xp_logs | Yet Another Parental Visit, part 1 (Reply)

Nathan picks up Saul at the airport and brings him back to the mansion for a visit. He does, however, get the most important introduction done and out of the way at the airport.

He was, quite simply, going to be ill. There were no two ways about it. What was wrong with him? This was like pre-action nerves, which he didn't get, so that made no sense at all. And that was a very bad thought, comparing his father's visit to going into battle. Yeah. Cutting that train of thought off right now.

"His plane's landed. There must be a line-up in customs," Nathan muttered faintly as he joined Moira where she was sitting down, a short distance from the arrivals gate. He reached out for her hand without thinking about it, and she squeezed back gently.

The airport was only moderately crowded this morning - which was good, because he was distracted enough that his shields were not so good. "Maybe I shouldn't have dragged you along," he said after a moment, almost abruptly. "I just... didn't want to surprise him with you and Junior on top of everything else back at the school."

"Nay, this works. Besides, I needed ta be off school grounds for a wee while." Moira shifted slightly, trying to ease the pain in her back. She was more than definitely showing now and airport chairs were not exactly the most comfortable. "I can rest a cup on me bloody stomach," she muttered, squeezing Nathan's hand as he peered through the crowd.

"Nathan, love, calm down a wee bit, yer makin' me sick ta me stomach."

Nathan blinked, looking at her, then down at her stomach. "Crap." He took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a moment and running through a meditative pattern. "Better?" he asked, then laid a hand on her stomach, trying to think soothing thoughts at the baby, too.

"Much, aye, thank ye." Leaning over, she kissed his cheek briefly and then blinked as the baby kicked. "Well, at least she didnae send ye flyin'," Moira laughed, linking her arm through his. "Ye knew all along she was goin' ta be a she, ye sneaky man..."

"Not all along," Nathan protested. "Just... since I had those brownies, with Angie. Shook a few too many things loose," he said with a certain amount of discretion, since they were after all in a public place, "if you know what I mean." He tilted his head, trying to see the arrivals gate through the crowd. "She's going to be beautiful, you know," he said more quietly. "I saw that, too. Beautiful and strong."

Moira felt part of her relax at that. Ever since they had realized the baby had manifested, some of the old fears from her memories of Kevin had resurfaced. She'd kept them far enough away from the link so that Nathan wouldn't worry--about her or the baby--but him saying that relieved some of the stress. "O' course she will be," she murmured, leaning against him some more. "Isnae tha' his flight comin' out o' th' gate?"

Nathan looked, letting his mind brush over the minds of the small crowd emerging from the gate. He took a deep, shaky breath. "Looks like," he said, squeezing her hand once more and then rising. "Why don't you stay here? I'll go meet him and bring him over for proper introductions - you don't need to be on your feet any more than necessary."

Patting his hand, Moira reached up and kissed him briefly. "Watch me argue," she said, cheerfully, gently pushing calming and happy thoughts at him across the link. "Everythin' will be fine."

Nathan's smile was a bit wobbly, but he managed to steady it as he got up and headed in the direction of the gate. Saul, thanks to his height, wasn't difficult to spot, and Nathan raised a hand in a hesitant wave.

"Nathan!" For someone who'd caught the redeye from San Francisco, Saul looked startlingly well-rested, even refreshed. Maybe he was just a morning person? Nathan wondered a bit distractedly. "It's good to see you, son," Saul said with a smile, once he'd made his way through the crowd to Nathan's side.

"Uhh... likewise," Nathan said, holding the smile on. "Do you have other bags, or...?"

"No, just this," Saul said, nodding at the small suitcase he was carrying with apparent ease. Nathan toyed with the idea of offering to take it, but refrained as he saw how comfortably Saul was handling it. "You travel as often as I do and you learn to cut down on what you have to carry. And develop a healthy mistrust for airlines and their ability to lose your luggage." He chuckled.

"Well, with me it was always a question of prioritizing your gear," Nathan said a bit wryly, almost despite himself. "I'm parked outside," he said, turning. Saul followed him. "We need to, um... well, I've got someone else here that you probably want to meet before we go anywhere, though."

Forewarned by a gentle touch on the link, Moira was already struggling to her feet by the time she saw the two head her way. There was a resemblance there, that was for sure. Whatever doubts she had, she stored away in the back of her mind, content that Remy could find out if anything was wrong.

