Make Me Feel

Disclaimer: Not going to say it!!!

Notes: I got even more reviews! Thank you Psyche 'pallasathena' Scyon, Moon Avenger, DocOcksGirl31, Seta Firetail, anacsadder, Repto, Agent Silver, Toilet Paper Roll and Pirate Goddess for all reviewing. By the way, anacsadder, you hit the nail on the head about Zachary's mom. I was wondering when somebody would see it from her point of view.

Chapter 24

The next morning...

Otto was still sleeping in the room Zachary had shown him to the night before. The sleeping area was bigger than the entire apartment Rosie and he had lived in before the accident. Not to mention a huge walk in closet and an amazing bathroom were also joined onto it. It was just two doors down the hall from Zachary's own bedroom.

Zachary had woken up at about eight, being unable to sleep in for some reason. He knew that Doctor Octavius had been exhausted the night before and expected the older man to sleep in for once.

Deciding he didn't want to just sit in his room waiting for the older man to wake up, he got out of bed and rummaged through his closet. It felt good to be back in his own room, and to know he wasn't restricted to only a few outfits.

He dressed quickly into a pair of clean boxers, a pair of black gothic pants with green trim and zippers all over the place that were so baggy they barely hung on his slim 'boy hips'. He dug around for a few more minutes trying to find a shirt that he wanted to wear. He finally decided on a black tee shirt with the Slytherin crest printed on the front in purposely-faded colors. He pulled on some socks and his boots and stopped in front of his huge full profile mirror to do a quick acne check (there was none, thank God) and to straiten his mussed hair. As always, his bangs were a lost cause.

Rubbing the back of his head he left his room and stopped in front of Doctor Octavius's door to make sure the older man was indeed still asleep. He quietly pressed his ear against the door and grinned when he heard the sound of a soft snore from inside. Shaking his head while having his grin still present he walked away and made the long trek through the winding halls and corridors of the huge house. He made a mental note to come check on Doctor Octavius in an hour or two. If the man left his room alone he would easily get lost in the mansion.

He was walking into the absolutely huge and plush living room (a different one) when he heard that the television (a very expensive and huge plasma) was on. He stopped in the doorway and listened to what was on.

"…We are beautiful…no matter what they say…words can't bring us down.."

Christina Aguilera.

Only one person in there family listened to Christina Aguilera. Though that one song was the only one Zachary would listen too, (only if it was on the radio), only one person actually owned c.d.'s and watched music videos of her.

He turned and took a few steps into the room, and on the brown leather couch he could see a head of shoulder length black hair. Zachary couldn't help but to grin evilly at his luck. He crossed his arms across his chest and his evil grin never faltered.

"You still listen to that crap Em? I was hoping you would have developed taste while I was gone."

(A/N: I am not a Christina Aguilera basher. There are a few songs from her stripped album I will listen to if it's on the radio, but Zachary is a seventeen year old boy teasing his little sister. Again, I am not a basher but I am not a fan either.)

The raven-haired head whipped around so quickly that Zachary wondered how her head and neck remained joined. A pair of wide blue eyes gawked at him and the girl's pink mouth hung open in a large 'o'. Emily stared at her brother in utter shock and surprise and the boy in question noted that she wasn't dressed in her school uniform. Instead, she was wearing a dark blue baby tee, with 'Justin Timberlake's Official Stalker' printed on it in fancy pale pink letters. He was far enough in the room to see over the low couch back to see her custom made hip-huggers.

Then the same banshee shriek/girlie squeal he had grown to loathe erupted from her throat. And it had never sounded so beautiful in his home sick ears.

"Oh my God! Zack your home!!!"

He watched her leap around from the front of the couch and run at him in her girlie way. He grinned even wider when she threw her slim arms around his neck and glomped him. He wrapped his arms around her and stroked her back affectionately.

"Yep, I'm back. I got in last night, you must have been sleeping or had your headphones on."

She made a sound that was muffled by having her face pressed into the front of his shirt. She released her hold on his neck and her hands slid down so that they rested on hi shoulders. She looked at him with bright blue eyes filled with unshed tears. But she was smiling and he knew she was happy to see him.

"Where have you been you jerk? I stopped listening to the news weeks ago 'cause of all the weird stuff they were saying."

Zachary's grin faltered for a moment and he noticed she had yet to see his arm. He was surprised she hadn't been confused when she had hugged him since the left side of his chest and almost all of his left side was now solid stone. The stuff was even creeping towards his abs now. But he knew (or hoped) that Emily would take what he had to say better than their mother. It was because Em was so young and went with things a lot easier than an adult would. The great thing about fourteen year olds.

"Em, you know how the news said I joined with that DocOck guy?"

He paused and waited until he saw her eager nod.

"Well, that was true. And…well…me and him, are…well…with each other. He's staying in one of the guest rooms."

And her reaction…a blank stare. Then…a squeal of delight?

"Oh. My. God! This is sooooo perfect! My brother is dating a evil genius hottie!"

Now it was Zachary's turn to exhibit a blank stare as the girl began bouncing up and down in girlish delight. The girl was positively starry eyed.

"Huh? You're not mad that I'm gay? Or that I'm with a criminal? Or that that criminal is old enough to be our dad?"

The younger teen stopped bouncing and turned to him with one hand on her hip. She was giving him the classic look of 'are you crazy?'

"I'm not mad. It's so cute though! He's a total sweetheart whether the news people will admit it or not. He's like a big teddy bear with an IQ of like a thousand. And he's here?! God, I can't wait to meet him! Oh, don't worry Zackie, I'm not gonna try to steal your man."

She began giggling and twirling in place as she tried to fantasize what it would be like if Gotham allowed gay marriage. The thought of her brother and Doc freakin' Ock together made her completely giddy.

Zachary was still in shock. That had gone over way better than he could have ever imagined. Then he wondered if she was so okay with that, what would she do about his stone. Bust out the champagne and start a party?

"Well, Em, don't you wanna know why I left in the first place?"

This grabbed back her attention. She looked at him in the face eagerly and nodded her head. He nodded to her and stuck out his left arm. Her eyes traveled to it and widened in shock. She looked from it, to his face, and then back to it for several more times.

Hesitantly her hand lifted and approached his arm and touched her finger tips to the smooth but rough surface of his stone skin. As always there was a pang of hurt that he couldn't feel the touch from his own sister.

"God…can you feel me?"

He smiled sadly.

"No, I have no feeling in it at all. And it's all over me too. But I'm not going to undress just so you can see all of it."

Emily stared up at her brother's face and tried to think of something to make him smile a real smile. She loved getting a rise out of him and bugging him, but she didn't want her big brother to be so sad.

"Well, at least you have Ock to make you feel in other ways in other places."

She grinned evilly at his gawking expression and then he smiled.

"Em, you are the perviest 14 year old I know."

She burst out laughing and he soon followed. It felt good to laugh with his little sister again, he just hoped his mother would lighten up when she saw how she was outvoted about Doctor Octavius. He wanted the older man to feel welcomed into his family.

"You want to watch t.v. with me?"

Zachary grinned at his baby sister's proposal and nodded.

"Yeah, but we are changing the channel."

"Nuh-uh!"

A few minutes later the wresting match over the television remote turned into a giggling tickling match and the remote was soon forgotten in the horseplay.

End of Chapter

I know, it was short. But hey, it was sweet and funny to, so there! Hehe, I'm just kidding. Thank you for reading and please review!! P.S. I'm redoing this because it didn't work yesterday.

Stray-