Fandom Into the fire (1x1 MzHyde/Gallifrog)

[MzHyde]

Fia nodded, "I can totally see that and why it's clearly popular" she replied to Cliff as they headed to a particular table, where she sat down on the other side of Cal, making Cal be in the middle if they were in a line, making her the one mostly in the sun in comparison to the other two. With the menus in Atilli, she was thankful for the translation from Cal and taking on board the recommendations she was given. So many options seemed so good she didn't know what to pick at first, but eventually picked the second recommended burger that Cal pointed out to her, deciding she was totally going tackle the stacked chicken burger.

Kay just rolled her eyes at John pointing out his lack of feminine figure, knowing that deep down he would know what she was getting at when she said about Fia's figure. Kay herself was naturally very slim, and growing up she had been subjected to slurs about her small frame which included the usual 'eat a burger' slanders along with having such things actually thrown at her in the process. She could only imagine that not only was Fia's heritage her future self's reasons for home schooling, but also her fear of Fia getting horribly bullied due to her own experiences. "yeah yeah...you know what I mean" she just simply said back. She was aware of Jay coming over and talking with Elliott but she contuinued her little conversation with John and Chas instead. If Elliott had asked for her artistic opinion, she would have said landscape for such a piece like he was doing, rather than portrait,but she kept quiet on her opinion, deciding she would only give it if she asked for it.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Cal ordered for all off them, while the waiter wasn't a close friend of theirs, she and Cliff had been to the cafe-diner enough times for most of the staff to recognise that Cliff was deaf, and when she didn't have gearing aids in preferred to let her wife (or somebody else) order for her. Cliff was true to her word and went for the triple burger she'd spoke so longingly of earlier, while Cal went for the double burger made from one of Attil's native animals, a sort of deer-like creature. Service was prompt and it wasn't long before all three burgers (and the massive side of chips and dips for sharing that Cliff had declared was absolutely vital to complete the eating experience).

Elliott rarely asked people for their opinions on his artwork when it was a work in progress, trusting his own instincts. John offered up his thoughts without Elliott even having to ask, as did Chas (though he did it less frequently than John). But this piece was more than important to him, it was a wedding present, a thank-you gift and in a morbid sense a way of ensuring that if he did die, Cal and Cliff would have something tangible to remember him by that wasn't his stuff from childhood, something just for them, something that nobody else could take from them. He wanted to make sure that he got it just right. Jay knew this and knew what was being asked of her, she took the sketchbook and narrowed her eyes at the two designs, flipping the sketchpad sideways and holding at arms length to get a sense of how it should look from a distance. "Landscape, definitely." She declared, passing the sketchbook back."It shows off the fire and ice cloud better." "That's what I was thinking too." Elliott nodded in agreement taking the sketchbook back.

Seeing the look of interest on John's face, who'd been blatantly eavesdropping on the conversation with Jay. "I'll put the same question to all of ye, I'm gonna get John's thought anyway, so might as well make it fair and give everybody a look." He passed the sketchbook over while Jay grabbed a change of clothes from her bag and headed to the bathroom to get changed. Jay re-emerged in an outfit that mimicked the off duty casual style of the other military pilots- black cargo trousers with multiple pockets, a tight fitting t-shirt, battered military boots and a leather jacket slung over one shoulder. "I've had to open the window in Fia's room, it's nearest to the fire escape, thus the easiest to sneak into later." "We'll make sure it stays open." Elliott told her to which John added "The supplies can go under the bed, nobody will see 'em there and there's nothing under the bed in that's in the way." Jay gave a thumbs up gesture, shoving the keys to the flat into her pocket with the other.

 

[MzHyde]

Fia was glad that Cal ordered for all of them, deciding a while ago that she didn't even want to attempt to order in Atilli as it could only go horribly wrong. As they waited she made idle chit chat with them, mostly about the surrounding area, the blue trees and so forth until their food came and Fia saw just how big even her stack burger was. Shhe knew it'd be a challenge to get her mouth round it but she was never one for backing down from such a challenge. She knew she could have just done the sensible thing by cutting it half to make easier, but she wasn't going to do that, so she just picked it up, made sure it firmly in her hands and wouldn't fall apart at first bite and stretched her mouth round it, feeling the muscles and tendons in her mouth begging not to be put such a task. From the first bite alone, she managed to get some sauce round her mouth, which she wiped off with the back of her hand and a look of sheer bliss on her face.