Grabbing the back of her seat, she heaved herself up, damned if she wasn't going to greet someone on her feet. She'd been taught better than that.

"Moira, this is Saul Morrow. My father," Nathan said as they reached where she was standing waiting for them. Saul gave him a swift, amazed look, and Nathan bit his lip and soldiered on dogggedly. Introductions were good. "Saul, this is Moira. My wife." Okay, so that had come out sounding relatively normal, no?

"My goodness," Saul breathed, the look of shock fading into something warmer, if no less surprised. He glanced sideways at Nathan, smiling suddenly, almost brilliantly. "You could have given me a little warning, son." He extended a hand to Moira, the smile lingering, even growing a little. "Hello, Moira. It's very good to meet you."

"Pleasure ta meet ye," Moira responded, studying him quickly. The handshake was strong, firm and she responded in kind. "I apologize for th' surprise but...well, I'm sure ye can understand givin' Nathan's 'istory, aye?" She shoot said husband a look, sending more soothing thoughts in an attempt to calm his frazzled mind. "How was yer flight?"

"Quiet, thankfully," Saul said, the smile turning a little bemused - if still delighted - as Nathan moved to Moira's side, taking her arm. "I do quite a bit of traveling, but I must say I haven't mellowed on the subject of obnoxious fellow passengers over the years."

"The car's just out this way," Nathan said. "It's not too long a drive to... get where we're going." No clinging to Moira's arm. Entirely too needy-seeming. It was a relief to get out of the airport and away from the crowd, though, and thankfully he'd snagged a parking spot not too far away. It was overly warm again today, and he knew Moira didn't do well with the heat under normal circumstances, never mind when she was pregnant.

"I'm very interested to see the school," Saul said amiably, keeping pace with them. He chuckled again. "Especially given how little you've actually told me about it."

"'Tis a verra nice place ta work--an' live," Moira responded, grimacing as a warm breeze swept their way. "Once th' wee one is born, I'll be doin' a bit more travelin' between me own labs an' the one's here. Until then, 'tis one o' th' best work places I've ever been in."

She paused long enough to awkwardly slide into the passenger seat and sighed again, resting her hands against her stomach.

"Your own labs?" Saul asked, sounding intrigued as he got into the back seat. Nathan, putting Saul's suitcase into the trunk, tried not to look as though he was listening too avidly to the conversation. "And that time must be getting fairly close, if I can be a little presumptuous. Everything's well, I hope? You and the child are in good health?"

"Aye, we're doin' jus' fine," was the response as she struggled with the seat belt. "We're expectin' at th' beginnin' o' August, so 'tis gettin' rather close." #I look like a bloody Macey's Day balloon,# she sent cheerfully across the link to Nathan, then continued aloud. "I'm a scientist who dabbles in nursin'--genetics an' psychiatry are where me fields lie--an' I've got jus' some labs in a wee place called Muir in Scotland."

Probably only to Nathan was it obvious that she was testing just how much Saul knew about Dr. MacTaggart and/or Lady Kinross.

#You do not,# Nathan sent back with a certain amount of nervous good humor as he came around to get in the driver's side. #You look beautiful.#

There was a brief, startled-seeming silence from the back seat. "Muir Island," Saul finally said, sounding intrigued. "My company did some work a few years ago for the Mueller Genetics Research Center in Switzerland, when they had a serious server crash. If I remember correctly, a similar Center on Muir Island was mentioned as one of the participants in some sort of cooperative research venture..."

#Yes, dear.# "Mueller Genetics Research Center...aye, we got a fair bit accomplished tha' year. We still tend ta do cooperative projects on occasion." Moira made a mental note to get back in touch with their director. She shrugged at Nathan. Saul would find out soon enough. "I started the facility nearly 20 years ago. Given th' circles ye travel in, ye may 'ave 'eard th' name MacTaggart."

"I had suspected, given the mention of 'your' labs," Saul conceded amiably. Nathan started the car, pulling carefully out of the parking spot, and Saul gave his son an amused, impressed look in the rearview mirror. "Full of surprises, Nathan. First you tell me you're a teacher, then I find out that you're married to a world-renowned scientist."

"Um. Still waters run deep?" Nathan bantered weakly, then told himself to pay attention to what he was doing. Pregnant wife in the car, after all. "I've been close-mouthed about a lot, I know..." And why did that come out sounding as if he was trying to apologize? Why did he keep doing that?

