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From the relative dark of Tenzin’s home to the bright sunlight outside, it takes Nate a few seconds to adjust his eyesight.
“You look all kinds of hell, kid,” Sully says gruffly, still more silhouette than person.
“There’s been a few things,” Nate chuckles weakly.
“Yeah, sounds it. Glad I chose a beach over mountaineering.”
It dawns on Nate Sully should have had no idea how to locate him. “How’d you even find this place?”
“Chloe,” he puffs through his cigar.
There’s an increasingly uncomfortable subject. Nate fidgets under the scrutinizing look Sully’s giving him. “Ah. How much did she tell you?”
“Not much, mostly you found the place, then promptly lost it. Par for the course.”
Nate winces, bracing for something, “Did she mention Elena?”
Sully almost loses his cigar. “Elena? Elena Fisher’s here?” Recomposing himself, “Boy, do you know how to tangle yourself up with women. I’m almost impressed.”
“We crossed paths in Nepal. It’s all been a bit… awkward,” Nate says by way of not explaining at all.
“I’ll bet,” Sully chortles and leaves it at that.
Nate should have realized the writing was on the wall when he turned the corner and Elena was there. It’s not a good excuse, but if there was anyone in the world who could distract him from Elena walking out of his life, it was Chloe.
Just where that leaves him and Chloe now Elena’s walked back in is entirely unknown. Funny how Nate considers Elena a bigger obstacle to whatever he’s resumed with Chloe than all the double-crossing, though he can’t quite put a finger on why.
All he knows is he’s going to have to walk away from Chloe again and he feels more ashamed than he did the first time.
Clearing his throat, “I better go check on Elena, see how she’s doing. Hopefully Chloe hasn’t said too much to her.”
“How about I do that, kid? Who knows what trouble you’d get into.” Sully lets out a hearty laugh as he retreats.
Nate feels his ears go very, very red. It has nothing to do with the cold.
----------
Her mobile rings, waking Chloe from dead sleep.
Reflexively and without checking the ID, Chloe fumbles for it in the dark on her nightstand and picks up. Groggily, “Hello?”
“Hello to you too, sweetheart,” a voice Chloe hasn’t heard in quite some time says cheerily.
“Charlie?”
“Did I catch you at a bad time?”
Chloe pushes her hair out of her eyes to check the time. Not too late to still be out, but definitely too early to be waking up. “No, it’s fine,” she says, finally propping herself up on her elbows. “What can I do for you?”
“Got a job for you that could use a driver in London.”
She laughs incredulously. “London? Who even works there these days?”
“Your old friend Drake.”
Shit. Chloe winces to herself. Play it cool. “He didn’t think it through to find a driver himself, did he?”
Charlie chuckles. “Not even a little bit. But then his head’s probably a bit scrambled – newlywed and all. Nice party. Ah bollocks, did you know that?”
“I did,” Chloe tries to say evenly.
“Turned down the invite, did you?”
“Wasn’t invited at all. It’s bad form for the woman who used to sleep with the groom to show up. Definitely for the best. I’m glad one of us got to go though.”
Charlie lets out a sigh, “She seems like a nice girl, but I doubt it’ll last. We’re not the marrying types in our line of work.”
Chloe’s stomach flips. How much of Nate proposing was guilt about Shambala? How long would Nate and Elena’s marriage last? Hopefully longer than Chloe and Nate did, whatever they were, or what Chloe gave up will have been for nothing.
Chloe clears her throat, “We all have to pay the rent the same; I’m in. Send me the details, yeah?”
It hurts Nate didn’t think she could be an impartial guest and maybe he was right, but Chloe’s ready to at least be professional. Everyone else says so.
----------
Chloe sticks around Malaysia for a while, which surprises Nate as there isn’t much for her to do. Sure, she identifies a few things that come up from the wreck and drinks a couple of beers with them and the crew at the end of each day, but she keeps to herself most of the time.
It’s not the Chloe Frazer Nate knows – knew.
He catches her slipping out one evening and as the night’s becoming louder and more raucous than usual, Nate sees his opportunity to sneak out as well.
“Hey!” he calls out before she can get too far to the stern of the boat.
“Hey yourself,” she replies, slowing down, but not stopping.
“Have you been avoiding me?” It sounded stupid in his head and stupider out loud, but it stops Chloe in her tracks.
