Fandom Into the fire (1x1 MzHyde/Gallifrog)

[MzHyde]

Fia realised in that moment that Chas was no different to the Chas in her timeline/their future. She had a feeling he'd probably decline but she offered anyway, a futile attempt at showing consideration to her favourite people. "Okay" she replied smiling. When John gave his two cents in on what Chas said about the company, and Chas' response to it, Fia like the others, laughed at the very idea. Chas was many things but that wasn't one of them.

Kay also laughed, despite being tired. She put her mug down on the table as she realised by this point she was holding an empty mug for no reason. "Well, as entertaining that idea is, I'm going to bed, I'm beat" she said, knowing if she didn't move now she would end up falling asleep on John and yet again he'd have her dead weight to carry back to the room. She stood up, and climbed over Fia and John's legs, "night guys and gals" she said and headed to the bedroom.

 

[_gallifrog_]

John didn't follow Kay immediately. Shortly after she left, everybody dispersing their different ways, Chas and Dan to the forge, Cliff and Cal upstairs. John wanted to have a bit of a catch-up with Elliott, and see what was going on with him, and what prison was like. Elliott moved over to the couch beside John while Jay stayed where she was, grabbing one of the books and making a start on it. Rinaa extracted herself from the beanbag chair and pulled out a set of textbooks and notebooks from the bulging bag and made a start on her work, puaisng every so often to check her calculations or scratch the side of her neck with a pencil, a trait she and Leah had both acquired, but had no idea from who it came from. Rinaa had brought a headtorch to work by if necessary. In her mind this was a must have item for life. With only one earbud in, she kept an ear out, half listening John and Elliott's conversation, which flowed between Attili and English.

Usually they stayed on one language, but returning to his home planet meant that Elliott was getting more use out of his mother tongue than he would back home. It was mainly both catching the other up on what they had missed, the journey over on the ship, Elliott surrendering to the League and how Bruce had recognised him instantly. Bruce was the only one who knew about Elliott, the later having accidently showed up at a time when John and Bruce were working together off the books. Elliott had been investigating from a different angle, and hadn't expected to find the two together. Elliott had been introduced as 'a guy I know with useful skills and the requisitive ass kicking ability that doesn't come accompanied by capes and tights'. Naturally the Wayne had done some digging his own and after much searching, found the single document declaring Elliott to be adopted by one John Constantine.

 

[MzHyde]

Kay didn't mind that John didn't follow germ despite looking like she was clingy to him, she actually wasn't and could easily spend time alone. It just so happened she felt safer when she was near him and after spending all that time alone, being around people who cared about her and not want her dead made her want to stay close to them as she didn't think she'd be able to trust anyone ever again. In the bedroom, she took her hoodie off and changed into that sleep shirt she bought during one of their stop off moments and got into bed.

Rolling onto her side, she rubbed her baby bump and stared down at it. "Don't think I'll ever get used to having two of you around at the moment" she quietly muttered to it with a smile and a yawn. "I love you Fia and I promise I'll keep you safe" she said as her eyes closed and she fell asleep. Little did she know Fia had snuck across and was leaning against the doorframe when she heard muttering from the room. The moment she heard Kay tell her (or at least her unborn self) she loved her, it made her smile. "Love you too mum" she whispered before heading to her own room and getting ready for bed.

 

[_gallifrog_]

John and Elliott stayed talking for maybe another half hour. They had a lot to catch up on, but somehow they ended up talking about other things, such as how Cal was going to disguise him and bring him around the city to show him what he'd missed over all the years. She also wanted to take him to see done places from their childhood, like their old school, the skateboard park where Cal broke her arm when she was nine and, if they felt up to it, the house they lived in as kids. Nobody (bar the guards and certain officials) had seen Elliott in years, but she wasn't taking any chances. Rinaa found herself listening with interest and watching the two interact with one another. She found it fascinating to see how the two interacted, but it also saddened her to know that she could have had this as a regular part of her childhood, and made her wonder just how different she'd have been if it was.

Jay fell asleep at some point during the proceedings. She slept on her side, with one knee curled upwards towards her stomach. Her face stayed in its usual neutral position, but it was half masked by her mane of hair. There was something about the way she slept that showed both a strength and a vulnerability. "Hey kiddo, you got a half blunt pencil I can borrow?" He asked Rinaa, who nodded, sifted through her various writing implements, passing over two pencils and the small sketch book he'd let her keep. "Mind if I watch?" She asked, almost shyly, more comfortable with showing her vulnerable side when John and Elliott were around. Of course he didn't mind in the slightest so she abandoned the books, sat herself between him and John and watched as he began to sketch. John took that as his cue to leave, heading back to the room her shared with Kay.

