Miranda Rose Murray

RP LOG with timemaychange | Twin buns in twin ovens

2010-04-17T03:40:58Z

Mel had sat stewing at home long enough. She did manage to escape to go to work on occasion, but mostly been sitting around the house she now shared with Nathan wallowing. She was pregnant, she felt like a fragile piece of shit that couldn't even watch a movie about Batman without bursting into tears when someone got hurt, and she hated it. She just wanted to feel something other than useless, and the truth was that she missed her sister more than anything. For some reason she and Randy just hadn't talked, and she wanted to fix it. She knew it was partially her fault since Randy had told her not to come near her because of the pregnant cooties rubbing off, and Mel listened. Nathan was right - she could have been stubborn right back, and not lost her sister.

Even Matt had gone quiet, and all Mel could do was wonder if her brother was okay in the wake of Aiden and Pat getting hurt. After pulling on a hoodie over the top of her pajama pants, and one of Nate's t-shirts, Mel got in the car to make the drive to Randy's place. She couldn't be bothered getting changed, so her sister was just going to have to put up with the extremely casual get up. If she wanted her to change, Randy could find out for herself what it was like to wear a bra and tight shirt when your breasts were aching like anything. Going to work was murder on Mel, but she needed to do it. She needed to prove to herself, and maybe even Nathan that the florist job wasn't too much while she was pregnant. Hell, she was only just a couple months gone. She didn't even really have much of a bump yet. At least the vomiting had eased just a little. She could actually keep food down. She just couldn't help the weird combinations that she sometimes craved.

She pulled into her sister's driveway, and climbed out to go and knock on the door and wait, her hands tucked into the pouch of her top as she bounced on the balls of her feet. For all her complaints about feeling tired, sore, and run down, there was still a part of Mel that seemed restless. She figured it was the half of her soul missing her twin.

The test had been done. Despite all her Googling and researching, Randy had still sat in that bathroom hoping the little screen shot back a negative result. No such luck. It wasn't even little blue or pink lines. This one was top notch, and a tiny screen actually declared to them both 'POSITIVE', in capital letters and all. How could anyone argue with capslock, seriously? The test had remained sat in the bathroom on top of the box ever since, Randy returning to look at it at regular intervals to try and convince herself it was real. Peter didn't argue, and in fact, Randy spotted him taking his own few double-checking trips back there a couple of times. Even though part of them had this niggling notion that Randy really was pregnant, the result was still an awed shock to them. It was like Peter had been trying to do his best to stay positive and prop her up, but until the result actually came, it didn't specifically feel real.

She was still a bit in a daze about it all. The symptoms were there. Boy were the symptoms fucking there, but it just mostly felt like she had some weird flu. After their bath, Randy had literally curled up around Peter like one of those body pillows and slept for hours on end. God help him if he needed a pee or anything more. She had passed out clutching to him for dear life and agreed to take the test when she woke up. Luckily she had been almost exploding for a pee and there was no pee shyness whatsoever. In fact, she peed like a fucking racehorse and it was probably a longer wait for her to finish than it had been for the test to develop. But it was all over now, and Peter had gone into work for a short shift after making sure about twenty times that she would be okay, and surprisingly she had been. She had built herself a coocoon of covers from the bed on the sofa with all the pillow around her, her textbooks in easy reach while she watched shitty daytime TV and studied a little. Then the not-morning sickness hit and just as she had crawled stiffly back into the coocoon after going ten rounds with the toilet bowl, the doorbell rang and she groaned, wondering if she would go to hell if she just ignored it. But it went again, so she wrestled her way back out, keeping the leopard print Snuggie on that she had bought in a fit of insanity during the early days of her pregnant cooties. Turns out the stupid looking blanket with arms was actually quite warm and comfortable. Clashed horribly with her purple cow pyjamas, but still, like she fucking cared. She opened the door and found her sister standing there. Her breath left her in a rush like she had been kneed in the gut and before anything else, she found the words, "I'm pregnant," falling from her lips as soon as she saw her twin.

Mel had no answer, the Snuggie the first thing to send her speechless even before Randy's shock announcement. "Um," she started, and then stopped and just blinked. She pointed at Randy before pointing back at herself and just letting her mouth fall open. It was a long moment before Mel moved and just threw her arms around her fuzzy sister, trying to ignore the feeling she was hugging some kind of jungle druid. "Shit," she breathed out. "When? How? I mean, not how... Wh--What?"

"Peter has mutant sperm," Randy offered, the words muffled from her sister's shoulder. She made no move to release the embrace, though. This should have come days ago... weeks even. There was no such fucking thing as pregnant cooties. She had just been terrified of the alternative to want to stop and think on it. "Latex isn't stopping it, clearly. But it just... I don't know... I don't... he... we... I have no idea, but I have an invasion in my uterus. It's been there about five weeks."

"Five weeks?!" Mel squeaked, and then gripped her sister a little tighter. The second she'd thought she was pregnant she'd told Randy. She didn't know why, but there was a slight twist in her gut as she wondered if Randy really had only just found out. She'd teased her sister about being pregnant before, but Randy had been adamant about being mental, and about having pregnant cooties. "Holy fuck... I can't believe it. Are you okay? Is he okay? I can't believe his mutant sperm! I'll kill him."

Randy's shoulders slumped. "No, not really. I feel so fucking sick, it's not even funny. I haven't had a period in six weeks, but I just... I don't know what was wrong with me. I didn't want it to be true. Does that make me a fucking horrible person? No! No! You can't kill him! I need him around for this, because there is no friggen way I am doing it on my own! I just... just..." She looked at her twin helplessly. "I hate it! I don't like feeling pregnant at all. I have no maternal instinct. I just know it makes me sick, and sore, and pee a lot. It also makes me constipated and gassy. It makes me hate toast, and it makes me fucking cry. I don't like any of it. I want a refund!"

Mel drew her eyebrows together as she watched her sister, pulling her mouth to the side as she brushed her hand over her twin's blonde hair. "Think I like it any better? I don't know how you figure I have maternal instinct, but I don't. I'm shit fucking scared of this whole deal, and I won't kill Peter... if only because I get it since I need Nathan just the same, but I need you too, and I've missed you. Even if you're like me. I cried the other because I burned the toast. Maybe I was picking up on your toast hate vibes?" She gave Randy a small smile. "I'm really sorry, sis. I thought it was enough one of us was knocked up, but both of us? This is gonna end badly."

Randy put her hand over her face. "I haven't told anyone, I didn't even want to tell myself. I was even inadvertently avoiding Peter, but not really. We just couldn't get on the same page with everything going on at his work and with the bunch. I... I feel like I'm hijacking on your time. Like, it's supposed to be a special thing, and I've gone and hijacked you out of it. I didn't mean to, and I'm really sorry! I don't know how it happened. I hate condoms. Fucking useless pieces of shit. I-I haven't told Matty, but I saw him at the hospital the day of the accident and... and... Nate knows. Peter told him."

Mel's face twisted briefly. "Nate knows? He never... He didn't even say he saw you except for that time he tried to kiss you. I can't believe he didn't say anything. Then again, he is good with the secrets thing. He never tells people things you confide in him. And hey, you're not hijacking anything. Why would you be hijacking? It's not like I'm some sort of centre of attention. I'm not. I'm happy just hanging in the background. I'm no one special. Now I'm just pregnant. I mean, it's kinda weird still. I'm slowly getting used to it, I don't really have a choice. And now you're pregnant too. We're pregnant together. Truth? I'm kinda glad I can share it with you." She tilted her head as she looked over Randy. "Are you okay? Did you see them? Aiden and Pat?"

"He hasn't seen me. He saw Peter, at the hospital. Peter was ending a long shift, Nate was going onto one, and Peter just let slip. I got pissed off at him before I realised what I was doing. I'm serious bitch with this whole thing. When I'm not crying, I'm feeling like chewing someone out and Peter usually gets in the firing line. It was only a couple of days ago and Nathan probably didn't want to say anything while I was being all crazy bitch. He might've been risking his life." Randy scraped her fingers through her long, messy hair. "I'm not really okay, no. I'm trying to process it. I just confirmed it yesterday, my head refuses to take it in. It's mental. How can we both be pregnant like this? We didn't even plan it. I don't feel old enough to be pregnant. I'm not ready. I don't know if I'll ever be. And... and... yeah, I saw them. Just brought back those horrible memories of Matty."

Mel pulled her sister back into a hug and rubbed her hand against her back. "Okay, okay... Maybe you're getting my bitch hormones to boot? I mean, all I do is cry. I haven't even had the horny thing yet. I wanted the horny thing. That I could handle. Being an ugly blubbery ball of watery mess I can't handle, I hate it. I was nearly crying because of how beautiful I thought a flower was at work. It's pathetic. I'm sure Peter understands, otherwise he wouldn't even bother getting into the firing line in the first place. He can take it. Shit, how are you going to tell Matty? I remember that... I didn't ever want anything to remind me of that again. I'm sorry you had to see them."

Randy had an overwhelming urge to throw up all over the place when the thought of telling her big brother was waved in front of her. In fact, she pulled away, clamping a hand over her mouth and tried to debate if she had to bolt to the bathroom, of if she would even make it in the Snuggie. But she managed to swallow the urge back with a small cough, pressing her lips together and drawing in a long, deep breath through her nose and then let it out again slowly. "It's okay... I inadvertently got some free shrink attention after it. I could see with my own eyes Matty was okay. He was there, he was going into the surgery with his ex ninja lay. Speaking of, I think Matty's seeing someone. I just get a feeling. Anyway, I dunno how I'm going to tell him. I dunno how I'm going to do any of it. I'm not sure I'll even be able to feel like it's real until I can see it with my own eyes."

Mel watched her sister with concern. If Randy was going to be sick, Mel would probably go out in sympathy and she was enjoying not losing every meal she ate. "Free shrink attention? Oh, Lachlan. Nate told me about that, too. It's great you finally got to meet him. I'm glad. He's seeing someone? Seriously? He never said... Why didn't he say? Is this another ninja lay? The other one ended so well. Until you get a bump? That's probably not going to be for a while yet, and if you wait that long, Matty's going to wonder why you never told him. Telling him... sucked, but I did it."

Randy nodded and closed the door, needing to move back into the house to her sofa solace before she keeled over and got tempted to not get back up again. That was another thing. Dizzy spells. So far, only a couple and never when she was with anyone. She needed to go and get a check up with a doctor, once she figured out which one she trusted enough to touch her. "I don't know, but I don't think it's like before. He outright admitted there had been someone when I asked but he didn't elaborate. It's probably just early days. I haven't seen him much the past couple of weeks, and the whole accident thing probably fucked with his mind, too. Pat's his boss." She sighed and flopped back into her nest on the sofa. "I just need a few more days in denial, then I'll try to deal with it."

Mel made Randy move enough so she could climb in the nest with her, arms wrapped around her twin as she comforted her sister. "Okay, so take a few days. It's normal. Can't believe Matty's already found someone, but then he is Matty. He probably obliviously got himself caught up before he realised. But if he's just saying it's early days, that's good. It means he does maybe want it to work out. Or that there could be later days. Doesn't stop me wanting to know who she is, though."

Randy rubbed her hand roughly over her lower stomach and puffed her cheeks out with a long-suffering breath. "Why anyone would choose this is beyond me. I always thought those mothers out there that go on about glowing and being in touch with their inner goddess and feeling a cosy warmth when they're knocked up were so lucky. It made it sound sort of appealing, you know, when the time might've come. But this is just bullshit. All I feel like is that I've eaten dodgy food. Sick and bloated. This is supposed to be the honeymoon period, you know? All lustful and feeling sexy in a relationship. Now I'm just worried I'm going to feel like barfing during sex and terrified I'm going fart so loudly in front of him, they hear it in Alaska. But at the same time, right now it feels extremely satisfying to fart. I'm turning into a bloke. Speaking of." As if to emphasise, Randy farted loudly when she couldn't be bothered holding it in, even if it was muffled in the mound of blankets and pillows. She closely followed it by a second one and then scrunched her nose up in annoyance of herself. "I'm also turning into the fucking Easter Bunny, because all I want to eat right now is carrots. I think after the last fling, he's probably trying to do the right thing this time, take it slow, not get in too deep too quickly. He must be still able to work with the other chick okay. They were both there that night. But I have no idea who she is, either. Lachlan mentioned it, something about seeing Matt with a blonde girl. I didn't push him on it, because he doesn't know Matt that well and it was just mentioned in passing, but bloody hell. Who could this blonde chick be? The other ninja lay was brunette."

"Tell me about it," Mel murmured before kicking in with a fart of her own. "I love Nate like crazy, but I know I'm being an emotional wreck, and I'm crying when I should be laughing, or losing it over goddamn toast. I just really want the horny part to kick in. I want to go back to wanting him like my life depends on it. I miss those times, you know? But I know he's also busy, so at least this lets him catch up on his rest, I guess. I haven't actually barfed during sex, so I think you're safe. The farting can't be helped, and you're just going to have to learn to relax about it. Carrots? Huh. I don't have the carrot thing." Mel smiled just a little. "Do you think? Because that would mean it's kinda not a fling. We might actually get to meet the blonde chick. Is she really blonde, or bottle blonde? Not that I can judge."

Randy shrugged a little, losing her steam again. "I don't know what to think anymore. My brain has malfunctioned completely. I can't even focus on college, and that's scaring me. I'm so screwed if I fall behind. I'm scared to tell Matty because I know he didn't take it well with you and Nate, but then at the same time, I know that was mostly just a lack of condom thing more than anything. He felt like he had failed as big brother or something. This is just... it's an accident. Something screwed up. I have never not used a condom with Peter and I'm on the pill. But there was a few times there when my body was a bit screwed up when I was stressing about some assignments and I made myself sick. It probably screwed with the pill, but that's why I kept with the condoms. Only, it must've burst and we didn't realise it. Peter's all with the super hero powers, so maybe he just has ninja sperm. We don't know, we've tried to analyse it. I just don't want Matty angry at me. I-I did seriously contemplate an abortion. Does that make me horrible? There's maybe even a tiny part of me now that would go with that, if I had the conscience to go through with it, but I don't. I did think about it, though..."

Mel kissed the top of her sister's head and gave her shoulders a squeeze. "It's normal. How could you not think that when we have a choice? I thought about it, but I just can't. Nate would never let me either. As for Matty, at least you've known Peter a while. It's not just a few weeks, or something. I think that was his other big bone of contention. He couldn't get why I was pregnant when he'd never actually met Nate. He didn't know I was in love with him, or anything, and I really regret that. I should've shared Nate with Matty in the beginning."

Randy nodded a little, looking at the pile of mess she had managed to build on their coffee table. Then she frowned, looking back at her sister. "When did we stop talking to him? Going to him whenever anything was wrong? Even when he was away at college, we still used to talk to him all the time. We've become those sisters, you know. The ones who get boyfriends and start thinking we don't need our brother anymore."

Mel's eyebrows knitted together and she felt like shrinking back until the couch swallowed her. "I never wanted to be one of those sisters... What do we do? We can't keep being those sisters!"

"I-I don't know. I didn't even realise til now, but it's true, isn't it? Neither of us have either really had serious boyfriends before, but the minute we do, Matty's all with the thinking we're pushing him away and not talking to him. And he's right. I've just been telling myself he's too busy with work whenever I think about going to talk to him, but I think I've been making excuses. The thing is, too, he's not going to come to us and interfere if he thinks we don't need him anymore. He's just going to keep his distance... and that's what he has been doing. He stepping back and letting Peter and Nate do their thing," Randy realised.

"But I don't want him to stay away. I need everyone to do their thing! I need you doing your thing, and Matty doing his thing, and Nate doing his thing so that I can do my thing! There shouldn't be seperate things. It should be a big ball of things." Mel was really starting to get worked up now as the realisation dawned on her, too. This wasn't good. This really, really wasn't good. "I miss him."

Randy nodded, biting down on her lip when she felt close to the urge to cry again. She just cleared her throat and reached over to pick up her cell phone. "Let's call him, get him over here. Should we? Means I have to tell him, but then it will be out there. We can talk to him and get our brother back."

Mel nodded as she raised her hand to start chewing on her thumb nail. "Yeah, do it. Call him. I don't think he's working right now. Plus I'll be here for the moral support when you tell him. Shit, I still can't believe it. Both of us pregnant..."

Randy just looked at her twin, bewildered. "Me either. If I start crying uncontrollably when he gets here, you have to talk for me. I don't want anymore secrets from him," she resolved and started dialling in their big brother's number.

Word Count | 3,826

RP LOG with imgrounded | Wading through the delusion

2010-04-05T11:18:57Z

Randy knew she was shaken, and it didn't have anything to do with what she had affectionately come to term the "phantom pregnancy". When she had gotten home from the hospital after witnessing the aftermath of the accident, she had cried herself stupid in the car before even making it back inside. She lost track of how long she sat there, and it was probably the early hours of the morning before she pulled herself together and dragged herself inside. She didn't shower, she didn't eat, she just crawled into bed and hugged Peter's pillow until she managed to fall asleep from sheer exhaustion. The talk with Lachlan had been nice, and she even found herself agreeing to meet with him again the following morning for a coffee so they could continue their talk when RJ decided to puke all over Lachlan's shirt and he had to go home to change. Peter must've gotten home a short while after her that night, but she wasn't aware when he did, just that instead of prying his pillow out of her grip and disturbing her, it seemed he just opted to share hers. When she woke up again in the morning, he was once again gone and back at work. It would be a miracle if he didn't keel over from lack of sleep.

After going three rounds with the toilet bowl, convenietly ignoring why that would be, she had shoved on some jeans, a hat and a hoode, not having the energy to make much more effort. She met with Lachlan for coffee, and was shocked when he allowed her to ask him questions about the shooting and actually freely answered her, especially about the PTSD, which she was studying for her final assessment at college. And then she nearly fell off her seat when she got the guts to ask him to be her case study, and he agreed. She went back home around lunch time feeling tired, but a bit more better in spirits. But somewhere between watches Beaches on the TV and taking a call from Mel, Randy's mood took another low-flying swing downwards. Head once again in the toilet bowl, she found herself crying on the bathroom floor over the fact Aiden was hurt and Pat was hurt and that the little lost puppy on the washing liquid add was lost. She also had a desperate urge to eat mocha ice cream with strawberry topping even though her stomach was churning. She was shuffling down the stairs in her pyjamas, hair a mess, eyes red and puffy from crying, wiping her nose on some soggy toilet paper and navigating her way to the kitchen when the front door opened and then closed, and Peter's voice called out her name.

Before Randy had a chance to react, or dive under a table and hide in her horrifying state, he appeared at the bottom of the stairs and she just froze like a deer caught in headlights, the toilet paper clutched in her hand like a lifeline. Where had the bloody time all gone?! She sniffled, and tried her best to tell herself she looked aweome, maybe her body listening and miraculously tranforming itself into poised, groomed psychologist-to-be rather than wife of Swamp Thing. Instead of something witty and interesting coming out of her mouth, though, a sob caught in her throat and renewed tears splashed down her cheeks. It was just like Mel on the phone, who had started crying when a sad song came on her iPod. "I'm not crying!" she sobbed pointless and then hid her eyes with the shredded toilet paper.

Peter's arms were full of take-out, a brown paper bag from the pharmacy, and a bunch of flowers for Randy. He dropped them all as soon as she started to cry again, and moved up the stairs to meet her halfway. His arms wrapped around her as he cradled the back of her head, and pulled her against him protectively. The conversation with Nathan was still fresh in his mind, but he hadn't been expecting to come home and find his girlfriend hiding behind shredded toilet paper.

His heart automatically ached for her, and he just wanted to do anything to stop Randy being upset, but he was almost too scared to ask what had happened. Peter kissed the top of her head as he pulled back a little, and smoothed his hand over her hair as he looked at her. Even like this she was beautiful to him. He couldn't help it, every time he saw a different side of her he just seemed to fall further in love. Even when she was being mental. "Then what's with the leaking?"

"Because I look like shit and I hate looking like shit," Randy said tearfully, trying to push the tears away but more just insisted on coming. She huffed wetly in annoyance, only the response caused her to need to blow her nose which just trashed the toilet paper even more. She proceeded to bury her face in his shoulder, risking the horrifying indignity of getting snot all over his shirt and then snaked her arms around his waist. For a long few moments she just stood there, a couple more small sobs catching in her throat as she tried to fight off the weird emotions crawling around inside her. "I sound like Kermit the Frog!" she finally added in another teary wail.

"Okay, see, that really does make things awkward because I don't want to be accused of having sexual fantasies about Kermit the Frog." After a moment he smirked lightly and rubbed his hand against her back. "But I know it's not easy being green. And you don't look like shit. You look beautiful. Just a little watery, that's all." Peter took his hand away briefly to pat his pockets and pulled out a wad of napkins he'd grabbed from the Chinese place just in case, and offered them to her. "You gonna talk to me about what's going on?"

Another sob caught in her throat, but only because now she was wallowing in self-pity, she may as well wade there for a little longer. "I'm green!" she agreed tearfully. She took the napkins and wiped her nose, watching him over the top of them as she tried to sniffle back the tears. She took the wad of napkins away, puffing out her cheeks as she tried to regain her composure. "Everything is just so sad! It is. It's really sad, and everyone hurts, like that REM song... that song..." She looked at him, more tears spilling down her cheeks just at the mention of it. "And you know what? Puppies should have homes, they all should. There should be big puppy houses where they can live so none of them get that lost look like on the ad!"

Peter frowned a little as he watched her, trying to keep up while he brushed his thumb against her cheek to try and wipe away some of her tears. "You know what, you're right. There should be big puppy houses." He nodded a little, even if he still wasn't quite sure which ad she was talking about. It felt like a lifetime since he'd been able to just sit and watch TV and enjoy it. Most nights if it was the two of them, and they were watching something, Peter was asleep before he realised. Randy was the first person in a long time to make him relaxed enough to actually sleep. Now he was guilty for passing out on Randy until she nudged him awake. "So everything is... sad. Is there a reason why everything was sad? I saw Nate at the hospital today. Just before I left. He told me about Pat and Aiden, about you being there."

Randy's eyes searched over Peter's face, wondering initially what Nathan knew, and what he didn't know. He knew the whole situation was just huge from all angles, it was hard to wrap even a normal person's head around it, let alone one as messed up as hers. She nodded, a small frown appearing on her face. "I saw them. I was there to bring you dinner and I was waiting for the chick at the desk to give you a message, only I don't think you ever got it. It all exploded before anything could happen. I saw you there, taking instructions from the doctor... Riley, wasn't it? I saw both of them. Aiden first and he was all..." She turned a little green, a small gag catching in her throat as she remember the sheer amount of blood. She pressed the napkins to her mouth trying to contemplate if she was going to throw up again, but she fought it, even if when she spoke again, her voice was a little hoarse. "I haven't ever seen anything like that before... at least, not since Matty... when he... there was just some bad memories coming back."

Peter swallowed. Truth was he'd seen far too many horrible things. He was almost desensitised to the sight of that much blood, and the idea bothered him. Doctors and nurses were trained to handle horrific sights, but it could still get to them emotionally. There was still some initial shock. Only Peter rarely bat an eyelid these days. Sylar had a lot to answer for. His own Dad had a lot to answer for. He had never wanted Mel to see anything like it, but now he was too late. He tilted his head as he arched his eyebrow slightly. "Since Matty what? I'm so sorry you were there, baby. I would never... If I'd have known, I would have got you out."

"Matty got me out. I was just... I know it sounds screwed, but once I was watching, it was like I couldn't stop. Like watching a scary movie but you are waiting for the end to try and reassure yourself it'll have a happy ending. Does that make sense." Randy started to feel drained again and moved to drop down on the step, wringing the napkins in her hand. "When Matty was sixteen, we were only fourteen, he got messed up. Drugs. Heavy, heavy drugs. He changed, almost to a scary point. We hardly saw him. Then we got a call that he had been rushed to hospital with an overdose of a bad hit of ecstacy. We went there, and he had been throwing up blood, they were trying get his heart to start again. He had a heart attack or something, I can't remember. It wasn't the same with Aiden and Pat, but things just twig in your head, you know? Matty cleaned up and he was okay once he recovered. But that time of our lives really sucked."

Peter sat down on the step next to her, and put his arm around her shoulders to hug her close to him. He kissed the top of her head before he rest his cheek against it. "Yeah, it makes sense. It happens with accidents all the time, so of course it happens with the emergency room. We'd stop and stare too if it wasn't for the fact we have to help these people. It's morbid curiosity. You can't help it. Doesn't mean there's anything wrong with you." Peter stayed quiet as he listened to Randy, and squeezed her a little tighter before he reached out with his free hand to brush the backs of his fingers against her cheek. "Shit. That's... That's intense. I had no idea. I never would have pegged him for a drug user, or for doing anything to push you two away."

Randy started chewing on her thumb nail of her free hand and gave her head a small shake. "Neither did we. It was like he changed literally in the blink of an eye. One minute he was Matty, next he was telling our Dad to go fuck himself six ways from Sunday in a screaming match on our drive, looking like he was some sort of... zombie version of our brother. It all happened so quickly. When I think about it now, it seems like it all happened in just a few days, but it was more like a few months. Six, maybe? Give or take. We tried to help him and talk to him, but you know drug addicts. He wasn't listening, didn't want much to do with us, but he didn't know what he was doing. He fell in with the wrong crowd, one who had easy access to all the shit. It's so... terrifying how easily someone you love can slip away from you. You don't always have time to catch them before they fall, no matter how much you want to."

Peter nodded slowly. "Tell me about it. There's never enough time... Never enough ways to try and convince them that they're harming themselves. I still can't see it, but I guess we all have... moments. Dark moments. You understand that Aiden and Pat are going to be okay though, don't you? It's going to be a while, but they'll get through it. Aiden had a really close call. He had glass in his throat which was only half an inch or less from slicing his main artery. It was a lot of blood, but they gave him a transfusion and now his body's just recovering. He's in a coma, but sometimes it's needed. The body just has to stop."

"I know, to look at Matty, it's almost impossible to imagine. But the whole thing scared him shitless, and he worked hard to recover. We were so proud of him. He even went on to be a counsellor for young kids in the earlier stages of drug abuse, looking for rehabilitation. It's what helped him decide to be a nurse, too. It's a lot of why he's so protective of us, too. He knows there really are things out there that can hurt us, and he doesn't want us to go through what he did. He comes on strong, I know, but other than that bad time, he's always been the most amazing big brother. Once he chills, he'll be fine with you and Nathan. Once he knows your intentions are in the right place..." Randy swallowed again, wetting her lips. Her stomach was still really upset, but it was an odd sensation in that it didn't quite feel like any illness she had before. It was just a sensation of feeling sick, no other symptoms. "I-I know... I do, I guess. Lachlan explained some of the blood thing to me, he's a haematologist. He explained it from his own experience, though... and hearing about that really made me think about things, put some stock into what I have. I just didn't realise any of the thing with Pat and Aiden had hit me so hard until I got home. I just sat in the car and cried. I couldn't stop. Things looked intense, scary. Like, there was no way of even telling right then that Aiden was alive, let alone if he would stay that. Are you okay? I mean, when it's someone you sort of know, it's gotta be real hard."

"Me? I'm just tired, but don't worry about me..." Peter gave her shoulder a squeeze and almost started to laugh. She was the one in tears, and sick, and pregnant, and witnessing horrific scenes, and she was still asking him if he was okay. "There's, ah... There's something else I really need to talk to you about, though. I just wasn't planning on coming home and finding you green. My intentions are in the right place, so he can trust me on that. I don't ever want to hurt you if I can help it. Just wish I could have protected you from being hurt by other things. You should have said something, Randy. You should have told me you saw all that. Still, if you did actually talk to Lachlan about it then that's a good thing. I don't want you feeling like you need to keep it all to yourself."

