"You don't really need to apologise, I know I got over excited and you where dealing with you're own things.. I just.." Her face tipped a little so she was staring up into his face, she watched his eyes drop down to her stomach then move off towards the door. Through it she could hear the noise of this family talking, as it sounded as if someone was in tears. She wished she had lots of family to be glad she'd returned from the dead but she didn't even if his mum had said that she had them now it wasn't like they were really hers. They'd only think that of her if she was dating Riley, her own eyes seemed to migrate down towards her stomach, but she had her baby now right? So it was family, when it was born. She wished her mum was still here, she'd know what to tell her to make everything alright again. She wasn't sure she wanted to give birth, it looked really painful and there was always an element of risk with it.
"I really wanted to talk with you, I thought maybe if I tried to talk about something that we can look forward to then it might distract you from all the bad things that had happened." She wasn't a hundred percent sure she was looking forwards to this child. She didn't feel mentally old enough to look after a baby. Cat wasn't even sure she'd be able to look after it properly ... maybe if she decided she didn't want it Riley wouldn't mind taking the infant. It was bluntly obvious that he'd make a brilliant father since it had been his dream from when he was small. If she'd have actually have managed to hand him her child when it was born would be another matter altogether.
"I always wanted to be with someone, but being in the Initiative there was no way I thought I'd ever find anyone, and if I did I couldn't ever have a family there," She understood he was excited but she was afraid, she didn't feel ready to have a child. It was alright for him, he wasn't the one who was going to go through childbirth and everything before it.
"..But then you came storming into my life," Her eyes flicked over to the open door, expecting someone to walk through it any second and interupt them. "You changed everything, you make me feel so whole, so complete, and now we're going to have a family together," .... "It's like you're giving me everything I thought I'd never be able to have, love, a life, choices to do whatever I want, you even gave me back my old family as well as giving me a new one." He was making it sound as if she'd done a lot to help him where as all she'd really done was to muddle through things as best she could in the hope that things would turn out alright in the end.
"I just got so over excited I forgot to think about how scary this must all be for you," Catherine watched as he picked up her hands, pulling them towards his chest. She just wanted him to hug her, but another part of her never wanted to be touched by anyone ever again after what had happened to her back in Jon's room in the Initiative. It felt horrible to be so torn apart and not really knowing what to do for the best. "But you don't have to ever be afraid of anything, because you're not alone in this, or in any other thing you have to face, you will always have me." Saying that was just stupid, he wouldn't be able to go through any thing that she was going to experience, being able to hold her hand wasn't going to make everything alright. She didn't even know anyone who'd had a child so it wasn't as if she could talk through what she was experiencing with anyone who'd already been though this. There was a part of her that was afraid she'd loose her place on her team, she knew there was no way Riley would let her do anything like that while she was pregnant and then she'd have a child to look after. She'd only got to go on one team missing before she'd been stolen away by the Initiative.
"Even if there's miles between us, you should always be comforted by my feelings towards you, just because things become hard it doesn't change what I feel." He rested her hands over his chest, her hands lying on the smooth material of his shirt. "If you need time, then I don't mind waiting, if you need me, I'll be here for you, if you want my attention, it's all yours, if you want my arms to hold you, they're here for you.. or if you want your space.. I'll give it to you." She managed to offer him a rather nervous smile, her eyes flicking over towards the door way, as if expecting someone to walk through it. She felt his finger tips on the smooth skin of her face, trailing down to her chin, before he placed the palms of his hands on her face. She looked at him rather nervously before she dropped her eyes down to the ground, It felt uncomfortable to have him touch her like this. He leaned down towards her, causing her to inch her face back slightly. It wasn't fair that things had been so easy and now they were so hard.
"Just tell me what you want so I know.." She nodded slightly, there was another voice that called out for them to hurry up. Her body stepped backwards, pulling away from his hands, she threw him another glance before she hurried through into the front room before he could corner her again.
Cat: Can there be any hope for us after all thats happened?
Re: Huxley, Iowa, United States
Watching as she seemed to hastily retreat from his presence, Riley couldn't help but feel crushed, she didn't even try and speak in reply to him. There was a slight feeling of abandonment washing over him as he looked towards the doorway, wanting so much for her to spin about and rush back into the room, throwing her arms about him and saying it was all going to be alright. Only she didn't come back, he could probably linger there for hours and she'd not return to him. His body slumped down on a seat, ignoring the bustle of activity outside, wanting to just fade away so that he didn't have to go through Catherine leaving him all over again, he wasn't ready to lose her, he wouldn't ever be ready.
The shy voice of Emily called his name as she slowly made her way towards him. Riley lifted his head to look over towards Emily who was shyly watching him, her head tilted down a little though her eyes remained lifted towards the giant man. Emily's head tilted slightly to the side as she studied Riley, her brother Ben had a terrible view of mutants and would go on for hours sometimes about how much he hated them. Martha and the others had told him off many times for trying to spoil Emily's innocence towards equal rights.
"What?" Riley looked at her uncomfortably, he was guilty enough about all the lies he would have to tell, he couldn't handle people staring at him right now. Having someone stare at him in the curious way she was while trying to figure out whatever was on her mind. It was like she knew he wasn't exactly what he said he was, Riley was always a terrible lier, he hated secrets, which was odd since he had been living a secret for so many years, maybe that only made him dispise them more.
"Aunt Martha and Uncle Jonathan are getting ready to leave." It wasn't what was on her mind, her eyes dropping to the floor timidly as she watched Riley stand and tower of her. Reluctantly he followed her to the front of the store, when they passed the counter Riley scooped up his wallet and carefully slipped Catherine's note back into his wallet, placing it with her older letter in the area for his photo. The red truck had pulled away while they existed the store, Emily was waving bye and the male dog was barking excitedly back at her.
Again Riley slumped down, this time sitting on the steps of the porch, his grand mother was talking with Martha, Riley turned his attention towards Catherine but it hurt too much to look at her for long so his eyes dropped away to stare down at the ground. It was a cold day, Riley was the only one in a T-shirt, but he seemed to be the only one in the group who didn't really register the cool breeze on the air. When Emily focused on Riley again, standing in front of him and staring at him again with her curious eyes, Riley looked up and stared back at her.
"What?" Riley repeated his question, his eyes darting about around his feet and the ground in front of the porch, avoiding the girl's constant gaze.
"Ben told me a lot about mutants, my brother says they use their powers to get their own way, even if it means hurting other people." Riley looked up at her and was surprised at that remark, frowning a little as he tried to find a face that might fit the name. But what exactly was she saying, did he have yet another person afraid of him for something he couldn't help having, and that was his height and strength. And if he did try and shut off his heart implant his body would go through such sever withdrawls from the loss of the drug that constantly flowed through his vains that a coma and even possibly death where a likely to occure.
"That's an awful thing to say.." There was a little bit of hesitation in Riley's voice since he wasn't sure exactly how to say just how really terrible a terrible thing that was to be telling a child.. or anyone for that matter.
"It's just last year when my other cousin visited us, Ben came back from Washinton and made me go to the city with him because her skin is a different colour, I don't like the city, it smells funny and it's really loud, plus the people never smile." It would crush Riley when he remembers just how close he and Ben once where, but right now Riley couldn't help but frown at this guy who would do such things towards mutants, even worse when it was his own family. "I don't want to go, especially now, my dog Heather is going to have puppies soon, we're taking her and Toby down to the farm now and I was supposed to stay for the holidays. I don't mind not staying if you want the rooms, but I reeeeeally want to be there when the puppies are born." There was another look of large bright eyes staring up at him, but Riley wasn't really sure what she was asking, if Ben came and demanded to take her away was it even his place to say anything, he has only just returned to the family.
"I'll uh.. err.. talk with mum and dad about it.." As he was speaking his parents voices could be heard by Riley who had been blocking out their words till now, they where all so excited, but Riley felt upset over this 'Ben' now.. Going against family just because there is something different about them, it was cruel and betraying your loved ones.. Riley threw Catherine a quick glance. It just proved even the most perfect families had their flaws, there was always a blacksheep or two, but there was one thing that Riley had always been against and that was discrimination of any kind. Normally if it was towards him he could just shrug it off, but he had never felt what it was like to be discriminated against by his own family, when Catherine had said she was afraid of him it had hurt a lot, but he couldn't imagine how painful it would feel if it was his parents who said they where afraid of him.
Riley's eyes turned towards the silver car, the same colour he had gotten his car, though it was dusty instead of sparkling clean like Riley's, and also larger and not as expensive or laxurious. Pulling himself up to his feet as he though his parents where about to hop into the car, he shifted towards the door. Reaching out for the handle of the door, he hesitated as he glanced over at his parents who where waving bye to Rachael, slowly pulling his hand away and waiting for them to get in first. The last time he had been inside a car with his family on the outside he had been taken away, it was silly and he knew no one was taking him away, but he still was too nervous to get in without them already inside.
After a moment he mumbled quietly, telling himself off as he opened the door for Catherine and Emily to climb inside since they where waiting for him to either move out of the way or open the door. The urge to look over the vehicle, check under it, make sure nothing has been touched or tampured, was very strong for Riley, but he placed his fist against his lips and watched the girls climb in. When his dad opened his door and climbed into the drives seat Riley inched a little closer to the car, but didn't sit down until his mother and begun to climb in as well. He had a few odd habits with car, he couldn't drive a car if someone else was in it, this didn't exactly register when he thought about bringing the car down so he could drive Catherine whenever she wanted to get out of the house..
