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[abrightboy]

 This is Bright. Leave a message.

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[retisense]

Abby just gives him the time he needs, not answering or saying anything as he starts and stops at his answer to her question. It's fine, if he doesn't answer right away, or even at all. It's a pretty personal question, all things considered, and it could be rhetorical if he wants it to be.

But then he answers he doesn't want to, and she nods, "Yeah. I thought so."

[conning]

He sits back in his chair, letting out a long exhale, like he just finished carrying something heavy up a set of stairs. "I thought I was doing the right thing when I made them think I died. I'm starting to wonder if I was just running."

Has he ever stopped? Does he even know how?

[retisense]

"I can't tell you whether that's true or not, but if you think it might be, it might be, you know?" she says, her eyes lifting a little to meet Neal's.

"They might have been able to help you."

[conning]

"I had to keep them safe," Neal says softly. "My friend, my best friend--the people who would have come for me knew his face. Elizabeth, his wife, she was pregnant, and all the two of them ever wanted was to have kids. It wouldn't have taken much digging to turn up old contacts and find out where they were."

He's not sure if she's trying to convince her or himself. Neal rubs his face with one hand and takes another drink of tea. "What's done is done," he says, tone softly ironic. "And now we're in another world entirely, so what's done isn't exactly relevant any more."

[retisense]

"If that's what it took, then you probably made the best decision you could have. And like, I know we're not best friends or anything, but I know you, Neal. I know you made the decision that you thought was best for the people you love, but it probably wasn't really the best for you."

For a moment, she's quiet, then she reaches out across the table and puts her hand on top of his, squeezing just a little.

"And it might not be what's best for Malcolm either."

[conning]

She shouldn't see him so clearly. How is it that all these people seem to see him so clearly? Has he gotten that bad at this game, has he gotten that desperate to be known?

He nods slowly, though he still doesn't really agree. "I'll think about it," he promises. "I will."

[retisense]

It isn't so much seeing Neal clearly, she doesn't think. She just knows that Neal is a good man who was probably doing his best to do right by the people around him. It's not difficult to tell that much, not considering how he'd started to make her tofu and vegetarian meals after he found out about her history.

"Okay. That's really all I'm asking."