Fandom Into the fire (1x1 MzHyde/Gallifrog)

[_gallifrog_]

Had it been in any other circumstances John would have been impressed by just how thoroughly Rinaa and Sykes had managed to stitch up the bond so there were no loopholes, but it was truly awful to see now. Usually Chas relished being right, as it meant he could say 'I told you so' to John, while at the same getting a good story for telling over pints. But being right, first about the possibility of Rinaa leaving and now about her earlier mention of Cliff, it just sucked so much. Hearing she'd already gone to others to explain she was leaving, neither knew what to do with that information. At least they knew, not that they came back from the legal meeting to find her gone. More importantly John supposed, Elliott and Jay got to say some kind of goodbye, even if the latter was not at all happy with the situation. "I suppose it's a good thing you got to say goodbye to them, they all really do care about you." "Bloody Hells" John knew he was being a bit of a broken record, but the words had never been more applicable in his life. "This is really happening then, no backing out. How..." he paused a moment "how did Ell take it?" "Better than Jay did, he's not happy about it in any shape or form, but he's accepted it as much as he can I guess. Kinda put a dampner on their day."

Rinaa considered for a moment before answering Fia's question. "On a scale of one to ten, where ten is the fury she unleashed after I ended up in ICU covered in burns?" She had hazy memories of that period, having been drugged up to the eyeballs, but she knew that the anger had been like nothing any of the Earth-based group had ever seen before. "A seven or eight maybe?" She could see the unspoken question in the other's faces about whether Jay would attack Kay as a result, whether she would blame the pregnant woman for what had happened and answered it without prompting. "And before you all start fearing for your life, it's that kind of anger that's directed at the universe as a whole as opposed to at a specific person. None of ye're lives are in danger of her doing something, I made sure of that much, she knows full well it was my fault and nobody else's. I believe she's gone off to spar with some of the Royal guards and trainees, which will take the a serious edge off it and tire her out mentally and physically, so that will help. But I guess... yeah, don't piss her off and certainly don't mention Jack or Quin, or anybody else you might know about from her past."

This time Rinaa could see that Fia meant what she was saying, that she would miss this alternate version of her Leah and didn't want her to go. This version of Fia had grown on Rinaa too and made her spend even more time than ever wondering how her life could have gone if she'd had this version and not the bullying, manipulative bitch that actually inhabited her timeline. She gave another sad, fragile smile in response. "Yeah, same here. S'made me think, a lot.... but going's for the best really, for everybody, me included. It's been great being here, it really has." At Kay's tentatively phrased, yet meant from the heart question Rinaa shrugged, running both hands through her sopping hair, raking it up in spikes, trying and failing to ignore the jolt of pain coming from her bandaged had as she did so. "Erm.... not really no.... Make sure Elliott gets through this alive is the obvious one. But you've got far more than a fighting chance in that regard. And well... don't blame yourselves for this I guess? I would have had to leave before the trial anyway, so it's not like this wasn't on the cards in the first place." She paused in thought before continuing in a firmer tone, having clearly remembered something very important. "Actually, there is something... something more importantly than that. Whatever you do, DON'T tell Moya the truth about who I am and where I come from. I really didn't deserve somebody as awesome as her this past while and I most certainly shouldn't have dragged her into this whole mess. She can never know this truth about me. Let her keep the illusion of Artemis Taylor alive, the person she deserved, that's the only thing you can really do after I go."

 

[MzHyde]

Fia was glad that at least Elliott took it better than Jay did, but at the same time she wouldn't have expected any less from her brother. To say it put a dampener on the other group's day was a complete and utter gigantic understatement. She listened to the answer she got from Rinaa about how pissed off Jay was, really starting be weary of what the answer was going to be. Hearing that it was near the ten mark but not quite made Fia's skin crawl and even more concerned for Kay's well being. Yet that worry had a small wave of relief when Rinaa managed to read all their faces and explain that Jay wasn't on a warpath and ready to go after Kay. "well, that's something...I guess" she remarked darkly. Kay was also tha kful that Jay wasn't planning on going after her and blaming her for everything, she didn't think she'd have the sheer strength to hold Jay back whilst the idea of anyone else getting hurt to save her also didn't sit well with her in the slightest.

As Rinaa share her equal sincere opinions on Fia, she nodded with a slight smile, only managing a small one. She was glad that at least and long last Rinaa could see how different she was to the other Fia, and it wasn't all bad getting to know her. Kay on the other hand focused on Rinaa's explanation to her tentatively asked question, wishing she didn't even have to ask such a thing in the first place. She nodded at the girl's requests and explanation that either way she would have left before the trial anyway. When she brought up Moya, she nodded, "we can do that. It's the least we can do" she replied to her. "what mum said...we won't let Moya know who you really are, is there anything you want us to particularly say to her if she asks? Or have you already gone to see her?" Fia asked.

