True Believers: Part Sixteen
Following his wife as she strode purposefully down the front hall, Scott struggled to find the words that could reach her, that could put all of this right before it blew up in their faces again.
"Jean," he finally said, keeping his voice firm. She stopped, giving him a sharp, questioning look. Taking a deep breath, he continued, hoping he wasn't about to make things worse. "Jean, I know you want to talk to Nathan, but I think that maybe you should just let it go for now."
She scowled. "And let him leave without a word?" There was something very close to scorn in her green eyes. Scott felt a little ripple of anger, but stepped on it firmly. This had to stop. They had to start thinking, not simply reacting. "I might have been forced to agree to this insanity, Scott, but I'll be damned if I don't--"
"Let it go, Jean!" he snapped. She stared at him, her expression almost incredulous, and the ripple of anger resurfaced. What did she expect? That he'd blindly defer to her, as if she alone knew what was the best course of action here? What do you think you WERE doing, Scott? a wiser voice clearly indentifiable as his conscience pointed out sardonically. Scott flushed. Damn it, that WAS exactly what he'd been doing--and he had absolutely no idea why. "What good is it going to do?" he asked Jean, telling himself to calm down. "You go up there and keep hounding him, you're--we're just going to alienate him further." He had to be fair. He'd been a part of this, too. But he wasn't going to let it go any further, not when they were in danger of wrecking their relationship with Nathan permanently. "If you're planning some last-ditch attempt to try and convince him to stay here, I'm not going to be a part of it."
"That's good to know."
Jean turned quickly, and Scott looked past her to see Nathan standing at the bottom of the stairs, a scowling Sam at his side. Nathan looked pale and exhausted, a ghost of his usual vital self. He stepped off the last stair and lifted his bag to his shoulder, the simple action taking an obvious effort. But his expression as he met Scott's eyes was as guarded as ever. Maybe more so. And that hurt, after all the progress they'd made over the last year.
The corner of Nathan's mouth quirked in a humorless smile, and Scott realized that, with no shields, his son had probably heard every word. "If you'll excuse me," Nathan said, his words faintly slurred, "I have a plane to catch."
Jean threw out an arm, barring his way, as he started forward. "Nate, wait for a minute," she said, quietly but firmly. "We need to--"
Nathan looked down at her, his eyes narrowing as if he was having trouble focusing on her face. "No."
"Nathan, just--"
"No!" he said more forcefully, and then suddenly swayed on his feet, looking dizzy. Jean reached out to support him, but he jerked away, leaning back against the wall to steady himself. "Oath, would you leave me alone?" It sounded more like a plea than a demand. "I just want to--I don't have time for this!" He winced, one hand going to his forehead as his features twisting in an expression of real pain. "Flonqing--headache!" In a sudden flash of anger, he slammed a fist into the wall, making a good-sized hole. Jean jumped, and Sam stepped forward, looking worried.
"Sir, take it easy--"
"Stab your eyes!" Nathan snapped, ignoring him and glaring at Jean and Scott. Scott could still see the pain on his face, but there was anger there too, and a curious desperation he didn't understand. "I can't deal with this right now! I have a mission--that's all that matters! I won't LET anything else matter!"
Jean went pale, and the emotions coming along their link changed to something very close to alarm. "Nate, what are you doing to yourself?" she whispered.
Nathan cursed and pushed away from the wall. "Goodbye," he grated. "If it makes you feel better, I promise I'll try not to get myself killed."
As his son came past him, Scott reached out and took his arm. "Just be careful--please," he said quietly.
Nathan wrenched out of his grip, his left eye glowing fitfully, and left without another word. Sam followed, giving them both a troubled look as he went past.
Scott ignored the odd ache in his chest and turned to Jean. "What did you mean?" he asked in as level a voice as he could manage. "What is he 'doing' to himself?"
He could see the distress in her green eyes. "It's not just us that he's trying to push away," she said softly. "I saw Domino in his mind, too--Dana, Sam, everyone. He's trying so hard not to feel anything, Scott--"
"Something to do with what Logan saw?"
"I don't know," she whispered, hugging herself as if she felt a chill. "What have I done?"
Something told Scott that she was talking to herself, now. "Come on," he said, taking her arm and gently pulling her along with him. She seemed half-entranced, but still wore that upset expression, as if she'd looked inside herself and found something she didn't like. "We should at least see them off, shouldn't we?" He tried to sound cheerful.
