Bobby was laying back on the grass, listening to Gabriella explain the last lesson of their Accounting class. No one else had understood it and they still didn't understand it, even after this 20 minute long explanation.
Shayne was laying across Bobby, using his stomach as a pillow as she dozed lightly beneath her oversized sunglasses.
"Ok, do you get it now?" Gabriella asked.
"Mmmm," Shayne mumbled lazily.
"Not really, but we'll just copy off you in the test," Lennon put in.
"We should come up with like secret symbols. Like in a multiple choice test, if Gab sneezes it means A. Stuff like that," Bobby added.
"And what if I get the answer wrong? Or I just really need to sneeze?" Gabriella asked.
"Hmmm, good point. We'll ponder this later," Bobby replied, yawning.
"Yo, Beezaar, my head's vibrating," Shayne informed Bobby.
Bobby chuckled, reaching into his pocket for his cell phone. He yawned again, not bothering to check the caller ID as he flipped it open and lifted it to his ear.
"Hello?"
"Bobby?" a familiar voice was on the other line, but he didn't exactly sound thrilled. The opposite actually. If it was who Bobby thought it was, it kinda sounded like that person was crying. Which meant one thing. A Nicole drama.
"What's up, Pete?"
"It's Nicole."
How did he guess? Bobby rolled his eyes slightly, thankful Pete couldn't see him, and sat up a bit, eliciting a cry of "bully!" from Shayne, who promptly lost her pillow.
"What's up with Nic?" Bobby asked, scratching the back of his head.
"Um..." there was a long pause with a half sniff in there that Bobby didn't like the sound of.
"Pete? What's wrong with Nic?" he tried again, his voice getting a little harsher.
"She..." another long pause, and a definite sob.
"What's happened?!" Bobby all but yelled. Shayne, Gabriella and Lennon looked at him in alarm. None of them had ever heard Bobby raise his voice before.
"There was an accident..."
"What kind of accident?" Bobby struggled to keep his voice even. As it was, he was fighting like hell to keep his powers under control. His left fist was already starting to turn icy.
Gabriella noticed and her eyes widened. "Bobby... control!"
"What kind of an accident?" he demanded when he received no answer.
"She was driving home last night and a," sob "drunk driver hit her from," another sob "the side. Doctors..."
Bobby hardly heard the rest of what his friend was telling him. He felt like he was easing in and out of consciousness, his ears felt like they were filled fluid and the world was swimming in front of him.
"... was pregnant... said not much... was little chance... too much trauma... awake for a second... said goodbye to you... come home... funeral... a week..."
"K."
Bobby snapped his phone shut. He couldn't even begin to console his old friend because he was too upset himself. He felt like the world had been pulled out from under his feet and he wasn't sure if it was ever coming back again.
"Are you ok?" Shayne was asking.
"Family emergency," was all he could say as he stood up, shoving his books back into his bag and sprinting off in the direction of his car.
He reached his car and unlocked it, throwing his bag into the passenger seat and very nearly hitting an oncoming car as he reversed out of his parking spot, then sped off in the direction of home.
Tears coursed down his cheeks, freezing before they reached his chin. His breath was coming out as steam, his body was so cold but he couldn't seem to get enough control over his power.
He'd never been in love with Nicole. But she'd been his saving grace in Boston. She'd been a mutant like him. She understood the shame of lying about who you really were to protect your parents. They'd fit together as fire and ice. She'd kept him strong when he felt like he couldn't keep lying, she'd told him about Xavier's, she'd kept him strong when he felt like there was no going on for him. She'd been a comfort. A friendly face when there was none. His best friend from the old days, but still his best friend. She'd dropped everything when he needed her. And now she was gone. All gone.
Bobby slammed on the brakes, narrowly missing the car behind him as he was reversing. He straightened up and swung into his designated parking space in the complex's garage.
The stairs were a blur, he didn't even remember getting out of the car, now all he saw was his shaking hand struggling to fit the key into the door, then finally, finally it opened and he stumbled inside, throwing his bag onto the couch and collapsing after it, out of breath and body racking from the loud sobs which kept escaping from his mouth.
Julie
Julie turned down the speakers on the computer and listened. She could definitely hear crying. She frowned as she stood up. She'd just put the kids to bed, none of them should have woken up just yet...