She chuckles nervously, something Nate’s pretty sure he’s never heard her do. “I wasn’t, but way to make it weird, Nate. Besides, I could be asking the same of you.”
Nate opens his mouth to start making excuses, even though they’ll get him nowhere.
“It’s not you, it’s me,” he glibly uses the oldest line in the book; Chloe cuts him off before he can get to what he actually should have said.
“No shit, Nate. I stepped aside when Elena came back into the picture. I tried to be the bigger person and come along for the Marlowe job, but your head was so far up your ass, you couldn’t see daylight.”
Nate shoves his hands in his jeans pockets, staring intently at the deck. “Anything else?”
“Actually yeah,” Chloe continues in the same intensity of her tirade. “You didn’t even have the balls to invite me to this little venture here, Elena did. I’d like to be friends with her, but if you’re going to be like this, I can’t keep doing this. Not with her, and certainly not you.”
Nate finally looks up and when he catches Chloe’s gaze, she folds her arms and turns away.
“I am sorry. About all of it.”
Chloe scoffs.
“I know, I know, it sounds like horseshit. I… generally have not been good with talking to people recently. You, Sully, Elena –”
“Yeah, she mentioned she wasn’t privy to the whole ‘secret dead brother’ thing. What the hell, Nate?”
“Sam was part of it, but I was in a bad place before any of that. I am trying to do better. For them and I’d like to do the same for you. Whether you believe me or not, you kind of are one of my best friends.”
Chloe chuckles again, this time sounding far more like herself to Nate’s ears. “You are absolute crap at being friends with anyone.”
Nate grins, “Don’t I know it.”
He wanders closer to the rail, leaning against it and looking out to sea.
Chloe joins him, hip checking him along the way. “I talk to your wife more than I talk to you, which is a whole string of things I never thought I’d say.”
“Pretty crazy how things change, huh? You don’t though.” Even as he says it, Nate’s not sure it’s entirely true.
It’s not solely his vanity in noticing he and Chloe haven’t talked much, but she seems far more introspective than the twenty-something he first met and jumped off a cliff and into bed with. It could just be all the therapy making him project, but he hopes not.
“Please, I’m never changing,” Chloe says indignantly.
Yeah, she has, Nate thinks to himself, smiling and saying nothing.
“But to add to your need to self-improve,” Chloe continues, “You need to call more – I don’t want to hear excuses. Give me your phone, I need to make sure I’m still in there.”
“You’re totally still in there,” Nate protests, but reluctantly pulls his phone out of his back pocket. Chloe snorts at it.
“Like you’re one to judge on phones; you break yours all the time. This thing’s indestructible.”
“I got a new one I think will work well for me,” Chloe says archly.
Scrolling through his contacts, Nate doesn’t know if he should be embarrassed by Chloe seeing the endearment for Elena, but she finds herself eventually.
“And you doubted me,” Nate says smugly.
Chloe ignores him, hits edit, and changes her name to ‘my ex’s ass.’
“Really?” he says, a little indignant.
“It’s the only way you paid attention to me in the past; pretty sure it’s the only thing that’ll work now too.”
Nate would say he’s moving to happy most days, but something pangs at his heart, not unlike all the realizations he’d broken Elena’s heart far too many times. “It wasn’t the only way.”
“I know,” Chloe says softly before clearing her throat, and stands upright from the rail. “Well, I’ve definitely overstayed my welcome and there’s treasure to be found in much more fun and extralegal ways, so I’m off in the morning.”
“Hey, if you’re serious about me calling more often, expect to be hearing from me at some at really inconvenient times. Hanging off a cliff, trying to seduce someone, whenever,” Nate teases.
Chloe cackles as she starts to head back in, “I’ll believe it when I see it.”
“Don’t be a stranger,” Nate calls out to her retreating back.
Chloe glances back with a grin.
----------
Elena insists Chloe stick around until Nate cools his heels. “It’ll be faster than you think.”
“Not fast enough,” Chloe mutters; Elena gives her a sympathetic look.
With all her usual impatience, Chloe tracks Nate down the next day in the boat’s makeshift artifact lab. “Hello stranger.”
“Hey,” Nate glances up, but almost immediately returns to his work. At least he doesn’t sound too pissed off.
Chloe grabs a stool to perch on, dropping it on the opposite side of the table from him.
“You seem to be making out rather well with the site here,” she says, surveying the objects. It’s mostly more recent odds and ends, but there’s a lot of it. Chloe fingers some, pockets none.