"Yes," she said, somewhat hollowly, and managed a ghost of a smile. Scott frowned, growing more concerned. "Dad always says that you should never let the sun go down on an argument. I think that's more applicable to the lives we lead than most of us would like to admit."
"Good advice," Scott said, putting his arm around her. He was feeling more than a little confused himself. What the hell is going on here? Looking back on the last few hours, he felt like he hadn't been thinking clearly at all. Were any of us? Nathan so desperate to get away, Jean so frantic to keep him here-- He didn't like the possibility that raised, that the two of them had been influencing everyone around them.
But what other explanation was there?
***
Standing in the hallway, between the moments so that she could be neither seen nor sensed, Hana cursed as she watched Cyclops and Phoenix walk away.
It had seemed like such a perfect idea. Shavrin had no chronal-variant ability, and Dayspring was untrained. So, she'd teleported out of Phoenix's telekinetic bubble and between times, where she could work to delay and divide these fools. For all her power, Phoenix had defenses that were essentially telepathic in nature, no protection at all against the subtle empathic techniques Hana had been taught.
And Dayspring--his mind was so damaged and vulnerable that it had been child's play to bring out his fear of helplessness to the point where flight had been his only option. That angle of attack, at least, might still bear fruit. Dayspring now had to deal anew with the sense of guilt he had never truly resolved. And he was doing as poor a job of it as Hana had expected, pushing away his family and friends out of an irrational fear that he'd fail them. That was promising. She wanted him alone, isolated, unsure of himself. He would be much easier to handle, that way.
But the main part of the plan had failed. It had been a classic approach--'lean' on the two telepaths and stand back to watch the ripple effect among the headblind. But too many of the X-Men had formidable mental defenses of their own. And that young empath, the girl Dana--someone, Dayspring most likely, had given her Askani training. She had served as a breakwater, scattering the effect and sparing many of those in proximity to her the full brunt of the feedback from Phoenix and Dayspring.
So what did she do now? Hana scowled, going over fallback plans in her mind. Sanctity had, after all, prepared her for countless contingencies--
Behind her, a tall woman stepped out of thin air and glanced around for a moment, a strangely wistful smile playing on her lips. Tall and very fit-looking with long red-brown hair, she had the prosthetic eye and tattoo of an Askani sister, but her uniform was more armor than clothing, and she was armed. Turning her attention to the oblivious Hana, she stepped forward and tapped her on the shoulder.
Hana whirled, and the newcomer's smile grew contemptuous. "Boo," she said simply.
Hana paled, terrified recognition in her eyes, and teleported away. Surprise flashed across the other Askani's face, and she shook her head with a rueful curse.
"I really must learn not to let my sense of humor run away from me," she said, her eyes narrowing as she scanned the area for Hana's psi-imprint. Finding it, she smiled again, her expression full of vicious good humor. #Here, little heretic,# she projected as she prepared to teleport. #Let me put you out of your misery--#
***
Logan did a walk-around of the plane, examining it with a great deal of interest. He'd seen some pretty sophisticated aircraft in his life--the Blackbird wasn't anything to sneeze at, after all--but this one topped them all. "Quite the bird you got here, darlin'," he said to Gwen Samuels.
"Thanks. Most of its systems are based on thirty-eighth century designs, but it can pass for a contemporary plane from the outside. It's not as manueverable as I like, but it's next to impossible to shoot down." The young pilot was watching the mansion expectantly, her eyes narrowed in concern. Watching for Cable, Logan realized. Wisdom must've told her at least some of what was going on.
"I'm sure he's on his way out," he said dryly. "After all the fuss he kicked up, I doubt he'll miss his ride."
Gwen looked sideways at him, startled. "Sorry. Was I that obvious?"
"Nah, I just noticed you keeping an eye out," he said casually. "Not hard to make the connection." He regarded the girl thoughtfully. Frankly, he was more curious about her than her plane. He'd seen examples of the technology Cable had available to him before--hell, he'd been to Greymalkin!--but he'd never so much as gotten a whiff of Cable's network. He wanted to know more, but something he saw in Gwen's eyes made him doubt he'd have much luck prying information out of her.
No, better just to let it go. Probably a lot more to be found out a lot easier at this safehouse in London, anyways. What's keeping Nate? Logan thought uneasily, looking around at the others waiting by the plane.
Storm had been here when he and Domino had shown up. Rogue was with her, although Logan knew she didn't have any intention of coming. The two women were talking quietly. Logan figured he probably knew what about, too. Storm had a lot to sort out about those memories she was carrying around and how she'd behaved under their influence. And Rogue was probably the best suited to help her.