As she stepped out the door, Julie realised that the crying was coming from the lounge room, not the nursary. Her frown deepened as she headed for the lounge.
"Bobby?" she exclaimed.
In a flash she was next to him, arm wrapped around his shoulder, the other lightly touching his head.
"Bobby? Bobby, what's wrong?"
She couldn't remember ever seeing Bobby like this before.
Bobby
"She's dead," was all Bobby managed before he burst into a fresh batch of sobs.
He clung to Julie desperately, soaking her neck and shirt with his tears, his body trembling as he leant on his wife for support.
Julie
"Dead?" Julie repeated.
She held him closer and kissed his forehead.
"Who's dead?"
Her mind was racing over the possibilities even as she asked the question.
Bobby
"N... N... Nicole..."
If it was even possible, Bobby started crying harder the moment he uttered her name. He buried his head further into Julie's shoulder.
Julie
"Nicole?" Julie repeated. "Oh... Bobby... I'm sooo sorry."
She kissed his head again and rubbed his back. Even those she and Nicole had never been close, she knew that she and Bobby had been close friends for a very long time.
Bobby
Bobby's tears eventually stopped flowing and he just let himself lean into Julie, hiccupping every so often.
"The funeral is next week."
Julie
"Okay," Julie replied.
She patted his back soothingly.
"Is there anything I can do for you?"
Bobby
Bobby shook his head.
"No no."
He straightened up and wiped his eyes, then flashed her a smile.
"Now, dinner plans?"
He needed to stop thinking about it. He'd think about it closer to the funeral. Yes. That was a brilliant idea.
Julie
"Did you want anything in particular?" Julie asked. "I was just going to make up some pasta, but if you'd prefer something else..."
She figured she'd give him the option after such bad news.
Bobby
"That really yummy pasta with the bacon and everything in it?" Bobby asked hopefully.
He nodded.
"And let's have something so fattening for dessert!"
Julie
Julie giggled.
"Sounds great," she said. "We have ice cream, cheesecake, ummm. chocolate barvarian... I'm not sure what else... any of those? Something else? All of them?"
Bobby
Bobby thought for a moment.
"Ice cream AND bavarian!"
He giggled.
"It's going to go straight to my hips," he joked in a high pitched voice.
Julie
Julie grinned, and moved her hands down to his hips.
"All the more of you to... grip..."
She wiggled her eyebrows at him.
Bobby
Bobby raised an eyebrow in mock suspicion.
"Are you coming onto me, Mrs Drake?"
He giggled.
"But I don't want to be fatman! It's ok, Gab and I were gonna hit the gym tomorrow anyway. We're gonna be lean mean, fitness accounting machines!"
Julie
Julie giggled.
"Actually, I'm Mrs Drake-Rocks. Because I like hearing people say I rock all the time, so I had to keep it."
She kissed him sweetly.
"So, does this mean you're going to learn how to balance the books on the run?"
Bobby
Bobby mulled over that thought for a moment.
"Yes. Yes it does."
He shrugged.
"Argh, will school never endddd?"
Julie
Julie giggled.
"Yes," she said, "it did for me. A year ago. But education doesn't stop though. At least, if it does, it shouldn't. Because, like, we learn from life experience. And I sometimes have to go teach myself stuff about programming and stuff."
Bobby
"I never thought I'd aspire to higher education," Bobby said, shaking his head.
"Oh man, I think I'm working tomorrow. Poo!"
Julie
Julie gave him a hug.
"Aww," she said, "well, just remember that you also get paid for working tomorrow. Money is always good."
She nodded.
Bobby
"That's true, and it's with Shayne. We make our own fun at work."
Bobby pulled away from Julie's hug after a second and scratched his head.
"I think maybe I'll have a shower. Then shall we commence eating? Even though it's only like three o clock, but I don't care. I am a rebel."
Julie
"It's good to be spontaneous," Julie nodded. "Sure, why not? What would you like to eat?"
She traced his jawline with her finger.
Bobby
"Ummm, surprise me!"
Bobby nodded and then scratched his neck.
"I guess I should call Nic's parents."
Julie
"I'm sure they'd appreciate that," Julie replied.
A sudden thought occured to her: what if it were Bobby that called her mother? They hadn't really talked about it since her mother had sent the rest of her things...
