Tomorrow and Tomorrow

Chapter 28: blighted fools

Dylan stirred in Levi's arms, waking him up. He blinked a couple times, and then glanced down at her.

"Do you want to make dinner?" he asked.

She gave him a shrug. Levi kissed the top of her head and rose from his seat, wondering what he had in the refrigerator. Walsh had sent him home with leftover chicken pot pie, but he wanted to make something. So instead, he pulled out the ingredients for a batch of cookies.

"I'm a little surprised that Alcott hasn't beaten down our door," Levi remarked. "I didn't get the chance to tell her what was happening. Lully and Esperanza have no idea. Will you message them? I didn't before and I'd like to let them know we're fine."

"I will," Dylan said quietly.

He could hear her pull out her holo-rib, quietly typing. He focused on eggs and sugar, stirring the peanut butter in. By the time Dylan rose to join Levi in the kitchen, he had completed the dough and was scooping out cookies on a tray. Dylan frowned at him.

"This is not dinner."

"It could be," Levi told her. "Peanuts have protein. We can bring out the broccoli and let it watch the cookies be baked; that's our vegetable."

Dylan didn't smile, just crossed her arms tightly holding herself as if she were cold. Levi set the first pan in the oven and leaned against the counter.

"How are you, Dylan?" he inquired.

"She should have died hereafter," Dylan replied, her voice low and sad. "There would have been a time for such a word. To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow, creeps in this petty pace from day to day."

"Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player," Levi added; "that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more." He laughed. "We're not a Scottish tragedy, Dylan. We're the heroes, not the villains."

"Ours is a tale told by an idiot," she murmured. "Full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."

Dylan fell to the ground and began to sob. Kneeling was difficult with his braces, but Levi managed, taking Dylan into his arms and letting her weep. She clung to him, and they sat like that for several minutes before she quieted.

"Ma belle, we're not done," he began. "And what we have done for the base, for the Canary wasn't nothing. Your life is not nothing. You brought this base together. We have air to breathe because of you; there are families that are alive because of you. I'm here because of you. And Dylan, I'm here for you, you know that."

"Then why is everything so hard?" she whispered. "We're being accused of murder, Levi. After everything, why does no one believe us? I lost my madre. I would never take someone else's."

"Because everyone has lost faith," he replied. "It's not just you. We have to learn to trust our friends, our family, ourselves again, and it's hard. Not everyone is strong like you."

Dylan let out a strangled laugh. "I am not strong."

"Stop it. Yes, you are. You took your pain and loss, and you didn't lash out at the people around you. You woke up, and you did your job. You had so much happen and you didn't let it crush you. You're still here."

"I left you," she said, choking up again.

"Non, I let you pull away from me," he replied. "Please Dylan."

The timer chimed for the cookies. Levi glanced down at his legs, wondering how he thought he was going to be able to get back up. Dylan shifted, and then stood up on her own. She reached down to pull Levi up, and he balanced once again. When he leaned against the counter, Dylan found a towel, and pulled the cookies out of the oven.

"We still don't have any hot pads," she noted.

"Towels work," Levi protested.

Dylan offered a half smile, and Levi thought with some amusement that best thing to happen to him this week was to be put under house arrest. Otherwise, Dylan would have gone back to Walsh's and he would have come home and this conversation would have never happened. It was hard to be angry with Titus about that.

"What are you grinning at?" she inquired.

Levi hadn't noticed the moonshy smile he must have been beaming at Dylan.

"You," he said without hesitation. "I love you, Dylan. And if you want to go back to Walsh's then I'll wait, and if you want to move back in tomorrow you are more than welcome. There's no pressure."

Her eyes watered again, but she wiped her eyes.

"Merci," she said.

"I am, however, going to eat all the cookies on that tray," he informed her. "Because I'm starving."

Dylan reached for a cookie before he could stop her, popping it into her mouth with a glimmer in her hazel eyes.

"You could try," she said, her voice muffled.

Levi took a stack of hot cookies, biting into one with a sniff. Dylan rolled her eyes.

"Do you have any idea who killed Victoria?" she asked. "I know I didn't do. I doubt you did."

"Honestly, it could be a number of people," Levi admitted. "Builds knows the base the best. Personnel knows where everyone lives. Someone in either could probably get codes."

He sighed and pulled himself to sit on the counter next to the cookies. It was too much work to stand.

"O'Keefe doesn't have access to anything nowadays so he'd need help," he continued. "I doubt that anyone from the Canary would kill their own. As for people who want revenge, that list is a bit long. Of course, sorting between those who could and those who would will make that list shorter."

"If you had to guess?"

Levi could only shrug. He couldn't imagine the kind of person who thought solving violent with more violence would actually make anything safer.

"I would say someone who lost enough that they don't care what happens," he replied. "Someone who's decided that we are better marinating in the past. I'm not saying we forget Landing Day, that's inane. I'm saying that we can't keep killing."

"I know," Dylan said softly.

Levi reached out for Dylan's hand, pulling her closer as if she might run to the small bedroom and shut the door on him. He wasn't entirely certain she wouldn't do that later tonight. For now, Dylan leaned her head back on his chest, and he could wrap her in his arms.

House arrest was the best thing that had happened all cycle.

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The two of them have healing to do, but now they can start. Dylan's road to recovery is very important to me, and I don't want to rush things. Thanks for reading!