Iowa here we come .... PRIVATE THREAD
ooc: This is a private thread so please don't post here thanks. ... feel free to read though
There had been a completely different feel to the hanger last time she’d entered it, that had been after she’d returned from Lost Angles with, Dawn, Jennifer and the others. It had been bustling with life then, people running here and there, groups standing locked in conversation with each other, everyone wearing their sleek black uniforms. Now it was almost deserted, apart from the figure of Angie who stood under the bowls of one of the gleaming blackbirds.
Everything had been so awkward since she’d returned, people didn’t really talk to her as much but they noticed her more. When people passed her in the corridor they’d nudge each other and whisper, she knew they were pointing at her behind her back. Only a handful of people were supposed to know about her being pregnant, so of course the whole school seemed to know. For the moment at least she was what they were all talking about and until someone else did something stupid or out of the ordinary she’d probably be the one everyone talked about. But until then she’d have to endure the looks and remarks, maybe it was a good thing she was going away for a bit, perhaps people would have grown tired of her as a conversation topic by then. She was probably thinking that more people were talking about her than actually were but when you over here a few different people talking it suddenly feels as if everyone is doing it.
She wasn’t sure where things were even going between her and Riley, he seemed to have been hanging around her a lot since they’d got back from the Initiative. But is seemed like he was more interested in the baby she was carrying than her, when ever he was around her he always wanted to talk about that and when she’d got grumpy about it he’d just seemed to hover around her instead for the rest of the week. She wanted things to be the way they were before Marc had come back, before any of this had happened, when it was just her and him and it wasn’t this complicated. She wasn’t even sure she wanted to keep this baby and truthfully the way she was feeling at the moment she felt like she was only keeping it for him and not because she wanted it.
Her eyes centred down upon the floor as she trailed across the hanger, Angie had been bugging her to go with Riley to Iowa and it was more the fact that she wanted to get away from everyone than anything else that had persuaded her to go. She wasn’t looking forwards to it though, it was alright for Riley … he knew his family would welcome him back into their home with open arms but she was just turning up out of the blue, what if they didn’t like her? Or they only liked her because she was carrying Riley’s baby …. And what would they think about the fact that she wasn’t married to Riley yet he’d been sleeping with him.
She was dressed in a pair of dark blue jeans and the soft white cashmere jumper she’d brought for her night with Riley in Washington, it wasn’t as soft as it had been now it had been washed a couple of times but she still really liked it. It reminded her of a better time and place than this. She had her holdall in one hand, she hadn’t really known what to pack, she wasn’t sure how long she was staying for. At the bottom of the bag she’d packed Riley’s presents and another parcel that was a box of chocolates for Riley’s parents. She figured if she was going to stay at their home she should at least get them a gift for Christmas even though the holiday cheer seemed to have left her … maybe she could hide from it all together up in Iowa … did they even celebrate Christmas?
Her normal everyday bag was slung over her shoulder, packed with things she thought she’d need for the journey, her personal CD player and some of her favourite CD’s. Maybe she could pass some of what she thought would be a boring tip by listening to music …. It might stop Riley from questioning her about the baby. Beast had given her some literature about being pregnant but she hadn’t read any of it, she didn’t really want to admit she was with child, maybe if she just ignored it it would somehow go away. She didn’t even know what she was going to do, would Xavier let her stay here if she was going to have child? She wanted to get a job but so far she hadn’t had much success, it wasn’t like Cat to think much about the future but for one she was being forced to. If she did carry the child full term then it would need things wouldn’t it? Like toys and a cot and things, par of her was hoping she’d be able to afford some sort of carer for it, that way she could leave it with someone during the day so she could go off and do her own thing. It was almost like when prospective employers heard she was pregnant they just backed away from her, knowing she’d need maternity leave and things and the fact that she didn’t really have any qualifications didn’t really help her cause at all. Especially when there were people out there who were much better suited to the jobs she wanted than she was. She’d asked in a couple of restaurants, and a supermarket and a couple of other shops at Salem Centre but none of them had had any vacancies they could offer her. Riley had told her he was setting her up a bank account but she didn’t want to take anything out of it, not after what Marc had said to her about being a thief.
She knew he’d been trying to cheer her up since he’d bought her a couple of gifts, she’d accepted them without complaint, being too down to argue with him over them. There’d been one she really liked, a white fluffy bear with ‘I love you’ written upon a red heart he was holding in his paws. At least she knew it meant he still liked her or he wouldn’t have chosen something with that written upon it. She’d wanted to bring it with her but it was too big to fit in her holdall with everything else in there. Instead she’d put it on her bed so it would be there for her when she got back. It had been a choice between Riley’s bear and Fred and though she’d had to think about it for a few minutes she knew she’d rather take Fred, she didn’t want to leave her security blanket behind, especially since she was going off to a strange place where the only person she knew was Riley.
‘Hey.’ She said to Angie as she drew nearer, her eyes glancing up and her for a brief moment before she looked back down at the floor again.
Cat: Can there be any hope for us after all thats happened?
ooc: *Stares at 'PRIVATE THREAD' in huge latters* Gee, makes it seem like something naughty is happening ,
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The two seemed to have drifted apart, Riley had been upset when he found out people where whispering about Catherine, even Dawn had started telling people off. All the girls seemed to get slightly more protective towards Catherine since she seemed so upset and Riley was lost on trying to help her. Dawn and Angela had finally decided to try and step in, Dawn had distracted Riley while Angela snuck into his room and packed his bags for the trip to Iowa. Everyone knew he missed his parents so much, and now a few people knew the secret of his life in the initiative since thier capture in the base. Angela didn't think it was fair he was hiding from them, Jean had promised to keep a mental scan over Riley's location to make sure no threat moved into his area.
