xp_logs | Kurt and Madelyn, Tuesday; Nathan and Kurt, Wednesday early afternoon

A somewhat shell-shocked Kurt visits Madelyn for tea, comfort and good advice.

After leaving a final comment for Madelyn, Kurt made his way directly to her suite. As he'd half-expected, the door was standing open and she was waiting for him.

Madelyn raised her eyebrows as Kurt came in. Well, stumbled in, really. 'Shell-shocked' was perhaps a little conservative an assessment. "Hell of a thing to get sprung on you," she said gently, coming forward and taking his hands to steer him towards the couch, before moving to close the door. "When did you find out?" she asked, coming to sit beside him - the tea needed steeping. Paige had been firm about that.

"Earlier today. It seems Wanda had been doing some research into Amanda's background, on her request... and this is what she discovered."

"And you haven't had the chance to talk to her, since she's off to England already... Did Wanda say anything about how she took it? The two of you aren't exactly on good terms - I've noticed how she tends to avoid the medlab when you're down there." Madelyn reached over and took his hands in hers - they were shaking slightly. Kurt's usual almost-saintly calm had taken quite the beating.

"'Not well' was all Wanda said", Kurt answered quietly. "But that was to be expected - as you say, we disagree on several important points. I am glad she has gone on holiday, even... this way, I have time to think before I speak to her."

"It's good for both of you - it sounds like you need time to adjust as much as she does..." Madelyn sighed a little. "What a mess. And it's got to be messing with your head, as much as hers, considering what you told me. I take it it's possible this person from the government who took your sister was anything but?"

He nodded, sinking into the couch. "That is what we think. And it would certainly explain why my mother hit quite so much of a stone wall, when she tried to fight for Gemile's return, afterwards."

She squeezed his hands comfortingly. "And how about you? How do you feel about all this? I've heard a lot about everyone else, but not a lot about Kurt Wagner."

"I... do not know. I have hoped, since I was eleven years old, to see Gemile again and have her once more part of our family. But for one, she dislikes me... and for the other, it seems she grew up believing we sold her, thanks to the man who stole her."

"As prickly as she can be, Amanda isn't entirely unreasonable - I'm sure once she's told the truth, she'll realise your family did no such thing." Madelyn smiled a little. "'Gemile', huh? It seems odd, thinking of her like that."

He smiled weakly. "I hope to convince her it is the truth, yes. And I do not think she will be going by that name again, not after all this time. Not here, at the very least. Especially not if that is what he called her."

"No, I can't see her changing it, considering that..." Letting go of his hands, Madelyn went to pour the tea. "I'm assuming you're going home to see your family for the holidays? Are you going to tell them?"

His head dropped wearily. "Yes, I am, and I do not know. I do not want to risk telling them, only for Amanda to be unwilling to see them."

"Whether she will or not, they have a right to know," Madelyn pointed out, bringing back a mug of tea and pushing it gently into his hands. "Here, drink this. And no, there's no sedatives in it - that's my hot chocolate." As he cracked a small smile, she sat next to him again. "I'd suggest talk to her first, then let them know. At least you'll have specifics to tell them. And I can only imagine how desperate they must have been when she was taken - at the very least you can tell them she's safe and well, now."

He nodded, taking the tea and drinking from it. "That sounds like the best path at this time. Wanda said she would e-mail Amanda to let her know that she has told me, so I will, perhaps, be hearing from her soon."

"Wanda or Amanda?" Madelyn asked. "Somehow I doubt Amanda will take any action without prompting - she and Angelo both have that 'ignore it until it goes away' method of not dealing with things."

"I meant Amanda, but perhaps you are right. I do not think pushing would help, though. She knows the situation."

"Perhaps give it a few days, until after Christmas, then email her and offer to meet and talk. Leave it up to her whether to accept that or not - that way she retains control of the situation, but you aren't left sitting on your thumbs either. Regardless of the circumstances, you and your family have the right to know what is going on," Madelyn suggested. "Let things settle first, 'though."

He nodded. "I do not think I am going to tell my family just yet. A few days, as you say."