Plus it was keeping Storm away from Wisdom, which was a bonus. Paying no attention to the rest of them, Wisdom was staring at the mansion as intently as Gwen had been, but his attention was directed towards a very specific location--the second-floor bedroom where Kitty had been staying for the last few weeks, and where she was now presumably packing for the trip.
Good thing they worked things out, Logan thought, remembering Kitty's contented look when he and Neena had run into her on their way out here. Would've hated to have had to gut the kid before I got to know him.
A low chuckle interrupted his train of thought. Raising an eyebrow, he turned to face Domino. She sat cross-legged on the grass not far away, regarding him with a smile. "And what are you laughing at, Neena?"
"That look," she said, a flash of the old wicked humor in her violet eyes. "I know that look, Logan. Remember the first time the Pack ran into you, after I joined? That particularly memorable night in Thailand? You gave Nathan that same look, only worse. Of course, then the two of you decided to 'step outside'." She grinned. "Hammer and Grizz were taking bets from the crowd, and G.W. was just standing there watching the two of you go at it with this disgusted look on his face--damn, those were the days."
Logan snorted. "I seem to remember you pulling your gun and threatening to shoot us both if we didn't back off."
Domino rolled her eyes. "Cut me some slack, Logan. I was nineteen years old. I'd never seen the two of you fight before, and I was sure someone was going to end up dead." Her tone grew caustic. "I certainly didn't know that you two thought beating the shit out of each other was fun."
Logan shrugged, and then raised an eyebrow as he saw Kitty airwalking down from her room. "You got a beef with the stairs today, darlin'?" he asked as she reached the ground.
She gave him a blithe smile. "Just practicing. Nothing wrong with that, is there?" Wisdom came over and she grinned up at him. "You're still here."
"Course I'm still here, woman," Wisdom growled, but Logan noticed a glimmer of amusement in his eyes. "Where else would I bloody well be? Gwen can't leave without Nathan, after all--did you see him while you were inside?"
Kitty's expression sobered, and she shook her head. "Heard some shouting from the front hall, but I didn't think it was any of my business."
Ororo and Rogue had finished their conversation, and wandered over to join them. Ororo gave Wisdom a chilly look. In response, he smiled at her quite cheerfully and slid an arm around Kitty's waist. Logan fought the urge to groan.
Ororo's expression was as smooth as silk. "A shame that your first visit to the mansion has to come to an end so quickly," she said. Logan knew she didn't mean a word of it. "I do hope you spare us the pyrotechnics, next time."
Kitty bristled, but Wisdom's smile only grew. "You sound like you're saying goodbye. Haven't changed your mind about coming, have you?"
"Of course not," Ororo said, more sharply. "If anything, this afternoon's events have made me--"
"Glad to hear it, love," Pete said, an almost fiendish light in his eyes. "I'd hate to think my--pyrotechnics meant we'd be deprived of your ravishing company. Not every day a humble bloke like me gets to bask in the light of divinity and all that." His voice fairly throbbed with a sincerity that was totally at odds with his maniacal grin.
Ororo's mouth opened and closed for a good ten seconds before she regained her composure. Muttering something about checking for turbulence, she retreated.
Kitty had turned absolutely scarlet during the course of the exchange. "What has--gotten into you, Wisdom?" she asked in a strangled voice, obviously trying to hold back laughter. Rogue and Domino were having less luck. Rogue had her hand over her mouth to hide the fact that she was snickering, and Domino was almost doubled over, her shoulders shaking with silent laughter.
Pete gave Kitty an innocent look. "What's the problem, Pryde? Here I was being all polite, bloody well complimenting her--"
"Ah don't know whether to pity you or envy you, Kitty," Rogue chuckled.
Kitty shook her head. "Both, I think," she said, giving Wisdom a severe look. His smile changed, growing softer, almost conspiratorial, and Kitty snorted. "How come I never rated that much effort? If you can fake being charming for her--"
"Bollocks, Pryde. You like me better as a disagreeable son of a bitch, I know you do--"
"Good Lord," Domino said wryly, getting up. "You two sound as bad as me and Nathan. And that's not a good thing."
"Speaking o'Cable," Rogue said softly. Logan looked buickly towards the mansion to see Cable, Dana and Sam emerge. As they started across the lawn to the plane, Scott and Jean appeared as well.
Cable saw them all standing there, and stopped dead, ten feet away. Gwen stepped forward, smiling brightly.