This of unfortunatly would not be helpful for the danger that was going to hunt them down since it was not a human or 'being' that Jean would be able to detect with her mind. Angela had flashed Catherine a warm smile, unlike Riley, she knew full well that she was going to Iowa, Riley was only staying on the plane because Angela said Catherine wanted to go.. Which was why Angela was waiting outside so she could warm the agility mutant of her little white lie.
"Uh.. Cat.. Riley's a little.. panicky," Struggling a little for the right words, Angela didn't feel too comfortable with putting Cat into this position "The only reason he's even staying on the plan is because he thinks you are keen on going.." Looking a little guilty as she averted her eyes away from Cat while speaking, but snapped her attention back towards Cat with a serious expression of assurence "Oh, but I will tell him I plotted this whole thing, I think it would be nice for you as well, some time away ought to do you good." Her hand had begun to rummage through the purse she had slung over her shoulder, pulling out a slim mobile phone. The smooth surface was a leapord coat patterend, Angela gave a little shrug as she put it into Cat's hands.
"I will not have any negative comments about 'Spotty'," Angela had noticed the odd glance Cat had once given when she saw Angela's glittery phone cover, this was her older phone though, and she had decided she wanted Cat to have it while she was away from the school. "Yes, I named my phone, it must be an Aussie thing because Lauren named hers as well..." There was a humerous tone in her voice as she smiled, but then added once again in a more serious voice "It has my number, everyone's number, even Riley's and some of the teachers for an emergancy. Call me us for anything, even if you are just lonely and want to chat or something." Fiddling with her hands for a moment as she continued to speak, her eyes glancing back towards the X-Jet for a quick look before focusing back on Cat.
"Promise you'll call when you can, we're worried about you two.. I know how lonely it can feel leaving for another home, dad had given me that phone so I could call him whenever I was lonely. I actually had it with me after my mother died, I used it to call my friends, it really helped me, I just.. hope it can help you to." She smiled a little before heading into the plane to buckle into the pilotes seat, flicking at the switches and check, then re-checking different sensors.
Ignoring everything going on outside of the plane, and the voices that drifted on the air, Riley remained frozen in his window seat. Well, frozen wasn't the proper word, he kept fidgeting, shifting about, half wondering what Angela and Catherine would think if he bolted out of the jet and ran back to his room. But he hated his room, even if he did spend practically every minute he wasn't lingering around Catherine in there, he still hated it.. They no longer used their room in the couple dorms, right now they seemed to have returned to their single rooms, it was so painful, Riley couldn't remember much of what happened with Marc but Catherine had said she slept with him, Riley wasn't able to remember it but it was awful because she wasn't acting the same way towards him. Especially after what Jon had done to her, he's never felt so alone, maybe she didn't want to be with him any more because she realize how different experienced men where in bed. He had become so paranoid and self consious, even Marc had more times of making love to Catherine since he had the added knowledge of Riley's memories.
He wanted so badly to try and help Catherine through this, but she was making it so hard, so painful, he couldn't blame her though.. how could she even look at him anymore? Everyone said Marc had been so horrible to her, but then why did she sleep with him? Did she find Marc's personality more appealing? It wasn't hard for him to convince himself that was true, everyone always made fun of his slightly obsessive and annoying habits.
How could his parents want anything to do with him, even the woman he loves wants nothing to do with him, she hates him, she doesn't have to say it, why else would she seem so upset everytime he tries and bring up the subject of their child. It wasn't his fault he was so excited, he just wanted to talk with her about it, why wouldn't she just talk with him? He wanted to ask her things, if she hoped for a boy or girl, if she had favorite names, if she wanted to stay at the school in the special family rooms like Connor and his sisters used to live in before they moved out into singal dorms away from their father. Or did she want a home? He didn't know any of that, and he wanted to know, he wanted to be a dad so badly and she was making him feel terrible for being excited about it, as if he was abnormal for wanting to talk about it.
What does he tell his parents? How does he explain his years of being thought dead, how does he tell them he broke their traditions by sleeping and baring a child outside of marrige, would that be ashamed of him? He honestly tohught Catherine would end up marrying him, but now he was so scared because she didn't even let him close enough to touch her any more, it was far to awkward to try and even kiss her, she probably didn't want him to ever touch her again. His eyes where moist slightly as he stared down at the crimpled sheet of paper in his hands, it was folded neatly, the photo of his parents hidden behind the folded sheet of paper.
I miss you ... please don't leave me.
Was she leaving him? His finger tips traced lightly over the scribbled words that had 'Can you get me my night things please?' half written over it. He didn't notice Cat board the plane or Angela settle into the pilot seat, she wouldn't sit next to him any way, she'd probably sit right at the front, as far away from him as possible. He kept blinking carefully to force away the tears that kept threatening to come yet seemed to never fall. He was so scared, this was the scariest moment of his life and he was all alone.. maybe that's what made it so terrifying. He couldn'y even go to Catherine for comfort any more, it was like those six months without her, only it was even worse because she was still here. Why would his parents even want to speak with him after everything he's done, he was a monster, how could they love him when the mother of his own child can't even love him.
