December Event: Pilot Ridge Holiday Bash

[Mason McQueen]

Mason could feel his cheeks burning up now. And it wasn’t because of the heater really. God that bartender could stare.

He doesn’t really feel bad about pressure that much, especially since a whole lot of his work (or at least former work) involved pressure. Deadlines to be met, results to be achieved, the works. But this one was different. He’s ok with pressure involving somehow he knows. Right now, he’s being pressured to blurt something he has no idea really. And the fact that what the guy’s asking is, quite possibly, common sense/knowledge to almost every twenty-and-up year old person, is making the ordeal all the more embarrassing.

After a few moments of silence, Mason decided he’d finally speak up now. Here goes nothing, I guess. Hopefully the bartender wouldn’t laugh at him so much when he mentions something completely off the selection (or if he asks for a glass of water or milk). “I think I’d like to have a-” He was cut off by a man, who thank God, has head his plea and helped the helpless guy out. As the bartender went off and made his drink, he mouthed a rather shy ‘thank you’ to the guy.

Then his drink came. He gulped rather obviously before taking a sip. Gosh. What a taste. How could people drink this really? He turned and saw the guy, probably a bit older than him, still beside him. “Yeah, just moved to Pilot Ridge a few weeks ago,” he smiled, “I’m Mason. Thanks for the save earlier.” He didn’t really know proper bar etiquette (should he say his name or what?), whatever that is, so he’s basically just winging everything in. He should really tell his parents that for all their conservatism about life, they’ve failed to teach their kids real-life street smarts. “Yup. First time in anything like this. Alone at least.” Nope, no thoughts like that. Not once.

Then the guy suddenly turned. He tried to follow his line of sight and sad a rather unfortunate accident. Must be his wife, he thought as he followed the guy towards the girl, army of napkins in hand (after leaving a few bills, of course). Might as well stick with him for the night.

[Jacob Dalton]

<< She shrugged. “Pilot Ridge is no Paris…the nightlife…its….” She wrinkled her nose, indicating that there wasn’t a youth nightlife at all, really.>>

Dalton nodded, understanding. It was the same story most places: there were far more profits to be made selling liquor to the over-21 crowd than soda to the underaged, and therefore few establishments that catered to the younger generation.

“A shame. But not one I suppose we can do anything about.”

<< “Fascinating.” She replied, wondering out of habit what his side effects were. >>

He was certain that at some point she would want to know more: but for now, it was enough.

<< “I underst---Sacre---You’ve got to be kidding me.” >>

He could see the sparkle in her eyes as she caught why her meta status excited him. But then came a flicker of something very different as her gaze turned past him to another man. Dalton turned to look: a stumbling drunkard, obviously acquainted with Clarisse and she with him.

He had never fooled himself that a lady of any mature age (not that he was about to inquire a precise figure) would be free of emotional or relational baggage, but it was rather vexing to have it intrude so soon.

<< ‘'Ve got sumfin' to tell ya....please dun hit me."

“What?” >>

This would not go well, he could see at once. Clarisse was totally focused on this interloper, and Dalton felt it best at the moment to simply observe and learn.

<< "'M gonna be a fa--

“You. Two bit. DOG!” >>

Dalton could guess the missing word as well as Clarisse. Obviously she did not take this as joyous tidings.

<< “How dare you come here tonight! How dare you… …Did you even think about that, Darryl Bond? DID YOU?!” >>

Midori: friend, sister? No idea. But obviously someone Clarisse cared about. Someone who deserved better.

<< “And…and here you are…drunk out of your mind and…” She choked a little, taking in a heavy, teary breath. “Darryl how can you be like this?” She accused, shaking her head. “Do you even know what it means to be a parent?” >>

Dalton knew far better than to step into such a hornet’s nest as this. For now he merely waited for this wheel to turn to whatever path it may…

[Jacob Lawrence]

Cobalt's interruption was welcome, even though it was nothing more than a distraction in the larger scheme of things. Jake moved after Morgan, but not without shooting a warning glare over his shoulder at Paulo and Penny. He knew they wouldn't do anything here, but if they so much as laid a finger on Morgan, he'd make them regret it.

