"Shuddering with their wings they sat in a  night   
Of stars, for the Sons of Albion appeard distant stars,
Ascending and descending into Albion's sea of death."
--William Blake, Jerusalem

Auror Nagi rapped a knuckle upon Head Auror Musallam’s office door.  The door was, as a policy, left open except in particularly sensitive meetings.  Judging from the way the day had unfurled, Musallam suspected this might be the last time it was left open for some time.  Dreogan Eleor had gone and returned from London, there was a body of a Turkish smuggler in Gringotts, and two hours ago, three hitwizards had had the brilliant idea to simultaneously stupefy an unarmed Adon Eleor unconscious in the Grand Entry.  He was now in a holding cell—likely still unconscious—with an undocumented British witch who, if anyone noticed was missing, would be a headache with the Immigration Committee.

When Musallam looked up, he immediately regretted it.  Nagi had that sort of… whipped dog look about him, like he was afraid to approach him, for what he might do.

“What,” he demanded flatly, quickly scribbling a note so that when he came back to his desk, he could remember where he left off.

“Sir, Hestia Eleor—”

“Let me guess. She is demanding to speak to me at once.”

“Yes, sir.”

“And she is probably making a scene for all to hear outside the gates.”  The woman had shown up like clockwork outside the Ministry, airing her grievances so regularly and with such loud, righteous indignation, that Musallam had little doubt that like inoculations, the frequent exposures had left all within earshot wholly immune to the cries of justice. So it was with routine disruptions: they became a part of the daily workings, hardly noticed.

“As a matter of fact, sir… it’s the Grand Entry, now.  And she threatens that she will tell everyone who will listen that you covered up the death of her husband and staged the abduction of her son.”
 
“Well.”  Musallam looked up sharply and, decisively, set the metal quill down upon his desk.  “That is new.”
 
The Head Auror pulled himself up from his desk, taking a lead out of his office, Nagi following at his elbow.  Several Aurors—and a couple hitwizards--all apparently lying in wait for him, and none bothering with the scene in the Grand Entry—picked up the trail along the way.

His strides down the Main Court were long.  He made a swift turn at the staircase, taking the stairs two at a time.  Nagi, still on his heels, continued. “We did not want to sedate, her, sir, as that might raise some protest from the others.” Wonderful. There were others. “And,” Nagi continued, “did not seem to go so well for us with Auror Eleor.”
 
“Yes, thank you, Nagi,” Musallam impatiently stated, and the Auror’s mouth clicked shut. 

Adon Eleor.  Musallam shook his head.  It was commendable, really.  The women in that man’s life:  Hestia Eleor. Thea Nurin.  Raizel Cohen.  Now that British girl.  All from the same cloth.  Opinionated, stubborn, and in the way.  At least the new girl seemed to know what was good for her.  That was why she'd gone to the holding cells quietly enough; that was why he was not needing to have this conversation with her.
 
By the time they had crossed through to the main entrance—and the great, marbled Floo Fireplaces—he had heard Hestia’s voice for a good… three seconds.  There was a child screaming.  He slowed his pace, arms folded across his chest as he regarded her.

“There he is, dear,” he heard Hestia’s unsubtle whisper.  Musallam’s eyes flicked over to the bereaved wife and child of Dreogan Eleor.  He gave a grim smile.  Guests.  Wasn’t that thoughtful of Hestia.

“The Misses Eleor,” Musallam greeted. Hestia whipped around, her cloak curling around her ankles as she did so.  “You must be the wife of Dreogan Jr. Forgive me that we have not yet met in person. I am Head Auror Adnan Musallam--conducting the investigation on your husband’s disappearance. As you know.”  The young wife had been vocal enough, with her own disruptions and letters of inquiry.  He'd had the clerk respond to them--always the same.  Progress being made, nothing significant to report, wholly dedicated to the safe return of her husband, etc. etc.  The wife had only one advantage over Hestia Eleor, though: she was not here in person to create a routine disturbance.  He gave a determined smile, willfully ignoring the baby that was busy summoning up a monsoon-strength squall with his voice.  He regarded the boy.  Though much quieter and civil than his son, there was an uncanny likeness.  A flicker of regret crossed his face, which was soon blown away by Hestia Eleor's sweeping accusations.

“You still have not told me what you have done with my son!” Hestia’s finger was suddenly pressed against his chest, bold and accusatory.  A couple of the hit wizards readjusted their weight, hand on their wands, waiting for any indication from him that an intervention was needed.  It was not.

“I have only just arrived,” Musallam responded, voice neutral.  “Which son of yours, Hestia?”

“Which son!” the witch repeated in disbelief.  “Do you mean to tell me that you have done something to Dreogan as well?”

“Nothing that I know of, Mrs. Eleor, short of, according to your accounts, staging his kidnapping.”

A hitwizard to his left snorted back a laugh.  Musallam allowed a glimmer of a smile to the wizard before turning back, expectantly to the two women.

Standing in the marbled entrance of the Ministry, Akiva felt frazzled.  A lot had happened today and now, several fireplaces later, the travel seemed to have caught up with Gabriel who was making a sound that one could only describe as unholy.  There was a twist in her stomach when she thought that perhaps Gabriel had inherited his father’s allergy. 

Right now, the most Eleor thing about her son was the screaming though.  Hestia was demanding to see Adnan Musallam and Akiva had started at her side, but shirked back as she tried to calm her son with incredible lung capacity.  She feared he might work himself up to the point he’d get sick… or pass out. 