Randy hugged her arm around her middle, hunching forward a little. "It wasn't intentional, I promise," she told him, searching over his face to make sure he was understanding. "We just haven't managed to fit on the same page since it happened. I've been so tired, and your shifts were all over the place. The only reason I didn't tell you was because I haven't had a chance. I was going to. I was. It was hard trying to put it in words, though. I didn't really talk much about it to Lachlan. He just did a lot of the talking and reassuring because he was experiencing it, too. Pat's his best mate, and I think he just naturally has the right words. I want to be like that one day, help people."

Peter leaned forward so he could catch her lips in a soft kiss before he pressed a kiss to her cheek, and then another one to the top of her head as he tucked her hair behind her ear. "It's okay. I'm actually glad I was here for this otherwise we might have just kept staying off the same page, and I don't want that. I really, really don't. I need us on the same page again, even if it means you're still busy with study, and my shifts are all over the place. I haven't had much chance to talk to him yet, but I can see that. He seems like a pretty wise man. It's rare to find these days." Peter gave her a soft smile. "You'll help people. You will. You helped me."

"I think he just loves life so much and is thankful every day for having a second chance. With a mantra like that, you gotta see the world differently. Too many people in this day and age have their heads up their asses. But if you nearly lose your life and see people you love suffering, you must just start to think differently. He believes in miracles. I'm thinking I need to take a leaf out of his book." Randy was feeling a small chill crawl over her, just probably from the fact she was tired and run down. She had a deep urge to put on her daggy pyjamas and frog socks, and get into bed, staying there for a whole day. She looked back at Peter with a small smile. "I haven't done anything. Probably driven you nuts more than anything. I tried to warn you I was an acquired taste. What do you need to talk to me about?"

"Hey, I happen to think I've acquired your taste," Peter replied softly. "I'm definitely looking to acquire any other tastes. I'm a green man now. Strictly into frogs. Which isn't mean to sound as insulting as I think it might. I ran into Nathan at the hospital," he started gently, watching her face. "He caught me at the end of my shift when I was trying to come home. We started talking, and I wasn't exactly open when we first started, and I was also exhausted, and he was talking about Mel, and you, and seeing you and trying to kiss you. And how you'd been behaving just like your sister. I might have slipped up..."

Randy's eyes were huge as she just looked at him like a deer caught in headlights. "Slipped up with what?!" she found herself squeaking. She barely remembered running into Nathan. She was sure she left her brain in the car when she got to the hospital. She knew she pushed him away though, she just hadn't meant for it to be so intensely. She just panicked a little when her twin's boyfriend's lips were getting extremely close to her face. Not that Nathan looked like a monkey's butt or anything. But Randy wouldn't ever betray Mel, not even by accident.

Peter bit down on his lip, his grip on her a little tighter. "Telling him you were... pregnant." He froze, waiting to see what was going to follow. He wanted to be prepared, because if he were honest, he really didn't know which way Randy's emotions were going to go. And if he was about to get kneed in the nuts, or have a sobbing girlfriend on his hands.

Despite all the craziness, Randy was still Randy under all of it. Her first reaction was to want to give him a healthy smack in the head, but she managed to refrain by squishing her hands down in between her knees. At first, she just glowered at him, her mouth hanging open as her brain fought to catch up with his statement. "You don't bloody know I'm pregnant for sure!" she finally exploded, unable to stop her voice raising a couple of octaves. "You can't just go around telling everyone I am when I might not even be! I don't go around telling people about your things! Do I? I haven't even told Mel!"

"I know!" Peter raised his hands with his palms facing her as he moved off the steps back down to the take-out bags. He fished out the brown paper bag from the pharmacy, and stayed standing as he held it out to her. "It just slipped out, okay? I kept my mouth shut all this time, but I was fucking exhausted, and it just... I couldn't help it. I don't even know how the hell you're keeping it to yourself, because I'm at my wit's end here. I can't even talk to you about it. You just change the topic, or ignore me. So I'm taking matters into my own hands, and if you need me to take a piss in front of you so you're able to pee on a stick, then I can do that."

Randy stood up, glaring at him as the 'not-pregnant' mood swing took another turn. "How often do fucking secrets slip out when you're exhausted?!" she snapped accusingly. "How would you like it if all your secrets slipped out when I'm fucking exhausted?! You don't think I'm allowed to take a little bit of time to get used to all this before we confirm it? That I maybe need some time to figure out what the fuck I'm going to do about being a pregnant whale during my final exams when I'm supposed to be kissing the ground that I'm finally graduating?! I'm not ready to be all happy and excited about this yet, because I'm just fucking terrified! And when do I ever bloody ignore you?!" she finally added, feeling herself well up as a niggle of hurt bit in her gut at him saying that.

Peter immediately sat back down beside her and pulled her against his chest. "Hey, hey... no, not like that. I just mean there's a little bit of selective hearing if I try and ask how you are in the mornings. I didn't mean a general ignoring. See? I really am dumb when I'm exhausted. And look, if you did let out some of my secrets why you were tired... I'd... be pissed for a little bit, but forgive you?" he offered quietly, his voice going up an octave in the hopes she would forgive him. "I just... Mel's pregnant. You might be pregnant. Nathan's got a head start in all this, I'm still floundering. I'm not expecting you to be happy right now, or much of anything. I just can't cope with the denial. You either are, or you aren't. We're either trying to figure out a game plan, or we don't need one. You still don't... if you can't keep it, I'd understand. I'd never ask you to give up your study, or the career. I'd be a stay at home Dad. I don't have a problem with that. The nursing isn't such a huge thing. I can live without for a little while, even until the kid's ten, or something. I've had my graduation, and my career. It's just a job. I love it, but at the end of the day it just stops me from sitting around twiddling my thumbs."

"I just feel like I'll suck as a mom. I don't have any of that mojo and I didn't even think about any of that stuff. It always feel like way off whenever the subject came up. It was like it was for everyone else, you know? Then Mel was pregnant, and that was scary enough, but she can pull it off. She's different to me. I've always been more selfish than her, more focused on things that aren't important to anyone but myself. I don't even know how to be pregnant! I could learn how to use condoms and I rocked at that. 'Birth' only ever went with 'control' in my brain. Not 'birth' and 'baby'. Ever. It's not really denial, it's just a sheer incapability of fucking thinking about this at all. My brain implodes every single time I try," Randy told him helplessly, her voice shaky.

Peter rubbed his hand against her back and kept his cheek resting on the top of her head as he felt his heart twist in his chest. He wasn't good with the emotional help, not really. Everyone figured he was amazing at being empathic, and identifying with people, but how was he supposed to identify with this? He hadn't been pregnant before, he didn't know how she was just meant to be a mom. "I think you'd be better than you think," he started in a low whisper, "I think you're stronger than you give yourself credit for. Your brain just needs a certainty to latch onto. You can't grasp the concept if there's no proof."

Randy's face scrunched up and her shoulders slumped, which was a feet, considering her posture was already defeated and had been for a few days now. "There's proof..." she mumbled and then sighed heavily. "I'm late. Not even a little bit. More like over two weeks late, and I've never been late in my life. Meaning, I haven't had a period in about six weeks, and that I probably got pregnant around Valentine's Day, or... you know... a couple of days after it when you fucked me into oblivion after that string of long shifts you had. Meaning I'm probably around five weeks, and due around the third week in November," she reeled off tiredly and then looked up at him. "I Googled."

Peter just stared at her for a long moment before he kissed her forehead and started to brush his fingers through her hair. "I still got you a test. I... I didn't know what else to do. I'm sorry you Googled. I'm sorry I fucked you into oblivion, and I'm sorry my sperm's so super strong that it bursts through latex. I know the timing is beyond bad, but we'll get through this. You're not alone, and I really would give up the nursing to be a stay at home Dad. You can go and help fix people."

Randy was pretty much useless of late, so she really wasn't surprised in herself when she just looked at him for a couple more beats and then promptly burst into tears all over again. She brushed her palm over her eyes to try and wipe them, but it was useless. "I'm not crying because I'm unhappy," she sobbed. "I just need you to know that. I don't know why I'm doing it, but I just do, and then I don't, and then I do again. Then I start throwing up like a tsunami, and then I stop, and I then I start again! My boobs hurt so much I've been walking around with icepacks stuck down my bra and looking like Dolly bloody Parton! Which really isn't a good look, you know? And I keep getting this weird headache that just drills behind my left temple, and I can't stand the smell of toast cooking!" But the tears started to ease off as quick as they started and she wet her lips, tugging at her pyjama top when she started to feel hot and sweaty again. "You can't give up your work, you're too good at it, it's what you're meant to do."

Peter gave her a crooked smile as his eyes swept over her face. He really did love her. "How do you know what I'm meant to do, when even I don't know? I thought I was meant to save the world, but look how that turned out. Sometimes I think maybe I'm just meant to be here, with you now. Maybe even a family man. I'm glad you're not crying because you're unhappy, but it hurts knowing I can't really fix it, or the boobs. I just promise I won't ever cook any toast. I think you just need some more rest, baby. Maybe a bath?"

Randy nodded. "Okay," she agreed in a small voice. "And just for the record, I'm reserving the right to hate this whole pregnant thing with a passion, from start to end. It's horrible, and I don't know how anyone actually likes it, even if they get, like, a big prize at the end of it. I don't even know how I'm going to get through it. This is too much for one body. I should have been born with a penis. You all get it easy with your wet dreams and random boners."

Peter's eyebrows went up, and and he couldn't hold back a chuckle as he leaned in to kiss her forehead. "If you did have a penis, I might suddenly find myself gay. Not even a gender change is going to stop me loving you. You can hate it all you want, I promise never to try and make you love it. I'll admire you from start to finish for going through it, and just be ready to get my balls squeezed when you're giving birth the big prize."

Randy looked up at him, her facing scrunching up a little. "I thought we could just skip that part, maybe ask for a fast-track? Pay someone else to have it for me? I've already decided that if I really am pregnant, it's going to be a really tiny baby. Maybe about the side of a tennis ball. Then we can just inflate it when it's out of me, feed it lots of carrots."

Peter nodded his head as he tried not to start laughing again. "Sure, of course. Tennis ball inflatable carrot eating baby. Stranger things have happened."

Randy gave him a firm whack in the arm. "You aren't allowed to mock me, either. I'll cry and make you feel bad. I have first dibs on the bathroom at all times, too. If you're shaving, and I need a pee, you're just going to have to deal with it because I have all this gross shit going on right now and you're in it with me the whole way. The good, the bad and the ugly. You'll dread me striking up a conversation over breakfast in case I want to talk about constipation and hemorrhoids."

"Hey!" Peter exclaimed as he pulled away to rub at his arm. "I didn't need that. I can handle you peeing while I'm shaving. I think you'll work out I can handle a lot. I'm not afraid to take on your whole gross shit and ickiness. And I'm not mocking before you hit me again! Just because you're pregnant that doesn't mean you get to beat me up."

Randy frowned. "I barely tapped you, you big wuss," she snorted and pushed her hair over shoulder, starting to walk away. "You knocked me up, I'm allowed to make you hurt too, occasionally. That's the way it goes."

Peter caught up with her, slipping his arm around her waist since he'd decided he would help her with the bath. Just not touch her breasts. Ever. Even if he already missed them. "You're a harsh mistress, Randy Murray."

Word Count | 5,378

musebysentence | 66.4. Breakdown

2010-03-15T07:39:30Z

LINK: Despite thinking she kept her cool pretty well, when she got home from the hospital, something crept up inside her and the next thing she knew, she was bawling her eyes out on the steering wheel of her car before even making it inside.

RP LOG with drcampbell | Chance encounter

2010-03-13T01:32:05Z

[Follows THIS and THIS]

Randy really didn't expect that dropping into Princeton Plainsboro to see Peter and bring him something for dinner to see him through the long shift would explode in a shocking mess the way it did. Of course, she was only peripheral to it all, but that didn't make it any less horrifying. She had been standing there at the nurses' station holding a bag of takeout and waiting for the receptionist to find out where Peter had gotten to when everything seemed to blow up around her. It was subdued one minute, as she stood there watching a mother nursing a baby in her arms in the corridor, and the next nursing and doctors were rushing around, shouting something about casualties from a car crash on the freeway. Someone else was shouting about prepping an OR, and the next thing Randy knew, a team of paramedics came rushing down the hall wheeling a gurney that contained a man covered in blood. Nurses seemed to appear from nowhere - Peter included - and a doctor that looked familiar to Randy started barking orders at everyone. The only thing was, as soon as the guy saw the patient, he balked and the shouting faltered. Randy realised then that this wasn't just any casualty and the familiar faces weren't a coincidence. This was a sector of the bunch from The London, and the patient was one of their own.

All Randy could do was just stand rooted to the floor and watch with morbid curiosity, her mouth hanging open slightly. She had never witnessed anything like this in her life, and she worried that if she did move, she would get in the way. But then a second ambulance arrived with a second patient. This guy was covered in blood too, but he was wrapped in one of those silver blankets for shock. At least she knew that much. His neck was in a brace and one of the female paramedics was holding his hand as he was wheeled in a completely different direction to the other guy. The ER went from a quiet night to utter chaos, and Randy realised Peter might not even make it home at his usual knock off time.

But it wasn't over. Just when she thought it couldn't get anymore distressing, Matt came rushing up the hallway with his ex-covert lay right behind him. Both were in scrubs with surgical masks hanging around their throats and they started having an intense conversation with more people in scrubs that Randy couldn't hear, lots of hand gestures seeming to emphasise whatever was being discussed. It was only then that Matt actually spotted Randy, doing a double take when he realised his little sister was there and what she was witnessing. Some words passed between him and his ex-covert-lay-boss-lady-person, who looked basically like she was close to tears but trying to hold it together. Matt bounded over to where Randy was standing, dumbfounded, and caught his hand in the crook of her elbow. "Randy, go home. Peter's not gonna be able to get dinner with you. The patients brought in, it's my boss and his husband. They were in a really bad crash out on the freeway. Just go home, okay? Go to Mel. It's gonna be a long night. We're about to go into surgery with Aiden."

"Aiden? Who's Aiden? You have to go in there? But he's all... there's blood... is he alive? What surgery?" Randy started to ramble automatically, still holding the takeout bag helplessly.

Matt was already leading her to the ER exit. "Aiden's my boss' husband. I can't tell you what surgery. It's a privacy thing. He's alive but he won't stay that way without the emergency surgery. I've got to go, sis." Matt gave her cheek a brief kiss and pointed to the door. "Go to Mel." And then he was gone again, disappearing back through the heavy double doors of the ER that swung closed behind him.

Randy just blinked, finding herself in an oddly quiet corridor with a connecting waiting room, a surreal contrast to the environment she just left. It was some sort of clinic or something, but out of hours, and it was shut up for the night. She looked down at the bag in her hands, realising after witnessing all that blood, she had no appetite. In fact, she was feeling quite nauseated. She put a hand over her mouth and dumped the untouched food into the nearby trash can. She was really supposed to just go home? It wasn't that she personally knew the people who had been injured, but she sort of felt like she did. It was Matt's boss. She backed up a bit, wondering if she should just follow Matt's orders. Normally she would, he was her big brother afterall. But part of her wanted to just stick around for a bit to make sure Peter was okay. It couldn't be easy when someone you knew or a colleague rocked up as a patient seriously hurt. Then there was Matty. He had to be in a surgery for his boss' husband? What if the guy didn't live? How did you deal with something like that?

She didn't go home. She didn't go to Mel. Instead, she sat down in the deserted waiting room and just... waited. She didn't know how long she waited, and deep down, she knew she wasn't really expecting anyone to come out and let her know what was going on. Peter didn't even know she was there, and as far as Matt was concerned, she had gone home. After awhile, though, she gave up and started to head towards the hospital exit. She was lost in her own thoughts, unsure of why this all was making her gut churn. Maybe because she had heard Matt mention his boss a lot, that the guy didn't have much of the world's luck on his side. It was just natural for Randy to be affected by this, it was an automatic instinct to want to try and help in some way.

Distracted by her swirl of thoughts, Randy wasn't watching where she was going. She followed the now familiar trail towards the exit, having taken it often after meeting Peter for breaks since they started dating. Staff and visitors were littering the halls and she rounded the corner towards the main entrance and promptly slammed into someone hurrying in the direction that she had just come from. She was going to lose her balance, and could feel herself falling, but some strong arms caught her around the shoulders to prevent it. She squeaked in surprised and before she had a chance to even swear in shock, she looked up and realised just who it was she nearly bowled over.

Lachlan Campbell. The Scottish doctor she had been secretly hoping to talk to for some mentoring for... longer than she could remember. She never intended to act like a fangirl when she immediately blushed a deep red and floundered, mouth opening and closing. It was so fucking wrong to be awed by someone for the pure reason he had been shot in a high profile case. But it wasn't that! That was a small part of it. She was way more awed by how well he had managed to get his life back on track, and that he was studying psychology himself. There was also the fact he had a reputation for being extremely wise and she had wanted to pick his brain for her own studies. But every time she had tried to pluck up the courage to get in touch wih him, she had chickened out. Now here he was and she was acting like a dipstick.

"You alright there, lassie?" Lachlan immediately asked, his hands still on her arms to make sure she wouldn't fall anyway. "I'm really sorry. I shouldnae have been rushing like that, nay in this place. You cannae see around the corners and isnae any doubt that someone will be there when you arenae watching where you're going." He was breathless, worry and slight hint of panic edging his tone. Once he knew she was back on her feet, he let go, holding his hands up apologetically. "Easy to be distracted when you have family in this place, though."

Randy didn't think, and she was going to blame the pregnancy she didn't know that was yet. She had been deluded and playing ostriches, burying her head in the sand about the whole thing. She still hadn't taken a test and for the moment, she had convinced herself she wasn't going to either. This from a person training to be a psychologist. May as well waltz completely down the Idiot Road, right? "I know who you are!" she blurted out and then put her fingers up to her lips like they had just betrayed her. "I mean... I'm sorry. I don't mean to sound like a stalk-" Oh shit. he had been shot by a stalker. She was completely fucking this up. "Crazy nutjob?" she ended meekly. "I just... I... I've lived here my whole life, and I-I know... all the stuff. But I'm studying to be a psychologist, and I heard you were doing the same, and I was hoping I could maybe talk to you one day, but I was always too chicken shit, because I hear that you're really quite awesome, and I was slightly intimidated. Okay, a lot intimidated. I've seen your band at The London, and I figured I would just come across as a crazy fangirl stalk- I'm not going to use that word. But I still am, and I know I'm not doing myself any favours here right now and I wouldn't blame you if you called security and had me strip searched. It would be nice to skip that step though because I'm wearing my Bridget Jones undies, even if Nana always warned me to always have nice underwear one." She abruptly snapped her mouth shut, and just looked up at him with wide-eyed apology.

Lachlan wasn't sure he actually had the mental capacity or frame of mind to deal with this right now. He would be lying if he didn't admit it was confronting... and only a stone's throw away from where he really did actually get shot. He had taken a step away from her amidst the ramble, but it was a subconscious reaction, as was folding his arms across his chest. His own eyes were wide as he just looked at her for a few long moments. She reminded him a little of Tara in the very early days of their relationship. Not stalker material, just anxious. "Sorry... I just... wow," he began and cleared his throat, regaining his composure. "It's okay. Dinnae be getting a complex or anything. I just..." He gestured towards the elevators. "Come with me. We can have a wee chat. I just cannae do it here. I have a family member in surgery, so I need to be up there right now. Just chill a wee bit, aye? You arenae going to get too far in your career if you go at a patient like a smack in the face," he said with a small laugh, already heading towards the elevators. Of course he wanted to help her out, even if he was making sure the security cameras were working and aimed in the right direction. He just needed to get to the Surgical waiting room in case Aiden had any complications with the surgery. He was still reeling from hearing what had happened. He had come from Pat's ICU room, his best friend sedated so the shock didn't tax further on his system. He had promised Pat right before he was put out though that he would make sure Aiden was taken care of. Now it was just a matter of waiting, and Lachlan had only left Pat when Cameron was brought to his room, Pat's twin looking white from his own shock. He had pretty much told his doctor's to go fuck themselves in regards to his knee. He was going to sit with his twin whether they liked it or not.

Randy gave a slight nod and followed him without question. Now it was just awkward as she shut up and fell into silence. She was just stunned he really hadn't called security and had her immediately removed from his presence. She really wouldn't have blamed him if he did. She would have her removed if she approached her like a smack in the face, as he put it. That really had been a good metaphor. But then, of course, her mind found some rationality when she put the pieces together to remember Matt's boss was Lachlan's best friend and she noticed now how ragged he looked, perhaps like he had been woken with the news his best friend had been in a car accident. Once they were in the elevator, she figured it was safe to speak again. "I'm sorry for back there. Temporary insanity. I... my boyfriend works in the ER. I was there when I think your family member was brought in, and my brother is a Surgical nurse here. Nurse Preston is his boss. Not that any of that makes me less a dork, but it's partially how I know who you are... and stuff." She cleared her throat and looked up at the numbers above the door.

"Dinnae worry about it, really. I understand. I just dinnae take unexpected onslaughts so well these days. I promise, I'm nay pissed, just distracted." Lachlan scratched the back of his head. He knew he was looking a bit like an unmade bed. The truth was, he had been woken by the phone call of Pat and Aiden's accident. He had been up all night the night before with RJ, whose blood sugar levels had been up and down, causing him to be grizzly and unsettled. It meant he had tried for an early bed that evening while Tara had bathed their son and got him ready for bed. But it wasn't meant to be. Riley had called, having been on shift when Pat and Aiden were brought in. Aiden had a shard of glass stuck in his throat and it was killing him. He had lost a lot of blood, and was going to need surgery to remove the glass and a blood transfusion. Pat, who had been driving, had kept Aiden alive until the paramedics could pull them from the wreckage, but he wasn't in any condition yet to talk about what happened. For now, everyone could only assume it was a freak accident.

The elevator reached their floor and he stood aside when the doors open, letting her go out first. He hadn't even thought to ask her name, even if she did know his. It was confronting for him at any time to find him suddenly face the subject of his shooting. He was dealing with it better these days, but this sort of thing still threw him off guard. Along with everything else, his head felt a little like it was spinning. As expected, he found Tara in the waiting room, pacing back and forth with a sleeping Riley nursed in her arms. He shared some brief words with his wife and then gave her a soft kiss. She was going to head down to make sure Cameron was okay with Pat while Lachlan took vigil for Aiden's surgery. She passed their son over into his arms, both deciding it was less chaotic here for him to stay asleep, and then after another kiss, Tara stroking his cheek soothingly, she headed to the elevators herself. His arms wrapped protectively around his sleep baby son, Lachlan kicked the baby buggy over towards the nearest seats and carefully sat down as he kissed the top of Riley's head. He glanced up at the woman with a tired smile. "So, you're studying to be a psychologist. A lot of work, that." He indulged in letting out a heavy sigh, his eyes moving to glance around the room. The wait was never easy.

The scene between husband and wife hadn't been lost on Randy. In fact, she had been mesmirized by it. She had never considered herself the marrying sort much, but now... maybe she was? They certainly made it look nice, even in the face of adversity. She subconsciously rubbed her hand over her stomach, not even realising she was doing it. Then her eyes had locked on the little blond baby in his arms, nestled contently in dad's arms. He had hardly stirred when he had changed hands. He was beautiful, and no doubt about the fact the man holding him was his daddy. They looked very much alike, and she felt her heart skip a beat of anticipation. Would her kid look like her? Or would they look like Peter? Not that she was pregnant. She swallowed and wet her lips. She couldn't miss the heavy sigh. "Do you... want to talk about it?"

Lachlan smirked faintly at her. "Good start there. Much better than the verbal face slap." But he shook his head. "Nay right just yet. That isnae anything against your psychologist skills. I'm just tired, and it's hard to know how to feel this soon after receiving a shock. Still feeling a wee bit numb. You're right, Pat's my best friend. His husband is in surgery. They were in a bad car accident, but we dinnae know the ins and outs of it yet. Pat isnae in any condition yet to give us info. He was driving, Aiden was the passenger. The window beside him smashed on impact and he's got a severe laceration to his throat fro a large piece of broken glass. They need to remove it, probably do some plastic surgery to take care of any potential bad scarring. It's a danger because he lost a lot of blood..." He felt a shiver creep over his skin. It was impossible for his mind not to return to his own experience with all this. "But the doctors and surgeons here are top class. He's in good hands. I would... trust them with my life. Have done... a few times."

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Randy asked helplessly, wringing her hands in front of her. "I mean, now? It must be really hard, and you have little boy to take care of. This is stupid. You have other things to worry about and I'm just being a pest."

"No, you arenae. Times like this, distractions are welcome. Aye, we could do this over a coffee some days... but I wouldnae, you know," Lachlan had to reveal to her. He started rubbing Riley's back softly and made sure his Elmo blankie was wrapped warmly around him. "I would run you around in circles with the conversation, leading it back to you so I wouldnae have to talk about my own experiences. I didnae profess to be innocent, even if I've had bad times. If I dinnae want to talk, I dinnae. When are you due?"

Randy nearly fell out of her chair, her mouth dropping open as she gaped at him. No one fucking told her he was psychic! What was with all these dudes around her with superpowers? She didn't want anyone reading her mind! She didn't even want to read her mind these days. "I-I-I-," she stammered and gave her head a tiny shake. "I'm not.. I... it's..." She floundered, waving her hand.

"Dinnae be getting a complex on me. I saw you rubbing your belly a wee minute ago. Subconscious actions, you see it a lot in pregnant lassies, especially when you're a doctor. Lots to be said in maternal instinct. Just thought I'd take a stab in the dark. I figured you wouldnae belt me in the face while I was nursing my bairn," Lachlan explained in amusement. "I take it isnae planned then? Dinnae mind, though. This wee one wasnae, either. Didnae know we could plan, see. Willnae go all pro-life on you, but isnae any other life experience will ever touch that of becoming a parent. Wee tiny people, they take over your whole world and make your heart want to burst out of your chest when they smile at you."

Randy's shoulders slumped. Thank god he couldn't read her mind. That would be embarrassing. He didn't need to know that she was wondering why Scotmans didn't like underpants. "It's just a matter of timing and choices..." But then she scrunched her nose up a little and pointed at him. "I see what you did there. Does this mean you don't want to talk?"

Lachlan smirked, holding her gaze. "It means you're the psychologist here. You ask the questions. Bearing in mind, you arenae always going to get cooperative patients. In fact, more often than not, you willnae. Isnae their fault, a lot of people just dinnae know how to really talk. It's a concept thrown around loosely, but often never achieves much at all. I only learned that when it came time for me to try and evaluate my own subconscious. I realised I couldnae do it, ended up panicking every time I tried because I was fearful of what was locked away in there."

Randy was nervous. Had he just given her open season on asking him anything? Or was he telling her he was basically not going to tell her a thing? All the theory and study, she felt a little like she really was suddenly thrust into dealing with her first patient, even if he wasn't. And he really did have this whole Yoda thing going on. She realised she couldn't really read him at all, yet he had this presence, like she really wanted to spill her guts to him and offload her own worries of late. She liked him, and was starting to mentally smack herself for not approaching him sooner. He could have really assisted her with her studies. "Does sitting here, waiting, make you think how your wife felt the time you were hurt and being operated on to save your life," she heard falling from her mouth. Maybe it was going below the belt too quickly, but he had opened the book for her.

