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[She shifts, stepping to the side and letting herself be wrapped up in him. But it's more for him than it is for her. She's stone cold. She'll deal. Jacob, on the other hand, needs to truly mourn. To learn to cope with the fact that their little girl is going to grow up to be a hero--and she doesn't know the details, but from a Keyes? That's what she expects. Never from a Halsey. But from Jacob's daughter, she expects it and would be shocked at anything less. But the future is a hard thing to stomach, and though she's not sorry she asked, she's sorry she needed to tell Jacob.

On some level, she hates that she lives. Hates that all she'll have left are her memories and maybe a handful of people she cares about. Maybe. All she knows is the meager information John has told her, which isn't much.

Names. Numbers. She has them all memorized. Etched into her mind. And she loves as best she knows how by doing nothing but her work, working in tribute and in the hopes of saving everything and everyone.

Silently, she buries her head against his chest, arms tight around his waist. There's still so much to be said, but she can't find the words or the heart to say it. That she's a villain. That she's stained herself for the good of humankind. That she ought to be branded a monster by so many.

She imagines she ends up breaking every rule on the books.

The love of a good man like Jacob Keyes is far beyond what she deserves.]

[It really is for himself that he's asking for her to be there, because he needs someone to hold and cope with this. Someone that if he started talking too, they would understand what's going on and would set him straight. How can he deal with knowing his daughter is going to go on, be a hero, and die? That out of them, Catherine's the one to live and see them both die. That he has to let her deal with it by herself. He's mourning really for them all, something she may not understand but for him, well he has to so he can cope.

He has the names of the children he helped her find memorized, he has a feeling he'll have Miranda's service number memorized when she enlists. All he can do is try and remember them all and do what he can to show that their faith in him is warranted.

That he's not as much of a failure as he feels, as both an officer in some ways still trying to prove himself, and a father for letting his daughter die after him.

But he'd never say that she doesn't deserve love, that out of everything she needs it as much as they do. Who else needs it more?

He just holds her tight to him, resting his forehead on top of her head, and cries. It's all he can do for a future he'll never see.]

[As he held her after she died, so she holds him now, resisting the urge to make any sort of a move to comfort him other than running her hands idly up and down his lower back. What good would words do? What good does anything do? She wants simply to hold him, to let him be the better person of the two of them, to let him mourn everything she can't.

As she closes her eyes, there are faces in her mind. Her Spartans. Miranda. Jacob. Her parents. All she loved and left behind. At a gentle shake of his shoulders, she finally feels it all hit her, a lump rising in her throat as a cold, hollow feeling sweeps through her chest.

She won't cry, but she will let herself feel, if only for a moment, the weight of the world hitting her. Her responsibilities. Everything that's been on her head. The ways she tried to escape them, to be normal, to love and be loved.

Jacob was her world briefly and brightly, and she looks back on that time as something grand, something she wished could have lasted. And now she knows she'll lose him for good, likely well before his time. And her daughter, too. Her daughter who probably never loved her or wanted anything to do with her.

For now, thankfully, she has Jacob. And right now, she'll be as strong as she can for him.]

[He wouldn't mind much else, it's not like they'll be seen but he doesn't care. She can choose how to comfort him, he won't care if it's with words or actions. He just wants to mourn it all before he confronts John.

He's never been one to seek out comfort or love, he just does what he does and hopes for someone to take notice of it all. But he does know when to not comment on it, and instead just pulls her closer and lets her mourn or love how she likes, he can't and won't judge her and instead just lets her be.

But soon enough he gets a hold of himself, letting his composure come back, but he doesn't let her go. He'd rather not really.]

What else did you learn? [He'll ask her or he'll ask John or Cortana really at this point he's just asking so he can focus on other things.]

Some time ago...

[She takes a deep breath, then sighs.]

Cortana told me of her origin. What has she told you?

[He shifts so it's his cheek is resting on her head.]

That she's nearing the operational lifespan of an AI of her type, that's all.

[How many things is he going to throw?]

I made her. She's one of mine.

[Another deep breath.]

She's what's called a "smart" AI, of course.

[He nods, that makes sense. He's pretty sure Cortana told him similar but he can't remember.]

Of course, she can do anything, right? Not programmed for one specific task.

[Forgive her for what she's about to say.]

Do you know how they're created?

[He tilts his head, thinking.]

Not really, no. I've never asked.

Good.

[She'll leave it at that.]

Catherine.

[No, don't leave it like that. Spill.]

I broke several major laws to create Cortana, from what I'm told. I cloned myself.

[A pause.] Or I will, at least.

[Wait wait, how would that...

Well no, wait brains. They were like, the only thing to be used for that, right? If so then...]

You...[He's not sure how to take this. He's tired from earlier and just can't comprehend it.] Why?

Narcissism, perhaps? I'm not entirely certain. It won't happen for another several years.

[A shrug.]

Perhaps the situation made it necessary.

[He can imagine a situation needing it, in fact he's going to just assume that and hope it's the right thing. That a situation would require an AI based on her. Yes.]

I can believe that. [He's back to resting his cheek on her head.] You know how old she is then?

She is approaching rampancy.

[She thinks on this for a few moments.] If she isn't there already.

I know she is.

[He doesn't know much about AI's but he does know that.] Rampant AI's can still be helpful, especially if they care.

She seems stable enough, and she saved John's life, even in that state.

[She pulls back slightly to look up at him.] I'm glad we can trust her.

[He shifts so he can look down at her, nodding.]

I am as well, otherwise things would be far more difficult. [...Okay he can't help himself.] At least she's not flirting with your Spartan.

[Were Halsey from later on in her life, from after Cortana's creation, she would have said something about the AI's preference of him. But she won't.]

They care for each other a great deal. They have a partnership.

[He could say something about her preference of himself too, Catherine's. If he were older that is, considering what she does.]

They do. Which is now being done in human bodies. [This is his way of asking if them being attracted to one another is possible. She's the AI expert.]

[That takes her by surprise, making her chuckle slightly.]

Sometimes I wonder if AI aren't just as human as we are. [That's a yes.] She feels anger toward me, regret, I think, as well. She is willful and strong of heart. I can see why they would make a wonderful team.

[Look, it's like them. Looking at himself and Catherine, he wouldn't be surprised if this could be a thing. He and Cortana feel a lot of things, where she and John don't.

So he just grins.]

It wouldn't surprise me, before arriving here I met one, she took me by surprise sometimes. [Okay good, he wasn't just imagining things.] I can as well, and I can see why she would feel those things. In a way I'd like to see them in action, just to see what they can do.

I feel the same way. I can't believe I created something so incredible. Each AI is different, with a different personality and a different set of wants and needs. I can only imagine how they worked together, both of them willful and quick on their feet.

[She's... drifting off into her own world, suddenly. This is a nice, safe topic.]

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