“And you made out rather typically at your last job,” Nate looks up. He’s not smiling, but Chloe recognizes the joking tone.
“Hey, at least I didn’t totally obliterate an ancient city and I got the payday.”
“Sam seems to think you got a fraction of what he could have drummed up for it.”
“Yeah, well not his gig. God help us on the day it is.”
Nate laughs and the tension in Chloe’s stomach eases up.
“I am sorry,” Chloe apologizes. “I should have realized Sam was a bit out of his depth.”
Nate sighs, finally putting down his work. “It’s Sam; I’ve seen him off worse.” A pause. “But it’s Sam.”
He doesn’t need to say more, Chloe gets it. Despite Nate never having mentioned his brother in all the years they’ve known each other, she gets it maybe better than anyone.
They never talked about what festered on their hearts and souls, but she knows if her dad walked back into her life only a year ago and Nate brought him home worse for the wear, she wouldn’t be so quick to forgive either.
Nate’s contemplative expression turns bemused, “I still can’t believe you called Nadine Ross for backup. What the hell brought that on?”
Chloe braces herself against the table, letting two of the stool legs precariously lean back. “The way you and Sam went on about her, I knew she had to be good.”
Nate laughs incredulously, ticking off his fingers as he talks, “She threw me through a window, threw me through a building, locked me and Sam on a burning boat –”
“Weren’t you willing to let a Scottish cathedral floor fall out from under her?”
“Oh she mentioned that, did she?”
“You did, you idiot. When you all told me your little Libertalia saga.”
Nate looks sheepish. “Oh, right.”
“‘Oh right’ is all you got, hmm? Sam’s mostly over it, I think you can be too.” Chloe throws caution to the wind, “Besides we’ve done our fair amount of shit to each other over the years and I’d say we’re about even.”
Nate’s got a look on his face that would have made a younger Chloe go weak in the knees. She’s accepted that she felt more than he did, but it doesn’t mean he doesn’t care.
“Yeah, we’re always even.”
“That’s what I like to hear.” Surveying all the artifacts, “So is there anything I can take off your hands here?”
“Chloe…”
“Something no one will miss. I didn’t get paid as much on my last gig – finder’s fee doesn’t match black market rates; had two partners to pay off –”
“And whose fault is that?” Nate says, grinning.
“Worth a shot,” Chloe grins back.
Nate’s settled and he’s happy. Chloe’s nowhere near wanting to be settled, but she’d definitely say she’s happy.
----------
Of all the things Nate’s done in his life that made him nervous, Elena’s doctor’s appointment being told to basically step out of their current season of the show definitely makes his top ten list. He can’t say anything of course because that would just be more undue stress on Elena and Cassie.
Emerging from the water and pulling off his mask, Nate catches Elena directing people around. When she sees him, she immediately finds the closest seat.
“I’m sitting. See?” she says defensively.
He can tell she’s not really focused on her book when they settle in for the evening. Once she’s asleep, Nate whips out his phone.
[Me 10:23 PM] Elena’s going to do something dramatic soon out of boredom
[My ex’s ass 10:31 PM] Course she is she’s pregnant
[My ex’s ass 10:32 PM] U thought this would be easy?
Nate sighs. Chloe’s right. He was hoping for a slightly more sympathetic ear, but no such luck.
[Me 10:35 PM] Come visit pleas
[Me 10:35 PM] Please
[My ex’s ass 10:42 PM] Only because you asked nicely
Chloe visiting definitely brightens Elena’s mood and Nate’s relieved she’s starting to take it easier. She excuses herself early after dinner, leaving Nate and Chloe to kick back on the deck with some beers, watching the night sky darken.
“Thanks for coming all the way out here.”
“Any time. Well, not any time. I had to catch up with you two before the baby takes over your life and you become different people.”
Nate rolls his eyes, “We’re not gonna change just because we’re parents.”
Chloe smirks at him, “Oh I doubt that. At least there’s one Drake who’ll still be fun. And your daughter of course.”
“Looking to replace Sam with her?”
“Only if her mum says she can.”
Nate snorts, “I don’t get a say?”
Chloe feigns exaggerated thought.
“Pain in my ass,” Nate chuckles.
“It’s such a good one though,” Chloe says fondly. “Speaking of: how’s the sex? I hear it’s supposed to be insanely good.”