It’d never happened before, but the thoughts crossed her mind since apparently anything was possible today.  She supposed neither of them had woken up this morning and thought they’d be in Jerusalem.  It didn’t help that her heart was beating fast and her stomach was upset.  If she were anywhere else, she might have been stumbling over apologies to the people around her as she tried to soothe her son…

There was a distinct lack of apology today.   

Half because Hestia was doing all of the talking.  Half because she had no one to apologize here.  She’d sent probably hundreds of letters – or at least it felt like it – inquiring about her husband’s investigation, asking for updates and information.  All of them were met with essentially a form letter. 

When a man approached, the auror – Nagi, he’d indentified himself as, trailing behind him… that could only be Musallam.  She doubted the younger auror would have returned without the person Hestia wanted to see.  It would not have worked out with him.  Plus, Hestia not so quietly whispered that it was him.  Akiva stilled for a moment – since it didn’t seem that the bouncing was helping anyway and watched him approach.

He greeted them – turning to her immediately and Akiva was put off.  “Yes, so I’ve read,” she answered tersely, swaying with the baby who had not tired of the quest to rupture her eardrums yet.  The inquiries she had sent – what felt like hundreds of them – were greeted with the exact same response every time.  It seemed more like a form letter than anything else.  So, she could not even bother to pretend to be civil. 

Neither was Hestia. 

Akiva was glad to be with her.  The fiery British witch immediately  launched into it, shoving her finger into his chest.  The hitwizards around them made Akiva nervous, she looked around the group with a deep breath.  Thankfully, nothing went further. 

At least not with them.  The Head Auror… it was like a red flash behind her eyes when he spoke back to Hestia in such a disrespectful way.  It was their family he was interfering with.  There was no room for him to be rude. 

She did not care about their history.  That should have made it even more important to remain civil. 

Letting out a deep, shaky breath, Akiva readjusted her screaming son on her hip – glad that he seemed to be at least breathing in between screams now.  Maybe he was tiring himself out. 

Whatever the case, Akiva’s eyes narrowed and she stepped forward, squaring her shoulders to stand just a little taller.  “You’re not going to speak to her like that,” Akiva annunciated quite clearly – staring at him.  “Her son,” Akiva emphasized the point, “and our family,” she rather hoped in using these humanizing connections that he had some semblance of human empathy to recognize it was not a time or place for joking, “is here without, from what I understand, reasoning for his arrest.  You can inform us as to what is going on or I can call on a barrister if that is required.”   

She breathed through her nose again and continued to rub and pat Gabriel’s back in the process.  She might have still had blueberry muffin batter on her clothes and a screaming baby in her arms, but she was still going to stare at him in hopes that maybe somewhere deep down she could summon the will to be as terrifying as any angry, hurt, confused, and anxious mother could be.   

It was said that men married women like their mothers.  This truism could be corroborated based entirely upon the case study of Dreogan and Akiva.  Looking between the two women, he could see mirrored in each of them the same crazed eyes, flaring nostrils, the same tense voice, even the same stance--tightly wound and unrelenting.

Adnan Musallam gave a cleansing sigh before he began.  This could all be cleared up well enough.  “I can see that some misinformation has gotten to you.  I will explain: Adon Eleor and the woman he arrived with are both being held in connection to a murder that transpired at Gringotts earlier this evening. They fled the scene, arriving here shortly thereafter. They have been placed in custody of the Ministry until the matter is settled.”  He looked squarely at Akiva, “So. You may call for your barrister, but I assure you we will be conducting that investigation with the British Ministry’s full cooperation.”  But--only if he could not get this all swept under the rug first.

“You will also note, Mrs. Eleor,” he said, turning his stern gaze upon Hestia once more, “that this is the third time in four years that your son has found himself in our holding cells under suspicion of murder.  I can assure you that his position as an Auror will give him no lenient treatment in this matter.”

This drove home the point.  Hestia, stunned into silence, stilled immediately.  She said nothing.  Perhaps he had driven the point home too aggressively.  His countenance softened and he spoke evenly to the older witch.  “Rest assured, we are looking into that matter.  And so you can understand how we work: homicide cases such as this--which require a swift response and resolution--have often, I am afraid, taken priority over your other son’s missing persons case.”

Akiva was not placated by the clearing up of ‘misinformation.’  His attitude shifted a margin toward more polite, but it was still condescending and patronizing.  Yes, she was frazzled and yes, they were emotional, but that did not mean they were stupid.  Hestia and Akiva were bright witches they could understand.  Perhaps that was where a lot of the animosity was coming from.  She had been getting nonsense letters back from this office long enough to know they Hestia been told nothing other than he had been apprehended.  It shouldn’t take the threat of legal council to know what little information he was giving them. 

Thankfully, Gabriel was starting to quiet.  Though still crying, he added hiccups now and rubbed his very drool covered (and snot covered) face on her shoulder.  It just added to the overall effect of what she was presenting here: a very distraught mother and wife who wanted to know what was going on.  She wanted to know if Dreogan was okay.

Her stomach clenched a little when he said murder.  It couldn’t have been Dree, he would have said so.  But Dreogan was at Gringotts.  That’s why Adon had been there in the first place. 

So, when he pointedly managed to close Hestia’s mouth, he still hadn’t satisfied Akiva.  “That would make sense,” Akiva continued, “but the two cases are connected.”  She was searching rapidly in her mind for things.  Adon was following Dree, Maiko had seen him.  Whatever happened was going to make those two cases very closely related.  They could be wasting time. 