But he didn't have much time to linger on the possible consequences of that accidental meeting, because Morgan had pulled him into a small group of people that he didn't recognize. He couldn't afford to act suspiciously here, so he swallowed the lump in his throat and put on his most charming smile. It had worked for him before, so it should work now, right?

As Morgan moved closer, Jake instinctively curled his arm around the blond's shoulders, glancing at his face. "Hey, you okay?" There was concern obvious in his voice, Morgan being his weak spot, and he rubbed at his date's shoulder in a comforting manner. He listened to the introductions, then offered his free hand out to Elaine. She was the one he was most eager to impress, after all. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you." Paulo and Penny might have thrown a wrench into the gears, but Jake genuinely wanted Elaine's approval, and he wasn't going to let them screw this up any more than they already had. "Morgan talks about you all the time."

Turning, he faced the other man and again offered a smile and a handshake. "Cobalt, was it? It's nice to meet you, too. I'm Jake. Jake Lawrence." Finally, there was the woman standing next to Elaine. She had piqued Jake's curiosity, mainly because she looked out of place, but also because neither Cobalt nor Morgan seemed to know her. He hadn't forgotten his manners, though, so he greeted her as well. "And you as well, Emiko." There was no denying that this whole situation was rocky and awkward, but for Morgan's sake, Jake was pretending like nothing was wrong. He could pull it off pretty well when he wanted to.

[Emiko Nakajima]

Emiko didn’t like this set up.

She was calling attention to herself. That was never a good thing, and considering she was the only foreign person in the fray at the moment, it made her feel out of place. The flurry of English would have been too quick for her to keep up with at any other time, but thanks to the negative emotions swirling around them- nervousness, panic, uneasiness, unrest- her senses and her nervous system were working more efficiently than before. Couple that with the fact that she hadn’t had a drink yet, and she was almost in prime condition. It still left problems, though- one was that she was going to go downhill fast once all this was over, so she needed to start logging information away now. She’d be next to useless later if all she could recall from the situation later was that she was standing in the center of a bunch of English speaking people.

She nodded to Cobalt. “A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Weaver.” She groped for words for a moment. Damn, she needed to break out her English books. “Sorry to interrupt, I just had to come over and compliment Elaine’s dress.” There, her reason for being there was covered up in case she looked suspicious. Elaine would probably fill Cobalt in on the real reason later. She noticed the shadows rippling around him and couldn’t help but feel soothed by them- she always felt more comfortable around people with darker sorts of powers. When it came to shadow manipulators, she felt more at ease then she was even when she was with her family. Call it odd, but it was because they had different fears then other people- shadow controllers weren’t afraid of the dark and what might be lying in wait in it. It made her experiences with them a lot better. Perhaps she and Mr. Weaver would get along in the future, once she was out of this mess.

Then came the name she needed to hear, she one she would remember above all else. “Mr. Lawrence. Nice to meet you as well.” Jacob Lawrence. He looked young- maybe Eli would know something about him, or at least more than what she knew now. All she knew was that he was somehow connected with the two across the room, who, according to Elaine, reeked of evil. She needed their names too- how she would get them was beyond her. The only problem she knew of now was that Jake now knew her name- but not her full name. True, that meant very little (there weren’t a lot of people named Emiko in Pilot Ridge) but it still meant that he couldn’t trace her back to Japan, to her family, to her Mother.

If he was part of a meta-supremacy group, she wasn’t losing another parent to the likes of them.

That thought alone made her senses sharper. She needed more information. She’d have to find out who those people were ASAP, even if it meant asking questions. “Your friends look like they’ve been cheated out of meeting Morgan, Mr. Lawrence.” She offered, taking a glance at the two across the room. She had to memorize their faces by the end of the night. “I hope they got to introduce themselves before you were pulled away.” She looked to Morgan with a smile, trying to cover up both her involvement and the panic radiating from his Mother. Everything needed smoothed out; the less Morgan knew the better. She noticed how everyone on both sides were trying to look happy for Morgan, so this would seem less like information gathering and more like a genuine comment. She was trying to look as clueless about the situation as possible. The less they thought she knew, the better.