"Aye," Lachlan replied quietly without hesitation. "But I cannae ever possibly know how she felt. Nay completely. She talks about it, tries to explain, but there was many different things at play that night. Wasnae just me getting shot. Emotions from prior events, fears of the future, uncertainty. Isnae anyone ever going to know how she felt that night but her. Same as there isnae anyone who is going to understand how I felt in the wake of it. Nay completely. That's a lot of the reason why I chose to study psychology myself. To try and help people who are going through that. As you know, psychology isnae the blacks and whites of a situation, it's the grey areas. The emotions and feelings."

"How about tit for tat?" Randy suggested, finding herself watching the sleeping baby again. He looked so small, so... reliant on everything his mum and dad did. It was unnerving, but she shoved that train of thought away so she wouldn't have to linger on it. The only person she had told was Peter, and even then, he still hadn't been able to convince her to take a pregnancy test. If Lachlan had picked up on it, she was worried about who else might be able to. "I sort of understand how all this feels, only I was young when I experienced it. Early years of high school, and I don't think it would have been on the same level. My brother got messed up in drugs for a short period. He's two years older than me... us... I'm a twin, like Patrick. But, um, yeah. Matty fell in with the wrong crowd, he really changed for a bit there and scared us. Turns out our fears were well-founded. He ended up taking a bad hit of E at a rave one night. He was only sixteen, we were fourteen. It caused him to have a heart attack, he stopped breathing, spent two weeks on life support..." She trailed off, looking at a poster for a nurses union on the wall across from them, her nose scrunching up just a little to try and prevent herself from crying. They really had thought Matt would die. "So, I understand a little bit."

Lachlan nodded, watching her face closely. "More than a wee bit, love." He carefully moved to nurse Riley in one arm, receiving a small snuffle of protest at being disturbed before the baby boy just nuzzled his face in against Lachlan's shoulder and slept on. He held his hand out to her. "I'm Lachlan, by the way. Thought I better introduce myself officially. Havenae ever managed to get used to the title of 'The Scottish bloke who got shot'. I'm sorry you had to experience something like that so young. But I know your brother through Patto, and I havenae any doubt he got his life back on track after it. Still, isnae something I would wish on any family. But it's that empathy right there that you'll be able to draw on to make you a good therapist. There's only so much you can learn from textbooks. And tit for tat... well..." He paused for a moment, thinking what he could offer in return. "Our wee lad here, he's the only one will have. Didnae even think we could have him, but it was one of those unusual medical things. He's our wee miracle. But I cannae have anymore. I had a lot of damage from complications after the shooting. Lots of surgeries. When doctors are trying to save your life, sometimes they cannae help making errors, needing to sacrifice something else to keep you alive. That's what happened. About a year ago, nay too long after Riley was born, my wife got drunk. She's Irish, see. Like to have a drink on St Paddy's Day. She got so drunk, lost her inhibitions, ended up telling me she wanted to have another baby with me. It was a hard thing to swallow after she had been telling me she was okay with just the one. Drink can pull out the deepest, darkest secrets. It hurt. Brought up a lot of guilt I had battled after the shooting."

Randy was listening intently, watching the little flickers of emotions across his face. She had taken his hand and shaken it, but when he stopped talking, she realised she still had a hold of it and released it. "Randy. Uh, Miranda... but I prefer Randy. Sounds less like a stripper's name. Miranda Rose. I have no idea what the hell my parents were thinking." But she dismissed discussion about her name with a tiny wave of her fingers as she held his gaze. "I can't even imagine how that would have felt for you. Does she... is she... I mean, you guys look amazing together. Like, pin ups for us relationship cynics. How did you get over something like that? It must've made you feel like you were failing her all over again."

Lachlan felt tears prick his eyes, but he managed to blink them back, biting on his lips for a moment. "Oh aye. Like you wouldnae believe. I dinnae think that's anything I will ever really get over, though. Sometimes things happen to us that shape us, but they also scar us. Become things we just live with and mould ourselves around. Tara's an amazing mummy. One of the best to walk the earth. One of the best wives, too. She and the bairn are my life. She gave me herself and she gave me him, just when I wasnae sure I wanted to hang on anymore. I had a lot to deal with after everything that happened, physically and mentally. I got to a point where I was just so tired. Too tired. But she held me up through it, gave me a reason to live and keep going. I wanted to give her the world, but I suddenly felt like I couldnae even give her this one thing she wanted the most deep down. Another bairn. I would have given anything to have another with her. Making this wee lad is the best thing I ever did in my life. I got engulfed by that sense of uselessness again. But she was drunk, and I couldnae blame her. We talked about it, talked a lot. She beared her soul to be all over again and truth was, she did want another baby and so did I, but that doesnae mean it was going to happen, or that she blamed me for it. Again, it was just one of those things in life. We were blessed with Riley, and we're just lucky to even have him. Some people cannae even have one..." He closed his eyes tiredly, wetting his lips as his breath left him in a rush. Thoughts of Pat and Aiden came flooding back to him and he felt drained.

Randy wanted to hug him as she felt the little spark that had been maintained in him slipped away. But she wasn't sure it was appropriate, considering she just met him. She had lots of things she wanted to say and ask, but maybe now that he was receptive, she could talk to him again some more over time. She felt a surge of emotion push up inside her and tears welled up, spilling over her cheeks. She gave a slight laugh and brushed them away in embarrassment, clearing her throat. "Sorry. I seem to do that a lot lately. I just... even simply hearing about that is... you awe me. What you survived and got through, I really, really admire you. And I mean that in a completely non-stalker fangirl way. More of a fellow psychology student admiration. I can see how hard this is for you to talk about, and I just wanted you to know I appreciate it. But maybe I can just sit here in silence, keep you company until you get some news on your friend? I-I really don't have any place else to be. Truth is, I could use the distraction too..." she admitted in a mumble, folding her hands in front of her and burying them between her knees.

Lachlan nodded and threw her a tiny smile. "Aye. Cheers. I'd really like that. And it's nice to meet you, Randy. If it's any consolation, before I got hurt, I'd gone through pregnancy scares myself, in a couple of difference scenarios, both leaps and bounds different to each other. If you ever need someone to talk to, you're always welcome to give me a call. I cannae promise you will nay get swept up in some chaos or another, but our life isnane ever quiet. Talking things out, though, might help a wee bit."

Randy was still stunned. All this going on, and he still had the heart to offer her help. "I might take you up on that," she told him with her own hint of a smile. "Are you going to charge me for your services, doctor?" she added jokingly.

"Ach, I wouldane ever do that," Lachlan returned with a tired smirk. "But I might hit you up for some babysitting hours."

Word Count | 5,281

musebysentence | 57.1. Queasy

2010-02-20T12:01:24Z

LINK: It took Randy ten failed phone calls and four almost text messages to Peter until she finally managed to tell herself she was being a whiny, clingy girlfriend over something as stupid as a stomach ache, so instead she sent him a picture message of her boobs and went back to burying her nose in a textbook.

RP LOG with imgrounded | Post-coital confessions

2010-02-19T10:52:39Z

The sex was hot, and it was sweaty, and as far as Randy was concerned, it was awesome. Peter had come home from work after seven back-to-back shifts in an extremely horny mood. In fact, 'extremely' probably wasn't even an accurate enough description. He was just hot for it, and Randy's text books had no hope. It was probably the high of realising he had four days off ahead of him mixed with the fact he and Randy hadn't seen much of each other that week. Randy wasn't going to complain in any way, shape or form. She had decided around three days ago that she was being left alone with her own thoughts entirely too much. Far, far too much. It was even more prominent with Mel pretty much basically already living with Nate, all they needed to do was shift her stuff. Mel's little issue wasn't helping either. Randy was sure it was sending her completely bonkers. It had to be some sort of twin empathy or mojo that was making her go crazy like this. There was no other sound explanation without driving herself to the nearest shrink for an immediate assessment.

"I want one," Randy found falling from her lips as Peter rolled off her in a sweaty heap and started to get rid of the condom so they could snuggle. She ran her palm over her sweat-slicked belly and turned her messy blonde head on the pillow to look at him, lips pressed together. His hair was sticking up in all directions from where she had her fingers gripped in the thick locks when he went down on her as soon as he got home. His well-toned body had a slick sheen all over it, and he was panting from exertion. And all she could think about was one thing... which was so, so fucking wrong, it wasn't even funny.

Peter didn't much care about his messy hair. He didn't care about hers either as he let out a contented sigh, knotted the condom, and managed to get it into Randy's bin by her desk. He smirked triumphantly before he turned to look at her, not really sure what she'd said at first. His whole body was singing the praises of a spectacular orgasm, and he battling not to just curl up against her and sleep. He reached out to catch her hand as he slid his fingers between hers, and both their hands now rested on her stomach. Peter slid a leg between hers and sucked on his bottom lip as he looked over her face.

Randy was so beautiful when she was all glowing after sex. He just wanted to fuck her all over again, but his dick needed to recover first. Peter pressed a kiss to Randy's shoulder before he rest his head on the pillow next to hers and arched an eyebrow. "Want one what?"

Randy blinked once and then before she could catch it, "A baby," was also falling out of her lips like her tongue suddenly stopped fucking working rationally. If Peter didn't have her hand in his, she would have reached up and smacked herself firmly in the face, and she did indeed squeak in surprise as the words eventuated from her head out of her mouth into a reality. It wasn't just a crazy fucked up mess of thinking in her head anymore, and it was even worse that she couldn't put her finger on where it was coming from other than the fact her twin sense was buzzing in overdrive and making her think that for some reason that because Mel was knocked up, her uterus should be an occupied parking space too. She scrunched up her nose and kicked at the mess of sheets around her foot in frustration.

Peter watched her, his face not betraying anything as his gaze travelled down her body to her stomach where their hands lay. Then he watched her feet kick at the sheets and his tongue darted out to wet his lips. Peter gave her hand a soft squeeze, and stayed close to her so she knew he wasn't running away from the conversation. His brain was just a little slow to respond in a post-coital state. Guys just weren't meant to have D&Ms after sex. They could have them during sex up until a certain point, but after was hard work. "Because of Mel? You don't seem... happy about the want."

Randy made a small noise of frustration. She was having difficulties getting her head to work after sex too, and it still seemed to be on this one tracked mind that had her standing in front of the mirror with Peter's pillow shoved up her top earlier that day like a friggen emo teenager. "I'm not unhappy! It's just... it's just a want that's there and I think that's what it is. How am I even supposed to know? It's weird and I don't even know what it is! But I've turned into this crazy person and I'm doing really stupid things like going down the baby aisle at WalMart and stopping. I stopped in the baby aisle! And I didn't even do it for Mel. I didn't. I told her I did, but I didn't. I'm mental!"

Peter smiled as he moved his face even closer to Randy's and rubbed their hands against her stomach. For someone reason the idea of Randy pregnant with his kid wasn't as scary as he was expecting it to be. No one had ever wanted his kid before. At least he was assuming that she wanted his kid, otherwise he was going to change his mind about this being an awkward conversation. "I don't think you're mental. I think you're watching your sister experience this new thing, and maybe it's making you realise that you do actually want it to." He let go of her hand but only so he could tuck some her blonde strands behind her ear and run his fingertips lightly over the side of her face as he held Randy's gaze. "I love you, Miranda, and if stopping in the baby aisle is something you need to do, then do it. And... if I'm honest I wouldn't mind if we did make a baby. I've never met anyone like you. I think I'd be lucky to have a kid that shared your genes. Fuck knows how we'll pull it off, though."

"No, no. See, when I watch her, I'm all practical and cool aunty with my head on straight. It's when she's not around that my brain breaks. It's like..." Randy paused, biting on her lip as she tried to explain it and looked at him helplessly. "Like, in my gut, somewhere just under my heart, there is this niggle. It started a little while ago, but it was just enough to brush aside. Now, though, whenever I'm alone, it's growing into a monster. I said 'aww' at the Pampers ad. I stuck a pillow up my shirt today! I read the label on a baby food jar to make sure it didn't have too much sodium. I told a mother at the bus stop with a really ugly kid that her kid was beautiful and had a cute nose. The kid looked a bit like smooshed Ewok, but it was still cute!" She snapped her mouth shut again, looking at him with her blue eyes wide. "You want to have a kid with me? But I'm mental? What if I rub the mental off and we get a smooshed Ewok too? And that's the thing! We don't have time. We just don't. I'm nearly finished my degree and you're an awesome nurse! You're amazing, and people need you, because it's completely fucking sucky to have crap nurses, you know!"

"I know," Peter murmured as he continued to watch her with a smile. She was just so damn cute when she rambled and did the wide-eyed thing. It wasn't often that Randy had these kinds of moments. She really was usually all practical and cool girlfriend. Now she was going to be a cool aunty, and Peter felt a niggle he hadn't realised was there until he thought of her as a cool mother. He moved to rest on his elbow, and leaned down to kiss her collarbone, and then the soft flesh of her breast as his hand went back to her stomach and his fingers splayed out over it protectively. "We're both mental, you're just the one that's the most mental right now," he said with a chuckle. "I don't think there's actually anything wrong with getting clucky. Sometimes I think people just know when they're supposed to have a kid. Their body just realises it's ready. Your head might just be a little slow on the uptake." He looked at her from under his dark hair and captured her mouth in a soft kiss. "We have nine months to figure out how we're going to do this... If you do want to do it. I'd love a kid with you, but I can wait. We only just got to the official girlfriend-boyfriend thing. And I'm about to try and work on the moving in thing. Surprise?" he added with a sheepish look before clearing his throat. "So it's not like we're not used to doing things in our own time."

Randy shifted and snaked her arms around him in a tight, clingy hug. "No, see, I need you here right now in case I buy dolls and start dressing them in diapers. You can keep me sane, even if your shifts are all over the place. Which is fine, we can roll with that if you're here. I've never been without Mel before and I think it's broken my brain. But she needs to be with Nate for the same reason. His shifts are just as fucked, but it's great he's stepping up to the plate. Some guys really do just have the boyfriend mojo. Me and Mel never thought we'd find any, let alone two, you know? We always joked that we would share if we found awesome guys, and now we don't have to. But I don't think I'm cut out to be a real mom. Maybe my twin thing just thinks I'm pregnant? Mel and I did share an embryonic sac and cells once. Maybe my uterus just wants to share?"

Peter didn't move out of the clingy hug, and kissed her again as he settled his weight so he didn't squash her. "I'm not going anywhere, promise. You'll have four days of me hanging around like a bad smell and making you wish I was at work again. I just... it's because my shifts are fucked that I want to live with you. I want to spend every second possible with you because I just... Fuck, I get crazy. It's torture not being able to be with you when I'm working this many shifts straight. Not that I'm complaining about the sex we just had. Really fucking not... I'm just selfish." He sucked on his bottom lip as his eyes flicked over her face. "I think you'd be a great real mom. I think my fathering skills are going to be... questionable. Not like I had a decent role model."

Randy pulled back a little with a frown. "Wouldn't that be more reason why you would be an awesome Dad? Look at Nate. He had no father role model, and he's stepped right up to the plate, done all the right things by Mel, even if it took them by surprise," she told him. "I think you would be an awesome Dad. None of your family are like you, from the sounds of it. You couldn't be a nurse if you didn't have some of those inate qualities to take care of people, and taking care of people is like the biggest foundation of being a parent. I used to watch my Mom and Dad with us three and wonder how they hell they didn't want to smack themselves in the head with a spoon to stay sane. Maybe having crap role models makes you all the more better to be one of your own?" She rubbed her hand over her face and sighed. "And you like your job, even if the shifts are crap. You really like it and you're amazing at it. I love what I'm doing, too, or will, once I get qualified and start practicing. Is it really practical to have a kid right now? Maybe we should just do the moving in thing, and put this in a little box as something we could try if everything else goes okay? I'd just get scared I'd wake up one day and think we made a huge mistake."

Peter raised his hand to ease the frown from her face as he rubbed his thumb against her forehead. "I guess so. I never really thought about it. I used to be the cool uncle to Simon and Monty, but Heidi took them away. She's my brother's ex. He hasn't seen his kids in a long time, and neither have I. I don't want it to be like that. I want to be allowed to love my kids and be with them every day. I want them in a loving family, not one that wants them to do all this crap that just fits the parents' dreams, and not the kids'. I think Nate really is doing an awesome job, and I admire him completely for stepping up to the plate. I'd do the same for you, though. I'm sure I would." He kissed the spot he'd just rubbed and then dropped his head to rest it against her shoulder. "We can do the moving thing, and we can do the box thing, but I just want you to know you don't need to not talk about it if it's on your mind. I don't want you to regret anything with us."

Randy pressed her lips together and looked momentarily like she wanted to smack... anyone from Peter's family. "She just took your nephews away? I can't... I... shit, I think I would die if that happened. Not that Mel or Matt ever would do that, but I know your family situation was fucked. And not that I can envisage Matty as a daddy quite yet. He can't seem to quite get his willy to settle in a relationship, even though I think deep down he wants someone." She melted back into the embrace, falling into a brief silence as she thought for a few moments. "Have you ever thought about being a dad? Wondered what your kid might be like? Or what you would like to do with them?"

Peter nodded and held her a little tighter. He could hear how she felt in her voice, and the truth was it was nice to have someone so protective about him. Someone that did actually care. "They were good kids, and Nathan really loved them. Being a father had always been a priority for him until she took them away. I think he slowly just started to forget about them... Even Claire. Although with her it was easier to keep in touch. He wasn't banned from seeing them. Why do you think he can't get his, ah, willy to settle?" He shifted his head to look up at her and pulled his mouth to the side in thought. "Sometimes. Once in a while. Like one of those things you feel kind of naughty thinking about because it's not something you think you should be thinking. Did that make sense? I'd like to think my kid would get everything I didn't. That they'd know they were loved. I've never really had a woman I've thought about having them with, so what they look like is hard. A mini me is just so... egotistical. I'd want them to have your eyes."

"A priority? Even though he had his head up his ass with his politics because he wanted to be president and barely even knew his own brother existed, except to lie about him to better his campaign?" Randy heard the bitterness dripping off her words and she shot Peter a guilty look, clamping her mouth shut just before she had to follow it up with inserting her foot in there. She had always had foot-in-mouth syndrome, but had always been one to speak her mind when it came to threats - even emotional - on people she loved. "I'm sorry. I don't know him, so that was out of line. I'm just taking a leaping guess that the mom took them away from him for a reason, but I won't pry. He just doesn't seem to have a squeaky clean track record, and I've seen what a mom will do to protect their kids if they think they are in any danger. A-All that stuff you told me? If we ever have a kid, they won't be... in danger, will they?"

"Well, the politics, then his kids, then his wife, then probably me. And Mom somewhere next to his politics. I can't helping shaking this feeling that Mom had something to do with Heidi leaving Nathan. I mean, Heidi... she used to be in a wheelchair. Nathan could have dumped his disabled wife if he'd really wanted to, but he didn't. He stuck by her. Of course he also fucked around on her, but he's a politician. It's what they do." Peter frowned as he sucked on his lip. "My brother's really not all that great, is he? I just... I always loved him. It's okay, I don't mind you saying what's on your mind. God knows I probably should have said it any number of times over the years. Heidi didn't seem like she'd leave him after he got hurt... after I hurt him, but then she was just gone." Peter blinked himself back from the memories, and cupped Randy's cheek as he held her gaze. "I will kill anyone that tries to hurt you, or our kids if we have any. I'm not letting anyone come after them, so no, no danger."

Randy was watching him, that tiny frown still formed on her features. "How chivalrous of him to stick by her and dip his cock in another chick. You make excuses for him. I don't think fucking around on your wife and mother of your kid is anywhere on a politician's job description. But I get it, he's your big brother. He's just making Matty look a Saint right now. If he did half of the things your brother did, I would staple his penis to his motorcycle and drive him from here to Alaska and back... naked. Him, not me. And that would just be the start. You need to stop with the self blame about hurting him, too. Don't you think he hurt you enough in return to even the scales out there? It's not like you killed him. Or is it like you intended to hurt him. Do you still blame me for hitting you with the car?" she asked, watching him intently. She couldn't help but rub her hand over her flat stomach. Everything with Mel had left her so confused and she knew there was some sort of twin mojo at play here. Maybe it was just sibling rivalry? Not that she or Mel had ever had that towards each other in the past. It had never been an issue. "I don't know... I think I'm just getting swept up in Mel's stuff by default. I've never thought about kids before. It just sort of suddenly hit me like a big stick to the face or something."

Peter let out a slow breath, and nodded in agreement before he rest his head back down against her shoulder and took comfort from her being there. She was right. She was voicing everything he'd been thinking over the years, but had never let himself admit to. Not to mention those times Nathan had doubted him, or ignored him. It wasn't that Peter hated his brother, he didn't. He couldn't. He had just managed to knock Nathan off the pedestal so that he could live his own life, and not try and live his brother's. "No, of course I don't still blame you for that. It wasn't intentional. I had never wanted Nathan to be there with me. I guess maybe I feel a little guilty because I'm not sure I could have survived without him. How fucked up is that? I might not have even got out of New York in time. I could have destroyed a whole city, not just my brother's face." Peter placed his hand back on her stomach, rubbing his thumb against the smooth skin. "I want one," he murmured, the realisation hitting him just like a big stick to the face. "I want ours."

"Isn't that what family are really supposed to be for? To protect you, through the good, bad and ugly? You surviving because of him doesn't make him a Saint, it makes him your brother. At least he stepped up when it mattered, even if he didn't step up for you much at all any other time. He's a politician, he's not out saving lives, like you. He's not finding cures for diseases, or protecting endangered species. He's not sheltering abused children, or funding rescue missions for war. Is he? He just likes the fucking sound of his own voice and looking pretty in suits. Peter, you're better than him. You've always been better than him. You want to make a difference how it counts. Not how many people can get their cheque books out for your campaign at a cute little speech about having a fucked up brother..." Randy stopped and let out a heavy breath. She hoped she never met Peter's brother. If she did, he would be getting a free up-close view of his own colon and anus. She turned back at him, uncertainty written all over her face. "What about everything we've worked for? I want to be a psychologist. I want to help people, just like you have. I want to make a difference too."

Peter kissed her neck, and his hand slid lower as he gave her hip an affectionate rub, and trailed his fingers over her thigh. It probably wasn't supposed to turn him on hearing her berate his brother, but it did. No other woman had understood. No other woman had really wanted to. They took pity on him, or ignored his life in favour of... Well, he didn't even know what it had been in favour of. Loving the poor, misunderstood Petrelli brother without first finding out why he'd been misunderstood. "I really do love you, you know. And I want to thank you for... being you." He shifted back up so his head was on the pillow and he could hold her gaze easily. "I don't see why having a kid would need to change that. I love being a nurse, but it's not like I couldn't cut back the hours if you wanted to be the one to focus on your work. I've never had a reason not to work. I think having a kid would make me stop - at least for a little while - for the right reasons. We'd be in it together. We'd work out a way for us to get what we want."

"You don't have to thank me. You just need to know I love you and you're never going to play second to anyone around here. In fact, I want you to play equal all around. I want you to be part of our family, to be mates with Nathan because I think he's going to need one. And just... be you, without thinking you should be anyone else. You is better than you'll ever see," Randy murmured and she was wetting her lips before moving on to bite on her lip like she always did when she was swirling things over in her head to try and make sense of them. Like when Mel had told her she was pregnant, she did keep her cool as much as she could, but once Mel was safely back with Nathan to try and deal with it all, Randy had exploded in a fit of random thoughts, trying to figure out exactly how she felt that her twin was having a baby. It made for many hours or staring into space, making her feel everything from weird to bursting proud to the thought of being an aunty. But she wasn't in the hot seat then, and now here she was seriously contemplating the thought of doing so. With Peter. "I just... um... I think I need some time to get used to the idea. Like, if we just dove in and did this, I can guarantee I'll freak out about it and it will be a big mess. I can deal with other peoples brains, no hassle, but when it comes to mine, it's like shoving it into a blender without the lid."

Peter pulled her into a kiss, using actions instead of words to make her understand just how grateful he was to her for wanting him to be equal and part of her family. "I want to be friends with Nathan, too," he said eventually. "I like him, he's a good guy. And he knows what it's like to be in love with a Murray twin. We have plenty to bond over. You deserve to first too, you know. You're amazing." He kept his gaze on her as he watched her bite her lip, figuring she was turning things over in her mind and that was okay. "I don't want you to freak out, or anything. I get that you have a blender brain. Mel has the washing machine, and you got the blender. I still don't really know what I got. We'll stick with condoms, and birth control, and the baby thing goes on the back burner."

Randy curled into the embrace again, for some reason, feeling a wave of vulnerability washing over her and she was happy to be shielded from it by Peter's arms. It wasn't a familiar feeling for her, she was usually the confident one and took things in her stride. She wrote it off as just tapping into Mel's hormonal mojo again. She promised her twin she would be there every step of the way for the pregnancy, this really just wasn't what she meant when she said it. "Condoms and birth control. I can do that. And I promise I will think about it. I'm not just saying that to fob it off, because I'm not sure I can just fob it off. It's weird. It's like... it's just consuming me. I thought it was just sibling rivalry, but Mel and me, we've never had that. Ever. I'm not jealous of her. I just want to feel what she's feeling. I think maybe I already am." She moaned a little. "I told you the twin thing was mental."

"It's still cute, and amazing, and something that definitely makes my head spin but I wouldn't have you without it." Peter rolled onto his back as he pulled Randy on top of him, and wrapped his arm around her waist as he used his other hand to brush her hair back from her face. "God, you're beautiful. I'll let you think about it in that blender brain of yours for as long as you need to take, okay? No pressure. Mostly because I need to think about it, too. I really hadn't been expecting the kid talk, but I'm glad we had it."

Randy buried her face in against his shoulder and sighed. "I'm sorry I just dumped it on you like that. I didn't mean to. I actually wasn't going to say anything at all, but I really was starting to go nuts with it. I thought it was just a phase. I've had phases before. I was impressed, though, with the condom thing. You didn't even make a mess, even if I was launching something like that at you. Maybe now I've got it out there, I'll get over it. I don't even think I should tell Mel, because I don't want to freak her out. She was all happy in a good mood because she got her first real, meaningful Valentine's Day present, and she deserves it. She's starting to get used to the pregnant thing too. She doesn't need me going crazy twin on her."

"You're not that crazy of a twin," Peter told her with a smile before he chuckled. "And I'm glad you told me. I'm also kinda impressed I really did take it in my stride. Truth is I've dealt with much, much worse things than you telling me you want a baby. I still think you'd be a sexy pregnant chick and I'm not just saying that. Idea of you with a baby bump is kind of turning me on. Feel free to hate me. I'm not sure it is something you should keep from your sister. Won't she pick up on blender vibes?" Then Peter seemed to pale a little. "Oh, shit... Valentine's."

Randy shook her head. "No, no. Don't worry about it. You've been really busy, we both have. I completely understand. Things have just been all over the place. I'm not one of those chicks who gets homocidal about Valentine's Day. We can go out to dinner or something when you've had some rest." She looked at him uncertainly. "Really? You don't think it'll be all weird and awkward?" she asked, still trying to figure out how it would feel to have a beach ball strapped to her front.

Peter smirked lightly. "I can do dinner. Just give me tomorrow. I might be human by dinnertime. I'll find somewhere nice. Somewhere that isn't just a burger joint. Might even have metal cutlery." He nodded. "Yeah. I mean, of course it'll be weird and awkward, but it'll be... intense. At least if you don't get turned off by sex. Some chicks just don't want to be touched for the duration of the pregnancy."

