Potential (Niko, Chase)

[Dr. James Campbell]

(Continued from Prodigy)

"Okay, well you have to get the parents to agree, or I'll have to fly out there myself. I really don't want to go to Montana this week, so please, just convince them." James raked one hand through his thick, brown hair, making it stand up even more. He used to love flying all over the country, recruiting students and meeting all kinds of interesting people. That had stopped, though, once he'd convinced Chase to go to Vermont and live with him. They'd known each other for a month, at that point, and suddenly, he preferred being back in his own home. (Though he had never liked sleeping in hotels, particularly alone.)

Anyway, James didn't want to have to make plans to fly across the country tonight. His day was almost over, then he would do paperwork until Chase was done and then they'd walk home together. This plan was already playing out in his head when his cell phone started buzzing. There was a new text, from Chase. Jamie - Nikolai needs help settling @ Hammel. You got time? With a small smile, James shot a message back, Sure, bring him over.

Then he went back to his other phone call, "Look, I know they're being a pain in the ass. Tell them the next person coming is a mind eader, and would be able to cast a magic spell that will turn them into a newt and they won't get better. Their kid needs training or he's going to short-circuit their entire county. Get him here."

After hanging up, James quickly looked around the room, seeking something, anything he needed to clean before his husband and the little boy got there. Of course, since it was James' office, it wasn't really necessary. He was pretty good with kids, being a father himself, and he could deal with a nine-year-old's worries. He was ready for whatever was coming.

[Chase Campbell]

Sure, bring him over. Perfect. James had time.

The walk from the field to Hammel’s main building wasn’t long. Chase kept a careful eye on Niko, just in case he chose to run. He trusted him not to, but there was always that unknown factor that worried him. Teenagers were more unpredictable than children, he knew that. And Niko had told him he trusted him. But he still kept a firm eye on the boy, ensuring he stayed close. Thankfully, he didn’t stray. “He’s nice, Niko. Promise.” A little anal, maybe, and OCD, yes. But he was a nice guy. The only time he was vaguely threatening was when he was angry, and that wasn’t very often. Chase had learned his various triggers, and stayed the hell away from them as much as he could.

Once they were inside, and heading down the familiar path to the offices, Chase looked down at Niko and smiled. “If anyone can convince you to stay with us, it’s him.” Before his promotion, James had spent his entire Hammel career convincing difficult students, and parents, that it was in the child’s best nature to be trained at their facility. Most times, they agreed. But James was funny that way. It was difficult to say no to him, no matter what he was after. It was part of the reason why Chase had been unable to turn him away when he’d showed up that day. The other, much bigger part, of course, had been that he’d fallen in love. Simple as that.

When they reached James’ office, Chase knocked before coming in. “James,” he greeted calmly. When he was with students, he was nothing if not professional around James. Unless he’d been teaching them for a while. “This is Nikolai. And he uh... made me promise not to make him talk to you alone.” In other words, the three of them were stuck together. But if that was how Niko was comfortable, Chase wasn’t going to argue. “Niko? You wanna tell Dr. Campbell what you told me?”

[Nikolai Campbell]

Many things made Niko anxious. For Niko, 'anxious' and 'scared' went hand in hand- or, at least, most things that he was scared of made him anxious. Anxiety was nothing new. At that moment, he had a lot to be anxious about. Considering the idea of meeting someone else, and also of being told something he already knew he didn't want to hear, was bothering Niko and making it tempting to just make his escape right then and there, so Chase's watchfulness wasn't in vain. It made sense to him- he could run to his room. Chase couldn't get him there, could he? Instead Niko walked at his side obediently, his eyes focused on the ground beneath him.

"If you say so,"Niko agreed passively. He kept quiet as they continued walking. When Chase spoke again, telling him that James could convince him to stay, Niko said nothing at all. He wanted to ask why anyone had to convince him to stay in the first place, but he didn't bother. He already knew, basically, what his answer would be. Chase had already told him. He settled for drawing his hands into his pockets, occupied by his own thoughts up until they finally reached the office and Chase knocked. Niko was alert then.