Nate chokes on his beer and it takes a minute to compose himself. It’s really annoying how Chloe’s right – at least when they aren’t totally exhausted and collapse in bed immediately.
Trying to play it cool, “Yeah, it’s pretty good, but I’m not telling you anything else.”
“Fine. I’ll ask Elena.”
“You must be kind of hard up if you’re asking for my sordid details,” Nate says by way of revenge.
“You are such a dick.”
“Cheers to that,” Nate offers out his bottle; Chloe clinks hers against his. Desperate to change the subject, “Sam’s not causing too much trouble for you, right?”
“Only the amount of trouble I would expect from a Drake.”
“Just not as cute,” Nate needles her.
“Don’t push it,” Chloe says dryly. “We’re getting on famously and if he’s too much of a shit, I’ll send him home to baby brother.”
“And the two of you still work with Nadine,” Nate ponders out loud.
“I’m flexible who I’m with. Sam is too. It’s required in our line of work, or did you forget that already?”
Just like Nate would have never thought he’d be a father a few years ago, he never could have pictured Chloe working with someone so strait-laced.
He frowns, “It’s not you guys, she just doesn’t seem the type, is all.”
“She’s learning. She’s a good partner too.”
Like I wasn’t, Nate thinks to himself. He leans back in his deck chair, polishing off his drink. “I mean that’s good. I’m glad you’ve got a good partner, you deserve one –”
“Damn straight, I do.”
“– that’s not my brother.”
They both snicker good-naturedly and open up two more beers.
----------
Cat out of the bag with Sam, Chloe rests easier and she’s already been doing extremely well in Nadine’s arms.
The last time she was tangled up in that kind of secret with her partners was the hunt for the Chintamati Stone and she’d rather not repeat a lot of things from that venture she did with Nate.
Crap. Nate.
Now that his wife and brother know about Chloe and Nadine, he really ought to hear it from Chloe herself rather than either of them.
It’s the middle of the night her time when she calls, the hotel lobby devoid of all life. She hopes it’s a convenient time for him.
It’s the weirdest sense of déjà vu, though it was the other way around last time. This must have been what Nate felt when he called to say he and Elena got married. He better be happier for her than she was for him.
The phone rings and rings. Maybe Chloe will get lucky and have to leave a message rather than talk right now. It keeps ringing and she’s pretty sure she’ll get her wish, but Nate picks up in the nick of time.
Breathless, “Hey, sorry about that, I couldn’t find my phone. Babies have a lot of stuff that gets all over the place.”
“Don’t blame your lost phone on Cassie. I know how you and Elena lived before her.”
“True enough. What’s up, we haven’t seen you in a while.”
“You know me. Pretty much just working.”
Nate laughs, “That doesn’t sound like the Chloe I know. Not that I don’t appreciate the call, but is something up?”
Oh hell, it’s now or never. Chloe inhales, “Actually there is. I’ve been seeing someone.”
“Wow, congratulations,” Nate says with all the sincerity Chloe couldn’t even fake learning he got married. “Do I know them?”
She grits her teeth, “You do. And I’m apologizing in advance for you being the last to know.”
Nate laughs nervously, “The last to –”
Interrupting, “Yeah, Sam and Elena figured it out first.”
“Figured it out… holy shit. Nadine.” Even probably sleep deprived, Nate figured out the puzzle at an alarming speed.
Matter-of-factly, “Yup. I’m seeing Nadine.”
“Wow,” Nate repeats himself, stunned this time.
“Is it so hard to believe we’re a couple?” Chloe asks archly.
“Honestly? No.”
If Nate was surprised that Chloe and Nadine are together; Chloe feels equally taken aback by his answer.
“Seriously?”
“For starters, you don’t really have a type –”
“Because you ever did,” Chloe retorts.
Ignoring her comment, “But if I’ve learned anything over the years with Elena, it’s nice to be with someone who’s different from you. I’m sure Nadine’s changed since the last time I saw her, but you can’t say the two of you act or think very similarly.”
“Thank god for that,” Chloe agrees with him.
“How long have you two been working together – three years?
That long already? “Just about, yeah.”
“That’s longer than you and I were together.”
Now it’s Chloe’s turn to be floored. “Wow. And we barely waited five minutes to completely ruin our professional relationship.”
Nate laughs, “We were young and stupid.”
“Still stupid.”