Randy's mouth dropped open a little. "No!" she gasped and lifted her head to see if he was joking. "Are you serious? Not at all? What's the fun in that? No... I don't want no sex. I don't think I could handle it. You've got to have some fun amongst all the expanding boobs and throwing up and sore butts and wanting to eat weird things and... how is it that the guy isn't the one that gets turned off?" she asked in realisation. "Pregnancy doesn't even sound sexy."

Peter managed to keep his face straight before he started to grin. "Deadly serious, babe. But I just said some. I'm hoping you live up to your name and don't cut me off. I don't know why guys don't get turned off, but mostly I think it's because we're just so deeply in love with our girls, and proud our sperm did something useful. Ask Nathan? It's not sexy, but it's natural."

Randy was starting to look slightly horrified. "I don't think I want to deal with any of those pregnant things. They sound awful. Feeling sick all the time and peeing all the time and hemorrhoids and not being able to lie on my stomach and sore boobs." She was biting on her lip again. "There is no way you will want to even touch me with any of that. What if I start doing inelegant things like farting when I bend over or throwing up when I smell your cologne?"

"Having a baby really isn't all clean and glamorous," Peter conceded. "But I'll still want to touch you. I'll always want to touch you. I won't stand behind you when you bend over, and I'll stop wearing cologne. It's not going to bother me. Promise."

Randy rested her head back down onto the pillow, falling into silence again. She knew she had commiserated to Mel that day in the supermarket when she had first started seeing Peter that she was embarrassed about the everyday things like using the bathroom at his place. She wasn't mental about it, but she had always been one of those girls who got along with guys like a house on fire, but when it came to personal stuff like that, she rarely let them close enough to experience that with her. She was always the perfect girlfriend who never let the guy have a chance to even think about her in those positions. But with Peter, it was different. It was getting serious. Baby talk was really serious. More than serious. It was going to be a whole new learning curve for her to allow herself to let her guard down with him, especially if she got pregnant. He would be there through all those inelegant things with her, and it was scaring her a little. "I-I'll think about it," she murmured, realising she was a little envious of Mel right now who had faced all this full on like a bull at a gate with Nathan, and they got through it just fine.

Word Count | 5,592

musebysentence | 50.4. January

2010-01-30T02:58:48Z

LINK: January 2010, the month where all the shit hits the fan at once... but I least I haven't hit anyone with my car this month, touch wood.

musesandlyrics | 5.14. Dangerous Liaisons quote

2010-01-28T23:48:45Z

5.14. "And it's not that I want to have you. All I want is to deserve you."
Dangerous Liasons

Co-written with imgrounded
[Follows THIS]

Peter swept his hand down Randy's bare back as he lay next to her on the bed and smiled. Truth was she was beautiful all the time, but he really did think she was gorgeous covered in a post-coital glow. They'd made it a little way up the hall before he followed through on the hallway sex, then they'd taken a short break while Peter found something to eat, and Randy spoke to her sister. He hadn't wanted to pry too much, but she seemed content to relay what was going on. He still couldn't quite believe Mel had fallen pregnant, and it did make him wonder what it would be like to have a kid with Randy.

His fingers traced patterns on her lower back, dipping down to touch the soft curve of her ass as he leaned forward to press a kiss against her shoulder and went back to watching her. Their sexual activities had picked up like they'd never taken a break, and now they were passed out on the bed. Peter was aware that after a shift and a half he should probably be trying to sleep, but he couldn't. Not since he'd told Randy he'd wanted to talk to her. And he did. He wanted to tell her everything, but he was still trying to work out where to start.

Peter's tongue slipped out to wet his lips, and he cleared his throat. "Remember me telling you about my brother Nathan?"

Randy bit down on her lip. This was it. She promised him she wouldn't let her brain kick into overdrive about it, and she hadn't, but she swore now that not having the outlet of overstressing something to keep a blank brain was much worse. She had touched on it with Mel, and maybe a few stray thoughts had broken through. Then with everything going on with Nathan - Mel's Nathan - and the two blue lines and the fact that it was Mel going to make her an aunty first and not Matt like most thought, it was just surreal and she wasn't sure what she was really supposed to properly think anymore. But he needed to have her full attention, so she tucked Mel's issues close by to the side for the moment. She knew her sister wouldn't mind. She nodded. "The golden haired Petrelli brother who can do no wrong? He's a politician... but you didn't tell me a whole lot more than that. He has kids, that's it, I think," she said with a small frown of thought of her face.

"Yeah, that's him," Peter murmured, slightly amazed that she had actually remembered everything he'd told her. It made him wonder if he'd really told her that little, and so she was filing away any and all little snippets he gave her. "At one point he was running for Congress. His goal, and our mother's, was always the presidency. I was never good enough in that time. Everything I did came under scrutiny if it would be seen as affecting his running, or his image. I was just the annoying kid brother who was a nurse. But I loved him. I've always loved him. Nathan's been my hero since I can remember. Even if occasionally he's been not so shiny." Peter shifted and rolled onto his back as he tucked his arm under his head, and looked up at the ceiling. "I started having these dreams that I could fly. That I was standing on top of a building, and then I was flying. Not falling, flying. There's a difference. Then Nathan started appearing in them, and I didn't really understand what it meant. And then it started to be me saving him. Or I thought I was saving him. Turns out he saved me. Nathan was the one that could fly."

Randy couldn't be sure if his shifting positions was him pulling away from her or not, but she stayed where she was in case he needed space. She became starkly aware of how much she really didn't know him. She wanted to change it, but it seemed he was opposite to Nathan. Mel had admitted Nathan confided in her a lot, opened up from early on in the piece. Peter hadn't really been like that. He talked, but rarely about himself and she could see now how little she knew about him. But now he was talking, and he was telling her his brother could fly. Did she even hear right? She sat up abruptly in bed, tucking the covers around her middle so she had something her hands could do. She had always been a fiddler. At first, she wasn't sure what to say, and being a psychologist, she wanted to actually asked him if he maybe needed therapy. "Fly?" At least it was something. Better than staying silent. Her fingers threaded through the sheets and she looked at him a little nervously.

Peter's free hand went to her leg, and he tilted his head back to look at her as he renewed their physical connected. He hadn't been pulling away, he'd just needed to shift so he could better focus on his memories. Not that he was likely to forget any of this. "Yeah, I know... It's crazy. He actually had me convinced I was crazy. In fact, my Mom came to the hospital after I fell off the building to tell me that apparently our Dad committed suicide, and I'd inherited his mental problems. That I'd tried to kill myself. Nathan spun it a different way at one of his political parties. I was the family joke, the poor brother who had alcohol and mental issues. A secret Nathan was sharing with his public so that they could see what a kind, and considerate person he was caring for someone like me."

Randy just looked at him, horrified, her nose scrunching up in a deeper frown before she could stop it. "Your mom and your brother used an invented and frankly sad issue as a political yard stick? That's... that sick! There are people really out there with alcohol and mental issues, you know! It's not a bloody damn joke!" It was the psychologist kicking in inside her. He had said enough to assure her those weren't his problems, but the truth was, she would probably be relieved if that had been. "That's not even... I don't even..." She had to hold up her hand and shake her head before she started swearing harshly and verbally abusing his family.

Peter pulled himself up into a sitting position next to her and pulled her into his arms. She had been able to express the anger where he had failed. He'd yelled at his brother that night, and stormed off, but it wasn't the same. It was also the night he'd finally kissed Simone, but he didn't want to dwell on that. "Welcome the Petrelli family," he murmured. And he wasn't even near done yet. "These dreams... The flying, I knew it had been real. Nathan had flown even if he wanted to deny it. And it turned out I shared his power. I could share anyone's ability. We weren't the only special people. There were others. Evolution had taken a jump. There was something in us that made us extraordinary. Of course, later, I found out my mother and all her Company colleagues could actually manufacture the trigger. All of it is very... confusing. I'm not asking you to understand, I just need you to realise there's a reason I don't try and talk about this part of my life very often. It wasn't ever a happy time. Not once I realised that there was a killer after all of us, someone that wanted to collect our powers."

He let out a sigh, and his head fell back against the headboard. "I don't know if you'd even remember, but there had been a rash of killings where people's heads had been cut open and their brains taken out. It was all over the country, not just New York. A weird trail that no one seemed to be able to connect."

"Yeah... no," was Randy's pointless answer. She didn't remember anything like that, and didn't want to, either. It was bad enough that a colleague of her brother's had been shot in a hospital of all places, she didn't want to think about that sort of thing until a victim was sitting in her psych office wanting help to deal with the aftermath. She was hugging herself now, and she really didn't know how she was supposed to take all this talk of super powers and flying and serial killers. It was freaking her the hell out, especially after trying to process the fact Mel was pregnant. But she wanted to at least try to get some part of it. "What, so this dude is coming after you to eat your brains? I think I was happier thinking you were in the Mafia..."

"I really wish I was in the Mafia, baby," Peter admitted as he gave her a sad smile. "And no, not any more. He's... gone. He did used to want to, though. That's how I died. I was tracking down the author of a book on our genetic coding. The abilities, and what it means. I actually have it if you could ever bring yourself to read it. His son was in New York. The author was murdered by the brain guy. By Sylar. At the time I had inherited other abilities including invisibility. Sylar used shattered glass to try and get me because he couldn't see me. I had a shard of glass land right in the back of my skull. In the one spot the invulnerability isn't so invulnerable. That was an ability I got off my niece. My, um, brother's first daughter. The one he thought had died in a fire. She survived, just like she survives everything. She's the reason I'm alive now. I healed after she pulled the glass out. I'm skipping over some stuff because I realise it's going to be confusing as fuck, but let's just say that Sylar killing Claire would have been some seriously bad fucking juju. I had to save her, to save the world."

Randy put her hand up and started to restlessly play with the ends of her hair. "I-I don't know what I'm supposed to say or do..." she admitted in a small voice. Bottom line was, she was kind of terrified right at that moment. More than terrified. She wanted to cry to and go and hide behind her big brother for protection.

Peter cupped his hand against her cheek, his face twisting in pain when he realised that telling her all this was hurting Randy. "Do you understand now why I never wanted to tell you any of this shit? The past year, or so, really has not been a happy time for me. I became a human nuclear bomb, and Nathan flew me up into the atmosphere so I could explode safely, but I hurt him. I got him to hospital only to wind up fucking tasered by a crazy chick and taken to the Company where I was her plaything for four months. Then I lost my memory and woke up in a fucking shipping yard in Ireland." He kissed her forehead, and rest his head against hers as he dropped his voice to a low whisper. "I was trying to protect you by not telling you, because I'm only halfway done, and I'm already hurting you. I know I don't talk a lot about me, but I don't want to make you scared of me, or to make you hate me. I can't lose you because I'm only just letting myself fall in love with you, Miranda Murray. I just know it can't go both ways unless you feel like you can trust me."

"He hurt you!" Randy exploded before she could stop it and then put a hand up over her mouth, horrified. But it was true. Who gave a flying fuck if one was physical hurt one was emotional? As far as she was concerned, the long-standing hurt Peter's brother had caused him was way worse than some one off accident, even if it was playing out in her head like some weird movie she wasn't sure she was supposed to like or not, but really had a crush on the leading dude. "I'm not scared of you, I'm scared of all them! Are you telling me they're still after you, or whatever? Okay, so super powers. No, I don't understand it, and it's maybe really making my head feel like a squashed oyster right now, but I don't care, just so long as you aren't flying up to the ozone layer to move the bloody earth to the left or whatever people like you need to do! Can't you retire? Even James Bond gets to retire at some point. And Superman. He gets to be Clark Kent and run around pulling strip shows in phone booths and- what?" she suddenly stopped short, eyes wide as she blinked at him in surprise.

Peter combed his fingers through her hair as he watched her, and tucked some of the strands behind her ear as he smirked a little. "You caught that last bit, huh? I was trying to sneak it in between everything else. And okay, I agree about my brother. He's notched up a few other betrayals along the way. I think my favourite is still picking my fucked up father, and his plan to basically take over the world, over me." He moved so he could sit facing her, and pulled her up into his lap easily so that she was perched on top of him, and Peter could look up at her. "I am retired, don't you get it? That's why I'm in Princeton. That's why I've left it all behind, left New York, and my brother behind. I don't want that life. I want a life with you, and a life where I'm actually happy. You make me happy."

"Does that mean they stop coming after you?" Randy asked, her eyes locked on his. She pressed her lips together, still feeling overwhelmed. "Today has been epic, my stomach feels like it's in knots. Princeton isn't that far away from New York. Are you even safe? Am I safe? Is my family safe? My sister is having a baby! She needs to be safe! How can I even be enough after you've had all that sort of stuff in your life? That you're this... person, with something I don't understand. What if I never understand it?"

"Yeah, it does. I don't matter to them any more." He rubbed her stomach, and kissed her chest. "I would never put you in a position where you were in danger. I would never do that to your family. If anyone tries to hurt you, or them, I will kill them." He frowned, and snorted. "Randy, you're enough. Trust me on that. I didn't even realise you were what I needed until I found you. You've been this breath of fresh air, and I can't get enough. I'm still human. I'm still... me. I'm just Peter Petrelli. But I can't answer that question, only you can. If you can't take me as I am, then... there's nothing to understand, and we're on limited time." He glanced over at her bedroom window, and then looked back at her. "Do you trust me?"

Randy tucked her hand over Peter's, not answering straight away. She knew the answer, she just needed to process it all in her mind. She wasn't sure she would actually ever understand what he had just told her, but that didn't mean she didn't trust him. If he was still part of that other world, she wasn't sure she could trust him just because didn't trust what he was dealing with. But he was here, he had been here without incident for a few months now. In fact, the only incident was her hitting him with her car. Something suddenly dawned on her. "Why didn't you heal yourself with the powers or whatever when I hit you?" she asked in confusion. She put her hand over his mouth briefly. "Yes, I trust you," she promised.

Peter kissed her fingers, and smiled. "Because I'm just me. I don't have them any more. Not like that. My father took it all away. I injected myself with their version of a... genetic booster," Peter explained as he tried to find the right words, "and I can't have any power unless I touch the person that has it. Not like before when I could have everyone's by only just being near them. Last person I touched was my brother. So I can still fly. I just don't." He pulled her in for a kiss, trying like hell to put everything he was feeling, and everything she needed to understand into it. When it eased off his was looking at her again, his eyes studying hers. "So if you ever think you can handle me showing you, I can... I could give you the stars, Randy. But if you don't want them, then all I got left is me, and for once I would just like that to be enough for someone."

Randy had her hand on her stomach, trying to get it to stop doing sommersaults. "You don't need it to just be enough. You deserve so much better than that. Why should you just be enough for someone? You should be someone's world. Someone's want and need. To give someone a reason to come home each day. To maybe not always be perfect, but at least be fun..." She searched his eyes. "I want you to be my world."

This time it was Peter's turn to blink in surprise. He felt his mouth fall open for a moment before he smiled, and held her tightly, his hand rubbing against her back. "And I want you to be my world. I want us to be each other's worlds. Are you okay? Do you need something?"

"I need time to wrap my head around everything you tell me, so if I go into weird silences, it's not you," Randy had to warn. "Because it's just full on, and after my day, I feel a little like I've been smashed in the face with a dead bush or something. Not only is Mel knocked up, but they've also both got the gastro, which I think they got off Matty. Everything feels like it's fucked, so I just need you to be you, because I can handle that. I really, really can."

Peter pulled her into an embrace and kissed her temple. "That I can do. And I'm sorry if I hit you in the face with a dead bush. I need to work on my timing more."

"I'd rather bad timing than no timing at all," Randy murmured, happily melting into the embrace to try and pretend the rest of the world didn't exist for just a short time.

Word Count | 3,213

musesandlyrics | 5.11. Apollo 13 quote

2010-01-25T06:51:21Z

5.11. "Houston, we have a problem."
Apollo 13

Co-written with timemaychange
[Follows THIS and THIS]

Melanie hadn't slept all night. Not since she worked out that something very important, and something that came every month was late. She should have been due near the beginning of the week, but several days had passed, and still no period. Sometimes it happened though, right? Sometimes it was just late. At least that's what she wanted to believe, but as Nathan snored on passed out from his flu, Mel had spent all night looking up at the ceiling, chewing her lip as she tried to stop the sinking feeling she felt in her stomach.

As soon as it was morning, Mel left Nathan after setting him up with plenty of water, a movie, and lots of blankets. She didn't like leaving him alone, but she had to talk to her sister. The washing machine was in full gear, and she wasn't even sure she'd made sense when she'd said goodbye to Nathan, and mumbled something about sisterly emergencies. She just hoped he was too sick to really notice that she was on the verge of complete panic.

It just couldn't be happening. The first good relationship she'd ever had; the best relationship she'd ever had, and it was about to come crashing down because of a stupid mistake. She knew it had to have been the sleepy sex. They hadn't used a condom, and now she just couldn't remember even taking her pill. All the talk about kids was suddenly making her scared. It just couldn't be happening! This wasn't supposed to happen. Nathan wouldn't want anything to do with her after this. Why would he? They'd agreed on sometime in the future, not this week!

She found Randy in her room surrounded by books, and lightly knocked on her sister's bedroom door as she hovered in the doorway. "Sis?"

Randy was sitting on her bed, the books not only littered across the covers, but stacked on the floor too. She had her reading glasses on and pushed them up on her nose. She only wore them for college work, all the reading sometimes giving her a headache when she was tired and overworked. This was sort of one of these times, but she could also add horny to the list. Peter had been on a string of crappy shifts, and with Randy's college schedule exploding as she veered closer to her graduation, they hadn't had a lot of time to see each other, and they hadn't had sex since the weekend before. She was restless, and really could use some stress relief, only she had not long since received a text message off Peter telling her he was going to pull a double shift to cover someone who had called in sick with the flu. Randy got it, especially after Mel telling her the night before on the phone that Nathan was full of it. She was playing nursemaid and was going to stay with him until he got better.

Which is why Randy nearly shat herself when she heard Mel's voice and squeaked in surprise, knocking a book onto the floor and knocking over one of the piles. She looked up, blinking. "What are you doing here? He didn't die, did he? That Man Flu can be terminal, I hear."

"Huh? No, no... No dying," Mel murmured as she came into her sister's room and started to work on straightening the books back up. "I'm sorry, I didn't meant to scare you. I would have called, but I didn't. Plus, you know, it's my home, too." Mel stayed crouched on the floor as she glanced up at Randy. It was always funny seeing her sister with glasses, like looking into a mirror, but not. At least she knew she could pull off the cute librarian look if she ever wanted to, but Randy better suited the books and college thing than she did. "He's okay, I made sure he was set for a couple hours while I came to see you."

Randy's tongue was resting between her lips as she contemplated her twin for a few moments, looking down at her. "Have you guys had a fight or something?" she asked, her brow furrowing a little. "I'm getting a twin sense, and not a good one. What's happened?" she asked, and pushed her glasses up onto her head, using them to hold her hair back out of her face. "I thought all was rosy in hot doctor land? Well, it was rosy last night, despite the flu. You seemed to even be enjoying looking after him."

"I was, and I am, I just... last night I was thinking about how long it had been with him, and how amazing, and realised I was missing an appointment with my monthly visitor." Mel wrapped her arms around herself. "The twin sense is very not good. I just... I can't be late. Not this late! I mean, a couple days, sure, but a week? We were talking about kids, and marriage, and all the future stuff. It's not meant to start now! We're only just learning it's okay if we're sick, or fart in front of each other."

Randy's eyes widened and she just stared at Mel. "Late?!" she gasped. "You said you were on the pill! You said he asked if you were on the pill and that's why it was okay not to use a condom! How can you be late? Have you been late before? Sure you didn't... I dunno... miss it through all the sex you're having? Like, it was maybe there but you didn't notice? What the fuck am I saying? How the hell can you not know if you had a period? This is... it's..." She shook her head and rubbed her fingers over her mouth. "Is that all? I mean, you can be late and still not be pregnant."

Mel winced, and then nodded. "Yeah, late... And I am! I take it religiously every day before breakfast. Only I don't actually remember having breakfast when we had the sleepy sex, and I can't remember taking it, so now I just don't know! And no, I can't miss having my period! The cramps would have let me know. I've been a few days late every so often, but not a whole week. I don't know what to do! Maybe I am panicking for no reason, but I couldn't sleep, and now I'm worried... How can I be late and still not pregnant?"

"Because a chick's body can be a fucked up weird place! It's why god gave us the uterus and not the penis!" Randy insisted, her eyes searching over Mel in concern. She was frowning by now and started to chew on her lip. "How is it you having a pregnancy scare and not me? The planets must be out of alignment. You know, everyone would always put their money on me having one of these first. I think you're definitely panicking for a reason! A week is a long time! This would be so much easier if you did just fart in front of him and panicked! How many times did you do it without a condom?"

"Well, I know that!" Mel said defensively as she frowned a little. It wasn't like she'd done any of this on purpose. "I would happily fart in front of him right now instead of this. I don't want him to not want me anymore because he thinks I schemed this, or something. That I want to trap him. I don't want to trap him! I just want to be left to fall in love with him, and get married, and yeah, I do want his babies, but I didn't mean now! Shit... And I wouldn't ever have thought that of you... You're always safe. You're not a slut, or anything like that. Why would it be you?"

Randy shook her head. "Wait, wait, wait." She held her hands up in surrender to try and stop Mel's verbal onslaught. "Who said anything about you trapping him? He was the one that had sex with you without a condom! He wanted to. If this is happening, you both gotta wear it. You don't make a kid on your own, and he's a doctor, he knows that! You just... um... it's definitely Nathan? When did you last get it on with Cameron?" she had to ask. "Don't freak out on me! I have to ask that!"

Mel's eyes went as wide as saucers, her sister's warning not to freak out doing no good in preventing it. "Ages ago! I slept with him before New Year's, and we always used condoms, and I can't be pregnant with his baby! He's already got two on the way, and he'll hate me! It's not him! It's Nathan if it has to be anyone. But he's going to... I mean, we're... It can't be happening! I don't want it happening! But it's not if we don't know for sure. Girls' bodies really are weird, and full of shit, and it could just be late. I might be about to bleed any second."

Randy scratched her head. "Have you had a period since you fucked Cameron?" she asked, trying to be reasonable. "Because if you have, then it's Nathan's by default. Assuming you're even pregnant. Which we probably need to find out if you are. I don't really have any pregnancy tests just lying around in case of emergency. If it's happening, it's just tough shit. He's going to have to deal with it... either way," she added, looking at Mel hesitantly.

Mel unwrapped her arms and pushed her hair back from her face as she scrunched her nose up in thought. "Um, no. It was just before sleeping with him. I can't... It can't be his! It has to be Nathan's. How am I going to know? We didn't slip up! Me, and Cameron, I mean. And there was never a busted condom. Fuck, I can't... This can't be happening." She brought her fingers up to her lips and tugged on her bottom one roughly as she stared up at Randy. "I have to go get a test, don't I?" She frowned a little. "You mean if I keep it, or don't?"

Randy shifted forward and put her arms around her sister. "Well, I dunno. Was there ever, um... you know no-pentration, uh, rubbing? I hear pre-cum can even get you pregnant. At least, that's what I've read somewhere. Sperm is fucking potent shit. I'm just trying to prepare you here, because, well, the sleepy sex wasn't all that long ago, was it? Nathan might ask you the same thing about Cameron when you tell him. Unless you start bleeding any second like you said, yeah, you have to get a test, but I can come with you. That is what I meant. You got options. If you're adamant it's not time yet or... whatever. I don't know! I've not been in this position before!"

Mel fell into the embrace gratefully and slipped her arms around her sister as she held on tightly. "No... don't think so. Not that I remember. I mean, we had nice sex and everything, but it wasn't... We weren't really that intimate if you know what I mean? It was fun, not like with Nathan where we can't ever get enough of each other, and there has been rubbing and sleepy sex without a condom and everything like that. I mean, I went down on Cameron, and I swallowed, but that can't get me pregnant. I really need you to come with me, sis. I've thought myself in circles all damn night. But I can't! That's one thing me and Nate did talk about. Neither of us could ever... I can't do that. I'd keep it."

"Have you told him anything at all? Let him know you were even worried?" Randy asked quietly, not releasing the embrace at all. "Nathan, I mean. Does he know anything, or did you just do a bolt? You probably don't want to wait until you start having symptoms. I'm guessing being a doctor, he might cotton on right now and he might jump to the wrong conclusions if you only did it once with a condom and told him you were on the pill."

Mel gave a shake of her head. "He's been sleeping solidly because he's so sick. I couldn't wake him up, and talk to him about it when I didn't know for sure. I was hoping I was panicking for now reason, but I don't think I am. I'm definitely late! I don't know how to tell him. How do I tell him? We need the test. At least then I'll know. And I'll just show him the stick and maybe hide behind the sofa, or something. I didn't bolt... I'm going back."

Randy chewed on her lip and pulled back a little. "Or you could tell him what you suspect and take the test with him there," she suggested gently. "You've been telling me for days that he's not like any other guys, that you can talk to him, and he talks back. That you've been sharing loads of things and you wish you could talk to him forever. How will he feel if he knows you went through the steps of realising there could be a problem, thinking about buying a test, taking it, and then telling him, before you even went to him about it?"

"Hurt," Mel replied in a small voice. She shifted in her sister's hold, but didn't let go. "He's really not like other guys, but this is huge! It's not just him giving me his credit card, or me taking care of him when he's sick. This is... this is babies." Mel closed her eyes briefly as she swallowed down the lump in her throat. "Will you at least just come buy it with me, and then I'll take it back to his place?"

"Even if he's sick, you've just got to bite the bullet. It sucks, timing sucks, but shit happens. The abortion rate wouldn't be so high if it didn't. Which I know, that's off the cards... and fair enough. I'm proud of you, because I'm not sure I would be so resolute in your position. I'd probably shit myself and not be able to face the prospect of having a kid. It's not just babies, sis. It's his baby. It'll probably change a lot and that's scary when it's all so perfect. But it'll be worse if you hide it from him. Look at it this way, he has a least likely chance of freaking out about it than most guys. You've even talked about the kid thing, which is more than most relationships get to by this point. He's a kid doctor. He's not going to turf you out and tell you to get fucked. If he does, I'll have to kill him, and Matty will have at it with his remains."

Mel looked at her sister and nodded. "I know, and I don't want you to have to kill him, or for Matty to have at his remains. Oh my god! He hasn't even met Matty... What's he going to do when he meets my brother and has to explain he knocked me up?! Matt didn't even want us having sex! Matty's gonna kill him first just for breathing... I'm still shitting myself, even if I am resolute! I'd rather just give the baby a chance at life. Abortions aren't... They shouldn't be contraception. Is it okay if I call you after? Are you... Is Peter coming over?"

Randy shook her head. "He's working. We haven't seen each other much this week. The joys of dating a health worker. God knows how it will be when we're both one. I'll be here." She sighed softly and pressed her lips together. "We'll deal with Matty. He's going to get a shock and it's not exactly going to increase his confidence in relationships, but you know Matty. He'll be fine once he processes it and maybe kicks something a few times. You've got a lot to think about, sis. It's just... brace yourself, okay? It's not going to be easy."

Mel nodded and gave her sister a tight squeeze. "I'd be so lost without you, Ran. Thank you for always getting my head straight again. And I promise I'll brace myself. Shit, I'm seriously scared, though. I don't know how I'm going to be able to pee under this much pressure! He already knows I get pee fright in public toilets, and now he's just going to think I won't be able to pee at his place either, and be another one of the stupid girls he's dated."