 

[_gallifrog_]

In any other situation it would be selfish to want to know about Jay's mental state for protection reasons, but this was far from a normal situation. He didn't even want to imagine what kind of anger she'd have released upon finding out her daughter was in critical care after early dying in phoenix-fire induced blaze. To hear Rinaa had but all blame firmly on herself was both an immense relief as it meant they wouldn't have to try and restrain an enraged assassin as well as being another thing that added to heart-breaking nature of the situation. Rinaa's advice was solid, both men nodding gratefully. "Understood, I won't do anything to make it worse on Jay, and I'll make sure this lot don't do anything." It was clear Rinaa hadn't been prepared for Kay's question by the stuttering answers she gave. To hear they had more than a fighting chance of saving Elliott was a relief, Rinaa wasn't lying, in fact she was being more honest with them than she'd been in any other instance.

When she started talking about Moya and how she couldn't know the truth, Chas found himself being deeply touched by the fact that even with everything going on, Rinaa had been thinking of her girlfriend. Just how much she liked the girl and didn't want to leave her, or hurt her anymore than she already had was clear in the teenager's voice. Kay was right to say it was the least they could do, Moya was a good kid and didn't need her life ruined just because their's were so messed up at this moment in time ""Course we can do that, we'd have done it anyway I'm sure." John firmly nodded his agreement. "Damn right we would have. Moya's a good 'un, you're right that she doesn't need to know this. It's better that she remembers you for who she knew you as, not as how people back in your time knew you." John wanted it to be clear in his words that he not only did he understand why Rinaa wanted them to lie to her girlfriend, but he was fully in favour of this strategy. He saw no point in telling the girl, it would only make the grief worse and lead her to question everything about 'Artemis'. Judging by the slight nod, he took it that his message had been received.

Rinaa shook her head "no I haven't gone to her yet, she's next and the final person to see" she glanced down at her wrist, some of the runes had already ignited as they spoke, a reminder of how little time she had left. "Figured that I shouldn't show up at my girlfriend's looking completely like a drowned rat. As for what to tell her? Just keep the cover story really consistent, she already knows I'm dying and I sorta prepared her for me having to leave at short notice by telling her I was waiting on approval for euthanasia back home." John let out a soft 'damn' and it wasn't clear whether he was impressed by the extent of Rinaa's forwards thinking to be able to break it to Moya in such a way, or whether he was disturbed that she'd given so much thought to an exit strategy. Rinaa's eyes narrowed slightly at that reaction, and she looked more like her usual prickly self in that moment. "It's not a complete lie, it's what I was considering doing back in my time, but it's illegal in the UK still. But then I decided to do this" she gestured at the apartment around her, to convey that she meant time travel "instead. Which is probably a good thing, despite everything that went wrong with this, enough went right that it might just have saved my life in a weird way. Pretty sure if I hadn't come here I would have done something stupid and dramatic like slitting my wrists on John's coffee table so all the alternates would come back one day and find my dead body while it was still warm, but beyond any hope of being brought back."

 

[MzHyde]

Kay found herself asking the questions she was to make sure she was covering every angle she possibly could think of so she felt like she wouldn't make a wrong turn anywhere with anyone else. She just didn't do wrong by Rinaa again by misunderstanding a situation or instruction. She was also beyond relieved that they had a solid chance of winning this case with Elliott and bringing him home. Hearing that the girl had thought so much about what to say or do with Moya was quite an impressive thing to witness. It showed what tremendous love Rinaa did have in her heart for others, even if she would try and hide it. She also agreed with Chas and John that Moya was a good person and that it was indeed best if she remembers Rinaa for the amazing 'Artemis' that she knew.

She nodded at Rinaa saying she was going to see Moya next, whilst not being able to stop herself from glancing at the teenager's wrist as it was turned over. She summarised that after everything Rinaa had said about it, the kid didn't have much time left to be able to say her goodbye to Moya. The extensive reasons she was going to give Moya, or more the point, had given Moya before hand was equally impressive and worrying that Rinaa had put this much thought into it. The part that really shocked her however was what she said about her plans initially for back in her time. The idea of killing herself in John's apartment just to get at the alternates was shocking and horrifying, even if she could just about see the logic in Rinaa's thinking. Glancing at Fia, she got the feeling the two teenagers had had a vague but similar conversation before as Fia wasn't as horrified by the news as Kay herself was. "that's...morbid but can see why you were thinking of that. How much time do you have to talk with Moya?" she asked, "I don't want you thinking you need to be here longer than you've got" she said in a caring tone.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Hearing that Rinaa had been considering euthanasia was hardly surprisingly. She'd already confessed to being suicidal and wanting to die on her own terms not on anybody else's. The teenager had revealed all kinds of surprising things in the past few minutes, but hearing how she intended to kill herself was not something they ever expected to here. "That's damn fucked up in so many ways, but really would have made quite the statement" John was floored by the sheer twisted malice behind that idea. Seeing dead kids was never easy enough, but coming back home and finding a relative in a pool of blood on your coffee table was a nightmare for anybody. He could see her logic, by forcing all the alternates to see her dead body, she was forcing them to see what they'd brought her to, forcing them to see that at least some of the blame rested with that timeline's Kay and Fia. John was tempted to add a 'bloody well done on coming up with something as screwed up as that' to her, but decided against it, knowing it was all kinds of bad. Chas didn't know what to say to that revelation, so he said nothing.

