Like a rolling stone (Tre, AJ)

[Lovely]

Name: Treasa Quorra Corbin Alias: TC, Tre Age/DOB: April 13, 1987 Anniversary: with AJ Gabrielli Children: Ruby (Jan 23, 2006) POWERS: Mineral Manipulation played by: Lovely created: 2005 likeness used: Shannon Doherty

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PIC HERE Name: Antonio Josef Victor Gianni di Gabrielli Alias: AJ, Vic, Joe, Tony ... several others ... Age/DOB: 01/19/1975 Anniversary: with Tre POWERS: Stone Skin A form of Anthropomorphic.Molecular Manipulation played by:Tripp created:1987, rev 2004 likeness used: Christian Kane

[Lovely]

4/14/2004


Antonio pulled up to the gates and sat for a bit, looking over the estate with a critical eye. So this was where his little sister now lived. He sighed, regretting again, Ame's haste in marrying the Vienna boy. Ah, well, what was done, was done ..

He reached to buzz the intercom, and waited patiently for someone to answer before explaining who he was. The rented SUV purred quietly as he waited.

Wil was on duty...since Charlie was getting a break from the control room. He heard the buzzer and turned the camera on the car and the man. Listening to the explanation of who he was, Wil asked him to wait one moment. He slid open the file, which held pictures of Amy's brothers and basic descriptions so they would be recognized upon arriving. After Donny and Paolo had come to visit they were sort of expecting the others to come by. Yep it looked like him. "Please drive up." He hit the switch for the gate and buzzed the boys to let them know they had a visitor.

Charlie and Justin were both on duty and came down as they were close to the front of the house. Charlie grinned big and sat down on the steps... screw it let Justin do the meet and greet.. all that crap..

Parking the car, Antonio got out, surveying the estate from up close and the men waiting to greet him. Giving each a brief nod, he smiled slightly. "Beautiful place. I'm Antonio Gabrielli. I believe that you know my brothers and, of course, Ame." His manner and tone were polite, proper. Despite the impressiveness of the estate and it's guards, he looked to be at ease, comfortable with it. As he spoke he held out a hand toward Justin with a smile.

"AJ!" She yelled from the step, waving, stopping to give Charlie a hug as he sat on the step, along with a kiss on the cheek. She felt the gentle apprehension.. the undercurrent of tension rippling through him and stopped a moment, bending to whisper to him a moment, deeply concerned. "Charlie? Hey...you okay in there?" She looked down the drive, watching to see AJ and Justin talking for a moment. "You come talk to me later? Please?" She may have already had five brothers, but all the boys at the estate she'd adopted as brothers as well.. even Leo though he rarely said a word to her... to anyone really. Charlie was her smile maker and today she wasn't getting smiles at all... not on the inside.

He looked up at her voice and his face split into an even wider grin as he waved back. She stopped to talk to the guy sitting on the stairs and Antonio saw the concern on her face. It made him chuckle softly. Ever the caretaker, that was his little sister.
Looking back to Justin and his pleasure at seeing his sister was clear on his face. "My apologies, I didn't get your name. As usual, Ame distracts me ..." The Italian accent was less thick now than it had been when he'd first stepped out of the car, as if it were rapidly wearing off as he switched to English.

She ran a hand over Charlie's shoulder, giving a quick, firm rub... years of guitar and her medical training making her thin fingers strong and nimble. "I'll be back... I want you to meet AJ, okay? Don't go away," she said, running off to tackle her bro before he said too many embarrassing things about her to Justin... without an opportunity to defend herself, anyway. "AJ!"

She literally launched herself at him and he caught her easily. Being the 'muscle' of the family business, he was well built for rough housing with his little sister. Spinning her around, Antonio finally planted her lightly back on her feet. "Ame! Ah, but it's good to see you again Bella!" All of the brothers had called her that for years.

She reached up and kissed his cheek, beaming. "I missed you the most," she said before stepping back, her eyes narrowing teasingly. "So... what horrible things have YOU come to threaten my husband with, hm? Donny's already been here and so has Paolo, so don't think you're going to be original by trying to protect me. He's a good man, I'll tell you now." Her arms folded, begging the challenge, but the grin curled, curious to see what this brother had in store for Jordy.

"Tell you what ... I'll reserve judgment until I meet and speak to him." Although he smiled, Antonio's eyes held a hardened gaze. Truth was, no one would be good enough for his little sister. But what he'd dug up about the Vienna family had him quite concerned. It wasn't that he didn't think Ame could take care of herself. They'd worked together before. Hell, he'd been the one to teach her how to shoot, self-defense moves, everything. However, it wasn't physical violence that he feared for her. This family .. the intrigue that existed within it ... He just didn't like it, not at all.

"Yeah... I see those reservations already, Antonio," she scoffed, her grin fading. She made a V of her fingers and pointed to her eyes. "Can't tell me you're not plotting, hm? See it in here.. meanie. But... he's not home yet, so you'll have to just put up with all the wonderful stories I have to tell about him," she shifted and hooked into his arm, peeling him away from Justin. "And why did -you- miss the wedding? I do hope your story's better than Paolo's and Donny's."

Giving Justin one last nod, he let his sister drag him away.
"Family business, Ame. You know how that goes." He didn't offer details and she would know better than to press for them by now. Much of Antonio's work for the family was done in secret, undercover and such. So, he rarely discussed it. "If I could've gotten away, I would have. I bet that you were beautiful." He tapped the tip of her nose softly with a finger, his eyes finally softening as he offered her a smile.

"Were?!" She gaped and nudged him roughly, teasing. "Still blushing, thank you. You want to come look at the pictures? There're hundreds. I can't believe it... I thought our family was huge, but the Veinna's from all over? My goodness... apparently I have in-laws in countries I didn't even know existed. I wish you could have...," she paused and hugged him fully, almost shivering from having missed him so much. She could feel the tension and concern flowing off of him and looked up at him, searching his eyes almost tearfully. "You're upset with me, aren't you?"

"Were, are, always will be as far as I'm concerned." He smiled, and held her tightly as she hugged him. He didn't answer her about the Viennas and their numbers. He knew more about that than she might at this moment. Ame turned her troubled eyes on him and he hastened to reassure her. "Not upset, Ame. I could never be upset with you. OK, could never stay upset with you." AJ grinned at her and shrugged. "Maybe a little worried, but I'm entitled to that aren't I?" He was more than a little worried, but he'd not admit it right now.

Justin moved away from them as Amy and her brother greeted each other. He was ignored or forgotten in their catching up anyway so he simply smiled, glad to see Mrs. Veinna looking so happy. He backed silently away and turned to go into the house.

Charlie, sighed and lounged on the steps, not really looking at Amy or her brother. He looked off over the grounds.

"I suppose, but don't overdo it," she laughed, smiling gently from his compliment. No one else could make her blush but her brothers, Antonio being the best at it. "Nothing to worry about, AJ... honest. I'm well taken care of... please believe me. Oh... I want you to meet someone.. this is Jordy's cousin Charlie... one of the ones who insists on making me smile." She grinned at the thought of how he usually did make her smile, but today the feeling was different. She was concerned from the feelings she was getting from both of them. She didn't know how to tell AJ yet.. that she'd developed a gift... she'd always been able to read people, but not quite like this. "Charlie... this is my brother AJ," she proudly introduced each to the other.

Smiling, Antonio offered his hand for Charlie to shake. "Nice to meet you, Charlie."

Charlie stared at her in shock for a full minute before he even blinked. Why was she introducing him? Him? of all people she introduced him to her brother? He stared at her a minute longer before slowly turning his head to the man. He looked at the offered hand and waved his, shaking his head. "I'm nobody important, no need to waste pleasantries on me.... hell you don't even have to pretend to be nice to me."

Antonio dropped his hand and shrugged. "I'm not pretending. Ame says that you make her laugh, have been nice to her. That's all I need to know." He grinned at his sister, putting his arm around her shoulders affectionately. "I'm here to get to know her new family and friends and apparently, that includes you." The guy's attitude didn't faze him much. Antonio himself was often stand-offish with strangers. For Ame, he was making an effort today.

"Charlie Mitchell, you be nice to my brother," she teased him, albeit gently. Something was bothering him quite a bit from him to be that snippy. He never was good with strangers, but this was worse than normal. "No one's pretending a thing and you are important." She leaned down to say something quietly, "If I upset you I'm sorry.. or if you want to talk ... come by, okay.. please?" She raised up and looked him in the eye a moment, though he didn't seem to really look at her.

He looked at Amy and then at her brother. "Fine... nice to meet you." He looked to Amy again. "You asked me to stick around. I was just wondering why is all." He shrugged. Looking in the direction Justin had disappeared, he was Jorden's father and she was not making a big deal over him. Charlie found it odd is all... as he and Jorden were not close...they got along and everything... but not that close...

"I asked because you're good people, Charlie and AJ needs convincing that I'm in good hands here. He's met Justin and they'll talk more later after he gets the whirlwind tour. I might even ask you a favor, too. If that's okay?" She looked to AJ for a moment and sighed. He wasn't happy and certainly wasn't impressed yet. There was little she could do to cheer either of them up like this. She turned back to Charlie, "Tell you what, you're off the hook. I'll ask Biff or somebody else instead. We'll talk later okay? Okay?"

Still fairly unfazed by the kid, AJ didn't frown at his attitude. He was young, perhaps a bit rash ... His tone with Amy didn't make him happy, but he was still respectful for the most part, so AJ kept his opinion to himself for now. "We won't keep you then, Charlie. Was nice to meet you." He held is arm out to Ame again.

She nodded and took AJ's arm, and headed up the steps. "See you at dinner, right?" She called over her shoulder to Charlie and turned to AJ, catching his look and turning so as not to face him, catching more of the emotion of his displeasure at the strange greeting so far. She'd tell him after dinner about the touchy feelie thing... maybe.

"So ... the grand tour?" He smiled fondly at her, pulling her close enough to kiss her forehead. "Stop worrying, Ame. It's going to be fine." He knew Ame, knew that she would very much want for him to like her newest family. He'd do his best and hide his misgivings for now.

"Yup.. grand tour and then dinner. Please stop being upset, Antonio... please?" By now she was upset, herself, and starting to shake, feeling his misgivings like he fed them with a spoon.. bitter and cold to her. "I want... you all to be happy for me and not so critical."

He frowned and glanced at her. She certainly seemed to be keying into his feelings about this, better than she usually did. "Ame, I said I'd give this a fair shake, OK? Don't worry about me. I'm nothing if not fair. You know that." Sliding his arm about her waist, he gave her an affectionate hug.

She slid into her brother's hug, but she was stiff with the emotions she pulled from his mind and heart, though he tried to be warm. A soft sniffle rattled as did she when the shiver ran through her, getting too much all at once. She pulled away and stepped ahead, looking up apologetically. "Um... AJ, can I get you to your room and let you get set up? There's... something I need to take care of first .. okay?"

Her reactions to him and her behavior since his arrival made his proverbial hackles rise some. She claimed to be happy, overjoyed, with her new husband. Yet, it was clear that she hid something from him now and that she was as nervous as she was happy. He had a brief flash, a change of character from her affectionate older brother AJ to the family's brawn, their punisher, Vic. There was a quick change in his face that he hid from her by glancing away from her and back toward where they had come, looking as if he were admiring the grounds.
When Antonio looked back to her, his smile was in place, save a few crinkles at the corners of his eyes that belied his concern for her. "Ame, I am at your disposal. Drop me at my room and I'll settle in as I wait on you." His hand came forward to cup her chin softly as he gave her a warm grin and a wink. He loved his little sister, to a fault, and would do almost anything for her. "I promise, Ame. I'll wait and see, meet all of them and not make any decisions on how I feel until then, OK? Now, please, no more worry. Give me one of those beautiful, melt my heart smiles?" He let his hand fall before she complied, feeling that his touch itself seemed to make her uncomfortable.

[Lovely]

Friday, June 2nd 2006
6:32 a.m. -- 53 degrees F, 17 mph SE winds

It was still relatively dark out, still relatively cool, and as expected, the grounds were quiet as a tomb. A faint fog lingered over the recently cut grasses, dew thick underfoot, as Nicholas Fry stepped out of the dorms, the door moving quietly under a diligent hand. Nick took in a deep breathe as he stepped out into the morning mist, and exhaled a great cloud of steam that swam and evaporated around him as he started down the stairs. Somewhere distant, a pack of wolves were calling to one another, perhaps disturbed by the scent of man and steam and civilization infesting their woods at the site of this great realm of desolation cordoned off by these unnatural barriers. Nick could almost sense where they were, could almost feel them running, stalking, prowling through the trees somewhere north of the school. They alone moved in these woods, or at least they alone moved quickly enough, their bodies large enough, for the telekinetic to catch the faint reverberations in the air, echoing through the trees, tingling the back of his neck.

The grass crunched quietly under the soles of Nick's shoes as he ventured from the asphalted paths, wood chips snapping softly and piling obediently around uncaring rubber, cotton and metal. What dirt was to be found was too dense with dew and weighted with water to be disturbed by the passing of dangling fringes around tattered jean cuffs. These denim wraps were once the possession of a one Nathan Cairns, now worn snugly around the matured form of an ironic replacement; his one-time enemy, one-time friend, and now a man who no longer remembered his face -- Nicholas Christopher Fry. A braided leather belt kept the waist of the jeans closed around a neatly tucked white tank top, though that was hidden by a thrift store antique of a 1976 high school baseball shirt - the Highland Coyotes - also white, but with a faded red emblem of a coyote howling over the team name, matching the faded sleeves and collar in hue and state of ware. On the back of the shirt was the over sized numbers of its former owner, 03, with a hole in the shoulder exposing tan-peach flesh to the cool of the morning. Above, a smooth chin and jaw met the quarter-inch stalks of a recently shaved head, thick blond-brown brows set in a perpetual look of neutrality, bordering on boredom. Nick's face had aged and matured, as had his physique, but somehow, in these clothes, he was a student again, a senior, just like anyone else. He was number 03 on a team probably no longer in existence, not some ex-convict on the lamb from some secret government agency. He could hardly be considered young in the company of those still sleeping in the dorms they all shared, but, if one just glanced at the man, they might almost see his old self. The bright-eyed freshman with the endless hopes of mutant equality and peace for himself and his friends; not the friendless orphan with a felony record and the scars to prove it. To whatever end, he was Nick Fry.

As he stepped onto the practice fields, Nick slipped a long string of wooden beads from his back pocket, lifting his left hand as he coiled them around the wrist with his right. From his front pocket, out of the small, worn coin pocket, he pulled one stick of chewing gum - spearmint - and folded it onto his tongue as he'd seen done countless times in commercials and on television. His fingers pulled out as his tongue turned the gum onto his teeth. He began chewing as he crouched to double-knot the strings of his shoes. He looked out into still dark woods surrounding the outer perimeter, senses fully attuned, and began his stretches. Slow and silent and in perfect peace in his solitude. He was the fog, the mist, the morning. He was all, and nothing. He was Nick.

After his stretches, Nick started some push-ups and sit-ups. Then he did some lunges.

This early in the morning there were not many people about and TC enjoyed this part of the day best. it was so quiet and she rarely met anyone along her 'track' as she jogged at an even pace through the morning dew and mist. Her strong toned legs carried her along the edge of the practice field, her long dark hair pulled back in a low ponytail that draped down her back. A light gray sweatshirt which matched her small shorts, covered the dark blue stretch tank and simple blue and white joggers covered her feet. Her eyes caught the movement as she ran the length of the field, noticing the young man there working himself through stretches and such. She was able to watch him for a few minutes from a distance as her path brought her closer to him, now close enough to be seen and heard. She wondered if he should call out a greeting, but what if he wanted to be left alone? How often did she want to be left alone? This early in the morning, out here all alone.. or maybe he just enjoyed the early morning like she did. TC didn't wear any kind of head phone, preferring to listen to the crunch of leaves and grass under her feet, the wind rustling the branches and all the other tiny noises head phones would block out.

Nick felt the girl's movements before he heard her and long before he saw her. His eyes found her, almost casually, as he came up from one lunge and eased down into another, right leg stretched back, left propped in front, till the crotch of his sweatpants just grazed the tops of the grass. He watched her for a moment, eyes hard but face neutral, before eventually offering a small smile of greeting. She was close enough to make out a fairly attractive face, and, forcing an arch to his brow, a nice physique; even covered in layers as it was. As she ran, he could certainly make out the curves and mounds that made her female. He looked away, a certain tightening of his jaw the only thing to show his embarrassment at having just 'checked her out'. Damn there was a lot of attractive women at Haven these days; and it didn't help that he was so ... horny ... hard as it was to admit. He tried to live without physical or emotional attachment... but, damn, he could use some of that...