"What's the worst that can happen, huh? He might split with you, and you become a single mom... even so, I doubt he'll leave you high and dry with the kid. But think worst case, because if you do, anything up from that will be manageable. If it's worst case, you'll always still have me. I'll be the awesome aunty to ever walk to earth," Randy resolved with a nod of her head. She squeezed Mel's hand. "We'll get you a huge bottle of water at the supermarket and you can start drinking it straight away. You won't have room for pee fright. If he didn't think you were weird from the pee fright, then he's a keeper."

"He didn't," she admitted with a smile. "I want him to be a keeper, sis. I really do. I just... I didn't mean to miss my pill." She bit her lip and kept a hold of her sister's hand while she used to the other to scrub at her face to try and get her to liven up a bit. "Okay, so water. Lots of water. And I'll think worst case so that it can only be up. My worst case is he dumps me cold, hates me forever, and won't want anything to do with us. Maybe even means him moving back home and well away from me."

Randy tilted her head a little. "And do you really think, from what you know of him, that he's capable of something like that?" she asked her with a small smile. "He doesn't seem the sort to me. Look at Cameron, even though he was stunned off his rocker at first and dealt with being cheated on, he's still going to try and make something work across an ocean. Sometimes, guys just aren't bastards and can think beyond their cock."

Mel shook her head. "No, I don't think he is. And he's really not a bastard. He can definitely think beyond his cock even if I play with it a lot." She finally smiled a little, and brushed a kiss against her sister's cheek. "I'm still nervous about telling him, but I guess I don't feel so much like the world might end."

Randy gave her a small, affectionate nudge. "Just remember, he might freak out and need a bit of time to wrap his head around it, but that's natural. He's not going to expect you coming home with this. Even guys who have outright expected it and planned it freak out when the news finally breaks. And just think, some people can't have kids, so you're lucky, yeah? It might suck because it's been a shock, but it's not like you drastically don't want it. You can pull it off, you'll be a great Mom."

Mel took a deep breath, and her smile grew a little. "You really will be an awesome aunty. Just like you're the best sister in the whole, wide world. Alright, let's do this. I promise not to think the worst if he does freak out. I won't run. I can stick it out. I need to get back to him," Mel decided as she stood up.

"I'm going to hold you to that when you try," Randy resolved, closing over her books and climbing off the bed to find a shirt that was presentable for going out in public in. "And if it all goes down the toilet, just give me a call and I'll come pick you up."

"I really hope it doesn't," Mel mumbled as she wrapped her arms around herself again and waited for her sister. While her head was on a little straighter, that wasn't stopping her being completely petrified at having the conversation with Nathan once they did have the pregnancy test, and she'd downed a gallon of water to make her pee.

Word Count | 3,448

RP LOG with timemaychange | Twin Prerogative

2010-01-18T13:23:00Z

[Follows THIS]

Their plan to go in as a united twin force to try and find out why their big brother was acting 'funny' wasn't much of a success. Matt had answered the door to them, but he looked rough, and wasn't at all in the mood to talk or be a gracious host. In fact, he had just frowned at them, told them he wasn't feeling well, and that he didn't want to talk about whatever they were there to talk about. They knew he wasn't lying and they had to relent, even if they wanted to stick around and make sure he was okay. He outright told them he wasn't, and that he was going back to bed, which he did without even waiting for them to leave. It really didn't leave the twins anymore placated, and they reluctantly left without having any info on why their mom thought Matt was acting weird.

But it was now a couple of days later and Randy was stood not on her brother's doorstep but on that of her sister's new hunky doctor lay. It was a really nice refurbished house made into two apartments, both two-story with neat gardens. Randy had gotten up early that day to submit a college assignment, so she dropped in on Matt on the way home, and now she was going to impose on her twin, which was always a twin's right, no matter what. It wasn't that early anymore at just after ten am, and she knew Mel was still here. Her car was in the drive behind a trendy metallic blue Audi hatch (clearly the doctor's wheels), and Randy had been chatting to her online the night before while she waited for the doctor to knock off from his shift. It must have been another successful night. She hit the doorbell again and pushed her blonde hair back out of her face, checking her watch. She wanted the details to make sure Mel was coping okay in the sudden new relationship, or if she was about to have cold feet that Randy might need to smack out of her any time soon.

Mel had woken up a little while ago, but she'd been too comfortable with Nate still curled around her as they lay in bed. The doctor was dead to the world, the sleepy sex and late night shift taking its toll. She couldn't blame him, and any minute now, she really was going to move. Only then the doorbell sounded, and she watched Nate to see if he would stir. Was she supposed to answer his door? What if it was his mother coming for a surprise visit?

She stayed there indecisive for a moment before she cautiously slipped from his arms and slid out of the bed to pull on her panties, and one of his t-shirts. Her hair was still very much a tousled mess, and she just prayed to God that it would just be someone canvassing for cable TV, and no one important. She tip-toed down the stairs, letting out a soft curse as she heard the doorbell go again, and murmured, "I'm coming, I'm coming!" Mel reached the door with a huff, and pulled it open to find her sister standing there. At first Mel turned bright red as she looked down at herself in Nathan's t-shirt, and then grinned widely at Randy. "So glad you're not his mom, or the police."

Randy just merely raised an eyebrow, unphased, and shrugged. "Should've thought about that before you didn't put jeans on," she offered and pushed her way into his home to survey the interior. She whistled softly, impressed. "Very nice. He must be savvy with his money. A house like this and an Audi on a new doctor's salary does not happen. Where is he?" she asked, turning back to her sister with a smirk.

Mel pushed her fingers through her hair after closing the door behind Randy, and smiled. Nate really did have a nice place. She hadn't minded spending time in it one bit. With, or without him. "I only just woke up a little while ago. My brain apparently didn't consider pants necessary just yet. It is nice, isn't it? I like it here. He's got the DJ gigs as well, but I guess they don't really pay heaps. He doesn't seem to need much." She bit her lip and pointed up. "Still asleep. He didn't get off until one in the morning, and then when he came home, we, um... had some fucking amazing sleepy sex."

"Well, he's been on his own, hasn't he? He lives on the basics so he can afford a nice home and a nice car. I assume he owns this place? Maybe he's just renting. Though, I would have thought he would have picked a rental closer to the hospital. This looks like it was picked for the nice part of town more than anything. Did you see the street? It's like something off a soap opera. All mowed lawns and pretty gardens. Dogs probably aren't even allower to dump on the grass here." Randy started looking at some of the photos framed on the wall. "Wow, is that his Mom? She's bloody hot. Look at her. She could be Michelle Pfieffer's sister. Only shorter. She's small. His Dad must've been the tall one."

She spotted a photo of a two small blond boys sitting at the base of a slippery did, one with his arms and legs wrapped around the other from behind. They were a mirror image. "Aw, Mel, look," she murmured, tapping the photo. She raised her eyebrow, looking back at her sister. "He still fucked you at one am after a long shift? Wow. Define 'fucking amazing'," she demanded.

Mel nodded. "Yeah, he has. He's got the best DVD collection, you should see it! I think his money goes on music, movies, and this place. He's got nothing in the fridge, or cupboards. I keep meaning to go shopping for him like we did for Peter. I think he owns... I forgot to ask him about why here. Real estate's not exactly been on our minds," Mel added with a slight smirk. "I just feel like I'm going to come here on a Sunday and find the whole street out in their yards watering at exactly the same time, with exactly the same gestures."

She came up behind Randy and smiled at the photo. "His mom's definitely hot, and I think the sons took after her. Looks wise, anyway." She bit her lip as she stared at the two boys and slipped her arm around Randy's waist as she rest her head on her sister's shoulder. "I still feel so horrible knowing his brother died... I wish it hadn't have had to happen." She wet her lips and closed her eyes as she remembered the night before. "Yeah, I know... He got into bed next to me, and we were kind of talking, but I wasn't too intelligible, and he was just exhausted. Only then there was kissing, and touching, and I was wet from this dream... He was hard... It just... you know when it just feels right, and all over a sudden it's all you want? All we seemed to want was each other. He, um... We... I'm on the pill, so we didn't exactly bother with condoms. It was just slow and started to build up and it was fucking amazing." Mel lifted her head to look at her sister again. "After he, um, said he was falling in love with me even though it's early."

Randy looked at the photo of the little boys, smiling faintly. Of course, it was impossible for them to know which one was Nate. It wasn't like twins walked around with name tags on, no matter how frustrating it was to get them mixed up. They only looked around four or five in the photo, so it must have been before his brother got ill. It did twist in her gut a little to think that just a couple of years later one them had passed away. "I'm in awe of him for surviving it, but also for taking on a job to deal with sick kids after it. How does someone do that? I couldn't do it. The strength of some people just astounds me..."

She smirked, even if she was still looking with interest at the photos. "Thank all the gods for the pill, huh? Impromtu sex is awesome, condoms are just a pain in the ass sometimes. I doubt he has any STDs. The pill just stops you rocking up on his doorstep with a positive pregnancy test. I'm sure it's the last thing he needs right when he's starting his residency." She raised her eyebrows at the last comment. "Whoa. How do you feel about that?"

"I think it just spurred him on, served as fuel and inspiration," Mel said softly. "If you survive something, why wouldn't you want to make it right? Or try and make sure it served a purpose. He said he was in awe of the doctors that looked after his brother, and wanted to be like them."

Mel laughed. "Fuck yeah. I'm not one to forget condoms regularly or anything, but sometimes it's just... it's really nice to feel a guy properly. And to feel him come inside me." Mel started to flush, and ducked her head down as she tucked some of her unruly hair behind her ear. "I didn't even think about STDs... Oops. At least I know I'm clean, too. And definitely no pregnancy. I take my pill like clockwork." Mel pulled her mouth to the side and shifted to watch Randy. "Well, um, good. Really good. I... I'm falling in love with him, too. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to when we hadn't really been seeing each other that long, but it just feels right."

Randy nodded slowly. "Like Lachlan, becoming a psych and all even if his own head can be messed." She scrunched her nose up in thought. "I still don't know if I could do it. I'm more in the flight portion of the fight or flight thing. I think I would be too selfish to want to use my own pain to help someone else."

"I had one come off once, inside. I freaked the fuck out and never let the guy touch me again, went straight to the clinic at the hospital and got the morning after pill." She shook her head with a snort. "And people wonder why we all want to find that one special person? Things like condoms and that don't need to matter, you can deal with shit together. Relationships can be scary, but how can someone not want one, deep down? With the right person, you know? At least he didn't tell you he loved you after he came. You would be worrying if he meant it. There was more thought behind this, more hesitancy. Like, the next step or something. Not that I would know. Last guy who told me they loved me was drunk and wanted to literally kiss my butt. Seriously. He asked me to drop my pants."

Mel nodded. "Yeah, I don't know how I'd do. As long as my bad thing doesn't involve using you, I might be able to cope. Or I might just follow you in the running." Mel shrugged. "We've never really had to worry about stuff like that. Our Mom did everything she could to make sure we were protected, and so did Matty."

Her eyes went wide as she made a face. "It came off inside? Ew! I don't blame you for freaking out. How did you even get it back out of you?" Mel nodded. "Yeah, of course. I mean, it's easier to take on something when you have a partner. They're there to be supportive, or keep you safe, or just catch you if you fall, or whatever. And he did wait. We were drifting off to sleep. I actually wasn't sure if I'd already dropped off and fallen asleep when he said it. But he did. I can't believe it! He's just so... him! I'm crazy about him, sis. Do you think I'm crazy?" Mel started to giggle. "I remember the butt kisser... I still can't believe someone would do that. Maybe Peter loves you? He looks at you like he does."

Randy pressed her lips together. "I'm sure Nathan's Mom did too, and Lachlan's parents. This sort of thing, no amount of protecting can stop it. Just tragedies. But that right there is why we need people like them in the world, to help people who hurt after horrible things happen.

"The clinic doctor dealt with it, she was good. Did all she could to make sure I was okay, and told me I did the right thing. She said for every person she gets come in for the morning after pill after a condom failure, she probably sees a hundred who haven't used birth control at all. Bloody screwed that is. Stupid idiots deserve all they get, I just feel sorry for the unwanted kids they have. What hope do they have if the mother can't even get the guy to wear a condom or take the pill herself? You wouldn't have heard it if you were asleep. No, I don't think you're crazy. I came around to make sure you weren't getting cold feet. He's a catch. He seems to really care about you, the date alone he put a lot of thought into." She shrugged a little. "He's not told me. It's okay if he doesn't. We're just going with it. You know how it goes."

Mel was nodding in agreement with all of what her sister was saying. She didn't understand why women just didn't take the pill, or even put the condoms on the guys themselves. It was sheer laziness, and really was just gratuitous. They shouldn't have babies if they weren't prepared for the responsibilities that came with it. Then she blinked, and frowned a little as she tried to process the last thing Randy had said. She had been accused of wanting her sister to walk down the aisle, but she couldn't help getting excited about her sister having an official boyfriend finally. Especially Peter. "Do you love him? Are you still okay from making it all official? I haven't got any cold feet. Not like I thought I might. I just can't get enough of him. He's just... amazing." Mel made a face when she realised she hadn't been able to find another word so she didn't sound repetitive. "I really could love him."

Randy shrugged again. "I don't know," she admitted honestly and then pressed her lips together. "I don't, and I'm not sure I can just decide on the spot. I might get along okay with guys, but I'm not one to just easily hand over my heart. It's a whole other different thing. I don't know... I get a feeling there's things he's not telling me, that makes it hard to lay everything completely on the line, you know? If there are things he wants to keep to himself, sure. That's fine, I get it. I can't just... give everything knowing he has secrets. I'm going to be a psychologist. I'll start trying to analyse it and get worried what he's hiding and it'll ruin everything, and it's nice what we have now. With you and Nathan, it's just... he doesn't seem to be hiding anything from you."

Mel pressed her lips together. "Do you think he's ex-Mafia? He's from an Italian family, right? Or maybe he's some reformed criminal. What could he possibly be hiding? What if he tells you, and you still don't want to give everything because you find out you don't like what he has been hiding? I mean, how do you choose between leaving things as they are, and then risking everything to lay all your secrets bare, and maybe lose what you have altogether?" Mel reached up to scratch at the top of her head. "Makes my head hurt just thinking about it."

Randy looked at her twin like she had gone mental. "No, I don't think he's ex Mafia," she said with a laugh of disbelief. "I doubt he would be a paramedic in Princeton if he was. Can you even be ex-Mafia? Aren't you just always in once you're in it? I dunno. No, that's not what I think. And to be completely honest, if I don't like what he's hiding, that'll be it. I can't help it. It won't be a matter of choosing. I'm not putting anything on the line for a guy. I still need a guy who can prove themselves to me, and he has. But if he has secrets I don't like, then that will just be it."

Mel held her hands up, and then pointed at the kitchen. "I'm sorry, I need coffee. Sleepy sex really takes it out of me. Want some? Or, um... water. I think there might still be some soda I got last night, too." She scrunched up her nose as she thought about the Mafia movies she'd seen. "Yeah, I guess. I mean, he would probably be dead, not a paramedic in New Jersey. I can see your point, too. If you don't like it, it's not worth trying to stick it out. I just hope he does lay everything on the line for you, because you're worth it."

Randy just automatically followed her sister to the kitchen. "I don't know. Seriously, sometimes secrets are just too heavy for any relationship to come up against it. I'm trying not to think too hard on it, but he doesn't talk much about his family or his background. Just keeps saying his Mom's a bitch and his brother's a politican that butter would melt in his mother's eyes. Something along those lines. Pieces are missing. I only really started thinking on it this past week when you were telling me how much Nathan had already told you. Hell, he even took a raincheck on the twin thing and still remembered to tell you. I don't know, I really don't."

Mel started to move around the kitchen, trying to remember where everything was to make the coffee. It was one of the first things she'd done when she got to Nathan's yesterday. Coffee was her lifeblood, and she had made sure she knew where he kept it. She managed to find a second spare mug, and cleared her throat as she started to wake up properly. "I don't really get why he won't tell you. I mean, it's not like you haven't shared stuff. You took care of him when he needed it. You lived with him a couple weeks. Why don't you just ask?"

"Why should I? Seriously. Why should I have to? If he can't tell me, doesn't want to, then we're doomed. May as well just enjoy the sex while it lasts and move on when it doesn't. I've been with guys with secrets in the past, it didn't last. The longer they didn't say anything, the less I trusted them and the more suspicious I got. I'm not a fool and no one with a dick is going to take me for one. I'm better than that. I'm not submitting to anyone and they take me as I come or not at all," Randy resolved, even if a tiny frown had appeared on her face. She could feel in her gut she was starting to worry about what Peter was hiding and she didn't like the feeling.

Mel gave a nod, and left the coffee maker to slip her arms around her sister briefly. She hadn't meant to ask a bunch of questions about Peter, but since she was getting interrogated it was only fair. "You shouldn't have to, I agree. If he can't love you for who you are, he's seriously crazy. You're a catch, sis. Just like Nathan. Only a girl, and my sister."

"I'm just glad your doctor doesn't seem like the secretive type. You don't deserve it, and I know you wouldn't easily stick it out if he was. You would worry it was your fault... or something. I know you, and that's why I'm glad he seems like a straight shooter. Just a little nervous on our double date," Randy had to add with a small laugh.

Mel smiled. "Yeah, you do know me. And I'm really glad, too. But even Nathan knows just to keep telling me to chill when the washing machine starts. Which isn't really that often with him. It's nice to just relax with him and not be thinking all the time. He's good at making me not think." Mel bit her lip, and looked back at her sister. "Is it evil that I want you here when he wakes up so you can do the Twin Threat when he least suspects? He knows he escaped lightly."

Randy smirked but she nodded. "About time some guy tamed that washing machine," she murmured and her eyes narrowed slightly in thought as she sighed. "And I think you just passed it on to me," she added wryly. She gave a laugh. "You're an evil bitch when you want to be. He gave you probably the most awesome sex you've had in a long time last night after putting in long hours at work, takes you on a date some chicks could only dream about, and he tells you he's falling in love with you, but you still want me to put the wind up him? Are you sure I even need to? He should be giving the twin threat to me. It's like he's just... got the twin thing from the start and even pre-empted the Twin Threat before I had a chance to get my foot in the door."

Mel bit her lip as she tried not to grin like an idiot, but it was hard to fight. She felt like her whole body was about to burst from joy. Every time Nathan popped into her mind, she just wanted to smile. She reached out to ruffle her sister's hair playfully, and laughed. "I'm sorry, I would never wish my washing machine on anyone. I didn't mean to pass it on." She smirked at the evil bitch comment. "Hey, learned alongside the best," she teased. "I don't think he does need it, but I know you might not rest unless you tell him something. Matty's the unknown quantity. He can't really talk to us, let alone Nathan. I haven't even had a chance to tell about any of this, and in his current mood I just have no idea how he's going to take it."

"I'll talk to him, but you'll never know what I say to him, so you can forget about being an audience for it," Randy told her with a smug smirk. "You may as well just let him sleep. I already know how I'm going to go about it. As for Matty, he's not feeling well. Or he said he was feeling better than he had been, but he was still in his PJs when I went around, just lying on his sofa. I did ask him if he was still having a fling on the side, and he outright said it was over. Wouldn't elaborate, but it's definitely said and done. He just wouldn't talk about it. He did ask if you went on the date, so he knows something. Maybe Mom told him? But you're right, it could go either way. He might really like Nathan, or it could be a civil war from the get-go where he won't rest until Nathan bares his soul and proves his worth."

Mel pouted and moved to take the coffee pot out and pour their drinks when there was enough in it. "That's not fair! But then it's not like I told you what I said to Peter, so I guess it's fair in a whole it totally sucks way. He's sick? He could have just said that the other day. Are you sure he's not just in a super mope? If he's not talking about the flung fling it's kinda serious, don't you think? Mom probably did, then worked out he didn't seem to be listening and switched to worrying about him, and thinking he was acting 'funny'." Mel frowned a little, and ulled her mouth to the side. "How can Nate possible prove himself any more?"

"It's very fair. No point sulking about it, either. He can tell you if he wants to. At the very least, I need to get to know him if you're going to be dating him," Randy reasoned and took one of the seats at the breakfast bar. "He looks sick. He got puked on at work, and there are bugs going around. Even if he's in a funk, it's not all related to a chick. Matty's more likely to throw himself into work than mope with that sort of thing any way. He just seems really tired, and it sucks he's on his own. I don't know why he never got a room mate." She held up her hand. "I don't even want to know. I don't get the whole marking the territory thing with males."

Mel sat next to her sister and cupped her mug with her hands as she just sat and took a moment to breathe in the wonderful aroma of the coffee. "I really want you to get to know him, sis. He's... He's just special. I really, really like him." She turned to look at Randy, and her frown deepened. "Where's Woodie living? Why doesn't he live with Matty? I never got the male thing either. Especially the pissing contest thing. And I'm not anyone's territory! I'm me."

"I hope you like him, or the fucking without a condom thing I'd have to advise against," Randy said with a smirk. She just let her own coffee sit for awhile first. She was never a fan of it too hot. "No idea, somewhere local I assume. I haven't spoken to him in awhile. All I know is Matty's on his own and he's all blah. It sucks. Sucks even more when he prefers to just be like that right now. You're just going to have to let them to it. They'll do it whether you want them to or not. It's not even about you, it's just marking their territory. It's a male thing. Matty will want Nathan to know he's the big brother, and that could be a dangerous thing. If Nathan's smart, he'll just take it submissively."

"He really should move in," Mel decided with a nod. "Or Matty should go to him. Bros first, or whatever. Or we could go invade Matty's. Then he can't really not talk to us, and he wouldn't be alone." She stuck her tongue between her teeth before she picked up her cup and had a sip. "I just don't want Nathan hurt. Or for Matt to feel like he's not still able to protect me for whatever stupid boy reason."

Randy smirked. "Bros before hos. I think he's been living alone for so long, he wouldn't easily exist with a room mate. He needs a girlfriend, one he doesn't have a complex about dipping his cock into. I was going to take him around some soup. Hang out with him for awhile. It's gotta suck feeling crap and being alone." She shook her head. "He won't hurt Nathan. I'm serious, sis. Let them at it. You aren't going to be able to stop it."

Mel sighed. "I feel bad he's got a complex now. That woman he was dipping his cock did seem like she might have been nice. Not that I'm going to give him the happy speech or anything," she quickly said. "I'm keeping that promise. Just saying... Give Matty a hug from me. It does suck, but we've been lucky in that we've always had each other when we feel crap. It's different when we're trying to trust someone else when we feel crap." Mel pressed her lips together before she conceded with nod. "Well, if I really can't stop it... Boys are so silly, but I wouldn't be able to be without them."

"She was his boss. I would never do my boss, either. Too messy, too much risk. It hardly worked out did it, nice or not," Randy pointed out and dipped her finger in the coffee to see if it was cool enough yet. She glanced at her sister curiously. "Would you trust Nathan if you were feeling crap? Told you that was a relationship tester. Spending time with the person when you're ill, and when they are."

Mel bit her lip and frowned down at her coffee. "Okay, point. And yeah, I think I would. He's a good snuggler, and I think he'd just know what to do. He's a doctor. Right now though, I might be more worried about him seeing it. It's not to soon for admitting to falling in love, but it's too soon to learn about how bad I look when I'm ill."

"He gets paid to know what to do. And he probably gets more points for being a kids' doctor, too. He'd have to have a more approachable bedside manner. Kids aren't easy to deal with. When you're a kid and you're sick, you usually just want your Mom or Dad. Everyone looks bad when they're ill, and he actually didn't look too crash hot passed out at the bar the other night, did he? It's just the way it goes. There was a few days there when Peter got out of hospital he wasn't feeling well from the medication and the hit to the head, but you just roll with it. Do you what you can," Randy explained and then sipped her coffee.

Mel nodded in agreement as she listened, her fingers rubbing against her mug as she thought about how Nathan would deal with her being sick. Right now it was Mel suffering from the strong urge to take care of him, and she didn't even really know where it came from. Would Nathan still want to deal with her when she was sick, and helpless? "But at least you did look after him, and stick around. That's something. Most people would have just left him to it."

Randy scrunched her face up. "Of course I did. I caused it, I wasn't just going to leave him to it," she reasoned.

Mel slipped her arm around Randy's shoulders and kissed her sister's temple. "Because you're a good person. Hey, wanna sneak up stairs and see my passed out official boyfriend? He does the cutest mouth open thing..."

Word Count | 5,180

RP LOG with imgrounded, timemaychange & musicalmedic

2010-01-11T07:49:25Z

[Follows THIS, THIS and THIS]

It was Saturday night, and typically busy at The London bar. Nathan was working, but he was really tired that night and had found himself wondering how the hell he was going to get through the evening when he felt his eyes start to droop when he was setting up song selections and sets before the crowds started to arrive. Luke had spotted him, and after pulling the piss in his typical Aussie way, gave Nathan a Red Bull and told him to take it easy that night. Nathan really appreciated it, and it meant he mostly just had to make sure music was kept on a rotation and he could keep the talking to a minimum. Some nights just ran themselves in a bar like this, and it really had worked out like that.

He was now sitting in the closest booth to his DJ tables so he could go back and forth with ease. Mel was beside him and on the other side of the table, Randy sat with Peter. Both guys kept hush on the fact they had spoken online initially, knowing the girls might get suspicious as to what they spoke about. Nathan would confess to Mel later, it wasn't like he needed to keep secrets from her. He was nursing a bottle of beer, but he had only had a few mouthfuls out of it. He was sure if he let himself onto too much booze, he would end up passing out face down at the table, and that really wasn't the impression he wanted to make on his company or his boss. He stifled another small yawn as he watched a couple pass by their table hand-in-hand, and turned the bottle cap over between his fingers. In an atmosphere like this, his mind kept telling him he should do something with his hands. He wasn't used to 'taking it easy' when he was supposed to be behind the microphone. It hadn't been long since Mel had arrived with Peter and Randy, so they were still in the slightly awkward phase, and Nathan didn't mean to impact on that. He just really could have shy streaks when he wanted to and covered it by drumming softly on the edge of the table to the beat of the song playing.

Mel was almost bouncing in her seat from nerves, and she tried to cross her legs under the table to stop from fidgeting, but that didn't work. She found herself grinning at her sister, and then trying to nod her head at Nathan's forearm, so Randy could try and catch a glimpse of the Gemini tattoo. Holding onto her own beer was also not really stopping Mel from fidgeting, and she found her hand slipping from the table to Nathan's thigh. It was so tempting to molest him again, even if this time he'd be awake. Mel hadn't even told him what she'd done, and wondered if he even had a clue, or really did just think it had been a great dream. She'd managed to clean him up without waking him, curling up against his side again after her talk with Randy. Their mission to talk to their brother tomorrow re-entered her mind, and she frowned a little, still trying to work out what could be wrong with Matt.

Peter slipped his arm around Randy's shoulders, and turned his head to brush a kiss against her temple. Most times he wasn't into public displays of affection, but with the blonde twin he couldn't help himself. Since that day in the hospital she'd come to pick him up, Peter hadn't really been able to keep his hands off her. He had found a myriad of ways to get away with it without it ever becoming anything sexual, not until she gave the go ahead. He smiled at her before looking at Nathan, watching the other man. He knew why the guy was tired, but he wasn't going to say anything. He really didn't need Randy elbowing him in the ribs or worse for talking about her with someone else. "You don't ever do this after a whole shift, do you?" Peter found himself asking. It was hardly a secret anymore that Nathan was both a doctor and a DJ. Work had to be a safe topic, right?

