xp_logs | Nathan and Callie (and Rachel too!): Sunday

Callie continues to explore the mansion and this time runs into Nathan and Rachel.

"And why, exactly, were you levitating Uncle Charles's china?" Nathan
asked the little red-haired girl walking beside him in a patient tone.
He was having to walk a little more slowly down the hall even than
usual; Rachel was shuffling her feet, clearly sulking. Her jaw was set
in a very familiar stubborn line, and she had her arms folded across
her chest, glaring at the floor. "I thought we agreed you weren't
going to do that."

The lip stuck out a little further. "Didn't break," she muttered.

"That doesn't matter." Nathan tried not to roll his eyes as she looked
up at him and stuck her tongue out. "And what did I tell you about
that?"

"Pbbbbbth."

Callie should have been able to hear the father and daughter duo
before she rounded the corner. However, her attention was currently
being held by the Greek play she was reading. The book had been
assigned over the summer, and even though there was little chance of
her returning to that school for the next year, she already had the
book and decided to put it to good use. She looked up briefly as she
turned the page, making sure that she wasn't about to run into any
walls, and stopped mid turn. She had discovered she was not alone in
the hallway.

"Erm, hello," she said, trying to figure out if she had met the man
and the girl before.

Nathan looked up from his pouting daughter, sizing up the newcomer
with a glance that turned into a friendly, if brief smile. "Callie,
right? I'm Nathan," he said, and then looked down at Rachel. "This is
Rachel. She's having a grumpy day."

"Not!" Rachel declaimed thunderously, then looked curiously at Callie.
"Hi," she said, shuffling over slightly to be closer to Nathan's leg,
reaching out and plucking at the fabric of his jeans.

Callie closed the book with a smile. She loved young children, and
Rachel was no different. She crouched down so that she was level
with the little girl and extended her hand. "Hi Rachel. It's very nice
to meet you."

"Hi," Rachel repeated after a moment, contemplatively. She didn't move
away from Nathan, who chuckled softly, reaching down and ruffling her
hair.

"Amazing how she can go from cranky to shy. She's telepathic, by the
way, so don't take it the wrong way that she's keeping her distance -
new people make her a little edgy."

Callie looked up at Nathan, listening intently to what he said.
"Ahhhh," a look of understanding spreading over her face. She afforded
one last smile to Rachel before pushing herself back up into a
standing position. "My mom was a telepath," she explained evenly. "My
name's Callie. Callie Betto." She once again extended her hand to
greet Nathan with all the manners that her late mother had taught her.

Nathan hesitated just briefly before taking her hand; his shields were
in decent shape today. "Nathan Morrow," he said, just as politely.
"Rachel here and I live in the boathouse, when we're not on Muir
Island. How are you liking the place?"

"Very nice to meet you Mr. Morrow," Callie retracted her hand, and lay
it on her book. She sighed and thought best how to answer his
question. "Ummmmm, it's very different," she managed at last. "I've
never been in a place quite like this before." She paused. "Muir?
Isn't that the research center? On mutants?"

"Yes, it is. My wife, Moira, runs the place - she spends part of her
time over there, and part of it here," Nathan said easily, his smile
returning. "As for here, I don't think there is anyplace quite like
it. That's both a good thing and a bad thing sometimes."

"Ahhhhh, okay. That makes sense." In her mind Callie had immediately
jumped to some fantastical conclusion that involved research on
Rachel, for some inexplicable reason. This made more sense, and was a
far better reality than the one Callie had made up. "I'm still trying
to figure out this place. Maybe once classes start it'll make more
sense." She shrugged. "Do you teach here?"

"Not quite as much as I used to." Nathan paused as Rachel extended her
arms, and swung her up into his with the ease of long practice. She
giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck, stealing a look at
Callie. "I do independent studies," he went on, "languages and
international relations, stuff like that. Most of my time is devoted
to Elpis - it's an NGO working on mutant issues, we run it out of the
boathouse."

A smile drifted across Callie's face as she watched Nathan pick up
Rachel. She made a mental note to call her father later, or at the
very least write an e-mail. "What languages do you teach," she asked,
as she pulled herself out of thoughts of her father. Then the second
part of what he said struck her. "You run an entire NGO out of a
boathouse? What exactly do you guys do?"

"Depends on the student. I've taught courses in Arabic, Hindi,
Mandarin, Russian..." Rachel reached up and put her hands over his
eyes; Nathan snorted, and went on cheerfully. "To answer your other
question, Elpis does all kinds of things. Right now we've got about
twenty ongoing projects, although these days a lot of our time and
attention is going to DDR programs to help mutant child soldiers
re-integrate into society."

"Wow, that's amazing," Callie's eyes grew wide in awe. "Wow."

"Wow," Rachel echoed gleefully. "Wooooow."

"A number of the folks who live here work for me," Nathan said,
smiling at both of them. "You're welcome to stop down by the boathouse
anytime if you ever want to know more about what we do. I know summers
around here can be kind of quiet - I imagine you're doing powers work,
but that still leaves a lot of time to fill."

Callie giggled at Rachel, then shifted uncomfortably. She glanced up
at the wall for a moment, scratching the back of her neck before
refocusing on Nathan. "Actually I'm not doing powers work," her
dropped in volume. She shrugged, trying to seem nonchalant. "For some
reason I can't really access my powers at the moment. We don't know
why. It's a little a weird."

"Hmmm. Well, you might meet my wife sooner rather than later, then,"
Nathan said kindly. "She can do some wonderful things when your powers
are misbehaving. Her and Charles - the Professor. I suppose they're
probably letting you settle in a little more."

Callie nodded, hoping to hide the fact that she was uncomfortable with
the fact that she was a mutant who currently had no powers. "I only
arrived here..." She paused to count on her fingers. "Two weeks ago?
And I'm sure they've been busy. And it's not that big of an
issue really. So...." Callie trailed off, rocking back on her heels a
bit. "Yes?"

"Dad? I want cheese," Rachel said insistently.

Nathan choked back a laugh. "Queen of the non sequiturs, you are...
Callie, it was good to meet you, but I suppose I should go get her
Majesty her lunch." He gave the girl another warm smile, resolving to
ask Moira about her. "Remember what I said, about stopping by the
boathouse if you want - if nothing else, we've got a great view of the
lake, and I'd love to introduce you to the gang."

"Well cheese is pretty delicious. And I should go back to reading." She motioned to her book. "It was nice to meet you. And I might have to stop by some time." Callie smiled at the little girl, "Bye Rachel!"