Bobby
"And I should call my parents."
Bobby made a slight face and headed for their bedroom.
Julie
Julie's eyes followed Bobby until he disappeared from sight, then she headed to the kitchen. She wasn't overly hungry herself, and figured (unless he had missed lunch) that Bobby probably wouldn't want anything big either, so she decided to prepare a light meal.
But what?
Julie opened up the pantry and started staring at the food, trying to decide on what to make.
Bobby
Bobby sat down in the bedroom, holding the cordless phone. He stared at it for a long moment before working up the courage to call Nicole's parents.
A few minutes and tears later, Bobby had hung up and was calling his own family. Not that he thought they'd care how he was doing, but he thought he should check in anyway.
Julie
Julie set about making some sandwiches. Or at least started making some. Then certain little children under the age of two started crying (which woke them all up) and Julie had to rush off to tend to their needs.
"Okay," she said to B'Elanna and Tom as she set them on the floor, "you two go play. Don't get up to any mischeif now, okay?"
B'Elanna slipped into steath mode for a few seconds. Julie, who was now well and truly used to such slips, paid it no mind, and took Josh over to the changing table - he had been the crying culprit this time.
Bobby
Bobby cut his conversation short with his parents when he heard the kids crying. He abruptly hung up on the "so when do we meet those kids?" question and raced into the nursery.
"Need a hand?"
Julie
"Umm, if you could check on Dax and Cindy?" Julie asked, wiping Josh's little behind. "I've let B'E and Tom go play, and Tinga will probably calm down and go back to sleep once Dax and Cindy are happy."
If there had been room, Julie would have liked to give Tinga a room of her own, the way she reacted to every little thing. She supposed that Tinga would have to learn to deal with it eventually, but these were still delicate years.
"Did you finish making your calls?"
Bobby
"Yeah," Bobby nodded, heading over to see Dax and Cindy.
He bent down slightly and lifted both his girls up, one in each arm.
"Hey guys, how are you doing?" he asked, rocking them both gently as he sat down in the chair.
"Now why are you kiddies crying? You're the kids of Julie and Bobby! It's party central."
He grinned as his daughter's stared up at him blankly.
Julie
Julie smiled to herself. She finished cleaning up Joshua and then started putting a fresh nappy on him.
Joshua burbled happily.
Bobby
"Now, no more of this crying business, you have nothing to be sad about. You're going to grow up and look sorta like me, and that's a reason to cheer!"
Bobby nodded.
Julie
Julie, now with Josh in her arms, turned around and looked at Bobby with raised eyebrows.
"I hope they look like a feminine version of you," she said. "Because you have a very masculine face. And I'm not sure that a masculine face would look good on our daughters."
She winked at him, and then blew a backwards kiss on Josh's stomach.
Bobby
Bobby grinned and turned back to his daughters.
"Yay, your mom thinks I look masculine. I should go back and tell Logan... except I think he might punch me."
He paused.
"So maybe not. See, my baby girls, we have an excellent bodyguard type fella up our sleeves if we ever need it, but mostly, he's rather angry."
Julie
Julie giggled.
"There," she said to Josh. "All clean now. You ready to go back to sleep?"
She put Josh back into the crib, and realising his restlessness, picked up a soft toy for him to play with. Then she turned to Tinga.
"Hey, baby," she said, lifting her out. "Sorry I took so long getting to you honey."
She kissed her forehead, then checked her nappy to make sure she hadn't pooped as well, after all.
Bobby
Once Bobby had calmed down the two girls, he put them back gently in their cribs, tickling Dax under the chin for a moment to settle her completely.
"I promise when I finally get out of Uni and make something of myself, I'll buy us a big house where you guys can all have your own rooms," he said softly.
Julie
Julie say Tinga on her hip, leant over and kissed Bobby.
"That's sweet," she said.
Bobby
Bobby smiled and straightened up.
"Well, I'm a sweet guy. Now, this sweet guy needs to poop. I'll be back in less than 10 minutes."
Julie
Julie grinned. She chatted to Tinga a little longer, and then put her back into the crib, where she promptly fell back asleep. Julie looked over all her kids again, made sure that B'Elanna and Tom weren't getting into trouble, and headed back to the kitchen to finish making sandwiches.