"Oh, definitely don't tell them until you've spoken to Amanda - like you said, it wouldn't do to get their hopes up. See how things lie with her, and then you'll have all the information available at once, without dragging it out." She patted his shoulder. "It'll work out, Kurt. Maybe not the made-for-TV holiday special way, but at least there will be some kind of resolution to this." With a small smile, she added: "And we've lost sight of the big picture here - your sister is alive, and well, and has people that care about her."

He nodded, cracking a genuine smile of his own. "That is a good point. She is alive, and well, and happy... and that is better than I had feared."

Kurt goes to see Nathan and they have an interesting talk about Amanda.

Having not spoken to Nathan more than in passing for some time, and not at all since the accident, Kurt decided it was time to change that. Especially since Nathan had been so reasonable in his response to Kurt's post. Not seeing any need to teleport such a short distance, he walked down the corridor to Nathan's suite.

Nathan, still on the couch with one earphone in - Moira had dug up more Clancy-on-CD - opened his eyes as he 'heard' Kurt's approach. "Come in," he called, before the other man could knock.

Kurt, unfazed by that after having lived for so long with telepaths, pushed the door open and walked in, purposely making his footsteps audible since he wasn't sure how recovered Nathan's telepathy was yet. "Hello, Nathan."

"Hello, Kurt," Nathan said, pulling the earphones off and setting them and the CD player carefully on the coffee table. He had that distance mastered, at least, he reflected as he sat up, hoping that he didn't look too disheveled. He'd found himself napping again. "I can hear you, sort of," he explained, catching Kurt's speculative thought. "It goes in and out."

Kurt nodded automatically before he caught himself. "I see. I was not sure."

"Charles thinks my powers are liable to be a bit intermittent for a while yet," Nathan said. "Natural defensive mechanism. Do you want to sit down?" He smiled a bit. "I'd offer you something from the kitchen, but I'm not allowed in there. Too many sharp edges, according to Theo."

Kurt chuckled slightly, making his way to one of the armchairs to sit down. "He may have a point."

"Eh, I'm coping," Nathan said. "Feel a little helpless at times, and the fact that Theo feels the need to childproof the suite isn't helping, but I'll manage." He tilted his head, gazing in Kurt's general direction. "I somehow think this isn't just a social call, though."

Kurt grinned ruefully. "It partly was - we have not spoken for long at a time for a while. But... not entirely, no."

"Well, why don't we consider the social part of the visit over with, then?" Nathan asked, smiling a bit warily. "Then we can talk about Amanda without the niceties getting in the way."

Kurt sighed slightly, noticing the wariness. "If you like. It would have come up soon, anyway."

"I don't think this has got much to do with what I'd like," Nathan said levelly. "To be honest, I'm more interested in what you'd like. What you expect from her, now that the truth is out."

"What I would like and what I expect are different things", Kurt answered quietly. "I would like to have my sister back and things as they once were... but some things are just not possible. What I expect... nothing more than she can give."

"And your mother?" Nathan tilted his head a little further. "Does she know, yet?"

"Not yet. I have yet to decide whether to tell her before I have talked with Amanda."

"Don't take this the wrong way, Kurt, but I'm glad Amanda's away for the immediate future," Nathan admitted frankly. "This all came up too fast. She hasn't had enough time to process it one way or the other. For you, she may be your lost sister, but for her, you're the people who sold her to Rack. Even if you prove to her that wasn't the case, it's still going to be true on the emotional level."

Kurt's mouth quirked wryly, not quite a smile. "I am glad of the time too, you know, and not only for her sake. I came mostly to believe a long time ago that I would not see her again, whatever I hoped for... it has come as something of a shock."

"I imagine it did." Nathan shifted a bit restlessly as his telepathy went back 'out'. Fuck, he was at such a disadvantage at the moment. Couldn't monitor Kurt's thoughts, couldn't see his expression... all he had to go on was tone of voice. "You realize that even if you convince her, she may not consider it enough," he said, a bit more harshly than he really intended. "Leaving Pete and Romany out of the equation completely for a moment, Amanda might not be satisfied that your family did all it could."

Kurt had had time to realize that, at least. He answered sadly, "I know. But all I can do is tell her what I know. If she was willing to meet... Margali... she might be able to say more to satisfy her. But I know that it has been a long time, and a lot has happened, so much of it bad..."

