'Disclaimer: I do now own any of the characters of Mutant X, nor Does Josh who wrote this chapter!
Thank you Josh, I love the chapter. I didn't change very much at all, just the formatting, and ran a spell check, which wasn't needed, lol.
Thanks for all the reviews and please don't forget to review here. Because I added the beginning with Mel and Emma, everything after the double line is Josh, just so you know.
Last of the7 straight chapters, though it was so much fun, I might try this again soon.
Chapter 31: Mel and Josh
Emma walked into the kitchen, only to find somebody already fixing breakfast. "Melodie?"
"Morning Emma, I hope you don't mind, I just wanted to help out more than I have been doing."
"You've done plenty Mel, but I don't mind you doing breakfast."
"Good, but I am not as good as cook as you," she laughed.
"I can help if you like."
"That would be great, thanks Em."
"No problem, will give a chance to get to know you better."
"What do you want to know?"
"About you, where you grew up, things like that."
"All right, cool," she said as she broke an egg in a bowl and proceeded to mix it with milk, in order to make French toast. "Well let's see I grew up in British Columbia, Canada. I have great parents, very understanding considering how different I am."
"Your lucky then, never knew my dad and my mom well, that's whole other story, I was in foster care, and have a great foster mother." she smiled. "So how did your parents deal with you being a mutant?"
"Well, as I said they were great. Not sure how they handled it, I mean they got divorced, but that wasn't because of me. And I didn't make it easy on them, my dad had a field day moving me from school to school, to avoid people asking to many questions about me."
"So what kinds of things did you do?"
"Well, I guess it started in Kindergarten, I accidentally froze my entire class, I didn't mean too, but I couldn't control it. But as weird as it sounds, that day I learned how to do it, and to undo it, to unfreeze I mean."
"It doesn't sound weird, I wish I could have learned to stop my gift when I was that age. All those emotions nearly ended my sanity."
"I can only imagine what you went through. I don't know how it feels or anything, but it doesn't sound easy, having to deal with everyone's emotions, including your own."
"No forget my own, I don't even attempt that anymore," she laughed.
"Understandable."
"Hey Mel, can I asked you something?"
"Sure."
"How did you met Jesse?"
"He got moved to the same boarding school as me, back when I was in Canada."
"Did you two hit it off right away?"
"Not exactly, we were friends from day one, but we had a few disagreements in the beginning though. Nothing big, but when I first met him, he was so closed up, wouldn't let anyone get real close to him. He was afraid of making friends, and I constituted something more than friends."
"So how weird is it for you being near him again?"
"Weird doesn't begin to tell how I feel. Do you know why we broke up?"
"No, and you don't have to tell me."
"No I don't mind. We broke up because of a lie his father told us. He told me Jesse was cheating on me. He told Jesse I accepted $1 million dollars to stay away from him. Which of course I did, cause I thought he had cheated on him."
"Oh my God, Noah Kilmartin would do anything to hurt Jesse."
"Yeah, anyway it took weeks for us to figure out what happened, but by then the trust had been broken..." said Melodie as she looked down at her hands.
Emma immediately gets flashes " Melodie laughing holding Jesse's hand...Melodie crying with Jesse on bent knee, with tears in his eyes ...Melodie throwing ring at Jesse and walking out of room."
"Emma, are all right?" asked Melodie as Emma was brought back from her flashes. "What did you see?"
"Your pain."
"Oh, I'm sorry Emma."
"Not your fault. So you two were engaged?"
"You saw that?"
"Yea."
"Yeah we were engaged to be married."
"Wow, I knew he had been engaged one time before, but not back in high-school."
"We started dating in high-school, and continued seeing each other while in college."
"I thought I knew everything about him," she laughed nervously.
"So you loved him once?"
"What? No, nothing like that, just friends."
"Yeah right, it's All right I understand. Jesse is a great guy, who wouldn't love him?"
"True, but it wasn't like that with us, I swear."
"French toast is ready," said Mel, beaming with pride that she had done it.
"Looks delicious, I'll set the places at the table, you use the com-ring and wake everyone up."
"You sure, I don't want to make anybody mad by waking them up."
"Trust me breakfast is something they want to be waked up for."
"Ok," she said turning to walk out of the kitchen.
"Hey Mel?"
"Yeah?" she asked turning back toward Emma.
"Does Jesse know about the baby?"
The words made Mel's heart stop, "You saw that too huh?"
"Yeah."
"No he doesn't know, please don't tell him."
"I won't."
Emma watched Mel leave the kitchen. She couldn't help but wonder why Melodie didn't want Jesse to know she had a kid. So what if she had moved on after her and Jesse had broken up. However, she sensed there was more, all of a sudden it hit her. It was Jesse's kid!
'How do I not tell Jesse he has a kid?
If Mel leaves without telling him, then I will.
I have to keep my word though, I promised that I wouldn't tell Jesse.
I'll just have to wait and see what happens.
Then again, maybe I am wrong, maybe it isn't Jesse's.
I mean Mel would never hide something like that from Jesse, right?'
10 minutes later...
Everyone was seated at the table eating and talking when Gage walked in, "Morning everyone!"
"Morning Gage," said Shal. "Have you been at the hospital all night?"
"Yeah, and I am going to grab some breakfast if there is any left, and get out of here and get some sleep."
"Help yourself," said Melodie.
"Thanks, would one of you mind going to the hospital and sitting with Zack and Zane, for me?"
Complete silence fell at the table. Emma and Josh were both hit hard with flooding emotions. Everyone wanted to go, but each had his or her reasons for not jumping at the chance. Josh spoke up, "I'll go, it will give me a chance to get to know them better."