She felt desperate, searching his face for any indication that he even understood.  “Adon was in Gringotts because of Dreogan,” she somehow used her ‘big girl’ voice and the continued use of good posture and unrelenting staring with flared nostils was not going to go away anytime soon.  “If someone involved has been murdered, then it means my husband, being present at the time, takes precedence.  If they were close to bringing him back…” her voice, for the first time in the conversation cracked and Akiva looked up bouncing Gabriel a little more vigorously, probably to stem the flowing of tears and keep a little of her dignity in this.  She let a long, labored breath and returned her eyes to Musallam, “They’re connected.  You have to handle both now.”  She set her jaw. 

"If the two cases are connected," Musallam began evenly, "then it would be best if my people were left to investigate them."  Undisrupted.  They seemed to know things that they could not, however.  Adnan considered the benefits of keeping them here in the Grand Entry, instead of back below, in the Auror office.  Things were at a full blaze there. Hestia Eleor, like her son, was like a bull in a china store.  However, unlike her son, he had no justification for keeping her tucked away in a cell for her own good.

With a gentle hand on Hestia's arm, Adnan steered them down a branching, sun-lit corridor off of the entry, where they might attract less attention.

As the young woman warbled her way through an explanation, Adnan listened patiently.  "I wish to be clear, Mrs. Eleor," he said directly to her once she was done, "Both of you," he added, regarding Hestia. "And I want you to understand--and prevent your cause for hurt, here: I have told you I am investigating Dreogan Eleor's disappearance personally.  His is a very special case and the only one that I, as Head Auror, am undertaking personally.  I have never stopped that effort--and have not given indication that we were not investigating.  These accusations you fling at me are not helpful, and have made me come up here to explain, when I need to be leading my Aurors at, what I think, is an important moment.

"There are staffing limitations, and other limitations that prevent me from disclosing any more. But if there is a connection, you can rest assured that my Aurors, if allowed to investigate, will pursue both in tandem.  If not, there will accordingly be a division of workforce, and yes, I will need to send some Aurors to work on Adon's case, and others on Dreogan's."  He paused.  "We have had no definitive word that Dreogan was in fact at Gringotts..." he paused.  The British witch would say nothing, Adon was unconscious, and Adnan had been hesitant to contact the British Aurors for this very reason: questions slowed things down.  "Where did you learn of this?"

Akiva followed, holding her tongue.  She knew if she said something it would reduce her to hysterical.  She also knew the tone that she wanted to use might disturb her finally quieted son.  He was still hiccupping while he tried to catch his breath.  She settled on focusing on soflty patting her son’s back rather than speaking.  It was, undoubtedly, the wiser choice. 

Auror Musallam continued after leading them away (crowd and scene control), speaking about being clear and his ‘personal investigation.’  Akiva searched his face: she could not tell if he was being genuine.  It sounded a lot like the letters she received – though, that was a point in his favor.  They did sound like him.  It didn’t help her though.  She was desperate. 

Today had been trying in so many ways.  All of the sudden news was really starting to sink in…  The implications… the fact that Adon, who knew something was just sitting in a cell.  No matter what doubt Musallam had about it… if they didn’t talk to him, they’d never know.  Plus, she did not appreciate being told she was a hindrance to her husband’s investigation.  It was his job to see to it that they were kept up to date!  That they knew what was going on and if something happened he had to tell them.  She tried to come up with something to say in response, but her thoughts were jumbled and she feared if she tried she would make an idiot of herself. 

At least he asked a question that Akiva knew the answer to.  Shifting Gabriel a little bit, Akiva took a breath, collecting herself first.  “A friend was scrying,” Akiva explained.  She had never held much stock in divination, but it hadn’t failed her quite as much as law enforcement, apparently, so she’d have to reevaluate her stance.  “She saw him there – Adon went to Gringotts,” Akiva explained, “Adon sent a patronus... he said he saw Dreogan,” she needed a pause.  "He was coming here - to you,"  Gabriel babbled in her ear and tugged on her hair.   

“We’re not trying to waste your time,” she added with exasperation.  She looked to Hestia, trying to gauge the reaction. 

“We’re not trying to waste your time," she said.  Adnan knew exactly what she was doing.  It was meant to trigger an apology and an explanation.  Adnan had the time for neither of these things.  Particularly as he saw two of his employees, Ori Peretz and Thea Nurin, hanging back, giving him significant, heavy glances. He caught their eye, giving a nod to indicate he had seen them.

"Yes, I know that," Adnan said quickly to the young wife, still looking at the analyst and Auror from the corner of his eye.  "I am sorry," he said, holding a finger up as he took several steps towards his employees. 

---

"Peretz. Mal el mar? What do you have for me?" he stated tersely in Arabic.

The Auror spoke first and spoke quickly. "He is awake now. He is alright. I would have come sooner, but--"

Adnan held his hand up, giving a brisk nod.  That was all he needed at the moment.   "Thank you, Peretz.  Nurin?"  Peretz, accustomed to his boss' gruff demeanor, was already retreating down the hall to their level below.  Thea Nurin, however, was no longer looking at him.  Her attention had settled on the two women just beyond him, and looked on the verge of having a nervous break.  He might have expected it.  Ever since Adon Eleor had joined the Auror Corps, Thea Nurin had always fixated on her love life in a way that, to be frank, had greatly hindered her professional work.  Sending Adon Eleor away to London had not seemed to help much.  But it had helped the investigation and his peace of mind.

"Look at me. Not them," he whispered in crisp Arabic.  "What do you have for me?"  Nurin broke her gaze, searching for words as she wrung her hands.  There were tears starting there, he realized with a growing dread.  "Nurin, you must tell me."

Beginning to sob, she sputtered: "They brought them back. He is dead! There is blood everywhere, and they said that--"

Musallam pulled her further still away from the two women.  "Thea." he said, speaking in a quiet, level voice. "I need you to tell me who brought who back. Who is dead?"

