[His smile is a little mournful, because he knows what comes next.] Funny how things work out. [She just wants him to be happy.] Let's share that wine together, though. Like you said, you didn't want to leave with me feeling angry and violent and I'm not now.

[Funny and unfortunate. And he can't even blame it on chance or bad luck anymore. Because of Trance. When he's not careful he can get angry over the feeling that something else is directing his life. But he doesn't want to be angry now.]

I'll go get some glasses, you open the wine. And tell me all about your daughter. I want all the details Let me have some vicarious fatherhood.

[He smiles a bit.] Sure. I can do that. I always thought you would get sick of hearing about my children, though. I didn't want to talk about them that much with you.

Yeah, that was back when I'd get jealous about not having some sprouts of my own to talk about. Whenever anyone mentioned kids, I just wanted to get on making some of my own and then I'd get frustrated that I couldn't because we were on a mission in deep space or something.

[He shrugged. He still wants children of his own, but he's accepted that it's not going to happen any time in the near future.]

But things are different now. So, tell me about Anisette.

[For a moment he doesn't know where to begin.] She's still small. Her other parent is psychic, and part of the genetic arrangement was to introduce empathetic genes to my people. But it means sometimes when I'm having a nightmare, she wakes up crying.

She's not like most Time Lords, though. She likes being held.

I guess the only solution to that is to make sure you never have nightmares. [His smile is a bit sad. Making the nightmares go away isn't that easy, as well he knows.]

Does she have boneblades?

She will. Any genetic test would identify her as a Nietzschean, just with a few specializations in her existing genes. She won't regenerate, not like a Time Lord. Her life will be long, but there will be only one. [And he sounds oddly proud of that.] Her boneblades haven't come in yet. But I think they're starting to.

A super-Nietzschean. Paul Museveni would be proud. She's going to have the best damn genes this side of the three galaxies.

Although those boneblades coming in must itch something fierce.

[He smiles faintly.] I'm certain she'll take it out on me when I go back. The only peculiarity anyone will notice with her lineage is the sudden appearance of the Clan name "Braxiatel".

Yeah, how does that work? Since technically speaking she didn't come "out of" Braxiatel.

[Although Dylan doesn't actually know all that much about Time Lord physiology or how this genetic blending worked.]

At least I hope not.

[Because the image of that grey-suited man with a pregnant belly is too weird even for a well-travelled space farer like him.]

She has my Pride name, so it would have been "out of" me and I can guarantee that didn't- [he stops and points at Dylan.] -don't even think about it.

[That is a mental image no one needs.]

[Eyebrows go waaaaay up and he takes a swig of wine to wash away whatever mental image was starting to form.]

Not going to say a thing about it.

[Well, maybe a little thing.]

I'm sure you're a great mother, though.

And you are a terrible person. [He says blandly, but he's smiling with amusement.

He's realizing how much he's going to miss him.]

I learned from the best.

[Dylan, too, is dwelling on his incipient departure. And trying not to brood over how much he's going to miss Gaheris. Although at least knowing that he's alive and well out somewhere in the multiverse is an improvement to thinking that he was dead.]

I'm going to miss you.

And it's going to be really strange seeing your genetic reincarnation again after everything here.

Should you ask someone to repress that memory?

[As sad as it is to consider, he doesn't want to strain Telemachus's future. Dylan has enough information without having to put stronger emotions in the equation.]

I don't know. I don't want to have to forget anything here. I don't want to have to forget that you're alive and not a traitor. And remembering all the things I learned here, and remembering everything I went through might give me an advantage when I'm doing my re-do.

But I'm worried that if I know too much about the future, I might start second-guessing myself. And maybe it's better if I go at it with a totally clean slate.

You should have some idea. I left you with some last time, and you should have at least that much.

[Then he has to admit it.] I'm selfish, though. I'd rather you remembered me.

Maybe I can still have impressions, but without knowing all the details. [Although the details are half the fun.]

Or some of the details, but not the ones that'll make it difficult to command.

Think the Admiral could do that?

I think he could. He's done it for others that need to fulfill timelines. [And he smiles a little bit again.] I'll remember, at the very least. [And it's very nice to be far more than forgiven. And not tripping over his own emotions and inadequacies.

He really will resent losing that when Dylan goes, though. Now he'll just be happy with it.]

Good to know he has experience with that.

I'm glad you'll remember everything, even if I won't. Maybe that's selfish of me but what can I say. I've been hanging out with Nietzscheans so much that I'm don't see selfishness as necessarily a bad thing anymore.