Bobby
Bobby erm, went and did his business, did the paperwork, washed his hands and headed back out to the kitchen, whistling.
"So... you think we should go to Tulsa for a bit, so Zaccy can see his first two offspring?"
Julie
Julie considered.
"That might be nice. I'm sure he'd love to see them," she said. "Ohh! And maybe while we're there I can finally meet Cliff, Binar and Corinne in person. I think it'll be good to actually see my business partners in person."
She grinned.
"Sandwiches okay?"
Bobby
"Awesome."
Bobby was quiet for a moment, then he spoke again.
"What about Roswell?" he asked quietly.
Julie
Julie was silent for a long moment. The shound of the knife cutting sandwich fillings seemed to be the loudest thing in the room.
"I don't know," she said, finally. "I... Mom did... she did write to me and send me the rest of my things. And... and I can actually believe that she was genuine when she said that she wanted us to... to... to be in each others lives. But, heart attack or no heart attack, I am not interested in anything even remotely resembling reconciling with... with Mr Williams. He disowned me because Tinga and Josh - his own grandchildren - were fathered by mutants. Probably would have disowned me sooner if he had known B'Elanna and Tom were half alien. I mean, seriously, what kind of person disowns someone because of their DNA?"
Julie shut herself off then, remembering Bobby's own situation.
"I've got friends down there I haven't seen for a while though..."
Bobby
Bobby smiled sadly, and ran a hand through his hair.
"Your father did what he thought was best, and my parents did what they thought was best. I can't be angry anymore, it's not healthy. I have long since come to terms with the fact that I will never be 'accepted' amongst humans."
He walked up behind her and slid his arms around her waist, resting his chin on her shoulder.
"But regardless, don't you think you should at least have a word with your... Mr Williams? For closure, if nothing more."
Julie
Julie considered, running her tongue over her teeth with her lips still closed.
"No, I think the matter is pretty much settled," she said finally. "He doesn't want to see me again. He's made that clear. He even told me over the phone that he was going to make an appointment with his solicitor to write me out of his will, and knowing him, he probably did that just as soon as we got off the phone."
She turned her head around to kiss his cheek.
"Thanks for caring, though," she said softly. "Look... I'm going to get back in contact with Mom, okay? If either of us think that he's changed his mind, I'll make an effort, but I really don't believe he ever will."
Bobby
"I just know how much it sucks to have your parents turn their backs on you. And I hate it that our kids won't really have grandparents."
Bobby shrugged slightly and let go of Julie.
"But anyway, let's stop being depressing. I better ring Lennon and let him know why I ran off."
Julie
Julie smiled.
"Okay," she said. "Did you want me to make your sandwich for you? Or shall I leave all this stuff out so you can put your own together?"
She gestured to the plates of cheese, cold meat, and other sandwich fillers that she had prepared.
Bobby
"I can do it, I'm getting to be a woman with my multitasking skills."
Bobby flipped his cell phone out and dialled a number with one hand, and started assembling a sandwich with the other.
"Len?"
A pause.
"He's in the shower? Why aren't you in there with him, Shay-Shay? I am disappointed in you. Both of you."
He let out a long giggle and a few gibberished words, which obviously, Shayne on the other end of the line understood, which only served to make Bobby laugh harder.
"Anyway, senorita, tell Lennon that I'll give him a call later, when he's out of the shower and out of your clutches. And oi, we're working tomorrow. Ask Lennon, and you're invited too, if you want to see more of me, that Gab and I are heading to the gym tomorrow."
Bobby put a piece of meat onto his sandwich, and paused.
"Round 2? After work sometime. I might go straight from work, but Gab doesn't finish class until 2:30, so she'll be a bit later I guess.... ok. Ok! Jesus Glisto woman! Ok. See you then. Seeyoubye!"
He snapped his phone shut and continued making his sandwich.
"Lennon is having a shower as he smells, so I will try again later."
Julie
Julie giggled.
"Well, smelliness is one of the major reasons why people shower," she replied. "I believe dirtiness is the other. And they generally go hand in hand."
She bit into her first sandwich.
Bobby
"I believe so."
Bobby put his phone back in his pocket.
"Come on, let's watch some tv."
Julie
"Okay," Julie replied agreeably.
She picked up her plate and followed Bobby into the lounge room for some TV goodness.