Hearing Jay say landscape for the piece, Kay had to smile slightly seeing that it wasn't just her that thought such a thing. With the sketchbook then being passed around due to John's interested look, she looked at the two options and nodded, "definitely landscape, it'll look better in general whilst keeping Cal, Cliff and their abilities as the main focal point" she said before passing it across to John and Chas. With Jay going off to freshen up and soon emerging a few minutes later, she looked up out of habit when she heard footsteps nearby, noting the style she went for before going back down to her book. She didn't see the point of chiming in on the topic about Fia's room and the window being open as Elliott and John had that covered. She knew Fia wouldn't complain about supplies being under there because it was quite frankly, not her bed to complain about and her bag wasn't under it, but beside it instead out of the way of the window, which Jay would have noticed when going in to open the window.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Both Cal and Cliff waited for Fia to take the first bite, watching her reaction and the look of bliss that followed. The food in Pars 7 was just as excellent as the women had promised, and the ingredients were as fresh as possible, one advantage of having an active military spaceport nearby was that large amounts of fresh food and ingredients could be shipped in easily. "Told you it was good here." Cal remarked with a grin as Cliff attacked her own burger. Cliff's burger was the biggest of them all, three layers of meat and assorted other burger fillings, and, like Fia she chose not to cut it in half. In her mind that just spoiled it, she'd ordered a massive burger, so she was going to get as much of it into her mouth as possible. In order to get her entire mouth around it she had to open her jaws so wide they practically dislocated. She managed it and there was an almost victorious look in Cliff's eyes as she did so. Cal couldn't help but quip "making the most of being off duty, I see." Cliff didn't flip her wife off, but instead settled for some one handed sign language and a fond glare.

The verdict on the orientation was unanimous, as good as the portrait was, the landscape was better, and like Kay said it would make a better focal point out of Cal and Cliff and their beautiful suits of armour. "Landscape, portrait makes it look like something has been cut out of the piece." John told Elliott after only a few brief seconds looking at the pieces. When it came to art John was blunt, his opinions simple and polar- he either liked it or he didn't, he understood it or he didn't have the foggiest clue what it was supposed to represent. Chas took the book after Kay, trying not to let his opinions be swayed by the opinions voiced by the others. He took longer than John to come to a decision, taking jay's approach of looking at the sketch from a distance and up close. "I agree with everybody else, landscape is best, and if you look at the walls, there's more of a chance of fitting a landscape canvas than a vertical one." Earlier Chas had helped Elliott to decide what would be the best size of canvas to ask Rinaa to get, a process which involved measuring the free spaces of wall around the apartment and doing some rough and ready maths. "Well that's that sorted then, on both counts." Elliott declared, a happy edge to his voice. Jay grabbed her backpack, which was made of a canvas like material and looked like it had been through the wars, said a brief goodbye and left.

 

[MzHyde]

Fia swallowed her first mouthful before she opened her mouth, "you weren't kidding! This just might be the best burger I have ever eaten!" she declared, putting full emphasis on the word 'ever'. She grabbed a couple of the chips that they ordered to share and dunked them in the dip closest to her and ate them, humming happily. She chuckled at Cal and Cliff's banter between each other before continuing her burger. "if the burger and chips are this good, I can't wait to see what the cake is like!" she chimed happily.

Kay nodded each and everytime the others agreed that the piece should be landscape and Chas in her eyes, made very valid points that with the free wall space Cal and Cliff had, landscape would be best for the apartment. She was also a tad biased that landscape paintings were more impressive on canvas and walls. "indeed it is" she agreed with Elliott. "seeing you paint this piece bit by bit is gonna spur me to wanna pull out my own sketchpad at this rate" she chuckled.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Both Cal and Cliff smiled at Fia's praise of the burgers. "This is a very close second on the top burger scale for me. Benji's signature burgers take the top spot." Cliff smile in agreement with Fia, taking a handful of chips and dipping them one by one into a dark reddish dip. "Trust us, the cake is amazing here. They do all kinds of cake. In winter they have this particularly amazing spicy chocolate orange cake and when heated up it melts in all the right places and mmmmm..." Cal trailed off, a blissful expression on her face at the thought. "That cake is the way to her heart, trust me, I know what I'm talking about." Cliff told Fia before taking another massive bite of the burger.

Elliott smiled at Kay's words, taking back the sketchpad and jotting down a series of lines in Attili by the landscape sketch. On Earth he tended to use Attili when he didn't want people to know what he was writing or understand what he was saying, but now that he was back in Attil, and Attili was Cal and Cliff's preferred language (no matter how good their English was) he found him using it more and more, easily slipping back into his native tongue and accent. "I think it's gonna turn out pretty damn good. And as for doing your own sketching, go ahead, the teenager" by which he meant Rinaa "is picking up a whole load of proper supplies for me, so if you want to use any of it, feel free."

 

[MzHyde]

Fia smiled nodding, trusting Cliff's judgement when it came to Benji's burgers as she hadn't tried them herself, or not that she could recall. She listened to what Cal was saying about the chocolate orange cake thinking how amazing it truly sounded and completely up her streak. If she was around during the winter months she would definitely wany to be trying it. "wish I could try it" she said after chuckling at Cliff saying it was the sure fire way to Cal's heart. She kept eating happily, with nearly every bite causing her to express her happiness. "one day you should try mum's cakes. They're incredible. She does insane super duper chocolate ones but she has this carrot cake recipe that is mind blowing. I make her make it for me every birthday" she explained.