“Good point.”
A calm washes over Chloe. It was silly to think Nate would take the news poorly.
“Tell Elena thank you from me. I’ve already done it a couple times, but a few more wouldn’t hurt.”
“Thank her?” Nate asks, lost.
“She figured out I had feelings for Nadine before I did. Damned investigative reporter.”
Nate laughs, “She does have an uncanny way of knowing what you need, even if you have no idea.”
Chloe smiles, “Elena’s a special one. Don’t screw it up, Nate.”
“Now you tell me. Same goes for Nadine. If you’re serious about her, don’t screw it up. Cause she can definitely kick your ass and I’ll be no help at all.”
Chloe chuckles, “She did mention you’re lousy in a fight.”
“If you’re gonna be mean, I’m hanging up.” They both laugh, but Nate speaks up again first. “Hey, I’m really happy for you Chloe.”
Chloe grins, “Thanks. That means a lot. Listen, I’m not gonna keep you any longer, but get back out here soon. I need to meet Cassie, but you’re not allowed to use her as a bribe to get me to come to the States.”
“I can try. We’ll all see each other soon. Besides, you and Elena had years talking about me behind your back, now it’s going to be me and Nadine talking about you.”
“You wish.”
----------
It’s a miracle the flight didn’t make Cassie cranky from a lack of sleep, because Nate’s exhausted.
“Why did we agree to meet up with Chloe and Nadine when we got here?” Nate asks somewhat rhetorically.
“Because we want to see our friend and because I want to actually meet Nadine while we all happen to be in the same country?”
“Gee, I’d love to meet Nadine too,” Nate says a little too sarcastically for Elena’s taste. Even surrounded by dark circles, her glare of warning is something to behold. “I’m not gonna bring up Libertalia, I promise.”
They’re down in the hotel lobby before Chloe and Nadine arrive. Cassie clambers between Nate and Elena on the couch. It’s a blessing in disguise because if Nate puts his head back, he’s afraid he’ll fall asleep.
“Daddyyy,” Cassie tugs on Nate’s arm just as he spots Chloe and not far behind, Nadine as they walk through the front door.
He nods in their direction to Elena and scoops Cassie up, “Ready to go meet some friends?”
By no means would Nate describe Cassie as shy, but as they get closer, she buries her face against his collarbone. Nate shakes his head in disbelief just as Chloe reaches them.
“Hello Nate. How was your flight?”
“Ten hours. Yours?”
“Shorter and we didn’t have a baby with us. Hello, darling,” she turns her attention to Cassie.
“I don’t know why she’s acting like this –” Nate says as Cassie peeks out to Chloe’s beaming face.
“You’re even prettier than your pictures,” Chloe says to Cassie. “You look just like your mummy.”
Before Nate can butt in with a smart aleck comment, Elena catches up to them.
“Thanks, I did put in all the hard work,” she teases as she gives Chloe a big hug.
“Good to see you too, sunshine.”
As they break apart, Elena looks over Chloe’s shoulder, “Nadine, right?”
“Nice to meet you, I’ve heard quite a bit,” Nadine says to Elena. Looking Nate’s way, “It’s been awhile.”
“Yup. Gotta say this is a lot nicer.”
He’s not imagining the faintest grin cracking through on Nadine’s face. Nadine clears her throat, “I was going to go check us in.”
“I’ll come with you,” Elena offers.
As the pair walk towards the front desk, Nate chuckles. “Nadine’s about to get more than she bargained for. Elena has about a million questions –”
He turns back to Chloe, but she’s far more engaged with Cassie, who’s feeling less shy than before. “Making a new friend?”
“Do you mind?” Chloe asks, putting her hands out. Cassie doesn’t fight being handed over. “I’m Chloe and I’m so glad to finally meet you.”
“Can you say ‘Hi Chloe’, Cassie?” Nate prompts her in an attempt to instill some manners in his daughter.
“Hi Doey,” Cassie giggles.
“She’s brilliant, Nate.”
“Can’t imagine where she got that from,” Nate says dryly.
“Don’t oversell yourself,” Chloe rolls her eyes, but is still smiling.
Elena and Nadine are walking back their way; Chloe returns Cassie to Nate.
“Who’s ready for some lunch because I’m starving,” Elena says.
They all agree the café around the corner looks good, Elena and Nadine taking the lead. As Nate and Chloe hang back, he gives her a one-armed hug as best he can manage while holding Cassie.