"Not bad, Kurt." Nathan managed to keep his voice crisp, level despite the chill in it. "Horrific. I don't pretend to be an expert in the magical crap he put her through, but I am a telepath, I'm among the people who know her best here, and I know something about appalling childhoods and the scars they leave behind." A flash of frustration crossed his face before he could wrestle his expression back under control. "She's just starting to really get her feet under her emotionally."

"I do not wish to take that away from her", Kurt answered unhappily, and perhaps with a little frustration of his own at the seeming inevitability of it. "I did not force this knowledge on her - she knew of our former relationship before I did. And I will respect whatever decision she may make."

"I'm not... entirely objective here, Kurt," Nathan confessed after a moment. "Partially because it's Amanda, I admit that. But there's part of me that wonders just how I'd react if a member of my family showed up out of the blue and tried to tell me that what I knew, what I remembered was wrong." He sighed.

Kurt echoed it. "If it was what she truly remembered that was wrong... that would be one thing. But all I am trying to tell her is that Rack was a liar, which I am sure she already knows."

"I met him. Well, his ghost. I said that in the post, didn't I?" Nathan didn't wait for Kurt's answer. "I've known a lot of monsters in my time, Kurt... hell, I've been one, by some people's assessment, but from what little I saw, Rack probably ranked up there with the worst." He fell silent for a moment. "It's a wonder to me that she came out of that with the ability to love."

Kurt bowed his head, though Nathan couldn't see it. "I did see her post about the scars. It shames me that we let a man such as that take her anywhere... but from what little I remember, he was the kind of monster who is very good at concealing what he is, when he wants to."

"There are always reasons for things like this to happen," Nathan said a bit wearily. "The only question is whether or not they make a damned bit of difference in the end."

"What is done is done", Kurt agreed sadly. "And I know Amanda is happy here, I would not let my mother take her away from this even if she wanted to - which I do not think she will. I would just like for her to... know them, if she will."

Nathan couldn't help but bristle at the thought that Kurt's mother would even consider that an option. "She's a little too old to be taking her anywhere she doesn't want to go," he said a bit curtly, "whatever the situation."

"Of course. As I said, I do not think Margali will do any such thing, or even want to. It would do no one any good. That was not my point. My point was, it will not happen."

Nathan opened his mouth and then closed it again. "I'm sorry," he said a bit tightly. "I'm having trouble... not being able to see you, with my telepathy going in and out. I don't understand how anyone can carry on an important conversation like this." More frustration coming out in his voice, and he wrestled it back under control.

"We all work with what we have", Kurt answered with an almost audible shrug. "You are used to having your telepathy."

The silence lingered for a moment, awkward. "Look, Kurt," Nathan finally said, "it really isn't my place to be having this conversation with you. Much as I did want to know what your intentions were. I love her as if she were my own daughter, but she's not." He bit his lip. "And in terms of the family she's chosen, Pete and Romany have taken risks, serious risks for her that I haven't. They've earned your consideration in this as well, because they've been there when your family hasn't."

"If we could have been, we would", Kurt answered quietly. "But you are quite right, of course."

His head was starting to ache again. Was it because he was pushing, trying to 'read' Kurt? Nathan caught himself rubbing at his temples and forced himself to lower his hands back to his lap. "Just be careful, like I said," he said tiredly. "I don't want to minimize your family's pain, but I think the most important thing here is to keep her on the path she's going, out from under the shadow of everything she's been through."

"I think we can all agree on that. And it is really for her to say how that is to be done - with advice, perhaps, but for her."

He supposed he'd deserved the rebuke, mild as it had been. Nathan managed a smile. "I don't mean to call an abrupt end to the conversation, Kurt, but I'm kind of wilting, and I've got a long flight this evening."

Kurt stood at that, nodding. "Of course. I am sure Theo will be back at any moment to see that you sleep before you go."

"Oh, I imagine." He heard Kurt get up, and cast around for something else to say. "Have a good Christmas," he finally offered. "Moira and I should be back not long after New Year's."

"And the same to you", Kurt answered, half-smiling. "Enjoy your break."