Kay listened to what Elliott said, thinking she really ought to sketch more as she was aware she hadn't done so since the flight to Cliff's planet. She also found herself smiling and nodding at his permission to use any of his supplies that he has Rinaa picking up for him. "cheers, might just do that" she replied. To her, if she wasn't reading, sketching was the guaranteed thing to relax her if she felt the slightest bit stressed. "and I think you're right, it will turn out great, you got serious talent" she added.

 

[_gallifrog_]

"Well look at it this way, unless we can somehow bribe and coerce on of the chefs to make it specially, which i doubt will happen as we have no friends who work here, it gives you guys an excuse to come here some winter." They knew that at some point in the future Fia would come back, whether it was because John and Kay took a different approach with regards to raising Fia, or because adult Fia decided to she wanted to do some intergalactic travel and visit her aunts and Cliff family. "You'll just have to put up with the shitty rain, hail, the freezing winds and the occasional storm. If my brother was here he'd confirm we have worse winter weather here than you do in London." In her timeline Fia would have heard Elliott talk about Attil's shit winter weather to John mainly (but also to Fia or Kay) in the context of 'stop whining, compared to Attil the weather outside is fine'. "Well if it's anything like her cooking, then I believe you."

"Well they are being kept in John and you's room" Elliott shrugged"so it's only fair that you can use what you want from it. I would store it in my room buuuuut" "You don't have one here." John smirked, finishing the sentence with a smirk. "Exactly." Elliott smirked, emphasising his point by waving his left hand (which was full of pencils around). At Kay's compliment of Elliott's skills John and Chas nodded in agreement. "And your sister and Cliff will love it, bet it hasn't even crossed their minds that you'd do a sketch of them, let alone a full blown wall canvas piece for them." "Chas is right, as always on that, it'll be great when it's finished, probably better than the ones in my flat, as it has colour." John smirked as Elliott mock glared at him. "You like monochrome sketches, don't deny it, especially when they're of you. What was it you said the last time?" Elliott made an exaggerated 'I'm thinking very hard face' before smirking "ah yes it was 'course I look bloody good in black and white, I was bloody made to be done in monochrome'." Elliott did his John impression as he quoted, replicating the same mix of haughtiness, sassiness and 'I know this will piss you off if I say this' that had been there when John originally said those words.

 

[MzHyde]

Fia chuckled at Cal's words about how bribing one of the chefs was out of the question, knowing it did in fact mean she would just have to come back and she was more than determined now to do exactly that. "oh I'm so coming back to visit. I've literally these last couple of weeks found out I have not one awesome gay aunt on Earth, but two more here. If anyone aka mum and dad, think I'm not making an effort to come see you both then they're sadly wrong" she grinned. She knew if Attil's weather was as bad as they said, she'd suffer horrendously but that's what copious amounts of layers, blankets and winter coats were made for. "I've heard from Ell in my time how bad it is and hopefully one day you'll get to try it" she replied, aiming the first part at Cal and the second part at Cliff.

Kay smirked at Elliott's comment, knowing where it was going before John even chimed in with the end of that sentence. She smirked slightly smugly when Chas and John agreed with her about Elliott having talent when it came to art of varying mediums. She sniggered at John's remark about this piece Elliott was doing jabbing colour before laughing properly at Elliott's comeback and mimicking of John's voice and quote. "he's got a point John. Even by the couple of rough black and white sketches I've done you've boasted similar lines. Surprised you haven't stolen them for that ego boost you don't need" she added, backing Elliott up, smirking wickedly at him, showing that she didn't mean anything she said maliciously.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Both women smirked at the awesome gay aunts comment. "Awesome gay aunts has a certain ring to it don't you think?" Cliff asked her wife. "Oh definitely" Cal agreed "it's been my life goal to achieve such a title." She replied back with a teasing grin, the thought of being an aunt of any kind hadn't even crossed her mind until Rinaa showed up in the apartment with a pizza. For Cliff she doubted any of her siblings would ever have kids, given that none of them had any long term romantic partners. At the next part it was Cal who spoke. "From the very little I know based on meeting him and what my brother's told me about the first few years growing up on Earth, John seems to be more than happy to let you go wherever so long as either you know the language or somebody your with knows the language. Hence why Qui barely left the building the first two years or so as he couldn't speak the language, and was still going through some culture shock and trying to deal with past traumas. Obviously I have nowhere near enough context, but it seems to be Kay more so than John who wants to keep you wrapped up."

