SUE: Good Vibrations (Gabe)

[Deleted]

The flu had struck Pilot Ridge, and for once luck willingly appeared to be on Kiara’s side for it had not hit her. Even if she had wanted to use her ability though, the illness couldn’t have been avoided had it aimed for her as another victim, but the blonde liked to think otherwise. Of course her brother ended up sick. She had always seemed to be the more immune sibling, and less pathetic as well. Ki was quite convinced that Everett was ‘dying’ right now, like guys usually did when illness struck. Nevertheless, the girl had planned to head over to his apartment. She wasn’t too sure why though: to confirm his suspicions or to make sure someone was looking out for him. Or maybe even to make sure that Gabriel wouldn’t have to deal with the moaning and complaining by himself.

So Ki had made some fresh tomato soup with meatballs, and had her guitar draped over one shoulder while making her way up the staircase. Ev used to like hearing her play – surely that would be an aspect that had not changed about their relationship. After having knocked on the door, however, and having waited for her brother to open up, it was Gabe who appeared on the other side, much to her surprise. Last time Kiara had appeared on this day of the week, around this hour, Gabe was working.

“Hi,” she spoke with a clearly confused tone to her voice. Until it of course dawned upon her that Gabe kind of looked pretty bad. Plus the blanket draped around him should have given it away as well. For a moment Kiara wanted to ask if her brother was home, but given she didn’t hear him shout ‘Gabe? Who is at the door?’ she simply assumed he wasn’t.

“I made soup for Everett… but you could probably use some as well?” With that, Ki held up the plastic bag in which the soup had been put, in order to be able to keep an eye on it and to make sure it didn’t spill in her purse.

[Gabriel James]

Gabriel James wasn't one to complain when he got sick. He didn't whine or moan or go on about dying. This was mostly because when he was a kid he was never pitied for being sick. He was only ever allowed to stay home from school under doctors orders after his symptoms became so unbearable that he begged his parents to go to the doctors. So Under any normal circumstance, he'd suck it up and go to work after over-medicating.

Sure, he was in pretty rough shape- sore throat and high fever, cold sweats and chills, occasional nausea. But any normal day he'd have found his way into hammel anyway, even if it would be hard to teach with his failing voice. (He was pretty sure the brats had given him the bug in the first place. But Gabe had taken this particular day off a while back. He still wasn't supposed to be home sick, curled up in baggy sweatpants, an old Yankees hoode, and one of Everett's fleece batman blankets. He was supposed to be in Deleware visiting McKenna. It was her birthday, after all, and the fact that his sickness prevented Gabe from visiting his niece in the hospital was killing him more than a 101 degree fever ever could.

So Gabe settled for Skyping the now-5-year-old. And after a shot of blackberry brandy to sooth his throat, he was doing his best with the voice that he had to fill the musical requests of little McKenna.

He'd been on the computer for almost an hour with the girl and her mother, talking, laughing, singing, comparing medications. At the moment there was a knock on the door, Gabe was just finishing up "I'll make a man out of you", and he was slightly relieved for the ituruption, giving him the chance to rest his voice, if only for a moment. "There's someone at the door. I'll be right back," Gabe said toward his computer screen, as he set his guitar aside.

When he stood, Gabe brought the blanket with him, thinking it was amazing how one so cold could sweat so much. He trudged through the living room to the front door and opened it up, revealing Kiara Lilien holding a bag of soup and a guitar. He mustered a smile and wiped the sweat off of his forehead with the back of his hand, practically able to feel how red his face must be. He pushed his glasses back up on his nose and stepped aside to let Kiara in "man, soup sounds gr..." He started, inturpted by a quick coughing fit that he directed behind him and into his blanket. "Great right now," he finished with a small wince as the cough stung his throat.

"I'm in the middle of something though..." He admitted. But seein Kiara sparked an idea that would brigten a little girls day and take him out of little McKennas spotlight. "Hey wanna come in and sit down? I think I have someone you'd like to meet." He knows Kiara knew about Kenna. It was why he was so depressed that night. They had talked about her a bit in passing. It would probably be nice to put a face to the names and the stories.

