Fandom Into the fire (1x1 MzHyde/Gallifrog)

[_gallifrog_]

Hearing that the cat was one that came with the building didn't particularly surprise John. There'd been a cat like that in the block of flats where he grew up, nobody knew who owned it (it had no collar or ID chip), just that it migrated from flat to flat, seeking companionship with anybody willing and that pretty much everybody chipped in and fed it. The cat was a friendly little thing, and a good mouser too, a fact which meant even the most grumpy residents of the block were willing tolerate it. Sadly It had stopped showing up when John was twelve or so, no body was found, but it was common belief that the cat had died of natural causes. What did surprise him was the answer Zan gave to the question about his history regarding motorbikes. The man couldn't have made it any more clear that he'd known exactly what his teenage daughter had been doing when they'd still been living under the same room. The utterly casual way in which he said it made a very slight smirk appear on John's face, one that he forced to vanish once he realised it was there (this was Zan gods dammit, he couldn't smirk at this man's quip without feeling like he was betraying Elliott).

Cal meanwhile was caught between gaping saying 'you knew all that time?' in the most shocked tone of voice she could muster or scowling ferociously at him, demanding to know why he'd never let on that he knew. She was also disconcerted by the expression on his face, one she knew all too well from her childhood. All the times they'd met him this week, Zan had shown little resemblance to the father she remembered from her childhood, the fallout of Elliott being exiled had changed Zan just as much as it had changed her. A pang of nostalgia passed through her and she wondered (not for the first time) how things could have been different. In the end she settled for the cop out answer of 'you might have a point there'. Elliott had no such qualms, just looking shocked at the revelation, he and Cal had put so much effort into not getting caught, yet it seemed Zan had known all along and said nothing. Why would he do that? Did Zan know they were sneaking out so he could practice his magic skills? Or did he just think that Cal was another late night street racer (like Moya was)? With that the group split, Zan heading to the stairwell to the garage level, the rest heading back to Cal and Cliff's apartment.

 

[MzHyde]

Seeing the way Cal and Elliott reacted to Zan's little quip made Fia think she would probably react the same way if John ever properly outed her for her little nightly sneak outs. She always had this feeling he knew, to her he was too observant to be fooled but that didn't mean she kept trying. It was why she thought what she did when she overheard what Zan said, and all the time she wasn't being called out on her own antics, she wasn't going to admit to them. In her eyes, it was a bit of a game and she had no qualms playing it until her parents put a stop to it. With everyone splitting away from Zan and heading back to the apartment, Fia felt like she could finally breathe in a relaxed manner, "I'm so ready for that cosy bed" she declared to everyone. "you and me both kiddo, I'm more than ready for bed....even for a little while" Kay replied, yawning mid sentence before continuing her words. She was only mentally exhausted but standing up for so long with barely any moments to lean against something was taking its toll on her body as well.

"I can tell, you look like you're gonna drop any minute" Fia smirked as she walked back to the apartment with everyone. "no offence" she added, "jee thanks, no offence taken, but only because I feel like it" Kay retorted, knowing she couldn't protest or deny those very words from Fia. She was also too tired to truly take the bait of the teasing and just let Fia have her little moment. With the fact the apartment was quite literally only three minutes away, she was glad it didn't take them long to get back, even if she did hate the idea of walking up all those stairs to reach said apartment. She fully intended to just head straight to bed and not even stop in the living room when they eached the right level.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Both Cal and Elliott were very subdued on the walk back to the apartment. Neither said anything, but spend the whole time glancing at each other, some kind of unspoken conversation going on between them. Cliff let them be, as did Jay, knowing that both needed time to digest it, first on their own, and then with whatever person they felt most comfortable pouring their heart out to. For Cal that would be Cliff, no contest and for Elliott, it was going to be John and Jay could respect that fact. If she'd be in their shoes, she would have an imaginary conversation with her brother before she'd voice her thoughts to Elliott. There were audible sighs of relief when they arrived back at the apartment, which felt positively palatial compared to the tiny spartan room they'd just spent the past fourish hours in and Cliff couldn't help but quip "I'm never going to complain that this place is too small again." That brought a smile back to Cal's face, Cliff had never once complained that the apartment was too small, the exact opposite in fact, it was a running joke between them as they'd managed to get such a massive apartment at such a relatively cheap price.

John also chuckled before voicing his own, less serious thought on the matter. "Well one other good thing came outta that visit." He said in a completely serious tone, before adding with a shit-eating smirk "we just found a cure for my insomnia." Elliott and Cal took one look at each other and burst into peals of laughter, releasing some of the stress and craziness of the day in this joyful, borderline manic laughter. Their lives were so utterly ridiculous that all the siblings could do was laugh at it, leaning against each other for support. Chas snorted, loudly, too tired to be mortified about the undignified noise he made, while Jay's face split into what could only be described as a Cheshire cat grin. Once the laughter subsided, John found himself pulled into a tight hug by Elliott who whispered "I really needed to hear that kind of stupid remark, thanks John" after Elliott pulled away from John, they all retired to their separate rooms.

John didn't even bother to remove his shirt, shoes and socks like he usually did, just hung the trenchcoat in it's usual position before flopping, face first, on his side of the bed. It was a testament to how tired he was and how little of a shit he currently gave that he adopted this sleeping position. John usually slept on his front or side, never wanting to leave his back exposed to any intruder who could just barge into his room (it was a habit he'd picked up as a kid). Within 0.2 seconds he was already asleep.

