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xp_logs2005-05-14 05:22 pm
x-polarisstar.livejournal.com) wrote in xp_logs2005-05-14 05:22 pm
Nathan and Lorna, Reception
At the reception. Nathan tracks down Lorna for a thank you and she tells him a bit about Remy's gift. Then they dance.
She had to be around here somewhere. The crowd was seriously messing with his ability to pin down a specific psi-signature, but now that dinner was all done and cleared away, surely she would have emerged to have some actual fun. Sidestepping a group of enthusiastic dancers - the local band was outdoing themselves - Nathan made his way around the inside edge of the tables, searching for green hair.
She was sneaking back to her table from the staging area. She was sneaking because it had been made very clear to her that her involvement with the food during the actual reception was to be limited to eating it. Lorna considered that tyranny and checked up on the caterers anyway. She'd just slipped back into her seat, absently tugging off the latex gloves she'd put on to handle the food and sat back with a sigh.
Ah-hah! "You," Nathan said severely, coming up behind her, "were in the kitchen. Weren't you?"
Lorna jumped and squeaked, jerking around to face him, "No." Technically true. The staging area wasn't actually in the kitchen. That had been the trip before this one.
"Liar." Nathan lowered himself into the empty chair next to her, smiling. "But I forgive you. Because the food is spectacular, and so long as you do promise to have some fun tonight, we won't mention your innate control-freak-ness."
"It's not lying, it's just improving the truth a little bit." Lorna grinned at him. The truth was she was nearly done. She'd been up and working since 3 in the morning. She was about ready to admit defeat. "I am having fun. It's a gorgeous wedding full of perfectly wonderful people. Starting with the bride and groom." She leaned forward impulsively and gave him quick hug. "Congratulations by the way."
Nathan hugged her back, just as quickly. "Thank you. For that, and for doing everything that you did. I can quite honestly say that this is probably the best dinner I've ever had, and that's not just because I got to stare at my wife as I ate." Oh, how he liked that word. Wife. Wife, wife. He needed to find a way to fit it into every sentence for at least the next few weeks. It struck him that he was probably doing the loopy grinning thing again. Ah, well.
He was and it was adorable. "Once you wrangle them properly and get it through their thick skulls what you want these Scots aren't so bad in the kitchen. The worst part was convincing them that yes, I was the harpy—actual quote there mind you—who had been shrieking at them for two weeks. You wouldn't believe the number of times I heard, 'but you're just a slip of a girl'. Like, thanks but that doesn't mean I don't know what I'm doing." Though she wasn't the mimic that Alison was, Lorna managed to roll into a decent Scottish brogue for the quote.
Nathan laughed. "What's the saying, the proof's in the pudding? Except I don't think there was actually pudding, was there? Just about everything else imaginable..." Still smiling, he reached into his jacket for one of the envelopes he'd had Mina holding on to during the ceremony for him. "You have been running yourself ragged. Don't think Moira and I didn't notice that."
"You gave me two weeks to pull this together and I had to fight my way past a horde of Scots to do it," she teased gently, "Of course, I was frazzled. But I was happy to do it. Chef Marcel was delighted too. He said to wish you his best and to kiss the bride for him. I figured I'd let you take care of that part."
"Moira and I talked, and we decided that the best way to say thank you was to provide you with a way to unwind," Nathan said, and handed her the envelope. "Made the reservations tentatively for the week after exams finish," he explained, watching her open it, "but they're flexible."
Lorna's jaw dropped as she took out the reservation and travel brochure. The actual details of the trip were quickly passed over in favour of gaping at the pictures in the glossy brochure which featured heavily perfectly white beaches and ultra clear astonishingly blue waters. "Where the heck is Anguilla?" she said finally, aware that was hardly the appropriate response but pretty much the only one her brain was supplying.
"In the Caribbean. One of the Leeward islands," Nathan said, with a very innocent look. "I hear the surfing's quite decent. Although I figured you'd be more interested in the cuisine side of things. You know, that resort has its own hydroponic farm?"