[Deleted]

Guys often exaggerated when sick. Gabe was a guy… and yet she wouldn’t playfully accuse him of faking it. He genuinely looked awful, and his coughing fit even got her features to retort in empathy – almost able to feel the pain herself – as she kept blue optics settled on him while slipping inside. When he mentioned being in the middle of something, however, a soundless ‘oh’ passed by her lips. More words were ready to be spoken, wanting to ask if she could just leave the bag with soup behind, along with an apology for having interrupted his business. Additionally, the girl felt stupid for having stepped inside before Gabe had been capable to fully inform her.

Until that suggestion was made. It puzzled the blonde, but she trusted Gabe’s judgment when it came to her meeting whoever he was socializing with. A nod followed as she emerged further into the apartment. The plastic bag got placed down on a nearby table and the guitar strap got peeled off her shoulder while Kiara moved over to the couch. She placed it down against the side of the piece of furniture and then took a seat, quite oblivious to the little girl on the screen as eyes rested on Gabe.

He had suggested her to come in and sit down, so she did – more comfortable on a couch than on a chair – in the meanwhile scanning the apartment. No one appeared to be there though, which in turn earned the man a confused look as he now stepped over as well. “Who would you lik-“ The second Gabriel sat down on the couch, however, her gaze finally settled on the laptop screen now that the little girl’s voice could be heard again as well (presumably speaking to her mother).

This time a more audible ‘oh’ escaped and features softened. First Ki gave Gabe an ‘what is this?’ kind of look (not in a bad way) and then she focused on McKenna again with a gentle smile. Kids – she definitely had a weakness for them.

[Gabriel James]

Gabe was really happy that Kiara took his offer, sitting on the couch, in front of the laptop without even having to be told. He took a moment to blow his nose before making his way back over to the couch. Kiara was giving him a questioning look, but he could only smile as he sat back down, a little closer to Kiara than he may normally sit, so they both fit in the camera shot. "Kenna," he said, gaining the little girls attention again.

The girl's attention turned from her mother who sat in the hospital bed behind her back to the laptop that was perched on a table that slid across it. She was wearing a princess dress over her hospital gown. Gabe was sure that she'd revived it that morning. A pair of pink, bulky headphones were sitting upon her head, now completely bald from the chemotherapy. Attached to the headphones was a plastic tiara. Gabe had glued it to the headphones the last time he visited. Gabe knew that the girl normally had pretty brown hair like her mother's. The girl's hazel eyes, similar to Gabe's, shone bright with curiosity at the new face on the screen, but her body sunk back against her mom's as her shy nature took over. When she sat back you could see the tubes and IVs coming from her arms. Gabe still thought she was the most beautiful little thing in the world.

"Ken, this is my friend Kiara," he introduced the two, "Kiara... this is my niece." He smiled affectionately when the little girl shyly smiled, and waved slightly. "Kiara is like a real disney princess," Gabe said, voice cracking a bit, glancing at Kiara - the kind of glance that said 'go with it'. "She's pretty and kind, and she can sing... and aparently cook really good toma..." he coughed agin "tomato soup." Even though he hadn't tasted the soup yet, the smell was enough to make Gabe salivate. He wasn't even that big of a tomato soup fan, but in that moment he could have eaten 6 bowls.

"Really?" Kenna finally spoke up, face lightening up in delight. "I'm a princess too! See?" she said patting her dress and crown. Her mother laughed behind her, listening into the conversation using a splitter so she could plug in her earbuds too. She didn't say much though, and let Kenna have her time.

Gabe's smiled widened almost with every word Kenna said. Even if he couldn't be there, he couldn't help but smile when he was talking to his niece. Even being so sick she was so happy, and full of life. "You know Kiara," he said turning to the blonde on his left. "It's McKenna's birthday," he informed his counterpart, voice fading toward the end of the sentence.