Glad he had worn briefs today instead of boxers - though the sweats didn't help much - Nick slowly stood from his stretches and started bouncing on the balls of his feet, fingers curling into fists, muscles tensing and coiling. Time for the real practice...

TC smiled back to the young man as she jogged closer, rounding and heading in a course that would take her straight past him. It wasn't her fault he was on one of her regular routes, his face kind of read 'leave me alone' in spite of the smile he'd given. Well it was early and not everyone felt social at such hours or while they worked out. She checked him out a little while he wasn't looking and had to admit -even with the frigid air around him- he was pretty good looking. Though her type was usually more the dark and handsome, that didn't mean she couldn't admire something different. "Morning." She greeted him as she was close enough, leaving it to him to engage her if he wanted or to be left alone if he wished, she could pause and be friendly just as easy as she could jog on past him.

Easing into his first Tae-kwan-do stance, knees lightly bent, feet apart, hands up and fingers locked, Nick's eyes slid up to the girl as she jogged ever closer. The human body produces vast amounts of kinetic energy, and the girl practically glowed with the ring of excitement around her. "How's it goin'?" he asked, conversationally enough, before retrieving his eyes and snapping his elbow forward to connect with the air. His arms then popped straight, palms first, and he barked gruffly, pivoting on his heels to strike with the edge of his hand. His eyes occasionally flickered to the girl, checking to see if she stopped or kept on jogging.

As she came ever closer and watched him begin his routine, she debated linger or just passing by. The guy gave off odd vibes and he didn't read clearly whether he wanted or didn't want any company, though once he began his routine she was less inclined to 'stop' and talk. "Enjoying the quiet and gorgeous morning." She spoke loud enough to be heard though soft enough not to disrupt what he was doing. At this point she was shifting her footing to move around him rather than plow through him. "Think you're the first person I've seen out here this early in months." She commented, taking a better look at his form up close.

Nick's eyes occasionally flicked over to the girl as she moved towards and around him, somewhat warily - the eyes of a man accustomed to watching his back; which he never quite seemed to present her with. He nodded to her comments, though, and eventually spoke in turn, once again between kicks, sweeps and slashes. "I try to make the most of my day." He'd never really been much for sleeping the day away, as any of his old roommates would attest. Not to mention his recently acquired dislike for anything indoors and remotely enclosed. Even the distant perimeter fence was an irritation for the man. This girl didn't need to know any of that, of course, and his words had been most definitely true. He'd just lost three years of his life. No more.

"That's an excellent attitude." She commented with a brighter smile, admiring more than his form now. "I suppose, I should let you get on with your day and I should finish my jog before this place gets to busy.. You have an awesome day, alright.. I'll see you around." She gave him a wink if he saw or not, it didn't matter that much, yeah she wouldn't mind seeing more of him. She had to hold back the chuckle that came with the naughty thoughts that followed as she started away from him.

Nick grinned at the wink he did manage to catch and watched her jog off. She definitely knew how to move...
Suddenly finding himself up and running, Nick quickly caught up with the girl and smiled wolfishly. "Hey, mind if I join you?"

Her head turned to the side as he caught up to her and was 'suddenly' beside her, the dark ponytail swinging with her movement in a silent dance behind her head. TC's smile was bright and delighted as she cast a glance over him again. "No, I don't mind.. not at all.. the company would be great."

"Cool," Nick grinned at the girl's open appraisal of him - usually it was the guys who eye-groped the girls, not the other way around - and settled into an even jog to match hers, "Thanks." She'd had her look, so he took a quick one of his own. His smile was dangerous-looking, but sincere all the same, as they started around the next field. He was not much a runner, per say, but he did enjoy it; especially in the company of a lovely little number like TC. He wondered how old she was. And if she had a boyfriend. "So, what grade you in?" he asked instead, idly curious. Hopefully she was a senior, and they could sit together in Techniques - or whatever the devil it was called these days.

She let him get his eyeful in return after she'd taken a look at him, she didn't mind the exchange though this wasn't something she made a habit of. Her smile remained friendly and warm, possibly inviting as they fell into an even steady pace, side by side. "I'm a senior.. you?"

"Me too..." he smiled, breathing steadily, "I guess." He glanced at her and laughed. A low, gruff laugh, but sincere. "I'm 24, but apparently I missed a few things..." He didn't sound too concerned with the fact that he was old enough to have graduated college, let alone high school (if that's what Haven was supposed to be). He'd offered to test for his GED, but the dean had suggested he remain in classes for the time being; probably to acclimate him to the 'outside world' again. It was true that he had difficulties with larger groups, but obviously his one-on-one skills were by no means in disrepair. Now, if he could only make this a real one-on-one. Preferably with him on top...

Rattling his beads, Nick grinned through his own wild thoughts. He'd only just met this girl! He needed to take it easy before he scared off all the prospective women. Well, at least this one wasn't running away from him. Yet.

Her shoulders lifted in a small shrug as she listened to his 'explanation' and watched his expression. Her head turned from glancing at him to pay attention to where they were running, though she smiled in his company. "Well this place isn't like other schools so being 24 and a senior isn't so bad." She replied. "I'm 19.. so I guess I missed a few things too."

[Lovely]

June 26, 2006
3pm


Voltaire rolled to one side of the desk, stopping while multicolored fronds that some might venture to even call 'hair' fell into swaying waves at his temple and shoulders at their varied and unkempt lengths. Goggles were tipped up on the top of his head, lurking in the mass and the rubber strapping tapping his half turned-down collar of lab coat at each movement. Eyes glaring, he seemed to be trying to 'will' the apparatus in front of him to life or determine what secret it held from him that kept it from working as it was supposed to. He adjusted one more wire and yanked another, letting it fly loose like an antenna above the box. He'd tried direct current which was fine, but the battery just wasn't strong enough. He pulled out a small compartment, pulled out what looked like a cracked marble and inspected it in the light, looking up to see he had an audience. Classtime already? Probably. They could wait. He blew the marble off and tried again. Nothing.

She'd wandered in and hadn't meant to watch so long that she'd be noticed but she found herself facinated at what he was doing, even if she wasn't entirely sure what it was. The image she had in her head was 'mr Freeze' from Batman and that big gun he needed the big diamond for but this guy didn't seem like the evil bad guy. She sighed and picked a piece of scrap up as he busied himself, concentrating on turning it into something else. The diamond was about the size of the marble he'd been using. "here you go hun." She gently reached to 'plop' it into the machine.

He had rolled to the other side of the desk to attend to the loose wire and watched as the marble was replaced with a shinier model. He was going to shoo her away and set down his wheels, but stopped in mid-roll as the apparatus hummed to life. ".. what did you do to it?"

She gave him as innocent of a look as she could and even blushed a little, what had she done really? She shrugged and pointed to the sparkling gem she'd deposited into his machine for him. It had been a total impulse and once it was done.. well it had helped, hadn't it?

Volt stopped and looked at the machine again. No smoke. He looked at the girl, confused. "The only thing that could make that work right was a piece of crystal that this whole school couldn't afford let alone a... a... who are you?"

She fidgited with her fingers looking a bit cowed and trying not to simply bolt for the nearest.. whatever. The girl with long dark waves cascading from the clip at the back of her head, stared at the man for a long moment. "I'm TC.." She bit her lip and looked away, taking a deep breath.

Volt looked at the plan he'd been muttering to himself over and realized she had to have been there a while if she heard him say anything about the crystal. His foot lowered and the wheels drew him around the desk. He stopped beside her and offered a hand and a weak smile. "TC... short for 'too curious' or something? Is it time for class already?" He'd lost track of time, but didn't think it had already been enough full days for the Fall term to start already. His brow knotted a moment. "Voltaire. Or did you know that already, too?"

She laughed softly at his play on her nickname and slowly reached for his hand. "Treasa Corbin." There was a slight pause as she chewed her lower lip. "It's nice to meet you.. I'm sorry if I intruded.."

"Intrusion usually infers you broke into the middle of something unannounced. You broke nothing, in fact you made it better. I think." His brow knotted again as the machine sputtered a moment. "Ah. Power source. Temporary. Do you have any batteries in there too?"

"No batteries.. just gems.. " She felt a bit of relief that she hadn't messed anything up and that he wasn't mad at her. She'd wandered in, seeking someplace for some solitude and refuge to think. But then she'd heard him talking about his plans and had stayed to listen, swept up by his thoughts and ideas. The next thing she knew, she'd made the gem and was setting it in place.

"Just gems? Just... " He shook his head - another mutant with a gift he couldn't comprehend and an attitude about their ability he understood less. He was slowly becoming accustomed to them being around every day but that some played down their gifts so much disturbed him worse than them having the gifts to start with. "It's a good thing, not 'just' anything. Odd place to wander into. Can I help you?" He was already wheeling back around the desk and the apparatus, tinkering with the power supply to rig up direct power.

She sighed and sort of nodded, giving a half chuckle at his comments. Leave it to her to find someone to scorn her for what she could do. "No, you can't help me.. I didn't mean to disturb you. Was just looking for something to take my mind off... other things. I didn't mean to listen in.. but I did. Anyway.. I hope it helped.." Her hands smoothed over the faded jeans she wore and her thumbs hooked into the belt loops as she started to take a cautious step back, not wanting to knock into anything.

"Do I look disturbed?" His question seemed as out of place as his clumps of hair that hung down in as many directions as colors. "Oh. Class must be over then?" He wasn't sure it had started and gone on already.

"Yes, you do kind of look disturbed.. or seem to be.. " She licked her lips and regarded him with a questioning expression. "Class? What class?.. are you.. alright?"

"Shop. Isn't that why you're here, Miss... ," her name had escaped him that quickly. Without Kali around to constantly pound things into his brain, simple things were lost easily. By luck he remembered the initials he'd questioned, but the pause was more than noticeable. "TC. Fine. Of course I'm fine. I was fine when you came in here, wasn't I?" His crooked stare fixed on her a moment, inquisitive, accusing, but somehow innocent and void of temper or ill will.

"No, I didn't come here for shop class.. I just told you why I ended up in here.." He was odd and almost scary in his detached manner.. like he was just not all there. But the way he looked at her so contradicted that, leaving TC more than confused. "Okay.. fine, if you say you are, then you're fine.."

"Can you hand me that spanner, please?" He slipped her into the assistant role while she was still in reach, pointing to the tiny wrench he needed. "It's a nearly perfect stone. With the clarity, this should work well for months without needing a new one. The prototype burned up in a week. Quartz. Can't always depend on it. Too flawed." He rattled away, but somewhere in the banter was the compliment he'd intended to let her know he appreciated the gift.

Spanner? What the heck was that? Good thing he pointed and she followed to the tool he asked for. "Sure.. here you go." She took a step towards him. holding the tiny wrench out to him, she was still quite unsure about him and cautious. TC glanced towards the stone and nodded slowly. "I.." She shrugged. "You're welcome..?"

"Can you... make another one? A back-up unit. This one fries and I start over again." Volt nearly smiled. Whether it was lauding her gift, her cooperation or the fact that the unit didn't blow up when he plugged it in, wasn't discernable.

Her teeth sank into her lower lip in a silent and hardly noticeable reaction to him asking her to make another. The tear was small but enough to taint her tongue with the taste of copper, TC swallowed the tinge and nodded slowly. "I can.. I... um.. just need something to make it from.. You have anything you want recycled.. so to speak?"

"Recycled? Like what?" He looked at the pile in the corner that to him was scrap but to anyone else appeared like bits and pieces of radio equipment, various computer boards, circuitry, spools of wire and tools. His skates ground out a tiny growl as he rolled over the tile floor to dig through it. "How big? How much?"

She smiled and followed him over towards the pile of scrap. "Well how big do you want the gem to be? The same size as the other?" She showed him with her fingers the size of the rock she'd used to make the first gem.

"If you can do that, same size is perfect," he nodded. "How many can you make?" He didn't have dollar signs in his eyes the way some might. He was thinking longevity of the equipment and keeping the array working as long as possible. He hadn't shown what its purpose was, however.

Her smile faded a bit as the warnings flashed neon and screamed in her ears. Hadn't she learned her lesson on being used for her gift? There was something about the way his eyes were when he looked at her.. she felt like he was different. "Um.. well honestly.. I sort of don't have a limit. I'll get worn out after awhile, but I once I rest and recharge.. I.. umm how many do you need?" Her teeth played and pulled at her lip as she watched him carefully.

"Two? Can you do two? Mass for mass ratio," he hummed a moment, pulling random bits from the pile about the size and weight of what she'd made. "Try this. Anything else you need, grab it," he offered, rolling away from the pile, on to the next item he was pulled toward, readdressing his blue-prints. "How are you with perfecting a crystal, say, a lens, like glasses, but a finer grain?"

She pulled a few pieces from the pile and followed him back over to the work bench, finding a small clear space to put the scrap down while she worked with one piece at a time. "I... really don't know." She glanced around to see if there was someplace she could sit down while she made the gems. "I've never tried that, I've done some variations with what I can make, but never tried that specifically." Her hands cupped around the piece in her palm as it began to shift and she picked up another piece to add to it.

[Lovely]

July 14, 2006
1:15pm


Voltaire focused intently on the machine in front of him. It appeared to be an ordinary blender but the sound and lights it put out when it was on... there was more at work than a simple set of blades inside effectively pulverizing whatever material was dropped in the heavy-gauged hopper. He looked around, forgetting he'd been speaking with Treasa moments before. To him it could have been seconds or weeks since their last conversation. He wasn't looking for words, but more fodder for this strange creation, picking up the nearest thing in reach to drop in. On the desk was a white and chrome colored box of something, maybe a gum pack, though he didn't really look. He dropped it in and watched as the sounds came out differently as did the lights. He recoreded his notes as it whirred.

She gasped and tried to reach for the item he picked up but across the table she wasn't able to stop him before his blades whirred and chopped it to bits. "Um.." She said in a small voice that showed her shock and dismay. "That was my ipod.." She couldn't believe he'd done that. "That was my ipod!" She said with more force as it sank in, he'd just blended her almost three hundred dollar ipod.

He looked up at the second shriek. Had she said something? And how long had she been standing there? Well, she could make herself useful, he considered, then the words she shrieked sank deeper into a cohesive thought. He tried to wrap the appropriate emotion around her response... was that awe or anger? Volt knotted his brow tighter, focusing on her response and current expression, not really understanding either and not familiar enough to empathize on even a human level. Parts were parts whether they worked before or not. She'd put it in reach and he thought she was done with it. In the back of his mind he searched file after file of similar reactions Kalisa once had to determine an appropriate response. "Oh. Was it? I should give you something."

She stared at him, did he really not care, was he a machine himself.. why was she in her talking to him? She needed to get better friends, oh yeah they all exploited her gifts and.. well he didn't really do that, everything she'd given him she'd done so freely. "What makes up for putting my ipod through a blender?"

"Bigger and better?" He smiled a canned salesman-grin like he was in an old TV commercial, slightly faded and forced. When she said it again it began to make sense as an object she -what was the word... coveted?... Like Kali's 'babies' it was something she seemed lost without. He understood. An adequate replacement was needed. He turned a foot under himself and glided a few feet away to a shelf of various wired and non-wired boxes and gadgets, digging through a pile of several and bringing one to her. On the side of the box were her initials, the only way he would remember to thank her for helping him before - whenever that was. He looked distant and confused a moment before handing her the creation, also a gum-pack sized polished box. "A new genuine one-of-a-kind hand-made component that downloads whatever she wants - royalty free. And it's voice activated, but the switch is there."

He smiled and good lord it was frightening, she really needed to find some semi human people to talk to. She sat back down pouting a bit as she regarded him, listening to his explaination of this contraption he had. Her eyebrow arched up and she licked her lips, pulling the pout in. "Really.. anything? You made this.. for me?"

"I put your initials on the box, so I think so..." Again he seemed confused, looking into his mind more than at her. He shrugged and showed her the ports and features. "Sure. It's smaller than theirs anyway. Headphones in there, speakers, whatever. Solar, rechargable, plug it in if you want."

"Thanks." She smiled a little as she took it from him, looking over the smaller device. "Does it hold as much as that one did?" TC pointed to pile of metal shards and dust that was her ipod a few minutes ago. She laughed softly and shook her head. "I think I've been hanging out with you too much.."