The woman was hysterical, her breath coming in little gasps.  "A-aadon!" she eeked out between tears.  The sound, quiet but sharp, echoed down the hallway.  Adnan's hands formed fists, grasping at air.  His teeth clenched.  If the women hadn't puzzled together what all of this pertained to, they would now.  He caught eyes with Hestia Eleor, who, with her arm around her daughter-in-law, looked fierce as a dragon protecting her treasures.

"Nonsense!" he chided, voice still low.  "He is in a holding cell.  Auror Peretz has just said so." Auror Peretz had had the presence of mind not to scream out the name, either.  He had a mind to tell her so, but the girl was already shifting again, looking elated.  In fact, she looked ready to run back down the hall towards those cells. Adnan took her by the elbow, pulling her close.  "Who brought who in."  He didn't care what she did once he gave her the information, but he would not let this get pulled off-course.  He would never work with women after this.

"I thought the Aurors brought back Adon and his brother.   And Adon... or..." she paused, fumbling over words.  Adnan sighed.  "Well, whoever he is is in the morgue.  They say he was dead on arrival; there was blood everywhere...  His brother is with him but needs to speak with you.  Aurors Avi and Khalef came back with them. The others still have not returned. They are probably still making the arrests and seizures."

Praise G-d.  The most sensible sentences she had strung together all day.

"Tell the brother," he would surely not utter the word Dreogan for the world, "to wait in my office;  I will be there."

"And..." she began, tears resurfacing.  He clenched his teeth. "the... other brother?" He did not have the time for this!

"Dr. Stern in the morgue will settle all that." Though Adnan probably did not need Dr. Stern to tell him who it was in the morgue. He sighed grimly, rubbing his forehead and trying to hide his own grief. 

"But... the real brother..." Nurin persisted.

"In the holding cell. As I have said."  She once more wrung her hands.  Shaking his head with a sigh he said, more kindly. "Go. See for yourself."

She would see, too, that Adon Eleor was not alone in that cell.  As she spun around, running down the hall, he felt a pang of regret there.  "I do not have the time," he muttered to himself.  After a moment, he called after her, "After you tell the brother to wait in my office, yes?" He only hoped she had heard.

---

 Now able to resume the prior scintillating standstill of a conversation, Adnan began to stalk back towards the two women.  Hestia still looked ready to breathe fire.  The other one seemed to be vascillating between her own tears and a strong desire to appear stern. Or angry.  The baby, however, seemed the only welcoming member of the Eleor party at the moment, smiling broadly at his coming.  He really did look a good deal like the father.  He gave a brief smile back before returning his attention to the women Eleors.  There was a body in the morgue that looked like Adon Eleor, an Adon Eleor in the holding cells, and soon, a Dreogan Eleor in his office. Adnan felt his temper flare just thinking about it. There were altogether too. many. Eleors. in this Ministry of Magic.  As far as he knew it, these women were the only ones who did not have significant knowledge about what was happing and were not in or recovering from mortal peril.  This made these Eleors not his problem.

"Is something wrong with my son?" She cut herself off before adding, pertly, "with Adon?"

He did not have the time.  "I am not sure how many times I will have to say it, but I will say it again," he said, his thin veneer of a mood cracking straight through, "your son is in the holding cell. I have just been informed that he is awake, but unfortunately, he cannot see any visitors--" Hestia Eleor gave a loud scoff, ready to burst in. "Even you, Hestia."

He looked at both of them. "Now, I have to see to some things. Urgently.  You are invited to sit in the conference room on our floor until I am free once more to resume our conversation."  He looked at both of them, eyes reprimanding.  "Does this work for you?"

Akiva’s eyes followed him like a hawk after he indicated that they would have to wait.  Turning slightly to see where he was going, she scrutinized the employees – trying to observe anything that would betray what was going on.  The man left quickly, but the woman… she did not leave straight away.  Akiva could see her face – there was a look… then…

Immediately, she felt nails digging into her arm.  The woman had screamed Adon’s name. 

Everything else was too quiet to hear.  Too quiet and too fast.  Akiva ached to know what was going on.  If it related to Adon… to Dree… she could feel her heart constricting in her chest.  If Hestia’s stomach felt the same as her grip, Akiva imagined it was a vice in her abdomen. 

When Adnan returned, Hestia had an obvious question.  To Akiva it seemed to be something he should have prepared to answer on the walk over!  It was not as though his people did not announce it to the entire corridor.  Akiva opened her mouth to tell him off again. 

But she did not have to.  She was released swiftly from her mother-in-law’s strong grip and before Akiva could process what happened she heard the sound. The back of her hand connected so forcefully to Adnan’s cheek that she could hear the sting in the air.  This was not a woman unaccustomed to slapping someone in the face.   

Adnan turned his head and, sting as it might, did not reach up to sooth the now-red cheek.  Adnan readjusted his robes, looking sternly between the two women.  He had heard that they called them witches in England.  He would have pronounced it rather differently for at least one of them. 

"I will speak plainly, and you will hear no more from me for some time.  One of my Aurors has just been killed--no, it is not either of your sons.  I do not have time for this or for you.  You either wait in the conference room until I have attended to that, or you will be forced to leave." He now looked to Akiva.  While certainly not rational, of the two women, she was certainly significantly calmer.  He snapped, setting a blue spark between his fingers.  He might have been a House Elf, for all that magic, as a hit wizard from the guard desk was almost instantly at his side.  "Which is it to be?"

Regaining her senses from watching probably the bravest (or most insane) thing she saw today happen, Akiva regarded the head auror.  His cheek was red and she did not imagine the extremely displeased expression. 