[Midori Hawkins]

No, Midori was definitely not familiar with Mrs. Bernstein. Granted, the people in Pilot Ridge she knew the best all worked at Hammel, and even after working there for less than a year, she knew she didn’t know all the staff. Pilot Ridge itself was just another, much bigger area to cover. Recent events had put a kink in whatever social life she’d claimed to have. A night “out” tended to involve spending the evening with Eli, eating dinner and occasionally watching a movie. Sometimes it was talking, and sometimes it was just keeping him company while he walked Zero. No matter how you looked at it, it really wasn’t much of a social life. But at the moment, it was all she needed, and wanted.

So no, she didn’t know Mrs. Bernstein. (How the woman had mistaken her for her son, she was still a little baffled over.) She had no idea that the night was going to get any weirder. (First Eli, with a date, then Mrs Bernstein? What could be next?) But it could. Not that she wasn’t relieved when the man came and helped her out. She didn’t mind that she didn’t know him. Nor did she mind that he directed the older woman to her son.

She did mind what came out of the stranger’s mouth next. Mii had been perfectly content to stay next to the bar and people watch. It was what she was good at. She blushed at his invitation. It just wasn’t good manners to turn someone down like that. And he seemed harmless enough. “Without an introduction?” Yes, she was stalling. Mostly because she really didn’t want to dance. Not when she was feeling a little awkward and... well... not graceful. She could dance very well, normally. Now, she wasn’t so sure. Then again, it was one night, and she doubted half the people here would remember specifics in the morning. Not the way the alcohol was flowing. “... All right.” She gently placed her hand in his. “I’m Midori. And you are?”

[Yulia Sokolov]

Yulia had been listening to the music for all of thirty seconds when disaster seemed to strike. However in those past thirty seconds she managed to look around the room a couple of times. She vaguely noticed a few groupings and a few couples on the dance floor. She wasn’t much of a dancer herself, she had ever had occasion to partake in it. It wasn’t like the Russian military threw dances after all. The only dancing she did then was dodging bullets on occasion. This was not that kind of dancing, this was the respectable kind, the actual sort. Well if it was the actual sort then it wasn’t always respectable.

Not a second after that she felt something collide with her. It wasn’t fast but the pure mass of the object, which turned out to be a man, and the angle at which is hit made her step back. She didn’t react at first as she should have, instead looked up in surprise at him. That was when she felt a rather cold and unpleasant wetness hit her chest and run down. Her hand shot up and caught him by the wrist, keeping the pretty much empty drink from tilting any further. She stepped forward and her other hand snapped down on his opposite shoulder to steady him for a moment. Then she let go completely and stepped back as he apologized.

She looked down the front of her at the dark, long patch on her dress that was now soaked in scotch. She wasn’t angry, just kind of confused as to where to go from here. Luckily it seemed that Ben was always at the rescue. She took the napkins and after a moment of hesitance she started dabbing at the stain. Then it occurred to her to answer the man who had the scotch, or rather who used to have the scotch. “No, no, is fine. It is fine.” She had to correct herself, trying not to let her accent overcome her. She looked at the man who came over with Ben, not recognizing him either. She shivered a little thoroughly disliking the cold that the spill brought with it and the way the fabric of the dress now stuck to her skin.

[Darryl Bond]

As the words had left his mouth, alarms were going off all around him, in every direction. He'd messed up; big time. He didn't just cross a line, he set off a bomb and overtook the line with excessive force. His drunken expression fizzled like alkaseltzer and he straightened up a little. It was very clear to him that Clarisse was already on alert. His eyes passes suspiciously to the guy next to her, as if he was the cause of her not-so-happy mood.

He dropped his eyes when she told him Midori had the right to have fun. It kinda plucked at a (drunken) nerve. "You fink 'm 'avin' fun? Fun? No this ain't fun! 'Ve got to change all that I am afore this baby comes. I can't say anyfing 'cause 'm the bad guy! Wha--What type of woman doesn't take birth control?!" He was angry, and Darryl was never angry--even drunk it was a rare occurrence. But really, how was it all his fault? It was an accident but ever since he'd (and everyone else) heard about her being pregnant, all he had caught was shit about it, and how it was his fault!

"'M like this 'cause I'm ass-shamed--" His mispronunciation was actually on accident," I never w'nted this! She was....it was a...not meant to happen. Don't even like her. I like you though. 'Ve had the best dates wiv you." Darryl sniffed and wiped at his eyes, he hadn't planned (on any of it) on it going this way, but he was having a hard time controlling the words that were coming out of his mouth.

