xp_logs | Amanda and Domino, Saturday afternoon

At Pete's rather cryptic request, Domino calls Amanda and passes along his message. It helps, a little.

It took a moment for the ringing of the cell in her pocket to register - Amanda's mind was miles away, worrying at the news Remy had given her. She considered not answering it, but the caller ID was something she didn't know, and overseas-looking. Thumbing the button, she said into it, dully. "Hello?"

"Hey, little sis." It was unmistakably Domino's voice, if sounding considerably more hoarse and tired - and worried - than Amanda was used to hearing her.

"Dom." Amanda clung to the name - and the voice - as a lifeline, tears pricking her eyes. "Fuck, Dom, it's bloody good t' hear you."

In Berlin, Domino closed her eyes, a ragged sigh slipping out at what she heard in Amanda's voice. "I just got in. From the Sudan. Saw my email." She hadn't showered first, hadn't even let Mina look at the startling array of minor injuries she'd managed to pick up on this latest job. First things first.

"Nate said he'd mailed you," Amanda said, unconsciously curling up into a tighter ball. She was in the stables, where she'd been retreating to whenever she could give her well-intentioned minders the slip. "Pete... his dad..." she couldn't finish, tears trickling down her face as she wrapped her free arm over her head, resting her forehead on her knees. "It all comes back t' me again, Dom, an' I can't take it, I really can't."

"Listen," Domino said as firmly as she could, her heart aching at the pain in Amanda's words. "Before anything else, Amanda... I didn't just have email from Nate. I had one from Pete, too. Just within the last couple of days. He told me..." She paused, hoping to hell that this meant something, that it would help somehow. "Told me to tell you 'yes'? I don't know what it means, but he told me to call you and tell you yes, and he'd explain later."

There was a long pause on the line, and then Amanda's voice, very small on the other end. "Pete? He emailed you?" The hope and relief was plain in her voice. "I mailed him the other day, asked him t' tell me he was all right, even if it was just a yes or a no." The sob that escaped was less broken than the others had been. "He's all right, that's what it means."

Domino sighed again, resting her aching head in one hand and holding the phone to her ear with the other. "He probably didn't want to email to the school, Amanda... I'd think he's probably trying to keep the lot of you out of this as much as possible."

"'S why I didn't use me school account - I figured they'd be keepin' tabs on it." Pull it together, Sefton, you've got to be stronger than this. Domino sounded worse than she did, and that was a scary thing in itself. "Remy said if Pete went after that fucker, it'd start trouble for this place. Trouble we couldn't handle."

"Remy?" Domino asked a bit vaguely. "Who the fuck is Remy?"

"Le Beau. Gambit. I told you 'bout him before I went t' New Orleans, remember?" Running her hand through her hair, Amanda let out her breath in a low-ragged sigh. "He's been workin' with Pete on the spook stuff."

"Oh..." Domino winced, rubbing at the back of her neck. "I remember. I'm sorry. I..." Need to stop sounding like you're concussed, woman. "Nate says he's left messages for Pete in a few of his accounts. I'd do the same, but if he's going to call me anyway..." And he'd better call, or Domino fully intended to hunt him down.

Amanda nodded, then realised Domino couldn't see that. "Ta," she said, leaning her head back against the wall of the stall. In the stall over, Jamie's Asgardian horse wickered softly. "When you talk t' him... let him know I miss him? An' that I understand why he had t' go?"

"I'll do that." Domino gave a tired, pained little laugh. "He's not left you, you know," she said, knowing all too well about Amanda's fears when it came to people leaving. Her accent was coming out again, like it did whenever she was tired or upset. "Not really."

"No, just 'cause of me." The bitterness was plain. "Me an' my choice of boyfriends."

Domino slumped in her chair, rubbing at her eyes. She wished now she'd followed her initial instincts and offed de la Rocha back in November. She could have done it without getting caught, certainly, and her chances of doing it without having it traced back to the school would have been better than good. "It's not your fault. Or Manuel's."

"Fuck it, Dom," Amanda sighed. "Every time I think it's over, there's somethin' else. An' it's never gunna stop, not until that bastard's gone, or he gets what he wants."

"I think it's going to be over," Domino said very softly. "Pete's... if he wants someone dead, Amanda, they're going to be dead. Unless someone stops him."

"Good." Amanda's voice was flat with finality.

Domino took a deep breath and then let it out, rubbing her eyes again. "He'll call me," she said, "and I'll make sure I say what needs saying. For both of us. And hell, for Nate, too, just in case your ass of an uncle decides he's got to cut him out completely because of Moira."

"Or the leather brigade makes him," Amanda pointed out. "They've got this thing 'bout not killin' people, even fuckers like de la Rocha. They might decide t' try an' stop Pete."

Domino was going to be very interested in just what the X-Men choose to do in this situation. Even with the barest minimum of detail, she could see the dangers. Just glad I'm not the one making those decisions... "It's not something that's going to happen fast, any of it," she said, not really sure why she was telling Amanda this. It wasn't really all that reassuring. "Fuck, sweetie," she said with a sigh. "I'm having so much trouble focusing here, I'm sorry..."

"You all right?" Amanda dragged her attention to the sound of Domino's voice, how tired and befuddled she sounded. "Fuck, Dom, if you're hurt or somethin', you shouldn't be worryin' 'bout me."

"Just so tired," Domino said, smiling wanly. "I haven't slept in five days and I don't have Nate's advantages. I don't..." She stopped, took a slightly shaky breath. "I could come over there? Not for a day or two, but if you needed me..."

She wanted Dom to do that. So badly. But there had to be other stuff Dom needed to do, thigns to take care of. "Not 'less you can spare the time, Dom," she said at last. "Take care of stuff with Pete, when he calls. Then, if you don't have t' be anywhere else, I'd like it if you could." She was so tired of all this, the drama, the sense everything was slipping out from under her... "I haven't.... I can't talk t' Manuel yet."

"Whether I come or not, I'll call. Or harass you over email repeatedly. Or both." Domino looked up to see a very large bear in the doorway, giving her a narrow-eyed look. She waved irritably at Theo, but he just continued to watch her. What, are you waiting for me to fall out of my chair, you big lug? "And you're right, actually. I should stay put until I hear from him, just in case..." In case what? He decided he needed help? Domino knew how unlikely that was. Although she could hope.

"I'll be all right, Dom. Worry 'bout yerself." Amanda clamped down hard on the urge to burst into tears again, trying so hard to be brave. Pete wouldn't want her falling apart over this. "When you do hear, tell him... tell him I'm keepin' me word? Lookin' after meself?"

"I will. Theo's going to take the phone away from me now, I think... you hang in there, okay? I'll call you again soon, Amanda," Domino said softly.

"Thanks, Dom." Amanda suppressed the urge to tell her not to make promises she couldn't keep. Life had a habit of getting in the way. "Go sleep. Say hi t' the rest for me."