While he had been impatient (and rude), this was another level… The thought of leaving though, that made her panic even more.  Adon was awake, they had to wait here.  He would know something… until they could speak to him they weren’t leaving.  Akiva would bully someone into going to get things for Gabriel, if necessary.  And if she wasn’t going to do it – Hestia certainly would.  Meeting the other woman’s eyes, she nodded, and then looked back to Adnan and the hitwizard: “the conference room, please.”

Hestia did not look pleased.  Good, Adnan thought.  "Makan, conference room," he instructed in Arabic, not waiting to see what the women thought of this.  As he retreated briskly, his robes billowed behind him.  By the end of the hall, he was running.

Makan did not seem to share his sense of haste, however.  Walking directly behind the women, he made Hestia spin around more than once, jabbing her finger accusingly: "Do not follow so closely."

To Akiva, she growled, "I feel like I am being held at the point of a wand."  Her mood did not improve any upon being shown into the sparse conference room. "This may be where they interrogate people," she hissed.

In heavily accented English, the hit wizard gestured to the various accommodations.  "Water," to the water bottles on the table, "chairs," which was self-evident before adding, finally, "tissue" to a box of tissues resting on the table.  Hestia's jaw jutted as she said, quite tensely, "Thank you."

As soon as the door was closed, however, it was another thing entirely.  Hestia moved to pull out a chair for Akiva before settling herself in her own chair besides.  "Here," she offered, reaching out for Gabriel, "let me hold him."

Akiva followed dutifully.  She did not want to risk being thrown out of the building.  Hestia did not seem to have the same concerns and thrust her finger at the young man more than once.  Akiva was just concerned with holding her son and getting to the space that would potentially get them closer to seeing Adon and hearing about Dreogan.  The waiting would be excruciating.   At least she had Hestia with her.   She was really paying attention to the hitwizard at all.  Good thing he didn’t have anything revolutionary to tell them. 

It was not the most… comfortable of waiting accommodations and she worried, slightly, about putting the baby on the floor – she did not know the hygienic routines of this particular office, but there were chairs and some water… She was happy to finally be able to put the bag down and the blessing of an offer to hold him.  “Thank you,” Akiva said holding him out to Hestia before taking her own seat. 

Once she could collapse into the seat, Akiva felt the full weight of the situation sort of sinking in.  The adrenaline was winding down and Akiva looked over to Hestia.  “I grabbed his bag… before I left.”  It was so much easier to talk about her son, “hopefully it will last.”  She laughed a little, shaking her head as she realized she hadn’t even checked it, which made her feel extra terrible.  “I didn’t even check before I left,” she sniffled, trying to hold it together.  Those tissues might come in handy. 

Hestia settled Gabriel on her lap, giving him a kiss atop his head.  "Hopefully it won't need to last much longer."  Hestia said, looking at the door, her voice losing a large portion of its former fury. Now alone with her daughter-in-law, without the anger to distract her, she felt tired. Tired, lonely, at a loss...

Her fingers lovingly ran over her grandson's dark curls.  There was a slight tremble in Akiva's voice now, and she turned her head slowly to her.  She was smiling, but it did not take an Legilimens to see the anguish there: a mother's struggle. A wife's struggle.

Hestia had been through it all.

Giving a soft smile, she reached her hand out, grabbing Akiva's.  "We'll take care of it.  Hm?" she said, tilting her head encouragingly.  "We've still got each other, and we have their attention now."  Hestia was still thinking of that dead Auror.  In the same conversation about Adon.  If her instinct served her correctly, they would know more--one way or another--soon enough.  Perhaps sooner than she wanted.  Hestia did not have the heart to say it to Akiva, but there was one small comfort to be had: if Adnan Musallam was speaking accurately, Adon was tucked safely away from harm at the moment.  With Aurors falling, she would not fight for his release for the world.

Finally, eyes on the door, she quietly asked: "Do you think he could have done it?"  She wet her lips. "Adon, I mean."

It was funny, how a single gesture could be so impactful.  When Hestia took her hand, Akiva grasped it back, squeezing just a little harder than she anticipated.  She needed that reassurance that she was okay and that they were going to be okay.  It might not be immediately, but it would happen.  Akiva took a deep breath and nodded.

Hestia was right.  They had their attention, now.  It would be taken care of. 

Now, the struggle was just believing it.  Staring straight ahead, Akiva bounced her heel, just looking at the door.  When the door opened, something would happen.  It was just about the only cue they’d have.  Hestia broke the silence, however and Akiva’s stomach tightened.  She didn’t know how to answer.

In her heart of hearts? She hoped not.  But, at least she could be positive about something.  “He wouldn’t – not if there was a choice,” Akiva nodded resolutely.  Adon was a good person.  Necessity would be the only reason he would do anything like that.  She squeezed Hestia’s hand again and breathed out slowly, “I’m sure of it.” 

Takes place after this thread

---

There was a certain feeling of... otherworldliness with all of this.  Like walking into the locker-lined room, where Adon handed him a plain grey t-shirt and black workout shorts.  Time was filled with things like showering, shaving, changing--everyday things that had become extraordinary.  Dreogan carried out the tasks clumsily, numbly.  Part of this could be attributed to the fact that Dreogan could not recall the last time he'd slept, and was very sure that the last time he had slept well had been back in his own home, in his own bed in a time that now seemed ages ago.