 

[MzHyde]

Once in the apartment, Fia and Kay both had to smirk and snigger at Cliff's comment about her own apartment before glancing at John as he opened his mouth and spoke up, only to find themselves chuckling at the comment and how Elliott and Cal reacted to it all. Kay was waiting no time to head to the bedroom they were taking up, getting a head start on everyone else. By the time John came into the room, Kay had managed to get her coat and boots off and was just pulling herself under the duvet, getting ready to lay down flat. She noted how he refused to even take off his clothing and shoes before instantly falling asleep the moment he quite literally hit the bed and pillow face first. The sight of him in such a manner actually made her smile fondly at him. "night John" she whispered, laying down herself and falling asleep seconds later herself.

Fia waited until everyone else was ready to head to their sleeping arrangements before heading to her room, where she proceeded her usual routine of taking off her coat, jeans and boots, deciding to just leave her vest on and get into bed. She couldn't be bothered to change into her pyjamas for once as she too tired and welcomed unconsciousness gladly. She didn't even dream this time round which if she was aware of it all, she'd have been greatful for as she just wanted to sleep and not wake up with the images of her dream the night before. By the time morning came back round, Fia's alarm on her phone woke her up as per usual, making her accidentally hit the snooze button and not the turn off button as she did it without looking. She yawned and stretched out, before sighing and bringing herself to pull down the duvet from her head as it ended up over her completely during the night. "urgh...morning came way too quickly" she complained to herself, despite actually feeling quite refreshed. She sat upright and grabbed her bag to find her one other clean vest to wear as she didn't fancy wearing the one she slept in.

With morning round, Kay slowly stirred awake still feeling utterly wrecked even though she did a lot less compared to the others the night before. She just felt so tired still, like she hadn't got enough sleep.

 

[_gallifrog_]

John didn't budge once from his face first position on the bed during the course of the night. All those sleepless nights had finally caught up on him and his body didn't even have the willpower to shift itself around so he could life on his back or his side like normal nor did it have the willpower to go closer to/pull the partner he was in bed with closer to him. He didn't dream either, the night was just one unrelenting block of darkness. When the early morning alarm on his phone went off, rudely pulling him out of what had been the best sleep he'd had in ages John groaned loudly into the pillow. "Bloody bollocks, it's not mornin' already is it?" he moaned, reaching for his phone, head still buried in the pillow. He squinted at the screen and groaned again, upon realising that yes, it was indeed morning and once again they would have to subject themselves to another day of trial proceedings.

His body complained slightly as pushed himself off the bed and into a seating position, the ache in his arms and shoulders reminding him that he'd played a very intense contact sport last night. But as he rubbed his shoulders to lessen the pain John also knew he was rested enough that he could go through another day of trial proceedings. It would be boring and he wouldn't enjoy it, but he damn well wasn't going to let Elliott do it alone. He glanced over at Kay, and quickly realised that despite him being the insomniac, she was the one who looked the most wrecked of the two of them. Even though she'd clearly slept, it hadn't been enough and something told him she wouldn't make it through the full day of court proceedings. It was an immense effort to make it through the day when fully rested, so when sleep deprived and pregnant with a mythical child-human mage hybrid thingy whose development was nothing like a normal human's? Fat chance. And the last thing any of them wanted was to somehow damage unborn Fia by putting Kay through too much. This line of thought would be pretty damn evident on John's face.

 

[MzHyde]

With the sound of John's alarm waking them both up, Kay glanced her eyes up at John as he grabbed for his phone to turn the alarm off, and see that yes it was indeed morning once more, " 'fraid so..." she mumbled back at his question. She hated that she felt so tired still and didn't want to let anyone down by feeling she couldn't cope with yet another day of the trial but she felt like she could barely move in the bed, let alone getting up and freshening up. She looked through sleepy eyes at John who was rubbing his shoulders from the intense game the night before and briefly wondered how Fia was feeling or if she even managed to wake up, before yawning once more and struggling to keep her eyes open. She noticed John glancing at her and could see he was thinking along similar lines to her about herself. "I know...I look like shit..." she grumbled sleepily, trying to make light of it, as she tried to give herself motivation to get up, or at least sit up to start off. "but I'll be okay" she added, pushing herself to a slight sitting position eventually, even though her body was telling her and John otherwise.

Fia managed to find her other vest that was appropriate for the court, placing it beside her on the bed before dropping her bag down on the ground by her feet as she did every morning. Grabbing her clean vest and jeans, she got up and out of bed, shoving her lounge shorts on just to get to the bathroom so she freshen up and get dressed. Like most morning when she was up pretty quickly, she rapped on the door to check if anyone else was in there before entering as she really didn't feel like walking in on any of her family. Satisfied it was empty, she empty and gave herself a quick refreshing wash before getting dressed and brushing her hair with her brush that she seemed to have left in the bathroom the day before, deciding that today was a day for a loose side braid before exiting the bathroom to let whoever needed it next in. Exiting the bathroom, she headed back to her room to drop off her shorts and vest from yesterday in, whilst grabbing her phone, perching on her bed to check through it incase she had anything which she didn't. "guess I should get some breakfast.. I'm starving" she thought out loud to herself.

 

[_gallifrog_]

John was tempted to reply with 'understatement' but it was obvious from Kay's tone that she knew how much of an understatement her words were. If she'd been dragged backwards through a field of briars by a stampede of wild horses, she would probably look better than she did now. "There's no way in Hells our resident doctor is going to let you go to the trial, you know that as well as I do." There was really no arguing with that remark, Cliff was the deciding authority on everything medical related in the flat. "An' besides, last thing any of us want is for our unborn kid to end up fucked up somehow cos you were too stubborn to listen to the person in this place with a medical degree." He added, sniffing at the armpit of his shirt and grimacing at the pungent odour coming from it. Even if he hadn't slept in this shirt he couldn't have worn it to another day of court proceedings, it was drenched in last night's sweat. He pulled it off and grabbed on a new one from his bag.