 

[MzHyde]

Kay was fast asleep by the time John came into the room. Like Jay, she had strands of hair covering half of her face, but the majority of it was sprawled out behind her. If anyone questioned her hair being like a literal flame before, they wouldn't now. The way it sprawled out looked like a dancing flame from the way it seemed to almost wave slightly as it laid out behind her. The duvet wasn't in its usual position of being up to her chin, but half way down her arms, her hands tucked up close to her face or under the pillow. There was a peaceful look to her.

The one real feature that stood out though was one of her wings was wrapped round her partially, something that normally only happened if she was having a bad night's sleep, but this time it was like Fee was protecting Kay and the unborn version of Fia whilst John wasn't in the room. It was quite the sight to see and not everyone ever witnessed it.

Fia in her room was fast asleep in her usual chaotic manner.

 

[_gallifrog_]

The first thing John saw entering the room was the. His instinctive reaction was to do a double take and wonder what thhehell had gone wrong. But the logical section of his brain switched on shortly afterwards, and told him that this wasn't due to any danger present, it was in fact the exact opposite situation. Though it didn't stop him from remarking "what the bloody hell have I gotten meself into?" while running a hand over his face. Even though he knew nobody could hear him, John just needed to voice that thought to the unresponsive void. He took in the sight, and figured he may as well take a photo. Though knowing him he'd forget he had it on his camera roll and rediscover it a few months later while looking for something else.

As per usual he stripped off his shoes, socks, shirt and tie, draping the coat over a random box in the corner. He ended up lying on the bed, in a state of half sleep, half wakefulness as the events of the past week swirled around him. He'd already forgotten the mysterious time traveller, but remembered just how horrific Rinaa's death had been. He knew somebody had saved her, but who was unclear. A form of self preservation he supposed. He finally nodded off, staying soundly asleep. The only one in the apartment who couldn't sleep properly was Rinaa, her mind a jumble of thought of what she'd seen when she died. It seemed that dying brought her consciousness somewhere else. The arena that she'd shown Fia was familiar yet unfamiliar to her. She slipped into the bathroom, giving herself the first proper examination since her 'death'.

 

[MzHyde]

Kay barely was awake enough to even think about the evenings events of Rinaa's temporary death and the mysterious time traveller friend of hers that saved her life before they had a film marathon. She had fallen asleep pretty quickly this night which she could have blamed on her pregnancy for her getting tired more quickly , something that would no doubt become a normal thing for the next six months.

Fia slept soundly as per usual. She was your typical teenager in that regard that she was a very deep sleeper, could sleep in the weirdest positions and sleep in easily until midday if it ever came to it. She didn't really dream of anything at all.

The next morning, unaware of whether it was early or late morning, Kay woke up but refused to open her eyes. Throughout the night, the one wing that was basically hugging her had vanished once more and she was now facing John, but not curled up into him like she normally would be. She was aware of the duvet slightly higher up her arms from the weight the duvet had. She rubbed her hands down her face with a groan, not wanting to be awake yet.

 

[_gallifrog_]

As with the day before, John woke up far earlier than Kay, despite falling asleep much later than her. Today he woke up at least an hour before her. John didn't really posses anything that could be called a predictable sleeping schedule, he wasn't a consistent early riser or late sleeper. John woke up when he woke up, and slept uninterrupted when he could, nothing more complicated than that. And despite stuffing his face the night before, today he woke up starving. So he'd pulled on a shirt (having no idea which of the apartments residents would be up or not and not wanting to risk any kind of scene. Of course had this been his apartment he would have strolled around shirtless, but it wasn't so he didn't). He made his way out to the main living room. Elliott and Rinaa were the only ones there, the other three having gone for a run, and Dan and Chas hadn't materialised themselves yet.

Raiding the fridge provided the remains of four cold curry dishes, which they mixed together and grated up using John's lighter (which had to be a fire hazard in itself). They made their way up to the roof, along with two guitars, a sketchbook, pencils and some I'm uncultured. John took the opportunity to have a I'm uncultured as the three talked about music, guitars and where was the best place to sneak out for good music on both planets. Naturally they all had different opinions and spent their time bickering and laughing. With a small group, Rinaa found it easier to be her proper self, which was mpletly different to the sullen, closed off person John had first met. She was even persuaded to show a few of the photos from her time, explain that the skilled arty ones weren't actually hers, but were taken by a different friend, who had a real flair. Rinaa didn't possess that kind of artistic skill, but she kept the photo's as they were taken as part of an abstract art project to capture each of the personalities of the lab group.