“Seriously, it’s good to see you.”
Chloe grins, “Likewise.”
Nate feels more alive with a bit of food in him as they all swap stories about their latest jobs: what’s been found, who’s been swindled, what exactly Sam might be up to if not here with them.
“It’s safer not to ask,” Nadine points out.
“You’re telling me,” Nate says as he sips his drink.
“Let’s not be too mean, china. He knows when to bugger off and leave us be,” Chloe remarks.
At the term of endearment, Nate catches Elena’s gaze, her eyes widening slightly at being privy to the moment. Nothing further need be said.
Cassie climbs in and out of everyone’s laps throughout the meal. She mostly spends time between Nate and Elena, but gets more and more familiar with Chloe. She’s even bold enough to try Nadine, who humors her for a little while then sends her back Elena’s direction.
“Back again are we, monkey?” Chloe asks as the bill’s being settled, playing with Cassie’s hair.
Nate never really considered it before, but nicknames are a thing with Chloe. Everyone’s got one except him. Hell, he’s even heard her call Sam ‘buttercup’ a few times, not that Nate’s envious of that one.
It might be because she’s known Nate the longest, but he suspects something else. He and Chloe are so damn similar and self-conscious or not, you don’t give yourself a nickname; stage names don’t count.
As he smiles fondly on at Cassie and Chloe, Nate’s content to just be ‘Nate’ to Chloe.
----------
She’s been through the exhibit so many times, she knows it by heart, but Chloe takes one more stroll before it gets its upgrade.
There’s the usual crowd hovering at the Tusk; the other artifacts are less attention-grabbing. While hanging back, she feels the buzz of her phone.
[Elena 🌞 9:59 AM] Here
Cassie gets to Chloe first in the front hall, running and throwing herself into an open hug. Nate and Elena try for a little more professional decorum.
“You don’t want to be late for the meeting, hon,” Nate says to Elena; Elena and Cassie head off to the elevator.
“Cassie wanted to go to the meeting instead of walk around the galleries?” Chloe asks incredulously.
“Said she wanted to be surprised when we actually got to Halebidu,” Nate shakes his head.
“You’ve got a weird kid,” Chloe chuckles.
“Don’t I know it.”
As they walk through, Chloe gives the fast and dirty tour of what’s on display as Nate scribbles notes in his journal. It’s a familiar and comfortable feeling, even if it’s in a clean museum instead of a dusty ruin.
The crowd breaks off from the Tusk; Chloe steps that direction. “And there it is. The jewel in the crown, as it were.”
Nate walks the perimeter of the case, sketching the Tusk. “Amazing one of us finally walked away with what we were looking for, right?” he laughs.
“It was bound to happen sometime.” Chloe lets him work for a minute, then, “The curator has a list of gaps your dig can hopefully fill in, although I’m pretty sure I leapt in all the most dangerous ones already, but you never know.”
“Are you saying I’m not up to it?”
“I’m saying I knew what I was looking for. And what I’d like to find now is probably long gone.”
Nate gives her a quizzical look. Chloe knows she invited the question but is still somewhat loathe to confess it.
“I have most of my dad’s personal library and it was a great help putting this together, but I’d kill for his field notes from that last expedition.”
Poor choice of words.
“Yeah, I get it,” Nate says quietly. “Sam and I lucked out our mom’s stuff went to auction so there was a paper trail to find it again. That’s tough.”
Chloe shrugs it off. She’s not going to start crying in the middle of a gallery and besides, she already did at the opening a few years ago with mum. “It is what it is.”
“He’d be proud of all this.”
Chloe can only hope. If nothing else, it was cathartic, finally letting the resentment and hurt she held towards her father for leaving forever drain away. She can treasure the good memories she has unspoiled.
The worst thing has always been she’s not sure she can blame him. Given the same situation, she would have probably done the same at his age. She’s grown, but she also knows not to inflict her life on a child.
Cassie’s very fortunate Nate learned his hard lessons before she was born and not at the cost of his life.
“It’s nice finishing what your parent started, isn’t it?” Chloe muses out loud.
“Yeah, we’re fortunate enough to be able to do that.”
“So whatever you and Elena find at Halebidu and Belur, don’t screw this up for me,” Chloe teases.
“I wouldn’t dream of it.”
