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Hi, Nathan. By now you've probably realised that James is gone. I had thought about doing a network wide post about it but with everything that has been happening this month, I decided not to.

[ She exhales softly. ]

Can we talk or meet up?

Yeah.

[he'd been trying to ignore that fact, trying to pretend like he just hadn't seen him, with everything going on, but -- yeah. yeah, he's noticed that James is gone. he can only imagine how she feels. he doesn't have to, for all that it's bothering him, too, for all that James was the closest thing to having Sam here as he feels like he'll ever get]

Yeah, just -- you wanna grab a drink or something?

[now that the alcohol at the bar seems drinkable again]

I do. I can meet you at the hotel bar because I'm still in the suburbs at the moment.

[ In the house that she lived with James and Wei. It's how she realised that James was gone in the first place because they spent a lot of time with eachother. ]

At least he missed out on the fun, right? [ She aims for lightness, but it doesn't quite read in her voice. ]

Or I could come out to you. [which he would have offered, first, if he'd known she was at home, so to speak] There's a bar out there, right? Hella Shorty's or whatever?

[a beat]

Either way, he -- yeah, he uh ...

[sure did miss the 'fun']

That's the bar. I can meet you there if it's alright with you.

[ She appreciates Nathan's suggestion because it would be quicker for her to get to. ]

I just hope he's back home and not lost somewhere else. [ Bela sighs. ] See you soon.

Yeah. [yeah, he hopes so, too] Yeah, I'll be down in a couple of minutes.

[and that said, he'll hang up and start heading that way. it's not long after that he's walking in the doors and looking around for her. he suspects that she's beaten him here, after all]

[Bela did beat him to the bar in fact, giving her enough time to lay out a couple of glasses and a bottle of whiskey out on the table. The lid is open but she hasn't poured out any yet. When Bela notices Nate, she lifts her hand and tries to get his attention.]

Hey. Over here.

[it doesn't take him long to spot her, and he pads over, sliding into a chair. he tries for a smile, once he's settled, but it really doesn't quite reach his eyes]

Hey.

[it's a real effort not to ask how's it going, to talk just to fill silence]

[ The smile is returned, but it looks tired. Over time, she might feel better. ]

Thanks for coming, Nathan. It's nice to see a friendly face.

[ She pours them each a measure of the whiskey. ]

Yeah, this place has been kind of lacking in them, lately, huh?

[James isn't the first person he's lost, lately. he probably won't be the last. he supposes he should probably be happy for them, since they're supposed to have been redeemed and all, but]

I suppose. But for me, it's been more not being able to see many people over the past month. Aside from my other housemate, Xian.

[Bela is quick to lift her glass and take a much needed sip.]

Did someone else you know go home too?

Who hasn't, at this point? [he shrugs] I mean, like, besides you and my wife, I don't think anyone I even remotely trust is still here, at this point.

[he should probably make an effort to make more friends, but it's hard, when there's some new crisis, every other week. or so he keeps telling himself, as an excuse to not let anyone close]

I suppose I don't have a lot of people in my inner circle, but it does mean a lot that you trust me, Nathan.

[She would agree with him that it was difficult to make connections with others in a place like this. Bela was also the kind of person who struggled to let anyone in.]

Perhaps we should both try to meet new people.

[he can't help the bark of a laugh that slips out of him]

You make it sound like you're breaking up with me. [not that they had anything going, in the first place. another lifetime, maybe] "Maybe we should start seeing other people."

[he might be deflecting a little from the fact that he admitted to trusting her and she picked up on it. he might be trying to keep this place from getting any ideas, from taking someone else from him]

I did, didn't I? [Bela can't help laughing in return.] We probably would've had some fun together, if things were different.

[She's very glad to have Nathan as a friend though. Someone who understood the career path she'd taken and was a good person. Reliable.]

Seriously though, it couldn't hurt to widen your friends circle. I'm certainly going to try and widen mine.

[Nathan sobers a little, at that]

That -- yeah, I -- yeah.

[if things had been different, they would have. but he didn't want to get in James's way. he wonders if Bela knows how much he cared about her and sobers that much more. he'll come back to their chat about their respective social circles, in a minute. he needs to make sure she does know]

You know, we had a long conversation about you, awhile back.

[after Caroline disappeared, before Elena showed up]

You had a conversation about me?

[If Bela sounds surprised, it's because she is. Maybe her name would have come up between James and Nathan as they were friends, but she didn't expect a long conversation. One that she wouldn't have been privy to back then, but maybe he feels comfortable enough to mention it now.]

Well, I'm all ears, Nathan. With whatever details you want to share.

[Something to add to her memories of James. She also has pictures on her device.]

[Nathan shrugs, vaguely embarrassed]

It was after the girl I was dating, here, disappeared. Elena hadn't -- I wasn't expecting her to ever show up, you know? [this was before she did; he thought she was safe from this place and tentatively tried to move on] James wanted to know what I did, to make peace with letting Elena go, because he was in love with you. He wanted to be with you.

[James had eventually settled on a tattoo, to honor his ex]

James showed me the tattoo. [She thought it was a good way to honour Naomi.] He also admitted to caring about me, but it wasn't until the following month that we both decided what we were going to be. What label we would give to what was building between us.

[Bela pauses then, feeling a well of emotion in her chest.]

Then we confessed our true feelings to each other a few days after Valentine's Day.

Thank you for giving him good advice, Nathan. I believe it helped him a lot and in turn, it helped me.

[Nathan nods]

For what it's worth, I'm sorry it ended like this.

[he'd been rooting for them. he was glad they made each other happy]

It's worth a lot.

[She'll find a way to deal with the heartache.]

I've never had a love like that before. I'm grateful for it.

Yeah, being a thief gets kind of ...

[he makes a so-so gesture. he gets it. he really didn't have anyone before Elena -- or at least not seriously. he and Chloe fooled around for awhile, but neither of them said the L-word]

Weird how Hell works like that.

[it's probably because you can't just skip town here]

[Bela nods in agreement, not saying anything more about the life of a thief. She also never allowed anyone to get close and spent a good deal of her life not trusting people and being dismissive of them.

Hell had redeemed her somewhat.]

Yeah, it is. Also more intense.

Yeah, this place definitely lends itself to intense. [partially because there are things that dial up your mood to about a hundred thousand around every corner. partially because ... ] Maybe it's because this is kinda all we've got?

[he's pretty sure they've talked about the both of them being dead, back home]

For some people, it is all they have. Likely not the life they envisioned for themselves but at least they have company. Others to become friends with.

[Not being able to leave on your own accord meant spending a lot of time with people and building up connections. She bonded with Peter in the hospital.]

I'm grateful to the people I've met here.

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