A silent alert from the AI system linked to her workstation went off, and Nanoha looked over the rim of her computer glasses to peer at the back door from whence the alert had originated from. It was Sunday and the executive had been ensconced in her home office catching up on work. She knew it was against Shamal's orders but what the doctor did not know would not hurt her.

Morning had seen her waking with the sun and she was glad that at least some things had remained constant. Eventually, she figured her body clock would return to its pre-dawn waking time, the woman in no actual rush to push herself now that she was back home in Singapore. For now, she would content herself with the 7AM wake-up. That was still two whole hours' more rest than she would normally get.

Resuming her morning walk with Rein trailing along to keep watch over her had felt good, and she did not realise how much she had missed the balmy mornings on the quiet island. Simply taking in the fresh sea breeze and peaceful environs buoyed her mood, and the lack of autumn's cold meant her injuries ached a lot less. Small wonder that she had leapt at the opportunity Haya-chan had offered her when TSAB's CEO was looking for someone she could trust to set up the company's Asia-Pacific headquarters here.

Nanoha had changed into another oversized button down shirt after her shower, since she had just about one of every colour in her wardrobe. This time, it was a dark blue one that brought out the colour of her eyes, though she wondered why she was even bothering when she looked like roadkill that refused to stay dead. The shorts she had on were hidden under the length of the shirt that hung past her bottom, giving her the appearance of not having any on at all. Not that Nanoha cared. Guests or no, she was going to dress as comfortably as she was used to and with Rein's help, her hair had been twisted up and out of her way as per her request with a giant palm-sized pink butterfly clip.

Wincing, Nanoha unfolded herself from her office chair, regretting picking a posture that had pinched at the wound in her waist. She made her way to the door leading to the garage. Rein had noticed Nanoha's stiff movements and swiftly moved to shadow the woman. Quietly opening the door, Nanoha stepped out with Rein and closed the door behind them.

"Alph, thank you for visiting," Nanoha greeted the woman.

Fate had asked if the scientist could visit last evening and Nanoha thought it a good idea. The blonde needed to know she was not alone, even if Nanoha herself was still having trouble resolving what was between herself and the royal. They had come to an uneasy cohabiting arrangement for now, both women keeping to their own level of the apartment for the rest of yesterday.

Alph stared at her friend's boss. The woman's left forearm was in a cast and hanging in a sling, and the oddly stiff way she moved hinted at more injuries under the plus-sized shirt she was wearing. Even the arm not in a sling was in a matching cast, and the shadows under her eyes were deep and pronounced.

"Gods, Nanoha, are you okay? I heard you got hurt but…" The scientist eyed the woman worriedly.

"Rumours of my demise were greatly exaggerated," Nanoha husked drily, quirking a tiny smile. Grateful for the woman's concern but with more important things on her mind, she ducked her head, expression serious, "Hayate spoke to you?"

"She did," Alph confirmed, and the other woman exhaled in relief at her answer. "Good. I'm glad she managed to contact you," Nanoha began, alto sombre, "There have been multiple occasions of Fate-san collapsing where she stood. We've been lucky so far, but I don't know how long that luck will hold." The vivid memory of the state Fate had been in when Nanoha had busted down that door still haunted the woman and Alph could see the deep disquiet that clung to the injured woman.

"I know," Alph's expression was grim, "I was on the line yesterday when… she yelled at you." And Nanoha was using 'Fate-san' to refer to the blonde.

Nanoha flinched slightly, eyes growing bleak, "Yes, well, that said, I know she'd hate it if we tried to roll her up in bubble wrap."

Alph snorted at that, "Damn straight. Her family did it. Not because those arseholes cared, mind you. They just didn't want the spare to get damaged."

Nanoha nodded, unsurprised to have her suspicions confirmed, "Just be alert, in case another episode comes up. She has two bodyguards with her to help."

"But not you?" Alph asked bluntly, only to receive a self-deprecating twitch of the lips in return, "I'm more harm than good to her right now." Turning back to admit Alph and Rein into the apartment, Nanoha nodded towards the stairs nestled in the back of the sprawling interior, "She'll be glad to see you. Stay as long as you like."