Moira shot him a concerned look as the thoughts on the other end of the link sped up just a little bit. "Who also teaches," she replied mildly, settling back as Nathan dropped the speed just a little bit. "Nay any summer sessions for me, though. Obviously. Nathan's only told me a wee bit about ye. So, what do ye an' yer company do?"

"I imagine you have quite enough on your mind just now without summer classes," Saul said with another chuckle. "And Samara specializes in data recovery. There's a growing market for it, but we got into the game early enough to have established a fairly good reputation for ourselves, if I do say so myself. It gives us a certain advantage when the more significant data disasters happen, and governments and companies come looking for help."

"Verra interestin'. I can see why tha's such a growin' market." Tucking the name of his company in the back of her mind for later, she smiled at Nathan who looked a little more relaxed. Less likely to send them all flying off the road, at least.

"It's challenging, which is one of the reasons I got into the field," Saul said. "There's a lot of satisfaction in successfully restoring the flow of information for an institution such as the Mueller Institute, for example. I imagine in your line of work, you appreciate a good challenge as well, Moira?"

"Most o' th' time, aye, I do. There are times I wish things would go back ta bein' simple answers, simple fixes, but sometimes we dinnae get enough o' either, if that makes any sense. But in th' scientific world where patients dinnae add inta th' equation, aye, I enjoy a good challenge."

They were getting along, Nathan thought. Weren't they? He stole a quick glance sideways at Moira. The link was... something of a study, really.

"Fondness for complications," he bantered a bit weakly. "Does not compute. You two are perfectly welcome to the challenge-appreciating..."

Saul chuckled. "Oh, I somehow doubt that you don't share that trait, Nathan," he said, leaving Nathan blinking rather rapidly at the road ahead, wrestling with a certain shock at how easily Saul had pegged him on that.

Moira blinked slightly at the comment before sliding a glance to the back seat, simply smiling instead of commenting. Saul put her...slightly ill at ease, she realized, and for the life of her she didn't know why. But she was keeping a tight lid on the fact that their baby was x-gene positive, and already manifested, for the time being.

"Ye'll be meetin' quite an interestin' bunch," she commented, "I hope Nathan's told ye tha' much."

"He's warned me," Saul said cheerfully. "Using that precise word - 'warn'."

"I didn't," Nathan protested a bit weakly.

"You most certainly did." Saul shifted a little in the back seat, very obviously relaxing. Making a concerted effort to relax, almost, Nathan thought, his eyes flickering to the rearview mirror. "Personally, I'm looking forward to seeing the school and how it functions. Such a fascinating and heartening idea. I wish there'd been a similar place around when I was a teenager and struggling with my mutation."

Family in car. Family. In. Car. Those three words were what let Nathan refrain from driving the car off the road in sheer shock. "You... didn't mention that you were a mutant," he managed, in something close to a normal tone of voice. He could sense Moira's shock on the link, as well. #Both my parents?# he sent to her a bit wildly. #I didn't... I really didn't know that. I don't remember him ever...#

He trailed off, since Saul was speaking and he probably did want to hear some more details about on this. "Well. I could say that you aren't the only one who enjoys springing the occasional surprise on people, Nathan. But truthfully," Saul confessed, more seriously, "I hadn't known quite how to mention it, at the beginning. I suppose I felt... somewhat guilty, in an odd way," he said with a sigh. "I've been permitted to live more or less in peace, despite my mutation. I've enjoyed more good fortune on that score than is my due, and I would have sacrificed all of those quiet years if you could have had them instead." He went on more briskly. "But when you told me about what kind of school you worked at, I figured that now was probably the time. If it came as a shock, I do apologize."

"Oh. Well... yes," Nathan said finally, his hands just a little white-knuckled on the steering wheel. "I guess under the circumstances there is a lot to tell, isn't there? Can't... get it all told in a couple of conversations."

"So I've been noticing," Saul said wisely.

---

Jubilee sat down with a soft puff on the meditation mat. She'd just finished her Tai Chi practice and while she was quite fit, there were moments when all the time she'd taken off during the past year caught up with her. She'd need to go see Scott later on today and get the schedule for her first DR session. She was actually looking forward to seeing what he'd throw at her.

"The students practice martial arts?" Saul said as they stepped out onto the front porch and he spotted Jubilee.