John chuckled at Elliott's impression. As always it was spot on, and John couldn't help but think of the days when Zed was still around and she'd be sketching him, both as an outlet for her latent psychic energies and because he was around and made an excellent subject surrounded by artefacts and tools of the trade. The days before everything had gone to shit for him in that area of the States. "Point taken Ell." He called back before Kay decided to join in the ribbing. His response was merely to roll his eyes and adopt a 'I'm such a long suffering martyr look'. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, heard it aaaaall before from like, every artist who has sketched me, ever. Get some new so called 'smart' remarks or get me a t-shirt so I can finally say been there done that got the t-shirt." John waved a hand lazily from his position taking up the whole couch.

 

[MzHyde]

Fia smirked at their reaction to her calling them her awesome gay aunts, even if technically Cal would fall nearer to the half sibling category if Elliott was her half brother and Cal's full brother. She chuckled at Cal saying about wanting to achieve such a title, glad that she could amuse the two of them so easily. "well if we're gonna be picky Cal, you're I guess somewhere between being my aunt and my half sister. Either way you're both family and insanely awesome family at that" she smiled. She listened to what else Cal had to say about what she knew of her parents, nodding finding that she got it pretty spot on. "you're not far wrong there. Mum in my timeline is highly protective. It's suffocating how protective she is. But dad has his moments too. Though he is on the whole more laid back about things than mum is. Being here with you guys has been a breath of fresh air so to speak. I get why mum is scared about me going my own way, back home it's a case of having to watch your move and all around. Making sure that if I step two steps to the left a demon or other downworlder isn't going to nab me off the street for my blood. But I still want a life ya know?"she told them, not intending to having opened so much but it happened.

Kay just smirked at John's reply to her after replying to Elliott. Knowing who Kay was, it wouldn't be that out of character for her to actually get him a t-shirt with such a quote on it if she was provoked enough. "don't tempt me. I'm not above doing such a thing" she smirked at him. "come to think of it, I'm not above doing much when it comes to most things" she added as if she was thinking out loud. She knew that last thing would no doubt set off John's dirty gutter brain and that was partly the point. To make him use his imagination trying to figure out what she WAS above doing.

 

[_gallifrog_]

The two women listened as Fia talked, sensing that she needed to get it off her chest to somebody who wasn't her immediate biological family. It was Cliff who spoke first, setting the remains of her burger to one side. "It's understandable they'd be protective of you as a baby and a small kid, given how generally useless small kids are at taking care of themselves and keeping secrets. And given their respective childhoods and how shit they were, I can only assume that what they were trying for was the childhood neither of them had, but both of them wanted. Though I can't claim to know exactly what their plans were for the whole of your life in your timeline, but what I CAN say with one hundred percent certainty is that you being here will change SOMETHING. You've told them enough that they know some things need to be done differently and can actually do something to fix and/or some of their mistakes in the future. It wouldn't surprise me if, after the unborn you is born, they changed how they do things, thus making a completely new, different timeline, one where you get more freedom and things take a different path.. for everyone." Cliff knew that it wasn't a good idea to bring up the shitty timeline Rinaa was stuck with, so her 'for everyone' comment implied the possibility of Elliott dying, as opposed to the chain of events that had led to Rinaa being a terminally ill mess. Cal decided to end on a lighter note, leaning forwards and adding with a slight smirk "and besides, if we're really gonna be picky Fia, you're technically Rinaa's aunt."

It took very little to set off the dirty minded parts of John's brain, he was always unconsciously looking for ways to turn everything into an innuendo, so at Kay's words a smirk appeared on his face and a look came into his eyes, both of which were downright predatory, ones which Chas knew all too well. The cabbie let out a slight sigh, his face adopting a look of 'here we go again' and returned to his book. Had it just been John and Kay in the room John would definitely have followed up that remark with some even less disguised dirty remarks of his own, but instead he shrugged it off, the earlier expression gone, replaced with one of almost careless nonchalance. "Well I could do with some new t-shirts, most of mine have been used as makeshift bandages or tourniquets, so go right ahead." The last four words were said almost like a challenge, before he flicked the corners of the newspaper upwards with a loud rustling sound.

 

[MzHyde]

Fia looked at Cliff as she put down her half eaten burger to talk with her, knowing that if Cliff was doing such an action then it was worth listening to whatever was about to be said. So she did exactly that, she listened intently to what Cliff was telling her, knowing she was utterly right. She nodded when Cliff was finished talking, "I know.. Deepndown I know that. I just hope I don't change me too much. If I become anything like Rinaa's version of me? I don't know what I'd do..." she said to them both before smirking and groaning at Cal's more light hearted remark. "don't remind me, it's super weird!" she chuckled.