 

[MzHyde]

Kay eventually opened her eyes to find John had already got up and wasn't in the room. She would have questioned if he even made it to the room, but there were still signs he did in fact come to bed last night and just got up before her. With a sigh at accepting being awake, she turned over and laid on her back to stretch and yawn before relaxing on her other side. She pulled the duvet right up and clung to it, out of defiance, refusing to actually get up just yet. She was comfortable and didn't want to move, knowing she'd have to get up at some point soon if (or more to the point when) the morning sickness started, but for now she was enjoying the bed.

As for Fia, she woke up, turning over and almost falling out of bed but catching herself in the duvet before she did. Like the previous day she had found herself in a bizarre position with limbs sprawled everywhere and the pillow pulled down so not was her head on it, but she was also hugging it like a body pillow. With a groan, she sat up and untangled herself from the cover, tidying the bed up a bit before deciding to get up properly. Pulling her jeans on (she slept in her vest), she got up and walked out of the room, to find that she could hear Rinaa, Elliott and John all up on the roof. She decided to leave them to it, going into the kitchen to get a drink and headed back toward the rooms. She knocked on the door that Kay was in. "Yeah?" Kay called through, and Fia opened the door. "Was just curious if you were still in here or on the roof with dad, Elliott and Rinaa, it seems I have my answer" Fia chuckled. "Yeah, I just woke up" Kay confirmed.

 

[_gallifrog_]

The roof group had no knowledge of who was awake and moving around in the apartment. None of them heard Fia in the kitchen, they were on the wrong part of the roof to hear her, and quite frankly, nobody was listening out for anybody down below. If anybody really needed them down below they'd give a yell or actually come up to get them. The closed pile of textbooks, with the head torch on top suggested that Rinaa had been doing some form of late night work, but was now finished. She still hadn't made any changes to her hair, which fell about halfway between Jay and Elliott's hair lengths. Both her parents had black hair, so hers was the same shade and volumous to style into all the crazy styles that she did.

The roof conversation had wandered towards the music they played and how they learned it. "It was Jay who taught me to play originally, a way of keeping my focus on something that wasn't having to move off world. I learned both modern and more classical stuff. And when I came back to Earth, you taught me as well John. In my timeline I inherit both Jack's guitar and this one." She patted the case of John's guitar. "And what about all the other non guitar instruments? Who taught you those?" "Chas taught me drums, but it was mainly me messing around with somebody else's instrument while they taught me the basics." Both nodded at that, understanding where Rinaa was coming from. "But guitar is apparently where my true ability lies, the rest are just for fun."

 

[MzHyde]

"you sleep alright kiddo?" Kay asked Fia, as she watched her kid walk into the room and perch on the end of the bed. "Yeah, always do, if there's one thing I inherited from you it's my ability to sleep through anything" she smirked. Kay also smirked at the comment, "I wish I could tell you more mum, but I can't and quite frankly it sucks so bad." Fia remarked, glancing up at the ceiling before down at her hands. "Hey, I get it and for my first kid I don't want spoilers, even if I am meeting you grown up and being a female version of your dad" Kay smiled, sitting up and put her hand on Fia's back. Fia couldn't help but chuckle at that comment. It was something she was used to hearing, mostly if she was getting into trouble and she got the 'you're so much like your father I swear, you're gonna be the death of me' type of scolding.

"I get that a lot. But it don't mean I'm not a lot like you either. I'm certainly stubborn like you, avid reader like you, snarky like you...always quoting film references like you..." Fia started rattling off examples, "Alright I get it! You picked up my quirks" Kay laughed. "How you feeling anyway?" Fia asked, to which Kay just did a single nod, "I'm alright at the moment" Kay told her, knowing she was implying about the morning sickness. "Come on, let's get up and get some breakfast" Kay commented, getting out of bed, and pulling on some leggings. She didn't give the fact she was in the lounge shirt a second thought, but considering she was in the beginning stages of showing, she was glad she had bought it. Fia also got off the bed, and walked out with Kay into the kitchen, where Kay just did her usual of making some toast.

