xp_logs | Log: Nate and Betsy. Backdated to Monday afternoon

As seen in her disturbing conversation with Manuel, Betsy goes outside to clear her head and trespasses on the thoughts of a very worried, soon-to-be father. Nate takes on the older brother role a little too well and Betsy listens, finally.

Backdated to Monday afternoon after this log here and set before any of Nate's responses to this post

Nice, quiet gazebo. Moira was upstairs in their suite napping - she seemed to do that more often than not lately, which was perfectly understandable - and after lying there next to her for a while he'd decided that fresh air was good, and he needed to settle down a little before he spent any more time around his telepathic daughter.

Telepathic daughter. Nathan sank his head into his hands for a moment, letting out a sigh. So much to think about. So much to worry about. And yet he couldn't do any of it openly, at least not around Moira for now, and not around the baby in another few weeks...

Betsy was fuming. After storming out of the garage, she let out a flurry of colorful explicatives. She couldn't believe the sanctimonious arse had....

She stopped walking, forcibly looking at the well-trodden path, trying to bite back the sudden welling of emotion. Standing a few feet away from the school gazebo, Betsy tried her damndest to regather her nerve and was failing, miserably.

Nathan looked up, drawn out of his own troubled thoughts by the mental distress of a telepath whose upset was exponentially worse. #Come sit down, Betsy,# he projected as gently as he could.

Bright purple eyes looked up in surprised and couldn't wipe away the signs of grief from them fast enough. She turned her back toward him, quickly trying to regain some composure. "Oh don't you give me that face," Betsy said, her words thick with emotion. "I'm fine."

"Oh, you look thoroughly wonderful, yes," Nathan said dryly, aloud. "Come on. Plenty of room in the gazebo for the two of us." He paused for a moment, thinking. "You know, I slept out here one night? After a conversation with Manuel."

"Is that right?" Her expression darkened at the mentioning of the Name. She kept her back to Nate though. Still not trusting herself, but it didn't matter. Nate could probably feel her sour face from the far side of the moon, let alone from a few feet behind her.

Nathan regarded her back for a moment, then decided that a strategic change of topic might put her off guard. "The baby's actively telepathic," he said

"What?" Betsy said, finally turning around. Her troubled expression still present under the surface, but there was a lurking curiosity in her eyes now. But for the moment, Nate had successfully gained her attention. "The baby? A telekinetic and a 'path. Are you sure?"

"Absolutely positive," Nathan said quietly. "We were in to see Charles this afternoon, and he confirmed what we already more or less knew, given that she was humming at Moira." He smiled a little. "She's quite the little mimic, actually. All of that classical music Moira's been playing her seems to have sunk in."

"That's amazing," Betsy said. Remarkable. She looked up at Nate and snorted at him. "And it's scaring the absolute pants off of you, isn't it?"

"I'm scared shitless, yes," Nathan said candidly. "But I don't get to be scared back there." He waved a hand at the house. "Not around them. I think I'm going to be honing my shields big-time from here on out."

"Smart move," Betsy said, slightly pre-occupied. The thought of a child born outright with those abilities. She winced. Before she could amuse herself with cute little baby tricks for the future. The image of the smug bastard, Manuel, came into view again and Betsy's frown returned.

Nathan sighed. "What did he do?" he asked simply.

"He was simply being himself. An utter and complete wanker, if you ask me. “Betsy walked up toward the gazebo and propped her foot on the first step, leaning against the armrail. She exhaled loudly, trying to not impose her slow-erupting anger on Nate. "It would appear that Manuel still holds me responsible for a great many things. And felt it necessary to inform me that I'm merely biding my time as Kwannon and am not fooling anyone with my ruse."

Nathan watched her for a long moment. "He still honestly believes you're Kwannon?"

"Either that or he wants to absolutely prove that I am not by trying to provoke me." Betsy said, rather tiredly. "I honestly don't know what he wants."

"Someone's got to have a talk with that boy," Nathan said after a moment. "About failing to accept reality. You are not Kwannon. He's got to learn to deal with that."

