and her lips pursed for a moment before she responded. “As I said, you don’t have to worry about me ....and my baggage distracting your brother. We made a joint decision which was best for us and Carlo hasn’t given me any indication that he regrets what was said.” As she looked up her gaze was drawn to Carlo across the space. “Your brother deserves someone who can appreciate what he has to offer and our brief relationship will not interfere with that.”
“Megan stop trying to run away, I’m not mad,” Ty said, though he was growing frustrated. “I can appreciate that you need answers. I just need you to be safe. Can you at the very least have someone ride with you?”
The look of shock and surprise on Megan’s face must have shown clearly. She had expected to be hauled over the coals again which was why she was going to risk not telling him but to have him say he could understand threw her a little. “Erm yes,” she blurted out in response before she thought about it for a moment. “Who were you thinking?”
Ludo smiled sweetly at the offer to sit and accepted it easily. She set her tea in front of her and nodded, “Well thank goodness for that, hm? What would we do without good cake?” The Domme offered with a light chuckle.
“We would all be extra miserable,” Megan mused out loud at the question. “At least a little sugar sweetens us a little.” She looked away for a moment, telling herself she needed to break out of this mood. “Have you tried their new chocolate fudge cake, it really is divine.”
Thomas laughed. “You’re right. You’ll be tired and I’ll still have a cane. I can prioritize, I promise.” He shook his head. “But I think the Eye sounds like a great idea. Maybe just the changing of the guard at Buckingham as long as we can do the tour at the Tower. That stuff’s really cool.” Speaking of having time… he glanced at his phone. “We can talk more about it later though, little bug. I’ll swing by again on my next break. I have to take Thaddeus out really quickly before I hop back on duty.” Leaning forward, he pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Don’t terrorize the nurses,” he teased.
“I’ll leave it in your hands just now then,” Megan nodded. Closing her eyes for a moment as he kissed her forehead Megan settles herself back against the pillows and raised her hand to cover a yawn, “Yes, you take Thaddeus and I think I am due another nap. Thank you for coming in though Thomas. I’ll see you soon and I make absolutely no promises about the nurses.” She flashed a brief grin at him before yawning again.
“I mean… he did go to school for all of that, right? I’m sure he knows something,” she teased lightly, hoping to get Meg to cheer up a bit. “Does Drew know any he can suggest? Or do we know anyone in the family who might know someone?” Ophelia asked as she mentally went through the roster of Capulets. Glancing at the table of candy, Ophelia’s face scrunched up at the thought of all that sugar. “Okay. I am bringing you more fruit next time and maybe some other healthy things because yikes.”
“Apparently, he tells me he even passed a few exams at some point in the past,” Megan chuckled. “I haven’t asked him for names yet. It’s only the last day or two that I have been starting to think he may have a point about seeing someone. If I’m honest though I don’t want to talk to someone in the family. I realise that limits my options a lot and I know about confidentiality and all of that but I don’t want to be at All Saints or the Easter Egg hunt next year and be avoiding someone because of what I told them when I was over emotional. Megan giggled at Ophelia’s reaction to all the candy, “At least it’s keeping me semi awake because my medication is making me really drowsy just now and without the sugar I’d have fallen asleep on you by now.”
“Just leave that to me to decide, hm?” Drew chastised gently. “At this time, I don’t see why you wouldn’t be able to fly, but you know I can’t make any guarantees right now.” He smiled brightly at the mention of his son. “Anything bridge-related would be wonderful for him. Perhaps some sort of Tower Bridge Christmas ornament? Or sweets are always a good bet. Really, anything you can do to show Dom that you thought of him on the trip would be absolutely lovely.”
“Yes Doctor,” Megan replied with a half smirk. She knew Drew wouldn’t risk her health for anything, no matter how much she might try to persuade him however there seemed little chance she wouldn’t be well enough. “Alright I will have a look. I can’t imagine it will be hard to find something suitable for him although I don’t know how easy Tower Bridge models will be found. I’ll get him something though.” With that she began to yawn, complaining with a sigh, “The damn medication.”
Callum glanced up from his seat at the next table, his friendly smile faded somewhat. “Well, I’d wish you happy birthday but that doesn’t seem like the face of someone who’s celebrating.”
“Thank you Sir,” Megan replied with a something vaguely resembling a smile before she shook her head lightly. “My birthday is just a stark reminder of all that has happened since last year and very little of it is positive I’m afraid. Still at least the cake is good.”
“Harrods is the department store place, right?” He asked her. That sounded so boring to him, but he knew he’d have a good time if Megan was happy. “And we can go to Oxford Street, absolutely. I want to see the Tower of London, Buckingham Palace, and Hampton Court. All of that stuff.” As she asked about the Eye, he quirked a brow. “That’s the big ferris wheel, right?”