"It'll hold, I dunno, probably only about 4G right now. That's all I could compress. See it's a hybrid using scrap thumb drives and nano.. Come back in about a month and I'll see what I can do to add more."

"So you turned my 30GB ipod for a 4G experiment... huh.. somehow doesn't seem like a fair trade. but thank you for thinking ahead to give me something in place of what you blended." She gave him a small smile, putting the small device in her pocket. "You probably should have taken the drive out of the ipod to use or test with."

He looked at her and the mess in the blender. "I'll replace it. I'm using one in this over here, though." He showed her the next project he'd forgotten for the moment. His foot set down again and he skated around the table to show her. The device was nearly as small as the original mechanism, but no thicker than a credit card. "Stacks. Six or seven.. hmm... maybe I can make it thinner... This thing will take the place of what you had. The one I gave you - plugs in here - see these connectors? Snap, snap, you have twice the space... snap again... a third layer and you actually have four times the space with the integrated smart compression. It learns from itself - AI, you know? Just like usual compression, it folds down wherever there are like modules and data, so it doesn't repeat itself as much. And... catch this," he looked up with a smile, tapping a small point on it with a stylus tip. An LED lit up where he showed her that changed colors rapidly. Setting it down, it lit the wall near it with undulating images of light and pattern. "Kinda warped a little out of the viz programs and loaded those so you have your own little DJ box there."

"Wow.." She gasped a small sound of wonder as he showed her what he'd been working on. "Okay.. I take back the snooty comment about fair trades.. this is amazing.. " She smiled brightly at him, her dark eyes lighting up with delight. "Okay.. now see this is why I've been hanging out with you too much. I'm looking at this totally cool thing and I'm thinking about how it works and what you're using for a power source.." She shook her head a little.

"We won't talk about that part, okay?" He glanced up, stoicly warning her that some secrets he just wasn't going to reveal. "I still wouldn't use this in the bathtub and be careful around pets. Especially birds." He rolled around to another project-covered desk and moved a panel off the mechanism, revealing scads of loose wiring.

"Umm.. okaaay.. what's up with birds? You know we kind of have them around here.. moutains, nature and all that.. plus I think a few of the students are.. bird like.. ferals.. I think.."

He looked up at her, confused a moment. "What? Oh that. Sound. Some electronics, especially micro-electronics, emit sounds and sometimes wave energy that messes with them." It wasn't clear that the energies he worked with regularly didn't affect him as well.

She laughed a little as the thought crossed her mind, images of random kids 'spazzing out' in the hall as she walked by. Her hand came up to cover her mouth and she swallowed back further chuckles and looked at him sheepishly. "Okay.. right, no pet birds for me. I'm not really a pet person anyway."

Volt pulled a handful of wires and started matching up ends, twisting them together after short consideration on each set. His hands moved quickly and his mind seemed to be already on something else he was looking at. "Feathers and dander get in the mechanisms anyway. That's why Kalisa always built her pets. I may still have one or two here."

"Built her pets?" Her eyebrow arched again as she sat down in one of the chairs near his work space. "Who is Kalisa?" She played with a lock of her hair, since she didn't want to touch anything of his and mess something up.

"She -was- my assistant. She helped me with my experiments... and was a friend," he said flatly, working on the wires until each was paired and twisted, though he wasn't really watching them. As soon as his fingers finished with them they were pulling at a bracket and tightening something else with a tiny screwdriver he pulled from the breast pocket of his labcoat.

"Was.." She echoed softly, watching him and wondering many things, one of which was how he could speak without any emotion about her. "What happened? Why isn't she here now?" TC chewed her lower lip and at the edges of her shirt sleeves almost nervously. "You don't have... many friends.. do you?"

"She left. She was prone to short circuits in cold weather," he explained, the small screwdriver lifting and waving in the air he described as cold. "I don't remember who my friends are or how many there were."

"She just left?... Wait.. what do you mean she was prone to short curcuits? She was... she wasn't.." There was no way of wording the question without it sounding mean. "Who they are.. " She went in a different direction. "Don't you have any friends now..?" That didn't exactly come out smooth either.

He grinned strangely. "Not human? She was more human than she needed to be," he admitted. "But not entirely. I don't remember where I met her or how, but she was there when I woke up. I spent half my time fixing her wiring or improving it. I don't know if I put it there to start with or not."

"Oh.. so you were injured or something.. you don't remember what happened? Is that why you're.. so distant.. Detached from everything? Because you don't remember?" She was slowly piecing together some details about himself that when combined with what she'd observed of him started to make sense.

"I don't know that either. Four years ago I woke up. It might have been a coma or just some trauma. I needed to relearn everything she taught me. Colors, names for things..." He shrugged a little and spun around to face her. "How old do you think I look?"

She seemed to shrink back when he first spun to face her, her expression showing fright for a moment before it disappeared. Old triggers and she'd expected a blow that obviously wasn't coming from him, his expression didn't seem to hold a trace of malice or anger. Her eyes moved more closely over his face and she shrugged a little. "Mid twenties.. maybe late, but not that much older than me. Why?"

"Hmm. I'll need to rethink that. I don't know that either for sure. I imagine there's a test of some kind to find out." He didn't seem overly concerned about his age, but whatever it was, he acted much younger with his roller shoes and unusual wardrobe, though everything fit him well. The colors in his hair were fading and growing out - something else he hadn't worked with since Kali had left.

"You don't know how old you are?" Her expression crinkled up a little and she leaned towards him. "My grandmother always said you were only as old as you feel.. Now I know I'm twenty one.. oh goodness have I been here two years already? geesh.. anyway.. do you feel like you're alot older?"

"I decided I was twenty-two when I woke up. I could be twenty-two now. Or thirty or not even twenty-one yet. Does it matter?" He hadn't considered that part. He didn't know how old Kalisa had been either.

"It does if I decide to take you out clubbing." She smiled with the tease, though with his hair and all that might be something he liked. Maybe he just liked colorful hair. "It doesn't matter to me personally how old you are. Is there any reason your age or my age should matter? I'm just the annoying girl who comes to bug you."

"Clubbing?" The term didn't hit any recollection with him other than the vague memory of the events from when they left Vancouver. "Then I'm twenty-two... still."

TC laughed very softly, beaming a small smile at him. "Clubbing.. going out to the clubs, loud thumping music, dancing, a few drinks.. having fun." She briefly described it to him to give him an idea of what it entailed.

"You must like music a lot. I don't think that thumping and clubbing myself with it sounds like fun." He thought about it. Fun... "What is fun?"

She laughed a little louder, shaking her head. "No silly you don't club or thump yourself!" Her laughter faded away quickly as he asked her what fun was. "What do you mean what is fun?.. you don't know what fun is?" She got up from her chair and moved closer to him. "Fun is.. things you enjoy. For some people it's sports, for others it's music, or dancing. Things you do because you want to and like to, not because you have to. Something that makes you laugh is funny.. so sometimes watching shows or movies that make you laugh is fun.. also dating.. or sex, you don't have to do those things, but you do because they are very enjoyable. I'm not so good at explaining things.."

"I don't think I do any of those things. Laughing I know about. She explained laughing and things that are funny." He made a hmph sound, amused and maybe just as confused as before.

"Maybe you should try doing those things." Her head tipped to the side in reply to his hmph.

[Lovely]

January 14, 2007
3pm

Tc was nervous enough to notice her hand was shaking as she reached to knock on the door to Mr Larson's apartment. "Breathe Treasa." She whispered to herself, Larson was a decent guy and she'd never known him to be mean, but she still felt really bad disturbing him at home. She didn't have much choice, Eithne was on her way here and she hadn't called ahead to give any warning, so Treasa had no way to come before, but what was she going to do? She couldn't just tell Eithne to wait till tomorrow or rewind and have her call before the offices closed. Calm down, he'll understand -I hope. She waited for an answer, growing more nervous every second that passed.

Chris hadn't been home long and was still putting things away here and there and was almost out of his shirt when the knock came. He'd rebuttoned it casually, leaving it untucked with an open collar. Another minute and he'd have been reaching up for the door handle from his smaller perspective with no shirt or anything else but fur. Winding down would need to wait a while it seemed. He answered, confused and a little concerned. His eyes brightened up with the surprise of it being a student, not a faculty crisis. "Miss Corbin? Hi, wh.. what can I do for you?"

"Hello.. I'm sorry to bother you.. I have a small.. urgent matter." She gave a half smile, obviously nervous and feeling bad for bothering him at home. "I.. sort of need your help in an official capacity."

"Not a bother," he shook his head, smiling softly, hoping to sound reassuring although the surprise knocked him off kilter a little. He and Dev rarely had visitors. "How urgent? Urgent-urgent or do you have time to come in to talk?"

"Umm yeah.. I can come in.. I figure we have like forty five minutes before I implode." She chuckled and gave him a shrug and a smile. "I sort of need your permission.. very last minute for something totally unexpected and.. I'm really sorry. I know it's Sunday and after hours. I wouldn't have come if it wasn't important."

"Relax, Miss Corbin, it's okay," he chuckled a little too, letting her in and offering a chair. "Permission for a last-minute what?"

She sat down, rubbing her palms over her jean covered legs for a minute as she got herself together enough to explain.. calmly. "Sister, a last minute sister." She gave him a small smile again. "Umm my little sister, she's sixteen.. she called me, maybe a half hour ago from the Denver bus station. She kind of.. okay she ran away from home. She's a mutant or so she says, which is why she ran away. She saw what my parents did to me, I don't blame her but she just called and all I didn't know she was one or that she was coming. She came looking for me. All she had was a number.. We couldn't let my parents know where I was, so I gave her a cell phone that she hid and we used it to keep in contact now and then. We haven't taked alot since I left." TC stopped to take a breath and looked up at Larson. "She's supposed to be taking a cab up here... now."

He smiled, leaning on the door as he closed it. "Last minute and sixteen don't really go together, do they? Mutant and run away are a different story, that's all too common. Do you have any reason not to believe her, Treasa?" He was mentally taking notes and pushed away from the door to get his laptop out of the case that was still warm. "No talking in a long time and suddenly on her way... doesn't raise any alarms with you? We may need to go to the office. I'm not sure I can get what we need from here."

"Of course it raises alarms.. but.. I couldn't talk to her more. Our parents.. lets say they suck okay? They used me and my gifts.. till they made me so sick from it.. and they didn't care, they just kept pushing and demanding and making me feel like I was this burden and I owed them.. If Eithne found out she was a mutant, it doesn't surprise me that she'd run away. That is what I did, they were killing me.. I've never told anyone about how bad it was.. but I ran and I know if I hadn't, I would have died."

He took mental notes of what she was saying while the computer came on line. "Since you didn't have a chance to talk to her at length, there's something I'll need to know. Do you want to talk to her or have her go through us, first? If you have any reason to feel your safety or anyone else's here is at risk, she'll be checked thoroughly at the gate and she doesn't get any further than that."

She shook her head and looked over to Chris, feeling the tears brimming in her eyes. "That's not why I came to you." She sighed and dropped her head into her hands. "She came because they'd treat her just as badly as they treated me.. she needs my help. She's my sister.."

"Hey, now... okay, okay. I'm sorry, but we just need to be sure. If you're sure, we'll go easy with it and you can meet her, right there or in my office.. and talk and get caught up on old times... And you know as soon as she's here, she's safe from anything out there herself, okay? Okay...?" He reached out a hand to hers, brushing lightly with a knuckle and hoping she'd uncurl herself. "Nobody's treating anyone badly here. There are a few things that we need to check is all. You want something to drink? Um... maybe a banana? All my lollipops are on my desk," he shrugged, trying to lighten up a little.

"I never wanted her to need to come here." TC whispered, wiping under one eye as a couple tears escaped. "I wanted her to have a normal happy life.. my parents are jerks.. If I hadn't sent her the cell phone in secret so she could call me now and then.. " She sighed and pulled herself together, giving him a small smile. "I'm fine, no thank you. I just want to make sure she's okay to come here.. the policy for visitors and all.. and I don't even know if she knows what this place is. I.. you'll help right.. explain it and all..?"

"As much as needs explaining, yes. She might not believe me anyway until she sees some things for herself, not if she's new to the idea still.. that denial is sometimes really hard to overcome. It's my job to help, though, and if what you're telling me is what the issue is, we'll help her with accepting who and what she is and with making her feel safe and welcomed, okay? I'm going to need to go to the office though and make a call or she'll be stonewalled at the front regardless. That'll blow my whole 'welcome wagon' thing to hell, won't it?" He smiled, getting up to find the phone.

"Okay." Treasa took a deep breath and let it out slowly, she waited while Chris went to make the call. "I told her I'd pay for her cab.. who is working down there right now? I have the money on me."

He came back with the cordless, peeking around the corner down the hall to see if Devin was around and about. It looked like he was going back in to the office for a while. "It's Sunday? It should be Miss Dade.... I'm putting the call to security first in case we've missed your sister at the gate already. Funny thing I've heard about cabs coming up here, they're usually in more of a hurry to get here so they can leave that much more quickly. What's your sister's name?" He was ready to dial and sat back down near her so he didn't make her more nervous with his pacing and wandering.

"Oh.. miss Dade is nice.. if she's the one down there.. It's Eithne Corbin." She sat there feeling nervous now that he said they might have missed her. "I was supposed to pay her cab.. She can't be here already.. not that quick.."

"Never underestimate the power of Haven," he smirked, sounding like a side-show announcer hawking about the wonders of a magical, mythical beast behind a large curtain as he dialed. He put up a finger as someone answered on the other end. "Horny! Great... glad you answered," he laughed, actually glad the man was in the office and not down front this time. "Add a visitor to the roster. It's last minute but approved.... NO!... I mean, no, please....I don't want you to go down to escort this one, no offense. Just a sensitive situation... Yes, thank you... Eithne... yes, it is a nice name.... Greek, not Italian, would you stop it?... Corbin... C-o-r.. right... Corbin.... oh... in about... 'imminent'? Yeah... really last minute, but she's to come to my office. Perfect, thanks Marty."

She sighed and waited for him to finish. "Should I go down there.. I have to pay for the cab and all that?.. "

"If you're up to it. I'll need to let Xenova know you're on the way down to meet her at the gate, then. Either way - my office.. I'll get a badge ready for her," he explained, putting the laptop on standby and slipping it back in the case to tote back again.

"Well I have to pay for the cab, I told her I would.. I don't think she has much money on her and it would be pretty crappy of me to ditch her like that." She rubbed her hands over her jeans again and sighed. "I'm feeling.. very lost at the moment. Just tell me what you want me to do, you're the one in charge."

"I'll call, you go," he nodded, ready to follow her out in a minute. "Devin? Hey, sorry, hon, I'll be back in a bit. I'll be in the office if you need anything. Should be quick.."

TC nodded and walked out of the apartment, saying a quiet "Thank you." To Chris before she closed the door behind her.

[Lovely]

January 14, 2007
3:15 p.m.

"Sunday, Sunday, Sunday..." AJ echoed his own voice quietly like he was at a truck rally, and probably would much rather be, but he'd stayed away too long, letting his brothers soften up too much, get lazy and forget probably everything Dad wanted them to know. He kicked a stone as he walked, looking down as he was heading from the make-shift chapel or "spiritual center"... psh, he could laugh... "Diz, you should own your own church by now, ya slacker," he sighed, looking after the stone and not the people passing by him. His hackles were raised and his skin hardened slightly to the outer cold air... who needed a coat, anyway?

Treasa was in a hurry to get from the faculty building down to the gates so she could be there waiting for her sister when she arrived. "Excuse me.." She was still polite as she pushed past someone, not paying attention to who, her focus on Eithne and memories of why she'd left home herself. She'd forgotten her coat and only had her sweatshirt to keep her warm, her long dark hair flowing loose over her shoulders.

His hand was quick as always, reaching out for an arm to grab. He was looking out for pickpockets usually who used the 'innocent' routine. "Watch yourself," he fogged out with a sharp breath. It was only a dumb girl, not even paying half as much attention as he was. "What's the hurry? Someone could get hurt." He was talking more about making a mistake, bumping into somebody that wasn't as nice as he was to point out that she'd better pay attention. Huh... He made the small noise, the sound of deja vu or familiarity crossing his brain as he looked at her profile in that instant.

She almost tripped herself as she felt him reach to grasp her arm, even he was only doing it to make sure they didn't collide and knock each other over. She kind of jerked which is what made her steps falter. "What? I'm sorry.. I didn't mean to .." Her head turned to look at who she'd bumped into so 'roughly'. Her words all stopped as her eyes widened and she did a double take, blinking to be sure she was seeing what she thought she was. Her mouth just dropped open a bit as she stared in disbelief.