Finally, Adon came back into the wash room, where Dreogan was shaving the last of his beard off.  "I wish you'd kept it," his brother observed.  Dreogan looked into the mirror to see that he had, in fact, been absolutely right.  Dreogan's cheeks--hidden before by the beard--were now sunken-in and grey-looking.  When he looked nervously back to his brother, he had moved on to contemplating Dreogan's bare, pale, and now quite skinny legs poking through his borrowed gym shorts.  "Well..." Adon said, finally with a shrug.  Dreogan gave a weak smile in response, not sure what to say.

"It'll be fine," Adon managed, clapping a hand on his shoulder lightly.  "You've got three relatives ready, able, and willing to feed you to death. Let's go see the other two, hm?"

Dreogan nodded numbly, both wondering at and appreciative of the change in his younger brother.  He could not have done this--a task so small as cleaning up--without Adon here to guide him through it.

They left the changing room, cut through the empty training room, their steps echoing, and finally filed quickly through the rows of cubicles.  Things were not as Dreogan had expected.  They were, for the most part, quiet and empty. Probably dealing with the aftermath as it involved Rami Hamza. 

None of this was how Dreogan expected.  He had expected to feel relieved, excited, anxious to see family.  At the moment, it was taking all Dreogan could muster just to process the feeling of his bare feet on the bare floor...

Come to think of it, Dreogan actually didn't know what had happened to his shoes.  Or... come to think of it, if they were even his shoes or some that Topluluk had acquired for him.  Adon had stopped just short of a door; no windows to show what might be on the other side.  Dreogan was going to be sick.

"Interview room," Adon said by way of brief explanation.  "Hey," Adon said, waiting until Dreogan had his eyes on him.  "This will be fine.  I'll handle Ima, okay? You just worry about Akiva and Gabriel."

Oh, G-d. Gabriel was here, too...

Dreogan could not find his voice in time; Adon's hand turned the knob just as Dreogan gave a quiet protest: "Wait..." He doubted his brother--or anyone--had heard it. Maybe he hadn't even spoke it out loud. 

Now with the door open, Dreogan, hanging back, could see the table there and in one glimpse could see the most important people in his life.  Tentatively, legs shaking, he trailed behind Adon, who had made his way directly to their mother, arms outstretched for a hug.  Yes, good. Adon would take care of that. 

Dreogan shifted his focus to the other two in the room, his face twitching uncertainly into a breathless smile.  Eyes meeting Akiva's before they drifted down to take in their son who seemed wholly unaware of him, instead playing with the bangle around Akiva's wrist, chewing silently on his fist.  Dreogan swallowed and made a tentative step forward before he felt thin fingers wrapping around his wrist, then his arm, as he was pulled away.

"Ima!" he heard Adon whisper harshly.  Adon seemed to have failed in containing their mother, though he was doggedly at his mother's shoulder, attempting to pull her back.  Unable to resist--and not sure if he should--Dreogan turned to her. "Hi, 'ma," Dreogan said softly, embracing her. Hestia's grip was tight on her son.  He could hear the sniffling that was a good indication that his mother was trying desperately not to cry.  Finally, her grip relented and, pulling back, Hestia took her son's face between her hands.  Just beyond his mother, Adon was cringing a silent apology. Dreogan gave a breathy chuckle before giving his mother a soft kiss on the forehead. "Good to see you," he said.

"'Ma," he heard Adon whispering, finally succeeding at separating son from mother, "let him go to Akiva."

The path to Akiva and Gabriel now clear, Dreogan closed the 5 steps between them. Everything felt slow until Dreogan pulled his wife into an embrace, foreheads touching, merely enjoying the closeness of her, with Gabriel between them.  He managed to shake out a few words with a shuddering breath: "Oh my G-d, Akiva. I missed you so much."

When the doorknob jostled, Akiva felt her heart leap into her chest.  Gabriel was resting against her chest, having fussed enough to warrant a bottle and a restless nap, of sorts.  Flopped against her chest, head nestled in her crook of her neck, drooling a spot into her shirt while he turned.  It hardly mattered, Akiva hadn’t worried about it, even after he groggily woke up and was eased into waking up only with the dummy Adon had bought for him when he was born.  It was still Gabriel’s favorite. 

After putting it away, there was still no sign of anything changing… until the doorknob started to turn. 

Her breath shook: who should she expect? Adnan with news?  Part of her hoped not… but at the same time… if it meant hearing something other than still busy from the auror with the stunted English she would have accepted it. 

The door didn’t open to reveal a frustrated looking Musallam though.  With the jump of her heart, her breath hitched: Adon, alive as ever – and Dreogan.
Her feet almost involuntarily moved and she stood from the chair, clutching their son to her chest.  Gabriel had abandoned the dummy in favor of his own hand.  She couldn’t even hear the sucking sounds though.  It was like all the air had been soaked out of the room… like space.  Sound didn’t travel at all. 

She was almost (bless her, she felt so guilty) relieved for a moment that she could prepare herself when Hestia interceded.  When they met eyes, even though he looked so… thin, so tired… she’d recognize his eyes anywhere.  They hadn’t changed.  She could feel her face soften immediately and she was already stinging behind her eyes.  It hardly mattered that he was swimming in someone's gym clothes or that he was barefoot.  He was here.

She reached up to wipe under her eyes. He was really here.  After all this time.

When he could make his way to her, Akiva couldn’t help it.  She didn’t mean to, but it she was leaking.  She almost didn’t even believe it when he pulled her into his arms.  So this was how Molly Jensen must have felt. 

She had thought he was dead… she didn’t know anything and now he was here… and even though she was holding Gabriel, she wrapped her free arm around him smiling and crying all at the same time.  Even if Adon and Hestia had stayed in the room, she was positive she wouldn’t even notice they were there. 