Nathan coughed. "Um... that's tai chi, actually. I've been doing some of it myself," he volunteered, trying to change the subject. "It's been good for flexibility since--" He cut himself off, too abruptly.

"Since?"

Jubilee pushed herself up into a back arching stretch, hearing the pop of several joints as she spotted Nathan and a stranger who bore an uncanny resemblance to him. Weird. "Nate! You should've been here earlier. I finally got the stance that's been totally a pain in the ass."

Rock and a hard place. Continue the conversation with Saul, or introduce him to Jubilee. He wasn't sure which was preferable - and she must not have seen his post, given that she'd given Saul one mildly interested look and not much else.

"Well, good for you," he said good-humoredly, walking down the steps. "I know you've been wrestling with it."

Jubilee shifted on the mat, so that she could be facing them at least while she did some stretches. She supposed it was rude to do that but eye contact could go hang itself when the alternative was the mother of all aches in the morning. "It was pretty cool. Although, it would've been more impressive if I'd done it with the Catseye distraction technique in full force. She was good for practicing on the road trip. So, new recruit?"

Nathan tried not to laugh. Or choke. "Actually, Jubilee... this is my father, Saul Morrow. Saul," he said as his father came up beside him, "this is Jubilation Lee. One of the students here."

Jubilee did not fall into a heap in surprise, luckily for her, she was becoming immune to shocks of this sort. She still shot Nathan an extremely quizzical look, however. One did not bring cultist bastards to the mansion, it was the mother of all security risks. What the hell was he thinking? "Um, hi. Nice to finally meet one of Nate's parents." she said, expression clear and smile firmly in place.

#Long story, and I gather you didn't see my post,# Nathan sent. #It turns out that my memories of my childhood might not... be right.# And that was as much explanation as he was willing to give just now. Hopefully Jubilee's newfound maturity would kick in, because suddenly he was remembering telling her about his childhood during that ice climbing trip, and... gah. Nathan told himself to settle down.

"Good to meet one of Nathan's students," Saul said, then looked questioningly at Nathan. "Or am I jumping to conclusions?" he asked with a chuckle. "You have a certain proprietary air that I've noticed with some of the other youngsters I've met thus far..."

"No, she's mine," Nathan said. "Languages, rock climbing, that sort of thing..."

'Mistra strikes again? And yes, haven't looked at the journals for a bit.' Jubilee let the thought sit in her head, knowing Nathan would be able to hear it. She still wasn't ready to trust the guy, though. "Well, not so much a student anymore. Graduated a couple of weeks ago. But, yeah, Nate's was one of my teachers. He's a good one too, his students care about him a lot. So I guess we do get a bit proprietary at times. How much you seen of the place so far?"

She wasn't about to come right out and say it, having learnt a certain amount of sublety in these things. But the urge to add on 'And if anyone hurt him, they wouldn't only answer to the other teachers here' was strong.

"I get the sense that we've only scratched the surface," Saul said. "We only arrived an hour or so ago; I flew in from San Francisco this morning."

"I, um, surprised him with the school," Nathan said a bit sheepishly. "Didn't tell him anything about where I was these days until this weekend."

Nate was looking sheepish? Jubilee tried to hold in the laughter, but amusement twinkled in her eyes. "It's a big place. I couldn't believe it when I first got here. Bit different from where I was." Jubilee replied, standing up and rolling up her mat. "Do you do sports, Mr Morrow?"

Might as well be polite, and she could always do her 'blunt as a rock to the head' act later on. 'And it's not that I don't trust your instincts, Nate. So do not do that mental eyeroll I totally know you're doing right now.'

"I've scaled back on the sports since I hit the big seven-oh," Saul said with a laugh. "But I used to enjoy hiking a great deal. Not quite a sport, mind you."

"We usually use the paths around here for jogging. Although, I only just started a day ago, since I got back from my trip to Cali. They're not bad for walking either, though. There's some really nice looking forest. And there's a lake too." Jubilee replied, allowing herself to relax slightly. He seemed normal enough, and pleasent in a 'I've just met you' sort of way. The laugh was certainly natural. So, international hired killer, maybe not.

"I've missed open spaces with all these years living in San Francisco," Saul said. "And you've just gotten back from California, you said? A graduation trip?"

"San Fran isn't so bad. I grew up there, till I moved, anyhow. But yeah, graduation trip. Grabbed a couple of the other kids and headed down for most of the month. There were places I wanted to see before I decided where to go from here." Jubilee replied, smiling. "Why'd you move to San Fran?"

