Emmeline was positive that she had been hallucinating. She was told about what could happen in Atlantis, and she was positive that this was one of those times. The name. She stared at the name and told herself it wasn’t real.
The funny part was that she knew it was possible. Lily was here. James was here. Logically why shouldn’t he be here?
Logic wasn’t exactly Emmeline’s strong suit when it came to Benjy Fenwick. When he actually made a post on the Network, Emmeline wasn’t sure how long she stared at it before finally responding. She had to make sure it was really Benjy and not some ridiculous trick. When she found out where he was, Emmeline told him that she was on her way, but didn’t really make an effort to move for a few minutes.
Eventually she found herself outside of the door and knocked a few times. She was still hesitant. What was she supposed to say to him now?
There was a certain amount of logic to picking up a coin in the Department of Mysteries and being instantly transported to a mythical island which had been tasked with saving creativity. Benjy, for his part, had arrived bathed in sweat and shaking in his boots. That coin was his last chance to disarm Rookwood’s explosive device …
But bathed in warmth and sunlight, having made his first tenuous steps to contact the people who were banding together. People like him. He found himself with shaking hands again when Emmeline Vance reached out to him. He had none of the confidence and bluster of the moral young man who she met only a few years ago. This was a man nearly at peace with being one with oblivion.
But oblivion would not come. Not as long as Emmeline rapped on the door. He pivoted, striding to the door with the intent to sweet her up in some grand gesture. Instead, he realized, he was unsure of what to do. He stared, lower lip bitten.
“Hey you.”
When the door opened and Emmeline saw Benjy standing there, staring back at her with those piercing blue eyes, she could hardly move. It was like Emmeline was looking at a ghost. Perfectly preserved from their last moment together in her memory, now standing right in front of her.
“Hey.” Emmeline still had made no effort to move forward. It was worse than when she came face to face with Lily. Emmeline was quite literally too afraid to move or reach out. Her heart pounded in her chest, she wasn’t sure what a heart attack felt like, but it quite possibly felt something similar to what she was experience now.
Each breath became more hollow and her eyes and nose burned as tears tried to push out.
In her usual fashion, Emmeline made it easy. Benjy pushed forward and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a tight embrace. Slowly, quietly, he said her name again and again into her hair and took several deep breaths. It was obvious to him, in this moment, that his worst fears had perhaps been realised.
“Hey. I was just going to put the kettle on. Come in, you.”
Once his arms wrapped around her, there was no stopping in. She clung to him, and buried her face into his chest as cried silently in his chest. His arms around her felt so familiar, his warmth and the way he said her name.
“You’re really here.” She said in between gasps of air.
Emmeline knew it was possible and she’s be lying if she said she didn’t wish for it silently almost every night. Then again, it hurt too much to think about so she was good at keeping herself distracted. The problem came after they got back from Colorado. Emmeline had been married and happy as Everleigh, and the only time she had ever wanted that in her real life was her moments with Benjy, and they barely any time.
“Tea’s good.” She said finally. “Maybe something stronger.”
He held tightly, as if to prove that he was very real. When he finally loosened his grip, it was to lead her inside and shut the door. There, he could replace one hand upon her nape and the other to ease against her jaw. He let a kiss linger upon her forehead.
Finally -- “Tea’s good with a bit of whiskey, don’t you think?” was quiet, but tinged with a smile. He slid back over to the stove and flipped the burner. “I guess I should think that Atlantis would have more technology than the England we left, yeah?”
Emmeline breathed in and out a few times as she followed alongside him. She told herself to get a grip and try to relax, and hopefully soon she’ll be smiling more instead of crying. “I think.” She agreed. Anything strong at this point was preferably to her. Emmeline wasn’t sure if she could get through this without something to calm her nerves.
“You don’t know the half of it.” Emmeline said with a semi-forced laugh. “This place is mental. Technology’s only a tiny piece of it.” She put her hands in her back pockets and turned to face him. “Look I’m-” She paused for a moment. “It’s just been a while for me.” Her heart pounded in her chest. While she had a feeling, she still had to ask. “What do you remember from home? The last thing you remember?”
He was, at least, thankful to Atlantis for giving him a bottle of the good stuff to start with. He pulled the Glenfiddich from the shelf and sat it next to two ceramic teacups. Then, back to her. “Well …” he wanted to be buoyant and full of confidence. But he leaned against the counter, arms crossed over his head as he stared at his toes.
“I was in the Prophecy Chamber. I’d been locked in -- Rookwood, which I’m guessing -- and there was an explosive. I was trying to disarm it. I looked round and picked up a coin then woosh, here we are.” He paused, drawing a breath. “ … a while? Like, as in time?”
Emmeline clenched her fists. “He was sent to Azkaban.” Her voice harsh. Though in her opinion death would have been preferable. Azkaban was worse than death, according to sources, but Emmeline didn’t care.
She nodded, trying to look at him but it was difficult. “It was 1985 for me back home. After you-” She paused. “It was bad and it got worse. You-Know-Who,” she spoke carefully. “He murdered James and Lily. He tried to murder Harry too but the spell backfired, everyone thought he was dead but I guess was just in hiding till Harry was in school. There was a second war, don’t know much beyond that.” She was trying hard not to start shaking again but the grief and rage was hard to control.
“Hey.” Emmeline’s fists were all the explanation of events that Benjy needed. He uncurled his arms and reached forward, smoothing his palms over her shoulders. It was clear to him that he was gone (it was something he could examine later, though now it felt detaching and strange) and that Emmeline had experienced more grief and death than anyone had the right. He had no desire to tell her it was ‘all right’ -- it clearly wasn’t. It clearly wouldn’t be.
He shook his head. “It’s all bullocks, Emmeline. You had a right to so much more than that.”
Emmeline breathed in and out, the weight of Benjy’s shoulders calmed down the panic that stirred inside of her.
“You’re here now though.” She replied softly. “Lily and James, Remus and Sirius and you.” Of course she missed Marlene and Dorcas as well, but at least at this moment things felt perfect. Or at least things felt like they were on their way to being perfect. “I think you’ll like it here.” Just as long as no one she cared about accidently disappeared.
“Yeah?” he smiled, trying to coax one out of her. “Well the team’s coming back together.” He considered all of these Order members in the same place, working toward the same goal. Their talents and accomplishments had, apparently, seen his world through two wars. Here, they could do some good too.
“You’re here, I like it already. That and the big damn heroics in saving creativity.”
Emmeline nodded and she did her best to smile. It was nice, having nearly everyone back. It’s meant a lot to have Remus and Sirius here too. Watching the boys together, rolling her eyes and laughing alongside Lily, it brought back a lot of memories. Good memories. Memories, including the ones with Benjy that hurt so much to think about back home and only just slowly allowed herself to remember them without all of the pain. It still hurt but at least the roughness was being sanded down.
“You’ll need a proper tour,” she said. Then leaned her body against his. “But first, I still need that drink.”
And just as she spoke, the kettle began to whistle. He wrapped his arms around her waist and took a few steps back, grinning down at her like some mad fool who hadn’t seen her in years. It felt like years … years and his own lifetime. He knew that he wouldn’t let time get away from him here. He was determined to stay here, to do good and most of all, to be with her.