But he still wanted to try, he wanted so much for everything to be alright again, he would prove to Catherine he was able to look after her and their child again. And since she was the mother of his child it mean she would have to spend time with him, it meant she couldn't just run off again, she had to stay, and maybe then he could manage to win her back somehow.. He just needed time.. she couldn't just stop loving him, could she? How could he stay at the school and see her every day if he knew what he once had and what he now was missing and would never be blessed with again? What would he do? How would he cope and survive the rest of his life alone with out her, he couldn't last just a few months.. But they shared a child.. so.. really he would always have her.. he started to panic, what if she left and found another guy, would she take their child and raise it with her and her new lover?
A shaky breath was released as he pulled his right leg up onto the seat, his arms wrapping about it since he had no one else that would hug him. But that wasn't true really.. would his parents hug him? It wasn't the same though.. he didn't even know them, or their names, he was too ashamed to tell anyone he still didn't remember them, the only reason he knew what they looked like was because of the photo Catherine had slipped under his door. Resting his mouth against his knee, he kept the sheet of paper held out before him, so his eyes could take comfort in a plea that Catherine had written him.. a plea he has so many countless amounts of times repeated to himself. He couldn't live with out her in this world outside of the initiative and military, he didn't want to live without her.. If she did leave him the only thing that would keep him alive would be the child that needed him as a father.
Riley(about Catherine): She's my desert rose, a wondrous soul brought up in a harsh environment
Re: Iowa here we come .... PRIVATE THREAD"Uh.. Cat.. Riley's a little.. paicky," The mention of Riley's name got her attention, her eyes lifting to look at Angie. She wondered waht he could be paniking about, he was going to see his parents again, he sould be happy. She'd have given everything she owned to be in his position right now, he should be grateful he had parents to go back to. For the first time she wondered if he had any other family .... he'd never mentioned any brothers and sisters, did he have grandparents up there, aunts and uncles? Did her unborn baby have any family outside Riley and his parents? She would have liked it to have lots of family members, in a kind of motherly though that she wasn't even aware she was having she hoped that it had loads of family, so if anything ever happened to her there would be someone to take it in. But maybe Riley's family would do what her aunt had done, and put it up for foster care.
"The only reason he's even staying on the plan is because he thinks you are keen on going.." She didn't really understand that .... why wouldn't someone want to go back and see their parents when it was bluntly obvious that they thought the world of them. "Oh, but I will tell him I plotted this whole thing, I think it would be nice for you as well, some time away ought to do you good." What so she was supposed to pretend she was thrilled to be dragged thousands of miles away from everything she knew? There was a slightly sulky expression forming upon her face. Her eyes were watching Angela as she rummaged through her purse, looking for something amid the clutter that Cat could see in there.
"I will not have any negative comments about 'Spotty'," Catherine watched her pull out a phone with a spotted case and hand it to her, Cat looked down at the phone, wondering exactly how she was supposed to know what to do with it. It was true that Brad and Nina had had phones which Cat had played games upon but they didn't look at all like this one. "Yes, I named my phone, it must be an Aussie thing because Lauren named hers as well..." It seemed a little odd to Catherine giving a name to something like a phone .... but then didn't people give names to cars? "It has my number, everyone's number, even Riley's and some of the teachers for an emergancy. Call me us for anything, even if you are just lonely and want to chat or something."
'Thanks Angie.' She said, slipping the phone into her bag, at least she now had someway of contacting the outside world. She wasn't overly happy about going though, but she supposed she could act like she was looking forwards to going even if it was just until they got there if Angela really wanted her to.
"Promise you'll call when you can, we're worried about you two.. I know how lonely it can feel leaving for another home, dad had given me that phone so I could call him whenever I was lonely. I actually had it with me after my mother died, I used it to call my friends, it really helped me, I just.. hope it can help you to." Cat nodded in response, giving a light sigh as she watched Angela quickly scurry up the ramp and into the plane. She hung around outside for another few moments before she dragged her feet up the ramp, she didn’t really want to go, but then she didn’t really want to stay either.
The inside of the blackbird was more spacious than it looked from the outside, she’d forgotten what it looked like, her eyes moving around her for a few seconds before they centred upon the figure of Riley who was sitting on one of the back two seats. There was an odd little pain in the region of her heart whenever she looked at him, but it was hard to do that sometimes since it reminded her of what she’d done with Marc. She dropped her eyes away from him, looking down at the floor before she moved down the plane towards Riley, she’d have to pass by him in order to store her things at the back of the plane. Her feet hesitated as she drew along side him, he had one foot up on the chair, hugging his knee to him, a bit of paper in his hands, his eyes flicked up to her face.
‘Hey…’ She looked as if she wanted to say something else but she didn’t know quite what it was. She offered him a tiny smile before she passed by him in order to store her things. Kneeling down on the floor and pulling up one of the grates upon the floor, she dropped her holdall down into the space below. She pushed the grate back on top and stood up again, making her way back past Riley, remembering what Angela had told her before.
‘I’m looking forward to seeing your home Riley … ummm … thanks for letting me come along.’ It sounded really lame and there wasn’t much enthusiasm in her voice, but she was trying. There was another hesitation before she moved off to the front of the plane, sitting down in one of the chairs just behind Angie, buckling herself in, not looking back at Riley again, her face turned away to the side so she could look out of one of the windows.
Cat: Can there be any hope for us after all thats happened?
Re: Iowa here we come .... PRIVATE THREAD‘Hey…’ Catherine had approached him, he thought for the briefest of moments that she would sit with him, comfort him in some way, she even gave him a tiny little smile, but then she moved off to drop her bags in the storage compartment of the small jet. But that was alright, she was just putting away her things, she'll be back, his hand hid the sheet of paper against his knee so she wouldn't see it when she returned.
