"Hello..." Reed muttered, startled at the sight of a very familiar face staring back at her from her own office. She hadn't seen Doctor Bell in years, having last seen him at that quite memorable convention.

He looked older, his wrinkles more prominent than ever before. His sand hair turned milky white, eyes hiding behind thick glasses, not to mention that Reed could have sworn the man shrunk in those past few years. The only thing that hadn't changed about him seemed his terrible sense of fashion, still sporting that mustard suit that was surely as old as Bell himself.

Bell readjusted his blue bow tie as if to make himself more presentable.

"I apologise, where are my manners...It's a pleasure to see you again Doctor Reed..." he offered awkwardly, as if not really knowing what to say and Reed couldn't exactly blame him. They had separated in less than amicable circumstances, Reed basically disappearing from the face of the world without even as little as a "goodbye".

"Erm... Please, sit down..." Reed motioned to the chair, walking around the man to take place behind her desk. It felt somewhat wrong, seeing Bell sit in the "guest" chair, while Reed took the position where he would usually greet her from, back at the university. But despite what their dynamic might have been almost a decade ago, now Reed was to some extent a different person. Yes, it brought her joy seeing the face of a man she'd used to think of as a father figure, but having spent so much time away from everything, his presence irked her.

"So, what brings you to the Institute?" she asked, deciding to go through with the routine set of questions. He requested a consultation. It was a business setting, not a reunion.

"I apologise for such short notice... I would have called you directly, but as you might know, your old number is not in service anymore..." Bell smiled bitterly, his black eyes looking over Reed with a mixture of awe and sadness.

"Yes, I have changed my phone number." She confirmed.

"How have you been?"

"I am alright, but I advise you to get to the point. I am already behind the schedule." It broke her heart to be this cold, a part of her wanted to hug the old man. He was once her mentor, a force of guidance introducing her to the world of biology, her only supporter in a world full of indifferent faces. But that was before... That was before the "trench operation" and that damned conference.

"It's been hard to find you... I mean, I have expected anywhere but Galway* of all places..." he didn't seem to take the hint, ignoring Reed's words altogether.

"You have requested a consultation at the desk. This is not a catch-up meeting." Reed added harshly. Despite the years going by, the topic of her sudden disappearance from the frontlines of the research remained sensitive for her. She didn't change her mind about justifying herself, the scar on her soul still aching.

Bell sighed as if expecting her sudden change of tone, but he remained persistent.

"Well, I am glad some things didn't change... Stubborn as always..." he chuckled humourlessly, taking Reed off-guard.

"I am glad to see you do well. I mean, look at you, having an office in an Institute... Doing research." He motioned at the rest of her cramped-up office, almost all of the surfaces covered in scans and documents.

"Although, I can see you don't get many guests often. I thought I taught you how to store documents properly."

"And I thought I have explained to you, how my system works..." Reed snorted quietly, the tension lifting up if only just a bit from their shoulders. Bell couldn't help but chuckle, eyes going softer. At times he looked more like a grandpa or a Santa Claus instead of an esteemed scientist.

"Well, I guess both of us learned nothing then..." he chuckled, looking down at his lap.

"What can I say, Rowan... I missed your company dearly, that's for sure. My team truly lost one of the brightest minds Oxford has ever seen when you left..." he started twiddling his thumbs. Reed was familiar with that nervous tick, having seen it a million times if not more while they worked together. She couldn't help but cringe inwardly at him calling her "Rowan"... She had grown quite a distaste for her name for the past decade.

"I am here indeed to consult you, but not really about the biology, at least not yet. I am here to consult you about a potential employment for you." He looked up at her, dark eyes burning holes in her soul.

"I am employed..." Reed answered. She had to admit, that his rather blatant statement caught her by surprise. She could feel the ease evaporating from her body that very second. A part of her felt proud of being a highly regarded scientist, having her old professor come all this way to consult her on biological matters, but having heard him question her employment choices successfully made her raise her defences.

"Yes, I can see that and I really believe you have done a great job, but-"

"There is always a but, isn't there? You went through the trouble of finding me just to criticize my employment choices?" Any sense of amicability between them vanished into the thin air.

"You haven't even let me finish. Rowan, listen-"

"Don't call me that..." she hissed.

"It's Doctor Reed for you."

She could see the visible hurt on his face, yet Bell braced through it.

"Doctor Reed, I am not here to criticize you or the Institute, in fact, I think it's quite lovely. I understand your decision to retire from the London Scene, but..."