 

[_gallifrog_]

It was saddening to Elliott to know that his death had meant his kid's life had turned utterly bipolar. He could read between the lines of what she was saying to the truth below. In her time she wasn't happy on Earth with the large gathering of family. Kay and Fia's presence was enough to effect everybody's behaviour when it came to Rinaa and Jay. Elliott knew Jay felt awkward with the group, like she wasn't really a part of it, that she had no cause to be there and guessed that in the future the feeling had only been amplified. But that didn't mean there wasn't good parts in Rinaa's life, she thrived off world, and working in both Kane and STAR labs. When he'd finally weasled that fact out of her, it had been mind blowing. A STAR labs internship was highly coveted and only went to the best of the best, even in his time.

"So what your favourite piece?" He asked curiously. A person's favourite music said a lot about them usually. "I generally tend to lean towards complicated instrumentals, classical style stuff that renquires all your focus on the chords rather than the simple background chords for a song that you can learn off as an automatic pattern." "That stuffs beyond me kiddo, I couldn't devote all my brainpower to that. An' I prefer screaming out angry lyrics at the same time." It was a praise in a way, but the fact that it was done in a subtle way made Rinaa more open to accepting it. "That's implying you have brainpower in the first place." Elliott smirked, earning a dig in the ribs and a glare. Rinaa smiled at the interaction, feeling properly happy for the first time in a long time. "I'm gonna try remember something, it might turn out shite as I'm kinda rusty." She took Jack's guitar from its case and slung the strap across her. She checked the tuning before beginning. It was an instrumental peice with distinct James Bond theme vibes and dramatic rising and falling parts. Her hestinacy was obvious at first, but as she relaxed the music became more fluid. The piece began at a slow pace, gradually becoming more urgent and fast paced, before exploding into a dramatic ending.

 

[MzHyde]

Kay and Fia could hear the three of them on the roof but made no point in trying to insert themselves into their moment. They deserved to have some alone time and that was fine by the two girls. Kay leaned against the kitchen table as she ate the toast, as she heard Rinaa begin to play the guitar. It was obvious at the beginning to her that it had to have been Rinaa playing from the hesitance when it started. It could have been possibly John she thought as she hadn't heard him play, but something just told her it was Rinaa, judging by the little bit of strumming they witnessed her do the other night.

Fia sat on the table also eating and listening in. "That's totally gotta be Rinaa" she remarked, also hearing it. "My thoughts too" Kay agreed, getting through most of her toast before she paused their conversation and went to the bathroom. Fia looked where Kay was then to where she was going, wondering if she should call John or not. She found herself glancing from the balcony to Kay's location and back again a few times, before sighing. "Screw it.. I'll do it" she muttered, following Kay. "Mum?! You doing okay?!" She asked, calling down walking down the corridor and into the bathroom squatting down to rub her back. "I'll be fine" Kay mumbled, just feeling horrible that Fia felt she had to be here with her.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Had John been called, he would have been down in a flash, knowing exactly what was going on. But he wasn't, so he stayed up on the roof. Rinaa had chosen Jack's guitar, as she was fairly certain that Jay would knock the block of anybody else who dared to even look at it funny. It was also the guitar she'd had the most practice, and her posture showed that. She'd tucked one leg under the other, with the guitar in her lap. She was ambidextrous, but played guitar as a leftie would. Both John and Elliott could see the concentration in the knit of her eyebrows as she tried to recall the chords. At first there was a hesitancy and a few slip ups, but as she gained confidence, she didn't falter once. Like Elliott, she put her soul into her playing, and could convey her own emotions far better through music than any other way.

Both found themselves stunned, neither played classical guitar or instrumentals of that style, and to see Rinaa do it was beyond impressive. "Damn kid, where did that talent come from?" John whistled, causing the teenager to redden. But it was Elliott's praise that turned her full blown tomato. "He's right, that is beyond awesome, you're beyond awesome actually, despite presumably sharing the same insecurities I had about my own music?" "Jay in my time would say I was exactly like you when it came to that. So, yes, I guess I do." She spoke her response quietly. Elliott took out the other guitar. "Do you know the chords for The Mask Of Zorro?" "More or less." "Same here, wanna give it a try?" A nod of confirmation and they bagn, stabling over each other, not used to the others playing idiosyncrasies, but they locked on quickly and managed to produce a decent sounding piece with only a few blunders.