"I've got enough time left and this old thing" she indicated the time travel/teleport device around her other arm "makes hopping around between places a lot easier, otherwise I'd have been screwed. Once I realised what was happening and got over the initial cocktail of emotions enough that I could think straight, I started figuring out how what I needed to do, much time was left and how to split it, as well as texting Moya to say I'd be coming over soon. Not that I show up and she's not there." "A planner to the end huh?" John remarked. "Exactly" Rinaa nodded "I don't have the luxury of falling apart and processing things fully, I can do that later."

She shuffled her feet awkwardly "anyway, I should go grab myself, if you've got any last words or whatever..... probably a good idea to get 'em together and say 'em when I come back." "One question first...." Chas called as she started to head towards the bedrooms "what happened to your hand?" Rinaa looked down at the bandaged hand in question, even in this state of chaos she'd flung at them, Chas was asking some of the right questions. "Oh um... this... yeah...." she commented awkwardly "I sort of accidentally broke one of the bones in it.... metacarpal I think they're called? My knowledge of biology and anatomy isn't great." With that she slipped into the section of the apartment where the bedrooms were.

 

[MzHyde]

With John coming to the same conclusion as herself, Kay was slightly surprised that yet again they were on the same wave length of thinking, right down to the type of wording in their thought process. She just knew that if they were thinking that, then their alternates as twisted as some of them were would think the same, not to mention that alternate John would be utterly destroyed seeing a relative in his apartment dead, especially a grandkid. As Rinaa said she had enough time left, she nodded in understanding, whilst also looking at the device that Rinaa gestured to on her other wrist. She had to admit she was impressed with how organised Rinaa was, even right to these final moments.

As Rinaa said she was going to dry off and sort herself out, Kay knew they shouldn't hold her up any longer. She didn't know what else they could possibly say to the girl as they all knew there was no backing out of this for the teenager. Yet somehow Chas still managed to find one more question to ask before she disappeared into the bedroom area. Hearing that she broke a bone in her hand, Fia wondered what the hell she did to do such a thing in such a short amount of time. The moment Rinaa disappeared Fia turned to the other three in the room with a sigh, "well this day turned to shit rapidly didn't it? I can't believe she's having to go this soon" she remarked. "can say that again, poor kid" Kay replied.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Organising things seemed to be Rinaa's coping mechanism in the same way that alcohol and sleeping around was John's way of dealing with things when they went to shit (and the way doing drugs used to be his coping mechanism). There was a certain poetics-ness in the way that one fell apart and lost control while the other drew into themself and brought things under control. After Rinaa explained what had happened to her hand Chas couldn't help but look at his own, first looking and then trying to feel where these bones were, like Fia wondering how she'd managed to such a thing. Was it an accident? A side effect of the bond being broken? Or worse, was it deliberate- some form of self harm?

John meanwhile flopped back into the couch, letting go of Kay's hand, so he could run both his hands through her hair, sighing as he tried to make sense of everything. "Yer not alone in thinkin' that. Sure it was inevitable that both o' you would leave. But I never saw it happenin' like this for the kid. As morbid as it sounds, I thought we'd all be standing over her body as opposed to...." he waved his hands in the air, unable to come up with suitable words to convey what was on his mind, in the end settling for "this shit. It doesn't feel real, more like some kind of fucked up nightmare, if it was actually one, I'd be bloody relieved for one." Chas sighed in agreement with his friend. "Unfortunately I thought the same on that, that she wouldn't leave us until death came. Poor kid is an understatement of epic proportions, seems like nothing's really gone quite right for her."

 

[MzHyde]

Kay didn't mind in the slightest that he let go of her hand, they were all trying to make sense of everything and acknowledge that yes, this really was happening. Like John and Chas, she was convinced that they'd see the death of Rinaa before this type of leaving act came about and it'd only be Fia they'd be saying goodbye to and seeing going back to their time. She also knew what she was saying was a great understatement but she honestly couldn't find any other words to say on the whole situation. "it really hasn't gone right for her. This is just....insane" was all Kay could say. "I think we can all agree that all of us thought the other situation would be the case and not this." Fia commented.

