A 'Finn'tastic Christmas Eve Dinner
Most of the rest of the drive was spent with Riley typing out messages to everyone, he wasn't going to send them till tomorrow night but he still wanted to start getting to work on them so he didn't have to cram all the effort into one straight go. Besides, if he was really lucky they'd get better pics tonight or tomorrow, though his mind drifting away from pics as he stared over towards the house that was coming into view as Catherine turned into the long driveway.
The door was open, even if it was closed, a welcoming sign for the two who had left, Martha and Jonathon wouldn't shut the door since it was like they where shutting Riley and Catherine out, well, that's how they where raised, even if Riley would be a little guilty since it was cold and they left it open all the heat was escaping the house. When he opened the car door and got out of the car, all Riley was able to do was swing it shut before he heard someone racing out the door.
"Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiley!" It most certainly didn't sound like Emily, but Riley barely managed to turn around before he had a body flung at him and arms tightly wrapped about his waist as his back it the car with a light thud while he was pushed back slightly from the surprise. She had long brown straight hair that fell to her own waist, she was really slim, her eyes the same colour as Riley and her pretty face revealing she was young, turning twenty in a few months, just shortly after Riley's birthday.
"Geeze," She stepped back, only then really noticing Riley's stiff posture as he stared at her a little confused on who she was, "Last time I saw you I was at least three inches taller, what are they feeding you? You're a giant!" There was a little laugh though it was obvious she was really excited that he was back, she had black jeans on and her top was a dark shade of blue, easily the attire showed off her slim figure, though she was just healthy, she had to work a lot to lose some of the extra weight she had gained during her pregnancy and she's a complete bundle of energy so it's hard for her to sit around and do nothing.
"Hey, is that Catherine?" Ammie's gaze was caught by the other beautiful figure that lingered by the car, flashing Cat another grin, Riley's cousin hurried over to theagility mutant and affectionatly wrapped her arms about the girl as if she missed Catherine almost as much as she missed Riley, even though they had never met before.
"We're all been dying to finally see you! This is so exciting!" Excitedly pulling away, Ammie quickly added an introduction since it had slipped her mind before "Oh, yeah, I'm Ammie, Riley's cousin, come on!" Taking Cat's hand, she moved towards Riley who still looked a little overwhelmed by the way Ammie seemed to excited about them arriving, but she took Riley's hand as well and called out into the house as they passed into the door.
"Haley! Nina! Come here sweeties!" There was a lot of people in the family room talking, but most where just out of sight except for Emily who was sitting on the piano and could be seen and a tall dark brown haired man who walked into the doorway between the kitchen and the family room. There was a girl in his arms, her hair so light brown it could be mistaken as blonde easily enough. She had the same hazel eyes peering over towards her mother, a toothy grin appearing on the 2 year olds face.
"Nina's asleep with Penny," Dave, who was in nice shape but seemed to be forming the beginnings of a round belly as he was letting his weight slip during all these festive and special meals they have been having the past few weeks. Ammie grinned and hurried over to take Haley from her husband who was wearing a white shirt despite the kitchen being rather cool, even though Riley had now shut the door.
"Thank's Dave," As her husband, both married only a few weeks ago since they where waiting for him to finish his school courses so that they could get a job and afford a nicer wedding, gently passed their little girl into her mothers arms, Ammie giving Dave a quick kiss on the cheek in her excitment before turning and hurring back to Catherine and Riley.
"Say hello Uncle Riley," Holding the baby carefully with one hand, Ammie used her other one to wave to Riley as if showing Haley what to do. The 2 year old mimciked with a laughter instead of any words "And say hello auntie Catherine," Haley was staring up at Riley who couldn't help but grin back down at her, he's never been close to a kid before, especially one so young, Emily was the youngest he's ever been involved with. Ammie ducked down a little on her knees but infront of Catherine's stomach so Haley was level with it "And say hello cousin," The baby has been used to this since she and Nina are asked to say hello to Stephie's baby everytime Stephie comes around to their place, so Haley's tiny hand waved a little at the stomach before Ammie stood up again as Ben's wife's voice was heard.
"Martha's ready to serve the good you guys, come on," She looked slender, save for the fact her belly was enlarged due to the life almost fully formed inside her, just over two months till she was due, and honestly, Stephie was looking forard to this being over, she may enjoy the nice attention she gets, but she can't wait to start being more mobile again.
"Coming Steph! Let's go walking Haley." Ammie placed her little girl on the ground, though remained holding her hands as the child moved towards the family room under her mothers guidance. Riley was still a little lost, and overwhelmed, but he was really excited about all these kids, even if he didn't know any of them, it meant if he ever needed any help with his daughter then they'd know what to do.
"I guess we know where to go when we need advice on the baby." He added a little softly, partly revealing that he had been nervous something would go wrong and he wouldn't know how to handle it. Placing a hand on Catherine's shoulder as they moved into the family room after the others, Riley stared at the table that seemed packed with people.
"Welcome back you two, sit down," Martha motioned to two seats that where between her, and then on the otherside was Stephie who was slowly inching her way carefully down into her chair, she looked about 23, her shoulder length black hair was tied back into a pony tail to keep it out of her face.
"This is Ammie, Stephie, Stacy," Martha pointed to an older woman who appeared more around her fourties, her blonde hair with highlights hinting she might more likely have married into the Finn family instead of being born into it "Her husband Jeff, he's my brother, your uncle," Jenn had grey hair along the side of his head, more then the rest of them, he was in his late forties, his pot-belly suggesting his love for food.
"You know my parents, and these are your fathers parents, John and Susen." She pointed to the other two older couple who where sitting next to Roger and Penny, both grand parents seemed to be talking about Riley and Catherine since they kept glancing back at the pair with proud looks. They didn't introduce the kids since most where upstairs getting their hands washed with Dave helping them, Riley nervously sat down at the table though his eyes stared back at Catherine as if half expecting her to run off and leave him alone with all these people who where strangers to him and yet staring at him as if he was supposed to say something.
Cat was relieved to catch a faint glimpse of the Finn's house again, looking at the lights that shone happily out of the windows, like a becon guiding the car home again. It was warm and dark in the car and it was making Cat sleepy again, it was slightly annoying the way that sometimes her body didn't seem to want to do anything else than eat and sleep over the past few days. She struggled to keep her eyes open as she steered the car onto the long driveway, their's wasn't the only car there and the thought of their being strange people in the house made Cat feel on edge. What if they didn't like her? Maybe Ben had been telling them all sorts of things about her? Perhaps they'd all whisper about her too like everyone had done at the school. She suddenly felt very much the outsider. She wondered if Riley had felt anything like this when he'd been in Washington ... like you didn't fit in. All she knew was her life in a large city and she was finding out that things were different out here. Riley's parents might have loads of land and a big house and she'd always associated those things with wealth yet Riley's family wern't rich at all like she'd imagiend them to be. She'd never really thought that there could be more than one type of being poor before.
She stopped the car a little way from the front of the house, turning the engine off and watching as Riley stepped out of the car. She heard someone happily scream his name before a girl seemed to appear from nowhere and throw her arms about him. There was a sudden flush of jelousy than trembled though her. She didn't know who this strange girl was but she was pretty and thin and had her arms around Riley. Cat got out of the car rather quickly, her eyes looking a little worried, you couldn't tell though because of the dark.