“I can’t believe it,” she breathed, “you’re here.”   

"I am," Dreogan managed, unable to decide between laughing or crying and ultimately settling for both.  Foreheads still touching, he pulled her closer still, hands on the small of her back and in her hair.  She was--always had been--the most beautiful woman. And certainly was now.  His mother and brother were here.  He didn't really care.  Squeezing her, he leaned in for a long, deepening kiss, only pulling away when Gabriel, their son, gave a squeak of protest at being sandwiched between his parents.

Pulling away with a dry sob and a smile, he looked down at him.  "He's so big," he said, smiling, looking between mother and son.  His breath was catching in his throat--he could hardly breathe.  He'd missed it.  Those early days.  Learning to smile, had he said his first word? Could he sit up by himself? He wouldn't miss a single day more.  "Here," he said, taking a step back and holding his arms out.  "Let me hold him."  As he was passed over, Dreogan thought he saw Gabriel glance anxiously back at his mama.  Undeterred, Dreogan hugged the boy's warm weight to his side.  Dreogan schooled his features, trying his best to appear calm. Happy.

He was happy, but my G-d, he had missed so much.  Gabriel seemed neither particularly taken with him nor taken aback, still chewing happily on his fist, largely uninterested in the tearful man holding him.  He kissed Gabriel, too, on the forehead before bouncing him lightly. "Does he know me?" he glanced over to Akiva anxiously, knowing after a moment that there was neither a way to know nor a single thing that could be done about it, now.  That would change.

There was another knock at the door and Dreogan turned quickly, looking at the face of an unknown Auror in dread.  The Auror gestured with a hand towards him.  Instinctively, he moved back to Akiva, his free hand looped around her back, determined that they would not be separated now.  There was a sigh of relief as Adon broke the space between them, engaging the Auror and, after a moment, stepping outside of the room to continue the discussion.  His mother followed shortly thereafter.

In a moment, Dreogan was sure he would need to speak with Adnan Musallam about what had happened.  There would be paperwork and testimonies given.  There would probably be several trials, and he would likely be a witness.  This whole ordeal--this whole phase of his life--was not over yet, and though he would give anything to be free of it, it was all worth it if it brought him back to his family.  Eyes still on the door--waiting for it to re-open--he squeezed Akiva's hand, tightly.

It did not reopen, and Dreogan had to consider what he would do with the next few moments of his life.  It would start with this: "Kiv, I am so sorry." His throat grew tight. "I am so sorry that I left you alone.  I didn't want that."

There was a brief moment where Akiva expected to be suddenly jarred out of an inky blackness with her eyes opening only to realize that she’d fallen asleep with Gabriel on her chest and they hadn’t heard anything.  She expected that they would still be waiting and nothing would have changed.  That moment didn’t come.  Instead of being jostled awake, she was just pulled closer and she couldn’t even dream of kissing him like that.  Unfortunately, Gabriel squeaked in protest and even then she didn’t wake up.

That meant it was definitely real. 

Her throat hitched when Dreogan commented on how big Gabriel was.  “I know,” she quietly agreed, still huddled up near him.  “10 months,” she added quietly by way of explanation.  He really was something.  Akiva couldn’t believe how much he had grown sometimes – and how much time had passed.  It seemed like yesterday she was just cradling him all night and he relied on her for everything.  He was sitting, rolling, crawling, babbling… it was remarkable, and she had experienced all of it.  She couldn’t imagine how Dreogaon felt. 

So, when he requested to hold his son, Akiva immediately complied, shifting Gabriel’s weight so Dree could get his arms around him.  Gabe momentarily grasped onto her bangle – one of the many Dree had come home with long before Gabriel was even a thought, but with the twist of her wrist she freed herself and though she didn’t move away, Akiva took a tiny step back to look at the pair of them. 

Which, of course, meant Akiva was crying again.  Everyone remarked on how much Gabriel looked like his father, but seeing it… especially now that Gabriel was developing a personality (albeit a drooly… vaguely disinterested one at the moment), it was incredible.  The curls, the big brown eyes… just the same.   There were, of course, some differences.  Most notably, where Gabriel’s cheeks (and most everything else) were rounded and full, Dreogan was thin all over. 

She was a bit taken aback by his question though, a sudden panic and fear seizing in her stomach.  She didn’t know, really.  “I showed him your pictures,” she said softly, “every day.”  That was true.  It was part of his bedtime routine, but she didn’t know if he absorbed it… so far, he just babbled and grabbed at things.  She thought that maybe it make Dreogan happy to know she had tried and he had been part of Gabriel’s life even when he was gone.  Thankfully he was so young… the months without would certainly be eclipsed by the future months with. 

So, when the auror came and motioned for Dree, Akiva felt her chest tighten.  The idea that they would be separated again, it snapped her right back into the reality that they weren’t in the room alone and the world around them was still going.  Thankfully though, Adon and Hestia were able to give them another couple of moments together before the weight of crushing reality was upon them again. 

Apologies didn’t help, either. 

Shaking her head, Akiva gripped his hand back, turning her head back toward him, rather than staring at the door.  “You didn’t want to,” the rest of her body followed the turn of her chin so she could rest one of her hands on her son’s back and the other on Dree’s very thin shoulder. She met his eyes, “and you’re back,” her fingers twitched as her eyes flicked downward.  Akiva did her best to keep herself together and only sniffle this time, “that’s what matters to us.”   

Gabriel found now to be the perfect time to remove his saliva covered hand from his mouth and sputter nonsense sounds, followed by an impressive spit bubble.  It was enough to lighten Akiva's mood and she giggled in between sniffs.  "He agrees," she translated with a crooked smile.

