Break

Cradling the cup in both hands, Jade gently blew across the surface of her coffee and took an experimental sip, savouring its gloriously rich and intense flavour
Kenneth had been primed and safely checked into a deposit box by Jade and the increasingly twitchy Boyd, who in spite of his worsening condition, had managed to extract the combination of the vault from the mind of the duty manager; and so with a couple of hours to kill, Jade found herself surrounded by shopping bags and sat at a table opposite Cassandra in the Starbucks in Crystals, where the two women had ventured for wont of something to do
Reaching forward, Cass picked up the little cantuccini that had come with her espresso and popped it into her mouth, crunching noisily while Jade regarded her over the rim of her cup and took another sip of her coffee
“That wasn’t bad going for just half an hour’s shopping,” Jade observed after a moment “How much did we spend in the end?”
Cass swallowed the remains of the biscotti before replying
“Just over seven hundred thousand” she said in a low voice so as not to be overheard, her hand moving to recheck her bag and its precious contents to make sure it was still slung over the back of her chair. Finally satisfied, she reached forward to lift the tiny espresso cup up from its saucer
"I can’t believe we just strode into Cartier and bought something like that necklace in less than five minutes,” Jade whispered back, her voice high with excitement “That’s daft stuff"
“I thought it might come in useful if we need something to trade wherever we wind up next," Cass shrugged "but if we still have it once we’re done time travelling, if you like it, it’s all yours”
Jade raised her eyebrows in surprise “I wouldn’t even know where to wear it. Are you sure?”
Giving her a lopsided smile in response, Cass kept her thoughts to herself, and instead lapsed into quiescence; the two women drinking their coffee in silence for a moment before Jade spoke up again
“So...” she began hesitantly “Do you want to chat about what happened earlier?”
“Not particularly” Cass scowled and drained her coffee before sinking back into her chair. Crossing her long legs, she fidgeted with the espresso cup on the edge of the table to line the saucer and cup handle up with the raffia pattern on the table top
“Sorry,” Jade said hurriedly “I didn’t mean to pry, I just...”
She petered out as Cass glanced back at her, her eyes sparkling with tears
"Aw hon" Jade clattered her cup onto its saucer and reached across the table to grasp Cassandra's hand, only to have it snatched away from her before she could do so
"Fucking Boyd" Cass hissed, blinking rapidly as she ran the hand she had just pulled away, back through her hair
Like all good listeners, Jade knew exactly when to remain silent
"I feel... violated," Cass continued in a low voice "I mean, they're not my memories, but they make me who I am... They’re not nice, and I don’t like telling anyone about that shit... Jay knows"
“If it’s any consolation, I don’t think he’s thrilled with Boyd either”
“That,” Cass sighed and shook her head “is an entirely different issue
Pursing her lips, she stared down at the top of the table in silence, adjusting and readjusting the cup and saucer for a moment or two
“Fuck it” she said eventually, her eyes briefly meeting Jade’s before she looked away again to fidget with the cup and saucer again “It’ll all come out anyway and someone needs to hear it from me - Maybe it’ll do me good?”
“You don’t have to” Jade said firmly
Cass shook her head at this and, with a sigh, pushed the cup and saucer out of the way to sit forward and lean on her elbows on the table
“When I was young, I was abused by my piece of shit, alcoholic father” she said tersely “That’s what Boyd saw”
“Cass...” Jade breathed, half rising form her chair and reaching out towards her
“I’m not a victim okay!?” she snapped, perhaps a little too harshly, as she shied away
“No. No, of course not” Jade retreated back into her chair and allowing Cassandra to return to leaning on the table
“I got my closure in the end,” Cass said after a moment “I..." she shook her head and tutted in irritation "Brittany slit the bastard’s throat from ear to ear. I...”
Swallowing the lump in her throat, she lapsed into silence, eventually breathing out a shaky sigh and running a hand back through her hair again
“Anyway, that kinda put paid to all those dreams of going to university at Cambridge” she gave Jade a tight smile, her chin dimpling unhappily “You know, I was offered a scholarship there when I was just thirteen? My father refused to allow me to go"
Jade raised her eyebrows at this “Wow”
“Talk about ruining a life!” Cass sighed bitterly “You’d never believe a piece of shit like that used to be a copper! – It’s no wonder I have problems with authority”
“I can barely begin to imagine what it must have been like for you” Jade said gently
“Still, I shouldn’t complain” Cass forced a smile “Like I say: These aren’t my memories. They’re all I have, but they’re not mine – they’re Brittany’s; and without Brittany..." she shrugged "I’d be nothing”
Taking a deep breath, Jade blew her cheeks out and shook her head
“I don't even know where to begin” she murmured "It was brave of you to even tell me"
"I don't need platitudes" Cass said in a small voice "I just..."
"Just what?"
"Oh, I just need to get drunk" Cass sighed, recovering herself and suddenly standing "Can't do it right now, but after we get this paradox resolved: You and me, yeah?"
Draining her coffee, Jade scooped up her bags and climbed out of her chair as well
They both knew that wasn't what she had been about to say
"Yeah," she smiled “sure”

<tbc/>

<ooc>
That was just a little something I was working on before Mike and James posted (btw: thanks for moving things on guys), we’ll be getting on with the action in the next post
</ooc>