"Geeze," ... "Last time I saw you I was at least three inches taller, what are they feeding you? You're a giant!" She took a tentative forwards as if she were about to run around the car and rip Riley from the girls arms, she hesitated though as the girls eyes flew across to look at her. "Hey, is that Catherine?" Cat gave the girl a small smile though it faded away as the other girl seemed to bounce over to her. The new girl looked a little older than Cat, more like Riley's age. Catherine was suprised when the girl hugged her, Ammie would have easily been able to feel the unresponsivness of Cat's body though indicating how unused she was to having a girl hug her.
"We're all been dying to finally see you! This is so exciting!"That made Cat feel even more nervous, she just wanted to slink away upto her room and hide there for the evening rather than go and meet all these new people that she didn't know. "Oh, yeah, I'm Ammie, Riley's cousin, come on!"Her attitude towards Ammie softened slightly as she realised the girl wasn't competition for Riley's affections. Cat felt her take hold of her hand and then leading Cat behind her she picked up Riley's hand too, tugging them both towards the house. The agility mutant looked over towards Riley as if somehow he might save her from the whole of his family.
"Haley! Nina! Come here sweeties!" Cat wondered who she was calling too, looking shyly at the man who was standing in the doorway that led into the lounge. She could hear the sounds of talking from the other room, feeling the sense of nervousness in her increasing. She wished it was all over and she could be allowed to go upstairs to her room and hide there.
"Nina's asleep with Penny," The man was looking over towards them and he smiled as Ammie crossed over to him and took the young child he was holding from him. She held onto the child with the ease of someone who was used to carrying children around, bringing the little girl over to meet the young couple who were standing where she'd left them. Cat eyed the child rather nervously, she'd never really been exposed to younger children and she never knew how to act towards them. "Say hello Uncle Riley," Cat guessed it was kind of cute the way Nina was showing the young child how to wave at her uncle, Riley looked huge however when compared to his tiny niece. "And say hello auntie Catherine," A muscle in Cat's face flintched slightly and her smile seemed to freeze into place as she looked across at Ammie who seemed to be acting like Cat and Riley were engaged or something. Catherine wasn't even ninteen yet, she wasn't even thinking about marrige. "And say hello cousin," Cat looked down at her stomach thinking it was slightly weird that Ammie was talking to her tummy like that even if she was pregnant. She wondered for a second if her own baby would look anything like the one Ammie was holding. Try and she might she couldn't feel any affection for the little thing, but then she'd only just met Haley and it would be different if Cat had her own child.
"Martha's ready to serve the good you guys, come on," Cat threw the door one last glance, as if she was longing to run back outside and lock herself in the car again where she'd be safe from having to meet his family.
"Coming Steph! Let's go walking Haley." She watched as Ammie put her daughter down on the floor and holding her hand helped her to walk through into the dinning room with her clumsy little steps.
"I guess we know where to go when we need advice on the baby." She felt him place his hand on the small of her back, guiding her through towards the dining room. She looked into the room rather shyly, glancing at eveyone who was sitting down at the crowded table.
"Welcome back you two, sit down," Cat felt a little overwhelmed by names, all of which she promptly forgot or matched with the wrong people. She tried to move behind Riley a little as if using him to block everyone else out. A moment later he'd moved off though in order to sit down, leaving her feeling horribly exposed and vunerable as everyone looked over at her. Weighing her up and making periminary thoughts of what she was like, she wondered which one Ben was. She went rather red, her eyes looking down at the carpet for a moment before she shuffled off towards the vacant seat beside Riley.
Cat kept her eyes rather downturned towards her plate, hoping that no one would pay her any attention that way. Out of the corner of her eye she could see that the woman next to her was quite heavily pregant, Cat looked away but her eyes seemed to be drawn back again. She wondered what it would be like to be pregnant like that, the woman didn't look as if she could get around much.
Cat: It feels like my world is slipping through my fingers and I don't know how to hold onto it[cen
Re: A 'Finn'tastic Christmas Eve Dinner
They where all talking so suddenly, and even though most where talking to Riley, he seemed to be staring down rather hard at his plate as questions where shot towards him about where his been and what he's been doing. It wasn't long before he took up the safe side of things and just either said short responces, like he lives at Xavier's school and some of the classes he takes.. or took though he wasn't going to mention how he quit most of them. And more often there would be am 'I don't remember' thrown in to stop him from having to explain things about how he went missing and what he did and why he hadn't come back earlier. When it was because obvious that Riley was withdrawing more into just acting as if he wanted to eat and not talk Jonathan pushed the topic of conversation towards Stephie and how she was going with her pregnancy shortly after which she had said it was going alright Ben addressed Riley.
"You're not married right?" Riley turned his eyes over towards Ben and just stared at him, even though it was obvious Riley was really trying not to get upset at that comment. Riley looked over at Catherine though and then let his eyes fall to his plate, normally once you have had a child, even if you don't marry, you normally tend to start talking about marrige. Most of them stopped and glanced expectantly in hopes of the good news, but Ammie (who had been hearing Ben go on negativly about Riley and Cat since they arrived) just scoffed at the comment.
"You didn't care to ask me that when I got pregnant." Ammie's parents cast Ben a rather unpleasent look, warning him to behave himself since, simple question as it was, they realized Ben was just trying to start something with Riley again.
"It was just a question," Ben sounded a little annoyed towards his cousin, though he mumbled under his breath loud enough for most of them to hear "Can't blame him for not wanting to." Looking highly aggitated, Stephie pinched his arm angrily at the comment, but Riley snapped back at him as Ben yelled a little from his wife tifes painful pinch on his skin, casting her an upset look.
"Don't you dare assume you know what I want or how I feel towards Catherine or my child and don't even think you know who Catherine is and what she's like, you're just a supercilious and egotistical-" But Riley stopped because he said anything harsh in front of the kids who had turned their attention towards him. He had promised his mother he wouldn't get dragged into any of Ben's comments and start anything, but it was hard, especially since Riley was still upset from the other things Ben had said the previous night.
There was a burst of talking from the others suddenly after a short moment of silence, though Martha was keeping her eyes on Ben as was Jeff and Jonathan. Riley didn't eat a single more bite for the last part of dinner, staring at his plate and just wanting to stalk up to his room and hide there until Ben leaves tomorrow. They started cleaning up the table after a moment, Martha off to get things ready for their desert while Emily was asking people which songs they wanted to listen to her play.
Re: A 'Finn'tastic Christmas Eve Dinner
She was quite glad that everyone seemed to have their attentions more on Riley than on her, she didn't really say anything, sitting rather quietly and eating in the hope that no one would start to question her. It seemed almost like they were interroganting Riley, she knew it was just because they were worried and curious about what he'd been doing and where he'd been for the past few years. She was happy enough just being left alone to eat though. After a while though the conversation seemed to swing over to the pregnant woman who was sitting next to Catherine. She couldn't help the fact that her eyes kept moving over to look at the older woman, still wondering over what it would be like to be that much pregnant. She wasn't comfortable discussing her pregnancy with anyone and so she wasn't very clued up on what to expect later on.
"You're not married right?" Cat didn't really think twice about his comment but after a moment she realised that the whole table had gone rather quiet and were looking over at her and Riley. Her eyes glanced over at the man who'd spoken, she'd guessed by now that he must be Ben, she didn't hold his gaze though, her eyes looking back down at his plate, then scanning the faces that were looking at her.