When he sat down inside the car and shut the door, he seemed to open the door again a moment later, closing it once more as if just testing that it still opened and he wasn't locked inside like he had been all those years ago when Halliwell drove him back to his parents farm and told them he had died. Being on the drugs meant he had little control over himself and was easily ordered about, so of course when he was told to sit quietly he simply did as he was told after he had attempted to open the door of the car and found it was locked, which had sent him into a panic.
"I'm ok." He couldn't help but feel that they where staring at him due to his over cautious behavour, but he gave a small whisper mainly to his parents since his dad was glancing back him Riley. He was very unsettled, shifting about a little before looking over towards Catherine who was on the other side of Emily. She sat away from him on purpose, he was sure of it, she was avoiding him now, he said something she didn't like, he should just stop talking again because it was ruining his relationship with her.
There was music playing through the radio, Emily softly humming along to the tunes or drumming her fingers on her knees as she looked out the window, Martha glancing about every now and then to look at Riley, making sure he was still in the back and she hadn't been having some realistic day dream. Even Jonathan would glance back by looking into the rear view mirror, but Riley's eyes had turned to stare outside his window and that's where they stubbornly stayed. He just wanted to get to the house and run off to hide in his room, he finally had his family with him and now all he wanted to do was be alone. The scenery outside the windows soon lost the buildings, turning into large stretches of land with a scattering of horses, sheep, cows, and some other farming animals that where out grazing.
"You'll have to forgive the state of our house, we are a little behind with some repairs, we lost most of the animals in a flooding a while ago, so money's been a little tight." Martha's body twisted about, but Riley's eyes where closed, his head resting against the window lightly, she stared at his sleeping form for a moment before smiling and letting her eyes drift towards Emily and Catherine before turning around again and looking at the dirt road that seemed to stretch endlessly ahead of them.
Riley was so tired he didn't even realize he had been drosy or falling asleep, it's like he blinked and suddenly the instant his eyes shut he fell into a quiet rest that he hasn't been able to experience since the last night he was with Catherine, though it wasn't nearly as comfortable for him. And he had no one to hold or snuggle against, so it was just as empty and lonely as all the sleepless nights before.
When the car pulled to a stop out the front of two story white house that was the only structure aside from the barn that could be seen in the large emptiness of the farm, though there where fences and a old grey horse could be seen resting lazily in the field just in front of the house. The barn was just over a hundred meters away from the house, hens could be seen scrounging the ground for missed seeds though most where hiding the wooden hen house built right beside the large red barn. Due to a fire when Riley was 12 the farm was in far better condition then the house since it was just under a decade old. Both parents got out and hurried off to help grab up Riley and Cat's traveling bags, Martha's voice calling out for the kids to hurry.
"Come on Catherine, we have a room you can have just for yourself." It wasn't that they didn't want Cat sleeping in the same bed with Riley, but Riley was huge and it would be a snug fit for both of them to sleep on his single bed. Besides, everyone likes to know they have their wn place to retreat to when they want to be alone.
No matter how long it takes, one day we'll be together and that day will last forever.
Re: Huxley, Iowa, United States
Catherine nervously flitted around in the background, looking at the people who were hurrying around, each of them involved in their own job. She felt a little like a spare wheel , as if she should have been doing something to help the family get ready. She couldn't help but wish that things weren't so akward between her and Riley. It was impossible for her to tell him exactly what she wanted because she wasn't all together sure, but when she decided then she'd tell him. Some of the time she wanted him to keep his distance but on other occasion she wanted him to hold her and tell her everything was going to be alright.
She drifted to the front of the store and out onto the steps, watching as Riley's grandparents climbed into the pickup truck. The two black dogs were now in the back of the truck, both frantically wagging their tails to show how excited they were about everything. "Uncle Jonathan promised I could help with Heather, I really wanted to be there when she has the puppies.." There was a spark of excietment run through her ... puppies? She'd never really seen puppies before, not since she was really small and her friend from school's sheepdog had given birth. She had a distinct image of her father standing beside her and watching her clumsily pat the small fluffy creatures on the head. The next time she'd seen them they'd been ready to sell, she remembered begging her father to get her one but neither of her parents really liked animals.
She realised his parents were motioning for her to get in the car, she waited untill Emily had got in and then sat next to the window, her eyes rather nervously staring out at the store, looking up at Racheal. Cat watched Riley move around the car and get in the other side, shutting the door and for some reason opening it again and closing it carefully. She was possibly the only one who though maybe his nervousness had something to do with his past. Remembering how they'd been attacked when they'd broken out from the Initiative base.
"You'll have to forgive the state of our house, we are a little behind with some repairs, we lost most of the animals in a flooding a while ago, so money's been a little tight." Cat glanced over at his father, her eyes then wandering back over to the window again, watching fields with sheep and cows in flash past. They also went past some huge fields that she supposed grew arable crops during the summer but now they were just vast tracks of muddy brown soil. She dozed off a little but awoke ten minutes or so before they reached the house. It appeared first as a speck on the flat horizon, steadily growing bigger and bigger untill she could see that there was a house and a huge barn.
Her eyes rested upon the old horse that was standing in a nearby field, moving off to look in more detail at the large, two storied white house. It looked huge to someone who's spent their whole life living in either a small cottage or a flat. It had a porch that was also white with a couple of steps that led upto it. In front of the house was a large tree, though it was just a skeleton at the moment since it had shed it's leaves during the autumn. Though there were a couple of shirived up individuals that stubbornly clung to the tree. The house looked a little shabby, especially when compared to the barn which looked a lot newer. With a rising level of homesickness rising in her she looked at the rather muddy dying grass in which chickens were scratching. It didn't look very homley to her, she just knew she was going to be miserable here, her face taking on a rather glum expression as the car stopped in front of the house, causing a few chickens to streatch out their necks and scurry away. There was a pebble path that led upto the front of the house. It was true it didn't look very inviting at the moment but in summer the whole thing looked a lot better.
"Come on Catherine, we have a room you can have just for yourself." She opened the car door, her eyes still staring around her looking rather lost. She didn't like the vast expanse of nothing around her, it put her on edge. She wondered what they did around here for fun, she couldn't see any power cables so she doubted they had a television yet unless they had cable installed.
Cat: Can there be any hope for us after all thats happened?
Re: Huxley, Iowa, United States
There was a nudging on his arm, Emily's tiny hands trying to carefully wake the sleeping Riley who, when he opened his eyes, seemed a little disorientated and confused as to where he was. For a moment when his eyes had opened he though all of this had just been a dream, but he could see his mother eagerly grinning back towards him and since Catherine was approaching her already. Riley slipped from the car reluctantly, though Emily stared down at the mudding ground and looked a little unhappy that she was going to get her feet all dirty again.
"Here," Riley's arms reached out timidly with an offer to help carry her across the muddy ground, Emily's bright eyes staring up at him rather shyly since only Ben or Riley's parents ever carried her, and she was always afraid her brother would drop her since he easily got distracted with other things and fidgeted about a lot. But she climbed out, her arms wrapping about Riley's neck as he picked her up, she was so tiny, part of him was worried he might hurt her, he hasn't had much contact with children and they looked so fragile.
When he moved closer to the porch, his mother looked so proud and delighted, but there was a sadness about Riley that also made her feel so hopeless. Maybe if she had been part of his life then he wouldn't have the sadness that seemed to loom over him, Catherine didn't seem all that delighted either. Part of Martha wondered if maybe there was something wrong between them, she figured they where a couple, maybe they where having difficulties.. She figured that because there where times they'd be holding hands and times they'd not really look at eachother.
Placing Emily down on the porch, she grinned wildly at the fact of how high up she had been and hopped into the house excitedly, the inside of the house was far more made up then the outside. There was definitly a few items passed down from one person to another, but most of the items where still in good condition. There was a light wooden table in the room, the front of the house seemed to be a large open space turned into the kitchen area, the dinning room and a seating area. The door way next to the fridge lead into the back part of the house that was with a fire place and a larger dinning table used for gatherings, more of a homey comforting area, if they had a TV it would go in there, there was also a desk for working. The stairs that lead upstairs where to the right, , the wooden steps covered with a red carpet that had black pattern markings over it, it was rather faded and didn't stand out much.
Stepping into the house rather slowly, Riley's eyes shifted about to take up the detail, to the left was the kitchen, a little in front of the entrance was an older square table that was used for normal meals. Riley's hand ran across the surface, the wooden table had a white cloth in the center with a pale blue marble pattern vase that had pretty yellow flowers that where from Martha's little garden out the back that grew along the side of the house. She used to have a nice garder over by the old barn but it had been destroyed, there was a small green house as well and she grew her own plants, breeding hybreds as a hobby to pass her spare time, entering them in the town festival garden prizes, they often had challenges and the winners would get prizes, often it was money so it was worth entering.
Looking over towards the stairs, there was a small door that was almost impossible to see that opened to a cuboard that was beneath the stairs, there was a painting over the doorway, hinting that whatever was in there wasn't used at all. Most of the things in there belonged to Riley or where things that they didn't use any more or where broken and put aside for repairs later...
