xp_logs | Hank, Dani, Monday morning

Dani stops by to try to cheer Hank up, and gets cheered up a bit herself. Hank gets to feel the baby kicking.

Knocking on the door lightly Dani hoped her twinkie sushi was alright. She'd found the recipe in a kitchen drawer and knew it was Hank's, she just hoped that he would like something so terrible and sugary.

"Who is it?" Hank called after a moment, dragging himself back to reality. He'd been sitting here staring at the carpet for a while, just... not thinking. It was almost restful. No trying to talk, no trying to do anything, just... sitting. He wasn't sure he could deal with people today. Everything was so hard...

"Hey," Dani said softly, coming in and immediately joining him on the floor. "I brought junk," she said, not asking how he was. It was obvious from how everyone was acting and the journals that he wasn't good and there was no sense in forcing pleasantries that would only hurt them both.

Hank brightened. "Treats!" he said happily, reaching for the plate. Mmm. Sugar. He liked sugary things. "Thank you," he added after a moment, remembering his manners.

Smiling, Dani ate one too. Only for Hank would she eat one...and she was intensely curious about them. She'd been told she could eat sushi until after she had her baby, which was probably why she was learning to make it in cooking class. "You like?"

"I always like Twinkies," he said happily. "They're my favourite." They always made him feel better... and the colours were pretty too, he noticed. The golden sponge, the white cream, and the brightly coloured candies in the middle...

"Good!" Dani agreed, surprising herself by liking them too. No more, she told herself sternly. One slip was okay, but only if she did not slip again. Healthy eating. "So what have you been doing?" she asked, noticing the games and toys around the room. It was worse than she had thought.

"Not much," Hank said, looking around a bit vaguely. "Miles comes over. We play. Can't do much else."

Making a face she tried to think what to say to that. There wasn't much really, fortunantly she was saved by nameless, "Wanna feel it kick?" she asked, grinning. Actually it didn't feel all that great, but she had discovered that a kinda odd grin made people happy instead of wanting to rush her to the medlab.

"Please!" Hank reached out, his big hands almost covering the baby-bulge. After a moment, he felt the flutter against his hand, and beamed. "I felt it!" he said happily. Wow. Baby moving... that was so *neat*...

"Wait..." Dani lifted her shirt up completely unself-conscious, "Of course, now it'll stop, but it's much easier to feel without my shirt on."

Hank touched her bare stomach gently, and after a minute, he felt another little kick. It was stronger this time. "Awww..." he murmured, smiling down at it. "I like babies," he said a little wistfully.

Dani nodded and reclined back on her elbows getting comfortable, "Yeah. You could babysit, maybe," she offered, unsure if Hank was going to get better but forcing herself to be positive. "but I bet getting baby drool out of your fur would be hard."

"Don't care." Hank patted her stomach gently. "I help. Much as I can." If he got better, he'd be able to help lots.

"Sure," Dani agreed. "You could help now too, I bet. If we had a baby, I mean. You know...I got a letter from Sheldon today," she hadn't told anyone about it.

Hank growled a little. Sheldon BAD. "What'd he want?" he grumbled, patting her tummy reassuringly.

"He..."she didn't want to say it, "He wants me to give the baby up. For adoption. Said if I won't willingly he'll prove I'm crazy. And I am."

Hank growled again. Then he tried really hard to focus, to be coherent. "If he tries," he said, a little more clearly than before. "Me an' Forge will break his head. 'll teach him."

Dani collapsed on the floor laughing uncontrollably. Part was that he was funny, but part was hysterics as well. She hadn't meant to tell him about this, but he was still Hank no matter what had happened, "Good!" she gasped, trying to stop laughing, "'Cept I don't wanna visit you guys in jail. Maybe just beat him up a little?"

Hank giggled, glad that she was laughing. "Break his toes," he agreed. "An' wear masks. No witness!"

"Right!" suddenly, she stopped laughing, looking at him solemnly, "What do I do? It's my baby, but it I fight him, I'll lose. Everyone knows I'm not emotionally stable and being a mutant won't help anything."

Hank thought about it for a minute. "Ask Charles. He c'n make it right," he said confidently. Charles could always fix things. "For you, an' baby."

"Yeah..." she reached out and petted his arm, "You're always right. You just use smaller words now."

"Words are going," he said sadly. "Getting hard to think. Talk. Ev'rything."

"It's okay," she said, trying to reassure him. She scooted over to his lap and gave him a hug. "We all love you

Hank hugged back. "Thanks," he whispered, patting her back gently. "'f I don't get better... you tell Forge, gotta take care of you. Okay?"

Dani nodded, hugging him tighter, "Okay."