Fully dressed and no longer reeking of sweat, John entered the main room and was relieved to see that although everybody else was up, he and Kay weren't the only one suffering from lack of sleep. Chas looked half asleep and Cliff didn't look any better, having the very beginning of dark circles forming around her eyes. Cal and Elliott were less outwardly tired, but were lacking their usual energy, the succession of late nights, early rising and intensive trial days was also taking their toll on them. The only one in the room who didn't look like they were yearning for another few hours or in John's case a week at the absolute minimum was Dan. Even in his slightly sleep deprived state, he knew why the blacksmith was there without having to ask, Cal was filling him in on the revelations of last night, as well as seeking the parental emotional support than her wife couldn't provide. What did catch him by surprise was the fact that Jay was utterly dead to the world asleep on the couch. Like John she'd flopped on the nearest comfortable flat surface while fully clothed, but unlike John she'd not woken up. Elliott looked up and gave a smile at the sight of John.

"How the hell is she still asleep?" John asked, gesturing a thumb at Jay as he swung into the seat across from Elliott. By means of an answer Elliott held up Jay's phone which was smashed almost in two, held together by some splinters of screen and circuit board. "The alarm went off, she swore at the phone in at least six languages then slammed it against the edge of the coffee table, snapping it half before going right back to sleep again." John couldn't help but smirk and chuckle at that, turning the broken phone over in his hand. It was the same kind of phone Kay had been given, the prototype tech model designed by Kane and it was incredibly robust. For Jay to have broken it she had to have used immense force. "Bloody Hells" he whistled, to which Elliott nodded. "I decided it's best to leave her be, she'd probably shatter every bone in the body of anybody who attempted to wake her up." "Wise decision." John replied, passing the smashed phone back and grabbing the nearest box of cereal. "Guess all those all nighters she's been pulling doing research and trawling through forums finally caught up with her." Elliott said, a fond note in his voice.

 

[MzHyde]

Kay knew deep down that John was right. There truly was no way that Cliff would let her join them at the trial no matter how much she wanted to be there for Elliott. She couldn't help but smirk at his choice of next few words whilst pointing out her stubbornness to her, which just made her nod. "yeah...I know. I hate that that's the truth of the matter but it is. Fia is the priority right now, not me" she admitted to him, as he sniffed the armpits of his shirt and looking less than pleased at the odour coming out of it. She desperately wanted to go back to sleep but she didn't want to until she had seen the others go either, she was also slightly hungry and knew if she didn't get out of bed, then she probably wouldn't eat at all. So she slowly pulled herself out of bed and pulled on her oversized hoodie as he got dressed and freshened up. She practically dragged her feet as she walked behind John to the main room where she saw everyone else awake, well...everyone except for Jay, which lessened her feeling of feeling guilty about not being able to go. She recognised the model of the phone as the same one Jay gave her when her phone got pretty trashed from dropping it, thinking how hard Jay must have slammed it to have broken it in half whilst also being rather impressed by it. "she's not the only one who needs more sleep" she said, deciding to just beat everyone to the punch about commenting how bad she looked. "as much as I feel bad about it, I know it's best I stay behind and catch up on more sleep than come with you guys" she added.

Fia showed up just moments after John and Kay did into the main room, having seen them just in front of her walking. She saw Jay still fast asleep fully dressed, making her realise that it seemed a lot of them did exactly that notion. She could see that Kay was still in her leggings and oversized shirt underneath the hoodie which made her realise she slept in those, John always wore the same thing anyway, but it wouldn't have surprised her if he just slept in his clothes, then there was her who slept in the vest she wore last night but luckily changed before seeing everyone. "damn mum you look like shit" she remarked making Kay roll her eyes. "thanks kiddo, yes I know I do" Kay replied, the first part said sarcastically as she grabbed some breakfast for herself, Fia doing the same thing. "Take it Jay ain't moving from there either?" she then asked Elliott, gesturing with her thumb toward the sleeping body of Jay.

 

[_gallifrog_]

When Kay said she was going to stay behind Cliff let out an audible sigh of relief that the woman thinking logically and not going to push herself through something an put herself through ridiculous stress only to fall asleep in the trial (or worse). Cliff could see the woman was in no fit state to got through the whole journe to an from the court and would have no problem with listing the many, many reasons why Kay attending the trial today was a bad idea, but she herself was feeling tired and really didn't want to have to go through an intense argument like that first thing in the morning. It hadn't escaped the doctor's notice that Kay could be incredibly stubborn when she wanted to. "No need to feel bad about it, it's the right call" Cliff said with a reassuring smile "I wouldn't have let you step a foot outside this apartment in the state you're in anyway, so at least you been mature about it saves a whole load of pointless arguing." "That's pretty much what I said." John added through his mouthful of cereal.

At Fia's question Elliott smirked and shook his head, holding up the smashed phone again. "Really don't think she is, as much as she probably wants to go to the trial and spend the whole thing glaring daggers at Zan, she's gone and overworked herself to the point of crashing out." This wasn't the first time Elliott had seen jay push herself so far when working and researching that her body gave up on her and she fell into an unconscious state and it was audible in her tone. This was however the first time she had had worked herself this hard because of him (usually she only worked herself into this state when planning for particularly difficult job she'd been hired to undertake) and he wasn't quite sure how to feel about it. He didn't like seeing Jay in this cranky, 'will get pissed at anything that even dares to move to loudly in my vicinity' mood, but on the other hand it was a testament to how much she cared about him (Jay wasn't one to talk about emotions, she was very much like John in that regard, so if you wanted to know how she truly felt you had to look at her actions). He also suspected that this working herself unconscious was a relatively new thing, Jay had never outright said so, but he'd inferred that it had been her brother who forced her to sleep and stop working at times like this. And without her twin around, and Elliott being slightly terrified of pissing her off, there was nobody to take on that roll. "You can ask her yourself if you want" Elliott gestured at jay's sleeping form "but keep in mind what happened to the last thing that attempted to wake her." He then directed his look at Kay. "Looks like you'll be stuck with an unconscious assassin for most of the day."