"Don't bother," Betsy said, detached. A cold chill settled firmly in the pit of her stomach. "It'll only support his cause further. I can...." She smiled grimly. "manage."

"I know you can manage," Nathan said after a moment. "But you shouldn't have to. He wasn't the only one who suffered from that situation."

Betsy remained quiet, keeping a handle on the sliver of control she had left. "Please don't pursue this. I'm asking you, as a friend."

Nathan sighed. "I won't pursue it aggressively. Best I can promise. I can't promise not to say anything about it - he and I still have lessons, remember."

"I can live with that," Betsy said with quiet resolve. Her whole countenance strengthened the longer she stayed in his presence. Odd, how she felt safe now when not too long ago, she felt the exact opposite. Betsy looked down at her hands, clenching and unclenching them. They had definitely stopped shaking.

"He really upset you." He reached out and laid a hand over one of hers. "This was more than just rehashing the past, wasn't it?"

"Ah, well." Betsy said, her expression darkening. "If you're referring to the idle threat Manny also made, promising to make me suffer the same way I did the first time around. I..." She stopped for a moment, shaking her head. Her hands remained clenched, blanched from the lack of circulation. "No, it wasn't simply a moment of playing catch-up."

"It is idle. You know that, right?" He didn't press for details. "Strong as he is, he wouldn't ever be able to carry through on anything like that." He squeezed her hand, then drew his back. "I think you should talk to Charles, though. He's the one doing the bulk of the work with Manuel, and he needs to know the boy's backsliding again."

"Of course, it is," Betsy said. The words sounding hollow even to her ears. "I don't want to press the matter, at least not right now. I may have simply aggravated the situation...." She couldn't believe she was defending the little whelp, but there was the quiet realization that perhaps a few pushes in the wrong direction and Manny could make good on his promise. Betsy shivered, rubbing her arms up and down, despite the muggy summer climate.

"Stop that," Nathan snapped, his voice soft but no less vehement for the lack of volume. "Enough fucking tiptoeing round him worrying about what he's going to do. He is not going to do anything to you, and if he tries, he's not going to enjoy the consequences."

Her hands stopped in mid-motion and she pulled them tightly to her side. "I haven't been tiptoeing around him."

He arched an eyebrow. "Do I need to throw you in the lake? Or can I just remind you that while lying to a telepath is both dumb and generally futile, lying to a fellow telepath is studied self-delusion of the highest order?" He nudged her shoulder with his, sighing. "Knock it off."

"Alright," Betsy acquiesced raising her hands up in mock surrender. "I give." She still avoided Nate's piercing gaze but gave him a light friendly nudge to soothe his nerves. Finally, she peered at him, a smug smile gracing her face. "You know, if you keep on with the older brother act, people will start to talk."

"Older brother, huh?" He smiled a little. "I prefer to think of it as just being more stubborn than you are and willing to put it to work when necessary."

"Well, aren't I ever so lucky," she said with a roll of her eyes. Betsy looked over at the school, a looming figure in the background. "I think I'll head in." She swiped tiredly at her face, inhaling deeply.

He reached out for her hand again. "I want to show you something before you do," he said, brushing her mind lightly with his memory of what it had been like to be in contact with Rachel's thoughts. The bubbling, slightly fuzzy golden presence, alive with curiosity and delight that had only increased whenever he or Charles or Moira had reached out to her.

"Oh," Betsy let out a started gasp and the realization sunk in. "Whoa." She looked up at the man sitting beside her, wearing a truly genuine smile. "It's absolutely amazing," she laughed again at the slightly smug sensation the unborn child was exuding. "I had no idea....." Betsy started, still flabbergasted. "She's lovely."

Smiling. Yes, his work was done. "She takes after her mother," Nathan said whimsically. "Practice that phrase, by the way..."

"Even though, she's turning out to be veritable terror like her father," Betsy jested, linking her arm with his. "Come on, walk me in, keep my mind off things. And then, I can amuse with all the tricks ittle girls pull on their all-too gullible fathers."