Two days later, and rumor had drawn Ambrose to the window of his lab, for even though he had not gone out, the maids had come in bringing with them food, clean clothes and gossip, and Ambrose’s heart sank.

“So it’s true,” he murmured under his breath as he looked out the window, the day grey and overcast with thick clouds. He reached up, the pads of his fingertips resting against the cool glass as he took a sip of steaming hot tea before turning away with a sigh.

Outside, Cain stood in the cold, packing supplies onto the back of the white horse he’d borrowed from his son for a time. He paused a moment and looked up at the castle, but sighed seeing no one in the windows though he thought sure he’d felt someone watching him. He turned away after a moment and looked up at the sky before swinging up into the saddle and riding away.

* * *

That night, just after full dark, found Cain riding through the streets of Central City on his trek south. While it was true that he’d left the castle as Ambrose had more or less predicted he would, he hadn’t gone without good reason… and it wasn’t like he wouldn’t be returning soon any how… it was just something he needed to do, something he needed to make everything all right again, or so he hoped.

Tired and sore from a hard ride to save time, he headed up the street keeping his mount at a slow walk through the crowd to a cheap but comfortable hotel and headed inside after seeing to his horse in the local stables.

Sighing heavily he sank into a hot tub some minutes later after checking in for the night and closed his eyes letting the warmth envelop him as his thoughts wandered.

Why had he avoided a man he had once called his friend? Again, he saw the look on Ambrose’s face the last day he’d seen him and he blinked, opening his eyes to stare blindly at the end of the white porcelain tub. He knew why he avoided him… he avoided him because he didn’t know him. The man who woke up after the surgery hadn’t been the same one who’d gone into it… that was why.

Exhaling heavily, he climbed out of the tub, and pulled the stopper in the drain before toweling off and dressing for bed, but once he got there, for as tired as he was, sleep was illusive and his mind was too loud.

* * *

The next morning, bright and early, regardless of how little he’d slept the night before and what sleep he did get was haunted by the look on Ambrose’s face the day DG had asked him to go find him and he’d left, Cain was back on the road traveling south once more.

He camped at midday, his mind filled with memories of the quest with DG, Glitch, Raw and Toto as he rested for lunch in one of the spots they had stopped at then. After half an hour, he was back on the road and sighed softly, pulling his horse to a stop when the boarders of the maze at the entrance to Finaqua came into view. Looking around, his mind was once again filled with memories. This was where he’d shot and killed the mobat that had attacked Glitch without warning. There was no sign of it now… but then, it was part of the witch… no one had seen any of the creatures since her defeat. It was believed that they had been part of the same dark magic that she had been, and now, they, like she, were gone.

Dismounting, Cain led his horse down the path and into the maze. Reaching the other side, he paused and looked out over the lake sighing softly. Yes, it was here… what he was looking for was here, he was sure of it… it had to be.

* * *

It was nearly dusk by the time he found what he was looking for… an orchard that he’d heard rumored to be in a small valley at the foothills of the mountains on the far side, not far from the castle. A small smile tugged at his lips as he approached, finding it still in bloom, the trees loaded with bright ruby red apples. Dismounting, he pulled large empty sack from his pack and began to fill it.

He camped that night on the edge of the lake using the trees for shelter instead of the gazebo as his horse grazed nearby. For once at peace that things might just be okay when he returned.

* * *

“Where have you been?” DG hissed two days later when he arrived back at the northern castle. He’d been slightly surprised to find her waiting for him on the steps as he rode up.

“Why? What happened?” he asked his good mood evaporating like fog in the morning sun.

“Nothing, no thanks to you,” DG said causing him to blink. “I told you to think about it, not run away again. Even while you’ve been gone, no one has seen him. Did you think that just leaving would make things better?”

Cain sighed heavily and led his horse back to the stable and DG followed.

“No,” he answered as he untied his pack from the saddle followed by a tied sack that was placed on the ground carefully before he unsaddled the horse and turned it over to a stable hand for looking after and then picked up the sack and handed it to her as he threw his pack over his shoulder. “I was trying to find a way to fix it.”

DG looked at him in confusion.

Cain sighed and took the sack back from her. “Never mind,” he said. “I’ll go find him, just let me get my stuff put away.”

“You’d better,” DG said, following him up the steps to the castle. “And you better fix this, Mister Cain; mother’s really starting to worry.”

“She’s not the only one,” Cain muttered under his breath as he headed up to his room. He really had hoped that after he’d gone, Ambrose would have made at least one appearance. To find out that still no one had seen him over the four days he’d been away was troubling.

* * *

Cain sighed as DG followed him up to his room where he gently set the sack on his bed while he unpacked and turned his dirty clothes into a pile for the maid.

“Look, kid,” Cain said turning to her after he’d finished. “I’ll go find him, I promise, but I’m not going there like this. Give me twenty minutes so I can at least get the dust from the road off. Then I’ll go talk to him, okay?”

DG looked at him skeptically. “You promise?” she asked uncertainly.

“I promise,” Cain reiterated as he walked with her toward the door and held it open.

“Oh… all right,” she said stepping out of the room. “Just please… let me know if he’s all right.”

“I will,” Cain said and watched her go before shutting the door with a sigh. He stood there a moment before moving away, slowly removing his clothes and adding them to the pile for the maid and then grabbed a fresh set from the wardrobe before heading into the bathroom and starting a hot shower.

When he was finished, he dried off and dressed before running his fingers through his still damp hair and headed back to the bedroom, sitting on the bed and finishing with a clean pair of socks and shoes. Turning to the sack still sitting on the bed, he untied it and carefully searched through it before picking an apple, then tied it back up and headed out the door.