‘I’m looking forward to seeing your home Riley … ummm … thanks for letting me come along.’ Her words barely registered at first on Riley's mind, he was more upset and focusing on Catherine's back as she moved away from him. It was so stupid to have gotten his hopes up on the thought that she would sit with him. He couldn't even say anything about not wanting to go because everytime he mentioned his family Cat would get sad or angry with him. She didn't understand why he didn't want to see them, couldn't she see that if seeing them endangered their lives he didn't want to risk that? It was his love that was keeping him from going to them, she couldn't understand, she refused to even try and understand his pain, Riley glared down for a moment before he cuddled his arms more about his knee.
"Get ready everyone." The hanger doors began to open above them, what was disguised as one of the basket ball courts began to part so that the six seater X-Jet could begin hovering off the ground, slowly and carefully lifting into the air and over the courts. The speed of the jet was barely felt as they shot off towards Iowa, the stealth technology making their trip silent.. and their lack of talking helped with the silence as well.
It was when they where almost half way there that Riley started to really panic, shifting about uneasily, why couldn't Catherine just sit with him, what was with just being beside him, why didn't she want to be near him any more. Riley couldn't take it any more, leaving his seat and moving to sit beside Catherine, his movements slow and careful as if he was terrified she'd yell at him for sitting so close to her. He wanted to say so much because he felt as if he was about to explain from all the painful silence, but he couldn't say anything, she'll get mad.. that's all he was good at gdoing, making her angry, she said so herself, he always made her angry, so what was the point of trying to get comfort from her if it was just going to make her even more upset with him.
Was she angry with him? Of course she was, why wouldn't she be? He he wanted to apologise.. he had so many things he could be sorry for, he couldn't protect her when he was meant to, he couldn't save her from harm, he could help her when she needed him. He want to hold her, for her to say he wasn't as big a failure as he felt he was, to say his parents wouldn't hate him for what he's become, for having left them, for not even being married to the mother of his child. He didn't really consider the fact the only reason they believed in that tradition was to stop someone from getting involved with a person and risk losing them after having shared so much. He didn't consider that his parents didn't care about anything other then having a second chance with their only son. He was too scared of not being good enough for them, he wasn't a good boyfriend, he wasn't a good son, why was he even bothering trying to be either?
Riley(about Catherine): She's my desert rose, a wondrous soul brought up in a harsh environment
Re: Iowa here we come .... PRIVATE THREAD
Cat had discovered she didn't really like flying, it made her feel queasy, it probably wasn't helped by the fact she was pregnant either or that she didn't want to be here. The fact that she ground was so far away wasn't very comforting either, it made her feel worse to look at it, feeling her stomach lurch each time the plane was buffeted by the air currents. She probably feel better if she spent more time up in the air, but at the moment she couldn't help thinking about what would happen if the plane suddenly fell out of the sky. Instead she was staring down at her CD player as it flicked over song after song, though she wasn't really concentrating on any of them.
Sometimes
We get second chances
And sometimes
We never make it past the first
It really makes you wonder
Why some things happen
When they do
It really makes me wonder why it wasn't me
Instead of you
The song was by Michelle Branch, she didn't really want to listen to it though, it was too close to heart, so she pressed the skip button, hearing the CD whirr around for a few seconds before the next song started.
It's been a long, long time since I looked into the mirror
I guess that I was blind, now my reflection's getting clearer
Now that you're gone things will never be the same again
She didn't like that song either, they were all so depressing, couldn't someone sing about something other than love for a change. She was trying to forget about what she and Riley had had that was now lying in tattered ruins but it was hard when everything around her seemed to remind her about it. She pressed the off button, hearing footsteps behind her, a moment later Riley moved to sit in the seat next to her, she glanced up at him rather nervsously before she looked back down at the walkman. She wound the cable around the case to keep the headphones safe and picked her bag up off the floor, placing it on her knee so she could put the walkman away.
The plane jolted slightly, her hands quickly dropped the bag onto the floor witha bit of a clunk as something hit the floor, one of her hands instinctivley moving to the seat of her chair. She didn't like this, her eyes flicking over to Riley and then to Angela.
'Are we nearly there yet?' She wished they'd gone by road, or even train, she risked a quick glance out of the window, they seemed to be passing over some sort of city, her eyes looking down upon the suburbs. Little square patches that represented the different homes and lives of thousands of people.
Cat: Can there be any hope for us after all thats happened?
Re: Iowa here we come .... PRIVATE THREAD
There was a sulky frown on Riley's face after Catherine ask if they where almost there, she wasn't even talking to him, , he had no idea how to start a topic of conversation but at least he made the effort of coming here to try and speak with her. Wait, if she didn't want him anywhere near her then maybe she was more upset that he had come so close to her..? His eyes stared at her while she peered out the window, ignoring Angela as she called out they where more then half the way there. Now that he was paying more attention to her, she seemed a little tense, Cat's hands gripping onto the arm rests of the seat for support as if that would somehow steady her from the trembles of the plane. Riley had been in trucks many times, they where far more jumpy then this trip, the only time he was ever really on a plane was his trip from Iowa to the Acadamy, plus his helicopter ride to washington..
Rather timidly, Riley's fingers touched the back of Catherine's hand, he wasn't allowed to hold her any more, that's what it felt like. But he didn't like seeing her stressed or upset, all he could do was comfort her with his arms, but now he couldn't even do that. Any kind of touch would make him feel better, he was scared she'd pull away, no, scared wasn't the word, petrified was, he'd be crushed if she recoiled from his touch. But he wanted to at least attempt to comfort her, and from comforting her he would also get comfort, his eyes remained glued on her hand, taking in a little breath and seeming to hold it as he dared to try and offer her a little smile as he lifted his eyes.