"I just hope for her it goes okay with Moya in a bit. I know none of this is okay but, you know..." Kay remarked, "that it won't get too difficult?" Fia summarised questionably. "bingo" Kay replied before sighing greatly, hating that their group was split up for various reasons and not all together during this time. She had no idea what she could possibly say to Rinaa when she would come back out, just like Fia knew there wasn't much else to say but she knew there was one thing she did want Rinaa to know before leaving and no matter what, she was going to tell her.

 

[_gallifrog_]

John and Chas nodded their agreement to Kay's unfinished statement and Fia's summary of said statement, all having been thinking something along similar lines. "Yeah, poor girl, by which I mean both of them. They're a good pair, but so much was against them from day one." He sighed deeply, then continued. "Sure she may have prepared Moya for this possibility, but dumping it on her with such short notice? That really does suck." "I guess it's a good thing she's goin' to Moya last, she doesn't have to be watchin' the clock so she can run off and tell us lot. Savin' the best til last and all that." In his opinion, Moya was probably the best person (from this time) in the kid's life at the moment, none of them really ranked close.

Rinaa would re-emerge less than three minutes later. Almost all her stuff had been in the one place and packing it all up was a quick affair. The soaking wet clothes she wrung out over the bathroom sink before putting them in a plastic bag so the remaining wetness wouldn't spread to everything else in her pack. She made sure to grab the phone from her 'cousins' room before leaving, it couldn't be left behind, knowing Jay she'd try and break the encryption. The clothes she'd changed into were her typical working style, a pair of cargo trousers with oil and grease stains and a dark coloured t-shirt. On top was slightly old, slightly battered raincoat that fit her slim frame that looked far better on her than it should. Her hair she'd given as much of a dry as possible, but it still glistened with residual water. With the massive backpack on her back and two smaller bags (one hanging off each side) she looked almost like a typical teenager heading of on some kind of gap year adventure.

Chas was the first to give the teenager a hug, even though with the sheer bulkiness of her backpack it felt like half of what he was hugging was backpack, not teenager. Words passed between to the two, but too quietly for the other's to hear. John was next, their hug lasting longer. While it had been Chas who spoke first the last time, it was Rinaa who spoke first this time, wanting to get something important across to him (or at least that's what Chas assumed judging by the set of her face and the way John responded to her words). "You have my word" was the last thing he said to her and it was just about audible to everybody else in the room.

 

[MzHyde]

Both Kay and Fia agreed with Chas' sentiment that neither Rinaa or Moya have the easier end of this situation. They both felt so sorry for Moya because she had barely known 'Artemis' and yet grown so close to her, despite knowing the relationship would be incredibly short because of Rinaa's terminal illness. They also agreed that leaving Moya until last was no doubt the best course of action. "agreed, they had so much against them but what they had was pure and good. And I also agree its best Moya was left until last" Kay added before Rinaa came back. They both let Chas hug Rinaa first and have their final goodbyes, before John had his moment. They just about heard John's reply and wondered what was said to make John give such a solid promise.

Kay was next up and hugged Rinaa tightly and protectively, even though the protectiveness was all but void at this stage. "have a safe trip back to your time kiddo." she told her quietly, unsure what else she could possibly say to the teenager. She pulled away eventually and Fia wasted no time in going to Rinaa and hugging her the tightest. "I'm gonna miss you Rii, despite everything at the beginning, you showed me what a normal teenager does. Let me in and gave me a moment of normality and I'll forever be greatful to you for that." she whispered to her, holding back the single tear that was threatening to escape her eye. Kay could see that whatever Fia was telling Rinaa, it was something she desperately needed to grab off her chest and let the two teenagers have their moment.

 

[_gallifrog_]

John and Chas then stepped back to let the two women have their final moments with the teenager. "I will" was all Rinaa replied with in response to Kay's words, also at a loss for what to say, feeling that all that needed to be said had been said earlier. To sort of compensate for the lack of words she leaned far more into this hug than she did with this last one, even though this one was arguably more awkward what with Kay being pregnant and Rinaa being laden down with bags. The hug with Fia went on for the longest out of the four. Her cousin's words touched her in ways words from the alternate Fia never could. Fia wasn't the only one holding back tears "I'm far from normal, but I'll take it anyway. You showed me how things should have been and gave me hope that things will be better. So thanks so much for that." She went to pull back before deciding to risk saying something more "And they WILL be better, believe me, I've got it all sorted. There'll be a few more shocks along the way after this, but the future is brighter and better for everybody. Don't waste your life and actually talk with whatever version of Leah or Leon or whoever you end up with."

