Disclaimer: I don't own mutant x. :-D
A/N: I am totally reworking my Alex character. So bear with me folks.
~this~ means signing
"this" is speaking
~"this"~ is speaking and signing simultaneously.
On with the story!
Alex curled up in bed and wrapped the covers tightly around herself. She was miserable. Her nose was so stuffed up she had to breathe through her mouth, and her body couldn't decide whether it was hot or cold. The worst thing of all was that today was Halloween, and she was sure no one in her family would let her go trick-or-treating if she was sick. She stared at the clock. 4:30. Shalimar would be coming up soon to get her so they could be out and trick-or-treating by five.
Sure enough as soon as the thought passed through her head, Shalimar appeared at the door. "Time to go trick or--" She stopped mid-sentance and walked over to the bed where the 8 year old was currently curled up in a miserable looking ball. "What's wrong Alex?"
Alex sneezed in response, and Shalimar placed a cool hand on the girls forehead. A small fever, nothing too bad, but by the sounds of it, she wouldn't be trick or treating tonight.
"Sorry Alex. No trick or treating for you."
Alex let out a small whimper, and tears started to make their way down her cheeks. ~But I wanted to go out in my costume.~ She signed.
Shalimar pulled Alex into her lap and wrapped her arms around her. "I know you did. But you can go next year, okay?"
Brennan passed the room then and stepped back and looked at them. "Aww what's wrong Alex? And why aren't you in your costume?"
Shalimar looked at him. "She's got a head cold. There's no way she can go out in this weather."
"Well then how about we have our own halloween party?" Brennan said. "There's no law against that is there? And you have construction paper right?"
Alex looked at him confused, but nodded.
He smiled. ~"Perfect"~ He signed and spoke at the same time.
He drew Shalimar aside and explained what they would need. When Shalimar left, he grinned. ~"Well let's get down to business, shall we?"~
He went around the room grabbing an assortment of things and set them down on alex's bed. He sat down opposite Alex and started cutting the black and orange and white construction paper into strips. "Start on those while i cut more."
Alex tapped him. ~Can't I cut the paper?~
Brennan snorted. "And risk you sneezing and accidentally lopping a finger off in the process? No. Adam would kill me... not to mention Shalimar."
Alex sighed and started making the paper chain, alternating orange strips, black strips, and white strips. Soon she was so engrossed in her work that she didn't mind missing trick or treating. Brennan started work on the chain as well, and in a few minutes with both of them working on it, they had a chain that spanned from one side of the wall to the other. When she attempted to stop, Brennan shook his head.
~It's long enough,~ she signed in protest.
"Yeah, to go across the room once. Trust me, just keep working on it, and i'll cut up some more paper."
Alex sighed again, but kept working. After about what seemed like an hour they had finished.
Brennan grabbed the tape and the chain and taped one end to the wall, gently drew it across the ceiling and taped it to the other side. He continued in this manner until he got to the door, then trimmed the extra off. Alex looked at her ceiling in amazement. he had made a zigzag pattern with the chain.
~Cool!~ She signed enthusiastically.
Alex sneezed. And then she sneezed again, and again. ~My nose is stuffy.~
"Come on kiddo, let's get you something for that stuffy nose."
He lifted her up and carried her into the bathroom where they both looked through the medicine cabinet. "Aha!" said Brennan aloud as he pulled out the vicks. "Here kiddo. Put some of that under your nose. That should work."
~Thanks.~
Brennan nodded and started to carry the girl back to her room.
Alex yawned and placed her head on his shoulder. She was suddenly very sleepy for some reason. She raised her head up and looked at her brother ~Tired.~
"Well why don't you take a nap before the party starts, okay?"
She nodded, and Brennan placed her back in her bed and tucked her in. "Have a good nap."
She grabbed his hand as he turned to go. ~Hug and kiss?~ she asked.
He hugged her -a lot gentler than usual-and placed a light kiss on her forehead.
She yawned and snuggled under the covers. ~Night Brennan.~
~Night, kiddo.~
It was only forty-five minutes later when Alex woke up from her nap. She hopped out of bed and ran downstairs. She was feeling at least a little bit better. Maybe she could still go trick-or-treating! She headed straight for the lab.
Adam was hunched over something or other. Probably more work.... she walked up to him and yanked on his shirt to get his attention.