"Could you stop with the door opening? That's my job." Alph slipped out of her sandals and headed towards the stairs Nanoha had indicated, leaving behind a bodyguard who sounded rather testy about the executive's stubbornly independent streak.

"The closed-circuit TV showed that it was Alph, and who's going to jump me from inside the condo?" Nanoha sounded amusedly dismissive of the silver haired woman's concerns, but the woman was not one to take her difficult client's nonsense lying down, "Ideally? Fate."

Alph desperately wanted to turn back to see if the executive was glaring at the bodyguard but she knew better than to risk getting caught by the prickly White Devil of TSAB.

"Not funny, Rein…"

"You keep thinking I'm joking when I'm not."

Leaving the two bickering women behind, Alph climbed up the stairs to find her ex-Head Prefect going through a luggage's worth of items. The woman had some shadows of her own, crimson eyes darkened with emotions the scientist could not quite read.

Two unfamiliar women were seated at the dining area and Alph surmised that these were the bodyguards that Nanoha had mentioned. Their suit and tie uniform matched that of the silver haired woman Nanoha had called Rein and the scientist decided she liked the sharp look on them, especially the lavender haired woman whose bust could barely be contained by the starched shirt she had on. Grinning, she lifted a finger to her lips, asking the women to be quiet.

Knocking on the polished wood of the stair's railing, she greeted Fate, "Hey you."

Head shooting up at the familiar voice, the blonde broke into a smile and stood, gracefully closing the distance between them to pull her oldest friend into a rare hug, "Oh gods, it's so good to see you."

Alph grinned and wrapped the woman up in a bear hug. The princess was not big on physical displays and it had to be a measure of her gladness that she would go all in with a full hug like this, "You're a sight for sore eyes." Immediately, Fate stiffened and pulled back, "Come again?" She asked, her usually lilting voice a quiet whisper.

Confused, Alph blinked, "You're a sight for sore eyes?" She repeated as asked. Fate's eyes grew wide and her head drew back as she stared into some far off place, mouth dropping open slightly. It only lasted a few seconds, and then she was back in the present, "S-Sorry, I think I've heard that said to me before." She shook her head and smiled, tugging her friend in to sit her on the bed.

The scientist's brain catalogued the woman's behaviour for future reference, following Fate's lead and bouncing onto the bed to cast an eye around the place, "This is a lot bigger than it looks from outside." The dearth of any hard surfaces was truly a wonder to behold. Hell, the scientist wagered she could bounce a bubble around the place and it would never pop.

Fate nodded, "I think it's at least another thousand square feet larger than my apartment. It only took a home invasion by my family to get me an upgrade."

Alph studied her unusually sarcastic friend, along with her lack of any sort of outrage when her old place was mentioned, "If she wasn't the queen, I'd sock her right in the kisser." It was an old threat that Fate was used to hearing, and the familiarity of it warmed her.

Fate gave her friend a grateful smile, "I'm glad you're still in my corner."

"When am I not?" Alph scoffed, chin lifted loftily.

"Even if you cannot throw an axe to save your life."

"Hey, I only need to throw hands if I wanna punch your mum."

Fate gave a small laugh and resumed her unpacking, pulling out the little deer plush that was tucked into the corner of her luggage.

"Oh my gods, that's from your favourite movie isn't it? It's so cute!"

Fate smoothed the plush's soft coat, lips curling up at the corners, "Yes. I don't remember getting it. My boss passed it to me after the hotel mixed up our belongings."

'Did she now?' One russet eyebrow lifted. Studying the blonde who was dressed in a short-sleeved floral print dress with skirts that flared fetchingly, Alph traced one of the fading scars on Fate's arms, "How are you feeling, princess?"

There were so many ways to answer that question that Fate just looked up at her friend for a long moment, her wine-shaded eyes full. "I'm so lost," she admitted starkly to her oldest confidante. "Physically, you can see I'm fine. I think they had been told not to hurt me that way. They had no such compunctions when it… when it came to others, though," the blonde's face shifted into an expression of sympathetic pain.