There had been a slow shift back into his quiet state, since his excitement about the baby seemed to upset Catherine he tried to stop making her upset by not bothering to speak as much. He wasn't happy that she wasn't sleeping with him any more, he didn't care if she didn't want to touch him, he could understand that, but he was so alone without her, he would stop speaking forever if that meant he'd not annoy her anymore and she'd consider getting another room with him. But he was too scared to even bring up such a topic, part of him was convinced she wasn't inlove with him any more, that had to be why she was so upset about the baby, having a child with someone you hate had to be awful for her..
Riley(about Catherine): She's my desert rose, a wondrous soul brought up in a harsh environment
Re: Iowa here we come .... PRIVATE THREAD
Hearing that they were just about half way there didn't comfort the jumpy agility mutant much. She wanted to get off the plane, even if was for a bit but Angie didn't seem to look as if she was ready to put the plane down somewhere for a bit so Cat could recover from the mild flight sickness. She turned her thoughts back to Riley's parents, she'd seen the picture of them so she knew what they looked like, but she was more than a little nervous about what they were like. What did they think of mutants? Would they be upset or disgusted with Riley for seeing her ... for having a child with her ... it wasn't like she was even human .... what if they turned her out of the house or called the police? There was such a lot of hatred between mutants and people still, maybe Riley just wouldn't tell them about her?
She felt something touch the back of her hand, her eyes flicking down to see the tips of Riley's fingers touching her smooth skin. It was one of the first bits of contact they'd had in days and it felt odd and strange. Her eyes lifted to look up at Riley, he offered her a smile, not speaking though.
Her hand turned over, quickly taking hold of his hand before she had time to think twice about it. Her palm was sweaty in his larger hand, letting him know she was nervous and not all of it was to do about being so high up in a plane.
'I don't feel too good, I don't think I like flying.' It hadn't been too bad last time ... she'd been fuled up with excitment and chattering away to Lisa, Dawn and Angela not filled with aprehension like she was at the moment. She offered him a little smile in return her eyes dropping away to the floor. Her hand held onto his a little firmer as the plane jolted a little again, she wanted to talk about something to take her mind off the plane, she could pretend she was in a car then or something safer.
Cat: Can there be any hope for us after all thats happened?
Re: Iowa here we come .... PRIVATE THREAD
When her hand had twisted over so she could take hold of his own hand, Riley felt a sudden flood of relief wash over him, she hadn't pulled away, which would have crushed him, but she did better then just there and not react to his touch. She accepted it, and that cheered him up slightly.
'I don't feel too good, I don't think I like flying.' She was speaking to him, in a non-annoyed way, a normal 'we're just talking about things' kind of way, something he has never taken for granted since things seemed to have always been so uneasy with their relationship. Maybe the baby was making her sick as well, the thought to ask her if that could be one of the reasons didn't dare rise in Riley's mind, he learned after last time she snapped at him not to bring up the baby.
Gently his other hand reached over so he could cup her hand between his larger ones, there was still a slow uncertainty in his touch, not holding her firmly enough that she wouldn't be able to pull free of his grip. It was like when he first started holding her, his have his arms about her in a way that enables her to so easily pull free of him.
"These planes are very advanced, it would take an extreme force for any damage to effect the outer hull," He kept his voice low, a little shy in speaking, his voice souded a little nervous, and since he wasn't speaking often there was a bit of a dryness to his first few words whenever he started speaking. "And if anything did happen, Angela's power could turn us all into air, we'd just float to the ground, or the rest of the way to Iowa." He smiled a little more, trying to lighten her mood and relax her, though it was hard since he was so terribly nervous.
"You know," He struggled to figure out what else to say in order to get her mind off flying, he was a little sick himself but it was only because of the emotional stress he was enduring right now. "I remembered something before, before I left home, Amy, one of our horses, she gave birth to a filly, a baby girl horse, and I had called her Penny after.. someone." He could remember he named the horse after a woman but he didn't remember he named it after his great grand mother. It had been so exciting, he got to help while Amy was giving birth, it had been a little disgusting but it was so much more fun and exciting that it didn't bother him at all. He had stayed in the barn all night, and when he had watched Penny start walking around in just a few short hours he had been so eager he couldn't wait to tell all his friends the next day. But he only was able to spend a week with her before he left and now she was all grown up and he missed the chance of training her and being the first to ride her..
"I don't know what to say to them Catherine.. I'm so excited but so terrified as well.." He took in a shaky breath "I have no idea what to say.." His hands carefully held hers with a little more gentle firmness for a short moment as he looked at her before his hands relaxed again. "But they're going to love you, I guess that's something I'm looking forward to, I get to introduce you to them." He seemed pleased at that thought, he thought at least Cat would distract them from asking too many questions about his past.. He felt awful at the thought of having to lie to them, he didn't like it at all, part of him wondered how they would react f they knew what has happened to him over the past few years.
Riley(about Catherine): She's my desert rose, a wondrous soul brought up in a harsh environment
Re: Iowa here we come .... PRIVATE THREAD"These planes are very advanced, it would take an extreme force for any damage to effect the outer hull," His other hand had moved to cup aorund her own, she didn't dare look down though, it was suddenly so scarey to have him touching her ... since she'd gone a week or so without it. The fact that these hands had grabbed hold of the back of her hair and hurt her neck was also lurking in the back of her mind. She didn't like the idea of what his body had done to her, it had hurt her a little when Marc had been with her and then Jon had purposefully hurt her with his body when he raped her so it wasn't suprising she was a little nervous of having his touch. His hands were as gentle as ever though, tenderly holding onto hers.