"I'm 5!" an exited voice came through the laptop speakers, the little girl holding five finger up, spread apart as wide as possible.

He cleared his throat. "And I was hoping..." he cleared his throat again, "I was hoping you might be able to help me sing Ken's favorite song." He gave Kiara puppy dog eyes for good measure, not sure how willing to sing the blonde would actually be. He was told before that they couldn't be resisted.

[Deleted]

Dots were halfway connected as she scanned the moving image on the laptop screen. Her soft smile never faded, and it actually seemed to intensify some as Kiara looked over at Gabriel the second he initiated the formalities. Her suspicions were confirmed and blue eyes soon landed on McKenna again, just in time to mirror the cutest of waves. The blonde mainly wiggled her fingers to do so though, along with mouthing an ‘hi’ while the little girl’s uncle continued to expand the introduction – the one that caught her off guard for a split second, yet also the reason why she looked over at Gabe and caught on to what he was doing.

So while the man exaggerated, Kiara gave a couple of nods to confirm his words. “Sadly enough I spilled some tomato soup on my princess dress… It’s nowhere as pretty as your though. I am very, very jealous.” Her voice had a lightly pitched tone to it. Given Mckenna was not a toddler anymore, Ki kept from going too far with it, but at the same time she also made sure to not talk with a serious tone.

Hands were squeezed between Kiara’s legs as she sat closer to the edge of the couch, chuckling lightheartedly the second Gabe informed her about McKenna’s birthday, “Ohhh?” and then laughed at the amount of excitement that came from the little girl. The bright smile was still evident on her lips as her head momentarily turned to the guy seated next to her. Gabe received a confirming dip of the head, and then eyes immediately settled on McKenna again.

“And what would your favorite song be, Princess McKenna?”

The fact that it was a Disney song helped of course! Kiara knew them by heart, even the Little Mermaid one with all the made up words in them. So the second Gabriel was ready, the blonde would play along. Heck, she would probably get into it enough to wobble Gabe’s feet up in the air once they reached ‘what’s that word again? Feet!’ part.

“Let’s do this then."

[Gabriel James]

Gabe was quite happy that Kiara hadn't refused, because the smile that was plastered on his niece's face was worth a million bucks - as if to say 'A real princess? Singing for ME!?' And it would give his own voice a much needed break. He was glad to see that Kiara knew the song, too. He had honestly not even considered it a possibility until Kenna told Kiara the title, but it was a Disney classic - of course Kiara knew the song.

When Kiara confirmed her ability to sing, Gabe grabbed his guitar, and tuned one string quickly, remembering it was out of tune for the last song and it drove him crazy (even if he was the only one that noticed.) He strummed once, and looked at Kiara with a little smiled, before looking back at his guitar and starting to strum.

He would at least start by singing, he figured, so Ki could get the right tempo and key and know where to come in. Despite his sore throat, he still sung to the best of his ability - in tune and with feeling - even if his voice failed toward the end of the lines.

Look at this stuff, isn't it neat?
Wouldn't you think my collection's complete?
Wouldn't you think I'm the girl, the girl who has... Everything?

Gabe smiled at his niece who always giggled at the last line. Usually she took the moment to remind Gabe that he wasn't a girl, and then demanded he go on. This time though she just smiled and rested back in her mother's arms. She was getting tired, but her eyes stayed wide open, determined to stay awake through her favorite song.

[Deleted]

If this had been requested for someone else, Kiara quite probably would not have accepted. Of course her version of the song was not comparable to the original one, but she was going to try to make it as enjoyable for McKenna as possible. So when Gabe started to strum the guitar, the blonde sat up a tad bit straighter and made sure to follow the lyrics in her head. It was different with the instrument being part of it, but in a good way – she liked it. Gabe was playing it at the normal rhythm, so that made it easier for the girl to jump in as well.