"Great thanks." said Gage. "Remember Zane, you know my boyfriend, he had a broken backbone, so don't move him. A nurse comes in every 4 hours to kind of roll him to one side or the other. Zack has a concussion, and is in a very bad mood, so watch out."
"All right, no problem."
"Where's Jesse?" asked Gage. "I mean isn't he hungry?"
"He said he wasn't coming to breakfast," said Shal with a look toward Melodie. Jesse told her about their fight. Jesse told her he loved her and wanted her back, she told him to get lost. Now he was acting like some sick puppy. Shal had never seem him like this over any girl.
"Well, I'm off everyone," said Josh as she stood up and placed her plate in the sink, "I'll do dishes later when I get home, Em."
"All right, thanks."
"No problem, Gage try to get some sleep, I'll take care of your guys for you."
"Thanks, and sleep is calling my name."
"See you guys," said Josh as she headed out the door."
Josh headed straight toward Zack and Zane's room, not even bothering to ask the nurse at the nurse's station where it was located. She knew very well where Brennan's friends were resting; she had seen the door number vividly in her head. Sometimes her gift of precognition could really be helpful.
Earlier that morning, the others had discussed who would go and visit Zack and Zane in the hospital to check how they were doing. Although nobody voiced out her thoughts, Josh had clearly received everyone's reluctance to do such a minor errand. Everyone had been tired from the previous mission.
Sure, they all pretend to be strong and lively in front of everyone, but Josh's Tele-empathic abilities enabled her to sense their real feelings. Things were starting to fall apart.
Brennan and Mari were still missing; Jesse's been badly hurt, along with Mel and Emma. Rosalie, Dax, Shelly and Skylar were dead, then there was Zack and Zane, and Shalimar's experiencing a different kind of pain. The feral didn't have to tell her what she was feeling, Josh read her well enough. That was what she hated about her gift. She couldn't stop herself from picking up stray emotions from the people around her, making her invade their private space even if she does not intend to do so.
That was why she volunteered to go to the hospital. She also understood how the others were feeling. Moreover, she'd do anything to help, to prove that she could be of more use, even getting her hands dirty in the fight against a common enemy.
Josh reached for the door handle and opened the door of Zack and Zane's room. She sensed the twins even before she entered, but pretended to be surprised when she saw them already awake.
"Hey you guys! You guys ok?" she asked nicely, walking towards Zack's bed.
The elemental gave her one of his 'oh-sure-if-you-call-having-a-concussion-ok' looks. Unfortunately for him, Josh was able to sense clearly, what he was feeling. The young Psionic shot Zack an 'I'm-not-trying-to-be-sarcastic' look before moving towards Zane's bed.
The other elemental gave her a friendly smile. "We'll live," he answered kindly. "So what brought a beautiful lady like you here in such an early hour?"
Josh grinned as she took a chair and sat beside Zane. "Just checking on you guys. I also brought some of Melodie's French toast. Assuming that you haven't eaten breakfast yet."
"Just what we need," Zane answered good-naturally. "Nothing beats French toast to start your day right."
Josh giggled as she opened the basket she was holding. She took out a medium-sized container filled with Melodie's French toast, and a bottle of maple syrup. She placed the food on top of the table and started preparing the twins' breakfast.
"By the way, how's the mission going?" asked Zane.
Josh glanced silently at Zane. She felt the anxiety the elemental was feeling, and the sense of uselessness on being locked in a hospital room when he should be helping the others fight the bad people.
"It's going smoothly," Josh assured him. "Just a couple of loose ends, but everything will be taken care of."
"Sure," Zack suddenly cut in from behind her.
Josh shot Zack a cold glare before looking back at his twin. "Is he always like that?" she whispered to Zane.
Zane laughed good-naturally. "Oh, Zack's a little grumpy today because the pretty nurse refused to give him her number when he asked for it earlier this morning."
"I did not ask for her number!" Zack protested.
"Oh, right. You just asked if you could go out on a date after you get well," Zane corrected himself. "That was very smooth, Zack. Very smooth indeed."
"I did not!" Zack yelled, throwing a spare pillow at his twin.
Josh ducked just in time to avoid being hit, and watched as the pillow miss her by an inch. She glared at Zack one more time before picking up the poor pillow lying on the floor. She stood up and gave it back to the elemental. "Now that isn't a very nice thing to do when you're sick, is it?" she told him sarcastically. "Especially to someone who isn't able to throw it back at you without hurting himself."
Zack muttered something before grabbing the pillow and turning to his side. Josh shook her head and kept her eyes glued at the elemental. Zack then turned and looked icily at her. "What do you want?"
"Now Zacky, that's no way to treat a lady," Zane joked from the other bed.
Josh turned around to face Zane. "Zacky?"
Zane grinned. "Just a nickname he had when we were still kids."
Josh tried to suppress a giggle as she returned her gaze to a blushing Zack. "Zacky."
"Oh grow up, you two," Zack complained, turning his back from them.
The two mutants burst out laughing as Zack continued to pout on his bed. Suddenly, Josh received a vision that caused her to blacken out for a few seconds. When she regained consciousness, Zack was already holding her in his arms, his right hand lightly slapping her cheek. Worry was evident in his face. Josh blinked a couple of times before slowly sitting up.
"What happened to you? Are you all right?" Zane asked from the other bed.
Josh shook her head slowly. "I… I have to go back to Haven."
"Why?" Zack answered, his worry increasing every second.
Josh stared at the elemental that was still holding her in his arms. "The others are in trouble."
All right review now, please remember to leave review for both writer's here, k? Although Josh wrote 99 of it, I added some of my own details. Not a lot, lol. Again, I added the part before the line.
Great job Josh!