"It was a good place to begin a business, at the time," Saul said, completely relaxed-seeming with the girl. "And it's a lovely city. I've quite enjoyed my years there."

Nice, relaxed conversation. Nice, relaxed conversations were good, Nathan thought. Even if Jubilee's mental editorial comments were a little alarming. "I guess there's something of a tradition with road trips and high school graduation," he said, and then flushed at Saul's tolerant, oddly sad look.

"I suppose you hardly had a chance to explore traditions like that," his father said softly.

Jubilee glanced between the two, wondering how much Saul knew of his son's life. There was certainly tension in Nathan, that she could tell just from having known him for awhile. She wondered if it was due to wanting to make a good impression on his father, or something else. She wondered if Saul noticed it as well. "Don't know much about tradition. But it was a good excuse to get to drive Hank's car for awhile. Plus, there was shopping. Lots and lots of shopping. Got something for your future kidbit too, Nate."

"That's sweet, Jubilee," Nathan said with an honest smile. "Thank you." He glanced at Saul. "Shall we continue with the tour?" he asked. "Lots more of the house to see."

"Probably a good idea," Saul conceded. "I do have a flight to catch tonight, after all." He extended his hand again to Jubilee. "A real pleasure to meet you, young lady. Good luck with your future plans."

Jubilee took his hand and shook it firmly, smiling. "Pleasure to meet you too, Mr M. Hope you enjoy the rest of your tour."

With that, she turned and started walking back up to the mansion, leaving the two men alone.

---

"And this is the library. Um, obviously," Nathan said, flushing a little at the tolerant look Saul gave him as they walked in. He glanced sideways at Shan's desk; she was nowhere in evidence, which was a shame, and he grimaced.

"Fairly extensive, for a school of this size," Saul said, sounding approving. "Do you find it has all the material you need for the courses you teach?" he asked curiously. "From the sounds of it you've taught some fairly esoteric subjects, for a high school..."

"We've had to order a few things in," Nathan conceded. The conversation was getting weird and surreal and normal again. Most of the big tables where students generally studied during the year were empty, and Nathan looked around, scanning the premises lightly. Shan was somewhere in the stacks, he realized, and... oh. He gestured for Saul to follow him, his hand a little unsteady. "There's someone here I should introduce you to," he said. Saul nodded, and followed him over to one of the carrels.

Amanda was deep in her biology homework, one of the assignment sheets McCoy had drawn up for her. As much as the man was an unbearable mother hen, he did have a way of making schoolwork interesting - she was actually enjoing this. And the library was nice and cool on a rather hot afternoon; Meggan was playing in the pool with the other kids, under Alex's watchful eye, and Amanda was considering joining her later. But first, schoolwork. So hard was she concentrating, she didn't even realise she had an audience.

Nathan brushed against her thoughts lightly, not wanting to startle her too badly. "Hey," he said with a slightly uncertain smile as she looked up from her books. "I was giving Saul the tour, and sensed you over here... Saul? This is Amanda Sefton. She's another one of the students here... suffered willingly through a number of my language courses, actually." #Just being a little discreet here,# he sent to Amanda.

"Well, hello," Saul said with a friendly smile, extending his hand. "Glad to meet another student of Nathan's." He chuckled. "Is it really suffering?"

"Not that much," Amanda said, cautiously polite. She rose to shake the offered hand, feeling rather short all of a sudden - it was obvious where Nate got his build from. Her eyes flicked to Nathan's for a moment, assessing how he wanted to play this - discreet she could do. "He's probably the best teacher I've had - don't pay attention t' any of that shite."

"Hmm. Good to know." Saul's handshake was firm, but not crushing, as it easily could have been. Nathan gave Amanda a quick flicker of a smile as she met his eyes, and Saul chuckled, intercepting the look. "Also good to know that you can take compliments, Nathan," he said, releasing Amanda's hand. "Your mother was always terrible about that. She used to turn crimson."

"I have my moments." Nathan managed something close to a bantering tone.

"One or two," Amanda teased Nathan slightly, but not dropping her guard just yet. She didn't miss the reference to Nathan's mother, another reinforcement that Saul's memories of their family differed from Nathan's. Rubbing it in, or trying to give him a foundation? Amanda wasn't experienced enough to know which. "So, Nate's givin' you the grand tour, is he?" she asked, a nice, neutral question. Let's get a feel for this bloke.