 

[MzHyde]

Cliff's audible sigh of relief at Kay's words didn't go amiss on Kay at all and her proceeding words about not needing to feel bad about making it did make Kay feel a little bit better about not going. John's added quip just made her smirk and roll her eyes, "and I agreed with you from the get go" she pointed out casually before yawning once again as she poured herself some cereal and grabbed the milk. She was also glad that Fia turned her attention away from her and onto Jay's sleeping body on the couch to talk with Elliott, as she mentally decided that after she had eaten she was fully planning on going back to bed. "just let me know if anything happens when you're able to please. I'll drive myself crazy wondering and worrying otherwise" she requested and admitted, which wasn't remotely a lie either. She knew if she didn't hear any kind of updates she would be the type to pace around the apartment (driving Jay insane as a consequence) and worry about what could have been said in the trial all day and if everyone was okay.

Fia listened to Elliott and scrunched up her face in her usual 'yeesh' manner as she looked at the phone and its poor demise. She had heard stories of Jay doing such a thing in her time but she had never actually seen it for herself, probably due to the fact that by her teenage years Elliott felt a lot more comfortable telling her to stop for breaks. The moment Elliott told her she could ask Jay herself if she woke her up made Fia shake her head vigorously (which made her look even more like John) and waved her hands in a 'no thank you, I'm not suicidal' manner and speed that matched her head shaking. "I may be crazy in some ways but I'm not that crazy!" she replied to him, before letting him speak to Kay. "so it seems, I'll be going back to bed myself after this so that is perfectly fine by me. Unconscious or not, at least I'm not totally alone this time" she smiled back. She didn't mind that she was alone the night before for a while as it did mean she got her drawing done and time to herself in the bath, but it did mean Fee wouldn't shut up and she wished she had someone physical to actually talk to. Sure, Jay wasn't always the most talkative person but she wasn't in her head so she already had that going for her.

 

[_gallifrog_]

"Obviously we will." Cliff replied, finding it a perfectly fair request. Kay was just as entitled to know what was going on at the trial as everybody else. And with Jay's phone now well and truly out of action that left Kay's phone as the conduit for information. Cliff knew that if she'd be the one who'd had to be left behind she'd be going out of her mind with worry and demanding that her wife tell her everything as soon as humanly possible. The doctor also knew that one Jay woke up, she'd also want to be kept informed, Elliott was her boyfriend.... partner..... significant something or another after all. "No news from Zan's end either before you ask, other than all parties sending texts to verify that they had the right numbers."

Elliott and John both smirked when Fia's face took on an expression of 'no thank you, I'm not suicidal' at his suggestion that she could wake up Jay and ask the woman herself. Nobody in the apartment was stupid enough to try and wake the lethal trained killer. Elliott (and Fia) were the only ones to have been on the receiving end of Jay slamming them against a wall and pulling a weapon because they'd attempted to wake her up and triggered some highly honed assassin instinct. For both of them the experience had been terrifying as for a brief moment Jay's eyes showed no signs of recognition. "Good, cos I'd be really questioning some shit if you were." John replied at the same time as Elliott gave a shrug. "Fair enough" he replied "a wise choice given that she's still got the two guns on her person." Their eyes all flicked to Jay's sleeping form, due to the way she was sleeping part of her leather jacket had rucked up, exposing the holster on her back as well as a small portion of the scar tissue that adorned her back. The hip holster couldn't be seen, but there was no weapon on the coffee table, Jay had been too tired to bother removing it, just crashing right out on the couch. Like John she was asleep within less than a second of her head hitting the pillow.

Shortly after the that the group left the apartment and headed towards the train station. Cal had by now filled Dan in on the most important things they'd learned about Zan the night before, as well as the fact that her mother was a spook. (She'd decided not to even attempt to relay the mounds of information to her adoptive father until she'd heard it all.) Zan had never said not to tell anybody and whether it was because he didn't care about the consequences, didn't believe that his kids would out him as a spook or because he'd just forgotten didn't really matter to Cal. She would have told Dan anyway, in her mind he had just as much of a right as anybody else to know.

 

[MzHyde]

Kay nodded at Cliff agreeing to make sure they relayed her the information they got the moment they could, glad that Cliff could understand why she would want to know and be kept in the loop. She figured out of everyone in their group Cliff would understand the most about where she was coming from. "not entirely surprising I guess that there's no word yet" she replied simply as she ate her breakfast, enjoying the short morning with everyone before heading back to bed. She had no idea how long the trial was going to be today so she was prepared herself for it taking up nearly the whole day. She smirked at seeing Fia shake her head and hands vigorously at Elliott's suggestion thinking 'like father and daughter' once again. Fia glanced at John when he said about questioning things if she were that crazy, giving him the 'aww you do care!' look and smile before listening to Elliott whilst glancing at Jay's sleeping form and seeing the gun that was bolstered on her back.