Kay saw that dirty cheeky glint in John's eyes and the signature smirk that said his mind was well and truly utterly in the gutter. Seeing how her remark got John's mind working, she smirked smugly once more finding that her little off the cuff comment worked just as she hoped. Chas' reaction only made it all the more amusing to her, especially when she saw John put his poker face back on show and come out with a weak comeback. She could tell he was making those words a challenge for her, so she grabbed hold of that challenge and decided that yes, she would indeed make him such a t-shirt just to be that person. "be careful what you challenge me to" she simply said back before turning back to her book.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Cal could see that what her wife was saying was not only right, but also getting through to Fia, the words were sinking into the other teenager's mind. "Unfortunately if you did become that version of you, you wouldn't know any different, you wouldn't think there was any world where the two of you could get along in any shape or form. The way you act wouldn't seem wrong to that one, in fact it would be justified by a whole lifetimes worth of experiences. From the little Rinaa's said, that girl seems to be a cold hearted, emotionally manipulative bitch." There was a venom lurking in Cliff's voice as she described the other Fia, Cliff wasn't the kind of person to insult somebody like that, she'd swear at all kinds of things, but calling anybody a bitch a something she didn't do unless she truly meant it. Cliff opened her mouth as if to say something else, then stopped herself. Instead she said something else, not wanting to betray Rinaa's trust by telling the other two something she'd been told by the teenager in the strictest confidence. "That person isn't you, we can all see it, even Rinaa, somewhere she does know it, she's just unable to accept it." Cal nodded in agreement "You're a good kid Fia, you deserve a good life" she added, meaning every word. Th two couldn't help but chuckle slightly at the look on Fia's face at being reminded that she was Rinaa's aunt. "Yep, if you were any older you'd have to be giving her copious amounts of money, letting her do things her parents wouldn't approve of and in general spoiling her rotten." "Don't forget giving advice on how to get over her ex." Cliff added with a smirk. "That too." Cal agreed.

John scoffed at Kay's words. "I think you'v forgotten who you're talking to, I don't do 'careful' nor do I really listen to advice. You two" he pointed a finger at Chas and another at Elliott"back me up on that." "With pleasure." The cabbie smirked."Careful isn't a word in John's vocabulary, never has been, don't think if ever will be really. As for listening to anybody? Sue he can do that. But taking advice on board? You've got yourself tangled up with the wrong man, unless he actually agrees with the advice, he'll sure as hell do the exact opposite" "Or do it his own way." Elliott agreed running one hand through his hair. "Issue anything that sounds even remotely like a challenge and he'll be onto it. Throw himself headfirst and see what happens next, that's John's usual style." Despite the fact that Elliott and Chas were right on the border of being very insulting, John gave a raised eyebrow look over the newspaper that said 'SEE, I'm right."

 

[MzHyde]

For the daughter of John Constantine, Fia could really take advice and listen. Unlike her father, Fia knew if she was given solid advice she should take it and not dismiss it completely. She nodded unable to disagree with Cliff at saying what a manipulative bitch the other Fia was. "I agree with that" she said briefly sensing Cliff was going to say something else but held back, knowing it could only mean it was a trusted secret told to her by Rinaa. She smiled a small smile when Cliff added that Fia was nothing like that other version of her. She looked toward Cal when she also complimented her wholeheartedly, nodding. "I try my best, I just wanna make my family proud I guess" she shrugged. Before the conversation turned more light hearted. "and considering I've never ever been in a relationship that'd be something of an achievement. But our family really is the most screwed up I swear" she chuckled.

Kay just rolled her eyes at John's words. She hadn't forgotten who she was talking to in the slightest, and knew damn well that he never took advice unless he agreed with it or did the careful thing. It was one of the stranger things that attracted her to him without her even knowing it. It was only now she was starting to see it. "oh I know exactly who I'm talking to and that you don't do careful or listen to advice blah blah blah" she smirked. "don't mean I won't end up saying it every now and then because quote frankly, you should know by now I'm someone who ends up sounding like a broken record" she said. Sure, it was a borderline insult to herself but she knew she had a habit of repeating herself on certain things even if it ever went down on deaf ears so to speak. "but let's face it, you'll no doubt tell me shit I won't listen to" she added, not looking away from her book.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Cal and Cliff could see the affect their praise was having on Fia. They knew that being thousands of light years away meant that Fia rarely, if ever, got to have these kinds of deep chats with them, which made this one all the more important. "Well I think you're succeeding at that, and exceeding what any of them could have expected really." "I agree with my wife." Once again upon using the word 'my wife' to describe Cliff, Cal was unable to stop the grin from spreading across her face "you're doing amazing Fia, if even you have kind of showed up at one of the most hectic reunions possibly ever." Cliff couldn't help but laugh at that remark. "True, true, if another time traveller showed up claiming to be OUR kid I probably wouldn't be THAT surprised." She added with a laugh, Cal joining in. Neither of them wanted kids, and given the jobs and amount of travelling they did, having a child would require a major overhaul of their lives, something they didn't want as they were more than happy with how their lives were at that moment. This was a mindset that didn't change in either Fia or Rinaa's timelines.