Niko listened calmly while Chase referred to him, his eyes never leaving Chase despite the fact that James was in the room. When Chase addressed him specifically, he was sorely tempted to just say 'no'. He didn't want to do it, he just wanted to ask James if he could go home. But he wouldn't say that, and he couldn't change his mind now that they were standing in his office. Niko'd do what he was told willingly; he'd talk to the stranger. He stayed close to Chase while his attention was on James- Chase was Niko's security blanket in this particular situation, the obvious solution, the comfort he needed, and the only reason he wasn't shutting down.

"Chase says you're nice, Dr. Campbell."Niko stated confidently,"But, I still don't want to be here. I have to go home. I mean, I can't do anything like they say I can- everyone's got it wrong. I'm just Niko. But, I'll come back when I'm older, I promise. I just have to go home for a little while." As before, Niko was confident that his proposed plan was a fair one. After all, he wasn't saying he'd never do what they wanted, he just said he wanted to do it later. Preferably when he wasn't nine years old and the youngest person he had heard of thus far. Though others probably wouldn't see it his way, Niko was convinced that being older would fix everything that was wrong with the current situation that he was in.

[Dr. James Campbell]

"Hello, Chase," It felt oddly formal, addressing him that way. Sure, they'd been working together for a few years now, and everyone knew they were married, but they mostly left their pet names at home. It was a little easier to leave everything else there, that way. "And hello, Nikolai. Please, have a seat." He gestured to the plush chair across from his desk. Though his office wasn't huge, it was nicely furnished, and he made a point to try to keep it from looking like a principal's office as much as possible. As such, there were framed photographs all over it with pictures of him, his husband, and his daughter.

As soon as Niko started talking, James' heart went out to him. Oh, he knew the feeling well enough. That he wasn't special enough to be here, and even if he was, he wasn't special enough to be at Hammel now, not when something else more pressing was going on in his life. For Niko, that was growing up. For James, it had been his daughter.

He smiled, though, when the little boy said Chase said he was nice. James thought he was, of course, but it was nice to hear it. The rest of the boy's plea, however, just made him feel sad. He was going to have to be the bad guy, and tell him no.

James hated telling kids no.

"I'm so sorry, Nikolai, but I can't let that happen." He took a deep breath, considering what he was going to have to say. "I know that this is scary, and sudden, and you don't want to be here. But we didn't make a mistake. You have a meta-human ability, just like Chase, and just like me. You're very young for it to be showing, but you still have it. If we wait a few years, you may never learn to control it." He frowned slightly, and pointed to one of the photos on his desk. It was of him, years ago, holding a tiny blonde baby girl. "That's my daughter, Ginny. I was 22 when Hammel found me. I'd had my power for eleven years before I they found me and I started training. It was harder for me to learn how to control it, and even now, I have a harder time than 16-year-olds. It really is better to get your training early, before you learn to live with the side-effects." James scanned the file in front of him, "It says here you get migraines, yes? The training helps make them better, and you'll get them less often. Trust me, it makes a lot of things better."

[Nikolai Campbell]

Niko honestly hadn't wanted to sit down as he was told. Instead, he looked to Chase briefly, as though silently asking what he thought of the order. But he knew, even before he looked to Chase, that he'd listen to James. So Niko gave in and took up the seat James gestured to. However, it made him more uncomfortable, despite it's plush upholstery. As for the name James used when referring to him, Niko wasn't sure what he thought of it. It made James seem much older, much more like a teacher or principal. Niko would rarely use his full first name himself, it was always Niko or Nikki. His full first name seemed to give James power in Niko's mind in a way he couldn't understand. He wasn't going to complain about it, though. After all, he was calling James 'Dr. Campbell', so perhaps it was only fair. Niko, of course, didn't think of it in terms of fairness, he just considered how odd it was to hear his name.