"You didn't care to ask me that when I got pregnant." Ammie's light hearted attitude to something she knew was a big deal for Riley's family made Cat feel a little better. At the same time though she realised that Ben's comment had been made in a vicious way rather than as a question. Cat looked accross at Ammie, catching a rather dark look from a couple of people towards Ben.
"It was just a question," ... "Can't blame him for not wanting to." Her good hearing meant that she could easily hear what he'd just said, her cheeks flushed a red colour in shame. She knew he meant for everyone including her to hear him, she didn't feel like she could say anything in her defense, she didn't live here and she was on his ground rather than her own. If she'd been with her friends and family she'd have probably yelled at him but his words just felt like one more slap after everything that already happened to her.
"Don't you dare assume you know what I want or how I feel towards Catherine or my child and don't even think you know who Catherine is and what she's like, you're just a supercilious and egotistical-" She had no idea what his last words had meant, but the tone of his voice let her know how angry and upset he was with what Ben had said. There was a long silence after that before people started talking again. One of her hands reached up so she could pull her hair free from her phony tail, letting the blonde brown hair fall either side of her face, in the hope that it would stop the others from seeing the upset look that was on her face. She wasn't sure how to act so she spent the rest of the meal, eating with her eyes downcast even though the food seemed to have lost it's taste in her mouth.
Cat: It feels like my world is slipping through my fingers and I don't know how to hold onto it
Re: A 'Finn'tastic Christmas Eve Dinner
The moment everyone else got up to start helping clean up the table was when Riley really felt like he didn't belong, everyone seemed to have certain jobs and it looks if he even tried to help then he'd just be getting in the way. It made him feel a little better when he heard half the family start telling Ben off in the kitchen, even though it made him feel a little guilty that he was likely such a cruel thing happening to someone on Christmas, but Ben deserved it, he had no right to speak like that about Catherine or their baby.
But after that it seemed to get a little better, when they returned they where trying to be really cheerful as if trying to make up for the earlier scene Ben had caused. They started going on more about themselves and avoided asking any more questions, telling Riley about the olive Farm his father's parents had and then about all other different members of the family that couldn't make it because they lived too far away or promised to come see him later in the holidays. Riley did't look too thrilled about having to meet even more people when he was having troubles socilizing with the lot he knows now.
"Riley!" Emily called to him from the piano, he turned around and stared at her as she waved for him to go over with her and asked if he could play with her. Ben threw Emily a cautionary glance, warning her not to let Riley too close towards her. Not wanting to start anything again Riley just shook his head, if he did go over there Ben would just get upset and he might hurt Catherine again with some more cruel words. It was obvious Emily didn't like the fact Ben had done that because to stopped playing and sulked off into the kitchen. Riley stared at the fire place, looking rather mesmerized with the flames as the flickered about hypnotically.
Even though he started to feel drowsy from the dancing flames, he was full of a lot of energy, every other thought was of lure Catherine away and cornering her somewhere private. It didn't really help since basically every other person in the house was a couple with someone and there was a lot of hugging, holding hands and kissing happening. It occured to Riley though, as he stared at Stephie with her hands affectionately on her stomach, that there will be a few months that he probably wouldn't be able to be with Catherine. Slouching forward more on the table, his head dropped down into his arms that where folded before him, the movement caught Martha's attention as she was bringing a wonderful looking chocolate cake onto the table.
"Riley, are you alright?" She stared at the back of his head as he grumbled 'I'm fine' with his face still buried in his arms, "We're going to sit around the fire to keep warm, come on you two." She cut up pieces of the cake and placed them out for everyone on the table to take, though Riley wasn't in the mood for any more food and just waved his hand when she offered him one. Emily skipped excitedly towards the tree and turned on the lights, Riley seemed to instantly disappear from the room a moment later as he realized it had slipped his mind to take his medication. He jogged rather quickly out to the car and slipped inside the car, grabbing up the container and placing one of the pills between his lips and getting back out of the car.
When he reappeared by Catherine's side most of the people had began talking excitedly about the trip into town for the New Years Eve parade that was taking place, the family moving around the room as they searched for seats to settle down upon. Riley let let his arms slip about Catherine's waist as he stood behind her, lowering his head a little so he could whisper to her.
"Are you tired? Are you ok with staying longer?" Riley seemed all affectionate again and didn't really care if anyone paid them attention, sure he'd be shy but he was managing to block them all out of his mind right now as he focused his attention on Catherine.
Re: A 'Finn'tastic Christmas Eve Dinner
With the removal of most people from the table she felt a little better, still not really meeting anyone's eyes though. Her eyes wandered over to the nearby grandfather clock, it still wasn't late enough for her to possibly go to bed without everyone thinking she was being rude. Everyone seemed to just bustle around her but she was too depressed to ask if they wanted some help. Her eyes kept flicking over to Riley and then down to the plate before her, she was glad he'd stuck up for her when Ben had said that snide remark about her, she wanted to thank him but when she opened her mouth nothing seemed to come out. She had quietly still avoiding everyones eyes and not really following what everyone was saying, looking down at the table in front of her.
"Riley!" She was suprised that Riley refused to go and play the piano with Emily. But then she didn't see the look that Ben had thrown him when Emily had beckoned him over. She couldn't understand why Ben didn't like her just because of the fact she was a mutant, it wasn't like she had lazer eyes or something was it, agility wasn't dangerous. She watched as Riley slumped forwards, his head in his arms. It was easy to tell from his body posture that he was still upset over what had happened with Ben. His mother seemed concerned however as she brought a chocolate cake into the room. Cat looked a little happier as the smell of chocolate wafted over to her, making her look up and over at the cake. She loved chocolate, her eyes following the progress of the large cake as if she would eat the whole thing if given half a chance.
"We're going to sit around the fire to keep warm, come on you two." Cat got to her feet, taking her plate with her slice of chocolate cake on with her, she gave a look that said she wouldn't have minded eating Riley's portion towards the part of the cake that was left over. But she followed his mother to the fire rather obediently, she was a little sprehensive when she relised that Riley seemed to have vannished but a few mintues later she felt his arms snake around her waist, holding her affectionatley against him.
"Are you tired? Are you ok with staying longer?" His breath was warm on the back of her neck, making her shiver slightly. Looking slightly flustered over this display of affection in front of his parents.
'I'm OK.' She said sounding rahter nervous. The food had woken her up for the moment but she'd probably feel really tried and drained again after a bit since she'd driven a long way in just a few short hours. She twisted her head around so she could smile up at him for a moment before letting her head turn back around again.
Cat: It feels like my world is slipping through my fingers and I don't know how to hold onto it
Re: A 'Finn'tastic Christmas Eve Dinner
There was a returned grin down to her when she looked up at him, but she didn't look at him long, he liked holding her though, and he didn't want to let go, it felt as if just to try and let his arms slip away from her was just too draining to even attempt. Slowly his hands inched away from her stomach towards her hips, the lights where giving him a terrible headache, though he glade at least he was passing out or anything. Motioning towards the couch with a slight wave of his hand so Catherine would sit down, Riley quickly sat beside her, his parents where on one side of the couch, once again Riley found himself sitting beside Martha. But Riley's body was turned a little away from her and focused more towards Catherine, the flickering lights hurting his eyes enough to cause a slight discomfort.
But he didn't want to just get up and leave while everyone was talking like a family, for a few minutes Riley just sat there and listend to both the grand parents talking business, Penny was selling their olives at their family shop, though they where having trouble affording proper packages for them, only small cheap plastic containers where able to be used otherwise the cost would be just too much for the struggling family.