"What's your problem?" Even his expression seemed encased in a stony glaze at first. Her reaction made him wonder, though. Andy was the memory expert, but he rarely forgot a pretty girl, especially the ones with exotic black hair and those eyes. -THOSE- eyes... "Daaaaamn... What are you doing here?" The name would take a little longer, but he remembered her well enough otherwise. The smile shattered the roughness and brought a light of recognition into his eyes as he softened up just a little.

Oh man.. he could still make her heart flip flop with a look and a smile. "You're a jerk!" She kicked his shin, attempting to turn and walk off. How dare he be here.. now!!

His hand on her arm tightened and tried to turn her back, as well as keep his balance. He'd softened maybe too much at the wrong time and he actually felt that, though not as much as it seemed she'd intended. He remembered now... "I never forget a kick, Tre... and yeah, I'm a jerk. Doesn't tell me what you're doing here."

"So glad my kick was so memorable for you!" She turned at the tighter grip on her arm, her eyes flaring as she glared at him. "What are you doing here?"

"I asked you first," he played back, the nod of his head while she lost her temper all over again. "I was just walking and you bumped into me. How's that for a fine howdy doody, huh? I'm visiting. You know.. saying hi to people I like, see how they've been since I last saw them. You might know about that concept?" AJ's hand wasn't letting loose - he'd let go once before... how many years ago?

"Well great, why don't you go do that? I have to.. things I should be doing. I bumped into you by accident I was in a rush..I said sorry." He wasn't letting go of her arm and she was flustered by seeing him, never mind being this close to him. She did not want him to kiss her.. What? Why was she even thinking...? Her eyes moved over his face and she tried to stay firm, he'd broken her heart -she should have knocked him out and walked off. It was a little late for that now.

"I think I will. So," he let go like he was dropping a marble from a rooftop, his hand still suspended, reaching only for air now. "How have you been, Tre? It's been a while, you know? My turn... sorry... though I guess that won't cut it, really huh?"

"How have.. How have I been?!" She gestured and opened her mouth, trying to tell him to go f*ck himself but was so shocked by how casually he just asked how she was, she couldn't even form the words to tell him what she thought of him. "Ggaaggh!" She stomped her foot on the sidewalk, shaking her finger at him. She took a few panting breaths and tried again. "You left me in a hotel bed when you were done with your fun! You ditched me.. you didn't even have the decency to break up or end it.. say it to my face.. you just took off! You made me feel like a total sl*t and you broke my heart!.. What do you think.. you're just going to say sorry and it's all.. better?"

"Huh? What did I think? What were you thinking? It was just one of those things. What did you want me to say? Time to make the donuts? What? And no, I really didn't think 'sorry' was going to cut it, I was joking," he laughed, shaking his head. "It's not better, and I am sorry, but what do you want, Tre? That was ages ago. It's not like I planned running into you... well, here." His expression curled up and he looked her over. She knew where she was going enough not to be paying attention... did that mean..? "You... go here, don't you? What do you have? I mean... what's your story?"

Her eyes narrowed and she shook her head. "Like I'm telling you sh*t!.. You're just the a**hole who got my virginity and my heart and left me in a hotel room like I was just some sleazy wh*re. You moved on to bigger and better.. I was just a dumb kid who fell for it and gave it up.. You played it while it was good for you and dropped it like it was trash.. You know my story.. that's it."

He'd stopped laughing and listened when her eyes darkened with fire of hatred and insult. She really felt he hurt her on purpose. "Like you know sh*t," he said quietly, countering her rant with a sneer. "I never thought you were dumb. Well, briefly.. a minute ago when I didn't know who you were, but you're still not dumb - I wouldn't have wasted my time or yours. There's so much more to it, but I don't expect you to buy it. I mean, why should you? I left because I had to, not because I wanted to."

"Maybe I would have bought it if you hadn't left me without so much as a goodbye.. a note, a phone call.. nothing.. you just left me there. I waited.. I waited a long while for you to come back. God, for awhile I thought something terrible happened to you.. I thought you were dead.. obviously I was wrong." She folded her arms around herself and shook her head, her eyes burning with angry tears she wouldn't let free. No way in h*ll was she going to let him see her cry. "Why did you have to go.. without ever being able to just tell me you didn't want to be with me? Your girlfriend or wife find out? Or maybe you went to buy a paper and found some other girl to chase after and conquer?"

"Work, Tre.. it was work. And I couldn't tell you then, just like I really can't tell you now. I don't have a wife... no kids, it wasn't another girl. God... you really think I would have left you to go for another chic? d**n are you screwed up... I really didn't want to leave," he chuckled nervously, almost sad - more for her if she'd thought that little of herself all this time. "No ma'am... it wasn't like that. I just... I couldn't come...," he threw an angry, frustrated pitch at the air. No way in hell was he making up for what he put her through without ever knowing until now. His hands found his pockets and he dug deeply, pushing his shoulders into tighter knots until he could feel them strain. "I couldn't come back, but it wasn't because of you."

"I'm screwed up??" She shook her head again. "You leave me without a word in a hotel room.. and I'm the one who is screwed up?" She laughed, reaching toward him like she would grab his shirt and shake him but only clenched the air between them. "What was I supposed to think, AJ? I was seventeen when you swept me up.. barely eighteen when you left. You were my first everything.. I was devastated when you never came back.. you tell me.. what was I supposed to think?" She swiped her eyes with one hand and folded her arms again. "I never thought I'd see you again.. and of the three million times I thought about running into you again.. this was never one of them."

"Me either," he sighed, trying to shrug away the tightness and letting the tension cover his skin in a thickening stone-like layer. "Look, I can't fix it in the space a minute and you were obviously in a hurry somewhere. When can you talk? Do you even want to?" He pulled a hand from his pocket and flicked the badge he had clipped to his shirt. "I'm here for the day. I can meet you, buy you a soda or something? I'm sorry Tre, I am, but... " He was at a loss, not sure she'd want to talk. She probably wanted to kick him again, but he wouldn't feel it now. It would hurt her more if she tried with his skin hardened to the touch.

She pointed in the direction she'd been going, to the gates with a pathetic laugh. Treasa's head shook and she felt everything overwhelming her like a tidal wave. "I.. don't know when.. I was.. my sister.. she's.. she's.." She felt like she couldn't breathe it was all too much at once. She held her arm around her middle as she sort of doubled over, fighting the tears which seemed to be winning. "Breathe Treasa.. breathe.. " She tried to calm herself down. "I can't.. she can't see me like this.. "

He reached out like he always had, stepping closer, the hug without question. She had every reason to kick and beat him to a pulp or try, he wouldn't.. couldn't blame her. His arms were open to her as always, but so much had happened since then. "Breathe... take your time. I can see if I can get an extension on this thing, maybe stick around another day, but I have to get back soon. I can probably stay with Diz for the night... you remember Diz? Donnie? Yeah... small world that he's here and you're here...," he chuckled, the faintest of accents pulling the charm out in his amazement and his laugh.

She leaned against him, letting the embrace mostly hold her from sinking to her knees, the tears were spilling over and though she didn't want to cry in front of him, she clung tightly to him. After a few moments she lifted her head from his shoulder and wiped her cheek. "Thank you.. I really needed to do that." She looked up at him and laughed sadly. "One day.. it's like one of those tragic movies. One day and then they never see each other again.."

He owed her something more than a tragic ending this time. It might have been the worst thing to do, his thumb brushing the tear from her eye though he couldn't feel the dampness or coolness of it, or the heat of her cheek or fog of her breath through the hard, cold, solid exterior. In the moment he'd cupped her cheek it was like the years melted away... a kiss and a whisper that meant so much then and maybe as much now. "Maybe I won't let go so easily this time," he muttered.

D*mn him.. d*mn him to h*ll and her with him for falling for it. "Just maybe?" She whispered, turning her cheek and reaching up with her own hand to his cheek to hold him so she could catch his lips softly. "I hate you, stupid jerk.." She muttered through her tears, leaning up to kiss him more deeply.

"Hate me later. You have to go be sweet for your sister now," he reminded her, sliding out of the hug and letting her settle her nerves. He pulled out his wallet and a card... an actual business card that probably told her less than before... 'Gabriel Investigations'... though it had his cell number. "Call me.. when you have time. If you never want to talk to me again... I understand."

"I.." She stared at the card. "I thought you were going to try to stay." She said softly, more to herself, shoving the card into her pocket without looking at it. That fast and he'd done it to her again, at least this time it was in front of her while she was watching. "Right.. I have to go be -strong- for my sister, now. She needs me. Well.. enjoy your visit with your people.. I really hope it's under more pleasant circumstances then the one I have to go deal with." She shook her head, it took all of five minutes for him to build her up and for her to fall for it this time, and just as quickly he pulled the rug out from under her. He didn't even bother to ask her room number or her phone number.. if he wanted to talk to her, he would have.. something. She sighed and reached down to pick up a stone from the ground, running her thumb over it softly. She turned to head back down the path in the direction she'd been going, her steps much slower and heavier now.

"Tre... Treasa, I am going to try to stay, I just don't know where I'll be," he said as she walked away and kept walking. "My people... I thought maybe you were one of them.

She stopped and stood there with her back to him, then slowly turned around. "You tell me.. am I?" She chuckled sadly and clenched her hand around the rock she'd picked up. "You don't know where you'll be .. but you don't ask where I'll be.. or for a number to call me.. I don't know what to think.. you're the one who walked away before and you can't even tell me if you're going to give a fight for me.. for us.. maybe you won't let go so easy.. I was hoping for you just not letting go." She tossed the 'stone' at him lightly, not sure if he'd catch it, but she'd formed it into a small perfect ruby.

Reflexes as fast as when he'd caught her, he caught the stone from the air, feeling the shape of it, the weight of it. He glanced at it and carefully put it in the pocket of his shirt where he could keep better tabs on it and not lose it. "Promises are only as good as trust, aren't they? If I promise to call at a certain day or time... and I can't, we're back where we started aren't we? If I say I will and don't tell you when, you wait and wonder, am I dead, did something happen?" He walked slowly up to meet her again, reminding her of what she'd just told him. "If I ask you to call me, it's when you're ready, you know what to say, how to feel, whether you should feel anything... Treasa, one thing I've never done was lie to you. I'm not about to start now. Look at the card and maybe you'll get it, okay?" He was closer, but not dangerously close, just enough for her to hear him without raising his voice. "I'll return a message somehow. I might not be right there to talk and it might seem like I don't care, but I never... I have never stopped caring."

Treasa watched him closely, carefully as he spoke and she took a step toward him but stopped. "Don't leave tonight.. if you can help it.. if you can make it happen.. stay tonight." She asked him, she didn't want him to just be gone again. "I'll call. It might be late.. I might be a wreck.. but I'll call.. I didn't stop either."

"I can promise I'll stay tonight, but I need to find out where that will be..," he left that open. He hadn't planned to stay and damned if all his brothers needed to 'check with the wife' more or less for him to bum a spot on a couch. Maybe there was an open room. He nearly dismissed his other option, but not entirely now. "I'll make it happen. Your sister's waiting. We'll talk tonight - that I'll promise at the least, okay?"

She sighed with relief, even smiling a little as she nodded. "Yeah.. thank you.. I.." Treasa stopped and took a deep breath then walked back to where he stood. She slipped her arms around him gently to give him a 'real' and warmer hug than the one they'd shared while she broke down over her sister. She had to go, but she felt better about it now at least. She brushed a soft kiss over his cheek before letting go of the hug.

His hand ran over her arm, trailing to her fingers as he stepped back... contact until he couldn't reach. "Go. We'll talk," he said, walking backward slowly.

She did the same, grasping his fingers a little tighter just before they had to let go, her eyes holding his as long as she could. Her steps were careful as she moved backward, finally she gave him another small smile and turned around to walk toward the gate. Her hand reached into her pocket, the card was in there and her thumb brushed over it as she walked away from him.

[Lovely]

Jan 14, 2007
late night

She'd taken a shower to calm herself down and now passed her bedroom, phone in her hand. Her bare feet were almost silent on the carpet and she held his card in her other hand. Dressed in a black tank top and jeans, she was considering throwing on her coat and going outside to make the call. But that was silly, she was just nervous and restless. Dialing the number she put the phone to her ear and listened to it ring.

He was laying on the sofa, trying not to make a nuisance of himself. AJ had the beer bottle on his forehead, trying to balance it and keep his forehead cool. The phone distracted him enough he almost ended up wearing the pale ale. He caught the bottle and checked the number... local... saved... T-r-e... "Gotcha," he muttered as he pulled it up to his ear. "Hey gorgeous. How'd it go with the sis?"

Hearing his voice on the other end, she let go of the breath she hadn't realized she was holding. "Hey you.." She said softly, feeling herself smile just knowing he'd picked up when she called. "It could have gone worse.. probably." TC laughed softly. "I'm starting to think I need some work on my people skills."

It wasn't the first beer and probably should be his last. He sat up and took another sip. "That's only if you're dealing with people. Relatives aren't people," he chuckled. He knew, he had enough of them today to deal with himself. "Did I know you had a sister?" His accent was less hidden and the words a little run together.

She almost said something entirely different but laughed softly. "Yes I knew I had a sister.. have a sister.. just didn't know she was coming until an hour before she got here.. didn't know she was.. like me.. a mutant. I didn't want her to have to deal with what goes along with being one."

"Good times. It's nothing but gooood good times," he sighed, shaking his head. He looked at the bottle, the sip or two left, and drank it down. "That's all it ever is. Run for your own life, take someone else's once or twice maybe along the way. Didn't want her to have all that fun, Tre? What about you. Are you having any good times lately?"

"No I'm a little busy being the responsible one. Well.. I can't lie.. there are moments when I wouldn't trade my life for anything."

"Good.. no one's lying tonight. I like that. Nice for a change," he said, stretching back out and closing his eyes. "And those other moments? It's been a couple years... there's a lot of other moments in there, right? You haaaated... absolutely haaated responsibility, remember? That was the bullsh*t our parents took care of," he laughed. He wondered when he'd 'become' his dad, then.

"I was running away from my crappy parents.. of course I hated responsibility.. I was rebelling and finding out what freedom felt like. But.. things changed." She stopped by the empty crib and ran her hand over the soft blanket, she'd have to go get Ruby soon.

"Mmmm... I remember exactly what that freedom felt like," he chuckled, reliving the memory as he heard her voice. Of course things changed. He'd left and the memory faded along with his own freedom. "Bad habit things have of doing that, huh? So you ran with me. We know what happened next. What about after that, huh?"

"I had to grow up in a hurry.." She said softly, picking up the blanket to curl it to her chest, feeling the lump form in her throat.

"Yeah, guess you had to get someplace away from the folks.. rent and work or whatever? School? How long have you been here?" The empty bottle wasn't doing him any good. He had one more left and got up to get it.

"Yeah I.. I was very lucky.. I didn't have to work no struggling single.. and I came here so, that took care of the school part." She caught herself from just blurting it out. "I um.. inherited some money from my grandfather." Okay it was a buttload of money, not that she needed it. "I have been here about a year."

He chuckled. Inheritance in his world was a sick joke. "That's great, Tre - see... always someone looking out for you. Glad to hear it. Sorry about your grandfather though," he said, flipping the cap free of his last beer, the hissing pop probably being loud enough to hear on her end. "A year here... Diz never mentioned you," he said sadly, wondering if his brothers even noticed beyond their noses half the time. That's what he was paid to do - notice the details, the little things, though right now he didn't want to go anywhere beyond his own nose. He wanted to take a moment not to dig, not to observe or crack down on some deal going down somewhere to get a cut of it or shut it down. He needed a night not to care. He swabbed his forehead with the bottle, letting it cool him down again. He needed a night to care about something else for a change.

"Maybe he doesn't know who I am since I don't know who he is?" Diz? Was there a Diz here that she hadn't come across? She sighed, slipping her socks and shoes on and pulling a button down out of the closet. She grabbed her jacket next and folded the blanket gently over her arm. "Listen.. I don't mean to cut this short but um.. I kind of have to get.. some thing.. can I call you back?"

AJ laughed, thinking she was teasing. She knew his brother well enough... "Donnie.. shhh.. he crashed out early - lightweight." Maybe she didn't remember him though since it had been a while since his brother first came back to town. "Yeah... call me.. see... see how it works? I'm here and you leave, uh huhn.. I get it. Okay, gorgeous, you have a good night, okay?"