Nathan turned his attentions back to the group with a smile and nodded with a small shrug as he took a sip of his beer. "Yeah, I do on Friday nights. I don't usually work Saturday, so spend a good portion of the day unconscious, then back here Saturday nights. Which are easier in general, because the band plays, I just fill their set breaks. They should have been here tonight, but they're taking a break. Sunday's all mine, then back to work on Monday. It's probably not everyone's idea of a dream schedule, but I don't really see this as work. More like a hobby," he explained and shot Mel a smile, covering her hand with his and linking their fingers together. She hadn't mentioned the flowers, so he had a feeling she hadn't gotten them. Knowing his luck, there had been some sort of mix-up, but he would try and think about it tomorrow. He didn't want to worry right now.

Randy had opted against beer. It wasn't really her drink of choice, instead going for a Martini. She was sipping it when she caught herself crowd watching and analysing, which was something she often did by default, trying to pick out what people were like. It was the psychologist in her. She had been hoping she could corner Lachlan Campbell briefly tonight to ask if he minded meeting with her for one of her assignments, but then Nathan had revealed the band was out for the night so there were no kilts in sight. She was going to have to try and set the meeting up with him some other way. "You're mental," she teased Mel's lover with a laugh. "How can you not want more sleep then you already get? I love my bed. I'd probably commit grievous bodily harm if anyone tried to drag me out of it prematurely." She shot Peter a smirk. He had learnt that lesson the hard way one morning, but she did end up making it up to him by blowing him in the shower once she was conscious again.

Peter chuckled, and gave Randy a soft squeeze. "She's right, she really would. I still have a faint hint of a bruise. I'm lucky I can still use my hand. I got used to not needing much sleep at one stage. I could run on adrenaline, and I was... a quick healer." He wet his lips before swallowing. There was a part of his past he had yet to go over with Randy, and he wondered if he ever would. It was just easier to be normal, average Peter again. Just worry about nursing, and his love life. "I also used to have a lot of dreams... Never could just settle and relax. Things change, though."

Mel didn't argue when Nathan took her hand, and looked down at their joined fingers. She bumped him gently with her shoulder. "No wonder you wanted to sleep most of today away. And there you were talking about DVDs, and hanging out. Not that I'm complaining! Plus you must have stayed awake long enough to send me those flowers. For which I just wanted to say thank you so much. I meant to before, but I got distracted when I first saw you." Mel hadn't been able wrapping her arms around him and stealing a passionate kiss from him. If she was going to stake her claim, she would do it in front of a crowd. "But hey, also not complaining about your hobby. It's a pretty damn cool one to have. As long as you remember to still work some Bowie into your sets occasionally."

Randy watched her sister kissing Nathan for a few moments and then turned to Peter, gesturing with her glass. "I'm the evil twin, you know. You have to give me flowers now or I'll get jealous," she joked and then laughed, giving him a soft nudge before settling comfortably against him in his arms. It was nice to just relax and chill out, especially seeing Mel wasn't behind the guy eight ball for once. Randy really could enjoy herself without feeling guilty Mel was being left out. It was just a natural gene in her to do so. She would never intentionally set Mel up, because they agreed years ago to never do that so it didn't create problems between them, but Mel had done this all on her own. She not only bagged a guy, she bagged a doctor who sent flowers and was blond and gorgeous with a killer smile. She had been hoping Mel would manage to find a guy as awesome as Peter was, and she had. She caught sight of the tattoo on Nathan's arm finally when he reached for his beer. Her heart clenched just a little when she looked at the other guy wrapped in Mel's arms. She couldn't even begin to imagine what it would be like to have Mel die and she teared up before she could stop it, hiding it by putting her glass to her lips and blinking when she looked at the dancing crowd again.

Nathan laughed. He was enjoying the attentions Mel was offering him, trying to keep up with her as much as he could. He had absolutely no complaints in that department, and he realised he was actually starting to get hard in response, and thanked any higher being for the large tables. "I didn't work here Friday night. Luke had a private function, some bachelor party or something. I asked for the night off for the date that didn't happen," he laughed. "Yet still ended up passing out cold. Funny that," he added with a cheeky smirk.

Peter pressed his lips against Randy's ear so that only she could hair him as he gave the other couple some privacy. "I'll get a bunch of flowers tattooed on my ass, and you can see them whenever you want. Those kind of flowers don't wilt, either." He smiled against her hair as he breathed in her scent, and just leaned back in the booth as his thumb rubbed against her shoulder. He still had yet to do any nudging as far as making things official went, but this was a good start. He glanced back at Nathan and Mel, and his smile turned a little sad. It was strange being across from another Nathan, the name doing nothing but making him think about his older brother. "Oh, right... the date. How exactly did that go?" Peter mustered a smirk, and his eye glinted with amusement as he looked at Nathan. If their online chat was going to stay a secret, it meant he could get away with asking for details even when he knew about the sex hangover. "I'm guessing if we're all here together, there was at least enough for more dates."

Mel blushed scarlet before ducking her head against Nathan's shoulder, and bit back a giggle. "Guess maybe I worked you too hard, huh?" She looked Randy, and Peter and smiled. "It went really, really well. I think the date officially ended in time for me to go home and change and come out for this one." Her fingers brushed along his arm, pausing at the tattoo. She glanced at Randy again, trying to read her sister's expression. "I think there's plenty of dates left in us. Don't you?" she asked, turning to look at Nathan. She could feel the washing machine stoke up in her mind again, and tried to stop it.

"Yeah, for sure," Nathan agreed, laughing. "Once I recover from the last one. I still feel like I could sleep for a week. I love my bed too when I can indulge enough to stay in it long enough. But alas, work calls and I have to drag myself out of it to go deal with kids with chicken pox and gastro." He hadn't actually revealed in any way that the time Mel left to go get changed, he had to jerk off in the shower just so he wasn't walking around in a perpetual state of of hardness. Besides not being able to get the thoughts of sex with her out of his mind, there was hints of awesome sex dreams he must have had when he was asleep. It was probably why he felt so tired, his mind had switched off since she had asked him out on the date. He knew his next set was coming to an end and he had to check his listings. He was glad he had opted for dark jeans, because telling his dick to go flacid again wasn't going to work. He gave Mel a kiss and pushed out of the booth. "I'll be right back. Promise."

Randy watched Nathan moved away, and realised the dark jeans weren't enough to hide what the doctor was packing. Her eyebrows shot up and she threw Mel a devious smile in realisation. "Well, part two, certainly seems like you hooked a, uh, big winner there," she offered, her eyes shining mishievously. She turned to Peter and pointed between him and over to where Nathan was now standing. "Why do I get the feeling you two know each other? I thought there would be more awkward. Are you okay, babe? The whole brother name thing?"

Mel wriggled in her seat as she watched Nathan leave, her eyes on his ass, and the dark jeans. She fanned herself as she met Randy's gaze and laughed. "I really did, didn't I? Do you like him? Not that we've talked much yet, but I really hope you like him, part one." Her gaze soon slipped back to the DJ booth, and she bit her lip as she indulged in the thousandth replay of the night before.

Peter looked down at Randy and tried to smile innocently, but failed. He held a hand up in surrender. "Okay, so there might have been some talking online. Not much. Apparently we also came up with the idea of tonight, only you two got to us first. He was, ah... talking about a sex hangover. I didn't realise it was him until he clicked that I was your... 'not boyfriend' as Mel apparently referred to me."

Randy felt like she was suddenly thrust into some sort of spotlight, only she held onto her composure to appear calm on the outside. She looked between them both, sipping her drink, and then her eyes shifted to Nathan in the DJ booth. She was wondering what Mel had told the guy, and what the guy passed onto Peter. She wasn't even sure what a 'not boyfriend' was, let alone what a sex hangover was. She looked at her sister, eyebrow raised. "Sex hangover?" she asked in amusement. But then Nathan was coming back, and if there was going to be a whirl of behind the scenes talking, he wasn't going to get let off the hook either. May as well shove them all into the spotlight, no way was she going to flounder there herself. "What's a sex hangover, Dr Mitchell?" she asked him innocently.

Nathan nearly tripped over his own feet as he got back to the booth and glanced warily at Peter. Wow, they were fast operators. "Still trying to work that one out," he admitted as he slid back into the booth. "Probably something that comes when you're officially dating someone," he added pointedly, glancing at Peter.

Mel's eyes had gone wide as she stared at them all, and tried to work out what the hell had happened. "I..." She could feel all her words catch in her throat, and then she looked at Nathan, staring at him. "Are we officially dating? Did I really give you a sex hangover? I didn't mean to! You were asleep!" Mel bit her lip and held onto her drink tightly.

Peter's eyebrows rose as he didn't miss the pointed comment from Nathan. He did have to give it to the doctor, the man was right. "I figured it was just when you'd had a lot of really awesome sex. And figured it also had to come down to who you were dating. You Murray girls... You're hard for a guy to keep up with once you've drained them. Plus we can't ever get enough. It's an instant addiction." He glanced at Randy, and ran his tongue over his lips. "No way would we want to give you up."

Nathan wondered why he just got pulled into the washing machine when his brain was already tired. Probably still a sex hangover. Why couldn't he just have more sex? Which really was the sex hangover talking. He drank more of his beer, hoping he didn't wake up with a real hangover the next day. It took him a few moments to process the sleep comment and he looked at her, giving her a double take with a laugh. "You didn't mean to what when I was asleep?" he asked her in confusion. "If I did anything embarrassing in my sleep, I apologise now!"

Randy wasn't tired, but even her brain felt like it was functioning on half fuel and she hadn't even had that much to drink. She looked at Peter, clearing her throat. "I thought we already sort of were," she admitted to him, only to realise they had never actually had that conversation and she had become one of those stupid bitches who never actually confirmed or denied anything with the bloke she was sleeping with. Like wanting the cake and eating it too. She smacked herself lightly in the head when the penny dropped. "Things have just been... you know... busy and shit. Fuck."

Mel glanced at Peter, and Randy, but realised they were just as caught up in their own washing machine. She leaned in close to Nathan so that only he could hear, her fingers threading through his as she held his hand to keep contact. "You didn't do anything embarrassing. You were so sexy when you were asleep. And hard. And I... just... helped you out," she murmured, trying to get him to understand with a look and an arch of her eyebrow. "I liked it, though. It was fun. I hope you don't mind. And I'd really like for us to be dating, because I'm already crazy about you. I can't stop thinking about you, especially being with you."

Peter was focused on Randy and used his fingers to tuck some of her hair behind her ear. "So did I, but you never said... Then again, I never asked. So I didn't exactly know where I stood, even if I did meet the brother, and the sister, and have Christmas with you. I like you a lot, Randy. And I'd like to be able to introduce you as my girlfriend, even if things have been... I know... busy and shit." He kissed her forehead, then kissed her lips. "If that's okay with you."

Randy bit down on her lip, a tiny frown appearing on her forehead. "I have a confession to make," she told him, clearing her throat. "I think I told myself that if we didn't talk about it, we would just be okay going along how we did. And it wasn't that I think you were like other guys, because I don't, but I got nervous if I got into a relationship it would take my focus away from my college and I'd start dropping in grades after working really hard to get this far. It was just stupid, I know. But I've just worked really hard, and I know you aren't going to be the sort to demand my attention when I need to study or anything like that." She laughed a little and shook her head. "I'm studying to be a psychologist, but that never seems to stem to my own psychology. You just need to ask Mel, I can be a nutcase."

Nathan immediately flushed a bright red at Mel's admission, looking at her in awe. "You... you..." He waved his hand in the direction of his lower half with a laugh of disbelief. "How did I not wake up?" A girl had never done that to him before, at least not to his knowledge. He had probably never been with any who would really want to bother without reciprocation. "Even if I wasn't... returning the favour?"

Peter pulled Randy closer against him. "Hey, it's cool. You both had to share a gene somewhere," he teased. "I'm sorry you ever assumed I might have made your grades drop. I am find with how things are, I promise. It's just nice to maybe know I'm not just a stress relief. Not that I mind being used as one. You can just love me for my amazing penis, and good looks, but I care about you. And I want you to succeed in college, because I do understand just how hard you worked. And in all honesty, if you didn't have nutcase moments, you wouldn't be human."

Mel nodded at Nathan, still managing to hold his gaze. She hooked her foot around his under the table and smiled shyly. "Yeah, even without you returning the favour. I just... I like watching you." She managed not to let slip that her sister was right about that part, figuring it wasn't time to drop Randy in it again. "I was just slow and steady, and you just took it as part of your dream. I ninja molested you. Is that okay? Because I might do it again. You know... if I'm around when you're asleep. You moaned my name, by the way. It was hot."

Randy waved her hand. "No, no. No no no. I don't mean that. I was just trying to let you know what I was thinking, but that doesn't mean I don't want to. I just... this shit runs in the Murray family like you wouldn't believe. We get possessive of what we work for and kinda get worried something might take it away and jeopardise it. I'm not saying this is you, it's just in general. You..." She laughed, dipping her head a little. "You took me by surprise. I didn't expect you at all, and I really did think that day when you left hospital was some sort of agreement, then I just started to take it for granted, and I'm sorry, I really am. It's official. You braved Matty, that's pretty much the clincher right there," she reassured him.

Nathan put his hand up and pinched his lip, still laughing in embarrassment, feeling his cheeks burn. "Wow. I mean... wow. It's hot in here..." He pressed the back of his hand to his cheeks. He downed the last of his beer and waved for the waiter to get in another round.

Peter grinned. "I braved a drunk Matty, jury's still out on whether or not he'll actually kill me, but I'll brave him again," he told her. "And the surprise is mutual. I'm just as driven in my work, but it's nice to have something to look forward to when we get time together. You've made me remember there's more to life, and that's a huge thing. Just so you know." He caught her lips in a kiss, rubbing his thumb against her cheek.

Mel's eyebrows drew together as she watched Nathan, not sure if she was supposed to start cooling him down, or not. She glanced at Randy to try and get some psychic twin help, but Peter and her sister were caught up in a kiss, and Mel quickly glanced away. "Definitely hot." She tilted her head. "Are you okay, Nate?"

Randy kissed Peter back with a small flip in her gut. It was odd for her to think they had just agreed to be official. It wasn't like she hadn't had boyfriends in the past, but none ever really stuck. Instead she just had a lot of fun with guys she knew, knowing they were there if she wanted some company. She had a lot of male friends, and she was yet to know how Peter would take that yet. They had mostly been holed up in their own little universe while he healed and then she had end of year exams to contend with. Time would probably tell how that all panned out. Most of the guys already knew Matt from high school, so there was never an issue. It was like the big brother always knew Randy would never really settle for dating any of them. But now Peter was in the picture, and to add to Matt's stress, there was now Nathan. Randy fleetingly wondered if they needed to invest in some Valium for the darling big bro and sit him down for a long talk because she just knew from looking that Mel was smitten with Nathan and it seemed to be a reciprocated thing. At this rate, Mel would probably find herself up and aisle and knocked up before Randy even realised she was officially a girlfriend. And this reminded Randy that she had to pull Nathan aside when she had a chance to give him The Twin Threat.

Nathan nodded, swallowing as he wet his lips. He looked back to her, but this time his smile was shy and he pressed his lips together. "I'm sorry. I told you I got the, uh, shy thing." He pointed to his red face. "Proof. Either that, or I'm coming down with something," he joked. "I'll keep the jury out on that. I did get really wet in that rain, and I don't want you to think that you did anything wrong, because you really, really didn't. Not wrong at all. I don't think anyone has ever told me they liked watching me before."

Peter just couldn't stop smiling for a moment, and kissed the top of Randy's head again. It had been ages since he'd been this comfortable with someone, and have even discussed the official side of things. There had always just been this instant jump to love, and Peter was sure it was because he had just been so intense about the relationships, and he hadn't actually considered if they were any good. With Simone it had been infatuation, and then this automatic conclusion that he did love her because he was helping her out. Because he wanted to make her life better. He was wrong... Everything with Isaac should have rung warning bells, but it was too late. Then there was Caitlin, and Peter still wondered how the fuck he was supposed to explain that one. He'd fallen in love with her while he'd had no memories of himself. She was something to cling to in Ireland, how could he be sure it had ever been real love? With Randy he didn't have a ton of questions to answer, or a feeling at the back of his mind like something was off. He just had her, and she was pretty damn fantastic. He looked back at Nathan, and Mel, ready to rejoin the group now he and Randy had had their small interlude to sort things out. Only he caught Nathan's comment, and wondered if he'd picked the wrong moment to rejoin the conversation.

Mel grinned at seeing Nathan blush, and cupped his face with her hands as she kissed both his cheeks. It was nice to meet someone who had a shy streak. It didn't make her feel like such a freak. "Well, I do. And I'd do it again in a heartbeat." She turned her head to find Peter and Randy looking at them, and ducked her head as she smiled sheepishly, and her hands dropped away from Nathan's face. She was definitely starting to feel very taken with Nathan, her heart beating fast in her chest. She still hadn't forgotten the bulge in his dark jeans either, and all the talk about watching him was turning her on. "Hi," she said.

Nathan was sure the temperature sored even more once he realised they had an audience. He had no issues with PDA in any way, but he had a sneaky suspicion they actually heard what he had said about the whole watching thing. When the waiter came back with the next round of drinks, Nathan was relieved of the brief break in conversation and hastily handed over some cash to pay for the drinks. Luke told him not to, but he still did. His conscience wouldn't let him accept freebies when he technically wasn't even working much. He had half the fresh beer downed in one go to cool himself down and then he cleared his throat, able to meet their gaze again, his cheeks still holding a pink tinge. "So, um... busy crowd tonight," he offered, not exactly sure what else he could come up with at that moment that didn't come out in a rush of sexual thoughts.

Randy had been looking back and forth between Nathan and Mel the whole time. It was bloody scary how similar they seemed to be right at that moment. Nathan was bright red, and clearly not sure how he was supposed to feel about having witnesses hear his confession on the subject matter when he was probably still trying to process the fact Mel had felt him up in his sleep. It was sweet, and she wondered if, after all the analysis and brooding about guys, Mel had accidentally just stumbled on her perfect match. And if the way he was hooking into the beer was anything to go by, she could be in for an awesome night of drunk sex, too. Randy laughed, having a brief look around the bar. "Should we talk about the weather next, or sports?"

Word Count | 5,033

RP LOG with timemaychange | Trust me, I'm a twin

2010-01-03T10:04:01Z

[Follows THIS]

It couldn't possibly be morning. It really couldn't. Randy wasn't impressed being woken up this early. Only, when she finally managed to peel her eyes open and look at the clock, she realised it was actually one in the afternoon, and the knowledge did get her butt into gear a little more. Beside her, Peter was still out like a light. They had decided to rent an apartment in New York for the week with Mel for New Year, and it was fortunate they got one near The Bondi, meaning it was only a short distance home and they could enjoy a few drinks. It was a good excuse to hang out in the city for awhile, and Randy figured Peter could catch up with family or friends while he was here if he wanted to, but he didn't seem in much of a hurry to do so. She flipped the sheets back over his naked butt after giving it a small pat. He had to at least be decent, even if no one would barge into her room unannounced. But now the drink didn't seem like such a good idea, and she had a distinct hangover. Her head was pounding, she felt like she had been hit by a bus. But a pit stop in the bathroom to to throw up spectacularly had her feeling about 30% more normal when she was done, but she still was opposed to being awake. It was tempting to be back in bed with Peter.

She stopped down the stairs in her cotton teddy bear pyjamas, blonde hair sticking up in all directions. She needed coffee. Lots of coffee, maybe right from the pot. She found Mel in the kitchenette and sort of just grunted at her twin a little as she beelined directly for the kettle. "How can you even be awake right now?" she mumbled and rubbed a hand over her face, then peered at her twin through her fingers.

Mel gave her a soft smirk as she took a sip of her orange juice. "I'm not, it's just an illusion," she answered in a husky voice. She had always sounded croaky after staying up late, no matter how much she drank, or didn't drink. She'd only had a couple of beers, the last being consumed after she'd kissed Nathan. The DJ had been dragged away shortly after by Luke for something, or other, and Mel had given them their space, and gone to celebrate with her brother and sister. She watched Randy now, still looking at her in amusement. "So... how's the sex?"

"Should I ask you the same thing?" Randy threw back with a faint smirk before she looked around in the cupboard for some Alka-Seltzer to settle her stomach. She checked the box to make sure she wasn't taking the last one, though, in case Peter woke up feeling like crap, too. She had a vague recollection of making sure he knew where the toilet was on their way home last night. He had a bit more to drink than her, but because of her size, she got pissed a lot quicker. She also had vague recollections of sitting on the side of a bathroom sink while he fucked her, but that could have just been a really good dream. She shook her head just a little to try and clear it. "The DJ... holy shit, is he a little hottie or what? The hair, the eyes, the ass. How did I not notice him before? He didn't seem to be looking at you like you were a total bore in the conversation. Tell me you went and found him to ask him out before you left the party."

Mel shook her head. "Nope, there was only kissing. A kiss. Which I initiated," she added with a tone that said she was actually quite proud of herself. "We just talked a lot, and he didn't seem bored at all. I did get to see his chest. He lifted up his shirt... Holy shit, indeed, sis. He's a total hottie! I bet there's nothing little about him. And I like his ass a lot. And his eyes. And he has a nice smile. Tastes nice, too. He kisses like a demon." She leaned on the counter, and rest her head on her hand as she gave a small moan just thinking about the kiss. "And he looks good in a hat. He's played at The London a few times. We've seen him. Well, I've definitely seen him. He was safe to perve on, you know? Up in his little booth thing where I was safe in not having to worry about talking to him. Just... last night I decided to." Mel let out a sigh as she turned to look at her sister forlornly. "Couldn't find him. I think it was a kiss 'n' run. Probably won't get another chance."

Randy raised an eyebrow at her sister. "Snap out of it! Damn defeatist you are. You make my head ache even more. If he works at the The London, you can find him there. It wasn't a kiss and run if he got pulled away. It was external factors at work, so that doesn't count as running. He was working, we can't forget that. Did you get his number? Why didn't you get his number? I know. Luke will have his number, you can ask your footballer to get it off Luke. Then you can call him, and talk to him again. Ask him on a date. Did you get anymore info? Did you at least get his name?" she asked, looking at her sister hopefully.

Mel pressed her lips together as she looked away, and shrugged her shoulder a little. She couldn't help being a defeatist. Her track record was nothing to be proud of, Cameron being the one to start to bring her out of her shell again. Only she still automatically assumed a guy wouldn't want anything to do with her. "I think it's only a hobby. He said it was a hobby. He's really a doctor at PPTH. He's just got his placement after Medical School, and he's in Paediatrics. He works with kids, how cool is that?!" Mel's mood picked up again as she got a goofy look just thinking about Nathan in a pair of scrubs being all doctorly. "I didn't have time to get his number! It was suddenly midnight, and then I just kissed him and he got pulled away! But he let me pick a song! Did you hear Bowie? That was mine! Fuck, he was so awesome... And nice, and has a brain, and a really good kisser." She bit her lip as she looked at her sister. "Do you really think I should ask Cameron to ask Luke for his number? His name's Nathan. Didn't get a last one."

Randy was just sitting there smirking at sister over the top of her glass. "You've got it so bad," she said with an accusatory point. "You want in his scrub pants. How did you not get the number right up? Mel! A fucking doctor! A doctor! A doctor who knows his tunes and has an ass that should be dipped in gold! You talked to him and your brain didn't bleed out of your ears or your mouth. Yes. Yes, I think you should ask Cameron to get his hands on a number and a surname."

Mel threw her hands up. "I don't know! It didn't even cross my mind, I just wanted to be able to get through the conversation with him without melting in a puddle of goo formerly known as me. My heart was pounding, and I was getting all nervous, but I made it! I don't... well, I do! But tell me you didn't want in Peter's scrub pants?" Mel started to twirl her hair around her finger as she sat there lost in thought for a moment. "His ass really should be dipped in gold... Or at least chocolate. That I can lick off... I don't know if it's awkward or not if I ask Cameron... Even though we're friends."

"I ran over him! It wasn't fucking romantic, you know! I didn't even know he had them at that point! You're going to miss your opportunity if you keep procrastinating!" Randy scolded as she took a tentative sip of the fizzing water, scrunching her nose up. The taste was always gross. "Look at this way. He's single... I assume... he's blonde, he's blue-eyed, he has an awesome body, he's a doctor, and he's a DJ, he's good with kids. If you don't bite the bullet and say fuck it to the awkward, someone else will. If he's a new kid on the Princeton block, it won't be long before a nurse or a groupie takes his ass in hand and you'll miss out."

"It was romantic! Look what happened! You went home with him, and then you got to play nurse to his nurse, and then fucked him!" Melanie let out a wistful sigh. "You never did tell me what the sex was like." She wriggled in her seat, her stomach already filling with butterflies as she continued to think about Nathan, and getting his number. "He is single. I asked. He asked me, too. Sort of. But we know we're single! That's something, isn't it? I don't want anyone else taking his ass in hand. That belongs in my hand."

Randy pointed again as she swallowed. "Only person going to make that happen is you. No one else can do it for you. How can it be awkward anyway, if Cameron was only ever friends with benefits, anyway? I thought you said he was in a different headspace to you. He isn't going to deny you hitting on the DJ. Hell, he might even know the guy. Who even knows? The sex? With me and Peter?"

Mel nodded as she chewed on her lip. "Okay. Well, I want to make it happen. And you're right... he is. So he shouldn't really mind. I think Nathan said something about knowing the Prestons, but I can't remember now. I'll ask Cameron. Promise." She smirked. "Who else are you having sex with?"

"No one at the moment, but that doesn't mean I wasn't before I met him," Randy reasoned and finally shifted to sit down next to her sister, making no attempt to stifle a wide yawn. "It's only been recently he hasn't had bruises or casts. It was kind of awkward before that. You should know with Cameron. A broken arm is just as hard, believe it or not. Guys don't coordinate the best with one hand, unless it's on themselves. It's awesome now. He said it had been awhile, so I lucked out. You would have been saving yourself so much hassle right now if you just asked him out on the night. You don't have anything to lose asking a guy out. You need to see that. The guy sounds like a real catch, and he didn't run screaming into the night when you talked to him, did he? He talked back?"

"I know that, but I'm asking about Peter. I mean, we finally get to see the guy properly and everything. And he survived Matt at Christmas time. That's got to mean something. It just makes me wonder what it would have been like with Cameron if he didn't have his cast, but we both know it's not going to happen. I saw his ex at the party, she's unbelievably gorgeous." Mel turned to look at Randy. "Well, I would have gotten to it! We did a lot of talking in the short time, and no he didn't run screaming. He just got dragged away. I really want to ask him out now!"

Randy gestured with her glass. "Matt was half pissed at Christmas by the time Peter got there. I got off easy. He's a footballer, I bet he's one fuck of a lay when he's not injured. Athletes always are. He probably has the stamina to keep it up for hours. I saw her too. All I wanted to do was poke her in the eye with my beer bottle," she admitted with a shrug. "You gotta talk to Cameron. See if he knows anything. Right now, though, I'm guessing your DJ is probably smartly passed out cold considering he worked last night. Such a shame. You could be passed out cold with him right now after a New Year fuck if you weren't so nervous boys would bite."

"Hey, enjoy it while you can. Matt might realise he let Peter off early." Mel pushed Randy gently. "Stop it! No wonder I'm paranoid about the what ifs when you're always telling me what I could have had over and over." She sighed, and tilted her head. "Cameron might be passed out, too. And I didn't want to poke her in the eye with a beer bottle. More just wonder why she got to get knocked up with Cameron's kids."