Saul smiled. "It's a lovely old house. Reminds me of my original family home - the Morrows came from here on the East Coast as well. Maine, actually," he said with a quick look at Nathan. "I hadn't gotten around to giving you that part of the family history."

"Maine," Nathan mused, his expression a bit distant as he processed the new piece of information.

Saul merely kept smiling. "I haven't been back in... oh, twenty-five years, at least. I went West and stayed there, you might say." He chuckled. "We were down by the gym earlier, watching a basketball game. It's delightful to see this many children, especially so many obvious mutants, so obviously content. I've lived a very quiet life in San Francisco these last ten years."

Nathan's expression was similar to the one she'd had everytime one of the Szardos family offered another tidbit of her own history. "A lot of them have had it hard before they came here," she replied in repsonse to Saul's comment. This is a safe place - they look after people here." Let him take that as he would. She wasn't entirely convinced by the oh-so-reasonable persona, but then again she hadn't really bought it from her own family either, at first.

"I'm getting that sense," Saul said, his eyes back on Nathan. "Students and staff."

"Oh, I, uh, introduced Saul to Bella, Amanda," Nathan said, coughing to clear his throat. "She was not precisely on her best behavior."

"She's a lovely bird," Saul said with a laugh, "but I'm half-afraid my grandchild-to-be is going to wind up with a profanity as his or her first word, thanks to her." Saul gave Amanda a thoughtful look. "Would it be presumptuous to ask about your mutation?" He smiled. "I've agreed to let Moira take a few blood samples to study mine."

Amanda couldn't help snickering a little as Bella came up. "Bella's a caution, all right," she said. Saul's question had her hedging, 'though. "'S complicated t' explain," she began, eyes flickering to Nathan's. How much was safe to tell? She'd learned the hard way with Meggan's kidnapping about the cost of loose talk, even to people who were apparently safe.

"Amanda's is an energy-based mutation," Nathan said promptly. "Absorbs and rechannels it. We have a lot of students with similar mutations." There. Nicely vague. His skin was crawling a little, and he told it to stop. There was no reason for Saul not to be interested in the students here. He was a mutant himself, after all.

"Ah, yes. It's one of the standard ranges of mutations, from what I understand. Energy-manipulation, physical enhancement..." Saul smiled. "I do a little reading on the side," he confessed to Amanda. "Always have."

She relaxed slightly - Nathan was playing it safe too, which was good to see. She'd been a bit worried about his natural caution apparently deserting him as a result of Saul's appearance. "I work with Moira on control - I have a few issues with that," she said briefly. Let him think she didn't want to talk about her mutation for personal reasons, rather than because she didn't trust him. "I've been doin' some readin' meself - Doc McCoy's made sure there's plenty of stuff on mutation in the revision work for Biology he's given me." She waved her hand at the books open on the carrel. "Helps make things more interestin', any way." She looked at Saul squarely. Time to take the initiative. "An' what's yer mutation, if you don't mind me askin'?"

"I can manipulate my cells, basically," Saul said amiably. "Tell white blood cells to carry oxygen, or make my kidneys produce adrenalin. It's not shapeshifting, per se... my cells can simply duplicate the performance of any other cell in my body."

"Makes the fact that I heal a little faster than I should make a little more sense, doesn't it?" Nathan said a bit wryly, raising an eyebrow at Amanda.

She bit back the initial reply about it having nothing to do with her, and nodded. "Sounds tricky. You'd have t' know all the biochemicals an' what they do t' know what you wanted, yeah? No point askin' for somethin' t' make extra seratonin when what you were after was another neurotransmitter altogether." Working so much with Moira was obviously paying off - despite the accent mangling the pronounciation of the words, Amanda's tone was confident. "Then again, mutations tend t' have a bit of backup in that way, sometimes. Shapeshifters don't always have t' know exactly where everythin' goes t' change shape."

Nathan bit back a sigh, catching the half-formed thought. She knew damned well he hadn't meant it like that. But he always had healed fast; Moira had remarked on it for years. #And having telekinetic control on the viral level doesn't seem so mindboggling anymore, either,# he sent to her. #Pity. I was always perversely proud of that.#

"There's a certain instinctive element to it," Saul was conceding. "Or at least there was, for the first ten years or so after I manifested. By then I'd been... properly diagnosed, I suppose the term would be? So I began studying biochemistry and anatomy and so forth, to give myself a better grounding in what I can do." He gave Nathan a thoughtful look. "And then Esther had to study and practice in such different ways. She was a telepath and telekinetic, like Nathan," he explained to Amanda. "Not nearly as powerful, though, from what I've been able to gather."