"'Course I don't know 'ow to be a parent! 'M twenny-eight. I cn't even control the kids in me class! Fuck if I am gonna be a good parent." He pressed his palms into his eyes again and leaned forward, a sob wracking his shoulders, "mm parents hate who I am. Nn so do my bruther nd sizter. She hates me. You hate me. God hates me. Kid won't like me." Bond, pity party of one.

He rubbed his eyes a little more before he looked up and met eyes at Clarisse. "Iwanna try. 'M gonna try but I....won't be no good." He shook his head and let out a long and deep breath. "'Ve messed up. 'M tryin' ta fix it....but I dun know 'ow." He wiped his eyes on his sleeve, this time, as the world had gone blurry for him, before he looked back at her. "Wanning ta try counts...right?" He so wanted that to be true, as it was, he had no hope of actually succeeding (exhibit A would be the situation he was in right now).

Yes, he had known that Clarisse desperately wanted a kid, and he did feel guilty that she couldn't have what she wanted, and Darryl was going to get what he hadn't wanted (but the idea was slowly becoming appealing--but even he knew he'd have to do better than that). Darryl hadn't meant for any of this conversation to go like this--it occurred to him then that she must have known already, since he hadn't even mentioned Midori's name yet (he wasn't particularly surprised).

[Clarisse Prideaux]

Clarisse was shaking with anger, her eyes turned pink with tears. She didn’t want to feel bad for anyone. She was tired of being a bleeding heart. She didn’t want to care for anyone, she just wanted to hate Darryl. But, unfortunately, it wasn’t in her to simply haul off and punch Darryl liked she’d wished she could. Honestly, she felt for him. She was only on Midori’s ‘side’ (if you will) because Midori had embraced the child…Darryl had seemed to want to push it away. She couldn’t stand the thought of someone abandoning a child.

But like this? Frankly, and much to Clarisse’s dismay, Darryl was right. Midori was just as responsible for the child as he was. Just as he shared the responsibility for raising it. God she hated that he was right. The fact that he was, all of the frustration, that’s what made the first tears fall. They trickled over her cheeks accompanied by weak sniffles. Really it was rather quiet compared to the scene Darryl was making.

” I like you though. 'Ve had the best dates wiv you."

“I think its safe to say we won’t be going on anymore dates, Darryl. Seeing as you kept this from me for five months.” She shot back, her voice cracking on the words. She didn’t want to hear anymore. Didn’t want to be a member of his pity party. She really just wanted him to disappear right about now. Clarisse didn’t care if he was going to try.

“You don’t have the option to try, Darryl! You have to be there for the baby, for Midori! You have to believe that you can do it. You have to want it but you can’t! You don’t!” she accused, jabbing a finger in his chest. The force would have knocked him back a few steps. Tears rolled freely down her face now, burning the pale skin. “Wanting to try does NOT count!” She heaved in a great, shaking breath, the tears breaking at the edges of her speech. “Darryl you have to love that baby. Please, you have to.” She sobbed.

A blond man Clarisse vaguely recognized was approaching them rather quickly. She stepped away from Darryl and turned to Dalton, looking up at him hopelessly. She was fairly certain whatever was blooming between them had just withered and died.

“I’m sorry Mister Dalton…but…” She gently wiped at her tears, careful not to smear her makeup. “I don’t think we’ll need to check my coat.” Clarisse managed a weak smile up at him. “I’d…really like to say goodbye to Doctor Neville…thank him for bringing me.” She looked down at her hands, twisting them in knots as Darryl was dragged away. “And leave.”

[Morgan Tonaya]

Oh, everything is absolutely fine! She was just talking about you.

A slow grin spread over Morgan’s face. “Oh that’s why everyone looked so nervous.” He winked at his mother. “Telling embarrassing stories about me huh, Ma?” He accused, laughing good naturedly as relief washed over him. Geeze. Of course nothing was wrong. It wasn’t like him to jump to negative conclusions so easily. His mother introduced the asian woman to him and he eagerly put out his hand for a shake.

“Emiko. Nice to meet you.” When the stranger added she wanted to compliment his mother on her dress, Morgan warmed up to her immediately. He looked fondly over at Elaine. “Yeah, she’s the prettiest lady in the room!” He gushed. “You do look really nice tonight, Mom. You too, Uncle.” He complimented, nodding sagely at Cobalt.