"There is that." John agreed, knowing that there would be times where Kay wouldn't listen to anything coming out of his mouth, and with good reason, what came out of his mouth wasn't necessarily good ideas, useful advice or what he actually wanted to say. Elliott couldn't resist a jab. "Luckily I'm moving out, so I get to miss all this kind of talk." He said with a smirk, setting down his sketchpad and heading to the kitchen to raid Cal's fridge, which thanks to Deke being an amazing friend was fully stocked with all kinds of things, including his favourite childhood drink, which came in a garish orange and green plastic bottle. Chas couldn't resist a chuckle at that Elliott's remark. "So judging by John's reaction, or lack of one, you told him your plans I take it?" "Yup, I did, you were right, I was overthinking it." "Told you so." Chas told him with slightly smug tone in his voice, but no malice. "Once again proving that you are an invaluable person to go for for advice." "I do my best" the cabbie shrugged modestly. "You do more than that mate, and that's why we love you." John told him in a tone that was both fond, sincere and firm in a way that made it clear that he would just let Chas brush off the compliment like he usually did.

 

[MzHyde]

Fia smiled at Cliff telling her she was making her family proud, even if she very rarely heard from them herself. She could see how being able to call Cliff her wife meant and did to Cal and it was honestly the sweetest thing she always saw. She hoped she could one find someone who showed that much pride and love toward her, even without marriage. She just wanted what they had, the loyalty and love of another. She chuckled at the timing comment, knowing she picked one hell of a time to show up, but it wasn't exactly her choice of timing when it really came to it. It was either travel back or watch the future version of her dad just self destruct on the couch which would have resulted in them losing her mother well and truly. "thanks you two, honestly. Means a lot and don't worry, you two definitely don't have a kid in my timeline" she reassured.

When it came to Kay and John and listening to advice, they were as bad each other. He literally had to call her out on how she was feeling to make her talk and listen to him on the couple of times he did find himself being the one giving the advice and not taking it. She chuckled at Elliott's jab about how herself and John talk to each other, finding herself roll her eyes but smiling at the same time. She was going to say something, but he got up to go to the kitchen whilst Chas figured out that Elliott had indeed told John about the moving out idea. "probably for the best Ell, I mean, all you'll hear is pointless tidbits of advice, reassurance or utter bullshit come out of our mouths whilst Fia cries constantly no doubt and we're trying to quiet her" she smirked. "saying that, dunno how you could possibly want to miss all that!" she then quipped sarcastically.

 

[_gallifrog_]

The remark had been an off hand one, neither were really expecting a confirmation from Fia. But it was reassuring to hear that their mindset on having kids didn't change in the future. Cal and Cliff both gave each other identical looks of relief when Fia confirmed that they didn't have any kids in the future. "That's a relief to say the least, I don't know WHERE we'd put another person, even with Rinaa sleeping at Moya's most nights." Cal responded with a smirk. "Don't say that, you know full well we can fit twelve people in that apartment, and they'll get a decent night's sleep too. We'd just have to start doing what we do when the whole gang stays over. Everybody going tops and tails with somebody, then make up the coffee table into a bed, along with the kitchen table, and you could always do a Rinaa and have somebody sleep in the bath, preferably somebody shorter than her, as they could fit into the bath without any body parts sticking out." "Fair point, that could and has worked before. But would it really be practical for a long duration?" "Probably not." Cal conceded, "but it could lead to some pretty funny moments." By that it was clear that she was referring to the now infamous 'shit on a stick' scene.

Elliott of course had a snappy comeback in mind "besides Fia crying how is that any different from a normal day at John's flat?" He asked to which Chas chuckled, attempting to hide his laughing grin behind the book (and failing, John could feel the grin emanating from behind the book). "Oi!" John called over, waving a disapproving finger at Elliott. "You contribute your fair share to the bullshit and pointless advice. What was that one about microwaving mushroom curry?" Elliott's ear reddened dramatically at the memory. "Fair point." Elliott mumbled, pushing his hair back and ruffling a hand through it like he always did when he felt embarrassed. "What was that?" John smirked in a typical 'I know exactly what you said, but am going to be an annoying parent about it' way. "You heard me perfectly well, or are you going deaf?" Elliott didn't make any age jokes, even though Cliff wasn't around, he didn't want to cause any offence by suggesting was deafness was something that only came with old age, especially as his sister in law's deafening had been the result of terrorist explosion.

 

[MzHyde]

Fia smiled and chuckled in between the last few bites of her burger as Cal and Cliff spoke of their relief of not ever having kids in her timeline then discussing about fitting people in. When the bath was mentioned, Fia instantly remembered getting the accidental jump scare of her life from Rinaa sleeping in there and groaned, rubbing her hands together to get rid of the burger crumbs before looking at them both as they clearly referenced her outburst. "don't remind me of people sleeping in baths and how it can lead to 'funny moments'." she said, making air quotes with her fingers on both hands around the last two words she spoke. "I'm really never gonna live my outburst down am I? But at least admit it's a bloody great saying" she summarised.