Rinaa pulled up her sleeve to reveal the device, having pre-set the coordinates earlier, she then looked up and gave a very slight smirk, the corner of her lips quirking upwards "oh, by the way, I was using a signal jammer routed through my phone this past while, so as soon as I leave, you're gonna get about a million and one messages from the others. Sorry 'bout that." But she wasn't really sorry, it was a necessary thing, she wanted to tell them herself, not have the others do it for her. "So long and thanks for all the fish" she smirked again more genuinely this time, her words were her way of having the last laugh in the only way she could. She (and her bags) then de-materialised and it was just the four of them left standing there. John let out a huff of laughter once Rinaa had gone "heh, that kid's quite something." "Of course she'd end with that." Chas rolled his eyes, but the amusement was clear "it's a quote from the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, in other words a very niche reference to a an excellent sci-fi book series adapted into a truly awful movie."

 

[MzHyde]

When Rinaa leaned more into the hug as best she could, Kay gave her a loving squeeze before she let go and Fia had her moment with her cousin. Fia listened to everything Rinaa was saying to her back, nodding slightly whilst keeping ahold of her. She didn't think she did anything to help Rinaa so to hear she had without even realising it meant the utter world to her and made it harder to not cry. She wasn't ready to let go so when Rinaa stopped herself from pulling away and said a bit more to her, she was glad of it. She didn't like that there'd be a few more shocks along the way, but she trusted Rinaa when she said things would get better. "I will, I promise. I won't let anything bad happen between our families." she told her before letting go and quickly wiping her eye before the tears did fully fall.

She let Rinaa have enough space to use her device to get to Moya, smirking at her last words before sighing deeply when she was gone. Kay was amused by the last words, sensing it was a reference to something but it also seemed to fit as the last meal she personally cooked for Rinaa was a fish dish. Fia was glad for the explanation from Chas as she personally hadn't got round to watching that film or reading the book, having thrown most of her attention into references books and her magic lessons with John. "never read or seen it" she remarked, flopping down onto the couch. "well, I guess this means you'll need a day or evening being shown the film and anything else you've not seen or read at some point" Kay commented.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Later Rinaa would realise that the quote was also her brain without her knowing finding a hidden way of thanking Kay for the food she'd made, not just the last night, but all other nights too. Chas wasn't particularly surprised that nobody else had read the book. "It's quite an acquired taste for a book, to be brutally honest, takes a certain type of person to really like it, most give up reading it partway through. It's not my usual choice of novel at all and I wouldn't really recommend it to anybody either, it's very niche." At Kay's suggestion of showing Fia the movie he firmly shook his head "No way, the movie is beyond shit- trying to cram four books into one film is never a good idea and in this case it's a travesty, a hell of a lot of the good stuff is lost."

John flopped down in the armchair just as all their phones began to ring and beep as all the messages kept out by Rinaa's signal jammer flooded back in. He picked up the phone and without even looking at who was calling he swiped and answered, knowing instinctively it would be Elliott on the other end of the line. "She's just gone Ell, it's too late." They spoke for a few minutes, lamenting the loss and John making Elliott swear to talk to him about this properly later when he was back. "Well there is good news from their end, the legal team isn't a bunch of plonkers who don't give a shit, they're exact opposite in fact." "That's excellent news." Chas had been worried that they would end up with a bunch of useless people who'd rather be working for the other side, so to hear that wasn't the case was a great relief. "How is Ell holding up?" "It's like the kid said, as good as he can, all things considered, but I get the impression he doesn't know what he's supposed to be focusing on- her leaving or the upcoming trial."

 

[MzHyde]

Fia listened to the opinion Chas had of the book and straight after Kay's suggestion, the film. The fact that Chas was adamant on her not watching rhd film made her her smirk slightly, "then show me some films that are worth watching sometime, like the best godfather slash uncle you are" she told him as all their phones went manic with the flood of alerts coming through. She picked up her phone and read through the messages but when John's started ringing, she knew it was pointless replying to any of the family messages. Kay also picked up her phone and flicked through the messages but didn't reply to any, as like Fia, saw no point in it when Elliott called John.

They both waited for John to finish on the phone and was equally glad that the legal team had proven themselves to be good and useful for the case, and not a bunch of idiots like they all deep down feared. Yet like Chas, it was how Elliott was holding up that they both cared more about in this very minute. To hear that he was holding gup as well as Rinaa stated he was was both a relief and a concern to the two women, unsure which emotion they should be feeling over the news. "I'm sure he'll open up to you later" Fia reasoned as she saw Kay sit down on the couch where she was before, but without John to partially lean on. "at least out of all of this giant shit show we got some good news" she commented, running a hand through her hair.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Chas rolled his eyes again, both at Fia's demand to be shown some good movies and the title she'd given him (which was incredibly fitting as he did feel sometimes like John's long suffering adopted sibling). "Don't worry, I will... or future me will, probably can't get any good Earth films in this section of the universe." Plus Rinaa had taken her private Netflix with her so it wasn't like he could just source a good movie in English from her like they'd done other nights. All thoughts of Rinaa vanished when John started speaking to Elliott, the cabbie listening intently to John's side of the conversation, trying desperately to figure out what Elliott might be saying. To hear that Elliott's account and Rinaa's account matched up was a relief, he didn't think for a second the kid had been lying, but it was a relief to hear anyway.