Wondering towards the doorway that lead to the back room, Riley's eyes peered into the large family room, there was a soft rythmic ticking of the grand father clock from Riley's great grand father who had brought it for Penny, before he died. Penny had given it to them since there wasn't really any room for a lot of the things in the store. Riley and Troy, his dog, would often doze off in front of the fire place on cold nices, the wooden frame still had Riley's hight marked into very corners of the left side of the fire place. Riley moved over towards it, his eyes seeming to be drawn to the corner, Martha and Jonathan glanced at each other quickly, it was very uplifting to think he was remembering things.
Riley's fingers ran down the chips purposefully cut into the wooden fireplace, there was a number engraved next to the notches, causing Riley to smile in slight amusement as he realize just how much he really has grown since leaving. The last notch was only about his stomach, his eyes turned away from the fire place towards the others. Moving back towards them, his parents lead the way up the stairs, right at the top there was a meter before there where two doors on either side of the hallway. Both doors where open, though everything was left exactly as it was in Riley's room, the other one had Emily sleeping in there often so it was all done up, the pale blue blanket was buffy, looking extremely comfortable and cozy for a cold night, the edges of the blanket had a small white frill about it, the same white frill running across the top of the upper part of the blanket.
There was a white pillow with a blue one ontop, the same colour as the rest of the sheets, there was a penciled sketch of a teddy bear cuddling a small toy teddy bear that wasn't as fluffy that was in the middle of the wall to the left side of the door. The head of the bed was against the right side wall, while a window on the wall right across fromt he door peered over the the field, a large round pond seen catching the light of the afternoon sun. Ducks could be seen lingering about the waters edges, although the Finn's hadn't brought the ducks, they made the farm their constant home, years ago, during the colder nights and days they'd migrate over to the barn and sleep with either the hens or in and about the barn and it's hay. Above the bed was a picture of a brown horse, another pencil drawing by an artist, it's slender sleek form galloping.
Riley's room was.. much like his apartment, a little on the bare side of things, he had a wardrobe that stood beside his desk, both on the right side of his room when. His bed ran along the left wall, there was a oval rug on his floor, Toby slept on it just like Troy had slept there. The rug had a pale green border with dark blue and a brownish red in the center that formed an pattern. It wasn't something Riley loved, but he needed something so his dog wasn't sleeping on the wooden floorboards. The window across the room had a view of the open field and long dirt drive way, also the old horse, Sky, could be seen when she wonders off to graze in her front field.
Riley refused to enter though, being a little on the bare side ment he could easily see the small red and black dream catcher his mother had given him shortly after the barn fire since he had nightmares often. His body shrunk away from the doorway and looked at it as if he expected it to just come alive and swollow him whole. Beside his bed was side table with a small reading lamp. One his pillow was a dusty photo, which forced Riley to move into his room, everything sudden;y felt so tiny. He wouldn't remove the dream catcher yet.. he'd do it when everyone wasn't watching him, his hand timidly reached out and took hold of the photo frame, he had a habit of always placing a photo onto his pillow before he left the room, but in the past few months he hadn't been doing that, it nagged him all the time he neglected to do it, as if he was ignoring an important part of himself by not doing it, the guilt felt awful and he didn't even remember why he did it.
The photo was of him and his parents, Riley's hand brushed over the glass and removed the dust, everything else was clean, Matha dusted and polished his room all the time but never touched the photo since it was Riley's personal tradition to do that and she didn't want to interfere.. She had waited so many years to watch him remove the photo from the dark blue and black marble coloured covers and place it in its proper place on the side table beside the lamp. His eyes turned over towards his parents as before he slowly sat down on his bed.
"It's all so much smaller then what I remembered." His eyes drifted over the rub on his floor before he lifted his eyes, Martha looked between Catherine and Riley, turning her head to look at them.
"Is there anything you two want?" Riley wanted to sleep, but at the same time he wanted to sit with his parents as well. He waited a moment, listening for Catherine's reply before he said anything..
No matter how long it takes, one day we'll be together and that day will last forever.
Re: Huxley, Iowa, United States
Her eyes wandered over to look at the nearest chicken, one of it's yellow claws digging into the muddy earth, scratching at a small stone. Once the pebble was overturned the chicken bent down, pecking at something which had been hidden by the stone. It fluffed up it's rich brown colouredfeathers slightly as it looked up at Catherine, cocking it's head onto one side and regarding her from it's bright, almost shiny black eyes. After a moment it turned and sauntered away, looking for more morsels to eat. She turned her head as she reached the porch steps, looking back over her shoulder at Riley, seeing him carrying Emily towards the house. It made her think of all the times he'd carried her around like that, even though usually it was before they made love. She looked away quickly, her eyes looking at the wood of the porch that was in sore need of a lick of paint.
Emily seemed to run into the house rather excitedly once she'd been put down, Cat lingering back a little. Her eyes turned to look at the weak winter sun which was beginning to dip below the horizon. She gave a small sigh and followed the others into the Finn's house. Part of her was curious to find out what sort of a home Riley came from. Her eyes nervously flicked around her, trying to take everything in and process it all. Everything seemed so alien to her, she was used to modern appliances being scattered around but it was like going back in time fifty years or so. It was a complete contrast to everything she knew.
The first room seemed to be a kitchen area with a table for eating at, she watched Riley as he ran his fingers over the rough edge of the wooden table, her attention caught by the yellow flowers for a few moments. Her eyes peered through into the back room, there seemed to be another table in there. She didn't like to look as if she was being nosey though and dragged her eyes back to the first room.
She saw Riley move off into the back room and it took her a moment to realise that Martha and Jonathan were waiting for her to follow. She hurried through into the other room, her eyes automatically scanning around that too, eager to know what type of palce she was going to stay in for the next .... however long they were here for. Her eyes landed first upon the comfortable seats, then drifted off towards the stairs and over to the grandfather clock. Riley moved off towards the fireplace, looking at something that she realised a second later were notches showing his height when he was younger. It was hard for her to think of him at any different height to the way he was now.
They all seemed to be trooping in the direction of the stairs and she hurried to follow them, tearing her eyes away from the notches. Noting with a sinking feeling that they didn't seem to have a television. She wasn't sure how she was going to survive the next few weeks without any kind of television.
Her eyes peered into one of the two rooms with the open doors, looking at the pale blue blanket, with the white frill around the edges. The sight made an even stronger wave of homesickness wash over her. She wanted her room in Washington back in the apartment she'd shared with Brad and Nina. She looked away at the other room which she supposed was Riley's since it had more furniture and personal belongings in it. Her eyes moved away from the dream catcher, she didn't like them anymore after what had happened and had binned all of them straight after she was told what had happened. It was odd how one days she felt dependant upon something and the next she couldn't wait to have it out of her life. Her eyes difted away back to the room that was meant for her as he picked up the photo frame that was lying ontop of his pillow.
"It's all so much smaller then what I remembered." She dragged her attention back to Riley again who was sitting on the edge of his bed looking around him, the photo still in his hands.
"Is there anything you two want?" Cat's eyes nervously darted up the hall to the other two closed doors.
'Ummm where's your bathroom?' Over the past few days she hadn't been feeling well in the mornings and she wanted to know where the bathroom was incase she had to be sick. She knew it probably wasn't doing her throat any good but her body couldn't help having morning sickness due to the child inside her.
Cat: Can there be any hope for us after all thats happened?
Re: Huxley, Iowa, United States
Carefully placing the photo on the bed, Riley's eyes scanned over his room once more. Standing up as Martha pointed to a door just a few more meters down the hall, it was to the left on the same side of the hall as Cat's new room. The bathroom had a rather deep and spacious bathrub, it doubles for a shower as well, which was also why it was a little larger then normal, so there was more room to move about while having a shower. The see through plastic shower curtains blurred the image of whoever was in there, a few months ago they didn't have shower curtains because the old ones had to be tossed away, so Martha was glade that she was able to get them in time for her guests. Most of the house had picture frames, normally smaller pictures of horses or green hills, puppies, ducks, all sorts of cute little animals that Martha adored.
There toilet was in the bathroom as well, a mirror over the medican cabnet, a mirror that was above the sink and swang open to reveal shelves inside with whatever medication and bandaids and such they had in the house, their toothbrush and other common things also being stored in there. The very end of the hall lead to their room, Riley's head poked outof his room to look down the hall towards the bathroom. All their rooms had locks under the handles, the keys still sitting in the locks, Riley never locked his door, but that didn't mean he wasn't allowed to start now, he just wanted to hide away in his room. Of course since both the locks and keys for the two rooms where the exact same, it meant that if Catherine wanted to get into Riley's room she could, same went for if Riley wanted to have access to hers. The lock of been the same for the parents room as well only the handle stopped opened and kept jaming the door on them so they couldn't enter or leave the room, when they changed locks they had got their own more private key hole.
Since no one really used the rooms they hadn't thought of changing the locks, but Riley just might change them a little later so he had his own lock and key, that way no one can just storm in on him, though he knew his parents wouldn't do it intentionally..
"Are you two hungry? You didn't touch your food really.." Martha glanced at the both of them, Riley wasn't sure he could eat anything right now.. he gave a slight shake of his head. "Well.. I'll make some sandwiches later for you two." Resting his head miserably against the doorframe, Riley simply stared at his mother, he knew she wanted so badly to talk with him, he wasn't being very warmly towards his parents he thought.. He couldn't really help it though, he felt so awful with how Catherine had been acting with him, his eyes slowly moved over towards her for a moment before dropping to the floor at her feet.