Look at this cove, treasures untold
How many wonders can one cavern hold?
Looking around here you’d think
Sure, A shrug followed. - she’s got everything

I’ve got gadgets and gizmos aplenty
I got whozits and whatzits galore
You want thingamabobs? I’ve got twenty
But who cares? No big deal
I want more

Between that lyric and the ones to follow, Ki had a hand tug at Gabe’s pants near his right knee in an attempt to wordlessly indicate he better put his foot up within the next couple of seconds. Given it was his niece’s favorite song, the man probably knew during which line to do so. If he didn’t catch on, it would be okay. McKenna would not take notice of Kiara trying to achieve this for the webcam limited her from that.

I wanna be where the people are
I wanna see, wanna see them dancing
Walking around on those – what do you call them?

Eyes widened slightly at the screen, ever so slightly dripping her head, clearly expecting McKenna to come to the rescue. And she did, just like expected. It made Kiara smile lovingly, and what made it even better was that Gabe had caught on and had a foot taking up at least one third of the screen during that same second. Oh, feet! Ki wobbled the man’s big toe before lowering it and continuing, yet not without making a funny face to jokingly make it seem as if Gabe had smelly feet. She threw him an ‘ew’ face with arched eyebrow before the smile returned, gazing at the little princess again.

Flipping your fins you don’t get too far
Legs are required for jumping dancing
Strolling along the… what’s that word again?

Mckenna was, of course, given another chance to participate. And Gabe, he received a gentle nudge against his shoulder to get him to join her during the next couple of lines - if he wanted to, that was.

[Gabriel James]

Gabriel realized something when the blonde next to him joined in on the singing. The two of them had talked about their love of music and singing, but he had never actually heard her. She was amazing. Not that he expected differently, but she honestly stole his attention away from his niece for a couple moments. He hopes she had heard him sing before... Because if today was her first impression Gabe would be extremely embarrassed. Today his voice was scratchy and strained. Her voice had a little bit of a country twist to it, but it was sweet and endearing and right in tune. He smiled warmly, only to be snapped out of his trance when Kiara nudged his foot.

His confusion only lasted a moment when his brain caught up to where they were in the lyrics. Just in time to wiggle his toes in front of the webcam. He laughed in response to Kenna's replies, the silly faces Kiara was putting on for his niece, as well as his own silly-ness, causing a couple coughs. He only missed a chord or two and Kiara kept up fine without him, which Gabe was greatful for.

When she nudged him to join in he obliged, though only sang softly to save his voice, allowing Kiara to keep the lead:
Up where they walk
Up where they run
Up where they stay all day in the sun
Wanderin' free- wish I could be
Part of that world

They continued along in their song, occasionally asking for Kenna's participation, Gabe harmonizing with Kiara where he saw fit (and where his voice allowed). He smiled broadly at Kiara when the song ended, playing a few last chords to wrap it up. Little McKenna was smiling widely and clapping smally, still a bit shy around the new face. It couldn't have been a better rendition of the song unless Gabe was magically cured of his ailments.

"That was beautiful guys," Jen, McKenna's mother said. "What do you say Kenna?"

"Thank you," the little girl said sweetly, sinking back into her mother again.

"I think it's time to get some rest over here," Jen noted, even thoug it was met with tired protest from McKenna.

"I agree," Gabe said, hiding any disappointment he felt. "You have to rest and he better for me ok?" McKenna folded her arms across her chest but nodded. "Happy birthday, sweetheart. I'll visit and bring you your present really soon." He put down his guitar and blew his niece a kiss and hung up the call after receiving one back. And exchanging quick "I love you"s

He states at the blank screen for a moment, a stupid grin still on his face. But like he was waiting to be sure that McKenna was definitely gone, he sunk his face into his hands and groaned, half from pain and half from frustration. "I should be there," he said into his hands, causing his words to come out muffled.

