They were finally gone.

As soon as the cars pulled out of the driveway, Gemma dropped the polite smile and sighed, visibly relaxing. Now it was just her and Jorge, standing in the living the room. Gemma looked at the table. There were plenty of cookies left, since the parents did not eat or drink anything. Neither did she. She was focusing on being polite.

"Great" she sighed, walking over to Jorge to hug him "Thank you for the support... if you were not here I would have probably slapped them at some point. Can you believe those people?..."

Gemma did not show any emotions during the meeting, but she knew she would have to let them out sometime, somehow. But, at least the Townsends did not put up a fight for their kid. That was both sad and reassuring.

She looked up at Jorge.

"I surprised you didn't I." she chuckled "I'm sorry. I was not really sure if it would come to this. But I didn't see any other solution either..."

Of course, it was her own decision... but it still felt like adopting a kid should have been something to talk to Jorge about. Relationships are complicated....

It was over. Though Gemma and Valerie were free of the presence of the Townsends and their attorney, Jorge had to see them to the exit of the mansion. It was obvious how they felt about mutants and they were not going to feel safe walking out of that mansion by themselves. So, Jorge would agree to show them the door, if only to prevent them from getting lost and take even longer to leave. He definitely wanted to wash his hands of them as soon as possible. Especially after he heard about the abuse that they put Chase through.

Oh if only he could set his badge aside for a few minutes, maybe reacquaint the them with his fist! But…he couldn’t do that, however much he wanted to. Instead he simply sighed and led on.

Before he knew it, he could smell and taste the afternoon outside the mansion’s main entrance. He opened the door to allow them to leave and smirked as he waved for them to go. It was only when they were gone that he finally breathed a loooooong and happy sigh of relief.

It was only when they were gone and the door was slammed firmly at their behinds that Jorge breathed in relief. His task as the officer was done, at least for this particular case. But he needed to return to Gemma. He still had a question or two for her…

Upon his return he grinned as he looked across the room at Gemma. She obviously looked exhausted and probably was after how much she had to keep from saying in that meeting. He felt that she was relieved to see him and he grinned in response.

“So proud of you,” he said with a small laugh.

Quickly her arms encircled him and hugged him as he smirked.

>> "Great…Thank you for the support... if you were not here I would have probably slapped them at some point. Can you believe those people?..."

“Yeah, trust me,” he said with a nod. “I’ve have plenty of those moments. Luckily, I have the authority to plant evidence if I ever need to.”

Once that pleasentry was done, Jorge looked over to see that Gemma was staring at him…

>> "I surprised you didn't I. I'm sorry. I was not really sure if it would come to this. But I didn't see any other solution either..."

“A little,” he said with a small grin.

Now, Jorge was not expecting full disclosure on all of her choice. After all, she was her own woman and it was not like she was his wife. But still, maybe just a slight warning would have been accepted before she suddenly spouted out that she wanted to adopt the boy he had only heard snippets about. He tilted his head, he wondered how the boy was going to handle this. But before he thought of that, he decided to address the here and now with Gemma.

Jorge smiled and nodded. She was dedicated to her kids.

“But you have my support,” he said with a resolute nod. “If anyone can better parent to that kid than you, I’ve never met them.”

The woman he wanted to marry…was going to be a mother again…

>>“So proud of you... Yeah, trust me. I’ve have plenty of those moments. Luckily, I have the authority to plant evidence if I ever need to.”

She chuckled against his shoulder. Like she could ever imagine Jorge planting evidence. Something would have to go seriously, horribly wrong to make him do that. That is why he was such a great guy.

Sze did surprise him though, even though he was not trying to make a big deal out of it.

>>“A little. But you have my support. If anyone can better parent to that kid than you, I’ve never met them.”

Again. Such a great guy.

She rewarded him with a bright smile.

"I don't deserve you." she chuckled, kissing him softly "And you are sweet, but I really should have warned you. I am sorry. I am... not trying to drag you into this. Chase is my responsibility, because I made that decision. I am not responsible for yours."

She was not going to make a father out of him just like that. Not fair to a guy...

Though his mind was still trying to wrap around what all this was going to entail, Jorge felt all those fears disappear the second he looked over to see Gemma smiling at him. It was amazing the power that that one smile had over him. It melted away the darkness and made him feel as if absolutely everything wrong in the world would suddenly uplift and he would be out of job. It was either some hidden ability she had or he really was just that deeply in love with her.