"What?"

That one single word uttered by her made his eyes go wide, and he realised his mistake all too late.

"You 'understand' my decision? To retire? So that's what you call it, huh?" Her eyes narrowed, anger bubbling in her gut.

"My retirement... Damn... I bet you and those snobby, self-absorbed sons of bi-"

"Would you stop that already?! Lord have mercy, you've always been so vulgar."

"Look at me! Crazy and vulgar..." Reed released an ugly cackle. Bell glared at her, those dark eyes of his full of pain, being reminded of the past events.

"Rowan... Doctor Reed. Please do not accuse me of such lies. I have never said or even thought of you as anything but a great and devoted scientist. I understand you were hurt and needed some time away, but could you just hear me out? I believe I have a very suitable job opportunity-"

"You can tell these assholes from Oxford I am not interested..."

"This is not about Oxford."

Reed paused.

"This is not Oxford..." Bell repeated more calmly this time, straightening his collar.

"I must say, it's quite presumptuous of you to assume it's Oxford. Will you just listen to me now?" He huffed. Bell never liked Reed swearing, a habit he'd tried to help her break unsuccessfully. Reed settled back in her chair, watching Bell with narrowed eyes. He sighed, for what felt like a thousandth time this day, giving this conversation one last time.

"I will be straight with you since You don't seem to be interested in a civilised conversation. I am in a rather important research project, a revolutionary one quite frankly. As one of the overseers of the whole ordeal, I have been asked to recommend a marine biologist specialising in the deep-sea, Twilight Zone* and down... I have recommended you." He wiped the sweat off of his brow.

"Oh, and I am the presumptuous one? It's been a decade Matthew. A decade, since you last saw me, and you came here to ask me to work for you? Why on earth would you think I would agree to anything?" Reed couldn't understand what exactly the old man was thinking, coming here. She'd long since left her research of the deep, along with the humiliation and the whispers of the crowd.

Crazy Bitch.

Demented.

Deranged.

Who let her in here?

"You will not be working for me, but with me... sort of. I can't reveal much about the project, given it's highly classified, but I know that If I am ever going to recommend somebody to participate, it's you! You have won awards, spoken at conferences! I have students quoting your works in my class! You are barely half my age and already have achieved so much! Why abandon all that? What on earth happened to you?"

"You know exactly what happened..." Reed muttered, standing up suddenly.

There was silence between them, both avoiding each other's gaze.

She didn't like to think about it. She didn't like recalling these moments, and yet some nights her mind would keep her awake, replaying the dreaded memories over and over. Had she given up too easily? Had she been too emotional, vanishing from the face of the earth?

There wasn't a second Reed wasn't plagued by self-doubt... And Bell did nothing to even help break her fall. Having matured, she understood that having associated fatherhood with a stranger would backfire bringing her hurt and disappointment, but she couldn't help connecting the familial feelings with one of the very few people who actively supported her and offered guidance.

Looking at him, she was forced to swallow these feelings down, the reality of what had occurred was all too painful to forgive or forget. She'd trusted him like a father she never really had and he failed her in one of the worst ways possible...

He is not your father Reed... No matter how much you wanted him to be...

"I don't do research anymore... At least not these kinds. I am sorry, but you will have to look for somebody else, now, If you excuse me, I am afraid I have some business to attend to..." She didn't even look at him, opting to just go straight for the door, but before she could leave, however, Bell stood up also, coming to block the door.

"I know what happened was unfortunate and trust me, whenever I think about it I wish I could have changed it... You are special... Truly special and this project? This could... Rowan, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity... An anomaly, never seen before."

"Then you do it..." Reed tried side-stepping him, but he moved with her.

"I can't. Look at me! I am seventy-eight. I can't dive anymore. I can't stay on the ship anymore. I can't do any of this... but you can. Trust me when I say that I wouldn't want this opportunity wasted on some mediocre Poindexter*, not when I know a brilliant Irish scientist, who will do it justice. If you can't look at the project as me extending an olive branch, then look at it from a scientist's point of view..."

"That's emotional manipulation..." She muttered, her eyebrows scrunched.

"No, that is me trying to save YOU from wasting YOUR potential. Rowan, with all due respect, this place? This place is for those who settle on what they have got... You are not one of them Rowan. Don't you miss it? The thrill of looking for the unknown? Trying to understand the bizarre world of the deep? I know I do..."