Lorna blinked and looked at the reservation again, this time noticing that Alex's name was on there as well, "Oh, Nate, this is too much. I only did what a volunteered to do. A thank you and a box of chocolates would have sufficed. Maybe flowers. This whole thing…Now I'm afraid to ask where you are going for your honeymoon if this is the trip you're giving the chef." She blinked and looked back at the brochure, "Daniel Orr, that name sounds familiar. Oh…oh, wow."
"I noticed when I was reading on their website that they have a rather extensive program of cooking classes, too," Nathan said helpfully, then grinned at her. "Really, Lorna, it's little enough. It's a chance for you and Alex to get away together and do things you both love doing, or just relax and lie around in the sun, in one of the most gorgeous settings imaginable. Just go and have a good time." His smile turned a bit wistful. "It's been a hell of a spring. Even before we ran you ragged these last couple of weeks. You deserve some quality recharge time."
"I don't know what to say. It's too much." The idea was seductive. Days of just them, no one able to interfere, no emergencies to call her away, no students. And Daniel Orr. The Daniel Orr. Lessons from Daniel Orr. Lorna shook her head, "You two are crazy stubborn fools. There's no way in hell I'll be allowed to say thanks but no is there?"
"Not a chance in hell, no," Nathan said cheerfully. "Remember who you're dealing with." He leaned back in the chair, grinning at her. "Grin and bear it. Call it karma - you gave us a veritable wedding feast, and now we're giving you a week to enjoy yourself."
"I didn't realise karma was so instant." She looked at the brochure again, "Wow. Thank you, this is just…it's not necessary but thank you." She folded the papers back into the envelope, lest she wear them out reading them. She smiled at him, some what misty-eyed. "I'm afraid to say anything like it's going to be wonderful because that's a sure sign to the fates to ruin it. But, you and Moira, you're just exactly right. It's amazing."
"It's... quite something," Nathan agreed, his eyes gone soft and distant as he looked around. "I have to keep stopping and reminding myself that it's real. Yet there's part of me that doesn't doubt that for an instant... as much sense as that doesn't make."
Lorna nodded, "It makes sense. I can only imagine but that's kind of how I felt last year on mine and Alex's first anniversary. Like it couldn't quite be true because it felt too right. The way only dreams do." She laughed lightly, "It's a scary feeling some. Because what if it is just a dream and you don't really deserve this…" She trailed off as something occurred to her. "That jerk," she said changing her tone entirely, looking faintly outraged by whatever her thought had been.
Nathan blinked. "Alex... no, that's not who you meant. Who's a jerk?" He tilted his head at her, curious.
"Remy. What the hell. I'm going to smack him." Lorna was clearly having most of this conversation with herself.
"Oh." Nathan smiled wryly. "This wouldn't have anything to do with the, um, critically important lead on you-know-who that just happened to coincidentally come up just before the wedding, would it?"
"Among other things." Lorna sighed, irritated, "He had me bring your gift. Do you know why it's important? Other than being really nice wine?"
Nathan shook his head. "Not a clue," he said. "I figured there had to be some significance to it, but I don't know what." Moira had made a slightly perplexed comment about giving wine to a pregnant, alcoholic bride, but Nathan doubted that Remy knew about the alcoholic part, and besides, the origin of the wine was too unusual. There had to be something there.
"That stupid little…gah." Lorna would have run her hands through her hair but the careful pinning was precarious enough without her messing with it. "He's wishing you the best. Not just a good wedding but perfection, a place to be yourselves and be happy. And he made me bring it because he knew I'd get it. I swear I'm going to hit him."
Nathan shook his head. "Just when I think he might be making a little progress, he turns around and does something like this," he said, with a certain amount of frustration but no real edge. "I swear I could shake him. Maybe I will, when I get back... I'm possibly overdue to do that."