"Do you need money?" Riley attention seemed to drift back into what they where talking about, though he sounded a little concerned, he didn't want them to have hard lives when he could make it so much easier for them. But they all said they where fine and smiled at him in a way as if they found the thought of taking his money amusing. Sulkily Riley glared at the fire place, soon just willing all the sounds out of his mind as he shut his eyes and somewhat snuggled against Catherine while the others started excitedly waiting for midnight to approach so that they may open their gifts, although the youngest kids where already half dozing off, the rest, and Emily, where off playing games around the tree and laughing a lot.
Re: A 'Finn'tastic Christmas Eve Dinner
Rather willingly she followed him over to the sofa, feeling really akward as she sat down, looking around her at the gathered family members and then across at Riley. She turned her attention instead to the plate with her chocolate cake on it. There was a slight sadness in the way she looked down at it, remembering the way Marc had fed her chocolate cake and then smoothed his hand over her back in a suggestive manner, the thought now made her shiver slightly in revulsion. She put the plate down carefully on the large arm of the sofa.
Cat let her eyes wander around the room again looking at the decorations that had been set up, her gaze being drawn to the tree which was sitting merrily by the window. There was a sudden longing that made her wish she was still in Washington, and a feeling of guilt over the fact that she had told Nina and Brad that she would spend Christmas and new year with them but instead she'd let them down. She wondered what they'd be doing now... they were probably out at some expensive nightclub, either that or working.
The warmth from the fire did rather a good job of making her feel really sleepy, her eyes struggling to stay open as she watched the dancing flames. She'd never stayed in a house before that had a proper fire. She felt Riley snuggle a little into her side, letting her head rest down on his shoulder rather affectionatly. She was glad if even just for now they could forget what had happened to them and simply be happy for a night. She didn't realise that her eyes had slowly shut, her body shifting closer to Riley and the extra warmth his body produced.
Cat: It feels like my world is slipping through my fingers and I don't know how to hold onto it
Re: A 'Finn'tastic Christmas Eve Dinner
A sweet feel of Catherine's body drawing itself closer against him, her head resting on his shoulder and her eyes closed as if she drifted off into sleep beside him while all others kept up their talking. It washed over Riley as he opened his eyes to look down at her, a smiling gracing his lips to show how content he was with having her so close. Letting his lips touch the top of her head very lightly, Riley allowed them to linger there for a moment before pulling them away, turning his head over towards Emily and the others playing about the tree.
Most of them talked quietly as the clock reached midnight, though Penny and Jonathon had been taking photos, Jonathan had an old video recorder and was recording some of the night just for the sake of it. By then all the kids, even Emily, had settled down, though Emily was sitting beside Penny and Roger quietly waiting for midnight to strike so they could open their gifts. Normally they went out into town and spent the day at the Christmas festival, but with Stephie so heavily pregnant they skipped it this year so she didn't have to move around so much. Once midnight arrived, Emily was allowed to start handing out gifts, but Riley wasn't sure if they should wake up Catherine for that. Gently Riley moved his arms about Catherine, picking her up carefully into his arms before the children where woken and their yelling and loud talking disturbed Catherine.
Whispering his good nights to everyone, Catherine and Riley could do their presents in the morning when Catherine woke up, it might be easier for her since even Riley would find it uncomfortable having figure out who was who and thanking them, most of the people would go over and hug the person and Riley wasn't really sure he was comfortable hugging people who's names he was still trying to remember. The again, maybe she would like to stay there, he wasn't sure, she hadn't seemed to keen earlier, he just wanted to do what he thought she'd prefer.
It was really easy to carry her, he moved slow and steadily so that he hopefully wouldn't wake her, though he wasn't sure if he already had or not. Emily trotted along after them, because the door to Cat's room was closed and Riley whispered quietly for Emily to help him. Once in her room the younger Finn pulled back Catherine's covers so Riley could place his girlfriend down softly onto the cool sheets of the bed. As Riley gently pull the covers cover Catherine, he smiled down at her, Emily leaned over and gave Catherine a quick kiss on her forehead while whispering merry Christmas, then turning to Riley who knelled down beside the bed, Emily gave him a hug as she wished him a merry Christmas as well. Watching Emily leave, Riley grinned a little more, smiling once again as he turned his face towards Catherine and leaned forward to press his lips lightly again her cheek.
Once he got up and silently moved towards the door, closing it quietly behind him before he moved went back down stairs, saying his proper goodnights to everyone, Emily said she wasn't going to open her presents till morning when they came down and opened theirs. Riley said she didn't have to do that since she had been so excited, but she said she wanted to, it was the first year she got presents for anyone and she wanted to see what Catherine thought of her gift when they opened her presents.
Back in his room, Riley sat down on his bed, every part of him just screaming to go back to Catherine's room and sit with her a little longer. He wished they could start sleeping in the same bed at night again, it hadn't happened often and he really longed to share the nights with her again, he never realized how alone he felt without her at night even when he knew she was close by. By the time Riley had managed to fall asleep most of the others had wandered off to sleep as well, those sleeping over where camping down in the family room, though Ben had been complaining that if Cat and Riley where so lovey Dovey why couldn't they share a room so at least two of the guests could have a room to their selves.
Golden brown tassels of silk obscured his vision, the same soft strands felt entangled tightly within his fingers, the very air around him smelt of the scent that wafted from the delicate streams of hair. The silence of the world was pierced only by the gasps of breath from his own body, his lips firmly against the softer and smoother feel of Catherine's. Her slim body was held against the wall by his own larger and more well built form, though there was a struggle within her, one that only the strength of both his hands and body where able to keep under control.. to keep her within his grasp.
Her face turned away in disgust and tears, the anger only swelling up inside him as he pulled her away from the wall, he shoved her right back into it, only as if the case with dreams, instead of landing on the wall, her body hit the bed, his own still pinning her down but now it was because he was on top of her. There was a thrashing of her hands, not wanting him any closer, though easily where her slender wrists pinned down above her head as she continued her weak struggle.
Even as Riley's body tossed and turned lightly as he slept, his dreams twisted and altered each night, though based on the memory that struggled to be remembered. The dreams began to effect Riley's body, the sheer feel of ecstasy flooding him as his mind watched his aroused form thrusting deeper and quicker inside the humiliated and tearful girl that lay trapped beneath him. Riley's breathing was slightly quicker as he turned onto his side once more, his hands gripping tightly at his pillow. She had struck him, Riley's mind half waking from all the movements he was doing, his mind registering the attack the girl from his dream had done against him and without care that she was Catherine his hand lashed out and slammed against the side table that sat beside his bed, the loud racket it made as it toppled over and it the floor waking him up completely as he stared rather blankly yet with slight shock at the things scattered over his floor.
Pulling his hand back towards him, flashes of his dream, while asleep he had enjoyed himself but awake he felt this self loathing so strong it was nearly making him sick with disgust. He buried his face back into his pillow, his hands returning to gripping it with deathly tight fists, his body still so flooded with desire he wanted to push aside the thoughts and run into Catherine's room and just throw himself at her. But those thoughts just made him more upset, to him his mind was saying he wanted to make love to her and he didn't care if she wanted to be with him or not, still not understanding the true nature of these dreams as being just memories, or twisted versions of them.