Randy shrugged. "Because he was in love with her and she fucked him over," she said simply. "That's why. It's not rocket science. So, text him. He'll get it when he wakes up. Or leave him an online message. Where is he? At his brother's New York place, I assume. You could meet him for a coffee. How are you ever going to learn if I don't ride your ass? I know you. You'll chicken out if I don't keep pushing, and this time, you really have something awesome that could pass you by."

"I'll leave him an online message. I mean, Cam's probably going to be online at some point. He's still kind of limited." Mel rest her head against Randy's shoulder. "I love you for riding my ass, really. And I think maybe I could have something awesome, too." Mel let out another sigh, this one a littel more content. Maybe all her nerves and patience was actually about to be rewarded.

"Cameron might have Doc DJ on his contacts list. He can link you. The internet is a lovely little thing when it needs to be. You can have cyber sex," Randy teased, knowing her sister would probably die of mortification at the thought of trying to do that with a new crush. "Or phone sex. Or, if he's staying in New York for a couple of days, you can," she gasped, as if making a sudden, awesome discovery, "ask him on a date."

Mel gasped from reflex before slapping her hand over her mouth and starting to giggle. "Randy!" She stayed as she was, a blush working its way into her cheeks as she just stared at her sister. "I... can't. Wait, wait. I have to stop saying that. I can. I can ask him out... and maybe even... no, no phone sex! I only just met him!"

"So? You were telling me to bed Peter when I only just met him. You were in the booth with him, you saw his hands. All DJs work well with their hands, all those buttons. Can't you imagine what his fingers might look like wrapped around his dick while he's all hot and turned on? Naked and sweaty amongst the bed sheets. You said you saw his chest, how do you think that would look when he's all exerted and working the muscles above you?" Randy was on a roll and she blew out a sharp breath, fanning herself. "And in you."

Mel wriggled in her seat again, but this time the restlessness had a different feel. Randy really was on a roll, and Mel couldn't deny her imagination was genuinely doing well at filling in the gaps, and creating the visuals. Mel let out a quiet moan as her eyes slipped closed. "Mm... You're evil."

Randy waved her hand dismissively. "I'm merely trying to get your brain on it's natural route before you chicken out and start making excuses why you shouldn't call him. He's like... the whole package. I don't even know if you ever decided you have a type, but you gotta admit, that's a pretty damn good type to have. Blond-haired, blue-eyed doctor. We have a few of those in our bunch and they got snapped up quicker than Ben & Jerry's new ice cream flavour."

Mel was shaking her head before she quickly nodded in agreement. "No, never did decide to have a type, but I think Nathan's mine. He's a doctor and a DJ. It's like a total awesome dreamboat package. I wonder what his package really is like... I mean, I've, um... Cam's, like, ten inches." She had started to drift off before she blinked, and looked at Randy. "They have a new ice cream flavour?"

Randy nodded. "Yeah, I hear that twin package aren't penilely challenge in any way. You would know, I wouldn't. I heard George saying so at the party. They were trying to take bets on whether Aiden was just as hung, and how hot their homemade porn would be. They say you can tell by the size of a guy's feet, but that's bullshit. That's what chicks who can't get laid say. You might get a flash of a hint in scrubs. If he goes commando. They tend to show nice outlines occasionally..."

"Have you had sex with Peter at the hospital yet? Or just like ripping his scrubs off him?" Mel scrunched her nose up a little. "I couldn't watch it. Those twins are definitely in no way penile challenged, well, other than Pat being affected by the MS, but I couldn't watch him and Aiden go at it. I know him and Pat are different, just like me and you are different, but I just couldn't."

Randy shook her head. "No, and I won't, either. Not my thing. Doesn't do it for me. And I wasn't talking about Peter's scrubs, I was talking in general." She smirked, sipping from the glass again. "I could. It'd be bloody hot."

Mel smirked back at her sister. "Want me to ask Cameron to steal a tape for you while I'm asking him for favours?"

Randy gave her sister a nudge. "No, I think you should focus on getting that number and not let anything deter it," she insisted firmly.

Mel leaned forward to kiss her sister's cheek. "Yes, ma'am. I better get to work on my missing. And you should get to work on your nurse. Don't leave him alone too long."

Randy made a small snorting noise. "He has to wait until I'm not hungover. Test of compassion here. He touches me, I'll puke on him. And probably vice versa. I think we drank a lot more than I remember last night. But point. I should go die now, at least for a few hours. If you score a date, I want to be the first to know."

"What if it happens while you're dying?" Mel asked, and brushed her sister's hair behind her ear. "It's got to be better dying next to a naked Peter, right? At least I'm assuming he's naked..."

"He was when I left him," Randy laughed. "But he's hungover. I might go up there and find him in one of my bra's or something. You know what a pissed bloke can be like. Look at Matty. If it happens while I'm dying, take a transcript and detailed notes. I want to know exactly what he says."

Mel hopped off her stool and gave her sister another kiss on the cheek. "Deal. And if Peter is in your bra I want a photo."

Word Count | 3,295

RP LOG | With timemaychange

2009-11-17T07:12:03Z

[Follows THIS]

It didn't take long for Randy to become aware that she had no idea what Peter actually liked to eat, let alone anything else. It was easy to get the staples, but what sort of toilet paper or tissues did he prefer? Did he like chocolate biscuits with the cream in them? Was he allergic to anything. Did he hate fruit or salad? Did he like full fat milk or light? And what sort of cheese? There suddenly felt like there was eight different types of cheese in front of her as she stood in the chilled section staring blankly at the wall of dairy products. She chewed on her thumb nail, her light eyes trailing back and forth across the shelves of cheese. And butter! Did he like butter or margarine? She looked down at the list in her hand, which seemed simple at the time. She had scrawled down a few things while Peter was in the bathroom, and then he wanted to lie down, so it wasn't like she had time to double-check anything, even if it would have crossed her mind to do so, which it didn't.

She turned back to her sister with a shrug. "I give up. Can't I just feed him pizza and Chinese? Everyone likes pizza and Chinese," she said helplessly.

Mel gave her twin an amused smile as she just reached forward to pick up a block of cheese, and a tub of spread. Good, old fashioned, nondescript spread. It was probably debatable if it had anything dairy related in it at all, but it would do until Randy could get to know her new charge better. "You could, but then you'd probably stress about there not being enough vegetables. And have Matt on your back for not taking care of a guy properly. You know how he's all about eating properly even if he doesn't do it himself." She winked at her sister. "You're only stressing because you like him so much."

"He eats properly. He just also eats badly simultaneously. How he's not like Jabba the Hut is beyond me," Randy said, scrunching her nose up in frustration. She shot her sister a sheepish look. "Like you can talk, Liverpool Ball Girl. You like the footballer, too. You have covert ninja fucking with him, and then turned into non-ninja fucking and somehow managed to fly under the radar with Matt on that. Meanwhile, I get the third degree about the nurse because I think he's trying to work out if the guy is a serial killer and the injured arm and head is all a ruse to murder me dramatically."

Mel's cheeks warmed up as she nudged her sister in the arm. "I don't know what you're talking about! There's been no... okay, there's been a lot of non-ninja fucking. But can you blame me? He's hot! And he likes me. At least as a friend with benefits. I'm hardly going to look a gift ball in the mouth. And for a guy with a dodgy leg he is still something." Mel flicked her dark hair out of her eyes and raised her eyebrows. "Has Matt even seen Misery? Maybe you're the insane serial killer, and you hit him with your car on purpose so you could pull a Kathy Bates."

Randy laughed. "Yeah, but Matt's not his big brother. He's all crazy protective. Only, I am glad he knows just how much to push without interfering. I'm just curious if he'll ever work with Peter. They might hate each other, which would be really awkward. I haven't actually let him know I'm going to be staying at Peter's yet. I can't even explain why I offered to help. He just shouldn't be on his own and I don't think he's as close to his family as we are. It sucks when you're hurt and don't have someone to whine to." They came to a display of toilet paper at the end of one of the aisles. "Do you think he'll like this one? Do boys even have toilet paper preference, or is that a female thing? So, what's the story, then? Is he going back to England? How did you manage to get him to change his mind? I heard that his brother got out of hospital, but isn't back at work yet."

"Maybe they need to meet before they work together. Just like ripping a band-aid off. You know if Matt approves Mom's gonna have you married off in no time. At least she won't have the anti-nurse thing going on since Matt's a nurse. Two straight male nurses in one hospital... Who'd have thought? Are you planning on letting him know? And you offered to help because luuurve him, you want to kiiiss him. It does suck, and now he's got you. And me occasionally since you already warned him we're a package deal." Mel gave a shake of her head. "I don't think they like anything scratchy, but other than that... guy's probably don't give a shit. Well, not literally. Since that's the only thing they use it for. Yeah, apparently. I think my time's nearly up. He said he'd wait for Pat to come out of the hospital and be a bit more stable. I'm still not really sure how I changed his mind... I think it was the kissing him so he couldn't argue with me thing. And yeah, that's true. He's still at home getting some rest. His husband's looking after him."

Randy pointed with a thoughtful frown on her face. "Do you ever wonder that? If maybe a guy uses some paper after he pees? Like, even just a little square to finish the job off? Maybe just some guys do that? Or maybe just gay guys?" she mused, losing her train of thought for a moment. "I nearly killed him! He should hate me! But he doesn't hate me. Why doesn't he hate me? Would you hate a guy if he ran over you with his car? You would at least be a little bitter, right?" She threw some evil looking chocolate biscuits into the cart. "Why don't you just ask him to stay? Has anyone actually just outright asked him to stay? Have you met his brother? Matt says the guy has the really sweet rep at the hospital. Like every girl's favourite gay guy. I could be a fag hag. I would be an awesome one."

Mel scrunched her nose up in thought. "Don't they shake? I swear they shake before they zip up... There's no toilet paper near the urinals, it's only in the stalls for when they crap. At least in public toilets it is." She shrugged, and threw in an extra packet of chocolate biscuits for them to eat on the way back to Peter's apartment. She'd briefly seen the guy, and honestly had not seen a bitter bone in his body towards her sister. She'd seen some suspiciously affectionate bones even when he'd been close to passing out. "I have no idea, but I think he definitely has a major sweet spot for you. Clearly your amazing looks dazzled him to the point where he really didn't give a crap. And I think me hating the guy who hit me would depend on if he was cute, and if there were sparks. How can you hate someone that you just... connect with? Sometimes there really is no rhyme, or reason."

Mel shook her head. "I can't. It's not my place. If I ask him to stay he might think I want something more from him. Don't get me wrong, the sex is awesome and I love being able to bang his footballer brains out, but he's not my guy. I know it. Somewhere out there is my guy, just like somewhere out there is his girl. I suspect it might be the mother to his kids, but he's too hurt to acknowledge it. And no, not yet. Maybe the ninja-ing stopped, but we're hardly out in the open-open. His brother sounds super cool, though. You'd be a great fag hag, but I think he has one... Or maybe that's his husband. I mean his husband has a fag hag, not that he is one."

Randy shrugged. "I don't know. I just know Matt goes through way more toilet paper than a guy should. And I just thought some might like that extra cleanliness or whatever." She smacked her hand against her head. "Now I'm just thinking about shaking penises!" An old man walked past and sniggered at her, throwing her an amused look and she did have the decency to blush slightly. "It wasn't my good looks. He could hardly see me, he was concussed. I lay on the fricken road with him. Can you believe it? I felt terrible. I still feel terrible. I'm tapping into my guilt complex something fierce and I just don't know what to do to make it up to him. Then I had to subtlely let him know Matt was probably going to go all big-brother-guard-dog like he did with my last boyfriend. Only, I hope that, unlike the last guy, Peter doesn't fuck off never to be seen again. I still don't know what Matt said to the dude."

"So, who should ask him to stay? Someone should. Poor guy sounds like he just deserves someone to want him just because they want him. The twin doesn't count, because it goes without saying. He'll always want him and need him. Out of the whole mess, just sounds like the footballer drew the short straw. Everyone else got something out of the deal. The ex got the ex, the ex's ex gets a newborn and a gay play toy, if she's his fag hag. What does the footballer get? Loneliness and a fucked knee. Poor bastard. How do you know he's not your guy?"

Mel had to laugh as she watched her sister and the old man, then she slung her arm around her sister as they walked down the snack food aisle. "He is a guy. He probably just shits a lot," she said in a conspiratorial whisper. "Or maybe he gets bored, and starts playing with it, and then just flushes it away. Thinking about Peter's shaking penis?" Mel raised her eyebrows. "That is insanely cute and slightly crazy that you lay in the road with him. Maybe the fact you didn't freak out and run away was a sign that you were pretty special? You stuck around to make sure he was okay. There had to be a connection of some kind. So you're feeling guilty over hitting him, and then warn him about Matt? Are you sure you don't have the cold feet in this scenario? I have no idea either. I tried to find out for you, remember? It's one secret Matt's apparently going to take to his grave."

Mel bit her lip. "Maybe it should be his ex? Like... if she realises that she still loves him like crazy, and wants him to be a father to her kids? I feel bad for Cameron. Truth is I'd quite happily be his uncomplicated whatever, but I really don't think he is my guy. And probably because he... well, what would he like about me? No strings sex is one thing. You really only need a mutual attraction. Being someone's girl is totally different."

"What is the point in that? Matt has his odd moments, but he wouldn't do that, would he? I was just thinking, he is a nurse, but he's ultra aware of hygiene. I dunno! I just always wondered. It could be a lot worse and be a bloke who can't even use toilet paper properly, even to crap." Randy shuddered, scrunching her nose up. "And you have a point, he does eat a lot. He was hurt! I couldn't just let him lie there. I panicked, and maybe I'm still panicking. Really panicking. I haven't done the boyfriend thing in ages, just more the casual thing. What if I'm just not cut out for this? I offered to stay with him because I think his family is... estranged, or something. And I do care about him, sucks being alone when you feel like crap. What if it's just like that, what is it, Stockholm Syndrome? He just fancies me because I saved him, even if I was the one doing the hurting in the first place? His concussed head is just all confused or something?"

She tucked her hair back behind her ears. "The ex? The one who cheated on him and then took her ex back, breaking his heart? Maybe he just doesn't give a fuck what she wants?" she reasoned pointedly. "I would probably be doing exactly the same thing in his shoes. Seems like the whole friggen mess has been about what she wants, and what the bloke she went back to wants, to the fuck with what the pregnant chick and the footballer want. I would be flipping them the bird and telling them to get fucked. But then, I don't do getting hurt very well. You're fucking a celebrity international sports star and you still have self-esteem issues? Maybe you really are a lost cause," she said with a smirk.

"Isn't that what public toilets demonstrate frequently? Even girls apparently don't know how to use toilet paper when they're not in their own fucking toilet." Mel mirrored her sister's shudder. "How guys manage to keep eating that much is beyond me. We eat that much, and we get fat. Guys only get fat when there's beer involved. If you're not cut out for it, then be honest. I just think you're panicking for no reason. Nothing changes when you do the boyfriend thing other than you spend way more time together and maybe make some goo-goo eyes at each other. And I don't think you'd offer if you weren't cut out for it. Why would you put yourself in the position to look after him if you were a total lost cause? Stockholm Syndrome is when you're falling in love with your captor. You're not keeping him captive, right? It can't be Stockholm Syndrome! He's not confused. He's just dazzled by your crazy good looks. We are very pretty."

Mel shrugged. "She is carrying his babies. Allegedly. That's not something you can just say fuck off to. Or it shouldn't be. I just wanted him to smile so bad... He seemed like he definitely need to be happy, even for a few minutes. And just have someone to hold him." Mel bit her lip as she looked at her sister. "I can't help it! Why would he want to be fucking me? I know I pushed for it, but why me?! Not that I'm complaining. Really. He's... amazing. Just not my guy, and I need to stop any thoughts about him being my guy."

Randy scrunched her nose up. "Ugh, it's one thing to think about your brother on the loo, but it's a hundred times worse to think of random strangers. Besides, I'm not supposed to be thinking about things like toilets or I'll get all anxious if I have to do a number two when I'm staying at Peter's. Oh fuck! What if I have to? I don't want him knowing what I'm in there doing! That's embarrassing! If I keep turning the tap on, he'll think I'm weird and his living room seems awfully close to the bathroom!" She stuck the tip of her thumb in her mouth and started biting anxiously on the thumb nail. "I can do the flirt thing when it's nothing serious, you know? Not that I'm saying this is serious, but things like doing that at a guy's place is a really huge thing. It takes things to a whole new level. And hey, you know how he's all slinged up? He could hardly get his shirt on, do you think he's going to be okay in the bathroom himself? Maybe I should encourage him to call his brother? I think I'm going to suck at this. Matt's the nurse in the family, not me."

She chewed on her lip for a moment and then pulled them to the side. "I never asked, what was he like in bed? Because when we used to watch those games, I always used to perve on his ass and his ass makes him look like he would be extremely fuckable. Legs, too. But then, his twin is also apparently gorgeous, just in a more feminine way. Matty told me. If he's not your guy, who's guy is he?"

Mel stifled the laughter she could feel bubbling up inside her chest. "You're a freak, you know that? You're worse than me sometimes. Everyone does exactly the same thing in the toilet. You're not a freak for going. Maybe you should take a radio in there instead of turning on the tap, though. That's just wasting water. He'll get it. Same reason he'll expect you to understand that he needs to go to the toilet just like anyone else, too." Mel raised her eyebrows. "You can't just hold that in though! Not if you want your insides to be healthy. Don't you remember Matt's constant speeches? What else are you going to do? Catch a cab home every time it's a number two? You're sleeping at his place! Shit will happen. And I think he'll be okay in the bathroom. Guys are used to using one hand, aren't they? And maybe you shouldn't because the brother thing sounds like an awkward topic."

She fought to keep her cheeks from heating up as she smirked a little bit. "Fucking amazing, even if he's got a dud leg. He's... all man. And that ass is something else... Yeah, I heard that, too. So's the twin's husband, apparently. I don't know. Just someone when he's ready."

Randy squeezed her lips together. "I'd help him if he needed it, you know. I really would. It's just, I'm not used to this sort of thing. I'm used to having mates I can go to for a bit of fun, but other than that guy in my first year of college who I ended up realising has both heads up his very tight ass, I haven't ever really had a boyfriend. And I'm pretty sure he thinks I'm nutty. I can't seem to shut up around him. It's not that I'm nervous, I'm just trying to get all my thoughts out at once. And... well... I like taking care of him. I want to help people, but this is different."

She fanned herself a little. "Tell me about it. I used to perve on him watching the games. How could you not? Those shorts just hug in all the right places. How much would it suck if he never plays again? He's a natural. Knows how to handle his balls, that lad. So, why are you apprehensive? You think he should about-turn and give the baby momma a second chance, don't you?"

Mel pointed at her sister before bumping her with her hip. "You want to take care of him. You want him to be your boyfriend. I think you just answered all your own questions. Don't worry about talking like a crazy person. If he's fallen for you the rambling will be endearing and he won't want you to shut up. Alternatively he'll just kiss you a lot so you do shut up. And that can't be a bad thing, right? He's not butt ugly, right? You want him kissing you, don't you?"

"Like I said before. Maybe it should be his ex. She is the baby momma. What if he wakes up one day and regrets not giving it a chance? I'm still not the girl for him. And that's not a complaint! I'm loving being his friend with benefits. Just at some point those benefits have to end. I think if he never plays again he'll be even more broken than he is now."

"No one said anything about boyfriends!" Randy protested immediately and threw far too many packets of tea bags into the cart than could be healthy. "I hit him with my car. The least I can do is take care of him. And he's just... he's nice. Of course he's not butt ugly, he fucking hot. But this is all just... I dunno. I feel like a perve coming onto him. I hardly know him. This is the downside of being a psych major. You can't analyse yourself for fuck. I'm just a head case."

She wet her lips and fished a packet of mints out of her purse, taking one and then offering them out to her sister. "Has he had therapy? Just out of curiousity. I mean, it sounds like he could use some. He's had a lot of shit go down. Maybe if he offloads it all to someone, he can see a light at the end of the tunnel. Even having his twin sick would be a head fuck as it is. I wouldn't be able to function if you were sick and in hospital."

Mel laughed, and reached in to pull out a few of the boxes. "You said something about boyfriends! And you're right. For a psych major you really can't analyse yourself for fuck. Maybe you shouldn't, though. Maybe you just need to run with it. Has he even said that he doesn't want you coming on to him? Has he done anything to make you think he doesn't like you? He's letting you stay at his place while he's vulnerable. That's huge."

Mel took a mint before giving the packet back to her sister. "No, not that I know of. I can't remember him ever mentioning a shrink... Maybe you're right, though. It probably would do him some good to talk to someone. And me either. I'd be freaking out something chronic if you were in hospital."

Randy looked down into the full shopping cart in thought. "You're right. I need to just run with it because if I keep thinking about it, I'm going to go mental. If I start trying to slap labels on it left and right, I'll back right off from him. The least I can do is give him the benefit of the doubt. He's done that much for me, though hell only knows why. What if I'm just bad karma for him?" She shook her head and rubbed her fingers across her forehead. She was tired, she realised. That's why her head was screwy.

"Tell him to get some therapy. He's a guy, he'll probably deny needing it. But isn't the Scot a therapist? Maybe he could nudge in the right direction? Or you could talk to the twin. Or the twin's husband. Tell them you're worried and want to help because you know you aren't his one, but you want to help him find the person who is," she suggested with a shrug.

Mel slid her arm around her sister's shoulder, and leaned in to press a kiss to her temple. She could tell her twin was tired. "Maybe you two should try snuggling for a bit. He's probably exhausted, and just wants to chill. And you just need to give that brain of yours a break. You make me dizzy, and that's saying something. We're both queens at over-thinking this boy stuff. Even if you're better at taking tumbles with your friends for fun than I am."

Mel nodded, but she didn't commit herself to talking to any of them yet. She was still nervous to step into Cameron's world as far as his friends and family went. She'd barely met them while they'd been ninja fucking. Now she was going to try and interfere? What if it was something he didn't want, even from a friend? "It's a good idea, sis."

"Bullshit," Randy said with a smirk. "You're humouring me, but that's okay. Just remember, you want to help him. Sometimes you need to bite the bullet to help people. Why else would I be staying at a complete stranger's place? If I can do it, you can. And now? Home. I'm stuffed and I need chocolate. Lots of it."

Word Count | 4,074

musesandlyrics | 3.24. Otis Redding lyrics

2009-10-12T09:23:20Z

3.24. And if you would let them hold you
Oh, how grateful I will be
These arms of mine
They are burning, burning from wanting you
These arms of mine
They are wanting, wanting to hold you
These Arms of Mine - Otis Redding

Co-written with imgrounded
[Follows THIS]

Peter had no idea how he'd managed it, but somehow he had managed to get his jeans on up over his hips. Now he just needed a break before he even contemplated getting his fly up. He had boxers on, so it wasn't like anyone could see anything. He had one arm in a cast, and he looked down at it tiredly. It was strange, but he'd had healing for so long that part of him was at a loss for how to deal with a normal injury like a broken arm. His ability didn't work like it did before, so he couldn't heal without touching someone like his niece to pick it up again.

And then he'd lose his brother's flight, and for some reason he wanted to keep a hold of it. Like it would be a connection to Nathan. In Princeton Peter was on his own, and he had wanted it that way. He'd wanted a fresh start, and normality. He just hadn't expected to be literally hit with it. He could still picture the blonde clearly in his mind, and he knew she'd visited him a couple times. He could even remember asking for her.

He just wished he could have a conversation with her without being drowsy, or stuck in a hospital bed. He just wasn't sure if they'd got to swapping details so once he was out of here as a patient would she even be able to find him again? Would he be able to her? He remembered something about a brother as a nurse at PPTH, but for all he knew he was imagining it because he wanted some link to her, some way to find her that was easy.

Of course it would still mean talking to every male nurse, and coming across as crazy, but Peter had been called worse. He was also no stranger to being called crazy. He winced as he straightened his back, still feeling a little sensitive all over from hitting the ground. He just wanted to lay back down and curl up until he felt better. Maybe with Randy holding him, but he wasn't supposed to be having those thoughts, right?

Randy had just finished having lunch with Matt. She just couldn't help worrying about her brother after his shock with the patient death. He seemed to be doing okay, though, maybe just a little shaken that it would happen again. It wasn't that she thought he would throw nursing in after it, because she knew he loved it too much and he was brilliant at it. Still, she was also the one studying psychology and she knew things that gave people a shock could lead to them wavering in their confidence. He was mostly just tired after a long shift, though, and ravenous, which was a good sign. She bought him a pizza from the local joint a block away from the hospital and he ate just about the whole thing.

She wasn't sure if Peter was even going to still be a patient, but she decided to drop by the room he was in just in case. She was close to backing off, not sure anymore if he just didn't want her there, wasn't much of a talker, or really did have a sore head that made him not really aware of his surroundings. It was more tipping in the former two options in her mind, though, and she wasn't sure what to make of that. She just wanted to know he was okay and she would stop bugging him. Matt wouldn't pass on any information about Peter, even if he might have had access to it. It was because he was a colleague too and Matt didn't want to fuck up more than he thought he had. If Peter was okay today, Randy would be okay to leave him alone and stop haunting him. She just didn't expect him to be half-dressed when she did it and when she appeared in the doorway, she squeaked and slapped her hand over her eyes, holding her other one up apologetically. "Shit, I'm sorry. This isn't doing my attempt to convince you I'm not a stalker any good. I-I'll go, and leave you to it," she said hastily.

Peter held out his uninjured hand as he looked up at her. "Wait, no. Please. I, um, I was just thinking about you. I think I might actually need some help. You know, if you could manage it. I still don't actually know how I managed to get this far. Probably just the need to not be in one of those embarrassing gowns." He chuckled a little as he looked down with a lopsided smile. "You've seen me zonked out of my mind. I think me like this is maybe the better option. At least I hope so."

Randy kept her hand over her eyes for the moment, hovering again and not sure what to do. "Are you sure?" she asked anxiously. "I can get you a nurse. Good nurses in this place, I can vouch for that. Though, my brother isn't on this ward, so I might be a bit biased in saying he's the best." She dropped her hand with a laugh. "Actually, how did you get that far into the jeans with the cast on? Are you superhero or something?"

There was a fleeting hint of panic that crossed Peter's face before he shook his head with a laugh. "Not quite Superman, even if I am wearing the boxers. It has been about twenty minutes before I started getting dressed..." He looked sheepish, but waved her closer. "Just stop hovering, Randy. I... I like you being here. I've liked you being around. I'm sorry I've been a really crap conversationalist. Hits to the head kind of make me stupid. I was just being stubborn and not wanting a nurse to help. I'm sure your brother's nurse vibes have rubbed off on you somehow."

"What is it with guys and superman pants? My brother has them too. Whenever I hung the washing out when he lived at home, I used to hang them right at the front of the line so all the neighbours could see them," Randy said with a devious smirk. She breached the gap between them, her hands getting shoved in her pockets. "I actually wasn't sure if you were just wanting me to shut up and piss off, which I would have totally understood on account of the fact I hit you with my car and nearly killed you. I'm also studying psychology, so I didn't know if you were trying to project a wish for me to get out of your personal space. And on that note, I should warn you that studying psychology tends to make me overthink everything, and talk too much," she added as her hands were pulled from her pockets again for them to go to his jeans without hesitation, helping him with them carefully. "I promise I won't give you a wedgie, as tempting as it is."