"Let me watch?" Lorna asked hopefully. She clasped her hands in front of her like she was begging. "Pretty please? Because I'm not nearly bad-ass enough to kick him around the way he deserved. He'd just let me."
"He thinks he deserves kicking around," Nathan said, "that's the problem. What's really going to fuck with his head and get through the defenses is kindness, even if he's bound and determined to convince himself that he shouldn't be the beneficiary of any of it." He smiled wryly at her. "Our backgrounds aren't identical," he said, "but they're similar enough that I do have a fairly good idea of what's going on in his head. Even without the telepathy."
"Can't we call it tough love and beat him up anyway?" Lorna asked plaintively. "I'm so tired of this from him. I'm tired of having to get hit with his self-loathing every time I'm around him. I'm starting to doubt myself."
Nathan shook his head. "You're doing all that you can for him, Lorna," he told her, quietly but firmly. "You and Amanda seem to be the only people he'll accept that from, even to the extent that he does. But," he said with a sigh, "it's got to be his decision in the end, whether to actually take it to heart." His smile was a bit twisted. "He's got to forgive himself at least a little, or he'll burn out trying to redeem himself. Which he's well on the way to doing already. It's the safe option - the easy option."
She took her wine glass off the table and sipped it instead of answering. She had plenty to say on that subject but Nathan, understanding as he was, was hardly the person to say it to and besides, "It's your wedding, what are we doing talking about moronic Cajuns with complexes. You should be happy. Here, have a canapé."
He took a canape. "I wish I could be more encouraging," he said quietly. "Just don't give up on him. That's part of it - the only part you have any control over. The rest... well, the rest is up to him."
"I'm not giving up. I can't." Lorna smiled and shrugged, "Anyway, I saw you doing a reel with Moira. Did that exhaust your dancing for tonight or is there any chance I can claim a dance for myself?"
Nathan ate the canape, then rose, a bit stiffly. "Let's go while the music is nice and slow," he said with a chuckle, offering her a hand. "Taking pity on my recently-broken back and all..."
She grinned, "No arguments there. I'm too tired for jigging or whatever it is they keep doing." She took his hand and let him lead her to the floor. Better than brooding about Remy anyday.
She had to be around here somewhere. The crowd was seriously messing with his ability to pin down a specific psi-signature, but now that dinner was all done and cleared away, surely she would have emerged to have some actual fun. Sidestepping a group of enthusiastic dancers - the local band was outdoing themselves - Nathan made his way around the inside edge of the tables, searching for green hair.
She was sneaking back to her table from the staging area. She was sneaking because it had been made very clear to her that her involvement with the food during the actual reception was to be limited to eating it. Lorna considered that tyranny and checked up on the caterers anyway. She'd just slipped back into her seat, absently tugging off the latex gloves she'd put on to handle the food and sat back with a sigh.
Ah-hah! "You," Nathan said severely, coming up behind her, "were in the kitchen. Weren't you?"
Lorna jumped and squeaked, jerking around to face him, "No." Technically true. The staging area wasn't actually in the kitchen. That had been the trip before this one.
"Liar." Nathan lowered himself into the empty chair next to her, smiling. "But I forgive you. Because the food is spectacular, and so long as you do promise to have some fun tonight, we won't mention your innate control-freak-ness."
"It's not lying, it's just improving the truth a little bit." Lorna grinned at him. The truth was she was nearly done. She'd been up and working since 3 in the morning. She was about ready to admit defeat. "I am having fun. It's a gorgeous wedding full of perfectly wonderful people. Starting with the bride and groom." She leaned forward impulsively and gave him quick hug. "Congratulations by the way."
Nathan hugged her back, just as quickly. "Thank you. For that, and for doing everything that you did. I can quite honestly say that this is probably the best dinner I've ever had, and that's not just because I got to stare at my wife as I ate." Oh, how he liked that word. Wife. Wife, wife. He needed to find a way to fit it into every sentence for at least the next few weeks. It struck him that he was probably doing the loopy grinning thing again. Ah, well.