She laughed quietly and shook her head. "It's payback, you know I am a woman, we have to get our digs in.. even if they're small ones. I will call you back later tonight.. and if you behave.. I might even let you see me again. Stop calling me gorgeous.. you're making me blush." He was, too.. d**n him!

"Can't stop being, Tre... I do... what I do." That was pretty much him all over. "Call me," he reminded her, letting her go without apologizing for making her blush as he hung up. He sucked down the rest of the fresh bottle and stretched out over the couch. People skills... he'd pretty much had enough of people for a while.

She hung up and closed her eyes, d**n him for being him and her for still being crazy about him even after he'd devestated her. She didn't know how she was going to tell him about Ruby, she was still building up to that. Slipping her cell phone into her pocket she went out into the small livingroom area and quietly went out the door.

It only took a few minutes for her to get across the courtyard to the faculty building and she went inside, moving down the hall to Brie's apartment, reading the numbers as she did, since she'd never been to her home before. "Okay." She knocked on the right door and waited, hoping Ruby had been good for her, she hadn't gotten any calls so she assumed everything was fine.

"I'll get that... don't get up," he said, his head laying on the back of the couch. He was pretty sure they hadn't heard the door. He wasn't sure about Brie, but Donnie was probably out cold after the single beer with dinner. He pried himself up from where he was nearly comfortable, tossing his phone on the coffee table by the empty bottles. "Company for the preacher man...," he scratched his head wondering who would be coming by this late unless it was Andy. "What he needs all these locks for... oh yeah... he's my brother," he laughed, unhooking the last one, peeking through the spy hole but whoever was there was off to the side. He opened the door. "Okay, I know I said this before but... what are you doing here?" He was far from annoyed this time, finding Treasa in the hall alone and an empty room and warm couch behind him.

The color drained frm her face and she reached for the door to make sure she didn't just faint right there. Donnie! Oh sh*t, that Donnie.. it all fell into place with a frightening clarity. "I.. I'm here to get.." Your daughter, yeah that's the way to tell him. "H-how, long have you been here?"

Brie wasn't sleeping yet and she'd heard the knock as well as AJ saying he'd get it, she'd been expecting TC to come pick up Ruby but didn't know what time it would be. She came out of the bedroom heading over to the playpen. "AJ if that's TC please let her in, she's here to get Ruby."

He hoped he hadn't woken Brie up with the call and his talking, but apparently he hadn't. "Not long, why? We got back about an hour ago. Me and Donnie went for dinner but Brie said she was babysitting." It occurred to him that Tre asked about him.. the wife and kids, but he hadn't bothered. Maybe he figured she'd just blurt it out if.. "Yeah, yeah sure, come on in. Ruby, huh?" He thought about the stone in his pocket. He stepped aside feeling very much in the way at the moment. "Guess I shouldn't keep you."

"Look sweety, mommy is here.." Brie cooed as she lifted the little girl with dark hair and bright eyes like Treasa's out of the playpen. "She was an angel.. Are you alright?.. go ahead and have a seat. I'll get her changed and ready to go for you." Brie turned with a smile and kissed the cheeks of the little girl. "Can you wave to AJ.. come on sweety lets get you all ready for mommy."

TC barely came inside the door, her knees felt weak and she leaned against the wall, grateful for Brie's kindness. "Thanks.." She tried to breathe and closed her eyes, she couldn't look at AJ without bursting into tears and she knew it. "I'm sorry.. you had to find out like this.. I didn't know how to tell you. You know? What was I supposed to say, hey jerk face.. I mean daddy jerk face.." She was thankful Brie had taken Ruby into the other room to get her changed and ready, at least she didn't have an audience for her horrible screw up of telling AJ about their daughter.

"Da-.... daddy... jerkface?" The words were hardly there, like someone had kicked him in the stomach. He looked to try and see the girl in Brie's arm as she took her to clear her up, but they were down the hall already. "She's...," he turned back around, feeling the room kept turning when he did. He needed to sit down. He'd cooed a hello at the baby earlier, but he had no idea that... "She's a beautiful little girl," he chuckled, feeling much more hot than he was already. AJ stumbled back slowly to the couch and hoped TC would join him. He sat down, planting his elbows on his knees and his chin on his knuckles though his fingers weren't still. "What could... I mean how... if I wasn't there for you to."

She followed him and sat next to him, she wasn't sure what to say now and she didn't really know what he was saying, confused mutterings, she figured. She curled her arms around herself and sighed. "So... on a scale of one to ten.. how pissed are you?"

"At who, me or you? At you, zero. I'd say about twelve and a half at me right now." His thumbs pulled at his lips, trying not to lose his temper, not at her, not in Donnie's house. "I have no right... I mean you didn't do it alone, right?" He chuckled... obvious... don't be a dumba**, not now. He didn't have to look over at her to know she was tying herself in knots. He reached over for her hand.

She felt his reach before she looked to see it and her hand slipped into his, squeezing gently. "You probably shouldn't be that mad at yourself. You didn't know anymore than I did before you left.. you'd actually been gone awhile before I realized.. it's not like you knew and you left. Or knew and stayed away anyway or because of it.. couldn't do anything if you didn't know."

"There had to have been some way," he muttered, not necessarily to her but to some great laughing god that right now was having one hell of a chuck-fest at his expense. AJ felt sick, overwhelmed, feeling the room spin more although her hand held him anchored. "I should have been there, come hell or high water, there had to be some way." He looked over at her, stricken, apologetic... she'd had to go through all of this alone while he was... being what he was, the jerkface... daddy jerkface...

"You're the only one who can answer that.. was there..? You were gone when I found out.. how were you supposed to know?" Her hand held his and her other reached up to trace over his cheek lightly. "I wasn't where you were, I can't say you could have done anything differently."

His stone-cold gaze felt even to him like it would start a fire. "No, there wasn't. It wasn't possible. I'm just saying there should have been, Tre." Why couldn't he feel? Why couldn't he put the barriers down for a while and simply feel, simply find a way to let her know he'd meant what he said. Her finger on his cheek was there, he could sense the touch, but there was no softness to it, the tenderness lost to the hardening exterior he felt thickening as the options facing him made him withdraw. Defense or cowardice... he wasn't sure there was any difference, and he wasn't sure how to make it 'right'. He curled his hand over hers, holding both now and finding himself clinging and looking for reason, for answers. He leaned to her, drawn like a proverbial moth, for a kiss demanded by the beer, by his want to feel something, anything, or just to know she was closer than she felt right now.

His eyes made her tremble with how intensely he looked at her, yet at the same time he looked so lost and she wanted to cry, wanted so much to make it better for him. "I'm .." She was cut off by his kiss, her fingers curling tightly around his and she arched up to bring him all she could offer in that contact to let him know if he wanted there to be a way she'd help him find it, she was there if he truly wanted her.. them. Where her fingers clutched his her gift coated him with a thin ruby shell.

AJ hardly noticed the glittering red as his eyes closed. He couldn't feel, but he could taste and read her reactions just the same, and they were just the same as if he'd never left. Just for the moment he could forget who he was, what he did, who needed him... he could, for one minute, tell them all to go to hell and stay there, she needed him more and maybe he needed her too. "You're what...?"

"What.?" She'd forgotten she'd started to say something and her eyes slowly opened to gaze over his face. She smiled a little reaching back to kiss him softly one more time. "I'm ..glad you're here right now." Even if it was only for right now, she was happy.

For that minute he did forget where he was... and -whose- "where" he was... that Donnie was in the next room and that Brie could come back any moment. He'd shut out the world for that moment and left only Treasa and himself in it, a vision of world before he'd been pulled into the family business to work double-time while his brothers did what they wanted. Why didn't he do the same? Why couldn't he do the same? He was happy doing what he did and he'd been doing it since grade-school, but if that was 'happy' what was this? This meant something, the way she looked and smiled, she trusted him. "Why?" And what was he questioning... that she was happy or that she felt she could trust him ever again?

Her lips were soft against his, tender even if he was too 'solid' to feel it. "Because.. it's you.. always been you.." She whispered, kissing him again briefly. "Because you're such a jerkface.." She chuckled, tearing up a little. "My jerkface.. you were my world.. I guess you still are, though you have to share that place with Ruby now."

Her world... she really meant that or at least she believed it enough all this time that he'd really broken her heart once. Now there was a tiny little girl as pretty as her mother who deserved that as little as her mother did... how could he let either of them down but how could he stay when he was expected to go back so soon? He bought enough time to stay the night but didn't know what the morning was going to bring. "Yeah.. I still am," he admitted, giving her the first real, soft grin. The room around them was focusing in his vision again, someplace to be alert and wary that wasn't his own controlled environment, or hers. "Guess there's someone I need to meet and get to know a little better, huh?" He probably didn't have to say... 'before he left again'... maybe there was a way he could buy more time so he wouldn't have to.

Treasa's eyes sparkled brighter than any jewel she could create and she smiled sweetly for him, nodding her head. "Yes, I believe there is." She gave his hand a squeeze and then glanced down. "Hmm maybe there are a couple things we should discuss.."

Brie was cooing to the little girl who had a cute little giggle to go with her good looks. The woman was smiling as she carried the girl, who was now in her jacket and doing her best to try and pull her hat off, giggling as Brie tugged it back down. "She's all ready." Brie looked at the two on the couch and wondered what she'd missed. "You two.. know each other or did you just bond while I was in the other room?"

AJ chuckled, but wasn't one to blush - ever - though the gem sparkles on his knuckles seemed to spread a little further as the skin thickened more. "We met at lunch," he shrugged, not entirely lying since he'd tripped over her on the way to meet up with his other brothers about that time. "Just... carrying on a little quiet conversation," he winked. He'd catch a boot again for it, but at least he was ready for it this time.

"Actually.. we did.. in an airport.. we had lunch.. do you remember?" Her flight had been delayed and he made sure she missed it when it came around again. Treasa smiled at him then up at Brie. "Small world huh? Would never thought I'd run into him here." She did kick his shin lightly from the side this time. "There's my smiles.. come here you." She reached out to take Ruby from Brie.

Brietta chuckled at their answers and handed over the little girl. "Well.. yeah.. anyway.. she was great. Not any trouble at all."

"Speaking of trouble..," he gave TC a 'dirty' scowl though his eyes were still smiling as he stood up to gather his trash and straighten up, making sure to grab his phone he gestured with as he clipped it on. "I've done enough damage here. This thing doesn't ever stop and I don't want to keep you two up with the calls and talking all night. Brie, you're beautiful and he doesn't deserve you," he grinned, blowing her a kiss as he passed to throw the empty bottles away. "And you're a wonderful hostess even if the host is a dud, but I'm going to walk the girls home if that's alright."

Brie laughed and blushed nervously at his compliments and got all shy like, shaking her head at him. "I am not.. and he's.. oh.. shh.. You don't have to go.." She stammered a little as he got her flustered and she twisted her hands together. "I mean.. if you want to go visiting it's not for us to say no.. but I don't want you think you're putting us out at all."

TC stood up and adjusted Ruby's hat on her head, though the little girl was determined to try to get it off. "Little stinker, leave it on." TC growled with a smile, rubbing her nose against Ruby's, getting the girl to giggle again. Treasa looked over to AJ with a surprised smile, it was obvious she was glad to hear his offer to walk them home. "Thank you Brie.. very much for watching her."

"I wouldn't feel right letting them walk alone this late," he said truthfully. "I appreciate it, but I'll stay another night, okay? Since I didn't get to kiss the bride, may I?" He offered Brie a kiss on the cheek for her hospitality.

"Oh you're welcome hun.. anytime." Brie smiled at TC and blushed deeply as she looked over to AJ with a small nod. "Of course.. you're welcome anytime too.. alright?" She told him.

TC moved over to the door, waiting for AJ to say his goodbyes. She wasn't going to rush him and she wasn't in a hurry herself, but was ready when he was. She waved to Brie, getting Ruby to do the same and distracting her from her hat.

It was almost as if he'd never been there, the pillows straightened, the couch hardly crushed and the table cleared of any signs at all... like a ghost. He gave Brietta a small peck on the cheek. "A little late, but welcome to the family. Sister-in-law is the same as a sister... if you need anything.. ever... you call, okay? Thanks again." He came up to the pair at the door, their dark hair and gleaming eyes befuddling him a little now that the beer was swirling through his system. "Ready...?" There was an almost-sigh, a breath he was trying not to hold for fear he'd forget to start again as he opened the door for them.

Treasa checked Ruby's hands, pulling the mittens over them though it was likely they wouldn't stay on long, like her hat. "Good night." She called quietly to Brie and stepped out the door, shifting her hold on Ruby to support her and keep her warm, the girl was trying to reach for AJ, curious about the new person with htem.

He let TC duck out ahead then turned another smile to Brie, something held in the grin that said that there was more to this story than just lunch and just the airport that he'd have to explain - at least only the parts he had to explain in case Donnie needed to keep an eye on things for him. "I'll call Diz tomorrow," he said, lifting a hand, but not really waving as he pulled himself out as well and shut the door quietly. He stood there a moment, hand on the door and the safety of a world he knew about closed off behind it. In front of him were tiny giggles and mysteries he needed a clear head for, though it was too late for that now. He watched the girls together, his eyes shiningly damp in awe of both of them.

With the little bundle as securely in her arms as she could get, Treasa turned to smile at AJ. "Ready?" She started to walk at a casual pace toward the exit. She was in the Kramer Hall at the moment though with Ruby getting bigger now she was thinking she'd need to change housing soon. Ruby wasn't content to sit still as her mother walked, looking around the hallway and babbling at AJ.

He let go of the door and hoped his legs wouldn't wobble out from under him as he followed. For all the things in the world he was prepared to handle every day... though it shouldn't have surprised him considering his own family and its size... it did surprise him still. He wasn't prepared, no contingency, no supplies, no... what did normal people do, he wondered. "Ready," he said, though he wasn't convinced completely, digging his hands in his pockets and noticing now the rough ruby sandpaper that studded them as it rubbed the fabric. "Things to discuss, like...?" He was curious what she had in mind as he looked at the red dust and caught up to her at the outer door and reached up to tap Ruby's nose. "It's cold out - keep those on." He meant the hat and gloves, but wasn't expecting her to listen to him.

The little girl giggled at the tap on her nose, it was a fully delighted sound and her eyes were bright and happy as she watched AJ intently. TC couldn't help but laugh a bit herself at the display and then as Ruby went on to babble a full 'statement' at him and tug one side of her hat up as if she was explaining why it did need to come off. TC reached to tap AJ's hand where the red crust had formed and gave him a wink. "Things.. like your hand.. maybe your lips.." Her smile brightened a little more as she glanced at his totally kissible mouth.

"Where's home?" He grinned and pushed the door open, giving a raise of his eyebrow without taking his gaze off her. "Get you two tucked in for the night, then we'll talk."

Oh that smile... it was just evil, what it did to her. She slipped by him and outside, tugging Ruby's hat down again. "Home is across the courtyard over there, Kramer Hall.." She pointed to the building they needed to head to. She brushed her finger over Ruby's cheek and started walking. "Brrrrr it's cold!" She shivered dramatically for the girl and looked over at AJ, giving him a bit of a shy smile, she wasn't used to having someone right there as she clowned around and made her silly faces at her daughter. She couldn't help wondering what he was thinking.

He wasn't wearing a coat now either but didn't notice the cold. AJ came up beside them, keeping Ruby between them with an arm around TC's shoulder to buffer them both a little from the air. "Not for long," he promised, helping her quicken the pace just a little.

It felt nice and odd at the same time to be walking together like this, how many times had she daydreamed it? Far too many and now she could feel his arm and how he helped to shelter Ruby from the cold and it was simple but perfect. Maybe it was only this once but at least she'd get to have this moment, this memory. Her steps hurried to get them out of the cold but not to rush the moment of closeness. "It's AG 8, at the end of the hall to the right." She told him as they came up to the doors.

"To the right and straight on til morning, that's Peter Pan, isn't it? Do you believe in fairies, Ruby, huh?" He spoke quietly for the girls as this door was opened to them as well. A natural tendency to glance around them and down all visible halls to the corners was noticable as he hesitated a moment. "Okay. Warmer inside... down the hall to the end we go."

Treasa smiled at the reference, she hadn't thought of it but now that he mentioned it she was pretty sure he was right. Ruby babbled something back to him that had 'ma ma' in it a few times and she held out her mitten covered hand to him. Inside was warmer and TC was glad to get out of the cold, she rubbed the little girl's back and headed down toward her room, juggling the little girl to her other arm as she dug for her key, reshuffling to check the other pocket and then back once more to dig in her coat pocket.