Fia stood up and left with the group after hugging Kay goodbye and whispering her checks that she would be okay staying at home, before being satisfied with the reassurance that yes, Kay would be perfectly fine. Kay saw them off and quickly scribbled a note to Jay to say that if she woke up first, she was also home in the apartment in the spare bedroom, and if she needs her or her phone for anything to feel free to go in and borrow it or wake her. She signed it 'Kay', left it it on the coffee table by Jay and walked back to the bedroom where she climbed back into bed not even bothering to remove the hoodie this time and falling back asleep within five minutes. She had it in her mind that she would make them both some lunch if it came to it once she wakes up layer on and make herself a little bit useful round the apartment.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Kay wasn't the only one to leave a note of explanation, Elliott also left one, folding it in half and placing it under the smashed phone which was on a place on the coffee table that Jay would most definitely see after she woke up. In it he explained what had happened with the phone and that everybody else (bar Kay) had gone to that day's trial proceedings. He wrote the note on one side of a page he'd torn from his sketchbook, the other side contained a pencil and coloured pencil sketch he'd done of Jay's sleeping form. The colouring pencils had been used to colour the hair in the sketch, Elliott taking some artistic liberty and returning Jay's hair to it's trademark blue (as practical a look as the black hair was on her, Elliott firmly preferred the blue). Jay didn't budge from her sleeping position for the entirety of the morning court session, remaining sprawled out asleep over the couch, one of her arms flung over the armrest (the one she was resting her head against), the other trailing the ground. The way her hair fell meant that only half her face could be seen, but it was enough of her face to see that her facial expressions had relaxed while she was sleeping and she looked less like an assassin and more like a normal twenty-something year old woman.

The train journey to the court was taken in silence, usually there'd be some form of talking, and one some days a bit of friendly banter making quips about how long it would take for certain lawyers to begin looking bored out of their skulls. There were junior lawyers present on both the defence and prosecution sides, though they weren't there in a work capacity, but a learning one, the trial was being used a real life case study. The majority were enthralled by it, but there were a notable few who looked like they'd rather be anywhere else than where they were currently. Today everybody's thoughts (Dan's included) were on Zan and the revelations of last night. The man in question arrived in the courtroom shortly after they did, having changed out of yesterday's mix of motorbike leathers and formal attire to what could be considered his 'regular' court attire. None of them could stop themselves from staring at the man, most trying to ascertain if he was as tired as they were, having also spent the majority of the night awake. The man only looked over in their direction once, maybe checking who was there and who wasn't before turning back and keeping his gaze focused forwards for the rest of the morning session.

 

[MzHyde]

Fia didn't have any qualms about the fact thelat none of them were particularly chatty with each other on this day. Infact it was very much welcome which in her mind said a lot as she was always one to chat and make conversation with people. She also noticed how Zan arrived in thr courtroom soon after they did once they got there and to their usual seat choices, except this time Fia took Jay's seat as the woman was absent which meant she could sit next to her brother, rather than seating on Kay's or John's side. She couldn't help but pick glances every once in a while at Zan to see if he was up to anything but she couldn't tell at all if he was or wasn't, only that he stole passing glances at their group also, no doubt noticing who was and wasn't with them this day. After a few minutes she kept her focus forward like the others did to focus on the trial, only truly fidgeting once during the morning half by moving her right leg up onto her left knee for a while before lowering it once more and wrapping her foot behind her other calf and ankle.

Like Jay in the living room on the couch, Kay slept for the majority of the morning, only ever suddenly waking up around midday or just after due to needing the bathroom and needing a drink and food. With a stretch and yawn she flickered her eyes open, feeling a lot more refreshed than she did in the early hours of when they were all up minus Jay. She remembered dreaming but not what she dreamt so she put it down to not being particularly important if she couldn't remember any of it. She pulled herself upright before getting out of bed, checking the time on her phone and if there was any updates, which there wasn't. Seeing that it was around the lunchtime period she figured the morning session would either coming close to a lunch break or just broke for lunch. Putting her phone in her pocket, she walked to the bathroom which she desperately needed thanks to her weak bladder due to pregnancy, before freshening up with a splash of water on her face and washing her hands, then proceeded to walk out into the living room to see if Jay was awake yet. Once in the main room, she saw Jay's form hadn't moved and she couldn't help but smile at her as she walked into the kitchen.

 

[_gallifrog_]

The morning session of the trial went in it;s typical fashion, both sides arguing and rebuttling, occasionally it looked like the defence was going to make an unbeatable point, but once again the preparation of Elliott's side paid off and each time the opposition tried to make a point they successfully managed to hit it back and dismiss it with a stronger argument of their own. As the days passed by it was becoming more and more clear that Elliott's side had been preparing for a trial like this long before Elliott had showed up, for many this was their life's work, the cause they believed in with all their heart and soul. The number of people in the courtroom with the face paint replicas of Elliott's scar had grown since that initial day, just as the number of people both in online forums and in real life that were willing to voice their thoughts with regards to the rights of magic users on Attil. The response had been overwhelmingly positive, it was exactly like Cal and Cliff had said, most of the ordinary people on Attil were fine with magic and magic users, so long as there was some form of regulation (like there was with Devra birth powers) and that it was people using magic for good and not for evil. There was yet to be a person to show up in the defence side of the court with the the mark, hardly surprising really as they'd be kicked out instantly.

It was now almost a tradition for somebody from their group to corner Zan when the court broke for lunch and this time it was Dan the blacksmith's turn. he had a whole pile of things he wanted to say to the man, as well as a desire to look the politician in the eyes as Zan explained himself. While Dan went to interrogate Zan, the others headed outside to wait in the fresh air, Cliff pulling out her phone to text Kay an update (not that much had happened). The message consisted of a brief summary of what had been discussed in court that day, which side had the advantage (very much still Elliott's side) as well as adding that Dan had gone to talk to Zan and she'd text on the results of that eagerly awaited conversation later after the blacksmith came back.

By some coincidence (or as John would call it 'the will of the bloody universe') Kay arrived in the kitchen no more than two minutes before Jay finally roused from her slumber. She didn't wake slowly and groggily as one might expect, she awoke all at once with a deep gasp like that of a dead body being revived, head snapping backwards, both hands going in front of her to push her body upwards into a seated position. Just like earlier she swore in a multitude of languages, running a hand up and through her hair before giving a sigh at the sight of the smashed phone. She reached for it, turned it over in her hands and let out a dark chuckle. "Been too long since I woke up to a sight like this."

