Time to man up, girl. [rp for lapsedsaint]

[aesthetic_mojo]

Charlotte slept badly, dreaming of marching to gallows and falling on swords. For once she had to force herself to stay against John in the night. The urge to put distance between them was strong. Not as strong as her wish to comfort him, though, so she stayed. They woke once and she made him eat something light, then she gave him the last of the healing energy she had and encouraged him to go back to sleep.

Her dreams the second time through were of the call she almost made and the possible cost of it.





When she woke again, she had to get up. She went about the business of morning—showering, making coffee and looking for something for breakfast. When she realized she’d made sausage, pancakes and fruit compote, she stopped. She laid out the table, complete with two syrups, put a heavy ward over it to keep the monsters away, and went out on the balcony to smoke one of John’s cigarettes.

Looking out over the city, she tried to imagine what he’d say when she told him Dagny could have injured him. What would he say about her hiding it from him? She looked at her hands, fingers still bare of any ring, and let out a lungful of smoke. Would it send him back to his employers, his conviction in their wisdom revitalized?

Worst of all, would he see her for the coward she was? Full of big words about what was right, but lousy at doing anything about it.

She ground out one cigarette and lit another.

Comments

[lapsedsaint]

It was the smell of smoke that finally woke John. Moving slow, knowing that any sudden moves would cut right through his head, he dressed himself in the dark, then went in search of the smell.

He and Al found Charlie on the balcony, smoking. He raised an eyebrow at that, then called to her from inside. "Baby, what's wrong?"

[aesthetic_mojo]

She snuffed out the second cigarette and turned to him. "Just waking up. There's fresh coffee." She kissed him lightly as she passed by him, heading for the kitchen to get him some. She managed to hide the twinge of guilt as she went by. "And there's food."

She paused for a moment. "Lots of food."

[lapsedsaint]

He looked at the table and shook his head a little. "Are we expecting company?"

[aesthetic_mojo]

She groaned. "No. Just us. I went overboard." She poured his coffee and took a seat at the table. "And you're probably not up to anything in the first place."

[lapsedsaint]

He chuckled softly as he sat down. "Actually, I think I could eat a small horse." He immediately dug into the food, heaping it on his plate as if he truly hadn't eaten in days.

He did, however, shun the coffee. He wasn't certain he could handle the caffeine just yet.

[aesthetic_mojo]

Surprised and thrilled to see him eating, she urged the syrup on him and when he didn't touch the coffee, got him a big glass of orange juice. For her part, she only picked at a piece of French toast and sucked down the coffee.

The kittens circled the table, kept at a distance by the wards, and cried for scraps.

[lapsedsaint]

He cleared one plate of food and downed the glass of orange juice in near silence. After getting halfway through a second plate, he turned his attention to the kittens.

He shushed them firmly, bringing both of them to a stop so they could stare at him. He raised an eyebrow at Al, then pointed toward the bedroom. To his own surprise, they both went.

[aesthetic_mojo]

She watched the whole show over her coffee cup, eyes wide. When the kittens turned and walked away, she made a noise. "And I'm supposed to be the witch in the family?"

She put the coffee down and put her head in her hands. "Sorry."

[lapsedsaint]

"I told them there was a warm place to sleep in there. Weren't you listening?"

He went back to his food without really another thought.

[aesthetic_mojo]

She lifted her head slowly, her jaw practically on the ground. "Please tell me you're joking. Then I'll drink more coffee so I can catch up."

[lapsedsaint]

he looked back up at her with a raised eyebrow. "Why would I be joking?"

[aesthetic_mojo]

She sat back, breathing deeply. "Oh, no reason. Just that your lips didn't move. At all."

[lapsedsaint]

"They didn't?"

He looked up from his food and stared at her. Of course they had. Clear as day he'd said it. And the kittens had responded, hadn't they.

[aesthetic_mojo]

She got up, walked into the kitchen and poured herself a stiff drink, completely ignoring how early in the morning it was and the fact that she'd eaten next to nothing. Putting her hands flat on the counter, she closed her eyes and concentrated on him. Your lips didn't move, John.

[lapsedsaint]

He watched her go to the kitchen with a slight frown. Then he went back to his food. He didn't notice the drink or hear her at all. He just ate.

[aesthetic_mojo]

When she got no response, she was oddly relieved. And then momentarily disappointed. She went back to the table, but instead of taking her seat, she wormed her way into his lap. With her head on his shoulder, she sighed. "You didn't move your lips, John. I didn't hear a thing."

[lapsedsaint]

He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her hair. "I know I said it..."

He paused a few moments, then sighed. "I thought I said it."

[aesthetic_mojo]

"I'm sure you did say it. To them." She pressed her face against his neck. "Darling, we have to talk. We have to figure out what's going on, what to do."

[lapsedsaint]

He didn't want her to hide. He wanted to see her face, to kiss her. He could tell she was scared and worried. He kissed the top of her head and sighed, thinking that he wanted her to look at him. He was also thinking that she was a little chilly to the touch and she should warm up some, that maybe he should warm her up some.

[aesthetic_mojo]

She hid further, knowing she had to face him, that he hated when she didn't, but she still wasn't sure how to think about what she had to do. Pressing hard against him, she shivered hard. Just as she cursed the booze for not warming her, she felt the flush of it.

Only it wasn't the booze. There were slightly warmer spots where she touched him. Sighing in resignation, she pulled back so he could see her face. "Thank you. I was getting cold." She touched his face. "I really am going to save a fortune on heating with you around, aren't i?"

[lapsedsaint]

He gave her a slightly surprised look. "I didn't do anything." Still, he kissed her palm and smiled. "You should really eat something, you know."

[aesthetic_mojo]

Her eyes narrowed, then closed slowly. "I'm not hungry." More than that, she felt sick. Figuring there was no point arguing with him about how he'd warmed her, she exhaled slowly.

"Will you come sit on the couch with me so we can talk? Please?"

[lapsedsaint]

He nodded and shifted his arms so he could support her weight. He shouldn't be lifting her, he knew that. But it seemed the thing to do.

So he carried her to the couch and sat down with her in his lap.

[aesthetic_mojo]

She did what she could to lessen his load, lifting herself some. When they were settled, she kissed him firmly. "It's going to turn out that you get the headaches from lifting me, you dope."

She hugged him, pressing as hard as she could against him for a long moment, then sat back and met his eyes. "I've kept something from you. I did it for two reasons. First, because I couldn't, can't, prove it. Second, because it was told to me in confidence and I desperately wanted to keep that confidence. I hope, after you hear, that you can understand those reasons."

She looked away, even more sick to her stomach, and swallowed. "Dagny told me she believed she did something to you. That she became angry with you about taking her to the doctors and she did something to your brain."

[lapsedsaint]

He narrowed his eyes slightly as she spoke. When she finished, he stared at her for another few moments, then looked away, toward the balcony. He didn't say anything for a long time.

What she said confirmed what he'd been told. That people like her were dangerous if they weren't controlled. And that they lied. He'd asked her, again and again, if her ability had come back. And instead of answering him honestly, she'd tried to, and succeeded in, hurting him.