She remained in his arms with that smile of hers…

>> "I don't deserve you.”

“I know,” he replied jokingly.

She kissed him (another answer to the problems of the world) and Jorge returned the gesture in kind. It was a good thing that the Townsends did not stick around for that one. That would have surely made them look bad in their eyes. But the detective didn’t care. They were gone now and away went their heavy clouds of mutant-hating bigotry.

He sighed as he held Gemma, a woman who was going to be a mom again…

>> “And you are sweet, but I really should have warned you. I am sorry. I am... not trying to drag you into this. Chase is my responsibility, because I made that decision. I am not responsible for yours."

He smirked. As usual she was trying to take the world upon her shoulders. With a shake of his head he kissed her again.

“Yeah, its okay. Really, I understand. And you’re not dragging me into nothing,” he said firmly. “What’s important to you is important to me. But I think it’s a good idea I actually meet Chase too.”

>>“Yeah, its okay. Really, I understand. And you’re not dragging me into nothing. What’s important to you is important to me. But I think it’s a good idea I actually meet Chase too.”

She smiled and nodded. All was well with the world. She knew Jorge would support her, no matter what; that was one of the reasons she did not want to make any decisions for him.

"Probably. Let's go find him. He needs to hear the news too."

Taking him by the hand, she left the living room; she was pretty sure the kids would clean up the rest of the cookies and tea. No food went untouched for long in the Mansion.

Chase was not in his room, though. Gemma knew that most of the kids would be outside, so she led him out through the back door, looking around. Some of the kids were there, but she couldn't see Chase; all the faces she saw were real Mansion students, so even if he was using his powers for mischief, he was not around...

"Hi" she smiled at everyone and they smiled back "Has anyone seen Chase?..."

Getting Chase off-campus had been far easier than expected. Once off of the roof, and having established that Chase would run and keep Big League posted, Big League helped Chase up to his room (of course, by giant pink bubble), so that they could retrieve his backpack, a few extra articles of clothes, and a key on a chain.

"Where are you going?" Big League had demanded, "I mean, I know you're going away, but where?"

"You can't tell anyone. You have to pinky-swear that you won't tell a soul."

"Cross my heart."

"Remember, when I first came here? Those two people I was with?"

"Yeah, that one guy and the funny-smelling bug girl."

"Aedus and Agnes," Chase corrected, "Aedus has a place, he said I could come back if I ever needed. It's not too far from here."

And then, the two had gone to the gap in the fence, Chase slipped out and darted down the street, and was on the run once again. Just like that. Big League had returned to playing, but said nothing of where Chase had gone to his friends. But, when Miss Taylor came looking for Chase, Big League knew that something was up.

>> "Hi. Has anyone seen Chase?..."

"No, Miss Taylor," the kids chorused back, all beaming. Big League was silenced by his guilty conscience. He said nothing.

A particularly helpful soul chimed in, "Last we saw him, he and Big League were going on a secret mission."

Uh-oh. Big League glanced sideways at the loudmouth, frowning. Of course he wasn't aware of the fact that he was supposed to be quiet. Big League hadn't told them anything. And now two adults were looking to him for an answer. His gaze flicked guiltily to Miss Taylor and the man. He couldn't let them get Chase. He couldn't let Chase get sent back home.

So, Big League got up, and bolted. They couldn't ask him where Chase was if they couldn't catch him

Jorge smirked as Gemma took his hand and the pair of them headed off in search of the kid. Now, the mansion was massive and sometimes it was not always the easiest thing to find the right person that you are looking for. Jorge had had plenty of times like that when he was there was could not find Gemma either at her office or at her room. Yet they always managed to find each other. It was different though this time. This time they were seeking a kid and in a mansion full of teenagers, runaways, and mutants, such a task could be exceptionally difficult, especially if that child happened to be a shape shifter.

They checked his room: not there.

They checked the common room: not there.

The checked the classrooms: not there.

Just…where could that child be?

He looked blankly to Gemma who finally decided that their best bet was to run out and check on the kids outside. Someone had to know where he had run off to. After all, in his short time here, Chase was fitting in rather well and was finding a nice little click of friends.

So they exited the mansion for the grounds and indeed found a group of kids who were all doing the things that kids do in a situation like this: playing. He said nothing, even though the majority of them knew him since he managed to frequent the mansion often, there were many that didn’t.