He nodded to Jake when inquired to his state of mind, laying his head fondly on the brunette’s shoulder. “’M fine.” He said softly, listening to the banter between his family and Emiko. Morgan waited expectantly for Cobalt’s answer to his mother’s question. If there were any man he considered a Dad, it would have been Cobalt. Morgan hoped he approved of Jake just as he hoped his mother would. He was a little down trodden at Cobalt’s vague answer, pouting
slightly. “Sheesh. Some crowd.” He commented, giving Jake an encouraging peck on his shoulder.

Rocky? Awkward? Nah. Morgan slipped out from under Jake’s embrace to throw one arm each around Cobalt and Elaine, kissing his mother’s cheek. “So….Ta-da! Here he is!” Morgan said excitedly, though he looked with a bit of annoyance over at Emiko. She was mentioning the couple they’d have to leave behind, but she really sounded like she was giving Jake the what-for. Morgan cleared his throat.

“You know they---“ he paused, looking across the room and squinting. Was…that. “Oh…shit.” He grumbled. It was Darryl. Talking to Clarisse. And…swaying. It looked like. “I just…” He wrinkled his nose, making the split second decision. “I’m sorry. Mom. Take care of Jake for a second…I need to go get Darryl before he gets himself killed.” And with that, he zoomed away, leaving Jake at the mercy of his parents and their new ally.

If he only knew.

Morgan approached a trio of people all looking rather grim. Clarisse had turned away, leaving Darryl wilting behind her. He wrapped his arm around Darryl and began to lead him away. “Ooookay buddy lets go say hi to Ma.” He whispered, dragging Darryl away from social ruin. Or death. One or the other. He hadn’t really met Clarisse, but she wouldn’t have been the first woman Darryl reduced to tears that hit him. Morgan had dragged Darryl almost back to the group when he paused.

“Christ, Polly. What did you say?”

[Darryl Bond]

Darryl did just want to break down and cry. He just inherited all this crap into his plate with no warning (a few months ago) and had yet to receive the guidance he was looking for. Midori had kinda made it plain that she thought he was the scum of the Earth (a bit unwarranted, if you asked him), and he really did want to be there...and be a father. But he was just so terrified that he would do a bad job. It just seemed like that was all he could do, was fail. He wasn't fatherhood material. But he didn't have a choice to do anything but be a father, as Clarisse was telling him. That poke to the chest caused him to take a few steps back and rub his chest.

He hadn't seen it coming, and if he had, he probably would have screamed. He had been afraid wary of Clarisse for the past few months because he just didn't know how to tell her. "I'm so sorry. I'm so stupid." This pity party had now brought tears to both of their eyes. He was aware that he had made Clarisse cry freely and he felt like an absolute asshat. He wanted to fix this situation, but he had absolutely no idea how. It seemed impossible.

Morgan came in like a savior and he wrapped his arms around him, resting his face on his shoulder. " 'fucked up." He mumbled. "So bad." He sniffed and wiped his eyes as Lite Brite led him away. "I....I told her abo...about th' bby." Darryl lifted his head to get at both eyes to wipe. "Lite Brite. I....I so..o messed up. Scotch....kick in the liver." Darryl realized he was on the way of seeing Elaine (and Jake as well) but he didn't want to be seen like this. He kept rubbing his eyes and letting out slow breaths. "Ma's gonna be so disappointed in me, huh?"

[Jacob Dalton]

<< "You fink 'm 'avin' fun? Fun? No this ain't fun! 'Ve got to change all that I am afore this baby comes. I can't say anyfing 'cause 'm the bad guy! Wha--What type of woman doesn't take birth control?!" >>

Generally speaking Dalton tended to reserve judgment, but hearing this old line really touched a nerve. Dalton knew exactly what kind of woman didn’t take birth control: a woman who wasn’t planning on casual sex.

It wasn’t like he hadn’t already walked a mile in these shoes, and then some: after all, Allison had been conceived out of wedlock. But he had been head over heels in love, and had wished to marry Delia long before news of any baby. When the news had come, he never even conceived of focusing blame for the pregnancy on her. To hear an expectant father do so really made his blood boil.