Alph was used to the bitterness in her friend's voice whenever the subject of her family came up, what surprised her was the blonde's crumpling at the mention of this 'others'. It was clear she was thinking about the executive's injuries, and the guilt that came with knowing it had been her family's lackeys behind them all.

"Yea, she doesn't look too hot. I'm surprised she's up and walking."

Fate continued to pet the plush in her hands, deriving comfort from the feel of its fur. Eyes distant, she thought back to the ceremony she had been privileged to witness, and what Ginga had shared with her after. "She's the strongest, most stubborn person I've ever met, Alph." Her mellifluous voice grew hushed, "She was shot four times. Four times. Two got past her body armour. There were hairline fractures where her armour stopped the other two bullets. I don't know how her arms ended up in casts too, but…" Eyes bright, she met her friend's rightfully horrified gaze, "She said it was her fault I lost my memories and apologised to me."

Alph's mouth silently worked for some moments, the scientist unable to form a coherent response to the insanity her friend had described to her. "Looks like the White Devil spared nothing to get you back," she finally said.

Tears tracked silently down the blonde's face, splashing onto the hand petting the toy Yakul, and on the toy itself, "She said it was her duty." The blonde gave an uncomprehending shake of her head, "I'm just her subordinate in TSAB. It makes no sense."

Pulling the crying blonde into her arms, Alph hugged her, rocking and shushing the woman who had begun to sob quietly into her shoulder. Mind working a mile a minute, the scientist examined all the evidence presented to her thus far. With everything considered, there was only one conclusion she could make, and that was that the executive cared for the blonde, far over and beyond the woman's position as her AVP of Operations.

But the woman had said she was more harm than good to Fate. From the message Nanoha had asked the TSAB CEO to share with Alph, it was obvious that Fate had no inkling of the relationship the two had shared prior to the woman's memory loss, either. Alph stroked the blonde's hair, eyes troubled.

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Nanoha paced around the open area of the floor she occupied, working out kinks from her time spent at her desk. Every now and then, she threw worried looks up towards the second level of the apartment. The configuration of the stairs meant there was nothing she could see, and yet she continued.

Was that crying she could hear? Nibbling at her bottom lip, she rubbed absently at the ache in her right waist. "You know nothing will change if you simply sat to eavesdrop."

Tossing Rein an annoyed glance from under her fringe, Nanoha did not deign to answer. What if Fate had another episode? Was Alph strong enough to catch her if she fell? Were Ginga and Edel within sight of her?

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"Rein, remind your people to keep Fate in their line of sight at all times. I'm worried Alph isn't strong enough…"

"Already did, Nanoha. Come on and take a break, you haven't had anything since that muesli bar five hours ago."

Nanoha did not feel at all hungry but sighed, knowing she had to put something in her before her next dose of medication. About to pivot towards the kitchen, she blinked when the doorbell rang, "Did your people order anything?"

"Yes, but it's not due for another hour," Rein's silvered brows drew together and she urged Nanoha to remain in the kitchen while she approached the door, her previously hidden knife tucked securely in her hand.

Eyeing the video screen, she saw a woman with a blonde bob and doctor's coat outside. Recognising Signum Wolkenritter's wife, Rein blinked and pulled open the door.

Smiling into cautious red eyes, Shamal tried to peer around the woman's broad shoulders, "Doctor Shamal Wolkenritter," she said brightly to introduce herself. "Is that stubborn woman and her 'someone' around?"

Hearing Shamal's voice, Nanoha buried her face in her one usable hand, groaning softly. Certain Rein was directing a querying look in her general direction, she just nodded, face still in her hand.

Sidling around the bodyguard and giving the hand holding a wickedly gleaming knife a wide berth, the doctor shucked off her casual sneakers and wandered in past the back room into the condominium's main floor proper. She showed evidence of being familiar with the place, which tracked since she had been consulted when the upper level was being prepared for Nanoha's someone.

Her main concern was the woman hunched over the dining table, however. Seeing the normally fit executive in such a state gave Shamal pause though she hid it well, "Well now, you've certainly found yourself in a bit of a pickle, haven't you?" Voice kept deliberately light, she approached her first patient, her traditional black doctor's bag in tow.

