Room 406, Late in the evening

[izzyalienqueen]

Isabel had thought long and hard about it and finally decided that the best way to approach Max was through an email. She wasn't ready to hear him yell or even worse hang up on her. An email, copied to both Michael, Liz and Maria would probably be the best way to ensure he found out the truth.



I know you probably don't want to hear from me but I thought you'd want to know what happened here last week.

One of the dupes came to town. My dupe, came to town. I don't know what you did to piss her off, but she thought that hurting me would be a way to hurt you. She messed with my head, sending me a series of nightmares that made me think Vilandra was trying to come out. Then she tried to screw with my friends.

It's over now and she's gone. If she's smart, she won't come back. I've talked to Seely, Cedric and Dawn. Fortunately this place is weird enough that they understood.

There is one thing though, I remember now. Antar, being Vilandra. For what it's worth, she didn't mean for it to happen. She was angry and frustrated and Kivar took advantage of that.

Stay safe Max.

Isabel



She sent the email and sighed. It was out of her hands now. Pushing thoughts of Max out of her head, she found them replaced by worries about Peter and Luke. Shaking her head at her inability to do anything for them, Isabel grabbed a piece of string from the kitty toy box and started to play with Annie to try and distract herself.

The door was open.

[ooc: It will eventually be a linkdrop. Post is open.]

Comments

[anextimeagent.livejournal.com]

Jack was tired, sore, and damp. The former two mostly from Sam, the latter from the shower. But he still wandered up the stairs to the fourth floor, intent on at least saying hi to Isabel.

He stopped in the doorway, watching her play with Annie, before venturing a, "Hey."

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

Isabel looked up and smiled, "Hey yourself. Are you going to come in? Or just lurk in the doorway?"

[anextimeagent.livejournal.com]

"I thought I might lurk. If there's time I might even move on to looming menacingly." Jack grinned at her and wandered into the room, reaching down to scratch Annie behind the ears. "Or not."

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

Annie purred happily and curled around Jack's ankles. Isabel rolled her eyes, "Flirt!"

Reaching over she poked the back of Jack's knee. "No looming. Sit, relax!"

[anextimeagent.livejournal.com]

"Yes, ma'am." Jack dropped to sit on the bed, scooping up Annie and tickling her belly. "Did you mean me or the cat?"

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"Both actually," Isabel laughed. "So how are you? And why are you damp?"

[anextimeagent.livejournal.com]

"I'm good. Damp because I had a shower before I came up - didn't think you'd let me in if I was all sweaty." He smiled at her. "What about you? I haven't seen you since last week. You doing any better?"

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"No, sweaty is not allowed on bed. Well, except in certain very specific circumstances," she snickered. "And I'm doing well. Especially now that I've finally talked to everyone that had to deal with Lonnie."

[anextimeagent.livejournal.com]

"And I'm not saying a word." Jack snickered, tugging gently on Annie's tail, for which she swatted him and stalked over to Isabel. "How did they take it?"

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"Dawn and Cedric were fine with it. Seely was a bit disappointed." Isabel glared, "That bitch made a date with him and pretty much implied that he would still be around in the morning for her to cook him breakfast."

[anextimeagent.livejournal.com]

"Ah." Jack winced. "Yeah, that's not good. But she's gone. You kicked her out, and I doubt she'll be back anytime soon. Not if she knows what's good for her."

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"That's what I'm hoping," she said, leaning her head back. "But somehow I'm pretty sure I'll be seeing her again someday."

[anextimeagent.livejournal.com]

"Maybe." Jack hesitated, then stretched out on her bed and rested his head on her knee. "But not now."

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"No," she said, immediately ruffling his hair. "For now I'm just going to concentrate on the end of the semester and getting ready for Christmas."

[anextimeagent.livejournal.com]

Jack relaxed when she ruffled his hair and smiled up at her. "If you need help with Christmas, let me know. Far as I know, I don't have any plans."

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"Be careful before making promises like that. You don't know what you're getting into," Isabel laughed. She continued running her fingers through his hair.

[anextimeagent.livejournal.com]

"Putting myself in your hands?" He let his eyes slip shut, turning slightly to rub his cheek against her leg. "I think I'm okay with that."

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"I want to hear you say that after I'd had you helping me back cookies for twelve hours straight. Or after we've just spent six hours shopping at the mall." Isabel was perfectly serious when she said this. "Sit up for second, okay?"

[anextimeagent.livejournal.com]

"Okay." Jack sat up, shifting away slightly, careful to hide his uncertainty. He wasn't entirely sure they were back to where they'd been. "I don't mind doing any of that stuff, if you need help."

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"Then I'll make sure you get a very special Christmas present," Isabel promised, shifting position so that she was sitting crosslegged behind him. She reached out and tugged Jack down until his head was in her lap. Using her thumbs, she started to massage his temples. "How's that feel?"

[anextimeagent.livejournal.com]

Letting out a long breath, he smiled and closed his eyes again. "That feels amazing, Izzy."