 

[MzHyde]

Kay and Fia both couldn't hear Rinaa and Elliott playing together due to being far from the section of roof they were on. Even if they could have heard them, they wouldnt have paid attention to it anyway. Kay was feeling rougher than she usually did each morning but she half expected there to be some rougher days than others, so she wasn't too worried in that aspect. It just so happened that down to this rougher morning, she wished she wasn't so far away from family.

"Mum you really look like shit" Fia commented, which made Kay smirk ever so slightly. "Thanks.." Kay sarcastically replied whilst hovering over the toilet. Fia had hold of Kay's hair as it wasn't tied up like the other mornings and kept rubbing her back. "I think..when you're okay to move, you should go back to bed" Fia suggested. Kay looked insanely pale compared to the day before. The sickness didn't last as long but it was brutal whilst it lasted. Fia helped Kay up off the floor and helped her back to bed. Kay got back into bed and laid on her side. "I'll see if there's a bucket or something and tell dad" Fia stated, only leaving the room when she was satisfied. Kay thought she was fussing too much but she wasn't going to fight her on this. Fia walked into the kitchen and got a glass of water, putting it to one side and made Kay the usual hot water ginger for her nausea, slyly using her own pyrokensis to heat the water up.

Leaving the kitchen holding the mug bad glass, she leaned out the balcony. "Dad I've sent mum to bed! She's REALLY rough!" Fia called up.

 

[_gallifrog_]

John couldn't help but sigh internally when the illusion of having a normal peaceful day was brutally shattered by Fia yelling up at him. He hoped it was just a particularly bad bout of morning sickness, and nothing more, but he couldn't be sure. Rinaa and Elliott stopped playing, the latter pratically shoving him of the roof. "Go, we'll be fine, we get it duty calls and all that." Rinaa merely nodded and gestured for him to leave. She was by no mean she president of the "We love Kay Hale society" nor was she Fia's greatest fangirl either. But she knew how important parents were, even if she'd only grown up with one. And one thing going wrong here would wipe all versions of Fia out of existance.

"I'm coming down, make way, so I don't accidently kick you in the face." John yelled back, before stubbing out the cigarette on the roof and swinging himself down and onto the balcony in a slick parkour move. The flowing of the trench coat made it look extremly badass. He hadn't done that move to look badass, it was just the fastest way to get down. "So more so than the usual vomiting and bitching about how morning sickness is the most pointless thing ever evolved?"

 

[MzHyde]

Fia didn't want to alarm anyone, or necessarily stop John from doing whatever it was he was up there with Elliott and Rinaa, she just wanted initially wanted him to know where Kay was if him or anyone else wondered why she hadn't surfaced throughout the day. But seeing as Elliott and Rinaa was telling him to come down, she accepted it. When he warned her, she stepped out of the way quickly but being careful not to spill either of drinks in her hands and let him come down in a manner that made his trenchcoat make the whole action over the top and dramatic.

Fia nodded, "well.. there's been the whole usual vomiting and bitching, that goes without saying with mum, any kind of illness and she bitches. But she looks like shit, like.. white as sheet shit. It's probably nothing and just a bad bout of it, but yeah.." Fia explained. "I'm gonna find a bowl or something in a moment incase she feels like vomiting again" she added, starting the walk to the room, reaching the room and opening the door with her leg and entering the room whilst using her body to push it open properly. She put the mugs on the bedside table.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Up on the roof, Rinaa turned to Elliott "They'll be fine, Fia's still here, so it can't be that bad....a sentence I never thought I'd hear myself say" she added. The fact that she was coming close to worrying about them made her release just how different she could be if she wanted to be. Elliott put an arm around her. "I don't think any of us know what's actually going on any more, it's a mess of major proportions. But we're here now, so all we can do is stand by our choices no matter what. No doubt it was my decision to come here that sets this whole thing into motion, but it needed to happen, just like you coming here." It was a reassurance for both of them, that they'd made the right choice even if the others didn't understand their motivations.

If there was any kind of god out there that still listened to him, John was calling on them now in order for this to be nothing more than a particularly bad bout of morning sickness. They were all just worrying about nothing, it was unknown territory for all those involved, but the fact that Fia still existed and hadn't undergone any noticeable changes suggested that there was nothing malignant going on. "Yeah, that's what I think too." He agreed, following Fia towards the room he and Jay had taken a stake too. "This is the beginning and all, so there isn't really a normal yet, it's take it as it comes. But the fact you're stíl here means it can't be too bad." He continued desperately hoping he hadn't jinxed it. Entering the room he looked at Jay, she did look pretty bad but she also looked exactly like Sheryl had on a particularly foul day of her own pregnancy.