"Well, I'll let you two settle in, we'll be down in the family room when you're ready to come join us." There was a bit of an awkwardness about them, the silence that followed caused the others to moved back down the stairs, Riley's father didn't look like he was ready to leave.
"Riley, you ok son?" It was a weak attempt of getting a chance to stay longer with him, Martha glanced back as she lead Emily back down the stairs.
"I'm alright.. I'll be down soon." It was only a minute later that the keys of the piano could be heard as Emily behind playing 'Silent Night', although Riley and Cat where in the room she was playing it for them since Penny had asked her to play something for them to listen to. He was alone with Catherine again, his eyes lifting to look at her, did she really want to be here? It didn't look as if she was having a blast and it didn't seem she was willing to try and talk with him about anything either.. maybe she just needed more time to think about what she wanted.
"I'm really sorry I let you down," That's what it had to be, she hates him for not being there for her when she needed him to protect her from Jon. Obviously his mind was focused solely on their relationship, effecting his attitude and draining his excitement that should be bubbling from him. It wasn't like he was in any condition to have helped her, he was in a different cell and he had been drugged so it was hard for him to focus on anything for long.
"Please, I am really sorry." It hurt so much, the pain was unbearable, he couldn't do anything to help her, he felt awful and helpless and alone, he wanted to reach out and take her hand again, just to touch her, he missed her so much and he was never going to fogive himself if she just left while with his child, there was no way she was ready to raise a kid on her own. Saying sorry didn't seem to fix things any more, hasn't helped fix things for years, he wasn't sure why now would be any different..
No matter how long it takes, one day we'll be together and that day will last forever.
Re: Huxley, Iowa, United States
The door of the bathroom was upon the same side of the house as her room was, her eyes flicking back into the room she'd be staying in, she didn't want to stay here though, she wanted to go home. But she didn't want to tell Riley how she felt, this was his home, and he should have the opportunity to spend time with his parents just as she'd wish to do if she was in his place. And she could ask him not to be with them after all. Coming away here was suposedto be an oppertunity for them to try and work things out and so far they didn't seem to be doing too well.
"Are you two hungry? You didn't touch your food really.." Catherine coppied Riley by shaking her head rather nervosuly. She was still shy of talking to them, but with Martha at least that would probably fade away rather quickly. She felt terribly isolated and alone all the way out here with people she didn't know and a boyfriend she was hardly talking to. "Well.. I'll make some sandwiches later for you two." She gave Martha a little smile, wondering what she'd make if she knew her son's girlfriend was carrying her grandchild.. she had to be pleased didn't she?
"Well, I'll let you two settle in, we'll be down in the family room when you're ready to come join us." Martha and Emily seemed to hang around for a moment before they moved off downstairs, his father lingered behind. Her eyes dropping down to the ground so she could pretend that she wasn't there.
"Riley, you ok son?"
"I'm alright.. I'll be down soon." Everything seemed so horribly akward and she wondered if she hadn't been there if the two of them would have been able to talk. She didn't even belong here. His father dissapeared down stairs, leaving the two of them behind. She didn't like the music when it begun, it was too sad and she was hoping when she shut the door she'd be able to down out the sound.
"I'm really sorry I let you down," She looked up at him rather nervously as they both stood in front of their doors, she shifted from foot to foot slightly, her eyes darting around and then finding their way back to him again.
"Please, I am really sorry." One of her hands lifted to nervously play with a strand of her golden brown hair, twisting it around her finger and then untwisting it again only to repeat the procedure again. Her voice stammered a bit as she spoke, talking overly quietly so there would be no danger of his parents hearing them.
'Riley.' This was guarenteed to get his attention since she didn't really use his name anymore. 'I.. wanna fix things .... between us I mean. I want it to all go back to the way things were before all of this happened.' There was a pause, her eyes looking down the hall, as if worried his parents might be standing at the bottom trying to listen. 'I think we should talk ... about what were going to do about our baby.' It was the first time she'd called it 'our baby' before this it had always been, 'the baby' as if it was an inanimate object or even worse she had the tendancy to call the child 'it.' 'Can we talk ... when you've settled in.' Another nervous flash of her eyes over to the top of the stairs confirmed how nervous she was about being here. 'And when you've sorted things with your mum and dad.' It seemed she'd forgotten what she'd said in the beginning because she looked a uncomfortable for a moment before she continued on. 'I think we should try and sort things out.. between us.' There was a short pause, her eyes looking suddenly tearful. 'I.. miss you and I'm lonley, no one wants to talk to me anymore..' Her eyes looked down at her feet, her voice dropping a little more. 'I know they're saying things about me though, they all stop talking and then they whisper to one another .... and they think I can't hear them.' This simple outburst probably totalled more words that she'd spoken to him all day.
Cat: Can there be any hope for us after all thats happened?
Re: Huxley, Iowa, United States
The soft chocolate brown eyes where so nervous, leaping from one thing to another before resting on him again, her fingers playing with her hair, taking a moment before she spoke with a slight stutter to it.
'Riley.' There was a quietness about it that made him try and even breath softer just so there was no chance he wouldn't hear something she had to say. It felt so nice to have her say his name though, but he wouldn't have prefered to hear it with more of a fiery passion, or a smile, or.. or anything.. He missed her bright smile so much, the rare sound of her laughter, the way her eyes would sparkle mischiviously when she was about to make love to him or do something in an attempt to excite him. Wanting so much to look away for a moment, afraid of what she was going to say and yet needing to know at the same time, his eyes locked on hers almost unwillingly.
'I.. wanna fix things .... between us I mean. I want it to all go back to the way things were before all of this happened.' There was a look of surprise in his eyes, she may have agreed to his plea of trying to work things out, but it was completely different to have her say it to him. 'I think we should talk ... about what were going to do about our baby.' He would like that, the spark that came alive in his eyes, the life seeming to pour back into his body, his posture straightening a little though he still leaned against the doorframe. His look screamed out that he would like that very much, to sit with her and talk.. her words echoed in his mind 'our baby' he can't remember her saying that before, he almost felt proud.
'Can we talk ... when you've settled in.' It was a little odd to see her so nervous, he just figured she wasn't ready for his parents to find out about the baby and maybe she didn't want them to know about their relationship problems, in truth Riley wasn't eager for them to discover the woman baring his child was considering leaving him for reasons he was only guessing. 'And when you've sorted things with your mum and dad.' Nodding a little in agreement, he had already told her he was desperate to make this work, he had already said he was up to talking with her when she was ready.. He glanced over towards the top of the stairs, thinking about his parents who must be waiting anxiously for him to appear.
'I think we should try and sort things out.. between us.' His eyes returned to focuse on her quickly, he wanted that very much, more then just wanted it, he needed it, he needed her. A helpless look shrouded his expression once more as her eyes swelled with tears, he was afraid to even hold her incase she pulled away from him again.
'I.. miss you and I'm lonley, no one wants to talk to me anymore..' It was similure with Riley since Marc caused a few problems by insulting everyone, plus his treatment towards Catherine, only those that truly understood what had been happening with Riley at the time where able to forgive him so easily. But she had him, why was she letting herself get all lonely when she could just have his company, what about Angie and the others?
'I know they're saying things about me though, they all stop talking and then they whisper to one another .... and they think I can't hear them.' Cocking his head to the side, a sad expression on his face, he had the same thing happen to him in the initiative, it made it feel as if everyone was against him, swaping secrets, half truths and whole lies. He wished he knew what to say, but he had a habit of ignoring comments thrown at him, and if it was thrown at someone close to him he had a habit of losing his temper, either of which he wouldn't want Catherine to really do... though ignoring might have to be the option since there was little else she could do until a new interesting occurence swept over the school.
"I know it's not much of a comfort Catherine, but it will all pass, they're probably just mostly curious, besides, the only whispers you should ever worry about the ones I whisper to you." He offered a faint smile, every part of him wanted to reach out and pull her into his embrace just so he didn't have to say anything, since most of what he says is probably taking in the wrong way he intended on it being taken. His arm's couldn't lie, she knew exactly what he was saying when his arms where about her.
"If you want, I'll go down stairs for a little bit, half an hour or so, you can unpack your things and settle in, would you like me to bring some of those sandwiches up? Anything you would like in them?" He's hand had moved to the doorframe near his face, his fingers so longing to touch her that it was easier for him to hold onto something else then just ignore the desire to hold her once more.
No matter how long it takes, one day we'll be together and that day will last forever.
Re: Huxley, Iowa, United States"I know it's not much of a comfort Catherine, but it will all pass, they're probably just mostly curious, besides, the only whispers you should ever worry about the ones I whisper to you." Well maybe she didn't want them to be curious, it was her life they were prying into and she didn't like it. It made her feel like she was back in her old school in Washington when she'd first arrived and everyone poked fun at her because she dressed different and spoke strangly. Most of her accent had dissapeared now, but it could still be heard when she got angry or was stressed over something. Her eyes looked up at him again as her fingers untangled themselves from her hair. She blushed slightly at his words .... but he hadn't been whispering anything to her latley, they hadn't even really been talking much to one another.
"If you want, I'll go down stairs for a little bit, half an hour or so, you can unpack your things and settle in, would you like me to bring some of those sandwiches up? Anything you would like in them?" There was a quick nod of her head as she agreed to his idea, her feet retreated a little back into her room, her hand resting upon the edge of her door so she could easily close it.