John nodded in response to both Fia and Kay's words. "He will, I know him well enough to know he'll want to talk, but first he'll want to think it through an organise his thoughts not just word vomit them all out at once like some people. And yeah, he said Cliff and Cal'l explain fully when they get back, apparently they have another meeting to go to down that end so we're to do our own thing down this end- be it continuing working or trying to digest everything." John paused before adding "Cliff's words, not mine." Chas nodded before asking the thing that had been praying on his mind since Rinaa and John had hugged goodbye. "John, what did Rinaa make you promise?" "At that, nothing evil or nefarious, just not to give or let Jay any of my cigarettes if her having to go back to her time causes a relapse. Apparently it's particularly hard for her to quit once she starts. Kid didn't think it was anywhere near enough of an upset to trigger a relapse, but wanted to cover that angle anyway."

 

[MzHyde]

Fia couldn't help but smile at Chas' comments and the fact he rolled his eyes at her. "I'll hold you to that and I'll bring the popcorn" she told him. She knew that they'd have no access to any English films as she didn't even have any on her own laptop, and even then it wasn't with her even if there was. So she had no other choice other than redirect her attention to her dad and the points about Elliott. Both Kay and Fia listened to John agree that Elliott would talk to him when he was good and ready, which they both knew well enough. The information about them having a second meeting in their area of town was interesting to the both of them, but they also figured it could only be a good thing if that was the case.

Then came the question that both girls almost forgot to ask but now it was brought back up by Chas, it reminded them that they were curious about that little tidbit as well. They both nodded in understanding, thinking it was a good enough request and one which showed just how much respect and love Rinaa had for Jay that she would want that habit to be stopped if it were to appear, as well as trusting John to put a stop to it considering he was a smoker himself. "I'm sure you wouldn't be the only one stopping her if it did happen. No doubt Elliott would want her to stay clear of that as well if he knew Rinaa asked that of you" Kay replied. "what she said" Fia typically remarked. "so what should be our game plan? Look at more things and continue the work or amuse ourselves with something more light hearted?" she then added.

(sorry took so long, started playing last of us 2)

 

[_gallifrog_]

"Dunno if she also asked Elliott to keep an eye on Jay in that regard, obviously she didn't say, but yeah, I'd say he'd do what he could to stop her. Given that I'm the only smoker here, and therefore the only one carrying cigarettes it makes sense to single me out for that particular request." John most likely wouldn't have said no if Jay asked, the woman was old enough to make her own choices on that matter, and John was certainly in no position to judge her for smoking. There was also something about the quiet camaraderie of smoking with somebody else that John quite liked. Jay he suspected would actually be fairly decent as a smoking partner, not one for talking and well suited for brooding in dark shadows. He knew smoking shouldn't be romanticised, he'd seen the damage it did to people and felt it for himself and he'd never encourage somebody to do so (smoking was one thing he would never ever let Fia or any other kid connected to him do), but certain people could pull it off and make it look good. Jay was somebody who could in theory do that.

Chas shrugged at Kay's question of what to do next. "I don't know really, the files are only being translated for our benefit, Elliott, Cal, Cliff and Jay can read them just fine as they are, so we could just leave translating them for another day." "Or they could just be done in the background, the programme doesn't need constant monitorin' while it works, just feed in the data and it churns it out." John paused, the full depth of what he'd said just hitting him. Rinaa had known full well the programme needed only minimal human intervention, yet when explaining it Rinaa had made it sound like a far more important job than it actually was. Which was kinda touching, had they not done something they'd have gone nuts, so she found something for them to do. "I spent a good chunk of my morning lookin' into Elliott's father's university days." "Why?" Chas' face scrunched in surprise. "Boredom and curiosity I guess 'bout what Cal said on the flight back. At that age he looks startling like Elliott, it's kinda freaky." "Well they are related, so .....go figure." Chas drawled sarcastically, prompting John to flip him off. "Failing that we could just go out and get food or something. We have money and between John and I speak enough of the language."

(It's cool, hope you enjoyed/are enjoying it!)

 

[MzHyde]

Kay agreed that it made sense why Rinaa singled him out on the request, knowing that it'd be far easier for Jay to get cigarettes from John than to to make an effort to go outside and buy some. Like John, she would never ever let Fia smoke, not wanting her kid to go down that road and gain all kinds of possible health problems with it. Luckily for them both, growing up with John smoking put Fia completely off the notion of doing such a thing. She let her dad get on with it and like Kay, never once moaned about his smoking or lectured him for it, instead just telling herself not to pick up the habit of her father and remain being a but of a 'fitness freak' instead.