"Hitting me with my car wasn't enough?" Peter asked with a slight smirk of his own. He touched her wrist with his fingers, ghosting his fingertips across her skin. "You're a bit of an evil sister, aren't you? I bet he just loved having his boxers flashed to the neighbours. I don't know what it is about the underwear. Think it's us still trying to hang onto our boyhood. We never really grow up, do we? So you're a budding psychologist, huh? You always assume people don't want you around?" He raised his eyebrows a little as he watched her. "It's more just my head was still swimming. I was actually just trying to work out how I was going to find you again since I was never conscious enough to ask for your number."

Randy laughed. "It's a mutual evilness. Or more like a three-way. My sister and me give as good as we get with Matty," she explained, still trying to carefully tug his pants up. "I think I'm destined to have a boyfriend with Superman jocks. It seems like one of those fated things in life. And no, I'm not usually this paranoid, only with people I nearly kill. I figured I wasn't your favourite person in the whole world right now." She glanced up at him. "You wanted my number?"

"Maybe I'm fated to have a girlfriend that hits me with her car? Might explain why the others haven't lasted," Peter suggested, not really joking. He felt his stomach tighten with nerves and realised he might have just given away entirely too much of his muddled thinking of late. "I think it's what siblings are for. The mutual evilness. Me and my broth--I miss it." Peter gave a nod. "Yeah, I did. Is that okay? I mean, I know it's weird. Why would you want anything to do with me? I feel like a really weird stalker right now."

Randy looked up at him, her eyes remaining on his face as she rose slowly, and her hands still sitting on the waist of his jeans. Talk of girlfriends and phone numbers, she was hesitant to fill in the gaps without him confirming anything. "Are you asking me out?" she asked. "Or do you just want my number to sue me and maybe give you tips on where to find other chicks to hit you with cars?" She was rambling again, which she managed to do when she was out of her comfort zone. Not that she wasn't comfortable with him, because she was. She just didn't want to assume anything because she was having a hard time believing he would want to socialise with her after she hurt him. She chewed on her lip. "I know I totally keep going back to the car thing, but are you sure you even want me here? Why would I think you were stalking me? You can hardly move. Stalking general indicates a form of covert movement."

Peter didn't hesitate before he reached out and cupped her cheek with his good hand. He thought he should have, that there should have been something to make him stop. He held her gaze and gave her another lopsided smile, this one tinged with sadness. "I know it's because you ramble, which is unbelievably cute by the way, but can you please just stop thinking the worst of me? I haven't... I'm not going to sue you, or chase you because you hit me. It was an accident, and I know that. I'm not even really going to try and explain why that's not really phasing me right now. I like you, Randy. Ever since I first saw you. I wasn't so concussed that I didn't notice how beautiful you were. I want your number because I want a chance to get to know you fully conscious." He cleared his throat as his tongue darted out to wet his lips. "Is that okay?"

Randy searched his eyes, her forehead creasing a little. This was unexpected. "You know, this is kind of like one of those Sleepless in Seattle moments. All we're missing is the cheesy music and strange Uncle called Stan or Louis. Like that Sandra Bullock train movie. I nearly kill you, you ask me out on a date, then my weird family gets involved and you start wondering what the fuck you really got involved in..." She trailed off and clamped her mouth shut, pulling her lips in between her teeth. She needed to learn to shut up. She just hadn't been asked out on a date date for awhile. Usually it was just boys she knew at college and they knew how to have a good time. "Yes, it's okay!" she finally added and then cleared her throat.

"Well, alright, then," Peter smirked. "Just so long as we got the okay sorted out. Didn't want to fall flat on my ass. Getting hit by a car is one thing. Getting turned down by a girl hurts even more. I'd rather take this broken arm than a bruised ego." He dropped his hand back away from her face, trailing his fingers down her arm. "Also, I'm pretty sure I can out do you in any weird family stakes. I'll take whatever family you got."

Randy held up her hand. "You might want to reserve judgment on that. My big brother, he might not look scary, but he can be when he wants to. Doesn't even need super powers for it. When it comes to me and Mel, it's just the way it goes," she had to explain apologetically. "But he's nice, I promise. Just might get a little... interregatory."

Peter raised his eyebrows as he chuckled. "Hey, I get it, but am I going to get interrogated before we even have a date? You know, just so I can be prepared."

Randy nodded with a small laugh. "He works here, remember? It might be unavoidable. He knows you're here and what I did. He's going to ask me how you are," she explained.

Peter looked like he didn't exactly remember, but it was more the facing of her brother so soon. He couldn't even remember the last time he'd had to face interrogation from a prospective girlfriend's family. Even Caitlin's brother hadn't been that bad. And Simone had been complicated for other reasons. He also couldn't remember the last time he'd fallen for someone without complications. Being hit by Randy's car was normal compared to the fucked up thing he'd had with Simone, or the amnesiac dependency issues with Caitlin. He didn't think much about either woman now, their memories pushed back into the dark corner of Peter's mind with the rest of turbulent past.

He gave her another lopsided smile and pulled her in closer between his legs as he brushed a kiss against her cheek. "If it means being able to get that date, and see you again, I'll take the interrogation by your brother. And you can tell him I'm fine."

Randy smiled and tilted her head a little. "I don't mean to make him sound terrifying. He's not. Work-wise, you're probably more experienced than him. He's just started his job here after being a student nurse. He's had a bit of a crap time too, lost his first patient and took it hard. Maybe you guys can be friends. I promise he's not an ass. He's just a typical big brother. He works in Surgical and sometimes in the ER. He would probably be relieved to hear I'm... um... sticking to one guy for the moment," she admitted sheepishly. Oh great. She may as well have just shoved a flashy 'I'm a slut' sign on her forehead.

Peter arched his eyebrow a little as he watched her. "You know you don't have to stick to one guy if you don't want to. If... if it's weird, or whatever, you don't need to say yes. I won't be offended. I know, um--" He held his good hand up. "You know what, never mind. I'm taking the yes, and the date, and ignoring the bits in my head that are trying to imagine what I can still get done with one good hand. It's hard losing your first patient. I really feel for him. Having said that, I used to be a hospice nurse. I'm used to losing my patients."

Randy shook her head firmly. "No! That's not what I mean. I'm not a slut, I wouldn't fuck around on anyone. I just... well, I work hard at uni, so I mostly just seek out friends for a bit of fun when I have the time. Guys don't usually... they get pissed when I pick study over them. Which is fair enough. I think it just means I haven't found the right guy yet," she mused and searched his eyes for a few moments. "Do you miss that work?"

Peter's hand came to rest against her hip, his fingers spreading over it as he rubbed his thumb against the soft denim of her jeans. Now that he was feeling better it was genuinely hard not to start thinking about her and 'fun'. "It's been a while for me. The fun part. I do understand how important the studying is, and I'm happy to wait until you have free moments. Your brother's a nurse so you know what kind of hours we work. Not every girl understands that, either." He gazed back at her, happy to sit there as she searched his eyes. He just hoped she wasn't picking up on his deviant streak just yet. "Yeah, I do. My life was a lot easier back then. Times change, and jobs do, too. I'm back to nursing so I can't exactly complain."

Randy raised her eyebrows. "How long is awhile?" For a moment, she thought Peter was similar to her sister, Mel. Same sort of softness and maybe a hint of a reserved nature, though probably with a fun streak inside if the right thing brought it out. Like English footballers. "You don't have to answer that. I'm being a nosey bitch, sorry. Do you work with older people here? Or something different? You would be exactly the sort of nurse I would like caring for my Nana."

"You're not being a nosey bitch," he said with a laugh. "I wouldn't volunteer the information if I didn't want you to know. And it's... a while. Definitely over a few months. Right now I"m in the ICU. I needed a change of pace for a little while. Maybe once I find my feet here I could go back to hospice work. And if your Nana ever needs looking after, I would be happy to take care of her."

A few months. Definitely sounded like Mel. "Where are you going now? Is your brother picking you up? Should you even be alone right after getting out? You shouldn't be. Not with the head thing. And the arm thing. What if you need to pee? How are you going to get in and out of the pants?"

"Back to my apartment," Peter answered. He frowned a little. "No, he isn't. He's... busy. I hadn't actually thought about the pants thing. It's entirely possible I might wind up embracing a nudist lifestyle for a few days."

Randy shook her head. "No, you'll get pneumonia and land right back in here half dead. I can't deal with that guilt. I'm coming to stay with you. I'll sleep on the sofa, and I can cook for you too. Only, you'll have to put up with my sister visiting. She's my twin, so we're kind of a package deal."

"You mentioned that before." Peter looked at her, this time taking his time to search her eyes as if he was trying to work out if she was genuine or not. "You won't let me say no, will you?"

"Fuck, no," Randy confirmed, raising her chin a little as if challenging him to protest. "I can be a huge bitch. A screechy resonant one, too," she said with a cheeky smirk.

"What if I know ways to keep you quiet?" Peter asked, his hand moving around to press against her ass as he pulled her closer against him still. His mouth was dangerously close to hers, and he grinned. "I'll take the package deal, and the crazy family, and the brother, and I'll take you sleeping on my couch and taking care of me because I can't actually imagine anything better right now. I really like you, Randy. Is that okay with you?"

Randy decided this was really nice, and she still couldn't quite believe the bloke she hit with her car was hitting on her. Or that she hit a guy so hot with her car in the first place. Suddenly the random sneeze fest seemed extremely worth it. "I should warn you, I can't actually cook well. Do you like cheese on toast and scrambled eggs?" she asked with a laugh and reached up to brush her thumb along his lower lip, always being the sort to map out boyfriends with her fingertips and locking them into memory. His lips looked nice, and they felt how she imagined. "And I might fuss. I get that off my Mum."

"I have a feeling I'm going to really like them otherwise I might get another broken arm," he teased as he smiled, stilling so she could map him out. He didn't mind. He hadn't ever really had time to just get to know someone like this. It was better than he'd imagined. "I'm sure I can take the fussing. Just so long as you can take me being a little possessive."

Randy laughed, stroking his cheek. "And there you were saying you wouldn't mind me messing around with other guys. See, now I know you were just being polite. But I like that. I wouldn't ever do that, though. I'm honest, and I appreciate the same in return. It's not rocket science. All these people who fuck around on people they supposedly love, it's screwed up. If you want to go to the effort of sleeping with someone else, how is it too much effort to tell the person you're with it's over? The world is full of bastards, it really is."

Peter kissed Randy's temple and smirked. "I like the way you think. It's not too much effort, and I couldn't agree more. So I guess now we know we're not about to go sleeping around on each other... want to help me with my shirt so we can get out of here?"

"Damnit, you got me. I was trying to keep you talking longer so you forgot you had it off," Randy joked, snapping her fingers with a smirk. She reached for the shirt, finding the sleeve to help him get his injured arm into it. "So, are you a typical guy with hardly anything in your fridge? We might need to go shopping on the way home. Or we get you home, and then I'll drag Mel shopping with me."

"Hey, I could walk around like this if you wanted, but I think it might be starting to get cold outside. I think you better get me home, then take your sister. I'm using all my energy being completely charming and sexy right now," Peter admitted with a slightly sheepish look. It was true. He was still feeling a bit lethargic after everything, that strong urge to have his head against a pillow starting to creep up on him. "I think I might need everything but cereal and beer. I seem to have those. And a tomato, but I'm not sure it's even a tomato anymore."

Randy smacked him softly on the arm. "That's shocking bachelor behaviour. Those days are gone, mister. Mark my words." She carefully got him into the shirt and then instead of helping him smooth his hair down, ruffled it up more and then kissed his forehead. "Time to go test my nursing skills against my brother's. I'm so going to win because it's vital to always beat the big brother."

Peter smirked. "I know how that goes, so I'll try and be a cooperative patient. I've even got some scrubs you can wear if you really want to get into the part." Peter stole a quick kiss on the lips before slipping from the bed onto his feet. He ignored the head spin, and took a deep breath. "So you're already planning to take me off the bachelor market? Interesting, Ms Murray. Very interesting."

Randy shot him a devious grin. "Hey, I don't share, Petrelli, and I'm not polite about it." She patted her butt. "Think I'd suit the scrubs? Have we tapped into a lil fetish, Nurse?" She got his jacket off the bed, wrapping it around his shoulders and holding him securely, not missing the hint of unsteadiness. "Are you okay, love? You don't have to walk out there, you know. We can get you a wheelchair just to get back to the car. It might be a better idea."

"Oh yeah? Get a little rough, do you? I think I might just like you even more." Peter licked his lips, his smirk increasing as he just looked at her. "Maybe. I think you'd look hot in my scrubs. And no, no wheelchair. I'm not giving up this chance to stick close to you. I'm okay, just got up too quick. Spent a long time flat on my back, and not in the fun way."

"Good, because if you're still not feeling well, I'll make sure you're still on your back when you get home, and not in the fun way. I can play the Evil Nurse Evilness card." Randy quickly checked the room to make sure all his belongings were in the patient bag and he hadn't left anything important behind. She squeezed his waist a little. "Okay, I think you're ready to go. Your loss, I don't get to spin you around the corners in the chair, maybe make some mean car noises in the process."

"I'm shaking in my trainers," Peter promised as he chuckled. He lifted his bad arm like he wanted to do something, but had to drop it. The cast was already starting to get on his nerves again. "Next time you land me in hospital we can get a wheel chair and you can make the car noises."

Randy laughed and patted his arse. "You got a deal, Nurse."

All muses referenced with permission and are from the princeton2nyc universe

Word Count | 4,281

musesandlyrics | 2.11. A Perfect Murder quote

2009-09-16T06:02:54Z

2.11. "When you wake up tomorrow, all this will seem like a bad dream."
A Perfect Murder

Co-written with imgrounded

Peter Petrelli was trying for once to get some normality back in his life. Ironic given he had a new ability to content with. He'd had his chance at normal when his father had taken his original ability, but the timing had been off. He couldn't exactly bail while his father and Pinehearst existed, he'd also had to get an ability back, and lucky for him Suresh's formula had given him a variation of his original power. Only now he wasn't so much a sponge. He could pick and choose, and only kept one ability at a time.

Only in the face of finally defeating Sylar, Peter had needed an out. He needed normality, and he needed to leave the City that had been his home for so long. He needed somewhere he wasn't just Nathan Petrelli's brother, or Angela Petrelli's son. He wasn't the guy who had almost blown up New York. He wasn't a fugitive. He wasn't even a hero.

New Jersey wasn't so far away that he couldn't return to New York if he was needed, and Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital had given him a job as a nurse. It was returning to something that he used to love. Something that once upon a time he had been happy to define him. He'd never been ashamed of being a nurse, but the rest of his family had been. As much as he loved them, Peter still needed to find out exactly who he was. Things had been changing so quickly, he'd lost track.

He crossed the street to the hospital, courier bag slung across his body. It was his second week on the job, and he was starting to find his rhythm. In fact, he was even looking forward to it. He didn't have a huge burden on his shoulders from needing to the save the world, or to change the future. For once, he didn't know what the future would hold.

Randy had been trying to get a hold of Mel after her sister left her a voicemail about the footballer. She had been in a meeting with one of her new teachers for the semester when the call came in, so she had missed it, and now she was just dying to know how the whole thing went down. After leaving a return message on her sister's voicemail, Randy had tossed her cell phone onto the passenger's seat of her car and started heading out of the university to head home. Sure, it was all probably technically in walking distance, but not when she had a gazillion heavy text books to lug around with her. She had just stopped by the bookshop on campus to collect the last of what she needed for her final year. She was distracted, and she knew it. Plus, her head was sore and her nose was itchy, almost like she felt when she was getting a cold.

She scratched at her nose as she turned out of the university and onto the street. The hospital, and Matty's workplace was just a few blocks away because it was attached to the university and one of the biggest places med students went for their prac. Randy herself would probably even end up there when she started practicing. It suited her. She loved Princeton. She had never been a big city girl to pull off living in New York. It never much appealled to her. It was just when she was turning onto the main street leading to her neighbourhood that she was overcome in a wave of sneezes that took her by surprise. She didn't even have a chance to hit the brakes, which panicked her. But only for a second before she heard a loud thump as the last sneeze wracked her body and she screamed, hitting the brakes, but it was too late. Did she just hit someone?

"Oh my god, oh my god, no!" she whimpered, struggling to fumble out of her seatbelt in her haste. Her heart was up in her throat as she threw herself out of the car and stumbled around to the front of it. Another scream was cut off in a terrified gasp of shock. A guy was lying on the road in front of her car. She had hit someone with her car! "Oh shit! Oh my god! Are you okay?" She crouched down beside him, her hands trembling as she started to cry. Was he even conscious?!

Peter hadn't even really noticed the car, his iPod on, and his head clearly not on where he was going. He'd had a brief glance either way to check for any speeding cars, but he hadn't noticed the one that had hit him. He also wasn't sure how long he'd been out. There was a brief moment when everything had gone black, and then as if to make the pain worse for him, the world around him came piercing back in glaring sunlight, and muffled sounds. He grunted, trying to move to sit up. The back of his head was aching, and he was sure someone was stabbing him in the arm, or maybe his arm wasn't even attached.

Okay, so maybe there was a downside to not having his old power. He couldn't heal. He couldn't get up from this without a scratch. He'd survived a fall from a building without dying, but getting hit by a car? That was going to be the end of him. Peter grunted again, adding a couple of curses.

"No, no, no! Don't move! My brother's a nurse!" Randy cried, holding her hands out. What the fuck? What did the fact her brother was a nurse have anything to damn well do with it? It wasn't like she could whip Matt out of her handbag to do his nurse thing, or that his nursing skills were suddenly going to rub off on her! But she was panicked. That was her excuse for being hit with the stupid stick, and she wasn't budging from it. "My phone... I need my fucking phone..." she mumbled to herself and batted her hair out of her face and threw it over her shoulder. Why hadn't the Karma gods told her that morning to wear her hair back in preparation of hitting some poor bastard with her car?! She made another whimpering sound, sort of just hovering there as she tried to figure out what the hell to do. What did they do in the movies? That had to at least be a start, right? "I'm sorry!" she finally said, her voice raising a even further as she tried not to cry even more or maybe even wet her pants.

Peter wiggled the fingers on his other hand to test to see if he could at least feel them. At the sound of a woman's voice, he tried to open his eyes again. He caught a flash of blonde hair, and for a moment he thought Claire was there. Then he focused his eyes, and realised it wasn't his niece. He reached out, his fingers gripping her wrist. "Hurts..." he choked out.

No, he wasn't supposed to say that! It was supposed to be just a scratch so she didn't want to give herself a guilt-induced stroke. She touched his forehead lightly with her fingertips. "Do you need an ambulance? I should get an ambulance! I just need to find my phone. Why isn't anyone else driving on this road right now?! This is one of the busiest roads in Princeton and no one is fucking around to help a stupid cow out when she runs over someone! Oh god, I'm an attempted murderer!" She dragged her hair back off her face again when it infuriatingly flopped forward again into her eyes.

"I'm going to get my phone, okay?" she told him, leaning over him and managing to shield the light from his eyes. "You're not allowed to die on me or even do anything that stops you breathing! I'm not like my brother. I would really suck at CPR! So just... are you okay? I would offer you a pillow, but I don't have one." She pointed behind her. "I just have to get my phone. I can call an ambulance or my sister, because sister is really much more smarter than I am when it comes to shit like this. And to think I was going to be a babysitter..." she mumbled to herself, almost losing her balance where she was crouched beside him.

Peter tried to shake his head, but it hurt too much. "No, don't... I've got a phone. It's in my bag." Slowly he was starting to remember how to how to put sentences together. He was also starting to realise just which parts of him hurt. He highly suspected his arm was broken, and he was going to wind up with a massive lump on the back of his head. He couldn't take her panicking, though. He held onto her hand again, trying to get out a soothing noise, but it came out like a wheeze. "Please don't freak out. I'm okay. Just beaten up a little. Really not planning on dying here, promise. Just take a breath, okay?"

Randy looked down at him, wiping at her tears with her other hand. Now that she had stopped momentarily, she noticed something beyond him being a body sprawled on the road... he was cute. Oh hell, she was going to hell. Was she perving on someone she just nearly killed?! She tried to picture him with different colour hair, because the brunette hadn't been lost on her. "I'm supposed to be comforting you, that's the way it works when you get squished by a car. Unless it's a hit and run, but I wouldn't do that! I'm not some sort of murderer! I'm sorry I hurt you. I know it hurts. I broke my arm once when I was a kid, and then my sister broke hers the next day like some sort of freak twin thing, but it hurt like hell."

She was rambling and she knew it. She squeezed his hand and then released it to start digging around in his bag, paying absolutely no mind that she was rifling around in his personal things. Soon the entire contents of his bag were up-ended on the road side and she located the phone. "There's a really awesome hospital not far from here. I bet the ambulance comes right away. I'll come with you, my brother works there. I mean, if you want me to. You probably don't want anything to fucking do with me because I nearly killed you, right? I'll be quiet. I'll just, like, hover in the hallway until I know you're okay then bugger off before you can see me again. What's the number for the ambulance again?" She paused and cursed, pressing in 911 quickly. "Shit, don't answer that. I'm clearly losing my mind." She put the phone to her ear, waiting for the call to the connect. "I'm Randy by the way. O-Or Miranda Rose. Miranda Rose Murray in case you want to press charges."

Peter gave her a weak smirk, closing his eyes for a moment as he tried to block out the light again. The rambling was actually a comfort. Like something he could hang onto to make sure he didn't slip into unconsciousness. Not that closing his eyes was helping. He reluctantly opened them again, trying to watch her. She was pretty, he wasn't in so much pain that he didn't notice. He was kind of hating the fact that he was meeting her under these conditions. It had been a long, long time since he'd flirted with anyone. It was hard to flirt when it felt like he'd just been hit by a car.

Okay, he had been hit by a car.

"I'm not going to press charges, Randy. Also not going to make any Austin Powers jokes. Mostly because I think laughing would make me hurt more. I'm Peter. Peter Petrelli. In case you want to come visit me in hospital. You don't need to be nervous. I'm okay. Just hurting."

Randy put the call in with the paramedics, giving them Peter's name and the location. She put his phone back into his bag, even though she had emptied it of everything else. "It's okay. It's a running joke in my family. I'm a bit of a tom boy, so I didn't want the girly name when I was a kid, so it just stuck. I figured if it was good enough for one of the Jackson 5, it was good enough for me." She took his hand again and automatically started to carefully stroke his hair to try and make him feel better. "I really am sorry. I think I'm getting a cold or something and I was sneezing, and it was just bad timing. Are you seeing double? Do you feel sick? You don't look so good. Want me to lie down with you? I don't even have a band-aid to offer you."

Peter wanted to tell her to take another breath, but he had a feeling the fact that his head started to spin had nothing to do with how fast she was talking. "Ah... no double, yeah a little, that's so tempting, and it's okay about the band-aid. Not even sure it'd do much right now. You like the Jackson 5?"

"Well, technically no. I mean, Michael is okay, but the others didn't do much for me. But he was famous, and he was a boy, so I could talk myself into it being exactly what I wanted. There isn't a lot of non-girly names you can drag from Miranda Rose, and my brother and sister used to pull the piss even more by calling me Rosie because they knew it drove me up the wall. Only, when you hit puberty, Randy goes from an innocent boy's name to a not-so-innocent context. Like, when someone says balls and you really want to not snigger, but you do anyway." Randy was never the sort to be conventional, so she actually did shift and lie down on the road next to him, still holding his hand. "Did I mention my brother was a nurse? Which is beside the point, but he has friends who are doctors in the ER, so you're going to be fine. I'm going to probably keep saying that to try and convince myself because I'm so so sorry I hit you. I've probably ruined your whole week now."

"Yeah, you did mention your brother was a nurse. Several times if my memory's still working." Peter smiled, amused at the fact that she was lying in the road with him. He was trying to listen for the sound of sirens, but given they were near a hospital, it was hard to tell if any of them were for him yet. For all he knew they wouldn't bother with sirens. "It's funny, because I happen to be a nurse, too. It's been a while since I've been hurt."

Randy winced slightly. "Sorry, I don't mean to try and fly a flag out his ass, even if I do think he's awesome. I mean, he's my big brother. Of course he's awesome. I just... my brain seems to think telling you that will bring you medical attention quicker, and you're seriously a nurse? Maybe you know him? Do you work at Princeton Plainsboro? Only, he's only been there a short time. He finished Yale and then had a placement back there before getting the job here. But he's home now and I'm glad he is." There were sirens coming in the distance and she prayed they were for them. "Awhile? How long's a while? Now I've gone and screwed up your track record, which bloody sucks. I'm sorry!"

"It's okay," Peter murmured, his concentration lapsing as the urge to close his eyes returned with force. He fought it off, squeezing Randy's hand as he looked at her again. "I have a big brother. I'm sure I'm guilty of the same thing. Or I was. Guess we grew apart." He frowned, the thought of Nathan Petrelli giving him mixed feelings. He had idolised his brother once upon a time. "Yeah, I work at the same hospital. Not sure I know your brother, but maybe. I'm still learning who everyone is. I'm just as new. It's good you got your brother again. Lucky. You sound like you really care about him. Being that close to family is a rare thing."

"You sound sad," Randy noted. "Not just because your head hurts, either." She raised up a little to see his face, taking in his features a little more with a concerned frown on her face. "Did you lose your brother?" she asked, hearing the sirens closing in a little.

Peter met her gaze briefly before he looked past her and focused on a passing cloud. "It's complicated." He'd lost his brother a couple of times, and had no idea how he was ever going to explain it to her. "I'm sorry... it's just a long story, and I'd rather not drag this, ah, meeting down."

Randy managed to not point out the fact that it was already pretty much rock bottom considering she hit him with her car, he was bleeding, waiting for an ambulance and lying on a dirty road. But she caught herself and bit down on her lip. She knew he wasn't one of her test subjects. If he didn't want to talk about something, he didn't have to, especially not to her. She didn't get a chance to say anything else when the ambulance pulled up and the paramedics were swooping on them. She pulled herself up off the ground and stood back, chewing on the tip of her thumb as she watched. Why did she feel some sort of connection to this guy?

Peter tried to hold Randy's gaze, even as the paramedics worked around him. There was just something about her, and he needed to keep looking at her to give himself something to keep grounded, and to keep conscious. He hoped she did find him, because even struggling with the pain, and even after she'd hit him with her car, he wanted to see her again. Peter understood better than most that Fate had a funny way of working. "Randy," he rasped, just before he got loaded into the ambulance.

"I'll just... um... just..." Randy stammered, panicking a little as she pointed back to her car. She tugged on the female paramedics arm. "Can you just wait a second?" She didn't wait for an answer. She ran back to her car and plucked the keys from the ignition, grabbing up her phone from where it fell onto the passenger side floor and then locked the car. She was back in moments, wringing the strap of her bag anxiously. "I'm coming," she insisted and climbed into the back of the ambulance after him before they could all tell her to get fucked. She expected protests, but none came, so she just grabbed Peter's hand again, swallowing. She had no explanation why she was doing this. She just was, and to the fuck with it.

All muses referenced with permission and are from the princeton2nyc universe

Word Count | 3,229

musebysentence | 16.6. Sister

2009-09-09T21:42:10Z

LINK: A twin is like an air bag; built-in protection ready to catch you and dilute the pain when everything is about to hit a brick wall.

From my embryonic sac buddy

2009-09-09T10:58:32Z

You Are a Natural Flirt

You are a true people person, and you find it easy to relate to others.

So when you're into someone, you can't help but broadcast it.

For you, complementing, smiling, and touching is second nature. You like making people feel good.

In fact, you may be accused of flirting when all you're doing is being friendly. Sometimes you accidentally send out the wrong signals.

Are You a Natural Flirt?

Blogthings: 100's of Fun, Free Quizzes and 3 Stupid Ones