"Shamal," Nanoha greeted shortly, azure gaze wary. "Oh I know that look." Cannily, Shamal turned to the silver haired woman who was hovering in the background, "Hi, Miss Eins right? Mind telling me if she's been resting?"

Giving her client an unapologetic glance, Rein shook her head, "I doubt she gets more than four hours a night. She was working for hours before you got here. I was about to get her to have some mixed nuts and berries before lunch got here."

Nanoha glared daggers at Rein, which the guard blithely ignored. "Gods, you Japanese need to learn how to switch it off when you're supposed to." The way Shamal said it had Nanoha suspecting Hayate was faring no better in Shamal's opinion and felt a moment of guilt, but also gratefulness that she would not be facing the doctor's ire alone.

"I can't control when my body wakes, Shamal," Nanoha mustered her best defence by attempting her Puss-in-Boots look on the woman who refused to allow the executive to weasel out of properly caring for herself, "That's what the medication is for, Nanoha," Shamal sighed, opening her bag to draw forth her stethoscope.

Nanoha glanced to the side, expression taking on that familiar mulish cast Shamal and now Rein knew all too well, "I can't help if I'm knocked out with meds."

Shamal rolled her eyes, entirely unsurprised by the woman's answer, "Hun, you hardly get enough sleep normally, and what your body has gone through… I can treat you, but that healing has to come from your own body…"

"I rest as much as my body allows me to," Nanoha argued, "I woke after ten yesterday." She exhaled as much breath as her body cast allowed, "Anyway, it's good to see you. How are the rest of the girls?"

Shamal smiled down at the executive, it was such a Nanoha thing to be asking after others while in such a state herself, "They're fine. I banned them from visiting to give you and someone time to settle in."

Hooking a hand under Nanoha's arm, Shamal helped the woman up, "Let's go to your bedroom, I need a flat surface to give you a proper check-up."

Dragged along by the woman, Nanoha added, "I saw Hayate in the Operations folders. Tell her to let Granscenic handle that crap…"

"As much as you've been letting him handle it?" Shamal asked archly. Nanoha gestured impatiently at her glasses, "I was just reading!"

"That still counts as working, Nanoha…" Grumbling about worrywarts getting in her way all the time, the executive ungraciously hauled herself to her bed, refusing any help from anyone.

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Fate's sobbing tapered off at the sound of voices below. Had the doorbell rang? Sniffling, she gave Alph a watery smile, "S-Sorry, it's been a time."

"Hey, you have every reason to," Alph dug out a clean tissue to dab at the woman's blotchy face. Sandy lashes clumped from her tears and her little Yakul needed drying as well. Drying the abused little plush on her skirts, Fate checked the fuzz of the animal's coat. It felt similar to the dampness she had found when her boss had handed the toy to her. She positioned it to lean against her Cat Bus plush and gave Alph a quick hug, "Let me go splash some water on my face."

Nodding to her friend, Alph helped sort through the clothes in the clam shell luggage, folding work clothes in one pile and more casual garments into another. Returning, her face looking a tad less puffy, Fate gave Alph a murmur of thanks. "I don't remember most of these clothes," she remarked, and Alph humphed in amusement, "It's no wonder. Linith-mama visited when they heard you were an AVP in TSAB, went out with you and bought up a whole lot of clothes. Something about not embarrassing the family."

Fate rolled her eyes, voice sarcastic, "Of course. I must have been glad it was Linith." Alph held up a satin blouse with a ruffled collar and sleeve ends, "Well, she has better taste than your mum, that's for sure." Fate made a sound of agreement.

Voices from below carried up and the women found themselves inadvertently overhearing the conversation between the executive and someone she referred to as Shamal.

"When can I get these fucking casts off, Shamal?" They could hear the unhappy growl of the executive's voice and Fate's hands slowed, the woman's attention shamelessly riveted to the voices trickling up from below.