Niko didn't want to hear it, he didn't want to know what James was telling him. Unfortunately, James wasn't on his side, which would have been the best case scenario. He didn't dislike James for what he said, but he'd been hopeful. At least James understood; it was scary. When James pointed to a photo on the desk, Niko's attention went to it. A little girl? She was cute. Her blond hair was the first thing he noticed, leading him to think that she didn't have the same color as her father. It wasn't that strange, it was just an observation. Then, the numbers James was throwing out- twenty-two and eleven years, they didn't mean anything to Niko. He wasn't about to make sense of it or any sort of time line from the information. Only one number mattered; sixteen. Niko's attention moved from the picture back to James when he said that number. Niko wasn't sixteen, and he intended on pointing that out. First, James looked down at a file and then mentioned Niko's migraines. Niko hated files that had information on him, it scared him that people knew things he didn't tell them. And migraines weren't that bad as long as he didn't move when he got one. And as long as he had pain medication, which he did have at home. Here, not so much, which was alarming, and which contributed to his desire to leave. Not that Niko couldn't have asked an adult for help or aspirin if he'd dared to.

"I'm not sixteen, I'm only nine,"Niko pointed out, as though this made all the difference in the world. James probably already knew that, though. "I could come back when I'm sixteen. Or even eleven." Now that he was sitting in front of James, his tone was more subdued when he spoke; the position was a bit intimidating. It did feel like he was in the principal's office, a place he spent most of his time anyway when he'd been in his old school. But this time, it was a new principal rather than the familiar one he'd come to know and love, even when he was scolding him. That was a problem.

"Your daughter, does she have an ability, too? The same ability?" Niko's question had little to do with James or his daughter, really. He was wondering if abilities were genetic and if children had the abilities of their parents if they were genetic. Niko had plenty of questions about abilities and how they worked when he dared ask them.

"I don't want to trust everyone, trusting you or Chase doesn't make it better."Niko's tone had a bit more edge to it when he stated that, but he was still fairly calm overall."Kids aren't supposed to live at school, Dr. Campbell."

[Dr. James Campbell]

"And the 16-year-olds don't usually come here when they're 16. They come when they're 11 to 14, usually. But that means that they have, at most, five years of training. I have eighteen, and they're still better at controlling their powers than me. Waiting for training just makes it harder. You're nine, that means that you get an even earlier start. You'll probably have an even greater control of your ability by the time you're sixteen than most people will ever get in their entire lives." He'd tried bargaining as well, so long ago. "I'm so sorry, but your ability could be dangerous if you don't learn how to control it. From what I understand, you have remarkable control of your emotions, which is a big step already. Isn't that right, Chase?"

Though he was the Head of the Recruiting department, Chase was the one who worked directly with kids every day. Maybe a student would drop in every other day, particularly around the holidays when they wanted to go home to their families. His husband was the one who had experience; James just knew the statistics.

"No, she doesn't." It still sometimes surprised him when people couldn't follow his train of thought. "I brought her up because she wasn't even a year old when I went to Hammel. I wanted to be with her more than anything. I even tried running away. But it was better for both of us that I got training. You know how your power gives you migraines? My power messes with my head, and sometimes it distracts me." How do you explain OCD to a nine-year-old? He hadn't ever explained it explicitly to Ginny; she'd been the one to ask him why he acted so odd sometimes. "You will feel a lot better once you learn to control it more."

When Niko called the other man Chase, and that made James smile. Yeah, people called him Dr. Campbell a lot--and a lot more since he was named Head of his department--but he liked how close Chase got with his students. It proved to him exactly how much his husband was ready to be a father. (More ready than James had been, the first time around.) "Okay, you don't have to trust me, though I would like you to. Do you trust Chase?"

And his last comment made him smile a little more, and though it wasn't a smirk, it was perilously close. "Harry Potter lived at Hogwarts, and there are plenty of schools where the kids live there."

[Chase Campbell]

Chase was there for moral support. Technically, he was acting as a double agent. He was there for Niko, yes. Niko was his student, and so far, probably one of the few people the boy had actually been able to spend time with. As a bonus, he trusted him. But he was also there for James. The blond knew how much James disliked the word ‘no’ when it came to kids. He’d have to play this carefully. When Niko looked to him for confirmation, reassurance, he didn’t really know, he just nodded to the boy. It was safe to sit down. Intimidating, maybe, but safe. Chase just made himself comfortable leaning against the wall, his arms casually crossed over his chest.