[Deleted]

Kiara had heard Gabriel sing before. And, in all honesty, it quite possibly had contributed to the outcome of that one night. While his voice might not be flawless today, it had been back then and she could effortlessly detect the real beauty of his voice behind the strained tone that left his lips now. The thickness and warmth was still there, just less obvious. It was the kind of voice that could draw you right in; the kind of voice that made you swoon and all mushy inside. It was no excuse, yet if Ki had to formulate what had led to them sleeping together, she would definitely attribute part of it to the fact that a cute guy with sound vocal chords had sang to her.

When the song came to an end, the blonde ever so lightly slumped again. Her smile remained as bright as before (without being creepy) and a quick ‘happy birthday, princess’ got shoved in between the man’s talking and his and McKenna’s goodbyes. After that, Kiara just stared at the blank screen for a second, less long than Gabe. She actually looked at him during the couple of counts that he still focused on the computer.

And her face seemed to fall almost as quickly as he buried his into his hands. It had not yet dawned upon Kiara that Gabe usually visited his niece. She had not connected the dots between his illness and lack of actually being physically present near McKenna. Of course it hit her like a train of bricks when he groaned his regrets.

“Hey,” the blonde spoke while slightly leaning forward to be in a more equal position as Gabe. She nudged her shoulder against his, keeping it that way upon continuing. “Did you see the smile on her pretty little face? She was happy, Gabe. You made her day. You couldn’t have done that if you had been there like this…” Her right hand, the one furthest away, reached for his left shoulder in front of him, adjusting the fleece blanket on there.

For a second she considered tilting his chin to make him look at her to give the words more strength, though she refrained. Instead Kiara retreated her hand and slowly pushed herself to get up from the couch. “I’ll… warm up some soup, okay?”

[Gabriel James]

Gabe knew Kiara had a point about making McKenna happy, about the smile on her face and the way she lit up at her favorite song. He coughed a few times, which just reminded him of how much it sucked that he had to be sick. "Why this week?" he asked with a strained laugh, thinking it was pretty cruel that world allowed the plague to hit Pilot Ridge just as his niece turned 5. "It just sucks," he noted, allowing Kiara to wrap the blanket tighter around him. He gave her a quick, small smile, as if to say thanks, before siting back and curling his legs back under himself, trying to keep warm. "I'd taken today off months ago so I could be there for her birthday. But there's no way they'd let me into the cancer ward like this," he shook his head, mentally cursing his immune system.

When Kiara offered to warm up some soup, Gabe's eyes perked up just slightly. "That sounds great," he said, sincerely thankful for the food Ki had brought over. He was in no shape to cook for himself, nor go out and get food. He had wondered if Everett would stop for something, but clearly he didn't need to worry about that anymore.

Gabe followed a bit behind Kiara, into the kitchen - blanket still wrapped tightly around his upper body. "There's pots in the cabinet to the right of the stove," he informed the blonde as he settled himself in a chair by the kitchen table.

"Thanks for that by the way," he said, realizing he had kind of just thrown Kiara into the ring back there, and she hadn't questioned it. "The singing I mean. The soup too," his voice cracked a bit, but he cleared his throat. "I don't think I would have been able to make it through alone." He sniffled at the end of the sentence and gave Kiara a little smile. "It meant a lot to Ken. I could tell."

[Deleted]

A bitter chuckle came in response. “Because the world just isn’t fair.” Kiara replied to his rhetorical question. It was true though. Obstacles always occurred during moments that you could have missed them most of all. “You didn’t forget about her birthday, and you were singing to her and fooling around despite being sick. You might not have been there in person, but I am sure that girl knows just how much you would have been willing to sacrifice for her. Not going there… that was a sacrifice that you made. For her. For her health.” With another little nudge to his shoulder, Ki rose and smoothed hands over her top to adjust it. She then headed into the kitchen, taking the bag with her.

There her mind had already began to go ‘iny miny mo’ to figure out where the pots might be. Even when Gabriel stepped over to assist her during the search, she ended up opening a wrong cabinet (that was also on the right of the stove!) before locating the correct one. The blonde took out a pot, turned on the stove and took a plastic closed bowl from the bag. The lid soon got removed and she poured the red soup with meatballs into the pot.