"Uh huhn, you only need to ask. C'mon little girl, momma's going to need both hands," he offered, both hands out to hold Ruby while she dug for the key. "Needs a little practice," he teased, more about his skill holding a child than her playing a con.

Treasa stopped walking and looked at AJ blankly, she let him take Ruby but still looked at him questioningly as she stood there a little confused. "Sorry.. I'm used to just having the two hands, not to having any help." She explained softly when she thought she kind of figured out what he meant, the look on her face still a little confused. TC sighed and resisted the urge to reach out and snatch the girl back, it suddenly felt like she had too many hands without the weight and juggling act. She almost forgot to keep looking for her keys it was so odd.. but after a couple steps she resumed digging through her pockets, finally sighing and pulling the key free. She picked a piece from the stuffing of her coat off of it as it had slipped into the coat itself through a hole in the pocket of the coat which had seen better days. "If my head wasn't attached, I'd lose that too." She sighed and got the door unlocked for them, this time she opened it for AJ, stepping inside to keep it open for him to come through with Ruby, who seemed happy as could be, talking at AJ and touching his face, grabbing his lips and basically exploring the new person who was holding her.

It had been a long time since AJ'd had any practice. He was only a few years older than Amy, but she was the first baby he'd ever held. Since then there had only been one or two and their stories were far more tragic than the giggles and smiles in his hands right now. He flinched and dodged slightly as tiny fingers poked and patted and tugged, but he didn't seem to mind and his own expression was focused on her in curiosity like her own. "You won't lose it. I'm keeping an eye on it," he glanced over, about ready for the relief crew to take over again. He needed to do this in short pieces, learn slowly, but learn it well.

Treasa laughed as she closed the door. "Thanks.. I appreciate that." She held up her hand in a 'one minute' gesture and pulled herself free of her coat, hanging it over the back of the chair in the livingroom area they stepped into. "It's small.. but I'm looking into other housing, probably know this week.." She smiled and flipped her hair over her shoulder, holding her hands out to let him know she'd take Ruby so she could get her out of her bundles.

"Nothing wrong with small. Just have to sit a little closer together, unless that's something you decided you're not comfortable with?" He released the girl as soon as she released the lip she was pulling up into a pout as he talked.

"It seems to get smaller as she gets bigger.. she needs room and it's quiet now but this dorm isn't geared for little one, you know?" TC laughed softly at how easily Ruby got comfortable with AJ, pulling on him and all. Once the girl let go, she snuggled her up and kissed her cheeks. She nodded to the loveseat, which was all she could fit for a couch in the room with the other chairs and the table. She'd done her best to leave as much room as she could for Ruby to crawl around in. "If you want to sit." She started juggling again, but this time it was to get Ruby's coat, hat, and mittens off with one hand. The little girl was happy and shook her head as the hat came off. The room was very child proofed and TC let the little girl down to crawl around the carpet as she put her things away.

"Loveseat.. ever wonder why they call it that?" He grinned, that same grin as before, keeping an eye on the tot and his path to the other girl in his sights, waiting for her hands to be free. AJ two-stepped his way, smooth and easy in the small space, pulling TC up into a little swirling step, more him moving around her and doing the dancing, seeing if she remembered.

"Oh my god, you're nuts." She laughed, reaching to clasp his hands as he danced around her. TC shook her head, her feet started to move of their own accord falling in with him, even though she blushed. "Are we stroll.. dancing down memory lane or do you have a current destination in mind?"

"I've been called a lot worse... tonight in fact, now that I think about it. I think we need to talk about that," he said as he stopped moving around her, face to face, light colored eyes with a dark intensity and that grin moving them around the wandering little girl, bringing this little girl to rest on the small couch with him. "This looks like a fine spot."

She was lost in his eyes when he stopped in front of her and before she realized it, he'd moved her over to sit on the couch. "I.. what?" She smiled, but couldn't take her eyes off his. "I mean.. what did you want to talk about?" They could talk about anything, as long as he stayed close to her like this.

"You tell me...anything... everything...," although the beer was still talking to him and not letting his thoughts organize into reason and responsibility, not that he wanted them to. "Just one thing I wanted to say...," he said, his eyebrow flickering up briefly as he leaned in close, finding the kiss he'd been holding back from earlier.

She started to say "You said you.." But it was lost as his kiss found her instead, she melted into it and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. Just like it used to when he'd pull her into this sort of embrace or kiss her leg lifted and curled up around his hip and along his leg. They were in her room, the door was locked, why couldn't she get tangled up in him and indulge in those deliciously kissible lips of his?

"Forgive me?" He whispered, his tangling smile as dangerous as the tangling kiss, letting her indulge if she wanted.

"AJ." She whispered his name with a soft, tender smile, lifting her fingers to cup his face. Her thumb brushed his cheek and she nodded her head. "Yes."

He laughed a little and sat back, nodding to the side. "I think someone wants a hug? Think she forgives me, too?" He pointed out that Ruby was tugging on his leg, trying to get into mommy's lap, too.

Treasa lookeded down with a smile and shifted, letting her gaze drift over to AJ. "I think she likes you." The little girl was trying to climb up into his lap now that they had shifted apart and TC curled her fingers gently in to back of his hair. "Should we let her have hugs? I don't want to spoil her." She teased.

"Oh go on, spoil her. Not too many chances we get in life, you know?" He left that for comment later as he leaned down to scoop Ruby up and set her between them. "How's that, huh?"

Her gaze shifted between Ruby and AJ and back, her smile growing even brighter as she leaned to hug their little girl and included daddy. TC lifted from kissing Ruby's head to find AJ's lips and offer him another kiss while she was in the 'neighborhood'. "It's perfect." She confided in a soft whisper.

"Almost..," he admitted, trying to behave. There was a cool shimmer to his gaze, a softness that wasn't there earlier and a tenderness to his touch on her cheek, light, gentle.. human. He had no image to uphold here and nothing to save anyone from except himself from himself... maybe her from him if he didn't behave much longer.

"What would you make different?" She asked him as her eyes shuttered and she leaned slightly into the touch of his fingers against her cheek.

"Mm... putting a girl to bed who's up way past her bedtime... maybe a couple other things," he said, brushing his fingers over her skin and allowing himself to feel the cool, smooth softness of it.

Treasa smiled, opening her eyes to let her warm gaze meet his. "Which girl are you talking about?" She asked with the hint of a fire in her eyes as she turned her face to kiss his fingers.

"This one.. who started something a long time ago. I was thinking maybe picking up where we left off... maybe just a little before that... recap a little.. get us both back on the same page... at the same time."

"Then I guess I better get this little one off to her own bed.. so you can tell me all about it." Her heart was beating a little faster, he could get her going so easily in so many ways. "Do you mind entertaining her for a minute while I get her a bottle?"

"Not at all," he said, though he hoped it was a short minute and that nothing happened. Ruby was a tiny 'person', a miniature Treasa, but so much more fragile, he was afraid just saying something in the wrong tone would melt her down too.

The little girl was fighting being sleepy as she was curious but it was past her bedtime and she rubbed her eyes, trying to crawl in AJ's lap to curl up. The word bottle was familiar enough to her that she knew it was time to get comfy, she only got a bottle at bedtime now.

TC tried to be quick as she mixed up some formula and warm water into the right servings and got the bottle ready, in the kitchen. After a few minutes she came back out, bottle in hand and an adoring smile on her face.

AJ wasn't sure whether to hold her or let her crawl, but afraid she'd tumble down to the floor he helped her prop up in his lap. He bounced her gently like he did with Amy, but he was only 8 then and couldn't sit still if he wanted to. Ruby was sagging and tipping, falling into him though fighting hard and seeming to be mad that her eyes wouldn't stay open, or maybe because she kept getting her little tiny fists in them, rubbing them. He reached up for the bottle, deciding to try. "Let me see that.."

TC chuckled in a near whisper volume, just watching how Ruby seemed totally at ease and trusting of AJ. It was one of those total awe and aww moments and though she wasn't one who cried at the drop of a hat it was a misty moment. She didn't resist as AJ took the bottle from her fingers, she smiled more sweetly, blinking to clear her eyes, this was something she never thought she'd see. Ruby reached out for the bottle and leaned heavily against AJ, her little fingers flexing and clenching.

"Some things you just kinda don't forget I guess... bicycles and bottles, huh? Look at that... how is that, huh?" He chuckled, looking down into the tired eyes that seemed to fix on him still. He glanced up at Tre whose own eyes looked a little red. "Should we get you a bottle too sleepy head?"

"Yeah thats what I need, something to suck on before bed." She shook her head with a laugh and stopped mid sound. "That didn't come out.. ooohh boy." She just blushed a little and looked down at him with their daughter. "Changing the subject now, you're really good at this."

"Hmmm ... be prepared to change it back in about ten minutes," he said, blowing her a kiss and jostling the little one out of his arms for mom to handle. "I'll let you stick to the routine a little... I need to make a call."

She took the baby but leaned to sneak a quick kiss to him as she did. "Um.. we sort of.. I said small right?.. her crib is in my room.. just so you know.. we may have to discuss things quietly.."

"I'm really quite good at sign language... body language...," he teased, brushing past her in no subtle way at all. He was going to buy himself more time, if only a day, but he had to. He'd probably pay, but the price was worth it.

"Mmmm.." She nipped after him a little, letting him go make his call as she cradled their girl in her arms and brought the sleepy baby into the bedroom.

****************************

(later)

AJ's eyes were half-closed as he drew small circles on her back, halfway between talking and falling asleep. Some of his words were random thoughts that fell out audibly though the meaning was jumbled with yawns and pauses. "How about those Dodgers..."

She was in her own little blissful world, drifting between sleep and feeling his fingers over her back. "Mmmm." She sighed out softly, curling around the pillow and snuggling closer to him. "Shhhh." She chuckled, shifting and reaching to hush him with a soft kiss.

"You're shushing me," he pouted a little. "It's not what you think." It wasn't, none of what she might have thought was really what he was about, what he did or who it was for. In his mind in those seconds he'd had the entire conversation all by himself, not realizing only a little was said out loud.

"I wasn't thinking anything but shhhh." She kissed his lips softly one more time before settling back down. "Seriously.. you can say whatever you want." She smiled, stretching and curling her arms up over her head.

His eyes appeared heavy and his mumbles were hardly audible. ".. not the mob. I hate him when he's like that..," he sighed, trying to blink himself alert a moment later. "What?"

"I don't know.. " She propped up on her elbow, kissing his shoulder softly. ".. What do you want to tell me? You have something on your mind, obviously."

AJ groaned, feeling like he needed to ask someone to shoot him for being mumbly when he wasn't coherent enough to stop himself. The sound worked into a stretch that pulled him up on his side to prop up on his elbow. "I don't. It wasn't anything and all I have on my mind is trying to have nothing on my mind that's outside of my reach." His 'reach' brought a warm hand over her shoulder.

TC's eyes closed in appreciation of his current mode of thought, a hint of a smile on her face as she settled herself back down next to him. "Mmmmmm ... if you insist." She murmured, her eyes felt heavy, yet part of her was invigorated and didn't want to sleep.

He chuckled, waking up a little now as she snuggled in. "I insist on a lot of things. Right now I insist that it was nothing." It was far from nothing but if he told her he needed to leave soon... he couldn't.

"Right now, I am willing to believe you.. we're in a good place here and now.. no need to talk about anything that will dampen the moment.. later.. we can talk about things later."

"Mmm.... I think I like it when you're willing," he grinned, his mind switching gears again somewhat. 'Later' came all too soon though as the buzz of his phone rattled it on the side table. He felt like his own heart was ripped out or at least carved around a bit at the moment.

The buzz brought her eyes open and she pouted a little, shifting and sighing quietly. "Let me guess.. you can't ignore it?" She brushed her fingers over his cheek.

"No, I can't. Sometimes I can insist, but it doesn't mean sh*t. Hold on," he sighed, reaching for the small box if only to make it stop and hopefully be a wrong number. "Yeah...what?" He didn't even need to ask... he knew who it was and fell back into the pillow, hoping he could keep falling and just disappear. "Can it wait? C'mon... two hours? .... Right, yeah, okay... I said okay," he snipped, a little louder and sharper than he meant to.

She laid back listening though she wasn't trying to, he was right next to her after all. Ruby shifted in her crip at the sound of the voice but didn't wake fully, she settle back into deep even breaths. TC licked her lips, closing her eyes. He was leaving.. she heard enough and could feel it like a deep sinking inside her.

The call ended without another word beyond a deep rumbling groan, a contained roar he didn't dare let out or Ruby would scream herself awake from theshock. The phone was closed and dropped on his chest like a weight. He couldn't...
He couldn't move, he couldn't breathe. "One time... d*mnit, just once," he hissed.

She slowly opened her eyes and turned her head to look at him. He looked as upset as she was and she rolled on her side, curling around him without a word, kissing his shoulder and taking a deep breath.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly, running a rough, hardened hand over her arm, trying not to press too deeply or hurt her. "Yes it's work. But it's different this time, okay?"

She felt how different his hand felt against her skin and her arm tightened around him a little before she reached to still his hand. "Is it? How?" She asked him softly, brushing her fingers over his knucles and watching the 'dust' that formed over it.

"It's not a hotel room .. and you know the truth," he said, finding a sad sick humor to the statement. He chuckled a little though he felt like throwing the phone and shattering it, or simply crushing it in his hand. The thought made him look and see the sparkling glitter where her fingers drew. "Maybe we both learned a little we didn't know, huh?"

She took a trembling breath and a tear slipped down her cheek, the dust over his fingers thickening as she fought more tears and tried to concentrate on his hand. "One night.." She whispered, the rest of the tears glimmering in her eyes. "I love you." She told him softly. "I want you to know.. this time, before you go. I didn't get to tell you last time."

"You'll get to tell me anytime you want." He picked up the phone, reminding her she had the number. He flipped it open again and pulled her number up.. "And I can tell you, too, see?"

She nodded and curled her hand around his. "To your face.. jerkface." She let the tears run off into the pillow and smiled a little, snuggling closer for a minute. "I'll still miss you."

"I'm not as far away as you think," he said, nearly repeating what he'd been thinking earlier, the conversation he'd had by himself. The deja vu was unsettling as much as her tears. "Don't miss me, just welcome me home when I come back?"

"With open arms and sweet kisses." She closed her eyes, her fingers tightening around his so she could stop the tears for a moment. She opened bright eyes to look at him and sighed. "Still going to miss you.. don't take so long to come home this time.. "

"I'll do what I can. I'll promise you that much. I have to go, I'm expected... someplace else unfortunately," he closed his eyes again, falling back to the pillow to keep the anger down as far as he could manage. It wasn't her and he never wanted her to think it was her fault that he left or was unhappy.

"Quit." She breathed the thought out in a bare whisper as she held more tightly to him when he fell back again.

"I can't 'quit' family... it's my dad, Tre. I'd sell my soul to get out sometimes, but he already owns it... keeps it in a jar in the wall safe. You know.. behind one of those creepy portraits with the eyes that move?"

"So why don't your brothers... have to.." She rolled to her back and stared at the ceiling. "Why do you have to go? You've been here.. a day? How long have they.." Her voice trailed off and she wiped the corner of her eyes. "I'm sorry, it's not my business and I'm being selfish.."

"Cuz they don't have the rocks I do," he grinned, finding a chuckle in the madness. "Private sector. Nobody knows me... my brothers are a little too visible.. rockstars don't lead the quiet life and when Donnie left the faith, dad kinda left him in the dust... a lot of bad blood already and Amy... god, don't get me started. I had to fight to keep her out of it or she'd never have a normal life."

She swallowed at the lump in her throat and just nodded, tears escaping the corner of her eyes. "So they all get to have lives.. apparently the lives they want.. but you have to go. Like I said I'm being selfish. I want you to stay, I want Ruby to.. it doesn't matter." She sighed and reached to find his hand again.

"It does matter. That's why it's different this time." He muttered, curling a stiff hand around her gentle fingers. "I want her to, too and I'll be damned if I don't find a way, Tre. I just can't do it in the next half hour. Buy me some time, give me a smile and a kiss for the road so I can find my way back... please."

Her eyes closed again and she took a couple of deep breaths. "Okay.. see.. " She held back the tears and gave him a soft smile, rolling up on her elbow to let him see it as she hovered over him. "A smile.. just for you." She slid over to straddle him and leaned down to bring him a kiss that would keep him warm for awhile.