Gemma was the first to speak up…

>> "Hi…Has anyone seen Chase?..."

>> "No, Miss Taylor,”

He chuckled. They were cute and definitely very well behaved. Gemma certainly had a way of bringing out the best in these kids. But it was unfortunately. They didn’t know where he was either. Were they going to have to scour the entire school?

>> "Last we saw him, he and Big League were going on a secret mission."

He blinked and both he and Gemma turned to face the kid known as Big League. The boy he had never met before, but he looked to be just a little suspicious. He was nervous, cowering, and then he was running.

Now…kids are fast. There is no denying that. When they get it into their head to run and to keep running they can do fairly well. But the ony thing that helps in this situation is 1) Jorge trained every day with running, 2) he was a cop so he was used to chasing down suspects, and 3) he was an adult and had longer legs. Jorge easily covered the ground that Big League was running as he pursued him.

“Hey kid! Stop! I’m not going to hurt ya!” Jorge shouted after him. It must have made quite a show for the rest of the kids and for Gemma. He could laugh along with them later. For the moment though, he needed to focus on catching up to him. So he continued to run, announcing that he was not out to hurt the boy, that he only had a question, but Big League was having none of it.

But still…the deciding factor here was…longer legs.

Within moments Jorge had caught up and scooped the boy up, hauling him onto his shoulder.

“Alright, calm down, hey calm down!” Jorge chuckled as Big League flailed and he made his way back to Gemma and the group. “Like I said, I’m the good guy here. I’m a cop, okay? I’m not here to hurt you or Chase. Not come on,” he said as he adjusted the boy. “Ms. Taylor as a few questions for you.”

>> "Last we saw him, he and Big League were going on a secret mission."

Gemma tilted her head at Big League.
Big League ran.

She did not like that one bit. She liked the secret mission part even less, but that could wait until after she could get him to answer some questions. That is, if he stopped run...

Oh.

Jorge had his cop instincts straight. He was sprinting after Big League, and caught up to the kid no time at all, although BL was desperate to get away. That included kicking. That was not nice at all.

Gemma watched with hands on hips as the kid was carried back to her; only the faintest of smiles was playing on her lips at the sight.

>>“Alright, calm down, hey calm down! Like I said, I’m the good guy here. I’m a cop, okay? I’m not here to hurt you or Chase. Not come on. Ms. Taylor as a few questions for you.”

"Put him down, Jorge" she smirkes, looking at the kid, knowing all too well he could not use his powers now to get away. "We just want to talk to Chase, that's all. I have some good news for him that he will want to hear. He is going to be staying here at the Mansion." she was almost as excited about that as Chase would be, but she looked serious when she looked the boy in the eye "Do you know where he is?..."

>> “Hey kid! Stop! I’m not going to hurt ya!”

Crud, the man was following him! Big League ran with all of his might, his little feet flying so fast that he was pretty sure he was flying. He couldn't let the man catch him-- because then, he'd have to talk, and he had to buy Chase time. He had to cover for him.

Too slow.

The man caught him around the waist and tossed him over his shoulder, to which Big League let out a shout of protest, and instantly began squirming in protest.

"Lemme go!" he complained, "No fair, lemme go!"

>> “Alright, calm down, hey calm down! Like I said, I’m the good guy here. I’m a cop, okay? I’m not here to hurt you or Chase. Not come on... Ms. Taylor as a few questions for you.”

Big League might have kicked. Maybe. But only because he was trying to propel himself free of the man's hold. Hey, it wasn't his fault that he wouldn't let him go. The group of other kids was giggling, which only made Big League protest more.

"No, no, no!" Big League argued, "I don't care! I don't want to talk to Miss Taylor!"

He went quiet as they got closer.

>> "Put him down, Jorge."

The Jorge-guy complied, to which Big League huffed in mild indignation and glanced up at Miss Taylor, folding his little arms across his chest crossly.

>> "We just want to talk to Chase, that's all. I have some good news for him that he will want to hear. He is going to be staying here at the Mansion. Do you know where he is?..."

That was silly. Chase couldn't be staying there. They saw his parents. And Chase had seemed so sure that they were there to cart him home... Big League huffed again. He obviously knew something, but hesitated to spill the beans. He'd get into trouble for spying. Big League itched his head, weighed his answer-- no matter what, he'd be in some degree of trouble. Might as well come clean now.