Kay just had to laugh at Elliott's comeback because it was true for the most part. It was barely any different to a normal day at John's and having John react the way he did, just made it all the more funnier. Shhe was well aware of Chas laughing behind his own book as well, which made the whole thing all the more entertaining to be apart of. She watched on as John got his own back with a remark, making Elliott get high embarrassed. She didn't need to know the context about it to be amused, Elliott's embarrassment was more than ennough for her. She continued to smirk when John pulled a typical annoying parent card on Elliott, before chuckling at the retort that came after it. "careful Ell, keep it up and you'll soon find yourself neck deep in baby shit and diapers when it comes round!" she warned jokingly, knowing she (and assuming John) wouldn't ever really throw a dirty diaper at someone, but it always made for a good threat.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Cal and Cliff shook their heads in unison. "Nope not gonna happen." "None of us are ever going to let you forget it, unless you whammy us with some illegal and/or highly classified mind-wiping chemical." Cliff added. It was a good phrase, so far nobody else had managed to produce a phrase as funny or unexpected, most stuck for regular swearing or had enough control over their reactions to not to let the shock dislodge their mental filters. "Pretty sure it's gonna be referenced whenever the next family gathering is, probably another twelve or so years time, given how long and how much planning it took my brother to get back here." "There's no denying it's a good phrase." Cliff agreed, taking up her burger again and taking another massive bite out of it.

Elliott just smirked at Kay's word, a smirk that John knew meant Elliott had expected such a comeback and had already prepared some kind of response for it. "Already got that sorted, I'll be using Jay as a shield, throw anything in my direction and you've got a pissed off assassin to deal with." There was a smugness in his voice that suggested he would indeed do such a thing, and a contradictory teasing edge that suggested he wouldn't do such a thing, not wanting to risk Jay's wrath being turned on him. Elliott had seen Jay angry, had even been the cause of said anger before, and knew it was not a place that anybody wanted to be in. Jay could be pretty damn terrifying when pissed off, John and Kay had even walked in on such a time, the time Elliott had been sucker punched across the room by Jay. "Adoptin' Luci's strategy I see?" John remarked rhetorically before smirking and continuing. "Well it's a damn good strategy when you have a personal assassin, so i can't really blame you on that."

 

[MzHyde]

Fia smirked at Cal and Cliff confirming that no matter what, they were never going to let her forget that moment and will use it against her at any family reunion possible. She also smirked slightly more smugly when Cliff agreed it was a great saying. "note to self- get a mind wiping drug for next family gathering" she joked back, before shoving some more chips into her mouth. She wouldn't really do it either Cal or Cliff because knowing her luck Cliff would have figured out an antidote to said thing and would have had it on standby for someone to give them both so they remember again. "and damn straight it's a great saying" she said one more time between mouthfuls, before deciding she had enough as she was saving herself for some of the cake.

Kay looked at Elliott, deciding that whatever comeback would come out of Elliott's mouth would be a good one, so she decided she had to pause reading for such a moment. She chuckled at the genius idea but also found it wasn't so genius knowing that she wouldn't be the only one who get Jay's wrath, but so would he. She knew Jay's wrath was not something one should experience willingly, knowing how damn scary the woman could be when angry. "touché Ell, but pretty sure I wouldn't be the only one who would be on the receiving end of her anger and do you really need another black eye or worse from her? " she smirked. She knew Elliott wouldn't really risk such an action, her tone conveying exactly that. "and anyway, whose to say I'd do it when you're awake and alert?" she added cheekily.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Even though she knew it was a joke, couldn't let it slip. "I wouldn't recommend it, used wrongly those kinds of drugs can have some pretty horrific side effects, I haven't seen them personally, but I have a colleague who works with attempted suicides and drug abuse patients. She has some pretty grim stories of people who've tried to wipe things from their minds and essentially erased themselves in the process." She shook her head. "Anyway, that's besides the point, I'm supposed to be trying NOT to think about work." "I'll just distract you with the cake menu then?" Cal suggested with a fond smile. "I KNEW I married you for a reason!" Cliff declared happily as the menus were passed out. Like last time Cal translated and both women gave their opinions.

Chas decided to stay out of the bantering and jut watch it all unfold, it was shaping up to be far too funny to tell them to stop. He'd met Lucifer before, and Maze, perks of being john's personal driver was that he met a whole raft of people, human or otherwise, most of whom paid little attention to him outside of giving the odd direction. "Yeah.... that wasn't my finest moment." Elliott admitted, running his left hand awkwardly through his hair again."Just goes to show that you shouldn't blame anybody for the death of their siblings, let alone their twin." Elliott's words were intentionally phrased in that way, a way that made it clear that he wasn't just talking about Jack, but John's unnamed twin brother too. And judging by the very slight nod of his head, John knew exactly what Elliott meant. Before anybody could make any further comment and drag the mood down Elliott spoke again. "And besides, who said I'd be sleeping over?" He shot back with a raised eyebrow and 'I've got you now' grin. "In case you've forgotten, I only need four hours sleep, while you two will probably passing out at every available opportunity like Chas did as a new parent."