'Could I have bacon maybe?' She said quietly, she looked as if she was about to say something else but then her head turned to the side slightly. Her hand moved forwards pushing the door shut, a second later the key could be heard turning in the lock, securing herself in the strange room she'd been given.
She looked around her rather miserably around her pinky purplish room, her eyes lingering upon the frill upon the edge of the covers and the sketches on the walls. The light seemed to be going fast as she sun sank quickly below the horizon. She flipped the switch for the light on, the room taking on a slightly more cosey feeling. She instincitvley moved over to pull the curtains closed. She was far too used to living in the city where people could look in at you all the time, here in Iowa there was no one to see her. Her attention moved to her holdall that was next to the door, moving over towards it, her eyes still looking around her, filled with homesickness. She just knew she was going to be unhappy here, she was already bored and she'd been here less than half an hour. After pulling Fred out of the bag she sat down on the edge of the bed, her eyes still looking around her. She wanted to go home, she didn't like it here at all.
Cat: Can there be any hope for us after all thats happened?
Re: Huxley, Iowa, United States
As the door shut closed, Riley's eyes lingered only a moment longer while his body shifted awkwardly on the spot he was standing, his hands eventually pushing his body away from the doorway as he made his way down stairs. His steps where unusually quiet to someone of his hight and build, even when he was younger he used to go storming down the stairs. Being so used to trying not to be heard had left an almost instinctive reaction to his movements, part of him really wished Catherine wouldn't leave him alone with these strangers, even if they where his family, he wasn't sure what to say.
Another part was glade because he wondered if she thought this at all upsetting, watching him getting cuddled and hugged by his own family and her so long with out that kind of attention. Maybe that's partly why he had been holding back, deep down he didn't want to make Catherine feel horrible, maybe he didn't want to enjoy what was stolen from him because she wasn't able to get back what was stolen from her like he had. It hardly felt fair, out of the two of them he figured she deserved a family more then him, just because he wanted it so badly didn't mean he deserved it, after everything he's done, both to her and to others.
Even Riley's socks where black, he had only just noticed that while he had glanced down at his feet, momentarily forgotten he had removed his shoes and left them by the door. It hadn't really registered that he had been focused on darker colours, the only light colour he wore was really just his white shirt. It was kinda sad actually, it was like he was in mourning, and maybe he was, he had lost Catherine, what did he had to be happy about? But he had to try and wear lighter things so he didn't look so depressing, especially since Catherine was back, they'd work things out because both of the wanted to fix what had gone wrong in their relationship.
When he had made his way to the entrance of the family room, Emily had begun playing another Christmas song, Riley hadn't heard many at all, but this one seemed more upbeat, though he had no clue of the name. The fire was going now, giving the room a soft friendly glow, it was rather dark in the room, the only lights on where the two small lamps off on the opposite sides of the room to each other, plus the fire place.
"Is Catherine coming?" Riley's eyes left Emily and looked over towards his mother and father who had stood up when they saw him enter the room, both holding each other in their arms.
"Not right now.. she's unpacking, and she thought I should be alone with you for a little bit, I'll take some food up to her in thirty minutes." His hands where fidgeting with each other again, he was so nervous, what if they started asking him questions again? After a slight moment of hesitation, Riley moved timidly into the room, glancing about over towards his Grand Parents who where sitting together and then towards Emily who was hopping off the piano and hurrying over to sit with them. His parents sat down on the couch that was facing towards the fire place, though it wasn't directly in front of it, more off to the side, they had a space between them, so her nervously sat down between his parents.
Feeling a little cornered again, Riley unintentionally caused another awkward silence, it seemed they where able to be more excited about his return when he wasn't around. Martha's hands wrapped about his his own hand, lacing her fingers with his own, something he's only ever remembered doing with Catherine. His father's hand was now resting on Riley's shoulder and they where talking to him, mostly aobut how much they missed him, then about what's happened about the farm, then about the family. They seemed to have realized questions of his past made him uncomfortable because they didn't ask him a single thing except if he had a job or not. They all pretty glade he was a tutor, though Penny asked why he wasn't a teacher, although he was qualified for the position, it wasn't what Riley wanted to do..
Emily wanted to know all about his friends, she was really excited and wanted to know what powers they all had and what they did with their powers. Roger seemed a little apprihensive at the topic but as Riley explained that most are just there to learn and live their lives as normally as possible, all the adults seemed to give silent sighs. Martha knew her son wouldn't get involved in anything dangerous or violent since he was always so gentle and calm tempered. When Emily asked what Riley and Catherine's powers where, she got a stern look from both her grand parents.
"No, it's ok, really.. I um.. I'm.. just a bit stronger then normal, it's nothing extrodinary, I'm mainly at the school because I was hurt and some students found me and took me there to get some medical treatment." He shrugged a little, though his mother fretted over what had hurt him, if it had been from the car crash or something else that hadn't been told of "I liked it there and decided to stay, I earn money as well so it's a plus, as well as having a home and friends all around me, I really like it there." Emily grinned a little, though it didn't seem like an overly exciting power, it was still really cool in her mind, she asked about Catherines but Riley smiled a little "It might be better if you ask her that." Hinting that some people didn't like talking about their mutations, Catherine had been in denial about it for a while so he wasn't sure how far she had come between then accepting she was a mutant and being able to tell others about it. Even when you accept the fact you're a freak, it doesn't mean you're able to go around telling everyone that crosses your path.
It felt like only a few minutes before he and his mother where in the kitchen, cooking up the sandwiches and soon he was kissing everyone good night, even though it was still early for bed time, even if the sun had gone down. Remembering she had locked the door, Riley stared down at the tray of food he had, two glasses of a fruit drink, it had a mostly orange taste thought there was apple and pineapple blended nicely into the drink. He had eaten while cooking with his mum, and even though Catherine had only asked for bacon, which he did one with just bacon incase that's all she had wanted, he had done two others for her that where with more things. The fresh and soft white bread had a smearing of creamy cheese, a small amount of grated lettace, a slice of tomato with a round cut of bacon and cooked egg. Not the healthiest thing to have, but she hadn't eaten all day and he wanted to try and make it filling for her, besides, she could pick out whatever she doesn't like.
"Um.. Catherine?" It hadn't been exactly half an hour, more like just a little over twenty minutes, his parents and grand parents where eating down stairs and they where starting to call people, the back of Riley's mind was hoping they'd ignore that Ben, Emily's brother.
"I cooked you some food and drink." It felt as if she was locking him out, just so he wouldn't enter without her permission, even though she was locking everyone else out, it was like a personal attack against his presence. But she was going to work things out with him, it was going to be good again, so he had nothing to worry about.
No matter how long it takes, one day we'll be together and that day will last forever.
"Um.. Catherine?" Her shoes were lying haphazardly on the floor at the end of the bed, her body lying back on the bed, looking up at the ceeling, the stuffed dog resting in the crook of her arm. The sound of her name seemed to cause her to stirr, she'd been wondering what it would be like to be in Riley's position. She sat upright. letting the dog fall back onto the bed, her eyes nervously flicking first over to the door then the window.
"I cooked you some food and drink." There was a pause before her body swung it's self off the bed and upon onto her feet. She looked over at the door again and then down at her holdall, she hadn't really made any sort of start upon her unpacking .... there was a rather bitter thought that if she did that today she'd have nothing to do tomorrow.
'Hold on a sec.' She said calling out, hurrying to the foot of the bed and placing her boots down more carefully, opening the wardrobe she shoved her bag inside there and shut the door. Looking around her to make sure nothing was out of place, darting back when she realised that she'd left Fred out, stuffing him quickly into a draw, not realising that half his ear was trapped.
Stepping over to the door she unlocked it and opened it rather cautiously, her eyes looking up into Riley's face then dropping down to the tray. There were two glasses ... did that mean he wanted to come inside her room for a bit? One of her hands reached out, taking hold of the glass nearest her and pulling it off the tray.
'Thanks.' There was a pause, her head turning to look back into her room and then over at him again. 'Would you like to come in?' She backed off a little in order for him to venture in if he wanted to, if not he could just give her the plate upon which the sandwitches lay. She gave them a rather hungry look, she hadn't eaten much all day and they smelled lovley.
Cat: Can there be any hope for us after all thats happened?
Re: Huxley, Iowa, United States'Hold on a sec.' There seemed to be a faint shuffling of activity inside, he wondered what she was doing, or maybe she was half way through unpacking and she was just quickly finishing the rest off, that had to be it.. Hearing the turn of the key and a clicking noise as the door unlocked, his eyes lifted from the tray to look at her face, why was she acting so cautious? No one was going to hurt her here.. he tried to smile a little as her hand reached for the nearest glass to her to taking it off the tray.
'Thanks.' He smiled a little more this time, he didn't mind cooking for her, it felt wonderful doing things for her, it felt sometimes like that was his purpose now in life, just to take care of her, like she has taken care of him in the past 'Would you like to come in?' They where meant to talk weren't they? With a slightly unsure look about him, he slowly stepped into the room, taking a step to the side so his back was to the wall and she could close the door. Then again, he wasn't sure she'd want to be alone in a room with him, she didn't want to live with him, and they where always so awkward with each other now. Riley looked awfully uncomfortable, but that was only because Catherine was making him feel like that by her over cautious, nervous and apprihensive attitude.
