xp_logs | Lorna and Forge, Monday morning

Monday morning, Forge decides to forego his classes for the day in order to take care of some personal business, starting with Lorna. A gift is given, and it comes to light that the two of them have been dealing with the past year in very different ways.

Forge finished sending his last email of the morning from his PDA. Three quick emails to his professors explaining his absence from class, and a note to his study group letting them know he wouldn't be online for the whiteboard session. Today he had other business to take care of.

Business that brought him up to the third floor and the staff living quarters, specifically to Lorna's single. Tucking the small wrapped package under his arm, he ran a hand quickly through his hair and knocked on the door. If she stuck to her schedule - and Lorna ran possibly a close second to Paige in sticking to schedules and routines - she'd be right in between training and classes.

Lorna heard the knock from her small suite kitchen where she was fixing up her own breakfast. The kids got french toast, eggs, bacon and orange juice. Lorna had a big leafy salad with cottage cheese. She imagined the student body would have gagged. Wiping her hands off on a kitchen towel, she glanced over to the door, giving it a moment of concentration then called out, "It's unlocked, Forge." Some people were easier to identify than others.

Ducking his head into the suite, Forge eased his way in and gave Lorna a casual wave. "Hey, good morning," he announced, strolling to the kitchen. "Salad for breakfast? Now who needs the lecture about breakfast being the most important meal of the day, your body needs protein, et cetera?"

Resisting the urge to glare at the comment about her eating habits, Lorna forced a smile. "I am not a growing teenager. There's slightly different nutritional needs involved." She set the salad aside though and turned her back on it. "What can I do for you?"

Forge cleared his throat, placing the brown-paper-covered box on the counter. "I know I've been kind of all hermit lately, and... well, this time of year's not a good time for me. You of all people understand."

The explanation didn't have to be given, at least not aloud. One year ago, Lorna and Forge had both been unwilling hostages of the Brotherhood, until the X-Men had come in to make the heroic rescue.

"It's been a year," Forge said quietly, "and I keep waking up every morning still with a part of me being surprised I'm here. Still safe, still alive. Still free." With a small nod, he nudged the package over to Lorna. "I... well, I made these for the team who came to get us out of there. Kind of a thank you. I mean, I know it's just all in a day's work, but I always think... gratitude's important."

Lorna paled just a bit when he started his explanation. Her face was bloodless by the time he finished and her hands gripped the counter behind her in an effort to keep them from shaking. She'd known the date just as well as he. Had marked the time by very deliberately not thinking about it and forcing good cheer. Time passed for a reason and it wasn't to keep the past close. But she couldn't just get rid of Forge, not after everything she owed him. Slowly she pried her hand off the counter and accepted the package, unwrapping it. "It's a clock," she said a little unnecessarily.

"Sort of like a reverse countdown," Forge explained, pointing to the digital numbers counting upwards, second by second, inside the clear lucite frame. "Kind of my way of saying I'm thankful for each second since then, you know?" He stood in awkward silence for a moment, looking down at his hand. "I know you did a lot of things that you didn't have a choice over. I... I could have made a different choice, I could have told him no. I could have refused to build the
Neutralizer. But I didn't. I did what I had to, so it wasn't really a choice at all."

He glanced up, swallowing hard. He'd thought about it pretty much daily in the past year, no reason to get choked up about it now. None at all. "I just wanted to say thank you," Forge whispered. "For being there with me. For giving me a reason to not just give in, you... I know it didn't seem like it at the time, but without you there, I don't think I could have found it in me to do what I could. So... thank you."

Lorna's face was usually animated, emotion carrying easily over her features. But right now her face was blank, just a faded anguish in her eyes like she couldn't let herself express it and yet it was like a mask had been stripped away. "Forge, I..." She set down the clock and took a breath, shaky. "There's nothing to thank me for. I didn't do anything that even comes close to right."

"You're still here," Forge said matter-of-factly. "That means you didn't give up. Even under all that... her, you were still there. Still fighting. You let me know it wasn't hopeless. I needed that." He gave a small smile. "I still need that, some days."

She shook her head and bit her lip, not sure that she had the right to explain even if she could have figured out a way to do so. How to express that she had given up? That she'd have died if she could have and it was only the threat to her family that kept her from finding a way. That after keeping Malice from killing Remy outright she hadn't had anything left that was worth her even trying? "I...barely saw you most of the time."

"But I saw you," Forge replied, "in those little moments where you, the real you, would show through. Don't ever think that you were weak. Because you survived that, you're still surviving." He reached out and tapped the clock. "Second by second, day by day. We're still here."

The tears that slid down her cheeks felt like fire and she wiped them away hurriedly, "You're the one who got us out of there, Forge. Not me."

Forge blushed crimson for a moment, looking discreetly away. "We can play the 'who's awesomer' game all day, you know. But here and now? I'm glad you're still here. That's what I'm going to be thinking about from now on, you know? The here and now."

He took a step back and nodded towards the door. "I've got some more of these to drop off. But... just think about it. We've both come a long way, you know."

Lorna nodded back at him then stepped forward and pulled him into a hug. "Thanks, Forge. It's...I'm sorry for everything but...I never thought you made the wrong decision. Even she didn't believe that you'd really help him."

Forge felt his face go warm and red, then returned the hug once the initial shock had passed. "I know that now. It's why I can sleep at night. Well, that and no more Kyle snoring."

She forced a laugh and stepped back. "Okay well, um. I need to finish getting ready before class so. I...thanks. I'll see you later."

"You bet. And eat something more substantial than a salad," Forge scolded in a horrible imitation of Lorna's southern Californian accent. "Or the kids will start thinking they can get away with waffles and ice cream."

"Nag," she replied and shooed him away. The salad went down the disposal.