"I think I can find my way home to that," he grinned.. that grin... and was sorely tempted to go wandering down that path again. "We're going to need a bigger place. I know a girl that needs her own room," he winked.

The smile returned as he grinned and filled her ears with dreams of wishes she already had. "We?" She asked him softly, her fingers stroking from his temple into his hair a bit. "She'll have her own room by the time you get back. Even better.. we'll have our own room."

"Oh, she can have her own room, too. I meant you." AJ chuckled a little as the working world made the gears in his thoughts churn louder. If he couldn't escape it, maybe he could bring her in more somehow. "Mountains to Mohammed... may be the only way... I did say 'we' and I did say I have to go or it's only going to be worse trying to claw back out again. Work on getting a larger space and if they won't do it for you... I will."

She bit her lip, thinking a moment. "I know I have to get off and let you go.. but answer me one thing, honestly before you go. Would it be easier.. if we weren't here, living on school grounds?"

"No. Honestly, there's no better place. If...," he sighed, hating himself for even thinking it but it needed saying out of the sheer reality of his world. His hands brushed her wrists and held on as gently as he could. "If... anything happens to me, it's the best place... that I know someone will be here to watch over you and Ruby. Diz is the best and even though they seem like total shiznit slackers, Andy and Bert would give their balls to help anyone anytime... okay, maybe only one each. Their girlfriends... man are they up a creek," he shook his head, happy for them and finding maybe a little happiness in his own darkness staring back at him and wanting the truth out of him.

"Okay.. then you know where to find us when you're able to come home." She nodded her understanding of what he'd said about his brothers and sighed. "I really have to get off now, don't I?" She pouted a little, leaning in to kiss him quickly as she started to move reluctantly out of the straddle position.

He nodded slowly. "You'd better or it'll be that much harder for me to leave.. so to sp-..yeah, you better." He patted her hip, wanting to hold on and keep her where she was, enjoy her company, learn more about what he'd missed .. and just how much he'd missed it.

"While a part of me, really wants to make it hard for you to go, I don't want it to be harder for you to come back." She was honest and open and sort of okay, it was killing her that he was leaving so soon but she had hope and a number and some honesty from him this time. She slid, kissing him until she couldn't anymore as she stood up to help him gather his discarded clothes and check on Ruby while she was up. The little girl was still sleeping, content rather than disturbed by the sound of their voices talking quietly. TC moved back toward the bed with AJ's shirt in her hands. "See it's almost like a normal.. something.. you get to kiss us goodbye and know we're here waiting for you to come back.. " She gave him a small smile.

He pulled himself up to take the shirt and get ready to leave. "It is something." He admitted that completely and felt some small temptation to simply stay, but the repercussions weren't small. Shirt, pants, shoes... he had very little with him and didn't have much time left for much else beyond saying goodbye. "I won't keep you waiting. Or her. Be good, little girl," he muttered to Ruby, keeping his distance from the child so he didn't wake her or upset her. "Kiss her for me. I'll call."

Treasa picked his phone up from where it had dropped on the bed and she brought it to him, reaching out to hand it to him. "I will." She didn't want to say goodbye but she knew it was time for it, she grabbed her robe and wrapped it around herself, ready to walk him to the door.

He could have left it behind and not cared other than not hearing her voice, or Ruby's if he was gone long enough she started babbling real words. He looked at the box like it was poison before taking it and clipping it on. "Not as far away as you think. I'm in town often, but.. just understand that I'll do what I can, okay?"

"I'm not asking you to make it all a perfect fairy tale. If you're in town and you can come see us before you head off to wherever.. then come.. that's all I'm asking. Just to see you and to be with you.. to know.. you'll come home.. that we have that, that we have us.. maybe it's alot to ask for.. Whatever the family business is.. somehow someone managed to have a family for it.. you know?" She brushed her hand down his arm and curled his fingers around his. "If you want it.. then you deserve to have it and we'll do what we can.." She smiled for him. "Come on your brothers get to be rockstars.. you should at least get to have a girl." She put her head on his shoulder, sighing as she looked to the door. "You have to start walking towards it, cause I'm having a little trouble getting my feet to go that way."

"Can I have two? Sorry... I'm being selfish.. is it so wrong to love two beautiful women at once?" He curled around her and looked back toward Ruby's crib before turning TC away toward the door and shuffling slowly.

"As long as one of them is our daughter and one of them is me.. then I guess it's alright.. as long as you don't mind being out numbered and having two beautiful girls adore you." She walked with her arms around his waist and her head against his chest until the reached the door. At that point she slid to face him and leaned up to give him one more kiss goodbye.

"Tre, stop, please... it's killing me to go. You know that," he muttered, trying to stop her but not hurt her, not again. He reached up to put a finger to her lips. "Shh... I don't mind. Get some sleep and I'll see you soon."

She kissed his finger and looked at his eyes as she twisted the door handle to open it and let him out. "Go on.. before I get started again." She winked and gave him a small smile.

[Lovely]

March 29, 2007
8pm

Mike had called a meeting with his uppermost officers and requested the pressence of three possible recruits. Thier help was needed regardless of whether they accepted a position with the organization. Since Louise was part of the family the three of them were associated with, she was the one to extend the invitation for a meeting, though the true nature of that meeting was not yet revealed.

Mike sat at the table, waiting for the others to arrive, his eblows on the edge with his hands curled together in front of his mouth, he appeared deep in thought.

If this was just some sick schtick of his dad's... AJ hadn't carried his gun in a while because of Ruby, but he'd gone off to get it tonight before this meeting. "Thought he was above this kinda shlock... secret meetings and all that crap," he cursed under his breath as he made his way to the address he didn't recognize right off, not realizing it as the shelter at first. He didn't have Andy's ability of recollection, but the place was familiar as soon as he arrived. Then again it was like a dozen other non-descript office buildings, though this one sort of felt different, and was different. Maybe he'd been on a job here once, too.

It was probably just nerves, but he checked the clip again - full, clean, locked, loaded... ready as I'll ever be. He chuckled to himself and looked around for signs. If this place was run like one of the government complexes, then they had a thing about firearms. So? That hadn't stopped him before, but ever since Tre and Ruby started filling his head more and more, the doubts were thicker and louder - it wasn't just his own neck on the line anymore. People more important than him needed him to keep it in one piece and his head attached securely to it. "Screw it," he said, slamming the thing in the glove box and heading in to find the office he was told to come to - after all, he was expected, the note said. His skin tingled a little then felt numb as it stiffened defensively into its granite-like armor - no gun, better be ready in case... just in case... as he disappeared inside the building and went to the back stairs as he was told.

A meeting? Why? And why him? Vinnie sighed and looked around their room. It was nice while it lasted, but maybe he was about to be told he was out on his ear. He didn't know what made him feel that way, but something told him that whatever it was, it was about to be big change. Secret immediate meetings? He'd learned a lot from Harri about the rules of the Veinnas and Jorden had made him no stranger to the history of weirdness that had followed each one of them all their lives. Maybe it was a warning from another family member to get out before he got deeper. But that's why he was here, wasn't it? To learn and become and simply be what he was built to be - this strange creature with an ability to make and bring mountains to Mohammed or whoever else? Maybe that wasn't the only reason, he smiled, looking at Harri's picture on the table, running a gentle fingertip over the glass. That was just it - he wanted to get deeper and stay there with Harri, he just hadn't really said so in such permanent terms, but he'd been thinking about it. Maybe it was just news from home, more of his own past following him. Maybe Old Rance had opened up a new shop somewhere safe for kids like him, and Lydia was after him to come try it out. Lydia... he shook his head. She let him leave and had the chance, but she never came out to be with him. Three years ago now? That hit home a little harder than he thought while he packed up a few of his things, ready to move out and on to the next adventure if he was escorted out the door for good. He looked at Harri's picture again and felt like he'd never felt with Lydia. That was all just a dream to him now it seemed. Vinnie sighed again as he closed up the case and grabbed it up, looking around for a pen. He thought again - He couldn't really leave her a note since he didn't even really know where he was going or when or if he'd be able to come back, but he did leave behind a small token - a stone from one of their more recent walks. It wasn't a stone he'd found, but it was one he'd made for her, made of formed sand, sculpted like kids sculpted Silly-Putty, shaped into a rough heart with their initials etched into it - like he'd carved the bark of the old tree in the school yard. He left it there for Harri, on her pillow. Hopefully he'd come home and take its place and give her some good news, some bedtime story with a happy ending. He hoped... and headed off to this meeting.

Jorden came as he was asked, though he was curious as to why he'd been asked to come down to the offices for this mysterious meeting. He'd left a message earlier in the day so Amy would get it, that he had a meeting and he'd be home late. When he arrived at the back stair well, he found Louise waiting there. He was even more curious now but was told that he'd have to wait to find out what it was all about. He sighed and leaned against the wall, waiting, though he assumed by Louise's pressence it had something to do with the school. He was only left waiting a few minutes before Annia came to port him to the room where the meeting was being held. There he was greeted by Mike and left to wait to find out more until the others arrived. He took a seat next to Jaime, nudging her gently as if to say 'what's up?' but she just smirked at him and mouthed 'wait and see.'

Louise was waiting int the back stair well, sitting on the steps in her jeans, boots, and sleeveless top which showed off some of the definition in her arms. She looked up with a smile at the sound of the door opening and AJ coming in. "Morning sunshine."

A tiny groaning creak echoed up the stairwell, the sound of stone popping against stone as his neck bent and his head tilted upward toward the voice. AJ's eyes lit up with warmth though there was no smile to crackle the exterior beneath them, at least for a moment until the shell softened enough to show a slightly knit brow and a hint of a grin. "Louise? Or is it Dean Veinna tonight? How about, how the hell are ya? The husband, the kids, still crazy as ever?" Okay, enough of that as he came up a few more steps to speak directly with her, quietly without the echo. He was unarmed and the school's ever-watchful Dean was just camped on the stairs at a time he was expected to be... here... somewhere here, anyway. "Okay, I'll bite. Guess I'm following you, aren't I?" He was relieved that it seemed to be related to some extension of family that was far more attractive already than any dealings with his father.

Vinnie stared at the building for several minutes from the darkened car. This didn't feel like anything he'd been learning from the vaults and swept-under carpets of the Veinnas, yet something about this meeting seemed charged with similar expectations. After a few more minutes, he saw another figure leave another dark car and head inside. The silhouette was familiar, but from this distance it could have been the bag boy from the market, not necessarily someone he knew or could trust. He pushed the case into the back seat and pulled himself out of the car. Dressed to impress, not sure what to expect at all, he straightened his suit collar and buttoned cuffs, looking around the lot with his tongue playing the inside of his cheek a little as he dusted himself down and put his keys in his pocket. They clinked against another object that he pulled out, a stone he'd kept for a while now - the one from his first walk with Harrison. The stone she'd given him to tell him how special he was, at least in her eyes. Vinnie smiled and ran his thumb over the smoothed surface, polishing it with one more layer of faith, hope and promises before returning it safely beside his keys and heading to the door.

He heard voices on the stairs and stopped - though they sounded familiar. People used stairs all the time, though someone being in the offices at this time of night someone might find strange, especially since he did. He was expected even if they weren't. He could play dumb if he needed to. Pushing open the door, he looked up to find AJ there, the one Gabrielli he'd seen the least of from Amy's photo collection. And Louise? He looked at the two and a look crossed his face like the one when Todd had tried to set him up with the foreign exchange student at the frat. The smile was curious, suspicious and eager. "What's... going on?" His head tilted, watching the two, wondering if they had anything to do with why he was here.

"If you bite me.. I might like it, then my husband would have to hurt you." Louise smiled, teasing AJ a little and offering him a hug despite the semi threat of Armand. "Yes you are following me.." She was 'cut off' as Vinnie entered and she extended her smile to him as well. "Well good, you're both here, I won't have to make two trips up the stairs." She chuckled and motioned Vinnie to come up to join them. "Alright, I admit I don't have to anyway, I have arranged for us to get a ride with a teleporter."

AJ was on alert and wishing for his gun again the moment he heard the door behind him and the other male voice, but the bristling eased the moment Louise acknowledged him. "Good thing your husband's an understanding man, Louise... two strange men meeting you after hours like this?" AJ was teasing, but still not at ease yet.

Vin offered first, reaching out a rock-solid handshake to the other man. "I'm not really that strange. Vinnie... It's Anthony, right? Amy's brother?" To Louise he nodded, hoping he wasn't keeping her waiting long. "Teleporting? That I haven't tried yet. Sorry if I'm a little late."

AJ accepted the handshake with a cold-stone grip of his own, showing courtesy only, but not a lot of interest when he was called by his given name. "It's AJ," he corrected flatly. Vinnie was summed up in his mind quickly as inexperienced and eager - two things that might get him in trouble. "Teleport or climb, either way, we're here. Let's not make her wait any longer. Louise... after you."

"You two haven't met?" Louise looked from one to the other and kind of shook her head a little. "Vinnie has been with the family for some time now.." She was a bit shocked that AJ didn't seem to know him in the least. "Anyway.. yes.. porting."

As if on cue, Annia appeared on the small landing a few steps away from them, she'd been waiting for the signal which Louise had sent her while the boys shook and greeted. "You all ready?"

AJ chuckled, shaking his head. He was embarrassed almost to admit what a horrible brother he'd been lately. Tre wasn't the only one who'd missed his attention when he was off on assignments. "One day to the next? I could have met him a dozen times and not remember him the next Tuesday.. not unless he owed me money... do you? I'm kidding. Just been crazy busy and I made Amy a promise I'd keep out of her life as long as Jorden made her happy. I haven't heard otherwise," he shrugged, watching the pretty petite brunette bounce into existence from thin air. "Gotta love that," he nodded - the girl, the gift... Annia earned his smile that finally materialized.

Vin laughed and shrugged it off. "No offense taken, just one of those things. Harri's got my attention when I'm not being knocked sideways with all the training. Partly my own fault I guess." Annia appeared and he forgot anything else he was trying to say. "Niiiiiice," he added, nodding the affirmative that he was ready to travel when they were.

"The public loves me.." Annia smiled brightly, though later she'd admit to Galen only how tired she was, they did have a brand new set of bubs she'd delivered the night of the evac. "Alright, if you've never done this before you may feel a little woozy or disoriented after. On three.. one, two, three.." She counted slowly and as she said three they were gone from the stairwell, a moment later they were in the meeting room where the others waited.

Vinnie felt like he was standing on the wall. He reached for something solid while his head spun back upright, or seemed to once they materialized, not sure what he grabbed hold of. "Damn, that's f*cked up," he muttered, more than just the little disoriented Annia warned them about.

AJ laughed and grabbed Vinnie's arm. "Easy killer. That was just a short hop." He looked around the room, realizing they were on display and his own head spun as he turned and looked around at the rest. The laugh was cut short and his skin crawled, hardening with its granite armor. "Just take it easy."

"Aww hey no fair, I don't feel special anymore.." Jorden playfully pouted from his seat at the side, seeing the other two similarly gifted men arrive with Annia and Louise. "Soooo the plot thickens." He poked his twin sister lightly but she still wasn't telling him anything and he would have to pay her back later for being so good at keeping a secret.

"I know you and one thing you've -never- been is easy." Andy stepped out of the shadows to greet his older brother and set his mind at ease, he hoped. "Man, if you could see the look on your face," he laughed.

Vin wasn't sure what to think. He wasn't sure he could think. The teleporting had scrambled him pretty well, but he was still upright as far as he could tell. He brushed AJ's hand off, assuring him was fine... as fine as he felt he should be for that fish-out-of-water feeling. He looked around at the faces, stopping at Jorden and his sister. Slowly the smile curled up and he chuckled, feeling like he was back at one of Todd's keggers, or at least in the tea room back at the old estate waiting for family dinner. "Alright. What gives?" Jorden seemed to be an invited guest in the center of the attention, too.

"Andy? Hey... what's up?" AJ looked at his little brother like he was a ghost. Maybe he was. Jorden was one of the few he recognized of the others and he gave him and Jaime an even stranger look. The ones he didn't know all knew something about him now, and about mutants in general and none of them were flinching about it considering the manner of entrance. It didn't hurt to continue playing a little dumb until someone started in with the explanations. "Special? About what?"

Annia stayed close to Vinnie, kind of concerned as she'd never in all her years of porting had someone react that severely to the port. Maybe she'd done something wrong, maybe she was too tired.. what if she'd messed him up? After a couple moments Vinnie seemed better and maybe more normal and Annia moved back to sit down and rest herself.