"And if anything did happen, Angela's power could turn us all into air, we'd just float to the ground, or the rest of the way to Iowa." His voice sounded a bit gravelly for a few moments, and it had a tint of shyness to it. She wasn't sure she liked the idea of being turned into air .... there was a ghost of a thought that that might somehow hurt the baby inside her but her mind didn't linger on that for too long. There was another little smile upon his face as he looked at her, her own lips tugged up a little in an automatic response.
"You know," her eyes flitted away from his around the plane. "I remembered something before, before I left home, Amy, one of our horses, she gave birth to a filly, a baby girl horse, and I had called her Penny after.. someone." She looked back over at him, a spark of excitment hitting her eyes ... a foal? She'd never really seen a foal up close before, she'd seen them on the television and out of windows in the car but she'd never touched one. She'd always imagined their fur to be really silky she wondered what Penny would look like. It took her a second to remember that Riley had been away from the farm for seven years so Penny wouldn't be a foal anymore. A little dissipointed she looked away, her eyes glancing down out of the window, this time seeing large patches of green fields, having left the city far behind them.
"I don't know what to say to them Catherine.. I'm so excited but so terrified as well.." Turning her head back around she gave him her full attention, her eyes regarding him rather sadly. But she guessed if someone just gave her her parents back again she wouldn't quite know what to say to them. "I have no idea what to say.." She squeezed his hand a little, letting him know she was still there for him. "But they're going to love you, I guess that's something I'm looking forward to, I get to introduce you to them." She looked down at the ground for a short moment before her eyes lifted to his again.
'What emmm do they think of mutants?' She wanted them to tolerate her at least even if they wern't that nice to her .... but what if they were disgusted with him for sleeping with her? Her free hand was rather nervously rubbing over the material of her jeans that rested over her hip.
Cat: Can there be any hope for us after all thats happened?
Re: Iowa here we come .... PRIVATE THREAD
The question had caught him by surprise, his eyes staring at her for a moment, in truth he so easily forgot Catherine was a mutant, he forgot Angela was one, he forgot everyone around him as a mutant. He really didn't think about that, but he smiled, the idea she was worried about that wasn't easy for Riley to understand from personal experience in the sense her wasn't a mutant, but he had often been looked at in fear because of his 6"2 build... Heck even if girlfriend was intimidated by him, but it's not like he has never hurt her before, although there's always been something wrong with him at the time he's hurt or tried to hurt her, it didn't change the fact that he has still hurt her.
"Where do you think I got all that stuff like giving people a chance, hate them for who they are and not what they are and so on.. Can you picture the Initiative sitting us down and asking us to open to page 35 of the 'We are all Equal' text book?" He grinned a little, but then added in a more assured and serious tone as he spoke a little softer to her "They will judge you by who you are, and not what you are, it doesn't matter that you are a mutant.. just like they wouldn't mind to know I'm a chemically and partially genetically enhanced super soldier." He seemed to sound a little sarcastic with the last part of that, but he couldn't even tell them about his enhancements, at least she could tell them that. What could he tell them if they saw his strength? It would be hard to hide it if there was a need to use his strength, or if he didn't seem to get tired like normal people after a certain amount of time.
"..Do you think I should tell them I'm a mutant as well?" He sounded hurt, he just didn't want to lie to them, why did things have to be so complicated? His eyes stared at her for a moment but dropped down to the ground a second later "I mean, I keep going over it in my mind, they'll ask what happened to me, I can't say I was taken captive and brain washed in an underground base." One of his hands had pulled away from her, but his other one remained with her hand holding his, he didn't want to lose contact with her, but he had this ghostly feeling she'd soon pull away from him, and that also scared him.
"I have a suggestion," Angela called out from the pilots seat, her attention still seeming focused on the sky ahead of her as she talked "Why not just say you suffered from amnesia and you're only just recovering your memories now, I mean, you did have amnesia at one point." Riley could help thinking 'that you know of' since he had his memories blocked more then once. He hated that idea, it was the truth so he hated it, it hate anything, hell, he'd hate telling them the truth as well, he didn't know what he wanted. His hand rubbed his forehead for a moment, turning his attention back towards Catherine, it was hard to imagine someone that found it so hard to live without his love possibly take up a position such as fatherhood. He had a difficult enough time deciding things for himself, it wasn't easy for Dawn and some others to see him making important choices for his child.
Riley(about Catherine): She's my desert rose, a wondrous soul brought up in a harsh environment
Re: Iowa here we come .... PRIVATE THREAD"Where do you think I got all that stuff like giving people a chance, hate them for who they are and not what they are and so on.. Can you picture the Initiative sitting us down and asking us to open to page 35 of the 'We are all Equal' text book?" He was rewarded by a little smile which ventured nervously across her pretty face, her eyes lingering on his for a moment before she looked over at Angie. She hoped they wouldn't be on the plane much longer. In truth she imagined that Angie would be dropping them off just outside the farm, not in the nearest town which was still hours away from where Riley lived. Cat really didn't grasp the scale of the farm that he lived on, some farms in America had fields as big as whole counties where she'd used to live. Riley's parents farm wasn't that big but it was still way larger than she was imaining. She was hoping there would be a town within walking distance .... at least she could get out of the house then, it was more than a bit unerving to think that she was about to stay with people she'd never met before and they didn't even know she was coming.
