Nathan and Ororo, Thursday afternoon

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Ororo goes to Nathan for some help getting help with her new responsibilities. Nathan has some ideas, but is also having a crappy day for other reasons.


As it was one of those relatively nice May days, the inner door of the Elpis office was open. Visible through the screen door as Ororo approached was a rather alarming sight. The office appeared to be empty save for Juliette, who was sitting at her desk looking honestly concerned as her boss stomped around the office, yanking open file cabinets and sifting restlesly through free-roaming piles of folders, wearing an expression that was too tense and unhappy to be called thunderous.

"...Nathan?" Ororo pushed open the door but didn't advance into the office area, wondering if her presence would be welcome after all. "Is something the matter?" The answer seemed obvious, of course, but if he didn't want to talk about it the question would give him a way to deflect.

Juliette looked unutterably relieved to see her. Nathan looked -guilty, all of a sudden, before he wrestled his expression back under control. And stopped stomping. "Nothing," he muttered, eyes avoiding Ororo's. "Sorry. What's up?" he asked, quickly sorting the pile of folders in front of him into alphabetical order. "I don't usually see you down here during the day..."

"I had a question to ask... but I can come back later." Ororo tilted her head to one side, leaning one shoulder on the doorframe. "If you are in the middle of something."

"It's all right." Nathan straightened, swallowing, and eyed the door for a moment. "Out on the deck, maybe?" He could use the fresh air. "It's a mess in here." It came out sounding more defensive than accusatory towards Juliette. Thankfully, since it wasn't her fault.

"Of course."

Once they both had moved outside, Ororo took a seat in one of the deck chairs, hoping it would encourage Nathan to do the same. He looked as if he could use some time spent relaxing. "It seems quiet in the office today," she remarked.

Nathan didn't move to sit down right away. "Yes, well," he said, walking over to the edge of the dock and staring across the lake for a moment. "I do have this habit of misplacing employees. I leave them in airports, in meeting rooms at the UN, that sort of thing..."

"And yet they always find their way back. They must like you."

"I give their lives purpose. And meaning." Nathan's reply was, if anything, too dry. He finally did come over and sit down beside Ororo, telling himself to focus on whatever question it was that she had. Later for the rest of it, if then. "So. Did I do something, did someone else do something, or do you want me to do something?" The humor in his voice was very forced-sounding. "I swear, the Danger Room was like that when I got there last week..."

Pursing her lips, Ororo gave a shake of her head. "I only wanted to ask your advice. I am sure you heard of the encounter with the Morlock group in the tunnels that occured last week... some of them have remained there, in the tunnels, but others have decided they wish to live aboveground."

Nathan made a monosyllabic noise that could have been contemplative or troubled. Or both. "Something of a transition for them, given that you don't start living in the tunnels unless you've slipped between the cracks of society already."

"Indeed. I was wondering if you would mind sharing any resources you might have so that I may help them adjust more easily." Ororo felt rather responsible for the mutants' well-being, and though she would have prefered to let someone they were familiar with lead their way, that wasn't going to happen. "I know it will be a slow process, but there must be things we can do to ease the difficulty."

Some of the tension cleared from Nathan's expression, replaced by thoughtfulness. He didn't answer for a moment as he ran over some options in his head. "Elpis doesn't do domestic stuff," he said finally, "but that doesn't mean we haven't acquired contacts with those who do. There are agencies that do specialized support work for mutants - help with housing, education, job training, that sort of thing. They're quite good, actually," he said, his eyes moving back to her. "Hand up rather than a hand out, that sort of thing. I could make some phone calls?"

Ororo's smile was relieved and grateful. "If it is not too much of an imposition. It would mean a great deal."

"It's easily enough done. I know a lot of these people, like I said -we meet at conferences and the like. They might have a different focus, but we have the same basic aim."

"Thank you, Nathan. You are welcome to give them my contact information, as well. With the way things have changed around here I will need to fill up my time somehow..." She smiled wryly. "Anyway. Thank you again."

"Oh yes," Nathan said dryly. "All your free time, in a couple of weeks..." He ran a hand through his hair, sighing. He was slouching in the chair, at this point, his shoulders very slightly hunched. "Vacations," he suggested. "Hobbies. Stuff like that."

Ororo leaned closer, reaching out to place a hand on Nathan's shoulder. "It seems as if you could use a vacation from something..."

He actually flinched, and the guilt was back on his face as he looked around at her. He didn't say anything for a moment, then drew in a breath. "Kevin's gone," he said, and the next words came out in a rush before she could respond. "He's entitled to be gone three days, according to the plea agreement. He doesn't have to account for his comings and goings, as long as he's back within that time and doesn't disintegrate someone while he's off school grounds."

"Do you know where he went?" Ororo asked gently, a look of concern coming over her face. Between this news and Nathan's apparent worry, she wasn't feeling very confident about this turn of events at all.

Nathan shook his head. "He's not answering his phone." He'd tried calling. "I try to tell myself that he's just... trying to get some space, but with how upset he was-" His voice faltered.

"Kevin is a very intelligent and mature young man. I am sure he is fine." This attempt at reassurance was the best Ororo could do; teenagers were prone to making terrible mistakes, as she well knew. "Perhaps this time away will help him put whatever is bothering him into perspective. Sometimes it does help to step away."

Nathan's expression abruptly went cold and bleak in a way that his teammates were more used to seeing in the field when someone was about to get flattened. "We can hope. Although I think he's been pushed so far into a panic that perspective's going to be a stretch." Nathan's voice was almost savage as he went on. "You have no idea how much self-restraint it's taking not to drown Jay Guthrie in the lake."

Ororo frowned; this wasn't what she had expected when she had sat down for a talk with Nathan. "Is he the cause of Kevin's anxiety, then? Perhaps someone ought to speak with him..."

"You know Kevin's history, what happened with his father. Having his boyfriend playing stupid mind games with him-" Nathan bit off the rest of his, his jaw hardening as he looked out at the lake. "It seems very wrong to me," he said flatly. "Kevin's here because he needs this place, even if he's not here by choice. He was willing to go back to Muir to get away from Jay so that he didn't wind up hurting him. Muir, the place he hates."

"I do not think we should get too involved in the student's lives here... but perhaps it is time that someone offers some advice to either of the boys. Kevin ought to stay here; there is no point in him going to Muir when he can benefit from being here. And Jay..." She shrugged, not sure of the details and thus unwilling to interpret too much. "Perhaps he needs the situation explained to him another way."

"I need to talk to Jim. Should have told him about this already." Nathan sighed and rubbed at the back of his neck, shrugging his shoulders as if to shake off the tension. "I know better than to get emotionally involved. But that kid... he's already been screwed over by the genetic dice. I watched the legal system try to do it to him a second time. I can't stand watching it a third time."

"It will not happen again, Nathan. Not when there are people who care about him here, as you do." Ororo offered a smile, hoping he could see there was still hope left in the situation. "Let him take some time away, and when he returns, things will improve. We will not let Kevin suffer any more."

"We need to figure out a way for the rest of us to siphon off your excess optimism." Nathan was slouching even farther in his chair, heels of his hands pressed to his eyes. "You have far too much. It's not natural.'

Her tone turning the slightest bit ironic, Ororo said, "Sometimes it is the only way to cope."