"Nanoha, you just got them on last week, for the love of all the gods." Shamal pressed her stethoscope to the woman's neck, eyes on her watch while she counted pulses, "I know you're a fast healer but these injuries aren't anything to sneeze at."

Nanoha blew out an annoyed breath. Having her movements restricted felt worse than just going without the casts and taking her chances. She knew she had a snowflake's chance in hell convincing the doctor of this, however.

"How did you injure your arms, anyway? The bullets, I get." Pulling out a blood pressure cuff, Shamal detached the velcro fastenings with a loud noise, "Arm please." The sound of the hand-pump being worked could be heard.

Nanoha plucked idly at a loose thread that had escaped the hem of her blue shirt, "I engaged a hostile in hand-to-hand. She had solid metal guards and kicked fairly hard. I had to break her kneecap to make her stop."

"I'm surprised you gave them that much time…" Shamal loosened the screw on the cuff. Air hissed loudly as it escaped, the doctor pressing its diaphragm to the inside of the Japanese woman's elbow.

"Usually I wouldn't, but her friend had a gun on me. It was awkward."

"You're the only person I know who'd call having a gun pointed at them awkward."

Nanoha sighed, "I have other words but it isn't for polite company. They delayed me getting to…" Her voice turned into a darkly menacing growl, "I should have broken more bones."

"From a medical standpoint, your extraction mission was a success, Nanoha," Shamal felt obligated to point out quietly. Not ready to accept absolution from the doctor, but knowing the woman meant well, Nanoha submitted to the blonde doctor's pokes and prods, putting aside her initial urge to snap at the woman.

"You know that's not good enough for me, Shamal," she finally said, voice weighed down with every regret and hidden anguish she could not show the blonde upstairs.

"Nanoha…" Recalling that the stairwell was not that far from them and how sound could travel in the enclosed apartment, Shamal sighed and shook her head. The executive looked like she could use a hug, but the doctor knew better than most that it would not be welcomed by the woman - Nanoha was notoriously guarded about her personal space. Already, the woman was twitching where she lay, forcing herself to not react to Shamal's examination.

"We'll get some x-rays done a week or so from now, all right? You'll be out of them before Christmas." That was the most the doctor could concede to her stubborn patient, "But! You need to sleep more. It's the best thing for your body right now."

Eyes shadowed, Nanoha refused to recall the bliss that spooning the blonde had once afforded her. Those were the only times she had found herself able to sleep in. 'Stop missing what you can't have, you big baby,' she silently told herself.

"...I'll try," was the most Nanoha could promise the woman. "You always try and fail," Shamal complained, but it was an old sticking point between them with no solution in sight that did not include knocking the woman out with medication. Precisely the reason why Nanoha detested taking them.

"Let's get your shirt off so I can take a look at these holes you picked up in Japan, hmm?"

Alph observed her friend throughout what they were able to hear drifting up from the first level of the condo. The icy princess, usually so skilled at schooling her expression, was like an open book when it came to the executive. The news about the woman not sleeping enough brought to Fate's mind the unwelcome thought that Rein would be happy to help in that department. 'Gods, I am turning into a complete bitch,' Fate thought to herself.

"You look like you just sucked on a lemon," Alph whispered into one reddening ear. Eyes dropping to be caught eavesdropping like some poorly brought up child, Fate found herself unable to meet her friend's eyes, "I… We heard… She and her bodyguard, the other night…" The blonde's whisper was pained and the jealousy Alph could see in her expression was plain to someone who had known the woman as long as the scientist had.

"That's… unexpected," she whispered back, shaken to have her hypothesis being challenged so soon. Fate shrugged unhappily, fiddling at the make-up bag that was the last thing she could see in the luggage she had used in Japan.

When the talk below shifted to how the executive's arms had been hurt, Fate placed a trembling hand over her mouth. Why did she feel so close to tears whenever it came to her boss? Hostile? Extraction mission? The woman spoke using such unfamiliar lingo, and Fate instinctively knew this had more to do with the woman being the Takamachi heir than TSAB's EVP of Operations.