 

[MzHyde]

As she went into the kitchen to start looking at getting some food and a drink, Kay felt her phone vibrate in her hoodie pocket and Jay waking up abruptly. "you want any good or drink Jay? I'm thinking of making something" she asked, as she checked her phone at the update from Cliff, finding it highly interesting that Dan was now the next person to corner Zan and drill him for information or just give his own piece of mind. "also heard from Cliff if you wanna read what she has to say. Said Dan has cornered Zan" she added, holding her phone toward Jay. She placed her phone down on the kitchen table before turning back and going to the fridge to look through it for something to make some lunch for the both of them. Part of her was tempted to bake something yet again so there was something comforting to eat and snack on for when the others came back, but she just wasn't entirely sure.

Fia stood around with everyone as they waited for Dan to return, having let Cliff do the texting to Kay to update her (and in the process, Jay). She found herself just making herself try and relax her mind as she digested everything they had witnessed, but still felt hopeful that they could very well win this trial as it was proving their side still had the upper hand. "I'm sooooo gonna be ready for food in a minute" she spoke up, deciding to talk about anything other than the trial for the time being, keep the mood light whilst also expressing her current thoughts. Said thoughts were only confirmed by her stomach growling quite loudly, enough for their whole group to hear and making her go ever slightly pink in the cheeks out of embarrassment. As her stomach growled, she instantly wrapped her arms round her abdomin as if it would stop it grumbling.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Jay hadn't realised that Kay was also in the apartment, and the sound of her voice shocked the assassin (not that she let it show). She turned to look at the other woman over the back of the couch, guessing by the crumpled state of Kay's clothes and her bedhead that the other woman had needed the extra sleep as much as Jay herself did. "Yeah on both counts, I'm ravenous." The assassin replied, reaching out for the first of the two notes (which was Elliott's), a fond smile coming onto her face at the sight of the drawing. She then read Kay's note (which was a little redundant, but she did it anyway). When Kay said that Dan had cornered Zan, the assassin smirked. "Oh I wish I was there to see how that will play out" she lamented. Out of everybody in their group, the blacksmith was the only one who'd been an adult the last time he talked with Zan, so in a way, he could be the best judge of character when it came to whether the man had changed at all over the years. There was also the fact that Dan had taken on the role of being Cal's father these past eleven/twelve years and that was bound to lead to a clash of heads and attitudes between the two men. "What's on offer actually? Pretty sure we're all out of leftovers."

Somebody saying they were starving after sitting through a session was hardly surprising. Even though they were doing nothing more than sitting and watching, they were all burning through their food at a ridiculous rate. Cliff had a theory that it was because their brains were all working so hard to keep up with everything being said, especially those who didn't speak Attili fluently. Somebody's stomach rumbling loud enough for them to all hear was a new occurrence however, one that made John in particular smirk as the last person whose stomach he heard rumbling that loudly was Kay. "Sounds like yer gonna explode it we don't get food into ya in the next few minutes." "Pretty sure everybody in the next city over knows you're starving" Elliott added with a smirk. "Well as you're clearly the hungriest person out of all of us, any particular type of food you want to eat, there's most types available round here and we can afford to go further away from the courts than usual today." Cal didn't directly say 'since Kay isn't around', but it was implied in her tone. They'd all been mindful of the fact that due to how stupidly fast the pregnancy was progressing and how long the days of the trial were, they really shouldn't be putting Kay under any more pressure than they needed to.

 

[MzHyde]

Kay nodded when Jay confirmed she was indeed incredibly hungry, like herself. She pulled down some mugs as she fully intended to put the kettle on after she had looked through the fridge. She smirked lightly at Jay's reaction to Dan confronting Zan and she had to admit she was of a very similar opinion. "Cliff said she would let us know what was said when they know, but feel free to read the message for yourself on my phone, and use it if you need to contact any of them" she replied. "as for what's on offer....." she added as she looked through and got a brainwave idea, "as you're right about all the leftovers are all gone I can do us some amazing egg sandwiches with sausages, bacon and cheese?" she offered seeing those basic ingredients in the fridge. It was something she hadn't made in a while but was always a proven and reliable dish when absolutely starving, especially if she ever made more than one for herself, which she was tempted to do.

Fia didn't know about the time John heard Kay's own stomach growling loudly, so to her it was just another moment of her dad teasing her, especially when he made the remark he did, which only made Elliott join in. She jabbed them both in the arm at their quips in retaliation as Cal made the decision to make her decide what to eat for lunch. She got the implication of her words, and understood where she was coming from with it, as it was clear none of them wanted to put her mother through more than she physically could deal with. She gave it a think to see what she was craving the most in that very moment before deciding on something, "think I could eat a big sub or something" she replied a few seconds later, with the mention of food making her stomach once more and making her groan in embarrassment. She really did think her stomach was eating itself, even though she knew Cliff would say that wasn't possible or how hunger worked if she so much as breathed the assumption out loud. "stomach shut up" she grumbled instead.

 

[_gallifrog_]

"I trust the doctor to keep us up to date." Jay replied. Had Kay left her phone just lying around Jay most certainly would have gone through it, not just looking at the message, but whatever other things of interest Kay had on her phone. You could after all learn all kinds of things from the contents of a person's phone. She wouldn't have needed to know Kay's password either, as the assassin had installed a bypass into the software that allowed to her (and her alone) gain access without needing the actual password. Originally she'd only created it so that she could get into Elliott's phone, but she'd never got around to removing the software and Elliott had never found out about the code so it was still there. She had no intentions of telling anybody either, they didn't need to know. She nodded at Kay's suggestion, it sounded like a very good idea. She was in the mood for something fatty, slightly greasy and somewhat messy. Had she been alone she would have done some kind of fry-up, but a sandwich made more sense since it was now officially afternoon. "Add a good dollop of that herby mustard thing at the back of the fridge for me and it sounds like a plan."

