milliways_bar | (no subject)

He tenses.

There's something here, something that runs deeper than his outward confusion--

(what matters now is what you do next - are you a man of faith?)

--and Gabriel Tam finds himself uncertain.

It's not a feeling he likes.

Mary's sharp chin and nose seem to jut out even more as she consults her feelings, brow furrowing, and then gives a short nod.

"That makes sense. And you must be somebody important - otherwise it should not have mattered that you lied."

Something almost like a smile flickers across Galadan's face, almost too fast to catch.

"We were friends."

He pauses, looking thoughtful.

"Are still, to some extent, I suppose. Much as you might prefer to deny it."

He sets one hand protectively on Mary's shoulder and watches the other man in silence.

"If I deny things," Mary says, certain of this at least, "I have got a reason for it. I know I am not the kind of person who lies - though I suppose you told me the reason."

She frowns, thinking, and then asks abruptly, "What did you lie to me about?"

"Why we were friends, I suppose."

His eyes narrow, just slightly.

"Why are you not upset at not remembering any of this?"

"I have been not remembering all week."

Mary scowls, arms crossed. "I do not like it but I suppose I am used to it now. At least I know who I am - it should have been worse were Father not there."

"Don't think about that, Mary," he cuts in, quickly. "There's no need to worry about what might have been."

They have rather enough to be going on with as it is, after all.

"Father, is it?"

Galadan's expression is, for a moment, very speculative, indeed.

"We have known each other for quite some time, and this is the first I've heard of such a relationship between you."

"Perhaps I did not tell you about it," Mary shoots back, "because I knew I could not trust you - if you were not to be trusted."

She glances back at Gabriel, a little uneasily.

Or perhaps she hadn't wanted him to know how much she was coming to the bar? It's hard keeping secrets when you don't know what secrets you're meant to be keeping.

"Mary."

It's quietly said, but firm.

"There's no need to be rude, baobei." Even as he says it, Gabriel is giving Galadan a steady glance.

"Is that so?"

"I'm sure it would be lovely to think that."

Again something much like a smile flickers across Galadan's face.

"But unfortunately I must tell you that such a thing was not so. You trusted me quite a bit--the both of you. One of you is still willing to--or was, when you remembered who you are, in truth."

Winter-grey eyes are cool and very clear as he looks at Mary.

"And much as you might wish to be related--the Senator has only two children, and neither of them is blonde."

Mary stares at him, crossing her arms instinctively over her chest.

And says, very firmly, "No. That is not true.

"You have already said that you lied - and even if I do not remember, my father does. It is really very stupid of you to try to take advantage of me not remembering when he does."

"Does he, indeed?"

Galadan's searching look is all for Gabriel, now.

"Can you be so certain he remembers when he does not seem to recognize me? He has employed me as a security consultant, after all."

The problem, in fact, is that Gabriel doesn't precisely remember everything. He is, however, very experienced at drawing conclusions from the available evidence.

Or has been, previously.

His hand remains on Mary's shoulder as he says, steadily, "I haven't been affected to quite the same degree that Mary has."

Which is very different from being entirely unaffected, of course.

Mary looks a little thrown for a moment, but rallies, "Well - not remembering some things is different from remembering things that are not true. I did not hear that anybody had been doing that."

She's standing a little closer to Gabriel, unconsciously.

"No. But do either of you feel safer needing to guess at what's true?"

He raises one eyebrow, looking at them both.

"I wouldn't have imagined it so."

There is a fractional pause.

"Though I do wonder--you say 'afflicted'--have you an idea of what, precisely, was done to you?"

His lips tighten.

"I'll thank you not to raise specters of trouble unnecessarily."

That, in effect, would be a no.

"How would you plan to fix it?" Mary shoots back. "When you have said we cannot trust you."

"I am of the andain, half god and half human."

Galadan's voice is purely matter-of-fact.

"Their are powers at my beck and call that may prove useful here. Should you, of course, care to have me exert myself."

Someone, somewhere to Galadan's left, snorts.

He snorts very loudly.

Shortly thereafter Gabriel and Mary find themselves in possession of two mouthfuls of cookie.

At least it is very good cookie?

And then, with a bright smile and a sharp laugh, Raven is gone.

Galadan is half out of his chair, growl rumbling deep in his throat, when Raven disappears again.

There would, it seems, be little love lost between them.

His teeth are still bared, white and sharp, as he turns to look at Gabriel and Mary.

It will be a minute or two before he unclenches his fists.

His teeth are whiter than Mary's face - but not by much.

She stares at Galadan, and then at Gabriel, pointed nose and chin jutting out of her old-womanish face, and then says - with hurt and sharp reproach, and something like loss in her voice -

"I am Mary Lennox!"

It's not the first time he's endured the shock of memory restoration, as it happens. Dimly, a part of Gabriel is aware of how much worse this could have been, but he gives no thought to it now.

There's something much more important at hand.

Gabriel Tam goes down on one knee before Mary Lennox, in order to able to look her directly in the eye when he says,

"You are. And I'm sorry for having misled you, but it's what I believed was true, Mary. It made sense to me, you see -- for you could be no dearer to me if you were my own daughter by blood."

"You mean -"

Mary is still staring, trying to make sense of this - she forgot who she was, she forgot her name! - and all half of her can think is that she was lied to again.

The other half, though, is listening.

"You mean you forgot I was not your daughter?" she says, and it's almost incredulous.

"I do not - how was I to know! I do not even know what it is like to be a daughter, not really!"