~It does,~ she sent back briefly, leaning back on the desk a little so she didn't have to look up quite so much. She couldn't explain why Nathan's words had irritated her so much - perhaps they'd echoed Strange and Tante Mattie's admonishments that she wasn't as unique as she'd thought. Discounting her abilities again. She gave Saul a small shrug. "That's the good thing 'bout this place. Lots of people who know 'bout all sorts of mutations, and anythin' they don't know, they can find out quick enough. Or get someone from outside t' help." Like with her, but she wasn't going to be giving him anything more about her powers than he'd gotten. "Nate helps out with people's trainin', sometimes. The psi-stuff."

"Teaching as you learn, hmm?" Saul asked lightly. Nathan shrugged uneasily. "I always thought the best kind of teacher was the one who was only a page or two ahead of their students. Gives them the impetus to always continue learning."

That philosophy, applied to his current teaching relationship with Manuel, was really kind of alarming, Nathan reflected. "There are pluses to having a teacher who's mastered the subject, though," he said, thinking of Charles. And the appointment for tea that they had with Charles, in a little while. No, that was a bad thought and he wasn't going there. He shifted his weight a little, not even thinking about how he was giving away his nervousness.

"For beginners in a given subject, perhaps," Saul said. "But advanced students... the challenge of a competition, of sorts, with one's teacher can drive one to excel."

Nathan blinked and gave his father a mildly troubled look as Askani suddenly hissed in the back of his head. "Uhhh... right." He shook his head a little, then turned back to Amanda. "While I've got you... did you want to meet to talk about your study project tomorrow? I had a couple of ideas for the translation project we were talking about..."

"That works as long as the teacher's willin' t' take the challenge," Amanda said with another shrug, thinking more of Strange than anyone else. But she was getting the impression the conversation was veering onto treacherous ground, so she took the offered change of subject. "Yeah, that'd be good. I was goin' through some of the books here an' found a couple of likely stories. I can ask that tutor of mine if he's got any other Mandarin folk tales suitable for kids."

"Sounds like a laudable summer endeavor," Saul said amiably. "Are you looking to publish, or will this just be for personal use?"

Nathan couldn't figure out why, but suddenly, ending the conversation seemed like a very good idea. He didn't want... what didn't he want? "We should probably be letting Amanda get back to her work," he said a bit hesitantly. "She's got--I mean, we've taken up enough of her time."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Amanda," Saul said with a smile, although his gaze lingered knowingly on Nathan for a moment. "Nathan's right, of course."

"Um, yeah, that's probably a good idea..." Amanda was initially confused at the sudden change, but she was smart enough to not show it. "Still got a lot of work t' do. It was... nice t' meet you," she finished, nodding at Saul and giving him a polite smile. "I'll talk t' you later 'bout this project, Nate."

#I'll explain,# Nathan sent. #Later, I promise. I'm just...# Meggan's face flashed through his mind, and he shrugged a little, forcing a smile. "I should be in my office tomorrow morning," he said. "Just knock on the door."

"Very good to meet you, Amanda," Saul said, all smiles still. "Good luck with your translation project."

~I understand.~ It was difficult to keep up the casual manner after picking up that flash of Meggan, but Amanda managed. She's once been very good at it. "Ta," she told Saul. "Have a good visit."

---

"Kitchen. Obviously," Nathan said, preceding Saul into said kitchen. "Umm... can I offer you a drink or anything, while we're here? Early lunch?" He was so not good at this tour business. He really wasn't.

"Some water would be welcome, actually, son," Saul said with a smile, moving over to the windows, where he could get a good look at the view of the grounds. "This is a truly lovely setting for a lovely house. Makes me yearn for at least semi-rural living again."

Nathan walked over to the fridge. "It's quiet here," he said. "I like that. Although up until last year I was more used to living in cities myself..." As he took out a bottle of spring water, he looked up, sensing someone just outside. "Hi, Dani," he said as the young woman walked in.