<< "'M like this 'cause I'm ass-shamed--" His mispronunciation was actually on accident," I never w'nted this! She was....it was a...not meant to happen. Don't even like her. I like you though. 'Ve had the best dates wiv you." >>

Didn’t even like her… how low could this fellow stoop? Best dates? It was very clear that if these two had ever been dating, Clarisse was well over him: but was this drunken sot actually hitting on her, right here, right now? In the middle of this lurid confession?

He actually took a step forward, found his hands clenching: but stopped. In spite of everything that told him what an absolute asshat this sot was, it was not Dalton’s place to step in. It wasn’t like he was Clarisse’s date, and she was clearly standing up to the jerk on her own. Without invitation, Dalton would be an interloper. He set his jaw and held his place.

<< “I think it’s safe to say we won’t be going on anymore dates, Darryl. Seeing as you kept this from me for five months.” >>

Five months? What? Apparently some aspects of this weren’t actually fresh news. Clarisse knew the name of the mother, length of time since conception – or did she mean that was when she had started dating him, and the conception was further back still?

Any sympathy Dalton might have had for the man to that point pretty much evaporated right there. Five months of running from his responsibilities, deceiving yet another woman: were there any redeeming qualities to this man at all?

<< "'Course I don't know 'ow to be a parent! 'M twenny-eight. I cn't even control the kids in me class! Fuck if I am gonna be a good parent." >>

The blood drained from Dalton’s face. This greasy lout was a teacher? Dear Lord: what had the American school system sunk to?

Oh, no: surely not at Hammel…?

<< "mm parents hate who I am. Nn so do my bruther nd sizter. She hates me. You hate me. God hates me. Kid won't like me." >>

Part of Dalton wanted to rage at this sodden excuse for a man: shake sense into him before he caused some even worse disaster for all those around him. But this was a man who had clearly hit rock bottom, and knew it. There would be no excuse to kick him when he was so down.

Also, part of him was starting to see how this Darryl was not so unlike some of the very children in his class. A man in body, a child in his mind. Never learned responsibility, discipline, values: at least, not yet.

<< "I wanna try. 'M gonna try but I....won't be no good." He shook his head and let out a long and deep breath. "'Ve messed up. 'M tryin' ta fix it....but I dun know 'ow." >>

The first step: admit you have a problem. Second: recognize that you need help. Even the drinking may have just been what was needed to tear down the final barriers: to let him reach that breaking point from which he could start back up the path to redemption. For the sake of the child, Dalton hoped so. For the sake of all the children in his class as well: which probably include many from my own, he thought.

<< "Wanning ta try counts...right?" >>

Well: it was a start.

<< “You don’t have the option to try, Darryl! You have to be there for the baby, for Midori! You have to believe that you can do it. You have to want it but you can’t! You don’t!” >>

She was truly passionate about this. Passionate for Midori, passionate for the baby: even, he sensed, having some compassion for this broken man. She had nothing left to believe in, yet she was still trying. Not from any affection or ties to him, but simple compassion for another human being: even one who had betrayed her so deeply. On some level, she had already forgiven him even this.

<< “Wanting to try does NOT count!” She heaved in a great, shaking breath, the tears breaking at the edges of her speech. “Darryl you have to love that baby. Please, you have to.” >>

You have to love. You have to. Her words and their intensity echoed in his mind. It was not a choice: it was the basis of the two first and most important commandments: “Thou shalt love…” It was the sum of all man’s hopes and fears, the inspiration of singers and poets. Without it, life was nothing. And love forgives all.

<< “I’m sorry Mister Dalton…but…” She gently wiped at her tears, careful not to smear her makeup. “I don’t think we’ll need to check my coat.” >>

So, now he was ‘Mr. Dalton?’ She was so afraid: so certain this little outburst would send him running for the hills. How little did she know.

<< Clarisse managed a weak smile up at him. “I’d…really like to say goodbye to Doctor Neville…thank him for bringing me.” She looked down at her hands, twisting them in knots as Darryl was dragged away. “And leave.” >>

He nodded. “If you wish to go, then so we shall. As you are bidding farewell to your ride, obviously you shall need another. I await your convenience, milady.”

From his pocket he produced a handkerchief, and folded it to a point.

“You have no mirror. Allow me.”