Blue optics eventually drifted over to Gabe again. “I wouldn’t have done that for everyone,” Ki chuckled softly before growing a tad bit more serious again. “You have a great niece. She deserved it, and I am proud to have been able to be part of that.” Her smile mirrored his now. “She looks like a strong girl, and sometimes a little magic and imagination can help that. Plus, I was royalty for a couple of minutes.”

By now a spoon had been taken from the drawer and she had been stirring the soup. That slowed down as the next question got asked though – one she hoped didn’t take it too far. “Is… she beating it?”

[Gabriel James]

Gabe shifted the blanket up to cover his head as well, wrapping himself up like he was some sort of jedi, or a nun. It was much warmer when his whole body was covered, even if he was sure he looked ridiculous. For some reason he didn't really mind looking a hot mess in front of Kiara. "I hope you know, now, that she'll always be asking for my friend the princess," he informed Kiara with a chuckle. "And I'll have to tell her you're off doing princess-ly duties and saving the animals or something," he added to the story, losing his voice by the end of the long sentence. He sighed inwardly. If there was one symptom of being sick that Gabe couldn't stand it was losing his voice and having a sore throat.

He got up, and trudged to the fridge to pour himself some ginger ale, keeping his blanket around him tightly in place. It was going to be more of a preemptive measure, since he wasn't sure how his stomach would handle the soup. It smelled too good to forget about, though. And he was hoping it helped his throat a bit.

As he was rooting through the fridge, Ki asked a question that made Gabe stop for a moment. It was one of those questions that left a sour taste in his mouth, and his head spin with the worst thoughts. He shook it off though, and continued to search for the soda. It took him a second to find the bottle, and to close the fridge, and to muster cup the words to answer the hard question. "We don't know yet," he said honestly, with a small shrug, his face falling a little. "She uh... she beat it once when she was three already. But they say it's that much harder when it comes back for the second time. And this time it spread to her spinal fluid which isn't really... good," Gabe explained as he grabbed a cup from a cabinet, not having to think to hard about it like Kiara did. "She just started chemo a couple and radiation weeks ago, so it'll be a few weeks before they start doing more tests and give us a better idea of...that." He couldn't even finish the sentence in a definitive way, because he still wanted to pretend that McKenna losing her battle was even an option. His voice cracked in a few places, and he chalked it up to being upset rather than being sick, trying to convince himself he was feeling better. Though truthfully it was a sick combination of the two that caused him the discomfort in his throat.

[Deleted]

Laughter came in response, joined by a tender smile as Kiara imagined that scenario. “I’ll make sure to give you my autograph for next time that you see her. But at least you’re the even-more-awesome uncle now. Not everyone can say that have a princess as friend.” If he ever needed a list with excuses to explain why the blonde wasn’t around during Skype calls, she would be more than willing and capable to come up with some, like getting her hair braided with Rapunzel or having taken Shelby to have a playdate with her friends The Aristocats. “Or, you know… if the princess is notified on time, she would also be willing to attend another royal Skype meeting.” Anything to add to that little girl’s strength.

Of course her question made a different mood loom over the conversation, but Kiara could not help but feel concerned and somewhat connected to McKenna now. At least enough to show genuine interest. Last time no details had been shared, but right now seemed like an okay timing to get a better complete image. While her hand held on to the spoon, it no longer moved. Eyes rested on Gabe as he moved about, and a couple faint nods were the only indication that his reply was reaching her ears. She actually remained quiet for a more seconds. “Will… you keep me updated? Please?” Unless he didn’t want to talk about it. The girl would respect that if it were the case. At the same time she also hoped that he would though. She had seen in what position he had been last time; having someone to talk to might help – and she couldn’t imagine her brother being that person.

Stirring the soup for a moment, Kiara then searched for a bowl for once it was ready. “So, um… has Everett been talking to you lately?” Just about what had happened between them. Or maybe him mentioning the name Jackson… She didn’t dare to ask specifically though. She just wondered and also hoped the friendship between Gabe and her brother had been rekindled.