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ooc: >> Erm, I pass worded the forum again coz of the things in my post, hope you don't mind ^^'
Re: A 'Finn'tastic Christmas Eve Dinner
Her slender frame had surfaced for a couple of moments from the solitude of her slumber, her eyes didn't open though, not really regestering where she was as Riley gently carried her up the stairs. She could smell him all around her, a comforting scent that made her relax back down into his arms again her mind drifting back off into sleep again. Cat didn't stir either as Riley gently laid her down upon her bed, covering her up with her blankets even though she was still dressed.
Infact she didn't wake until Riley knocked over his dressing table, he was near enough her in the house to make her startled out of her sleep, her eyes looking up at the ceeling. Her heart was pounding in her chest as she wondered what the noise had been and where she was. She remembered going to sleep downstairs, it took her a moment for her eyes to adjust to the light that was filtering in from beneath the door and then she could tell she was in her room.
Cat sat up, wondering how she got back up to here, someone must have carried her up, her neck was a little stiff from falling asleep with her head on Riley's shoulder. She rubbed her neck with one hand as she realised that the crashing sound had come from in Riley's room. Feeling worried yet terribly sleepy she slid her body out from the warmth of her covers, moving across to the door and opening it. There might be something wrong with him, she shivered slightly in the now cooler air of the house. She had no idea the rest of his family were sleeping downstairs, assuming that they'd all gone home.
'Riley?' She knocked quietly on the door, not wanting to disturb his parents if the crash hadn't woken them up or annoy Riley. She had no idea about the dreams he'd been having or the fact that he was really wound up at the moment and probably seeing her wasn't the best way for him to calm down. 'You OK?'
Cat: It feels like my world is slipping through my fingers and I don't know how to hold onto it
Re: A 'Finn'tastic Christmas Eve Dinner
Since they had kids down stairs, Martha and Jonathon assumed they where mucking around and bumped into something, or one of the adults had, most likely someone was moving about to get a drink or go to the toilet, or so they thought, though only Martha had really bothered to open her eyes, moments later she was drifting asleep again.
'Riley?' Trying to make his quick breaths as silent as possible, Riley only curled his body at the sound of Catherine's voice. She'd be disgusted with him if she came in and saw him like this, the fact he was in his white silk boxers meant that they didn't do a thing to hide what he was feeling. He was also wearing a white singlet however, incase someone came in or he left his room during the night and bumped into someone else. It wasn't all too comfortable for him, especially since he wasn't used to wearing things, but he could hear her outside the door again, his muscles tensing all throughout his body, why was it tonight? Of all the nights he has wanted her to pass through that door, why did it have to be tonight?
'You OK?' He panicked a little as he sat up, swinging his legs off the bed and pressing his hands down into his lap, grabbing up his pillow he clung to it tightly against his stomach. How could he get so worked up by having such an awful dream? He didn't understand it was also the fact it has been days since he's been with her and even longer since they where properly together, seeing all the couples and kids wasn't helping him when he tohught about how hard it was for Catherine and him to get that close when they all seemed to find it so easy.
"No." It was more like she had asked an obvious question that hurt him even more since he felt he had to give an obvious reply. How could she even ask if he was alright, she should be turning over and looking at him from her side of their bed, she should wrapping her arms around him, they should be making all the time so that he never had to have horrible dreams like the ones he has been suffering from.
"..Will you sit with me?" Maybe if he just talked with her it would help make everything go away, maybe he could tell her about the dreams, it was always best to talk with people about what was bothering, and he most definitely was not going to talk with anyone else other then her about this. Dropping his head onto the pillow his arms where wrapped about, which was also hiding the state of his body, he just hoped that Catherine thought he was holding it for comfort and not as a form of shield to hide himself behind. Riley turned his face to stare at the door as he waited for her to come in.
'No.' He sounded upset and there was a worried expression forming on her face as she let her eyes fix themselves on the door in front of her. Her gaze looking at the brown wooden exterior of the door, it was hard for her to hear he wasn't alright yet to have something as stupid as a simple piece of wood seperating the pair of them abd blocking her from just walking in and comforting him if he was uspet. She wondered what was wrong with him, maybe he'd just had a bad dream, or he wasn't feeling well, or perhaps he was a little down over the fact that she'd fallen asleep before when they'd ben downstairs. She hadn't meant to but her body just seemed to go all exhausted sometimes and then she'd just fall asleep. She wished they'd been able to stay together down their a little longer, things had been so akward between them and it was a rare thing when she felt like they were comfortable being togehter. A part of her felt really bad that she hadn't said good bye to his family, she didn't know that they were all camping downstairs, that would have made her feel guilty though since she had a room all to herself while his grandparents had to make to with a coutch or the floor, and then there was steffie and sleeping on a hard surface wouldn't to her much good.
"..Will you sit with me?" He replied just as she was getting to the point where she wondered if he wanted her just to go away and leave him alone so he could either have some solitude or go to sleep again. She felt a little cold shiver run though her suddenly as she reached over to his door, quietly pushing it open and peering inside. It was dark since he hadn't turned the light on yet, but a moment later her eyes adjusted to the dark and she could see his bedside table he'd knocked over and the objects it had spilled onto the floor. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, a pillow clutched to his front, looking rather spooked, an expression she thought might be induced by a nightmare of some kind.
'Hey.' Her voice was quiet so she didn't wake anyone else in the house even though most of them had mananged to sleep though his bedside table being knocked over. She stepped into his room rather nervously, the only time she'd seen inside his room had been the first night she'd arrived here and she'd not atcually been inside it. She looked around her rather nervously before she shut the door quietly, staring at him for a moment, her eye sockets dark in the poor light, making it look for a moment like she didn't have any eyes. A second later however she moved, her pupils sparkling for an instant as they caught the light slightly.
She stepped over to his bedside table, kneeling down and settling it back on it's feet again, her eyes looking over at Riley for an instant before she gathered up his things that had been scattered over the floor and arranged them rather prettily on his table. Cat got to her feet rather akwardly and moved towards the bed, sitting down next to him but giving him a little space.
'Whats wrong?' The tone of her voice was still low but it was suprisingly gentle for Catherine, her face half cast in shadows, her bright eyes studying his face, waiting for his reply to her question.
Cat: It feels like my world is slipping through my fingers and I don't know how to hold onto it
Re: A 'Finn'tastic Christmas Eve Dinner'Hey' There was a nervous little smile back at her, he was a little uncomfortable since he didn't have many things in his room aside from his wardrobe, side table and bed, the table had helped fill his room up more but he gave that to Catherine. But he had his stereo in the corner as well as his laptop where the table used to be, only he never bothered using the stereo since Catherine already had hers on or her TV on. The way his eyes watched her move across to start picking up the scattered items was near impossible to see in the dark, his fingers curled a little tighter into the pillow as she knelled down and started cleaning up the mess he had accidently made. When she finished, he felt a little glade that she was here, that she cared enough to help clean up, she didn't really need to, he wasn't used to other people cleaning, so it made him feel a little grateful.
'Whats wrong?' It was really nice to hear such a change in her tone of voice, it was't loud or snappish or plain like it usually was, it was more kind and gentle, as if they never had any problems between them. How he simply longed just to have her speak to him like this more often, his eyes dropped to stare at the distance between them on the bed, he really did want to try and start coaxing her to be with him by tugging her into his arms and kissing her until she wanted to make love with him again.