~I'm better. Can I go trick or treating now?~ She asked when he finally looked at her.
He placed his hand on her forehead. "No. You still have a bit of a fever. Besides sweetheart, trick or treating will be over in an hour or so. And didn't Brennan mention something about a party here?"
She nodded. ~Yeah and he said he'd wake me up and he didn't.~
"Well I don't think they're back yet," Adam told her. He then changed the subject entirely. "And shouldn't you have socks on them feet? Come on let's go and you can either put a pair of socks on or get under the covers." He then lifted her into his arms so her feet wouldn't be touching the cold floor.
He carried her into her room... where she found all four of her siblings, waiting for her.
She stared at him accusingly. ~I thought you said they weren't back yet!~
"I said I didn't think they were back yet. But now that we know that they are, now we can have the party, right?"
She nodded enthusiastically as she placed her socks on. ~What are we going to do?~
"Well I brought some games," said Brennan. "And Shalimar made cookies. So what game do you want to play first?"
She carefully looked through the games and pulled one out. ~Clue!~ She signed happily.
"Fine by me," said Shalimar from her perch on the bed.
Adam sat at the head of the bed and Alex clambered into his lap, sitting there contentedly while they set up the game.
~I want to be Professor Plum!~ Alex signed.
"Why?" asked Brennan. "He's a boy. Why not be Miss Scarlett or Miss White or Mrs. Peacock."
~He's purple.~
"Oh. Gotcha."
They started to play. After four games, all five members of mutant x had decided they'd had enough.
"Why don't we play another game?" Shalimar suggested.
Alex munched thoughtfully on a cookie. And her eyes suddenly lit up. ~Can we tell stories?~
Adam smiled. "Sure."
"Well I'll be right back. Don't start without me," said Jesse as he carefully climbed off the bed, managing to avoid kicking Lexa in the head by just an inch.
"Hey watch it Jesse!" Lexa exclaimed.
"Sorry," he called back over his shoulder.
"Yeah yeah he's gonna be sorry when he finds my foot up his--"
Adam cleared his throat pointedly.
Lexa looked half-apologetic, and didn't finish her sentance. "Pass me a cookie, would you Alex?"
Alex handed over the plate of cookies. Lexa and Shalimar each took one, and Brennan took two. Lexa placed the plate next to her. They all started to talk amongst themselves as they cleared the game from the bed. Alex grinned at her father and slowly inched forward, towards Brennan. Before he knew it, his left hand didn't have a cookie in it anymore.
"Hey!" he cried. "Alex! What'd you do that for?"
Alex placed the cookie on her knee. ~Well you weren't eating it!~ And with that she picked up the cookie and took a large bite out of it.
Jesse came back in then, and in his arms was a tray full of mugs with hot apple cider, each with a cinnamon stick in it. Everyone took a mug and Lexa moved over to make room for him on the bed.
Alex sipped her hot cider gratefully. ~Thank you.~ she signed to her brother, before she took another gulp of the hot drink.
"You're welcome Alex. So what stories did you want to hear?"
~Emma,~ she signed.
"Oh. Stories about Emma. Okay I think we can manage that."
Shalimar grinned. "I have a story. Me and Emma were undercover and we had to infiltrate this company and....."
Alex felt very sleepy suddenly and she fell into a half sleep while listening to Shalimar's voice. Her hands slowly let go of the mug, little by little, until she felt someone take it from her. She also felt a blanket being wrapped around her shoulders. She heard whispers of "Goodnight" and felt kisses placed on her forehead. Then she felt something unexpected. Adam wrapped his arms around her and gently rubbed her back, hoping no doubt to put her into a deeper sleep. Then she heard him start to hum. It sounded.... nice. She yawned and wrapped the covers more tightly around herself. Soon the humming and the feel of the hand rubbing her back faded away into nothing.
Adam smiled when he realized Alex was asleep. He sighed however, when he realized that Alex was curled up in his lap. He couldn't move without waking her. He figured he would just have to spend the night here, and set to fixing up the covers and getting as comfortable as he could without waking Alex.
He looked down at the eight year old. She was so like her older sister. It was true, Emma would be missed, but in Alex they had found a treasure. Emma still lived on, through her. Content with that revelation, he securely held the little girl in his arms, and slowly slipped into sleep.