"Mr. Dayspring," she greeted him, a small smile on her face. She nodded at the other man, assuming he was the elusive father that Mr. Dayspring had mentioned. "You two here for lunch? I was just about to get something going."

"Dani, this is Saul Morrow, my father," Nathan introduced them quickly. "Saul, this is Dani Moonstar. Student and chef," he said with a smile. "And..." He paused, looking back at Saul. "Lunch?"

"Hello, Dani," Saul said pleasantly. "But no, I'm not hungry, thank you. The metabolic adjustments I make for flying always do unfortunate things to my appetite." He turned his attention to Dani. "Nathan was just giving me a tour of the house. Quite a bit larger than I expected."

"Yeah," Dani nodded agreeing, "it's inimidating at first, but it ain't that big when you think about all the people," she began chopping fruit up for a salad, "It's a school, so there are always people around all the time. Even at night."

Nathan divided the spring water between two glasses and handed Saul one. "Yeah, the quiet I was referring to is often metaphorical," he said, then could have smacked himself. He just needed to not talk, sometimes.

"Ahh," Saul said, watching Dani. "Moonstar. Cheyenne?" he ventured, then smiled. "Where Nathan grew up, we lived nearly side by side with a Yu'pik village."

"Yu'pik? Cool," she repeated, trying not to make a flip comment about the voices in their heads. That would be rude and disrespectful, especially in front of a guest. Times like this she thought she really would lose herself, "Yeah. Southern Cheyenne. Black Eagle's m'grandfather. Well, was," she ammended briefly, blushing. Sometimes she forget he was dead.

"It's fascinating, the range of places that the students here have come from," Saul said amiably, settling onto one of the stool. "Leads to some interesting thoughts about the global mutant community..."

Now they were getting off on weird subjects again, Nathan thought, blinking as he sipped at his water. "Fruit salad?" he asked Dani. Asking the obvious, but to hell with it. "Jean was at me for my vitamin C deficiencies again..."

Taking a spoon and scooping a generous helping into a bowl, Dani slid it down the counter, "Gimme a minute to cut more of those little chinese oranges too," she instructed before turning her attention back to Mr. Morrow, "Global mutant community? What's our homes gotta do with that? Most of us ain't gonna go back."

"But you're making a new one here," Saul said. "It's fascinating to see." He gave his son an inquiring look. "Vitamin C deficiency?" he questioned.

"He don't eat right," Dani informed him, figuring it was okay since Mr. Morrow was Mr. Dayspring's father, "I used to make him lunch every day and sit until he ate it. He got a cookie if he finished it all."

"A cookie," Saul said, his lips twitching suspiciously, although there was some concern in his eyes. "You know, I'm not one for eating properly myself, I must admit, Nathan, but if you're winding up with vitamin deficiencies..."

"Powers-related," Nathan said a bit edgily. That was not a road he wanted to go down right now. "Dani was very good about reminding me for a while there. I always appreciated it."

"I was pregnant," she explained, "and had to cut down my cooking hours for a while. Still ain't working that much," it was obvious from her tone that she disagreed with this, but it was not a fight she felt like rehashing again. "You're welcome though."

"Are there a number of babies about or soon to be about, then?" Saul asked Nathan, a twinkle in his eyes, before he looked back at Dani. "I just this morning found out that I'm going to be a grandfather, actually."

"Congrats," Dani offered politely, "I guess you're excited."

"Oh, yes. Very excited." Saul took a sip of his water, his eyes lingering on Dani for a moment before he quite delicately dropped the subject. "So, do you enjoy your studies here?"

"I graduated!" Dani was still immensely proud of this, although it seemed to be a non-event for most people. "And you? What do you do?"

"I work with computers," Saul said. "Data recovery, actually. Out in San Francisco." He was smiling at her again. "So what are your plans now that you're graduating, if I may ask?"

San Francisco was a long way away, even from Oklahoma. "Plans?" she asked him blankly, she did have some ideas and her internet class started in a week, but she didn't really have anything definite, "I guess not being crazy. Work here."

Saul opened his mouth, then closed it again, looking quizzical at Dani's comment about not being crazy. "Ah," he said kindly. "Well, laudable goals, both of them..."

Dani wasn't certain anywhere else would take her until she got her powers under control, although without the baby it had become easier. It seemed like the meditation and taichi were finally working. "I got an internet class too," she tried to offer helpfully. The future wasn't something she really wanted to think about.