Slowly he stepped forward and placed down her tray on the bed, taking up his glass and holding it closer to him as he backed away from her bed to the wall again. His eyes looked over towards her before dropping to the ground, his body sliding down to the floor, pulling his knees towards his chest. The act signalled he intended on staying, the palms of his hands rested on his knees as he looked towards her window, he was hoping they would talk, mend their problems.
"Mum and everyone are going into Town tomorrow, they promised to help out setting up some things for the Christmas celebrations." Maybe it was easier to talk about something else first and they slowly make their way towards the more emotional topic when they have gotten a little more comfortable.
"I was thinking while they're gone I might do some things around the house, replace some of the broken or ruin boards outside." His hands pulled away from his knees and folded neatly in his lap, his eyes focused on his hands "I'll start as soon as I wake up, they're leaving at 4am since there's a 6 o'clock meeting in Town." Looking over towards Catherine, as he continued, hoping she wouldn't be upset with being left on the farm with him, though he was sure if she wanted to she could go with his parents, but what would she do in Town on her own?
"When you wake up I should be finished fixing the boards, I'll make you breakfast, after that I'll remove the peeling paint and put a new coat." His eyes dropped away as he asked rather nervously, his hands fidgeting since she wasn't sure of her responce and he wasn't really in a state to handle rejection right now. "I was thinking about noon we could riding.. or, or whatever you want.. and maybe later on at night when they get back, we drive into Town and go to the Drive in Threaters, we can watch whatever you want.. if.. if you want to go, we don't have to if you're not comfortable with it." Raising a hand from his lap, the elbow resting on his knee while his hand moved to the run his fingers slightly through the top of his hair, his head tilting down a little before looking off towards the teddy bear picture and dropping his hand back into his lap.
No matter how long it takes, one day we'll be together and that day will last forever.
Re: Huxley, Iowa, United States
He advanced a little way into her room his own body language seeming just as nervous as hers did. She hesitated for a moment before she closed the door behind him, this time not locking it. She could hear the murmur of voices coming up from downstairs but when the door closed it drowned out most of the noise. Giving Riley her attention again she saw him put the tray down on the bed and picking up the second glass from the tray he retreated to stand against the wall. His body seemed to relax against it, sliding down to sit upon the floor. Somehow she found him less threatening in that position, probably because he was a lot smaller down there and for once she was taller than him.
"Mum and everyone are going into Town tomorrow, they promised to help out setting up some things for the Christmas celebrations." Christmas clebrations? She wondered what the town had planned in the way of festives, she wasn't really used to the idea of people getting together at Christmas. In Washington it was all so comercialised and impersonal, you celebrated Christmas with your imidiate family, it had become almost a selfish time where you locked yourself away, not even thinking about the needy. Of course there were people who ran shelters and put on meals for the homeless but still there wasn't really any sense of Christmas unity like there was in a little town like this. In a way she'd forgotten what Christmas was really all about, spending time with those you love, for her as it was with most young people, they only thought about the presents. Since she wasn't really expecting any this year what little part of her might have looked forwards to Christmas had been trampled out. She hoped they wouldn't be spending Christmas with anyone else than his parents, she hadn't really thought about the fact he might have grandparents up here so she hadn't bought them gifts. There wasn't much she could do though since she didn't have any money. She was finding it really hard, she'd got used to having money to spend on herself and it was difficult to just stop like this. She didn't like the fact she couldn't go out and buy herself anything, even if it was just something like a chocolate bar.
"I was thinking while they're gone I might do some things around the house, replace some of the broken or ruin boards outside." He was rewarded by a small smile, her body moving towards the bed, seeming to be drawn over to the food. She took a mouthful of her drink and put it down on the bedside table. Sitting down cross legged on the bed she pulled the plate towards her, keeping a distance between herself and Riley so things didn't feel too uncomfortable. "I'll start as soon as I wake up, they're leaving at 4am since there's a 6 o'clock meeting in Town." That just seemed silly to her, why get up that early when they could have the meeting in the afternoon? She didn't think about the fact that farmers had to get back to tend to their livestock, cows need to be milked after all.
"When you wake up I should be finished fixing the boards, I'll make you breakfast, after that I'll remove the peeling paint and put a new coat." She looked a little suprised since he seemed to believe that he could paint the whole house by himself ... by noon. "I was thinking about noon we could riding.. or, or whatever you want.. and maybe later on at night when they get back, we drive into Town and go to the Drive in Threaters, we can watch whatever you want.. if.. if you want to go, we don't have to if you're not comfortable with it." There was a excited yet nervous expression on her face as she picked up the bacon sandwhich.
'Ummm I've never really ridden a horse before.' her eyes flicked over to the picture of the horse on the walls, she'd sat on a pony's back a few times when she was small but she'd never actually done any riding before. She didn't actually say yes to either of his suggestions but there was a sudden happy smile on her face that answered for her. The thought of going to see a movie was something she'd really look forwards to since she hadn't seen one in a while. She took a bit of her meal, her eyes looking happier than they had in a few days wandered over to him again, watching as he ran a hand through his short hair. She was suprised he was letting her near a horse since she was pregnant but she wasn't about to complain about it.
Cat: Can there be any hope for us after all thats happened?
Re: Huxley, Iowa, United States
There was a change in her attitude, she was smiling again, that caused an automatic smile back from him though he dropped his eyes away again shortly after. She didn't really respond but she seemed happy about it so that meant she wanted to do it right?
"All right.. I'll uh.. well when you get up I guess, you can look through the town paper and see what you want to watch." Still not sure if she even wanted to watch anything since she could just be smiling for another reason that he wasn't aware of. He fidgeted a little uncertainly, both his hands once again resting in his lap, hidden away mostly from Catherine's view by his knees. None of this seemed at all fair, she was meant to get less afraid of him, not more afraid, she wasn't even really talking with him, just a small sentance that wasn't even a reply but a comment about herself.
"..Are you ok? Being here with me I mean..." He didn't notice he had a tiny paper cut on his hand, the barely noticable tiny slice was on his palm just at the base of his thumb. He had gotten cut when he walked into Dawn and dropped all his papers. "I want to have you here with me, but if it's too soon and you're not ready to be alone with me.. you don't have to stay." But his eyes didn't study the tiny cut for long since it wasn't anything important, his eyes lifting to look at Cat but turning them away quickly, eventually having them focusing on the back of his hands again. If she was scared of being alone with him as she often seem to act, then why should he force her to stay here? He tried not to think about how she pulled away from him when he leaned forward to kiss her, though it was like a stab in the heart every time he saw that reply in his mind.
No matter how long it takes, one day we'll be together and that day will last forever.
Re: Huxley, Iowa, United States"All right.. I'll uh.. well when you get up I guess, you can look through the town paper and see what you want to watch." She hungrily finnished off the bacon sandwich, licking her fingers once she'd swallowed the last mouthfull. Her eyes looking over towards Riley and then back down to the plate again. Her brown eyes looking down at the plate, as she spoke, her hands reaching out for one of the more mixed sandwiches, trying not to drop any of it over Riley's mum's bedspread.
'Ok then.' She took another hungry bit of her food, before she reached over for her drink. Her soft brown eyes seemed to find their way back to him again, one of her hands tucking her hair behind her ears. She wished it wasn't so akward between them, it was getting better though, at least they were talking now and it wasn't quite as hard to speak to him as it had been back at the station.
"..Are you ok? Being here with me I mean..." Did he mean in this room, or on the farm ... if she a hundred percent didn't want to be here she'd have refused to come in the first place, but a part of her had been excited to learn about the house and area her boyfriend had grown up in. "I want to have you here with me, but if it's too soon and you're not ready to be alone with me.. you don't have to stay." He looked so alone and lost sitting down there, his usual toweringness gone. There was a stab of loving pitty that seemed to pass through her, her hands dropping the half eaten sandwich onto the plate. Her body slipping from the bed, moving across to where he was, she knelt in front of him facing the wall. Her body brushed against his as she settled herself down so she was sitting on her feet. Her arms instinctivley seemed to wrap around his knees, her face pressing against them so all he could see were her eyes looking across and up at him.
'I'll stay.' Her voice was rather muffled by the presence of his knees. It felt distinctly akward doing this but she didn't want him to be upset, she just needed to get used to his body again. She just needed him to help her get through all this, she wished there was a way for her to think about what had happened to her and to feel nothing. 'I can help you paint if you want?'
Cat: Can there be any hope for us after all thats happened?
Re: Huxley, Iowa, United States
The motion of her body's movement's caught his attention, his eyes lifting slightly to see what she was doing, she was coming towards him, he wasn't sure how he should react, nervously dropping his eyes down into his lap again. Knelling before him had caused Riley's eyes to slowly look up again, he didn't want her to think he was ignoring her, but he had dreamed of her being so close to him and it hurt to think that this proximity to him might scare her in some way.
Dropping his eyes, but this time to look at her arms that where around his knees, quickly lifting the eyes that peered at him, the rest of her face obscured by his knees. She was so pretty, but she didn't have that glow she had the last night they where together, during the day she had filled everything with laughter, Riley hadn't laughed in so long, either had she, he wished they where able to laugh together again.
'I'll stay.' The only responce she got from him at that statement was his eyes staying with hers instead of wondering off like they had been doing every other moment. 'I can help you paint if you want?' The first reaction was that he didn't want her anywhere near the pain and it's dangerous fumes. But they had filter mouth masks that she could use to safely stop breathing in any of the fumes, plus they where outside... it was perfectly safe. His lips parted a little, closing as his eyes dropped to his lap, his hands fidgeting a little. What if she was offering, but she didn't really want to do all the work, Riley didn't even think yet about doing the sides of the house or the porch or the back or how he was going to have to do a lot of work standing on a ladder. He only just knew he wanted to help and he thought of doing that only just then when he told Catherine his plans.