"They will judge you by who you are, and not what you are, it doesn't matter that you are a mutant.. just like they wouldn't mind to know I'm a chemically and partially genetically enhanced super soldier." That didn't really comfort her much especially the tone in his voice as he talked about the fact he'd been altered himself. She wrapped her fingers a little firmer around his hand in a brief comforting gesture.
"..Do you think I should tell them I'm a mutant as well?" She felt sorry for him, most people had accepted one way or another that there were mutants about so it wouldn't be too hard for his parents to believe that she was one, however to tell them he was a genetically altered super soilder was another thing all together. "I mean, I keep going over it in my mind, they'll ask what happened to me, I can't say I was taken captive and brain washed in an underground base."
"Why not just say you suffered from amnesia and you're only just recovering your memories now, I mean, you did have amnesia at one point." She'd forgotten Angie was in the plane, for a few mintues it had felt like there was just him and her. She sat up straighter and pulled her had a little away from his, but not enought that their fingers weren't still touching. He was rubbing his forehead with one hand, she realised he must be really nervous over this whole thing .... afterall who wouldn't be meeting their parents again after such a long time.
Cat shifted around a little uncomfortably in her chair, her eyes looking out of the window again. She felt tired again, and slightly grumpy, she didn't really mean to yell at Riley about their baby but she felt so out of sorts sometimes, not realising it was her hormones reacting to her baby. She lifted her hand, that wasn't touching Riley'd fingers to her lips, yawning. The planes seats hadn't been designed to have people going to sleep on them, over the past couple of days though it had suddenly become hard to keep her eyes open as her baby eagerly diverted her energy to it's self.
Cat: Can there be any hope for us after all thats happened?
There was a tugging pain his heart when he felt Catherine begin to pull her hand away, it felt as if she was to let go then there would be nothing holding him, nothing that would stop him from falling. Her hand was his life support right now, he just needed to have her touch, for her to tell him that he wasn't alone by letting him have her hand. There was a soft little surprised noise from Riley as he straightened his posture, his hand leaving his forehead and his palm resting over his chest as he gave a confused little frown. He felt nausias all of a sudden, his slight heartache just magnified greatly, but he's never felt sick before, not like this, not that he can remember.
It was very rare for Riley to get sick, even back in Iowa he rarely felt ill and if he did it was normally just from exhaustion, either by not getting enough sleep or by working himself way too hard. The drugs in the Initiative also faught off any illnesses that might effect him, so it felt very strange for him when he got this nausias feeling swelling inside him. There was a twing of discomfort in his chest, but that faded rather quickly, leaving the nausia to distract him. Once he had gotten nausias because he was really scared or anxious over what the people where doing to him when they clamped him into the large metallic seat when he was 14. So Riley figured he was just getting that feeling because he was so scared and anxious of meeting his parents once more. He didn't know it was the start of something far more worse and dangerous then anything so simple as being nervous.
The day they had returned to the school, Riley had only managed to move a few feet into their room, there was clothes scattered everywhere, books thrown to the ground, a glass shattered across the floor. He couldn't enter any futher, it felt awful, he didn't remember much at all, the things he did remember where from nightmares that troubled his sleep every time he laid his head down. The one thing he found, which had been what forced him those few feet into the terrible room, was Catherine's ring that she had removed and left on the floor, Marc hadn't cared to even pick it up. He had to remove his own ring right away, it felt like he was pulling his heart right out of his chest while he was removing the silver band of metal from his finger. The tags he wore about his neck had been removed half way through the week when the two of them seemed so distant. It felt like everything was slowly falling apart on him, just when it seemed everything was becoming so perfect.
But hidden beneath his red t-shirt, the sleeves, shoulders and sides of which where black, had his thin metal chain with, instead of his tags, the two silver rings. He had tried so hard not to wear anything that signalled his relationship with Catherine since he wasn't sure what they where any more.. How could they be a couple if she made him feel so uncomfortable just by being near her. He could feel the rings beneath the fabric, unintentionally casting Catherine a guilty look since he was feeling so terrible in wearing her ring without her permission. But part of him wanted to have it with him always incase there was a moment she might ask for it.. and then he could hand it to her right away..
The hazel gaze of his eyes quixkly pulled away as his hand dropped to his jeans, the dark material was still stiff since they where new, replacing his favorite jeans that had been ruined by the blood stains from both Mandra's attack and more from when his chest cut bled all over the front of them. Slowly he looked back at Catherine and gave her a slight smile, whispering to her he'll be back before he got up and moved off towards his seat. He had been reading in the library when Angela had found him, so maybe he should focus on his book and stop panicing over returning home, after all, it was a good thing, wasn't it? What could possibly happen, the Initiative where ordered to break up by the President of the United States, Graham said so, so there shouldn't be any danger right?
Reaching over to his seat, his hand grabbed at his book and then he returned to his seat beside Catherine, the cover was dark and had a spooky them about it. There was a rather eerie looking dream catcher with a skull woven into the very center of it that was displayed right at the top. There was a misty forest just below it, the outline of a man walking towardsit or away from it, it was hard to tell since he was just a black figure. In large pointy read letters it had 'Dream Catcher' at the bottem, a golden outline around each letter. The name and cover had been what caught Riley's attention, he officially hated dream catchers now, they freaked him out whenever he saw one, and the mentioning of them caused a painful ache in his heart. After all, it had been the Dream Catcher above their bed that had been making Catherine's nightmares come true.