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

She smiled and tapped his nose. "Good, then relax and enjoy."

[anextimeagent.livejournal.com]

"I can do that." He shifted, the minor twang of muscles that'd been pushed to do new things making him momentarily uncomfortable. "Is this limited to my head? Because Sam and I were fighting before, and I've got very sore shoulders."

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"I suppose if you ask nicely, I might be able to do something about that," Isabel said.

[anextimeagent.livejournal.com]

He opened his eyes wide and looked up at her hopefully. "Please?"

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"Of course," she said, shaking her head. "Like I'd ever tell you no. Roll over and get comfortable." Isabel waited till Jack sat up, then moved out of his way so he could roll over and stretch out comfortably.

[anextimeagent.livejournal.com]

Grinning, he snagged a pillow and stretched out on his stomach, tucking it under his head. The groan was completely involuntary. "You can't say no to me, huh? You shouldn't tell me things like that."

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"I trust you not to take advantage of that fact," Isabel said simply as she sat next to him and rested her hands on his shoulders.

[anextimeagent.livejournal.com]

"You know me too well," Jack grumbled.

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

She chuckled, carefully massaging his shoulders. "Well look at it this way, it means I'll be able to get you a really, really good Christmas present."

[anextimeagent.livejournal.com]

Jack groaned again, going almost boneless under her touch. "You mean this isn't it?"

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"No, there will be carefully selected presents with perfectly coordinated wrapping paper, ribbons and bows," Isabel promised. "They'll be exchanged next to a tastefully decorated Christmas tree." She dug her thumbs into a particularly stubborn knot.

[anextimeagent.livejournal.com]

He tensed and hissed out a breath, then made himself relax again. "Where are you going to put the tree? And what do you want for Christmas?

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

She smiled as she felt the knot loosen under her fingers, then moved her hands off his shoulders and down his spine. "I'll find room in here somewhere. And I'm not telling what I want for Christmas. You need to figure it out."

[anextimeagent.livejournal.com]

"Okay," he replied, sighing a little as he repressed an involuntary shiver at her touch. "Can I give you something before and something on, or is that against the rules?"

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"For you? There are no rules," Isabel smiled as she continued working her way down his back.

[anextimeagent.livejournal.com]

"No rules, huh?" The corner of his mouth quirked up in a smile as he let out a long slow breath and closed his eyes. "You might regret that," he muttered, then winced slightly. "I think I've got a bruise or two down there."

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"What did I say about trust earlier?" she said quietly. "I'll keep that in mind. Just tell me if anyplace hurts really bad. Do you want me to try and fix it? I'm not as good as Max, but I might be able to help fix something simple like bruises, at least a little bit."

[anextimeagent.livejournal.com]

Jack shifted so he could wrap one hand around Isabel's foot - the only part of her he could easily reach - and give it a squeeze. "Did I tell you how glad I am to have you back?" he asked quietly, still smiling. "And go for it, if you want to try."

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

Isabel curled her toes and pulled her foot away. "Hey! Ticklish!" She pulled his shirt out from the waist of his pants and slipped her hands under the material, before pausing for a moment. "I didn't know I went away."

[anextimeagent.livejournal.com]

"Sorry," he told her, not sounding sorry in the least. Jack was silent for a long moment, happy just to enjoy the contact. "I didn't mean physically. I meant-- never mind. Just glad we're not fighting anymore," he said around a yawn.

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, that pretty much sucked," she admitted. "But when Parker said you'd been there Friday morning...That's what gave me the courage to turn up on your doorstep Saturday night." Isabel closed her eyes and tried to focus the way Max said he did when he healed things. She focused on what she thought were the bruises and tried to make it right.

[anextimeagent.livejournal.com]

"Wasn't going to let anything happen to you; didn't matter what you thought about me," he mumbled, trying to stay quiet, not wanting to break her concentration. He thought he might feel a tingling where the bruise over his kidneys was. It could have been his imagination, but it didn't matter - he was relaxed and warm and with Isabel and he could feel himself starting to drift.

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

A few seconds more of concentration and Isabel sat back. It might not have been the perfect job that Max would have done, but she thought it might help him a little. "Are you falling asleep on me?"

[anextimeagent.livejournal.com]

"Of course not," he replied indignantly. He made an effort and opened one eye, turning on his side to curl around her. "Wouldn't do that. I'm just comfortable. That feels better."

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"Good," she smiled. "I'm glad I could help." She ran her hand down his back affectionately. "You can nap for a bit if you'd like."

[anextimeagent.livejournal.com]

"Might. Just for a bit." He gave up and let his eye close again. "Only fair," he muttered, trying not to smile. "Last week you fell asleep on me. I can't stay, though. Meeting Cedric later."

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

Never a problem," Isabel smiled, rubbing her finger gently over his hair. "I'll wake you in a bit. Sweet dreams." She watched as he dozed off, then reached for her book to read for a while.