 

[MzHyde]

Elliott may have thought it was down to his actions that this all spurred from, but as Kay's and John's lives seemed to be completely predestined with each other, this would have happened even if they were back on earth. Fia also like John, hoped this was indeed nothing just like she stated only moments ago. She nodded at John's reply, "right...not that a pheonix pregnancy is exactly normal anyway" she replied with a smirk.

Kay looked up when the door opened and saw Fia walk in with water and what smelled like the usual hot water and ginger concoction. She also saw Fia had got John down and she sighed. "Fia you didn't have to drag John down" she told their kid. "I didn't drag him anywhere thank you. He came of his own occord. Now, I'm gonna go bowl hunting and you're going to drink those drinks." Fia replied, before leaving the room once more. Kay sighed, "that girl is being over protective" she muttered when Fia was out of earshot. She sat up slightly and slowly, not wanting to risk making herself sick again.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Rinaa nodded, her head against Elliott's shoulder. Maybe he suspected there was more to her being here, maybe he didn't, but she understood what he was saying. "I don't know if I'd agree with you reasons for coming here in the first place, or if I'd do the same thing in your place. But I'm damn proud you made a call and stuck to it, despite the consequences." "Coming here, and dumping myself into what was already a crazy situation maybe wasn't my greatest idea. But you've seen whats happening to me, and I guess I just want to know that it wasn't all for nothing y'know? Regain some kind of control over my life. Back in my time, nobody knows what to do, how to act around me, what to say, should I be treated differently, should I be treated the same, is making any form of amends worth it. None of them are really coping, and I can't say I blame them. But whatever happens, this is my choice, and I wouldn't have it any other way."

This was one argument Kay wasn't going to win, if he hadn't come down, Elliott would damn sure have dragged him down, or made his best effort to. Either way, John would still have ended up exactly where he was now. "Try the spare room... the one you've got, I heard them say that's where everything ends up at some point or another." He called out to Fia, having no idea beyond that as to where anything would be in the apartment. If Cliff was here she could tell them the location of anything, she was organised like that. As Fia walked away, he sat down on the edge of the bed. Human and phenolic pregnancies probably weren't comparable, but it was the only experience he had, so it better be useful. And based on that, it did just look like one of his sisters worse days. "It's shows she cares, one of us did something right raising her. And besides, Elliott practically pushed me off the roof to get me down, so I'd have ended up here no matter what......So how are you feeling?" A question that never sat right when he asked it. It just wasn't the kind of thing he asked.

 

[MzHyde]

Fia heard John call out his suggestion, so she went to the room she had been using, going for a rummage around. She hoped she could find one without having to ask possibly Rinaa, taking a gander that she'd be the next person who might have a good idea, seeming as she seemed to know the place really well. Though that was a very last resort, one she wasn't going for yet.

Kay pulled her legs up as John walked over and sat on the end of the bed and listened to what he said. She didn't doubt it was out of her caring about her, she just wasn't used to being fussed as an adult. Especially by a teenager, as it felt backwards to Kay. She smirked when he told her that Elliott practically pushed him off the roof, thinking how that sounded a lot more plausible. "I know.. just feels backwards having a kid fuss over the adult. I'm not used to it.. and I feel like utter shit. Like I've gone ten rounds with Tyson Fury" she replied to him truthfully, it's not like she could successfully lie to him anyway, as she's found out before. "And I don't doubt we both did right raising her..not just one of us John" she added.

Fia managed to find a bowl in the room "yahtzee" she muttered to herself grinning. Standing up, she carried the bowl to the kitchen to put some water in it, before bringing it back to the room Kay and John was in. She put it down on the floor by Kay. "I'm gonna leave you two to it"

 

[_gallifrog_]

Rinaa's words struck home with Elliott, and he found himself rubbing her shoulder with his thumb. It was something that always helped Jay, and it seemed to work on Rinaa too. "I get it kiddo, I do. Maybe not the same situation, but coming back here, back to my childhood home is kind of like what you're doing. This place has had such a hold on me ever since I left. Unfinished business in a way. It's mainly the fear of the past, of what happened here. But by staying away, it's controlled me for years, nightmares, uncontrollable power surges in my sleep, projecting my memories and nightmares into those nearby. I don't know what coming back here achieves. I guess I'm hoping for some kind of peace or conclusion, but I wouldn't have it any other way, now is the right time to do this."