He softly dabbed the tears from her cheeks, careful not to press so hard as to smear her makeup. Then, with her now realizing his intent and standing still, he lightly brushed the remaining ones from her eyelashes and placed the kerchief in her hand. Finally he lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it once more.

“Let us say our goodbyes, and we shall be on our way.”

He was about to turn back towards the bar to seek out Sean, but then he turned to her a moment more.

“And please: do call me ‘Jake.’”

[Elaine Tonaya]

Elaine smiled at everyone. Mustn't concern everyone. I'm probably overreacting, anyway. Surely nothing could be going wrong. She had to be strong. She had to be Mom.

Old habits die hard.

"I appreciate your honesty, Cobalt, and I understand where you're coming from. We don't know much about young Mister Jacob here at all." She caught Cobalt's concerned glances, but there wasn't much she could do about them right now. "Perhaps we could talk some more, learn about each other."

And then Morgan left. "You go, Morgan. Don't worry, we'll be fine here."

She turned to Jacob. "I don't know how well you know that other couple, but hopefully you won't be seeing much of them. I don't want them anywhere near my baby. I gather that you care about Morgy as well, so here's a suggestion." She glared at him with her best overbearing mother gaze. "Don't. Let. Him. Get. Hurt." Then she pulled back and gave a little smile.

"Well, now that the threats are done, I suppose I can quit acting as his father with a shotgun and start acting like a mother again. Supper at my place, next week Saturday? I'd love to talk to you more." She turned to Cobalt. "You're invited too, of course. Otherwise you'll never eat properly."

Elaine looked back over at Jacob. "It's been hard for me, filling in the roles of two parents. Cobalt helped a bit, but let's be honest, I could've used more aid during the teenage years." She rolled her eyes and chuckled. "Speaking of obnoxious teenagers, look who's on his way over."

Elaine hadn't seen Darryl in a while. She'd almost started to suspect that he was avoiding her. Now, looking at him stumbling over drunk, she stood up straight. Placing her drink on the counter, she walked over to the two. "This reminds me of the time you two decided it would be great fun trying to fly jumping off the roof and Darryl broke his ankle." She went to Darryl's other side and slung his arm over her shoulder. "I'm guessing you could probably use a mother's help now, too."

He smelled...different. A lot more guilt. Worry. And if it was in his aura, that meant it had been there for a while. He wasn't just worried tonight, there was something big going on.

"How about we go ahead and sit down here for now..." she guided him over to the bar. "Tomorrow, you come to my shop. I'll bring cookies, and we'll talk everything over. Okay?"

[Cobalt Weaver]

Emiko didn’t look happy about all this. She wasn’t the only one. Cobalt felt a quiet kinship to this woman, who seemed to be more irritated and suspicious than panicked about this whole thing. He couldn’t handle too much freaking out or he’d start freaking out too. He nodded amiably to her explanation as to why she was talking to Elaine. It was probably untrue, but at the moment, he had no reason not to trust her, since Elaine did. And when she started surreptitiously trying to find out more information about the identity of the other couple, Cobalt decided that he liked this other woman. Maybe she’d get some answers out of this mess, even though Morgan was eyeing her with some irritation.

Cobalt did feel a little guilty at Morgan’s disappointment over his cold reception of the younger man’s significant other. He really did want to approve of this man, for Morgan’s sake; because if there ever was a person in his life that he thought of like a son, it was Morgan. But the fact remained: he wasn’t quite sure that he trusted Jacob yet. But he huffed out a laugh as Morgan slung an arm around him and Elaine. “There he is,” Cobalt grinned at Morgan, “Don’t worry, I trust your judgment. …Relatively speaking.” Cobalt nudged the other man teasingly. He was about ready to say something else when Morgan was distracted by a clearly-drunk man who appeared to be upsetting Clarisse. Cobalt looked from Elaine to Morgan, then to the stumbling man who looked well on his way to getting a punch from Clarisse. “…Wait, who’s Darryl?” But Morgan was already gone.

When Morgan was safely out of earshot, Cobalt smirked a little as Elaine rounded on Jacob. Elaine was one of the gentlest, kindest and most accepting people Cobalt had ever met in his entire life. But mess with her son, and she is a force to behold. He didn’t say anything, since he wasn’t technically a parent, but that didn’t stop him from fixing the younger man with his own stern glare, suggesting that if he hurt Morgan, Elaine wouldn’t be the only one with problems. Shadows flickered around his shoulders.