"Hi, Nathan. Ready to--"
"I told you I didn't want you involved in this," Cable said coldly. All his attention was on Domino, who brushed bits of grass from her clothes and returned his gaze calmly.
"I know," she said.
"So why the hell are you here?" He didn't raise his voice, but his tone was biting. Domino didn't even flinch.
Scott and Jean caught up. Logan noticed with a pang of worry that Jean looked out of it, big-time. She stared fixedly at the ground, while Scott seemed to be torn between watching her and watching Cable.
Logan felt the same way. His instinct was to go over to Jean and ask her what was wrong, but the tension between Cable and Domino, so strong that it felt like the air was crackling, kept drawing his attention back. Should've figured this would happen, after what she told me, he thought, glancing back and forth.
Domino gave Cable a neutral smile. "Why am I here? Lots of reasons, but the first would probably be that I don't take orders well, Nathan."
"It wasn't--" Cable bit off whatever he'd been about to say, closing his eyes and visibly struggling to gather his composure. He looked whipped, Logan thought darkly. "I suppose," he continued in a much more level voice, "that there's not much point in arguing with you."
"Not much," she said blandly. "Besides, when was the last time you won an argument with me?"
Cable half-turned away, looking anywhere but at her. He seemed totally unaware of the audience. "Dom, I don't want you to come--" His voice was unsteady, with an edge of desperation, as if he knew he was facing the inevitable but didn't have the strength left to fight it.
She went over to him, reaching up and forcing him to look at her. "Tough." Her voice was quiet, but firm. "If you don't want me on the plane, I'll borrow a mini-jet and follow you. Your choice, Nate."
"Stab your eyes," he said tiredly, and pulled away from her. "Gwen, we're wasting time here."
"I'm ready to go as soon as you are, Nathan," the young pilot said, her brow furrowed in concern. He nodded, walking past her and up the ramp into the plane without a look back. Domino retrieved her bags and followed after exchanging a few quiet words with Dana and Sam.
After saying her goodbyes, Kitty vanished into the plane, Wisdom in tow. They were followed at a wary distance by Ororo. But Logan lingered. Gwen gave him a 'hurry-up' look as she went past, and he chuckled.
"I'll be along in a minute, darlin'. Don't you go taking off without me."
She sighed. "Well, be quick about it."
Logan nodded and went over to Scott and Jean. Jean looked up at him, her green eyes strangely shadowed. Logan felt helpless, frustrated at his inability to do anything to help her. That must have been one heck of a conversation, he thought, feeling more than a little anger towards Cable. If it was something he'd said that had put her in this state--
In the end, Scott broke the silence. "Keep an eye on him for us, Logan?" Cyclops asked, sounding as if he was trying very hard to keep his voice diffident.
"Yeah," Logan said gruffly. No point second-guessing what had happened, or throwing recriminations around. Hell, this entire afternoon is best forgotten, I think. "I'll try and see if I can't keep you updated on what we're doing, too. Only makes sense--if this blows up in our faces we might need to call in the cavalry."
Scott nodded, and Logan could almost smell his frustration. But his voice remained level. "Thanks."
Logan couldn't think of anything else to saw. Not even a few words of reassurance that might make Jean feel better. Stepping on his frustration, he nodded at both of them and turned to go.
*Logan--* Jean's 'voice' in his mind was hesitant. He stopped, but didn't turn around. *What you saw in his mind--it was bad, wasn't it.*
It occured to him to brush off the question. But she'd know, and she deserved the truth, anyways. Bad doesn't even begin to describe it, Red, he sent back wearily, and continued on towards the plane.
Climbing the ramp, he saw that the interior was more spacious than he'd imagined. Twice the size of the Blackbird, it could've held the entire roster of the X- Men in comfort, even with the various storage lockers, computers and other, unidentifiable equipment.
Cable was staring out a window, ignoring everyone, and Domino was strapping herself into the seat beside him. Kitty and Wisdom were sitting at what looked very much to Logan like a control station for a sensor array, while Ororo was on the other side of the plane--looking vaguely uncomfotable, Logan noticed with some sympathy. The plane wasn't THAT spacious.