"Do you think.." His body seemed to inch closer towards her as he struggled to think on how to start talking to her, how would she feel knowing he was having such violent dreams about her? "..maybe I might be dangerous?" His eyes dropped to her shoulder as he whispered to her, his fingers pulling away from the pillow and lightly stroking over the back of her shoulder, "I mean.. if I wanted something, if I really wanted something and I wasn't getting it, do you think I'm someone who will just take it and not care about what others might want or think?" He didn't used to think he'd do something like that, but in his dreams he enjoyed himself so much that he didn't care or even seem to notice really that Catherine was in tears, and then he lashed out at her.. he tried to hit her because she was demanding him to her off her.. Riley's faces rested down against her shoulder shamefully as he thought about the things he had been doing to her, about her she was crying while he was trying to make love to her.
Re: A 'Finn'tastic Christmas Eve Dinner
She put the palms together, placing her hands between her knees, she streatched her shoulders a little and let her gaze fall over across onto Riley. She felt really nervous being alone in the dark with him like this. It had been ages since they'd been together in a situation like this, it felt really akward as well. They hadn't ever really sat in the dark like this and talked before but she guessed they had to start somewhere and this seemed like a good time to her. She hadn't hardly seen him at all recently since she'd been locked away in her room.
"Do you think.." He sounded quite upset and it made her want to reach out a hand and place it on his knee in the hope that it might cheer him up a little. He leaned over and let his own hand rest on the back of her shoulder, making her feel as if he was drawing his own comfort from being near her. She noticed he'd shuffled a little closer to her too, but she turned her attention back to him again as he started to speak again. "..maybe I might be dangerous?" She didn't know he was refering to his dreams and the only thing she could put it down to was that he might be worried that he might hurt any of the children with his enhanced strength. She'd seen the way he'd looked at the kids that had been there earlier and she could tell he really wanted the baby she was carrying. Her eyes seemed to drop to her stomach for a moment before looking back up at Riley again, trying to give him an encouraging smile.
"I mean.. if I wanted something, if I really wanted something and I wasn't getting it, do you think I'm someone who will just take it and not care about what others might want or think?" Cat replied by shaking her head firmly, even though he couldn't see it properly since he'd dropped his head to her shoulder. She had no idea what he meant by what he was saying and she'd be really upset if she found out what he was talking about.
'Of course not Riley.... how can you say such a thing? you're not like that at all.' One of her hands lifted to stroke over the skin over his temple then she let her palm lift a little more so she could run her hands gently through his hair. 'What's wrong?' She didn't like it when there was anything wrong with him and he seemed really werid at the moment, it made her wonder what had started this whole thing off
Cat: It feels like my world is slipping through my fingers and I don't know how to hold onto it
Re: A 'Finn'tastic Christmas Eve Dinner
“I was just..” Her eyes looked across at the top of his head, she couldn't see his face because he tucked it away down on her shoulder. Sometimes Riley felt so strong, like he was a rock, the only thing in her life that seemed able to stand next to her and help her, but other times, like this she could see how fragile he was and how he needed her as much as she needed him. “Then why would I dream these terrible things? I don’t want to have those thoughts, they’re horrible and frightening and I don’t want to see your hurt like that,” His words made her wonder what he'd been dreaming about, perhaps he'd dreampt that they'd fallen out again or something. He seemed to upset though and she didn't know what to say to make him feel better. Her hand moved down to the base of his neck, her thumb brushing over the small hairs at the base of his neck. A moment later he'd moved so he was facing her and his hand had dropped to the small of her back, lifting to run through her hair.
“I miss having you beside me, I miss holding you… kissing you,” He sounded so desperate, so pleading, as if he might break apart any second without her, his words made her want to smother him in affection to help make him feel better. She missed him too but it wasn't as easy now what had happened with Marc and then Jon. She was doing her best to try and forget what had happened to her so she could jsut get on with her life but she wasn't going about it the right way, she'd have been much better if she'd accept some help from someone so she could confront what had happened instead of skulking away from it. “I miss you.” His body pulled away from hers, slumping onto the ground, though he still remained close to her. He shuffled a little closer to her, miserably cuddling against her, looking at him now it was hard to believe that there had been a time when his body had been forced upon her.
“And now… now that we aren’t talking as much, and you won’t sleep with me any more, but I understand it’s really hard for you, and I know you need time, and I know I’m being really selfish always wanting your attention when you just want to rest or be on your own,” She wasn't sure where this was all headed towards but he was sounding more upset as he continued to talk, pressing his head into her thigh as if having her this close might make what he was feeling go away. She had no idea he'd been so aroused by the dream he'd just had, one of her hands reached out and stroked over the back of his head again, not sure what to do or say. “But it’s so hard not to think about you, and when I try and not think it only gets worse, and now when I sleep all I can do is dream about you, but the dreams are so horrible, and they scare me so much,” There was a pause in which his voice seemed to drop a little. “Because I want you so badly I try and love you only you are really upset and you keep trying to push me off you but you can’t.. and then I wake up and I think, what right do I have to be your boyfriend if I have dreams like that about you? I hurt you every night and I’m such a terrible monster and I’m so scared that something bad will happen to you because of me and how selfishly I’m acting around you while you need your time alone.” There was a small upset noise in the back of her throat, her arms going around his shoulders, trying to ignore the image of Marc that had just sprung up in the back of her mind. Hugging him to comfort her just as much as him. Her head had dropped to rest beside his, even though her body was bent at an angle that most would have found uncomfortable but sometimes being flexiable had it's advantages.
'It's only a dream Riley, your not like Marc, you wouldn't do that.' She hugged him a little closer to her almsot as if her love for him would be able to protect him from any harm even if it was somehting she couldn't fight with her fists. 'I love you.' Her lips pressed down against his hair, trying to give him all the comfort she had to offer.
Cat: It feels like my world is slipping through my fingers and I don't know how to hold onto it
Re: A 'Finn'tastic Christmas Eve Dinner
At the sound that come from her, Riley was positive she was just going to try and push him off her so she could leave, she’d been running her hand through his hair and holding him, it was all what he so selfishly really wanted from her, he didn’t want her to lock herself away again for days before he was allowed to see her once more. But before he could tug her any closer to him she had curled up as her body embraced him even more, he tried to quieten the quick little breaths, his body was having a hard time calming down with this close bond they where having right not.
'It's only a dream Riley, your not like Marc, you wouldn't do that.' The words hadn’t fully registered for the first moment while she spoke, he was really upset but at the same time she was holding him so lovingly, he wanted to throw his arms about her and cling to her all night. 'I love you.' With her soft kiss pressing down against the top of his head and the loving words still washing over his mind, Riley’s breathing lost its forced quiet breaths and picked up once again. His face lifted from her thighs, staring up at her, he wanted so dreadfully to throw himself at her right now, to grab hold of her and pull her down off the bed so she was on her lap, or to climb up on the bed and have her beneath him while he loved her. But the hunger in his eyes turned into a muddled mixture of confusion, hurt and passion as he finally realized what she had said just before.
“No.. you mean Jon… I’m not like..” It had been Jon who raped her.. Jon who they hated and wanted to see suffering, Jon who had hurt and humiliated her, but his eyes dropped away to stare rather distantly at her stomach, though he looked too lost in thought to possibly be having any thoughts towards the baby that was growing inside her. His voice had trailed off, he had pushed the thought of her sleeping with Marc so far out of his mind that it had taken another few moments before it resurfaced. Was she saying… did she not willingly sleep with Marc? Was she in fact force to be with him, and then after that forced to be with Jon? One of Riley’s hands lifted to the side of his face as his eyes burned with moisture, he wasn’t like that, they where just dreams, they couldn’t possibly be real.. But then maybe that was why Catherine hadn’t told him what had happened, because she was so shamed of him, because he had done such a horrible thing to her on top of all the other nasty things he had done. Riley shook his head a little, he would never hurt he like how he sees himself doing in his dreams, he wasn’t like that, she said so herself, he would never, he loves her, he could never live with himself if he started hurting Catherine so violently like in his dreams.