Fia had caught on that the translating software didn't need full monitoring quite early on like John did, but she kept feeding in data anyway and what little bits were translated she found herself reading them earlier on. Both her and Kay raised eyebrows when John admitted to looking into Zan's University days, equally curious to why he would do such a thing, only to find it was out of boredom and curiosity. The moment Chas mentioned about going out for food her ears pricked up, a grin appearing on her face. "you had me at food" she smirked. "and the bottomless pit rears it's head again" Kay teased, making Fia poke her tongue out at her mother. "I'll need to get my boots on if we go out and a jacket but I'm okay with going out, if you two are" she then added, meaning John and Chas.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Logically John had known that teenage Zan would look similar to teenage Elliott, it had been emphasised on multiple occasions that Cal and Elliott looked physically more like their father than their mother, but it had still shocked him to see just how strong the resemblance was. Just change the hair colour and at a casual glance one could be easily mistaken for the other. John, like Fia perked up at the mention of eating, his stomach growling quietly under his shirt reminding him that he hadn't actually eaten since the fish meal Kay cooked the day before."You had me at food as well mate. I'm bloody starving" John smirked, eating sounding like an excellent idea to him at this moment in time, and getting some fresh air sounded attractive. even if- a glance towards the windows confirmed his suspicions- it was still raining outside. "And jacket's all round I think, it's still pissing out there."

Chas pulled a face as he looked towards the window too. the rain had lessened somewhat, but they'd still get fairly wet. Luckily he had planned ahead and brought a proper raincoat just in case an occasion like this arose. It was still at the bottom of his bag having never been needed until now. "Oh how lovely" he remarked sarcastically before switching to a more serious tone "I'm still fine with going out to eat, change of scenery sounds very attractive. Though we could also just get take away sent to the forge and eat over there instead of eating here just to actually get out in some shape or form. Cabin fever and all that." He didn't want to directly make a big deal out of the fact that Kay was pregnant and being out in cold, wet rain probably wasn't good for a human, let alone a phoenix who felt the cold far more acutely than a human, but he knew John wouldn't do or say anything, so that meant he had to.

 

[MzHyde]

Kay and Fia both looked at the window at the same time when John said about it still pissing down with rain outside, Kay sighing in reaction. Neither had actual rain coats on them, but luckily they did both have the thick winter coats from the last day at Cliff's home planet to use. They both listened to Chas' options, finding both of them were fine with either, though the idea of being at the forge near a warm fire of some kind was attractive sounding to Kay. "I don't mind what we do, as long I'm not outside in that shit weather for long, we can eat wherever" she commented. "I don't mind either, whatever you both wanna do, I got my big thick coat still to keep warm so whichever option is fine by me" Fia added.

"but I do agree I'd rather have a break from the ol' cabin fever and get out again, even if it was just to grab good and bring it back either here or the forge, it'd be something. So whilst you lot decide between the three of you which option to do, I'm gonna go grab my boots and coat" Kay then said after Fia's comment, pushing herself up onto her feet and heading to the spare bedroom she was currently using with John. Fia just smiled to herself, finding it was such a typical statement from Kay to make and making the rest of them decide on what to do so she didn't have to. She was mostly used to it if they couldn't decide between which take out to get or restaurant to go to or on the rare occasion they all went to the cinema together, which film to see. Her mother would bail out seamlessly, leaving her and John (and anyone else who was with them on odd days) to decide.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Chas and John turned to face each other now that both Kay and Fia had flaked out from making an actual decision. Both ideas had been Chas' which made him sort of in charge. Had Fia not been there in the room with them, one of them would have insisted that Kay made a choice so it wouldn't end up as a stalemate with one all in on the first option, while the other steadfastly refused to budge from the second. (When it was just John and Chas they frequently ended up in such stalemates, which were solved either by flipping a coin or calling somebody- usually Renee because as much as she and John didn't get along, the woman would always give a straight answer- to get a third opinion on the matter).

John sighed already having an opinion on the matter. "Well let's face it, we're preeetty fucking clueless as to where does good on this planet, or even where anywhere that does said good food is located." He drew out the word 'pretty' to exaggerate just how clueless they really were. "But we do know where the take-away menus are located?" Chas replied with a smirk, easily able to see where his mate was going. "Ten points to Chas." John smirked, pointing at Chas. "And now that we have this translation software, we could literally just run a picture of the menu through it." Chas added, walking over to the drawer where the take-away menus were kept (it was one of the first places Cal and Cliff had pointed out to them during their first day in the apartment). he couldn't help but smirk slightly at the sight of the menus seeing that just like in his family, Cal and Cliff had marked their favourite dishes, despite knowing full well that the other knew their usual order.