"You can put your bag in that storage locker with the others," Gwen said, appearing out of the cockpit and pointed towards the locker in question. Logan obeyed, philosophically, and took the seat beside Ororo. Gwen glanced at them each in turn. Probably to make sure we're all buckled in, Logan thought, amused. Her gaze lingered longest on Cable, but she finally gave a brisk nod. "Don't be surprised at the acceleration," she said crisply. "It's pretty steep, but once we reach cruising altitude the inertial dampeners will kick in. You won't even feel like you're in the air at all." A sudden, whimsical smile broke her business-like expression. "And no smoking, Wisdom, or I'll toss you out the hatch at thirty thousand feet."
Wisdom grumbled something about 'bloody fascists'. Gwen made a face at him and then went back into the cockpit. About thirty seconds later, Logan became aware of a slight, almost imperceptible vibration that grew steadily into a curious rhythmic thrumming. There was a grinding noise from the rear of the plane, ear-splitting but thankfully brief--
And his stomach promptly dropped to the level of his shins as the plane shot straight up like a cat someone had just lit a fire under. The Blackbird had VTOL capability, but it did NOT go up as fast as this. Logan felt like he was on some kind of twisted amusement ride.
The nose of the plane came up, until they were almost vertical, and then banked to the left, coming around in a graceful arc. Out the window, Logan saw the ground tilt wildly and then level as Gwen pulled the plane into a steady climb.
Wisdom was shouting curses from the rear of the cabin. "Samuels, you bloody exhibitionist!" Beside him, Kitty's eyes were sparkling, and she grinned at Logan as he looked over his shoulder at her.
Logan heard the pilot's chuckle over the cabin speakers. "Just having some fun, Pete, simmer down. Forty-five seconds to cruising altitude--oh, and welcome to Askani Air, folks."
***
Two hours later, they were well out over the Atlantic. Pete muttered a curse under his breath and rubbed at the back of his neck. "Bloody ergonomic seating," he muttered balefully.
Kitty, absorbed in the intricacies of the radar station, gave him a questioning look. "What's the matter, Pete?"
"Got a crick in my bloody neck, that's all." He rose rather tentatively, holding on the back of his seat for support. He'd been on planes similar to this one before, but he still hadn't gotten used to them. His inner-ear knew he was thirty-thousand feet in the air in a plane going at an absolutely bloodcurdling speed, but all of his other senses were telling him he was safe on terra firma. Inertial compensators were a grand idea, sure, but he could never quite let himself be fooled, no matter how hard he tried. "I'm going forward to see what Gwen's up to. Be right back."
Kitty nodded, and turned back to the sensors. "Wish this thing had a manual," she muttered intently. Pete couldn't help smiling. She'd have it sitting up and doing tricks by the time they got to London, he was sure.
As he headed towards the cockpit, he glanced around at his traveling companions. Storm had her nose buried in a book, and ignored him completely. Logan's hat was tilted forward over his eyes, and Pete figured he was probably asleep.
He stopped beside Domino's seat. She looked up at him with a weary smile. "Stretching your legs, Wisdom?"
"Something like that," Pete said gruffly, glancing at Nathan. His eyes were closed, and he looked relaxed, but Pete knew better than to assume that meant he was asleep. I'd hope he had the sense to get some rest when he could, but common sense has never been Nate's strong suit, has it?
Domino followed the direction of his gaze, and grimaced. "I'm not sure whether he's asleep or meditating. Either way, he's dead to the world--you could hear a pin drop on our psi-link."
"You're worried about him," he ventured, seeing the expression in her violet eyes. So am I , he wanted to say, but didn't.
"It's this bad habit I have," she said dryly, looking sideways at Nathan for a moment. Her voice grew somber. "Never does me any good, of course."
He must've told her all of it, Pete thought grimly. She's got that same look I saw in the mirror for a week after he told me.
"You shouldn't worry too much," he muttered, wondering whether it was Domino he was talking to, or himself. "He's a tough old bastard, he'll come through this just fine."
"I know." She gave him a faint smile. "Too damned tough for his own good, if you ask me."
He grimaced. "You should try and get some rest, Domino," he said gruffly, for lack of anything better to say. She shrugged, obviously brushing off the suggestion, and he continued forward to the cockpit with a sigh.
There, he found Gwen, sprawled inelegantly in the pilot's seat, the fine wires of the cyber-link connecting the console to the port just behind her ear. She gave him a lopsided smile as he slid into the copilot's seat, frowning.
"You're in a full link?"
"I'm lazy," she said, sounding bored. Though she was looking at him, there was a distant expression in her eyes, as if she was studying an image surimposed over his face. Which she was, Pete knew. It could be a map of their course, a weather report, or countless other things, projected directly into her mind. "I'm also playing Tetris simultaneously, but you don't neccessarily need to tell anyone I'm doing that." Again, that engaging smile, and Pete couldn't help returning it.