"I would like your company." It was more like a comment to her question, not saying yes or no yet saying if she joined him he could like it. He didn't want her to help if it wasn't something she was keen on doing, Angela always offered to help, but sometimes she'd rather be doing something else. Like when a group of girls organised a special day at the school, which happens at least once a year to voice gay rights, one of Riley's tutors had asked him to help organise some of the things since he was so good with organising events, Angela offered to help him but he knew she'd rather do something else since every break she had she was leaping onto his computer and enjoying herself online, looking a little sulky when her break was over and she had to log off.
The tips of three of his fingers touched her arm, only for a moment before dropping away in his lap, he wanted to pull her into his arms, he just want to bury his face in her shoulder and hold her. But she was touching him, that was something, he didn't want to lose that, he just had to wait until she wasn't as afraid of him any more..
"Mum said we where allowed to bring things down, I'll be bringing some things from Washington and Westchester, would you like anything brought with my things?" He really wanted to tell her how much he missed her, but what if that kind of talk made her really uncomfortable, especially since she was so close to him, he didn't want her to think he was just going to try and pull her back into their relationship whenever she tried to get closer to him.
"Emily wanted me to say she promises not to touch anything in your room if you're worried about that." He offered a faint half smile at the young girls remark, Ben had been demanding a lock on his room at his grand parents place until he left for Washington a few years later. They didn't even agree to locks because they'd always reply that family should never lock themselves away from each other, plus they should have nothing to hide. But Ben saved all his money and spent it on expensive things, stereo, DVD player, gaming consoles. computer, large screen TV, a bunch of other smaller expensive things. It wasn't just that he didn't want his sister touching his things, he didn't want anyone snooping about their house and seeing his things, what if a costomer walked up the stairs and saw the things in his room, they could steal anything they wanted to. He went to school in Washington so now he's taken all his things with him, locked away in his appartment safely.
"There's heaps of things we can, mum and dad want to show us something in a few days when we've settled in, they wouldn't say what, but they seemed really keen about it." He had been really disappointed when he realized there where no real farm animal's any more, save for the chickens, and the horses, a single cow that replaced the old one Cammie. Most of the animal's that survived the flooding had to be sold to other farmers in order to get money to survive. They relied on their parents right now, the food they get mostly from their parent's store, the only way they are able to repay their parents are by giving them fresh eggs they can sell. Though during festivals they take some of their horses down to the town and they get a decent amount of money by charging for rides, normally it was kids who would earn them the money that went into the shop as a small repayment for their parent's kindness.
Although Penny and Roger didn't like taking the money from Jonathan and Martha, they knew if they refused then Jon and Mar would get too guilty to keep taking from them and might rather struggle on their own then, something Penny dreaded. Riley was here now, he intended to help out in every way he could, he wouldn't like them refusing to take his money, so perhaps it was a good thing he hasn't talked with his parents about that yet, after all, he wasn't going to react too well when they say they're not willing to take his money when the whole reason he left the farm was to earn money that he could pu into the farm. Being stubborn though, saying no was hardly going to stop Riley from helping out, he was going to bring the life back into this farm even if it was done without his parents aware of what he was planning until it was too late and they couldn't refuse his help.
No matter how long it takes, one day we'll be together and that day will last forever.
Re: Huxley, Iowa, United States"I would like your company." She gave him a small smile even though he wouldn't able to see it because he couldn't see the bottom half of her face. Her eyes seemed to sparkle for a slight moment, the only hint of the rare smile that had graced her face for a short while. Any other point in time and she might not have offered to help him but she knew there was nothing else really that she would have to do. The only other thing she had with her for entertainment was her walkman and she'd listened to it quite a bit when they were on the plane, the batteries wouldn't last much longer and she didn't have anymore once then died.
"Mum said we where allowed to bring things down, I'll be bringing some things from Washington and Westchester, would you like anything brought with my things?" The tips of his fingers touched her arms for a moment before they dropped back away again. Maybe he could bring up her CD player, she looked a little happier at the thought, shifting her position a little so her chin was resting on his knees.
'Can you get my CD player?' Her face seemed to retreat to where it was before. 'And the teddy you got me.' Now she was here, it felt so strange that she wanted some homley things around her. The bear still had his scent lingering upon it and it was comforting to hold at night, her fingers tracing over the red heart. She wondered what he was getting brought up from Washington ... where had he been keeping them? Did he still own or rent the flat he'd been staying in. She still wasn't sure how he'd been able to cope with living there, it was so bare, cold and unwelcoming.
"Emily wanted me to say she promises not to touch anything in your room if you're worried about that." There was another smile he couldn't see. It wasn't really her room, it belonged to Emily more than it did to her, she wasn't even family. One of her hands moved to rest on her flat stomach, trying not to think what it would be like in several months. They should really tell his parents soon, if not they might feel insulted that they hadn't been told before now. Her thumb stroked over the material of her jumper. The closer she got to Riley and the longer she spent with him the better things got between them. It didn't feel as horribly akward anymore, everything was by no means like it was before but it wasn't as bad as it had been before. She felt slightly better knowing she was the one pushing to be closer to him, she wanted to be the one to initiate things like this, that way she didn't feel too threatened. Down here on the floor he didn't tower over her either so he didn't intimidate her as much.
"There's heaps of things we can do, mum and dad want to show us something in a few days when we've settled in, they wouldn't say what, but they seemed really keen about it." She seemed almost lost in thought, barley regestering his words. One of her hands slowly reaching out for his, picking it up and sitting back slightly rested it gently on her stomach. The soft feel of the cashmeer under both their hands. The fact she was still holding onto his ahnd meant that she coud always pull his hand away if she wanted to.
'I think it should be a girl.' She said slowly, her eyes lifting to his face as she spoke. She'd never ever initiated a discussion about their child, apart from when she'd said they needed to talk about things. She was hoping this might be an easy way to slip into a discussion with him about the child and themselves. The thought that she might be by herself was a scarey one, she felt as if she wanted Riley's reassurance every day just to tell her that he'd be there for her.
Cat: Can there be any hope for us after all thats happened?
Re: Huxley, Iowa, United States
It felt so nice when she took hold of his hand, offering Catherine a better smile then his previous weak attempts, but he hadn’t been expecting her to place it against her stomach. He remembered this feel, he remembered this jumper, it was the one she wore in Washington, it wasn’t as soft as when it had been brand new but it still had a softness to it. Physically it felt no different to the previous times his hand had been pressed over her stomach, but emotionally it was so different, in past times he has found himself wishing for a child as his hand or eyes lingered on her stomach, dreaming a day where his hand rested over it and he could feel the life of his baby inside.
'I think it should be a girl.' There was a moment before it seemed he heard here, his eyes staring down at their hands as if it was the single most meaningful thing he’s ever done in his life. He wished it was further along and that the baby was starting to kick, he was so excited for the chance to feel it kick, he wanted it to be born so he could hold it. But then again he would probably be petrified he’d hurt the tiny thing if he held it. Riley’s eyes lifted to hers, his laps where parted a tiny bit, his eyes dropping back down to her stomach as he grinned a little, his excitement distracting him slightly from the nervousness he had been feeling.
“A girl?” He sounded anxious, a little excited and really hopeful that was true, he wanted a girl, he knew without a doubt he was going to spoil her terribly, but he still wanted one so much, his perfect family would be two boys and a girl. The two boys to keep each other company, and the girl, who would have a different role in the family, depending on where she was born. Being a first child meant she would be able to watch over and help take care of her young brothers, but if she was a second child then she would be only able to take care of the smaller child and most likely she wouldn’t have as much control over the small brother as the eldest brother would. Being the smallest child meant her brothers would watch out for her and that it would be expected of the parents to spoil her, giving Riley a legal excuse to smother her with affection. The preference would be with the girl being the eldest or the youngest, it might also be easier to have the girl first since they naturally get mature earlier then boys and it might make things easier if she is able to help her mother with the younger brothers. Though Riley never thought of raising his family in the city before, the other purpose for having two sons was so that they could help him with the farm, the daughter stays back and helps his wife around the house, of course Riley wouldn’t mind having four kids, a daughter, the two sons in the middle and then the last one being another daughter, but he didn’t think much on that since most people stuck with two or a max of three now days.
“I’ll take the car to the school, I guess we’re lucky since there’s a medical facility on campus, but I’m sure we’ll need to go out still for other reasons, I don’t think it’s fair to have Angela driving us about all the time..” They where also lucky in the fact that they had such wide grounds at the school, a pool, a lake, endless grass areas and trees, their child just hand to walk outside the building to be in the park. That’s if Catherine still wanted to stay at the school with the baby, she wasn’t the only one with a child there, though it probably seemed like that to her right now, it wasn’t common but it wasn’t rare either. They do have larger family rooms, Riley has seen a few, Connor and his sisters lived in one till a year ago when one by one they moved out to get their own places since the sisters where constantly arguing.
