"Luv, the dogs are barking," Fili groans still half asleep, "let them out..."

"Fi, its," Adalet rolled over to check the time, "2 a.m... there's no reason why they should want to go out."

"Well then why are they barking?" he questioned still not opening his eyes.

She was about to respond when a ding-dong noise sounded, "is that the doorbell?"

"Sounded like it," he agreed now more awake, "but who be here so early... or late?"

"Let's go check," she says reaching under her pillow for the gun she hides underneath it. She could feel her husband do the same and soon, they were making their way past their son's room and down the stairs to the door.

The dogs stopped their barking when they saw Fili and Adalet approaching. The doorbell rang one more time before Adalet was close enough to peek out the window beside it. She let out a breath of relief and set her gun down on a small table near her.

"It's Amy," she told the man.

"Oh," Fili says, putting his own gun away, "what's she doin' here so late?"

"No idea, but it must be important," she answered unlocking and opening the door, "Amy, get inside, it's raining out!"

"Thanks," the shivering blonde says as she stepped into the warm cabin, "I'm sorry for disturbing you guys so late, it's just... I needed to get away from my mother."

"It's alright, Amy, I understand," Adalet assured taking her partner by the arm to guide her towards the couch, "now, let's get you warmed up. Fili, light a fire, I'll make us some hot cocoa."

"Don't forget the mini marshmallows!" Fili calls as he tossed some fresh logs into the fireplace.

"I know!" she smiled walking around the kitchen collecting what she needed, "cocoa isn't cocoa without them!"

While the fire began to glow with warmth. Adalet began heating cocoa, sugar, water, and salt in a saucepan while stirring with a wooden spoon. Once it had reached a boil, she added the milk and continued to mix until it was well heated. Pulling the pot off the stove she added in some vanilla before pouring the dark liquid into the waiting mugs. Once she had topped them off with the mini marshmallows, she joined the other two in the living room around the fire. She passed Amy a mug before joining Fili on the other couch.

After a while of watching the fire and sipping cocoa, Adalet finally broke the silence.

"So, Amy," she looks over at the younger woman, "what brings you to our home at two in the morning?"

"Its mother..." Amy sighed, "ever since Duncan was sent to jail, she's colder, she won't even look at me some days, let alone speak to me... and with learning about what my brother did... It's just too much."

"Amy, your brother made his choice, admittedly, a stupid, horrible choice, but his choice nonetheless," she says setting her mug down, "and because of it, he, along with yourself and your mother are going to have to live with it."

"I just keep wondering if I could have done something to stop him, to help him before it got so bad..." she whispered.

"You treated him like you always did," she replied, "you didn't dwell on the fact that he was in a wheelchair, I may not have known you two before his accident, but I know you loved him the same as you did before it. It was others who failed Duncan, not you."

She lowered her head, "I just wish I could have stopped him..."

Adalet paused and contemplated her next move. She stood up and took a seat beside Amy on the couch, and stared straight into the burning fire.

"Have I ever told you about my cousin Will?" she suddenly asked.

Amy blinked, "no... I didn't know you had a cousin."

"Yeah, Will's only a few years older than me, we were inseparable as kids," Adalet smiled at the memory, "he acted more like an older brother, always looking out for me... I didn't have any friends when I was a kid, so whenever he came over we would play for hours. We knew everything about each other... including how much of a bitch my mother could be at times."

"Was your mother... like mine?" she inquired biting her lip.

She gave a humourless chuckle, "no... she was worse... my mother used to be a professional dancer, wanted to dance on stages across the world... then she met my dad. After a whirlwind romance, she got pregnant with me and had to give up dancing for a while... Her pregnancy was high risk, so the doctors ordered her not to overdo it until they gave her the all-clear... But she didn't listen."

"What happened?" she asked.

"Mother tried to go right back to her old routine, but because it had been almost a year without practice, she fell off the stage... shattered her foot and ankle, ended any chance she had of dancing again right then and there," she sighed, "so she started to live out her dream through me, I mean don't get me wrong I like dancing, and it really helped me when I went to the Olympics, but I never wanted it to be a career. I was more into space and travelling the world. Point is, besides my Dad, Will was the only one who made sure I was happy, not my mother."

"He sounds a lot like Duncan," she said, sipping her cocoa.

Adalet smiled, "he was, always looking out for his little cousin... But he took it too far."

Amy visibly gulped, "what... what did he do?"

"Will..." she took a deep breath, "Will killed her, murdered her in cold blood... The things he said in his defence, sounded so much like Duncan when we arrested him."

"Oh."

A heavy silence hung over the room as Adalet let Amy take some time to process what she had just told her. It wasn't a fact the older woman tried to hide, it just wasn't something that got brought up in everyday conversation.

"How did you get over it?" Amy asked quietly.

"I didn't," Adalet answers, "I forgave him, and moved on... But I never "got over it". Like I said, he was practically my brother and she was my mother, I loved both of them in some way, Will used to say I was too forgiving but I'd always tell him it was better to forgive and move on than to hold a grudge and never move forwards."

"That's... that's very smart," she remarked, "but... I don't know if I can forgive Duncan for what he did..."

She placed a hand on the other's shoulder, "no one is expecting you to, Amy. But if you keep beating yourself up over this, saying "I could have done more" when you already did so much for him isn't going to help anyone, least of all yourself."

"She's right, lass," Fili spoke up for the first time, "I never meet your brother, but I know what it's like to be hated by one. In time you'll heal, and by the time I mean time, not just a few days, but however long it'll take you."

Amy smiles, "thank you, Fili, Adalet... That really helps."

"Good," Adalet said standing up, "now, back to that time topic, it's time to go to bed. Let's get you some dry clothes and pull out the bed this couch is hiding."

"Oh," she started to protest, "I couldn't-!"

"But you will," she smirked dragging her towards the stairs, "your not walking home this late, and certainly not in this rain! So come on, Fili can get the bed ready for you!"

"And Dean and Hunter will be keeping it warm until you get back!" Fili grinned, "don't worry, their great cuddlers!"

Amy laughed as she was dragged upstairs and sent to the bathroom to get out of her wet clothes. Adalet knocked on the door and gave her some spare pyjamas to wear for the night. And later, lying in the bed in front of the dying fire, sandwiched between two canines radiating heat, Amy was lulled into her first peaceful sleep since sending her brother to prison.