The fact that Niko so obviously wanted to go home tugged at Chase. It really did. He remembered his first days at Hammel. But for him, it had been a relief. The staff there were there to help him master his ability, and help him with his migraines. He’d met other students with powers too, and he’d finally felt like he belonged somewhere. It was one of the places he and James differed. Chase had loved his time at Hammel. He’d been away from his parents, and more or less independent. James hadn’t been as lucky. But it was a point in his favor, while dealing with Niko. James knew what it was like to want to go home, but have to stay at Hammel. If anyone was going to explain it well, it was him.

When James asked him about Niko’s control, Chase looked up, meeting his husband’s eyes. “Yeah. So far, at least. He stopped himself from an outburst in the classroom. Impressive, for his age.” He winked at Niko. “Most of my students still can’t control their emotions. He’s ahead of the game in that regard.” Maybe if he made Niko feel special, it might help. It was worth a shot, anyway.

At least James had the notion to mention Harry Potter. Chase had seen some of the teenagers “duelling” whenever a new book, or movie, came out and renewed their interest in the series. Some of them could actually pull off fairly realistic “spells” with their powers, much to his amusement. “He’s right, Niko. There are lots of schools that students stay year round at. Not just Hammel, or Hogwarts, for that matter.” He caught James’ eye. He was trying to help. Honestly he was. Sometimes, with kids, he just didn’t know if he was getting in the way. He was the same with James’ nieces and nephews. But somehow, he was the one Niko was looking to right now for comfort and security. And damn it, Chase was going to give it to him.

[Nikolai Campbell]

It probably would have made sense to someone who was older, to someone who wanted to control their ability, but Niko wanted to ignore his own so the logical argument James offered meant nothing. Instead of telling James that, he kept quiet because James asked Chase a question. Chase had already told Niko that he could control his emotions, but he knew he couldn't. Not when he really cared about something. Earlier had been a bit different- or, at least, Niko said so. It seemed to be just another thing he was convincing himself that they were completely wrong about. Not even Chase's confirmation to James helped him even though Chase was trying to be nice.

Niko was still not impressed with James knowing about him. They'd just met, how could he possibly know? It bothered him more than most things did. But he didn't react to it this time any more than he had the first time. No, Niko just listened. So parents didn't give abilities to their kids? Niko was quite content knowing that fact. When James went on speaking, Niko listened just as attentively as ever. The bit of information that caught his attention was when he said that he ran away. Niko would have spoke up right away, but he knew better than to interrupt someone, and he really didn't want to interrupt James specifically. He ended up learning something else from what James had to say- he hadn't realized before that his powers caused his migraines, but he took note of that fact now. It made sense, knowing that.

"You ran away?"Niko questioned before turning his gaze to Chase,"But you said I can't run away?" His tone was almost baffled, as though he couldn't quite understand the situation. The person that was supposed to make him stay in school wanted to do the very thing he was contemplating, the very thing Chase was trying to tell him was against the rules? It was always weird for Niko to think of teachers as people, and this was no different. If they were in school, they fell in the general 'teacher' category, regardless as to whether or not he was a doctor instead of mister. Honestly, Niko wasn't even clear on the doctor bit. He just repeated what Chase said. In general, he had no idea that there were doctors that weren't medical personnel. And sure enough, talking to a doctor about not leaving school was a bit strange. Not that he'd question Chase's judgment.

"Yes, I trust Chase,"Niko agreed without hesitation once his attention was on James again. Though he just met Chase, he seemed different than James in so many ways. James did seem nice, sure. Chase wasn't lying about that. What Chase didn't mention was that he was also a bit scary, at least to Niko. Or, more than scary, James was a bit hard to understand. In Niko's case, it was easier to gravitate toward Chase based on his personality.