"No, now move..." she pushed through him, pushing the door open, almost bolting down the corridor. She could hear the hurried steps behind her as Bell exclaimed.

"Please consider it! I will send you an email with more details! Just think about it, okay?"

But she didn't grace him with a response.

Rowan sat at the bus stop, glancing at her waterproof watch with growing agitation. The day had already turned sour and the bus being late wasn't a great improvement for her mood. She still had some time to get to her mother's house before the dinner would start, but she was cutting it close.

She glanced behind her, eyes climbing up the white walls of the Institute until stopping upon the blue dome at the top of the main building, glimmering in the setting sun. Most of the windows were dark, apart from the computer rooms. She could hear the muffled sound of guitar riffs coming from one of them, Milo most likely blasting music as he worked.

There he was again, making her smile, even if it was just a little bit.

Milo was a dedicated young man, staying until late to rewatch footage, work on samples, and read documents, hell, he even volunteered at the rescue department every now and then. His attitude and work ethic was promising if not admirable, having so much passion like Reed once had as well.

Had Bell ever thought about me like that?

Her smile vanished, morbid thoughts returning to her mind. Of all reasons to come here, Bell had decided to show up with a proposal of a career change, adding insult to the still-healing injury. He'd always been like that... All-knowing. The smartest person in the room at all times. Reed didn't know whether it was success, money or the cosy place among the Oxford deans, that made Bell like that, but she'd pray she wouldn't have to find out. She supposed she'd found that confidence of his inspiring, back when she was just a student, attributing it to the findings and knowledge when in reality it might just have been his overblown ego.

Don't you miss it?

No.

But she did... Oh, how much did she miss it... The inky black depths on the screens. That thrill went up her spine whenever an unknown shape moved through the darkness. That sweet, sweet mixture of horror and fascination watching the previously unseen creatures emerge from the shadows, some big, some small, all evenly magnificent. As much as rescuing animals or controlling shark migrations could be satisfying, it never felt like the old times. It never gave her that rush of adrenaline, never made her heart pumping. She used to be a discoverer, an explorer paving the way through the dark waters of the Hadal zone* looking for creatures unknown to humanity. And she'd found a couple... Or at least it was her who'd actually seen them.

She sighed, eyes trailing the entrance to the Institute. To her surprise Muriel came out, pushing the glass door with one hand while the other held the phone. Reed couldn't hear her talk, the sound of the waves and cars passing by successfully stopping her from eavesdropping. Muriel seemed angry, visibly shouting at whoever was on the other side, her luscious locks blowing in the breeze while she threw her hands around. She opened her car, plopping in while still on the phone, slamming the door behind her. She seemed dejected, now listening to the caller with a stone-cold face before finally hanging up. She put the phone down, leaning her forehead against the steering wheel, hands resting on the sides of her head. Reed watched her remain in the same position for at least a couple of minutes, watching her coworker go through what looked like five stages of grief before Muriel finally started the car. The younger woman remained unseen, following Muriel's car with her eyes as she drove off in the opposite direction.

It wasn't hard to guess what was the phone call about. Muriel was usually a calm, strong woman, a bit strict, yes, but she rarely outright yelled. There were only two possible callers who would make Muriel's blood boil like that. Her ex-husband or... The Municipality, and given that Greg had moved away a long time ago, that only left the absolute delight of person, the secretary from the Salthill Municipality.

Muriel had tried very hard to hide the financial troubles of the research centre, hoping to avoid putting additional pressure on the already scarce number of employees. She was a good woman, and a good boss, but no matter how passionate she might have been, passion alone didn't bring money. The Institute was mostly paid by the municipality, having very few sources of income aside from the ones provided by the government, and looking at how Salthill has been slowly working towards being put on the Tourist Map of Ireland, they have been retracting more and more funds every year. She knew Muriel had loved the institute like her own child, having been here for what felt like forever. There was no Institute without Muriel Doyle, her presence working like glue on any scientist lucky enough to stumble into the hidden gem of the Salthill.

All good things come to an end eventually...

She blinked, startled by the harsh sound of the bus stopping right in front of her. She looked down at her watch, confirming that at this rate she would most definitely be late.

She walked through the sliding door.

Why won't you get a license?

I don't want to...

---------------------

*Galway- City in Ireland

*Twilight Zone- A layer of ocean beginning at 200 meters below the surface

*Poindexter- a boring studious person

*Hadal Zone- ocean layer occurring in trenches.