"Lovely to know you've got your mind on your work, you bloody lunatic," he joked. "Seriously, since when are you checked out on a full cyberlink?"
"Since I had our station doctor stick an implant in the old noggin, Wisdom," she said, mock-severely. "Not all of us have irrational prejudices against cyberlinking, you know."
Pete groaned. "Bloody hell, am I never going to live that down?" He'd never even tried a full link, with the direct connection to the brain that implants like Gwen's permitted the user. But he'd had a very bad--reaction to even a partial link, which was basically sensory-enhanced VR. He'd been in the link for less than a minute when he'd lost his equilibrium and thrown up on Dunworthy.
"A lot of people have that initial reaction, you know," Gwen said, shaking her head. "Once you get used to it, it goes away."
"Well, pardon me," Pete grumbled. "Maybe I'm just not friggin' patient enough. Bloody hell, Nate can't manage a full link, either--"
"That's only because he ends up infecting whatever computer he's hooked up to with his T-O virus," Gwen said repressively, though she was still smiling. "And you know that very well, so don't make excuses. Besides, Nathan can do things in a partial link that implants like me can only dream about. Telepaths are naturally suited to it."
"Whatever," Pete muttered, and looked out the cockpit window. They were flying above clouds that had been colored a thousand different shades of red and gold by the setting sun. "I should get Kitty up here to see this," he said without thinking.
"Go right ahead," Gwen said blithely. "I like to think I'm more flexible than Fredericks and his type about having non-agents in the cockpit with me. Hell, according to her file she could probably give any pilot in the network a run for their money. Maybe I should turn off the link, set it on manual, and let her take the stick for a while."
Pete chuckled. "She'd probably take you up on that, too." Then, what Gwen had said registered, and he gave her a sharp look. "You read her file? When?"
"Oh, back when I first heard it through the grapevine that a certain ex-Black Air agent had flipped his gourd and joined an X-team out of the blue," Gwen said casually. He scowled at her, and she smiled. "Don't glare at me, Pete. Eddie and I just wanted to make sure she was good enough for you." Her tone was teasing; she obviously meant it as a joke. "I wouldn't be surprised to hear that some of the others did their own checking. Jamie, Nova, Cash--hell, probably half the agents in the North American network, too. You've always gotten along better with us than the Europeans."
"Checking up on me," he muttered, shaking his head. "Bloody hell. Bunch of friggin' voyeurs, you lot--"
"So sue us," Gwen chuckled. "Just because Dunworthy doesn't trust you doesn't mean the rest of us feel the same. You are endearing in your own obnoxious way, Wisdom." He cursed at her, and she laughed. "Oh, quit being unpleasant and go ask your lady love if she'd like the nickel tour."
Muttering under his breath, he rose, but hesitated as he saw the picture stuck to the console. It showed Gwen, Cruz, and a shy-looking, dark-haired little girl of about four years. "Bloody hell, Gwen," he said, surprised. "Don't tell me the two of you have a kid already?"
She jumped, as if he'd startled her, and then saw him looking at the picture. "Why?" she asked, sounding amused. "You find it hard to believe that I've truly settled down?"
"Well--no, I just--" Pete didn't know how to ask her if she and Cruz had had any doubts, bringing a child into the kind of life they lived. "She's a pretty little thing," he said almost grudgingly. "Looks like you."
Gwen grinned. "I'll be sure to tell her her long-lost namesake said hello."
His head whipped around and he stared down at her incredulously. "Her WHAT?"
"Well, she wouldn't have been born if you hadn't risked your life to pull me out of the wreckage of our plane back in Iceland," Gwen said, as if it made perfect sense. Pete frowned, remembering how close they'd both come to getting incinerated when the fuel rods had blown. "So, I called her Sophia." When Pete continued to stare at her, an exasperated note entered her voice. "That's the Greek word for 'Wisdom', you--"
"I know that," he growled, flushing. "Don't think I've ever had a kid named after me before--guess I should say thanks."
"No, that was my way of saying thanks," Gwen corrected him, her smile growing almost tender as she looked back at the picture of herself and her family. "Sophia Carmen Cruz."
Pete nearly choked. "Sophia CARMEN? Bloody hell, the poor kid--" Gwen laughed at him. "Can't wait to see what she's going to grow up like with namesakes like that--you've probably cursed her already, Samuels."
to be continued...
[FOOTER]