“How can you look at me…” His eyes remained downcast as he whispered to her, his voice trembling slightly, his hand moving so that it obscured his face more from her sight, “How can you hold me, how can you ever love me?” He would leave the room If he could, his body was still aroused, though his feelings weren’t burning so strongly since he was so terribly upset now, but if he left people would still risk seeing him, and if he got dressed Catherine would still see his body so shamelessly displaying its demands for her. It felt wrong, wrong that he should still want her so much after finding out how foully he has treated her, even if it wasn’t under his control, he should have been able to protect her, he should have been stronger.
Re: A 'Finn'tastic Christmas Eve Dinner
ooc: Sheeeeesh... slow poke!
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Jenns Post:
“No.. you mean Jon… I’m not like..” Cat cuddled him a little closer to her, it was helping and comforting her to have him so near to her. Everything didn't hurt as much when she was touching him. His head had lifted to look up at her, she could see how distressed he looked even in the dark, his mouth set in an unhappy line. She wondered what the rest of his sentance was going to be but he seemed to cut himself short as if something about what he'd said had shocked him. His eyes dropped away from hers and seemed to centre on something around the region of her stomach, she wondered if he was thinking about the baby. Not being able to see the look in his eyes as he realised maybe she hadn't willingly wanted to sleep with Marc.
“How can you look at me…” She was rather suprised with his heart felt declaration, her hand pausing in the stroking movement she'd taken up, wondering why he'd suddenly come out with something like that. “How can you hold me, how can you ever love me?” Her arms wrapped a little closer around him, her face worried though it was hard to see since her top half was cast in shadows since she was bent over him.
'Whats wrong Riley? I love you? I don't want to be with anyone else.' She felt almost as if she were about to cry, but Riley was sounding and looking so crushed and she didn't know how to make him feel better again. She had no idea he'd just come to the conclusion that Marc had forced her to be with him. She let her head rest down against his, able to hear his rather quick breaths but putting them down to the fact he was upset and not because he was worked up.
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Angie's Reply:
Why did she have to hold him like she was, why did she have to be so wonderfully comforting right now, why right when he was trying to think of anything else but her and her wondrous body and the warmth and comfort and love it gave him. There was another more firm embrace of her arms, he couldn't tell how she looked, not only because it was dark but he didn't want her to see how upset he was, he may not be crying but it would still upset her if she saw his slightly watery eyes.
'Whats wrong Riley? I love you? I don't want to be with anyone else.' While she talked he managed to blink away the residue of moisture within his eyes, his hands moved away from her body and rested on her knees as she held him. The palms of his hands moved along the sides of the thighs for a moment before pulling back down to her knees, slowly they moved back to hold her though, she was making it so hard for him, and he was so selfishly hoping for something he didn't feel he deserved.
"..I hurt you," He didn't understand how she could ask what was wrong, surely she could figure out that he wouldn't like the idea that he's raped her, Marc or not, it was his body, it was his face, everything that was hurting her was his, "And I was thinking all these horrible things that weren't real, trying to figure out why," He mumbled more to himself, though he took on a more anguished tone as he continued "Is that why you left so quickly when we made love in the bath? It was as if as soon as we finished you didn't want to stay with me any longer then you had to.. I wasn't allowed to hold you.." He had to quieten his voice more because it had started to leave its whispering voice and was returning to its normal level while he got stressed over the thought of having done something so horrific to her.
"That's why you don't sleep with me any more, isn't it, that's why you won't come to our room, that's why I'm alone at night, that's why you said you where thinking of leaving me at the station, because of what I did to you.. it's why you don't wear my ring any more." Why would she want to wear something of his after doing such a terrible thing, the only reason she was probably with him was because of their child. "Are you just with me because of the baby? Is that why she's ruining your life.. because you have stay with someone who hurt you like that.." Maybe Riley was acting as if it was his fault, but he wanted to make love to her right now and he just discovered Marc might have not only abused her, but raped her as well. He wanted her to leave, he wanted her to go somewhere safe, somewhere else so that he couldn't see her, couldn't touch her, couldn't force himself on her.
Re: A 'Finn'tastic Christmas Eve Dinner"..I hurt you," She felt his hands slowly move up her legs to her thighs and then wander back down again towards her knees. It was slowly starting to dawn on Catherine that he was probably talking about what had happened between her and Marc. She closed her eyes, willing the images to leave her, she didn't want to remember what he'd done to her. It was like she could still hear his taunts in the back of her mind, feel the pain in her neck and head as he grabbed hold of her hair when she'd tried to run away from him when she'd discovered she had been locked in his room.
"And I was thinking all these horrible things that weren't real, trying to figure out why," She wasn't looking at him anymore, her eyes were downcast towards her legs. She felt ashamed that he might have found out what had happened to her, what his body had done. But it wasn't him that had blackmailed her, it was Marc and he was a completley different person to Riley. "Is that why you left so quickly when we made love in the bath? It was as if as soon as we finished you didn't want to stay with me any longer then you had to.. I wasn't allowed to hold you.." Her body seemed to recoil a little away from him, not knowing how to act with him asking her questions like that. It hadn't really been Marc that had caused her to get up that quickly it was the fact she was dissapointed that he'd finnished loving her and she wasn't sated.
"That's why you don't sleep with me any more, isn't it, that's why you won't come to our room, that's why I'm alone at night, that's why you said you where thinking of leaving me at the station, because of what I did to you.. it's why you don't wear my ring any more." Her eyes lifted to sadly look at him, it was more than just that, it was the fact that she'd been raped by Jon, that Riley hadn't been there for her when she'd needed him, that she felt so awfuly dirty and nothing she did seemed to wash it away. It had lessen somewhat since she'd been with Riley the other day however.
"Are you just with me because of the baby? Is that why she's ruining your life.. because you have stay with someone who hurt you like that.." His voice had gone all quiet as if he was waiting for her to condem him for something he hadn't done. She lifted her head a little so she could look across at him, her head turning to the side a little and letting her eyes look away from him.
'No ... I'm here because I love you Riley ... I don't care what Marc did or didn't do anymore, I want to forget about him.' She wanted to go back to her little world where she could pretend none of this had happened. She really didn't want to talk about what had happened, she didn't realise how much all this was chewing Riley up inside however and that she might want to hide from all this but he had a right to know what his body had done to her.
Cat: It feels like my world is slipping through my fingers and I don't know how to hold onto it
Re: A 'Finn'tastic Christmas Eve Dinner'No ... I'm here because I love you Riley ... I don't care what Marc did or didn't do anymore, I want to forget about him.' When he looked at her Catherine's face was turned away, she was saying all these really nice things about him though, and he could still feel her fingers caressing over him so tenderly. Not only wasn't she helping him calm down, she was partially getting him worked up, maybe he should ask her to leave before he does something to make her upset.