"You should all feel special and no fighting, I won't pick a favorite. I love you all the same." Mike spoke up from behind the desk he was currently occupying and motioned for the three men to sit down, he nodded and winked at Jorden as they had been school mates at one time and Jorden had come to his aid in the past. "Max.. if you'd like to fill them in, please.." He offered to let Andy explain to his brother and the others what they were doing there.

"I'll do my best. Might be rough, me being center stage and all, though. Do I get a sound check first?" 'Max' teased though he was happy to report the reason these inspiring colleagues he'd spent so much of his time around had been brought here. He faced them without a microphone and without too much of an act, just the outright presentation with a proud smile. For once he felt in the know and AJ was in the dark - that accounted for most of the pride and a little bit of a dig against his arrogant bro. "About damned time I know something you don't, huh? Alright, before I ham it up, let me tell you all about the dark side first. OooWEEEeeeoooo.... right? Yeah, well, anything you hear or see in this room tonight can and will be held against you. That's why I'm here. You remember the Matrix? Blue pill, sleep nice and tight in your own bed and never be the wiser or the red pill, see how far the rabbit hole goes? I've got your blue pill right here if any of you want to say 'stop' at any time, decline your invitations and forget anything and anyone you've seen here, and get a first class... and I do mean 'class'... ride home." He gave Annia the credit she deserved, and a wink that might earn him a strong slug in the arm from Galen later in the evening. "The committee you see before you has extended an invitation and an opportunity of a lifetime. I'll get straight to it. Gentlemen... that is you three... you're here tonight at the request of the Guardians. You've been observed, recommended and invited to be part of the team. If you accept, you get the rest of the tour. If you don't, I'll wonder what the f*ck's wrong with you, but I.. and everyone here... will accept your decision and we're done."

[Lovely]

May 25, 2007
4pm

Her day had been spent signing for deliveries and chasing Ruby around the house as she tried to clean, unpack and set things up. But it had been more fun than she could say even if there was still tons left to do and the girls shared more giggles than work got done. Tomorrow she'd probably send Ruby to the Childrens Center, just so she could get a bigger chunk of things done in the house before she got buried in piles.

TC and Ruby had lost almost all their material possessions at the old school, but what mattered most had made it out and that was their loved ones. Ruby was finally exhausted into a nap and TC took that quiet time to get her room all set up. AJ had put together the bed the night before and they'd made it up, so thankfully that part was done and now their little girl was laid down to rest. While she slept peacefully TC unpacked clothes into the dresser she and AJ had gotten in place the day before, toys into a toy box, and books on the shelf.

She took the emptied boxes into the hall and set them aside, leaning in the doorway of the room watching her little angel sleep. Her head leaned on the door frame, she smiled feeling more complete than she could ever remember feeling. "Well mister Gabrielli.. are you ready for another one?" She whispered, practicing how she might tell him how their reunion in January had given Ruby a sibling..

"Amy gave us these - you think Ruby would like them?" AJ was behind her with another box holding some children's games and puzzles still in their packaging. He'd heard the name, but not whatever else she was muttering about. He hoped he didn't startle her too much. "So it's 'Mister' now? What happened to Jerkface? Okay, I must be in deep trouble this time. Ready for what?" He set the box down in case he needed to defend himself.

She startled slightly at the sound of his voice 'out of nowhere' and she turned to playfully swat his arm. "Do you always have to be so quiet, jerkface?" She was smiling as she 'abused' him, moving to take a look at what was in the box. "She might like them, we can put them on the shelf in here and find out which will interest her, some of these might be a bit above her just yet.." She tried to ignore his latter question for a few moments but she knew only too well what putting things off could cost you. They might not have a tomorrow.. Treasa put her hands over his on the box and brought her eyes up to meet his. "Ready for another.. " She felt the words stick a moment and her voice lowered when the next came. "..Ruby.. baby.. a sibling for her.. "

"Sibling? You're serious? You're... oh, wow. Tre... you're sure?" AJ wasn't sure what to think. He was still getting used to Ruby and she was amazing but more than he'd anticipated. And now another... so soon? His skin dulled slightly as it shifted defensively to a rough, thick shell. Just as quickly it softened as he tried to smile and not appear worried. "So... how... I mean how long, when... will he or she be here?"

She saw the way he literally hardened at the news and she just did her best not to burst into tears. "Yeah I am.. I'm sorry. Four months along.. about another five or six before.." She just shook her head and turned to go down the hall. Had she really expected him to be happy about it? She'd hoped maybe he'd surprise her and be.. she shouldn't have gotten her hopes up.

Ruby was still sleeping and his voice always seemed to make the girl gravitate to him. He didn't want to wake her with vibrant discussions and enough had been said without a word. Treasa was upset and he was only going to make it worse at the moment, being in a bit of shock and indecision... decisions... about what? What did he need to decide? The baby was coming whether he was ready or not. "I'll be back, okay?" He said it not so loud to wake the baby girl but loud enough he hoped her mother heard him. Whether she believed him though... He needed to talk to someone though.. someone to screw his head back on and keep it from spinning off again like it felt right now. He could go to Diz, maybe talk to him... or maybe Brie... someone who didn't know him so well to use that kind of knowledge against him. If anything, that would be the first place Tre would look for him. The box stayed where he left it at Ruby's door and he turned the other way, letting himself out. He would be back, but he needed to breathe first.

Tre was wiping the tears from her eyes when she heard the door close, she came out of the bathroom and looked around the house, finding AJ gone. Her legs almost gave out beneath her, but she held herself up on the edge of the counter. He'd left her again.. only this time he knew before he did. The sobs shook her as she leaned there for long moments, unable to control them.

A little while later, she had Ruby loaded in the car and a bag packed for each of them, taking only what they'd come with and nothing from AJ or his family. He didn't want this and she couldn't end a life or give up a child.. so she'd take them both and let AJ have his ordered little life back without her screwing it up for him. On the table inside the house she'd left a note telling him as much and that she was very sorry that she'd screwed it up. She backed the car out of the short driveway and turned it to head into town to find a hotel to stay at for the night. She shouldn't be driving as upset and unsteady as she was and she wouldn't get very far before night fell anyway, better to just get the room for tonight.

AJ started walking toward Diz and Brie's place, more slowly than he thought his feet should move - like they were stuck in stone, not just made of the stuff. That was partly the problem. Who he was, how he reacted, whether he meant to or not, the shell, the stone-cold ass he was... it made his life what it was. At the moment, that life was a glimpse of Hell... or at least the door to it... and if he kept walking, he'd step right through it and that's where he was going to end up. He was walking away from a beautiful woman that loved him and whom he loved, his daughter he also adored and a life that was so normal... and so perfect... it hurt. It must have hurt if the blur in his vision meant anything, finding his eyes were wet when he rubbed them clear, but his skin was hardened and numb - he couldn't feel it. How could he make Treasa understand that about him? He saw how she reacted to him - it wasn't on purpose that his exterior was literally so thick, or that the shock of her news brought it on. His world wasn't one she liked, it wasn't safe for her or for Ruby and it was getting less safe for him now that he was second-guessing himself, being concerned about more than just getting the job done. He was concerned about them enough that it was a liability, and a dangerous one. He had to quit that life, or quit Tre and Ruby... and a new little bubbling bundle he might not ever have the pleasure to meet. "Not if I can f*cking help it," he sighed out loud, startling something in the bushes in front of the house where he'd stopped. Whatever it was that moved brought his attention out of his fog and he looked around. The decision was very clear... he had to walk away from the job and turn his ass around and get back to them before he lost her again. She was right - his brothers got off the hook - it was only fair that his father make them work or let him go.

When he returned to their place, it was chillingly quiet, not naptime quiet, but empty quiet. "Tre? Treasa? Ruby... come out come out... peeka-boo... I see yoooou..." He tried, cooing quietly as he walked through the rooms, not finding either dark haired beauty, upset, crying, laughing, throwing darts at his picture... nothing. He finally found the note and it folded into a tortured crumple in his stoney hand. "Jerkface doesn't even begin to cover it this time," he scolded himself. How far could she have gotten, he wondered. Not like he expected her to answer, but he tried her cell anyway - maybe she'd talk to him if only to tell him off personally.

She was trying to drive, but she wasn't getting very far, blurred by tears and not being very familiar with the area on campus, she'd barely made it a few blocks from their house when her phone rang. As she looked at the ID and tried to answer the phone, she dropped it out of her hand and had to swerve to miss a tree while she fumbled to get it on the seat next to her. AJ would probably hear the soft swearing and the screech of the tires as she ended up pulling over to the side of the road. She was breathing a little heavy when she brought the phone to her ear to see if he was still on the other end. "Hello?" Her voice was a little shaky and she was turning to check on Ruby who was sleeping peacefully in her seat, unbothered by the little almost mishap.

"Don't hang up... please," he started, softer in his voice than his skin that seemed jagged and rough even to him at the moment. AJ wandered into the kitchen looking for a beer to cool himself down, maybe soften everything else like the dull thud of his heartbeat in his ears. He heard the sounds, her breath, the droning air in the background. "Are you driving? Pull over, okay? Please?"

Treasa leaned back against the seat, closing her eyes for a moment. "I just did.. pull over I mean. I'm parked.. " She glanced around at where she'd pulled over. "I'll be okay here for a few minutes.." She was speaking to fill the space though she didn't know what to say or to think at the moment. "Where are you..?"

"Here. Home...," he said, although it didn't feel much like it without her there, but where was 'home' for him really? On the road, it was one hotel room or another, one more plane, one more seedy club, one more high-end or low-end or end-of-the-road joint that owed or cut in, or was simply operated by the wrong people on the wrong end of their luck when he happened to find them... or was sent to find them. He didn't seem to know that home very well anymore. This was home now, the room around him, even though it echoed in its emptiness a little as the beer in his hand hissed as he opened it. "Look, I can't do this anymore okay? You were right." As soon as he said it, he wanted to take it back, knowing it wasn't how he meant it to sound. "It's not... it's not what you think, either. Just... can you come home and we'll talk?"

It was like lead weight dropping through her stomach as she heard the words 'I can't do this anymore' and for a moment she couldn't breathe. Sure she'd left thinking he left but for him to call her to tell her.. it was so final.

It took a few minutes for the rest of what he said to sink in and she softly asked. "What?" Her hand coming up to rub her head, she felt dizzy, lost, confused and drained. "Yeah.. whatever.. I'll come back.." She murmured in a voice that said she didn't have much fight in her at all right now. She'd go back. It's not like she was getting very far from 'home' like this anyway, might as well go back to the house instead of getting into an accident and causing harm to herself and Ruby.

"Tre... drive safe, okay? Give Ruby a kiss for me. I'll see you soon." The beer burned as AJ tried to throw back a large swallow to numb the ache in his throat from the surge of anger he'd felt so many times before and kept fighting down. Damnn him and damn his father for doing this to him twice.. doing this to her twice. Why was it alright for his father to have a family, this huge f*cking family and he wasn't allowed to hold onto the only thing he ever cared about? It was going to stop. He just hoped he could get the anger and spit out of his system before Treasa came back in. The last thing she or Ruby needed was that confusion.

The phone clicked off and she dropped it on the seat, staring at the windshield feeling tired and confused. It took her a few minutes to get herself together to drive back to the house, but she managed arriving there and pulling the car into the short driveway. She sat there in the car with it running for a few minutes, not able to move to get out just yet.

AJ had been watching at the window, waiting to see her pull in the drive. When she stayed there, not getting out, he felt the lump in his chest getting tighter. He'd scared her bad enough already, he couldn't blame her for not wanting to see him. He certainly blamed himself for this going all kinds of wrong. He pulled out his phone and sent her a short text - pls come in? - and waited to see if she'd look up to the window to see him there waiting, the look on his face of a broken man begging to hold onto the only thing that mattered to him.

Her phone went off but this time it was a text alert, which she almost didn't bother looking at, but finally did. Her brow furrowed and she slowly lifted her tear streaked face to look around. Her gaze stopped at the window as she saw him there. She reached up to wipe her cheeks with one hand and looked back down at her phone, slipping it into her pocket and then reaching to shut the car off.

More, fresh tears splattered her cheeks by the time she got Ruby out of her seat and started for the door with the baby in her arms. The little girl was only half awake, drooling a little and nodding sleepily against her mother's shoulder.

AJ went to the door as soon as he heard the engine cut off, propping it open to help her in and trying to offer help with Ruby. "Hey. Can... can I put her down to finish her nap and we'll talk? I put a beer out for you if you want it."

Tre came up to meet him at the door, nodding about Ruby and slowly, gently handing the girl over to her daddy. "Yeah, thanks." She said quietly, folding her arms around herself once he had ahold of Ruby. "I.. don't think a beer is a very good idea." She said quietly, sort of motioning to her tummy but not wanting to remind him of the condition he obviously wasn't very happy about.

"Okay, so I established again that I'm an idiot... and a jerkface. I wasn't thinking, I'm sorry. I'll get you some water." AJ was sufficiently scolded already just by seeing the tears dotting her cheeks. He blew her a kiss for now and slunk away with Ruby in tow to let her rest in her comfy bed a little while longer. At least one of them could be comfortable right now. A few fussy whimpers gave way to a long sigh as Ruby settled quickly back into sleep. He was going to do everything in his power to make sure this was something he'd do again and again, until she was thirty, if he had any say in it, or at least until Treasa had enough of him herself. He came back out, hoping they could sit together and actually talk.

Tre was confused enough, the whole thing had her head spinning and now it was just worse, he blew her a kiss? Wasn't he all mad and totally not in favor of their family, their life? He went off with Ruby and Tre went to the table, she thought about drinking the beer but never touched the bottle, knowing better.

When AJ came back out, he'd find her there at the table, drawing circles on the wood with her finger and staring at nothing. Her chin resting in her other hand, at least she wasn't actively crying at the moment.

"She settled right down," AJ announced quietly as he set a water glass down and brought a chair up beside hers, sitting slowly and watching her fingers doodle in the Endust. He'd been a shit most of his life but owning up to it, changing it was harder than anything he'd ever done and he'd put her through an even worse hell twice. It took what seemed like an eternity to put the words together and break the silence. He finally reached out to stop her traces. "Tre... Treasa, listen. Or shut me out, but I'm saying it anyway. I'm done... I'm done with dad, I'm done with shutting you out and I'm done running away every damned day of my life. I wasn't leaving you, I was trying to find an answer, the best way to do all of this and find a balance. I thought maybe Diz could help me turn my head on straight and you know what I decided? There's no compromise. Not anymore. I don't need my pastor to tell me and I don't need my brother to tell me. You already did. The most important thing in my life is right here. I'm a stupid ass to even think I could leave this behind, so I'm not. If you want me to stay, I'm staying."

She remained silent for a long moment then sniffled and turned her head slightly as she reached up to wipe away both old and new tears from her cheek. "You know I want you to stay." She said softly, shaking her head a little. "You think I'd be this upset about you walking out while I was in the bathroom, about thinking you'd just left me.. if that's what I had wanted you to do?" A small half chuckle found it's way out as she turned back to look at him. "I want you to stay, because you want to stay, not because I 'tell' you to.."

"Tell me you want me to, so I can hear it and help me make sure I'm doing the right thing and not making you take me back. Cuz if you want me here, we're doing this right, Tre. I'm going to make it right, right here and now." He slipped off his chair and knelt beside her, reaching up to wipe the tears off her cheek that turned to sheets of glittering crystals on his fingertips. His eyes were welling up on their own and his heart had jackrabbits kicking it around in his chest. "Something I should have done in the first place like I wanted to on your birthday was ask you, so now I'm asking. Will you marry me?"

Surprised wasn't the word to describe how she felt but it was the only one she had, Treasa was speechless for a long moment, just gazing down into his eyes. "Yes." The word was a soft barely spoken sigh that floated from trembling lips. She was sure she was dreaming this, Tre reached to touch his cheek with her finger tips. "Yes." She said it again, a little louder this time. A smile twitched at her lips and she let out a soft laugh as she leaned to kiss him.

He couldn't breathe. He smiled and felt light headed, numb, but not the kind of numb that said his skin had turned to its grainy granite-like finish. If anything, he felt like a plush toy being mashed and squoze, adoringly and adoring back without the defenses getting in the way, though it was just a kiss. AJ chuckled and fell backward, reaching up to tug her out of her chair and down with him on the floor. "Hot damn," he whispered.

Tre laughed as he tumbled and tugged and she fell with him, draping over him with a kiss that built off the one before, deepening and showing him how much he meant to her. Damn she loved him, so much.. "Mmm so.. when would you like to make this all official?"