"Harry Potter,"Niko echoed thoughtfully as he tilted his head slightly to the left, watching James curiously. He remained silent while he considered this new idea, hearing Chase reinforce the idea but not speaking out. Really, he had nothing to combat that suggestion with. And Harry Potter was pretty cool. Without warning, the nine year old started laughing aloud, his eyes closing as he tilted his head slightly downward. It then took him a few seconds to pull off, but he did speak to try to explain himself."You're funny,"Niko managed to giggle. Maybe James wasn't so bad. Every kid seemed to want to be magic like Harry Potter at some point, Niko was no exception to that. And now he was like Harry Potter because of Hammel. It made him feel a lot better.

[Dr. James Campbell]

James nodded briefly when Chase praised Niko's control. After a few years of bringing out the best in students' abilities, he trusted his husband to know what he was talking about. That was his area of expertise. So if Chase believed that Niko was ahead of the game, so did he. (It was also kind of sweet, to see the other man winking and being...well, cute with the little boy.)

Of course, Nikolai had to latch onto the one bit that James wasn't proud of. "Yes. I did. I ran away six times, and every time they found me again and brought me back. And every time, it made it harder for me to train. I was old already, and it was hard for me. Do you remember learning how to speak English?" Okay, so maybe he wasn't excellent at conveying complex ideas to small kids. Ginny would always just cross her eyes and make funny faces at him when she didn't understand what he was saying. "It would probably be harder for you to learn French now, right? And it would be even harder for me. It's much easier to learn things when you're younger."

"I trust Chase too." Sometimes, simple is is the best. "And if I had a trainer like him when I was studying here, it would have been a lot easier to want to stay." James smiled at his husband, briefly. "If you trust the people here, it's a lot easier to want to stay."

He was funny? James could live with that. "Am I? That's good." He smiled as the boy laughed.

It wasn't just kids who thought about going to Hogwarts.

[Chase Campbell]

Chase spent every day working with teenagers trying to perfect their control over their powers. It wasn’t easy, not by a long shot. But certain things helped. Like maturity. And the ability to control their emotions. For teenagers, these two factors alone seemed impossible. He’d seen way too many temper tantrums, resulting in half a destroyed classroom, at times. Or freaked out students, depending on the ability. But if Niko could control himself at all, he already had a head start.

As Niko questioned James running away, Chase just shrugged helplessly. “He wasn’t meant to run away, Niko.” And he let James explain his way out of that one. He’d known that James had tried running away, but he’d had good reason. He’d wanted to go back to Ginny. Chase understood that, more or less. The bond between father and daughter never ceased to amaze him when he saw his husband and Ginny together. It was what he wanted, too. He wanted to have that kind of relationship with their kid. Whenever that happened. He just leaned back against the wall, listening to the conversation. He was there to support Niko, to let him have that little confidence boost. So far, it seemed to be working.

He smiled a bit when Niko admitted to trusting him, and the smile only grew when James said that he trusted him, too. Of course, he knew about James trusting him. That was obvious. But it was still nice to hear. And Niko seemed to be loosening up. At least he was laughing. Cautiously, he stepped closer and crouched down to Niko’s eye level. “What do you think now, Kiddo? Is this place really so bad?”

[Nikolai Campbell]

When Niko heard that they brought James back after running away, he decided that he didn't want to run away. It wasn't worth it, and he didn't want to go against Chase's wishes. Chase had already made it clear that he shouldn't, anyway. But instead of pointing out the decision immediately, he remained quiet, listening to James.

James bringing up learning English, made Niko's expression one of confusion. Yes, he was still young, but he didn't specifically remember learning English. Or, that was to say, he didn't consciously remember being taught the words he knew and that left him wondering how he'd learned it in the first place. Of course, if he thought about it, there were plenty of answers to his question of where. He just didn't think of them. Still, James' idea that Niko wouldn't be able to learn a new language as easily made sense anyway. Sort of. He didn't know why what James said was true, he just knew it had to be. And with that in mind, his expression shifted from confusion to realization. James was certainly right.

"I guess that makes sense."Niko agreed without adding any other disagreement. He didn't want to argue anymore, he'd concluded that the two adults speaking to him were right. And not just about staying in the school, but right about each other, which was important to Niko.