The fact she was upset and it had been what he said that made her upset really hurt Riley, even if he had good reasons to be upset it was like he was forcing his own miseries onto her when she was trying to get over her own pains already. Wanting to comfort her, but most lead on by the fact he was so distressed over not being inside her and making love to her like he was desperately longing to do, Riley leaned forward slightly, pressing his lips against her cheek with more then just a comforting kiss. His fingers resting on the sides of her cheeks for a moment so that he could gently guide her lips towards his own, the first kiss seeming light and gentle though the next one was more loving.
He had never heard her say so many times that she loved him before in such a short space of time. It really did make him swell with pride, she loved him so much she was saying she was willing to forget everything that Marc did, but right now Riley was acting a little dazed in his excited state, he'd be a little more upset tomorrow when he thinks over this moment and how she so bluntly avoided this topic. Pulling away his lips and letting his fingers slip fromt he warmth of her cheeks, Riley had an extremely shy look about him as he kept his eyes downcast, he had been knelling up to kiss her, but the pillow was still between him and Catherine's legs, like a wall blocking his way. When he sat back down he cuddled the pillow rather needingly as he could a nice warmth spreading within his body, it was humiliating really, he didn't like feeling so helpless when she was so close and she'd know so easily how desperately he wants her just by the way his body reacts to her.
He wanted to ask if she wanted to head back to her room and get back to sleep, then again he also wanted to ask if he could go with her and another part didn't want to say anything but climb back up there on the bed and show her how strongly he was feeling for her right now. It wasn't really registering that it was really late and his entire family was basically down stairs but he was so hungry for her body right now he wouldn't care if they where all in the same room as them, he'd be really quiet if she just gave him a chance to be with her again. But he struggled to shove those thoughts aside, wanting to try and coax his way back into her arms for the night, if not to make love, then at least just to sleep together in the bed.
"I didn't want to wake you up before, you looked so peaceful and tired, no one wanted me to disturbe you either.. but Stephie's down stairs, I think she's on the couch.." He looked a little longingly at Catherine in hopes she would allow him to be with her for the night. "Can I sleep in your room with you.. she can sleep here in my bed.." His hand rested on her knee rather nervously since she seemed to have gotten a little upset with the Marc incident being brought up. "When I was with you earlier, it was the first time in ages I could sleep without any nightmares." He leaned forward, it wasn't intentionally something to make her agree to let him stay with her, but he really wanted her to know that when he's with her it's like she keeps away all the terrible things that tend to happen to him.
Re: A 'Finn'tastic Christmas Eve Dinner
She couldn't see the expression in Riley's eyes, therefore she couldn't tell how desperatley he was needing her at the moment, especially when he was hiding his body away from her like that with his pillow. Even if she didn't make love to him she could still have pleasured him with her hands. Cat felt him move, his face lifting a little to look into hers even though neither could see the others eyes properly. A moment later her leaned in and kissed her, his lips pressing against her cheek, her own mouth curved slightly in a smile. His lips shifted and one of his hands lifted to gently moved her head around so he could kiss her properly. His lips soft at first, then a little more caring and passionate.
There was a moment before he sat back down again, hugging the pillow towards him, he wasn't looking at her and she wondered perhaps if he was still upset over the Marc incident. She let her eyes move over his darkened form, it was still easy to see his perfectly muscular body even without the lights on. It was hard to think that the same arms that held her so lovingly had been used to hurt and degrade her.
"I didn't want to wake you up before, you looked so peaceful and tired, no one wanted me to disturbe you either.. but Stephie's down stairs, I think she's on the couch.." Cat felt that twindge of guilt again over the fact that the heavily pregnant woman was having to sleep on a couch because Cat had fallen asleep and had been carried upstairs to go to bed. She'd rather the other woman had taken the bed, she could have been just as comfortable on the floor or something.
"Can I sleep in your room with you.. she can sleep here in my bed.." But then everyone would know they were sleeping together, a pink flush rose in her cheeks. She hadn't thought about the fact that everyone knew anyway since she was pregnant, it just didn't feel right in his parents house however. "When I was with you earlier, it was the first time in ages I could sleep without any nightmares." It felt like emotinal blackmail, how could she leave him here if he felt so much better when he was with her. It just felt akward, thinking of lying with him, what they'd done earlier that day hadn't been the same thing.
'Errrr alright Riley.' It was obvious she was a bit dubious about what she was being asked to do but if it made Riley feel better then she do it, afterall he helped her when she wasn't feeling a hundred percent. Cat gave him a small smile, her eyes looking down at his before they slid away to look at her lap instead, waiting for him to go and get Stephie, not realising that it would be really embaressing for him to walk around in the state he was in.
Cat: It feels like my world is slipping through my fingers and I don't know how to hold onto it
Re: A 'Finn'tastic Christmas Eve Dinner
The way she just sat there after she spoke.. did she want him to go now? But if he went now they'd all see how he was feeling, no one was ever allowed to see him like this, he didn't even want Catherine to see him like this unless she was about to make love to him. He smiled a little at the thought, remembering when she used to climb onto his lap more often, and then she start kissing him, and then he could hold her.. and then she'd feel how he was reacting to her and they would make love together.
With a blink he realized she was still probably waiting for him to go get Stephie, every one was asleep but that didn't mean he wanted to talk around in this state he was in. Besides, dark or not, he would have to help Stephanie up the stairs since she'd probably be half asleep still, she might feel his body like this and then even more frightening she might think it was because of her and not Catherine.
"No.. no not right away, I can't go yet.." Whispering really nervously and sounding humiliated over everything that was happening to him, he placed one of his hands on her knees, "I'll need a minute, you can go to your room, I'll get her when.. in a minute." He just couldn't bring himself to say he was excited, it might risk the chance of her not wanting him to sleep with her, she might think that the only reason he wants to be with her is to make love to her, he got really worried that she'd some how figure it all out and he'd go to her room and it would be locked. The paranoia was more from the fact he felt so terribly guilty over feeling like this, especially since it was because of a dream he had, and now even more that he knew it was because he was remembering a moment she had with Marc.
"I'm really sorry, I just need a minute on my own, it's just.. being with you in my dream.. and then you came, and the way you held me, and then way though you touched me.. the way you said you loved me.." With still his soft whisper as he spoke, looking up at her eyes, knowing more where they should be then actually seeing them, since her figure was so shrouded by shadows. Riley grinned, seeming to get distracted with his thoughts again as he leaned forward to kiss her. His fingers ran lightly through the sides of her hair as he tucked some of it behind her ears while he kissed her, his lips seeming a little hungrier then before.
"It's really nice to hear you say you love me," While he pulled his lips away and spoke, his fingers traced down to her shoulder, gliding lightly down her arms as he leaned down again, his hands once more holding her as he cuddled against her, seeming to let his earlier request to be allow slip from his mind. But if she didn't go it would be so hard for him to calm down, and even if his body calmed down his mind would still be distraught with desire, and that would mean at any slight hint of affection he risked getting physically excited again, he really didn't like the way his body was acting now, sure he would never want to stop making love to her, but the side effect it was having on him he could do without. Of course Riley didn't realize that it was normal, and that he had been the abnormal one, with all the drugs and lack of affection during his time at the Initiative it just stopped such feelings and reactions, most guys where long since used to it by now at his age.
"I love you, and I'm never going to stop loving you." His head was on it's side, so his cheek was resting on her lap while he spoke, but his eyes has closed, he would feel really upset if she left, and yet really glade if he could just end this tormenting feeling that was plaguing him, it's not like he won't see her all night, he just had to calm down and then everything will be alright because he'll get Stephie and then he'll bring her here and then go and be with Catherine.
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