Fia was one hundred percent right to think that Cliff would take her remark far too literally and explain that according to the laws of medicine such a thing wasn't possible. While she could let some medical inaccuracies slide, somebody's stomach attempting to cannibalise itself was one she just couldn't let slip past. Fia talking to her stomach only made the others smirk more, highly amused by just how audible Fia's stomach was being. Had it been any one of them they'd have been just as mortified as Fia was (unless it was John, he'd be completely unashamed and make some kind of smart-arsed remark or another), but since it wasn't them they were more than happy to take what amusement they could from it. They needed to after everything they'd been through in the last twenty-four hours. "Well you're in luck, I know a good place that'd do just that" Cal replied, already leading the way, taking them to a different door for street access.

 

[MzHyde]

Kay accepted that Jay was prepared to just wait for a reply from Cliff to keep them updated, as she pulled out all the ingredients she'd need to do what she suggested after Jay agreed to it. Had Jay gone through her phone, she would have mostly found the odd saved photo from her days with Sam and when she was younger, but they were few and far between due to most being lost and unable to have been transferred over. She would have also seen photos of John and the others that she took on Cliff's home world at the time, but other than that she wouldn't have found much of interest. With the mention of the mustard in the back of the fridge, she smiled and got it out ready, before pulling out pans and oil and getting to work with frying the eggs, bacon and sausages. The moment she had a couple of moments to put the kettle on, she did and made them both some hot tea, to which she added some spices to her own one. She took a total of about ten minutes to make the sandwiches, making sure not to forget the mustard in Jay's and even added a few chili flakes in her own couple. Serving them up she handed Jay her plate of sandwiches and drink before bringing her own to the table. "here you go, hope I put enough mustard in for you" she told Jay.

Fia, despite being utterly embarrassed by how her stomach was being, was actually all too used to being the one that created amusement for the rest of the group. It was far too a common occurrence in her timeline that she was used to it in a weird way. Not only that, with everything going on if her stomach being loud and amusing was keeping everyone she cared about happy, then she would just let it go on without too many complaints. With Cal knowing somewhere nearby, she smiled and nodded, instantly following on behind. She couldn't believe she was this hungry at this time, but oh how she couldn't wait to get a sub and devour it in no time flat, hopefully without giving herself heartburn in the process.

 

[_gallifrog_]

While Kay busied herself with making the sandwich Jay took the opportunity to continue the book Elliott was part-way through reading (technically it was Cal's book, she had lent it to her brother who was now sharing it with Jay). Jay looked up and took the mug and plate with a nod of thanks. "We'll see." The assassin replied, lifting the top piece of bread off the sandwich to see how much herby mustard the other woman had put on. It was a generous portion of the stuff, but Jay couldn't resist putting on a little bit more on the side of the plate. She then proceeded to roll the sausages and bacon around in it, giving them a generous coating before reassembling the sandwich. With sandwiches now adjusted Jay didn't hesitate to take a bite, a happy expression, almost blissed-out expression quickly coming over her face. "Now THIS brings back memories."

The place Cal knew was about a fifteen minute walk from the court buildings and away from the main centre of the town where they'd dined the other days. From the outside and in the inside it looked almost exactly like a chain sub place on Earth. Seemed that the Devra couldn't improve on the classic design John thought to himself. It even smelled the same as a branch on Earth would. A teenager was exiting just as they arrived, beanie had pulled low down over their forehead, a large sub wrapped in take-away paper under one arm. It was their attire that caught Cal and Cliff's eyes, both turning to the other and smirking knowingly. "See that teenager?" Cliff gestured at the girl's retreating back. "She's a squaddie playing truant." "What makes you say that?" Elliott asked curiously. "The boots, they're standard military issue, as are the trousers- they're part of the formal uniform as opposed to the training one. The hoodie with striped sleeves and beanie are to throw anybody watching off the scent, but I'm willing to bet that under that hoodie is a military issue t-shirt and that there's a military ID in one of those pockets." Cliff explained. "It's unusual to see a squaddie this far out from the base. That girl's gonna get her ass nailed when she gets back to the base."

 

[MzHyde]

When Jay dissembled her sandwich, Kay couldn't help but smile ever so slightly at the notion, as it brought back memories of when she was a kid and she would insist on doing similar but not entirely the same with barbecue sauce on things hot sandwiches and fries. She would have ideally put a fair bit of hot sauce in her own sandwich as to her there was just something baout hot sauce in such a sandwich, but with her current state she wasn't sure if she could do it, so the chili flakes would have to do. With Jay making sounds of satisfaction and sheer bliss from her first bite, before declaring it bring g back memories, Kay had to chuckle and nod, "glad it's alright for you" she smiled before taking her own first bite out of her first of two sandwiches. "I'm guessing that kind of technique you just did stems from your childhood and swamping things in sauces?" she asked. She had to admit, if she had to stay behind with anyone of their group, she didn't think it would be Jay of all people for some reason. Yet it was nice at the same time as it meant they could learn a bit more about each other in a casual light hearted manner without anyone else being around getting in the way.

Fia was glad that the place in question Cal suggested wasn't any further away as she was so hungry she was getting close to begging either John or Elliott to give her a piggyback because she was certain she wouldn't be able to walk any further without any food inside her stomach. Yet just as she was close to giving up walking on her own two feet, they arrived at the place which reminded her of the many infamous Earth sub stores which she enjoyed going to, or sweet talking family to bring her back something on their way home from whatever they had to go out for. When the teenager walked out, covering herself with her beanie and hoodie, she couldn't help but look at the way she hurried off as if she was trying to not be seen by anyone. She listened to Cliff explain how it was a squaddie skiving off, making her smirk as it totally reminded her of her sneaking out days. "as a teenager myself, I can say whatever her other reasons for being a truant, she probably thinks it's a valid reason to do so. Not... That I'm talking from experience or anything" she chimed up, even though she knew her last statement probably wasn't believable in the slightest.