Nikolai's laughter had subsided, but he was more comfortable as he sat before James. The smile didn't falter, he was genuinely content to be in the office now. Only Chase's voice drew his gaze away from his curious observation of James. Actually, Niko turned his full attention to him, listening carefully and giving the impression that whatever Chase had to say was the most important thing at the moment. For Niko, it was.

"No, you were right, Chase. It isn't so bad, and I won't run away, I promise."Niko agreed, his tone cheerful."Mr. Campbell is right, I'm glad you're my trainer." In fact, he was very thankful, but it had nothing to do with whether or not Chase could teach him to change the weather. There were plenty of mean adults, and the more he thought about what James said to him, the more he realized that Chase really was a great person to be taught by. Mostly because he had to ask himself, what other teacher had he ever played football with? Teachers supervised activities at his old school, but what teacher ever participated? Chase was very different, and Niko liked that. So, a bit reluctantly, he turned his attention from James to Chase
(I should never write a post when I'm that tired, I guess. It supposed to say 'from Chase to James' because he goes on to address James. Sorry.)

"Thank you, Dr. Campbell,"Niko offered, saying it because James had convinced him to stay. Besides that, he was thankful that James was nice to him- Niko knew all too well that James didn't have to be. No one had to be nice to Nikolai, he was just a kid. So it was nice when they were.

[Dr. James Campbell]

"I ended up really regretting that I'd tried to run away. It just took time away from my studying to control my power and meant that I had to stay away from Ginny longer." But it seemed like the little boy had already understood that running away wasn't exactly an option at the moment. "That's good."

Niko's response to Chase made him smile. It was somewhat of a relief to be dealing with someone more reasonable than the standard obstinate teenager he was more than used to. Kids, even when they disagreed, had a habit of listening anyway, because they were too young to think they knew everything. (James had never quite grown out of the "knowing everything" stage, to be honest.)

Already, he could tell that Niko looked up to Chase. He knew some of the older kids did. It was hard not to, Chase had managed to make it to adulthood without losing his enthusiasm and energy for goofing around, and he just knew how to relate to teenagers. That didn't mean that he would be a lock for a good father to a younger kid, but from what he was seeing with the little blonde boy...

James blinked twice, then shook his head. If it wasn't for his enhanced perception, he might have seen it sooner, but he couldn't really deny that Niko looked a little like Chase had in the pictures he'd seen from when his husband was younger. "You don't have to call me Dr. Campbell, Nikolai. James works just fine. I'm not your teacher or anything." A lot of the kids did call him by his title (or, on occasion, "the doc", when they wanted to be more familiar.) but it would make him feel less old if kids actually calle him by his first name.

[Nikolai Campbell]

"Wait, if you regretted it. . .I'm not exactly sure I get it. There's an end to the training, right? And when you're done training, you could leave, couldn't you? You could go wherever you wanted? And the other kids leave when they're eighteen?"Niko questioned."I also don't get why you're here now. If you wanted to leave before, why are you at Hammel, Dr. Campbell? Can't you be a doctor somewhere else?" He knew eighteen was a magic number- maybe it was magic here, too. But eighteen was a very, very long way away. In fact, to Niko it was nothing but a number and a promise. A very far off number that people would throw out, but that was a bit too far to reach even in his dreams. Still, he clung to it. When he was eighteen, everything would change, and he knew it. He looked forward to it. Leading up to it, he seemed to think his life would be the mundane stream of events. Not that the fact that he was now at Hammel wasn't remarkable or noteworthy- it was. He just didn't seem to take note of this fact. Perhaps when he looked back, after he reached the magic eighteen, he'd realize what he had gone through to get there. Maybe.