Akiva screwed her face in up in an expression of such pained panic that Dreogan winced, in turn.  "I'm sorry," he burst in immediately.  "It was a bad question.  Of course you did everything you could."  He had known it was as soon as the words were spoken.  Water and words--easily poured, impossible to take back.

But Dreogan felt instead quite the opposite--,a sort of damming of his words.  There were so many things he could have said: how much and how often he had thought about them. How they were what got him through each day.  How scared he had been, how scared he still felt.  Even if he was back, he would have much gathered Godze and his group Topluluk--the group out for his family--be here in the midst of the Auror's offices rather than himself.  They were still out there.  Hopefully not for long.

Dreogan would not say any of this to Akiva.  Not yet.  Not when she was here, she was happy, and she was being so... well, wonderful.  Dreogan had felt so apprehensive about this: how she would feel, seeing him.  How Gabriel would take it when he held him for the first time.  How Akiva could forgive him... And she did it with such an effortless grace that was so becoming, so totally encapsulating of everything she was.  It came out in just a few, perfect words: "You didn't want to. And you're back. That's what matters to us." 

"I love you," he said simply, voice a throaty rasp.  His eyes were brimming again, but nothing could keep him away from his wife an instant longer.  Cupping her chin gently, he tilted her face upwards for another kiss, his fingers then roaming along her jawline, back into her hair... Gabriel, who had, quite graciously, been cooperative until this point began to fidget.  In an attempt to pacify him, Dree bounced Gabe slightly on his hip--jostling him free abruptly from the kiss.  Still a breath away from Kiva, he gave a low laugh, another apology in his eyes.  "I'll have to learn how to manage that better..."  Or manage more fully once he was settled in bed...

He kissed the top of her head before resting his cheek against Gabriel's who began patting at his cheeks.  They still stung from his shave with that poor razor from Adon's gym bag. 

Probably why Adon never bothered to get too close a shave...This really wasn't the time to be thinking about that.

But everything today had been a close shave.  For the past 48 hours, Dreogan had really began to wonder if he would ever make it back to his family; if Adnan could really hold his end of the bargain.

"I was so scared how you would respond. How you'd...take it.  You're right: I didn't want to stay away, Kiva.  I hope you know that.  I just--I did what I had to."  He searched her face anxiously, breathlessly reading for any sign of misgiving.  "Adon told me that he--and my mother--moved to Jerusalem shortly after."  His face grew grim, brows settled sternly.  His voice took a deeper tone.  "I would never have imagined that. I wouldn't have--I wish that I could have been there for you."

There’d be plenty of time for their son to know him.  Akiva had believed that for so many months, every time she put their son to bed, she’d look at the pictures above his bed – point to Dreogan’s smiling face and explain who he was to the tiny person who grew to look more and more like him every day.  She always told him that his father would be home soon.  That they would be a family soon.

She didn’t totally expect their reunion to be in an interrogation room.  She also didn’t expect that all of her anxiety wasn’t gone.  There had been a tidal wave of relief when he appeared, when he touched her and proved he was real.  But now, Akiva wasn’t completely out of touch: the auror had come to the room to get him for a reason.  She imagined whatever he had to do was going to take a while.

None of this would really be gone for a while.  She supposed it was just time to use whatever moments they could have while they had them.  She shifted her eyes as a deep blush settled on her cheeks.  He rasped that he loved her and Akiva nodded, licking her bottom lip.  It didn’t even feel odd to say after all this time, “I love you too.” 

He tilted her chin and Akiva let him, her eyes fluttering shut as he kissed her.  Akiva responded in kind, her heart beating in her throat as his hand found its way into her hair.  Akiva’s knees quaked a little.  Unfortunately, they were not alone and Gabriel fussed, leaving Akiva abruptly without lips upon hers.  A surprised whine bubbled up out of her chest and she blinked rapidly to bring herself back into the real world. 

She could have stayed in the little fantasy bubble for a little longer, but Gabriel didn’t exactly have the capacity to understand and respect the fact that his parents had actually registered the loss of so much time.  She was fairly sure object permanence was a relatively new concept to the little boy.  It had been unbearable to feel for so long.  Letting out a slow breath, Akiva smiled and touched his face much more gently than their son.  “You’ll get the hang of it,” she assured him and closed her eyes again when he pressed his lips to her forehead. 

With another exhale, she released some of the tension in her shoulders before regarding him as he spoke.  Of course she knew he didn’t want to go away, they had been happy – they had a son, their life together was really just starting… her mouth moved to assure him she was aware, but when he said he did what he had to, her jaw snapped shut and she searched his face: what did he mean? 

It was neither here nor there about  his mother and brother.  That was in the past, Akiva had forgiven all: the way the events impacted everyone was different.  Her parents had helped, she had friends to help… even though Hestia and Adon had left it didn’t mean she was alone.  It was harder, but she’d made it.  Some people might have underestimated how resilient she could be, how much of a survivor she truly was, but Akiva knew and her happy, healthy baby boy was evidence enough of that. 

“Wait,” she spoke softly, “what do you mean, Dree?” Again, she searched his face, not quite understanding the context of his comments.  “What did you have to do?  You wouldn’t have what?” 

 She didn't pull away.  There was shock there... concern, but she didn't pull away.

Dreogan wasn't sure he could have borne if she had.

He gave a quaking breath,  rubbing his chin before glancing down at Gabriel.  "Er..." he began before breaking off.  There were a few possible breakdowns in communication that could have occurred.  Best to start at the top.  He glanced back towards the door before stating, quite frankly in a low voice, "What has Head Auror Musallam told you?"