Moira and Nathan

[x-mactaggart.livejournal.com]

Nathan manages to snag a break and calls Moira, who fell asleep napping. They chatter at each other, about the baby and missing each other horribly.



Nathan settled for the back porch, in the end. It was about the only place in the safe house that was quiet at the moment, and he didn't particularly want any of the kids yelling "Hi, Moira!" in the background while they were talking. He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket, dialing the number of hers - he'd made sure they both had encrypted cell phones before leaving, although he knew that didn't guarantee no eavesdropping. Ah, well. He'd just be vague on the details.

The phone rang twice before she picked up with a sleepy-sounding "Hello?"

He smiled. "You've been napping," he said softly, staring out at the sunset. "This is a good thing."

Moira smiled and sat up on the couch, piles of books (some her normal science ones but there was one or two on babies. Couldn't hurt to refresh.) slipping onto the floor with a soft thud. "'ey, sweetie," she said, trying to wake. "Aye, by complete accident but still. Suppose 'tis good for me. Everythin' goin' okay?"

"Everything's fine thus far," he reassured her, his voice quiet but warm. "The kids are doing just fine - I'm glad Wanda's here, she's precisely what they need at a time like this, I think." He chuckled softly. "Haroun's pining a bit for Ali, but he must have done something particularly clever because he was looking awfully smug this evening. I don't suppose a truckload of roses arrived at the mansion today or anything? Although I didn't think he'd won that much money at the blackjack tables last night..."

She snickered. "I did 'ear somethin' about flowers, now tha' I think 'bout it. Been ta busy doin' up me finals for me classes ta wander far today. Th' kids are behavin', aye? Nay fightin' between th' lot?" Namely Amanda and Jubilee.

"Some minor snarkiness and a lot of eyerolling," Nathan confessed wryly. "But I think they all know how serious this is and they're not going to mess around too much." He paused. "How are you feeling?" he asked, more seriously. "How's the stomach behaving?"

"Mmm, one can only 'ope." Moria leaned back against the couch and grimaced. "Well, 'tis certainly _nay_ th' flu. Been sick for most o' th' last few days. But 'tis normal an' I feel better after I get sick, at least for a while."

"I hate the fact that I'm not there, you know," Nathan said softly, reaching out to the faint - less faint than it should have been at this distance; Charles had been right about his range - impression of the link in a caress. "I'm taking it out on LeBeau. I'm very, very petty." His voice dropped a little lower. "I could tell you how much I miss you," he murmured, "but there aren't words." He concentrated a little harder on the link and tried to show her, instead.

She shivered slightly and her eyes fluttered shut. "Miss ye ta," she replied, voice thick. This was harder than she had thought it was going to be. Mainly because it was for so much longer than the X-Men missions she was used to. "An' try ta nay take it out ta much on 'im, aye? I dinnae want ta 'ave ta put th' Cajun back together."

"It's not that kind of taking it out on him," Nathan said with a chuckle. "I'm supposed to be one of the responsible adult here, after all..." He trailed off, staring out at the sunset. "We hardly had any time to process before this came up," he murmured. "How are you doing?" Another faint laugh, this one almost wondering, slipped out. "I've been daydreaming," he said, the very tone of his voice almost a caress now. "You with our baby in your arms..."

There was a soft laugh from her. "Glad I'm nay th' only one," she replied, scooting back down under the blanket, her free hand resting across her belly. "Wonderin' wha' she or 'e is goin' ta look like, 'ow much o' ye an' I are goin' ta show up. I guess we need ta 'urry up an' do somethin' else a wee bit faster than I think we were expectin' ta."

"Hopefully he or she will take after you," Nathan murmured, a smile tugging at his lips. "Your hair, your eyes, your smile..." Then the rest of what she'd said sank in and he paused, blinking. "It didn't even occur to me," he confessed sheepishly. "Like I said, very little processing time... but yes. And thank you, love, for reminding me of that before we see Anna and Billie, so that we can have the answer all ready and there won't be any taking me out behind the pub and beating me."

"Oh, there might be some before Anna makes 'im behave. Ye know 'ow 'e is. Determined ta watch out for me after Da died. When are ye comin' 'ome?"

"The weekend, most likely. I got Strange's email," Nathan said with a sigh. "I'll be the one taking Amanda out to the Valley of Fire, I think, once this is all done." He wasn't about to leave it to anyone else. "I was trying to figure out what I should bring you home," he said, a little ripple of amusement in his voice. "Any requests? Besides your fiance in one piece..."

Moira thought about that for a second. "I 'ear they 'ave beautiful rocks out there," she said after a few seconds. "But most importantly, jus' get back 'ere soon. Ye an' everyone else, safe an' sound."

"I'll do my best, love," Nathan said quietly. Beautiful rocks. Hmm. "And my best is pretty damned good, old and broken-down though I might be." He paused for a minute, then laughed softly. "By the way, anything the kids might say about me having been out of sorts this week? Absolutely true, every word of it. I've been a cranky old bastard and I'm completely unrepentant about it."

"Awww, are ye bein' mean ta th' poor lasses an' lads?" she teased. At least he was finding some sort of fun out there. "I would like some o' their minds intact by th' time they get back. We get to unleash finals on them at tha' point, remember?"

"Finals..." He sighed. "I'm glad I had mine all written. There's marking I didn't get to finish before I left, though. I don't suppose you'd burn it for me?" he asked hopefully, then grinned as he heard her giggle. "I'm looking out at one hell of a sunset," he said after a moment, concentrating very hard on the link. "Can you see it?"

"Nearly," she said, blinking as seconds of images flipped through her mind. "Gorgeous from wha' I can tell. An' dependin' on which class ye needed marked, I can probably do it wit' some guidance from ye. Wha' else are fiancee's good for, after all?"

"Now I know you love me," Nathan said, his voice quivering with mirth. "Offering to do my marking for me... what did I do to deserve you?" He sighed, though, reflecting that they'd probably been on the phone for about long enough. He didn't want to take any chances, encryption or no, and besides, it was fairly late on the East Coast. "I love you," he said more quietly, then smiled. "And when it comes to sharing a room, I much prefer you to Haroun."

"Well, tha's good ta know. One less thin' I 'ave ta worry 'bout then, ye runnin' off ta live in sin wit' Alison's boyfriend. Bet she'll be relieved ta 'ear tha' as well." Moira waited until Nathan had stopped choking before continuing. "I love ye ta."

"I'll be home sooner than you think," he murmured, still smiling helplessly. "It's your wicked sense of humor, you know... I just can't stay away." He reached out to the link again in the telepathic equivalent of a kiss. "Go to sleep," he whispered. "Dream about the two of us on Muir. We'll be there soon enough."

"Be safe an' I love ye."