"James,"Niko agreed with a nod when he was told to call James by his name rather than Dr. Campbell. He then found himself smiling. Niko wasn't exactly sure what he thought of using James' name, he just knew he preferred it. It made him more comfortable, and it was a gesture Niko could understand, even if it was on a very simple level. Perhaps, if Niko had been in school longer, if he'd had more than four teachers in his life, he may have found it odd that he'd call a teacher by their first name. Well, calling Chase by his name could have been odd. Since James was the second to make the request, it was more 'normal'. But as James said, he wasn't his teacher. And Chase had said he wasn't his teacher, either, for that matter. As it was, it was more natural to just obey them than to spend a lot of time considering the what and why of the matter. Really, what he was thinking about was the fact that he knew more of the people that were not his teacher, and none that were. Wasn't this a school? It was a very different one than he was used to, obviously. He probably should have gathered that when he realized everyone had abilities beyond the human's natural abilities.

[Dr. James Campbell]

"When I was done with my training, I could go, but I didn't even start my training until after I was already twenty two. Most people go to Hammel for about six years. It was closer to eleven for me. And by that point, I'd spent so much time here, decided to to apply for a job here." There wasn't much of a place for a thirty-three year old man in the workplace, particularly when he left his last "real" job very suddenly, a decade earlier. Sure, he'd gotten grant money to study at the University nearby, but he had no intention of going into teaching, and there wasn't a lot else for him to do with his doctorate in English. "In the end, it was my choice."

The comment about him being a doctor made him smile. "I'm not the kind of doctor that helps people get better." Unless one happened to count him dispensing headache medicine to his husband, bringing coffee to a coworkier, or the occasional bit of advice for a worried teenager. "I'm just the kind that is an expert in something. I've got a degree in English Literature. It's not easy to get a job with that that's not teaching." And while he liked kids well enough, he didn't think he'd make a very good teacher. He certainly didn't have the patience Chase had.

"Yes, if you don't mind. It makes me feel less old." Of course, he'd felt old since his daughter had been old enough to call him "Dad" but that was beside the point. "And what do you prefer to be called, Nikolai?"

[Nikolai Campbell]

"Oh, okay."Niko acknowledged passively. He didn't think he'd apply for a job here after he was done training, but he didn't tell James that. No, actually, Niko had recently decided that he wanted to be a police officer when he was older. And there were no police officers running around Hammel Institute- none, that is, that Niko was aware of. So he would be far, far away from Hammel as far as he was concerned. Oddly enough, he found himself thinking that telling James or Chase this, that he still planned on leaving eventually, was a bad idea. Maybe it was just that he wasn't going to let them say no to him or convince him otherwise- he didn't know the reason he didn't mention it really so he didn't expect anyone else to get it.

Not a doctor? Niko didn't voice any questions or objections, but his mind seemed to race to try to make sense of this new information. Unfortunately, he found very quickly that he just couldn't put it together- like a puzzle missing a piece, that new information had no conclusion. This alone wasn't a new situation, so he felt no need to bother with the subject further. However, he did like the word 'expert'. He knew it was a good thing, and he knew it wasn't easy to be an expert, but if you asked him for the dictionary definition he wouldn't come close. Still, he smiled to himself anyway. What he did know was good enough, and chances were, he wouldn't let that idea go anytime soon.

Maybe Niko shouldn't have been so surprised, but he had not expected James to actually ask him what he'd prefer to be called. Really, it was a good thing he did, because Niko knew 'Nikolai' was reserved for when he was in trouble, when someone was in charge and wanted him to know it, or when someone was serious. But, then again, he didn't dislike James at all for calling him Nikolai now that he was getting used to him. It had bothered him when he didn't know James, yes. It'd been intimidating. Now it didn't bother him really at all. And in this situation, he expected that since James started out using that name he'd continue the habit. However, being able to chose made him smile once the initial shock wore off. That was a lot of power for a nine year old, wasn't it? Not that he didn't chose with everyone else when he introduced himself as Niko. It was all in how it was said, and James seemed to have a good way of going about it, whether he intended for that effect or not.

"Nikolai is my name, but people usually only call me that when I'm in trouble."Niko explained, making a face in the process to prove that he wasn't fond of being in trouble. The look vanished in an instant, and he continued."Most people call me Niko, or Nikki. Really, as long as you don't say it like I'm in trouble, you can use whatever name you want to- I mean, I guess I don't really care. Nice people call me Nikolai sometimes."