To say John was relieved was an understatement. "It doesn't seem that weird to me, but then again, what do I know about normal? And normal has gone out the window anyway." He had never fussed over his parent, just as his dad had never fussed over him. It had always been kids looking out for other kids. Him, his sister and Chas. Later with Elliott things had been different, but he couldn't tell if that was due to his lifestyle, Elliott's past or both. "I'm always going to argue that point." He replied as Fia came in. "I'll give a yell if anything changes, but so far, it just seems to be a bad bout." He replied.

 

[MzHyde]

That one reply from John just brought forward again how differently they grew up to Kay. She had never forgotten, but there were times when it just got highlighted more so. This was one of those moments. "I guess you got a point there" she half chuckled. She grabbed for the hot water drink and took the tiniest sip as he said about arguing the point of bringing up Fia right, when Fia walked in with the bowl and then left after saying she'll leave them both to it.

"You better!" Fia called back as she left the room with a smirk. Kay just shook her head slightly at the two of them, before realising that was a bad move so slumped into the pillow. When Fia was out of earshot, judging by the sounds of her footsteps, Kay looked at John again, "I know you'll argue that til you're blue in the face, but considering she's blatantly closer to you but still doesn't seem to be against me, I'm going to stick with my guess it's both of us doing right by her" she countered finally to John. It deep down did upset her slightly that he always put himself down about his predictions of bringing Fia up, despite Elliott being proof that he can raise a kid well.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Rinaa didn't know the significance of the gesture, but it, combined with her father's words just helped her. In her time, only Jay had known the full reasons why Elliott had gone back, and she was hesitant to talk about it. But for Rinaa, she made an exception, even though it just opened up an old wound. She'd heard the story before, but to hear Elliott say it was different. She wrapped an arm around his back. "So in summary, we're both idiots who can't take the easy way out?" She answered with a slight smile. "Seems like that to me." Elliott replied, knowing that Jay (like John) called him an idiot behind his back as a way of affection. "But you are my idiot, even of this is happening in the wrong order, or maybe not at all. So, I'm gonna ask you to do one thing for me." "Whats that?" She asked, unsure of what exactly he could want her to do. "Make the most of what's left, and if that means breaking rules and lying about some things, so what? Don't let that stop you."

It was one point that John would never back down on. In a way, by expecting to fail, it made the success seem so much greater. But that was a double edged sword, as it meant he often couldn't see what good he'd done until ages after everybody else. "And I'll keep arguing that point for the rest of my life, I can be a right stubborn asshole sometimes. Besides teaching social skills and moral compasses is not my thing. Fighting, parkour, magic, runes, demonology and all that stuff I can teach. But people skills? Wrong bloke. And you can't use Elliott ad an example, as he had his good traits before he crashed into my life." He knew Elliott was exhibit A to his parenting skills, so he was going to shut down that argument before it even started. But his words weren't exactly true, and somewhere deep down he knew that. Elliott may have had certain traits before, but it was John's influence that meant he didn't lose them and that instead they grew.

 

[MzHyde]

Kay just smirked and rolled her eyes at John. He wasn't the only one who was a stubborn asshole at times, she could be just as stubborn. "Well welcome to being with an equally stubborn woman. John.. it doesn't matter what you teach her, whether it be all the things you listed or the people skills moral shit. As long as you can keep her safe the best you can, and be there when she needs you, which you clearly are if Fia's attachment to you is anything to go by...then you'll do just right on bringing her up. And we will always agree to disagree on the Elliott part of your statement. Because that's not entirely true and you damn well know it" she told him. She truly meant every word as well, even if she knew deep down kids and keeping them safe was a delicate subject to him. Having future Fia here with them for a bit showed he did and is doing a perfectly fine job.

Fia was minding her own business for a while, but she started to hear the conversation that was going on and couldn't resist standing outside the room against the wall and eavesdropping on it. Hearing Kay's words made her smirk as she had never heard this come from them before. She had heard similar sure, but in a different context. More so when she was little, and neither of them felt like they were doing right but both were reassuring each other they were. It was quite the amusing conversation to overhear looking back on it. Then as she got older she eavesdropped on the many conversations of Kay disagreeing with some things but John telling Kay Fia can handle anything thrown her way. So heading Kay be the reassuring one only was new to her.