What was curious was her doctor, this Shamal person, spoke with similar lingo, as if she knew about this other facet of the executive's life. Extraction mission. What a sterile way to describe what the Takamachi heir had done to drag Fate out of her mother's clutches. "Fate, would you mind if I shared what I know with Linith-mama?"

Both women knew Alph's mother would never have condoned whatever had gone down in Japan, or in Fate's apartment in Singapore. "M-Maybe check with Nanoha. I don't care but she might." Alph nodded and helped move aside the now empty luggage to one side, "Do you want to store this or…?"

"Leave it to the side, I'd like to wipe the inside before putting it away. Thanks, Alph." Nodding, the scientist easily carried the empty clam shell to set it by the side of Fate's bed. Turning to ask what next, she spied the royal's ears going red at the sound of cloth rustling below. Never in all her years of knowing Fate had she seen the woman going red so easily. This was going to get messy if the executive was actually dating her bodyguard. Information. The scientist needed it.

"OW! Are you trying to poke the hole back open?!" Fate jumped at the yell. It was impossible not to listen in when the volume was this loud.

Shamal tsked at the baby, "Please, you almost killed that poor excuse for a doctor with two holes in you. Do you expect me to believe that my checking of your reconstructive surgeon's skills is too much for you to handle?" Shamal dismissed the Takamachi heir's grumbled complaints with the ease of long familiarity.

"...How did you hear about that?" Nanoha jerked at another light touch on her shoulder. The skin felt overly sensitive, as if all the layers of epidermis had not quite rebuilt itself yet.

"We called your mum after we heard."

Eyes cast to the side to avoid looking at yet more ugliness imprinted into her body, Nanoha clenched her jaw, "I had more pressing things occupying my attention at the time."

"Well, occupy yourself with the same someone now, then."

Sometimes that tanuki's humour rubbed off on her relatives in unwelcome ways and shards of flint looked up at the doctor hovering over her supine form. "That would be rude. We aren't in that sort of relationship, Shamal. I'll thank you for keeping that in mind," the auburn haired woman's censorious tones warned the blonde Wolkenritter off of the topic.

There was something about the auburn haired woman. Her low alto carried more gravitas since she had been installed as the Takamachi heir, making an already compelling person even harder to take lightly. Shamal dipped her head, acceding to Nanoha's implied warning, "I see your next surgery is coming up in two weeks. Do me a favour and try not to tear anything open again. Roll over, hun." Grunting, the executive complied with some effort.

"This looks strained. Were you using the arts?" Nanoha remained silent, eliciting a deep sigh from the doctor, "Do I need to ask Rein to tie you down?"

"Only if you want me to tear things open breaking out of the ties," Nanoha groused into her pillow, refusing to be threatened when it was not her fault she had to run into Fate's apartment and then up the stairs when the blonde had had her most recent episode. "Look, Shamal, I'm trying my best. Do you think I enjoy being this incapacitated? There are just times when I have to get somewhere quickly. I won't apologise for that."

The doctor sighed again, "If anything tears, you must contact me straight away."

"...All right, fine." The doctor's concession was more than Nanoha was expecting, and she wondered if she had scared the Wolkenritters if Shamal was giving in this easily. Nanoha had lost the most important thing in her life, but she did not have a death wish. Her life was not her own to take lightly. That night was an anomaly for obvious reasons.

Patting the Takamachi heir on her uninjured shoulder to signal the end of her examination, Shamal helped Nanoha roll back onto her back. Supporting the woman back up to a seating position, she dressed the heir back in her shirt and sling. "Lunch and meds," she ordered Nanoha.

Sighing quietly in relief that the ordeal was over with, Nanoha awkwardly levered herself back up onto her feet, stubbornly refusing any help the doctor offered, "Thanks, Shamal."

Daring a momentary, one-armed hug, Shamal pressed a fond kiss to the executive's cheek, "Anytime, love, you know they wouldn't let me rest until I return with a favourable report about your health. Heal up, and I promise I won't nag, much."

Nanoha smirked, accepting the show of affection with good grace, "Promises, promises," she drawled. Shooing the doctor off, Nanoha padded to the kitchen to get a handful of squirrel food while waiting for the food delivery to arrive.