Cobalt snickered at the idea of Elaine with a shotgun. “That’s probably for the best. I don’t think you actually know how to use a shotgun. I’m not even sure you could hold one without shooting your eye out.” He ducked away, anticipating her swat on the head. He grinned at her invitation, “Oh thanks. I will go, actually. Your food is tasty.”

Cobalt let his face relax as Elaine talked to Jacob. He figured Elaine had made everything clear and he could stand to be more polite to someone obviously very important to Morgan. He could start giving people the benefit of the doubt. He was about to try to contribute to the conversation when Morgan returned, dragging the inebriated man who was harassing Clarisse back with him. “What…?” Cobalt sighed as Elaine walked over to handle that. Cobalt turned to roll his eyes at Jacob. “I swear, this family gets into so much…” He grinned wryly, shaking his head, “Well, at least they’re never boring.” He contemplated asking Jacob what had been going on with them and the couple and everything else, but he figured that would be fairly useless. Jacob didn’t even know him. He’d figure it out later. “C’mon, let’s go make sure nothing serious is happening. And at this point, I don’t have the wherewithal to even try to make awkward small talk with you.” He shrugged at the younger man with a grin, “I’ll leave that to the other two.”

He limped over to where Elaine and Morgan had guided the other man, catching the tail end of Elaine’s admonishment that had something to do with jumping off of roofs. Cobalt blinked, looking from Morgan to the drunken man (Darryl, did he say?) to Elaine, then back to Morgan. “…You jumped off a roof?” He raised an incredulous eyebrow at Morgan, “What on earth were you thinking?” He glanced pointedly down at Darryl. “And do I even want to know? Or should I just… not?” He gave Jacob a ‘you see?’ look before turning back to Elaine and Morgan.

[Darryl Bond]

Darryl tried so very hard to pull himself together, but drunken emotions were a lot harder to keep in check than his regular ones. However, once Momma came over and wrapped an arm around him, he grinned a little and put his head on her shoulder (no offense to Lite Brite). "Momma!" He called out in a sigh. He really had missed his mother, and (one of) the only reason why he hadn't sought her out yet was because he could predict the conversation. Now, however, he was just so damn happy to see her.

Then she pulled him toward the bar, where he moved to lean against it. "Thank ya." Darryl hung his head for a moment, because he was very tired (after all that) but looked up when a guy asked him about falling (a memory he hadn't liked and Elaine still remembered, apparently). "Was an exp'rim'nt." Darryl actually didn't remember that why just that he had gotten a broken ankle for it, which hampered his girl-chasing in his sophomore year. Then Darryl remembered he didn't know Cobalt (and Jake) so he peered between them.

"Who r ya? 'Nd what's wiv the third degreee?" He accused him slowly, an equally slow finger lifted to poke Cobalt in the chest, or at least, he would have, if he was close enough. Instead his finger just poked at the air and then fell back to help prop him up at the bar.

[Paulo Ortiz]

Paulo had a warm smile, and it only grew warmer as the stupid blond man introduced himself. He had the name--and it had to be the right one, from the look on Jake's face--and soon enough, he would have where this man lived, where he worked, and wherever else he liked to go during the day.

Sometimes, it was just too easy.

"Hasta luego," he said pleasantly, as the couple continued their journey across the room. It didn't matter that they didn't talk any further. In fact, it was better that way. The less Morgan knew about him and "Ming Yue", the smaller the chance of him knowing what was coming. (To be honest, Paulo wasn't even sure if he knew what was going to happen to the blond man. Gabriel was calculated, but he was unpredictable.)

Oh, and then Morgan Tonaya called "Christina" Ma. The Cuban laughed to himself and pulled his partner into another dance, his irritation at her forgotten. "We should probably leave soon. Don't want Mommy coming back over." But they finished out the song first, keeping half an eye on the cluster of people in the corner. Jake looked worried. Good.

On their way out, Paulo looked over one more time, catching the eye of Morgan's apparent mother. He held her gaze for a second, then smiled and gave her a jaunty wave before he and Penny headed out to the street.

The blast of cold air didn't phase him as he pulled out his phone and placed a call. "Lo encontramos."

We found him.