* * *

A few minutes later, he found himself back at the door of Ambrose’s lab and feeling rather foolish. Clearing his throat slightly, he swallowed and knocked on the door.

“Enter.”

The call came just as before, though it sounded a little delayed and slightly more muffled and Cain groaned, thoughts of déjà vu running through his head, but he carefully opened the door and found the lab almost completely dark, the only light being pooled around the table he’d last seen the man at and he was thankful for the dimness of the room as he concealed the apple, not wanting Ambrose to see it just yet.

“So you’re back, are you?” Ambrose asked without looking up and made a slurping sound before reaching up to his mouth and taking something from it, setting it aside.

“You knew I was gone?” Cain asked.

Ambrose shrugged slightly. “Maids talk,” he said simply and picked up something from a plate, popping it in his mouth.

Cain arched a brow, taking a closer look at the plate Ambrose had next to him and found it to be…

“Cherries?” he asked, looking at the man.

Ambrose raised his eyes still sucking on the small fruit. “Yeah, so?” he asked in return.

Cain snorted, and then chuckled softly, shaking his head.

“What?” Ambrose asked, getting defensive.

Cain motioned to the plate. “Don’t get me wrong, sweetheart,” he said. “Cherries are just fine, but I don’t think you’re supposed to eat the stems, too.”

Ambrose didn’t look amused and slowly reached up to his mouth again after another soft slurp.

Cain blinked at him as he held his hand up and between his fingers was the stem of the cherry he had eaten. Cain blinked again, squinting at it slightly, noticing something was off about it, but Ambrose moved it away to discard on another plate, exhaling softly.

“Really, Mister Cain,” he said, sounding tired. “I don’t invade your privacy to poke fun at how you eat. Nor do I think it very nice to throw around endearments that obviously hold no truth.”

That got Cain’s attention and he looked at Ambrose in sight surprise and confusion.

“Sweetheart,” Ambrose said and Cain blinked at him before lowering his gaze.

“Oh,” he said softly, feeling chastised.

“Yeah, ‘oh’,” Ambrose said and sighed before cocking his head. “So what are you doing here, Mister Cain? Did they come running to you upon your return pleading for you to come find me?”

Cain swallowed and looked up. “I guess you could say so… in a manner of speaking.”

“Well, as you can see, I’m fine, and as I can see, the request wasn’t urgent enough to you to warrant coming directly to find me,” Ambrose said, taking another cherry from the plate and popping it in his mouth. “Now if you’ll excuse me…” he said, turning back to his work.

Cain blinked at him and sighed. “I didn’t come here to fight,” he said.

“Oh, you didn’t?” Ambrose asked airily, though he still didn’t look up. “Why did you come then?”

Cain watched him for a moment, his movements fluid and easy as he took the stem from his mouth and set it on the plate with the others before taking another whole fruit and popping it in his mouth. “Nothing, never mind,” he said exhaling heavily. He waited, but Ambrose still didn’t look at him, nor did he question or speak to him further. With a sigh, Cain took the apple he held in his hand and set it on the desk before turning and heading back for the door.

Ambrose glanced over as he heard the sound of retreating footsteps and slowly reached out a slightly trembling hand, grasping the apple carefully as a soft breath of awe escaped him.

“Where did you get this?” he asked, his voice wavering slightly before he looked up to see Cain standing by the door looking back at him.

Reaching up, Cain ran a hand through his hair as he met Ambrose’s brown eyes. “I, uh… I’m not really good at apologies,” he admitted. “I just… figured you’d like it. There’s more where that came from if one isn’t enough,” he said, turning and motioning toward the door before looking back at Ambrose as he rubbed the back of his neck uneasily.

Ambrose stood slowly, rolling the apple carefully between his hands before looking at Cain in confusion. “But they aren’t in season,” he protested. “Cherries really aren’t either, but they’re a lot easier to come by than apples up here at this time of year,” he said, motioning back toward the table.

Cain flushed slightly and rubbed the back of his neck again.

“That’s where you were?” Ambrose asked in surprise.

Cain flushed again and nodded. “Yeah, I remember someone telling me you liked apples,” he said.

Ambrose blinked, looking confused. “Who?” he asked.

“You,” Cain replied.

“Me?” Ambrose asked, still confused.

Cain nodded. “Yeah, well… you were Glitch then….”

Ambrose smiled slightly but then looked confused again. “But where’d you get it… them?” he asked.

“Finaqua,” Cain answered.

Ambrose blinked, taken aback. “You went clear to Finaqua…for me?”

Cain flushed and nodded. “Yeah, well… like I said, I’m not good at apologies.”

Ambrose smiled at him. “Thank you,” he said sincerely, clutching the apple in both hands.

Cain nodded. “You’re welcome,” he said as he opened the door.

“Um, Mister Cain?” Ambrose asked hesitantly.

“Yeah?” Cain asked, turning back to him halfway out the door.

“You said there were more?” Ambrose asked.

Cain chuckled but nodded. “Yeah, I did… Are you going to stop hiding out in here?”

Ambrose bit his lip, but Cain’s tone had been questioning, not accusing. “Are you going to stop running away?” he asked hesitantly in return.

Cain swallowed, but nodded. “Yeah,” he replied with a smile.

Ambrose returned the smile and twisting slightly at the waist he asked, “So, um… where are they?”

Cain chuckled and shook his head in amusement. “Eat that one first; then you can have another one tomorrow if you like.”

“Okay,” Ambrose said with a grin.

“Goodnight,” Cain said.

“Good night, Mister Cain,” Ambrose answered.

“It’s Wyatt,” Cain said with a smile as he walked out the door at last.