Jul 26, 2007 19:44
Truth be told, I don't remember much of my parents. Oh, I remember certain things. The smell of my mother's perfume, that certain pinched look that my dad would get when I asked, yet again, why I had to wear that damn suit. For the most part, though? I draw up a big blank. Fragments. Images. Wisps of remembering. Okay, scratch the last one. Point is, they were my parents, not my family. I subscribe to the found family theory. Friends as family. Teammates as family. Even my dupes...well, they're that branch of the family that we don't talk about much. Still, the point still stands. My family is my teammates. And one of them showed up yesterday. Sure, Rictor's got his bumps, his flaws, hell, I pushed him off a skyscraper once, but he's one of mine. One of us. And sometimes, that's all that matters.
Jamie was, of all things, sewing. He'd promised Sarah Jane ages ago that he'd fix her skirt and he was finishing up the last few stitches when the jukebox started to play the song. My song. He knew all the lyrics by now and, though he didn't particularly care for it, Rictor's arrival was too good to let it get to him. Hell, he even sang along - Quietly. - with a few lines, "One is the loneliest number that I ever knew, two can be as bad as one, it's the loneliest number since the number one." He bobbed his head along to the beat as he pulled the thread through once, twice, three times.
There's some advantages to being a C-lister. Our uniforms weren't exactly provided by the government this time round. We didn't have a tailor and guess what? Uniforms get ripped. M might be able to get away with saying 'Don't punch me, this is Versace,' but for the most part, that just doesn't work. So who gets stuck with all the sewing? Me. Well, it's a useful skill to learn. And I like useful skills.
The song ended and another one started up. It was saying something of Jamie's good mood that not even the familiar guitar riff of Eric Clapton's Layla could get him to brood.
"Layla, you've got me on my knees.
Layla, I'm begging, darling please.
Layla, darling won't you ease my worried mind."
And sometimes, that's all that matters.
Jamie is, as they say, pleased as punch. Old friends, new friends, slow-time's inevitable and late tags welcome. Lyrics from One Is The Loneliest Number by Three Dog Night and Layla by Eric Clapton.
rictor,
dr. addison montgomery,
tim mcgee,
jamie madrox,
bart allen,
ace,
dr. james wilson,
cindy mackenzie