----------
Tranquil is how Nate would describe the evening, surrounded by friends and family on the front porch. Sully’s flying in the next morning, but otherwise, everything is pretty much perfect.
Fully stuffed, Nate focuses on the waves crashing on the shore, but is drawn back into the conversation by Cassie interrogating Sam. She’s at the age where everything is an inquisition.
“Are you dating anyone, Uncle Sam? Are you ever going to get married?”
“Then how could you still be my favorite girl?” Sam deftly steers away from a topic no one wants to entertain.
“From personal experience, I don’t envy anyone dating a Drake – no offense, Elena,” Chloe says without thinking.
Before anyone else reacts, Cassie zeros in on her.
“You used to date Uncle Sam?” she asks, dumbfounded.
There’s an undignified snort of laughter Nate is surprised to hear coming from Nadine. She controls herself, but her shoulders are still visibly shaking from silent laughter.
Cassie looks to Sam and Nate, confused, while Chloe mouths a big ‘sorry’ in Nate and Elena’s direction.
Nate clears his drying throat. “Uh, actually Cassie, it was me and Chloe.” Quickly, “But that was way before mom and me.”
Elena lets out a pointed cough that sounds a lot like ‘bullshit’ to Nate.
“How could you think so little of my taste, Cassie?” Chloe affects a wounded tone. “Your uncle smelled like an ashtray when we met.”
“Asshole,” Sam mutters, throwing a pillow at Chloe, who fails to dodge it.
“It is true,” Nadine points out; Elena nodding her head vigorously, amused by the proceedings.
“That’s so weird,” Cassie marvels, but thankfully drops the subject.
She’s not wrong. It’s strange to think about all these years later, but Nate deeply appreciates that in spite of all of it, they are friends.
Nate’s up early the next morning and when he takes his coffee out on the deck to enjoy it alone, he’s surprised to find Chloe already there.
“Sorry if I got you in trouble there with the missus,” Chloe jokes.
Nate waves a dismissive hand, “It’s okay. Elena and I are dreading the day we have to come clean about everything else. This was a practice round, confessing you and I –” he gestures to the short distance between them
“Used to have sex and do crime?” she prompts.
Nate lets out a nervous chuckle, “Yeah that’s something every father wants to tell to his preteen daughter.”
“Always happy to help set an example,” she says cheerfully.
They fall silent and an old twinge of guilt hits Nate. “There’s… things I regret how I handled with you, but I wouldn’t change how everything is now.”
“I don’t need your pity Nate. Certainly not this long after.” Chloe says it so matter-of-factly, it snaps Nate right out of it.
“I know.”
She smiles, staring out to the ocean. “I wouldn’t change how things are either.”
They remain on the deck until everyone else wakes up.
----------
It was quite generous of Nate and Elena to extend the invitation to their annual barbeque to mum. It’s always nice to get her to travel out of the country.
As everyone mills around, Chloe steps inside for a moment to refresh her drink.
Mum’s voice drifts down the hall in a tone Chloe recognizes all too well from her own pursuits. “You’re quite charming yourself.”
There’s a guffaw that only can be Sully. “Eh, I’m just an old sailor. But you’re a kind of beauty I haven’t seen.”
Holy shit.
Mum laughs, evidentially taken.
As quietly as she can, Chloe swipes the bottle of whiskey Sully brought off the counter and sneaks out, making a mad dash for Nate at the grill, taking a generous swig when she gets there.
“Jesus, Chloe, it’s not even lunch yet,” Nate says disapprovingly.
Wheezing, “You used to be fun. Look –” she points to mum and Sully stepping outside arm-in-arm.
“Oh crap. Give me that,” Nate gestures for the bottle.
Chloe rolls her eyes but hands it over.
When Nate’s finished, “I mean, are we surprised? Sully’s known for laying it on thick.”
“No, and he’s totally mum’s type.”
Nate hums too knowingly; Chloe shoves him.
Even if no one else has noticed, Chloe and Nate have been making too much of a scene for Sam to miss.
Strolling over and taking note of the bottle, “We starting the party early?”
Chloe points in the direction of the older pair as Nate clears his throat and mimes for his brother to shut up.
Annoyingly, Sam’s reaction is the complete opposite of theirs. “Huh. Welcome to the family, Chloe. Congratulations Nathan, you used to sleep with our new stepsister.”
Chloe and Nate let out a simultaneous and impressive “UGH!”