 

[MzHyde]

When Cliff started going on the path of talking like the doctor she was, Fia had to smile but roll her eyes at Cliff's spiel. She gave the look that said "yeah yeah I know" without actually saying it, laughing when Cal mentioned the cake menu and Cliff declaring what she did back. With the menus being handed round and Fia having it translated to her, she listened to the recommendations before deciding unsurprisingly that she was going to have the layered chocolate cake.

Kay felt quite smug for the briefest moment when she made Elliott react the way he did at reminding him of his last moment of pissing off Jay, before nodding at his words, knowing that it was best not to accuse someone of such a thing. She chuckled when he brought the mood back up with the retort he chose making her roll her eyes. She had to chuckle at his smug grin and next comment, "if you think I won't rope you in for a babysitting evening job every once in a while you're greatly mistaken and you're forgetting I am capable of staying awake if I have to. The night John found me, I had been awake for three days by that point, even if I'm unbelievably tired from the night shifts" she countered. She knew when Fia was born what she said was utter bollocks and Elliott was entirely right, she would be passing out at any opportunity she could find.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Once again Cal did the ordering for everybody, Cliff ordered the same as Fia, because she was a sucker for a good chocolate cake, and while it wasn't quite the spiced chocolate orange cake of the winter months, it was still delicious. The service was prompt, they were only waiting a couple of minutes before the deserts were brought over by the waiter. Unlike most places, midday wasn't peak business time for them. Peak hours were when the cadets were given an hour or two leave in the evening every few days or so, and later at night when the senior officers came looking for a drink and food that wasn't rations. Both women tucked in as soon as the food was placed down, and it would be clear to Fia from the first bite, that the cake was just as good as the burgers.

The length of time Kay had been awake didn't come as a real surprise to either John or Chas. In John's case, Kay had mentioned it before to him. While Chas hadn't been around at the time it was mentioned, he knew the signs of somebody who'd been awake for far too long and had recognised them in Kay when he was helping John shift her unconscious body into the cab. "Yeah, but that's hardly a surprise. And babysitting requires staying awake does it not? Especially with a really young kid? How that's even supposed to be a valid argument I don't even know." Elliott dismissed Kay's words with a wave of his hand. "This is where I interject and bestow you with my parenting wisdom. No matter how good you are at staying awake, it's completely different with a baby. I'd do three or four day shifts in the cab without much sleep when I was younger, yet when Trish came along I'd be practically passing out. I used to kip in the box room, the room you're in now Kay, I was so tired sometimes." "And with my sister it was a similar story, being wrecked tired, except the asshole who happened to be Gem's father chose to walk out around then" John's tone made it quite clear that he had severe issues with his sister's ex, who had died shortly after walking out on Cheryl. His death was utterly unrelated to John, the man had made some enemies, who took their revenge. Neither Cheryl nor John mourned him.

"Which made matters even worse than it was for Chas as a new parent. Bad enough that I moved up to Wales for a bit." By which John meant 'bad enough that my sister actually asked for help'. Like John, Cheryl was fiercely independent and almost never asked anybody for help, determined to solve things on her own. But being a single mother to a couple of month old baby proved too much, so she called John (Chas was on a proper holiday for the first time since his own daughter had been born, so John was the next best thing). "To help her out and have some incredibly awkward conversations about feelings and all that jazz."

 

[MzHyde]

Fia waited for the desserts to arrive with Cal and Cliff and was so impressed by the quick service. She took her first bite of the cake and instantly fell in love with it, seeing why Cliff loved the cakes so much. The texture and sponge was so moist and spongy, not in the least bit dry, whilst the richness of the chocolate really came through but didn't detract from the lightness of the sponge. "don't tell mum but this gives her cakes a run for her money" Fia said, pointing her fork at the cake as she spoke. After that first bite, it didn't take her long to demolish the cake at all and wiping the sides of her mouth of the chocolate filling that had found its way onto her face.


Kay just sighed, knowing she was defeated by Elliott, even though she was hinting that even babysitting overnight he would no doubt fall asleep at some point. She glanced over at Chas who decided now would be the perfect time to interject his opinion which would be taken on board by Kay. She simply nodded at his words and at John's when he added his experience from his sister's time being a mother to a young baby. She could hear the disgust for his niece's father in his tone, and decided there and then that was not a subject she wanted to get into with John. "okay okay, I stand down so to speak" she smiled, her tone still being light. "I'll let you lot win this one" she added.