 

[MzHyde]

Fia knew if a decision didn't get made soon then they'd never get anywhere or do anything, yet she was also of the opinion that she was the kid in this situation and therefore she was washing he hands off any decision to be made. So instead she listened to the conversation between her father and godfather, hearing out where the opinions were going. John made a very valid point about them having access to the translation software that they could use on the takeout menus, with Fia smirking at the point comment after Chas started figure out where John was going with his comment. She waited as Chas went to the takeout menu drawer, finding she was getting more and more hungry as the time went on. "okay, so translate the menu, figure out what we all want, order it and send it where? The forge?" she summarised, finally making a decision of some sort.

Kay took a good couple of minutes in the bedroom as she tried to get her boots on, before standing up and grabbing her winter coat that was on the back of the door the entire time, and slinging it over her arm for the time being as she saw no real urgency to actually put it on until they were ready to actually leave the apartment. With a sigh, she walked out of the bedroom and made it back into the living room where she saw Chas with the menus. "made a decision then?" she remarked, slinging her coat on the armrest of one of the couches and sitting back down again.

 

[_gallifrog_]

"I like that plan" John smirked in response to Chas' words. "I vote for the forge. We've got an open invite to drop by whenever after all." The blacksmith had made it very clear that they were all very welcome to come over any time and just hang around there if the cabin fever got to much for them provided that they acted sensibly (i.e. stayed a safe distance away from the forging going on and didn't get in the way of either him, Cal or the apprentice when they were working). Chas had made use of the invitation to just pop around. Dan was the most normal bloke out of their group and despite the big language gap between them (Dan having no English and Chas' Attili being fairly bad) they were very similar people and just instinctively got along. "Well in that case" John declared, picking up a menu at random "we might as well bloody avail of it."

By the time Kay came back they'd already decided the restaurant they wanted to go to and were in the process of translating the menu. As promised by Rinaa the USB had no password protection and had been wiped of everything except the translation software. Chas had been hesitant to pick it up at first, he knew the thought was completely irrational, it wasn't gonna bite him. It was a nondescript device- the basic silver and black, not personalised in any way, the plastic was slightly scuffed, but that was it, nothing threatening at all. But the reluctance still remained, this was remained, it was Rinaa's after all. "Take-away to the forge." John said by means of explanation without looking up as Kay came in. "I'm doing the ordering so try go for somethin' I can actually pronounce not the most complicated dish, sides, dip, drink and desert combo possible on the menu."

 

[MzHyde]

By the time they had chosen what place to order from, Fia had all but leapt from her place on the couch to lean over John from behind in a typical teenage manner, arms draped over his shoulders loosely to keep her there as she looked at everything as it translated on the computer. For her this was a standard situation and action to do in her timeline, having found it was just enough equal amounts of irritating and endearing for her to get away with doing. Kay listened to the explanation from John and smirked at the sight before her thinking that she could get used to seeing such a thing as there was definitely something about it that just seemed to bring some kind warmth and happiness to her.

When he said about him being the one who was going to be doing the ordering so not to pick something too difficult to pronounce, Kay got that mischievous smirk on her face. "well there goes my fun for the evening" she joked, not entirely putting it passed her or Fia to have actually picked something so difficult to pronounce that it brought great amusement to the both of them hearing John get utterly tongue twisted. "annoying him with such things as that is my job thank you very much!" Fia teased back at Kay. Kay just chuckled and walked over to see what menu they had decided on so she could try and pick something that stood out to her.

 

[_gallifrog_]

"Ah, but if I garble it too badly or maybe even bollocks it up on purpose, you might end up with something else entirely, something you mightn't even like." There was both a threat and a hint of mischief in John's tone. "So I'd be very bloody careful what you say. And besides, neither of you speak the language or understand it and this translator only works on written word, not spoken word, so what's to say I don't order a whole bunch of shit that only I like instead? They have octopus and eel in this place." John knew for a fact that neither woman could stomach such a thing- he'd seen their reactions of disgust and heard their declarations that they would never eat such a thing when he ate a massive portion of both on Cliff's home world. Both were an acquired taste, John had originally eaten them for a bet, but found out that he genuinely liked them.

"Long story, short, don't piss off the person who speaks the native language. No matter how much of an annoying bastard he is, he's got the upper hand... or tentacle on this." Chas summarised with a smirk, as he scanned the menu translation, having already decided what he wanted to eat. With all orders taken and the address of the forge confirmed (it was on Cal and Cliff's pinboard where they kept contact details for important people, just in case something happened to both of them that left them unable to give contact details) John placed the order in his fairly decent Attili. It lacked the fluency and the grace that Cliff, Cal, Dan, jay, Rinaa and even Elliott spoke it with. It sounded rougher coming from his mouth (as did most languages) but it was understandable enough that he didn't have to repeat anything. "Twenty minutes they say." "Might as well head over then, no point in hanging around." It was a twelve minute or so walk to the forge usually, but the rain could hinder them.