"That's silly," Big League retorted, looking up at Mama, "He can't be staying here-- we saw them. His mom and dad. Chase said they wouldn't let him stay here. That they'd take him back."

This was thoroughly confusing. He needed to get his facts straight from the adults, to gauge whether or not it was worth revealing what he knew. Because friends looked out for other friends, and protected them from bad things-- Chases' bad things were his parents, so Big League would not be acting like a friend by helping in apprehending Chase.

God and the kid HAD to be a kicker? Jorge grumbled as he carried Big League all the way back to Gemma and the giggling kids. He knew that had to be embarrassing for the boy, but they needed to find Chase. If he, as Valerie called him, was being a Runner, they needed to get on finding him. The more time they wasted, the harder it was going to be. They were not even sure how long Chase was gone to begin with. But this kid knew something and Gemma was going to find it out.

He winced but only shook his head as Big League kicked him one more time for good measure and then stood in front of Gemma with his haul…

>> "Put him down, Jorge"

She wanted to smile but she didn’t outright do it. The boy was being embarrassed enough. Instead Jorge nodded as he gently set the boy down on his feet. He huffed and crossed his arms over his chest in a very stubborn way. This was not going to be easy…

>> "We just want to talk to Chase, that's all. I have some good news for him that he will want to hear. He is going to be staying here at the Mansion…Do you know where he is?..."

>> "That's silly… He can't be staying here-- we saw them. His mom and dad. Chase said they wouldn't let him stay here. That they'd take him back."

So that was the story. Somehow Chase and Big League had managed to catch sight of the parents. It must have been a hell of a spook for Chase, especially coming from the household that he came from. Obviously he didn’t want to go back, so he ran. And Big League here helped him. The detective nodded, understanding.

He sighed as he dropped down to his knee and drew Big League’s attention.

“Hey, I apologize for earlier, I shouldn’t have snagged you up like that. You were just protecting your friend, I get that. I like to protect people too, that’s why I’m a cop.” he said with understanding in your voice. “I understand that Chase is scared, but he doesn’t have to worry. His parents were here only so that they could make the transfer to this school legal. No mistakes so that he never has to go back to them. Both Ms. Taylor and I saw to that. If you really want to help him, then you need to tell us where he is so we can tell him he can stop running.”

>>"That's silly. He can't be staying here-- we saw them. His mom and dad. Chase said they wouldn't let him stay here. That they'd take him back."

Now she was worried. If Chase had really run away again... it would be really hard to find him. He would shift and disappear... Gemma was going into worried mother mode right away. It is the most horrible feeling in the world.

Jorge understood.

>>“Hey, I apologize for earlier, I shouldn’t have snagged you up like that. You were just protecting your friend, I get that. I like to protect people too, that’s why I’m a cop. I understand that Chase is scared, but he doesn’t have to worry. His parents were here only so that they could make the transfer to this school legal. No mistakes so that he never has to go back to them. Both Ms. Taylor and I saw to that. If you really want to help him, then you need to tell us where he is so we can tell him he can stop running.”

She sighed. First things first. Jorge was good at this; he was good at talking to the kid. He was also a cop, a figure of authority he could trust. She looked at Big League again. Every moment they wasted, if Chase really ran, he would get farther and farther away. Still, she did not want to scare BL, or make him believe that he did anything wrong. He was standing up for a friend. That was a traid she wanted each and every one of her students to have. Except, now it was turned against her. Damn. Motherhood is funny that way.

She nodded to what Jorge said.

"I know he is scared. I am scared too. I want to find him before he gets lost. Can you understand that?... Do you know where he went?"

>> “Hey, I apologize for earlier, I shouldn’t have snagged you up like that. You were just protecting your friend, I get that. I like to protect people too, that’s why I’m a cop... I understand that Chase is scared, but he doesn’t have to worry. His parents were here only so that they could make the transfer to this school legal. No mistakes so that he never has to go back to them. Both Ms. Taylor and I saw to that. If you really want to help him, then you need to tell us where he is so we can tell him he can stop running.”

Big League tilted his chin at Officer Jorge as he came down to his level, keeping his arms laced and his Big-League-means-business-face on. His fiery protest seemed to dwindle faintly as Jorge spoke more, though. It was a lot of adult-stuff that he was saying, but Big League was getting the big picture.