He was and it was adorable. "Once you wrangle them properly and get it through their thick skulls what you want these Scots aren't so bad in the kitchen. The worst part was convincing them that yes, I was the harpy—actual quote there mind you—who had been shrieking at them for two weeks. You wouldn't believe the number of times I heard, 'but you're just a slip of a girl'. Like, thanks but that doesn't mean I don't know what I'm doing." Though she wasn't the mimic that Alison was, Lorna managed to roll into a decent Scottish brogue for the quote.
Nathan laughed. "What's the saying, the proof's in the pudding? Except I don't think there was actually pudding, was there? Just about everything else imaginable..." Still smiling, he reached into his jacket for one of the envelopes he'd had Mina holding on to during the ceremony for him. "You have been running yourself ragged. Don't think Moira and I didn't notice that."
"You gave me two weeks to pull this together and I had to fight my way past a horde of Scots to do it," she teased gently, "Of course, I was frazzled. But I was happy to do it. Chef Marcel was delighted too. He said to wish you his best and to kiss the bride for him. I figured I'd let you take care of that part."
"Moira and I talked, and we decided that the best way to say thank you was to provide you with a way to unwind," Nathan said, and handed her the envelope. "Made the reservations tentatively for the week after exams finish," he explained, watching her open it, "but they're flexible."
Lorna's jaw dropped as she took out the reservation and travel brochure. The actual details of the trip were quickly passed over in favour of gaping at the pictures in the glossy brochure which featured heavily perfectly white beaches and ultra clear astonishingly blue waters. "Where the heck is Anguilla?" she said finally, aware that was hardly the appropriate response but pretty much the only one her brain was supplying.
"In the Caribbean. One of the Leeward islands," Nathan said, with a very innocent look. "I hear the surfing's quite decent. Although I figured you'd be more interested in the cuisine side of things. You know, that resort has its own hydroponic farm?"
Lorna blinked and looked at the reservation again, this time noticing that Alex's name was on there as well, "Oh, Nate, this is too much. I only did what a volunteered to do. A thank you and a box of chocolates would have sufficed. Maybe flowers. This whole thing…Now I'm afraid to ask where you are going for your honeymoon if this is the trip you're giving the chef." She blinked and looked back at the brochure, "Daniel Orr, that name sounds familiar. Oh…oh, wow."
"I noticed when I was reading on their website that they have a rather extensive program of cooking classes, too," Nathan said helpfully, then grinned at her. "Really, Lorna, it's little enough. It's a chance for you and Alex to get away together and do things you both love doing, or just relax and lie around in the sun, in one of the most gorgeous settings imaginable. Just go and have a good time." His smile turned a bit wistful. "It's been a hell of a spring. Even before we ran you ragged these last couple of weeks. You deserve some quality recharge time."
"I don't know what to say. It's too much." The idea was seductive. Days of just them, no one able to interfere, no emergencies to call her away, no students. And Daniel Orr. The Daniel Orr. Lessons from Daniel Orr. Lorna shook her head, "You two are crazy stubborn fools. There's no way in hell I'll be allowed to say thanks but no is there?"
"Not a chance in hell, no," Nathan said cheerfully. "Remember who you're dealing with." He leaned back in the chair, grinning at her. "Grin and bear it. Call it karma - you gave us a veritable wedding feast, and now we're giving you a week to enjoy yourself."
"I didn't realise karma was so instant." She looked at the brochure again, "Wow. Thank you, this is just…it's not necessary but thank you." She folded the papers back into the envelope, lest she wear them out reading them. She smiled at him, some what misty-eyed. "I'm afraid to say anything like it's going to be wonderful because that's a sure sign to the fates to ruin it. But, you and Moira, you're just exactly right. It's amazing."
"It's... quite something," Nathan agreed, his eyes gone soft and distant as he looked around. "I have to keep stopping and reminding myself that it's real. Yet there's part of me that doesn't doubt that for an instant... as much sense as that doesn't make."