“I wanted to ask you some things about what you wanted to do…” He trailed off at that, giving her a chance to change the topic if it was heading in a direction she still wasn’t ready to go down just yet. Lifting his eyes to hers once again, he smiled a little before dropping them down to stare at where his baby was slowly being created. It was just a wonderful feeling, his whole life he’s been nothing but an expendable soldier, just like a paper cup that serves its purpose by holding the drink inside for someone to quench their thirst. Without the cup there would be no way they could lift the liquid to their lips so easily, yet once the drink is finished, the cup is tossed away. But now look what he has helped create, his love for Catherine helped form a new life that will soon need him in a way no other person has ever needed him before, he dreaded the thought he’d be unable to help her in every single way she needed to be helped.
No matter how long it takes, one day we'll be together and that day will last forever.
Re: Huxley, Iowa, United States“A girl?” She wondered for a moment if she'd said the right thing since he seemed so awfully anxious about what she'd just said. But she realised it was a good sort of anxious, stamping home to her again just how much he wanted this child. She knew she wasn't really keeping it for her, it was more for the fact that she knew Riley wanted it so desperatley. His eyes seemed to have become glued to her stomach, she had the feeling she could have walked around the room and his eyes would still have been fixed to her tummy.
“I’ll take the car to the school, I guess we’re lucky since there’s a medical facility on campus, but I’m sure we’ll need to go out still for other reasons, I don’t think it’s fair to have Angela driving us about all the time..” There was a faint smile, but the idea of the giving birth part of being pregnant was something she'd rather not think about. She was more the type of person who wouldn't even attend classes upon having children and then she'd panic when she went into labour. But as long as Riley was there and didn't leave her she knew she'd been alright, he wouldn't let anything happen to her.
“I wanted to ask you some things about what you wanted to do…” He didn't seem to be continuing which probably wasn't the best thing for him to do. She tended to get bored of talking about the unborn child inside her so this conversation probably wouldn't last very long. She found it easier to forget she was pregnant than she could the fact of what Jon had done to her.
'Like what?' Their hands were still over her stomach, but she pulled them away a moment later an indication her attention was starting to wander. He'd only been able to touch over the area his child was growing in for a couple of mintues and she didn't realise exactly how much the simple touch meant to him. She put their hands down ontop of his knee, not removing her hand from his, hinting that she was more interested in spending time with him than in talking about the child they'd created together. But to her right at the moment working things out with Riley were more important than her baby, it had just seemed like a safe tpoic to start off on, she was hoping that he'd recipriate and tell her wether he wanted a girl or boy.
'Rye ...' She'd never called him anything but Riley before but the nickname she'd hear him called in the Initiative base seemed to suddenly jump into her mouth. 'Would you be upset if it's a mutant?' Her free hand migrated to press against her stomach for a breif moment. There was always a chance the child would have inherited her mutant gene. She'd often wondered which side of her family her own gene had come from, as far as she knew neither her parents were mutants, but maybe her Grandparents had been carriers.
Cat: Can there be any hope for us after all thats happened?
Re: Huxley, Iowa, United States'Like what?' She might as well have ripped his hand of her, it felt like the same thing to him, he had waited so long for her to let him touch her that the few precious minutes felt like only a blink of time, hardly enough for him to truly absorb everything. Maybe if he was given more chances to hold and touch her then he wouldn't focus so strongly on her stomach all the time. It was like the forbiddon fruits in the garden of Eden, the apple's delicious taste denied to Adam and Eve, of course, when they did taste the fruits they where banished from the sacred garden. Riley knew the only chances he was permitted to have contact with her was now if she initiated the contact, otherwise he will be banished from her side. Since the contact was rare and far between it hurt painfully to have her seem to finally grow closer to him, only to pull away again.
There was a slight tremble in his breath at the thought she was about to pull away, he didn't want to leave just yet and he knew if she pulled away they'd be all silent again and he would have to leave in order for her to relax. But there was no loss of contact, she kept their hands together, just on his knees now instead of over her stomach, the current home of their child.
'Rye ...' The use of his nick name caused his eyes to lift from their hands to her eyes, she had never called him by that name before, no one really has, only his closest friends had ever called him that. When he lost all his family, when all he had was them left of his slowly disappearing world, and soon enough they where all he had when he was shut away from the outside world.
'Would you be upset if it's a mutant?' He was amazed by the remark, slowly shaking his head, didn't she know him well enough now to realize he didn't care what people where, only what they where like?
"No.. of course I wouldn't be upset," His voice was soft and full of assurence, he never thought that their child would just be human, Catherine had the mutant gene so he figured her gene's would be passed onto the baby as well.
"Our baby, if it's really a girl, I'd love her just as much, no matter what she was, same if it was a boy, I have to admit for some reason I've always hoped for a girl," He seemed to get a little breathless for a moment after he spoke, wanting to say so much more and yet afraid she'd get upset if he went on about the child "I wanted to talk about so many different things.. like names, whether you want to stay at the school or get a home.. if.. if you wanted to do it together.." His eyes dropped down from her face, she had said before at the station that she wasn't even sure if she wanted to stay with him.. But before she had said she wanted to work things out, so that meant she still wanted to be with him didn't it? Or what if she just wanted to get back with him because of the baby? What if she didn't love him any more and the only reason she was going to try and cope being with him was because they shared a child together?
When he said 'together' he didn't just mean share a place together and raise a child, he meant he wanted everything that word entailed.. He wanted to be the father of this child and the husband of its mother, he wanted to be with her forever and have her grow old with him like he has said to her in the past. It did occure to him that she might have over looked that trail of thought he had, but he didn't want to ask her like this, he wanted so badly to have her looking at him like she once had, her soft deliciously chocolate brown eyes full of passion and love.
His head tilted down so all she could see was the top of his head, he was on the verge of losing her and all he had on his mind where flashes of images from when they where making love flowing through and tormenting his mind. The most common image that lingered in his thoughts where when they where kissing and falling asleep while holding each other's hands.
"I miss us Catherine, I miss the way we where, the way we where going, the way everything seemed to have become so perfect.. it was so wonderful it didn't even seem real any more," He voice was a little muffled since it was spoken down into his lap, again his hand rose, but again only the tips of his fingers stroked against the edge of her hand. His head lifting slightly, it wasn't fair all that has dwindled down to this, the perfect dream fading away, both of them seeming to hang on a delicate thread ready to snap at any moment.
"You know.. I was thinking, about all those terrible things that Marc told you, I don't think it was you he was really talking about.." Riley's voice had dropped to a quiet whisper so there was no chance of being over heard "I know they're all horrible things.. and I know it was an awful thing to think of someone.." He sounded terribly guilty for a moment, his eyes refusing to look up "..but I used to think that about Claire. She knew I had money, so she always asked me for things, even if she didn't really need them or if she had the money to get them herself, and when she asked to get an appartment.." He had never had a female friend so it's not like he had anything to comapre the relationship to, for all he knew it was completely normaly for the girls to use their friends like that, but he gave an uncomfortable look, something bordering almost on disgust as he spoke.
"Sometimes she'd bring her friends up into the appartment, it was always just one person, and it was always a guy, but it was always a different guy, only a few rare times did the same guy come back." As if sleeping around wasn't bad enough, she thought Riley was so dumb and niave that he wouldn't figure she was up to anything. And it was obvious she told something similiar to that to all the guys she met up with since they always had such a smug attitude with Riley, every single one of them where so upthemselves that it was horrible for Riley to even try and talk with them.
"Eventually I hated it when she come near me, I felt sick when she tried to court me, I felt dirty and foul and I would have a shower but it never made me feel clean.. I always wore long sleeves and trousers," The added fact she was the only girl that outwardly showed interest in him had urged him to try and be with her, the fact he knew he had company and wasn't alone had kept him there. He's always had that nagging feeling of loneliness, but even though he was with Claire, even though he wasn't as alone as he used to be, he still felt so awfully alone with her that he dreaded the thought of how truly alone he might feel if she wasn't there.
"But I've never thought anything like that about you, never, not once, I mean, there where times I wondered if you had ever had a boyfriend before, but only because you did all the things you do so well." His head dropped down again, he felt shameful for having had anything to do with Claire, it made him feel even dirtier now when he looked back, it didn't seem as terrible when he was living all that, but once it was over, and now that he has found what he is convinced is true love, it made his time with Claire feel so much more dreadfully awful.
"I don't want to lose you again," The hand that had once been desperatly seeking comfort in trying to caress her hand with only the tips of his fingers had pulled away and placed the palm of his hand over the top of his head, again it was the only part she could see since his face was hidden away "You're my only one, you're mine.. I don't want to lose you." His head shook a little in a stubborn attempt of making her understand just how much he didn't want to lose her, he took in a shaky breath, another sign to show how upset he was by all this.
"Please, I'll give you anything you want, as much space, as much time, as much anything, just tell me what I have to do, or what I have to stop doing.." He sounded so desperate again, if she just told him these things she wanted from him or didn't want from him then he would know what to do and what not to do and wouldn't upset her "I love you," His face remained hidden away from her eyes, sounding as if he was on the verge of tears, no one else was ever meant to know how wonderful it felt to be inside her, no one else was ever meant to be loved by her like that, no one but him, he was the only one allowed to share his love with her that way. "..I don't want you to be afraid of me any more." This time he did sound as if he was crying, even though he felt awful, only a few tears seeped from his eyes, and even that seemed to drain him. The fact he was so exhausted didn't help at all, it just made him feel even more awful and frustrated.
No matter how long it takes, one day we'll be together and that day will last forever.
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