The front door of Xavier's School For Gifted Children opened, and a tall woman dressed completely in white breezed through. "Em!" an Irish brogue called cheerily from the top of the staircase as he headed down toward her, a huge grin on its owner's face. "It's good tae have ye --" Sean Cassidy began to say only to have Emma race up the stairs and continue right pass him without ever even bothering to glance at him.
She was back before he could do much in the way of following her, her arms loaded with papers that were doubtlessly in need of grading, and Sean turned slowly, his eyebrows rising in surprise and his grin vanishing, as he watched her go without speaking so much as a word to him. "Em?" Though he followed her out of the school and across the campus, she never reacted to him, and he soon heard her door open and close.
Emma leaned across her door for a moment, taking a second to lock it behind her should that crazed Irish man decide to come blasting his way through again, before calling out in a hushed voice, "I'm home, sweetheart!"
Just outside her door, Sean's mouth dropped wide open in shock. He began to move his mouth as he tried to say something but then changed his mind and instead continued to eavesdrop.
A beautiful, white cat raced out from under Emma's bed, and Emma knelt to meet her pet. The cat ran straight into her mistress' arms, and Emma's gentle arms held her close. She pressed her face into her baby's soft fur and inhaled the cat's familiar, welcoming scent. "Oh, Precious," she breathed to the one being throughout the galaxy who she truly completely trusted, "it's so good to be home!"
Sean's eyes widened in shock as he heard Emma rain gentle kisses on what he thought to be a man and never even once began to think might be a cat. Fury filled him with each kiss he heard until finally he demanded, "Emma, what's goin' on?!"
Emma's ice blue eyes flashed at the sound of the sexy Irish brogue calling to her from the other side of her bedroom door. "Sean Cassidy, what are you doing?! Were you eavesdropping?!"
Sean ignored her questions as he demanded, "Di ye have a man in there? Ye knae it's against regulations tae have a man in yer room at this time o' the night!"
Inside the White Queen's bedroom, blue eyes exchanged a silent conversation with green eyes. It couldn't hurt, could it? "For students, Cassidy, not faculty! Besides, whether or not I have a man in my bedroom is my business alone! Why should you care, any way?"
For a moment, Sean was silent. He couldn't tell her the truth, so instead he returned, "Because it'd be settin' a bad example fer the students!"
"As if you were concerned about what kind of example Moira and you were setting for them a few months ago!" Emma snapped icily.
Sean's head fell. She would have to mention that, wouldn't she? "Em, I jest -- "
"It's none of your business, Cassidy," Emma spat out, her eyes blazing even as she struggled to keep herself from laughing aloud. "Now leave us alone!"
"Us?" Sean repeated. "So there is -- !"
"I already told you, Cassidy, that whatever or whoever else is in this bedroom besides myself is absolutely none of your business! Now remove yourself from my door, or be removed!"
Emma's lips pressed tightly together, and her blue eyes sparkled and danced as she listened to his English muttering and Gaelic cursing on the other side of the door. Sean stuffed his fists into his pockets and forced his feet to turn him around and carry him away. Sooner or later he would get to the bottom of her recent strange behavior, but apparently that was not going to happen that night.
Emma waited until she was absolutely certain Sean was gone, and then she burst into laughter as she gently scratched her beloved Persian on her head. "You know, sweetheart, I think we're about to drive him crazy!" She then returned to stroking Precious' lovely, white fur and, every now and then, brushing her lips softly across the beautiful cat's head.
To Be Continued . . .