With the soup ready, she poured it into the bowl and carried it to the table with the spoon in there.

[Gabriel James]

Gabe was aware of the change in mood, but it came along with such topics. And frankly it was a topic that Gabriel couldn't avoid. It was something important in his life that he couldn't just push away and forget about - not for a second - even if he tried. And even though thinking about it made him worrisome, there was part of Gabriel that was touched that Kiara cared enough to ask. And a few seconds after he settled back down in his chair, and the words he spoke settled in, Kiara asked if he could keep her updated. And for some reason (Gabe wasn't sure if it was the brandy he'd drank to help his throat or the mixture of alcohol and medicine or what) but the fact that she wanted to know what became of little McKenna made him well up with a ton of different emotions.

"Of course I will," he finally said, managing to speak between difficult breaths - partly due to him holding back whatever swell of sad/thankful/hopeful/fearful mess was trying to escape from him, and partly due to a sneeze that he was trying to let go of. It finally came out, luckily without all the emotions he was trying to hold back. He didn't need to be more of a wreck than he already appeared. It wasn't Ki's job to deal with that. "It... really means a lot that you care," he noted, sounding a little stuffed up, giving Kiara a small smile through the hole in his blanket framing his face, red from high fever and the effort to hold back tears.

Gabe was grateful that the subject was changed, even if it was to another fragile one. Though, luckily, Gabe had some better news in regards to his best friend and their relationship. "Oh, yeah..." Gabe said, when Kiara asked if they'd been talking. "We've talked a bit recently... worked some things out," Gabe explained, glad to finally be on a better page with the Elder Lilien again. "Things still aren't exactly how they'd been but it's a lot better." Gabe wasn't about to tell Kiara he told Ev about the pregnancy scare, though. He wasn't sure if he'd be ok with it.

Soon, a bowl of soup appeared in front of Gabe and he smiled warmly, taking in the scent the best he could with his stuffy nose. "Thank you," Gabe said graciously. He stirred the soup around in his bowl and blew on a spoonful before slurping it up. "This is great," he said, letting his blanket fall to his shoulders so he could eat easier. "Hits the spot."

[Deleted]

When Gabe thanked her, completely cuddled in the blanket, Kiara couldn’t help but be amused, despite the fact that the reason for him expressing the gratitude wasn’t exactly one to be cheerful about. She was amused by how he sat there though; not by the words – hopefully he didn’t interpret the smile wrong. “It really means a lot to me that you are willing to share this.” The blonde replied as if to say that he should not be thanking her since they were both compensating in a way. “I can’t imagine how hard it might be to talk about, let alone let someone in on it…” In fact, she had no idea to which extent her brother knew about this. She figured he did to a certain degree.

As for those thoughts leading to the different turn in the conversation, Ki was relieved to hear that they had least reached the point of talking to one another again. “Good. That’s good.” She nodded after having placed the bowl of soup down, sitting down on the chair next to him. “I would have felt awful if he were still acting as if you don’t exist, or like you treated me with any disrespect…” In the meanwhile blue eyes rested on his hand as it used the spoon to stir the soup. “Did he say anything about me? I mean, something I should mentally prepare myself for?” Something he might tell Gabe and not her because he was stubborn like that.

Honestly, Kiara felt comfortable at that point. While she hardly knew any details about Gabriel, it still felt like he had been there for many years before. Perhaps the fact that Everett cherished him so dearly made her automatically trust him. Or maybe it might have been his selfless reactions and gentleman-ly behavior. Either way, the young woman turned on her chair and placed feet against the edge of the chair that he was seated upon, right next to one of his hips. A hand supported her head as Kiara gazed at him as he ate the soup – once more without it border lining creepy (hopefully).

“You really do look like a mess…” She concluded with a little joke as she pursed her lips lightly as if in a thoughtful manner.