Lorna nodded, "It makes sense. I can only imagine but that's kind of how I felt last year on mine and Alex's first anniversary. Like it couldn't quite be true because it felt too right. The way only dreams do." She laughed lightly, "It's a scary feeling some. Because what if it is just a dream and you don't really deserve this…" She trailed off as something occurred to her. "That jerk," she said changing her tone entirely, looking faintly outraged by whatever her thought had been.
Nathan blinked. "Alex... no, that's not who you meant. Who's a jerk?" He tilted his head at her, curious.
"Remy. What the hell. I'm going to smack him." Lorna was clearly having most of this conversation with herself.
"Oh." Nathan smiled wryly. "This wouldn't have anything to do with the, um, critically important lead on you-know-who that just happened to coincidentally come up just before the wedding, would it?"
"Among other things." Lorna sighed, irritated, "He had me bring your gift. Do you know why it's important? Other than being really nice wine?"
Nathan shook his head. "Not a clue," he said. "I figured there had to be some significance to it, but I don't know what." Moira had made a slightly perplexed comment about giving wine to a pregnant, alcoholic bride, but Nathan doubted that Remy knew about the alcoholic part, and besides, the origin of the wine was too unusual. There had to be something there.
"That stupid little…gah." Lorna would have run her hands through her hair but the careful pinning was precarious enough without her messing with it. "He's wishing you the best. Not just a good wedding but perfection, a place to be yourselves and be happy. And he made me bring it because he knew I'd get it. I swear I'm going to hit him."
Nathan shook his head. "Just when I think he might be making a little progress, he turns around and does something like this," he said, with a certain amount of frustration but no real edge. "I swear I could shake him. Maybe I will, when I get back... I'm possibly overdue to do that."
"Let me watch?" Lorna asked hopefully. She clasped her hands in front of her like she was begging. "Pretty please? Because I'm not nearly bad-ass enough to kick him around the way he deserved. He'd just let me."
"He thinks he deserves kicking around," Nathan said, "that's the problem. What's really going to fuck with his head and get through the defenses is kindness, even if he's bound and determined to convince himself that he shouldn't be the beneficiary of any of it." He smiled wryly at her. "Our backgrounds aren't identical," he said, "but they're similar enough that I do have a fairly good idea of what's going on in his head. Even without the telepathy."
"Can't we call it tough love and beat him up anyway?" Lorna asked plaintively. "I'm so tired of this from him. I'm tired of having to get hit with his self-loathing every time I'm around him. I'm starting to doubt myself."
Nathan shook his head. "You're doing all that you can for him, Lorna," he told her, quietly but firmly. "You and Amanda seem to be the only people he'll accept that from, even to the extent that he does. But," he said with a sigh, "it's got to be his decision in the end, whether to actually take it to heart." His smile was a bit twisted. "He's got to forgive himself at least a little, or he'll burn out trying to redeem himself. Which he's well on the way to doing already. It's the safe option - the easy option."
She took her wine glass off the table and sipped it instead of answering. She had plenty to say on that subject but Nathan, understanding as he was, was hardly the person to say it to and besides, "It's your wedding, what are we doing talking about moronic Cajuns with complexes. You should be happy. Here, have a canapé."
He took a canape. "I wish I could be more encouraging," he said quietly. "Just don't give up on him. That's part of it - the only part you have any control over. The rest... well, the rest is up to him."
"I'm not giving up. I can't." Lorna smiled and shrugged, "Anyway, I saw you doing a reel with Moira. Did that exhaust your dancing for tonight or is there any chance I can claim a dance for myself?"
Nathan ate the canape, then rose, a bit stiffly. "Let's go while the music is nice and slow," he said with a chuckle, offering her a hand. "Taking pity on my recently-broken back and all..."
She grinned, "No arguments there. I'm too tired for jigging or whatever it is they keep doing." She took his hand and let him lead her to the floor. Better than brooding about Remy anyday.