 

[_gallifrog_]

"Sort of." Jay replied with a shrug of her shoulder, taking another big bite before explaining. "Or more accurately yes, but not for the reason you're probably thinking. I spent a massive chunk of my childhood with the Isogrii on long-haul space journeys. Even when you spend most of your time in artificial gravity you lose your sense of taste somewhat, so we'd all drown our food in hot sauce, spicy sauce of herby mustard.... anything with that kick of taste. I was also pretty much vegetarian for that part of my life. Obviously you can't take farm animals on these long haul space journeys so all meat on board is lab grown by manipulating the stem cells of a person to grow animal meat and fertilised with the shit of the passengers. Lab meat tastes grand enough, but mentally I never really got over how it was made, I'd lived on a waterworld fishing settlements like Cliff's family's place as a really young kid. So eating real meat was a luxury reserved for being off a spaceship."

John looked at the teenager hurrying away from them, the girl pulling up her head as she headed away from them. Cliff was indeed right, those boots were without a doubt military issue. After spending a good chunk of the night before playing roof ball and getting kicked in all kinds of places he could now claim to be very intimately acquainted with the specific type and style of boot the cadets wore. He snorted loudly in disbelief when Fia said she wasn't talking from experience about playing truant. They already knew she snuck out to do things of a not so illegal nature (the incident with the dress and stealing some random guy's motorbike proved just that) and it was no secret that her life was incredibly restrictive. Had John been in that position he wouldn't just be crawling the walls with cabin fever he would be fucking blowing them up in an attempt to break free. Evidently Fia hadn't inherited the full extent of his teenager rebellious streak, which was just as well as it would mean there'd be no controlling her whatsoever. "Well I AM speaking from experience." Cliff shrugged as the entered. She had played truant a few times, as had Cal (both separately and with each other), but neither had gone as far as the kid in the hoodie, sticking to the base town was easier and both knew it like the back of their hands. "Welll at least we now know that this place is good enough to go truant for." Elliott smirked, to Cal couldn't resist quipping back with "or it shows that military food is so awful you have to go to the city to find something good."

 

[MzHyde]

Kay listened to what Jay had to say about how it brought back memories of swamping food in whatever sauce one could find. Jay was right, it wasn't in any way Kay was thinking of as she explained about how she did it on long space travel with the isogrii. To Kay it was pretty damn fascinating to hear such a story, even if Jay would consider it a mundane one. "wow that's quite something, but I can understand why it'd be considered an only on land luxury to have" she replied. "whereas I was like any other kid when at home with food. I went through a phase of making my food practically swim in things like barbecue sauce. It didn't matter too much what it was, could have been a full English breakfast, a good ol' bacon or sausage sandwich or a bowl of fries. Had to have barbecue sauce on it. Think I even put it in a crisp sandwich once" she chuckled at herself. She still never really understood why she thought that was a good idea even now. In fact thinking about it, she didn't really know why she liked crisp sandwiches at the time, as now she wouldn't go anywhere near the food. She liked crisps, but not in between two layers of bread.

Fia knew all too well that she wouldn't be believed deep down, especially after remembering about the Mind Walk she did with John, Chas and Elliott, yet only remembered it after she opened her mouth and John snorted loudly making it perfectly clear he knew she was utterly bullshitting. She knew all too well how relieved her parents were that she didn't fully get to John's level of restlessness and rebellious sneaking out, even if she was convinced that future John and Kay didn't know about her sneaking out, she had hesrd enough stories when they were convinced she wasn't in earshot. Most of those stories revolving around the topic of when to let Fia have more freedom so she didn't turn out anymore like John. She walked inside with everyone else, looking up at the menu boards to decide what she wanted whilst Elliott made the remark he did, making Cal retort with her own comment. Seeing all the options and the fresh food laid out made Fia feel even more hungry which she didn't think was even possible. "think that meatball sub with cheese is calling me" she decided.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Jay's issues with eating lab grown meat were all psychological. As she'd said it didn't taste any different to the real stuff, her brother and Quin's father (who was also Jay and Jack's adoptive father) had even gone so far as to have her taste both blind and Jay couldn't tell the difference between them. It was the fact that cells the meat started from were from other Isogrii that had creeped her out and turned her off it. Young jay had seen it as a form of cannibalism and adult jay still wouldn't budge from that stance. She could see the interest in Kay's eyes as she spoke, which was why she gave the longer explanation, knowing the other woman's knowledge of what it was like to grow up as a space faring nomad was little to none. She could see that the other woman genuinely did understand the concept of meat being a 'land luxury'. "The person who brought packets of freeze dried bacon on board before a long haul flight was the most popular person on the ship.... until it ran out of course." she smirked. The assassin wrinkled her nose in disapproval and disgust at the notion of putting such sauce in a crisp sandwich. "If you HAVE to put in anything extra into a crisp sandwich it should be some kind of chutney or dip, liquidy sauce is just no texturally. Soggy crisps are a crime."

Both John and Chas were taken aback at just how like an Earth sub place the Attili place was. Both had, by now, more than sufficient knowledge of Attili to be able to translate the menu boards, but there was something reassuring about being able to see all the ingredients and indicate which one you wanted. While the others made their decision Cal sent a text to Dan with their location, also asking if he wanted them to order anything for him. With so many in their group Cal ended up writing down the list of orders on a napkin so as not to forget anything, deeming that she should do the writing as her wife's handwriting was that of a typical doctor- atrocious. It took a while for their order to be assembled, and by then a decision had been made that they were going to plonk themselves down in the nearby square and eat there, soaking in the sunlight and the relative peace of the pedestrianised zone.