"So they weren't here to take him back?" Big League reiterated, "Are they gone...? Chase gets to stay...?"

He was blatantly confused, now. And then, Miss Taylor spoke.

>> "I know he is scared. I am scared too. I want to find him before he gets lost. Can you understand that?... Do you know where he went?"

Big League crumbled under the pressure, and hesitated to shake his head. But he did.

"Not really," Big League confessed, "He had this place that he could go to, with this guy who helped him out before he came here... the guy had a funny name. That's how I met Chase. It was that guy with the funny name, and the funny-smelling girl with the bugs always followin' her. She was showin' 'em around, and they all looked like friends to me, and since there aren't a lot a kids my and Chase's age I figured I'd befriend'm."

Big League was rambling now. He didn't really know where Chase was, and was trying to be helpful the best that he could. He was only spewing what Chase had told him, but had conveniently dropped the names necessary to identify people. And then casually shifted from what Chase had told him to how they'd met at the drop of a hat.

A glance at Gemma and Jorge could see that she was extremely worried about the fate of Chase. The longer that they just sat there, the farther away that Chase got. But they needed to make sure that they didn’t panic. They needed to keep calm heads, especially in the front of the kids. The last thing they wanted was for the kids to feel like this was a far worse situation that it was. Instead though, they tried to speak calmly and quietly. The kids would understand.

It seemed like maybe, just maybe it was going to work. He saw the resolve shaking in Big League’s face and that quickly evaporate. The boy was wracked with confusion that he just didn’t know how to follow. Nothing he could really say would erase his confusion. Big League had to make this decision himself.

>> "I know he is scared. I am scared too. I want to find him before he gets lost. Can you understand that?... Do you know where he went?"

Time rolled by, only a few seconds that seemed as if it lasted hours, and finally Big League cracked and spilled the beans…

>> "Not really….He had this place that he could go to, with this guy who helped him out before he came here... the guy had a funny name. That's how I met Chase. It was that guy with the funny name, and the funny-smelling girl with the bugs always followin' her. She was showin' 'em around, and they all looked like friends to me, and since there aren't a lot a kids my and Chase's age I figured I'd befriend'm."

Big League had revealed everything and the detective nodded. He reached up and patted the boy’s shoulder with a smile.

“You did really good, Big League. I thank you so much!” as he stood he tousled the boy’s hair. When he was fully standing, he nodded to Gemma. “Funny-smelling girl with the bugs always following her? You thinking what I’m thinking?” he asked Gemma.

There was only one person on this campus that he knew of had powers like that…Agnes Nicholas…

Big League finally had the sense to give up the fight; Gemma was really grateful for that. The situation was serious enough that she would have kept questioning him until he said the truth; but she was happy she did not need to threaten him into it. He was a nice kid.

>>"Not really. He had this place that he could go to, with this guy who helped him out before he came here... the guy had a funny name. That's how I met Chase. It was that guy with the funny name, and the funny-smelling girl with the bugs always followin' her. She was showin' 'em around, and they all looked like friends to me, and since there aren't a lot a kids my and Chase's age I figured I'd befriend'm."

Gemma sighed and looked up at Jorge; he lookes as relieved as she was. They had a lead, and a good one too.

>>“You did really good, Big League. I thank you so much! Funny-smelling girl with the bugs always following her? You thinking what I’m thinking?”

"That's Agnes" she nodded, standig up "Thank you, Big League. Chase will be home in no time." she smiled, before she nodded to Jorge "Let's go find Agnes. She should be in her room, or maybe the library..."

>> “You did really good, Big League. I thank you so much!...Funny-smelling girl with the bugs always following her? You thinking what I’m thinking?”

>> "That's Agnes. Thank you, Big League. Chase will be home in no time. Let's go find Agnes. She should be in her room, or maybe the library..."

Big League gave the two adults a curious look, cocking his head at them. In his mind, he hadn't told them much of anything, but this seemed entirely satisfied with the information. Adults were funny like that. He had some mischief in his eyes, and a little smile upon his lips. Now this sounded like a secret-agent mission.

"You're welcome," Big League hummed, glad to have been part of a secreat-agent mission. Eh, he'd save the secret-agent stuff for later. It would be so much easier to worm the information out of Chase when he came back then to try and get details from Miss Gemma and Officer Jorge. Big League returned to his group of friends, and took his seat, which was his way of telling Jorge and Gemma that they were free to go at their own discretion.