“Yes, Harrods is the really big, expensive department store but I believe it’s somewhere we really want to see. Are you hoping to do the tour of Buckingham Palace because I’m sure I read there are restrictions on the times....perhaps the Queen might invite us into her private chambers for tea?” Nodding at his question she grinned, “Yes it’s the big ferris wheel and it apparently gives you amazing views over London.” Frowning she shook her head, “I’m not sure we are going to have time for all this though. We only have four days and I’m not really going to be up for vast amounts of walking around. We are going to have to be smart about when we go places to fit in as much as we can.”
“Not usually. I am insulted that you would think that way. I happen to be an angel for the most part.” Really it was just the rules that could be a bit too strict. It was not as if Freddie didn’t know the proper procedures for what went on in the hospital. He didn’t take some sick, stray dog in. It was an animal from a shelter that was well behaved with all her shots. Still he supposed forgiveness before approval didn’t always apply.
Freddie sighed. “If being with the wrong person were a crime, we would all be guilty of it at some point. The heart doesn’t always think things through. The brain either, but that is a completely different case.” He shook his head. “But why was he the wrong guy, if you don’t mind my asking? If you do, we don’t have to talk. I just figure that there was something there that made you want to be in the claim.” Freddie had his own failed claim behind him, but that was hardly a mistake for him. “London is fun when it doesn’t rain. Is it some conference or an actual vacation?”
Megan laughed out loud as he claimed to be insulted by her. “I will keep in mind that you are usually an angel, although after what you did I am more inclined to believe it,” she smiled as her laughter eased.
Sighing softly at the question she lay back, staring up at the ceiling for a moment. “There was just always something in our way. We rushed into a claim to satisfy the first part of the decree and I guess we just had never really got the chance to really understand each other. There was the decree, his position, my position, members of his family, of our family just all against us and then....well I don’t know, so many of our problems were nothing to do with us. I love him for him, not his money or his title but in the end it wasn’t enough.” Tears welled along her lashes for a moment but she was able to contain herself for once. “We are going on an actual vacation. Since neither of us are seeing anyone right now and we both really needed a break we decided to go together. It should be a lot of fun.”
He breathed out a sigh of relief. “Good, that’s good to hear.” At her smile, Carlo tried to give her one in return, although it was almost halfhearted. The question she asked had him pause for a moment. “It’s busy enough, not too much busier than I normally am. I think things with everything else are just… slow at the moment.” He hadn’t really spent much time with people, but there was no rush, not yet although his family might have felt otherwise.
“That’s good though, it means you are not working overtime or having to work through your breaks and things. It gives you more time to relax or have fun.” She lay back, the medication making her drowsy and starting to struggle to keep herself awake. “I think...” she muttered as she began to yawn. “I might need to sleep.”
“Really, nothing? Not even a ‘I read all of those books I’ve been planning on reading but always say I don’t have time for? No, I’ve made a list of every place to visit in the nearby countryside to create a more shocking story than my cousins have told me? If you could pick one wid thing to do in this upcoming year what would it be?”
“Guess I’m just getting boring in my old age,” Megan sighed. “At the moment the wildest thing I could do is go out and get drunk but oh how I would love to. Of course it would probably land me back in hospital but sometimes I think it would be worth the risk.”
Mel winced at that thought, although she tried to make it more of a joke. “I don’t trust anything Freddie says. There’s a 50-50 chance he’ll say something horribly outrageous just to see what kind of reaction he can get out of me and I don’t want to give him any new openings. But yeah. I’m sure it’ll scare everyone less imagining you collapsing where none of us can see you. You said its just for a couple days right?”
Megan had to laugh at Mel’s comment about Freddie, “That’s true but after what he’s done for me I’m not going to say anything bad about him.” She lifted the sandwich to take a bite, putting it back down with a sigh at the remark. “It doesn’t happen often. That was only the third time but yeah, it should just take a few days for my body to adjust to the new medication, a week tops. If it’s longer than that then it’s an indication something isn’t right and back to the hospital I go.”
“Oh, that’s right! You have your trip coming up. I’m sure that will be exciting.” Drew smiled at her, cocking his head just slightly to one side. “I’d be happy to write that up for you, provided I believe you’re actually safe up in the air, my dear. How long of a train ride is it, anyway? Sixteen, eighteen hours? That definitely sounds miserable.”
“I’ll be perfectly safe to fly,” she mumbled loud enough that he would hear. “I don’t know how long the train ride is but I don’t really intend to find out but I am looking forward to lots of shopping and scones. Do you want me to bring you anything special back? Or something for Dominique?”
