the weight of the world -- open to immemorial_time
Muir Island. It is a small island off of the northern coast of Scotland, near the Orkney chain of islands. The size if the island is insignificant. There are several small islands that litter the North Sea. What makes Muir Island significant, is that it just happens to be home to Earth's most comprehensive mutant research complex. There is also a
( Read more... )
Muir Island. It's been a long time since Niccolo has been here; not since shortly after being released from the bubble of time he'd been trapped in for sixty years--and that's been years, too. He doesn't find the place quite so cold and miserable as he had back then; now, there's a part of him that, disenchanted with loud nightlife and city traffic (that's exponentially greater than that he was accustomed to), can appreciate such solitude as a remote island. He arrives at the hospital and signs in as a visitor, gets his pass (that goes into his pocket) and surrenders his cigarette case at the door so that he won't feel the compulsive urge to indulge his habit. He is that courteous, after all.
An orderly shows him in the direction of the garden, and Niccolo slides his hands into his pockets, trying to adopt a casual look that will mask his concern. He's worried about Kate; that someone on the island would think to call him, of all people ... he'd tried to get back to Cardiff after leaving, to no avail, and that had been concern ( ... )
Reply
Kate doesn’t look the same. She's dressed rather simply in a pair of denim overalls and a t-shirt with a sweater thrown over that. She's not the well put together woman that she once was. Mostly, she just looks tired but there's more to it than just that. There is a defeated quality about her.
She hears the footsteps as the crunch into the gravel walkway. Slowly, Kate turns her head to see who it is. A look of confusion soon graces her face. "Nic? What are you doing here?"
Reply
"Hey." Niccolo pauses just after she turns around, taking time to study her expression, then falls into step again for the bench. He doesn't wait to be invited, just goes ahead and sits beside her in the way of one who's intimately comfortable with another. "Heard you were here ... thought I'd come visit."
He manages an easy grin despite his concern, and reaches for her hand. "How are you doin'?"
Reply
Kate flinches when he reaches for her hand. She doesn't shrink away from him but it's been a terribly long time since she's had this sort of contact. "I'm . . . " That is a terribly difficult question for her to answer. "I don't know."
Reply
Niccolo takes Kate's hand and presses it between both of his, trying to warm it--or, at least, warm her to his touch. It's Kate, surely enough, sitting here beside him, but he's getting the increasing feeling that the lights are on and nobody's home. "Mm," he acknowledges quietly, sitting back on the bench. Time to make himself comfortable; he has no intention of leaving any time soon. "S'all right, they said you'd been through a lot."
He pauses, glancing at the swell of her stomach. "Not long now, eh?"
Reply
She looks down at her stomache. "No, not long, a few weeks." Kate closes her eyes. "She died Nic, back there."
Reply
Niccolo can't pretend to actually know what happened--all he has is the bits-and-pieces explanation that the hospital staff were able to provide. He scoots a little bit closer on the bench, abandoning one hand to wrap his arm about Kate's shoulders, pulling her close. If there's someone that looks like she needs comforting just about now, it's Kate Cordello.
"It's all right, though," he replies, even though he isn't quite sure what she's talking about. "You're here, the baby's here--doctors said she's fine. She'll be born soon, then I'm sure it'll be great. She'll be everything you hoped for."
Reply
She doesn't resist Nic. She allows him to pull her close and even goes so far as to rest her head on his shoulder. "I didn't want her." She finally admits. "Not at first. I don't want to survive her."
Reply
Niccolo is quiet for a moment, holding Kate close, a hand absently smoothing her hair. This sort of thing comes natural to him, having practically raised his little sister. He can understand Kate's concerns; being a mutant is difficult, outliving the people you love harder still. There isn't a day that's gone by since he was released from his inadvertent prison that he hasn't thought about all the people he left behind. He has family out there now that he'll never know--that he can never truly know.
"Maybe she'll inherit your genes," he replies optimistically. "Long-lived, healing factor, an' all that." He doesn't bother with the other hand of it.
Reply
Reply
"Well ..." Niccolo gazes up at the sky for a moment in consideration of that statement, then exhales a breath. All right, that's a tough hand of cards that life dealt Kate in that situation. "I know my powers didn't start to come 'round until I hit puberty. Maybe she's the same." He looks down, reaching to tilt Kate's chin up to look her in the eye. "If she takes after you at all, she'll be a survivor."
Reply
Reply
"C'mon ... you don't - and can't - know that." Niccolo's expression is serious, but there's a twinkle of good-natured amusement in his eyes. He holds her gaze with his own, wanting to make the connection genuine as he speaks. "Unless you've suddenly grown some - what do they call it - precognition in that gorgeous head of yours, I think you're just worryin' too much. Trust me. You trust me, don't you?"
Reply
Reply
All right, maybe this is not the best approach, Niccolo decides. He lowers his hand back down, moving to wrap both arms around Kate in a hug. "I can't pretend to know what's going on," he admits. "D'you wanna tell me about it? Maybe it'll help, talking about it." And, then, maybe he can talk her out of it. He thinks he can be a pretty persuasive guy when he tries. "It's never good to keep things bottled up. But--if you don't want to, then I understand that, too."
Reply
Reply
Leave a comment