The thing with TV was that since Riley has seen so much in his life, so many brutal things, and the added effect of his brain washing, it meant the sight of bloody bodies had little effect on his mind. He had been watching a horror movie with Angela and Dawn in Angela's room and he barely understood why everyone was running around and screaming. Sure he figured there was something trying to kill them, but the villian looked weak and pathetic compared to some terrifying creatures he had seen. So with a book Riley's imagination had to create the monsters and environments, which meant he'd think of things that where scary, and since he was being told and had things being explained to him with the encounters to blood and pain, it made him understand even better what was happening.
Flicking to the pages he was up to, which was only 36 out of the 482 pages, his leg once again pulled up onto his seat as he inched his body back further against the seat. He had already forgotten about the nausia, leaning forward to rest his chin on his knee as his arms wrapped about it, holding the book for his eyes to scan. It was actually quiet a scary book, the fact there was an evil dream catcher somewhere, or so he assumed it was evil since he hadn't gotten that far as to encounter it yet, it made him even more spooked.
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ooc: I wasn't sure what to put in my post, but you can post them landing not too far away from the train station if you wish, or I'll do it in my next post!
Riley(about Catherine): She's my desert rose, a wondrous soul brought up in a harsh environment
Re: Iowa here we come .... PRIVATE THREAD
Her eyes moved back to his face as she heard him make a small suprised noise. It was odd now how she noticed things that she'd have taken for granted before, the way the planes engines purred slightly or the sound of peoples voices. His hand was hovering over his chest and he didn't look too great. But he looked up at her with a small smile, telling her he'd be right back.
Cat's head turned around to watch him make his way towards the back of the plane. He didn't look unwell any longer and she didn't really guess it might be the start of something else. Her eyes looked down at her hand, moving it off the arm rest and back onto her lap again, some of her earlier nervousness returning again as her mind wandered back onto the movement of the plane rather than Riley and what he was saying to her. She scratched at the back of her left hand, her eyes darting around the plane, as if she was worried there was no way out.
Riley returned the next moment, sitting down next to her, he had a book in his hands. As he sat down she caught a glimpse of the cover, a dreamcatcher with a skull in the middle of it. She shuddered slightly, turning her face away, she'd had just about enough of dream catchers. She'd been really upset when she'd found out that it was her dream catcher than had been caushing her nightmares, they were supposed to be there in order to catch her bad dreams, not to manifest them.
He seemed to settle down again, quite happy with his book, she glanced over at him, not quite sure how he could find a book interesting. She was far too used to having pictures presented to her on the TV and it was sometimes hard for her to visualise things in books since she felt like she should be seeing exactly the same thing as everyone else who was reading it. She was quite happy in a way though since she was getting away from lessons for a while, they'd stop soon for Christmas anyway but she wasn't even sure she was going to keep going anymore. Her attendance had been more than a little eradic recently and since she was pregnant she figured she'd have to give it all up anyway once the child was born.
Cat: Can there be any hope for us after all thats happened?
Re: Iowa here we come .... PRIVATE THREAD
It seemed he had gotten completely into the book because he didn't even hear Angela who was calling for him until she yelled louder for his attention and he snapped his eyes up quickly to stare at her.
"What?" He was at a really scary part, full of suspence and lots of gory detail, there was something causing all the animals in the forest to be covered in deep cuts and their coats smeared in their own blood. It was more the way the writer was explaining everything, such perfect details that it was sounding more scary then it ought to be.
"I said we're not allowed to land this thing in the middle of a public area, I'll be dropping you two off at a location that is just a short ten or so minute walk to a train station that'll take you to Huxley." Another train? He sank into his seat at the thought, and with Catherine pregnant it only worried him more, what if the Initiative started shooting at them again? It was only then that he remembered there shouldn't be any trouble.. the Initiative wasn't supposed to be after him any more. He didn't know that when Professor Walsh died, since she was the one that took care of the cyborgs that worked for the Initiative, then she was the only one able to get in contact with the T1 that was still under orders to stop any and all Rogue agents, which Riley would still be marked as since no one would have told the machines of their new orders, all Robotic and Hybred Soldiers where to be terminated on sight and Maggie Walsh had many already out on missions that no one could get in contact with since only Walsh had the authorization to do so.
"Can't you just land somewhere on the farm?" There was a dull, maybe a little annoyed, but also anxious tone to his voice, but Angela shook her head as she began to lower the plane.
"Sorry Riley, the Professor gave me a bunch of rules and conditions before he let me take you guys to Iowa, one was not flying the plane near towns or such." There was a long moment Riley continued to stare at her, he wanted to know what where the other rules and conditions but she didn't seem to intend on saying anything further. He sulked a little, he never liked being left in the dark about anything, he hated surprises, something always bad happened when people didn't tell him everything. He didn't know it was mainly Angela hiding the fact that the Professor wanted Cat to continue her studies instead of avoiding them further, just because she was pregnant didn't mean she had to give up her classes and education. In fact she could take it as a chance to sit back and study in a more relaxed environment.
The pages seemed to be turning rather quickly, his eyes zooming over the words though they'd slow down and soak up more of the feeling when things got really tense, there was something growing inside the humans who where showing the same effects the animals where suffering from. He pulled his eyes away from the book and stared at Catherine's stomach for glimpse before lifting up at her face. He'd die if anything bad happened to her or started eating the inside of her like that, he could just picture whatever that thing was eating away at his child that was growing inside her. His eyes drifted back to the pages of the book, the silence only disturbed by the turning of his pages.
... feel free to read though
*Stares at 'PRIVATE THREAD' in huge latters* Gee, makes it seem like something naughty is happening 
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